MIRACLES AND SCIENCE. And what happened for his servant at the instance of the prophet Elisha, "Lord, I pray thee, open his eyes that he may see," —were this done for any man to day, what a change, in a moment, there would be in everything about him! The solid earth, perhaps, would have become but as a vapour, just dense enough to hold the spirit of nature and manifest its play and glow; while distances above, around, and below, would he felt to be at once infinitely great and curiously small, changing, so to say, with the spectator's changing mind. Also, for that man, the clouds and atmosphere would have disappeared, while the invisible ether perhaps would have become visible, and alive with currents of fluid more subtle than electricity, and with angels passing in glory like shooting stars, and with resemblances of auroras and seas of gold, and also with threads of sympathy between souls on earth and souls departed, and which may be none the less real or useful, for not being known of, on either side. Also with some appearance, not far from him, some silvery, golden sheen, which he might notice, he might have an experience like that of St. John the Divine, and see the smoke of incense, with prayers of saints, ascending up before God, from a golden censer in an angel's hand. And after this, in a moment, with merely remembering his dead father, he might find himself face to face with him. And then, as this opening of his eyes was closing, and while his sight was becoming again that simply of the "natural man," he might retain, perhaps, out of all that he had seen, only some few incongruous reminiscences, and a sense that the great glory itself of the vision was what it is not possible for a man to utter. World beyond world! World within world! Not only are the miracles of the Scriptures credible, but because of what information now faith can extract from science, more and more natural does the supernatural seem to become, and more and more supernatural, because of its susceptibilities, does the kingdom of nature seem to grow. A glimpse about us with those eyes, which will open for us first probably only after death,—a glimpse with those eyes with which we are to see all eternity,—just a glimpse of the spiritual world, which indeed already we are living in, though we are cased against it by the flesh,-with just one glimpse we should feel, that in such a world as there is about us, and that with such worlds within worlds, as there are which probably concern us, that the promises of Christ may yet perhaps be to be fulfilled, MIRACLES AND SCIENCE. and that greater works than have yet been done, Christians may yet do by invoking, in faith, Him of that name, which is above every name, and unto whom morals, politics, and science, rule, authority, and power, and all things, are to be subdued. And with that one glimpse, too, what impossibilities as to belief would vanish! For in that widened sphere, vitally connected with humanity, that the spirit of demons might be competent to add confusion to human affairs, by working miracles, in some way or other, on the road, and at the time contemplated in the book of Revelation, this all would seem to be not much more improbable than that wicked rulers should ever be backed by genius. And between the highest and the lowest sources of miracles, foretold in the New Testament, there would seem to be place for those spirits, about whom there is a forewarning by St. John, that they ought not to be believed as spirits simply, but that they should be tried as to their being of God, because that actually and already, and to John's own knowledge, and as though by inspiration from spirits, there were many false prophets "gone out into the world." Miracles impossible because of science! They are impossible to the belief of a man, simply because of the conceit which comes of learning, but in no other way. For really the powers of nature, as they are discovered by science, would seem to be the ready, pliant agencies of supernatural purposes. Why should not the demons of Plato's theology be as much at home on magnetic currents as men are in steamboats? Why should not an angel be able to approach this earth, by subordinating electricity to his use, as well as Benjamin Franklin have been able to draw, and concentrate, and enslave it for human purposes? Science! what has science, in the court of common sense, to say against the miracles of healing, by a word or a touch, which are told of in the Scriptures? It has nothing, absolutely nothing whatever to say, except that it has not heard of such things of late centuries, and that they do not appear ever to have been very common. But that is nothing for science to tell. To an angel of wisdom, or to the eyes of the best inhabitant of the star Sirius, imported into this earth, as a judge, belladonna would not seem to be any more likely, as a curative agent, than a man's hand. And when it is remembered what a man's hand may be as a channel,-how it is connected with his brain, and through his brain with a wide universe of forces known and occult, and with A THIEVES' SUPPER. God, the fountain-head of all power; and when, by Christians, not as necessary to the argument but additionally, it is remembered that through the Spirit, God was in Christ, and Christ in His apostles and others, it does not then seem to be incredible, even in itself, that the human hand, stretched forth in faith, may have been as efficient for healing as dried herbs at their best, and quicker than they as to operation. In the Gospel of Luke it is written that "it came to pass, when he was in a certain city behold a man full of leprosy, who, seeing Jesus, fell on his face and besought him, saying, Lord, if thou wilt, thou canst make me clean. And He put forth His hand, and touched him, saying, I will be thou clean. And immediately the leprosy departed from him." A THIEVES' SUPPER. ONE