0.1 IMAGE EVALUATION TEST TARGET (MT-3) 1.0 1.1 Hi 12.8 ■so ^^ Hi U u ■4.0 J5 2.2 2.0 6" ^ I^iotographic Sdmoes CorparatJon 23 wnST MAM STRUT WltSTIR,N.Y. 14SaO (716)172-4503 ^s^^ ^ um .<^ « CIHM/ICMH Microfiche Series. CIHIVI/ICIVIH Collection de microfiches. Canadian Institute for Historical Microrsproductions / Institut Canadian de microreproductions historiquas Tachnical and Bibliographic Notaa/Notaa tachniquaa at bibliographiquaa Tha instituta has attampcad to obtain tha baat original copy availabia for filming. 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Loraqua la document eat trop grand pour Atre reprodult en un aaui clichA, II eat f limA A partir de I'angle aupAriaur geuche, de gauche A drolte. et de haut an baa, en prenant la nombre d'imagea nAcaaaaire. Lea diagrammes auivanta llluatrant la mAthode. 1 2 3 4 5 6 iMiilii Ki mvf-jr^H'Hirvif.miiftvm^ nvtt :««».■•«* .♦ ■ iw*-.' ^■xtr'nenrvrrrenKairw *;mi!rnvr:r: twwho < i,um--'^»'- «*«««,* ,/^ /"I 1"^ ^' ■"kviS W V-*' aW •»*Y' 'K' .; .■:; i . r.y ^nn-; l(wm; bisiuh* ^m-' ^'in j)i:(:irT(«^ ,(\i' ^^>,i\, > £»»»a»«*«t . «w».«o»<«jNj»,i.''t.«»i*«w»«»,«&np A LECTURE, DKLIVEKKI) BY THE LOKD BISIIOr OF FIlEDERICTOxV, before: the i>\}mt\} Df (£ngliin& f^oitng Mnvs lorirtij, \ OF THE CITY OF SAINT JOHN, AT THE =1 HALL OP THE MECHANICS' INSTITUTE, ON i i FRIDAY EVENING, 23d JANUARY, 1857, Subject, ^ - ^ ^ ♦♦ (5oo5 taste." :ho Riv. Da. Ghat, one of the Patrons of the Socioty, ia tho Ch:iir. '^ , SAINT JOHN. N. B., PRINTED FOR THE SOCIETY, BY J. & A. McMILLAN, 78, Prince William Strkrt. 1857. \ X €^mt^ of (Bnglanb ^onng J&iwb locieti], OF SAM JOHN, N. B., ORGANIZED MAY, M.DCCO.LIV. {patrons: Tb« Rwht Rbv. the lord BISHOP OF FREDERICTON. Thb Rbv. Db. GRAY,— Rector of Trinity Church ; Thi Rbv. JOHN ARMSTRONG,— Late Rector of St. James' Church; Thb Rbv. GEORGE ARMSTRONG,— Rector of St. John's Church ; His Honor Mb. JUSTICE PARKER. \ ; w t ; ^facers for 1857 : JAMES R. RUEL, Prbbidbxt. H. W. FRITH, T. W. DANIEL. VioB-PaisiD«»m CHARLES KIRKPATRICK, Trbabober. RICHARD 8. DEVEBER, Corrbbpondixo Secretary. THOMAS BOYNE, Recording Seoretart. ARTHUR DANIEL, GEORGE E. HOOKE, J. A. HOYT, Standinq Comhitteb. J. A. HOYT, Librarian. INTRODUCTORY. >• f Amoxo tint principal iiiHtriimfntaliticH employed by tlic Church ofEiiglaiuT VouiiR Mcn'fi iSncicty to ciroct the olijectH for which it was formed, is the delivery, from time to time, of I'liMic lieetiiren. The Memlicrs liiive ihaiikfuiiy to acknow- ledge the kindness oftlie Clirgy, and oilier friendn, who have already favoured them with a nundter of highly interestinpT and instructive Addrcwties. They am eH|)eeiaIly indebted to The Lord Hislioji of Fredericton, for the kind and ready manner in wliiih he huH tvi-iee responded to tlirir re»jueBt to pro- mote the interestH of tiie JSoeii-ty in this way. His Lordship'ti hut Lecture was* so much appreciated and admired, liot only by the Mcnd>er>4 thenitielveii, but by the largo audience who were present when it was delivered, that the Society, at it" first meeting afterwards, determined by a unanimous vote to rev]uetit its publica- tion ; and, His JjordHhip having acceded to this retjnest, the ^Society has much pleasure in thus being enabled, in the following pages, to give it a wider circula- tion, and a more permanent character. 'i'ht; memberH of the .Society avail theinselvesof this opiioitunif3' to invite young men belonging to tVo riiurch of England, to join them in their ellbrts to increase and extend the vital religion and personal holiness, which the principIcK of their Church so eminently inculcate. The Society has been in exi^;lencc about three years — it numbers 49 members in active connection with if, besides several who have left the City — it has a npacious and handsome room in Judge KitchicV Building, where Meetings arc held every Tuesday evening at 8 o'clock, for study- ing the Scriptures, reading essays and engaging in other exercises for mutual edi- fication and improvement. This room is nlno open on Wednesday and Friday Evenings, from 7 to 9 o'clock, as u Heading Room. A Library of carefully select- ed Books has been commenced, which will be increased as rapidly as funds can be obtained for the purpose. It is the desire of the Members to open this Library, generally, to members of the Church as soon as it becomes worthy of their atten- tion; and other means of usefulness will be adopted as the Society acquires strength and influence. Its members ask the countenance and aid of ail their fellow church- men in this City — while they do not cease to prny that under the Divine Blessing their Society may grow to be a useful adjunct of the Church to which they belong, and instruinental in the advancement of the glorious Cioi'pel of its supreme Lord and Head, Jebcs Curist. of Eiiglaiul tho (Iclivci y. r to ucknow- uly favoured cton, for the jUCBt to pro- Lecture was Mveti, but by locicty, at it-" t its publicn- ty IinH nuicli iilcr circuln- invitc youHR trt to increuBO ijiles of their ! about thror I Bcvenil who ]|jfc UitchieV ck, for Btudy- r mutual cdi- V iiiul Friday I re fully select- funds can be this Library, of their attcn- uires ntrcngtli fellow church- vine Ble»King h they belong, luprcmc Lofd ) TO THE MEMBERS OF t\)t €\)ut\} of (0nglflflli 'l^nniig 3.tifn's InciHif; DELIVERED AND PUliLISlIED UY THEIR REQUEST, IS DEDICATED, "WITH THE MOST SINCERE WISHES FOR THEIR WELFARE, %\\ \\}t ^Mnljnp nf /rfiirrictDn. Pobruary 5, 1S57. ■i p '\UtUtt. The kind partiality of tho Committee of the Young Men's! Society having induced me to give this Lecture into their hands to be printed, some apology is, perhaps, due to tho general reader for publishing what may not prove to be so entertaining or instructive as he may expect. But what- ever opinion may be formed of it by less tolerant critics, I shall be well satisfied, if the young men who heard it arc pleased. And, if, in the cultivation of their tastes, they shall find my suggestions useful to them, I shall be moro than repaid. May the purity and innocency of their lives prove that they do not hear in vain. JOHN FREDERICTON. Inturj. ; Men's ito their e to tho to bo so .It what- it critics, rd it are