Somewhere about two score years ago a devoted woman wrote, “The church has fallen, the beautiful church, And her shame is her boast and pride.” The shameless ways that were then used to squeeze money from the reluctant church members and the uninterested worldling, were generally rebuked by the religious press and from many pulpits with unsparing severity; but now scarcely a voice is raised against methods even more shameless. Among the later schemes are feet auctions, in which the feet of females—ought we to say “ladies”?—are exposed for sale and auctioned off to the highest bidder, the rest of the person being hidden behind a curtain till after the foot show is over. The Union Signal commenting on an affair of this kind, says:— It is generally supposed, however, that the church has a trusty old guard, a saving few among the mature heads and pious hearts, which shuts out the stream of worldliness which the young and thoughtless sometimes seek to turn upon it. But what shall we say when even the guard goes to sleep, and allows Trilby to ply her charms within the sacred altar of the church for gold? It was said of Napoleon’s favorite body of troops, “The old guard dies, but never surrenders.” Is not the “old guard” in many of the popular churches dead? or dying? or in the “guard-house” as “old fogies”? After describing a wretched scene of this kind, the Signal continues:— Was this not simply an appeal to the sensuous nature? If we are amazed that young ladies were found willing to pander to the lower nature of the young men for the express purpose of squeezing money out of them, willing to thus debase and degrade themselves, what shall we say of sober, elderly people, who could not make the plea of the uninformed, unthinking, unsophisticated, allowing such things? Were such performances common in the church, there would be little hopes of saving our young people from the dance hall and the brothel, to say nothing of inciting them to an ideal manhood and womanhood, from which should come an ideal civilization, representing the highest, the purest, the best, possibilities of mankind. Let such entertainments continue, and we might expect in time a renewal of the worst phases of the Greek Eleusinian mysteries. But may we not expect their continuance? We have the ancient mysteries, sports, gladiatorial contests, holy days, such as Sunday and Easter, the early sunrise worship with face to the sun, why not the Eleusinian mysteries? It is only the mystery of God—Christ in the heart—that can prevent as absolute a lapse from him, while professing his name, as heathenism presents; but the church is endeavoring to counterfeit the mystery of God by bringing in the kingdom of Christ “through the gateway of politics.” Would to God that none of these things existed in the church of Christ. We are pained as we note them. But they do exist, and the Inspired Word told us eighteen centuries ago that they would exist as signs of the last days. See 2 Tim. 3:1–5, and elsewhere. The only reformation is an individual turning to God with all the heart. There never has been true reformation in the church of any other kind. But that reformation leads to “the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus.” The church as a whole will not take these. But will not you, reader?