The New York Herald Newspaper, December 2, 1878, Page 8

WILL GIVE YOU REST.” \ Divine Services Yesterday in the Churche A JOYFUL RELIGION. The Different Conceptions of God and the True One DEPRAVITY OF HUMAN NATURE. CHURCH OF THE DISCIPLES. ‘THE DEPRAVITY OF HUMAN NATURE—SERMON BY THE REV. GEORGE HEPWORTH. “The Bible is at the same time the most depressing and the most hopeful of books,” said Mr. Hepworth yesterday morning, in commencing a sermon on ‘The Depravity of Human Nature,” the text of which was Ephesians, iv., 22, 24—That ye put off concerning the former conversation the old man, which is cor- rupt according to the deceitful lusts; and that ye put on the new man, which after God is created in right- eousness and true, holiness.” The preacher proceeded to amplify the declaration as to the Bible, and said :— It is depressing when it states what man is and what he will inevitably become, unless some intervening force interferes. It is hopeful when it tells us what man may become when he accepts the conditions of salvation. The first facts that the Bible acquaints us with are those relating to our fallen condition, and which during the ages have crystallized themselves into the convenient shape of the doctrine of total depravity. The next series of fects with which the Bible acquaints us contain ‘within themselves the means of escape from dark- ess; the secret of acquiring spiritual health; the way in which heaven can be reached with the smile of the everlasting Father of Peace. During the ages these facts haye been crystallized into what has been termed the plan of salvation. The Bible states the difficulty and then gives the remedy; it paints on the background our human depravity and sinfulness, and then faces upon it the luminous cross of Calvary, the symbol of our great hope. ‘This doctrine of depravity has been the stumbling block of many thoughtful minds, but only becanse it has been misunderstood. It is the assertion of a plain, unwelcome and indis- putable fact. The depravity in our own heart resents the. doctrine as a personal insult. It is never- theless true. If we will measure ourselves, our ambition, our peace, our actual lives, by our ttern, Christ Jesus, we shall tind we have fallen ir short of what is possible. We have hidden be- hind excuses which will be of no avail. We*have pleaded again and again that circumstances are against us, when we knew that a strong will could trample on such circumstances and tread them under foot. Now, brethren, if we want to be a real help to mankind, or if we want to make any change in our own mode of life, we must begin by first finding out how deep down’ it is necessary to dig when we li the first stone of reformation. Observation and perience tell us in stern, relentless tones that we must dig down to the very bottom. The Bible puts this better than Ican. So radical is its assertion that ou and I start back upon ourselves with something e dread and fear, until we insist upon knowing the whole truth, and in that partly lies our faith in all good and our life in God. The mind before it reaches the truth always passes through a region of doubt. NEW BIRTH. The Bible tells us in akind of picturesque com- mand that we must be born again; and in that word is hidden strong probabilities. If we are to be born again we must die first. Death must kill everything in our nature. Yet, if we consider for a moment, we shall find it true, nevertheless. Out of thix will come 1 new birth, and the ‘‘whole conversa- ’ and “the old man” are to be put aside. Anew man, which is the gift of God, must be brought for- ward. The Bible, then, is very like the physician who applies ‘a heroic remedy. Some of you are in doubt out this matter. You are very thoughtful men and women, and you have found it exceedingly difficult to accept the doctrine of total depravity, and whenever it has been preached you have glossed it over as best you could. “Many and many ® ‘ime you have thought it @ mistake ot the Church to insist upon it; and, because you Bave tho-ight it was not exactly true, you have looked upon it ax a doctrine taken out of the Scriptures by a method of misinterpretstion. The doctrine of total depravity is not a Bible doctrine alone. It is a very curious fact that to-day it is preached by the two opposing elements of our modern society. “Che man of Christian feeling believes in it with tears in his eyes and with a bieeding heart. The Communist, whose end is to reform society and to make ail men brethren in some magical and mysterious way, and who shakes the red flag of revolution in the face of the wineteenth «century, stands upon the doctrine of total depravity as his fundamental fact. He ft» en infide, to be sure, and does not mild methods of the New This makes no difference; ne did Bot get his facts out of the Scriptures. He got them ts being ground between the upper and lower mill- stones of human existence. He got them by looking tanto human eyes and into his own heart and by hard experience. The systems of political economy which bave been put forth in the world during the last three or four generati ert the same thing. Christianity provides a remedy for this disease, The doctrine of total depravity does not mean that there is no good in man. To a certain extent good is matural to man. We all of us have generous impulses: and give way tothem. The doctrine says to us that the man who lives to himself alone will lose the high- est good. There is only one way of solving this enigma, and that way is through the Lord Jesus Christ. Christ im every man’s life a controlling PLYMOUTH CHURCH. THE DIFFERENT EXTANT CONCEPTIONS OF GoD— SERMON BY REV. HENRY WARD BEECHER. I have sometimes thought, said Mr. Beecher, fet there is in spiritual matters some such wave as extends, we know not how, in light, in electricity and in heat, so that, for instance, when the faculty of mirth exerts itself in me it sends an electric wave to every man who has corresponding endowment of mirthfulness, and he feels that wave from my sou vibrate upon his. And how do we know, he con- tinued, with great enthusiasm, but this is the great Jaw of the universe—that the heart of God is the great battery of the universe, shooting out power through space, and that every sentient being that has a cor~ responding chord is sensitive to that wave and re_ sponds to it? Ido not say it is so, but that it is per- fectly thinkable and that there are analogies for it. MORAL CONSCIOUSNESS AND INTELLECT. Mr. Beecher advanced the theory in the opening of his sermon, which was based upon the passage in St. John wherein the Saviour says He will no longer call His disciples servants, but friends, He began by defining the meaning of the word dolos in the original, and explaining the altered relation in which the dis- ciples then stood to Jesus through their foregoing spiritual elevation, What God was in all the fulness of being no man could know. He was to each one what his moral development enabled him to see and to feel, It wax not by the intellect but by moral sen- ‘ gment that men could appreciate the Divine nature, He feit first, and interpreted the feeling by the intel- lect afterward. There was no such complete cere tainty as that which flashed on the moral con- Sciousness without logic. It was the conviction of the understanding in view of evidence which satin- fies the moral sense. It was absurd for men in