The New York Herald Newspaper, November 10, 1873, Page 8

THE NARROW PATH The Panic and the Kin#i of Piety That Will Give Greatert Benefit to Rich and Poor. Wise. Ecoeomy ‘for Women Who Wish to Alle- viate the Commnon Condition of Wreck. More of the Deity and Less of Deviltry Wanted in Business. LYRIC HALL ‘The Rev. O. B. Frothingham on the Dutier Which the Panic Has Imposed Upom Us—Words of Wisdom For and Abort the Ladies. In Lanic Hall, yesterday, the Rey. 0. B. Frothing- ham preached to a large and fashionable congrega- tion, on “The Good Soldier.” The introductory sentences of the sermon ex- plained that in allliterature, not excluding Holy Writ, an inclinatton was displayed by writers to be military in their methaphors. Paul, especially, ‘was fond of bringing military figures to aid him in his explanations. Pani’s weakness for forcible martial figure is easily explained when one considers the circumstances with which he was surrounded when in Rome. Tbe reverberations of the clash of arms were forever ringing in his ears, and although he was a man of peace he became affected by the usages of those whom he met every day, A snort time since, said the preacher, I attended a peace congress, and although all its members were men who meant what they said regarding peace, they evinced a very warlike spirit in thetr denunctation of war and its votaries, They gesticulatea and fought the imaginary enemy with all THE VIGOR OF TROJANS. It matters not how we may in theory preach against war, we all in our hearts love and admire the man who is ready to do battle for a cause. The martial hero is and always will be admired if not adored. The school Miss, lounging on her elegantly upholstered sofa, gloats w.th a romantic greed over the story of “Grace Darling,” who went out to sea im her sinall boat to save shipwrecked mariners. She who runs into the house when it storms and loves to sit near the blazing hearth when the storm wind howls without, would never do as Grace Dowling did, and still she loves the story, The schoolboy loves to read and glories in alee the tale of Casabianca. He would never stan upon the burning deck till all but he had ded,” ‘and yet he admires the boy who calied in vain to his father for relief. Tuis en cory to love the brave is universal, and 1am almost confident that the late panic and the wretched results whicn seem lia dug of joy to any man or woman in New York, This may seem a paradox; but when we consider this field that the poverty and suffering which 1s ually settling on the city affords for true hristian heroism we must acknowledge that we should be thankrul to God for this most favorable opportunity to do good. We can learn a profitable lesson irom it by trying to curtail our expensive habits and limit our pleasures. We cau dispense ‘with a plurality of horses, and, with benefit to the ead cancel a few of our engaments, or rather in- ntions, of going to the Opera or theatre. It is strange that people should always be at cross-pur- poses with Providence. Our orthodox brethern Who assume and state with much positiveness that they know the Divine intention in doing certain ‘things, are inclined to look upon the late panic ua @ visitation for the sins of the past. The scientific man cails it A STREAM OF TENDENCY, ‘while others, who are slightly non-committal, call 4 an espectal dispensation. It may be all these, but it certainly 1s a divine opportunity for us to develop the gold within us. Itis tne loud clarion call that wakes us from our apathy tobe up and doing. Since the war ceased the web of Pleasure, which is ever saturated with @ deadly and insidious morphia, has been tightening around us, producing utter moral inaction. We are not inclined to move unless Pleasure holds out before us the mirror of enjoy- ment, or Paip, with her scorpion whips, strikes us from behind. Illness is the inseparable con- comitant of wealth. A Boston doctor has lately discovered that the cause of 80 many New England ris being ill is that they study too much, in joston that may be as true and good as Gospel, but in New York it would never do. The cause of s0 many New York girls being sick is that they don’t study at ali or do anything else that 1s use- ful. They are not satisfied with letting themselves ran down, they must accelerate the downward movemen:. Ladies attach to the extremity of their spines a huge and awiul bundle of stuf, by way of looking gracétul, and to the back of their heads they append an excrescent capillary mass TO COMPENSATE FOR NATURE'S POVERTY, or exaggerate her bounty. The women of the up- per classes of society have hearts, but nothing to do with them; they have heads with nothing in them, and the knowledge of this settles and rots on the surface of their beings. This inaction is the chila of wealth and is self-ied. In afiuence we are inclined to lorget adversity. As one looks fora long time on a single color he sees nothing; as one hears the same strain of music for a length of time his ears hear no sound. So also is it with one who is in continued sunshine, he not only forgets what shade is, but does not realize sunshine, and his ex- istence is utter blankness. Let us not try and shirk the duty which now evolves upon us w help the poor, but let us face it like true philanthropists, and we will be better Men and better women. BEEKMAN HILL METHODIST OHUROH., The Panic and Its Lessons—The Rev. W. C. Steel on Corruption, OUstenta- tion, Luxury, Reckless Speculation, Fast Men and Women. The above named edifice, which {s situated in Fiftieth street, near Second avenue, was attended last evening by an andience respectable and deeply attentive, though undeservedly sparse, as the ser- Vices were of a very interesting character. The exercises were opened with the renaition, by tne choir, of a hymn well suited to the subject of the evening’s thoughts. The music was especially appropriate to ihe sentiments embodied in the words of the sacred lyric, and the mem- bers of the choir gave expression thereto, a8 well as to the other hymps on the programme, with very creditable effect. The pastor of the church, the Rev, W. C, Steel, then came forward and offered a prayer in which he besoaght the Lord to come down and comfort all those upon whom temporary disaster has fallen and to extend His mercy to the men who precipitated the recent calamities. He earnestly hoped that their brothers in their future dealings would imitate the example of Jesus, making justice and piety and love the basis of their transactions. He then exhorted the Seneregstion to join in singing the apropos hymn, @ Mercy Seat,” comm pe y t, encing with the following From every stormy wind that blows, From every swelling tide of woes, ‘There ts a calm and sure retreat; Mi *Tis found beneatl the mercy seat. @ reverend gentleman then took his text from the twenty-first chapter of Jobn and fifth verse:—"And Jesus said to them, ‘Have you any meat?’ and they answered Him 'No.’” The text had @ meaning very appropriate to the present state of suffering, inasmuch as it illustrated the mpatby of Jesus with the sufferings of men. ven weeks ago an era of