,transcribed from the #ahea ,religious ,tract ,society edition by ,david ,price4 ,many thanks to the ,royal ,borough of ,kensington and ,chelsea1 ,local ,studies1 for allowing their copy to be used for this transcription4 ,,the ,,palace ,,of ,,glass ,,and ,,the ,,gathering ,,of ,,the ,,people4 ,a ,,book ,,for ,,the ,,exhibition4 99 99 99 99 99 ,,by ,,the ,,rev4 ,,john ,,stoughton4 ,humani generis progressus1 ,ex communi omnium labore ortus1 ,uniuscujusque industri debet esse finis3 ,hoc adjuvando1 ,dei optimi maximi voluntatem exsequimur4 ,the progress of the human race1 ,resulting from the common labour of all men1 ,ought to be the final object of the exertion of each individual4 ,in promoting this end1 ,we are carrying out the will of the great and blessed ,god4 99 99 99 99 99 ,,london3 ,,the ,,religious ,,tract ,,society1 ,,depository1 #ef1 ,,paternoster-,,row1 ,,and #fe1 ,,st4 ,,paul',s ,,churchyard4 99 99 99 99 99 #ahea4 ,,advertisement4 ,,the ,writer of the following pages has1 from the first announcement of the project1 taken a sunny view of the nature and tendency of the ,great ,exhibition4 ,originating in the disinterested suggestions of the ,illustrious ,prince ,consort--designed and adapted to promote the interests of art and commerce1 and the fellowship of nations--supported by persons1 who1 in addition to the distinctions of rank or wealth1 are remarkable for knowledge1 benevolence1 and piety--promoted generally from a desire to advance the welfare of our country and mankind--responded to very extensively abroad as well as at home with manifest cordiality and good will--and calling forth and securing the prayers of ,christians in reference to the undertaking--it appeared to the ,author to warrant cheering and hopeful anticipations4 ,the wonderful scene on the day of opening--as must have been felt by those who have read the graphic descriptions of it in the public prints1 and especially by those who were privileged to behold that unprecedented spectacle--was of a character to strengthen favourable expectations of the result of the enterprise4 ,the order1 harmony1 and mutual kindness manifested by the vast multitude on that occasion--the moral impression which it certainly made on many--and the religious element introduced into the august ceremonial1 evidently awakening sympathy in thousands of hearts which then beat with strange emotion--surely may be regarded as tokens for good6 ,the ,author is far from intending to assume a tone of confident prediction--remembering that only the ,infinite and ,all-wise ,one can embrace the entire bearings and tendencies of human events--but he may be allowed to confess1 that while he does not overlook the incidental evils to which such a vast gathering of the people may give rise1 his hopes decidedly predominate over his fears4 ,the following pages1 expressive of thoughts and feelings which are pervaded by the spirit thus indicated1 are now commended to the candid attention of the reader1 with an earnest prayer for the ,divine blessing on their perusal4 ,,contents4 ,,part ,i4 ,,page ,,the ,,poet',s ,,dream #a ,,part ,,ii4 ,,contrasts ,,between ,,the ,,past ,,and ,,present #bi ,,part ,,iii4 ,,voices ,,of ,,hope ,,and ,,warning #ea ,,part ,,iv4 ,,associations1 ,,secular ,,and ,,sacred #gi ,,part ,v4 ,,beneficial ,,results1 ,,probable ,,and ,,possible #aae ,,part ,,vi4 ,,lessons1 ,,pertinent ,,and ,,practical #ade ,,part ,i4 ,,the ,,poet',s ,,dream4 8,the bard beholds the work achieved1 ,and1 as he sees the shadow rise ,sublime before his wondering eyes1 ,starts at the image his own mini conceived40 ,,kirke ,,white4 ,,five centuries ago there might have been seen in the streets of old ,london1 one of those gifted mortals who are now and then sent into the world by the ,father of spirits1 to stamp their name upon the age in which they live1 and to enshrine its memory amidst the splendours of their own genius4 ,with a deep and luminous insight into the scenes of nature1 the works of art and the ways of men1 did there look forth from those large bright eyes of his a poetic soul of an order high and rare4 ,as he passed along the highways of his native city1 to which he tells us he had 8more kindly love1 and fuller appetite than to any other place on earth10 he was gathering materials for a living picture of his times2 or rather forming a photograph representation of men around1 catching in the magic mirror of his verse the evanescent forms and colours1 lights and shades1 of our ,proteus-like humanity1 and there retaining them in stedfast imagery for ever4 ,chaucer1 though unhappily as a writer not free from moral blemishes1 was1 like ,hogarth1 the great historic painter of his age1 sketching not armies in battle1 or parliaments in conclave1 but a people in their costume and intercourse1 their business and pastime1 their private habits and daily life4 ,in turning over the black-letter volume of his works1 we see and hear our ancestors1 and talk with them4 ,it is as if the very glance of the eye1 the quivering of the lip1 and the tones of the voice1 had by some strange process been preserved by this wonder-working artist4 ,but ,chaucer often passed beyond the sphere of contemporary realities4 ,the lore of chivalry he was accustomed to weave into a rich tapestry of verse2 and ideal realms1 and groups of visionary beings1 he was wont to sketch with the power and beauty of a ,fuseli4 ,it was in one of the playful flights of his untiring fancy1 that he touched on scenes and objects strangely associated with the occasion of this little book2--it occurs in a poem1 well known as 8,chaucer's ,dream40 ,throughout the wild revellings of his genius1 which he has recorded in that production1 it would be beside our present purpose to follow him4 ,the general plot and machinery of the tale are in the extravagantly symbolic spirit of the age1--utterly unlike what could happen at any period1 and not at all entering within the range of our conceptions now4 ,in the nineteenth century a poet's strangest vision would not be like his4 ,but amidst associations out of all congruity with modern times did the bard we have described fashion out a picture1 almost the counterpart of what we have lived to witness embodied in the actual work of men4 ,he 8had a dream which was not all a dream40 ,he imagined1 standing on an island1 a structure1 whose wall and gate were 8all of glass30 8,and so was closed round about1 ,that leaveless none came in or out-- ,and of a suit were all the towers1 ,subtilly carven1 after flowers ,of uncouth colours1 during aye-- ,that never been1 or seen1 in ,may40 ,this island of the ,crystal ,palace he represents under the sovereignty of a beautiful lady1 who becomes wedded to a royal knight1 and he describes a festival celebrated in tents on a large plain1 by 8,the ,prince1 the ,queen1 and all the rest10 amidst a wood between 8a river and a well10 continuing for three months1-- 8,from early rising of the sun ,until the day was spent and done40 ,the coincidence between these parts of the poet's dream and the reality of #ahea1 with respect to the place1 the ,palace1 the regal personages1 and the period of the year1 is singular enough3 it is one of those remarkable exploits of thought1 which appear sometimes in the form of reproductions of the past1 and sometimes in the form of anticipations of the future1--exhibiting the counterpart of far distant things1 now on the page of history1 then in poetic strains1 and again in the records of science--likenesses between what has been and what is1 apparently without any connexion whatever3 likenesses which baffle the effort to explain the law of their occurrence1 and which seem to indicate the existence of unfathomable sympathies between minds in ages present and remote1 and suggest to us yet once more the oft-told truth that there are more things in heaven and earth than are dreamed of in our philosophy4 ,what was the precise form and fashion of the structure ,chaucer pictured in his charmed isle we cannot tell2 but we question whether1 even in his boldest dreams1 he ever saw aught so marvellous as that which the people of all lands are flocking1 or will flock1 to see in our ,hyde ,park the present summer4 ,chaucer was not ignorant of the ways of building in the age in which he lived1 for he was appointed clerk of the works at ,windsor ,castle1 in the year #acij2 but assuredly1 among all the plans which were ever suggested by his genius1 or adopted by his judgment1 as capable of being reduced to realities1 such a thing as the grand transparent ,hall of ,industry never entered his mind4 ,it may indeed be said1 that every beautiful work of art was once a dream1--it floated in the imagination before it was fixed and made visible by the hand4 ,a picture by ,corregio or ,rubens is a painter's dream transferred to canvass4 ,the ,apollo ,belvidere is a sculptor's dream carved in marble4 ,milton's 8,paradise ,lost0 is a poet's dream committed to paper4 ,strasburg ,cathedral is an architect's dream built up in stone4 ,thousands of strange images arise in artistic minds which of necessity never find expression in any actual work2 some1 also1 worthy of being set in ripe and lasting fruit1 perish in the blossom3 but all the great productions of ancient and modern times assuredly constitute a harvest1 of which the seeds were only dreams4 ,to whatever order of genius the origin of the ,crystal ,palace belongs1 it certainly embodies a beautiful dream1 which in a happy hour lighted on the fancy of ,mr4 ,paxton4 ,it was shaping itself into form during the few days he thus describes3 8,it was not until one morning when ,i was present with my friend ,mr4 ,ellis1 at an early sitting in the ,house of ,commons1 that the idea of sending in a design occurred to me4 ,a conversation took place between us1 with reference to the construction of the ,new ,house of ,commons1 in the course of which ,i observed that ,i was afraid they would also commit a blunder in the building for the ,industrial ,exhibition4 ,i told him that ,i had a notion in my head1 and that if he would accompany me to the ,board of ,trade1 ,i would ascertain whether it was too late to send in a design4 ,well1 this was on ,friday1 the #aath of ,june4 ,from ,london ,i went to the ,menai ,straits1 to see the third tube of the ,britannia ,bridge placed1 and on my return to ,derby1 ,i had to attend some business at the ,board-room1 during which time1 however1 my whole mind was devoted to this project2 and1 whilst the business proceeded1 ,i sketched the outline of my design on a large sheet of blotting-paper4 ,having sketched this design on blotting-paper1 ,i sat up all night until ,i had worked it out to my own satisfaction40 ,thus was created in the inventor's mind an image of his work1 with a rapidity precursive of the speed with which the work itself has since been realized4 ,the dream grew up and bore its ripened fruits in a few hours3 the ,industrial ,palace1 in a few months1 has attained its full perfection2 so that1 as if by miracle1 it now looks like the old fig-tree1-- 8,such as at this day to ,indians known-- ,in ,malabar or ,deccan1 spreads her arms1 ,branching so broad and long1 that on the ground ,the bending twigs take root1 and daughters grow ,about the mother tree2 a pillar'd shade1 ,high overarch'd1 and echoing walks between40 ,we do not know whether ,mr4 ,paxton possesses what is generally understood by a poetic mind2 but1 certainly1 no one who has gazed on the stupendous structure erected in ,hyde ,park1 according to his plan1 but must feel that a poetical idea there stands expressed4 ,so gigantic in its dimensions1 simple in its form1 and graceful in its details1 it awakens a sense of vague wonder1 which1 on a careful survey of the object exciting it1 subsides into calm1 intelligent admiration4 ,it inspires a curiosity to examine into the parts and proportions of so strange an edifice--into the minute and delicate filling up of so bold an outline2 and commends itself to the taste and judgment of the spectator1 as it spreads out before his eye1 like the pages of a volume1 and reveals1 on close inspection-- --8,the subtle shining secrecies ,writ in the glassy margin of such books40 ,seen a little while ago1 as the morning vapours rolled round its base1--its far stretching roofs1 rising one above another1 and its great transept1 majestically arched1 soaring out of the envelope of clouds1 its pillars1 window-bars1 and pinnacles enamelled with rich hoar-frost1 the trees around it all sparkling with the same bright ornament1--the structure looked literally a castle in the air1 like some palace1 such as one reads of in idle tales of ,arabian enchantment1 having about it all the ethereal softness of a dream1--being itself 8the fabric of a vision10 rather than a structure of solid and enduring material4 ,looked at from a distance at noon1 when the sunbeams come pouring upon the terraced and vaulted top1 it resembles a regal palace of silver1 built for some eastern prince2 when the sun at eventide sheds on its sides his parting rays1 the edifice is transformed into a temple of gold and rubies2 and in the calm hours of night1 when 8the moon walketh in her brightness10 the immense surface of glass which the building presents1 looks like a sea or lake throwing back in flickering smiles the radiant glances of the queen of heaven4 ,ever does it repose in its strong1 though not stone-built1 foundations--the very image of beauty and strength4 ,the antecedent of this great work--the parent construction1 of which it is the offspring1 nobler than its sire--had more than a dash of poetry about it4 ,the building we refer to is the glass conservatory at ,chatsworth1 contrived for the preservation of the gigantic water-lily1 found on new-year's day1 #ahcg1 on the river ,berbice1 in ,demerara1 and sent to ,england by sir ,robert ,schomburgh4 ,the arrival of the extraordinary plant1 with its six-foot leaf1 shaped like an elegant salver1 and adorned with broad rims of green and crimson1 was warmly welcomed by that patron of botanical science1 the duke of ,devonshire1 and forthwith committed to the charge of ,mr4 ,paxton1 then and still the scientific and tasteful horticulturist-in-chief at the far-famed paradise of the ,peak4 ,improving upon all his former improvements in the arrangement of glass-houses1 he contrived a fitting receptacle for this new specimen of the western flora1 surnamed the 8,victoria ,regia10--and 8so well had everything been prepared for its reception1 that it flourished as vigorously as if it had been restored to its native soil and climate4 ,its growth and development were astonishingly rapid1 for on the #ith of ,november a flower was produced a yard in circumference4 ,in little more than a month after the first seeds ripened1 some of them were tilled2 and on the #afth of ,february succeeding1 young plants made their appearance4 ,the extraordinary lily obeyed nature's law of development with such unexpected rapidity1 that it outgrew the dimensions of its home in little more than a month40 ,this circumstance gave rise to a new conservatory of much greater extent1 out of which has grown the idea of the present1 and much vaster one1 for receiving the world's industry--one which throws its predecessor into the shade1 and which1 in addition to its other wonders1 included within its vitreous walls some fine old trees1 above a hundred feet in height4 ,to return again to ,chaucer2 we cannot help thinking how much there is in this glass palace1 and in what is connected with it1 which would have seemed even to his credulous fancy1 more strange and startling than any dream4 ,whence all the glass could come1 needful for a building composed chiefly of such material1 and of length more than quadruple that of ,st4 ,peter's ,abbey at ,westminster1 would have sorely puzzled our architect and poet to divine1 in days when glass windows were so little used1 that his great contemporary1 ,william of ,wykeham1 who built ,windsor ,castle1 was hard put to it to find twelve glaziers to do the work there1 and actually had to press men into the service from different counties6 ,the unity of principle1 too1 pervading the whole construction--everything in the great building being a dividend or multiple of twenty-four #ad--so different from the bold1 yet not inharmonious1 irregularity of the cathedrals1 churches1 and castles which ,chaucer had seen2 and the variety of uses sub-served by one and the same member of the edifice2 columns serving the purpose of water-drains1 and the floor being at once a ventilator and a dust-trap1 securing conveniences of which he never thought1 and strangely different from the cumbrous contrivances employed for such simple and necessary ends as were then contemplated1--would have startled and discomposed him with a long-enduring surprise4 ,and1 then1 the haste with which the beautiful dream has been wrought out into well-compacted wood and glass and iron1 the few months taken for its completion--rapid as the growth of the ,victoria ,regia2 and the thousands of men engaged in its erection1--the preparation of the parts before they were brought together1--the strange machinery employed in the preparation1--the fact of the structure serving as a scaffold for itself--and the small expense of the whole1 not amounting to more than one halfpenny per cubic foot1--these items in the history of the building would surely have made him open his eyes and lift up his hands in wild astonishment4 ,but the strangeness of the dream ends not here4 ,we must think of what is included within this vast area1 what is exhibited in its long aisles and galleries where are gathered and arranged the productions of every art in every clime--arts which five hundred years ago had no existence1 and climes then undiscovered4 ,articles1 a list of which will fill a portly volume2 the handiwork of man and woman in every sort of usable material4 ,works of strength and skill for necessity and convenience--for comfort and luxury--for ornament and display--things carved1 and moulded1 and woven--vast and minute1 bold and elegant1 simple and elaborate1 running through all the conceivable departments and grades of inventive industry6 ,groups1 heaps1 masses of all manner of cunning work6 ,and the whole of the contents in this hive of the world classified according to the clime from which they come6 ,at the extreme east of the edifice one sees the productions of ,america1 our young and ardent rival in ingenious toil4 ,next are the fruits of rising art in ,russia1 with specimens of skilful labour sent by ,norwegians and ,swedes4 ,there are found rich stores from the shops of ,german craftsmen4 ,the ,zollverein exhibits its treasures in close vicinity to these2 and beyond are seen contributions from the provinces of ,austria4 ,the ,dutch1 the ,belgic1 and the ,french vie with each other further on2 and close to them1 ,portugal1 ,spain1 and ,italy also appear in friendly contest for the palm of pre-eminence4 ,switzerland1 in the contiguous space1 spreads out her various wares1 beside which ,brazil and ,mexico deposit their rich freights2 and then ,egypt1 ,turkey1 ,china1 ,greece1 ,persia1 and ,arabia1 in close neighbourhood1 exhibit a harvest of oriental taste4 ,crossing the transept1 at once a garden and a refectory--where1 beneath over-arching trees1 and beside sparkling fountains1 the spectator of this the world's great horn of plenty may refresh himself with various delicacies--he is forthwith introduced to the products of the distant 8,ind10 and the numerous ramifications of our colonial dependencies1 to terminate at length this tour around the globe1 performed under a case of glass1 with a sight of the immense assemblage of our home manufactures1 gathered from almost every town and village in the ,british ,isles4 ,nine miles of table-room are thus passed in review2 and it would require days and weeks to circumnavigate this epitome of the manufacturing world1 and only to glance with anything like intelligence at the various divisions of its affluent stores4 ,a traveller who has visited in detail the chief manufactories of ,european countries must feel himself to be in a kind of dream1 when looking on these achievements of human industry brought together1 not merely from the ,english provinces1 and the ,european continent1 but from the remotest regions of this and the other hemisphere4 ,a dream1 then1 indeed1 would it have seemed to the father of ,english poetry1 with his limited knowledge of geography and art1 could he have paced along these spacious alleys1 lined with the peaceful spoils of all the earth4 ,the sight of these interesting objects is suggestive of important reflections4 ,imagining oneself left alone in the vast building--permitted to tread in silence the deserted halls--what musings might arise relative to themes awfully beautiful1 which the giddy portion of the daily crowd within the walls have never entertained6 ,this repository of art1 with all its varied contents1 is the production of the human mind4 ,its constructive skill is singularly exhibited in the edifice itself2 not such constructive skill as can be confounded with the instinct of the bird or bee1 not a blind impulsive power2 but a clear-eyed intelligence1 which can survey1 and consider1 and contrive1 and adapt1 and fashion1 according to the exigency of the case1 in ways more various than art can classify4 ,of the power of human discovery1 the detection of latent qualities in nature1 a remarkable example is afforded in the