v tion until the services are over. 7 '1‘ H E 7E v E N1N age-<12 E 1‘ TE THE EVENING GAZETTE mar.» AT THE Posr Omen 1N3 Noawamr as a NEwsparan. 111 411;. s UBECR'IPTIONS; DAILY. one year. 83: six'months. $1.75; three months. 31. 00; one month, 30c. WEEKLY. one year. in Padvance. $1.00; six months. 600. . three months. 3/50. 7* SATURDAY, DECEMBER 12, 1896 THE WEATHER—Today, clear and rising temperature. To-morrow, fair and falling temperture. Monday :fair and cooler. ’ The Curse ofthe Church. Preachers who complain of the small attendance at the churches and the lack ofi-nterest in the sermons do not seem to realize that the fault is chiefly their own. In the majority of cases the cushions in the pews are too soft, and this softness is increased by the dis- courses preached. The spirituals needs of the people go unheeded, while their physical needs are catered to in the ful- lest meaning of the word. Witness the elegant upholstering of the churches, the sensuous adornings and the velvet cushions that invite to profound rest and slumber! Sinners and saints, either real or artificial, en- ter their seats in these churches and re- main there in a semi-somnolent condi- If they remember the text, it is an oasis in a desert of forgetfullness; if they have been moved by. the sermon it is as rare as an island in the middle of the Atlantic. _ The natural softness of the cushions is enhanced by the discourse of the preacher, who, instead of preaching Christ and Him crucified, tells of a trip that he made to Jerusalem last summer at the expense of his parishioners. In- stead of preaching from the Golden Rule. he enters upon a learned dis- quisition as to whether the are upon which our Saviour rode once upon a time was a bay or a brindle, or whether Peter’s wife’s mother was sick with a billions or an intermittent fever. , Soft cushions are the curse of the Church, and this 1s not meant 'in a ma- . terial sense, either. It is spiritual 11l- most entirely, and: the fault lies with the preacher almost entirely. To keep the peOpie awake something else must be dealt out to them besides the dry husks of theology or the finical specu- lations of hair-splitting.-.cree‘ds. To stir them up and dispel their lethargy the blast of a trumpet is necessary, and not the "lascivious pleasiugs of a lute.” With the right kind of a preacher and‘the right kind of a subject, the soft- est kind of a church cushiOu érn .be made so hard and prickly that the re- membrance of it will not ~vcn’sh for many a day. An awakening from the most complacent sleep can be bad, and the ultimate result is bound to be a most beneficial one. ' “Cry aloud, spare 1101! Show my people their transgression and the house of Jacob their sins.” That should be the meiicine of the Church in general. Hypocrisy should be ex- posed and sin be laid bare among the rich as well as with the poor. The hu- man soul should be weighed in God’s scale, and its early expression analyzed in the white light of God’s own truth. Tell the people their sins and how to escape the penalty of these sins, instead of confusing them with speculations as to the birthplace of Moses, or if the pil- lar of fire by night were a mere torch- light procession in some adj rcent town. Tell the people of their sins and their false pretenses; the mask in which they strive to deceive not only the world but God. Tell them of their lack of char- ity and of faith; their arrogance, their cruelty and'their falsehood. Tell themof God’s love, His mercy and His ianfinite compassion—all to be freely given them if they but repent and bring forth fruit meet for repent- once. The preacher, whose lips have been touched with a coal from on high, whose heart is aflame with the glory and the power and the sacredness of his mission, can make the softest cush- i0‘1 a bed of nettles and the hardest board a most precious rest for the soul thit is awakened to its own heritage— _immortality. ____._< .E—.____.. A pain in the chest 15 nature’s warning that pneumonia. is threatened. Dampen a piece of flannel with Chamberlain’s Pain Balm and bind over the seat of pain and another on the back between the shoulders. and prompt 1e1ief will follow. Sold by E. E Weed, Druggia. J‘. D. Jennings. UNDERTAKER 4 Knight street opposite Street Railway bepot. NIGH 1' BELL 11' 01111011. PIPES- CHEC‘KERi-BOALRD BUSINESS DIRECTORY. NORWALK Fll‘t Insurance Cl]. In Successful Oper- auon Smce 1860, No Outsrandinq Claims. Sales For Rent. vawnlrs sronrn , IN Safe Deposit Vault , OF THE NATIONAL BANK OF NORWALK, EMBOSSING Dormza'r THIS OFFICE. GAZETTE ADS. BRING GOOD RESULTS 6. Ward Selleck, BEST Goons. TEAS and COFFEES 18 WALL s'r. Frank T. Hyatt DENTIST, 8 West Avenue. ENTERPRISE . Bottling Works, _ 7 Wall Street. FIIE MES AID lAEER EXPRESSLY For. mm- ILY nsE. Mail orders receive prompt attentmn. TREES! TREES! TREES! he. at 58 Belden Avenue, if you are go- mg to set out trees th1s fall. All. stock warranted to live. Edgar Buttery, 58 BeldenAve. 25 years foreman of Hoyts’ Nursenes. T H E , ‘ EVE N INCCA' TTE \ FRED A. WALTER, MAKER or AND‘DEALEB IN HA KNESS AND HORSE GOODS. Repairiniof all kinds done at s ort‘notice. Harness made to or- der a specialty. - 3 1 MAIN 81'. hoawamr. - - CONN. w. 11. 3111111011 ' «INSURANCE. Room 3. Emile Building. TRY WEED’S SODA WATER 38 Wall St. Painting. Pa er =Hanging. Ka somin- i111: and Hardwood Finishing. 8.. l. MATT, 52 Wilton Avenue, Norwalk, 001111. Send for book con- ‘ taiaing samples. 0 PARLOR BABBEB-r-SHOP, . a. 5. 1110130111. 4-7 Main Street. Jot Printing EVERY DESGIIIP'I'IBI EXECUTED arena sum: orrlcr \ PIPES. The Gaeeatefl flespmy At the lowest prices ever offered The Finest Line of 8111011ng Tobaccos. We and can ’1 be 9:, '09; are 1.63553”??ch sisuiihef E pr'm acted by cur field or Silver [of 13361198 , m, Imported, Clear Havana... Key West and Domestic Cigars. are, rxmmr 111 s‘rocx arronr Puneiusmc mun cnmsms 11111311111121: 01E BARKER PI PES /. the Twice “Wes", ! . Mahackemo H0191 310015" SGUTH N ORWALK
Norwalk Chronicler