The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1872-03-04

The SINS OF THE ToNGUE.-At ST. Luke s
Cathedral yesterday morning, Bishop Nicely de-
livered an able and eloquent sermon appropri-
ate to the Lenten season, on the necessity for
an earnest and rigorous determination to see
wherein we fail to keep the Divine command
ment and to profit by the knowledge thus OBJ
tanned. The text was taken from Psalms 141 q,
''Set watch, o Lord, before my mouth; keep
the door of my lips" After brief intro
| duction, in which the general truth that all the
passions and emotions of the human heart find
their utterance and expression through the me-
dunn OF the tongue, was enforced and that
organ of the body more than any other W as re
sponsible for the various sins committed against
God, the Bishop proceeded to consider in de-
tail some CT the special sins for which the
tongue is responsible. The first and most COM
mon of these, is the sin of profanity, which is
the grossest and most inexcusable defilement of
that organ, the highest and hottest expression
of which is the praise of God in the divinely
appointed exercises of His holy religion. A
sin less gross, but fully as inexcusible in it's
character is the practice so common with q
certain class of persons, of ispeaking hippantly
and jestingly of sacred things and religious
ceremonies. The slanderous utterances of evil
disposed and malicious persons respecting the
character and faults of others, were denounced
as producing more misery and sorrow in the
world than all the more open crimes of thieves
and assassins. The sin of detracton, or the
practice of beiittling or undertaking the worth
or reputation of good and honest persons, and
those darker and deadlier insinuations against
purity and chastity, often having their founda-
ton only in mere suspicion or Jealous hatred,
which pollute the clear nature of social life,
were included in the catalogue or sins directly
responsible to the tongue.
In conclusion, the Bishop urged upon his
hearers the necessity, at this present season,
OF seeking earnestly by prayer and consecra-
tion, o fuller and deeper influence of the
spirit of Christ to cleanse the heart from all i'm
purities, and thus enable them to lead purer,
nobler and more Christian lives
PORTLAND FRATERNTT.-The second enter
tainment of the present season, under the aus
pices of the Portland Fraternity, was given on
Saturday evening. The hall was filled to its ut
most capacity, and the entertainment was one
of the best of this popular series. The exercises
opened with auartette by Mrs. Wetherbee,
Mrs. Webb, Mr. Will Stockbridge and Mr. w.
H. bennett, which it is needless to say, was
rendered in the best style of these talented ar
lists and elected great applause To give color
to the occasion, Mr. William Allen, Jr, then
read in an admirable manner The Blackamoor,'
by Tom Hood, poem relating the unsuccessful
attempts of philanthropic society of the Eng
ish nobility, to change the color of their black
fellow citizens by various original scrubbng
and cleansing operations. The came trio by
Mrs Wetherbee, Mrs. Webb and Mrs. Allen,
after which Mr.. Murray read Tennyson's beau
tiful poem of "Dora, in a manner which
brought out all its pathos and sentiment clearly
and fully. The sweet, sad story of the poem,
ending in reconciliation between the stubborn
Farmer Allen and Dora and Mary, made deep
inrprvssiun upvn une auu1ence which was ex-
pressed in earnest and long-continued applause.
A brilliant piano duet by Miss Millett and
Mrs Allen, received an enthusiastic encore, and
the entertainment closed with Mr.. Murray's in
imitable rendering of "Mr Bob Sawyer's
Party" The various characters, including the
irate landlady, Mrs. Randall, the stupid servant
girl, Mr.. Pickwick, and the timorous Mr.. Ran
DALI were enacted to the life. .ULu
Another entertainment will be given on next
Saturday evening, and a better way of spending
that evening cannot possibly be devised. 2 -