which each endeavored to make us feel what he himself realized, that his
special field was the most important,--you would have come to our
conclusion: that each field was all-important, and that each man was in
his proper place, peculiarly fitted for it and assigned to it by the
Master.

A prominent divine has lately said: "I believe the Young Men's Christian
Association to be the greatest religious fact of the nineteenth
century."

What has been effected by this fact? Thousands of young men in all parts
of the world have been brought to Jesus Christ. It has been the
training-school for Moody, Whittle, and hosts of laymen who are to-day
proclaiming the simple Gospel. It has organized great evangelistic
movements both here and abroad. It formed the Christian Commission,
which not only relieved the wants of the body during our war, but sent
hundreds of Christ's missionaries to the hospitals and battle-fields. It
has gloriously manifested the unity of Christ's true church. It stands
to-day an organic body, instinct with one life, spreading its limbs
through the world, active, alert, ready at any moment to respond to the
call of the church, and enables it to present an unbroken front to
superstition and infidelity, which already rear their brazen heads
against Christ and his church, and will soon be in open rebellion and
actual warfare, and which Christ at his coming will forever destroy.

[NOTE.--Through the kindness of Messrs. Harper and Brothers, of New
York, we present to our readers the two portraits in this article. For
the cuts of the buildings we are indebted to the Chicago Watchman,
mention of which is made above.--R.S., Jr.]