Oldalképek
PDF
ePub
[graphic][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small]

THE RELIGIOUS TRACT SOCIETY,

56, PATERNOSTER ROW; 65, ST. PAUL'S CHURCHYARD; AND 164, PICCADILLY.

[graphic][merged small]

TT is quite impossible to overstate the value of a Christian Literature; for when religion is woven into the standard books of a land it is the work of ages to expel it. We rejoice that English literature has long been deeply imbued with Religion; and so long as the English language endures, Religion must be read and taught and sung.

We are not all writers, but there are few of us who are not readers. To all our readers I say-take your unswerving stand on the side of truth. Rest with the faith of a little child, albeit with the grasp of a man, on the "truth as it is in Jesus." For in proportion as you impress your individuality upon others, in so far you create a healthier moral tone and a purer taste. The literature of our day is but the mirror of the public mind, and all pestilent periodicals are the indices of the low moral taste that feeds on them.

It was my privilege to edit a volume of Readings last year, compiled from the publications of the time-honoured Religious Tract Society, and I rejoice to find that its success is proved by the call for a "Second Series." Whilst nearly all the pieces in

the former volume were extracted from the publications of the Society, the Committee have extended to me the privilege of incorporating in this volume choice passages taken from other sources, which have been found effective for public or social Readings.

I here tender hearty thanks to my personal friends, Mrs. Sewell, Mr. T. B. Smithies, and many others, for their ready permission to insert some of the best extracts in the "Second Series." To the former I am indebted for "The Little Shoes;" to the latter for "Lead us not into Temptation," "Love's Chain," "The Scripture Patchwork Quilt," "The Worsted Stocking," "The Shabby Coat," and "Eric, the Russian Slave." "Home" is

inserted by the kind permission of the Rev. C. H. Spurgeon.

With grateful thanks to all who have assisted me, this volume is now sent forth to the public, in the hope that it will furnish material for Winter Gatherings, and leave on the mind lessons for thought and instruction, as well as memories of pleasure and relaxation above all, that it may promote the glory of God in the good of man.

CAMBERWELL GROVE:
October, 1871.

JAMES FLEMING.

[graphic]
[graphic][merged small][merged small][merged small][ocr errors][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][ocr errors][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][ocr errors][merged small][ocr errors][merged small][merged small][merged small][ocr errors][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][ocr errors]
« ElőzőTovább »