ON PRAYER AND NATURAL LAW 11 



envelope, and the more unyielding the metal is, the worse 

 for its safety. There are in the world men who would 

 encompass philosophic speculation by a rigid envelope, 

 hoping thereby to restrain it, but in reality giving it ex- 

 plosive force. In England, thanks to men of the stamp to 

 which I have alluded, scope is gradually given to thought 

 for changes of aggregation, and the envelope slowly alters 

 its form, in accordance with the necessities of the time. 



The proximate origin of the foregoing slight article, and probably the re- 

 moter origin of the next following one, was this. Some years ago, a day 

 of prayer and humiliation, on account of a bad harvest, was appointed by the 

 proper religious authorities; but certain clergymen of the Church of England, 

 doubting the wisdom of the demonstration, declined to join in the services of 

 the day. For this act of nonconformity they were severely censured by some 

 of their brethren. Rightly or wrongly, my sympathies were on the side of 

 these men; and, to lend them a helping hand in their struggle against odds, 

 I inserted the foregoing chapter in a little book entitled "Mountaineering in 

 1861." Some time subsequently I received from a gentleman of great weight 

 and distinction in the scientific world, and, I believe, of perfect orthodoxy in 

 the religious one, a note directing my attention to an exceedingly thoughtful 

 article on Prayer and Cholera in the "Pall Mali Gazette." My eminent corre- 

 spondent deemed the article a fair answer to the remarks made by me in 1861. 

 I, also, was struck by the temper and ability of the article, but I could not 

 deem its arguments satisfactory, and in a short note to the editor of the "Pall 

 Mall Gazette" I ventured to state so much. This letter elicited some very able 

 replies, and a second leading article was also devoted to the subject. In answer 

 to all, I risked the publication of a second letter, and soon afterward, by an 

 extremely courteous note from the editor, the discussion was closed. 



Though thus stopped locally, the discussion flowed in other directions. Ser- 

 mons were preached, essays were published, articles were written, while a 

 copious correspondence occupied the pages of some of the religious newspapers. 

 It gave me sincere pleasure to notice that the discussion, save in a few cases 

 where natural coarseness had the upper hand, was conducted with a minimum 

 of vituperation. The severity shown was hardly more than sufficient to demon- 

 strate earnestness, while gentlemanly feeling was too predominant to permit 

 that earnestness to contract itself to bigotry or to clothe itself in abuse. It was 

 probably the memory of this discussion which caused another excellent friend 

 of mine to recommend to my perusal the exceedingly able work which in the 

 next article I have endeavored to review. 



