^f N&i * t<&. > -''":-" I^SSELLp^OirfWEIi % y v - liSli % THE LIBRARY OF THE UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA LOS ANGELES k GIFT of Huntington Library ¥ - _ Charles H. Spurgeon, the World's Greatest Divine. LIFE Charles Haddon Spurgeon THE WORLD'S GREAT PREACHER. RUSSELL TL CONWELL, AUTHOR OF LIFE OF EX-PRESIDENT GARFIELD, HON. JAMES G. BLAINE BAYARD TAYLOR, ACRES OF DIAMONDS, Etc., Etc. " We love Christ better than sect and truth better than party." — Spurgeon. ILLUSTRATED. EDGEWOOD PUBLISHING CO. 1802. Copyright, 1892, by M. Coghlan. C7 PUBLISHER'S PREFACE. In publishing the life of the late Charles Haddon Spurgeon, the publishers feel a peculiar pleasure and be- lieve themselves especially fortunate in having secured the Rev. Russell H. Conwell, the founder and pastor at The Temple, of Philadelphia, to prepare the work. There are many reasons why the popular preacher, who might justly be called the Spurgeon of America, should in this way pay a loving tribute to the memory of his great English ecclesiastical brother, and why such a book must have an absorbing interest for all readers. Foremost among these might be considered his personal acquaintance with the great divine of gigantic efforts and wonderful achieve- ments, and the deep study he has ever given to his popular brother preacher's life and the measure of its successes. As a fellow-preacher of the Gospel, he knew better than any layman how to interpret the hidden springs of success to count the cost of Herculean efforts made, and better understand the great man's life-work in all its thousands of minute details which he, as an intimate personal frien d had the opportunity to observe. Like Spurgeon, he has the power to earn and raise large sums of money, but he devotes every dollar beyond a reasonable living expense to the cause he has so much at heart. His remarkable line of work, also, in many ways corresponds with that of Spurgeon. 77574.4 PUBLISHER'S PREFACE. The similarity in the work of the English Spurgeon and the American Conwell has often been commented upon by press and people. Spurgeon made, and Conwell is making, a complete sacrifice of talents, time and health to the one aim in life — the salvation of souls. Each commenced life a poor boy, and had an early life fraught with discourage- ments and temptations. The author's grand work for the Grace Baptist Church* of Philadelphia, has justly distinguished him as the great- est preacher of his denomination in this country. He was a student at Yale College, and graduated in the Law De- partment of Albany University and was admitted to the New York bar in 1865. His health not permitting the prac- tice of law, he began as traveling correspondent of the Boston Traveler and the New York Tribmie, during which time his constant companion and warmest friend was Bayard Taylor, with whom he traveled all over the world, and obtained distinction as a journalist. In addition to the pastorate of a church which has one of the most remarkable houses of worship in the world, open every hour of every day and night in the year, and is never untenanted, Dr. Conwell is the head of Temple Col- lege, connected with the church fostered by him, which is for the free education of working-men and women in the classic collegiate branches, with fourteen professors, a preparatory department that sends pupils to Yale, Har- vard and Amherst, and giving itself degrees equal to those of Princeton. He is the head of the Samaritan Hospital, also an outgrowth of his personal effort and example, which is doing incalculable good in Philadelphia. In addition to his church work, Dr. Conwell lectures all over the United States, to large and delighted audiences. He is also a prolific author. The most important of his works are a " Life of Garfield," which he wrote at the PUBLISHER'S PREFACE. home of the martyred President, in Mentor ; " Why and How the Chinese Immigrate," the material for which he gathered in the Chinese Empire ; " Life of Hon. James G. Blaine," "Life of Bayard Taylor," and "Acres of Dia- monds," each of which has been appreciatively read by thousands of readers in this and other countries. Russell H. Conwell has what his associate pastor has been pleased to call " sanctified common-sense," coupled with an excellent education and training in writing for the people. He writes in an easy, flowing style. We think it will be readily recognized that with his exceptional abili- ties as an author, his wonderful popularity as a lecturer, and his great work as a minister of the Gospel, he is pre- eminently qualified to write the true romance of the life of Charles Haddon Spurgeon. The Publishers. Russell H. Conwell, Pastor Grace Baptist.Church. Philadelphia. The Temple, Broad and'Berks Sts., Philadelphia. The First Meeting-House and the Present|Temple of the Grace Baptist Church, of Philadel- phia. Russell H. Conwell, Founder and Pastor. TABLE OF CONTENTS. PAGE Publisher's Preface, v CHAPTER I. Childhood's Home, 17 CHAPTER II. Early Education, 42 CHAPTER III. Beginning of Miracles, 68 CHAPTER IV. Early Religious Experiences, 88 CHAPTER V. The History of His Church, 116 CHAPTER VI. His Preaching, 150 CHAPTER VII. Wonderful Healing, 172 CHAPTER VIII. Building for the Lord, 195 TABLE OF CONTENTS. CHAPTER IX. PAGE Mrs. Spurgeon and Her Work, 222 CHAPTER X. The Book Fund, 273 CHAPTER XL Lovely Westwood, 309 CHAPTER XII. God Heard Him, 345 CHAPTER XIII. The Pastors' College, 370 CHAPTER XIV. The Orphanage, , 406 CHAPTER XV. The Old Ladies' Home, 437 CHAPTER XVI. Powerful Reinforcements, 444 CHAPTER XVII. In Combat, 457 CHAPTER XVIII. The Poet, 478 CHAPTER XIX. The Death of the Righteous, 485 LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS. PAGE Charles Haddon Spurgeon, . Frontispiece Mrs. Charles H. Spurgeon, iv Rev. Russell H. Conwell, ix The Temple, Broad and Berks Streets, Philadelphia, xi Birthplace of Spurgeon, 29 James Spurgeon, 45 Spurgeon at Nineteen, 81 The Cottage in Which Mr. Spurgeon Preached His First Sermon, 99 The Unjust Sentence, 125 "Good Sister, Put out Your Tongue," 133 A Practical Preacher, 145 Preaching to the Lowly, 169 London Residence of Mr. Spurgeon, 197 Surrey Music Hall, 207 Interior View, Metropolitan Tabernacle, 217 A Glimpse Into the Early Home, 229 Metropolitan Tabernacle, C. H. Spurgeon, Pastor, 245 A Sickbed Prayer, 347 An Unexpected Donation, 355 Suddenly Convicted of Sin, 367 The Pastors' College, 375 Boys' Home, Stockwell Orphanage, 409 School-Room, Stockwell Orphanage, 423 LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS. Play Grounds, Stockwell Orphanage, 433 If the Cap Fits You, Wear It, 495 Burn a Candle at Both Ends, and It Will Soon be Gone, 499 Hunchback Sees not His Own Hump, 504 It is Hard for an Empty Sack to Stand Upright, . . 507 A Handsaw is a Good Thing, but not to Shave with, 522 Don't Cut Off Your Nose to Spite Your Face, . . . 527 He Has a Hole Under His Nose, and His Money Runs Into It, 530 Mr. Spurgeon in His Pulpit, 537 JOHN PLOUGHMAN'S PICTURES. FAGB Mr. Spurgeon as John Ploughman, 493 If the Cap Fits, Wear it, 495 Never Burn a Candle at Both Ends, 499 Hunchback Sees not His own Hump, 504 It is Hard for an Empty Sack to Stand Upright, .... 507 The Old Man and His Donkey, 514 A Horn Blower, but not a Hunter, 518 Don't Shave with a Handsaw, 522 Don't Cut off your Nose to Spite your Face, 527 The Hole Under the Nose, 530 Fast Day Service (A Sermon), 536 The Bible, " 566 Proving God, " 591 Mrs. C. H. Spurgeon. CHAPTER I. childhood's home. Spurgeon, speaking himself, of one of the roman- tic incidents in his remarkable life, said " to me it was a wonderful thing and I no more understood at that time how it came to pass, than I understand to- day, why the Lord should be so gracious to me." The whole history of this remarkable man, through all the various scenes of his eventful experiences, certainly presents one of the most miraculous records to be found in modern or ancient times, and yet his manner has been so quiet and his mode of life so modest that many of our most intelligent readers are wholly unconscious of the fascinating character of his interesting story. Many writers, whose wisdom in other respects seem to be unquestionable, declare that the day of miracles has passed ; but taking another view of the same thought, we can but come to the deliberate conclusion that the day of miracles is by no means passed, but that they are of daily occurrence and that they fail to make the startling impression they for- merly did, because of their great frequency. But the life of Spurgeon contains so much that is 2 17 1$ CHARLES H. SPURGE ON. strange, unusual, wonderful, and even truly miracu- lous, that it will require most careful statement and most conservative reasoning to convince the reader that the record is literally true. To separate such a story from the superstitions which are naturally thrown about it by the ignorant ; and from the criticisms which are thrown over it by the fastidious scholastics is a most difficult under- taking. It makes one tremble to look into the conflicting mass of material, with the purpose of arranging" the events so as to make a continued and reasonable history. His life has never been written as a consecutive story, except in the most condensed form ; and then many of those who have undertaken to set forth his history have omitted or glossed over the most start- ling things connected with his experiences. To tell the truth fearlessly, to meet the criticisms of those who are ready to accuse the writer of superstition, and to make the world see that the most romantic things are in real life and that mir- acles are not confined to the days long since buried in tradition, requires some little hardihood and a Spurgeon's determination to " tell the truth and