and the gay painting of walls, gallery, and roof, struck one as being not quite in harmony with our staid ideas of ecclesiastical architecture and ornament. The gorgeous tints and gilding would, in my opinión, have suited a modern drawing-room better than a house of worship. Still every country has a style of its own; and why should not America invent a new one? That in Chicago was undoubtedly new.

As the hour approached the people flocked in. It was manifestly a fashionable church. Those who worshipped in it seemed to be exclusively, or nearly so, of the wealthier classes; and their dresses corresponded to the magnificence of the building. Ere the bell ceased tolling every seat was occupied, and many stood in the aisles. The minister entered from a side door, ascended the platform, and took his seat on a sofa. He was a little man, with no appearance of intellectuality; without gown, bands, white cravat, or other mark or indication of clerical status. The moment he sat down the choir commenced an anthem. It was grand. I have seldom heard anything superior. The organ was a noble instrument, and the vocal part was rendered with remarkable power and pathos. It was, of course, only a performance. Few seemed to know the words; and none dared to join in the music. One would no more think of doing so, than of joining in an oratorio in the Albert Hall. The devotional exercises were much after the model of the Old Kirk of Scotland, only the prayers were shorter, and the hymns different. The subject of the sermon was professedly a defence of the inspiration of Scripture, which, the preacher told us, was now called in question by large numbers within the Church. He began his defence by the somewhat singular admission that he did not contend for plenary inspiration, or the infallible accuracy of the entire Bible. That he seemed to think an exploded theory, which no thoughtful man would now venture to advocate. On the positive side of the question he was not so clear. I tried in vain to gather what he did contend for. On the whole, I felt that it might have been just as well for his audience, and perhaps better for the Bible, had he not taken up the question at all. The only strong impression left upon my

| mind by the discourse was, that the views entertained in Chicago upon great Scripture doctrines must be very hazy indeed, if that was a fair specimen of them.

I did not care for spending much time in my hotel, so I dined at a restaurant, and went back to the same church in the evening. It was again filled with a fashionable audience. The lectureevidently one of a series-was upon the character of Moses as a lawgiver. The portraiture was good and graphic; and the description of Israel in the wilderness, led and governed by Moses, was drawn to life, and manifestly by one who had visited the scene. But the part in which the preacher excelled was his comparison of the Mosaic administration with the state of affairs in the country generally, and Chicago in particular. He gave a sad picture of the corruption of government; and he denounced in no measured terms both electors and elected. He affirmed broadly that to ignore all religion was now a necessary qualification for office. The whole discourse was pungent and eloquent; and some of the descriptions of the nature of home rule were absolutely scathing. The audience seemed to enjoy it, and to believe, as well as one could judge from smiling faces and approving nods, that it was richly deserved. Such a style of pulpit oratory was new to me, whatever it may be in America. I had never heard anything approaching it before. It reminded one of the fiery words of Elijah to Ahab and Jezebel. Possibly, it may do good; but in my mind a gentler strain of reproof, and a fuller exposition of the eternal principles of New Testament morality, peace, and love, would be far more likely to be efficacious.

It would be manifestly unfair, however, to judge the pulpit ministrations of Chicago, or even of that one church in it, by the services of a single Sunday. Doubtless, like most other great cities in the United States, it has among its clergy-indeed, I now know it has-men of talent and wisdom. But it is admitted on all hands, and, indeed, it is clear to every man who will walk the streets with his eyes open, and look at the crowded whisky-saloons, and the gambling houses, and the glaring Sunday traffic and work, that Chicago, whatever else it may be, is not a religious city. Never in any part of the world

not even in Turkey-have I witnessed, so far as external appearance goes, such absolute disregard of all religious form. No doubt the fire has greatly disorganized society, and destroyed many churches, and left many homeless and struggling; but it might at the same time have led the people to see that immortal beings have higher and nobler aims than the indulgence of degrading passions and the acquisition of wealth.

PUBLIC SCHOOLS.

