that the usage has been derived, of blowing the nose at each division of the sermon. A preacher, in speaking of the dissoluteness of the priests, cried out"O poor city (the church,) deplorable Sion! how wretchedly art thou guarded! How cowardly and maimed is thy garrison! Thou art defended by a soldiery, who know not how to ply the sabre of justice, nor the sword of virtue, nor the blunderbuss of faith, nor the rifle of hope, nor the musquet of charity, nor the hammer of tribulation, nor the scissors of penitence, nor the broom of confession.' A Cordelier, preaching on the festival of St. Nicholas in a village, drew a parallel between that great saint and the virgin. Among other things, he said, 'She was chaste; he was pure. Let us cut off his beard. We shall then have him an entire virgin.' They still recollect in Paris the witticisms, and comic taste of little father Andrew, a famous preacher of the last century, and a monk of the convent of Augustine fathers at Paris. He was a man of extremely holy life and great austerity of manners; but of an eloquence sometimes rather ridiculous, as would seem from the following specimens. A bishop had called him the little lantern. Preaching in presence of that prelate, he avenged himself in this way. His text was 'vos estis lux mundi,' ye are the light of the world. My lord,' said he, addressing the bishop, 'you are the great lantern of the church, but for us, pauvres diables, we are only little farthing rush lights.' He was one day in his sermon, when queen Anne of Austria entered the church. The ceremonial of the time was, on the coming in of such a personage, to begin the sermon anew. "Welcome, madam;' said he, 'we will not put the great pot on to the fire;' and he continued his discourse without resuming it from the beginning. He once preached before a bishop, and the prelate fell fast asleep. Father Andrew said to the Sexton of the church, 'close the doors; the shepherd is asleep; the sheep will be off. To whom, then, shall I preach the word of the Lord?" He had been notified to announce a contribution, to make up a portion for a young lady, who wished to take the veil. He gave out, before com. mencing the sermon, 'brethren, we commend this day to your charity a young lady, who lacks sufficient money, with which to take the vow of poverty.' He had preached lent in a city, where no person had invited him to dinHe said in his adieu, 'I have preached against all the vices, except good cheer; for I know not how they here treat that matter.' ner. He preached in a convent, and wished to excite charity in his audience towards the religious. 'I propose to you,' he said, 'a strong motive. The lightning of heaven fell upon their house. But, thanks to the Omnipotent, the thunder-stroke took the library, where there was not an individual. Ah! if par malheur, it had fallen on the larder, they would all have perished.' One day, pouring forth bitter denunciations against libertines, he closed his climax with vehemence; 'you flatter yourselves, wretched sinners, that at the hour of death a convenient peccavi, (I have sinned) will settle every thing. Stupid souls! you deceive yourselves. You will only have time to utter pec (pickled herring) without the chance of adding-cavi; and there is a soul friccasseed in a fashion, that I have no taste for describing.' Ar the close of our third volume, we return our cordial thanks to our generous patrons, and inform them, that this work will henceforward be continued in a quarterly form-the first number to issue in September. We have long experienced the inconvenience of a monthly periodical. The trouble is great. The necessary limit of the articles cramps scope and freedom. The labor that ought to have told on the subject, is spent in efforts to condense it. We can enjoy neither the colloquial freedom of a newspaper, nor the grave consideration and deference exacted by a quarterly. These, among many other considerations, have induced us to make one further appeal to the good feeling of the Western people. We hope they will award, that we shall not be compelled, as heretofore, to contend merely for the honor of the flag, without fee or reward. As we have been paid, the W. M. Review has as yet hardly supported itself. We shall strive, that our work shall contain as much matter, and be as well executed, as the three other quarterlies-and be delivered free of postage for the same price, to wit, five dollars per annum. As regards the capability of the conductor of this work, it would be both superfluous and improper to speak. We have a degree of pride in relation to the west, which, we hope, will excite us to redoubled exertions, that it may sustain an honorable competition with the other quarterlies. We think, that we have a clear estimate of the arduous character of our enterprize, and are prepared accordingly. We flatter ourselves that we shall be aided by the hearty co-operation of a few ripe scholars. Our articles will be of course more extended and scientific. We intend them, also, to be more miscellaneous, and less restricted to the form of simple review, than those of the other quarterlies. But after all that we could say on this occasion, the public would still test us by the actual inspection of our work. We assume one degree of merit, deserving it or not, that we have never yet fallen short of our promise, in appearing before the public. Our labors so far have availed us nothing. If the western people shall continue to say by their patronage, that we have deserved nothing at their hands, we are well aware, that repining and complaint, if we were disposed to indulge them, would fall innoxious and unappropriated upon the increasing millions, that spread from Pittsburgh towards the western sea. We have learned to endure patiently those evils, which no exertions can remedy. We once more solicit the active interference of those friends, who have so often cheered us with their encouraging voice. All our present subscribers, who do not write us a discontinuance, will be considered as subscribers to the work. TERMS-It will be published in Cincinnati, quarterly, in two volumes a year, comprising at least 1000 pages. The work will be forwarded to subscribers, who enclose five dollars by the mail in advance without postage. To those who desire it, and warrant the conveyance and pay the postage, it will be sent by mail. Any person subscribing for five copies will receive a sixth gratis. Communications are to be directed to E. H. FLINT, publisher, No. 158, Main street, Cincinnati. Cincinnati, June, 1830. |