32 Edward Livingston Youmans. 



them partly to some subtle influence emanating from 

 the eccentric Uncle Good, partly to the antislavery 

 agitation, which seemed to be fast destroying all rever- 

 ence for the Church. Scarcely a Sunday passed but 

 the sermon just heard or the book last read gave rise 

 to animated discussion, which on her part often ended 

 in tears. Since among the evidences of Christianity 

 miracles were most relied on and most discussed, it 

 was almost inevitable that as time went on the trouble 

 deepened and the skepticism of the doubters was 

 strengthened. On the part of the young people there 

 was a painful urgency to make a clear defense of their 

 position to their own minds at least, even if they could 

 not convince their parents. This was no doubt a pow- 

 erful motive toward inquiry into the origin of things 

 and the causes of the natural processes going on around 

 us. For example, the mother's arguments confounded 

 the events of the gospel miracles with the mysterious 

 natural processes of birth and death, of growth and 

 decay, and the children were challenged to explain 

 any of these mysteries. Science studied under such 

 circumstances would not remain in their eager minds 

 in the fragmentary state in which it is apt to be pre- 

 sented in text-books. Its elements tended toward co- 

 ordination and organization into a coherent unity that 

 might help one's conceptions of how the world is made 

 and governed. 



In such discussions the rationalistic freethinking 

 side was always represented by Edward, and he had 

 to bear the full responsibility of it. He was often 

 told that he was fast tending to " infidelity," and lead- 

 ing the other children along with him ; and " infidel- 

 ity " was of course the worst imaginable form of wick- 

 edness. The age has fortunately gone by (whatever 



