Genre Religion. Page - 7

e sure they would now add to their former pridewhat malice and rage against Shaddai, and against his Son, theycould. Wherefore, roving and ranging in much fury from place toplace, if, perhaps, they might find something that was the King's,by spoiling of that, to revenge themselves on him; at last theyhappened into this spacious country of Universe, and steer theircourse towards the town of Mansoul; and considering that that townwas one of the chief works and delights of King Shaddai, what dothey but, after counsel taken, make an assault upon that. I say,they knew that Mansoul belonged unto Shaddai; for they were therewhen he built it and beautified it for himself. So when they hadfound the place, they shouted horribly for joy, and roared on it asa lion upon the prey, saying, 'Now we have found the prize, and howto be revenged on King Shaddai for what he hath done to us.' Sothey sat down and called a council of war, and considered withthemselves what ways and methods they had best to engage

d he had worked on it a design of the village in which they lived. Mary's idea now was to fill this basket with flowers, and to offer it to the young Countess as her birthday present. Her father readily fell in with the plan, and added a finishing touch to it by weaving Amelia's name in on one side of the basket and the Count's coat-of-arms on the other.

The long-expected day arrived, and early in the morning Mary gathered the freshest and most beautiful roses, the richest pinks, and other flowers of beautiful colours. She picked out some green branches full of leaves, and arranged them in the basket, so that all the colours, though perfectly distinct, were sweetly and delicately blended. A light garland composed of rosebuds and moss was passed around the basket, and Amelia's name could be distinctly read enclosed in a coronet of forget-me-nots. The basket when completed was a thing of uncommon beauty.

When Mary went to the Castle with her basket-present, the young Countess Amelia was sitting at

hionable education in fault. 6. Sobriety. Definition of the term. An anecdote. Love of mental and bodily excitement usually connected. 7. Industry. How to judge whether a person is industrious. 8. Early rising. A mark of industry. Late rising difficult of cure. 9. Frugality. Its importance shown. 10. Personal Neatness. Its comforts. 11. A good temper. Its importance illustrated. 12. Accomplishments. 263-305

CHAPTER VII.

--CRIMINAL BEHAVIOR.

Section I. Inconstancy and Seduction.--Constancy. Its importance illustrated by an example. Cruelty of sporting with the affections of a female. Opinion of Burgh. 306-313

Section II. Licentiousness.--Most common in cities. New Orleans. Hint to legislators. A horrid picture. Not wholly imaginary. Avoid the first erring step. Example of premature decrepitude. Anecdote of C. S. Solitary vice. This vice compared with intemp

f his words and acts, the trifles he never considers,--is tremendous. Every moment of life he is changing to a degree the life of the whole world. Every man has an atmosphere which is affecting every other. So silent and unconsciously is this influence working, that man may forget that it exists.

All the forces of Nature,--heat, light, electricity and gravitation,-- are silent and invisible. We never see them; we only know that they exist by seeing the effects they produce. In all Nature the wonders of the "seen" are dwarfed into insignificance when compared with the majesty and glory of the "unseen." The great sun itself does not supply enough heat and light to sustain animal and vegetable life on the earth. We are dependent for nearly half of our light and heat upon the stars, and the greater part of this supply of life-giving energy comes from invisible stars, millions of miles from the earth. In a thousand ways Nature constantly seeks to lead men to a keener and deeper realization

ons. When our Lord commanded His Apostles to go forth and make disciples of all nations, and they went forth to carry out this command, they gave to every nation to which they came the Church in its completeness with powers of perpetuity. To every nation were given the Christian Faith, the Apostolic Ministry, the Sacraments and the Christian Worship or Liturgy. Hence there {14} sprung up national Churches, all equal and having union with one another in these four essentials of Christian Truth and Order. The Episcopal Church in the United States by reason of its origin, history and character is to be regarded as one of these national churches and the name which is to embody this idea will no doubt be found and set forth by the proper ecclesiastical authority in due time. It is difficult to say just how the name "Protestant Episcopal" came into use, but it has always been a hindrance to our growth because it requires so much to be said in explanation, which is always a disadvantage. Meantime the name "American

