ch was the reception of Lafayette, the warrior; such would be that of
Robert Raikes, the Howard of the Christian church. And which is the nobler
benefactor, patriot, and philanthropist? Mankind may admire and extol
Lafayette more than the founder of the Sunday schools; but religion,
philanthropy, and enlightened common sense must ever esteem Robert Raikes
the superior of Lafayette. His are the virtues, the services, the
sacrifices of a more enduring and exalted order of being. His counsels and
triumphs belong less to time than to eternity.

The fame of Lafayette is of this world; the glory of Robert Raikes is of
the Redeemer's everlasting kingdom. Lafayette lived chiefly for his own
age, and chiefly for his and our country; but Robert Raikes has lived for
all ages and all countries. Perhaps the historian and biographer may never
interweave his name in the tapestry of national or individual renown. But
the records of every single church honor him as a patron; the records of
the universal Church, on earth as in heaven, bless him as a benefactor.

The time may come when the name of Lafayette will be forgotten; or when
the star of his fame, no longer glittering in the zenith, shall be seen,
pale and glimmering, on the verge of the horizon. But the name of Robert
Raikes shall never be forgotten; and the lambent flame of his glory is
that eternal fire which rushed down from heaven to devour the sacrifice of
Elijah. Let mortals then admire and imitate Lafayette more than Robert
Raikes. But the just made perfect, and the ministering spirits around the
throne of God, have welcomed him as a fellow-servant of the same Lord; as
a fellow-laborer in the same glorious cause of man's redemption; as a
coheir of the same precious promises and eternal rewards.

NOTES.--Armada, the great fleet sent out in 1588, by Philip II. of Spain,
for the conquest of England, was defeated in the Channel by the English
and Dutch fleets. After the victory, Queen Elizabeth made a triumphal
journey through the kingdom.

Francis I. (b. 1494, d. 1547), King of France, was taken prisoner at the
battle of Pavia, and confined at Madrid, Spain, nearly a year.
Austerlitz.--See Note on p. 150.

Lafayette (b. 1757, d. 1834), a French marquis, who served as major
general in the Revolutionary War in America, which terminated in 1783.
Lafayette revisited this country in 1824, and was received throughout the
land with the greatest enthusiasm.

Robert Raikes (b.