vated men cannot do this in what is called "the ministry," they will very properly turn their backs on such a calling, and glorify God, and provide things honest in the sight of men, and foster their families, by some other and truer means, and leave the soi-disant churches to do what they can on the cheese-paring principle. We simply did the sensible; nay, only the honest.'

'But with no church formed, and no regular public worship, as I think I understood you, did you not feel a grave want? I should have thought the want of order, of method, of something definite, I was going to say tangible, a serious defect. I, too, value the spiritual, but have been accustomed to consider that as, in regard to truth, we want both the "spirit" and the "letter," so, in regard to social Christianity, we want both the life and the form; the latter to contain and preserve and embody the former.'

'You are right, too. At least, I think so,' answered Broadly. 'But tell me, does the letter generate the spirit? or the spirit the letter? And does the form beget the life? or the life the form? I have told you we had ventured on an experiment in, I had almost said, spiritual dynamics, and considered that the first thing was to get a true man as a centre, a living centre, and then to let things fashion themselves around him as they naturally might. And thus the course pursued by Mr. Eyebright at first was only intended to be temporary, a various effort to do good while he was making himself acquainted with the locality, and studying the characters and circumstances. But even then, as I have said, we found our advantage, for, provided we really get the teaching and quickening which most of us need, I do not know that the precise method signifies much.'

'But you have a church formed now?' said Churchless.

'We have. But it was some time first, I assure you; and then not without grave consideration. And, indeed, there were some of us who would have preferred to dispense altogether with this conformity to the ordinary state of things They had been church-bitten, or deacon-ridden, or something of the sort, I fancy.'

'Proceed then, pray. I am eager to hear all,' said Churchless. 'Well, this same church question, now-a-days, is artificially made a very difficult one, you know. During these eighteen centuries many experiments in what Ruskin calls the construction of sheepfolds have been made. I wonder whether you and I shall agree in a few first principles. Shall we try, before I seek to explain our subsequent course?'

'Begin, then,' replied Churchless.

'To begin, then. Our Lord, you know, organized no body, constituted no church, on any verbally defined principles. While he was still on earth, discipleship seems to have been constituted by affinity alone. You had Christ and his "friends" 66 or disciples;" and there were as many as "five hundred brethren;" but still life, affinity, nature, was all. Nothing of a settled church constitution.'

'Yes, but interposed Churchless.

'Pardon me; I foresee all you would allege, and will admit it all.

But I am only concerned at present with facts. Do you grant me the fact?'

'It cannot be denied. Continue.'

'After his ascension, the apostles were to their many converts somewhat as Christ had been to them. All who, from the preaching of the word, became convinced of the truth, and resolved to embrace it, naturally consorted with the apostles and "the brethren," but without any constitution of a Christian church being drawn up, or thought of. Still the law of affinity ruled, and it sufficed.'

But they were “baptized," and "added to the church," interposed Churchless.

'Baptized, yes; but the apostles administered that rite to everyone who resolved to be henceforth the disciple of the risen Saviour, and they did it of themselves. It was not a "church ordinance." And as to "adding to the church," I believe a correct reading does not yield that phrase ;* or if it do, the word is not used in any modern and technical sense, but simply as "the assembly," "the body of people," par eminence. They as naturally associated together as a number of Englishmen would draw together who found themselves in some foreign and hostile land; or, as people of the same tastes associate, quite naturally. Artists, for example.'

'Well, but,' said Churchless, 'in course of time, the church at Jerusalem came to be a duly organized body, with its "elders," and so forth.'

9

'I do not know much about the "so forth," said the other; but everything indicates that there was as little of constitution-making as is conceivable, and as much of freedom, elasticity, and play of individualism, as can be imagined. "Elders" there were; but what were their functions is not told. And though there were "many thousands that believed," and they were yet but one church, they could only have met in groups, according to circumstances. It is plain that no stress whatever was laid on church forms and rules as such; that life was all in all; and the forms and rules, if such there were, were the fewest possible, the simplest, most obvious, and none but what were natural and necessary.'

