The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1876-05-17
GhtgntelIigenter.

REV, Mn. FISHER lelt our midst yes
terday for trip to Europe. During his
absence hehas promised to favor us with
occasional letters. The reverend gentle
man, as all his acquaintance know; is a
man Of scholarly tastes and acquire
ments, and will no doubt write some en-
tertaining letters: He is the sort Of q
man to go abroad, having Grst prepared
himself, by years OF general reading, 10
appreciate and understand the various
countries he may visit, and also the oO'
iccts Of interest along hisproPoSed route.
II seems to us that extensive traHel
should be highly beneficial TO ministers
as a class. The nature Of their Occupa'
,ions cut them of to large extent from
active contac. with busy life at home:
Thew peedtO mingle more with men Of
diverse views than they do: They needto
ret a larger view OF life and all its vast
concerns than they generally obtain.
Constant association with those Of
ones own way of thinking, while, in some
respects, very congenial and enjoyable,
can never develop man to his full men.
tai stature. 1t requires collision with
life in variety Of phases to enable men
TO ill even the full measure OF their nat
ural capacity. The Country Parson"
once wrote n most entertaining article
entitled Concerning men out Of whom
more might have been made" In this
philosophical essay he shows how much
nearly every man owes to his opportum-
ties in life, and more especially to
his associations. He analyses the
elements Of strength and weakness
in human beings, and what these char
actcristics require to. properly supple
mcnt them. OF course his remarks are
largely applicable to men OF his own
class. II is n wonder, not only to him
hut to other people, how much good men
are able to do, how much influence they
are able to wicld, while in constant
transition state OF change and growth.
Men who do not change can not grow.
Clergymcn do not, rs u class, change as
much as educated men OF the world.
They are not buffeted With go many ad.
verse winds. There is not attrition Of
mind against mind in the pulpit, as in
the forum, for instance. 1t is an eS-
cathedra position, secure from invasion
or contradiction. A man can spend his
life setting up his own data, shaping his
own arguments, and draw ing his own de-
ductions, and yet never draw very pro-
ioundly on his own resources. This ex-
elusive and one sided sort Of lie, is, as We
said, very agreeable, but, in the nature Of
things, it does injustice to those who are
thus environcd. And hence, We contend,
that tits a great boon to u clergyman
to have an opportunity to throw aside
his books, like Rasselas, ,!emergc IRON his
Happy Valley" like him, and go out
and see life as it really is, not only in one
country and among one kind OF people,
but in various countries and among all
kinds of people.
We have asked our friend, Mr.. Fisher,
to write for us the history OF life as he
finds it. The world is full OF books and
letters about natural scenery, works OF
art, classic spots, &C., but there is "plen-
tiful lack" Of glimpses OF life among the
millions that is their lie while at work
and in their homes. This is what, after
all, concerns us most in other countries.
Dr.. johnson once said that blade Of
grass was blade Of grass, at home or
abroad, but that no two people weree
vet made alike, and therefore 1t was Of
people he wished to inform himself when
he journeyed abroad. A close study OF the
surroundings Of people in the common
walks Of life is certainly field wherein
vast amount Of useful and interesting in
formation may be gained. These sur
roundings have almost everything to do
with their mental and moral condition,
and therefore what more profitable study
could there be for an intelligent minister
When George Francis Train lectured in
Wheeling he said tlis when he whs a boy
he thought his grandiather's meeting
house in New England, and the members
Of his congregation, were very import
ant part Of the world-thc most i'm
porant part, in fact,--but after he
had gone round the globe, and
seen how many millions Of heath
ems and Christians there were who had
never heard Of his grand fathers meeting
house, it diminished to infnitesimal pro-
portions in his estimation. Just so with
all men who have opportunities to see
the world. They find 1t 10 big 80 full Of
all things now and old-so much taken
up with matters Of which they know SO
little--so Ignorant OF and Indifferent to
other matters upon which they place
great stress, that, like the Queen ofsheba,
after her visit to Solomon, they have no
more spirit left in them-espeeially no
spirit Of conceit. She realized that the
surroundings of any one person in this
world, unless it be some exceptional
case like that OF Solomon, do
not amount to very much, or,
in other words, that it takes very
large book to hold all We do not know,
while very small volume will easily
contain the limited ST oCk Of any one per,
sons information. ..,.-,... ..f.
Mr.. JAMES D. STANTON, U. s. Deputy
Marshal, has been sojourninE for some
time dOwn.in Mason county, in the re.
gion where they make salt, and he in.