MORNING WATCHWORDS. January, 1874. 1 Th. Redeeming the time.-Col. iv. 5. 2 Fr. The wages of sin is death.-Rom. vi. 23. 6 Tu. Ye... merchant of that city. Our attention was attract- 5 Mo. All we like sheep have gone astray.-Isa. 7 W. 8 Th. 9 Fr. 10 Sa. vi. 14. Thy word is a lamp unto my feet.-Ps. cxix. 105. 11 S. Take heed how ye hear.-John viii. 18. men.-John i. 4. 19 Mo. Ye must be born again.—John iii. 7. 22 Th. Cleanse me from my sins.-Ps. li. 2. Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heary lxxxiv. 7. 31 Sa. Buy the truth, and sell it not.-Prov. xxiii. 23. "No, a Gin Palace." hall dark; tables cut, dented, and filthy; rough wooden benches ranged around; small-paned, dirty windows; and for occupants, alas! alas! one man drunk; one woman drunk; two poor babies sitting on the floor; three women, two with young babes on their arms, drinking themselves drunk; through the grime and smoke came the noise of a young girl swearing, and the wail of a little babe. The servant pulled the door shut, shrugged his shoulders, and tried to put a better face on the matter by showing a "Lavatory" for first-class. "And here's the new bells," he said. "You notice there were twelve tables, and here in this frame are numbers from one to twelve; keep your eye on nine, I'll go ring for table nine." He went back to the splendid room, where so many begin to go down to that awful "habitual drinker's place," and presently there was a whirr and a ring, and number nine disappeared as by magic, and in its place a hateful red eye popped out and began staring. Back came the man of explanations. "You see, sir and madam, when a bell rings the number slips by, and the red check comes out. I hears the bell in the top room; I comes and sees which bell rung; then I does this (he touched a spring and the eye was replaced by number nine), and I runs on to table If I didn't come nine and serves their order. His briskness was to cover up the passing of a staggering wharfman, a withered crone, and a ragged matron with a sick child and a forlorn young girl-all to that dismal den. How often we have heard of such a place, hitherto unseen. "A Gin Palace, the inside wood-work and mirrors of which cost fifteen hundred pounds. We will go in; all you have to do is to use your eyes to the best advantage." We entered. The counters were of shining mahogany; so were the shelves, wine closets and desks. The floor was covered with fresh sawdust, and at either end of each counter was a huge hogshead of beautifully-finished and polished oak, with white metal hoops. There was plenty of gaslight and glitter, and a most excellent neatness and order. A white-aproned, smil-out to tend to 'em, why there's the red check telling and sleek-headed waiter presented himself ing tales of me, he! he! its a very complete thing, bowing before us, and beckoned into a hall, at ha! ha! if you'll excuse me." the end of which we were ushered into an elegant apartment. The walls from floor to ceiling were of mahogany in carved panels, the carpet was Brussels in glowing colours; there were twelve mahogany tables in the room, at each of which We went out by the top room. First-class were four velvet-cushioned chairs; a chandelier people coming in, bowed and smirked to by all A VISIT TO A GIN PALACE. swung from the centre of the room, and the win- the devil's janitors; second-class, well greeted; dows had not only draperies, but were of ground third-class no attention paid, good nor ill; fourth[WE can hardly place the letter which glass, shutting visitors from the observation of class, scowled at, huffed: "Where's your money? follows under the head of Religious In- passers-by. The waiter shortly gave us seats, here again, eh; mind you keep still in yon." telligence, describing, as it does, one of (as it was early in the evening, we found no Oh, no matter how they are treated, they will the most irreligious and anti-religious guests in the room,) and then stood smirking be- come any way. And from the pennies of all the characteristics of our land. We think no fore us, as a man who is assured that he has classes roll up the gin-dealer's gains, and thirtypatriotic and Christian man can read this performed his whole duty in an unexceptionable five thousand dollars may be invested in decoratmanner. My conductor ordered lemonade. The ing the "top" and "first-class room." account by an American lady, Mrs. lemonade came in bottles of oval shape and green Letter from Scotland, in Lutheran Observer, M'Nair Wright, of what she saw in one hue; bottles suitable to their surroundings, being | July 22, 1873. of our largest cities, without trembling as unable