the lecture was part of a series on the more prominent Christian Churches. After referring to our number being so small, he said: "However, when the subtle, profound, and comprehensive character of many of the New Church principles, the extent to which they have already penetrated and shaped the best thought of the time, and the still greater influence they are from year to year achieving over minds that have no suspicion of either their origin or affiliations, are considered, there is no reason to sneer at the smallness of the body identified with them, or to question its title to a place among the prominent religious organizations of the world. The more thoroughly the character of the Church and its founder is comprehended, the less will be the disposition to speak disparagingly, or to question the providential mission, of either." Again, speaking of his character, the lecturer said: "Though Swedenborg was limited in some directions, his moral character, spiritual insight, and large service to the world must not be underrated. That he was a man of sincerity and highest aims is apparent from his rules of life. He was in a sceptical age a devout believer in spiritual realities; to him they were the only essential and permanent things. In a time of formalism he sought to, and largely did, penetrate the centre and grasp the substance of truth and righteousness. He clearly saw, and emphatically announced, that the supreme fact concerning every soul and determining everything else is character. The notion of transferring one man's sin or another man's virtue by some spiritual jugglery to anybody else was to him more preposterous theoretically and pernicious practically than can be told. The idea of a future grand assize of the universe, when God will personally appear to welcome these to heavenly courts and doom those to fiery caverns, was to him about equally false and blasphemous. Swedenborg saw what so few in his time saw, what so many are now recognising, and perhaps owing their recognition of it to him, that every soul in every state of being makes its own heaven and its own hell; that everywhere, and by the law of its own nature, it necessarily gravitates into just that sphere to which it is entitled, so that God Himself cannot lift a sinful soul to heaven except as He fills it with the spirit of heaven, nor doom a holy soul to hell save by cramming it with error and saturating it with iniquity. For standing upon, proclaiming, and illustrating his grand law of character, binding upon men, angels, God, and demonstrating the impossibility of a soul sneaking into a local heaven wrapped in the white garments of another, or for any other reason other than that its most vital affiliations lead it to God, the Swedish Seer is entitled to no slight gratitude. Not that this principle was new with him. It is as old as the universe. It blazes upon every page of the New Testament. It has been verified in countless experiences, but it had been, and still is, greatly obscured and ignored by men seeking to get into heaven on some other ground than personal righteousness.' Sir Samuel Baker, at the Stanley Banquet held at St. James's Hall, London, on the 7th of February, referred to Africa as follows: "Its history remained unknown. Tribes had been discovered which must have been in existence when the Pentateuch was being written and the creation of man described by Moses. There was not a chiselled stone to be found in the whole of Africa. It was singular that in every portion of that continent domestic fowls were found. Sheep and oxen were similarly found, though wild sheep and oxen were not. Therefore the question arose, Whence came the progenitors of these animals if the people had no intercourse with any other portion of the globe?" Africa is of peculiar interest to New Churchmen on account of the statements which Swedenborg has made respecting its inhabitants. The men of the most Ancient Church which saw in things terrestrial and natural only things spiritual and heavenly, and who cared nothing for worldly things, seem in their high estate to have lived as simply, and with as little regard to perpetuating their memory by sculptures, monuments, and temples as the present inhabitants do of the great continent Sir Samuel describes. The separation of a Congregational minister, the Rev. B. N. Stone, from the church to which he belonged, in Fryeburg, Maine, and the formation of a new church there, with the object of