these is almost ruinous to easy and effective speaking. I have tried them to my sorrow, and would warn you against them. Whatever advantages they might afford to oratorios, they are the bane of oratory, - that, especially, that moves the soul or melts the heart. He is a rare preacher that succeeds in hewing down sinners under such a ceiling. If it does not create an echo, and it is sure to do so if the congregation be small, — it will attract the voice away from the audience assuredly. "It goes far to rob the voice of its unction and power, returning an empty sound to the ears of the people. Vacant looks will tell the laboring preacher there is something wrong or wanting. Solomon says, 'If the iron be blunt, and he do not whet the edge, then he must put to more strength.' Just so! And he who preaches under such a ceiling will soon find voice and sentences blunt enough. If he love souls, if he desire to constrain sinners to feel that they have need of everything that Jesus has purchased for them on Calvary, he will put to more strength.' But there's the rub!' This is just the extra tax he is paying to the ignorance or caprice of the architect, or his advisers. 6 "I was holding a series of meetings, some time since, in a church of this sort contending with these difficulties till my heart ached. And, to add to them, a recess behind pulpit, not deep, but wide and lofty, in the form of a Gothic window, of dead wall,'. large as the eastern window of some Roman Catholic cathedral, and abundance of dead wall on either side of it never better ally to the slopes above. I advised drapery, though opposed to it in general, hoping thus to interfere with the alliance. One evening, noticing the architect present, I consulted him. He doubted whether drapery would help the matter much; said he was aware such ceilings did attract the voice away from the audience, and recommended a sounding-board over the pulpit, as the best remedy. "A couple of years ago, when travelling in the States, I preached in a small church of this sort, seemed as if one was standing between two abutments of a bridge, underneath a high arch. It required the greatest manoeuvring to coax the voice down to its office in the ears of the audience. I happened upon two others in the States somewhat similar- both bad; one has since been demolished. Happily, churches cursed with such ceilings are not numerous; but they are increasing, both in the United States and Canada. The Gothic has become quite popular of late years, a style which offers the architect strong temptations to pitch his ceiling not only unduly high, but somewhat in conformity with the window-tops. 66 "Methodism has lately come into the possession of several specimens. Windows well enough for the Gothic; but the architect, not contented to extend his ceiling at the height which their extraordinary altitude demanded, sloped it parallel with the rafters, clear up to the vicinity of a roof-top by no means humble in its aspirations! Others I have noticed, - windows semi-Gothic, lofty, of extraordinary width and height, all well enough, if made to raise and lower easy; which was not the case, for they required the strength of two men, and frequently in vain. But the architect, instead of spreading a plain ceiling at a reasonable height above the windows, sprang an arch a considerable height, carried it all around the edifice, as if contriving how best to tempt the voice to vagrancy, and suspended thereon a strip of common ceiling, affording a pretty play-ground' for the voice to excursionize before doing the work in the ears and consciences of the hearers. "A preacher careless of effects. - indifferent as to immediate results, not laboring for a revival, not anxious, not expecting sinners to be instantly awakened and converted under his ministry - may exhibit his talents in such places, with some satisfaction to himself, and to others, perhaps, of like mind. But he who has been groaning, weeping and agonizing, in secret places, for the conversion of sinners, will be made to feel there is an enemy overhead, bad as the devil and human depravity. Nor will he preach long there without becoming shorn of his strength. "For my part, I avoid such churches for revival efforts, if notified beforehand. I have had souls given me within their walls, but with a will at fearful strife with things, and at a great expense of physical and intellectual strength. "And now, sir, I have given you the result of several years' observation on both sides of the Atlantic. Please read this reply to the members of your Building Committee.' "There is not one item in the above catalogue of defects which has not cost me sorrow or defeat, in one place or other, the last score of years. To such things, sir, rather than diabolical agency or human resistance, have I traced many a hard time,' which has sent me to my room