that oratory is a natural gift, that orators are born not made, and that all efforts to evoke the faculty of public without backbone-capable of being heard; and accompanied by fitting gestures; yet, after all, the end of the sermon is not to be found in any, or all of these qualifi-speaking are futile. Then comes the supercilious objector, cations. The excellence of a work, we are told by philosophers, depends upon its accomplishment of the purpose for which it was made. Thus, a watch may have an ornamental face and a highly-wrought case, and be beautiful as far as its appearance goes, yet it is useless if it does not rightly tell the time. And this for the simple reason, that its purpose is to tell the time. What, then, is the object or purpose of the sermon? Mr Walter, in his Lecture, which was recently delivered in S. Paul's Chapter House before the Church Homiletical Society, "On Reading and Speaking," gives the following description of the end of preaching :-"The object of a preacher should be to rivet the attention of his hearers, to prevent them from going to sleep or thinking of other matters, and to impress some moral or doctrinal truth on their minds." The first part of this definition of the object of a sermon recalls to us Sydney Smith's quaint observation on "pulpit elocution." "Is it," says he, "a rule of oratory to balance the style against the subject, and to handle the most sublime truths in the dullest language and the driest manner? Is sin to be taken from man, as Eve was from Adam, by casting them into a deep slumber?" We have seen the purpose of preaching more concisely and more clearly expressed in these words :"The object of preaching is the salvation of the soul." The best sermon, therefore, will be that which awakens the conscience, and from attending to which the listeners go back to their homes neither praising nor disputing what they have heard, but with the dispositions which those people manifested who gazed upon the Cross,-they "sinote their breasts and returned." Now the question is, how is this effective sermon to be produced? Mr Walter approaches the subject from its natural side. In his address he brings to light no new truths, but certainly succeeds in setting old ones in a new and forcible light, and makes some valuable suggestions. His Lecture, however, on the whole, is far from encouraging. After the want of early training, he enumerates five distinct causes which militate against good reading, and à fortiori against good preaching. Ignorance of the art of elocution and of managing the voice, of course, stands first. We quite agree with the lecturer that those who intend to devote themselves to the Priesthood should have-as in other religious bodies-some training in rhetoric and elocution to qualify them for their future public duties. It seems very inconsistent to spend a long period of time in storing the mind with knowledge, and yet to make no provision for cultivating the vocal organs, by means of which that knowledge is to be transmitted to others. Now here we are at once met by a variety of objections. There is the pietistic objection that formal rules of speaking hinder "spontaneity," and that the occupant of the pulpit should simply depend on the aid of the Holy Spirit. Then there is the hopeless objector, who holds who proudly tells you that he cares only for the matter, and nothing for the style. With regard to the first, we would only say, that to be logically consistent, he must forego education in other matters, as well as voice; and we would warn him, that GOD helps those only who help themselves. As to the second, we will remind our despondent friend, that all men have some power of speech, and that a lesser faculty, when trained, may, and sometimes has achieved greater results than greater native capacity untrained. You may not be able to alter the compass of a voice, but you may learn to use it aright and remedy defects of utterance. We will leave our self-satisfied objector to himself, for the rest of the world will admit that they are very much affected not only by what is said, but also by way it is said. the Then we are reminded of other hindrances in the way of good speaking, such as-defects in various organs or senses; provincial dialects; the injuries perpetrated upon the letter "h"-which we thought had become rare in the pulpit in the present day; nervousness, which is attributed rather to moral than physical causes, and last— though not least-ignorance of the subject in hand. Now all this-some of it irremediable-is rather "deter rent;" but there is something on the other side, which is of great importance, which we fail to find in Mr Walter's Lecture. The preacher stands before the congregation as the ordained minister of CHRIST's Church, for "how shall they preach, except they be sent ;" he is entrusted with the message of salvation. He does not rely for confidence only on education or even