Mil mkmimTwmm iiiiii isifiglEg^^^ ;!!i!!!iii!!!iyi!!l!l!!!!!!P!iA'!l!i!!!!l^ iiiiiliifmtiiifflii 1 ! Illll!! li i i !i ! : 'Miillii'iiijlllii THE LIBRARY OF THE UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA LOS ANGELES ID GIFT OF IJrs. Ben B, Lindsey RUSSELL H. COXWELL Russell H. Conwell Founder of the Institutional Church in America THE WORK AND THE MAN BY AGNES RUSH BURR With His Two Famous Lectures as Recently Delivered, entitled "Acres of Diamonds, and "Personal Glimpses of Celebrated Men and Women Willi an Appreciative Introduction by FLOYD W. TOMKINS, D.D., LLD. THE JOHN C. WINSTON COMPANY PHILADELPHIA CHICAGO 1905 TORONTO CoPYRIGHThD 1905 By The John C. Winston Co. BX Af^ i^ TO THE MEMBERS OF GRACE BAPTIST CHURCH To THOSB WHO IN" THE OLD DAYS WORKED WITH SUCH SELF SACRIFICE AND DEVOTION TO BUILD The Temple walls; to those who ix THE later days ANYWHERE WORK IN LIKE spirit to enlarge THEIE SPHERE OF USEFULNESS, THIS BOOK IS DEDICATED 110S251 AN APPRECIATION The measure of greatness is helpfulness. We have gone back to the method of the Master and learned to test men not by wealth, nor by birth, nor by intellectual power, but by service. Wealth is not to be despised if it is untainted and consecrated. Ancestry is noble if the good survives and the bad perishes in him who boasts of his forebears. Intellectual force is worthy if only it can escape from that cursed attendant, conceit. But they sink, one and all into insignificance when character is considered; for character is the child of godly parents whose names are self-denial and love. The man who lives not for himself but for others, and who has a heart big enough to take all men into its liv- ing sympathies — he is the man we delight to honor. Biographies have a large place in present day litera' ture. A woman long associated with some foreign potentates tells her story and it is read with unhealthy avidity. Some man fights many battles, and his ca- reer told by an amiable critic excites temporary inter- est. Yet as we read we are unsatisfied. The heart and mind, consciously or unconsciously, ask for some deeds other than those of arms and sycophancies. Did he make the world better by his living? Were rough places smoothed and crooked things straightened by his energies ? And withal, had he that tender gi-ace which viii AN APPRECIATION Jrew little children to him and made him the knight- attendant of the feeble and overborne amongst his fel- lows ? The life from which men draw daily can alone make a book richly worth the reading. It is good that something should be known of a man whilst he yet lives. We are overcrowded with monu- ments commemorating those into whose faces we cannot look for inspiration. It is always easy to strew flow- ers upon the tomb. But to hear somewhat of living realities; to grasp the hand which has wrought, and feel the thrill while we hear of the struggles which made it a beautiful hand; to see the face marked by lines cut with the chisel of inner experience and the sword of lonely misunderstanding and perchance of biting criticism, and learn how the brave contest spelt out a life-history on feature and brow ; — this is at once to know the man and his career. This life of a man justly honored and loved in Philadelphia will find a welcome seldom accorded to the routine biography. It is difficult for one who re- joices in Dr. Conwell's friendship to speak in tem- pered langTiage. It is yet more difficult to do justice to the great work which Church and College and Hos- pital, united in a trinity of service, have accomplished in our very midst. God hath done mighty things through this His servant, and the end is not ^et. To attend the Temple services on Sunday and feel the pulse of worship is to enter into a blessed fellowship with God and men. To see the thousands pursuing their studies during the week in Temple College and AN APPRECIATION ix to realize the tJioroughness of the work done is to gain a belief in Christian education. To move through the beautiful Hospital and mark the gentle ministration of Christian physician and nurse is to learn what Jesus meant when, quoting Hosea, He said : " I will have mercy and not sacrifice." And these all bring one very near to the great human heart, the intelligent and far- reaching judgment, the ripe and real religion of him whose life this volume tells. May God bless Dr. Conwell in the days to come, and graciously spare him to us for many years ! We need such men in this old sin-stained and weary world. He is an inspiration to his brothers in the ministry of Jesus Christ. He is a proof of the power in the world of pure Christianity. H© is a friend to all that is good, a foe to all that is evil, a strength to the weak, a comforter to the sorrowing, a man of God. He would not suffer these words to be printed if he saw them. But they come from the heart of one who loves, honors, and reverences him for his character and his deeds. They are the words of a friend. rOREWOKD CONWELL THE PIONEER SPEAKIN'G of Russell Conwell's career, a West- ern paper has called it, " a pioneer life." 1^0 phrase better describes it. Dt. Conwell preaches to the largest Protestant con- gregation in America each Sunday. He is the founder and president of a college that has a yearly roll-call of three thousand students. He is the founder and presi- dent of a hospital that annually treats more than five thousand patients. Yet great as these achievements are, they are [yet greater in prophecy than in fulfil- ment. For they are the first landmarks in a new world of philanthropic work. He has blazpd a path through the dark, tangled wilderness of tradition and conven- tion, hewing away the worthless, making a straight road for progress, letting in God's clear light to show what the world needs done and how to do it. He has shown how a church can reach out into the home, the business, the social life of thousands of peo- ple until their religion is their life, their life a religion. He has given the word " church " its real meaning. 1^0 longer is it a building merely for worship, but, with doors never closed, it is a vital part of the community and the lives of the people. He has proven that the great masses of people are xii FOREWORD hungry and thirsty for knowledge. The halls of Tem- ple College have resounded to the tread of an army of working men and women more than fifty thousand strong. The man with an hour a day and a few dollars a year is as eager and as welcome a student there, and has the same educational opportunities to the same grade of learning as though he had the birthright of leisure and money which opens the doors to Harvard and Yale. He has shown that a hospital can be built not merely as a charity, not merely as a necessity, but as a visible expression of Christ's love and command, " Heal the sick." In all these three lines he has blazed new paths, opened new worlds for man's endeavors — new worlds of religious work, new worlds of educational work. He has not only proven their need, demonstrated their worth, but he has shown how it is possible to accomplish such results from small beginnings with no large gifts of money, with only the hands and hearts of willing workers. ISTot only has he done a magnificent pioneer work in these great fields, but from boyhood he has blazed trails of one kind or another, for the pioneer fever was in his blood — • that burning desire to do, to discover, to strike out into new fields. As a mere child, he organized a strange club called " Silence," also the first debating society in the district schoolhouse, and circulated the first petition for the opening of a post-office near his home in South Worth- ington, Mass. In his school days at Wilbraham Academy, he or-, ganized an original critics' club, started the first FOREWORD xiii academy paper, organized the original alumni associa- tion. In war time, he built the first schoolhouse for the first free colored school, still standing at ISTewport, N. C. ; and started the first " Comfort Bag " movement at a war meeting in Springfield, Mass. As a law;^^er, he opened the first noon prayer meeting in the I^orthwest, called the first meeting to organize the Y. M. C. A. at Minneapolis, Minn., organized four literary and social clubs in Minneapolis, started the first library in that city, began the publication of the first daily paper there called " The Daily Chronicle," after- ward " The Minneapolis Tribune." In Boston, he started the " Somerville Journal," now edited by his son, Leon M. Conwell, one of the most quoted publications in the country. He called the first meeting which organized the Boston Young Men's Con- gress, and was one of the first editors of the " Boston Globe." He was the personal adviser of James Ked- path, who opened the first Lecture and Lyceum Bureau in the United States. He began a new church work in the old Baptist church building at Lexington, Mass., and he opened in a schoolhouse the mission from which grew the West Somei*ville (Mass.) Baptist church. He was special counselor for four new Kailroad com- panies and for two new ISTational banks. In Philadelphia, in addition to being the founder of the first Institutional church in America, of a college practically free for busy men and women, and a hospital for the sick poor, he has organized twenty or more societies for religious and benevolent purposes including the Philadelphia Orphan's Home Society. xiv FOREWORD His pioneer work is not all. As a lecturer Dr. Con- well is known from tke Atlantic to the Pacific, having been on the lecture platform for forty-three years, speaking from one hundred to two hundred and twenty- five nights each year. As an author he has written books that have run into editions of hundreds of thousands, his " Life of Spur- geon " selling one hundred and twenty-five thousand copies in four months. He has been around the globe many times, counted among his intimate friends Gari- baldi, Bayard Taylor, Stanley, Longfellow, Blaine, Henry Ward Beecher, John G. Wliittier, President Garfield, Horace Greeley, Alexander Stevens, John Brown, E-alph Waldo Emerson, John B. Gough and General Sherman. He fought in the war of the Rebellion, was left for dead on the battlefield of Kenesaw mountain — in fact, he has had a career as picturesque and thrilling as a Scott or Dumas could picture. Yet the man whose energy has reared enduring mon- uments of stone, and more lasting ones in the hearts of tliousands whose lives he has made happier and brighter, fought his way upward alone and single- handed from a childhood of poverty. He rose by his own efforts, in the face of great and seemingly insur- mountable obstacles and discouragements. The path he took from that little humble farmhouse to the big church, the wide-reaching college, the kindly hospital^ the head of the Lecture Platform, it is the purpose of this book to picture, in the hope that it may be helpful to others, either young or old, who desire to better their condition, or to do some work of which the inner voice tells them the world is in need. FOREWORD XV Dr. Conwell believes, with George Macdonald, that " The one secret of life and development is not to devise or plan, but to fall in with the forces at work — to do every moment's duty aright — that being the part in the process allotted to us ; and let come . . . what the Eternal Thought wills for each of us, has intended in each of us from the first." Or in the words of the greatest of Books, " See that thou make it according to the pattern that was shewed thee in the mount." Every one at some time in his life has been " in the mount." To follow and obey the Heavenly Vision means a life of usefulness and happiness. That obsta- cles and discouragements can be surmounted, the life of Russell Conwell shows. For this purpose it is writ- ten, that others who have heard the Voice may go forward with faith and perseverance to work of which the world stands in need. ACKN"OWLEDGMEXT In the preparation of this book, the three excellent biographies already written, " Scaling the Eagle's Nest," by Wm. C. Higgins, " The Modern Temple and Tem- plars," by Eobert J. Burdette, and " The Life of Eussell H. Conwell," by Albert Hatcher Smith, have been of the utmost help. The writer wishes to acknowledge her great indebtedness to all for much of the information in the present work. These writers have with the utmost care gathered the facts concerning Dr. Conwell's early life, and the writer most gratefully owns her deep obliga- tion to them. TABLE OF CONTENTS Chapter I.— Ancestry. ^^^ Jolm Conwell, the English Ancestor who fought for the Preservation of the English Language. Martin Conwell of Maryland. A Runaway Marriage. The Parents of Russell H. Conwell 23 Chapter II. — Early Environment, The Family Circle. An Unusual Mother. What She Read Her Children. A Preacher at Three Years of Age . . 29 Chapter III.— Days of Study, Work and Play. The Schoolhouse in tlie Woods. Maple Sugar-making. The Orator of the Dawn. A Boyish Prank. Capturing the Eagle's Nest 33 Chapter IV. — Two Men and Their Influence. John Brown. Fireside Discussions. , Runaway Slaves. Fred Douglas. Rev. Asa Niles. A Runaway Trip to Boston 44 Chapter V. — Trying His Wings. Boyhood Days. Russell's First Case at Law. A Cure for Stage Fever. Studying Music. A Runaway Trip to Europe 51 Chapter VI.— Out of the Home Nest. School Days at W^ilbraham Academy. Tlie First School Oration and Its Humiliating End. The Hoiir of Prayer in the Conwell Home at the Time of John Brown's Exe- cution 60 xvii xviii CONTENTS Chapter VII.— War's Alarms. ^^e* College Days at Yale. The Outbreak of the Civil War. Patriotic Speechmaking. New York and Henry Ward Beecher 68 Chapter VIII.— While the Conflict Raged. Lincoln's Call for One Hundred Thousand Men. Enlist- ment. Captain Conwell. In Camp at Springfield, Mass. The Famous Gold-sheathed Sword 73 Chapter IX.— In the Thick of the Fight. Company F at NeAvberne, N. C. The Fight at Batchelor's Creek. The Goldsboro Expedition. The Battle of Kings- ton. The Gum Swamp Expedition 77 Chapter X.— The Sword and the School Book. Scouting at Bogue Sound. Captain Conwell Wounded. The Second Enlistment. Jealousy and Misunderstand- ing. Building of the First Free School for Colored Children. Attack on Newport Barracks. Heroic Death of John Ring 83 Chapter XI. — A Soldier of the Cross. Under Arrest for Absence Without Leave. Order of Court Reversed by President. Certificate from State Legisla- ture of Massachusetts for Patriotic Services. Appointed by President Lincoln, Lieutenant-Colonel on General Mc- Pherson's Staff. Wounded at Kenesaw Mountain. Con- version. Public Profession of Faith 90 Chapter XII.— Westward. Resignation from Army. Admission to Bar. Marriage. Removal to Minnesota. Founding of the Minneapolis Y. M. C. A. and of the Present " Minneapolis Tribune." Burning of Home. Breaking Out of Wound. Appointed CONTENTS xix Emigration Agent to Germany by Governor of Minnesota. ^^* Joins Surveying Party to Palestine. Near to Death in Paris Hospital. Journey to New York for Operation in Bellevue Hospital. Return to Boston 9G Chapter XIII.— Writing His Way Around the World. Days of Poverty in Boston. Sent to Southern Battle- fields. Around the World for New York and Boston Papers. In a Gambling Den in Hong Kong, China. Cholera and Shipwreck 103 Chapter XIV. — Busy Days in Boston. Editor of "Boston Traveller." Free Legal Advice for the Poor. Temperance Work. Campaign ^lanager for Gen- eral Nathaniel P. Banks. Urged for Consulship at Naples. His Work for the Widows and Orphans of Soldiers Ill Chapter XV.— Troubled Days. Death of Wife. Loss of Money. Preaching on Wharves. Growth of Sunday School Class at Tremont Temple from Four to Six Hundred Members in a Brief Time. Second Marwage. Death of Father and Mother. Preaching at Lexington. Building Lexington Baptist Church . . 117 Chapter XVI.— His Entry Into the Ministry. Ordination. First Charge at Lexington. Call to Grace Baptist Church, Philadelphia 129 Chapter XVII.— Going to Philadelphia. The Early History of Grace Baptist Church. Tlie Begin- ning of the Sunday Breakfast Association. Impressions of a Sunday Service 133 Chapter XVIII.— First Days at Grace Baptist Church. Early Plans for Church Efficiency. Practical Methods for XX CONTENTS Church Work. The Growing Membership. Need of a ^^^ New Building 141 Chapter XIX.— Hattie Wiatt's Legacy. How a Little Child Started the Building Fund for the Great Baptist Temple 148 Chapter XX.— Building of the Temple. How the Money Was Raised. Walking Clubs. Jug Break- ing. Tlie Purchase of the Lot. Laying the Corner Stone 149 Chapter XXI. — Occupying the Temple. The First Sunday. The Building Itself — Its Seating Ca- pacity, Furnishing and Lighting. The Lower Temple and Its Various Rooms and Halls. Services Heard by Telephone at the Samaritan Hospital 152 Chapter XXIL— How the Church Works. The Ladies' Aid Society. The Young Women's Associa- tion. The Young ilen's Association. The Ushers' Asso- ciation. The Christian Endeavor Societies. The Many Other Organizations. What They Do, and How They Do It 159 Chapter XXIII. — Fairs and Entertainments. The Temple Fairs. How They are Planned. Their Religious Aim. Appointment of Committees. How the Committees Work. The Church Entertainments. Their Character 174 Chapter XXIV.— The Business Side. How the Finances are IVIanagod. The Work of the Dea- cons. The Duties of the Trustees - 182 CONTENTS XXI Chapter XXV.— The Chorus of the Temple, ^^^^ Its Leader, Professor David Wood. How he Came to the Church. A Sketch of His Life. The Business Manage- ment of the Chorus. The " Fine " System. The Sheet Musie and Its Care. Oratorios and Concerts. Finances of tlie Chorus. Contributions it has Made to Church Work. 189 Chapter XXVI.— Services at the Temple. A Typical Sunday. The Young People's Church. Sunday School. The Baptismal Service. Dedication of Infants. The Pastor's Thanksgiving Reception to Children. Sun- rise Services. Watch Meeting 202 Chapter XXVII.— A Typical Prayer Meeting. The Prayer Meeting Hall. How the Meeting is Conducted. The Giving of Favorite Bible Verses. Requests for Prayer. The Lookout Committee 217 Chapter XXVIII.— The Temple College. The Night Temple College was Born. Its Simple Begin- ning and its Rapid Growth. Building the College. How the Money was Raised. The Branches it Teaches. In- stances of its Helpfulness. Planning for Greater Things. 222 Chapter XXIX.— The Samaritan Hospital. Beginning in Two Rooms. Growth. Number of Beds. Management. Temple Services Heard by Telephone. Faith and Nationality of Those Cared for ... . 248 Chapter XXX.— The Manner of the Man. Boundless Love for Men. Utter Humility. His Simplicity and Informality. Keen Sense of Humor. His Uncon- ventional Methods of Work. Power as a Leader. His Tremendous Faith , . ... . . ... ....... 256 xxii CONTENTS Chapter XXXI.— The Manner of the Message. ^"^^ The Style of the Sermons. Their Subject Matter. Preach- ing to Help Some Individual Church Member . . . 272 Chapter XXXII.— These Busy Later Days. A Typical Week Day. A Typical Sunday. Mrs. Conwell. Back to the Berkshires in Summer for Rest .... 279 Chapter XXXIII.— As a Lecturer. Wide Fame as a Lecturer. Date of Entrance on Lec- ture Platform. Number of Lectures Given, The Press on His Lectures. Some Instances of How His Lectures Have Helped People. Address at Banquet to President McKinley 289 Chapter XXXIV.— As a Writer. Rapid Method of Working. A Popular Biographical Writer. The Books He has Written 303 Chapter XXXV.— A Home Coming. Reception Tendered by Citizens of Philadelphia in Acknowl- edgment of Work as Public Benefactor 309 Chapter XXXVI.— The Path That Has Been Blazed. Problems That Need Solving. The Need of Men Able to Solve Them 312 Acres of Diamonds. , 317 ^• Personal Glimpses of Celebrated Men and Women. 345 MARTIN CONWELL CHAPTER I ANCESTRY John Conwell, the English Ancestor who fought for the Preser- vation of the English Language. Martin Conwell of Maryland. A Runaway Marriage. The Parents of Russell Conwell. WHEIT the N^orman-Frencli overran England and threatened to sweep from out the island the English language, many time-honored English customs, and all that those loyal early Britons held dear, a doughty Englishman, John Conwell, took up cudgels in their defence. Long and bitter was the struggle he waged to preserve the English language. Insidious and steady were the encroachments of the Norman- French tongue. The storm centre was the Castle school, for John Conwell realized that the language of the child of to-day is the language of the man of to-morrow. Right royal was the battle, for it was in those old feudal days of strong feeling and bitter, bloody par- tisanship. But this plucky Briton stood to his guns until he won. Norman-French was beaten back, Eng- lish was taught in the schools, and preserved in the speech of that day. It was a tale that was told his children and his children's children. It was a tradition that grew into their blood — the story of perseverance, the story of a fight against oppression and injustice. " Blood " is after all but family traditions and family ideals, and 23 24 LIFE OF RUSSELL H. CONWELL this figliting ancestor handed down to his descendants an inheritance of greater worth than royal lineage or feudal castle. The centuries rolled away, a new world was discovered, and the progressive, energetic Conwell family w'ere not to be held hack when adventure beckoned. Two members of it came to America. Courage of a high order, enthusiasm, faith, must they have had, or the call to cross a perilous, pathless ocean, ' to brave unknown dangers in a new world would have found no response in their hearts. They settled in Maryland and into this fighting pioneer blood entered that strange magic influence of the South, which makes for romance, for imagination, for the poetic and ideal in temperament. Of this family came Martin Conwell, of Baltimore, hot-blooded, proud, who in 1810, visiting a college chum in western Massachusetts, met and fell in love with a iSTew England girl. Miss Hannah Xjles. She was already engaged to a neighbor's son, but the South- erner cared naught for a rival. He wooed earnestly, passionately. He soon swept away her protests, won her heart and the two ran away and were married. But tragic days were ahead. On her return her incensed father locked her in her room and by threats and force compelled her to write a note to her young husband renouncing him. He would accept no such message, but sent a note imploring a meeting in a nearby schooUiouse at nightfall. The letter fell into the father's hands. He compelled her to write a curt reply bidding him leave her " forever." Then the father loclzed the daughter safely in the attic, and with a mob led by the rejected suitor, surrounded the schoolhouse and burnt it to the ground. The husband, MIRANDA CONWELL THE MAN AND THE WORK 25 thinking he had been heartlessly forsaken, made a brave fight against the odds, but seeing no hope of success, leaped from the burning building, amid the shots fired at him, escaped down a rocky embankment at the back of the schoolhouse, and under cover of the woods, fled. They told his wife that he was dead. A little son came to brighten her shadowed life, whom she named, after him, Martin Conwell ; and after seven years she married her early lover. But Martin was the son of her first husband and always her dearest child, and day after day when old and gray and again a widow, she would come over the ISTew England hills, a little lonely old woman, to sit by his fireside and dream of those bygone days that were so sweet. Too proud to again seek an explanation, Martin Conwell, her husband, returned to his Maryland home, living a lonely, bitter life, believing to the day of his death, thirty years later, that his young wife had re- pudiated and betrayed him. Martin Conwell, the son, grew to manhood and In 1839 brought a bride to a little farm .he had purchased at South Worthlngton, up In the Hampshire Highlands of the Berkshire Hills in Massachusetts. Here and there among these hills, along the swift mountain streams, the land sweeps out Into sunny little meadows filled in summer with rich, tender grasses, starred with, flowers. It is not a fertile land. The rocks creep out v/ith frequent and unpleasing persistency. But Martin Conwell viewed life cheerfully, and being an ingenious man, added to the business of farming, several other occupations, and so managed to make a living, and after many years to pay the mortgage on his home which came with the purchase. The little farmhouse, cling- 26 LIFE OF RUSSELL H. CONWELL ing to the bleak hillside, seemed daring to the point of recklessness when the winter's winds swept down the valley, and the icy fingers of the storm reached out as if to pluck it bodily from its exposed position. But when spring wove her mantle of green over the hills, when summer flung its leafy banners from a mil- lion tree tops, then in the wonderful panorama of beauty that spread before it, was the little home justified for the dangers it had dared. Back of the house the land climbed into a little ridge, with great, gray rocks here and there, spots of cool, restful color amid the lavish green and gold and purple of nature's carpeting. To the north swept hills clothed with the deep, rich green of hemlock, the faint green flutter of birch, the dense foliage of sugar maples. To the east, in the valley, a singing silver brook flashed in and out among somber boulders, the land ascending to sunny hilltop pastures beyond. But toward the south from the homestead lay the gem of the scenery ; one of the most beautiful pic- tures the Berkshires know. Down the valley the hills divided, sweeping upward east and west in magnificent curves; and through the opening, range on range of distant mountains, including Mount Tom, filled the view with an ever-changing fairyland of beauty — in the spring a sea of tender, misty green ; in the summer, a deep, heaving ocean of billowy foliage ; in the fall, a very carnival of color — gold, rich reds, deep glowing browns and orange. And always, at morning, noon and night, was seen subtle tenderness of violet shadows, of hazy blue mists, of far-away purple distances. Such was the site Martin Conwell chose for a home, a site that told something of his own character; that THE MAN AND THE WORK 27 had marked influence on the family that grew up in the little farmhouse. A mixture of the practical, hard common sense of New England and the sympathetic, poetic temperament of the South was in this young j^ew England farmer — the genial, beauty-loving nature of his Southern father, the rigid honesty, the strong convictions, the shrewd sense of his JSTorthem mother. Quiet and re- served in general, he was to those who knew him well, kind-hearted, broad-minded, fun-loving. He not only took an active interest in the affairs of the little moun- tain community, but his mind and heart went out to the big problems of the nation. He grappled with them, sifted them thoroughly, and having decided what to him was the right course to pursue, expressed his convictions in deed as well as word. His was no pas- sive nature. The square chin denoted the man of will and aggression, and though the genial mouth and kindly blue eyes bespoke the sympathetic heart, they showed no lack of courage to come out in the open and take sides. The young wife, Miranda Conwell, shared these broader interests of her husband. She came from cen- tral 'New York State and did not have that New Eng- land reserve and restraint that amounts almost to coldness. Her mind was keen and vigorous and reached out vdth her husband's to grasp and ponder the higher things of life. But the beauty of her character lay in the loving, affectionate nature that shone from her dark eyes, in the patient, self-sacrificing, self-denying disposition which found its chief joy in ministering to her husband and children. Deeply religious, she could no more help whispering a fervent little 28 LIFE OF RUSSELL H. CONWELL prayer, as she tucked her boys in bed, that the Father above would watch over and protect them, than she could help breathing, her trust in God was so much a part of her nature. Such a silent, beautiful influence unconsciously permeates a child's whole character, moulding it, setting it. Unconscious of it at the time, some day a great event suddenly crystalizes it like a wonderful chemical change, and the beauty of it shines evermore from his life. Miranda Conwell built better than she knew when in the every-day little things of her life, she let her faith shine. "Not a usual couple, b^y any means, for the early 40's in rugged 'New England. Yet their unusualness was of a kind within every one's reach. They believed the making of a life of more importance than the making of a living, and they grasped every opportunity of those meagre days to broaden and uplift their mental and spiritual vision. Martin Conwell's thought^ went be- yond his plow furrow, Miranda's further than her bread-board ; and so the little home had an atmosphere of earnest thought and purpose that clothed the un- carpeted floors and bare walls with dignity and beauty. CHAPTER II EARLY ENVIRONMENT The Family Circle. An Unusual ]\Iother. What She Read Her Children. A Preacher at Three Years of Age. UCII was the heritage and the home into which Enssell H. Conwell was horn Fehrnary 15, 1843. Think what a world his eyes opened upon — " fair, searching eyes of j^outh " — steadfast hills hold- ing mystery and fascination in green depths and purple distances, streams rushing with noisy joy over stony beds, sweet violet gloom of night with brilliant stars moving silently across infinite space ; tender moss, deli- cate fem, creeping vine, covering the brown earth with living beauty — a fascinating world of loveliness for boyish eyes to look upon and wonder about. The home inside was as unpretentious as its exterior suggested. The tiny hall admitted on one side to a bedroom, on the other to a living room, from which opened a room used as a store. Above was an attic. The living room was the bright, cheery heart of the house. The morning sun poured in through two win- dows which faced the east; a window and door on the south claimed the same cheery rays as the sun journeyed westward. The big open fireplace made a glowing spot of brightness. The floor was uncarpeted, the walls unpapered, the furnishing of the simplest, yet checrful- 29 30 LIFE OF RUSSELL H. CONWELL ness and homely comfort pervaded the room as witli an ahnost tangible spirit. A brother three years older and a sister three years younger made a trio of bright, childish faces about the hearth on winter evenings as the years went by, while the mother read to them such tales as childish minds could grasp. It was a loving little circle, one that riveted sure and fast the ties of family affection and which helped one boy at her knee in after life to enter with such sure sympathy into the plain, simple lives of the humblest people he met- He had lived that same life, he knew the family affection that grows with such strength around simple firesides, and those of like cir- cumstances felt this knowledge and opened their hearts to him. That Miranda Conwell was an unusual woman for those times and circumstances is shown in those read- ings to her children. 'Not only did she read and ex- plain to them the beautiful stories of the Bible, implanting its truths in their impressionable natures to blossom forth later in beautiful deeds ; but she read them the best literature of the ancient days as well as current literature. Into this poor ISTew England home came the " N'ew York Tribune" and the "National Era." The letters of foreign correspondents opened to their childish eyes another world and roused ambitions to see it. Henry Ward Beecher's sermons, and " Uncle Tom's Cabin," when it came out as a serial, all such good and helpful literature, she poured into the eager childish ears. These readings went on, all through the happy days of childhood. Interesting things were happening in the world then ; things that were to mould the future of one of the THE MAN AND THE WORK 31 boys at her knee in a way she little dreamed. A war was being waged in Mexico to train soldiers for a greater war coming. Out in Illinois, a plain rail- splitter, farmer and lawyer was beginning to be heard in the cause of freedom and justice for all men, black or white. These rumors and discussions drifted into the little home and arguments rose high around the crackling woodfire as neighbors dropped in. Martin Conwell was not a man to watch passively the trend of events. He took sides openly, vigorously, and though the small, blue-eyed boy listening so attentively did not comprehend all that it was about, Martin Conwell's views later took shape in action that had a marked bearing on Russell's later life. But the mother's reading bore more immediate, if less useful, fruit. Hearing rather unusual sounds from the back yard one day, she went to the door to listen. The evening before she had been reading the children one of the sermons of Henry Ward Beecher and telling them something of this great man and his work. Mounted upon one of the largest gray rocks in the yard, stood Russell, solemnly preaching to a collection of wondering, round-eyed chickens. It was a serious, im- pressive discourse he gave them, much of it, no doubt, a transcript of Henry Ward Beecher's. Wliat led his boyish fancy to do it, no one knew, though many another child has done the same, as children dramatize in play the things they have heard or read. But a chance re- mark stamped that childish action upon the boyish imagination, making it the comer stone of many a childish castle in Spain. Telling her husband of it in the evening, Miranda Conwell said, half jokingly, " our boy will some day be a great preacher." It was 32 LIFE OF RUSSELL H. CONWELL a fertile seed dropped in a fertile mind, tilled assidu- ously for a brief space by vivid childish imagination ; but not ripened till sad experiences of later years brought it to a glorious fruition. Another result of the fireside readings might have been serious. A short distance from the house a moun- tain stream leaps and foams over the stones, seeming to choose, as Ruskin says, " the steepest places to come down for the sake of the leaps, scattering its handfuls of crystal this way and that as the wind takes them." The walls of the gorge rise sheer and steep ; the path of the stream is strewn with huge boulders, over which it foams snow white, pausing in quiet little pools for breath before the next leap and scramble. Here and there at the sides, stray tiny little waterfalls, very Thoreaus of streamlets, content to wander off by them- selves, away from the noisy rush of the others, making little silvery rills of beauty in unobtrusite ways. Over this gorge was a fallen log. Russell determined to enact the part of Eliza in " Uncle Tom's Cabin," flee- ing over the ice. It was a feat to make a mother's heart stand still. Three separate times she whipped him severely and forbade him to do it. He took the punishment cheerfully, and went back to the log. He never gave np until he had crossed it. The vein of perseverance in his character was already setting into firm, unyielding mould — the one trait to which Russell H. Conwell, the preacher, the lecturer, writer, founder of college and hospital, may attribute the success he has gained. This childish escapade was the first to strike fire from its flint. CHAPTER III DAYS OF STUDY, WORK AND PLAY The Schoolhouse in the Woods. Maple Sugar-making. The Ora- tor of the Dawn. A Boyish Prank. Capturing the Eagle's Nest. AT THE-EE years of age, he trudged off to school ■with his brother Charles. Though Charles was three years the senior, the little fellow struggled to keep pace with him in all their childish play and work. Two miles the children Avalked daily to the schoolhouse, a long walk for a toddler of three. But it laid the foundation of that strong, rugged constitu- tion that has canned him so unflinchingly through the hard work of these later yeare. The walk to school was the most important part of the performance, for lessons had no attraction for the boy as yet. But the road through the woods to the schoolhouse was a journey of ever new and never-ending excitement. The road lay along a silver-voiced brook that rippled softly by shad- owy rock, or splashed joyous and exultant down its boulder-strewn path. It was this same brook whose music drifted into his little attic bedroom at night, stilled to a faint, far-away munnur as the wind died down, rising to a high, clear crescendo of rushing, tumbling water as the breeze stirred in the tree tops and brought to him the forest sounds. Hour after hour 3 33 34 LIFE OF RUSSELL H. CONWELL he lay awake listening to it, his childish imagination picturing fairies and elves holding their revels in the woods beyond. An oratorical little brook it was, un- consciously leaving an impress of its musical speech on the ears of the embryo orator. Moreover, in its quiet pools lurked watchful trout. Few country boys could walk along such a stream unheeding its fascinations, especially when the doors of a school house opened at the farther end, and many an hour when studies should have claimed him, he ■v^'as sitting by the brookside, care-free and contented, delightedly fishing. ISTor are any berries quite so luscious as those which grow along the country road to scho(>l. It takes long, long hours to satisfy the keen appetite of a boy, and lessons suf- fered during the berry seasons. Another keen excite- ment of the daily joum(?y through a living world of mystery and enchantment was the search for frogs. Woe to the unlucky frog that fell in the way of the active, curious boy. Some one had told hiin that old, old countryside story, " If you kill a frog, the cows will give bloody milk." Eager to see such a phe- nomenon, he watched sharply. Let an unlucky frog give one unfortunate croak, quick, sure-aimed, flew a stone, and he raced home at night to see the miracle performed. He was just a boy as other boys — mis- chievous, disobedient, fonder of play than work or study. But underneath, uncalled upon as yet, lay that vein of perseverance as unyielding as the granite of his native hills. The schoolhouse inside was not unattractive. Six windows gave plenty of light, and each framed wood- land pictures no painter's canvas could rival. The woods were all about and the voice of the little brook THE MAN AND THE WORK 35 floated In, always calling, calling — at least to one small listener — to come out and see it dance and sparkle and leap from rock to rock. If he gained nothing else from his first school days but a love and appreciation of nature's beauties, it was a lesson well worth learning. To feed the heart and imagination of a child with such scenery is to develop unconsciously a love of the beau- tiful which brings a pure joy into life never to be lost, no matter what stress and storm may come. In the darkest, stormiest hours of his later life, to think back to the serene beauty of those ISTew England hills was as a hand of peace laid O'l his troubled spirit. This love and joy in nature — and the trait was already in his blood — was at first all that he gained from his trips to school. Then came a teacher with a new way of instructing, a Miss Salina Cole, who had mastered the art of visual memory. She taught her pupils to make on the mind a photographic impression of the page, which could be recalled in its entirety, even to the details of punctuation. This was a process of study that appealed immediately to Russell's boyish imagination. Moreover, it was something to " see if he could do," always fascinating to his love of experi- ment and adventure. It had numerous other advan- tages. It was quick. It promised far-reaching results. If page after page of the school books could be stored in the mind and called up for future reference, getting an education would become an easy matter. Besides, they could be called up and pondered on in various places — fishing, for instance. He quickly decided to would master this new method, and he went at it with his characteristic energy and determination. Concen- trating all his mental force, he would study intently 36 LIFE OF RUSSELL H. CONWELL the printed page, and then closing his eves, repeat it word for word, even giving the punctuation marks. With the other pupils, Salina Cole was not so successful, but with Russell Conwell, the results were remarkable. It was a faculty of the utmost value to him in after years. When in military camp and far from books, he would recall page after page of his law works and study them during the long days of garrison duty as easily as though the printed book were in his hand. But the work was of more value to him than the mere mastery of something new. It whetted his appetite for more. He began to want to know. School became in- teresting, and he plunged into studies with an interest and zest that were unflagging. And as he studied, am- bitions awoke. The history of the past, the accomplish- ments of great men stirred him. He began to dream of the things to do in the daj^s to come. Outside of school hours his time was filled with the ordinary duties of the farm. In the early spring, the maple sugar was to be made and there were long, diffi- cult tramps through woods in those misty, brooding days when the miracle of new life is working in tree and vine and leaf. Often the very earth seemed hushed as if waiting in awe for this marvelous change that transforms brown earth and bare tree to a vision of ethereal, tender green. But his books went with him, and in the long night watches far in the woods alone, when the pans of sirrup were boiling, he studied. So enrapt did he become that sometimes the sugar suf- fered, and the patience of his father was sorely taxed when told the tale of inattention. It was during those long Jiight watches that he learned by heart two books of Milton's " Paradise Lost," THE MAN AND THE WORK 37 and so firmly were they fixed in the boyish meniory that at this day, Dr. Conwell can repeat them without a break. Many a time as the shadows lightened and the dim, misty dawn came stealing through the forest, would the small boy step outside the rude sugar-house and repeat in that musical, resonant voice that has since held audiences enthralled, Milton's glorious " Invoca- tion to the Light." Strange scene — the great shadowy forest, the distant mist-enfolded hills, the faintly flush- ing morning sky, the faint splash of a little mountain stream breaking the brooding stillness, and the small boy with intent, inspired face pouring out his very heart in that wonderful invocation: " Hail, holy light, offspiing of Heaven, Firstborn Or of the Eternal, co-eternal beam, May I express thee Unblanied? since God is light. And never but in unapproached light Dwelt from eternity — dwelt then in thee, Bright effluence of bright essence increate ! Or hear'st thou, rather, pure Eternal Stream, Whose fountain who shall tell? Before the sun. Before the Heavens thou wert, and a{ the voice Of God as with a mantle didst invest The rising world of waters dark and deep. Won from the void and formless Infinite! " Later in spring there was plowing, though the farm was so rocky and stony, there was little of that work to do. But here and there, a sunny hilltop field made cultivation worth while, and as he followed the patient oxen along the shining brown furrow, he looked away to the encircling hills so full of mystery and fascination. What was there ? What was beyond ? Then into the 38 LIFE OF RUSSELL H. CONWELL ever-handy text book lie plunged for information, the key to open the treasures of that wonderful world. This struggle with nature had other results, too. It taught him the worth of persistent effort. The outlook for any return from such work was discouraging. !N^evertheless, unyielding labor with stones and weeds brought a reward, if the fight were not given up. The child could see with his own eyes the result of what had seemed fruitless labor, and the lesson sank deep into his receptive mind. Sundays he went to church, not because he wanted to, but because his father commanded it. The white- painted Methodist church was but a stone's throw from the farmhouse and Martin Conwell was one of the lead- ing members. The family pew was well up to the front and once in it, there was no escape. Through the win- dows he could see the far distant mountains, the nearer green woods, an enchanted land where dwelt chip- munks, foxes, birds, all manner of interesting live things. The brook ran so close to the church that its voice could plainly be heard. He often listened far more attentively to it than to the minister. The pews were plain wooden affairs with hard seats, and when he first went there, they were so high his feet could not reach the floor — verily a place of torture to an active, restless boy who never could keep still. The only way to achieve the quietness the place imposed, was to sleep. But he never succeeded in accomplishing more than three winks before his father's eye detected it and his mother gently woke him. For it was unseemly to sleep in church ! Then he would stealthily abstract a pen- knife and a piece of wood and begin to whittle. This kept him awake — not only the whittling, but the THE MAN AND THE WORK 39 watchfulness it entailed to stop, and to assume an innocent, attentive look whenever his father's eyes turned toward him. For if he were discovered whit- tling in church, punishment sure and painful followed. Little wonder he grew up to dislike chiirch, as many another boy has done. The barren, unattractive build- ing in itself did not appeal to him. The beautiful stories and lessons his mother told him did not seem the same when thundered from the pulpit. And most of the time he did not know what the preacher was talk- ing about. 1^0 doubt it was the penance he did in this church as a boy that led to the inauguration of the ^' Young People's Church " which the boys and girls of Philadelphia so thoroughly enjoy, each Sunday morning at The Temple. But though he had now plunged into study with a will, and though his father kept him busy about the farm, the overflowing vitality, the mischievous spirit at times broke bounds. Then there were doings that set the neighbors talking and many to prophesying no good end for "that boy of Martin Ck)nwell's." About a mile below the house, perched high on the mountain side, sat a tremendous gray rock. It rested on the brow of Walnut Hill, which rises three hundred to four hundred feet above a turbulent mountain tor- rent, A gray giant it was nine feet high, ten feet in diameter. With calculating eyes, Russell had many a time eyed it, thinking what a glorious crash and splash it would make, if it could be loosed from its rocky perch and sent thundering down the mountain side. With boyish eloquence, he enlisted his brother Charles in the project, and securing two iron bars they set out one morning intent on achieving this result. All 40 LIFE OF RUSSELL H. CONWELL the morning and well into the afternoon they pried and labored. They dug away earth and exerted to the nt- most their childish strength. Charles would soon have given up the gigantic task, but Russell was not of the stuff that quits, and so they toiled on. The father and mother at home wondered and searched for the boys. Then as they began truly to get alarmed, from the woods to the south came a crash and roar, the sound of trees snapping and then a shock that made the earth tremble. The rock had fallen, traversing a mile, in its dovsTiward rush to the river bed. Flushed and tri- umphant the boys returned, and the neighbors who had heard the noise, when it was explained to them, went to see the wreckage. It had dropped first a fall of fifteen feet, where it had paused an instant. Then the earth giving way under its tons of weight, it had plowed a deep fuiTOW right down the mountain side, dislodging rocks, uprooting trees, until with a mighty crash, it struck the borders of the stream where it stands to this day, a monument to boyish ingenuity and perse- verance. But of all the mischievous pranks of these childish days, the one that had perhaps the gi^eatest influence on his life was the capture of an eagle's nest from the top of a dead hemlock. To the north of the farmhouse a hill rises abruptly, covered with bare, outcropping rocks, their fronts sheer and steep. On top clusters a little sombre grove of hemlock trees, and from the midst of these rose the largest one, straight, majestic, swaying a little in the wind that swept on from the distant hills. In the top of this tree, an eagle had built her nest, and it had long been a secret ambition of the boy to cap- ture it, tlie more resolved upon because it seemed im- THE MAN AND THE WORK 41 possible. One dav in October lie left his sheep, ran to the foot of the hill, and with the svire-footed agility of a mountain boy climbed the rocks and began the ascent of the tree. From the top of a high ledge nearby two men hid and watched him. A fall meant death, and many a time their hearts stood still, as the intrepid lad placed his foot on a dead branch only to have it break under him, or reached for a limb to find it give way at his touch. The tree was nearly fifty feet high and at some time a stroke of lightning had rent it, splintering the trunk. Only one limb was left whole, the others had been broken off or shattered by the storms of winter. In the very crown of the tree swayed the nest, a rude, uncouth thing of sticks and hay. Up and up he climbed, stopping every now and then in the midst of his struggles to call to the sheep if he saw them wandering too far. He had only to call them by name to bring them nibbling back again. " l^ot a man in the mountains," wrote one of those who watched him in that interesting sketch of Mr. Con- well's life, " Scaling the Eagle's Nest," " would have thought it possible to do anything else but shoot that nest down. When we first saw him he was half way up the great tree, and was tugging away to get up by a broken limb which was swinging loosely about the trunk. For a long time he tried to break it off, but his little hand was too weak. Then he came down from knot to knot like a squirrel, jumped to the ground, ran to his little jacket and took his jack-knife out of the pocket. Slowly he clambered up again. When he reached the limb, he clung to another with his left hand, threw one leg over a splintered knot and with the right hand hacked away with his knife. 