The Latest Good News
Last year’s report (1878) is worthy of being studied. The work develops and ramifies; and one feels in reading the narratives of the different departments that they are not coloured; or rather that very much remains untold. Indeed, from what we have ourselves heard, there is much that could not be made public; and yet, that which remains untold is more interesting than that which the report narrates.
The stations still continue to swell out, and to require enlargement. New ones also are begun. Numbers are still rising. No diminution of earnest listening anywhere. Cases of deep interest are occurring weekly. The labourers are cheered in their toil by no small measure of success, both among old and young. But the cry is for more There is often difficulty in supplying the stations properly; and the burdens are often heavy. Several changes have occurred among the workers, some having left; but their places are partially filled up by others, though by no means to the extent desired. Occasional helpers and visitors have not been few; but these can only imperfectly do the work, though their services are greatly prized. Adult classes, prayer meetings ouvroirs are still carried on with vigour; and domiciliary visitations proceed earnestly and perseveringly. The lending libraries are in active operation under the superintendence of Mr. Dodds; and this department of the Mission, according to
*” If we had only men and means, France is white to the harvest. There is a spirit in the meetings, among the men especially, which is most encouraging: a readiness to hear and to understand, and a response to the teaching, which is more than passing in its duration and effects. One who calls himself * an old disciple of Plato ’ is an eager listener at the Salle, and, we think, a believer groping his way. He speaks now like one whose heart is touched. I conversed with a poor man at Kivoli the other night, shabbily but neatly dressed. I find that he reads over every night the passages of the New Testament which he hears in the meeting. I promised him a
whole Bible, as I learn from Mme. T, the Bible-woman, that he
is too poor to buy one. She tells me that he has come for two years, and that he is entirely changed, — his very face is different; and his neatness of person, even in poverty, was the next thing she remarked. He goes now to Dr. Fisch’s church, and attends his Bible class. This is the fourth case of the kind within a few months in this station alone, and there are similar cases in other stations.” — Private letter of Mr. Dodds, 20th February, 1879.
Miscella7teo2LS: Past and Present. 2 1 7
his report (p. 18), “has by degrees grown in size and importance, and may justly be said to fill what would otherwise be a blank in its completeness.” But greater variety of tracts is demanded; and Mr. Dodds is in communication with the London Tract Society on the subject. That Society has already done noble work in Paris, and is preparing to meet the wants of the Mission more fully. Indeed, all the religious societies of England and Scotland are throwing themselves into the Paris work with right goodwill. They have become thoroughly alive to the greatness of the enterprise and to the exigencies of the time. We are sure that they will not grudge the additional draught upon their resources; and we are as sure that their constituents and subscribers will heartily sustain them in any such increase of liberality for such a movement and in such a crisis.
Of the ouvroirs of Gare d’lvry and Boulogne-sur-Seine, Madame Dalencourt thus writes’’’: —
“At the Gare d’lvry, seventy-eight mothers attend, more or less regularly, my Wednesday meeting, the average being thirty-eight. You know how degraded and wretched, in many ways, is the population of this district; and often the French and Enghsh friends who help me join with me in saying how
* Madame Dalencourt is a devoted lady who, since the disasters which befell her country some years ago, has never ceased to pray for it, and to labour among the mothers of Paris,
2i8 The IVJiite Fields of France.
good the Lord has been in sending you there, and us after you.
“Our little savings bank has led many to form habits of economy; the lending library has brought several husbands, sons and brothers of our women, into the habit of passing their leisure-hours at the fireside, and a considerable number of persons have acquired a relish for a pure literature of which, beforetime, they had no knowledge. Three marriages have taken place among our people, in cases where that sacred rite had been neglected, and another is to follow. AVe regard it as a sign of real moral progress that we have to combat less than formerly with the mendicity which so abounds in this district. We visit all our women in their homes, and experience has proved to us that, usually, more amelioration is brought into a family by repeated visits and friendly counsels than by giving money, &c. Besides, we have various means of helping without pauperising them, — our savings bank, where many make deposits in order to redeem articles from the pawnbroker’s, until they shall have forgotten the way thither, — our materials for work, vegetables, &c., bought by us wholesale, and sold to them at a slight loss. Best of all, some of them begin to believe that it is true that God loves them, and that brings forbearance and patience into their mutual relations; and they better understand why we approach and take by the hand some poor or despised woman who was hiding herself at the extremity of the room or behind a pillar.
