raphies of truly great men is the living influence of such men when you have the happiness of coming in contact with them. The best books are only a clever machinery for stirring the nobler nature, but they act indirectly and feebly. They may be remote, also, dry and dusty upon the library shelves, not even on your table, and very far from your heart. But a living great man, coming across your path, carries with him an electric influence which you cannot escape-that is, of course, if you are capable of being affected in a noble way, for the blind do not see, and the dead do not feel; and there is a class of people very reputable people, perhaps, in their way-in whose breasts the epiphany of a Christ will only excite the remark, 'He hath a devil! Supposing, however, that you are not one of the scribes and Pharisees, but a young man starting on the journey of life with a reverential receptiveness and a delicate sensibility, such as belong to well-conditioned youth, in this case the greatest blessing that can happen to you is to come directly into contact with some great man, and the closer the better; for it is only the morally noble, and not the intellectually clever, in whom greater intimacy always reveals greater excellencies. To have felt the thrill of a fervid humanity shoot through your veins at the touch of a Chalmers, a McLeod, or a Bunsen is to a young man of a fine susceptibility worth more than all the wisdom of the Greeks, all the learning of the Germans, and all the sagacity of the Scotch. After such a vivific influence, the light witlings may sneer as they please, and the grave Gamaliels may frown; but you know in whom you have believed, and you believe because you have seen, and you grow with a happy growth, and your veins are full of sap, because you have been engrafted into the stem of a true vine.

"And if it be not your good fortune to come under the direct, genial, expansive virtue of some great moral sun, you are not altogether left to chance in the moral influences with which you are surrounded. If you cannot always avoid the contagion of low company, you may at all events bar yourself from voluntarily marching in it. There are few situations in life where you may not have some power of choosing your companions; and remember that moral contagion, like the infectious power of physical disease, borrows half its strength from the weakness of the subject with which it comes in contact. Considering the weakness of the flesh, and the peculiar temptations of youth, the best thing for you to do is to make a sacred vow on

no occasion and on no account to keep company with persons who will lead you into haunts of dissipation and debauchery."*

The above advice of the distinguished educator is as valuable to the home as to the individual. Conversation at the table and in the domestic circle should be a daily educator, even when no stranger is present.

Provision for preserving the health, as well as furnishing recreation for the family, is a matter of growing importance. St. John was once found playing with a pet partridge by one who thought this avocation was beneath the dignity of the aged Christian, but the evangelist answered that the bow always bent loses its elasticity, and becomes worthless. Many persons are literally dying daily for want of rest and recreation-in many cases needlessly so, to win simply more material goods. More time spent out in the open air, on horseback or on a wheel or on foot, in the bright sunshine, would relieve the exhausted nerves and peevish spirit of such persons; or, ten minutes of relaxation, sitting or lying perfectly quiet every day, would greatly relieve the tension of the nerves, and preserve buoyancy of spirit; or, a cheerful visit to carry sunshine into the home of poverty, sickness, or bereavement would be of great physical as well as spiritual benefit, as a relaxation from the necessary drudgery of daily routine duties; or, an hour's work among the flowers or in the vegetable garden would secure like results.

But the family needs some kind of recreation in which all the members can share. An occasional day's visit of the whole family in the country, at the home of a relative or friend, or at some place of interest, or an excursion in the family conveyance, going a-fishing, or to a picnic; in the town or city, a trip to the park or lakeside or recreation grounds, will be repaid by the good health, cheerful nature, contented spirit, and increased usefulness of all the members. In addition to the music and singing which ought to be in the home, if there could be some kind of a gymnastic or calisthenic exercise, and some member of the family with knowledge and enthusiasm enough on this subject to secure its use a little while six days in each week, the reward in health and virtuous energy would far exceed the cost.

This problem of recreation as related to the well-being of the family is one which each family must solve for itself, remembering the old * Blackie, "Self-Culture," pp. 107-109.

proverb, "All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy." In this madly-rushing age, in its greed for gain on the one hand, and its numerous dissipations falsely called recreations on the other hand, the Christian family should choose a wise and temperate medium

course.

V. ITS DANGERS AND DEFENSES.

The most important topic relative to the family is that of marriage and divorce; for the integrity of society rests upon the integrity of the family, which is the social unit and the keystone of society. A false ideal of marriage leads to wedlock at too early an age"children's marriages." The results are feeble and degenerate offspring, and enfeeblement, nervous exhaustion, irritability of temper, and finally divorce, on the part of some parents, while others neglect marriage or defer it to an age at which family relations are not easily established with the best individual and social results. And still another class of persons, who have some incurable malady of body or mind, marry and transmit to their children such qualities as go to increase the criminal and pauper classes.