42 LIFE OF RUSSELL H. CONWELi; " ' He will give it up,' we both said. " But he did not. He chipped away until at last the limb fell to the ground. Then he pocketed his knife, and bravely strove to get up higher. It was a dizzy ' height even for a grown hunter, but the boy never looked down. He went on until he came to a place about ten feet below the nest, where there was a long, bare space on the trunk, with no limbs or knots to cling to. He was baffled then. He looked up at the nest many times, tried to find some place to catch hold of the rough bark and sought closely for some rest higher up to put his foot on. But there was none. An eagle's nest was a rare thing to him, and he hugged the tree and thought. Suddenly he began to descend again hastily, and soon dropped to the ground. Away he ran down through the ravines, leaped the little streams and disappeared toward his home. In a few minutes the torn straw hat and blue shirt came flitting back among the rocks and bushes. He called the sheep to him, talked to them, and shook his finger at them, then he clambered up the tree again, dragging after him a long piece of his mother's clothes line. At one end of it, he had tied a large stone, which hindered his progress, for it caught in the limbs and splinters. The wind blew his torn straw hat away down a side cliff, and one side of his trousers was soon torn to strips. But he went on. "When he got to the smooth place on the tree again, he fastened one end of the rope about his wrist, and then taking the stone which was fastened to the other end, he tried to throw it up over the nest. It was an awkward and dangerous position, and the stone did not reach the top. Six or seven times he threw that stone up, and it THE MAN AND THE WORK 43 ifell sliort or went to one side, and nearly dragged liim down as it fell. " The boy felt for his knife again, opened it with liig teeth as he held on, and hauling the rope up, cut off a part of it. He threw a sliort piece around the trunk and tied himself with it to the tree. Then he could lean back for a longer throw. He tied the rope to his hand again, and threw the stone with all his energy. It went straight as an arrow, drew the rope squarely over the nest and fell down the other side of the tree. After a struggle he reached around for the stone, and tied that end of the rope to a long broken limb. When he drew the other end of the rope which had been fas- tened to his hand, it broke down the sides of the nest, and an old bird arose with a wild scream. " Then he loosed the rope which held him to the tree, and pulling himself up with his hands on the scaling line, digging his bare toes, heels and knees at times into the ragged bark, he was up in two minutes to the nest." " That is a child's ambition," said one of the men, as they both drew a breath of relief, ^when he stepped safely to the ground. " Wait until he has a man's ambition. If that vein of perseverance doesn't run out, he will do something worth while." CHAPTER IV TWO MEN AND THEIR INFLUENCE John Brown. Fireside Discussions. Runaway Slaves. Fred Douglas. Eev. Asa Niles. A Runaway Trip to Boston. TWO MEN" entered into Eussell Conwell's life in these formative days of boyhood "who uncon- sciously had much to do with the course of his after life. One was John Brown, that man " who would rush through fire though it burn, through water though it drown, to do the work which his soul knew that it must do." During his residence in Springfield, this man "possessed like Socrates with a genius that was too much for him" was a frequent visitor at the Conwell home. Russell learned to know that face with "fea- tures chiselled, as it were, in granite," the large clear eyes that seemed fairly to change color with the intensity of his feelings when he spoke on the one subject that was the very heart of the man. Tall, straight, lithe, with hair brushed back from a high forehead, thick, full beard and a wonderful, penetrating voice whose tones once heard were never forgotten, his arrival was always received with shouts by the Conwell bo^ys. Had he not lived in the West and fought real Indians! What surer " open sesame " is there to a boy's heart ? He was not so enrapt in his one- great project, but that he could go out to the barn and pitch down hay froni 44 THE MAN AND THE WORK 45 ■the mow with Russell, or tell him wonderful stories of tJie great West where he had lived as a boj, and of the wilderness through which he had tramped as a mere child when he cared for his father's cattle. Russell was entirely too young to grasp the meaning of the earnest discussions that went on about the fireplace of which this Spartan was then the centre. But in later years their meaning came to him with a peculiar sig- nificance. A light seemed to be shed on the hon'ors of slavery as if the voice of his childhood's friend were calling from the grave in impassioned tones, to aid the cause for which he had given his life. Martin Conwell, progressive, aggressive, was not a man to let his deeds lag behind his words. Such help as he could, he lent the cause of the oppressed. He made his home one of the stations of the " Underground Railway," as the road to freedom for escaping slaves was called. Many a time in the dead of night, awak- ened by the noise of a wagon, Russell would steal to the little attic window, to see in the light of the lantern, a trembling black man, looking fearfully this way and that for pursuers, being hurried into the bam. Back to bed went Russell, where his imagination pictured all manner of horrible cruelties the slaves were suffering until the childish heart, was near to bursting with sym- pathy for them and with fiery indignation at the in- justice that brought them to this pitiful state. Not often did he see them, but sometimes childish curiosity was too strong and he searched out the cowering fugi- tive in the bam, and if the nmaway happened to be communicative, he. heard exaggerated tales of cruelty that set even his young blood to tingling with a mighty desire to right their wrongs. Then the next night, the 46 LIFE OF RUSSELL H. CONWELL wagon wheels were heard again and the slave was hur- ried away to the house of a cousin of William Cullen Bryant, at Cummington. As the wheels died in the distance up the mountain road, the boyish imagination pictured the flight, on, on, into the far north till the Canada border was reached and the slave free. Little wonder that when the war broke out, this boy, older grown, spoke as with a tongue of fire and swept men up by the hundreds with his impassioned eloquence, to sign the muster roll. One of these slaves thus helped to freedom is now Eev. J. G. Ramage, of Atlanta, Ga. In 1905, he applied to Temple College for the degree of LL.D. iN'oticing on the letter sent in reply to his request, the name of Russell Conwell, President of the College, he wrote Dr. Conwell, telling him that in 1856 when a runaway slave he had stopped at a farmhouse at South Worthington, Mass., and remembered the name of Con- well. Undoubtedly Martin Conwell was one of the men who had helped him to freedom. John Brown brought Fred Douglas, the colored orator, with him on one of his visits. When Russell was told by his father that this was " a celebrated col- ored speaker and statesman," the boyish eyes opened wide with amazement, and not able to control himself, he burst out in a fit of laughter, saying, " Wliy, he's not black," much to the amusement of Douglas, who afterwards told him of his life as a slave. The other man who so helped Russell in his younger days was the Rev. Asa Niles, a cousin of his father's who lived on a neighboring farm. He had heard of Russell's various exploits and saw that .he was a boy far above the average, that he had talents worth training. Him- THE MAN AND THE WORK 47 self a scholar and a Methodist minister, he knew the vahie of an education, and the worth to the world of a brilliant, forceful character with clear ideas of right, and high ideals of duty. He was a man far ahead of his times, broad-minded, spiritual in its best sense, and with a winning personality, just the man to attract a clear-sighted, keen-witted boy who quickly saw through shams and despised affectations. Russell at that plastic period could have fallen into no better hands. With loving interest in the boy's welfare, Asa Kiles inspired him to get the broadest education in order to make the most of himself, yet ever held before him the highest ideals of life and manhood. Out of the stores of his own knowledge he told him what to read, helped, en- couraged, talked over his studies with him, and in every way possible not only made them real and vital to him, but at every step aided him to see their worth. His curiosity keenly aroused, his ambitions kindled by his studies, Russell was restless to be off to see this great world he had read and studied about. The mountains suddenly seemed like prison walls hold- ing him in. An uncontrollable longin'g swept his soul. He determined to escape. Telling no one of his inten- tions, one morning just before dawn, he raised the window of the little attic in which he and his brother slept, climbed out over the roof of the woodshed, slipped to the ground and made off down the valley to seek his fortune in the world. It was a hasty resolve. In a little bundle slung over his shoulders he had a few clothes and something to eat. How his heart thumped as he went down the familiar path in the woods, crossed the little brook and began the tramp toward Hunting- ton! Every moment he expected to hear his father's 48 LIFE OF RUSSELL H. CONWELL footsteps behind him. Charles might have awakened, found him missing and roused the family ! When morning came he climbed a little hill, from which he could look back at the house. He gazed long, and his heart nearly failed him. He could see in imagination every homely detail of the living room, his father's chair ^ to the right of the fireplace, his mother's on the left, the clock between the front windows, which his father wound every night. On a nail hung his old rimless hat, Charlie's coat, and the little sister's sunbonnet. His mother would soon be up and getting breakfast. They would all sit down without him — a lump began to rise in his throat and he almost turned back. But something in his nature always prevented him from giving up a thing he had once undertaken. He set his teeth, picked up his bundle and went down the road between the mountains, the woods stretching, dense, silent, on each side, the little brook keeping olose by him like the good, true friend it was. It was a long, long tramp to the little village of Huntington, a walk that went for miles beneath over- arching green trees, the sunlight sifting down like a shower of gold in the dim wood aisles. The wild mountain stream merged into the quiet Westfield river that flowed placidly through little sunny meadows and rippled in a sedate way here and there over stones as became the dignity of a river. Small white farm- houses, set about with golden lilies and deep crimson peonies, here and there looked out on the road. But his mind was intent on the wonderful experiences ahead of him; he walked as in a dream. Beaching Hunt- ington, he asked a conductor if he could get a job on the train to pay his way to Boston. The conductor THE MAN AND THE WORK 49 eyed the lanky country boy with sympathetic amusement. He appreciated the situation and told Russell he didn't think he had any job just then, but he might sit in the baggage car and should a job turn up, it would be given him. Delighted with this piece of good luck, Russell sat in the baggage car and journeyed to Boston. He arrived at night. He found himself in a new world, a world of narrow streets, of hurrying people,' of house after house, but in none of them a home for him. They would not let him sit in the station all night, as he had planned to do in his boyish inex- perience, and he had no money, for money was a scarce article in the Conwell home. He wandered up one street and down another till finally he came to the water. Footsore and hungry, he crawled into a big empty cask lying on Long "^^^larf, ate the last bit of bread and meat in his bundle, and went to sleep. The next day was Sunday, not a day to find work, and he faced a very sure famine. He began again his walk of the streets. It was on toward noon when he noticed crowds of children hurrying into a large build- ing. He stood and Avatched them wistfully. They made him think of his brother and sister at home. Suddenly an ovenvhelming longing seized him to be back again in the sheltering farmhouse, to see his fatlier, hear his mothei-'s loving voice, feel his sister's hand in his. Perhaps it was his forlorn expression that at- tracted tlie attention of a gentleman passing into the building. He stopped, asked if he would not like to go in ; and then taking him by the hand led him in with the others. It was Deacon George W. Chipman, of Tremont Temple, and ever afterwards Russell Conwell'a friend. Many, many years later, the boy, become a 50 LIFE OF RUSSELL H. CONWELL man, came back to this church, organized and conducted one of the largest and most popular Sunday School classes that famous church has ever known. After Sunday School, Deacon Chipman and Russell ''talked things over." The Deacon, amused and im- pressed by the original mind of the country boy, per- suaded him to go home, and the next morning put him on the train that carried him back to the Berkshires. CHAPTEE V TRYING HIS WINGS Boyhood Days. Bussell's First Case at Law. A Cure for Stage Fever. Studying Music. A Runaway Trip to Europe. SO SCAISTTT was the income from the rocky farm that the father and mother looked about them to see how they could add to it. Miranda Con- well turned to her needle and often sewed far into the night, making coats, neckties, any work she could obtain that would bring in a few dollars. She was never idle. The moment her housework was done, her needle was flying, and Russell had ever before him the picture of his patient mother, working, ever working, for the family good. The only time her hands rested was when she read her children such Stories and pointed such lessons as she knew were needed to develop childish minds and build character. She never lost sight of this in the pressing work and the need for money. She had that mental and spiritual breadth of view that could look beyond problems of the immediate present, no matter how serious they might seem, to the greater, more important needs coming in the future. Martin Conwell worked as a stonemason every spare minute, and in addition opened a store in the mountain home in a small room adjoining the living room. Neighbors and the world of his day saw only a poor farmer, stonemason and small storekeeper. But in 51 62 LIFE OF RUSSELL H. CONWELL versatility, energy and public spirit, he was far greater than his environment. Considered only as the man there was a largeness of purpose, a broadness of mental and spiritual vision about him that gave a subtle atmos- phere of gi'eatness and unconsciously influenced his son to take big views of life. In the little store one day was enacted a drama not without its effect on Russell's impressionable mind.. For a brief time, the store became a court room ; a flour barrel was the judge's bench, a soap box and milking stool, the lawyers' seats. The proceedings greatly in- terested Russell, who lay flat on his breast on the counter, his heels in the air, his chin in his hands, drinking it in with ears and eyes. A neighbor had lost a calf, a white-faced calf with a broken horn. In the barn of a neighbor had been seen a white-faced calf with a broken horn. The co- incidence was suspicious. The plaintiff dedared it was his calf. The defendant swore he had never seen the lost heifer, and that the one in his bam he had raised himself. Neighbors lent their testimony, for the little store was crowded, a justice of the peace from North- ampton having come to try the case. One man said he had seen the defendant driving a white-faced calf up the mountain one night just after the stolen calf had been missed from the pasture. The defendant inti- mated in no mild language that he must be a close blood relation to Ananias. Hot words flew back and forth between judge, lawyers and witnesses, and it began to look as if the man in whose bam the calf was placidly munching was guilty. Just then Russell, with a chuckle, slipped from the counter and disappeare^ to selling the property. He got some three or four old Baptists together and, as they talked the business over, " they became reluctant to vote, either to sell, destroy, keep, or give away the old meeting- house," says Burdette, in " Temple and Templars." " While discussing the situation with these sorrowful old saints — and one good old deacon wept to think that ' Zion had gone into captivity,' — the preacher came to the front and displaced the lawyer. It was the crisis in his life ; the parting of the ways. In a flash of light the decision was made. ' It flashed upon me, sitting there as a law;>^er, that there was a mission for me there,' Dr. Conwell has often said, in speaking of his decision to go into the ministry. He advised promptly and strongly against selling the property. 122 LIFE OF RUSSELL H. CONWELL ' Keep it ; hold service in it ; repair the altar of the Lord that is broken down; go to work; get God to work for you, and work with Him ; ' God will turn again your captivity, your mouths shall be filled with laughter and your tougTies with singing.' ' They listened to this enthusiastic lawyer whom they had retained as a legal adviser, in dumb amazement — ' Is Saul also among the prophets ? ' But having given his advice, he was prompt to act upon it himself. ' Where will we get a preacher ? ' ' Here is one who will serve you until you can get one whom you will like better, and who can do you more good. Announce preaching in the old meeting house next Sunday ! ' " It was nothing new for Colonel Conwell to preach, for he was engaged in mission work somewhere every Sunday; so when the day came, he was there. Less than a score of hearers sat in the moldy old pews. The windows were broken and but illy repaired by the cur- taining cobwebs. The hand of time and decay had torn off the ceiling plaster in irregular and angular patches. The old stove had rusted out at the back, and the crumbling stove-pipe was a menace to those who sat within range of its fall. The pulpit was what Mr. Conwell called a * crow's perch,' and one can imagine the platform creaking under the military tread of the tall lawyer who stepped into its lofty height to preach. But, old though it was, they say, a cold, gloomy, damp, dingy old box, it was a meeting house and the Colonel preached in it. That a lawyer should practice, was a commonplace, everyday truth; but that a lawyer should preach — that was indeed a novelty. The congregation of sixteen er seventeen at the first service grew the following Sabbath, to forty worship- THE MAN AND THE WORK 123 pers. Another week, and when the new preacher climbed into that his^h pulpit, he looked down npon a crowded honae ; the little old chapel was dangerously full. Indeed, before the hour for service, under the thronging feet of the gathering congregation, one side of the front steps — » astonished, no doubt, and over- whelmed by the unwonted demand upon its services — did fall down. They were encouraged to build a fire in the ancient stove that morning, but it was past regeneration ; it smoked so viciously that all the invalids who had come to the meeting were smoked out. The old stove had lived its day and was needed no longer. There was a fire burning in the old meeting-house that the hand of man had not lighted and could not kindle ; that all the storms of the winter could not quench. The pulpit and the preacher had a mist}^ look in the eyes of the old deacons at that service. And the preacher ? He looked into the earnest faces before him, into the tearful, hopeful eyes, and said in his own strong heart, ' These people are hungi-y for the word of God, for the teachings of Christ. .They need a church here ; we will build ai new one.' " It was one thing to say it, another to achieve it. The church was poor. ISTot a dollar was in the treas- ury, not a rich man in the membership, the congregation, what there was of it, without influence in the com- munity. But lack of money never yet daunted Dr. Conwell. The situation had a familiar look to him. He had succeeded many a time without money when money was the supreme need, and he attacked this prob- lem with the same grim perseverance that had carried him so successfully through many a similar ordeal." " After service he spoke about building a new church 124 LIFE OF RUSSELL H. CONWELL to two or three of the memhers. ^ A new church ? * They couldn't raise enough money to put windows in the old one, they told him." " ' "We don't want new windows, we want a new church,' was the reply." " They shook their heads and went home, thinking what a pity it was that such an able lawyer should be so visionary in practical church affairs. Part of that night Colonel Conwell spent in prayer; early next morning he appeared with a pick-axe and a woodman's axe and marched upon that devoted old meeting-house, as he had marched against Hood's intrenchments before Atlanta. Strange, unwonted sounds saluted the ears of the early risers and awakened the sluggards in Lexing- ton that Monday morning. Bang, Bang, Bang ! Crash — ■ Bang ! Travelers over the Eevolutionary battle-field at Lexington listened and wondered. By and by a man turned out of his way to ascertain the cause of the racket. There was a black coat and vest hanging on the fence, and a professional-looking man in his shirt sleeves was smashing the meeting-house. The rickety old steps were gone by the time this man, with open eyes and wide-open mouth, came to stare in speechless amazement. Gideon couldn't have demolished ' the al- tar of Baal and the grove that was by it' with m.ore enthusiastic energ^, than did this preacher tumble into ruin his own meeting-house, wherein he had preached not twelve hours before. Other men came, looked, laughed, and passed by. But the builder had no time to waste on idle gossips. Clouds of dust hovered about ]iim, planks, boards, and timbers came tumbling down i'li heaps of ruin." "Presently there came along an eminently respectable THE MAN AND THE WORK 125 citizen, wlio seldom went to cliurch. He stared a mo- ment, and said, ' What in the name of goodness are you doing here ? ' " " ' We are going to have a new meeting-house here,' was the reply, as the pick-axe tore away the side of a window-frame for emphasis." " The neighbor laughed, ' I guess you won't build it with that axe/ he said." " ' I confess I don't know just exactly how it is going to be done,' said the preacher, as he hewed away at a piece of studding, ' but in some way it is going to be done.' " " The doubter burst into an explosion of derisive laughter and walked away. A few paces, and he came back ; walking up to Colonel Conwell he seized the axe and said, ' See here, Preacher, this is not the kind of work for a parson or a lawyer. If you are determined to tear this old building down, hire some one to do it. It doesn't look right for you to be lifting and pulling here in this manner.' " " ' We have no money to hire any. one,' was the reply, ' and the front of this structure must give way to-day, if I have to tear it down all alone.' " " ' I'll tell you what I'll do,' persisted the wavering doubter ; ' if you will let this alone, I'll give you one hundred dollars to hire some one.' " " Colonel Conwell tranquilly poked the axe through the few remaining panes yet unbroken in the nearest window and replied, ' We would like the money, and I will take it to hire some one to help, but I shall keep right on with the work myself.' " " ' All right,' said the doubter ; ' go ahead, if you 12« LIFE OF RUSSELL H. CONWELL have set your heart -upon it You may come np to the house for the hundred dollars any time to-day.' " " And with many a backward look the generous douhter passed on, half beginning to doubt his doubts. Evidently, the Baptists of Lexington -were beginning to do something. It had been many a year since they had made such a noise as that in the village. And it was a noise destined to be heard a long, long way ; much farther than the doubter and a great many able scien- tists have supposed that sound would ' carry.' " " After the doubter came a good-natured man who disliked churches in general, and therefore enjoyed the fun of seeing a preacher tug and jjuff in the heavy work of demolition, for the many-tongued rumor by this time had noised it all around Lexington that the new- preacher was tearing down the Baptist meeting-house. He looked on until he could no longer keep his enjoy- ment to himself." " ' Goin? to pull the whole thing down, are you ? * he asked." ^ " ' Yes, sir,' replied the working preacher, ripping off a strip of siding, ' and begin all new.' " " ' Who is going to pay the bills ? ' he asked, chuck- ling." " The preacher tucked up his sleeves and stepped back to get a good swing at an obstinate brace ; ' I don't know,' he said, ' but the Lord has money somewhere to buy and pay for all we need.' " " The man laughed, in intense enjoyment of the ab- surdity of the whole crazy business." " ' I'll bet five dollars to one,' he said, with easy confidence of a man who knows liis bet will not be taken up, ' that you won't get the money in this town.' " THE MAN AND THE WORK l- " Mr. Conwell brought the axe do-^im with a crashing sweep, and the splinters flew out into the air like a cloud of witnesses to the effieacv of the blow." " ' You would lose your money, then,' quietly said the preacher, ' for Mr. just now came along and has given me a hundred dollars without solicitation.' " " The man's eyes opened a trifle wider, and his next remark faded into a long-drawn whistle of astonish- ment. Presently — ' Did you get the cash ? ' he asked feebly." " ' 'Ko, but he told me to call for it to-day.' " " The man considered. He wasn't enjoying the situ- ation with quite so much humor as he had been, but he was growing more interested." " ' Well ! Is that so ! I don't believe he meant it/ he added hopefully. Then, a man after all not disposed to go back on his own assertion, he said, ^ Xow I'll tell you what I'll do. If you really get that hundred dollars out of that man, I'll give you another hundred and pay it to-night.' " " And he was as good as his word.'-' " All that day the preacher worked alone. Xow came in the training of those early days on the farm, when he learned to swing an axe : when he builded up rugged strength in a stalwart frame, when his muscles were hardened and knotted with toil." '*' ' Passers-by called one after another, to ask what was going on. To each one Colonel Conwell mentioned his hope and mentioned his gifts. Xearly every one had adde day's lesson." 'No hard benches, no air of cold dreariness marks The Temple. The exterior is beautiful and graceful in design, the interior cheery and homelike in furnishing. The building is of hewn stone, with a frontage on Broad Street of one hundred and seven feet, a depth on Berks Street of one hundred and fifty feet, a height of ninety feet. On the front is a beautiful half rose win- dow of rich stained glass, and on the Berks Street side a number of smaller memorial windows, each depicting some beautiful Biblical scene or thought. Above the rose window on the front is a small iron balcony on which on special occasions, and at midnight on Christ- 154 LIFE OF RUSSELL H. CONWELL mas, ISTew Year's Eve and Easter, tlie churcli orchestra and choir play sacred melodies and sing hymns, filling the midnight hour with melody and delighting thou- sands who gather to hear it. The auditorium of The Temple has the largest seat- ing capacity among Protestant church edifices in the United States. Its original seating capacity according to the architect's plans, was forty-two hundred opera chairs. But to secure greater comfort and safety only thirtV-one hundred and thirty-five chairs were used. Under the auditorium and below the level of the street is the part of the building called the Lower Tem- ple. Here are Sunday School rooms, with a seating capacity of two thousand. The Sunday School room and lecture room of the Lower Temple is forty-eight by one hundred and six feet in dimensions. It also has many beautiful stained-glass windows. On the plat- form is a cabinet organ and a grand piano. Tn the rear of the lecture room is a dining-room, forty-five by forty- six feet, with a capacity for seating five hundred peo- ple. Folding tables and hundreds of chairs are stowed away in the store rooms when not in use in the great din- ing-room. Opening out of this room are the rooms of the Board of Trustees, the parlors and reading-rooms of the Young Men's Association and the Young Wo^ men's Association, and the kitchen, carving-room and cloak-room. Through the kitchen is a passageway to the engine and boiler rooms. In pantries and cupboards is an outfit of china and table cutlerj^ sufficient to set a table for five hundred persons. Tlie kitchen is fully equipped, with two large ranges, hot-water cylinders, sinks and drainage tanks. Irf the annex beyond the THE MAN AND THE WORK 155 kitchen, a separate building contains the boilers and engine room and the electric-light plants. The steam-heating of the bnilding is supplied by four one hundred horse-power boilers. In the engine room are two one hundred and thirty-five horse-power engines, directly connected with dynamos having a ca- pacity of twenty-five hundred lights, which are con- trolled by a switchboard in this room. The electrician is on duty every day, giving his entire time to the man- agement of this plant. The building is also supplied with gas. Directly behind the pulpit is a small closet containing, a friction wheel, by means of which, should the electric light fail for any reason, every gas jet in The Temple can be lighted from dome to basement. For cleaning the church, a vacuum plant has been in- stalled, which sucks out every particle of dust and dirt. It does the work quickly and thoroughly, in fact, so thoroughly it is impossible even with the hardest beat- ing to raise any dust on the covered chairs after they have been cleaned by this process. Such crowds throng The Temple that some quick, thorough method of clean- ing it became imperative. Back of the auditorium on the street floor are the business offices of the church, Mr. Conwell's study, the office of his secretary and of the associate pastor. All are practically and cheerfully furnished, fitted with desks, filing cabinets, telephones, speaking tubes, every- thing to carry forward the business of the church in a time-saving, businesslike way. The acoustics of the great auditorium are perfect. There is no building on this continent with an equal capacity which enables the preacher to speak and the hearers to listen with such perfect comfort. The weak- 156 LIFE OF RUSSELL H. CONWELL est voice is carried to the farthest auditor. Lecturers ■who have tested the acoustic properties of halls in every state in the Union speak with praise and pleasure of The Temple, which makes the delivery of an oration to three thousand people as eas^, so far as vocal effort is con- cerned, as a parlor conversation. Telephonic communication has recently been in- stalled between the auditorium and the Samaritan Hos- pital. Patients in their beds can hear the sermons preached from The Temple pulpit and the music of the Sunday ser^aees. Compared with other assembly rooms in this coun- try, the auditorium of The Temple is a model. It seats thirty-one hundred and thirty-five persons. The Ameri- can Academy of Music, Philadelphia, seats twenty-nine hundred ; the Academy of Music, Brooklyn, twenty-four hundred and thirtjy-three ; Academy in ISTew York, twen- ty-four hundred and thirty-three ; the Grand Opera House, Cincinnati, twenty-two hundred and fifty; and the Music Hall, Boston, twenty-five hundred and eighty-five. But greater than the building is the spirit that per- vades it. The moment one enters the vast auditorium with its crimson chairs, its cheery carpet, its softly tinted walls, one feels at home. Light filters in through rich windows, in memory of some member gone before, some class or organization. Back of the pulpit stands the organ, its rich pipes rising almost to the roof. Everywhere is rich, subdued coloring, not ostentatious, but cheery, homelike. Large as is the seating capacity of The Temple, when it was opened it could not accommodate the crowds that thronged to it. Almost from the first, overflow meet- THE MAN AND THE WORK 157 ings were held in the Lower Temple, that none need be turned away from the House of God, From five hun- dred to two thousand people crowded these Sunday evenings in addition to the large audience in the main auditorium above. The Temple workers had come to busy days and large opportunities. But they took them humbly with a full sense of their responsibility, with prayer in their hearts that they might meet them worthily. Their leader knew the perils of success and with wise counsel guided them against its insidious dangers. " Ah, that is a dangerous hour in the history of men and institutions," he said, in a sermon on the " Danger of Success," " when they become too popular ; when a good cause becomes too much admired or adored, so that the man, or the institution, or the building, or the organization, receives an idolatrous worship from the community. That is always a dangerous time. Small men always go down, wrecked by such dizzy elevation. Whenever a small man is praised, he immediately loses his balance of mind and ascribes to himself the things which others foolishly express in flattery. He esteems himself more than he is ; thinking himself to be some- thing, he is consequently nothing. How dangerous is that point when a man, or a woman, or an enterprise has become accepted and popular! Then, of all times, should the man or the society be humble. Then, of all times, should they beware. Then, of all times, the hosts of Satan are marshaled that by every possible insidious wile and open warfare they may overcome. The weak- est hour in the history of great enterprises is apt to be when they seem to be, and their projectors think they are, strongest. Take heed lest ye fall in the hour of your 158 LIFE OF RUSSELL H. CONWELL strength. The most powerful mill stream drives the wheel most vigorously at the moment before the flood sweeps the mill to wildest destruction." Just as plainly and unequivocally did he hold up before them the purpose of their high calling : " The mission of the church is to save the souls of men. That is its true mission. It is the only mission of the church. That should be its only thought. The moment any church admits a singer that does not sing to save souls ; the moment a church calls a pastor who does not preach to save souls ; the moment a church elects a deacon who does not work to save souls; the moment a church gives a supper or an entertainment of any kind not for the purpose of saving souls — it ceases in so much to be a church and to fulfil the mag- nificent mission God gave it. Every concert, every choir service, every preaching service, every Lord's sup- per, every agency that is used in the church "must have the great mission plainly before its eye. We are here to save the souls of dying sinners ; we are here for no other purpose; and the mission of the church being so clear, that is the only test of a real church." The thousands of men and women Grace Church has saved and placed in paths of righteousness and happi- ness, show that it has nobly stood the test, that it has proved itself a church in the true sense of the word. CHAPTER XXII HOW THE CHURCH WORKS The Ladies' Aid Society. The Young Women's Association. The Young Men's Association. The Ushers' Association. The Christian Endeavor Societies. The Many Other Organizations. What They Do, and How They Do It. NOW that the church was biTilt, now that such power was in its hands, how should it work ? " The church of Christ should be so con- ducted always as to save the largest number of souls, and in the saving of souls the Institutional church may be of great assistance," said Russell Conwell in an address on " The Institutional Church." " It is of little matter what your theories are or what mine are ; God, in His providence, is moving His. church onward and moving it upward at the same time, adjusting it to new situations, fitting it to new conditions and to advancing civilization, requiring us to use the new instrumental- ities he has placed in our hands for the purpose of saving the greatest number of human souls." The conditions confronting him, the leader of this church studied. He turned his eyes backward over the years. He thought of his own boyhood when church was so distasteful. He thought of those ten busy years in Boston when he had worked among all classes of humanity, with churches on all sides, yet few reaching down into the lives of the people in any vital way. He 159 160 LIFE OF RUSSELL H. CONWELL knew of the silent, agonizing cry for help, for comfort, for light, that went up without ceasing day and night from humanity in sorrow, in suffering, in affliction, went up as it were to skies of brass, yet he knew a lov- ing Savior stood ready to pour forth his healing love, a Divine Spirit waited only the means, to lay a healing touch on sore hearts. What was needed was a simple, practical, real way to make it understandable to men, to bring them into the right environment, to make their hearts and minds receptive, to point the wa^ to peace, joy and eternal life. He brought to bear on this prob- lem all the practical, trained skill of the lawyer, the keen insight and common sense, the knowledge of the world, of the traveler and writer. Every experience of his own life he probed for help and light on this great work. Nothing was done haphazard. He studied the wants of men. He clearly saw the need. He calmly- surveyed the field, then he went to work with practical common sense to fill it, filling his people with the en- thusiasm and the faith that led him, doing with a will all there was to do, and then leaving the rest with God. Never did he think of himself, of how he might lighten his tasks, give himself a little more leisure or rest. The work needing to be done and how to do it was his study day and night. A reporter of the " Philadelphia Press " once asked Dr. George A. Peltz, the associate pastor of Grace Church, " if you were called upon to express in three words the secret of the mysterious power that has raised Grace Church from almost nothing to a membership of more than three thousand, that has built this Temple, founded a college, opened a hospital, and set every man, This Picture Shows the F'our Speaking Tubes Whicli Connect by Telephone with the Samaritan Hospital THE MAN AND THE WORK 161 woman and child in the congregation to working, what would be your answer ? " " Sanctified common sense," was the Doctor's un- hesitating reply. Rev. F. B. Meyer, in speaking on " Twentieth Cen- tury Evangelism," at Bradford, England, in 1902, made a plea for " the institutional church, the wide outlook, more elastic methods, greater eagerness to reach and win outsiders, more varied service on the part of Christian people, that the minister of any place of worship should become the recognized friend of the entire district in which his chapel is placed." The " elastic method " is characteristic of the work of The Temple. ^Vhen Dr. Conwell first came to Grace Church, he organized four societies — the Ladies' Aid Society, the Business Men's Union, the Young Women's Association, the Young Men's Association. Into one or another of these, every member of the church fitted, and as the new members came into the fellowship, they found work for their hands in one or the other. The Ladies' Aid Society is the pastor's right hand. It stands ready to undertake any project, social, re- ligious, financial, to give receptions in honor of noted visitors, to hold a series of special meetings, to plan suppers, festivals, and other affairs whenever it is neces- sary to raise money. Its creed, if one might so call it, is: " Use every opportunity to bring in new members. " Remember the name of every new church member. " Visit useless members and encourage them for their own sake to become. useful. " Visit persons when desired by the Pastors. 162 LIFE OF RUSSELL H. CONWELL " Speak cheerfully to each person present on every opportunity. " Kegard every patron of your suppers or entertain- ments, and every visitor to your religious meetings, as a guest calling on you in your own house. " Accept contributions and subscriptions for the vari- ous Christian enterpriser. " Bring in every suggestion you hear "which is valu- able, new or effective in Christian work elsewhere. " Never allow a meeting to pass without your doing some one practical thing for the advancement of Christ's kingdom. " Make yourself and the Society of some certain use to some person, or some cause, each week." The Society helps in the church prayer meetings, in refurnishing and improving the church property, in celebrating anniversaries, in missionary enterprises, securing the insertion of tablets in the Temple walls, in clothing the poor, in supporting the local missions connected with the church, in calling socially on church members or members of the congregation, in evange- listic meetings, in household prayer meetings, in sup- porting reading rooms, in comforting those in special affliction, in visiting the sick, in aiding the needy, in paying the church debt, in maintaining Mother's meet- ings, in looking after the domestic wants of the Temple, in sewing for the Hospitals, the Missions, the Baptist Home, the Orphanage, church fairs, Missionary work- ers, the poor, in managing church suppers and recep- tions connected with Oi'dinations, Conventions, and other religious gatherings. It is one of the most important organizations of the THE MAN AND THE WORK 163 cliiircli and has its own rooms handsomely furnished and well supplied with reading matter. The Business Men's Union drew into a close band the business men of the church and used their knowledge of business affairs to plan and carry out various pro- jects for raising money for the building fund. They also took a deep personal interest in each other's wel- fare as is shown by the following incident, taken from the " Philadelphia Press " : " At one time a member became involved in financial difficulties in a very peculiar way. Previous to con- necting himself with the church, he had been engaged in a business which he felt he could not conscientiously continue after his conversion. He sold his interest and entered upon mercantile pursuits with which he was un- familiar. As a result, he became involved and his es- tablishment was in danger of falling into the sheriff's hands. " His situation became known to some members of the Business Men's Union, and a committee was appointed to look into his affairs. His books were found to be straight and his stock valuable. The members imme- diately subscribed the thousands of dollars necessary to relieve him of all embarrassment, and the man was saved." After the building was completed and the imperative need for such an organization was past^ the members joined other organizations needing their help, and it disbanded. It is typical of the elastic methods of Grace Church that no society outlives its usefulness. When the need is past for it as a body, the members look else- where for work, and wherever each is needed, there he goes heart and soul to further some other endeavor. 