The New York Herald Newspaper, December 9, 1872, Page 8

NEW YURK HERALD, MUNDAY, DECEMBER 9, 1872—WiTH SUPPLEMENT, PULPIT §POLEMICS, A Wet and Gloomy Day of Rest and How It Was Spent. THE CATHOLIC CATHEDRAL. Celebration of the Festival of the Immaculate Conception of the Mother of God. ae JOURNALISM AND JOURNALISTS. Touching Tribute to the Memory of the Lamented Journalist. a MURDER AND HANGING. Sermon by the Rev. 0. B. Frothingham on the Penalties of Crime and on Mercy and Justice. —+—- Rev. Mr. McAllister on the Bible in the Common Schools. a THE CITY OF THE CHURCHES. Brother Beecher on the New Departure in Church Councils—The Installation of tho Bev. Mr. Hepworth—Comparison with au Ancient Assembling at Jerusalem. ———_ ANGELIC THEOLOGY. A Canadian Clergyman on a Celes- tial Study of Redemption. §T. PATRICK'S CATHEDRAL The Festival of the Immaculate Concep- tion of the Mother of Christ—The tory of the Dogma—Her Power of In- tercession=—The Ideal of True Woman. hood—Sermon by the Rev. Father McNamee. The throng of worshippers at the Cathedral yes- terday morning was unusually large in apite ol the rain which poured from the clouds with unremit- ting violence. The ceremonies were of a spe ty fmposing aud solemn character, in commemora- | tion of the Immaculate Conception of the Virgin Mary, tne. festival in honor of which pecuilar be- Mef of the Catholic Church {8 aiways celebrated | with extraordinary pomp and splendor since first | Mt became formally recognized as one of the fixed Qrticles of faith. AT TUE HIGH MASS im the morning the Very Reverend Archbishop was present, but did not assist in the celebration, The | music was even better in selection aud execution than it hus been here found to have been in the past, | and ihe sublime harmonies of Torente lited the soul upward almost to the feet of the imaginary | throne (o which roiled the gray smoke of the burn- ing in use, oniy to be let softiy down from the beight of its exaltation by the gentle ministrations of Miné, The voices were very good in clearness and mellowness, and the strong tones of the organ | imparted to them the impression of weak, trusting epirits, clinging to something greater and nobler than they whose benelicent and mighty support re- mained with them through all the straggles and travali of alternately doubting and believing wor- ship. So in the ritual of music, 1a sweeter accents aud with more impressive effect, tt may be said that the longings, prayers, sorrows aud joys of | thousands are poured into the immortal ear by one | nd, solemn volume, that holds the heart en- anced and obedient through all its expressive | strains. “DOMINE DEUS," &duetto, was sung by Mr. Rider as tenor and Mr, Drele: bass. Just before the sermon the “Veni Creata,” by Miné, with its splended sweep of Birength and mercy and sweetness, Was sung by Mrs. Unger, At the offertory the ‘Ave Mart by Mercadante, was well rendered by Ma Chomé. ‘The chorus of thirty voices assisted, The spectacie of the mass yesterday was most touching and exalting. prvice Of the vespers Was also, conformably to the occasion, peculiarly bolemn und unpressive, ‘The sermou of the day was preached by the Rev, Father McNamee, who, after announcing his | text—“Hall! full of grace! the Lord is with thee; | blessed art thou among women said :— FATHER MCNAMEE'S SERMON, It is my privilege, beloved brethren, to speak to you to-day on # festival which of almost | ail others of the year is now the dearest to the beart ofevery Catholic—viz., the festival of “the | Immaculate Vonception of the Mother of God." It | is @ dogma Of Catholic faith that all men are con- cerned in what is called original sin, or that at the very first moment of their conception they bear hpon their souls that stain of guilt which is the in- heritauce of man since the fail of our tirst parents, When ne THE COUNCIL OF TRENT, by a solemn decree, was making this doctrine obligatory on the children of the Church, many of the Fathers there assembled demanded that by a directly opposite decree the Mother of God would | be deciared an exception to the general rule; that she was conceived free (rom stam. But although ahe majority were in javor, they deemed it suficient | at the time to say that it was pot tue intention of | the Council when treating of original sin to include the holy and immaculate Virgin Mary, the Mother of God, in the category. Years had passed awa: almost cach succeeding pontin adding somethi ‘which caused the beliei to grow stronger that God had not permitted her whoa He intended to be His Mother ever to be, even for a moment, displeas- ing to His sight, and, consequently, had not permit- Ved her to contract the stain of original sin. CLEMENT THE ELEVENTH, tn the year 1708, ordered ti.e Feast of the Immacu- | late Conception to be iu the future observed and } kept like any other festival of precept. In the year 1742 Benedict XIV, gave tothe feast new privileges. Gregory XVI. permitted the titie of She “Immaculate Conception” to be added to the ame of Mary in the preiace to the mass, and also permitted ter in the Litany to be invoked as jueen, conceived without sin; and, finally, Pius the iilustrious Ponti! who now occupies the Chair of St. Peter, after receiving communications from 550 pre! from different parts of the world demanding the definition of the festival, in the year 164, in the presence of fity- three cardinals and over one hundred and filly wishops, ite ae cathedra, that article of faith which is now binding upon every Catholic, exempting our Holy Mother from the stal original sin. By this decision THE CHURCH OF GOD SEITLED ALL DISPUTE. ‘It went further, and explained the in that text, ‘He shall be born of a women who ti crush the serpent’s nead." If she bore the stain of original sin she would cease to be the enemy of Satan or the serpent, and would become instead Dig friend and servant, She would not after’ be found an object of reverence for an art nor would she deserve to be called grace.” She would not have been bleased amon, ‘Women, nor could she ever have uttered to herself Shove memorable words, “Behold, henceforth wll Beneratious shall call me biessed.”” But all these shings Goa, His inscrutable designs, revealed, In order that % His Holy Mother might be given that honor which so justly belongs to her, The doctrine of the Immaculate Conception ts some- times A STUMBLING BLOCK TO THE UNBELIEVER of modern times in the same manner as is every other revealed truth which, In his silly, absurd pre- sumption, he cannot vndersiand, Bat tothe Catho: | lic, to the man of faith, it is clear and intelligible, | and the deGnition of the Church only lays upon us | an article of belief which tie iustincts of our devo- tion had jong made @ real part. ‘The precious biood that wis to pay the price of salvation was to be gotten from the heart of Mary, and Ly a strange miracle of anticdpation the virtue of that prectous [piood yet unformed hindered the heart of Mary irom coming under the ban of sin. In secret it (fected the Immaculate Conception—a work | self unto them, because He knew all men, tne earth an abundance of grace beside which that 