BX 6495 .S7 P55 1892 
 Pike, G. Holden 1836- 
 Charles Haddon Spurgeon, 
 preacher, author. 
 
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CHARLES HAIIDON' SPURGEON 
 
 "^tCccchcXr ^nihoXf ^^hlXantlxvcpist 
 
 WITH ANECDOTAL REMINISCENCES 
 
 BY 
 
 NOV ?R 1938 
 
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 ^' OGIGALS^^!^ 
 
 g: holden pike 
 
 AUTHOR OF "THE ROMANCE OF THE STREETS," ETC. 
 
 INTRODUCTION BY 
 
 WILLIAM CLEAVER WILKINSON 
 
 AND CONCLUDING CHAPTERS KY 
 
 JAMES C. FERNALD 
 
 FUNK & WAGNALLS COMPANY 
 NEW YORK 
 
 LONDON 
 
 TORONTO 
 
Copyright 1892, by the 
 FUNK & WAGNALLS COMPANY 
 
INTRODUCTION 
 By Professor W. C. Wilkinson, D.D.* 
 
 In every human generation there is a certain 
 small number of picked men concerning whom 
 public interest, beginning early, continues long to 
 be so general and so vivid that everything pro- 
 ceeding from them, everything said about them, 
 everything connected with them, is sure to engage 
 the attention of mankind. Of this select class of 
 men belonging to our generation, by eminence was 
 Charles Haddon Spurgeon. It thus happens that, 
 during many years, Mr. Spurgeon's biography has 
 been, as it were, constantly written up to date, in the 
 current periodical literature of his time. At his death, 
 nothing, or almost nothing, remained of new to be 
 told respecting him. There had long been simply 
 the day's, or the week's, or the month's, addition to 
 be made to the biographical bulletins that promptly 
 advised an ever curious public what was the last 
 thing of note that had befallen the foremost 
 
 * Requested by the publishers of the present work t o furnish a 
 brief general estimate of the genius, character, and career of 
 the illustrious subject, I sought and obtained from the cour- 
 tesy of the editors, respectively, of The Examiner , and The 
 Independent (New York), permission to adopt and incorporate, 
 in what I might write, parts of two articles, which I had con- 
 tributed to these journals, one on occasion of Mr. Spurgeon's 
 fiftieth birthday, and one on occasion of his death. 
 
iv Introditction, 
 
 favorite preacher of the present time. This, how- 
 ever, is fully true only for Mr. Spurgeon's equals or 
 superiors in age. A whole generation has grown 
 up since he began to be famous, and, to the mem- 
 bers of this new community of minds, the story of 
 his career will be as novel as it is certain to be 
 interesting. 
 
 In seeking some adequate expression for the 
 imposing phenomenon presented in the life and 
 labors of Spurgeon, I have myself been accustomed 
 to distribute the mass of his achievement into 
 three parts, and thus to find him by a threefold 
 title deserving to be considered a truly great man. 
 If he had never done anything but preach as he 
 preached, he would assuredly remain, to all future 
 time, one of the most commanding names that 
 illustrate the annals of the nineteenth Christian cen- 
 tury. For more than the full third of a century, he 
 stood confessed, upon the whole, easily the first of 
 contemporary preachers. His was indeed a sudden 
 shooting up into the zenith, as of a meteor that 
 might suddenly go out. But he took his station and 
 held it steadily like a fixed star. The flash that 
 surprised us was not a flash, but only the instan- 
 taneous beginning of a brightness to burn and to 
 shine. A luminary, not a meteor, was the preach- 
 ing eloquence of Charles Haddon Spurgeon. Noth- 
 ing less meteoric, nothing more solar, in its quality 
 of radiance, has ever been set by God among the 
 merely human and uninspired lights of the world 
 to shed illumination on any Christian age. Church 
 history will always have to reckon Mr. Spurgeon as 
 
Iiitrodiicti07i. 
 
 one of the greatest preachers of all times and of all 
 climes. Such is his indefeasible heritage of fame 
 as a preacher. 
 
 If, now, one were to disregard the thousands ot 
 sermons (in sober literal count, more than 2,200) 
 from Mr. Spurgeon's tongue tliat, during his life, 
 went into print, and were multiplied, each into un- 
 counted numbers of copies — if, I say, one were 
 to set all these aside and consider only what, apart 
 from these and in addition to these, Mr. Spurgeon 
 accomplished as a writer and maker of books, one 
 would still have to acknowledge that, in the capa- 
 city of author alone, this fecund genius did enough 
 to give him unchallenged rank among the most 
 successful literary men of his generation. I must 
 take no room here for statistics, but I may men- 
 tion, by way of sufficient illustration and argument 
 that his John Ploughman's Talks has reached a sale 
 of 320,000 copies, while of a sequel, published a few 
 years since, 100,000 copies have been sold. Each 
 successive book of Mr. Spurgeon's — a considerable 
 list the full number would make — would, I am 
 sure, be accounted a marked publisher's success. 
 So much for the literary part of Mr. Spurgeon's 
 famous work. 
 
 But, once more, Mr. Spurgeon might never 
 either have preached or have written, and yet, had 
 he — could this be supposed possible — done nothing 
 but found, establish, organize, administer the sev- 
 eral great public institutions over which he pre- 
 sided, and to which, if one may so speak after the 
 manner of men — he gave the breath of their life — ■ 
 
vi Introduction. 
 
 that work by itself, justly estimated, would entitle 
 the prime human motor in it to be ranked a man 
 of genius. Look at the church of the Metropolitan 
 Tabernacle. Count out, as a thing not to be 
 brought into the present comparison, that amaz- 
 ing missionary church in Ongole, and I suppose 
 this to be by odds the largest Protestant church 
 proper in the world. The exact present numbers 
 are a little short of 6,000 members, and what a spec- 
 tacle of organization and organized activity it 
 presents! What a mother of churches it has been! 
 Occasionally the pastor, in the full career of his 
 ministry, would request the regular attendants and 
 seat-holders to absent themselves from a preaching 
 service, that the '' unreached " masses of London 
 population might have room to swarm in and fill the 
 monster Tabernacle. Then hardly six or eight per- 
 sons — and these amiably overcome, perhaps, by their 
 half unselfish curiosity and joy to behold the ani- 
 mating sight — out of all the thousands that heard 
 Mr. Spurgeon Sunday after Sunday, would be pres- 
 ent. What discipline of love, and obedience, and 
 self-denial! Then there, too, is the College for Pas- 
 tors — an institution beyond, far beyond, anything 
 in this respect to be paralleled with it, the creation 
 of one brain and heart. And the Orphanage! And 
 the Colportage Society ! These organizations, I 
 repeat it, with their already assured wise adminis- 
 tration and abounding fruitfulness, would alone 
 be a great and enduring monument to the name of 
 their founder and chief manager. 
 
 Now roll the three, great preacher, great author, 
 
Iiitrodiution. vii 
 
 great organizer, into one, and the result is a man 
 for human nature to be — what shall we say? — 
 proud of? — no; for the man is Charles Haddon 
 Spurgeon — say rather to be glad of, to be unspeak- 
 ably thankful to God for. " It is not, it is not," 
 we seem to hear Mr. Spurgeon himself in almost 
 pained deprecation say it — " it is not man's great- 
 ness, but God's grace." 
 
 In the physical man, Mr. Spurgeon's voice was 
 his chief good fortune in endowment. But that 
 good fortune would nigh have compensated for the 
 lack of every other. The wonder of Mr. Spurgeon's 
 voice grew upon me the more I considered it and 
 compared it. He used it without any apparent ef- 
 fort, and it answered every purpose of his will. In its 
 utmost violence, I never heard from it one note that 
 grated harshly on the ear. It was virile, but it hid 
 in its virile sweetness an effect of womanly winning- 
 ness that was almost pathetic. In the mere matter 
 of making people hear, Mr. Spurgeon accomplished 
 with his voice feats probably never surpassed, I 
 doubt if ever equaled. I was told, and I believe, 
 that in Agricultural Hall, in London, a place de- 
 scribed as being like uninclosed space forvastness, 
 he made himself distinctly audible to 12,000 peo- 
 ple. It is even credibly affirmed that, in the Crys- 
 tal Palace, at Sydenham, he spoke, and was every- 
 where perfectly audible, to an assembly of 20,000 
 people. His voice, when he was speaking so as to be 
 heard by such a number, would be no less agree- 
 able to those persons nearest him than to those 
 farthest removed, and hardly less distinct to those 
 
viii Introditction, 
 
 farthest removed than to tliose nearest. It was an 
 instrument of speech that either needed no man- 
 agement, or was so perfectly managed that it 
 seemed to need none. It was the perfection of 
 nature; or else the perfection of both nature and 
 art. 
 
 The thing most obvious and most striking in Mr. 
 Spurgeon's mental endowment was his preternat- 
 ural command of language, both vocabulary and syn- 
 tax. For simple, lucid flow of appropriate speech, 
 so uninterrupted and so easy that it seemed like 
 lubricity itself become vocal and expressive, I never 
 heard anything anywhere that even approached 
 Mr. Spurgeon's habitual discourse. Mr. Beecher 
 was great at this point ; but he had fits of greater 
 and less, was eruptive, sometimes explosive. Mr. 
 Spurgeon never faltered. He never went faster 
 than he wished to, for fear that if he went slower 
 he might come not to go at all. He never went 
 slow because he could not go faster. The fountain 
 flowed because it was a fountain, and the nature 
 of a fountain is to flow. Of course I describe 
 what appeared. Doubtless Mr. Spurgeon had his 
 subjective experiences of mental obstruction ; but 
 his frank, manly, womanly way was to make his 
 hearers confidants of his moods, by telling them 
 outright when his chariot wheels were driving 
 heavily. No speaker was ever more sure of the 
 sympathy of his hearers. 
 
 Perfect mastery of his own system of doctrine 
 was another secret of Mr. Spurgeon's power. Per- 
 fect mastery of it, and perfect conviction of its 
 
hitro duct ion. ix 
 
 truth, went hand in hand together with him. He 
 never stood before his hearers like a reed shaken 
 with the wind. He stood solid on the rock, with 
 the whole balanced weight of his great personal- 
 ity. 
 
 The doctrine itself that he taught had the 
 immense advantage of being a doctrine that could 
 easily be made intelligible to average minds. And 
 average minds composed the audience to which 
 Mr. Spurgeon addressed himself. The character of 
 mediocrity wrote itself legibly, unmistakably, over 
 the aspect of the Tabernacle congregation. I say 
 this to Mr. Spurgeon's praise. His church was 
 essentially a mission church occupying mission 
 ground. All the unequalled influence as a minister 
 of the gospel that Mr. Spurgeon attained, he 
 attained, let this be forever remembered to his 
 honor, in the service of a church made up of '* not 
 many wise, not many noble." What his preaching 
 did was to present to such hearers the one un- 
 changing gospel of Christ in countless changes of 
 form, each perfectly level to the comprehension of 
 all. He turned and turned the kaleidoscope of the 
 sermon, and exhibited to his hearers, never weary 
 of beholding, the same precious truths over and 
 over again, Sunday after Sunday, in displays that 
 had nothing new to recommend them but the end- 
 lessly new combinations of things old that the 
 magic of the preacher could produce. If the same 
 combinations even were sometimes repeated, that 
 did not make the pleasure of seeing them pall in 
 the least upon the appetite of the beholders. The 
 
Introduction, 
 
 achievement was magnificent, of a magnificent aim 
 — to preach the gospel to the poor. 
 
 It would be a capital omission not to make 
 note of the blithe humor that enlivened the earnest 
 temperament of Mr. Spurgeon, and broadened 
 and quickened his touch with the people. This, 
 and an instantaneous alertness of mind in him that 
 served every useful purpose of wit, stood him 
 many a time in good stead on oratoric occasions. 
 These two qualities of his subsisted in a noble 
 basis of Saxon common-sense, and, together with 
 that, saved him remarkably, throughout his life, 
 from serious practical errors. 
 
 The fundamental attribute, alike of his talent 
 and of his character, was a magnanimous simplic- 
 ity. His conduct and his speech were uniformly 
 such as seemed comportable with the straightfor- 
 wardness, the honor, the sense of personal respons- 
 ibility, proper to a Christian gentleman. 
 
 But the thing to me most remarkable of all, 
 about this remarkable man, I have thus far purposely 
 reserved. It was not his magnificent gift of 
 eloquence, that steady unfailing river of utterance, 
 that winning, manly, pathetic voice, like a silver 
 trumpet, like a flute, like an organ. It was not the 
 inexhaustible fertility of his productive literary 
 genius. It was not the matchless resource of organiz- 
 ing, sustaining, administering strength and wisdom 
 that he displayed. It was no one of these things by 
 itself, and not all of these things in their rare 
 union and harmony. It was something other and 
 higher. The most remarkable thing about Mr, 
 
hitroduction. xi 
 
 Spurgeon was this : the absolute, simple, single 
 fidelity maintained by him throughout, maintained 
 unintermittingly, from the juvenile beginning to 
 the culminating maturity of his work — the serene, 
 unperturbed, untempted fidelity of mind, of heart, 
 of conscience, of will, of all that was in him, and 
 all that was of him, to the mere and pure, 
 unchanged, unaccommodated New Testament gos- 
 pel of Jesus Christ, the same yesterday, to-day, 
 and forever. That stands up and out, that lifts 
 itself and is eminent, like a peak of the Himalayas, 
 high regnant over all the subjected high table- 
 land of this noble character and life. Blessed be 
 God for it! There is comfort, there is strength 
 left for us even yet, now that he is gone, in 
 the backward contemplation. Look up at him. 
 The wrinkled sea beneath him was crawling with 
 its little waves of scientific guess, of new theologic 
 shift and statement, of finical culture seeking to 
 replace Christian ethics with pagan aesthetics. 
 How, seen from that sun-bright, immovable summit 
 of the gospel, the contorted sea beneath of human 
 wisdom must have looked vain and small! Well 
 might Christendom take part in celebrating with 
 solemn joy the jubilee that struck its hour abroad, 
 heard over all the world, in the fiftieth birthday of 
 this faithful man of God. " It may be," Mr. Spur- 
 geon at that time said of himself, " it may be, that 
 we are only in mid-voyage," adding, " May that 
 voyage end in landing our freight in port, and not 
 as some life passages have terminated, namely, in 
 an utter wreck of every hope !" 
 
X i I Int7'odiiction . 
 
 Somewhat farther on than '' in mid-voyage " it 
 proved that Spurgeon was, when he wrote those 
 touching, prayer-laden words. But nothing of 
 what he meekly so deprecated befell him to darken 
 the end. All was peace and hope, triumphant over 
 pain. With what heightening of the fine sense 
 conveyed in Milton's words about Samson Agon- 
 istesdeadjWe may apply those words to Spurgeon! 
 
 " Nothing is here for tears, nothing to wail 
 
 Or knock the breast ; no weakness, no contempt, 
 Dispraise, or blame ; nothing but well and fair, 
 And what may quiet us in a death so noble." 
 
 That for Spurgeon himself. But for us that 
 survive him ! Alas, we feel how much light, how 
 much warmth, how much life, as of a sun, withdrew 
 from the w^orld that Sunday night with the going 
 hence of Charles Haddon Spurgeon, 
 
CONTENTS. 
 
 PAGE. 
 INTRODUCTION Ill 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 MR. SPURGEON'S early DAYS .... 3 
 
 CHAPTER n. 
 reminiscences of waterbeach . . .29 
 
 CHAPTER HI. 
 
 the first SUNDAYS IN LONDON . . -57 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 PERSONAL REMINISCENCES 89 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 
 ANECDOTES, LETTERS, ANA, ETC. . . .121 
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 
 SOME SPECIAL OCCASIONS . . . . .159 
 
xiv Contents, 
 
 CHAPTER VII. 
 
 PAGE. 
 TWO THOUSAND PRINTED SERMONS . . .195 
 
 CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 THE preacher's REWARD — ANECDOTES ABOUT THE 
 
 SERMONS 219 
 
 CHAPTER IX. 
 
 MR. SPURGEON'S BOOKS 25 1 
 
 CHAPTER X. 
 
 THE BOOK FUND 269 
 
 CHAPTER XI. 
 
 REVIEWS IN ** THE SWORD AND THE TROWEL " . 289 
 
 CHAPTER XII. 
 
 CONCLUDING THOUGHTS AND REMINISCENCES . 315 
 
 CHAPTER XIII. 
 
 LAST SCENES AND LAST SERMONS . . . 367 
 
MR. SPURGEOirS EARLY DAYS. 
 
*' I will ask any sensible man, above all, any serious Christian here, 
 whether there have not been certain times in his life when he could 
 most distinctly see that indeed God did ' choose his inheritance for 
 him ' ? . . . I do not know whether all of you can go with me here ; 
 but I think you must in some instance or other be forced to see that 
 God has indeed ordained your inheritance for you. If you cannot, 
 I can. I can see a thousand chances, as men would call them, all 
 working together like wheels in a great piece of machinery, to fix me 
 just where I am ; and I can look back to a hundred places where, if 
 one of those little wheels had run away — if one of those little atoms 
 in the great whirlpool of my existence had started aside — I might 
 have been anywhere but here, occupying a very different position. If 
 you cannot say this, I know / can with emphasis, and can trace God's 
 hand back to the period of my birth through every step I have taken ; 
 I can feel that indeed God has allotted my inheritance for me. If any 
 of you are so wilfully beclouded that you will not see the hand of 
 God in your being, and will insist that all has been done by your will 
 without Providence ; that you have been left to steer your own course 
 across the ocean of existence ; and that you are where you are because 
 your own hand guided the tiller, and your own arm directed the 
 rudder, all I can say is, my own experience belies the fact, and the 
 experience of many now in this place would rise in testimony against 
 you, and say, ' Verily, it is not in man that walketh to direct his steps.' 
 — ' Man proposes, but God disposes ; ' and the God of heaven is not 
 unoccupied, but is engaged in over-ruling, ordering, altering, working 
 all things according to the good pleasure of His will." — The New Park 
 Street Pulpit^ i. 255. 
 
t 
 
 MR. SPURGEON'S EARLY DAYS, 
 
 1\ /r ANY hands have tried to do what I shall 
 ^^ ^ certainly not attempt in this volume — to 
 write the life of Mr. Spurgeon. To accomplish 
 such a task would be as impossible to-day as it 
 will be in the future. No great man can be 
 worthily preserved on paper — not even by the 
 most perfect Boswellian mode of treatment ; and 
 what the Pastor has been heard to threaten 
 he will do, should he ever be approached by a 
 first cousin of Johnson's biographer, may well 
 intimidate the boldest member of that inquisitive 
 tribe. I am not a Boswcll ; I am not a bio- 
 grapher. I shall not impertinently pry behind the 
 scenes of private life to annoy a worthy family on 
 the one hand, and to gratify a morbid public 
 curiosity on the other hand. All that is purposed 
 to be done is, to produce a series of sketches 
 different from anything which has, as yet, been 
 put together in a volume, and which shall be 
 
4 Early Days, 
 
 sufficiently true to life not' to mislead outsiders, 
 and not to shock the sensibilities of friends. 
 
 In case any reader should need them for 
 reference, I shall, in this opening chapter, put 
 down a few commonplace facts such as are 
 widely known and are everybody's property. Mr. 
 Spurgeon was born at Kclvedon, in Essex, on the 
 19th of June, 1834 ; and, as the world is fond of 
 comparing the events in the life of one great man 
 with those belonging to the course of another 
 great man, it may be remarked that on that 
 auspicious day Thomas Babington Macaulay 
 "crossed the frontier of Mysore." It was in that 
 year, moreover, that the Houses of Parliament 
 were destroyed by fire. 
 
 During several generations, the Spurgeons 
 have been engaged in the Christian ministry. 
 The Pastor's grandfather spent half a century 
 among a flock at Stambourne, and this old 
 worthy's son is a valued minister of the Inde- 
 pendent denomination at the present time. One 
 of the earliest custodians of the popular preacher 
 was an affectionate maiden aunt, who, with others, 
 could not fail to detect a precocious talent in her 
 youthful charge. We have all heard how Richard 
 Knill looked upon the boy with admiration, to 
 express hopes in regard to the future which have 
 not been disappointed, 
 
A Puritan Vete7^an, 
 
 Some years ago the Rev. W. Osborne, who is 
 now pastor of a flourishing Baptist Church at 
 Eastbourne, supplied me with the following re- 
 miniscence of the Rev. James Spurgeon of 
 Stambourne : — 
 
 The day preceding that on which he entered 
 on college work in London, Mr. Osborne preached 
 at Stambourne for old Mr. Spurgeon, who was 
 then an octogenarian, and showed the strongest 
 possible partiality for Dr. Watts's hymns. This 
 deep-rooted prejudice on the part of the old 
 gentleman was a trait in his character with which 
 the neighbours and regular hearers were familiar ; 
 but it was something of which the young preacher 
 had never heard even the slightest whisper. Mr. 
 Osborne arrived at Stambourne, he entered the 
 chapel, to receive the first intimation of a coming 
 disagreement when a member of the congregation 
 expressed a hope that the hymns were selected, 
 and that all were of Dr. Watts's composition. 
 On turning to the book it was at once seen that 
 the unlucky youth had missed his way in each 
 selection, every hymn being the production of an 
 unappreciated poet, for none would suit the old 
 gentleman but those of Isaac Watts. Time was 
 pressing, however, and the hymns were allowed to 
 pass ; but as the service went on, the effects of 
 the strange verses on the mind of the old pastor 
 
6 Early Days, 
 
 were striking, and calculated to create trepidation 
 in the heart of an inexperienced preacher. Like 
 a master in Israel the old man took a seat in the 
 table-pew, and, as occasion required, he cast a 
 searching glance towards the pulpit. When the 
 first hymn was announced he signified his dis- 
 approval by gravely shaking his head ; when the 
 second was given out, with no improvement, he 
 expressed his disgust by simply closing the book ; 
 but when the third came, and was still by a for- 
 bidden author, he raised his fist as though he 
 would chastise the offender. At the conclusion of 
 the service there was an explosion, not of wrath, 
 but of pent-up feeling. " Young man ! " cried the 
 aged pastor, with a genial twinkle of the eye, 
 while he raised a stout stick to give emphasis to 
 his words — " Young man ! if you do not want 
 your brains knocked out, you must sing Dr. 
 Watts's hymns ! " If he was not actually terrified 
 into compliance with these forcible demands, 
 Mr. Osborne took particular care not to repeat in 
 the afternoon the mistake of the morning. At 
 this second service hymns by Dr. Watts were 
 quietly introduced ; old Mr. Spurgeon according 
 the preacher a nod of approval as soon as the 
 first was announced. When the second and 
 third hymns were such as could be commended, 
 former chagrin gave place to extreme satisfaction. 
 
A Child Preacher, 
 
 " Right, sir, right ! " cried the pastor, after h'stening 
 admiringly to a sermon on the fall of Jericho, " I 
 am glad to see you can appreciate the best authors 
 so quickly. Go now and get your ram's horn 
 ready, like those men, and God may make you 
 the means of hurling to the ground walls as 
 strong and stubborn as those " — i.e.^ of Jericho. 
 On the following day Mr. Osborne removed to 
 London, joined the Pastors' College, and thus got 
 his " ram's horn ready " for future service in a 
 manner that won the approval of his honest, 
 outspoken preceptor. 
 
 It is generally understood that Mr. Spurgeon 
 showed his ministerial proclivities almost as soon 
 as he could walk and speak. His earliest recol- 
 lections are of reading religious books ; and in 
 childish days he would address an audience, 
 corresponding in age to his own years, with more 
 force than some adults can command in the 
 pulpit. Very strong tendencies in a certain 
 direction in childhood are always interesting ; 
 they must have been doubly so in a case where 
 the subject was endowed with one of the finest 
 voices of which we have any example. Though 
 thus piously brought up, he was not converted 
 until he was sixteen, and the great change 
 occurred at Colchester, in which town he purposed 
 to visit one sanctuary after another in search of 
 
8 Early Days. 
 
 - ■— ^M^M I I ■■■-■ II I » I I ■^^■— — ■■■■iiM — ■ m^ 
 
 saving light. He turned into one of the humblest 
 of chapels, and there heard a thin, pale man preach 
 from the words, " Look unto Me and be ye saved, 
 all the ends of the earth." The manner in which 
 the preacher cried, " Look ! Look ! LOOK ! " was 
 peculiarly striking, and, what is better, relief came 
 instantly, the simplicity of the Gospel being at 
 once appreciated. The pulpit in which this 
 memorable " Look " sermon was preached may 
 now be seen at the Stockwell Orphanage. 
 
 On a certain occasion, Mr. Spurgeon's father, 
 in speaking of his family to Dr. Ford, of America, 
 is reported to have remarked : — " I had been 
 from home a great deal, trying to build up weak 
 congregations, and felt that I was neglecting the 
 religious training of my own children while I 
 toiled for the good of others. I returned home 
 with these feelings. I opened the door, and was 
 surprised to find none of the children about the 
 hall. Going quietly up the stairs, I heard my 
 wife's voice. She was engaged in • prayer with 
 the children.. I heard her pray for them one 
 by one by name. She came to Charles, and 
 specially prayed for him, for he was of high 
 spirit and daring temper. I listened till she 
 had ended her prayer, and I felt and said, 
 • Lord, I will go on with Thy work. The children 
 will be cared for/" 
 
Juvenile Literary Efforts. 
 
 Of his education after this date, little needs 
 to be said. He plodded as a schoolboy at 
 Colchester. He studied for a time at Maidstone, 
 in an agricultural college of that town. He 
 subsequently accepted an appointment in a 
 school at Newmarket, the principal of which was 
 a Baptist ; but I am not aware that this fact in 
 any way accounts for the change of sentiment — 
 the transition from Paedobaptist to Baptist views 
 — which about this time occurred. That change 
 
 o 
 
 was brought about by a close study of the 
 Bible ; for Mr. Spurgeon's mind is of an inde- 
 pendent cast, that would not brook the inter- 
 ference of any lower authority than Scripture. 
 Thus early his mind was active, while his 
 industry was great. A slight brochure of those 
 days, called "Antichrist and her Brood," has 
 never been published, although I believe that 
 the MS. is still in the possession of the Rev. 
 John Spurgeon. A poem called "The Fall of 
 Jericho " was printed, and afterwards republished 
 in the first number of The Sword and tJie 
 Trowel. 
 
 Before his conversion, and as a mere youth, 
 Mr. Spurgeon was tempted to become an un- 
 believer ; and while preaching at Exeter Hall, 
 on Sunday evening, March i8th, 1855, he gave 
 some vivid reminiscences of that unhappy time. 
 
lO Early Days, 
 
 e.g. — ** There may be some one here to-night who 
 has come without faith, a man of reason, a free- 
 thinker. With him I have no argument at all. 
 I profess not to stand here as a controversialist, 
 but as a preacher of things that I know and feel. 
 But I too have been like him. There was an 
 evil hour when once I slipped the anchor of my 
 faith ; I cut the cable of my belief ; I no longer 
 moored myself hard by the coasts of revelation ; 
 I allowed my vessel to drift before the wind ; I 
 said to reason, ' Be thou my captain ; ' I said 
 to my own brain, * Be thou my rudder ; * and I 
 started on my mad voyage. Thank God it is 
 all over now ; but I will tell you its brief history. 
 It was one hurried sailing over the tempestuous 
 ocean of free thought. I went on, and as I 
 went the skies began to darken ; but to make 
 up for that deficiency the waters were brilliant 
 with coruscations of brilliancy. I saw sparks 
 flying upwards that pleased me, and I thought, 
 * If this be free thought, it is a happy thing.' 
 My thoughts seemed gems, and I scattered stars 
 with both my hands. But anon, instead of these 
 coruscations of glory, I saw grim fiends, fierce 
 and horrible, start up from the waters, and as I 
 dashed on they gnashed their teeth and grinned 
 upon me ; they seized the prow of my ship and 
 dragged me on, while I, in part, gloried at the 
 
In the Realm of Unbelief, 1 1 
 
 rapidity of my moiion, but yet shuddered at the 
 terrific rate with which I passed the old land- 
 marks of my faith. As I hurried forward with 
 an awful speed, I began to doubt my very 
 existence ; I doubted if there were a world, I 
 doubted if there were such a thing as myself. 
 I went to the very verge of the dreary realms of 
 unbelief. I went to the very bottom of the sea 
 of infidelity. I doubted everything. But here 
 the devil foiled himself ; for the very extrava- 
 gance of the doubt proved its absurdity. Just 
 when I saw the bottom of that sea, there came 
 a voice which said, ' And can this doubt be 
 true } ' At this very thought I awoke. I started 
 from that death-dream, which God knows might 
 have damned my soul, and ruined this my body, 
 if I had not awoke. When I arose faith took 
 the helm ; from that moment I doubted not. 
 Faith steered me back ; faith cried, * Away, 
 away ! ' I cast my anchor on Calvary ; I lifted 
 my eye to God ; and here I am alive, and out 
 of hell. Therefore, I speak what I do know. I 
 have sailed that perilous voyage ; I have come 
 safe to land. Ask me again to be an infidel ! 
 No ; I have tried it ; it was sweet at first, but 
 bitter afterwards." 
 
 I will now briefly allude to the pastor's first 
 sermon, and then return to some other things 
 
12 Early Days, 
 
 which were providentially overruled to produce 
 the best results in after days. 
 
 On a certain day, between twenty and thirty 
 years ago, two young men might have been seen 
 walking out of Cambridge towards a village lying 
 in the suburbs of that town, for the purpose of 
 holding a cottage service. Neither of the two 
 pedestrians had ever preached a sermon in his 
 life ; but more singular was the fact that each 
 marched forward along the green level lanes 
 while harbouring the comfortable mistake that 
 the other was the preacher for the day. They 
 talked as they travelled, and, after a time, the 
 younger ventured to intimate to his companion 
 that he hoped the Lord would bless his — the 
 companion's — labours. Those words as they fell 
 appear to have produced something akin to an 
 electric shock. " Oh, dear ! " cried the elder 
 youth, eagerly, desirous of correcting an incon- 
 venient error — " Oh, dear, I never preached in my 
 life. I never thought of doing such a thing. I 
 was asked to walk with you, and I sincerely hope 
 God will bless you in your preaching.*' " Nay," 
 cried the younger, apparently growing nervous, 
 " but I never preached, and I don't know that 
 I could do anything of the sort.'* The elder 
 had thrown off the burden ; the younger walked 
 on, filled with fear and trembling. There was 
 
A Child T/ieo/oi^ian. \ '? 
 
 the cottage, there were the people assembled, 
 and a sermon would have to be preached to 
 them. The effort was made ; the younger of the 
 two novices made that effort, succeeded beyond 
 his expectations — and his name was Charles 
 Haddon Spurgeon. 
 
 For years before this eventful day in his history 
 he had shown himself to be of a strongly in- 
 quisitive mind. Having once set his heart on 
 knowing a thing, he would persevere until he 
 came at the truth, nor would he allow his 
 reasonable curiosity to be evaded either by the 
 friendly " Pooh, pooh ! " or by sterner rebuke. In 
 an autobiographical article, published more than 
 ten years ago, we are supplied with some juvenile 
 reminiscences far too characteristic to be over- 
 looked. When as a child he was living with 
 his grandfather, it was the custom for Charles 
 Haddon to read the Scriptures at family worship, 
 and on every occasion he was allowed the licence 
 of asking any question he chose on the portion 
 for the day. On a certain morning the incon- 
 veniently-inquisitive reader came to the " bottom- 
 less pit " of the Revelation, and immediately 
 asked, " Grandpa, what can this mean .? " " Pooh, 
 pooh I child, go on," replied the old man, regard- 
 ing the question as too trivial to call for serious 
 rsply. To a child, however, every subject of 
 
14 Early Days. 
 
 interest is important; and in this instance Charles 
 determined to read the same chapter morning 
 after morning until a satisfactory explanation 
 should be offered. " Well, dear, what is it that 
 puzzles you?" asked the grandfather, after he 
 had heard about the Beast, the Mother of Harlots, 
 etc., etc., etc., as often as he thought desirable, 
 or perhaps profitable. The question was then 
 put in a more definite form, " If the pit aforesaid 
 had no bottom, where would all those people fall 
 to who dropped out at its lower end } " The 
 query was too deep to be answered at once ; it 
 seems to have disturbed the gravity of the little 
 circle, and to have been a sample of the " diffi- 
 culties " that were propounded for elucidation at 
 family worship. 
 
 The late sainted Mr. Knill, of Chester, was a 
 friend of the family in those early days, and he 
 happened to be drawn in an extraordinary manner 
 towards the child whose singularities were suffi- 
 ciently marked to make him an object of more 
 than ordinary interest. One fine morning Mr. 
 Knill awoke his protege at an early hour, and for 
 some time they walked together in the garden. 
 They conversed about books and reading, and 
 about the privilege of winning souls for Christ. 
 Then they knelt together in the arbour, where 
 the elder prayed for the younger, and did so in 
 
Mr. KnilVs Prophecy. 15 
 
 a manner that brought a blessing and left a life- 
 long impression. Afterwards, in the midst of the 
 family circle, Mr. Knill placed the child on his 
 knee, and remarked, " I do not know how it is, 
 but I feel a solemn presentiment this child will 
 preach the Gospel to thousands, and God will 
 bless him to many souls. So sure am I of this, 
 that when my little man preaches in Rowland 
 Hill's Chapel — as he will do one day — I should 
 like him to promise me that he will give out 
 the hymn beginning 
 
 ** ' God moves in a mysterious way 
 His wonders to perform.'" 
 
 That rather striking prophecy was completely 
 fulfilled ; but Mr. Spurgeon is of opinion that the 
 words themselves were instrumental in bringing 
 about their own fulfilment. 
 
 The " first sermon " has been already men- 
 tioned. When the ice was once broken, the 
 neighbourhood of Cambridge was the scene of the 
 young Christian's evangelistic efforts. On arriving 
 at a village on an unpropitious wintry night he 
 has found the chapel empty, and has, lantern in 
 hand, gone round to the houses to collect a con- 
 gregation. It is quite a mistake to suppose that 
 he was not popular before coming to London ; 
 for he was a favourite with the Cambridgeshire 
 peasantry Dciore ne became so conspicuous a 
 
1 6 Early Days, 
 
 figure in the outer world and the leading member 
 of his denomination. When stationed at Water- 
 beach, his services began to be in excessive 
 demand, and invitations to preach were cordially 
 responded to. The more shrewd even among the 
 common people must have perceived that one who 
 was something more than a rising man was in 
 their midst 
 
 In youth he did not altogether set his face 
 against going to college, though in later life he 
 has ** a thousand times thanked the Lord very 
 heartily for the strange providence which forced 
 his steps into another and far better path." 
 Truth to say, Mr. Spurgeon missed a collegiate 
 training consequent on one of those singular 
 mishaps which, at the time, are as annoying as 
 they are unavoidable. While he was carrying 
 all before him at Waterbeach his judicious seniors 
 thought that the pastor would never become all 
 he was capable of becoming unless he went to 
 London and sat the prescribed number of times 
 at the feet of a duly-qualified professor. This 
 advice was listened to, and arrangements were 
 made for a meeting of Dr. Angus on the one 
 part and Mr. Spurgeon on the other part, the 
 rendezvous appointed having been the house 
 of the well-known publisher, Mr. Macmillan .f 
 Cambridge. The young pastor amved at the 
 
Earli/ Plodiung. 17 
 
 time specified, was ushered into a drawing-room 
 by the maid, and, after waiting for two hours, 
 he rang the bell to learn the reason of the pro- 
 tracted delay. In the meantime, Dr. Angus had 
 arrived, had been shown into another room, but 
 not being so well able to exemplify the virtue 
 of patience as his younger friend, the learned 
 doctor departed for London, doubtless wondering 
 why young aspirants to the ministry were not 
 more eager to seize fleeting opportunities. Thus 
 the two sat in adjoining rooms until patience 
 had "had her perfect work," neither suspecting 
 that the other was near. What momentous con- 
 sequences sometimes hang on small matters ! how 
 much may occasionally depend on the remissness 
 of a half-witted servant-maid ! Still, the Church 
 would have gained nothing by C. H. Spurgeon's 
 admission into Regent's Park College. 
 
 Writing in 1881, Mr. Spurgeon thus referred 
 to his own days of early plodding : — 
 
 " My college course was after this fashion. I 
 was for three years a Cambridge man, though I 
 never entered the University. I could not have 
 obtained a degree, because I was a Noncon- 
 formist ; and, moreover, it was a better thing for 
 me to pursue my studies under an admirable 
 scholar and tender friend, and preach at the same 
 time, I must have been a singular-looking youth 
 
 2 
 
<3 Early Days, 
 
 on wet evenings. During the last year of my 
 stay in Cambridge, when I had given up my 
 office as usher, I was wont to sally forth every 
 night in the week except Saturday, and walk 
 three, five, or perhaps eight miles out and back 
 again on my preaching work ; and when it rained 
 I dressed myself in waterproof leggings and a 
 mackintosh coat, and a hat with a waterproof 
 covering, and I carried a dark lantern to show me 
 the way across the fields. I had many adven- 
 tures . . . but what I had gathered by my studies 
 during the day I handed out to a company of 
 villagers in the evening, and was greatly profited 
 by the exercise. I always found it good to say 
 my lesson when I had learned it. Children do 
 so, and it is equally good for preachers, especially 
 if they say their lesson by heart. In my young 
 days I fear I said many odd things and made 
 many blunders, but my audiences were not hyper- 
 critical, and no newspaper writers dogged my 
 heels ; and so I had a happy training-ground in 
 which, by continual practice, I attained such a 
 degree of ready speech as I now possess. There 
 is no way of learning to preach which can be 
 compared to preaching itself. If you want to 
 swim you must get into the water, and if you at 
 the first make a sorry exhibition, never mind, for 
 it is by swimming as you can that you learn to 
 
Youthful Discipline, 19 
 
 swim as you should. Hence we ought to be 
 lenient with beginners, for they will do better 
 by-and-bye. If young speakers in Cambridge had 
 been discouraged and silenced, I might not have 
 found my way here, and, therefore, I hope I shall 
 be the last to bring forth a wet blanket for any 
 who sincerely speak for Christ, however humble 
 may be their endeavours. The fear of there 
 being too many preachers is the last that will 
 occur to me. I rejoice in that passage of the 
 psalm, * The Lord gave the word ; great was the 
 company of those that published it.' Go forth, 
 young man, and proclaim among the people of 
 this vast city all the words of this life. Among 
 these millions you will all be few enough. . . . Fill 
 your baskets with living seed, and in due season 
 bring them back laden with many sheaves. My 
 heart is with you ; my soul rejoices in your suc- 
 cesses ; and I look to the great Head of the 
 Church, through your means, to gather in His 
 blood-bought ones." 
 
 Speaking at the laying of the first stone of the 
 Metropolitan Tabernacle, August 16th, 1859, the 
 Rev. John Spurgeon thus referred to his son's 
 early days : — 
 
 " I always thought my son did wrong in coming 
 to London ; now you see that I was wrong. I 
 alvvays thought he was wrong in not going to 
 
20 Early Days, 
 
 college ; I tried three or four hours with him one 
 night with a dear friend that loved him, but it 
 was no use ; he said, * No, I will never go to 
 college, only in strict obedience to you as a 
 father.' There I left the matter ; and I see that 
 God has been with him, though I thought it was 
 a wrong step in him to go to London. And I 
 thought it was a wrong step for me to com.e here 
 to-night ; but perhaps I may be mistaken again. 
 I can tell you it is one of the happiest days of 
 my life. I feel beyond myself when I think of 
 the kindness that has been shown to him when 
 but a youth. I ascribe it all to God's goodness 
 and the earnest prayers of his people. He has 
 been exposed to temptation from every source, 
 and even now, my friends, he is not free from it. 
 You have prayed for him, and God has sustained 
 him. Oh ! let me entreat you to continue your 
 prayers. Every one here to-night, go home and 
 pray for your pastor. A meeting like this is 
 enough to carry a man beyond himself and fill 
 his heart with pride ; but the grace of God is 
 all-sufficient. Several persons said to me — I do 
 not know what their motive was — * Your son will 
 never last in London six months ; he has no 
 education.' I said, * You are terribly mistaken ; 
 he has the best education that can possibly be 
 had; God has been his teacher, and he has had 
 
A Fathers Reminiscences. 21 
 
 earthly teachers too.' I knew, as far as education 
 went, he could manage London very well. Then 
 they said his health would fail ; but it has not 
 failed him yet. He has had enough to shake 
 his constitution, it is true, but God has been very 
 merciful to him. I think if there is one thing- 
 that would crown my happiness to-day, it would 
 have been to see his grandfather here. I should 
 have loved to see him here. He said, 'Boy, don't 
 ask me to go, I am too old ; I am overcome with 
 God's goodness and mercy to me.' He is always 
 talking about him. Old people like to have 
 something to talk about, so he always talks about 
 his grandson. And next to that I should like, 
 my dear friends, to have seen his mother here. 
 I believe, under God's grace, his mother has been 
 the means of leading him to Christ. You are 
 well aware that I go and talk in the best manner 
 I can to a i^w poor people on the Sabbath day, 
 and God has blessed my labours. I thought, 
 however, I ought not to go out on the Sabbath 
 day, as God's people should train up their children 
 in the best way they can ; I thought I was neg- 
 lecting my children, and as I came home one 
 evening about seven o'clock, and went upstairs, 
 I heard the voice of a mother pleading for her 
 boy Charles, and talking to him and the others, 
 and pouring her heart out in prayer in such a 
 
22 Early Days, 
 
 way as I never did in my life, and as I never 
 heard before. It is for the encouragement of 
 mothers that I mention this, that you may pray 
 for your children, for God is a prayer-hearing 
 and prayer-answering God." 
 
 Whilst taking a retrospect of a third of a 
 century of work, we become conscious of feeling 
 unwontedly curious about the youthful associa- 
 tions of one whom we may pronounce to be the 
 first preacher of this age without fear of contra- 
 diction. What signs of unusual genius, of future 
 distinction, were visible during youth .'' Who 
 were his friends } where may we trace the foot- 
 prints of his first travels as a preacher } Feeling 
 more than ordinary interest in these minutiae, I 
 some years ago asked a friend, whose fortune it 
 was to reside near ** Ouse's silent tide," if he 
 would collect such ana as he could relating to 
 Mr. Spurgeon's early days in that vicinity. 
 
 I believe there are about a score of Houghtons 
 in the British Empire ; but to myself the one 
 interesting member of a numerous family is that 
 Houghton which lies low and snug among the 
 tall trees luxuriating on the banks of the broad, 
 slow-rolling Ouse, midway between Huntingdon 
 and St. Ives. It is not a spot whereon one 
 would at first expect to find any religious 
 memories of more than common interest ; but 
 
TJie Giicsi of Potto Bjozvn. 23 
 
 in this case appearances are, happily, deceptive. 
 Near Houghton, Dr. Brooke, an able preacher, 
 and father of the well-known Rev. Stopford 
 Brooke, was for some time stationed. Here also 
 laboured Mr. Edward Cressell, a minister of the 
 Independent denomination, and whose ministra- 
 tions were heartily appreciated by the homely 
 village folk of the neighbourhood, and by lovers 
 of good preaching farther away. Above all, it 
 was at Houghton in his early days that Mr. 
 Spurgeon became the guest of the eccentric Potto 
 Brown, called by Elihu Burritt, in one of his 
 books, " The Miller of Houghton." Mr. Brown 
 was thoroughly eccentric, but he was still a kind- 
 hearted man, who grew hot-house grapes for the 
 sick poor, and who could commend the Wes- 
 leyans for saving souls at a cheaper rate than 
 was done by any other denomination. On this 
 question, as well as on others, the youth and 
 the veteran were far from being agreed, and 
 consequently some lively discussions came off 
 between the two which for smartness would not 
 have disgraced the Literary Club in its palmiest 
 days. 
 
 I will now give what my Ouse-slde friend 
 says about Houghton, its famous miller, and the 
 youthful preacher, C. H. Spurgeon : — 
 
 "It has been with much interest that I have 
 
24 Early Days, 
 
 traced, by the aid of the memories of my acquaint- 
 ances, the early teachings and appearance of one 
 who has taken and maintained an honoured place 
 in the vineyard of Jesus Christ, and one who has 
 well borne the burden and heat of the day. A 
 gentleman, whom I took to be a relative, informed 
 me that he heard ]\Ir. Spurgeon preach his first 
 sermon when about fourteen years of age, and 
 he then read, prayed, and expounded the Word, 
 being attired in a round jacket and broad, turn- 
 down collar, such as I remember to have seen 
 in fashion at that period. 
 
 " Mr. C. D. tells me that he remembers C. H. 
 Spurgeon preaching at Somersham about twenty- 
 six years ago, and when he would be about 
 seventeen years of age. He was then wearing 
 a round jacket and turn-down collar. He re- 
 members the words of the text, though not their 
 place — * Fear not, thou worm Jacob.' The boyish 
 voice of the preacher afforded a striking and 
 impressive contrast to the tones of the aged 
 minister who was accustomed to occupy the 
 pulpit. 
 
 " Mr. Spurgeon was then living at some place 
 near Cambridge, and his mode of preaching 
 afforded promise that he would become a power- 
 ful and popular speaker. One old man, who was 
 a Particular Baptist, and, I believe, difficult to 
 
Some Old People s Reuiiniscences, 25 
 
 please, went to hear him, and was careful to 
 repeat the visit. 
 
 " One old minister, for whom Mr. Spurgeon 
 preached, was plagued with a bad wife, and she 
 must needs go to America ; but with great 
 patience the husband waited for her return, never 
 fastening the door of the house nor suffering 
 others to do so till she came back to him. 
 
 " Mrs. J. A. remembers Mr. Spurgeon preach- 
 ing at Houghton when quite a lad. She rem.em- 
 bers the sermon was a very impressive one, and 
 could it have been heard without seeing the 
 boyish preacher, any one would have taken it to 
 be the discourse of a staid and experienced Chris- 
 tian. She believes this was one thing that led 
 Mr. Potto Brown to look upon the youthful orator 
 with less favour than he might otherwise have 
 done, because he thought that the sermon could 
 not have been his own composition. 
 
 " Mrs. B. appears to me to have a more vivid 
 recollection of the impression of what Mrs. J. A. 
 felt at the time above stated. There was much 
 conversation between the youthful preacher and 
 Mr. Potto Brown, and evidently much contention, 
 too ; for each would hold firmly to his own 
 opinion. 
 
 " Mrs. C. tells me that her husband, who was 
 the schoolmaster at the time, wms struck by the 
 
26 Early Days, 
 
 precocious talent of the young preacher, and with 
 his general style of preaching." 
 
 The above notes were collected for me by the 
 late Edward Cressell, whose friendship I highly 
 valued, and who, as pastor of the Congregational 
 Church, Houghton, Hunts, was one of the best 
 preachers in the neighbourhood. The informa- 
 tion is now, I believe, regarded as common 
 property by quidnuncs in both the Old and the 
 New World. 
 
 In regard to Mr. Spurgeon and the late Potto 
 Brown, the Pastor on one occasion himself referred 
 to that memorable meeting — " How he shocked 
 our Calvinistic propriety ! . . . We recollect his 
 telling us that our preaching was very well for an 
 apprentice boy, which was no doubt a correct 
 estimate, but after he had spoken in that style 
 one felt quite at home with him, and gave him 
 a Roland for his Oliver without the slightest 
 compunction. It was a battle royal, and both 
 the old gentleman and the 'prentice boy grew 
 sufficiently warm ; but no scars remained on 
 either combatant. Mr. Brown walked with us to 
 Huntingdon in loving conversation, and afterwards 
 sent us Haldane's Life as a present." 
 
REMINISCENCES OF WATERBEACH^ 
 
 I. The Village and its Surroundings. 
 n. Recollections of Mr. Spurgeon s Pastoratii. 
 
"When I think upon the all but infinite mischief which may result 
 from a mistake as to our vocation for the Christian pastorate, I feel 
 overwhelmed with fear lest any of us should be slack in examining our 
 credentials ; and I had rather that we stood too much in doubt, and 
 examined too frequendy, than that we should become cumberers 
 of the ground. There are not lacking many exact methods by which 
 a man may test his call to the ministry if he earnestly desires to do so. 
 It is imperative upon him not to enter the ministry until he has made 
 solemn quest and trial of himself as to this point. His own p-trsonal 
 salvation being secure, he must investigate as to the further matter 
 of his call to office ; the first is vital to hims If as a Christian, the 
 second equally vital to him as a pastor. As well be a professor 
 without conversion, as a pastor witho'it calling. In both cases there 
 's a name and nothing more." — Lectures to My Students, i. 23. 
 
II. 
 
 REMINISCENCES OF WATERBEACH, 
 
 I. — The Village and its Surroundings. 
 
 A S the village in which Mr. Spurgeon com- 
 ■^ ^ menced his pastoral career, Waterbeach 
 seemed to be worthy of a special visit, so that 
 when the opportunity occurred I undertook the 
 journey. The parish lies about five miles north. 
 of Cambridge, the soil is remarkably rich, and on 
 leaving the station the tourist will not fail to 
 observe the tokens of more than average pros- 
 perity everywhere manifest ; while the miagnificent 
 dome of sky presents that aspect of immensity 
 which is particularly noticeable on great level areas 
 such as the Cambridgeshire flats and the neigh- 
 bouring fens. At the last census the population 
 had been put down at sixteen hundred and 
 nineteen, and one miight despair of finding a 
 more comfortable agricultural settlement. The in 
 habitants eat the fruits of their luxuriant marshes 
 wliile sitting beneath their own vines and 
 
30 Reminiscences of Waie7'heach, 
 
 fig trees ; for, instead of belonging to one 
 domineering autocrat, the land is divided into 
 small proprietorships. The people are, conse- 
 quently, as remarkable for their independence in 
 religious matters as they are for their Liberalism 
 in politics. They are an honest, hospitable folk, 
 always ready to entertain a stranger, and while 
 characterised by hereditary prejudices, know only 
 of two hemispheres — Waterbeach and Mark Lane. 
 Their prejudices are going one by one. The open 
 sewer, for example, which formerly crossed and 
 fumigated the village, has been covered over, 
 though the older " Conservatives " battled bravely 
 on behalf of a venerable institution ; and a 
 smithy, black and begrimed, still defiling the 
 middle of the " Green," was said to be already 
 doomed. Nonconformity was everywhere in the 
 ascendant, and the vicar, who was a decided 
 Evangelical, appeared to lead the pleasantest 
 existence possible by simply preaching the Gospel 
 instead of fighting the sects. Were his procedure 
 less judicious he would wage unequal war, and 
 would, besides, risk changing present friends into 
 ecclesiastical wasps. Fully to realise the anomaly, 
 remember that we were just ten minutes' ride 
 from the University, and that though Waterbeach 
 Church attracted one of the best congregations in 
 the vicinity, yet the parish, as I understood, con- 
 
A Congenial Sphere, 31 
 
 tained only one large farmer, and a few small 
 ones, who were Churchmen ; and then commend 
 a vicar who, under such conditions, could command 
 the loving esteem of every parishioner. 
 
 Such being the character of Waterbeach, we 
 cannot wonder that in his youth Mr. Spurgeon 
 found the village to be a congenial sphere, that 
 he did his share in confirming the Puritan-like 
 faith and politics of the people, while his own 
 character may have taken a colouring from his 
 associations. In a strain which a certain critic 
 judges to be worthy of " The Complete Letter 
 Writer," he referred to his charge, at the age 
 of nineteen, as a " little Garden of Eden," and 
 only poverty obliged him to sever the tie of 
 union. Had Mr. Spurgeon's ministry commenced 
 in these times, instead of at the date it did, 
 Waterbeach would, undoubtedly, have held its 
 own a year or two longer, in spite of the call 
 to London. The people are immensely proud 
 of their old connection ; and still, in a- manner, 
 regarding their late pastor as one of themselves, 
 always welcome him back into their midst with 
 fervent enthusiasm. This regard would appear 
 to be pretty general among high and low. 
 At the best tables no guest would be allowed 
 to speak words of detraction unchallenged ; and 
 no one, who is nice as regards consequences. 
 
32 Reminiscences of Waterbeach, 
 
 would impugn Spurgeon's orthodoxy or good 
 nature among the peasants at any one of the 
 village lounges. 
 
 After alighting from the train, I had scarce 
 advanced a hundred yards towards the village 
 when it was my good fortune to encounter 
 Mr. James Toller, of Win fold Farm. Mr. Toller 
 is a pillar of the Nonconformist interest in 
 Waterbeach, he is a liberal contributor to the 
 institutions at the Metropolitan Tabernacle, and 
 Mr. Spurgeon himself has, more than once, been 
 a guest at the worthy yeoman's house. One 
 piece of luck — the word is used by the compilers 
 of the Prayer-Book — was soon followed by 
 another ; for the clouds, which had threatened 
 rain, broke and lightened, so that we were even 
 privileged to see Waterbeach in the autumn 
 sunshine. 
 
 After paying our respects at the manse of the 
 Baptist pastor, and looking in at the village 
 news-room, we find ourselves on that eminently 
 interesting site — the scene of Mr. Spurgeon's 
 first pastorate. The old thatched chapel has, 
 however, disappeared — we feel a sort of selfish 
 regret that it should be so — ^it has given place 
 to a handsome and more commodious meeting- 
 house, the corner-stones of which were respec- 
 tively laid by Mr. Spurgeon and Mr. Toller. 
 
A Waterbeach Deacon. .^^ 
 
 Still, the site is the same, and that is enough for 
 our present purpose. On this very ground, a 
 generation ago, many honest country folk 
 assembled for worship who already began to 
 wonder whereunto the thing would grow. The 
 then boy- preacher not only edified and surprised 
 the people who crowded the little chapel ; there 
 were some hearers there who, though poor and 
 unlettered, were yet sufficiently discerning to 
 know that an uncomimon genius was in their 
 midst. " He astonished everybody at that time ? " 
 1 inquired of an elderly deacon who well remem- 
 bers every circumstance. " Of course he did ! " 
 was the quick, curt reply. *' How, then, did he 
 preach.?" "Why," continued the old man, look- 
 ing straight at me, as though I ought to know 
 all about it, " like a man a hundred years old 
 in experience ! " That honest deacon afterwards 
 visited London for the first time ; he went the 
 countryman's usual round of inspection in the 
 capital, saw the Metropolitan Tabernacle, and 
 sat down as a guest of the pastor in his house 
 at Clapham. On his return he tried to tell the 
 people what he had really seen ; but memory 
 grew confused. His unsophisticated mind seem.ed 
 to retain but one thing, the lustre of which 
 darkened everything else — " Mr. Spurgeon was 
 very glad to see nie." 
 
 5 
 
34 Reminiscences of Waterbeach. 
 
 Winfold Farm covers an area of nearly six 
 hundred acres, and the residence is a mile from 
 the village. The proprietor of this fertile inheri- 
 tance is Mr. Toller's eldest son, a young gentle- 
 man who had then just come of age, and who 
 resided with his father. In the opinion of 
 Mr. Toller no man can be a landlord and tenant 
 at the same time, and earn a competence — the 
 shortest road to bankruptcy is over your own 
 land as a gentleman farmer. There is more 
 philosophy in this reasoning than a townsman 
 can gainsay. 
 
 The admirer of fine breeds will find enough of 
 entertainment at Winfold Farm ; and by a little 
 judicious selection from the bullocks in the 
 straw-yard, and the sheep in the turnip-field, 
 a very taking cattle-show might be put together 
 — especially if the thing were supplemented 
 with a iQ.\N choice pigs, and with some more 
 than admirable specimens of horse-flesh which 
 would be available. But more akin to our 
 subject is the acre of land which is annually 
 set apart for the orphans of Stockwell, the 
 produce of flour and potatoes being despatched 
 to London every autumn. The best things on 
 the estate are not deemed too good to bestow 
 freely upon Mr. Spurgeon's Institutions ; to be 
 but a friend of the pastor is to carry a passport 
 
P re-Refonn:xtloii Relics, 35 
 
 to liberal entertainment. Only a day or two 
 before, a well-known gentleman, then in repute 
 at the Metropolitan Tabernacle, had been down 
 to Winfold for the purpose of enjoying "a little 
 sport." Provided with the most perfect of 
 breech-loaders, he started forth to bang and 
 blaze away his powder at a prodigal rate, though 
 from morn to dusk he did not even ruffle the 
 feathers of a single native bird. Any stray 
 rambler at whom this amateur might have 
 directly aimed would have risked no bodily 
 harm, the general opinion, as Mr. Toller ex- 
 plained, being that the marksman would not 
 have hit the house had he levelled aiiJ fired 
 with that intention. But still, ramblers abroad 
 were 'serio'isly threatened by the stray shots 
 which, for the time, whizzed hither and thither 
 in wild irregularity. Such is the account Mr. 
 Toller gave of his sporting guest, who, it scarce 
 need be said, was not that ready marksman — 
 but not with firearms — Mr. Spurgeon himself. 
 
 A walk before dinner being proposed, Mr. 
 Toller conducted my companion and myself to 
 Denney Abbey Farm, the estate adjoining his own, 
 the dwelling-house and outbuildings being the 
 remains of a pre-Reformation monastery, of which 
 Mr. Richard Toller was found to be the master. 
 Everything here is weird and antiquated to a 
 
36 Reminiscences of Waterbeach, 
 
 degree which is sufficiently pleasing on a summer 
 day, when the objects of interest can be seen and 
 enjoyed ; but the effect is less pleasing when the 
 shades of night are falling, and the winter wind, 
 moaning around the tall, stout chimneys, seems to 
 be Old Nature's funeral requiem over monks and 
 nuns whose bones are thickly packed beneath the 
 garden soil. It is as strange as true that owls, 
 bats, and other night-birds find at Denney a con- 
 genial retreat wherein to screech and croak away 
 the midnight hour. When the business of the day 
 is hushed, ore might easily associate the clanking 
 of a horse's halter chain with the creaking of a 
 Templar's armour, as he would once have ridden 
 from the courtyard to join the First Crusade ; or 
 the pattering of a cat's feet on the gard&n-walk 
 might remind one of those light-treading maidens 
 whose lives were consecrated to God and St. 
 Glare. But as w^e are not superstitious, and the 
 sun is shining, let us deal with sober fact. 
 
 In the year i 1 60, Robert Ghambcrlain, Earl of 
 Richmond, became a monk at Ely, some ten miles 
 distant, and being a man of enterprising piety, he 
 gave an island in the surrounding mere for holy 
 purposes. A cell for a few hardy brethren was 
 accordingly erected ; but when repeated floods 
 obliged them to remove they encamped on higher 
 ground, bestowed by Aubrey Picot, at Denney. 
 
Denney Abbey, 37 
 
 After they had held the site for a few years, the 
 Ely monks were superseded by those daring foes 
 of Moslem infidels, the Knights Templars, to 
 whose wealthy Order the manor of Waterbeach 
 belonged. In the fourteenth century the society 
 of Templars was abolished, when their forsaken 
 cells were occupied by the nuns of St. Clare, 
 twenty- five of whom resided here on an income 
 of £1^2 a-year. After the dissolution of the 
 religious houses, at the era of the Reformation, 
 Denney passed from one owner to another ; and 
 in the reign of Elizabeth the farm was rented, I 
 believe, by Hobson, the carrier of Cambridge, the 
 first master who let out hired horses, and in 
 whose stables the familiar proverb " Hobson's 
 choice " is known to 'have originated. It is not 
 probable that the property has undergone any 
 great changes during the last century. The 
 dwelling-house is a portion of the original Church, 
 founded in 1160, and rebuilt by the Countess of 
 Pembroke in the reign of Edward III. Some of 
 the outbuildings appear to have been removed, 
 or to have gradually fallen into decay, though 
 for several generations the ancient refectory has 
 served as a convenient barn. When the convent 
 was in its prime a double entrenchment encircled 
 its towers, and instead of traversing the country 
 on foot, or by horse, as in after years, the monks 
 
38 Reminiscences of Waterbeach. 
 
 plied their oars across the mere, which then spread 
 its broad smooth surface between Denney and 
 Ely. 
 
 We now return to Winfold to dine and to rest 
 away the afternoon. When at last we finally take 
 leave of our friends, we are conscious of having 
 been entertained in a worthy Old English style, 
 and also of having spent an agreeable holiday, on 
 ground which will still be visited by summer 
 tourists for its own sake, and also on account of 
 its happy association with the first pastorate of 
 Charles Haddon Spurgeon. 
 
 II. — Recollections of Mr. Spurgeon's 
 Pastorate. 
 
 Some time after the adventure just related I 
 determined on paying a second visit to the scene 
 of Mr. Spurgeon's first pastorate. 
 
 It had been a wet night, and the damp, cold 
 November morning was but the prelude to a 
 soaking, tempestuous day, the wind and the rain 
 having completed an alliance which was destined 
 to hold good through another six-and-thirty hours. 
 " Waterbeach must be a wet place," I remarked 
 to the honest ostler who was driving through the 
 High-street of the village, meanwhile eyeing some- 
 
Significance of the Name, 39 
 
 what despondingly the thick, leaden-coloured 
 clouds which were unstintingly emptying their 
 watery treasures over the flat, far-spreading 
 country. "Yes, sir," replied the man, at once 
 catching my meaning, "it ain't called Waterbeach 
 for nothing." On further enquiry it was readily 
 found that the notion of the district never having 
 been known to suffer to any considerable extent 
 from drought was generally accepted. One 
 authority was heard to venture the opinion that 
 the weather never ivoiild clear up any more ; 
 while another gentleman, who had been a frequent 
 visitor, declares that it always rains when he is 
 there, go when he will. It may be all very well 
 to ask. What's in a name ? but cavil as we choose, 
 Waterbeach is exceedingly suggestive, and our 
 ancestors who framed the double word doubtless 
 took into account the local characteristics of the 
 country. Be this as it may, people naturally 
 seem to associate the village with mists above 
 and water below. It is not so very long since 
 that a genius of a student, who was commissioned 
 to "supply" the pulpit for a certain period, arrived 
 on the ground provided with a complete oilskin 
 outfit. Though the knowing might smile, " Water- 
 beach " was redolent of water ; and he showed 
 the wit of a growing theologian by being pre- 
 pared for contingencies. Without presuming to 
 
40 Reminiscences of Waterbeach, 
 
 speak as an authority, either one way or the 
 other, I may add to the testimony of others that, 
 having visited Waterbcach twice within the space 
 of two years, it rained more or less on each 
 occasion. 
 
 The object I had in view in visiting Waterbeach 
 a second time was to see a veteran Baptist elder, 
 named Robert Coe, who was a deacon of the church 
 more than thirty years ago, when Mr. Spurgeon 
 was pastor, and who then retained his honourable 
 office. If Mr. Coe was not the beau ideal of a 
 Nonconformist deacon, one's judgment must be 
 awry ; for he was hardly less than this to an 
 unprejudiced Londoner interested in the "lions" 
 and folk-lore of Old Cambridgeshire. The elder 
 and his wife were found to be thorough country 
 people, of the old-fashioned type ; and while they 
 were pious, thrifty, and well-to-do, they vv^ere so 
 far animated by tlie predilections of a former 
 generation that they were tempted to look askance 
 on some of our valued modern contrivance^. 
 During the whole of their quiet, peaceful life 
 they had not travelled any great distance from the 
 family home ; and, truth to say, they had never 
 become completely satisfied with railway locomo- 
 tion. Waterbeach was their world ; and limited as 
 the sphere might seem to natures of a more ambi- 
 tious turn, Watei beach had, under Providence, very 
 
A Vetera7i Deacon. 41 
 
 sufficiently supplied their simple wants. If any 
 are disposed to doubt the happiness of such a 
 lot, their scepticism would vanish after they had 
 ^spent an hour at the veteran's fireside. Mr. Coe 
 was a successful man because he had done well 
 as regards both worlds ; and the restlessness of 
 his eye was not the restlessness of discontent; it 
 was rather the habit of a keen observer who 
 could see through a visitor at a glance. He not 
 only knew all about what had happened at 
 Waterbeach during one or two generations, but 
 he was quite willing to be communicative. 
 
 *' Oh, what a sight of times he did try to get 
 me to London," he remarked, passing his hand 
 across his forehead and looking straight into the 
 fire. "You mean Mr. Spurgeon ? " " Yes," was 
 the reply; "and he said, 'If you will come I 
 will present you with a new fiagon, and it shall 
 be engraved.'" It transpired that a common 
 black wine-bottle had been used at the communion 
 table of the chapel opposite ; and as such a 
 practice could hardly be said to be either " decent " 
 or " in order," the presentation of something better 
 was suggested. The flagon was earned in due 
 time, and I was privileged to hold the treasure 
 in my hand, and to read the inscription, " Presented 
 to the Baptist Church, Waterbeach, by C. II. 
 Spurgeon, 1876." 
 
42 Reminiscences of VVaterbeach, 
 
 The first visit of an elderly man to the metro- 
 polis, after he has spent his life in the country, is 
 a momentous event ; it is a very agitating piece 
 of experience. The strangeness of everything 
 very naturally engenders a timidity such as he 
 has never felt before. His uneasiness begins 
 when he finds himself seated in the " London 
 Express," and when the train attains its highest 
 speed he feels a disposition to stand and hold on 
 by the windows. The excitement increases before 
 he has " done " a tithe part of the round of wonders 
 he is expected to see ; so that if at luncheon or 
 dinner he is caught in the act of using sugar with 
 potatoes, and salt with apple tart, the error is to 
 be attributed to the exceptional nature of the 
 surroundings. When Mr. Coe actually visited 
 London he well survived a succession of shocks, 
 until a life longing was realised as he stood, on 
 a Sabbath morning, a unit in the great congrega- 
 tion at the Metropolitan Tabernacle. " Robert, is 
 that you } " said the Pastor at the close of the 
 service, without attempting to disguise his surprise 
 and delight ; " I thought I should never have 
 succeeded, but you are here at last ! " The visitor 
 was entertained at Clapham ; he returned home 
 delighted with London, and more content than 
 ever with the quiet prosperity of Waterbeach. 
 Mr. Coe will never misinterpret these revelations 
 
Burning of the CJiapel. 43 
 
 of his private life. He perhaps remembered that 
 his position in the world was an exceptional 
 one ; for, as one of Mr. Spurgcon's first deacons, 
 thousands of people in both hemispheres were 
 interested in his antecedents. 
 
