The New York Herald Newspaper, December 14, 1874, Page 8

NEW YORK HERALD, ADVENT. The Victory in Christ and the Approach- : ing Religious Dawn. THE CHRIST THAT IS TO BE. Wr. Hepworth on the Christian's Inheritance, As Pointed Out By Paul. FIOLY PLAYING. Pr. McGlynn on the Sanctity of St. John the Baptist. DUTY TO THE POOR. CHURCH OF THE DISCIPLES. Bermon by the Rev. Dr. Hepworth— “The Victory im Christ.” There was a very large congregation in attend- gnce at the moruing services im the Church of the Disciples yesterday. The Rey. Dr. Hep- worth preached the sermon, The tex he selected was the fourth verse of the third chapter of Paui’s Epistie to the Colossians, which reads:—'*When Christ, who is | our life, shall appear, thea shall ye also appear | with him in glory.” Whatever St. Paul did, said the reverend gentleman, was done well, When the Apostle attempted to argue with us we [elt that it was an unequal contest between an ordi- Mary man and a giaat, and when, in the guise of @iriend or a brother, he atiempted to persuade | us, his eloquence was as fascinating a3 tue lan- guage of a mother’s love; his arguments were thunderboits and his exhortations as mweet as honey. In the words of the text there was both a promise and astatement. In the promise we lived and moved and had our Deing. On the statement we built our character. The promise was that as Jesus had shared with us po shall we share with Him—a thought, irom the fll appreciation of which came the eagerness 0! action. Christ had sat with us at our human ta- Die—He had been clothed upon with tne weak- Nesses and temptations of our flesh, No troubles we suffered from but had overshadowed Him; there were no disappointments in our hearts which He had not fathomed. In doing this, and in the subsequent victories He won over the tempta- tions that peset Him, and in the consolation which, with His strong arm, He ,brought down from heaven, He nad proven His iriendship for us and | Bis willingness to make any sacrifice In our be- Ralf, Throughout He was absolutely human; He wufered the pangs and toriures of hunger and hirst, fought 4 PERSONAL BATTLE WITH THE EVIL ONE, bowed His head beneath the deep shadow of his Rorrows and physical agony. He overcame all, mot by any power within Himself, but through the power of tie holy spirit of God, and thus He left Qs a pathway on Woich to walk @ mountain road whicn we had to climb—astar in the heavens to guide us, (hat we might make bo mistake. This being so, He had promised us that He should share with us the honors and triumphs in the midst of Which He existed to-day; the time would come when we would etand by the side of the meen Lord, when we should have the white robes of the Fesurrection hanging trom our shoulders and ‘when we would be clothed upon with the spiritual Dody and be liited up from the coldness, the sel!- fsnness and doubts of this foggy eartn, aud stand | Deneath the bright glory of the sun of God's rignt- eousness in the streeis of the new Jerusalem. wbrist attemptea to put DPelore us as tO Make it, a3 it were, a part of our own life, of our own experience, to serve as ao in- e@entive to action, as i! He were to say, ‘As I have been with you, so you shall be with me.’ We had demoustration of the one, and the otner Batisficd the agonized longing of our own hearts, The Apostie toid us that Curist was our fe. This Wasa curious clause, and before we came toa thorough understanding of its whole meaning it Was necessary to lut the cover. We could not at asiugie glance understand the Scriptures. The fext be had chosen was a Muarvelious utterance. Jt was a continuous revelation for each indepen- | dent soul; it drew us into closer relanionships with the great Head of the Cnurch, our Lord and Master, our saviour and our God. The Apostie, in using the language he did, made use of Do ordiuary term oi endearment. He did not weigh the price 40 an ordinary balance or measure it by the or- | @inary rule. Wuen we spoke of the love of a hug- anc or of a wife, of the close relationship of @ Sather and mother and children, we expressed oar | dea of devotion and affection as strongly as lan- guage couia do tt. mith ianzuage. He did not compare Christ with auy great character Of history, but he said, with a Btandeur of expression, “CHRIST IS OUR LIFE." Paul's language, indeed, seemed inspired, and we Were luted to such a meight by bis words that, ‘stead of walking on the level ri, we seemed to be cclestial giants, ever ascending to the mys @erious Mountain peak whence flowed all source @! ive. What he believed, the reverend gentieman said, he wanted to _ believe Understandingly. What he and those who were listening to him, he felt, certain ‘wanted was a good strong foundation for woat they believed. As for nimsell, he did not give his @onfidence to any theory before he could learn what it meant. He would jook at tt; he would throw the gauntlet down to it and %o prove itsell ht, and he would try to find oat ‘What it wos made of, and if, in the end, he became satished that it was right, he woula not trouble Wmsel! about the detatis. Jesus, in an inteliect- pe spiritual, moral and Psychological sense, Was e aushor of our faith; and when He said that He gaid it in the ears of men who bad read nistory. Curist was, he repeated, the aathor of that faith Which has been bloecoming for eighteen handred years, There was no thought in our history, no ong or project, no affection or conception which | become a part of our fibre, incorporated into our being && & motive of action, that @id not depend upon the single fact that Chriet bad come among us. The vbioom on the wer, the velvet on the rose, came from the recious Book—from the epistles which God had @ent to us trom His own throne in heavyen—not by @Dy post office route, but through the manger of Bethlehem. Our faith came from Carist as the Fiver from its source in the mountain side, Did ‘we appreciate thist He thought not. George Bteplienson was the sole author of one depart Ment of moderna progre He gave a new impulse to the worid, which tt felt from end to end, hen be achieved his crowning work, instead of waik- ing on the low level, the World, as it were, took a leap on the locomotive and dashed on to a higher plane. He gave us & biow which tnpeiled us on in the way of progreas whic every one feit as irom an_ electric battery. Jn the olden time, when Guttenberg was a mere doy, Europe Was on a low level. It was governed by one Charch, one priest, one power; despotism everywhere reigned; but when he, aman, made | the frst wooden type, and then another anu au- tier, 11)] he had completed enough to print the Bibie, endin one day produced fifty copies—ue Btarted a mine beneath the social strata whicn, When it exploded, threw into @ thousand atoms THE SUPERSTITIONS OF AGES; andin the great opheaval there were thrown up its chains and manacies that bad bound hu- Man uunds in slavery, and there was seen man Himself freed, rejcrimed. emancipated, standing betore bis God on the bill top looking up thankfully bo leavea. A man did ali that, When stheos Was iu her splendor and Piato was in bis prime Philosophers met in coteries and clubs to discuss Philosophy, Aristotle was the authority fora whoie | Beries of thought on given subjects. His bratp, ihke @ great galvanizing battery eet in the centre | Of the peuple, sent outa throbbing impulse that permeated the whole world. of the Way