11 



otir crowded towns and cities, support and continually renew a mass of human 

 misery absolutely greater than has ever existed before. They create and main- 

 tain in life-long labor an ever increasing army, whose lot is the more hard to 

 bear by contrasts with the pleasures, the comforts and the luxury which they 

 see everywhere around them, but which they can never hope to enjoy. And 

 who, in this respect are worse off than the savage in the midst of his tribe. 



* * * This is not a result to boast of, or to be satisfied with ; 

 and until there is a more general recognition of this failure of our civilization 

 resulting mainly from our neglect to train and develop more thoroughly the 

 sympathetic feelings of the moral faculties of our nature, and to allow them 

 a larger share of influence in our legislation, our commerce, and our whole 

 social organization, we shall never as regards the whole community, attain to 

 any real or important superiority over the better class of savages." 



There is food for serious reflection iu all this. Our moral theories have a 

 very exalted character, but our practice is bad, — very bad. Christians believe 

 in the heinousness of sin. They hold, for instance, that it were better for the 

 sun and moon to drop from heaven than that one soul should commit a trivial 

 sin, tell one wilful falsehood, although no one should be harmed by it. In 

 contrast to this, Mr. Lecky says : "The time will doubtless come when the 

 man who lays the foundation-stone of a manufacture will, be able to predict 

 with assurance in what proportion the drunkenness and the unchastity of his 

 city will be increased by his enterprise. Yet he will still pursue that enter- 

 prise, and mankind will still pronounce it to be good." * * * Now 

 there is a great and hideous discrepancy here. One for which there is but one 

 remedy. Will society ever shape its conduct by the golden rule? " Love one 

 another," not with word and tongue, but in deed and truth, says the Christ. 

 But what force have these commands upon society as a whole ? How far have 

 they ever permanently influenced the rulers, and the legislators, the general 

 politics and the commerce of any country or of any age ? When have the 

 favored classes, the cultured, the intellectual, those rich by inheritance, and 

 those pre-eminently sucf^essful in trade shown an unselfish spirit ? And yet 

 society exists to secure the happiness, or better, "the blessedness " of all. Ah ! 

 we are reminded here of some verses by a poor and suffering woman, — a child 

 rather, of 16 years, — a "crazy" poetess, who had looked, however, deep into 

 the heart of Christ, and then was frenzied by the cold selfishness of His Chris- 

 tendom. 



They cry, "He comes, — 



The signs are sure : The mystic number is falfilled— 



He comes." 



We answer : O, that he would come. We want 



The Christ I We want d God to burn the truth 



Afresh upon the lorehe?d of the world I 



We want a Man to walk once more among 



The wrangling Pharisees, to drive the beasts 



And money-changers from the temple courts ; 



To briug the Gosyel back again and prove 



Hew all unlike the churches are to Christ! 



We want that Christ to tell again the " saints " 



Their sins, that they were sent to bless the poor, 



And they have sold themselves unto the rich ; 



That they were sent to preach the works of peace. 



And they have filled the world with war of words. 



That they were sent the messengers of love, 



