imaginative possession of wealth, as opposed to avarice, his imaginative desire of honor, as opposed to pride.

"And it is quite possible for the simplest workman or laborer for whom I write to understand what the feelings of a gentleman are, and share them if he will: but the crisis and horror of this present time are that its desire of money, and the fullness of luxury dishonestly attainable by common persons are gradually making churls of all men; and the nobler passions are not merely disbelieved, but even the conception of them seems ludicrous to the impotent churl mind; so that, to take only so poor an instance of them as my own life—because I have passed it in almsgiving, not in fortune hunting, because I have labored always for the honor of others, not my own, and have chosen rather to make men look to Turner and Luini than to form or exhibit the skill of my own hand; because I have lowered my rents and assured the comfortable lives of my poor tenants, instead of taking from them all I could force for the roofs they needed, because I love a wood walk better than a London street, and would rather watch a seagull fly than shoot it, and rather hear a thrush sing than eat it; finally, because I never disobeyed my mother, because I have honored all women with solemn worship, and have been kind even to the unthankful and the evil—therefore, the hacks of English art and literature wag their heads at me, and the poor wretch who pawns the dirty linen of his soul daily for a bottle of sour wine and a cigar, talks of the effeminate sentimentality of Ruskin.”

Rather unusual, I hear a carping critic say, for a man to select his own life as a specimen of the exercise of the higher virtues. Yes, unusual, but why not if it be a specimen? This consciousness of its own goodness and power is not a very uncommon characteristic of greatness. It was a common enough quality to form one of the types in Aristotle's "Ethics." The megalopsuchus was a man who, "being worthy of great things, considered himself worthy of them." That a mistaken view of the same is abundantly characteristic of smallness does not prevent the other from being true. It is, however, that characteristic of greatness which most of us can with safety keep in reserve till we have the others.

There is, as we are aware, no commoner accusation than that Ruskin is utterly unpractical. Even if he were, I should still count his teaching "prophetic." We all need to feel thankful that men are not measured, like chains, by their weakest link; nay, but like

tides, by the highest they reach. Most of the gifted

lights of the world have had their faults and limitations. Savonarola seems to have thought he could work a miracle and save Fra Domenico from being burnt. Even the saintly author of the "Imitation of Christ" tells us to "avoid the society of women and young persons, because it distracts the soul and tends to levity." The dear name of Paul, that saint and gentleman, seems to stand blameless; but who else? And these are mentioned, not for detraction, but for charity, not to depress the army of prophets, but to claim entrance there for yet another, albeit not rounded into perfectness. But, I should like to ask, how many men, whose life work is literature, have such a record of practical result to show as the following? The system of profit-sharing, now becoming one of the recognized methods of business management, and apparently likely to be increasingly in vogue, is Ruskin's. Mr. George Thomson, woolen manufacturer, of Huddersfield, the exponent and first exemplifier of the system in England, is a pupil of Ruskin to his finger tips, and ascribes it all to his in

fluence. In Langdale and at Keswick there are artistic crafts under the same inspiration. The Meersbrook Museum at Sheffield is, simply, the loveliest group of things in the North of England. Six costly collections of minerals testify in six places to Mr. Ruskin's liberality. The London property left him by his father, he has handed over to Miss Octavia Hill for her social experiments. The Oxford Art Schools are an even greater gift to the nation. Indeed the whole of his inherited fortune, $600,000, besides this property, has been given away, to the public or to relatives, except Brantwood, and about $1,800 a year. (Of late years, however, the net receipts from the sale of his books have reached $20,000 a year. By refusing to advertise, or to sell at less than the published price to booksellers (who were to put on their own profit), or to send copies for review, and bypublishing at the little village of Orpington, in Kent, these returns must have been kept low for many years. These peculiarities of publication are now all abandoned. He has had other schemes which did not work, like most people. He thought tea dealers in London got too much profit, so he set up a tea shop to provide pure tea cheap. He put an old man and woman, servants of his father, in as caretakers; and a modest " John Ruskin, Tea Dealer," adorned Oxford street. It did not pay. Then, shocked with the dirty streets off Seven Dials, he employed men to keep, at any rate, an acre of London clean swept; but he was away at Brantwood and the men had a good time. He enjoys telling these narratives as much as anybody.

