The New York herald., 1872-11-18
Moral and Material Lessons OF tn
Boston Fire.


Moral and Material Lessons OF the
Boston Fire.
The Boston confagration has not lost its in
terest to the pulpits of this city. Yesterday it
was the theme Of discourse in the Church of
the Divine Paternity, in the Seventh Avenue
Presbyterian church, and in the Church of the
Disciples. DIR. Chaplin maintained that no
great public occurrence can be called acci-
dental or inscrutable 1t is one of series that
has come in its turn for six thousand or
six million years, and it means that Provi-
dence is untiringly carrying out its great
purposes. There is no chance incident
anywhere. There must be intention, and
an the intention of the Providence that
produces our calamities lies the mystery Of
evil All the calamities by flood and flame,
by earthquake and tempest, that have come
upon us in what appears to be in these years
D cycle Of catastrophe, teach us this trenchant
Iesson-that there is Power above and
beyond us against which we can do nothing
that we stand upon insecure ground and that
our treasures will fade and granite man
sions will melt These great calamities also
teach us the necessity of human care and
(watchfulness, and there is no calamity that
has not its human side and presents not these
lessons of warning and of caution. But these
catastrophes subserve good purpose also.
The individual man is advanced to higher
grandeur by each recurring calamity. The
great brotherhood sympathy Of mankind is
awakened, too, by these misfortunes and the
Doctor held these ideas up for admiration.
And though not New Englander himself,
he admired the sterling manhood Of the Bos-
tonians which this fire has called into being.
Mr. Hepworth saw in the same calamity the
great lesson of dependence ono upon an
other and as no one can climb without drag
glng others up, SO no one can tall without
dragging others down. But there was great
satisfaction in knowing that while the fire
fiend burns up all our riches, energy, am
bition, hope and faith are left, and these are
the best riches that men can have The sub
lime spectacle of men who were rich
pn Saturday night and poor Sunday morn
ing beginning life anew on Monday, is due
TO the energy and faith inspired by our
common school system, and he (Mr Hep
WORTHY would not permit any one to interfere
with the religious instruction given from the
desks of our public schools. Americans
should lay their hands on their hearts and
swear that the Bible shall not be taken from
the public schools. There is no fear that chill
dren will get too much religion. Mr.. Hep.
worth, in view of this calamity, would have
his hearers set their affections on things above,
and put their faith and trust in God the
Father and in the Lord Jesus Christ Rev.
Mr. Graham endeavored to solve the PROPOSE
tion, if the fire is minister Of God, what does
1t teach, and what service does it render to
the cause of the great Author Of the universe?
It teaches three classes Of lessons namely,
natural providential and gracious or mer-
ciful. In the first it shows how much
weaker science is than natures laws
It also teaches the supreme folly Of supposing
any one rich and Of supposing no one can lose
his possessions. In the second class the
absence Of suffering is something to be thank
ful for. It was different with the Chicagoans
last year. But in the Boston fire mercy is
seen tempered with judgment. The fire hum
,bles Boston, and in this direction it is instruc-
tive to New York. It also warns us that the
are our slaves may at times be our most de-
structive enemies. Mr. Graham regretted the
defect in the secular press in giving glowing
accounts Of the great fire that yet did not seek
to lift the heart from the creature to the Creator
New York and the world should profit by this
fire and if they fail to do SO then it has failed
in its great lesson.
By way of variety Mr.. rockingham had
something to say yesterday about the relative
moral qualities Of poverty and riches The
extremes of one are no more to be dreaded
than those of the other The extreme poor
have no virtue, he thinks, because they cannot
afford it. Conscience is too expensive; they
must struggle for life. And with the rich it is
not much better It is only in temperature
that things are evenly balanced for the de-
;velopment of mankind. The man with little
means and few wants is q rich man, and the
millionaire who has to work is poor man.
Incidentally Mr.. rockingham referred to the
Boston fire to illustrate the point that the rich
are no more Independent, after oil, than the
poor, which is virtually true Rev. Mr. Asten,
on the lessons Of the election, would have
us join hands in peaceful friendship now
no longer of course over the bloody chasm,
that gap having been filed up with the
debris of the defeated party. The cause Of
city missions was pleaded in Trinity Methodist
Episcocal church by Bishops Foster and
james and General Fisk, three of the ablest
advocates it could possibly have. The ideal
has uses as well as the real, as we may gather
from Mr. Beecher's sermon. The ideal APPLE
for instance, must never become pumpkin,
and the ideal man must not lose his natural
ness and actuality by anY transformation