“Kespecting Boulogne-sur-Seine, each Thursday, besides a school (or children’s religious class) frequented by forty-four boys and thirty-three girls, we have a women’s meeting exactly like that of Gare d’lvry. Their number rarely exceeds twenty-five; but one feels oneself there to be in an atmosphere of piety and love, surrounded by the truly converted and those who are seeking the Lord. Our seven years’ and your two years’ work there are manifestly blessed. They resemble a large family or a little conOTes’ation.
“One day, before our accustomed meditation, I asked them on what subject they would wish me to speak. After a moment’s pause, one said, * On the love of Christ; it is that which we least understand, and that which does us the most good.’ Another added, ‘Oh speak on the promise that if we believe in Jesus our family also shall be saved.’ A third begged me to speak ’ on the duty of reading the Bible aloud to our husbands in the evening when they are smoking, and to persuade our sons to come to the meetings.’
“Dear Mr. M’All, I joyfully accept your recent offer to hold another women’s meeting in the new mission-hall you anticipate to open in the district of Mont Parnasse. I feel assured that there also we shall be blessed. I feel increasingly happy to labour for the Lord Jesus and my compatriots side by side with you, and I see more and more of the real good accomplished by your meetings, and of the simple and unobtrusive way in which they adapt themselves to the tendencies of our Parisian people. Some weeks ago, one of our women of the Gare d’lvry had to leave, in order to live in the centre of Paris, ‘■ I do not yet know,’ she said to me, ’ where I shall reside, but it must be near some one of the Conferences M’All (the name by which they style the meetings), for I can no longer do without it, it is my one comfort.’ She has gone to live in a small street beside your station of the Kue de Rivoli.
“On the first night of this new year, I was presenting before the Lord my family, my friends,, and my beloved country. Respecting the last, the words of M. Rosseeuw St. Hilaire came into my mind, ‘Paris is now encircled by an evangelistic girdle,’ and in thanking God for having done so great things among us, I besought Him so to multiply your mission-stations that Paris and all France may not only be encircled but covered with them!”
And again — “At Boulogne-sur-Seine we have never more than twenty-five present, but in that little meeting Christian love abounds. There are souls that have been born anew, and others who are entering on the narrow way, and earnestly wish to be taught. One of the most striking signs of their spiritual progress is that they love one another, are kind to and help each other. One might say that they are a great united family, or a devout little congregation. Several have brought their husbands, and not without difficulty, to Mr. M’All’s meetings. One of them is learning to read, and must have her lesson out of the New Testament, or from the hymn-book, ’ tliaX the first use of her hwioledge may be for the good of her souV One died very lately in peace. Two are trying to introduce the habit of reading the Bible aloud in their families. Referring to this, one of them said to me quite recently, ‘What troubles me is that my husband always asks for explanations; I can answer easily for myself, but it is difficult for others; can you not lend me a book,, which explains truth in a simple way, as the gentlemen and ladies do, who speak to us? That would be very useful to me.*’ Another said, ‘My husband knows more than I do; it is he who explains; but what troubles me is that, when I speak of reading, he says to me,” Listen, wife: if you want me to hear you to the end, let me lie down, give me my pipe, and read away; I shall then be as happy as a king.” ‘She added, ‘I do not dare to say anything, for every evening he is very tired; however, he listens well, and often says, “Read me that again.’“‘She was glad when I said to her, that it was well worth while to go on as she was doing, rather than to show that she was annoyed, and not sympathise with her tired husband.”
Madame Dalencourt has mothers’ meetings in
three of our halls in Paris.
