New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1886-10-17
n WORK DAILY TRIBUNE SUNDAY SIXTEEN PAGES

people were not vet prepared He believed thas che
Church was making progress. and that ne oouiu
only do IN ,schief by trying to foroe tho pace.
= Certainly" he wrote, tho age, society,", 'uo
Church. arc all advancing Ia aesthetics Thank
Tod for it'll grew mp among suoh things. ms yon
.ov AMI have g,ne on In them. am more than
willing that OF hers, young and Old should go on
and will 20 on too And reprobs;e the tyranny
which In Hugh or Low makes its own taste or
It's own attainment the law for others Ana OF
course ;esthetioal changes como on without and III
spite OF law aud authority. | rejoice In Churoh
culture, and have baen busy in 1t thirty years.
The Ritualistic movement. however, he denounced
as sef-wlled. selfish and insuborlinate," not tho
1tterance of warmer devotion but"a senseIess
aud needless attemot to put our American ChIrcn
life. and It's growth and its proper ritualism and
40 log lcally its very doctrines) under Engish
rubrcs whch we discarded. and under English
courts aud their decrees which take from our poor
Mother Church the freedom to protect her creeds
touching the Godhead or Christ, and her free
progress in provi ting just whatever ritual her soul
asks forr Some years ago Bishop Mel lvaine
refused to consecrate a church In Columbus. ONO,
unless the rector and vostry would remove their
altar. and substitute an honest table with legs"
After some demur. the rector devised a heavy
iothic structure. rs much unlike table as any
thing could well be but with certain appendages
which a Low Churchman of charitable MAD and
poetic fancy might admit to be legs. The Bishop
IL pressed himself as perfectly satisfied. and the
aesthetic movem mt was left to It's natural growth.
This was the accommodating spirit IN whloh Dr'
Kerfoot tried TO meet the difficulty. But IN his
private letters he spoke plainly. He wrote this to
Bishop WhittinQham in 1889 about the General
theological Seminary in NewYork:
Facts abundant touching the Seminary, tbs e1-
frn tnoIas of
wien they attend at tho tantastics OF Dr. Ever;
the repuis OF the petition of fourteen OF the twenty
TWO IN the senior class that the Faculty would see
TO such things; the let-drift" policy the
exceeding oxtravagancies OF several OF The chnrcnes
to which part OF the students 20. III one of which
(Dr Ewers) twenty Of them perform III his extra
services etc, etc, made mp sad proof OF error IN
worship, doctrine and tone. learned these tacts
from Dr. - aud several Others | WAS equally
surprised and co nfortcd by the anxiety aud
decision of the leading clergy but no one nad
Jared to speak out: that would always DIln9
ensure. small, pseudo-C atholIc clique Tatd me
rai,rs; and while no explicitly nnsonnd teaching
marked the lecture-ropm, the chapel services IN
chaucel, es well as IN tue congregatlon were IN
several points OF the extreme sort As to the gross
eXtrayHgances of the ultra men IN Now-l ork =
twnose guest | vas spoke most severely, and re
cOnld bear pretty good measure u new
modes.
Dr. Kerfoot did not recommend auricular con-
fession as a practice a reliance and " means of
rrace": but he received confessions sometimes,
ald when necessary to the comfort of tho penitcnt
he gaze ab,olution. He lid not consider hearing
confessions as an exclusively prlestly function; iG
was an Office which, excett for the absolnton,
might be discharged by unordalned advisers. His
reaching according TO Mr.. Harrison, was IN exact
accordance with that of Dean Hook, who admitted
confession rs an occasional remedy for diseased
mind for himself, however, the Dean declared that
in his ear life he sought the spiritual conso atlons
of a lay friend, while for the past two and twenty
years he had gone for ghostly counsel and advice
20 his wife.
There is great deal of controversial matter in
Mr.. IIarrisOu's volumes, especially with reference
to It ltcmouts in DR.. Brands " Life of Bis op
Whittnsham" about the unfortunate Reform
Movement IN Mexico and the career ri Bishop Riley.
These affairs have interest for churchiren other
readers wIl b. more attracted by the 1lImpses
Afforded OF IA manly and IulIclOus preate VINO Was
not Only trusted AMI respected IN his church but
sincerely loved 10y those whose affection IS itself
high tribute 10 his amiable qualities Mr. Harrison
has not treated the persona. part of his subject
very fully. but the individuality of Dr.. Kerloot
shines through his letters and the biography upon
the whole is valuable addition to our religious
lfiprn