d this much about steamers, I will turn for a
short time to another means of communication for body and mind--I mean
the railways. Are not they a striking advance in science, and the
bringing to bear the power of mind to work on the material that has been
provided for our use by an all-wise God? It is but a few years since,
comparatively speaking, they came into existence, and yet, from the time
of George Stephenson (and his perseverance largely aided to perfect the
railway), see what vast sums of money have been spent, what magnificent
and noble structures have been erected, and what speed has been obtained
for the communication of body and mind. Instead of the thirty miles from
Manchester to Liverpool in 1830, we now have in Great Britain and
Ireland 13,289 miles of railway. The total capital paid in 1865 was
L455,478,000, and this has largely increased since then. An idea may be
formed of the difference of the rate of speed in travelling effected,
both before and after the introduction of railways, by such facts as the
following:--Two hundred years ago, King James's groom rode six days in
succession between London and York, and a wonderful feat it was deemed;
whilst now, the same distance is performed in five hours. About 1755 to
1760, the London and Edinburgh coach was advertised to run between these
cities in fourteen days in summer, and sixteen in winter, resting one
Sunday on the road. So much for the growing desire for speedy
intercourse for mind and body.

_Suez Canal_.--There is an all-absorbing topic now before the public,
and it is one that brings strikingly before us the thirst for
communication of both body and mind to and from distant parts of our
globe. It is one of deep importance to all who take an interest in the
advancement of science--I mean the Suez Canal. The Red Sea cannot but be
familiar to us all--a sea of the most profound interest, for there did
the mighty Jehovah work one of His most stupendous miracles, when He
brought the children of Israel out of Egypt, and at the same time
destroyed Pharaoh and all his host. But in how different a manner did
the Lord work! By a word He caused the waters to go back, leaving a wall
on the right hand and on the left, so that the people of Israel went
through on dry land. This was not all. Were not His chosen people
accompanied by a pillar of fire to give light in the night season, and a
cloud of thick darkness to prevent the Egyptians coming near them during