to compare Christ with such men as Stepuenson, In one respect he beheved it was not. To com- re the ordinary hilis in the country with the icky Mountains would not cauge the moun- tains to topple over or render them any the less grand in the sight of men. Ste- eeprep had given the world an idea; but we au Improved upon itso that he himselt, if he could some vack into the world, would be anwilung to go from New York to Butaio on the engine of bis invention, and at the rate it weut when be friea it. He would bay @ first class ticket and go jn a Pullman car, it was 80 with Aristotie. fie gave the world an idea, but be was nowa curiosity on the student's shelf, The impulse he gave to haman thought was pow the impulse o! an echo. He was pot so with the Biole. Olirist gave us an Mopuise Oo! greater force. But He lived eighteen years Ago, and the social, political and moral im. poise He had given was the impulse of to-day, It Was not an echo, Tue great clarion voice of that Mpuse was r THR VOICE OF A KING and of aGod, it had not got round the earth yet, aud for ages yet to come that voice woula be @ gover of persuasion and of argument and reveta- nh of error. Some men believed that Chris- Wanity bad gone down ar Guriat vone un, LHe ve- His ite #0 visibly | But Paul, as it were, played | ive It @ chance | Now would it be out | Utenbverg, Aristotle and the rest? | line, and could not yet even catch the hem of His garment, and t&% might be centuries be ore we could get near enough to Him to take Him by the band and address Him with familiarity. Our loitiest hope was that we might have som pre- cable friendship for Him. to be abie to get so near to Him as to hear His voice, to have Him speak to us, tor He was not in the valicy, buton the Mountain top, on a higher rarge than that which we were ascending. ‘Tne reverend preacher then went on to say that Jesus Christ was not only (be matter and substance o! life, but the motor to make us do what ordl- nary men could not of themselves do. As an | illustration he spoke of the ordinary heroism of brave men, of the soldier, who faced death at the cannon’s mouth on the field of battle, and of men like Napoleon and Cwsar, Who for ambition’s sake, braved a!l dangers and suftered so much, and contrasted it with that of the Christian woman who, in the burning sands of the arena, allowed herseif to be torn to pleces by wild beasts rather thao deny her faith in Christ, and with the Christ. Uan resignation of the wite and husband, father dvimg bed and who have the courage to say, “Thy will, not mind, be dope, 0 Goa.” 8T, STEPHEN'S CHURCH Sermon by the Kev. Dr. McGlynan—The Sanctity of the Baptist—His Gi t Humility. A large and respectanle conzregation was pres- ent yesterday Moruing at the high mass in St. Stephen's, whieh was celebrated by the Rev. Father Byron, Nini’s spiendia mass in D minor gave the cholr smpie opportunities to display their talents and traiaing. Tals mass abounds in solos, the most notable in performance being the “Bene- dictus,” in A minor, At the vespers in the after- noon the attendance was unusually large, very many of those present being non-Catholics, at- tracted no doubt by the reputation of the music at this service, Mercadante’s vespers, Daly’s Were given by the choir in a pleasing and credita- bie manner. | Beore commencmg the sermon the Rev. Dr. McGlynn announced that a bazaar tn aid of | the Industrial Home, East Thirty-first street, would opeo in Trenor’s Hall, Broadway, between Thirty-irst and Thirty-second streets, on next Friday evening, He commended that institution to the charitable consider- ation of hig hearers, and stated that within the lase#ew years it had afforded shelter to | hundreds of Scrape young women and saved many trom a life of shaine aud pauper graves in the ‘Potter's Fleia.”? He then read the gospel of the Sunday, Jonn 1. 28, in whichis narrated the testimony of St. John the ptist to the Givine misston of our Lord, and delivered an eloquent panegyric on “THE HERALD OF GOD"’ who Was specially chosen to aunounce the im- mediate coming, and potnt out the person, of the Messiab. Of Dim tre auge! satd to Zachary, ‘He Shall ve filled with the Holy Ghost even from his mother’s womd;” and our Lord deciured, “He was a burning and @ sutntng tight.’ No saint excelled the Baptist im holiness of life. In heaven he is And here on earth he holds a hi and bonored ing in the liturgy of the Church, bevag next to the Blessed Virgin in the litany of the saints and im the generat confession. This day’s Gespel contains an admirable lesson on the virtue Of humility. “Who art thou?” said the Jewish delegation of priests and Levites to John, and he.confessed and did not forest and he confessed, “i am not the Cnrist.”” In repiv to the direct qaesuon, *Who art thou, that we may givean answer to them that sent us?” he answered in the beautiful ianguage of the truly humble:—“1 am the voice of One crying in the wilderness, Make Btraignt the way of the Lord.” He ciaims to be notbing more than a mere voice proclaiming man’s duty towara God. But according to our Lord, “He that humbleth himself snall be ex- alted,” and “the last shall be first,” and therefore | the greater John's sel-numiliation the greater his | exaltation, The Pnarisezs were seeking the | Christ, They bad heard tifirty years beiore that | strange sights were seen and strange sounds | heard, and that even a remarkable birth had | taken piace in Bethtehem, “tbe city trom whica ; the ruler of his people was to come.” They even | | remembered the commotion caused by the arrival | of the wise men, who had come to adore Him who | was boro King of the Jews. They had heard of | THE BRUTAL SLAUGHTER | | of the inmoceats, and yetthey asked Jobnif he | was the Christ, Tbe Baptist saye, reproaci- fuly, “There standeth one you whom ye | know not.” He repeats aguto the lesson of hu- { Miiity, Which {s not inaptly called rhe foundation | of all the ocher virtues, without which the ed:fice of holiness, no matter how lofty, inevitably tum- bles over and becomes @ saddening ruin. He teils them that tais greatest of men was in their midst | and they Knew Him not. If such reproach of igpor- ance was just, witb how much more force should it strike ust Beat mot be as truly said to-day as 1 was” the first century, “He came | unto nis Owao and his own received him not?’ Let us, While ieeling just confusion at our indif- ference to Him, Who has stood so long in our midst, resolve to know Him rightly by practi- tty acknowledging Him as our lord and master, that He may not be forced to say to us on the day of wrath, “I know you not.” And, as “the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom,” we cannot do better than meditate on the terrors of the “dread judgment.” We may rest assured that if we prepare ourselves as we snould fur the coming of our Saviour at Christmas we Will have ho reason to dread His final coming as “a judge of tremendous majesty.” CHURCH OF THE STRANGERS, Sermon by Rev. Dr. Deems on Holy Playing. The services at the Church of the Strangers, in Neilson place, near Eighth street, were yesterday morning devoted to the chilaren more especially, although the sermon which was preached by the pastor, Rev. Dr. Deems, was also intended to point a moral for children of a larger growth, The text and- martyr, saith the Lord of Hosts: I am returned unto Zion, and will dwell in the midst cr Jerusalem; and Jerusalem shall be called a city of truth, and the mountain of the Lord of Hosts, the holy mountain. Thus saith tne Lord of Hosts: There shall yet oid men and old women dwell in the streets of Jerusaiem, and every man with his staff ip bis hand for very age. And the streets of whe city thereol” After repeating the text over slowly Dr. Deems took it up piece by piece, and askea the children questions, so as to asaare himself that they unders'ood perfectly what he was saying and to impress more forcibly upon their minds the le: son he was endeavoring to instil. Tbe answers were given intelligeatiy and promptly by the litte ones, and considerable amusement was occa- Bioned by the Ingenuousness of some of the re- piles. Waoen the reverend doctor suggested that to play, and to play heartily, was not only con- sistent, but aimost indispensavle to a holy life, a look of bewliderment seemed to overshadow the countenances of the ‘“iambs;’’ the news seemed too good to be true, But when they finally be- came convinced that the pastor was in earnest | they fairly revelled in their new found joy. When they were asked if they could “remember what the children were doing tn Jerusalem” a shout went up from ali over the nouse, “playing in the streets,’ which left noroom for doubt as to their feelings on the Sunday amusement question. When asked what else children were in the habit of doing in the streets, the preacher was for a mo- ment nonpiussed by the reply ‘‘tightin’ ' jroma lad in the body of the chureh, THE SERMON, Dr. Deems explained that Jerusalem in the text Was & type of two thinge—First, God's Cnureh on eartn; secondly, God's Church tn beaven, Jerusa- lem was city in Judea, but upon thé top oi a Mountain called “Zou, The Caurch 16 like this city, because it is founded on holiness and built up in truth. The Churen 0: God is the city of our God; ani il ever you are asked when the Church of God Wiil be BWopt away you can repiy never, for even When the lust mountain and the last city shall be swept from the tace of the earth the Church will stul remain. A prosperous church is like a rosperous city. Sometimes, a6 in the mining regions of the West, and as in the oli regions, cities 8 ring up ina few days like masu- rovais, ald in a little while, i) you Were to travel | that Way, you Would find the houses going to rack aod ruin and the streets deseried, A city does not live by itsell alone. New York, for instance, has been growing and growing. By the ratiroads and steamboats Which concentrate here we get grain from the West, cotton irom the South and Jumber from tho North. But it is not the railroads that make New York prosperons. It is because of the churches, the goud people, the praying people that New York is whatitis, itis tie same with | apy city ag Lt is with any church. It ia saie becanse God {a in it. It is happy because God 18 in tt. It is prosperous because God is init, aad When God goes oUt of it 16s doom is sealed. So I we love our city and li we waut to do it good we must become | praying men and women; and as God loves to dwell in a jowly and contrite heart the only way We can get God to come down to New York is by constant prayer. A city is prosperous when it has plenty of oid men women io it. To my mind the four sweetest things m the world are—firet, ge! baby boys; tuird, ripe, good old men; fourth, Tipe, good old ladies; and a church, like @ city, 18 Prosperous when there are pienty of vid people | and children init, Now, the text says the streets Of that city shall be full of giris and ovys playing in the streets, Now, the essence of my sermon 18 | to that word play; but what else can children do ? | (Votces—"Work, learn, study, pray, love, swear, | fight.”) Yes, catldreo can work and learn on | love and pray. and they anonld do so: bat, then. Meved we had yet not even reached the fall out- | there 1s also a time for and mother who part from thetr loved ones on their | “Alma Redemptor’s” aud Frasi’s “Tantam Ergo’) | honored with the triple crown of virgin, doctor | was tuken from Zechariah, vili., 3, 4, 5—“Thus | shali be full of boys and giris playing in the streets | giris; secoud, | . Now, I believe in | HRSA 88% "oua ar le ani ous at the boys al 8 playing er, and shat’s as it should be. iow, poys, I im your playing to- | gether ail the time where the girls can’t share your pleasure. Now, men, I don’t be- | heve in stag parties, from which your wives and sisters are excluded. Now, women. I don’t | belteve in societies or coteries in which men have | no part or parcel. I believe that the Creator in- tended that men and women should share their leasures and amusements. Giris coming in con- act with boys and joining with them in their | Tuder sporis are strengthened, their energies are Geveloped and they become better able to deal With tne boy of a larger growth in alter life, Aud, boss, to bs tender and delicate to a girl is to dis- | play, true chivalry, true nobility, true manhood. tank God that in the process of ages men and women ara being brought nearer together. Now in regara té piay, we ought to play more than we | do. It 1s our bounden duty, and We too often ne- | glectit. We need amusement, and we ought to tuke it, but we ought to do it as though on a holy Mountain and in a holy city, lintend to turn | over @ new leaf myself and ; for, alas! a8 @ boy at college, bod. etl later on as 1 feet that 1 HOT, have Dot had play uough. Now Play 13 exercise for amusement. It differs from work, because work is exercise lor gain. We ought to play, be- | cause we can work to so much better advantage alterwaras, You children ougnt to play, because tnis pertod of your lite 1: eacutally your playtime; but when you do play there are | five things you must observe, in order to obtain the full benefit thereof, and they are these:— First, play heartily; enter into the game being played with all your might, let your lessons go for ; @ While, and. try to remember nothing but that | you arc in for a good time. And Ee men, whep | you enter into amusement, do it heartily and ex- } tract all the pleasure trom 1¢ that you can. Sec- ond, play temperately, because tf you et too much of a thing, a won't enjoy 1t again. Re- | member that ie whole object of play 3 | amusement and relaxation, and if you make |@ task of it the main object is ae- | feated. People often come to me and , ask, Do you think 1t right for me to engage in saca and such a pastime? And J invariably reply, | It is not for your pastor to say what amusement | you shall inculge in; but tt 1s the duty of your pastor to tell you that mm selecting amusenients qu must select those in the enjoyment of which | pare 08, can come back better prepared to | pray and to work lor God, That's the amusement for you. ‘rhird, play unselfishly. Make tnatarale of | life. The best amusementis thatin which tuegreat | est number can take part and receive the most | enjoyment. Fourth, play trathfuily, Never take | a mean advantage. Knuckle down tight to the | Ting when it’s in the game. and im every ye be | serious business of lile, Just a8 honest and just as tratptal as in the more pogo away; they think that @ Doly God is a sad | God, or &@ mad God, or a hard God, and that is ; because some people who profess holiness are usually sad or mad or bard, Holineas is perfect | Bweetness, perfectlove. Aman is holy when he | loves God with ali hig heart and his neighbor as | nimself. You can play and be holy and you can be holy and play. Angels in heaven play. I do not for one moment doubt tuat they have all kinds of | joy and varieties of thought and exercises. If you cannot determine what kinds of play are consist- ent with holiness I can tell you that any play | which makes you reverence tie Bible less, the. | church less, the Sabbarh less, your parents less, | or God Jess is unholy play, and all the rest ts holy, | Ihave heard of some association or committee of | men who have been denouncing the | game of croquet as an impediment to the cultivation of holiness, but to my mina the holiness that can’t stand the strain of an honest gocianle game of croquet isn’t worth carry- ing from the pulpit to the door. ‘rhe memper, the omicer or the pastor of © charch who can’t be holy 1n bis amusement is pot fit to be in a church, The best rule aiter allis to love the Lord with all | your heart and strength and mind and soul, and | About the rest to do asyou please, 8T. MARK’S CHURCH, Sermon by Rev. Dr. Rylance—Christian Duty Toward the Poor. St. Mark’s church was well attended last night to listen to Dr. Rylance’s sermon on the above subject. The text was irom the forty-first Psalm, first versc—‘“Blessed is he that considereth the | poor; tne Lord will deliver him in the time of trouble.’ There is, said the Doctor, a very marked interest felt and manifested in our commumty just pow in the condition of the poar, and various | methods of relie1 are advocated by some, while by | | others all such exertions seem to be looked upon with doubdt or suspicion. It is alleged that trere isa VAST AMOUNT of indiscriminate charity given in ovr ctty, which has has a demoralizing effect upon society, while otners urge more strenuous exertions to supply the need and to mitigate the misery which are said to abound in our midst. Both of these post- | tlons are probably sound and true, spite of the | sceming contradiction between them. It is simply | another instance of ex parte evidence and one-sided | conclusions. Fa2tsin abundance are at hand to | justify either or both; but the partisans of one | view, as usual, seera to be biiad or morally insen- | sible'to the truth and practical importance oi the other, Said the divine, this coniuston arises mainly irom the fact that, as a people, we have | been 60 long Strangers to cxpenses which of | LATE YEARS | have been rapidly accumulating. jong been accustomed to look upon this land as tue home of freedom and plenty, where all wi would and could work might nave a living, that Many Oj us cannot believe, pervaps, that it is otherwise now, and s0 we ure tempted to impute all toe want and wretchedness around us to un- worthy or criminal causes. The problem 1s com- | paratively new to us and we naturally find it per- | plexing, and so we give varioas and cuntictng | explanations of the iacts in tne case and suggest different and mutually destructive schemes jor | dealing with them. The Doctor thought that, | while we had this waut and misery in our midst | it was our duty todeal with it in a.pradent and Christian way. He said it would not do to push the claims aside or to stop our ears to the cry ot | monwealth like Ours that sort of treatment might bring in its wake a very grievous i SORT OF RETRIBUTION. | For, socially, we are one body—members one of | another, and the head cannot say to the hand or | the loot, I have no need of thee. “No one class can | generally or seriously sufer among us without | entailing suffering to some extent upon the waole | community, 60 that we have a common taterest | ; In considering and bandiing the question before | us, Prudence, said the minister, was the first qualification to regard in our efforts to relieve the present distress, e are all of us enemies to | what is denounced as INDISCRIMINATE CHARITY, | because of its demoralizing and degrading effects | upon character. Not to impair @ man’s se! respect while we help him in the time of bis trouble should be a@ chief concern with us, and to guard very, jealously against paying @ premium for idleness, lest imposture should be- come an easy and remunerstive profession, and | it is well to let the stress of need be teit at times, perhaps, asa stimulus to exertion. The Doctor | did net pelieve in indiscriminate charity; he ad- | Vocated charity, however, in i's most fervent sense. He believed that the members of the diferent parizhes soould, through their pastor or | other agents, visit every case brougut to their notice, and if WANT AND SUFFERING | were real!y there to relieve them. Such bad uni- | formly been the rnie with St. Mark's parish, aod, as he believed it to be the true and correct one, | he hoped the system would vce universally adopted. He thougit many more would be re- leved by that course, and muci taat was fraudu- | | CHURCH OF THE DISCIPLES oF CHRIST. |; Judgment After Death=The Christ | That Is To Be’=—Sermon by the Rev. | BD. R\Van Buskirk. ; The morhing services were very well attended at the Church ofthe Disciples of Christ. A new pastor, Rey. D, R. Van Buskirk, was introduced by one of the elders. He is a man rather under | the meatum build and has a face earnest, thonght- , fuland benevolent. Asa preliminary part of his discourse he read the last chapter of If. Peter, , but for his particular text he announced Acts, XViL, 30—“Because he hath appointed a day in which he will judge the worla 10 righteousness, by that man whom he hath ordainea; whereof he hath given assurance unto ; all men, in that he hath raised him irom the dead.” The Bible, he began, contains | motives tor obedience to its mandates as deep as perdition, as high as heaven and as boundl:ss as the love of God, Aud, perhaps, iv is not too much to Bay that it contains ail mouves, AS many and a8 great as these motives are, they may be summed _ Up In two Classes, 46 appealing to meu’s hopes and to their fears. Fors are worked upon by fear ag well a6 by the hope of reward in this worid or Io the world to come. Tte religion of Jesus is for Moan. It is wot for angels or demons, but for man, With all his jacuities and endowments, all | his Weakness and ali his strength, It reveals to lently represented found oui and at once stopped. | him the beauties of heaven and the terrors of hell. | I intend to speak to you ol the second coming of oar Saviour to this world, notin | THE GUISE OF POVERTY, but in the grandeur or ilis hirthpiace, to eall us to judginent. bas either ‘taken piace This event and | already or is now going on, or it isyet in the future | ficiently strong to express their sense of the moral | and will bot occur while we are in ‘this condl- tion, I shall try to prove froin the Bible that the last proposition 1s the true one, I argue, first of all, that Uus period of judgment, indicated by Va+ rious phrases in the New Testament, will take place aiter this life, aud that we are therefore akiug our thoughts, words and acts up to the _beght of agtother world, It is not to be a partial judgment. very sentiment of | the heart will reappear, A man is not fully prepared for judgment even in death. | There is asceyg in Whien we shall jive alter the Lastly, let all your play | be consistent with holineas, Holiness trizhtens | We have s0/ the suffering of our fellow citizens; for in a com- | MONDAY, DECEMBER 14, 1874.