St. Paul's Society.

Rev. William Lawrence addressed the St. Paul's Society last evening on the larger hopes that should now be held for the influence of Christianity. He spoke of the discouragement that St. Paul once felt in regard to the faith among the Thessalonians. Paul had passed through a period of severe mental strain, and, during the reaction, news had come to him that the Thessalonians were growing lax. He sent Timothy to them and expected him to bring back a bad reports, but to his joy it was the reverse; the Thessalonians had been misrepresented. It is often so; men grow moody over the outlook for the Christian religion, when the reports of its "decline" are in reality false. In modern days the strong light of criticism which has been turned onto the Scriptures and the life of Christ has doubtless been largely malicious, but it has defeated its own purpose, as far as most Christians are concerned, for it has made the writings stronger and more alive to them, and more applicable to their daily needs, and, above all, it has brought out more of the boundless grace and strength of the character of Christ, Himself, than was ever comprehended before. There may be atheists and agnostics in the world, and they are very often noisy, but underneath all is a growing body of earnest, men who are doing grand work for Christianity and doing it as steadily as quietly.

After the address there was a business meeting at which twenty men were elected to membership of the society. It was also voted to give a gavel to W. R. Sears '91, the retiring president, according to an old custom of the society, which has been discontinued of late years.