1 the preceding four thousand years was but as a drop to the ocean, The Church believes her to be TRE TRULY CHOSEN ONE OF GOD. among all the creatures of heaven and earth the most sanctified. We may ascend in thought through the different ranks of angeis saints who stand before the throne of God, and, bright and glorious as they are, they are far surpassed in dignity and sweetness and love by her who bears the title of Mother.of God, How truly, then, could the angel address her in the words of this day's gospel, “Hail, iull of grace! the Lord is with thee; blessed art thou among women !" THE CONTRAST—TRUE AND FALSE WOMANHOOD, She was blessed among women because predes- fined from all eternity to be the mother of the Sa- Viour; because she was the Chosen one for whom the holy patriarchs and prophets of old had so long sighed and prayed; because, as first through woman maiediction aud sin en- inte the earth, go through her were d that benediction und fruit of life which ed sin; because if Eve was mother of eat a the dying, Mary was mother of life and the living; if Eve bake 4 tears and miseries, Mary brought joy aud the treasures of grace. Blessed was she among women, because ad of those beautiful virtues which adorn tne soul more than all ouhers. Im her virginity the most spotiess, in her charity the most fervent, in her prayer and contemplation the most sublime, she is presented to us as the tirror of piety, the form of morality, the splendor of virtues, THE VERY IDEAL OF A SPIRITUAL LIFE. In joy and confidence, therefore, can we offer our tributes of praise and venerution and unplore the intercession of our Mothes Mary. From that emi- nence ofgiory to which she is raised by her Son she will look down with compassion on us, her ciuldreu, Who glory in being placed. under her special protection, Especially on this day let us unite our hearts aud our voices in the prayer for intercession, and lot it ascond with the clouas of incense, which; from thousands of altars rise heavenward, God wilt heurken to that prayer and Will grant to us grace und strength to be true and faithiul chietven of Mary while here below and to peerens, for all eternity the joy of the blessed in THE CHUROH OF THE DIVINE PATERNITY, Dr. Chapin on the Revelation of Man in ChristmA Last Tribate to the Dead Philosopher. ‘The Church of the Divine Pateraity, om Fifth ay- enue, corner Forty-Q(th street, was filed by an un- usually large audience yesterday, gathered in part, no doubt, to view the Ooral decorations erected on the occasion of Mr. Greetey’s death, but mainly to hear what Dr. Chapin might have further tesay re- garding the lesson of the life of THE DEPARTED PHILOSOPHER, The floral decorations and the sombre folds of mourning drapery remain as they were at the funeral, The deserted pew is still hung with black, and the lyre, with its broken string, stil leans mutely against the wall. The American fag, with its silken fplds entwined vy the black serge is stilt displayed over the main entrance to tke church; gorgeous banks and arches and wreaths of Mowers still bedeck the Pulpit, and the preacher's form while he imparted the lesson of the day was still spanned by the flowery arch with the inscription, know that my Re- deemer liveth." Dr, Chapin took his text from the twenty-fifth verse of the second chapter of Johu—‘‘And needed not that any should testify of man, for he knew what was inman." The reverend gentleman said that, a8 appropriate to the Advent season he had last Sunday spoken im regard to Christ as a revela- tion of God tu man, ou the present occasion he would consider him as A REVELATION OF MAN in God, He was followed by immense multitudes, was the object of the most enthusiastic demonstra- tions, treated the sick, passed days 0° waish in the lonesome wilderness and on the s¢ 4, and everywhere received the hosannas of thuse whom he succored, beiriended or entranced with his teachings. Christ was not unpopular; indeed, he was A POPULAR LEADER. There were many, doubtless, attracted to Him by the tmpuise of the moment, and there were many who had been espegially touched by His acts of gooduess—the beggar whom Ile had succored, the leper from whose form He had driven away foul disease, tne bliad whose eyes He had opened, the mother whose child He had raised from the dead, the humbled heart whom He had iifted up. But others looked upon Mim as a great political leader, aking, He discouraged these latter, and it was doubtless the reaction growing out of His refusai of political honors, as Well as the animosity of the Scrives and Phariseds, ‘thet led to His trial and crucifixion, The working of miracies by Christ lor | the gooa of men 14 symbolized also by the working of Hia Spirit upon the mental organizations of men, The unstopping of deaf ears and the uncios- ing of blind eyes were symbolical of the religious light and lessons that He poured upon the souls and spirits of the people. HE KNEW MEN THOROUGHLY. “The proper study of mankind,’ says the poet, “is man,” and so it is. Men pass their lives in atudying their fellow man, but the xnowleage is too often devoted to the most sordid uses, The politician, the preacher, the merchant, the author, the worldly seeker aiter wealth and the libertine all devote their study to the analyzation of men, and beast of their success, and yet how shallow has peen thelr search. How little, indeed, can man know ef his fellow man, of the workings ef his inner self, of his central spirit, of that immortai part which is in {tyelf a world more wonderful than the whole material world of nature. We may pass men on the streets daily, and know their walk, their business habits, their clothes, their outward form, and think that we know the men themselves, But behind a face whereon 18 piainly seen only sorrow and misery there may be a soul peopiea by angels’ thoughts; behind a face bright with apparent joy and hepe there may be a soul full of haunting terrors, and behind a face where the lines of sin and wickedness are drawn there may be agentle stream, refecting the teachings of u loved mother or the face of a child in Heaven. How little can we know of these, even among our intimate acquaintances, But Christ contd fathom the inmost thouglits of men. He answered their theughts when their words would bave misled Him. He did not commit Him But, again, as He knew ali men He exhibited no anger er CONTEMPT OF HUMAN NATURE, And it is this, my hearers, that should teach us to honor and reapect that human nature that too many of us are inclined te ridicule er to use for our own ends, The mother may bare her tender breast to protect her child; the father may interpose | his body to save his child from danger or dishonor; but this man, Christ, for tne whole world, the man who pierced Him, for the very rabble hooted Him, died, gave up His life and endured the agonies of popular denun- clation and cruel crucifixion, And the cross that symbolized his devotion to the human race sym- bolizes also the grandeur and goodness of human nature, Itix not until men die that we know and jate their full worth, and nothing illustrates itamore than THE SAD SRRVICES heid in