searching for God to apply the same teste which they used in respect to material things. The preacher went on to disenss the various conceptions of God put forth at the present time, The men who did right from fear of God were retigioux, but were not Christians, and the great bulk of professed Christians were only religic They never reached any higher conception an one of fear, power and nee. How ni n came down here ft ny at any Christ? They believe in the divinity of Christ, and that is all. A God who is universal love has not yet dawned upon their minds. They are not let ont yet. They are in cages. They are God's servants yet, not his friends, and they are afraid every day that they are going to do wrong, and they go ¢ day beguing and whining to God and talking themselves ae being worms and all these humiliating and debasing i It is pertectly pi h expression ax that on: sion of an extraordinary ing would be abominable if used every day, There are hours in which the conception of God is s0 over- powering that in the contrast a man docs feel li worm, but this, as [ said, don't come to a man mot than once in a lifetime. SOME KINDS OF PRAYER, The deacon every morning [and here Mr. Beecher with unconscious mimicry lengthened ont his face and spoke through his nose) exclaime “We are all worms betore T! What kind of religion is that? If my child came crawling to me P'é—l'd make him crawl more, (Smiles). They adduce texts to prove how Daniel prayed. Well, [say you are not Daniel, and you are not in a lion's den. Nevertheless he tries “Oh, Lord! now hear us! Oh, Lord God of majesty and behold ua poor shrivelled worms of the dust!” Well, he lies! (with great warmth). He knows he is not any such thing as that, and it would not be safe for you to tell him be was after pra; NEW YORK HERALD, MONDAY, DECEMBER 2, 1878—WITH SUPPLEMENT. (Laughter). It isasham, a falsehood, and yet how many are those who talk so! ‘There is more of God upstairs, if you will only go after it, said Mr. Beecher in the came connection. It Jacob had only seen ax much of God as he felt when he laid his head upon the pile of stones he would have been a brute; but he saw steps leading up. Now, must go up if you would know God trul; do so God will go up with you. The theologies of old were admirable things in their time, but in our time I feel that we are standing on the eve of great di closures, I believe we are having much torn from round about us which we could ill afford to keep, although many men are crying over it as they cried of old that their gods were stolen away from them. But I see how men are growing up in breadth of conception and depth of sentiment, and, above all, Icannot but see the surface that is begin- ning to be polished until it can reflect like a very mirror the image of God; and if the waves from the Great Heart are beginning to flow in, and if in us there are corresponding sentiments, who can tell what will be in the days that are to come? FIFTH AVENUE BAPTIST CHURCH. JOYFUL RELIGION—SERMON BY REV. DR. ARMITAGE. ‘The Rev. Dr. Armitage preached on “A Joyful Re ligion,” taking his text from Philippians, iv., 4— “Rejoice in the Lord alway; and again I say, rejoice.” Probably the chief defect in our experi- mental Christianity to-day, said the Doctor, is the want of Christian joy. Evidently God intended the whole Christian system to promote a Bfe of happi- ness, both in this world and that which is to come; but men have clothed it in gloom and sentimental superstition. You can read the true feelings of an army or a nation by their devices in symbol and heraldry, their ensigns and standards. As they are brave and heroic or craven and weak so there will be a sort of visible and mechanical poetry, which expresses their metal and emotions of the eye. On the Continent of Europe you are greeted everywhere by Christian symbols, Painting and sculpture are employed, with other scenic productions of every kind, accompanied by poetry, music and oratory, even to profuse weariness, but it is all on the minor plain. There is no imagery of joy, or next to none. The happy and entwining emotions are seldom appealed to. The tones of the grandest organs, the scale of the highest melody and the voice of the most sonorous song are all set in a deeply pensive key. Everything is so arranged as to inspire reverence, fear and even awe, as though some hidden abstract mystic power commandeda trembling homage in worship. Everything impels to dread; nothing awakens courage, confidence and joy. And if we look at practical Christianity in our own churches how much fuller, brighter and more jubilant do we find our religion. Have we, 8 Seoper, rounder and more abounding joy in the Lord? ‘Commonly, real joy is looked upon as but little short of positive sin, while the chief aim of Christianity is regarded as being met when men are put under stern restraint on carth and think them- selves prepared for another world. The average view of Christians seems to be that the chief end of being born is to die and the chief _purpose'of passing through this life to get well out of it. As to the grandeur of torming eternal character, of perfecting manhood on the sublimest standard here and here- after, of lifting up others into the same nobility, of maintaining and displaying all the glorious princi- ples of the Gospel, and of honoring our Maker and Kedeemer in their divine claims and rights—as to these momentous vitulities they are generally treated lightly, it they are regarded at all. “REJOICE AND BE EXC DING GLAD.”” And when men serve God, consciously or uncon- sciously from slavish fear, from dread of punishment or froni superstitious bondage of any sort, they must be unhappy. Superstition makes her home with the horrible, but man with the happy. When you come to the Christian religion, Christ himself, its founder, ex- pressly repudiates the thought that His disciples should be sad in His presence. He was reminded that the Pharisees and John’s disciples fasted often, but His disciples fasted not. He said “Can the chil- dren of the bridegroom mourn when the bridegroom is with them?” This He followed with the promis “My joy shall be in you, and your joy shall be full,” and ratified the whole with the exhortation, “Rejoice and be exceeding —glad"—language 0 strong that it would have been deemed extravagant if other lips had spoken it. “Rejoice and be exceeding glad, for great is your reward in heaven.” It is not at all necessary here to attempt any definition of that simple emotion which the Lord Jesus called “joy.” It isa state of feeling which cannot be represented adequately in language, tor the man who experiences it cannot analyze its clements. A man who had never telt it would get no idea of its nature by all the words which poet or philosopher could command. Each man who has felt joy must define it to himself and for himself, and cach man’s definition will differ ac- cording to the intensity and duration ot his experi- ence, Frequently those who think that mencan be too happy in theit religion, and aro afraid that the should be, attempt to tone down the thought whi the Word is iufended to convey to the idea ot mere cheerfulness or some kindred emotion, taming down the full, bold sense of the Redeemer in its use, from an exciting delight and exultation to a common place felicity. Perhaps it would be impossible for us to obtain a clearer sense of our Lord's meaning