history of the material out of which the building itself is chiefly wrought4--,that the vitrification of sand and nitrium1 noticed accidentally by the ,phnician mariners1 according to the once generally received account by ,pliny2 or that some other occurrence at a much earlier period1 as is now commonly believed1 should have led men to perceive1 in materials perfectly opaque1 capabilities of transformation into a substance perfectly transparent2 that out of dingy masses of mineral could be spread forth sheets of liquid diamonds1 broad as the awning over the ,coliseum at ,rome2 that it was possible to mould this brittle material1 as if it were so much wax or clay2 that1 hard as rock1 it might be blown into a bubble soft and light as a drop of water2 that1 white as the sunbeam1 it could receive and retain all the dyes of the rainbow2 constitute a series of marvels1 forming but one out of a thousand chapters included in the annals of human discovery4 ,the plastic power of the human mind is also here displayed in the almost infinitely diversified forms which1 under its touch1 the rude materials of nature have received4 ,timber and stone1 cut into elegant shapes for useful purposes1 or with astonishing truthfulness made to resemble the most delicate expressions of animated nature1 even to the feather of a bird and the petal of a flower6 ,earth moulded by hand or machinery1 and metals wrought or cast in a thousand mimic fashions6 ,nor should we omit to notice1 in these objects of art1 a deep desire to embody in material things the beau idal1 to rise above the dull purpose of mere utility and convenience1 to give a touch of beauty to the commonest aids and implements of life1 to lift art to a lofty sphere1 and to surround it with a brilliant halo4 ,man is seen as the lover of artistic perfection1 tasking his powers to conceive and execute what shall at least approach a standard too lofty for him yet to measure1 but of the existence of which he has the consciousness1 deep though dim4 ,he may be said to fight a battle with the obstinate resistance of material nature1 and though oft defeated1 still struggles for the victory6 ,the spiritual takes possession of the physical1 as a foreign realm1 which it seeks to subdue to its own purposes4 ,the distinct essence of the soul is also asserted4 ,its attempt to rule over all around1 and to enrich itself with the spoils of the conquered region1 is not a contest with a co-ordinate and equal power1 but it is the effort of a kingly nature so formed by ,god1 created in his image1 and inaugurated into regal office1 at the beginning when the charge was given1 8,replenish the earth and subdue it40 ,the superiority of the mind over all material nature is thus unequivocally proclaimed4 ,and amidst all this1 does he not catch glimpses of things purer1 nobler1 and more enduring than the things of earth8 ,does he not feel at times that there are objects existing somewhere1 incomparably more beautiful than any work of art8 ,has he not raised within him a conception of invisible and spiritual realms more wonderful than the material8 ,and is there not also to be recognised1 in the ambition of the artist who strives to produce a work which his admirers vainly call immortal1 a strong craving for some after-existence--a flinching from the thought1 that death is to put an end to all--a wish1 at least1 to impress some characteristic idea of his own on some portion or particle of the great whole of things1 so that he may live by representation if not in consciousness4 ,yet1 while such musings on the works of men open up to us deeps of power and beauty in the soul1 they only reveal a small division of the vast world of human nature4 ,we visit but a single province of the intellectual realm3 we leave unexplored the vast domains enriched by the growths of literature and science2 while the emotions1 social affections1 moral feelings1 and religious capacities of the soul remain untouched4 ,no account is here taken of conscience1 and of the capability of knowing1 loving1 and serving his ,maker1 which form the highest distinction of man's nature4 ,yet even from our partial and limited view of the subject1 we derive no slight conviction of the immortality of that nature to which such attributes as we have described belong4 ,great as may be the mystery of a future existence1 most certainly the mysteries connected with the denial of this truth are greater still4 ,it involves the supposition that what in nature1 power1 and capability is perfectly distinct from the material form in which it dwells1 and by which it works1 is to perish with it3--that the inmate is to die with the decay of his dwelling1 the artist expire with the breaking of his implement2--that a being possessed of unbounded capacities of improvement is destined to advance only a few steps in his proper career1 and then be arrested in his course for ever2--that a life of thought and feeling1 which contains the germs of higher thoughts and feelings1 awaiting1 as essential to their full development1 other influences than those which are shed on earth1 is to be succeeded by eternal unconsciousness and oblivion2--and that a soul which finds in the present life a range too narrow for the full and vigorous scope of its nascent powers and feelings1 is to be disappointed in its earnest longings and deep-seated hopes4 ,it involves the supposition of a ,divine design intimated1 and then thrown aside--a ,divine promise pledged and broken4 ,the ,great ,architect would appear constructing a portico as if introductory to a magnificent temple1 and then1 suddenly stopping short in the work1 breaking it down1 and scattering its beauty in the dust4 ,the construction of the ,crystal ,palace1 with its contents1 is a monument to the superiority of mind over matter2 and that superiority indicates some great destiny hereafter4 ,immortality rises upon the eye of reason in the hazy distance3 but confidence in relation to the future state must come from another quarter1 through the exercise of faith4 8,life and immortality0 are brought 8to light through the gospel40 ,nor can we properly terminate reflections of this order without going back to the source and origin of mind4 ,if the material universe bears witness to the existence and character of a ,great ,first ,cause2 if 8the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen1 being understood by the things that are made20 if 8the heavens declare the glory of ,god1 and the firmament showeth his handiwork20 if the earth be full of his goodness2 how much more does the soul of man1 with all its capacities and powers1 its intellect and genius1 and1 above all1 its moral and religious susceptibilities1 bear testimony to the being and attributes of the ,creator4 ,the marks of design in the mind of man1 himself a designer1 are more astonishing than those which we have in visible things4 ,the power and beneficence of ,god1 in giving us faculties of thought and susceptibilities of affection1 appear with a plainness of expression even beyond what we discover in any of the material provisions for our comfort4 ,while the whole universe is a volume in which ,god has1 as it were1 written down his thoughts1 what page in it is so wonderful as the human mind8 ,whatever is great or beautiful in the imagination of man--whatever there is to admire in the works of his hands1 fashioned according to the intellectual type within1 must be traced up to the infinite source of intelligence1 as its origin4 ,man has nothing which he has not received4 ,what then must that unrevealed fount of beauty be1 of which all the choice thoughts and beautiful imaginings of men from the beginning1 however they have been expressed1 are but as drops and spray6 ,,part ,,ii4 ,,contrasts ,,between ,,the ,,past ,,and ,,present4 8,fair land1 by time's parental love made free1 ,by social order's watchful arms embraced3-- ,with unexampled union meet in thee1 ,for eye and mind the present and the past2 ,with golden prospects for futurity1 ,if that be reverenced which ought to last40 ,,wordsworth4 ,,the allusions we have made to ,chaucer and his dream1 in connexion with the ,crystal ,palace1 suggest some very obvious but interesting reflections on the difference between the order of civilization which existed in his day1 and that which obtains in our own4 ,there are works of art and facts of history associated with his times1 and not entirely unassociated with himself1 which1 by being brought under our review and placed beside the ,great ,exhibition1 with its treasures and purposes1 will exhibit the difference between the two epochs of our country's progress in a peculiarly striking light4 ,it should be observed however1 in the first place1 that the fourteenth century1 like the nineteenth1 was an era of progress4 ,the blooming of poetic genius after the long winter of the middle ages1 was in itself an indication that some new impulse had been given to the mind4 ,the perfection which ,gothic architecture attained at the same period1 in the bold proportions1 the noble forms1 the chaste and elegant adornments1 and all the grand and beautiful effects of the decorated style--the revival too of mercantile pursuits which then took place1 owing very much to the influence of our third ,edward1 who to the title of ,hero of ,cressy appended the better title of the ,father of ,english ,commerce--were also signs and tokens of advancing civilization4 ,to these we should add the remembrance of the mental activity and dialectic skill of the schoolmen then rife in our universities1 fostering a spirit of inquisitiveness1 and promoting an independence of thought and individuality of character1 which could hardly fail at length to break through the trammels in which for a long period they patiently toiled3 nor should we forget the bearing upon society and the spirit of the age1 of the early efforts at ecclesiastical and religious reformation commenced by ,wickliff and his compeers4 ,but between that past age of excitement and the present there are contrasts bolder than any resemblance which can be traced4 ,windsor ,castle may be said to have been built in the middle of the fourteenth century1 when ,chaucer was a youth2 and with the completion of some parts of the palatial edifice and the contiguous chapel he1 as we have seen1 was associated4 ,that building was a sign not only of the artistic1 but of the social state of civilization at that period4 ,the stern-looking old fortress of former times1 the very symbol of feudalism1 the type of individual1 firm1 unconquerable resistance1 was succeeded by less forbidding piles of architecture2 and--to adopt the idea of a ,french writer at that period--the kingly and baronial edifices of the fourteenth century relaxed somewhat their rigid features1 and seem to 8laugh0 through their oriel windows1 as they looked down on the gay quadrangle glittering with the arms and banners of chivalry4 ,but the royal building at ,windsor1 though it was of the new order of architecture1 and showed that taste was re-establishing her empire1--though it evinced some advance upon a previous condition of social disorder1 when the rough net-work of feudal government kept things together in a very loose and imperfect manner1 it also betrayed in its broad moats1 machicolated towers1 and other grim-looking fortifications1 that a period of social tranquillity and quietude had not arrived4 ,it was still needful to have the drawbridge and the sally-port1 the loophole in the wall and the turreted walk on the top for the bow-man4 ,the whole aspect of the place1 with its warden and garrison1 indicated liability to baronial attack1 or popular outbreak4 ,it was to be inferred that peer1 burgess1 and peasant were held still in some distrust1 that law had not yet the strength of hand it needed to check the pride of the rich and curb the passions of the poor4 ,we may look on ,windsor ,castle1 as it stood in ,chaucer's time1 as an exponent of an unsettled state of society1 when the great tumults and agitations which had swept1 wave after wave1 over the ,european world had not spent their force and died away4 ,the erection of a glass palace1 strong indeed and enduring1 if untouched by violence1 and preserved by care1 but1 under opposite circumstances1 frail and perishable in the extreme2 its open and unprotected situation on the skirts of the great metropolis1 and beside one of its chief and most frequented highways2 its full exposure to general observation1 and its openness to the approach of all1 are facts which tell loudly in testimony of the altered state of society in which our lot is cast4 ,such a structure thus undefended is out of all harmony with the bygone times to which we have just referred1 when tumults and deadly conflicts in the streets were of common occurrence1 when property was ever in danger of rapine and plunder1 and the approach to a city or town was left unlined by hedges lest they should furnish convenience for ambush to the thief or assassin4 ,it proclaims the supremacy of law1 the exaltation of that invisible and hallowed guardian of our rights1 not only to a seat of physical power whence it can make its mandates felt1 but upon the throne of the public mind1 which has been taught reverently to bow before its majesty4 ,it indicates the general education of the people--their improved intelligence and taste--their better social habits--their acknowledgment of the rights of property--their regard for order1 and their love of peace4 ,it shows that the last five hundred years have been years of social improvement1 and leads us to ponder the causes which have wrought the change4 ,then there pass in review1 the decline of feudalism1 the development of the free principles of our constitution1 the invention of printing1 the reformation of religion1 the progress of arts and science1 the improvement of courts of justice1 the institution of a well organized police2 but1 above all1 the efforts of the preacher and the schoolmaster1 those two most efficient labourers in the cause of moral civilization4 ,this large array of agencies1 with many others here overlooked1 have been doing their silent work through hundreds of past years4 ,here we have the tillers of the soil1 and the sowers of the seed1 from which has sprung the harvest of social order and security which crowns the middle of the nineteenth century4 ,referring again to the regal edifice reared by ,edward ,,iii4 we are reminded of the method by which labourers were obtained for the execution of the works4 ,ashmole tells us1 that to the end they might be honestly and duly performed the sovereign issued letters patent to press hewers of stone1 carpenters1 and other artificers1 also to provide stone1 timber1 and other materials4 ,they were gathered in ,london1 and out of divers counties in ,england1 by virtue of writs directed to the sheriffs1 who were to take security that the workmen should not depart without license1 under the penalty of #ajj2 and1 because some left ,windsor clandestinely1 proclamation was made to punish the fugitives with imprisonment in ,newgate1 and any one who dared to employ them1 with a forfeiture of all his goods4 ,this circumstance1 while it illustrates the small pecuniary resources of the sovereign1 throws a strong light on the condition of the labouring classes4 ,the personal liberty of the subject was but half conceded by the unconstitutional assumptions of the royal authority4 ,the artisan was little better than a villain or serf1 in whose labour the monarch was supposed to have a vested and indefeasible interest4 ,the latter was still1 to a considerable degree1 the great feudal lord of the land1 having a supreme proprietorship in the persons and possessions of a vassal-like people4 ,marvellous and happy is the change that has come over ,england since then1 as is shown by the history of the building before us6 ,not the product of a monarch1 seeking to gratify his pride1 and to surround himself with luxury at the expense of his people2 but the enterprise of the people themselves by their own voluntary contributions1 commenced1 indeed1 and encouraged by the suggestion and patronage of a prince illustrious and beloved--the erection of the ,industrial ,palace is connected with no violation of the rights of property or labour4 ,if the ,english working man has still some evils in his social condition of which to complain--if his neck be still chafed by a yoke real or fancied--he should remember that his condition is enviable compared with that of his fathers4 ,his strength and skill are his estate4 ,he has the liberty to sell them in what market he may think the best4 ,no regal mandate can interfere with the perfect mastery which he claims over himself4 ,not an axe or hammer has been used in the building but by the free will of him who wielded it4 ,the edifice looks more majestic than ever when contemplated as the work of a nation of freemen4 ,the money freely given--the labourers freely assembled--the work freely done4 ,the fact proclaims to the world the wealth and liberty of ,england1 the last the best preserver of the first1 and the sure pledge1 we trust1 under the blessing of the ,almighty1 of her enduring power and growing prosperity4 8,as the days of a tree are the days of my people1 and mine elect shall long enjoy the work of their hands40 ,casting back once more a glance upon the fourteenth century1 another point of contrast presents itself between the past and present significant of the condition of the arts1 especially in connexion with the religion of the times4 ,loud has been the boast of the admirers of the medival system in relation to its artistic aspects1 with which1 however1 it must also be remembered1 that while a corrupt church cultivated the imagination in subservience to its own superstitions1 it blinded the nobler faculty of reason4 ,that age certainly could boast of beautiful trophies4 ,to say nothing of the architect whose cathedrals and churches awaken the wonder of posterity1 the sculptor chiselled his images for the niche1 the shrine1 and the tomb2--the limner exercised his infant skill upon the vellum pages of illuminated ,,mss41 or in bolder decorations for altarage and stall2--the stainer of glass dyed the windows of the chapel1 the convent1 and the castle1 so as to present pictures of saints and heroes1 or 8a tissue of variegated crystals1 a transparent mosaic of gems1 through which the light1 like flame1 might pass through the varied pomp of earthly hues20--the graver of brass preserved the images of the dead in graceful outline1 full of the expression of deathlike repose1 and therewith paved the choir and aisles trodden by the feet of surviving worshippers2--the carpenter and the cabinet-maker enriched their respective works with quaint but oftentimes picturesque carvings2--the smith plied his art in the manufacture of metals into various imitative forms1 rearing iron screens of mimic architecture1 curiously adorning a lock1 or elaborating the hinges of a door2--and the goldsmith and jeweller fashioned and chased and studded with gems the images and utensils employed in popish worship1 and the salt-cellars1 bowls1 chargers1 and other pieces of plate1 which sparkled on the festive board of the prince and noble4 ,between these works of art1 as such1 and the productions of our own day1 it is not our purpose here to institute any comparison2 we notice them now only as signs of civilization1 and the fact which they illustrate under this view is the limitation of the employment of art at that time to a very few uses1 deemed sacred or noble4 ,all above the lowest class of artificers were employed exclusively in the service of the church1 and the highest classes of the state4 ,they were dependent upon the ,abbey or ,castle1 or upon the rising wealth and budding taste of some city merchant4 ,the people1 in general1 had nothing to do with works of art except to produce them1 or to gaze on them from afar in their religious worship1 or when they were permitted humbly to participate in the magnificent festivities of their lordly superiors4 ,the houses1 furniture1 and vessels of all1 except the highest class1 were of the meanest and most untasteful kind4 ,rough and rude were all the arrangements of their dwellings1 and all the appliances of their domestic life2 artistic beauty was absorbed and concentrated elsewhere--no traces of it were to be found in the peasant's cottage1 or even the tenement of the common burgess4 ,this fact1 as indicative of the condition of the people in reference to their domestic civilization1 is what1 in the language of lord ,bacon1 may be styled 8a glaring instance0--one that stands naked and open1--and this in an eminent manner1 and in the highest degree of significance4 ,no one can survey the immense assemblage of articles in the ,great ,exhibition without being struck with the signs they afford of a state of civilization1 the opposite of that just noticed4 ,here ,art is seen extending its territory over all the regions of life4 ,if in the service of religion among ,protestants1 she is not tasked as was once the case1 we do not deplore the circumstance4 ,without a calm judgment and a pure heart1 she is apt to become in the so-called house of ,god1 the maid-servant of superstition4 ,only up to a certain point was she allowed to go under the ,old ,testament dispensation1 when her services were largely in demand for constructing and beautifying the tabernacle and temple4 8,thou shalt not make unto thyself any graven image10 was a