-WITH SUPPLEMENT. ave bas closed over us. The Aposuie Pao! says ST Abraham, le ts and yet he speaks.” It ts & principle of law that a man is not only account: | able for his crimes, but for the crimes to which he | iffo any Way accessory. Thus, @ man may be mur- dered on Eighth avenue, The man who did the | | deed was instigated by @ man in Chicago; his lang were all laid for him; the man tn Chic: ts murderer. This is also a principle in divine | Judgment. Let it not be said of us, “Thoa art the | man” that contributes to the volume of THE TIDE OF VICB that surrounds us. We are all accountable for the | agencies that we putin motion, When a stone 18 thrown into the Water the motion that it makes 1s | propagated in concentric circles until it affects every atom of the water, were it even the Atlantic Ocean, We are pebbles dropped into the ocean of humanity, and live not to ourselves and dle not to ourselves, John Wesiey ts dead, 7 he still speaks, | and with be rewarded jor whal he is doing now. Thus jucgment is tar from taking place oefore death, Ip the second place, Christ 18 to be our judge, and thia He cannot be at present, for His mission was threefoid—Redeemer, Mediator and Final Jud,e. He died for our redemption. He is now our mediator, but His judgeship is yet to come. He cannot be judge and mediator at the same time, ‘The services were concluded with communion. PLYMOUTH OHURO Sermon by Mr. Beecher on the Slow Development of Christian Character= The Rationale of Spiritual Gfowth= Hints for its Cultivation, The dull,.Jeaden, gray clouds that roiled above us yesterday morning had something to do, doubt- less, witha diminished attendance at Plymouth church. The house was crowded in every part, but there was no overflow in the outer lobbies, Mr. Beecher preactied a sermon on the slow de- velopment of the Christian character. He selected for his text the seventh, cighth and ninth verses of the filth chapter of tne Epistle to the Galatians—“Ye Gid ran well; who did hinder you that ye should not obey the truth? This persua- | sion cometh not of him that calisth you. A little leaven leaventh the whole lump.’’ The develop. | ment of Christian character, said Mr. Beecher, be- | gan well, It received a check, though there was no | necessity that it should do go, It did not come | from auy limitations in the nature of things, or { tne interposition of divine influences. It came from reasons that were extremely human and needless. {1 you consider the low development of Christian character it does not surprise us, on looking pack, that men should be inconstant. When the light broke first it had much of darkness in it; alight that at best must have been only twilight, A light that was colored by party views, by custom, by government, by policy, by a thou- sand circumstances Yiat were round about. To us Jesus 18 not an obscure Jew, disowned of His countrymen, crucified by the Romans, in barbarity and agony. So far as we cam see we discern a Saviour that rectfies the barbarities of human nature. A gradual change that rectifies the | growth of the soul of man; a new poetry, anew | | sovereignty—a change that cometh so gradually | that it denoteth a degree of development in our time—is a change of the world indeed from side to | aide, CHRISTIANS OF TO-DAY. When we consider that those whom we addréss have passed their life in religious families, that from their eariiest years they have lived in the | very atmosphere of Christian life; when they at last, by their own voluntary act, range them- selves among Coristtans, we wight say of such | that their growth will be rampant, and that when | the gardener lets in the sun ali will be green and blossoming on their side, Yet, while we do not say that Christianity has not developed, and we say that the mind and institations of a single spiritual | genius have thrown their yght and their giory shining on the ag; and wh1'e we recognize this much, and also that tms influence is greatly in- creasing, yet We say that if, instea’l of looking at books, at hymns and at theories, you will look at people, the question isan important and pertinent | one, Why is the deve.opment of a full Christian character so siow ¥ 1 will take with allowance the statement that being 4 member o/ @ church is no | guarantce of honesty. I will take with much quall- Beaton the Statement that prolessors of religion | are just 98 selfish, proud and avaricious as any- | body else. There are mauy things to be stated be- fore this question 1s determined upon any such grounds as that. But if you go mto your own conscience and take the standards of the Gospel, for example, ‘You shall jove the Lord thy God with all thy heart, ' aod thy neighbor as thyself,” then observe also what degree of chinge 1s wrought tn natural dis- position and of the great constituent features of the soul, and see how they are aifected by it, I | 4 think you will agree with me that the stature of Christian life 18 not all that we should have. We | are not living on a high plane; we are only looking | up to it. The question then arises, Why do we carry | a yoke that should be s0 easy, and a burdeo that | shouid be so light? Tnere spring up those who | say to us, “If we have only taith we shal! come inio a higher lile. We have net only & promise of lorgiveness from sin, but a deliverance trom sin.” | But the question with me ie—Is it the promise of a miraculous work, and all tae matign-like of na- ture goes away, 28 on the dny of Pentecost, or ts | it a final development, an education? Is it to | Come by stages, and by process and development, and by instraumentalities, in which the instrumen- | talities and the knowledge are applied? | REASONS FOR SLOWNESS, | The first reason why the work oi ripening in the Chr:stian character 18 slow 1s that the work is one | | of training and not of sudden transtormatiou. A | Man who takes religion casily is generally an | | | emotive man; but emotion and imagination do not make the wisest teachers. That is an expe- | rence that is necessarily local and personal, and | mot necessarily typical. An imaginative man is @ changeable man, and he goes up and down ac- | cording to moods. Mr. Beecher here described the | | effect of the relation of the experience of such | men at meeting, and then asked if that was a good kind of religion. In reply he said:—There could | be but one answer given, and that was that the | springs are around the beginning, are but the beginning; that the development of the soul goes on by slow stages, just as any other education does, with this difference, that tnis is on a higher | Plane. There never was a man since the world | ‘was created that was born into Christ suddenly | | that did not go through this long gradation of | education. There are no more siriking ilustra- } thongs of that than are found in the New Testa- ment—there isa constant repetition of building and edifying. Whether it bea tree og a bailding the permanent idea is range. Then this work of | education is of itself intrinsically more dificult | | than any that man can conceive or attempt. We | have narrowed the interpretation of the Master’s direction—‘“Strive to enter in at the strait | gate.” In any line of development the difiiculty | ye increases as you go up. There is nothing so hard | asachange of tie fundamental development of the soul. Different natures necessarily develop in | different ways. THE PROCESS OF DEVELOPMENT. Men are called to this inward growth concur- rently with