TH The Pulpit Record. SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 24, 1883. CANON KNOX-LITTLE. HE Rev. William John Knox-Little, whose portrait we present this week to our readers, was educated at the Royal Grammar School, Lancaster. In 1858 he entered Trinity College, Cambridge, and in 1862 graduated in classical honours. In the same year he was ordained to Christ Church, Lancaster, where for some time he held a Mastership in the Grammar School. After a brief residence as Curate-in-charge of a country parish in the West Riding, he married the eldest daughter of Henry Gregson, Esq., of Moorlands, Lancaster, and, shortly afterwards accepting a Mastership at the King's School, Sherbourne, resided there till 1870. In that year Mr. Knox-Little was appointed to the sole charge of the parish of Turweston, Bucks; and in the early part of the year 1874 he became Curate of St. Thomas's, Regent Street. He had first become known in London in 1871, when he undertook to give a course of Lent Instructions for his friend Dr. West, at St. Mary Magdalene's, Paddington; but it was not until his residence in London, as Curate of St. Thomas's, that his fame as a preacher was fully established. At the close of the year 1875 he became Rector of St. Alban's, Manchester, and in 1881 he was made a Canon of Worcester Cathedral. Canon Knox-Little is the author of "Meditations on the Three Hours' Agony of our Blessed Redeemer," "Characteristics and Motives of the Christian Life," and "Mystery of the Passion." M POOR RELATIONS. ONEY is the parent of that respectability which is so dear to an Englishman, and the homage that is universally paid to it directs men's energies to its source. Deep down in the heart of this country mammon-worship exists. It pervades all classes, and a successful "millionaire" can command more attention than is due either to his moral or intellectual qualities; while on the other hand, a man of the most exalted rank, and of blameless life, if overtaken by adversity, sinks below his "caste," and drops silently, but surely, out of notice. The actual representative of honour and wealth is the universal object of reverence. "A living dog is better than a dead lion." The most popular sovereign is held in but faint remembrance in the presence of his successor. The last note of the Dead March has scarcely sounded ere the coronation anthem bursts forth, and the last boom of the passing bell is quickly succeeded by the joyful peal which announces the dawn of a new era. It is in and for the present that most men live. The spirit of selfishness is strong, and wealth ministers to it. Of all the sufferers from the prevailing contempt for poverty, none feel it more acutely than "poor relations." It is not at all improbable that this may arise in some degree from mistaken tactics on the part of the "poor relations" themselves. But, anyhow, theirs is a position. of great difficulty, and oftentimes of great unmerited. suffering. In nine cases out of ten they are made to feel that they are on sufferance, are a kind of upper servants in the houses of their rich relations. They are expected to come and go at every nod; to fetch and carry; to do all the dull and disagreeable things which other people do not like to do; to chaperone the young; to twaddle with the old; to be bear-leaders to the bores; take the rejected parts in tableaux and charades; to paint the scenes and make the dresses; to sing and play according to the mood of the company; to be here, there and everywhere, always at hand and never in the way; in short, to make themselves generally useful. When their special qualifications are in requisition there is no one so "dear," so " darling," so "nice," so "clever," so" charming in every way." But all these varied charms, gifts, and graces are quickly forgotten when there is no longer any need for them. They vibrate between petting and snubbing, and must be content to be taken up and dropped at pleasure. In the sick room their presence is hailed as a blessing, but no sooner is the invalid restored to health than all their tender nursing and watchful care are forgotten. Is it a question of a companion being wanted, during some temporary banishment from home under medical advice? Some "poor relation" quickly rises up into remembrance, and her companionship is sought after in a way that brooks no denial; but when her services are no longer required, she is cast off, and laid aside like an old glove that has served its purpose. The position of "poor relations" is forlorn and difficult. Brought up, perhaps, in the lap of luxury, a change of dynasty has deprived them of the comforts and the entourage, which always belonged to an honoured house. Narrow means limit them in the choice of a home, and, if compelled to live beyond the circle of their former friends, they soon cease to be remembered, or are only tolerated, at rare intervals, when other society is not attainable. Unwilling to lose sight altogether of familiar scenes and faces, they become perhaps too subservient, and are too ready to accept a position which is in every way inferior to their claims. Yet if they are disposed to resent any slight, over-sensitiveness and touchiness are laid to their charge. Abundant consolation, however, is given to them in the shape of advice; and varied suggestions, economic and others, are not wanting to fill up the measure of their contentment. "Poor relations" come in for the share of that dislike which is evoked by every phase of poverty. Yet it cannot be denied that there may be some reason for it. There is, not unfrequently, a disposition on their part to magnify their claims upon their rich relations, to sponge upon respective countries which they inhabit. My companion them, and make capital out of their relationship. An suddenly remarked that I seemed to have seen a good part of impression exists in men's minds that there is some affinity the world, and asked me if I had been engaged in evangelistic between "need" and greed," and they draw back from work, for he had at one time, but he had done with it noweverything that is suggestive of an appeal ad misericordiam. at least he would do less of it. I said I was sorry to hear In the