check put upon the ingenious devices of a ,bezaleel and an ,aholiab1 and upon all 8who had wisdom to devise curious works1 to work in gold1 and in silver1 and in brass1 and in the cutting of stones1 to set them2 and in carving of wood1 to make any manner of cunning work40 ,under the present dispensation1 when the worship of the ,father is to be in spirit and in truth1 in contrast with the worship instituted by ,moses1 and therefore not merely unformal and unhypocritical1 7which pure worship always was and must be17 but unsymbolic1 a still stronger restraint must be put on the activity of artistic skill within the houses of prayer called after the name of him who talked with the woman of ,samaria4 ,the busiest and most elaborate efforts of art are1 therefore1 as we conceive1 properly removed from the house of ,god1 by his own solemn interdict upon their employment there1 lest man should make ,god's most precious gift subject to vanity1--while the faculty of ingenious invention seeks and finds full scope for its exercise in increasing1 multiplying1 and adorning the conveniences and comforts of life among all classes4 ,art is mainly intended to refine and ennoble what specially belongs to this mortal life4 ,in this respect she has the power of elevating man's social condition by evoking and gratifying a taste for the beautiful2 art is seen thus fulfilling her mission in the myriad-achievements of human skill which this ,great ,exhibition spreads with such lavish wealth before spectators from all climes4 ,passing beyond purposes of mere utility and convenience1 in the accomplishment of which1 however1 they abound1 the fabricators of all this various furniture for the homes of men1 have sought to breathe into it the spirit of the beautiful4 ,not only does elegance of design1 and accuracy of execution1 mark those costlier productions which are intended for the drawing-rooms of the rich and great1 but they appear in the cheap and simple provisions for the parlours and kitchens of the poor and humble4 ,modern ,european society is thus coming back to that pitch of artistic civilization which distinguished old ,greece in her palmy days1 when 8the plastic and presiding spirit of symmetry shed its influence over the minutest details of ordinary occupation1 and the shapes of the commonest utensils40 ,the influence of fine art is thus rendered universal4 ,civilization in that form is seen generally diffused4 ,the sharp barriers of rank are broken down1 the grades of society under the touch of wide-spread taste assimilate to each other2 their boundary lines soften1 become more and more indistinct1 and gradually melt away4 ,to return again to the age of ,edward4 ,in the beginning of the year #aceh1 says old ,knighton in his 8,chronica10 the king issued his royal proclamation throughout all ,england1 that all knights strangers from any part of the world1 who had a mind to come to the feast of ,st4 ,georges1 to be held on the #bcrd of ,april1 at ,windsor1 should have his letters of safe conduct to pass and repass the realm at their pleasure1 for the space of three weeks without the least impediment or danger1 there to partake every one according to his degree and merit of those honours and prizes which attended the princely exercises of jousts and tournaments4 ,and accordingly this great feast was held1 and thither went in their suits of armour1 and with devices emblazoned on their shields1 with all the pomp and circumstance of chivalry1 ,john of ,france and the duke of ,brabant1 and many noble lords and knights from 8,almain1 ,gascogne1 ,scotland1 and other countries40 ,philippa1 the heroic wife of ,edward1 and the queen of the king of ,scots1 were present with a whole bevy of high-born dames to gaze on the tilt and tournay4 ,punctiliously1 according to chivalrous custom1 did the gorgeously coated heralds and pursuivants proclaim and enforce the laws of the encounter4 ,proudly did the combatants take lance in hand and rush to the combat1--with eager eyes and beating hearts did matron and maiden look on husband and lover1--and with boisterous shouts of joy did the crowding populace hail the prowess of the conqueror4 ,the scene was typical of the age4 ,it was an exposition of the spirit predominant in our own land1 and throughout ,europe4 ,it indicated the martial genius of the nation4 ,it was a spectacle to which the ,englishman would point with patriotic vanity1--just as the ,roman would point1 in the days of his great heroes1 to the ,campus ,martius1 and the streets that led to the capitol1 crowded with the symbols and attendants of a triumph decreed by the republic as a reward for the valour of her warlike sons4 ,another prince not indeed occupying the throne1 but the loving and honoured consort of the illustrious lady who fills it1 has proposed a great ,english festival for the year #ahea1 and in union1 not merely with popular members of the aristocracy but with distinguished representatives of commercial enterprise1 and industrial activity1 has sent forth the challenge to all lands1 and invited people of all ranks to an earnest rivalry for crowns of pre-eminence4 ,thither have already arrived the weapons with which the contest is to be decided1 while multitudes are wending from the far east and west to witness the array1 to decide on who are the winners in this strange conflict1 and to award to each the prize he merits4 ,this exhibition of art is beautifully significant of the times in which we live4 ,it shows that the taste for arms is no longer predominant2 that it has yielded to predilections more worthy of human nature4 ,bales of merchandise and piles of manufacture are now beginning to be deemed more worthy of regard and admiration1 than blood-stained banners1 bruised shields1 and splintered spears1 with other trophies torn from the vanquished4 ,the gauntlet of war is not flung down before the world1 but the gage of peace4 ,to the assemblage in ,hyde ,park--a fraternal intermingling of the children of all lands1 with their interchange of ideas and sentiments1 conveyed both to the eye and the ear1 and the healthful stimulus thus afforded to the further improvements of the arts of human life--many of us are now pointing1 not with pride but with thankfulness to ,providence1 as interpretations of the new spirit that has come over civilized society4 ,nor can we omit to add that much as the superiority of the military profession was vaunted in the olden time1 and strongly as may linger still in many breasts the remnants of that prejudice1 we believe that mankind are coming more and more to see that the palm of preference belongs of right rather to him who deepens the channels of industry1 and circulates the streams of commerce4 ,to build up and adorn must be better than to desolate--to nourish1 comfort1 and gladden1 than to fight and destroy2 and if armies be still needful to protect and defend1 if we want them as a police to sustain and execute the law of nations1 let it be remembered that such a view can give martial occupations no precedence in the estimation of the wise and good--as he whose business it is to take captive or to punish the violators of public order can never rank above those who minister directly to the happiness and improvement of their fellow citizens4 ,nor should we here forget the enduring character of those peaceful victories won in modern times by discovery and invention1 of which multiplied mementoes are afforded in the treasures of the ,hyde ,park ,palace4 ,most favourably do they stand out in contrast with the evanescent nature of military power and valour4 8,to whatever part of the vision of modern times10 says sir ,humphry ,davy1 8you cast your eyes1 you will find marks of superiority and improvement1 and ,i wish to impress upon you the conviction that the results of intellectual labour or scientific genius are permanent1 and incapable of being lost4 ,monarchs change their plans1 governments their objects1 a fleet or an army effect their object1 and then pass away3 but a piece of steel touched by the magnet preserves its character for ever1 and secures to man the dominions of the trackless ocean40 ,all the discoveries of knowledge and their application to practical uses are of this description1 and we joyfully compare them with the mouldering trophies of the warrior4 ,the spoils of ,cressy and ,poictiers have long since perished--even the power which ,edward and his soldiers established in ,france soon declined and disappeared1 and long since left behind it only a name in history--but the results of scientific study and artistic toil1 which have produced the ,great ,exhibition of #ahea1 are destined1 we doubt not1 to last to a remote period1 and to improve the condition and adorn the dwellings of unborn millions of the human family4 ,in closing this chapter1 we may remark that unlike the martial gathering at the tournament of ,windsor1 the concourse of ,british subjects at the present festival no longer exhibits the distinctions of feudal society4 ,lordship and vassalage have happily become numbered among the things that are past4 ,whatever purposes they might subserve at a certain period1 they were badges of imperfect civilization1 and have given place to a condition of social order in which1 though a graduated scale of rank very properly obtains1 the equal rights of men as intellectual and moral beings are beginning to be acknowledged4 ,in this 8passage0 of arts1 8not arms10 the humblest are permitted to display their skill2--not as aforetime1 when the contest was confined to the men of high descent1 the poorest workman may place his productions beside those of the richest sons of fortune4 ,the man who can make no boast of gentle blood1 who can appeal to no roll of ancestry1 whose name is but of yesterday1 who simply1 by dint of using his brains and his muscles1 his thoughts and ten fingers1 has raised himself into notice is permitted and encouraged to contend with the highest born for the prize of honour in these pacific and generous rivalries4 ,this is not among the least pleasing of the contrasts between past and present4 ,,part ,,iii4 ,,voices ,,of ,,hope ,,and ,,warning4 8,the barrier flood ,was like a lake1 or river bright and fair1 ,a span of waters3 yet what power was there1 ,what mightiness for evil and for good6 ,even so doth ,god protect us1 if we be ,virtuous and wise40 ,,wordsworth4 ,,the invitation we have given to the world1 to send its treasures to enrich and bedeck our ,crystal ,palace1 and its tribes to visit us1 for the sake not only of inspecting that great emporium but of witnessing our national conditions under its various aspects1 implies a conscious greatness1 on the part of our country1 sufficient to warrant such a bold and unprecedented step4 ,it would be presumptuous and idle for an inferior state to ask her potent neighbours thus to honour her1 and no such state would venture on the experiment4 ,indeed1 the resources necessary for carrying out so formidable an enterprise could not be at its command4 ,great ,britain1 while she assumes by her present conduct a high standing in the rank of nations1 can with perfect ease justify herself in this respect4 ,though the mother isle be a tiny speck on the map of the globe1 her colonial dependencies extend over the most remote latitudes4 ,her entire territory embraces an area of eight millions of square miles1 exceeding that of ,russia by at least one million4 ,it is double the size of the continent of ,europe1 and out of every six acres of dry land upon the planet it claims one4 ,two hundred and forty millions of subjects bow to the sceptre of ,queen ,victoria1 the largest united population in existence1 next to ,china4 ,including the whole empire1 a fifth of the human family are subject to her sway4 ,of this multitude1 two hundred millions dwell in ,india2 so that1 if that country only remained under ,british rule1 her ,majesty could say to the potentates of ,europe1 8,i am equal to you all2 for1 taking all the men on the surface of the globe1 one at least out of every six owns me as supreme40 #ed ,in the amount of its revenue1 the wealth of its commerce1 the activity and productiveness of its manufactures1 the intersection of its country by roads1 canals1 and railways1 the cheapness and rapid communication of its postal system1 and the number of ships which crowd its ports1 ,england knows no equal4 ,other elements of greatness which cannot be reduced to statistic calculation are to be added to these1 such as our government1 institutions1 laws1 liberties and literature4 ,dwelling upon the fact of our national greatness1 so obviously suggested to us by what is now taking place1 we very naturally pause for a moment to inquire into the causes of this distinction4 ,it is to be expected that a combination of many influences and agencies will be found to have contributed to the result4 ,that it is really so the facts of our history abundantly prove4 ,the present state of ,great ,britain is1 in the first place1 to be ascribed in no small degree to the peculiar character of the races of whose offspring our population is in the main composed4 ,the thriving myriads who people the cities1 till the fields1 man the vessels1 and constitute or rule the colonies of our country1 are descendants of robust and vigorous ,teutonic tribes4 ,saxon1 ,danish1 and ,norman were all allied1 and possessed a general resemblance in point of physical and intellectual qualities1 connected with specific differences1 the blending of which1 by the intermingling of these families1 could not fail to produce very decided effects upon the character of their posterity4 ,the influence of the peculiarities inherent in the natural constitution of different races1 once almost entirely overlooked by historians1 and now liable to be exaggerated by writers of a certain school1 has stamped the impress of its reality and power with conspicuous breadth and vividness upon modern civilization in the contrast which exists between the people of ,teutonic and ,celtic origin4 ,our condition1 in the next place1 is to be attributed to the physical peculiarities of our native land--to our climate1 which cannot have failed to affect not only our natural temperament and health1 but to some degree our mental phenomena1 and to a greater degree our social habits1--to the configuration1 soil1 and geological strata of our beautiful island3 its scenery giving a certain cast and hue to the colouring of our imagination3 its rich lands making us an agricultural community3 its metallic and coal mines inviting us to task our manufacturing skill3 and its vast range of coast-line1 with its facilities for the erection of ports and the construction of harbours1 impelling us to engage in maritime enterprise4 ,our condition is further to be ascribed to our insular position1 which has led us to seek the empire of the seas1 and often preserved us from being ravaged by invaders2 while it has given a stimulus to our commerce1 with its peaceful and humanizing tendencies4 ,it is also to be traced to forms of government and modes of society which prevailed during the medival age1 themselves springing from earlier political and social influences that flowed from ,roman and ,german springs4 ,it is as true of nations as of individuals1 that the child is father to the man2 and old ,england--the ,england which is--must have had its destiny in no small measure shaped by young ,england--the ,england which has been4 ,from ,roman law and usage1 ,saxon witenagemotes and courts of justice1 ,norman baronial assemblies and tribunals1 and the welding or fusion of them together1 so as to produce in some cases a mutual interpenetration1--from these has arisen our peculiar kind of government1 political and legal2 which1 with all its faults1 whether in principle or administration1 is an agency to which under ,divine providence we owe no small degree of our stability and power4 ,the feudal training of a partly ,saxon population1 through so long a portion of the middle ages1 is a fact of great importance in our history1 and of potent bearing on us even at the present hour2 and it may be worth while to notice that the modern ,european empires which were bred in the feudal school--,england1 ,france1 and ,germany--take decided precedence of the states to the north and south1 which grew up undisciplined by that rude but effective process of education4 ,our condition has been further influenced most powerfully by the history of the last four hundred years4 ,by the wars of the ,roses1 which weakened the aristocracy and strengthened the throne1 by the political bearing of the ,reformation1 the rise and progress of the puritan party in the state1 the ,civil ,war1 and the ,commonwealth under ,cromwell1 all of which developed popular power1 and for a while trampled in the dust both crown and coronet4 ,to all this must be added the ,revolution of #afhh1 which adjusted the relation of the three estates of the realm1 so as to secure ever since a tolerable degree of harmony in the mutual working of principles and interests1 commonly deemed antagonistic4 ,past changes are the secret of our present stability2 the intestine wars of bygone centuries1 which shock us as we read their story1 were really the harbingers of the national peace1 order1 and security on which we recently congratulated ourselves when wild revolutionary hurricanes swept over the thrones and institutions of ,europe4 ,continental states1 later in their hour of trial than ourselves1 have probably to go through somewhat similar eras of struggle yet1 before they can win the order and repose which we have received from the veteran champions of ,english freedom1 during the long fight of the seventeenth century4 ,and1 to sum up many other influences in one sentence--our national position and character are to be connected with the study and experience of our venerated forefathers--with their knowledge and wisdom1 acquired from what they read in the history of older nations1 and what they saw of modern ones--with their genius and practical sagacity1 the books they wrote1 and the deeds they did--with the inventions of art1 and the discoveries of science1 and the collision of sentiments1 opinions1 and principles which have from time to time been freely expressed and canvassed4 ,but the most powerful agency remains to be noticed4 ,above all1 our national greatness is the result of ,christianity1 which has long had a strong hold upon the hearts of multitudes1 and which has indirectly exercised a most beneficial influence on others who have had little regard for its doctrinal principles4 ,the sternness of those ,german tribes from whom we have sprung was not to be subdued2 and those better qualities1 which mark us as a people1 were not to be produced by any power less than the divine power of the ,gospel4 ,christianity1 during the middle ages1 even under the disadvantage of working through a corrupt church1 was the main stay of social order1 and wrought out beautiful results in individual character4 ,in its reformed developments it has mainly contributed to the best and most valued of our social improvements4 ,our noblest heroes have been inspired by its celestial spirit2 our most precious institutions have felt the shapening touch of its divine hand2 the best portions of our literature reflect the refulgence of its light4 ,and what there may be of virtue1 integrity1 honour1 benevolence1 and piety in our land1 is the offspring of the heaven-sent truth written in the ,bible4 ,it is not ,christianity alone1 we grant1 which makes us what we are2 but1 without ,christianity1 it is utterly impossible to imagine that our civilization should have attained its present zenith4 ,in connexion with the working of those marvels of our time--electric telegraphs--it has been found that when a piece of paper has been dipped in a certain chemical solution1 a stream of electricity passed over it will imprint the paper with beautiful tints and dyes4 ,so1 we may say1 that if the other events and influences we have enumerated have been like the chemical solution to the paper1 preparing our country for some high destiny1 the introduction of the gospel1 and its continuance among us1 has been like the electric stream passing over the nation1 covering it with the fair and beautiful colours which render it the admiration of the world4 ,nor should the early period of the introduction and establishment of ,christianity amongst us be overlooked2 for1 if it had been delayed to a later period1 it is obvious that the circumstance must have proved exceedingly detrimental to our infant civilization4 ,that early introduction and establishment we are apt to regard as a matter of course1 though there was no anterior improbability1 in the first centuries of the ,christian era1 of the religious fate of ,great ,britain being otherwise than that of ,eastern empires4 ,our ,island might have attained a stereotyped condition1 as ,india and ,china have done1 and neither received nor craved the ,great ,gift of ,god4 ,then must our civilization however have been correspondingly poor1 imperfect1 and weak4 ,the arrival of ,christianity in this western corner of the world1 some seventeen hundred years ago or more1 to instruct us in divine truth1 and as a loving nurse to foster and cherish our nascent civilization1 then exposed in these rough seas like an infant in an 8ark of bulrushes10 was the result of a mission from ,him1 who is sovereign in all his ways1 and who chose us for his high purposes2 not because we