The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1877-12-11
MRS. Grumpy,
And What she said NJ the First
Pres. Church Last Night,
AsInterpreted by REV. DR.. George
Of the 18th ~. Church.

The lecture Of Rev. A. Q. George, d. D.,
al the FirRt Presbyterian Church, last
night, for the benefit Of the Children'a
Home, was heard by very appreciAtlve
Replele in logical thought
and brilliant In eloquent passages, II
brought the audience into an earnest
sympathy with the spirit Of the theme.
DR.. Georges style Of oratory Is most
impressive 10 the avoidance Of anything
but the aimplest means Of cultivated nd.
dress. His thOrouehneSs In thought 10
NOT obsoured by the elaborate oyerwoFk
Of rhetoric, but seEpreaed In the clear.
meas and richness Of conversational
and the effectiveness Of simple
forms. The subject Of the reverend gen.
tleman's lecture, last night, was "What
viii Mrs. Grundy SayT We herewith
present an abstract Of the lecture, and We
leave our readers 10 judge for them8elyes
what the old dame may have said or niAy
be aptto say about them;
The lecturer commenced by stating
thst the expression, in Morton's comedy,
'Speed the Plow," "What will Mrs.
Grnndy SayP 60 struck the popular
fancy, as just CaricRture Of n prevails
ing lolble, thatit had the force Of pro-
verb. Mrp Grundy survives the play
because the world Is full Of Dame Asll.
6eldS-ot persons whose chief soliCilude
seems to be the appreciation Of those
above them. The extent OF Mrs. Grun-
dys dominion was pictured. She
iS supreme 10 ali the social
domain. There are old women Of
both sexes, and Mrs. Grundy wins victor
les in caucus and convention. Men who
have spoken words which can never die,
and performed deeds grander than any
words which were ever spoken, are every
moment Of their lives In mortal terror Of
what Mrs. Grundy will say. A graphic
portrait was drawn Of the typical young
man, and his desire for social recogni.
ton, especially for the favor Of Miss
Grundy, who the lecturer said never was
a rose bud, but she has fortune In her
own right,
Ths prevailing inquiry, "What will
Mrs. Grundy sAy?' has burdened human
progress in many ways. II has begotten
In men a false shame Of q loWly birth,
and Of The necessity Of daily toll. A
number Of striking instances were given
Of men who proved themselves superior
to their external conditions. In thiscon.
nection, the relation Of industry to
knowledge and virtue was discussed al
considerable length. The fear Of Mrs.
Grundys censuTes has obstructed the
progress Of the race, because Of the de-
risive laughter with which the old lady
has greeted all inventions and dis.
coveries. A number Of suggestive ex-
amples were mentioned.
Neither Mira. GFundy nor any power
she represents has any right TO impose
shackIes on the free soul. God never in.
tended any man to be duplicate. There
must be freedom Of thought and expires
sion. Greed OF gain, ambition for power,
desire for pleasure and social considera.
ton destroy individuality and drag men
down. There must be fidelity to the right,
no matter what Mrs. Grundy says. There
is no freedom without courage-courage
to deny ones self to live without The
worlds appreciation and to cling 10 truth
and holiness, even though they DO Knocked
and cruCifed. We have no alternative
between ssrvitude or service. The former
is degrading, the latter eleyating and en-.
nobling. The grandeur Of service to man
was portrayed, aud David Livingstone
1ft "a a illuni.ia,
Nowhere is Mrs. Grundy's sway as
resistless ~ over young girls, and in
matters OF courtship and marriage. The
lecturer insisted on woman's right to
say what is womanly, and to choose her
own career. If young woman Is re-
solved 10 marry the man she loves, NO
matter what Mrs. Grundy will say, then
let her DO sure that he ia mda-not a
mere walking advertisement Of a gentle
mems furnishing store. Dr.. George then
discussed the question, "HaS not Mrs
Grundy RIGHT TO speak, and just claim
10 be he9rd% Allpersons are interested
IN what any given person may do, and
those who have disregarded Mrs. Grnn-
dy's counsels have done it at their peril
The collective wisdom Of the ages Is not
to be disregarded. What conservative
minds desire 10 not that the train
come 10 a full stop, but that the
movement be moderate and safe, espe
cially in dangerous places. Every
political society has the moral power to
provide for its own welfare. The besi
conceptions Of all the ages are built into
the fabric OF our modern civilization,
The great reformation which was q re.
vival Of the life Of God in the soul, was
also revival Of learning and philosophy,
and secured freedom Of inquiry in every
realm Of human research. Free institu.
tons have their foundations in religious
teachings, and u religion for man means
the Abrogation Of caste, The overthrow Of
despoism and ceaseless progress for the
race. DR.. George described how heredi-
tary privileges had been swept away, and
thsgreat fundamental rights established
by the struggles OF ages.
Next to liberty, the great blessing is
stability, Society, as a whole, is not given
to changes. AyRrice and ambition are
in hot haste for possession and gratifica.
ton, but the invaluable possessions Of
mankind have been built up, by labor
and sacrifice, through years and genera.
tions. The emphatic lesson Of history 10
that the world is builto On moral iOunda.
tions. Gentlemen are no longer gentle.
men but rufians when they resort toyio.
lence to suppress free speech, and labOrers
are no longer laboreta but simply outlaws
when they combine to arrest industry,
destroy property and excite bloodshed.
There Is no wrong inflicted on any class
which does not reach and wrong every
other class, and which does not transmit
itself, by kind Of internal alchemy, TO
future generations.
History repeats ITSELF The Continental
Congress issued paper money which
greatly dept, cfated, but Alexander Ham.
ilton, rs Webster said, touched the dead
corpse Of the public credit and II sprung
upon its feet Howl By paying one
hundred cents on dollar, by choosing the
highest and not the lowest standard Of
payment, and by the utmost scorn Of
whatever looked like reputation. The
loes Of public credit is a national re-
proach and ruin. It argues weakness, or
gickedness, or both, and is badge Of
dishonor and a prophecy Of death.
Religion, said the lecturer, is the chief
fact in human condition, and the essen.
tial element Of civilization. Franklin
said, in l77s, "He who will introduce