athwart the Methodist horizon like an ecclesiastical comet, might have been amenable to the charge of handling the word of God deceitfully when he preached against the high head-gear of the women from the text, "Top-knot, come down," taken from the verse, "Let him that is on the house-top not come down;" but in the main the Methodist preachers preached out of the text what was in the text, and proved themselves to be skillful exegetes, taught of the Divine Spirit. Their habit of preaching extemporaneously gave them energy and power, which is possible to very few men in reading from a manuscript, however much their hearts may be in their work. Their earnest heart-to-heart preaching attracted the masses. Under their faithful admonitions and fervent appeals strong men bowed under conviction, and sought and found the Saviour of their souls. It is lamentable that, after a century of such experience as we have had in this respect, so many of our ministers in some regions have taken to the practice of reading sermons, sacrificing too often to accuracy of diction and beauty of composition the earnestness and pungency and power that belong to extemporaneous speech. Largely under Methodist influence our sister denominations are adopting extemporaneous preaching, to the manifest delight of their congregations. It will be a sad mistake if our preachers take up the cast-off usages of other denominations, and burden themselves with an armor that embarrasses even ecclesiastical Davids. If the century's history has a lesson for us in this matter, it is, Preach the Gospel!

Another lesson of our history is, that a witnessing Church is a successful Church. From the beginning, Methodism insisted that her converts should "testify of the grace of God." Those who found peace in believing were encouraged to publicly declare what God had done for them; both because it was their duty, and because of its influence upon others. It could be said by nearly all :

"What we have felt and seen,

With confidence we tell;
And publish to the sons of men
The signs infallible."

Not only in her class-meetings and love-feasts, but in the prayer meeting, her people "spake often one to another," and to the unconverted, of the power of divine grace as experienced in their own souls. There was mighty power in this testimony. When an earnest man or woman says, "Jesus can save you from all your sins; I know it, because He has saved me from mine," it is a style of preaching that gets right home to the hearts of people, and makes them long for a similar experience. We have in these days too many "silent partners" in our Churches, and are shorn of our strength correspondingly. There ought to be a return

to the universal practice of early Methodism in this regard. Especially ought the young to be taught their duty and privilege in this respect. There are many Churches in which class-meetings are nearly obsolete, and all the testimony is given by less than a dozen brethren, and one or two "old-fashioned" sisters. "These things ought not so to be." If we cease to be a witnessing Church, we shall cease to be a successful Church.

Another lesson of history is the importance of the laity in the work of the Church. American Methodism owes its beginning to local preachers; that is, to lay preachers; and the same agency contributed largely to its early successes. If we could but resuscitate the work of local preachers, in connection with missions to needy portions of our large cities, and to small villages unable to support a minister, we could reach and save a vast number of people who are now wandering from God. It is sometimes said that local preachers as a rule are poor preachers; but Mr. Waddy, who is one of the number, very pointedly reminded his brethren of the traveling ministry in the Ecumenical Conference, that the local preachers have no monopoly of poor preaching. Many of them have been men of great power, and their labors have been signally blessed of God. We have men in all our Churches equal to the best of them, if they could only be brought out, and induced to consecrate their services to God,— men who could fill a preaching appointment on Sunday, or on some week-evening, to the edification of their hearers, and to the salvation of precious souls. In many other ways, and especially in earnest personal labor with unconverted persons, we need a return to our ancient practice on the part of the lay members of our Churches.

The history of our Church further teaches us that the best system of finances is that which secures some contribution, regularly, from everybody. The class-meeting, when everybody who could attended class, and everybody who could n't was waited upon by the leader to know why, and to which every one brought his contribution for the support of the Gospel, was the best system of church finances. Of course, there were from the first some stingy souls, who thought that quarterage meant a quarter of a dollar a year,—some of the class of which one of our preachers said, "You might dance a million of their souls on the point of a knitting-needle;" and of whom another declared that, "You could put a thousand of them inside the shell of a mustard-seed, and then write on the outside, 'Rooms to let ;'" but all contributed, and quite generally contributed according to their means. As it is now, there are Churches in which one-half of the members contribute nothing, except the penny they drop occasionally into the plate collection. Church finances are allowed to drag, and to run behindhand, until the end of

the year, when a spasmodic effort is made to bring up arrears. The old way of steady weekly contributions by every one connected with the Church is the best way; and if we cannot have the class contribution, we ought to have the envelope system, efficiently supervised, or some means by which the principle, that everybody shall give something, and give it regularly, may be carried into constant practice.