 It appears that Mr. Spurgeon first went to 
 Waterbeach in the fall of I 851, and ministered to 
 the church during two years without having any 
 fixed residence in the village. He succeeded Mr. 
 Peters, who preached to the people for twenty-two 
 years, the stipend through that period having been 
 £^ a quarter. This venerable man was still living 
 at Cambridge when I visited the neighbourhood ; 
 and on one occasion, at the chapel anniversary, 
 he grew warmly enthusiastic while speaking about 
 old times. On such occasions there appears to 
 be only one drawback to act as a damper on the 
 natives' satisfaction — the old meeting-house is no 
 more. One day, during the hot, dry weather of 
 1 86 1, some careless person threw a quantity of 
 hot ashes on a heap of litter hard by, and the 
 result was that not only the chapel, but one or 
 two other buildings, including an old workhouse, 
 were totally consumed. '* If it had not been 
 burned the place would never have been pulled 
 down," said Mr. Toller, who supplied the informa- 
 tion, " for there were people there who venerated 
 the very smoke." Mr. Spurgeon himself laid the 
 
44 Reminiscences of Waterbeack. 
 
 first stone of the present sanctuary, a few months 
 after the catastrophe. 
 
 Although it was then twenty-seven years ago, 
 my friend, Mr. Coe, still vividly remembered the 
 occasion of Mr. Spurgeon's first visit to Water- 
 beach on an autumn Sunday in 185 I, the young 
 preacher having been commissioned to supply the 
 pulpit by an association at Cambridge, which 
 attended to the wants of neighbouring churches. 
 " He sat on one side of the table-pew, and I on 
 the other side," remarks the deacon, his face 
 beaming with pleasure as he recalls the scene. 
 " I shall never forget it. He looked so white, and 
 I thought to myself//^'// never be able to preach 
 — what a boy he is ! I despised his youth, you 
 know, and thought all this while the congregation 
 was singing. Then, when the hymn was over, he 
 jumped up and began to read and expound the 
 chapter about the scribes and pharisees and 
 lawyers, and as he went on about their garments, 
 their phylacteries, and long prayers — I knew that 
 he could preach. All along I was fully persuaded 
 in my own mind that he would not remain long 
 at Waterbeach. I could see that he was some- 
 thing very great, and was evidently intended for 
 a larger sphere. I could not make him out ; and 
 one day I asked him wherever he got all the 
 knowledge from that he put into the sermons. 
 
A Village RevivaL 45 
 
 'Oh/ he said, *I take a book, and I pull the 
 good things out of it by the hair of their heads.* " 
 Before its revival under Mr. Spurgeon's 
 ministry the congregation at Waterbeach was 
 very small, the chapel on ordinary occasions not 
 being more than half filled ; but a new era ol 
 prosperity at once commenced. The empty seats 
 were immediately taken, the aisles were invaded, 
 the doors were surrounded by rustic crowds for 
 whom there was no accommodation. One of Mr. 
 Spurgeon's first deacons, a worthy of whom little 
 is now to be learned, was named King, and for a 
 time Mr. King was the Pastor's right-hand man. 
 He has long since gone home to heaven. In 
 those days the village bore an evil name on 
 account of the drunkenness and profligacy which 
 abounded ; now the inebriate appeared to be 
 sobered, while transgressors of other sorts were 
 awed into propriety. Because they could see 
 that he was earnest and faithful, and had a kind 
 heart, the most degraded of characters liked the 
 new preacher, in spite of his terrible straight- 
 forwardness in denouncing all kinds of evil. 
 Mr. Coe remembered the sermons of those days ; 
 and one especially — " How wilt thou do in the 
 swelling of Jordan } " — with its terrific warnings 
 and solemn appeals, could never be effaced from 
 memory. According to our informant it was 
 
46 Reiiiinisceiices of Waterbeach, 
 
 truly wonderful how, thus early, Mr. Spurgeon 
 thundered judgment against the sinner. After 
 he had mellowed a little he seemed to grow 
 milder ; but, taking him for all in all, the like 
 had never been heard in Cambridgeshire before. 
 Though a thorough Calvinist, whose doctrines 
 some thought at times to be rather high, his 
 views at the outset were substantially the same 
 as those preached to-day at the Tabernacle. He 
 was from the first as faithful to ministers as 
 to ordinary people, telling those who preached 
 nothing save Election, without ever warning the 
 sinner, that he should not like to stand in their 
 shoes. 
 
 In the meantime, Deacon Coe was passing 
 through one of the most enjoyable experiences 
 of his life ; and his pleasure was only lessened by 
 the consciousness that the sunshine could not last. 
 If friends mentioned the matter to him, Deacon 
 Coe would shake his head in his characteristic 
 expressive manner, and remark, " He will not be 
 here long. God has a great work for him to do 
 somewhere. I don't know where, but he will not 
 be here long." Probably this opinion was shared 
 by others in the little community ; at all events, 
 the people seem to have made much of their 
 youthful pastor, and to have hotly competed 
 among themselves for the honour of accordinjj 
 
Dining ottt on Sundays. 47 
 
 him a genuine hospitality. So numerous were 
 the invitations to dinner that he never, during his 
 tenure of office, went twice to the same place, the 
 poor as well as the rich being allowed to take 
 their turn. Thus, at a certain village lived a 
 quaint worthy who was not despised on account 
 of his poverty, and an invitation to take refresh- 
 ment was accepted. At dinner a large pudding 
 was placed on the table, and after the host had 
 taken about a quarter of the same on his own 
 plate he pushed the dish across the table with, 
 *' Now, friend, help yourself" 
 
 One or two of the Pastor's adventures during 
 these early interesting years may be narrated. 
 Much pleasure has been experienced in recover- 
 ing them, and they will serve as material for a 
 future biography. 
 
 At a certain date in the year 1852 Mr 
 Spurgeon was appointed to preach the anniversary 
 sermons at a village chapel in the vicinity of 
 Waterbeach, where the pastor was an octogenarian, 
 a fine specimen o( the old-fashioned school of 
 dry, respectable, and orthodox ministers. The old 
 gentleman adopted this course because he had 
 heard of his young brother's popularity, although 
 he had not seen his face, and he desired to attract 
 a full congregation. When the preacher of the 
 day arrived on the ground his extremely youthful 
 
48 Reminiscences of WaterbeacJu 
 
 appearance created anything but a favourable 
 impression on the white-headed pastor who had 
 proclaimed the gospel in the neighbourhood 
 
 during forty years. " How do you do, Mr. ? 
 
 I've come to preach your anniversary sermons," 
 said the new comer, expecting the usual welcome. 
 " Ugh ! " replied the other, looking up somewhat 
 disconcerted, " I'm none the better for seeing jw/." 
 Thinking that he was in a dilemma, and that the 
 anniversary would be a failure, the old pastor rose, 
 and, pacing the room, gave expression to his 
 impatience. " Tut, tut ! a pretty kettle of fish ; 
 boys going up and down the country preaching 
 before their mother's milk is well out of theii 
 mouths." To the visitor all this naturally sounded 
 like somewhat strong language, and he inwardly 
 resolved that the veteran should hear of the 
 matter in another place. In the meantime the 
 crisis appeared to be all the more serious on 
 account of the numbers of people who were flock- 
 ing into the village from all directions. As the 
 venerable pastor remarked, they were coming in 
 carts, they were coming in chaises, and they were 
 coming in buggies ; there would be an over- 
 flowing congregation. From Mr. Spurgeon's 
 standpoint there was nothing that could be done 
 other than for him to do his best, and to look for 
 the blessing of God : but this was so far from 
 
An Incredulous Veteran. 49 
 
 being satisfactory to the pastor that he went about 
 the village still expressing his disgust at the idea 
 of boys being sent abroad to preach. The 
 chapel was crowded at the time of service ; but 
 instead of yielding pleasure this fact seemed to 
 make the occasion still more unlucky. At first 
 the old pastor retired into the background, where 
 he could not be seen. A hymn was sung, and 
 the prayer was not quite what the judicious would 
 have expected from a mere boy. Mr. Spurgeon 
 read Proverbs xvi., and when he came to " A 
 hoary head is a crown of glory," he showed that, 
 Solomon or no Solomon, it was not always so. 
 There were tongues in some hoary heads which 
 could not be civil to the boy who came to preach. 
 Rudeness gave no glory. Then reading further — 
 if it be fo2ind in the way of righteousness — he 
 showed that Solomon was right after all, for 
 unless this were the case a man might as well 
 have red hair as white for a crown. When the 
 sermon was over, the aged pastor, who had long 
 since come forth from his hiding-place, walked up 
 the pulpit stairs, opened the door, and as the boy- 
 preacher descended he received a smart, playful 
 slap on the loins, accompanied with the com- 
 plimentary remark, " You are the sauciest dog 
 that ever barked in a pulpit." Instead of com- 
 plaining of his " supply," Mr. now went, first 
 
 4 
 
50 Rermniscences of Waterbeach, 
 
 to one and then . another, expressing his wonder 
 and dehght, seeing such an extraordinary youth 
 had appeared in their midst. 
 
 The above is an example of the mistakes that 
 may be made by those who too readily despise 
 a preacher's youth ; and, according to Deacon 
 Coe, Mr. Spurgeon's trials in this respect were 
 exceptionally heavy ; but neither in youth nor 
 later on in life did he ever retaliate. 
 
 There were "characters" to be found at Water- 
 beach in those days, and among them w^as a man 
 who, although he was worth some thousands of 
 pounds, was at last J^uried in his own garden 
 " to save expense." On a certain Sabbath morn- 
 ing this individual placed seven shillings and 
 sixpence in the Pastor's hand with some such 
 remark as, " Please accept this ; you w^ant a hat." 
 On the following Sunday he brought an addi- 
 tional half-crown. " What is this for ? " asked 
 Mr. Spurgeon, surprised at receiving a supple- 
 mental offering. Then came a singular confession 
 — " Last week the Lord told me to give you 
 ten shillings ; but I kept back half-a-crown, and 
 there it is." The tradition in Waterbeach is, that 
 a hat was purchased with this money. 
 
 On a certain summer evening Mr. Spurgeon had 
 engaged to preach at Teversham, which lies a 
 short distance from Waterbeach ; but before he 
 
An Adventure in a Storm, 51 
 
 could reach his destination the sky darkened, and 
 a severe thunder-storm burst over the country. 
 While passing a cottage on the road a woman 
 was observed to be alarmed and in sore distress 
 on account of the tempest ; and not liking to 
 pass on and leave a fellow-creature in trouble, 
 Mr. Spurgeon entered the house, read a few 
 verses, then prayed, and so comforted the woman 
 while the storm continued. Having done this 
 piece of service, he proceeded to Teversham to 
 fulfil the engagement ; but found that the chapel 
 was closed and dark, for people were not ex- 
 pecting a sermon on account of the tempest. Mr. 
 Spurgeon wore a waterproof coat, and on entering 
 the village he divested himself of this, because 
 the smooth surface seemed to reflect the vivid 
 flashes of lightning in a way that might alarm 
 the timid. He then went round from door to 
 door, and told the people there would be a 
 service, and advised them to assemble in the 
 meeting-house. The summons was obeyed with 
 alacrity, the sermon was preached, and when all 
 was over the young pastor started on his home- 
 ward walk to Cambridge, a distance of four miles. 
 " A Wesleyan Minister," writing about twenty 
 years ago, in speaking of Mr. Spurgeon's early 
 days, remarks : " He removed from Newmarket 
 to Cambridge in the capacity of usher to his old 
 
52 Reminiscences of Waterbeach. 
 
 friend and former tutor, Henry Leeding. Here 
 both his earthly comforts and religious privileges 
 were increased. He now began publicly to 
 exhort, and united himself with a society called 
 the Lay Preachers' Association, connected with 
 the church in St. Andrew's Street, formerly under 
 the pastorate of the illustrious Robert Hall. At 
 a little village called Teversham, in a cottage 
 some miles from Cambridge, he preached his 
 first sermon, when only sixteen years of age. 
 His preaching from the beginning was highly 
 acceptable, and his sermons were illustrated by 
 geography and astronomy . . . and, to his praise 
 be it recorded, the common people heard him 
 gladly. But he was pre-eminently liked by the 
 members of a small church at a village called 
 Waterbeach, who, perceiving this germ of un- 
 common talents, invited him to become their 
 pastor. And here, in a rude chapel made out 
 of a barn, with a high pitched roof, he preached 
 every Sabbath in the forenoon and afternoon. 
 When requested to preach also in the evening, 
 he modestly replied, " I cannot always preach 
 three times, for I am not so strong as a man." 
 It would have been a satisfaction to many who 
 are now interested in taking a retrospect if the 
 sermons of Mr. Spurgeon's earliest days had beer? 
 preserved. There was a time when he himself 
 
Early Ser 7710ns, 53 
 
 .thought of presenting the public with a selection, 
 for in 1857 he wrote: "I shall soon issue a 
 volume of my earliest productions while pastor 
 at Waterbeach, and would now bespeak for it 
 a favourable reception." We are not aware that 
 this publication ever appeared. 
 
 Such are a {q\v of the things associated with 
 Waterbeach which I was enabled to recover 
 through the kindness of friends on the spot and 
 from others. The church was found to be in 
 a flourishing condition, and the stipend of the 
 pastor was probably double w^hat it was in Mr. 
 Spurgeon's time. 
 
 To these, however, may be added the following, 
 relating to these times, and told by Mr. Spurgeon 
 himself in The Spare Half Hour : — 
 
 " Having to preach at one of the village stations 
 of the Cambridge Lay Preachers' Association, I 
 walked slowly in a meditative frame of mind over 
 Midsummer Common to the little wooden bridge 
 which leads to Chesterton, and in the midst of 
 the common I was startled by what seemed a loud 
 voice, but which may have been a singular 
 illusion ; whichever it was, the impression was 
 vivid to an intense degree : I seemed very dis- 
 tinctly to hear the words, * Seekest thou great 
 things for thyself } Seek them not ! ' This led 
 me to look at my position from another point of 
 
54 Reminisceuces of IVo.ierbeach. 
 
 view, and to challenge my motives and intentions.. 
 I remembered the poor but loving people to 
 whom I ministered, and the souls which had been 
 given me in my humble charge, and although at 
 that time I anticipated obscurity and poverty as 
 the result of the resolve, yet I did there and 
 tlicn solemnly renounce the offer of collegiate 
 instruction, determining to abide for a season at 
 least with my people, and to remain preaching 
 the Word so long as I had strength to do it. 
 Had it not been for those words, in all probability 
 I had never been where and what I now am. I 
 was conscientious in my obedience to the monition, 
 and I have never seen cause to recjret it. 
 
 "Waiting upon the Lord for direction will 
 never fail to afford us timely intimations of His 
 will ; for though the ephod is no more worn by a 
 ministering priest, the Lord still guides His people 
 by His wisdom, and orders all their paths in love ; 
 and in times of perplexity. He makes them to 
 hear a voice behind them, saying, ' This is the 
 way, walk ye in it.' " 
 
Zi/^ FIRST SUNDAYS TJSr LONDON, ' 
 
** Before any great achievement, ome measure of . . . depiession 
 is very usual. Surveying the diff julties before us, our hearts sink 
 within us. The sons of Anak stalk before us, and we are as grass- 
 hoppers in our own sight in their presence. The cities of Canaan are 
 walled up to heaven, and who are we that we should hope to capture 
 them ? We are ready to cast down our weapons and take to our heels. 
 Nineveh is a great city, and we would flee unto Tarshish sooner than 
 encounter its noisy crowds. Already we look for a ship which may 
 bear us quietly away from the tenible scene, and only a dread of 
 tempest restrains our recreant footsteps. Such was my experience 
 when I first became a pastor in London. My success appalled me ; 
 and the thought of the career which it seemed to open up, so far from 
 elating me, cast me into the lowest depth, out of which I uttered my 
 inisei-ere and found no room for a. gloria in excelsis. Who was I that 
 I should continue to lead so great a multitude ? I would betake me to 
 my village obscurity, or emigrate to America, and find a solitary rest 
 in the back woods where I might be sufficient for the things which 
 would be demanded of me. ... I felt myself a mere cliild, and 
 trembled as I heard the voice whick said, ' Arise, and thresh the 
 mountains, and make them as chaff.' " — lectures to my Students, i. 173. 
 
III. 
 
 THE FIRST SUNDAYS IN LONDOIT, 
 
 HAT people call accident is frequently the 
 course of events as pre-ordained by God ; 
 and the truth of this remark was strikingly proved 
 in the manner of Mr. Spurgeon's general rearing. 
 The more carefully we look into the surrounding 
 circumstances of his early life, the more clearly 
 shall we see that all things were working together 
 for good to equip the child and the youth for his 
 arduous life-work that lay beyond. His parents, 
 and the generation preceding them, were not only 
 Christians of an old-fashioned type, they were 
 professors who made no secret of their Puritanic 
 sympathies. Even the prophet Samuel could 
 hardly have enjoyed more tender nurture and 
 careful training to fit him for future service 
 in the Lord's house. The father was a preacher, 
 so also was the grandfather ; and one of Mr. 
 Spurgeon's earliest recollections belongs to his 
 sitting on a hassock in the study of the latter, 
 looking at the missionary pictures in The Evan- 
 
58 TJie First Sundays in London. 
 
 gelical Magazine, not ever presuming to make a 
 noise, lest grandfather should be interrupted in 
 making his sermon, and thus be unable to preach, 
 when no good would be done, and Charles would 
 be the offender. On account of the uncompro- 
 mising old-fashioned notions entertained by the 
 family in reli^^ious matters, the opinion that the 
 Pastor commenced work as a lame scholar may 
 have gained currency. The truth is, that at a 
 very early age his scholarship was not only far 
 above the average, but very conspicuous to all 
 who had eyes to discern. This happens to be 
 a subject on which we can speak with authority ; 
 for some time ago Mr. Spurgeon made some 
 passing remarks relating to his former tutor, which 
 were quite new and conclusive. During some 
 years past the gentleman in question had resided 
 in a southern suburb, unknown to his former 
 scholar ; and, like some others of his profession, 
 found the new Board-schools serious drawbacks 
 to his day-school. He is, however, a thoroughly 
 able teacher, who would be invaluable to anyone 
 who should seek out and obtain the benefit of 
 his instructions. This gentleman, who may be 
 regarded as a thoroughly competent judge, held 
 very clear and decided views in regard to the 
 attainments of his quondam pupil. He was in a 
 position to set those right who went about retail' 
 
Early Education. 59 
 
 ing the news that Spurgeon was no scholar ; for 
 \\\ point of fact, the said Spurgeon, as a mere 
 youth, was one of the most competent scholars 
 in the neighbourhood of Cambridge, and one who 
 could easily have taken a degree at the University 
 without undergoing the process of cramming. 
 While he spoke like a man who was reasonably 
 proud of his former charge, the venerable tutor 
 was not of the genus which can tolerate cross- 
 examination or interviewings. 
 
 Perhaps it never occurred to those who spread 
 the report about Mr. Spurgeon being no scholar, 
 that at the time of his first coming to London 
 he was very competently earning a livelihood by 
 his scholarship. In addition to the Waterbeach 
 church he received a salary as usher in a school 
 at Cambridge, and afterwards salary as tutor to 
 a couple of youths in the same neighbourhood. 
 Very few indeed of our Nonconformist students 
 at seventeen could show the same amount of 
 knowledge ; and his habits of reading, in pulling 
 the best things out of books " by the hair of 
 their heads," enabled him to rapidly increase 
 his stores. 
 
 It should also be generally known that Mr. 
 Spurgeon was popular even as a boy ; for when 
 in his turn he would address the Sunday-school 
 at Newmarket, many members of the church 
 
6o Tlie First Sundays in London. 
 
 would secrete tliemselves in any convenient hole 
 or corner within earshot, and there eagerly listen 
 to his earliest efforts. On the other hand, there 
 were those among the Nonconformists of the 
 town who, through being unable to see excellence 
 in any form, supposed that the young preacher 
 was not only not a genius, but decidedly 'below 
 the average in every respect. When he first 
 came to New Park Street Chapel there arose 
 a great chatter among the Baptists of a certain 
 important town. Said one leading elder to a 
 brother officer of a similar calibre to himself, 
 " They have invited Charley Spurgeon to London, 
 and they are actually going to pay him ;^I50 
 a-year ! " A more curious misjudgment never 
 came out of Essex ; and to add to its impressive- 
 ncss, the words were drawn out to unnatural 
 length, as though the speaker's vocabulary v/ere 
 as elastic as his notions were modest. 
 
 A good deal has been said at different times 
 about Mr. Spurgeon's conversion ; and some in- 
 genious endeavours have been made to trace the 
 preacher of the sermon which was the means of 
 bringing peace to his soul. All that is really 
 known, however, about the preacher is, that he 
 was a Primitive Methodist in Colchester, and a 
 working man. The things spoken about were 
 the end of all things ; the most unlikely people 
 
Air, Spiirgcons Convo'sion. * 61 
 
 to be saved ; the most despairing ; the most sin- 
 ful ; and then it was shown that salvation is not 
 by works, but by faith — the soul must look at 
 Christ, and do so in a way corresponding to the 
 perception of natural objects by the natural eye. 
 After hearing this sermon he experienced the 
 peace of God which passes all understanding, and 
 went forth in strength to begin his life-work. 
 
 How Mr. Spurgeon first came to London is 
 a question that has not always been correctly 
 answered, and the causes which worked together 
 to bring about the Pastor's removal to an enlarged 
 sphere of labour are known only to a few persons. 
 Let me narrate the circumstances as concisely a** 
 possible. 
 
 There can be no doubt that Waterbeach was 
 a very comfortable sphere of labour for a young 
 man like Mr. Spurgeon. Though the people were 
 homely they had warm hearts, and they cordially 
 appreciated their pastor's energy and eloquence. 
 It is not impossible that some among the good 
 farmers and simple peasants who crowded the 
 chapel may have reckoned on a life-long union. 
 At any rate, it is unreasonable to suppose that 
 everybody detected in their accomplished pastor 
 the surprising talents that he really possessed. 
 Others were more far-sighted ; they were happy ; 
 their church flourished ; but, alas ! it was con- 
 
62 The First Sundays in London. 
 
 trary to the ordinary run of things for the great 
 outside world — a selfish world, as it must have 
 appeared to the Baptists of Waterbeach — to 
 allow so unequal a union to exist for lack of 
 a suitable opening being found elsewhere. 
 
 The fact was, that an ancient church, and 
 formerly a congregation of some importance in 
 the capital, was in great straits for want of a 
 pastor. Two centuries before, that church had 
 been formed by a band of Puritan Baptists, the 
 first pastor of whom we have any account being 
 William Rider. The divines who afterwards 
 successively held the pastorate, during a great 
 number of years, were all men of power and 
 celebrity ; Benjamin Keach is still kept in re- 
 membrance by his Metaphors ; Benjamin Stinton 
 was equally worthy ; John Gill was a celebrated 
 commentator ; John Rippon was the compiler of 
 the hymn-book named after him ; Joseph Angus 
 is a successful tutor and author of our own times ; 
 James Smith was an uneducated genius of fervent 
 piety. In the chequered history of this old 
 church it has been a favourable omen . for the 
 pastor to be chosen at the age of nineteen. It 
 was so with John Gill, and also with his suc- 
 cessor, John Rippon, who were the only pastors 
 during the unusually long period of one hundred 
 and seventeen years. Mr. Spurgeon was of this 
 
A Youth of Nineteen, 63 
 
 same auspicious age of nineteen when some one 
 carried word to the despairing deacons at Neu 
 Park Street Chapel that there was a young maii 
 making some stir at Waterbeach, and it was just 
 possible he might resuscitate their cause. 
 
 The church at this date was slowly dying a 
 natural death, and it was worth while to grasp at 
 a straw if, thereby, the threatened death could be 
 averted. It so happened that Mr. Olney, one of 
 the deacons at New Park Street thirty-three years 
 ago, was acquainted with a gentleman of the 
 name of Gould, and on a certain occasion Mr. 
 Gould's nephew happened to look in at a Baptist 
 Chapel in Cambridge, at which a meeting was 
 being held. On the platform were a couple of 
 elderly ministers and a full-faced youth of more 
 tender years. In due course the younger man 
 made a speech, and, because he spoke as a 
 Calvinist, what he said had the effect of highly 
 displeasing those who considered that they were 
 his elders and his betters. They had not even 
 the good sense to keep their anger to themselves, 
 but each had his say. One thought that Mr. 
 Spurgeon should tarry at Jericho till his beard 
 was grown ; the other wished to know why the 
 young Baptist had left his few sheep in the 
 wilderness ; he had surely come up to see the 
 battle. A reply was made, and one which was 
 
64 TJie First Sundays in London, 
 
 very characteristic of the speaker at that time, 
 but unfortunately this has not been recovered. 
 
 In course of time the news spread that a young 
 Baptist minister had been snubbed down in Cam- 
 bridgeshire ; and, as the decHning church at New 
 Park Street was then in want of a pastor, here 
 was an opportunity to secure a promising man. 
 ** I wish you would send for him, I believe he 
 would suit you," remarked the informant, and the 
 deacon at once felt disposed to make the experi- 
 ment recommended. Mr. Olney wrote at once 
 to Mr. Spurgeon, who, however, manifested no 
 particular anxiety to visit the great metropolis. 
 When he first received the letter he thought a 
 mistake had been made, and thus sent on the 
 epistle to another pastor of the same name ; but 
 it was at once returned with the intimation — " It 
 is not a mistake : you are the man intended." 
 Still he was in no hurry to settle in London. 
 Only a short time before, while walking near 
 Chesterton, he had been startled by what seemed 
 like a voice speaking, " Seekest thou great things 
 for thyself? seek them not;" and this remarkable 
 circumstance, which fixed the young preacher's 
 determination not to enter Stepney College, may 
 have checked the rising of any ambitious aspira- 
 tions connected with a London settlement. At 
 all events he did not consent to preach at New 
 
An Unpromising Outlook, 65 
 
 Park Street Chapel until an application for him 
 to do so had been repeatedly made ; and when 
 at length he came forth from the seclusion of 
 Cambridgeshire, he came in no very sanguine 
 mood. Nor was this a matter for surprise. The 
 Church at New Park Street was not so flourishing 
 as it had been ; and in the estimation of out- 
 siders, who were disposed to take a desponding 
 view of the situation, nothing very far short of a 
 miracle could save the cause from ultimate decay. 
 There were deacons of piety and substance, and 
 a congregation of a hundred or more ; but, not- 
 withstanding, what man of common prudence, or 
 of common sense — especially at nineteen years of 
 age — would be likely to hazard leading the for- 
 lorn hope of filling twelve hundred empty seats, 
 or of imparting life to a cause which was richer 
 in illustrious memories than in present resources ? 
 But Mr. Spurgeon was invited, and, to the great 
 delight of the church, he accepted the invitation. 
 When he entered the vestry he asked which was 
 Dr. Gill's chair, and on seating himself in that 
 interesting relic he exclaimed, "He must needs 
 go through Samaria." This showed the Calvin- 
 istic tendencies of his mind, and also the de- 
 sponding view he took of a London settlement. 
 " I knew that I should be of no use to you," 
 he added, " but you would have me come." 
 
 5 
 
66 Thd First Sundays in London. 
 
 On the Sabbath morning of ]\Ir. Spurgeon's 
 first preaching at New Park Street, only the 
 average congregation was present, and many, 
 when for the first time they cast their eyes on 
 his youthful features, were not cheered. " What 
 a boy ! " was the thought uppermost in the minds 
 of not a few judicious souls. His first text was 
 James i. 17: " Every good gift and every perfect 
 gift is from above," etc. Was it to be expected 
 that a boy could turn that valley of dry bones 
 into a garden of the Lord } 
 
 In the evening the congregation had very 
 perceptibly increased, but even then it was only 
 by degrees that the staid members gained con- 
 fidence. When he turned to Revelation vii. and 
 began to read, and then to expound, thoughts 
 of misgiving arose in the hearts of some. What 
 an absurd thing, mused one experienced Chris- 
 tian who was present, for such a boy to turn to 
 such a passage as that of the hundred and forty 
 and four thousand, who were sealed unto ever- 
 lasting life. He became reassured, however, as 
 the preacher proceeded with his comments. 
 Then came the text and the sermon : " They 
 are without fault before the throne of God." 
 It would be impossible to describe the emotions 
 of the congregation as the discourse proceeded, 
 and the preacher warmed with his subject. One 
 
An Origlnctl Style, 67 
 
 who was present assures us that the effect was 
 amazing. Nearly all the members of the old 
 church were at last raised from their condition 
 of despondency ; although it is possible that 
 some were present who could not all at once 
 become reconciled to the preacher's bold depar- 
 ture from pulpit conventionalities. From the 
 first the commenting struck people as being even 
 more extraordinary than the sermons. 
 
 After the service was ended, the congregation 
 were too excited to leave the chapel and go 
 hon.ie. In all parts of the building they were 
 seen in groups conversing about what they had 
 heard, and of Mr. Spurgeon's eligibility for the 
 pastorate. The deacons had to come forth from 
 the vestry and promise that they would use their 
 endeavours to secure the young preacher. I have 
 also been informed that a church meeting was 
 arranged for to be held as soon as possible 
 when an invitation to Mr. Spurgeon to accept 
 the pastorate was adopted. The invitation was 
 unanimous with the exception of one dissentient 
 an elderly deacon, who quietly left immediately 
 after the pastor's settlement. 
 
 One other reminiscence of that memorable day 
 must be recorded. Mr. Thomas Olney, the senior 
 deacon, and his wife Unity — whose name is kept 
 in remembrance by one of the Orphanage houses 
 
68 The First Siuidays in London, 
 
 at Stockwell — at that time resided at Croydon ; 
 and, partly because she was an invahd, it was 
 not Mrs. Olney's practice to attend New Park 
 Street Chapel when no one save a " nobody " was 
 to preach. On the occasion of Mr. Spurgeon's 
 first coming Mrs. Olney did not undertake the 
 journey from Croydon to Southwark, on account 
 of what she judged to be very valid reasons. 
 Who was the preacher for the day } Oh, nobody 
 but a young man from Waterbeach, in Cam- 
 bridgeshire — a little village, and the last place 
 under the sun likely to have an attractive 
 preacher for its pastor. When Mr. Olney 
 returned home in the middle of the day his face 
 beamed with pleasure, and the sparkle of his 
 eye told that his heart was filled with gladness. 
 At last when he spoke he said to his wife, " We 
 have such a wonderful young man come to preach 
 to-day ; you must come to chapel to-night." 
 The old lady went to New Park Street as 
 desired, and the good impression produced on 
 her mind was as deep as it was lasting. " He 
 will do," she said, on her return to Croydon, 
 and, with her own peculiar emphasis, " He will 
 do." Was not Mrs. Olney right } 
 
 In addition to the above we must not over- 
 look the reminiscences which Mr. Spurgeon has 
 himself given in The Sivord and the Trozvel for 
 
A UlysterioiLS Letter, 69 
 
 January 1879. The article is entitled "Twenty- 
 five Years Ago," and the following are its 
 opening paragraphs, whi-h directly refer to the 
 first visit to London in the last days of 1853 : — 
 ** Tivcnty-five years ago we walked on a Sabbath 
 morning, according to our wont, from Cambridge 
 to the village of Waterbeach, in order to occupy 
 the pulpit of the little Baptist Chapel. It was a 
 country road, and there were four or five honest 
 miles of it, which we usually measured each 
 Sunday foot by foot, unless we happened to be 
 met by a certain little pony and cart which came 
 half way, but could not by any possibility venture 
 further, because of the enormous expense which 
 would have been incurred by driving through the 
 toll-gate at Milton. That winter's morning we 
 were all aglow with our walk, and ready for our 
 pulpit exercises. Sitting down in the table-pew, 
 a letter was passed to us bearing the postmark 
 of London. It was an unusual missive, and was 
 opened with curiosity. It contained an invita- 
 tion to preach at New Park Street Chapel, 
 Southwark, the pulpit of which had formerly been 
 occupied by Dr. Rippon, — the very Dr. Rippon 
 whose hy mm -book was then before us upon the 
 table — the great Dr. Rippon, out of whose Selec- 
 tion we were about to choose hymns for our 
 worship. The late Dr. Rippon seemed to hover 
 
70 The First Sundays in London, 
 
 over us as an immeasurably great man, the glory 
 of whose name covered New Park Street Chapel 
 and its pulpit with awe unspeakable. We quietly 
 passed the letter across the table to the deacon 
 who gave out the hymns, observing that there 
 was some mistake, and that the letter must have 
 been intended for a Mr. Spurgeon who preached 
 somewhere down in Norfolk. He shook his head, 
 and observed that he was afraid there was no 
 mistake, as he always knew that his minister 
 would be run away with by some large church 
 or other, but that he was a little surprised that 
 the Londoners should have heard of him quite 
 so soon. ' Had it been Cottenham, or St. Ives, 
 or Huntingdon,' said he, ' I should not have 
 wondered at all ; but going to London is rather 
 a great step from this little place.' He shook 
 his head very gravely ; but the time was come 
 for us to look out the hymns, and therefore the 
 letter was put away, and, as far as we can 
 remember, was for the day quite forgotten, even 
 as a dead man out of mind. 
 
 " On the following Monday an answer was 
 sent to London, informing the deacon of the 
 church at Park Street that he had fallen into 
 an error in directing his letter to Waterbeach, 
 for the Baptist minister of that village was very 
 little more than nineteen years of age, and quite 
 
Adventures at a Boar ding-House, 71 
 
 unqualified to occupy a London pulpit. In due 
 time came another epistle, setting forth that the 
 former letter had been written in perfect know- 
 ledge of the young preacher's age, and had been 
 intended for him, and him alone. The request 
 of the former letter was repeated and pressed, 
 a date mentioned for the journey to London, 
 and the place appointed at which the preacher 
 would find lodging. That invitation was accepted, 
 and as the result thereof the boy preacher of the 
 Fens took his post in London. 
 
 " Twenty-Jive years a^o — and yet it seems but 
 yesterday — we lodged for the night at a boarding- 
 house in Queen Square, Bloomsbury, to which 
 the worthy deacon directed us. As we wore a 
 huge black satin stock, and used a blue handker- 
 chief with white spots, the young gentlemen of 
 that boarding-house marvelled greatly at the 
 youth from the country who had come up to 
 preach in London, but who was evidently in the 
 condition known as verdant green. They were 
 mi-inly of the evangelical church persuasion, and 
 seemed greatly tickled that the country lad should 
 be a preacher. They did not propose to go and 
 hear the youth, but they seemed to tacitly agree 
 to encourage him after their own fashion, and wc 
 were encouraged accordingly. What tales were 
 narrated of the great divines of the metropolis, 
 
72 TJie First Siindays in London, 
 
 and their congregations ! One we remember had 
 a thousand city men to hear him, another had his 
 church filled with thoiighffid people, such as could 
 hardly be matched all over England, while a third 
 had an immense audience, almost entirely com- 
 posed of the young men of London, who were 
 spell-bound by his eloquence. The study which 
 these men underwent in composing their sermons, 
 their herculean toils in keeping up their congre- 
 gations, and the matchless oratory which they 
 exhibited on all occasions, were duly rehearsed in 
 our hearing, and when we were shown to bed in 
 a cupboard over the front door, we were not in 
 an advantageous condition for pleasant dreams. 
 Park Street hospitality never sent the young 
 minister to that far-away hired room again, but 
 assuredly the Saturday evening in a London 
 boarding-house was about the most depressing 
 agency which could have been brought to bear 
 upon our spirit. On the narrow bed we tossed 
 in solitary misery, and found no pity. Pitiless 
 was the grind of the cabs in the street, pitiless 
 the recollection of the young city clerks whose 
 grim propriety had gazed upon our rusticity with 
 such amusement, pitiless the spare room which 
 scarce afforded space to kneel, pitiless even the 
 gas lamps which seemed to wink at us as they 
 flickered amid the December darkness. We had 
 
A Memorable London Walk, 73 
 
 no friend in all that city full of human beings, 
 but we felt among strangers and foreigners, hoped 
 to be heljl 2d through the scrape into which we 
 had been brought, and to escape safely to the 
 serene abodes of Cambridge ar.d Waterbeach, 
 which then seemed to be Eden itself. 
 
 " Twenty -five years ago it was a clear, cold 
 morning, and we wended our way along Holborn 
 Hill towards Blackfriars and certain tortuous lanes 
 and alleys at the foot of Southwark Bridge. 
 Wondering, praying, fearing, hoping, believing, — ■ 
 we felt all alone and yet not alone. Expectant 
 of Divine help, and inwardly borne down by our 
 sense of the need of it, we traversed a dreary 
 wilderness of brick to find the spot where our 
 message must needs be delivered. One word 
 rose to our lip many times, we scarce know why 
 — * He must needs go through Samaria.' The 
 necessity of our Lord's journeying in a certain 
 direction is no doubt repeated in His servants, 
 and as our present journey was not of our seeking, 
 and had been by no means pleasing so far as it 
 had gone — the one thought of a " needs be " for 
 it seemed to overtop every other. At sight of 
 Park Street Chapel we felt for a moment amazed 
 at our own temerity, for it seemed to our eyes 
 to be a large, ornate, and imposing structure, 
 suggesting an audience wealthy and critical, and 
 
74 The First Siiiidays in London. 
 
 far removed from the humble folk to whom out 
 ministry had been sweetness and light. It was 
 early, so there were no persons entering, and 
 when the set time was fully come there were no 
 signs to support the suggestion raised by the 
 exterior of the building, and we felt that by God's 
 help we were not yet out of our depth, and were 
 not likely to be with so small an audience. The 
 Lord helped us very graciously, we had a happ)- 
 Sabbath in the pulpit, and spent the intervals 
 with warm-hearted friends ; and wdien at night 
 we trudged back to the Queen Square narrow 
 lodging we were not alone, and we no longer 
 looked on Londoners as flinty-hearted barbarians. 
 Our tone was altered, we wanted no pity of any- 
 one, we did not care a penny for the young 
 gentlemen lodgers and their miraculous ministers, 
 nor for the grind of the cabs, nor for anything 
 else under the sun. The lion had been looked 
 at all round, and his majesty did not appear to 
 be a tenth as majestic as when we had only 
 heard his roar miles away." 
 
 So far as I have been sufficiently fortunate to 
 recover them, tl.e incidents related are those 
 which were associated with Mr. Spurgeon's first 
 Sabbath-day's work in London in the fall of 
 the year 1853. The congregations immediately 
 increased until the chapel was densely thronged 
 
Daring Originality, 75 
 
 at every service ; and the building was then 
 enlarged to accommodate some eighteen hundred 
 people. The more they knew of their Pastor the 
 more did the church and congregation learn to 
 appreciate his public service and personal worth ; 
 but it was otherwise with outsiders of the same 
 denomination, who were either too undiscerning 
 or too jealous to see and acknowledge the 
 truth. 
 
 There were many who were still partial to 
 old-fashioned ways, and these had misgivings. 
 Could they only get another Rippon all might 
 yet be well — the tide of prosperity would return ; 
 but what could be made of the bold Essex youth 
 of nineteen, whose daring originality was shocking 
 to people who had beheld the propriety reflected 
 in the portraits of Gill and Rippon 1 
 
 It is an interesting question, What did the 
 preacher appear like at this time ? The query 
 is thus answered by an American quarterly for 
 the year 1859: "He was unpractised in either 
 the art of oratory or of preaching, his public 
 efforts having consisted of addresses before 
 Sunday-schools, and a very brief but successful 
 pastorate over an obscure Baptist church at 
 Waterbeach. In personal appearance he was 
 not preposseshing ; in style he was plain, prac- 
 tical, simple ; in manner, rude, bold, egotistical. 
 
76 The First Sundays in Loidon. 
 
 approaching to the bigoted ; in theology, a 
 deep-dyed Calvinist ; in church relations, an 
 uncompromising Baptist. We could scarcely 
 imagine a more unpromising list of qualifications, 
 or rather disqualifications, for public favour." 
 
 Such was the man, as viewed by a discrimi- 
 nating judge at a distance ; what were his 
 associations at home and his prospects in the 
 metropolis ? The chapel in New Park Street 
 seated twelve hundred persons, and for some 
 time past a sixth part of that number made an 
 average congregation. The revival was, of course, 
 immediate. The good souls who were present 
 at the first scantily-attended service, and who, 
 according to their nervous temperament, professed 
 to be shocked or edified, carried the news of 
 the altered aspect of affairs to others, and thus 
 helped to bring together ever- increasing crowds. 
 Ever after this day of small things the aforesaid 
 good souls were sorely inconvenienced by having 
 less elbow-room, and a more limited supply of 
 pure air, than they had been accustomed to enjoy 
 in olden time. The chapel became suddenly 
 crowded as no other London chapel had ever 
 been known to be — that is to say, the throng, 
 which weekly filled aisles and pews, manifested 
 a determined sort of eagerness to see and hear 
 the preacher. This was the aspect of affairs in 
 
No Desi\'e for a London Settlement. J'j 
 
 London when the deacons said, " Come amongst 
 us for six months." 
 
 Waterbeach was, at least, a sufficient contrast 
 to all this excitement and popularity for Mr. 
 Spurgeo.n to call it, on his return, " this little 
 Garden of Eden." He loved his people ; he 
 experienced uncomfortable sensations in being 
 called upon to leave them ; and, had not poverty 
 denied him freedom of action, he would ** have 
 turned a deaf ear to any request to leave them." 
 As, however, the little church was unable to 
 afford him adequate support, he was impelled 
 forward by necessity. The engagement at Water- 
 beach could be terminated at any time by either 
 party after the expiration of a three-months' 
 notice ; but pastor and people were bound 
 together in closer union than could ever have 
 been effected by legal forms. At the outset, he 
 showed no symptoms of being carried away by 
 that amazing popularity which immediately 
 confronted him. In a letter to Mr. Lowe, 
 he commended the people on account of their 
 prudence in allotting an ample term of proba- 
 tion, while at the same time he declined to 
 bind himself for longer than three months. If 
 all progressed well, the engagement could easily 
 be prolonged ; if otherwise, he " would only be 
 a ' supply ' — liable to a fortnight's dismissal or 
 
jS The First Sundays in London. 
 
 resignation." The deacons at London said, 
 " Con:ie at once ; " those at Waterbeach were 
 quite averse to so sudden a termination of their 
 connection, and in this respect carried their point. 
 The regular pastorate of Mr. Spurgeon in London 
 may be said to have begun on the 27th of April, 
 1854. He immediately achieved an unexampled 
 popularity for one so young ; but neither pastor 
 nor people could have had even a faint idea as 
 to what lay before them in the future. 
 
 As this is not a complete history, it will not be 
 necessary to give a connected account of subse- 
 quent events. These are told by Mr. Spurgeon 
 himself in his book on the Tabernacle, and 
 anything which is included in that volume is not 
 likely to be news to readers of these pages. How 
 the old chapel at New Park Street becam.e crowded 
 so as to warrant an adjournment to Exeter Hall, 
 and subsequently to the Music Hall at the Royal 
 Surrey Gardens, where an appalling accident 
 saddened the church and prostrated the preacher, 
 are things too well known to need recapitula- 
 tion. 
 
 In " The Treasury of David," under Psalm xci., 
 there is a less-known reminiscence of the eventful 
 first year in London, which is too characteristic 
 to be omitted. The country, it will be remem- 
 bered, was stricken with the fever engendered 
 
A Street Adventure, 79 
 
 by the Russian war, when the sickness referred 
 to was raging : — 
 
 "In the year 1854, when I had scarcely been 
 in London twelve months, the neighbourhood in 
 which I laboured was visited by Asiatic cholera, 
 and my congregation suffered from its inroads. 
 Family after family summoned me to the bedsides 
 of the smitten, and almost every day I was called 
 to visit the grave. I gave myself up with youth- 
 ful ardour to the visitation of the sick, and was 
 sent for from all corners of the district by persons 
 of all ranks and religions. I became weary in 
 body and sick at heart. My friends seemed fall- 
 ing one by one, and I felt or fancied that I was 
 sickening like those around me. A little more 
 work and weeping would have laid me low am.ong 
 the rest. I felt that my burden was heavier than 
 I could bear, and I was ready to sink under it. 
 As God would have it, I was returning mourn- 
 fully home from a funeral, when my curiosity led 
 me to read a paper which was wafered up in a 
 shoemaker's window in the Dover Road. It did 
 not look like a trade announcement, nor was it ; 
 for it bore in a good bold handwriting these 
 words : — * Because thou hast made the Loj'd, which 
 is viy refuge^ even the Most High^ thy habitation, 
 there shall no evil befall thee, neither shall afiy 
 plague come nigh thy dwelling' The effect upon 
 
So The Fiist Sundays in London, 
 
 my heart was immediate. Faith appropriated the 
 passage as her own. I felt secure, refreshed, girt 
 with immortahty. I went on with my visitation 
 of the dying in a calm and peaceful spirit ; I felt 
 no fear of evil, and I suffered no harm. The 
 Providence which moved the tradesman to place 
 those verses in his window I gratefully acknow- 
 ledge, and in the remembrance of its marvellous 
 power I adore the Lord my God." 
 
 That a special Providence watched over the 
 youthful pastor during the trials of that first 
 terrible summer in London, no one will doubt 
 after reading of the above adventure. Only a 
 man with a large admixture of heroism in his 
 nature could have faced the ordeal to come off in 
 the end a conqueror. 
 
 When Mr. Spurgeon first settled in London 
 in the spring of 1854, the news of his success 
 soon reached the ears of quiet-living folks in 
 every rural nook in England. Well do I re- 
 member how his fame found its way into the 
 secluded Somersetshire village where I was then 
 residing, when of course the village politicians 
 each formed an independent opinion. What a 
 talk there was about his work, and about the 
 daring originality of his manner of doing it ! 
 The sermons were read with avidity ; for neither 
 the young, who were ready to welcome sometliing 
 
TJie Nezus Reaches the Frovmces, 81 
 
 new, nor the more elderly, who still venerated 
 William Jay and John Angell James as models 
 of pulpit propriety, had' ever seen words put 
 together in such a way before. When Macaulay 
 first appeared in The Edinburgh Review the 
 question was, " Where did he get that style ? " 
 and a similar query might have been started when 
 the new preacher suddenly burst upon the world 
 in 1854. In a certain instance a pastor went to 
 one of his brethren who served a church four 
 miles away, and, having mentioned the fact that 
 he had read one of ]\Ir. Spurgeon's latest sermons, 
 he added, '' but he can never keep on like this." 
 The reference was to the prodigality of thought 
 and to the number of illustrations diffused through- 
 out the discourses; and as thep ublication pro- 
 ceeded the old worthy thought he had discovered 
 a falling off, as he had predicted there would be. 
 Persons of strong sense and penetrative judg- 
 ment were enabled at once to see Mr. Spurgeon's 
 worth, but weaker men required a longer time 
 for their opinions to become settled. What was 
 most surprising was the singular behaviour of one 
 or two leading Baptist ministers in London, whose 
 open hostility to the man who was manifestly 
 raised up for a great work had the effect of 
 making both themselves and their clique ridiculous. 
 As it was with individuals, so was it with the 
 
 6 
 
82 The First Sundays in London, 
 
 newspapers. The weaklings hesitated — they were 
 neither supporters nor detractors of Mr. Spurgeon ; 
 but stronger natures, such as the The Morning 
 Advertiser^ assumed a bold front, and gained con- 
 siderable credit in the long run for the sagacity 
 which enabled them to arrive at a common-sense 
 decision. 
 
 Though he differed on many doctrinal points 
 from Mr. Spurgeon, the late Dr. Binney was able 
 from the first to perceive the great talents of 
 the young preacher. On a particular occasion, as 
 I have learned, when he was visiting one of 
 the Independent colleges for the purpose of 
 giving a lecture to the students, the Weighhouse 
 pastor happened to hear some disparaging re- 
 marks concerning Mr. Spurgeon from certain of 
 the students. The lecturer asked them to be 
 quiet, to listen to what he himself had to say on 
 the matter, and addressed them in such words 
 as these : " I m}'self have enjoyed some amount 
 of popularity ; I have always been able to draw 
 together a congregation ; but in the person 
 of Mr. Spurgeon we see a young man, be he 
 who he may, and come whence he will, who at 
 twenty-four hours' notice can command a con- 
 gregation of twenty thousand people. Now, I 
 liave never been able to do that, and I never knew 
 of anyone else who could do it." Mr. Spurgeon 
 
What Dr. Binney Said, Z^i 
 
 could do greater things than Dr. Binney, or all 
 the efforts of the students combined could do, and 
 on that account there was wisdom in remaining 
 quiet, and withholding railing words. 
 
 One of the earliest sermons preached by Mr. 
 Spurgeon in London was from the text, " Fear 
 not, thou worm Jacob/' It was a discourse of 
 great power, and was one which seemed at once 
 to establish the preacher's fame. It was, more- 
 over, one of the series which were to have been 
 probationary sermons ; but, in reality, it can 
 hardly be said that Mr. Spurgeon ever preached 
 any probationary sermons at all. His very first 
 Sabbath day's work in the metropolis settled the 
 matter of his unanimous call to the pastorate. 
 
 I have heard it said by one of its oldest 
 members that the church at New Park Street 
 was as much prepared for the reception of 
 Mr. Spurgeon by providence as Mr. Spurgeon was 
 prepared for the position. The church was in a 
 low condition, however ; and although there were 
 two hundred members, no one knew where to find 
 them. There was a good chapel, and there was 
 a staff of well-to-do deacons to second the efforts 
 of the pastor ; but had Mr. Spurgeon been an 
 optimist the outlook would have been discourag- 
 ing to the last degree. 
 
 When he suddenly became popular in London 
 
84 The First Sundays in London, 
 
 applications for Mr. Spurgeon's services began 
 to pour in from the provinces. His days were, 
 accordingly, days of travel and adventure, and his 
 own words, spoken in 1855, g^ve a more vivid 
 picture of his experience at this time than any 
 other description. Referring to a northern tour 
 he said : " Many persons know that on my road 
 home I was exposed to very imminent danger. I 
 crossed the river Clyde in a ferry : the man who 
 had the management of the boat had taken * a 
 wee drap o' the cratur,' and was not able to 
 manage it at all, and had put twenty-six persons 
 into a boat that ought to have contained far less. 
 I have been informed by one or two ladies that 
 report was current that I was thrown into the 
 water, and fished up by the hair of my head. 
 Now, that was not so. We were simply in 
 danger, but by a little management and expostu- 
 lation, which was resented by oaths and curses, 
 we came safe to land. Thanks to that God who 
 both on sea and land cares for His people ! I had 
 engaged to preach in Bradford, in Yorkshire, 1 
 first made a journey to Lake Windermere, round 
 which I sailed, and greatly enjoyed the beauties 
 of its scenery. I went to Bradford, and on 
 Sabbath morning I found they had engaged the 
 inusic-hall, which holds, they say, a thousand 
 persons more than Exeter Hall. Instead of 
 
Adventtu^es in the North, 85 
 
 being able to contain the crowds who came on 
 Sunday, about as many had to go away as 
 were accommodated. In the evening the streets 
 presented a solid blockade of men and women. 
 The place was crammed to excess, and I had 
 scarcely room to walk about to deliver what I had 
 to say to the people. ... I went to Stockton- 
 on-Tees, and there again preached the word of 
 God to a very numerous congregation. I 
 journeyed on still further, to Edinburgh, and in 
 Queen Street Hall, notwithstanding the most 
 pouring rains, more crowds were assembled." 
 Thus in one town after another great crowds 
 were attracted, and on one occasion, in Glasgow, 
 it was said that twenty thousand persons went 
 away unable to obtain admission. 
 
 It was not long before the crowds in front of 
 New Park Street Chapel filled the street. Then 
 Exeter Hall and Surrey Gardens' Hall were 
 successively taken, but more because they afforded 
 a larger sphere of usefulness than from any other 
 reason. The profits from the services of the last- 
 named place aided in some considerable degree 
 the Tabernacle building fund. It is not gener- 
 ally known that the Tabernacle very narrowly 
 escaped being erected on leasehold land ; and that 
 what would have been a real disaster was pre- 
 vented by certain of the deacons refusing to sign 
 
86 The First Sundays in London, 
 
 the building contract on such conditions. The 
 site was in possession of the Fishmongers' 
 Company ; and Mr. Joynson, of St. Mary Cray, 
 became a main instrument under providence in 
 obtaining the freehold. Thus, as we hope, The 
 Metropolitan Tabernacle can remain until 
 the end of time as a monument of the sanctified 
 genius and earnest life-work of C. H. Spurgeon. 
 
PERSONAL REMINISCENCES. 
 
"Our life has been mainly spent in direct religious teaching, and to 
 that work we would dedicate our main strength ; but men need also to 
 hear common every-day things spoken of in a religious manner, for to 
 some of them this roundabout road is the only way to their hearts. 
 Theology is dull reading to the unconverted ; but mixed with a story, 
 or set forth by a witty saying, they will drink in a great amount of 
 religious truth and find no fault. They like their pills gilded, or at 
 least sugar-coated, and if by that means they may be really benefited, 
 who will grudge them the gilt or the sugar?" — Preface to The Spare 
 Half-Hour. 
 
IV. 
 
 PERSONAL REMINISCENCES. 
 
 WHAT others say about a man must be 
 estimated according to the personal worth 
 and sympathies of the speakers ; but what a man 
 says about himself is sure, one way or the other, 
 to be a revelation of character. While no one 
 will defend egotism, it is possible for conceit or 
 spurious humility to conceal itself in a reticence, 
 foolish because studied and unnatural. He must 
 be a shrewd judge both of himself and others who 
 can constantly make capital of himself, while it is 
 still evident that self is not mentioned for the 
 sake of glorification. It must be evident to every 
 observer that from the first Mr. Spurgeon has 
 been to himself an exhaustless book of illustra- 
 tion, many of the most telling things in his 
 sermons and lectures being personal reminiscences. 
 Anecdotes of childhood and of later age are con- 
 tinually appearing, without any sign of the s'ock 
 becoming exhausted. 
 
 People are naturally interested in the childhood 
 
90 Personal Reminiscences, 
 
 of remarkable men ; and shrewd observers, like 
 John Foster, are glad to recover, so far as recovery 
 is possible, those early mind impressions which 
 came and went like fleeting clouds in the fresh 
 spring-time of life's opening days. Our first im- 
 pressions of the world are for the most part lost ; 
 but on this account we value more highly than 
 we should the fragments which remain. If he 
 had not himself narrated the fact, who could have 
 supposed that Mr. Spurgeon was ever fascinated 
 with the exciting sport of the hunting-field ? Yet 
 so it was ; the dogs, the horses, the horn-blowing, 
 the riders in red coats, constituted a picturesque 
 paraphernalia which had irresistible charms. Had 
 we, as inquisitive well-wishers, enquired in those 
 days what occupation Master Charles Haddon 
 Spurgeon would prefer as a life profession, the 
 reply would have come with smart readiness, "A 
 huntsman ! a huntsman ! " Well may the man 
 exclaim as he looks back on such childish pre- 
 ferences, " A fine profession truly ! " but then 
 there is the unvarnished fact,* as a child he "always 
 felt a natural taste for that sort of business." 
 Whenever the hounds were descried, they were 
 invariably followed at highest speed over fields, 
 hedges, and ditches, regardless of hazard. The 
 indulgence of this propensity once cost dear ; 
 for, executing a market commission, the contents 
 
Predilections of Childhood, 91 
 
 of -the basket — rice, mustard, etc. — were shaken 
 together into " one awful mess." As anecdotes, 
 such things are interesting contributions ; but as 
 anecdotes merely they would never be told by 
 Mr. Spurgeon. Everything must point a moral 
 or serve as an illustration to clinch a religious 
 truth. The childish predilection for field sports 
 warns young men not to be too readily drawn 
 into the Christian ministry by outward things, 
 and thus resemble children who are captivated by 
 the holiday trappings of sportsmen. The adven- 
 ture likewise shows the value of a clear arrange- 
 ment of ideas. Due care should be exercised so 
 that good things are not heaped together " all in 
 a muddle." It is obvious that " people will not 
 drink your mustardy tea, nor will they enjoy 
 muddled-up sermons, in which you cannot tell 
 head from tail, because they have neither, but are 
 like Mr. Bright's Skye terrier, whose head and 
 tail were both alike." 
 
 Happy is the child to whom the season of 
 school discipline comes with pleasures which are 
 re'membered with satisfaction in after life. Mr. 
 Spurgeon met with good masters, and he drank 
 in their teaching until he became himself a tutor 
 with pupils taller than himself ; Colchester, Maid- 
 stone, and Newmarket all being associated with 
 those early days. In connection with Colchester 
 
92 Personal Reininiscences, 
 
 we once heard him relate this characteristic 
 anecdote. On a certain very cold morning the 
 tutor, without design, so arranged the class that 
 the lower boys sat in proximity to the school 
 stove, the comforting glow of which it was hardly 
 worth while to surrender for the passing honours 
 of priority. After he had asked sundry questions 
 with unsatisfactory results, the schoolmaster sud- 
 denly, as he thought, discovered in the genial fire 
 the one cause of Master Spurgeon's unusual dul- 
 ness. The order was accordingly instantly given 
 to wheel round, the head, instead of the bottom, 
 of the class being now placed nearest the stove. 
 The effect was exactly what the sagacious leader 
 expected ; for when warmth as well as honour 
 could be gained by proficiency, a few correct 
 answers presently reinstated Master Spurgeon in 
 his former place near the fire at the head of the 
 column 
 
 A child in whose susceptible heart the Old 
 Adam so far predominated that he was carried off 
 his head by the fascination of hunting would not 
 in the natural course of things appear to every- 
 body as a subject likely to succeed in the pulpit. 
 A dame who was " as godly a Christian as ever 
 breathed " thought that no good was ever likely 
 to come of young Mr. Spurgeon's meddling with 
 sacred things, and like a woman of conscience, li 
 
Advised not to Become a Preacher. 93 
 
 not of sense, she advised according to her light : 
 she steadfastly dissuaded her young friend from 
 assuming a calling for which it was so m.anifest 
 that neither nature nor grace had fitted him. We 
 cannot any of us afford to laugh at the judgment 
 of this simple soul : for if it is. hard to judge of a 
 literary work in manuscript, how much more diffi- 
 cult is it to say what a preacher in embryo will 
 achieve. If there were those living in the Puritan 
 age who would have burned the manuscript of 
 The Pilgrinis Progress to do God service, their 
 descendants, in 1850, would act after the example 
 of their fathers. The Fathers advised John 
 Bunyan not to scandalise the church by printing 
 a silly book ; the children, by shutting his mouth, 
 would have made a tutor or a clerk of Mr. 
 Spurgeon. In one case as in the other, a better 
 judgment prevailed. It is, nevertheless, the 
 Pastor's opinion that the young should show a 
 deference to the counsel of their superiors in age 
 and experience. The first sermon from the text, 
 " Unto you, therefore, which believe He is precious," 
 was preached unexpectedly and without prepara- 
 tion, and the work has ever since continued. 
 
 Probably Mr. Spurgeon has preached a greater 
 number of sermons than any oth^r living pastor 
 of the same age ; and hence we are prepared for 
 the adiTiission that all along, he has been careful 
 
94 Personal Reminiscences, 
 
 of his throat. His advice to all public speakers 
 is to discard once and for ever " horehound, 
 ipecacuanha, or any of the ten thousand emollient 
 compounds." His experience has taught him 
 that for the voice there is nothing like astringents. 
 When he removed from New Park Street to Exeter 
 Hall he discovered that his voice was none too 
 strong for a place so difficult to speak in ; but he 
 found relief in Chili vinegar mixed with water, 
 which he sipped occasionally during the service. 
 He still finds a panacea in beef-tea " as strong 
 with pepper as can be borne." 
 
 A preacher of such varied experience will 
 necessarily have met with various entertaining 
 adventures in connection with the business of 
 choosing a text ; and Mr. Spurgeon ingenuously 
 confesses that he is " an odd man." While re- 
 siding at Cambridge, in the days of his village 
 preaching, he on one occasion vainly endeavoured 
 to collect his thoughts for a sermon, which had to 
 be given in the evening. Do what he would " the 
 right text" could not be found. After remaining 
 some time in a somewhat anxious condition he 
 happened to walk to the window, when on the 
 roof of a house opposite were seen a company 
 of vindictive sparrows worrying a solitary canary, 
 which had been unfortunate enough to escape 
 from its cage. After looking for a few moments, 
 
Hearing v. Heavy Sunday Dinners, 95 
 
 the words of Jeremiah xii. 9 stole into his mind : 
 " Mine heritage is unto me as a speckled bird, 
 the birds round about are against me." " The 
 text was sent to me," says the preacher, " and if 
 the ravens did not bring it, certainly the sparrows 
 did." Why do not the birds, or other agents in 
 nature, more often than they do bring our teachers 
 their texts 1 Because all have not the eye to 
 utilize what they see. After he had seen the 
 sparrows and their victim, Mr. Spurgeon " walked 
 off with the greatest possible composure ; . . . 
 and preached upon the peculiar people and the 
 persecutions of their enemies." 
 
 While Mr. Spurgeon held the pastorate of 
 Waterbeach the inconvenient, old-fashioned custom 
 of holding three services on the Sabbath was still 
 in vogue. This usage, now in a great measure 
 obsolete, was one which a young pastor would not 
 find reason to admire ; for, leaving out of the 
 question the extra labour imposed, " roast beef 
 and pudding lie heavy on the hearers' souls, and 
 the preacher himself is deadened while digestion 
 claims the mastery of the hour." On a certain 
 Sabbath, during the happy days of youth, all went 
 well at morning service, and at dinner the preacher 
 ate sparingly, in order that he might wear well 
 through the afternoon. The sermon had been 
 thought out beforehand, without the aid of ink and 
 
96 Personal Reminiscences. 
 
 paper ; but in the hour of need, when the people 
 were fast assembHng in the meeting-house, the 
 train of ideas suddenly vanished, leaving a dark 
 vacuum, which occasioned some commendable 
 trepidation in the mind. The fact was related to 
 the farmer in whose house the dinner had been 
 served ; but not having to preach himself that 
 hospitable worthy made light of the mischief. It 
 is all very well for farmers to say, " Oh ! never 
 mind, you will be sure to have a good word for 
 us," and so on ; but such commonplaces are only 
 cold comfort, and they do not point a way out of 
 the difficulty. Just while the two were conversing 
 a piece of wood, blazing and smoking, fell from 
 the fire. Here was the missing link. " Here was 
 a text, an illustration, and a leading thought as 
 a nest-egg for more." The hearts of one or two 
 were reached on that afternoon. 
 
 The above are interesting examples of their kind ; 
 but a more extraordinary instance of a change 
 of text having taken place, and not through any 
 mishap, once occurred in the chapel at New Park 
 Street on a Sunday evening. The preliminary 
 parts of the service passed off in the usual manner ; 
 the Bible was opened at the text selected and pre- 
 viously studied, when another passage hard by 
 not only attracted attention, but seemed to spring 
 up " like a lion from the thicket." The preacher 
 
Preaching in the Dark, 97 
 
 tells lis that he was " in a strait betwixt two." In 
 imagination he seemed to h'sten to a dispute 
 between the rivals ; and when one pulled impor- 
 tunately at his skirts the other answered, " No, no, 
 you must preach from me." The new comer had 
 its way, and the first and second heads were 
 proceeded with while the third head had not yet 
 suggested itself. Immediately after the second 
 division was closed the gas went out, and as the 
 chapel was crowded with people the danger was 
 considerable. The people were providentially 
 saved from panic by hearing Mr. Spurgeon's voice, 
 and the assurance that he could speak to them as 
 well in the dark as the light. Two persons were 
 reached and converted on that evening. " I cast 
 myself upon God," says the preacher, ** and His 
 arrangements quenched the light at the proper 
 time for me." 
 
 In his time Mr. Spurgeon has encountered many 
 interesting specimens of the species called eccentric 
 people. An uneducated genius in the pulpit has 
 always something for the observant hearer in the 
 pew. One of these persons referred to was a 
 worthy who could found a sermon on such a text 
 as " The night hawk, the owl, and the cuckoo." 
 The text was, of course, ingeniously selected, but 
 where were the divisions t Divisions } The birds 
 had a head a-piece, and after wringing their necks 
 
 7 
 
98 Personal Reminiscences. 
 
 there .they were. The hawk was a sly rogue, 
 the owl was a drunkard who was most Hvely at 
 night, the cuckoo was one who harped on the 
 notes and sucked the eggs of others. And yet 
 because the matter corresponded with the quaint 
 instrument it " did not seem at all remarkable 
 or odd." This man was a godly rustic who was 
 great at spiritualizing ; and though long since 
 laid in the grave his memory lives in " Lectures 
 to my Students." 
 
 Pastors should cultivate the art of conversation, 
 they should be masters of the knack of turning to 
 profitable account the thousand and one every-day 
 incidents of ordinary life. This was illustrated 
 by an adventure on Clapham Common some years 
 ago. A common porter was pushing along a 
 large truck, and in the middle of the commodious 
 carriage lay a small parcel, perhaps looking more 
 diminutive than it really was by contrast. " It 
 looks odd to see so large a truck for so small 
 a load," remarked Mr. Spurgeon. " Yes, sir, it 
 is a very odd thing," quickly replied the man ; 
 " but do you know I've met with an odder thing 
 than that this blessed day. I've been about 
 working and sweating all this 'ere blessed day, 
 and till now I haven't met with a gentleman 
 that looked as if he'd give me a pint of beer, till 
 I saw you." What was the result of this deli- 
 
A Wo7'king Mans Wit, 99 
 
 cately-worded appeal we are not informed ; but 
 the ready earnestness with which the man sought 
 to turn the occasion to profit carried hom*e a lesson 
 such as the interrogator was not slow to learn. 
 The opinion may be hazarded, however, that 
 in this instance the natural acuteness of the im- 
 portunate pprter was overrated. From what we 
 know of the working classes of London we dare 
 affirm that there are hundreds who would have 
 manifested a corresponding smartness, the wit 
 and the repartee being second-hand, and thus 
 common property. Working men often speak 
 with great ease and drollery ; but then the witti- 
 cisms thus admirably rendered may have existed 
 for generations. 
 
 Interested as we may be in all that we know 
 about Mr. Spurgeon's habits of study, ministers 
 and public speakers would do well to give some 
 extra attention to what he says concerning his 
 own efficiency in extempore speech, how he 
 acquired and how he sustains the coveted art. 
 The too common notion is that when a man 
 does anything remarkably well he does it without 
 taking trouble ; but the experience of real life 
 dispels such an illusion. It is through incessant 
 hard work alone that men succeed, and are able 
 to maintain their prestige when they have worked 
 their v/ay to the front. This is strictly true of 
 
lOO Personal Reminiscences, 
 
 Mr. Spurgeon ; for he has worked as hard as 
 any man in England. In one sense, unfortu- 
 nately, the position occupied by such a man is 
 not without its drawbacks. The ceaseless pressure 
 of work does not allow of the popular minister 
 enjoying life like other people. Holidays are 
 always scarce ; he may even be precluded from 
 walking round his garden once in a week. He 
 has a gift, and to maintain his standing the 
 practice which is said to " make perfect " must 
 be sustained. 
 
