for the Irish priest on the
foreign mission. It is well he should be under no delusion. In
Ireland a slipshod or unprepared sermon may meet with indulgent
charity. A very different reception awaits it abroad. The priest
who attempts it will quickly discover how he is set up for a sign
that shall be contradicted. The free, white light of open
criticism penetrates even the sanctuary. There is no dignity to
hedge any man. Congregations smart at being treated to such poor
fare, and will not leave him long in ignorance of their opinions.
Perhaps while in the pulpit the sight of many a curving lip will
make the blood tingle or cause the shame spot to burn on his
cheek.

Again, the priest on the foreign mission will never face a
congregation that is not sprinkled with Protestants or
unbelievers. Should he not then consider the feelings of his own
people who are humiliated or filled with honest pride by the
manner in which their pastor acquits himself in the eyes of
strangers? Waiving then all supernatural motives, should not
every priest have sufficient manly pride, self-respect and
sensibility for the honour of his exalted office to lift himself
and his work above the sneer of the most censorious, and
challenge the respect, if not the admiration, of every listener?

The preparation should begin not on the day the sacred oils are
poured on the young priest's hands, but on the day he enters
college. His eyes should be kept fixed on the goal before him. "I
am to be a preacher, and every obstacle that stands on my path
must go down, and every advantage that goes to make a great
orator, at all costs, I must make my own." This ambition should
be nourished till it consumes him, till it becomes "his waking
thought, his midnight dream." His reading, recitation and debates
should be studied under the light of this lodestar of his
destiny: at first shining afar off, but swiftly nearing as each
vacation ends.

[Side note: Objectors answered I.]

Those who champion the method of extemporary preaching lay great
stress on two points. (I) The extemporary preacher has a natural
warmth and earnestness of conviction that goes straight to the
heart. (2) These, they maintain, can never accompany the prepared
discourse. Let us examine these two statements. It is true that
when men speak under the influence of strong emotions, passion
may, in a large measure, compensate for accurate expression and
sequence of thought, especially with a rude