to stand erect as a drunken man. Havfor the future of our country, and resolving received a piece of silver, the waiter vanished ing, by God's grace, to do what in him for change, and came bringing it in a large pocket of his canvas apron. The gentleman having relies to put down such centres of tempta-ceived the change, dropped "thripence" of it into tion and ruin as she graphically describes. We may differ in part about the way of doing so. But let us begin in God's strength, and work together as far as we can: one step taken will help to show us the next.] Our first letter held discourse of churches and preaching, of seats of gospel light; perhaps it may not be altogether inappropriate now to pass to the converse, and show a synagogue of Satan. Our second letter described the beauties of the Necropolis, and St. Mungo's Cathedral, once a fountain of light. We have since stood at a fountainhead of desolation, have seen that which has helped to people, untimely, not only some of the sculptured aisles of the Necropolis, but acres of potter's fields. Not long ago, just as it was growing twilight, we were passing down a popular street in Glasgow, with an elderly relative, a well-known the servitor's ready hand, and he at once disposed "Gin Palace." First he drew our attention to a RELIGIOUS INTELLIGENCE AND NOTES OF THE MONTH. INDIA. A REMARKABLE testimony to the character and results of missionary work in our Eastern empire has recently appeared in an official document which not even prejudice can disregard. It is a "Statement exhibiting the Moral and Material Progress and Condition of India during the year 1871-72," given forth by the government of India, and printed by order of the House of Commons, Amid the mass of carefully digested facts, the subject of missionaries and missions occupies a conspicuous place. Testimony is borne in the first place to the harmonious working and mutual helpfulness of the thirty-five missionary societies which labour in India, Burmah, and Ceylon; to the important aid which the government has received from their suggestions ou social questions involving the welfare of the native community, and in But we ignored the hindrance; we said, "Oh!" the improvement of existing laws; to the high and blandly opened the door. Air foul; room educational value of their labours; and to the great stimulus which their linguistic and philosophical, as well as religious publications, have given to native scholarship, and to the production of works of native authorship. The document then estimates the number of Christian converts (Protestant) at 318,363; but it adds that the missionaries are not alone in holding that no statistical figures such as these can give a fair view of all that has been effected in India during the brief period of two generations; that many distinguished residents in India, and experienced officers of government, have accepted the view that the effect of missionary labours has extended far beyond the actual converts to Christianity; that the entire population has been powerfully affected; that new religious ideas have been awakened, and a higher standard of moral obligation and conduct set up; that caste prejudices are breaking up; and that idolatrous worship is perceptibly losing ground, -in a word, that missionary work is silently producing a revolution. "This view," adds the Being Saturday evening, some, if not many--and these other than ministers-to whom it is the time of preparation for the work of the Lord's-day, were unable to be present; though no doubt some were there who could not have been present had it been any other evening of the week. After preliminary meetings, the conference itself began at 5-30 P.M., under the presidency of Mr. S. A. Blackwood; who, after praise, and prayer by the Rev. C. F. Cobb, shortly explained the object of the conference, and stated that the special subject for con"What are the existing hindrances to sideration was: Christian work." The Rev. J. Thain Davidson then read an opening paper on the subject: it was an admirable one, dealing with the subject under the three leading Christian graces of faith, love, and hope, enumerating what in the case of each of these was greatly lacking in the Christian Then a number of workers spoke with much earnestworkers, as accounting for much of the want of success. ness and freedom (for not more than five or six minutes each). In one thing almost all were of one mind in which many are preparing to go about it, wither stirring this London as nothing has stirred it for many a day. It will be therefore a time to take advantag of, a time for casting the gospel net on the