 As regards the manner of working, Mr. 
 Spurgeon thinks it unsafe for those who retain 
 their powers unimpaired to indulge in sticks, 
 crutches, or spectacles. The preacher above 
 every man should be self-reliant, and keep his 
 natural faculties bright with constant service. Mr. 
 Spurgeon's experience proves that those who 
 would excel as extempore preachers must trust 
 to memory and not to notes. Only make your 
 notes a few lines longer this Sunday, and soon 
 you will " require them longer still." He goes 
 further, and assures us that if there is an increased 
 trust in the pre-arrangcments of memory, it is 
 naturally followed by *' a direct craving, and even 
 an increased necessity for pre-composition." If 
 the art of speaking well be encompassed v/ith so 
 many difficulties, which even a Spurgeon must 
 
A Working Man s Wit. loi 
 
 overcome, the lessons of his experience speak 
 to all. 
 
 To a public speaker a liberal supply of fresh 
 air is of vital importance, and this is especially 
 the case with the Pastor of the Tabernacle. 
 Occasionally, in the middle of a service, he will 
 ask for more air^ and he counsels all pastors not 
 to be afraid of opening their chapel windows, 
 because " the next best thing to the grace of God 
 for a preacher is oxygen." He will not tolerate 
 having comfort in breathing sacrificed to architec- 
 ture ; and soon after settling at New Park Street 
 the officials found out to their cost the predilec- 
 tions of the Pastor. There was a window in the 
 chapel whose iron bars would not allow of its 
 being opened, and, after repeated suggestions had 
 been vainly made that a glazier should take out 
 the panes, they were one morning found to be 
 broken. The Pastor suggested that a reward of 
 ;^5 should be offered, and that the money should 
 be given as a testimonial to the offender ; and, 
 although he never informed, he went so far as 
 to confess that he had walked with the stick 
 which let the oxygen into a stifling structure. 
 
 A considerable weight of responsibility once 
 devolved on those who kept Mr. Spurgeon's 
 vestry-door, which after every service was sur- 
 rounded with a goodly array of persons, one and 
 
I02 Personal Reutiniscences, 
 
 all having wants or whims to be satisfied. From 
 time to time many " characters " appeared in the 
 throng. Women with wild fancies, men with 
 some chronic trouble weighing them down, or 
 others who had visionary projects they would 
 talk about to a sympathetic friend, might there 
 have been encountered. Now and then the fire 
 of insanity was to be detected in the eye of a 
 new comer, and the arm of the sentinel deacon 
 would be raised to hinder the ingress of a doubt- 
 ful character. Among the more extraordinary 
 specimens were found those who applied for 
 admission to the Pastors' College. The college 
 is Mr. Spurgeon's best-loved institution ; and it 
 is generally known that candidates for the 
 ministry may reckon on receiving patient atten- 
 tion. There are, of course, bold pretenders who 
 come forward to turn liberty into licence, and 
 to take advantage of good nature. One such 
 was a young man whose face " looked like the 
 title-page to a whole volume of conceit and 
 deceit." The man had enough assurance for a 
 hundred adventurers, and because his case was 
 so remarkable he wanted to be admitted at once. 
 His private opinion was that his attainments were 
 immense, and that no such application had ever 
 been received before. He testified that he had 
 thoroughly explored the field of ancient and 
 
Trotibles of an Editor, 103 
 
 modern literature, while his preaching was ex- 
 ceptionally eloquent. When his application was 
 declined, this upstart retired with dignity, sup- 
 pos'Lg that an " unusual genius " and a ** gigantic 
 mind " showed the cause of failure. 
 . Some references should be made to Mr. 
 Spurgeon's editorial troubles, and to the offence 
 which is necessarily given in some quarters 
 through strict adherence to principle. All editors 
 receive manuscripts of the most extraordinary 
 description. A journalist once remarked that all 
 persons suppose themselves to be competent 
 writers, and the general experience of editors 
 teaches that the assertion is not very wide of the 
 truth. The absence of talent and education never 
 damps the ardour of literary aspirants, whose sole 
 ambition is to secure the honours of appearing in 
 print. Who shall estimate the amazing amount 
 of doggerel with which editors and publishers are 
 still pestered } The plague is a cross to bear, 
 and shows signs of increase rather than of 
 diminution. Although cacoethes scvibendi may be 
 a prevalent and incurable disease, we believe that 
 general readers have little conception of the 
 extent to which it prevails. There appears to 
 be no class without its writers, or without those 
 who suppose themselves to be capable of handling 
 the quill; 
 
I04 Personal Reminiscences. 
 
 As an editor, Mr. Spurgeon's adventures are 
 sure to be singular, proportionately with the 
 eminence of his position. Because his name is 
 known to everybody, the eccentric will not be 
 wanting in endeavours to take him into their 
 confidence. The poets are always a source of 
 trouble ; for not only do the doggerel traffickers 
 claim attention, a batch of rhymes was once 
 received from one who claimed to be divinely 
 inspired by the Holy Spirit ! Instead of being 
 inspired, however, all the pieces bore the mark 
 of imposture ; and did so because the editor's 
 shelves could " show many poems as much 
 superior to these pretended inspirations as angels 
 are to blue-bottles." What fool is to be com- 
 pared with your " inspired " fool } 
 
 Mr. Spurgeon is very partial to open-air 
 preaching, and in his lectures on that subject 
 gives many interesting incidents from his own 
 experience. His favourite pitch is the front of 
 " a rising ground, or an open spot bounded at 
 some little distance by a wall." Mr. Duncan's 
 garden at Benmore is a favourite site — " a level 
 sweep of lawn, backed by rising terraces, covered 
 with fir-trees." He also tells us of "a grand 
 cathedral " once provided for his accommodation 
 in Oxfordshire. " The remains of it are still 
 called Spurgeon's Tabernacle, and may be seen 
 
open Air Preaching. 105 
 
 near Minster Lovell, in the form of a quadrilateral 
 of oaks. Originally it was the bean ideal of a 
 preaching place, for it was a cleared spot in the 
 thick forest of Wychwood, and was reached by 
 roads cut through the dense underwood. I shall 
 never forget those * alleys green/ and the verdant 
 walls which shut them in. When you reached 
 the inner temple it consisted of a large square, 
 out of which the underwood and smaller trees 
 had been cut away, while a sufficient number of 
 young oaks had been left to rise to a consider- 
 able height, and then overshadow us with their 
 branches." He once preached in the time of 
 haymaking from the appropriate text, " He shall 
 come down like rain upon the mown grass, as 
 showers that water the earth," but during the 
 sermon a storm of rain passed over the ground. 
 His general advice to open-air preachers is all 
 valuable. Certain trees are to be avoided on 
 account of their " rustling sound." The sun must 
 not be directly in the speaker's face ; nor are 
 they to attempt to preach " against the wind." 
 Such is a selection of personal reminiscences 
 collected from his own works, which a future 
 biographer of Mr. Spurgeon will be able to utilize. 
 I could easily add other anecdotes which have 
 not appeared in print ; but the insertion of these 
 would unduly lengthen this chapter. I will, how- 
 
io6 Pe7^sonal Reminiscences. 
 
 ever, give one that comes from a trustworthy 
 friend concerning an English judge, now dead, 
 but who in his lifetime was very generally 
 esteemed, and who was deacon of a congregation 
 in London, a member of the Baptist denomination, 
 and, therefore, well acquainted with Mr. Spurgeon. 
 When out of court, or when in the ante-rooms, 
 both the justice and his learned associates con- 
 verse familiarly among themselves, so that on one 
 occasion the Pastor of the Metropolitan Taber- 
 nacle became the topic of the hour. Of course 
 differences of opinion were freely expressed ; and 
 it is possible the brilliant coterie were a little 
 surprised on hearing from their friend the judge 
 that they should have an opportunity of deciding 
 for themselves the merits of the case, as he 
 intended to invite all of them, and also Mr. 
 Spurgeon, to a friendly dinner. "Do you mean it?" 
 cried the lawyers, in expectant tones. " Yes.'* 
 *' Then agreed ! " The bargain being thus con- 
 cluded, the worthy justice fulfilled to the letter 
 his part of the contract. Mr. Spurgeon accepted 
 the invitation, knowing nothing of the previous 
 arrangements ; and, as Dr. Johnson would have 
 said, the time passed well with some *' good talk." 
 When the judge and counsel next met in the 
 robing room, the exceedingly hearty manner in 
 which the latter expressed their thanks showed 
 
Among the Lawyers, 107 
 
 that they were not .peaking in the dialect of 
 mere comphment. Mr. Spurgeon was all that 
 he was said to be, or even more ; and all con- 
 fessed how well they had been entertained. The 
 confession went even further ; they acknowledged 
 that they had conspired together to test bis 
 knowledge by arranging beforehand a number 
 of questions, and the answers received surpassed 
 expectation. In point of fact, Mr. Spurgeon's 
 table-talk is" in itself good fare ; and hence we 
 are well able to estimate the quality of the 
 banquet which the lawyers enjoyed, and acknow- 
 ledged with a bonhomie characteristic of their 
 order when out of court. Indeed, this table-talk 
 is too good to be lost, but there are difficulties 
 in the way of its collection ; for, as I remarked 
 at the outset, " what the Pastor has been heard 
 to threaten he will do, should he ever be ap- 
 proached by a first cousin of Johnson's biographer, 
 may well intimidate the boldest member of that 
 inquisitive tribe." 
 
 On December ist, 1880, Mr. Spurgeon gave 
 some reminiscences of his earlier days which may 
 very properly dose the present chapter : — * 
 
 After thanking his people "from the bottom 
 
 * The report of what the Pastor said on this interesting 
 occasion is that which appeared at the time in The 
 Christian World. 
 
io8 Personal Renihuscences. 
 
 of his soul " for the hearty way in which they 
 had ever worked with him, Mr. Spurgeon said 
 he was afraid they were getting old together. 
 Speaking for himself, however, he felt young 
 about the head, but quite old down below. His 
 life had been specially interesting, and he was 
 not likely to grow tired of it. He verily believed 
 that had he the power of a novelist he could 
 produce a three-volume novel from the events 
 of any one day of his life, so singularly had that 
 life been crowded with interesting incidents. 
 Indeed, if he were ever dull, it must be from 
 soniethiiig within, for he could not get gloomy 
 from the outside. He had promised to tell them 
 a few stories of things he could recollect ; and a 
 face he saw before him reminded him of a visit 
 he once paid to Tring. He was regarded as 
 being too Jiigh for one chapel there, too low for 
 another, but in a third he was permitted to preach. 
 The pastor of this chapel was in receipt of only 
 fifteen shillings a-week, and Mr. Spurgeon had 
 some misgivings about drinking the poor man's 
 tea. During the meal he noticed that his host 
 wore a very shiny alpaca coat. At the close of 
 the sermon Mr. Spurgeon said, addressing the 
 congregation — "Now I have preached my best 
 to you. * Freely ye have received, freely give.' 
 The minister of this place looks as if he wants 
 
The Woman in a Red Cloak. 109 
 
 a new suit of clothes. I will give half-a-sovereign, 
 my friend down below will do the same, and 
 plates will be held at the doors for your con- 
 tributions." The effort was successful. After 
 the service the poor pastor, addressing Mr. 
 Spurgeon, observed that ever since he became a 
 minister of Jesus Christ his Master always sent 
 him his livery, and he was beginning to wonder 
 where the next would come from. The same 
 day and in the same place Mr. Spurgeon ad- 
 dressed a gathering of children, and was subse- 
 quently severely taken to task by some good 
 men for telling the little ones that God heard 
 his prayers before he was converted. The grave 
 men gathered around, exclaiming that the prayeis 
 of a sinner were an abomination to the Lord. 
 The victory was, however, won by an old woman 
 in a red cloak. " What are you battling with 
 this young man about.?" she inquired, squeezing 
 herself into the circle. " What do you know 
 about the Scriptures } You say God does not 
 hear the prayers of unconverted people, why, have 
 you never read that He heareth the young ravens 
 when they cry } and there is no grace in them. 
 If God hears the cry of the ravens, don't you 
 think He will hear the cry of a man made in His 
 own image!" The objectors suddenly vanished, 
 and Mr. Spurgeon walked away with the old lady. 
 
no Pei'sonal Reminiscences, 
 
 His earliest recollections, Mr. Spurgeon went on 
 to say, gathered around his grandfather, who was 
 for sixty-four years pastor of a congregation at 
 Stambourne, in Essex, and at the age of eighty- 
 eight was wont to rub his knee and complain that 
 rheumatism was shortening his days. Mr. Spurgeon 
 acknowledged that he owed a great deal to the 
 teaching of his early youth. When a boy, and 
 while staying at his grandfather's house, he met 
 the Rev. Richard Knill, the missionary, who would 
 take him into an arbour and pray with him. 
 On one occasion Mr. Knill lifted him on to his 
 knee, and said that he felt persuaded the child 
 would grow up to preach the Gospel to more 
 people than any man living, and that he would 
 one day preach in Rowland Hill's Chapel. Mr. 
 Knill gave him sixpence, in return for which 
 he was to learn the hymn, " God moves in a 
 mysterious way," and at the same time extracted 
 the promise from little Spurgeon that he would 
 have this hymn sung when he occupied Rowland 
 Hill's pulpit. On coming to London the preacher 
 was taken ill, and Mr. Spurgeon was asked to 
 take the service in Surrey Chapel. He did so, 
 and redeemed his promise by letting the congre- 
 gation sing the hymn suggested by Mr. Knill. 
 Strange things came about in the working of 
 God's providence. It v;as through Mr. Knill 
 
Baptised in a River. iii 
 
 daring to preach in a theatre, that led Mr. 
 Spurgeon to conduct services in the Surrey Music 
 Hall. He became a Baptist through reading the 
 New Testament, especially in the Greek, and was 
 strengthened in his resolve by a perusal of the 
 Church of England Catechism. He was baptised 
 at the age of fifteen in a river. Two women, who 
 were immersed at the same time, desired him to 
 lead them into the water ; but he was such a 
 timid, trembling creature that he needed all the 
 strength he possessed for himself But his 
 timidity was washed away. It floated down the 
 river into the sea, and must have been devoured 
 by the fishes, for he had never felt anything of the 
 kind since. Baptism also loosed his tongue, and 
 from that day it had never been quiet. When 
 Mr. Spurgeon became pastor of the church of 
 Waterbeach they held their baptisms in a 
 neighbouring river. There was to be a baptism 
 one day, and it was raining " cats and dogs." 
 The service was to be undertaken by Mr. Elvin, a 
 man of enormous size, who said he must decline, 
 for if he got wet through there was not a waist- 
 coat within forty miles that would fit him. One 
 day when Mr. Elvin was preaching for Mr. 
 Spurgeon at Park Street, an old lady put her 
 head in at the door, and, perceiving Mr. Elvin, 
 withdrew, remarking that " no good could 
 
1 1 2 Personal Reminiscences, 
 
 possibly come from a man who had so much of 
 the flesh," Mr. Spurgeon went on to remark that 
 he recollected most distinctly hearing Mr. Jay 
 preach at Cambridge. The text was, " Ever let 
 your conversation be as becometh the Gospel of 
 Christ/' And he remembered with what dignity 
 he preached, and yet how simply. Ladies, Mr. 
 Jay said, in the course of his sermon^ were some- 
 times charged with dressing too costly. He did 
 not know much about it himself, but if they told 
 him what their income was he would tell them 
 how many yards of ribbon they could afford. 
 His recollections of Mr. Jay were such as he 
 would not like to lose. 
 
 On another occasion he made a journey to 
 Birmingham to hear John Angell James, for he 
 was most anxious to be able to say that he had 
 heard Jay and James. Mr. James's text was, " Ye 
 are complete in Him." And what a delicious 
 sermon it was! Years afterwards, on being in 
 Mr. James's company, Mr. Spurgeon told him that 
 he went all the way to Birmingham to hear him 
 preach. On his mentioning the text, Mr. James 
 replied, " Ah 1 that was a Calvinistic sermon. 
 You would get on with that, but you would not 
 get on with me always." Dr. Brock, when dining 
 with Mr. James on one occasion, asked him if he 
 recollected preaching at a certain place for two 
 
Angel I James and William Brock, 1 1 3 
 
 hours. " I do," replied Mr. James, " but the clock 
 did not indicate it." " No," said Dr. Brock ; " I 
 was in the gallery, and stopped the clock when- 
 ever I liked, and thus made you preach for two 
 hours instead of three-quarters of an hour." 
 At this Mr. James observed, " Mr. Brock, you 
 always were at your fun, and I daresay you 
 would do the same again." " But I wouldn't," 
 retorted Dr. Brock, to the great surprise of Mr. 
 James, who expected the Doctor would still be 
 desirous of hearing a sermon from him extending 
 over two hours at least. Dr. Brock's tone sug- 
 gested pretty plainly that if he happened to be 
 a listener again, he would rather make the hands 
 travel unusually quick in the orthodox direction. 
 When Mr. Spurgeon commenced preaching at 
 Waterbeach he was sixteen years old. The 
 people could do but very little for his support ; 
 hence he also filled the post of an usher at 
 Cambridge. After a time he gave the latter 
 occupation up, and trusted to the generosity of 
 his people, who raised about ^45 a-year for him. 
 Out of this he paid twelve shillings a-week for 
 two roomfj and his congregation did for him what 
 he wished country congregations generally would 
 do for their pastors. Whenever they went to 
 Cambridge they carried him vegetables, and any 
 quantity of loaves of brea J, and at no time did any 
 
 S 
 
114 Personal Reminiscences, 
 
 member of his flock kill a pig without his receiv- 
 ing some portion of it. Once young Spurgeon 
 was invited to preach for Mr. Sutton, who, on 
 perceiving the youth for the first time on his 
 arrival, exclaimed, " You can't preach. What is 
 the world coming to ? A parcel of boys preach- 
 ing who have not got their mothers' milk out 
 of their mouths !" Mr. Sutton was a quaint old 
 man, who, after being a shepherd of sheep for 
 forty years, became shepherd of men for a similar 
 period, and was wont to remark that his second 
 flock " was a deal more sheepish than the first." 
 
 Mr. Spurgeon went on to observe that his (Mr. 
 Spurgeon's) acquaintance had been most varied 
 and extensive. He had enjoyed the friendship of 
 most of the noblest persons that had passed over 
 the history of his own time. He just happened 
 to have the least possible connection with Christ- 
 mas Evans, having found his widow nearly starving, 
 and it was his great joy to support her till she 
 died. A friend, now gone, however, on hearing 
 of it, insisted upon having shares in the pleasur- 
 able undertaking. Mr. Spurgeon remarked that 
 if he had not washed the feet of ChristSas Evans, 
 he had done what he could for any relic there was 
 left of him. 
 
 Then he enjoyed, too, the most intimate friend- 
 ship of Daubigne, author of the " History of the 
 
Drs, GzUkrie and Candlish, 115 
 
 Reformation," who once gave an address at the 
 Tabernacle. Mr. Spurgeon also preached for 
 Daubigne on the continent, and the same day 
 occupied Calvin's old pulpit. In the evening he 
 met two hundred of the greatest preachers of 
 Switzerland, and before departing, one after the 
 other kissed him on both cheeks. It was his 
 pleasure to have the personal friendship of Mr. 
 Sherman, also that of Dr. Hamilton, whom it was 
 always a real joy to meet in his own home. Then 
 he well knew glorious old Tom Guthrie. " What 
 a man he was to be with ! " said Mr. Spurgeon. 
 " And he could tell a story or two. When we 
 were together we were happy." And Dr. Candlish 
 it was his delight to be acquainted with. He well 
 recollected addressing the General Assembly of 
 the Free Church of Scotland, and Dr. Candlish 
 was all over the place — now in the gallery, now 
 to the moderator's right, now to his left. Dr. 
 Candlish was made of quicksilver, and, though his 
 body was not very large, it seemed to partake 
 of the quicksilver of his nature. Mr. Spurgeon 
 regarded Candlish as one of the greatest men 
 of modern times. And then he knew Arnot, and. 
 should not soon forget the good old man. *' All 
 honour to these men," added Mr. Spurgeon. 
 "They did not come to England, but they did 
 exceedingly well in Scotland, where they were 
 
1 1 6 Personal Reminiscences, 
 
 burning and shining lights." He owed much to 
 the Scotch, for when his Tabernacle was being 
 built, a consideri^ble portion of the monev came 
 from the North. Whenever he went to Scotland 
 — it was not " Blue-bonnets over the Border," but 
 wide-awake over the Border — he came back loaded 
 with money. He just passed over the skirts of 
 the Claytons, and everybody who lived in Wal- 
 worth recollected what gentlemen the Claytons 
 were. Without a doubt they were the most 
 gentlemanly race of preachers that ever lived. 
 Mr. Spurgeon did not lament that such dignified 
 brethren had passed away, though they did good 
 in their day. He had been told that souls were 
 saved by the white bibs ministers wore. Then 
 John Howard Hinton had a good word for him 
 when very few had anything to say in his favour. 
 He called in at the Tabernacle one day, and said 
 to Mr. Olney, Mr. Spurgeon's senior deacon, 
 " Take care of that young man ; he is an old 
 Puritan bound in morocco." " But I maintain," 
 added Mr. Spurgeon, " that I am bound in calf, 
 for I belong to Essex." Then that good old Dr. 
 Campbell, editor of the British B aimer, was a very 
 dear friend of his. Whenever he went to preach 
 for Dr. Campbell he had always to take his wife 
 and boys with him. When writing to invite them 
 Dr. Campbell would say. "Our cat has had kittens 
 
Dr, Binney and Air, Sptirgeon, 117 
 
 on purpose for the boys to play with." And the 
 day before their arrival the good old man would 
 be out buying toy horses and carts for the juvenile 
 Spurgeons. This showed that while he was a 
 stern man he -stooped down to do a kindly action, 
 and took a pleasure in delighting children. Dr. 
 Binney once went to hear Mr. Spurgeon, and 
 remarked of the sermon in the presence of some 
 of the preacher's friends — " It is an insult to God 
 and man. I never heard such a thing." Twenty 
 years afterwards Dr. Binney visited the Pastors* 
 College and related the incident, observing, "Well, 
 you know, your minister has so much improved 
 since those days. I denounced him then most 
 heartily, and even refused to preach where he 
 preached, but I very soon found out my mistake." 
 "And the grand, great man," added Mr. Spurgeon, 
 " was perhaps right in his first observation ! " 
 After mentioning a few other incidents, Mr. 
 Spurgeon brought his chat to a close, promising 
 to resume it on a future occasion. 
 
 When Dr. Binney took exception to the style 
 of the young preacher, he was not so singular 
 in his prejudices as some might now be disposed 
 to think. In 1 85 1, when Mr. Spurgeon com- 
 menced work, the world may not have been 
 unprepared to greet something new — to condone 
 some departure from the old and beaten ways ; 
 
1 1 8 Personal Reminiscences, 
 
 but it was hardly ready to welcome a preacher 
 of such thorough originality, that he ignored 
 time-honoured conventional pulpit fashions to 
 follow methods of his own ; even his most un- 
 compromising detractors did not attempt to deny 
 that the preacher was original ; but the world 
 did not find in such an admission a passport to 
 its favour. This was partly accounted for by the 
 fact, that in great measure people spoke and 
 acted as their fathers had done before them. A 
 Latinised rhetorical style was still regarded as 
 eloquence ; and the " great " sermons of popular 
 orators at important anniversaries were marvellous 
 examples of painstaken elaboration. The suc- 
 cess of Mr. Spurgeon meant a total change of 
 fashion ; but the world does not change its ways 
 at the bidding of a provincial youth without some 
 growls and warm protests. Elderly people did 
 not know that what they thought to be so 
 proper was doomed to become obsolete ; and 
 they could not be expected all at once to appre- 
 hend that the youth whom they accused of so 
 many improprieties was really a reformer, such 
 as the pulpit and the world had long wanted. 
 
ANECDOTES, LETTERS, ANA, ETQ, 
 
" Gentlemen of the press have an eye to the amusement of their 
 readers, and make selections of all the remarkable anecdotes, or odd 
 sayings, used by a speaker, and when these are separated from their 
 surroundings the result is anything but satisfactory. No man's speeclies 
 or lectures should be judged of by an ordinary newspaper summary, 
 which in any case is a mere sketch, and in many instances is a vile 
 caricature." — Preface to Eccentric Preachers, 
 
V. 
 
 ANECDOTES, LETTERS, ANA, ETC. 
 
 Truth versus Fiction 
 
 LIKE Rowland Hill and some other celebrated 
 preachers of wit and wisdom, Mr. Spurgeon 
 has had many apocryphal stories told about him, 
 and the manner in which these piquant fictions 
 are circulated is well illustrated by the following 
 letter, which the Pastor received in the year 
 1883:— 
 
 "As I see that you are still occasionally put to 
 the trouble of answering enquiries as to the truth 
 of various anecdotes, etc., concerning yourself, I 
 thought the following brief statement might interest 
 you, or some of your numerous readers, if you think 
 it well to publish it. About seventeen years ago 
 1 was for some time at a well-known health-resort 
 on the south coast. At the table d'hote I sat next to 
 a young married lady, who was, alas ! consumptive ; 
 and of that temperament which is so common in 
 such cases, trh spiritiielle, and very learned and 
 
122 Anecdotes^ Letiers, Ana, etc, 
 
 accomplished. You may be sure she never lacked 
 auditors for her lively conversation. At dessert' 
 one day she was * telling stories/ in the juvenile 
 and literal sense of the phrase, about yourself. I 
 let her go on for some time, until I thought the 
 fun was getting a little too fast ; and then I 
 
 said, ' I hope, Mrs. , you do not believe the 
 
 stories you are detailing, because I assure you I 
 heard nearly all of them in my childhood, before 
 Mr. Spurgeon was born, and that most of them 
 were then attributed to Rowland Hill — doubtless 
 with equal lack of authenticity.' She looked me 
 calmly in the face, with a very comical expression, 
 
 and replied, * Oh, Mr. , we never ask 
 
 whether such stones are true ; it is quite sufficient 
 if we find them amusing.* * Well,' I said, * so 
 long as that is understood all round, by all means 
 keep on.' The poor, brilliant, thoughtless woman, 
 and her husband also, have many years since 
 passed away ; but she has many, many suc- 
 cessors, who are without her wit, and not quite 
 so good-humouredly candid as to their practice. 
 If only you can get it ' understood all round,' that 
 such folk really do not consider whether their 
 ' anecdotes ' are true or not, it might save you 
 some trouble." In reference to this, Mr. Spurgeon 
 himself remarked : " This is quite true, but it is 
 a pity that people should lie in jest. The lady 
 
A Pttlpit in a Garden, 123 
 
 was let off very easily. Our friend has touched 
 the root of the matter. It is not malice, but the 
 passion for amusement, which creates the trade in 
 falsehood, which never seems to decline." 
 
 Clapham and Westwood. 
 
 The North British Daily Mail once remarked 
 that those who have visited Mr. Spurgeofi at his 
 home in Nightingale Lane, from which he lately 
 removed to Norwood, will recollect having seen in 
 the pleasant garden the old pulpit stairs that were 
 used at the great preacher's first London chapel — 
 the old meeting-house in New Park Street, where 
 he was preceded as pastor by a long line of 
 worthy ministers — Dr. Gill, the learned Hebraist ; 
 Dr. Rippon, the editor of the old Baptist Hymn- 
 book ; Dr. Joseph Angus, the Bible Reviser, 
 and Mr. Smith, of Cheltenham. When the chapel 
 was sold Mr. Spurgeon removed the pulpit stairs 
 to his garden, and fixed them to the trunk of a 
 huge willow tree. " Here," says Mr. Spurgeon, 
 " the observer can see those very rails down which 
 we did not slide to illustrate backsliding, and he 
 may be sure of that negative fact, because the 
 story was told of us when the pulpit was fixed in 
 the wall and the entrance was from behind ; and 
 more than that, the same story was told of another 
 preacher before we v/ere born." Mr. Spurgeon 
 
124 Anecdotes, Letters, Ana, etc. 
 
 lias not taken the stairs with him to his new home 
 at Norwood. He has left them attached to the 
 great willow in Nightingale Lane. " The purchaser 
 of our former abode," he says, "will preserve the 
 staircase quite as carefiilly as we have done, and 
 we hope his children v/ill for years ascend by 
 them to the pleasant seats, where they may in the 
 summer sit and enjoy themselves beneath the 
 willow's shade." 
 
 At Home at Westwood. 
 
 Before leaving England for America, Dr. 
 Theodore Cuyler visited Mr. Spurgeon at his new 
 home near the Crystal Palace, and in a letter to 
 the New York Evangelist describes his villa as 
 
 * 
 
 " a rural Paradise." " The great preacher," writes 
 Dr. Cuyler, " with a jovial countenance, came out 
 of his door with both hands outstretched to give 
 us welcome. Saturday afternoon is his holiday. 
 For an hour he conducted us over his delightful 
 grounds and through his garden and conservatory, 
 and then to a rustic arbour, where he entertained 
 us with one of his racy talks which are as cha- 
 racteristic as his sermons Mr. Spurgeon's study 
 is a charming apartment opening out on his lawn ; 
 the view extends for twelve miles to Epsom Downs. 
 His parlour, too, is lined with elegant volumes. 
 He showed us with great glee a portfolio of 
 
Dr. Ciiyler at WestwoocL 125 
 
 caricatures of himself ; and then, by way of con- 
 trast, a series of translations of his sermons in 
 various foreign tongues. His comely wife — for a 
 long time a suffering invalid — presided at the 
 table with grace and sweetness. Their twin sons 
 have already entered the ministry, one in London 
 and the other now in New Zealand. It was six 
 o'clock on Saturday when we bade him * good- 
 bye/ and he assured us that he had not yet 
 selected even the text for next day's discourses ! 
 
 * I shall go down in the garden presently/ said he, 
 
 * and arrange my morning discourse and choose 
 a text for that in the evening : then to-morrow 
 afternoon, before preaching, I will make an outline 
 of the second one/ This has been his habit for 
 many years ; he never composes a sentence in 
 advance, and rarely spends over half-an-hour in 
 laying out the plan of a sermon. Constant study 
 fills his mental cask, and he has only to turn the 
 spigot and draw." 
 
 The Pastor at Plymouth. 
 
 While at the Baptist Union Meetings at 
 Plymouth in 1875, Mr. Spurgeon told the 
 following anecdotes : — 
 
 Unaired Drawiiig-roovis. — I was at a minister's 
 house the other day, and he said, looking at the 
 drawing-room, " Well, }^ou see this drawing-room 
 
[26 Anecdotes^ Letters, Ana, etc. 
 
 looks a little seedy." I said that I did not think it 
 did. " Well," he said, " my wife has a Bible-class 
 here every Sunday, and she generally gets it once 
 in the week. In my study I always have a young 
 men's Bible-class on a Sunday afternoon." Oh ! 
 good friends, your houses were not meant to be 
 half shut up as they are. When I call on some 
 of my people, if they happen to be a little upper- 
 crust, they put me up in the drawing-room in 
 the winter even, when there has not been a fire 
 there for three months, and I get the rheumatism, 
 and I go out of the room saying to myself, " I 
 wish to goodness those people would have a service 
 there every week, for if they did that the room 
 would be aired, and there would be an incidental 
 blessing to me, and I do not doubt it would be 
 so to them." 
 
 The Rose of Shai'on. — I met the other day a 
 lady who had lost the sense of taste and the 
 sense of smell ; I had never met with a person 
 before in that condition. The sweetest fragrance 
 of a rose was lost upon her nostril, and the choicest 
 delicacies had not the slightest flavour- to her. 
 It was a painful loss, in some measure ; but, oh ! 
 what a wretch a man must be who has lost the 
 power of smelling the fragrance of the Rose of 
 Sharon, and lost his taste so that he does not 
 perceive any sweetness in the fruit which came 
 
A Story about a Dog, 127 
 
 down from heaven, even Jesus Christ. I feel in 
 a pitying mood as I look at you that do not 
 love Him. Oh, what perverted tastes you have 
 got ! what strange judgments ! for you love this 
 paintpd Jezebel of a world ; you love this witch 
 of sinful pleasure ; but my Lord, who is altogether 
 lovely, who puts the angels in amazement every 
 time they get a gaze upon Him — you do not 
 love. Oh ! what has happened to you ? What 
 strange madness has come over you } 
 
 The Newfoundland Dog, — I read in the " Guide 
 to Kingsbridge" a pretty story about the Start 
 Bay villages, where the Newfoundland dogs are 
 kept to go out to sea to fetch in a rope. The 
 story is that one of these dogs saw a child in the 
 water and swam in and brought the child out. 
 He could do that, and as he laid the child down 
 on the sand it was nearly dead, and he licked 
 its face to try and bring it round ; and when he 
 found that his licking would not revive it, he went 
 up to a village, and he caught hold of people's 
 coats, till at last he induced some to come down, 
 and by their care the little flame of life in the 
 child, which was almost extinct, was made to 
 burn up agam. As I read the story, I hoped 
 to be som.ething like that dog. I will go into 
 the water after souls and try to bring them out ; 
 and, if I could, I would kiss them into life with 
 
128 Anecdotes, Letters, Ana, etc, 
 
 loving words ; but as that is out of my power, 
 I will go and tug the skirts of Jesus, and ask 
 Him to come and give them life, and raise them 
 up, and I do not doubt that He will do so. That 
 was a dog's work. Christians, do something more 
 than dogs can do, or, at least, attempt to do as 
 well. God grant you may ; and though you 
 cannot quicken them into life, you can bring 
 Jesus to them, and He can give them hfe and 
 strength that they may be saved. 
 
 TJie Pozver of Kindness. — One day an old man 
 shook me by the hand with a firm grasp, and he 
 said, " Sir, one Sunday night you said, * Every 
 one of you do something to-night for Jesus such 
 as you never did before.' Now," he said, " my son 
 had been a great trouble to me. He was a very 
 wicked youth indeed, and he had left me for 
 some time, and he had brought himself to death's 
 door by his ill habits. I had, therefore, given him 
 enough to live upon ; but I thought to do nothing 
 else. But that night," said he, " I went home 
 and looked out of my larder the best things I had 
 got, and I put them in a basket, and I sent them 
 round to my son to tell him that I had forgiven 
 him all, and that I had sent him a little something 
 extra that night, and I meant to do it continually, 
 and I hoped that he would get well. Now," said 
 he, " I never could speak to him of religion till 
 
Eat ly Letters. 129 
 
 I did that ; and the next morning I went round 
 and we were able to converse about the things 
 of God, and he died with a comfortable hope ; 
 whereas, before, I had been afraid that he would 
 die far from God." 
 
 The two following letters were also printed for 
 the first time about sixteen years agq in my 
 History of the Tabernacle Church. Of course 
 they have been copied by others, so remarkable 
 are they when read in connection with what has 
 since happened. 
 
 "No. 60, Park Street, Cambridge, 
 
 ^^ January 27M, 1854. 
 
 *' My dear Sir, — I cannot help feeling- intense grati- 
 fication at the unanimity of the Church at New Park 
 Street, in relation to their invitation to me. Had I 
 been uncomfortable in my present situation, I should 
 have felt unmixed pleasure at the prospect Providence 
 seems to open up before me ; but having a devoted and 
 loving people, I feel I know not how. 
 
 *' One th ng I know, viz., that I must soon be severed 
 from them by necessity, for they do not raise sufficient 
 to maintain me in comfort. Had they done so, I 
 should have turned a deaf ear to any request to leave 
 them, at least for the present. But now my Heavenly 
 Father drives me forth from this little Garden of Eden, 
 and whilst I see that I must go out, I leave it with 
 reluctance, and tremble to tread the unknown land 
 before. 
 
 " When I first ventured to preach at Waterbeach, I 
 only accepted an invitation for three months, on the 
 
 9 
 
130 Anecdotes^ Letters^ Ana^ etc, 
 
 condition that, if in that time I should see good reason 
 for leaving, or they, on their part, should wish for it, 
 I should be at liberty to cease supplying, or they should 
 have the same power to request me to do so before the 
 expiration of the time. 
 
 *' Now with regard to a six months' invitation from 
 you, I have no objection to the length of time, but 
 rather approve of the prudence of the Church in wish- 
 ing to have one so young as myself on an extended 
 period of probation. 
 
 "But I write after well weighing the matter, when 
 I say positively that I cannot, I dare not, accept an 
 unqualified invitation for so long a time^- My objection 
 is not to the length of the time of probation, but it ill 
 becomes a youth to promise to preach to a London 
 congregation so long until he knows them and they 
 know him. I would engage to supply for three months 
 of that time, and then, should the congregation fail or 
 the Church disagree, I would reserve to myself liberty, 
 v/ithout breach of engagement, to retire ; and you 
 would, on your part, have the right to dismiss me 
 without seeming to treat me ill. Should I see no 
 reason for so doing, and the Church still retain their 
 wish for me, I can remain the other three months, 
 either with or without the formality of a further invita- 
 tion ; but even during that time (the second three) I 
 should not like to regard myself as a fixture, in case 
 of ill success, but should only be a supply — liable to 
 a fortnight's dismissal or resignation. 
 
 " Perhaps this is not business-like. I do not know, 
 but this is the course I should prefer, if it would be 
 agreeable to the Church. Enthusiasm and popularity 
 are often the cracking of thorns and soon expire. I do 
 not wish to be a hindrance if I cannot be a help. 
 
 ** With regard to coming at once^ I think I must 
 
Early Letters. 131 
 
 not. My own deacons just hint that I ought to finish 
 the quarter here, though by ought, they mean simply, 
 * Pray do so if you can.' This would be too long a 
 delay. I wish to help them until they can get supplies, 
 which is only to be done with great difficulty, and as I 
 have given you four Sabbaths, I hope you will allow me 
 Lu give them four in return. I would give them the 
 first and second Sabbath in February, and two more in 
 a month or six weeks' time. I owe them much for 
 their kindness, although they insist that the debt lies 
 on their side. Some of them hope and almost pray that 
 you may be tired in three months, so that I may be 
 again sent back to them. 
 
 '* Thus, my dear Sir, I have honestly poured out my 
 heart to you. You are too kind. You will excuse me 
 if I err, for I wish to do right to you, to my people, 
 and to all, as being not mine own, but bought with a 
 price. 
 
 " I respect the honesty and boldness of the small 
 minority, and only wonder that the number was not 
 greater. I pray God that if He does not see fit that I 
 should remain with you, the majority may be quite as 
 much the other way at the end of six months, so that 
 I may never divide you into parties. 
 
 ** Pecuniary matters I am well satisfied with. And 
 now one thing is due to every minister, and I pray you 
 to remind the Church of it, viz., that in private, as well 
 as public, they must all earnestly wrestle in prayer to 
 the God of our Lord Jesus Christ that I may be 
 sustained in the great work. 
 
 ** I am, with the best wishes for your health, and the 
 greatest respect, 
 
 ** Yours truly, 
 
 ** C. PI. Spurgeon. 
 
 •* James Low, Esq." 
 
132 Anecdotes, Letter Sy Ana, etc. 
 
 **75, Dover Road, Borough, 
 
 ^* April 28M, 1854. 
 
 " To the Baptist Church of Christ worshipping in New 
 Pajk Street, Southivark, 
 
 "Dearly Beloved in Christ Jesus, — I have 
 received your unanimous invitation as contained in a 
 resolution passed by you on the igth inst., desiring me 
 to accept the pastorate among you. 
 
 ** No lengthened reply is required ; there is but one 
 answer to so loving and cordial an invitation, / accept 
 it, 
 
 " I have not been perplexed as to what my reply should 
 be, for many things constrain me thus to answer. 
 
 ** I sought not to come to you, for I was the minister 
 of an obscure but affectionate people ; I never solicited 
 advancement. The first note of invitation from your 
 deacons came quite unlooked for, and I trembled at the 
 idea of preaching in London ; I could not understand 
 how it had come about, and even now I am filled with 
 astonishment at the wondrous Providence. 1 would 
 wish to give myself into the hands of our covenant God, 
 whose wisdom directs all things : He shall choose for 
 me, and so fai as I can judge this is His choice. 
 
 ** I feel it to be a high honour to be the pastor of a 
 people who can mention glorious names as my pre- 
 decessors, and 1 entreat of you to remember me in 
 prayer that I may realise the responsibility of my trust. 
 Remember my youth and inexperience, pray that these 
 may not hinder my usefulness. I trust also that the 
 remembrance of these will lead you to forgive mistakes 
 I may make, or unguarded words I may utter. 
 
 *' Blessed be the name of the Most High ! if He has 
 called me to this office, He will support me in it, other- 
 wise how should a child a youth, have the presump- 
 
A Holiday. 133 
 
 tion thus to attempt a work which filled the heart and 
 hands of Jesus ? 
 
 "Your kindness to me has been very great, and my 
 heart is knit unto you. I fear not your steadfastness, 
 I fear my own. The Gospel, I believe, enables me to 
 venture great things, and by faith I venture this. 
 
 " I ask your co operation in every good work ; in 
 visiting the sick, in bringing in enquirers, and in mutual 
 edification. 
 
 " Oh that I may be no injury to you, but a lasting 
 benefit 1 I have no more to say saving this, that if I 
 have expressed myself in these few words in a manner 
 unbecoming my youth and inexperience, you will not 
 impute it to arrogance, but forgive my mistake. 
 
 *' And now, commending you to our covenant God, 
 the Triune Jehovah, 
 
 '* I am, yours to serve in the Gospel, 
 
 "C. H. Spurgeon." 
 
 At Mentone. 
 
 It is very probable that the majority of friends 
 who regularly, or occasionally, attend the services 
 at the Metropolitan Tabernacle are quite unable 
 to appreciate what a holiday means to a man in 
 Mr. Spurgeon's position. To superficial observers 
 the great chapel may seem to be little more than 
 a popular preaching-station, which, indeed, it was 
 represented to be some years ago by a well- 
 known clergyman, now a bishop — a centre of 
 evangelical teaching, of which neighbouring 
 churches scarce knew the existence when the 
 
134 Anecdotes, Letters, Afza, etc, 
 
 doors were closed and the gas was out. If this 
 were all, the strain on the Pastor would neverthe- 
 less still be very heavy ; for even a genius in his 
 work cannot preach three sermons a week of a 
 high standard of excellence without being sub- 
 jected to a wear and tear such as does not enter 
 into the experience of more humble workers. As 
 most persons know, however, the offices in the 
 rear and beneath the Tabernacle are the head- 
 quarters of a large number of philanthropic 
 agencies, some of which are of considerable 
 magnitude, while all, in a greater or lesser degree, 
 demand the Pastor's oversight. In the colportage 
 department, in the general secretary's room, and 
 elsewhere on the chapel premises, a goodly 
 number of persons are regularly emplo}ed ; while 
 at Westwood, two busy assistants, on either side 
 of the large table in the study, have all that they 
 can do to clear up each day's work as it comes. 
 It is thus hardly to be wondered at that com- 
 menting and general literary work should appear 
 to go only slowly forward to those who for years 
 patiently waited for the concluding volume of 
 21 le Treasury of David. 
 
 In Mr. Spurgeon's case there is supposed to be 
 some connection between excessive suffering from 
 rheumiatism and too much work ; but if this is so, 
 the invalid is probably paying the penalty exacted 
 
Men tone and Holidays. 135 
 
 by the indiscretions of former days. That the 
 ailment is hereditary we are well aware ; for the 
 Puritan grandfather, who died at Stambourne in 
 1866, was wont to declare, when verging on 
 ninety years of age, that rheumatism would 
 certainly shorten his days. Still, all the suffering 
 which has afflicted the family since Job Spurgeon 
 lay as a prisoner in Chelmsford gaol for con- 
 science' sake in the time of Charles II. can hardly 
 have amounted to what the Pastor of the Metro- 
 politan Tabernacle has endured in twenty years ; 
 and probably the seeds of a good deal of this pain 
 and weakness were sown when the youthful orator 
 travelled up and down the country preaching a 
 dozen sermons a week ; when, besides the usual 
 inconveniences of the road, such as hasty meals 
 and having to study in express trains, he incurred 
 the more alarming risk of damp beds. It would 
 seem that these well-meant indiscretions of the 
 past are now causing some inconvenience. 
 
 As a holiday resort during our English winter 
 and so-called boreal spring, Mentone has many 
 charms ; but perhaps all the encomiums passed 
 upon the picturesque Mediterranean nook have 
 not been verified by the majority who have sought 
 benefit from its sunshine and sea breezes. The 
 climate, enjoyable as it must be when lemon-trccs 
 blossom in mid-winter, and flies sport in the 
 
136 Anecdotes, Letters^ Ana, etc, 
 
 sunshine, has not done so much for Mr. Spurgeon 
 as was at first fondly anticipated by those who 
 thought that the rheum might possibly be 
 expelled from the system by genial climatic 
 influences. The fact is, however, that even 
 Mentone is not a perfect sanatorium : " Indeed," 
 says Dr. Benet, " I question whether in the South 
 of Europe, in winter, it is not as difficult to keep 
 free from rheumatic pains as it is in the north." 
 He then goes on to tell how the painful malady 
 exists in all southern climes, including even the 
 Sahara Desert, adding that " the Bedouin Arabs, 
 with the thermometer at 80° or 90° in the daytime, 
 swathe themselves up in woollen garments and 
 woollen cloaks, for rheumatism is their enemy as 
 well as ours." It is plain that, in Mr. Spurgeon's 
 case, a more moderated strain on the mental 
 faculties would effect far more than change of 
 climate. 
 
 Social life in a small holiday community like 
 that of Mentone has its sombre aspects, on 
 account of the number of invalids who arrive, 
 never to return to their homes. French con- 
 sumptives succumb before winter has well begun ; 
 and though they sometimes linger longer, the 
 English who are afflicted in a similar manner 
 surely follow one by one. These losses cast a 
 shade over the whole of the foreign settlement, 
 
spring in the Suuny South, 137 
 
 because, as Dr. Bcnet says, " the departed have 
 endeared themselves to the survivors ; they have 
 lived amongst them, they have shared their joys, 
 their sorrows, their exile feeling." The advent of 
 the magnificent southern spring in March may do 
 something towards exhilarating the more ordinary 
 visitors, however ; for it is there that the sun 
 asserts a power which no temporary return of 
 winter will challenge, when in the vales, and on 
 the heights alike, wild flowers blossom with a 
 beauty and a profusion which astonish those who 
 look upon the classic shores of the Mediterranean 
 for the first time. 
 
 In this favoured region, and on the verge of 
 such a spring as the ancient classic poets praised 
 in their verse, Mr. Spurgeon will secure that rest 
 and quiet which will do more for him than 
 medicine or the physician's art. His own people 
 have sometimes requested that he will remain 
 away for an extended period, and while so doing 
 they also give a guarantee that all will do their 
 best to keep the varied machinery at home in 
 good working order. On some occasions the 
 subscriptions have shown a tendency to fall off 
 when the Pastor has been away, and this has in 
 some measure marred his pleasure, if it has 
 not actually retarded his recovery. If friends 
 near and far away really desire to contribute to 
 
138 Anecdotes, Letter's, Ana, etc. 
 
 Mr. Spurgeon's holiday, they will ever do so most 
 effectively by keeping the Orphanage, the College, 
 the Colportage, and other agencies well supplied 
 while he is away. The mill is now in all its 
 parts so large an affair, that more grist than ever 
 is needed to keep it going ; and when symptoms 
 of falling off betray themselves, none suffer so 
 keenly as the chief overseer himself, on whom the 
 responsibility mainly rests of keeping up the 
 supplies. 
 
 On Going to America. 
 
 He always set his face against going to 
 America; but during the summer of 1876 the 
 subject was revived by the appearance of a 
 paragraph in The Boston Globe to the effect that 
 the much-talked-about visit to the United States 
 was really coming off. On seeing this notice the 
 managers of the Redpath Lyceum Bureau wrote 
 one more application thus : — 
 
 "Boston, Mass., Jiine 22nd, 1876. 
 " Dear Sir, — Is the above paragraph true ? We have 
 tried so long and so bard for many years to secure you 
 that we thought it impossible, and long since gave up 
 all hope. We are the exclusive agents of all the leading 
 lecturers in America. We will give you 1,000 dollars 
 in gold for every lecture you deliver in America, and 
 pay all your expenses to and from your home, and 
 place you under the most popular auspices in the 
 country. Will you come ? " 
 
In Scotland, 139 
 
 To this invitation Mr. Spurgeon returned the 
 following reply : 
 
 " Clapham, London, England, July bth, 
 
 "Gentlemen, — I cannot imagine how such a para- 
 graph should appear in your papers, except by deliberate 
 invention of a hard-up editor, for I never bad any idea 
 of leaving home for America for some time to come. 
 As I said to you before, if I could come, I am not a 
 lecturer, nor would I receive money for preaching." 
 
 "A Holiday (?)." 
 
 After the first Sunday in August 1876 he 
 visited Scotland, accompanied by his two sons, for 
 the purpose of enjoying some yachting among 
 the Western Islands or Hebrides. He was 
 for the time being the guest of Mr. Duncan of 
 Benmore. On the Sunday after his arrival he 
 preached at Scone, in the open air, to five thou- 
 sand persons, seats being provided for the ladies. 
 In consequence of these services the neighbouring 
 sanctuaries were closed. In the morning sermon 
 he spoke of the hatred which separated sects 
 between whom there were but few points of 
 difference, and he warned the Scotch to take care 
 that this was not the case with them. Even 
 a microscope could not discover any material 
 difference between certain of the sects. In the 
 evening he said he would talk in a more familiar 
 
T40 A?iecdoles, Letters, Ana, etc, 
 
 strain. He directly addressed those who had 
 heard more sermons than they could count. They 
 had listened to waggon-loads, they were smoked 
 in sermons, and yet were still unconverted. Some 
 people at the Tabernacle, though very few, had 
 heard the Gospel for twenty years and were not 
 caught yet, and it was to be feared they never 
 would be. They were like india-rubber — no 
 matter how often you depressed it, the substance 
 returned to its original form. 
 
 On the following Sabbath he preached again 
 at Kileret to many thousands, who assembled on 
 the hill-side which overlooks the Firth of Clyde. 
 On this occasion the northerners appear to have 
 been surprised at the extraordinary power and 
 clearness of his magnificent voice. 
 
 Concerning this so-called " holiday," he sent 
 a brief note to a gentleman at Glasgow, and 
 addressed from Carlisle on his way home : — 
 
 " Dear Friend, — I have returned to England. I had 
 eleven clear week-days in Scotland, and was asked to 
 preach more than fifty times. That when I came for 
 rest — and in a Christian country, too ! * A merciful man,' 
 etc. God speed you. — Yours truly, C. H. Spurgeon." 
 
 In Scotland in 1878. 
 
 The visit to the North was this year deferred 
 through various causes, and when the trip was 
 
In the Highlands. 1 4 1 
 
 actually undertaken he was so worried to preach 
 that he did not derive the good from the change 
 he might otherwise have done. A correspondent 
 of Tlie Baptist thus wrote respecting this visit : — 
 
 *' Mr. Spurgeon arrived in the Bay of Rothesay, on 
 Saturday, the 27th July, in Mr. Duncan's fine yacht. 
 The celebrated preacher sailed from Oban to Camp- 
 belltown, passing the Mull of Kintyre. Sailing from 
 Campbelltown, he passed round a considerable part of 
 the Island of Arran. The scenery along Arran is most 
 delightful. He passed through the far-famed Kyles of 
 Bute. The Kyles narrow and broaden, and narrow and 
 broaden again. The whole atmosphere is of arcadian 
 seclusion. Tighnabruaich nestles down below the 
 hills, the houses rising a little from the shore only to 
 be half hidden in the surrounding foliage. The very 
 narrowness of the water and the consequent closeness 
 of the land on either side are themselves portions of 
 the fascinations exercised by the place. Here the 
 scenery is of the most charming description. The 
 waterway is so narrow that you can see the land on 
 either side distinctly, and even count the number of 
 the hills. Leaving the Kyles, Rothesay, the charming 
 capital of Bute, is reached, noted for its aquarium. 
 Arrived in Rothesay Bay, Mr. Spurgeon landed for a 
 drive in the island, when, coming down a declivity, 
 the horse in the machine ran away, and great danger 
 was apprehended ; but, fortunately, a gentleman caught 
 the frightened animal by the head and held it till the 
 party got safely out. There is a neat Baptist Chapel at 
 Adbeg, Rothesay, ever pleasant and ever popular with 
 visitors. The Baptist Chapel here is usually crowded 
 in sum/ner. Mr. Crabbe, one of Mr. Spurgeon's former 
 
142 Anecdote 5 y Lette7's Ana, etc, 
 
 students, officiates in the said chapel. With much 
 acceptance Mr. Spurgeon worshipped there in the 
 morning. The chapel was crowded, many failing to 
 get admittance. 
 
 ** Mr. Spurgeon preached in front of the Rothesay 
 Academy in the evening. He stood upon the top of 
 the porch of the mansion of Provost Orkney, and there 
 preached to the assembled thousands, attracted by the 
 fame of the preacher, from Luke xiii. 10-17. There 
 were present at least fifteen thousand. Behind us, in 
 front of the Academy, there was a great crowd of most 
 attentive listeners. Before us, onwards to the preacher, 
 there was a dense mass of interested hearers. Towards 
 our right hand, the side of the hill, on the summit of 
 which towers the Rothesay IMuseum, was lined with 
 hundreds on hundreds of hearers. The vast audience 
 being thus seated on a natural amphitheatre, the 
 preacher had full command of his hearers. These had 
 come from all parts of Bute, from Largs, Millpont, and 
 Dunoon, not a few having crossed the firth in yachts 
 and small boats. The weather was delightful. The 
 congregation began to assemble between three and 
 four o'clock p.m., and before six every available seat 
 on the sward was occupied, whilst those who arrived 
 later had to content themselves with standing in the 
 road leading up to the Academy. 
 
 " Mr. Spurgeon said : ' Oh that my blessed Master 
 would look around this throng this night and find out 
 those who are bowed down in spirit and almost in de- 
 spair 1 He or she who thought himself or herself most 
 likely to be passed by, and so obscure and undeserving 
 of Christ's regard, was most likely to obtain the blessing. 
 Some Christians,* said the preacher, * seem to think that 
 it is a sin to be joyful. They are always crying out : 
 Oh, this is a waste and howling wilderness 1 Then, they 
 
Preaching to the Scotch, 143 
 
 ought rot to howl, but ought to rejoice. Timothy 
 Rogers, who was twenty-six years a prey to melancholy, 
 came, after all, out into the full clear light of Gospel 
 grace. The preacher recollected a young woman who, 
 he believed, was an excellent Christian, who yet thought 
 and said, *' I am an awful hypocrite, and I do not love 
 the Saviour at all ! " " Will you put your name to that ? " 
 said Mr. Spurgeon. The horror upon her face was 
 delightful to see, and she exclaimed, ** I will be torn in 
 pieces first." Some ministers,' he said, * preached in 
 such a way that people were made gloomy and very sad 
 at heart. He wished hearers to follow the practice of 
 the man who got bad milk. '*I don't care, now," said 
 the man, *' whether there is bad milk or not, because 
 I keep a cow of my own." Thus, when people found 
 that the teaching of the pulpit did not give them com- 
 fort, they should take to the reading of their Bibles more 
 than they had ever done before. In that way they could 
 keep a cow of their own, and they would not need to 
 care* whether the milk was good or bad. There are 
 some Christians,' he said, ' who always remind us of a 
 person who walks into the class when his face is dirty, 
 instead of washing it with water.' Referring to the 
 Liberator at His work, the preacher said, *The way of 
 salvation consists of two steps — the first is out of our- 
 selves, and the second is into Christ. None but Jesus — 
 that is the Gospel. Christ,' he said, * performed this 
 miracle on the poor, bowed-down woman out of common 
 humanity; another motive was that of special property, 
 and a third was a peculiar antagonism to the devil.' 
 Mr. Spurgeon, as is usual with him, preached with great 
 power, and exhibited the glorious Gospel of the blessed 
 Lord with remarkable earnestness and clearness." 
 
 The reference to the accident in the abov^e 
 
144 Anecdotes, Letters, Ana, etc, 
 
 needs supplementing, the fact being that Mr. 
 Spurgeon, Mr. Duncan, and those who were in 
 the carriage had the narrowest possible escape 
 from a violent death. Their deliverance was 
 entirely providential. It appears, from what I 
 learned of the affair, that it is a custom in 
 the north, with certain drivers, to allow their 
 horses to rush down long steep hills at a head- 
 long pace. While driving Mr. Duncan and his 
 guests, as stated above, the coachman on coming 
 to a declivity allowed the horses to proceed in 
 the customary merry fashion ; but not approving 
 of that mode of travelling, Mr. Spurgeon, on their 
 safe arrival at the foot of the hill, expressed a 
 desire that a more English-like manner of driving 
 might be practised. " Oh," said the man, " We 
 always go like that here." He knew more about 
 driving than all the preachers in the world, and 
 was determined to act in accordance with his 
 knowledge. Soon they came to another hill, and 
 to the discomfiture of the travellers, they at once 
 found themselves descending at express speed. 
 Then the harness broke, the man lost all control 
 over the horses, which presented the appearance 
 of frightened runaways. There was a prospect 
 of being knocked to pieces, and Mr. Spurgeon 
 confessed that his thoughts were directed to that 
 subject J and the people at the roadside looked 
 
A Providential Escape, 145 
 
 with terror on the spectacle. At the bottom was 
 a zigzag road, protected by a slight fence, and 
 beyond this a precipice ; but the party were 
 delivered when the horses, instead of going straight 
 forward to destruction, as nineteen horses out of 
 twenty would have done, turned into another 
 road, which was an incline. Unable to keep on 
 at that rate up the hill, they moderated their 
 speed ; and when danger had passed the friend 
 may have come to the rescue, but not before. 
 He said that he never travelled so rapidly in his 
 life, except in an express train. 
 
 On the 5 th of August, the first Monday even- 
 ing prayer-meeting, after his return from the 
 north, a crowded congregation assembled at the 
 Tabernacle, doubtless expecting to hear some- 
 thing about their Pastor's adventures in the North. 
 He said he had been lately in many lone places 
 in Scotland, far removed from the haunts of men. 
 He had gone there to seek a restoration of health. 
 He had obtained, in a measure, what he sought, 
 but, owing to the numbers of persons who visited 
 him out of a kindly feeling, even in these remote 
 parts, he had scarcely known what solitude was, 
 and had consequently not derived that amount 
 of benefit, in a bodily sense, which he otherwise 
 would have done. He had been on many fishing 
 excursions, and from them had learned many 
 
 10 
 
146 Anecdotes, Letters. Ana. etc, 
 
 lessons. In that College — the one attached to 
 the Tabernacle — they were all fishermen, but he 
 could wish that many of the fishermen there had 
 a little more catching bait about them than they 
 seemed to possess. They must get the fish about 
 them by some means or another before they were 
 caught, and to that end a harmless pleasantry 
 was a capital bait. Sometimes he had been 
 blamed for giving vent to witticisms, but in his 
 own mind he had done well by so doing, because 
 people came to hear him, and when they did so 
 many were caught. The fact was, it was a good 
 catching bait. Mr. Spurgeon then proceeded to 
 say that if persons went to fish either for fish or for 
 human souls, they must not be 'fools, for if they 
 were they would be like him when, a few days ago 
 near Rothesay, he threw his lines into the water, 
 and instead of watching them, turned away and 
 allowed the fish to take off the bait without 
 so much as being pricked by the hook. The 
 Sunday-school was a grand place to use catching 
 bait, but they must not allow the young fry to 
 suck off the bait unless they bolted the hook of 
 the Gospel. If the teachers of religion never got 
 a bite, they should not go to sleep, but should 
 bait their hooks afresh, and try different waters. 
 They then might get some to bolt the bait, hook 
 and all, just in the same way as the cod did. 
 
An Adventure in a Crowd, 147 
 
 Those were the sort of fellows he liked — the 
 nibblers were' scarcely any good. In conclusion 
 he gave a description of the scenery of Scotland, 
 and expressed his thanks for the hospitality he 
 had received. 
 
 One or two amusing things happened m con- 
 nection with his visit to Scotland this year. A 
 correspondent thus referred to these northern 
 services : — • 
 
 " Mr. Spurgeon preached at Pollokshaws, near 
 Glasgow, on the ist of August. Long before 
 the hour fixed for the beginning of the service 
 the place of worship was besieged by crowds of 
 people anxious to get admission, and as it was 
 altogether impracticable to allow others than 
 ticket-holders to pass into the place of meeting, 
 thousands who would willingly have paid to get 
 inside were turned away disappointed. An 
 amusing incident is reported as having occurred at 
 the gates, where a policeman or two and several 
 stalwart office-bearers acted in the capacity of 
 sentries and collected the passports. Mr. Spurgeon. 
 having elbowed his way through the crowd as 
 far as the gate, was asked to show and deliver his 
 ticket ; but not being a ticket-holder the great 
 preacher was peremptorily told to " cut his stick." 
 Happily some persons who recognised the familiar 
 face, greatly amused at the comical situation, 
 
148 Anecdotes, Letters, A net, etc. 
 
 nudged the policeman's elbow, and he immediately 
 gave way. The crowds who had gone in the 
 hope of getting admission without tickets and 
 were excluded were addressed in the Greenbank 
 Public Park by Mr. Spurgeon, jun. Though 
 Mr. Spurgeon's fame as a preacher went before 
 him like the light and radiancy of the bearded 
 comet, his preaching at Rothesay, and we have no 
 doubt at Pollokshaws, has exceeded expectation." 
 Another incident in connection with this excur- 
 sion may be mentioned. Such was the pressure 
 of the crowd that the beadle was lost sight of 
 at the time for commencing service, and there 
 was no one to show Mr. Spurgeon to the pulpit 
 in accordance with the Scotch polite usage. A 
 member of Session, however, miounted the pulpit 
 steps, and called out in a stentorian voice that 
 the beadle was "wanted immediately." This 
 incident created some merriment among even a 
 people not remarkable for their witty propensities. 
 At a field-meeting with his students at Clapham, 
 both before and after dinner, Mr. Spurgeon him- 
 self told some further incidents of this journey. 
 Among other things he was privileged to hear a 
 sermon in Gaelic, and rather wearying of listening 
 to what he could not understand, he whispered 
 something to a Highland gentleman, who replied, 
 "If ye pull his coat tail he'll soon have done." 
 
A Distmguished Privilege, 149 
 
 By some means the sermon came to an end some- 
 what sooner than the preacher intended ; and it 
 tlien transpired that he had got with the prodigal 
 son into the far country without having had time 
 to get him back again. Mr. Spurgeon particu- 
 larly noticed the repetition of one word which 
 sounded like agath, but on mentioning this he 
 was told that it signified and. 
 
 After his escape from accident he was especially 
 glad to return to the yacht. After all, he thought 
 the sea the only really safe place. For example, 
 you ran no risk there of being killed by a pantile. 
 
 On one of the days while he was in Scotland 
 he dined with a leading family — a gentleman, I 
 believe, who held a distinguished position in con- 
 nection with the city of Glasgow. At dinner the 
 Pastor, assuming a very grave face, asked this 
 
 friend, " Mr. , are you aware that your office 
 
 entitles you to go without charge through any 
 
 toll-gate in England 1 " Mr. smiled, and 
 
 though not previously aware of the privilege 
 attached to his office, quite appreciated the honour. 
 Was it really so indeed } When his curiosity 
 was a little further stimulated Mr. Spurgeon, to 
 prevent any misapprehension, added, " Yes, you 
 are entitled to walk through, but if you take a 
 horse you must pay." 
 
 In the field, at the students' meeting, also, he told 
 
150 Anecdotes, Letters, Ana, etc. 
 
 this anecdote of Scotland : — When I was in Arran, 
 quite recently, I heard of a minister who preached 
 in a certain church, and at the close of the servicS 
 was strongly urged to promise for a future supply, 
 the collection after his sermon having been un- 
 usually large. " Dear me!" said the minister, with 
 becoming pride, " what might your ordinary col- 
 lection amount to?" " Last Sunday it was two- 
 pence halfpenny." "What is it to-day, then?" 
 asked the other, expecting to hear a large sum. 
 " Eightpence halfpenny," was the reply. " Woe 
 is me!" said the other, "for I gave sixpence of it 
 myself." 
 
 Under the Law of Works. 
 
 I was once riding on an omnibus between 
 London and Edmonton, when a very self-righteous 
 methodist began to lament the laxity of the 
 English people in regard to their non-observance 
 of the Sabbath. At last he referred to the con- 
 duct of Mr. Spurgeon as especially reprehensible, 
 for Mr. Spurgeon rode to chapel in a brougham. 
 
 " Why don't he keep the Sabbath ? / do," said 
 the man sternly, almost fiercely, and in that self- 
 satisfied tone common to his class. I forget what 
 answer I made ; but this objection to the Pastor's 
 riding to chapel was not new. Some busy 
 Pharisee once had the temerity to write to 
 
^^ Father'' Olney and His Siucesso^^s. 151 
 
 Clapham on this very question, and received in 
 reply a notification that the horse which ran in 
 the Sunday carriage was in reality so far a Jew 
 that he kept his Sabbath on Saturday. To 
 make sure of this being true, I mentioned the cir- 
 cumstance to Mr. Spurgeon, when I found it was 
 all right ; his horse lived under the law of works 
 and not of grace, and hence was not allowed to 
 work on the seventh day. He usually kept two 
 horses, and the fodder for these animals was 
 supplied gratis by Deacon Murrell, " the gate- 
 keeper " at the Tabernacle. " How many horses 
 may I keep, Murrell?" — i.e.y "how many will 
 yotc keep for me?" — once asked the Pastor. 
 "Twenty," said the good-natured deacon, and 
 meant what he said. 
 
 Tabernacle Deacons. 
 
 The above will remind some of the readers of 
 this book that Mr. Spurgeon has from the first 
 been peculiarly favoured in his deacons. They 
 have assuredly been a kind-hearted set of men, 
 forward in advancing Christian work, and many of 
 them have been specially adapted for some kind of 
 special service. Those who remember the familiar 
 form of " Father " Olney in the past, will know 
 that he left behind him many fragrant memories ; 
 and he was favoured by having sons who followed 
 
152 Anecdotes, Lcilers, Ana, etc, 
 
 in his footsteps, while his grandson, the founder 
 of the Haddon Hall Mission, is one of the bene- 
 factors of Bermondsey. In regard to serving 
 tables, was there ever one who excelled in that 
 department more than Mr. W. Murrell, who 
 yearly, during Conference week, superintends the 
 daily feeding of hundreds of ministers, besides 
 having to provide the grand supper, at which 
 from six to eight hundred subscribers to the 
 College Funds sit down ? 
 