There are many other lessons that might be dwelt upon; but I close with one intimately connected with the object and aim of this Society, namely, that careful attention ought to be given to preserving the facts of our history. All important data, all interesting incidents, connected with the biography of ministers and leading laymen, or with the various movements and developments of Churches, ought to be recorded in permanent form. We are often made to feel how much we have lost by neglect to give due attention to these matters in the past. Eminent ministers have gone to the grave during the century, of whom we can scarcely get a biography any fuller than that of Enoch, he "walked with God; and he was not, for God took him," a grand biography, indeed, for any man, but not embracing all the facts which it is desirable to know. Many of the brief memoirs written during the past century say of their subject: "He was born in Maine," or "in New Hampshire,” — rather a wide birthplace, and if they do not add "at a very early period of his life," they might as well do so, as to say, "The exact date of his birth is not known." Many such a memoir begins with the statement, "He was converted at an early age," and it might be inferred that, like Melchizedek, he was "without father or mother." This is partly remedied by the present usage of some of our colleges in publishing brief biographical sketches of their alumni; and if all our preachers would write out the facts of their personal history, such as are called for by the blanks of this Society, it would be comparatively easy to prepare a proper biography. Then, if each pastor would collate such facts concerning the leading laymen of his Church, and deposit them with the Society, and also make as accurate a historical record of his Church as possible, or if one has previously been made, would bring it down to the present time, and not only record it in the place provided in the Church Records, but deposit a legible copy of the same with this Society, very valuable service would thus be rendered toward an accurate history of our times.

In the first half of this century, there were men of marked intellectual endowments, whose lives were full of interesting and instructive incidents, concerning whom we can now obtain only the most meager information. We owe a debt both to our ancestors and to posterity. We cannot afford to be satisfied concerning the former, to say, as Dr.

Johnson did, "If none of them were hung, I have no doubt that many of them ought to have been ! " Nor can we dismiss the latter with the question of a more recent writer, "What do I care for posterity? What has posterity done for me?" We owe it to our fathers to gather up and preserve the essential details of their heroic lives, their faithful labors, their trials and their successes; and we owe it to those who come after us to hand down to them such knowledge of the Churches, the ministers, and the laymen of our times, together with the events of our history, as shall be useful to them, both in the way of admonition and of encouragement. No less by a knowledge of our mistakes, that they may avoid them, than by a knowledge of our successes, that they may emulate them, ought we to help our successors to grander attainments than we have been able to reach, to better work for the Master, and to more glorious results in the advancement of the Redeemer's kingdom in the earth. May the record which we leave for them be one of faithfulness to our Lord, and of helpfulness to our brethren !

PROCEEDINGS.

The Sixth Annual meeting of the New England Methodist Historical Society was held in Wesleyan Hall, 36 Bromfield Street, Boston, Mass., January 18, 1886, at 10.30 A. M.

Mass.

The President, Hon. Jacob Sleeper, took the Chair.

Prayer was offered by Rev. Daniel Dorchester, D.D., of Natick,

The Recording Secretary, Rev. Edward A. Manning, read the records of the December meeting, and they were approved.

The President made an interesting address, calling attention to the fact of the awakening of interest in historical matters in political, civil, and religious circles, and referring specially to the restoration of the old State House and the preservation of the Old South Church and Faneuil Hall. He referred feelingly to the spirit of union of our common Methodism as manifest in the Centennial Conference held in Baltimore, and to the marked prosperity of this Society during the past year, and expressed the hope that an endowment of $20,000 would soon be given the Society.

The Annual Report of the Board of Directors was presented by Rev. Edward A. Manning.

Reports of the Corresponding Secretary were presented by Rev. Ralph W. Allen, D.D.; of the Treasurer and Librarian by Mr. Willard S. Allen; of the Historiographer by Rev. Daniel Dorchester, D.D.; and of the Committee on Papers and Essays by Rev. Samuel L. Gracey, D.D., which were severally read, accepted, and ordered placed on file. Two gentlemen were elected to resident, and one to corresponding, membership.

The Committee on the Nomination of Officers reported the list which appears on the third and fourth pages of this report, and they were elected by ballot.

The Annual Address was delivered by Rev. Stephen L. Baldwin, D.D.; subject, "Lessons from a Century of Methodist History." A vote of thanks was passed for this excellent and instructive address.

The following were appointed a Committee to prepare and print one thousand copies of the Annual Proceedings: Hon. Jacob Sleeper, Mr. Willard S. Allen, and Rev. Edward A. Manning.