monetary suffering ‘Was begun, which is now casting its dark shadow over the entire land. Twice already has similar ca- tastrophes befalien us, though tue country was for- merly worse prepared to suffer than now. An unreasoning fear and an unreasonable distrust has come over the people. The wholesale dealer is unable to pay the manufacturer, and the latter disc! workmen. Men who owned whole townships have scarcely spare money enough to pay jor the morning paper. And what is ‘worse still, men seem to imagine that their mone- tary affairs are Of paramount importance. What ‘was the cause of all this? The immediate cause waa, of course, the lack of confidence in railroad i stocks and securiues. We have ake TOO MANY RAILROADS for our capital. Sixty thousand miles of railroads, costing $3,000,000,000! Forty per cent of this isin the Shape of bonds and securitiés, on which $100,000,000 must avnually be paid as interest. We could not pay this, and the result is that laborers are being discharged wholesale. In Philadelphia there are 36,000 men out of Oe dion 4 in Paterson 1,000 men have been discharged from the locomotive ahops. But apart from the immediate cause of the panic we can see another cause when We jook at the dishonesty of men holding the highest offices, the corruption of raliroad ngs and riggs, the Credit Mobiller frauds, the Purchase of grave Senators and Congressmen by Failroad men, A reckless spirit of money Ler 4 and extravagance has contributed to bri bou the panic. Stock buying and selling Stock betting and gambling is wrong au Anyites & panic. Now it Js the dnty of preachers bad time to take up the sing of the hour and en- eavor vo turn men aside from these evils, The frst ‘eat lesson taught us by this 1s iy le Retrenenment is the h neat wisdom. Letus have 88 coiruption iy PIACCE, Jed Catcntapion, ment to follow it have not caused a feel- | 3 Jewelry, Tens Jess extra oem Grows leas OSpemsive winch, ont FEWER PAST WOMEN, fewer fast men and more fasting before the Lord. How Restos there are who are kept from coming to church because they cannot wear the dress which is to be seen on regular churchgoers! No ecragade should be preached against good taste, but against bad taste. While We dress iet- us remember the condition of them who have nothing to puton, Let us consider the poor man Lazarus instead of following the ex- ample of Dives, In the coming winter let us look to he wants of THE SUFFERING POOR, I¢ will not be dificult forus to do this. We have more grain and more monas than we need, ae jand has paid forty-two millions to us for grain in nine months. For the first time in the history of our country the balance of trade 1s in our favor. Currency is © uniform value throughout the land, The panic i» over. It is our duty, therelore, to cheer our fellow men and counteract the evil re- oe circulated by wicked and designing men, t us come back to first principles, Let us trust in God and bring Christ into the counting rooms, In many old market towns of Europe there is @ cross erected to remind the people that in their dealings they must re- member Ohrist, Don’t fret for fret never pays, Trust in God. It is along lane that has no turning. The same Christ that came to the Apos- ties and cave them fire and meat when they were in need Will not fail to succor us in our afflictions if we confide in Him. Will we not confide in Him? Will we not fast for the crimes that have lately been committed, even thongh we may not per- sonally have had any part in perpetrating them? If we do this, and give ourselves wholly God, we may expect relief at no distant day. The reverend gentleman concluded with a fervent pee, for relief of the suffering. He made a pro- found impression upon his hearers throughout his entire discourse. ST. STEPHEN'S ROMAN CATHOLIO CHURCH Aid for the Poer—An Encouraging Dis- course—The Heavenly Home that Awaits the Lowly—Sermun by the Rev. Father MeCready. As is usual at this season of the year a large congregation worshipped in this church yesterday morning, presenting an appearance of fashionabie attire fully up to all the requirements of the open- ing winter, The pleasant weather no doubt had much to do in developing the preparatory efforts jor such @ display of the novelties of the season, apart from the fact that itis much easier to pray when feeling comfortably than when the mind is laboring under depressing diMiculties, So much is due to music as an aid to arousing a religious spirit that the music at a high mass may be con- sidered as & most important external part of the service, and at this church yesterday the music of the mass must have proved of no small assistance in ducing a blissful state of soul, ‘Whe mass sung was Rossi’s in D minor, the “Sanc- tus” being the work of Danforth, the organist of the church. The offertory piece was a pastoral from a sonata by Moderni, which was excellently given by the organist, and after the elevation a “Benedictus” was well sung by Signor Colletti ana Miss Munier. The vespers in the afternoon, a ser- vice which draws large crowds from all parts of the city to this church, were Asiolis. AN APPEAL FOR THE POOR. The high mass was celebrated by the Rev. Father Power, and after the first gospel the Rev. Father McCready ascended the pulpit, but before preach- ing the usual sermon he announced that during next week an effort would be made to relieve the reat distress which seemed likely to fall upon the poorer classes of the city, owing to the present troubled state of busi- ness. He then announced that that evening the Rev, J. L. Spaulding would lecture in St. Anne’s church, Twelith street, and that the Rev. Dr. Braun would lecture in Irving Hall—the former tor jor the poor of St, Anne’s parish and the latter for St. Elizabeth’s Hospital, Thirty-first street. It is also announced that on Thurs 2 next the annual festival in aid of the Roman Catholic orphan asy- lums of this city would be held in the Academy of Music, Father McCready, in a few pointed re- Marks, urged upon the congregation to lend all the aid they could to these charitable objects. At this season, and especially at such a dire crisis for the poor as the present, Christian hearts should not refuse sympathy to their brethrenin whose om Fess already ringing the cry of childrep for rea! THE SERMON, Father McCready then proceeded to read the gospel of the day, and then the epistle from which he took his text, Philippians in, 30:—The Church at all times and in all seasons di- rects her children to raise their thougnts from earth to heaven. Thus in the sursum corda of her daily mass she asks us to elevate our hearts and minds to the Lora, to turn from the attractions of earth, which are fata] to our true interests, and to contemplate with the eye of faith the pure joys and the endless bliss reserved for us in that coun- try of which we are the enrolled citizens. But at no time or season does she seem 80 urgently to de- mand our attention as in the interval between the Feast of All Saints and the anniversary of the com- ing of that Saviour God whom with such firm hope we are so cagerly looking for. Now she