hose of LutheranPastors. Put all this together and say if the human race hasever presented a more unlovely aspect. When we try to find thebrighter spots they are chiefly where civilisation, as apartfrom religion, has built up necessities for the community, suchas hospitals, universities, and organised charities, asconspicuous in Buddhist Japan as in Christian Europe. We cannotdeny that there has been much virtue, much gentleness, muchspirituality in individuals. But the churches were empty husks,which contained no spiritual food for the human race, and had inthe main ceased to influence its actions, save in the directionof soulless forms.This is not an over-coloured picture. Can we not see, then,what was the inner reason for the war? Can we not understandthat it was needful to shake mankind loose from gossip and pinkteas, and sword-worship, and Saturday night drunks, and self-seeking politics and theological quibbles--to wake them up andmake them realise that they stand upon a narro

THE VEDAS, BRÂHMANAS AND THEIR PHILOSOPHY

The Vedas and their antiquity.

The sacred books of India, the Vedas, are generally believed to be the earliest literary record of the Indo-European race. It is indeed difficult to say when the earliest portions of these compositions came into existence. Many shrewd guesses have been offered, but none of them can be proved to be incontestably true. Max Müller supposed the date to be 1200 B.C., Haug 2400 B.C. and Bâl [email protected]âdhar Tilak 4000 B.C. The ancient Hindus seldom kept any historical record of their literary, religious or political achievements. The Vedas were handed down from mouth to mouth from a period of unknown antiquity; and the Hindus generally believed that they were never composed by men. It was therefore generally supposed that either they were taught by God to the sages, or that they were of themselves revealed to the sages who were the "seers" ([email protected]@tâ_) of the hymns. Thus we find that when some time had elapsed after the composition of the Vedas, people had come to look upon them not only as very old, but so old that they had, theoretically at least, no beginning in time, though they were believed to have been revealed at some unknown remote period at the beginning of each creation.

e, and will do better next time. The trouble, the pain, we havebrought on ourselves by our ignorance, we note, as showing that we havedisregarded a law, and we profit by the additional knowledge in thefuture.

Thus understanding conscience, we shall not take it as a basis ofmorality, but as our best available individual light. We shall judgeour conscience, educate it, evolve it by mental effort, by carefulobservation. As we learn more, our conscience will develop; as we actup to the highest we can see, our vision will become ever clearer, andour ear more sensitive. As muscles develop by exercise, so consciencedevelops by activity, and as we use our lamp it burns the more brightly.But let it ever be remembered that it is a man's own experience thatmust guide him, and his own conscience that must decide. To overrule theconscience of another is to induce in him moral paralysis, and to seekto dominate the will of another is a crime.

* * * * *

UTILITY

rld the same stern yet wholesome discipline under which the Western had been restored to life.

The Egyptian and Syrian Churches, therefore, were destined to labour not for themselves, but for us. The signs of disease and decrepitude were already but too manifest in them. That very peculiar turn of the Graeco-Eastern mind, which made them the great thinkers of the then world, had the effect of drawing them away from practice to speculation; and the races of Egypt and Syria were effeminate, over-civilised, exhausted by centuries during which no infusion of fresh blood had come to renew the stock. Morbid, self- conscious, physically indolent, incapable then, as now, of personal or political freedom, they afforded material out of which fanatics might easily be made, but not citizens of the kingdom of God. The very ideas of family and national life-those two divine roots of the Church, severed from which she is certain to wither away into that most godless and most cruel of spectres, a religious world-had p

s a new and a miraculous revelation superseding the old revelation of fifteen hundred years ago, when Thou didst so repeatedly tell the people: "The truth shall make you free." Behold then, Thy "free" people now!' adds the old man with sombre irony. 'Yea!... it has cost us dearly.' he continues, sternly looking at his victim. 'But we have at last accomplished our task, and--in Thy name.... For fifteen long centuries we had to toil and suffer owing to that "freedom": but now we have prevailed and our work is done, and well and strongly it is done. ....Believest not Thou it is so very strong? ... And why should Thou look at me so meekly as if I were not worthy even of Thy indignation?... Know then, that now, and only now, Thy people feel fully sure and satisfied of their freedom; and that only since they have themselves and of their own free will delivered that freedom unto our hands by placing it submissively at our feet. But then, that is what we have done. Is it that which Thou has striven for? Is this the k