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    June 30, I860.] The Leader and Saturday ...

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    PAROCHIAL DISSENSIONS. SPHERE is nothing...

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    The Hearth And Its Heroisms. It Has Been...

    happiness Poor misguided individuals can find it nowhere , though theV # o far afield for it , into foreign places , venturing " even unto ' the uttermost parts of the earth , " as the Orientals phrase it - because happiness inhabits no place * but is a state of mind which , if a man find , he must find it in himself . A certain wilfulness is / after : all . an essential element of heroism . A man must have a way of his own , and a determination to have it at ' all risks . An example of this , we have been accustomed to recognise in our acquaintance , DEMETEitts . The education of modern times greatly increases the class to whinh he belongsthe race of individuals who live by their wits . We remember the time when a man who was reported to be living- by his wits

    was the horror of decent shopkeepers ; nay , they would identify him without previous report . They would know him by his exterior deportment , his personal advantages— -which he was at pains to display , his style of dress—which was as carefully selected as a woman ' s , and his clever conversation ; , suspected in the same proportion in which it was attractive . Here was a man made up evidently for sale—an adventurer , with no particular pursuit , but ready for any that did not involve hard work , and might be accomplished , with a moderate amount of " brain in the hand , " as a modem sace has defined " cleverness" to be . Fifty years ago the trader would look on such a person with dread , and general society with contempt . Intellect , however , even in , . this low form of it , is now-a-davs respectable ; and its possessor may make a fair start in

    life . But still it is surrounded with dangers ; the chief of which is the necessity-of taking- the initiative at every step . Demetrius had no recognised occupation , and had to make his work before his work could made him . His task was to do just what he liked , and compel others to pay for it , whether they liked it or not . Imagine a penniless man rising- in the mornimr . with his task before him ; and then think of the heroism required to support the position . Imagine such a man with a wife and family dependent on his exertions under such conditions , and the case of Demetkitts may be then faintly conceived . But hehad the necessary will , and resolved to succeed—and did . To bis credit , be it saidj that he likewise resolved to be honest , and also succeeded in being- that , notwithstanding- serious obstacles and

    pressing-teniptations . His prosperity , therefore , was placed on a solid basis . Honest and diligent by the streilgth of will and the force of conscience , DEME * raitrs commenced _ every ^ norning with the faith that the proper labour of the day" and its remuneTation would be provided . It was in perfect sincerity that he demanded work , and , an if by a speM , it came —not always ,- however . -befoifi hope was well-nigh exhausted , and the despair of the evening foreshadowed only to-, morrow's trouble . On these occasions DE 3 fjethitts rose with the urgency , and sometimes became positively magnanimous . An inherent greatness shone out of the man ; and an energy that , was indomitable revealed itself . To detail the circumstances and plans by which his life was marked , would be to write a romance that might make three interesting- volumes—a task not to be attempted here . Suffice it if the sketch of the character be intelligible , and the heroism implied in it readily appreciable ; the reader ' s fancy may easily snpplv enough of probable incident to serve the pur-¦

    pose of illustration . . '• . To have a way of one ' s own , and to make it respected , is the main secret of the heroic elTarWtWTiris ^ heTTTttrc ^ will . If genius be properly defined , as we have seen it defined , " a strong will determined in a certain direction , " something- like genius may be predicated of such character . An amount of native aptitude is indispensable ; a degree of capacity is required , without which the impulse to the character would be wanting-. It must be set going- ; and we should seek for the motive-spring- rather in nature than in education . It would be hard to teach a man heroism ; nature truly generates heroes , offspring ' , like the ancient Titans , both

    of heaven and earth . Heroes are like poets in this respect . But , as Ben Jonson says even of Shakespeare 'himself , " a good poet's made as well as born . " Precept and example are good both for the bard and the brave , and both may be considerably improved by cultivation . What they are in the rough is one thing ; what they are when made good , or better , is another . Not in vain , therefore , will tlie matter have been discussed , if it lead to reflection nnd assiduous endeavour after a complete development . The whole difference between the lowest aptitude and the highest genius is ^ the result of conscious efforts , by which mere instinct is converted into intelligent art .

    Before concluding this paper , it is expedient to gunrd against an abuse of the principle thut would find the heroic in the familiar which has grown into modern literature . That species of romance and drama which seeks its heroes among the criminal population is to bo avoided . It degrades the heroie without elevating the individuals or classes to whom it is applied . It is an offence to decency , to morality , nnd an outrage on the manners of the ape . The authors of these works have sometimes been influenced by feelings of benevolence . They have regarded the " Kcniups" of feelings of benevolence . They have regarded the " scamps of

    society as . ilia ci-entures of the society ^ wliichthey iiifestod ; and their desire has been to implicate society in their crimes , that it might be shamed info a more merciful consideration of the outcasts that it hud produced . The effect , however , cannot hnvo fulfilled the expectation of the writers . It has confounded distinctions , browbeating respectability without reforming rascaldom . It goen far to destroy the faith in virtue , nnd reduce it and vice to the same level . Wo breathe < m atmosphoro of liypocriay and cunning ; and all that is noble in our being is discouraged . The moral ol fluoh works is nn apology for theft and violence , and no doubfc iuducoa criminality . The heroism of the prison und the gallows

    is not the true heroism . This , for the most part * resides with those who would preserve a good name with adequate means ;—the patient and industrious middle-class , who are frequently poor , and dare not . appear to be so . Among them may the fiotionist profitably seek for genuine examples of the Heroism of the Hearth .