were 8more in number than any people1 for we were the fewest of all people1 but because the ,lord loved us40 ,after reviewing the character and causes of our civilization1 it is natural to inquire what will be its coming destiny4 ,however some may idly talk1 our civilization is far from being necessarily progressive4 ,the history of the great powers of the ancient world reads us admonitory lessons4 ,it is very affecting1 after we have mused on ,rome in her palmy pride1 and fancied we saw one of her great triumphal processions on its way to the ,capitol1 so expressive of the warlike genius of the republic1 sweeping in a tide of living grandeur through the forum1 so rich in architectural splendour1 to turn to a sentence like this in ,eustace's ,tour3--8,the glories of the forum are now fled for ever3 its temples are fallen3 its sanctuaries have crumbled into dust3 its colonnades encumber its pavements1 now buried under its remains4 ,a herdsman seated on a pedestal1 while his oxen were drinking at the fountain1 and a few passengers moving at a distance in different directions1 were the only living beings that disturbed the solitude and silence that reigned around40 ,equally affecting is it when pondering the story of ,athens1 once the fairest city of the earth1 with her statues and temples and memorial tombs--her orators1 philosophers1 and poets--the very home of artistic beauty and intellectual refinement1--to hear a traveller remark1 as he describes the present state of the once unrivalled ,areopagus3 8,let us wade through the crisp and bearded barley to the ,bema1 whence ,demosthenes was wont to thunder10--and to think that where the murmur of his vast audience was once heard no sound is awakened now but the rustling of the ears of corn under the passing wind4 ,nor less affecting is it to read in the old ,hebrew prophet1 the son of ,buzi1--who saw visions of ,god by the river ,chebar1--the tale of the glory and the doom of ,tyre2 to see her 8situate at the entry of the sea10 when the builders have perfected her beauty1 and all her 8ship boards0 are of 8fir trees0--with 8cedars from ,lebanon0 for 8masts10--and 8the oaks of ,bashan0 for 8oars0--and 8ivory brought out of the ,isles of ,chittim0 for 8benches10--and 8fine linen with bordered work from ,egypt for sails10--and 8the inhabitants of ,zidon and ,arrad0 for 8mariners10--and they of ,persia and ,lud and ,phut and ,arrad are in her army men of war1 who 8hang their shields upon the wall20 and the merchants 8trade in her fairs0 8in all sorts of things20--and she is 8replenished and made very glorious in the midst of the seas10 and her 8wisdom and her understanding have got her riches and gold and silver10 and 8every precious stone is her covering10 and 8the princes of the sea0 sit on their thrones and wear their 8broidered garments10--and then to read her doom fulfilled to the letter3 8,behold ,i am against thee1 ,o ,tyrus1 and will cause many nations to come up against thee1 as the sea causeth his waves to come up1 and they shall destroy the walls of ,tyrus1 and break down her towers2 ,i will also scrape her dust from her1 and make her like the top of a rock2 it shall be a place for the spreading of nets in the midst of the sea40 ,to minds of imagination and sensibility1 more sombre than sanguine1 it is not surprising that with these facts in remembrance the future decline of this great empire should seem probable2 and perhaps by such minds a picture of its mother city in some coming age is painted so as to resemble her precursors in the path of grandeur and decay3--,and here and there stand a broken arch of one of her bridges1 the waters idly rolling on1 no richly freighted ships upon their bosom any longer2 and yonder are her once proud senate halls1 a mouldering heap covered with wild flowers1 a solitude like the ,roman ,coliseum2 and around the spot where now the miracle of modern art is crowded by the people of all lands1 there stretches a solitary wilderness where the traveller rambles amidst tangled grass and brushwood1 and sits down and muses in some quiet dell1 left by the dried-up lake of the ,serpentine1 and haunted by memories of the fall of ,london4 ,calm and intelligent reflection however suggests that there is far less of probability than poetry in such anticipations4 ,england is not like ancient ,italy--,london is not the antitype of ,rome4 ,on this account1 in the first place1 that the whole world has changed1 and especially the condition of the western nations in reference to each other1 since that memorable night when the trumpet of the ,goth was heard at the ,salarian gate1 and armed hosts came rushing along the broad highway1 and the soldier flung his brand in the house of ,sallust1 and the shrieks of maidens and matrons mingled with martial shouts1 and the senators saw the old tragedy under the ,gauls repeated--,rome surprised and taken4 ,an empire hemmed all around by fierce warlike tribes might be so broken down2 but1 in the modern world1 where are the ,goths and ,huns and ,vandals to be found8 ,and1 even if they did exist1 the insular position of ,great ,britain1 and her maritime defences1 would preserve her from the kind of invasion which prostrated in the dust the old mistress of the world4 ,only a great civilized power1 having large means of transport at its command1 could invade our shores4 ,to succeed1 it must be a nation eminent for skill and science1 as well as for other resources1 considering the ample means of defence which1 by aid of electric telegraphs1 steam1 and railways1 the government of our country could at the shortest notice bring to bear on the spot endangered by assailants4 ,the contrast between ,athens and ,england1 as it regards their dangers1 is suggested in a remarkable passage of ,xenophon4 ,he remarks that--8,athens rules the sea2 but as the country of ,attica is joined to the continent1 it is ravaged by enemies1 while the ,athenians are engaged in distant expeditions4 ,if the ,athenians inhabited an island1 and besides this enjoyed the empire of the seas1 they would1 as long as they were possessed of these advantages1 be able to annoy others and at the same time be out of all danger of being annoyed40 ,the benefit of an insular position1 which ,athens did not command1 is possessed by ,england2 and1 as ,montesquieu observes1 8,we might imagine that the ,greek historian and philosopher was speaking of our own country40 ,athens was finally crushed by the ,turks2 but whatever apprehension there once was of the invasion of the ,west by ,mohammedan arms1 no such apprehension can ever be felt again2 and if any likeness be traced between the old ,turkish and the present ,russian ,empire1 the latter threatens the ,east rather than ,europe1 and an invasion of ,england by an army that must march through the ,german ,states1 or by an armament sailing from the ,baltic ports1 is among the wildest dreams of fear4 ,then1 going back to the fall of ,tyre1 under the desolating hand of a ,nebuchadnezzar and ,alexander1 peril like hers1 in reference to ourselves1 seems next to impossible2 for the days of such conquerors are gone by for ever4 ,even the career of ,napoleon was not the counterpart of them1 nor could be in the modern state of the world1 with its large community of civilized1 powerful1 and independent nations4 ,the danger of our country1 then1 is not from the invader2 what we have to apprehend in the future is discoverable in another quarter4 ,there are two obvious possibilities which demand our attention3 first1 ,england may be out-rivalled4 ,the youthful vigour of ,america1 her art and enterprize1 her intelligence1 her ardent patriotism1 her vast and ever-swelling territory and population1 already afford some bold and distinct indications of her future rapid advance--the son promising to surpass the sire4 ,france and ,germany1 too1 are full of latent resources1 and of that strong spirit which only needs wisdom to guide it in order to their unprecedented enrichment4 ,and who can tell what ,russia will be1 when thoroughly civilized8 ,looking to the universal colonial dependencies of ,england1 which alone can give her territorial importance--for her insular position prevents her from incorporating foreign domains as integral parts of her own country--one can see the possibility of great changes in the ,east3 and then looking to our colonies properly so called1 who can deny the likelihood of their throwing off the leading-strings some day1 not we hope without filial love for their mother state1 to march in their own strength erect along the paths of their high destiny8 ,and in ,australasia1 especially1 there may spring up a new ,england formed in the providence of ,god to vie with and outstrip old ,england4 ,there is a second possibility1 from the thought of which we shrink4 ,looking1 on the one hand1 at the amount of immorality and irreligion which already obtains amongst us1 and at sins for which1 on account of general concurrence in them1 the nation at large may be held guilty1 we have ground of alarm4 ,but1 on the other hand1 when we take into account the extent of ,christian virtue1 piety1 and benevolence to be found in our land1 we recognise grounds of hope4 ,now it cannot be denied that the latter instead of overcoming the former may leave it to prevail and triumph1 and may itself decline4 ,a far deeper depravation of public morals than we have mentioned may occur4 ,so much of national truth and honour as is happily preserved may be sacrificed to a base expediency4 ,instances of commercial integrity may become rare4 ,domestic life and manners may lose their present purity4 ,infidelity and superstition may divide almost all hearts between them4 ,then is the doom of the country sealed4 ,mortals are short-sighted as to the relative position of the different states of the world in coming times1 the forecastings of the political philosopher are in many instances disappointed1 and the prudential measures of the wisest statesmen often fail2 but this is sure1 that sooner or later a nation will fall from the throne of her greatness1 when she deserts the paths of virtue and forsakes the counsels of ,god4 ,the sins of a people1 if not repented of1 are certain ultimately to bring down upon them ,divine judgments4 ,nor should it be forgotten1 that such ascendency as ours has its special temptations4 ,plato1 in his republic1 guards against choosing for his ideal commonwealth 8such a site as by its proximity to the sea1 and other advantages for merchandise1 navigation1 and naval warfare1 would be liable to render the citizens too wealthy and overbearing1 and faithless in war and peace40 ,commerce will be the mother of national virtues when she is joined in wedlock with religion1 otherwise she may be fruitful in an abundant progeny of vice and crime4 ,our danger1 then1 is internal rather than external4 ,and the same may be said of old ,rome1 for had she been faithful and virtuous she had never fallen under the barbarians' sword4 ,it was also true of ,greece4 ,and as to ,tyre1 we are told on the highest authority1 8,by the multitude of thy merchandise they have filled the midst of thee with violence1 and thou hast sinned3 therefore will ,i cast thee as profane out of the mountain of ,god1 and will destroy thee1 ,o covering cherub1 from the midst of the stones of fire40 ,we are convinced that only vice and impiety can ruin us1 that only virtue and religion will prove our invincible safeguards4 ,should such a general state of depravity arise as that described by the prophet1 when judgment is turned away backward1 and justice standeth afar off1 and truth is fallen in the street1 and equity cannot enter1 though no army should land on our shores1 and no foreign navy should touch our fleets1 and wealth and luxury should flow on1 the curse of ,heaven would be on us1 and our civilization would be corrupted to the core4 ,but let the righteousness that exalteth a nation be ours1 and then1 however strong and numerous our enemies1 however prosperous and superior our rivals1 the arm of ,god would be our shield--though surpassed we should not be dishonoured3 but the destiny of our ,empire would still be onwards along the paths of moral civilization4 ,as ,christianity has contributed so greatly to raise us in the scale of nations1 so that alone can enable us to preserve our standing4 ,our religion is as dear to hope as to memory4 ,the influence of the gospel will equally prove the preserver of the highest good amongst us1 and the sure catholicon for the worst evils4 ,whatever plans may be devised to improve the physical and social condition of the people1 the only remedy that can touch the moral disease in the individual man1 7and that1 after all1 is the root of every social mischief7 must be looked for in the truths of the ,bible and the agency of the ,holy ,spirit4 ,no dream can be more wild and visionary1 more at variance with the ancient and modern story of mankind1 than to suppose that any changes in the government or laws of a country will of themselves ensure the happiness and prosperity of a nation4 ,political revolutions the most fair and promising have often proved abortive4 ,it is beyond all doubt a righteous duty to bring the framework and machinery of our social world as near to perfection as it is possible2 wise organization is eminently subservient to a nation's welfare3 but our strongest and best hopes for the future security and advancement of the ,english commonwealth are firmly fixed on the personal regeneration of its members through the ,divine power of the gospel of ,christ4 ,earnest1 indefatigable1 patient1 humble1 holy endeavours for the application of that heavenly gift to the hearts of our countrymen are in the first rank of our social duties4 ,and looking for a moment away from home2 taking in at one broad glance the moral and religious condition of the ,british empire1 what awful and startling facts arrest our attention1 full of irresistible appeals to ,christian consciences4 8,our queen rules over more ,roman ,catholics than the pope1 over more ,mohammedans than the ,sublime ,porte1 and over more pagans than the whole continent of ,africa4 ,if we ask1 #8,what is the religion of the ,british ,empire8' judging by numbers1 the unhesitating reply must be1 paganism4 ,it contains more ,mohammedans than ,christians of both names1 and more pagans than ,mohammedans and ,christians together40 ,these facts are indeed voices of warning6 ,what is to be expected1 if ,english ,christians do not vastly increase their missionary efforts in our world-wide dependencies1 for whose moral and spiritual condition we must1 from the circumstance of their dependency1 be in a high degree responsible8 ,in connexion with strenuous efforts at home and in our colonial provinces1 near or remote1 for the diffusion of ,christianity 8pure and undefiled10 it is our solemn duty to abound in 8supplication and intercessions40 ,we are sure that prayer did save ,israel1 and might have saved ,sodom4 ,its influence1 as revealed in the apocalyptic vision of ,john1 is so great1 that it is seen shaping the course of history4 ,great changes come--judgments1 penal and purifying1 among the rest--as the result of prayer3--8,and ,i saw the seven angels who stood before ,god2 and to them were given seven trumpets4 ,and another angel came and stood at the altar1 having a golden censer3 and there was given unto him much incense1 that he should offer it with the prayers of all saints upon the golden altar which was before the throne4 ,and the smoke of the incense1 which came with the prayers of the saints1 ascended up before ,god out of the angel's hand4 ,and the angel took the censer1 and filled it with fire of the altar1 and cast it into the earth3 and there were voices1 and thunderings1 and lightnings1 and an earthquake40 ,with that 8door opened in heaven10 and the light from it falling on the page of our national annals1 can we doubt that ,christian prayer has had influence upon the destiny of our empire8 ,who shall unravel all the threads of influence1 knitting up men's hearts in courage and heroism1 which proceeded out of days of prayer and fasting in ,puritan times1 and all the healing virtue brought down by it upon a wounded and bleeding country8 ,and who can tell how much ,england1 in her hour of need1 when under ,james the ,second the threatening clouds of papal despotism began to gather1 was indebted for the scattering of the storm to the voice of prayer8 ,and1 since then1 how many critical junctures have occurred1 when results have been produced not to be adequately accounted for by any visible cause1 and therefore indicating some other agency at work which worldly minds take no note of1 but which the devout will recognise in the wrestlings of holy prayer6 ,the throne of grace1 under which our fathers took refuge in times of heavy trial must be our resort if we would preserve the religious privileges they have handed down to us1 and defend and enlarge the vast heritage of national good which they bequeathed4 ,,part ,,iv4 ,,associations1 ,,secular ,,and ,,sacred4 8,by these mysterious ties1 the busy power ,of ,memory her ideal train preserves ,entire2 or when they would elude her watch ,reclaims their fleeting footsteps from the waste ,of dark oblivion3 thus collecting all ,the living forms of being1 to present ,before the curious aim of mimic art ,their longest choice3 like ,spring's unfolded blooms ,exhaling sweetness1 that the skilful bee ,may taste at will1 from their selected spoils1 ,to work her dulcet food40 ,,akenside4 ,,endowed as we are with a principle of suggestion--one of the most active principles in the human mind1 ministering greatly to the pleasures of existence1 and giving to men of enlarged intelligence the means of various and extensive gratification--it is very natural1 on looking at the great event of the present year1 to cluster round it in thought a number of facts bearing in relation to it some kind of affinity4 ,even the structure and its contents are not without suggestive interest1 while the great gatherings of the people to behold them excites the memory and imagination1 and brings out many a picture of things that have been or that shall be4 ,associations are suggested1 commercial and classical1 romantic and religious4 ,as a simple exposition of art1 the ,exhibition reminds us1 in the first place1 of the ,expositions of ,art in the ,french metropolis1 which at intervals have taken place during the last fifty years4 ,we go back to the times of the first republic1 when after the tragedies of the revolution1 and their dire effect on industry and commerce1 it was felt that some stimulus and encouragement were needed to revive them2 and the deserted palace of ,st4 ,cloud1 under the superintendence of the ,marquis d',avze1 was enriched and adorned with the productions of a people whose tasteful ingenuity no social disorders could extinguish4 ,the walls were hung with costly draperies from the ,gobelin manufactory--the floors were covered with rich carpets from the looms of ,la ,savonnerie1 and1 amassed in profusion and arranged with skill1 there was a display of the variegated porcelain of ,sevres1 that hive of curious industry which borders the spacious park of the palace we have mentioned4 ,succeeded by a second ,exposition at the ,hotel d',orsay1 in the city of ,paris1 the two were regarded by ,napoleon1--who1 though flushed with his early victories1 failed not to discern that war without commerce would but exhaust his country1--as sufficient to warrant a third and greater attempt1 and accordingly the ,temple of ,industry1 as it was called1 was reared in the ,champ de ,mars4 ,it was of simple construction1 adorned with oriflames1 and the victorious tricolours of the first ,italian campaign1 and within the walls there were exhibited for three days1 some of the most beautiful works of art the country could supply4 ,the temper of that great nation at the juncture was candidly expressed by the prime minister3 8,our manufactures are the arsenals which will supply us with the weapons most fatal to the ,british power20 and as we read his words we rejoice in the far different relations of the two empires now1 and the pleasant union and amicable rivalry of our ,gallic neighbours with ourselves in the present enterprise4 ,other ,expositions followed1 but the ninth1 under ,louis ,philippe1 in the magnificent ,place de la ,concorde1 in the year #ahci1 eclipsed them all2 and as the gratified monarch gazed on the trophies of ,french ingenuity and skill1 he exclaimed1 8,these are the true victories which cause no tears to flow40 ,nor can we1 while these imposing scenes in the ,french capital and its neighbourhood pass before us1 forget the humble attempts made in our own country in connexion with our valuable ,mechanics' ,institutions1 to exhibit in some of our large towns1 especially ,manchester and ,leeds1 the products of native industry4 ,they are worthy of honourable and grateful remembrance1 as indications of that indomitable and individual spirit of enterprise1 which is one of the secrets of our commercial prosperity4 ,the ,exhibition is a great ,bazaar4 ,it is1 to a considerable extent1 based on the true principle of such establishments4 ,that principle is one of classification1 and therefore the term ,bazaar is incorrectly applied to certain marts in the metropolis which are but heterogeneous clusters of shops under a common roof4 ,the original principle is a classification of products according to the trades to which