'Well, and this fact might be adopted as a principle, I think,' said Churchless again.

6

True; but you may depend upon it,' answered Broadly, that although the whole modern Church would gain immensely by a re-consideration of the entire question of Church economy, yet there would be a considerable recoil from the true simplicity of the whole matter when seen, and the traditional and conventional would struggle hard for life. We have lost so much of the natural, and have grown so accustomed to the artificial, while the occasional efforts to return to scriptural naturalness have been so unfortunate, that perhaps most men will content themselves with seeking to do the best they can with existing forms, "taking things as they find them," and trying to work the present machinery in a better spirit.'

• See Alford in loc.

And perhaps not wholly unworthy of a wise man either,' replied Churchless. If all the extant forms were filled with new life, I don't know that the form of church government would be of any great moment. But we are digressing. I grant you that the church question is at best but a question of means to an end.'

'Let me see; where was I? Oh, I recollect. Well, to cut the matter short-The first Gentile church, and that, and not the church at Jerusalem, is, to use a common phrase, the mother church of all the non-Israelitish churches, arose quite unofficially, as you know. Some private disciples, whose names even are not mentioned, went to Antioch, and told the truths concerning Jesus, and with such effect that many believed, and the Spirit of the Lord came upon them, rode into their souls on the words they welcomed, and they too then naturally associated together, prompted by mutual love and interest and sympathy, and seeking to build one another up, and to be built up in their new and glorious faith and life. And this company, thus naturally associated, was a church too.'

'Oh, yes,' said Churchless, and wherever two or three are gathered together in the name of Christ, there is a church for the time being, whether they thus meet for the first and only time, or continue to meet regularly. I agree with you that we have grown terribly enslaved to the technical and artificial. But I am interrupting you again.'

'I am afraid I am but carrying coals to Newcastle in thus making good certain principles, which lie however at the foundation of our course of proceeding. I will only add, that in all the cities in which the apostles preached, those who believed associated in like manner naturally, and as a matter of course, for mutual countenance and help in the divine life, and better to maintain their own, and operate on the surrounding population; but that there was as little as could be of anything like a cut-and-dried constitution given to them. Everything arose naturally. And whatever was felt to be wanted for the purposes for which they were united they were free to adopt, provided they violated none of those obvious principles which grew out of the moral nature of their simple and fraternal union.'

'I see,' said Churchless, that as you do not find any precise constitution enjoined in the New Testament, so neither do you find any binding apostolic model.'

'Exactly,' replied Broadly. And as the apostles evidently modified their course according to circumstances, for, by way of example, the having all things in common soon ceased, so, were they living now, they would modify it still according as they found themselves in London, or the interior of Africa, in Scotland, or the heart of China; in the times of Henry the Eighth, or Queen Mary, or Queen Victoria.'

'I believe you, my friend,' answered Churchless. And I cannot conceive of church questions, or church proceedings, under the apostles' oversight, becoming a means of annoying and restricting and constraining the free individuality of any sincere Christian. We do grievously need a return to what you called just now scriptural

naturalness. The trees of righteousness of the Lord's own planting are now-a-days permitted to grow only in such or such directions, and are trained and clipped as though the spirit of the church were the spirit of an old Dutch gardener. I confess I am weary of seeing the resolute efforts of worthy people to put all Christians into uniform, and that often an ugly inconvenient uniform too. The Quakers do it right out in broadcloth and silks. The Methodists do it quite as really as to mind and religious experience-all drab. And there is little room in most of the other churches for a man that abjures livery. I am often reminded of the poor "charity children" one meets in the streets, going to church on bright sunshiny mornings, the boys in frightful blue cut-away jackets and breeches, the girls in antiquated caps and capes, and all carrying their Prayer-books under their arms. If I could ridicule the whole thing I might exclaim, "O flesh, flesh, how art thou fishified!" but, as the grieved heart loathes the scornful, I only sigh, "Oh for life, life, LIFE!" But again I am interrupting

you.'