in the use of the words “joy” and “rejoice” than as it is illustrated in the injunctions and experience of Paul, his chief apostle in labor and sufferings, and perhaps also in personal happiness, His epistle to the Philippians may properly be called a treatise on Christian joy. In no part of his writings does he lay such a stress upon the subject, as if joy were a cardinal grace in Christian life and’ character. The words “joy” and “rejoice” are repeated again and again in this short letter in their application to others, while he also at- tests, ‘I rejoice in the Lord greatly.” MASONIC HALL. WHAT WE HAVE TO BE THANKFUL FOR—SERMON BY MR. 0. B. FROTHINGHAM. During his discourse at Masonic Hall Rev. 0. B. Frothingham said:—The President has issued his proclamation for Thanksgiving; but in the church universal the custom has lost its religious element and is now regarded as only a social event. The churches on Thanksgiving Day are no longer largely attended, and the preachers, instead of discoursing on religious topics, discuss in a tender manner political affairs, The first idea that prompted aday of thankayiving was the recognition of an all- merciful God, who gives everything to those who waitand hope and pray. ‘The second idea which it was intended to represent was that the Inbor of the year, in producing and gathering the fruits of the soil, A was ended, as symbolical of our treading on the portals of the life everlasting. These two ideas were worked into the blood and bone of the New England people. They were living realities, coutrolling —faiths—not to bear the ills they had, but to reduce and diminish them in the modern philosophy. In this age the energies of man have been stirred to their very foundations, and the result is that for the first time in the world there is seen something like a steady production of food. It ix a fuet that, owing to our improved methods of agriculture, if we cannot yet say that famine can never come here, we can assert that it is farther off from u« than ever before; and the time is coming when, on the Continent of America, we will have food for all. When that time comer, it will be an era, for it will mean that every has enough, and when every one has enough the gates of heaven’ will begin turning on their golden hinges. HELP THE POOR. When food shall be more pleutifal the poor will be lifted up, their lives will be louger and their chil- dren will have o chance 60 grow np to be men and women. What does the poor man do when he comes: to your door? He does not ask for bread, but r something to do—for the privilege of work- ing. Socialism and Communisin are dreadful things if prompted by ignorance, but I believe that in some hearts they are ype ge by aspirations to live, to labor and even to suffer as rational beings and not as brutes. There is something touching to me in the ery that comes from the poor in Germany- it 18 # cry for food, for the privilege to live. Itisacry which certainly ought to be met with something more than scorn and brutal violence from those in power, who, instead of speaking of bayonets and cannon, should speak of justice to the poor, Lam amazed from day to day that people who have nothing are ail; that they do not band together and this something tor us to congratulate ourselves upon. The great workers for the eleva- tion of the masses in Germany and elsewhere are liberals who have outlived dogmas and creeds, and are now working for the redemption of the world, The promise ot the coming time is beautiful and glorious beyond hope. ALL SOULS’ CHURCH. DERIVED VIEWS AND OPEN VISION— REV. DR, BELLOWS. Rev. Dr, Bellows proached at All Souls’ Church on the subject of “Derived Views and Open Vision,” the text being from I, Samuel, ifi., 1—“And the Word of the Lord was precious in those @ays; there was no open vision.” ‘The Word of the Lord in the earlier days of the world's life, indeed in the youth of every individnal life, is necessarily « precious thing. It ix committed to official and priestly custody, only to be reached by certain avenues and received under special conditions and in carefully prescribed forme. By a most nataral modesty in the human race God is supposed to be unwilling to communicate with men, unless with some exceptionally exalted personage, It may bea great man like Abraham, owner of myriad flocks and a natural ruler among his people. Again, there is Moses, alone on the summit of Sinai, or the high priest in the Holy of Holies which he alone is MON BY allowed to enter. He speaks, too, not only to wholly exceptional persons, but even then om very rare occa sions. When He has spoken, it may be once in a. thousand years, the words are written down on tab- lets of stone or costly vellum and become the most direct means of communication, The precious rec- ords were kept in a sacred tabernacle or a splendid temple wrapped in golden cloths or shut in jews elled chests. They could be read only by te anointed for the affice. All nations have a tradition of a time when God directly communicated with their founders and sages and saints. There is no possible~ beginning of a worship or a common faith, a national religion, except in the tradition of some direct word of God, spoken to the ear of a favored prophet, who from that time becomes the channel of. imtercourse between God and man. In his name temples are built, scriptures are written, sacrifices are offered and prayers made, and all spiritual or religious blessings are ascribed to his influence with an unseen and silent God, too great, holy and high to be known di- rectly or seen or heard by common, men, “ SYMBOLS OF POWER, It is no wonder that the great Sovereign of the Universe, the Almighty King of Kings, should have been regarded in the past as an almost inaccessible being, Such conceptions of God’s majesty and awful dignity were the beginnings, the foreshadowings of the real truth and faith. Awe and self-huniiliation, even before a mysterious power, are the elements of true reverence for a being whose real glory is after- ward recognized in moral beauty and spiritual ex- cellence. The gold of the altar dazzles the eye before the sacrifice on it touches the heart. It is neces- sary to denote the glory and beauty of Him who dwelleth in temples by hands by the — erection of mi ifleent churches. Millions can look up at the yault of the sky, can be- hold the enamelled floor of the flowery earth, the altar lights of the ever burning stars, the baptismal font of the sea, and hear the eternal litany of the sighing woods and the supplicating ery of all ani- mated nature, yet they experience .no feeling that they are in God's self-erected temple. ‘They will go into a cathedral and imagine that they are vonse- quently neurer to Him. ‘Still, it we cannot con- secrate the whole world, let us be glad that we can make holy ground of a few acresthere and there. The congregation should not forget that one-of the reasons given why the Word of the Lord was pre- cious in Samuel's time was because there was no open vision. Open vision is that first and direct view of God and spiritual realities on which all prophets have founded traditional. religions. No man need wholly base his faith in religion at second hand. God is known and seen and trusted by thomsands of souls who need no other evidence of His Being or His will than what is directly revealed to their ‘hearts. There is that within us more