As a last word-if there be any of my readers to whom it is not unseemly for me to offer advice-I would beg of you never to give a cheap sneer at Ruskin. It is quite easy to do it, particularly if one knows nothing more of my hero than that he is a blasphemer of railways, and such scorn is no doubt taken “ as an excellent juicy thistle by some constitutions." It is the more easily done because Ruskin suffers greatly in short quotations, almost as much as the prophets of the Bible have been known to suffer. Prophets don't guard their meaning from misconception on the right hand and on the left, and a certain patient and humble insight, the exercise of which is very good for us, is often required to accurately understand them.

Much of Ruskin's peculiar charm lies, I believe, in the fact that in him manhood is marvellously fused with the gifts and with what are popularly considered the limitations of womanhood. His insight is delicate and profound, not easily does he grasp generalizations and abstractions, but he can see an actual concrete fact like no one else; in him we have one of the most lovable characters of our time, one of those rare souls in whom is

"Manhood fused with female grace,

In such a sort the child would twine
A trustful hand, unasked, in thine,
And find his comfort in thy face."

CHRISTIANITY has cultivated too much wing action. We need, not men who can fly higher, but men who can walk better.-John G. Woolley.

"THE UNDERGROUND RAILROAD."

BY EDWARD H. MAGILL, LL.D.

At a recent meeting of the Bucks County Historical Society; at Doylestown, Pa., Dr. Edward H. Magill, of Swarthmore College, read a paper on "Some Reminiscences of the Underground Railroad in Bucks County, and its Managers."

In his introductory remarks, he spoke of the institution of Slavery, as it existed in the Southern States previous to the Civil War, and explained that as the Northern States had abolished slavery, the slaves naturally endeavored to escape over the line into the latter; their secret fllght being aided by sympathizers. Before the end of the first decade of the present century," he said, the hegira northward, even to Canada, had begun. We present nearly the whole of Dr. Magill's paper, following these introductory paragraphs.

WHEN the hunted fugitives started on their northern journey, following the light of the north star by night, and hiding during the day in the barns, deep woods, under the hay stacks, corn shocks or any other available place of concealment, they but little appreciated the long and weary way before them. Indeed, many were grievously disappointed on finding that, on reaching a Free State, they were still within easy reach of their pursuing masters, who sought them eagerly to increase their stock of slaves for the southern market. The fact that being sold to the far South was the almost certain penalty of an attempt to secure their freedom greatly increased their fear of recapture, and made to every colored family in the border Free States the name of "kidnapper kidnapper" a terror indeed. I say to every colored family, for even free colored persons, who had never been in slavery, not infrequently were seized as fugitives and hurried away, sometimes. without even the form of a trial, to the southern market.

This northward migration toward the promised land of freedom was naturally greatest in the State of Pennsylvania, the States further west being comparatively unsettled at this early period; and in Pennsylvania perhaps no counties were traversed by so large a number of fugitives as those of York, Adams, Chester and Lancaster. These counties, especially the two latter, were largely settled by Friends, who were generally known to be in sympathy with the escaping slaves. I may here remark that Dr. Hiram. Corson, in his paper before the Montgomery County Historical Society a few years since, stated that nearly all of those in that country who were accounted as abolitionists were members of the Religious Society of Friends. Of course, even there, there were notable exceptions, prominent among whom for many years. was the Rev. Samuel Aaron, of Norristown, (a Baptist).

These counties of Chester and Lancaster were also far enough from the border to afford a temporary place of safety after passing the line of the Slave States. In the little town of Columbia, incorporated a few years later, there was, at the time of which I speak, near the year 1810, a considerable settlement of colored people, and to these a number of escaping fugitives became united. But the danger of pursuit and of restoration to bondage constantly increased. It was soon after this period that the thought was conceived of forming a line of stations from Columbia toward the north, the northeast and the northwest, these stations to be the homes of well-known friends of the slave, and about 10 miles apart, making it a comfortable night's journey

on foot from one to another. These three northerly routes were decided upon that the fugitives should not travel in so large numbers together as to increase the danger of discovery. Thus after passing Columbia, all large groups being divided there by the careful friends of the slave having charge of the route, and going forward by night and being carefully concealed by day by the chosen friends in charge of the stations on the route, the danger of discovery and arrest was very much diminished.