tes, tlicy be moro icir lives TON. •• Happy, if full of day* — Init happier far, If, cro wo yet iliHcerii life'M pviMiing stur, Sick oftlto flprvicu uf a world, that feeds ItH patient drudftoH with dry chnirnnd wccda, Wo can escape from cuHtDin'a itiiot Hwny, To aervo the (Sovereign we were born to obey. Then Hweet to miiHe upon his skill diHpluy'il (Infinite skill) in all that ho has made ! To truce in natiire'H most minute desiRn Tho signature and Htainp uf power ilivine, Contrivance intricate, expresHcd with ease. Where unasHistcd sight no beauty sees." — Cou'ptr> It must be obvious that the word " Taste" is not hero used in its simple form, as applied to the senses. It must btj understood to mean an exercise of the intellectual, and often of the moral qualities of the mind ; and it must be formed from reflection, experience and practice. Taste, then, in this sense, is not a simple perception of the beautiful, or of the useful. If it were so, all tastes would be alike. When a green object is presented to the eye, or a sweet or bitter morsel is put into the month, all eyes in which the vision is not defective see that it is green, and all mouths taste that it is sweet or bitter. But it is otherwise with taste, as we un- derstand the word in connection with our subject. If taste be a right perception of the beautiful, the useful, and the be- coming, and of their mutual relations, it must be admitted that tastes will be likely to vary on all subjects in which beauty, utility, and propriety intermingle. Even in respect to a sense of beauty, the tastes of mankind dilfer almost as widely as tho state of the thermometer in New Brunswick. All educated persons would prefer the beauty of the Apollo Belvidere or the Venus di Medicis, but there are those to be found, for whom large roUing eyes, distended lips, and a head covered with melted butter, would possess greater attraction,* Among tho Esquimaux an appearance more revolting still in our eyes, would find admirers. * See Perkin'a descripton of an Abysamian dandy — in travels in Abyuioia. f'ffl « l\ )'. St ili But though the qnesi'ion of taste thus often approach'is the ludicrous, it has as much to do with the serious side of ihe mat- ter. It allects all our social and domestic arrangements, it intlucnces the arts, it intermingles with rhe groat question of education, with Uteraiure in general, and it has much to do ■with religion. And here it may not he useless to ob'^erve, how wonder- fully God has been pleased to place utility and happiness within reach of all his creatures. Genius is the property of a very few amongst mankind. Yet genius is incapable of shew- ing its greatness but by serving others; and the possessors of the highest genius have been the hardest workers ; often the worst paid and tlie worst treated, during their lives It is a great mistake to suppose that persons achieve great acts by single strokes ol" genius; by intuition. The value of an object may be perceived by the |)Ossessor of genius sooner than by other men. IJut lie who sees what other men are unable to dis- cern, knows also what fatigue and labour are required to reach the objc^ct, and he is often ridiculed and opj)osed in the research : he passes away before the result is accomplished, and other men reap the fruit of his labours. Talent on the other hand is the inheritance of a far larger number of men, and ffood taste may bv, said to be within the reach of all. f Taste may be shown in furnishing a palace, or in the pur- chase of a cotton gown; in the arrangement of jewels in a dia- dem, or in the rose and honey-suckle which twine around the labourer's cottage, or in the condition of ihe interior of the cottage and its inmat2s. Here, indeed, our great Creator is, as' he always is, in every good quality, our example, lie has bestowed grace and elegance on the movements of the stars, and on the wing of the lly or the moth ; on the cedar of Leb- anon, and on the thistla-down ; on the giant oak, and on the little " forget-me-not." So that young men need not suppose that they have nothing to do with good taf^te, because they are not rich. Taste is seen in the smallest things as well as in the greatest. Perhaps it is not likely to be shown in great matters, if small things be neglected. If then the chief subjects of taste be utility, beauty, and riiopRiETY, not considered simply, but in their mutual rela- tions, good taste will depend greatly on association and on judgment in the selection of objects. Let us consider how much taste depends on association. The savage who obtains a precarious living by hunting in his native fc>est.s, has no taste except the desire for finery and toys. His mind has never been enriched by association with the past, by collision with intellects superior to his own, by the collected traditional refinement of other ages, nor has he d icIf3S the iho mat- meiitS) it estion of ich to do woiider- inppincss crfy of a of sliew- orsofthc he worst s a great 3y sii)£jle u may he by other e to dis- Iiiircfl to m1 it) the slicd,;uid the other men, and I the pur- in a dia- •ouiid the ior of the itor is, as' lie has tlie stars, r of Leb- id oil the t suppose uise tliey s well as I in great UTY, and ual rela- [1 and on 5ociation. ing in his nery and tion with own, by ox has he been taught to observe the wisdom and beauty of the works of God, except for purposes of daily subsistence. The paths of science are closed to him, iheachii'^venientsof art are un- known. If his wants arc i\;w, iiis cnjoymenls are equally limited, and l»is mental operations are of the rudest and least enjoyable kind. And there are n.ultitudes who live it) civili- zed countries, who wilfully shut themselves out from the en- joyment of a thousand innocent pleasures which cannot. b« known without association. Consider, for instance, what is the course of a nation's growth and Hie, and of its progress to- wards refinement and comfort. Trace the whole course of our mother-country from its earliest infancy to the present highly developed state of intellectual energy. Wc see our ancestors at the first landing of CtEsar, half naked savages, without houses to sludter, or clothes to cover