darkness. We need, I am sure, _revelation_. 'Lord, open the young
man's eyes, that he may see.' We shall take the wrong turning if we
trust to our ordinary eyes; we shall find the path if we have the eye
of faith to see what God is revealing. . . . And now at this time I
need your prayers. I have--and {109} this, I need hardly say, is
private--an invitation from the Bishop of ---- to come and lecture to
theological students, whom he hopes to gather round him. Of course the
scheme is rather in the air so far. He has not yet got the men. But
he has an attractive power, and he might on a smaller scale do some
such work as Vaughan used to do for men who did not go to definite
theological colleges. Will you pray for me that I may go if I ought,
and not go if I ought not, please?

Our wills are ours, we know not how,
Our wills are ours, to make them Thine.

_To J. L. D._

Cliff Dale, Cromer: October 3, 1898.

I do not belong and I never have belonged to any of the societies or
guilds which you mention. I am a member of a Church. For that reason
I dare not join any party. In fact, I cannot understand what 'parties'
have to do with a Church. The Church by its very existence is a
witness against parties and divisions. It will take me more than a
lifetime to learn what it is to be a member of a Church; and no one can
learn the lesson while he persists in clinging to a party. He must be
a member not of a _part_ but of a _whole_. I therefore have no time to
waste in joining a party.

I feel strongly that the various societies and guilds, based upon
_party_ life, are eating away the very life of the Church. But I am
slow in condemning my neighbour for conscientiously joining any such
{110} society. He may only be able to see one side of truth, and it is
better--far better--that he should see that side than nothing at all.

_To the mother of his godchild, Margaret Forbes._

April 12, 1899.

It is such a joy to me to be allowed to be her godparent, and I shall
remember her often in my prayers. What a wonderful revelation she must
be to you both--making the Heavenly Home a fuller reality than ever
before! It is through earthly relationships that we realise the
meaning of the unseen world. I like those lines of Faber:

All fathers learn their craft from Thee:
All loves are shadows cast
By the beautiful eternal hills
Of Thine unbeginning past.

_To his mother._

Rouxvill