asks us to rejoice with those of our brethren who, having fought the good fight here, have gone to their eternal reward; agatu, in her compassion for her sufferiag children, she asks us to join her in supplication to the God and Father of all, that He would be graciously pleased, in view of the merits of His only Son, and the good works of the saints, His children, to shorten the period of separation for those departed souls who are yet detainea from the society of their bretnren in glory. Now she arouses us from our spiritual sleep by recounting for us the thunders and the terrors which are to usher in and to follow the day of eternal dgom; and again, after a little while, she invites us to salute with. truly grateful and joyous hearts that infant Saviour who has come to “reform the body of our lowness.” So with this object in view she selects the epistle read in the mass of to-day, and in contrast with those who are entirely devoted to the enjoyment of the apparentl: good things of this world, who fix all their thoughts and affections on earth and the things of eartn, she tells us that our conversation is or ought to be in heaven; that while the end of the former is distraction and their reward eternal misery, ours is, or ought to jebe, salvation and never ending Lee finn 3 by conversation is not meant here what is ordinarily understood by that word. It means our manner of living, our general conduct, our ordinary rela- tions in iife. As Uhristians, our mode of life ought to be in keeping with our professions; as enrolled citizens of heaven, we ought to look forward to our rights and privileges in that biessed country, regarding ourselves as aliens ha\ no perma- nent resting place until we shall have been brought safe from the desert wilderness of this world into that promised jand, with whose fulness we shall be enriched, and which the Lord has promised He shall give us to wherit. It is then our duty and our privilege to raise our minds and hearts to the contemplation of our heaveniy home, Whatever our jot in the land of exile may be, will it not be profitable to look beyond? If we enjoy the good things of this world the contemplation of the infinitely better things of fhe next will teach us to remember that these are but earnests of the bounty of our Heavenly Father. If mediocrity, if poverty, or even destitu- tion, is ours, then blessed are the poor for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Take comfort, then, those who are poor, for your poverty and your misery shall give you @ still stronger claim on the bounty and compassion of your Father in heaven. The preacher then went on to ak of the joys which awaited those who were hfal to God in this life. Jn contrasting the earthly pleasures— fleeting and remorseful—with the evertasting joys in store for the just, he gave an eloquent descrip- tion of the kingdom which God has prepared tor those whose lives here below are passed in ob- servance of His commandments. CHUROH OF THE MESSIAH. The Model Philanthropist and the True Christian Man—Whe Are the Robbers of To-Day!—The Ty: y of Wealth— Sermon by the Rev. Henry Powers. The attendance at the Church of the Messiah, Park avenue and Thirty-fourth street, yesterday morning, was very gratifying. The pastor, the Rey. Henry Powers, selected as the theme of his dis- course ‘‘The Model Philanthropist and True Chris- tian Man,” as he is set before usin the parable of the good Samaritan—Loke, x., 25-37. Firstof all the pastor translated this parable into the language of to-day, not, as he said, with any thought of adding to its attractiveness or in- creasing its literary charms, as that was impossi- ble. The necessity for this new transla- tion lay in the fact that from its long time connection with the ritualism of the Church, and its employment for the illustration and enforcement of its peculiar ideas and methods, the words of this parable have become paralyzed, 80 lo Speak, and loaded with a meaning which is foreign to their original signification, and also to fae a ans oan of righteousness which the Master 10 His soul when # first, Besides, the Betts. oat this posable 4 wie DISTINCTIVELY ORIENTAL, and, therefore, its essential thought must pe sepa- rated from the garments in which it is clothed and enveloved before it can be commended to the sagoption of all in these last days. This translation Mr. Powers made in the clearest manner, Los pee a some of the points of the peo A most entertaining lai ec, aud con cluding the essential introduction of his theme as follows:—And when Jesus had finished this story He turned to the Jawyer and said, “This is my an- swer to your nN; and, How, which of these men was ni to hiin that fell among thieves?” ‘The man hung ee head and muttered, ‘The one 7 “And who was the | Patt eighbor!> “Why, of course, the per- 500 thas weovea ela,” “Yorr wel, won; do a ‘ NEW YORK HERALD, MOND the same t! yourself to those tna',need your help, and you will be sure to find the way to eternal life,”” Tn the second place, Mr. Pow'sfs said, we find the modern equivalents for these conditions and persons 80 a8 to be able to apprehend with dis- tinctness the moral of uae parable jor us. Letus inquire then, first, who, traveller stands for to-day, and who are \ae thieves that are robbing him’ The answer to both these questions 1s easy~-The certain man” that went down from Jerusalem to Jericho is THR AVERAGE MAN of the period; honest as the world goes; industri- ous and tolerably frugal; neither very rich nor very poor, and so neitifer a power nor a menace in the land, This man is dependent for his well- being upon the peace and stability of the social system. A disturbance of the currency or @ 8top- page of business and trade throws him into peed and brings the wolf to his door, e thieves of the present day are not the bandittt of the mountains, the wulgae Dick Turpins of the road. The time has gone by forthe robber barons of the Rhine and the Danube and the merry Robin Hoods of the wild wood to practice their vocation. Anobler and amore poweriul class of men has succeeded to their 48 is most fit in this age of universal progress, ‘The robber of to-day 1s the money king, the monopolist, the speculator, the man Who trades in values continually without adding himseif a mill unto them or regarding in the least the rights of owners, He is the defauster, the ring plunderer, the shoddy producer and the genuine believer in the thieves motto—“Every man for himself and the devil take the hindmost.” It is the battle between these giants, as they are represented in Wall street, that has filled the land with the killea and wounded. Itis because of the example which the rich and po have set for their poorer brethren to fol- ow, in respect to having and getting, working and stealing, saving and expending, regarding aud disregarding the trusts that have been reposed in them, that THIS PRESENT DISTRESS has come upon our land. The most dangerous class in our city is not that which is made up of the gaméns of the street, the sneak thieves and prostitutes and reprobates of all kinds and de- grees, but rather that which