them ; energetic indeed, independent and fierce, but neither industrious nor skilful in the arts, nor possessed of any intellectmil advantages. A little further in their history we find them benefitted by the science and skill of their conquerors, enriched with small mea- sure of learning, taught to construct houses, to clothe them- selves decently, to exercise militaiy discipline, and they derive higher advantages from a practical knowledge of the blessings ■ of religion. Still further, we find them again a conquered race, but more enriched by conquest. Their native language,struggling for supremacy, is formed into alliance with a foreign tongue, their institutions assume a more definite and settled form ; grace and dignity are added to their manners, their arts receive a vast impulse, and their endless divisions are flowing lavigation, e begin to ' our farm, geometry, I we occa- iiuis XIV., rior to his ected by a le time ut- ignorant, B the mind ich appear I we often of utility, icred asso- e moment. scape '» cul- y different ' lofty, but growth of what at tt distance looks like moss, but which, on nearer in- spection, turns out to be a mass of wilderness foliage. Not a house,, not an inhabitant is to be seen. The only denizens of the place are the wild animals, which fly at our approach, and hide themselves in the thicket. In the other case, the hill is no loftier, bnt its proportions are better seen by comparison with objects of a different cast. A clearing has been made of trees too numerous for use, encumbering rather than beautify- ing the soil. The sunny slope has been converted into arable land, '' the forest is become a fruitful field," crops of various kinds indicate the progress of labour, and hold out hopes of future wealth. A house is built; the whole spot assumes at once a habitable look ; horses, oxen, poultry, pigs, and dogs, are discernible; indications to the eye, of labour, food, produce, skill, provision for the winter, and defence. A road is mark- ed out, the symbol of communication, fellowship and intelli- gence, a neighbourhood begins to grov/, a school house is built, a little spire rears its modest head, and intimates devotion to the great F'ather and Guardian of all. Shall I be pardoned for saying, that last, but not least, even a parson appears, riding to see a sick brother or sister, baptize a child, or marry a neigh- bour. Thusviowthis samehill underthesetwo different aspects, and how different is the feeling of the mind; produced by the soothing influence of association, which under the same heads 1 have enumerated, fills the mind with some degree of satis- faction, and insinuates a larger measure of hope. If then, taste even in natural objects, depend so much on association, it is obvious that good taste implies a selection of the best objects within our reach, by a careful study of the past, and a judici- ous reference to the present state of knowledge. You will not, perhaps, be displeased, if I make a few brief remarks on the manner in which the history of the past may be employed. We are all influenced by the past in a far greater degree than we are willing to allow, but we must remember that the past history of mankind is a treasure given us by God for our present improvement. In referring to this history we ought to endeavour to form a cautious, charitable, and discriminating judgment, and we should be especially on our guard against two errors, equally pernicious, a ivholesale con- demnation and a slavish imitation of past ages. To refer to the first, our ancestors and the ancestors of other nations, were men of like passions, beset by like temptations, and possessed of like virtues as ourselves, and in many respects neither much better, nor much worse. For the political insti- tutions, or religious errors of their times, they were not wholly responsible, nir on the other hand, entirely irresponsible. But 12 they ought never to be judged by the standard by which ourselves shall be judged, who live in times of liberty, we of which they knew nothing, and under the shade of institutions many of which did not exist. We should, therefore, be very cautious in our estimate of men and things gone by, especially when we depend for our data on the evidence of persons, who only saw a part of what was then going on, and who may have given a coloured and partial representation. What a strange idea of the English nation \vould be formed by one who, living in the year 2000, should read the accounts given by Mr. Russell, the Times cor- respondent, of the disasters in the Crimea, and should imagine that this was a fair sample of every matter of business con- ducted by the English nation. Or take another instance, sup- pose some eager advocate of Chancery Reform, and exposerof abuses in the Court of Chancery were to be selected as the ex- ponent of the manner in which all the business of our Courts of Justice is transacted. Good taste, it is evident will avoid this common error. We should judge our ancestors as we wisli to be judged ourselves, wisely, charitably, and with discrimin- ation, but never condemning them, nor their institutions by wholesale, especially when our information on the subject is derived from secondary sources. On the other hand, a servile imitation is as much to be cen- sured, though perhaps in the present day, not so much to be apprehended. Whatever was noble, generous, or wise in the manners, morals, and institutions of the past, we should study, and as far as appears possible and useful, we may re-produce it. Yet if we have really caught the principle which we seek to adopt, we shall probably find it necessary to vary the detail. An absolute copy may be made, whilst the principle is en- tirely kept out of sight. Mere servile imitation is characterized in our tongue by a very contemptuous but a very forcible and significant term, apishne.is, which exactly expresses the error which I am speaking of. The monkey imitates the actions of the man, but he can never penetrate the source from which those actions spring. He copies the gesture, but he knows nothing of the mind which prompts it. Thus bad taste either condemns in the mass all past