Lynchburg daily Virginian. [volume] (Lynchburg [Va.]) 1852-1861, 1858-10-20
An English View Of English and American
Preachers.

| In review of the autobiography Of Peter Cart
wright, the back woods preacher, the London Times
| remarks follows on the difference Of preachers
in England and America:
| America is the Promised Land of ecccntricities;
there they flourish and become strong; you search
| for them in vain within the sound of Cow bclls-
| The modern Englishman has not the gift of won
| der: he is nstonishcd and touched by nothing We
| are all 80 much alike. one knows not lord from
| his tailor and out Of livery "Jeames" sometimes
! looks propcror man than his master. Every now
ard then n man is born who claims to think, and
act, and speak for himself but society soon yels
him down, and he yanishos: if he be worth his
money society buys him up. and makes Of him II
useful oHicin-a mi shty red-apist. n Judge. a
bishop. Who shall say that society is wrong?-
Society asks un fornty. Where religion is con-
ccrncd-wherc the interests, not of time, but Of
eternity arc inyolved-wherc the message pro-
fesses to be not human but divine, we have n
right to expect frecr spirit and language lesB
shacklcd by commou modes Of utterancc and OF
thought Is it so' On any Sunday you like en-
ter an average metropolitan church--how demurc
i. the preacher. how fautless the discourse. with
what good taste are the devotional parts Of the
service perinrmel with what exquisite pathos do
father and s,n--mother and maid confess them
selves 10 be miserable sinners! Alas all is here
but one thing which make simple man co
qucnt-thc inspiration which made the Hebrew
fishermen and tcntmakers more than match for
the RI eoric and philosophy of Greece and Rome
Look at the popular parson, tho idol of tho wo-
men, the envy Of tho men; can that scented ,cured
palc fnred, whitc.handed, cffemnate man-millincr
arrest tho sinner, ease the agony of the wounded
conscience, sound the depths of the human heart?
"Canst thou draw out leviathnn with n hook?-
With penny whistle can you wako tho echoes of
the universe In the American backwoods, mt
any rate. shall find sturder figures. Manly
physical power at least the preacher in that dis
trict must have ln his way he is n son of thun-
der. He may lack much grnre and cultus, but he
j. IN earnest. lie prays till he sweats-hc preach
es till he is hoarsr. 70 compete with him n man
must have the bodily strength of an TX ORR prize
fighter Multitndcs come out in the desert to him
and hundreds own his power; they yell, they
scream. they fall on the grounds, they tear their
hair and their garments. They sit in sarkcloth
and ashes. and saved, MS they tell u.s. from the
wrath to come Uncultvatcd human nature al
ways gets converted in this violent way. 1t was
with our Wesley aud Whitfield. 1t in
the DAYS IF the commonwealth, when the snin,s
welded the sword Of the Lord and IF Gil leon. II
was 81, We believe, when the McsoAiuthir version
Of the Bible hy llphlas WINS composed, with the
omission Of the Jewish wars, lest its warlikc read
should find n fresh sanction for their rrnelties
4 nd even in our day amongst the Ran'ers and
primtiv" Mcthodists. Somethiv, of til" same sort
exists. We may laugh mt aud despite it, hut the
fact il reality. Inward terror and alarm opera
ties on the body. Whrlc men are not taught re-
strnnt--wheic they have room to turn n il
whore one mans feelings docs not Interfere with
nn"ihcr---whcrc there is no English dread of
scrne-we may expect preaching to p,u'luce M
effect outwnrdlv which YOU may in vain look for
here. AID To this that he audiences thus collcc
ted are rare that pr"a hing is an event, not an
every dry occure nce: thatwhil1t among ourselves
the exc tcmcnt of the dnma of literature Of mu-
sic aud of ora;ory, rivals that of the pulpit there
the preacher stands alone