And even when both character and circumstances are favourable, friendship, to reach its noblest manifestations, needs much culture. It comes under the law of habit. Its growth is slow; and it is all the more precious that it has been long in growing. So many favourable circumstances are needed to form this higher class of friendships, that one does not wonder at the complaint of the amiable Alexander Bethune, himself so capable of a noble attachment: "As to that other sort of friendship, which consists in mutual confidence and reciprocity of feeling, I should almost despair of finding it." If, then, the reader is already blessed with a suitable friend, to whom he could wish to be knit in the attachment of a love which shall make each to other as a man's own soul, let him not be discouraged though the little plant be still small and delicate. Only let him be true to his friendship, let him be trusting, let him shrink from no sacrifice; and the tiny plant, which he thus continues to water and to dress, shall grow up before his eyes into a vigorous tree, under whose shadow the two may rest in riper years, if God shall spare them both. "Who seeks a friend, should come disposed The graces and the beauties It has often been objected, as a grave deficiency in Christian morals, that the New Testament makes so little of friendship and its duties; nay, that the whole subject is, as nearly as possible, totally ignored. It is not ignored, however; for if the New Testament do not formally and by name enjoin friendship, the reason is, that it creates and fosters a spirit which is much loftier and more comprehensive, and which includes in it all that is involved in friendship. If the point at which the New Testament aims be secured, the very noblest and most elevating forms of friendship shall infallibly result. And though a reader may search the epistles in vain for commendations of friendship under its well-known name, the thing itself has not been forgotten; it is only merged in a much higher and holier attachment. On almost every page, we shall find earnest exhortations to brotherly love; and this same brotherly love, according to the scriptural estimate of it, includes all that is most noble in friendship, with something more. So far from ignoring friendship, as many insinuate, the Bible exalts it to an eminence which neither popular nor philosophic morality has ever assigned it: "As touching brotherly love,"-a love that includes Christian friendship-"ye need not that I write unto you; for ye yourselves are taught of God to love one anothor." "Faith worketh by love." "The fruit of the Spirit is love." The second commandment is like the first: "Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself;" that is, thou shalt put every one of thy fellow-men into that place in thine affections which is occupied only by the friend who has become to thee as thine own soul. "And this I pray, that your love may abound yet more and more." "Be kindly affectioned one to another, with brotherly love." "Let all your things be done with love." So far, then, from friendship being ignored by Christian morals, the loftiest ideal of friendship, even Christian brotherly love, is made the badge and the inalienable mark of a true discipleship. And herein lies matter for gravest consideration by not a few professing Christians. Partiality the most blind could not dream that it had discovered in them the workings of a love akin to this. They have, of course, their natural friendships; and these they carry on in the ordinary spirit of the most meagre attachments which are flattered by the name of friendship; but in what direction shall he turn who seeks in their lives for the tokens of a true Christian brotherhood? What Christian David ever finds in them, for Christ's sake, another Jonathan who loves him as he loves his own soul; or what sorrowful Naomi among the Lord's afflicted ever hears from their lips the fervent words, "The Lord do so to me, and more also, if ought but death part thee and me"? What Damon ever found his Pythias in them? As men, and by first nature, they are altogether incapable of such lofty flights of love; as Christian men, it would be hard to discover the workings of any Christian love at all. Their natural friendships have in them the very smallest modicum of genuine affection; as for Christian brotherhood, the use of such a term in their case sounds like an extravagant figure of speech. Now, all this is a most serious matter, when we remember that if we love not our brother whom we have seen, this lack of brotherhood is proof that we love not the God whom we have never seen. If God's children find not in each of us a brother or a sister, our personal want of this divine storge, this spiritual instinct of heavenly kinship, is evidence that God is not yet our Father. The love demanded by the moral law is set before us, in Christ's exposition of it, as a love which will make every man to us as our own soul; and the gospel, instead of abrogating the duty, unspeakably enhances it, while it also furnishes us with help to discharge it. "A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another. By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another." Let no one, then, censure Christian morals for unworthy neglect of friendship; let him rather tremble at the height to which the New Testament elevates the claim. There is no conceivable position more perplexing than that of the man who is the warm mutual friend of two parties at enmity with each other. Oh, the heartbreak that is experienced, the caution that is needed, the unfriendly reserves that are unavoidable. The unhappy man must