The daily exchange. [volume] (Baltimore, Md.) 1858-1861, 1858-12-18

Religion and the Drama have Joined hands
Sundry clergymen of New York have taken the
lead in converting, temporarily, some of the The
aires OF that metropolis into places of public
ship. This innovation upon the old order of
things, is restricted, however, TO Sunday evenings
only. On every other evening of the week, ope-
ratio or dramatic performances are carried on as
usual. The first step adopted was to hold re-
glous meetings in the Academy of Music the
second was TO engage, for similar services, the
National Theatre Thus far, these Sunday even
ing performances have proved remarkably attrac-
tive. They attended by crowds of we'll
dressed persons, whose curiosity has been excited
by the novelty preaching before the foot lights;
and a novelty it undoubtedly is, to see clergy
man upon the stage, and prayer-books, instead of
play-bllls in parquette and boxes But is the
association of Religion and the Drama, beneficial
to the former? We think not. We are rather
inclined to believe that the appearance of clergy
man upon the stage wonld be suggestive
OF the sock and buskin, and that
the theatrical performance of the preceding
night would intrude itself into the
solemnities of the Sunday evening sermon. It is
not at all improbable that portion of the Sunday
congregation may have been present at the same
theatre on some previous night during the week.
and if such should have been the case the famili-
arty OF the scene would very naturally revive
"reminiscences of what they then witnessed. They
may have seen PICCoLoMINI as Fiametta. or they
may have seen Burton as Toodles, but now when
The curtain is drawn up, there is neither Ioodles
nor Ftametta, but the Reverend John SMITH. Who
can doubt that such a marvellous contrast would
be provocative IN such persons ola strange confl-
sion OF ideas; that Ftameta and Toodles, and the
Reverend JOHN SMITH would be inextricably mixed
up and jumbled together, and that such an odd
compound Of the passionate the laughable and the
solemn, would utterly annihilate all devotional
feeling? To connect religious exercises with the
painted canvas, the glare and the tnsel of the
stage, appears to us TO be wholly at war with a
proper appreciation of what is due to the RELIGIONS
sentiment. 1t is impossible TO witness the sudden
transformation of theatre into church and its
immediate re-conversion from a church into thea
tre without regarding it as sort of pantomimic
trick which startes us by its cleverness but
which having once witnessed, we do not care to
see performed again. They err who imagine
that all places ale equally appropriate for places
of worship, and that the worship sanctifes the
place. If the sense of fitness is outraged the
thoughts will dwell upon the disturbing causes,
and the most eloquent of sermons would, under
such circumstances, fail to make salutary i'm
preston. If there was any radical necessity for
tho course pursued by the New York clergymen
to whom we have referred, and whose example,
we learn, is about TO be followed in Boston, they
might find their justification in that necessity;
but there was in reality none. New York
abounds with churches, which are by no means
over-crowded, and it has already been ascertained
that the effect of opening the Theatres for Sunday
evening service has been to draw off the members
of other congregations, instead of attracting, as
was originally designed, the floating population
of the city.