he heirs and fellows of the Nazarene child, to make
them understand something of the lessons that child must have learnt,
the sights he must have seen, and the thoughts that must have come to
him, is a spectacle of which I will not miss more than I can help. Don't
imagine, however, that I am converted exactly!--but only that I am more
interested and stimulated than I have been for years. And don't expect
me for Christmas. I shall stay here.'

New Year's Day.

'I am writing from the library of the New Brotherhood. The amount of
activity, social, educational, religious, of which this great building
promises to be the centre is already astonishing. Everything, of course,
including the constitution of the infant society, is as yet purely
tentative and experimental. But for a scheme so young, things are
falling into working order with wonderful rapidity. Each department is
worked by committees under the central council. Elsmere, of course, is
_ex-officio_ chairman of a large proportion; Wardlaw, Mackay, I, and a
few other fellows, "run" the rest for the present. But each committee
contains workingmen; and it is the object of everybody concerned to
make the workman element more and more real and efficient. What with
the "tax", on the members which was fixed by a general meeting, and the
contributions from outside, the society already commands a fair income.
But Elsmere is anxious not to attempt too much at once, and will go
slowly and train his workers.

'Music, it seems, is going to be a great feature in the future. I have
my own projects as to this part of the business, which, however, I
forbid you to guess at.

'By the rules of the Brotherhood, every member is bound to some work in
connection with it during the year, but little or much, as he or she is
able. And every meeting, every undertaking of whatever kind, opens with
the special "word" or formula of the society, "This do in remembrance of
me."'

January 6.

'Besides the Sunday lectures, Elsmere is pegging away on Saturday
evenings at "The History of the Moral Life in Man." It is a remarkable
course, and very largely attended by people of all sorts. He tries to
make it an exposition of the principles of the new movement, of '"that
continuous and leading only revelation of God in life and nature,"'
which is in reality the basis of his whole thought. By the way,