Daily Los Angeles herald. [microfilm reel] (Los Angeles [Calif.]) 1876-1884, 1881-10-11

Celestial Paint Tanks and Holy Object
Tssehing.
tFrom the Virginia tNev.) chronicle.l
The True and the Beautiful, as
the late Lord Lytton might have
said, are objects Of worship with
seme lofty souls. They have their
highly.wrought devotees who voice
their admiration of those noble alb.
stractions In gush of big words
apd o jam of metaphor little too
high for the average Comstockian
nut. Here we call spade spade,
use plain words and make no sticky
exhibits OF mental varnish. If one
man Injuries another the soul of the
assailant is promptly consigned to
both parties take drink.
Yet, there lie, perhaps, as much
real reverence for sacred things
here a. If the male population was
exclusively made up of parsons
sons or students fresh from pulling
the theological teat. From this
point Of view the fervid freedom of
some clerical enthusiasts of the
present day is here unappreciated
and classed as rot, mental slum and
the like. Some rude, matter-of-
fact thinkers in this vicinity are
even so blunt as to style the flip
pant familiarity with Deity exhib-
tied In the sermons OF some etern-
ity experts built on the Talmage
and Moody style of theological
architecture, as blasphemy, and
their strained SMILES rs something
too slushy to be tolerated.
Cemstock preachers have learn
ed that the Almighty can rule tho
universe without their aid, and
seem to appreciate the fact that the
intellectual insects which crawl on
His footstool are not yet on terms
Of easy familiarity and social equal
ity with their Maker.
They have different ideas in Car
son. In an alleged memorial ser.
mon preached there last Sunday by
Rev. 81. v. Rice, a Presbyterian
clergyman, a spiritua)ized hash of
celestial and terrestrial matters
was served up, evidently grateful
to some, for one of the countless
newspapers there published the
sermon In fall. Mr.. Rice began his
remarks by the assertion that 1.-THE
face of the earth is Gods black
board. upon which He draws fig
ures and diagrams to impress upon
our memories the truth of Scrip
ture.n
Following this remark the rev.
erened grain of chalk.dust said:
1.-THE torrents of the mountain
canyon plunge over cstaracts az
though they would put out the
con11agration, but still the fires
deepen and the painting progresses
with . crimson banner that would
exhaust the pGint-tonks of God,
II His colors were not Of infinite
suppIy."
Having thus dipped himself in
the vat Of irreverent metaphor,
the McCleilans of Carson were
given this warning:
"When He produces q painting
let artists stand back. The Equinox
has come, bringing Gods paint
brush with the frost.n
Continuing in the role of a celes.
tial drummer, Mr.. Rice alarmed
the struggling local carpet. dealers
by. gratuitously advertising that
"Brussels from the loom Of God
will now carpet the forest aisles.u
It would seem that in this age of
common sense, in q community
where the practical does not give
place to the weak fantasies Of a
6abby brain, that such meBtal
truck would shock and disgust all
who heard 1t. What q singular
Idea of the Deity must be convey
cd to the youthful Carson mind by
Mr.. Rice's discharge of degrading
allusion and frse-and .easy compar-
ison. From such utterances one
would Imagine that the Ruler Of
the Universe was an omniseisnt
tradssman, directing affairs from
lursly commercial standpoint.
The reverend speaker quoted, to
fellow his startling style Of simile,
should carpet the roomy aisles of
his brain with the Brussels of re-
vsrenee and tings his ideas with
the ceol gray and sound sense dip
ped from the paint tanks of ordi-
narV rogpo0t for the Almirhtv