Some of the more striking incidents of the year are thus briefly recorded by Mr. M-’All. They indicate the true progress of the work; and, notwithstanding some sameness (as in such narratives there must always be), are wonderfully diversified. By those interested in the work, they will be read as the most important items of the report: —
“The funeral of the celebrated M. took place immediately before our meeting at. The mission-room, usually
filled, was densely crowded by those returning from the cemetery. Many of these entered from curiosity, doubtless, and were unacquainted even with the design of such a meeting. Among them, three stalwart men were noticed, evidently predisposed to treat the occasion with proud disdain. After a time, their aspect changed, and they became eager listeners. Our friends Messrs. Peretto and Saillens exhibited the radical defect of the most benevolent and gifted of human characters without the Divine Saviour. At the close, these three men stepped u]3 to the conductor, saying, ‘Allow us to shake hands with you before leaving; we wish to say to you that you ought, if possible, to open Salles de Conferences like this in all the quarters of Paris. All that has been spoken respecting Jesus Christ this afternoon is true and good; we Parisians have wrong ideas of Him and need to be set right. Try, then, to open similar places elsewhere.’
“The Report of the Societe Chretienne clu Nord for 1876-7 contains the following paragraph: — Pastor Lorriaux said, I was speaking some time ago in a meeting in Belfast, and at the close a young man, waiter in a public dining-room, came up to me and gave me half-a-sovereign, saying, “I am a Frenchman; I heard the Gospel preached in Paris by Mr. M’All, and I desire to aid in spreading it.’” Mr. Lorriaux added, ‘How many others (among the attendants of evangelistic meetings) carry away the truth hidden in their heart, which afterwards springs up and bears fruit to salvation!’
“At, during an after-meeting, a young man, an attorney’s clerk, bore the following testimony: — ‘About a year ago, I was passing along yonder street one Sunday evening; a small bill of invitation was put into my hand; I read, “Des amis anglais et frauQais desirent vous parler de I’amour de Jesus-Christ.” I thought, I will go in and hear what it is like. I well remember the spot wdiere I sat; just in that corner near the door. I had gone in merely to amuse myself; T remained to listen and to think. I perceived that there had been something very wrong in my heart and life. I have seen myself a lost sinner, and can now trust in Christ as my Saviour. I wish that you all might have the same experience.’
“Two families, in two of the stations, have very recently been brought under the power of the Gospel, and have connected themselves with neighbouring churches.
“Received a very touching letter, written on his sick-bed in the hospital, from an ouvrier. He states, ‘Before my illness, I had the happiness to frequent your excellent meetings, and there I have found great benefit. I then began to devote my leisure moments to reading the Bible which had lain for twenty years in my house. Above all, since coming here (into the hospital), where I have been for nearly three months, the reading of the New Testament has led me to give myself entirely to God; so that I now find myself truly and extremely happy. Although I suffer from a terrible pulmonary disease, I find a great joy of heart amidst my pain, having received the gift of free salvation by Jesus. Read, if you will, these lines to your co-workers, who love the conversion of precious souls and the advancement of God’s kingdom; and use them, if you think well, for the encouragement of those who, like me, have found great difficulty in definitely giving themselves to the Lord.’ The writer concludes by expressing the desire that, if restored to health, he might be permitted to utter a few words in one of our meetings in order to bear testimony to a Saviour’s grace, and to persuade his compatriots to make trial of it for themselves. We have every reason to believe that this man, still a sufi’erer, has indeed ’ passed from death unto life.’
“Striking case of a man of middle age, native of the island of G2iadalou2?e (a French colony). He came over as an exhibitor. An enfeeblement of health during the Exjjosition delayed his return to the colony. During this time he became a deeply-interested listener at the SalU Evangelique and Kue de Rivoli. On the eve of his departure he told us that he had sought to learn as much as possible of the blessed truth of the Gospel before leaving Paris, in order to make it known to his neighbours in the island on his return.
‘’A young friend, a missionary student, who devotes himself to the work at station, after describing the interest
awakened at a weekly prayer meeting recently commenced there, bears the following pleasing testimony: — ‘I cannot tell you how much personal benefit I derive from this work; I cannot sufficiently express what a privilege it is for me. When
I shall go forth to my missionary career, the [name of the
station] will take a first place among the motives which have urged me forward to labour for the advancement of the kingdom of God.’
