of the country the proud Southron proposed to lay aside to some extent his prejudices, and invite immigration from the Northern States or from Europe. The right chord of sympathy was now touched, the key-note was sounded, and the grand chorus began. Conservative editors all over the South began to change gradually their tone from fierce opposition to silence or qualified approval, until to-day they are loudly clamoring throughout the length and breadth of the "Sunny South" for the immigrant to come and bring his skill and his money with him. This is great progress toward reconstruction. The middle wall of partition is tumbling down, and you might hear many a stroke from a Southern hammer more or less vigorously applied to hasten its entire removal. All this in spite of Congressional acts and interference; in spite of political specifics and panaceas; in spite of much of the lusty preaching from Northern pulpits. It comes mainly from the natural development of forces inherent in Southern society, which become more and more disengaged and free as passion, prejudice, and bitterness subside.

Some of the people are much more advanced in this improvement than others. The less excitable and the more intelligent take the lead. The more clearly they see things, and the farther they can look into the future, the more practical and reasonable they become. The impulsive and the ignorant lag behind. Some cities and communities are more forward than others, but the solid phalanx is broken-the line wavers and bends forward in places; there is motion and commotion preparatory to a grand forward march. The cords which bound them down and held them back are giving way, and the progressive movement will be constantly accelerated.

There is another hopeful indication. As the intensity of bitterness evaporates from the Churches--for much of this bitterness, to their shame be it said, was in the Churches, and a great deal still remains in them, but it is gradually softening down and disappearing—we repeat, as this intensity of bitterness evaporates from the Southern Churches, a consciousness of their spiritually demoralized condition, caused by the war, is leading them to desire and pray for revival. Many of them are entering into this work in downright earnestness. They are asking, and they will doubtless receive; they are seeking, and will probably

find. Now if, even at this late hour, the spirit of a general revival shall be poured out upon them from on high-if the true spirit of Christ, in its fullness, ever enters their hearts-the Christian people of the South, headed by their ministers, will spring to their place in the front, and taking the leadership out of the hands of Mammon, will speedily bring this work of religious and social reconstruction to a happy consummation. There is the sound of a going forth in the tops of the mulberry-trees. There are signs of abundance of rain. May the Lord speed and preside over its coming! This we desire, and this we hope; yet much of it is of the nature of prediction, and may not be fulfilled.

Thus far progress seems to be destitute of the higher virtues. It is not of pure choice, nor desired for its own sake. It is complied with as a disagreeable means for a more desirable end. Hence, as a general rule, they have taken no steps in advance thus far, except as they were driven by their necessi ties. They may not feel complimented by this remark, which is made not for the purpose of reflecting upon them, but purely for the sake of historic truth. While they have come into more friendly and practical business relations with the freedmen, because they need their services; and while they present a more tolerant side to people from the North, because they want the benefit of their capital and mechanical skill, they still keep up an almost unbroken Chinese wall around their "Southern Society." The following extracts, taken from the Franklin Repository, from an article recently contributed by Colonel A. K. M'Clure, and dated Columbia, S. C., though professedly descriptive of things only in that State, is nevertheless, with but very few and rare exceptions, true of the whole South so far as family intercourse is concerned :

The people do not war upon Northern men with violence, but, as is most natural, they will war upon the Northern emigrant in a thousand ways. They will shun him socially; they will avoid his place of business; they will not employ him; in short, they will render him only civility and deal with him only from necessity. Between the Northern people and the natives there is an impassable social gulf. A few Southern men lament it, but not one, as far as I know, has been able to open his doors to the most reputable Northern visitors and welcome them to his fireside and family. The attrition of business interests and intercourse gradually makes Southern gentlemen sociable, but their families are beyond the reach of reconstruction. Congress may practically

reconstruct the men of the South, but what power exists sufficient to the task of reconstructing the Southern women? When this problem is solved, the work of reconstruction can be completed. The solution is a question of years. How long it may take depends upon the measure of Northern immigration. Northern capitalists are now gradually possessing the Southern railroads. Factories will follow, and employ the fine water-powers and cheap labor so abundant here. Farmers will sell their Northern farms at $50 to $150 per acre, and buy equally fertile lands, with the most inviting climate, for from $5 to $15 per acre, and Northern mechanics must come to keep pace with Northern progress. Northern merchants will settle in Northern communities, which will have Northern schools and teachers, and Northern Churches and Pastors, and necessity will make the Southerner advance. The present generation will move slowly, but the next will be glad to accept Northern ways and respect Northern energy. The hope of the South is in Northern immigration, and the sooner it comes the sooner will the blessings of peace and prosperity heal the wounds and restore the desolate places of the sunny South.

