Alexandria gazette. [volume] (Alexandria, D.C.) 1834-1974, 1872-02-06

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BEEcHER's ScHooLDAYs. Standing on the
platform of Plymouth Church last Sunday
morning, with basket of fragrant flowers
on each side of him, folding his arms and ia,
cling the immense congregation, Henry Ward
Beecher said 'sThat man who condemns a
fellow mortal for his sinful conduct, and says it
serves him right when overtaken by, the law,
and that it is all nonsense to pity him, Is
most arrant sinner himself There is no man
living who cannot be made to sin in some man
ner or other" He spoke of the effects Of kind:
ness in rebukiug, and said that parents erred
greatly in their manner Of correcting the trans
gressions of children. Kindness, he said, alone
was needed. "When | threw spit-bals at my
school teacher said Mr.. Beecher, land often
to my great regret missed him, was brought
up for chastisement. I stood it like an Indian.
| was considered hero by the other boys, and
marched to my seat in triumph. Had that
man spoken to me kindly and told me of his
desire to educate me properly, there would
have been more quiet IN that school room
When child enters pantry 10 the absence OF
its mother or other guardian, and sees, smells,
aud tastes doughnut, which IN all we'll regu:-
lated families is considered forbidden fruit, and
is discovered, its first impulse is to deny the
offence. 1t is not strong enough to bear the
bruut of passion; and seeks to avoid the stroke.
How much better would it be for the mother
or father to tenderly caress the child and talk
to it kindly concerning the misdemeaDor. The
child would hang its head in shame, and prob
ably never commit similar act
When Mr.. Beecher placed himself in an at
titude which seemed plainly to indicate
knowledge of the manly art, and said, II am
of very excitable and combatible disposition,
and my first impulse is to strike out, the
staid portion of the congregation were aghast,
but when he mildly added, ''but,. as | grow
older, have less disposition to do 80, the
frowps disappeared.
A LONDON SPECTACLE. Justin Mccarthy
writes from London to the New York Mail, as
follows: take the pantomime OF Lady Godl-
va at Astley's Theatre. 1t could approve
of official intervention in such cases.. | think !
Epgsh legend protected from burlesque and
bufconery The thing is dull and stupid
parody, utterly witess, vulgar, and vapid. But
it is we'll put upon the stage, as all these
things are, and the papers gave it, OF course,
the customary dose of unmingled praise. The
lady who, having a certain position and reputa
tion as an actress, descended to exhibit herself
as "Godiva," was covered with eulogy as with
a garmeut-would that she could have wrapped
herself up 10 it when on the stagel One en-
thusiastic critic declared that as she sat upon
her white horse under the rays of the lime
light, she might have been taken by Phydias
as model of womanly beauty and symmetry.
All the papers concurred in speaking Of her
as statuesuue, exquisite, classic, and l don't
know what else Now let me tell you what |
saw when went to this entertainment A big,
fat, handsome woman, certainly, a woman with
fine, healthtul, British bar-maid sort OF face,
but such figure! | was going to speak of her
as Falstaff in petticoats, but this lady wore no
such garments. In word, the exhibition was
disgusting. Had it not been desecration Of
the ''Godiva" of legend and poetry, it would
still have been hideous. As it was, the whole
show was disgrace to our stage, low even as
our taste has Fallen But it had apparently
the sanction of the Lord Chamberlaiu: who
won't stand political jokes, and who, l suppose,
got over his difficulty as to proprlety OF cos
tune, by rejecting that it is no use to call tor
the lengthening of jupons where no juponS,
long or short, are worn.
SprRIruAL1sM IN LONDON. The wise men
of London are having famous quarrel over
the merits of so-called Spiritualism. What
with the lively advocacy of the rival systems of
'pneumatology' and psychic force, the
charges of belief in supernatural agency as
evoking the phenomena and the indignant de-
mails, the article in the last Quarterly Review
and the myraid of counter arguments, sugges-
tions and corollaries that have followed 1.-THE
discussion is waxing hot, as we'll as tolerably
comprehensive. Mr. William Crookes, Ser
geant Cox, Mr. Varley, DR.. Higgins, Lord
Lindsay and Dr. Carpenter are all at it, tooth
and nail, and we hear of another learned body's
intention to appoint an investigating commit
tee, and have report to offset that of the
Dialectical Society. In the meantime Dr. Car.
pent er, who, it is whispered, is the author of
the Quarterly article that has made such
breeze, is going to deliver lectures on "Epi::
demic Delusons with reference to Spiritual
Manifestations, the first of which was an
nounced to take place at St. George Hall,
London, on the night of Sunday, the l4th inst.
Very likely Mr.. Varley will follow in rebuttal,
with Mr.. b. D. Home as ''horrid example,
and at all events those who are interested in
the subject will now have plenty to occupy
their attention.
SOMETHING New IN SHIPBUILD1NG.-At
Buffalo, n Y, shipyard there is a process OF
constructing vessel that has about it much
that is novel and peculiar. 1t is what is called
composite tug, such as has never been built
before in this country. The frames, beams,
floor plates, keel and stern and stern-posts are