The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920, 1867-12-22

TO his American brethren. II 10 dated on board
the steamship Cuba and is evidently written, with
an accompanying .'recipe for bad preaching"
which we give, upon the rising and agonizing SEN
stations Of sea-sckness He says he intends to edit
q volume of his sermons, preached in this country,
after he gets home; for the manuscript Of his dis
courses. he remarks, is in characters unknown in
any printing office. In this farewell letter, which
is addressed to the editor OF the Independent, he
retches forth as follows about American reporters
and publishers -
II any newspaper editor wishes to honor me by
giving his readers some OF my dscourses, any such
editor Is most welcome to my own copy, as
furnished TO those publishers; and | have
requested them to supply, for the sole pur-
pose Of newspaper publication, any such Sa
volume. At the same time / protest
against any other sermons of mine being pub
lshed and any other version than that which has
passed under my revision. do not wish to be
made responsible as an author for my own verbal
inaccuracies as preacher-inaccuracies unavoid-
able, except by that constrained mode OF reciting
memoriter, or reading from manuscript, which
can seldom be consistent with good preaching.
Much less do consent to be made responsible, in
addition, for the errors Of reporter and printer
combined. Whatever payments were
made me, my objection against reporters yer.
sion OF my spontaneous utterances being sent
forth without my revision, as my own production,
stands undated and in all its force.
Recipe to Obtain and Preserve Bad Prcnch-
Ing.
BY REV. NEWMAN HALL
First, find reporter wanting employment and
publisher or newspaper proprietor willing to
make capital out Of other peoples brains, and
able to undersell the regular literary market by
saving the payment usually made for authorship.
Shake them well up together till they come to .
mutual agreement. A settlement will then take
place. The reporting element, being much the
lighter in the result, win rise to the surface.
Next look out for some preacher who does
not read carefully from prepared manuscript, and
who, therefore. is unable, even should be wish 1t,
to send his sermon to the press, and defeat the
himself near the pulpit, where he will catch every
syllable of the speaker. When the sermon begins,
let the pencil begin; when the preacher pauses,
let it pause; when he speaks quickly let it race
let it also lnger and when he shuts the Bible let
the reporter shut his notebook and say-Amen.
Repeat the process, 50 that the preacher may know
that whenever he breaches all he says will be re-
corded just as he says it.. Then let one Of
the sermons thus recorded be published
not as an article of news, but % true
and complete version of such discourse. At the
same time let It be announced that all the said
not consult his wishes beforehand. Give him no
option to whether he desires any particular dis
course withheld for the present He may want to
preach II elsewhere, and win feel difficulty in
SO doing II the people have previously read it. He
may intend it to be portion Of some volume
which he has been meditating and laboriously pre-
pairing during several years, and may not wish any
part Of the book to look like reprint. He may,
therefore, accept your courtesy in consulting him,
and forbid publication. Do not give him the
opportunity to correct the proofs, for this
win delay you. Therefore, on no account
let your procedure be dependent on his
whims. The thoughts are his but give
him no control over the publishing Of them be.
yond his present auditors, nor over the perpetua-
ton Of them in that shape. Perscvere In the APP
plication and the recipe is to be successful.
The said preacher will alter his style. He will
speak to the reporter, and not alone to the audi
ence. He will speak ss an author, and not alone
as preacher. He will be Influenced by the
thought Of how his sermons will appear as read,
and not simply how they will be felt as heard.
And the influence will extend beyond himself.
Younger preachers will follow in his steps, and
the end desired will be attained. You will secure
in the pulpit carefully composed essays. read
with strict attention to the manuscript. And thus
you will get bad preaching. Independent.