preaching the doctrines of the New Jerusalem, presents a very interesting case, some of whose features it may be desirable to present. Mr. Stone writes that his first theological difficulty was, when a student, as to the received doctrine of the Atonement. And though he had no very clear idea of the way in which this was effected, he became convinced that it must be a reconciliation of man to God, and not vice versa. Becoming, about four years after he entered the ministry, acquainted with the "Compendium of Swedenborg's Writings," he was led to procure and read more of Swedenborg's works, by which his doctrinal views became greatly modified. He heartily accepted the New Church doctrine of the Lord and His work of redemption, though he was not prepared to take the system as a whole. He tried, however, to be open and honest with his church, and read to them a full and clear statement of his belief, which was declared satisfactory by the council. As he continued to study Swedenborg, he came to clearer ideas of his doctrines, and became more and more convinced of their truth; and in his preaching he gave expression to much of this new truth. This was always well received. It soon became gradually known that he was reading Swedenborg, without exciting any great uneasiness among his people. Public attention was first seriously called to his preaching by a Methodist minister who came to Fryeburg the year before last. Personally friendly, he seemed to feel it his duty to warn the people of Mr. Stone's course. He made several scandalous attacks on Swedenborg, and declared everywhere that Mr. Stone was a Swedenborgian in disguise, working to bring his church over to that faith. But he made no great impression by his zealous efforts. Rather he made himself quite unpopular among Mr. Stone's people. Still it caused considerable talk and secret apprehension, which was continued by the visit of revivalists. Afterwards Mr. Stone became more convinced that the time had come for him to declare publicly his belief in the New Church doctrine, and with it to tender his resignation, which was accepted. He had no plan for the future, and no expectation of remaining in Fryeburg, where there were only a few who had like himself been reading and studying the new truth. But he had no reason to suppose that outside that little handful there would be any who would care to follow him under this new name, and leave the Church of their fathers. But in this he was pleasantly mistaken. When the people understood that his doctrines were substantially such as they had heard for the past three years, many began to say, "Let us keep him, if he is a Swedenborgian. A paper expressing a desire for him to remain was presented to the council, signed by about 40 members of the church and 200 of the citizens. As soon as it was known that the request was declined, some of these determined to organize another Society and invite him to preach to them. He consented after becoming well assured that they were actuated by a desire for this new truth, and that the movement would prove permanent. It is now six months since he began his new work. The prospects are bright and encouraging. Good congregations of interested hearers gather every Sunday. The people all through the town are reading New Church tracts and books; and in the present spring the supporters of Mr. Stone hope to build for themselves a place of worship. SUNDAY-SCHOOL LESSONS. THE PIECE OF MONEY FOUND IN THE FISH'S MOUTH. March 24, Morning.-The takers of tribute who asked Peter if his Master paid tribute, signify the corrupt Church which hates truth, but is willing to recognise the Word so far as it can be made to serve its interests. Peter's reply, which differed from the Lord's, shows how differently the Word responds to man when looked at from without or from within. Even the faithful, like Peter, see the truth differently in an external state. The children, the spiritual principle, are free; the strangers, the natural principle, are servants and tributaries. The sea is a type of the literal sense of the Word, and the fish are the natural truths it contains. We go to the sea, like Peter, when we go to the Word in our trials and emergencies to relieve our troubles or supply our wants. We cast a hook when we diligently search the Scriptures with full trust that we shall obtain what we want. The first fish that comes up does not mean the text we come across first in time, but that which is first in regard to our state, and which therefore brings us the tribute-money. We must take it up, elevate it from the great store of truths in the Word into our own minds. We must raise it in our thoughts and affec tions. We must also open its mouth by a right interpretation of the passage before we can obtain the piece of silver it contains. It is therefore the fish which signifies the natural man that furnishes the tribute. JACOB. March 24, Afternoon.