The news & observer. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1894-current, 1895-12-07
THE MISSION SERVICES.

CheShlres~Iutefest bhttf fhS'1"9AhS
in the GOOD Work.
At the Cathedral of the Good Shep-
herd last night, for an hour, there was
absolute silence, except for the must
cal voice of DR.. Bradley, to whose ser
mon all listened, deeply impressed
1t was remarked yesterday that one
of the secrets of DIR. Bradley's power
was his voice. 1t is modulated and
sympathetic in way to reach people
at once. Carlyle somewhere dWells
upon the power of music, melody IN
voice and phrase, and goes so far as to
saw that it is almost impossible that
any sentence with rythm in 1t should
be altogether lacking in force. j ne
melodious periods of Macaulay and all
other effective periods in writing or
sneech are built upon some hidden
principle of power in the author. SIN
cerity, sympathy and poetry--or rath-
er spirituality, which includes poetry,
90 far toward making that music IN
speech or writing which falls grateful
w upon the ear, whatever be the SUB
ject. e.
DIR. Bradley has this music faculty
all about him as he speaks. Moreover,
he is interesting. That is because he
nuts human interest in his talks.
Everything distinctly human is inter
estinp: nothing wholly without the
human element is interesting. Thus,
public speakers run from interesting
10 dull according as their heart-llfe
has been close to or far from their fell
lows. -,
The sermons of DR.. Bradley are full
of human interest
Thursday night he was telling how
men could come to believe in God; last
night he was talking about prayer
Behold, he prayeth!
DR.. Bradley spent a few moments at
the outset in talking of repent
ance. which he said was a change OF
mind. Prayer was the accompaniment
of repentance.
The main impact of til sermon was
brought to bear upon the form OF
prayer used in the Episcopal church.
Although from beginning to end the
colors succeeded one another IN KIND
of luminous flow, az northern lights,
still some phases of this particular d.
vision of the subject were particularly
luminous.
1t is not necessary here TO put to any
critical analysis the claim of Dr. Brad
lev that because everything was for
nal with which man had to do, there
fore prayer in formulated shape was
best But the claim was no less inter
esting for all that. The speaker said
that the idols had been but forms
through which to worship; that words
we're mere forms; that the language
with which he might break silence, the
aerial waves. both We're formal; the
convolutions of the brain which re-
ceiyed the impression OF these waves
were formal; all media of communities
ton between men and men We're for
NAL, the bread and wine of the sacra-
ment were formal, and thus, as II
seemed, the speaker fortified his claim
that the formal expression OF the look
of Common Prayer was following only
the logic of nature But this aside, he
went further, into the beauties Of the
Litany and TIE Deum and Glorias and
Hallelujahs, the power of which, OF
course, has been felt by all humanity.
He spoke of the superiority OF such
formal prayer to what he called Eek
temporaneous worship" and touched
exquisitely upon the mellowed atmos-
phere of the centuries in which the
Episcopal forms of prayer had become
hallowed. These forms had been good
for fifteen hundred years; extempora-
neous prayer was only three hundred
and fifty years old.
But there was the same deep musical
earnestness, no matter about the view
point.
There, too, and best of all he spoke
of Christ in the Cathedral at Antwerp
put together with pieces of perfectly
polished stone, and came to his climax
rapidly, saying that everything that
went to make up the Book OF Common
Prayer was but put together to form
the same Christ that was in the Ant
werp Cathedral; that the Christ OF the
Bible was thus only given perfect form
in the PRAYER Book from Birth TO AS
cension. 1t was only a tracing of the
life OF Christ. And the speakers thought
climbed higher into what he had been
nearing, namely that after all, it was
but the perfect formulation of spirit
uality, which was q announcement of
the world-unworld and the Of
fering of aims to the cause of Christ.
After all the burden of the sermon
seemed to the spirituality Of prayer,
that spirituality, as the speaker ex-
planned, which was wrapped up in the
love of his child when he asked him TO
do this or that. The prayer of the
child need not be answered for the act
of the spiritually Of love to have been
exercised; and so it was that the peo-
pie Of the earth joining in a common
chorus of prayer TO the Throne exer-
cised the highest act Of spirituality. 1T
was a subtle thought, and must not be
considered to have been even tolerably
brought out here. Suffice it to say that
the whole discourse was upon this key
and played around all sides of the
heart in that musical way of which
DR. Bradley is by nature a master
As usual the Cathedral was packed,
and people were turned away. Metho-
odists, Baptists and Presbyterians
were generously sprinkled in the audi
ence.
Before the service began Bishop
Cheshire confirmed Gen. Jacob Bow
man, of Mitchell county, of whom
Senator Pritchard is a son-in-law
Afterward, the cards were handed
aroud as usual, and more were filled
out than on the night before.
A special feature of the services is