This exclusion of Northern families and individuals from their social circles was partly from prejudice and dislike, and partly as a stroke of policy. They seemed to think that Northern people could not be contented to remain among them if not admitted into their "society." And as at first they did not wish them to come, or, if they came, to stay long, hence their exclusion. They have learned, however, two things: first, that the South greatly needs, and will suffer financially for the want of, Northern immigration; secondly, that Northern people can get along in the South very comfortably even without the exalted privileges of their social reciprocity. They find other ways to occupy their minds and improve their time. besides running from house to house, making and receiving calls. The South find by observation that the imported Northern society can get along and flourish quite as well without them as they can without it. So far as their motive for exclusion sought to discourage immigration, it will have to be given up as utterly futile and useless.

Their fancied dislike to Northern society is founded entirely on ignorance, and prejudices growing out of that ignorance. When that ignorance shall have been removed by opportunities of closer observation, as it soon must be, the prejudice which grew out of it will soon give way. There are not a few sensible women in the South who do not approve of this social

exclusiveness, and will in a little while begin to break away from it. In a few places this work. has already begun to show itself. We may look in the next few years for a great improvement in this direction. The South will yet rise above the influence of necessity to the doing from pure choice of worthy and noble things.

Human nature at the South is quite as good as at the North. When you get down through public sentiment, through the biases of education, and the influences of prevailing fashions and customs, that nature is about the same every-where. The human natures that were raised at the North, even in the State of Massachusetts, when long transplanted to this Southern soil do not become any more beautiful in form, or more fruitful in good works and noble principles, than the natures that are native to the soil. There is often a marked difference between the two classes, not often much to the credit of the importation. To err is human, and any people yet discovered, though in error, do not like to be brought to the right path by denunciations, or by what they regard as abusive measures. Force applied in this way, however well intended, usually develops the unamiable qualities of our common humanity. We all prefer to be kindly dealt with, to be first convinced of our errors, and then affectionately won back to ways of peace and righteousThere is a world of wisdom and philosophy in this declaration of the Saviour: "No man can come to me, except the Father which hath sent me draw him." If God cannot bring men to Christ by any other than a winning and a drawing force, ought we to expect that God will, or that we can, draw others into kindly and just relations with ourselves or with each other by harsher and less acceptable instrumentalities? The Southern people have done many things that are wrong, things whieh hereafter they will be sorry for and ashamed of, but they did them under an awful pressure of excitement. They were a long time in a state of training by their leaders for this. It was the result of an education and of a growth in which the people generally were the victims, rather than the responsible instigators. As that was slowly coming on, it must not be expected to pass quickly away. In this, human nature will obey its established laws. Yet it will pass away, and the people of the South will yet in due time come out of their ex

ness.

citement and abnormal condition, and manifest as truly noble traits of character as Christianity has ever developed in any people. Then let us extend toward them not only forbearance and sympathy but also Christian courtesy and charity; and kindly use the more winning means and Christlike methods to bring them back into all the harmonies of peace and of social and Christian fellowship.

ART. V.-THE EARNEST VERSUS THE EASY MINISTER.

"THE age demands an earnest ministry." This is the language often heard from the pulpit and the pew, from the religious and secular press of the Christian world. And it is true. But it may be said that what is true of this, has been true of every age. Man's moral or spiritual wants are substantially the same in every age and in every place. He exists in every age as a sinner. But he exists as a redeemed sinner, surrounded by the vast remedial agencies which the infinite love of the infinite God has provided, and with all the mighty possibilities of his being within his grasp.

But we have especially to do with this age. This, with all its surroundings, is emphatically our day. And in many respects, it differs from all the ages which have preceded it. The dawn of the nineteenth century witnessed the inauguration of a new era in the history of human progress and destiny. The application of steam to the propulsion of the vessel and train and later, of electricity to the transmission of human thoughts--has changed the whole face of the civilized world, and well-nigh annihilated both time and space. But along with these discoveries other mighty agencies have been brought into existence, looking to the elevation and the evangelization of the world. Missionary, Bible, Tract, and other societies have been organized, which are dotting the world with mission stations, scattering the leaves of the Bible and religious truth almost as thick "as leaves in Vallambrosa," and causing the silver trumpet of the Gospel jubilee to sound among all the hills and valleys of the world. Responsive to this call, startled by