right side of the ship. All whom the Master has made fishers é men should be ready to go a fishing: and let me ask the prayers of your readers for a great blessing on the simple preaching of the gospel at such a time. Many of the Established Churches have secured their missice preachers for these ten days, looking out for me who have not only the needful gifts, but have been al ready in some measure successful in winning socks, We trust that some of the Evangelical Churches will secure such men as Mr. Moody and his companion in labour Mr. Sankey, men whom the Lord has so highly honoured in revival work already. It is very pleasan: to be able to write a letter for the first number of the British Messenger for a new year telling of such things in the midst of the capital of the British empire. AMONG SAILORS. But now let me say a word about the work of one document, "has been emphatically endorsed by that the existing agencies were not at fault, but the individual worker, who has already been introduced Two of those who spoke, Mr. Pearsall Smith and Ned Wright (as he is familiarly called) had just come, the one from Derby and the other from Birmingham, the high authority of Sir Bartle Frere. "The government of India," it continues, “without pro-working, but a fresh baptism of the Spirit on the workers. agents; that we do not need new or untried modes of nouncing an opinion upon the matter, cannot but acknowledge the great obligation under which it is laid by the benevolent exertions made by these six hundred missionaries, whose blameless example and self-denying labours are infusing new vigour into the stereotyped life of the great pop-castle-on-Tyne of late. ulations placed under English rule, and are preparing them to be in every way better men and better citizens of the great empire in which they dwell." able to tell of a wonderful work of grace going on in both these towns, such as has been known in NewThese tidings deeply stirred the meeting. The conference continued until eight o'clock, and was closed with prayer by Rev. J. Matheson, and the singing of the hymn so well known, "Work! for the Night is Coming." The next con ference is to be held, God willing, in Mr. Henry Varley's tabernacle, Notting Hill, on Friday, the 27th of February. "We have," writes an Indian missionary, Dr. Murray Mitchell, after quoting the exact words of the document at much greater length, "we have often heard complaints about rose-coloured missionary reports. So far as India is concerned, readers will now be able to judge whether the statement given by missionaries are of a different hue from the calm, official declarations of the in one place with one accord. Indeed the hopefulness Indian government." LONDON. CONFERENCE OF CHRISTIAN WORKERS. THERE have been many deeply interesting meetings in that place of prayer, Mildmay Park Conference Hall; but the hall never presented such a sight as was witnessed there on the evening of Saturday last, the 29th November, when upwards of 1300 Christian workers met for conference and prayer in regard to this work. It was the first of the quarterly conferences which it has been resolved to hold in various places in the metropolis. Admission was by ticket only, and great care was taken that tickets should be given only to workers. Applicants for tickets had to state the mission they represented, or the work they engaged in, ere they received them; and in this way upwards of 1400 tickets were issued. These workers, men and women, were of all ranks and classes of society, and of all denominations and sections of the church of Christ; and while not a few ministers were present, the immense majority were simply members of the church devoting so much, or it may be the whole, of their time to the Master's work. It was indeed a grand sight to see such a gathering-it was no review on the parade-ground, of holiday soldiers in a time of peace; it was a muster of good soldiers in time of war on the battle-field itself. And if the assembly of so many actual workers was a sight for which to thank God and take courage, the knowledge that after all we had before us only a portion of those engaged in evangelistic work in this great Home Mission-field made the sight still more cheering. your readers, and whose work among those who man our ships of war has grown in a marvellous way from very small beginnings. She who began this work, four years ago, by writing a letter to a sailor at warded to her by a Christian soldier, has now 3000 Bombay whose name and request for a letter was for sailor correspondents, in 194 out of the 222 ships of the navy which are in commission. Miss Weston