“One of the pastors when visiting a great hospital, heard a patient, whom he did not know, calling him to his bedside. The suffering man stretched his hands towards him and said, ‘Oh, sir, I know you; I have heard you speak in the Faubourg St. Antoine room, and now that I lie here, I find all my help and all my comfort in trying to recollect what I used to hear in those blessed meetings.’
“Our indefatigable visitor, Madame, records about 850
domiciliary visits during the year. The following extracts are translated from her report: — * Many of the people have asked me, with earnestness, what they must do to be saved; and a considerable number, who, at first, came to the meetings merely to pass an hour, have become seriously impressed, and ask me for a place of worship for the Sunday forenoon. In this respect, great progress has “been made tins year, and I take it as a proof that they’ are at least seeking the truth. I observe a great change, also, respecting the insight of spiritual things on the part of those who have long attended; they are far more enlightened than formerly. An aged woman, whom I visited on her death-bed, said to me, “How happy I am that I was ever led to Boulevard Ornano; otherwise I should not have known my Saviour. I thank with all my heart those dear gentlemen who speak of Jesus, and the book you have given me — the New Testament — is the best I have ever read. Now I am too feeble to read it; but I say to Jesus, ‘Abide with me; leave me never more,’ and then all is peace.” She died in this frame of mind. Another aged woman said, “How much I thank you for the meetings! I used to count upon being saved by my virtues, but now I know that I am saved gratuitously. Oh! how I love my Saviour, who has done so much for me.” She has lately undergone a painful operation for her sight; all the while she was full of joy. To another of our hearers, who tries to tell her husband (who is unable to leave the house) what she hears in the meetings, I put the question, “Do you understand how it is that a sinner can be reconciled with God ]” She replied that she believed that the death of Jesus had done everything. I asked if she believed herself to be pardoned; “Yes,” she answered, “I believe what the Bible says, and surely I must be pardoned, for I feel myself delivered from a heavy burden.” A man and his wife, who have been plunged into great temporal distress during the year, say that what they have heard in the meetings gives them strength to bear up amidst all their suffering. Another of our people, formerly pious in her way, seeking to work out her own righteousness, says, “All that I have tried to do could not save me. Now I know what is needful; it is that I accept by faith the gift of God, eternal life in Jesus; but I see clearly that, for this, I need the aid of the Holy Spirit.” A mother told me that she had been alienated from her son, and would not see him, but that
Miscellaneous: Past mid Present, 225
now she was happy to have been enabled to pardon him, through what she had heard in the meetings. “For,” added she, “I also have need of pardon.’” Our friend adds the record of six or seven other equally interesting cases, which want of space obliges us to omit.
“Miss N reports the case of one of our regular hearers
of Les Ternes station, of whose joy and surprise on first hearing the Gospel there mention was made in our report of 1876. ‘Wife,’ he then said on going home, ‘I have found such a religion as I had no idea existed; it is so good, so good! You must come also.’ During a long and painful illness, he often said that his only remaining desire was to be allowed once more to revisit the ’ chlrzs reunions ‘When no longer able to speak,’ adds Miss N., ’ he kept pointing heavenwards as our next meeting-place.’ She mentions also one of the Sunday scholars who had died in peace, desiring that her favourite hymn might be sung over her grave.”
The following additional page of incidents is
given by Mr. Dodds: —
“Met at the Salle Evangelique a liberated communist, who had learned to read during his imprisomnent, being taught by a well-known savant, a freethinker. By this means the man had been enabled now to read the Bible.
“Have been much interested in an intelligent ouvrier at
M. He reads attentively his Bible, and a new light seems
breaking into his soul. In a recent letter, he says, — ‘I have read much in the gospels, and see clearly that only there is to be found the truth and the religion which speaks to us of the mercy of our Saviour.’
“At the station I meet often a whole family, the father
decorated with medals for saving lives from drowning, who eagerly listen to the addresses, and converse at the end on what they have heard. They sometimes gather their neigh-Q hours together to sing the hymns. We have reason to believe that the mother is a decided Christian.
