Daily Arizona silver belt., 1907-02-07
ODDITIES IN SERMONS
ANNUAL DiScouRsES THAT ARE
 PAID FOR 5Y LEGAClES.

The Lucky London Clergyman Who
 Trenches the sGoIden Sermon" Re-
 ccives q Tee of eI5O-The Text Prob
 lem of the "Museum sermon.''
 Every year on Oct. 16 is preached at
 St. Catherine Cree church in Leaden-
 hall street the "llon sermon" It com
 memorates the escape, over two cen
 turies back, of then lord mayor, Sir
 John Gayer, who while travelling in
 the east encountered lion, which. on
 his repeating the prayer of Daniel, al-
 lowed him to pursue his way unmo-
 tested. In gratitude for his miraculous escape the worthy citizen left direc- tlOns in hls will that commemorative sermon should be preached annually, together with sufficient money to carry this bequest into effect.
 Every Jan. 30 for 225 years has the "Assheton sermon" been delivered in the parish church of Downham, Lan- cashire. Over two centuries since Sir Richard Assheton of Downham Hall left legacy of f4 year, f2 thereof to be distributed among the poor and the remainder to be paid to a clergy man for an annual exposition, on the date of the testators death, of Job xix, 25 26, and Colossians iii. 8, 4.
 The 'Spital sermon" which Is dellv- cred every Easter before the lord may or and corporation of London at Christ church, Newgate street, originated in an old custom by which the bishop of London appointed some learned cleric to deliver sermon at St. Pauls Cros5 on Good Friday as prelude to three sermon on "The Resurrection" to be given at the pulpit cross in the Spital on the following Monday, Tues day and Wednesday by bishop, & dean and doctor of divinity respec- lively.
 The following Sunday at St. Paul's Cross another divine passed judgment on these discourses, and on this occa- sion the mayor and corporation, who had on the preceding Monday and Tuesday been garbed in scarlet, at. tended, as on Good Friday and Easter Wednesday, robed in violet gowns. Ere their migration to Horsham the boys of the Bluecoat school were al- ways present at the 'spital sermon"
 Flower sermons are still to be heard in more than one church On Whitsun Tuesday at St James church, Mitre court, Aldgate, one of these Is preached. while at St. Leonards church, shoredltch, "a botanical dis course is, in accordance with the will of Thomas Falrchild. who died in 1729, annually delivered. At Stepney church the horticultural sermon" calls to mind the long past days when in- stead of being surrounded by thou. sands of houses the church overtopped a country village with Its quaint cot. tages and well tended gardens.
 Annually on April 6 the inhabitants of Twynlng, Tewkesbury, attend the church to hear sermon upon mar riage preached in accordance with the bequest of a lord of the manor, who In 1715 left a sum of money for this specific purpose The preacher him self receives il, the parish clerk 6 shil Ilngs. while f3 los is divided among the congregation, who last year num- bered seventy one.
 The handsome fee of 16 guineas is paid to the preacher of the accession sermon" which each year on the ami of the reigning monarchs ac- ression may be heard In Durham cathe- dral One unusual and, as some may commendable condition at. taching to this discourse is that It's duration must not exceed fifteen min ntes
 This fee, large though 1t seems, Is in- significant beside the f150 paid to the preacher of tbe golden sermon" which may be given In any church within ,ix mile radius of Haberdashcrs' hall This sermon had it's origin Tn the be luest of one William Jones, who many years since left an annual sum of 400 to be given to the preacher of the most eloquent sermon within the above init Of this sum f150 now goes to he chosen cleric, while the remaining s250 is divided among poor clergymen ,f the east end.
 Perhaps however, the most original iiscourse delivered from an English pulpit is the museum sermon" which 8 annually preached in a little chapel lear the village of Buckland Newton, \ Dorchester. It derives its name from he fact that the clergyman, generally l stranger, finds on mounting the pull ,it that its desk has been covered with various articles, of the nature of which le has been kept ill ignorance, all of which are mentioned in the Bible. On hese he Is required to deliver an ex-