they belong2 here it is a classification of products according to the countries from which they are received4 ,the ,bazaar1 as essentially oriental1 carries us away to ,cairo and ,constantinople1 to ,persian towns and ,indian cities4 ,we find ourselves in the crowded alley of some vaulted building1 with shops of a similar kind presenting goods of the same general description1 lining either side the way4 ,provisions1 wares1 and fabrics1 both mean and gorgeous1 rude and ornamented1 simple and ornate1 are piled or spread forth to please and entice the passer-by1 while1 in some cases1 the moody ,turk1 who sits cross-legged amidst his stores1 smoking his pipe1 is so absorbed in the enjoyment of that soporific luxury1 that he seems hardly to care about attending to the wants of his customers4 ,in ,persia1 we are told1 the buildings are of rich appearance1 decorated with paintings1 particularly under the domes1 with portraits of hunters and heroes1 and pictures of animals1 real or imaginary4 ,generally in the ,east these markets are places of immense resort1 including the characteristics of an exchange1 a news room1 a debating theatre1 a promenade1 and a rendezvous for idlers4 ,the gaiety of oriental costume affords a marked feature in the promiscuous assemblages1 while the noise of many voices1 in various tongues and dialects1 is like the echo of that strange confusion of sounds once heard on the plains of ,shinar4 ,in this respect the mixed scenes and various languages in the ,hyde ,park ,bazaar will be less surprising to the ,eastern visitors than to the people of the ,west4 ,it will seem to them the augmented and multiplied counterpart of one of their own busy markets--a city-like mart1 an immense assemblage of shops beneath one crystal roof--and embosoming in the midst of it a pleasure garden1 with great trees1 and fresh flowers1 and gushing fountains--the whole the work1 as they might think1 of some of their most famous magicians4 ,the spirit of industrial activity and commercial competition creates all these scenes1 and as we trace them to their source we cannot help noticing the desire of acquisition1 one of the original principles of human nature1 which often and most generally kindles and keeps that spirit alive4 ,the desire of gain1 regulated by justice and generosity1 is to be distinguished from that love of money which is so strongly reprobated in the best of books1 as 8the root of all evil20 but it cannot be denied that the innate acquisitiveness of man which may be trained up into a virtue is too apt to sink down into a vice4 ,influenced by a moral feeling1 especially by those considerations which ,christianity suggests1 and by those precepts which ,christianity enjoins1 this principle prompts individuals to gather only that they may prudently appropriate a befitting portion1 and generously distribute the rest2 but apart from these checks and guides1 and stimulated by the sordid passions of man's fallen soul1 the natural tendency to acquire1 in a multitude of cases1 degenerates into the sin of covetousness1 which is idolatry1 and he who makes haste to be rich becomes a worshipper of ,mammon4 ,nor can we here omit to notice what a wonderful spring of human energy2 what a motive to exertion has the material wealth of this world ever proved2 how1 perhaps1 even beyond the highest prizes of warlike ambition1 it has more frequently and continuously agitated the surface of society1 and moved it from its lowest depths4 ,it has been like a strong east wind sweeping over the world from the earliest ages1 and keeping the sea of civilized life in constant commotion4 ,as we read the history of commerce1 and think of the mercantile cities of antiquity1 ,tyre1 ,corinth1 ,alexandria1 and the rest--as we trace the stream onwards through the middle ages1 by the way of ,amalfi1 ,venice1 and ,genoa2--as we descend to latter times1 and touch on ,amsterdam1 ,bruges1 and ,louvain1 and then come home and muse on the rise and rivalry1 the progress and changes of the great centres of commerce in our own country2--as we pause in each place to look at the busy traffic going on within them1 to the crowded quays1 the well-stored warehouses1 the mart of the trader1 the shop of the artisan2--as we see groups of merchants1 mechanics1 and mariners2--as we listen to the buzz of many lips1 and the noise of unfurled sails1 and vessels loosened from their moorings1 the tramp of men piling up bales of goods1 the click of the shuttle and clangour of the anvil1 we have an impressive illustration of the high estimate of that material wealth1 which it is the object of all this energetic activity to produce and preserve4 ,percival's description of the pearl fishery at ,ceylon--itself a branch of most profitable traffic1 and exhibiting a scene of bustle akin to that of an oriental bazaar--may be regarded as a parable of the great world-mart we are thinking of1 and of the precious prize which the thousands who throng it all covet to obtain4 ,several thousands of people of different colours1 countries1 casts1 and occupations1 continually passing and re-passing in a busy crowd3 the vast numbers of small tents and huts erected on the shore1 with the bazaar or market-place2 the vast numbers of jewellers1 brokers1 merchants of all colours and all descriptions1 both natives and foreigners1 who are occupied in some way or other with the pearls1 some separating and assorting them1 others weighing and ascertaining their number and value1 while others are hawking them about1 or drilling and boring them for future use2 8all these circumstances tend to impress the mind with the value and importance of that object which can of itself create this scene40 ,on reading this description it suggests another parable1 a holy one from the holiest of lips4 8,the ,kingdom of ,heaven is like unto a merchant seeking goodly pearls3 who1 when he hath found one pearl of great price1 went and sold all that he had and bought it40 ,wandering far back into the regions of classic antiquity1 the finger of association points to ,olympia and her games1 those ,greek celebrations of which such graphic sketches are preserved in the triumphal odes of ,pindar4 ,though 8the immediate object of these meetings was the exhibition of various trials of strength and skill1 which from time to time were multiplied so as to include almost every mode of displaying bodily activity1 they became subservient to the interests of genius and taste1 of art and literature40 ,statues were reared to the memory of successful combatants1 8and the most eminent poets willingly lent their aid on such occasions1 especially to the rich and great4 ,and thus it happened that sports1 not essentially different from those of our village green1 gave birth to master-pieces of sculpture1 and called forth the sublimest strains of the lyric muse40 8,the scene of the ,olympic ,festival was during the season a mart of busy commerce1 where productions1 not only of manual but of intellectual labour1 were exhibited and exchanged4 ,in this respect it served many of the same purposes which1 in modern times1 are more effectually indeed answered by the press1 in the communication of thoughts1 inventions1 and discoveries1 and the more equable diffusion of knowledge40 #ia ,but these memorable institutions are suggested to us in the way of resemblance1 chiefly on account of the vast and various concourse of persons which they periodically attracted4 ,at the time when the games returned1 the banks of the ,alpheus became a centre of universal interest1 and exhibited a pilgrim population typical of a congregated world4 ,the festival 8was very early frequented by spectators1 not only from all parts of ,greece itself1 but from the ,greek colonies in ,europe1 ,africa1 and ,asia1 and this assemblage was not brought together by the mere fortuitous impulse of private interest or curiosity1 but was in part composed of deputations1 which were sent by most cities as to a religious solemnity1 and were considered as guests of the ,olympian god40 ,it is curious to observe--in contrast with the inclusion of so many of the female sex in our gathering of the nations1 the circumstance illustrative of the different position of woman in society in the old classic world--that1 with the exception of the priestesses of ,ceres1 and certain virgins1 none but men1 during the earlier periods of ,grecian history1 were permitted to appear in ,olympia at the time of those national festivities4 ,the history of this remarkable institution1 through the many ages in which ,greece was the pattern and mirror of artistic1 intellectual1 and social civilization1 exhibited that civilization in its rise1 progress1 and decay--its spring-tide freshness1 summer pride1 and autumnal beauty4 ,there might the hand of providence be seen1 disclosing1 expanding1 and then folding up forms of thought1 modes of association1 and habits of life1 which while they actually existed gave much of their own impress to the foreigners who were gradually familiarized with them1 and will long continue1 through the medium of their history and their remains1 to refresh the imagination1 stimulate the genius1 chasten the taste1 and arouse the emulation of mankind4 ,other associations1 which belonging to the medival ages may be grouped together under the class of romantic1 next occur to our minds1 bringing in procession before us a train of images nearer in point of time1 but more remote in point of resemblance4 ,we think of the rich old picturesque cities of ,europe1 which sprung up1 after the fall of the ,roman ,empire1 in ,spain1 and ,france1 and ,germany1 and the ,netherlands1 a hardy and robust offspring1 born in troublous times1 cradled amidst storms1 thrown on the world in infancy to take care of themselves1 and gathering1 like individuals1 strength and nerve and wit and prudence from this rough and irregular sort of training3--and forthwith the quaint-looking narrow streets are seen crowded with flocks of foreign visitors to drive a bargain in the bourse1 or to barter their wool at the staple1 or to mingle in the amusements of some civic festival4 ,and amidst the concourse of merchants1 and pedlars1 and workmen may be seen the knight and the squire1 the monk and the minstrel4 8,quaint old towns of toil and traffic1 quaint old towns of art and song1 ,memories haunt their pointed gables1 like the rooks that round them throng4 ,through these streets so broad and stately1 these obscure and dismal lanes1 ,walked of yore the master-singers chancing rude poetic strains4 ,from remote and sunless suburbs came they to the friendly guild1 ,building nests in ,fame's great temple1 as in spouts the swallows build40 8,i beheld the pageants splendid that adorned those days of old2 ,stately dames like queens attended1 knights who bore the fleece of gold2 ,lombard and ,venetian merchants1 with deep laden argosies2 ,ministers from twenty nations1 more than royal pomp and ease40 #id ,and1 then1 ,venice is seen1 rising out of the sea--a 8mazy dream of marble palaces1 old names1 fair churches1 strange costumes1 while the canals are like the silver threads1 the bright unities of one of sleep's well-woven visions40 ,within that great city--the modern ,tyre1 her history full of warnings pointed at pride1 cupidity1 ambition1 and tyranny--are seen her merchant princes1 with strangers from other lands1 8,greek1 ,armenian1 ,persian10 meeting together in busy excited crowds to look on the wares and treasures supplied by her richly freighted ships2 nor can we help glancing at the annual festival of that commercial republic1 when1 to use the words of ,rogers1-- 8,the fisher came ,from his green islet1 bringing o'er the waves ,his wife and little one1 the husbandman ,from the far land1 with many a friar and nun1 ,and village maiden1 her first flight from home1 ,crowding the common ferry4 ,all arrived3 ,and in his straw the prisoner turned and listened2 ,so great the stir in ,venice4 ,old and young ,thronged her three hundred bridges40 ,and then these cities disappear1 and give place to some curiously carved chapel--a gem of architecture--within whose dim aisles there gather groups of pilgrims from far-off places1 to pay their vows and offer their gifts at the shrine of a popular saint4 ,walsingham and ,canterbury show eager and zealous worshippers1 coming from distant towns and other lands1 to kneel with ignorant and superstitions reverence on the altar steps1 and to help by their genuflexions to deepen the indentations on the wave-like surface of the floor4 ,and then again our thoughts wander away to ,mediterranean ports1 and pilgrims are seen gathering there to go forth on a more formidable expedition to the ,holy ,land1 and as the vessel weighs anchor1 the old church hymn1 the ,veni ,creator1 chanted by the sailors1 is heard stealing over the waters1 as they spread their canvass to the wind4 ,nor can we forget that even these gatherings1 with all their superstition1 folly1 waste of time1 and pernicious moral influence1 nevertheless enlarged the circle of human knowledge1 and the domains of civilization1 and corrected errors in geography1 and wore away prejudices between race and race1 and promoted the interests of commerce and navigation2 and1 towards the latter part of the medival age1 contributed1 by the knowledge which many of those who visited ,rome acquired respecting its corrupt and licentious court1 to create and swell that deep tide of anti-papal feeling which preceded the ,lutheran reformation and promoted it when it came4 ,far greater crowds than ever are seen1 in the eleventh century1 embarking3 in the richly painted galleys of ,genoa and ,venice1 on their way to the ,east4 ,zeal for the ,crusades was the very spirit of the times1 fanned in some instances and kindled in others by the eloquence of ,peter the ,hermit4 ,europe precipitated itself into ,asia1 and multitudes who marched on foot1 as well as those who crossed the ,mediterranean1 appeared on the plains of ,palestine4 ,rarely has our world1 which has so often witnessed the gathering of armed men1 seen such a host as met the eye of our ,richard ,cur de ,lion when he reached ,acre4 8,around the city spread the camp of the besiegers1 a collection of warriors from every country in ,europe1 with their separate and appropriate standards4 ,the walls of the place were manned by its resolute defenders1 urging their active engines of warlike defence4 ,beyond1 at a visible distance1 the powerful army of ,saladin appeared covering the hills and plains3 their tents radiating with the gorgeous colours so precious to ,turkish taste40 ,the ,crusades wasted an immense amount of wealth1 sacrificed human life to an awful extent1 and were productive of intense misery in various forms4 ,but1 as in the case of all great gatherings of the human race for a common purpose1 the evils were in the main temporary1 the good produced permanent4 ,they did on a large scale what pilgrimages did on a small one4 ,they tended to undermine the system of feudalism and to sow seeds of liberty4 ,men were waked as by a thunder-clap from the slumber of centuries4 ,a movement was produced in society1 the impulse of which never died away1 for from that era ,european affairs underwent a change2 intellectual1 moral1 political1 religious life began afresh to throb through the ,western world1 and never since have men completely gone to sleep again4 ,transported in imagination to ,palestine1 the eye travels from the processions and crusades of former days to assemblages in modern times1 animated by a like spirit of superstition2 and among scenes of this kind such a picture as the following occurs on the banks of the ,jordan1 by the fountain of ,elisha1 detaining the fancy by its poetical interest1 while1 as an expression of blind and misguided feeling improperly termed religious1 it fills with melancholy reflections the mind which has been enlightened by true piety4 8,i estimated the number of persons encamped upon the plain before ,jericho at #b1ejj1 including a singular variety of languages and costumes4 ,there was scarcely a people under heaven among whom ,christianity is professed without its representatives here4 ,there were ,copts1 ,greeks1 ,armenians1 ,catholics1 ,protestants from ,abyssinia1 ,egypt1 ,asia ,minor1 ,turkey1 ,greece1 ,malta1 ,italy1 ,france1 ,spain1 ,austria1 ,poland1 ,prussia1 ,russia1 ,great ,britain1 ,america1 and ,i believe all or nearly all other ,christian lands4 ,cossacks were very numerous1 and were distinguished for their equipages and personal bearing among a motley assemblage1 which could hardly claim to be less than semi-barbarous4 ,this was no mean opportunity to study customs and costumes1 when a walk of two or three minutes brought under your inspection the ,egyptian dining upon an onion and a doura cake1 the ,syrian with his hands full of curds1 the ,armenian feasting on pickled olives or preserved dates1 the ,cossack devouring huge pieces of boiled mutton1 and the ,european and ,american seated around a box1 serving the purpose of a table1 covered with the usual variety of meats and drinks demanded by the pampered appetite of civilized man4 ,as it grew dark1 a multitude of fires was kindled throughout the camp and in the grove adjoining1 which threw their strong glare upon these very characteristic curious groups1 and gave the fullest effect to the picturesque scene4 ,the red caps1 the huge turbans1 the vast flaunting robes of striped silk or scarlet1 the coarse shaggy jacket and bag trousers of the ,cossacks1 the venerable huge beards and bare feet and legs of the orientals1 all seemed part and parcel of the human beings who lay nestled together upon the ground like domestic animals1 or moved about the illuminated area1 thus varying and multiplying by every possible change of light and shade the phases and hues of all that appears grotesque and fantastic to an eye accustomed to the graver modes of the western world40 ,and now that a chain of rather wild but not uninteresting suggestions has brought us to the ,holy ,land1 other thoughts1 sacred and divine1 bind us there for a while1 strengthened by the sight of many a foreign and home-born visitor among the actual crowd1 within and about the great ,crystal ,palace1 unmistakably of ,israelitish origin1 the descendants of the men who possessed the country in her better days4 ,and there1 on the summit of ,moriah1 stands an edifice devoted neither to war nor wealth1 to the advancement of art or to the gratification of pleasure1 but to the service of the ,god of the whole earth4 8,a mountain of snow10 it seemed to the ,roman ,titus1 8fretted with golden pinnacles40 ,but1 with an attractiveness surpassing that of material beauty1 it revealed itself to the lingering eyes of large companies at their holy feasts two thousand years ago1 as they at length touched the summit of some one of 8the mountains which stood round about ,jerusalem40 ,they came over hill and dale1 through mountain pass and by river stream1 singing the songs of ,zion1 and rehearsing glorious things spoken of the city of ,god4 ,at many a cottage door1 and village border1 and city gate1 groups of ,israelites young and old1 with smiling faces and beating hearts1 fell into the augmenting crowd2 which1 as it rolled on1 resembled the 8swelling of their own ,jordan40 ,they came 8upon horses1 and in chariots1 and in litters1 and upon mules1 and upon swift beasts1 to the holy mountain40 ,thither 8the tribes went up1 the tribes of the ,lord1 unto the testimony of ,israel1 to give thanks unto the name of the ,lord40 ,there was 8little ,benjamin with their ruler1 the princes of ,judah and their council1 the princes of ,zebulun1 and the princes of ,naphtali40 ,they entered 8through the gates into the city40 ,the ,jew from 8,dan0 met the ,jew from 8,beersheba10 and he who dwelt 8by the haven of ships10 saluted his brother from 8the other side of the river40 ,lover and friend1 acquaintance and 8kindred according to the flesh10 fell upon one another's necks and kissed each other4 ,the old man with his 8staff in his hand for very age0 saw 8his children's children and peace upon ,israel40 ,the 8streets of the city were full of boys and girls playing in the streets thereof40 8,there was a voice of noise from the city--a voice from the temple40 8,they went up to the house of the ,lord40 ,the priests were 8clothed with salvation1 the saints shouted for joy40 8,the singers went before1 the players on instruments followed after1 among them the damsels playing with timbrels40 8,they praised his name in the dance1 and sang praise unto him with the timbrel and the harp40 ,they 8brought an offering and came into his courts40 8,they came to the altar of ,god40 8,they compassed it round about40 ,they beheld 8the beauty of the ,lord1 and inquired in his temple40 ,one year stands out in the history of those gatherings before which every other fades4 ,then our passover was slain4 ,then the day of the world's pentecost was fully come1 and great was the gathering4 ,the multitude without the gates who were assembled to gaze on that spectacle before which1 at its close1 8the sun was darkened10 saw an inscription1 in the threefold language1 of which there was a pregnant meaning that ,pilate little thought of--8,it was written in ,greek1 and ,latin1 and ,hebrew10 the three great languages then spoken on the earth4 ,men who had used these languages from infancy were there4 ,representatives of the world were there--the ,roman centurion was there--,simon the ,cyrenian was there #ajc--multitudes of the ,jews were there4 ,and as they deciphered that strange writing1 the various tongues in which the title of the ,divine ,sufferer was expressed was a sign that in ,him1 the ,roman1 ,greek1 and ,israelite would find a ,saviour and a ,lord4 ,the three languages 8which like gold threads bind up the history of the ancient world10 were here beautifully entwined to tell the teeming crowd of one for whose coming all the changes in the story of their respective nations had1 in the comprehensive working of ,divine providence1 prepared4 ,the cross of ignominy1 at the sight of which they shuddered1 was the threshold he must needs pass to enter his kingdom and ascend his throne1 there to sway over them a sceptre at whose touch their hearts would bow and be rid of the burden of sin and guilt1--while their mutual antipathies would melt away1 and ,he who had brought them peace would make them one for ever4 8,the ,roman1 powerful but not happy--the ,greek distracted with the inquiries of an unsatisfying philosophy--the ,jew bound hand and foot with the chain of a ceremonial law10 would find in ,christ crucified the power of ,god and the wisdom of ,god2 and1 in the superscription of his accusation1 read wondrous words of 8peace1 pardon1 and love10 to all the dwellers upon earth4 #ajd ,seven weeks afterwards and again there was a gathering4 8,they were all with one accord in one place4 ,and suddenly there came a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind1 and it filled all the house where they were sitting4 ,and there appeared unto them cloven tongues like as of fire1 and it sat upon each of them4 ,and they were all filled with the ,holy ,ghost1 and began to speak with other tongues1 as the ,spirit gave them utterance4 ,and there were dwelling at ,jerusalem ,jews1 devout men1 out of every nation under heaven4 ,now when this was noised abroad1 the multitude came together1 and were confounded1 because that every man heard them speak in his own language4 ,and they were all amazed and marvelled1 saying one to another1 ,are not all these which speak ,galilans8 ,and how hear we every man in our own tongue1 wherein we were born8 ,parthians1 and ,medes1 and ,elamites1 and the dwellers in ,mesopotamia1 and in ,juda1 and ,cappadocia1 in ,pontus1 and ,asia1 ,phrygia1 and ,pamphylia1 in ,egypt1 and in the parts of ,libya about ,cyrene1 and strangers of ,rome1 ,jews and proselytes1 ,cretes and ,arabians1 we do hear them speak in our tongues the wonderful works of ,god40 8,and the same day there were added unto them about three thousand souls4 ,and they1 continuing daily with one accord in the temple1 and breaking bread from house to house1 did eat their meat with gladness and singleness of heart1 praising ,god1 and having favour with all the people40 ,then was the beginning of that ingathering of souls which the ,redeemer of the world predicted when he uttered those amazing words3 8,i1 if ,i be lifted up from the earth will draw all men unto me40 ,then he began1 and still he continues that infinitely gracious work1 in the accomplishment of which he unites a fallen and divided race together by uniting them to himself4 ,the moral world has been1 as it were1 riven by an earthquake--consumed by an internal fire--and he undertakes to reunite and restore it4 ,he employs his cross as the point around which the whole mass of regenerated humanity is to collect3 indeed1 by the simple virtue of that cross1 he accomplishes the change1 and constitutes it the axis on which the 8new earth0 shall rest and revolve4 ,the attraction is invisibly going on1 and the successful issue shall be at length developed4 ,to him shall the gathering of the people be4 ,they shall come not as captives1 but as those who choose his service 8to worship before him in his holy mountain40 8,the abundance of the sea shall be converted2 the forces of the ,gentiles shall come40 ,they shall 8fly as a cloud and as doves to their windows40 8,the isles shall wait0 on him4 8,the ships of ,tarshish first1 to bring his sons from afar40 8,he will gather all nations and tongues1 and they shall come and see his glory40 8,he shall set up an ensign for the nations1 and shall assemble the outcasts of ,israel4 ,the envy also of ,ephraim shall depart1 and the adversaries of ,judah shall be cut off4 ,ephraim shall not envy ,judah1 and ,judah shall not vex ,ephraim40 ,thus the divided world shall be made one in a way infinitely transcending the ambitious dreams of an ,alexander or ,napoleon4 ,the moral dispersion1 of which that at ,babel was the type1 shall be reversed2 men shall be united in religion and love3 and the lines of human interest1 like the radii of a circle1 concentrating in spiritual obedience and the glory of ,christ1 shall no longer confusedly and in strife cross each other as they do now1 and ever must1 while a base selfishness makes each man his own centre4 ,lifted into this mood of feeling1 so much loftier than that with which we began the chapter1 we cannot close without turning a reverential gaze on other gatherings1 in that state of being on whose precincts we and all the multitudes around us every moment tread4 ,there is the gathering in the grave1 8the silent waiting-hall where ,adam meeteth with his children40 8,the chief ones of the earth1 the kings of the nations10 are 8brought down there and the worm is spread over them1 and the worms cover them40 ,and 8there the rich and the poor meet together40 8,the small and the great are there40 ,who can count the sands on the sea shore--and who can cast up the number of the dead8 ,vast as it is already1 the concourse in the great city of the grave shall in a few short years receive accessions of myriads more4 ,the multitudes who crowd the streets of the ,great ,metropolis1 in their way to the ,palace of ,industry1 and all whom they represent in distant lands1 will ere long descend to the 8place of their fathers' sepulchres40 ,this globe1 as it sails round the sun1 carries in its deep hold many a costly thing2 but the dust of its buried generations is a freightage more precious than gold or silver6 ,along with this there is the gathering of souls into invisible realms4 ,it is consonant with reason and revelation1 that we should believe in the conscious existence of minds after their separation from the body4 ,while the mortal remains are preserved by ,divine ,providence for a mysterious restoration to life at the last day1 the immaterial and immortal spirit enters into a separate condition of blessedness or woe1 according to its character in the present state of being4 8,lazarus died1 and was carried by the angels to ,abraham's bosom40 8,absent from the body1 present with the ,lord40 ,the emancipated souls of all the holy dead1 through the mediation of the blessed ,redeemer1 are gathered together in his immediate presence where there is fulness of joy1 and at his right hand where there are pleasures for evermore4 8,to that state all the pious on earth are tending2 and if there is a law from whose operation none are exempt1 which irresistibly conveys their bodies to darkness and dust1 there is another not less certain and powerful which conducts their spirits to the abodes of bliss1 to the bosom of their ,father and their ,god4 ,the wheels of nature are not made to roll backward1 everything presses on to eternity3 from the birth of time an impetuous current has set in1 which bears all the sons of men towards that interminable ocean4 ,meanwhile heaven is attracting to itself whatever is congenial to its nature3 is enriching itself by the spoils of earth1 and collecting within its capacious bosom whatever is pure1 permanent1 and divine2 leaving nothing for the last fire to consume but the objects and the slaves of concupiscence3 while everything which grace has prepared and beautified shall be gathered and selected from the ruins of the world1 to adorn that ,eternal ,city which hath no need of the sun1 neither of the moon1 to shine in it1 and the ,lamb is the light thereof40 #aaj ,and terrific is it to think that as the multitude of the spirits of the just made perfect is thus ever augmenting1 so also is there an increase of the crowds of fallen and lost beings in the abodes of despair4 ,how many1 it is to be feared1 are hastening on1 by their course in this world1 not to paradise1 but to prison--not to be with ,christ1 but to go with ,judas to their own place6 ,and beyond these scenes of awful interest there lies another of like character1 to be witnessed at the end of time by everyone who may look at these pages1 because it will be the gathering of the whole human race4 8,the dead which are in their graves shall hear the voice of the ,son of man1 and shall come forth40 ,the sea shall give up the dead which is in it4 ,death and ,hades shall deliver up the dead which are in them4 ,the dead1 small and great1 shall stand before ,god4 ,the ,son of man shall come in his glory1 with all the holy angels with him4 ,then shall he sit on the throne of his glory4 ,and before ,him shall be gathered all nations4 8,behold1 he cometh with clouds2 and every eye shall see him40 ,to think of all the multitudes who have ever lived upon the earth--all who are now in heaven or hell--all who are existing like ourselves--all who are yet to be born1 assembled before the judgment-seat of ,christ6 ,no such an aggregate of human beings can have ever met before4 ,compared with that final one1 even regarded simply in reference to numbers1 every other assemblage fades into insignificance4 ,the solemn incidents of that day1 relating merely to the material globe and the works of men1 as predicted in the ,new ,testament2 the melting of the elements and the burning of the earth really appear1 upon reflection1 less startling and impressive than the vast concourse of mortals which shall then be seen4 ,and1 to add to the wonder1 all1 with the exception of those who will be alive at the coming of the ,son of man1 shall have passed through mysterious stages of existence1 through the hour of dissolution and the disembodied state1 and shall bring with them to the great tribunal some knowledge of the secrets of eternity4 ,something anticipative of their future and everlasting state they shall have experienced2 so that1 not in suspense1 but with certain hope or fixed despair1 shall they meet their ,god4 ,they will have learned long before1 that their moral history in this world had determined their eternal history in the next3 that if not twice born here below--born of the ,spirit as well as of nature--they must then die 8the second death40 ,thoughts and emotions1 remembrances and expectations1 such as in none of the world's great gatherings have been or ever shall be known1 will then be felt4 ,and1 to complete this1 the most affecting of all the associations which our subject has suggested1 the mind passes on to contemplate the purpose and issue of the whole4 ,placed before the great white throne1 every man's work shall be made manifest1 the secrets of all hearts shall be revealed1 that the rectitude of the judge may be seen in his final sentence of life or death4 ,no human adjudication can be comparable to that4 8,great and marvellous are thy works1 ,lord ,god ,almighty2 just and true art thou in all thy ways1 thou ,king of saints40 ,the brightest of all visions next unfolds4 ,a structure of peerless beauty rises above the ruins of the world1 and within its gates there gather men from all lands1 select but innumerable4 8,and ,i saw a new heaven and a new earth3 for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away2 and there was no more sea4 ,and ,i ,john saw the holy city1 ,new ,jerusalem1 coming down from ,god out of heaven1 prepared as a bride adorned for her husband4 ,and ,i heard a great voice out of heaven saying1 ,behold the tabernacle of ,god is with men1 and he will dwell with them1 4 4 4 and be their ,god4 ,and he showed me that great city1 the holy ,jerusalem3 and her light was like unto a stone most precious1 even like a jasper stone1 clear as crystal2 and had a wall great and high1 and had twelve gates1 and at the gates twelve angels 4 4 4 ,and the twelve gates were twelve pearls2 every several gate was of one pearl3 and the street of the city was pure gold1 as it were transparent glass4 ,and the city had no need of the sun1 neither of the moon1 to shine in it3 for the glory of ,god did lighten it1 and the ,lamb is the light thereof4 ,and the nations of them that are saved shall walk in the light of it3 and the kings of the earth do bring their glory and honour into it4 ,and the gates of it shall not be shut at all by day3 for there shall be no night there4 ,and they shall bring the glory and honour of the nations into it4 ,and there shall in no wise enter into it any thing that defileth1 neither whatsoever worketh abomination1 or maketh a lie3 but they which are written in the ,lamb's book of life40 ,here let the reader lay down the book1 and in devout silence muse on these 8four last things40 ,,part ,v4 ,,beneficial ,,results1 ,,probable ,,and ,,possible4 8,albion6 on every human soul ,by thee be knowledge shed ,far as the ocean waters roll1 ,wide as the shores are spread3-- ,truth makes thy children free at home1 ,oh1 that thy flag unfurl'd ,might shine1 where'er thy children roam1 ,truth's banner round the world40 ,,montgomery4 ,,possessed as we are of an aptitude and an inclination to speculate on the issues of any enterprise in which we take a lively interest1 we naturally turn1 when revolving in our thoughts the subject of our ,glass ,palace and our great gathering1 to look at the consequences which seem likely to emanate from such a remarkable exhibition1 or which may be elicited by wisdom and benevolence from the fact of such an assemblage of the human family4 ,there are temporal results of an advantageous kind certain1 or almost certain1 to arise4 ,while we deprecate the all-absorbing interest felt by too many in pursuits terminating upon our condition in the present life2 while we condemn an extravagant and idolatrous admiration of talent in invention and cleverness in contrivance2 while we deplore that in the present day there is1 in some quarters1 an unmingled enthusiasm about such matters1 which almost looks like the worship 8of the vice1 the saw1 and the hammer20 while we look with pain upon the instances around us1 in which our fellow-creatures are under the supreme and disastrous guidance of what an inspired teacher calls the 8lust of the eye and the pride of life20 while we bear in mind that the insatiable love of gain1 which is obvious enough in this commercial age1 and is plainly the besetting sin of multitudes1 must lead its subjects into temptation and a snare1 and many hurtful lusts1 which drown men in perdition3--yet1 consistently with all this1 in strict accordance with the spirit of our holy religion1 which has 8the promise of the life that now is and of that which is to come20 we look with interest and thankfulness upon all that may improve1 elevate1 and adorn the condition of mankind in the present stage of existence4 ,it seems impossible that this exposition of the works of all countries should not have a most favourable influence upon the taste1 knowledge1 convenience1 and physical welfare of mankind4 ,whilst the sight of so many productions of art will exercise the judgment1 inspire the admiration1 and chasten and guide the sensibilities of the mind in reference to artistic beauty1 we shall obtain an enlarged acquaintance with modern inventions1 and thus derive information relative to what forms an interesting chapter in the history of human achievements4 ,among the suggestions of philosophical and philanthropic minds1 that of ,douglas1 for the establishment of a ,great ,society1 which should survey the compass and collect and arrange the treasures of human knowledge1 a suggestion founded on ,lord ,bacon's germinant idea of a philosophia prima1 is one of the most remarkable4 ,the ,great ,exhibition will accomplish to a considerable extent one of the ends contemplated in the project4 ,it will convey more intelligence1 in reference to art1 than any written description could do4 ,the operations of our 8,regent ,society0 will furnish a gigantic catalogue of the inventions of men1 illustrated by the inventions themselves4 8,few works10 says the writer we have named1 8would be more conducive to further advancement than #8a calendar2'0--here he uses ,bacon's words2--8than a calendar resembling an inventory of the estate of man1 of all inventions which are now extant1 out of which doth naturally result a note what things are yet impossible1 or not invented40 ,here we shall have the very thing--the huge household book of the world's furniture1 bound in covers of crystal4 ,by its influence on the knowledge and cultivation of art the ,exhibition will promote at once our individual enjoyment1 the comforts of our home1 and all the conveniences and elegancies of domestic life1 and also tend to strengthen and elevate our national importance4 ,what will benefit the rich may bless the poor4 8,the discoveries which are the property of the higher class in one age descend indeed to the lower1 but slowly and imperfectly2 and there is ample opportunity and scope for accelerating the general diffusion of knowledge and inventions among all classes of society4 ,even1 in the most civilized countries1 the mass of the nation have been suffered to remain comparatively barbarous2 and it will be the dawn of a new and happier era1 when the condition of the multitude is considered with that interest which is due to those1 the sum of whose joys and sorrows are to all that is felt by the rest of the community what the ocean is to the drops of rain that fall into it40 8,it would be difficult to point out any branch of art which does not tend to the prosperity of our country2 those which in appearance are most remote in their influence1 however indirectly1 yet effectually contribute to the perfection of its manufactures4 ,the pursuits of immediate utility and of refined pleasure1 however far separated from each other1 alike combine in exalting our national welfare4 ,it is not necessary1 in recommending the fine arts to public patronage1 to point out how far they improve and recommend to other nations the productions of manufactures1 since they have higher and more direct claims upon the national encouragement4 ,still their advancement1 and above all their diffusion1 become of high importance in a country like ,britain1 to be and ever to continue the centre and heart of trade and manufactures40 #abb ,we may also advert for a moment to the connexion of the present enterprise with the pursuits of science4 ,in the history of human progress it may indeed be remarked that art has preceded science2 that ,phidias came before ,aristotle1 and ,michael ,angelo before ,lord ,bacon2 but still science has ever proved the friend of art in those branches which minister immediately to the enjoyments of mankind4 ,scarcely any specimens of modern ingenuity could be found in the ,exhibition which are not indebted for something of their beauty and adaptation1 if not their very existence1 to scientific knowledge4 ,the practical application of philosophy has given birth to the manifold kinds of machinery which at once abridge the toils and improve the products of human skill4 ,now art1 if it cannot pay back the debt it owes to science1 may be subservient to the interests of its patron4 ,so it has proved in many instances already1 and will continue to do1 no doubt1 as the necessities of artistic invention give an impulse to philosophical inquiry4 ,the manufacture of watches long since led to careful observations upon the effect of temperature on metals4 ,glass-making1 at an early period1 occasioned examinations into the colouring properties of metallic oxides2 and the dying of woollens and silks has naturally induced persons employed in that department to investigate the qualities of mineral substances as they bore upon the operations of their own trade4 ,no sagacity can anticipate1 no fancy conceive1 the yet future enlargement of the sum of human science1 especially in its minute details1 to be derived from the busy activities of useful art4 ,all this the present collection of the industry of the nations will be likely to promote2 and1 even with this limited view1 one may regard it1 in its relation to the ,illustrious ,personage who may be deemed the founder of the ,great ,institute1 as worthy of a place among the 8,opera ,basilica0 which ,bacon desired to witness4 ,some princes have sought to immortalize themselves by war2 some by purchasing the praise of contemporary poets2 some by erecting palaces1 temples1 and statues3 but at length a prince has arisen1 who1 to his lasting honour1 seeks1 by encouraging a noble enterprise1 to foster the arts and manufactures1 not only of his adopted country but of the wide world4 ,but the social effects of the great gathering are most important4 ,vast multitudes of the human race cannot be brought together for one common peaceful purpose without its tending to some desirable end4 ,there is a bond of consanguinity which encompasses all the descendants of ,adam4 8,god has made of one blood the families of men40 ,there are sympathies in all human hearts like the strings of a concert of harps attuned in harmony3 8as in water face answereth to face1 so the heart of man to man40 ,when men are marshalled under opposite banners in the battle-field1 and taught to look on each other as natural enemies1 