this church last week over the remains of our departed brother, the shadowy emblems of which are still about us. All through bis life, and es- pecially in the last six months of it, the clouds of misconception enshrouded him and ng le talked of his mistakes; but with his death the clouds dropped away, and it was not the man of genius, the statesman, the President, the Senator, that upheaved those multitudes that stood within and about these walls on that sad occasion, but the man, the inner central spirit of the man, that loved human nature and sympathized in his broad sympathy with the slave and the oppressed, His familiar form has gone from among us, but the lessons Of his life remain, and the greatest lesson of that life is the broad s, ie py with human na- ture that Christ symbolized by His death upon the cross. Oh, ye men of the world, it is not your hoarded gold, itis not your rank and office, that will sustain you in death as this man was sus- taine t. Dr. Chapin continued at some length in relation to the sublime teachings of Christ's manhood and wound up with an Rae MAB | er. The choir and congregation sang a familiar hymn, in which the beautiful voice of the soprano, Mrs.’ De Ruy- ter, rang out with a remarkable sweetness, and the benediction being given the congregation de- parted from the sceae, so suggestive, with its rich flowers and sombre drapery, of the sad services ed days ago over the remains of the “beloved Sage.” UNITY OHAPEL. Discourse by the Rev. W. T. Clarke on Journalists”—The Work of Greeley'’s Life. “Journalism and Journalists" was the subject of @ discourse by the Rev. W. T. Clarke at Unity chapel, 128th street, jast evening. The speaker be- gan by referring to the rise and growth of the newspaper as a form of literature and means of in- fluence tn modern times. It took two hundred years to invent a newspaper after the art of print- ing had come into use. The first newspaper, which appeared in Italy in the sixteenth centuary, bore about the same resembiance to the HERAaLp, that enllvens our breakfast-table with reports from the whole worl@, a8 an Indian canoe bears to a modern steamship equipped with every comfort and art | and cavrying & population across the ocean. TUE FIPST ENGLISH NEWSPAPER was published about the year i The settiers o New England «started @ printing press at Cam- bridge in less than ten years alter the settlement of Boston; but when an enterprising Yankee pro- posed to enlighten Bostonians by printing the hich may be compared to that Of Calvary itself in Kisatnoss, lt opened ueaven and drew dewauvon news of the day ona single sheet, in 1690, the General Court interposed ita authority and gup- pressed the innovation. There was no telling What might come of jetting everybody know what anybody did. The old divines doubtless regarded the sheet as the device of the devil.’ Fourteen Years afterward public sentiment had so far ad- vanced as to permit the publication of the News Letter, a weekly, printed on two sides of a single small sheet of brown paper, with two columns to the page, with uews from New York a week old; and its latest BUROPEAN INTELLIGENCE FIVE MONTHS’ OLD. Iv is this creeping, puny thing, too contempt- ibie to attract attention, much less to excite ridi- cule, that has grown tobe the fourth estate, the great moving power of our modern world, A century ago there were thirty weekly rs in the United States and no others; there are nearly five thousand weeklies and over five hun- dred dailies, with @ circulation of p1 twenty millions. ‘The improvement im the mechante arts, the invention of steam and the magnetic telegraph have transformed the creeping infant into a giant. Journalism has become # » ‘The old notion that anybody can make a speech or edit a newspaper is obsolete, and THE SCISSORS AND PASTRPOT have lost their traciitional place in the editorial sanctum, ‘The newspaper ig a tremendous instru- ment of power and orgun of influence in our times. it is read by everybody; it is the people's circulat- ing library; it is ihe only Bible that half our people ever look at; one of our great dailies ig a cyclo- peda of current intelligence, It contains, besides ie general news, in which everybody has an inter- est, something ol special interest to every class, ‘The buyer and seller, the merchant and mechanic and manufacturer, the artist, the musician, the pleasure-seeker, the professional man and woman of fashion have cach a at its banquet of dain- ties, It is geography, mechanics, literature, poetry aud invention and enterprise, It is many-sided as Lhe manifoid Ue out of which it springs and to which it mimisters, 1 is moral, because THE PREDOMINATING ELEMENTS OF LIFE are wholesome, helpful and humane. Toe current sets towards virtue. The lecturer contended that the general intuence 0: the press is beneficial and improving, It exposes vice; but tt 18 the vice that ought to shock, not the exposure ofit, The fear of discovery deters tuousands from acts they might otherwise commit, The introduction of gas into London was opposed. on the ground that it would enable rogues to steal more easily, but it dimin- ished crime forty per cent by multiplying the means 01 ity discovery and detection. ‘The news- paper lets daylight luto the darkest recesses of our modern life, and vice shrinks from its blazing illumination, A newspaper broke the Ring with its lightning fash of light, and a newspaper has shot a ray of hope INTO THE MADHOUSR, It isthe scandal and not the publication of it that should fill us with indigaation and sorrow, ‘There 18 sometting awful in tus omnipresence of the press which pis every man in ful survey and chronicles every departure from the line of recti- tude, and where PS ie appreciate the fact tnat they live in the full blaze of this terrible publicity they will be afraid to du wrong. The enterprise of the press is oné of the marvels of our age, and the splendid achievement of one of oyr papers in Ilit- ing the curtain that has concei ie heart of a Continent is a mere spurt of thé tremendous or- ganized energy which ransacks telligence and turns the giobe into A VAST WHISPERING GALLERY where every word and act of slightest account registers itself every night, to be read “by millions in the morning's sunlight. ‘the newspaper has fauits. It is too ofteu reckless and vituperative. It represents the lower rather than: the highercur- rents of thought and feeting. It writes down in- stead of writing out. Its opinions are often crude, its reports unverified, its criticisms unjust, 1s attacks on persons abusive, Th.se are imperiec- tions to be corrected and faults to be outgrown, ‘The public sentiment that the newspaper has edu- cated will educate the paper in ita turn. The pro- fessions react on each other continually and the improvement of one is tue excellence of all, A better educated class of journalists is the hope of the craft. ‘he two great journalists of America, both young together, both rivals for public favor, Bop Rranaly successful In diferent ways, and both jeaving ihe world for in- VACANT CHAIRS that no others can ever fill, and within a few months ofeach other—James