Litchfield enquirer., 1877-11-22
CAaneellc~ Preston.

church, some thirty years ago. MT Bailey. one
 of these priests, became Archbishop of Balti-
 more, and died there recently. Another, MT.
 ThomassS Preston, has become Chancellor
 and Viear General of the archdiocese of New
 York, and pastor of St. .Ann's church on Twelfth St. He is probably the most eloquent
 Catholic preacher in thescity; and has; in fact, few equals in any denomination. Like some
 of the great English Catholics educated in the
 Episcopal church, he has been very successful
 in bringing converts over to Catholicism.
 Many, also, of the old Catholic families of the city ara regular attendants at St. Ann's, al- though their houses may be in other parishes,
 and theoongregation has a thoroughly Ameri- can look and manner seldnmy seen intne Cath
 olic charches of any Northern State
 l Mr. Preston is a native of Hartford, and
 has for some years spent his vacations each
 summer, in this place. In recent Hartford
 Times we find letter from New York giving
 a sketch from which we make the following
 extracts: a
 l. The present Chancellor and Vicar-General l was educated for the Episcopal ministry. He
 was graduated at Trinity College Hartford, in l lS43, and was ordained in that city in 1846, ] the intervening time having been passed bv him in the Episcopal seminary in New York. Soon after his ordination he was assigned as
 an assistant to the Rev. Dr. Seabury, one of
 the most highly esteemed of the old-time Epis- l copal ministers in New York, and he remained withaDr. Seabury about two years. Before i taking the step which brought him into the F Gntfanlia ha fo,,
 m0ntlls as pastor of an Episcopal church up the Hudson, not far, believe, from West Point It was during that period that his mind turned towards the faith of Rome. He
 formally embraced that faith in 1849 and the following year he was ordained priest by
 Bishop McC ClOskey, the present Cardinal, who
 off1ciated in the absence of Bishop Hughes He was assigned immediately to St. Patrick's
 Cathedral, where he remained for two years as an assistant. He then went to Yonkers as | pastor, but in 1855, on the elevation of the
 late Archbishop Bailey to bishopric he was l.recalled to the Cathedral and appointed suc-
 cessor to Dr. Bailey as Chancellor It was a ltdlstlnguished honor for one who had been but three years in the priesthood. It showed the high estimate of Father Preston's abilities which his superior had already formed He
 remained at the Cathedral till 1861. when he became pastor of St. Ann's church. He was appointed Vicar General in 1872, and since
 that time he has discharged the three-fold du- ties of Chancellor, Vicar-General and pastor in
 a manner so thorough and systematic as to cause many persons to wonder that one man is capable of doing so much.
 | u there were degrees of belief in the Roman
 Catholic church, it might be said that Chan ceiior Preston is especially orthodox. He is noted for an intensity of zeal that is remarka-
 bie even in apriest of that faith The doc
 tTines of the Church seem to be interwoyen
 with every fibre of his nature. Had he been
 born Catholic among Catholics, instead of a
 non-Catholic among opponents of the Church,
 and trained from infancy under Catholic intiu- ences his convictions could not be deeper or flrmer than they are. In fact they seem to
 burn with consuming zeal and when giving shterance to them at the altar his earnestness is 80 impressive, add at times so thrilling, that even the unbeliever who hears him must needs be cold indeed not to be moved almost to be- lief, if only for the moment. Education un- der the auspices of religion is a subject to which he attaches the highest importance, and his bold and vigorously expressed views upon 1t have frequently attracted the attention of the press, as well as that of the ministers and lay men of the various denominations. He insists upon Catholic education for Catholic children, and he holds that much of the dishonesty and and social decentralization of the time is the natural outcome of a school system that divor- ces religion from the instruction of youth
 AS preacher he is singularly feicitous. Though ornate, scholarly and often empass- toned, yet it would not be correct to classify him literally among pulpit orators, for the req son that he never uses pulpit. "The preach CTS box, as that article of church furniture is sometimes irreverently called, would hamper him altogether t0o much. He wants room for aAPaf backward when especially warmed up by his subject. Neither will he permit pulpit to be used in his church.
 His oratOry, which often seems to throb with action and glow with fire, might almost be called classic, so exquisitely finished and rounded IS every sentence and so melOdOus the harmony of the whole Occasionally his enunciation is somewhat mnotonous, though invariably clear and full; but when the theme is one that especially stirs his deeper feelings. the periods rise and fall with a sonorous ca dence that suggests the recitation of 8 stately poem by some master of. elocution. It is rare ly that he prepares a sermon beyond mere mental arrangement of the order of treatment, yet he never hesitates for word, nor uses one that does not fit as perfectly where he places 1t as though it had been set there after careful and laborious study. Notes he eschews alto- gether, and he would as soon think of reading an old discourse from book as of keeping his eyes running over manuscript. In controver- sial preaching, for which he has an especial aptitude, he is noted for vigorous, compact logical argument, which never fails toconvince those of his own faith whatever it's effect may be upon others, and which exhibits mind ad- mirably trained, as we'll as richly stored with all that is rare in theological learning.
 In brief it may be said of this eloquent pas tor and Zealons church official that he repre- seTlts the keenest and strongest intellectual force in the Roman Catholic church in New York at the present time. He is unquestona- ply & man of avery high order of mind, and in illustration of the position he occupies as priest and preacher it is sufficient to say that his views always command more attention when they reach the public than those of any other Catholic pastor. This may be partly due to | high official character, but it is also due, and in no small degree, to superior talent, a pecu- harly clear-cut and solid form of thought and expression, and an earnestness that -bespeaks the most profound conviction. E : **
 The Catholics of New York all have a high | regard for Chancellor and Vicar General Pres | ton and he is also held in respectful esteem by a large number of non-Catholics I have l thought it not unlikely that many persons in l his native city who, perhaps knew him as 1 youth, and remember him with affection may l possibly desire to know more how the Hartford ] student has advanced to the foremost intellect ual rank in New York than they could glean l from an occasional newspaper mention of his l name.
 ANECDOTE OF LINCOLN.-"One day." said l Mir. Lincoln, when I first came here. I got | into it of musing in my room, and stood rest | ing my elbows on the bureau Looking into | the glass, it struck me what an awfully ugly | man was The fact grew on me- and fmade l up my mind that must be the ugliest man in | the world. It so maddened me that resolved | should ever see an uglier, would shoot him | at sight. Not long after this Andy ~" (nam- ing lawyer present) 'caIne to town, and the first time saw him said to myself, There's | the man.. l went home, took down my gun, and prowled round the streets waiting for him. He soon came along. Halt, Andy said I, pointing my gun at him. Say your prayers, for I'm going to shoot you
 - Why, Mr. Lincoln, what's the matter? what have don Ss 5.s fs se-5 s5