The new Northwest. [volume] (Portland, Or.) 1871-1887, 1876-12-29

as the gospel should be, it is not strange
that the crowds follow them. And
then, that singing! Sankey's singing
sounds at times like.the wall of lost
soul. Then again you hear the thunder
and see the lightning as the reverbera-
tions Of his voice go through you like
electricity; and while
" Jura answers, through her misty shroud,
Back to the joyous Alps who call to her aloud"
You shut your eyes, and Oriental le-
gends fill your brain with mental con-
jurings as the dying miserere steals
athwart your senses when
"Jesus of Nazareth passeth by"
MOody's preaching is simply Bible
readings and stories. He tells story
with inimitable pathos, and though you
cannot often see the connection between
his illustrations and the text, you find
that he strikes your feelings through
some natural, simple vibration of your
being, and then there is positive luxury
in tears. While we know that there
will be no such result from these labors
as many of the faithful anticipate, We
are profoundly glad to see the people
thus stirred. Whatever touches their
sympathies will make them more
Christ-like, and anything like change
in religion is an improvement upon the
formal sectarianism and self-righteous
coldness of. the churches. There is not
one person in five hundred who attends
church in any city for the simple reason
that the poor cannotsustain the expense
of pew rent and costly apparel. These
meetings break down the walls, and
though human arrogance will rebuild
them as soon as Moody is gone, yet the
masses will have caught glimpses of the
gospel, and much bread will have been
cast upon thewaters which shall yet after
many years return. The reformed mems
meetings are largely attended, and when
men and women make it respectable
to reform fallen women as well, and
thus prevent wholesale ruin while phil
anthropists are satisfying their souls by
saving at "retail, i" we shall have a great
deal more faith in the religion of the
day than we can now have in anything
that is one-sexed and one-sided, whether
it be in church or state.
We are pleased to chronicle one hope
full symptom of better times. A promi
nent Democratic politician has made 6
public confession. We heard him, anC
while the faithful followers of Moody
were rejoicing over what they devoutly
believed God had wrought, we could no
help thinking (and may Heaven forgive
US if we're mistaken) that this Mr.
Wright, who told US he was politician
and "the head of the Democratic party,
must be fishing for a nomination
against Col. Bob Ingersoll, Republi
can who is known to be an unbelieve
in experimental religion. But, be tha
as it may, it is quite time for the politi
clans to go to praying, and it is to b
hoped that they'll keep at it till the.
are compelled to enfranchise women.
Lizzie BoyntOn Harbert, President o
, the Illinois State Woman Suffrage As
sociation, deserves great praise for be
, recent efforts in the face of the excite
D ment here, to keep alive the attempts @
, Jesus to break every bond and let th
oppressed go free.
Most of the workers in the woma
movement here are active Christians
, and we were especially pleased with on
: lady who informed that her husban
r had found, in translating the eScripture;
, that great injustice had been done t
, Paul by King James translators i
making spurious use of his original
+ liberal views on the woman question, i
order to suit their own bigotry an
: prejudice. 1t was pretty tough on tn
translators, but it was doubtless just t
Paul, whereof we are glad. Thus littl
, by little are the scales falling, and littl
. by little does the world grow wise.
. Since we have been in Chicago W
! have met Father Harmon of The Dalle
who, as usual, is busily engaged in goo
words and works. We were also calle
$ upon by Mr.. o. S. L. Potter, formerly {
o Portland, and now of Milwaukee, wh
is on his way to England to visit b
4 parents afteran absence of sixteen year
8 He is looking well and says there is Il
d place like Portland, where he intend
n sometime, again to make his home.
n The faces and voices of Oregoniar
+ look to US like apples of gold in pitcher
q of silver whenever we come across then
A. J. D.
q Chicago, December II, 1876.