CHAPTER III.

RELIGIOUS AND SOCIAL DISSIPATION.

"I would not have the restless will,
That hurries to and fro,

Seeking for some great thing to do,
Or secret thing to know.

I would be treated like a child,
And guided where I go."

A. L. WARING.

THERE is nothing, perhaps, so strongly characteristic of this so-called " age of progress," as the bustle and excitement which are attendant upon it. The speed of the telegraph and the railway train seems typical of the rapid succession of events in everyday life; one engagement of business or of pleasure following so closely upon another, that there is little leisure for rest, much less for thoughtful reflection. In commerce, in trade, in literature, even in religion, the same

spirit is everywhere observable, and the busy torrent rushes ever onward, with such force and impetuosity, that few can avoid being carried away by it. Even the most sober and phlegmatic are drawn into the whirl, and, notwithstanding protestations and regrets, plunge helplessly into the same exciting round of fancied duty. We are living literally in a "fast" age;-an age of hurry and breathlessness, of superficial acquirements and outside show; of mad speculation, and desperate struggles, by any and every means, to acquire wealth. Such may possibly be the consequence of the striving for improvement, which has been awakened by the rapid and general diffusion of knowledge among all classes of society, but it may be doubted whether it is conducive to strength and solidity of character, or to the formation of habits of deep and serious thought. To think has indeed become a somewhat rare acquirement in the present day, especially amongst the young. "We have been," says a modern writer, Mr. Isaac Taylor, "during a long course of years, running hither and

thither, spending our days in crowds. We have lost all relish for mental labour, have especially abhorred the toil of private meditation, and have applauded only that which tends to maintain and promote an artificial agitation of the spirit." The censure is sweeping, yet we fear it is but too just. Of this, however, we leave the reader to judge.

But it is among the professors of religion that this spirit of excitement is chiefly to be deplored. We speak not now of those merely nominal disciples, who are still " of the earth, earthy,"—but of those who have been truly "renewed in the spirit of their mind,” and desire to reflect the image, as they bear the name, of a risen and ascended Saviour. Will our younger sisters bear with us, while we affectionately entreat them to be on their guard against this growing evil, and to remember the injunction, not less applicable to them than to the sex to whom it was originally addressed by the Apostle, to be " soberminded." Nor is the dissipation of which we speak less hurtful in its tendency, because it seems, at first sight, to bear the aspect of

intense carnestness in religion. The same craving which leads one to the theatre, the ball-room, or, perhaps, the dram-shop, leads another to the crowded lecture-room or the exciting anniversary meeting. It is the same spirit which, in very many instances, actuates both, though differing somewhat in its outward development. And, though in another manner, it is almost equally prejudicial to spiritual growth and health, and certainly does not tend to increase our love for the quiet and uneventful routine of home duties. But let us not be misunderstood. We are far, very far, from wishing to affirm that it is wrong to attend either meeting or lecture. Both are useful, and have done much to awaken the interest of the Christian public in those noble institutions which seem to be God's chosen instruments for evangelizing the nations. We do not stop to inquire how much of this interest is genuine, and how much may be due to the attractions of eloquent and popular speakers,—for, in this life, the evil must ever be mixed with the good, and, whilst we deplore the one, we

must not overlook the other. Moreover, we fully believe that, in every audience, there are many whose hearts beat high with pure love to the Saviour, and with earnest desires. for the extension of His kingdom. But we regret that attendance upon these things should so frequently be made the serious business of life, to the neglect of those less attractive yet sacred duties, which, as women, and more especially as Christian women, we are most assuredly guilty in neglecting. When we hear of a lady whose name is on every Committee of Management, and whose place in the public assembly is never vacant, we tremble for the comfort of the domestic circle which is dependent upou her superintending care, and owes so much of its brightness to her presence. And even if this is scrupulously attended to, and her absence from home of no material importance, so that she can conscientiously say that "these things she has done," while she has not "left the others undone," we should still fear for her own individual welfare. For if to the time thus spent, is added that devoted