The Rev. Charles Clark ON Secular Accounts of Revivals.

Auckland Star, Volume VI, Issue 1625, 30 April 1875, Page 3

The Rev. Charles Clark ON Secular Accounts of Revivals.

In its notices of tho3e peculiar phases o religious feeling and activity familarily styled '_' revivals," the secular press baa frequently to take exception to the manner in which their promoters have seen fit to conduct them.

Churches or public halls are secured by sensational preachers, and adresses of an inflammatory character have been delivered, interspersed with spasmodic supplication and singing, the manifest intention being to excite the emotions of the the -crowds to whom such scenes present the charms of novelty. .That real and abiding good has been the issue of "protracted meetings" we do not wish to deny, for doubtless the majority of men in respect of their inward life are like vessels aground in a shallow river,, and need an occasional freshet of religious emotion to sweep them into an active and prosperous current of thought and life., My intention is simply to point out that the .lasses of persons most in need of a springtide of spiritual fervour to lift them from the sand-banks where they lie sinking" into remediless decay are precisely those whom, the ordinary machinery of a " revival" fails to reach.

Those who voluntarily go to a meeting for prayer and preaching, may surely be credited with some desire for personal bettering, and are proportionally easy to deal with ; but those upon whom the ban of society is placed, and also are vanished from the company of the morally pure, as the leper is isolated from healthy men, are seldom made the objects of any intelligent and well-organized effort for their|reclamation. The feasibility of such effort has been suggested to us by the following descriptions of the labours of Mr Hammand and others in connection with the "great rivival" now proceeding in San Francisco. :—•

Rev Dr Hammond, having received a note from a house of ill-repute in this city, desiring him to call and hold a prayer meeting, Rev. Drs. Sawtelle and Mr. Noble, Bro. Hall, one of the pious employees of the Call-Bulletin, commonly known as "Old Hall," and aboutja dozfen Christian women, headed by Mr. Hammond, sought the locality yesterday afternoon. A ring at the door brought a Chinaman, who ushered the party into the parlours, which were very handsomely furnished. The mistress of the house soon made her appearance, and received her guests with dignity and courtesy, though she stated that they were not expected till the next afternoon. She was dressed in a white cotton skirt with a long train,, which was Elaborately flounced and a white muslin polonaise highly ruffled. Her long yellow hair I was put back from her face by a jewelled pin, allowing the locks to flow nearly to her waist, and her fingers were ornamented with valuable rings. As the visit was unexpected,only two of her' boarders were at home. They entered dressed "in parti-Coloured wrappers, striped hose and slippers. ; Mrs. Hammond presided at the pianoforte'arid led the singing of a number of hymns, while Brother Hammond, Mr. Noble, and one of the sisters, talked with the inm4tes. -The mistressof the house, an Englishwoman, answered to the plea of Mr. Ham- _ moptl" for' reformation," that,, it was of ho' us& ; f?WihenJwomahJJfallsl" iffit added,-"there is no chance: -.v Men cah lead-any Jkind Of lives afad Jbe'receiyed .into' socie'tjr.;" butJ who, would

marry me, or even recognise me ?" Mr. Hammond said that Jesus stood ready to forgive the repentant, and she replied : "We harm no one. We commit but the one sin. We try to do all the good we can, to help the unfortunate, and to live good lives, except in one respect. Jesus forgave the woman taken in adultery, and I am not afraid but that lie will forgive me." She then spoke of the trial of Beecher, giving her opinion that he was guilty, and ! added : " When I kept a house in New York a minister visited it regularly." Mr. Hammond took a position between the rooms and made an address to the women, urging them tenderly and gently to reform. He told of instances which had come under his observation, where fallen woman had become converted, and led pious lives—particularly of one Mho had been cared for by a rich woman, and had repaid her benefactor by being the means of converting her only daughter. He also spoke of " Laura Bell," who once kept a house of ill-fame in London, lout reformed and married a man worth 75,000 dols., and became a preacher of the Gospel, saving thousands. Prayers were then made lay Revs. Hammond, Noble, and Sawtelle, and then the music and conversation were resumed. In answer to tlie question whether she would like to lead a different life if she could have a chance, the mistress said she did not care to leave her business at present. She expected to go to England in a year and would then return to her family. One of the girls, who was so much' powdered that her pallor was deathlike, said that though but 18 years old she had seen a good deal of trouble. Left an orphan at the age of 5 years, she had tried to get a living as a milliner, but after many ineffectual efforts she had succumbed to the tempter. She preferred her present mode of life to work. The other, who had beautiful black eyes, was a native of the South. She had left her. home with a man who promised to marry her. He broke his word and she had drifted into present occupation. She would like to reform, and she gave the address of her brothers in tlie South to onejpf the ladies, who promised to write to tha^&nd ask them if they had a home for their sister.

When the party prepared to leave the house, after a visit of an hour and a half, they found the alley in which the house was situated crammed" with men, and as the ladies stepped out of the door they were saluted with jeers and hooting. Many of tlie men were well dressed. Some of them followed Mr. Hammond to the doors of the Young Men's Christian Association building, and he stood upon the steps and addressed them.

Here is a plain story of earnest and practical woik. I commend it to the clergy of this city and all others who are interested in the solution of that most difficult of problems, the reclamation of the degraded and dangerous classes of the community. While I would deprecate any attempt to create a fictitious excitement or manufacture a religious moral in the fashion in which many people seem to.think orthodox, I earnestly commend to the thoughtful consideration of all who have at heart the moral welfare of their neighbours, this simple and practical method of giving effect to the mission of Him who said "The Son of Man is come to seek and to save that which was lost."

Charles Clark.

Auckland, April 30, 1575,