which is supplementary to the written correspondence sends to each of these a printed letter every month, which she regularly keeps up. Giving an account of her work for the year 1872-1873, Miss W. says of looked for, and the disappointment if the expected these letters:-"The eagerness with which they are mail fails to bring them, are the best proofs that they are welcome visitors; while the earnest words of seamen who have told me that 'such a letter was the means of their deciding for Jesus,' and such another 'a blessing and cheering to their souls,' proves that the The conference has greatly cheered and gladdened the hearts of all, and encourages us to hope great things from the Lord, when He put it into the heart of so many of the labourers in His vineyard to meet together spirit, in the multitude of His instruments, even used lament. with which the greater number also spoke regarding the work was of itself cheering, in the midst of the little success, comparatively speaking, which some had to They spoke as men who knew they were on the winning side, the cause which must prevail. "He must reign until all his enemies be made his footstool." The very fact of such a meeting being possible was of itself an omen of blessing. We cannot but look for great things done in the new year which is so near at hand. PREPARATIONS. There is the sound of preparation heard all around us here in London for the ten days' mission in the Church of England recommended for the beginning of February, by the Bishops of London, Winchester, and Rochester, within whose dioceses this great metropolis lies. That such a mission should be so recommended is something of itself to fill every one who loves the Lord Jesus Christ in sincerity with feelings of much thankfulness. In the present state of matters in this church the contemplated mission work is a token for good which all should hail with gladness. We understand that it will be very generally, if not universally, taken up by the Established Church in London; and we trust that the other Evangelical Churches will take advantage of such a season. The Congregational Union, we understand, are discussing the propriety of taking part in a similar work, and doubtless the Presbyterian Churches will also co-operate. There is the certainty almost that the Ritualists will use the season and the machinery for their own purposes, to lead away disciples after them: so all the more reason for the friends of the gospel being awake and up and doing at such a time. Such an effort cannot be made in the systematic way this humble one. I have reason to know that they are read by officers of all ranks, as well as by men and boys; and thus my desire from the commencement 'to say an earnest word to each soul alone' is fulfilled. I look on the work as carried on as the Lord wills, from month to month and even from week to week: but be it so, is not the Christian life described as one of faith on the Son of God?' I was asked a short time ago by a Christian lady of rank how I obtained sufficient means to carry on this work?' I tokl her that I look for means to Him who holds the key of the world's treasury in His hand-"The silver and the gold are mine, saith the Lord.' With a fixed purpose to stop the work rather than encounter any debt, I have gone on looking step by step to the Lord: I can truly say, 'He has supplied all my need.' At this mo ment of writing the funds are low; but I feel more strongly than ever, that He who gave me the work, the strength to carry it on, the increase, and the blessing, will give the money needed." We may add that Miss Weston sends, in addition to her printed monthly letters and her written correspondence, boxes of books and tracts to the various ships, and that she has been led to visit the sailors on their return to our own shores and by personal intercourse to deepen the impression pro duced by her letters. She has also actively promoted the establishment of total abstinence among the menl. In her case we see, as we so often do in the kingdom of God, how the little grain of mustard seed cast into the ground and taking root grows into a great tree, so that the fowls of the air lodge in the branches thereof. Surely we should remember both the work and the worker before the throne of grace. IRELAND. HOPEFUL SIGNS. "THE mass of Roman Catholics are quite willing to The colporteur sows the seed: he leaves it to grow as God will order. Two girls have become Protestants in one district; in another five persons have left the Church of Rome; in another a schoolmaster and his wife have lost their situation by confessing Christ; in a fourth a schoolmaster