bject is one of engrossing interest,
vastly more so should it be such to freedom's friends. The latter, it
leads to the gates of all valuable knowledge--philanthropic, ethical,
and religious; for it brings them to the study of man, wonderfully and
fearfully made--the proper study of man through all time--the open book,
in which are the records of time and eternity.

Of the existence and power of the anti-slavery movement, as a fact, you
need no evidence. The nation has seen its face, and felt the controlling
pressure of its hand. You have seen it moving in all directions, and in
all weathers, and in all places, appearing most where desired least,
and pressing hardest where most resisted. No place is exempt. The quiet
prayer meeting, and the stormy halls of national debate, share its
presence alike. It is a common intruder, and of course has the name
of being ungentlemanly. Brethren who had long sung, in the most
affectionate fervor, and with the greatest sense of security,

_Together let us sweetly live--together let us die,_

have been suddenly and violently separated by it, and ranged in hostile
attitude toward each other. The Methodist, one of the most powerful
religious organizations of this country, has been rent asunder, and its
strongest bolts of denominational brotherhood started at a single surge.
It has changed the tone of the northern pulpit, and modified that of the
press. A celebrated divine, who, four years ago, was for flinging
his own mother, or brother, into the remorseless jaws of the
monster slavery, lest he should swallow up the Union, now recognizes
anti-slavery as a characteristic of future civilization. Signs and
wonders follow this movement; and the fact just stated is one of them.
Party ties are loosened by it; and men are compelled to take sides for
or against it, whether they will or not. Come from where he may, or come
for what he may, he is compelled to show his hand. What is this mighty
force? What is its history? and what is its destiny? Is it ancient or
modern, transient or permanent? Has it turned aside, like a stranger
and a sojourner, to tarry for a night? or has it come to rest with us
forever? Excellent chances are here for speculation; and some of them
are quite profound. We might, for instance, proceed to inquire not
only into the philosophy of the anti-slavery movement, but into the
philosophy of the law, in obedience to which that movement started into
existence. We