Gordon Bennett and Horace Greeley—stand for two radically different types of journalism, Mr, Bennett made the model American newspaper; he lifted reporting to an art; he developed the collection and arrangement of intelligence irom all parts of the world into a business and a science, ‘The HERALD is the dally confessional of mankind. It gives us what it sap- poses to be facts, and leaves us to draw our con- clusions, Some of its editorials are admired, Mr, Bennett made the newspaper an tnatitution, Mr. Greeley made the American journal. The Zribune contains news, but it has always been the vehicle of opinion—tbe organ through which a man of immense personal force and intense per- sonal conviction has found utterance. BLEECKER STREET UNIVERSALIST CHURCH, A Lesson from Horace Greelcy’s Life Patience in Well Doing=—The Good Alone are Great—Discourse by Rev. Ey C. Sweetser, The Universalist church corner of Bleecker and Downing streets was tolerably crowded vesteraay at the morning service by an appreciative congre- gation. The Rev, E. C, Sweetser preached an effective discourse on the subject, “Patience in Well Doing,” which he looked upon as the hidden motto ot the great journalist whose late demise was so universally felt, and, furthermore, stated that the whole gist of his discourse would be A LESSON LED FROM HORACE GREELBY’S LIFE, The reverend gentleman chose iis text from St. Paul’s Epistie to the Galatians vi., 9—“Let us not be weary in well doing, for in due season we shall reap if we faint not.” He then commenced by Stating that St. Paul always aimed at real objects, und never wasted words in beating against the air, and the text chosen was an example of his simple and direct style. WEARINESS IN WELL DOING isa prevalent evil and a great hindrance to the progress of the truth, One man who becomes weary in well doing is harder for Christ to deal with than three men who never have done weil at all, A raw recruit is better than a trained de- serter. There are two causes which make men become weary of well doing, First, an increase of worldli- ness entering into a man’s heart and crowding out his zeal for good works. Second, the frequency of disappointments which men meets with in doing | well. When they do good they expect some good to result immediately therefrom, and because no such good results are at once apparent they become discouraged and give up trying. Both of these causes are met by the principle expressed in the words, “Whatsoever @ man soweth that shall he reap.” St. Paul regards all moral actions as so much seed sown in the ground, He who sows the seed of selfishness shall reap a harvest of spirit- ual death, but he who sows for the spirit will of the spirit find everlasting life. No gcod deed is done in vain, The good man sows the seeds of love, which will spring up as rapide as Jonas’ gourd, giving him comiort as he tolls; but part of it is like the seed of the centur: plant, which will not even blossom for one hundred years, but it will biossom, and he who waits with patience for it shall enjoy it on the day thereof. Referring to the late lamented Horace Greeley the reverend lecturer went on to say that EVERY LIFE OF WELL DOING 18 FULLY REWARDED with an abundant harvest. Sometimes this har- vest is unseen by the world and only known to him who gathers it. Men live tn humble circumstances, doing good in unseen ways and gathering their sheaves in secret; but sometimes it happens that a man is given to us whose opportunities are more extensive, whose life is public, who sows before the eyes of all the world by virtue of the place he holds, and whose reap- ing ts @ thing of equal note; and when such a man sows for the Spirit day alter day and year after year, never growing weary in well doing, we ought Not to let the significance of such a life escape our notice. It is a providential opening through which ‘We can see, If we will, into HEAVENLY REALITIES. Such a life was the life of Horace Greeley, at whose funeral rites a nation has go lately mourned. His was emphatically a life of well doing from be- Funnies, toend, Not that he was a perfect man; e had his faults as others have, but the general spirit of his life was a spirit of luve for his fellow man. He @ good man; he wished to do good and as he had the re nobel A he did good to all men. In all that he undertook BE AIMED TO BENEFIT HUMANITY. Personal motives sometimes may have been mingled with his main desire; no doubt they were; it could hardly have been otherwise; but ambition is laudable when it is subordinated to a desire to accomplish good, and this was Mr. Gree- ley’s main desire from the time when he reached this city, & Iriendless boy, to the day when he was carried out of tt through lines of mourners which extended tor miles along the streets, forming in all a most affecting spectacle of human sympathy. His paper he made an organ of good, or at least of what he believed to be good, and, though some- times mistaken, he was commouly right. He Made also his voice @ messenger of good, bringing pressor, of knowledge to the ignorant, of advice to the erring, of pity to the penitent and of recon- ciliation to the long estranged. He made ene hand a frequent almoner of geod, while the other was engaged tn the drudgery of the daily toll which he so faithfully performed, ' BX PID NOK GROW Wray in Well doing, bat rather increased his endeavors to benefit is fellow men, AS the day of his lile was | Well nigh spent, and he felt that the aight w | @pproacking in which moO man can work ly below. ‘The position which Mr, Greeley filled made him peculiarly liable to the first danger spoken of— bamely, the temptations to use his opportunities for Ul aggrandizement, rather than for the poblic weals aud aa for whe Aegoud one, ivds Well tidings of freedom to the slave, of woe to the op- | | pentance there was forgiveness. known he was oftener duped and bet: by those whom he assisted than any other public man. He had a large experience of ingratitude. He knew the baser side of human nature from long contact with it, and yet BE NEVER LOST HIS FAITH IN GOD orhis faith in man. Cheated once, twice, thrice and again, he continued to do good as before, trusting in God to reward his labors, and they are rewarded, He has reaped bis harvest. What that harvest isIneed not say. It is apparent to all Horace Greeley is richer to-day, immeasurably s0, than if he had lived a selfish lile and were still on the earth revelling in material comiorts and fillin the throne ofa king. Even in his death he tri- umphed, He dicd, it is true, tn a tragical way. His life was like @ tropical day which had no twilight, It burned in all its power and pristine glory up to the time when it Praag d went out in the night of death. We were net looking for such anend. It startied us and shocked us, and yet it was A GLORIOUS DEATH, for out ofthe very gloom that surrounded it there came a ray of heavenly light, which was worth all the anguish, all the heart-break, all the bitter dis- appointments, all the shattered merves and ruined system, worth all and more, “I know that my Re- jeemer liveth.” Ah! my friends, itisa great thing to