controls its business and its pelicion | which has intelligence and infu. ence to do or refrain from doing that which shall secure its Own supremacy simply, or, instead, the common weal. Now the trouble is that this class have, for a long time past, either consciously or unconsciously, pursued their own advantage, without stopping to consider what the effect would be upon others or even upon themselves In the long run, ‘The curious thing about the whole matter is that no one can injure another without injuring himself in at least an equal degree. If @ community would be pros- perous and happy it must take care of the weak and the deienceless within its borders. Our salva- tion, in all temporal as well ag spiritual things, de- pends upon tne salvation of the least and most degraded of our brethren, And so if there were no thieves of either ih or low degree there would be no wounded or men Jor us to help. But, inasmuch as tl are these THIEVES AND THEIR VICTIMS here among us to-day, a8 well as in ihe mountains of old Judea, the next question is, By whom shall they be cared for and how? “By the Church,” say many voices. But the Church cannot undertake the charge of.such charities, It should be done through the laws of trade and life, and when sque big institution, supported by charities, manufac- vures articles of trade under the prices which men in the same business cannot afford it is interfering with laws which should not be disturbed. We cannot have great ecclestastical mstitutions to render such charitable aid; it is impossible for them to do itaright. Every man should see that his business is of the right kind and that his influ- ence is exercised aright. He should not consecrate @ moiety only of his possessions to such ends, but all—not to give it to some big society, but see to the work himself, and in that way the end will be attained. The pastor did not want to be understood as Saying anything againgt riohes as such, or corpora- tions, or transactions in stocks that are genuine, It 18 the tyranny of wealtn that should be de- nounced, the soullessness oi at oda and the fictitious and gambling methods that prevail in Wall street. Wealth is a trust and not an abso- lute possession, He had his share in all the prop- erty of the city, and should, therefore, enjoy his percentage of its profits. When wealth is held ex- Clusively and corporations are controlied in the interests of their managers only, and stocks are bought and sold without the slightest regard to their ownership or inherent value, THEN ROBBERY 18 COMMITTED, and the common peopie are the immediate vic- tims. Of course, also, churches are not an evil and a hindrance in the land. They are, in & measure, and might be still more, the teachers of the people in all necessary things, the whisperers of their souls and the monitors of their lives, But when they incalcate that religion is something dis- tant and separate from the business and pleasures of life, that the Church has a peculiar and more sacred mission to perform in the world than any other organization, and that, therefore, sacrifice, according to its ideas and rituals, is better than Tighteousness—it is a perversion and a hindrance to the world’s progress in THE AVERAGE CHURCHMAN IS A PHARISEE— 4. @, @ separatist—throughout Christianity, and should be denouncea to-day as vehemently and as persistently as he was by Jesus in the time of the Scribes and Pharisee, as a hypocrite! The conclusion cannot, therelore, but be that it was something more than accident or caprice that prompted Jesus to choose a Samaritan for His example Of an ideal philanthropist and model Christian man. it was in spite of this Samaritan- ism that he did so, of course, but also it was be- cause He was not a Jewish lawyer. Jesus had no sympathy with this man’s special scepticism, for His declaration to the woman of sSam- aria at the well of Jacob was that “Salvation is of the Jews.” Nevertheless he re- cognized in him more than in any other the essence of that salvation, and in his promptly do- ing for an enemy all that he could. Such a man is a istian whether he be a church member or not, and his church membership is of value only so far as it develops these good qualities. Need it, there- fore, be added that what the times in which we live most lack and demand is such good Samaritans as was this one ? Not orthodox or liberal, not pietists Or men of offices, so much as simple minded and Jaithfal workers who will shrink from no sacrifice and call no one common or unclean. ST. PATRICK'S CATHEDRAL The Object of Man’s Creation—Sermon by the Rev. Father Daly. The weather, bright or inauspicious, has seldom any effect on the attendance at the Cathedral. It ‘was, as usual, crowded yesterday. The officiating clergyman was the Rev. Father McNamee, and, at the termination of the first gospel, the Rev, Father Daly, who is on a visit to this country from England, preached an instructive and eloquent sermon. He took his text from the 150th Psalm— “Praise the Lord,” &c. He dilated at length upon the great object of man’s creation, showing that he was placed in this world to know and love God and live with Him forever in the next. He lucidly pointed out how nature, reason and revelation proved the existence of the Almighty, and that having such evidence 0! His — the only question arose why God placed us here. It was to know Him, love Him and serve Him; and the more we knew Him the better we loved Him, for good service came from love. This end couid be best accomplish- ed by praising Him. Man was created to be with God in heaven; those In heaven praised and glori- fied Him. The Almighty had given us a voice to praise Him, and man should endeavor to practise here what he was to do in the next world, The reverend gentle. man concluded his discourse by advocating the necessity of prayer. Nothing conld be more com- plete or satisfactory than the choral arrangements at the Cathedral. Instead of encouraging in- dividual excellence, the commendable gim of tne director is evidently to render the ensemble as mop idly | gamebiond ie result 18 appreciated in he grand harmony that prevails, and not the least praiseworthy feature in the performance yester- day of Mr. Sclimitz’s mass in D major was the clear and correct pronunciation of the text, a pong ep te regarded elsewhere with indiffer- ence, The services terminated about half-past twelve o'clock. BROOKLYN CHURCHES. a PLYMOUTH CHUBOH, Sermon by Mr. Beccher om the Double Action in Man—The Keal and the Ideal—Plato and Aristotle=The I agination and Its UsesThe Use Abuse of Fiction Reading. Mr. Beecher preached yesterday morning, at Plymouth cbarch, to the usual crowded congrega- tion, & sermon of more than average power, on “The Double Action of Man.” He selected for his text the eighteenth verse of the fourth chapter of the Second Epistle of Corinthians—While we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen; for the things which are seen are temporal, but the things which are not seen are eternal.” The introduction to the sermon was Gn élaboration of the idea that the intellectual and the moral