shame the devil." Any life has in its very inception a miracle far beyond the scrutiny of the most microscopic philoso- phy and in its unaccountability baffles even the most searching imagination. A human life is in it- self a divine miracle, filling the thoughtful student CHILDHOOD'S HO M&. jrt with awe, and compelling him to bow in reverence before that mysterious power which though inscru- table, must nevertheless be distinctly recognized. Spurgeon's life is a continued series of remarkable events, even when considered in the most prosaic manner. His parentage, his birthplace, his country, his re- lation to his time, his marvelous success under most adverse circumstances combine a variety of causes and consequences beyond the logical arrangement of the most analytical mind. Every life has its ro- mance, every life its mysterious impulses, every life its strange events, every life its unaccountable results. But here is a life which is romantic beyond prece- dent in the walks of life where we find it. The great- est preacher of the world, made so by causes unusual and strange, is lifted to his lofty position by miraculous events for which there is no reasonable accounting in accordance with anything that is called the law of nature. In any biography we need to take into account the effect of hereditary traits, of the moulding char- acter of scenery, association, and climate ; but these in the life of Spurgeon do not account for all the mys- terious results which, we find in the work of his life. There are strange turning points in his history, the causes of which are beyond our understanding, and which he himself often declared " real miracles be- yond hope of explanation." His life is a romance, which if, instead of being 20 CtlARLES ti. SPURGE Ott. real, was produced in a work of fiction, would be re- garded as an altogether improbable story. Mr. Spurgeon and his friends have always felt that it would be dangerous to attempt to assert the unexplainable side of his success or present it fully to the public, lest it should bring hindering de- traction, criticism, and unbelief in connection with his great work of preaching the gospel. Yet in the old days such manifestations of the miraculous un- known were regarded as confirmations of the gos- pel, and paraded as the best evidence of the fact that the speaker was endowed by the unusual power of God. Why then should they not be presented now? For "God still moves in a mysterious way,His wonders to perform." Looking at his life from the point of view which we now occupy since his death, and looking back upon the crowded audiences, the masses of people in the public squares, the ragged throngs on the quays; upon the Orphanage, College, Hos- pitals, Schools, and Chapels, the world-wide benev- olences, the missionary enterprises, the thousands of public and private ministrations, Mr. Spurgeon seems like a giant of intellect and superhuman in his industry. But we will begin with his life at his humble home and trace it through the varying scenes where it was touched with the modifying circumstances of his surroundings, and thus be better able, step by step, to ascend to the position which he held when he died. No man can comprehend Spurgeon without CHILDHOOD'S HOME. 23 taking that methoa in examining his life. It is a record which is as inspiring as it is wonderful, which is as lovely as it is marvelous. Not that we believe Mr. Spurgeon to be a saint, or an angel from heaven sent unto earth by a definite and special dispensation, for he had his human faults and committed his errors as other men have done. His mistakes and short- comings rather serve to make more prominent and distinct the remarkable achievements of his career. He seems more like one of the minor prophets, — human yet often inspired. How it makes one ache to be able to present the story clearly, concisely, and yet comprehensively for the instruction of thousands who have heard of Mr. Spurgeon, but who know but little about the facts of his inner life. Could his story be told with the pen of a Macaulay, or with the talented friendship of a Boswell, it would necessarily take its place in the standard literature of the English-speaking people. But whether told with eloquent terms and vivid de- scriptions, or in rude and blundering phraseology, it certainly ought to be told, and the more often it is related and the greater the variety of ways in which it is presented the better for the generations that are to be. Charles Haddon Spurgeon was born at Kelvedon, county of Essex, June 19th, 1834. His father at that time was engaged in business at Kelvedon, the pur- suit of which does not seem to have been very lucrative. His parents were in humble circumstances, 24 CHARLES H. SPURGE ON. his mother during these years frequently in ill health. His father and his grandfather were both successful preachers of the Gospel, but both of them received an early education in practical business through the first part of their lives. His father did not enter the ministry until his life was nearly half finished. But his father was poor, and his grand- father had a comfortable living and sufficient prop- erty to keep him altogether above want. And in the story of the life of Charles H. Spur- geon we need to understand quite fully the circum- stances in connection with the history of his parents, their traits, customs, and home, that we may ascer- tain the influence these things had upon the young boy's nature. But it cannot truthfully be said that Charles came from a family of great men. For though his ancestry for several generations were known among their neighbors as pious persons of excellent character, yet they were never regarded by their contemporaries as possessing any remarkable genius or special claim for the niche in which the world places its great individuals. All the more the wonder is it that he should accomplish what he did accomplish and all the more prominent become the singular events which led to this remarkable promotion. Charles was especially "his grandfather's boy." For, as early as he could recollect, he was sent from the home of his parents to that of his grandfather and grandmother, at Stambourne in Essex, near the CHILDHOOD'S HOME. 2 $ borders of Suffolk, and there, through the most formative years of his childhood, was trained by these most excellent people. His grandfather was a most instructive preacher, who for fifty-four years oc- cupied the same pastorate and lived in the same house. What a misfortune it often is for a child to be trained by his grandparents ! For some reason they are usually more indulgent, more lax in every kind of discipline, and see in their grandchild a prodigy when no one else dreams of such a thing. His grandparents were not an exception to this general rule, but he had a most excellent aunt, living also at his grandfather's house, named " Aunt Ann," to whose care he was largely committed, and who seems to have been a most talented woman, both in moral character and in the wisdom of her daily com- mon sense. His Grandfather's house was considered a mansion for that day. It was very large and situated in most lovely natural surroundings. His grand- father was a staid, scholarly gentleman, rather quaint but scrupulously neat in his attire ; courteous in his demeanor, kindly in all his intercourse with his equals or inferiors ; a noble specimen of the old English country gentleman. It is said that he wore the old-fashioned, breeches, buckled shoes, and silk stockings; adhering with rigid formality to the attire of the generation before him. . He was born at Hal- stead in Essex, September 29th, 1776. He followed 2 6 CHARLES H. SPURGE ON. business occupations until he was twenty-six years of age, when he determined to enter the ministry. Taking then two years of study at an Academy, he entered upon the work of preaching to a very weak, poor, and small congregation, at Clare in Suffolk. That church grew to be a healthy, spreading, and prosperous pastorate in the four years he remained there. He belonged to the Independent or Con- gregational Church connection, and is said to have never preached in any places outside of Clare and Stambourne ; yet he was widely known as a genuine Christian and a faithful friend, and the sight of his frilled shirt, long vest, and dress cravat always brought caps from the heads of the reverent rustics. He loved children and delighted in the company of young people, having his pockets filled with confections for the one and his mouth filled with words of cheer for the other. Mrs. Spurgeon, the grandfather's helpmeet, was a fine, industrious woman, who made it her conscien- tious duty to be a sincere and persevering helpmeet to her husband. She was quiet in her manners and retiring in her disposition, yet found her way into the most useful works of charity, and often occupied positions of honor on the boards and committees of benevolent enterprises. She was one of those lovely old ladies who win the affection .of every one, who seem to be able to go through this world accomplish- ing a great deal in silence and without friction. She and her daughter " Aunt Ann " cared for the CHILDHOOD'S HOME. 29 great house, with its large hallway, its cozy bed- rooms, its long sitting-room, library and dairy and enormous dark closets, with a neatness that was surprising and with a regularity that was like clock work. It was in this old manse, standing adjacent to the one-story meeting-house, that Charles spent the early and most important years of his boyhood. Although its external appearance is somewhat imposing and was evidently a well-lighted and com- fortable home when it was constructed; many portions of it, at the time Charles went there to live, were like a prison, owing to the fact that the windows