have said that at such a time and in such a state. When a man dies on a bed of ease, with his mental facul- ties unimpaired, looking Goer into heavenly r realities, with nothing to disturb his seul or dis- tract bis theughts from sacred things, it 18 com- paracty, @ smali thing for him to say, “I now my Redeemer liveth.” It does not evince a great deal of faith, but bears witness toa radiant vision, But when @ man dics OF A BROKEN HEART, with bis mental faculties obscured und everything looking dark around him, and still holds on to his trast {a God, and from the depths of his dejection, cries aloud, “I know that my Redeemer liveth,” that fs taith, that is victory. The reverend preacher then brought bis dis- course to a close in the following manner :— I would rather die as Horace Greeley dicd, and have such obsequies as his, than to live in the greatest sory state for one hundred years and then be buried like one of the old Egyptian kings, with a pyramid above my head. Let me die the death of the righteous; let my monument be the affections of my fellow men, and let my epitaph be simply that which Mr, Greeley’s well might be— el of humanity, who spent his life in doing goo THE SECOND STREET M, E, CHURCH, Greeley—Sermon by the Rev. t Henry Aston. The Rev. Henry Aston, of the Second street Methodist Episcopal church (near avenue C), took his text last night from Job xix., 25:—“I know that my Redeemer liveth.” He said just so soon and wherever the tidings were received that Horace Greeley was dead the heart of humanity was sur- charged with grief, and the tongue of the eloquent and the pen of the ready writer sent forth their utterances of sorrow and praise. ‘This whole uation, represented in all its departments, from the President down to the humblest citizen, bowed in reverent homage to the memory and in the presence of this illustrious dead, Amid this out- burst of national praise shall we not pause to select some salient points from lis history for our emulation ? Horace HIS SELF-RELIANCE. We all can learn from the life of Horace Greeley the lesson of self-reliant energy. The son of a poor New Hampshire farmer, with a scant education, he came to New York and started a news- paper, failed and fatied, until by his persistent en- ergy he gained the apex of journalistic fame and, dying, brought the entire civilized world to mourn his logs and bow to do him honor. Young men, let his example inspire you with the same sturdy, self- Teliant spirit, There is a law, xed, unalterable, like that of the Medes and Persians, that man is Placed in this world to work out his own destiny, both for time and eternity. Young men, you are calied upon in the presence of such a life to cast aside and trample under foot a weak, vacillating spirit and to cultivate a bold, pana energetic principle of selt-reliance, and you will eu reach the goal of honor aud competency. reeley was in this respect like Luther, who begged crusts of bread in the streets when a boy; like Whitefela, who, when a boy, earned his living as a bootblack; like Bunyan, the tinker, who cried in the strects, *Ketties tomend;’ like Mr. Carey, the poor cob- bier, and aiterwards the famous missionary in India and translator of the Bible; like Wellington, like Lincoln, like Grant. Greeley is worthy to rank with these master minds in’ respect to this noble | spirit of self-reliance. Greeley evolving \rom pov- erty and obscurity without the prestige of wealth, high birth, friends or academic honors, and making circumstances bend to his will, climbing the Alpine mountain of honor until success crowned his en- ‘deavor, and he stood confessed one of the greatest in journalistic fame, and died covered with honor greater than can be won by the Presidency of this glorious Kepublic, HIS MORAT. HEROISM, Moral heroism in honesty, sobriety, patriotism and humanity are other traits of the great man’s character, A heroism under the whirlwind of maddening excitement of the fire, smoke, blood and carnage of the battle field passes away a8 a shadow before the sublimity of a moral heroism, inspiring its sub- ject to do and dare for God and humanit: , Sorming the resolve in the calm, quiet seclusion of the cloister or study, The principles of high-toned morality were embedded in his nature, hence not forced or spasmodic, and as they moved on fathered strength and momentum, moulding, ening and inspiring the nation for the time when itmust strike off the shackles of slavery or go under, The nation is indebted to Mr. Greeley and his Tribune under God more than to any one man or force for educating the people and creating the moral sentiment which pressed Mr. Lincoln to si the prociamatiou of ireedom. He not only crushed slavery, but he also boldy denounced in- temperance, dishonesty and dens of infamy. He bas stood by the poor to bless and better their con- dition; in a word, he was eminently a Samaritan, a moral hero, HIS IMPRESSIVE DEATH. He was not elected to the White House because there was a good man already in it ahead of him, and because many great men have been spoiled when transferred to positions outside of their nat- ural sphere. And now, my young irtends, learn this lesson—that in all our defeats and conflicts and triumphs we need a divine helper. Hence in his last hours he turns from all to God and ex- claims, ‘I know that my Redeemer liveth!” What sublimer words could be given toa mortal in the midst of earth’s desolations, in the shadow of death, on the verge of eternity! A week ago yesterday morning as we opened our paper to scan the news the first sentence we read was, “Horace Greeley is dead.” The paper dropped, the heart was fs gah and the soul bowed in grief. But how glad were we to read that he returned to consciousness and strength to say most clearly and impressively, “I know that my Redeemer liveth,” and again fell into a stupor and soon after breathed his lai In conclusion, learn from this impressive death—first, the uncertainty of lite; second, the insuficiency of atl earthly things to meet the demands of our complex na- ture, and third, the importance of @ preparation for the future. LYRIC HALL. Murder and Hanging—Degrees of Urime— The Proper Degrees of Punishment— Discourse by Rev. O. B. Frothingham. Each succeeding Sabbath, it matters very little what the weather is, finds the same large attend- ance at Lyric Hall, opposite Reservoir square, on Sixth avenue, to listen to the preaching of Rev. 0. B. Frothingbam. The large hall was well filled yesterday morning. The subject of the discourse was “Murder and Hanging.” Within the past week, he began, there had been TWO MEN HUNG, one in Washington, the seat of our national gov" ernment, and the other nearer to us, in Brooklyn, Crime was notoriously prevalent in the community, The prisons were filled with men accused of mur- der, These facts served to make the theme of his present discourse one of great solemnity. ‘The air was full of wild fury springing from wild winds in wild revels—littie philosophy, ttle judgment, less knowledge, A strange leniency had taken the Place of the ancient theory. A softness, a compas- sion, @ sympathy, a feeling which makes