sacred than cathedral altar or stained window or sacred writing. ‘It is the soul itself. ST. ROMAN CHURCH. THE PROTESTANT REFORMATION—SERMON BY REV. FATHER PRESTON. A congregation, that crowded every partiof St. Ann's Roman Catholic Ciurch listened to the first of Dr. Preston’s Advent sermons on “‘TheiProtestsnt Reform- ation.” His remarks were based-on II. John, i, 9— “Whosoever transgresseth and abideth not in the doctrine of Christ hath not God.” The Doctor ANN’S , CATHOLIC laid down the proposition that. this movement must have been uf God or of the devil. He proceeded to show them that it could not have been of God, be- cause it altogether subverted the+doctrines of the Gospel and broke up Christianity as:it had been re- ceived by the world for eighteen centuries. If the movement was of God, then the.reformers were right and were justified in calling the Catholic Church and the Vicar of Christ anti-Christ. Dr. Preston elaborated his subject, which, however,hecon- fined to the reformation on the Continent, under four heads—namely, the causes which led to this move- ment; its beginning with the reformers; the character of those reformers, and the causesewhich have made this movement s0 successful as to have overrun Western and Northern Europe. ‘The first cause that the Doctor named was the long struggle between the civil and ecclesiastical powers | which lasted for three centuries until the Church trinmphed. Then she set about reforming and convert- ing the nations, and in thix work met with opposition everywhere. The preacher described the work of transforming and elevating society which the Church accomplished after she came into power, and then passed on to show how Luther took advan- tage of the condition of Europe to preach not against the sale of indulgences, tor these cannot be sold—they are based upon good works, which are not saleable merchandise—but against indulgences them- selves, And his motive was jegjousy. He was an Augustinian monk, while Tetzel was a Dominican. The latter received the proclamation of indulgences and this enraged Luther. Dr. Preston quoted from various authors con- temporary with and later than Luther, and also from the latter’s own writings, to show that he declared himself not called of God to his work, and that he was a glutton, a drunkard and a licentions man, and the irresistible conclusion was that God would not employ a man of such immoral character to reform His Church. The character and work of Zuingle and Calvin were also passed in review, and it was shown that the former was compelled to resign his cure because of ralities, and the latter, while studying for the priesthood, ‘was expelled for like causes, But it was necessary to account for the suc- cess of a movement thus inaugurated by bad men in the Church, and this the Doctor did by assigning it to three causes, namely—the natural desire of the human heart to be free; the struggle between the temporal and spiritual power—in which the reform- ers aided the former and carried their work on as did Mohammed with fire and sword—and the appeal of the reform movement to the worst passions of the human heart. Dr. Preston will take up the ‘Reformation in Eng- land” next Sunday evening. SPRING STREET PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH. PRACTICAL LESSONS DRAWN FROM THE WRECK OF THE POMMERANIA—SERMON BY MR. MO- MENT. The Rev. Mr. Moment, pastor of the Spring Street Presbyterian Church, took for his subject, “Lessons from the Wreck of the Steamship Pommeranis.” After relating the facts of the disaster and roferring to others of a similar character he proceeded, in the first place, to praise the heroic conduct of captain Schwensen in refusing to leave his ship until, as he presumed, all the others had been cared for, and drew from that act a lesson of cour- aye, showing the necessity of standing at the post of duty under sll circumstances—to exhibit courage in business, in politics and, above all, in religion. He then turned the attention of th pngreyation to the fact that the Pommerania was a good shi manned, well equipped—good in evi y The reverend entleman drew from this was lost. the lesson that man, in his lost and unre- claimed condition, is sailing over the sea of life in just such a frail bark, liable any day or night to be wreeked and overridden by the waves of destruction, Everything may appear calm and seem to be secure, but suddenly the collision comes and an is lost. LIFEDOATS AND BELTS. The preacher related how many had been saved from the Pommerania by the lifeboats, and claimed that Christ is the Christian's lifeboat—the Christian's faith, Mr. Moment referred to the statement that in some cases the life belts had been placed wrong side up, by which the heada of the struggling passengers were submerged in water and their feet elevated. From this he went on to show that many had the gospel life belt put on wrongfully, by which he meant that they had good works first and the finished work of the Lord Jesus Christ second, We, said the preacher, must put on the gospel life belt by having the cross of Jexus Christ first and good works second. CHURCH OF THE VISITATION. GRAND DEDICATORY SERVICES IN SOUTH BROOK- LYN—SERMON BY BS#HOP SHANNAHAN, OF HARRISBURG—-PARADE OF SOCIETIES, The new and magnificent Church of the Visitation, ¥urona street, near Richard, South Brooklyn, wae consecrated in the presence ST a congregation num- bering about two thousand people yesterday. Three bishops of the Catholic Church and fifty priests of the diocese took part in the services, A description of the building, which cost $130,000 and will seat 1,500 persons, appeared in the Henan yesterday. ‘The dedicatory services were performed by Right Rey. John Laughlin, Bishop of Brooklyn, thirty priests accompanying him in the procession about the church, The musical programme was excented in a most artistic manner, Right Rev. Bishop Corri- gan, of New Jersey, celebrated the grand pontifical high mass, assisted by Rev, Father O'Beirn John's Chutvh, as assistant priest; Rev, F j i ae wehy, of St. Auguastin’s Chure! . Father O'Hare as master of ‘THY, HERMON, The sermon was preached by Right Rev. Bishop Shannahan, of Harrisburg, Pa., who took for his text the words found in TL. Paralipomenon, — vit.— “And the Lord appeared to him by night and said, Thave heard thy prayer; and [ have chosen thix place to myself for a of sacri ** * My eyes also shall be open, and my cars attentive to the prayer of him that shall pray in this place.” Lishop Ix on the occasion of ;. enant, and He speaks these wan ‘ial manner in the blessing of this te id temple was symbolic of the new, The temple of worship ia the he God and of society. Though God accepts, with the homage of fervent hearts in doing what they can to extol Him in His majesty, still we know He expects to make nerous efforts for His glory. Catholic Charch has forev with a desire to ereet t odness and of His holiness. tin the New World by the splendor of its edi which show that the spirit which animated the Chy in the been for You have only © preacher, ‘to see the fine charches of your diocese, and to look beyond the river and see the substantial Cathedral which is now approaching completion, and you will take courage to rear the new and tic monument to your faith—the which you have begun.” ‘The reverend prelate complimented the people of the district, the generous hearts