It is said that the baffled and disappointed masters, on reaching Columbia, instead of securing their fugitives there, as they had done on various occasions in previous years, now found that after following them thus far all trace of them suddenly disappeared, and they angrily declared that there must be an "Underground Railroad" somewhere in the neighborhood. This is said to be the origin of this expression which has since become so familiar. This method of transporting the escaping slaves through the Free States of the North, a method which extended later to our own and other counties, and which was kept up even after the keepers of the underground stations assumed so much greater risk after the passage, in 1850, of the infamous bill known as the Fugitive Slave Law, was originated, and first carried into effect by that staunch and faithful friend of the oppressed, William Wright, of Columbia.

As the principal line of escape through Pennsylvania was by way of York, Adams, Lancaster and Chester counties, the underground line through Bucks county was less used, and consequently less perfectly organized. Still many slaves came through the county, reaching it through the northeastern Chester county line, by way of Norristown, or coming up through Philadelphia. Farmers on their way home from market frequently brought them up, sent on by the Abolitionists of Philadelphia, and these very frequently found homes and occupation with the Bucks county farmers, some of them remaining for several years. At the home of my father, Jonathan P. Magill, of Solebury, many were thus received, beginning as far back as my memory extends. Many stories of their experiences as slaves, and their efforts to escape, were told my brother Watson and myself by our hired colored men, which stories are more or less distinct in my memory. The general impression left on my mind by these in my early boyhood was the sad and helpless condition of the life of the slave; the inexpressible | terrors which these affectionate creatures experienced from their fear of separation from their families; their bravery in setting out unaided and alone to seek a land of liberty by hundreds of miles of night travel, guided only by the north star, and incurring the constant risk of recapture and being sold to a far off southern market; and the great cruelty and inhumanity of a system which could thus deprive human beings of their inalienable rights to life and liberty.

I have spoken of the constant increase of the feeling of opposition to slavery in the Northern States through the first quarter of the present century. This feeling intensified as the years passed on, and the consequent hostility between the North and the South became more and more pronounced. But while the

South was practically united in support of their cherished institution of slavery, the North did not present the same undivided front in opposition to it. Many at the North, having family or business connections with the South, were lukewarm, or even sided with the Slave Power, in its constantly increasing demands. It was at this time that the opposition to slavery first took organic form by the establishing of the American Anti-Slavery Society, about 1832. It was on the first of January, 1831, that William Lloyd Garrison began in Boston the publication of the "Liberator," the leading paper throughout the long struggle of more than thirty years, advocating the doctrine that "immediate and unconditional abolition of slavery was the right of the slave and the duty of the master." He had promulgated this doctrine two years before in the paper published by him in connection with Benjamin Lundy in the city of Baltimore, called "The Genius of Universal Emancipation," and for his severe denunciation of slavery had been fined and imprisoned in Baltimore several months. His motto now adopted in the “Liberator" of "No Union With Slaveholders," aroused still more the hostility of the South, and through sympathy with the South, and the influence of the Southern trade, the Garrisonian Abolitionists were kept in a small minority for a number of years. But the little band stood firm, and in their "Declaration of Principles," drawn up by Garrison, and signed by 50 earnest and devoted men in advance of their age, they declared: “We may be defeated, but our principles never." The only Bucks county name found in this list of early signers is that of Robert Purvis, and he is the only one among them who is still living. In a recent conversation with me he expressed his great satisfaction that, in that early day, women were conspicuous in their advocacy of the cause of the slave, and were present and gave their counsels when the Declaration of Principles was adopted. That the equality of woman was not then acknowledged as it is to-day is evident from the fact that no woman's name appears upon the list of signers of that first Declaration.

tor

From the first appearance of Garrison's "Libera

it was ever a welcome weekly visitor at my father's house. Although then but six years of age I well remember the thrill with which we heard our father read in our little sitting room that memorable first editorial of the great Anti-Slavery leader, closing with the words: "These are the principles by which I shall be guided; I will not retract a single inch, and I will be heard." I may add here that besides the "Liberator," the other principal anti-slavery papers, the "Pennsylvania Freeman" and the "National AntiSlavery Standard” were regularly received at my

father's house.