the development of theic internal | fairs, 80 that to overcome 1t they must overcome | themselves, For, alter all, the world 1s a preerer | institution than the Church or the Sabbath, It is | in this way that the inspirations of truth, CA a ness and of benevolence must be developed. ff | | | | ; men had to learn the art of war only on the battle | fleld it would be considered a very dificult ee |-todo. Yet men are pushed into itfe for the devel- opment of their Christian Character, and this is their only school. If, then, you say, region is 80 dificult i may as weil not attain it, J have never disguised that the way is difMcult, But fie, can- not affurd to live on the mere plane of lite. The business of your Itie is so to live that the development shall have sway | over the earthly elements. The probiem | of life Is how @ young man shall get soundness | and put tue lower life down. Itisnot more dim. | cult for you to live with this spiritual untolding | and devéloping than it is for you to live Vouuacs physical development going on. I! you would live | Christ-like, begin early. If you would engraft an | early beginuing, begin now. Every year steadier grow the tendrils that govern your lite. If men | are living wrong they cannot stop too soon. When you look at this in tne light of the facts and the duties of life you wiil be glad of the merciful state. | ment of the Gospel, “You need a ae spirit,” | and which @ “fhe bruised reed 1 will not break,” LYRIC HALL Mr. Frothingham Sees the Coming | Dawn. | In spite of the disagreeable state of the weather | yesterday the attendance at Lyric Hall was as | large as usual. Before the sermon Mr, Frothing: | | ham spoke of the contributions, He said they were | | not meant for the general expenses, but tcr the pubilshing of bis own sermons for gratuitous dis- trioution, which was the only missionary work they undertook todo, He read extracts from the | Chinese, the Persian and the Hindoo Scriptures, | after which, he said, this being the Advent sea- | son, the thought of dawn is uppermost in our minds, The Advent season is at the darkest period | | of the year and is the beginntug of relief from dark- ness. Itis not ull day, but the first faint glim- | mering of day. We always make this difference | i} | ! | | | between darkness and lignt, ie Christian woria looked back on the pagan world and thought of It as a world that lay in darkness. No language was auf. | turpitude and degradation in which the world lay | | before the coming of Christ. The Protestant | Church looked back to the Middle Ages, speaking | | of that as the night, and the liberal Christian | world looks back on the Protestant world in the same way. The newest thinkers look back on all | Christianity as darkness, and the l'ght they see in the future is the glimmering of a better day still, | We look back and see how men were regarded as | | th | Nos. 165 and 167 West fallen beings, who lay ande¥ thé bond of iniquity; beings who in themselves had no power of doing anytring good, who were flung on this planet, which was not to be a home, but & prison under control of the devil. They thought of atonement by blood @ vicarious atonement, by which the guilt was transferred from the ty to the innocent, and ox a vast, gaping hell, into which the vast majority of men were recipitated for endless burning. Look back on the times when these ideas were be lieved in and you see a ume Which must have been as dark as midnight, Now, it is very eagy to exaggerate the darkness of night, Christendom exaggerated the darkness of paganism: Protestants exaggerated the dark- hess of tue Roman Catholics; tne darkness of Protestantism, LIGHT HAS BEEN DAWNING, E ours is that day was not welcomed 48 | such. It 18 our vilege to welcome the dawn. Tho week just ended has been eignalized one of the very remarkable oapurrences Oy nion characterize our modern PRIMARY EDUCATION. — A New Movement in the Board of Education. THE SALARIES OF TEACHERS, erais exaggerated | An Appeal for More Primary Instruction. a The present disturbed condition of the public mind th reference to the supposed cbhtémplated ‘world, the observation of the transit of Venus, a | action of the Boara of Education as to feduction been done or even which could not have thing a thought of before the reformation of Luther. now every government gends out its army light and establishes stations al watch this wonderful thing. What 1s it done for? Because light is good for itself; light expends mina. We cannot gaze into he heavens without the beavens coming into our hearts. The scien- tific man dare go anywhere; he knows he will find no devil; he knows that the further he 8 the dearer he is to the central home of bis Father. A of the salaries of the teachers of public schools of | has awakened a general inquiry among the friends all over the globe to | of education as to the sy8tem of instruction, Following this line of thought the tesult has been to discover, on the part of nearly all the mempers of the New Yorg Board of Public Instruction, that the reduction of teachers’ salaries is not the right place to economize. If the present ratio of pay- great writer on Gothic architecture speaks of 1t8 | ment was to be interfered with it is deemea by ‘weakness. He says that it makes great preten- gions, but why then these ae buttresses— woy these numerous supports in every direc tion? They’ are a confession of its weakness, So in conduct, of Iife. Under the old system it ‘was supposed & man’s virtue could not be safe un. Jess he was watched and scrutinized; he must Nave a devil to look alter him, and the fear of hell, with its abso:ate misery, caps the whole. It ts all gone—the devil, the imps, the hell; the vast marsh 1s drained; and children play over the once awning abyss. is human virtue lesa secure? It more secure, because we are satisfied of this, that the omnipresent law takes cognizance of every act and thought; there ts no escape, and it 1s impossible to believe that any act of turpitude will be forgotten or go unpunished, and therefore itis that we, who are the extreme liberals, who discard theology entirely, who stand outside, are more secure of our virtue, knowing that no devil ‘aits us, but a perfectlaw. A kindness that never eps takes us in its arms and calls us to account and gives us our discharge or our dispensation. ‘wnks observation of the transit of Venus suggests another thougnt. Venus is @ star not so large as our earth; it keeps on its wey through the sidereal system, only once In a while it has to go through some special passage, which ts only part of its great orbit. Then it attracts the attention of the whole world, but it 18 unconscious of it. So itis with every human life. People think of them selves as something insignificant, but in every iile comes & crisis—somethiog to be faced, some ques- tion to be settied—and it is @ matter of extreme interest to all around whether itis to be @ failure or @ success, Thus the beam of light teuches the material universe. Does not the beam of light cull answering voices from other things? In ancient Egypt stood a gigantic stavtuo of Memnon, and tradition gays that when ‘he sunbeams struck it @ strain Of music was heard. Some sald it was @ trick of the priesta, and some said it was so constructed that the sun had actually the power to produce the music, There is another statue that has stood in the world much longer