ages as ignorant and foolish in comparison with itself, and raises a statute to its own praise, or with servile flattery, it apes the defects rather than the vir- tues of its original, and like the courtiers of the king of Macedon, sets one shoulder higher than the other, because Alexander's head was a little on one side. As I before said, good taste is concerned with the utilitf/f fhe beaut$[ and the propriety ftf the things with wbkh we nave ■ 10 wlilcli we liberty, of institutions estimate of nd for our irt of what loured and le Euj^lish year 2000, Times cor- Id imagine siness con- ance, sup- exposer of I as the ex- our Courts will avoid as we wish 1 discrirnin- itutions by B subject is 1 to be cen- nuch to be wise in the ould study, •produce it. we seek to the detail, iple is en- >ngue by a icant term, which I actions of :om which he knows aste either nd foolish wn praise, in the vir- Macedon, lexander's le utility^ \i we nave i i to do; we are satisfied of their w/^7^7y, for the purpose for which we seek to employ them: of their beauty ^irom their form and design, or from indications of pains and thought be- stowed on their construction: of their propriety, ViS befitting the station and circumstances in which wc are sfiverally placed. If I were speaking chiefly of religious matters, I should cer- tainly add their truth ; but as 1 am dealing at present with less sacred subjects, I shall be able to include under the throe first named heads, all that is necessary for me to say. I. Good Tasle, in its selection of objects will consider their utility. The term utilitarian is sometimes used as a term of reproach, when it applies to those who dwell solely on the common, and reject the highest use of things, as when a man considers only how many persons a church will hold, without reference to the objects of worship, or what is the capa- city of a building, without reference to lectures to be delivered or to the nature of sound; or when he prefers to have six cheap and bad pair of gloves, rather than to buy one good pair. It is, however, an abuse of the word. Real utility includes all uses, the highest, as well as the lowest, and use implies continuance as well as possession. IJut if we apply the test of utility to common life, we see that good taste would save us a multitude of unnecessary expenses, which fashion, caprice or apishncss, (for it is nothing better,) imposes on us. How many groan under the yoke of fashions which they have not the manliness to resist ! How many articles, and expensive ar- ticles of dress are useless, except to make people appear in forms for which nature never intended them ! How many dishes regularly appear at dinners which only burden the stomach, clog the appetite, and (will the faculty forgive my imperti- nence?) fee the doctor! But suppose we were to apply this test of utility to men's speechy written words and general behaviour to each other. Might not many common errors be easily avoided by a con- sideration of utility only ? One should not, I presume, do- any dishonour to the prolific faculty of speech, if one were to- say, that ihe stories which are often spun of interminable length and not very certain accuracy, might be usefully ab- ridged, that mankind would be as charitable, and almost a» wise, if they did not retail so freely all the absurdities which gossiping inventors put into circulation respecting the private business, religious views, supposed intentions of others, especi- ally of persons with whom they are not well acquainted, and if they allowed themselves to measure their words rather by the ci>p than by the bucket, with a more direct view to utility^ than to talk. I need not say m«ch of that celebrated but justly abhorred dictum, (if indeed) it were not invented for its. M ii M It a" I i il supposed author,) that '* larii^nngo was glvon to conooal our thoughts." Hut out; may easily ^ca that a lie, measured by utility, would always he immolated on the altar of good taste. Not that a lie always fails of its object. It, no doubt, has its use. But it is never the use whieli its employer intends. Suppose the object to be gain, would any one wiio had a penny and a pound ollerod to him at the same moment, choose the penny? Yet the liar chooses the ])eniiy. The pound, which is good character, and a good habit of mind, to say nothing of higher considerations, escapes him; he has his penny, though it often |)roves to bo a bad pcimy, but he never gains his pound. Passing from words spoken, to those wiiich are written, the measure of ntUity would sometimes lop off with a trenchant ha!id many of these. Even of books which are not positively mischievous, how much which crowds the market is daily passing into oblivion, without leaving a single trace behind? And in how many instances do we feci sure that those who gather uj) the remains of great men, and without taste or discrimination, publish what their iicroes would gladly have concealed, are doing the greatest dis-service to those whom they profess to honour? Thus Sir Isaac Newton is not suiTered to enjoy his well earn- ed and universal fame as a Pnilosopher, but he must now figure as a Divine, and all the crude thoughts on the Holy Trinity which passed througli his mind, have been lately published rather to his discredit than otherwise. Perhaps our old frinnd Boswell, that most entertaining and untiring gossip, might have withheld some of the minor frail- ties of liis great patron without any sacrifice of truth. It is not necessary to a true picture of the great moralist ami lexi- cograplier, to know how voraciously he ate, or liow Wilkes, whom he detested, conciliated his good will by asking him to " take a little more fat, a little of the lean, or a little more gravy." Yet all this is set down, nothing extenuated, in Bos- well's lively narrative. I know not that good taste is offended, because a sound moral is conveyed, by relating some of the Doctor's prejudices, as where he is described as paying a visit to his friend's gar- den and he finds him busily engaged in throwing snails over the wall into the garden of a neighbour. The Doctor re- monstrated with his friend on this unneighbourly act, but