to groan the night away! "I have written this letter in great haste, without time to prune or polish sentences, as I have preached twice to-day, — and, for that matter, ten times a week the last seven months. But you may gather some cautions' from the above facts, - facts they are, and mournful defects, from which I pray God to deliver all ministers who are toiling day and night for the conversion of sinners. The work of God is advancing here in glorious majesty. "With affectionate regards to yourself and family, I am, dear sir, Yours, in the bonds of the Gospel, "JAMES CAUGHEY. "P. S. The further you project your pulpit into the congregation, if the chapel be large, and you can afford it, the better. It is that advantage which renders the large Wesleyan chapels in England so easy to preach in. On that account, I have no objections to the orchestra behind the pulpit, if its front be a couple of feet higher than the preacher's head when standing; if lower than his head, it is injurious, as it divides and weakens the voice. Such an orchestra, besides, has this advantage: If the choir be disposed to whisper or read' music, they will not annoy the preacher by seeing them, nor he offend them by reproving. J. O." Mr. Caughey, in a letter to us dated London, C. W., Feb. 3d, 1855, adds: 6 ་ "The Wesleyan Methodists in Quebec, L. C., have erected a large, noble and elegant Gothic church, at an expense of fifty-five thousand dollars, ay, and at a urther cost, not to be estimated by dollars and cents, or pounds, shillings and pence, the strength, voice and effectiveness, of their preacher, in attempting to fill waste and unoccupied space' spread around with surprising prodigality. "First of all, the CEILING, - to say nothing of the liberality of pew-room, and aisles roomy enough for an English cathedral, and the waste places' on the galleries, three or four cavern-like breaks for grand stairways,' which the voice is allowed to sound to the depths; and far in the distance,' where scores might stand, is an empty space in rear of the gallery sittings, as if designed to give importance to a prodigious Gothic window, like an area before some palace façade ; another tax upon the preacher's capabilities. But the ceiling! what shall I say of the ceiling? Imagine a succession of semi-hoops of a mammoth hogshead, plastered between tight as a drum, and bent to the altitudes, -a vast magnet to the voice, drawing it up and away from the audience, as the magnetic influence commands the direction of the needle in the mariner's compass- to say nothing of the devouring disposition of the vast space through which it has to travel and ascend before it receives a return action, and then to be waylaid and led into captivity by ruffian echoes, hardly noticeable, indeed, to the hearers, except in some loud key, but cruelly felt by the baffled preacher, especially if the church happen not to be well filled, an evil too frequent in large churches. But, if he set out to move the people, and raise his voice like a trumpet, he will find his match;' the voice will not go down with point and energy among the people, but reverberates and runs to and fro, a sound of words and sentences tripping upon sentences, void of the secret unction that moves and melts and wets the cheeks of an audience; at length he is forced to modulate and manage his voice as best he can, and be content to make them hear, and let feeling alone for this time. And so he hobbles on, restrained and embarrassed, to the close. So it was with me last winter, till my health gave way, and was confined to my room. When able to venture out again, a few friends had taken the matter in hand, and covered the well of the galleries with two large sails of a ship, lent for the occasion by Mr. Henderson. I stood in the altar and to fine audiences preached the word of life, until we had hundreds of souls converted and sanctified, an account of which you may one day meet in my printed journal." 6 Mr. C. adds: "I am now in London, C. W., preaching in a new and beautiful Gothic Wesleyan church, lately erected at a cost of thirty thousand dollars. But, alas! with an extravagance of space almost equal to that in Quebec. The ceiling, indeed, is somewhat dif ferent, reminding one of- pardon me, ye architects! a great flatbottomed scow, inverted, and poised to an extraordinary height,' the hold thereof' painted in imitation of oak, - an accomplished lightabsorbent, by the way, which, aided by galleries of like color, renders the house sombre and gloomy, although enlightened by one hundred gas-burners'! O, gentlemen of the Building Committee,' how much more lightsome and pleasant had been your temple, had 7ou draped it in modern, modest white,—and a saving on your gas-bill, withal! -a thing you might have readily anticipated by a little REFLECTION upon a similar talent more or less