these, is to be guilty of "respect of
persons" in its grossest form, and with its worst effects. It is to
reward or punish me for what I had nothing to do with; for which,
therefore, I can not, without the greatest injustice, be held
responsible. It is to poison the very fountains of justice, by
confounding all moral distinctions. It is with a worse temper, and in
the way of inflicting infinitely greater injuries, to copy the kingly
folly of Xerxes, in chaining and scourging the Hellespont. What, then,
so far as the authority of the New Testament is concerned, becomes of
slavery, which can not be maintained under any form nor for a single
moment, without "respect of persons" the most aggravated and
unendurable? And what would become of that most pitiful, silly, and
wicked arrangement in so many of our churches, in which worshipers of a
dark complexion are to be shut up to the negro pew?[A]

[Footnote A: In Carlyle's Review of the Memoirs of Mirabeau, we have the
following anecdote, illustrative of the character of a "grandmother" of
the Count. "Fancy the dame Mirabeau sailing stately towards the church
font; another dame striking in to take precedence of her; the dame
Mirabeau despatching this latter with a box on the ear, and these words,
'_Here, as in the army_, THE BAGGAGE _goes last_!'" Let those who
justify the negro-pew-arrangement, throw a stone at this proud woman--if
they dare.]

Nor are we permitted to confine this principle to _religious_
assemblies. It is to pervade social life every where. Even where plenty,
intelligence, and refinement, diffuse their brightest rays, the poor are
to be welcomed with especial favor. "Then said he to him that bade him,
when thou makest a dinner or a supper, call not thy friends, nor thy
brethren, neither thy kinsmen, nor thy rich neighbors, lest they also
bid thee again, and a recompense be made thee. But when thou makest a
feast, call the poor and the maimed, the lame and the blind, and thou
shalt be blessed; for they can not recompense thee, but thou shalt be
recompensed at the resurrection of the just."

In the high places of social life then--in the parlor, the drawing-room,
the saloon--special reference should be had, in every arrangement, to
the comfort and improvement of those who are least able to provide for
the cheapest rites of hospitality. For these, ample accommodations must
be made, whatever may become of our kinsmen and rich neighbors. And for
this good rea