-Jacob signifies faith or truth, which is at first alone, and which is liable to be degraded into falsity by a marriage with evil or with one of the daughters of the land. The perception of quality signified by Isaac calling to Jacob forbids his doing so; and the command to him to go to the house of his mother's brother, to rise from his present natural state and travel towards the spiritual state where truth could wed a corresponding affection for good. Jacob's hearkening to his father and mother, and going to Padan-aram, signifies his obedience to the dictates of perception and his accomplishing the desire which a true faith always has to enter into a genuine affection of truth and good. Printed by MUIR AND PATERSON, 14 Clyde Street, Edinburgh, and published by JAMES SPEIRS, 36 Bloomsbury Street, London, W.C. WHAT DOES SWEDENBORG REALLY TEACH? Ninth Edi tion, crown Svo, cloth, 3s. An Appeal in behalf of the BY THE Rev. S. NOBLE. "Here is a volume in which they are honestly expounded and the life and character of Swedenborg honestly described. So that by the perusal of a work of not quite 500 pages every reader can judge for himself who and what Swedenborg was and what he taught. We think that the unprejudiced reader will find that Swedenborg had far better grounds in reason and Scripture, for some of his views at least, than is commonly imagined. Like Professor BUSH of America, we have been astonished at the extent to which Scripture is quoted, and fairly enough too, in support of those views, and at their reasonableness and general harmony with the nature and order of life as indicated by science. . . . We say then to all who want to know what Swedenborg taught: Get this book and read for yourselves." -The Christian Age. Published for the MISSIONARY AND TRACT THIRD EDITION. In foolscap 8vo, cloth gilt, 28.; cloth extra, 2s. 6d. EMANUEL SWEDENBORG, THE SPIRITUAL COLUMBUS. A Sketch by U.S.E. LONDON: JAMES SPEIRS, 36 Bloomsbury Street. EVENING AND THE MORNING. A Narrative. OPINIONS OF THE PRESS. "It is not often that one meets with a book of this kind, so entirely free from religious cant, bigotry, and bitterness, and yet so full of wise and reverent thought and of earnest belief."-The Standard. "We are prepared to admit that it is decidedly interesting, and that in many points it is conclusive and irrefutable. In one great respect we must express a hearty appreciation of the character of this book. It exhibits with much force and clearness the essential relation which exists between a right state of feeling and a reverent belief in God and His Word. . . . We may bespeak for this book an earnest attention, and promise that it will afford both pleasure and profit to those who will read it."-The Literary World. "We have rarely read any treatise, however learned, that was more effective in dealing with the shallow scepticism of the day. . . . We can conceive that it would become a powerful agent for the dissipation of doubt in the mind of any person who should thoroughly grasp its impregnable positions."-The Tatler. "Controversial romances are seldom pleasant reading, but The Evening and the Morning,' while directed against the views maintained in these columns, is an exception to the rule. The victory is given with considerable ability to a sort of good-hearted Swedenborgian Christian, and the book, which is very neatly printed, is above the usual level of novels written for propagandist purposes."-The National Reformer. "Unlike most books of theological controversy, this is not dull; and, though it may be objected that the writer has both sides of the controversy in his own hands, no one will say that he uses his opportunities unfairly."-Morning Advertiser. "The author, who writes a style terse, vigorous, and beautiful, has evidently passed through the several phases of speculation which he puts behind and beneath him with no little dialectical skill."