o be regarded as a caricature upon the operations of the
present age. In other words, our efforts to convert the world become so
clumsy, slow and inefficient, from a lack of the right spirit and enough
of it, in ministers and in the churches, that to impute the same kind
and degree of effort to the apostles and primitive Christians, might
excite a smile, rather than a sigh; and be deemed an attempt to
ridicule what is at present done, rather than an earnest, serious, and
solemn expostulation. Such a result I should deplore. But if my readers
will believe me to be aiming simply, with weeping eyes and an aching
heart, to illustrate with force my own defects and their short-comings
in duty, by detecting and tracing out a wrong principle of action, I
will venture cautiously to make the supposition.

The words of the last command have fallen from the lips of the ascended
Saviour, and the apostles assemble to deliberate how they shall carry
them into execution. In the first place, Peter delivers an address. It
is an able and thrilling discourse. He seems impatient to wing his way
to foreign lands. After the discourse, they form themselves into a
society. Arrangements being made, and the machinery being complete, they
send forth John to solicit funds. He finds the disciples willing to
contribute on an average, after much urging, about twenty-four cents
each. A pittance of money is obtained, and then they search for a man.
They thought Peter would be ready to go, from the speech he delivered,
but he wishes to be excused: he has a family to support. They then fall
upon various plans: some think of training up young men to go forth,
and others exhort parents to infuse a missionary spirit into their
children. At length, however, it is found that one of the twelve begins
to feel that he has a call to go--but this would be at the rate of one
thousand from the twelve thousand ministers in the United States. This
one man is sent forth to "go into all the world, and to preach the
Gospel to every creature." The rest of the apostles sustain the various
offices of the society, and have charge of important posts in Jerusalem,
and in the cities and villages round about. They meet yearly, to
deliberate upon the missionary enterprise. Some feel much, and humbly
pray, and some say eloquent things about the glorious cause, and tell
how they have found a fulcrum, where to place the lever of Archimides to
elevate the world.

Now I ask most solem