had been walled up to avoid the taxes which the govern- ment placed upon windows. Mr. Spurgeon has often during his life referred to the absurd custom which they had in his boyhood days of taxing the sunlight and assessing an individual in proportion to the number of windows which he enjoyed in his home. So this old house had a great many rooms in it which were perpetually dark, into which the boy only peered with fright, and which to his boyhood's imagination were probably peopled with hobgoblins, ghosts, spirits, and an occasional fairy. In the hall of the house, which seems to have led from the wide front doors all the way through to the back yard, there was a large fireplace, about which Charles often played through his years of childhood. Over the fireplace in the wide hallway there was a large, old- fashioned painting of David contending with Goliath 30 CHARLES H. SPURGE ON. which was far more indelibly painted upon the mind of the boy than it was upon the fading canvas. It was at this fireplace that he sat many a night poring over some simple story written in the dullest manner, trusting to the flickering light from the hearth rather than to the tallow candle and its accompanying labor with the snuffers. Dear old fireplace ! Who that hath enjoyed the luxury of lying flat upon the floor and gazing into its brilliant embers can cease to call down blessings on its sweet associations. Inspiring old hearth! Around which the faces of loved ones gathered in youth, and about which they never will cease to gather while memory retains its control. Lovely hearth of an affectionate household ! What paintings artists have seen in its rising flames, what armies young conquerors have seen in conflict in the battle of its crackling fagots, what sweet and inexpressible lines of pathos the poets have seen written in the coals or heard sung in the hum of its rising- gases. Dear, old-fashioned fire- place ! Who was the vandal that banished such a boon, such a scene of comfort, such a source of inspiration from the civilized world ? Charles never forgot the lessons inculcated by that inspired teacher, the brilliant fireplace. Again and again in his speeches, addresses, sermons, and editorials, sparks from that old fireplace appear with vivid distinctness and reveal, unconsciously to the writer, the source of his beautiful thoughts. CHILDHOOD'S HOME. 3 1 It was on that hearth-stone that he made the little sleighs, struggled with toy wagons, rude and rough and uncouth and laughable; but which, to his childish mind, were marvel? of mechanical achievement. It was there that he cut patterns in that rough brown paper which was preserved for that purpose by his economical grandmother from the wrappings brought from the store. It was there that he drew with charcoal strange caricatures of the individuals he had met. It was there that he listened to the folk lore of the neighborhood, from which was always carefully and conscientiously culled anything which was injurious in its influence upon a childish mind. There he saw his grandfather and grandmother nio;ht after night through the rolling years, sitting with the great Bible opened on their laps and poring over its pages with a fascination never found in any other volume. It was there that he learned to revere the taste and affectionate kindness of his dear "Aunt Ann," who was continually approaching the hearth to brush up the ashes or arrange the fire. Then there was the Iaro;e sittingf-room, into which guests were ushered on state occasions. The mag- nificent apartment, to his youthful eyes, where persons were greeted with such forms as to make him feel in the presence of the Queen. There also was the dining-room with its old well- worn table, its chairs which had come down through more than one generation, the little cupboard in which was so neatly sorted all those wonderful 32 CHARLES H. SPURGE ON. treasures of tarts and cakes and sweet-meats so enticing to the taste of every boy. Doughnuts and cookies made specially for him by the dear old grandmother and often moulded into rough images of hares or elephants. How often he clambered upon the chair and sometimes upon books placed in the chair, that he might be able to gaze in upon those stately dishes which were only brought forth on occasions of unusual festivity. Next to the upper shelf were kept the bright snuffers, and how proudly he set down that day in the red-letter calendar of his life, when he was able, for the first time, to reach to that shelf and take down the snuffers. Then there was the bed-chamber with its high- posted bed for the elder people and its low, square trundle bed for the boy. There in the upper story of the old manse was that dark room into which once the brilliant light of day was allowed to come, but upon which the horrid tax-master had drawn his permanent curtain. In it were deposited a large number of old theological musty volumes never of interest to any save to those who wrote them. Yet among this rubbish of useless, dusty books the boy did find, so early that he could not remember when, the Pilgrim's Progress, with its grotesque illustrations of Pilgrim's journey on his way to heaven. There also he found a story of the martyrs and especially the history of Bishop Bonner, whose cruelty sent so many to the stake, and whose own end gave the childish reader great satisfaction CHILDHOOD'S HOME. 33 because of its poetic justice. It was only on an exceedingly bright day, when the inner door allowed some reflected light to enter from another room, that the boy would venture into its dusty precincts. But no closet, no dark room, no apartment what- ever of the great homestead was intentionally shut out from the investigation of the boy by his indulgent grandparents. Nothing was too good for him. No house too large. No closet too secret, to be closed from his prying mind. What an influence this dear old home, with its quaint, queer associations had upon the character or disposition of the boy, of course no philosopher can say. It is easy to surmisingly attribute a flash of genius to some particular circumstance, event, or scene in the history of a great man, but it is utterly impossible to connect with certainty the cause and effect in such relations. Charles' own mother attributed to the associations exterior to the old manse more credit for the moulding influences which affected his early years than she did to anything within, except the teaching and kindness of the grandparents and aunt. But all of these associations must have been parts of the mental and moral discipline which Providence used to make the man. Stambourne was not a village, but a mere collec- tion in more or less close proximity of little farms, and indulged only in a blacksmith shop and a small store in a dwelling-house, for its professional and 34 CHARLES H. SPURGE ON. business life. The roads crossed near the old meeting-house, and the yards of the dwellings were inclosed with hedges, and often sweetly shaded with ancient limes and strangely-trimmed yews. The school-house where Charles began to receive his education is said to have been a part of a dwell- ing-house, held in a room with a rickety floor, having one window sadly out of plumb, where the plaster was falling from the walls, and where the rain seems to have come in during unusual thunder-storms. In none of these early years in school or at home did he exhibit those precocious qualities which are often erroneously attributed to the opening years of great men. Some writers have claimed that Charles showed those startling evidences of genius in the first years of his school life. But one of the teach- ers has left upon record the statement, shown in her reports, that he was rather dull, slow but persist- ent, doing thoroughly whatever he had in hand. He was a very awkward boy, short, thick, with a very heavy head of hair, eyes not especially brilliant, nose short, and mouth large. No one esteemed him to be a handsome child, and it is said that both in form and feature he greatly changed during the days of his boyhood. His school study was characterized by nothing of especial interest to others, except the fact that he showed an unusual inclination to make close and comprehensive inquiries concerning any subject pre- sented, either in books or in conversational discussion. CHILDHOOD'S HOME. 35 He always desired to know " the why and the where- fore," and not being especially brilliant, it was some- times quite difficult to make him comprehend the length and breadth of the answer for which his questions called. But he was a good-natured, kind- hearted, open-handed boy, always willing to divide with his schoolmates any sweets with which he had been favored, ever alert to assist any school-boy who was behind in his lessons, seeking eagerly to run upon errands for the teacher, and, withal, remarkably truthful. The statement which some seemingly cautious biographers have made concerning his unusual pre- cociousness in childhood appear to have been founded upon his after life or upon local tradi- tions. It seems to be very clear, however, that in truth he gave no special promise in his early school-days of the greatness which afterward crowned his life. Stambourne is situated at the very headwaters of the Colne River, and the spring which furnishes the source of that river is situated not far from the old parsonage where Charles spent his youthful days. As a boy he often waded in the brook, which played such fantastic tricks about his feet, and laughingly chattered to the mosses, ferns, and evergreens which laced the banks. There he eagerly sought the shin- ing pebbles, which his imagination often magnified into diamonds and inestimable gems, or watched along its banks for the lizard and dwarf-fish for 36 CHARLES H. SPURGEON. which