wishes to leave, that he may have freedom to follow his convictions; and this is all through reading the Douay Bible. The Roman Catholic clergy are often personally friendly, although compelled to carry out the rigid rule of their ecclesiastical superiors. The nuns in one neighbourhood impound a New Testament which the colporteur has sold, and on the plea that the family could not understand it; but they take it to read it themselves. In a house where the husband is a Roman Catholic and the wife a Protestant, they buy two copies of the New Testament, the ordinary and the Douay version, so as to compare them. So in every way Christ is preached, and the Word of God has free course. "When they have not the few pence to buy a copy of the Scriptures," a colporteur says, "they want me to take eggs for payinent." Neither the ignorance nor bigotry of the people, and both are often great, quite hinders the good work. "One woman told me, if the priest was on one side of the altar and Christ on the other, she would believe the priest first: but another said she believed in Christ only for forgiveness of sins, and not in any priest. I visited fourteen families, most of whom could not read a word. One old woman told me she did not know the meaning of the Bible, and had never heard of the gospel of Jesus; she prayed on her beads, and confessed to the priest twice a year: but when I talked to her of the death of the Lord, and how we were to rest in the atonement, and how that was enough, she broke out at last, saying, 'Glory be to God!"" Even in one place where the people are illiterate, and submissive to human priesthood, and reject the news of salvation, "I went into a house where they received me very kindly, and got telling the way of salvation, and prayed with them: and in another I got speaking as long as I wanted of redemption through the blood of Jesus; and in a place where I met with some who could not read a word, they paid good heed while I spoke of the love of God in sending His Son to die, for they all acknowledged they were sinners, and invited me to call that way again." GOOD FRUIT. Those who thus sow the seed have also the encour agement of knowing that what springs from it is strong; He is my great and brilliantly illustrated book in its first edition, and need not repeat our recommendation. We observe several changes which we think decided improvements in this edition. The Early Heroes of the Temperance Reformation; by William Logan (Glasgow: Scottish Temperance League; London: Houlston & Sons). This is an interesting book, well-conceived and wellexecuted. It is not a complete history of the temperance movement; but is more effective than a formal history. A series of living pictures is made to pass before our eyes, of men who (some of them) deserved to be called heroes; since, at the expense of personal self-denial, of exposure to the charge of Quixotism and folly, and amid much coldness or positive condemnation even by good men, they inaugurated a new warfare against one of the giant enemies of mankind. Even those who do not concur in all their methods must Another instance possesses exceptional interest. On the wild western coast of Ireland, a little boy, gathering weed and shell-fish one summer's evening about twenty years ago, lost his footing, and fell so severely as to be lame for life. His father was blind, the support of the family lay upon the mother, and as the famine was only disappearing the times were hard. The boy, whose family was Roman Catholic, had been attending the Mission school, and it was now proposed that, owing to his lameness, he should prepare to be a teacher. He took a high place at a training school, and received an appointment as master in Kingstown. "I was then living," he wrote, "in a semi-careless, unsaved condition. About the beginning of 1865 it pleased the Lord to give me salvation through trust in Christ." Taking a school in Dublin, he seized many opportunities to speak to the poor people in the houses and garrets. I always gave two or three hours every evening to the work of visiting, and it pleased the Lord to bring some from dark-honour their self-denying efforts; and the most rejuness to His blessed light." His next appointment was to a private school in England, where the pronounced Ritualism of the principal and in the parish church compelled him to leave, writing to his former minister in Ireland, "If my case should be the means of giving you fresh courage to 'sow beside all waters,' I should indeed bless the Lord." He next turned up in the United States, at Memphis in Tennessee, having been ordained a minister of the Baptist