 Deacon Murrell volunteered to see after the 
 gates at the Tabernacle, and some other duties 
 associated with that unenviable office. In all 
 weathers his not by any means slender form 
 might be seen, his coat closely buttoned, and his 
 hands hidden deep down in the recesses of his 
 side pockets. It was difficult to prevent some of 
 the ordinary servants from accepting bribes, but 
 woe to the deluded applicant who, in mistake, 
 offered a gratuity to this counterpart of Bunyan's 
 Mr. Greatheart ! Once he was severely provoked 
 by an obstinate man who refused to come out of 
 a seat of which he had taken wrongful posses- 
 sion. At last, being unable to control his temper 
 any longer, Mr. Murrell cried out to the offender, 
 " If you go there I'll EAT you ! " putting such a 
 terrible emphasis on the threat that the man 
 looked up, startled if not seriously alarmed. 
 
An Open Ai}"- Festival. 153 
 
 After the service the gentleman complained to 
 the Pastor that a very big man had threatened 
 to eat him in the gallery. " What now, Murrell — 
 have you been threatening to eat a man ? " was 
 subsequently asked of his friend and horse-keeper 
 by Mr. Spurgeon. "Well," replied the deacon, "I 
 did say so ; he would not get out of the seat, and 
 I did not know what else to say." 
 
 A Summer Festival. 
 
 Formerly it was Mr. Spurgeon's custom to hold 
 some outdoor services on the farm of Mr. Abraham, 
 at Minster Lovell, in Oxfordshire, In reference 
 to one of these festivals The Baptist remarked : — 
 
 *' The interest which his visits have awakened is not 
 confined to the immediate locality, for his audience is 
 drawn from the country round within a radius of five- 
 and-twenty miles. The narrow lanes which converge 
 to the centre of attraction can only be compared to 
 the roads which lie between London and Epsom on 
 a Derby Day. The bicycle and the barouche, the peram- 
 bulator and the postchaise, the two-wheeled tumbril 
 and the four-horse coach, indicate the extremes between 
 which the graduated contrivances for locomotion are 
 pressed into the service of bearing their living freights. 
 Hundreds had to avail themselves of the marrow-bone 
 stage. Some who left home in the early morning to 
 1)6 in time scarcely succeeded in completing the return 
 journey on the same day. That such enthusiasm was 
 manifested to hear the Gospel is an evidence that the 
 
154 Anecdotes, Letters, Ana, etc. 
 
 clergy have not a spiritual monopoly in perhaps the 
 most ritualistic county in the kingdom. 
 
 ** The services are held under a clump of trees near 
 the spot where the Ringwood Oak stood for many 
 years as a grand relic of the once famous Wychwood 
 Forest. Very little of the forest now remains, most of 
 the land being under cultivation. Mr. Abraham, who 
 farms some 600 acres, makes a capital host, and to 
 him is due the successful arrangements which make 
 the annual visit of Mr. Spurgeon so pleasant to all 
 concerned. His daughters vie with one another in 
 attending upon the guests, who dine in relays at the 
 well-furnished table of the house, while his sons are very 
 busy in making arrangements for stabling the horses. 
 Little groups were to be seen under the grateful shade 
 of the oaks at luncheon, preparatory to the first service, 
 which was held at half-past two o'clock. The scene is 
 one of the most picturesque conceivable. From the 
 house may be seen, in the valley of the Windrush, the 
 ruins of the castellated mansion of the Lovells, made 
 famous by the tragic incident in the song of * The 
 IMistletoe Bough.' On the slope of the nearest hill 
 rising above the river is the scattered village founded 
 by Feargus O'Connor for a working man's settlement, 
 every house having its garden capable of yielding 
 sufficient to maintain a moderate family in comfort. 
 In the distance the Chilterns form the sky-line, the 
 White Horse at Wantage and the Farringdon Clump 
 being conspicuous objects. 
 
 *' When Mr. Spurgeon ascended the waggon to com- 
 mence the afternoon service, there must have been at 
 least 1,500 people present. The singing was hearty if 
 not highly artistic, and during the prayer the Wesleyan 
 brethren betrayed their presence by the responses 
 which they could not restrain. The preacher was at 
 
An Open Air Festival, 155 
 
 his best, and the subject chosen, * I will be as the dew 
 unto Israel,' furnished abundant scope for illustration 
 by metaphors which appealed to the bucolic mind. Tea 
 was provided in a large marquee, and, as the various 
 parties were refreshed, they wandered in companies 
 over the pleasure-grounds which surround the house. 
 It required a very slight effort of the imagination to 
 picture the Feast of Tabernacles, when the faithful 
 assembled to tell of the goodness and mercy of God, 
 and to sing praises unto the Most High. Such an 
 opportunity for Christian intercourse is of incalculable 
 value to those Christians who, in out-of-the-way places, 
 receive but slight help in their combat with sin and 
 labour for the Lord, and many must have returned 
 nerved to fresh resolution, or aroused by a new 
 enthusiasm to witness for Christ in their own sphere 
 of life and service ! 
 
 "As the time for evening service drew on, Mr. Charles- 
 worth and several of the ministers present extemporised 
 a meeting, the speakers being allowed five minutes each. 
 The crowd, swollen now to upwards of 2,000, settled 
 down to the principal service of the day. The evening 
 was calm, and the westering sun threw around the 
 scene a weird charm, as the lengthening shadows o{ 
 the trees contrasted with the strangely-blended hues 
 which make a July sunset so beautiful. The air seemed 
 to hold a solemn stillness, and there was nothing to 
 break the spell. We never witnessed an open-air 
 service before when everything so conspired to favour 
 the preacher. At times the deep hush of the rapt 
 audience was literally awe-inspiring. It is no exaggera- 
 tion tc say that a wave of spiritual emotion broke over 
 the assembly, few hearts, if any, being insensible to its 
 influence. From the first sentence in the prayer which 
 commenced the service to the last words of the bene- 
 
156 Anecdotei, Letters, Ana, etc, 
 
 diction with which it closed, the preacher had the 
 audience in his grip. Never did he enforce his ministry 
 of reconciliation with more earnest appeals, nor move 
 an audience by more tender pleadings. As the 
 assembly broke up we heard more than one ministei 
 excla m, * We shall hear of this service again.* ** 
 
SOME SPECIAL OCCASIONS^ 
 
' ' SHU, a minister, wherever he is, is a minister, and should recollect 
 that he is en duty. A policeman or a soldier may be off duty, but a 
 minister never is. Even in our recreations we should still pursue the 
 great object of our lives ; for we are called to be diligent in season and 
 out of season. There is no position in which we may be placed but 
 the Lord may come with the question, ' What doest thou here, Elijah ? * 
 and we ought to be able at once to answer, ' I have something to do 
 for Thee even here, and I am trying to do it.' The bow, of course, must 
 be at times unstrung or else it will lose its elasticity ; but there is no need 
 to cut the string. ... A minister should be like a certain chamber 
 which I saw at Beaulieu, in the New Forest, in which a cobweb is never 
 seen. It is a large lumber-room, and is never swept ; yet no spider ever 
 defiles it with the emblems of neglect. It is roofed with chestnut, and 
 for some reason, I know not what, spiders will not come near that wood 
 by the year togetltrr. The same thing was mentioned to me in the 
 corridors of Winchester school : I was told, ' No spiders ever come 
 here.' Our minds should be equally clear i>f idle habits." — Lectures tc 
 my Students, i. 181-3, 
 
VI. 
 
 SOME SPECIAL OCCASIONS, 
 
 A View from the Deacons' Seats. 
 
 THERE are several ways of passing into 
 the Metropolitan Tabernacle ; and these are 
 tolerably familiar to country visitors, as well as to 
 knowing Londoners. It is also generally acknow- 
 ledged that London crowds are dangerous, unless 
 carefully managed by suitable regulations. If a 
 crowd be regularly attracted to one building, and 
 each individual be visibly anxious to secure a 
 good place, not hesitating to use hands and 
 elbows in working towards the front, the specified 
 regulations must include locked gates, as well as 
 carefully-guarded side-entrances, which are only 
 available for ticket-holders. The regular attendant 
 at the Metropolitan Tabernacle has necessarily to 
 have his seat reserved, otherwise he would find 
 himself an unequal competitor with the casual 
 hearer, especially if the said casual hearer happened 
 to be an early riser on Sunday morning. Thus 
 
i6o Some Special Occasions. 
 
 there are three ways of going to hear Mr. Spiirgeon. 
 We may be one of the favoured few — few, com- 
 paratively, when the irregular hearers number so 
 large a proportion of the weekly congregation — - 
 who, as scat-holders, walk directly into the building, 
 while the impatient crowd of the court is kept 
 at bay by doors securely bolted and barred. 
 Secondly, should we not rank among pew-holders, 
 and still feel painfully conscious of not possessing 
 strength, either of muscle or of nerve, to hold 
 our own in the column besieging the entrance, 
 we take care to provide ourselves with an early 
 admission ticket, entitling us to the right of 
 waiting in one of the aisles before the doors are 
 opened. In this position a visitor may very 
 profitably exercise the virtue of patience while 
 occupying a standpoint whence he watches the 
 thousands who comfortably sit at ease in the 
 pews, and calculates as to the chances of securing 
 a seat. Should we, however, belong to neither of 
 the classes described, our ingress into the great 
 building will, perforce, become a more interesting, 
 though, possibly, a less pleasant process. We 
 shall take up our position under the portico 
 " early ; " we shall learn that minutes may be 
 long or short according to the circumstances of 
 the situation. 
 
 Then comes relief in a sudden, exciting manner. 
 
A Sunday JMorning Scene. i6i 
 
 Bolts shoot backward, and the apparently electri- 
 fied crowd, as if in response to a preconcerted 
 signal, move forward eii masse ; for, once inside 
 the chapel, all regulations are summed up in one 
 — First come first served. 
 
 On a certain Sabbath morning I dispensed with 
 each of the methods above specified of entering 
 that institution of modern London, the Metro- 
 politan Tabernacle. By special favour I occupied 
 a seat on the platform behind the preacher. These 
 seats are twelve in number, forming a double row. 
 They are padded, are lined with crimson velvet, 
 and have arms somewhat after the manner of a 
 first-class railway carriage. Without question 
 they are luxurious in all their appointments ; but 
 then they are for the deacons. A deaconship at 
 the Tabernacle is no sinecure, and the occupiers 
 of these seats are known to be worthy of the 
 accommodation they receive. 
 
 Suppose it is half-past ten a.m., or thereabouts, 
 when I am politely ushered into my "deacon's 
 seat," and commence to study the extraordinary 
 scene. It is spring-time — the sun is high in the 
 heavens ; but within the building the gas is 
 burning, while the view is partially interrupted by 
 a misty atmosphere in sympathy with the slight 
 fog without doors. The immense area, which, to 
 a stranger, m.ight appear to be already nearly 
 
 II 
 
i62 So77te Special Occasions, 
 
 filled, must undergo the process of filling till it 
 is packed. The movements of the people can 
 only be compared with the motion of a swarm 
 of insects, not, however, eager and impatient 
 like the crowd outside ; for the new arrivals 
 are merely taking up their regularly-appointed 
 places. 
 
 Onward move the great hands of the giant 
 clock overhead, until they point to 10.40, when 
 we witness a transformation scene both lively and 
 extensive. Hitherto the " regulars " and " irre- 
 gulars " had leisurely entered by side-doors, with 
 the comfortable consciousness of being privileged 
 persons ; but now all the main front entrances 
 are opened at once, and in pour the broad living 
 streams, to occupy, to the last inch, the standing- 
 room of what appears to be an already overcrowded 
 building. Look this way or that way, or take a 
 general view, and it will be hard to distinguish 
 between aisles and pews. The new comers are 
 manifestly a little excited in their anxiety to find 
 seats ; and yet the bustle is not altogether like 
 any other bustle which is witnessed in public 
 buildings. The coughing, talking, and feet- 
 shuffling produce a compound sound peculiar 
 to the Tabernacle ; and this is instantly hushed 
 when Mr. Spurgeon appears on the platform. 
 
 When the firsi word ot tne service is uttered, 
 
Characteristics of the Crowd. 163 
 
 the multitude of faces are all turned in one 
 direction — towards the preacher. Those who 
 occupy seats in proximity to Mr. Spurgeon's 
 table may perhaps have observed that the tones 
 of his voice seem to be nicely adapted to the 
 requirements of those who are near, as well as 
 to those who are farther away. To persons 
 sitting near they are never unpleasantly loud ; 
 to those in the remotest corner they are loud 
 enough, while they are never indistinct. Not that 
 so vast a concourse can be addressed, even by a 
 man of the greatest lung-power, without a strong 
 effort, though in this instance the strain is barely 
 observed even by those who listen immediately 
 beneath the clock. As seen from the deacon's 
 standpoint, it is also interesting to note how 
 the leviathan congregation allows itself to be 
 managed. It is subject to certain influences as if 
 it were one great being instead of six thousand 
 atoms. It has its recognised coughing times ; 
 by way of acknowledging a touch of humour, it 
 smiles like one vast creature which is particularly 
 sensitive. Then it sings " faster " or *' slower," 
 according to directions, and is in all respects 
 most admirably managed. 
 
 While reading the concluding verse of " Rock 
 of Ages" the Pastor is visibly affected, just as, 
 a few minutes before, he seemed to catch and 
 
164 Some Special Occasions. 
 
 diffuse the spirit of " that wonderful Gospel 
 chapter," Isaiah Iv. Anon, the quiet earnestness 
 of the sermon seems to extend its influence 
 throughout the entire space of the building, until 
 the rapt attention of the crowd, as they listen 
 to exposition and appeal based on the words, 
 " Without money and without price" is found to 
 kindle feelings akin to actual awe. To handle 
 what are called commonplace or hackneyed texts 
 in a manner strikingly original is the forte of a 
 great man ; the ability to do this with consum- 
 mate art is characteristic of the genius of Mr. 
 Spurgeon. 
 
 It is very common for preachers who stand 
 up befot'e large assemblies to fix their eye on a 
 particular individual ; a spectator who views the 
 scene from the deacons' seats at the Metropolitan 
 Tabernacle is extremely liable to find himself 
 doing the same odd kind of thing. There are 
 " characters " enough in the spacious area, if one 
 can only single them out and read their faces. 
 There sits a man in one of the middle aisles 
 of the area ; he is middle-aged, full-faced, and 
 altogether in his tout ensemble resembles one who 
 makes some pretension to self-culture. Though 
 he uses no pencil and note-book, his brains are, 
 probably, busily at work taking down what he 
 sees. Let us suppose him to be the representa- 
 
''Characters'' at the Tabernacle. 165 
 
 tive of some slumbcrless daily newspaper, which 
 will be sure to place the public in possession of 
 ample information should anything special in 
 the morning's proceedings attract his attention. 
 Single out another, and perhaps you will not 
 be far wide of the mark if you set him down 
 to be a 'cute Yankee editor on the look-out for 
 something piquant about the Britishers wherewith 
 to regale his readers in some obscure corner of 
 the American continent. Do you think it pos- 
 sible you may be mistaken t Look again, and 
 ask- yourself if the worthy fellow's features and 
 wearing apparel, when put together, do not spell 
 Jonathan as completely as can ever be done 
 by eight letters } A fair sprinkling of country 
 pastors are sure to be present. Fix your eye 
 on a Baptist, and he will be found in a genial 
 humour ; for when so vast an assembly gathers 
 in a Baptist Chapel he thinks, with some show of 
 reason, that his principles are in the ascendant. 
 Select an Independent, and you will judge from 
 his looks that he has not much to complain 
 about ; for, after all, this same preacher has 
 wonderfully stimulated the cause of Noncon- 
 formity. Besides these, members of the Esta- 
 blishment, of various grades, must be on a level 
 with the rest of the world, and to accomplish 
 this and complete their education they must 
 
1 66 So7ne Special Occasions, 
 
 needs go to " hear Spurgeon." If the Angh'can 
 be an Evangelical, he will be abundantly edified : 
 he will go away regretting that the Pastor is not 
 Archbishop of Canterbury. Should he side with 
 the Ritualists, he will look pitiful and ill at ease 
 — he may even sit with the scowl of contempt 
 playing about his eyes. Should he be of the 
 Broad school, he will be sufficiently charitable 
 to take things as they come. As I view the 
 spacious area from my velvet-lined deacon's 
 pew, I know that the Tabernacle is a common 
 meeting-ground for all the characters mentioned, 
 as well as for many others who might be included 
 in the category. 
 
 But it is now time to confess that when we 
 sit in the deacons' seats we occupy a comfort- 
 able pew, but, while doing so, sacrifice much that 
 would be cheaply purchased by a hard bench 
 with a deal back. When heard from behind, 
 Mr. Spurgeon is heard to disadvantage. He is 
 not a preacher who should be listened to with 
 a pillar interrupting the view, nor with closed 
 eyes. His features speak as well as his tongue, 
 and this part of the sermon was almost entirely 
 missed while I kept company with the deacons 
 on the platform. As viewed from the ordinary 
 pews, these portly church officers appear to be 
 so luxuriously accommodated, and to be in 
 
A ^^ Heavy'' Collection, 167 
 
 themselves such models of decorum, that dozens 
 of times have they been envied both on account 
 of their state and their station. Let the truth 
 henceforth be known — that, like men of self-denial, 
 they are content to forego much for the sake of 
 their office. 
 
 A word may be added relative to the Weekly 
 Offering collection. The boxes used at the morn- 
 ing service were brought into one of the vestries 
 after the crowd had dispersed. How high a 
 figure the total reached nobody knew, for, as 
 Sunday is a day of rest, the money would not be 
 counted until the following morning. Gold, silver, 
 and copper pieces, together with little packets 
 neatly tied with thread, made up the motley 
 heap. One miniature parcel enclosed fifteen 
 shillings from " A Working Man." When the 
 whole mass was placed in a strong black bag, I 
 ventured to raise it for the sake of testing its 
 weight. 
 
 " It's pretty heavy," remarked an affable deacon, 
 who appeared to be the Chancellor of the 
 Exchequer of the establishment. 
 
 I anticipated that the parcel would not be found 
 to be a bag of feathers. It was certainly the 
 '* heaviest " collection I had ever set eyes upon, 
 for it was as much as one could conveniently 
 raise from the table with one arm. 
 
1 68 Some Special Occasions. 
 
 At A Whitsuntide Festival. 
 
 " Are you going with Mr. Spurgeon, sir ? " politely 
 asked an active carriage attendant on the de- 
 parture platform of the Great Eastern Railway 
 terminus in London a few minutes before the 
 starting of the midday Cambridge express-train. 
 The man was evidently a shrewd reader of cha- 
 racter, or he would not so happily have hit on the 
 truth at first guess, or have drawn so correct an 
 inference from my mien, appearance, and tourist- 
 bag. I gave the honest fellow an answer in 
 the affirmative, secured a comfortable corner-seat, 
 and in a few minutes the train was travelling at 
 a rapid speed through Tottenham marshes, our 
 destination being Willingham, in Cambridge- 
 shire. 
 
 On our arrival at Cambridge soon after one, it 
 is clearly manifest that Mr. Spurgeon is expected, 
 and a railway official acquaints us with the fact 
 that large numbers of persons have gone forward 
 by the early trains. After a brief delay we are 
 again in motion, and this time we are oh the 
 Wisbeach branch, and at each small station even 
 the porters are on the qui vive. At any rate, one 
 of these worthies, who had probably heard a false 
 rumour that the preacher of the day was not 
 coming, shouted in a kind of suppressed tone of 
 
A Rziral Fete. 169 
 
 triumph, "There he is! " just as our train drew 
 up alongside the platform. We arrive at Long 
 Stanton shortly after two, from whence we drive to 
 Willingham through a rich flat country, the air 
 having been made delightfully cool by the storms 
 of the day before. Throughout the route numbers 
 of country people, dressed in holiday attire, scru- 
 tinise the carriage which carries the Pastor with 
 keen curiosity ; while in the village proper a 
 considerable crowd has assembled. Of course 
 business in general is suspended ; banners enliven 
 the street; householders appear to be keeping 
 open house, though provision for a thousand, more 
 or less, is served in a farmyard and barn hard by. 
 In a word, the village is en fete^ and that un- 
 answerable authority, " the oldest inhabitant " of 
 Willingham, is well aware that the doings now 
 in progress surpass everything which has come 
 within the range of his experience. 
 
 Willingham is situated in the midst of a purely 
 agricultural district, and is some two miles away 
 from the Long Stanton station. The living is 
 a good one ; the parish covers an area of five 
 thousand acres ; and in Puritan times, under 
 its godly rector, Mr. Bradshaw, the village was 
 remarkable for its piety. In those days, there 
 were " fourscore-and-ten praying families " resi- 
 dent in the parish ; and a portion of these, with 
 
1^0 Some Special Occasions, 
 
 Mr. Bradshaw, the ejected rector, appear to have 
 been the founders of the Nonconforn:iist interest 
 which has flourished in Wilhngham from that time 
 to this. The place has its_pleasant memories, 
 and the WiUingham of to-day presents us with 
 some of the most favourable aspects of English 
 village life. It acknowledges no great land- 
 owner for its sole lord. Small proprietorships 
 are the rule, and the lords of these, comfortably 
 housed in their villa or cottage freeholds, look 
 as though they knew how to enjoy the privileges 
 of freedom. If an Englishman's house is his 
 castle, there are many lords and castles at 
 WiUingham. The gardens in the rear of the 
 houses are not the least extraordinary feature of 
 the village, and they completely verify all I have 
 heard in praise of Cambridgeshire horticulture. 
 The gardens are commonly found to be of great 
 length, and they are usually planted with favourite 
 fruit-bearing trees. I was given to understand 
 that in ground attached to the houses of this 
 small place there are not less than fifty acres of 
 gooseberry-bushes in a luxuriant state of cul- 
 tivation. 
 
 The advertisements announced that Mr. Spurgeon 
 would preach the first of his two sermons at three 
 o'clock ; and, as that hour drew near, the people 
 who had hitherto thronged the village street 
 
Pi caching from a Waggon, 1 7 1 
 
 adjourned to an adjacent meadow, there to com- 
 pose a compact multitude. A spacious marquee 
 had been erected ; but, ample as its area may 
 have appeared to the contractors, it was ludicrously 
 small when measured against the space required ; 
 and hence to speak from a waggon on the green- 
 sward seemed to be the only possible arrangement 
 that could be reasonably made. Having, with 
 considerable difficulty, threaded his way through 
 the throng, the preacher ascended the "pulpit," and 
 found himself in the centre of a sea of upturned 
 faces ; and, confessing an inability to speak from 
 the back of his head, he notifies in which direction 
 he will chiefly look. The text is taken from 
 I Cor. XV. 10 : "By the grace of God I am what 
 I am ; " and the sermon, with its fervent deli- 
 neations and soul-stirring appeals, was admirably 
 adapted to produce a lasting effect on the mixed 
 multitude of hearers. The purport of the sermon 
 ^vas — everybody had some ailment ; but Christ 
 was " the mighty doctor of grace." 
 
 At the conclusion of this service, the people 
 returned to the village to drink tea, which was not 
 difficult to obtain, as everybody still appeared to 
 be keeping open house, and provision for a hungry 
 multitude was made at the farmstead before 
 mentioned. Mr. Spurgeon and a select number 
 of friends drank tea together in one of the long, 
 
172 Soj?ie Special Occasions. 
 
 secluded gardens for which VVilHngham is or 
 should be renowned. 
 
 At the evening service the sermon was preceded 
 by a characteristic address from Mr. William 
 Olney, one of the most active of the deacons at 
 the Tabernacle. When Mr. Spurgeon again stood 
 forward, he was greeted as before by the upturned 
 faces of persons who still drank in his words with 
 unabated eagerness. The text v/as taken from the 
 dying words of King David to his son Solom.on, 
 " If thou seek Him, He shall be found of thee." 
 All that David said was good ; but the last words 
 of such a father to such a son as Solomon were 
 especially solemn. 
 
 I. They represented our greatest want — they 
 needed their God. 
 
 II. David told Solomon how his great need 
 might be supplied — " If thou seek Him." 
 
 Lastly, the text had a finger — Thou. The 
 preacher went on to show that while the young 
 had a text all to themselves, the old needed not 
 to be discouraged. Some calculations had been 
 made to show that people are seldom converted 
 after forty-five, and as they grow older the 
 chances that they will ever become partakers of 
 saving grace proportionately diminished. In the 
 opinion of Mr. Spurgeon such notions were as 
 ridiculous as they were unscriptural, and statistics 
 
A Striking Evening Scene. 173 
 
 were frequently little else than a means of telling 
 lies by figures. 
 
 The evening scene was one to be remembered. 
 Parts of the surrounding district had only lately 
 been visited by storms ; but during the delivery 
 of the sermon the peace of a summer evening 
 settled over Willingham. A soft breeze carried 
 the sweet scents of the fresh blossoming country 
 on its bosom ; birds were merrily singing in the 
 trees and hedges ; vi^hile the setting sun on one 
 side of the horizon, and the rising moon on the 
 other side, seemed to be looking each other in 
 the face while they supplied the preacher with 
 materials for illustration. The spectacle was 
 very striking as a scene of rural peace and enjoy- 
 ment. The powerful voice of Mr. Spurgeon rung 
 out loud and clear, reaching to the utmost limit of 
 the crowd. Individuals representative of various 
 classes of sinners were singled out, reasoned with, 
 and appealed to, the text in each instance being 
 driven home to the heart and conscience — " If 
 thou seek Him, He shall be found of thee." 
 
 Thus further proof was given, if that were 
 needed, of the hold which Mr. Spurgeon still 
 retains on every class. I inquired of a Cam- 
 bridgeshire peasant what he thought of the 
 sermon. " Oh ! " replied the poor fellow, " it was 
 lovely ; I wish he had kept on all night." 
 
174 Some Special Occasions. 
 
 With the Students. 
 
 Probably a good many people who once thought 
 otherwise are coming round to the conclusion that 
 " Spurgeon's students " are an institution called 
 into existence by the requirements of the modern 
 Church. While there will be differences of 
 opinion in regard to the young fellows' general 
 fitness for an arduous calling, the majority of 
 judges will concede that they are men of enter- 
 prise, who can battle with difficulties and bear 
 hardship. They have many traits which mark 
 their individuality, and they strive to do credit 
 to the common cause, and to be worthy of their 
 schoolmasters. If you will, you may count these 
 young men too daring, too energetic, or too 
 assuming ; but while the field is the world, and 
 the world remains what it is, there will be plenty 
 of others who will think that there is room both 
 for the workers and their singularities. It is well 
 known that there are persons, sensitive and not 
 too charitable, who affect to look down on the 
 Tabernacle collegians as innovators or interlopers, 
 or perhaps even as trespassers, who monopolise 
 spheres which common fairness would reserve for 
 better people. To be criticised is a privilege as 
 well as a penalty ; for without critics public men 
 would not know their own weaknesses. As 
 
TJie Pastors College, 175 
 
 regards the " students " in question, we should in 
 justice remember that a very large percentage 
 of those who settle in London make their own 
 spheres. Another large proportion, who remove 
 to the Colonies and to the United States, cease 
 to be in anybody's way — so far as England is 
 concerned. 
 
 Mr. Spurgeon never disguises the fact that 
 the College is his best-beloved Institution. He 
 well knows that his system may have its weak 
 points, but that is only saying it is human. In 
 spite of real or imaginary shortcomings, the 
 College is nurtured as a powerful evangelistic 
 agency. It has even been hinted that he expects, 
 or at least hopes to see, a successor to himself 
 come forth from the classes. Such a genius has 
 not yet arisen ; to expect his advent may perhaps 
 savour of enthusiasm. The president is a man of 
 faith ; there is time enough yet. 
 
 Founded and presided over by so shrewd a 
 judge of human nature and of human motives, 
 this College differs from the ordinary run of theo- 
 logical seminaries. The aim of the tutors is very 
 clearly defined. They do not despise learning, 
 but still wish to turn out preachers rather than 
 scholars, and to accomplish their purpose they 
 cannot complain of any want of material. Every 
 candidate is well aware that he will have to pass 
 
176 Some Special Occasions, 
 
 a searching examination, and that the aim of the 
 examiners will be to discover his aptitude for 
 work — the quahty of the human metal — instead 
 of being guided in their decision by what he 
 already knows. The judges put down piety at 
 a higher value than Greek and Latin ; and they 
 believe that love for mankind is better than a 
 mathematical brain. Come what will, the appli- 
 cant, if he be a man of common sense, is 
 thoroughly assured that he will be judged on 
 his own merits. He needs no friend at court to 
 advance his interests, the recommendation of 
 his pastor being merely a certificate of character. 
 Nothing can be more unprejudiced than this 
 method of election. Even if it were true, which 
 it is not, that it chiefly attracts the plebeian 
 element, even that would be preferable to being 
 spoken of as a pretentious Nonconformist college 
 reserved almost exclusively for those who can 
 help themselves. 
 
 Having survived his probation, the " student " 
 feels that he is a unit in a society which exists 
 to promote the conversion of mankind ; and while 
 his interests are not separate from those of his 
 denomination, he will throughout life retain a 
 feeling of clannishness. It is well that it is so, 
 for his difficulties and discouragements are of 
 no common order. Go whither he will, he must 
 
Men to be Judged by their Works, j^'' 
 
 * t 
 
 resist the opposition of prejudice — a prejudice 
 founded on the poor fellow's supposed lack of 
 good breeding and early advantages. It is sur- 
 prising how long and correct peoples' memories 
 are when they have to do with things they might 
 gracefully forget. " Spurgeon's student " is often 
 found to be a suffering victim of this persecuting 
 retentiveness. People remember — and if they 
 do not really know they suspect — that he was 
 originally intended for some trade, that he was 
 actually apprenticed, and that he would even now 
 be working at a bench had he not, through some 
 mischance, found his way into college. They do 
 not stop to ask themselves whether similar things 
 might not apply to numbers of other ministers who 
 have passed through other seminaries. Provided 
 only that a college can boast of a certain kind of 
 prestige, the inmates are looked upon as scholars 
 and gentlemen, who have been directed into their 
 proper avocation. Let us not disparage one class 
 at the expense of another, but give both their due, 
 because neither class can afford to throw stones 
 at the other. In common fairness we are bound 
 to judge of men by their works. The cultured 
 man will find his proper sphere, and between him 
 and the more humble, though perhaps not less 
 useful, evangelist, there need be no rivalry. Minis- 
 terial successes should be measured by conver 
 
 12 
 
178 Some Special Occasiofis. 
 
 sions, not by the literary quality of the sermons 
 preached ; and so that men are brought in from 
 the bondage of sin into the liberty of Christ, it is 
 hardly worth while to dispute about the polish of 
 the instruments. Who, on looking at an elegant 
 cabinet, asks if the artificer had five fingers on 
 each hand, if he was legally apprenticed, and if 
 the tools used were those of approved makers ? 
 The carving is there, and we give the, workman 
 his due. If we look at their work from all sides 
 in this spirit, we shall find that " Spurgeon's 
 students " have more than earned their salt. 
 They have established a large number of new 
 churches ; they have reclaimed thousands of 
 people who might never have been hauled in 
 from ruin by the kid-gloved hands of a more 
 " regular " agency. They are trained to endure 
 hardship and toil. In a sense, they are un- 
 doubtedly innovators ; at times, perhaps, they are 
 somewhat too bold and outspoken ; but still some 
 of them have become sufficiently distinguished to 
 rank among the chief apostles of Bristol, Rawdon, 
 or even Regent's Park — those classic retreats for 
 well-to-do aspirants and gentlemen's sons. 
 
 The ordinary " Spurgeon's student " has many 
 characteristics which bespeak his training and 
 ruling taste. Perhaps he would be a gainer were 
 he to rub off some of his idiosyncrasies ; but such 
 
What the College has Done, 179 
 
 as cling naturally to him are best left alone. 
 With rare exceptions, he never affects the fine 
 gentleman ; he does not proclaim his profession 
 through the tailor ; with his black tie and felt hat 
 he apparently cultivates a nonchalance in dress not 
 readily understood in a fashionable age, when 
 ecclesiastical exquisites need not despair of 
 shining as centre attractions in West End draw- 
 ing-rooms. Thus it happens that the " student's" 
 friends say he has no sham about him ; that he 
 wishes to pass simply for what he is — an evan- 
 gelist ; or if settled, a plain pastor. His severer 
 critics say he is an enthusiast, an imitator of the 
 manners and tones of one man, and that his 
 sermons are declamation. In summing up the 
 evidence of these opposite witnesses, remember 
 that man naturally imitates ; that it is well-nigh 
 impossible for classes to come into daily contact 
 with one master mind and not contract a few of 
 his mannerisms. To the young men concerned 
 I would say, Strive against a natural propensity 
 which will provoke ridicule and loss of power. 
 To be peculiar is not necessarily to be weak, 
 though if he try to be peculiar it is a sure sign 
 that the man is naturally a weak man. 
 
 What has the College done t According to 
 the last returns, 722 have been educated, and 
 there are 547 of these who still labour as pastors, 
 
i8o Soj?ie Special Occaslojis, 
 
 mlssionan'es, or evangelists. There are twenty- 
 one without pastorates ; forty-seven pastors and 
 seven students have died ; nine are permanently 
 invalided ; while seventy-five names have been 
 removed from the roll, not in all cases " from 
 causes which imply any dishonour," as many 
 are working in other denominations. There are 
 66,835 members attached to the Churches of 
 the Pastors' College Association. 
 
 Christmas Day at the Orphanage. 
 
 The Christmas morning to which particular 
 allusion is now made v/as hailed by the inmates 
 of the Stockwell Orphanage with all the enthu- 
 siasm that had characterised former years ; how, 
 indeed, could it be otherwise, when the day 
 dawned with promises of feasting and merry- 
 making quite after the heart of Young England, 
 who has found a home in that well-known Insti- 
 tution ? While the weather was cold, foggy, and 
 muddy, the aspect of the dining-room presented 
 a cheerful contrast to the reigning gloom without. 
 The ample area was decorated with flags, ever- 
 greens, and mottoes, until it partially resembled 
 a baronial hall of olden times, and numbers of 
 visitors were found passing a holiday hour 
 in inspecting the preparations. Callers and 
 
The Orphanage Kitchen. i8i 
 
 stragglers, who dine late, and who are desirous 
 of seeing all they can before dinner, may find 
 a sight worth looking at on Christmas Day at 
 Stockwell — something to educate the heart as 
 well as feed the mind ; and should they leave a 
 do-nation behind them, the remembrance of what 
 they have done will make music in their souls 
 when they themselves sit down to the feast. So, 
 at any rate, would good George Herbert have 
 said, and George Herbert was right. 
 
 Soon after noon a carriage is heard rattling 
 into the grounds, and this, together with the 
 cheers of the boys, is an intimation that Mr. and 
 Mrs. Spurgeon have arrived. Before dinner is 
 laid on the tables a Board-meeting may have to 
 be held ; and while more serious business is in 
 progress, fresh loungers are coming in to show 
 their Interest in the arrangements. The kitchen 
 appears to possess extraordinary attractions, and 
 w^ell may this be so ; for vast as is the quantity of 
 food to be prepared, the admirable apparatus at 
 the command of the cooks sits easily beneath 
 its burden, and even seems to make light 
 of it. 
 
 After some further unavoidable delay, the boys 
 and girls are marshalled, shortly before two, to 
 be marched into their places, when dinner is 
 served. Substantial joints of roast beef follow 
 
i82 Some Special Occasions, 
 
 one another from the kitchen, each fresh arrival 
 being handed over to an amateur carver at a 
 side-table. In the meantime, Mr. Spurgeon re- 
 minds the boys of the gratitude they owe to God 
 for sending them friends who, in their kindness 
 of heart, have provided so rich an abundance of 
 good fare. The youngsters quite appreciate their 
 President's remarks, and show that they under- 
 stand their obh'gations by the hearty cheers which 
 shake the building, a fair proportion of the noise 
 being made in honour of the gentlemen who 
 presented the boxes of plums and the new 
 shillings. Other cheers follow, for standing in 
 the room are certain tried friends of the Institu- 
 tion who merit the boys' affection, and this is 
 especially true of the President, who is hailed 
 with deafening acclamations as the orphans* best 
 earthly friend. At length the noise is succeeded 
 by a calm ; grace is sung. " And now, my 
 boys," says Mr. Spurgeon, " I hope you will 
 heartily enjoy yourselves." The beef, which is 
 the best that the London market can supply, is 
 speedily disposed of; and next comes a proces- 
 sion of plum-puddings borne by a regiment of 
 "old boys," who are now out in the world making 
 headway on their own account. After the 
 puddings have shared the fate of the beef, there 
 succeeds a still greater pleasure — each orphan is 
 
Concerning the Orphanage, 183 
 
 allowed to retire, and to carry with him to the 
 playground his box of plums, the sweet orange, 
 and the new shilling. 
 
 When well enough to do so, and when in 
 England, it has been Mr. Spurgeon's custom to 
 dine with the working staff of the Orphanage on 
 Christmas Day. The last time that he did so 
 was in 1885, when he was accompanied by Mrs. 
 Spurgeon ; and he had then not been since 
 1 88 1. In the last report of the Institution 
 Mr. Spurgeon thuii refers to the work in pro- 
 gress : — 
 
 " Let those who have aided us in any manner 
 only look in upon the Institution at Stock well, 
 and the sight will well repay them. What a 
 beautiful square of buildings ! What a noble 
 open space in the centre ! Then see the boys 
 and girls. Nobody ever said that they looked 
 miserable : it would be too transparent a false- 
 hood. Did you ever see more happy faces in all 
 the world } These bear no brand of pauperdom 
 and wear no trace of being crushed down by 
 hard workhouse discipline. Many a father has felt 
 that if he were suddenly taken away he could 
 desire no better shelter for his children. One 
 minister expressed that sentiment at one of our 
 meetings, and within two years he had fallen asleep, 
 and two of his boys were with us. These dear 
 
184 Some Special Occasions. 
 
 children, often the descendants of sickly fathers, 
 are, as a rule, in splendid condition ; in fact, the 
 average of health is far above that which is 
 common in the best families. While they are 
 with us they receive a good solid education, and 
 are surrounded with gracious influences ; and 
 when they go from us, as a rule, they succeed in 
 life, and become useful and honourable members 
 of society. We have received the highest testi- 
 mony from practical men as to the result pro- 
 duced by the Stockwell Orphanage training. 
 Thus, instead of pining in poverty, and either 
 dying of want or growing up in ignorance, the 
 children are carefully housed and prayerfully 
 trained, and rise into manhood to be an honour 
 to their homes and a benefit to society. Mean- 
 while, their widowed mothers have been succoured, 
 delivered from hopeless want, and encouraged 
 to bring up the rest of their charge. Friends, we 
 are partners in a very blessed enterprise. Our 
 Lord approves of it, His people delight in it, 
 and even men of the world have nothing to say 
 against it. This work for orphans is one of the 
 best aids to the Gospel : it stops the mouth of 
 adversaries. It is fit that the preacher of free 
 grace should be able to point to his five hundred 
 fatherless ones, and say, * See the fruit of the 
 doctrines of grace.' Those who arc saved by 
 
Home Life of the Orphans, 185 
 
 faith alone are yet zealous to maintain good 
 works. To them also, ' pure religion and undefiled 
 before God and the Father is this, to visit the 
 fatherless and the widows in their affliction, and 
 to keep himself unspotted from the world.' 
 
 " Our experience confirms us in the practice of 
 The Separate Home System. We have not 
 huge wards, nor vast barracks, but houses and 
 families after the fashion of ordinary society. 
 The loss of home and parental influence is a 
 calamity to a child, and the wisest course is to 
 minimise the loss as far as possible by keeping 
 up the family form. Covering an area of nearly 
 four acres, in one of the healthiest suburbs of 
 London, the Orphanage is admirably adapted for 
 its purpose. Each home is complete in itself, 
 and each family has its own ' mother.' The boys 
 dine in one common hall according to families ; 
 the girls' meals are all prepared in their respective 
 houses ; and it is a rule that both boys and girls 
 assist in all the domestic duties of the establish- 
 ment. Family worship is conducted in each 
 department morning and evening, and the children 
 learn the text for the day from Mr. Spurgeon's 
 Almanack. The terrace on the left-hand side of 
 the quadrangle, with the schools over the centre 
 block, is designed for two hundred and fifty boys, 
 and the terrace on the right for an equal number 
 
1 86 So77ie Special Occasions, 
 
 of girls. The proof of the pudding is in the 
 eating, and in countless ways the excellence of the 
 home system shows itself to those who observe 
 its working. 
 
 " Under our system careful supervision of each 
 child is possible, and the best sanitary, moral, and 
 religious conditions are secured. Though we 
 cannot change human nature, nor make even 
 good children perfect, we can do better for them 
 in family groups than if we had them in great 
 masses, and packed them away in grosses, like 
 steel pens. Individual character comes out better 
 in small groups than in large regiments. 
 
 "The Institution is Unsectarian : the question 
 of the denominational connection of the parents 
 has no influence with the Committee in considering 
 an application. No child is prejudiced as a 
 candidate by the creed of his parents. Why 
 should he be } In a matter of pure philanthropy, 
 sectarian preferences should have no weight ; 
 although the characters of the parents and their 
 usefulness in the Church of God constitute in 
 some cases a plea for a more speedy reception 
 of their little ones ; yet if Christian principles 
 were lacking in the father the child should not 
 be punished on that account ; on the contrary, 
 there may be all the greater need that the little 
 one should come unJer religious training. 
 
Home Lije of the Orphans. 187 
 
 "The supreme desire of the Committee of 
 Management is that the children shall be instructed 
 in the truths of our common Christianity, renewed 
 in spirit by the Holy Ghost, and brought up in 
 the nurture and admonition of the Lord. We 
 are more concerned that the children should 
 become disciples of Christ than devotees of a 
 sect; and for this we will both pray and 
 labour. ... 
 
 "The Institution is OPEN TO ALL CLASSES OF 
 THE Community. No one section of society has 
 the preference. In considering the claims of an 
 orphan, the station in life occupied by the parents 
 has small influence in the counsels of the Com- 
 mittee. 
 
 To secure the admission of a destitute father- 
 less child, No Patronage is Required, and No 
 Purchase of Votes. The most helpless and 
 deserving are selected by a Committee, who give 
 the first place to the greatest need. 
 
 « The children are NOT DRESSED IN A 
 Uniform to mark them as the recipients of 
 charity. We cannot endure this common piece 
 of folly. 
 
 " In the arrangements of the Schools our object 
 is to impart a plain butthorottgh Y.^QAA'^YL education, 
 in order to fit the boys for commercial pursuits. 
 In addition to the ordinary subjects, they are 
 
i88 Some Special Occasions. 
 
 taught elementary science, drawing, shorthand, 
 and vocal music. As the boys attain the age 
 for leaving, little or no difficulty is experienced 
 in finding employers who are willing to receive 
 them. Many of the old boys are now occupying 
 good positions in large houses of business, three 
 of them are pastors of churches, and two have 
 resigned first-rate appointments -to labour in 
 connection with the Salvation Army. It is a 
 joy to us to know that many others are engaged 
 in works of usefulness, while a far larger number 
 are members of the Christian Church. 
 
 " For the girls a plain solid education is 
 attempted in tlie Schools, and thorough domestic 
 training in the Homes. The Trustees will be 
 glad to give special training where there are 
 special capacities, and as openings occur for 
 female talent they will be glad to have girls able 
 to enter them. The special vocation of the girls 
 must be left to their friends to determine on 
 leaving : our usual plan is to ensure that, as far 
 as possible, they shall be thoroughly fitted for 
 domestic service in good families ; but w^e are 
 anxious to be guided by the providence of God, 
 and the opportunities which offer themselves. 
 No doubt the better the education, if it be of 
 a really practical kind, the better is the child's 
 chance in life," 
 
Hoiut Life of the Otphans. 189 
 
 Summary of Admissions. 
 
 
 London ••••••, 
 
 Country ..••;,, 
 
 Wales 
 
 Scotland ...••, 
 Ireland .•••«., 
 Isle of Wight . , • . , 
 
 . 717 
 
 ► 358 
 
 ' 17 
 I 
 2 
 
 • 4 
 
 Total 1,099. 
 
 Parentage of the Children : — 
 
 Mechanics . . . • 
 Shopkeepers and Salesmen . 
 Manufacturers and Tradesmen 
 Labourers, Porters, and Carmen 
 Warehousemen and Clerks 
 Mariners and Watermen 
 Ministers and Missionaries • 
 Commercial Travellers . « 
 Farmers and Florists • • 
 Railway Employes , . 
 
 Cab Proprietors and Coachmen 
 Schoolmasters and Teachers . 
 Policemen and Custom House Ouiccrs 
 
 Commission Agents 
 Accountants . 
 Postmen and Sorters 
 Surgeons and Dentists 
 Journalists • 
 Solicitors • 
 Soldiers • 
 
 Fireman • 
 
 Architect • 
 Gentleman & 
 
 261 
 171 
 
 161 
 
 159 
 117 
 
 38 
 
 21 
 21 
 
 19 
 
 18 
 
 17 
 13 
 II 
 II 
 8 
 6 
 
 5 
 4 
 2 
 I 
 I 
 I 
 
 Total 1,099. 
 
I go 
 
 Some Special Occasions, 
 
 Religious Profess] 
 
 [ON OF Parents. 
 
 Church of England , 
 
 
 . 429 
 
 Baptist . . , , 
 
 
 . 264 
 
 Congregational , 
 
 
 , 121 
 
 Wesleyafi . . , 
 
 
 , lOI 
 
 Presbyterian . , , 
 
 
 22 
 
 Roman C-atholic , , 
 
 
 3 
 
 Brethren . , , 
 
 
 4 
 
 Moravian . . , 
 
 
 I 
 
 Bible Christian , , 
 
 
 2 
 
 Society of Friends 
 
 
 I 
 
 Not specified . • , 
 
 Tctal 
 
 . 151 
 
 
 1,099. 
 
 The head master is the Rev. V. J. Gharles- 
 vvorth, and the working staff have all along, by 
 their efficiency and sympathy, earned the often- 
 expressed gratitude of the President. 
 
 The Colporteurs. 
 
 The Colportage Association is also an evan- 
 gelistic agency the influence of which extends 
 into many of the most out-of-the-way corners of 
 the country. When health permitted it has been 
 usual for Mr. Spurgeon to address the men, many 
 of whom visit London in May of each year. 
 The agents are hard-working fellows, and besides 
 selling books, they visit the people in their houses, 
 and even preach the Gospel in places where 
 otherwise the Gospel would hardly be heard. 
 
*' Sell the Books!' 191 
 
 There are now seventy-six agents employed, and 
 seven book agents ; and in the last year these 
 sold pure literature to the amount of ;£^9,52 5, 
 representing a distribution of 457,527 Bibles 
 and books, besides 320,504 periodicals. Mr. Spur- 
 geon, in common with all who are acquainted 
 with it, are of opinion that this work should be 
 extended, and that Christian people should mani- 
 fest more interest in the colporteurs' operations. 
 Certainly, its importance is second to no other 
 Christian work, and in proportion as the good 
 done is understood and appreciated, people will 
 extend to such a genuine Home Mission their 
 cordial support 
 
 On the last occasion that he addressed the 
 men in May, 1885, Mr. Spurgeon remarked that 
 while there were old faces present that he was 
 glad to see again, there were also some new 
 hands, to all of whom he wished prosperity. 
 It was hoped that the first v/ould not become 
 weary, and that the younger men would find 
 themselves in happy spheres. Though many 
 had found it otherwise, the past year had been 
 a good time for colporteurs : the sales had not 
 declined, and the higher success achieved had 
 encouraged them all. Though he was not going 
 to preach on the text " Sell the books," that 
 was the first thing a colporteur had to do. They 
 
192 Some Special Occasions, 
 
 might be good men in other respects, but they 
 did not excel as colporteurs if they did not push 
 the sales. It was just the same with students 
 in the college ; they had first of all to be good 
 preachers. Thus the main object of their calling 
 must not be missed. Yankee book-agents had 
 the reputation of being terrible fellows : they 
 would never leave a house without an order, 
 even though it might be an order to get off the 
 premises ; and one of the fraternity was said to 
 have so much " cheek," that when struck by 
 lightning in the face — his strongest point — the 
 fluid glanced off to kill an animal some yards 
 away. In a sense, this " cheek " was a good 
 thing, although they would not do much without 
 perseverance. They wanted men to sell books 
 to people who thought that they did not want 
 to buy them. They had no reason to be 
 ashamed of their wares, which were good to sell 
 and good to buy. It was then shown that a 
 colporteur would be judged of in a district by 
 his usefulness. As they loved their Master, 
 therefore, let them abound in all good works 
 to His glory, forasmuch as their labour was not 
 in vain in the Lord. 
 
 The Rev. W. Corden Jones, at the Depository, 
 Temple Street, Newington, S.E., supplies all 
 particulars on application. 
 
nVO THOUSAND PRINTED SERMONS. 
 
**Our ministry is a testimony that no nev/ theology is needed 'o stir 
 the masses and save souls ; we defy all the negative theologians in 
 England to give such proof of their ministry as we can. If we must be 
 fools in glorying, we do, we must boast that the old doctrines are victo- 
 rious, and that the Lord, the Spirit, has most signally honoured them. 
 We do not cite the overwhelming and ever increasing multitudes who 
 listen to us, as a proof in this matter, but, we do and will glory, in the 
 power of the Gospel, in that it has brought so many to the cross of Christ, 
 and raised so many from the dunghiU. In every place where the old 
 Gospel has been proclaimed it has had its trophies from the worat of 
 men, and we are no exceptions to the rule. The slain of the Lord have 
 been many. His arrows have found out the hearts of His enemies; 
 many have been overthrown by His Spirit, and have been ultimately 
 brouglit to find life and healing in the blood of Jesus. The best evi- 
 dences of the truth of our holy religion, are to be found in the marvellous 
 effects it produces. Drunkards, harlots, swearers, thieves, hars, and 
 such like, when reclaimed and regenerated, are the jewels in the crovvn 
 of the truth ; of such we must say in confidence, ' What hath God 
 wrought ? ' "—Preface to Vol. II. of The New Park Street Pulpit. 
 
VII. 
 
 TWO THOUSAND PRINTED SERMONS. 
 
 /^^ONCERNING their weekly publication, and 
 ^^ concerning individual sermons, many re- 
 markable things are told. Some on special topics 
 have commanded a very extensive sale, the one 
 on Baptismal Regeneration leading the way. 
 When this was first published, it was feared 
 that the circulation would be disastrously affected, 
 but the number of subscribers actually increased. 
 The history of these sermons would constitute 
 a unique chapter in the annals of the church. 
 Some years ago, an ardent admirer of Mr. 
 Spurgeon gave away, at his own charge, a 
 quarter of a million copies. He had volumes 
 elegantly bound for presentation to the crowned 
 heads of Europe. He also had books, contain- 
 ing a dozen in each, sent to every member of 
 both Houses of Parliament, and to all the students 
 of Oxford and Cambridge. More singular still 
 was their circulation " as advertisements in the 
 Australian papers ; one gentleman spending week 
 
196 Two Thousand Printed Sermons. 
 
 by week a sum which we scarcely dare to mention, 
 lest it should not be believed." In a sense, Mr. 
 Spurgeon is a preacher to the whole Protestant 
 world ; and if any doubt this remarkable fact, 
 let them note what he himself says about the 
 general diffusion of these pulpit discourses : — 
 
 " In America the sale of the edition published 
 there was extremely large, and I believe that it 
 still continues ; but dozens of religious papers 
 appropriate the sermons bodily, and, therefore, it 
 is quite impossible to say where they go, or, 
 rather, where they do not go. Of translations, the 
 Dutch have been most plentiful, making large 
 volumes. An edition of two volumes of selected 
 sermons has been circulated in the colony of the 
 Caoe of Good Hope, among the Dutch settlers of 
 that region. In German there are three noble 
 volumes, besides many smaller ones. German 
 publishers, with the exception of Mr. Oncken, of 
 Hamburg, seldom have the courtesy to send the 
 author a copy ; and I have picked up in divers 
 places sermons bearing date from Baden, Basle, 
 Carlsruhe, Ludwigsburg, and so on. How many, 
 therefore, may have been sold in Germany I am 
 unable to compute. In French several neat 
 volumes have appeared ; in Welsh and Italian one 
 volume each. In Sweden a handsome edition in 
 four volumes has been largely circulated, and the 
 
Variotis Tra nsla! ions, 197 
 
 translator informed me of the conversion of some 
 of noble and even royal birth through tlieir 
 perusal. Besides these, there are single sermons 
 in Spanish, Gaelic, Danish, Russ, Maori, Telugu, 
 and some other tongues, and permission has been 
 sought and gladly given for the production of a 
 volume in the language of Hungary." 
 
 Did literature represent his sole profession, the 
 fruits of Mr. Spurgeon's pen could not be ex- 
 pected to be more abundant than they are, even 
 though the sermons be left out of the category. 
 Authorship is to him a pleasure as well as a 
 duty ; and he evidently values literary power as 
 a sacred trust to be accounted for hereafter. 
 
 At the present date Mr. Spurgeon has published 
 not far short of two thousand separate sermons 
 in the regular weekly series, besides hundreds of 
 others, so that the position he occupies as a 
 popular preacher is not only extraordinary, but 
 absolutely unique. There are volumes of sermons 
 which have commanded, and still continue to 
 command, a large sale ; there is not, however, 
 another instance on record of a pastor's utterances 
 attracting tens of thousands of purchasers through 
 a third of a century. If we examine the quality 
 of the earliest numbers of the series we shall sea 
 
iqS Two Thousand Printed Sej^mons. 
 
 abundant reason for their instant popularity. By- 
 many, whose judgment is worthy of respect, these 
 earhest productions are thought to be quite equal 
 to anything which has followed. The glow of 
 sanctified genius is on every page ; and the 
 volumes are pervaded by the warm zeal and 
 freshness of youth which are irresistible. Indeed, 
 I have been told by a gentleman who heard the 
 Pastor of the Tabernacle on the first day of his 
 preaching in London, and uho hears him still, that 
 Mr. Spurgeon has never improved, nor has he evx^ 
 grov/n in the sense that others grow — he was sent 
 forth complete at first, just as Minerva was never 
 a child, but sprang at once fully armed from the 
 head of Jupiter. Though not prepared to acquiesce 
 in such a judgment without some qualification, I 
 think it is well to record it as a characteristic of a 
 prevalent opinion. The pastor of a Nonconformist 
 church might also be quoted, who considers that 
 the earlier sermons are even superior to those of 
 to-day. 
 
 Hence there was every prospect of the under- 
 taking proving a comm.ercial success when Mr. 
 Joseph Passmore, at the close of the year 1854, 
 proposed to the Pastor that a discourse should be 
 issued regularly every week ; for long prior to his 
 preaching days the idea had come uninvited into 
 the mind of Mr. Spurgeon himself, that he would 
 
^* Much Fear and Treinbling'' 199 
 
 '* one day preach sermons which would be printed." 
 It would appear that some time elapsed before 
 the preacher even thoroughly believed in his 
 own popularity. The sermons had sold in an un- 
 paralleled manner as occasional publications ; but 
 when a shrewd, far-seeing publisher asked if the 
 publication should be advanced into a weekly 
 institution, the answer in the affirmative was given 
 ** with much fear and trembling." 
 
 In the preface to the first volume of the 
 published discourses, dated January 1856, the 
 remark occurs : " Little can be said in praise of 
 these sermons, and nothing can be said against 
 them more bitter than has been already spoken." 
 The author also declares that he is " invulnerable 
 either to criticism or abuse." The admission is 
 then conceded that a departure has been ventured 
 on " from the usual mode of preaching." An 
 answer is also given to the question. What is 
 Calvinism } It is not a slavish adherence to the 
 views of one man ; the word is rather a brief and 
 convenient one to express " that salvation is by 
 grace alone." There are things in the book which 
 may provoke a smile, but what of them ? The 
 preacher " is not quite sure about a smile being 
 a sin, and, at any rate, he thinks it less crime to 
 cause a momentary laughter than a half hour's 
 profound slumber." 
 
200 Tii'O Thoitsand Prinled Sermons, 
 
 A little more than a year after Mr. Spur-geon's 
 settlement at New Park Street a scheme was set 
 on foot for the enlargement of the chapel, which 
 was ultimately carried out at a cost of ;^2,ooo. 
 On the last Sabbath of January 1855 a collection 
 was made for this object. The text was, " Thou 
 hast made us unto our God kings and priests." 
 The inferences at the close were, " I am king, I 
 will give as a king giveth unto a king." A priest, 
 if he sacrificed, was not to give a maimed lamb or 
 a blemished bullock. " Excuse my pressing this 
 subject," the preacher continued. " I want to get 
 this chapel enlarged ; we are all agreed about it ; 
 we are all rowing in one boat. I have set my 
 mind on ;^50, and I must and will have it to-day 
 if possible. I hope you won't disappoint me." 
 As a result of this appeal the people at once 
 placed ;f 50 in the plates held at the doors, and 
 elevenpence halfpenny over. 
 
 On the 8th of July, 1855, while preaching at 
 New Park Street from the words of the Psalmist, 
 " He shall choose our inheritance for us," Mr. 
 Spurgeon referred to the delights of hearing a 
 sermon, which had for so long been denied to 
 himself. He sometimes felt that he should 
 occasionally like to sit down to the feast in God's 
 house, and not always be a serving-man. " I am 
 sure I should be glad to hear a sermon ; it is a 
 
SeeiJip' a Serinmi at Bristol. 201 
 
 long time since I heard one ; but when I do 
 attend one it always tires me — I want to be 
 improving on it." His sermons were now being 
 pubHshed regularly ; he was preaching incessantly 
 in the week, so that the opportunities for hearing 
 were necessarily almost nit. At this time he had 
 not long completed his twentieth year. 
 
 According to his own confession, however, 
 Mr. Spurgeon this year saw and heard something 
 striking at Bristol. After coming away from 
 George IMiiller's Orphan House, he said, " I never 
 heard such a sermon in my life as I sav/ there." 
 When asked to address the children, he replied, 
 " I could not speak a word for the life of me." He 
 then received a lesson touching the power of faith 
 which bore abundant fruit ; and in connection with 
 this theme we have some first hints respecting 
 the Metropolitan Tabernacle. " I sometimes 
 think we will try the power of faith here," he 
 told his people on the first Sabbath evening in 
 November, " and see if we could not [;et sufficient 
 funds whereby to erect a place to hold the people 
 that crowd to hear the Word of God. We may 
 have a tabernacle of faith as well as an orphan- 
 house of faith." 
 
 The first volume of the sermons was reprinted 
 in America, and at once attained a circulation of 
 twenty thousand copies. Tliis year, 1855, ^'^ 
 
202 Two T/iotisand Printed Sermons, 
 
 second of his ministry in London, he called " a 
 year of miracles " in a sermon preached on 
 December 30th ; and among other causes for 
 gratitude was the fact that two hundred and ten 
 persons were added to the church, while others 
 were coming in. 
 
 On the 6th of January, 1856, at New Park 
 Street, he referred to his conversion, which had 
 taken place exactly six years previously, and at 
 that hour of the day. " Seeking rest and finding 
 none," he said, " I stepped within the house of 
 God, and sat there, afraid to look upward, lest I 
 should be utterly cut off, and lest His fierce wrath 
 should consume me. The minister rose in his 
 pulpit, and as I have done this morning, read this 
 text — ' Look unto me, and be ye saved, all the 
 ends of the earth ; for I am God, and there is 
 none else.* I looked that moment ; the grace 
 of faith was vouchsafed to me in the selfsame 
 instant." * 
 
 Shortly after, or on the lOth of February, he 
 preached on behalf of the Baptist Fund, an insti- 
 tution founded in London for the relief of poor 
 ministers in 17 17. Some of the illustrations of 
 poverty were as sad as they were striking. Some 
 ministers, when they ascended the pulpit stairs, 
 
 * As remarked elsewhere, the pulpit in which this sermon 
 was preached is to be seen at the Stockwell Orphanage. 
 
The Music- Hall Accident, 2D^ 
 
 J 
 
 had to be careful lest they tore their worn-out 
 coats. The case of a preacher without means 
 was also mentioned, a man who walked twenty 
 miles and preached two sermons, and received 
 from the deacons a shilling for his services. 
 Another walked eight miles, found no one to give 
 him a dinner, preached three sermons, and was 
 rewarded with half-a-crown. The claims of the 
 Baptist Fund were strongly advocated. 
 
 On the first Sabbath of the November following, 
 Mr. Spurgeon preached at New Park Street for the 
 first time after the fatal accident at the Surrey 
 Gardens. He said that he almost regretted having 
 undertaken to preach, scarcely feeling equal to 
 the task. The text was Philippians ii. 9-1 1 : 
 " Wherefore God hath highly exalted him, and 
 given him a name which is above every name, 
 etc. 
 
 This text, and the occasion of its being chosen, 
 became more than ever interesting when we are 
 further acquainted with the circumstances of the 
 case. Thus at the Pastors' College Conference, 
 held in April 1879, he mentioned a fact in con- 
 nection with the accident at the Surrey Gardens 
 Music-Hail which is not generally known. He said 
 that the effect on his mind was such that he was 
 nearly imbecile for a fortnight. The newspapers 
 wrote as though he were responsible for the death 
 
204 ^^^^ Thousand Printed Sermons, 
 
 of the unfortunate people, and the slanders were 
 almost more than he could bear. Such, too, was 
 the agitation of his mind, joined to the assaults of 
 Satan, that he seemed to lose the desire for prayer 
 and for reading the Scriptures. He went away 
 into the country ; and he related how relief came 
 in an instant while walking in the garden of the 
 house where he was staying. The words, " God 
 hath given him a name," etc., flashed into his 
 mind, and he seeing at once that all must be right, 
 whatever the enemy might suggest, his joy was 
 immediately as unspeakably great as his grief had 
 previously been. He even went down on his 
 knees on the gravel to give thanks. 
 
 After a storm of trial and persecution, the 
 preface to the volume of sermons for 1857 strikes 
 a more cheerful note. The preacher speaks of 
 the winter being past and the spring-time of 
 renewed vigour and peace having come. " The 
 congregations during the year have been immense 
 and enthusiastic," he says. " Our church meetings 
 have been joyous occasions, for we have heard 
 marvellous stories of profligates reclaimed, drunk- 
 ards converted, and desponding souls delivered." 
 He now realised that in the hands of God he was 
 far more than the mere pastor of a church ; he 
 seems to have felt that he was an evangelist raised 
 up for a special work. Hence " the sermons 
 
A Serrnon at the Crystal Palace. 205 
 
 preached at the music-hall are intended to arrest 
 the attention of the careless, and alarm the con- 
 sciences of the hardened. The reader will not, 
 therefore, find in them that fulness and depth of 
 doctrine which he may desire." It may be noted 
 that on the 7th of October in this year Mr. 
 Spurgeon preached at the Crystal Palace, Syden- 
 ham, to a congregation of twenty-four thousand 
 people, the occasion " being the day appointed by 
 Proclamation for a Solemn Fast, Humiliation, and 
 Prayer before Almighty God : in order to obtain 
 Pardon of our Sins, and for imploring His Blessing 
 and Assistance on our Arms for the Restoration 
 of Tranquillity in India." 
 
 The flow of success continued throughout the 
 year 1858. The best results continued to arise 
 from the reading of the sermons. " In lonely 
 places there are churches of Christ whose only 
 ministry is found in these pages, save when a 
 passing evangelist is led to open his mouth among 
 them," we are told. In room.s in the crowded 
 haunts of poverty these are read to hundreds 
 who could scarcely understand any language more 
 refined ; while at races and fairs, and even at 
 pilgrimages of the Romish church, these have 
 been used by earnest brethren as a means of 
 obtaining an audience in the open air." During 
 this year the circulation of the sermons at home 
 
2o6 Two Thousand Printed Se7'mons, 
 
 and abroad was more than sustained. No less 
 than a hundred and fifty thousand volumes had 
 already been sold in the United States ; in 
 Australia more than one edition was printed, 
 while translations appeared in several of the 
 European languages, besides one in Welsh. In 
 the meantime the weekly issue in London was 
 as popular as ever. 
 
 Two providential deliverances occurred this 
 year, which many will still remember. On 
 Wednesday, the 7th of April, Mr. Spurgeon 
 preached at Halifax, when, in consequence of a 
 fall of snow and severe wintry weather, he did 
 not anticipate meeting a very extensive congre- 
 gation. A temporary building was erected, 
 however, and from five to six thousand persons 
 were found assembled. In the afternoon all went 
 well ; but in the evening a gallery planned to hold 
 two thousand people suddenly gave way after the 
 service, when two persons were injured. " Now 
 had this happened any earlier, not only must 
 many have been injured," said Mr. Spurgeon to his 
 congregation at the Surrey Gardens, " but there 
 are a thousand chances to one, as we say, that a 
 panic must necessarily have ensued, similar to 
 that which we still remember and deplore as 
 having occurred in this place. Had such a thing 
 occurred, and had I been the unhappy preacher 
 
Su'cncss of the P readier, 207 
 
 on the occasion, I feel certain that I should never 
 have been able to occupy the pulpit again. Such 
 was the effect of the first calamity that I marvel 
 that I ever survived." 
 
 Six months later, or on the morning of October 
 1 0th, he appeared at the great music-hall, after 
 having experienced in the week " excruciating 
 pain and continual sickness." After this he was 
 laid aside, and the next published number of the 
 weekly sermon was one preached at Exeter Hall 
 more than two years before. Though so old, the 
 preacher prayed that the utterances might '* bud 
 afresh and bring forth fruit, even as old corn, after 
 having been entombed in Egyptian sepulchres for 
 centuries, will often germinate again and yield an 
 abundant crop." For three weeks the issue of 
 old sermons continued, and a letter from the 
 Pastor appears in each. In one he refers to the 
 timbers in his frail barque having been made to 
 creak ; in another he speaks of the memorable 
 panic of two years before. On the 7th of 
 November he again occupied the pulpit. 
 
 In the course of the year 1859 several sermons 
 were preached which were made wonderfully 
 useful in awakening the careless. They continued 
 to command a very extensive sale in America, 
 and not only in a separate form but in the news- 
 papers. Thus " in the midst of a mass of frivolit)? 
 