Of the comparatively small band who entered thus early on the anti-slavery work in Bucks county, there were none who were not actively interested from the beginning in the operation of the Underground Railroad. Indeed for membership in that organization, of which our own Robert Purvis was president for so many years, and whose only dividend received by the shareholders was unpopularity among their fellowmen, there were no hard and fast rules of admission,

but all were gladly welcomed, without formal enrollment, who were able and willing to lend a hand. I should say here that there were some most efficient workers among them, led by kindly motives of humanity and sympathy for the oppressed and down-trodden race, who did not consider themselves Garrisonian Abolitionists, being too cautious and conservative to rally under the revolutionary banner of “No union with slaveholders." Some of these were afterward active in the Liberty, and the Free Soil Party. (To be continued.)

For Friends' Intelligencer. THE CHARACTER OF JOSEPH.

(Concluded from last week.)

THE King's confidence in him did not abate during the seven years of plenty, when "he gathered corn as the sand of the sea, until he left numbering, for it was without number," and when the years of famine came on and "the people cried to Pharaoh for bread, Pharaoh said unto all the Egyptians, "Go unto Joseph, what he saith unto you, do." Wonderful faith in the wisdom and integrity of one who had been a lowly slave; wonderful man, to justify such faith! After a time, came Joseph's brothers to buy corn, for the famine had extended to their land also. They did not recognize in this powerful ruler their former despised and hated brother; how could they imagine that themselves were literally fulfilling his early dreams, but he knew them, and did he think of former times? Mark his conduct! Here was an opportunity to avenge the wrong done him by his brethren, had he chosen to avail himself of it, but no, his noble spirit was above such; true, he appears to doubt their statements, but this was simply to test their fidelity, to ascertain if they remembered the past, and had repented of their sin; but nothing more; no refusal to serve them in their extremity; no exultation over their humiliating condition.

Who does not know about the interview beween them; the refusal to furnish more provisions, unless accompanied by their younger brother of whom they had spoken; the replacing of the money in their sacks, the reproaches of Reuben, the meeting with their father, and their pleading that Benjamin be allowed to go with them, his final consent, wrung from him by the exigencies of their circumstances, and his pathetic exclamation, “If I be bereaved of my children, I am bereaved." We have known these from childhood, also the particulars of their second visit, and Joseph's touching inquiry, "Is your father well, the old man of whom ye spake ? Is he yet alive?" and to his brother Benjamin, "Is this your younger brother, of whom ye spake unto me? God be gracious unto thee, my son." How his heart yearned to give expression to his kindly feelings, but not yet could he discover himself to his brethren, and he sought a place to weep unnoticed. One more trial he deemed necessary to prove their loyalty to their father, their love to their youngest brother, the placing of the cup in his sack. What consternation when it was discovered there, and all returning, how eloquently did

Judah plead for the "lad," the "little one," in whom his father's life was so bound, until " Joseph could not refrain himself before all of them that stood by him, and he said, Cause every man to go out before me,' "and he wept aloud." And making himself known to his brethren, he said, "Be not grieved nor angry with yourselves that ye sold me hither, for God did send me before you to preserve life." But notice the caution he gives them as they are about to start on their journey homeward, "See that ye fall not out by the way; prosperity was about to come to them, plenty was to be their portion; he had favored Benjamin far above the others, and remembering their former conduct, what wonder that he dismissed them with the simple injunction not to fall out with one another.

How beautifully his filial feeling manifested itself in the meeting between him and his father; his affection was as pure, his respect as true, his homage as sincere, as though he were not the second man in the realm, and his father a plain, simple old man, depending on his son for everything. How simple, yet how expressive, the account of their meeting. In his impatience to see his father, “Joseph made ready his chariot, and went up to meet Israel his father, at Goshen and he fell on his neck, and wept on his neck a good while." Neither was he ashamed of him before Pharaoh, but presented him with all due respect. And he placed his father and his brethren in the best in the land," "and he nourished them all with bread and according to their needs." And when Jacob "yielded up the ghost, and was gathered unto his people, Joseph fell upon his father's face, and wept upon him and kissed him," and the mourning for him by the Egyptians lasted three score and ten days, and a very great company went with Joseph when he "buried his father in the cave of the field of Macphelah, which Abraham bought. The respect of the people for Joseph was attested by the marks of respect for his father.

all were so conspicuously manifested throughout his life, that we are justified in claiming for him, as at the outset of this article, pre-eminence in all that is great and good, over all other Bible characters, excepting always the Only Perfect One ever recorded, and my desire is that this cursory sketch may induce a thorough study of his life and character as represented inGenesis. ELIZABETH H. COALE.