164 LIFE OF RUSSELL H. CONWELL The Young Women's Association is composed of yoimg women of the church. It bubbles over with youthful enthusiasm and energy and is one of the strongest agencies for carrying forward the church work. Its creed is : " Secure new members. " Attend the meetings, propose new work, urge on n^lected duties. " Help the prayer meetings. " Volunteer for social meetings. " Aid in the entertainments. " Originate plans for Christian benevolent work. " Welcome young women to the Church. " Visit the sick members of the Church. " Seek after and encourage inquirers. " Hold household devotional meetings. " Sustain missionary work for young women. " Make the Church home cheerful and happy. " Arrange social home gatherings for various church or charitable enterprises. " Solicit books or periodicals for the reading room or circulating library. " Secure employment for the needy. ■ " Treat all visitors to the rooms as special personal guests in your home. " Undertake large things for the Church and Christ in many ways, as may be suggested by any new con- ditions and deeds. " Instruct in domestic arts, dressmnking, millinery, cooking, decoration, and, through the Samaritan Hos- pital, in the art of nursing. " Furnish statedly instructive entertainments for the young. THE MAN AND THE WORK 165 " Develop the various singing services. " Specially care for and assist young sisters. " Cooperate in sewing enterprises of all sorts. " Aid the Pastors by systematic visitation. " Push many branches of City Missions, especially ■with reference to developing young women as workers. " Maintain suitable young women as missionaries at home or in foreign fields. " Carry sunshine to darkened hearts and homes. " Be noble, influential Christian women." It has a room of its own in the Lower Temple, with circulating library, piano and all the cheerful furnish- ings of a parlor in the home. To this bright room comes many a girl from her dreary boarding house to spend the evening in reading and social chat. It has been the cheery starting point in many a girl's life to a career of happy usefulness. The Young Men's Association follows similar lines and is an equally important factor in the church work. It plans to : " Help increase the membership and efficiency of the Young Men's Bible Class and other similar organiza- tions. " Persistently follow the meetings of these associa- tions and keep them in the hands of able, consecrated managers and officers, who will lead in the best enter- prises of the church. " Make the reading-room attractive and helpful. " Help sustain the great Sunday morning prayer meeting. " Invite passers-by to enter the church, and welcome strangers who do enter. " Advise seekers after God. 166 LIFE OF RUSSELL H. CONWELL " Bring back the wandering. " Organize relief committees to save the lost young men of the city. " Look after traveling business men at hotels, and bring them to The Temple. " Promote temperance, purity, fraternity and spirit- ual life. " Initiate the most important undertakings of the church. " Surround themselves with strong young men, and inaugurate vigorous, fresh plans and methods for bring- ing the gospel to the young men of to-day in store, shop, office, school, college, on the streets, and elsewhere. " Visit sick members, help into lucrative employment, organize religious meetings, make the church life of the young bright, inspiring and noble, plan for sociables, entertainments for closer acquaintance and for raising money for Christian work and to use their pens for Christ among young men whom they know, and also with strangers." It has a delightful room in the Lower Temple, car- peted, supplied with books, good light, a piano, comfort- able chairs. It is a real home for young men alone in the city or without family or home ties. During the building of The Temple many associations were formed which, when the need was over, merged into others. As Burdette says: " Often a working guild of some sort is brought into existence for a specific but transient purpose; the object accomplished, the work completed, the society disbands, or merges into some other organization, or reorganizes under a new name for some new work. The work of Grace Church is like the operations of a great army; THE MAN AND THE WORK 167 recruits are coming to the front constantly; regiments being assigned to this corps, and suddenly withdrawn to reinforce that one ; two oi- three commands consoli- dated for a sudden emergency; one regiment deployed along a great line of small posts ; infantry detailed into the batteries, cavalry dismounted for light infantiy serv- ice, yet all the time in all this apparent confusion and restless change which bewilders the civilian, everything is clear and plain and perfectly regular and methodical to the commanding general and his subordinates," Another association of this kind was the " Commit- tee of One Hundred," organized in 1891. The sugges- tion for its organization came from the Young Women's Association. A number of them went to the Trustees and proposed that the Board should appoint a commit- tee of fifty from among the congregation to devise wa^s and means to raise money for paying off the floating indebtedness of the church. The suggestion was adopt- ed. The Committee of Fifty was appointed, each or- ganization of the church being represented in it by one or more members. It met for organization in 1892. The Young Women's Association pledged itself to raise $1,000 during the year. Other societies pledged cer- tain sums. Individuals went to work to swell the amount, and in one year, the Committee reported that the floating debt of the church, which at the time of the Committee's organization was $25,000, was paid. Encouraged by this success the Committee enlarged it- self to one hundred and vigorously attacked the work of paying off the mortgage of $15,200 on the gi-ound on which the college was to be built. Among the minor associations of the church that pro- moted good fellowship and did a definite good work in 168 LIFE OF RUSSELL H. CONWELL their time were the " Tourists' Club," a social develop- ment of the Young Women's Association. The mem- bers took an ideal European trip while sitting in the pleasant reading room in the Lower Temple. A route of travel was laid out a month in advance. Each mem- ber present took some part; to one was assigned the principal buildings ; to another, some famous painting ; to others, parks, hotels, places of amusement, ruins, etc., until at the close of the evening they almost could hear the tongue of the strange land through which in fancy they had journeyed. Maps and pictures helped to ma- terialize the journey. The " Girls " Auxiliary was formed to meet the needs of the younger members of the church. Any girl under sixteen could become a member by the payment of monthly dues of five cents. There were classes in embroidery, elocution, sewing, etc. The " Youth's Culture League " was organized for the work among youth of the slums ; an effort to supple- ment public school education, making it a stepping- stone to higher culture and better living. Sports of various kinds of course received attention. The Temple Guard, the Temple Cyclers, the Baseball League gave opportunity for all to enjoy some form of healthy outdoor sport. But since the college and its gymnasium have become so prominent, those who now join such organizations usually do it through college in'^tead of church doors. The following incident from the " Philadelphia Evening Bulletin " is typical of the help these organiza- tions often gave the church in its religious work : " Eight and a half years ago the Rev. Russell H. Conwell surprised a great many people by organizing a THE OBSERVATORY Built on the Site of the Old Hemlock Tree THE PRESENT CONWEEE HOMESTEAD IN MASSACHUSETTS THE MAN AND THE WORK 169 military company among his little boys. The old wise- acres shook their heads, and the elders of the old school wondered at this new departure in church work. Then again he fairly shocked them by making the organiza- tion non-sectarian, and securing one of the best tacti- cians in the city to instruct the boys in military science. From tlie first the company has clearly demon- strated that it is the best-drilled military organization in the city, and the number of prizes fairly won demon- strates this. However, the company does not wish to be understood as being merely in existence for prize honors, although it cannot be overlooked that twenty victories over as many companies afford them the best record in Pennsylvania. " In 1896, the Samaritan Hescue Mission was estab- lished by the Grace Baptist Church, and proving a great financial burden. Dr. Conwell offered to give -'a lecture on Henry Ward Beecher. The Guard took the matter up, brought Mrs. Henry Ward Beecher, despite her threescore years and ten, to Philadelphia for the first time in her life, and so great was the desire of the church-loving public of this city to attend that the mis- sion did not perish." When the stress of building and paying the church debt was passed, many of these societies went heart and soul into the Christian Endeavor work. Indeed, for awhile it seemed as if the Christian Endeavor would absorb all the church associations. There are at pres- ent fifteen Christian Endeavor Societies in the church. In addition to the Christian Endeavor pledge, the fol- lowing special ways in which they can forward the church work is ever held before each member: " Eor the sake of your character and future success, 170 LIFE OF RUSSELL H. CONWELE as well as for tiie supreme cause, keep your pledge un- flinchingly. " Endeavor persistently, but courteously, to seek after those who ask for our prayers and advice at any meet- ing. " !N^ever discontinue your endeavors to get new mem- bers for the societies. Follow it continually in the name of the Lord. " Endeavor each day to think, speak, act and pray like the Savior. " Endeavor and present plans for effective work. Build up a standard of noble living in the Church. " Send comforting messages to members of the Church in sorrow, send flowers to the sick, or for the funeral, look after the orphans, visit the widows and the father- less, write letters of advice, invitation, condolence, es- tablish nfissions for new churches in growing parts of the city, and hold by kindness at least one thousand per- sonal friends at The Baptist Temple. " Select one leading duty, and follow it without wait- ing to be asked. " Make yourself a master of some special line of Christian effort. " Save some one ! Five of these societies some years ago started a mis- sion at Logan, a suburb of Philadelphia, and so suc- cessful was their work that the mission soon grew into a flourishing church. The Ushers' Association is one of the strongest and most helpful organizations in furthering the church work. The ushers number twenty-four, and are banded together in a businesslike association for mutual pleas- ure and good fellowship, and also to better conduct THE MAN AND THE WORK 171 their work and the church interests they have in hand. They are under the leadership of a chief usher who is president of the Association. The spirit of hospitality that pervades The Temple finds its happiest expression in the courteous welcome and ready attention accorded visitors by the ushers. All members of the church who are willing to give up their seats to strangers on special occasions send their names to the chief usher. And it is no unusual thing to see a member cheerfully relinquish his seat after a whispered consultation with an usher in favor of some stranger who is standing. In addition to their work in seating the crowd that throng to The Temple either for Sunday services or the many entertainments that fill the church during the week, the Ushers' Association itself during the winter gives a series of fine entertainments. Its object is to offer amusement of the very highest class, so that people will come to the church rather than go elsewhere in their leisure hours and thus be surrounded by influences of the best character and by an atmosphere that is ele- vating and refining. They have also undertaken to pay off the balance of the church debt. Missionary interests at Grace Church are well looked after. The church has educated and supported a num- ber of missionaries in home and foreign fields, as well as contributed money and clothing to the cause. The Missionary Circle combines in one organization all those interested in missionary work. One afternoon a month the members meet in the Lower Temple to sew, have supper together, and afterward hold religious services. The members are advised in the church hand-book to — " Suggest plans for raising money ; arrange for a se- 172 LIFE OF RUSSELL H. CONWELL ries of addresses ; organize children's societies ; distrib- ute missionary literature ; maintain a circulating library of missionary }xK>ks; correspond with missionaries; so- licit and work for the ' missionary barrels ' ; send out ' comfort bags ' ; advocate missions in the prayer meet- ings and socials ; encourage those memljers who are preparing for or are going into foreign fields, and main- tain special missionary prayer meetings." Members of the church havo started several missions, some of which havo already grown into flourishing churches. The Logan Baptist Church and the Tioga B'aplist Church, are both daughters of The Temple.. The Samaritan Aid Society sews and secures con- tributions of clothing and such supplies for the Samari- tan Hospital. Other charities, however, needing such help, find it ever willing to lend its aid. It is ready for any emergency that may arise. A hurry call was sent once for sheets, pillow cases and garments for the sick at Samaritan Hospital. The President of tlie Society quickly summoned the members. Merchants were vis- ited and contributions of muslin and thread secured. Sewing machines were sent to the T>(nver Temple. An all-day sewing bee was held, those who could, came all day, others dropped in as time permitted, and by sim- set more than three hundred pieces of work were fin- ished. Two other organizations very helpful to the mem- bers of the church are the Men's Beneficial Association and the Women's Beneficial Association. They are purely for the benefit of church members during sickness or bereavement, and are managed as all such associa- tions are, paying $5.00 a week-during sickness and $100 at death. THE MAN AND THE WORK 173 The books are closed at the end of each year and the fund started afresh. The Temple Building and Loan Association was or- ganized by the membership of the Business Men's Asso- ciation, and is officered by prominent members of the church. But it is not in any way a church organization and is not under the management of the church. It is very successful and its stockholders are composed largely of church members. To keep members and friends in touch with the many lines of activity in which the church works, a magazine, " The Temple Review," is published. It is a private business enterprise, but it chronicles church work and publishes each week Dr. Conwell's sei*mons. Many liv- ing at a distance who cannot come often to The Temple find it most enjoyable and helpful to thus obtain their pastor's sermons, and to look through the printed page into the busy life of the church itself. It helps members in some one branch of the church work to keep in touch with what others are doing. The work of the college and hospital from week to week is also chronicled, so that it is a very good mirror of the many activities of the Grace Church membership. Thus in good fellowship the church works unitedly to further Christ's kingdom. !N"ew organizations are formed as some enthusiastic member discerns a new need or a new field. It is a veritable hive of industry whose doors are never closed day or night. CHAPTER XXIII FAIRS AND ENTERTAINMENTS The Temple Fairs. How They are Planned. Their Religious Aim. Appointment of Committees. How the Committees Work. The Church Entertainments. Their Character. NOT only does the cliurcli work in a hundred ways through its regular organizations to ad- vance the spiritual life of its members and the community, but once every year, organization fences are taken down and as a whole and united body, it marches forward to a great fair. The Temple fairs are famous. They form an important feature of church- life, and an important date in the church calendar. " The true object of a church fair should be to strengthen the church, to propagate the Gospel, and to bring the world nearer to its God." That is Dr. Con- well's idea of the purpose of a church fair and the basic principle on which The Temple fairs are built. They always open on Thanksgiving Day, the anniversary of Dr. Conwell's coming to the church and continue for ten days or two weeks thereafter. These fairs are most carefully planned. The membership, of course, know that a fair is to be held ; but before any definite in- formation of the special fair coming, is given them, a strong foundation of systematic, careful preparation is laid. In the early summer, before Dr. Conwell leaves for his two months' rest at his old home in the Berk- 174 THE MAN AND THE WORK 175 shires, lie and the deaconess of the chnrch go over the ground, decide on the executive committee and call it together. Officers are elected, Dr. Conwell always be- ing appointed president and the deaconess, as a rule, secretary. The whole church membership is then care- fully studied, and every member put at work upon some committee, a chairman for the committee being appointed at the same time. A notice of their appoint- ment, the list of their fellow workers, and a letter from the pastor relative to the fair are then sent to each. Usually these lists are prepared and forwarded from Dr. Conwell's summer home. The chief purpose of the fair, that of saving souls, is ever kept in view. The pastor in his letter to each member always lays special stress on it. Quoting from one such letter, he says: " The religious purpose is to consolidate our church by a more extensive and intimate acquaintance with each other, and to enlarge the circle of social influence over those who have not accepted Christ. " This enterprise being undertaken for the service of Christ, each church member is urged to enter it with earnest prayer, and to use every opportunity to direct the attention of workers and visitors to spiritual things. " Each committee should have its prayer circle or a special season set apart for devotional services. This carnival being undertaken for the spiritual good of the church, intimate friends and those who have hitherto worked together are especially requested to separate on this occasion and work with new members, forming a new circle of acquaintances. " Do not seek for a different place unless it is clear that you can do mucli more in another position, for 176 LIFE OF RUSSELL H. CONWELL they honor God most who take up His work right where they are and do faithfully the duty nearest to them. " Your pastor prays earnestly that this season of work, offering, and pleasure may be used by the Lord to help humanity and add to the glory of His Kingdom on earth." This is the tenor of the letters sent each year. This is the purpose held ever before the workers. Each committee is urged to meet as soon as possible, and, as a rule, the chairman calls a meeting within a week after the receipt of the list. Each committee upon meeting elects a president, vice-president, secre- tary and treasurer, which, together Avith the original ex- ecutive committee, form the executive committee of the fair. During the summer and fall, until the opening of the fair, these various committees work to secure contribu- tions or whatever may be needed for the special work they have been appointed to do. If they need costumes, or expensive decorations for the booths, they give enter- tainments to raise the money. All this depends upon the character of the fair in general. Sometimes it is a fair in the accepted sense of the word, devoted to the selling of such goods as interested friends and well- wishers have contributed. At other times it takes on special significance. At one fair each committee repre- sented a country, the members dressed in the costume of its people, the booth so far as possible was typical of a home, or some special building. Such products of the country as could be obtained were among the ar- ticles sold or exhibited. Every committee meeting is opened with prayer, and ench night during the fair a prayer meeting is held. In THE MAN AND THE WORK 177 addition, a committee is appointed to look after tlie tlirong of strangers visiting the fair, and whenever pos- sible, to get them to register in a book kept especially for that purpose at the entrance. To all those who sign the register, a ISTew Year's greeting is sent as a little token of recognition and appreciation of their help. Much of the great tide of membership that flows into the church comes through the doors of these church fairs. The fairs are really revival seasons. They are practical illustrations of how a working church prays, and a praying church works. Christianity has on its working clothes. But it is Christianity none the less, outspoken in its faith, fearless in its testimony, full of the love that desires to help every man and woman to a higher, happier life. The church entertainments form another important feature of church life. Indeed, from the first of Sep- tember until summer is well started, few weekday nights pass but that some religious service or some entertain- ment is taking place in The Temple. In the height of the season, it is no uncommon thing for two or three to be given in various halls of The Temple on one evening. An out-of-town man attending a lecture at the Lower Temple, and seeing the throngs of people pouring in at various entrances, asked the custodian of the door if there were a rear entrance to the auditorium. " Here's where you go in for the lecture," was the reply. " There are two other entertainments on hand this evening in the halls of the Lower Temple. That's where those people are going." In regard to church fairs and entertainments, Dr. Con well said in a sermon in 1893 : " The Lord pity any church that has not enough of 12 178 LIFE OF RUSSELL H. CONV/ELL the spirit of Christ in it to stand a church fair, -wherein devout offerings are brought to the tithing-house in the spirit of true devotion; the Lord pity any church that has not enough of the spirit of Jesus in it to endure or enjoy a pure entertainment. Indeed, they are subjects for prayer if they cannot, without quarrels, without fightings, without defeat to the cause of Christ, engage in the pure and innocent things God offers to His chil- dren." And in an address on " The Institutional Church," he says: " The Institutional church of the future will have the best regular lecture courses of the highest order. There will be about them sufficient entertainment to hold the audience, while at the same time they give positive in- struction and spiritual elevation. Every church of Christ is so sacred that it ought to have within its walls anything that helps to save souls. If an entertainment is put into a church for any secular purpose — simply to make money — ■ that church will be divided ; it will be meshed in quarrels, and souls will not be saved there. There must be a higher end ; as between the church and the world we must use everything that will save and reject everything that will injure. This requires care- . ful and close attention. You must keep in mind the question, * Will Jesus come here and save souls ? ' Care- fully eliminate all that will show irreverence for holy things or disrespect for the church. Carefully intro- duce wherever you can the direct teachings of the Gos- pel, and then your entertainments will be the power of God unto salvation. The entertainments of the church need to be carefully guarded, and, if they are, then will the church of the future control the entertainments of THE MAN AND THE WORK 179 the world. The theatre that has its displays of low and vulgar amusement will not pay, because the churches will hold the best classes, and for a divine and humane purpose will conduct the best entertainments. There will be a double inducement that will draw all classes. The Institutional church of the future will be free to use any reasonable means to influence men for good." The Temple, as can be seen, believes in good, pure, elevating amusements. But every entertainment to be given is carefully considered. In such a vast body of workers, many of them young and inexperienced, this is necessary. By a vote of the church, every pro- gramme to be used in any entertainment in The Temple must first be submitted to the Board of Deacons. What they disapprove cannot be presented to the congre- gation of Grace Church under any circumstance. The concerts and oratorios of the chorus are of the very highest order and attract music lovers from all parts of the city and nearby towns. The other enter- tainments in the course of a year cover such a variety of subjects that every one is sure to find something to his liking. Among the lectures given in one year were : " Changes and Chances," by Dr. George C. Lorimer. " The Greek Church," by Charles Emory Smith. " Ancient Greece," by Professor Leotsakos, of the ITniversity of Athens. An illustrated lecture on the Yellowstone Park, by Professor George L. Maris. " Work or How to G^t a Living," by Hon. Roswell G. Horr. " Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde," by Eev. Robert N'ourse, D.D. " Backbone," by Rev. Thomas Dixon. 180 LIFE OF RUSSELL H. CONWELL The other entertainments that season included selec- tions from " David Copperfield," by Leland T. Powers ; readings b^ Fred Emerson Brooks, concerts by the Gei-mania Orchestra, the Mendelssohn Quintette Club of Boston and the Ringgold Band of Reading, Pennsyl- vania ; a " Greek Festival," tableaux, by students of Temple College ; " Tableaux of East Indian Life," con- ducted by a returned missionary, Mrs. David Downie; " Art Entertainment," by the Young Women's Associa- tion ; concert by the New York Philharmonic Club ; and many entertainments by societies of the younger people, music, recitations, readings, debates, suppers, excur- sions, public debates, class socials. The year seems to have been full of entertainments, teas, anniversaries, athletic meetings, " cycle runs," gymnasium exhibitions, " welcomes," " farewells," jubilees, " feasts." But every year is the same. A single society of the church gave during. one winter a series of entertainments which included four lectures by men prominent in special fields of work, four con- certs by companies of national reputation, and an in- tensely interesting evening with moving pictures. " We are often criticised as a church," said Mr. Con- well, in an address, " by persons who do not understand the purposes or spirit of our work. They say, ' You have a great many entertainments and socials, and the church is in danger of going over to the world.' Ah, yes ; the old hermits went away and hid themselves in the rocks and caves and lived on the scantiest food, and * kept away from the world.' They were separate from the world. TheV were in no danger of ' going over to the world.' They had hidden themselves far away from man. And so it is in some churches where in coldness THE MAN AND THE WORK 181 and forgetfulness of Christ's purpose, of Christ's sacri- fice, and the purpose for which the church was insti- tuted, they withdraw themselves so far from the world that they cannot save a drowning man when he is in sight — they (?annot reach down to him, the distance is too great — the life line is too short. Where are the unchurched masses of Philadelphia to-day ? Why are they not in the churches at this hour? Because the church is so far away. The difference that is found between the church which saves and that which does not is found in the fact that the latter holds to the Pharisaical profession that the church must keep itself aloof from the people — yes, from the drowning thou- sands who are going down to everlasting ruin — to be forever lost. The danger is not now so much in going over to the world as in going away from it — away from the world which Jesus died to save — the world which the church should lead to Him." In all these entertainments, the true mission of the church is never forgotten — that mission which its pas- tor so earnestly and often says is " not to entertain people. The church's only thought should be to turn the hearts of men to God." CHAPTER XXIV THE BUSINESS SIDE How the Finances are Managed. The Work of the Deacons. The Duties of the Trustees. ^^r I IHE plain facts of life must be recognized," says J 1^ Dr. Conwell. The business affaire of Grace Baptist Church are plain facts and big ones. There is no evading them. The membership is more than three thousand. A constant stream of money from the rental of seats, from voluntary offerings, from entertainments, is pouring in, and as quickly going out for expenses and charitable purposes. It piust all be looked after. A record of the membership must be kept, changes of address made — and this is no light matter — the members themselves kept in touch with. It all means work of a practical business nature and to get the best results at least expenditure of time and money, it must all be done in skilled, experienced fash- ion. Dr. Conwell, in speaking of the careful way in which the business affairs of the church are conducted, says: " What has contributed most as the means used of God to bring Grace Church up to its efficiency ? I an- swer it was the inspired, sanctified, common sense of enterprising, careful business men. The disciplined judgment, the knowledge of men, the forethought and skill of these workers who were educated at the school 182 THE MAN AND THE WORK 183 of practical business life, helped most. Tlie Trustees and working- committees in all our undertakings, wlieth- er for Church, Hospital, College, or Missions, have been, providentially, men of thorough business training, who used their experience and skill for the church with even greater care and perseverance than they would have done in their own affairs. " When they wanted lumber, they kneAV where to purchase it, and how to obtain discounts. When they needed money, they knew where the money was, and what securities were good in the market. They saved by discounting their own bills, and kindly insisted that contractors and laborers should earn fairly the money they received. They foresaw the financial needs and always insisted on securing the money in full time to meet demands. " Some men make religion so dreamy, so unreal, so unnatural, that the more they believe in it the less prac- tical they become. They expect ravens to feed them, the cruse of oil to be inexhaustible, and the fish to come to the right side of the ship at breakfast time. They trust in God and loaf about. " They would conduct mundane affairs as though men were angels and church business a series of miracles. But the successful church worker is one who recognizes the plain facts of life, and their relation to heavenly things ; who is neither profane nor crazy, who feels that his experience and judgment are gifts of God to be used, but who also fully realizes that, after all, unless God lives in the house, they labor in vain who build it. " N'one of our successful managers have been flowery orators, nor have they been in the habit of wearying man and the Lord with long prayers. If they speak, they 184 LIFE OF RUSSELL H. CONWELL are earnest and conservative. They are men -whom the banks would trust, whose recommendations are valuable, who know a counterfeit dollar or a worthless endorse- ment. They read men at a glance, being trained in actual experience with all classes. They have been the pillars of the church. While some have been praying with religious phraseology that the stray calf might be sent home, these men have gone after him and brought him back. They have faithfully done their part, and God has answered their earnest prayers for the rest." Dr. Peltz, for many years associate pastor of The Temple, in speaking of the business management of the affairs of the church, says : " Many persons imagine that the financial organiza- tion of Grace Baptist Church must be something out of the usual way, because the results have been so unusual. There is nothing peculiar in the general plan of finan- cial procedure, but gTeat pains are taken to work the plan for all it is worth. Special pains have been taken to secure consecrated and competent men for the Board of Trustees. And the Trustees do this one thing, a rule of the church permitting a man to hold but one elective office. Competent financiers, consecrated to this work, and doing it as carefully as they would do their own business, is the statement that tells the whole story." All these business matters are in the hands of the deacons and Trustees, the deacons, if any distinction in the work can be made, looking after the member- ship, the Board of Trustees attending to the financial matters. After a person has signified his intention to join the church, he meets the deacons, who explain to him the Photo by (lu/ekunst PROFESSOR DAVID D. WOOD THE MAN AND THE WORK 185 system by which members contribute to the support of the church. If he desires to contribute by taking a sit- ting, he is assigned a seat according to the amoimt he wishes to pay, or he can pay the regular church dues, $1.20 a year for those under eighteen years of age, $3.00 for those over that age. Those who take sittings find in their seats, on the first of every month, a small en- velope made out in bill form on the face, stating the month and the amount due. Into this they can place their money, seal it, and put it into the basket when the offering is taken. The following Sunday a receipt is placed in their seat, a duplicate being kept in the ofiice. Envelopes are sent those who do not have sittings, and in these they can send in their dues any time within the year. In addition to the little envelope for the seat rent, every Sunday envelopes are placed in each seat for the regular Sunday offering. These envelopes read: SPECIAL OFFERING THE BAPTIST TBTMPLE Amount Name Address This offering is made in thankful recognition of the Mercy and Goodness of God during the past week, and with the hope that my gift and my prayer may be acceptable to God. In addition to the amount raised from sittings and dues, it ia necessary for the payment of the debt on the Temple to have givers for 5 years as follows: 100 persons who will contribute 50 cents per week. 300 per- sons 25 cents per week. 1000 persons 10 cents per week. 1300 persons 5 cents per week. 186 LIFE OF RUSSELL H. CONWELL VISITORS AND MEMBERS Can enclose special Messages for the Pastor with their offer- ings. This Gift will be Recorded on the books of the Church. All this money pours into the business office of the church, where it is taken in charge by the Finance Com- mittee of the Board of Trustees 'and duly recorded by the Financial Secretar5^ The business office is a very businesslike place, with files, typewriter, letter-copying press, big ledgers and all the modern appliances of an up-to-date business office. The card system is used for keeping tlie record of member's contribution, being printed in a form that will last for eight years. All payments are entered on these, and at any time at a moment's notice, a member can tell just what he has paid or what he owes on the year's account. But in addition, the Sunday offerings of all those who place their contributions in envelopes at the morning and evening service and sign their names, are entered on cards, and when it is remembered that the basket col- lections alone for the year 1904 amounted to $6,995.00, it can be seen that this is no light task. But The Tem- ple appreciates what is given it, and likes to keep a record. Any person giving to The Temple and signing his name to his gift, can find at any time how much he has contributed during the year. All this income is deposited to the order of the church treasurer, who is then at liberty to draw against it as directed by the Board of Trustees and properly certified by their chairman and secretary. The business office is THE MAN AND THE WORK 187 kept open during the entire week with the exception of two afternoons and two evenings. The pew committe©, which is composed of three mem- bers of the Board of Trustees, attends to the rental of the many sittings in The Temple. A large number of the regular attendants at the services of The Temple are not members of the church. They enjoy the services and so rent sittings that they may be sure of a seat. The third committee drawn from the ' Board of Trustees is the House Committee, composed of three members. It has charge of The Temple build- ing; sees to its being kept in order; arranges for all regular and special meetings ; sees that the building is properly heated and lighted ; decides on all questions as to the use of the house for any purpose, for the use of a part of it for special purposes ; manages the great crowds that so often throng the building ; has charge of the doors when entertainments are going on ; in short, makes the most and the best of the great building under its care. Six persons are constantly employed in taking care of The Temple, and often there is necessity for se- curing extra help for the caretakers of this church whose doors are never shut The Deacons, as always, look after the welfare of the membership. On Communion Sundays, cards are passed the members that they may sign their names. These cards the Deacons take charge of and record the members present and those absent. If a member is away three successive communion Sundays the Deacons call on him, if he lives in the city, to find the cause of his absence. If he resides in some neighboring town, they send a kindly letter to know if it is not possible for him to attend some of the Communion services. In 188 LIFE OF RUSSELL H. CONWELL person or by letter, they keep a loving watch over the vast membership, so that every member feels that even though he may not attend often, he is not forgotten. Thus the business of Grace Baptist Church is man- aged prayerfully but practically. If some part of the machinery seems cumbersome, shrewd and experienced minds take the matter in hand and see whereby it can be improved. What may seem a good method to-day, a year from now may be deemed a waste of time and energy and cast aside for the new and improved system that has taken its place in the world of every-day work. In its business methods the church keeps up to the times, as well as in its spiritual work. It knows it cannot grow if it is not alive. CHAPTER XXY THE CHORUS OF THE TEMPLE Its Leader, Professor David Wood. How he Came to the Church. A sketch of His life. The Business Management of the Chorus. The Fine System. The Sheet Music and Its Care. Oratorios and Concerts. Finances of the Chorus. Contributions it has Made to Church Work. WITH a pastor who had loved music from child- hood, who taught it in his early manhood, who was himself proficient on several instru- ments, music naturally assumed an important place in Temple life and work. From the moment of his entering upon the pastorate of Grace Baptist Church, Mr. Conwell made the music an enjoyable feature of the services. In this early work of organizing and developing a church choir, he found an able and loyal leader in Pro- fessor David D. Wood, who threw himself heart, and soul into helping the church to grow musically. He has been to the musical life of the church what Mr. Con- well has been to its spiritual growth, and next to their pastor himself, it is doubtful if any man is so endeared to the Grace Church membership as is Professor Wood, their blind organist. He came to them in May, 1885, the regular organist being sick. His connection with the church came about in the most simple manner and yet it has been inval- 189 190 LIFE OF RUSSELL H. CONWELL liable to the work of The Temple. His son was an at- tendant at the church, and when the regular organist fell ill, asked his father if he would not take his place. Ever ready to do a kindness, Professor Wood consented. The organist never sufficiently recovered to come back to his post, being compelled to go West finally for his health. Mr. Conwell asked Professor Wood to take the position, and from that day to the present he has filled it to the satisfaction and gratification of the Grace Church. He was bom in Pittsburgh, March 2, 1838. His parents were poor, his father being a carpenter and he himself built the little log cabin in which the family lived. When David was a baby only a few months old, he lost the sight of one eye by inflammation resulting from a severe cold. When about three years old, he noise- lessly followed his sister into the cellar one day, intend- ing in a spirit of mischief to blow out the candle she was carrying. Just as he leaned over to do it, she, un- conscious that he was there, raised up, thrusting the candle in her hand right into his eye. The little boy's cry of pain was the first warning of his presence. The eye was injured, but probably he would not entirely have lost its sight had he not been attacked shortly after this with scarlet fever. When he recovered from this illness he was entirely blind. But the affliction did not change his sweet, loving disposition. He entered as best he could into the games and sports of childhood and grew rugged and strong. One day, while playing in the road, he was nearly run over by a carriage driven by a lady. Learning the little fellow was blind, she became interested in him and j:old his father of the school for the blind in Philadelphia. His parents de- THE MAN AND THE WORK 191 cided to send him to It, and at five years of age lie was sent over the mountains, making the journey in five days by canal. He vi^as a bright, diligent pupil and a great reader, showing even at an early age his passion for music. When eight years old, he learned the flute. Soon he could play the violin and piano, and in his twelfth year he began playing the organ. All these instruments he took up and mastered himself without special instruc- tion. In mathematics, James G. Blaine was his in- structor for two years. After leaving school his struggles to succeed as an or- ganist were hard and bitter. Despite his unusual abil- ity, it was difficult to secure a position. He met with far more refusals than encouragement. But he was persistent and cheerful. Finally success came. Two days before Easter the organist of an Episcopal church was suddenly incapacitated and no one could be found to play the music. Professor Wood offered himself. The rector's wife read the music to him. He learned it in an hour, and rehearsal and the services passed off without a break. He was immediately engaged, his salary being one hundred dollars a year. His next position paid him fifty dollars a year. In 1864, he went to St. Stephen's Episcopal Church, Philadel- phia, as choirmaster and organist, which position he still holds, playing at The Temple in the evenings only. He is to-day one of the most widely known organists of the country, being acknowledged everywhere a master of the instrument. He is a member of the faculty of the Philadelphia Musical Academy, principal of the music department in the Pennsylvania School for the 192 LIFE OF RUSSELL H. CONWELL Blind. It is said he has trained more good organists than any other teacher in Philadelphia. His cheery, kindly personality wins loyalty and devo- tion at once. His Christianity is the simple, loving, practical kind that fairly shines from his presence and attracts people to him immediately. The members of the Chorus of The Temple are devoted to him. No rules are required to keep them in order ; no other inspiration to do their best is needed than his simple wish. In the old church at Mervine and Berks streets he had a volunteer choir of about twenty, all that the little organ loft would accommodate. They could sing as tlie birds sing, because they had voices and loved it, but of musical training or education they had little. They were drawn from the membership of the church, composed of poor working people. From this nucleus grew the chorus of The Temple, which was organized in 1891, six weeks before the mem- bership took possession of its new building. With the organization of this large chorus. Professor Wood faced a new and difficult problem. How was he to hold from one hundred to one hundred and fifty people together, who were not paid for their services, who were not people of leisure to whom rehearsals are no tax on time or strength ? These were nearly all working people who came to rehearsal after a day's tiring employment. That he has succeeded so splendidly in these fourteen years proves his fine leadership. He had a body of workers devoted to the church, peo- ple before whom was ever held up the fact that they could serve the Master they all loved by singing, if they could in no other way ; that they could give their voices, if they could give nothing else. He had a body of THE MAN AND THE WORK 193 workers devoted also to himself, wlio would have fol- lowed him unhesitatingly no matter what commands he lay upon them. But he felt they should have some other encouragement, some other interest to hold them together, so almost immediately upon their organization he took up the study of Haydn's " Creation." It seemed a stupendous undertaking for a young and inexperienced chorus, one with no trained voices, few of whom could even read music at sight. But they plunged into the study with spirit, l^o incentive was needed to come to rehearsals, no one thought of dropping out. Indeed, the opportunity to study such music under such a master brought many new members. And in the fall of that year the oratorio was given with splendid success. This method has been followed ever since. Every year some special work is taken up for study and given in the fall. It is an event that is now a recognized feature of the city's musical life, eagerly awaited by music lovers not only of Philadelphia but of nearby towns. In addition to Haydn's " Creation," which has been sung four times, the chorus has given Handel's " Messiah " three times, Mendelssohn's " Elijah " twice, Beethoven's " Mount of Olives," Mendelssohn's " Hymn of Praise," Miriam's " Song of Triumph." It has also given a number of secular concerts. Eor all this extra work neither Professor Wood nor any member of the chorus has ever received one cent of pay. It is all cheerfully contributed. The oratorios are given with a full orchestra and eminent soloists. In the secular concerts the music is always of the highest order. Guil- mant, the celebrated French organist, gave a recital at The Temple while in this country. The chorus believes in the best, both in the class of music it gives and the 13 194 LIFE OF RUSSELL H. CONWELL talent it secures, and has long been looked on by those interested in the city's musical welfare as a society that encourages and supports all that is high and fine in music. Among the selections given at the Sunday ser- vices are Gounod's " Sanctus," the magnificent ^' Pil- grim's Chorus," the " Gloria," from Mozart's " Twelfth Mass," Handel's beautiful " Largo," the " St Cecilia Mass," and others of the same character. The plan of fining members for absence from re- hearsal, which was adopted at the time the chorus was organized, has also had much to do with its success, thouffh it is rather unusual for a choir. Instead of being paid to sing, they pay if they do not sing. The fine at first was twenty-five cents for each failure to attend rehearsal or Sunday service. Many shook their heads and said it was a bad idea, that the members wouldn't come and couldn't pay the fine, and that the chorus would go to pieces. But the members, did come, and when for any reason they were compelled to stay away they cheerfully pr.id the fine and the chorus flourished. These fines helped to pay the current ex- penses of the chorus. In die last three years the amount has been reduced to ten cents, but it still nets a sum in the course of the year that the treasurer welcomes most gladly. A collection is also taken at each service among the members, which likevzise helps to swell the chorus treasury. Speaking of the orgr.r ization and work of such a chorus, Professor Wood G^ys: " In organizing a church chorus one must not be too particular about the prev'ous musical education of ap- plicants. It is not necessary thai they be musicians, or even that they read music readily. All that I insist THE MAN AND THE WORK 195 upon Is a fairly good voice and a correct ear, I assume, of course, that all comers desire to learn to sing. Re- hearsals must be scmpnlonsly maintained, beginning promptly, continuing with spirit, and not interrupted with disorder of any kind. A rehearsal should never exceed two hours, and a half hour less is plenty long enough, if there is no waste of time. In learning new music, voices should be rehearsed separately ; that is, all sopranos, tenors, basses, and altos by themselves first, then combine the voices. You should place before a choir a variety of music sufficient to arouse the interest of all concerned. This will include much beyond the direct demand for church work. The chorus of The Temple has learned and sung on appropriate occasions war songs, college songs, patriotic songs, and other grades of popular music. " 'No one man's taste should rule in regard to these questions as to variety, although the proprieties of every occasion should be carefully preserved. Due regard must be paid to the taste of members of the chorus. If any of them express a wish for a particular piece, I let them have it. When it comes my time to select, they are with me. Keep some high attainment before the singers all the time. When the easier tasks are mas- tered, attempt something more difficult. It maintains enthusiasm to be ever after something better, and en- thusiasm is a power ever)n^here. In music, this is ' the spirit which quickeneth.' " In the preparation of chorus work do not insist on perfection. When I get them to sing fairly well, I am satisfied. To insist on extreme accuracy will discourage singers. Do not, therefore, overtrain them. " An incredible amount may be done even by a crude 196 LIFE OF RUSSELL H. CONWELL company of singers. When the preparation began for the opening of The Temple, there was but a handful of volunteers and time for but five rehearsals. But enthu- siasm rose, reinforcements came, and six anthems, in- cluding the ' Hallelujah Chorus/ were prepared and sung in a praiseworthy manner. Do not fear to attempt great things. Timidity ruins many a chorus. " Do not be afraid to praise your singers. Give praise, and plenty of it, whenever and wherever it is due. A domineering spirit will prove disastrous. Severity or ridicule will kill them. Correct faults faithfully and promptly, but kindly. " In the matter of discipline I am a strong advocate of the ' fine system.' It is the only way to keep a chorus together. The fines should be regulated according to the financial ability of the chorus. Our fine at The Temple was at first twenty-five cents for every rehearsal and every service? missed. It has since been dropped to ten cents. This is quite moderate. In some musical societies the fine is one dollar for every absence. This system is far better than monthly dues. '*' The advantages to members of a chorus are many and of great value. Concerted work has advantages which can be secured in no other way. A good chorus is an unequaled drill in musical time. The singer can- not humor himself as the soloist can, but must go right on with the grand advance of the company. He gets constant help also, in the accurate reading of music Then, too, there is an indescribable, uplifting, enkin- dling power in the presence and cooperation of others. The volume of song lifts one, as when a great congrega- tion sings. It is the esprit du 'corps of the army : that magnetic power which comes from the touch of elbows, THE MAN AND THE WORK 197 and the consecration to a common cause. Xo soloist gets this. " Some would-be soloists make a great mistake right here. They think that chorus work spoils them as solo- ists. !N'ot at all, if they have proper views of individual work in a chorus. If they propose to sing out so they shall sound forth above all others, then they may damage their voices for solo work. But that is a needless and highly improper use of the voice. Sing along with the others in a natural tone. They will be helped and the soloist will not be harmed. " The best conservatories of music in the world re- quire of their students a large amount of practice in con- certed performance and will not grant diplomas without it. All the great soloists have served their time as chorus singers. Parepa-Rosa, when singing in the solo parts in oratorio, would habitually sing in the chorus parts also, singing from beginning to end with the others. " Many persons have expressed their astonishment at the absence of the baton both from the rehearsals and public performances of the chorus of The Temple. Ex- perience has proven to me, beyond a doubt, that a chorus can be better drilled without a baton than with it, though it costs more labor and patience to obtain the re- sult. To sing by common inspiration is far better than to have the music ' pumped out,' as is too often the case, by the uncertain movements of the leader's baton." With a membership that has ranged from one hun- dred to two hundred and fifty, skilled business manage- ment is needed to keep everything running smoothly. The record of attendance is regulated by the use of checks. Each member of the chorus is assigned a 198 LIFE OF RUSSELL H. CONWELL mimber. As thej come to rehearsal, service, or concert, the singer removes the check on which is his number from the board upon which it hangs and gives it to the person appointed to receive it as he passes up the stairway to his seat in the choir. When the numbers are checked up at the close of the evening, the checks which have not been removed from the board are marked " absent." The bill for sheet music for one year is something between $iOO and $500. To care for so much music would be no light task if it were not reduced to a science. The music is in charge of the chorus librarian, who gives to each member an envelope stamped with his number and containing all the sheet music used by the chorus. Each member is responsible for his music, so that the system resolves itself into simplicits^ itself. In the Lower Temple enclosed closets are built in the wall, divided into sections, in which the envelopes are kept by their numbers, so that it is but the work of a moment to find the music for any singer. An insurance of $1,200 is caiTied on the music. Typical of the spirit of self-sacrifice that animates the chorus is the fact that for nearly ten years after the. choir was organized, one of the members, in order to re- duce the expense for sheet music, copied on a mimeo- graph all the music used by the members. It was a gigantic task, but he never faltered while the need was felt. In order to avoid confusion both in rehearsals and at each service, every singer has an appointed seat. There is also a system of signals employed by the or- ganist, clearly understood and - promptly i^esponded to by the chorus, for rising, resuming their seats, and for THE MAN AND THE WORK 19» any other duty. This regularity of movement, the pre- cision with which the great choir leads the attitudes and voices of the congregation in all the musical ser- vices, the entire absence of confusion, impresses the thoroughness of the chorus drill upon every one, and adds greatly to the effectiveness and decorum of the ser- vice. Most remarkable of all the work of the chorus, per- haps, is the fact that it has not only paid its way, but it has in addition contributed financially to the help of the church. Most choral societies have to be sup- ported by guarantors, or friends or members must reach down in their pockets and make up the deficits that oc- cur with unpleasant regularity. But the chorus of The Temple has borne its own expenses and at various times contributed to the church work. At the annual banquet in 1905, the following state- ment was made of the financial history of the chorus since 1892 : Amount Received — Collections from members. .'