needs suffer keenly; and he will be sure to do all that he can to bring the two discordant beloved ones into harmony. Until this is accomplished, there is no peace for him; and if his efforts to attain it fail, it seems as if he must make a choice between the IMPRESSIONS OF CHRISTIAN LIFE AND WORK IN AMERICA. BY PROFESSOR J. L. PORTER, AUTHOR OF "THE GIANT CITIES OF BASHAN," ETC. CANADA. TOOK leave of kind friends on the | which commands one of the grandest views in quay of Detroit, and ten minutes Canada. Immediately below, in a rich valley, afterwards stood for the first time on lies the town of Hamilton; on each side are the soil of Canada. A powerful low ridges and picturesque glens, wooded like steam ferry-boat crossed the rapid river from an English park; while away beyond, the blue Detroit to Windsor, where the railway cars were waters of Lake Ontario stretch to the horizon. waiting to receive the crowd of passengers. From Hamilton to Niagara the railway follows There was little to mark difference of nation- the coast, and the scenery is charming. At one ality, except a V.R. here and there, and a rail- spot especially, where the lake recedes, leaving a way guard in uniform. The gentlemen who con- vast plain covered with foliage and verdure, I duct the cars in the United States won't stoop to was reminded of the Ghûtah of Damascus, which wear any such badge of service. In race, lan- Mohammed pronounced an earthly paradise. guage, accent, manner-indeed, in all outward appearance-the subjects of the Queen in Upper Canada are identical with the citizens of the Great Republic. But there is a difference in feeling. No people in the world are more loyal to throne and Constitution than the Canadians. Windsor is a small town; it might almost be called a suburb of Detroit, were it not in another country. Our route now led for miles along the shores of Lake St. Clair, which forms the connecting link between Huron and Erie. The country, far as I could see, was flat and rich; and it was interspersed with remains of primeval forests, large clearings studded with black stumps, saw-mills surrounded by immense piles of "lumber," wooden farm-houses, with here and there a new town; just such as I had left behind in Michigan and Illinois. At London we had half an hour for dinner. It is not often one enjoys a meal at a railway station; but here the food and arrangements were excellent, and the charge moderate. Passing through Woodstock and Paris, the line ascends to the eastern end of a great plateau NIAGARA. I left the train on the Canadian side of the suspension bridge, and drove to Clifton House Hotel, some two miles distant. The first intimation of the Falls was a transparent white cloud hovering over the fields and foliage away in front. Then gradually a deep, penetrating roar, as of the distant ocean, rose above the rattling of the carriage. But it was not until the horses drew up in front of the Clifton House that I got my first sight of Niagara. The hotel commands both Falls; and in this respect the situation could not be surpassed, though for purposes of close inspection the American side is preferable. The first view was disappointing. The physical features of the surrounding country detract from the grandeur of the Falls. An undulating table-land separates Lake Erie from Ontario. Its general elevation is some fifty feet above the former, and perhaps three hundred above the latter. Through this table-land a rugged, tortuous chasm, eight miles long, from three to four hundred feet deep, and averaging about TORONTO. three hundred yards in width, has, in the lapse | play with the leaping torrent. I sat there for of countless ages, been cut by the falling waters. hours, looking on one of the grandest sights I The chasm is unseen till one reaches its very ever saw-the rush of the clear water along the brink, and the cataract itself, which tumbles into deeper channels, the white-crested waves dashing the upper end of it, bursts upon the view sud- madly over opposing rocks, the changing hues denly and unexpectedly. The regularity of the as the sunlight fell, here on smooth torrent, there Fall spoils the effect as seen from a distance down on a spurt of foam, yonder on a wreathing cloud the river. It is like a colossal weir. It is only of vapour. Then there was the deep, penetratwhen one gets below the Fall, or close beside it ing, unceasing roar, that seemed to hush and ababove, that he becomes impressed with its un- sorb all other sounds. There, if anywhere on rivalled magnitude and real grandeur. The best earth, one is taught the lesson of the weakness general views I got were from the centre of the of the creature, and of the might and majesty of upper suspension bridge, from a point in the bot- the Creator. tom of the chasm a little below the bridge, from Prospect Point on the American side, and from the Museum on the Canadian. The general view, however, is not the most imposing; at least, it was not so to me. I was far more deeply impressed when I entered the little ferry-boat below the Clifton House, crossed to the American Fall, and persuaded the brave boatman to row me, through surf and whirlpool, into the midst of the thick white spray at the bottom of the cataract, and when I looked up to the full volume of the river flowing in one thick unbroken curve of vivid green over the jagged edge of the cliff, then breaking into long strips of white and pink and delicate azure, and at length disappearing, with a roar of thunder, in that abyss before me, which is covered with an eternal veil of snowwhite vapour. Once seen from that spot, Niagara can never fade from the memory. I spent days