ROMANCE IN THE PULPIT. EXTRAORDINARY SERMON AT OLDS.

Southland Times, Issue 989, 20 July 1868, Page 2

ROMANCE IN THE PULPIT. EXTRAORDINARY SERMON AT OLDS.

WINFORD. (From the ' Birminghmn Post.') The public announcement that a sermon, on the occasion, of his second marriage, would be preached in Oldswinford Churoh by the Rev C. H. Craufurd, has, during the last week or so, caused a great deal of gossip in the neighborhood of Stourbridge. The church, on Sunday morning, was open an hour before the time for the commencement of the service, and people began to assemble even at that unusual hour. Ere long they swarmed in in large numbers, and every part of the church was crowded. The rector took as his text, Ist Cor., 4th chapter, 3rd verse, " "With me it is a very small thing that I should be judged of you or of man's judgment." The conclusion to which he was led, so far as concerned his recent marriage with one of plebeian birth, and the superintendent of his domestic establishment, was, that they had no right to judge her or him. If they did so, to be judged of them ought to be, and most assuredly would be, a very small thing. But nevertheless, to avoid all reasonable cause of offence, and to justify in their sight — unless their mental opthalmia was utterly irremediable — what was incongruous, he should, in consequence of Ms connection with them as their rector, afford them some explanation. Though it might appear to some egotistic, he began by telling them more particularly who by birth and connection he was. He was the eldest son of a soldier second to the great Duke alone. He was the friend of Queensbery,ofG-ranville,ofWind" ham, and of Moore. He was the friend and most intimate associate of the father of our present Queen, and in his youth was an object of favorable regard to the heroic Frederick of Prusia. The gallant Marquis of Londonderry loved him as a brother, and he followed him heart-broken to the grave. He was inferior in opportunity alone to Nelson, Abercrombie, and Moore. Such was his gallant father. As regarded his ancestry, he would only say it was not unconnected with the. heroic Wallace, and that he was at least, collaterally allied to, if not descended; from, the lords of Craufurd, who ruled their broad domains in all the majesty of.' feudal state for centuries before the many mushrooms who swarmed at the presentday had sprouted from their native dunghill. He woul(hmTtrtrotrtrie^hem--wi<sfe-»nr account of his mother's good but less illustrious family. Before he attained his highest elevation an offer of marriagewas made to one of that family by theEmperor of the .French, and by herrejected. Mr Craufurd then detailed the aristocratic alliances ,of his uncle, SirJames Craufurd, his cousins, Colonel Alexander Craufurd and Sir George, Craufurd; and his honored uncle, who supplied to him a father's place, Lieut.General Sir Charles Craufurd, whose wife was a daughter of the EarL of Harrington, and widow of the--Duke of Newcastle. Such was: the sort of alliance which, in point of birth and connection, he might have fairly expected, and when a man in that parish had the effrontery to aspire to the hand of one of his daughters, though he had never spoken a irord to her in his life^ the highest lady in the land could not haye been more astonished and indignant when he told her of the insult she had received, and he felt his insolence could not have been greater if he had demanded the daughter of a Duke. It was partly to save them from the repetition of the insult that he permitted them to fix their residence elsewhere. A woman who married beneath her station fell to her husband's level, and was disgraced for ever, with scarcely an exception. With such a woman (continued Mr Craufurd) it had been his will and pleasure to form an alliance— an alliance little more in accordance with his rank— and he was sure his wife would pardon him in saying it— than was that which occurred when King Cophetua espoused the beggar girl. From anyone who presumed to reproach him with his wife's lowly parentage he could endure the taunt, and his only retort would be to enquire, " Who was your grandfather?" Having, then, no choice to him appreciating in rank, and utterly despising money, he had chosen one whose goodness, whose kindness of heart, whose love only disinterested, whose simple piety, were incomparablymore to him than her birth. But she was not only not of high birth, she was not highly educated. Putting aside Stael and Somerville, and others, what were the average accomplishments and learning of ladies ? They could make drawings, which to pass muster their master must retouch ; they could play a little, sing a little, and dance considerably. They were deeply read in novels, and superficially, perhaps, in some other things. They could write, and perhaps speak a little French, and less German or Italian. That his wife was deficient in these respects was not their los 3, and, therefore, concerned them not. As for himself, he cared little for drawing or music, except the finest; and the finest was always to be had for money. And as to languages — to express himself in a familiar parlance — one tongue was sufficient. If they heard any inaccuracies in his wife's language, he would ask if their language was always strictly accurate ? Those who thought proper to ridicule his wife for inaccuracies he would remind them that

their tenements were constructed of a material largely manufactured in that neighborhood — certainly not iron — and to such persons the throwing of stones was dangerous. Mr Craufurd tersely illustrated this by a list of expressions used in the district, exposing particularly the abuse of the letter " h." But, further, his wife might possibly be something at a loss with regard to the little conventionalities of society. He could not, however, suppose his neighbors were so brutally deficient in good breeding, and so utterly unchristian in such a trivial matter, as to expose her to ridicule ; and, secondly, by reason of his infirmities, his studious habits, and his numerous avocations, and her quiet, domestic nature, they had resolved to lead a life of almost complete seclusion, devoting themselves to their improvement, to the duties of their station, and the preparation of their souls for heaven. The benediction was then pronounced, and the congregation dispersed.

Friday July 17. Whisky, 67 gals £40 2 10 Geneva, 30 gals 18 3 9 Old Tom, 8 gals 419 9 Sugar, 1838 lbs 45 3 2 Timber 20 17 6 Leather 2 2 0 Drapery 0 17 0 Sundries 13 17 1 £146 3 1 Saturday, July 18. j Whisky, 33 gals £20 4 5 Tea, 120 lbs 3 0 0 Sundries 0 19 3 £_4 3 8