he had a strong passion. That brook and two others which united with it a short distance below the manse, were to him an inspiration lasting to the very latest day of his life. There were books in these running brooks which he alone could read. There were voices in these falling waters which he alone could understand. There was a benign in- fluence in their shadows which prophesied to him the future. There was a refreshing in their coolness which was peculiarly gratifying to a child of his im- aginative temperament. He loved the sparkling waters. Again and again has he used them as illus- trative of gospel truth, and the glittering brooks of Stambourne rippled, sang, and flashed through much that he said, and through vastly more that he thought. The far-spreading trees which bowed over the banks, with benedictions of holy peace, the weeds, and brush, and undergrowth, with the rocks and stones on which he often stood, all these, glorified by sacred memory, were inseparably connected with the living waters of the river of Life. They seemed to lose none of their charms for him through the varied experience of a working life. That his mother was right in attributing so much to the influence of the rural scenery surrounding Charles' young days is apparent to the student of his writings as well as to his personal friends, be- cause of the unmistakable suggestions of waving fields of grain, of fruit-laden arbors, of blooming trel- lises, of outstretching trees, of hills and dales, of CHILDHOOD'S HOME, 37 pastures, of verdantly arched highways, of mist- covered meadows, of clear sunshine, of simple, homely talk, of frank, pleasant manners, of hardy toil, of broad common sense, which continually shone forth in his conversation and in his public addresses. The country boy is the favored boy. Alas, for the child of the city. Alas, for him whose early years are spent in the city's prison of brick and mortar, stone sidewalks, harsh pavements, smoky skies, ceaseless din, unnatural cries, tainted atmosphere, and heated rooms. If the early associations of child- hood do make or unmake genius, then it is interest- ing to note that the majority of the great men and women of all the civilized ages have passed the early years in rural surroundings, in country homes, or amid scenes like that of the " Cotters Saturday Night!' Whatever else may be attributed to the in- fluence of natural scenery and rural life, it may be safely assumed that the strong physique which car- ried Spurgeon through so many years of the most arduous labor, was due, at least in part, to the fresh air, and out-door exercises, simple garb, and rustic manners of that farming hamlet of Stambourne, in Essex. His childhood does not show any peculiar traits in connection with his boyish sports. Like any other boy he greatly enjoyed his rocking-horse, which stood in the hall in the old parsonage, and to which he often referred in after years when speaking to children. Like every other English boy he was 38 CHARLES H. SPURGE ON. greatly excited by all out-door sports, and was won- derfully fascinated with the fox chase. Once a year he was permitted to stand by the roadside and see the fox-hunters pass. That was a day long to be remembered, and was of greater interest to him then than some of those transactions were to him afterward, which shook the foundations of the nations. He was a homely, natural boy. His grandfather seems to have had the same dif- ficulty in keeping the boy quiet at seasons of devo- tion which other grandfathers have had with other boys, and especially arduous the task on those Puri- tanical Sabbath days when it seemed to be so sac- rilegious for a child to indulge in any worldly amusement. It appears that Charles was often placed in the room with his grandfather, while the women of the household were absent or were en- gaged in some special labor, in order that he might be kept from mischief. Those were hours of hard- ship fully as painful to him as they have been to many other boys. In after years he often facetiously referred to the Evangelical Magazine, which was always put into his hands by his grandfather, with the hope that the two pictures, one of the celebrated minister and one of some mission station, might serve to keep him in peaceful meditation. His grandmother or his aunt very frequently informed him with great solemnity that if at such times he did not keep very quiet, he might so disturb his grandfather that the old gentle- CHILDHOOD'S HOME. 39 man would be unable to preach, and consequently famishing - souls would die for the need of gospel food. Those were solemn hours in the history of the child, when sitting there with his grandfather in the shadowy room in silence so chillingly wierd, and fearing to speak or move his little foot lest his grandfather and God should see him and be dis- pleased. Yet about this feeling there seems to be no singular feature such as would in any way ac- count for the after extraordinary results of .his relioious life. Some of the social events, however, connected with his home at Stambourne must have made a very deep impression upon his thoughts and conse- quently upon his character. His dear old grand- mother one Sabbath morning remarked to her husband that she did not feel able to attend services, and so would remain at home and read her Bible there, while he was preaching the gospel in the Chapel. She seated herself in that old arm-chair not far from that dear old fireplace and spreading the Bible out upon her lap, adjusted her spectacle* and began its devoted perusal. They left her sitting there and went across the yard into the old church. But when they returned after the service, walking into the house without premonition of harm, they found the sweet old Christian woman with her head bowed upon her breast, her spectacles lying across the Bible and her finger pointing to the words " the K 40 CHARLES H. SPURGEON. hand of God hath touched me." She was dead ! Her spirit had ascended to her long-expected home. Mr. Spurgeon has frequently, too, referred to his boyish experiences in three places which were ever especially dear to his memory. One being the Sunday-school room, in which he says " his Sabbath- school companions frequently kicked up the dust and sometimes kicked the teachers." It was there that he learned Watt's Catechism, and heard the homely stories related as illustrations of Bible truth in a manner peculiar to the humble people of that day, but wonderfully expressive and correct in their exegesis. Another place was the old tombstone in the churchyard near his home, which was placed over the grave like a reversed box, bottom upward. It was made of marble and one side was loose, so that he could easily remove it and, crawling into the box over the grave, replace the slab at the side, thus hiding himself securely beyond discovery. Often he lay there in hiding and thought on many childish air castles; and sometimes remained there past his dinner hour, even when he had distinctly heard the call. He says that he often lay there facetiously holding- his breath while the household searched the churchyard, and while some of them, frequently standing directly above his head, searched vainly for the truant. Another place dear to his child- ish heart was the horsing-block, which also was constructed in the form of a box, although made of CHILDHOOD'S HOME. 41 wood, and much larger than the tombstone. One side of this horsing-block, used also as a hitching- post, was partially open, and into it the farmers pressed the falling leaves which were swept up from the neatly-kept highway. Those lime-tree leaves were crisp, dry, and warm, and made a most com- fortable nest into which the boy crawled clandestinely. There, secure from observation, warmly ensconced in a luxurious bed, richer to the boy than the couches of palaces are to the man, he would lie and repeat his lessons, which Mrs. Burleigh, the day-school teacher had assigned him, or sangf over and over a verse of Scripture which he was expected to repeat at the next Sunday's prayers. But he was like a wild bird in that retreat, and on the approach of any footstep, became quickly silent, and even became an unwilling or willing listener to neighborhood gossip, carried on by persons seated on the horsing-block, or leaning against it, while they stopped for conversation. CHAPTER II. EARLY EDUCATION. The study of any successful man's biography, whatever his profession, business or trade, is helpful to every other man in any other station. For the same great causes which carry a man to success in one part of our civilization are necessary to the accom- plishment of great purposes in any other position. The fact that Mr. Spurgeon was a preacher, need not make his life any less useful in the most practical sense, to the farmer, the mechanic, the merchant or the lawyer. There is, however, one discouraging feature in using the life of Mr. Spurgeon for the purposes of imitation, in the fact to which refer- ence has already been made, viz.: that some of the events which led to his promotion are beyond ex- planation, and remain in the realm of the miraculous. No study nor reasoning, no contemplation of facts seems to clear up the*wonderful mystery. Let us nevertheless devote a short time to the study of the natural causes and influences which may not be considered mysterious and which will be very helpful to every reader who desires to make the most possible of his life. 42 EARL Y ED UCA TION. 43 Many of the most trustworthy biographers ascribe a large share of all human success to the influence of early education ; others make equally prominent the inheritance of hereditary traits carrying with them the force of genius. Some writers upon Mr. Spurgeon's career, like that most excellent