air. The
light she throws around is not the clear gleam of the sunshine, nor the
bright twinkle of the star; but glances in fitful glimmerings on the
soul, like the aurora on the icebergs of the pole, and lightens up the
scene only to show its utter desolation.

The Bible lay open before me, but I could find no comfort there. Its
lessons were intended only for the meek and humble, and my heart was
cased in pride. It reached only to the believing; I was tossed on an
ocean of doubt. It required, as a condition to faith, the innocence of
an angel and the humility of a child; I had long ago seared my
conscience by mingling in the busy scenes of life, and was proud of my
mental acquirements. The Bible spoke comfort to the Publican; I was of
the straight sect of the Pharisees. Its promises were directed to the
poor in spirit, whilst mine panted for renown.

At this moment, whilst heedlessly turning over its leaves and scarcely
glancing at their contents, my attention was arrested by this remarkable
passage in one of Paul's epistles: "That was not _first_ which is
spiritual, but that which was natural, and _afterward_ that which is
spiritual. Behold, I show you a mystery: _we shall not all sleep_, but
we shall all be changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the
last trump."

Again and again I read this text, for it promised more by reflection
than at first appeared in the words. Slowly a light broke in on the
horizon's verge, and I felt, for the first time in my whole life, that
the past was not all inexplicable, nor the future a chaos, but that the
human soul, lit up by the torch of science! and guided by the
prophecies of Holy Writ, might predict the path it is destined to tread,
and read in advance the history of its final enfranchisement. St. Paul
evidently intended to teach the doctrine of _progress_, even in its
applicability to man. He did not belong to that narrow-minded sect in
philosophy, which declares that the earth and the heavens are finished;
that man is the crowning glory of his Maker, and the utmost stretch of
His creative power; that henceforth the globe which he inhabits is
barren, and can produce no being superior to himself. On the contrary,
he clearly intended to teach the same great truth which modern science
is demonstrating to all the world, that progression is nature's first
law, and that even in the human kingdom the irrevocable decree has gone
forth--ONWARD AND UPWARD, FOREVER!

Suc