reduce the temperature with natural reluctance.
Every degree lost is a sinking of their power and profit.

Even in England--the land of Shakespeare and Shelley, Newton and Darwin,
Mill and Spencer--the cry of "Fire!" is still raised in thousands of
pulpits. Catholics bate no jot of their fiery damnation; Church of
England clergymen hold forth on brimstone--with now and then a dash of
treacle--in the rural districts and small towns; it is not long
since the Wesleyans turned out a minister who was not cocksure about
everlasting torment; Mr. Spurgeon preaches hell (hot, without sugar) in
mercy to perishing souls; and General Booth, who caters for the silliest
and most ignorant Christians, works hell into his trade-mark.

"Blood and Fire" is a splendid summary of the orthodox faith. All who
would be saved must be washed in the Blood of the Lamb--a disgusting
ablution! All who are not saved fall into the Fire. A blood-bath or a
sulphur-bath is the only alternative.

Happily, however, the people are becoming more civilised and more
humane. Science and popular education are working wonders. Reason,
self-reliance, and sympathy are rapidly developing. The old primitive
terrors are losing their hold upon us, and the callous dogmas of savage
religion are growing impossible. Priests cannot frighten men who possess
a high sense of human dignity; and the doctrine of an angry God, who
will burn his own children in hell, is loathsome to those who will fight
the flames and smoke of a burning house to save the life of an unknown
fellow creature.

How amusing, in these circumstances, are the wrigglings of the
"advanced" Christians. Archdeacon Farrar, for instance, in despite of
common sense and etymology, contends that "everlasting" fire only means
"eternal" fire. What a comfort the distinction would be to a man in
Hell! Away with such temporising! Let the ghastly old dogma be defied.
Sensible people should simply laugh at the priests who still raise the
cry of "Fire!"

SKY PILOTS.

The authorship of the designation "sky pilot" is as unknown as that of
the four gospels. Yet its origin is recent. It has only been in use for
a few years, say ten, or at the outside twenty. Nobody knows, however,
who was the first man from whose lips it fell. Probably he was an
American, but his name and address are not ascertained. Surely this
fact, which has thousands if not millions of parallels, should abate the
impudence of religionists who