Canon MacColl has achieved a remarkable success in the City
by uniting with him the Nonconformists of his parish in an earnest effort to enlarge the usefulness of his church in Botolph Lane. On Thursday, the Dean of St. Paul's preached in that church a sermon of rare beauty and power on the con- stant struggle between the downward and the upward forces at work in our world,—the steady decay and the steady renova- tion,—throwing out a curious hint, which he did not develop, that men may hope not only to attenuate some of the most per- manent of the disintegrating causes at work in Society, but perhaps absolutely to ea ing:tisk some of them. We should like to know to what the Dean referred in this last suggestion. After the service, a lunch was given in Fishmongers' Hall, under the auspices of the Fishmongers themselves, in which the unique feature presented itself that High Churchmen and Dissenters appeared together in hearty co-operation for the spiritual good of the parish whose church had just been restored and beautified. There were able statesmen present. Lord Napier and Ettrick spoke with an ability which made men wonder at his habitual silence in the House of Lords ; and one of the youngest, Mr. G. W. E. Russell, made two speeches as humorous as they were earnest; bat, after all, the feature of the festival was the striking mutual respect and good-will between Canon MacColl and his Nonconformist ex-Churchwarden, Mr. Johnston, whose speech on the charity which there ought to be amongst Christians of different Churches, struck a far deeper note than is usual on such occasions.
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