Christian, Rev. James J. Ellis, ascribed much to his family and ancestry. This is quite natural to an Englishman, trained under a hereditary monarchy. The evangelist George C. Needham and also Mr, Stevenson, Mr. Spurgeon's most excellent biog- raphers, lay considerable stress upon his inherited mental characteristics. But to an American, tauo-ht by American literature and with a life-long asso- ciation with a leveling democracy, these kindly efforts to give great credit to the long line of good men which preceded him appear to be rather strange and often quite absurd. Some men are born great, but families are not. To be a great man's son gives no patent on human greatness. More often we find that the great man was the son of a poor man, and often a descendent of the igno- rant or of the very commonplace. Families like the Peels in England and the Adams of America are exceedingly rare, and as a usual thing there is no hope of genius nor is great intellectual force expected in the second generation of any great man. It is said that Mr. Spurgeon's ancestors were among the religious reformers of Holland, who 44 CHARLES H. SPURGE ON. under the fearful scourge of the Duke of Alva, suffered such privation as to induce them to fly from their native land and find domicile in England. That they were good men and noble Christians among those who thus left their native land in the time of its trial there is no question, and no one can doubt but that the ancestors of Mr. Spurgeon are all they are represented to be, and specially noteworthy is the fact that two hundred and more years ago they were imprisoned for daring to worship God accord- ing- to the dictates of their own conscience. But no one seems to claim for them any special genius, and in fact had they possessed it, or the marvelous acute- ness which is sometimes hinted at, the forefathers would have remained in Holland and fought out the battle of Christian freedom there. They were evidently plain people of the peasent classes who saw no opportunity of being useful to their native country and consequently acted wisely when they sought a new home in a free land. Cer- tainly the Spurgeon families of Essex and Sussex which in these after days have been locally very in- fluential and especially noble in their Christian character, have not taken great interest in the history of their ancestors, a id appear to know but little con- cerning their achievments. Through the three or four generations with whom the reading public is now somewhat familiar, the Spurgeon families have been characterized for their plain common sense, sturdy industry, and stubborn Jambs Spurgeon. EARL Y EDVCA TION. 47 adherance to certain Christian doctrines, and to have led a quiet, homely life. Neither his grandfather James Spurgeon at Stam- bourne, nor his father John Spurgeon of Cold- chesterand London, were everespecially distinguished for their educational attainments. They were scholars of the old Congregational school, who read carefully a few standard books, who thought deeply, but whose reading was not extensive. While it is true that almost any man with the most ordinary powers may be able to preach a classical sermon and adorn it with quotations from Cicero, Demosthenes, Augustine, and Luther, and while it is also true that it requires both genius and most extensive learning to speak simply and clearly in plain English, yet his father and his grandfather exhibited those qualities as a result of a peculiar in- herited character, rather than that of extensive education. They were not copyists. They were distinguished for their odd originality. They were often humorous and witty, presenting truth occa- sionally in a grotesque dress which could never be forgotten, and which more often accomplished the ends for which they spoke than the most polished essay could have done. There are blunders which are victories, and there are truly great orators whose language is ungram- atical and unrhetorical. The Spurgeon family has remained quite closely identified with the country villages in which its 48 CHARLES H, SPURGE ON. earliest English ancestry took up its abode. They have not been a migratory people, have sought no ambitious station, but have been specially remark- able for clean Christianity, and the English disposi- tion to be solid, earnest, and Godly. Yet in this they are not to be distinguished above a thousand other families like them who have resided and still reside in the country towns of dear old England. It seems therefore quite unreasonable to say that the attainments and victories of Charles were due to any unusual prominence in the life or nature of his family inheritence. He illustrates the great les- son which England is now speedily learning, that statesmanship or piety are not to be sought espe- cially in descent, but rather in the individuals whom Providence raises up for the furtherence of its great designs. Mr. Spurgeon himself has said : " The boast of pedigree is common but silly." Families as families, have no right to the landed domain, to palaces, to the castles, to the offices, or to the throne. These positions must soon be filled only by per- sons of especial fitness and unusual mental activity, who depend for their influence not upon their descent, but upon their personal ability. Of course none but an extreme hobbyist could leave out of account, the force of ancestral exam- ples, such as were presented in the life of grandfather James Spurgeon. And specially influential upon his disposition must have been the influence of Charles' EARL Y EDUCA TION. 49 grandmother, his Aunt Ann, and of his own sweet spirited Christian mother. His father is said to have remarked, that as the parentof seventeen children, " I have frequently worn a shabby coat when I might have possessed a good one, had I cared less for my children's education." But the touching sacrifices made by his father seemed to have been excelled by the self-abnega- tion and devotion of his noble mother. Mrs. Jackson, the sister of Charles, wrote of their father eight years before he died, saying * " in pre- vious biographies very little is recorded of this ven- erable man of God, who has now attained the ripe age of four-score years. He has always been an embodiment of homeliness, and from the earliest rec- ollections of his children, he imparted a charm to the home life of his family. His sons and daughters were never so happy as when he gathered them around him for recreation, instruction, and devotion. They hailed his return from business and from re- ligious services with delight, for they knew he would not fail to delight them by relating in his own capti- vating manner the incidents which had come under his observation during the day. Thus 4 pleasant evenings' were wisely provided at home, and the temptations which characterize and endanger 'modern society ' were avoided. Those early days of happy family life are remembered with devout gratitude." But a well known incident related by Charles' father, opens a window into the domestic inner life of 4 50 CHARLES H. SPURGEON. the family, through which we catch glimpses of a region presided over by one of God's most saintly charac- ters. In conversation with Dr. Ford, concerning the domestic life of Charles' early years, John Spurgeon said : " I had been from home a good deal, trying to build up weak congregations, and felt that I was ne- glecting the religious training of my own children while I toiled for the ofood of others. I returned home with these feelings. I opened the door, and was surprised to find none of the children about the hall. Going quietly up the stairs, I heard my wife's voice. She was engaged in prayer with the children. I heard her pray for them , one by one, by name. She came to Charles and specially prayed for him, for he was of a high spirit and daring temper.. I listened until she had ended her prayer, and I felt and said, ' Lord, I will go on with Thy work ; the children will be cared for.' " But reserving for the next chapter observations connected with Charles' early moral and religious education, let us examine somewhat closely the methods by which he obtained such wide, and varied, and useful information. It has often been said that Spurgeon never had a college educaiton. While that is technically true, it is far from true in reality. He had a college education. Yea, he had a univer- sity education. He was one of the learned men most prominent in these closing years of the nine- teenth century. But the fact that a person in Spur- eeon's circumstances could secure such extensive EARL V ED L CATION. 51 information and obtain that neccessary discipline of mind to compete with the rushing forces of civiliza- tion in this age of the world, without actually attend- ing the college or the university is a very important fact. It is not unreasonable to infer that he would have failed as a great preacher and organizer, if he had taken a course in the college or university. The stubborn fact that he did reach the highest possible position in his profession, without a college training, must be squarely met by all advocates of modern systems of public instruction. It makes clear to the student that our methods of instruction and our systems of school discipline are at least, not a necessity for the attainment of the highest educa- tion. Something is rotten in the states of Denmark, England, and the United States, when it is possible for boys and girls without money, without fame, without special hereditary influence, to reach the noblest positions in the world's activities, without the aid of the great endowed, institutions which receive such continued encomiums. That schools and col- leges, universities and scientific institutions are of great value goes without the saying. But that they might be of much more value than they are is also certain. For they should combine if possible in their course of instruction the same influences and discipline which comes to a poor boy working his own way upward through thousands of difficulties and under the most discouraging- circumstances. 