“Our conversation the other night,” he said, “awakened such new emotions, or rather aroused feelings which were dormant, that I could not resist the strong impulse I felt to call on you again and renew our conversation.”

“I am very glad you have come, for it does my soul good to see others interested in these newly-developed views, and recognizing the great needs of humanity, and the imperative demands of our natures.”

“I have felt,” remarked Mr. Deane, “for a long time that the church, the subject of our last conversation, needs more life; that it must open its doors to all rays of light, and not longer admit only a few, and that those doors must be broad enough and high enough, that whatever is needed for the advancement of mankind may enter therein, come from whence it may, and called by whatever name it may be.  In a word, the church must go on in advance of the people, or at least with them, else it will be left behind and looked upon as a worn out and useless institution.”

“I am glad to hear you express your thoughts thus, and hope you will give them as freely at all times, for too many who entertain these views do not speak them, standing in fear of what their friends or the church may say or do.  Of such there are tens of thousands.  Give them utterance.  Every honest man and woman should, and thus aid in hastening on the day of true life and perfect liberty.  While I value associative effort, I would not for a moment lose sight of individual thinking and acting.  We do not have enough of it.  The church has much to adopt to bring it into a healthy condition.  To-day it ignores many valuable truths which retired individuals hold, while it feeds its hearers on husks.  Finding better food for their souls outside, they go, and cannot return, because the truths they hold would not be accepted.”

“We have made rapid advances in art and science, Miss Evans, but the church has lagged behind, until at length we find that more christianity is found outside than inside its walls.”

“True.  The best men and women I have ever known, have never sat at the table of the Lord, so called, have never broken the bread and drank the wine, yet their souls have tasted life-everlasting when they have given in His name food to the hungry and clothing to the naked.  Each soul is a temple and each heart a shrine.  The only thing the church can do to-day is, to reach forth and take its life from the world.  All the accessions of art must be unfolded, if she would keep alive.  Fortify it with these things, and we shall not see, as we do now, in every town and city even, the whole burden of its support resting on one or two individuals.  If it has life enough it will stand; if it refuse light, such persons only retard its progress, although strictly conscientious in their position.  I think one of its greatest errors is in keeping one pastor too long.  How can the people be fed, and draw life from one fount alone?”