“Miss tokl me of a girl who found one of the small
papers of invitation to the Rue de Rivoli rkmion crumpled up at the bottom of a waste-basket. This brought her to the meeting, and finally to Christ. I knew her, and can add my testimony to this. She is now in a Prefet’s family in the south of France, who sent a message to Dr. Fisch saying that he would be glad if a meeting were opened in his village.”
One extract more from the report will suffice: —
“Mr. Dodds adds most interesting particulars respecting the ouvrier, an extract from whose letter, written in the hospital, appears on a previous page. He states that, when a very young man, seeing a Bible in the hands of a friend, he saved up money enough to buy one, which he read eagerly, and with conviction of its truth. Coming to Paris, where he was required to work all the Sunday, he became quite neglectful, and for nearly twenty years God’s Book remained unopened. He thus writes respecting his own history: — ‘Though I suffer much, I am far happier than when I lived far from God, and was a worldling in good health. It is in these meetings that the Saviour has given me the grace that I needed, to give myself to Him.’ Some of his expressions, both in writing, and when friends ldsit him in the lonely room, wdiich, in all likelihood, he will not leave again, are very striking, especially those evidencing his patience and contentment. For example, — ‘Sometimes I suffer much, but I have my bed; my Saviour suffered 07i the cross, but I have my bed.” Since I found peace with God by the grace which flows from the Saviour’s blood, it seems to me that my bodily sufferings are more easily borne. My Saviour! to me He is the Pearl of great price and a faithful comforter. How happy should I be to speak to crowds of the love of this Saviour for men! ‘On the first day of 1879, he writes: ‘The Lord comforts me always, though I suffer much at present. I wish I had health and life now, for I have been too long far away from God, and to-day, when I would work in the Saviour’s vineyard, I am unable,” He also describes the eagerness of his fellow-patients, when in the hospital, to read the books we had sent to him. His love for the Bible is wonderful.
“Mr. Dodds adds, ‘’ I have been much struck with the number of people at all the meetings who often remain behind to ask counsel and speak of religion and of what they have heard. I have also had several calling on me at my house with whom I have had deeply interesting conversations.’”
Mr. Heriot’s report, for the year, of his labours among the young is most interesting. He has left for Scotland; but we are sure he will never forget the useful days spent among the Parisian children. He has sowed seed among them which will spring up when he has gone. He thus writes: —
“Many hundreds of New Testaments have been gained by the children as rewards, as also a still larger number of illustrated tracts and periodicals. There is a systematic way for them to gain these; by this means a large number of gospel publications, above all, the Scriptures themselves, find their way into the surrounding houses, and into the hands of many who might otherwise never have an opportunity of becoming acquainted with the truth.
“Many interesting incidents might be mentioned. We shall briefly mention a few. Miss Matheson, who, with Miss Coldstream, has continued her much appreciated and fruitful labours here, writes: ‘A little girl, who attends regularly the children’s meeting at BatignoUes, has given clear testimony to having understood and accepted the gospel invitation. Her mother, formerly a Koman Catholic, was also much impressed at the meetings, became an earnest inquirer, and during summer openly professed her faith in Christ. She now partakes of the communion at the Chapelle, Kue Koyale, where she and Angele are never wanting on Sunday morning. Recently they went to pay a visit to the grandmother who lives at some distance. Before leaving Paris, they came to ^sk us to point out some suitable passages of the Bible to read to the aged woman, as they must take her the gospel message. They had a good deal of opposition to bear, but it has failed to shake their simple faith in the Saviour.’
“‘A Protestant girl, who had been seeking peace for long, was brought to the meeting for young women at the Faubourg St. Antoine; as she herself says, “It was my friend who told me of your meeting, but it was God who led me there.” That very night she got the message of peace, and went away rejoicing in Christ. In letters written during summer, and in her own frank way, she has given bright testimony to the reality of her profession. She is now preparing to pass her examinations in order to become a teacher.’
“‘A boy of seven, who had come several times to the meetings, said one day to his mother, “Mother, I have got a pain; I think it must be my sins, but when they are forgiven I think I shall be better.’”
