‘I shall be deeply grieved, if in a crisis of such danger, we show the enemy that we are so divided that we cannot welcome as allies those who are doing Christ’s work, and acknowledging the perfection of His teaching, because we cannot understand their difficulties in accepting the doctrines _we_ hold sacred. We shall not “water down” our teaching, nor would they wish us to do so. We shall not give up prayer, because we do not impose special rules.’ Another letter of this period (March 1886) to Mrs. Grey shows Miss Beale’s calm judgment as well as her sympathy in the difficult work of the League:— ‘ ... I am disappointed to find that some, even of mature age, seem to think it right to shut their eyes.... Of course one would be glad that such subjects as this should not be brought up without necessity, and I suppose that many of us have grown up without a notion that some of the crimes alluded to in your paper were possible. It does darken the whole world and sadden the lives of the young to know that such wickedness is possible; it may destroy their faith in God, to know it before their moral constitution has attained its full vigour, and plunge them into pessimism: one cannot help wishing to conceal these loathsome visions from those we love. I do not go with Miss Ellice Hopkins in her wish that the young should be very early warned. It seems to me that there is a parallel between that and our action in cases of bodily disease: one who looked on passively is sickened and made ill;—the nurse or surgeon bent on healing does not suffer. ‘And I do feel that there is a great danger in bringing before the mind temptations which are connected with the bodily organisation. A nervous excitement seems to be produced, something of the nature of hysteria, and there is a sort of criminal fascination such as those feel who throw themselves from heights: the judgment seems utterly in abeyance. The same thought seems expressed in the story of Medusa. ‘For this reason I do feel a little hesitation in giving countenance to the indefinite extension of Blue-ribbon armies, necessary and beneficent as they are in cases where there is strong temptation, or persons are moved to work actively against intemperance; and I would rather that the campaign should be one of missionaries, so to speak, of those who have bound themselves to some active work in the cause. I think that such great evils might arise from the terrible mistakes which might be committed by those who undertook the ostracism without having a fair chance of arriving at a correct judgment. It is so easy to stab to death the character of an innocent man; the devil may steal as well as buy a man’s shadow; he may sell as well as buy....