:

large he was sent indeed to the poor, but he was sent by the rich, and he found himself in the position of the fittest almoner of their bounty. The ministry at large was by the mere force of circumstances brought into immediate connexion with the associated charities of Boston, and thus every exertion of benevolence was hallowed by its union with Christianity. While its beneficent spirit preached the Gospel to the poor, it healed the broken-hearted, it preached deliverance to the captive, relief to the agony of the blind, setting at liberty to them that are bruised. "But by this labour he served the poor not less than the rich, for in distributing charity he called forth the kindly affection of those he relieved towards their benefactors; he gave them Christian views of the connexion which God has instituted between all human interests, and all human duties; and he inculcated the principles which secure fidelity in duty, even in the lowest and humblest paths of life." The institution has already accomplished great good. It could not fail to do so, for it is founded on the right principle—love towards man, as man, like that which was manifested in every movement and action of the life of the blessed Jesus. It recognised in every human being, a child of our Father who is in heaven, and did not so much thrust on him a benefit as solicit his brotherhood. No similar institution exists in any part of England we believe, except Liverpool, and there it is in its infancy, but in an infancy full of promise.

The greatest difficulty in the establishment of such an institution, is procuring men who will carry into the work of this ministry a deep feeling of respect for the actual rights and capacities of every individual mind he

meets. It may be asked what are the rights which belong to a condition of ignorance, and dependence, and degradation, and sin? And what is the respect which is due to him, who has no respect for himself? We reply, with Mr. Tuckerman, "that the capacities and rights of an immortal nature, of a being who must account for himself to God, and in whom the objects of the Gospel of Christ can only be effected by his own free choice of truth, and virtue, and duty, have the highest claims to respect, even in the most wayward and debased of our fellow-men."

It cannot be necessary to say more on the value and importance of such an institution: experience has proved its practicability; and a very brief visit to some of the most crowded haunts in this metropolis, and in the manufacturing districts, will suffice to prove its urgent necessity. How it may be best accommodated to the institutions existing in this country, or connected with them, we presume not to decide; but "where there is a will there is a way,"-let the spirit of proselytism be banished by the spirit of evangelism, and the religious instruction of the poor will no longer be a matter of difficulty.

Institutions for the relief of the aged, the infirm, and those afflicted by incurable diseases, though they do not so directly tend to the conservation of society as some of those which we have mentioned, must not be passed over without notice. It is a blessed thing that the blind, and the deaf and dumb, have been brought within the sphere of humanity, from which they had been excluded by their infirmities, and that the benevolence of science has enabled them to take their share

VOL. II.

in the toils and responsibilities of human society. The moping idiot and the lunatic cannot perhaps be restored to intelligence, but they are preserved from injuring mankind in their paroxysms of disease, or afflicting humanity by the sad spectacle of their degradation. The recognition of the claim of the aged labourer to support, is a strong hold on the conduct of the ablebodied; for they will be reluctant to destroy the institutions of society, to the permanence of which they can alone look with hope under the pressure of unforeseen calamities. Benevolence may wisely extend its cares after death; it is wise that the obsequies of the poor should be performed with decency, and that their remains should rest in a spot to which feelings of reverence are attached. The outward signs that they have reached the spot "where the wicked cease from troubling, where the weary are at rest," though silent, read eloquent lessons to the living. There is a moral influence exerting a hallowed effect on the mind of the ignorant rustic, as he walks slowly and reverently over the ground where "the rude forefathers of his hamlet sleep." This is not superstition; it is a feeling implanted in our nature by the Author of our being, and like all the boons he has bestowed upon man, it can and does serve a holy and a useful purpose.

If we have rightly, even though feebly, examined the applications of benevolence, it must be obvious that these principles tend not merely to the conservation of society, but also to its extension and improvement. We must feel that every advancement in physical prosperity, renders a similar progress in intellectual and moral growth necessary to the continuance of social

happiness. The proportion between the varied elements of civilization must be preserved, and whenever the balance is deranged it must be skilfully re-adjusted : every element has its peculiar tendency to become exclusive and predominant; but its exclusiveness ends in falsehood, and its domination in tyranny. Perils beset the paths of nations as well as individuals, and no less require the constant exercise of prudence, of foresight, and of intelligence. Difficulties for which no experience has prepared us must be expected to arise, for new elements must be developed in the social system during its period of growth and progress—a period which must endure, so long as this world continues a place of probation and not of perfection.

CHAPTER XIII.

CONCLUSION.

BEFORE dismissing a subject which has grown upon us as we advanced, it may not be uninteresting to cast a retrospective glance at the ground we have traversed, and trace an outline of the road by which we have reached our conclusions. It appeared of importance to establish the unity of the human race; not as a speculative belief, but as a practical doctrine, enforcing the moral feeling of universal brotherhood, and teaching each to feel an interest in all. If to say "I am a Roman," in the darkness of Paganism, was felt to be an appeal to the hearts of a nation, the simple phrase "I am a man," should, in our glorious sunshine, awaken all the sympathies of humanity. We appealed to physiology, not to prove the unity of the species, but to shew that it exhibited no evidence which, on examination, would be received as contradictory of the fact. Our direct evidence was derived from a higher and nobler source-from man's moral nature-from his capabilities of improvement-from his being "noble in reason, infinite in faculty; in form and moving express and admirable, in action like an angel, in apprehension like a god!"

We shewed how this distinctive attribute of man displayed itself most remarkably in the very circumstances which seem most to elevate the dignity of