than tiat dark and crude statue—the human frame. Look back @ few generations, to the time which we think was the time of darkness. What was the human frame? The matter it was made of was the refuse stulf of creation; it was full of iniquity; its appe- tites and passions were to be guaraed against; had it an ailment, it was @ sign Of its infamous de- scent; it was the SHRINE OF DEVILS, and when it died it was put into the ground as if the ground was the pit of the infernal. Thus, tor enerations the human frame stood for man’s fispection uninspected. All at once comes a@ beam of nowledge and falls on the forehead of the statue, and instanuy it makes the matter it is made of seem tne finest, and now, as by the early light of morning, we look at this statue, we see that the irame of man must not be crushed, bat nourished, for if perfect form does not impart perfect iutelligence, perfect form cau alone represent it; and ii all that comes simply from a touch of a beam of light, what will be the result when the full light of day is upon ust Who shall guess? Take poverty; it was a dark mass which no one thought of patting away. Now itis moroing and we see that this mass is composed of individuals, and under the power of tne day beam we see individuals leaving this mass and this awful thing disappears in mists, Here was the great spot called crime, @ more Stubborn darkness sull, aud what to do with this eat mags of iniquity—watch it, kill it, torture it, hang it on @ crucifix? You can do nothing with it, They are not human beings, but flenas. So, for long ages it was. The morning beam falis on that mass and every criminal le a being with heart and soul. ‘the symbois of the New Testament, the miracles of Christ, have never been reatixea yet; but with the advent of a better day the miracies of the New Testament, will be but faint symbols of the Dew light of beauty that w.ll take possession of the earth. Morning comes slowly, but with the | light we come to see things as they are, and to see things as they are is to hope ior things as they shall be. DEDICATION OF A MISSION CHAPEL, In the afternoon yesterday took place the cere- mony of the formal dedication of the Morning Star Union Mission chapel. The new nome of the Mission is situated in Twenty-sixth street, near Seventh avenue. It 1s externally an unpreten- tious red brick building, but the interior arrange- | ments are exceliently adapted tor the purposes \ for which it is intended. The chapel was well filled yesterday, and on the dais, with Dr. R. Py Perry, the Superintendent, were Rev. Drs. Anderson, Armitage, Deems, King and Hastings; Professor W. H, Gardner and Messrs. James D. Reid, J. E. Condict and B, J, Bloss. , The exercises opened With the singing of the bymn “Praise God, Fiow,” alter which the imvocatory prayer was delivered py Rev. Dr. Armitage. Toe Superintenaent then gave the meeting a short sketch of the histo: or the Mis- ion and & statement of the present condition of its affairs. In October, 1868, & room was Obtained in Pike's Opera House. They commenced with about sixty pupils, but Within three months they had tity teachers and nearly three hundred pupils. hen the lave James Fisk bought the Opera House, their hall being rented for different purposes, the school itselfin the street. Since that time for six y been wandering trom “pillar to post” until last Saboath, when, thanks to the Giver of All Good, they moved into tueit new ome. Rev. Dr. King spoke of the deep impression made on him in his visits to some of the miltary hospitais during the course of the late Franco- German war by the active, disinterested charity of the members of the “Red Cross,” who, irre- gpective of nationailty or difference of creed under this sign of common Christianity devoted themselves to the care of the sick and wounded. | Most appropriate, too, for their work—the work of a Union Mission—was the emblem they had chosen—the Morning Star. Christ nimseif said, “Iam the bright and Morning Star.’’ (Revela- tion, Xxil,, 16.) The brightness of the Father's Flory shone in Him, and from Him comes to us he light of God. As on the great open seas all marineis are guided in tnetr course by one star, 80, if all of ns faithfully directed our eyes toward the star, Jesus, divisions would cease and we com- bine in the common work of the Lord. The speaker concluded by reciting Horatius Bonner's hymn, “The Morning Star,’ ‘Addresses were aiso tnade by Mr. James Reid and Drs, Deems and Hastings. ‘A large collection was then taken tp. By mesns o! this and the pecans expected to accrue from the fair to be eld in the Mis-ion House during the present week, the committee hope to be able to meet their liabiilties. ‘The whole amount expended has been 39,000. In this sum are included the purchase of the lot, the cost of fone te furniture, &c,, and a yaluation of donations, The fair commences on Tuesday, 15th instant. OHUROR FAIRS, The fair given by the Jadies of the congregation of St. Agnes’ church, in Forty-third street, near Lexington avenue, will be continued this week. , Oo Saturday night last Croton Hall was crowded, | but the general reception by the three hundred beauties was poatponed until next Saturday, the closing night, when a grand ball will be given. One of the greatest foatures of the fair is the bil. | lard table presented by Mrs, Lahrens, She is one of the most industrious ladies in the hall, and has by alta Nahe of buyers. ‘Ihe Jair will be open all eek. The ladies of the Morning Star Union Mission Sunday School will open a fair in their new chapel, Twenty-sixth street, near Seventh avenue, on Tuesday aiternoon, Deceniber 15, which will be continued ge 7 afternoon and bje evening during the week. The object of tne un- dertaking is to raise tunds to pay off the debt on the building just completed. A children’s fair in aid of the French Orphan | Asylum, under the auspices of the pupils of Mme. Tardive), will be opened on December 17. A fair in aid of disabied soldiers and their oe Will be held at Masonic Tempie, opening 0 night. ‘The fair in ald of the Association for Befriending Children and Young Girls, now being ield at No, 30 Union square, will be continued until the 1sth, Crowds throng the hallevery night and none go away without declaring the entertainments are most enjoyable. The terra cotta Ogures still make one of the prominent attractions, Among the ladies in charge of tables are Mrs. George V, Hecker, Mrs. T, A, Emmet, Mra, Mary ©, D, Starr, Mra. Elhott, Mrs. ‘O'Connor, Mrs. Jamieson, Miss Harris, the Misses Gibert, the Misses Cronin aud Mrs, 5nowdea, : from Whom All Blessings | those most conversant with the practical work- ings of the system that the change should be made in the direction of equalization of salaries rather than in that of reduction, This controversy, which started on a mere ques tion of tipance, has now outrun those limits, and the more thoughtful members of the Board, whose attention to the practical results of the present system Of education has not been distracted by the glamour of showy exhibitions of useless ac- complishments, have arrived at the conviction that to a large extent—as far as practical educa- tional attainments are concerned—the present system is fast culminating, to use the forcible lan- guage of one of the Board, into ‘# chronic sham.!? Icg@s felt that the primary schools of this city fail in the great cardinal principle of