The Cecil Whig. [volume] (Elkton, Md.) 1841-current, 1861-03-09
Gl1norons.
The Burles9uc Pulpit.
ORATOR HENLEY.

IN certain parts of the kingdom at the present
day so judge. Mt least from the cxraor.
binary titles usually given to these concert
room and town ball sermons which are be.
coming regular Sunday evening feature in
some Of our larg"r cities and boronehs. The
lterercnds Newlight and Spinbrain almost in :
varlahly advertising their Sunday sermons on
all wailsand hoardlngs under such suherscrip-
tons as the following Stop. Thief - The
Same to You, "..Checr Boys. Cheer" Who's
that Knocking at the Door g. etc
"What is this sign of? Partly. perhaps
OF more intense desire t" gain the masses
than was felt by the last generation. This
desire, fear, IS not always pure and un,nix
ed think | smell the sceun in it. How.
ever, whether so or not, Of this it is most I'm.
donb!edly sign-of diseased and grow ing
craving after originality. The Reverend
ism-sncker, paling before the popularity
of Spinbrain. outdoes the advertisements of
his ministerial broth nv announcing that be
| intends to preach upon" lIoop.de doc den do y
The exposition Of this text got over however
and the sermon proceeding, we find 1t is cx-
actlv like all other sermons. and that the ORR
ginalty and all the comicality are entirely
confined to the title
have before me a few papers with which
Imagine can make the whole generation
OF comic theolosians either jealous or abash-
ed. They are simply the titles under which
the famous Orator Henley advertised his dis
course, | have taken my notes from two
sources first. n manuscript book in the Or
| at"r's own handwriting; and, second. the
DAILY -fdrcriiScr and Fogg's " eehlu Journals
for 1870 and lI3l
The Orator gave his audience four original
productions every week on Sunday morning
and on Sunday, Wednesday, and Friday eve.
Ilngs. lie divided these into Postl!S Ser.
| mons, Theological Lectures, and Orations.-
lie used to advertise the Subject of each
wcok S performance throughout the previous
week. Robert Dodsley, that poctical footman,
thus allndcs to this practice of Henley's in
his Art Of Prenchmy-:
so the great Henley hires for haIr.a crown,
qunck advertisement. to tell thu town
OF some strange point to be disputed on
Of ,hcss quack advertisements propose to
oilcr specimens. and | think the reader will
confess that the bullesquc sermon titles of our
own time cannot stand beside them for
moment.
The following is An IN e,fenso srccimcn
from Foogs lpeekly Journal for August sth.
1850 AT the Oraiory, the corner OF Lin
| coin s-n'Fe'd's, near Clare Market. to NOR.
row, being Sunday -lst. The postil will be
on Chance, proving that there is no chance,
2nd. The sermon will he, Gcntlcnans
frast at Port-G!asgow Of beng carried away
| by the devil. and Of the hcaIsc stopping often.
and the horses trembling etc. etc on convey.
ing the corpse Of Mr. B.. Of Folkingha,n.
practically applied. The Grafton advertised
."r August 18Th is "CrosS or Pile. or A II the
Mor'd at HuSSle.cnp;' for September 10th:
"lhe W HrS of Westminster. or Three Sheep.
SKINS all Of Coor:' for November iii
! The Queen Of Diamonds is the Trump, or
the Grey Mare the Better Horse" for Deem.
bel 5th: The Maids Wish, or the Art Of
Courtshp."
Henley loved to be the hero of these word
battles, and was always glad to sec the head
OF an opponent start up at the conclusion of
sermon or Grafton. lie not only invited
some one to get up and fight but, knowing
that to gild at some popular or unpopular
OPINION was the best way to ill the Oratory,
he usually selected some very disputable to.
pic for his Sunday evening s subject, append.
ing 10 the advertisement the name of some
| scholar or divine famous by his recognized
connection with that subject. Thus. if it
were the ~ Trinity, he would parade the
! names Of Dr. Watcrand and DR.. Clarke: if
it were the AEostolical Succession, the name
OF DR.. Sherlock. Sometimes. however. he
would aim Mt noble quarry: for instance.
he atxcs the following n. B.. to his advcr-
tlsemen: Of September 5th, 1880: ~ the
bishop or his deputy p!cases to assist at the
Sunday-evening dlsputation, he shall be en-
tcrtain"d with the best polemics we have. -
How likely that the bishop would seat him
SELF. with hostile intention, in front of that
famous gilt tub the throne OF his quondam
rebellions rrcsbyter! Yet it was safe and
crafty for IIenly to invite him. With what
guSto the mob of Henleyites must have de-
clared-when eight o'clock came, but no BIZ
shop with it-that the right reverned father
was afrad-that he would ",hnk twice.
that he "knew better" and so forth.
The comicaity in these sermons is. Of
course of no essential or inherent kind it
was dependent on the action and gesture of
the preacher. orlts applicability to the tran.
silent gossip Of the week, on the mobile pas.
sion of the listening Ilcnlcyites. Its most
prevalent feature is its unbashing demagog.
ishness. 1t is never religious: always pol,ti-
cal; every text of Scripture is strained into
some ridiculous relation to the English
court, parliament, OF ministry. | will select
first some passages from sermon preached
on the 25lh Of January e. the conversion of
St. Paul. in the church calander). The
| title isl "Conversion of st. Paul to the
Ministry" Let bill pass, that as Bishop
Paul was tcnt-maker, Bishop Canterbury
shall be n pipe maker. Bishop York
breechesmaker, Bishop London felt.makcr,
TO strip We wool from his flock, and We 81 ms
after, and then dcvour We mutton--to make
| canonical hats of we first, communicating
Punishment Of yc second, and keep house with
ye third"
\ man who could keep himself before the
world SO long. and with success, must have
had some effective kind OF clcverness, how.
ever deficient in wisdom. That with which
one is most struck in glancing over his notes,
is perhaps, that he is never at loss for
matter and, further. that whatever the
subjects, he never wants for way to drag
King, Lords, Commons and Clergy under
the shadow of the title, or to pilory the cur
rent unpopuarity. For instance, the 30th
of November is ST. Andrewss Day. so he
takes St. Andrew for his subject: he passes
from saints days to patron saints thence he
falls foul of Scotland for choosing st. Andrew
for her patron saint Scotland leads him to
the Stuarts: the Stua,ts branch backwards
to George Buchanan, and sideways to the
Hanoverians. places, and pensions; and
Buchanan touches the Reformation and thc
Reformation touches the Union.
Chambers Journal.