Oh! I do so envy the clergy the splendid
field that is open to them to ameliorate the condition of mankind,
by teaching men how to remove the misery that surrounds them;
to improve and elevate humanity, not so eager to save a 1uan's
soul as to make every man feel he has a soul ; holding before
man, if they will, an ideal future, but before it, and above it,
stimulating him to a something here better than it is ; not an
ideal life such as the poet and artist would dream of, but a life
different from what it is, - an earnest desire to lift these who
as yet cannot soar very high a little above the misery and seemingly
helpless condition of their present daily existence. The lowest
poor may not feel their degradation, - they were born in it, are
used to it; but there is a large class whose pride is as strong
as their hunger, who still cling to some faint shadow of respectability,
who strive hard to earn their daily bread honestly, under whatever
adverse circumstances may be pressing on tl1em - decent people
trying hard to keep the wolf that is forever baying from the door.
Watch this class, and you will seen see how valuable is the cheering
word, the sympathetic help, to those brave fellow men of yours
who are struggling so hard not to descend to the level of the
brute.
"Do something for each other,
Though small the help may be;
There's comfort oft in little things,
Far more than others see.
It fakes the sorrow from the eye,
It makes the heart less bare.
Ii but a friendly hand comes nigh,
When friendly hands are rare,"