when he replied, " Sir, the man is a dissenter;" ''0 then, said the doctor, throw away, throw away !" I hope no member of our church is so illiberal at the present day. But it might be a ques- tion with some whether it % ould not be useful to throw a few i ! )ijc(!al our isiireci by oocl taste. Joiibt, h;us r intends. Iio had a nt, choose he pound, id, to say has his he never 'ritton,thR trenchant vons, how ) obMvion, low many le remains II, publish doing the ;> honour ? well carn- low figure ly Trinity published lining and inor frail- Jth. It is and lexi- ^v Wilices, ng him to ittle more d, in Bos- a sound reju dices, snd's gar- lails over octor re- but when said the er of our le a ques- )w a few 15 snails into the garden of a Bishop. Bishops and Priests, wo all know, deserve and should receive no pity from any quarter. There is another error of which I have taken note and which good taste will always eschew. In writing controversial let- tors, it is astonishing how eager people are to I'asten on each other the charge of falseliood, and to hurl against each other the most vile and contemptuous epithets in the very first onset. Now falsehood should never be alleged against another without the clearest evidence. All allowance should be made fur the mistakes into which the most accurate arc prone to fall, and no virtuous and charitable mind can feel a pleasure in the dis- covery, that his former friend, acquaintance or neighbour is a liar, and the eager desire to prove him to bo such on the first sight of the matter, the fastening with tenacity upon every little circumstance which may admit of bad construction, and alHxing to it the worst possible sense, is the mark not only of bad tai^te, but of a very unscrupulous mind. The time will come when one grain of real charity will be more valuable than all the clever bitier things written or spoken; and it is one sad elfect of writing to ])lease the lower class of minds, and to humour the caprice of tlie hour, that such writers appear to be entirely reckless as to what they say, or whom they wound. Yet, I believe, it must be said in behalf of the daily press, that though they publish many articles on private character which are unjustifiable, that those which they suppress, and which are sent to them for publication, are ten times worse, and far more numerous than those which they allow to see tho light. I presume, if people measured these attacks by their utility even to their own party purposes, they would seldom publish them. The Duke of Wellington is a remarkable in- stance of a man who never, on any occasion, replied to one of the very numerous attacks made upon him by anonymous writers, and we know how he survived them all. ' Another prevailing error deserves notice in respect to the use of words. The English language has attained to such perfection, by the growth of many centuries, and by its having been enriched by our intercourse with foreign nations, and by terms borrowed from the Latin or the Greek tongue, that there are few ideas of any importance, which may not be expressed in the vernacular tongue in a manner perfectly intelligible. Yet modern taste, not satisfied with genuine Saxon has invent- ed a language peculiar to itself, eminently ungraceful, and only worthy of being noticed in order to be avoided. Such language may often be known by two characteristics, the lengtii, I might say, the longinquity of its words, the circumlocution of its 16 I i: ■.':ii phrases, and its constant use of what wo must call, for want of a better epithet, " slanij" expressions. Thus a man is no longer said to be in debt, but in a state of it.dcbtodness ; he is not a hearty j^ood man, but a whole souled specimen of living and breathing humanity ; place is pushed aside by locality; proceed by progress ; thoughts by lucubrations ; to say nothing of strange uncouth terms which require a dictionary of them- selves. A curious instance of the etfi^ct of using a hard word where a simpler term would sulKce, is shown in the general use of the word commence instead of begin. For now people often say, have you begun to commence ? They might as well say, have you ended to terminate ? This vicious style of speaking and writing is owing in a great de- gree to the laboured effort to produce great eil'ects with small means; and when the mind has nothing to say worth hearing, it wraps itself up in words of prodigious length. This reminds me of a little anecdote I once heard, when I lived in the County of Cornwall. Two persons were conversing together on the subject of extemporaneous preaching, and one said to the other, who was a minister, " jNIy friend, do you never lose the thread of your discourse?'' " Yes," said the other, "some- times I lose sight of my idea altogether." " ^nd how," replied hi§ companion, " do you proceed in such a case ?" " Why," said the other, " when I find myse\( loif/totit an ideUf I splash about, and get very warm, until I find it." And who knows but that the very part of the sermon in which the man was splashing about in search of his idea, might not be con- sidered by many, the finest part of the discourse? I have known not a few writers, who proceed on this voyage of discovery, •and as sure as you find a man without an idea, so surely will his words increase in length, in plain English, ^*much cry and little wooV' much talk, and little sense. But enough of these absurdities Let us now say a few words on the question of beauty of form and design, as one of the objects of good taste. Beauty of form, elegance of combination, and harmony of .color are evident in almost all the works of our great Creator, .and we are generally most successful when we study nature and copy it. In some parts of the animal creation, utility seems to be pre- ferred to beauty, but in the majority of instances beauty and utility are united. And in the inanimate creation every part teems with beauty. As a perfect master of harmony never plays without melodious sounds, so, in a far higher degree, the Lord of Heaven and earth cannot move (as it were) with- out form, number, order, and harmony. And as our Saviour for want man is no less ; he is 1 of living locality ; y notliiiig r of them- ig a hard wii ill tho gin. For e ? They te ? This great de- with small h hearing, lis reminds le County her on the 1 the other, lose the ;r, " sqme- nd how," a case ?'