who had e such reat sacrifices to bring the present edifice to com- letion, and proceeded to speak of the Chureh spiri- ual, of which Christ is the head. Is there to-day, he said, a competent witness of Divine revelation ? Yes. ‘Thix,witness, the Gospel tells us, is to remain to, the last ‘day, and then is to surrender only to God. This witness is the Church. Her affirmation is truth. All over the earth she is summoned as a witness, and bears irrefutable testimony to her divine origin and mission to human society. Years bow not her head nor does time delve wrinkles in her brow. From Peter to Leo the continuity of her life. is unbroken. She is ever the same as fwhen her Divine Master was on earth. Partial failing there may have been at times in the ‘Church; general decay never. She is ever ready to rvot ont error wherever it may arise, She ix founded on two virtues which must ever animate her— tnamely, love of God and the love of our neighbor. A SPIRITUAL TEMPLE. Bishop Shannahan held the attention of the congre- gation for an hour and twenty-minutes, and in his peroration urged his hearers not to lot their works end with rearing a material house of worship, but to build up aliving temple of the soul, to which the material temple is inferior. At. the conclusion of the mass the benediction of the blessed sacrament and the pontifical benediction were xiveu by Bisho Lougiilin, after ‘which the congregation disporsed. ‘The services lasted from quarter-past ten A. M. to quarter to two P.M. In the afternoon there was a grand parade of the St. Patrick's Mutual Alliance, Hi- bernian and Temperence societies in honor of the oc- casion, and contributions were made by them to the church. STANDARD HALL. om LECTUBE BY PROFESSOR FELIX ADLER ON THE PRINCIPLE OF CONSCIENCE, A large audience assembled in Standard Hall to listen to Professor Adler, who spoke substantially as follows :—It is one thing to see, it is another thing to explain the theory of vision; it is one thing to do what is right, it is another thing to understand the theory of conscience. So long as an organ is sound ‘we may use it instinctively; but when it is sick the physician alone can cure it—that is, he who under- stands the laws upon which its action de- pends. The conscience of the age is sick; to aoctor it we must understand the laws of conscience. We have considered in pre- vious discourses at some length what the principle of conscience is not; it is not divine will, it is not man’s pleasure, it is not sympathy. What, then, is it? We seek to range ourselves, as individuals, under larger and larger groups of our tellow beings, and ac- cept the laws of these groups as binding upon our souls, Morality develops concentric _cir- cles, outward. As we pass from circle to ‘circle we find ourselves to be parts of wider and wider groups of —_‘men. Not only do we ascend from the lesser to the larger groupy, but in all cases the conflict of moral law, ac- cording to our deduction, provides that the interests of the larger must predominate over those of the lesser, Conscience is essentially unselfishness, The law of generalization is the law of disinterestedness. Who does not understand this, that we shall prefer higher interests to the lower, and act accordingly ? RIGHT I8 REASON. To-day I desire to indicate that right is only an- other form of reason, and that it is, therefore, logic- ally absurd to question it, to doubt conscie: ‘And since reason is founded not only in the human mind, but in the very nature of things, righteousness, also, is not only a subjective element of human nature, but is # part of the eternal order of the universe. The highest law of morality is the law of humanity. It sayx that every man must be respected for his humanity, and that the humanity in every man must be sacred. It is easy to say humanity, but hard to understand the fulness of its meaning. Aristotle also said humanity meant only bis fellow citizens. The feudal lords said humanity, but meant only their fellow aristocrats. The Southern -slaveholders did not recognize the human in the black man, and their humanity toward themselves was turned into inhu- manity toward him. We io in our time do not fully recognize the rights of humanity that belong to the great bulk of the people. We are kind toward the poor, but kindness is not what is needed. Kindness im plies itself a sort of mastership; we are kind even to dumb brutes when they suffer. Not to be kind, but to be just is what is required. The phrase, “We are brothers,” so often lightly used, with no sense of the immensity of its meaning, expresses the su- preme law of ethics. A SILENT SERMON. PREACHING TO AND ABOUT DEAF MUTES—DR. GALLAUDET'S NOISELESS MINISTRATIONS. The impressiveness of silence can scarcely be better realized than at a visit to a deaf mutes’ church. Yes- terday afternoon a Henaxp reporter entered St. Ann’s Church, in Eighteenth street, which was about half filled with an attentive congregation. Silence sur- rounded him on every side, The Rev. Dr. Gallaudet occupied the pulpit and was evidently preaching, but not asound escaped his lips. His hands, however, moved with speaking gesture. The reporter seated himself near the middle of the church and gazed at- tentively. He could almost understand the dumb eloquence that flowed from the preacher's fingers. Up in the front seats sat the inmates of the Home for Aged and Infirm Deaf Mutes. How reverend was tho view of there hush'd heads Looking tranquillity { Down by the door sat some dozen or more boys carrying on a lively, though silent conversation. Boys will be boys, even under such trying cireum- stances. They were just as happy as though they had been blessed with the gift of speech. At times they got quite excited in their arguments, and again something funny, told by a mischievous mute, would raise a repressed laugh. Here and there, among the older members of the congregation, a hand could be seen communicating some bit of news to a comrade on the other side of thechurch. But nota note of speech broke the silence. Now and then a late arrival with creaking boots tip-toed up the aisle, and here the dif- ‘ference between this and other congregations was +marked, for not a head was turned in the direction of the sounds. The constant banging of the large door and the laughter of some young men in the vestibule of the church, though it annoyed the reporter ex- ceedingly, was unheeded by the congregation, After the benediction was pronounced the worshippers knelt in prayer, but, instead of ong their eyes, fixed them ‘on the pastor, who prayed ax he had reached. There was no music, for it would have pen wasted upon this audience. CHURCH WORK AMONG DEAF MUTES, In the evening Dr. Gallaudet preached at Holy Trinity Episcopal Church, in Madison avenue, on the subject nearest his heart—“Church Work Among Deaf Mutes.”” He referred to the opening of the first institution for deaf mutes in this country, sixty-one years ago, Now there are nearly fifty institutions in our country a light and knowledge to thou- sands of children and young men and ma:dens who without them would be of through this earthly pilgrimage in afar sadder and more pitiable condi- tion. In September, 1450, Dr. Gallaudet commenced a Bible ciass for deaf mutes in the vestry room of St. Stephen's Church, in this city. It was intended for those who had graduated at various institutions and settled in