It was, however, hardly more than a
dull beating of time to the monotonous chanting of a few religious
phrases, rendered painfully commonplace by senseless repetition.
I would not be supposed to deny the genuineness of the emotion, or
even of the religion, in many who thus gave show to their feelings.
But neither those who were good before nor those who were excited
now were much the better for this and like modes of playing
off the mental electricity generated by the revolving cylinder of
intercourse. Naturally, such men as Joseph Mair now grew shy of the
assemblies they had helped to originate, and withdrew--at least
into the background; the reins slipped from the hands of the first
leaders, and such windbags as Ladle got up to drive the chariot
of the gospel--with the results that could not fail to follow.
At the same time it must be granted that the improvement of their
habits, in so far as strong drink was concerned, continued: it
became almost a test of faith with them, whether or not a man was
a total abstainer. Hence their moral manners, so to say, improved
greatly; there were no more public house orgies, no fighting in the
streets, very little of what they called breaking of the Sabbath,
and altogether there was a marked improvement in the look of things
along a good many miles of that northern shore.
Strange as it may seem, however, morality in the deeper sense,
remained very much at the same low ebb as before. It is much easier
to persuade men that God cares for certain observances, than that
he cares for simple honesty and truth and gentleness and loving
kindness.
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