Mower County transcript. [volume] (Lansing, Minn.) 1868-1915, 1874-06-04

A RELIGIOUS REVIVAL IN RUSSIA
A Drlalah Lord PrcuchiMg t. Russlnn I.adic

A RELIGIOUS REVIVAL IN RUSSIA.
A srlt'~h Lord Prcachins t. R...l.a Ladies'
Tho novel religious excitement amona
tho ladies of st. Petersburg, reused bv
the preaching Of the English Lord Rad.
stock, has elected tho following remarks
from the Grashdanino, fashionable
Russian journal:
It is we'll known that in Southern
Russia whole villages have been lately
embracing professionalism, and that q
seminary is forming at Berlin for the
purpose of teaching German clergymen
the Russian language, and educating
them to act a. missionaries among us.
Worse than this, there il Countess NJ.
a Russian Orthodox lady, and the
mother Of four children, WHO the other
day told Lord Radstock that she he'd
only learned to love Christ from his ex-
position of Anglican doctrine that the
Greek Church was cold and stiff, and
that she only now knew what it was to
be really q Christian. p.
Princess g., another Russian ortho-
dox lady, and the mother Of sf1o chill
dren, after attending Rord Radstock' q
Bible class, has been heard to exclaim,
II only now know what the religion OF
Christ really is."' My dear Lord, q
pray teach me to love Christ. :. Tell me
my dear Lord Radstock, how TO make
the necessary distinction, between the
love I feel for my husband and tho love
I owe Christ" These words have re.
Gently fallen from the lips of Princess
D., likewise an orthodox lady, and
mother of four children. The above
few authentic utterances will give the
reader an idea of the religious condition
of st. Petersburg society early in the
year 1874. Balls are forgotten, and
fine dresses discarded, the fair owners
having taken to loving Christ and re-
ceiving religious instruction, from q
modern English apostle. Even the
male portion of our fashionable society
is beginning to be affected with Apredi-
lection for Professionalism. :.
Lord Radstock is man of forty. who.
in fit of religious enthusiasm, bestow-
ed his whole fortune on the poor, and
devoted himself to the spread Of Christi
anity among the upper classes. He has
lived much on the Continent, and made
converts chiefly among Russians stay
ing abroad. Encouraged by his success
among our travelling countrymen, he
has now come 10 this capital, and is de-
sirous of converting it's inhabitants to
Christianity. Since he has been at st.
Petersburg he has daily received ten or
twelve invitations to come and hold
forth in aristocratlc saloons on the
doctrines of Christ. He has also been
preaching in the American church, de-
lighting numerous female audience
cred in French and English languages.
Wherever he shows himself at public or
private meetings, our ladies entreat
him to teach them how to love Jesus.
To be an eye witness of one of these
assemblies opens the mind to q good
deal. At an early hour the room is fll-
ed to overdowing with princesses and
countesses. They are all clad in black
or gray, and accompanied by their little
children, and hunger and thirst after
the spiritual food they have come to
receive. Lord Radstock first kneels
down with his back to the assembly on
treating Christ to inspire him With fit-
ting words. Then rising and turning
around. ho says, Let us pray" an
injunction which is Immediately obeyed
by all present. After this he opens the
Bible, reading the first text upon
which his eyes happen to fall. and COM
nenting upon it in eloquent and impress
sive language.
The ladies are gradually excited to
the highest pitch of religious enthusi-
asm. As they sit weeping before him,
they resemble 80 many heathen women
admitted to the first knowledge Of Christ
by tho powerful teaching of st. Paul.
The close of the discourse is marked
by loud sobbings. The fair devotces
rise from their seats, and croud around
the evangelist lord, thank him in pas.
sionate terms for showing them the
way of salvation and directing them
and their children in the path Of peace.
Despite all this, we cannot help
thinking that if some poor, unpretend-
ing Russian priest, arrayed in the
scanty garments of his class, were to
arrive to-day at st. Petersburg in: q
railway carriage of the third class; and
try to quicken the religious suscepti-
bilities of our beau n,odne, he would
not fiud it quite as easy to move count
esses to tears, although his words might
be inspired with the same sincerity as
Radstock's. Nay, We would go 80 far
as to say that the poor priest in shabby
clothes would not be permitted even to
enter the ante-rooms Of our palaces
that he would be offered an eleemosy.
nary rouble and bid to turn to the right
in Gods name.