* lit an ideUf And who :h the man lot be con- ave known discovery, , so surely "much cry enough of beauty of p. armony of at Creator, idy nature to be pre- eauty and 2very part ony never er degree, ere) with- ir Saviour 17 tells us, one little flower is more magnificently arrayed than the richest monarch of ancient times. And in those (lowers every number that would cause an unharmonious division of color is avoided, and every number that causes the colours to blend swoetly and beauli''"lly, pro- duced ; we find the trefoil, the cin(|uefoil, tho siri'oil, the per- fect number seven, the (lower with twelve div'^ions, and most of thom reducible to pr()|)orf crimson, IS to dwell, his so suit- hands, He ir, and that lifted." fs ! There aluable for |i tlie slight- iss so frag- y turf, and oad smooth hioh hngo There is Lthery, of a ho Creator liich would ds of corn! rii,and the wavy har- ^1 it a body i his own ht, and in present an treaks like pen, some- led up like sses, light- a volcano, to heaven, anspareut. that wo would seem able to pierce them through with the hand, and then gathering suddenly into a thick, fierce and angry mass, bursting into forked tlames, and threatening de!itrnciion. But what marvellous beauties lie hid in the clouds, just before and soon after rain ! Sometimes the whole mass is broken into small fleecy particles with jots of the deepest blue between, the edges and projecting parts of each fleece glowing with burnished gold, or some part of the cloud is fuii of a light which seems almost heavenly and supernatural, whilst the rest is wrapped in sober g;ay. Then there is what Homer justly called " rosy-fingered morning," and the faint pink of the aurora borealis, with its pyramids of light shooting np, and ever changing places. On my visitations I have sometimes travelled through rain all the morning, and just before sunset, have reached the I or- ders of the river St. John. Then suddenly the storm w( uld break away to the eastward, and on the western side of tho river the sun bursting forth, would clothe the hills and trees and plants, and even tho grass with a mist of burnished molt- en gold, so that each object stood out distinctly, and seemed to come close to the eye, glorious as the streets of the New Jerusalem, which is said to be "all gold, transparent as glass." Meanwhile the river, darker than ever, from the clouds which overcast its waters, nuirnnucd sulletdy along, like that dark stream which we must all cross to pass to those golden streets and regions of unclouded sunshine, sullied by no impurity, never overcast by clouds of doubt and sin and sorrow. Yoi' a!l remember the poet's beautiful line, " How sweet the moonlight sleeps upon this bank." But sweeter still if sleeps upon the lake, when all its bright- ness seems concentrated in one beautiful spot in the distance, whilst every thing on the surroutiding hills is high, and dark, and still. What can be more beautiful in colour than the full moon on the sea, as the waters laugh and dance and play with its beams ; or than the sunsets on our own river, with ever-chang- ing hues of orange, green, and purple, as if the whole depth of the water were coloured; or than the indigo mist that rises from the little mountain stream, which thread-like winds its way among the hills, and is gradually lost to sight: — even as the silent prayer from a poor man's heart finds its way into the ocean of God's love. These are a few of the beauties of Nature, which I have described as I have seen them, but which require a far keener observer, and a livelier pen to do them justice. Now do you imagine that these innumerable beauties of order, harmony, form and colour, are bestowed upon mankind for no purpose ? Was it iiitundcd by the Crcalor of tlipsj* nuigiiificciit images, that wo sliuuld walk about with our eyes fixed on dusty, and dirty streets, ill ventilated and drained, and resort to the dram-shop and the dice-table for sources of amusement ? Was it intended with the glori-ous sun abovi; ns, *' the vast inlls in lluctuation fixed,'- around us, the lake and the river, and the cver-changin!» sea, and the fresh fountain, and the graceful many coloured flowers on every side of us, ihat we sliould neglect all these pure sources of inexhaustible delight, and spend our time wholly and entirely in uiom" y gt;t- ting, and in pampering these poor bodies till they cau hold no more, and in saying foolisli things to each other, or vile thinirs of each other, while ninmtul)ercd sources of happii»ess lie at (»ur very feet, wailing tobe gathered, odtMing themselves '* without money and without price ?" No, surely ! For observe, how Ood bestows these; pleasures on all in some degree, li reipjir(;s agreatoutlay ot'moneyto possess large gardens, and hot houses, and iMirseries of lb»W(:rs, and artificial lakes, and great man- sions, and handsome tnrniture. Hm it retpiires no money to see beauty in the sea, and the river, and the crops, uud the wild llowers, and to culiivale these pure tastes, jiiul the culti- vation of beautiful plants recpiires pains and labour, rather than money. God has uiven these things to all ni(;n (or m;niy uses: llst,'rii;it ;»ll ni;iy enjoy the cjreater part ortiuMn.and form their tastes on the model of Nature, and refresh themselves with the joyous si'jht. id. That those who arc; rieliiT than others mar find a pleasure, not in heaping momvy togetl'.er, and dying worth so many thousand pounds, or in givini; it to tln.'ir children to waste in ridieulousor protli^afc? ways. I)UI may rnllivale tastes which are useful to their fellow creatnics and uladden the heart of the poor toil worn labourer. Thus a rich man, by imitating t!ie bounty of his Master, may make himself a pidilic benel'ac- tor, and win himself a good iiami; Ibr n)any generations, lie may drain a city, and so restore hcallli to thousands; he may build and endow an hospital, and heal thousands; he may erect public gardens, and minister innocent pleasure to