distributed among colors. "The same difficulty is felt here as in Quebec, as regards the unsteadiness and vagrancy of the voice; unless the church is perfectly filled, it seems like 'beating the air.' A minister remarked to me, the other evening, When I pray in that pulpit, it seems as if that vast vacancy above eats up my words.' Yes, and quite exhausts and disheartens before one is half through with prayer or sermon, especially if one desires to have power with God and with men,' and to prevail. -- Gen. 32: 28. The pulpit does not project into the audience, after the manner of the home Wesleyan pulpits,' and which afford the English preachers such a manifest power over their vast audiences, but is set back to the wall. The orchestra is, indeed, behind the pulpit, but in a recess built to the church, to which there is a vast Gothic opening in the wall behind the preacher's head. This recess is lofty, and vaulted like the main building, which, with the organ, seats fifty or sixty persons, another draft on the preacher's strength, in a wasteful and voice-dividing direction; and uselessly expended, for most of the choir leave it after singing, complaining that they cannot hear there. Directly opposite the pulpit, at the other end of the church, is a large Gothic window, and a wide, lofty, empty space to keep it company, - another demand upon the voice. 66 Now, all this inconsiderate tax upon a preacher's strength I consider simple folly,' — nay, sinful. O ye people of Canada! have mercy on your preachers! Betray not thus the cause of God! Weaken not, dishearten not, destroy not, the health and effectiveness of your ministers. Tempt them not thus, or the time may come when the twenty-five minutes' sermon' may be as rife in Methodist churches as in English and Continental cathedrals; the long-drawn aisles' and stately columns, and avenues of pillared shade,' vaulted like another sky, discipline the preacher to The clear harangue, and, cold as it is clear, "After preaching a few times in this church, and baffled and disheartened, I began to repent my visit; felt strongly inclined to retreat to some other town, where my labors might be more successful in winning sinners to Christ, without shattering my health as last winter. It was suggested that a sounding-board over the pulpit might relieve from the difficulty some, and has considerably. The error is regretted by the trustees, not only from the fact of having wasted a As thousand dollars upon this misconstructed ceiling, and which only a perverted taste could pronounce ornamental, but because it would require seven or eight hundred dollars to replace it with a proper ceiling. Perhaps, brother Wise, these remarks, going forth with the book, may be useful elsewhere, in this church-building age. the Methodist people grow rich, it is to be feared such-like vagaries in church architecture will be neither few nor far between, the eye will be more consulted than the ear, when pulpit effectiveness must give way to architectural appearances,· -a fact which has contributed largely to the heartless preaching which prevails in English and Continental cathedrals. One has only to listen to a sermon in one of them to be convinced of the truth of the remark. when A "But to return to my subject. To add to the disagreeableness of the place, no ventilation could be had from a single window; the design' of the architect forbade such a vulgarism! Gothic throughout, every window was as solid as lead and glass could make it. little fresh air might be coaxed in by the doors and through some auger-like perforations in a few small pendants in the ceiling; fresh air from the attic! —foul air, ascending there, cooling, and accumulating, to be returned and re-breathed again, unpurged of its noxious qualities, - and so in process continued. "The large lecture-room below was in a similar fix.' After holding meetings a week or two, the air became intolerable, and I protested. So the architect had his design' marred by determined men, who cut a passage to the pure air through his majestic Gothic windows,' and fifteen hundred people may now breathe comfortably, and hear the word with profit. 66 They have also kindly closed in' the space in front of the large window, leaving an outline thereof upon the cloth screen. This alteration, with a sounding-board of extraordinary dimensions, has lessened the difficulty considerably. Nevertheless, it is still an exhausting place to the speaker, and will so continue while the lofty curse hangs overhead, and the cavern-like orchestra, as it is, behind. "However, the Lord has poured out his Holy Spirit upon us the last few weeks, and hundreds of souls have been converted, and scores of believers sanctified. But, O, how exhausting and wearying is this effort! Affectionately in Jesus, thy Lord and mine, "JAMES CAUGHEY. "London, C. W., Feb. 3, 1855.” |