their ends, with two stout planks across them, served for a table,
which was placed in front of a huge fragment of a buttress, beneath
which irregular masses of fallen moss-covered stone made very fairly
comfortable seats for some of the more special friends and supporters;
while the audience generally were seated all up and down within hearing
distance, forming a most picturesque congregation, as they sat, or
stood, or lay down, as proved most convenient. By the time the vicar
was ready to commence the proceedings, the space all round him was
rapidly filling with men and women from the town, who had not been at
the tea, but were drawn by interest or curiosity to be present at the
after-meeting.

All were very silent as the vicar, after the usual preliminary hymn and
prayer, rose, and began as follows:--

"I make no apology, dear friends, for being about to occupy a portion of
your time by addressing you this evening; but I shall not detain you
long. Still, what I have to say is of deep importance to you all, and,
therefore, I must ask your earnest and patient attention.

"Without further preface, then, I do earnestly desire to impress upon
you all this truth, that there can be no real peace, no solid happiness
in this world, unless we are _consciously_ seeking to live to the glory
of God. I look around me, and see with alarm, in these days of
increased knowledge and intelligence, how entirely many thoughtful
people are living without God in the world; I mean, without having any
_conscious_ communion or connection with him.

"This is so very dangerous a feature of our times, because there is at
the same time a very widely spread respect for religion. Coarse abuse
and reviling of religion and religious people are frowned upon now by
all persons of education and refinement as vulgar and illiberal. But
yet, with this respect for religion and its followers, there seems to be
growing up a conviction or impression that people can be good, and
happy, and profitable in their day without any religion at all. If you
are religious, well and good, no one should meddle with you; and if you
are consistent, all should respect you, and it would be exceedingly bad
taste to quarrel with you for your opinions. But then, if you are _not_
religious, well and good too, no one should meddle with you, and it
would be very uncharitable, and in very bad taste, to quarrel with you
about your creed or views. Religion, in fact, is becom