American free- dom—that of making them the intellectual nurse- ties of the whole people, and bringing to each every department of necessary and useiul knowl edge. WHAT COMMISSIONERS SAY. ‘With a view of ascertaining the opinion of the Board as to what would be the practical effect of this enforced necessity for the exercise of econg- my, @ reporter of the HERALD called upon Com-' missioners Baker and Halstead. Mr. Baker stated distinctly that he felt certain that the Board would not make any reduction in the salaries of the teachers, That, in his judgment, would be a very serious mistake. If any change were made in this matter of salaries it ought to be in the di. rection of increase, not of reduction; for the instractipn of children, which laid the foun- dation of @ character that budded forth into citizenship and the exercise of all its righ! could scarce! overpaid, however | id ly be id, hh munificent the payment might be, There was, however, ho danger on the side of increase; he thought that that was even less likely than reduc: ton He should be glad to see a compromise made 1m this matter of salary, and an equalization of re- Muneration obtained. In 1871 the Board, as then constituted, and which did not have the sa) | credit given to it for purity of purpose and disin- | terested management as the present Board. gives | in its annual repers for 1871, the following “rea- sons for recent increase in the salaries uf teach- er: In Meyhs of ioe aorpores je for ra! 18 | public schoo! the Board decmed It proper to offer m- Poutives to ite teuchers by increasing thelr anual com- | pensation, It may bo thought that at this juncture in | public aifairs, when cach department is reducing the | amount of ite annual expenditures, such action on the | part ot the Commissioners of Education was {il advised. | Bue in considering the importance of the work which | the teacher is called upon to perform, the increase will | neither be regarded as ill-timed nor too large. It is, in | reality, a act of strict fenioe and proper economy. | Whenever work is worth doing it is wortn doiny well, and the people who are engaged in the sacred mission of idcatiug the youug of our metropolis and fitting them f r the proper performance ot their duties as citizens shouid be fairly compensated, Hepiiiee ois sia thes fears n measures to awaken & more active spi mmong It ructors, and wile it holds out tmined to rid the nt chanzes which have been andard of scholarship in the among its corps of in: cements to the deserving, it is deter: sys of the waworthy if there be any.” WHAT THE PRESENT BOARD DID, Theexact condition of the salary question was shown, Mr. Baker said, in tbe Manual of the Board ! of Education ior tue present year, it would show that this Board had already reduced very con- siderably the teachers’ remuneration. BALARIES OF TEACHERS, As there is considerable misconception as to the salaries of teachers, the following iist, taken from the Manual of 1874, article 13, will serve to correct any misapprehension :— SALARIBS Ur TO FEBRUARY 18, 1874. Male Vice princ z Mule asemtauts, Where one is emploved Male assistants, where more than one 1s emp Female assistants, average.. VEMALE DEPAMTM MNT. Principals, Principals, a Principals, av Principals, average atten | Principals, average attendance more than Su). 2 Vice principals, more than 150 average atten tance. 1,298 Vice principals, average attendan to 15) i Assistants, average... oe PRIMARY DEPARTMENTS. cipals, less than 2x) averace attondance.. erin pais, more thau 20 and not than 40) eo attendance an Wy average attendance. . | Principals, more than 600 average attendance. Vice principals, average attendance 24) and noi more than OO Vice principa's, average attendance more than 30 and not more, thant 1,00 | Vice principals, av | 1.00... 1,200 | Assist | incipals of schoulgy with it. Male principals of schoolg with an average at Nendat ce ue the preceding year of 15 or less. fered 2i0 S000 Male vice principais ot #:hools, average | "attendance tor the preceding year ot a grammar | _ grade of 250 or more.. rivree | Female principals of graniinar shoo tht ‘average attendance for the preceding year of 1 less. . 1.200 101 to 150. 1300 151 to 1,509 301 to 500. 609 1,700 BOL and up: . Female vice prin sc! is attendance tor the preceding yeur of a grammur Grade, 250 OF MOFes..... esp 06 tose +. Ay | prunary principals of schools, with an average at- Jendauce, lor the precedlug year, of 200 or less. to . oul 1,01 and apwaras TEACHERS OF 3, | Teacher of vocal music in grammar or BHmesyE ool. . { French teacher in grammar sch | German teacher in graminar school... | Drawing teachor in grammar school 4 | Jn schools where no special teacher of music is | employed the teacher having charge of the music shall receive $75 salary in addition to the amount allowed agaregular gasistant teacher, provided the usual Instruction in music is given; but no | principal or vice principal of a scnool shall be snpolred to such position, ir, Baker said he should be tn favor of an approximation to an equa'ization of the saluries. He was of opinion that too little of the money ) Was given to the primary schools. There had been | @ growing tendency in the public educatioual system of New York to cultivate the ornamental at the CXpense of the uselui, So extensively prevalent was this tendency and so deeply had its | roots permeated the system, that the entre ‘abric | of our sucial life was likely to be demoralized by it, For exaraple, the acquirement of what were really the factors of ali education—viz., read- ing, writing uod ciphering—were left by the sys- tem pursued by the Board to the more inefficient and less qualified grade of teachers, He did not | oppose the ucquirement of what was supposed to | be an ornamental education; but he did insist | that in @ country like America, which had com. paratively no populativn that could atford to be non-producers, end the bulk of whom had their way to make in the worid, they should have an opportunity of being weil groiinded in these essential elements Of all instruction. ‘The facts, as faras New York were conceracd, were these— that the number of children attending the primar, schools Was about two-thirds of tue entire attend. ance, and that tie expense of teaching these was only one-third of thet which was spent on primary scuools, The report of 1873 shows tue following figures:— Average Whole Number Attenance, Taught. | Male grammar sohoo!s + 17,061 32,483 Female grammar schools, 15, iLL 25,94 | Primary Levartments 305, 0.297 Primary schvois......... 15,68! 83,148 The result of this defect of the was not only disastrous upon but it had &@ prejudicial ere. A teacher graduates necessarily through the public sohoois; the imperfections of the prim- ary system tell upon the early education received by this graduate, and, despite the excellence system the children, effect ou the teach-. the system pursued at the Normal School, that detect is, aa a rule, ried into the work of the teacher whenever he or she may be called upon to enter upon it as teacher in the primary scuool. In addition to this there is ever active in the mind of the teacher the desire for translation ta the grammar school, with increased salary, a the feeling that the primary school is not a pi: of hopor, WHAT A PRIMARY PRINCIPAL SAYS. Susan Wright, principal of the primary de- (OONTINUED ON NINTH PAGB)