Worcester daily spy. [volume] (Worcester [Mass.]) 1850-1888, 1872-01-17
" O 3 C RS ER
WEDNESDAY,. JANUARY Ia. 1s4e.
Rev. VAR. Hepworth.

AAGNs NatVMNIlus
We know very little of Rev Mr..
HelwCrth beyond the fact that he has
won considerable attention as a bril-
liant and popular Unitarian preacher.
Our very cstimable correspondent, Unitarian, I"
who knows him well, admres bis character and
belie.es he will always DC found among the
friends of free thought. Unitarian thinks it
was mistake TO say his case has produced an
unusual amount OF feeling among Unirarians
Perhaps he is right; but the attention given to
Mr. Hepworih's new departure, by Unitarian
preachers in New York and Boston, yesterday,
does not make it seem so. In New York, Dr.
Bellows, in the Liberal Christian, treats his case
with great severity, and ateeraphc dispatch re-
pclts that Rev. W 7. Clarke said in sermon, that
''those who know Mr.. Hepworth best have the
least confidence IN his learning, ability, iudg-
ment, disinterestedness, or honor" This indi-
Gates considerable feeling; and, certainly such
personal assault made in sermon, ought to
have produced some feeling in the audience A
Unitarian correspondent in Boston sends us the
following account of what was said and done
there:
"BosToN, January Is, 1872.
Mr.. Hepworth's 'brethlen,' but who take I'M
feigned pleasure in being no longer liable to be
SO denominated, paid off old scores against the
recusdnt Unitarian, Sunday. Anybody would
hardly have expected to hear the mild voiced
saint of Lynde street delivering a scorchine SER
mon on Hepwortl's eccennicites, vet it w.aer
snch sermon that the venerable ge's, ego" az
audience listened to ysstsaSgr5re, y ;
known as radicaested. Dr. p"' 'oi Is
tyne. He is a canly 81 somewhat advanced
CLUB lneo.ry cog4onsIant speaker at the radical
caihosslng. ezings, and very broad and
1zali9Nc IN his views; but here we have
him defend1ng Unlaiianism like a new prose-
s1ste. judge, however, that ii was DR.. BartoPs
dislike of fimsy character rather than a de-
sire to championl UniIaiianism, which set him
TO preaching about Hepworth. He said somr
especially good things, in response to Hep.
worih's charges that Unitarianism is cold and
dead, as that "ttere arc no more eloquent dis
courses than those preached from the free pull
pits, but if il is shouting y0u want, you must 90
elsewhere" The following paragraph is from a
report OF bis sermon:
"0t his own accord, Mr.. Bartol said, it would
not have seemed worth while TO refer TO the sub
demands examination, but when a man leaves
whose weight added TO either ale would cause
no movement OF tue eDam we can atoId to pass
ways been ! In Of tailnr. and Wr Hanr no2
failure lay IN the fact that he gained no friends.
Il IS not the pens OF busy reporters, but the
cbalien ana ~ .rSnni J,Hc ~. P',a .iiT Tel
services emile them to honor demanded atten-
ton.
This is not bad for a non-combatant; hut the
best thing have heard is the remark of an old
divine apropoS of hepworth's new ideas about
the Trinity, that the only Trinity he has ever
known is made up of God, Jesus Christ, ard
Hepworth.' The Rev. James Freeman Clarke
devoted his whole morning sermon 10 a defense
OF Cnita'ianiSm, and | nave TO doubt that Hep.
worth's change OF base will work great good to
the denomination, as an advertisement. ANY
church organization could afford to offer up
aiileana on the occasion Of such a detection.
ana'o-day that it is not ONLY ON account of his
religious tenets that leading Unitarians are glad
to b rid of BIN for good"
1t is plain that interest in Mr.. Hepworth's case
is not confined to the newspapers, nor TO the