"Rmumscexces" by Emily Kinnaird.
John Murray. London. 1925.
It is customary in certain' quarters in these hurried, hustling days of the 20th century to dismiss the early and mid-Victorian era of our grandfathers with a sniff of conscious superiority and to label the art, literature, morals and' life of that period as inexpressibly stuffy and impossible. Even in modern religious circles, the Evangelicalism of those days is subject to severe criticism as possessing many of those elements of the Victorian age, which the present generation finds particularly repugnant. Sweeping generalizations are perhaps a characteristic of the modern mind, impatient of restrains, demanding its pabulum of news and literature in condensed form, while denied that spacious leisure of previous generations to think out a philosophy of life, This book is a fine antidote to the ignorant criticism of those who would characterize the Evangelical movement of Victorian days as one which so concentrated the interest of its devotees upon the eternal welfare of men's souls as to almost indifferent to their immediate and pressing needs. There may be some grounds for this general impression, but Miss Kin-naird, by these stimulating pages, in which she records her memories of a life of extraordinary activity, proves clearly that the evangelicals, a whole, were far from being indifferent to the conditions under which the men and women of their time lived and worked, After lively reminiscences of the writer's early days, she deals largely with the beginnings and development of the Young—Women's Christian Association, with which she has been pre-eminently asted for over 40 years. As the book progresses, a personality rare executive ability and charm is revealed, common senso and humour, that must have ear-her successfully through many a difficult enterprise. The slender volume is a cheerful offset istic views regarding the Progress of Christianity and the application of Christian ideals of service in the world of to-day. The closing pages contain an illu at ing account of the practical and reaching work accomplished by Y.W.C.A. during the War, and Miss Kinnaird concludes with ' hopeful reply to the question, Are things better?" "Perhaps in looking back one sees that things today are better; there is certainly more fellowship and less patronage in what is called Christian work, and the Churches are more alive to the sot self-righteousness and ignorance."
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.