THE WORLD OF Moral and Religious Anecdote. ILLUSTRATIONS AND INCIDENTS GATHERED FROM THE WORDS, THOUGHTS, AND DEEDS IN THE THE WORLD OF Moral and Religions Anecdote. ILLUSTRATIONS AND INCIDENTS GATHERED FROM THE WORDS, THOUGHTS, AND DEEDS IN THE BY EDWIN PAXTON HOOD, AUTHOR OF "LAMPS, PITCHERS, AND TRUMPETS," "DARK SAYINGS ON A HARP," ETC., ETC. PREFAC E. WHEN the notorious John Wilkes, on one occasion, had to listen to the stories of some person, who had the virtue of prolixity in telling them, without the power of giving to them any pith or point, and some mutual friend excused the story-teller, saying, he had got to his dotage, Wilkes replied, "Dotage, sir! I tell you he is past dotage, he has got to anecdotage!" A similar expression of contempt for this kind of literary workmanship has reached the compiler of this volume. But the favourable reception of a previous volume, "The World of Anecdote," has led to the compilation and publication of this, "The World of Religious Anecdote." Several persons, and some high in the religious world, have. told me that being professedly religious the collection must be of a more doubtful authenticity, as well as of diminished interest. What the reader may think I do not know, but this at least may be said, considering what religion is, and what its history in the world, religious incident ought not to be less interesting than any other department and field of anecdote; neither can I see why religious folks should be deemed less trustworthy; certain it is, the field of religious anecdote is a very large one, whether we regard it as historical or biographical, or as simply,―to use the word in contradistinction to either of the other denominations, and to apply it to the floating ana of every-day life and experience, incidental. The history of the Church of Christ in all ages might be very well told in anecdote, and I am indeed surprised, |