National Republican. (Washington City (D.C.)) 1872-1888, 1874-05-02
aoRAToR HEYLEY."

Perhaps ft would be still moro dlftcult 10 hnd
q legitimate place in the group for him who be-
came known as "Orator Henley" His fame,
or notoriety, as some would prefer to call it,
belongs to later period but his most ambi-
tious effort Of genius, esther, Queen Of Per-
STA; an Historical Poem, now on the table be-
fore us, bears date in TIA; and his project Of q
universal grammar was published q year or SO
earlier. Whether we may Justly call him q
great man or not, it Is certain that he would
hold higher place in the present day, were he
among rs, than he held in his own; and those
who are on the lookout for unpopular charac-
ters suitable for dedication might perhaps find
q suitable hero In Rev. John Henley. He was
dissenting preacher, and that was nearly as
fatal definition in his day as that Of "Farmer
General" became in the days of Voltaire. But
he was dissenting preacher of peculiarly
odious stamp. BE was q man of good old fam
ily. BE got q university education, and dropped
into Q comfortable family living. But he would
not be content with his lot, so he turned dis
senter and popular preacher In London. =
There was something in all this so losthsome
as only to be paralleled when high-born Lady
Serena disappears with Plush, and gets mar
ried BY the register. The name Of "orator"
naturally occurred as q scornful designation
for the popular preacher because he called his
church the ''oratory." 1t was large building,
absorbing vast crowds out of the miscellaneous
population of London. In this 1t was the pro-
totype of certain tabernacle of the present
day. Whether the existing tabernaculsr, who
has great fame as an orator, be also scholar,
Is not known, and 1t IL not Unfair to say that
probabilities are against the supposition. But
Henley certainly was Q scholar of wide range.
He fought 0 controversial battle with Boyer,
the French photographer, about the fundamen-
tails Of French grammar. In his project Of .
universal grammar he threw himself fearlessly
into Oriental languages, and though many have
denounced bis pulpit -oratory, none have pro-
claimed his ignorance of the languages he thus
professed to WELD. His most remarkable
literary achievement is, however, the liturgy
prepared by him for the congregation of the
oratory. u -
It will be found reprinted in Halls Frag-
nse7tta Liiurgiea; and It will perhaps surprise
those who are familiar with tho qualities OF q
popular dissenting preacher of the present day
to find him sednlously searching through the
fathers and all the yestiges of ecclesiastical
literature for the devotional forms of the
primitive church. One Of the wild and Often
sive projects attributed to Henley was the
establishment of university In London. As
IL was profanity &, listen 10 such suggestion,
he bethought him To- create something like
centre of the higher education within his own
oratory.t Surely he EXPIRE ssed himself In
something higher than the tone of clerical
demsgogue when he set down among his OBJ
bots in this project: vTo give by just degrees
standard to the English tongue; to clear,
regulate, and digest the English history; to
revive an ancient Atheuian and Roman school
Of philosophy, rhetoric, and elocution, which
last 10 reckoned among the artss pardite.i
"0ur noble language, Y be ssys, like our arms,
oughtto bear the laurel from France, whichit
merits, IS well as from sncient Greece and
Rome, 10 delicaey, in force, in majesty, IN
beauty" Z. ~ - -, 49, q, ~ -
SThereis no dcubtthat he carried hflarity, or,
II you will, bufoorery, into the pulpit, and he
vindicated u thus: "a preacher Is bound in
conscience sometimes to preach hurlesque, for
he Is bound to be all things 10 al men. Some
men viii not be engaged by any method but
burlesque; therefore plead liberty Of con-
science, and demand # to preach burlesqus
when think proper, as the clergy do 10 those
that require that manner. Mirth Is part Of re-
ligion. The fear Of God, says Ben sirac,
makes merry heart; her ways are pleasant
ness; rejoice IN the Lord. Be perfect as God
Is perfect. And God 70 said to mock, to have