The Hawaiian star. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu]) 1893-1912, 1905-11-18

1 think l owe an apology to Walter
G. Smith-Rev. Walter G. Smith. l
said last Saturday that 1 was going to
hear him at the Methodist Church. L
said it in the best of faith. 1 fully
intended to, and actually got on the
car to go to the church. But on the
car 1 met a friend who strongly adj
vised me to go to Central Union church
and hear an illustrated sermon by the
most brilliant pulpit orator that ever
came to Honolulu" l didn't see the
Joker in his description; l overlooked
the fact that he said pulpit orator.
The commentator was so high that 1
went. l have felt under obligations
to apologize to Mr.. Smith ever since.
After the opening services the bril-
liant pulpit orator made some an
nouncements. They were mostly about
himself l thought l recognized then
where my friend got his description
In announcing a second Illustrated lee
ture to be given during the we k, the
pulpit orator said it was about the
monumental inscriptions discovered in
Egypt and Assyria. He had given
some very hard study, he said, empha-
versity to the study of these things
with a view to becoming a specialist;
he had been a popular preacher for ten
years-emphasizing the word popular
and so he thought himself well fitted
to give this lecture, erudi,e enough for
the saVant he gave US to understand,
and simple enough for the school-boy
of twelve or thirteen. In short he was
Just a little less modest i'm self praise,
than the Quaker Doctor or the Kick
apoo Indian medicine seller might be
expected to be. The lecture was alb
solutely free, no charge at the door
with emphasis on the door-but col
lection would be taken for the benefit
of the lecturer and to pay for wear
and tear and interest on the cost of
the outfit.
Soon after this the illustrated rmon
of the evening began. The first pic
ture, he said, represented Our Lord
saving Peter when the latter had es-
sayed to walk on the water but faith
failed. Undoubtedly the picture de-
monstrated that it was a miracle, for
the Lord stood on a little space Of per-
fectly level water while the rest of
the sea broke up i'm waves; He was APP
parently lifting Peter out of the water
with one hand but in such a position
that he was acting in opposition
to every law of anatomy, gravity,
balancing and leverage. Strange to
say Peter showed no signs of being
wet.
Another picture showed the shepherds
i'm alteration at the stable in Bethlehem
but the infant Christ is represented as
babe of several weeks. So also in
the next picture when the Holy Infant
is supposed to be eight days old, he is
represented as a child that is already
able to sit up and to look about with
interest In the flight into Egypt pic
lures, one was shown to Illustrate what
was said to be a tradition that the
Holy family spent one night with the
Sphynx the Mother and Child lying
in the arms, as it were, of the great
monument. As the picture was drawn
the Virgin Mother was at least twelve
feet tall.
The story of the Prodigal Son was
told in pictures that represented men
in doublet and hose and women with
Elizabethan ruffs. When the son
finally falls on the fathers neck it is
in front of a vaguely defined Italian
Palace with his father apparently made
up for Desdemona's father.