{7} “The progress of bricks and mortar and of inclosures has sadly
restricted the spaces on which the English peasantry could take healthful
exercise. Respectable people keep away from these crowded spots. The
influence of their example is lost, and in its place is substituted the
influence of the idle, the dissolute, and the depraved.”—_Moral Economy
of Large Towns_, _by_ Dr. W. C. TAYLOR.
{8} The Writer was, some years ago, addressed in the following manner:
“It is monstrous, you have no right to let _your religious opinions_
interfere with business in this way.”
{9} In the French revolutionary mania, in 1800, “the year was divided
into twelve equal months, of thirty days each, completing the year by the
ingenious invention of five complemental days. The month was divided
into three decades, or weeks each of ten days, by which the days of rest
were reduced to three in each month, which were substituted for the four
Sundays. * * * * In some towns, workshops and warehouses were closed (on
the regular Sunday), in others they were closed upon the Decadi (or tenth
day); nay, frequently, in the same town, in the same street, THE CONTRAST
PRESENTED THE SPECTACLE OF A MISCHIEVOUS DIVERSITY IN THE IDEAS AND IN
THE MORALS OF THE PEOPLE.”—_Thier’s History of the Consulate and the
Empire_.
{14} There are some very excellent little Tracts published by this
Association on the above subject, which can be procured by application to
J. Lilwall, Esq., the Secretary, 32; Ludgate Hill.
{18} Although the Writer was at no period of his life “a dram-drinker,”
he has nevertheless suffered severely from occasional intemperance, and
he would therefore most earnestly commend the consideration of this
subject to the labouring classes.
{21} “Of the 45,000 deaths occurring every year in the Metropolis, about
5,600 arises from this fatal disease; and upwards of 11,000 persons,
being about one in 170 of the entire population of the metropolis, and
more than one per cent. of the adults, are constantly wasting away under
the attacks of this lingering malady. Of these 11,000 cases, about
three-fourths occur in males, of whom a large proportion are working-men,
unable to provide for themselves and families. Many—very many—of these
poor sufferers are the acknowledged victims of unventilated workshops,
ill-constructed dwellings, vitiated atmosphere, long hours of work, and
the want of open places for exercise and recreation.” There are 81
Patients at present in the Hospital, and the number prescribed for daily,
as Out-Patients, is at the rate of 36,000 in the year!—_Report of the
Hospital for Consumption_, _and Diseases of the Chest_, _at Brompton_,
1849.
The Writer of this Essay cannot refrain from making a most earnest appeal
in behalf of this truly Christian Institution. Gratitude prompts him to
the discharge of this duty, and he trusts that his humble position in
life will not weaken the effort to promote the interests of a Charity to
which himself, three sons, and seven daughters, are so greatly indebted.
During the period in which he was engaged in the composition of this
Essay, and for nearly 18 months previous, his wife was receiving the most
kind, attentive, and skilful treatment from the Physicians of this
Hospital, who considered her case as almost beyond medical relief. She
is now in a much improved state of health. Surely this simple statement
will be deemed as sufficient evidence of the value of this Institution.
It depends principally on the amount of its Annual Subscriptions for
support, and it would be a source of great pleasure to the Writer, if it
should be found that, through the publication of his feeble Essay, only
ONE Benefactor had been added to the list of its Patrons!
{27} It is very pleasing to observe that many thousands of the working
classes avail themselves of those admirable places for the preservation
of health and happiness, the Public Baths, which have been some time now
established. We may also notice the laudable efforts recently made to
encourage Open-Air Bathing in the Serpentine. A very interesting and
important pamphlet on this subject has been lately written by Thomas
Embling, Esq. It really appears essential that every Bather, and
especially youth, should peruse a copy of this invaluable
treatise.—_Published by_ W. F. RAMSAY, 11, _Brompton Row_, _Brompton_.
{35} “The Divine law prohibits civil labour, or work in the way of trade
on the Sabbath, but acts of mercy are acceptable to God on any day. We
have several instances of this recorded in the New Testament, in
reference to Christ and his disciples.”—Dr. S. SMITH’S _Dissertations on
the Bible_, 1737.
{36} “The flowers of a garden—those silent preachers to which Christ
himself referred his disciples as eloquent witnesses of the bounty of
Providence—speak lessons of loveliness to the soul, and give an immediate
check to gross vice and foul pollution. We too often forget the
humanizing and moral effects of a garden.”—Dr. W. C. TAYLOR.
{40} The Writer, since the completion of his Essay, has perused the
First Volume of _The Apocalypse Interpreted in the Light of the Day of
the Lord_, by the Rev. JAMES KELLY, M.A., Minister of St. Peter’s
Episcopal Chapel, Queen’s Square, St. James’s Park, from the Preface to
which he has gleaned the following particulars:—‘The word _Sunday_ is a
very ancient Heathen appellation, the days of the week having been called
by them after the names of the planets. The first day was denominated
_the day of the Sun_, or _the Lord Sun_. All the Oriental nations gave
the Sun the title of Lord. No doubt the early Christians elevated its
application. For this ennobling of the common term, they considered that
provision had been made by God himself, in the setting forth of Christ as
_the Sun of righteousness_. Malachi iv. By most of the early Fathers,
and from their time onwards, the term Lord’s-Day has been used to
designate the Christian Sabbath.’ The Writer of this Essay, therefore,
humbly submits that Christians should now call the seventh-day either the
Lord’s-Day or the Sabbath-Day. In the present times this “ennobling of
the common term” seems peculiarly necessary. The above Work explains
many hitherto apparently mystical passages in the Revelations, and a
perusal of it, in a right spirit, will supply arguments which will at
once silence the sceptic, and, at the same time, confirm the reader in
his belief that there is nothing contained in the Holy Scriptures, which
shall not be made manifest to those who seek to be enlightened by the
Spirit of God. It is published by Messrs. NISBET and Co., London.
{44} The reader is entreated to read “Is Christianity from God?” and
also “God in History,” by the Rev. JOHN CUMMING, D.D.
{46} History of the Transmission of Ancient Books to Modern Times, by
JAMES TAYLOR.