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2 /| ~~T T Ij' J-S IS T~ 7 n English Woman's Impressions of Chris- Sjl J- Jl jl VL/ JIV AJ AJ Vv / y Cv N THE heart of every true American there is a sort of inherited interest in England and the English customs, with a kind of filial reverence for the Eng lish people—a survival, no doubt, of the years when the American colonists were but children of the great “Mother Country.” This, too, despite the wide difference in temperament and methods I in English and American life, both religions and secular, and it is this very difference which must always mlakie an intelligent comparison between the customs of the two countries of mutual bene fit to both. American sociological students have found much that is helpful in a contemplation of English life, and we believe the reverse is also true. But per haps the most fruitful Held for mutual investiga tion and mutual improvement is that to be found within the scope of the Institutional Church, and the wide ground of Christian, social and philan thropic life, can not fail to be of helpful interest. Visit of the Hon. Mrs. Henley. A thorough contemplation, ox this subject is, at tins time, lortunateiy, possible to the leaders or Ihe troiaen Age, because of the visit to this coun try of an earnest English Christian worker in tne person of the lion. l\irs. Henley, of London, Eng. I'his lady has been kind enough to grant an in terview to a representative of ihe uolden Age, and her views and impressions of America, as well as her comparisons between English and American methods in religious as well as in social and philan thropic life, can not fail to beof helpful interest. Mrs. Henley is, herself, a woman of rarest per sonal charm, being highly cultured in the truest sense of the term, and combining within herself manifold qualifications of mind and heart which make her peculiarly fitted for the great work of creating and sustaining a pure and beautiful enthu siasm for all that is best and truest in Christian life. While Mrs. Henley has been a worker in England for some years, she was first strongly at tracted to the American field during the recent visit of Dr. Len G. Broughton to England the past summer when he occupied the pulpit of Dr. Camp bell Morgan in Westminster. Mrs. Henley said she was so deeply impressed with his wonderful hold on the people, the warmth of the services, the spontaneity of the response from thousands who gathered to hear Dr. Broughton, that she felt as though he had brought a special and individual message to the English people, and had infused so much of genuine light and enthusiasm into the usually restrained English services that she longed to learn his secret and to follow as best she might in the paths along which he had led. Where English and American Church Work Differs. “But, is not a ‘personal touch’ common in Eng lish religious life?” Mrs. Henley was asked. “Not as it is known in America,” was the reply; “but I am personally deeply convinced that to accomplish effectual Christian work there must be, first of all, a perfect and complete self sinking—a self-surrender as it were—without which one cannot hear the whisper of the Spirit nor the call of the Holy Ghost. One must feel—l must feel the ‘Christ to me,’ and must be under the fullest control of the Holy Spirit. Nothing else counts, and without it we fail, pitiably, to reach even the closest soul, while for those on the out side we have no words of help to speak. I be lieve that we should feel to the fullest a sense of universal brotherhood—'that those whom we wish ito reach must appeal to us as being part of us— tihiat all sense of separateness must cease. Without the love of the Father, it is impossible to reach any human soul.” “You have heard of Mrs. Pen Lewis, and of the great Welsh Revival ? Well, there was felt the full force of the Spirit. That great revival, which has passed into history as one of the most tremendous revivals of the age, was characterized by the presence of the Holy Spirit in so wonder- the Golden Age for December 13, 1906. ful a degree as to border on the supernatural. This gave rise to the expression, ‘The burning bush,’ for from one to one the enthusiasm spread until it burned like a consuming fire before which sin shriveled into ashes and from which rose the pur ity and peace of perfect Christian lives.” Dr. Broughton’s Message to England. “Did Dr. Broughton bring a further message to the English people than the spiritual one?” Mi's. Henley was asked. “Yes, he brought so strong a message of the ethical side of Christian life and its combination with the purely spiritual that I was moved to make a deeper study of his methods. We need a great Institutional Church in England. Os philan thropy we have much, but it is of a colder charac ter than I have seen here, awd I knew it would be so when I heard of Dr. Broughton’s work in Atlanta.” “But was it to study any one phase of his work that you came to America?” To Study American Methods. “No; in coming here I wanted to see the Chris tian, the social and sill’s? philanthropic side of American life; I wanted to find where I could help my own people; how I could help, and where we had failed in England. Dr. Broughton thought I could also help him here, and