innovation, independence of thought, and impatience of authority; these characteristics, combined with strong devotional tendencies inherited from a Puritan ancestry, have overflowed the natural channels of politics and industry into those of religious speculation and creeds. In the other, the domain of religious thought was the only one open to the aspirations and struggling efforts of the popular mind, the only sphere in which the intelligence of the people could move freely and without repression, or find opportunity for its expression and development. Mournful as have been the results attained in Russia, they bear, in their vigor, fecundity, and originality, strong proof of intellectual energy and vitality in the Russian people, of singleness of purpose, and of deep sense of religious obligation; great qualities in themselves, which are, if rightly directed, essential elements in the growth of a great nation.
