tion of the intellectual powers, and which induces the mind to look complacently upon that which is not truth, must be evil. Truth is the only faithful can feed. God has made it so. pleasant in their showing, must and deleterious in their effects. habit of reading novels.

element upon which mind All else therefore, however be deceptive in their nature Such, for instance, is the fatal Like alcohol, which, taken into the system, will invade the channels of the blood, and if persisted in, will finally take possession of them altogether, casting out the healthful current and producing delirium tremens. So of the mind. The specious virus will work through every gate and alley of the intellectual and moral nature until the individual becomes thoroughly changed, literally a new creature, not in Christ Jesus, but formed in the image of a fallen angel. Popular amusements conduct to this effect, and therefore are not only contraband by the law of God, but highly injurious to those who indulge them. As we must narrow down our remarks, and confine them to specific points, we will here issue our "pronunciamento" and proscription. Our charge embraces the theatre, the circus, the concert, as it is falsely called, and the ball room. Against these the purity of moral nature rises up, to say nothing of Christian principle, and accuses, that they, in connexion with some other things, inevitably lead the moral and intellectual nature of the devotee into that same unnatural and hopeless condition in which alcohol plunges the physical. The effect is to create unrealities; to transform sober men and women into fantastics; to surround them with an ideal atmosphere, and make them the creatures of an ideal world of romance. These things, indulged in to any considerable extent, produce this inevitable effect; and those who are not poisoned and rendered unfit for all the sober purposes of honest life, especially the young, will be found to form the exception, and not the rule. A moral mania is the common result which leads the young gentleman to deem it honorable to sport the revolver, the poinard, or the stiletto, and the young lady to elope from her parents for the sake of the romance of the act. And both, more than

all, to forget God, though they may have been born in the church, and pillowed upon the Bible. And yet, Christian parents sometimes permit their children to visit such scenes; nay do they not occasionally go themselves? And have not even ministers of the gospel graced the "front row?" shame where is thy blush?"

In reference to the theatre, which by common consent is the most rational, and occupies the first place in the list of profane amusements, but little good and much of evil may be said to mingle in its composition; and because of the preponderance of evil in the scale, there are but few instances in which the good is not overcome and made to "kick the beam;" for the prevailing leaven of sin, like that of grace, is mostly apt, in the end, to "leaven the whole lump." In reference to its relative good, the case may be illustrated with Gratianio's "reasons," one of its own characters, which were said to be "like two grains of wheat hid in a bushel of chaff. You shall hunt for them all the day ere you find them, and when you have found them they are not worth the search." The strongest argument that has ever been made in favor of the theatre, is the magnificence and true greatness of its literature. This, with a qualification which we shall make hereafter, we cheerfully accord; for in thousands of instances, it does, indeed, "as it were, hold the mirror up to nature." But this is not sufficient to plead its justification and sustain its structure. The literature of the drama is not dependent upon the theatre, but will live when the stage is forgotten. It is true the advocates of the active drama call to their aid the great shades of Shakspeare, Otway, Massinger, and others, which at their bidding, like

Spirits from the vasty deep,"

gather in defence around the "Temple of the muses." And there, a solemn band, they would fain, with their great genius and intellect, though part and parcel of the dark ages, protect it from the certain ruin which moral anathema is about to hurl against it. But this cannot be. Lucifer could not re

tain his heaven with all the help of these appliances, notwithstanding he was the "son of the morning," and the mightiest of created ones; for a necessary ingredient was lacking; truth was not there; so neither can these uphold their ideal world. Its literature, with all its excellence and talent, is unsanctified, and by consequence, cannot serve as a competent support to keep it from falling. Like the pillars in the temple of Dagon, the Samson of truth and virtue is leaning already against the tall columns of the theatre, and sooner or later it must perish. But with all the genius and talent displayed in the literature of the stage, there is a rotten spot in it, after all, which reaches to its heart. It is this; it is exceedingly defective in its morals. Hence it is dangerous as a rational amusement. Corrupt even as the theatre is, it has a blush left for the moral prostitution contained in some of its best literary productions, which ever mantles upon its face, when they are presented in the bill. So gross are many of the scenes in the greatest works of the masters, that they dare not attempt to exhibit them, unmodified, upon the stage of the present day. But he who sees the acted play, naturally desires its perusal also; when he finds, as in the immodest scenes of "Titus Andronicus," Pericles of Tyre, Othello, and others, that the literature of the stage, with all its claims, is as unchaste as it is brilliant; a gilded serpent, beautiful but full of death. Still, with Byron and others, as a literature, simply, it will live on, though doom be written upon the portals of its temple, and its pillared glory sink in oblivion. The argument therefore, as based upon the merit of theatrical literature, is specious and false. The whole literary tendency of the drama, as well as its associations, notwithstanding its advocates to the contrary, is evil, and only evil. They who have been connected with it know this to be true.

