MORNING WATCHWORDS. January, 1874. 1 Th. Redeeming the time.-Col. iv. 5. 2 Fr. 3 Sa. 4 S. merchant of that city. Our attention was attract- 5 Mo. All we like sheep have gone astray.-Isa. 9 Fr. 10 Sa. Mat. i. 21. vi. 14. Thy word is a lamp unto my feet.-Ps. cxix. 105. 11 S. 17 Sa. Now is the day of salvation.-2 Cor. vi. 2. 19 Mo. Ye must be born again,—John iii. 7. 20 Tu. Seek ye me, and ye shall live.-Amos. v. 4. 22 Th. Cleanse me from my sins.-Ps. li. 2. Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heary 29 Th. Be not conformed to this world.-Rom. xii. 2. A VISIT TO A GIN PALACE. "No, a Gin Palace." 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 ing and sleek-headed waiter presented himself bowing before us, and beckoned into a hall, at 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 were four velvet-cushioned chairs; a chandelier swung from the centre of the room, and the win[WE can hardly place the letter which dows had not only draperies, but were of ground glass, shutting visitors from the observation of follows under the head of Religious In-passers-by. The waiter shortly gave us seats, telligence, describing, as it does, one of (as it was early in the evening, we found no the most irreligious and anti-religious guests in the room,) and then stood smirking becharacteristics of our land. We think no fore us, as a man who is assured that he has patriotic and Christian man can read this performed his whole duty in an unexceptionable manner. My conductor ordered lemonade. The account by an American lady, Mrs. lemonade came in bottles of oval shape and green M'Nair Wright, of what she saw in one hue; bottles suitable to their surroundings, being 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 But we ignored the hindrance; we said, "Oh!" 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 nine and serves their order. If I didn't come out to tend to 'em, why there's the red check telling tales of me, he! he! its a very complete thing, ha! ha! if you'll excuse me." 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. First-class We went out by the top room. people coming in, bowed and smirked to by all the devil's janitors; second-class, well greeted; third-class no attention paid, good nor ill; fourthclass, scowled at, huffed: "Where's your money? here again, eh; mind you keep still in you." Oh, no matter how they are treated, they will come any way. And from the pennies of all the classes roll up the gin-dealer's gains, and thirtyfive thousand dollars may be invested in decorating the "top" and "first-class room." Letter from Scotland, in Lutheran Observer, July 22, 1873. 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 on social questions involving the welfare of the native community, and in the improvement of existing laws; to the high 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 document, "has been emphatically endorsed by the high authority of Sir Bartle Frere. government of India," it continues, "without pronouncing an opinion upon the matter, cannot but acknowledge the great obligation under which it is laid by the benevolent exertions made by these "The Being Saturday evening, some, if not many--and these After preliminary meetings, the conference itself sideration was: 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 in which many are preparing to go about it, witheat stirring this London as nothing has stirred it for many a day. It will be therefore a time to take advantage of, a time for casting the gospel net on the right side of the ship. All whom the Master has made fishers f 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 missica preachers for these ten days, looking out for ma who have not only the needful gifts, but have been al ready in some measure successful in winning soals. 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 pleasant 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 individual worker, who has already been introduced to 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 Bombay whose name and request for a letter was for 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. each). In one thing almost all were of one mindness and freedom (for not more than five or six minutes that the existing agencies were not at fault, but the agents; that we do not need new or untried modes of working, but a fresh baptism of the Spirit on the workers. 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, warded to her by a Christian soldier, has now 3000 six hundred missionaries, whose blameless examable to tell of a wonderful work of grace going on in ple and self-denying labours are infusing new both these towns, such as has been known in Newvigour into the stereotyped life of the great pop-castle-on-Tyne of late. These tidings deeply stirred 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." "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 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. the meeting. The conference continued until eight "Work! for the Night is Coming." The next con- The conference has greatly cheered and gladdened PREPARATIONS. There is the sound of preparation heard all around 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 sailor correspondents, in 194 out of the 222 ships of which is supplementary to the written correspondence says of 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 spirit, in the multitude of His instruments, even used 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 told 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 moment 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 men. 