Peninsula enterprise. [volume] (Accomac, Va.) 1881-1965, 1894-09-15
:. noreby report to the American lee

Not in all tho round earth aro there
moro alert, responsive or electric au-
diences. They are quicker than Ameri-
can or European assemblages to take
everything said on platform or in pull
pit. They call out all there is IN
speaker of instruction or entertainments
And tho church and the world have yet
to find out that audiences for the most
part decide whether sermons or lectures
shall be good or poor Stolid and unre-
sponsive audiences make stolid and
stupid speakers Wendell Phillips, one
of the monarchs Of the platform, told
me something very remarkable concern
ing himself while we were standing III
Boston book store and no was Gliding
me for not appearing at Ann Arbor'
Mich, from which place he had just ro-
turned, and where I had tried to get
few days before, but was hindered by
snowbanks, and my offer of $3.50 for the
use Of q locomotive had been declined.
Mr.. Phillips said that the audience IN
one Of the eastern states nearly killed
him. He said: II stood for nearly an
hour without seeing or hearing anything
by which could judge of the effect of
what had said. IF they had only missed
or applauded, do not care which, l
could have gone on with some comfort.
Mr.. Phillips surprised mo by this state
ment as to tho effect wrought upon him
by phlegmatic assemblage.
Tho audiences decide the fate OF SER
mons or lectures. A half dozen men
might, if they wished to engage IN SO
mean q business, take q contract to
break down any speaker, if they would
sit right before him, cape, take out their
watches and cough with mouth wide
open and then suddenly go sound asleep.
An eloquent American preacher, stand
ing before me in q former pulpit, de-
liycred the first half of his sermon with
great power, and his words had wings,
and his countenance was aflame With
holy enthusiasm, when suddenly his
wings Of thought and utterance drop
ped. and he stammered OH his way and
got entangled in metaphor and lost his
thread of discourse and failed to prove
that which he said at the start he would
prove and then sat down. While the
congregation wero singing the last hymn
he said: "Who is that distinguished
looking gentleman right i'll front of the
pulpit? The sight Of his somnolency and
lack of interest completely upset me.
"Oh," I said, that is the Hon. Mr.
So-and-so one of the ablest men Of the
nation, and he was deeply interested in
all you said He is not asleep, but IS
suffering from weak eyes and is COM
PEELED to keep them shut while listen
ing" The uninteresting appearance OF
the auditor had overthrown 4 master
Of assemblies. :"
say to the men who preach and lee
ture, come to New Zealand But should
ministers ever lecture? Ought they not
always preach? My answer is that the
intelligent lecture hall is half way to
the church, and notice that men who
have been hating the church and all sa-
cred things, if they como and hear one
lecture, are sure to come and hear him
preach. Besides that there are important
things to be said, and things that must
be said, which are more appropriate to
lecture hall than to pulpit. The three
mightiest agencies for making the world
better are the pulpit, printing press and
platform. Side by side may they always
stand in the battle for righteousness.
But for them the Indians warwhoop
would yet be sounding in America and
on the Atlantic coast, the morning meal
of human flesh would still be going on
in New Zealand, and the Ganges would
still be horrible with infanticide. Let
all the nations reconstruct their notions
of New Zealand. write this at Dune
din, imposing in its architecture pictur-
esque in its surroundings, unbounded in
Its hospitality and another Edinburgh,
after which, I understand, it is named,
Dun-Edin being the Gaelic for the
northern capital of intelligence.
The Scotch founded it, and what the
Scotch do they do we'll. They believe in
something, and it is almost always some
thing good that they believe in. High
toned morality characterizes everything
that they TO or touch; solidity, breadth,
massiveness and religiosity are the types
of the men and cities and nations they
build. No country is well started that
has not felt the influence of the Scotch,
with their brawny arm and high cheek
bones.
The seaport of this place is called
Chalmers Port, named after, 1 have no
doubt, Thomas Chalmers, the greatest
Of Scotchmen unless itw John Knox,
and tho largest church in this place,
where I preached last night, is Knox
church, called, I have no doubt, after
the man who at Hollywood made queen
tremble. Here I am in the midwinter
of this colony, for July here corresponds
with our American January, but there
ere no such seventies of frost or snow
as we are familiar with il I1ew York
ATTITUDES. The grass is at this moment
a bright emerald; the gardens are IN
glorious flower. From the top of the
North island of New Zealand to the foot
of the South island the colony IS be-
witchment of interest. For 100 miles
ever and anon geysers send up their
steam curling Oh the air. The glaciers,
the romantic lakes, the drives, the
wooded SUBMITS, the mountain peaks,
the escarpment of the hills, the fertile
fields, the falling waters the hot
springs, the fora with its infnitude of
camellias and its small heaven of ferns,
the sunrise and sunsets, and, above ali,
the people, with cordially and hearth
ness, independent of all weather and cir
cumstances make New Zealand 500
miles of invitation to the inhabitant of
other zones to come here, whether for
health or pleasure or livelihood or wor-
ship.
What uplifted affairs of basaltl What
blue domes of sky! What bright LAYERS
ofriver! What baptism of gentle showerl
What incense of morning mist! What
doxology of sea on both beachesl What
l..