The Stourbridge Observer, Cradley Heath, Halesowen & District Chronicle.
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1879-07-05 00:00:00

DIVINE SERVICE ON SETNDAY.

A special service for the herdsmen, the men em-
ployed by the Society, and other persons having bnsi-
ne:s in the yard, was held in the Council Tent, on
Sunday morning,•at half-past aleven,—The followink
extracts respecting this special n rvice are from the re-
port given by the Daily News of Monday:—

_ _
The Apacious tent was filled to overflowing by a congrega-
tion which listened with rapt attention to one of the most
impressive sermons which Dean Stanley, gifted preacher as
he is, ever addressed to his bearers in Westminster Abbey.
The platform at one end of the tent was occupied by the
Dean of Westminster, by the Rev. Dr. Williams, rector of the
parish in which the Show is held, and by the Rev. T. 0.
Whartgb. Vic pi 19111eu • Around Win were mime()
the Lord Brayor of 1,6',16n and several mien:therm of

his family, the Duke and Duchess of Manchester,
the Earl and Countess of Leicester Lord Vernon, Colonel
and Lady Emily Kingscote, Sir T.h D. Acland, Bart., M.P.,
Mr. Jenkins, the Secretary of the Society, Sir Brandreth
Gibbs, and many other members of the Royal Agricultural
Society. It was a little after half-past eleven that the
Prince and Princess of Wales, accompanied by their three
daughters, who had driven to Kilburn from Marlborough
House, reached the tent, and they were conducted to their
seats upon the right of the improvised desk and pulpit by
Mr. Jacob Wilson, the steward of general arrangements.
The special service comprised nearly the whole of the morn-
ing Liturgy, with the exception of the Litany, and the
prayers were read by Dr. Williams, the lessons being read
by Mr. Wharton. A very appropriate hymn, beginning
We plough the fields, and smatter
The good seed on the land,
was sung with great effect by the whole congregation, and
the fervour with which they joined in the responses showed
that they were no strangers to the impressive Liturgy of the
Church of England. The Communion Service we' not read,
and aftr the hymn had been sung the Dean of Westminster
took up his place at the desk, and preached a sermon, the
text of which was taken from the first lesson of the day. Tins
text, consisting of the 26th and 27th verses of the Ist chapter
of Genesis, as follows : "And God said : Let us make man in
our own image, after our likeness; and let them have
dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of
the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and
over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth.
So God created man in His own image, in the image of God
created He him, male and female created He them."
It would be impossible to give an adequate summary,
within the limits of a newspaper article of this admirable
sermon, but Weis of the lees importance because the Prince
of Wales has asked Dean Stanley to have it printed for dis-
tribution to the herdsmen and other members of the con-
gregation, while it will find a permanent record in the
Journal of the Royal Agricultural Society, and be ever
remembered as a pattern of what such a discourse should
be. Dean Stanley dwelling upon the relative positions of
the brute creation and of man, pointed out in what respects
there was a similarity between them, and illustrated his
meaning by speaking of the heedless way in which people
so often follow the footsteps of one man to destruction,
as sheep f _Mow their leader, as the tiger thirsts for
blood and et the difficulty which there is in restrain-
ing human passions when once they have been let
loose in warfare. Upon the other hand, as Dean Stanley
said, there are many animals in the dumb creation whose
qualities we may well imitate, such as the strong, patient
endurance of the ox, or the gentleness and refinement of the
horse. He also said, what is very true, that man can exer-
cise a vast influence over animals, instancing this by a re-
ference to the difference there is between the horse and the
dog in their wild state and after they have been subdued by
man. Thus the dog is generally spoken of in the Bible as
being what he still la in most Eastern countries, a type of all
that is mean and shameful, while under the fostering care of
man he has became a solace and a companion for the poor
and he that bath none to help him. Just as the brute crea-
tion may be elevated by companionship with man, so is man
elevated by communion with God, and though there are
many points of contact between man and the brute
creation, there is the one vast difference which places the
former altogether above the latter—man alone can walk
erect with his eyes lifted heavenwards, man alone can ex-
press his emotions in smiles or tears; and made, as the text
tells us, in His image and in His likeness, "we are the very
shadow of Get' upon earth." Addressing himself more par-
ticularly to the herdsmen and shepherds, Dean Stanley bid
them remember that they had it in their power to make the
lives of the animals entrusted to their care happy or miser-
able; that the very fact of their being placed in dominion
over them should inspire a sense of aeep responsibility; and
that they should think their calling a very noble one when
they reflected how Abraham, the friend of God, the
father of the faithful, tended his flocks upon the downs
of Palestine how David, the Psalmist King, left
his sheep upon the hills of Bethlehem to fight against
Goliath—and how in the fulness of time, when God's
promise to man was about to be fulfilled, the shepherds,
watching their flocks by night, saw the angel of the Lord and
the glory which shone around him. The lessons which Dean
Stanley sought, therefore, to inculcate upon his hearers was
that they should not feel their calling an ignoble one, but
endeavour by a conscientious discharge of their duties to
prove themselves true men and worthy of Him in whose
likeness they are made. They were doubtless so placed that
their example upon those around them might be altogether
for good. le an affectionate appeal he bid those who had
brothers or sisters to keep them from evil companions and
evil associations. "nose of you," he said, "who have
wives "—and there came a quiver upon his lip, doubtless
became the word suggested thoughts of the gentle and noble
lady who lies yonder in the Abbey, and whose loss has
darkened his life for ever—" or sweethearts, let me beseech
of you for their rakes to be pure; and you who have children
growing up around you must remember that you will shape
their lives for good or for evil by the force of your own
example."
No more eloquent or befitting address has ever been
delivered, and it is not the mere language of commonplace
to say that Dean Stanley's words sunk deep into the hearts
of many who heard him.

After the morning service was concluded, the Prince and
Princess of Wales entertained a large party, including most
of those who were present at it, in the handsome tent which
has been erected for the use of his Royal Highness as Pre-
sident, and when luncheon was over the Royal party rode
down the central avenue upon the steam tramway which
has been laid down for the convenience of visitors. This
tramway, which is being worked by Messrs. John Fowler and
Co, is a movable one, and was made by M. Decauville, a
noted French manufacturer, who is represented in England
by the great firm of Fowler, whose stand of implements is, as
usual, one of the largest in the Show. Their Royal High-
nesses were thus enabled to get a comprehensive view
of the whole yard, and though they made no attempt to look
In detail at the stock, they were able to see something of
the Jersey cattle, which, numbering nearly three hundred
entries, will be the great feature of the Show. Al ter this,
the Prince and Princess of Wales, accompanied by their
children, by Lord and Lady Leicester, and by the Duke and
Duchess of Manchester, left the yard, and afternoon service
was then held in the tent, Dr. Williams preaching an excel-
lent extempore sermon from the text (aosea x., v. 12), "Sow
to yourselves In righteousn -9 reap in mercy; break up your
fallow ground; for it is time io seek the Lord, till He come
and rain righteousness upon you."