Holder, Ill.

FRIENDS' NEW TESTAMENT LESSONS. SECOND MONTH 27, 1898.-No. 9.

THE NATURE AND OFFICES OF TEMPTATION. GOLDEN TEXT.-Blessed is the man who endureth temptation, for when he hath been approved, he shall receive the crown of life, which the Lord promised to them that love him.-James 1: 12.

Count it all joy, my brethren, when ye fall into manifold temptations; knowing that the proving of your faith worketh patience. And let patience have its perfect work, that ye may be perfect and entire, lacking in nothing.

But if any of you lacketh wisdom, let him ask of God, who giveth to all liberally and upbraideth not and it shall be given him. But let him ask in faith, nothing doubting: for he that doubteth is like the surge of the sea driven by the wind and tossed. let not that man think that he shall receive any thing of the Lord; a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways.

For

For

But let the brother of low degree glory in his high estate and the rich, in that he is made low: because as the flower of the grass he shall pass away. the sun ariseth with the scorching wind, and withereth the grass; and the flower thereof falleth, and the grace of the fashion of it perisheth: so also shall the rich man fade away in his goings.

Blessed is the man who endureth temptation: for when he hath been approved, he shall receive the crown of life, which the Lord promised to them that love him. Let no man say when he is tempted, I am

venture hate us, and will certainly requite us all the evil we have done him," but when they went to him, and "fell down before his face, and said, Behold, we be thy servants," what said he? Fear not, for am I in the place of God? I will nourish you and your little ones, and he comforted them and spake kindly unto them." The supposedly (to them) restraining power of their father's presence being removed, they feared for themselves, little appreciating that the governing motive of his whole previous life would still be his guide, independent of person, circumstance, or condition of life.

The story cannot be read without interest and profit, a high religious and moral lesson being gained from its careful perusal.

Faith in an overruling Providence; dependence on the indwelling Spirit of God; integrity of purpose; purity of heart; patience under affliction; wisdom in an eminent degree; filial and fraternal affection in the extreme; a magnanimous and forgiving disposition;

and he himself tempteth no man: but each man is tempted, when he is drawn away by his own lust and enticed. Then the lust, when it hath conceived, beareth sin and the sin, when it is fullgrown, bringeth forth death. Be not deceived, my beloved brethren. Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom can be no variation, neither shadow that it cast by turning. Of his own will he brought us forth by the word of truth, that we should be a kind of first fruits of his creatures.

HISTORICAL.

The authorship of the epistle of James cannot be determined with certainty. There are several connected with the early church who bear the name, including two of the twelve apostles. James, the son of Zebedee, however, was executed by order of Herod only a few years after the death of Jesus (Acts 12:2). There is general agreement that it should most probably be attributed to the brother (or cousin) of Jesus, who became the leader of the Hebrew Christians at Jerusalem. He was not an apostle, but was apparently

classed with them, and was much revered because of his relationship to Jesus. He was not, apparently, of He was not, apparently, of the active evangelists, and it is even asserted by some students that he disapproved of the freedom from the Jewish law assumed by Paul and his followers. Certainly the epistle, if indeed it is his, betokens no narrow-minded Pharisee. Perhaps in none of the epistles do we find words so alive with the spirit of Jesus himself, as those of the epistle before us. Here is no mysticism, no barren dogmatism, but exhortation to practical righteousness. The letter was written to the Christian converts from among the Jews. These were far less numerous than the Christians of other antecedents, and their position was probably more difficult; for they were regarded as apostles by their former associates.

TEACHING.

