The New York herald., 1874-11-30
REV. J. W CHADWICK ON SUNDAY.

Rev. J. W. Chadwick preached in the Clinton
street Universalist church yesterday forenoon,
and in the course OF his sermon toucned on the
subject OF Sunday amusements In bold and COM
prehensive manner. He said .rest can be made
positive, either by pure and wholesome recreA-
ton or by intellectual and spiritual ACTIVITY. The
recreation must be pure and wholesome or 1t is
not restiui; rather 1t Is exnaustlng and debili-
tatlng. Here Is one great objection to the Sunday
theatre. especially 1or those who patronlze such
entertainments as 1t Will be likely 70 urnlsh for
some time TO come. Its recreation is not pure
and wholesome. The spectator goes away wearled
rather than reireshed-unfitted by 1t for the NOR.
rows toll. 1t is a very serious problem
how the poor-I DO not mean the paupers-
or our large cities, are to be
furnished with the right sort OF Sunday recreation.
some sort tney Will have. II tney cannot nave it
by ialr means they Will have IL by oul. Our irish
population go to cnurcn single nour In the morn
Ing. Our German population doesn't do az much
as that. 1t Is all very wei Tor
SCORE OR TWO or yILLrONNAIRFs
70 sign sucn petition as appeared in the papers
yesterday They can have better mus ic in their
uptown churches than IN downtown theatre
Ineir libraries and drawing rooms are very COM
l0rtable III they do not care 10 20 70 cnurcn They
have warmth and comfort, music ana unht and
brilliant conversation. But there are tens of fou-
SANDS IN these great cites VINO i've Ia narrow
quarters, and some oil them desire no better Sunday
recreation than TO stay in these same quarters mar.
row as they are; better ior these than any play
or music good long sight OF wife and child dren's
Iaces. But some, and not unna urally have an
occasional variation OF TINS pleasant theme And
then think OF the thousands OF younp men and
young women who really have no home Frozen
out OF Their bleak and barren lodgings they must
go somewhere, tney must do something In the
summer months the problem Is more easily solved.
but III the wintc. season II IS very difcult There
are worse places tnan the theatre that are always
ready to receive them. find 1t always easier TO
pity than to condemn those VINO accent inc inyi-
taton. Shall we then have sunday theatres and
sunday concerts tnat make no calm to sacred
ness, aud the whole brood OF suca thnoa that
would be sure TO loowY Not II we can have some :
thing better; but unless we can have somethIn a
better we shall come TO these things sooner or
later. 1t doesn't take q prophet 10 see that
during the Middle Ages the Church had ITS own
theatrical performers; Its miracle PLAYS which
brought religion more and more into con tempt I
90 not despair Of time In the future when
DRAMATIC ART SHALL BE THE HANDMAID or RE.
LIGIoN.
There are plays already written that would
toucn the heart and conscience more than nun
dreds OF sermons that VIII be preached This morn
ing. have heard sermons that have stirred uD Ali
the bad IN me. ! nave seen plays that nave stirred
up all the good But the name OF such PLAYS Is not
legion. Plays that are not 1T to be seen on weak
days are Ger ainly not ft TO he seen on Snndays
DO we then speak OF the Impossible when W Q sneak
of pure and wholesome sunday recreatonS /
trust not Music. the orchestra, the organ and the