nature of man was @ later development than the physical, both in the individual and the collective man, The result of this order of development was that there had sprung up questions in the minds of men that could not be disposed of as the apostle had dis- posed of them. £very joy in man was clouded by the interposition of questions whicif men cannot solve, which no man can solve lor them, and which men rebuke others for asking, and which they say no Christian has any right to ask @ question about. Mr, Beecher then proceeded to a more minute con- sideration of ‘ $ THE PRACTICAL AND THE IDBAL, and sald that the relation of the ideal to the possi- ble and their relation to the imagination is of ‘Wabscendent impas} Everybody jn the world was AY NOVEMBER 10, 1873—TRIPLE SHEET, rescue arte | Re eeecees | wa for the ideal and Aristotle for the practical, The perfect man unites them both. It is wiser to say that a man should begin as an Ariatotelian and end as a Platonian than to begin as a Platonian and end as an Aristotelian, or, what is far better, to ena with one that is greater thgp either—Jesus Christ. The tendency and the method of God, you will observe, in the soul ts from the visible towards the invisible, ‘The relation of these truths to this experience have tor their view the perfection of the visible life, and & matter of very great importance. The larger wisdem consists inthe application of these higher and invisible qualities "which we have adduced from mere physical facts. The wisdom consists im binging back these invisible qualities here and incorporating them into life again. He is nota ainter Wio simply copies @ tree just as it was. (he photograph is not a work of art. But he is the true artist. who studies trees 80 as to bring his imagination to bear upon them, that there rises iis mind in bi AN IDEAL CONCEPTION. ‘This conception vanishes 11 it remains ideal, but If itis reduced to a visible form it then becomes valuaole. So the human soul may be compared te a womb into which things are born and out ol which comes real things, and thus principles return again to become facts,’ Thus the water of the ocean Is subject to evaporation, and when it has ascended and dissolved it comes into visible drops, and raina into the rivers, then to the seas, and the life of the ocean is dependent upon this visible vapor. This reiation of the outward life to the life that is hidden im the soul and the power of the in- | visible life to bring it vack again to an outward life is the continuous law of Christian clvillgation and the continuons law of all civilization, propose, then, to sketch a development of these tru! as connected with practical life. It throws, then, first, some light on those who are theorists or doc- trinaires upon religious life, or those who live to follow out great truths. Theories and principles are to be tested oy their relation to RACTICAL LIFE. As I have sometimes said life is the practical test of truth. Life becomes in an important sense a test of truth, We see also in the light of tiis truth the true character of the reverist. There | are many who suppose they are dwelling in re- ligious meditation, who are dwelling only in reverie, This is rather the imagination of man nising above facts, without any connection with them, and pheans themselves ‘into pictures and into stories. Hv who is @ reverist does not write novela, but he is @ novelist. ‘Then there are the meditationists, Meditation is the larger run- ning of the mind mull, It certainly does not do apy good to run a mill when there is no grist in it. There are thousands of ‘Pape who meditate who have nothing to meditate upon, Ninety-nine people out of every hundred cannot meditate upon anyching that is not visivle or on the work that isin their hand. Then in the nt of these views we may conceive of the position of the people called moralists, according to the common use of that term. The question is whether the man stand- ing on that ground of morality is trying to deccive himself. I don’t find fault with the form or the term of morality, but Isay that these men are slaves to fact, and that they have very little ideality. They have no ideality that rebukes them all the time, ‘phen ‘his question of ideality brings up the question of ~ = i Pend READING FICTIONS, If you take out of life the fictions, the legal fictions, the literary fictions, and what is there le!ty Nobody but those who have made this question of fiction a matter of investigation can realize how com- pletely it is the alphabet of life. Even science helps it. Look at the camera-obgcura, which takes the objects from the life upside down and has to supply the plates to put them right again. The block, too, on which are impressed the char- acters irom left to right, instead of from right to leit, The question comes, Is the use of fiction improper? I say it ts indispensable ; it is inevitable and necessary. If it were not right, then Jesus Christ is @ sinner above all men; for when all lit- erature is hs alee these pictures and parables of His, and notably that of the prodigal son, will stand 10 an everlasting brightness. the more we have or it the better. like saying, If it is good to take TWENTY DROPS OF PAREGORIC it is good to take a quart. (Laughter.) We are so ' to use it as to bring its lessons back again to prac- tical life, Irit does not do this then it is doing us harm, Mr. Beecher then reviewed the effect of religious emotion. He described the disparity olten seen between great and ecstatic professions of religious fervor and its outcome in daily life. He said it was common to say ol many of these that they were hypocrites, tis true that there are hypocrites, but it is far truer that a larger num- ber of these persons were inconsistent. He then commented upon the effect ofthe fine arts, and urged that since their separation irom religion tne fine arts had been unfavorable to the Mghest de- velopment in man, ‘This truth of the text threw light, too, on the emotive nature in manin its rela- tion to religion, Some men were like the Kolian harp, they could not help being played upon. He closed by a series of practical applications of the truth, and said that in many, Many instances the safest and truest beginning o1 a religious lie was not to wait ior any manifestation, but to do the eyo nred duty and thus grow into spiritual lie thereby. The Converted Bramin Shashesdri. At Plymouth church in the evening there was an unusual crowd, occasioned by the announced ap- pearance and address of Shashesdri. Mr. Beecher, accompanied by two brother pastors and the aforementioned Hindoo, took their places upon the platform at tweaty minutes aiter eight Mr. Beecher opened the services in the customary manner, He then introduced the stranger, who announced his text to be in the first chapter of thé gospel of John and the fourteenth verse, “And the Word was made flesh,” &c. His enunciation being perfect there was little diMculty in following him in his discourse. He prefaced his remarks by allud- ing to the beginning of Onrist’s reign upon earth and the disciples that followed Him. We might