at the Falls. The more I looked, by day and by night, by sunlight and by moonlight, the more their stupendous magnitude and grandeur grew upon me. I went under them on both sides, as far as I could go without risk. I looked down upon the Horse-shoe from the Terapin Tower, and upon the American Falls from Luna Island. I walked among the thickets of Goat Island, gazing out upon the expanse of rapids above the Falls. I was alone. There was no one to interfere with my wandering, or interrupt my study of Nature. I crossed the bridges to the three little islets which lie ranged abreast, as if to bear and brave together the first fury of the rapids. I crawled out on the trunk of a great tree, whose roots still cling to the rocky bank, while its branches, stripped of foliage, Starting from the American side of the Falls, the railway follows the course of the river, affording some grand views of that ravine which drains half a continent. The small town of Lewiston stands on the flat bank of the river, below the table-land and the rapids. Here our steamer was waiting, and we embarked for Toronto, crossing Lake Ontario. The day was bright, but I did not see the northern shore until the southern was melting away in the distance behind me. The view of Toronto from the lake is not imposing. The town is in a great measure covered by a barren island, within which is a safe and commodious harbour. My short stay in the city was made doubly pleasant by the presence of an old Edinburgh college friend, the Rev. William Gregg, then of Cooke's Church, now professor of theology. In his hospitable house I felt at home, and under his guidance I was able to inspect the educational institutions of one of the capitals of Canada. COLLEGIATE EDUCATION. In the year 1827 George IV. granted a charter for the establishment of a university at York, now Toronto, under the name of King's College. Various changes were subsequently made; but finally, in 1853, it was divided into two institutions: the University of Toronto, whose functions are to examine, and confer degrees on all qualified applicants, wherever educated; and University College, which, as the name implies, both teaches and examines. University College is supported by the State, and is unsectarian. Religion, however, is not ignored in it. Matriculated students are required to reside in the college, unless permitted by the president to occupy lodgings selected for them by their parents or guardians; and all in the college are under the charge of the dean. Lecture-rooms are provided, and suitable hours set apart for their religious instruction, either by the dean or by ministers of their respective denominations. When a student is about to enter, the following circular is addressed by the dean to his parent or guardian:-" As your proposes coming into residence in this college, I beg to inform you that it is the desire of the council that, where there are no conscientious objections, all students under their charge shall be present in the hall at daily morning and evening prayers, with reading of the Scriptures. It is also their wish that they should regularly attend on Sunday their respective places of worship, and receive such other religious instructions as their parents and guardians may desire. I have to request that you will be so good as to let me know whether you desire your to attend such daily prayers in the college; and that you will also mention the minister under whose charge you wish to place him. The council will afford every facility for the carrying out of your intentions; and, with this view, will exercise such control over your during his residence as may be best calculated to effect your wishes. In the event of your not informing me of your desire on the subject, the council will assume that you have no objection to his being required to attend the daily prayers of the college, and will exercise an oversight as to his attendance on the ministrations of a clergyman of the denomination to which he belongs." The course for the degree of B.A. is fixed. It extends over four years; and in addition to the ordinary branches of classics, science, and literature, I was pleased to observe that it embraces ethics, natural theology, and the evidences of Christianity. There are no "gagging clauses" in the charter of the University College of Toronto religion there occupies its rightful place, and religious and moral training are deemed necessary parts of sound education. It struck me, on a careful examination of the whole laws and regulations, that the college course is admirably adapted for the thorough training of those who aspire to be leading members of a Christian State. Christian State. Under such a distinguished president as Dr. M'Caul, and such an able staff of professors, it could not fail to prosper. I feel bound to express my thanks to the president, the dean, and the several professors whom I had the honour of meeting, for their kindness and courtesy in giving me access to every part of the college, and placing in my hands all documents connected with its state and history. THE SCHOOLS OF ONTARIO. The plan of elementary education now adopted in the province of Ontario is not excelled by that of any country in the world, with the exception of Prussia. It has just one little defect, which I shall mention in due time. The province is divided into school sections. The schools are supported by a rate levied upon houses and lands; and each school is under the immediate management of a trustee, elected by the sectional rate-payers. A number of sections may unite to place their schools under one board of trustees. The raising of the school tax