The Portland daily press., 1867-06-20

The New York correspondent of the Spring
field Republican gives the following sketch of
MIR. Beecher in the pulpit:
attended Plymouth church last evening.
Onlv novices ask their way thither. All that
one has to do is to cross to Brooklyn, follow
the crowd and he is sure to be safely landed.
LET the cars going down TO the ferries ON Sun
dav evenings be packed as closely as possible,
If is certain that after passing the street on
which the church is located, there will always
be room enough and TO spare. Those not SO
fortunate az to own pews are obliged to wait in
the vestibule until the proprietors are seated,
and then they are politely shown to the vacan-
cies-no seats are reserved after the first act.
| don't own pew, but L look as though L did,
and the consequence is that there's no trouble
nor delay IN my case L walk blandly in, take
the best seat in the most comfortable pew that
is vacant, and if tue proprietor and his family
happen to come in, am very useful and orna-
mental III the way of passing them hymn books
and finding the hymns. There is nothing like
a little modest seif-assertion at times. Is my
soul to be losi or my back broken by sitting
on a harsh stool in the aisle, simply because 1
do not happen to own pew? li- 40 9 "a
L like MIR. Beecher There is quiet force
about him which impresses one from the be-
ginning. 1t is too generally the custom OF cler-
gymen to commence too rashly, sail in too
brashly, so to speak, and worry themselves out
on the first heat. Not so my Beecher. He
prefers to rido waiting race pardon me the
language of the turf, but my velvet jacket vet
bears the fresh dust of the Patterson fneet)
His speech and manner are temperate even to
tameness, at the send off, but some way you
feel and know that he's got it in him; below
all the measuredness you detect a stride and
quickness of action and a quiverng of muscle
which induce you to wait patiently till he lets
himself out, and would lead you TO back him
against the whole ecclesiastical field were the
thing open to bets. He seldom does much ON
the first quarter, only warming as he approach
es the turn, but going down the back stretch
and coming in on the home there's ac-
makes a rush for it at the score
His subject last evening was the leaves and
fishes or rather economy enjoined by the
divine example in commanding that the frag-
ments be gathered up on that OCCASION The
argument was excellent and close, and do
not know when L have enjoyed sermon more.
a declaration which should, perhaps, be quail
fled by the frank admission that general
thing 1 do not enjoy sermons at all. Denounc-
iHg the too prevalent idea that economy is
meanness, he characterized it as a vile growth
OF the system of slavery, under which one man
spent what hundreds sowed and reaped, pre-
dieting the abandonment of the mistaken idea
with the downfall of that institution. Certain
ly if he who had the wealth Of nature-the
profusion of the world-the power boundlessly
to create at his command found it necessary
TO save the pieces economy is peculiarly the
duty of us poor fellows who have only an I'M
fortunate capacity for consumption. Alto
gether the sermon pleased me very much. / |
heartily concurred in most of Mr.. Beecher's |
deductions, and have felt healthier since Sit !
ting under his ministry. +'