Church, and appointed a professor in a southern college. Ill health now broke him down, and after vain pursuit of a climate that would stay his disease, he lay down to die at Colorado Springs. Yet not without rally, and hope of being able to start for Ireland, "and to preach Christ" in the May of this year. His work, however, was done; and the little Irish boy, "suffering a great deal, but one of the most patient men I have ever seen," lies "among the pines in the shadows of the Rocky Mountains." A veteran colporteur has a manuscript book in which he has recorded the names of 205 persons, men, women, and children, who, during his stay in the district, left the Church of Rome. Many emigrated; and one was afterwards found preaching the gospel in the streets of New York: but several remained, and all have been steadfast. At the Conference summoned by the Evangelical Alliance to New York, the paper on Ireland was immediately preceded by the singing of a hymn that begins, "The morning light is breaking.' Those who know the country best believe they see that light, "hues of the rich unfolding morn" that spread across the sky, the welcome and promise of a New Year. There are, besides Irish hearts, countless others that sin has darkened. May it be a New Year to many; the year of a new birth, the first of a new life, the year when one and another will say, looking thankfully to Jesus, One thing I know, that whereas I was blind, now I see! New Books. The Kinsman-Redeemer; by a Glasgow Merchant that the little book is much fitted for usefulness. The Story of Moravian Missions in Greenland and Christ in the Tabernacle (illustrated by twelve chromo-lithographs); by Frank H. White (London: Partridge). We recommended this devout, instructive, diced can hardly deny the good they have effected in society, nor the probability that, directly and indirectly, much greater good is yet to result from their work. Notices. Literary communications, Books for review, &c., to be addressed to the Rev. WILLIAM TAYLOR, M.A., STIRLING. Business Letters and Orders for the Publications, with Money Orders, TO BE ADDRESSED TO PETER DRUMMOND, STIRLING, N.B. Specimens of the Publications, with Catalogue, sent post free. Ap, ly to PETER DRUMMOND, STIRLING, N.B. WE have received several small legacies bequeathed to the Enterprise, and have had intimation besides of others on their way. We append a form of bequest, for the guidance of other friends who may think of following so good an example: FORM OF BEQUEST. I, A. B., do hereby gire and bequeath to the "Stirling Tract Enterprise," established by Peter Drummond, seedsman, Stirling, the sum of , free of legacy duty and all expenses; and I hereby direct and appoint my executors to pay the same to the said Peter Drummond, or to the Trustees who may succced him in the management of the said "Enterprise," or their treasurer for the time being. CATALOGUE OF TRACTS. The following New Tracts have just been added to the series: ONE-PAGE TRACTS, price 6d. per 100, post free. 134. "What if I had been Death?" 135. The Loss of the Soul. 136. Whose Servant art Thou? 137. The Restless Bed. 138. A Full and Free Forgiveness. The above five Tracts are all of the most direct, personal, and arresting description, and very suitable for general distribution. TWO-PAGE TRACT, price Sd. per 100, post free. EIGHT-PAGE TRACT, price 2s. per 100, post free. A very earnest, appropriate, and seasonable advice, by an 575. Robert Flockhart, the Street Preacher. TWELVE-PAGE TRACT, price 3s. per 100, post free. 632. Prayer Unions; or, Echoes of Daniel's Song. By Mrs. Barbour. A Tract for the New Year, written in Mrs. Barbour's usual able and earnest manner. OUR TRACT CATALOGUE will be sent free on application to PETER DRUMMOND, Tract and Book Depot, Stirling, N.B. 37. Sam Sweetman; or, The Faithful Servant. 38. Charlotte Clements; or, a Good Neighbour 40. Sissy Young; or, "Thou shalt not Covet." 42. Dan Brown; or, "It will Never be Seen." 43. Jacques Demeric, the Little Drummer. 44. Little Jamie; or, The Cause of Promotion. 46. The Lighted Matches; or, Little Tom's 47. The Two Brothers, and what Echo said The above, as well as Packets I., II., and III., sent post free for 7d. each; or the Tracts separately, post free for 7d. per dozen. Each Tract consists of 12 pages In handsome cover, price 3d. Two copies post free for 6d. A new 16-page Tract, price 48. per 100, or 25 copies for 1s. 3d, Or, The Echoes of Daniel's Song. By MRS. BARBOUR, author of "The Way Home," "The Soul- Gatherer," &c., &c. 12 pages, price 3s. per 100, or 25 copies for In small book form, price 1d. each, or 8s. per 100. Six copies An 8-page Tract, price 2s. per 100. 