Green-Mountain freeman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1844-1884, 1873-08-27
For the Freeman.
AmuSementS Again.

hp
of Nav 28th sharp criticism by your cor
-osnondent :. Old School on former arti
oIo Of ours on :. Amusements." We regret
h.v,ng fallen SO suddenly out of the good
.-oce, of YOUR correspondent, in such a sad
1r,ht to1.-in our decrepitude, with our
:. (,,.ted locks streaming in the breeze"
We are glad our sincerity is not questioned.
We nrefer to be regarded as insane rather
than Iaslaosre.
l. NAV interest your correspondent to
,.,-n that the case of the clergyman he
alto. d,ncing on the death of John Quincy
.d,ms. and ours are not parallel. We never
d.,co. we never attended ball in our life;
We don't know how to play game OF euchre,
billiards, chess or dominoes; in short, we
think very few men of our age have spent
less time in amusement Of any kind than our
self 50 that your correspondent need not
fear that we shall lead any considerable por-
tion of the clergy into the giddy mazes of the
midnight dance. Old School seems to be
almost Mortified at the idea of dancing
" hopping up and down, and turning
around as be terms it. We almost think
he must be a Iineal descendant of the pious
old lady in church, who wanted to have them
'hOld down the violin in the choir as they
did the bass viOl, because it made her think
dancing" We commend tins pious old
LADY to the sympathy of Old School, not
doubling he is constitutionally qualified to
appreciate and commiserate her sad, wo-be-
gone case. In the eyes of Old School the
practice Of dancing is g supremely foolish. }"
Not so thinks DIR. Combe, the sound physi-
ologist, who, in the estimation of Hon. Hor-
ace Mann, has written d" the greatest book
of the age, - referring to his " Constitution
of Man. He says: "We have received Or
gans of Tune and Time, which inspire US
with the desire and give US the talent to pro-
duce music Our organs of voluntary mo-
ton are SO connected with those organs, that
when we hear gay and vivacious music played
in well marked time, we instinctively desire
to dance; and when we survey the effect OF
dancing on our corporal frame, we discover
that it is admirably calculated to promote
the circulation of the blood and nervous in
duence all over the body, and thereby to
strengthen the limbs, the heart, the lungs
and the brain in short, to invigorate the
health. and to render the mind, alert, cheer
full and happy
We make no objection, however. to Old
Schools method of exercising his ministers.
Chopping and saving wood are very good
exercise, but we doubt if they ever become
very practical amusements among the clergy
Henry Ward Beecher will hardly chop
much wood with a salary of $50 900 year ;
besides he is emine1ty social in his rela-
tons, and we sincerely hope it will turn out
that he has not been guilty of abusing them,
but if he has, he cannot escape the law OF
compensation. But it seems to us that a
long, lone monotonous walk of 50 five or SIX
miles - cannot combine so many of the ele-
ments of utility aud happiness as what DIR
Combe ascribes to a social ance; but if the
minister thinks it wicked for him TO vary the
monotony by hopping up and down OIL
turning round.'' by all means let him lcall
it out, but let him be sure he is right before
he goes ahead. Man was not made to be
recluse; he is social in bis nature, and tn
greater the number of his faculties that ar
brought into activity and duly exercised a
any one time, the greater will be the amour
of enjoyment.
But is dancing a sin? Does it break an,
law of God or man, when rracticed in du
season and degree? At the late Decoration
Day in this town, when the band struck Vi
the music, little motherless blind girl, tive
and half years old, in the crowd was s
inspired thereby that she began to give ez
preston through her voluntary organs b.
beating out the time; in the language of he
grandmother, 50 she was for shuthIng it out.
Was this wrong? Now suppose this littl
girl be taught it WAS sin against God fC
her to do so; that he would he angry if st
did. | believe such teaching would be imp
Gus ; it would be flying in the face of Heavel
and putt, no asu nder what God hath joine
together Now if it would not be wron
for the child to respond to the instinctiy
promptngs of its organs of Tune and Time
neither would it be for the adult; not eve
for the minister, any more than 1T would 3
for him to pour out his soul in prayer
God through his organs of veneraton.
Old School scouts the idea of more " Ii
eral religion > than that of our " pious a
cestors, who bowed with their Bibles in ii
Wilderness We confess We were new
charmed with their piety. We only ask ft
areigion that is adapted to the wants an
capacities of man as written by the finger
God in his constitution. 6 The great mi
take of the world,'' says Emerson, "has BET
the divorce of religion from morality"
long as there is an infinite distinction ma
between religion and morality, so long as
Particular creed must be accepted, SO long
artificial sacraments and ceremonial obser
snces are made better test of true relIgi
than the most inhexible morality, SO long
the icOrst religionist is allowed to enter t
pearly gates, while the best moralst is thru
out into outer darkness. just SO long we shi
have exhibitions of sectarian exclusiveness
Old School says, SO What this age needs
that excellent system of family governme
and sound orthodox preaching" etc. b
ne must be aware that all preaching is I
souud,' and that self-assuming orthodox
not always modest, is quite liable to be
the wrong. We doubG if Old School wou
desire to Lear chapter of the old Connec
cut Blue Laws, the fruits of New Engla
orthodoxy, read on family or ecclesiasti
government at tie morning service in
churcb H. oxa,sos <bo EolI;aS ord Co II