The public school system of Chicago appears to be under admirable management. In a city growing with such amazing rapidity, and covering such a vast area in proportion to its population, it is of course difficult to secure the requisite school accommodation and number of trained teachers. The general plan, which I see ably advocated in one of the annual reports of the School Board, is excellent, and indeed, as far as I can judge, the only efficient one. It is to have a series of elementary schools, of moderate size, so located throughout the city, that they would be accessible to the youngest children. It is truly said that when large bodies of children are brought together into one building, the building must of necessity be far distant from the houses of many of them. Then it is proposed to place an intermediate school in each district, the principal of which would, at the same time, be inspector of the elementary schools in that district; and then to place in the centre of all one great normal school, with requisite apparatus for instructing in the higher branches, and for training teachers in the practical work of school management. Unity would thus be given to the whole system, and all facilities afforded for advancing talented and industrious pupils to the highest grades. I greatly admired the furniture of the Chicago schools, and indeed of all the new schools in the States. Each child has an isolated chair and desk, usually of cherry-wood; they are models of neatness, cleanliness, and comfort. The desks have slender legs of metal, which, with those of the chair, are screwed to the floor. Perfect freedom of action is in this way secured for each pupil without disturbing others; and the teacher has much greater facilities for observing and checking any disorder. It is worthy of note

that all the public schools of Chicago are opened with devotional exercises, a portion of Scripture being read.

FAREWELL TO CHICAGO.

There was little inducement for a stranger to linger in Chicago. It does not possess one single attractive feature. It is built on the flat shore of Lake Michigan, and as close as possible to the water's edge, as if there were no space behind. The country around it is one unbroken plain, mostly prairie, in whose vastness nearly all the streets lose themselves. Situated in the centre of a magnificent territory, with railways converging from every quarter, with inexhaustible resources, and with a free outlet by water to the Atlantic, Chicago seems destined to become one of the greatest of American cities.

It was with a feeling of relief I left my dirty hotel, and bade adieu to the troop of jugglers, and the surly landlord, who would not even condescend to carry a part of my luggage down-stairs, but left me to make a double journey for it myself, while he sat astride an old stove smoking.

Eastward ho! was now my watchword; and I took my place in a Pullman for Ann Arbor and Detroit. It was a glorious day; the atmosphere transparent as crystal; for a thunder-storm the day before had cleared away the haze. The railway skirts the southern shore of the lake, giving boundless views over the water on the left, and over the prairie on the right. Lake Michigan passed, we struck due east across the peninsular State towards Lake Huron. It is a rich and charming country, with hill and dale, wood and river, clean villages, and tidy farmhouses, and here and there a bustling, growing town.

It was mid-afternoon when we reached Ann Arbor, the seat of

THE UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN.

The town is situated in a picturesque valley. A rapid river winds through it, and the banks and heights behind are gracefully wooded. The university was established in 1841, to give a higher education, on moderate terms, to the youth of Michigan. It permits those who enter a free choice of subjects. It has thus materially

colleges. It has what are called " parallel courses," any one of which the student may select. They are at present as follows the classical, the scientific, the Latin scientific, the Greek scientific, civil engineering, and mining engineering. While all who seek a bachelor's degree must take the regular curriculum of classics, it is provided that students who do not desire to become candidates for a degree, may, if qualified, pursue any study in connection with any of the classes. The university is thus adapted to the circumstances and requirements of a new country, where practical knowledge is needed more than deep scholarship. Though at present most of its departments would only rank as a superior school, yet it is doing a good work, and it may in time attain to that status of academic training which in Europe is looked for in all universities. It is a large institution, with thirty-three professors, and above a thousand students. It is supported by the State, and is undenominational; but, as I stated in a previous paper, it does not exclude or ignore religion. In the report for 1870 I find the following noble declaration :-" As long as the State of Michigan claims to belong to the great Christian community, its university must insist on maintaining a place among Christian institutions."

DETROIT.

Detroit is about an hour by rail from Ann Arbor. The great chain of lakes forms one of the leading features of the physical geography of North America. Lakes Superior and Michigan fall into Lake Huron; Lake Huron is connected by a narrow channel, thirty miles long, with the little lake of St. Clair; and it again is joined by a channel of about equal length to Lake Erie, whose waters, after tumbling over Niagara, enter Lake Ontario, and then gradually contract amid the charming scenery of "The Thousand Isles," into the mighty St. Lawrence.

Upon the right bank of the river-like channel which joins St. Clair to Erie stands Detroit, one of the most attractive of American cities. The streets are wide, and the houses and shops in the newer parts elegant. The suburbs are laid out with much taste, and are studded with charming

a staid propriety, which reminds him that he has escaped from a region of wild speculation, and of restless, sometimes reckless enterprise, and that he has come back within the sphere of religious life and Christian principle.

THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY.

