the misplacing of a switch, or by a collision. Scarcely a man lives that is not off his guard at times, and although negligence and inattention are chargeable upon the servants of the road sometimes, still it is believed that carelessness, thoughtlessness, or foolhardiness of passengers, or of persons traveling on the line or across the road, are the fruitful causes of injury, for which the officers of the road are often unjustly censured. And the fact is especially verified by a review of the accidents, which have occurred on the road since the time to which the last annual report was prepared. In every case, a want of care and attention on the part of the injured, has been the primary cause of disaster."

The employees of the road, and those attempting to cross the track, have suffered much more severely, especially when we consider their relatively small number; twenty of those employed on the railroads are reported as having been killed or mortally wounded, and eighteen injured, while of those not connected with the roads, thirteen have been killed and eleven wounded.

Another advantage of the railroad enterprise consists in its furnishing, when successful, a convenient savings-bank for all classes. The mechanic is not only benefited in his own avocation to more than the amount of stock which he subscribes, but is induced to lay by earnings to pay for his investment, which he might otherwise have been tempted to squander.

We are disposed to overlook the moral advantages which result from this enterprise, in our thirst for gain, and yet few schemes of reform are so full of promise, as this, which is regarded merely as an aid to commerce.

The railroad educates a class of operatives, who are among the most useful and intelligent members of society. The mere question of profit determines the necessity of employing sober and industrious men, when the lives of hundreds and thousands are to be intrusted to their charge. The regulations of a well conducted road aid greatly in the maintenance of general order, producing respect for law, and showing its propriety.

Apart from these considerations, the single fact that a mechanic can procure a home in the country with a small patch of land, and live as cheaply and work as easily as formerly, when hiring a single room in a crowded house in the midst of a filthy city, is an incalculable good, beyond all the theories of Socialism. Strange as it may appear, these facilities for moving about also benefit the community, by making the majority more contented with their homes. Nor is this merely a deduction from that principle of human nature, which induces a desire for what is difficult and declines what is easy. A few years since no young man of enterprise was satisfied to remain in the country; but was eager to engage in the turmoil of the city, and the nation began to suffer from the centralization of the masses in the commercial marts. The railroad and the electric telegraph are

however removing this evil by enabling the farmer, not only to exchange his products readily, but also by affording him the advantages of the commercial emporium in the early receipt of the newspaper, and in extending to his home the pulsations from the busy stirring heart. The railroad makes every village on its line a suburb of the city whence it starts. The cluster of cottages nestled amid the foliage of the green mountains, is no longer a secluded spot, where every day is a Sunday, whose inhabitants have few subjects to discuss, except the gossip of the neighborhood, and the qualifications of the schoolmaster, or the defects of the minister. The rumbling train that disturbs the pastoral quiet with its short, sharp yells, leaves during its momentary pause messages from the civilized world, and the boys of the village know the votes of Congress, or the revolutions in Europe, as soon as the merchant in his counting-room. They do not therefore need to go abroad, that they may break away from dullness and inactivity, or if they go, are soon satisfied on discovering that the only change is the increase of brick and mortar. The railroad also increases the opportunity of labor in different departments at each station, and thus diminishes the necessity for emigration. Therefore, paradoxical as it may seem, the facilities for going away induce people to stay at home.

These influences can scarcely be too highly estimated, for they affect not single individuals, but whole communities. Familiar intercourse destroys national prejudice, and thus banishes hostility. The cliffs may still seem pale with envy across the Straits of Dover, but the passing of an hourly ferry, and the pulsations of the electric wire beneath those waves, is fast demolishing the barrier which for centuries insulated the inhabitants of Great Britain. Commerce creates mutual dependencies, and that which facilitates trade accomplishes more for the prevention of war, by making it unprofitable and therefore unpopular, than the diplomacy of statesmen or even a congress of non-resistants. Intercourse imparts knowledge, while the mental energy required to construct these highways for nations, educates, and invigorates, and purifies. What would be the effect on the Hindoos, of building and operating a railroad through India? Would it not be one of the most feasible measures for upturning their ancient systems of belief, and of engrafting the popular mind anew? In these United States, the railroad, by affording the opportunity of comparing the benefits of servitude and freedom, by furnishing in the Southern States employment for white laborers, and rendering their position honorable, is doing more, in our opinion, for the removal of the curse entailed upon us, from the time of British supremacy, than the formation of political parties, or the resolu

tions of ecclesiastical bodies. Every rail laid along our mountain ridges, every steamboat wheel which disturbs our mighty streams, is adding a rivet to the union of these States, which the intrigues and bluster of neither Northern nor Southern demagogues can

sever.