-Ipswich Journal. "The tale before us is written with an excellent purpose. It is the story of a young man who is led gradually from unbelief to Christianity; and though the subject is in itself trite enough, it is not treated in a common-place manner."-Westminster Gazette. "The events are pleasantly related; and the arguments are real arguments, not mere rhetorical ninepins obviously set up for the author to bowl over, and of such feeble stability that the weakest logic would suffice for their subversion."-Intellectual Repository. LONDON: JAMES SPEIRS, 36 Bloomsbury Street. SOHO HILL, BIRMINGHAM. Conducted by T. C. LOWE, B.A. Assisted by highly competent resident Masters, English and Foreign. THE A HE course of instruction comprises thorough English, Ancient and Modern Languages, Mathematics, Physical Science, Music, Singing, Drawing, and Gymnastics. A large number of Pupils have passed University and other Examinations. INCLUSIVE TERMS. Prospectuses on Application. FURNISHED APARTMENTS offered to one or two gentlemen in the house of a New Churchman at Hornsey Rise. Every home comfort. Partial Board if required. Close to Midland Railway and 'Bus. A. X. Mason, Newsagent, 3 Sylvanus Row, Hornsey Rise. Crown 8vo, cloth, 3s. 6d. LONDON: JAMES SPEIRS, 36 Bloomsbury Street. Or, the Holy Supper explained on the principles taught by Emanuel Swedenborg. Svo, sewed, Is. 6d. The Literal and Spiritual Senses In their relations to each other and to the Or the passing away of Ages or Dispensations, LONDON: LONGMANS, GREEN, & Co. POPULAR BIBLE EXPLANATIONS. BY THE REV. DR. BAYLEY. MILTON SMITH & Co., 76 Goswell Road, E C. and all Booksellers. Heaven and Hell, and the Inter mediate State (or Hades). By EMANUEL SWEDENBORG. With Copious Index; and Preface by the late Rev. T. Hartley, M. A., Rector of Winwick, Northamptonshire. So, cloth, 3s. 6d.; Pocket Edition, without preface, etc., 25. : Another edition, entitled, "THE ARE ALSO MANUFACTURERS OF DUNN'S ESSENCE OF COFFEE. AND SOLUBLE CHOCOLATES. Fancy Chocolates of all kinds in Bulk and PENTONVILLE, LONDON. Second Edition, price 6s. TREMADOC SERMONS. CHIEFLY ON The Spiritual Body, the Unseen World, BY THE REV. H. N. GRIMLEY, M. A., Wales, Aberystwyth, and sometime Chaplain of "These sermons form a very edifying and beautiful "Mr. Grimley makes it his aim to show that some of the newest discoveries and speculations of modern science are in perfect harmony with the Christian revelation, and indeed illustrate some of its more obscure and mysterious intimations."-Scotsman. "The author urges all earnest Christians reverently to contemplate the sublime mysteries of the unseen world."- Morning Post. "Professor Grimley impressively dwells on the idea that humanity is ever being inspired and educated by God, and advocates the view that the phenomena of nature are but types of the invisible things of the spiritual world."-Birmingham Daily Gazette. "The volume bears throughout the stamp of originality.. . . . Mr. Grimley speaks because he has something to say."-Bayswater Gazette. Full of freshness and beauty. Some of them are gems."-Nonconformist. FUTURE LIFE," 260 pp., cloth, gilt edges, Is. "Our heaven and hell are essentially our developed characters and consciousness. They are created by the state of our minds and affections, and their visible manifestations grow out of laws which come at once into play when the flesh is laid aside. A man's heaven or hell is not only in himself, but it is himself; and this self he is forming every day, by his love and his life in the world. This moral conduct is continually superinducing upon him the celestial or infernal form, and by a law, too, as invariable as that which brings forth the flower and the fruit in conformity with the quality of the seed. By the same law he is also continually storing away in the inner WILLIE HARPER'S TWO LIVES. chamber of his spirit the material of the scenery which shall go to beautify or deform his eternal dwelling-place. We have in this presentation of the genius of heaven and hell, as given in the visions-if you please to term them-of Emanuel Swedenborg."