The General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church was still sitting in Detroit, and I went to it the evening of my arrival, intending to watch quietly the order of procedure. I was observed, however, and received a request from the Moderator to go to the platform. When I had complied, he said he wished to present me to the house. I stood beside him in front of the chair; he mentioned my name, and immediately the whole assembly, with the public who thronged the galleries of the church, rose to their feet. The scene was very impressive. Perfect silence was maintained as I bowed my acknowledgments. I felt that a high honour had been done me; for I was not a deputy, nor had I any official position giving me the slightest claim to notice. It was an act of Christian kindness and fraternal courtesy which I can never forget. The Moderator informed me that a seat would be assigned to me upon the platform whenever I might choose to attend during the remainder of the sittings.

I was struck, as I had been in the Southern Assembly, by the perfect order of the house, even during somewhat exciting debates. There was no unseemly struggle for precedence; there was no attempt to resist, or even to question for a moment, the ruling of the Moderator; and I did not hear a single remark or word that could give offence to any man. The members appear uniformly to treat each other as gentlemen and

brethren.

At the same time, however, it seemed to me that some of the rules of debate are not adapted for the free discussion and full development of any great question. For example, all speakers, after the first two, I think, are limited to a fixed and very short time. Another rule gives each member the right, when his name is called to vote, of expressing his reasons in a speech of four minutes. No matter how powerful his arguments

or how weighty his words, he is obliged to stop the instant the Moderator's bell rings, even though in the middle of a sentence. I saw the rule carried out in a debate on a question considered by many of vital importance. The question was whether a ruling elder holds office for life, or whether he may be elected and ordained for a fixed period. The constitution of the Church is to some extent involved in this; and, what is more, it touches the very essence of the solemn rite of ordination. Yet, even on this grave point, the four minute rule was rigorously carried out. I pitied some of the speakers. They were deeply moved. They struggled to compress argument, and express solemn conviction, within the given time, so as to influence their brethren. It was vain. What could be done in four minutes? The tinkle of the Moderator's bell dissipated argument; and the rapid succession of speakers prevented the possibility of consecutive reasoning. I felt, as I sat and watched and listened, that a law, which had doubtless been enacted to expedite business, and to prevent useless oratory and mere waste of time upon minor matters, was capable of being used to fetter free discussion, and to tyrannize over the consciences of others.

Presbyterianism in the United States does not in all respects conform to the principles and order of the Old Kirk of Scotland. It has a good deal of the independent element in it; and in some cases, at least, this element is not, as I believe, an improvement. I was surprised, to learn, for instance, that many of those ministers who sat as delegates in the General Assembly were neither pastors of congregations nor theological professors-the only persons who, in Scotland, have a right to a seat in this supreme court. Some of them were schoolmasters; some editors of newspapers; some were supplying pulpits temporarily; some had no particular employment. Upon what ground they sat in a representative Assembly I could not discover. On close inquiry I found that not more than a third of the ministers of the Presbyterian Church of the North are settled pastors.

Then, again, it is a common practice for a congregation to make an arrangement with a minister to officiate among them for two, three, or four years, as the case may be. At the close of the term they dismiss him, or he leaves them and goes elsewhere. In my opinion this seriously interferes with the sacredness of the pastoral tie. It tends also, to some extent, to introduce the commercial element, and to make a pastor's work a mere matter of bargain, and thus seriously to lower the character and mar the usefulness of the sacred office. Perhaps the nature of American institutions, and the requirements of a rapidly growing and changing population, may demand some little freedom of action; but the danger is that liberty degenerate into anarchy, and the Church become entirely disorganized. Local and temporary success, however great it may be, and though it might be attained in a number of the leading cities, will never compensate for the disorganization of a great Church, and the derangement of that unity of plan, and purpose, and effort, which alone can accomplish a national work of evangelization.

The Presbyterian Church of the United States has a grand field. It has a large band of laymen filled with zeal, and whose munificent liberality is an honour to Christendom. It has ministers who for eloquence and talent are not surpassed in any Church. But it wants organization. The connection between the Church courts and the theological colleges is not so well defined as to secure the thorough training of candidates for the ministry. The jurisdiction of presbyteries over congregations is loose, and in some cases little more than nominal; and the constitution of the presbyteries themselves is unsatisfactory, for many of the clerical members-in some cases, I understand, a majority-have no fixed charges. These points, and others, require reform; and the longer reform is delayed the more difficult will it become. I know that at the present moment many of the most distinguished men in the Church are striving nobly to bring about needed reforms, and with my whole heart I bid them God-speed.