Prophecy intimates that the extension of the Redeemer's Kingdom is to be associated with the progress of art, and with nothing more clearly than the increased facility of traveling, as is seen in its description of millennial blessedness, and in its commands and its promises. God compels every invention to subserve His own great purpose, and He has placed these mighty agencies in the hands of those who will employ them to advance His designs. Neither the Brahmin nor the Mussulman are intrusted with this powerful enginery, not even Papacy with all its vaunting can claim to have the direction of these inventions, which are revolutionizing society. We commend to Archbishop Hughes the inspection of the table on page 417 of Lardner's volume, where if ciphering is not beneath the attention of one who aspires to be a Cardinal, or unless the science of figures savors too much of the exercise of private judgment, he will find that in 1848 four-fifths of the railroads in the world, whether valued by length of miles, or amount of capital, were in the hands of Protestants; and since that day this decaying sect, as he declares it, has vastly increased its supremacy in this particular.

In the fullness of time, when man had been elevated by Christianity to a position which allowed him to receive the blessing, God committed these inventions to those who would employ them for His glory, and thus enabled them to cope more successfully with the tyranny of ancient superstitions, which would crush everything that seeks for the education and ennobling of the individual mind, after the example of the teacher of Galilee. We are standing only at the head waters, and this revolution so mighty in our eyes, is but the trickling rill which shall swell into a torrent-a river-until it pours its deep current into the infinite ocean. As the apostles saw but the dawning of the gospel, so every generation of Christians has been watching the rosy tints of morning, and many centuries may pass ere it is noon-and yet we are not wrong in anticipating a more and more rapid spread of light and love. We are led to these thoughts by a glance at the projects which are already conceived and gravely discussed, and which the most prudent men believe will ere long be carried into execution.

Here, is a plan of shortening the time of passage between New York and London, published by order of a state legislature, which proposes by a railroad of 850 miles, half of which is already com

pleted, to reduce the passage from New York to London to seven days' time, and probably to six. We have no question but the experiment will be tried in a few years at farthest. We have moreover a proposition for immediately constructing a railroad to the Pacific Ocean, and this, called "the Boston Plan," is but one scheme claiming superiority over others, because it can be built most rapidly. We allude to this simply to show how far-reaching are the projects which would bring Boston and San Francisco within ten days of each other. The mere mention of these projects, and their grave discussion, is enough to disclose the revolution which is now progressing on the earth.

We must not forget that the railroad is but one step in the ascending staircase, on which the race are mounting, guided and cheered by heavenly voices. The resources of infinite grace and wisdom are not exhausted, and we only mark the beginning of wonders which shall co-operate with the divine purpose in the redemption of man, and the restoration of a ruined world.

The procession of heavy cars, winding among the hills after the panting engine, a seeming realization of the dragon, fabled in the middle ages, whose breath was flame, and whose course was as a rushing tempest, always interests and quickens by its illustration of power and skill. The eye never wearies of watching a railroad train as it whirls on its appointed track, seemingly instinct with life, running in merry wantonness its matchless race unwearied, and screaming madly in the pride of its power. But when we remember that it is the product of human intelligence, and a token of the divine love, and reflect on its promise for the future, the spectacle is invested with moral grandeur, giving us courage for the conflict to-day, and prophesying of a good time to come, when creation shall rejoice in the liberty of the sons of God. "For the earth shall be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the Lord as the waters cover the sea."

Pond

ART. II. AMUSEMENTS.

A Plea for Amusements. By FREDERIC W. SAWYER. New York: APPLETON & Co., 1847.

ALTHOUGH the work before us is somewhat out of date, the subject of it is one of perpetual interest; and although we cannot plead for amusements precisely after the manner of Mr. Sawyer, we shall hope to speak in accordance with the Scriptures, and with the views of enlightened and serious Christians.

In the life of our Savior, we have an example entirely to our purpose; and with a consideration of it, we commence the discussion. When he had called and charged his twelve apostles, he sent them forth to teach and preach in the villages of Judea and Galilee. "And they went out and preached that men should repent. And they cast out many devils, and anointed with oil many that were sick, and healed them."

Their mission accomplished, the apostles returned unto Jesus, and made report. "They told him all things, both what they had done, and what they had taught. And he said unto them, Come ye yourselves apart into a desert place, and rest awhile; for there were many coming and going, and they had no leisure so much as to eat."

Christ called his disciples originally, and he calls them now, to labor in his service. His language to them is: "Go, work in my vineyard." But when they have worked, until the necessities of nature require relaxation, he then permits and commands them to rest. It is as much their duty to rest, under such circumstances, as it is to work, under others. It is as really a sin to over-work in the service of Christ, as to under-work. It may not be so common a sin. It may not be one into which, in this lazy, trifling world, we are so likely to fall. Still, we have no more right to violate the laws of our being (which are the laws of God) one way than the other; and the violation of them in either way is sure to bring its penalty along with it.

In the example above quoted, we have the authority of our Savior for seasonable rest. And his teachings on this subject are in strict accordance with those of the Scriptures generally, and with those of nature. The God of Nature has not only made work an indispensable condition of living comfortably in this world, but he has made abundant provision also for rest. Every morning has its evening, and every day its night, when weary