New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1893-10-29

concise. and TO concentrate all that is best and
strongest of his argument into that brief period.
| instead of scattering it over longer period of
! tme-a process that naturally diminisheS It's
vigor and its Gorce.
That this was the opinion of our forefathers
is abundantly shown by the fact that the large
hourglasscs which formerly constituted an in
dispcnsabe feature Of the furnishings Of every
pulpit marked rot half hours. nor yet whole
ones, but merely quarters. Perhaps the hand.
soonest Of these old glasses is the one preserved
in the Church Of st. Adams. in London. It's
size and it's beautiful brass framework make 1t
| an ornament To the edihce. | am sorry to say
ttat some preachers seem to have used these
hourglGsses. not for the purpose of calculating
the length of their sermons. but of the differ
ont portions thereof. and would inaugurate a
new argument every time that the sand had run
cut, prefacing their remark with the words.
"Brethren another glass" Indeed that eminent
divine Dr. Isaac Barrow is on record as having
preached sermon of such length before the
Lord Mayor and Aldermen in st. Pauls Cathe-
dral that during its delivery he had time to
turn his hourglass upside down no less than
twelve times.
| confess that have never experienced SER
mons Of such length this in Europe but
have in Egypt, Ceylon. China and Japan. In
all three latter countries. however. the priests
Of the Buddhist and Shinto faiths are imbued
with the predominant principle that it is not
necessary for a preacher to bore his cOngrega-
ton into virtue. but rather to endeavor to in
terest and even amuse the members Of his
flock. with the object Of inducing them to be-
come regular attendants at the temple The
suit is that the discourses are enlivened with
jokes. sometimes Of quite coarse nature. and
by pointed applications to members of the con-
greSation. Moreover. during the progress Of
the sermons that had the opportunity Of hear
ing in the great Buddhist temples of Shibba
and Nkko. in Japan, both the preacher and
the congregation were repeatedly refreshed with
cups of tea, while everybody. men. women,
children and priest, smoked till the air
thick with tobacco fur.es. This. of course.
tended to keep the congregation in amiable
frame of mind and such more ready to take
to heart the doctrines and recommendations Of
the preacher. 1t is impossible to deny that
tobacco is conducive to calm reflection and
good temper. and although nowadays we find
members of church congresses in Europe and
America arguing that it is wrong for ecclesias-
tics to smoke yet our clergy in the last century
were so thoroughly alive to the advantages of the
herba nicotina, from religious point of view.
that they used To smoke. not only out OF church.
but even when in the pulpit Thus. LauncelOt
Blackburn, Lord Archbishop of York and Pri-
mate of England. is on record as having IN
terrupted his sermon, on the occasion Of his
holding confirmation at st. Mary's Noting
ham. To order the church wardens To bring up
fresh pipes and supply of tobacco to the
pulpit Dean Swift used To smoke throughout
his entire sermon, occasionally refreshing him
self with glass Of port, while Bishop Duncan
OF Dundee is described being avarcious
that ne was wont To make a practice of coming
TO church without his tobacco pouch, and then
after ascending the pulpit. of inquiring who
among the congregation would be willing to
accommodate him with theirs. II is from those
IdyS, tndt udte tilOSe urllSnttuI OulaShlOueu
pews in the English country churches fitted up
with curtains, cushions. fireplaces, pokers and
tOngs whore the squires slept and smoked away
the entire length of the sermon.
Another glass the Rev. DR.. Barrow
marked each time that he turned upside down
the hourglass on his pulpit. during his three
hour sermon before the Lord Mayor. Why
should the pulpit be retained part and parcel
Of the furniture of churches? \ sermon
Is far more Impressive when preached from the
altar steps than when delivered from a pulpit
which. no matter how beautiful the carvings
by which it Is adorned. can never under any
circumstances add 10 the impressive ness Of the
discourse. pulpits. indeed. should have no place
in Christian churches as they are of Ma
hom"tan origin the earliest examples recorded
being the tubs fastened upon tops of poles
forming the sort of crows nest from which the
ulema of Mecca and Of Cairo We're won't to
address the followers of the prophet that
throngcd the mosques every Friday. Curl
ouslv enough, they have now been abandoned by
the Mahometan'. except in a few isolated cases,
and only 10 be found I'm Christian churches
The Japanese and Chinese priests whose SER
mons | have heard likewise dispensed with
pulpts. preaching from benin table holding
the rolls Of the sacred books and seated in
those high back breaking armchairs that adorn
every Buddhist temple.
In conclusion. let me. with all reverence in
dorse the opinion put forth bv King Francis
of France in his memorial l, dispute with King
Henry VIII of England. the Field Of the
Cloth Of Gold. with regard To the relative merits
Of the Liturgy and the sermon. King Henry
nounced himself in favor Of the Liturgy, bas-
ing his argument on the undeniabe fact that The
Founder Of cur religion has assured that
Il Is not sermons nor ethical disccurses that
are most acceptable In the sight of the hi Unity
but prayer. EX-ATTACHE