166 THE SOUTH BAY. 



" A strange view, indeed," responded the oppos- 

 ing deacon, warming to the question ; " strange that 

 any one could conceive that the form in which he 

 expressed his adoration was unimportant ; in all re- 

 ligion, prayer takes the form of the bowed head and 

 bended knee. Unseemly postures and acts are 

 themselves irreverent, not to advert to the effect 

 they must produce upon the mind that indulges in 

 them on serious occasions. We owe to our fellow- 

 men respectful deportment on solemn occasions, how 

 much more so to our Creator. Form is the embodi- 

 ment of the spirit of true worship, and partakes of 

 its essence and beauty." 



" We fear," responded his associate, " that form, 

 from its very beauty, may distract the heart and 

 engross the attention to the neglect of the essentials 

 of devotion. Pleasing forms are beautiful to our 

 senses, but God looks to the pure heart and humble 

 mind ; the formalities of religion too often hide an 

 aching void of real principle, and while they quiet 

 the conscience produce no good fruit in the soul. 

 Therefore, we dread them, lest though the sepulchre 

 be whited on the outside it hide rottenness within." 



They were both intelligent men, devoted to. their 

 sects, which although in belief almost identical, in 

 forms were dissimilar ; and they enforced and illus- 

 trated their views with great vigor, learning, and 

 eloquence, and with the ordinary effect of religious 

 discussions, that each was finally more firmly con- 

 vinced that he was in the right. The hopes of their 

 children were forgotten for the time, an occasional 



