Charleston, S. C., with like cordiality and heartiness.

In May, 1888, the two General Assemblies of the Presbyterian Church, North and South, being then in session in Philadelphia and Baltimore, respectively, the notion was conceived by some of the good people desiring the closer union and the final reconciliation of these bodies to bring them into a social conference. Arrangements were made for public meetings and for the private entertainment of the delegates; the President, himself the son of a Presbyterian clergyman, was urgently invited to participate in the exercises, and he visited Philadelphia for that purpose.

At a reception to the members of the two Assemblies, given by Mr. Wistar Morris at his home in Overbrook, a suburb of Philadelphia, on May 21st, the President spoke as follows:

"I am very much gratified by the opportunity here afforded me to meet the representatives of the Presbyterian Church.

"Surely a man never should lose his interest in the welfare of the Church in which he was reared; and yet I will not find fault with any of you who deem ita sad confession made when I acknowledge that I must recall the days now long past to find my closest relations to the grand and noble denomination which you represent. I say this because those of us who inherit fealty to our Church, as I did, begin early to learn those things which

make us Presbyterians all the days of our lives; and thus it is that the rigors of our earliest teaching, by which we are grounded in our lasting allegiances, are especially vivid and perhaps the best remembered. The attendance upon church services three times each Sunday, and upon Sabbath-school during noon intermission, may be irksome enough to a boy of ten or twelve years of age to be well fixed in his memory; but I have never known a man who regretted these things in the years of his maturity. The Shorter Catechism, though thoroughly studied and learned, was not, perhaps, at the time perfectly understood; and yet in the stern duties and labors of after life those are not apt to be the worst citizens who were early taught, 'What is the chief end of man?'

66

Speaking of these things and in the presence of those here assembled, the most tender thoughts crowd upon my mind-all connected with Presbyterianism and its teachings. There are present with me now memories of a kind and affectionate father, consecrated to the cause, and called to his rest and his reward in the midday of his usefulness; a sacred recollection of the prayers and pious love of a sainted mother and a family circle hallowed and sanctified by the spirit of Presbyterianism.

"I certainly cannot but express the wish and hope that the Presbyterian Church will always be

at the front in every movement which promises the temporal as well as the spiritual advancement of mankind. In the turmoil and the bustle of every-day life few men are foolish enough to ignore the practical value to our people and our country of the church organizations established among us and the advantage of Christian example and teaching.

The field is vast and the work sufficient to engage the efforts of every sect and denomination ; but I am inclined to believe that the Church which is most tolerant and conservative without loss of spiritual strength will soonest find the way to the hearts and affections of the people. While we may be pardoned for insisting that our denomination is the best, we may, I think, safely concede much that is good to all other Churches that seek to make men better.

"I am here to greet the delegates of two General Assemblies of the Presbyterian Church. One is called 'North' and the other 'South.' The subject is too deep and intricate for me, but I cannot help wondering why this should be. These words, so far as they denote separation and estrangement, should be obsolete. In the counsels of the nation and in the business of the country they no longer mean reproach and antagonism. Even the soldiers who fought for the North and for the South are restored to fraternity and unity. This fraternity and unity is taught and enjoined by our

Church. When shall she herself be united with all the added strength and usefulness that harmony and union insure?"

TO THE CATHOLIC CLUB.

The frankness and self-assertion of this expression, coupled with a true spirit of religious toleration, recall Mr. Cleveland's letter to the Catholic Club, of Philadelphia, to which, under date of February 10th, 1887, he wrote:

"The thoughtfulness which prompted this invitation is gratefully appreciated, and I regret that my public duties here will prevent its acceptance. I should be glad to join the contemplated expression of respect to be tendered to the distinguished head of the Catholic Church in the United States, whose personal acquaintance I very much enjoy, and who is so worthily entitled to the esteem of all his fellow-citizens.

"I thank you for the admirable letter which accompanied my invitation, in which you announce as one of the doctrines of your Club that a good and exemplary Catholic must, ex necessitate rei, be a good and exemplary citizen,' and 'that the teachings of both human and divine law, thus merging in the one word duty, form the only union of Church and State that a civil and religious Government can recognize.'

"I know you will permit me as a Protestant to supplement this noble sentiment by the expres

sion of my conviction that the same influence and result follow a sincere and consistent devotion to the teachings of every religious creed which is based upon Divine sanction. A wholesome religious faith thus inures to the perpetuity, the safety, and prosperity of our Republic, by exacting the due observance of civil law, the preservation of public order, and a proper regard for the rights of all; and thus are its adherents better fitted for good citizenship and confirmed in a sure and steadfast patriotism. It seems to me, too, that the conception of duty to the State, which is derived from religious precept, involves a sense of personal responsibility which is of the greatest value in the operation of the Government by the people. It will be a fortunate day for our country when every citizen feels that he has an ever present duty to perform to the State which he cannot escape from or neglect without being false to his religious as well as his civil allegiance."

VERSATILITY OF GENIUS.

On June 27th, 1888, the President attended the commencement exercises of the University of Virginia, at Charlottesville, conferred the degrees upon the graduates, received many thousands of visitors, and responded to a sentiment at the alumni dinner, after which he visited the house and the grave of Jefferson, founder of the University.