deadly passions are evoked from the depths of the heart3 8,like warring winds1 like flames from various points ,that mate each other's fury1 there is nought ,of elemental strife1 were fiends to guide it1 ,can mate the wrath of man40 ,but when they meet amidst scenes of peace1 to contemplate the glories of nature1 or the beauties of art2 where they are freed1 for a while at least1 from the sophistry which would persuade them that the depression of one class or country is necessary to the prosperity of another2 the kindly instincts of the human breast are likely to unfold and operate1 and mutual amity and good-will to brighten and bless the interview4 ,we know how the selfishness1 pride1 and irritability of men1 after having for a season been lulled to rest1 may easily be aroused again3 we are not unmindful of the possibility that1 even through the ,exhibition itself1 jealousies may be excited in some minds2 yet still we cannot but hope1 and we fervently pray1 that after this peaceful congress of states1 and the amicable interchange of kind thoughts and good offices which generally1 we trust1 it will produce1 there will be far more even than at present an indisposition for war among the nations of the earth4 ,may we not expect that1 after this1 ,america1 the continental powers1 and ourselves will feel an increased reluctance to unsheath the sword8 ,will not fighting look more than ever like fratricide8 ,it was a custom among the ,romans to split in two1 and divide between themselves and foreign visitors who shared their hospitality1 a small token called the tessera hospitalis1 which was preserved from generation to generation in the two families who formed the friendly alliance4 ,it became an heir-loom1 to be enjoyed and used by remote descendants4 ,fervently do we desire that the result of the great gathering in the industrial mansion1 the minor gatherings in other1 and especially sacred1 places of resort1 and the private gatherings of foreign friends around ,english-hearths1 will be like the division of the tessera hospitalis in old times1 and that its memory will be cherished and honoured through years to come4 ,it cannot be supposed that men should meet together from such different quarters without enlarging their knowledge of each other1 of human nature1 and the world4 ,narrow and contracted modes of thought on certain subjects incident to very circumscribed travelling will1 we may expect1 expand into generous dimensions1 in consequence of a visit from afar to the ,british ,metropolis2 while the opportunities afforded us for intercourse with foreigners cannot but bring the knowledge of their methods of life and social habits to our very doors4 ,by those who are skilled in the languages of other countries the means of improvement afforded this year are great beyond expression4 ,may we not add1 that the intelligent observation of our country1 its large freedom1 its general order1 its civil institutions1 its commercial activity1 and1 above all1 its numerous benevolent associations1 will be adapted to suggest valuable hints and reflections to strangers2 by creating comparison between what they witness here and what they have been familiar with in their own land1 and by leading them to inquire into the causes of difference between themselves and us8 ,these are probable beneficial results of the ,exhibition2 there are still more important advantages to be contemplated among the things that are possible1 the actual realization of which must depend upon combined and individual effort4 ,whether1 in a moral and religious point of view1 it will terminate in blessing the world and ourselves must be determined by the use we resolve to make of it4 ,england has created an unprecedented opportunity for doing spiritual good on a large scale to the other countries of the earth4 ,a field of usefulness at home is now opened1 which may1 by careful tillage1 yield a harvest to be reaped by multitudes who shall return rejoicing1 8taking their sheaves with them40 ,no one can tell where the undulations of the influence will terminate which the ,christians in ,britain may now put in action4 ,evils relating to the interests of morality and religion will no doubt be incidentally occasioned by this vast concourse4 ,monsters in human form1 who seek 8the wages of iniquity10 by pandering to the gratification of sensuality and intemperance1 will make the months of our world-festivities the season for plying all the bewitching arts of their deadly craft4 ,they will spread their toils with the utmost cunning1 dress up profligacy and vice in the most gorgeous apparel1 and deck their 8chambers of death0 with surpassing luxuries4 ,the strange woman will 8sit at the door of her house1 in a seat in the high places of the city1 to call passengers who go right on their ways10 and to 8lead her guests to the depths of hell40 ,the harpies who live by the intemperance of others will not be slow in making provision for temptation1 where the dissipated may 8stretch themselves upon their couches10 and 8chant to the sound of the viol1 and drink wine in bowls and anoint themselves with the chief ointments40 ,the gambling-house keeper will be also on the alert1 to stimulate and keep alive a feverish avarice1 or to excite some desperate attempt to repair an already ruined fortune4 ,in all these ways1 and many more1 evil agencies will be busy1 even beyond their common wont1 to seduce the innocent1 to kindle passions impure and vile in the breasts of the unsuspecting1 and to rouse afresh the palled appetite and the jaded desires of the man hackneyed in the ways of sinful pleasure4 ,incentives to the breach of the sabbath will also be contrived2 facilities for amusements and excursions on the day of rest will be multiplied2 pleasure-gardens will be opened with new attractions2 and steam-boats will ply1 and omnibuses travel1 in augmented numbers4 ,the ,sunday press will1 we fear1 start on a fresh race for the favour of the worst portion of the public1 by supplying more stimulants than ever to a vitiated and diseased taste2 and other publications of vicious tendency will be industriously vended4 ,against all these dangers we warn the reader4 ,if the young and unexperienced1 when they visit the metropolis under common circumstances1 need to be on their guard against the designs of the profligate and unprincipled1 with more than double force does that necessity press upon them at the present season4 ,a much more than usual share of caution1 wisdom1 self-control1 and virtuous presence of mind will be requisite1 in order to preserve the visitor from falling a prey to such as 8lie in wait to deceive40 ,and let every youth1 whose piety has been formed amidst quiet sequestered scenes1 and has till now been sheltered by parental care1 and quickened and trained by domestic example and instruction1 seek1 as he comes within the reach of new and unknown temptations1 the special protection of ,divine ,providence1 and the holy safeguard of the ,spirit of ,god4 ,carefully should he strive to fortify himself against peril1 by fixed and frequent meditation on the precepts and principles of the gospel2 and1 above all1 it becomes him earnestly and often to present to ,god that memorable prayer1 8,hold up my goings in thy paths1 that my footsteps slip not40 ,but though mischiefs may be anticipated1 yet it appears to us a vast preponderance of moral and religious benefit may be accomplished1 if ,british ,christians rise up to the spirit of the great occasion1 and seek1 under the blessing of ,god1 to turn it to that valuable account which ,divine ,providence seems now to suggest to thoughtful minds4 ,we repeat1 that ,england has created for herself an unprecedented opportunity for doing spiritual good3 and we may add that her guilt will be indeed heavy if she neglect to improve it4 #a4 ,the great gathering supplies singular facilities for making religious impressions on the minds of our foreign visitors4 ,as a preliminary to this1 indeed an indispensable prerequisite1 we must be careful to show them courtesy and kindness4 ,it was held to be a religious duty among the ,greeks to give friendly entertainment to a stranger1 because it was believed he might possibly be a god in disguise4 ,an inspired pen enforces the duties of hospitality1 on the ground that 8some have entertained angels unawares40 ,we look for no such guests2 but we are assured that1 whatever be their costume1 clime1 and speech1 they who visit us are indeed souls of ,divine origin and enduring existence2 and the dignity of their nature is a sufficient reason why we should 8honour all men40 ,a sedulous and constant endeavour to treat them1 wherever they meet us1 with marked respect1 and with affectionate civility--to answer their questions1 to guide their way1 and to assist their examinations into objects of interest3--not to do this in a careless manner1 but so as to exhibit that true politeness which is described as 8benevolence in little things10 will tend to secure for us a vantage ground in all the direct attempts we may make for their spiritual welfare4 ,it will bespeak their friendly regards2 it will be on the surface of our character a beautiful proof of the practical nature of our religion1 and will recommend to candid inquiry the principles from which it springs4 ,a proud1 an indifferent1 a suspicious1 an antagonistic1 or even a patronizing air of intercourse--7one or other of which habits1 or all in turn1 some ,englishmen are prone to display when travelling abroad7--will at once alienate from us the people of other lands1 and prevent the success of our well-meant efforts1 however vigorously employed1 for their spiritual good4 ,we must look on them not as inferiors1 not as individuals worse taught than we--nor as ignorant or foolish--but as men of like passions and powers1 having heads as clear and hearts as warm as our own4 ,this propitiation of their favour is in a high degree important2 and if1 in the impetuosity of religious zeal1 it be disregarded1 the high purpose planned will be removed beyond the probability of accomplishment4 ,to secure great spiritual results1 both combined and individual action are requisite4 ,the ,bible ,society has devised its methods for supplying foreigners with the word of life in all languages4 ,means will be furnished for sending home many a sojourner amongst us1 like him of ,ethiopia1 who returned from ,jerusalem 8sitting in his chariot1 and reading the prophet ,esaias40 ,and1 if he should receive a favourable impression of our civilization1 as we hope he will1 and be led to see that its chief excellences are based upon the influence which the holy book has wrought in ,english society--as we trust he may--then will he be thereby prepared1 in some degree1 to search out the blessed contents of that volume which unfolds the promise of the 8life that now is1 and of that which is to come40 ,the ,tract ,society has also religious publications in various tongues for cheap sale or gratuitous distribution4 ,and perhaps when prejudice1 or an indisposition to afford sufficient time1 may interfere with the reading of the ,scriptures1 a tract may obtain a perusal1 and drop into the mind some germinant thoughts which may grow and ripen into the strength and beauty of spiritual life4 ,a special organization1 moreover1 has been contrived to secure places of worship for 8devout men out of every nation under heaven10 and to provide preachers in foreign languages1 to conduct earnest evangelical ministrations4 ,and is it too much to suppose that when they hear1 8every man in his own tongue wherein he was born10 the 8wonderful works of ,god10 there will be some1 who1 like those assembled on the day of ,pentecost1 will be pricked to the heart1 and will receive the word4 ,and let it not be forgotten that 8the natural man receiveth not the things of the ,spirit of ,god2 for they are foolishness unto him3 neither can he know them1 because they are spiritually discerned20 and moreover that this spiritual discernment is one of the 8gifts for men10 which an ascended ,saviour gives in consequence of his having 8led captivity captive40 ,the written letter is not 8the power of ,god unto salvation10 save as the ,spirit takes 8of the things of ,christ10 and shows them unto us4 ,seeds of truth will not produce 8them thirty1 sixty1 or a hundredfold10 till the ,lord give the increase4 ,there can be no pentecost without an effusion of the ,holy ,ghost4 ,but1 while we feel the necessity1 we should by faith and prayer honour him who has promised the supply4 ,god is willing to do his part1 if we do ours4 8,prove me now herewith1 saith the ,lord of hosts1 if ,i will not open you the windows of heaven1 and pour you out a blessing that there shall not be room enough to receive it40 ,but associated efforts will not suffice4 ,isolated action was everything once4 ,combined action is too exclusive now4 ,the one must be done1 and the other not left undone4 ,each man must strive in his own sphere to do good to the stranger from a far land4 ,he may distribute tracts1 he may guide to the house of prayer1 he may know how to drop a fitly spoken word2 or he may be able to introduce the foreigner to a courteous1 intelligent1 and educated friend4 ,persons of wealth and influence1 and especially such as1 together with these1 have tolerable facility in the use of modern languages1 possess talents for usefulness at the present time1 the value of which they can hardly overrate4 ,by judicious hospitality2 by making a point of cultivating acquaintance with the guests of the nation1 and selecting certain among them as guests of the family2 by frequent and wise arrangements for this purpose2 by entertainments1 elegant but simple1 generous but not extravagant2 and1 by methods easily understood and adopted by those who possess the requisite means1 many may be brought within the reach of the gentle1 tender1 and softening influences of ,christ's blessed religion of friendship and love--may have images painted in their memory never to fade1 and emotions kindled in their hearts never to be quenched1 and 8,oft1 while they live-- ,in their own chimney nook1 as night steals on1 ,with half-shut eyes reclining1--oft methinks ,while the wind blusters and the pelting rain ,clatters without1 shall they recall to mind ,the scenes1 occurrences they meet with here1 ,and wander in ,elysium40 ,they may discover that they were entertained by angels unawares4 ,elements of piety1 like rich odours1 may steal over their soul1 to leave behind an undying fragrance4 ,our ,christianity1 through our kindness1 may become endeared4 ,in the reminiscences of future years they may strangely feel that never were they so near heaven1 as during the memorable moments they spent around the domestic hearths1 and at the domestic altars of ,england2 and1 stimulated by the recollection1 they may embrace the truths and find the inward hidden life which will enable them to perpetuate and multiply such hallowed scenes4 #b4 ,the great gathering affords an argument for making efforts to promote religion at home1 and presents an opportunity for the purpose--8,we are a spectacle to the world60 ,the supreme ,governor of the nations1 the ,prince of the kings of the earth1 has assigned us a rank amongst the empires of the globe which cannot fail to attract the attention of mankind4 ,our constitution and laws1 our literature and science1 our commerce and art1 our army and navy1 present points of interest1 forms of grandeur1 specimens of activity1 and developments of power1 which the other cultivated portions of our race intelligently study as great theorems in the science of civilization2 while our brethren in distant regions1 still half barbarous1 gaze on the signs of our glory1 or listen to the tale of what we are and do1 with a vacant and bewildering kind of wonder4 ,and moreover the people1 institutions1 and language of this little isle have attained a sort of ubiquity4 ,they are seen1 felt1 heard1 in almost every latitude of both hemispheres4 ,something or other ,british1 some foot-marks of our wide-spread influence1 may be discovered on nearly every shore4 8,we are a spectacle to the world60 ,the ,christians of our country--embracing the true disciples and servants of man's ,divine ,redeemer1 commissioned by his express mandate1 and constrained by his infinite love--have united and are still employed in the sacred task of teaching to the ends of the earth the blessed name of him they worship and adore4 ,they send the missionary1 the ,bible1 and the tract1 to the pagan people of the world's two continents1 and to them that 8are afar off upon the sea40 8,we are a spectacle to the world60--rendered so by ,providence1 accepting and maintaining the position by our secular and still more by our sacred enterprises1 we more emphatically than ever assert the publicity of the post we occupy1 by now inviting the inhabitants of the world at large to visit our land4 ,as a professedly ,christian nation1 then1 glorying as we do in that title--making a boast very often of the purity of our religion1 of the reformation of old corruptions1 and the brilliant beauty of its spiritual truths1 8what manner of persons ought we to be in all holy conversation and godliness80 ,england should be the model nation for the world4 ,will not some strangers come1 almost expecting to find us such8 ,will they not look for striking indications of the influence among ourselves of that ,christianity which we preach to them as worthy of all acceptation8 ,will they not inquire1 what is it doing for us8 ,and we do not fear but the intelligent and candid among them will recognise not a few of the beautiful footprints of our religion in our institutions and our homes4 ,but will they not see something else8 ,will they not mark1 here and there1 broad spaces in our civilization where the power of our ,christianity has never come--spaces in society left uncivilized8 ,we need not now point them out2 they have been laid bare again and again1 and urged on our notice by home missionaries and city missionaries1 by magazines1 newspapers1 and parliamentary records4 ,they have met our eyes and made us shudder1 in revelations from the press1 the pulpit1 and the platform4 ,terrible secrets have been divulged respecting some departments of ,english life4 ,facts have been stated indicative of the vice and irreligion of some portions of the community4 ,meditating on these things1 we seem to hear1 from the lips of the foreigner whose spiritual welfare we contemplate1 those well-known words--8,physician1 heal thyself2 whatsoever ye have done in ,capernaum do also in thy country40 ,and the just retort makes us blush--not indeed for our ,christianity1 but for ourselves4 ,our ,christianity1 wherever it has been purely taught and faithfully applied1 has wrought marvels on a scale fully proportioned to the extent of our efforts4 ,what makes us ashamed is1 that we have not discharged our duty in reference to its diffusion among ourselves1 any more than we have done our duty in reference to its diffusion throughout the world4 ,the presence of so many foreigners1 whom we virtually challenge to come and inspect the working of our ,christianity1 does not really increase our obligation1 does not bind us more than we were previously bound1 to promote the religious interests of our own countrymen2 but surely it should powerfully remind us of our obligation1 should press it on our conscientious regard1 should awaken us from our slumbers1 should stimulate us now vigorously to do what ought to have been done long before4 ,while we see so much in our great towns and rural districts to pain and humble us in the sight of men1 much more ought we to be pained and humbled in the sight of ,god4 ,the observation of mortals is trifling compared with his4 ,their reproach a light matter placed beside his condemnation4 ,for years has the eye of him who watched over ancient ,israel to see what they were doing with his truth1 whether they obeyed or dishonoured it1 whether they taught its doctrines and precepts to the young and ignorant1 or left them uncultivated1 a prey to unbelief1 to superstition1 or false philosophy--for years has that eye been looking on ,english ,christians and noting down their culpable neglect4 ,happy will it be for us as individuals now1 and for our country in all coming times1 if the great event of the present year should excite a prevalent attention to the remaining spiritual necessities of the kingdom--if it should give an impulse to our schools1 our churches1 and our missions4 ,that is among the possible advantages to be reaped2 and earnestly is every ,christian reader who may glance at these pages implored to take up1 and ponder1 and carry out practically1 with diligence1 zeal1 love1 and prayer1 the hints imperfectly suggested1 that so the year may be signalized by an exhibition of ,christian devotedness to the work of religiously benefiting our countrymen1 for which we shall have the approbation of our ,divine ,lord1 the testimony of a good conscience1 and the grateful remembrance of posterity1 who will 8rise up and call us blessed40 ,at the same time the assemblage of many persons from the provinces in ,london this summer1 affords an opportunity1 an unprecedented opportunity1 for attempting1 in a humble and devout spirit1 something bold1 significant1 and generally attractive of attention1 with a view to the spiritual good of the multitude4 ,let thousands upon thousands of appropriate religious publications be cheaply sold