The Stourbridge Observer, Cradley Heath, Halesowen & District Chronicle.
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1868-09-05 00:00:00

A SENTENCE CONFIRMED.

Lieutenant 111'Ponnell, of the twelfth Regiment,
who was tried by court.martial at Chinsurah on the
4th July, for refusing to inspect his men for the pur-
pose of seeing whether they hail cholera belts on, has
been found guilty and reprimanded. f.ientenant
M'flonnell alleged that he email find no book of regula-
th ins which declared it to be "the duty of a gentleman
to make a daily inspection of half-naked soldiers," and
he maintained that the duty should be performed by a
non.commissioned officer. "The bringing of an officer
into no close a contact with MA men, " he added " is
the begining of that familiarity which is the &strut:-
thin of discipline, and an order, to be obeyed, must be
just as well as legal." The court considered that a
more flagrant and deliberate instance of insolence and
insubordination" had never been brou,ht to the notice
of the military authorities. It held that the duty the
prisoner objected to was incomplete to accord with
the custom 1)f the service, and that commanding
officers had often found that non-commissioned officers
could not always lie trusted to carry out inspections
with reference to sanitary precautions and personal
cleanliness. The court was also if opinion that the
order might have been executed without any infrac-
tion of decency, or even delicacy, on the part of the
officers concerned. Sir W. Mansfied confirmed the

No psalm was read, and on'y one lesson, a portion of the
Second Epistle to the Corinthians Mr spurgeon is a good
reader, ahil it was satisfactory to hear him give the hymns
out himself. The sermon lasted just fifo-tive minutes, and
was taken down in shorthand, as all this preacher's ser-
mons are. " to lie scattered by tens of thou-gals," as one
of the brethren informed me, " wherever the English Lan-
ge:me is spo :en " The text was the Apostle Paul'- protes-
-1000 oto the Corinthians, " I die daily." An hour all hut
five minutes hail elapsed when Sir. Spurgeon began his ser-
mon, and daring all that time he hul been using his v.dee,
either praying, or reading, or giving out the hymns, for
with the exception us the singing he performs the
whole service himself. Having real his text, he advanced
from the side table, where his Bible hay, to the rails, on
which lie leaned with both hands while uttering his first
few sentences. Ile at once fixed the attention of the vast
audience by connecting his text with common human ex-
perience, then net forth i s original, heroic scone in the life
of the apostle, and afterwards announced that he should
treat it as a general application I did not think the sermon
Well organised—for instance, having announced that his
subject woo d be the art of dying daily, he made certain
preliminary requisites of that art the first division of his
sermon before he explained what lie understood by this daily
Ilying, probably, however, there were few in the building to
Whom this would lie a serious objection. At all events, the
people listened with breathless attention from first to last,
a fact which I commend to the atention of those who are
telling us that sermons and preachiag are out of date. For
niy own part, although I tlduk I know where a brighter,
snore vivifying, and truer gospel than that of Mr. Spurgeon
I, to be heard, I could have sat twice as long with pleasure
listening to this preaching.
Marinc said no much I ant perhaps bound to state what I
think are tie elements of Mr. spurgeon's popularity as a
preacher. They' are very simple and may exist in otin r
preacheis ; but it is their combination in a high degree in
him which constitutes the attractiveness if bin sermons. In
the first place, he has a very definite and positive system of
doctrine ill which ho thoroughly believes. lie does not tel
his Mnrers that different views have well taken of this and
that duct rine, anti that on a lediabee of opinions he has collie
to such and smh a conclosion. There is ily one troth
which all persons are concerned to) k it is his duty
to preach it. It is more than ,• • , evidently lea
delight. My experience is that tl •i o rity of people
like to take the .r religion on a •; knee. In We
second place, Sir Spurgeon is no py man. Ile
has good animal spirits to begin • • iy time thete
have betrayed Idol into bidet, . ly there was
Till tinge of it in Ids demeanoui The whole
service was conducted most dens • • theless, it is
apparent that he is a happy mai •.' i• ens is, thank
Um' contagious. In the third ph . •, important of
all, Mr. Spurgeon is a great mai • iii art of direct
address. I have no doubt he em • .1, matter well
before he almlisheit the use of a °instituted a
platform. His sermon yesterday wi . a the people,
not merely before them. The us . out of the
question, unless he had held die ands. Every
word was spoken as from nian to • Ty word was
to the pout. There was no reso • ve, no use of
padding. Every sentence contrii • lung to the
effect which was constantly ill LI. Hon of the
preacher. No one, I think, could r. Spurgeon
was expressing, ill virtue of his • laid of lan-
guage, thoughts which he had ii i• • ked out in
his study I can no more belicve I i a discourse
was delivered memoriter than that tile inspire-
thin of the occasion. To speak of t • of Ike dis-
course might lead me en to debate I will only
say, therefore, that his matter wa as it was
pertinent lie made considerahle oive use of
nalire, introduced fiequent dhotis • •nd, natural
history, and fable, and gaoled ti and other
poets. At the close of the service, an hour
and fifty-five minutes, I thought la aed, as well
he might be.
Oil leaving the building I fraini
Wolehipper is invited to deeps pei •
Spurgeon's college which is malt&
£5,000 a year A card over tilt
the previous Sunday £.36 had he
ceptaeles.

Odell every
wort of Mr.
enditure of
el that on
in these re-

A CRAVING FOR L ONS.
A suit, in which the means I udoyed to
obtain foreign decorations were just been
tried at Marseilles. A be , d
ambitious of the distinction o coloured
riband at his button-hole, placed nimunica-
tion with an 1 talian named Ferra xinsidera-
tion undertook to procure for er of St.
Maurice and St. Lazare. This t WAS Suc-
cessful, but the new Chevalier so .esirous of
imme higher tumour, and despal nissary to
Vienna to endeay or to obtain of Maria
Theresa. M. Cffitil's claim to tin i consisted
in having built the Kursaal at had °lice
been visited by an Austrian Arct n having
formerly sent to the Emperor Era in album
cobtffining views of the applicant't mbitectural works.
The Court of Vienna did not turn out, however, so
prodigal of its honours as that of Florence, and the
claims of M. Curtil were not thought of sufficient merit I
to entitle him to the coveted prize. Ferrari did riot,
however, return enapty-handed, as the Emperor, not
to remain a debtor to M. Curtil, sent him a diamond
ring in exchange for the album, which His Majesty
bad perhaps unadvisedly accepted. The emissary,
althowli unsuccessful, demanded 40,000 f. as pay.
merit for his mission to Vienna, and M. Curti,
thinking thy charge too high, refused to pay; on
whico the other, who had perhaps the least to fear
from an exposure, at nice brought an action to recover
the soul. the affair of the Order of St. Maurice and
St. Lazarus bad been already settled amicably ; the
amount paid was not stated, but as the object in view
nail been attained. M. Curtil probably raised no
difficulty. On the second case the Court now gave a
verdict for the plaintiff, but reduced the sum to
10,000 f.