‘It does seem to me such a strange idea that our service should be acceptable to God in proportion to its difficulty. It is really at bottom the same thing that makes people torture themselves. It lies at the root of that idea regarding the Sabbath, which our Lord condemned so strongly. He came to make us know better the Father’s heart. Surely He loves to make it easy to His children to draw near. “I will allure her into the wilderness and will speak comfortably unto her.” Under the old dispensation He appointed a solemn ritual, and why did St. Paul exhort us to use psalms and hymns but that by the joy of music our hearts may be loosened from their deadness, and then we can trust them whither we will. It seems to me of course that our service is much more in conformity with the apostolic model handed down, and with allusions in the Bible. But I do not want to dispute about that. God has left us free. If your father says, “I wish you to go to the meeting,” you should, supposing you think it not wrong, obey. But I don’t believe he would, if you told him you went merely in obedience to his wishes; that you felt it did not help your spiritual life. ‘If it is finally decided that you go to St. Peter’s, I should like to ask Mr. Wilkinson to see you, and I would tell him some of your difficulties; he is so wise. ‘I have been thinking much these holidays about the many who like yourself are full of difficulties and questions. One thing some of us are going to do, and I want you to join: make each week special prayers for the teachers in Colleges and High Schools,—(you will specially remember me), and ask that some means may be found of helping them.... ‘Need you dwell upon that question of eternal death? Could you not say, “Father, I see not yet what Thou doest, but I trust Thee?” If the death of any of His creatures whom He loves is _inevitable_, then it does not make us believe Him unloving, we know how He yearns to serve us.’ To the same:— ‘_March 1883._ ‘I do not mean either to say that the carelessness of a time in which you did see and were able to realise divine things was _nothing_ to do with the present trial. Who can judge another? I begged him not to be unhappy if your religious life took another form.... ‘Yes, I was so glad to see your father. I feel I know him much better, and perhaps he knows me better. ‘I quite understand his strong language about the Church, only those evils are not inherent in it, but in our sinful nature, and similar ones appear even among the Brethren. The unreality does not depend upon the amount of ritual....’ To the same:— ‘_April 1883._