52 CHARLES H. SPURGEON. Lincoln would not have been the saviour of his nation and Spurgeon would not have been the Elijah of his age had they received the usual college educa- tion. Such a course would nave changed the circum- stances and put them in an entirely different relation to the events which moulded them into the charac- ters the world so much needed. Here, then, is the fact. It is a stubborn thing. It demands the very careful and persistent attention of our great educators. While a college diploma ought to be always a badge of greatness, and ever accom- pany the history of the most effective intellects, yet it is a startling fact that for some reason it is not practically the certain badge of honor which it should be. Why should Charles' own younger brocher, James, with his more extended opportunities and his espe- cially thorough college training hold so humble a place in the world's estimation, while Charles, securing his education by entirely different methods, is a household word to the farthest reach of the civilized world ? The question does arise whether it would not have been far better for even James, if he had entered at once on his life work when he was sixteen years of age and trusted to different methods for the helpful instruction he would need in his pro- fession. We cannot answer this, but we say that the consideration of a life like that of Charles H. Spurgeon will some day revolutionize all our methods of instruction and make them far less weirdly theo- EARLY ED UCA TION. 5 3 retrical. It will bring us all down to matters more practical, more in accordance with common sense and with our daily common needs. Be it known now that a poor boy even in aristocratic England mav secure a college education without attending Cambridge or Oxford. An untitled rustic may acquire all that discipline of mind and stability of character which the best institutions of the world can give, and secure them even amid the homeliest sur- roundings or in the most distant country village. Charles H. Spurgeon's figure will ever stand in the minds of tens of thousands of young men in rustic life, combined with a most eloquent gesture, pointing forward to the highest positions in the world, and speaking with distinct tone, saying," there is hope for the humblest man," Nothing the college gives is impossible to the industrious, to the honest, although he may have no opportunity to sit under the training of gifted minds in the halls of the distin- guished centres of learning. His name will ever be the sign of hope and an encouraging inspiration showing the way to magnificent possibilities from the humblest home in the most sparsely settled rural districts. Universities are not to be despised, but on the contrary to be faithfully encouraged. But, thank God! Charles H. Spurgeon did not go to college. The world needed one such an example to break the crust of a depressing school artistocracy. His mental training, of course, began at his grand- 54 CHARLES H. SPURGE ON. father's house in Stambourne and we are told that his letters were taught him by his Aunt Ann. She loved' to relate in after years many little anecdotes illustrative of his " great mind " as a boy. But an examination of them does not show any special pre- cociousness. They are like all those incidents which are so carefully preserved by mothers, grand- mothers, and indulgent aunts about their first-born son, first grandson, or favorite nephew. His grandfather also occasionally assisted in teaching him to read. But the impress of his grandfather's noble character seems to have been the most important branch of his early learning. " Example draws where precept fails, And sometimes are more read than tales." Mr. Spurgeon wrote that " Example is the school of mankind, and many will learn at no other. Examples preach to the eye and leave a deeper impress than counsel addressed to the ear. Children like pictures better than letter press, so do men prefer example to precept." And when speaking directly of his grandfather's influential example he also said: " When a little child, I lived some years in my grand- father's house. In his garden there was a fine old hedge of yew of considerable length, which was clipped and trimmed till it made quite a wall of verdure. Behind it was a wide grass walk which looked out upon the fields, and afforded a quiet out- EARL Y ED UCA 770 JV. c - 5:> look. The grass was kept mown, so as to make pleasant walking - . Here ever since the old puritanic chapel was built, godly 'divines had walked, and prayed and meditated. My grandfather was wont to use it as his study. Up and down he would walk when preparing his sermons, and always on Sabbath days, when it was fair, he had half an hour there before preaching. To me it seemed a perfect para- dise, and being forbidden to stay there when grandfather was meditating, I viewed it with no small degree of awe. I love to think of the green and quiet walk at this moment, and could wish for just such a study. But I was once shocked, and even horrified, by hearing a farming man remark concerning this sanctum sanctorum, ' It 'ud grow a many 'taturs if it wor ploughed up.' What cared he for holy memories ? What were meditation and contemplation to him ? Is it not the chief end of man to grow potatoes, and to eat them ? Such on a larger scale would be an unconverted man's esti- mate of joys so elevated and refined as those of heaven, could he by any possibility be permitted to gaze upon them." To the day-school, taught by Mrs. Burleigh, at Stambourne, reference has already been made. It appears that he learned so little, or was altogether so inattentive or mischievous that the school never made any very deep impression upon his memory. It is clear that at that early day in his history, before he was eight years old, he was not to be specially 56 CHARLES II SPURGEON. distinguished from many other boys living in his social position and circumstances. But in his grand- father's family he necessarily saw more of books than other boys in the neighborhood would see, and heard a great deal more of literary matters and in- tellectual discussion than would fall to the lot of a farmer's son. He learned slowly but remembered long. A lesson once thoroughly comprehended was indelible. He left his grandfather's manse and returned to his father's house at Coldchester, where his father kept a shop, when he was seven or eight years of age, and there found an opportunity for excellent school training. But in that school there were some scholars who excelled him, and it is said that he him- self did not consider it any special disgrace to be at the foot of the class, provided that it brought him in the winter season nearer the stove. But the clearness with which these events at that time in his life impressed themselves upon his memory is wonderfully shown in the account which when an elderly man he gave of a little incident while at school. In his "John Ploughman's Talks," he assailed debt with peculiar bitterness and said : '' When I was a very small boy, in pinafores, and went to a woman's school, it so happened that I wanted- a stick of slate pencil, and had no money to buy it with. I was afraid of being scolded for losing my pencils so often, for I was a real careless little fellow, and so did not dare to ask at home ; what EARL Y ED UCA T10X. 57 then was John to do ? There was a little shop in the place, where nuts, and tops, and cakes, and balls were sold, by old Mrs. Dearson, and sometimes I had seen boys and girls get trusted by the old lady. I argued with myself that Christmas was coming, and that somebody or other would be sure to give me a penny then, and perhaps even a whole silver six- pence. I would therefore go into debt for a stick oi slate pencil, and be sure to pay for it. at Christmas. I did not feel easy about it, but still I screwed my courage up and went into the shop. One farthing was the amount, and as I had never owed anything before, and my credit was good, the pencil was handed over by the kind dame, and / was in debt. It did not please me much, and I felt as if I had done wrong:, but I little knew how soon I should smart for it. How my father came to hear of this little piece of business, I never knew, but some little bird or other whistled it to him, and he was very soon down upon me in right earnest. God bless him for it ; he was a sensible man, and none of your chil- dren-spoilers ; he did not intend to bring up his children to speculate and play at what big rogues call financiering, and therefore he knocked my getting into debt into the head at once, and no mistake. He gave me a very powerful lecture upon getting into debt, and how like it was to stealing, and upon the way in which people were ruined by it; and how a boy who would owe a farthing, might one day owe a hundred pounds, and get into prison, and bring 58 CHARLES IT. SPURGEON. his family to disgrace. It was a lecture indeed; I think I can hear it now, and can feel my ears ting- ling at the recollection of it. Then I was marched off to the shop like a deserter marched into barrack, crying bitterly all down the street, and feeling dread- fully ashamed because I thought everybody knew I was in debt. The farthing was paid amidmany solemn warnings, and the poor debtor was free, like a bird let out of a cao-e. How sweet it felt to be out of debt. How did my little heart declare and vow that nothing should ever tempt me into debt again. It was a fine lesson, and I have never forgotten it. If