-The late Professor Bush, of New York. JAMES SPEIRS, London: C. KEGAN PAUL & Co. (successors I. HIS EARTH LIFE. II. HIS HEAVENLY LIFE. LONDON JAMES SPEIRS, 36 Bloomsbury Street. A SERMON TO THE YOUNG. NEW AND RECENT WORKS Our Eternal Homes. By a BIBLE STUDENT. Fifth edition now ready, with the extensive alterations and corrections of the Author, the late Rev. JOHN HYDE; Crown Svo, cloth, 35. Light on the Last Things. By the Rev. W. B. HAYDEN. Just published, foolscap 8vo, cloth, Is. 6d. **For this, the first English edition, the Author has written an additional chapter continuing the history of Hades, besides revising the entire work. Authority in the New Church. By the Rev. R. L. TAFEL, A. M., Ph.D. Now ready, crown 8vo, cloth, 4s. 6d. The Divine Word Opened. By the Third edition, crown Rev. Dr. BAYLEY. The Lord's Prayer. By the Rev. JOHN PRESLAND. Now ready, foolscap 8vo, cloth, 2s. Outlines of the Religion and Philosophy of Swedenborg. By THEOPHILUS PARSONS, LL.D. Now ready, small crown Svo, cloth, 2s. 6d. "An elegant and scholarly little work, which will be regarded with approval in a wider circle than that of the admirers of Swedenborg."-Public Opinion. Swedenborg's Rules of Life. Beauti fully illuminated card, price Sd., or for On Human Science, Good and Evil, cloth, 35. The Nature of Spirit, and of Man as a Spiritual Being. By the Rev. CHAUNCEY GILES. New and improved edition, foolscap 8vo, cloth, Is. 6d. Our Children in the Other Life. By the Rev. CHAUNCEY GILES. Now ready, foolscap 8vo, sewed, 6d.; cloth, IS. The Incarnation, Atonement, and The New Liturgy, Hymns, and Sown in the Spring-Time: Addresses Talks to the Children: Addresses de- LONDON: JAMES SPEIRS, 36 Bloomsbury Street. By the Author of " The Evening and the Morning.” I. THE CHRISTMAS PARTY. "I will not give sleep to mine eyes, or slumber to mine eyelids, until I find out a place for the Lord, an habitation for the mighty God of Jacob." NE of the great difficulties associated with our isolated position arose from our inability to communicate freely with the county town in the neighbourhood. In consequence of the continued fall of snow, all the roads and lanes by which it was approached were blocked. It was, however, important that the coroner should be informed of the accident and that an inquest should be held, that the body of the drowned youth might be removed and prepared for interment. This Mr. Thomson undertook to do, and during the forenoon he rode off, braving the boisterous weather, and wrestling with all the difficulties of the road. Perhaps he was to some extent reconciled to the task as the surest way of avoiding Mr. Robins, as it was evident that no pleasant feeling existed between the two gentlemen. It was very soon obvious that Mr. Robins intended to be the farmer's guest for the rest of the day, and Mr. Freeheart was much too generous and hospitable not to press upon him the opportunity. During the afternoon, the conversation, which might, but for Mr. Robins' presence, have turned upon some of the literary products of the age, was constantly diverted by him toward the subjects with which he was most familiar; and but for my strong opposition to barren arguments on dogmatic theology, we might soon have been deep in a discussion on the peculiar doctrines held by the "converted gipsies," at the prospect of which Mr. Morse more than once manifested that "heat" of which Hettie had spoken with so much concern. We, however, managed to avoid that rock. At length Mr. Robins fell into a lamentation over the sad lot of one whom he knew, and who had left his "first love," and had become a living monument of God's wrath. "Do you really think there are such persons, Mr. Robins?" I asked. "Yes. So Paul tells us. If any one taste of the heavenly gift and then fall away, it is impossible for him again to renew himself to repentance." "I grant you," I answered, "that as a theory that might be true; but I believe our Heavenly Father! never permits such a state to be realized in fact." "You do not believe in living monuments of God's wrath, Mr. Romaine?" said Hettie. "I do not indeed," I answered; "" "God's wrath' is a phrase which few of us understand, and which I am happy to know is almost entirely banished from the literature of the day." "It is a Scripture phrase," said Mr. Robins, “and I prefer to keep in the old ways." "And so do I, Mr. Robins. The old ways are those of the Bible. Loving the old ways, Hettie, Mr. Robins will probably like to accompany us in one of our rambles in the corn-fields.” "Oh yes, I am sure he will," said Hettie, smiling as if she were utterly unconscious that such an excursion could possibly be otherwise than pleasant to the reverend gentleman. "And, hark ye, Mr. Robins," said Mr. Freeheart, "you'll now hear something that will do you good." Mr. Robins smiled faintly, as if he scarcely appreciated the idea of there being any good where he was the listener