as the conviction of many prominent preachers and
laymen on both sides of the Atlantic, early in the century. And truly
the condition of the world and of society was of a character to force
such a conviction on the minds of intelligent men. Infidelity was
rampant, and intemperance, gambling, unchastity, and other forms of
vice were practiced with unblushing effrontery. On the other side, the
churches, which should have been waging war on all ungodliness, were
fighting each other, contending about the questions on which they
differed, and exhausting their strength in internecine conflict. Was
it not time, men were asking, that the forces that were on the side of
godliness united in opposition to evil? After long discussion, and
some opposition, this feeling took practical shape in the Evangelical
Alliance. At a meeting held in London in 1846 eight hundred
representatives of fifty denominations were assembled. It was found
that however widely they differed on questions of doctrine and church
government, there was practical agreement on a large number of vital
subjects, such as the need of religious education, the observance of
the Lord's Day, and the evil influence of infidelity. An organization
was effected, on the principles of federation, to secure united action
on subjects on which all were agreed, and this organization has been
maintained to the present time. Branches have been formed in
twenty-seven different lands, each dealing with matters peculiarly
affecting the community in which it operates, and by correspondence,
and periodical international conferences, keeping in touch with each
other. Its usefulness has been proved in the success of its efforts to
secure tolerance in several lands, where men were being persecuted for
conscience' sake, though much still remains to be done on this line.
Perhaps the most conspicuous result of its work is the general
observance throughout Christendom of the first complete week of every
year as a week of prayer. The proposal for such an observance was made
in 1858. Since that time the Alliance has issued every year a list of
subjects which are common objects of desire to all Evangelical
Christians. On each day of the week, prayer is now offered in every
land for the special blessing which is suggested as the topic for the
day.

From the same spirit of Christian brotherhood which took shape in the
Evangelical Alliance, came at later dates other movements which are
yet in their