■ $2,564.60 Fines paid by members 975.60 Gross receipts from concerts.., 11,299.40 $14,839.60 Amount Disbursed — For music $ 2,167.80 For sundry expenses for socials, flowers for sick, contributions for benevolent purposes, etc.. 1,035.81 Expenses of concerts 8,506.34 Contributions to church, college, hospital, Sunday School, repairs to organ, etc 3,050.51 $14,760.46 200 LIFE OF RUSSELL H. CONWELL The chorus has furnished a private room in the Samaritan Hospital at a cost of $250, pays half the cost of the telephone service to a shut-in member, so that while lying on his bed of sickness he can still hear the preaching and singing of his beloved church, and has contributed to members in need ; in fact, whatever help was required, it has come forward and shouldered its share of the financial burdens of the church. It is a chorus that helps by its singing in more ways than sing- ling, though that were enough. Out of the chorus has grown many smaller organiza- tions which not only assist from time to time in the church and prayer meeting services, but are in frequent demand by Lyceums and other churches. All the money they earn is devoted to some part of The Temple work. The organ which rears its forest of beautiful pipes in the rear of the church is one of the finest in- the eonn- try. It was built under the direct supervision of Pro- fessor Wood at a cost of $10,000. The case is of oak in the natural finish, 35 feet wide, 35 feet high, 16 feet deep. It has 41 stops, 2,133 pipes, four sets of man- uals, each manual with a compass of 61 notes; there are 30 pedal notes, 9 double-acting combination pedals ; all the metal pipes are 75 per cent pure tin. In loving Christian fellowship the chorus abides. "No difficulty that could not be settled among themselves has ever rent it ; no jealousies mar its peaceful course. Professor Wood is a wise leader. He leaves no loop- hole for the green-eyed monster to creep in. He selects no one voice to take solo parts. If a solo occurs, he gives it to the whole of that voice in the chorus or to a pro- fessional. THE MAN AND THE WORK 201 Dr. Con well reads the hymns with so much expres- sion and feeling that new meaning is put into them. The stranger is quietly handed a hymn book by some watchful member. The organ swings into the melody of the hymn, the chorus, as one, rises, and a flood of song sweeps over the vast auditorium that carries every one as in a mighty tide almost up to the gates of heaven itself. And as it ebbs and sinks into silence, faith has been refreshed and strengthened, hardened hearts soft- ened, the love of Christ left as a precious legacy with many a man and woman there. CHAPTER XXVI SERVICES AT THE TEMPLE A Typical Sunday. The Young People's Church. Sunday School, The Baptismal Service. Dedication of Infants. The Pastor's Thanksgiving Reception to Cliildren. Sunrise Services. Watch Meeting. SUNDAY is a joyous day at The Temple, and a busy one. It is crowded with work and it is good to he there. Services begin at half after nine with prayer meetings in the Lower Temple by the Young Men's Association and the Young Women's Association. The men's is held in the regular prayer meeting room ; the women's in the room of their association. Each is led by some member of the association who is assigned a subject for the morning's stud}''. These subjects, to- gether with the leaders' names, are prepared in advance and printed on a little schedule which is distributed among the church members, so that they may know who has charge of the prayer meeting and the topic for thought. Dr. Conwell has for twenty-two years presided at the organ in the men's meeting, and usually before the ser- vices are over takes a peep into the women's gathering, leaving a prayer or a brief word of cheer and inspira- tion. The meetings are not long, but they are fiill of spiritual strength. Men and women, tired with the strenuous business life of the week, find them places of 202 THE MAN AND THE WORK 203 soul refreshment wliero tliey can step aside from tlie nisli and press of worldly cares and commune with the higher, better things of life. By the time the prayer meetings are over, the mem- bers of the chorus are thronging the Lower Temple, receiving their music and attendance checks, waiting for the signal to march to their seats in the church above. The morning services begin at half after ten, with the singing of the Doxology, the chanting of the Lord's Prayer by the choir and congregation, followed by the sermon. At the close of the service, Dr. Conwell steps from the pulpit and meets all strangers or friends with a hearty handclasp and a cordial word of greeting. While morning service is being conducted in The Temple, a Young People's Church is held in the Lower Temple. Dr. Conwell has not forgotten those weari- some Sundays of his boyhood when, too young to appre- ciate the church service, he fidgeted, strove to keep awake, whittled, and ended it all by thoroughly dislik- ing church. He wants no such unhappy youngsters to sit through his preaching. He wants no such dislike of the church imbedded in childish hearts and minds. So he planned the Young People's Church. Boys and girls between three and fourteen attend it, and Sunday morn- ing the streets in the neighborhood of The Temple are thronged with happy-faced children on the way to their own church, the youngest in the care of parents, who are able later to enjoy more fully The Temple services, since they are not compelled to keep a watchful eye on a restless child. Before the services begin, the children are very much at home. Ko stiff, silent formalism chills youthful 204 LIFE OF RUSSELL H. CONWELL spirits. Thej are as joyous and tappy as they would be in their o"wn homes. As the moment approaches for the services to begin, they take their seats and at a given signal rise and recite, " The Lord is in His holy Tem- ple. Let all the earth keep silence before Him." A hush falls and then the sweet, childish voices begin that beautiful psalm, " The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want," and without break or faltering, recite it to the end. Songs follow, bright, cheerful songs full of life, which they sing with a will. Then responsive readings and the Lord's Prayer and always plenty of singing. A short talk is given by the leader, often some one espe- cially secured for the occasion, a talk not over their heads, but into their hearts, a talk whose meaning they can grasp and which sets young minds to thinking of the finer, nobler things of life and inspires them to so live as to be good and useful. Sometimes lantern ex- hibits to illustrate special topics are given. • The mere sight of their bright, happy faces in contrast to the dull, bored expression of the usual child in church proves the wisdom of the work. The children, as far as possible, perform all the duties of the services. A small boy plays the music for their songs, two small girls keep a record of the attendance, children take up the offering. Eut it is a church in more than mere services. Committees from among the children are appointed for visiting, for calling on the sick, to plan for entertainments, provide the games for the socials, and to look after all details of this character. There are also two officers, a secretary and treasurer. An advisory committee of ladies, members of The Tem- ple, keep an oversight and guiding hand on the work of the children. The instruction is all in the hands of THE MAN AND THE WORK 205 trained teachers, mostly from the college, inclnding as Director the lady Dean of the College, Dr. Laura H. Camell. In the afternoon the Sunday Schools meet. The youngest children are enrolled in the primary or kinder- garten department. This has a bright, cheery room of its own in the Lower Temple, with a leader and a num- ber of young women scattered here and there among the children to look after their needs and keep them orderly. Hats are taken off and hung on pegs on the wall and the youngsters are made to feel very much at home. One of the prettiest features of the service in this de- partment is the offering of the birthday pennies. All the members who have had a birthday during the week come forward to put a penny for each year into the basket Then the class stands up and recites a verse and sings a song on birthdays. Very pretty and inspir- ing both verse and song are, and then the honored ones return to their seats, wishing, no doubt, they had a birth- day every week. The taking of the offering is also a pretty ceremony. Verses on giving are recited by the children, then one small child takes his stand in the doorway, holding the basket, and the children all march by and drop in their pennies. The intermediate department claims the next oldest children. It is led by an orchestra composed of mem- bers of the Sunday School, and the singing is joyous and spirited. The superintendent walks around among the scholars during the opening exercises, smiling, en- couraging, giving a word of praise, iirging them to do better. The fresh, clear voices rise clear and strong. Outside, on Broad Street, people stop to listen. Men 206 LIFE OF RUSSELL H. CONWELL lean up against the windows and drink in the melody. 'No one knows what messages of peace and salvation those songs carry out to the throng on the city street* The classes of the senior department meet in the va- rious rooms of the college, and the adult class in the auditorium of The Temple. This Dr. Conwell con- ducted himself for a number of years, until pressure of work compelled him to use these hours for rest. A popular feature of his service was the question box, in which he answered any question sent to him on any sub- ject connected with religious life or experience or Chris- tian ethics in everyday life. The questions could be sent by mail or handed to him on the platform by the ushers. They were most interesting, and the service attracted men and women from all parts of the city. The following was one of the questions during the year of building the college : " Five thousand dollars are due next -week, and $15,000 next month. Will you set on foot means to raise this amount, or trust wholly to God's direction ? " And the pastor answered from the platform : " I would trust wholly in God's direction. This is a sort of test of faith, and I would make it more so in the building of the College. I do not know for certain now where the money is to come from next Wednesday ; I have an idea. But a few days ago I did not know at all. I do not see where the $15,000 is to come from in December unless it be that the Feast of Tithes will bring in $10,000' towards it; that would be a marvelous sum for the people to give, but if it is necessary they will give it. We are workers together with God. I have partly given up my lecture work this month, as the church thought it was best, but suppose there should THE MAN AND THE WORK 207 come to me from Boston, Chicago, St. Louis, or some other place a call to go and lecture on the 10th or 12th of December, and they should offer me $500 or more — I would say immediately, ' Yes, I will go ' ; that is God's call to help the College ; that would he the direction of God. Such opportunities will come to those who should give this $15,000. If God intends the amount due on the College to be paid (and I believe he does), he will cause the hearts of those who desire to help to give money toward this cause. We trust entirely to God. I don't believe if I were to lie down, and the church should stop, that it would be paid. But I am sure that if we work together with God, He will never fail to do as He promises, and He won't ask us to do the impossible. I tell you, friends, I feel sure that the $5,000 will be paid next Wednesday, and I feel sure the $15,000 will be paid when it is due." It may be interesting to know that the $5,000 was paid; and when the $15,000 was due in December, the money was in the treasury all ready for it. From half after six on, there are^the meetings of the various Christian Endeavor Societies in the Lower Tem- ple. At half after seven the evening services begin and an overflow meeting is held at the same time in the Lower Temple for those who find it impossible to gain admittance to the main auditorium. The preaching service is followed by a half-hour prayer meeting in the Lower Temple in which both congregations join, taxing its capacity to the ut- most. It is a half hour that flies, a half hour full of inspiration and soul communion with the " Spirit that moved on the waters," a fitting crown to a day devoted to His ser\dce. 208 LIFE OF RUSSELL H. CONWELL After the solemn benediction is pronounced, a half hour more of good fellowship follows. The pastor meets strangers, shakes hands with members, makes a special effort to hold a few words of personal conversa- tion with those who have risen for prayer. Friends and acquaintances greet each other, and the home life of the church comes to the surface. The hand of the clock creeps to eleven, sometimes past, before the last member reluctantly leaves. Baptism is a very frequent part of the Sunday ser- vices at The Temple, usually taking place in the morn- ing. It is a beautiful, solemn ordinance. The . bap- tistry is a long, narrow pool, arranged to resemble a running stream. Years ago, when Dr. Conwell was in Palestine, he was much impressed with the beauty of the river Jordan at the place where Jesus was baptized. Always a lover of the beautiful in nature, the picture long remained in his memory, especially the leaves and blossoms that drifted on the stream. When The Tem- ple was planned he thought of it and determined to give the baptismal pool as much of the beauty of nature as possible. It is fifteen feet wide, sixty feet long, and during the hour of the solemn ordinance, the brook is running constantly. The sides of the pool, the pulpit and plat- form, summer or winter, are banked with flowers, palms, moss and vines. On the surface of the water float blos- soms, while at the back, banked with mosses and flowers, splashes and sparkles a little waterfall. Over all falls the soft radiance of an illuminated cross. It is a beau- tiful scene, one that never fades from the memorv' of the man or woman who is " buried with Christ by baptism into death, '^ to be raised again in the likeness of His THE MAN AND THE WORK 209 resurrection. The candidates enter at the right and pass out at the left, the pastor pressing into the hands of each, some of the beautiful blossoms that float. on the water. During the whole service the organ plays softly, the choir occasionally singing some favorite hymn. ^Vllen the number of candidates is large, being on occasion as high as one hundred and seventy-seven adults, the associate pastor assists. It is no unusual thing to see members of a family coming together to make this public profession of their faith. Husband and wife, in many cases ; husband, wife and children in many others ; a grandmother and two grandchildren on one occasion, and on yet another, a venerable gray-haired nurse came with four of the family in which she had served for many years, and the five entered the baptistry- together. " Among the converts," says one who witnessed a baptismal service, " there were aged persons with their silvered hair. There were stalwart men, fitted to bear burdens in the church for many years to come. There were young men and maidens to grow into strong men and women of the future church. There were little children sweet in their simplicity and pure love of the Savior,^ little children who were carried in the arms of those who assisted, and whom Dr. Conwell tenderly held in his arms as he buried them with Christ." Another solemn service of the church is the dedication of infants. Any parents who wish, may bring their child and reverently dedicate it to God, solemnly prom- ising to do all within their power to train it and teach it to lead a Christian life and to make a public profession of faith when it has arrived at the years of discretion. The service reads: 210 LIFE OF RUSSELL H. CONWELL Question. — Do you now come to the Lord's house to present your child (children) to the Lord? Answer. — .We do. Qdes. — Will you promise before the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, that you will, so far as in you lieth, teach this child the Holy Scriptures, and bring him (her) up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord? Will you train his (her) mind to respect the services of the Lord's House, and to live in compliance with the teachings and example of our Lord? When he reaches the years of understand- ing, will you show him the necessity of repentance, explain to him the way of salvation, and urge upon him the neces- sity of conversion, Baptism, and union with the visible Church of Christ ? Ans. — We will. QuES. — By what name do you purpose to register Tiim (her or them) at this time? Ans. Beloved: These parents have come to the house of God at this time to present this child (these children) before the Lord in imitation of the presentation of the infant Jesus in the Temple as recorded by the Evaijgelist Luke, saying, " When the days of her [Mary's] purification ac- cording to the law of Moses were accomplished, they brought him to Jerusalem to present him to the Lord and to offer a sacrifice according to that which is said in the law of the Lord, a pair of turtle doves or two young pigeons." These parents have learned from the Lord Jesus himself that he desires that all the children should come unto him, and that he was pleased when the little children were brought unto him that he might put his hands on them and pray. Therefore, in obedience to the scriptures, these parents are here to present this child unto the Lord Jesus in spirit, that he may take him up in his arms, place his spiritual hands on him and bless him. We will turn, therefore, to the Holy Scriptures for direc- tion, as they are oiir only rule of faith and practice, and ascertain the wishes and commandments of the Lord in this matter. THE MAN AND THE WORK 211 I Sam. J, 26, 27, 28: And Hannah said, my Lord, as thy soul liveth, my Lord, I am the woman that stood by thee here, praying unto the Lord. For this chikl I prayed ; and the Lord hath given me my petition which I asked of him ; Therefore also I have lent him to the Lord ; as long as he liveth he shall be lent to the Lord. And he worshipped the Lord there. Marh X, 13, H, 15: And they brought young children to him, that he should touch them; and his disciples rebuked those that brought them. But when Jesus saw it, he was much displeased, and said unto them, Suffer the little children to come unto me, and forbid them not ; for of such is the kingdom of God. Verily I say unto you, Wliosoever shall not receive the kingdom of God as a little child, he shall not enter therein. And he took them up in his arms, put his hands upon them, and blessed them. Lv.l-e XVIII, 15, 16, 17: And they brought young children to him, that he should touch them; but when his disciples saw it, they rebuked them. But Jesus called them unto him, and said. Suffer little children to come unto me, and forbid them not; for of such is the kingdom of God. Verily I say unto you, Whosoever shall not receive the kingdom of God as a little child shall in no wise enter therein. Matt. XVIII, 2-6. l.r^: And Jesus called a little child unto him, and set him in the midst of them. And said, Verily I say unto you, Except ye be converted, and become as little children, ye shall not enter into the kino-dom of heaven. 212 LIFE OF RUSSELL H. CONWELL Whosoever therefore shall humhle himself as this little child, the same is greatest in the kingdom of heaven. And whoso shall receive one such little child in my name receiveth me. But whoso shall offend one of these little ones which be- lieve in me, it were better for him that a millstone were hanged about his neck, and that he were drowned in the depth of the sea. Even so it is not the will of your father which is in heaven, that one of these little ones should perish. Therefore, believing it is wise and that it is a sacred duty to dedicate our precious little ones to Grod in this solemn manner; believing that all the dear children are especially loved by Christ ; and that when taken from this world be- fore active, intentional participation in sin, they are saved by His merciful grace ; and believing that Christ by His example, and the apostles by their direct teaching, reserve the sacred ordinance of baptism for repentant believers, we will now unitedly ask the Lord to accept the consecration of this child (children), and to take him in His spiritual arms and bless him. Prayer. Hymn. Benediction. The pastor's reception to the children Thanksgiving afternoon is a service the youngsters await from one year to another. Each child is supposed to bring some article to be given to Samaritan Hospital. One year each child brought a potato, which in the aggregate amounted to several barrels. A writer in the " Temple Magazine," describing one of these services, says : " The children came from all directions, of all sizes and in all conditions. One lad marched up the aisle to a front seat, and his garments fluttered, flag-like, at many points as he went; others were evidently rich men's darl- ings, but all were happy, and their bright eyes were THE MAN AND THE WORK 213 fixed on the curtained platform, rather than on each other. They came until four or five thousand of them had arrived, filling every nook and corner of the Upper Temple." " Then Dr. Conwell came in, made them all feel at home — they already were happy — and music, songs and entertainment followed for an hour or more. At the close he shook hands with every happy youngster who sought him — and few failed to do it — gave each a cheery word and hearty handclasp, and then the little ones scattered, swarming along the wide pavements of Broad Street till the Thanksgiving promenaders won- dered what had broken loose and whence the swarms of merry children came." Sunrise services are held Easter and Christmas morn- ings at seven o'clock. These beautiful days are ushered in by a solemn prayer meeting, spiritual, uplifting, which seems to attune the day to the music of heavenly things, and to send an inspiration into it which glorifies every moment. Another service very dear to the members of Grace Baptist Church is watch meeting. The services begin at eight o'clock l\ew Year's Eve with a prayer meeting which continues until about half after nine. An inter- mission follows and usually a committee of young people serve light refreshments for those who want them. At eleven o'clock the watch meeting begins. It is a deeply spiritual meeting, opened by the pastor with an earnest prayer for guidance in the year to come, for re- newed consecration to the Master's service, for a better and higher Christian life both as individuals and a church. Hymns follow and a brief, fervid talk on the year coming and its opportunities, of the record each 214 LIFE OF RUSSELL H. CONWELL will write on the clean white page in the book of life to be turned so soon. As midnight approaches, every church member is asked to signify his re-dedication to God and His service by standing. Then the solemn question is put to others present if they do not want to give themselves to God, not only for the coming year, but for all years. As twelve o'clock strikes, all bow in silent prayer while the organ, under the pastor's touch, softly breathes a sacred melody. A few minutes later the meeting adjourns, " Happy "New Years " are exchanged, and the church orches- tra on the iron balcony over the great half rose window on Broad Street breaks into music. Sometimes an audience of a thousand people gather on the street to listen to this musical sermon, preached at the parting of the ways, a eulogy and a prophecy. A writer in the " Philadelphia Press " relates the fol- lowing incident in connection with a watch meeting ser- vice: " For the last half hour of the old and the first half hour of the new year the band played sacred melodies to the delight of not less than a thousand people assem- bled on the street. Diagonally across Broad Street and a short distance below the church is the residence of the late James E. Cooper, P. T. Barnum's former partner, the millionaire circus proprietor. He had been ailing for months and on this night he lay dying. " Although not a member he had always taken a per- sonal interest in Grace Church, and one of his last acts was the gift of $1,000 to the building fund. On this night the first on which The Temple balcony had been used for its specially designed -purpose, among the last of earthly sounds that were borne to the ears of the THE MAN AND THE WORK 215 dying man was the music of ' Coronation ' and ' Old Hundred,' — hymns that he had learned in childhood. The watch meeting closed and from a scene of thanks- giving and congratulation Eev, Mr. Conwell hurried to the house of mourning, where he remained at the bed- side of the stricken husband and father until the morn- ing light of earth came to the living and the morning of eternity to the dying," Sacred music on the balcony at midnight also ushers in Christmas and Easter. " On the street, long before the hour, the crowds gather waiting in reverent silence for the opening of the service," writes Burdette, in " Tem- ple and Templars." " The inspiring strains of ' the English Te Deum,' ' Coronation,' rise on the starlit night, thrilling eveiy soul and suggesting in its triumph- ant measures, tlie lines of Perronet's immortal hymn made sacred by a thousand associations — ' All hail the power of Jesus' ISTame.' " " This greeting of the Resur- rection, as it floats out over Monument Cemetery just opposite, where sleep so many thousands, does seem like an assurance sent anew from above, .cheering those who sleep in Jesug., telling them that as their Lord and King had risen, and now lives again, so shall they live also. Men looked at the graves of them that slept, listened to the song of triumph that was making the midnight glorious, remembered the risen Christ who was the theme of the song, thought of that other midnight, the riven tomb, the broken power of Death a conquered conqueror, and seemed to hear the Victor's proclama- tion as the apostle of the Apocalj^Dse heard it, pealing like a trumpet voice over all the earth, ' I am the first and the last: I am He that liveth and was dead; and 216 LIFE OF RUSSELL H. CONWELL beliold, I am alive forevermore ; Amen ; and have the keys of hell and death ! ' " The music continues, the band playing ' The Gloria,' ' The Heavens are Telling,' ' The Palms ' ; now and then the listeners join in singing as the airs are more familiar, and * Wliat a Friend we Have in Jesus,' * Whiter than Snow,' ' Just as I Am,' and other hymns unite many of the audience on the crowded streets about The Temple in a volunteer choir, and when the doxology, ' Praise God from whom all blessings flow,' closes the service, hundreds of voices swell the volume of melody that greets the Easter morning." CHAPTER XXVII A TYPICAL PRAYER MEETING. The Prayer Meeting Hall. How the Meeting is Conducted. The Giving of Favorite Bible Verses. Requests for Prayer. The Lookout Committee. THE prayer meetings of Grace Baptist Cliiirch are characterized by a cheery, homelike atmosphere that appeals forcibly and at one© to any one who may chance to enter, inclining him to stay and enjoy the service, be he the utmost stranger. But underneath this and soon felt, is the deep spirit- ual significance of the meeting, which lays hold on men's hearts, inspiring, uplifting, sending them home with a sense of having " walked with God " for a little while. The large prayer meeting hall is usually crowded, the attendance including not only members of the church but hundreds who are not members of any church. It is no unusual sight to see all the various rooms of the Lower Temple thrown into one by the raising of the sashes, and this vast floor pacls;ed as densely as possible, while a fringe of stand ers lines the edges. People will come to these prayer meetings though they cannot see the platform, though they must lose much of what is said. B'ut the spirit of the meeting flows into their hearts and minds, sending them home happier, and with 217 218 LIFE OF RUSSELL H. CONWELL a strengthened determination to live a more righteous life. Frequently Dr. Conwell arrives ten or fifteen minutes before the time for the service to begin. As he walks to the platform, he stops and chats with this one, shakes hands with another, nods to many in the audience. At once all stiffness and formalism vanish. It is a home, a gathering of brothers and sisters. It is the meeting together of two or three in His name, as in the old apostolic days, though these two or three are now counted by the hundreds. When Dr. Conwell thus arrives early, the time is passed in singing. Often he utilizes these few minutes to learn new hymns. So that when the real prayer meeting is in prograss, there will be no blundering through new tunes or weak-kneed renditions of them. The singing. Dr. Conwell wants done with the spirit. He will not sing a verse if the heart and mind cannot endorse it. After singing several hymns in this earnest, prayerful fashion, every one present is fully in tune for the services to follow. Prayer meeting opens with a short, earnest prayer. Then a hymn. It is Dr. Conwell's practice to have any one call out the number of a hymn he would like sung. And it is no imusual thing to hear a perfect chorus of numbers after Dr. Conwell's " What shall we sing ? " A chapter from the Bible is read and a short talk on it given. Then Dr. Conwell says, " The meeting now is in your hands," and sits down as if he had nothing more to do with it. But that subtle leadership which leads without seeming to do so, is there ready to guide and direct. He never allows the meeting to grow dull — though it seldom exhibits a tendency to do so. If no THE MAN AND THE WORK 219 one is inclined to speak, hjmns are sung. An interest- ing feature, and one that is tremendously helpful in leading church members to take part in the prayer meeting, is the giving of Bible verses. It is a frequent feature of Grace Church prayer meetings. " Let us have verses of Scripture," or " Each one give his favo- rite text," Dr. Conwell announces. Immediately from all parts of the large room come responses. Some rise to give them, others recite them sitting. Hundreds are given some evenings in a short space of time, sometimes the speakers giving a bit of personal experience con- nected with the verse. The prayer meetings are always full of singing, often of silent prayer; and never does one end without a solemn invitation to those seeking God and wishing the prayers of the church, to signify it by rising. While the request is made, the audience is asked to bow in silent prayer that strength may be given those who want God's help to make it known. In the solemn hush, one after another rises to his feet, often as many as fifty making this silent appeal for strength to lead a better life. Immediately Dr. Conwell leads into an eloquent, heartfelt prayer that those seeking the way may find it, that the peace that passeth understanding may come into their hearts and lives. But Dr. Conwell doesn't let the matter rest here. A committee of church members already appointed for just such work, is posted like sentinels about the prayer meeting room, ready to extend practical help to those who have asked for the prayers of the church. After the services are over, each one who has risen is sought out, by some member of this committee, talked with in a friendly, sympathetic way, and his name and ad- 220 LIFE OF RUSSELL H. CONWELL dress taken. These are given to Dr. Conwell. If time permits, he writes to many of them. All of them he makes the subject of personal prayer. Frequently, before asking those to rise who wish the prayers of the church, Dr. Conwell asks if any one wishes to request prayers for others. The response to this is always large. A member of the staff of " The Temple Magazine " made a note at one prayer meeting of these requests and published it in the magazine. Three requests were made for husbands, eight for sons, one for a daughter, three for children, ten for brothers, two for sisters, two for fathers, one for a cousin, one for a brother-in-law, four for friends, eleven for Sunday School scholars, one for a Simday School class, four for sick persons, two for scoffers, twenty-one for sinners, four for wanderers, five for persons addicted to drink, three for mission schools, five for churches — r one that was divided, another deeply in debt, another for a sick pastor and the other two seeking a higher development in godliness. As many of these requests come from church mem- bers, both pastor and people pay especial attention to them and practically, as well as prayerfully, try to reach those for whom prayers are asked. In many cases dis- tinct answers to these prayers are secured, so evident that none could mistake them. At an after-service on Sunday evening a mother asked prayers for a wayward son in Chicago. Dr. Conwell and some of the deacons led the church in prayer for the boy, very definitely and in faith. At that same hour, as the young man afterward related, he was passing a church in Chicago, and felt strangely impressed -to enter and give his heart to Christ. It was somethina: he had no intention THE MAN AND THE WORK 221 of doing when he left his hotel a few minutes before. But he went in, joined in the meeting, asked for for- giveness of his sins and the prayers of the church to help him lead a better life, and accepted Christ as his personal Savior. In the joy of his new experience, he wrote his mother immediately. At another prayer meeting, Dr. Conwell read a letter from a gentleman requesting the prayers of the church for his little boy whom the doctors had given up to die. He stated in the letter that if God would spare his child in answer to prayer, he would go anywhere and do anything the Lord might direct. After reading the letter, Dr. Conwell led earnestly in prayer, be- seeching that the child's life might be saved since it meant much for the cause of Christ on earth. Several members of the church made fervent prayers for the child, and at the close of the meeting, many expressed themselves as being confident that their prayers would be answered. At that same hour, the disease turned. The child has gro^vn to be a young man, and with his father is a member of Grace Church. Such direct, unmistakable answers to prayer strengthen faith, give confidence to ask for prayers for loved ones, and make it a very earnest, solemn part of the prayer meeting service. Thus working and pray- ing, praying and working, the church marches forward. CHAPTER XXYIII THE TEMPLE COLLEGE The Night Temple College Was Born. Its Simple Beginning and Rapid Growth. Building the College. How the Money was Raised. The Branches it Teaches. Instances of Its Helpful- ness. Planning for greater Things. IK a letter -written to a member of his family, from which we quote the following, Dr. Conwell tells how the idea of Temple College was bom in his mind one wintry night. " A woman, ragged, with an old shawl over her head, met me in an alley in Philadelphia late one night. She saw the basket on my arm, and looked in my face wistfully, as a dog looks up beside the dinner table. She was hungry, and was coming in empty. I shook my head, and with a peculiarly sad glance she turned down the dark passage. I had found several families hungry, and yet I felt like a hypocrite, standing there with an empty basket, and a woman, perhaps a mother, so pale for lack of decent food. " On the corner was a church, stately and architec- turally beautiful by day, but after midnight it looked like a glowering ogre, and looked so like ^Newgate Prison, in London, that I felt its chilly shadow. Half a million cost the cemented pile, and under its side arch lay two newsboys or boot-blacks asleep on the step. " What is the use ? "We cannot feed these people. 222 THE MAN AND THE WORK 223 Give all you have, and an army of the poor will still have nothing; and those to whom you do give bread and clothes to-day will be starving and naked to-morrow. If you care for the few, the many will curse you for your partiality. While I stood meditating, the police patrol drove along the street, and I could see by the corner street lamp that there were two women, one little girl and a drunken old man in the conveyance, going to jail! I could do nothing for them. At my door I found a man dressed in costly fashion, who had waited for me outside, as he had been told that I would come soon, and the family had retired. He said his dying father had sent for me. So I left the basket in a side yard and went with the mes- senger. The house was a mansion on Spring Garden Street. The house was inelegantly overloaded with luxurious furniture, money wasted by some inartistic purchasers. The paintings were rare and rich. The owners were shoddy. The family of seven or eight gathered by the bedside when I prayed for the dying old man. They were grief-stricken and begged me to stay until his soul departed. It was daylight before I left the bedside, and as the dying still showed that the soul was delaying his journey, I went into the spacious, handsome library. Seeing a rare book in costly binding among the volumes on a lower shelf, I opened the door and took it out. My hands were black with dust, I glanced then along the rows and rows of valuable books, and noticed the dust of months or years. The family were not students or readers. On© son was in the Al- bany Penitentiary; another a fugitive in Canada. At the funeral, afterwards, the wife and daughter from !N^ewport were present, and their tears made furrows 224 LIFE OF RUSSELL H. CONWELL througli the paint. Those rich people were strangely poor, and a book on a side table on the ' Abolition of Poverty ' seemed to be in the right place. " That night was conceived the Temple College idea. It was no new truth, no original invention, but merely a simpler combination of old ideas. There was but one general remedy for all these ills of poor and rich, and that could only be found in a more useful educa- tion. Poverty semed to me to be wholly that of the mind. Want of food, or clothing, or home, or friends, or morals, or religion, seemed to be the lack of the right instruction and proper discipline. The truly wis& man need not lack the necessities of life, the wisely educated man or woman will get out of the dirty alley and will not get dnink or go to jail. It seemed to me then that the only great charity was in giving instruction. " The first class to be considered was the destitute poor. K"ot one in a thousand of those living in rags on crusts would remain in poverty if he had education enough of the right kind to earn a better living by making himself more useful. He is poor because he does not know any better. Knowledge is both wealth and power. " The next class who stand in need of the assistance love wishes to give is the great mass of industrious people of all grades, who are earning something, who are not cold or hungry, but who should earn more in order to secure the greater necessities of life in order to be happy. They could be so much more useful if they knew how. To learn how to do more work in the same time, or how to do much better work, is the only true road to riches which. the owner can enjoy. " To help a man to help himself is the wisest effort THE MAN AND THE WORK 225 of human love. To have wealth and to have honestly- earned it all, by labor, skill or wisdom, is an object of ambition worthy of the highest and best. Hence, to do the most good to the great classes, rich or poor, we must labor industriously. The lover of his kind must furnish them with the means of gaining knowledge while they work. " Then there was a third class of mankind, starving, with their tables breaking with luscious foods, cold in warehouses of ready-made clothing of the most costly fabrics; seeing not in the moon-light, and restless to distraction on beds of eiderdown. They do not know the use or value of things. They are harassed with plenty they cannot appropriate. They are doubly poor. They need education. The library is a care, an expense and a disgrace to the owner who cannot read. To give education to those in the possession of properts^ which they might use for the help of humanity and which they might enjoy, is as clear a duty and charity as it is to help the beggar. And, indeed, indirectly the education of tlie unwise wealthy to become useful may be the most practical way of raising the poor. There is a need for every dollar of the nation's property, and it should be invested by men whose minds and hearts have been trained to see the human need and to love to satisfy it " The thought that in education of the best quality was to be foimd the remedy for hunger, loneliness, crime and weakness was most clearly emphasized to my mind by the coming of two young men who had felt the need from the under side. They had received but little instruction ; they were over twenty years of age, and they wished to enter the ministry. Was there 226 LIFE OF RUSSELL H. CONWELL any way open for a poor, industrious laborer to get the highest education while he supported his mother, sister and himself? I urged them to try it for the good of many who would follow them if they made it a clear success. I was elated almost to uncontrollable enthu- siasm the night they came to my study to begin their course. They brought five with them, and all proved themselves noble men. One is not, for God took him. But the others are moulding and inspiring their world." Thus was conceived the idea of the institution that is now educating annually three thousand men and women. The need for it has been plainly proven. Kev. Forest Dager, at one time Dean of Temple College, said in regard to the people who in later life crave opportunities for study: " That the Temple College idea of educating working men and working women, at an expense just sufficient to give them an appreciation of the work of the Insti- tution, covers a wide and long-neglected field of educa- tional effort, is at once apparent to a thoughtful mind, liemembering that out of a total enrollment in the schools of our land of all grades, public and private, of 14,512,778 pupils, OG^/o per cent are reported as receiving elementary instruction only ; that not more than 35 in 1,000 attend school after they are fourteen years of age; that 25 of these drop out during the next four years of their life ; that less than 10 in 1,000 pass on to enjoy the superior instruction of a college or some equivalent grade of work, we begin to see the un- limited field before an Institution like this. Thousands upon thousands of those who have left school quite early in life, either because they did not appreciate the advantages of a liberal education, or because the THE MAN AND THE WORK 227 stress of circumstances compelled them to assist in tlie maintenance of home, awake a few years later to the realization that a good education is more than one- half the struggle for existence and position. Their time through the day is fully occupied ; their evenings are free. At once they turn to the evening college, and grasping the opportunities for instruction, convert those hours which to many are the pathway to vice and ruin, into stepping stones to a higher and more useful career. . . . An illustration of the wide- reaching influence of the College work is tlie sigTiificant fact that during one year there were personally known to the president, no less than ninety-three persons pur- suing their studies in various universities of our coun- try, who received their first impulses toward a higher education and a wider usefulness