In spite of their goodwill, there are persons whose lives are so occupied, that they can give but little time to serious reading, and even those few moments, have to be snatched at uncertain times. For such as these, it is important to have a book which can bear to be so read. The editor of " Half-Hours with the Saints and Servants of God," has effected this, by arranging in short sections, extracts from various writers, all bearing on some one great truth or mystery of our holy religion. It would be well, indeed, to spend a half-hour in such good company, but the sections are so short, that one who has only ten minutes at his disposal would be able to read slowly and " pausingly" as S. Philip tells us such books should be read, words that would go far to sanctify the day.
The extracts are made from writers of every age, from St. Augustine, down to our own Father Faber, and many of the quotations, are from books, quite out of the reach of ordinary readers. Moreover, the editor has wisely added a short account of the life of the Saint, or servant of God, whose work he quotes, and this not only adds much to the interest of the work, but may lead those who have time at their disposal, to cultivate a taste for solid reading. They will learn the beautiful thoughts of men whom they have hitherto known only by name, and they will become anxious to know more of the history of their times, and of the circumstances in which they wrote. Thus, ecclesiastical history and the biographies of the great Christian writers, will acquire a new interest in their minds, and who can say, how great a blessing a taste for such reading may prove? Many, whose lives are now full of activity, may have before them, through ill health or old age, long years