all boys were inoculated with the same doctrine when they were young, it would be as good as a fortune to them, and save them wagon-loads of trouble in after life. God bless my father, say I, and send a breed of such fathers into old England, to save her from being- eaten up with villainy, for what with companies, and schemes, and paper money, the nation is getting to be as rotten as touchwood. " Ever since that early sickening, I have hated debt as Luther hated the Pope, and if I say some fierce things about it, you must not wonder. To keep debt, dirt, and the devil out of my cottage has been my greatest wish ever since I set up housekeeping ; and although the last of the three has sometimes gotten in by the door or window, for the old serpent will wrig- gle through the smallest crack, yet, thanks to a good wife, hard work, honesty, and scrubbing brushes, the other two have not crossed the threshold. Debt is so EARL Y EDUCA TICN. 59 degrading that if I owed a man a penny, I would walk twenty miles in the depth of winter, to pay him, sooner than feel that I was under an obligation. I should be as comfortable with peas in my shoes, or a hedgehog in my bed, or a snake up my back as with bills hanging over my head at the grocer's, and baker's, and the tailor's. Poverty is hard, but debt is horrible ; a man might as well have a smoky house and a scolding wife, which are said to be the two worst evils of our life. We may be poor yet respectable, which John Ploughman and wife hope they are, and will be; but a man in debt cannot even respect himself, and he is sure to be talked about by his neighbors, and that talk will not be much to his credit. Some persons appear to like to be owing money; but I would as soon be a cat up a chimney with the fire alight, or a fox with the hounds at my heels, or a hedgehog on a pitchfork, or a mouse under an owl's claws. An honest man thinks a purse full of other people's money to be worse than an empty one ; he cannot bear to eat other people's cheese, wear other people's shirts, and walk about in other people's shoes ; neither will he be easy while his wife is decked out in the milliner's bonnets, and wears the draper's flannels. The jackdaw in the peacock's feathers was soon plucked, and borrowers will surely come to poverty — a poverty of the bitter- est sort, because there is shame in it." From 1 84 1 to 1844 he attended that excellent school at Coldchester taught by a conscientious and 6o CHARLES H. SPURGE OX. able instructor who interested himself greatly in his students, yet until near the middle of 1844, when he made a summer visit to his grandfather at Stam- bourne, there was nothing specially remarkable noted either by his parents or his teacher. But the event of that summer, of which an ex- tended account will be made in the next chapter and which partakes so strongly of the miraculous, appears to have made an entire change in his mental consti- tution and in his ambitions. It is possible that we know very much more concerning his life from that special period on, because his family and friends began at that point to expect greater things of him, and consequently did notice more closely his charac- teristics and doings. In 1844 when he was ten years of age he had pro- gressed favorably in writing, reading, arithmetic, and spelling. He had also begun the study of the Greek grammar and Latin grammar and received some lessons in philosophy. But he never became in school an expert scholar in the ancient languages, although he afterward grave considerable attention to New Testament Greek and Hebrew at such odd times as he could secure, in order that he might gain a better understanding of the original languages in which the Bible was written. In 1846 he received a prize in an examination and competition in the school, although he was several times defeated in the same attempt. His classmates say that he was characterized at that time by unusual EARL Y ED UCA Tl OX. 6 1 practical observation among common things. He saw what no other boy appeared to notice. Valuable instruction was gained from the wayside, from the household scenes, from the fields of grain, from the most ordinary circumstances in the annals of the country people. Things dead to others were alive to him. Inanimate bodies were instinct with life. The trees had their messages, the rocks their lessons, and the lurking wild beasts their proverbs. He would have obtained a thorough use- ful education at that time had he lived in a desert. The most helpful education often is found in the examination of every-day events, and in the close scrunity of the most ordinary things. In 1849 his father by great sacrifices secured him a place in New Market under care of Mr. Swindell, who was then a noted instructor and especially devoted to the preparation of young men for college. He was obliged to live in a most meagre way and was acutely conscious of the sacrifice his father and mother were makino- to secure him an education. Hence he worked with a devotion and persistency born more of the heart than of intellectual ambition. His father, as we have seen, had but little time to devote to the personal care or instruction of his children because he was in the shop in the day and preached evenings in some chapel or mission, and regularly on Sunday as the pastor at Tollesbury. But the father improved every opportunity to secure any interesting and good book for the use of his 62 CHARLES H. SPURGE ON. children, and in that way often placed in Charles* hands very valuable helps in securing a comprehen- sive education. When his father gave up business altogether and accepted the call of the Congrega- tional Church at Cranbrooke, Kent, he made use of his added income to secure several instructive periodicals for the use of his sons, Charles and James. His fatherly generosity was returned to him a hundred-fold through the indirect influence of Charles, when his popularity began in London, for the church at Fetter Lane having heard of the son, sent a unanimous call to the farther to come and be their teacher in London, where he remained until he died in 1876, in a prosperous and affectionate pas- torate. It is, however, often remarked that Mrs. Spurgeon, Charles' mother, was as truly and effectively a pastor in the Church and congregation as her husband, al- though she was a very quiet old lady, yet she was so continuously engaged in good deeds that the sum of them brought to her great affection and to her husband no small honor. It was a special comfort and delight to Charles thus to have his father and mother near him, to which came an added sat- isfaction when his brother James was also settled in London as his assistant pastor. No comprehensive view can be obtained of the education of Charles H. Spurgeon without carefully allowing a large space for the silent influence of the examnle which such a mother and such a father con- EARL Y EL CCA TLON. 63 tinually presented for many years after he had actu- ally become a preacher himself. Many of the public charities, profitable deeds and kindness, as well as the great institutions which will through the coming generations bear his name, owe their origin, unquestionably, to the instruction by precept and example which he received from his parents, independent of any institution of learn- ing. His school-life necessarily held a prominent place in his early career and was always so connected with his religious training that even on days of examin- ation when he had an oration or essay his subjects were generally upon some questions relating to the Church or upon the subject of missions. He has given us himself a very clear account of the causes which led him to abandon the idea of entering college. It will be most interesting if ffiven in his own words: "Soon after I had begun, in 1852, to preach the Word in Waterbeach, I was strongly advised by my father and others to enter Stepney, now Regent's Park College, to prepare more fully for the ministry. Knowing that learning is never an incumbrance and is often a great means of usefulness, I felt inclined to avail myself of the opportunity of attaining it, al- though I believed that I might be useful without a college training, I consented to the opinion of friends that I should be more useful with it. Dr. Angus, the tutor of the college, visited Cambridge, where I 64 CHARLES H. SPURGE ON. then resided, and it was arranged that we should meet at the house of Mr. Macmillan, the publisher. Thinking and praying over the matter, I entered the house at exactly the time appointed, and was shown into a room, where I waited patiently for a couple of hours, feeling too much impressed with my own insignificance and the greatness of the tutor from London to venture to ring the bell and inquire the cause of the unreasonably long delay." "At last patience having had her perfect work, the bell was set in motion, and on the arrival of the ser- vant, the waiting young man of eighteen was in- formed that the doctor had tarried in another room, and could stop no longer, so had gone off by train, to London. The stupid girl had given no informa- tion to the family that any one called and had been shown into the drawing-room, consequently the meeting never came about, although designed by both parties. I was not a little disappointed at the moment; but have a thousand times since thanked the Lord very heartily for the strange providence which forced my steps into another and far better path. " Still holding the idea of entering- the Collegiate Institution, I thought of writing and making an im- mediate application ; but that was not to be. That afternoon having to preach at a village station, I walked in a meditating frame of mind over Mid- summer Common, to the little wooden bridge which leads to Chesterton, and