thou- sands; he may erect public baths, and minister to the clean- liness of thousands; he may erect some great public build- ing for ornament and utility; or, if he desire the spiritual wel- fare of men, he may build a)ul endow a Church, or a Mission. Great riches are not given men lor guinea-subscription lists, but that they may niake to themselves a lastitig ujonument in the hearts of the people We desire not monuments of brick and stone on the walls of churches, biu great and useful works iri which every man is at liberty to consult his own taste, pro- Tided it take a wise and judicious direction. Good Taste will walk abroad into the works of the God of Vij: 31 nnliHC! with a carofnl and observing eye, and will try to imilotc those ' Fiona works, as far as it can, and will sindy the works of those persons who have most .successfully imitated Nature. Jj(U mo now, brielly apply these principles to one or two practical matters with which all mankind are familiar, first to AuciMTKCTirHK, and secondly to Mirsic. In laying out a town, it is conunon in North America to avoid the croukiul lanes and devious ways of our ancestors, and to provide wide and spa- cious streets. So far so good, hut it is not breadth or length only which gives a street a fine commanding appearance. The houses, if not of uniform height, should eertiiinly not pre- sent an astoni^shing difference, one mansion towering to the skies, and tin? n«!Xt a shanty of eight feet I'rom the ground. The colouring and ornament of a house recjuire i^reat consider- ation. It is a safe, as well as an ancient rule, that nothing should lorin part of the decoration of a building, which is not al.so part of its construction; und in decoration it is as neces- sary to guard against too much, as against too little, above all against a servile imitation. Nothing looks poorer or more mean than little bits of some magnificent building taken from books, and stuck up in the middle of a hon.se, witli which they have nothing in common, nor is it desn*able thii every house shotild be an exact copy of its llorid and showy neighbour. Nothing more clearly proves the immense snperinrHy of an- cient designers of buildings than the inexhaustible fertility oi their imagination. In England, it would bo, easy to point out five thousand good churches, yet you would not find one ol them exactly like the other, and oi' all the ancient chnrches which I ever visited, I do not recollect one which is a copy of another. Each was a separate real design from the brain of a designer. It is needless to say how diirercnl a case North America generally presenis. Then as to color. It almost seems as if men either had no eyes, or lived in a colourless world. Their houses glare with white paint, and the same poor idea is repeated again and again, without variation, while there is not a hill, nor a lake, nor a flower which is not without its variety Generally speaking, if you look on a lovely landscape, the hou-^^e is the only positively ugly object in it. Yet there it stands, quite square, hard and angular, with its one red door, and its two green widows, its two low parlours and its four little closets, nature all various and charming, and man with his one type of everlasting ugliness repeated without end, like a set of little boys coi>ying pot-hooks and hangers, — pothooksand hangers, and noiliing else for evermore. To pass to another sister art, that of Music. Here we are making some progress, but great care is needed to form a sound 33 ii tiiste in this branch of the arts. I do not, you will observe, confound good last', with uniform taste ; but good taste can only be formed on good models, by study and observation, and no mail ought to pretend to condemn what he does not under- stand, on a first hearing. I lay down this rule for myself. If I do not admire a great work of Handel or Mozart, when I first hear it, (and 1 honestly confess there are some things I have not yet learned to admire,) I set it down to my own ig- norance and stupidity. I try to remember the instance of the Persian going into an English Church and seeing the congre- gation all standing up and turning round when the organ began to sound, he said that he had seen these people all worshipping a great ugly painted idol, stuck up on a pedestal at the end of the room, which from innumerable mouihs, emitted the inost frightful groans, and the effect on his mind was so dolorous and horrible that he rushed out of the building in disgust Some sjc'i creature I fancy myself to be, when I criticize Han- del or Mozart. What do I know, I say to myself, of the thoughts that burned in their breasts, and the harmony that danced before their eyes ? No more than a bat knows of the sun, or an owl of the beauty of the tree in which it goes to roost. Verhum saty as the proverb hath it. Study and ob- serve, and then play the critic if you will, but even then whh modesty, and with the respect due to genius. And not to fatigue you, I must n itiv pass on to another part of Good Taste, without which neither will be useful or beau- tiful, nor wifl beauty be combined with utility. This .3rd element is Propriety. For I need hardly say that a thinr ^my be both useful and beautiful, yet not becoming our place, posi- tion, or fortune, and therefore may be unsuitable to us. Good Taste will always aim at reality, and will avoid tinsel and meretricious ornament, which neither becomes the per- son nor the subject. Fine houses beyond the means of the people who live in them, fine clothes which are never paid for, and fine words which have no truth nor hearty good will at the bottom of them, good taste and good sense will eschew. And there is too much reason to fear that we need whole- some warnings on this subject. What frightful discoveries are continually made of frauds the most extensive, injurious, and heartless, of swindling the most clever and the most audacious, prompted apparently by the wish to outshine others, and to live beyond one's proper station. What preposterous exhibitions are made, of baby shows; of every kind of folly and extravagance, from the thirst after novelty and excitement; what innumerable bankruptcies are brought