this city to support themselves and their families. The class was small at first, but the growth came #9 rapidly that they were compelled to remove to No. 59 Bond street, where they met every ‘Thursday evening for many years. Early in the spring of 1852 Dr. Gallaudet felt that there should be one church in the city of New York having a special mission for deaf mutes. Accordingly, with those who were in sympathy with him,’ he engaged the small chapel of the New York Uni- versity, in ‘ashington square, and on the first Sunday of October,’ 1552, the first services were held in the sign language. Finally St. Ann's Church was purchased. With free seats and free will offerings at the beginning St. Ann’s Church proved to be the gracious giver of spiritual blessings to all sorts and conditions of men. Durin, the past twenty-six years the parish has ministered to people of almost every race and color, to deat mutes, to the blind, and to those suffering from other physical deprivations. They began their parixh life with a plain baptismal bow! and without a com- miunion set; but before on presented with the solid silver service now in use, For several years mitch earnest work has for the poor and needy of this parish. benides the Sunday schools, thes school, ® sewing school, & mothers’ meeting and social ‘week-night gathering. Forty or fitty deat mutes are confirmed annually, ‘The Church Mission to Deaf Mute has established some twenty-five mis- sions for adult deaf mutes in different parts of the country, reaching djrectly npward of one thousand perons. The society also supports a Home for Aged and Infirm Deat Mutes in East Twentieth street, | ‘The aim of the mission has been to make deat mutes happy and usefnl in this life and to prepare them, as sincere Christians, to enter upon the glories of the life which is to com CONGREGATION SHAARAI TEPHILA. At a secret meeting of the electors and seatholders of the congregation of Shaarai Tephila, which was held at the «ynagogue, No. 127 West Forty-fourth street, on Sunday, November 22, a committee of ten was appointed to confer with Dr. Mendes and report & reformed system of worship, A committee was also appointed to collect tunds to liquidate the ehureh debt, which is said to be $86,000, of which $64,000 is held by the Union Dime Savings Bank, secured by a mortgage on the aynagogue. As the interest is over- due it ix feared that a foreclosure will take place un- loss tho interest ix paid immediately. The value of the property is estimated at $200,000, It is the inten- tion of the officers to raise $15,000 to pay olf the floating debt of $9,000 and reduce the mortgage, At that ting cribed. * The committer alnxo the cominittee ¢ improving the form of service met yesterday at the Synagogue at three o'clock. The committee on im- roving the form of service failed to confer with Dr. Brendes, and consequently did not hand. in their re- port, and the matter was jsid over until the |. & wide difference between next meeting. The committee on funds con- tinued in session about two hours, during which the question ae to the best means for” wiping out the church debt was discussed; but they arriv at no definite conclusion. Before the committee ad- journed contributions | were d $1,775 were raised, making promises of two subscriptions of $1,000 as $5,000 are raised from other sources. CLUB HOUSES. THEIR LEGITIMACY DISCUSSED BY DR. TAL- MAGE—SOME GOOD ONES AND SOME VERY BAD—THEIR INFLUENCE ON THE HOME CIR- CLE. ‘The Brooklyn Tabernacle was very crowded yester- day morning, the fine weather allowing many to attend who had been absent on the preceding Sun- day. Mr. Talmage’s sermon was upon ‘Club Houses,” and his text was taken from II, Samuel, ii., 1—“Let the young men now arise and play before us.” ‘That which is innocent, said Mr, Talmage, may be made destructive. There is a legitimate and illegiti- mate use of the club house, Iam chiefly to speak of those club houses like the Union League, with its 1,300 members and its $100 initiation fee, established during the war for patriotic purposes, and now the headqnarters of republicanism; like the Manhattan Club, with 400 members, the headquarters of the democracy; like the Union Club, established in 1836, when New York had only a little oyer three hundred thousand inhabitants, its head- quarters costing $250,000 and a membership of nearly eight or nine hundred, with its long roll of merchant princes; like the Lotos Club and its rival, the Arca- dian Club, where journalists, painters, sculptors, musicians, dramatists congregate to discuss pictures, newspapers, theatres and elaborate art; lke the Americus, which in summer time camps out, dim- pling the ponds with their hooks and making the woods resound with the stag hunt; like the Century Club, famous for its venerable group of lawyers and poets; like the Army and Navy Club, where men who haye seen warlike service on land and sea come to talk over the days of carnage; like the New York Yacht Club, with its floating palaces of bewitching beauty, upholstered with yel- vet and panelled with ebony, and ablaze with mir- rors, and having all the advantage of electric bells and gaslight, and a king’s pantry, one of their craft having cost $15,000, another ‘30,000 and another $65,000, the entire flect of the club worth more than $2,00,,000; like the American Jockey Club, made up of men who have a passion for a fine horse, as Jol had when he gave in the Scriptures a picture of that king of beasts—the arch of his neck, the nervousness ot his foot, the majesty of his gait, the whirlwind of his power; like the ‘Travellers’ Club, the Blossom Club, the Palette Club, the Woman's Club, the Com- mercial Club, the Liberal Club, the Stable-Gang Club, the Amateur Boat Club, gambling clubs, wine clubs, clubs of all sizes, clubs of all morals, clubs good as good ean be, clubs bad aw bad can be, clubs innumer- able. MUST NOT DETRACT FROM HOME. A series of sermons on the night side of city life would be incomplete without asketch of the club houses, for they are in full blast after dark. I make b houses, I lay down three principles by which you may decide between the legitimate or illegitimate club house, whether social, literary, arfistic or political, First, you must see that it does not interfere with your home, in case you have ahome. I know of a cave in this church where a wife thought her husband was, devoting too much time to religious duties, and she systematically decoyed him away until now he is on the road to destruction—his morals gone, his money one and, I fear, his soul gone. A wife loses er influence over her husband when she unreasonably objects to all evening absence as an assault on domesticity. ‘There sre a grea multitude of men genial as angels in the club ouses and ugly as sin at home. (Luughter.) There are thousands of beautiful homes every year clubbed to death. (Great laughter.) When a man says “I will give three nights out of six to the club,” I trem- ble. When he spends five nights out of six at the club and one at home, looking like » March squall, and wishing he had xpent it where he spent the other five (laughter), his obituary is written. Another test by which you can decide whether a club is legitimate or illegitimate is its effect upon your secular occupa- tion. ‘The right kind of a club house can introduce one into commervial success, If it has advantaged zou in your honorable calling it is a legitimate club ouse. But you and I hear every day of some com- mercial house ruined by social excesses. Their club house was a ‘‘Lochesrn” and their business house |. a “Ville de Havre. Havre” went down. A MORAL DISCRIMINATION, Again, distinguish between legitimate and illegiti- mate chub houses by your sense of moral and relig- ious responsibility. Anything that makes one reck- less as to his elernity is wrong. Any institution which confuses one as to which road he should choose is a bad institution. Whice would you rather have in your hand when you die—e pack of cards or a Bible?) 