"Blessed is the man who endureth temptation." Shall we then desire to be temp.ed? and if so, why do we pray, "lead us not into temptation"? Let us notice that the epistle does not say, "Blessed are the tempted," but "Blessed are they who endure." Temptation does not strengthen, but it tests. It does not make a man strong, but it shows whether or not he is strong. Blessed is he who has been proven strong. When a new locomotive engine is moved out from the shops, there is no thought that the trial run will strengthen weak points or make the flaws sound. On

the other hand it is expected that the weak points and flaws will be discovered so that they can be repaired. Weak places constitute much greater dangers when unknown than when known. So with ourselves. The trial trips of life, the relations of childhood, the school days, the trials of all kinds that must needs come, show us our weak places; and the benefit of the testing lies in the opportunity to strengthen. This strengthening process is not attained by a constant straining on the weak point. Rather by careful avoidance of strain while the organic forces of life are building in the new material. And when we have learned by the testing of unavoidable temptation that there are weak points in our characters, the only real wisdom is in protecting those points. When the testing has given us knowledge, further testing is folly. The engineer at sea does not put extra pressure on the doubtful cylinder to see if it will break. The wise man on the sea of life will not be curious as to what he can stand without breaking. It will be his to aim to relieve all weak points from strain as soon as found. Wherefore "lead us not into temptation,"-test not our breaking point, lest we break; but blessed is the man who, having been tested, has proved strong.

It cannot be emphasized too strongly that the seeking of temptation is the seeking of danger. When in the course of our duties temptations come, they should be met bravely and with reliance on the help of the Father of all; but the meeting of unnecessary temptation is recklessness and foolhardiness.

SCRIPTURE STUDY AT RACE STREET. Conference Class of Race Street First-Day School, Philadelphia. Second month 13, 1898. Subject for consideration : What Modern Writers Think of Isaiah." Presented by William E. Walter.

Second month 20, 1898. Subject for consideration: The Teaching of Isaiah. Presented by Isaac H. Hillborn.

The paper will consider: 1. The great object of Isaiah : To preserve and purify his people. 2. The character of the Prophet: Combining calmness, dignity, and gentleness with the fire and sternness of the older prophets. 3. A review of prophecy: (a) A picture of the condition of Judah 1: 16, 17, 18; 3: 2-8 and 16-24. (b) His faith in the preservation of a remnant, 4: 6. (c) A temperance lesson suited to modern times, 5 I-24. (d) Woes denounced upon evil doers, alternating with expressions of buoyant hope, and faith in a longsuffering God, 10: 2, 3, 4, 21; 11: 1, 2; 40: 3. (e) The Messianic prophecies, 9: 6, 7, etc. 4. Estimate of Isaiah's service to his people and the world.

:

CHILDREN AND SWEETHEARTS.-I often wonder if mothers of little daughters appreciate what they are doing when they jest with them about their "little

sweethearts" and "beaux." There, is so much of this kind of talk that the clear-eyed listener sickens in the hearing. While boys and girls are young they should be comrades, playmates, friends; but the possibility of tender relation existing should never for a moment enter the heads of the innocent children. When Mabel's mother speaks of twelve-year-old Jack as her “beau,” and the little girl flushes with self-consciousness or with anger, the irreparable wrong has been done. The bloom has already begun to come off the peach. The longer boys and girls are kept in ignorance of the fact that they can be anything but dear friends the happier they will be. They cannot help knowing that grown knowing that grown men and women love and are given in marriage, but the “ grown-up" period seems very far off to them, and those who love them should keep them children as long as possible. They can be children but once.-Harper's Bazar.

THE

“UNDERGROUND" NOT KNOWN !—~(From Dr. Magill's Address): Let me give you an amusing instance of one of the difficulties encountered in investigating this subject of the the Underground Railroad. Wishing to know more about one of the points where an important underground station seemed to have. been successfully worked for a number of years, and knowing no one in that vicinity, I addressed a letter of inquiry to the postmaster there, briefly stating what I desired, and why. In a week I received the following reply:

"There is a mistake about there being an Underground Railroad here. There is no railroad, nor were there ever any slaves here that anybody here knows anything about. I am sorry I can't give you any information on the subject you have so much at heart, but indeed I can not."