in Temple College." In 1893, in an address on the Institutional church, delivered before the Baptist Ministers' Conference in Philadelphia, Dr. Conwell said: " At the present time there are in this city hundreds of thousands — to speak conservatively, (I should say at least five, hundred thousand people) who have not the education they certainly wish they had obtained liefore leaving school. There are at least one hundred thousand people in this city willing to sacrifice their evenings and some of their sleep to get an education, if they can get it without the humiliation of being put into classes with boys and girls six years old. They are in every city. There is a large class of young people who have reached that age where they find they have made a mistake in not getting a better education. If they could obtain one now, in a proper way, they 228 LIFE OF RUSSELL H. CONWELL would. Tlie university does not furnish sucH an oppor- tunity. The public school does not. " The churches must institute schools for those whom the public does not educate, and must educate them along the lines the^ cannot reach in the public schools. " We are not to withdraw our support from, nor to antagonize, the public schools ; they are the foundations of liberty in the nation. But the public schools do not teach many things which young men and young women need. I believe every church should institute classes for the education of such people, and I believe the Institutional church will require it. I believe every evening in the week should be given to some particular kind of intellectual training along some educational line ; that this training should begin with the more evident needs of the young people in each congregation, and then be adjusted as the matter grows, to the wants of each." So, because one poor boy struggled so bitterly for an education, because a man, keen-eyed, saw others' needs, reading the signs by the light of his own bitter ex- perience, a great College for busy men and women has gro\vn, to give them freely the education which is very bread and meat to their minds. Most people use for their own benefit the lessons they have learned in the hard school of experience. They have paid for them dearly. They endeavor to get out of them what profit they can. N'ot so Dr. Conwell. He uses his dearly bought experiences for the good of others, turning the bitterness which he endured, into sweetness for their refreshment. The Temple College was founded, as was stated in its first catalogue, for the purpose " of opening to the THE MAN AND THE WORK 229 burdened and circumscribed manual laborer, tlie doors through which he may, if he will, reach the fields of profitable and influential professional life, " Of enabling the working man, whose labor has been largely with his muscles, to double his skill through the helpful suggestions of a cultivated mind. " Of providing such instruction as shall be best adapted to the higher education of those who are com- pelled to labor at their trades while engaged in study, or who desire while studying to remain under the in- fluence of their home or church. " Of awakening in the character of young laboring men and women a strong and determined ambition to be useful to their fellow-men. " Of cultivating such a taste for the higher and most useful branches of learning as shall compel the students, after they have left the college, to continue to pursue the best and most practical branches of learning to the very highest walks of mental and scientific achieve- ment." A broad, humanitarian purpose.it is, one that grew out of tlie heart of a man who loved humanity, who believed in the practical application of the teachings of Christ, who knew a cause would succeed if it filled a need. Dr. Conwell's own experience, his observations of life had told him that this great need existed, but it was brought home to him practically in 1884, when these two young men of whom he speaks in the letter quoted came to him and said they wanted to study for the ministry but had no money. His mind leaped the years to those boyhood days when he longed for an edu- cation but had no money. He fixed an evening and 230 LIFE OF RUSSELL H. CONWELL told tliem he would teach them himself. Wlien the night came, the two had become seven. The third even- ing, the seven had grown to forty. It was in the days when pastor and people were working hard for their new church and his hands were full. Bnt he did not shirk this new task that came to him. Forty people eager to study, anxious to broaden their mental vision, to make their lives more useful, could not be disap- pointed, most assuredly not by a man who had known this hunger of the mind. Teachers were secured who gave their services free, the lower parts of the church where they were then worshipping at Berks and Mervine streets were used as class rooms and the work went for- ward with vigor. The first catalogue was issued in 1887, and the insti- tution chartered in 1888, at which time there were five hundred and ninety students. The College overflowed the basement of the church into two adjoining houses. When The Temple was completed the College occupied the whole building. Wlien that was filled it moved into two large houses on Park Avenue. Still growing, it rented two large halls. The news that The Temple College had enlarged quarters in these halls brought such a flood of students that almost from the start applicants were turned away. ISTothing was to be done but to build. It was a serious problem. The church itself had but just been com- pleted and a heavy debt of $250,000 hung over it. To add the cost of a college to this burden of debt required faith of the highest order, work of the hardest. But God had shown them their work and they could not shirk it. " For seven years I have felt a firm conviction that THE MAN AND THE WORK 231 the great work, the special duty of our church, is to establish the College," said Dr. Conwell, in speaking of the matter to his congregation. " We are now face to face with it. How distinctly we have been led of God to this point I Never before in the history of this nation have a people had committed to them a movement more important for the welfare of mankind than that which is now committed to your trust in connection with the permanent establishment of The Temple Col- lege. We step now over the brink. Our feet are already in the water, and God says, ' Go on, it shall be dryshod for you yet ' ; and I say that the success of this institution means otliers like it in every town of five thousand inhabitants in the United States." " One thing we have demonstrated — those who work for a living have time to study. Some splendid speci- mens of scholarship have been developed in our work. And there are others, splendid geniuses, 'yet undiscov- ered, biTt The Temple College will bring them to the light, and the world will be the richer for it. By the use of spare hours — hours usually nmning to waste — great things can be done. The commendation of these successful students will do more for the college than any number of rich friends can do. It will make friends ; it will bring money ; it will win honor ; it will secure success." An investment fund was created and once more the people made their oiferings. The same self-sacrificing spirit was evident as in the building of the church. One boy brought to the pastor fifty cents, the first money he had ever earned; a woman sent to the treasury a gold ring, the only gift she could make, which bore interest in the suggestion that all who chose might offer 232 LIFE OF RUSSELL H. CONWELL similar gifts as did the women in the day of IMoses. A business man hearing of this said, " If a day is ap- pointed, I will on that day give to the College all the gold and silver that comes into my store for purchases." Every organization of Grace Church contributed time, work, money, and prayer to the building of the College. Small wonder then that obligations were met and pay- ments made promptly. One of the most successful methods by which money was raised for the College was the " Penny Talent " effort in 1893. Burdette, in his " Temple and Tem- plars " has made a most painstaking record of the various ways in which the talent was used. He says : " Each worker was given a penny, no more. Eour thousand were given out at one service. One man put his penny in a neat box, took it to his office, and ex- hibited his ^ talent ' at a nickel a ' peep.' He gained $1.Y0 the first day of his ' show.' A woman bought a * job lot ' of molasses with her penny, made it into molasses candy, sold it in square inch cakes, after telling the customer her story; payments were generous and she netted $1.80. Then the man who sold her the molasses returned her penny. Another sister estab- lished a * cooky ' business, which grew rapidly. One boy kept his penny and went to work, earned 50 cents, the first money he ever earned in his life. It was a big penny, but he was bubbling over with enthusiasm and in it all went; he brought it straight to his pastor. One worker collected autographs and sold them. A boy sold toothpicks. One young man made silver button- hooks and a young lady sold them. A woman traded her penny up to a dollar, made aprons from that time on until she earned $10. One class of seven girls in THE MAN AND THE WORK 233 the Sunday-school imited its capital and gave a snp- per at the Park and netted $50. The Young Men's Bible Class constructed a model of the College building, which they exhibited. The children gave a supper in the Lower Temple, which added $100 to the College fund. There came into the treasury $1.00 ' saved on car-fares ' ; ^ whitewashing a cellar ' brought $3. Thrice, somebody walked from Germantown to The Temple and back, saving 75 cents ; a wife saved $20 from house- hold allowances. A little girl of seven years went into a lively brokerage business with her penny, and took several ' flyers ' that netted her handsome margins. Here is her report — " ' Sold the " talent penny " to Aunt Libby for seven cents ; sold the seven cents to Mamma for 25 cents ; sold the 25 cx3nts to Papa for 50 cents. Aunt Caddie, 10 cents; Uncle Gilman, 5 cents; Cousin Walter, 4 cents ; cash, 25 cents, — $1.04 and the penny talent returned.' " ' Pinching the market-basket ' sent in $2.50 ; ' all the pennies and nickels received in four months, $12.70 ' ; ' walking instead of riding, $6.50 ' ; ' singing and making plaster plaques, $7.' A dentist bought of a fellow dentist one cent's worth of cement filling- material ; this he used, giving his labor, and earned 50 cents; with this he bought 50 cents' worth of better filling, part of which he used, again giving his labor, and the College gained $3.00. A boy sold his penny to a physician for a dollar. The physician sold the ' talent penny ' for 10 cents, which he exchanged at the Mint for bright new pennies. These he took to business friends and got a dollar apiece for them ; added $5.00 of his own and turned in $15.00. Dona- 234 LIFE OF RUSSELL H. CONWELL tions of one cent each were received through Mr. Wil- liam P. Harding, from Governor Tillman of South Carolina, Governor McKinley of Ohio, Governor Rus- sell of Massachusetts. Prom Governor Fuller of Ver- mont — a rare old copper cent, 1782, coined by Vermont before she was admitted to the Union ; the governors' letters were sold to the highest bidders. Everybody who worked, everybody who traded with the penny, did something, and every penny was blessed, so lovingly and so zealously was the trading done. It was the Master's talent which they were working with. All the little things that went into the treasury ; lead pencils, tacks, $3.00 in one case and $5.00 in another; 'beef's liver, $14.00 '—think of that! How tired the boarders must have grown of liver away out on Broad Street — stick pins, hairpins, and the common kind that you bend and lose ; candy, pretzels, and cook- ies ; ' old tin cans,' wooden spoons, pies ; one man sent $50.00 as a gift because he said ' his penny had brought him luck ' ; another found 16 pennies, which good for- tune he ascribed to the penny in his pocket. " So in October the workers who had received their pennies in April came together to show what they had done. Four thousand pennies had been given out; $6,000 came directly from the returns, and indirectly about $8,000 more. " The ' Feast of Tithes,' held in December of the same year, was a great fair, extending through seven week days. The displays of goods and the refreshment booths were in the Lower Temple, while fine concerts and other entertainments were given in the auditorium. The Feast of Tithes netted ^5,500 for the College fund." THE MAN AND THE WORK 235 Thus the work progressed. Xo one could give large amounts, but many gave a little, and stone by stone the building grew. In August, 1893, the comer stone of the College building was laid. Taking up the silver trowel which had been used in laying the corner stone of The Temple, in 1880, Dr. Conwell said: " Friends, to-day we do something more than simply lay the corner stone of a college building. We do an act here very simply that shows to the world, and will go on testifying after we have gone to our long rest, that the church of Jesus Christ is not only an in- stitution of theory, but an institution of practice. It will stand here upon this great and broad street and say through the coming years to all passersby, ' Chris- tianity means something for the good of humanity; Christianity means not only a belief in things that are good and pure and righteous, but it also means an activity that shall bless those who need the assistance of others.' It shall say to the rich man, ' Give thou of thy surplus to those who have not.' It shall say to the poor man, ^ Make thou the most of thy oppor- tunities and thou shalt be the equal of the rich.' " ISTow, in the name of the people who have given for this enterprise, in the name of the many Christians who have prayed, and who are now sending up their prayers to heaven, I lay this corner stone." The work went on. In May, 1894, a great congrega- tion thronged The Temple to attend the dedication services of " Temple College," for it was in its new home ; a handsome building, presenting with The Tem- ple a beautiful stone front of two hundred feet on the broad avenue which it faces. Eobert E. Pattison, governor of Pennsylvania, presided, saying, in his in- 236 LIFE OF RUSSELL H. CONWELL troductory remarks, " Around this noble city many institutions have arisen in the cause of education, but I doubt whether any of them will possess a greater influence for good than Temple College." Bishop Foss, of the Methodist Episcopal Church, offered prayer. The orator was Honorable Charles Emory Smith, of Philadelphia, ex-minister to Russia. Mr. James Johnson, the builder, gave the keys to the archi- tect, Mr. Thomas P. Lonsdale, who delivered them to the pastor of Grace Church and president of Temple College, remarking that " it was well these keys should be in the hands of those who already held the keys to the inner temple of knowledge." President Conwell, receiving the keys, said that, " by united effort, penny by penny, and dollar by dollar, every note had been paid, every financial obligation promptly met. It is a demonstration of what people can do when thoroughly in earnest in a -great enter- prise." Academies were also started in distant parts of the city for the benefit of those who could not reach the college in time for classes. Unfortunately these acade- mies were compelled to close on account of lack of funds. Many pitiful letters were received at the col- lege from those who were thus shut out of educational advantages. One in particular, poorly spelled but breathing its bitter disappointment, said that the writer (a woman) was just beginning to hope she would get her head above water some day. But that now she must sink again. A little light had begun to glimmer for her through the blackness, but that light had been taken away. She was going down again into the depth of hopeless ignorance with no one to lend a helping THE MAN AND THE WORK 237 hand — the tragedy of which Carljle wrote when he penned " That there should be one man die ignorant who is capable of knowledge, this I call a tragedy." The College at first was entirely free, but as the at- tendance increased, it was found necessary to charge a nominal tuition fee in order to keep out those who had no serious desire to study, but came irregularly " just for the fun of the thing." When it was decided to charge five dollars a year for the privilege of attending the evening classes, the announcement was received with the unanimous approbation of the students who hon- estly wished to study, and who more than any others were hindered by the aimless element. ISTot only did the poor and those who were employed during the day come, but before long the sons and daughters of the well-to-do were knocking at the doors, not for admission to the evening classes but for day study. So the day department was opened. Not only has it proved most successful in its work, but it has helped the College to meet expenses. The curriculum of the College is broad. A child just able to walk can enter the kindergarten class in the day department and receive his entire schooling under the one roof, graduating with a college degree, taking a special university course, or fitting himself for business. Four university courses are given — theology, law, medicine, pharmacy. The Medical and Theological Departments take students to their gi'aduation and upon presentation of their diploma before the State Board they are admitted to the State Examination. The Theological Course, of course, graduates a man the same as any other theological seminary. 238 LIFE OF RUSSELL H. CONWELL Post-graduate courses are also given. The college courses include — arts, science, elocution and oratory, business, music, civil engineering, physical education. The graduates of the college course are admitted to the post-graduate courses of Pennsylvania, Yale, Princeton and Harvard on their diplomas. Stu- dents pass from any year's work of the college course to the corresponding course of other Institutions. The preparatory courses are college preparatory, med- ical preparatory, scientific preparatory, law prepara- tory, an English course and a business preparatory course. Thus, if one is not ready to enter one of the higher courses, he can prepare here by night study for them. The Business Course includes a commercial course, shorthand course, secretarial course, conveyancing course, telegraphy course, advertisement writing and proofreading. There are nonnal courses for kindergarteners and ele- mentary teachers, and in household science, physical training, music, millinery, dressmaking, elocution and oratory. Special courses are given in civil engineering, chem- istry, elocution and oratory, painting and drawing, sign writing, mechanical and architectural drawing, music, physical training, dressmaking, millineiy, cooking, em- broidery, and nursing, the last being given at the Samaritan Hospital. All of these courses, excepting the l^ormal Kinder- garten, can be studied day or evening, as best suits the student. The kindergarten and model schools cover the work of the public schools from the kindergarten to the THE MAN AND THE WORK 239 highest grammar grades, fitting the student to enter the first year of the preparatory department. These classes are held in the daytime only. The power to confer degrees was granted in 1891. The teaching force has been greatly enlarged nntil at present there are one hundred and thirty-five teachers and an average of more than three thousand regular students yearly. The number of students instructed at Temple College in proportion to money expended and buildings used is altogether out of proportion to any other college in America. Some idea of the breadth of study presented at Temple College may be had from a comparison with Harvard* Harvard has more than five thousand stu- dents, four hundred instructors, and presents five hun- dred courses of study. Its growth since 1860 has been wonderful. In 1860, while one man might not have been able in four years to master all the subjects offered, he could have done so in six. It was estimated in 1899 that the courses of study offered were so varied that sixty years would have been required. It would take one student ninety-six years to take all the courses pre- sented by the Temple College. From the time of the opening of Temple College lip to the closing exercises of 1905, its students have num- bered 55,656. If an answer is desired to the question, " Is such an institution needed," that number answers is most emphatically. That more than fifty thousand people, the majority of them working men and women, will give their nights after a day of toil, to study, proves that the institution that gives them the opportunity to study is sorely needed. The life story of men and women who have studied 240 LIFE OF RUSSELL H. CONWELL liere and gone on to lives of usefulness would make interesting reading. One young girl "who lived in the mill district of Kensington was earning $2.50 a week, folding circulars, addressing envelopes and doing such work. Her parents were poor. She had the most meagre education, and the outlook for her to earn more was dark. Some one advised her to go to Temple Col- lege at night and study bookkeeping. A few years after, her well-wisher saw her one evening at the college, bright, happy, a different girl in both dress and deport- ment. She had a position as bookkeeper at $10 a week and was going on now and taking other courses. That is the ordinary story of the work Temple College does, multiplied in thousands of lives. Others are not so ordinary. One of the early students was a poor man earning $6.00 a week. To-day he is earning $6,000 a year in a goverament position at Washington, his rise in life due entirely to tlie opportunities of study offered him at Temple College. A lady who had been brought up in refined and cultured society was compelled to support herself, her husband and child through his com- plete physical breakdown. She took the normal course in dressmaking and millinery, and has this year been appointed the Director of the Domestic Science work in a large institution at a veiy good salary, being able to keep herself and family in comfort. One of the present college students was a weaver without any education at all, getting not only his elementaiy education and his preparatory education here, but will next year graduate from the college department. He has been entirely self-supporting in the meantime, and will make a fine teacher of mathematics. He -has been teachins; extra THE MAN AND THE WORK 241 classes in the evening department of the College for several years. One of the students who entered the classes in 1886 was a poor boy of thirteen. For nineteen long years he has studied persistently at night, passing from one grade to another until this summer (1905) his long schooling was crowned with success and he was admitted to the bar. All these weary years he has worked hard dur- ing the day, for there were others depending upon him, and at night despite his physical weariness, has faith- fully pursued his studies. He deserves his success and the greater success that will come to him, for such a man in those long years has stored away experiences that will make him a power. Another student in the early days of the college was a poor boy who had no education whatever, having been compelled to help earn the family living as soon as he was able, his father being a drunkard. For fifteen 3'ears he studied, passing from one grade to another until in 1899, he had the great joy of being ordained to the ministry, six of his ministerial brethren gath- ering around him in the great Temple and laying on his head the hands of ordination, feeling they were setting apart to the struggles and hardships of the Gos- pel ministiy one who had shown himself worthy of his exalted calling. One of the official stenogi'aphers connected with the Panama Canal Commission was a breaker boy who came to Philadelphia from the mining district poor and ignor- ant, and studied in Temple College at night, working during the day to earn his living. Such records would fill a book. They prove better even than numbers the worth of such an institution. 242 LIFE OF RUSSELL H. CONWELL If only one such man or woman is lifted to a happier, more useful life, the work is worth while. Such an institution can do much for the purification of politics. Before the students are ever held high ideals of right living, of honesty, of purity. All the associations of the College are conducive to clean char- acter and high ideals. As the largest number of the students are men and women from active business life, they are keenly alive to the questions of the day. They know the responsibility for honest government rests with each voter, that to have clean politics every man and woman must individually do his share to uphold high standards in political and social life, that only men whose characters are above reproach should be elected to office. That the President of their col- lege shares these views and Icnows also what a power lies in their hands, is shown by the following letter: " Fraternal Greetings : The near approach of an important election leads me to suggest to you the fol- lowing : " First. There being now in this city over seven thousand voters who have been students in the Temple College, you have by your votes and your influence, either by combination or as individuals, a considerable political power. You should use it for the good of your city, state, and nation. " Second. In city affairs I urge you to think first of the poor. The rich do not need yovir care. Vote only for such city candidates as will most speedily secure for the more needy classes pure water, clean streets, cheaper homes, cheaper and more useful education, healthier environment, cheap and quick transportation, the de- velopment of the labor-giving improvements, and the THE MAN AND THE WORK 243 increase of sea-ffoing; and inland commerce. Select large-hearted, cool-headed men for city officers, regard- less of national parties. " Third. Let no man or party purchase your patriotic birthright for a fifty-cent tax bill or any other sum. " Fourth. In selecting your candidates for state offices remember the needs of the people. Favor the granting to the submerged poor a more favorable oppor- tunity to help themselves. Move in the most reason- able and direct way toward the ultimate abolition of the sale of intoxicating liquors as a beverage, and for the increase of hospital and college privileges for the afflicted and the ignorant. " Fifth. In national politics, remember that both parties have a measure of truth in their principles, and the need of the time is noble, conscientious lovers of humanity, who will not be led by party enthusiasm into any wild schemes in either direction which would result in the destruction of business and the degradation of national honor. Think independently, vote consider- ately, stand unflinchingly against any measure that is wrong, and vigorously in favor of every movement that is right. This is an opportunity to do a great, good deed. Quit you like men. With endearing affection, " RUSSELI. H. CONWELT.." Even now the press of students is so great the trus- tees are planning larger things. The " Philadelphia Press," speaking of the new work to be undertaken, said : " A city university, with a capacity of seven thousand students, more than are attending any other one scat of learning in the United States, is to be built in 244 LIFE OF RUSSELL H. CONWELL Philadelphia. It will be the university of the Temple College and will stand on the site of the old Broad Street Baptist Church at the southeast corner of Broad and Brown Streets, and the lot adjoining the church property on the south side on Broad Street. " The new structure will cost $225,000, while the ground on which it will be built is worth $165,000, making the total value of the new institution $390,000. " Bev. Eusscll H. Conwell, D, D., pastor of the Grace Baptist Church, at Broad and Berks Streets, and Presi- dent of Temple College, said yesterday that the new university will he completed and ready for occupancy by September, 1906. In the twenty years of its exist- ence Temple College has grown as have few educational institutions in America, until now it has more than three thousand students enrolled yearly. " With the erection of the university building the institution will have facilities for educating four thou- sand more students, or a total of seven thousand. " Some idea of how the other great universities of the country compare with regard to the number of students attending them with this new university of Philadelphia is shown by the following table : Name. Number of Students. Temple University 7,000 Harvard 5,393 Yale 2,995 Pennsylvania 2,692 Princeton 1,373 '' The Temple University building will be eight stories high, at least that is the plan the trustees have in mind at present, but the structure will be so built THE MAN AND THE WORK 245 that a height of two stories may be added at any time. It will have a frontage of 129 feet on Broad Street and 140 feet on Brown Street The corner property was deeded as a gift to Temple College by the Broad and Brown Streets Church and the College then purchased the adjoining property on Broad Street. In appre- ciation of the gift the College has offered the use of the university chapel, which will be built in the build- ing, to the Broad and Brown Streets Church congre- gation for a place of worship. " The university will be built of stone, and while not an elaborate structure, it will be substantial and suitable in every respect and imposing in its very sim- plicity. " In addition to the university offices there will be a large gymnasium, a free dispensary, departments of medicine, theology, law, engineering, sciences, and, in fact, all the branches of learning that are taught in any of the great universities. There will be a library and lecture room for every department, pathological and chemical laboratories and a sufficient number of class- rooms to preclude crowding of students for the next ten or fifteen years. " There are now one hundred and thirty-five instruc- tors in Temple College, but when the university is opened this number will be increased to three hundred. " The present college building, which adjoins the Baptist Temple, will continue to be used, but only for the normal classes and lower grade of work. The building will be remodeled. The dwelling adjoining the college which has been occupied as the theological department will be vacated when the university is com- pleted. 246 LIFE OF RUSSELL H. CONWELL " Dr. Conwell, the father of Temple College and who in years to come vv'ill be spoken of as the father of Tem- ple University, said yesterday: " ' It will be a university for busy people, the same as the college has been a college for busy people. Our institution reaches and benefits a class — in some re- spects the greatest class — of persons who want to study and enlarge their education, but cannot attend the other universities and colleges for financial reasons and because of their business. " ' There's many a man and woman, young and mid- dle-aged, who is not satisfied with himself — he wants to go on farther, he wants to learn more. But his daily work won't allow him to complete his education because of the inconvenient hours of the classes and lectures in other colleges. And he comes to Temple, as there classes are held practically all day and for several hours at night. The terms of the course at Temple ' College are reasonable, and thus many young men or women may prepare themselves for higher and more remunerative work, whereas they would not feel that they could afford to pay the tuition fee at some other institution. The Temple University will be similar to the London Uni- versity, a city university for busy persons.' " Thus Temple College grows because it is needed. And such an institution is needed in other cities as well as in Philadelphia. This is but the pioneer. It can. have sister institutions wherever people want to study and Christian hearts want to help. It grows also because in the heart of one man, its founder, is the bitter knowledge of how sorely such an institution is needed by those who want to study, and THE MAN AND THE WORK 247 ■who himself works hand, heart and soul so that it shall never fail those who need it. Says James IVI. Beck, the noted lawyer: " There have been very wealthy men who, ont of the abundance of their resources, have founded colle2:es, but I can hardly recall a case where a man, without abun- dant means, by mere force of character and intellectual energy, has both created and maintained an institution of this size and character." Far back in the dim light of the centuries, Con- fucius wrote, " Give instruction unto those who cannot obtain it for themselves," This is the great and useful work the Temple College is doing and doing it nobly, a work that will count for untold good on future gen- erations. CHAPTER XXIX THE SAMARITAN HOSPITAL Beginning: in Two Rooms. Growth. Number of Beds. Manage- ment. Temple Services Heard by Telephone. Faith and Na- tionality of Those Cared For. HIS pastoral work among his church members and others of the neighborhood brought to Dr. Con- well's mind constantly the needs of the sick poor. Scarcely a week passed that some one did not come to him for help for a loved one suffering from disease, but without means to secure proper medical aid. Sick and poor — ■ that is a condition which sums up the height of human physical suffering — the body racked with pain, burning with fever, yet day and night battling on in misery, without medical aid, with- out nursing, without any of the comforts that relieve pain. ISTor is the sick one the only sufferer. Those who love him endure the keenest mental anguish as they stand by helpless, unable to raise a finger for his relief because they are poor. Through the deep waters of both these experiences Dr. Conwell had himself passed. He knew the anguish of heart of seeing loved ones suffer, of being unable to secure for them the nourishing food, tlie care needed to make them well. He knew the wretchedness of being sick and poor and of not know- ing which way to turn for, help, while quivering flesh and nerves called in torture for relief. His heart 243 THE MAN AND THE WORK 249 went out in burning sympathy to all such cases that cam© to his knowledge, and generously he helped. But they were far too many for one man, big-hearted and open-handed as he might be. More and more the need of a hospital in that part of the city was impressed upon him. Accidents among his membership were numerous, yet the nearest hospital was blocks and blocks away, a distance which meant precious minutes when with every moment life was ebbing. He laid the matter before his church people. Down through the centuries came ringing in their ears that command, " Heal the sick." They knew it was Christ's work — " Unto Him were brought all sick people that were taken with divers diseases and he healed them." So they decided to rent two rooms where the sick could be cared for, and later built a hospital for the poor, where without money and without price, the best medical aid, the tenderest nursing were at the command of those in need. " The Hospital was founded," says Di*. Conwell, " and this property purchased in the 'hope that it would do Christ's work. ISTot simply to heal for the sake of professional experience, not simply to cure disease and repair broken bones, but to so do those charitable acts as to enforce the truth Jesus taught, that God * would not that any should perish, but that all should come unto Him and live.' Soul and body, both need the healing balm of Christianity. The Hospital mod- estly and touchingly furnishes it to all classes, creeds, and ages whose sufferings cause them to cry out, ' Have mercy on me f ' " So far as buildings were concerned, it began in a small way, though its spirit of kindness and Christian 250 LIFE OF RUSSELL H. CONWELL charity was large. After one year in rented rooms, a house was purchased on JSTorth Broad Street, near On- tario Street, and fitted up as a hospital with wards, ^ operating room and dispensary. It was situated just where a network of railroads focuses and near a number of large factories and machine shops, where accidents were occurring constantly. Almost immediately its wards were filled. The name " Samaritan Hospital " was given as typical of its work and spirit, its projectors and supporters laying down their money and agreeing to pay whatever might he needed, as well as giving of their personal care and attention to the sufferer. But though Dr. Conwell's heart is big, his head is practical. He does not believe in indiscriminate charity. " Charity is composed of sympathy and self-sacrifice. There is no charity without a union of these two," he said, in an address years ago at Music Hall, Boston. *' To make a gift become a charity the recipient must feel that it is given out of sympathy ; that the donor has made a sacrifice to give it; that it is intended only as assistance and not as a permanent support, unless the needy one be helpless; and that it is not given as his right. To accomplish this end desired by charitable hearts demands an acquaintance with the persons to be assisted or a study of them, and a great degree of caution and patience. It is not only unnecessary, but a positive wrong to give to itinerant beggars. There is no such thing as charity about a so-called state charity. It is statesmanship to rid the community of nuisances, to feed the poor and prevent stealing and robbery, but it should not be called * a charity.' The paupers take their provision as their right*, feel no gratitude, acquire no ambition^ no industry, no culture. The state alms- THE MAN AND THE WORK 251 house educates the brain and chills the heart. It fas- tens a stigma on the child to hinder and curse it for life. Any institution supported otherwise than by voluntary contribution, or in the hands of paid public officials, can never have the spirit of charity nor be correctly called a charity. Boston's public charitable institu- tions, so called, are not charities at all; the motive is not sympathy, but necessity. The money for the sup- port of paupers is not paid with benevolent intentions by the tax-payers, nor do the inmates of almshouses so receive it. I have been engaged in gathering statis- tics, and have found sixty-three per cent of all persons who applied for assistance at the various institutions were impostors, while many were swindlers and profes- sional burglars." The sick poor are never turned away from Samaritan Hospital, but those who are able to pay are requested to do so. Dr. Conwell believes it would be a wrong to treat such people free, an injustice to physicians, as well as an encouragement of a wrong spirit in them- selves. The hospital has a number of private rooms in which patients are received for pay. Many have been furnished by members of Grace Baptist Church in memory of some loved one " gone before," or by Sunday School classes or church organizations. It may have been the fact that it started in an ordi- nary house that gave the Hospital its cheery, homelike atmosphere. It may have been the spirit of the work- ' ers. But its homelike air is noticeable. "While rules are strictly enforced, as they must be, there is a feeling of personal interest in each patient that makes the sick feel that she is something more than a " case " or a " number." 252 LIFE OF RUSSELL H. CONWELL " The lovely Christ spirit," says Dr. Conwell, " which inclines men and women to care for their "unfortunate fellow-men, is especially beautiful when in addition to the healings of wounds and disease, the afflicted suf- ferers are welcomed to such a home as the Samaritan Hospital has become. All such kind deeds become doubly sweet when done in the name of Christ, because they cany with them sympathy for those in pain, love for the loveless, a home for the homeless, friendship for the friendless, and a divine solace, which are often more than surgical skill or medical science. Such an institution the Samaritan Hospital is ever to be. It began in weakness and inexperience, but with Christian devotion and affection, its founders and supporters have conquered innumerable difficulties, and can now say unreservedly that they have a hospital with all the con- veniences and all the influences of a Christian home." The hospital was opened February 1, 1692. It did not take long to prove the need of the work. Before the year was out it was so crowded that an addition had to be built, and now magnificent buildings stand adjoining the original " house " as a monument to the untiring work and zeal of Grace Church members and their friends. It is now an independent corporation. The hospital is fitted with all modem appliances for caring for the sick. It has a hundred and seventy beds, and a large and competent staff of physicians numbering many of the best in the city. There is also a training school for nurses, the original hospital build- ing being now fitted up and furnished as a nurses' home. More than five thousand different cases are ministered to during the year in the beds and dispensary. The annual expense of running the hospital is more than THE MAN AND THE WORK 253 forty thousand dollars, the value of the property more than three hundred thousand dollars. In addition to the customary weekly visiting days, visitors are allowed on one evening during the week and on Sunday afternoons. These rather unusual visiting hours are an innovation of Dr. Conwell's for the benefit of busy workers who cannot visit their sick friends or relatives on week days. A novel feature of the hospital and one which brings great pleasure to the patients, is the telephone service connecting it with The Temple, whereby those who are able, can hear the preaching of the pastor Sunday morn- ing and evening at the big church farther down Broad Street. One of the most efficient aids in the hospital's growth has been the Board of Lady Managers. When the hospital was opened in 1892, a committee of six ladies was appointed by Mr. Conwell to take charge of the housekeeping affairs, and from this committee has grown this Board which has done so much to aid the hospital, both by raising money and looking after its household affairs. This committee had entire charge of the house de- partment, visiting it weekly, inspecting the house, and making suggestions to the trustees for improving the work in that department. The Board is divided into Finance, Visiting, Flower, Linen, Ward Supplies, House Supplies and Sewing Committee. The chairman of these commit- tees, together with the five officers, constitute the Execu- tive Committee, and meet with the trustees at their regular monthly meetings. In addition to paying the housekeeping bills, the 254 LIFE OF RUSSELL H. CONWELL board has come many times to tlie assistance of the trustees, and by giving entertainments, holding sales, teas, receptions, has raised large sums of money for special purposes. In connection with this Board is the Samaritan Aid Society which annually contributes about three hundred new articles of clothing and bed- ding. The Board of Trustees is composed of able, experi- enced business men who apply their knowledge of busi- ness affairs to the conduct of the hospital. It means a sacrifice of much time on their part, but it is cheer- fully given. The hospital is non-sectarian. Suffering and need are the only requisites for admission. During the past year among those who were cared for were: Catholic 284 Baptist 154 Methodist 141 Episcopalian 112 Lutheran 07 Presbyterian 9G Hebrew 89 Protestant 54 Reformed 25 Friends 12 Confucianism 5 Congregational 4 United Brethren 3 Evangelist - 3 Christian 2 Not recorded 60 1141 The nativity of the patients showed that nearly all countries were represented — Eussia, Poland, Italy, i THE MAN AND THE WORK 255 Canada, Sweden, l^orway, Scotland, England, Germany, Ireland, China, Hungary, Australia, Switzerland, Jeru- salem, Roumania and Armenia. ISTever was the worth of its work better shown than in the terrible Ball Park accident, which happened in Philadelphia in 1904, when by the collapsing of the grandstand hundreds were killed and injured. Without a moment's notice, more than a hundred patients were rushed to the hospital and cared for. When the wards were filled, cots were placed in the halls, in the offices, wherever there was room, and the injured tenderly treated. Thus from small beginnings and a great need it has steadily grown, supported by contributions and upheld by the faithful work of those who labor for the love of the Master. Sacrifices of time and money have been freely made for it, for the people who have worked to support it are few of them rich. It still needs help, for " the poor ye have always with you." And while there are poor people and sick people, Samaritan Hos- pital will always need the help of the more fortunate to aid it in its great work of relieving pain. CHAPTEK XXX THE MANNER OF THE MAN Boundless Love for Men. Utter Humility. His Simplicity and Informality. Keen Sense of Humor. His Unconventional Methods of Work. Power as a Leader. His Tremendous Faith. WHAT of the personality of the man back of all this ceaseless work, these stupendous under- takings ? Much of it can be read in the work itself. But not all. One must know Dr. Conwell personally to realize that deep, abiding love of humanity which is the wellspring of his life and which shows itself in constant and innumerable acts of thoughtful- ness and kindness for the happiness of others. He cannot see a drunkard on the street without his heart going out in a desire to help him to a better life. He cannot see a child in tears, but that he must know the trouble and mend it. From boyhood, it was one of the strongest traits of his character, and when it clasped hands with a man!s love of Christ, it became the ruling passion of his life. The woes of humanity touch him deeply. He freely gives himself, his time, his money to lighten them. But he knows that to do his best, is but comparatively little. To him it is a pitiful thing that so much of the world's misery cannot be relieved because of the lack of money ; that people must starve, must suffer pain and disease, must go without the edu- cation that makes life brighter and happier, simply for 2J0 THE MAN AND THE WORK 257 the want of this one thing of so little worth compared with the great things of life it has the power to with- hold or grant. One must also be intimately associated with Dr. Con- well to realize the deep humility that rules his heart, that makes him firmly believe any man who will trust in God and go ahead in faith can accomplish all that he himself has done, and more. " You do not know what a struggle my life is," he said once to a friend. " Only God and my own heart know how far short I come of what I ought to be, and how often I mar the use He would make of me even when I would serve Him." And again, at the Golden Jubilee services, in honor of his fiftieth birthday, he said publicly what he many times says in private: " I look back on the errors of by-gone years ; my blunders ; my pride ; my self-sufficiency ; my willfulness — if God would take me up in my unworthiness and imperfection and lift me to such a place of happiness and love as this — I say. He can do it for any man. " When I see the blunders I unintentionally make in history, in mathematics, in names, in rhetoric, in exegesis, and yet see that God uses even blunders to save men — I sink back into the humblest place before Him and say, ' If God can use such preaching as that, blunders and mistakes like these ; if He can take them and use them for His glory, He can use anybody and anything.' I let out the secret of my life when I tell you this : If I have succeeded at all, it has been with the conscious sense that as God has used even me, so can He use others. God saved me and He can save them. 17 258 LIFE OF RUSSELL H. CONWELL My very faults show me, they teach me, that any person can be helped and saved." Speaking of his sermons, which are taken down by a stenographer and typewritten for publication in the " Temple Review," he said, with the utmost dejection, " Positively they make me sick. To think that I should stand up and undertake to preach when I can do no better than that." He has ever that sense of defeat from which all great minds suffer