2q8 Two Jhoitsa::d Pnnicd Scr'.nons, 
 
 and romance the weekly sermon stands like an 
 ambassador in bonds, hopeful, nevertheless, that 
 its free voice may overcome the discordant cries 
 which try to drown its utterance." 
 
 On the 13 th of March in this year, at the 
 Surrey Gardens, Mr. Spurgeon referred to the 
 opening of his ministry, and again preached from 
 his first text : " It is about eight years since, as 
 a lad of sixteen, I stood up for the first time in 
 my life to preach the Gospel in a cottage to a 
 handful of poor people who had come together 
 for worship. I felt my own inability to preach, 
 but I ventured to take this text, 'Unto you there- 
 fore which believe. He is precious. ' " 
 
 Nos. 268, 269, and 270 of The New Park 
 Street Pulpit are filled with an account of " the 
 ceremony of laying the first stone of the new 
 Tabernacle," which ceremony was performed by 
 Sir S. M. Peto on the i6th of August. Many 
 honoured brethren who graced that occasion by 
 their presence have since gone home to heaven. 
 There were two meetings, one on the ground in 
 the afternoon, and one at Rca's Repository in 
 the evening. " In the bottle which is to be 
 placed under the stone we have put no money," 
 remarked the Pastor, " for one good reason — we 
 have none to spare. We have not put nev/s- 
 papers, because, albeit we admire and love the 
 
B'Mildiiig the Tabernacle. 209 
 
 liberty of the press, yet that is not so immediately 
 concerned in this edifice. The articles placed 
 under the stone are simply these : the Bible, the 
 Word of God — we put that as the foundation of 
 the church. Upon this rock doth Christ build 
 the ministration of His truth. We know of 
 nothing else as our standard. Together with this 
 we have put the old Baptist Confession of Faith 
 which was signed in the olden times by Benjamin 
 Keach, whose name is in this book. We put also 
 the declaration of the deacons, which you have just 
 heard read, printed on parchment. There is also 
 an edition of Dr. Rippon's Hymn-Book printed 
 just before he died ; and then, in the last place, 
 there is a programme of this day's proceedings." 
 
 One of the speakers present at the evening 
 meeting was Judge Payne, who, as a matter of 
 course, composed a tailpiece, besides indulging 
 in some sensible wit. " Now what does C. H. S. 
 mean ? " he asked, glancing at one of the decora- 
 tions. " Why, it means, first, Charles Haddon 
 Spurgeon ; but / do not mean that. C. H. S. 
 means a Clear Headed Speaker, who is Clever at 
 Handling Sidijects in a Cheerful Hearted Style, 
 He is a Captain of the Hosts of Surrey ; he is a 
 Cold Hating Spirit; he has Chapel Heating Skill; 
 he is a Catholic Humbug Smasher ; he is a Care- 
 Hushing Soother ; he is a Child Helping 
 
 H 
 
2IO Ti.'O Thousand Printed Sermons, 
 
 Strengthcncr ; he is a Christ Ho7iouring Sotdier; 
 and he is Christ's Ilonoured Servant." 
 
 At this meeting one of the most interesting 
 speeches of the evening was made by the Pastor's 
 father, the Rev. John Spurgeon, who also gave 
 some reminiscences of his son's youthful days 
 given elsewhere. 
 
 In i860 Mr. Spurgeon felt the pressure of 
 having to sustain a weekly publication. " No 
 man can well conceive what a drain it is upon a 
 preacher to have his sermons constantly printed," 
 he remarked ; " he can scarcely hope to avoid 
 repetition, and will be constantly in danger of 
 running dry." Having preached for the last time 
 at the Surrey Gardens on the nth of December, 
 1859, h^ adds, "This sixth year saw us sorrow- 
 fully removing from the Surrey Music- Hall to a 
 far less convenient spot." Individual sermons 
 are mentioned which had been abundantly useful 
 in the conversion of sinners, while the translation 
 of the discourses into Swedish had very greatly 
 increased the circulation. 
 
 The morning service was now conducted in 
 Exeter Hall until the 3rd of June, when Mr. 
 Spurgeon departed for the Continent on a brief 
 tour. During his absence several sermons preached 
 at New Park Street on Sabbath evenings appeared 
 in the weekly issue. He appeared again at 
 
opening of the Tabernacle. 
 
 211 
 
 Exeter Hall on the 29th of July; and on Tuesday, 
 the 2 1 St of August, gave an account of his con- 
 tinental tour to a large audience in the unfinished 
 Tabernacle. 
 
 The year 1861 saw the presentation made of 
 two hundred thousand copies of the Sermons to the 
 Universities of Oxford and Cambridge. The dis- 
 courses still continued to be published in numbers 
 of American newspapers, while they were read 
 from village pulpits in our own country. This 
 was the year of the opening of the Tabernacle, 
 and the preliminary services extended through 
 a month. The first prayer-meeting was held at 
 seven o'clock a.m., on Monday, the i 8th of March; 
 and on the afternoon of the Monday following 
 Mr. Spurgeon preached his first sermon in the 
 building, the text being Acts v. 42 : "And daily 
 in the temple, and in every house, they ceased 
 not to teach and to preach Jesus Christ." In the 
 volume of sermons for this year there are three 
 which are not by Mr. Spurgeon, the preachers 
 having been Messrs. Brock, Stowell Brown, and 
 Octavius Winslow. On the afternoon and in the 
 evening of April nth, meetings were held for 
 the Exposition of the Doctrines of Grace. After 
 an introductory address by Mr. Spurgeon the 
 following subjects were very ably handled by 
 successive speakers. Election : Mr. J. Bloomfield. 
 
212 Two Thousand Printed Sermons, 
 
 Human Depravity: Mr. Evan Probert. Particular 
 Redemption : Mr. J. A. Spurgeon. Effectual Call- 
 ing : Mr. James Smith. TJie Final Preservation 
 of the Saints : Mr. W. O'Neill. On the follow- 
 ing evening Mr. Henry Vincent gave an orai^ion 
 in the chapel on Nonconformity^ and this also 
 appears in the volume of sermons. 
 
 In 1862 a friend scattered " a large number of 
 sermons in the colleges and towns of Ireland. 
 Working with great discretion, he sowed the seed 
 so rapidly in each place that, before the foul bird, 
 the Popish priest, could hasten to stop him, the 
 work was done." 
 
 On the 30th of January Mr. Spurgeon preached 
 on the Hartley Colliery Accident, from the words 
 of Job. xiv. 14, ''If a man die, shall he live 
 again.?" The evening was wet and cold; but 
 the people nevertheless mustered in force, and the 
 sum of ;^I20 was collected for the relief fund. 
 On the 9th of November he also preached on 
 behalf of the distress in Lancashire. 
 
 In consequence of the abolition of the duty 
 on paper, the sermons commenced appearing in 
 large type in the opening of 1862. The last of 
 the small type series has a mourning border, 
 having been preached on the occasion of the 
 death of the good Prince Consort. 
 
 During the year 1863 a mention is made of 
 
A Memorable Controvei^sy, 213 
 
 the friends who send texts for the Pastor to 
 handle. "This we cannot engage to do," he says. 
 " Our h;ibit has been to look to the Lord for our 
 guidance, and when a text comes with power to 
 our soul we preach from it without hesitation ; 
 but as we dare not select our own themes, so 
 neither can we receive those suggested to us, 
 unless our Master sends them upon our heart." 
 
 The following year was the era of the great 
 Baptismal Regeneration controversy, and the fact 
 is mentioned that at the close of the year the 
 sermons on the question of baptism had reached 
 a circulation of 300,000. The principal discourse 
 was preached on the 5th of June ; and the con- 
 troversy awakened may still be estimated by the 
 scores of pamphlets which were published on 
 both sides. Before this storm had subsided the 
 Pastor dropped " The Reverend " as a ministerial 
 title. It appears for the last time on the sermon 
 number 587, and preached on August 28th. 
 In the following week, and ever since, the name 
 is printed simply, C. H. Spurgeon. 
 
 In the preface to the Sermons for 1865 it is 
 said that the " weekly circulation has during the 
 past year been fully maintained," " while proofs 
 of usefulness are as numerous and encouraging 
 as ever." With January of this year commenced 
 The Sword and the Trowel, which at once did 
 
2T4 Tzvo TJwusand Printed Scimons, 
 
 ereat service to the cause nearest the Editor's 
 heart. Towards the end of the year there ap- 
 peared a notice of a bazaar to be held in the 
 Tabernacle, the proceeds to be devoted to the 
 work of chapel building in London. " From the 
 success already achieved," said Mr. Spurgeon, " I 
 am encouraged to attempt yet greater things, 
 and to seek the erection, during the year 1866, 
 of several new buildings." Just at this time a 
 pamphlet, which has long since been forgotten, 
 occasioned the Pastor some annoyance. He was 
 compelled to give notice that he had not written 
 the brocJmre^ and that he was shocked at the 
 manner in which a professed minister of the 
 Gospel had employed his name to give weight to 
 prophecies which were ridiculous ravings. 
 
 With the close of his twelfth volume in 1866 
 the preacher rejoiced in the thought that he was 
 still teaching the same Old Gospel with w^hich he 
 had commenced. " Our twelve volumes, like the 
 sons of Jacob, can say, * we are all one man's sons. 
 we are true men.' In fundamentals we remain 
 like the oak, rooted to the same soil, although in 
 circumstantials here and there a branch spreads 
 itself otherwise than it did ten years ago. Growth 
 there should be, but not wanton change." Now 
 we begin to see the first notice of the Colportage 
 Association. Persons disposed to aid the new 
 
Mr. Spurgeon and the Quakers, 215 
 
 scheme were reminded of the " sellers of trinkets," 
 who ages ago on the Continent carried the Bible 
 in their packs as " the best of jewels " ; and of the 
 pedlars who in the seventeenth century carried 
 the best books of the Puritans throughout Eng- 
 land. It was at this time also that Mr. Spurgeon 
 appeared for the first time among the Quakers. 
 " Our belief was, and still is," he said, " that it 
 is the bounden duty of the Society of Friends in 
 these perilous times to renew more distinctly their 
 testimony against formalism, ritualism, and un- 
 spiritual worship in its many forms, and we hoped 
 that a respectful brotherly admonition m.ight be 
 accepted by them and owned of God." On the 
 6th of November he addressed a gathering of 
 twelve hundred Friends at their head-quarters in 
 Bishopsgate, feeling at the time much physical 
 pain, and weighed down with a sense of responsi- 
 bility. 
 
 After six years* wear and tear, the Tabernacle 
 was renovated in the spring of 1867, and Mr. 
 Spurgeon preached to vast congregations in the 
 Islington Agricultural Hall, on five consecutive 
 Sabbath mornings. The volume of sermons for 
 1867 was the last which contained a preface ; and 
 as the succeeding volumes come more within the 
 recollection of readers than those noticed, there is 
 no need to continue these jottings. The circula- 
 
2 1 6 Two TJiotisand Printed Scr^nons, 
 
 tion is still maintained, and the crowds attracted 
 to the Tabernacle show no signs of diminution. 
 As Mr. Spurgeon is only fifty-two, it may be 
 supposed that, according to the ordinary course of 
 nature, he has much of the best part of life before 
 him. Let friends far and near unite to pray that 
 physical strength may be granted to the preacher 
 who has been chosen of God for the accomplish- 
 ment of great things, and whose enforced inactivity 
 is a real loss to the churck, 
 
THE PREACHER'S REWARD— ANECDOTES 
 
 ABOUT THE SERMONS. 
 
"What is the crowTi of a church? Well, some churches have one 
 crown, and some another. I have heard of a church whose crown was 
 its organ — the biggest organ, the finest organ ever played, and the 
 choir the most wonderful choir that ever was. Everybody in the 
 district said, ' Now if you want to go to a place where you will have 
 fine music that is the spot.' Our musical friends may wear thatxrown 
 if they please. I will never pluck at it or decry it ; I feel no temptation 
 in that direction. I have heard of others whose crown has been the 
 intellect. There are very few people indeed, not as many people by one- 
 tenth as there are sittings, but then they are such a select people, the 
 ilite, the thoughtful and intelligent ! The ministry is such that only 
 one in a hundred can possibly understand what is said, and the one in 
 the hundred who does understand it, is therefore a most remarkable 
 person. That is their crown. Again I say I will not filch it. What- 
 ever there may be that is desirable about it, the brother who wears it, 
 shall wear it all his days for me. I have heard of other crowns ; 
 amongst the rest, that of being ' a most respectable church.' All the 
 people are respectable. The minister of course is respectable. I believe 
 he is ' Reverend,' or, 'Very Reverend,' and everybody and thing about 
 him is to the last degree 'respectable.' Fustian jackets and cotton 
 gowns are warned off by the surpassing dignity of everything in and 
 around the place. As for a working man, such a creature is never seen 
 on the premises, and could not be supposed to be ; and if he were to come 
 he would say, ' The preacher preaches double Dutch or Greek, or some- 
 thing of the sort ; he would not hear language he could understand. 
 This is not a very brilliant crown — this crown of respectability : it certainly 
 never flashed ambition into my soul. But our crown under God has 
 been this, — the poor have the Gospel preached unto them, souls are 
 saved, and Christ is glorified." — Memorial of Silver Wedding Tesii" 
 monial, pp. 33, 24. 
 
VIII. 
 
 THE PREACHER S REWARD— ANECDOTES 
 ABOUT THE SERMONS. 
 
 ONE of the peculiarities of the preaching of 
 Whitefield was the large number of persons 
 who would be convicted of sin under one sermon ; 
 but in the case of Mr. Spurgeon we have to 
 take into account the world-wide audience which, 
 through the printed sermons, he is always ad- 
 dressing. With his matchless voice, the great 
 preacher of the last century may have been able 
 to deliver his message to some twenty or thirty 
 thousand persons ; but that was a small number 
 indeed when compared with the hundreds of 
 thousands in the Old and the New World, and 
 at the antipodes, who, as may be said, make up 
 Mr. Spurgeon's regular congregation. Then, in ad- 
 dition to the English-speaking race, the sermons 
 are also being read in many foreign languages 
 into which they have been translated. The 
 position occupied by the preacher is thus quite 
 unique, nothing like it ever having been known 
 
2 20 The P7^eac Iters Rewm^d. 
 
 before. During some years past instances of use- 
 fulness of the printed sermons, under the head of 
 " Personal Notes," have appeared in The Szuord 
 ajid the Troivel, and from these we borrow our 
 illustrations for the present chapter. 
 
 We suppose that the examples of enemies 
 tamed have been many ; but one striking instavice 
 of this kind was that of a gentleman who was 
 greatly prejudiced against Mr. Spurgeon, and 
 dissenters generally, until he visited the Metro- 
 politan Tabernacle, which visit was brought about 
 in a somewhat remarkable manner. " Some time 
 after my conversion I came to London," says the 
 son of this gentleman. ^* A few weeks later my 
 father was up for a few days, and wishing to 
 see me, I proposed Sunday morning as my only 
 convenient time, and the Metropolitan Tabernacle 
 as a midway meeting-place. I so arranged that 
 we met there just as the crowds were flocking 
 into the building. As I guessed would be the 
 case, seeing such crowds pressing in, my father 
 could not resist the temptation to follow." The 
 result was that he was greatly affected by the 
 sermon — " Deep calleth unto deep," No. S65 — 
 and from being an enemy of the preacher the 
 astonished hearer was changed into one of Mr. 
 Spurgeon's most steadfast friends. " I am thank- 
 ful to testify," added his son, " that what light 
 
Giving Joy to the Poor. 221 
 
 and peace he had came through the MetropoHtan 
 Tabernacle sermons." 
 
 On one occasion a thank-offering of £^y which 
 came to the College funds, is connected with the 
 welcome story of the conversion of a prodigal. 
 The father of the young man in question derived 
 some consolation from a sermon by Mr. Spurgeon 
 on the Prodigal Son, and he sent a request that 
 the youth might be prayed for at the ordinary 
 Monday evening prayer-meeting. The prayer was 
 answered, the young man became a changed 
 character ; and the joy of the father found vent 
 in the giving of the thank-offering mentioned. 
 
 Probably it is a great joy to the Pastor to 
 know that his discourses are frequently a source 
 of great joy to the very poor among his flock. 
 A friend who visits in a certain village of 
 Middlesex tells of an old needlewoman who could 
 not attend public worship regularly. At the best 
 she was not able to earn more than a sorry 
 pittance ; but nevertheless, when on a Saturday 
 night she would find herself with no more than 
 threepence to last until Monday, she would still 
 spare a penny for the weekly sermon, after buying 
 what bread and tea she could obtain for two- 
 pence. What kind of satisfaction she found in 
 the perusal of the weekly numbers was seen in 
 her confession, to the effect that when she got 
 
2 22 The Preachers Reward. 
 
 into the cream of the sermon she would not 
 change places with the Queen herself. She was 
 often so interested that she would even forget to 
 eat her bread; but at the same time her solicitude 
 for others was so great, that when the numbers 
 accumulated she went abroad to distribute them, 
 so that others might share the blessing with 
 herself. 
 
 When the Hants Congregational Union met 
 at Bournemouth in 1881, a deacon who was 
 present enlivened the proceedings by narrating 
 the following : " About seven years since a poor 
 woman had saved up a few pounds of money 
 and was going into the town of Christchurch to 
 purchase some things. By some means she lost 
 her purse, which contained a five-pound note, 
 one pound in gold, and some fourteen shillings 
 in silver. She was much distressed at her loss, 
 and had some hand-bills circulated offering a 
 reward for the restoration of her property, A 
 person found the purse and appropriated the 
 whole of its contents, and nothing has been heard 
 of the affair until a fortnight since, when a gentle- 
 man went to the printer of the handbill and 
 asked if he could remember the incident. On 
 looking over his file he saw the bill, and the 
 whole of the circumstances came to his mind. 
 The gentleman then said, * You must ask me no 
 
A Dying Youth. 223 
 
 questions, but the purse will be restored.' A few 
 days afterwards the identical purse, with the 
 amount of money lost, and ;^3 for interest, was 
 sent to the rightful owner. TJie cause wJiich 
 brought this about was reading Spurgeons Sermons^ 
 
 There was a youth who died in 188 1 who had 
 always been an invalid ; and who just before his 
 death settled his httle money accounts, appor- 
 tioning £\o to Mr. Spurgeon's work. " As you 
 will suppose," wrote a relative to the Pastor in 
 September 188 1, "he has been for some time 
 taking an interest in your work for Christ, and 
 one of the greatest enjoyments of his life was the 
 hearing you preach one Sunday last spring. He 
 has read your sermons, etc., for a long time, and 
 distributed them among our poor neighbours. 
 His life has been one of much suffering, chiefly 
 from asthma; but now consumption is carrying him 
 off, and he is lying in the most peaceful, tranquil 
 state, waiting the Master's call." The sufferer 
 said he should value a word from Mr. Spurgeon ; 
 but although the Pastor wrote by return of post 
 his interesting correspondent died before the 
 letter could reach him. 
 
 Among the converts from Ritualism a case 
 occurred of a young man who yielded to the 
 seductions of that Romanising sect after he had 
 been educated as a nonconformist. He became a 
 
2 24 1^^^^ P readier s Rezuard. 
 
 thorough Anglican, he e\en went to confession to 
 his vicar; but when disease set in and showed him 
 that he must shortly leave the present world, he 
 found that the specious doctrines of his new friends 
 would not do, and probably he had never very 
 sincerely believed in them. Of course he had 
 heard of Mr. Spurgeon ; and having expressed a 
 desire to see some of his Vv-orks, the wish was very 
 readily complied with, and the invalid then found 
 what he wanted. A Christian friend also con- 
 versed w^ith him, until at last the young man 
 rshowed the possession of a triumphant faith, 
 and so he died. 
 
 A friend who happened to be travelling through 
 Nottingham was asked to visit a dying woman at 
 a public-house ; but instead of wanting any in- 
 struction or consolation, the woman was found to 
 be rejoicing in Christ ; and on being asked how 
 she had found such peace, she showed a piece of 
 torn newspaper containing a passage from one 
 of Mr. Spurgeon's Sermons, and which had come 
 with a parcel from Australia. " Talk about the 
 hidden life of the good seed ! " remarked the 
 friend referred to. " Think of that sermon 
 preached in London, conveyed to America, an 
 extract reprinted in a newspaper there, that 
 paper sent to Australia, part then torn off (as we 
 should say accidentally), the parcel dispatched to 
 
Novel Mode of Distribution. 225 
 
 England, and, after all its wanderings, conveys the 
 message of salvation to the woman's soul, God's 
 Word shall not return to Him void." 
 
 An evangelist to whom the sermons were 
 supplied gratuitously by a friend thus shows 
 how the numbers may be widely distributed in a 
 country district: "I know a baker in Norfolk, and 
 to him I send some to distribute among the poor 
 families to whom he delivers his bread, as he goes 
 through the village with his cart. In the same 
 way, by post and other means, to other individuals, 
 as to so many centres, getting them to lend them 
 from house to house amongst their neighbours. I 
 make a few sermons reach a wide circle, chiefly 
 among those who else would never see them. 
 Nor has this been without results, as I have from 
 time to time intimated. Scores have felt in a 
 measure what one woman experienced from 
 reading one ; it gave her so much comfort that she 
 told me she had read it a hundred times, and that 
 with undiminished pleasure, and wore it in her 
 bosom until she tore it to tatters." 
 
 Of the manner in which the sermons are read 
 by the clergy, and also used by them to good 
 purpose, is shown by Mrs. Spurgeon in her work 
 on the Book Fund ; but of course many other 
 examples might be given. Thus, in one instance, 
 a certain evangelical clergyman, who was quite as 
 
 IS 
 
2 26 The Preachers Reward, 
 
 useful as he was popular, accidentally left his bag 
 at a country railway-station in Kent. The raiU 
 way authorities looked into the bag, as they are 
 accustomed to do, in order to discover, if possible, 
 some trace of ownership ; but on this occasion no 
 revelation was forthcoming beyond what could 
 be given by a number of marked and otherwise 
 well-used copies of Mr. Spurgeon's sermons. In 
 due time a telegram arrived to ask the station- 
 master to kindly forward the bag to its reverend 
 owner, who possibly would have continued his 
 useful labours with more difficulty had the bag 
 been irrecoverably lost. 
 
 Our friends in the North have ever regarded 
 Mr. Spurgeon as one of their most favourite 
 divines ; and thus I will /low give some facts 
 illustrative of the work of the sermons in Scotland. 
 
 In I 88 1 a certain fisherman sent to the Pastor 
 a very pleasantly-told account of his conversion : 
 " I rem.ember a colporteur coming to my mother's 
 house, and he asked me if I would buy a book," 
 our northern friend remarks. " ' Yes,' says I, * if 
 you have got any ballads, that is, Scotch songs.* 
 So he says to me, ' If you give me a piece of fish 
 I will give you something that will do you more 
 good than ballads.' I saw he desired my good^ 
 so I gave him half a codfish, and he gave me 
 one of your sermons. The text was, ' Look unto 
 
A Highland Coimmi7iity. 227 
 
 Me and be ye saved, all the ends of the earth ; for 
 I am God and there is none else.' (" Sovereignty 
 and Salvation," No. 60.) While reading that 
 sermon the blessed Spirit of God enlightened my 
 understanding, and I saw Jesus set before me as 
 my Saviour. Blessed hour ! Happy day ! Jesus 
 washed my sins away." 
 
 On one occasion a certain pastor lost himself 
 in one of the Highland glens ; he found the 
 natives to be a kindly race, and although they 
 had little notion of either Lord Beaconsfield or 
 Mr. Gladstone, they were extremely familiar with 
 the name of Spurgeon. " They had a sort of 
 knowledge of that name, for they read your 
 sermons, and fetched a lot out to show me that 
 they did so," remarked the pastor referred to. 
 " I assure you," he adds, " I never saw any man's 
 works with such signs of use upon them. There 
 was no kirk in the glen, so on Sundays they got 
 together and had a service, the scholar of the 
 place reading the sermon." One aged pilgrim 
 declared he would go to Glasgow on his hands 
 and knees to see the preacher ; and though hardly 
 competent to walk as many yards without effort, 
 as it was miles to the commercial metropolis, the 
 light in his eye bespoke his intense earnestness. 
 
 On the little island called the Skerries Rock 
 there is a lighthouse, and, including the keepers of 
 
228 The Preacher s Reward, 
 
 this, there were in all sixteen individuals in the 
 place ; and having no church they can go to, they 
 are accustomed to conduct a service for themselves 
 on the Lord's Day. "Thus," says The Free Church 
 Monthly for December 1882, "the words to which 
 thousands in London listen every week, and which 
 are read in every corner of the world, are feeding 
 and comforting the sixteen inhabitants of a lonely 
 rock, beaten by the fierce waters that surge in the 
 Pentland Firth." 
 
 While staying at a certain health-resort, a kind- 
 hearted friend laid a number of the serm.ons on 
 the table of the coffee-room at the hotel ; but 
 while many were pleased to have an opportunity 
 of reading the numbers, there was a certain "stiff 
 aged churchman " who protested against the in- 
 troduction of " the works of a man who cursed 
 our church." Then a Christian lady came to 
 the help of the Quakeress, telling how both she 
 and her husband prized the sermons highly, and 
 how useful they had been in a district at Aberdeen. 
 In that city there had dwelt a soldier "whose 
 hardened, wretched condition baffled all the 
 Christian labours bestowed upon him, until she 
 lent him * Only Trust Him' (No. 1635)," when 
 that became instrumental in his conversion. Then 
 "Jesus Only" (No. 924) had proved equally 
 useful in the case of a Romanist, a most miserable 
 
Softening of an ''Old Rebel!' 229 
 
 being, who till that moment was placing her 
 dependence in confession and penance. The 
 transformation of both of these was described as 
 having been really remarkable. Still more striking, 
 however, was the change which came over the 
 venerable churchman after the lady who had 
 given these instances had departed. He even 
 allowed his Quaker friend to read to him the 
 sermons which had proved so useful, and re- 
 marked, " The venom is passing away. I feel it 
 going. I shall buy those sermons and send 
 them to my Broad Church son, and I hope they 
 will do him and his wife good, and that he will 
 preach them in his church." The gentleman 
 went even so far as to confess that the discourses 
 had " softened an old rebel." This is a memorable 
 instance of the power of the Word. 
 
 When he was in Scotland in the summer of 
 1883, Mr. Spurgeon heard of many instances of 
 usefulness through the sermons, especially in lonely 
 Highland districts. "In one far-away village in 
 the north," it is remarked, " the little country 
 shop is opened on Saturdays expressly for the 
 sale of the sermons ; and what the customers 
 want is so clearly understood, that often not a 
 word is spoken by either buyer or seller, but the 
 people walk in, put down the penny, and march 
 off with the sermon that is to be their Sabbath 
 
The Preacher s Reward, 
 
 feast. In a Convalescent Home every Sabbath 
 evening during the winter the matron reads one 
 of the sermons to the inmates, who appear to be 
 very grateful for them." 
 
 Not very long ago, or in 1884, one of Mr. 
 Spurgeon's evangelists gave a very telling anec 
 dote : " A woman in Scotland who was determined, 
 as far as possible, not to have anything to do 
 with religion, threw her Bible, and all the tracts 
 she could find in her house, into the fire. One 
 of the tracts fell down out of the flames, so she 
 picked it up and thrust it in again. A second time 
 it slipped down, and once more she put it back. 
 Again her evil intention was frustrated, but the 
 next time she was more successful, though even 
 then only half of it was consumed. Taking up 
 the portion that fell out of the fire she exclaimed, 
 
 * Surely the devil is in that tract, for it won't burn ! ' 
 Her curiosity was excited ; she began to read it, 
 and it was the means of her conversion. The 
 
 * tract ' was one of the sermons published in The 
 Metropolitan Tabernacle Pulpit. Verily, that ser- 
 mon, and the woman too, were saved, yet so as 
 by fire." 
 
 The above instances sufficiently testify to the 
 popularity of the sermons in Scotland ; but accord- 
 ing to the witness of a certain Methodist minister, 
 who wrote in 1880, the discourses are equally 
 
TJie Sermons in Ulster, 231 
 
 valued in some parts of Ireland. " Many a time 
 these few years I have wondered whether you 
 know that you are preaching in unnumbered pulpits 
 every Lord's Day, in many cases word for word as 
 reported in your volumes," remarks this friend 
 in a letter to Mr. Spurgeon. " You are aware, 1 
 suppose, that the weekly sermon is read by two- 
 thirds of the Protestants in Ulster ? In some 
 cases ten families join in taking it, and lend it 
 from one to another." After this we need not 
 wonder that the Protestants of Ulster should 
 regard Mr. Spurgeon as their adviser-in-general, 
 even on political matters ; and that they should 
 have asked his opinion in regard to Plome Rule 
 v/hen they were threatened with Mr. Gladstone's 
 innovations. 
 
 We believe it was a Welsh dame who remarked, 
 that if he only wanted one of his eyes Mr. Spurgeon 
 would be worthy to come after Christmas Evans ; 
 but be that as it may, the preacher's utterances are 
 as well calculated to be useful in Wales as else- 
 where. In one instance, at least, the good which 
 a couple of young men derived from the reading of 
 the sermons did not end with themselves. They 
 were encouraged to begin a Sabbath-school, and 
 having commenced in two cottages with five 
 scholars, they soon v.anted more room, and they 
 progressed until at length they were enabled to 
 
232 TJie Preacher s Rciuard. 
 
 put up a building in which between two and 
 tliice hundred children could be taught at once. 
 Bc)ond this, they took care to circulate more 
 than eighty copies of the sermons every week. 
 
 At Bryher, which is one of the Scilly Isles, the 
 hundred and twenty persons who make up tiie 
 population have a chapei as well as a church for 
 their accommodation; and when service is held in 
 the one place the custom is for the other to be 
 closed. In 1880, when the intelligence was re- 
 ceived, it was a usuar thing for the sexton and 
 clerk of the church to read one of Mr. Spurgeon's 
 sermons in the chapel, and then to give out 
 Wesley's Hymns for the little congregation to 
 sing, when the Anglican establishment was 
 closed. 
 
 The circulation of the sermons in the United 
 States is very large, for not only are separate 
 volumes issued, the newspapers appropriate each 
 weekly issue as their own, so that the gcn^Tal 
 diffusion is more widespread than can very readily 
 be realized. It is quite possible that the readers 
 are even more numerous in the United States 
 than they are in the United Kingdom. It will 
 be remembered by many that some years ago 
 an enterprising American undertook to telegraph 
 each Sunday morning sermon across the Atlantic, 
 in order that the readers in more than one 
 
Readers iii the U72iled States, 233 
 
 American city might read on Monday morning 
 what was spoken at the Metropolitan Tabernacle 
 on the day before. 
 
 A letter received by Mr. Spurgeon in 1880 
 shows how his utterances may convey comfort 
 as well as instruction into the most out-of-the- 
 way corners of the American continent. " Several 
 weeks ago I lay ill, far away from London, in the 
 wilds of Florida," remarks the writer. " Weak 
 and faint-hearted, I lay pondering on the strange 
 providence of the Master, when one of your ser- 
 mons was placed in my hands. The refreshing 
 shower revived me and gave me fresh hope and 
 courage, and I rose from my sick couch to strive 
 still more earnestly to gain access to the hearts 
 of those by whom I am surrounded, and to-day, in 
 a small class that I have formed out here in the 
 wilderness, the Lord made His presence felt, and 
 blessed us with an awakening that I have never 
 seen here before, and tears of repentance were 
 shed by many. I am so full of joy and gratitude 
 to God that I felt, indeed I longed, to let you 
 know that jour influence as an instrument had 
 even reached this place." 
 
 Thus, the influence seems to reach to the very 
 ends of the earth, and the personal testimony of 
 one friend is frequently outdone by that of 
 another. Thus, in 1881, a pastor in Tennessee 
 
2 34 '1^^^ P?'eachers Reward. 
 
 made this confession : "Nine years ago I was 
 a wild young man, but I was converted through 
 reading one of Mr. Spurgeon's sermons, and I am 
 now the minister of a large and influential church. 
 The Lord's name be magnified ! " 
 
 The tidings which come from the Far West 
 are no less cheering. Writing to Mr. Spurgeon in 
 1882, a correspondent in Minnesota said : — -" You 
 will be pleased to hear that in this Western 
 country, and in this village of six hundred inhabi- 
 tants, Mr. Spurgeon's books are much valued. I 
 have seen them in several houses here. In the 
 Wesleyan minister's a volume or two of sermons. 
 In another house Morning By Morning, In 
 another, that of an old saint, The Saint and His 
 Saviour^ which he esteems as very precious, saying, 
 with emphatic tone, when he speaks of it, ' This is 
 Mr. Spurgeon's first book, and he has written 
 many since, but never one to surpass this,' though 
 the dear old man has not read a tithe of Mr. 
 Spurgeon's publications." 
 
 In 1884, the editor of a paper published in 
 New York, in which Mr. Spurgeon's sermons are 
 regularly issued, sent word to England that he 
 had recently heard of several remarkable cases in 
 which desperately wicked characters had abandoned 
 their ways through reading the Pastor's discourses. 
 Particular reference is made to an exceptionally 
 
Mr. Spurgcon and President Garfield. 235 
 
 wicked character : " One aged reprobate, sixty 
 years old, died last week, whose last two years 
 were in startling contrast to all his past life. 
 The transformation was the wonder of the neigh- 
 bourhood for its completeness. From being a 
 public terror he became a public blessing, as gentle 
 and as kind as a woman. He was delivered from 
 drunkenness, profanity, unchastity, and blood- 
 shedding." On his death-bed this man desired 
 that Mr. Spurgeon might be told of the grateful 
 change which his sermons had been instrumental 
 in effecting. 
 
 In 1882 the widow of the murdered President 
 Garfield wrote to Mr. Spurgeon ; " It is a choice 
 treasure from my storehouse of beautiful memories 
 that I sat beside General Garfield in the Metro- 
 politan Tabernacle one bright summer Sunday 
 morning (August 4th, 1867), and Hstened to your 
 voice. I have this morning re-read from his 
 journal the account of that day. A sentence from 
 it may interest you. After describing very fully 
 his impressions of the great audience, of the 
 preacher, and of the sermon, he closes thus : — 
 ' God bless Spurgeon ! He is helping to work 
 out the problem of religious and civil freedom for 
 England in a way that he knows not of " 
 
 In 1880 a young Scotchman, who died of 
 an incurable disease in the General Hospital at 
 
 / 
 
236 TJic Preacher s Reward. 
 
 Montreal, gave a fine testimony to the influence 
 of Mr. Spurgeon's sei mons ; and a Christian 
 friend who visited him in his last illness sent an 
 account of the case to one of the journals of the 
 city : — " The one and only matter of his reading, 
 next to the Bible, was Charles H. Spurgeon's 
 sermons : of these he never tired. Biographies 
 of eminent Scotchmen like Norman Macleod and 
 William Arnot were taken to him, but as he put 
 them aside he would say, * Spurgcon is always 
 the same, but always satisfying, for he makes 
 you forget himself, as he holds up Him who 
 is fairer than the children of men.' " The 
 preacher's works find ready acceptance in Canada, 
 where the Pastors' College has a separate Asso- 
 ciation. 
 
 To come back to the Continent of Europe, we 
 find that the sermons even have readers among 
 the fishermen of the Mediterranean. A lady tells 
 of an adventure which happened in 1883, and 
 which shows in what sense this is true. While 
 staying at Cette, on the French coast, she went 
 out with a party in a boat on the sea, but in 
 consequence of an adverse gale the craft would 
 have been driven out until their lives would have 
 been endangered had not an Italian fisherman in 
 a sailing-boat gone to the rescue. Subsequently, 
 the fisherman called at the hotel accompanied 
 
TJie Sermons in Switzerland. ly/ 
 
 by his uncle ; and the latter explained that, 
 although they were Roman Catholics, he had the 
 New Testament in French and English as well as 
 in his own language — and he was a reader of 
 Mr. Spurgeon's sermons. 
 
 Many of the so-called Reformed Churches in 
 Switzerland need a second reformation, and this 
 might well be brought about by a wider diffusion 
 of Mr. Spurgeon's works among the people. In 
 1 88 1, a young lady who applied for baptism to 
 a Baptist minister in England gave a brief account 
 of her history, and showed that she was a repre- 
 sentative example of the wants of the country. 
 Here is her testimony : — " My parents were 
 members of the Protestant Established Church in 
 Switzerland ; but though I attended the ordinan- 
 cies, and observed the ceremonies^ I always felt 
 that I was a hypocrite, for I never believed in 
 them, but desired something which I could never 
 get in the Church. When I came to England I 
 read a sermon by Mr. Spurgeon which did me 
 good. John Ploitghmafis Talk, though funny, wac 
 made a great blessing to m,e. I then bought his 
 sermons, and read them, and I am now happy to 
 say that I am trusting in Jesus. When I return 
 . home I shall distribute these sermons, which have 
 been so blessed to me." Thus the reading of 
 the discourses tends to the multiplication of dis- 
 
238 The Preacher s Reivard. 
 
 tributors, so that the good influence never ceases 
 to extend. 
 
 Perhaps, on the whole, the Gospel is preached 
 more fully in Denmark than in the once favoured 
 and beautiful land where the Reformation found a 
 refuge ; but even in the picturesque and out-of- 
 the-way corners of Northern Europe Mr. Spurgeon's 
 sermons, translated into the vernacular, are doing 
 good service. By way of illustration take thii. 
 characteristic note which a worthy Dane sent to 
 the preacher in 1880 : — '* Through twelve of your 
 sermons, which are translated into Danish, I and 
 my household have this winter been acquainted with 
 your Christian announcement, and we thank you 
 for every clearing and edifying word. We seceded 
 from the Established Church a year ago, because 
 we have so evidently seen the tragical conse- 
 quences of the connection between the Church and 
 the State, and we could not possibly act contrary 
 to the conviction forced upon us by the New 
 Testament, viz., the incorrectness of the infant 
 baptism." The denomination which Mr. Spurgeoii 
 represents has obtained a very respectable foot- 
 ing in Denmark ; for although the population is 
 under two millions, who for the most part are 
 Lutherans, the Baptists are able to muster be- 
 tween three and four thousand members. 
 
 The vast empire of Russia, needing the 
 
In the InteiHor of Russia, 239 
 
 Scriptures in a great number of languages, is no 
 small world in itself. Early in this century, when 
 the Bible Society began its great mission, the 
 pious Emperor Alexander was a leading patron of 
 the work ; and although religion was checked in 
 its progress during the ascendency of Nicolas, 
 there has since been a revival of activity, the 
 circulation of Mr. Spurgeon's sermons being also 
 one of the signs of the times. Writing in 1881 
 to Mr. Spurgeon, a minister stationed at St. 
 Petersburg says : *' By your sermons, etc., you are 
 having a part in the great work of spreading 
 Christ's kingdom both in St. Petersburg and in 
 the interior. You are well known among the 
 priests, who seem to get hold of your translated 
 sermons, and, strange to say, I know cases in 
 which the Censor has readily given consent for 
 your works to be translated when he has been 
 reluctant respecting many." Another friend in 
 the Russian capital made it his business to cir- 
 culate as many of the translated copies as he 
 could procure, the priests apparently being the 
 most eager recipients. 
 
 Another friend in Russia, who wrote in 1880, 
 says : " I came to this country about twenty-four 
 years ago, and have been about in various parts of 
 the interior ever since. . . I have a wife and eight 
 children. A few weeks ago I explained to them 
 
240 The Preacher s Reward. 
 
 llie meaning of the Orphanage, and appealed to 
 their feelings ; the result was that I was authorised 
 to go to their savings-bank and take out three 
 roubles forty kopecks as the children's contribution. 
 We have now made up the sum to fifty-five 
 roubles, which will be forwarded to you from St. 
 Petersburg by a cheque." 
 
 In the more remote parts of the Czar's vast 
 empire Mr. Spurgeon's works are not only known, 
 but are promoting the spiritual enlightenment of 
 the people in a way no less striking than gratify- 
 ing. Writing to the Pastor from Warschaw in 
 1882, Mr. F. H. Newton, of the German Baptist 
 Mission, thus refers to his adventures : " I have 
 during the last few weeks been visiting a number 
 of our Baptist Churches in Silesia and Russian 
 Poland ; and I think you will be interested to hear 
 of their activity and Christian faith. In almost 
 every town and village one of the first enquiries 
 put to me is, And how is Brother Spiirgeon ? 
 In many of the outlying stations, where no stated 
 missionary can be sustained, your printed sermons 
 are regularly made use of: and I am sure you 
 will be thankful to our one Master to learn that 
 here in Poland, and elsewhere, many of the Church 
 members attribute their first religious awakening 
 to hearing some of those sermons read. In the 
 meetings which I have conducted in various towns 
 
Readers in Labrado7\ 24 1 
 
 during this tour, I have frequently taken the 
 opportunity of referring to the work of God which 
 you are carrying on in London and elsewhere ; 
 and I have thought it only right to tell you of the 
 warm and frequent salutations that are entrusted 
 to me for yourself from our poor and out-of- 
 the-way Baptist brethren in these parts. They 
 especially rejoice to learn that your sons are also 
 preaching the Word, and are particularly inter- 
 ested in the Book Fund established by PVau 
 Spurgeon." 
 
 Labrador is an interesting country, not only on 
 account of its brief charming summers and terrible 
 winters. The people are mainly Roman Catholics, 
 one reason being that a mission of that sect 
 is maintained in the country. In 1884 a New 
 York paper contained this piece of intelligence : 
 — " All last winter, in the little mission on the 
 Labrador coast, Mr. Spurgeon's sermons were read 
 in the Mission Church, Sunday by Sunday, by the 
 lady teachers, who were left by themselves for 
 eight months, through the failing health of the 
 devoted missionary who laboured there for many 
 years. These simple services on the Sunday and 
 weekday evenings, when these sermons were the 
 staple of the teaching given, were greatly blessed 
 by God. Many sailors came from the ships 
 anchored off the coast, and> with the resident 
 
 16 
 
242 The Preachers Rizuard. 
 
 fishermen, eagerly listened to the Word of Life, 
 and not only were their hearts cheered and 
 comforted, but some were brought to a knowledge 
 of the truth as it is in Christ Jesus." 
 
 One distributor of the sermons among the 
 natives of the Falkland Islands found that they 
 were very thankfully received; and in 1880 a 
 somewhat remarkable letter was received from a 
 Red Kaffir, who resided at Port Elizabeth, South 
 Africa. Being full of joy and peace, the man 
 explained how the transformation had been 
 effected : " One day as I was going to my daily 
 work I met a friend of mine in the street. We 
 spoke about the Word of God, and he asked me 
 whether I had ever seen one of Mr. Spurgeon's 
 books. I said, 'What Mr. Spurgeon is that — one 
 of the Independent ministers in London } ' and I 
 said, * No, 1 never saw such a book in my life.' 
 He said he bought it from the bookseller. I 
 asked the name of the book, and he said it was 
 The Metropolitan Tabernacle Pitlpit^ and I went 
 straight to the shop and bought one. I have 
 read a good bit of it. ... I am sure I can't tell 
 how to describe the goodness you have done to 
 us, the black people of South Africa. We are 
 not black only outside, even inside ; I wouldn't 
 mind to be a black man only in colour. It is a 
 terrible thing to be a black man from the soul 
 
An Encouraging Relic, 243 
 
 to the skin ; but still I am very glad to say your 
 sermons have done something good to me." 
 
 Two missionaries labouring in Greece once 
 testified to Mr. Spurgeon : " Your sermons are to 
 us like rain upon a dry land. We have no 
 church to attend, and no friends to associate 
 with." Similar testimony in regard to the great 
 assistance received from the printed sermons 
 comes from South Australia. In 1881 Pastor 
 Thomas Spurgeon, of Auckland, enclosed a piece 
 of The Melbourne Argus, which contained the 
 sermon No. 735 — "Loving Advice for Anxious 
 Seekers," with this explanation, addressed to his 
 mother : " This scrap of newspaper has been 
 given to me by a town missionary here, who 
 regards it as a very precious relic. It came to 
 him from a man who died in the hospital, and 
 bequeathed it to his visitor as a great treasure. 
 The man found it on the floor of a hut in 
 Australia, and was brought by its perusal to a 
 knowledge of the truth as it is in Jesus. He 
 kept it carefully while he lived (for it was dis- 
 coloured and torn when he found it), and on his 
 death-bed he gave it to the missionary as the 
 only treasure he had to leave behind him. I 
 thought dear father might like to have it in his 
 book ; if not, send it back to me, that I may 
 return it to its owner, who says he often feeb 
 
244 ^'^' Preachers Reward. 
 
 encouraged by glancing at it. It was his desire, 
 however, that I should send it home, that the 
 dear preacher might be encouraged." 
 
 There was a certain Christian gentleman who 
 had some of the sermons inserted in the Aus- 
 tralian new^spapers, himself paying the heavy cost. 
 The above may have been one of these insertions. 
 Another instance was that of a shepherd, who 
 read a sermon in one of the journals while look- 
 ing after his sheep, and the truth reached his 
 heart. After his conversion he asked a clergy- 
 man, who was holding services at a gold-field, 
 to give him Christian work ; and after beginning 
 as a Sunday-school teacher, he w^ent on till he 
 became himself a preacher to gold-diggers. 
 
 As it is on the mainland, so is it in the islands 
 of the Australasian world. The wife of a pastor 
 in Tasmania once said, in a letter to her father : 
 " If Mr. Spurgeon knew how his sermons are 
 appreciated in our southern forests, Avhcre no 
 preachers have been for years until my dear 
 husband went to them, and how many cases of 
 conversion he met with through the reading of 
 them, he would be amazed, and rejoice with un- 
 speakable joy." 
 
 The sermons are also read in India, many 
 educated natives, including even some Brahmans, 
 finding great pleasure in the perusal. Having 
 
A Brahman on '* Dr, Spiirgeon'^ 245 
 
 had presented to him No. 1500 of The Metro- 
 politan Tabernacle Pulpit^ a Brahman B.A. of 
 Madras University wrote this critique on the 
 discourse, and sent it to a friend : " The few 
 minutes I have been reading these sermons daily 
 were spent very agreeably. I always considered 
 Dr. Spurgeon the best orator. I see even the 
 best can improve ; as Dr. Spurgeon excels all 
 orators, so his 1500th sermon excels all his other 
 sermons. I doubt very much whether he himself 
 can deliver .such another sermon, but that is 
 going too far. I envy those that hear personally 
 Dr. Spurgeon preach." 
 
 In another instance a Christian lady lent a 
 volume of the sermons to a Mahometan, and 
 some time after was rewarded by receiving the 
 following note ; " Your sermon book has, indeed, 
 converted me to Christianity. I do believe in 
 Christ our Lord, and so long as my belief in Him 
 is firmly rooted, I do not care what I may be 
 called in the outer world. Mr. Spurgeon appears 
 to be an extraordinary man." No one who 
 properly apprehends the situation can doubt that, 
 in proportion as the Gospel extends in our vast 
 Indian empire, the circulation of these sermons 
 will also extend. 
 
 The sermons are also found on the sea ; and 
 many during a season of enforced leisure find in 
 
246 7 he Preacher s Rezuard. 
 
 them the truth that reaches the heart. Not very 
 long ago ]\Ir. A. G. Brown told his people this 
 story of a conversion through reading while on 
 the ocean : — 
 
 " There came to me here one day a grand- 
 looking fellow. I had not to ask whether he 
 did business on the water, for the sea-breeze had 
 kissed his brow so often that it had left its mark 
 there. I said, * Where did you find the Lord 1 ' 
 In a moment he answered, ''Latitude 25, Longi- 
 tude 54.' I confess that rather puzzled me. I 
 had heard of people finding Jesus Christ in these 
 galleries, and down these aisles, and in all sorts 
 of places, but here was something quite different. 
 * Latitude 25, Longitude 54! What do you 
 mean } ' He said, ' I was sitting on deck, and 
 out of a bundle of papers before me I pulled one 
 of Spurgeon's sermons. I began to read it. As 
 I read it I saw the truth, and I received Jesus 
 in my heart. I jumped off the coil of ropes 
 saved. I thought if I were on shore I would 
 know where I was saved, and why should I not 
 know on the sea ? And so I took my latitude 
 and longitude.'" 
 
 The sermons thus reach all classes ; and not 
 only are they instrumental in the conversion of 
 sinners, large numbers of Christian people are 
 by their perusal built up in the faith. The 
 
A Striking Testimony, 247 
 
 audience addressed week by week is truly a 
 world-wide one. 
 
 At the outset of his career in London, and 
 while preaching at New Park Street Chapel on 
 October 7th, 1855, Mr. Spurgeon himself referred 
 to the extended influence he was even then 
 beginning to exercise on the world through the 
 press, e.g. : — 
 
 " Oh to think that we may write and print 
 books which shall reach poor sinners' hearts ! 
 The other day my soul was gladdened exceed- 
 ingly by an invitation from a pious woman to 
 go and see her. She told me she had been ten 
 years on her bed, and had not been able to stir 
 from it. * Nine years,' she said, * I was dark, 
 and blind, and unthinking ; but my husband 
 brought me one of your sermons. I read it, 
 and God blessed it to the opening of my eyes. 
 He converted my soul with it. And now — all 
 glory to Him — I love His name 1 Each Sabbath 
 morning,' she said, * I wait for your sermon. 
 I live on it all the week, as marrow and fatness 
 to my spirit.' Ah ! thought I, there is some- 
 thing to cheer the printers, and all of us who 
 labour in that good work. One good brother 
 wrote to me this week, * Brother Spurgeon, keep 
 your courage up. You are known in multitudes of 
 households of England, and you are loved too ; 
 
248 The Preacher s Reward. 
 
 though we cannot hear you, or see your living 
 form, yet throughout our villages your sermons 
 are scattered. And I know of cases of conversion 
 from them, more than I can tell you.' Another 
 friend mentioned to me an instance of a clergy- 
 man of the Church of England, a canon of a 
 Cathedral, who frequently preaches the sermons 
 on the Sabbath — whether in the Cathedral or 
 not I cannot say, but I hope he does. Oh ! who 
 can tell when these things are printed what 
 hearts they may reach, what good they may 
 effect } Words that I spoke three weeks ago 
 eyes are now perusing, while tears are gushing 
 from them as they read ! Glory be to God most 
 high ! " 
 
 The sermons have become one of the institu- 
 tions of the church in both the Old and the New 
 Wt^rld. What should also be universally known 
 is, that the preacher has virtually ministered to 
 his church and congregation for nothing ; that 
 is to say, the income received has all been given 
 away in furtherance of the Lord's work in many 
 departments 
 
MR. SPVRGEOirs BOOKS, 
 
" It may be added that though the comments were the work of my 
 heahh, the rest of the volume is the product of my sickness. When 
 protracted illness and weakness laid me aside from daily preaching, I 
 resorted to my pen as an available means of doing good- I would have 
 preached had I been able, but as my Master denied me the privilege of 
 thus serving Him, I gladly availed myself of the other method of bearing 
 testimony for His name." — The Treasury of David, Preface to Vol. I. 
 
 " I prepared these figures and metaphors that they may serve as 
 feathers for arrows, arrows of Gospel truth which I pray may be made 
 sharp in the hearts of the King's enemies." — Feathers for Arrows. 
 
 "I have somewhat indulged the mirthful vein, but ever with so 
 serious a purpose that I ask no forgiveness. Those who see a virtue 
 in dulness have full permission to condemn, for a sufficient number 
 will approve." — John Ploughmatis Pictures. 
 
IX. 
 MR, SPURGEON'S BOOKS, 
 
 SOON after he came to London Mr. Spurgeon 
 appeared before the world as an author ; and 
 each successive year has so added to his works 
 in this department that, inclusive of the magazine, 
 nearly a hundred volumes have been sent out. If 
 the reader will accept the paradox, Mr. Spurgeon 
 has never written sermons, although during twenty 
 years his sermons have been to him an exercise 
 in writing. In one of those autobiographical 
 articles with which he sometimes enriches the 
 pages of The Szvord and the Trowely he says : 
 " The earlier sermons, owing to my constant 
 wanderings abroad, received scarcely any revision, 
 and consequently they abound in colloquialisms 
 and other offences, very venial in extempore dis- 
 course, but scarcely tolerable in print ; the latter 
 specimens are more carefully corrected, and the 
 work of revision has been a very useful exercise 
 to me, supplying, in great measure, that training 
 in correct language which is obtained by those 
 
252 Mr. Spzti'geoiis Books, 
 
 who write their productions before they deliver 
 them. The labour has been far greater than 
 some suppose, and has usually occupied the best 
 hours of Monday, and involved the burning of no 
 'nconsiderable portion of midnight oil. Feeling 
 that I had a constituency well deserving my best 
 efforts, I have never grudged the hours, though 
 often the brain has been wearied, and the pleasure 
 has hardened into a task." 
 
 After reading the above explanation we well 
 understand how tongue and pen have worked 
 together to redound to the advantage of both. 
 As a young man Mr. Spurgeon did not enter- 
 tain very enlarged views concerning the dignity 
 of authorship, and his expectations in regard 
 to the profits of a writer were of a very modest 
 kind. He commenced by committing a mistake 
 for which he paid dear. The copyright of The 
 Saint and His Saviour which would have been 
 cheap at ;£■ 1,000, was sold for a twentieth part 
 of that sum ; and the small honorarium was never 
 supplemented by the fortunate publishers. That 
 mistake has not been repeated ; and his literary 
 works have, since that day, been sufficiently varied 
 and numerous to represent the fruits of a busy 
 literary life quite apart from the regular issue of 
 the sermons. Hence it appears that a pheno- 
 menon is now seen in the printing and publishing 
 
A Hard-Wo7' Icing AutJior, 253 
 
 world which it would be hard to parallel-— exten- 
 sive printing works in one part of the city, and 
 a publishing house in another quarter, are in the 
 main supplied with grist from the study of one 
 man, and that man a Baptist minister, preaching 
 what many call " narrow theology." Yet they 
 who class the sermons among " narrow " produc- 
 tions will not forget that they are sown over a 
 broader field than is the case with the discourses 
 of any other preacher. 
 
 Though Mr. Spurgeon is continually suffering 
 from the effects of over-work, the public is still 
 exacting in its demands ; and to judge by the 
 editions issued, readers eagerly welcome each 
 successive offspring of the author's diligent appli- 
 cation. Though JoJm Ploughman is the Pastor's 
 most popular character. The Treasury of David 
 is his magnum opus. In the first he writes like 
 one who can do taskwork well ; amid the green 
 pastures and quiet waters of the Psalms he 
 explores a congenial land where every advance 
 reveals new beauties, and where labour yields a 
 sweet reward. 
 
 The Treasury of David, just completed in 
 seven octavo volumes, has the virtue of being the 
 production of a writer who has been in love with 
 the Psalms from his youth ; and, indeed, this 
 enthusiasm for the subject was necessary, for the 
 
2 54 ^^'^' Spitrgeons Books, 
 
 work has been only completed after more than 
 twenty years of arduous labour. The exposition 
 bespeaks its author throughout ; it abounds in 
 that epigrammatic wisdom which is a sure mark 
 of original genius. Commentaries of olden times 
 — Manton's " long-metre edition of Psalm cxix." 
 being a well-known example — rather alarmed than 
 attracted inquisitive readers ; but after tasting 
 of Mr. Spurgeon's fare, a self-indulgent literary 
 epicure might desire to come again. The book, 
 with its ample store of illustrations, gathered from 
 the entire field of literature, ought to have enter- 
 tained Dr. Johnson on a journey even better than 
 Cocker's Arithmetic. While it is a rich storehouse 
 for the use of professional men, another, seeking 
 relaxation from the wear and tear of commerce, 
 might make the book a companion on a summer 
 holiday. What is it but the triumph of genius 
 when studies, hitherto supposed to be only 
 suitable for ministers and collegians, are made 
 attractive to general readers } 
 
 Here and there a metrical version of a favourite 
 psalm is inserted to make an agreeable variation. 
 In another place scientific infidels are described 
 as men who " will not touch Him [Christ] with 
 the finger of faith ; but they will pluck at Him with 
 the finger of malice." Sentences which would 
 serve as proverbs might be plentifully gathered. 
 
" The Treasury of David!' 255 
 
 It is also interesting to take note of the skill with 
 which the illustrations are selected. Take the 
 following on the opening verse of Psalm 
 xcviii. : — 
 
 " A clergyman in the county of Tyrone had 
 for some weeks observed a little ragged boy come 
 every Sunday and place himself in the centre of 
 the aisle, directly opposite the pulpit, where he 
 seemed exceedingly attentive to the services. He 
 was desirous of knowing who the child was, and 
 for this purpose hastened out after the sermon 
 several times, but never could see him, as he 
 vanished the moment service was over, and no one 
 knew whence he came or anything about him. At 
 length the boy was missed from his usual situation 
 in the church for some weeks. At this time a 
 man called on the minister, and told him a 
 person very ill was desirous of seeing him ; but 
 added, * I am really ashamed to ask you to go so 
 far ; but it is a child of mine, and he refuses to 
 have any one but you. He is altogether an 
 extraordinary boy, and talks a great deal about 
 things that I do not understand.' The clergyman 
 promised to go, and went, though the rain poured 
 down in torrents, and he had six miles of rugged 
 mountain country to pass. On arriving where he 
 was directed, he saw a most wretched cabin indeed, 
 and the man he had seen in the morning was 
 
256 Air, Spurgeons Books, 
 
 waiting at the door. He was shown in, and 
 found the inside of the hovel as miserable as the 
 outside. In a corner, on a little straw, he beheld 
 a person stretched out, whom he recognised as 
 the little boy who had so regularly attended his 
 church. As he approached the wretched bed the 
 child raised himself up, and stretching forth his 
 arms said, * His ozv7i right hand and His holy arm 
 hath gotten Hint the victory^ and immediately he 
 expired." 
 
 The work on the Psalms entailed enormous 
 labour, not merely as a commentary, but on 
 account of the vast array of illustrative passages 
 which have been gathered from the great field of 
 the world's literature ; and it must at least be a 
 great consolation to Mr. Spurgeon and his assist- 
 ants to see how thoroughly their work has been 
 appreciated by the public. At the time of 
 writing, about 107,000 volumes have been sent out, 
 and this is of course a number far beyond the 
 circulation that any commentary on a single book 
 of the Bible has ever before commanded. 
 
 To persevere in a task through more than 
 twenty years, when the labour increases in difficulty 
 as it proceeds, is an example of industry not 
 often encountered ; but this is what Mr. Spurgeon 
 has done while completing his Treasury of 
 David. The ancient classics of Grepce and Italy 
 
A Many-sided Geniv^s. 257 
 
 have been read for any dust of gold they might 
 contain ; so also have the Christian Fathers, the 
 English classics, and others, to mcntfon the names 
 of which would only tend to the bewilderment of 
 the unlearned reader. 
 
 But Mr. Spurgeon is more than a commentator, 
 he is a many-sided genius, — tliat is, he can work 
 to advantage in various departments, and excel 
 in all. In The Treasury of David he is the ripe 
 theologian ; in the character of John Plough- 
 man he talks philosophy such as the common 
 people like to hear because they can understand ; 
 in his History of the Tabernacle he is a pains- 
 taking historian ; in Lectures to My Students 
 he is a more lively college professor than any 
 other member of that honourable fraternity with 
 whom I am acquainted. It is worth a substantial 
 entrance fee to listen to one of these Friday 
 afternoon orations ; but those who cannot hear 
 should read the book. 
 
 In old times, when books were scarce, and good 
 teachers scarcer, a clever University lecturer would 
 attract auditors from foreign climes, who in after 
 life were wont to boast of early privileges. It is 
 really surprising to think how the old schoolmen 
 killed time, and wasted their energies in battling 
 about barren topics, or in establishing their finely- 
 spun theories. The popular mediaeval professor, 
 
258 M7\ Spiirgeons Books. 
 
 with his host of determined disciples, was hardly 
 a less formidable opponent than we should now 
 find in a confident general who knew that 
 regiments of veterans were ready to give effect 
 to his orders. The shock of controversy often 
 troubled the outside world ; but whether the 
 Realists or the Idealists held the field mattered 
 little to the vulgar crowd. Was it ever authori- 
 tatively decided whether a thousand angels could, 
 or could not dance upon the point of a finely- 
 sharpened needle ? Philosophy was a dead letter, 
 because men worshipped intellect and learning for 
 their own sake, without caring anything about the 
 elevation of the benighted population. Students 
 spent their strength for nought, losing their way 
 in the mazes of casuistry, until nothing short of 
 the mighty awakening of the Reformation sufficed 
 to break their fatal dream. 
 
 Had Mr. Spurgeon flourished in mediaeval days 
 he would have been renowned as a man of valour, 
 the Achilles of a school, and even now he is 
 scarcely less than this. No college professor ever 
 before gave lectures precisely similar to " Lectures 
 to My Students." The book is weighty and 
 piquant, serious as well as sparkling ; many of its 
 philosophical saws gain force from their settings 
 of humour. In every sense it is a popular reading- 
 book ; one not too light for grave scholars, nor of 
 
The College Lectures, 259 
 
 that solid dryness which repels those who read for 
 amusement. Every page is racy, the wit is free 
 from ill-nature, and throughout there is a cha- 
 racteristic striving after practical results. Pretty 
 things are never said for their own sake ; the 
 smallest apophthegm is aimed at a high marie 
 which is seldom missed. As college homiHes 
 these lectures were not delivered with that pro- 
 fessional frown which might seem to give weight 
 to their matter and dignity to the lecturer ; they 
 were rather spoken with easy grace, and as we 
 read we seem to be looking on a beaming coun- 
 tenance which of itself may teach what is worth 
 even more than a college lesson. " Our reverend 
 tutor, Mr. Rogers, compares my Friday work to 
 the sharpening of the pin," we are told ; " the 
 fashioning of the head, the straightening, the 
 laying on of the metal, and the polishing, have 
 been done during the week, and then the process 
 concludes with an effort to give point and sharp- 
 ness. To succeed in this the lecturer must not 
 be dull himself, nor demand any great effort from 
 his audience. I am as much at home with my 
 young brethren as in the bosom of my family, 
 and, therefore, speak without restraint. " 
 
 Mr. Spurgeon lets his readers know who the 
 young aspirants are that constitute the Pastors 
 College, and also who they are not. To these who 
 
26o Mr. Spttrgeon s Books. 
 
 assert that he has set up a clerical factory, he 
 replies that he is rather a " parson killer." He is 
 ever doing work similar to *' the duty which fell 
 to the lot of Cromwell's Triers." He does not 
 want men who are striving to do the best they 
 can for themselves in this world, and applications 
 are declined which come from those whose " main 
 object is an ambitious desire to shine among men." 
 Self-conceited geniuses are always kindly directed 
 elsewhere. Nor is it believed that the students 
 are generally characterised by " great feebleness 
 of mind," because applicants betraying a mental 
 weakness which is likely to be carried away by any 
 kind of doctrine are counselled to " keep in the 
 rear ranks/' in company with other knights of " the 
 kid-gloved order." Another too numerous class, 
 who are not welcomed into the College, are " dis- 
 tinguished by enormous vehemence and zeal, and 
 a conspicuous absence of brains ; brethren who 
 would talk for ever and ever upon nothing, who 
 would stamp and thump the Bible, and get 
 nothing out of it at all ; earnest, awfully earnest, 
 mountains in labour of the most painful kind; 
 but nothing comes of it all, not even the ridi- 
 cuius nius. There are zealots abroad who are not 
 capable of conceiving or uttering five consecutive 
 thoughts, whose capacity is most narrow, and their 
 conceit most broad ; and these can hammer, and 
 
Eccentric Students, 261 
 
 bawl, and rave, and tear, and rage, but the noise all 
 arises from the hollowness of the drum." Of others 
 the name is legion, whose natural defects would 
 render them ludicrous in the eyes of a congre- 
 gation. One applicant "had a sort of rotary 
 action of the jaw," says Mr. Spurgeon. " I could 
 not have looked at him while preaching without 
 laughter, if all the gold of Tarshish had been my 
 reward." Men who base their "call" on a hedged- 
 up way are not encouraged, because " a man who 
 would succeed as a preacher would probably do 
 right well either as a grocer, or a lawyer, or any- 
 thing else. A really valuable minister would have 
 excelled at anything." Mr. Self-conceit cannot 
 always see reason when his offer of self-sacrifice 
 is declined. " Do you mean to say that because 
 I have an unusual genius," asked one, in warm 
 indignation, " and have produced in myself a 
 gigantic mind, such as is rarely seen, I am refused 
 admittance into your College } " 
 
 Perhaps no volume sold for half-a-crown ever 
 cost an author more trouble than Commenting 
 and Commentaries. The student is directed to 
 nearly fifteen hundred works, treating of separate 
 parts of the Bible, or of the whole book. Like 
 Lord Bacon, Mr. Spurgeon must see fruit come of 
 his labour, or he is not satisfied. Such books are 
 not written for money, nor for fame, for the 
 
2 62 Mr. Spitrgeons Books, 
 
 sake of aiding those who have little money to 
 spend in literature ; e.g. : — 
 
 " Here, however, is the difficulty ; students do 
 not find it easy to choose which works to buy, 
 and their slender stores are often wasted on books 
 of a comparatively worthless kind. If I can save 
 a poor man from spending his money for that 
 which is not bread, or, by directing a brother to a 
 good book, may enable him to dig deeper into the 
 mines of truth, I shall be well repaid. For this 
 purpose I have toiled, and read much, and passed 
 under review some three or four thousand volumes. 
 From these I have compiled my catalogue, reject- 
 ing many, yet making a very varied selection. 
 Though I have carefully used such judgment as 
 I possess, I have, doubtless, made many errors ; I 
 shall, certainly, find very few who will agree with 
 me in all my criticisms, and some persons may be 
 angry^ with my remarks. . . . Pie who finds 
 fault will do well to execute the work in a better 
 style ; only let him remember that he will have 
 my heifer to plough with, and therefore ought, in 
 all reason, to excel me." 
 
 It is taken for granted that persons who pur- 
 chase the book value the assistance of Biblical 
 expositors. " Of course you are not such wise- 
 acres as to think you can expound Scripture 
 without assistance from the works of divines and 
 
Oil Commentaries, 263 
 
 learned men, who have laboured before you in the 
 field of exposition," the students are told. " If 
 you are of that opinion, pray remain so, for you 
 are not worth the trouble of conversion, and, like 
 a little coterie who think with you, would resent 
 the attempt as an insult to your infallibility." His 
 opinions on the leading commentators are not 
 those of a man who has not taken the trouble to 
 read their works for himself. 
 