spirituality, but also on the fact that he is the steward of the mysteries of GOD. He is one of that long line of heralds who speak not in their own name or power but in that of their Master, and who can address others without presumption, because they are specially commissioned to bring home to souls the tidings of Salvation. We fully admit with Mr Walter the great importance of using all natural means, and therefore desire to see some systematic and general effort made in our Universities and Colleges, so that young men may bring to the Ministry their natural faculties and organs, trained with a view to their momentous employment. And we warmly re-echo his words, that the physician must heal himself first, if he would heal others-"It is only when a man has probed the wounds of his own moral nature, and found the remedy for them by prayer and meditation, that he will be able to minister to the spiritual diseases of others." But besides all this, he will need the strength of a Divine Commission, and to be able to catch, as he is about to preach before the congregation, the accents of those words and make them his own-"Go ye into all the world and preach the Gospel to every creature.” The clergyman's freedom from hostile criticism is one which we think exaggerated. He has not, it is true, to encounter at once the fire of contradiction, as in Parliament or at the Bar, but the clergy, after all, are not such privileged persons as Mr Walter conceives them to be. Every expression of the preacher is soon canvassed, especially should he digress from his sacred theme to comment on current events, or betray some political partisanship. The congregation, as they emerge from the porch, will give utterance to their approval or condemnation of his opinions, and perhaps the local paper-if there be one on the other side-will have a wrathful paragraph or leader on the Sunday's effusion in the next number. We take exception, again, to Mr Walter's remarks on intoning the Service. He evidently is inclined to believe that at last this practice will lead to intoning the sermon. As a rule, we have observed that in those churches where the service is intoned, the sermon is more often well delivered; whereas we have had the misfortune to hear the sermon delivered in a drawl, when the minister's effort to be eloquent seemed to have expended itself on the prayers. Nor can we admit that frequent Services may become a hindrance to study and so to preaching. Worship and preaching must go together. The habit, once not uncommon, of obtruding some one particular doctrine on all occasions is justly reprobated. In the early days of the Evangelical movement, justification by faith, or the doctrine of Atonement, was the one great theme, to the exclusion of all others. In the early days of the Tractarian Movement, no sermon seemed to be complete without a defence of the doctrine of Baptismal Regeneration and Apostolical Succession. Thus "the proportion of faith" is sacrificed, for the exaggeration of one truth leads to the forgetfulness of the rest. We admit, of course, that when any great truth has been ignored or forgotten, for its revival it must for a while be repeatedly set forth; but care must be taken, that, when it is fully re-established and the cause for reiteration ha ceased, it should be allowed to sink into its legitimate position. The mind at last recoils from the perpetual presentation of the same doctrine, and the very error, by reaction, is generated, which was unduly denounced. There are two commendations which we select for comment, whilst dealing with this subject. The first is, the establishment of an "order of preachers," to be appointed by the Bishop. We can see manifold advantages in this suggestion. If really good preachers, instead of being fixed in one spot, went from place to place, we should be turning to greater account their powers. They would be able, too, to afford assistance to overworked parish priests, and to use a plainness of speech amongst the people, which it may be sometimes more difficult for the regular pastor to employ. The proverb is often verified, that the prophet has no honour in his own country; and we know of one of the first preachers of the day, who had overwhelming congregations wherever he went to preach, but when he occupied his own pulpit he had often empty benches and listless faces before him. A farmer was once asked what was the cause of this want of appreciation, and he | replied-"We prefer to hear the curate, Sir." And it was no question of preaching in the vernacular, for the vicar (now a Bishop) was a master of the Saxon tongue. Another recommendation is, that the clergy cultivate "the habit of speaking instead of reading their sermons." The preacher who cannot deliver an extempore address, may yet preach a written sermon with the same effect. Who that has heard the Bishop of Ely, or Dr Liddon, both preachers of written sermons, will deny this? But "if the clergyman clings to the velvet cushion, keeps his eye rivetted upon his book, speaks of the ecstacies of joy and fear, with a voice and a face which indicate neither," who is likely to be moved? At the same time, we advocate, in all who are capable of it, the extemporaneous mode of preaching, as but few are really able to preach written sermons. The preacher who turns over pages of "stale indignation and fervour of a week old," will never be a match for the speaker who pours forth the fresh feelings of his heart. In answer, then, to the question, "who will be an effective preacher," we should reply the man who is impressed with the importance of his sacred office, who has deep convictions of the truth of his message, and who with purity of purpose enters the pulpit, desirous, not of displaying his powers, or simply of acquitting himself in a satisfactory manner before the congregation, but who with the Eye of GOD upon him aims only at making the bad good, and the good better. This inward integrity of purpose will in some degree stand in the stead of many natural gifts; however greatly such gifts are to be desired, and important to be cultivated. DIOCESAN INSPECTION OF SCHOOLS. School managers and Sunday school teachers in many parts of the kingdom are beginning to flutter with the expectation of the Spring inspections, which have become an important branch of our diocesan organisation. So far as we have seen their effects we should say that they are of great benefit, but rather to the school as a whole than to the individual scholars. The advantage to them is indirect through their teachers. The actual ordeal is, in spite of all precautions, apt to result in the exaltation of the quick and ready rather than in that of the gentle and thoughtful, and the children, who come to the front and gain the most commendation, are by no means even the most capable. An inspector can hardly help being too rapid for the thoughtful children. His language is often in an unaccustomed form, and those who will not give snap, hap-hazard replies have to turn it over in their minds, a process which is interrupted by prompting. Only a thoroughly practical person, with an eye for countenance, can really judge of individual pupils. Nor is this the purpose-even though each teacher be on tenter-hooks at seeing the quiet, trustworthy scholar sink, while the irrepressible Jack-in-the-box} gains all the credit. The benefit is that the level of school and class knowledge is ascertained. The clergyman, master, or superintendent find out in what branches there has been neglect, for blots are nearly sure to be hit, and the teachers behold their own deficiencies. But it is very desirable that an inspector should not get a character for trying to catch the children out and expose their ignorance. It deters some schools from examination, and rouses in others a spirit of hostility. We should say that in most cases he had better let each teacher begin by examining the class before him. No doubt some would fight shy, and some would have to be excused, but the strong desire to use the opportunity of showing off the class to advantage would often prevail over self-consciousness. Having seen what the scholars can do, and the style of thought, then let the inspector put some easy questions of his own, working up, when the children have gained confidence, to some more crucial ones, confining them at last to the few best, and if one or two remain unanswered, we should think it a good test to allow the seniors the use of their Bibles and Prayer Books to find out the reply for themselves, impressing on all concerned that the great point in teaching is, not to cram. bnt to show how to learn. Of course the inspector will give advice and hints on the system, even supplying a scheme of lessons where things seem to be in a random state, but letting well alone where all is well. It is fair also towards the children that, within due bounds, respect should be paid to the tone of opinions in the parish, and that blame should never be implied for want of knowledge of such less vital points as the incumbent would be least likely to impress. Reverence is one great point to be dwelt on, and an inspector can do much in this way. The more sacred details of our Blessed LORD's Life and Death should never be dragged into an examination. Other questions involving less irreverence can always be found to show whether there be the needful acquaintance with the narrative, without making the awful history be for ever connected in the children's minds with their own proficiency, And teachers should remember this and not garner up stores of trivial questions. We have known an inspector complained of for asking what were the three arks of the Old Testament. It might, of course, be better to go on to the typical meaning; but this could not be understood for a moment unless the children could tell which ark was meant. We would then