dministered the holy
sacrament, and assured them that they were "lambs of the fold," and that
a robe and a harp awaited them at the right hand of God.

Just imagine a lamb in a robe, playing on a harp! A lamb with wings, a
harp, a long white robe, and golden slippers seems to me an object to
arouse the sympathy of a demon. Poor lamb! He would wish himself a goat
every hour of the day.

There is an implied crime in the very word vicarious. If it means
anything it means the suffering of innocence to atone for guilt.
It means that one crime is condoned by the commission of another--a
deliberate one. It means that truth must die in order that dishonor may
live. It substitutes vengeance for justice. It does not seek to protect
society by checking villany; it seeks the safety of the criminal by a
shifting of responsibility. If the framers of human laws were no wiser
that the revealers of divine law, no nation could live, no family would
be secure, no justice possible.

[See Appendix S.]

Not long ago the New York _Independent_ contained an article against
Sarah Bernhart, calling her "a lewd woman," and against her play because
it did not contain good morals. The same paper contained an article
against George Eliot's works, and said that the Mormon Congressman is a
disgrace to all America because he is a polygamist. All these things
by a man who swallows David and Lot whole, and has Solomon pose as the
summit of all wisdom! All this by a man who builds his life on the word
of Moses, and denies to others the right to object to his code of morals
or his version of heavenly wisdom and divine direction!

I should like a little consistency. The Christian who rails against
polygamy, and at the same time poses in morals with a bible in his hand,
is a man who saws his own legs from under him, and still expects us to
believe that he has legs, which we might possibly do if only our sight
were aided by faith. As long as my eyes hold out, I'll stick to unaided
vision; after that, spectacles or faith according to circumstances.

When goodness and virtue are measured, not by a book, but by our own
acts toward each other; when a man's character is judged by the amount
of joy he gives to his household; when a happy laugh from his children
and a bright smile from his wife greet him as often as he comes home;
when these are taken as the evidence of a good man, deacons will go out
of fashion. Meek, tired, persecuted-looking wives will