25 copies post free for 6d. NEW YEAR'S LETTER from an Elder to the Members of the Congregation in his District. An 8-page Tract, price 2s. per 100. 25 copies post free for 6d. STIRLING MONTHLY PERIODICALS:- A Cheap Religious Paper, for the Diffusion of Scriptural Knowledge and the Revival and Promotion of Vital Godliness. Parcels of 4 Monthly, price 4s. per annum; 8, price S., and upwards, sent Post Free. Single Copy One Shilling and Sixpence per annum, post free. Containing Short, Stirring Articles on Religious Subjects, Printed in Large Type, and specially adapted for Price One Halfpenny, or 3s. 6d. per 100. Parcels of 8 Monthly, price 4s. per annum; 16, price 8s., and An Illustrated Religious Paper, suitable for circulation amongst Sabbath Scholars, and general distribution. Is admirably adapted for distribution in mission districts. Parcels of 18, Price Sixpence, or Monthly for One Year, 6s.; THE HALF CROWN PACKET of the above Periodicals, consisting of one British Messenger, one Gospel Trumpet, and one Good News, sent by post monthly for one year for 2s. 6d., includ- THE FOUR SHILLING PACKET, consisting of two British Messengers, two Gospel Trumpets, and three Good News, monthly The Church in the House. A Series of Lessons on the Acts of the Apostles. By Rev. William Arnot, Day by Day: or, Counsels to Christians on the Details of Every-day Life. By Rev. Geo. Everard, M.A., Lyrics of Ancient Palestine. Poetical Illustrations of Old Testament History. Beautifully Illustrated, The Healing Waters of Israel: or, the Story of Naaman the Syrian. By Rev. J. R. Macduff, D.D., RELIGIOUS MOVEMENT IN THE SCOTTISH CAPITAL. WE offer no apology to our readers for departing from the usual plan of our Messenger this month. A remarkable religious awakening has taken place in Edinburgh; the results of which may be so important, that we cannot but notice it at some length.* THE STREETS OF EDINBURGH. A stranger visiting the Scottish capital during the last month of the year 1873 now ended, or the first month of the year now begun, and looking with even a little care on the currents of human life flowing along its streets, would soon become aware of something unusual and remarkable. Every day, before noon, he would see moving lines of well-dressed people converging towards the largest hall in the centre of the town, rapidly filling its seats and crowding its passages. If he inquired into the purpose of this gathering, he would be told that it was a meeting for prayer. Before three o'clock he would perhaps see a similar crowd thronging westward, to fill every available inch of sitting and standing room in one of the largest churches of the city. These people, he would learn, were assembling to study the Word of God on one of the great themes of Christian life—such as the Holy Spirit and His work, or the Assurance of personal Salvation. He would hear that in the evening the two General Assembly Halls, or one or two of the churches in the eastern, southern, or northern quarters of the town would be centres of similar gatherings, and that in consequence of the multitudes, far beyond the capacity of the buildings, who were desirous to be present, admission was to be by ticket, in order to give a fair opportunity to all on successive evenings. Going accordingly to one of these churches he would find it filled from floor to ceiling with an audience of the working classes; and if able to make his way through the blocked-up entrance, he would find them eagerly listening to addresses on the subject of their everlasting salvation. Another evening he would be told there was a crowded meeting in the central Free Assembly Hall, composed of young men exclusively, to be ad As only some of our readers can have seen our special Supplement containing an account of this movement, we make large extracts from it here, along with subsequent details. Still later details are to be given in a second Supplement, particulars as to which will be seen in the advertisement pages of the preeent number. dressed on the subject of salvation and immediate decision for Christ. One day there would be a large morning meeting of Christian young men, to be exhorted and instructed on the subject of work for Christ. On yet another, an evening meeting with children. And so on, day after day. The visitor inquires into the cause of this remarkable religious stir, and learns that it is connected with the presence of two strangers from the United States of North America-Mr. Moody and Mr. Sankey, both of Chicago, who are labouring together in the gospel, with one spirit, but with wholly diverse gifts, which