entreat of the school teachers about to undergo Diocesan inspection to impress on their scholars that it is their Bishops' mode of complying with the command, "Feed My lambs," and to receive it as such; and themselves to view it, not as an occasion for showing off their pet scholars, but as a means of learning whether they themselves are doing their own work properly, and if the children know what they profess to teach. This is the real value of an examination, and though an inspector ought to be exceptionally perfect, and, of course, never is so, yet very few schools can help working the better for his visit, provided the teachers will charge most of the failures, not on him, but on themselves. Current TOPICS "choral celebrations." Considerable stress has been laid in the columns of two of our weekly contemporaries upon the fact that on the day of the Bishop of London's Ordination at S. Paul's Cathedral the latter part of the Holy Communion Office was celebrated without the usual choral rendering of the service, and it has been assumed that the omission of the music, presumably at the Bishop's direction, implied his Lordship's disapproval of what are technically termed Whatever may be the Bishop's personal feeling on the subject—and his Lordship perhaps may, from habit, prefer the Office plainly said-we have reason to believe that the intermission of the choral service on the occasion in question was adopted in order to shorten the very long service, and to enable the friends of the newly-ordained men to communicate. The course taken may give rise to a diversity of opinion, but it is important that there should be no misapprehension as to the object of the change, for as a choral celebration is now the rule in a large number of London churches it would be a serious drawback to find that the Bishop is opposed to the "use" which the Prayer Book so evidently contemplates. It is a significant proof of the growth of an intelligent interest in "the divine science," not merely among the clergy, but among the laity, that the number of Theological and Biblical Works published during the year 1879, shows, according to the statistics of the Publisher's Circular, an increase of forty per cent. on the previous twelve months. The number of absolutely new works in 1879 was 775, as against 531 in 1878, and of new editions 311, as against 208 in 1878, the rise being thus equally noticeable in both sections. The books thus classified are, closely-written treatise or essay, down to the more popular it may be assumed, various in texture, ranging from the contributions to domestic theology which form an important factor in the formation of current religious opinion; but viewed as a whole the result is eminently satisfactory, and shows that men are prepared not merely to talk about religion, but to read and hence, as an almost inevitable result, to think about it. or The questionable proceeding of holding mission revival services for children, without any guarantee that the teaching given or the mode in which the meetings are conducted will be in accordance with the doctrine and discipline of the Church of England, has just received the sanction of the Rev. E. H. Bickersteth, vicar of Christ Church, Hampstead, and Rural Dean, and of the vicar of Hampstead, Rev. S. B. Burnaby. The Mission, as it is termed, has been held for ten days at the local vestry-hall, and the gentleman who has been at its head is Mr Arrowsmith, whose credentials apparently date from the Conference Hall at Mildmay-park. As Mr Bicker steth is, virtute officii, the head of the local branch of the London Diocesan Lay Helpers' Association, it is difficult to see how, apart from the undesirability of adopting such a system for children, he can sanction services conducted by a gentleman who does not, we believe, hold the Bishop's commission. If the resources of the parish of Hampstead are insufficient to supply the spiritual needs of the children, and the clergy find themselves unable to do the work which the Church requires at their hands, the Committee at London House would be ready at once to send a lay missioner down, for whose teaching there would, at the least, be a satisfactory guarantee in the fact that he had been admitted by the Diocesan to the order of Readers. When, however, the church of the parish in which the vestry-hall stands is closed on three Sunday afternoons out of every month, and the catechising of the children is neglected, it would seem to be a case for investigation, rather than for the introduction of what is, at the best, a sensational and unchurch-like method of appealing to young people. Facts of the Fortnight. Dec. 26.-Funeral of Bishop Utterton at Leatherhead. 27.-Special service for children at Westminster Abbey, with sermon by Dean Stanley. 28.-The bells of S. Mary Abbots, Kensington, rung for the first time in the new tower.-Anniversary of the dedication of Westminster Abbey; special musical services.