The times. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1890-1903, 1893-11-21
WHERE An ssoKEIH en- tRCH.
Japanese Priest and Congregation Refresh
Themselves During tho Sermon.

During the progress OF the sermons that
I had the opportunity Of hearing in the
great Buddhist temples Of Shibba and
Nikko. in Japan. says a writer In
the New York Tribune, both the
preacher and the congregation We're
repeatedly refreshed with cups Of
tea. while everybody. men. women
and children and priest. smoked til the
air was thick with tobacco fumes. This,
OF course. tended 10 Keep the cor gregation
I'm an amiable frame OF mind and as such
more ready TO take TO heart the doctrines
and recommendations OF the preacher.
lt IS inpCs1ble 10 deny that tobacco IS
conducive 10 calm reflection and good
temper, and although now adays we find
members OF church congresses in Europe
and America arguing that 10 is wrong
for ecclesiastics TO smoke, yet cur clergy
in the last century were SO thoroughly
alive TO the advantage OF the herba
nicOtina. from a religious point OF view,
that they used TO smoke not only out OF
church but even when I'm the pulpit
Thus. Launcelot Blackburn, lord arch
bishop Of York and prlmate of England.
is on record as having interrupted his
sermon. on the occasion Of his holding a
confirmation at ST. Mary's, Nottingham,
to order the church wardens TO bring up
fresh pipes and a supply Of tobacco 10 the
pulpit Dean Swift used 10 smoke
throughout his entire sermon, occasionally
refreshing himself with a glass Of port.
while Bishop Duncan, Of Dundee, is de-
scribed as being so avariciOus that ne
was wont 10 make a practice Of coming
70 church without his tobacco pouch, and
then, after ascending the pulpit Of inquir-
ing who among the congregation would be
willing TO accommodate him with theirs.
IL IS from those days, too. that date those
delightful oid-fashioned pews In the Eng
hsh country churches, ntted I'd with
curtains, cushions. hreplaces, pokers and
tongs, where the squires slept and smoked
away the entire length Of the sermon.
Another glass" as the Rev. DR..
Barrow remarked each time that he
turned upside down the hour-glass on his
pulpit during his three-hour sermon before
the lord mayor. Why should the pulpit
be retained as part and parcel OF the
furniture Of our churches A sermon is
FAR more impressive when delivered from
q pulpit which, no matter how beautintl
the carvings by which il is adorned. can
never under any circumstances add 10
the impressiyeness Of the discourse. put
pits, indeed, should have no ploca :,
Christian churches, as they are Of 40
hammedan origin. the earliest examnies
recorded being the tubs fastened upon
tops Of poles forming the sort Of crows
nest from which the ulema Of Mecca and
OF cairo were wont 10 address the fol.
lowers or the prophet that througed the
mosques every Friday. Curiouslv enough
they nave now been abandoned bv the
Mohammedans, except in few isolated
cases. and are only 70 be found in Chrie.
uan churches. The Japanese and Chinese
priests whose sermons / have heard IKE.
wise dispensed with puIpits. preacbino
from behind table holding the rolls ~
the sacred books. and seated I'm those
high, back-breaking arm-chairs that adorn
every Buddhist temple. ia conclusion
let me, with all reverence fndorse the
opinion put forth by King Francis I NJ
France In his memorable dispute win,
King Henry VIII. Of England on the
field Of the cloth Of gold. with regard IN
relative merits OF the liturgy and tho
sermon. King Henry preferred the latter
while King Francis pronounced himself
In favor OF the liturgy. basing his argu-
ment on the undeniable fact that the
FOUNDER OF our religion has assured us
that 1t is not sermons nor ethical dis
course that are most acceptable In the
sight OF the divinity. but prayer.