whose high ideals ever elude them. In manner and speech, he is simple and unaffected, and approachable at all times. When not away from the city lecturing, he spends a certain part of the day in his study at the church, where any one can see him on any matter which he may wish to bring to his atten- tion. The ante-room is thronged at the hour when it is known that he will be there. People waylay him in the church corridors, and on the streets, so well known is his kindly heart, his attentive ear, his gen- erous hand. ^ot only do these visitors invade the church, but they come to his home. Early in the morning they are there. They await him when he returns late at night. As an instance of their number, one Saturday afternoon late in June he had one hour free which he hoped to take for rest and the preparation of the next morning's sermon. During that one hour he had six callers, each staying until the next arrived. One of these was a young man whom Dr. Conwell had never seen, a boy no more than seventeen or eighteen. He had a few weeks before made a runaway marriage with a girl still younger than himself. "Her parents had indig- nantly taken the bride home, and the young husband THE MAN AND THE WORK 259 came to Dr. Conwell to ask him to seek out these parents and persuade them to let the child -wife return to her husband. He has a knack of putting everybody at ease in his presence, which perhaps accounts for the freedom with which people, even utter strangers, come to him and pour into his ear their life secrets. This earnest desire to help people, to make them happier and better, shines from his life with such force that one feels it imme- diately on entering his presence and opens one's heart to him. He helps, advises, and, because he is so pre- eminently a man of faith and believes so firmly that all he has done has been accomplished by faith and perse- verance, he inspires others with like confidence in them- selves. They go away encouraged, hopeful, strengthened for the work that lies ahead of them, or for the trouble they must surmount. It is little wonder the people throng to him for help. His simple, informal view of life is shown in other things. During a summer vacation in the Berkshires he was scheduled to lecture in one of the home towns. His old friends and neighbors dearly love to hear him, and nearly always secure a lecture from him while he is supposed to be resting. Entirely forgetting the lec- ture, he planned a fishing trip that day. Just as the fishing party was ready to start, some one remembered the lecture. There would not be time to go fishing, return, dress and go to the lecture town. But Dr. Conwell is a great fisherman, and he disliked most thoroughly to give up that fishing trip. He thought about it a few minutes, and then in his informal, un- conventional fashion, decided he would both fish and lecture. He packed his lecturing apparel in a suit 260 LIFE OF RUSSELL H. CONWELL case, tied a tub for tlie accommodation of the fish on the back of the wagon and started. All day he fished, happy and contented. When lecturing time drew near, rattling and splashing, with a tubful of fish, round- eyed and astonished at the violent upheavals of their usual calm abiding place, he drove up to the lecture hall, changed his clothes, and at the appointed time appeared on the platform and delivered one of the best lectures that section ever heard. Some people call his methods sensational. They are not sensational in the sense of merely making a noise for the purpose of attracting attention. They are un- conventional. Dr. Conwell pays no attention to forais if the life has gone out of them, to traditions, if their spirit is dead, their days of usefulness past. He lives in the present. He sees present needs and adopts meth- ods to fit them. 1^0 doubt, many said it was sensational to tear down that old church at Lexington himself. B"ut there was no money and the church must come down. The only way to get it down and a new one built, was to go to work. And he went to work in straightforward, practical fashion. It takes courage and strength of mind thus to tear down conventions and forms. But he does not hesitate if he sees they are blocking the road of progress. This disregard of cus- toms, this practical common-sense way of attacking evil or supplying needs is seen in all his church work. And because it is original and unusual, it brings upon him often, a storm of adverse criticism. But he never halts for that. He is willing to suffer misrepresenta- tion, even calumny, if the cause for which he is work- ing, progresses. He cares nothing for himself. He THE MAN AND THE WORK 261 thinks only of the Master and the work He has com- mitted to his hands. Though the great masses in their ignorance and pov- erty appeal to him powerfully and incite him to tre- mendous undertakings for their relief, he does not, because his hands are so full of great things, turn aside from opportunities to help the individual. Indeed, it is this readiness to answer a personal call for help that has endeared him so to thousands and thousands. No matter what may be the labor or inconvenience to him- self, he responds instantly when the appeal comes. Two men, now members of the church, often tell the incident that led to their conversion. One evening they fell to discussing Dr. Conwell with some young friends who were members of the church. The young men stoutly maintained that " Conwell was like all the rest — in it for the almighty dollar." The church members as stoutly asserted that he was actuated by motives far above such sordid consideration. But the men would not yield their point and the subject was dropped. A few evenings later, coming out of a saloon at midnight into a blinding snowstorm, they lieard a man say, " My dear child, why did you not tell me before that you were in need. You know I would not let you suffer." " That's Conwell," said one of the young fellows. " ISTothing of the kind," replied the other. " What's the matter with you ? Catch him out a night like this." " But I tell you that was Conwell's voice," said the first man. " I know it. Let's follow him and see what he's doing." Through the thickly falling snow, they could see the tall figure of Dr. CouAvell with a large basket on one 2C2 LIFE OF RUSSELL H. CONWELL arm and leading a little child by the hand. Keeping a sufficient distance behind, they followed him to a poor home in a little street, saw him enter, saw the light flash up and knew that he was living out in deed the doctrine he preached. Silent, they turned away. What his spoken word in The Temple could not do his ministry at midnight had accomplished, and they became loyal and devoted members of the church. In conversation with a street car conductor at one time, he found the man eager to hear of Christ and His love, but unable to give heed on the car because he might be reported for inattention to his duties and lose his place. Dr. Conwell asked him where he took dinner, and at the noon hour was there and, plainly and simply, as the man ate his lunch, told what Christ's love in his heart and life would mean. Such stories could be multiplied many times of this personal ministry that seeks day and night, in season and out, to make mankind better, to lift it up where it may grasp eternal truth. Francis Willard says: " To move among the people on the common street ; to meet them in the market-place on equal terms; to live among them not as saint or monk, but as a brother man with brother men ; to serve God not with form or ritual, but in the free impulse of the soul; to bear the burden of society and relieve its needs; to carry on its multitudinous activities in the city, social, commercial, political, and philanthropic — this is the religion of the Son of man." This is the religion of Dr. Conwell. As a leader and organizer he is almost without an equal in church work. He sees a need. His practical mind goes to work to plan ways to meet it. He organ- THE MAN AND THE WORK 263 izes the work thoroughly and carefully; he rallies his workers about him and then leads them dauntlessly for- ward to success. He has weathered many a fierce gale of opposition, won out in many a furious storm of criti- cism. The greatm' the obstacles, the more brightly does his ability as a leader shine. He seems to call up from some secret storehouse reserves of enthusiasm. He gets everybody energetically and cheerfully at work, and the obstacles that seemed insurmountable suddenly melt away. As some one has said, " He attempts the impossible, yet finds practical ways to accomplish it." The way he met an unexpected demand for money during the building of the church illustrates this : The trustees had, as they thought, made provision for the renewal of a note of $2,000, due Dec. 27th. Late Friday, Dec. 24th, the news came that the note could not be renewed, that it must be paid Monday. They had no money, nothing could be done but appeal to the people on Sunday. But it was not a usual Sunday. The Church, just the night before, had closed a big fair for the College. Many had served at the fair tables almost until the Sabbath morning was ushered in. They were tired. All had given money, many even beyond what they could afford. It was, besides, the day after Christmas, and if ever a man's pocketbook is empty, it is then. To make the outlook still drearier, the day opened with a snowstorm that threatened at church time to turn into a drizzling rain. Here was truly the impossible, for none of the people at any time could give a large sum. Yet he faced the situation dauntlessly, aroused his people, and by evening $2,200 had been pledged 264 LIFE OF RUSSELL H. CONWELL for immediate payment, and of that $1,300 was received in cash that Sunday. In a sermon once he said : " Last summer I rode by a locality where there had been a mill, now partially destroyed by a cyclone. I looked at the great engine lying upon its side. I looked at the wheels, at the boilers so out of place, thrown carelessly together. I saw pieces of iron the uses of which I did not understand. I saw iron bands, bear- ings, braces, and shafting scattered about, and I found the great circular saw rusting, flat in the grass. I went on my way wondering why any person should abandon so many pieces of such excellent machinery, leaving good property to go to waste. But again, not many weeks ago, I went by that same place and saw a build- ing there, temporary in its nature, but with smoke pouring out of the stack and steam hissing and puffing from the exhaust pipe. I heard the sound of the great saw singing its song of industry; I saw the teamsters hauling away gi'eat loads of lumber. The only dif- ference between the apparently useless old lumber and scrap iron, piled together in promiscuous confusion, machinery thrown into a heap without the arrangement, and the new building with its powerful engine working smoothly and swiftly for the comfort and wealth of men, was that before the rebuilding, the wheels, the saw, the shafting, boilers, piston-rod, and fly wheel had no definite relation to each other. But some man picked out all these features of a complete mill and put them into proper relation ; he adjusted shaft, boiler, and cogwheel, put water in the boiler and fire under it, let steam into the cylinders, and moved piston-rod, wheels, and saw. There were no new cogs, wheels, boilers. THE MAN AND THE WORK 265 or saws ; no new piece of machinery ; there has only been an intelligent spirit found to set them in their proper places and relationship. " One great difficulty with this world, whether of the entire globe or the individual church, is that it is made up of all sorts of machinery which is not adjusted ; which is out of place ; no fire under the boiler ; no steam to move the machiner)\ There is none of the necessary relationship — there can be no affinity between cold and steam, between power wasted and utility; and to overcome this difficulty is one of the great problems of the earth to-day. The churches are very much in this condition. There are cogwheels, pulleys, belting, and engines in the church, but cut of all useful relationship. There are sincere, earnest Christians, men and women, but they are adjusted to no power and no purpose; they have no definite relationship txD utility. They go or come, or lie still and rust, and a vast power for good is unapplied. The text says ' We are ambassadors for Christ ' ; that means, in the clearest terms, the greatest object of the Christian teacher and worker should be the bringing into right relations all the forces of men, and gearing them to the power of Christ." He undoubtedly understands bringing men together, and getting them at work to secure almost marvelous results. A friend speaking of his ability once said: " I admire Mr. Conwell for the power of which he is possessed of reaching out and getting hold of men and grappling them to himself with hooks of steel. " I admire him not only for the power he has of binding men not only to himself, but of binding men to Christ, and of binding them to one another; for the power he has of generating enthusiasm. His people 26G LIFE OF RUSSELL H. CONWELL are bound not only to the church, to the pastor, to God, but to one another." He never fails to appreciate the spirit with which a church member works, even if results are not always as anticipated, or even if the project itself is not always practical. He will cheerfully put his hand down into his pocket and pay the bill for some impractical scheme, rather than dampen the ardor of an enthusiastic worker. He knows that experience will come with practice, but that a willing, zealous worker is above price. Those who know him most intimately find in him, despite his strong, practical common sense, despite his years of hard work in the world, despite the many times he has been deceived and imposed upon, a certain boyish simplicity and guilelessness of heart, a touch of the poetic, idealistic temperament that sees gold where there is only brass ; that hopes and believes, where reason for hope and belief there is none. It is a win- ning trait that endears friends to him most closely, that makes them cheerfully overlook such imprudent benefactions as may result from it, though he himself holds it with a strong rein, and only reveals that side of his nature to those who know him best. He studies constantly how he may help others, never how he may rest himself. At his old home at South Worthington, Mass., he has built and equipped an academy for the education of the boys and girls of the neighborhood. He wants no boy or girl of his home locality to have the bitter fight for an education that he was forced to experience. It is a commodious build- ing with class-rooms and a large public hall which is used for entertainments, for prayer meetings, harvest THE MAN AND THE WORK 2G7 homes and all tlie gatherings of the nearby farming community. Many other enterprises besides those directly con- nected with the church grow out of Dr. Conwell's desire to be of service to mankind. But like the organiza- tions of the church, the need for them was strongly felt before they took form. While officiating at the funeral of a fireman who had lost his life by the falling walls of a burning building and who had left three small children uncared for, Dr. Conwell was impressed with the need of a home for the orphans of men who risked their lives for the city's good. Pondering the subject, he was called that same day to the bedside of a shut-in, who, w^hile he was there, asked him if there was any way by which she could be of service to helpless children left without paternal care or support. She said the subject had been on her mind and such a work was dear to her heart. She was a gifted writer and wielded considerable in- fluence and could, by her pen, do much good for such a ■work, not only by her writings but by personal letters asking for contributions to establish and support an orphanage. The coincidence impressed the matter still more strongly on Dr. Conwell's mind. But that was not the end of it. Still that same day, a lady came to him and asked his assistance in securing for her a position as matron of an orphanage ; and a woman physician came to his study and oifered her services free, to care for orphan children in an institution for them. Such direct leading was not to be withstood. Dr. Conwell called on a former chief of police and asked his opinion as to an orphanage for the children of fire- 268 LIFE OF RUSSELL H. CONWELL man and policeman. The policeman welcomed the project heartily, said he had long been thinking of that very problem, and that if it were started by a re- sponsible person, several thousand dollars would be given by the policeman for its support. Still wonder- ing if he should take such leadings as indications of a definite need, Dr. Conwell went to his study, called in some of his church advisers and talked the matter over. ^Nothing at that meeting was definitely settled, because some work interrupted it and those present dispersed for other duties. But as they disbanded and Dr. Conwell opened his mail, a check fell out for $75 from Eev. Chas. M. Sheldon, which he said in the letter accompanying it, he desired to give toward a movement for helping needy children. Dr. Conwell no longer hesitated, and the Philadel- phia Orphans' Plome Society, of which he is president, was organized, and has done a good work' in caring for helpless little ones, giving its whole effort to secur- ing permanent homes for the children and their adoption into lonely families. Although most of the money from his lectures goes to Temple College, he uses a portion of it to support poor students elsewhere. He has paid for the educa- tion of 1,550 college students besides contributing partly to the education of hundreds of others. In fact, all the money he makes, outside of what is required for immediate needs of his family, is given away. He cares so little for money for himself, his wants are so few and simple, that he seldom pays any attention as to whether he has enough with him for personal use. He found once when starting to' lecture in ]^ew Jersey that after he had bought his ticket he hadn't a cent THE MAN AND THE WORK 269 left. Thinkinc:, however, he would be paid when the lecture wns over, he went on. But the lecture com- mittee told him they would send a check. Having no money to pay a hotel bill, he took the train back. Reaching Philadelphia after midnight he boarded a trolley and told the conductor who he was and his predicament, offering to send the man the money for his fare next day. But the conductor was not to be fooled, said he didn't know Dr. Conwell from Adam, and put him off. And Dr. Conwell walked twenty long blocks to his home, chuckling all the way at the humor of the situation. He has a keen sense of humor, as his audiences know. Though the spiritual side of his nature is so intense, his love of fun and appreciation of the humorous relieves him from being solemn or sanctimonious. He is sunny, cheerful, ever ready at a chance meeting with a smile or a joke. Children, who as a rule look upon a minister as a man enshrouded in solemn dignity, are delightfully surprised to find in him a jolly, fun-loving comrade, a fact which has much to do with the number of young people who throng Grace church and enter its membership. The closeness of his walk with God is sho-\vn in his unbounded faith, in the implicit reliance he has in the power of prayer. Though to the world he attacks the problems confronting him with shrewd, practical busi- ness sense, behind and underneath this, and greater than it all, is the earnestness with which he first seeks to know the w-ill of God and the sincerity with which he consecrates himself to the work. Christ is to him a very near personal friend, in very truth an Elder Brother to whom he constantly goes for guidance and 270 LIFE OF RUSSELL H. CONWELL help, Whose will he wants to do solely, in the current of Whose purpose he wants to move. " Men who intend to serve the Lord should consecrate themselves in heart- searching and prayer," he has said many and many a time. And of prayer itself he says: " There is planted in every human heart this knowl- edge, namely, that there is a power heyond our reach, a mysterious potency shaping the forces of life, which if we would win we must have in our favor. There come to us all, events over which we have no control by physical or mental power. Is there any hope of guid- ing those mysterious forces ? Yes, friends, there is a way of securing them in our favor or preventing them from going against us. How? It is by prayer. When a man has done all he can do, still there is a mighty, mysterious agency over which he needs influ- ence to secure success. The only way he can reach that is by prayer." He has good reason to believe in the power of prayer, for the answers he has received in some cases have seemed almost miraculous. When The Temple was being built. Dr. Conwell pro- posed that the new pipe organ be put in to be ready for the opening service. But the church felt it would be unwise to assume such an extra burden of debt and voted against it. Dr. Conwell felt persuaded that the organ ought to go in, and spent one whole night in The Temple in prayer for guidance. As the result, he decided that the organ should be built. The con- tract was given, the first payment made, but when in a few months a note of $1,500 came due, there was not a cent in the treasury to meet it. He knew it would be a most disastrous blow to the church interests, THE MAN AND THE WORK 271 with such a vast building project started, to have that note go to protest. Yet he couldn't ask the member- ship to raise the money since it had voted against build- ing the organ at that time. Disheartened, full of gloomy foreboding, he came Sunday morning to the church to preach. The money must be ready next morning, yet he knew not which way to turn. He felt he had been acting in accordance with God's will, for the decision had been made after a night of earnest prayer. Yet here stood a wall of Jericho before him and no divine direction came as to how to make it fall. As he entered his study, his private secretary handed him a letter. He opened it, and out fell a check for $1,500 from an unknown man in Massillon, Ohio, who had once heard Dr. Conwell lecture and felt strangely impelled to send him $1,500 to use in The Temple work. Dr. Conwell prayed and rejoiced in an ecstasy of gratitude. Three times he broke down during the sermon. His people wondered what was the matter, but said he had never preached more powerfully. He is a man of prayer and a man>of work. Loving, great-hearted, unselfish, cheery, practical, hard-working, he yet draws his greatest inspiration from that silent inner communion with the Master he serves with such single-hearted, unfaltering devotion. CHAPTER XXXI THE MANNER OF THE MESSAGE The Style of the Sermons. Their Subject Matter. Preaching to Help Some Individual Church Member. IIST THE pulpit, Dr. Conwell is as simple and nat- ural as he is in his study or in the home. Every part of the service is rendered with the heart, as well as the understanding. His reading of a chapter from the Bible is a sermon in itself. The vast con- gregation follow it with as close attention as they do the sermon. He seems to make every verse alive, to send it with new meaning into each heart. The people in it are real people, who have lived and suffered, who had all the hopes and fears of men and women of to-day. Often little explanations are dropped or timely, practical applications, and when it is over, if that were all of the service one would be repaid for attending. The hymns, too, are read with feeling and life. If a verse expresses a sentiment contrary to the church feeling, it is not sung. He will not have sung what is not worthy of belief. The sermons are full of homely, practical illustra- tions, drawn from the experiences of everyday life. Dr. Conwell announces his text and begins quite sim- ply, sometimes with a little story to illustrate his thought. If Bible characters take any part in it, ho makes them real men and women. He pictures them 272 THE MAN AND THE WORK 273 SO graphically, the audience sees them, hears them talk, knows what they thought, how they lived. In a word, each hearer feels as if he had met them personally. JSTever again are they mere names. They are living, breathing men and women. Dr. Conwell makes his sermons human because he touches life, the life of the past, the life of the present, the lives of those in his audience. He makes them interesting by his word pictures. He holds attention by the dramatic interest he infuses into the theme. He lias been called the " Story-telling Preacher " because his sermons are so full of anecdote and illustrations. But eveiy story not only points a moral, but is full of the interest that fastens it on the hearer's mind. Children in their teens enjoy his sermons, so vivid are they, so full of human, every day interest Yet all this is but the framework on which is reared some helpful, inspiring Biblical truth which is the crown, the climax, and which because of its careful upbuilding by story and homely illustration is fixed on the hearer's mind and heart in a way never to be forgotten. It is held there by the simple things of life he sees about him every day, and which, every time he sees them, recall the truth he has heard preached. Dr. Thomas May Pierce, speaking of Dr. Conwell's method of preaching, says: " Spurgeon sought the masses and found them by preaching the gospel with homely illustrations ; Russell H. Conwell comes to Philadelphia, he seeks out the masses, he finds them with his plain presentation of the old, old story." Occasionally he paints word pictures that hold the audience enthralled, or when some ci'cat wrontr stirs 18 274 LIFE OF RUSSELL H. CONWELL liim, rises to heights of impassioned oratory that bring his audience to tears. He never writes out his sermons. Indeed, often he has no time to give them any prepara- tion whatever. Sometimes he does not choose his text until he comes on the platform. ISTobody regrets more than Dr. Con well this lack of preparation, hut so many duties press, every minute has so many burdens of work, that it is impossible at times to crowd in a thought for the sermon. It is left for the inspiration of the moment. ^' I preach poor sermons that other men may preach good ones," he remarked once, meaning that so much of his time was taken up with church work and lecturing that he has little to give his sermons, and almost all of the fees from his lectures are devoted to the education of men for the ministry. His one purpose in his sermons is to bring Christ into the lives of his people, to bring them some message from the word of God that will do thera good, make them better, lift them up spiritually to a higher plane. His people know he comes to them with this strong desire in his heart and they attend the services feeling confident that even though he is poorly prepared, they will nevertheless get practical and spiritual help for the week. Wlien he knows that some one member is straggling with a special problem either in business, in the home circle, in his spiritual life, he endeavors to weave into his sermon something that will help him, knowing that no heart is alone in its sorrow, that the burden one bears, others carry, and Avhat will reach one will carry a message or cheer to many. " Diiring the building of The Temple," says Smith in his interesting life of Dr. Conwell, '* a devoted mem- THE MAN AND THE WORK 275 ber, who was in the bookbinding business, walked to his office every morning and put his ear-fare into the building fund. Dr. Conwell made note of the sacrifice, and asked himself the question, ' How can I help that man to be more prosperous ? ' He kept him in mind, and while on a lecturing trip he visited a town where improved machines for bookbinding were employed. He called at the establishment and found out all he could about tho new machines. The next 'Sunda|y morning, he used the new bookbinder as an illustration of some Scriptural truth. The result was, the church member secured the machines of which his pastor had spoken, and increased his income many-fold. The largest sum of money given to the building of the new Temple was given by that same bookbinder. " A certain- lady made soap for a fair held in the Lower Temple. Dr. Conwell advised her to go into the soap-making business. She hesitated to take his advice. He visited a well known soap factory, and in one of his sermons described the most improved methods of soap-making as an illustration >of some improved method of Christian work. Hearing the illustration used from the pulpit, the lady in question acted on the pastor's previous advice, and started her nephew in the soap business, in which he has prospered. " A certain blacksmith in Philadelphia who was a member of Grace Church, but who lived in another part of the city, was advised by Dr. Conwell to start a mission in his neighborhood. The mechanic pleaded ignorance and his inability to acquire sufficient educa- tion to enable him to do any kind of Christian work. On Sunday morning Dr. Conwell wove into his sermon an historical sketch of Elihu Burritt, that poor boy with 276 LIFE OF RUSSELL H. CONWELL meagre school advantages, who bound out to a black- smith at the age of sixteen, and compelled to associate with the ignorant, yet learned thirty-three languages, became a scholar and an orator of fame. The hesi- tating blacksmith, encouraged by the example of Elihu Burritt, took courage and went to work. He founded the mission which soon grew into the Tioga Baptist Church." In addition to helping his own church members, this method of preaching had other results. Smith gives the following instance : " A few years ago the pastor of a small country church in Massachusetts resolved to try Dr. Conwell's method of imparting useful information through his illustra- tions, and teaching the people what they needed to know. Acting on Dr. Conwell's advice, he studied agricultural chemistry, dairy farming, and household economy. He did not become a sensationalist and ad- vertise to preach on these subjects, but he brought in many helpful illustrations which the people recognized as valuable, and soon the meeting-house w^as filled with eager listeners. After careful study the minister be- came convinced that the fanuers on those old worn-out farms in Western Massachusetts should go into the dairy business, and feed their cows on ensilage through the long ]^ew England winter. One bright morning he preached a sermon on ' Leaven,' and incidentally used a silo as an illustration. The preacher did not sacrifice his sermon to his illustration, but taught a great tnith and set the farmers to thinking along a new line. As a result of that sermon one poor farmer built a silo and filled it with green com in the autumn; his cows relished the new food and repaid him splendidly with THE MAN AND THE WORK 277 milk. That farmer is tlio richest man in the country to-day. This is only one of a great many ways in which that practical preacher helped his poor, struggling parishioners by using the Conwell method. What was the spiritual result of such preaching among the country people ? He had a great, wide, and deep revival of religion, the first the church had enjoyed for twenty- five years." Thus Dr. Conwell weaves practical sense and spir- itual truths together in a way that helps people for the span of life they live in this world, for the eternal life heyond. , He never forgets the soul and its needs. That is his foremost thought. But he recognizes also that there is a body and that it lives in a practical world. And whenever and wherever he can help prac- tically, as well as spiritually, he does it, realizing that the world needs Christians who have the means as well as the spirit to carr|y forward Christ's work. Speaking of his methods of preaching, Rev. Albert G. Lawson, D. D., says: *' He has been blessed in his -ministry because of three thing-s: He has a democratic, philosophic, phil- anthropic bee in his bonnet, a big one, too, and he has attempted to bring us to see that churches mean something beside fine houses and good music. There must be a recognition of the fact that when a man is lost, he is lost in body as well as in soul. One needs, therefore, as our Lord would, to begin at the founda- tions, the building anew of the mind with the body; and I bless God for the democratic, and the philosophic, and the philanthropic idea which is manifest in this strong church. I hope there will be enough power in it to make every Baptist minister sick until he tries 278 LIFE OF RUSSELL H. CONWELL to occupy the same field that Jesus Christ did in his life and ministry ; until every one of the churches shall recognize the privilege of having Jesus Christ reshaped in the men and women near them." CHAPTEE XXXIT THESE BUSY LATER DAYS A Typical Week Day. A Typical Sunday. Mrs. Conwell. Back to the Berkshires in Summer for Rest. BY THE record of what Dr. Conwell has accom- plished may be judged how busy are his days. In early youth he learned to use his time to the best advantage. Studying and working on the farm, working and studying at Wilbraham and Yale, told him how precious is each minute. Work he must when he wanted to study. Study he must when he needed to work. Every minute became as carefully treasured as though it were a miser's gold. But it was excellent training for the busy later days when work would press from all sides until it was distraction to know what to do first. " Do the next thing," is the advice he gives his col- lege students. It is undoubtedly a saving of time to take the work that lies immediately at hand and de- spatch it But when the hand is surrounded by work in a score of important forms, all clamoring for recogni- ' tion, what is " the next thing " becomes a question difficult to decide. Then it is that one must plan as carefully to use one's minutes as he does to expend one's income when ex- penses outrun it. 279 280 LIFE OF RUSSELL H. CONWELL His private secretary gave the following account, in tlie " Temple Magazine," of a week day and a Sunday in Dr. ConwelFs life: " j^o two days are alike in his work, and lie has no specified hour for definite classes of calls or kinds of w^ork. " After breakfast he goes to his ofiice in The Temple. Here visitors from half a dozen to twenty await him, representing a great variety of needs or business. " Visitors wait their turn in the ante-room of his study and are received by him in the order of their arrival. The importance of business, rank or social position of the caller does not interfere with this order. " Throughout the whole day in the street, at the church, at the College, wherever he goes, he is beset by persons urging him for money, free lectures, to write introductions to all sorts of books, for sermons, or to take up collections for indigent individuals or churches. Letters reach him even from Canada, asking him to take care of some aunt, uncle, runaway son, or needy family, in Philadelphia. Sometimes for days together he does not secure five minutes to attend to his correspondence. Personal letters which he must answer himself often wait for weeks before he can attend to them, although he endeavors, as a rule, to answer important letters on the day they are received. People call to request him to deliver addresses 'at the dedication of churches, schoolhouses, colleges, flag-raisings, commencements, and anniversaries, re-unions, political meetings, and all manner of reform movements. Authors urge him to read their work in manuscript ; orators without orations write to him and come to him for address or sermon; applications flow in for letters of introduction highly THE MAN AND THE WORK 281 recommending entire strangers for anything they want. Agents for books come to him for endorsements, with religions newspapers for subscriptions and articles, and with patent medicines urging him to be ' cured with one bottle.' " It is well known that he was a lawyer before enter- ing the ministry, and orphans, guardians, widows, and 5^oung men entering business come to him asking him to make wills, contracts, etc., and to give them points of law concerning their undertakings. Weddings and funerals claim his attention. Urgent messages to visit the sick and the dying and the unfortunate come to him, and these appeals are answered first either by himself or the associate pastor ; the cries of the suffering making the most eloquent of all appeals to these two busy men." Frequently he comes to the church again in the after-' noon to meet some one by appointment. Both after- noon and evening are crowded with engagements to see people, to make addresses, to attend special meetings of Various kinds, with College and Hospital duties. " I am expected to preside at si± different meetings to-night," he said smilingly to a friend at The Temple one evening as the membership began to stream in to look after its different lines of work. Much of the time during the winter he is away lec- turing, but he keeps in constant communication with The Temple and its work. By letter, wire or telephone he is ready to respond to any emergency requir- ing his advice or suggestion. These lecture trips carry him all over the country, but they are so carefully planned that with rare exceptions he is in the pulpit Sunday morning. Frequently, when returning, he wires for his secretary to meet him part way, if from 282 LIFE OF RUSSELL H. CONWELL the West, at Harrisburg or Altoona ; if from tlie South, at Washington or beyond. The secretary brings the mail and the remaining hours of the journey are filled with work, dictating letters, articles for magazines or press, possibly material for a book, whatever work most presses. Pastoral calls in the usual sense of the term cannot be made in a membership of more than three thousand. B'ut visits to the sick, to the poor, to the dying, are paid whenever the call comes. To help and console the afflicted, to point the way to Christ, is the work nearest and dearest to Dr. Conwell's heart and always comes first. Funerals, too, claim a large part of the pastor's time, seven in one day among the Grace Church mem- bership calling for the services of both Dr. Conwell and his associate. Weddings are not an unimportant feature, six having been one day's record at The Temple. Of his Sundays, his secretary says : " From the time of rising until half-past eight, he gives special attention to the subject of the morning ser- mon, and usually selects his text and general line of thought before sitting down to breakfast. After family prayers, he spends half an hour in his study, at home, examining books and authorities in the completion of his sermon. Sometimes he is unable to select a text until reaching The Temple. He has, though rarely, made his selection after taking his place at the pulpit. " At nine-thirty, he is always promptly in his place at the opening of the Young Men's prayer-meeting or at the Women's prayer-meeting in the Lower Temple. At the Young Men's meeting he plays the organ and THE MAN AND THE WORK 283 leads the singing. If he takes any other part in the meeting he is very brief, in talk or prayer. " At half-past ten he goes directly to the Upper Temple, where as a rule he conducts all the exercises with the exception of the ' notices ' and a prayer offered by the associate pastor, or in his absence at an overflow service in the Lower Temple, by the dean of the College or chaplain of the Hospital. The pastor meets the can- didates for baptism in his study before service, for conference and prayer. In administering the ordi- nance, he is assisted by the associate pastor, who leads the candidates into the baptistry. " The pastor reads the hymns. It is his custom to preach without any notes whatever; rarely, a scrap of paper may lie on the desk containing memoranda or suggestions of leading thoughts, but frequently even when this is the case the notes are ignored. " A prominent — possibly the prevailing — idea in the preparation of his sermons is the need of individ- uals in his congregation. He aims to say those things which will be the most helpful and inspiring to the unconverted seeking Christ, or to the Christian desir- ing to lead a nobler spiritual life. It may be said of nearly all his illustrations that they present such a variety of spiritual teaching that different persons will catch from them different suggestions adapted to needs of each. " The morning service closes promptly at twelve o'clock; then follows an informal reception for thirty minutes or it may be an hour, for hundreds, sometimes a thousand and more, many of them visitors from other cities and states, press forward to shake hands with him. This, Dr. Conwell considers an important part 2S4 LIFE OF RUSSELL H. CONWELL of his cluircli wdvk, ,c;iviiipj lilin nn opportunity to moct inniiy of tln> clinrcli mciiibcra nnd extend personal j^rect- i Ilia's to ilioso whom lio wonhl have no possible oppor- tunity to visit in their homes. " He (lines at. one o'eloek. At two, he is in The Tem- ple ; ap,'ain he receives more callers, and if possible makes some preparation for services of the afternoon, in connection with the Sunday-school work. At two- thirty, he is ]n-esent at the openinc; of tlio Junior de- ])artmcnt of the Sunday-school in the Lower Temple, ■whore he takes g;reat interest in the sinn:inromptly on tlu^ ]ilatform in the auditorium where the Adult department of the Sunday-school meets, givers a short ex]iosition of the lesson for the day, and answei's from the Question Box. These cover a great variety of subjects, from the absurdity of some craek- hrained crank to the pathetic ap]ieal of somo necnly soul. Some of thos(^ questions may be sent in by mail durinpj the wc(>k, but the Gjreator part of them are handed to the ])astor by the ushers. To secure an answcn* the ques- tion must be upon some subject connected with relicions life or experience, some tliemo of Christian ethics in everyday life. "When the questions are answered, the pastor re- turns t.o the T-iOwer Temple, f^oinc; to the Junior, Inter- mediate, or TCindergarten department to assist in the closing' exercises. At the close of the Sunday-school session, teachers and scholars surround him, seekine; information or advice concerninc; the school work, their Christian experience or perhaps to tell him their desire to unite with the church.* • T.ntely (lOOri), however, he hns had to Kive up much of this Sunday- school work on nccount of the need of rest. THE MAN AND THE WORK 285 " As a rule, he leaves The Temple at five o'clock. If he finds no visitors with appeals for counsel or assist- ance waitinp; for him at his home, ho lies down for hiilf an hour. Usually the visitors are there, and his half- hour rest is postponed until after the evening service. " Supper at five-thirty, after which he goes to his study to prepare for the evening service, selecting his subject and looking up such references as he thinks may be useful. At seven-fifteen, he is in The Temple again, often visiting for a few moments one of the Christian Endeavor societies, several of which are at that time in session in the Lower Temple. At half-past seven the general service is held in the auditorium. The even- ing sermon is published weekly in the " Temple Ee- view." He gives all portions of this service full atten- tion. " At nine o'clock this service closes, and the pastor goes once more to the Lower Temple, where both con- gregations, the ' main ' and the ' overflow ' unite, so far as is possible, in a union prayer service. The hall of the Lower Temple and the rooms connected with it are always overcrowded at this service meeting, and many are unable to get within hearing of the speakers on the platform. Here Dr. Conwell presides at the organ and has general direction of the evangelistic ser- vices, assisted by the associate pastor. As enquirers rise for prayers, — the prayers of God's people, — Dr. Conwell makes note of each one, and to their great sur- prise recognizes them when he meets them on the street or at another service, long afterward. This union meeting is followed by another general reception espe- cially intended for a few words of personal conversa- tion with those who have risen for prayer and with 286 LIFE OF RUSSELL H. CONWELL straii<5ers who are brouf^lit forward and introduced hy members of the churfh. This is thfi most fatiguing part of tho day's work and oc/'upics from one hour to an hour and a half, lie roadies home a}>out eleven o'clock, and before retiring makes a careful memoranda of sufh people as have requested him to pray for them, and such otiier matters as may require his attention during tho week. lie seldom gets to bed much before midnight." Tn all the crowd and pressure of work, he is ably as- sisted by Mrs. Conwcll. In the early da|ys of his min- istry at Clrace Church she was his private secretary, but as the work grew for both of them, slio was compelled to give tliis up. She enters into all her husband's work and plans witli choory, hc]f)ful cntliusiasm. Yet her hands are full of lif-r own special churfh work, for she is a most iinport,ant moniber of the various working, associations of lh love to entertain their patrons; he was like a barber that tells you many stories in order to keep your mind off the scratching and the scraping. He told me so many stories that I grew tired of his telling them and I refused to listen — looked away whenever he commenced ; that made the guide quite angry. I remember * Reported bv A. Russell Smith and Harry E. Greater. [Mr. Conwell's lectures are all delivered extemporaneously and differ greatly from night to night. — Ed.] 317 318 LIFE OF RUSSELL H. CONWELL that toward evening he took his Turkish cap off his head and swung it around in the air. The gesture I did not understand and I did not dare look at him for fear I should become the victim of another story. But, although I am not a woman, I did look, and the instant I turned my eyes upon that worthy guide he was off again. Said he, " I will tell you a story now which I reserve for my par- ticular friends ! " So then, counting myself a particular friend, I listened, and I have always been glad I did. He said there once lived not far from the Eiver Indus an ancient Persian by the name of Al Hafed. He said that Al Hafed owned a very large farm with orchards, grain fields and gardens. He was a contented and wealthy man — contented because he was wealthy, and wealthy because he was contented. One day there visited this old fanner one of those ancient Buddhist priests, and he sat down by Al Hafed's fire and told that old farmer how this world of ours was made. He said that this world was once a mere bank of fog, which is scientifically true, and he said that the Almighty thrust his finger into the bank of fog and then began slowly to move his finger around and gradually to increase the speed of his finger until at last he whirled that bank of fog into a solid ball of fire, and it went rolling through the universe, burning its way through other cosmic banks of fog, until it condensed the moisture without, and fell in floods of rain upon the heated surface and cooled the outward crust. Then the internal flames burst through the cooling crust and threw up the mountains and made the hills of the valley of this wonderful world of ours. If this internal melted mass burst out and cooled very quickly it became granite; that which cooled less quickly became silver; and less quickly, gold; and after gold diamonds were made. Said the old priest, " A diamond is a congealed drop of sunlight." This is a scientific truth also. You all know that a dia- mond is pure carbon, actually deposited sunlight — and he said another thing I would not forget: he declared that a diamond is the last and highest of God's mineral creations, as a woman is the last and highest of God's animal crea- THE MAN AND THE WORK 319 tions. I suppose that is the reason why the two have such a liking for each other. And the old priest told Al Hafed that if he had a handful of diamonds he could purchase a whole county, and with a mine of diamonds he could place his children upon thrones through the influence of their great wealth. Al Hafed heard all about diamonds and how much they were worth, and went to his bed that night a poor man — not that he had lost anything, but poor because he was discontented and discontented because he thought he was poor. He said : " I want a mine of diamonds ! " So he lay awake all night, and early in the morning sought out the priest. Now I know from experience that a priest when awakened early in the morning is cross. He awoke that priest out of his dreams and said to him, " Will you tell m6 where I can find diamonds ? " The priest said, " Diamonds ? What do you want with diamonds ? " " I want to be immensely rich," said Al Hafed, " but I don't know where to go." " Well," said the priest, " if you will find a river that runs over white sand between high moun- tains, in those sands you will always see diamonds." " Do you really believe that there is such a river ? " " Plenty of them, plenty of them; all you have to do is just go and find them, then you have them." Al Hafed said, " I will go." So he sold his farm, collected his money at in- terest, left his family in charge of a neighbor, and away he went in search of diamonds. He' began very properly, to my mind, at the Mountains of the Moon. Afterwards he went around into Palestine, then wandered on into Europe, and at last when his money was all spent, and he was in rags, wretchedness and poverty, he stood on the shore of that bay in Barcelona, Spain, when a tidal wave came roll- ing in through the Pillars of Hercules and the poor af- flicted, suffering man could not resist the awful tempta- tion to cast himself into that incoming tide, and he sank beneath its foaming crest, never to rise in this life again. When that old guide had told me that very sad story, he stopped the camel I was riding and went back to fix the baggage on one of the other camels, and I remem])er think- ing to myself, " Why did he reserve that for his particular 320 LIFE OF RUSSELL H. CONWELL friends V There seemed to be no beginning, middle or end — nothing to it. That was the first story I ever heard told or read in which the hero Avas killed in the first chapter. I had but one chapter of that story and the hero was dead. When the guide came back and took up the halter of my camel again, he went right on with the same story. He said that Al Hafed's successor led his camel out into the garden to drink, and as that camel put its nose down into the clear water of the garden brook Al Hafed's successor noticed a curious flash of light from the sands of the shallow stream, and reaching in he pulled out a black stone having an eye of light that reflected all the colors of the rainbow, and he took that curious pebble into the house and left it on the mantel, then went on his way and forgot all about it. A few days after that, this same old priest who told Al Hafed how diamonds were made, came in to visit his successor, when he saw that flash of light from the mantel. He rushed up and said, " Here is a diamond — here is a diamond ! Has Al Hafed re- turned ? " " No, no ; Al Hafed has not returned and that is not a diamond; that is nothing but a stone; we found it right out here in our garden." " But I know a" diamond when I see it," said he ; " that is a diamond ! " Then together they rushed to the garden and stirred up the white sands with their fingers and found others more beautiful, more valuable diamonds than the first, and thus, said the guide to me, were discovered the diamond mines of Golconda, the most magnificent diamond mines in all the history of mankind, exceeding the Kimberley in its value. The great Kohinoor diamond in England's crown jewels and the largest crown diamond on earth in Eussia's crown jewels, which I had often hoped she would have to sell before they had peace with Japan, came from that mine, and when the old guide had called my attention to that wonderful discovery he took his Turkish cap off his head again and swung it around in the air to call my at- tention to the moral. Those Arab guides have a moral to each story, though the stories are not always moral. He said had Al Hafed remained at home and dug in his own THE MAN AND THE WORK 321 cellar or in his own garden, instead of wretchedness, star- vation, poverty and death in a strange land, he would have had " acres of diamonds " — for every acre, yes, every shovelful of that old farm afterwards revealed the gems which since have decorated the crowns of monarchs. When he had given the moral to his story, I saw why he had re- served this story for his " particular friends." 