“Our excellent and most efficient coadjutor, M. Hannemann, went to England in spring, for the purpose of study and further preparation for the work in which he is engaged, and in which his efforts have been crowned with so much success. While away, he received many letters from his juvenile friends in Paris. A little boy wrote to tell that he had ‘built his faith upon the Rock of Ages;’ and a little gin, in another €omirmnication, said that her mother and she had both come to the Saviour. After his return from England, a little boy running across the street to embrace him, confided in a whisper, ‘Monsieur, je vous aime!’ To children and babes, the Bible tells us, many tilings are revealed which the wise
MiscellaneotLs: Past and Present. 229
and prudent know not; such is ol’ttimes the encouraging experience of those who work among the young.
“There is one nice-looking lad ol seventeen who has made himself useful to us in many ways; he sees that the hall is opened and heated in good time, helps to keep order; and he may often be seen collecting a little group round him at the end of a children’s service to teach them a verse. He is, in fact, a great ally of ours, and claims the proud position of doorkeeper and keeper-in-order-in- general of the meeting we personally preside at, on Sunday evenings; accompanying us home afterwards, and enlivening us with a full and particular account of himself and his doings during the walk. We shall narrate one of his adventures, which shows how anxious he is to do good, and which is interesting in itself. A poor and ignorant old woman attended the meeting at the station in question. Although she had often heard the story of the cross, she had never taken it clearly in. Our young friend made acquaintance with her. She fell ill, and he visited her. He is a veteran visitor of old women, — they are always pleased to see him, and, besides, they are good listeners. This poor old woman, knowing that our young man came from the ^laXU de Conferences,’ seized the opportunity, and began to confess to him in the Catholic manner. He told her that she ought to confess her sins to God alone, and showed it her from his Testament. He further told her that she ought to read the New Testament, and lent her one. It was a great and new light to her to know that she might confess to Christ, — to be assured that He would hear; and hearing, forgive. Our young missionary often came and read to her, and his visits were valued. It became evident that she was dying; she had now finished the New Testament, and was thirsting to read the Bible, but she was poor and had no money, and he had very little. He made a bargain, however, with our good Bible-woman, and procured a large print five-franc Bible at half-price, this he presented to her; before she had time to read it through, however, she departed this life. There is every reason to believe that she knew on whom to build her hopes of heaven, as she had learned, in such an interesting manner, to whom to confess her sins.”
These are busy days in Paris; and busy nights no less; busy Sabbaths and busy week-days. And yet the work is totally unlike what we find anywhere else in times of religious awakening. No vast crowds in some great church or hall. No orator, like Pere Hyacinthe, appealing to popular fervour, or leaning for success on the multitudes that hang around him. No “city in an uproar;” no grand watchword to rally round; no great name to overawe opposition; no ambitious or self-seeking enthusiasm; none of these! Humble labourers, not seeking their own, but the things that are Christ’s; hard-working, painstaking, persevering volunteers, with no object but that of winning souls and regenerating Paris; obscure and quiet seed-sowers, not hunting for applause or honour! No monks or nuns with flaunting dresses, moving through the great thoroughfares to proclaim themselves and their good deeds; but modest strangers, wishing to be unnoticed; carrying the Word of life on loving lips or with gentle hands into the alleys of Les Ternes or the dens of Chiffonville. No show, no procession, no banquet, no fete beyond that of a tea-party or Christmas gathering. No confessional, nor denunelation from the altar, nor compulsion, nor threat, nor bribery!
The tranquillity of the work is that which so attracts and wins. It is no storm that has broken upon Paris; it is the dew that has fallen everywhere; so bright, yet so silent. It is no fire that is raging in her streets; it is a heavenly fragrance that is filling her atmosphere; and men are at a loss to know whence or how it has come.
‘• So when a ship, well freighted with the stores
The sun matures on India’s spicy shores.
Has dropp’d her anchor, and her canvas furled,
In some safe haven of our Western world,
‘Twere vain inquiry to what port she went;
The gale informs us, laden with the scent.”