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 be spoken to in a friendly spirit about their salvation, and they receive appeals on this subject with a degree of seriousness equal to that which our average Protestants show. I am in a position to say that through all Ireland there is abundant access." These are the well-considered words of one of the keenest observers of Irish life. They may strike some with surprise, and they will fill many with joy and hope. For centuries it has been the habit to think of L the Irish Roman Catholic mind as closed to every Protestant approach. It is being felt at last that much of that impression is traditional; that when the approach is made by one who simply loves Christ, it is often met half-way. No doubt causes have been operative which are slowly dislodging many false impressions from the Irish Roman Catholic; and no doubt the deepening spirituality of the Protestant is only one sign of a spiritual movement that covers the entire country. Yet the fact already stated is the main thing, and it is supported by innumerable testimonies. At a recent meeting of colporteurs, where they expressed themselves freely on the difficulty of their work, hatred from the Roman Catholics was not even mentioned, but the "bad and heartless conduct of nominal Protestants" was placed in the foreground. 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 encouragement of knowing that what springs from it is strong; Many years ago, under the teaching of the noble-minded Dr. Carlile, a man and his wife were brought to Christ, and soon after left the Church of Rome. Later still they emigrated to Australia, where the man suffered no distance or inconvenience to prevent his attendance at the Sabbath service. Having resided there for nine years, he returned and met the priest, who asked him when he had been last at confession. "Upwards of thirty years ago," he replied: and to the proffered service of a curate to hear him at once, continued, "I make my confessions to the Lord Jesus Christ, and have forgotten the way to confess to man: you might as well remove a mountain as induce me to go back to a mass." He died at a good old age, in the spring of this year, and among his last words were-"I know in whom I have believed. He is my great High-priest. I would not give up my confi dence in Him for all the world." 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 (London: Partridge).—This book fully maintains the standard of the author's former excellent writings. For interesting, winning illustration and enforcement of the simple Gospel, they are in their way beThe narrative of Ruth is here treated yond many. 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 give 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 succeed 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. "What if I had been Death?" 134. 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. very simply, but touchingly and also wisely; the 196. Ye who are Young, Come to Jesus! An affectionate appeal to the young to consider the claims of religion. EIGHT-PAGE TRACT, price 2s. per 100, post free. Members of the Congregation in his District. We especially recommend it as a gift-book for young 523. New Year's Letter from an Elder to the women, who will, we doubt not, be attracted by it, and who may be brought through it to give themselves to the Saviour-as the Bridegroom of their souls. The Story of Morarian Missions in Greenland and Labrador; by H. L. L., one of the authors of Hymns from the Land of Luther (London & Edinburgh: Nelson & Sons).-This instructive and delightful little work is a real story-book for interest, with the advantage, which both children and old people will appreciate, that it is quite true. We have nothing more touching and fascinating in Christian missions, than the narrative of the self-denying labours and sufferings of Hans Egede and his Moravian fellow-workers in the dismal regions of the frozen north. And no one could be found better fitted to tell the story than the gifted authoress of Hymns from the Land of Luther. Christ in the Tabernacle (illustrated by twelve chromo-lithographs); by Frank H. White (London: Partridge).We recommended this devout, instructive, A very earnest, appropriate, and seasonable advice, by an eminent elder of the Christian Church. It would be difficult to find anything more suitable for distribution by every elder in his congregational district; and it should be circulated in tens of thousands. 575. Robert Flockhart, the Street Preacher. An interesting memoir of a simple-minded and earnest Christian man. 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. 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 48. 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 38. 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, 68.; 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 BRITISH MESSENGER, from 1865 to 1873. GOSPEL TRUMPET, from 1867 to 1873 (except 1868). GOOD NEWS, ILLUSTRATED, for 1870, 1871, 1872, and 1873, price 6d. each, post free. The above are particularly well adapted for presentation volumes, for lending in Mission districts, and for Reward Books 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., PETER DRUMMOND, STIRLING. NEW SERIES.-No. 146.-FEBRUARY. Price 1d. RELIGIOUS MOVEMENT IN THE 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 useful ness; or He may acknowledge labours done with 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 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 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. 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. The 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 introducing 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 |