-The Rev. T. Pelham Dale celebrated the Holy Communion at S. Vedast, Foster-lane, in conformity with the Bishop of London's directions, no celebration having been held in the church since August, 1878. CANON ASHWELL'S LIFE OF BISHOP WILBERFORCE.- Vol. I. THE LIFE OF THE RIGHT REVEREND SAMUEL WILBERFORCE, D.D., Lord Bishop of Oxford, and afterwards of Winchester. With Selections from His Diaries and Correspondence. By A. R. ASHWELL, M.A., Late Canon of the Cathedral, and Principal of the Theological College, Chichester. In Three Volumes. Vol. I. With Por trait. London: John Murray, Albemarle-street. 1880. Pp. 515. Price 158. "The life of my father," says Mr Reginald Wilberforce, the Bishop's eldest surviving son, in some brief sentences, excellent in tone and taste, which he has prefixed to this work, "is no private biography. From the close of the year 1845 to the year 1873, it is really a part of the annals of the Church of England, as well as the memoir of Bishop Wilberforce." This fact constituted the peculiar difficulty with which his biographer had to grapple. It was not without reason that the admirable Introductory Chapter speaks of the "multifari ousness of character and detail" by which the Bishop's public life was marked. He was active in so many spheres, and in every one of them pre-eminent for originality of conception, for rapidity of grasp, and for clearness and eloquence of exposition. He was statesman, philanthropist, orator on pulpit and platform, a spiritual adviser of rare sympathy and decisiveness, as well as the Diocesan Bishop and organiser of ecclesiastical machinery. And in almost every one of these spheres he was equally distinguished. In the House of Lords, at a great public meeting in London, or (during his later years) at the sittings of Convocation, he was as conspicuous by the leadership willingly accorded to him by all, as was the case in any of his little country parishes, or under his own roof at Cuddesdon. He was, it is clear, no ordinary man of whom this could be said, and it was no ordinary task that was undertaken when a biography of the Bishop was entered upon. We shall be excused for saying here that it was no ordinary industry or power of mastering details that would have succeeded in reducing to order and method the enormous mass of materials (we believe there were several hundredweights of letters alone) which were in existence, and had to be read and digested before a word could be written. It is due to the lamented author of this volume, whose pen was arrested in mid-career by the hand of death, to point out how greatly he has simplified the task of whoever may succeed him as biographer, by putting into order the vast pile of materials on which the memoir was to be based, and by tracing out the general plan, upon which (as Mr R. G. Wilberforce, we are glad to see, expresses the hope that) any successor will continue it. He did this, as we personally know, at the cost of very great labour, which seriously affected his health; but also, as we cannot doubt will be felt and candidly acknowledged, he impressed upon the work the sign of a calm and mature judgment, a judicial moderation, a care and fairness in statement, whether of fact, or, still more, of motive, which, if followed, must make the work a worthy memorial of the great Bishop. At the outset of the narrative portion of the work, the biographer has sufficiently shown the importance which was rightly attached to the early training of Samuel Wilberforce by his no less distinguished father, William Wilberforce. It may with strict truth be said that to have been the son of such a father was in itself a patent of nobility, and the remark applies with no less force to those who, a generation later, are privileged to call the Bishop by the same name. To his father's unceasing solicitude, as he gratefully acknowledged in after years, he owed very much; and we do not know a more beneficial exercise for any young man than to read over the letters of William Wilberforce to his son Samuel, which are full of strong good sense, sincere piety, and evidently great affection. It was manifestly the case that Samuel was the favourite son, and the development of his character seems to have been watched over and directed with sedulous attention. Nor was this unneeded. Much was expected from a son of a man so marked in character, and in every way distinguished, as W. Wilberforce. Writing to the young Samuel at the outset of his undergraduate days, his father reminds him: "You, as my son, will be tried by a different standard from that which is commonly referred to, and be judged by a more rigorous rule; for it would be folly, rather than merely false delicacy, to deny that from various causes my character is more generally known than that of most men in my rank of life. What I now wish to impress on you is, remember, my dearest boy, that you have my credit in your keeping as well as your own."