smal moment of the offence, but is all sympathetic for the offender, is now all prevalent. Many consider this in accordance with the teachings of the New Testament. REPENTANCE ON THE GALLOWS was deemed sincere. Where there was true re- he referred to the instances of forgiveness by Christ as recorded in the New Testament, Jesus was lenient and forgiy- ng; and yet from the burn ng of this same Jesus there poured forth the most bitter and scathing anathemas of the hypocritical Jews. All through the New Testament there runs the same strain of Moral fidelity. After instancing in St. Paul's episties the same teachings as those of Jesus Ubrist, he insisted that here was the basis of EXCOMMUNICATION practised among the early Christia very interesting account, in this connection, of the degrees of offences and their respective penal- ties, To give the excommunicated one a roof to Pasa him from the storm, a piece of bread to cep away starvation, a cup of water to relieve his thirst were unpardonable crimes, Such a one was hounded about from pjace to place, and finally driven to live like wild beasts im the foresta, Occa- He gave a! A | anation, ‘fhe Bible must go out of the kb sionally one would fly farther away and live down the cries against him. As early as the fourth century excommunication is pronouneed not only ‘upon violators of the civil law but upon violators of the ecclesiastical Not murderers and thieves were pun- ished, but heretics, Men powerful through their wealth it violate any civil law and they were 8: ut let them violate some law 1 the Pope and the ban of excommunication was Pronounced against them. No one cared for ex- communication now, but underlying is was & thought. This thought is, WHAT IS CRIMEY A man may be @ criminal in law who has done no deed for which his conscience accuses him. The bar before which he stands is not the bar of con- science, but he is tried for violating some statutory enactment. Well they might ask, What is crime / Society makes every Man what he is. A man is charged with crime and put in prison. He is se- questered for a time. This is not all; he is made to work. This man is a hero, @ {clon, a bore. Society cannot do too mach to uscertain whether @ man is worthy of being returned to its com- panionship. Suppose the man to be so perverted, so abandoned, so mixed up with foreign ingre- dients that nothing can be done for him. ‘Then the excommunication 1s longer. He is a CHILD OF THE PUBLIC, He is well taken care of. If he gues through bis routine of work and does not rebel, he gets ulong very well. He is sure of his support. tie is sure he will not be maltreated. He feels no hunger, he suffers no more repulses, and at length he comes to love his life. He becomes dehumanized. Here it is our present system of prison discipline breaks down. Imprisonment for life isa safety. This is arefuge. This is a palace. The principle of excom- munication is universal, There are parties aud cliques from which others are excluded. This rinciple prevails in the professions, It can prevail in States, Benedict Arnold suffered excommunt- cation, He was aman without a country, After he shot Alexander Hamilton he was a proscribed man. If the time ever comes when dunces are prohibited sitting on juries, when pettifoggers are hot allowed to practice at the bar, when mstead of the present maudlin sentiment against wrong, there is a strong, earnest (eeling against evil dving, then will come the chance of the criminal coming into soclety and seeing what he can do, Until then we must submit to the present pind of justice, Death has no punipiimiank, It took away the power of punishment. Men are hung, not because they @re hated, but because their lo! riliving is con- sidered dangerous to society, ere Was no CX- cuse for the present HORRORS OF HANGING, the prisoner, the priests, the reporters taking notes of the dying man’s agontes, There was no reason why the public should know anything about it. The prisoner need not know it, Let him be cut of by w silent deadly drug. Let there be no priests about to harrow up his soul. A disgruce to civilization was the present method of hanging. Such was the scene enacted on last Friday in Brooklyn. Such hanging did no good, It was not reformatory. It was simply vindictive. And yet he did not advo- cate less severe panisiment of crime. He would lake the penalties even more severe, the eyes THIRD REFORMED PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH, The Bible in the Common Schoolsa— Superintendent Weavers Decision Critically Examined by the Rev. D. McAllister—A Strong Argument. Yesterday morning in the Third Presbyterian church in Twenty-third street the Rev. D. McAl- lister preached a learned sermon on the institution of Sunday in place of the Jewish Sabbath, In the evening he spoke at length of the decision of Su- perintendent Weaver regarding the use of the Bible in the public schools, and ne made a very powerlul argument on his side of the question, His text was admirably taken from Deuteronomy vi., 6, 7—"These words which I command thee this day shail be in thine heart, and thou shall teach them diligently to thy children.” He said:—the question raised is twofold. It is a question of legal- ity and a question of right. The text, with other portions of Scripture, enjoins the duty of State education in the precepts of the divine law. The preceding context gives the moral law of the Ten Commandments. The command then follows, addressed not only to heads of families, but to the Israelitish nation asa nation, “Teach these words diligently to thy children,” Here is the nation’s duty, and as there is no duty without its right, and no right without its duty, here is the national right to the use of the divine word, SEVERAL SOLUTIONS IN THE WAY OF COMPROMISE are proposed, such as separate religious instruc- tions, religious instructions and exercises outside of regular hours, But the question narrows itself down at last to this:—Have the Bible and the tun- damental, unsectarian principles of Christianity any proper place in the common schools public school education be completely secularized ? in answering this he remarked. that. THE VERY NATURE OF RDUCATION required the use of the Bible ahd religion. Educa- tion is the development of all the faculties of a child, All lexicographers agree here. ‘Webster's Dictionary’’ says, ‘Education ts properly to draw forth, and implies nut 60 much the communication of knowledge as the discipline of the intellect, the establishment of the principles and the regulation of the heart.’ If tne State undertakes this work it cannot dispense with the Bfblc. Hence the fact that the cnild has a moral and religious nature de- beri’ a place in common schools for the Bible and religion. It is said by many opponents of the Bivle in com- mon schools, We have no objection to religious in- struction in itself, but an objection to such inatruc- tion by tae State. But if the State finds that the children whose moral and religious instruction is neglected are the very ones that fill her reforma- tory institutions and grow up to fill her jails, and that there are tens of thousands of such whom no private or Saboath school e@orts can reach, shall she be debarred from doing what alone will meet the requirements of the case? Ifthe State has the right to use the Bible and the great principles of the Christian religion in her reformatories as @ remedial measure, who shall deny her right to use the same means (or preyent- ing crime? SECULAR CONSTRUCTION practically leads to infidel and atheistic instruc- tion, atis not so meant by _, They seem to think there is neutral ground, jut there is not. Mr. Beecher says that our common schools do not teach agriculture, but they are not therefore anti- agricultural; 80 if they do not use the Bible and religion they are not therefore hostile to the Bible and religion. But this is a fallacy of not suficiently careful thinking. Agriculture is an interest spe- cially ofa few. It is not common to the whole peo- ple, and therefore has no proper place in common schools. A knowledge of agriculture is not needed by the merchant or the mechanic. But instruction in the Bubie and religion is needed by ail. And if the State teaches at all she must be for or against them. All truths are related. Truth is a unit, If the State teaches astronomy and takes that branch of knowledge out of its true relations to God as Cre- ator and Upholder of the world; if it tells its scholars of suns and systems, ‘and dare not tell who made them, it is hostile in its instructions to the Bible and Christianity. So if in the simplest reading lesson it defines words such as “wrong,”’ ‘Just,’ “right,” it must have some ethical stand- ard. If it takes Webster, he defines “right” to be “according to the will of God.’ His Dictionary is full of the Bible and the Christian religion, and whoever favors the expulsion of the Bible on the ground that State education must be made purely secular, must logically favor also the expulsion of Webster's Dictionary, Every word of ethical mean- ing is defined according to the standard of the Christian religion. And now as to the legality of the Bible In our schools. Superintendent Weaver affirms that there is no legal basis for its use in what is properly the system Of the State. Let us see A LITTLE OF HISTORY, In_1805 was passed the law of incorporation of the Free School Society of the city of New York. The success of this was one of the strongest tncen- tives to the Legisiature to oe ie an for free schools throughout the State. The same kind of schools were desired for all the children of the Commonwealth. In the first address to the public by the founders of the city schools it is stated that @ primary object would be the inculcation of the sublime truths of morality and religion contained in the Holy Scriptures, while there would be noth- ing denominational or sectarian. vernor George Clinton, in 1802; Governor Lewis, in 1804, and Governor ‘tom kins, in 1810, all urged the establishment of State schools for the inculcation of correct rinciples and habits of morality and religion. In 1811, at Governor Tompkins’ urgent solicita- tion, five Commissioners were appointed by the Legislature to report a system for the or- ganization of common schools, After stating their pian in their report they ee 1—This appears to be the best plan thatcan be devised to eliminate re- ligion and learning throughout the country.” It need not be added that thoir plan found place for the Bible ; and now TY YEARS FOR SIXTY YE. the Bible has been legally used, What is the rea- son for Gneaen Wot ’ The truth is just here. Itis maintained by many that the theory of gov- ernment to be carried out is, government has nothing todo with religion. Therefore the Bible and religion must be thrown out of ail our puolic schools, But, as has been seen, if government teaches at all; if it instructs children in astron- omy, definitions of words, and particularly in his- tory, it must touch religion, Government has to do with religion in any Me he as mat- ter of fact. It has Sabbath jaws, Christian chaplains ior Congress, State Legislatures, the army, havy and miittia, and for prisons and as: iums, public days of fasting and thanksgiving. ahah it is urged again, all these, together with the Bible in th® BOHOO!s, are w the written constitution of the Unit States, the supreme compact by which we agree to govern ourselves a8 and everything in whieh government is connecte: wilh religion must be obliterated 80 as to make our actual iife as @ nation conform to the constitution. But true patriotism and genuine statesmanship ask, was the nation made jor the constitution or the constitution for the nation? The constitution is made for the nation as the Sabbath wad made for man, And if the issue comes, as Come Lt BeemA, , Or must | it must, Christian citizens most inatead of thrusting the Bible out of our commen te make them conform to the constitu we must insert an acknow-edgment of God and Bibte in ed Sonatien ton to make it conform to the common 10013. DB. CROSBY'S CHURCH. Progress of Missions in Atrica—Lecture by Dr. Pinney=! ley Sustained. Rev. Dr, Pinney, who has during the past forty Years visited Africa five times, lectured last even- ing in Dr. Crosby's church, corner of Fourth avenue and Twenty-second street, on the ‘Progress of Christian Missions tu Africa.” The church was uiled with @ highly intellectual audience, who lis- tened courseoualy to the rare treat that was pre- sented. Among those who were present was Mr. Henry M, Stanley, the distinguished African cx- plorer, who, in bord ge? with one or two literary celebrities, occupied ope of the back seats, The fact was unknown to the congregation and also to the lecturer, who was not introduced to Mr. Stanley until the conclusion of the discourse. A large map of Alrica was placed in the rear of the pulpit, to which frequent reference was made by Dr. Pinney, THE PROGKESS OF THE MISSIONS IN AFRICA for the past filty years was Srapbicalyy sketched, and the work done in Madagascar, Egypt, Zula, Cape of Good Hope, Gaooon, Zoraba, Liberia and Sierra Leone has traced. In concluding his lecture, Which was very lengthy, Dr. Pinney referred to Dr. Lavingatone and fave an account of the services he performed in the cause of Christianity in Alrica, reterring particularly to bis efforts for the Pare gerypem of the slave trade. In conclusion he sald, “1 bave been frequently asked the question “43 DR. LIVINGSTONE STILL ALIVE ?" and I unhesitatingly answer “Yes.” Then I am asked, “Do you think Mr. Stanley found him?" and to that Talso answer “Yes.” I could give you My reasons for both those betiefs, but the time is too far advanced. If 1 can get an audience to- enter on a week night Iwill give a discourse upon {rican dissoveries, and narrate what has been done in the ry of travel from the days of Mungo Park down to those of Livingstone ari Staniey. BROOKLYN CHURCHES. Kec Neel ole PLYMOUTH CHURCH. Mr. Beecher Preaches on the Council at Jerusalem and Compares It with the Recent Installation of the Rev. Geerge H. Hepworth—What This New Depar- ture in Church Councils Means. Mr. Beecher preached yesterday morning to a very large congregation, The subject of the ser- mon was suggested, he said, by