go back cycles of ages and yet the Evangelist would say the Word was God and with Him. All things were made by Him, both visible and invisible, principalities and powers. This Word became flesh, and we beheld it full of grace and truth, In it we had a glimpse of the divine character of Jesus—such a glimps¢ that the apostie alludes to it in his work. The many miracies He performed showed that He was the very God. [he many acts of kindness He per- formed was a cord of sympathy that drew the peo- ple afver Him, and emboldened the children of the present generation to lay their burdens upon Him. The Bible abounded in God’s promises to biot out all sin, and He came down tothe capacity of all that they might behold His glory and beauty. There was a time when he (the speaker) was a Bramin, and a Brahma meant that he was @ god on earth He here delivered an aphorism to show the beauty of the language, which, being interpreted, meant that the world was under the control of God, and God was the Bramin. He thought that he was a divine object and received worship. _While men and women washed his feet and drank the same water it was no wonder he thought so. fie began to think of a story he had heard of see who bad drank uj the water of a8 in three sips, it was believed by the natives, and yet it was too increduious for him. He began to think of the immense size oO! this sage alter he got through. That drove the Hindooism out of him and the myths that surround it. Then, too, there was a story of Rowan, who slept jor six months and none could awaken him, Once a barber lost his pincers in his nose, aud when he was looking for them @ man came up and asked him what he was looking for, and when he was informed the man said that he had lost a large camel in the same place three months before and had not found it yet. Such stories, the relator thought, were sufficient to drive Hindooism from his breast, The prayers of the Hindoo Prayer Book were addressed to the deities, He recited one addre: to the God of Fire. ‘There were 200 prayers in the coliection, and these superticial forms were the devotion of the people there. He gave an in- teresting account of nis conversion to the Chris- tian faith thirty years ago. le gave a con- densed report of his work ‘In India, In 1866 he had two Christians in Bombay, aud irom them ten or twelve were converted. Now there are 500 Christians there in Jolma and 325 readers of the Word of God. In 1864 he had no schools jor heathens. Now they nad 1,400 heathen scholars, ‘They had a F owt to have a settiement—a viliage on sanitary inciples—which would have @ good effect. With tals idea, in view they pera to the government of their country, and he louked ver lavorably upon it and gave them 800 acres of lan ‘They design callingit Bethel, The Mahomedan ruier ey them money, so the work was begun. idn’t think it Would be a town like Bruokiyn or New York, but they would follow as neariy in our Jootateps ible, On the highest mount they were Fong se, build @ church, which he hoped would be ished when he returned, They were also digging reservoirs, a8 they did not have rain there more than once in eight months. ‘They had built @ | schoolho too, would be a Then, you say, if so, Weil, that is tongue of Indi it in their ow; language. progress, and he made an urgent cine to the congregation jor their prayers and help; only he wanted it understood that their beneiactions should not interfere with their other missionary contributions. At the close of his remarks he delivered an impressive prayer, remembering the con; ation and the pastor in his petition, Mr. Beecher endorsed his appeal for ald, and a large contribution was taken up, SEVENTH AVENUE METHODIST CHUROE. Dr, Wild on Conformity and Happiness, The Rev Dr. Wild, of the Seventh avenue Methodist Episcopal church, Brooklyn, addressed his congrega- tion yesterday morning apon the necessity of prac- tical illustrations of all spiritual doctrines, His Temarks were based upon St. John’s Gospel, xill., 17—"If ye know these things, happy are ye i ye do them;” and fn substance he remarked that, as the life of Jesus was in accordance with the doctrines sought, 99.16 Wee IncoWbent uvoN Lis disciples : ® ettner a fatalist or an Aristotelian, Plato standing et re egg haste. and extravagance were eae foedoles paverty ona both in the cli disgrace, and community, while in direct contrast was Christ’s simple life, that inted out the true source of Peppiness, spirit success and fervent devotion in the work of His Father. In Speaking of education and its promp' Dr. Wil said that he _ thought remrkas contained in the index were unjust and unreason- able boastings, They themselves would never have known what knowledge was had they not been educated, and in his opinion it was ill man- ners, to say the least, for them to boast of their science, while at the same time they were striving to put down the means of acquiring it. A man who believed nothing did nothing. knew @ successful reformer who was not an en- thusiast? He (Dr. Wild) had an interview with Joseph Arch, President of the English Labor Re- form Society. All through the discourse the man’s conceit would have been intolerant had he not been areformer. He had the right spirit to suc- ceed in the calling he had chosen. In the course of his remarks the Doctor alluded to @ recent pub- Neation, entitled “Woman Man’s Equal,” which he considered the most sensible work On the subject. It the author, Rev. T. Webster, had had a vixen for awife he never would have written that book, Bat tne key note of the argument rings through it and shows how harmonious the man’s domestic life is. The sermon closed by an appeal to the people to conform to the right, that they might be happy in the Lord, TALMAGE AT THE ACADEMY, Christ Our Refuge—A Democratic Salva~ tien—Candidates for Imperial Splen- dors trom Elm Street—No Exclusive Heaven for Aristocrats—They Must Humble Themselves with the Rest or Stay Out Altogether. Mr. Talmage, always metaphorical in his dis- courses, Was more than usually 80 yesterday morn- ing. The subject of his sermon was “Jesus Our Only Retuge and Salvation,” which theme he dis- cussed for nearly one hour, holding the attention of his great audience throughout, In the first place, said he, Jesus ia a safe refuge. Why, there is not any fort that I have heard of that has not been or cannot be taken. Fort Sum- ter, that was considered impregnable, was taken first by one army and then bythe other. Fort Pulaski was taken, Fort Donelson was taken, Se- bastapol was taken—ay, Gibraitar was taken, and there never has been a fortress built by human hands, north, south, east or west, on any conti- nent, but it might be captured or destroyed, Oh! I want to tell you of Christ, the refuge into which tie righteous run and art saved, THE BATTSRING RAMS OF BELL cannot smite down these walls. miners cannot explode this fortress. No storming party of helt tan leap on these towers. The weapons with which this castle is defended are omnipotent, and hell shall unlimber its great guns of deatn only to have them dismounted. When Christ comes to us He pardons our sins. The ocean cannot so easily drown a fy as the ocean of God’s mercy can swallow up and overwhelm our trans- gressions, He is able to save even unto the utter- most, or, a8 Solomon hath said it in the Canticles, “His legs are legs of brass,” ie Ph that He can carry anything, and that when He gets under the burden of our crime He lifts it. Ob, ye woo have been in @ hand to band fight with “the world, th flesh and the devil’ come up into this tower oi Christ’s defence and Cirist’smercy. Satan may storm up the steep, and may shout ‘Forward!’ to the battalions of darkness; but standing in that castle you are safe. Trouble may come on with LONG WAGON TRAINS OF CARE and annoyance, and you may hear in its tramp the bereavemeuts that once broke your heart; but Christ is your friend, your rescue and your refuge. Are you this morning safe in the refuge? The fires of the last day will only illumine its towers, and the thunders of the judgment will be only the salvo of our eternal victory. Christ is a near reluge. Everything depends upon having the fortress near in the day of battle. 1 want to tell you to-day the glorious truth that it is no long march to our reiuge. We can get offirom the worst earthly de- feat into its strength. It 1s only just one step irom the battle into the castle. You know it is custom- ary to name fortresses after distinguished gener- rals, 80 we have Fort Lafayette and Fort Washing- ton. The fortress into which I invite you to-day named after the Captain of our salvation, and it is Fort Jesus. {have seen men pursued by sins that came with lightning feet. I have seen men pur- sued by troubles that came with the flerceness and dash ‘of a cavalry charge. Yet a were safe. It is a near refuge. ‘ou do not have to kneel in long penance in THE VESTIBULE OF GOD'S MEROY. Why stand and be riddled and shelled in the bombardment of perdition whea one moment's faith would place you in that castle? Again, Christ is a very large fortress. There 18 room tor the whole race in that refuge. If men had their own way, it would not have been that way. There are some people who would have said, ‘Let us have this salvation all ourselves; let it not be for the publicans and the lazzaroni and the common people and the abandoned. Don’t nave it for them. Let us ride te Heaven on a snorting charger with four teet in golden stirrups.” Heaven would have been a glorified Windsor Castle or Tuileries or Vatican—a few aristocrats in tue golden streets forever and forever. But glory be to God this 1s A DEMOCRATIC SALVATION. In other words, it invites all. Lazarus went up and Dives went down, and there are candidates for imperial splendor in Elm street and by the peat fire of the Irish shanty, it has swung the door of Heaven open so wide that all the gentle and refined and educated may go in if they repent, and all the scoundrels of the universe if they repent. Ay, Ican go and snatch the knife’ out of the murderer's hand while that knile 1s yet dripping with the blood of the victim, and say, “Come back, 0 mur- derer! Believe, ‘and in that fountain of.a Saviour's mercy even your red hands can be washed clean.” Some one says, “I don’t want to go to Heaven with such a horrible set.” Then stay out. Unless the Lord, by His holy spirit, makes you humble enough to sit at the banquet of His mercy with anybody and everybody, you will never sit there it all, In conclusion, Mr. Tali spoke of Christ as the only reiuge, and exhorted ail to seek Him at once, before it would be too late. OHRIST OHUROH. Moral Diseases of the Heart—Practical Christianity in Feeding the Poor— Sermon by Rev. Dr. Partridge. The services: yesterday morning at Christ Pro- testant Episcopal church, Bedford avenue, were conducted by the rector, Rev. Dr. Partridge, who preached an able discourse. Previous to the deliv- ery of the sermon he made an earnest appeal to the congregation to sustain the Young People’s Association, stating that all the moneys received through that channel would be faitafully Spplied to relieving the physical wants or the poor during the winter. The text was taken from the fourth chapter of Proverbs and the twenty-third vérse:—“Keep thy heart with ail diligence; for out of it are the issues of life.” In his introductory remarks the Doctor said that the heart was to the body whet the metropolis was to the kingdom. The blood might be compared to merchandise col- lected trom a thousand different sources passing through the highways ofthe veins to the remotest territory of the human jrame. After describing the functions of the heart in the physiological structure and the important office it held he pro- ceeded to say that that organ was @ type of the affections, for as the heart was all important to produce physical activity so were the affections for mental and moral jite, The exhortation to keep the heart with all ice should be earnestly re- = garded Uy, all, for it might ie dis- eased, ‘© were liable to ness OF ossification of the hear when it gradually became insensible, until at last it ceased to perform ite functions. such was the condition of many sinners, whose hearts Were once Wax, susceptible and tender, and ready to receive spiritual impres- sions, There were times when such men ned under @ sense of their spiritual danger quatied at the thought of death and the Judgment. The worship of the sanctuary once made a deep im- presdon, Upon their minds, but now they ited hat they had no desire ior heaven and no fear of hell, He urged his hearers to keep their hearts more diligently than they did the poe er dos: & that It might ever: 1s' to. the vi ‘of God the Gospel ; ior if the heart became hard to Him and His holy word, which ace, it would become ha End to the for wh would produce a nating in misantl FOP if they would have ir ee, they should irapiore arts and renew , heart was also subject to atrophy, or wastin Ld raed Seass enews defective nourishment an Jong portion ot Jainer and courser food, which wi necessary to the enjoyment of health. Chri an protessors often suite irom this phase of heart disease, Some menand women contined their tl nta to certain dogmas and never par ira ne Ae Sadana te tend ved year of which'was that their energies becathe sapped and stengen to uarrel over ig sich they too, eae ioe foolish 4 pastures ‘ot dod’ Word, seek! Factive it, they ele ty The sappers and | pall which times the patient loathed a general ladguor and giving way of the This jorm of the disease haa a sym) and the best of Christians were to tt. I The worked very much like the ot finances wore disturbed Shronghoot se coma were sc! and the weak-minded, whose affections upon temporal things, cried out that the whol world was in danger of bankruptcy, and the thing in their view that ought to be done wae curtail expenses and to begin at the house of The Cay cure for all this was quiet trust in Rest in God, live re ly, and pray al the clouds they now so much dreaded wot away forever, lightful mort it would appear, and their rest would be et There was danger of enlargement of the when it became disproportioned. So the nature was liable to the same disease, when