, 1874-03-01

In the hall Of the Maryland Institute, to an au-
dienco as largo az that Of the afternoon. hap
pened to have seat close to party OF boys who
! had been converted" during the week, and
| they could take part in tho exercises. one OF
these,
4 LAD TEN Or TWELVE TEARS OF AGE.
! insisted OIL telling me- his rellglous experience
| which be supposed would interest me. He said
that little girl had been converted 1T the
meeting in the morning, aud he gave the
/ number Of minutes that the child had
| found peace; Mrs. Van Cott had regarded it the
| most remarkable conversion she had ever seen.
After this little girl hnd '*got through gem
tlcman had offered her silver cup, but she
| said, No, don't want it; give it to JeBus." :"
The little fellow wanted to know il didn't think
him, I saw that his eyes were sparkling and
his cheeka aushed. He was IN that
condition of nervous sensibi1ity indi~
Gated BY parents when thoy charge
their children with % being beside themselves:'
The e., boys sang With great spirit, and made
Mrs. Van Cott launched into her sermon their
religious ferror abated. They began to inspect
the side scenery that had been left standing on
the stage. to point out to each other the amusing
osted in the paintings that they stuck their 1u-
gers through holes in the canvas. with appar-
ent intent to make them larger. My young
friend, who had told mo about the little girl
that refused the silver cup, being cut off from
his companions by two adult persons occupying
the Intervening seats, contemplated the punch
ing Of the canvas for while from his lonely
position, and then dropped into sound sleep.
He had lot walked up when took my departure.
NATHAN AND DAVID.
Mrs Van Colt read q portion Of the chapter IN
the Book of Samuel which relates David's temp
tation and fall, and there we're those who t1em-
bled lest she should attempt to comment on
some Of the more delicate incidents in the story;
but it was not long before all approximations on
this score were removed. Her text had no con~
a,ection Whatever with her discourse, aud any
passage in the Sacred Scriptures might have
been selected with as much propriety as Nathan's
pointed remark to David, "Thou art the man."
Mxs. Van Cott has an immonse stock OF standard
hbi!um, without much regard to the connection.
She seems to have committed to memory two or
thres Of the standard hEmn-hooks sud- when
ever she has difficulty in recalling q
text q stan:s Of religious poetry, is
thrown in with great effect. She has lively
perception OF personal devil, and satan, as .
destroyer and willy decelver, figures largely In all
her e1hortatlons. Her own conflicts with him,
and the arts by which be tried to delude her in
the first days OF her religious experience. form
ing OF the wicked persons whom she warned Of
their peril, but who turned deaf car to her e1-
hortati0nu and pcr1shed uiEerBbly in their sins,
she has 20 hesitation whatever III saying that
they went to the region of lost spirlts,-giving
to the place the BAme that is most harsh and re-
pulsive.
I have thus far described m exhorter such aa
may DO heard at any canp-meehng ia the rural
districts But Mrs. Van Cott is
SOMETHING MORE THAN THIS
-f.,f a. lat
is exceedingly distinct. I have heard some OF
our most distinguished orators speak in the
hall Of the Maryland Institute, but I never
heard one whose 7oico was SO full and flexible as
hers. She breaches nearly thousand sermons
in year, bu the e1hausting labor seems not
strength. Her delivery, is that Of a finished
actor, and, whether studied or natural, it is
wholly dramatic. It is pleasant to hear her road
favorito chapter from tho Bible, OF 1ecite q
SUCCESS as re7iya!ist is entirely owing to her
zeal and her fne eiocution. OF course there are
good people who are profoundly convinced that
she has been endowed BY the Almighty with
certain gifts that specially fit her fcrthe work in
the power aS y: Of ] tbe spirit Wien s stenos1spbef
takes down one OF her eznortationR, It loses all
its force. Thobe who hear her speak would !
scarcely recognize verbatim report OF her 1o-
marks.
HQLDIf4 OFF.
The g-eat body Of the aIethodists Of the city |
have NOT taken any part in the revival that is in
progress at St. Johns, I a1n not aware that she |
has preached in any Of the Methodist Episcopal |
churches OF tho city, or that she has been in
vited to occupy tho pulpit in any church except |
the one in which she is now laboring. know /
that some Of the leading Methodist preachers |
are doubtful about tho pEopriety Of her proceed
ings, although Christian people af all denomina-
tons hesitate to pronounce any adverse judS
nent, because !" she may be doing good" They |
have some objection to her methods, but they
charitably admit the purity Of her motives. and !
hope that good results may follow. Whatever |
impression she makes is through those gifts OF
spirit and Of voice that enable her to |
STIR up an excitement. do not think |
that she is capable Of instructing an intelligent
audience in ANYTHING that does not pertain to ]
religious emotion. When she gets away from
her quotations, her diction is lame and inele-
giant, and her thought entirely barren. She de-
c!ares that she never prepares q sermon, and
that she never knows what she ia going to sav
until she opens thu Bible and takes her text. !
This is sufficient commentary upon her preach
ing. To deliver thousand sermons in year
without any study OF preparation, is not credit
Eb1e to any preacher, male or female. It is we'll
that those sermons only live in the recollection
Of good people, who can recall tho speakers
striking presence ard the sweetness Of her
voice, but nothing else.
Mrs. Van Cott will remain here till next Mon
day; aud then she goes to New Orleana to fill
In engagement in that city. (.