rather than the speaker. A slight shadow stole over Lilian's face, which Hettie, however, with much tact and grace kissed away. As Mr. Morse looked approvingly at me, I opened my Bible and read, "When thou buildest a new house, thou shalt make a battlement for thy roof, that thou bring not blood upon thine house if any man fall from thence." * "That, Willie," I remarked, "is from the outworn Jew book." 66 "And it is an ear of corn which we must rub in our hands," said Hettie joyfully, as if she had learned thoroughly to enter into the spirit of our inquiries. "It is a ripe round ear, Hettie, full of divine nourishment. It is the gospel of the Christian's safety." Mr. Robins looked at us, as he might have done had we been speaking in an unknown tongue. Presently, however, he said, "I cannot see much of the gospel in that." "What do you see in it?" I asked. "It is simply a law given to the Jews to prevent them from falling off the roofs of their houses, on which, being flat, it was their custom to walk.” Ah, you think it was to ensure their bodily safety when they were at that elevation?” 66 'Just so." "What if it were also the shadow or type of a Divine law which ensures our soul's safety when we have attained a spiritual elevation ?" Hettie's eyes sparkled. Her sweet loving spirit seemed to give her mind such keenness of vision that she discerned the whole force of the passage at a glance. "That is too far-fetched an idea for me," said Mr. Robins "we know what a house is, and what a roof is, and what a battlement is; if not, we had better consult our dictionaries." "And so when the Lord says He is a door and a vine, we ought to consult our dictionaries to understand Him?" Mr. Morse and Mr. Freeheart laughed quite boisterously but good-humouredly at Mr. Robins' discomfiture. "Don't you hold, with Paul, that all inspired Scripture is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, Mr. Robins?" 66 Certainly, as a general fact, but not to be applied in the particular way you assume." "Ah, then you think the verse I have just read | embodies such advice as an architect, or in fact any man of common sense, would give, and no more." "No more," said Mr. Robins. "Don't you know that these words are those of God, and that God's words are spirit and life?" "I don't approve of fanciful interpretations," said Mr. Robins, "and I don't like to hear the Bible explained away in that manner." "No, sir," said Mr. Morse, with an impetuosity which astonished me and frightened Hettie, "you prefer to kick it away, and have done with it at once." Hettie placed her hand on that of Mr. Morse, and her gentle touch soothed him into silence. "Perhaps, Mr. Robins," I said, "you have never had any experience of a fanciful interpretation of the Scriptures, and will listen to one." “Why not?” said Mr. Robins; "we ought to look to the Lord in all things-in building houses as well as in everything else." "Perhaps it means our Spiritual Frame," said Hettie timidly; "Mr. Robins may not like poetry, but Longfellow has said something like it in his beautiful poem of 'The Builders.' He tells us there," she said, looking at Mr. Robins, "that we are all builders of our own souls. He says that in the olden time the architects made all the hidden parts of their great structures with the utmost care, and he adds "Well done, Hettie!" said Willie, with an outburst of affectionate pride; "my little maid has more wisdom than I gave her credit for. But I think, Mr. Romaine, the Psalmist and Longfellow are not entirely at one." "No," I answered; "while Longfellow seems to think we can build aright by our own power, the Psalmist tells us that if we try to do so our labour is vain, and that the Lord must be the Master-Builder in us." Mr. Robins seemed for the moment utterly quenched and perfectly helpless. "And now," I observed, "we may understand David when he says, 'I will not give sleep to mine eyes, or slumber to mine eyelids, until I find out a place for the Lord, an habitation for the mighty God of Jacob' (Ps. cxxxii. 4, 5). Surely he meant that he would not rest till his soul had become a fit abiding-place for the Almighty?" "I think that it had relation simply to his desire to build the temple at Jerusalem," said Mr. Robins. "Well, there is something in that. Can you tell me, Mr. Robins, why that temple was built of stone made ready before it was brought thither; so that there was neither hammer, nor axe, nor any tool of iron heard in the house while it was in building'?" "It was, I believe, simply for the convenience of the masons who prepared the stones in the quarries." "Do you see what you make the Bible, Mr. Robins? You make it simply an ordinary record, and draw no distinction between it and the records of events left us by men. But can you tell me why God commanded the Jews, if they built an altar of stone (Exod. xx. 25; Deut. xxvii. 