hopa and fear and love dia not act in due proportion: In conclusion Dr. Partridge spoke of the danger to which the heart was exposed. It it be Fnaies Be Rend of the acurishing, , an of el feast which was prong, AS | oiwoned by the false doctrines of sceptics latitudinarians; or assassinated by the of the wicked one. He exhol keep their hearts, by faithfully attending the vices of the church and trusting in the promises of God’s unfailing Word, PURITAN OHUROH. Spiritual and Physical Developments At the Puritan church, corner of Lafayette | Marcy avenues, the pastor, the Rev. Charles Everest, occupied the pulpit, discoursing in the morning from Ephesians vi., 13—‘Wherefore taka unto you the whole armor of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and, having done all, to stand.” No illustration seemed out of place in the New Testament, however bold or vigorous in con< ception. If we accept the record of Onristian life given us as an all-suficient rule of faith and practice, the same characteristics must appear int modern Christianity, If we undertaketo build after a certain style of architecture we must con- form to its rules. What, then, does this text teach us? That God will furnish the armor, wil watch the strife, will supplement the valor of His children, that the victory ® may never be doubtiul, but will only interpose in man’s extremity. For example, the Israelites, fleeing from Egypt and closely pursued by their late mas- ters, on reaching the shore of the Red Sea received help from the Almighty, a path bel opened for Lar tee ae vanced but ne until the moment of extrem: in the struggle a ‘aul speaks the clement of is not omitted. HELPING ONB'SSELF ) Although @ miraculous cure was provided for the Israelites in the brazen nt,, yet 80 long as there was one thing they could do—« f only to look—they were required to do that. The trials of the Apostolic Church were ne otanteh aristo- cal with those of the present, as not popular ong the ‘atic and fashionable. lave any of the ralers believed on Him #’ Because the argaments of the apostles could not be refuted they were slandered. The fervor of the day of Pentecost was ascribed to drunkenness. Demetrius, when he found his inas bility to gainsay the truth, sought to create A FINANCIAL PARI: 4 to suppress it. “Our business is in danger.’ f The following propositions were then maintained by the speaker :— First—The whole cause of Ohrist is the care of Cnristian men. While individual piety is the foun- dation collective piety must take the field, A man may profess patriotism at home, have the Declaration of Independence eé tl and the pictures of George Washil Martha Washington hung on either side of it, but if this be all in the time of his coun "8 pth he wilt only make a first class home gual ie patriot- ie wn lead a man to the spot where his country. In danger, Second. the demand of these public phhaatena makes the whole armor of God a necessity. If only’ two-thirds of the armor is used the enemy is sure to attack the unguarded spot. A student may de- vote years to close study, ne flocting Spay exer- cise, and thus neg bi at expense Muscle; may graduate wholly unable to use ¥ acquired attainments, and finally be buried away by sorrowing friends with regrets at his untimely end. Muscular development alone weuld be equally unfortunate. But unite the two and we have the’golden mean, Churches have in some in- ven entire attention to SPIRITUAL DEVELOPMENT, forgetting that faith without works ‘is dead, while’ others have been organimed on @ business or specu- lative basis. The result is equally disastrous. safe mean is found in putting on all the O! armor and being ready to stand in Christ’s name at every post of duty, whether temporal or spirit-' ual, and then no power above or beneath shall be. able to harm. CHAPEL OF OUB SAVIOUR stances |, Imitation of Christ—The Mere Copyists. Condemned—Sermon by the Rev. R. H. Nye. The chapel of the Church of Our Savionr, in’ Clermont avenue, near Atiantic avenue, was yes- terday filled by @ congregation of moderate dimen- sions and earnestness. The sermon was preached. by the pastor, the Rev. R. H. Nye, from the text of John xii, 15. The preacher elucidated his subject, which was: “The Imitation of Christ,’ mainly by illustration. He began by calling attention to that peculiar | class of artists 80 commonly seen m European gal- leries of art, whose sole and highest ambition was the exact reproduction of the ‘works of others, merely copying the effects, and not the method of theirgenius. They were often so successful im this that unpractised eyes could scarcely discern the difference between the copies and the origi- nals of great masterpieces of art. Their genius was only mechanical, and they had not that spirit which, after they have gone on studying the works of great artista for years, at length impels them to high achievement of their own, to the reproduction of visions of their own genios, which, when limned, will fill our souls with the glow of their enthusi- asm. Such art is imitation and not copying. The former is handiwork, the latter soul-work. Many persons may make it their vocation to walk in the. Path of ubrist. They drink in His, very bic may repeat His acts, and yet not be for that Christian men.or women. (ES % is imitation His spirit and are filled with His The preacher then drew a picture of Christ washing the Jeet of His disciples on the eve of the Passover. The Pope every year repeat this ancient cere- mony of the Jews. He calied beggars eo the: streets of Rome to wash their feet, but thelr feet. had all been carefully scrubbed before menials, and were merely by Holiness, This was copying 16 tice of the Saviour and not imitatin, But of the: women who went to the iT ani as nurses. to the soldiers; the women who have gone to Memphis to care for the sick and d. _—how a of them perished that others m' in No fice was too much; they wi amitetors of that. Christ. who wi rather than ae His lite for Wherever the soul of God, will of God. He ke th the world, Ha webkfile sooty as 18. Wi lh wae sul te to it Himee! ure or Wealth. He His wo} was |; condecrated to the service of God, which is the service of mankind, How are we to im- bued with His spirit? When Prco ah Ep be Vl F ‘ietian life is in when nd thirst efter Nery ness. Then is the tiie tostrive ior savanbemen ‘The life of Jesus should seem to us. We should study it as students of art in the sitting before it for hours aud atter we know it all, God, out of forever. Love stoops not to quel, but, conquers and rules the world. fe must not but imitate the life of Jesus. - The humblest on this green, ww nobler in earth tating tne real humility of ie 4 of His disciples, In He. a waik. Our spirits will a8 we stand in the great Church, we see the Maste! the an ea) just ‘the of clouds, crying ‘Pardon unto ail,’ bf DROWNED IN GOWANUS OANAL, Press ; Patrolman Golar, patty rice tie pente Brooklyn, reports that W! trolling his post on pend about hail-past eight o'clock on Sat- urday night, he heard some person struggling m the water of the Gowanus Canal, at the bridge Procuring