One remarkable feature in the work is that, though it is carried on against both atheism and Popery, it has stirred no controversy, and is conducted without debate, either in private or on the platform. There has been hardly any “contradicting and blaspheming,” such as befell Paul at Antioch: nor even any “daily disputing,” as at Ephesus, ‘’ in the school of one Tyrannus.” The clash of swords has not been heard, nor even the sound of axes or hammers. Round the whole circle of the city the Word has gone, making itself everywhere felt by its own innate vitality. For upwards of seven years the Gospel has been preached to tens of thousands; it has entered streets, lanes, houses, hearts; it has planted itself side by side with the cathedral, the church, the theatre, the ball-room, the cafe, the restaurant, the gambling-house, the billiard-room, and places lower than these; yet no anger has been exhibited, no strife has been roused, except of a mere temporary kind. The messenger goes upon his way, and “the faithful saying “attracts nightly crowds; yet all is peace. Perhaps the work has not yet reached the stage of success which produces exasperation; perhaps the adversary has not yet found a leader; perhaps absorption in pleasure and contempt for religious men makes the mass of Parisians indifferent to any such pious efforts, for” the earth helps the woman “(Rev. xii. 1 6); perhaps by Mr. M’All’s wise and happy management human passion has been kept out of the movement; perhaps the great truth of God’s free love to the sinner has come with a quieting surprise, a soothing influence to a people living upon excitement, and hitherto appreciating only the piquant, the startling, and the stormy; perhaps the truth has really penetrated far beyond those who have actually come forward to own its sway, and unconsciously leavened large sections of a population who, in other circumstances, would have been the first to rise against the aggression; perhaps the anti-clerical feeling of the people has disposed them to side with anything that they know the clergy would dislike; perhaps the priesthood has been so completely muzzled, if not tamed, that they are unable to do anything but hate or revile; perhaps there are some of these priests secretly alive to the impotencies, if not the errors, of their own system, and in their hearts persuaded that this new Gospel is the last remedy for used-up Paris, if not, indeed, the very Gospel for themselves; perhaps, too, even the fierce democracy feels that here, in this strange Gospel of love and liberty, of Divine and human fellowship, the meeting of earth and heaven, they find the truest and highest communism, — all that is really good in their philosophy of freedom and fraternity, and embodying in its own simplicity the means of producing, without violence, an equality and community, far beyond and far above all that they had ever dreamed of; perhaps the absence of pomp and greatness, the homely halls, the humble men, the soothing hymns, the cheerful music, all contrasting with the gorgeous theatricals of clericalism, have predisposed the multitude to listen and believe; perhaps now the prayers of two centuries of glorious martyrdom are beginning to be heard, and the arm of the Lord is stretched out, on the one hand, to draw souls out of darkness, and on the other, to bridle the enemy, and give the Gospel not only a free but a peaceful course: for thus speaks the prophet, ‘* I saw four angels standing on the four corners of the earth, holding the four winds of the earth, that the wind should not blow on the earth, nor on the sea, nor on any tree.... Hurt not the earth, neither the sea, nor the trees, till we have sealed the servants of our God in their foreheads” (Rev. vii. 1, 3).
How far all these things are working together to help the present Mission, I do not undertake to say. I cannot measure the influence of each, nor the combined strength of all. But they are well worthy of notice and of careful study, as connected not only with the religious, but the political history of France.
For France has hitherto in all her movements used the power of the multitude, both in their antipathies and sympathies. It was of the mob that the first emperor was the idol; it was of the same mob that the last Bourbon was the abhorrence. It was the people of France that rose against the Reformation, and shed the blood of saints in their wild fury. In other countries, especially Bohemia, Italy, Spain, and Britain, it was the prince and the priest that drew the dagger and kindled the fire; the common people pitied and were silent. In France
Miscella7teous: Past and Present. 235
it was as much the multitude that, blind with brutal hatred of they knew not what, rushed on, at the instigation of “the Church,” to the slaughter of the flock of Christ.
At present the people listen well-pleased to preachers whom, three hundred years ago, their forefathers would have butchered. There is something most notable in the change. Formerly it was the Gospel that was bound; now it is the priesthood; the Gospel is free, and the evangelist is welcomed.