- (Page 21.) A gentlemanlike and even distinguished undergraduate course may be considered to have been the good fruit of all this wise fatherly counsel. It is curious to notice how fiercely Liberal Samuel Wilberforce was in his speeches at the Union, where he showed the first promise of his after success as an orator. He took a good degree (first in mathematics, second in classics) in 1826; and after it he became a candidate for a Balliol* Fellowship, which he failed to obtain. Perhaps we may be allowed to conjecture that success was not very near his heart; for we find that even so early as this, his attachment to the lady who shortly afterwards became his wife, had long been formed; and marriage would, of course, have been incompatible with any prolonged tenure of a Fellowship, so that it was but a barren honour that was sought or lost. The marriage took place, in fact, in 1828. Deacon's Orders speedily followed, his Title being the sole charge of the little parish of Checkendon, near Henley-on-Thames. But after he had been there about sixteen months, "while yet under five-and-twenty, and when he had been scarcely six months in Priest's Orders," the Rectory of Brighstone, in the Isle of Wight, was offered to him by his steadfast friend and patron, Bishop Sumner, of Winchester. His correspondence up to this point is not markedly different from that of any young curate, and has all the usual and natural putting of the great Ich in the foreground: And some exceptions, a very high Tory. I quite agree with you At Brighstone, however, his character and powers grew and matured rapidly. "Even," says his biographer, "during this early period all that peculiar capacity for winning influence over others, and that tendency to be ever widening his sphere of activity and extending his range of action, are to be seen continually developing themselves.” He published a hymn-book for the use of his parish church; he wrote "a penny tract on 'Tithes;'" he dabbled a little in electioneering, which he found a dangerous thing for a clergyman, and soon abandoned. Then he was naturally and properly a great favourite with his Bishop, who was frequently a guest at his house; while, later on, "six months rarely went by without Samuel Wilberforce being his Bishop's guest, either at Farnham Castle or at Winchester-house, and in the majority of cases for a week or ten days at a time." It is not surprising that his friend, R. Hurrell Froude, wrote to him, "I hear that you are the Dallas of the day with our friend, i.e., that you stand in the shoes once occupied by that worthy.” Passing over innumerable points of interest in the account of his ten years at Brighstone, we must quote a passage in which Mr ASHWELL has expressed his judgment not only of the effect of his time at Brighstone upon the ultimate development of his great powers, but also, with a glance forward, upon the specific character of those powers themselves: "With him, freedom from control and an independent position were but the opportunity for shaping his own course and for the free development of energies which a different position might "I hope that now at least you will allow the justice of my have checked or impeded. And there can be no doubt whatever, often-disputed character of candied' orange Peel, and allow that that it was largely owing to these circumstances that, at an age he has shown himself either a rogue or a poltroon, not, indeed, when, so far as public life is concerned, men have rarely had the by changing now, but by having continued for five years to pre- opportunity of coming to their full stature, Samuel Wilberforce tend to head the Protestant party, when he, in 1825, wished to was already a trained and experienced man, and what is not less resign, from his conviction that Emancipation could no longer be important, that his powers and his qualifications were already refused. My curacy is in a very pretty country, amidst a very known and appreciated. A student in the technical sense of the quiet, retired population. The vicinity of Oxford, too, is very word Samuel Wilberforce never was. He was never a great pleasant, as enabling me to obtain Robert's assistance and to see reader simply for reading's sake. Neither was he what is called old friends. a profound thinker. On the other hand, it would be difficult to imagine a mind or a temperament of more ceaseless activity, one which was more sensitively alive to every question of the day, one which pondered all such subjects with more anxious and persistent thought, or one which fastened with keener eagerness, * "As to politicks, sir, I don't know what to say are my opinions. I was once, as you know, a Radical. I believe I am now, with * Moberly, now Bishop of Salisbury, F. Newman, and Oakeley, were elected. How curious the fact looks in the face of the wide after divergence in the careers of these men! * A former Chaplain to the Bishop. |