presence of his poor relations, a rich man buttons him say so, but I had not been specially engaged in evangeup his pockets and acts on the defensive. He is afraid of listic work, except as every minister of the church, and every an assault, and prepares himself accordingly; but let member of the church for that matter, should be engaged to them show that they manfully accept their position, and some extent in such work. I had not, indeed, been speaking are willing to make the best of it; that they are ready to altogether from personal observation. I had not personally help themselves in some of the many ways which are, in visited all the places of which we had been speaking, though, these days, opened to all for raising themselves above the in one way or in another, I had obtained some information necessities of their position, and they will disarm him of with regard to them. I had been a minister in several of the his fears and will win his respect and esteem. It is when places we had mentioned, and I had visited a good many people resolutely refuse to accept their lot that it becomes other places in the course of my life. On which my companion a misery to them; but when they accept it and show that broke in, saying, and I suppose you have found human all they desire is work and no favour, even failure loses nature very much the same everywhere-self always ruling half its bitterness. It is quite true that "poverty makes everyone. To which I replied that I had certainly found human us acquainted with strange bed-fellows;" that it brings nature essentially the same wherever I have been, but that I together those who would not otherwise meet; that had never been anywhere, without finding some noble excepadversity alienates more than it attracts: but, in spite of tions to the rule of self, in the sense of selfishness, governing all that, we maintain that the loss of "caste," if circum- everything. My companion then bluntly said, excuse me, stances make it unavoidable, is not an irreparable evil, but you know nothing about it. No minister does. It is imbecause every grade of society has its own peculiar and possible for him in his position to know anything about it. distinctive advantages, which are well worth searching Ministers are in a false position. They live in an unreal after by those whose lot is cast in it. world. They preach a useless gospel. The people never think of what their ministers preach. The people take care that their ministers never know what is in their hearts. Ministers have no experience of real life, and how can they bring home the gospel which they preach to the every-day experience of their people? What do you know of business, for instance? I ventured to suggest that I unfortunately knew more of it than I had a relish for. Yes, said he, but SERMON. "AN INCIDENT ON THE WAY TO MANCHESTER.' the way to Manchester a fellow-passenger, on entering the carriage, accosted me in a manner which started a conversation about the people of Scotland, that landed on religion. My companion had visited some border towns, and observed a marked difference among the inhabitants, instancing the superior appearance of the working people of Selkirk as compared with those he had seen at Hawick and at Galashiels. At each of these places he had seen the streets crowded at the dinner-hour. He had stood and looked, he said, with wonder at the appearance of the people in Selkirk. I suggested the absence of an Irish element at Selkirk, which might be present, in a greater or a less degree, at Hawick, and at Galashiels, which led our thoughts off to Dundee, and to Glasgow, and to Edinburgh, and to Perth, and to Aber deen, and to Ireland, and to America, and to Australia, and to a comparison of the characters of different peoples, and to their relations to the nature of the soils and climates of the you do not know that business is nothing else but taking the You know nothing of the struggle men have to live. There bread off your neighbour's plate in one way or in another. are but two classes of men, those who have kept their places and positions in society, and those who have fallen from them, or been pushed from them. What does your Christianity do for those who have fallen? What does your preaching do to lift men's lives? You tell us to believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, and we shall be saved. But who is saved by such preaching? Will such preaching ever bring back a man's business, and enable him to live? And to live is the first thing, is it not? Yes, I said, first in the order of time, for the dead cannot praise the Lord, but not first in the order of importance. It is not necessary that we should live; the world would go on the same without any one of us, for it does not depend on us. There is a supreme power sustaining and governing all. The Great Father of all is at the helm. There is no man necessary in the world; but it is necessary that we should walk according to truth and uprightness, if we are to be truly happy. And it is quite possible that you may be wrong in your impressions about ministers. It is quite possible that ministers may know a good deal more about the struggle to live than you think they know. It is quite possible that they may know the inner history of many human hearts more truly than you imagine. They often stand by the sick-bed and dying-pillow, and it is quite possible that they have there a better index of the inner and what is the good of accepting Him? What effect would it have on the life? What is that passage about our neighbour? It comes in in the answer to the question about the greatest commandment. The first is, love the Lord thy God with all the capacities of thy soul; and the second is like unto it, thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. Did you ever meet any one, he said, who loved his neighbour as himself? Not perfectly perhaps, because we are never perfectly ready to live until we are perfectly ready to die; but I have met many who seemed to try to do so, and I believe there are hundreds and thousands who seek, more or less perfectly, to do so. "And what of the lilies ?" "They grow." "What are they compared to ?" "Solomon, in all his