    June 30, I860.] The Leader And Saturday ...

    June 30 , I 860 . ] The Leader and Saturday Analyst . 611

    Parochial Dissensions. Sphere Is Nothing...

    PAROCHIAL DISSENSIONS . SPHERE is nothing so hot as religious zeal ; and it is both natural - " ¦ and logical that it should be so . A man ' s faith , the sheet anchor of his eternal hopes , should be of all things dearest to his heart . When he is a truly earnest man it will be so . He will suffer anything for his creed . In proportion to his nerve , or his physical Vigour , he will patiently undergo martyrdom , or die fighting for the cause . Nothing will so keenly hurt his feelings , or so quickly sting- him into passion , as a desecration of what he regards as sacred and holy . In such a cause he feels himself thrice armed in the possession of an approving- conscience . It is necessary to have a clear apprehension of these mainsprings of action , in order properly to appreciate the character of the religious-war which has rag-ed so long- and so fiercely in the parish of St . Georg-e '

    s-in-the-East . When Sunday after Sunday we hear of the riots whicli take place in St . George ' s Church , of the interruptions to the service , of the hisses which greet the clergyman , and of the struggles to dispossess the choristers of their seats , we sire apt to regard the proceeding's simply as an ebullition of low ruffianism , instigated only by a love of mischief . If , however , we look at the matter calmly , by the light which recent judicial investigations have thrown upon it , it will be found that this war is really a religious one—a war of feeling- — -a contest in which the ruffismism exhibited is the result of a strong sense of duty however mistaken , on the one hand , and exasperated zeal oil the other . A -great-many charges for assaults committed in the church have been -investigated before the magistrates , but in very few cases has it been shown that the disturbances

    have been created by persons who have had no feeling-in the matter . It is true that ' . a madman' and a few thoughtless boys have at times assisted in the disturbances , as it is the disposition of madmen and boys to do on all occasions ; but < in the . iii ' a-i . , the riots have been practically the audible protest of the congregation against the ceremonies introduced into the service . The best proof of tins is to be found in the fact that , on several of the most riotous Sundays , the congregation behaved with the greatest decency arid . propriety ,. so long as-the clergyman abstained trojn the practices of ultra-Puseyism . It was not until he intoned -sortie part of the -service , or bowed towards the East , or exhibited the cross upon his back , that they vented expressions of disapprobation . The dispute being narrowed to this simple issue , it just comes to this : that if the Rev . Bkyan King would cease to intone the service , discontinue his ¦ " genuflexions , preach in a black gown , and leave the altar undecorated , the disturbances in his church would immediately cease . ' ' . ¦ ' ' . ¦ ¦ . ; . ¦ . ¦ . ' .., '¦ - , »; It is , however , in vain to hope for concession on either side . Mr . King has had ample opportunity of ascertaining- the feeling of his congregation . He has seen that their riotousconduct has been in proportion to the provocation offered ; and he must ere this have t-arisfied himself that he has only to disi-ontiimo his'objectionable practices to restore peace . But iuMtendTTil ^ ffeniigconcifijiTiun , ne"has proceedtrd to increase the irritation by pushing his peculiar ceremonies to the very extreme ... We should be utterly wanting in-charity , and equally wanting in the capability to appreciate moral courage and conscientious resolution ,. if we were . to . ascribe , these exhibitions to pure obstinacy and dogged opposition . We see no reason to deny either to Mr . King or his congregation the merit of . sincerity and conviction in this matter . Nor are wo prepared to say thut the Rubric dots not sanction all which Mr . King has done . We may , on the one hand , wonder at the creed which regards show and ceremony as essential to Divine service , —or pity , on the other , the unpoetic ' al natures which see harm in a cross or a-bouquet of flowers . But such being the position of affairs , there is but one solution of the difficulty , and neither Mr . King nor his parishioners will have made the least sacrifice for the cause which they respectively uphold until they adopt this final and deceive course . It is either for Mr . King to retire from the position of pastor to a flock which rejects his ministrations ,, " or for his flock to gather themselves into the fold of some other shepherd . Englishmen who feel uncomfortable in the bosom of their Church have the example of Scotland before them . The Free Church , established in that country in the year 1843 , was tho immediate result of mi isolated dispute exactly similar to that which is now raging in Cannon Street . In Scotland it was not a question of doctrine or ol' ritual , but of patronage , which interfered with the free choice of the people . In the celebrated Auchterurder case , tho Heritor endeavoured to force an oljectiounble pastor upon the parishioners . They began by Hooking to the church to protest , as the parishioners of St . George's have protested , hv hooting , lHS 8 Tnif ; 'Md : TiiTerruptlan « K-. : 8 iielrwnK ; tlTeir-fury a ^ int » t-th » --iuiiii » Ujr who bad been forced upon them , Umt it . required u detachment ot soldiers to overawe them and keep the peace on the day of Ins induction . . Oii that very day the banner of revolution was unfurled in the Scottish Chinch * The battle ugiiiutit patronage was juiiglst hard in tlio Court of Session und in the Imperial Parliament , ju « t as the battle nuainst what is called PuseyjHiii has been loiitf lit in tlio EcclcHiaHlicul Courts hero ; but in tho end , when the bcoltiHh iionintrusionmts , us they were called , could obtain no rehel , they toote tho only muuly and straightforward course open to them—tney

• Citation
  • Leader (1850-1860), June 30, 1860, page 11, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse-os.kdl.kcl.ac.uk/periodicals/l/issues/cld_30061860/page/11/