Another influence against the family is the extreme individualism of the age. It is the opposite condition of society from that which existed at the time of the Reformation, and has been going on since that event, until it has now reached its climax. All modern society shares this same condition. This age-spirit rules those who prize their individual liberty and pleasure above social welfare and social duties. Shunning the responsibilities of marriage, they are always in danger of indulging free-love or freer practice. Another outgrowth of this tendency of the times is the substitution of the civil, or contract theory of marriage for that view which regards it as a divine ordinance given for the good of society, quite as much as for the good of the individual. Of course, if marriage is a mere contract between two persons, it can be dissolved at their pleasure; hence the easy divorce. This individualism has also given woman her liberty; it has made the "new woman." Rejoicing in her new-found but just freedom, she is in danger of carrying it to that extreme where she sacrifices to some society "fad" or some supposed public demand the most precious thing in society, and that upon which all social welfare. depends-her own family.

The greatest danger to the family grows out of the economic conditions of our age. Wealth is made the test of reputable standing in

society. This leads many a young man to remain unmarried because he thinks he has not the income necessary to establish a home up to the standard of his circle. In other cases it sells the virtue and honor, or bankrupts the family to compete with the wealthy and keep up a mere outward show of respectability. But sadder, if possible, than this, are the low wages, the unequal distribution of the products of labor, insufficient to shelter, feed, and clothe the workman's family. The mother must leave her mother-duties and go out to work to help increase the family income; the children, both boys and girls, as soon as they are large enough to earn wages, must follow the parents' example; the babe is given over to the care of a nurse. The result of this is physical, mental, and moral degeneration. There is a great temptation before such a discouraged family to spend part of its vigor and of its small income to drown the feelings of despair in tobacco, alcohol, drugs, and lust. Society ought to seek earnestly for a remedy for such conditions, not only out of pity for the unfortunates, but to protect itself against the burden of supporting the great army, from this source, of the criminal, the imbecile, the insane, and the pauper classes-the broken fragments of humanity. Of course, all these causes combine to multiply divorces and to destroy the sacredness of the marriage relations. It is true that there are cases where divorce is the only righteous remedy. "But the extreme facility of desertion and divorce seems to excite a volatile and frivolous temper, to exaggerate the incitements to wandering desire, and to present the thought of abandonment as something not falling under the just censure of the community. A loose and easy moral theory intensifies these savage dispositions and justifies them by a sort of moral philosophy."*

All society is not in this condition of degeneracy; but, on the contrary, the happy homes and the prosperous families are more numerous than ever, and the initiative for the cure of these unideal groups must come from the fortunate ones. Parents, teachers, pulpit, platform, and press must unite to present and to defend a right theory of marriage and the family life, and thus create a proper public opinion on this subject. A correct public opinion is a valuable remedy for all social defects, and this can only be created by a vast array of facts and knowledge kept before the eyes and poured into the ears of the public.

*Henderson, "Social Elements," p. 73.

Then, what is quite akin to the former suggestion, let every family that esteems its honor and purity ostracize every man and woman who is known to be guilty of wantonly destroying the marriage relation. Let the same law of morality be applied to both sexes. "A white life for two" is a good motto.

Another remedy is found in an enlarged test of what constitutes a true man or woman. That wealth alone is not the proper test of reputable standing in society is now acknowledged by every one in theory. To this must be added other qualities, such as vigorous health, breadth of social nature, extensive culture and knowledge, refined taste, and a sensitive conscience in one's personal relations to God, to self, and to his neighbor.

When housekeeping becomes a fine art some of its evils will disappear. In that happy day each daughter will be taught the secrets of homekeeping by her mother, or by some other teacher of this subject. Dignity will be thus given; it will be taken out of the realm of mere drudgery. I know no just reason why the local churches, especially in the cities, where such knowledge is most needed, should not have classes organized for instruction in all the elements of the science of the family, and especially in the elements of domestic economy. Sanitary conditions and plain, healthful cooking would add much to the well being and happiness of a family, and the church ought to teach whatever will make better and happier the life that now is.

Law must lend its aid to remedy some of the evils of the family. It should throw its strong arms around the mother and the tender children, to protect them from the toil of the sweat-shops and the destruction of the factories. Home is the place for the mother, and the school and playground and the home are the places for the children. The law, aided by co-operation and profit-sharing in business, should enable the honest, industrious, economical workman to provide suitable shelter, food, and clothing for his family, and to educate his children.

The several States should enact uniform divorce laws, or Congress should be authorized to make such a national law. It is becoming evident that a strict and uniform divorce law must be secured in the interest of the family. All the evidence seems to be that enduring monogamic marriage and strict laws, so that those who enter the marriage relation know that they cannot readily escape, operate to pro