evening, not long ago, a curious and mournful gathering was held on the south side of the Thames. At the invitation of Ned Wright, himself a converted deserter, prize-fighter, and housebreaker, about seventy female thieves, and about half that number of similarly bad characters belonging to the other sex, assembled in the Gospel Hall, New-Cut, Lambeth, to eat a supper of pea soup and bread, and to listen to the preaching of the Gospel. The " Gospel Hall," which is situated towards the Westminster Road end of the New-Cut, was formerly a " Penny Gaff," and it still bears many marks of its ancient appropriation. Within, we find a pit, a gallery, and a platform. The pit and the gallery will hold together between 200 and 300 people. The supper being intended especially for female thieves, the women had almost exclusive possession of the floor, and the men were sent up into the gallery. The women, who, as we have said, numbered about seventy, were of all ages, from sixteen to sixty, or probably more. All were, to judge from their appearance, thieves of the meanest and most miserable kind. There was no show of success or pride, or even bravado about them. With the exception of two or three girls on one of the front benches, who wore bright wraps around their necks and showy feathers in their jaunty hats, the clothes of all were mean, and poor, and scanty; their faces were pinched and drawn by want and hunger; and their manner was watchful, timid, and cowed. Of the few girls who looked better fed and better clothed, who A THIEVES' SUPPER. still retained some of the freshness of girlhood and some of the daring mirth of youth and innocence, two or three were afflicted with racking coughs that shook them at times from head to foot, which told a sad tale of constant exposure to wind, and rain, and storm, and threatened in unmistakable tones a speedy termination of their miserable careers. The supper which was provided consisted of large bowls of strong pea soup, replenishable at the will of the consumer, and huge lumps of good wholesome bread. The girls in the front places did not appear greatly to relish their entertainment. They loudly laughed, almost contemptuously, among themselves, when the huge bowls of steaming soup were presented to them; and although they ultimately stowed away the "toke" in pockets or shawls, they hardly touched the steaming liquid. Not so their older and more experienced fellow-criminals. With them the pangs of hunger were sharper. Soup and bread disappeared with equal rapidity, and more than one poor woman asked for and received another and yet another allowance. After supper the women sang a hymn from a collection arranged by Ned Wright himself, and the old anthem, "I will arise and go unto my Father." Both these pieces were, upon the whole, well sung, and in the latter, which seemed well known to most of the guests, their voices became quite musical with the music inspired by deep feeling and genuine interest. After offering up a prayer of moderate length, the more earnest appeals in which were responded to by the women with murmurs of sympathy and frequent utterances of the "Amen," Ned Wright read a portion of the 15th chapter of St. Luke, and then leaving the Prodigal Son envying the pigs whom it was his business to feed, dashed somewhat suddenly into a discourse which was half speech, half sermon, and in some respects neither one nor the other. The principal topic of his address was the efficacy of the Atonement, the sufficiency of a belief in Christ, the Redeemer, to ensure salvation, and the certainty that all the sins of the believer are washed out and destroyed for ever by the blood of the Saviour. In the development of this theme he narrated several personal anecdotes, and these stories unquestionably more thoroughly secured the attention of his audience, than did his more strictly theological arguments, or his most pathetic appeals. With these exceptions, it cannot fairly be said that Wright's address appeared to produce any great effect upon his audience. At first they listened to it with half-eager curiosity; but they POETRY.-ANECDOTES AND SELECTIONS. seemed unable to maintain their attention for many minutes, and before long many of them began to chatter and gossip among themselves, only again inclining their ears to the speaker when he approached one of his more striking passages. At the close of the proceedings, each of the women received a substantial present of bread, tea, and sugar, and for this all seemed to be very grateful. UP, to a higher level, To a nobler range of thought! Up! for the sunlit summits Poetry. UPWARD. The day's first beam have caught; Leave, leave the petty trifles Which enervate the mind; Thou shalt find gems of richer worth Up, to a higher level, To a truer style of life! And dwell above the surges Of worldly care and strife; Live for the glorious future Which lies before thy soul; Walk in the paths of energy, Wisdom and self-control. Up, to a higher level, A stronger holier heart! And seek unfailing guidance From revelation's chart; Onward and upward, seeking A better, happier sphere, Where dwells a clearer, purer light, A warmer atmosphere. Up, to a higher level! There are heights above thee yet; Till rises on thy vision When earthly darkness, night and Have rolled like mists away. Up, to a higher level, With a pure and steady aim! Nor the flashing meteor, fame; To happiness and God. Anecdotes and Selections. NOT WHAT I WANT.-When Archbishop Secker was laid on his dying bed, his friend, Mr. Talbot, came to see him. He felt it was their last meeting together, so he said: "You will pray with me, Talbot, before you go away?" Mr. Talbot rose, and went to look for a Prayer Book. "That is not what I want now," said the dying prelate. "Kneel down by me, and pray for me in the way I know you are used to." So the good man knelt by his friend's bedside, and |