5), to build it of 'whole stones;' and why He added, if they lifted up a tool of iron upon the stone, they would pollute it?" "No, I cannot," said Mr. Robins, "and I don't think anybody else can, nor do I see that it is very interesting to inquire." "I think it is interesting," said Mr. Morse, "and I shall be glad if Mr. Romaine will pursue the investigation." "Well, the altar was built of whole stones, stones unpolluted by an iron tool, because it denoted the Altar of our Worship, Christ and His Gospel, which is built up of Whole Truth unpolluted by the fashioning touch of human intelligence. So the temple was built of stone without any tool of iron being heard, because it denotes the Divine Temple, the House of Eternity, the Palace of the King of kings, the fitly formed and adorned Spirit of Man in which the Everlasting dwells, and which is upreared of Truth intact, unmarred and unmodified by our own vain conceptions." "And I think," said Hettie, "that Paul says, 'Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you?"" (1 Cor. iii. 16.) "Very much to the purpose, my dear," I replied; "the temple at Jerusalem, with all its earthly splendour, symbolized the spiritual temple of the Spirit of God, with all its immortal splendour." "And that temple," said Hettie, "is MAN. Don't you know, Mr. Robins, how finely George Herbert writes about Man being a house and a palace? He says— 'What house more stately hath there been, Or can be, than is Man?' He also exclaims 'Since then, my God, Thou hast "Why, yes," said Mr. Freeheart, suddenly breaking silence, "what did the parson read a few Sundays since? He said, 'Behold I stand at the door and knock.' I suppose if there is a door, there's a house behind it." Mr. Robins was completely confounded at the way in which his views were ignored and effectually refuted. Even Lilian, though she took no part in the conversation, seemed interested, especially at her father's apposite observation. "Well, then," I continued, "you all seem to recognise the fitness and beauty of this figure. The house is the symbol of Man. By man I don't mean a body merely, though, by-the-by, Hettie," I added, lowering my voice and speaking with some solemnity while pointing in the direction in which lay the ghastly object that awaited the arrival of the coroner, you remember Tennyson's 'Deserted House ' 'Life and Thought have gone away Leaving door and windows wide: The body is the house of the soul and the soul the house of God, and so the whole Man is a Divine Temple, the flesh being the outer courts. But when I speak of Man, I speak of that which is essentially man—the Mind, which rises stage by stage, and has Knowledge for its foundation, Faith for its walls, and Love for its roof and completion." Mr. Robins was getting exceedingly fidgety and looked at his watch. "Now," I continued, "the Jews received instructions as to how they were to build their houses because everything among them was typical of Christian law and spiritual life. The New House symbolized the New Mind, the perfect Christian state, the divinely-ordered man; and therefore the way in which it was built among them is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction, as to how we are built up and secured of God." I observed that Mr. Morse greatly approved of my remarks. He now said, "You make the Bible a new book, Mr. Romaine, and I shall have to reconsider my objections." "But we want to know about the battlement on the roof," said Hettie; "we haven't half-cleansed our corn yet." Mr. Robins again looked at his watch and murmured that it was getting dark, and that he must be going home. "Well, Hettie," I said, "the roof is the highest part of the house, and, as I have hinted, it symbolized Love, which is the highest feature of our religion and the highest state attainable by man.” "No," said Mr. Robins; "faith is the highest." "How?" I answered. "Faith, hope, and charity; these three, but the greatest of these is charity.' Surely that which is greatest is also highest?" This was too much for Mr. Robins. He now rose |