about by the wish to be fine, and to make a great igure in the world. And we have too much reason to lament m IT ill obserre, od taste can rvation, and s not under- myself. If iart, when I me things I my own ig- tance of the the congre- )rgan began ^worshipping t the end of id the most so dolorous in disgust, iticize Han> self, of the irmony that lows of the h it goes to idy and ob- u then with V, mother part ful or beau- This 3rd I thinr 'niay place, posi- es us. avoid tinsel les the per- e&na of the er paid for, ^ood will at eschew, eed whole- joveries are jrious, and audacious, ers, and to r shows; of thirst after uptcies are ke a great i to lament Ihat this want of propriety is carried into more sacred subjects, and gives rise to a thousand evils. We see it in gross irrever- ence and trifling with holy subjects, in using the words of the Almighty to point a jest, in familiar addresses to God in pray- er, as if he were our equal, and in a multitude of minor matters, which I pass over, lest I should he. thought fastidious or cen* serious. Good Taste in religious matters involves indeed the highest moral qualities. It supposes that we perform reverentially and thankfully all we do or say in presence of our Maker, and it demands that suppression of selfish thoughts and selfish sins, which it is easier to recommend than to practice. I shall not, I trust, be travelling out of the record, if I observe that the Liturgy of our Church, amongst its many excellencies, numbers especially that of Good Taste : yet it is as conspicu- ous for the eirors which it avoids, as for the beauties which it contains, and that it can no more be appreciat^'d by a vulgar, irreverent, and undisciplined mind, than the worth of a jewel can be valued by a swine. For, the higher any production stands in order of merit, the more taste and discernment does it require in the person who uses it. A vulgar man can no more read the Liturgy well than he can properly understatid it : he will fall short of its re6nement and elevation, and he will place the emphisis on the wrong words, he will dislocate every sentence, and reduce it to the chaos and confusion of his own brain. Indeed nothing brings a man's taste lo the test sooner than hi» reading, and those who huddle up their words as if the only object were to get to the end as fast as possible, seem (o present to us a picture of the collision of two trains upon a railway. The members of the sentence, like the unhappy pas- sengers, instead of being landed at the period of their journey with a safe and equable motion, are torn asunder, and hurled into the air with a rude and tempestuous violence, having neither sense, nor motion, nor spirit \ei\. Thejudicious reader neither grates upon your ear, nor offends you by an uneasy, shuffling pace, but after pausing occa- sionally to allow you to admire the prospect, carries you gently along with a sense of a safe and pleasant journey ; or if he penetrate into more sacred places, leaves you with a deep and so''3mn imj^ression, desirous to be left alone to medi- tate on the scenes through which you have passed. But 1 must take care, that, whilst discoursing on Good Taste, I do not myself offend, and by undue length, become an example to be avoided rather than to hn imitated. I must therelore close with a very few words by way of summary. It may give a Christian tone to the whole subject we have 34 5 i 1 been considering, if we observe, that our taste will never bcl perverted, when we follow the footsteps of the Great Creator! Accurate observation and attentive study of His works wiHl furnish us with the best models, the noblest designs, and the) most exalted sentiments. Order, utility, beauty and harmonyf pervade them all. Nor can our perceptions of propriety inl matters which atfect our social intercourse, or our personall liabits, be regulated by a more just model than the example oil Ilim, who in all His words and ways, was simple, engaging,! and unostentatious in His deportment, full of reverence and[ holiness in His demeanour, just and yet tender, pure, yet affa- ble and courteous. Guided by this pattern we shall avoidi many an error into which even gifted men may fall. We shall lend a grace to the most ordinary actions by our maimer of performing them, wc shall shun unnecessary ostentation and display, we shall appreciate all that is noble, generous and elevated among our fellow creatures, whether they belong to past generations or to the present, we shall fly from the haunts of vice and sordid dissipation to the charms of Nature, and] in admiring Nature we shall be found "commercing with the skies," and communing with Nature's God. > In our household arrangements, in our dress, in our social festivities, we shall shun the extremes of extravagance and meanness, and look upon all things, great or small, as given us that we may discharge the duties belonging to them in the best possible manner. Especially, we shall seek to lead the mind of youth from the love of all that is selfish, sensuous and degrading, and to give them opportunities of enjoying real beauty in this beautiful world by means of natural and inno- cent pleasures; — pleasures which are conducive lo their physi- cal and moral health and intellectual growth, and which leave no sting behind them. Thus, while we carefully guard the sacred deposit of truth from all adulteration, and found our religion strictly and soberly on God's most holy Word, Good Taste will preserve that re- ligion from sourness, and self complacency, and will make it gracious and acceptable to all who have siiflicient candour to appreciate our intentions, and generally useful to the world. will never bd jreat Creaiop.l [is works wlHJ signs, and tlicl and harmonyf f propriety inl our personall he example oil )le, engaging, everence audi >ure, yet afla- B shall avoid 1 ill. We shall 11 r manner of tentation andl generous and' iiey belong to m the haunts f Nature, and cing wiih the in our social vagancc and nail, as given o them in the k to lead the sensuous and iujoying real ral and inno- their physi- 1 which leave :)osit of truth y and soberly ?erve that re- will make it It candour to I the world.