'Well,' said Broadly, after a time some of our friends were anxious to enter into somewhat more definite relations with the minister and one another. They thought it might be advantageous to themselves, and especially profitable to the young people, as well as likely to be more impressive on that portion of the world around which they wished to act on.'

'I can thoroughly appreciate their feelings,' said Churchless; they would be my own.'

'But,' continued Broadly, 'there were others of us who would have preferred the easy and natural way in which we had been going on. For if ever there was an age or country in which good men could afford to dispense with the formal in association it is our own. And I believe Mr. Eyebright himself would have preferred a purely natural course of things, but was willing to consult the sense of want which several expressed. So, after much consideration and private conference, some twenty or thirty of us met to see how far we could combine in something of a church relation.'

'Well, and how did you proceed? And what was the form you assumed?' inquired Churchless.

'Well, Mr. Eyebright began, and went on, step by step, from one point to another, till we thought our course seemed pretty plainly to open before us.'

'Can you reproduce his line of remark for me?' asked the other. 'I fear not. At least, it would occupy far too much time if I could. But I can give you a jotting or two. Only I cannot stay to make good every step of the way, as we did then. Well, we agreed thenFirst, that there was no form of church constitution enjoined in the New Testament. Secondly, that there was no complete specimen of one in the New Testament. Thirdly, that the apostles, in forming churches, acted according to circumstances, and thus somewhat varied their proceedings, and would have continued to do so from time to time to the present day, had they lived. Fourthly, that even if a

complete form could be made out from the New Testament, it would not be absolutely binding on Christians of a remote century, but only indicative and helpful so far as circumstances were similar. Fifthly, that all church relationship, or church constitution, is at best but a means to an end, and not the end itself; and that the nature of the end sought to be attained would suggest the means to be employed, or, at least, supply a veto on unsuitable ones. Sixthly, that the end sought by entering into such relation is twofold, having respect to the furtherance of the individual Christian, and the promotion of Christian action on the hitherto non-Christian population. Seventhly, that certain principles are found in the New Testament in harmony with this twofold object, which principles are to be observed if the church formed wish to consider itself a Christian church, entitled as such to claim its share in the promises and prerogatives conferred on his churches by the Lord Jesus Christ. Eighthly, that within those boundary stakes, so to speak, a church is perfectly free to build on any model, to adopt whatever polity, whatever mode of worship, whatever forms of religious action, it may find itself prompted to; remembering that the same Spirit which guided apostles and the early Christians is promised to be with the body of Christ even to the end. Ninthly, that the greater the simplicity of the form, and the larger the scope left for the full development of Christian individuality, the better. Now, I presume you can endorse all these preliminaries.'

Certainly I can, most unhesitatingly,' answered Churchless. 'Well, see if you can still keep step with us,' said Broadly. For I grant you that the chief difficulty arises perhaps at our tenthly.'

'What then?' inquired Churchless.

'The basis of our Christian fellowship,' answered Broadly. "Where should we draw the dividing line between those we could welcome and those we could not?'

'Ah, that is indeed the question,' said Churchless. 'If you solved it to perfection I won't despair of the north-west passage being discovered, or the squaring of the circle.'

'Of course we wanted our circle to be neither too broad nor too narrow, since either way our object would be defeated. Yet we were agreed that if we could not draw it to a hair's breadth, we would rather it were too comprehensive than too exclusive, as everyway the lesser of the two evils. But come, since we have got through one part of our subject, and are entering on a distinct branch of it, how would it be to change our place? What say you to a stroll by the river? The evening is very inviting.'

So the friends strolled through the busy streets, regretting to see as they passed so many young people confined to close shops on so glorious a summer evening, and both acknowledging that they would cheerfully dispense with a good deal of what in the present day is mistaken for progress of civilization' and the like, if only the youth of England could enjoy a little more of the freedom of the olden time. The depressing effects of the terrible go-a-head, hurry-and-drive