glory, was not arrayed like one of these." "And the ravens ?" "God feedeth them." "And what has faith to do with that?" "The lesson is one of trust. The centre of the passage is faith. O ye of little faith look at this and have your faith increased. That is what your Father does for the fowls of the air and the flowers on the plain, and can you not trust Him? characters of men than is to be found amid the bustle of place in society from this. I have long contributed to the business, or anywhere else. And I should be very sorry to Church, to missionary objects, and to all the charitable adopt your view of business; I feel quite sure that there schemes of the congregation, and I begin to ask, what is the are men of the highest honour amongst men of use? Where are the results? What is being done to raise business; no doubt there are unprincipled men amongst the fallen? Who is seeking to rescue the perishing? What them who succeed; they adapt means to ends success- is the good of all this? Ministers tell us to accept Christ; fully, because skilfully; they find God faithful to them even when in some respects they prove faithless to Him; but if all men were of such a character as you describe, business could not be conducted. No society could exist if every one were as heartlessly selfish as you indicate; men would exterminate each other if they were as you say. They do, he broke in. Yes, I said, but not universally, or there would be few men, if any, living now; individual men do destroy one another, but there is a love and a benevolence in the universe which work somehow through human hearts, and keep the upper hand amongst men over all. They keep the evil in humanity at least in check. But how can they work except through Jesus Christ? And how can we walk according to truth and righteousness, so as to be happy, except through faith in Jesus Christ the only true and righteous one, that ever lived on earth. And what can ministers do for you, except point you to Christ? They cannot accept Christ for you. They need to accept Him for themselves. They can only set before you the truth of God. They cannot believe it for you. They can can you not trust that He will care for you?" "Well, but only believe it for themselves, and bear their testimony to its what has peace-making and all the teaching in the sermon on truth that you may be induced to believe it for yourselves. the Mount to do with accepting Christ, which ministers are They can only unfold the whole word or will of God for the always urging us to do ?" "Much every way; for how are salvation of men, and pray that the Spirit may take of the you to get at peace, or peace-making, or any of the teachings things that are Christ's, and apply them to believing souls. of the sermon on the Mount, without first accepting Christ, Now, look here, said my companion, I am farther from you from whom all true peace and peace-making and the whole than ever. Who preaches the whole Bible? You only preach teaching of the sermon on the Mount are derived ?" “Well, bits of it. Besides, you take for granted that the people read but this attending the Church, and accepting the Gospel, and their Bibles. They do not. They never look at them after believing on Christ still appear to me to have no effect on they leave school. Then one minister will preach a sermon men's lives. That is the fact, whatever you may say." "But with the name of Christ in every sentence, and another will that is surely the fault of men themselves. It ought to preach a whole sermon without mentioning the name of strengthen the soul of a man to meet together with his fellowChrist once. And who are the people to believe, and who creatures in the presence of Almighty God, and to bow down are they to follow? They are to believe on Christ and follow in worship before Him, taking counsel with Him in His word, Him, and not to dwell on the inconsistencies and imperfec- and giving utterance to His praise. It ought to bring purity tions of ministers, but only to follow them in so far as they and peace to a soul to accept the Gospel. It ought to be a follow Christ, and to take their teaching to the law and to stay and a support to the soul to believe on Christ." "Well, the testimony. They may not preach Christ, though they but it does not help a man with his business-it does not help may put His name in every sentence, and they may preach a man to live-it seems quite useless, therefore." "If busiChrist without mentioning His name. The people have their ness be everything—if this life be all-if there be no beyond Bibles in their hands, and the Throne of Grace is as acces--if there be no life after this, it may be so: for if we have sible to them as to their ministers. Now, he said, here am I. I was made to read the Bible when I was a boy, but I have never read it since. And now when I am a man of middle life, if I begin to look into it, I find that sections of it only have been preached to me. I attend the ministrations of a Doctor of Divinity. He is a first-class man. He comes and preaches an admirable sermon on the Sufferings and Death of Christ, and nobody finds a fault with his orthodoxy, or thinks a thing about it after they have left the Church. He speaks as if Christ had come to put a blunder right, and was unable to do it, and had to die, and everybody goes home quite pleased. And this goes on regularly, but I am for less of it, for who thinks of those who have fallen out of their hope in Christ in this life only, Christians are of all men the most miserable." But what does your Christianity do to keep an innocent child from becoming a thief? The child must live; it cannot earn a living; and it must steal to live. What has Christianity done to save it? Take for instance the young thief rescued by Dr. Barnardo, of which I read the other day. What did the Christian Church do to prevent that child becoming a thief? Did it do anything for him? Where is anything done by Christians for such?" I said I had read the thrilling story of the interesting boy rescued by Dr. Barnardo. I could not tell what the Church of Christ had done to prevent that boy falling into such evil ways, because I did not know all the circumstances which led to his |