or freely given to the crowds about the park1 and the streams of passengers flowing through the principal thoroughfares4 ,and let the gospel be preached by well-known1 accredited1 intelligent1 and earnest-minded men1 in the spirit of the preachers in the day of ,pentecost1 not in spacious buildings only but in the open air1 wherever it can be done with propriety2--judicious arrangements being made for the purpose1 that holy and apostolic zeal may not1 without prejudice and misrepresentation1 be regarded as ignorant and rash enthusiasm4 ,the enterprise is commenced4--,exeter ,hall has been engaged for public services on the ,lord's day through several months--preaching out of doors is also contemplated4 ,the initiative taken1 let others follow up the work1 till ,london and its environs be pervaded with the light and power of the gospel4 ,,part ,,vi4 ,,lessons1 ,,pertinent ,,and ,,practical4 8,with arm in arm the forest rose on high1 ,and lessons gave of brotherly regard3 ,mercy stood in the cloud with eye that wept ,essential love1 and from her glorious bow ,bending to kiss the earth in token of peace1 ,with her own lips1 her gracious lips which ,god ,of sweetest accent made1 she whispered still1 ,she whispered to revenge1 #8,forgive1 ,forgive4'0 8,silence had a tongue2 the grave1 ,the darkness1 and the lonely waste had each ,a tongue1 that ever said1 #8,man1 think of ,god1 ,think of thyself1 think of ,eternity4'0 ,,pollok4 ,a ,,century ago ,london was thrown into excitement by the shock of an earthquake4 ,in the streets1 and for six miles round the city1 slight undulations were plainly perceptible4 ,houses were shaken1 so that parts of them fell down2 and ships in the river ,thames were loosened from their moorings4 ,numbers of the terrified inhabitants flocked into ,hyde ,park1 which1 being a vast area unencumbered with buildings1 was supposed to afford a less perilous position for the people than they could find elsewhere1 in the event of their being overtaken by the dreaded catastrophe4 ,whitfield happened to be in ,london at the time1 when the minds of the citizens were agitated by intense and distracting fears2 and with an eloquence1 which was surpassed only by his zeal1 endeavoured to improve the terrific event by making it the occasion of appropriate religious appeals4 ,one night he addressed a vast concourse in the ,park1 and while the people pressed together to hear him under the open sky--and the silence of the scene1 the bright stars overhead1 the dim shadow of the speaker1 like some impalpable visitant come on a warning mission from the other world1 and the occurrence which had brought them together contributed to the effect of his discourse1--he with his almost superhuman voice which with mysterious intonations rolled into men's ears1 and moved their hearts as with an earthquake1 described to them the terrors of the last day1 and exhorted them to flee from the wrath to come4 ,could a ,whitfield now1 in #ahea1 gather around him in the same spot the concourse attracted there under such different circumstances1 he might with a little exercise of his ingenious powers of adaptation1 with a slight effort of his talent for extracting spiritual lessons from passing incidents1 address his auditory on duties of infinite moment1 taking as a suggestive text one of the bearings of the festival of art already noticed in these pages2 namely1 its hopeful tendency to produce reconciliation and peace among the nations of the world4 ,we can fancy such a preacher at the quiet hour of eventide--the sky1 clear azure1 with a few fleecy clouds--the emerald-like tree-tops bathed in the rays of the setting sun1 and scarcely moved by the gentle air--all nature seeming to repeat the angel's song1 8on earth peace1 good-will toward men20 we can fancy him lifting up his voice to tell the crowd1 softened and soothed by surrounding influences1 that professing as they do to meet in national friendship1 and to celebrate a feast of brotherly love1 there are some other obligations to peace and reconciliation which come still nearer to their homes and hearts4 ,failing the preacher--apart from the helpful influence of the scene imagined--and debarred the aid of that sympathy which thrills through a crowd when touched by the living voice of a loving fellow-man1 we would attempt for a moment1 through the medium of this little book1 to enforce on the individual reader two methods of improving the present event suggested on slight reflection4 #a4 ,the professed character1 and what we fain hope to be the spirit1 of the gathering1 suggest a duty which concerns us in our domestic relations4 ,men1 some of them not long ago1 in arms against each other1 we see now on terms of amity4 ,perhaps the ,austrian meets in the park the ,italian he has faced in the field--the ,turk1 the ,egyptian at whom he aimed his scimitar--the veteran ,frenchman1 the ,british soldier with whom he grappled at ,waterloo--but enemies or aliens no longer1 they pass1 if they do not recognise each other1 as friends4 ,this congress on pacific terms1 with a cordial understanding1 is a spectacle on which the eye loves to linger1 and over which the heart of the philanthropist dilates with hope4 ,now1 does not this festival1 without any far-fetched application1 seem to say to every one of us1 as members of a family1 that surely at this time consistency is added to the other grounds of duty which require us to cultivate towards those related to us by nature an unsuspicious temper1 a frank and open disposition1 a desire to conciliate where differences have arisen1 and a determination to cement where cordiality prevails8 ,should not each endeavour to make his home--whether mansion or cottage1 hall or hut--a sanctuary sacred to peace and concord8 ,should not each man now more than ever aspire to the fulfilment of the office and the enjoyment of the benediction described and pronounced by the ,divine ,teacher of love1 8,blessed are the peacemakers2 for they shall be called the children of ,god40 ,unseemly and inconsistent is it1 while we are inviting foreigners to forget past enmities1 to consign to oblivion by-gone strife1 for any of us to allow domestic jealousies and heart-burnings to torment our breasts1 which should be full of domestic charities and sympathies4 ,while thousands1 of different colours1 climes1 and costumes1 join to bury the hatchet of strife under the ,hyde ,park elms1 let those who own a common parentage1 who in childhood sat on the same knee1 and were nursed in the same bosom1 or whose relationship1 though not so intimate1 is far from remote1 between whom1 alas1 differences have sprung up1 seek by mutual concession to arrive at a better understanding1 and thus render the present year memorable in their domestic annals4 ,it would be a beautiful incident to associate with this bright passage in the history of the world a few lines relating to reconciliation and love1 where private strifes had embittered hearts intended by nature and providence to be ever one4 ,the religion of ,jesus ,christ1 as it is intended to bring together the nations of the earth in amity1 is also meant to bind together the inmates of a home in friendship4 ,wherever its laws are submitted to1 and its spirit imbibed1 there peace must reign1 and the domestic circle be a refuge from strife4 ,the gospel teaches lessons above all others suited to this end4 ,it points the master to ,god1 the model of fatherly government1 and bids him remember that he has a ,master in heaven4 ,it speaks to the husband1 and points to ,jesus ,christ1 bidding the husband love his wife 8as ,christ loved the church40 ,it speaks to the parents1 and charges them to train up their children 8in the nurture and admonition of the ,lord40 ,it speaks to sons and daughters1 commanding them to honour their father and mother1 and 8obey them in the ,lord40 ,it speaks to servants1 and tells them to 8be obedient to such as are their masters according to the flesh1 with fear and trembling1 in singleness of heart as unto ,christ1 not with eye-service as men-pleasers1 but as the servants of ,christ doing the will of ,god from the heart40 ,in this great world of strife what should be so peaceful as a ,christian home8 ,amidst the storms which rock life's ocean1 where shall we find a harbour if not there8 ,while divisions are rife1 where shall we find union1 if not among the branches from a common parentage8 ,scenes of domestic purity1 innocence1 and love there are to be met with in many of the homes of our land1 over which religion has thrown its shield1 where a happy exemption from the evils which tear society in pieces is enjoyed2 where surely some relic is to be found of what ,eden was2 where the parent's care1 like a deep-rooted tree1 spreads out its graceful branches1 while the children's love1 like fragrant and flowery creepers1 twists and curls tenacious tendrils around the venerable stem1 8recompensing well the strength it borrows with the grace it lends10 and the dew of ,god's blessing1 and the sunshine of ,god's smile1 fall upon them one and all4 ,happy scenes these1 which ,jesus visits as he did the feast at ,cana1 and the home at ,bethany1 teaching such families out of his own word1 sanctifying them by his gracious ,spirit1 guiding them by his perfect example1 protecting them by his mighty power1 comforting them by his unfailing sympathy1 and preparing them for a better home of which he gives them glimpses as they read the ,bible and kneel together at the footstool of ,god's throne4 ,through faith in the gospel1 and prayer for the grace of ,him who is its source and life1 these scenes might be greatly multiplied3 and who but must desire it1 and strive for its promotion1 so that while this year we invite the nations to meet as a family1 the family may meet as the brethren of ,christ and the children of ,god4 #b4 ,the character and spirit of the gathering suggest a farther lesson connected with our individual interests and our spiritual relations4 ,would we fain look on the present year as sacred to reconciliation and peace8 let each one inquire whether he has ensured the enjoyment of those blessings in their most precious and enduring forms6 ,it is a fact1 to which the consciousness of most thoughtful men bears witness1 that in connexion with the intellectual harmony of their nature1 there is sad discord in their moral experience4 ,the heart is divided against itself--its little world is full of rebellion and strife1 torn in pieces by intestine war1 like an empire in the anarchy of an interregnum1 even as that clear-sighted ,hebrew1 looking at himself in the radiance of a light which fell from heaven1 most plainly saw1 and mournfully confessed1 when he cried1 to his and our true ,lord and ,maker1 8unite my heart to fear thy name60 ,that inward confusion indicates the rejection of a ,divine law of order1 and that fact explains the secret of many a man's misery4 ,the material world out of which he gathers the triumphs of art1 and the intellectual power by which he achieves his victories over the physical1 are in a state of unvarying subjection to law1 and hence the admired results of his formative genius and taste2 but he himself1 the innermost and moral self1 is out of harmony with law4 ,hence the disorder and trouble which human beings carry with them everywhere1 amidst the harmony and order of external nature2 which1 with a still small voice1 reproves them for their disobedience4 ,some lead mournful1 miserable lives2 they strive to be happy1 but happiness flies from them4 ,all kinds of expedients are adopted to secure inward peace2 but these all fail4 ,the disappointed ones still try4 ,again cheated of the prize1 they try--it is in vain4 ,and do you not know the secret of your sorrow8 ,you lay it perhaps on circumstances1 or friends1 or on the world1 or on nature1 or on ,god4 ,you invent causes and miss the right one4 ,here it is lying within yourself1 in your own heart and will4 ,your inward life is not under the rule of the great ,god4 ,his laws run in one direction1 and carry happiness with them4 ,your soul rushes in an opposite direction1 and dashes against these laws4 ,the collision is your misery and ruin4 8,you stretch out your hand against ,god1 and strengthen yourself against the ,almighty4 ,you run upon him1 even on his neck1 upon the thick bosses of his bucklers40 ,man's heart1 divided against itself1 throwing off the yoke of law1 is at emnity with ,god4 ,divine relations are disturbed4 ,the bonds which alone could bind safety and peace to the human soul1 by binding that soul to the omnipotent and loving ,father of all1 are ruptured and destroyed2 and thus1 giving up its ,guide and ,guardian1 the wandering child is left to battle with storms in the dark ocean of evil over which it strives to push its bark4 ,how can there be security to a creature who breaks away from ,god8 ,how can that bosom be at peace in which there is no love to him8 ,his law has sanctions1 as all effectual and perfect law must ever have--pain and trouble therefore follow disobedience here and hereafter4 8,the wages of sin is death40 ,such being the facts of the case1 the first desire of all should be to secure reconciliation with ,god1 with law1 with conscience4 ,the gospel1 and it only1 reveals the method of this reconciliation4 ,it teaches us that there is redemption in ,jesus ,christ2 that ,god has set him forth to be a propitiation through faith in his blood1 to declare his righteousness for the remission of sins2 that whoso believeth in him is justified2 that there is no condemnation to them that are in him2 that he is our peace2 that to as many as receive him he gives power to become the sons of ,god2 that being made sons they receive not the spirit of bondage again to fear1 but the spirit of adoption1 whereby they cry1 ,abba1 ,father2 that his people are renewed and sanctified through his ,spirit1 that dwelleth in them2 that the righteousness of the law is fulfilled in them who walk not after the flesh but after the spirit2 and that having access by faith unto this grace wherein we stand1 they rejoice in hope of the glory of ,god4 ,this ,divine reconciliation1 inward order1 and holy peace are our best qualifications for seeking to promote domestic reconciliation1 national order1 and the world's peace4 ,they are the proper preparatives for all usefulness1 private and public--for all works of love towards our fellow-men4 ,for how inconsistent it is to think of binding up the wounds of a family1 curing the ills of the commonwealth1 or bringing a divided world together--while the very soul1 dreaming of these achievements1 is a spectacle of sorrow to unseen beings2 inasmuch as it is engaged in an impotent warfare against its ,god1 and is bleeding under fatal injuries inflicted on itself in a struggle so unutterably awful and insane4 ,fraternity6 concord6 union6 ,these beautiful words come with a melancholy and mocking sound from any lips but those which have prayed for union with ,god1 concord with law1 and fraternity with a holy obedient universe4 ,how touching also1 even to tears1 is it to think that any of the minds so richly gifted by the ,creator should devote themselves through life to artistic and intellectual toils1 for the sole purpose of bringing into fair proportion and symmetry rude heaps of matter1 or confused elements of thought--while their own nature1 in itself and its highest relations1 is left 8without form1 and void10 like the primeval deep1 its face covered over with darkness4 ,these blessings to which we have referred alone can satisfy4 ,other things1 however fair and good--success in the formation of the beautiful1 and even the production of the beneficent1 leave a consciousness of want until the human spirit be reconciled to itself and ,god4 ,the soul wonders why the cup in which it has mixed such sweet ingredients should yet be dashed with bitterness2 but so it must be while the vessel itself retains the wormwood of its spiritual enmities4 ,let the cup be cleansed2 let the moral nature be renewed and purified by a reconciling faith in the ,one ,mediator2 and then shall the man1 however disappointed before1 find himself blessed above all mortal blessedness4 ,these blessings too are of an enduring character4 ,it were to tell an oft-told truth1 if we described the limited existence of all works of art and genius2 if we reminded the reader of the crumbling touch of time1 and pointed him to the all-enveloping ruins of the last day1 when 8the elements shall melt with fervent heat1 and the earth and all the works that are therein shall be burned up40 ,but these common themes are as indisputable and awful as they are common3 nor should any one forget them as he looks on the palace of glass--7how forcibly symbolic is that word7--and on the manifold structures1 possessions1 and achievements of men4 ,in contrast with such brittle objects1 how strong in enduring strength is that spiritual good to which1 in the conclusion of this volume1 we direct1 with intense desire and hope1 the thoughts of every reader4 8,the world passeth away and the lust thereof3 but he that doeth the will of ,god abideth for ever40 ,the ,divine favour1 so plainly promised to such1 is an inheritance exempt from the condition of time1 change1 and mortality4 ,it is a treasure brought down to us from another world1 and will be carried back there by him who finds it4 ,in the silent musings of eternity the soul1 reconciled to ,god through faith in the blood of ,jesus ,christ1 will be able to look back with unspeakable satisfaction on a course through this world1 in which the only thing not doomed to perish with itself was secured and appropriated4 8,i could not stay in that earth10 will be the reflection of so happy a spirit4 8,i saw but a little while what it had within it of the beautiful and the sublime in ,god's works1 and in the works which ,god enabled man to accomplish2 ,i left them there to perish1 and on the last day ,i saw them perish3 but in my passage ,i discerned1 by the aid of the ,divine ,spirit1 something better than all that they signified to me4 ,i seized the ,pearl of great price and have brought that away40 #afa ,on the other hand1 how inexpressibly dreadful must be the recollection of the opposite class of human souls1--of all unreconciled1 unregenerate1 earthly1 sensuous1 and even merely intellectual ones1--who will be for ever tortured with the accusation of their own mortifying and fatal folly1 because they will have passed through a world of perishable objects with only one thing imperishable1 and in striving to enjoy them forget that1 and after a life of toil1 ambition1 and hope1 came away with nothing4 99 99 99 99 99 99 99 99 99 99 ,stevens and ,co41 ,printers1 ,bell ,yard1 ,temple ,bar 99 99 99 99 99 ,just published4 ,,the ,,royal ,,exchange ,,and ,,the ,,palace ,,of ,,industry2 ,,or1 ,,the ,,possible ,,future ,,of ,,europe ,,and ,,the ,,world4 ,foolscap #hvo4 #bs4 extra cloth boards4 ,,french ,,and ,,german ,,editions ,,of ,,this ,,work ,,are ,,in ,,the ,,press4 99 99 99 99 99 ,,the ,,industrial ,,exhibition4 ,books and ,tracts suited for distribution at the present season in the following languages3 ,,english4 ,,french4 ,,dutch4 ,,spanish4 ,,swedish4 ,,german4 ,,italian4 ,,portuguese4 ,,danish4 ,,russian4 ,,modern ,,greek4 ,may be obtained at #ef1 ,paternoster ,row1 and #afd1 ,piccadilly2 also of ,,nisbet ,,and ,,co41 #ba1 ,berners ,p4 ,,hance1 #ad1 ,upper ,gloucester ,street1 ,oxford ,street ,place1 ,chelsea4 ,,soho ,,bazaar1 ,soho ,square1 ,,miller ,,and ,,field1 #f1 ,bridge ,road1 ,counters ,nos4 #ecf #ecg4 ,lambeth4 ,,hanbury ,,and ,,co41 #gj1 ,edgware ,j4 ,,roberts1 #b1 ,arabella ,row1 ,road4 ,pimlico4 ,j4 ,,groom1 ,soho ,bazaar4 ,w4 ,h4 ,,dalton1 #bh1 ,cockspur ,street1 ,charing ,cross4 ,j4 ,f4 ,,shaw1 #bg1 ,southampton ,row4 ,t4 ,,varty1 #ca1 ,strand4 ,b4 ,,seeley ,,and ,,co41 #b1 ,hanover ,street1 ,regent ,street4 ,,mrs4 ,,press1 ,depository1 ,church ,street1 ,hackney4 ,c4 ,,haselden1 #ba1 ,wigmore ,street4 ,w4 ,,hands1 ,clapham4 ,s4 ,j4 ,,ladd1 #aj1 ,jonson's ,pl41 ,harrow ,road4 ,g4 ,w4 ,,medes1 ,camberwell4 ,h4 ,,fase1 #a1 ,edwardes' ,terrace1 ,j4 ,h4 ,,jackson1 ,islington ,green4 ,kensington4 ,w4 ,d4 ,,thomson1 #ach1 ,upper ,street1 ,j4 ,l4 ,,porter1 #dc1 ,sloane ,st4 ,islington4 ,w4 ,f4 ,,ramsay1 #aa1 ,brompton ,row4 ,t4 ,k4 ,,gorbell1 #af1 ,hereford ,place1 ,commercial ,road ,east4 99 99 99 99 99 ,,footnotes4 #ad 8,the internal columns are placed twenty-four feet apart1 while the external ones have no more than eight feet 7a third of twenty-four7 of separation2 while the distance between each of the transept columns is three times twenty-four1 or seventy-two feet4 ,this also is the width of the middle aisle of the building3 the side aisles are forty-eight wide1 and the galleries and corridors twenty-four4 ,twenty-four feet is also the distance between each of the transverse gutters under the roof2 hence the intervening bars1 which are at once rafters and gutters1 are necessarily twenty-four feet long40 #ed ,see an interesting lecture on the ,british ,empire1 by the ,rev4 ,wm4 ,arthur4 #ia ,bishop ,thirlwall's ,history of ,greece4 #id ,lines from ,longfellow's ,belfry of ,bruges and ,nuremberg are here blended4 #ajc ,cyrene was a ,greek colony4 #ajd ,life of ,st4 ,paul1 by ,conybeare and ,howson1 p4 #cb4 #aaj ,robert ,hall4 #abb ,douglas1 ,advancement of ,society1 p4 #aea4 #afa ,see ,foster's ,discourses1 second series1 p4 #abh4 ,the passage is an imitation1 indeed partly a quotation1 of one of his4