That there is a charm about it, to the unpracticed mind, is most certain, but it is the charm of the syren, which lures to destroy. It is eminently productive of the following evils, to those who attend its performances. It suspends, alienates, and sometimes utterly destroys those acute and delicate sensibili

ties of unsophisticated nature which, if cultured by grace, grow and mature into the lofty principles of virtue and honor. It corrodes and poisons the truthful emotions and feelings of the unpolluted heart, and creates a morbid appetite and insatiate desire for that "which is not bread." The very good which we allow the theatre to possess, is perhaps after all, the most dangerous property it possesses. The existence of an honest attribute in a system of dishonesty, renders that system doubly baneful and abhorrent from the fact, that such attribute is likely to operate as a false guide, and mislead the judgment in regard to the whole. The correct geography for instance, of the Waverly Novels, in thousands of cases, has caused to pass current also the false history and fictitious personages of the work. The polished literature of the stage, has somewhat the same effect. But it should not be forgotten, that the poison of the serpent is not less fatal because of the fascination with which its victim is decoyed, nor death by the basilisk less to be dreaded because it is conveyed in a charmed glance. The modern drama is properly an off-shoot from the past dark ages of Superstition, Knight-Errantry, Romanism, and Chivalry. To these the stage seemed a proper accompaniment which, amidst the darkness of ignorance, was made to some extent, an exponent of existent things. Hence Shakspeare makes one of his chief characters to say of the players, "they are the abstract and brief chronicles of the times." The theatre is doubtless very nearly allied to Rome, and may have been at some period exceedingly useful to the great hierarchy. It is certain that the paraphernalia of the play house, and the "tom-foolery" of the high altar bear an unmistakeable resemblance to each other. But the light of progress, in the present day, which has banished the darkness of heathenism, and robbed Olympus of its crown of Gods, has shown the tinsel of the play house to be an unworthy counterfeit, and its atmosphere, as highly dangerous to the principles of truth, honesty and virtue. Whatever is calculated in the remotest degree, either in its nature or association, to blunt the acute sensibilities of the strictly moral and virtuous mind, and cause it

to become insensible and callous to the more elevated and refined principles of Christian obligation, intelligence, and godliness, must in the nature of things, be conducive to evil. That the theatre does this, to some extent at least, will not be denied, even by its own professors. Then does it occupy no necessary place in society, and they are guilty before God, who in any manner give it countenance, or support it.

“Fie on't, O fie! 'tis an unweeded garden

That grows to seed; things rank and gross in nature
Possess it merely."

Of the players, and their general character, we shall not speak in this essay, but leave that subject for another occasion. Their intercourse with society is so limited, with few exceptions, that they exert no personal influence, for either good or evil. In the general, they look upon themselves as cut off from society, and that the "procenium" which separates them from their audience, is also, to a large extent, the dividing line betwixt them and the world. That as a class, they suffer more than they should do, on account of the worthlessness of their institution, there can be no doubt. Though for the most part dissolute, they are almost universally generous, approachable, and kind; and if Christians and Christian ministers, instead of "passing by on the other side," would sometimes seek out these poor outcasts of community, many a "leper” might be cleansed; many a "prodigal" might be heard to say, "I will arise and go to my Father." But that this could not be done, by appearing among their patrons, and visiting their performances, is too obvious, to require an argument. The very appearance of a professor of religion, in the seats of the play house, would cause at once the responsive vibration of "hypocrite," in the the player's mind, which would render nugatory any influence he might seek to exert. But if sought personally, the case would be different. The associations of the theatre all tend to evil, and evil continually. We do not now allude to the associations of the players, but of the place. The theatre is always the gathering goal for the immoral, the vicious and the vile of every sex and degree. And for the ac