the recent installa- tion of George H. Hepworth as pastor of the Church of the Disciples, and the text selected wag #® lengthy passage from Acts xxi., 17-26—“And when we were come to Jerusalem the brethren re- ceived us gladly. And the day following Paul went in with us unto James, and all the elders were Present, and when he saluted them he declared par- ticularly what things God hath wrought among the Gentiles by his ministry."" Mr. Beecher sald that he had selected this sub- Ject for his morning discourse because there ha@ been during the last week a council held in New York for the installation of the Rev. George H. Hepworth; and it resembled very much the council at Jerusalem. The council was called so that there might be given to Mr. Hepworth what might be called clearing papers to go forth in the churches, It would be well, perhaps, to describe what was meant by a council, Almost all ecclesiastical de- nominations had them. By the Presbyterians their conucils were Known as Presbyteries; by the Dutch Rejormers #8 Synods; in the Congregational churches a council was called informally of the neighboring churches, the distinctive congrega- tion recognizing it as a deliberate body only, and not as carrying With it any authority, THE COUNCIL THAT WAS CALLED IN NEW YORK was peculiar in this respect, that it was made up of ministers of varions denominations, namely, the Episcopal Church, the Methodist Church, the Pres- byterian Church, the Dutch Reformed Churen, the Baptist Church and the Cougregational churches. All these were represented in this council, Mr. echer named the representative clergy who were present, commenting upon their reputation for orthodoxy, and, alluding to their standiny in the Church, Mr. Beecher said that he well recollected the time when sucha thing as this would be impossible, He remembered the time when to see the minister of another denomination present was to make of him a target to shoot at, and when it was your duty to immediately show your accuracy by showing other people's inaccu- racy. There was a memorableness about this coun- cil, too, trom the place in which it was held. It was held in the old Brick church, or the old church in a new brick—a church that had been made mem- orable by the ministrations Dr. Gardiner Spring. Then Mr. Beecher inquired who this man. was whose orthodoxy was endorsed. It was George Hepworth, a man born in New England of NITARIAN PARENTS, and who had been pastor of the Church of the Mea siah, and had left it jor the Congregational Church, There was also another remarkable circumstance a little remote from the immediate occasion, and it was this, that Mr. Henry Powers, formeriy &Uon- gregational minister in eee was now the hae of the church that Mr. Hepworth had leit. ‘here was much significance in that, but it could only be hinted at and not commented Mr. Hepworth, when he was examined as to his faith at the council—Mr. Beecher said he had been told by those who were present—did not give, lor he was not asked for it, a dry, clear, shar) statement of his theological views, but he did te! them of his own experience, of the development of that growth of grace in his soul, that ail these ex- aminers knew to be their own experience and that should be the experience of all men who preach the gospel. All tnis was given, not ina dogmatical form, but with great freedom and sim- plicity. Mr. Hepworth was accepted by this coun- cil with ah cordiality and unanimity, voted toa seat with them, and “ad made good his purifica- tion, and the occasion was shown to bea very blessed one. Now what was the inference of alt this? Well, first the growth, under Divine Provi- dence, of the spirit of charity, rather than the spirit of repulsion, Second, THE GROUNDS on which this candidate was accepted were not on views of theology, except that all theology lies under all feeling. The counsel required just what the counsel required of Paul, namely—was this man moved towards God by the same spirit that we were? The unanimity of the council was re- markable, because they did not give up their views of theology. Mr. Hepworth’s experience, given in that mild, amber light of thought, did not prevent Dr. McCosh trom requiring from himself @ clear-cut, sharp, outlined form offaith., The old and new the- ology claimed its own right of assertion, but still they voted for this man, though his sweep of theolo- gy did not probably jump within the range of ang one of them. Mr. Beecher said that he should consider a council that came together that said or thought that it did not matter what you believed @ very dangerous council. Every man who has. the faculty of thinking clearly and sharply ought to define his faith and have a creed. But what was needful was that when such men came together my should hold their truth in love and preserve their own faith to their own conscience. The concluding sentences of the discourse was & Pperoration on the advance of Christianity and the ultimate restoration and salvation of mankind, NEW UNITARIAN CHAPEL Sermon by the Rev. Dr. Chadwick—Hor- ace Greeley—The Lessons Taught by His Life—A Touching Tribute to the Memory of the Dead Philosopher. A large and fashionable congregation assembled in the new Unitarian chapel, corner Clinton and Congress streets, Brooklyn, yesterday forenoon, it having been announced that the Rev. Dr. Chad- wick would preach upon “Lessons From the Life of Horace Greeley,” The reading desk was draped in mourning and covered with flowers, @ cross of tube roses being in front. At the conclusion of the usual exercises, which included the beautiful an- them, “Angels Ever Bright and Fair,” admirabiy rendered by the soprano of the choir, Dr. Chadwick sald he would take his text from Acts, if., 29:— “Brethren, let me freely speak unto you of the pa- triarch that is dead.” The preacher commenced his discourse by allud- ing to THE VAST EXHIBITION OF SYMPATIY that had manifested itself in regard to Mr. Groe ley'’s sudden demise, especially among those who were opposed to him in politics. This was # com ciusive proof that it was not the man, but the cause which they mistrusted. The apothegm, “De mortuts nil nist bonum,” had been fully acted up to in this present case, In life the dead philoso- pher was blackened and defamed, His detamers live yet, but they now combine to applaud the merits of the man whom, when he was alive, they loved to villify. The question naturally arose whether it would not be better to sacrifice parti- ganship than blacken the character of p good man, though an opponent. dhe late Mr, had beea hits i 6 character fearfully assailed; he could not breathe this sti fnng air of slander; his nature Was too tne, and the iron entered tuto his goal. ii will he tong be- fore there is such avother heart as iis tu wouad, and it would be well for all to practise virtue until that time arrives. vk Went On bo speuk of the vast changes among nations dirty the last the wonderful march of progress and tue pert with Which things are recognized vy ua. It seems to us 48 nothing new, but our chiluren®) children will read and think that these were gread, CONTINUED ON NINTH PAGE.