 « First among the mighty for general usefulness, 
 we are bound to mention the man whose name 
 is a household word, Matthew Henry. He is 
 most pious and pithy, sound and sensible, sug- 
 gestive and sober, terse and trustworthy. You 
 will find him to be glittering with metaphors, rich 
 in analogies, overflowing with illustrations, super- 
 abundant in reflections. ... It is the poor 
 man's commentary, the old Christian's companion, 
 suitable to everybody, instructive to all. . . . 
 Every minister ought to read Matthew Henry 
 entirely and carefully through once at least. I 
 should recommend you to get through it in the 
 next twelve months after you leave college. Begin 
 at the beginning, and resolve that you will traverse 
 the goodly land from Dan to Beersheba. You 
 will acquire a vast store of sermons if you read 
 with your note-book close at hand ; and as for 
 thoughts, they will swarm around you like twitter- 
 
264 ^/^. Spurgeons Books. 
 
 ing swallows around an old gable towards the 
 close of autumn." 
 
 John Calvin is " a prince among men." 
 Matthew Poole " is a very prudent and judicious 
 commentator." Trapp is recommended " to men 
 of discernment." Gill is a "master cinder-sifter 
 among the Targums, the Talmuds, the Mishna, 
 and the Gemara. ... I have placed next to 
 Gill in my library Adam Clarke; but as I have no 
 desire to have my rest broken by wars among the 
 authors, I have placed Doddridge between them. 
 If the spirits of the two worthies could descend 
 to the earth in the same mood in which they 
 departed, no house would be able to hold them." 
 He goes on to say that the first money received 
 for services in London was exchanged for Scott's 
 Commentary ; but " for a minister's use Scott is 
 mere milk-and-water." 
 
 The Metropolitan Tabernacle and Its Work 
 would have been a work of more surpassing 
 interest had the author done what he thinks he 
 could not be expected to do — had he turned his 
 " pages into an autobiography." Mr. Spurgeon 
 will not, however, portray himself. He prefers to 
 see himself as others see him. 
 
 John Ploughmans Talk and Pictures are Mr. 
 Spurgeon's most popular books, if we judge of 
 popularity by the fact that 450,000 copies of the 
 
Popular Works, 265 
 
 two volumes have been sold. Then come Morn- 
 i?ig by Morning and Evening by Evenings the 
 circulation of the one having reached 100,000, 
 and the other 75,000. Feathers for Arrows 
 and Illustrations and Meditations are illustrative 
 manuals. Flashes of Thought^ Spurgeons Gems, 
 and Gleanings Among the Sheaves are choice 
 passages selected by other hands from an ample 
 field. Types and Emblems, Trumpet Calls to 
 Christian Energy, The Present Truth, Storm 
 Signals, and Farm Sermons are supplementary 
 volumes of discourses printed in crown octavo- 
 form. There are several others I have not 
 mentioned which command wide popularity. The 
 shilling series extends to eleven volumes. All of 
 Grace shows the plan of salvation ; while The Clue 
 of the Maze is an antidote to the specious unbelief 
 of the times. Nor ought The Interpreter ; or, 
 Scripture for Family Worship, with its running 
 comments and hymns, to be overlooked. As a 
 handsome quarto volume, this book is frequently 
 purchased for a wedding present. 
 
 The Pastor's printed books, including The 
 Szvord and the Trowel, thus comprise nearly one 
 hundred volumes ; and form in themselves such 
 a comprehensive library as was never before pro- 
 vided by one man. 
 
 In the meantime, the work of translating the 
 
266 Mr. Spurgeons Books. 
 
 Pastor's works into European and even Oriental 
 languages still goes on. Mr. Spurgeon's own 
 portion of The Treasury of David is now being 
 rendered into Arabic, while All of Grace is being 
 rendered into German. 
 
THE BOOK FUNB, 
 
*' Ths room is small, and very poorly furnished, a tiny fire burns in 
 the grate, for it is mid-winter ; but beyond this, there is an absence of 
 all ihe suitable surroundings of a minister's study, and you can count 
 the books upon your fingers. The pastor sits there with bowed head, 
 and weary body, after a day of heavy work, and, shall I tell it? of 
 very scanty sustenance. A deep sense of responsibility is upon him, 
 and he feels the weight of souls on his heart ; but in addition to this, 
 special cares just now press upon him heavily ; troubles of church and 
 building matters, questions as to ways and means, fightings without, 
 and fears within, which vex and grieve him. sorely. . . . Weary and 
 faint, he is very, very poor, and almost overwhelmed by the difficulties 
 of the way, he turns to the fire with his open Bible on his knee and 
 sighs. Oh 1 such a sigh. Will the angels hear it, I wonder, and come 
 and minister to him, as they used to do to their sorrowful Lord ? 
 Perhaps so, but his Heavenly Father has also prepared an earthly 
 solace, and the answer to his cry is even now at the door. The bell 
 rings, an'l a large parcel is left ' For the Pastor,' and is taken at once 
 to his room. In a moment he knows that relief has come, he knows 
 the superscription, and divines the contents ; in his joy he almost 
 caresses the package ; then, with trembling fingers, he cuts the string, 
 and spreads the treasures out before the Lord. Yes, literally ' before 
 the Lord,' for now you see him kneeling by the side of the open parcel, 
 thnnking and blessing God for such opportune mercy, for such streams 
 in the desert, such blossoming roses in the wilderness." — Ten Years 
 of my Life in the Service of ihe Book Funa, 327-8. 
 
X. 
 
 THE BOOK FUND. 
 
 A S a benefactor of poor ministers who are 
 ^ unable to buy necessary books, Mrs. Spurgeon 
 has won a wide reputation ; and the beneficent 
 work carried on is all the more remarkable because, 
 in past years more especially, it was accomplished 
 in spite of pain and weakness such as would have 
 disabled anyone who could not have exemplified 
 the heroism or endurance which sometimes seems 
 to be peculiar to Christian women. The book 
 distribution, which commenced in 1 875, was origin- 
 ally undertaken on a very small scale ; and at first 
 no one suspected that the giving away of a hundred 
 copies of Mr. Spurgeon's Lectures would lead to 
 the development of a comprehensive enterprise 
 which would extend its influence not only through- 
 out the British Isles, but also to the colonies. 
 In her recently published work, Ten Years of 
 my Life in the Service of the Book Fuud^ Mrs. 
 Spurgeon thus explains how the enterprise origi- 
 nated, which, through the goodness of God, has 
 
2/0 The Book Fund. 
 
 often proved a solace as well as a labour to the 
 person chiefly concerned : — 
 
 "It was in the summer of the year 1875 that 
 my dear husband completed and published the 
 first volume of his Lectures to My Students. 
 Reading one of the proof copies, I became so 
 enamoured of the book that when the dear author 
 asked, * Well, how do you like it ? * I answered 
 with a full heart, * I wish I could place it in 
 the hands of every minister in England/ * Then 
 why not do so ? how much will yoic give ? ' said 
 my very practical spouse. . . . Then comes the 
 wonderful part : I found the money ready and 
 waiting ! Upstairs in a little drawer were some 
 carefully-hoarded crown-pieces, which, owing to 
 some foolish fancy, I had been gathering for years 
 whenever chance threw one in my way ; these 
 I now counted out, and found they made a sum 
 exactly sufficient to pay for one hundred copies of 
 the work 1 If a twinge of regret at parting from 
 my cherished but unwieldy favourites passed 
 over me, it was gone in an instant, and then they 
 were given, freely and thankfully, to the Lord, 
 and in that moment, though I knew it not, the 
 Book Fund was inaugurated." 
 
 Since that auspicious day the general distri- 
 bution has not fallen very far short of 90,000 
 volumes, while the recipients have numbered 
 
Its Tho7'otigh Catholicity, 271 
 
 considerably over 1 2,000 indigent pastors, who 
 certainly cannot purchase an adequate supply of 
 books if they are not freely supplied to them. 
 Can we estimate the encouragement thus afforded 
 to men who are often wearied and cast down 
 through difficulties and perplexities which are 
 aggravated, if not actually created, by poverty ? 
 
 Very naturally, perhaps, some persons have 
 supposed that the Book Fund is for Baptists 
 exclusively; but writing in the early part of 1880 
 in her own pleasant style, Mrs. Spurgeon de- 
 scribed the thorough catholicity of her work : — 
 
 " A day or two since the good Earl of Shaftes- 
 bury paid us a visit, and on leaving he said to 
 me, * Well, how does the Baptist book-giving 
 prosper ? ' * Thank you, my lord,' I replied, 
 * the Book Fund prospers grandly, all the more 
 that it is 7iot a Baptist book-giving, but is free 
 to all the Lord's ministering servants.' If the 
 venerable Earl could have seen my day-book 
 he would have found full confirmation of this 
 assertion, for glancing down the long columns of 
 recipients' names, one cannot but be struck with 
 the constant repetition of the distinguishing titles 
 of Church, Congregational, Presbyterian, Methodist 
 etc., and the comparatively infrequent recurrence 
 of the word Baptist in the list. Thus, in these 
 first four months of the year, I have already od 
 
272 The Book Fttnd. 
 
 my books the names of nearly four hundred 
 ministers, who during that period have received 
 grants from my Fund, and of this number just 
 oue-foiirth are * mine own people.' I am delighted 
 to see that the longer record bears the names of 
 fifty Church of England clergymen, and I believe I 
 am justified in anticipating glorious results from 
 the distribution among them of sound and 
 scriptural doctrine. And if in some cases appre- 
 ciation should lead to appropriation, and from 
 many a stately pulpit in the land the Gospel 
 should sound forth full and free through the 
 sermons first delivered in the Metropolitan 
 Tabernacle, shall aught but joy and tharikfulness 
 fill our hearts t ' I confess,' wrote a vicar to me, 
 ' that though I do not preach your husband's 
 sermons bodily, I yet so assimiliate them into my 
 own discourses that they are of the utmost value 
 and blessing to me.' " 
 
 Of the general need of the work among 
 ministers of all denominations there can hardly 
 be two opinions. I was privileged to assist in 
 the preparation of the first annual Report of 
 the Fund for 1876, and I then described the need 
 of the enterprise in these words : — 
 
 " The position of Nonconformist pastors in 
 sparsely inhabited country districts is extremely 
 difficult, and ought to command the sympathy 
 
Pitiful Examples of Poverty, 273 
 
 and help of all their brethren. On account of 
 then* position appearances have to be studied, and 
 much of their scanty means must thus be ex- 
 pended. Even their rustic audiences would hardly 
 bear to see the pastor in a smock frock and his 
 children barefooted." 
 
 The above applies in general terms to the need 
 existing for more books in the studies of our 
 poorer pastors ; and that the case is not put too 
 strongly is proved by the fact that the individual 
 examples brought to light by Mrs. Spurgeon more 
 than prove what is said. Thus, for example, in 
 1880, three representative cases were given of the 
 destitution which exists in the households of three 
 pastors of the Baptist denomination. 
 
 " No. I. is a hard-working, painstaking pastor, 
 preaching five times a week, holding large Bible- 
 classes, writing, itinerating, and in every way 
 doing his best for the people of his charge ; he 
 is married, has three children, and accepts and 
 manages to exist upon a meagre pittance of 
 sixty-five pounds per annum, supplemented by a 
 new year's gift, which usually comes to about ten 
 or twelve pounds. . . . 
 
 " No. II. is in a still sadder plight- For twenty 
 years his salary as a village pastor has never 
 exceeded sixty pounds per. annum, and, to use his 
 own words, ^ It has often been ten^ and sometimes 
 
 18 
 
2 74 ^^^^ Book Fiind, 
 
 fifteen, pounds beloiv that sum! This, with a wife 
 afflicted for thirty years with complicated internal 
 maladies, seeking aid from many physicians, and 
 being nothing bettered but rather the worse, 
 added to other domestic trials^ and many deaths in 
 the family, is enough, one would think, to crush 
 all preaching out of a man ! * Few,' he says, 
 * save our Heavenly Father, know the privations 
 and struggles which we have endured these twenty 
 years.' . . . 
 
 " No. III. stands apart upon a pinnacle of special 
 and exceptional sadness. , , . The husband is 
 weak and ill from the lingering effects of a 
 bronchial attack which prostrated him two years 
 since, a young child is in a delicate and critical 
 condition, the wife, though in fast-failing health 
 has just become the mother of their twelfth 
 child, all living save one, and the last five are 
 under five years of age ! Their income from all 
 sources, salary, small business, and gifts from 
 friends included . . . fifty-five pounds a year I 
 Can respectable poverty know a lower depth than 
 this .? " 
 
 The cases of poverty in one denomination are 
 quite in keeping with those found in another ; 
 and we have to bear in mind that in consequence 
 of agricultural depression and other causes the 
 people are suffering as well as the pastors. Thus, 
 
Mrs. C. H. SPURGEON. 
 
Exceptionally Hard Times, 275 
 
 one who has to maintain a wife and children 
 on a little over one hundred pounds a year bears 
 emphatic testimony to what may now be witnessed 
 in the country. " He says he never before wit- 
 nessed so much poverty and distress in his district ; 
 yet, at the same time, he speaks with holy enthu- 
 siasm of the trust in God and resignation to His 
 will manifested by the suffering people. * It is 
 no easy work,* he writes, * to live in a place like 
 this, where one sees * trouble ' written on every 
 face. I could not go into the houses of my 
 people, and see shoeless feet and empty cupboards, 
 without doing something to help them. Many 
 must have gone to the poor-house, or have died 
 without medical aid, if I had not paid the cost' " 
 What a commentary is such action as this on the 
 words " Blessed is he that considereth the poor, 
 the Lord will deliver him in the time of trouble." 
 There are no helpers of the poor like those who 
 are- poor themselves. 
 
 The strongest testimony to the value of the 
 work is seen in the letters of the pastors them- 
 selves who receive the books. In a manner that 
 ordinary persons can hardly understand, the 
 parcels of books have carried gladness into 
 many a beclouded home, while they have stimu- 
 lated many a flagging ministry. 
 
 " When I wrote for the fifth volume of Mr, 
 
276 The Book Fztnd. 
 
 Spurgeon's T^xasury of David" wrote a Con- 
 gregational minister in 1880, "I felt that you 
 would place me under an obligation of lively 
 gratitude by acceding to my request ; but when, 
 instead of one volume, I am the fortunate recipient 
 of seven, and all of them of great interest and 
 utility, to congratulate myself and express my 
 thanks to you in a measure proportioned to your 
 bounty, is a task more easily undertaken than 
 adequately performed. ..." 
 
 Another pastor of the same denomination, 
 also writing in 1880, says : "Accept my warmest 
 thanks for the books, and also for the kind 
 thoughtfulness which arranged for their reception 
 on Saturday, Having been worried and worked 
 over- much this week, and feeling very far from 
 well, I was in a state of physical exhaustion and 
 mental depression, which by no means augured 
 well for to-morrow, when your parcel arrived. 
 The very sight of it did me good, and when I 
 opened it and discovered its precious contents I 
 cannot tell you how many degrees better I felt 
 at once." 
 
 The clergy of the Establishment, including 
 even many of the High Church school, have 
 received gifts ; and from the acknowledgments, 
 written in their own characteristic way, we see 
 something of the poverty which abounds in the 
 
Clergymen Apply for Books, 277 
 
 Anglican communion on the one hand, while 
 there is superabundant wealth on the other. 
 
 A curate in the north wrote : " I felt on the 
 arrival of your parcel as if I must be so un- 
 ministerlal as to jump for joy. ... As the 
 volumes lie before me on my table, my heart 
 is full, and words can but feebly express with 
 what pleasure I subscribe myself," etc. 
 
 In 1 88 1 we find that Mrs. Spurgeon had to 
 entertain an exceptionally large number of applica- 
 tions from the pastors of the Established Church ; 
 and the cry for books coming from that quarter 
 was responded to with a liberality quite in keep- 
 ing with the character of the Fund, but which 
 none the less on that account surprised the 
 recipients. " In some cases it may be quite pos- 
 sible that the volumes are sought for the scarcely 
 admitted purpose of wholesale appropriation, but 
 what then ? " remarks Mrs. Spurgeon. " Not- 
 withstanding every way, whether in pretence or 
 in truth, Christ is preached, and we therein do 
 rejoice, and will rejoice. How many a young 
 curate, with small ability but gracious spirit, 
 might serve his Master well, and feed the flock 
 of God with more convenient food, were he to 
 cast aside his own manuscript, and preach boldly 
 and bodily a sermon from the Tabernacle Pulpit. 
 I am told this is very often done, and I can but 
 
278 The Book Fund, 
 
 say, May God bless the doing of it." As regards 
 the business of appropriation, we find that one 
 parish " supply " preached Mr. Spurgeon's ser- 
 mons for nine Sabbaths in the parish church, 
 greatly to the delight and edification of the 
 parishioners. Nor did the good man adopt what 
 some will think to have been his singular pro- 
 cedure without good reason ; for he frankly 
 confessed, " Mr. Spurgeon's sermons are the only 
 ones which can be really understood either by 
 myself or the congregation." 
 
 At first sight it might seem somewhat anoma- 
 lous when High Church and Ritualistic clergy- 
 men send in their applications for books ; but 
 Mrs. Spurgeon, nevertheless, regards the pheno- 
 menon with satisfaction, because, as a certain 
 member of the Church declared, the Baptist 
 Pastor's works more accurately represent the 
 doctrines of the Thirty-nine Articles than much 
 of what is preached in many of the churches. 
 
 One of the "Advanced" school in the Midlands, 
 who received a grant, had a vicar who had de- 
 nounced Baptists as " abominable Dissenters " ; 
 but the great man was not above writing a recom- 
 mendation to the Book Fund on behalf of his 
 curate. " Tell Mr. Spurgeon I shall highly 
 value his Treasury and Sermons, and hope 
 to reap much benefit from his Lectures to 
 
Letters from Ritualists, 279 
 
 Stude7its'' remarked the curate. "I never write, 
 without a prayer for God's guidance and blessing, 
 and I shall study these books, looking for the 
 Divine enlightenment. I send you a view of my 
 church — it holds about seven hundred people, and 
 to-morrow I hope to assist in five services and 
 preach twice." Another, who also confessed that 
 he was "what is called a Ritualist," said on 
 receiving his books, " I shall point to this present 
 as an instance of kind Christian sym.pathy under- 
 lying considerable difference of religious opinions." 
 He then went on to rejoice that those who really 
 loved their Lord had so much in common not- 
 withstanding outward distinctions. 
 
 Among those clergymen who have written 
 about their adventures with Mr. Spurgeon's ser- 
 mons, however, the writer of the following should 
 perhaps rank first in point of interest : — 
 
 " Having heard that you kindly assist poor 
 ministers with books, permit me to state that I 
 am an ordained priest of the Church of England ; 
 and though prevented by age from holding any 
 permanent curacy, I am engaged at a stipend of 
 ;^30 per annum in two villages, and have to go 
 some distance on Sundays, in different directions, 
 for morning and evening service. On the second 
 Sunday in Lent this year (1881), I was reading 
 a text, when suddenly I remembered the Three 
 
2 8o The Book Fund. 
 
 Thens (Isaiah vi. 1-8), by the Rev. C. H. 
 Spurgeon, and gave it as a morning discourse at 
 
 . I was afterwards asked by a district visitor 
 
 what induced me to select so singular a text, and 
 another hearer said she had never listened to 
 anything like it before, while the majority of the 
 people were so pleased, that during the nine 
 Sundays I was there the church was full every 
 afternoon." 
 
 Such are the recipients of the Fund at home ; 
 but in some instances the books find their way to 
 the Colonies and to French pastors on the Conti- 
 nent. One of the latter in writing to Mrs. Spurgeon 
 said : " Now, more than ever, Protestant pastors 
 have a great work to do in France. The people 
 are tired of the clergy, while, on the other hand, 
 infidels are trying to make way, and they boast 
 of their science, comparing it with the too-well- 
 known ignorance of the Romish priests." Since 
 the Reformation won its triumphs, partly through 
 the evangelical books which were vended by the col- 
 porteurs, who can help wishing that the second 
 reformation, which alone can save the country 
 from imminent peril, may be advanced by the Book 
 Fund distribution } 
 
 The words of cheer and of appreciation which 
 come from the Colonies are similar to those which 
 are so plentiful at home. " I need not say how 
 
Pastors in France. 281 
 
 the volumes will be prized and valued for their 
 intrinsic merit," says one in Canada on the receipt 
 of a grant, " the inspiration they will supply, the 
 food they will give to mind and heart, and also 
 for the sake of the author, whose dear and beloved 
 form I see outlined before my mind's eye every 
 day, and whose ringing voice I fancy I can hear 
 across the three thousand miles of ocean. God 
 grant that I may be able to catch more and more 
 of that high-souled, consecrated enthusiasm which 
 breathes through his writings like the fresh breeze 
 of morning." 
 
 But although the distribution of books is the 
 chief thing to be undertaken by Mrs. Spurgeon, 
 she has extended her supplies to the wives and 
 children of poor Pastors by means of the Pastors' 
 Aid Fund. A small affair when compared with 
 the other and main department of the work, the Aid 
 Fund has still relieved a large number of the most 
 deserving cases of pastors, their wives and child- 
 ren, whose chief cross in life is extreme poverty. 
 Not only money, but clothes are given, so that 
 all the members of a family are found rejoicing 
 together. 
 
 Thus, as one recipient writes : " We are all very 
 pleased with the share we have in the contents of 
 the parcel. This is something for wife, children, 
 and myself, and everything is so suitable and 
 
282 The Book Fund, 
 
 helpful. I scarcely know how I shall feel when 
 I get on the nice warm clothes, and my wife 
 says she will look as she once did, in her new 
 dress." 
 
 Writing of this friend in 1881 Mrs. Spurgeon 
 herself says : " He has been battling this long 
 time with no small tempest of adversity and 
 sorrow." The preacher himself added, " I feel 
 the load removed which has burdened me so 
 long, I see my precious books saved from 
 dispersion, I see the faces of my wife and 
 children lit up with joy, I seem to hear the 
 congratulations of those comrades in the con- 
 flict who have always stood by me." 
 
 Scores of cases might be quoted to show the 
 need of the work, and every one is representative 
 of a need which is no less urgent than widespread. 
 Thus one pastor's wife, who is called by Mrs. 
 Spurgeon " One of the bravest little women I 
 know," wrote in 1881: "I have been so very 
 unwell all the winter, that our expenses have 
 been unusually heavy, and I had put nothing by 
 for the little boy's advent, so when he came we 
 had no money in the house, and having to take 
 our salary little by little, times being so bad 
 with the people, we hardly ever seem to possess 
 any.** 
 
 Quite in keeping with this is the confession 
 
Home Poverty, 283 
 
 of an Essex pastor, who about the same time 
 wrote : " We never were so straitened as now ; 
 my income fell off last year more than twenty- 
 five per cent., and I assure you we have wanted 
 the common necessaries of life, and I have come 
 to my last pair of trousers. When I put the note 
 into my wife's hand, she burst into tears, em- 
 braced me, and said, ' What a mercy God has 
 raised up friends to be so kind and good to us ! ' '* 
 
 When we ask, Who are they who help this 
 work ? we find that they are as cosmopolitan as 
 those who receive the benefit. In the early days 
 of the enterprise the growth of the Fund was 
 supposed to keep pace with a certain lemon-tree 
 in the greenhouse at Clapham. It will be re- 
 membered how the Fund was commenced by the 
 surrender of certain crown pieces which had been 
 carefully saved ; and this example of self-sacrifice 
 became so contagious that on a spring day in 
 1 88 1 Mrs. Spurgeon wrote : " Four crown pieces, 
 labelled ' Silver-blossoms for the dear lemon-tree,' 
 were sent to-day by a beloved friend to cheer my 
 heart and help forward my work." Of course 
 the sender had a confession to make — " I have 
 had them a long time lying by ; for my dear 
 departed mother used to save them as a little 
 present for me, and I never before could part 
 
284 The Book Ftinci, 
 
 with them ; but when I read how you began youf 
 good work, I felt I must devote them to the Lord 
 in the same way, and they come to you in love 
 and prayer." 
 
 On June i6th, 1880, this letter arrived : "Please 
 find enclosed a post-office order for £2 is. 6d., and 
 a small slip of paper which will explain the use 
 to which the money is to be put. It was directed 
 to be sent to you by a Christian friend of mine, 
 
 Mrs. D , of Greenock, and was found in a 
 
 drawer after her death. I may state that she had 
 a struggle to support herself by her needle, and 
 selling small furnishings, and was long in poor 
 health, but her heart was in her Master's work, 
 and she now receives her reward." The slip of 
 paper contained a note in the widow's own hand- 
 writing, to the effect that all threepenny-pieces 
 taken in the way of business were to be " dedi- 
 cated to the Lord's work under the hand of 
 Mrs. Spurgeon." 
 
 Thus, while some give of their abundance, 
 there are others who still give even though 
 poverty might well excuse their doing anything 
 in the way of contributing to the wants of others. 
 Some give money, but good books are of course 
 as acceptable as cash, the only drawback to 
 presents in kind being, that on some occasions 
 certain donors, with more benevolence than sense, 
 
(Jndesired Donations. 285 
 
 or with a nicer perception of their own conve- 
 nience than of the character of Mrs. Spurgeon's 
 needs, have sent mere lumber instead of service- 
 able works. Take the following episode by way 
 of illustration : — 
 
 " Would that my record of * presents * ended 
 with those which call forth my gratitude and 
 admiration. Alas ! I have to renew my yearly 
 complaint that people in mistaken kindness will 
 send me the rubbish they know not how else 
 to get rid of. I remember saying . . . that I had 
 received nearly every sort of inappropriate and 
 unsuitable volume except a ' Cookery Book/ and 
 I congratulated myself that such an indignity had 
 not yet befallen my Fund. But I have now been 
 brought to that * lowest depth ; ' for in one of 
 the unwelcome parcels forwarded to me lately 
 there are two musty old tomes which bear the 
 title of * TJie Complete Housewife ^ and Accomplished 
 Gentlezvommi s Companion, being a Collection of 
 upwards of seven hundred of the most approved 
 receipts for Cookery, and above three hundred 
 receipts of Medicine. London 1766.' After this, 
 I thought I might have borne anything ; but 
 to-day has brought me a still sharper experience, 
 and I feel constrained to exclaim against the 
 cruel kindness of people who thus so thought- 
 lessly trouble and burden me. I had received an 
 
2 86 The Book Fund. 
 
 anonymous note bidding me expect the arrival 
 of a case of books for my * Clerical Library/ 
 carriage paid as far as possible. With much 
 anxiety I awaited the advent oi the case, and 
 when it made its appearance its size was so 
 imposing that I did not grudge the nine shillings 
 I had to pay for its transit^ confidently hoping 
 to find many choice treasures in its contents. 
 Judge, then, my annoyance and my indignation 
 on seeing when it was opened that, with the 
 exception of a few well-bound books, of third- 
 rate worth, the case was chiefly filled with old 
 hymn-books, works by Unitarians, and books 
 against believers' Baptism ! Does it not seem 
 cruel to mock my dear work thus, and give me 
 a * stone ' for my poor ministers who are asking 
 for * bread ' at my hands ? How to get rid of 
 the rubbish was now the question. * Put the old 
 lumber in the furnace,' said an excited helper in 
 the unpacking. * No,' said another, whose mani- 
 fest annoyance som.ewhat solaced me ; * no, it 
 would only choke up the flues — it is not fit 
 even for that use.' ** 
 
 Such is the work of the Book Fund. Mrs. 
 Spurgeon has conferred benefit on the Church 
 both far-reaching and lasting ; and the pastors 
 of all denominations have become her debtors. 
 
REVIEWS IN " THE SWORD AND THE 
 TROWELS 
 
"Our Magazine . . . will address itself to those faithful friends 
 scattered everywhere ; who are our well-wishers and supporters in our 
 work of faith and labour of love. . . . Our friends are so numerous as 
 to be able to maintain a Magazine, and so earnest as to require one. 
 Our monthly message will be a supplement to our weekly sermon, and 
 will enable us to say many things which would be out of place in a 
 discourse. It will inform the general Christian public of our move- 
 ments, and show our sympathy with all that is good throughout the 
 entire Church of God. . . . We do not pretend to be unsectarian, if by 
 this be meant the absence of all distinctive principles, and a desire to 
 please parties of all shades of opinion. We believe and therefore 
 speak. We speak in love, but not in soft words and trimming sentences. 
 We shall not court controversy, but we shall not shun it when the cause 
 of God demands it, . . . We would sound the trumpet, and lead our 
 comrades to the fight. We would ply the trowel with untiring hand 
 for the building up of Jerusalem's dilapidated walls, and wield the 
 sword with vigour and valour against the enemies of the truth."— 7"^? 
 Sword and the Trowel, January, 1865. 
 
XI. 
 
 REVIEWS IN *' THE SWORD AND TII3 
 TROWEir 
 
 AFTER he had laboured in London rather 
 more than ten years, Mr. Spurgeon established 
 a monthly organ of his own, the title of which 
 may at first have seemed quaint or eccentric, but 
 which has since become thoroughly familiar to 
 lovers of good things throughout the British Isles. 
 Not that this threepenny magazine has ever really 
 enjoyed a popularity commensurate with its merits, 
 although the circulation has always been large for 
 a denominational magazine. From the first, one of 
 its leading and most attractive features consisted 
 in the Expositions of the Psalms, which commence 
 in the first number, and which have since taken a 
 more permanent form in The Treasury of David. 
 The macrazine also showed that from the first 
 it would become an authority on books ; for the 
 quality of the notices given proved that those who 
 examined the works for the purpose of giving 
 judgment really took the trouble to read what 
 
 19 
 
2 go Reviews in " The Szuord and the TroweV 
 
 they criticised. Of course all the notices were 
 not written by Mr. Spurgeon, and the editor early 
 protested against the habit of some publishers 
 affixing his name to advertised extracts. At the 
 same time, when anything unusually smart or 
 witty was said, it did not require any very acute 
 judge to say who was the author. In quoting a 
 few extracts let us begin with the poets. 
 
 " How briskly the fire burns in the grate ! Yes, 
 the editor has received a fresh lot of poetry." 
 Thus suggestively opens a notice of " A Poem," 
 alias " Bones and Fiddles." " We wish the author 
 had let verse alone, for we do not believe that he 
 would be half so prosy in prose as he is in rhyme." 
 
 The following appeared in 1882 : — 
 
 " Verse and Verse, Rhymes for Dinner Times, 
 Poem on a Boot Jack. Ode to a Poll Parrot, 
 Meditations and Agitations^ etc. Tirem, Borem, 
 and Co. 
 
 " The above titles are given in lieu of many 
 others which have come before us. Our table 
 groans with Cowpers and Tennysons in an 
 embryonic condition. A San Francisco paper 
 having been driven desperate by voluntary poetical 
 contributions, sounds this note of warning : — * We 
 don't know exactly how newspapers v/ere con- 
 ducted at that distant period, but during some 
 recent excavations in Assyria a poem on The 
 
Impatient Poets. 291 
 
 Silver Moon was dug up. It was engraved on a 
 tile, and close beside it were lying a large battered 
 club and part of a human skull. You may draw 
 your own conclusions.' We are led to quote this 
 as a warning to the many small poets who send 
 books of verses for review. Happily in our case 
 no club is kept on the premises, and we are most 
 gentle in temper ; but really, we are tried up to 
 the boiling point by the poetic coals which are 
 heaped upon us. Still, Job is our patron saint, and 
 we are resolved to endure unto the end. If any 
 verse-maker does not find his poem, or her poem, 
 mentioned in these notices, it is because we do not 
 like to cause pain by saying what we think about 
 the precious compositions. Please do not write 
 to say that your poetry must have been over- 
 looked ; for the fact is, we have looked it over, 
 and think it the wisest course to be silent. 
 Perhaps the work is too sublime, too elevated in 
 thought, too superb in diction, for our grovelling 
 taste. Pray think so, or think anything else, so 
 long as you are happy. For the most part these 
 minor poets are our affliction, and if they would 
 be so good as to take offence, and never send us 
 another specimen of their wares, we would bless 
 them in our heart of hearts." 
 
 More recently, a certain " Romaunt " called 
 forth this response : " No ; we cannot. If we 
 
292 Reviews in " The Sword and the Trowel'^ 
 
 were condemned to a week's imprisonment, or to 
 read this poem through, we should be weak 
 enough to choose the latter ; but as we are not 
 driven to that alternative, we will neither go to 
 prison nor read this blank verse." On another 
 occasion we come across the question, " Is there 
 any rule for writing poetry ? Yes. Doiit. So 
 has a wise editor settled the matter, and in ninety- 
 nine cases out of a hundred the decision is not to 
 be questioned." Again, "A cynical old editor, who 
 overheard an enthusiast remark that nature is full 
 of poetry, snarled out, * So is my waste-basket.' " 
 Another editor commends to his contributors the 
 example of Tennyson, who composes very slowly, 
 and adds, " Never send in a poem to-day that can 
 be sent in to-morrow. Perhaps there will be a fire 
 before to-morrow." On another occasion amateur 
 poets received this general advice from one who 
 keenly felt that their work represented " one of 
 the miseries of the editorial chair." " We recom- 
 mend all poets, good or bad, to write carefully, 
 correct seventy-two times, keep the manuscript 
 ninety-nine years, and give orders for it to be 
 buried in their coffins with them. We only except 
 our personal friends, and any others who read this 
 magazine regularly : they have our plenary indul- 
 gence to write as much as ever they please and 
 send it on to us, enclosing a guinea with each line." 
 
^^ Poehy Again/'* 293 
 
 In one case, wherein a second copy had been 
 sent, the author fearing that the first had been 
 overlooked, the unhappy editor remarked, " The 
 volume is altogether beyond our reach. If we 
 receive a dozen copies of it we are afraid we shall 
 still gaze upon the work with wondering awe, but 
 shall never be able to see wherein it is superior 
 to Milton." 
 
 At the end of 1874 this timely manifesto 
 appeared ; " Poetry again ! This grunt rose as 
 naturally to our lips as the words ' Cold mutton 
 again!' to the hungry husband who had looked for 
 better fare. The cross and burden of our review- 
 ing lies in the poetical department ; we can never 
 please the authors, and the authors do not often 
 please us. Why do they print 1 It cannot be 
 for profit, their minds are far above so base a 
 consideration. It must be from the notion that 
 they bestow pleasure, and we can assure them 
 that they are greatly mistaken. ... It is the books, 
 the big books to be reviewed^ that we are sore 
 about, books of which we have two, three, four 
 copies sent because we have forgotter^ to review 
 them ; books we wish we could forget, and which 
 one never means to say anything about for fear 
 our memory should be cruel enough to remind 
 us of them." 
 
 One of the minor brotherhood who had the 
 
294 R^vi^'^^ i^i' ^^The Sword and the Trotvel.^ 
 
 temerity to send in his production "Just after 
 Christmas too ! " was asked, "What does he want 
 with Philetos and Zon, with two dots over the 
 * o * ? What is the whole business about ? Why- 
 did not the author put it in prose, and then we 
 should have known all about it in a reasonable 
 space of time ? It seems that he sat on a bough 
 and * rocked his musings into drowsy rest,' and 
 then dedicated them to Tennyson, * the sweetest 
 songbird of our native land.' " 
 
 Of course there is occasionally something to 
 commend even in the work of minor poets, and 
 when real merit is discovered it is cordially re- 
 cognised. Many examples might be quoted were 
 it needful to do so. 
 
 Mr. Spurgeon has never disguised the fact that 
 he does not greatly care for tales ; he seldom 
 reads these himself, but at the same time he has 
 given novelists plenty of wholesome advice. In 
 the case of one historical novel, written by one 
 who was supposed to rank as a popular author, 
 it was remarked : " Here are power, beauty, 
 pathos, philosophy, theology, and history all 
 strangely mixed together, and the result, while 
 flattering to the author's powers, is severely puz- 
 zling to the reader. Half the ability here displayed, 
 if only the style could be made clear and trans- 
 parent, would be far more effectual than it is now. 
 
Fact versus Fancy, 295 
 
 How we wash writers would not be too clever! 
 It would make them doubly interesting, and 
 doubly popular if they could be understood by 
 ordinary folk." 
 
 Of another historical story about Gutenberg, 
 the inventor of printing, it is said, "The worst of 
 it is, one does not know how much is true and 
 how much is a mere tale ; and this is one of the 
 mischiefs of this sort of literature, that it diminishes 
 the distinction between fact and fancy, and is too 
 apt to make young people think Httle of sober. 
 
 truth." 
 
 Sometimes the reviev/er's patience is about as 
 sorely tried with the smaller fry in the realm of 
 fiction as wdth the persecutions of the minor poets. 
 We find it said of one, for example, " The wood- 
 cuts are so hideous that no story could survive 
 them, and certainly not so weak an affair as this. 
 With a new story and new pictures, like the boy's 
 knife with a new handle and a new blade, the 
 book might then be worth having." But we 
 suppose that even this was outdone by a certain 
 « grey-covered shilllng'sworth of pietistic nonsense 
 about Christianity in general, and Methodism in 
 particular;" of which it is added, "If Wesleyanism 
 could be killed by fulsome flattery and idiotic 
 goodyism this would be its death-blow. But 
 there — no one could read the tale all through, 
 
296 Reviews in ** The Sword and the Trowel!' 
 
 and our wonder is that the compositors could set 
 it up; but they are a long-suffering race." Again, 
 of another we have this definite verdict, " This is 
 the silliest book we have ever read. Perhaps this 
 will induce some silly person to buy it." 
 
 The teetotal miovement is frequently advocated 
 by writers of fiction ; and one of these is depicted as 
 " an accumulation of horrors, enough to make one 
 lay awake by nights and shiver with fright ; and 
 yet no one of the horrors is in itself overdrawn or 
 improbable. We should not like to be a drink- 
 maker or a drink-seller and have this tale within 
 ten miles of us. It has a mysterious hand like 
 that in Belshazzar's dream, and writes awful things 
 on the wall of the conscience." 
 
 Story-tellers are also taught that mere eccen- 
 tricity is not a legitimate road to success, such 
 for example as writing in a provincial dialect. " It 
 is the thought a man cares for ; and to get that one 
 can put up with Cornish, or Scotch, or Zummerzet ; 
 but when the vein of gold no longer appears in 
 the quartz, we cease to be enamoured of the rock. 
 You may write in double-Dutch if you like, when 
 you have something to say ; but when your 
 matter is commonplace, you will never make it 
 go by writing it in your country jargon." 
 
 The wearisome books from the reviewer's 
 standpoint are legion, such, for example, as " A 
 
Unreadable Books. 297 
 
 wordy book about words, the value of which may 
 be summed up in few words." Of another of this 
 class we learn that " the title is the most striking 
 part of the book, but we warn our readers that 
 the only reference to it is found on the title-page." 
 Then it is added, " What a pity it is that good 
 people should be silly enough to waste time and 
 paper and ink in writing what could scarcely 
 benefit any human being." 
 
 The reviewer's office is thus no sinecure, and it 
 is especially trying when a dry and empty theo- 
 logical book calls for notice. "A very thoughtful 
 book, no doubt, but who will ever read it } " we 
 find it asked of one of these. " Some conscien- 
 tious reviewer may perhaps complete the task ; 
 we with equal conscientiousness decline it. Sitting 
 one day at the foot of a mountain at our ease, we 
 advised all our friends to climb it, and awarded 
 all sorts of praise to those who achieved the feat : 
 so now, we say, * Here is a grand book for you, 
 my lads ; never mind its being dry ; just tackle 
 it, and show your stamina.' ' Oh,' you say, 
 * read it yourself.' Not if we know it. "VVe have 
 other fish to fry." But pei-haps even this was 
 to be preferred to another — " Rubbish in rhyme, 
 without any reason." Then hardly more re- 
 assuring is an elaborate work on misunderstood 
 texts by one who gives sufficient evidence that 
 
298 Reviews in " The Sword and the Trowel,** 
 
 she also misunderstands them. In one instance a 
 General is found writing an exposition of the last 
 book of the New Testament, but harder to be 
 understood than the Revelation itself. 
 
 There are some authors who succeed only 
 up to a certain point ; and the following timely 
 caution addressed to a certain writer can be v/ell 
 accepted by many others : " The style is clear, 
 crisp, and attractive up to a certain point, and 
 will be sure to be read ; but we are half-afraid it 
 is too ' preachy/ Souls are wondrously shy things, 
 and must be very wisely dealt with : the old- 
 fashioned tract style of writing is scarcely likely 
 to do much to-day." 
 
 Books which attempt to tell things beyond such 
 as are revealed are always a mistake, and are not 
 at all in accordance with Mr. Spurgeon's taste. 
 Of one of the best known of these we read : 
 " Time spent in examining this rubbish we greatly 
 grudge. Dreamy, foolish nonsense, with a touch 
 
 of something worse. Messrs. have brought 
 
 out many curiosities ; this is certainly one of the 
 oddest of them, and, we think, the most, worth- 
 less." 
 
 The following relates to the Welsh and their 
 preachers : — " Our brethren of the Principality 
 are as good sermon-hearers as any people under 
 heaven, and their ministers, encouraged by their 
 
The Wonders of Welsh, 299 
 
 enthusiastic appreciation, are urged on to excel 
 in pulpit eloquence. Moreover, as their language 
 is, according to their own judgment — and they 
 ought to know — so heavenly, so divine, it is no 
 great marvel that those who use it are able to 
 produce extraordinary results. As we see it in 
 print, we feel that our friends are right ; it is an 
 unearthly language and to us unutterable. LI and 
 a w, double 1 again, and a y, and then the rest of 
 the alphabet shot down like a load of coals — 
 what can this muddle mean } The man who 
 can pronounce these jumbles of consonants must 
 be a born orator." 
 
 The writers on prophecy are a somewhat 
 numerous tribe, and are a source of annoyance 
 to old-fashioned students of the Bible like Mr. 
 Spurgeon. " The subject has been dragged in 
 the mire so long that thoughtful men are slow to 
 write on it." When soma " Short Papers" ap- 
 peared some years ago it was said, " The best thing 
 about these * Short Papers ' is that they are short" 
 
 Of a well-known magazine, mainly devoted to 
 speculations in this department, and the editor of 
 which was personally much respected, it was said : 
 " Its present light is not equal to the production 
 of a lunar rainbow, such as lovers of the old- 
 fashioned gospel of covenant grace delight to 
 look upon ; in its prophetic moonshine, and 
 
300 Reviews in " TJie Sivord and the Trowel.' 
 
 short-punishment theorlsings we see no rainbow, 
 unless it be a lunar one." 
 
 Again, it is remarked on this subject : " That 
 good paper and ink should be wasted in maunder- 
 ings over vials and trumpets is bad enough, but 
 that Christian men should be led to draw vain 
 imaginings as to coming events from the grand 
 Apocalyptic vision is grievous to the last degree. 
 The imposture of those who foretold the end of 
 the papacy in 1866 ought to have covered them 
 with shame sufficient to have deterred all aspiring 
 prophetlings, but it seems to have called forth 
 another band of vaticinators, who set the date a 
 little later, or, more wisely still, postpone it to the 
 year 2000, by which time they expect to have 
 spent their profits, and to have retired from the 
 scene." One writer of mature as^e made out that 
 the geological periods of creation had correspond- 
 ing periods in redemption. Says the reviewer, 
 however : " The only analogy we could see was 
 between the book itself and the earth when it 
 was without form and void, and darkness was upon 
 the face of the deep." Twenty years ago the 
 " wonders " that were to appear before the end of 
 1875 were terribly striking to lovers of the sensa- 
 tional in theology ; but when a well-known cleric 
 narrated some of these in a separate publication 
 his work was characterised as " Probably the 
 
Caryl and Bmiyan. 301 
 
 wildest of all the wild things which the present 
 prophetic mania has produced. This volume of 
 nonsense is adorned with pictures such as would 
 suit the outside of a travelling show, and its 
 matter will have great weight with the sort of 
 audience which gathered to see Katterfelto and 
 his black cats, Katterfelto with his hair on end 
 at his own wonders, wondering for his bread." 
 
 From all this it is pleasant to turn to what 
 is said about Puritans, with whom Mr. Spurgeon 
 is probably as familiar as any preacher in the 
 kingdom. 
 
 Nearly twenty years ago it was proposed to 
 reprint Caryl's two vast folios on the Book of Job, 
 the reading of which has for generations been 
 regarded as the best possible discipline in the 
 virtue for which the patriarch was famous. Mr. 
 Spurgeon does not think with the crowd on 
 Caryl, however. " Caryl is not tediously prolix, 
 as some imagine," we are assured ; " he is deep 
 but interesting. Truly he is a mountain, but the 
 sheep feed even to the summit." 
 
 Then what about Bunyan, imitations of whose 
 all^eories still continue to appear } " If you eat 
 honey you cannot taste the sugar m your tea ; it 
 )'0U read John Bunyan you cannot enjoy any other 
 allegory. There is only one sun, and when you 
 look upon it you never think of mentioning candlei 
 
302 Revieivs in " The Sword and the Trowel.'' 
 
 in the same hour." Some years ago the Vicar of 
 Elstow published a capital book with the object 
 of getting a stained-glass window put up in the 
 parish church. Mr. Spurgeon confessed that he 
 could not see " the congruity of the thing." It 
 was asked, " Why not repair a Catholic chapel as 
 a memorial of Martin Luther } or the Baptist 
 chapel at Elstow as a memorial of Charles II. } 
 . . . If John Bunyan's ghost walks the earth 
 it will haunt the church until the stained-glass 
 window is removed, if, indeed, it is ever placed." 
 
 The writings of Gurnal are said to be " peerless 
 and priceless ; every line is full of wisdom ; every 
 sentence is suggestive." Of " The Christian in 
 Complete Armour" it is added: "The whole book 
 has been preached over scores of times, and it 
 is, in our judgment, the best thought-breeder in 
 all our library." Again, Gurnal " is one of the 
 greatest of the giants of the Puritan age. Many 
 of our modern theological treatises are so devoid 
 of real substance, that we are reminded of the 
 chicken-broth which the sick husband returned to 
 his wife, with the urgent request that she would 
 coax the chicken to wade through it once more ; 
 but when we turn to Gurnal, the old English roast 
 beef loads the board." 
 
 " Rare John Trapp," the seventeenth century 
 commentator, is called " our favourite author." 
 
Honey versus Salt. 303 
 
 His work on the New Testament " is worth its 
 weight in gold at the least, and sooner than not 
 possess it we would throw in a diamond ring or 
 two, if we possessed such things." 
 
 Many leading divines of the second half of 
 the nineteenth century are noticed. More than 
 twenty years ago the prophetical doctor, alias 
 The Times Bee-M aster, diversified his pulpit 
 vagaries by publishing a book on Bee-keeping, in 
 which he expressed a wish "that somebody would 
 send Mr. Spurgeon a super of good honey" to 
 sweeten his temper. " Why he should need to 
 drag tis in among his bees, we cannot tell, unless it 
 be that our faithful rebukes of Anglican abomina- 
 tions have reminded him of his own unworthy 
 silence on such matters, and he therefore attempts 
 to drown the voice of his own conscience by 
 finding fault with us." It is then added : " In 
 spiritual things we greatly prefer salt to honey ; 
 remembering that it is written, * In all thine 
 offerings, thou shalt offer salt ; ' and again, * Ye 
 shall burn no leaven, nor any honey, in any 
 offering of the Lord made by fire.* Salt, though 
 sharp and penetrating, is the deadly foe of all 
 corruption ; and honey, on the other hand, though 
 sweet, is corruptible, soon ferments and turns sour. 
 Fire speedily spoils the sweetest honey. We advise 
 the doctor to use more salt in his public ministr}^" 
 
304 Reviezvs in " The Sword and the TroweL 
 
 The opinion given on Mr. H. W. Beecher's 
 Sermons, published in 1865, would, we believe, 
 hold good to-day : " He professedly deviates from 
 the old American standard of orthodoxy, and in 
 the same proportion, as we think, departs from 
 the truth. As an improvement upon the theology 
 of the Puritan fathers, his teaching will be rejected 
 by the best of men in this and in every subsequent 
 age. , . . Lessons of moral wisdom, of social en- 
 dearment, and of practical piety, may be gathered 
 from these sermons ; but for sound doctrine we 
 must look elsewhere. It is a lawful book if a 
 man use it lawfully." 
 
 Speaking of the late Thomas Binney in 1868 
 The Sword and the Trowel said : " He has ways 
 of his own of putting things which some in years 
 gone by have been frightened at, but we greatly 
 question whether any man after all was sounder 
 at heart towards the old-fashioned Gospel. In this 
 delightful volume — " From Seventeen to Thirty " 
 — he proves himself to be the greatest business 
 man in the ministry. He talks as if he had been 
 bound apprentice to Mr. Samuel Morley, had 
 worked his way into the warehouse, had become 
 a partner, and was now appointed by the court of 
 aldermen to see to the morals of the city appren- 
 tices. He ought to be an archbishop over this 
 nation of shopkeepers. . , . Set him among a 
 
Briars mid Brambles, 305 
 
 very spiritual audience of half-pay officers and 
 wealthy spinsters, and he would be like a lion 
 on a hearth-rug, but for where he is and for 
 what he is, where is his equal ? " 
 
 The editor has no sympathy with those who 
 devote too much attention to objectors while the 
 multitude need the pure Gospel. When a work 
 appeared, " Ingersoll Answered," Mr. Spurgeon 
 said, " We neither care for Ingersoll nor the 
 answer to him. There is enough to do in England 
 with cutting up our own brambles ; nine out of 
 ten of our people know nothing of this American 
 briar, and there is no need they should." He said 
 also to another author on a certain occasion : 
 " Why need ' Essays and Reviews ' and Dr. Colenso 
 be put up just to show how elegantly they can be 
 knocked down ? Orthodox divines too often do 
 the advertising for heretics, and turn bill-stickers 
 to the devil. Why should they ? We are getting 
 tired of ghost-hunting." 
 
 Thomas Cooper, the ex-Chartist, and ex- 
 Secularist lecturer, but who since his conversion 
 has done good service as a preacher, etc., has long 
 been a favourite with Mr. Spurgeon. " It is no 
 disgrace to Cooper, or to any other man, to have 
 been a Chartist," it is said in the magazine for 
 August 1878. "The Chartists only lived a little 
 before their time, all the points of their terrible 
 
 20 
 
3o6 Reviews in " The Sword and the Trowel^ 
 
 Charter having at length been granted, in effect, ii 
 not in letter ; and there was nothing unrighteous 
 or revolutionary in their demands. It was a far 
 grander thing to have our mechanics caring for 
 politics than to see them fighting for a double 
 allowance of beer and a short spell of work. The 
 modern agitator is a poor being compared with 
 his predecessor of forty years ago. By so much 
 as thinking is better than boozing, the discontented 
 artizan of Thomas Cooper's early days was 
 superior to the man on strike of the present 
 period." 
 
 Some years ago certain books by Francis 
 Jacox were popular. " Mr. Jacox appears to have 
 read through the Bodleian and all other collec- 
 tions of books ; he does not talk like a book, but 
 like the British Museum library. . . . We do not 
 know any books in modern times at all like 
 Mr. Jacox's ; they are unique ; in fact, they are 
 curiosities of literature. . . . The man must be a 
 cyclopaedia ; we expect to come across him one 
 day, and to find him bound in cloth, lettered. 
 He ought to be in several volumes, . but we 
 suppose they are bound up in one thick royal 
 octavo, and contain more matter than a hun- 
 dred volumes of Dr. Going or Dr. Septimus 
 Losequick." 
 
 In 1883 the Rev J. De Kewer Williams 
 
Milman and Napoleon I, 307 
 
 published his lecture on " The City Mottoes, and 
 Other Wise Saws." This was said to be " a clever 
 talk by a witty man, who is withal as wise as he 
 is facetious. We spent a very pleasant hour in 
 listening to a reading of this telling lecture : it 
 was under the palmtrees at Cannes, but we forgot 
 our surroundings, and thought we were in the 
 dear old city of Gog and Magog and Fog, with 
 Mr. De Kewer Williams for our pedagogue." 
 
 In 1880 reference occurs to a once popular 
 "History of the Jews ": — " Milman's is an elaborate 
 work, but it seems to us to cut down the glorious 
 Old Testament narrative to the dimensions of 
 an Eastern romance. There is not much real 
 breadth in these Broad Church writers : they can 
 hardly tolerate a miracle." 
 
 When "Julius Ccesar " appeared in 1865, The 
 Szvord and the Trowel contained a characteristic 
 notice, e.g, : — " This great work is beyond doubt 
 a most valuable contribution to history, and an 
 honour to the pen of its imperial author. It will 
 not disappoint the high expectations which its 
 announcement excited. It is written with one 
 object, and works towards its intended end most 
 cleverly. Napoleon III. is the preacher, Caesar 
 is the text to be spiritualized ; the excellences of 
 imperialism are the subjects of the homily, and 
 glory be unto my immortal uncle is the conclusion." 
 
3oS Reviews in ** The Sword and the Troiveir 
 
 Children's books have always demanded a large 
 share of attention ; and by his notices of these 
 Mr. Spurgeon has shown how greatly he is in 
 sympathy with the little ones. Sometimes he 
 seems to be so enchanted with what is provided 
 for juvenile readers that he wishes he were once 
 more in a jacket himself, so that he could more 
 legitimately enjoy the literary dainties peculiar to 
 the present age. Then take this example of the 
 reviews — a notice of a work on geography which 
 appeared in l88o: — " Happy young England to 
 be taught thus pleasantly ! One while the tree of 
 knowledge bore thorns and crabs, but now it is 
 a dainty tree, beflowered as with golden lilies 
 of pleasure, and befruited with rosiest apples of 
 delight. Geography — have we really been taking 
 in a whole jar of that verjuice t Yes, and we 
 thought we were out a-gipsying, roaming from 
 town to town, o'er hill and dale. Ah me ! This 
 is not the geography which made our little head 
 ache, and caused school to be a torture both to 
 the teacher and the taught." 
 
 We will close this chapter with a few mis- 
 cellaneous references illustrative of the wit and 
 wisdom on other every-day topics which is con- 
 tinually enriching the pages of The Sivord and 
 ihe Trowel in the review department. 
 
 When many church-members are apparently 
 
Christians Aimisenients, 309 
 
 asking themselves how far they can go in con- 
 formity to the world, the following notice of Anna 
 Warner's " Tired Christians," which appeared in 
 1882, will show what kind of sentiments Mr. 
 Spurgeon holds on this subject : — "Just our mind 
 with regard to dancing, theatre-going, and the 
 like. Well does our authoress confess her 
 difficulty in writing about amusements for 
 Christians, since no such word as amusement, 
 recreation, game, or pastime can be found in the 
 Scriptures. No : in the sacred book we read that 
 time is short, and we are bidden to redeem it, 
 but never taught how to waste it. . . . Tired 
 Christians will find frivolous amusement a poor 
 means of rest ; we fear that many are more 
 wearied by their play than by their work, and 
 are more likely to be jaded by dissipation than 
 by devotion.'* 
 
 What is the relationship between work and 
 genius } The answer occurs in a notice of Mr. 
 H. Curwen's " Plodding On," published in 1879 : 
 " By the way, it would be a gross error if men 
 imagined that men of genius do not work. To 
 our mind, genius generally means that a man 
 has a tendency and an aptitude for double to 
 in a certain direction, and hence he prospers 
 in it. A genius for hard work is the only genius 
 we believe in. We once knew a fellow who was 
 
3IO Reviews in '' The Szuord and the Trowel^ 
 
 called a genius, and boasted that he could make 
 his fortune in a year: the last time we heard of 
 him he could not make a personal call to borrow 
 five shillings because his uncle detained his coat 
 and waistcoat. We shall not advertise for him 
 if we never hear of him again." 
 
 What is Spiritualism ? The question was 
 answered in Mr. Pridham's " Spirits Tried," 
 published in 1874. In a notice of that work we 
 read : — " We had aforetime considered Spiritual- 
 ism to be a mere humbug, to be best assailed by 
 ridicule, and such we still believe it to be in most 
 cases ; but Mr. Pridham's work puts a more 
 serious face upon the business, and certainly 
 makes us think that the devil has a good deal 
 more to do with it than we imagined. We gave 
 him credit for more sense ; he is certainly a 
 greater fool than we took him to be. We always 
 had the lowest possible opinion of him morally, 
 but we thought he could not come down so low 
 as to be in league with idiotic spiritualists. lie 
 is certainly a deal meaner than when Milton 
 wrote about him." 
 
 Writers who are too florid are not generally 
 admired, especially in TJie Sword and the Trozvel : 
 so that in order to catch the editor's attention, 
 and to command his approbation, it is not well 
 to be ** one of those who would go into raptures 
 
^"Served it Rigid T^ 311 
 
 over a broomstick, and praise the picturesque 
 beauty of a dust-heap." Nor in general does 
 plagiarism meet with anything short of the 
 severest condemnation. I will close these 
 extracts with a description of the treatment 
 accorded to a book whose author was detected 
 in stealing other people's wares. The work in 
 question was published some years ago, and 
 related to the pulpit, its occupants, its literature, 
 etc. " Notes on reading this volume : — Received it 
 with great pleasure, liking the subject and respect- 
 ing the publisher, and also the author. . . . Reached 
 page 12, and smelt a strong smell of Roman 
 candles while reading remarks on baptismal 
 regeneration, fonts, and altars. Passed on, and 
 began to sniff again, for there was a remarkable 
 odour of abounding plagiarism. Remembered to 
 have heard Mr. Paxton Hood's lectures to our 
 young men, now published as * Lamps, Pitchers, 
 and Trumpets ' ; marked the same extracts, often 
 beginning and ending with the same word, and 
 with the same headings. Pitched the book to 
 the other end of the room, and despite a few 
 interesting novelties could not bring our soul to 
 do other than cry out, ' Dead robbery ! ' Picked 
 up the book with its back broken, and muttered, 
 • Served it right.' " 
 
 Every month the pages of Mr. Spurgeon's 
 
3 1 2 Reviews in ** The Sword and the T7^owel!* 
 
 magazine devoted to reviews thus contain a great 
 fund of instruction as well as of entertainment. 
 In a word, Mr. Spurgeon, who is the most 
 celebrated preacher of this age, has also made 
 his mark as a reviewer of new books. If we 
 desire to see how he can deal with old ones 
 we have only to consult his Conunenting and 
 Comvientarics^ 
 
CONCLUDING THOUGHTS AND REMINIS-. 
 
 CENCES. 
 
Let us turn our earnest attention to the subject of our posi- 
 tion TOWARD OUR LORD. . . . As he stood in our stead, 
 we also stiuid in ]iis stead. To our hearers we can truly say, 
 "We pray you, in Christ's stead, be ye reconciled to God." 
 Our Lord Jesus Christ lays his pierced hands upon our 
 shoulders, and he says, " As the Father hath sent me into the 
 world, even so send I you." We are commissioned to plead 
 for Christ, even as he is commissioned to plead for us. For 
 him we climb those stairs to point that sick and ignorant 
 woman to the blood of reconciliation. For him we stand in 
 the pulpit, and speak -of sin, and righteousness, and judgment 
 to come. In his place we cry '' Behold the Lamb of God, 
 which taketh away the sin of the world !"— " The Minister in 
 These Times," A Conference Address at the Pastor s College, 
 April 11 , 1890. 
 
XII. 
 
 CONCLUDING THOUGHTS AND REM- 
 INISCENCES. 
 
 QPURGEON was first of all, and most of all, 
 ^ a preacher. 
 
 Into the preacher's work he stepped at sixteen, 
 and from that moment all who heard him — and 
 at length all the world — recognized his right to 
 be there. All else of the vast work he has done 
 has been founded upon and centred around the pul- 
 pit work of preaching. He devised his Pastor's Col- 
 lege to train other men to preach— and to preach to 
 the people — as the universities were not training 
 them to do. His commentaries look out into the 
 pulpit rather than back into the study; the homiletic 
 element in them overshadows the scholarly. His 
 printed sermons were to preach to all the English- 
 speaking race, and, beyond that, in all the lan- 
 guages of men. Through them he had the gift of 
 tongues. For this he maintained that wonderful 
 series, numbering now more than 2,000, never 
 allowing him to repeat himself or to sleep on his 
 laurels for well-nigh forty years. 
 
 Even his Orphan Asylums, his Home for Aged 
 Ministers, his Old Ladies' Home, and other charities 
 
 (315) 
 
3i6 Conclitdiiig- TJi02igkts. 
 
 were the outgrowth of a pastor's warm heart. His 
 ^' Sword and Trowel" was a kind of week-day 
 preaching, and his ''John Ploughman's Talks" are 
 homilies on everyday religion — simply an un- 
 inspired Book of Proverbs. 
 
 Personal Memories. 
 
 BY REV. J. C. FERNALD. 
 
 On the first Sunday evening, after reaching 
 London, more than twenty years ago, the writer 
 sought out Spurgeon's Tabernacle. How to find 
 It? That was very easy. Any Londoner could 
 tell. It is ''just opposite 'The Elephant and 
 Castle.'" Now "The Helephant and Castle," as 
 the Londoners most appropriately call it, is a great 
 gin-palace. You go down through streets which 
 it is not always safe for men to traverse, even in 
 the early evening, till you come where the lights 
 of the gin-shop gleam, and the green doors swing, 
 swing, to the constant trafific in drink, and poor, 
 sodden, or emaciated creatures stand or sit hope- 
 lessly around the entrance. That is your land- 
 mark, and you know that by just turning your 
 back on that scene of desolation and sin, you 
 will face Spurgeon's Tabernacle. 
 
 It is a dull, rainy evening, and you flatter your- 
 self it will be a good chance to hear the great 
 preacher, because there will be no crowd. But 
 when you reach the great gray stone portico, its 
 rows of columns enclosing a space large enough 
 for a fair-sized church, lo, the crowd is there al- 
 ready. The space is half full of people, standing 
 
The Mixed Multitude. 3 1 7 
 
 closely packed, right up to the great doors. Peo- 
 ple-, quickly crowd in behind you, till you are 
 wedged fast. You turn to your neighbor, a plain, 
 honest-appearing man, and ask if there is anything 
 special to take place here this evening. He seems 
 rather surprised, and answers " Nothing but Mr. 
 Spurgeon's regular service," as one who would say 
 *' What more would you have ?" 
 
 The rain pours down, and the people pour in, till 
 the great vestibule is full. The hour arrives, the 
 doors are opened, and with a rush — quiet but de- 
 termined — the crowd surges in. People have been 
 admitted by ticket at a side-door for an hour past, 
 and the pews are perhaps half filled. They are 
 filled to the doors in an instant now; for the law 
 of the Tabernacle is that every seat is free from 
 the moment the main doors are opened. You are 
 quickly shoved into a seat, and fastened in tight 
 by those who follow, and still the crowd presses on 
 and en. like a bayonet charge, till every seat is full, 
 and a solid phalanx packs every aisle, two-thirds 
 of the w^ay to the pulpit; standing there, silent, at- 
 tentive, expectant. While waiting for the preacher, 
 you glance at your neighbors. In the pews are 
 many who are evidently thoughtful, Christian peo- 
 ple; there are scholarly and clerical men — some of 
 distinguished appearance — scattered through the 
 crowd, yet the first feeling of a well-bred New 
 Englander is a certain disgust. These blear-eyed 
 men, these loudly-dressed, coarse-faced women, 
 these poverty-stricken, unwashed street denizens 
 thronging around you — some in your very pew 
 
3i8 Concluding TJiongJils. 
 
 — — ^ — — - — fi 
 
 whom you would not care to be seen with on the 
 street! Your invohintary feeling is, that you are 
 in disreputable society. You are not accustomed 
 to go to church with such people, and you want to 
 get out. Suddenly it occurs to you that Jesus 
 used to draw a crowd which the proper people of 
 His day did not approve of. You remember the 
 question '' Why eateth your Master with publicans 
 and sinners?" and you begin to wonder if the 
 Scribes and Pharisees did not feel just about as 
 you do; or, to put the case another way, whether 
 you do not feel pretty much as the Scribes and 
 Pharisees did. You remember that they did not 
 get much encouragement for that state of mind. 
 You recall the words of the Lord: " They that are 
 whole need not a physician, but they that are sick. 
 I came not to call the righteous, but sinners to re- 
 pentance. The Son of Man is come to seek and to 
 save that which is lost." Well, here they are, the 
 ''sick," the "sinners," the "lost" beyond perad- 
 venture. You settle back into your seat, glad that 
 any way they can be won into the house of God. 
 But will they get any good from such a service, or 
 are they drawn only by curiosity, a crowd, and a 
 shelter? There is a subdued hum and rustle, and, 
 attended by a little company of friends, deacons, 
 and honored guests, the great preacher comes in. 
 Hardly a moment elapses before he comes forward, 
 offers up a brief prayer, and gives out a hymn. 
 You forget the crowd, and everything else but the 
 man, and the worship of Almighty God, to which 
 he has called you. 
 
Hymns and Sermon, 319 
 
 Mr. Spurgeon does not exactly 'Mine off" the 
 hymn, but he remembers that many of those peo- 
 ple have no books, and that many of them cannot 
 read. So he reads one verse of a hymn, and waits 
 for it to be sung — then reads another — and so on; 
 he standing there as leader through all. A clear- 
 voiced chorister takes up the hymn, and thousands 
 of voices join, 'Mike the noise of many waters." 
 Ah, it is grand, thrilling i The Scripture is read 
 as by a man who believes it; every word clear, with 
 here and there a comment, to "give the sense, and 
 cause the people to understand the meaning." 
 
 Mr. Spurgeon has no pulpit. When the opening 
 services are ended, he steps forward to the front, 
 and resting one hand easily on the railing that en- 
 closes the platform, he begins to preach, with clear, 
 terse, strong sentences. There are no dubious ex- 
 planations, nothing faltering or cloudy. *' I be- 
 lieve, and therefore have I spoken " is behind every 
 word. Soon there is a felt hush through the vast 
 throng, as the preacher mightily "reasons of right- 
 eousness, temperance, and judgment to come." 
 Then, as he tells of the tender mercy of our God, 
 " not willing that any should perish, but that ALL 
 should come to repentance," tears steal down the 
 faces of these rough men and women with whom 
 you at first hardly thought fit to worship in the 
 same sanctuary. Oh, how reverently they depart 
 when the sermon is ended ! Who shall say what 
 results to follow in new hearts and lives ? You go 
 away with wondering exaltation, the New Testa- 
 ment somehow translated anew. Spurgeon has 
 
320 Conchiding Thoughts, 
 
 his Master's credentials. '' Tlie common people 
 hear him gladly. The poor have the Gospel 
 preached to them." 
 
