, something must be reserved from reason, or the stoutest
miracle would soon fall into a galloping consumption. The man in whom
a pious disposition counteracts the restless play of thought, will not
demand absolute proof; he will only require an encouraging amount of
evidence; and he will dutifully lift his face and hands to heaven,
exclaiming, "Lord I believe, help thou mine unbelief."

The line we shall follow is a different one. Without questioning the
miracle, we venture to ask why it was not more complete. Lives were
saved, but several persons were injured. Was this due to the fact that
Hargraves' prayer was not sufficiently above proof? Did the Lord answer
the prayer according to its insensity? Was there a sceptic in the train
who partially neutralised its effect? Or did the Lord proceed on
the method favored by priests, preventing the miracle from being too
obvious, but giving the incident a slightly supernatural appearance, in
order to confirm the faith of believers without convincing the callous
sceptics, whose deep sin of incredulity places them beyond "the means of
grace and the hope of glory?"

Nor are these questions exhaustive. Very much remains to be said. It
appears that the Norwood bridge collapsed through a secret flaw in
the ironwork. Could not the Lord, therefore, in answer to Hargraves'
prayers--which surely extended to the interests of his employers--have
inspired one of the Company's engineers with the notion of some
unsoundness in the structure? This would have saved a good deal of
property, and many passengers from suffering a shock whose effects may
haunt them for years, and perhaps send them to untimely graves? Might
not the Lord have cleared the roadway below, knocked down the bridge
in the night, and brought some one to see the collapse who could have
carried the tidings to the signalmen? Certainly there seems a remarkable
want of subtlety in the ways of Providence. It looks as though the Deity
heard a prayer now and then, and jerked out a bit of miracle in a more
or less promiscuous manner.

What has happened to Providence since the Bible days? Miracles then
were clear, convincing, and artistically rounded. You could not possibly
mistake them for anything else. Baalam's ass, for instance, was not a
performing "moke"; it does not appear to have known a single trick; and
when it opened its mouth and talked in good Moabitish, the miracle was
certain and triumphant. In the same way, the Norwo