however wrecked in body, in mind, or in estate ; however savage, 

 barbarous, and idolatrous ; however vicious and corrupt, the 

 slave of his appetites and passions ; nay, however sunk in the 

 depths of infamy and crime, Friends regard him still as a fellow 

 creature, to whom " our Father in heaven" has imparted an 

 immortal soul, and who, while life lasts, should be treated and 

 cared for as a fellow traveller to eternity.* 



Their success in these efforts has certainly been pre-eminent. 

 Witness their treatment of the criminal and of the insane. We 

 cite this as one of the good traits for which Friends are distin- 

 guished, and it is one which has contributed to give character 

 to the age. Who does not rejoice to live in an age when the 

 insane are no longer treated with cruelty, and when the most 

 wretched in crime may be taught that there is still, for them 

 even, a God of infinite mercy ? How do we look back with 

 wonder upon the thousands of years the world had existed be- 

 fore it was discovered that a grand panacea for diseases of the 

 mind was to be found in the law of love ? And how does the 

 world seem to have forgotten that one came down from heaven 

 " and abode awhile in the flesh," to teach man how he should 

 treat his brother sinner, and to point the dying malefactor to 

 the gate of heaven ? For the general prevalence, blessed in- 

 fluence, and practical application of these truths, we are greatly 

 indebted to Friends. 



Their quiet virtues, happy amenities, and silent worth, do 

 not attract the gaze of the world ; but they will repay us for 

 seeking out and looking into them. Their simple habits ; their 

 industry, integrity, and thrift ; their pleasure in doing good ; 

 their intense interest in nature's varied handiwork ; their esti- 

 mate of things conducive to comfort, peace, and happiness, over 

 things luxurious and things ostentatious ; their abhorrence of 

 war ; their active sympathy with all in distress, and their pre- 

 ference of the " good name which is better than precious oint- 



* Many believe that there is a light in the breast of every human being 

 which should enable him to discriminate between good and evil, and 

 which, however it may become clouded and darkened, is never wholly ex- 

 tinguished while life lasts. To this spark of reason and conscience they 

 address themselves with the law of brotherly kindness, and seek to kindle 

 the light within. 