 Again and again you go, and the experience is 
 the same — the crowd never less — the preacher's 
 power never faltering — the speaker never repeat- 
 ing himself — the one great theme of salvation 
 always his message, yet new as the changing days. 
 He is one with his audience. He worships with 
 them. He prays for them. You feel instinctively 
 when he prays, that here is a man strong enough 
 and good enough to bear up on his anointed hands 
 toward heaven the prayers of a host — the grandest 
 idea that ever entered into the thought of a priest- 
 hood between God and men. 
 
 But his preaching is at the furthest remove from 
 any priestly idea. It is that of a plain man to plain 
 men ; but of a man who has got farther than you 
 on the way to God — is glad that he has, and eager 
 to tell you of it, that you may " go there too." He 
 is at home with his audience. One Sunday morn- 
 ing, w^hen he had given out the first verse of a 
 grand old hymn, the people had somehow not 
 caught the spirit of it. The moment the last sounds 
 of the song died away, Mr. Spurgeon closed his 
 hymn-book, with finger still between the leaves, and 
 resting the book on the railing before him, raised 
 the other hand, in his familiar gesture, and ex- 
 claimed, " That is not to the praise and glory of 
 God. You would not sing those words like that 
 if you thought what they meant." Then, opening 
 the book, in a few ringing sentences he gave the 
 
The Gospel of Hope, 321 
 
 thought of the hymn, adding, " Now let us try that 
 verse again." He read it once more, and it was 
 sung with thrilling, heart-moving power. This 
 well illustrates one characteristic of Mr. Spurgeon. 
 He utters no killing criticisms or anathemas. He 
 never exposes or denounces fault or sin for the sake 
 of exposing or denouncing it. Sometimes he seems 
 to lay bare the hearer's very soul before the moral 
 law and the Majesty in the heavens. But just when 
 the heart is most oppressed and humiliated with 
 the consciousness of unworthiness, he says in effect, 
 " Let us try again ; let us return unto the Lord," 
 and sweetly rings out the Gospel of hope. 
 
 Spurgeon's power as a preacher is not according 
 to accepted rhetorical standards. He has not the 
 stately figure and fine presence which are said to 
 be essential. He is not above medium height, and 
 too stout for what is called grace of motion, except 
 the grace of massive solidity, consistent with itself. 
 He has not the spiritiielle cast of countenance, the 
 lofty brow, and delicately cut features, nor the 
 soul-piercing eye. The expression of eye and face 
 is not that of one who has come to search you, but 
 to tell you something he is greatly in earnest to 
 tell, and glad to tell, and expects you to be 
 interested in. 
 
 But his voice takes you captive from the moment 
 it strikes your ear. Full, deep, mellow, clear, 
 penetrating, it rolls forth and fills all the space 
 with rich waves of sound. Yet, at first, you do 
 not think of the voice, but of what the voice is 
 saying. The preacher seems to be speaking 
 
322 Concluding TJioitghts. 
 
 directly to you, and for you, and there is nothing 
 so natural as to listen to what he has to say. It is 
 only when you have come again and again, and 
 listened from every point in the vast building, 
 when you find that right under the platform you 
 are not stunned, and do not seem to be shouted at, 
 and that standing just inside the door of the 
 farthest gallery you hear with perfect ease and 
 without the slighest strain on your attention, just 
 as if someone were to come up and make a re- 
 mark at your side — only then do you realize what a 
 marvellous organ is the great preacher's voice. 
 Then, the charm of it is, that he makes no per- 
 ceptible effort. He seems to speak as easily as if 
 you were seated in his parlor, and he were just 
 entering into conversation on some pleasant 
 theme. 
 
 Again and again — sometimes through long 
 stretches of the sermon — each hearer, whatever 
 his place, rank, or character, feels as if he were 
 personally addressed. Mr. Spurgeon has come to 
 speak to you, and a few thousand heads more or 
 less between you and him make no sort of differ- 
 ence. " He that hath ears " cannot choose but 
 hear. 
 
 He can be closely personal in his preaching. One 
 Sunday night he preached on the little text, "And 
 He shall be great" — and how great that text be- 
 came ! The burden of the sermon was that Christ 
 is made great by victories of salvation ; and the 
 salvation he spoke of was that of individual sinners. 
 In the peroration, he applied this redemption as a 
 
Personal Preachmg. 323 
 
 personal possibility to the host, class by class, and 
 almost man by man. At one moment, he swept 
 his hand and glance across the high gallery at his 
 left, and exclaimed, " If Christ would come to that 
 drunkard, and wash his month out, wouldn't that 
 make Jesus Christ great ? " There is no describing 
 the intonation which the speaker put upon those 
 homely words " wash his mouth out." As he ut- 
 tered them, they seemed to carry the entire physi- 
 cal and moral renovation of the man, till you could 
 see him cleansed from his pollution, " at the feet of 
 Jesus, clothed and in his right mind." Then, the 
 ringing triumph with which the closing words were 
 uttered '^woiddjit that make Jesus Christ great!** 
 was like an echo of angels' songs of "joy over one 
 sinner that repenteth." It was a word to give to 
 the forlorn wretch the thought that even his re- 
 demption would be a glorious triumph for the 
 crucified Redeemer, over which all the good in 
 heaven and earth would rejoice. 
 
 As we came away, one minister of our party said, 
 *' Well, he preached to the publicans and sinners, 
 the drunkards and the harlots, and he had them all 
 there:* 
 
 The writer went one Sunday afternoon into the 
 Young Men's Class, in one of the large basement 
 rooms of the Tabernacle. It was a strange service 
 viewed from the American standpoint. There were 
 something more than a hundred young men, and 
 the exercises were largely of a conference-meeting 
 character. One of these young men would arise, 
 read a verse of a hymn, speak of his own religious 
 
324 Conchiding Thoitghts. 
 
 experience or work, and sit down; then another and 
 another would follow. Often it was hard, stum- 
 bling work to read through the four lines of some 
 simple stanza. Such an exercise would not, at first 
 thought, seem likely to be very profitable. But 
 here is one young man who has to be helped 
 through his reading, who tells his story about as * 
 follows : 
 
 " I was sent with Brother B. down to Street; 
 
 and found our mission in a room over a shop. It 
 was a good, large room for that quarter ; and Mrs. 
 
 made it very interesting, but there were only 
 
 a few people there. I said to Brother B. * It's a 
 shame to have that nice, big room, and such a good 
 leader, and the room not half full; and people so 
 thick about here.' He agreed with me, and we 
 prayed over it, and the next Sunday morning we 
 started out early, and went to the top of one alley, 
 and began to sing. Pretty soon a crowd came 
 round us, and then we told 'em what a good thing 
 *twas to love Jesus, and all the good it had done 
 
 us, and told 'em about our room down on 
 
 Street, and that we'd have service there at half- 
 after-ten, and they'd all be welcome. Then we 
 went to the next alley, and did the same ; and 
 when the time for service came, that room was 
 full. 
 
 "Next Sunday we went again. We sung and 
 went down through the alleys and gave tracts to 
 everybody that would take 'em, and told 'em about 
 the meeting, and the room wouldn't hold the people; 
 and Mr. Spurgeon got us a bigger room, and he 
 
The Young Men s Class, 325 
 
 sent Mr. L. from the pastor's college to preach; and 
 now there's a revival and Mr. Spurgeon says we 
 shall have a chapel down there, and he has part of 
 the money for it." 
 
 So they went on with stories, not always so strik- 
 ing as tfeis, but all of work done, and the Lord's 
 blessing received, in answer to prayer, labor, and 
 sacrifice. There was not much talA of their own 
 feelings, but of something done for Christ ; and that 
 a something which was level to their power and op- 
 portunities, and brought a sure result of good. It 
 occurred to us that the Lord God Omnipotent could 
 dispense with reading and spelling ; that devout 
 hearts and simple, direct work for souls could ac- 
 complish much good with little learning. We 
 thought, too, that it would be quite possible to 
 educate these men too much — away from ''the 
 common people" of whom they were now a part, 
 and with whom they were in such hearty sym- 
 pathy. Assuredly we err, if we hold that the 
 world must wait for conversion till every preacher 
 can have ten years of school and university 
 training. 
 
 Spurgeon's Pastor's College is built on a solid 
 basis of lay preachers, from whom there is a constant 
 coming up, by natural growth in the work, into the 
 regular ministry; while many remain for life in the 
 useful ranks of unordained workers for souls. The 
 Pastor's College expressly aims not to give a kind 
 of learning that would educate men away from 
 this homely and wholesome service, but only what 
 will prepare them better for it. 
 
326 Co7icluding Thoughts, 
 
 Sickness and Suffering. 
 
 One remarkable thing about Mr. Spurgeon's 
 Avork is, that it has been done for many 3^ears in 
 the midst of ill health, involving often great weak- 
 ness and intense pain. He has been obliged almost 
 every winter to visit Mentone in the South of 
 France for some temporary relief from his persistent 
 enemy, rheumatic gout. But, through all these 
 years, even his sick-room life has been fruitful. 
 Exquisitely beautiful discourses, spoken to his 
 fellow invalids, have gone forth to the sick-rooms 
 of the nations, and with a message to troubled hearts 
 everywhere. 
 
 In one of these "talks," as he calls them, he gives 
 a bit of personal experience which throws an in- 
 teresting light on his methods of work. He says : 
 *'It has been my habit for years to make everything 
 yield me an illustration. The other day it rained, 
 and I could not leave my room. My window looked 
 out on a little square, in which the only thing to 
 notice was a pump. What illustration could there 
 be in that ? Well, I watched the people who came to 
 draw water, and at length I saw one man who came 
 over and over again. I asked myself why he came 
 so often, and I said, 'It cannot be for himself. He 
 must be drawing water for others. Then surely, 
 I, who have so many to pray for, ought to go of- 
 tener than other men to the throne of grace.' " 
 
 Yet his ill-health has scarcely been allowed to 
 check his great work. Through all, he has been 
 the same toiling, achieving man. Macaulay said 
 
Ceaseless Industry, 3^7 
 
 of the old Puritan, " In his retirement he prayed 
 with convulsions and groans and tears. But when 
 he took his seat in the council, or girt on his sword 
 for war, these tempestuous workings of the soul 
 had left no visible trace behind them." So when, 
 after illness and pain, Spurgeon has stood in the 
 Tabernacle pulpit again, it has not been as an 
 invalid or martyr ; not as an object of pity, but as 
 one indeed able to draw water from the wells of sal- 
 vation for all the throng -a commander, a helper, 
 a deliverer. It may be that he has been stronger 
 for the very weakness and pain he has conquered. 
 Somehow his diligent studies have gone on. The 
 Sword and The Trowel has regularly appeared. His 
 great work, The Treasury of David, has been 
 finished. He has kept his hand on his Pastor's 
 College, and its students have felt his inspiration 
 and sympathy. The number of his printed ser- 
 mons has been steadily augmented, and every 
 little while, as it has seemed, he has uttered some- 
 where in England one of those Conference Addresses 
 in which he indulged himself in the play of a light 
 and genial humor which does not appear in his 
 sermons, but which sets truth before the mind 
 with a freshness and vividness that cannot be 
 excelled, and is not easily forgotten. One of the 
 very best of these was his latest, The Greatest Fight 
 in the World, in which he defended with all the 
 vigor and power of his earlier years the doctrine of 
 the Inspiration of the Scriptures which he so de- 
 voutly cherished. 
 
328 Concluding Thoughts, 
 
 The Bible, the Critics, and the Church. 
 
 In this latest published address, speaking of the 
 arrogant claims of certain scientists and critics, 
 Mr. Spurgeon exclaims: 
 
 " But where shall infallibiUty be found ? The depth 
 saith, ' It is not in me '; yet those who have no depth at all 
 would have us imagine that it is in them ; or else by per- 
 petual change they hope to hit upon it. Are we to believe 
 that infallibility is with learned men ? Now, Farmer Smith, 
 when you have read your Bible, and have enjoyed its 
 precious promises, you will have, to-morrow morning, to go 
 dov/n the street to ask the scholarly man at the parsonage 
 whether this portion of the Scripture belongs to the inspired 
 part of the Word, or whether it is of dubious authority. It 
 will be well for you to know whether it was written by the 
 Isaiah, or whether it was by the second of the 'two 
 Obadiahs.' " 
 
 Or again: 
 
 " We travel now at so rapid a rate that we rush by sets 
 of scientific hypotheses as quickly as we pass telegraph 
 posts when riding in an express train. All that we are cer- 
 tain of to-day is this, that v/hat the learned were sure of a 
 few years ago is now thrown into the limbo of discarded 
 errors. I believe in science, but not in what is called 
 ' science.' No proven fact in nature is opposed to revela- 
 tion. The pretty speculations of the pretentious we cannot 
 reconcile with the Bible, and would not if we could." 
 
 Here is an exceedingly apt hit at certain 
 preachers of doubts and negations: 
 
 " Don't puzzle your people with doubtful speeches. 
 ' Well,' said one ' I had a new idea the other day. I did not 
 enlarge upon it ; but I just threw it out.' That is a very 
 
The Mission of the Church. 329 
 
 good thing to do with most of your new ideas. Throw them 
 out, by all means ; but mind where you are when you do it; 
 for if you throw them out from the pulpit they may strike 
 somebody, and inflict a wound upon faith. Throw out your 
 fancies, but first go alone in a boat a mile out to sea. When 
 you have once thrown out your unconsidered trifles, leave 
 them to the fishes." 
 
 Of some " explanations " of Scripture, he says : 
 
 " If you smash up an explanation you must not imagine 
 that you have damaged the scriptural truth which seemed 
 to require the explanation ; you have only burned the 
 wooden palisades with which well-meaning men thought to 
 protect an impregnable fort which needed no such defence. 
 For the most part, we had better leave the difficulty where 
 it is, rather than make another difficulty by our theory. 
 
 Here is his view of the mission of the church: 
 
 " We are rowing like lifeboat men upon a stormy sea, and 
 we are hurrying to yonder wreck, where men are perishing. 
 If we may not draw that old wreck to shore, we will at 
 least, by the power of God, rescue the perishing, save life, 
 and bear the redeemed to the shores of salvation. Our 
 mission, like our Lord's, is to gather out the chosen of God 
 from among men, that they may live to the glory of God. 
 Every saved man should be, under God, a saviour; and the 
 church is not in a right state until she has reached that con- 
 ception of herself. The elect church is saved that she may 
 save, cleansed that she may cleanse, blessed that she may 
 bless. All the world is the field, and all the members of 
 the church should work therein for the great Husbandman." 
 
 With such an ideal in the heart of their pastor, 
 no wonder the young men of his church go out to 
 sing in the alleys, and to gather, in some " large 
 upper room," congregations of London's poorl 
 
330 Concluding Thonghts. 
 
 Reminiscences. 
 
 BY PROFESSOR W. C. WILKINSON, D.D.* 
 
 *< A 7'OU are an American!" These were the very 
 ^ first words ever addressed by Mr. Spurp^eon 
 to me. It was thirty-two years ago. How well I 
 remember the occasion! The words were uttered 
 half as affirmative, half as interrogative. I wore a 
 tell-tale hat, different from the English fashion. 
 
 Fresh graduate from my seminary studies, and 
 pastor-elect of a church in New Haven, I had 
 crossed the Atlantic for a little vacation tour before 
 beginning work. I carried a letter of introduction 
 to Mr. Spurgeon from his American publishers. 
 Having heard him preach one Sunday morning in 
 Surrey Gardens Music Hall, I sought him after 
 the services were over, and met him walking with 
 Mrs. Spurgeon on his arm through a corridor of 
 the building on his way out into the street. As I 
 approached him, he frankly and cordially put out 
 his hand to welcome me, with recognition of my 
 quality, as at once a stranger and a kinsman, ex- 
 pressed in the words, ''You are an American!" 
 That same Sunday, in the late afternoon, at a 
 prayer-meeting, attended by perhaps a thousand 
 persons, Mr. Spurgeon as leader recognized the 
 
 *To urgent, repeated requests from the American publishers 
 that he would contribute to this volume something in the way 
 of reminiscences of his ov/n personal observation of Mr. 
 Spurgeon, Professor Wilkinson at length responded by writing 
 the sketch here introduced. 
 
A Platform Incident. 331 
 
 young American in the throng and called on him 
 to offer prayer. This illustrates the alertness of 
 attention and of thought that characterized this 
 many-sidedly remarkable man. 
 
 A far better illustration of the same quality is 
 furnished in an incident of two or three years 
 later, in which I was concerned. Health broken, 
 I was again in England. Our civil war had been 
 some ten months waging. A missionary meeting, 
 presided over by Mr. Marshman, son of the cele- 
 brated missionary of that name, was held in the 
 Metropolitan Tabernacle, then new. A crowded 
 audience was present. Mr. Marshman, in his open- 
 ing address, referred to the *' fratricidal " war going 
 on in the United States, as a reason for diminished 
 gifts from American Baptists to the cause of mis- 
 sions, and, therefore, a reason for increased gifts 
 from English Baptists. My patriotism was sensi- 
 tive, and I did not like the speaker's adjective, 
 ''fratricidal"; and, besides, I knew a fact that 
 made the implication of his language seem false. 
 If I had not been a sick man, there would un- 
 doubtedly have been a short speech on that occa- 
 sion not set down in the programme. As it was, 
 I sent my card to Mr. Spurgeon on the platform, 
 briefly stating that, in point of fact, the receipts of 
 the American Baptist Missionary Union were not 
 diminished from those of the year before, and ask- 
 ing that this correction of the chairman's implica- 
 tion be publicly made. I presently felt the flutter 
 of a responsive oral message undulating toward me 
 from the platform. Mr. Spurgeon v^ished to speak 
 
;^;^2 Coichiding ThotigJUs. 
 
 with me. I obeyed the summons. The chairman 
 was still speaking, when Mr. Spurgeon said to me: 
 " You are quite sure of what you here say?" "I 
 have it recent and direct from a responsible Amer- 
 ican source," 1 said. " The Missionary Union's 
 receipts are as large this year of the war, as they 
 were the year before?" Mn Spurgeon asked. ''The 
 unquestionable fact," I firmly responded, ventur- 
 ing to press the claim for a public correction. Mr. 
 Spurgeon reflected a moment, and then asked: 
 " But, in anticipation of the war, amid the financial 
 troubles of the hour, may not the previous year's 
 receipts have fallen below the average standard ?" 
 What a bright, vigilant, sagacious question! I 
 was not able to assure him that his conjecture of 
 the probable was wrong — for I did not know how 
 the case stood. Mr. Spurgeon was fairly quit of 
 the necessity of making an awkward public cor- 
 rection, and I had to content myself with being 
 introduced to Mr. Marshman, and giving him my 
 London address for further communication on the 
 subject. 
 
 Mr. Spurgeon's own speech that evening was the 
 only example from him of oratory, not preaching, 
 that I ever heard. It was so consummately good 
 that I remember thinking what a master of men 
 that man would be in the arena of popular poli- 
 tics. For my own part, I have no doubt that 
 Spurgeon — with his infallible instinct of the average 
 popular mind, his unsurpassed gift of popular 
 address, his knack of wide popularit)^ and, then, 
 besides these things, his statesman-like capacity of 
 
A Book Criticism. 2)?)?) 
 
 applying common sense to the administration of 
 affairs, joined to his thoroughly, typically, English 
 cast of intellect and of character — would have run 
 a full even career of rivalry with Mr. Gladstone 
 himself for leadership in British imperial politics. 
 
 Three years ago, I heard Mr. Spurgeon again 
 after a long interval. At the close of a Sunday 
 morning service, I went, conducted by a deacon of 
 the church, to present myself to the pastor. The 
 reception-room was thronged with people, many 
 of them Americans paying their respects to a 
 famous man, known to be glad to give countrymen 
 of ours the grasp of his hand. To illustrate the 
 bluff, kind, large heartiness of his manner, I may 
 report that I heard him say to one of the number 
 present on this occasion, whom, on introduction, 
 he recognized as author of some books that he 
 liked : " Those are magnificent books. You have 
 the educational bump. You know just what to 
 say and just what not to say. I have done by 
 those books what I do not do by many; I have read 
 them through^ The books referred to were not 
 religious books, and one observation which Mr. 
 Spurgeon added about them was peculiarly signi- 
 ficant coming from ///;;/. The author remarked 
 that he had tried to make his books, while not ex- 
 pressly religious, still loyal to Jesus Christ. '* Yes, 
 yes, I noted that," said Mr. Spurgeon. " Every 
 time you got a fair chance, you put in a true 
 word for Him. And such books do more good than 
 religious books. '' There was so much common sense 
 expressed in this last saying, and so much free- 
 
334 Concluding TJioughts. 
 
 dom from narrowness, so much open-eyed capacity 
 to see things without the mere preacher's spec- 
 tacles interposed, and it was said so emphatically, 
 that I represent the spirit and effect of the remark 
 by printing it in italics. It exhibits a trait in Mr. 
 Spurgeon's mental and moral character that those 
 who have learned him only through his sermons 
 would not, perhaps, have suspected in him. 
 
 The following day I met him for a private inter- 
 view at an hour appointed. " You are the first 
 American I ever knew to keep an appointment 
 punctually," he said briskly, with pleasure ex- 
 pressed at the exception, rather than disapproval 
 of the rule, as I presented myself, fortunately, on 
 the stroke of the clock. If, indeed, my respected 
 fellow-countrymen have, as Mr. Spurgeon so 
 strongly implied, been habitually tardy and de- 
 relict keepers of London appointments, I can easily 
 attribute it to the uncalculated great distances that 
 have to be traversed in London in going from one 
 quarter of the metropolis to another. To tell the 
 truth, I had earned my own praise for punctuality 
 from him, by presenting myself impransus^ and ac- 
 tually faint with fasting. I had mistakingly cal- 
 culated that I might reach the place with time 
 enough to spare for taking a hasty meal some- 
 where in the neighborhood before the interview. 
 
 We talked a pleasant hour — that is, Mr. Spurgeon 
 did, I only now and then for an instant changing 
 my part from that of listener to that of speaker. 
 I mentioned very briefly the case of a young man 
 who told me, many years ago, that Mr. Spurgeon, 
 
Curious Coincidences, 335 
 
 not long before, had singled him out from the con- 
 gregation and made him a target for the general 
 gaze by describing his appearance and the manner 
 in which he was dressed. The young fellow felt 
 seriously aggrieved, and I could in no wise persuade 
 him that he had mistaken a mere coincidence for 
 intention on the preacher's part. Afterward, and 
 this I told Mr. Spurgeon, I met at a dinner-party in 
 Paris an American gentleman who, when I recited 
 the young man's story, confirmed it, by saying that 
 he was present on the occasion, sat near the young 
 man, heard Mr. Spurgeon describe him to the life, 
 saw people looking at him ; there could be no mis- 
 take, he thought. So much for a very curious co- 
 incidence. For pure coincidence, Mr. Spurgeon 
 assured me, it was. He never, he said, did such a 
 thing in his life as to single out one of his hearers 
 in that way. '' Many singular coincidences," he 
 said, "have come to my knowledge. Once for ex- 
 ample, drawing the bow at a venture, I said, * There 
 is a man now here, sitting on the left-hand side of 
 the house, who came in with a bottle of gin in his 
 pocket. I proceeded to say what I hoped might do 
 such a man good. A little while after, a man came 
 to me, and said: ^How did you know I came into 
 the church that day with a gin-bottle in my pocket? 
 So I did, but how did you find it out ? You got me 
 on the wrong side, though. I was on the right- 
 hand side of the house, instead of the left.' I smiled 
 and told him that depended upon how he reckoned. 
 Right-hana to him would be left-hand to me. 
 Strange to say, on that very occasion, there was a 
 
^2f^ Concluding TJioughts. 
 
 second man in the audience with a bottle of gin in 
 his pocket. This one sat on the opposite side from 
 the other, but he reckoned differently, and so he too 
 was assured in a similar way, when he said I had 
 placed him wrong. Both men were converted," Mr. 
 Spurgeon added. He narrated several other cases 
 of curious coincidence that had been made known 
 to him, occurring in the long course of his preach- 
 ing weekly to those immense congregations of his. 
 
 The stress of the " Down-grade " controversy 
 was on at the time of this interview, and that nat- 
 urally was one of the main things talked about. 
 Two points chiefly impressed me ; one was the un- 
 alterable magnanimous sweetness of Mr. Spurgeon's 
 temper toward those whom he thought radically 
 wrong, and the other was the unshakableness of 
 his conviction that he was himself right, not only 
 in his doctrine, but in his way of asserting his doc- 
 trine through secession from the Baptist Union. 
 At the same time, I was sure I could see signs in 
 him of sincere suffering at heart from the sundering 
 of old ties. But he suffered and w^as strong. 
 
 During my last visit to London, ending early in 
 May of the past year (1891), I twice heard Mr. 
 Spurgeon preach ; but I personally met him only 
 once, and that for no more than a greeting and a 
 hand-shake. " We shall see each other again, I 
 hope, friend Wilkinson," were the kindly words 
 with which he then let me go. The good old-fash- 
 ioned accosting style of " Friend " Wilkinson was a 
 way he had of expressing the sentiment of comrade- 
 ship. The state of his health, manifestly feeble.. 
 
Estimate of opponents, '^'i^'] 
 
 forbade my again seeing him in private. Two or 
 three brief notes from his own hand faithfully an- 
 swering questions with which I had reluctantly 
 brought myself to trouble him, revealed the sense 
 of overburdening labor and care under which, he 
 daily staggered. He was almost foundering with 
 the very weight of his lading. 
 
 It happened to me, during the months of my stay 
 in London, to be brought more into contact with 
 those who differed theologically from Mr. Spurgeon 
 than with those that thought as he did. The testi- 
 mony, in fact, unconsciously borne, of these oppo- 
 nents and critics of Mr. Spurgeon's course, to the 
 overtopping greatness of his character and of his 
 influence, was to me most impressive. I acquired 
 from it a quite new, an immensely augmented, esti- 
 mate and measure of the solitary preeminence of the 
 man. There was no minister like him, for command- 
 ing influence in all the three kingdoms — there prob- 
 ably never has been. Mr. Spurgeon was the one 
 dissenting minister of Great Britain — and there 
 was no instance comparable afforded by the clergy 
 of the Church of England — whose movements, 
 whose state of health, whose utterances, formed a 
 staple topic of news and of comment for the daily 
 newspapers of the metropolis of the world. It was 
 the staunch character, standing four-square to all 
 the winds that blew, almost more than it was the 
 eloquence and the genius of the man, that explained 
 his unique position, his unparalleled power. What 
 other personal breakwater could stem, as he stem- 
 med, the tremendous current now sweeping theolog- 
 
2,^S Concludmg Thotights, 
 
 ical thought in Great Britain, no one knows whither, 
 in the direction of liberalism. Were he right, or 
 were he wrong, it was nothing less than sublime to 
 see him stand, and let their surging charges, break- 
 ing upon him, foam themselves away. 
 
 Something of the pathos of evidently waning 
 physical strength added itself to the effect of Mr. 
 Spurgeon's later eloquence. His hair and beard had 
 grown visibly gray, and he stayed his steps with a 
 staff, as he slowly descended to his standing-place 
 on the platform where he preached. Only his 
 voice seemed almost to have renewed itself from the 
 fountain of perpetual youth. Of course, it was not 
 quite what it had been in its prime, but it was won- 
 derful, incomparable, yet. It has left the world 
 lonely now that it has ceased to be heard ; but its 
 last accents, how Apostolic they were, how full of 
 the old gospel which, during forty years of an un- 
 paralleled ministry, it had successfully commended 
 to so many ! 
 
 The " Down Grade Controversy." 
 
 The famous " Down Grade Controversy," to 
 which Dr. Wilkinson refers in the above, took 
 place in 1887, when Mr. Spurgeon withdrew from 
 the Baptist Union, because of what he believed to 
 be a defection from some of the cardinal doctrines 
 of evangelical religion on the part of a number of 
 his brethren, and the toleration of such laxity by the 
 Union. His reasons for the step, as given in The 
 Sword and The Trowel iox August, 1887, were that, 
 
The Broad School of Dissent, 339 
 
 among those connected with what he terms " The 
 Broad School of Dissent," 
 
 " The Atonement is scouted, the Inspiration of 
 Scripture is derided, the Holy Spirit is degraded 
 into an influence, the punishment of sin is turned 
 into a fiction, and the resurrection into a myth. 
 
 "At the back of doctrinal falsehood comes a 
 decline of spiritual life, evidenced by a taste for 
 questionable amusements and a weariness of devo- 
 tional meetings. At a certain meeting of ministers 
 and church officers, one after another doubted the 
 value of prayer meetings ; all confessed that they 
 had a very small attendance, and several acknowl- 
 edged without the slightest compunction that they 
 had given them up. 
 
 "As for questionable amusements — time was 
 when a Nonconformist minister who was known to 
 attend the playhouse would soon have found him- 
 self without a church. And justly so ; for no man 
 can long possess the confidence, even of the most 
 worldly, who is known to be a haunter of theatres. 
 Yet, at the present time, it is matter of notoriety 
 that preachers of no mean repute defend the play- 
 house, and do so because they have been seen 
 there." 
 
 While not claiming that his brethren of the 
 Baptist Union, were generally open to charges 
 such as these, he felt that since some against 
 whom they could be made were members of the 
 
340 Concluding Thoughts. 
 
 Union, his only effectual protest was to withdraw. 
 In his own words : 
 
 '' Christian love has its claims, and divisions are 
 to be shunned as grievous evils, but how far are 
 we justified in being in confederacy with those who 
 are departing from the truth ? It is a difficult 
 question to answer so as to keep the balance of the 
 duties. 
 
 '' A chasm is opening between the men who be- 
 lieve their Bibles and the men who are prepared 
 for an advance upon Scripture. Inspiration and 
 speculation cannot long abide in peace. Com- 
 promise there can be none. We cannot hold the 
 inspiration of the word, and yet reject it ; Ave can- 
 not believe in the Atonement and deny it; we can- 
 not hold the doctrine of the fall, and vet talk of the 
 evolution of spiritual life from human nature ; we 
 cannot recognize the punishment of the impenitent, 
 and yet indulge the ' larger hope.' One way or the 
 other we must go. Decision is the virtue of the hour. 
 
 " Neither when we have chosen our way can we 
 keep company with those who go the other way. 
 There must come with decision for truth a corre- 
 sponding protest against error. Let those who will 
 keep the narrow way, keep it, and suffer for their 
 choice; but to hope to follow the broad road at 
 the same time is an absurdity. What communion 
 hath Christ with Belial ? " 
 
 The frank. Christian manliness of these utter- 
 ances no one can question. Good men have differed 
 greatly regarding this step: whether so great laxity 
 did exist to any wide extent, and, even if so. 
 
ExhaMstijig Labors. 341 
 
 whether Mr. Spurgeon took the wisest way to meet 
 it. But there has been no difference of opinion as 
 to the nobility, unselfishness, and perfect candor of 
 the great preacher. 
 
 The Alarming Illness. 
 
 On Feb. 8, 1891, Mr. Spurgeon, after three 
 months* absence, preached in the Tabernacle pul- 
 pit, with great power, and universal rejoicing — the 
 vast congregation singing the doxology, " Praise 
 God from whom all blessings flow." They sung 
 it, we are told, " with thunderous effect." He pre- 
 sided at the annual church meeting, on February 
 17th, when the following statistics were given of 
 the work centering around the Metropolitan 
 Tabernacle : 
 
 Present Membership of the Church 5,328 
 
 23 Mission Stations, with seating capacity for 3, 740 
 
 27 Sunday-Schools, containing Teachers. 502 
 
 " " " " Scholars "."." 8,001 
 
 With occasional slight indispositions, Mr. Spur- 
 geon continued steadily for the next three months 
 at his great work. On Monday evening. May 4th, he 
 presided at the prayer meeting '' after having spent 
 the morning in preparing his weekly sermon for 
 the press, and the afternoon in seeing inquirers. 
 He asked special prayer for the spiritual services 
 in which he was to be occupied during the week." 
 These services were : preaching before the Sunday- 
 School Union the Annual Sermon to Sunday- 
 School Teachers, on Tuesday evening, May 5th, 
 Bloomsbury Chapel, where the service vviis held, 
 
342 Concluding Thoughts, 
 
 being crowded to the doors, and " large numbers 
 unable to obtain admission " ; on Thursday even- 
 ing, May 7th, a sermon at the Tabernacle in aid of 
 the British and Foreign Sailors' Society ; then, on 
 Friday afternoon, May 8th, a gathering at Hendon 
 with the President and students of the College, 
 where '' Mr. Spurgeon read and expounded Gen. 
 xxiv., as illustrative of the Lord's servants who are 
 sent to seek out the bride of Christ "; after " a tea," 
 in the evening, a public meeting for testimony was 
 held, the subject being "• The Church of Christ, its 
 headship, its membership, and its position in the 
 world " ; as two out of three announced speakers 
 were laid aside by influenza, Mr. Spurgeon bore 
 the chief burden of this service, also. Of all this 
 he says, in The Sword and The Trowel for June : 
 
 " A drive of two hours there (to Hendon) and two hours 
 back made the engagement a heavy draught upon time. 
 Friends will note that all the above nieeti?igs were held in 
 one week, which also included two Sabbath services and the 
 great communion at the Tabernacle, besides all the regular 
 home work, correspondence, etc. In addition, the Lord's 
 day morning sermon had to be revised, and published the 
 following Thursday; and the sermons to Sunday-school 
 teachers and sailors were received for revision and duly 
 attended to. Is it any wonder that the worker gets weary, 
 and has to beg friends not to impose further burdens on 
 one who is already terribly overladen ? " 
 
 Following this we read : 
 
 "On Friday evening, May 15th, Mr. Spurgeon spoke at the 
 Presbyterian Missionary meeting at Exeter Hall. It was a 
 time of peculiar bodily weakness, and of special spiritual 
 
Stricken Down. 343 
 
 strength. God bless our friends who so kindly received the 
 message aud the messenger ! " 
 
 The next intelligence is that: 
 
 "On Sunday evening May 17th, Mr. Spurgeon could not 
 preach, and the doctor found him laid aside with conges- 
 tion of the lungs and other matters, which forbid his quit- 
 ting his chamber for some little time to come. 'My times 
 are in thy hand.' We would be always preaching; howbe- 
 it, the Lord thinketh not so." 
 
 From this attack, which proved to be of the 
 dreaded influenza, or la grippe, Mr. Spurgeon rallied, 
 though but momentarily. In the July number of 
 The Sword and The Troivel, we read : 
 
 "On June 7th, A. m., though still weak, he preached at the 
 Tabernacle. The following day, he went into the country 
 for rest and change, but unhappily took a chill, which was 
 followed by gout. At the time of making up these notes, 
 he is still confined to his bed, and suffering greatly." 
 
 Then followed a season of severe and perilous 
 illness, attended with delirium, during which, at 
 times, his death was momentarily expected. Of 
 this, the best account is that found in The Sivord 
 and The Troivel for August, which gives particu- 
 lars down to July 23d, evidently at first-hand, with 
 the suggestion and approval of his family and im- 
 mediate friends : 
 
 " At the beginning of July, there appeared to be good 
 ground for believing that the disease was being subdued, 
 although our poor patient's pains were very acute; but on the 
 evening of Saturday July 4th, the delirium which had passed 
 away for some days returned, and it was evident that a most 
 serious state of affairs had been reached. From that time, 
 
344 Concluding ThongJits. 
 
 Dr. Miller has slept at " Westwood " every night, and Ur. 
 Kidd has been in consultation with him every morning. At 
 intervals, a few bright rays of hope have shot through the 
 dense darkness which has surrounded the sick chaniber; but 
 these have been followed by periods of most painful sus- 
 pense, in which the precious life has seemed to reach the 
 very verge of the unseen world. All that medical skill, 
 patient watching, and careful nursing could do, appeared, 
 for a while to be of no avail. 
 
 " It ought to be stated, however, to the honor of God, that 
 even when almost the last hope of recovery had to be given 
 up, those who were most deeply concerned in the issue of 
 the terrible trial had one source of consolation left. Among 
 the 'letters that poured in daily, from all quarters, there were 
 many from godly men and women who wrote, not merely to 
 say that they were praying for Mr. Spurgeon's recovery, but 
 that it had been impressed upon them most powerfully that 
 this sickness was ' not unto death,' and that the Lord would 
 raise up his servant even from the very gates of the grave. 
 This assurance was a great comfort to the weary watchers, 
 and enabled them, like Abraham wdth Isaac, to give up the 
 loved one without reserve to the divine will, ' by faith . . . 
 accounting that God was able to raise him up even from the 
 dead. ' 
 
 " In such a struggle between life and death, hope and fear 
 alternate with sorrowful frequency. Sometimes the morn- 
 ing has brought manifest improvement which has not been 
 maintained during the day. On other occasions, the night 
 has closed in with the most gloomy forebodings (not for Mr. 
 Spurgeon: for him to depart and to be with Christ would be 
 far better, yet many feel that it is needful for them that he 
 should for a while abide in the flesh). When the morning 
 has come all has been changed, and gladness has taken the 
 place of sadness. It was so on July i6th and 17th. On the 
 Thursday afternoon and evening, the bulletins had been 
 
A World's Sorrow, 345 
 
 truly alarming; but on the Friday morning a slight improve- 
 ment was reported : this was confirmed in the afternoon and 
 again on the following day, and also on the Sabbath ; but 
 alas ! even the sacred hours of the Lord's day were invaded 
 by the dreaded delirium, and day after day, the most trying 
 suspense continued. At the time of writing these " Notes," 
 there appear to be some signs of slight improvement : but 
 the dqar sufferer's condition remains exceedingly criticab" 
 
 A World's Sorrow and Prayer. 
 
 The copy of the magazine quoted above contains 
 an added note, concluding with a few touching 
 words dictated by Mrs. Spurgeon : 
 
 " A whole mumber of The Sword and The Tro2(je/ would 
 scarcely suffice for an adequate acknowledgment of the U/e- 
 grams, letters, and messages, and resolutions of sympathy 
 that have been received by Mrs. Spurgeon from all parts of 
 the world. . . . Mrs. Spurgeon cannot express the deep 
 gratitude that she feels to all who have shown their sympa- 
 thy with her in this season of indescribable trial- In her 
 weak state, the labor of opening and reading so many 
 extra letters has been a heavy burden; but it has been also 
 a great blessing. She has found it to be quite a means of 
 grace to be brought into communication with so large a 
 number of the Lord's praying and believing children." 
 
 The following correspondence between England's 
 foremost statesman and foremost preacher, when 
 the one was sorrowing for the death of his son and 
 the other seemed passing into the shadow of death, 
 is of deep and tender interest. 
 
 Mrs. Spurgeon received the following letter from 
 Mr. Gladstone: 
 
346 Concluding Thoughts. 
 
 " CoRTON, Lowestoft, 
 
 " Jta_y 16. 
 " My dear Madam — In my own home, darkened at the 
 present time, I haA'e read with sad interest daily ac- 
 counts of Mr. Spurgeon's iUness, and I cannot help convey- 
 ing to you the earnest assurance of my sympathy with you 
 and with him, and of my cordial admiration, not only of his 
 splendid powers, but still more of his devoted and unfailing 
 character. May I humbly commend you and him, in all 
 contingencies, to the infinite stores of the Divine love and 
 mercy, and subscribe myself, my dear Madam, faithfully 
 
 yours, 
 
 " W. E. Gladstone." 
 
 Mrs. Spurgeon sent the following reply, the 
 postscript being in her husband's handwriting: 
 " Westwood, Upper Norwood, 
 
 " yu/y 18, 1 891. 
 
 "Dear Mr. Gladstone — Your words of sympathy 
 have a special significance and tenderness coming from one 
 who has just passed through the deep waters which seem 
 now to threaten me. I thank you warmly for your expres- 
 sion of regard for my beloved husband, and with all my 
 heart I pray that the consolations of God may abound to- 
 wards you, even as they do to me. Although we cannot 
 yet consider the dear patient out of danger, the doctors 
 have to-day issued a somewhat more hopeful bulletin. I 
 feel it is an honor to be allowed to say that I shall ever be 
 
 your grateful friend, 
 
 (Signed) " S. Spurgeon." 
 
 " P. S. — Yours is a word of love such as those only write 
 who have been into the King's country, and have seen much 
 of His face. My heart's love to you. — C. H. Spurgeon." 
 
 Of these letters, T/ie National Baptist of July 23, 
 1891, fitly says: 
 
Spurgeo7t and Gladstone, 347 
 
 " This loving correspondence between two such noble and 
 great Christian men has few parallels ; it is all the more 
 noticeable since, a few years ago, when Mr. Gladstone an- 
 nounced his policy as to Home Rule, Mr. Spurgeon declared 
 himself distinctly against it, though (as he said to the writer) 
 ' it was hard to oppose one who had been a dear personal 
 friend.' The world is rich in goodness so long as it has two 
 such men as Gladstone and Spurgeon." 
 
 The Speaker (London) a very able political 
 weekly, strongly Gladstonian in its spirit, on July 
 i8th, at a time when little or no hope was enter- 
 tained for the recovery of Mr. Spurgeon, said : 
 
 " Mr. Spurgeon still lives; but his life seems to be hanging 
 by a thread, and even before these words appear in print, 
 the thread may have been snapped. How many people, we 
 Vv^onder, are fully conscious of the loss which the breaking 
 of the golden cord will inflict upon London and the world ? 
 The time has long since passed when it was fashionable to 
 deride this master of the English language in its noblest 
 form, this preacher whose tenets were of a former day, 
 whose creed, as fervid as it was narrow, seemed little likely 
 to lay hold of the sympathies of a generation like the pres- 
 ent. There was a time when Mr. Spurgeon was, on the 
 whole, the best-abused person in England; when orthodox 
 church circles regarded him with horror as the representa- 
 tive of everything that was odious to the members of an 
 Established Church; when men of light and leading sneered 
 at him as the typical Philistine, and when great essayists, in 
 weekly reviews, regarded him as a butt provided for the 
 special purpose of enabling them to sharpen their small wits 
 on him. Long ago, Mr. Spurgeon lived down all the bigotry, 
 the folly, and the flippancy of which he was for so many 
 years the mark. People came at last to see that even if 
 they could not share his creed, they could admire the fervor 
 
34^ Conclitdino T/iono-hls. 
 
 of his zeal, the purity of his Hfe, and the large-hearted 
 charity which he showed in every matter that did not apper- 
 tain to dog-ma. 
 
 "And even our men of light and leading, after years of 
 scoffing at his pulpit style, awoke to a perception of the fact 
 that, in Mr. Spurgeon, England had one of those born ora- 
 tors of whom this generation has seen only two, to wit, him- 
 self and Mr. Bright. Gifted with splendid common sense, 
 with a genuine humor, with a large-hearted love for his fel- 
 low-creatures, which no narrowness of creed could stifle or 
 distort, and with those unequalled powers as a preacher, 
 which enabled him for nearly forty years to sway the largest 
 congregation in the world, Mr. Spurgeon has undoubtedly 
 been a figure of real importance, as well as real interest, in 
 the community in which he dwelt. . . . Well tried by 
 time, which tries all things, Mr. Spurgeon's life and char- 
 acter have been shown to be of that pure gold against which 
 the sharp edge of ridicule and satire must ever be turned in 
 vain. In parting from him, we part from one who was both 
 great and good; and whatever differences on points of the- 
 ology may separate us from him, there are few among us 
 who do not feel that when he dies, the world will be poorer 
 for his loss." 
 
 The Spectator of London, about the some time, 
 published a most interesting letter, showing the 
 esteem in which Mr. Spurgeon is held among many 
 in the Church of England, and ending with a char- 
 acteristic incident: 
 
 " May I conclude by giving the following anecdote which 
 was related to me by an enthusiastic young Liberal.^ After 
 one of Mr. Spurgeon's sermons, this young man went into 
 the vestry to thank the preacher for his faithful discourse, 
 and, wandering away a little from the matter in hand, refer- 
 red to the ritualistivj party in the Church of England, ending 
 
A Cat J 10 lie Spirit. 349 
 
 a somewhat severe denunciation of their views by saying, 
 ' Surely you must have a feeling of strong indignation against 
 such teachers, and see with fear the harm they are doing,' 
 Mr. Spurgeon answered : ' No, not entirely so ; they have 
 stirred up much earnest work, and we all may take a lesson 
 from their self-sacrificing and devoted lives.' This answer 
 is, I think, proof of a truly catholic spirit. 
 " I am, sir, etc. 
 
 "A. G. T." 
 
 This is surely beautiful, as showing how one so 
 uncompromising in doctrine, and ready so earnestly 
 to "contend," on occasion, for "the faith once de- 
 livered to the saints" can maintain through and 
 under all, a spirit of deep and tender Christian 
 kindness. This spirit has drawn to him the love 
 of those wholly outside the Christian fold, as shown 
 by the following remarkable and touching letter 
 addressed to Mrs. Spurgeon: 
 
 "Office of the Chief Rabbi, 
 16 FiNSBURY Square, London, 
 E. C, 
 
 *' July 21, 
 
 " My Dear Madame — Pray be assured that, although 
 owing to my absorbing official duties I have not called to 
 inquire personally, I have been following the bulletins touch- 
 ing the health of your dear husband with deepest interest, 
 and with earnest prayer to our common Fath«?;r that his pre- 
 cious life may be spared for yet many years. I was delighted 
 when the reports on Saturday were more reassuring, and I 
 am deeply grieved to learn this morning that this improve- 
 ment has not been maintained. May the Father of all flesh 
 sustain the patient sufferer on his bed of languishing; may 
 it please him to restore him to health and strength ; may he 
 
350 Concluding Thoiighfs. 
 
 sustain you and yours during tlie period of trial. With 
 every good wish for Mr. Spurgeon, yours sincerely, 
 
 " N. Abler, Chief Rabbi." 
 
 Indeed, the world was waiting around the sick- 
 bed of the great, good man in his long approach 
 to death. Probably never before did such a volume 
 of prayer encircle a single sufferer, and plead for 
 one man's life. Rev. N. W. Miner writes from 
 London to the Chicago Standard under date of 
 July 23, 1891: 
 
 " Meetings for prayer have been held daily in the great 
 Tabernacle ; sometimes as many as three thousand are in 
 attendance ; and all over the country earnest and united 
 prayers are offered up, that God would spare the life of His 
 honored servant. Bulletins in regard to his condition are 
 issued twi?ce a day, which are read the first thing in 
 the papers. Letters of sympathy and telegrams come 
 to Mr. Spurgeon from all parts of the country. The 
 Prince of Wales has requested that he might be in- 
 formed daily of Mr. Spurgeon's condition. The most dis- 
 tinguished persons in London visit Mrs. Spurgeon to inquire 
 after her husband, or send messages of sympathy. Among 
 those who have called are the Bishop of London, and several 
 bishops from different parts of Great Britain, members of 
 Parliament, and other high officials. 
 
 " The sickness of Mr. Spurgeon has awakened more in- 
 terest, and has called forth a wider and more pervading 
 sympathy than could have been awakened by any other in- 
 dividual in England. I believe he is better known and more 
 dearly beloved than any other living man." 
 
 Then came the surprising and delightful news 
 of the great preacher's partial recovery. The acute 
 
 symptoms yielded, and he came out from the im- 
 
Partial Recovery. 351 
 
 mediate shadow of death. Early in September he 
 was able to be taken out of doors in a carriage. It 
 was mentioned that "When he went out for his 
 first drive, he was taken to Westminster. During 
 the afternoon, he was seen to alight from his car- 
 riage, and, after tottering along between two sup- 
 porters, he leaned upon the parapet of Westminster 
 Bridge, and watched with evident interest the new 
 mission steamer for the Congo, the ' Good will,' 
 then on the river. A few minutes later, he was 
 again led to his carriage, and driven back to his 
 residence." Even at such a time, ** in weariness and 
 painfulness," just risen from what was almost the 
 bed of death, his recreation was to view something 
 destined to help extend the kingdom of Christ in 
 a far, dark land. 
 
 Then, about October ist, a welcome letter from 
 his own hand appeared in The Sword and The 
 Trowel, in which he said : * 
 
 " I am unable to send a personal letter of thanks to the 
 thousands of friends of all ranks and religions who wrote 
 sympathetic letters to Mrs. Spurgeon and to myself during 
 the dark days of my illness ; but I beg in the best manner 
 possible to me to return my hearty thanks to them all. To 
 my dear sorrowing wife, the kind words from all quarters 
 were, by God's blessing, an unutterable consolation. I was 
 too ill to know much about the matter ; but, now I am recov- 
 ering, the reading of these generous expressions fills my 
 eyes with tears, my mind with astonishment, and my heart 
 with gratitude. 
 
 * With the exception of the words to me, the italics are the 
 editor's. In a few later instances, the same liberty has been 
 taken of giving emphasis to passages now especially significant. 
 
352 Concluding Thoughts, 
 
 " Surely there is a unity deep down in the church of God 
 and on tit occasions it shows itself ; that I should furnish 
 such an occasion overwhelms me. So7;ie of these affection- 
 ate expressions from perso7is ecclesiastically divided from 
 me, are as fervent as if we agreed on every point, and are 
 vastly more trice and precious than if that were the case. 
 Brethren and sisters in Christ, the Lord recompense upon 
 each of you a hundredfold your tender consideration of one 
 who had no hold upon you but his great affliction ! 
 
 " To those who are not of the Christia?t faith, I cannot 
 but feel a singular tenderness when I read not only their 
 respectful enquiries, but their generous sentiments towards 
 me. It is astonishing to me that I should have so warm a 
 place in their esteem, and I trust I may do nothing which 
 will prove me unworthy of it. 
 
 " I have also the happy task of thanking the countless 
 friends who did not write to me, but lifted up their hearts in 
 prayer on my behalf. / have been saved fro?n death by 
 prayer. In very many instances, there has been an assured 
 faith with the prayer, and this has been the certain token 
 of prevalence with God. To hear that friends unknown to 
 me spent whole nights in supplication for me, and that 
 multitudes of churches presented special intercession, made 
 me very happy, and caused me to say at the very worst, 
 ' I shall not die, but live, and declare the works of the 
 Lord.' 
 
 " That every one of those who thonght of me so lovingly 
 may thus be remembered by the Great Father i?i any future 
 hour of sorrow, is my fervent prayer." C. H. S. 
 
 At the same time, there was much to check 
 extravagant hopes of final recovery. The Rev. J. 
 A. Spurgeon, of Croydon stated that his brother 
 was not only suffering severely from the old disease, 
 the root of which still remained, but that, in 
 
Dr. Pier son at the Tabernacle. 353 
 
 addition, he suffered very much from his heart. 
 Anxiety was felt for some days of warm, sunny 
 weather during which he might repair to the sea- 
 side and there remain until a favorable opportunity 
 should present itself for a passage across the 
 channel en route to Mentone. 
 
 A little later, in reply to words of friendliness 
 expressed towards him by the Sussex School Union 
 Conference, Mr. Spurgeon wrote as follows: 
 
 "Queen's Hotel," 
 
 " October 8, 1891. 
 
 " Dear Sir— I was much cheered by the kindly expres- 
 sion of the meeting over which you presided last night. It 
 is so sweet to live in the hearts of workers among the young^ 
 that even a sickness that gives me the assurance that I do 
 so, has a bright side to it. Go on with your holy service, 
 and may our Lord give you many tokens of His approval. 
 My secretary has gone back to attend to home work, and I 
 regret that I was too near my bed last night to sit down 
 and answer your note there and then. The invalid cannot 
 do what he would. Two remarkable men have just passed 
 away through a chill, but dear fellow-Christians seem 
 resolved by the warmth of their love to allow me no risk of 
 a chilled heart. I thank you and every individual in the 
 meeting. God bless all your Sunday-schools. I beg a con- 
 tinued interest in your prayers for a wasting disease upon 
 me. I have not half escaped from its grasp. 
 " Yours very heartily, 
 
 " C. H. Spurgeon." 
 
 Dr. Pierson at the Tabernacle. 
 
 Among the memorable leadings of Providence 
 which have attended Mr. Spurgeon's career, is that 
 which permitted him, just in this emergency, to 
 
354 Conchiding Thoughts. 
 
 secure as preacher at the Metropolitan Tabernacle, 
 Rev. A. T. Pierson, D. D., of Philadelphia, the able 
 editor of the Missionary Review of the World. Mr. 
 Spurgeon's own account of the matter is substan- 
 tially as follows : 
 
 " Early in August, the Pastor remembered that the good 
 doctor had kindly offered to come to London at any time 
 when his services might be required, so he directed his 
 secretary to make inquiries as to his address, probable en- 
 gagements, etc. The very next morning a loving letter 
 arrived, and among other hopeful words were the follow- 
 ing : ' If by coming across the sea I could now serve you, I 
 would cheerfully do all in my power.' To this a reply was 
 at once sent, and after conference and special prayer on 
 both sides of the sea, the cable brought to Mr. Spurgeon 
 the message : ' Acts xvi, 9, 10.' The passage reads : ' And 
 a vision appeared to Paul in the night : There stood a man 
 of Macedonia, and prayed him, saying. Come over into 
 Macedonia, and help us. And after he had seen the vision, 
 immediately we endeavored to go into Macedonia, assuredly 
 gathering that the Lord had called us for to preach the 
 gospel unto them.' October 25th was fixed as the date of 
 Dr. Pierson's first services at the Tabernacle." 
 
 The spirit of true Christian unity which called 
 a Presbyterian preacher to a Baptist pulpit, an 
 American to the heart of London, has been honored 
 by Dr. Pierson's success in that difficult field, the 
 church and congregation being held, and the 
 great Tabernacle filled, at his services, Sunday 
 after Sunday. 
 
 The longed-for opportunity for travel came. 
 " Baron Rothchild's private saloon-carriage was 
 placed at Mr. Spurgeon's service to travel in 
 
The Jourjiey to Mento7ie, 355 
 
 throughout France to Mentone." He enjoyed the 
 sea-voyage from Dover to Calais on Monday, Oct. 
 26th, and travelled on Oct. 27th from Calais to 
 Marseilles, proceeding from thence to Mentone. 
 He was accompanied by Mrs. Spurgeon, his brother 
 Rev. James Spurgeon, and Mrs. James Spurgeon, 
 his private secretary (Rev. J. Harrald), and by 
 some of the Metropolitan Tabernacle deacons. 
 The " Doxology " was sung by those assembled, as 
 he left Hearne Hill Station, London. 
 
 November 7th, still apparently improving in 
 health, he wrote from Mentone : 
 
 " I am far away in body, but not in spirit. I am a sick 
 man physically, but in heart I am strong in the Lord. A 
 great waste of life-force still weakens me ; but it is not so 
 great as it was. It is a great trial to be unable to preach in 
 the pulpit, but it is no small comfort to be able to preach 
 through the press. By the aid of friends, the discourses 
 which I have delivered in former times have been piloted 
 through the press in a masterly manner, and would be forth- 
 coming for several years even if I were taken home to God; 
 for hundreds of manuscripts are in my publishers' stores, 
 and so I shall live and speak long after I am dead. Will 
 each kind reader do me the great service of increasing my 
 congregation by increasing the circulation of these sermons? 
 The loan of a copy, or a kindly word, may win me another 
 reader, to whom the message maybe life, or light, or liberty. 
 I earnestly desire a still wider audience. If I could not my- 
 self preach, I think tliat the next best thing would be to 
 spread the sermons of one whose words were useful to my 
 own heart. Please do not merely think of fulfilling my de- 
 sire ; but DO IT." 
 
 Again he writes on November 21st: 
 
356 Concluding Thonghts, 
 
 " This morning I read in T/ie Times that ' Mr. Spurgeon 
 is 7-apidly recovering.' These words exactly describe what 
 I am 7iot doing. The symptoms are the same as when I 
 was at home. I am tossed up and down upon the waves of 
 my disease and what is thought progress to-day is gone 
 to-morrow. I have seasons of utter prostration. Always 
 weak, it seems at times that I have no strength whatever, 
 and must altogether collapse. The result of the doctor's 
 recent examination has been disappointing. He did not 
 feel pleased about a certain ' murmur,' which was by no 
 means less than when I was at home. I had hoped that 
 this was reduced to the imperceptible, but it was not so. By 
 another test it was soon apparent that the disease itself was 
 not changed from what it was in Norwood, or, if any change 
 was manifest, it was for the worse. The leakage of life- 
 power was not stopped. I shall recover, for this is the tenor 
 of the prayers which our God has so far answered ; but 
 there are no traces or signs of anything rapid about my 
 condition. Emphatically, any advance I make is of the 
 slowest of all slow things. I write this at once, to prevent 
 disappointment of sanguine friends. I knovv not why I 
 should be the object of so much tender sympathy, but as I 
 am thus privileged I would have a sensitive regard for the 
 feelings of such benefactors ancf warn them against state- 
 ments for which there is no basis in truth. Their friend 
 remains feeble, and has no hasty recovery to expect. Please 
 continue fervent prayers on my behalf. Have great patience. 
 Relieve me of anxiety as to the institutions ; and praise God 
 for what He has already done." 
 
 The December number of The Sword and The 
 Trowel contains a preface by Mr. Spurgeon, in 
 which he thus states some of the lessons which he 
 himself read in the long trial : 
 
 *' We may not always expect to see the why and where- 
 
Lessons of the TriaL 357 
 
 fore of the Lord's dealings ; but, in this case, certain points 
 are clear enough. 
 
 " The work whicJi centres at the Metropolitan Taberjtade 
 has been tested. It has been assumed by many that the 
 death of the pastor would be fatal to the work which he has 
 inaugurated. This has been shown to be a mere assump- 
 tion. Like Isaac, he was 'as good as dead,' but the insti- 
 tutions were maintained, and the 'preaching of the Word 
 was sustained by divers men of God, till at last the man 
 (Rev. Dr. A. T. Pierson) came who has filled the great 
 house, and moved the heart of the crowd by his noble wit- 
 ness for the truth. The members have not forsaken the 
 church, and the workers have not stayed their hand. Such 
 an experience is reassuring, and is a practical rehearsal of 
 what may be done on another day, when he, who has again 
 and again been drawn out of the waters of death, shall in 
 very deed go up the mount, and fall asleep, and no more 
 lead the flock through the wilderness. 
 
 " Equally memorable has beejt the latent Christian love 
 which has been made manifest. . . . 
 
 Had the sufferer been an Episcopalian, the clergy could 
 not have' been more solicitious ; had he been a Presbyterian, 
 Wesleyan, or Independent, members of those bodies could 
 not have been more loving. All sorts of Baptists have been 
 more than brotherly. . . . Twenty years ago, one who 
 had prophesied that a dissenting minister would have been 
 lovingly mentioned in St. Paul's Cathedral, and in numerous 
 Episcopal churches would ha. ^ been reckoned among mad- 
 men ; yet the fact is sure. Surely there is a real a 7id grow- 
 ing unity among those who are spiritual, when cveit 
 tozvards one who has been very outspoken concer7iing relig- 
 ious differences such brotherly kindness has been shown. 
 May it be an omen of a time wherein the true union of all 
 who are in Christ Jesus will make similar outbursts of 
 s}mpathy to be of ordinary occurrence ! " 
 
358 
 
 Concludmg TJiottghts, 
 
 On December 5th, he writes: 
 
 " The last month of the year is upon us, and mercy, like a 
 river, continues to flow side by side with the pathway of our 
 lives. I hope I am climbing' the hill of returning strength. 
 As yet I have hardly crept upward enough to be quite sure 
 that I am, on the whole, a little abov^e where I was when I 
 left home. My publishers wished to begin the year with a 
 portrait, and I submitted to be photographed, but the result 
 is too painful. I do not think that any of my friends would 
 wish to see the picture twice. To those who meet me I do 
 not appear much the worse for wear; but when I sit down 
 before the camera, the unflattering sun puts down details 
 of countenance which it would not be pleasing to remember. 
 I mention this that I may ask the continuance of the prayers 
 of the sermon-readers. I am anxious to be soon in my 
 pulpit, or at least to be making progress towards fitness 
 for it. Meanwhile, may our Lord use these sermons for the 
 good of His Church and cause." 
 
 Again, on December 12th, appeared another letter, 
 still full of thought for others : 
 
 " Beloved readers of my sermons will greatly oblige me 
 if they will place their copies in the way of persons for whose 
 salvation they are pleading with God. It may be that the 
 Lord will use the discourses to the end they so much desire. 
 My silent Sabbaths breed in me a great hunger for the sal- 
 vation of those to whom I can only speak through the press. 
 Oh, that my Lord would honor me by making me fruitful in 
 this winter of my weakness ! I have a word for this season, 
 which I must not forget. Christmas is near. Our orphan 
 children must have their festival, though I cannot have the 
 joy of presiding at it. Will my kind friends remember my 
 family of five hundred children and keep up the general 
 funds and add some little treat for the boys and girls } I 
 am sending a Christmas present to all the subscribers whose 
 
The Last Christmas, 359 
 
 names we have on- our list, but as we may miss some, let them 
 not feel that they are left out. I invite their thoughtful con- 
 sideration to the matter. Direct to the secretary, Stockwell 
 Orphanage, Claphlm Road, London, and thus gratify your 
 old friend, C. H. Spurgeon." 
 
 As Christmas drew near, December 24th, he wrote 
 to his flock at the Tabernacle : 
 
 *' Though I cannot be present to wish you the blessings 
 of the season, I would say from my heart, ' I wish you a most 
 happy Christmas ! ' Upon your family gatherings may the 
 best of blessings rest ! May all your children be the Lord's 
 children, and thus may your union in the bonds of the flesh 
 be made eternal by the bonds of the Spirit ! Joy be with 
 you, yet let it be the joy in the Lord. I think I can fairly 
 say I am better. Whether or no the disease is disappearing 
 I cannot say, though I fear there is not much difference, but 
 in general health I must be improved, or else my feelings 
 are sheer delusions. At any rate, I am very hopeful and 
 praiseful, and I wish I could stand up and give out Ps. ciii." 
 
 In the Metropolitan Pulpit of Dec. 31, 1891, Mr. 
 Spurgeon published a New Year's sermon, '' In- 
 tended for Reading, on Lord's Day, Jan. 3, 1892," 
 on the text found in Psalm cxviii., 17, 18 : "I shall 
 not die, but live, and declare the works of the 
 Lord. The Lord hath chastened me sore ; but he 
 hath not given me over unto death." The sermon 
 is entitled, "Gratitude for Deliverance from the 
 Grave," and an introductory note states that it 
 was preached at the Metropolitan Tabernacle, "in 
 connection with the dedication of the Jubilee 
 House, which commemorated the fiftieth year of 
 a life often threatened by grievous sickness." Mr. 
 Spurgeon adds a note at the close of the sermon, 
 
360 Concluding Thoughts. 
 
 which reads like an Old Testament Psalm, yet, 
 with the firm, clear tone of a Pauline epistle, and 
 which may now be termed his dying Declaration 
 of Faith. He says : 
 
 " This sermon begins a new volume ; in fact, it commences 
 Vol. XXXVIII of The Metropolitan Tabernacle Pulpit. I 
 have, myself, selected it, and prepared it for the press, be- 
 cause it is most suitable as my own personal testimony at 
 the present moment. The subject is even more my own 
 this day than it was seven and a half years ago; for I have 
 been in deeper waters, and nearer to the mouth of the grave. 
 With my whole soul I praise delivering grace. To the Lord 
 God, the God of Israel, I consecrate myself anew. For the 
 covenant of grace, for the revelation of infallible truth in 
 the Bible, for the atonement by blood, and the immutable 
 love of the ever-blessed Three-in-One, I am a witness ; and 
 more and more would I abide faithful to the Gospel of the 
 grace of God. I see each day more reasons for faith, and 
 fewer excuses for doubt. Those who will, may ship their 
 anchors, and be drifted about by the current of the age ; but 
 I would sing, ' My heart is fixed, O God, my heart is fixed ; 
 I vvill sing, and give praise.' 
 
 " The whole passage, Ps. cxviii, 13-18, is inscribed upon a 
 marble slab on the Jubilee House at the back of the Taber- 
 nacle, and I am told that many went to read it while I lay in 
 the greatest peril through sore sickness, and were comforted 
 thereby. When the Lord permits me to return, I must raise 
 yet another memorial to his praise." 
 
 Early in the New Year, in regard to one of these 
 carefully "piloted" sermons, *' Is God In The 
 Camp?" Mr. Spurgeon wrote the following, full of 
 the ringing heartiness of his old-time pulpit utter- 
 ances : 
 
 " Beloved Friends — The one want of the Church in 
 
The New Year. 361 
 
 these times is indicated by the title of this sermon. The 
 presence of God in saving power in the church will put an 
 end to the present plague of infidelity. Men will not doubt 
 His Word when they feel His Spirit. It will be the only 
 security for the success of missionary effort. If God be with 
 His people, they will soon see crowds converted and added 
 to the church. For a thousand reasons, we need that 
 Jehovah should come into the camp, as aforetime he visited 
 and delivered His people from bondage in Egypt. Could 
 we not all unite in prayer for this as fervently as all united 
 in prayer for my life ? It is a far greater and more neces- 
 sary subject for intercession and the Lord will not be slow 
 to hear us. Come to Thy church, O Lord, in fullness of 
 power to save ! If the Great Advent is not yet, indulge us 
 with outpourings of grace in times of refreshing ! Oh, that 
 all Christendom would take up this pleading and continue it 
 until the answer came ! 
 
 " Receive, dear readers, my hearty salutations. Personally, 
 I scarcely make progress during this broken weather ; but 
 the doctor says I hold my own, and that is more than he 
 could have expected. Whether I live or die, I would say, 
 in the words of Israel to Joseph, ' God shall be with you.' 
 " Yours ever heartily, 
 
 " C. H. Spurgeon." 
 
 "Mentone, January g, iZ^2.'* 
 
 The Metropolitan Tabernacle of January 2r, 1892, 
 published the following letter from the great 
 preacher, dated only two weeks before his death. 
 It is touching to see the play of his genial humor 
 at such a time, and impressive to observe how his 
 thoughts go out from himself, to take in nations, 
 and to sympathize with all other sufferers. He 
 writes: 
 
 " My Dear Readers — Your weekly preacher is still 
 
362 Cone hiding TJiougJits. 
 
 weakly ; but, though his progress towards strength is slow, 
 it has been steadily maintained during the late trying 
 weather. When we consider how many have died, your 
 chaplain is very grateful to be alive, to be able to send forth 
 his usual discourse from the press, and to be-, as he hopes, 
 half an inch nearer to his pulpit. Happy will he count him- 
 self when he is able to preach with the living voice. 
 