that, too, I am eager to accomplish. Truly, I have never seen anywhere 1" - '-4/ ' • 1 % 1 ■ Jfe I IL 1 i ■ <.. i > C 1 • \ ' Z CI C if * ■ x ■' Wife-"- I ■ I TBifc' • . I .1 *■- ’ ■ I / \ / ■ W' - A ■! ' ■ \ ' ’’ \ if ’ • v ' L THE HON. MRS. HENLEY. so much of the real ‘ Christ-spirit’ as I have in Dr. Broughton’s work. I might even say that to me it seems to be colored through and through with a beautiful purpose of unity and love. His own per fect understanding and sympathy is, of course, the mainspring of the entire fabric, and I confess it is something of a revelation to me. He has all of this to teach me, and I long to learn. You know we English are taught suppression of our emotions, and it is difficult to share our most sa cred feelings, but unless we can and do so share them we fail in our purpose of soul-winning and we lose the real Christ-like purpose.’’ “What phase of this work has appealed to you most strongly, Mrs. Henley?” was the next ques tion. “Combination Makes the Perfect Whole.” “That is a difficult question to answer, because I have not disassociated any one feature of the work from another; it seems to me that it is the combination of the ethical and the spiritual which makes the perfect whole, and I am more and more convinced that this is true.” Lack of Class Distinctions. “Perhaps my strongest impression now is that in the Christian work here there are no class dis- Unctions; that all stand equal in Christian service, for all Whom I have met are innate gentle people, with a refinement that transcends all social restric tions, and which bears out the words of your great American Constitution, that declares all men to be equal. ’ ’ The Dormitory. “Then you have been pleased with what you have seen of the social part of Dr. Broughton’s work; with the dormitory system, for instance?” remarked the representative of The Golden Age. “Pieased!” exclaimed Mrs. Henley, her fine face radiating enthusiasm. “I have been absolutely charmed, for I don’t believe we have anything quite as fine in all England as this same dormitory, where the brave young business women of your city have made for themselves a truly refined and charm ing home which helps to make and keep them the true and earnest Christian gentlewomen that I find them. I have tried not to let my own personal feeling prejudice me in favor of these fifty young girls who have showered personal kindness and per sonal courtesy on me, and I believe I have made my estimates impartially and carefully. But I will say that a more attractive lot of young wo men I have never met. It is a fact worthy of no tice, too, that they are absolutely free in their social life; they have no system of chaperonage, and what is more wonderful, they need none! They have their visitors in the evening, both men and women, and without the faintest approach to su pervision their social attitude is absolutely be yond reproach. The Dress of Business Women. “Then, too, I am impressed with the way these young women dress; not a trace of gaudiness, not a sign of anything but the utmost refinement and a dignity and self-respect, such as cannot be taught, but which must be inborn, and which it were well for all young women to emulate. I consider this dormitory a very model from which other insti tutions would do well to pattern, and it alone has been an object lesson to me which was worth cross ing the ocean to learn. I confess to being ma terially helped myself by these brave young lives.” The Infirmary. “If you are so much interested in the dormitory, Mrs. Henley, what do you think of the infirmary? Surely you have similar institutions in England?” “We have not many,” Mrs. Henley replied; “but we need them badly. Os course there is much Christian work in the hospitals of England, but it is conducted in the most formal manner; the day and hour being regulated by institutional author ity, and under such circumstances it is most diffi cult to get in touch with a patient. I believe I feel more strongly regarding the infirmary than I do even in regard to the dormitory. I have long held that practical Christianity, that is, the sort that will first relieve physical needs and then min ister to spiritual ones, is the only true Christ-like spirit for Christian work. I could not talk to a hungry man of his soul’s salvation; I would be impelled to feed him first! In like manner I could not talk to a suffering person until I knew all had been done to alleviate that suffering. In the Tabernacle Infirmary here in Atlanta I note every modern appliance for the medical and surgical care of the sick, but above and beyond all else, I note again the combination of the beautiful spiritual influence that surrounds it all. I am reminded again and again, of the life of the Master, who healed as He helped, and I long to further follow Him in this path. Ileie, it is possible to enter a sick room at any hour of the day or night; to bring spiritual healing to a soul in physical unrest, and I firmly believe that the one often facilitates the other. Have you not noticed how a restful mind will act on a body physically distressed? How much more then will a restful soul? More Room Needed. “I understand now what Dr. Broughton meant when he said, in London and elsewhere, that he (Concluded on page 7.)