The Wheeling daily register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1864-1878, 1875-04-12
nEssKs MOODY AND sANKEY.


ing and preaching to audiences of from
eight TO ten thousand persons, and still
the interest manifested is unhaggng'
Onlya day or two ago, they inaugurated
a new Hall, specially constructed for
them, in Bow street, London, capable OF
holding the last mentioned number, and
there seems to be no limit tothe wonder
ful success which always attends them
They have been the theme of much COM
ment by the press and pubic
All persons of all classes
and modes of thought, flock
10 hear them, and many are the reasons
gwen as the causes Of their creating such
excitement. There are certainl Y some
very curious questions suggested by all
this. One is, how could they so completely
have Amcricanized larger portion OF
the metropolis of Great Britain? The
basis principle and ground work OF their
action is sensationalism. Now, America
/. one ofthe homes of sensation. Next
to France, probably there are no people
in the world, which SO constantly demand
novelties. and rush with such great ardor
after them. only to cast them away
a, soon as familiarity makes them stale,
or they become, from much use,
Hat and Improbable. But not
so with the model Englishman.
Ills is a phlegmatic nature. Slow to be
aroused, apparently dull Of comprehen-
sion, he is generally satisfied with things
u, they have existed according to long
established customs, and dislikes what he
calls innovations. In this instance, how
ever all seems to be altered and the two
nations have changed places. While
Americans are creating unwonted enthu-
siasm in London, an English reyivalist,
,re HENRY MARLEY has almost
,lcually failed to produce
any impression in New York. Verify
his looks like another Yankee victory.
over JONI BULL.
Another singular question Is, why Is 1t
tina, these two preachers should have
taken away their talent for doing good to
= foreign cline, and lett their own
hcnightcd countrymen in the lurch?
Surely America has as much need of re-
Iiyious influences as Great Britain. Why
they should have preferred making eXer-
tions towards saving the souls Of the
,.blsr,ted Brtishers instead Of those OF
their own people, is hard to imagine, and
can only be accounted for on the
principle that a prophet Is not
without honor save in his own country.
W, have remarked that the men them
selves, As well rs the result of their cxer-
else. have been the occasion of much COM
nent. The press particularly have tried
to probe the secret of their great sue
cess. and nave discussed it and them
from every standpoint. Some say they
,ra natural humorists, and understand
dramatic effect SO well as to make them
selves attractive and magnetic. Some
approve and bespeak much good as the
effect Of their labors, while Others dis
approve and take the stand that senss-
tional preaching can never produce real
,,,,d but that in obedience to natural
laws the excitement produced by it
must have reaction when
will cause an extreme in the oppoSit-
direction, and so the last state will be
worse than the first. The London Times
takes this stand, and cruelty cites Brook
lvn society of to-day, as a sad illuStra-
,ion Of the result of this style of preach
ing. They, too, have even been discussed
s..,,,, medical point of view. The Lon
40, Lancet takes the ground that, gen
orally sneaking, excitements of all kinds
ore injurious. a. they "tend to produce
r,rtpbation sufficient to disturb the bal
snce of thought, and start series OF con-
sequences which may be pronounced IN
sanity" This is prominently true
in the case of religious enthusiasm, and
on this point this paper says;
"Religious illusions are common enough
- the insane, but that probably arises
from that region of thought and feeling
,,rasentinr the most unobstructed field for
r,ccss,ye action. 1t is in periods OF re-
vivals where religious emotion l. stirred
in disproportlonate degrees that the dan
ger of such results is greatest; ana TINS
aSnrct of movement SO extensive ~
tbat now commenced in London. comes
fairly within the range of the phySl-
cian's consideration Judging, however,
from personal observations, we should
say that no movement of its eX-
tent coIld well present less danger OF
excessive or perverted emotional ef-
feet, than that of Messrs. Moody and
Sspkev. The testimony OF most unpre-
indeed observers is to the same effect.
tn services are Singularly free from the
more Objectionable element of revival
meetings. Sympathetic but not over
wrought music, and shrewd, rough apt
Ssometimes humor-of the sermon,
IRE the characteristics which mark the
services from most ordinary preaching OF
the same theological school; and there Is
,I,;,,,, 90 ,oint To artificial stimulation