 " Would it not be well for all the churches to hold special 
 meetings for prayer concerning the deadly scourge of influ- 
 enza ? The suggestion has, no doubt, been made by others ; 
 but I- venture to press it upon Christians of all denomina- 
 tions that they may, in turn, urge all their pastors to summon 
 such meetings. Our nation is fast learning to forget God. 
 In too many instances, ministers of religion have propagated 
 doubt, and the result is a general hardening of the popular 
 feeling, and a greatly increased neglect of public worship, 
 It is written ' When thy judgments are in the earth, the 
 inhabitants of the world will learn righteousness.' Let us, 
 who believe in inspired Scripture, unite our prayer that it 
 may be even so. With a court and a nation in deepest 
 mourning, it is a time to cry mightily unto the Lord. 
 
 " I have been able again to revise a sermon without 
 assistance. It is upon Psalm cv. 37 ; and, if the Lord will, 
 it will be published next week. 
 
 *' Yours, in deep sympathy with all the sick and the bereaved 
 
 "C. H. Spurgeon." 
 
 "Mentone, January 17, 1892." 
 
 But the hopes of final recovery were not to be 
 fulfilled, and, in the closing hour of January's last 
 Sabbath, he whose every Sabbath for forty years 
 had been a day of impassioned pleading with man, 
 and of triumphant worship of God, entered on the 
 eternal Sabbath of Heaven. 
 
 As regards the seemingly unanswered prayers 
 
The Glorious Deliverance. 363 
 
 for his final recovery, none would say more sub- 
 missively and decidedly than he himself, that every 
 true prayer has for its proviso " if it be possible — • 
 nevertheless, not my will, but thine be done." He 
 did not look upon it as a calamity to die. In his 
 sermon, near the close of the year 1890, on ''The 
 Man Who Shall Never See Death," he speaks as 
 fellows : 
 
 " Now we turn to the delightful part of our subject, 
 namely, THE GLORIOUS DELIVERANCE, which our 
 Lord here promises: ' He shall never see death.' Our Lord 
 did not mean that he shall never die, for he died himself ; 
 and his followers, in long procession, have descended to the 
 grave. Some brethren are cheered by the belief that they 
 shall live until the Lord comes ; and, therefore, they shall 
 not sleep but shall only be changed. The hope of our Lord's 
 appearing is a very blessed one, come when He may ; but I 
 do not conceive that to be alive at His coming is any great 
 object of desire. Is there any great preference in being 
 changed beyond that of dying ? Do we not read that, 'We 
 which are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord 
 shall not prevent them which are asleep ? ' This is a great 
 truth. Throughout eternity, if I die, I shall be able to say, 
 I had actual fellowship with Christ in the article of death, 
 and in descent into the grave, which those happy saints who 
 will survive can never know. It is no matter of doctrine, 
 but yet, if one might have a choice in the matter, it might 
 be gain to die." 
 
 Beside this thought of the blessedness of dying, 
 we may well place the great preacher's view of the 
 preacher's work in the immortal life: * 
 
 " A long life will only suffice us to skirt the shores of this 
 
 * "The Greatest Fight in the World," p. 21. 
 
364 Conchcding Thoughts. 
 
 great continent of light. In the forty years of my own 
 ministry I have only touched the hem of the garment of 
 divine truth; but what virtue has flowed out of it! The 
 word is like its Author, infinite, immeasurable, without end. 
 If you were ordained to be a preacher throughout eternity, 
 you would have before you a theme equal to everlasting 
 demands. Brothers, shall we each have a pulpit some- 
 where amidst the spheres ? Shall we have a parish of mil- 
 lions of leagues ? Shall we have voices so strengthened as 
 to reach attentive constellations ? Shall w^e be witnesses 
 for the Lord of grace to myriads of worlds which will be 
 wonder-struck when they hear of the incarnate God ? Shall 
 w^e be surrounded by pure intelligences, enquiring and 
 searching into the mystery of God manifest in the flesh ? 
 Will the unfallen worlds desire to be instructed in the 
 glorious Gospel of the blessed God ? and will each one of 
 us have his own tale to tell of our experience of infinite 
 love ? I think so, since the Lord has saved us ' to the 
 intent that now unto the principalities and powders in 
 heavenly places might be known by the church the manifold 
 wisdom of God.' If such be the case, our Bible will suffice 
 for ages to come for new themes every morning, and for 
 fresh songs and discourses world without end." 
 
 Spurgeon dead ! How grand a life is ended, of 
 a man who could afford to die ! Out from his life of 
 pain, from the pulpit which he has filled with more 
 than kingly power^ as ambassador for the King of 
 kings, from his heart-touching, heart-filling chari- 
 ties, surrounded by the tearful intercessions of the 
 host he has blessed in every land, leaving monu- 
 ments more enduring than marble or bronze, he 
 ascends to his Father and our Father, to his God 
 and our God. 
 
LAST SCENES AND LAST SERMONS^ 
 
"I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, 
 I have kept the faith. 
 
 " Henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteous- 
 ness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, shall give me at 
 that day: and not to me only, but unto all them also that love 
 his appearing."- 2 Tim., iv., 7, 8. 
 
XIII. 
 
 LAST SCENES AND LAST SERMONS. 
 
 npHE funeral pageant was one of the most 
 -*■ remarkable that London ever saw. There 
 was no royal pomp, no military display — nothing 
 to appeal to idle curiosity or traditional reverence 
 for rank and title. Yet for four miles mourning 
 crowds lined the way, in addition to the vast num- 
 bers that moved in the procession. 
 
 All along tlie way, all shops and warehouses 
 were closed, all flags at half-mast. More than 
 sixty religious bodies were represented in the 
 procession. Those of the most diverse creed and 
 rank joined in the common sorrow. The Prince 
 and Princess of Wales sent despatches of sympa- 
 thy, the dwellers in humble homes closed their 
 blinds in token of grief, and followed on foot in 
 the sorrowing throng ; delegates of the Salvation 
 Army occupied a carriage in the procession, and 
 the Bishop of Rochester, of the Church of Eng- 
 land, pronounced the benediction at the grave. 
 
 In life and in death, this one man seems to have 
 touched alike the high and the lowly, awakening 
 anew the sense of our common humanity, our 
 
368 Last Scenes a7id Lxst Sermons, 
 
 common dependence upon the one God, the uni- 
 versal need of the sympathy and help of the one 
 Redeemer for whom he so mightily pleaded. The 
 fuller accounts of the closing scenes, carry us 
 back to the last week in January, when unfavor- 
 able news began to come from Mentone, and it 
 was learned that Mr. Spurgeon's sickness had 
 assumed very much the form which it had in the 
 sad days of the last summer. 
 
 As the tidings through the week continued 
 more unfavorable, those who loved him were 
 drawn to the Tabernacle even on week-days, and in 
 the early morning. A touching account of some 
 of these services is given in the Lo7idon Daily 
 Chronicle of February ist, which says : 
 
 " Friday's news was anything but reassuring, and hence 
 it was that a small body of worshippers, some on their way 
 to daily toil, proceeded to the Lecture Hall at the rear of 
 the Tabernacle so early as half-past seven on Saturday 
 morning, almost before the day had fairly dawned. They 
 were met by Mr. Dunn, one of the deacons, who had no 
 further information beyond that contained in the morning 
 papers. Heartfelt prayer was then offered up, first by one 
 and then by another, that God in His mercy would raise 
 the stricken pastor from his bed of pain, and allow him to 
 continue the work in which his soul delighted. It was a 
 pathetic little meeting in the grey light of the early morn- 
 ing, but those who were present were earnest and sincere — 
 a remark which will not apply to many gatherings of a more 
 pretentious character. 
 
 " It was half-past eight when the meeting dispersed ; and 
 three hours and a half later a similar gathering was held, 
 Mr. Dunn again presiding. It commenced with the singing 
 of the hymn, ' Great is the Lord our God.' Only two verses, 
 however, for the chief business was to pray. And pray they 
 did — not perhaps in the ornate and rounded periods of the 
 ecclesiastic, but in sound and fervid language, coming 
 
Prayi7to Bands in London, 369 
 
 straight from the heart. Then Mr. Dunn said that up to 
 that time they had no means of knowing their pastor's pres- 
 ent condition, but they expected news every moment. Their 
 pastor (continued Mr. Dunn) would be the last man m the 
 world to claim any credit to himself. He thought he could 
 hear him saying, ' Speak not of C. H. S but of I. H. b-- 
 Tesu Hominum Salvator '—but they could not be unmmdful 
 of the many who had need to cry for his restoration to 
 health What a friend the poor would lose if Mr. Spurgeon 
 were called away ! In the last letter he (Mr. Dunn) re- 
 ceived from him, Mr. Spurgeon said, ' Do what you can tor 
 my poor people. Do not let them want anythmg. Let them 
 be well attended. Speak to the deacons about it, and do all 
 you can to help those in need.' Then came more prayers 
 until one o'clock had sounded. 
 
 " Three in the afternoon saw another gathering, at which 
 the same deep and earnest supplications ascended; aivl 
 then when the shades of evening had fallen, came the 
 laro-est meeting of the day, the usual Saturday evening 
 o-atliering for prayer. But there was little news— only the 
 morning bulletin, which said that the pastor had passed a 
 restless night, and that there was no improvement in his 
 condition. Mr. Graham and other Church officers were 
 present, and the time was spent in prayer— prayer for the 
 pastor, prayer for those who are suffering by reason of the 
 dreadful scourge which is now upon the land, and which 
 had taken away the high and mighty ones of the earth as 
 well as the humble and lowly." 
 
 The last Sabbath of January began with the 
 praying assembly in the early morning, and at the 
 usual hour a great congregation thronged the 
 Tabernacle for the morning service, all hearts 
 reaching across sea and land to the bedside of 
 their pastor, even then dying far away. No cer- 
 tain intelligence could then be given, but a letter 
 from Mr. Harrald, Mr. Spurgeon's secretary, was 
 read to the assmbly, in which was included a mes- 
 sage from Mrs. Spurgeon expressing her gratitude 
 to the church and congregation " for their affeo- 
 
3 /O Last Scenes and Last Sermons. 
 
 tionate remembrance and tokens of Christian 
 love." 
 
 " Then the Rev. Dr. Pierson, who has himself been suf- 
 fering, spoke a few words, saying in conclusion, ' Let us 
 leave our loving pastor in the tender arms of One who loves 
 him more than we can do, and every drop of whose blood is 
 precious in His sight. Each of you has thought about your 
 pastor in his own mind, and before we engage in public 
 prayer let us spend a few moments in silent prayer.' Then, 
 in a stillness that could almost be felt, the large congrega- 
 tion bowed its head in silent supplication, broken only by 
 the voice of the minister putting into words the general 
 wish of all. The service was then proceeded with, but over 
 all there seemed a sense of apprehension, a feeling that at 
 any moment the worse news might arrive. Just before the 
 morning service came to an end, the bulletin from Mentone 
 was read to the congregation. 
 
 " In accordance with the rule which obtains at the Met- 
 ropolitan Tabernacle, the principal doors are not opened 
 until five minutes prior to the commencement of the service. 
 Long before half-past six last evening a large crowd of 
 intending worshippers had assembled at the entrance, and 
 very soon after the doors were thrown open the immense 
 building was filled in every part. The Rev. Dr. Pierson 
 again officiated, but beyond a reference in his general 
 prayer no allusion was made to the subject which was 
 ujipermost in every one's heart until a later period of the 
 evening, when the afternoon message from Mentone was 
 read, deepening the gloom which had been noticeable 
 throughout the day, and the service was curtailed in order 
 that a special prayer-meeting of the whole congregation 
 might be held. This was of an impressive character, and 
 brought the day's proceedings to a close, still under the 
 shadow of impending calamity." 
 
 Meanwhile, at Mentone, after a very restless night, 
 Mr. Spurgeon began the day in exceeding weakness, 
 still able to take a slight quantity of nourishment, 
 but, as the day wore on, even that became impossi- 
 ble,.and his strength gradually waned, until, at half 
 past three in the afternoon, he had become unable 
 
*' Asleep in Jesus y 371 
 
 to recognise his watching friends or even the wife 
 he so tenderly loved. From that time, in quiet 
 unconsciousness, with no pain, but with increasing 
 weakness, he steadily sank, until, at five minutes 
 past eleven o'clock at night of January 31st, in the 
 presence of his wife, his secretary, and two or 
 three friends, he "fell asleep in Jesus." 
 
 As the telegraph flashed the news to London, 
 on the Monday morning, the people were pro- 
 foundly moved. The London Sta?zdard, of Febru- 
 ary 2d, gives a touching record of the scenes at 
 and around the Tabernacle : 
 
 " Sympathetic crowds assembled yesterday in front of the 
 Metropolitan Tabernacle to read and comment upon the 
 printed copy of the telegram received from Mentone, posted 
 upon the railings. It was as follows: 'Mentone, 11.50. 
 Our beloved pastor entered heaven, 11.5, Sunday night. — 
 •Harrald.' The people, especially of the Newington district, 
 in which Mr. Spurgeon was so well known, spoke regret- 
 fully of the death of the pastor of the Metropolitan Taberna- 
 cle. Signs of respect were not wanting in the immediate 
 neighborhood. In the streets radiating from the Elephant 
 and Castle shutters were placed upon most of the shop win- 
 dows, and in the windows of the upper parts of the houses 
 the blinds were drawn. This was also the case in the busi- 
 ness portions of Stockwell; and in the Clapham Road, near 
 Mr. Spurgeon's Orphanage, there was not a private house in 
 which the blinds were not drawn. Upon the Orphanage 
 itself the Union Jack was at half-mast ; and it was stated, 
 upon inquiry, that every person in the institution, from the 
 master and matron to the humblest orphan, was grief-stricken 
 at the news which conveyed the death of the founder of the 
 Orphanage, who took the greatest pride in its success, and 
 who was ever soUcitous for the welfare of the orphans. 
 Irrespective of creed, the people of South London intimated, 
 in one form or other, their regret for Mr. Spurgeon's death. 
 
 "Special devotional meetings were held yesterday morn- 
 ing, afternoon, and evening, at the Tabernacle. At the 
 evening meeting, at which Dr. Fierson presided, there was 
 
2)"] 2 Last Scenes and Last Sermons, 
 
 a very large assemblage, mostly in tears ; and a large crowd 
 gathered outside." 
 
 Dr. Pierson made a brief, but most impressive, 
 address, which was in substance as follows : 
 
 " My mind has turned to the fourth chapter of St. Paul's 
 second epistle to Timothy, the first portion of which I have 
 read. It might have been spoken by your pastor, if he were 
 with you to-night. His dying message might have been 
 these words: ' For now I am ready to be offered, and the 
 time of my departure is at hand. I have fought the good 
 fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith. 
 Henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness 
 which the Lord shall give me at that day : and not to me 
 only, but to all them also who love His appearing.' After all, 
 our grief is a selfish thing. We look around and see the 
 vacant places in every direction which Mr. Spurgeon once 
 filled, but how little do we think of that glory of which he is 
 now the sharer — that ineffable, unspeakable glory, which, if 
 a man experienced it and came back, it would not be possi- 
 ble for him to describe. Almost twenty-four hours have 
 passed since Charles Haddon Spurgeon met his Lord and 
 Master face to face, and just think of the people who have 
 been waiting for him to come. I marvel whether since 
 St. Paul departed this life there has been any one of God's 
 saints who has entered into heaven and found so many 
 people there who have been led to Christ through his minis- 
 try. I wonder whether any saint has had such a welcome 
 to glory as Mr. Spurgeon had. There is no man or woman 
 in this house who feels this sorrow more than I, but I can- 
 not think of my grief altogether. I am bound to think of 
 your pastor's joy. Just think what a crown of glory he now 
 has ! He was so humble, and loved his Lord so much, that 
 he would not wear the crown for a moment, but would cast 
 it at His feet and say, ' It does not belong to me.' But 
 there are thousands, tens of thousands, hundreds of thou- 
 sands of jewels in that crown, and every jewel represents 
 a ransomed soul won by his preaching or his writings. So 
 let us not be selfish in our grief, but mingle wi^^h our prayers 
 and supplications praise to Almighty God that your beloved 
 pastor has been taken from the midst of suffering, and 
 entered into glory." 
 
Flowe7^s and Palms, 2)1 o 
 
 At the conclusion of this address, Dr. Pierson 
 invited the congregation to join him in singing 
 "All hail the power of Jesus' name." 
 
 A dispatch from Mentone of February ist, says: 
 
 " Mentone, February i. — The remains of the Rev. Charles 
 H. Spurgeon, the noted EngHsh divine, who died here last 
 night, are lying on the bed on which he died. The bed 
 around the body is almost hidden from sight by the number 
 of floral wreaths which have been sent by relatives, friends, 
 and admirers of the deceased. The features of the dead 
 man show not the slightest evidence of death agony. He 
 looks as though he had simply falleti asleep, and his face 
 bears the placid expression of 07ie at rest from toil. The 
 body will be removed to-morrow to the mortuary chapel in 
 the cemetery. Mrs. Spurgeon is bearing up well under the 
 great sorrow that has come to her." 
 
 On the same date, it is added : 
 
 " The telegraph traffic is completely blocked with mes- 
 sages of condolence arriving from all parts of the world." 
 
 The body was embalmed and sealed up in a 
 leaden case which was enclosed in a beautiful cof- 
 fin of olive-wood, on which was inscribed the last 
 quotation from the Scriptures uttered by Mr. 
 Spurgeon to his secretary, Mr. Harrald, before his 
 death, the strikingly appropriate words of the 
 Apostle Paul, recorded in 2 Tim. iv, 7. 
 
 " I HAVE FOUGHT A GOOD FIGHT, I HAVE FINISHED 
 MY COURSE, I HAVE KEPT THE FAITH." 
 
 Mrs. Spurgeon requested that, instead of flowers, 
 palm-branches might be brought to the funeral 
 service. Before the departure from Mentone, on 
 Thursday, February 4th, a service was held at the 
 Scottish Church, to which the body had been pre- 
 viously conveyed. 
 
374 Last Scenes and Last Sermons, 
 
 " Every seat in the sacred edifice was occupied, and a 
 large number of persons who were unable to obU'in auinii- 
 tance remained standing outside. The decorations inside 
 the church were of a very simple character. In comphance 
 with Mrs. Spurgeon's request, there were few floral wreaths, 
 but palm branches were abunda tly displayed. 
 
 " The service lasted exactly an hour, and was of a very 
 impressive character." 
 
 On Monday, February 8th, when the remains 
 arrived at Newhaven, over fifteen hundred people, 
 in spite of the cold, damp morning, were assem- 
 bled. Prayers were offered by ministers of vari- 
 ous denominations, and the whole assembly^ joined 
 in singing the hymn, '' Forever with the Lord." 
 On arriving in London : 
 
 " At the railroad station an immense crowd of people had 
 assembled, and saw the placing of the coffin in a plain 
 hearse, which was driven to the Tabernacle. So dense was 
 the crowd at that place that it was found necessary to take 
 the coffin to an adjacent park, Kennington Common, where 
 the masses defiled before it and impromptu services were 
 held, and many addresses were made by various pastors 
 and college officials." 
 
 Through all of Tuesday, the body was practi- 
 cally lying in state at the Tabernacle, in order that 
 friends might have ample opportunity of viewing 
 the remains, as they could not do during the 
 progress of a service. The request had been pub- 
 licly made, by Rev. J. A Spurgeon and the dea- 
 cons, and urged by Rev. Dr. Pierson, that there 
 should be no flowers, but that those who had con- 
 templated bringing floral offerings, costing in 
 many cases large sums of money, would, instead, 
 contribute the money these would cost, to the 
 Stockwell Orphanage, which the deceased pastor 
 
Funeral Services, 375 
 
 so tenderly cherished, and for which he pleaded in 
 some of the very last letters he ever wrote. Such 
 an expression of regard, they felt assured, was 
 most in accord with what would be Mr. Spurgeon's 
 wish. 
 
 Almost all of Wednesday, January loth, was 
 occupied with memorial services, as follows : 
 At II A. M., a service for members of the Taberna- 
 cle church, and of organizations connected with 
 it ; at 3 p. M., for ministers of the gospel and col- 
 lege students only, a special invitation being sent 
 out to pastors who had been students at the Pas- 
 tors' College, and special place reserved for them ; 
 at 7 p. M., and again at 10.30, services for the gen- 
 eral public. The last service, which was in the 
 nature of a watch meeting, and under the conduct 
 of the well-known evangelists, Fullerton and 
 Smith, is mentioned as especially solemn and 
 impressive, the Tabernacle being crowded, and the 
 exercises continued till after midnight. 
 
 At II A. M. of Thursday, February nth, occur- 
 red the great funeral service at the Tabernacle, 
 which, it is almost needless to say, was crowded 
 to its utmost limit. The shops all around the 
 Tabernacle and on the route to the cemetery were 
 for the most part closed, and nearly all the build- 
 ings bore mourning emblems. AVithin the Taber- 
 nacle, the preacher's platform, which had so long 
 been Mr. Spurgeon's place of power, was heavily 
 draped with black. Below lay all that was mor- 
 tal of the great preacher in its olive-wood coffin, 
 which, in spite of all requests to the contrary, was 
 
3 76 Last Scenes and Last Sermons. 
 
 fairly covered with flowers. Noticeable among 
 the floral offerings was a wreath of roses sent by 
 the French Baptists. Upon the flowers lay an 
 open Bible, the same from which Mr. Spurgeon 
 had so faithfully preached the Word. Those of 
 Mr. Spurgeon's family who were able to be at the 
 time in London, members of the House of Com- 
 mons, the Mayor of Croydon, the Baroness Bur- 
 dette Coutts, and deputations from sixty religious 
 bodies were among those assembled. The boys 
 of Stockwell Orphanage sang at the opening of 
 the service the last hymn Mr. Spurgeon had 
 announced before he was taken sick : 
 
 " The sands of time are sinking, 
 The dawn of heaven breaks, 
 The summer morn I've sighed for. 
 
 The fair sweet morn awakes ; 
 Dark, dark hath been the midnight, 
 
 But day-spring is at hand. 
 And glory, glory dwelleth 
 In Immanuel's land. 
 
 " Oh, Christ, he is the fountain. 
 The deep, sv/eet well of love ; 
 The streams of earth I've tasted, 
 
 More deep I'll drink above. 
 There to an ocean fullness 
 
 His mercy doth expand 
 And glory, glory dwelleth 
 In Immanuel's land. 
 
 "The bride eyes not her garment. 
 But her dear bridegroom's face ; 
 I will not gaze at glory 
 
 But on my King of Grace — 
 
Borne to his BuiHal. 2)11 
 
 Not at the crown he g-iveth 
 
 But on his pierced hand ; — 
 The Lamb is all the glory 
 Of Immanuel's land." 
 
 Rev. Dr. Angus delivered an impressive address, 
 recalling the history of the Metropolitan Taber- 
 nacle, and the wonderful work for good done 
 through and by it, with a hearty eulogy of the 
 departed pastor. Rev. Dr. Pierson then read a 
 letter from Mrs. Spurgeon, praying that the peo- 
 ple's faith might not fail in this hour of trial, and 
 saying of her departed husband, ^' He is not here, 
 but is risen," and that not for one moment would 
 she wish him back, though dearer to her than 
 tongue could tell. Dr. Pierson delivered a most 
 eloquent memorial address, dwelling upon Mr. 
 Spurgeon's wide and powerful influence, and draw- 
 ing a striking parallel between his work and that 
 of John Wesley. As the coffin was taken from the 
 catafalque and borne down the aisle, the entire 
 congregation arose, and joined in singing the 
 hymn, '' There is no night in Homeland." The 
 sides of the hearse in v/hich the coffin was placed 
 bore the same triumphant inscription, " I have 
 fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I 
 have kept the faith." Forty mourning coaches 
 and a vast number of private carriages followed 
 the hearse. So, through four miles of streets where 
 blinds and shutters were closed, flags at half-mast 
 and mourning emblems everywhere displayed, 
 amid the solemn tolling of church-bells, past the 
 Stockwell Orphanage, where a raised platform, 
 
2,yS Last Scenes and Last Sermons. 
 
 erected especially for the occasion and heavily- 
 draped in black, enabled the five hundred boys 
 and girls to witness the last honors paid to their 
 benefactor, and, most touching of all, between 
 miles of human beings lining the sidewalks on 
 either side, almost all wearing some token of 
 mourning and watching in reverent, tearful silence, 
 the body of Charles H. Spurgeon was borne to its 
 rest. Norwood Cemetery, though none had been 
 admitted but by ticket, was already thronged. 
 Here, the Rev. Archibald G. Brown, pastor of the 
 East London Tabernacle, delivered a funeral ora- 
 tion, Rev. Dr. Pierson offered a prayer of heart- 
 touching tenderness and power, and the Right 
 Rev. Randall Thomas Davidson, Bishop of 
 Rochester, pronounced the benediction. After the 
 services, the people present formed in line, and 
 slowly filed before the open vault, and took their 
 last look upon the casket enclosing the remains 
 of the beloved and honored preacher of right- 
 eousness, now at rest from his earthly work. 
 
Last Sermon in the Tabernacle. 379 
 
 THE ST A rUTE OF DA VID FOR THE SHARING 
 
 OF THE SPOIL,— I Samuel xxx: 21-25. 
 A Sermon Delivered on Lord's-day Morning, June 
 7TH, 189J, BY C. H. Spurgeon, at the Metro- 
 politan Tabernacle, Newington.* 
 
 THOSE who associate themselves with a leader must 
 share his fortunes. Six hundred men had quitted 
 their abodes in Judaea; unable to endure the tyranny 
 of Saul, they had linked themselves with David, and made 
 him to be a captain over them. They were, some of them, 
 the best of men, and some of them were the worst : in this, 
 resembling our congregations. Some of them were choice 
 spirits, whom David would have sought, but others were 
 undesirable persons, from whom he might gladly have been 
 free. However, be they who they may, they must rise or 
 fall with their leader and commander. If he had the city 
 Ziklag given to him, they had a house and a home in it ; 
 and ff Ziklag was burned with fire, their houses did not 
 escape. When David stood amid the smoking ruins, a pen- 
 niless and a wifeless man, they stood in the same condition. 
 This rule holds good with all of us who have joined our- 
 selves to Christ and His cause ; we must be partakers with 
 
 * We find a sermon on the text, " Out of weakness were made strong," 
 extensively quoted as Mr. Spur^eon's last. That sermon, however, was 
 " Intended for Reading, June 21st," while the one here given is that which 
 Mr Spurgeon actually delivered on the morning of June 7th, just after 
 his recovery from the influenza ; it was on the very next day that he took 
 the chill which was the beginning of his protracted and at length fatal 
 illness (see p 343) A touching reference to his recent sickness appears 
 in the opening paragraph of division U. (p. 386.) In this connection, 
 the editor desires to express his grateful acknowledgments to Ihelnde- 
 
 vearf The account of the closing scenes and of the funeral services given 
 in this chapter, is for the most part compiled from material sent to us 
 direct from our London house, in answer to cable dispatches. 
 
380 Last Scenes and Last Sermons, 
 
 Him. I hope we are prepared to stand to this rule to-day. 
 If there be ridicule and reproach for the gosj)el of Christ, 
 let us be willing- to be ridiculed and reproached for His 
 sake. Let us gladly share with Him in his humiliation, and 
 never dream of shrinking'. This involves a great privilege, 
 since they that are with Him in His humiliation shall be 
 with Him in His glory. If we share His rebuke in the midst 
 of an evil generation, we shall also sit upon His throne, and 
 share His glory in the day of His appearing. Brethren, I 
 hope the most of us can say we are in for it, to sink or swim 
 with Jesus. In life or death, where He is, there will we. His 
 servants, be. We joyfully accept both the cross and the 
 crown which go with our Lord Jesus Christ : we are eager 
 to bear our full share of the blame, that we may partake in 
 His joy. 
 
 It frequently happens that when a great disaster occurs 
 to a band of men, a mutiny follows thereupon. However 
 little it maybe the leader's fault, the defeated cast the blame 
 of the defeat upon him. If the fight is won, " it was a 
 soldiers' battle " ; every man-at-arms claims his share of 
 praise. But if the battle is lost, cashier the commander ! 
 It was entirely his fault; if he had been a better general he 
 might have won the day. This is how people talk : fairness 
 is out of the question. So in the great disaster of Ziklag, 
 when the town was burned with fire, and wives and chil- 
 dren were carried away captive ; then we read that they 
 spoke of stoning David. Why David } Why David more 
 than anybody else, it is hard to see, for he was not there, 
 nor any one of them. They felt so vexed that it would be a 
 relief to stone somebody, and why not David ? Brethren, it 
 sometimes happens, even to the servants of Christ, that when 
 they fall into persecution and loss for Christ's sake, the 
 tempter whispers to them to throw up their profession. 
 " Since you have been a Christian you have had nothing but 
 trouble. It seems as if the dogs of hell were snapping at 
 your heels more than ever since you took upon you the name 
 of Christ. Therefore, throw it up, and leave the ways of 
 godliness." Vile suggestion ! Mutiny against the Lord 
 Jesus ? Dare you do so ? Some of us cannot do so, for 
 when He asks us, " Will ye also go away } " we can only 
 answer, "Lord, to whom should we go? Thou hast the 
 words of eternal life." No other leader is worth following. 
 We must follow the Son of David. Mutiny against Him is 
 out of the question. 
 
Sharing with the Leader, 381 
 
 " Through floods or flames, if Jesus lead, 
 We'll follow where he goes." 
 
 When a dog follows a man, we may discover whether the 
 man is his master by seeing what happens when they come 
 to a turn in the road. If the creature keeps close to its 
 master at all turnings, it belongs to him. Every now and 
 then you and I come to turns in the road, and many of us 
 are ready, through grace, to prove our loyalty by following 
 Jesus even when the way is hardest. Though the tears 
 stand in His eyes and ours ; though we weep together till 
 we have no more power to weep, we will cling to Him when 
 the manyturn aside, and witness that He hath the living 
 Word, and none upon earth beside. God grant us grace to 
 be faithful unto death ! 
 
 If we thus follow our Leader and bear His reproach, the 
 end and issue will be glorious victory. It was a piteous 
 sight to see David leaving two hundred men behind him, 
 andt^marching with his much-diminished forces after an 
 enemy who had gone, he scarce knev/ where, who might be 
 ten times stronger than his little band, and might slay those 
 who pursued them. It was a melancholy spectacle for those 
 left behind to see their leader a broken man, worn and 
 weary like themselves, hastening after the cruel Amalekite. 
 How very different was the scene when he came back to 
 the brook Besor more than a conqueror ! Do you not hear 
 the song of them that make merry? A host of men in the 
 front are driving vast herds of cattle and flocks of sheep, 
 and singing as they march, " This is David's spoil ! " Then 
 you see armed men, with David in the midst of them, all 
 laden with spoil, and you hear them singing yet another 
 song ; those that bring up the rear are shouting exultingly, 
 " David recovered all ! David recovered all ! " They, the 
 worn-out ones that stayed at the brook Besor, hear the 
 mingled song, and join first in the one shout, and then in 
 the other; singing, " That is David's spoil! David recov- 
 ered all ! " 
 
 Yes, we have no doubt about the result of our warfare. 
 He that is faithful to Christ shall be glorified with him. 
 That he will divide the spoil with the strong is never a 
 matter of question. " The pleasure of the Lord shall pros- 
 per in his hand." 
 
 The old truth by which we stand shall never be blotted 
 out. 
 
382 Last Scenes and Last Se7^mons. 
 
 " Engraved as in eternal brass 
 The mighty promise shines. 
 Nor shall the powers of darkness rase 
 Those everlasting lines." 
 
 We are certain as we live that the exiled truth shall cele- 
 brate its joyful return. The faith once for all delivered to 
 the saints may be down-trodden for a season ; but rejoice 
 not over us, O our adversaries : though we fall we shall 
 rise again! Wherefore we patiently hope, and quietly wait, 
 and calmly believe. We drink of the brook Besor by the 
 way and lift up our heads. 
 
 This morning I want to utter God-given words of com- 
 fort to those w'ho are faint and weary in the Lord's army. 
 May the divine Comforter make them so ! 
 
 I. I shall begin by saying, first, that FAINT ONES OCCUR 
 EVEN IN THE ARMY OF OUR KiNG. Among the very 
 elect of David's army — heroes who were men of war from 
 their youth up — there were hands that hung down, and 
 feeble knees that needed to be confirmed. There are such 
 in Christ's army at most seasons. We have among us sol- 
 diers whose faith is real, and whose love is burning; and 
 yet, for all that, just now their strength is weakened in the 
 way, and they are so depressed in spirit, that they are 
 obliged to stop behind with the baggage. 
 
 Possibly some of these weary ones had grown faint be- 
 cause //ley had been a good deal perplexed. David had so 
 wrongfully entangled himself with the Philistine king, that 
 he felt bound to go with Achish to fight against Israel. I 
 dare say these men said to themselves, " How will this end? 
 Will David really lead us to battle against Saul ? When he 
 could have killed him in the cave he would not, but declared 
 that he would not lift up his hand against the Lord's 
 anointed ; will he now take us to fight against the anointed 
 of God ? This David, who was so great an enemy of Phil- 
 istia, and slew their champion, will he war on their behalf.? " 
 They were perplexed with their leader's movements. I do 
 not know w^hether you agree with me, but I find that half- 
 an-hour's perplexity takes more out of a man than a month's 
 labor. When you cannot see your bearings, and know not 
 what to do, it is most trying. When to be true to God it 
 seems that you must break faith with man, and when to 
 fulfill your unhappy covenant with evil would make you 
 false to your Christian professions, things are perplexing. 
 
Reasons for Weariness, 383 
 
 If you do not walk carefully, you can easily get into a snarl. 
 If Christians walk in a straight line, it is comparatively easy 
 p-oing- for it is easy to find your way along a straight road ; 
 but when good men take to the new cut, that by-path across 
 the meadow, then they often get into ditches that are not in 
 the map. and fall into thickets and sloughs that they never 
 reckoned upon. Then is the time for heart-sickness to 
 come on. These warriors may very well have been per- 
 plexed • and perhaps they feared that God was against them 
 and that now their cause would be put to shame ; and when 
 they came to Zikla^, and found it burned with fire, the per- 
 plexity of their minds added intense bitterness to their sor- 
 row and they felt bowed into the dust. They did not pre- 
 tend to be faint, but they were really so ; for the mind can 
 soon act upon the body, and the body fails sadly when the 
 spirits are worried with questions and fears. This is one 
 reason why certain of our Lord's loyal-hearted ones are on 
 the sick list, an.l must keep in the trenches for a while 
 
 Pc^rl>aps also, the pace was killing to these inen. They 
 mad- forced marches for three days from, the city of Achish 
 to Ziklao- These men could do a good day's march with 
 anybody''; but they could not foot it at the double-quick 
 march all day long. There are a great many Christians of 
 that sort— o-ood, staying men who can keep on under ordi- 
 nary pressure, doing daily duty well, and resisting ordinary 
 temptations bravely ; but at a push they fare badly : who 
 amono-us does not? To us there may come multiplied 
 labors! and we faint becaus- our strength is small. 
 
 Worst of all, their grief came in just then. Their wives 
 were gone. Although, as it turned out, they were neither 
 killed nor otherwise harmed ; yet they could not tell this, 
 and they feared the worse. For a man to Know that his 
 wife is in the hands of robbers, and that he may never see 
 her ao-ain is no small trouble. Their sons and daughters 
 also were "-one : no prattlers climbed their father's knee, 
 nocrentle daughters came forth to bid them "Welcome 
 home " Their homes were still burning, their goods were 
 consumed, and they lifted up their voice and wept : is it at 
 all wonderful that some of them were faint after performing 
 that doleful miserere ? Where would you be if you went 
 home this morning, and found your home burned, and your 
 family crone, you knew not where ? I know many Christians 
 who g?t very faint urder extraordinary troubles. They 
 should not, but they do. We have reason to thank God 
 
384 Last Scenes and Last Sermons, 
 
 that no temptation has happened to us but such as is com- 
 mon to men ; and yet it may not seem so ; but we may feel 
 as if we were specially tried, like Job. Messenger after 
 messenger has brought us evil tidings, and our hearts are 
 not fixed on the Lord as they ought to be. To those who 
 are faint through grief I speak just now. You may be this, 
 and yet you may be a true follower of the Lamb ; and as 
 God has promised to bring you out of your troubles, he will 
 surely keep his word. Remember, he has never promised 
 that you shall have no sorrows, but that he will deliver you 
 out of them all. Ask yon saints in heaven ! Ask those to 
 step out of the shining ranks who came thither without 
 trial. Will one of the leaders of the shining host give the 
 word of command that he shall step forward who has 
 washed his robes and made them white in the blood of the 
 Lamb, but who never knew what affliction meant while 
 here below ? No one stirs in all that white-robed host. 
 Does not one come forward ? Must we wait here forever 
 without response ? See ! instead of anyone stirring from 
 their ranks, I hear a voice that says, " These are they which 
 came out of great tribulation." All of them have known, 
 not only tribulation, but ^r<:rt/ tribulation. One promise of 
 the New Testament is surely fulfilled before our eyes — •' In 
 the world ye shall have tribulation." When trouble came 
 so pressingly on David's men they felt their weakness and 
 needed to halt at the margin of the brook. 
 
 Perhaps, also, the force of the torrent was too much for 
 them. As I have told you, in all probability the brock 
 Besor was only a hollow place, which in oidinary times was 
 almost dry; but in a season of great rain it filled suddenly 
 with a rushing, muddy stream, against which only strong 
 men could stand. These men might have kept on upon 
 dry land, but the current was too fierce for them, and they 
 feared that it would carry them off their feet and drown 
 them. Therefore, David gave them leave to stop there and 
 guard the stuff. Many there are of our Lord's servants 
 who stop short of certain onerous service ; they are not 
 called to do what their stronger comrades undertake with 
 joy. They can do something, but they fail to do more ; they 
 can also bear trials, but they are unable to bear more ; they 
 faint because they have not yet come to fulness of growth 
 in grace. Their hearts are right in the sight of Cod, but 
 thev are not in condition to surmount some peculiar diffi- 
 cuUy. You must not overdrive them, for they are the feeble 
 
Fainty Yet Pursuing. 385 
 
 of the flock. Many are too faint for needful controversy. I 
 have found a great many of that sort about lately : the 
 truth is very important, but they love peace. It is quite 
 necessary that certain o us should stand up for the faith 
 once delivered to the saints ; but they are not up to the 
 mark for it. They cannot bear to differ from their fellows ; 
 and they hold their tongues rather than contend for the 
 truth. There are true hearts that, nevertheless, cannot 
 defend the gospel. They wish well to the champions ; but 
 they seek the rear rank for themselves. And some cannot 
 advance any further with regard to knowledge ; they know 
 the fundamentals, and feel as if they could master nothing 
 more. It is a great blessing that they know the gospel, and 
 feel that it will save them ; but the glorious mysteries of the 
 everlasting covenant, of the sovereignty of God, of his eter- 
 nal love and distinguishing grace, they cannot compass — 
 these are a brook Besor which as yet they cannot swim. It 
 would do them a world of good if they could venture in ; 
 but, still, they are not to be tempted into these blessed 
 deeps. To hear of these things rather wearies them than 
 instructs them : they have not strength enough of mind for 
 the deep things of God. I would have every Christian wish 
 to know all that he can know of revealed truth. Somebody 
 whispers that the secret things belong not to us. You may 
 be sure you will never know them if they are secret ; but 
 all that is revealed you ought to know, for these things 
 belong to you and to your children. Take care you know 
 what the Holy Ghost teaches. Do not give way to a faint- 
 hearted ignorance, lest you be great losers thereby. That 
 which is fit food for babes should not be enough for young 
 men and fathers: we should eat strong meat, and leave 
 milk to the little ones. 
 
 Yet these fainting ones were, after all, in David's army. 
 Their names were in their Captain's Register as much as 
 the names of the strong. And they did not desert the 
 colors. They had the same captain as the stoutest-hearted 
 men in the whole regiment ; they could call David 
 " Master " and " Lord " as truly as the most lion-like man 
 amongst them. They were in for the same dangers ; for if 
 the men in front had been beaten and had retreated, the 
 enemy would have fallen on those who guarded the stuff. 
 If the Amalekites had slain the four hundred, they would 
 have made short work of the two hundred. They had work 
 to do as needful as that of the others. Though they had 
 
386 Last Scenes and Last Sermons. 
 
 not to fight, they had to take care of the stuff ; and this 
 eased the minds of the fighting men. I will be bound to 
 say it was a great trial to them not to be allowed to march 
 mto the fight. For a brave man to see the troops go past 
 him, and hear the last footfall of his comrades, must have 
 been sickening. Who could pleasantly say, " I am left out 
 of it. There is a glorious day coming, and I shall be av/ay. 
 I shall, until I die, think myself accursed I was not there, 
 and hold my manhood cheap that I fought not with them 
 on that day " } It is hard to brave men to be confined to 
 hospital, and have no drive at the foe. The weary one 
 wishes he could be to the front, where his Captain's eye 
 would be upon him. He pants to smite down the enemies, 
 and win back the spoil for his comrades. 
 
 Enough of this. I will only repeat my first point: faint- 
 ing ones do occur even in the army of our King. 
 
 II. Secondly, these fainting ones rejoice to see 
 THEIR LEADER RETURN. Do vou See, when David went 
 back, they went to meet him, and the people that were with 
 him. I feel very much like this myself. That was one reason 
 why I took this text. I felt, after my illness, most happy to 
 come forth and meet my Lord in public. I hoped he would 
 be here ; and so he is. I am glad also to meet with you, my 
 comrades. We are still spared for the war.. Though laid 
 aside a while, we are again among our brethren. Thank 
 God ! It is a great joy to meet you. I am sorry to miss so 
 many of our church-members who are laid aside by this sick- 
 ness ; but it is a choice blessing to meet so many of our 
 kindred in Christ. We are never happier than when we are 
 in fellowship with one another and with our Lord. 
 
 David saluted the stay-at-homes. Oh, that he might 
 salute each one of us this morning, especially those who 
 have been laid aside ! Our King's salutations are wonder- 
 ful for their heartiness. He uses no empty compliments 
 nor vain words. Every syllable from his lips is a benedic- 
 tion. Every glance of his eye is an inspiration. When the 
 
The Leader s Return. 387 
 
 King himself comes near, it is always a feast-day to us! It 
 is a high day and a holiday, even with the faintest of us, 
 when we hear his voice. So they went to meet David, and 
 he came to meet them, and there was great joy. Yes, I 
 venture to mend that, and say there is great joy among us 
 now. Glory be to His holy name, the Lord is here ! We 
 see him, and rejoice with joy unspeakable, 
 
 David 's courtesy was as free as it was true. Possibly 
 those who remained behind were half afraid that their leader 
 might say, " See here, you idle fellows, what we have been 
 doing for you ! " No ; he saluted them, but did not scold 
 them. Perhaps they thought, " He will upbraid us that we 
 did not manage to creep into the fray." But no ; " Hegiveth 
 liberally, and upbraideth not." He speaks not a word of 
 upbraiding, for his heart pities them, and therefore he salutes 
 them — " My brethren, God has been gracious to us. All 
 hail ! " David would have them rejoice together ; and give 
 praise unto the most High. He will not dash their cup with 
 a drop of bitter. Oh, for a salutation from our Lord at this 
 good hour ! When Christ comes into a company His pres- 
 ence makes a heavenly difference. Have you never seen an 
 assembly listening to an orator, all unmoved and stolid ? 
 Suddenly the Holy Ghost has fallen on the speaker, and the 
 King Himself has been visibly set forth among them in the 
 midst of the assembly, and all have felt as if they could leap 
 to their feet and cry, " Hallelujah, hallelujah ! " Then hearts 
 beat fast, and souls leap high ; for where Jesus is found His 
 presence fills the place with delight. Now, then, you weary 
 ones, if you be here, any of you, may you rejoice as you now 
 meet your Leader, and your Leader reveals Himself to you ! 
 If no one else has a sonnet, I have mine. He must, He shall 
 be praised. " Thou art tbe King of Glory, O Christ ! All 
 heaven and earth adores Thee. Thou shalt reign for ever 
 and ever." 
 
 III. Thirdly, FAINT ONES HAVE THEIR LEADER FOR 
 
 THEIR ADVOCATE. Listen to those foul-mouthed men of 
 Belial, these wicked men: how they rail against those whom 
 God has afflicted ! They came up to David and began 
 blustering — " These weaklings who were not in the fight, 
 they shall not share the spoil. Let them take their wives 
 and children and begone." These fellows spoke with loud, 
 harsh voices, and greatly grieved the feebler ones. Who 
 was to speak up for them? Their leader became their 
 advocate. 
 
388 Last Scenes and Last Sermons, 
 
 First, do you notice, he pleads their unify? Tlie follow- 
 ers of the son of Jesse are one and inseparable. David said, 
 " Ye shall not do so, my brethren, with that which the Lord 
 hath given us, who hath preserved us" " We are all one," 
 says David. " God has given the spoil, not to you alone, 
 but to us all. We are all one company of brothers." The 
 unity ot saints is the consolation of the feeble. Brethren, 
 our Lord Jesus Christ would refresh His wearied ones by 
 the reflection that we are all one in Him. I may be the 
 foot, all dusty and travel-stained; and you may be the hand, 
 holding forth some precious gem ; but we are still one body. 
 Yonder friend is the brow of holy thought, and another is 
 the lip of persuasion, and a third is the eye of watchfulness; 
 but still we are one body in Christ. We cannot do, any- 
 one of us, without his fellow ; each one ministers to the 
 benefit of all. The eye cannot say to the hand, " I have no 
 need of thee." We are all one in Christ Jesus. Surely this 
 ought to comfort those of you who, by reason of feebleness, 
 are made to feel as if you were very inferior members of the 
 body : you are still living members of the mystical body of 
 Jesus Christ your Lord, and let this suffice you. One life 
 is ours, one love is ours, one heaven shall be ours in our one 
 Saviour. 
 
 • David further pleaded free grace, for he said to them, 
 "Ye shall not do so, my brethren, with that which the Lord 
 hath given us." He did not say, " With that which you 
 have conquered, and fairly earned in battle," but " that 
 which the Lord hath given us." Look upon every blessing 
 as a gift, and you will not think anyone shutout from it, not 
 even yourself. The gift of God is eternal life ; why should 
 you not have it ? Deny not to anyone of your brethren any 
 comfort of the covenant of grace. Think not of any man, 
 " He ought not to have so much joy." It is all of free grace ; 
 and if free grace rules the hour, the least may have it as well 
 as the greatest. If it is all of free grace, then, my poor 
 struggling brother, who can hardly feel assured that you are 
 saved, yet if you are a believer, you may claim every bless- 
 ing of the Lord's gracious covenant. God freely gives to 
 you as well as to me the provisions of His love ; therefore, 
 let us be glad, and not judge ourselves after the manner of 
 the law of condemnation. 
 
 Then he plea^led their needfulness. He said, " These men 
 abided by the stuff." No army fights well when its camp 
 is unguarded. It is a great thing for a church to know that 
 
The Law of Reward, 389 
 
 its stores are well g-uarded by a praying band. While some 
 of us are teaching- in the school or preaching in the street, 
 we have great comfort in knowing that a certain number of 
 our friends are praying for us. To me it is a boundless 
 solace that I live in the prayers of thousands. I will not 
 say which does the better service — the man that preaches, 
 or the man that prays ; but I know this, that we can do bet- 
 ter without the voice that preaches than without the heart 
 that prays. The petitions of our bed-ridden sisters are the 
 wealth of the church. The kind of service which seems 
 most commonplace among men is often the most precious 
 unto God. Therefore, as for those who cannot come into 
 the front places of warfare, deny them not seats of honor, 
 since, after all, they may be doing the greater good. Re- 
 member the statute, " They shall part alike." 
 
 Notice that David adds to his pleading a statute. I like 
 to think of our great Commander, the Lord Jesus, making 
 statutes. For whom does He legislate ? For the first three } 
 For the captains of thousands } No. He makes a statute 
 for those who are forced to stay at home because they are 
 faint. Blessed be the name of our Lord Jesus, He is always 
 looking to the interests of those who have nobody else to 
 care for them ! If you can look after your own cause, you 
 may do so ; but if you are so happy as to be weak in your- 
 self, you shall be strong in Christ. Those who have Christ 
 to care for them are better off than if they took care of them- 
 selves. He that can leave his concerns with Christ has Isft 
 them in good hands. Vain is the help of self, but all-suffi- 
 cient is the aid of Jesus. 
 
 To sum up what I mean : I believe the Lord will give to 
 the sick and the suffering an equal reward with the active 
 and energetic, if they rre equally concerned for His glory. 
 The Lord will also make a fair division to the obscure and 
 unknown as well as to the renowned and honored, if they 
 are equally earnest. Oh, tell me not that she who rears her 
 boy for Christ shall miss her reward from Him by whom an 
 apostle is recompensed ! Tell me not that the woman who 
 so conducts her household that her servants come to fear 
 God. shall be forgotten in the day when the " Well dones " 
 are distributed to the faithful ! Homely and unnoticed ser- 
 vice shall have honor as surelv as that with which the world 
 is ringing. 
 
 Some of God's people are illiterate, and they have but 
 little native talent. But if they serve the Lord as best they 
 
390 Last Scenes and Last Sermons, 
 
 can, with all their heart, they shall take their part with those 
 that are the most learned and accomplished. He that is 
 faithful over a little shall have his full reward of grace. It 
 is accepted according to what a man hath. We may pos- 
 sess no more than two mites, but if we cast them into the 
 treasury, our Lord will think much of them. 
 
 Some dear servants of God seem always to be defeated. 
 They seem sent to a people whose hearts are made gross 
 and their ears dull of hearing. Still, if they have truthfully 
 proclaimed the Word of the Lord, their reward will not be 
 according to their apparent success, but according to their 
 fidelity. 
 
 Some saints are constitutionally depressed and sad ; they 
 are like certain lovely ferns, which grow best under a con- 
 stant drip. Well, well, the Lord will gather these beautiful 
 ferns of the shade as well as the roses of the sun ; they shall 
 share His notice as much as the blazing sunflowers, and the 
 saddest shall rejoice with the gladdest. You Little-Faiths, 
 you Despondencies, you Much-Afraids, you Feeble-Minds, 
 you that sigh more than you sing, you that would but can- 
 not, you that have a great heart for holiness, but feel beaten 
 back in your struggles, the Lord shall give you His love. His 
 grace his favor, as surely as He gives it to those who can do 
 great things in His name. Certain of you have but a scant 
 experience of the higher joys and deeper insights of the 
 kingdom, and it may be that you are in part faulty because 
 you are so backward ; and yet, if true to your Lord, your 
 infirmities shall not be reckoned as iniquities. If lawfully 
 detained from the field of active labor this statute stands 
 fast for ever, for you as well as for others : " As his part is 
 that goeth down to the battle, so shall his part be that tar- 
 rieth by the stuff : they shall part alike." 
 
 IV. Now, fourthly, FAINT ONES FIND Jesus to be 
 THEIR GOOD LoRD IN EVERY WAY. Was he not a good 
 Lord when he first took us into his army of salvation } 
 What a curious crew they were that enlisted under David ! 
 " Every one that was in debt, and every one that was dis- 
 contented, gathered themselves unto him, and he became a 
 captain over them." He was a captain of ragamuffins ; but 
 our Lord had not a better following. I was a poor wretch 
 when I came to Christ ; and I should not wonder if that 
 word is near enough to the truth to describe yoti. I was a 
 good-for-nothing, over head and ears in debt, and without 
 a penny to pay. I came to Jesus so utterly down at the 
 
Let Us Exalt Our Captain. 391 
 
 heel, that no one else would have owned me. He might 
 well'have said, — " No, I have not come to this — to march at 
 the head of such vagrant beggars as these." Yet He 
 received us graciously, according to His promise," Him that 
 Cometh to me I will in no wise cast out." Since then, how 
 graciously has He borne with us ! We are not among those 
 self-praising ones who have wrought such wonders of holi- 
 ness ; but we mourn our shortcomings and transgressions , 
 and yet He hath not cast away the people whom He did fore- 
 know. When we look back upon our character as soldiers 
 of Christ, we feel ashamed of ourselves, and amazed at His 
 grace. If anybody had told us that we should have been 
 such 'poor soldiers as we have been, we should not have 
 believed them. We do not excuse ourselves : we are 
 greatly grieved to have been such failures. Yet our gra- 
 cious Lord has never turned us out of the ranks. He might 
 have drummed us out of the regiment long ago ; but here 
 we are still, enrolled, upheld, and smiled upon. What a 
 Captain we have! None can compare with Him for gentle- 
 ness. He still owns us, and He declares, " They shall be 
 mine in that day when I make up my jewels." 
 
 Brethren, let us exalt the name of our Captain. There is 
 none like Him. We have been in distress since then : and 
 He has been in distress with us. Ziklag smoked for Him as 
 well as for us. In all their aiifliction He was afflicted. Have 
 you not found it so ? When we have come to a great diffi- 
 culty like the brook Besor He has gently eased His com- 
 mands, and has not required of us what we were unable to 
 yield. ' He has not made some of you pastors and teachers, 
 for you could not have borne the burden. He hath abounded 
 towards us in all wisdom and prudence. He has suited the 
 the march to the foot, or the foot to the march. How 
 sweetly He has smiled on what we have done ! Have you 
 not wondered to see how He has accepted your works and 
 your prayers ? You ha\^e been startled to find that He did 
 answer your feeble petitions. When you have spoken a 
 word for Jesus, and God has blessed it, why you have 
 thought, "Surely there is a mistake about this ! How could 
 my feeble word have a blessing on it ?" Beloved, we follow 
 a noble Prince. Jesus is the chief among ten thousand for 
 tenderness as well as for everything else. How tenderly 
 considerate He is ! How gentle and generous ! He has 
 never said a stinging word to us ever since we knew him. 
 He is that riches which has no sorrow added to it. He has 
 
392 Last Scenes and Last Sermons. 
 
 rebuked us ; but His rebukes have been like an excellent oil, 
 which has never broken our heads. When we have left 
 Him, He has turned and looked upon us, and so He has cut 
 us to the quick ; but He has never wounded us with any 
 sword except that which conieth out of His mouth, whose 
 edge is love. When He goes away from us, as David did 
 from those two hundred who could not keep up with him, 
 yet He always comes back again in mercy, and salutes us with 
 favor. We wonder to ourselves that we did not hold him, 
 and vow that we would never let him go ; but we wonder 
 still more that He should came back so speedily, so heartily, 
 leaping over the mountains, hastening like a roe or a young 
 hart over the hills of division. Lo ! He has come to us. He 
 has come to us, and He makes our hearts glad at His com- 
 ing. Let us indulge our hearts this morning as we take our 
 share in the precious spoil of His immeasurable love. He 
 loves the great and the small with like love; let us be joyful 
 all round. 
 
 There is one choice thing which He will do, that should 
 make us love Him beyond measure. David, after a while, 
 went up to Hebron to be made king over Judah. Shall I 
 read you in the second book of Samuel, the second chapter, 
 and the third verse ? " And his men that were with him " 
 (and among the rest these weak ones who could not pass 
 over the brook Besor), "and his men that were with him 
 did David bring up, every man with his household : and 
 they dwelt in the cities of Hebron." Yes, He will bring me 
 up, even me ! He will bring you up, you faintest and weak- 
 est of the band. There is a Hebron wherein Jesus reigns 
 as anointed King, and He will not be there and leave one 
 of us behind. There is no kingdom for Jesus without His 
 brethren, no heaven for Jesus without His disciples. His 
 poor people who have been with Him in faintness and 
 weariness shall be with Him in glory, a7id their households. 
 Hold on to that additional blessing. I pray you, hold on to 
 it. Do not let slip that word — " and their households J' I 
 fear we often lose a blessing on our household through clip- 
 ping the promise. When the jailer asked what he must do 
 to be saved, what was the answer ? " Believe on the Lord 
 Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved." You have heard 
 that answer hundreds of times, have you not ? Did you ever 
 hear the rest of it? Why do preachers and quoters snip off 
 corners from gospel promises? It runs thus; " Thou shalt 
 be saved, and thy house." Lay hold of that blessed enlarge- 
 
Every Man with his Hotisehold, 393 
 
 ment of grace, " and thy house." Why leave out the wives 
 and the children ? Will you let the Amalekites have them ? 
 Do not be satisfied without household salvation. Let us 
 plead this word of the Lord this morning : O thou blessed 
 David, whom we have desired to follow, who hast helped us 
 so graciously even unto this day, when thou art in thy kmg- 
 dom graciously remember us, and let it be said of us, " and 
 David went up thither, and his men that were with hmi 
 David brought up (they did not go up of themselves) every 
 man with his household ; and they dwelt' in the cities of 
 Hebron ; " " Every man ivith his hoiaehold." I commend 
 that word to your careful notice. Fathers, have you yet 
 seen your children saved } Mothers, are all those daughters 
 brought in yet } Never cease to pray until it is so, for this 
 is the crown of it all, " Every man with his household." 
 
 What I have to say lastly is this : how greatly I desire 
 that you who are not yet enlisted in my Lord's band would 
 come to Him because you see what a kind and gracious 
 Lord He is ! Young men, if you could see our Captain, you 
 would down on your knees and beg Him to let you enter the 
 ranks of those who follow Him. It is heaven to serve Jesus. 
 I am a recruiting sergeant, and I w^ould fain find a few 
 recruits at this moment. Every man must serve somebody: 
 we have no choice as to that fact. Those who have no 
 master are slaves to themselves. Depend upon it, you will 
 either serve Satan or Christ, either self or the Saviour. You 
 will find sin, self, Satan, and the world to be hard masters ; 
 but if you wear the livery of Christ, you will find Him so 
 meek and lowly of heart that you will find rest unto your 
 souls. He is the most magnanimous of captains. There 
 never was His like among the choicest of princes. He is 
 always to be found in the thickest part of the battle. When 
 the wind blows cold He always takes the bleak side of the 
 hill. The heaviest end of the cross lies ever on His shoul- 
 ders. If He bids us carry a burden, He carries it also. If 
 there is anything that is gracious, generous, kind, and ten- 
 der, yea lavish and superabundant in love, you always find 
 it in Him. These forty years and more have I served Him, 
 blessed be His name ! and I have had nothing but love from 
 Him I would be glad to continue yet another forty years 
 in the same dear service here below if so it pleased Him. 
 His service is life, peace, joy. Oh, that you would enter on 
 it at once ! God help you to enlist under the banner of 
 Jesus even this day ! Amen. 
 
394 Lcist Scenes and Last Se^^mons. 
 
 The Last Sermon. 
 
 Accordinor to The Sword and The Trowel. Mr. 
 Spurgeon delivered two addresses to the friends 
 assembled at Mentone — one on the last evening of 
 1891 by way of retrospect, and the other on the 
 first morning of the present year by way of pros- 
 pect. Both discourses were delivered sitting, and 
 the following is that for the New Year : 
 
 " Passing at this hour over the threshold of the New 
 Year, we look forward, and what do we see 'i Could we 
 procure a telescope which would enable us to see to the 
 end of the year, should we be wise to use it ? I think not. 
 We know nothing of the events which lie before us — of 
 life or death to ourselves or to our friends, or of changes of 
 position, or of sickness or health. What a mercy that these 
 things are hidden from us! If we foresaw our best bless- 
 ings, they would lose their freshness and sweetness while 
 we impatiently waited for them. Anticipation would sour 
 into weariness, and familiarity would breed contempt. If 
 we could forsee our troubles, we should worry ourselves 
 about them long before they came, and in that fretfulness 
 we should miss the joy of our present blessings. Great 
 mercy has hung up a veil between us and the future ; and 
 there let it hang ! 
 
 " Still, all is not concealed. Some things we clearly see. 
 I say, ' we '; but I mean those whose eyes have been 
 opened, for it is not everyone who can see in the truest 
 sense. A lady said to Mr. Turner, ' I have often looked 
 upon that prospect, but I have never seen what you have 
 put into your picture.' The great artist simply replied, 
 * Don't you wish you could see it ?' Looking into the future 
 with the eye of faith, believers can see much that is hidden 
 from those who have no faith. Let me tell you, in a few 
 words, v/hat I see as I look into the new year. 
 
 " I see a pathway made from this Jan. i, 1892, to Jan. i, 
 1893. I see a highway cast up by the foreknowledge and 
 predestination of God. Nothing of the future is left to 
 chance ; nay, not the falling of a sparrow, nor the losing of 
 a hair is left to haphazard; but all the events of life are 
 arranged and appointed. Not only is every turn in the 
 
The Way and the Guide. 395 
 
 road marked in the divine map, but every stone on the road, 
 and every drop of morning dew or evening mist that falls 
 upon the grass which grows at the roadside. We are not 
 to cross a trackless desert ; the Lord has ordainea our path 
 in His infallible wisdom and infinite love. ' The steps of a 
 good man are ordered by the Lord ; and he delighteth in 
 his way.' 
 
 " I see, next, a Guide provided, as our companion along 
 the way. To Him we gladly say, ' Thou shalt guide me 
 with Thy counsel.' He is waiting to go with us through 
 every portion of the road. ' The Lord, He it is that doth 
 go before thee ; He will be with thee. He will not fail thee.' 
 We are not left to pass through life as though it were a lone 
 wilderness, a place of dragons and owls ; for Jesus says, * I 
 will not leave you comfortless ; I will come to you.' 
 
 "Though we should lose father and mother, and the 
 dearest friends, there is One who wears our nature, who 
 will never quit our side. One like unto the Son of Man is 
 still treading the life-ways of believing hearts, and each 
 true believer cometh up from the wilderness, leaning upon 
 the Beloved. We feel the presence of the Lord Jesus even 
 now, in this room, where two or three are gathered in His 
 name, and I trust we shall feel it through all the months of 
 the year, whether it be the time of the singing of birds, or 
 the season of ripe fruits, or the dark months when the clods 
 are frozen into iron. In this Riviera we ought the more 
 readily to realise our Lord's presence, because the country 
 is so like ' Thy land, O Immanuel ! ' Here is the land of oil- 
 olive, and of figs, and of the clusters of Eshcol. By such a 
 blue sea He walked, and up such rocky hills He climbed. 
 But, whether here or elsewhere, let us look for Him to abide 
 with us, to make this year truly to be ' a year of our Lord.' 
 
 " Besides the way and the Guide, I perceive very clearly, 
 by the eye of faith, strefigtk for the journey provided. 
 Throughout the whole distance of the year, we shall find 
 halting-places, where we may rest and take refreshment, 
 and then go on our way singing, * He restoreth my soul.' 
 We shall have strength enough, but none to spare ; and that 
 strength will come when it is needed, and not before. 
 When saints imagine that they have strength to spare, they 
 turn sinners, and are apt to have their locks shorn by the 
 Philistines. The Lord of the way will find the pilgrims with 
 sufficient spending-money for the road ; but He may not 
 think it wise to burden them with superfluous funds. 
 
;96 Last Scenes and Last Sermons. 
 
 "God all-sufficient will not fail those who trust Hiin. 
 When we come to the place for shouldering the burden, we 
 shall reach the place for receiving the strength. If it pleases 
 the Lord to multiply our troubles from one to ten, He will 
 increase our strength in the same proportion. To each 
 believer the Lord still says, 'As thy days, so shall thy strength 
 l.^e.' You do not yet feel that you have grace to die with : 
 what of that ? You are not yet dying. While you have yet 
 to deal with the business and duty of life, look to God for 
 the grace which these require ; and when life is ebbing out, 
 and your only thought is about landing on the eternal shore, 
 then look to God your Saviour for dying grace in dying 
 moments. We may expect an inrush of divine strength 
 when human strength is failing, and a daily impartation of 
 energy as daily need requires. Our lan.ps shall be trimmed 
 as long as they shall need to burn. Let not our present 
 weakness tempt us to limit the Holy One of Israel. There 
 is a hospice on every pass over the Alps of life, and a bridge 
 across every river of trial, which crosses our way to the 
 Celestial City. Holy angels are as numerous to guard us as 
 fallen ones to tempt us. W^e shall never have a need for 
 which our gracious Father has furnished no supply. 
 
 " I see, most plainly, a Power overruling all things which 
 occur in the way we tread. I see an alembic in which all 
 things are transformed. 'All things work together for 
 good to them that love God, to them that are the called 
 according to His purpose.' I see a wonder-working hand 
 which turns for us the swords of disease into the plough- 
 shares of correction, and the spears of trial into the prun- 
 ing-hooks of discipline. By this divine skill, bitters are 
 made sweet, and poisons turned to medicines. ' Nothing 
 shall by any means harm you,' is a promise too strong for 
 feeble faith ; but full assurance finds it true. Since God is 
 for us, who can be against us ? What a joy to see Jehovah 
 Himself as our banner, and God himself with us as our 
 Captain ? Forward then into the New Year, ' for there shall 
 no evil befall you.' 
 
 " One thing more, and this is the brightness itself: this 
 year we trust we shall see God glorified by us and in us. 
 If we realize our chief end, we reach our highest enjoyment. 
 It is the delight of the renewed heart to think that God can 
 get glory out of such poor creatures as we are. ' God is 
 light.' We cannot aid to His brightness, but we may act 
 as reflectors, which, though they have no light of their own, 
 
Into the Holy of Holies. 397 
 
 yet, when the sun shines upon them, reflect His beams, and 
 send them where, without such reflection, they might not have 
 come. When the Lord shines upon us, we will cast that Hght 
 upon dark places, and make those who sit in the shadow of 
 death to rejoice in Jesus our Lord. We hope that God has 
 been in some measure glorified in some of us during the past 
 year, but we trust He will be glorified by us far more in the 
 year which now begins. We will be content to glorify God 
 either actively or passively. We would have it so happen that, 
 when our life's history is written, whoever reads it will not 
 think of us as ' self-made men,' but as the handiwork of God, 
 in whom His grace is magnified. Not in us may men see 
 the clay, but the Potter's hand. They said of one, ' He is a 
 fine preacher ' ; but of another they said, * We never notice 
 how he preaches, but we feel that God is great.' We wish 
 our whole life to be a sacrifice ; an altar of incense contin- 
 ually smoking with sweet perfume unto the Most High. 
 Oh, to be borne through the year on the wings of praise to 
 God ; to mount from year to year, and raise at each ascent 
 a loftier and yet lowlier song unto the God of our life ! The 
 vista of a praiseful life will never close, but continue through- 
 out eternity. From psalm to psalm, from hallelujah to 
 hallelujah, we will ascend the hill of the Lord, until we 
 come into the holiest of all, where, with veiled faces, we 
 will bow before the Divine Majesty in the bliss of endless 
 adoration. Throughout this year may the Lord be with you ! 
 Amen," 
 
Date Due 
 
 
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