When a good man has long devoted himself to a particularkind of beneficence—to one species of reform—he is aptto become narrowed into the limits of the path whereinhe treads， and to fancy that there is no other good tobe done on earth but that self-same good to which hehas put his hand， and in the very mode that best suitshis own concep tions. All else is worthless； his schememust be wrought out by the united strength of the wholeworld’s stock of love， or the world is no longer worthyof a position in the universe. Moreover， powerful Truth，being the rich grape-juice expressed from the vineyard ofthe ages， has an intoxicating quality， when imbibed by anysave a powerful intellect， and often， as it were， impels thequaffer to quarrel in his cups. For such reasons， strange tosay， it is harder to contrive a friendly arrangement of thesebrethren of love and righteousness， in the processionof life， than to unite even the wicked， who， indeed，are chained together by their crimes. The fact is toopreposterous for tears， too lugubrious for laughter.
But， let good men push and elbow one another as theymay， during their earthly march， all will be peace amongthem when the honorable array of their procession shalltread on heavenly ground. There they will doubtless find，that they have been working each for the other’s cause，and that every well-delivered stroke， which， with an honestpurpose， any mortal struck， even for a narrow object， wasindeed stricken for the universal cause of good. Theirown view may be bounded by country， creed， profession，the diversities of individual character—but above themall is the breadth of Providence. How many， who havedeemed themselves antagonists， will smile hereafter， whenthey look back upon the world’s wide harvest field， andperceive that， in unconscious brotherhood， they werehelping to bind the self-same sheaf！
But， come！ The sun is hastening westward， while themarch of human life， that never paused before， is delayedby our attempt to re-arrange its order. It is desirable tofind some comprehensive principle， that shall render ourtask easier by bringing thousands into the ranks， wherehitherto we have brought one. Therefore let the trumpet，if possible， split its brazen throat with a louder notethan ever， and the herald summon all mortals who， fromwhatever cause， have lost， or never found， their properplaces in the world.
Obedient to this call， a great multitude come together，most of them with a listless gait， betokening wearinessof soul， yet with a gleam of satisfaction in their faces， atthe prospect of at length reaching those positions which，hitherto， they have vainly sought. But here will be anotherdisappointment； for we can attempt no more than merelyto associate， in one fraternity， all who are afflicted with thesame vague trouble. Some great mistake in life is the chiefcondition of admittance into this class. Here are membersof the learned professions， whom Providence endowedwith special gifts for the plough， the forge， and the wheelbarrow，or for the routine of unintellectual business. Wewill assign to them， as partners in the march， those lowlylaborers and handicraftsmen， who have pined， as with adying thirst， after the unattainable fountains of knowledge.
