Nineteen hundred? A forecast and a story

by Marianne Farningham

As is often the case, the tens were more wise than the thousands, for the times do not make the people, but the people make the times; and if the makers are good, that which is made is certain to be good also.

That year was a most wonderfully progressive year in England: there had never been anything like it before. There were forces at work to make it so, which, though they were as old as Christianity itself, seemed to be more mighty than ever, and the strongest of them all was love. People said that there was a revival among the churches, but it resolved itself into one fact—the members of the churches were honestly trying to love one another more, not in word, but in deed and in truth.

There was, perhaps, not a town nor a hamlet in which no special effort was made to place things on a more satisfactory basis than before. It could not be said that any one man was instrumental in bringing this about, but Arthur Knight certainly had a large share in it, and an indication of what was done in one town will show how the whole country was being affected.

In the fascination of his own personal work among his people, for whom a strange, strong love was in his heart, he hesitated sometimes as to that other work which he also loved. Which was his duty—that which lay the nearest, or that which was the clearest? He had made his resolve: he would do both. He was young and strong, and he would most gladly yield his strength, ay, and his life itself, to this service. It is never the men of leisure who do the great things, it is those who have not an hour to spare who add new duties to old ones; and Arthur Knight was a man of singular energy.

Of course, it goes without saying, that he was constantly told that the time was inopportune for his particular crusade, and that the poverty and wickedness of the people was not the burning question of the day. But what he pleaded for was a truce, and that all sorts of hostilities should cease while the Christian men of England exerted their combined powers to make England Christian. And the people were much more ready for this than their leaders were.

As far as he could, therefore, he accepted all invitations, and, thanks to the newspapers, he always had a good hearing. But it was at Granchester—a city certain to be at the front in such an enterprise—that he was made most to rejoice. An invitation was, in the first place, sent to about two hundred prominent men, irrespective of party or denomination. Arthur Knight had not spoken to them for ten minutes before all who were in the room became influenced by that strong and vivid personality, which was the secret of his power. His heart was on fire with his subject, and his language was expressive, and as he spoke, first in indignation, and then in pleading accents, he won over to his side almost every man who listened. Shortly, he touched upon those specific evils of the day which were filling men with shame and indignation; and then, in terse, strong words, he denounced the lethargy and cowardice of those who allowed these things to exist. He declared that all things were ready but the Church itself; and in words which burnt their way into their hearts he called upon his hearers to show some heroism for Christ, to give up their own ease, to share their wealth—not always gotten Christianly—with the poor, to be honest in their payments of wages, to come forth, like St. George of old, and kill the dragon of indifference, selfishness and wickedness, which was doing England such deadly wrong.

“We have had such a sublime history,” he said. “We used to grow such brave and patriotic men! Do we belong to another race than they? Is our country less dear to our hearts than to theirs? It is such a beautiful land, ‘a land of hills and valleys, that drink water of the rain of heaven, a land which the Lord seeketh and careth for, and His eyes are always upon it from the beginning of the year even unto the end of the year.’ But in this land—this land of blessing, this little land—and because it is little so manageable—there are scarcely unchecked powers of evil lifting their brazen faces to our blue skies and pure air—greed, cruelty, lust, drunkenness, slavery, hypocrisy, fraud. Do you know that in this land of ours there are nearly five millions of people in destitution and misery? But there are more than seven and a half millions in our Sunday-schools. Of the thirty-six millions who make up the population of Great Britain and Ireland the churches claim a constituency of more than half. Indeed, it is said that five-sevenths of our people profess and call themselves Christians. Then, why, in the name of all that is sacred and responsible, is it possible for these things to flourish in our midst? Are we hypocrites, or are we cowards? All the real strength of the nation is with those who say they are on the side of the Christ. Most of the power, most of the culture, most of the intelligence, yes, and most of the money is on this side also. Then why do we weep and whine over the sin and the misery of the world, since, if for only one year the spirit of Christ were truly in us, and we were content with one accord to stand together under the white flag of Truce, we are well able to bring about that for which we pretend to long and pray. There are subjects which divide Christendom; let them wait while you set yourselves to this work. You are not called to sacrifice any principle, but to adopt a new one—the principle which keeps the unity of the spirit in the bond of peace. Retain, if you must, your different forms of church government, but, in the name of Christ, unless you regard your sect and political party more highly than you regard Him, put them behind you while you do the work that presses. Study for a month or two, side by side with the New Testament, the words of the great teachers specially given to this generation and this land—Carlyle, Ruskin, Browning, and Tennyson. They tell you how to do this work, to which they have been urging you with all their powers. We have had a magnificent inheritance in these teachers, whom God sent to make us great; and yet so craven are we that we are afraid to use our power to compel a man to be clean-lipped and moral, and so powerless that we cannot help him to help himself to be fed and clothed. To-day there are women and girls drinking themselves drunken by scores in every town, and selling themselves as if no spark of God were in them; to-day there are men the personification of cruel brutality and loathesome vice; there are little children dying for bread, and old people as wicked as they are wretched; man is hating his brother man, and crushing him down that he may make money by him, and there is a seething mass of misery and sin at our very doors. And the saints are folding their hands and sighing, ‘Oh, Lord! how long!’ Shame, shame, shame! Surely the Lord sends back the question in indignant answer. How long, indeed, before those who are sent to the world as He was sent, awaken to a consciousness of their high calling? Let him that nameth the name of the Lord depart from iniquity; or if he will not, let him stand aside with the brand of the hypocrite upon him. Let no one say, Lord, Lord, and do not the things which He says. Let those who are, on the whole, on the side of Christ join those who are whole-hearted; let them swell the numbers of the heroes and heroines, for there are hosts of them. Above all, let the Church universal come together, and forgetting, at least for awhile, the dividing lines, swear in the name of Christ to wipe out the dark red blots that lie upon Christian England. Oh! believe me, we have been too long and too utterly living for self instead of God. We have thought that Christianity was a creed only, instead of life and service. The time is surely come for us to choose sides afresh—and there are only two sides from which to choose, that of Christ, and that of unrighteousness. I call upon you to divest yourselves of all encumbrances. (Think of the man with the muck-rake calling himself a Christian!) Come and arrange yourselves under the Flag of Truce. Do you not know yet, after all these years, what our Lord has been teaching all along, that the world will never believe that God sent Jesus until His disciples are one? It is the Church, and not the world that hinders the coming of His Kingdom. But the Church will follow its leading men. Let the remnant that has not bowed the knee to Baal come forth and lead.”

The address produced a profound impression, and there was a solemn time of re-dedication of many lives. A subsequent meeting was held, which was of a very practical character.

“I think I shall speak for many,” said one. “I know that I do for myself, when I say that it has only been by keeping down the voice of God’s Spirit within me that I have waited for these words before acting. I am one of those who thirsted for riches, and got them; but they have not satisfied me. I for one pledge myself to give all that I have and am for Christ.”

“And I pledge myself also,” said another. “We must make some change if we would save our own sons. Many of us are what we are because of the need to work which was upon us in our youth. But our sons are content that the work was done for them. Gentlemen, how are they spending the wealth which we gained? I speak to many fathers, who know that the money which they gave the best years of their life to secure, is nothing but a curse to their sons. Many of the young men of to-day are too idle to keep the positions which we have won for them, and are spending what we have given them, to work their own ruin.”