The times. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1890-1903, 1897-06-24

from Scripture and all. would, II care
fully analysed, resolve itself into Il pious
excuse for l~aziness or incompetency. We
fear that the honest reason may be sue
cinctly stated thus: I'VE don't under-
take to satisfy n cultivated taste. pc
cause 1t is so much easier to speak with.
out any reference to it, CultiVa'eu
people are not infrequently the haroes'
to reach. At a missionary meeting III
New York city the question discussed
was. How are we to reach the heatheh
Of Five Points," A plain. practical mar
suggested tho query. How shall we
reach the heather up on Fifth avenuef
All our missionary organizations are III
tended TO reach the poorer. AT least
they are so regarded. In our associauon-
Al gatherings. when money Is asked lor'
IL is especially emphasized that IL rs
needed for preaching the Gospel 10 the
poor. Who ever heard OF a society LOT
the propagation OF the Gospel a"one
the rich and the cultivated'
The poor have the Gospel preached
to them" was one of the evidences when
Jesus gave Of His Messiahship. Sat IL
il not taught. either by precept or oy
example. that we are to leave the ron
the influential, and make no enort 10
save them. Ii is hard for a rich man
10 get to heaven: and the noble anu
learned and influential man OF the wofih
Ia subject 10 very peculiar temptations
10 live an ungodly and self-sufhcient NE
We are not sure that the word Goes
not need a society for the spread OF tne
Gospel among the rich and the learned:
for they are. so far as personal enor,
for their salvation is concerned, the most
neglected portion of our population.
THE GOOD RESULTS.
Pm, how much success has crowned
the efforts Of our religious h~iographersf
The plan of ignoring the literary element
Of the reading public has had a long
fair and almost unrivalled trial; and II
II were worth much, it ought to show
rich fruits. The conspicuous lack OF
fruit il an unfavorahle symptom.
Some few writer's ave rejected the
plan. and have written religious biogra-
phies with more or less regard 10 the
taste Of the literary world, and these
are the books that continue 10 be read,
and thai have lone about all the good
tina has been done In this direction.
Mrs. Linnet. George Eliot tells MS. was
A reader Of biographies, land as she
was i'm the habit of contning herself 10
the purely secular portions, which bore
a very small proportion 10 the whole
she would make rapid progress In tax
ing up the life Of some distinguished
divine. she always turned 10 the end
10 see what disease he died Of. II his
legs swelled, or If he was dropsicai, she
became greatly interested. IN. B.-She
was dropsical. tool. 1.-The had fallen of
a stage-coach: If he had a second wife;
II any adventures or repartees were re-
corded previous 20 his conversion. then
Mrs. Linnet admired these parts of the
book. Then she would glance at the In
evitable diary" and letters. and when
ax~ar uha aou the unrfe ssZfnn - 'Rftar
| of Life" etc. she Immediately committed
some "judicious skipping But II she
found a passage presenting any such
promising substantives az smallpox.
pony or boots and shoes her at
tention was fixed at once. Now. this, /
apprehend. was not altogether Mrs. Lin
| nets fault. The habitual reader ~ relig-
ious biography learns by experience that
the purely religious portions Of religious
biographies are generally duh. and that
they are much the same I'm different
| biographies. or the life of Leigh Rich
mond. Mrs. Linnet would say: That's
a bOok I'm very fond Of. He found out
all about that woman at Tutbury as
| pretended to live without eating. Stuff
| and nonsense Exactly so. STUFF and
nonsense. TO be sure; but still it interests
| one; and a good many things that are
not STUFF nor nonsense yet utterly
i iill 10 interest one, ONiN- 10 inc Dulh'
dull. slovenly style i'm which they are
presented. It is well known to druggists
that essence Of lemon. though one OF
the most delightful of seasonings. may,
when not fresh. be easily taken for
spirits OF turpentine. So with religious
| biography. Every thing good IS not
necessarily pleasant i'm is form. and IS
by no means sure TO be fresh.
HISTORY OF LITERATURE.
I know a man who read the "Ars
Poctica" of Horace. and admired IL great
~; but some years later he read substan-
TALLY the same thoughts in Aristotle's
"Poetica," and was immensely disguised
with Aristotle for his literary theft. The
reader was not sufficiently familiar with
the history OF literature TO know that
Aristotle wrote first.
In writing the purely religious portion
Of a Christian mans Life" the author
should remember that there Is q bless
cd samcness" i'm the general religious
experience OF truly pious men; and that
a record Of the distinctive features Is
all that IS needed. and certainly all that
will be fresh n readable. a distinguish
cd Virginian once said. I'm a literary
address, that he had no sympathy with
that system of education which made mer
as much alike as three-cent pieces. and
Just about as valuable. But both mer
and books are so constituted that they
cannot be so exactly assimilated without
becoming valueless. Stella Justly said
that Dean Swift could write we'll on a
broom-stick; but we find some writers
who. with a much more promising sun
feet than a broom-stlck. manage 20 make
II infinitely less interesting.
J.. c. HIDEN,
Richmond. Va.