1am going to make a stout rope out of delicate threads. I take of ull the memories of the mi day a thread of laughter, a thread of light, a thread of music, a thread of banqueting, a thread of congratulation, and I twist them together and I have one strand. Then I take a thread of the woe of the first advent into your house- hold, a thread of the darkness that pre- ceded it and of the light that followed it, and a thread of the beautiful scarf that little child used to wear when it bounded out at eventide to greet you, and a thread of the beautiful dress in whicn you laid her away for the resurrection. Then I twist all these threads together and have another strand. Then I take a thread of the scarlet robe of the suffering Christ and a thread of the white raiment of your loved ones before the Throne, and a string of the harp cherubic and a string of the harp seraphic. I twist them together and 1 have a third strand. Then 1 will take the three strands and twist them together, and one end of that rope I will throw round the cross of a pardoning, sympathizing Christ; and having tastened it tu the cross, 1 throw the other end to you, Lay hold of it! Pull for your lite! Pull for heaven! A BRUTAL MOTHER. Carrie Dyer, a child twelve years of age, was found early yesterday morning by Officer Coddington, of the Second police precinct, Brooklyn, lying in » help- less condition in the hallway of her residence, No. 12 Vine street. She was completely covered with bruises and could hardly speak, The officer, upon making inquiries, was informed by a number of per- sons in the house that the injured child had done something which provoked her mother, who had beaten her in a terrible manner, dragging her through the hall by her hair, Ambulance Surgeon Cochran, who was summoned, made an examination of the child's injuries, and ‘stated that she was suffering from several severe contusions and that her back- ‘bone was probably injured. Her condition, he said, was critical. The child was removed to the Lon, Island College Hospital, and her mother was ares! and held to await the result of her injuries, Carrie, who isa pale, delicate looking girl, stated that her mother beat her because she had no whiskey in the house to drink. She will probably recover under the treatment which she is now receiving at the hos- pital. They struck and the “‘Ville de PROFESSIONAL EVIDENCE, Ex-Senator Prince sat on Saturday as referee taking testimony in the action brought by William H. Ritchie, of Port Washington, L. L., against his wife for divorce, on the ground of infidelity. The plain- tiff expected to prove his case on the testimony of Dr. Hutchinson, who on one occasion attended Mrs. Ritchie. When the physician's testimony reached @ serious point an’ objection was interposed and he was not allowed to proceed, The ob- jection was made on the ground that the witness wax tnuble to testify, under section 834 of the Code, which prohibits « physician from testify: ing to facts obtained while treating a person protes- sionally or by t t's contession. Other sec- tions apply in a sin nner to clergymen and lawyers. The referee t the point @ strong one and adjourned the cas: for the purpose of consider- ing the objection raised, Without the physician's testimony it ix thought that the plaintiff will be un- able to make out his case. STRIKING A DEPUTY SHERIFF. Two men named Evans and Schwab were arraigned before Judge Duffy yesterday in the Essex Market Police Court under two charges—one by Mrs. Anna Wood, who keeps a saloon, and who stated that the two men entered her place and demanded drinks; that it was after hours and she refused, wherenpon both men attacked her,throwing her into the street and kicking her. 1 ther charge was made by Mr. Fish, adepnty sheriff, who was called on for assistance, and, aking the arrests, was struck and kicked by both Each was put under bonds of $400 to keep the peace for six months and fined $10, to stand commit- ted for ten days, A TENEMENT HOUSE IN FLAMES. A fire broke out in a tenement house in South Pat erson yesterday morning at about two o’cloc The house was inhabited by several families, and for some time it was supposed that a woman residing in f the upper rooms had perished in the flames, was found, however, in the house of & neigh- The building was almost wholly destroyed several poor families left | shelterless, men who were the first to notice the declared that it broke through the roof at both « of the building w ce igin to aman who wanted destroy his family at the sa they were wholly dependent on him for support, was afloat, but without any apparent foundation, The property was owned by Joun McMahon, « resident of aonree Ky., and was insured for two-thirds of its value, OUR COMPLAINT BOOK. (Norr.—Letters intended for this column must be accompanied by the writer's full name and address to insure attention. Complainants who are unwilling to comply with this rule simply waste time in writing Write only on one side of the paper.—Ep. Henan.) WANTED A DIVIDEND. To THe Eprron or THE HERARD:— When will the receiver of the Continental Life Im surance Company of New York make his first distr bution ? It has been two years since a receiver waa appointed, POLICY HOLDER, A NEW JERSEY COMPLAINT. To THe Eprror or TH: HenaLp:— Please allow me to enter a protest in behalf of hune dreds of commuters from Plainfield, on the New Jersey Central Railroad, against the recent with- drawal of the morning express, which for nearly six months has left Plainfield at thirteen minutes past eight A. M. ven from a purely business stand- point no poticy could be more injurious to the growth and best interests of the road than to dimin- {sh ity most important facilities, or to remand so many of its most desirable patrons to slow way traing, RETRORSUM. CHANGE ON THE BROADWAY STAGES, To tHe Eprror or THE HERALD:— Some time ago the proprictors of the Broadway stages instituted a system to protect themselves against the dishonesty of their drivers. It has now become necessary for the public to protect themselves in some way against the carelessness (to use a mild term) of the stage companies, A few days ago, while riding in a stage of the Twenty-third Street and Ninth Avenue line a Jady handed me fifty cents, which I passed to the driver, who in exchange gave me an en- yelope, supposed to contain fifty cents, Upon open- ing it'the lady found it contained but forty cents. ‘The driver, of course, expected ten cents in the box, which was put in, but the lady was defrauded out of ten cents. On speaking to the driver and the starter at the ferry found nothing could be done unless the lady spent twenty cents more to go to the office a6 Thirtieth strect and Ninth avenue, in order to recover what had been unlawfully withheld from_her. ANSWER. AUCTIONEERS’ ORDERS. To THe Epitor or THE HEenatp:— Your correspondent, ‘‘Manhattan,” makes what he calls an exposure of the manner in which cer- tain book auctions are conducted, and complains that having given an auctioneer an order to purchase acertain “lot” at a given price the opportunity was not afforded to him by the auctioneer to obtain the “lot” at a less sum. ‘Asan auctioneer who prasticed for twenty years, and at present unconnected with the business, I may pretend to a knowledge of the rules which should with equity govern this question and yet do so with perfect impartiality. Let me remind “Manhattan” that the business of an auctioneer is to sell, and not to mounts the rostrum he stands there recognized agent of the vender, bound by expressed or understood, that,in consideration of @ certain commission agreed to be paid, the said suc- tioneer will obtain the yery best price for the prop- erty submitted to public auction under all and every circumstance of the case. It stands to reason, there- fore, that if the auctioneer enters into a secret under- standing with any buyer to knock down the property fora less sum than has been avowedly oifered it must be a fraudulent act against the vender. This rule applies to all “lots,” without regard to value, let it be a three-dollar book or a five-thousand-dollar icture. Pifet us put a case:—Suppose “Manhattan” hed a fine genuine “Rembrandt,” the market value of which he estimates at $5,000, and, wishing to sell it, he instructs “Strawberry Hill Robins” to sell it by auction. Being unable to attend the sale. with a lesa reliable auctioneer he would put a reserve of, say $4,500 on the picture; but having perfect confidence in the auctioneer, he says, “I put no reserve on my picture; I leave it to you to do your best and get me the best price you can.” On the day of view the work of the great master is noticed by Mr. Gerard Douw, who estimates the pic- ture at its worth, and to save his time in attending the sale requests the auctioneer to purchase the pic- fare for him, stating he will give as much as $5,000 ron it. On the sale day, as fortune would have it, not a erson is present who can appreciate a Rembrandt, ‘he “‘compsny”’ have left homes, the walls of which are covered with pictures painted, apparently, with the aniline dyes of modern commerce. Poor Rem- brandt would never be tolerated in such company, and so when the Rembrandt is put up the auctioneer has up-bill work. However, $1,000 is reached, and nothing higher seems possible. ‘The suctioneer hag Mr. Gerard Douw’s order to bid $5,000. What is he todo? Why, clearly, to run the price up to this amount and so sell it, He stands there the agent of the vender, under a contract to do his best and get the highest price, and has nothing to do with the vende except to extort from him the highest price he is willing to pay. No man can serve two masters; and it would be well tor respectable auctioneers to decline taking or- ders to purchase, as it puts them in a false light; on the other hand, purchasers should attend sales them- selyes or employ independent men to bid for th and, from the experience of “Manhattan,” it wil clearly pay them to do so. In conclusion I would add that so far from the Cares of the auctioneer ‘‘Manhattan” complains of ing “an exposure,” I apprehend it shows he wasan honorable man, and if I was about to sell property of mine by auction that would be the man I should employ if I knew his name. . Me SUICIDE OF DAVID VAN DUZER. AN OLD FRIEND AND CONNECTION OF COMMO> DORE VANDERBILT HANGS HIMSELF IN A FIZ OF MELANCHOLIA, Abrahanr Van Duzer, an old employé of the Staten Island Ferry Company, committed suicide by hanging himself in a woodhouse attached to his residence early yesterday morning. He had been in depressed spirits for some days, but on going to bed Saturday night said to his wife that he felt unusually well, She was awakened several times through the night, and remembers that he was asleep at her side when she awoke between two and three o'clock in the morning. She was ogain awakened about six o'clock, and not finding her husband, called her son John. It had been Van Duzer's cus tom to light the fires in the kitchen and in the front room at about six o'clock. John went to the kitchen and saw the fire lighted and the lamp burning on the table, but his father was nowhere about. He then thonght of the woodhouse, and there found his father hanging by the neck. He had thrown aclothes line over the rafter and secured it toa beam. He then stood on achair and placed the slip-knot over his head and kicked the chair from under him. The son aut the rope and immediately summoned Dr. W C. Anderson, whose house is opposite the Van Duzer residence, The Doctor said tuat the old man had been dead some hours. VAN DUZER'S CAREER, When the fact of the suicide was made knowr in Staten Island the old’ residents would not at first be lieve it. Mr. Van Duzer had been associated with the ferry for over thirty years, and people could not realize that old ‘Abe’ had taken his own life. He had been a baker, and was engaged with his father in business on Van Duzer street. The old Van Duzer homestead now fronts on Bay street and Richmond avenue, and was occupied by an uncle of Abraham Van Duzer till a short time ago, When Oliver Vanderbilt started the ferry to Staten Island some thirty-six years ago in opposition to Commodore Vanderbilt's _ line, asked Abraham to leave the baking business, and act as fireman on the steamer Wave. He did so. The Com- modore saw in him a faithful and capable man, and asked him to leave Oliver's employ, and take the sition of engineer on the Champion, then runi up the Sound to New Haven, He was afte: transferred to the Traveller, In making out the North Star tour, the old Commoodore wished Abra mam to go out as assistant enginess. His wife wished him to refuse, and he did so, The Commodore then asked him to go out in the Vanderbilt; but all these offers he ersistently declined. For twenty-seven years he ad been associated with the ferry company, and his wife did not wish him to leave their employ. ‘The Commodore, however, made him chief engineer of the ferry company, and he was assigned to the ferryboat Westfield, On the day of her explosion he had been exctixed from duty to attend the funeral of his brother's child. He was engineer on the West field up to Friday last. Commodore Vanderbilt not only manifested an ine terest in Van Duzer on account of his capability as an engineer, but his uncles (Abraham and David Ven Duzer) had married two of the Commodore's sisters, and he himself had married a daughter of the Com- modore's brother. CAURE OF THE SUICIDE. Mr. Van Duzer’s youngest brother, David, who waa summoned yesterday from Brook could not account for Abe's" snici the island last night recalled the fact that the ol man’s grandfather, Daniel Van Duzer, committed suicide himself one morning, thirty years ) ago, in the mestead. Dr, Anderson said yee terday that he was summoned to nd Abraha, Van Duzer some six ears ago, when | had a fit of melancholia. He had continu in that state for over a year amd a hal and he had one time suggested that he t immured in an axyliy tendent won of the recovered then, buts his old conditio put his family and Supert ferry were opposed to it. 1 med to be avout to tall inte last week, The doctor believed that. (CONTINUED ON NINTH PAGE,] :