The Carbon advocate. [volume] (Lehighton, Pa.) 1872-1924, 1885-06-13
BTOalbrin'S New York Letter
Special to the CARBON ADVOCATE.

Special to the CARBON ADVOCATE.
According to the report of the Bishop
of Long Island, in Brooklyn, called the
city of churches in contradistiaction to |
the ungodly city of New Y orR, there is one |
church to about every two thousand five !
hundred of the inhabitants. Now, when
we consider that the average Of the con-
gregatiOns is not over three hundred, |
the question arises as to what is the |
chance of the other twenty-ono hundred
for the bread of life. If all the churches
in New York City were eranmed to suf-
location. from the door to the altar or
pulpit, they would not contain one-half
of the population. Not many churches
can seat over five or six hundred people,
and exceedingly few that will comforta
bly, hold a thousand. There are some
churches that are always full-Mr.
Beechers, DR.. Talmage's. DIR. Halls
and few others-but the great body of
them are not half full, and many of them
have not more than a corporafs guard
as regular attendants at divine services.
The Rev. Richard s. Storrs is one of the
most eloquent divines in the United
States to-day. He is not only eloquent
but learned, and for solid worth and
christian character, standing the peer of
any minister of his time, and yet it is no
uncommon thing to see his Church of
thePilgrims only partially filed, while the
ushers are bothered to find seats for the
congregation of Brother Beecher's and
Brother Talmage's. Statistics are hard
things to face, but there are ten rum
shops to every church in New York and
Brooklyn, and while there is not single
minister represented in either Board of
Aldermen, there are over twenty pro-
prietors of rum shops or men directly
engaged in the liquor traffic as potential
factors in those distinguished bodies.
This has been most interesting week
to the Bishop of Long Island. The
Episcopal residence is fixed at Garden
City, the beautiful cathedral of which
was raised as mausoleum to the late
A. II. Stewart, and was on Tuesday
passed over to the Episcopal Church by
his widow, to remain the property of the
Church in perpetuity till the Judgment
trump. All that art and devotion could
do to swell the imposing pomp and make
the ceremonial grand and impressive
was done, The sweet music of its silver
chimes was mingled with the roar of ar
tillery, the deep diapasOn of its magnifi-
cent organ and the swelling chorus of
thousand voices. 1t was sight rarely
witnessed in this land and never before
made so impressive. The reverend
clergy came from all parts of the United
States to witness the conSecration. 1t
was q rich mans feast and a rich mans
Offering, In the crowd that Clustered
around the sacred ediiice were the rep
resentatiyes of nearly thousand mil
| lions-wealth, beauty and learning were
there, everything to charm the eye, to
| ravish the ear and enthrall the senses;
, the admission to the Cathedral was by
ticket--Dives passed in but Lazarus
stood at the door, The poor man who
wandered out at night into the sorrow
full garden of Gethsemane, nineteen
| hundred years ago, would scarcely have
recognized his friends in that surpliced
and bejeweled throng; 1t is almost GER
tain that they would have passed him
| by, as the priest and the Levite did the
poor man that went down to Jericho.
Garden City was founded by Mr.. Stew
art and it is one of the most beautiful
and perfect suburbs in the vicinity of
| New York. 1t may be said to have been
reclaimed from the barren Hampstead
plains and tits an enduring monument
of what can be accomplished by energy
and genius when combined with capital
| The estate is surrounded by beautiful
residences, and in the center of the city
IS magnificent hotel, where the travel
| er is well cared for. To the west the
| college rises, and it is said to be more
perfectly adapted to the use for which it
is intended than any other building in
the United States or possibly in the
world. To the south stands the cathe-
dral which is amarvei of Gothic beauty,
| and under the west end is the empty
crypt where the bones of A. T. Stewart
do not lie. Vanity OF yanities! saith the
preacher, all is vanity! Look on this
splendid mausoleum and the words of
| the prophet come back with an hundred
fold force. Here was man who labored
increasingly from childhood 20 old age
for gold, gold. Like Midas, everything
he touched was changed to the shining
metal, He was married bat no children
blessed his union. so he plodded on soli-
tary and alone. He had few compan-
ions and no friends; men and women
spoke Of him as rich, but none loved
him and he loved no one. HIS employees
dreaded his presence and trembled at
the sound of his voice. Living, he had
no time to think of charity. Once OF
twice vague visions crossed him, but
they peFished, still-born, in his brain.
He had but one intimate companion, a
man, austere and unlovable rs himself,
and passing the poor and suffering by.
he died and left him the princely gift OF
a million in solid gold; no such bequest
has been made by man to man IN ancient
-. / 4.
wealth could rival it. When his gold
was fleeing from his grasp and earth was
vanishing, one solitary idea possessed
him, and that was to perpetuate his
, name. The colossal power which haG
, ruled the drygoods market with rod OF
iron for years, and whose pathway tC
success was strewn with the wrecks anC
ruin of thousands was 10 be continued
by his legatee when his hands could hold
the reins no more. The firm of 4. T.
Stewart q Co, was to live when A. T.
Stewart was in ashes, and over the ashe.
should rise mausoleum eciipsing The
: proudest shrines OF his own land anC
, more splendid than the monuments OF
Selim or Omar. Vanity of yanities tn,
breath was hardly out of his body thar
! the mighty firm that he had founded
/ with fifty years of labor crumblei ant
fell 10 pieces. His poor old bones wer,
hardly committed TO the tomb, temper
arily, awaiting the finishing touch OF
r the magnificent crypt that was to holt
! them to the resurrection day, when In,
ghouls descended on the graveyard. al
night, GRl bore them away, no mar
knows whittier, nor will know tin tn,
p archangers trump shall sound. Tn,
, splendid pageant of Tuesday last may
swell the pride of the living, it can brinl
no thrill TO the Pulseless heart of th,
dead. Mrs. stewart and Judge Hilton
q have done well. Under the fostering