The Dorset County Express and Agricultural Gazette.
Dorchester, Dorset, England, 1869-08-31 00:00:00

OPENING OF THE
..PRIMITIVE METHODIST

CHAPEL
The services in celebration of the opening of this
nee chapel, took place last week.
The chapel Nana quite a prominent objat on entering
Fortune's Well. It is built in Gothic strle, entirely of
Portland stone, (rem the designs of Mr. James Ma-
ri fee, architect, of Wishaeli. The plans have been
ably nirried out by Mr. John Petten, of Fortune's Well,
the builder, who has executed hie work in such •
maneer as to givo the greatest satisfaction. On the
the ground floor is • commodious schoolroom al good
end capable of aecommodating shout :I°°- The
chapel inshore, being 'rocked by a short etaireaae. It
Is seated with open benclie• of stained deal, with the
heels comfortably slopel. The pulpit is a rostrum,
large enough for nine ;masons, end in front is • apace
carpet. d and railed off. The walls are neat'y plestereal
in imitation of bock stone, and the chapel is lighted,
exce,it on the eolith side, with msn7 long Lancet win-
dow., fillet with ribbed glass, eyeept the bordeis, which
Are c doured Klass. The epee timbers in the roof are
neatly stained, end from them depend three star gas
learners. There is •d ep gallery st the west .n I, nod
the chapel will neat 420 comfortably, but nearly 700 were
crowded in on Sunday night, when the Rev. R. Key
preached.
The public tea, which is as necessary to a religious
celebration as • dinner anal %atm-drinking are to • purely
isecalsr affsir, wee Laid in the school-room underneath
the chapel, on Tuesday mina& when about 300 friends
sat down, and much enjoyed the excellent provision of
the Portland friends. A merry buzz of conversation
throughout the duration of the cheerful meal showed
that the company coulo be as b ppy over their tonal
bigger people over their wine. When the first party
bad been served another relay of visitors bad to be pro-
vided for.
Later still a meeting WU held in the chapel, which
wan well filled with an expectant audience, Mir Key
having been announced to deliver his lecture "On the
Immortality of the Soul." The rosdrun will occupied
by the Rev. R. Key, Rev. S. J. Wallis, Rev. S. Trotter,
Rev. S. Hooley, Rev. J Bartleit, Ra. Mr. Walmesley.
On the motion of Mr. Willis, Mr. Hooley was celled to
the chair. The hymn commencing
" What is the thing ,4 greatest Klee r
was sung, the Res S. Trotter offered prayer, and then
they nom/ another hymn.
The Rev. Roemer Kat' rose to deliver his lecture.
Raving referred at some length to the writings of the
ancients, including Cicero and Plato, to show that they
believed in the immortality of the soul, he went on to
expatiete on the difference between soul and holy, in
well-chosen terms. tie likened the body to • wata h„ of
,1 which the soul is the mains-ring. The body is • kind
' of npper garment of the soul, which gives it life end
motion. The body I *All mine. said be, but the soul is
inye If. The body is mere matter, and no organization
: can give its thinking power, still less can the brain And
' the nerves think. since they are bet parts of the body,
and • part eannot be greaier than the whole. The brain
is the organ of the into& and tLe nerves the instruments
of seisetion ; bat neither is part of the mind itself, anal
therefore he maintained :that materialism is es tup
philosopliisal as it is unecriotural. The instinct of an
animal is a mysterious impel.. which no one can ex-
plain ; but he pointed out the difference between it and
ramie, ina.inucli as thole is uo improvement in the
etyle of constructions by animials, and the bearer or the
bee of loolay can do nothing in edirance of what similar
creatures (mull thanianda of years ago. But mind is
capable of boundless advances and improvement, and if
an ocean of knowledge w. r' brought leto one mind, be
maintained that mind would find even more room to
contain it than when it fir-t alrenk at the fountains of
knowledge. The mini may remain finite, yet there are
no hounds to mental growth. and even when filled with
the mighty wisioni of the cherubim, it would
ever remain open to lain more and more of
the glory of Him who hes all power to cove. Mind
aloes not die; it does not sleep. When slumber
closes our eyelid., we find that the mind can
gee without the bodily eyes, and in the time of bodily
repom. the mind seems even to became disentangled
fr ,m the body, to roam in.. r space, and hold converse
with intent souls. "Our dream.," said Plato," may
be sahl to be the minds watching while the body sleeps."
Matter on the other hand, is capable only of physical
impulse, arid is unconscious and unintelligent. Extmd
the bounds of matter no far as you please ; make eary
star a 31111, round which revolve systems of habitable
worlds, end what is there in it that can compare with
a eingle mind? The whole physical 'universe cannot
hold communion with God, or God with it ; it wee
made for the use of man, to whom tbel has given mind.
For • man to say that mind is matter in to nay that it
is diaisible, and we might then as well talk of the
twentieth of an •ffirmation, the quarter of a hope, or
the north east corners of • comparison, as of the six-
teenth part of • pound. Mind is a spiritual sub-
stance, that which subsists distinct from matter,
and one may have all the wealth that man can
, wish and a little more to, anal yet he as wretaleol as a
devil. And if any one there had more wealth than he
wished let him hand it over to the trustees of that
' chapel, and they would relieve him of it—(laughter).
God made the mind, end nothing but he can
ell it. The lecturer instaneed Alexander, arLo
in the times when Portland was not much
known. sighed and wept after the subjugation of the

known work].
_because thero. sere no more to nominee,

—.....---
That man would have found his most glorious enniinest
if he cull have conquered himself. Mr. Key contended
that if • man's soul dies with Li, body, a beast was
happier than be; but unless all the more glorious
instincts of our nature are all splendid filsehoodt,
we are bound not only to hope, but believe that we
shall live for ever, lie proceeded to advarioe further
arxaments from Revelation in (*your of the immortality
of the soul. and said that the falling to earth of his
body had no more power to hurt the soul, than the
falling of • bou.e would have to crush a sunbeam. Mr.
Key also meek° against the idea of its being pos.ible for
the soul to be annihilated. He had seen that it was
published that • man bad offered £lOO for • text pro,
ing the immortality of the cool; bat he should lik- for
him to bijou that £lOO and offer it there—(hesr, heart.
Showing how the immortality of the soul explained the
mystery of God's providence, and speaking with great
aptness of illustration on various points, he laid it down
that man has • soul ; that it does not sleep with the
body, and cannot die. The whole lecture was delivered
with great eloquence, end was received with load
applause.
The Rev. S. Timms moved • vote of thanks to Mr.
Key, which wan seconded by Mr. WALISENLIST, and sup.
ported by Mr. BAwrcerr. A forest ,if hands was held
up in Its favour; but on the contrary being put pro
forma, two hands appeared against. One of these WAS
I that of Mr. Kellaway, of Weymouth, and it was under-
-000,1 that he opposed the vote of thanks on account of
not believing that all souls are immortal.
1 The meeting shortly after broke up, and many friends
1 from Weymouth, Dorchester, Ice, returned by train,
having spent an agreeable time.
The chapel will cost about £11,500, including the land,
and more than £450 has been rai•ed.