1 didn't tell him I could see it ; I was not going to tell that old Arab that I could see it. For it was that mean old Arab's way of going around a thing, like a lawyer, and saying indirectly what he did not dare say directly, that there was a certain young man that day traveling down the Tigris Eiver that might better be at home in America. I didn't tell him I could see it. I told him his story reminded me of one, and I told it to him quick. I told him about that man out in Califor- nia, who, in 1847, owned a ranch out there. He read that gold had been discovered in Southern California, and he sold his ranch to Colonel Sutter and started off to hunt for gold. Colonel Sutter put a mill on the little stream in that farm and one day his little girl brought some wet sand from the raceway of the mill into the house and placed it before the fire to dry, and as that sand was falling through the little girl's fingers a visitor saw the first shining scales of real gold that were ever discovered in California; and the man who wanted the gold had sold this ranch and gone away, never to return, I delivered this lecture two years ago in California, in the city that stands near that farm, and they told me that the mine is not exhausted yet, and that a one-third owner of that farm has been getting during these recent years twenty dollars of gold every fifteen minutes of his life, sleeping or waking. Wliy, you and I would enjoy an income like that! But the best illustration that I have now of this thought was found here in Pennsylvania. There was a man living in Pennsylvania who owned a farm here and he did what I should do if I had a farm in Pennsylvania — he sold it. But before he sold it he concluded to secure employment 322 LIFE OF RUSSELL H. CONWELL collecting coal oil for his cousin in Canada, Thoy first discovered coal oil there. So this farmer in Pennsylvania decided that he would apply for a position with his cousin in Canada. Now, you see, this farmer was not altogether a foolish man. He did not leave his farm until he had something else to do. Of all the simpletons the stars shine on there is none more foolish than a man who leaves one job before he has obtained another. And that has especial reference to gentlemen of my profession, and has no refer- ence to a man seeking a divorce. So I say this old farmer did not leave one job until he had obtained another. He wrote to Canada, but his cousin replied that he could not engage him because he did not know anything about the oil business. " Well, then," said he, " I will understand it." So he set himself at the study of the whole subject. He began at the second day of the creation, he studied the subject from the primitive vegetation to the coal oil stage, until he knew all about it. Then he wrote to his cousin and said, " Now I understand the oil business." And his cousin replied to him, " All right, then, come on." That man, by the record of the county, sold his farm for eight hundred and thirty-three dollars — even money, " no cents." He had scarcely gone from that farm before the man who purchased it went out to arrange for the watering the cattle and he found that the previous owner had arranged the matter very nicely. There is a stream running down the hillside there, and the previous owner had gone out and put a plank across that stream at an angle, extending across the brook and down edgewise a few inches under the surface of the Avater. The purpose of the plank across that brook was to throw over to the other bank a dreadful-looking scum through which the cattle would not put their noses to drink above the plank, although they would dxirilc the water on one side below it. Thus that man who had gone to Canada had been himself damming back for twenty-three years a flow of coal oil which the State Geologist of Pennsyh ania declared officially, as early as 1870, was then worth to our State a hundred millions of dollars. The city of Titusville now stands on that farm THE MAN AUD THE WORK 323 and those Pleasantville wells flow on, and that farmer who had studied all about the formation of oil since the second day of God's creation clear down to the present time, sold that farm for $833, no cents — again I say, " no sense." But I need another illustration, and I found that in Massachusetts, and I am sorry I did, because that is my old State. This young man I mention went out of the .State to study — went down to Yale College and studied Mines and Mining. They paid him fifteen dollars a week during his last year for training students who were behind their classes in mineralogy, out of hours, of course, while pur- suing his own studies. But when he graduated they raised his pay from fifteen dollars to forty-five dollars and of- fered him a professorship. Then he went straight home to his mother and said, " Mother, I won't work for forty- five dollars a week. What is forty-five dollars a week for a man with a brain like mine ! Mother, let's go out to California and stake out gold claims and be immensely rich. " Now," said his mother, " it is just as well to be happy as it is to be rich." But as he was the only son he had his way — they al- ways do; and they sold out in Massachusetts and went to Wisconsin, where he went into the employ of the Superior Copper Mining Company, and he was lost from sight in the employ of that company at fifteen dollars a week again. He was also to have an interest in any mines that he should discover for that company. But I do not believe that he has ever discovered a mine — I do not know any- thing about it, but I do not believe he has. I know he had scarcely gone from the old homestead before the farmer who had bought the homestead went out to dig potatoes, and as he was bringing them in in a large basket through the front gateway, the ends of the stone wall came so near together at the gate that the basket hugged very tight. So he set the basket on the ground and pulled, first on one side and then on the other side. Our farms in IMassachu- setts are mostly stone walls, and the farmers have to be economical with their gateways in order to have some place 324 LIFE OF RUSSELL H. CONWELL to jDut the stones. That basket hugged so tight there that as he was hauling it through he noticed in the upper stone next the gate a block of native silver, eight inches square; and this professor of mines and mining and mineralogy, who would not work for forty-five dollars a week, when he sold that homestead in Massachusetts, sat right on that stone to make the bargain. He was brought up there; he had gone back and forth by that piece of silver^ rubbed it with his sleeve, and it seemed to say, " Come now, now, now, here is a hundred thousand dollars. Why not take me ? " But he would not take it. There was no silver in ISTewburyport ; it was all away off — well, I don't know where ; he didn't, but somewhere else — and he was a pro- fessor of mineralogy. I do not know of anything I would enjoy better than to take the whole time to-night telling of blunders like that I have heard professors make. Yet I wish I knew what that man is doing out there in Wisconsin. I can imagine him out there, as he sits by his fireside, and he is saying to his friends, " Do you know that man Conwell that lives in Philadelphia ? " " Oh, yes, I have heard of him." " And do you know that man Jones that lives in that city ? " " Yes, I have heard of him." And then he begins to laugh and laugh and says to his friends, " They have done the same thing I did, precisely.'* And that spoils the whole joke, because you and I have done it. Ninety out of every hundred people here have made that mistake this very day. I say you ought to be rich ; you have no right to be poor. To live in Philadelphia and not be rich is a misfortune, and it is doubly a mis- fortime, because you could have been rich just as well as be poor. Philadelphia furnishes so many opportunities. You ought to be rich. But persons with certain religious prejudice will ask, " How can you spend your time ad- vising the rising generation to give their time to getting money — dollars and cents — the commercial spirit ? " Yet I must say that you ought to spend time getting rich. You and I know there are some things more valuable than money; of course, we do. Ah, yes ! By a heart made THE MAN AND THE WORK 325 unspeakably sad by a grave on which the autumn leaves now fall, I know there are some things higher and grander and sublimer than money. Well does the man know, who has suffered, that there are some things sweeter and holier and more sacred than gold. ISFevertheless, the man of common sense also knows that there is not any one of those things that is not greatly enhanced by the use of money. Money is power. Love is the grandest thing on God's earth, but fortunate the lover who has plenty of money. ]\Ioney is power; money has powers; and for a man to say, *' I do not want money," is to say, " I do not wish to do any good to my fellowmen." It is absurd thus to talk. It is absurd to disconnect them. This is a wonderfully great life, and you ought to spend your time getting money, be- cause of the power there is in money. And yet this re- ligious prejudice is so great that some people think it is a great honor to be one of God's poor. I am looking in the faces of people who think just that way. I heard a man once say in a prayer meeting that he was thankful that he was one of God's poor, and then I silently won- dered what his wife would say to that speech, as she took in washing to support the man while he sat and smoked on the veranda. I don't want to see any more of that kind of God's poor. iSTow, when a man could have been rich just as well, and he is now weak because he is poor, he has done some great wrong ; he has been untruthful to himself ; he has been unkind to his fellowmen. We ought to get rich if we can by honorable and Christian methods, and these are the only methods that sweep us quickly toward the goal of riches. I remember, not many years ago a young theological student who came into my office and said to me that he thought it was his duty to come in and " labor with me." I asked him what had happened, and he said : " I feel it is my duty to come in and speak to you, sir, and say that the Holy Scriptures declare that money is the root of all evil. I asked, him where he found that saying, and he said he found it in the Bible. I asked him whether he had made a new Bible, and he said, no, he had not gotten a 326 LIFE OF RUSSELL H. CONWELL" new Bible, that it was in the old Bible. " Well," I said, " if it is in my Bible, I never saw it. Will 5'ou please get the text-book and let me see it ? " He left the room and soon came stalking in with his Bible open, with all the bigoted pride of the narrow sectarian, who founds his creed on some misinterpretation of Scripture, and he puts the Bible down on the table before me and fairly squealed into my ear, " There it is. You can read it for yourself." I said to him, " Young man, you will le^rn, when you get a little older, that you cannot trust another denomina- tion to read the Bible for you." I said, " Now, you be- long to another denomination. Please read it to me, and remember that you are taught in a school where emphasis is exegesis." So he took the Bible and read it: " The love of money is the root of all evil." Then he had it right. The Great Book has come back into the esteem and love of the people, and into the respect of the greatest minds of earth, and now you can quote it and rest your life and your death on it Avithout more fear. So, when he quoted right from the Scriptures he quoted the truth. " The love of money is the root of all evil." Oh, that is it. It is the worship of the means instead of the end, though you cannot reach the end without the means. When a man makes an idol of the money instead of the purposes for which it may be used, when he squeezes the dollar until the eagle squeals, then it is made the root of all evil. Think, if you only had the money, what you could do for your wife, your child, and for your home and your city. Think how soon you could endow the Temple College yonder if you only had the money and the disposition to give it; and yet, my friend, people say you and I should not spend the time getting rich. How inconsistent the whole thing is. We ought to be rich, because money has power. I think the best thing for me to do is to illustrate this, for if I say you ought to get rich, I ought, at least, to suggest how it is done. We get a prejudice against rich men because of the lies that are told about them. The lies that are told about Mr. Rockefeller because he has two hundred million dollars — so many believe them ; yet how THE MAN AND THE WORK 327 false is the representation of that man to the world. How- little we can tell what is true nowadays when newspapers tr}' to sell their papers entirely on some sensation ! The way they lie about the rich men is something terrible, and I do not know that there is anything to illustrate this better than what the newspapers now say about the city of Philadelphia. A young man came to me the other day and said, " If Mr. Eockefeller, as you think, is a good man, why is it that everybody says so much against him ? " It is because he has gotten ahead of us; that is the whole of it — just gotten ahead of us. Why is it Mr. Carnegie is criticised so sharply by an envious world? Because he has gotten more than we have. If a man knows more than I know, don't I incline to criticise somewhat his learning? Let a man stand in a pulpit and preach to thousands, and if I have fifteen people in my church, and they're all asleep, don't I criticise him? We always do that to the man who gets ahead of us. Why, the man you are criticis- ing has one hundred millions, and you have fifty cents, and both of you have just what you are worth. One of the richest men in this country came into my home and sat down in my parlor and said: "Did you see all those lies about my family in the paper?" "Certainly I did; I knew they were lies when I saw them." " Why do they lie about me the way they do ? " " Well, I said to him, " if you will give me your check for one hundred millions, I will take all the lies along with it." " Well," said he, " I don't see any sense in their thus talking about my family and myself. Conwell, tell me frankly, what do you think the American people think of me?" "Well," said I, " they think you are the blackest-hearted villain that ever trod the soil!" "But what can I do about it?" There is nothing he can do about it, and yet he is one of the sweetest Christian men I ever knew. If you get a hundred millions you will have the lies; you will be lied about, and you can judge your success in any line by the lies that are told about you. I say that you ought to be rich. But there are ever coming to me young men who say, " I would like to go into business, but I cannot." 328 LIFE OF RUSSELL H. CONWELL " Why not ?" " Because I have no capital to begin on," Capital, capital to begin on ! What ! young man ! Living in Philadelphia and looking at this wealthy generation, all of whom began as poor boys, and you want capital to begin on ? It is fortunate for you that you have no capital. I am glad you have no money. I pity a rich man's son. A rich man's son in these days of ours occupies a very difficult position. They are to be pitied. A rich man's son cannot know the very best things in human life. He cannot. The statistics of Massachusetts show us that not one out of seventeen rich men's sons ever die rich. They are raised in luxury, they die in poverty. Even if a rich man's son retains his father's money even then he cannot know the best things of life. A young man in our college yonder asked me to formu- late for him what I thought was the happiest hour in a man's history, and I studied it long and came back con- vinced that the happiest hour that any man ever sees in any earthly matter is when a young man takes his bride over the threshold of the door, for the first time, of the house he himself has earned and built, when he turns to his bride and with an eloquence greater than any language of mine, he sayeth to his wife, " My loved one, I earned this home myself; I earned it all. It is all mine, and I divide it with thee." That is the grandest moment a human heart may ever see. But a rich man's son cannot know that. He goes into a finer mansion, it may be, but he is obliged to go through the house and say, " Mother gave me this, mother gave me that, my mother gave me that, my mother gave me that," until his wife wishes she had married his mother. Oh, I pity a rich man's son. I do. Until he gets so far along in his dudeism that he gets his arms up like that and can't get them down. Didn't you ever see any of them astray at Atlantic City? I saw one of these scarecrows once and I never tire thinking about it. I was at Niagara Falls lecturing, and after the lecture I went to the hotel, and when I went up to the desk there stood there a millionaire's son from New York. He was an indescribable specimen of anthropologic potency. THE MAN AND THE WORK 329 He carried a gold-headed cane under his arm — more in its head than he had in his. I do not believe I could describe the young man if I should try. But still I must say that he wore an eye-glass he could not see through; patent leather shoes he could not walk in, and pants he could not sit down in — dressed like a grasshopper! Well, this human cricket came up to the clerk's desk just as I came in. He adjusted his unseeing eye-glass in this wise and lisped to the clerk, because it's " Hinglish, you know," to lisp : " Thir, thir, will you have the kindness to f uhnisli me with thome papah and thome envelopehs ! " The clerk measured that man quick, and he pulled out a drawer and took some envelopes and paper and cast them across the counter and turned away to his books. You should have seen that specimen of humanity when the paper and en- velopes came across the counter — he whose wants had al- ways been anticipated by servants. He adjusted his un- seeing eye-glass and he yelled after that clerk : " Come back here thir, come right back here. Now, thir, will you order a thervant to take that papah and thothe envelopes and carry them to yondah dethk." Oh, the poor miserable, contemptible American monkey! He couldn't carry paper and envelopes twenty feet. I suppose he could not get his arms down. I have no pity for such travesties of human nature. If you have no capital, I am glad of it. You don't need capital; you need cohimon sense, not copper cents. A. T. Stewart, the great princely merchant of Few York, the richest man in America in his time, was a poor boy ; he had a dollar and a half and went into the mercan- tile business. But he lost eighty-seven and a half cents of his first dollar and a half because he bought some needles and thread and buttons to sell, which people didn't want. Are you poor? It is because you are not wanted and are left on your own hands. There was the great lesson. Apply it whichever way you will it comes to every single person's life, young or old. He did not know what people needed, and consequently bought something they didn't 330 LIFE OF RUSSELL H. CONWELL M-ant, and had the goods left on his hands a dead loss. A. T. Stewart earned there the great lesson of his mercantile life and said, " I will never buy anything more until I first learn what the people want; then I'll make the pur- chase." He went around to the doors and asked them what they did want, and when he found out what they wanted, he invested his sixty-two and a half cents and began to supply " a known demand." I care not what your profession or occupation in life may be ; I care not wdiether you are a lawyer, a doctor, a housekeeper, teacher or whatever else, the principle is precisely the same. We must know what the world needs first and then invest our- selves to supply that need, and success is almost certain. A. T. Stewart went on until he was worth forty millions. " Well," you will sa}^, " a man can do that in New York, but cannot do it here in Philadelphia." The statistics very carefully gathered in New York in 1889 showed one hundred and seven millionaires in the city worth over ten millions apiece. It was remarkable and people think they must go there to get rich. Out of that one hundred and seven millionaires only seven of them made their money in New York, and the others moved to New York after their fortunes were made, and sixty-seven out of the re- maining hundred made their fortunes in towns of less than six thousand people, and the richest man in the country at that time lived in a town of thirty-five hundred in- habitants, and always lived there and never moved away. It is not so much where you are as what you are. But at the same time if the largeness of the city comes into the problem, then remember it is the smaller city that furnishes the great opportunity to make the millions of money. The best illustration that I can give is in refer- ence to John Jacob Astor, who was a poor boy and who made all the money of the Astor family. He made more than his successors have ever earned, and yet he once held a mortgage on a millinery store in New York, and because the people could not make enough money to pay the in- terest and the rent, he foreclosed the mortgage and took possession of the store and went into partnership with THE MAN AND THE WORK 331 the man who had failed. He kept the same stock, did not give them a dollar of capital, and he left them alone and went out and sat down upon a bench in the park. Out there on that bench in the park he had the most im- portant, and to my mind, the pleasantest part of that part- nership business. He was watching the ladies as they went by; and where is the man that wouldn't get rich at that business? But when John Jacob Astor saw a lady pass, with her shoulders back and her head up, as if she did not care if the whole world looked on her, he studied her bonnet; and before that bonnet was out of sight he knew the shape of the frame and the color of the trimmings, the curl of the — something on a bonnet. Sometimes I try to describe a woman's bonnet, but it is of little use, for it would be out of style to-morrow night. So John Jacob Astor went to the store and said : " Now, put in the show window just such a bonnet as I describe to you because," said he, " I have just seen a lady who likes just such a bonnet. Do not make up any more till I come back." And he went out again and sat on that bench in the park, and another lady of a different form and com- plexion passed him with a bonnet of different shape and color, of course. " Now," said he, " put such a bonnet as that in the show window." He didn't fill his show window with hats and bonnets which drive people away and then sit in the back of the store and bawl because the people go somewhere else to trade. He didn't put a hat or bonnet in that show window the like of which he had not seen before it was made up. In our city especially there are great opportunities for m.anufacturing, and the time has come when the line is drawn very sharply between the stockholders of the factory and their employes. Now, friends, there has also come a discouraging gloom upon this country and the laboring men are beginning to feel that they are being held down by a crust over their heads through which they find it im- possible to break, and the aristocratic money-owner himself is so far above that he will never descend to their assist- ance. That is the thought that is in the minds of our 332 LIFE OF RUSSELL H. CONWELL people. But, friends, never in the history of our country was there an opportunity so great for the poor man to get rich as there is now and in the city of Philadelphia. The very tact that they get discouraged is what prevents them from getting rich. That is all there is to it. The road is open, and let us keep it open between the poor and the rich. I know that the labor unions have two great prob- lems to contend with, and there is only one way to solve them. The labor unions are doing as much to prevent its solving as are the capitalists to-day, and there are positive- ly two sides to it. The labor union has two difficulties; the first one is that it began to make a labor scale for all classes on a par, and they scale down a man that can earn five dollars a day to two and a half a day, in order to level up to him an imbecile that cannot earn fifty cents a day. That is one of the most dangerous and discouraging things for the working man. He cannot get the results of his work if he do better work or higher work or work longer; that is a dangerous thing, and in order to get every labor- ing man free and every American equal to every other American, let the laboring man ask what he is worth and get it — not let any capitalist say to him : " You shall work for me for half of what you are worth; nor let any labor organization say : " You shall work for the capital- ist for half your worth." Be a man, be independent, and then shall the laboring man find the road ever open from poverty to wealth. The other difficulty that the labor union has to consider, and this problem they have to solve them- selves, is the kind of orators who come and talk to them about the oppressive rich. I can in my dreams recite the oration I have heard again and again under such circum- stances. My life has been with the laboring man. I am a laboring man myself. I have often, in their assemblies, heard the speech of the man who has been invited to ad- dress the labor union. The man gets up before the assem- bled company of honest laboring men and he begins by saying : " Oh, ye honest, industrious laboring men, who have furnished all the capital of the world, who have built all the palaces and constructed all the railroads and cov- THE MAN AND THE WORK 333 ercd the ocean with her steamships. Oh, you laboring men! You are nothing but skives; you are ground down in the dust by the capitalist who is gloating over you as he enjoys his beautiful estates and as he has his banks filled with gold, and every dollar he owns is coined out of the hearts' blood of the honest laboring man/' Now, that is a lie, and you know it is a lie ; and yet that is the kind of speech that they are all the time hearing, repre- senting the capitalists as wicked and the laboring men so enslaved. Why, how wrong it is ! Let the man who loves his flag and believes in American principles endeavor with all his soul to bring the capitalist and the laboring man to- gether until they stand side by side, and arm in arm, and work for the common good of humanity. He is an enemy to his country who sets capital against labor or labor against capital. Suppose I were to go down through this audience and ask you to introduce me to the great inventors who live here in Philadelphia. " The inventors of Philadelphia," you would say, " Why we don't have any in Philadelphia. It is too slow to invent anything." But you do have just as great inventors, and they are here in this audience, as ever invented a machine. But the probability is that the greatest inventor to benefit the world with his discovery is some person, perhaps some lady, wha thinks she could not invent anything. Did you ever study the history of inven- tion and see how strange it was that the man who made the greatest discovery did it without any previous idea that he was an inventor? Who are the great inventors? They are persons with plain, straightforward common sense, who saw a need in the world and immediately ap- plied themselves to supply that need. If you want to invent an}i;hing, don't try to find it in the wheels in your head nor the wheels in your machine, but first find out what the people need, and then apply yourself to that need, and this leads to invention on the part of people you would not dream of before. The great inventors are simply great men ; the greater the man the more simple the man ; and the more simple a machine, the more valuable it is. Did vou 334 LIFE OF RUSSELL H. CONWELL ever know a really great man ? His ways are so simple, so common, so plain, that you think any one could do what he is doing. So it is with the great men the world over. If you know a really great man, a neighbor of yours, you can go right up to him and say, " How are you, Jim, good morning, Sam/^ Of course you can, for they are always so simple. When I wrote the life of General Garfield, one of his neighbors took me to his back door, and shouted, " Jim, Jim, Jim ! " and very soon " Jim " came to the door and General Garfield let me in — one of the grandest men of our century. The great men of the world are ever so. I was down in Virginia and went up to an educational in- stitution and was directed to a man who was setting out a tree. I approached him and said, " Do you think it would be possible for me to see General Eobert E. Lee, the Presi- dent of the University ? " He said, " Sir, I am General Lee." Of course, when you meet such a man, so noble a man as that, you will find him a simple, plain man. Greatness is always just so modest and gi'eat inventions are simple. I asked a class in school once who were the great in- ventors, and a little girl popped up and said, " Columbus." Well, now, she was not so far wrong. Columbus bought a farm and he carried on that farm Just as I carried on my father's farm. He took a hoe and went out and sat down on a rock. But Columbus, as he sat upon that shore and looked out upon the ocean, noticed that the ships, as they sailed away, sank deeper into the sea the farther they went. And since that time some other " Spanish ships " have sunk into the sea. But as Columbus noticed that the tops of the masts dropped down out of sight, he said: " That is the way it is with this hoe handle ; if you go around this hoe handle, the farther off you go the farther down you go. I can sail around to the East Indies." How plain it all was. How simple the mind — majestic like the simplicity of a mountain in its greatness. Who are the great inventors? They are ever* the simple, plain, ever}'- day people who see the need and set about to supply it. THE MAN AND THE V/ORK 335 I was once lecturing in North Carolina, and the cashier of the bank sat directly behind a lady Avho wore a very large hat. I said to that audience, " Your wealth is too near to you; you are looking right over it." He whis- pered to his friend, '' Well, then, my wealth is in that hat." A little later, as he wrote me, I said, " Wherever there is a human need there is a greater fortune than a mine can furnish." He caught my thought, and he drew up his plan for a better hat pin than was in the hat before him, and the pin is now being manufactured. He was offered fifty-five thousand dollars for his patent. That man made his fortune before he got out of that hall. This is the whole question : Do you see a need ? I remember well a man up in my native hills, a poor man, who for twenty years was helped by the town in his poverty, who owned a wide-spreading maple tree that covered the poor man's cottage like a benediction from on high. I remember that tree, for in the spring — there were some roguish boys around that neighborhood when I was young — in the spring of the year the man would put a bucket there and the spouts to catch the maple sap, and I remember where that bucket was; and when I was young the boys were, oh, so mean, that they went to that tree before than man had gotten out of bed in the morn- ing, and after he had gone to bed. at night, and drank up that sweet sap. I could swear they did it. He didn't make a great deal of maple sugar from that tree. But one day he made the sugar so white and crystaline that the visitor did not believe it was maple sugar; thought maple sugar must be red or black. He said to the old man: " Why don't you make it that way and sell it for confec- tionary ? " The old man caught his thought and invented the " rock maple crystal," and before that patent expired he had ninety thousand dollars and had built a beautiful palace on the site of that tree. After forty years owning that tree he awoke to find it had fortunes of money indeed in it. And many of us are right by the tree that has a fortune for us, and we own it, possess it, do what we will with it, but we do not learn its value because we do not 336 LIFE OF RUSSELL H. CONWELL sec the human need, and in these discoveries and inven- tions this is one of the most romantic things of life. I have received letters from all over the country and from England, where I have lectured, saying that they have discovered this and that, and one man out in Ohio took me through his great factories last spring, and said that they cost him $680,000, and said he, " I was not worth a cent in the world when I heard your lecture " Acres of Diamonds '' ; but I made up my mind to stop right here and make my fortune here, and here it is. He showed me through his unmortgaged possessions. And this is a continual experience now as I travel through the country, after these many years, I mention this incident, not to boast, but to show you that you can do the same if you will. Who are the great inventors ? I remember a good illus- tration in a man who used to live in East Brookfield, Mass, He was a shoemaker, and he was out of work, and he sat around the house until his wife told him " to go out doors," And he did what every husband is compelled by law to do — he obeyed his wife. And he went out and sat down on an ash barrel in his back yard. Think of it! Stranded on an ash barrel and the enemy in possession of the house ! As he sat on that ash barrel, he looked down into that little brook which ran through that back yard into the meadows, and he saw a little trout go flashing up the stream and hiding under the bank. I do not suppose he thought of Tennyson's beautiful poem : " Chatter, chatter, as I flow, To join the brimming river, Men may come, and men may go, But I go on forever." But as this man looked into the brook, he leaped off that ash barrel and managed to catch the trout with his fingers, and sent it to Worcester. They wrote back that they would give him a five dollar bill for another such trout as that, not that it was worth that much, but he THE MAN AND THE WORK 337 wished to help the poor man. So this shoemaker and his wife, now perfectly united, that five dollar bill in prospect, went out to get another trout. They went up the stream to its source and down to the brimming river, but not an- other trout could they find in the whole stream; and so they came home disconsolate and went to the minister. The minister didn't know how trout grew, but he pointed the way. Said he, " Get Seth Green's book, and that will give you the information you want." They did so, and found all about the culture of trout. They found that a trout lays thirty-six hundred eggs every year and every trout gains a quarter of a pound every year, so that in four years a little trout will furnish four tons per annum to sell to the market at fifty cents a pound. When they found that, they said they didn't believe any such story as that, but if they could get five dollars a piece they could make something. And right in that same back yard with the coal sifter up stream and window screen down the stream, they began the culture of trout. They afterwards moved to the Hudson, and since then he has become the authority in the United .States upon the raising of fish, and he has been next to the highest on the United States Fish Commission in Washington. My lesson is that man's wealth was out there in his back yard for twenty years, but he didn't see it until his wife drove him out with a mop stick. I remember meeting personally a poor carpenter of Hingham, Massachusetts, who was out of work and in poverty. His wife also drove him out of doors. He sat down on the shore and whittled a soaked shingle into a wooden chain. His children quarreled over it in the even- ing, and while he was whittling a second one, a neighbor came along and said, " Wliy don't you whittle toys if you can carve like that ? " He said, " I don't know what to make ! " There is the whole thing. His neighbor said to him : " Why don't you ask your own children ? " Said he, " What is the use of doing that ? My children are different from other people's children." I used to see people like that when I taught school. The next morning when his 338 LIFE OF RUSSELL H. CONWELL bo}'' came down the stairwaj', he said, " Sam, what do you want for a toy?' "I want a wheel-barrow." When his little girl came down, he asked her what she wanted, and she said, " I want a little doll's washstand, a little doll's carriage, a little doll's umbrella," and went on with a whole lot of things that would have taken his lifetime to supply. He consulted his own children right there in his own house and began to whittle out toys to please them. He began with his jack-knife, and made those unpainted Hingham toys. He is the richest man in the entire New England States, if Mr. Lawson is to be trusted in his statement concerning such things, and yet that man's fortune was made by consulting his own children in his own house. You don't need to go out of your own house to find out what to invent or what to make. I always talk too long on this subject. I would like to meet the great men who are here to- night. The great men ! We don't have any great men in Philadelphia. Great men! You say that they all ccme from London, or San Francisco, or Eome, or Manayunk, or anywhere else but here — anywhere else but Philadel- phia — and yet, in fact, there are just as great men in Philadelphia as in any city of its size. There are great men and women in this audience. Great men, I have said, are very simple men. Just as many great men here as are to be found anywhere. The greatest error in judging great men is that we think that they always hold an office. The world knows nothing of its greatest men. Who are the great men of the world? The young man and young woman may well ask the question. It is not necessary that they should hold an office, and yet that is the popular idea. That is the idea we teach now in our high schools and common schools, that the great men of the world are those who hold some high office, and unless -we change that very soon and do away with that prejudice, we are going to change to an empire. There is no ques- tion about it. We must teach that men are great only on their intrinsic value, and not on the position that they may incidentally happen to occupy. And yet, don't blame THE MAN AND THE WORK 339 the yoimg men saying that they are going to be great when they get into some official position. I ask this audi- ence again who of you are going to be great? Says a young man : " I am going to be great." " When are you going to be great ? " " When I am elected to some politi- cal office." ^^on't you learn the lesson, young man; that it is prima facie evidence of littleness to hold public office under our form of government? Think of it. This is a government of the people, and by the people, and for the people, and not for the office-holder, and if the people in this country rule as they always should rule, an office- holder is only the servant of the people, and the Bible says that " the servant cannot be greater than his master." The Bible says that " he that is sent cannot be greater than him who sent him." In this country the people are the masters, and the office-holders can never be greater than the people ; they should be honest servants of the people, but they are not our greatest men. Young man, remember that you never heard of a great man holding any political office in this country unless he took that office at an ex- jjense to himself. It is a loss to every great man to taJve a public office in our coimtry. Bear this in mind, young man, that you cannot be made great by a political election. Another young man says, " I am going to be a great man in Philadelphia some time." "Js that so? When are you going to be great ? " " When there comes another war ! When we get into difficulty with Mexico, or England, or Eussia, or Japan, or with Spain again over Cuba, or with New Jersey, I will march up to the cannon's mouth, and amid the glistening bayonets I will tear down their flag from its staff, and I will come home with stars on my shoulders, and hold every office in the gift of the govern- ment, and I will be great." " ISTo^ you won't ! No, you won't; that is no evidence of true greatness, young man." But don't blame that young man for thinking that way; that is the way he is taught in the high school. That is the way history is taught in college. He is taught that the men who held the office did all the fighting, I remember we had a Peace Jubilee here in Philadelphia 54a LIFE OF RUSSELL H. CONWELL soon after the Spanish war. Perhaps some of these visitors think we should not have had it until now in Philadelphia, and as the great procession was going up Broad street I was told that the tally-ho coach stopped right in front of my house, and on the coach was Hobson, and all the people threw up their hats and swung their handkercliiefs, and shouted " Hurrah for Hobson ! " I would have yelled too, because he deserves much more of his country than he has ever received. But suppose I go into the High School to-morrow and ask, " Boys, who sunk the Merri- mac ? " If they answer me " Hobson," they tell me seven- eighths of a lie — seven-eighths of a lie, because there were eight men who sunk the Merrimac. The other seven men, by virtue of their position, were continually exposed to the Spanish fire, while Hobson, as an officer, might reason- ably be behind the smoke-stack. "WHiy, my friends, in this intelligent audience gathered here to-night I do not be- lieve I could find a single person that can name the other seven men who were with Hobson. Why do we teach his- tory in that way ? We ought to teach that however humble the station a man may occupy, if he docs his full duty in his place, he is just as much entitled to the" American people's honor as is a king upon a throne. We do teach it as a mother did her little boy in New York when he said, " Mamma, what great building is that ? " " That is General Grant's tomb." "Who was General Grant?" " He was the man who put down the rebellion." Is that the way to teach history? Do you think we would have gained a victory if it had depended on General Grant alone? Oh, no. Then why is there a tomb on the Hudson at all? Why, not simply because General Grant was personally a great man him- self, but that tomb is there because he was a representative man and represented two hundred thousand men who went down to death for their nation and many of them as great as General Grant. That is why that beautiful tomb stands on the heights over the Hudson. I remember an incident that, will illustrate this, the only one that I can give to-night. I am ashamed of it^ THE MAN AND THE V/ORK 341 but I don't dare leave it out. I close my eyes now ; I look back through the years to 1863 ; I can see liiy native town in the Berkshire Hills, I can see that cattle-show ground filled with people ; I can see the church there and the town hall crowded, and hear bands playing, and see flags flying and handkerchiefs steaming — well do I recall at this moment that day. The people had turned out to receive a company of soldiers, and that company came marching up on the Common. They had served out one term in the Civil War and had re-enlisted, and they were being re- ceived by their native townsmen. I was but a boy, but I was captain of that company, puffed out with pride on that day — why, a cambric needle would have burst me all to pieces. As I marched on the Common at the head of my company, there was not a man more proud than I. We marched into the town hall and then they seated my soldiers down in the center of the house and I took my place down on the front seat, and then the town officers filed through the great throng of people, who stood close and packed in that little hall. They came up on the platform, formed a half circle around it, and the mayor of the town, the " chairman of the Select men " in New England, took his seat in the middle of that half circle. He was an old man, his hair was gray; he never held an office before in his life. He thought that an office was all he needed to be a tridy great man, and'when he came up he ad- justed his powerful spectacles and glanced calmly around the audience with amazing dignity. Suddenly his eyes fell upon me, and then the good old man came right for^vard and invited me to come up on the stand with the town