then to be far, far away-"like a diamond in the sky"—yet I believed as well as wondered. Though often greatly depressed, because of much suffering, yet in God I was glad. Believing He was good, and wise, and loving, I could trust Him, though I could not trace Him. But, alas! at last, that confidence was sadly shaken, and my happiness greatly marred. I was unwilling to offend God, and yet I was conscious of wandering from Him.

"In my distress I wept and prayed, but my faith was so weak that I became afraid it was unbelief. I would have all Christians to be like Christ, and I felt I was not like Him, and I saw so many very unlike Him. Dread filled my soul- -a terrible fear lest I, too, might become like many I saw around me without faith, hope, and charity, though they named the name of Jesus."

Think of him, poor lad, hard driven by the world and uncharitably spoken of by not a few who "named the name of Jesus." True, all were not alike; some professed believers meant to be kind, but even they so unwisely managed matters that they seemed to have in view the burning out of his young doubts by the strongest of caustic, instead of healing them by the Balm of Gilead. He says:-"Timid though I was, I ventured to speak to one or two whom I thought might help to keep me in the way; but they did not understand me; they seemed as dark as I was, as if they knew nothing of the thoughts that troubled me. They could give no reason for the faith by which they professed to be guided, and the interpretations they put on various passages of Scripture I could not reconcile with the wise and loving character of God, which I had entertained and cherished."

Here was a subject for the kindly care of our Young Men's Christian Associations. What great suffering might have been saved had our young friend been brought under a better treatment, a milder and more humane mode of dealing with young

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men's understandings, consciences, and hearts. Finding he could not be driven, he was left alone, as if he had no soul to feed; but not long, for others—some of whom had been soured by the same causes which estranged him—sought his presence. Neglected by the professedly religious, he was the easier induced to frequent the company of those who made no profession of religion. Speaking of them, he says, "They soon became very anxious to get me advanced (?) to their standard, and for that purpose they lent me their books, some of which possessed an intellectual grandeur which I could not but admire, whilst their profuse glitter confused me more than ever. Unwilling to leave Christ, I cried for help, for I found the frightful conviction growing stronger and stronger-that what was called Christianity was not divine, because I could not see its influence for good on the minds and conduct of those who professed to be actuated by its principles and guided by its precepts. But I was not willing to allow this to rest as a settled conviction. I felt, or rather desired to feel, that it was erroneous; but this fact stared me in the face, namely, that with very few exceptions those with whom I had met who professed to be religious were anything but loving and loveable, anything but honest and charitable, anything but what they tried to make others believe they were. To me, the majority seemed to be God's children by pretension for the fifty-two Sundays of each year, and the devil's by practice for the remaining three hundred and thirteen days. All this, and the fact of the great national suffering existing-which I regarded as the result of political and social wrong, a result which I thought should not have been known in a Christian country -confirmed my rather hastily drawn conclusion, and led me farther astray."

A WORD ON BEHALF OF YOUNG MEN.

Most people will readily admit that it is greatly to be deplored

that such a child-like faith should be so shaken as to take away almost all purely spiritual joy, and yet we live in the midst of such causes as led to the doubt and the absence of happiness of our young friend; causes even deeper and more dangerous than those he has named, and because of which many of our youth of all classes have been wandering to all the Albanas and Pharpars within their reach, instead of to the streams of Jordan and Silva's soft flowing waters. Now, as then, these stumbling-blocks are in the way, obstructing the healthy progress of the most earnest and the best of young doubters. As we shall see, they make many mistakes, not being always able to form a correct judgment, often placing themselves as between two fires; but with blame pity should come. They, like our young friend, frequently take their stand by the words, "By their fruits ye shall know them "-meaning the creeds and those who profess them—and this is a good standard, if not perverted. Some young doubters may be able to admit that the working of certain narrow forms of belief, may, in some cases, help to keep men from gross sin; but this does not increase nor strengthen their faith. They may see that from under these forms of belief have sprung some fine developments of Christian character; but, say they, such instances have generally been seen in those who were naturally of a noble type, who became strong enough to burst the fetters of narrow thought-and then they are carried away with what is too true, that the conduct is seldom regulated by what is often best in such creeds, in many cases not even modified. They see where there is zeal, it is too often zeal without knowledge, the zeal of the bigots, madly in love with their own party, fiercely opposed to most others.

All that and all its consequences are very productive of scepticism, especially when any of the leaders in religious thought are suspicious of Art, Literature, and Philosophy, uncharitable in their judgments, injurious in their language,

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implacable in their animosities, ferocious in their anathemas, believing that they, their party, and a few other parties scattered through the world, are from God, and that all the rest of mankind, and nature herself, are from the devil. Not that they say this in so many words, but they act as if they believed it. And the sad effects of all this tell more powerfully if it is seen in those who have been trained under what is called "the ministry" as is generally the case where the ministers have been either sternly cold or haughtily silent in matters pertaining to that which is human and humane-where the most startling statements have been pronounced with the utmost emphasis, sometimes with fury, accompanied by damnatory denunciations, and that not always by men most conspicuous for their virtue or benevolence. Where this is the case, we need not be surprised if earnest young men stagger as they contrast the statements of the Bible with the practice of those who profess to take it as a lamp to their feet and a light to their path. We have admitted that young men often consider such things, statements, and conduct when in a state of mind unsuited to the work; but then they are driven to it, whether able or unable. Strong statements and inconsistent conduct challenge investigation; and sensitive souls, wincing under a deep sense of wrong, naturally look at the forms of creeds with the sharp, and, sometimes, with the untrained eye of youthful distrust. And, as it not unfrequently happens, they see, or think they see, in the creeds they "examine" much that is very terrible, even if it were true; much that is very withering, very hopeless, as well as very mysterious. They find, or think they find, that much of what is being so dogmatically pronounced as true is founded on far less than demonstrative evidence. Their disgust deepens, and often Christianity is given up.

This is very sad, but let us rejoice that even in its midst― as in the case of our friend-there are some who burst the

limiting or fettering obstacles and attain the Christian form of noble manhood. But, alas! for one who rises, many stumble and fall, some to scatter broadcast the seed which has destroyed their own peace of mind and lessened their usefulness. Generally the confused souls either halt between two opinions and become mere nonentities, or go off at a tangent of total defiance and opposition to the views of their friends. And when this is the case, the falling away generally acts injuriously on their moral nature, if not on their habits of life.

While most determinedly opposed to all the licentiousness and dogmatism generally associated with one-sided scepticism, we plead that a more thoughtful kindness be manifested towards young men, those of them who are honest doubters, that each individual case, with the various surroundings and training, be carefully considered. Only conceive of young men full of love-and the glories of science and literature rising round them like autumnal stars-surrounded by an atmosphere, the chief element of which being intolerable exclusiveness and narrow partyism! Surely it would be better for young men, for the Church, and hence for the world-at least, it would indicate greater wisdom and a better heart— were the leaders of religious thought to consider what would serve as a counteractive to speculation.

True, it has happened that there has been a falling away even when the young men were thoroughly satisfied with the good faith, real talent, and undoubted excellence of the preacher. Thus Theodore Parker sat for long under Dr Beecher's ministry-his reverence for the man, and his determined aversion to his doctrine increasing at the same rate from year to year. Yet we feel convinced that if kindly dealing with young inquirers was the rule there would be less young doubt, or at least, what doubt did exist would all the sooner pass away to be exchanged for a more enlarged, and therefore more solid and lasting form of faith. Certainly there would