PRESS AND PULPIT.

Tuapeka Times, Volume XVIII, Issue 1142, 6 May 1885, Page 3

PRESS AND PULPIT.

On a recent Sunday, the Rev. Dr Gordon, incumbent of St. Andrew's Episcopal Chapel, Glasgow, delivered a lecture in his church on " Bible-dancing, the Stage, and Amusements." There was a good attendance. The rev, doctor took for his text the first and fourth verses of the third chapter of Ecclesiastes— "To everything there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven ; a time to weep and a time to laugh, a time to mourn and a time to dance." He said that for several years he had devoted an evening to the consideration of the question of the drama, the stage, and public amusements. He did not act upon hearsay nor upon what he read in the newspapers, but he visited the theatres personally and saw for himself. In that city there were many thousands at liberty and at large every evening. Many of them had poor homes, and they must go somewhere ; and the question to be solved was, What was to be done with this large class? In places of amusement he had heard songs coarse and low, which brought down the thunders of the " gods," and he. had to endure smutty jokes, not the least clever ; bat there was one thing he was gratified to notice, and that was that from the stage he had not heard God's name taken in vain once, but he had heard the devil's name often taken in vain. — (Laughter.) He thought that "what the devil" wa&a foolish expression, which had no meaning, and the bad taste lay with the' uneducated public who applauded such clap-trap phrases, while they received superior singing and acting

with ftyt indifference. Alluding to the subject of dancing, Dr Gordon said he would rather see the children in our elementary schools taught the art of dancing than that military drill which they were now taught in the way of calisthenics. He went in for the art of peace rather than for the art of war. More than once in the Psalms we were told to praise God and dance, and the text he had chosen declared that there was a time to mourn and a time to dance. We were also told that the great King David danced before the Ark of the Covenant with all his might, attired in an ephod. This ephod was something similar to a piece of fine linen wound round the body several times— not a very graceful piece of dress to dance in. They would find pictures of David, kilted up in full Highland costume, " heochine " with all his might and main.^--fLaughter.) He then took up and criticised a lecture delivered by Dr Wm. Adamson, of Edinburgh, in which that gentleman inveighed against theatres and theatregoing. He said that Dr Adamson found fault with the exhibition of the photographs of actresses in shop-windows, but for himself, when he was taking a walk along Sauchiehall-st.heseldom passed those windows without taking a good scan, and he went on his way rejoicing, not any the worse but rather the better. — (Laughter.) As an argument against the stage, Dr Adamson had pointed out that actors did not rise to the position of statesmen, or provosts, or bailies, or town councillors. He (Dr Gordon) humbly thought that this was a very sorry proof,- if they might judge by the newspaper reports, or their own local municipal council. Infinitely superior was the status of a good actor to i that of some of their vulgar town ! councillors, who were a disgrace to the city by their undignified tomfooleries. If these were the salt of the earth, he would like to know where was the mustard. — (Laughter.)