offi- cers. Invited me up on the stand ! No town officer ever took notice of me before I went to war. Now, I should not say that. One town officer was there who advised the teach- er to " whale " me, but I mean no " honorable mention." So I was invited up on the stand with the town officers. I took my seat and let my sword fall on the floor, and folded my arms across my breast and waited to be received. Na- poleon the Fifth ! Pride goeth before destruction and a fall. When I had gotten my seat and all became silent 342 LIFE OF RUSSELL H. CONWELL through the hall, the chairman of the Select men arose and came forward with great dignity to the table, and we all supposed he would introduce the Congregational min- ister, who was the only orator in the town, and who would give the oration to the returning soldiers. But, friends, you should have seen the surprise that ran over that audi- ence when they discovered that this old farmer was going to deliver that oration himself. He had never made a speech in his life before, but he fell into the same error that others have fallen into, he seemed to think that the ofiice would make him an orator. So he had written out a speech and walked up and down the pasture until he had learned it by heart and frightened the cattle, and he brought that manuscript with liim, and taking it from his pocket, he spread it carefully upon the table. Then he adjusted his spectacles to be sure that he might see it, and walked far loack on the platform and then stepped forward like this. He must have studied the subject much, for he assumed an elocutionary attitude ; he rested heavily upon his left heel, slightly advanced the right foot, threw back his shoulders, opened the organs of speech, and advanced his right hand at an angle of forty-five. As he stood in that elocutionary attitude this is just the way that speech went, this is it precisely. Some of my friends have asked me if I do not exaggerate it, but I could not exaggerate it. Impossible! This is the way it went; although I am not here for the story but the lesson that is back of it: " Fellow citizens." As soon as he heard his voice, his hand began to shake like that, his knees began to tremble, and then he shook all over. He coughed and choked and finally came around to look at his manuscript. Then he began again : " Fellow citizens : We — are — we are — we are — we are — We are very happy — we are very happy — 'we are very happy — to welcome back to their native town these soldiers who have foujrht and bled — and come back again to their native town. We are especially — we are especially — 'We are especjallv — we are especially pleased to see with us to-day tliis young hero (that meant. THE MAN AND THE WORK 343 me) — this yonng hero who in imagination (friends, re- member, he said " imagination," for if he had not said that, I would not be egotistical enough to refer to it) — this 3'oung hero who, in imagination, we have seen leading his troops — leading — we have seen leading — we have seen leading his troops on to the deadly breach. We have seen his shining — his shining — we have seen his shining — we have seen his shining — his shining sword — flashing in the sunlight as he shouted to his troops, ' Come on ! ' " Oh, dear, dear, dear, dear! How little that good, old man knew about war. If he had known anything about war, he ought to have known what any soldier in this audience knows is true, that it is next to a crime for an officer of infantry ever in time of danger to go ahead of his men. I, with my shining sword iiashing in the sun- light, shouting to my troops : ''' Come on." I never did it. Do you suppose I would go ahead of my men to be shot in the front by the enemy and in the back by my own men? That is no place for an officer. The place for the officer is behind the private soldier in actual fighting. How often, as a staff officer, I rode down the line when the Eebel cry and yell was coming out of the woods, sweeping along over the fields, and shouted, " Officers to the rear ! Officers to the rear ! " and then every officer goes behind the line of battle, and the higher the officer's rank, the farther behind he goes. Not because he is any the less brave, but because the laws of war require that to be done. If the general came up on the front line and were killed you would lose your battle anyhow, because he has the plan of the battle in his brain, and must be kept in comparative safety. I, with my " shining sword fiaslnAig in the sunlight." Ah ! There sat in the hall that day men who had given that boy their last hardtack, who had carried him on their backs through deep rivers. But some were not there; they had gone down to death for their country. The speaker mentioned them, but they were but little noticed, and yet they had gone down to death for their countrv, gone' down for a cause they believed was right and still 344 LIFE OF RUSSELL H. CONWELL believe was right, though I grant to the other side the same that I ask for myself. Yet these men who had ac- tually died for their country were little noticed, and the hero of the hour was this boy. Why was he the hero? Simply because that man fell into that same foolishness. This boy was an officer, and those were only private soldiers, I learned a lesson that I will never forget. Greatness consists not in holding some office ; greatness really consists in doing some great deed with little means, in the accomplishment of vast purposes from the private ranks of life; that is true greatness. He who can give to this people better streets, better homes, better schools, better churches, more religion, more of happiness, more of God, he that can be a blessing to the community, in which he lives to-night will be great anywhere, but he who cannot be a blessing where he now lives will never be great anywhere on the face of God's earth. " We live in deeds, not years, in feeling, not in figures on a dial; in thoughts, not breaths; we should count time by heart throbs, in the cause of right. Bailey says : " He most lives who thinks most." If you forget everything I have said to you, do not for- get this, because it contains more in two lines than all I have said. Bailey says : " He most lives who thinks most, who feels the noblest, and who acts the best." "PERSOXAL GLIMPSES OF CELEBRATED MEN" AND WOMEN." * WHEN I had been lecturing forty years, which is now four years ago, the Lecture Bureau sug- gested that before I retire from the public plat- form, that I should prepare one subject and deliver it through the country. For I had told the Bureau thirty years ago that when I had lectured forty years, I would retire. They therefore suggested a talk on this topic, "Personal Glimpses of Celebrated Men and Women." But a death in our family which destroyed the home- ness of our house produced such an effect upon us that after the forty years came we found that we would rather wander than stay at home, and con- sequently we are traveling still, and will do so until the end. This explanation will show why many of these things are said. For I must necessarily bring myself often into this topic, sometimes unpleasantly to myself. Mark Twain says, that the trouble with an old man is that he " remembers so many things that ain't so," and with Mark Twain's caution in my ears, I will try to give you these " Personal Glimpses of Celebrated Men and Women." I do not claim to be a very intimate friend of great men. But a fly may look at an elephant, and for this reason we may glance at the great men and women whom I have seen through the many years of public life. Some- times those glimpses give us a better idea of the real man or woman than an entire biography written while he was living would do; and to-night as a grandfather would bring his grandchildren to his knee and tell them of his * Steaographic report by A. Russell Smith, Sec'y. 345 346 LIFE OF RUSSELL H. CONV/ELL little experiences, so let me tell to you these incidents in a life now so largely lived out. As I glance back to the Hampshire Highlands of the dear old Berkshire Hills in Massachusetts, where my father worked as a farmer among the rocks for twenty years to pay off a mortgage of twelve hundred dollars upon his little farm, my elder brother and myself slept in the attic which had one window in the gable end, composed of four lights and those very small. I re- member that attic so distinctly now, with the ears of corn hung by the husks on the bare rafters, the rats running over the floor and sometimes over the faces of the boys; the patter of the rain upon the roof, and the whistle of the wind around that gable end, the sifting of the snows through the hole in the window over the pillow on our bed. While these things may appear very simple and homely before this great audience, yet I mention them because in this house I had a glimpse of the first great man I ever saw. It was far in the country, far from the railroad, far from the city, yet into that region there came occasionally a man or woman whose name is a household word in the world. In those mountains of my boyhood there was then an " underground railroad " run- ning from Virginia to Canada. It was called an " under- ground railroad," although it was a system by which the escaped slaves from Virginia came into Delaware, from Delaware into Philadelphia, then to New York, then to Springfield, and from .Springfield my father took the slaves by night to Worthington, Mass., and they were sent on by St. Albans, over the Canada line into liberty. Tliis " underground railroad " system was composed of a chain of men of whom my father was one link. One night my father drove up in the dark, and my elder brother and I looked out to see who it was he had brought home witli him. We supposed he had brought a slave whom he was helping to escape. Oh, those dreary, dark days, when we were in continual dread lest the United States IMarshal should arrest my father, throw him into prison for thus assisting these fugitive slaves. THE MAN AND THE WORK 347 The gloomy momor}^ of those early years chills me now. But as we gazed out that dark night, we saw that it was a white man with father and who helped unhitch the horses and put them in the barn. In the morning this white man sat at the breakfast table and my father in- troduced him to us, saying : " Boys, this is Frederick Douglass, the great colored orator." While I looked at him, giggling as boys will do, Mr. Douglass turned to us and said, " Yes, boys, I am a colored man ; my mother was a colored woman and my father a white man," and said he, " I have never seen my father, and I do not know much about my mother. I remember her once when she interfered between me and the overseer, who was whipping m.e, and she received the lash upon her cheek and shoulder, and her blood ran across my face. I remember washing her blood from my face and clothes." That story made a deep impression on us boys, stamped indelibly on our memories. Frederick Douglass is thus mentioned to illustrate the subject that I have come to teach to-night. He frequently came to our house after that and my mother often said to him, " Mr. Douglass, you wilt work yourself to death," but he replied that until the slaves were free, and that would be very soon, he must devote his life to them. But after that, said he, " I will retire to Eochester, New York, where I have some land and will build a house." 'He told us how many rooms it would have, what decorations would be there, but when the war had been over several years, he came to the house again and my father asked him about the house in Eochester. *' Well," he said, " I have not built that one yet, but I have my plans for it. I have some work yet to do; I must take care of the freedmen in the South, and look after their financial prosperity, then I will build my cottage." You all remember that he never built his house, but suddenly went on into the unknown of the greatest work of his life. I remember that in 1853, my father came with another man who was put for the night into the northwest bed- room — this is the room where those New En^landers 348 LIFE OF RUSSELL H. CONWELL always put their friends, because, perhaps, pneumonia comes there first — that awful, cold, dismal, northwest bedroom. Thinking a favorite uncle had come, I went to the door early in the morning. The door was shut — one of those doors which, if you lift the latch, the door imniediately swings open. I lifted the latch and pre- pared to leap in to awaken my uncle and astonish him by my early morning greeting. But when the door swung back, I glanced toward the bed. The astonishment chills me at this moment, for in that bed was not my uncle; but a giant, whose toes stood up at the foot-board, and whose long hair was spread out over the pillow and his long gray whiskers lay on the bed clothes, and oh, that snore — it sounded like some steam horn. That giant figure frightened me and I rushed out into the kitchen and said, " Mother, who is that strange man in the north- west bed room ? " and she said, " Why, that is John Brown." I had never seen John Brown before, although my father had been with him in the wool business in iSpringfield. I had heard some strange things about John Brown, and the figure of the man made them seem doubly terrible. I hid beside my mother, where' I said I would stay until the man was through his breakfast, but father came out and demanded that the boys should come in, and he set me right under the wing of that awful giant. But when John Brown saw us coming in so timidly, he turned to us with a smile so benign and beautiful and so greatly in contrast to what we had pic- tured him, that it was a transition. He became to us boys one of the loveliest men we ever knew. He would go to the barn with us and milk the cows, pitch the hay from the hay-mow; he drove the cattle to water for us, and told us many a story, until the dear, good old man became one of the treasurers of our life. It is true that my mother thought he was half crazy, and consequently she and father did not always agree about him, and did not discuss him before the children. But nevertheless, be he a crank, or a fanatic, or what he may, one thing ia sure, the richest milk of human kindness flowed from THE MAN AND THE WORK 349 that heart and devoted itself sincerely to the uplift of humanity. I remember him with love, love deep and sacred, up to this present time. However great an ex- tremist John Brown was, there were many of them in New England. Wendell Phillips, William Lloyd Garri- son and John Brown never could agree. John Brown used to criticise Wendell Phillips severely. He said that Wendell Phillips could not see to read the clearest signs of revolution, and he was reminded by the husband who bought a grave-stone that had been carved for another woman, but the stone-cutter said " That has the nanle of another person." " Oh," said the widower, " that makes no difference; my wife couldn't read." John Brown once said of Wm. Lloyd Garrison that he couldn't see the point and was like the woman who never could see a joke. One morning, seated at the breakfast table, her husband cracked a joke, but she did not smile, when he said, " Mary, you could not see a joke if it were fired at you from a Dal- green gun, whereupon she remarked : " Now John, you know they do not fire jokes out of a gun." Well do I recall that December 2d of 1859. Only a few weeks be- fore John Brown came to our house and my father sub- scribed to the purchase of rifles to aid in the attempt to raise the insurrection among the slaves. The last time I saw John Brown he was in the wagon with my father. Father gave him the reins and came back as though he had forgotten something. John Brown said, "Boys, stay at home ; stay at home ! " Now, remember, you may never see me again," and then in a lower voice, " And I do not think you ever will see me again," but " Remember the advice of your Uncle BrowTi (as we called him), and stay at home with the old folks, and remember that you will be more blessed here than anywhere else on earth." The happiest place on earth for me is still at my old home in Litchfield, Connecticut. I did not understand him then, but on December 2d at eleven o'clock my father called us all into the house and all that hour from eleven to twelve o'clock we sat there in perfect silence. As the old clock in that kitchen struck eleven, I heard the bell 350 LIFE OF RUSSELL H. CONWELL ring from the Methodist Church, its peal coming np the valley, from hill to hill, and echoing its sad tone as the liour wore on. The peal of that bell remains with me now ; it has ever been a source of inspiration to me. .Sixty times struck that old bell. Once a minute, and when the long sad hour was over, father put his Bible upon the mantel and went slowly out, and we all solemnly fol- lowed, going to our various duties. That solemn hour had a voice in the coming great Civil War of 1861-65. At that hour John Brown was hanged in Virginia. All through New England, they kept that hour with the same solemn services which characterized my father's family. When the call came for volunteers the young men of New England enlisted in the army, and sang again and again, that old song, " John Brown's body lies mouldering in the grave, but his soul goes marching on." His soul is still marching on. And while I am one of those who would be the first to resist any attempt to mar the sweet fra- ternity that now characterises the feeling between the North and South, as I believe that the Southern soldier fought for what he believed to be right, and consequently is entitled to our fraternal respect, and while 1 believe that John Brown was sometimes a fanatic, yet this illus- tration teaches us this great lesson and that John Brown's advice was true. His happiest days were passed far back in the quiet of his old home. Near to our home, in the town of Cummington, lived William Cullen Bryant, one of the great poets of New England. He came back there to spend his summers among the mountains he so dearly loved. He promised the people of Cummington that he would again make his permanent home there. I remember asking him if he would come down to the stream where he wrote " Thana- topsis " and recite it for us. The good, old neighbor, white haired and trembling, came doAvn to the banks of that little stream and stood in the shade of the same old maple where he had written that beautiful poem, and read from the wonderful creation that made his name famous. THE MAN AND THE WORK 351 " So live that when thy summons comes, to join The innumerable caravan which moves To that mysterious realm where each must take His chamber in the silent halls of death, Thou go not, like the quarry slave at night, Scourged to his dungeon; but, sustained and soothed By an unfaltering trust, approach thy grave Like one who wraps the drapery of his couch About him, and lies down to pleasant dreams." " Yes," he said, " I will come back to Cummington. So he went to Europe but came not back to occupy that home. He loved the old home. We were driving by his place one day when we saw him planting apple trees in July. We ail know that apple trees won't grow when planted in July, so my father, knowing him well, called to him and said, " Mr. Bryant, what are you doing there ? They won't grow." Mr. Bryant paused a moment and looked at us, and then said half playfully : " Conwell, drive on, you have no part nor lot in this matter. I do not expect these trees to grow; I am setting them out because I want to live over again the days when my father used to set trees when they would grow. I want to renew that memory." He was wise, for in his work on " The Transmigration of Eaces " he used that exper- ience wonderfully. In 18(50, when we were teaching school, my elder brother and myself, in Blanchford, Massachusetts, were asked to go to Brooklyn with the body of a lady who died near our schools. We went to BrookhTi on Satur- day and after the funeral, our friends asked us to stay over Sunday, saying that they would take us to hear Henry Ward Beecher! That was a great inducement, be- cause my father read the " Tribune " every Sunday morn- ing after his Bible (and sometimes before it) and what Henry Ward Beecher said, my father thought, " was law and Gospel." Sunday night, we went to Plymouth Church, and there was a crowd an hour before the service, and when the doors were opened we were crowded up the 352 LIFE OF RUSSELL H. CONWELL stairs. We boys were thrust back into a dirty corner where we could not see. Oh, yes, that is the way they treat the boys, put them any place — they're only boys ! I remember the disappointment of that night, when we went there more to see than hear. But finally Mr. Beecher came out and gave out his text. I remember that 1 did not pay very much attention to it. In the middle of the ser- mon Mr. Beecher began in the strangest way to auction off a woman : '*' How much am I offered for the woman ? " he yelled, and while in his biographies, they have said that this woman was sold in the Broadway Tabernacle, but I afterwards asked Mrs. Beecher and she said that Mr. Beecher had not sold this woman twice, so far as she knew, but that she recalled distinctly the sale in the Ply- mouth Church. I remember standing up on tip-toes to look for that woman that was being sold. After he had finished, after the singing of the hymn, he said " Breth- ren, be seated," and then said, " Sam, come here." A colored boy came up tremblingly and stood beside him. "This boy is offered for $770.00; he is owned in South Carolina and has run away. His master offers. him to me for $770.00, and now if the officers of the church will pass the plates the boy shall be set free," and when the plates were returned over $1700.00 came in. As we went our way home I said to my elder brother : " Oh, what a grand thing it must be to preach to a congregation of fifteen hundred people. But my elder brother very wisely said : " You don't know anything about it ; you do not know whether he is happy or not." " Well," I suggested, " wasn't it a strange thing to introduce a public auction in the middle of a sermon," and my elder brother again said that if they did more of that in a country church they would have a larger congregaton. Afterwards I was quite fortunate to know Mr. Beecher and frequently re- ported his sermons. I often heard him say that the hap- piest years he ever knew were back in Lawrenceville, Ohio, in that little church where there were no lamps and he had to borrow them himself, light them himself, and prepare the church for the first service. He told how he THE MAN AND THE WORK 353 swept the church, lighted the fire in the stove, and how it smoked; then how he sawed the wood to heat the church, and how he went into carpenter work to earn money to pay his own salary, 3'et he said that was the hap- piest time of his life. Mrs. Beecher told me afterwards that Mr. Beecher often talked about those days and said that bye and bye he would retire and they w^ould again go back to the simple life they had enjoyed so much. When he had built his new home near the Hudson, Eobert Collier and I visited him. We found in the rear of an addition that clap-boards had been put up in all sorts of adjustment. Mr. Collier asked him : " Where did you find a carpenter to do such poor work as that ? " and Mr. Beecher said humorously : " You could not hire that carpenter on your house." Then he said: "Mr. Collier, I put those boards on that house myself. I in- sisted that they leave that work for me to do. I have been happy putting on these boards and driving these nails. They took me back to the old days at Lawrence- ville, where we lived over a store and our pantry was a dry goods box. But there we were so happy. I am hop- ing sometime to be as happy again, but it is not possible to do it while I am in the service of the public." He had promised himself and his wife some day to go back to that simple life. But his sudden death taught the same great lesson with all the examples I give of great men and women. Eev. Eobt. Collier always enjoyed the circus — the cir- cus was the great place of enjoyment outside, perhaps, of his pulpit work. It was Robert Collier who used to tell the story of the boy whose aunt always made him go to church, but after going to a circus he wrote to his aunt: " Auntie, if you had ever been to a circus, you wouldn't go to another prayer-meeting as long as you live." The love of Collier for the circus onlv shows the simplicity of the great man's mind. Mr. Collier is said to have paid a dollar for a fifty cent ticket to the circus, only making it conditional that he was to have the privilege of going 'round to the rear and crawling under the tent, showing what he must have done when a boy. The fact of Mr. 23 354 LIFE OF RUSSELL H. CONV/ELL Collier's love for the circus was one of the strange things in the eccentricities of a great man's life. Once Mr. Bar- num came into Mr. Collier's church and Mr. Collier said to the usher : " Please show Mr. Barnum to a front seat, for he always gives me one in his circus." These sim- plicities often show that somewhere back in each man's life there is a point where happiness and love are one, and when that point is passed, we go on longing to the re- turn. The night after he went to hear Henry Ward Beecher's great sermon they persuaded us to stay until the follow- ing Monday night, because there was to be a lecture at the Cooper Institute and there was to be a parade of political clubs, and fire works, so as country boys, easily influenced, we decided that the school could wait for an- other day, and staid for the procession. We went to Cooper's Institute and there was a crowd as there was at Beecher's church. We finally got on the stairway and far in the rear of the great crowd, but my brother stood on the floor, and I sat on the ledge of the window sill, with my feet on his shoulders, so he held me while I told him down there what was going on over yonder. The first man that came on the platform, and presided at that meeting, was William Cullent Bryant, our dear old neigh- bor. When we boys in a strange city saw that familiar face, oh, the emotions that arose in our hearts! How proud we were at that hour, that he, our neighbor, was presiding on that occasion. He took his seat on the stage, the right of which was left vacant for some one yet to come. Next came a very heavy man, but immediately fol- lowing him a tall, lean man. Mr. Bryant arose and went toward him, bowing and smiling. He was an awkward specimen of a man and all about me people were asking "Who is that?" but no man seemed to know. T asked a gentleman who that man was, but he said he didn't know. He was an awkward specimen indeed; one of the legs of his trousers was up about two inches above his shoe; his hair was dishevelled and stuck out like rooster's feathers; his coat was altogether too large for him in tlie back. THE MAN AND THE WORK 355 his arms much longer than the sleeves, and with his legs twisted around the rungs of the chair, was the picture of of embarrassment. When Mr. Bryant arose to introduce the speaker of that evening, he was known seemingly to few in that great hall. Mr. Br}'ant said: "Gentlemen of New York, you have your favorite son in Mr. Seward, and if he were to be President of the United States, every one of us would be proud of him." Then came great ap- plause. " Ohio has her favorite son in Judge Wade ; and the nation would prosper under his administration, but Gentlemen of ISTew York, it is a great honor that is con- ferred upon me to-night, for I can introduce to you the next President of the United States, Abraham Lincoln." Then through that audience flew the query as to whom Abraham Lincoln was. There was but weak applause. Mr. Lincoln had in his hand a manuscript. He had writ- ten it with great care and exactness and the speech which you read in his biography is the one that he wrote, not the one that he delivered as I recall it, and it is fortu- nate for the country that they did print the one that he wrote. I think the one he wrote had already been set up in type that afternoon from his manuscript, and conse- quently they did not go over it to see whether it had been changed or not. He had read three pages and had gone on to the fourth when he lost his place and then he be- gan to tremble and stammer. He then turned it over two or three times, threw the manuscript upon the table, and, as they say in the west, " let himself go." Now the stam- mering man who had created only silent derision up to that point, suddenly flashed out into an angel of oratory and the awkward arms and dishevelled hair were lost sight of entirely in the wonderful beauty and lofty inspi- ration of that magnificent address. The great audience immediately began to follow his thought, and when he ut- tered that quotation from Douglass, " It is written on the sky of America that the slaves shall some day be free," he had settled the question that he was to be the next Presi- dent of the United States. The applause was so great that the building trembled and I felt the windows shake 356 LIFE OF RUSSELL H. CONWELL" behind me. Afterward, as we walked home, I said to my elder brother again, " Wasn't it a great thing to be in- troduced to all those people as the next President of the United States ? " and my elder brother very wisely said : " You do not know whether he was really happy or not/' Afterwards, in 1864, when one of my soldiers was unjustly sentenced and his gray-haired mother plead with me to use what influence I would have with the President, I went to Washington and told the story to the President. He said he had heard something about it from Mr. .Stan- ton, and he said he would investigate the matter, and he did afterward decide that the man should not be put to death. At the close of that interview I said to the Presi- dent : " I beg your pardon, Mr. Lincoln, but is it -not a most exhausting thing to sit here hearing all these ap- peals and have all of this business on your hands ? " He laid his head on his hand, and in a somewhat wearied man- ner, said, with a deep sigh : " Yes, yes ; no man ought to be ambitious to be President of the United States," and said he, " When this war is over, and that won't be very long, I tell my " Tad " that we will go back to the farm where I was happier as a boy when I dug potatoes at twenty-five cents a day than I am now; I tell him I will buy him a mule and a pony and he shall have a little cart and he shall make a little garden in a field all his own," and the President's face beamed as he arose from his chair in the delight of excitement as he said : " Yes, I will be far happier than I have ever been here." The next time I looked in the face of Abraham Lincoln was in the east room of the White House at Washington as he lay in his coffin. Not long ago at a Chautauqua lecture I was on the very farm which he bought at Salem, Illinois, and looked around the place where he had resolved to build a mansion, but which was never constructed. Near my home in the Berkshires, Charles Dudley War- ner was born. When he had accomplished great things . in literature and had written " My Summer in a Gar- den," that popular work which attracted the attention of his newspaper friends, he went to Hartford, where the. THE MAN AND THE WORK 357] latter gave him a banquet. I was invited to attend and report it for the public press. They lauded him and said how beautiful it was to be so elevated above his fellow men, and how great he was in the estimation of the world. But he in his answer to the toast said, " Gentlemen, I wish for no fame, I desire no glory and you have made a mistake if you think I enjoy any such notoriety. I envy the Hartford teacher whose smile threw sunshine along her pathway." Then he told us the story of a poor little boy, cold and barefooted, standing on the street on a terribly cold day. A lady came along, and looking kindly at him, said, " Little boy, are you cold ? '" The little fellow, looking up into her face, said, " Yes Ma'am, I was cold till you smiled." He would rather have a smile like that and the simple love of his fellow men than to have all the fame of the earth. He was honored in all parts of the world by the greatest of the great, yet he was a sad man when he wrote " My Summer in a Garden," and it all seems a mystery how he could in such grief have written that remarkable little tale. This sadness is often associated with humorists. Mr. Shaw was one of the saddest men I ever met. Why, he cried on the slightest oc- casion. I went one day to interview him in Boston, and Mr. Shepard- his publisher, said " Please don't trouble Josh Billings now." " What is the matter? " " Oh, he is cry- ing again,'^ said Mr. Shepard. I asked him how Mr. Shaw could write such funny things as he did. He then showed me the manuscript (which Mr. Shaw had just placed on his desk and which he had just written), in which he says, " I do not know any cure for laziness, but I have known a second wife to hurry it up some." Artemus Ward wrote the most laughable things while his heart was in the deepest wretchedness. Often these glimpses of the funny men whose profession would seem to show them to be the happiest of earth's people, prove that they are sometimes the most gloomy and miserable. John B. Gough, the great temperance orator, the great- est the world has ever seen, said to me one evening at his home that he would lecture for forty years, and then S58 LIFE OF RUSSELL H. CONWELL would stop. But his wife said, " Now, John, you know yon won't give it up." He assented, " Yes, I will." But his wife said, " jSTo you won't. You men when you drink of public life find it like a drink of whiskey, and you are just like the rest of the men." " No," said he. Then Mr. Gough told again his familiar story of the minister who was preaching in his pulpit in Boston when he saw the Governor of the State coming up the aisle. Imme- diately he began to stammer, and finally said : " I see the Governor coming in, and as 1 know you will want to hear an exhortation from him, I think that I had better stop." Then one of the old officials leaped up from one of the front seats and said, " I insist upon your going on with your sermon, sir; you ought not be embarrassed by the Governor's coming in. We are all worms! All worms ! nothing but worms ! " Then the minister was angry and shouted : " .Sir, I would have you understand that there is a difference in worms." Mr. Gough said he was different from other people yet the years came and went, and he stayed on the public platform. One night a committee from Frankford, Philadelphia, asked me to write him and ask him to lecture for them. I wrote and whether my influence had an^-thing to do with it or not, I do not know, but he came from New York and when he was in about the middle of his lecture, he came to that sentence, " Young man, keep your record clear, for a single glass of intoxicating liquor may some- where, in after years, change into a horrid monster that shall carry you down to woe." And when he had uttered that wonderful sentence of advice, he stopped to get breath, reached for a drink of water, swung forward and fell over. The doctor said he was too late for any earthly aid, and John B. Gough, with his armor on, went on into Glory. He never found that earthly rest he had prom- ised himself. His garden never showed its flowers, and h.is fields were never strewn with grain. When our regiment was encamped in Faneuil Hall at Boston before embarking for the war in 1863, Mr. Wen- dell Phillips sent an invitation to the officers of the regi- THE MAN AND THE WORK 359 ment to visit his home. But when we reached his house we found that he had been caJled to Worcester suddenly to make a speech. But we found his wife there in her rolling chair, for she was a permanent invalid. Our even- ing was spent very pleasantlj', but I said to her : " Are you not very lonesome when Mr. Phillips is away so much ? " " Yes/' she said, " I am very lonesome ; he is father, mother, brother, sister, husband and child to me," and said she, " he cares for me with the tenderness of a mother; he waits upon me, he takes me out, and brings me in; he dresses me, and it now seems so strange that he is not by my side. If it were not for him, I should die, •but he says that as soon as the slaves are free that he will come back and be the same husband he was before." The officers standing around me smiled as they heard of his promise to retire, but said she, " Oh, yes, he will do as he promised." When the war was over and the slaves were free, and he had scolded General Grant all he wished, he did do as he promised, and did retire. He sold his house in the city and bought one in Waverly, Massa- chusetts. He did prove the exception and went back to the private life that he had promised himself and his wife. Every Sunday morning as I drove by his home I could see him swinging on his gate. It was a double gate over the driveway, and he would pull that gate far in, get on it and then swing way out over the side-walk and then in again. Well, he used to swing on that gate every Sunday morn- ing, and my family wondered why it was that he always did it on that particular morning. One Sunday morning when I drove by, I found Mr. Phillips swinging on his gate over the side-walk, and I said, " Mr. Phillips, my fam- ily wish me to ask you why you swing on this gate every Sunday morning." Mr. Phillips, who had a very deep sense of humour, stepped off the gate, stood back, and assuming a dignified, ministerial air, '' I am requested to discourse to-day upon the text ' Why I swing upon this gate on Sunday morning,' and I will, therefore, divide my text into two heads." I quickly told him that I must get to church some time that day. " Then," said 360 LIFE OF RUSSELL H. CONWELL he, with a smile, " just one word more : Why do I swing on a gate? Because the first time I saw my wife she was swinging on the gate, and the second time I saw her, we kissed each other over the top of the gate, and when I swing it reminds me of other happy days long gone by. That, sir, is the reason I swing upon this gate." Then his humor all disappeared and he said : " I really swing upon this gate on Sunday morning because I think the next thing to the love of God is love of man for a true woman — as you cannot say you love God and hate your brother, neither can you say you love God unless you have first loved a human being, and I swing on this gate on Sunday morning because to me it is next to life's highest worship." And then, in a majestic manner, he said, " Con well, all within this gate is PAEADISE and all without it MARTYRDOM." In that wonderful sentence, which I feel sure I recall accurately, he uttered the most glorious expression that could ever come from uninspired lips. I had a glimpse of James G. Blaine when I went to his home in Augusta, Maine, to write his biography for the committee. A day or two after it was finished a dis- tinguished Senator from Washington came to see me in Philadelphia and asked if Mr. Blaine had seen the book, and I told him that he certainly had. " Did he see that second chapter ? " " Of course he did," said I ; " he cor- rected it." Then he wanted to know how much money it would take to get the book out of circulation. " Why, what is the matter with the book," said I, but he would not tell me, and said that he would pay me well if I would only keep the book from circulation. He did not tell me what was the matter. I told him that the pub- lishers owned the copyright, having bought it from me. He said, "Is it not possible for you to take a trip to Europe to-morrow morning?" "But why take a trip to Europe ? " " The committee will pay all of your expenses, all your family's expenses, and of any servants you wish to take with you — only get out of the country." " Well," I said, " I am not going to leave the country for my TPIE MAN AND THE WORK 361 country's good, unless I know what I am going for." I never could find out what the trouble with that second chapter was, and I afterwards asked Mrs. Blaine if she knew what was the matter. She then broke out in a paroxysm of grief and said that if he had stayed in Wash- ington, Pennsylvania, where he was a teacher, " he would be living yet." She said " he had given thirty years of his life to the public service, and now they have so un- gratefully disgraced his name, sent him to an early grave, and all in consequence of what he has done for the pub- lic. He is a stranger to his country — a stranger to his friends," and then she said, " would to God he had stayed in Pennsylvania ! " I left her then, but I have never known what was in that second chapter that caused the disturbance. But I do know the second chapter was concerning their early and happy life in Washington, Pennsylvania, where he taught in the college. Near our home in Newton, Massachusetts, was that of "F. F. Smith, who wrote " America." It was of him that Oliver Wendell Holmes said that " Nature tried to hide him by naming him Smith." Smith lived that quiet and restful life that reminds one of Tennyson's "Brook " when thinking of him. He knew the glory of modest living. The last time I saw the sweet Quaker poet, John Green- leaf Whittier, was in Amesbury, before he died. He sent a note to the lecture hall asking me to come to him. I asked him what was his favorite poem of his own writing. He said he had not thought very much about it, but said that there was one that he especially remembered: " I know not where His islands lift Their fronded palms in air, I only know I cannot drift Beyond His love and care." I then asked him, " Mr. Whittier, how could you write all those war songs which sent us young men to war, and you a peaceful Quaker? I cannot understand it." He 362 LIFE OF RUSSELL H. CONWELL smiled and said that his great-grandfather had been on a ship that was attacked by pirates, and as one of the pirates was climbing up the rope into their ship, his great-grandfather grasped a knife and cut the rope, say- ing : " If thee wants the rope, thee can have it." He said that he had inherited something of the same spirit. At Kennett Square, Pennsylvania, Bayard Taylor took me to the grave of his wife, and said " Here is the spot where I determined to live anew. From this grave the real experiences of my life began." There he was com- pleting his home called " Cedar Croft." But he died while IJ. S, Minister to Germany. The Young Men's Congress of Boston, when arranging for a great memorial service in Tremont Temple, asked me to call on Dr. Oliver Wend el Holmes to ask him to write a poem on Bayard Taylor's death. When I asked Mr. Holmes to write this poem, to be read in the Tremont Temple, he was sitting on the rock- ing chair. He rocked back and kicked up his feet, and began to laugh. " I write a poem on Bayard Taylor — ah, no — but I tell you, if you will get Mr. Longfellow to write a poem on Bayard Taylor's death, I Avill read it." These things only show the eccentricities of Mr. Holmes. So I went to Mr. Longfellow and told him what Dr. Holmes had said, and here is the poem he wrote: " Dead he lay among his books ! The peace of God was in his looks. As the statues in the gloom Watch o'er Maximilian's tomb. So those volumes from their shelve:. Watched him, silent as themselves. Ah, his hand will never more Turn their storied pages o'er. Never more his lips repeat Songs of theirs, however sweet. Let the lifeless body rest! He is gone who was its guest. Gone as travellers haste to leave An inn, nor tarry until eve. THE MAN AND THE WORK 363 Traveller ! in what realms afar. In what planet, in what star. In what gardens of delight East thy weary feet to-night ? Poet, thou whose latest verse Was a garland on thy hearse, Thou hast sung with organ tone In Deukalion's life thine own. On the ruins of the Past Blooms the perfect flower, at last. Friend, but yesterday the bells Pang for thee their loud farewells; And to-day they toll for thee, Lying dead beyond the sea; Lying dead among thy books; The peace of God in all thy looks." That great traveller, like Mr. Longfellow, used to tell me of his first wife. He always said that her sweet spirit occupied that room and stood by him. I often told him that he was wrong and argued with him, but he said, " I know she is here." I often thought of the great in- spiration she had been to him in his marvelous poems and books. Poor Bayard Taylor, " In what gardens of delight, rest thy weary feet to-night?" Mr. Longfellow once said that Mary " stood Between him and his manu- script," and he could not get away from the impression that she was with him all the time. How sad was her early death and how he suffered the martyrdom of the faithful ! Longfellow's home life was always beautiful. But his later years were disturbed greatly by souvenir and curiosity seekers. Horace Greeley died of a broken heart because he was not elected President of the United States, and never was happy in the last years of his life. His idea of true happiness was to go to some quiet retreat and publish some little paper. He once declared at a dinner in Brook- lyn that he envied the owner of a weekly paper in In- 3G4 LIFE OF RUSSELL H. CONWELL diana whose paper was so weakly that the subscribers did not miss it if it failed to appear. ]\Ir. Tennyson told me that he would not exchange his home, walled in as it was like a fortress, for Windsor Castle or the throne of the Queen. Mr. Carnegie said to me only a few months ago that if a man owned his home and had his health he had all the money that man needed to be as happy as any person can be. Mr. Carnegie was right about that. Empress Eugenie, in 1870, was said to be the happiest woman in France. I saw her in the Tuilleres at a gor- geous banquet and a few years after, when her husband had been captured, her son killed and she was a widow, at the Chislehurst Cottage, I said to her, " The last time I saw you in that beautiful palace you were said to be the happiest woman in the world." " .Sir," she said, " I am far happier now than I was then." It was a statement that for a long time I could not understand. I caught a glimpse of Garibaldi weeping because he did not go back with his wife, Anita, to South America. I visited Charles Dickens at his home and asked him to come to America again and read from his books, but Mr. Dickens said " No, I will never cross the ocean ; I will not go even to London. When I die, I am to be bur- ied out there on the lawn," and he pointed out the place to me. A few weeks later I hired a custodian to let me in early at the rear gate of Westminster Abbey, for Par- liament had changed Mr. Dickens's will in one respect, and provided that he should not be buried on the lawn of his cottage, but instead in Westminster Abbey, but they made no other change in his will. There I looked on the fifteen men, all whom the will allowed to be pres- ent at his funeral, who were bearing all that was mortal of Charles Dickens to his rest, and I heard Dean Stanley say "While Mr. Dickens lived, his loss was our gain; but now his gain is our loss." When he uttered that great truth, very condensed, in that beautiful language, he showed that human life in the public service of one's THE MAN AND THE WORK 365 follow men may be nothing more or less than continual sacrifice. My friends, if you are called to public service; if you have influence that you can use for the public good, do not hesitate to go if you are SUEE that DUTY calls you. But if, instead, no voice of God, no call of mankinds doth require that you go out and give up the best of life for your fellows, remember how fortunate you are. If you can go to your home at evening and read your paper in peace, and rest undisturbed, do so, and remember that you have reached the very height of personal happiness. Then seek no farther, count thyself happy and go no farther than God shall call you. For the happiest man is not famous, nor rich, but he who hath his loved ones in an undisturbed peace around. Eemember what Wendell Phillips said, "All within this gate is Paradise; all with- out it is MAETYDROM." I had a glimpse of Generals Grant and Sheridan wrest- ling like boys, over a box of cigars sent into General Grant's tent. They were boys again. I had a glimpse of Li Hung Chang at Nanking, China, at an execution by beheading, and a glimpse of him an hour later playing leap frog with his grandchildren. Childhood was a joy, manhood a tragedy. UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA LIBRARY Los Angeles This book is DUE on the last date stamped below. i» ..;^tjai-u8i^ •fStv u i.i->-LRi^ $\ ,ii, DEC 27. 1911, m 4" IVIAV 1 9 1998 Bit - rl JUL V '^S ov^fSt 31981 1'^'' Form L9-Series 4939 AA 000 834 989 i