"1867. I am more and more disgusted with the preaching that I hear!...
Why cannot a man act himself, be himself, and think for himself? It
seems to me that naturalness alone is power; that a borrowed word is
weaker than our own weakness, however small we may be. If I reach a
girl's heart or head, I know I must reach it through my own, and not
from bigger hearts and heads than mine.
"March, 1873. There was something so genuine and so sincere in George
Macdonald that he took those of us who were _emotional_ completely--not
by storm so much as by gentle breezes.... What he said wasn't profound
except as it reached the depths of the heart.... He gave us such broad
theological lessons! In his sermon he said, 'Don't trouble yourself
about what you _believe_, but _do_ the will of God.' His consciousness
of the existence of God and of his immediate supervision was felt every
minute by those who listened....
"He stayed several days at the college, and the girls will never get
over the good effects of those three days--the cheerier views of life
and death.
"... Rev. Dr. Peabody preached for us yesterday, and was lovely.
Everyone was charmed in spite of his old-fashioned ways. His voice is
very bad, but it was such a simple, common-sense discourse! Mr. Vassar
said if that was Unitarianism, it was just the right thing.
"Aug. 29, 1875. Went to a Baptist church, and heard Rev. Mr. F. 'Christ
the way, the only way.
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