they combine after a new way in the service of Christ. "Mr. Moody will this day (D.V.) preach the gospel, and Mr. Sankey will sing the gospel," is the announcement he reads in the daily prints. "Will sing the gospel" he perhaps says to himself; "is that a scriptural or a legitimate thing? Is it not a human device in God's service, and therefore not acceptable to Him? Is it even the introduction of an element of worldly amusement into Christ's service-an element that may attract crowds as to a theatrical performance, and that, if it is the explanation of this religious stir, is by no means a satisfactory explanation? Yet what he hears of the Christian spirit of these American brethren, and of the good they have effected, makes the questioner suspend his judgment. God, he thinks, is sovereign and very gracious in his working; He is not restricted within the limits we would prescribe to Him: either we may be unscripturally confined in our methods, unwarrantably limiting ourselves and missing usefulness; or He may acknowledge labours done with a sincere heart, and in faith and love, even when there is an admixture of human dross (as, indeed, we know He does, or whose labours would He accept?): therefore we will not let scruples keep us from the place where God's Spirit is said to be working; we will go, and perhaps get good to our own souls; we will go, and perhaps learn ways of usefulness; at all events we will not prejudge, but go and see. A VISITOR'S FIRST IMPRESSIONS. We walk from the railway station, on the forenoon of Wednesday, the 17th December, through a drizzling fog that envelopes the city in its folds, to the Free Assembly Hall. We find the building already nearly full: by and by it will be overflowing; and as this has been announced as an "All-day meeting" for Prayer and Conference on Praise, on the Promises, on Christian Work, and on Heaven, opportunity will be given to us at the end of any hour, if we choose, to retire and surrender our places to new comers, who will Price 1d. keep the hall filled to the close. We are struck with the solemn stillness. One of the Edinburgh ministers is closing some remarks on the subject of Praise, and is followed by Mr. Moody. We listen to a rapid speaker, with a marked American intonation:-it requires a moment or two to habituate our ear to his utterance: but that attained, we forget all peculiarities, in the clearness, earnestness, directness, and telling character of his statements. "Get full of the word of God" is the conclusion of what he says, "and you can't help praising Him." He tells of a young pastor, newly placed over a church, who, finding his prayer-meetings ill attended and lifeless, surprised his people one Sabbath by announcing that there would be no prayer-meeting that week, but a meeting for praise. Curiosity brought out a large gathering of his church: he told them that as they were so reluctant to pray, he wished every one now to look back on his past life, and see if he did not remember something to thank God for, and just to rise up and thank God for it. The result was that one after another rose up, thanking God for this and that mercy, till the hour was over before they were aware, and they went away declaring it to be the best meeting they had ever had; and not only so, but this proved to be the beginning of a revival among them. Then followed Mr. Moody's coadjutor, MR. SANKEY. After a few words of exhortation not to abuse praise in our churches by employing it merely to fill up time, but to utter real praise, Mr. S. explained briefly the principle of his singing, as intended to be a real "teaching." And as he proceeded to sing we felt that it was real teaching. Not merely was there his wonderful voice, which made every word distinctly heard in the remotest corner of the hall, and to which the organ accompaniment was felt to be merely subsidiary; but it was the scriptural thought borne into the mind upon the wave of song, and kept there until we were obliged to look at it, and feel it in its importance and its preciousness. This, then, we saw was not an attempt to convert or revive souls by music; but a method, by the aid of music, of intro Jacing into the mind, and detaining before the mind, God's own appointed instrument of conversion and revival, that by which His Spirit works, even His truth; and of detaining it before the mind until it-the Truth-by the Spirit's blessing, produces its designed effect. We had entered with considerable doubt as to the legitimacy of Mr. Sankey's method; his very first hymn made us feel and see the rationale of his method with a vividness that dispelled our doubts at |