and the expenditure of the money are under the supervision of municipal councils; and superintendents of schools are appointed by the school boards of the several cities and counties. At the head of the whole is a chief superintendent, appointed by the governor of the province. In addition to this very efficient system of management and supervision, it is provided that "all clergymen recognized by law, of whatever denomination, all judges, magistrates, members of county councils, and aldermen, shall be school visitors in the places where they reside." The fundamental principle upon which the whole educational system of the province is now based is this: "A public school education is the right of every child in the land; and every man should contribute according to his property to the education of every child in the community, by whose influence and labours such property is protected and rendered valuable. The State is responsible to the existing citizens for the training of those who are to become citizens. It alone ought to do the work; and it alone can." It follows from this that the attendance of children be compelled to be present at these exercises against the wish of his parent or guardian, expressed in writing to the master of the school.” must be secured, if necessary, by compulsion; | prayer hereto annexed, may be used, or any other "for if every man is to be taxed according to his prayer preferred by the trustees and master of property for the public school education of every each school. But the Lord's Prayer shall form child in the land, every tax-payer has a right to part of the opening exercises, and the Ten Comclaim that every child shall be educated in the mandments be taught to all the pupils, and be revarious branches of a good English education,peated at least once a week. But no pupil shall otherwise it is raising money by taxation under false pretences." The compulsory clauses of the new Act, however, are framed in a gentle and conciliatory spirit; and it is hoped they will be sufficient to attain the desired end, especially as it was found in 1871, just when the Act was first put in operation, that out of an entire school population of 483,966, there were 420,488 already in attendance. The new Act provides that all children between the ages of five and sixteen shall be required to attend school; and, further, that the school shall be free to all residents in the province between the ages of five and twenty-one. RELIGION IN SCHOOLS. In Canada, as in other countries, this has been found the one grand difficulty in the way of a general scheme of education. The statesmen of Canada have laid down a right principle; but, unfortunately, they have not carried it out fully. They hold, that as Christianity is the basis of the whole system of elementary education, so it should pervade it throughout; and while thus recognizing the Christian basis, they have effectually secured individual rights of conscience by enacting that "no person shall require any pupil in any school to read or study in or from any religious book, or to join in any exercise of devotion or religion, objected to by his or her parents or guardians; but within this limitation, pupils shall be allowed to receive such religious instruction as their parents or guardians desire, according to any general regulations provided for the government of common schools." In regard to the opening and closing exercises of schools, it is further stated that, "with a view to secure the divine blessing, and to impress upon pupils the importance of religious duties, and their entire dependence upon their Maker, the Council of Public Instruction recommends that the daily exercises of each common school be opened and closed by reading a portion of Scripture and by The Lord's Prayer alone, or the form of prayer. The Education Report for 1870 shows that of the 4566 public schools in the province, 3246 were opened and closed with prayer, and the Bible was read in 3097. The report goes on to say: "This fact indicates the prevalent religious principles and feelings of the people; although the absence of such religious exercises in a school does not by any means indicate the absence of religious principles or feelings in the neighbourhood of such school. There are many religious persons who think the day-school, like the farmfields, the place of secular work; the religious exercises of the workers being performed, in the one case as in the other, in the household, and not in the field of labour. But as Christian principles and morals are the foundation of all that is most noble in man, and the great fulcrum and lever of public freedom and prosperity in the country, it is gratifying to see general and avowed recognition of them in the public schools." It might have been supposed that a system so free and a conscience clause so comprehensive would have satisfied all parties. But such is not the case. Some Roman Catholics thought themselves aggrieved; and the Legislature-unfortu nately, as I think-yielded to their demands, by enacting that wherever five or more Roman Catholic heads of families in any school section shall unite, they may secure a separate school, supported in part from public funds, and in part from a rate levied upon those who send their children to it, those who pay the latter being free from the ordinary school-rate. It is wisely provided, however, that all separate schools "shall be subject to such inspection as may be directed from time to time by the Chief Superintendent of Education; and shall be subject also to such regulations as may be imposed by the Council of Public Instruction." The report shows that |