in the midst of the Common. EARL V ED UCA TION. 6 5 I was startled by what seemed to be a loud voice, but which may have been a singular illusion ; what- ever it was, the impression it made on my mind was most vivid ; I seemed very distinctly to hear the words. ' Seekest thou great things for thyself, seek them not.' This led me to look at my position from a different point of view, and to challenge my motives and intentions. I remembered my poor but loving peo- ple to whom I had ministered, and the souls which had been given me in my humble charge ; and although at that time I anticipated obscurity and poverty as the result of the resolve, yet I did there and then re- nounce the offer of collegiate instruction, determining to abide, for a season, at least, with my people, and to remain preaching the Word so long as I had strength to do it. Had it not been for those words, I had not been where I am now. Although the ephod is no longer worn by ministering priest, the Lord guides His people by His wisdom, and orders all their paths in love ; and in times of perplexity, by ways mysterious and remarkable. He says to them, ' This is the way, walk ye in it.' " A little later he vvrote, " I have all along had an aversion to college, and nothing but a feelincr that I must not consult myself, but Jesus, could have made me think of it." " I am more and more oflad that I never went to college. God sends such sunshine on my path, such smiles of grace, that I cannot regret if I have for- feited all my prospects for it. I am conscious I held 5 55 CHARLES H. SPURGE ON. back from the love of God and His cause ; and I had rather be poor in His service than rich in my own." If at the time when he abandoned the idea of going to college, he had surrendered his intention to secure all the education those do obtain who go to college, then the position of those simple people who assume that it is just as well to preach without an education, would be clearly established. But the fact remains that he was none the less determined to have all the instruction possible and necessary to equip him for his great life-work ; and that he devoted himself to it most assiduously in all his spare hours. Hundreds of young men have entered the ministry thinking they were copying Spurgeon's example by refusing to attend an institution of learning, or pursue at home a systematic course of study, wholly forgetting all that other side of his history wherein he secured his advanced instruction, but under specially unfavor- able circumstances. Perhaps the conditions ought not to be considered unfavorable after all, when we remember that the very difficulties he so bravely encountered only added greatly to his mental power and furnished him with the especially superior weapons in the great diffi- culties of his after experience. It is never best to secure an education easily; and scholars ought always to pursue those studies which are the most difficult to them. For the discipline of mind and the enlargement of mental power is of far more conse- quence than the collection of facts. EARL Y ED UCA TION. $y Mr. Edward Leeding, who for a time was Mr. Spurgeon's tutor, declared that Charles could have received the University degree on examination at any time after reaching manhood, had he chosen to make the application. The college degree is a label which is often displaced, but which in Mr. Spurgeon's case would have reflected more honor upon the institution than it could upon him. CHAPTER III. BEGINNING OF MIRACLES. These are miraculous things, who can hear them ? Strong meat is here given which only the believer or the most careful student can digest. Please keep out of these sacred precincts every one who will not enter them with reverence, or with a con- scientious determination to weigh carefully the facts and deduce reasonably the simple truth. It is a earden of roses to affectionate friends and a field ripe for the harvest to the trusting believer, but a dangerous bog to the skeptic. Yet a skeptical spirit is by no means a crime, provided it be attended by an investigating disposition. It is a curious thing that we often find men of great genius spending years of time investigating the origin of the universe and the first causes of " modes of motion " in the development of animal life, who would regard it as foolishness to spend even a day in looking for the first causes of o^reat moral and religious reforms. Yet the origin of important social and religious changes and wonderful advances in civilization, are often traceable to a point as infinitely small and in- scrutable as that which the mind ever reaches, which seeks for the origin of life. CS BEGINNING OF MIRACLES. Gj It requires just as scientific and careful methods to trace the genesis of impulses or ideas as it does to find the first living celule in protoplasmic ex- istence. The mysterious influences which were brought to bear in such unusual ways upon the character and work of Charles H. Spurgeon, deserve the closest scrutiny of the deepest thinkers of the age. If they could be better understood than they are, they would make great changes in our systems of educa- tion, in our researches for the philosophy of history, and in nearly every relation of social and religious life. We do not expect to explain these things, but we are trying to so present them as to win the attention of greater minds to this important matter. Can the mys- teries be cleared up without attributing the causes di- rectly to miraculously Divine interposition ? Let us consider, first, the celebrated "Knill's Prophecy." That is placed here before the other marvelous incidents in Mr. Spurgeon's story simply because it occurred earliest in his history. We will give two accounts of the prophecy, for, like the New Testament records of the Saviour's life, they agree in all essentials, yet present the facts from different points of view. In Mr. C. M. Ben-ill's life of Rev. Richard Knill, is found the following account, which is copied ver- batim : " During his residence at Wotton-under-Edge, he visited the Rev. James Spurgeon, the minister of an y CHARLES H. SPURGE ON. ancient chapel at Stambourne, Essex ; on walking in the garden with his host's grandson, then about ten years old, he felt, he afterward said, a prayer- ful concern for the intelligent and inquiring boy, sat with him under a yew tree, put his hands on his head, and prayed for him ; telling him at the close that he believed ' he would love Jesus Christ, and preach His gospel in the largest chapel in the world.' When this curious prediction obtained something like fulfillment in the young preacher of the Sur- rey Music Hall, both parties in a short correspond- ence, referred to the old garden incident with feelings akin to wonder. Who can trace the subtlety of such suggestions on the tenor of one's life? All will at least be able to appreciate the aspiration prompted by these occurences — O Lord God omnipotent ! Thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory. Help me as Thy servant, to go on laboring and re- joicing. These are tokens of Thy favor too great to be left unrecorded. What would thousands of gold and, silver be, compared to the conversion of souls and the calling out of preachers ?" We will now turn studiously to the other account, given in writing by Mr. Spurgeon himself. He said: " When I was a very small boy, I was staying at my grandfather's, where I had aforetime spent my earliest days ; and, as the manner was, I read the Scriptures at family prayer. Once upon a time, when reading the passage in the Book of Revela- tion which mentions the bottomless pit, I paused and BEGIXN1NG OF MIRACLES. 7r said, ' Grandpa, what can this mean V The answer was kind, but unsatisfactory : ' Pooh, pooh, child, go on.' The child intended, however, to have an ex- planation, and therefore selected the same chapter morning after morning, Sunday included, and al- ways halted at the same verse to repeat the inquiry. At length the venerable patriarch capitulated at discretion, by saying: ' Well, dear, what is it that puzzles you ?' Now the child had often seen baskets with very frail bottoms, which in course of wear be- came bottomless, and allowed the fruit placed there- in to fall upon the ground. Here then was the puzzle ; if the pit aforesaid had no bottom, where would all the people fall who dropped out at its lower end ? — a puzzle which rather startled the pro- priety of family worship, and had to be laid aside for explanation at a more convenient season. Ques- tions of the like simple and natural character would frequently break up into paragraphs at the family Bible-reading, and had there not been a world of love and license allowed to the inquisitive reader, he would have soon been deposed from his office. As it was, the Scriptures were not very badly ren- dered, and were probably quite as interesting as if they had not been interspersed with original and curious inquiries. " On one of these occasions, Mr. Knill, whose name is a household word, whose memory is precious to thousands at home and abroad, stayed at the minister's house on Friday, in readiness to preach at Stam- j 2 CHARLES II. SPURGEOiV. bourne for the London Missionary Society on the following Sunday. He never looked in a young face without yearning to impart some spiritual gift. He was all love, kindness, earnestness, and warmth, and coveted the souls of men as misers desire the gold their hearts pine for. He heard the boy read and commended ; a little judicious praise is the sure way to a young heart. An agreement was made with the lad that on the next morning, Saturday, he should show Mr. Knill over the garden, and take him for a walk before breakfast ; a task so flattering to juvenile self-importance was sure to be readily entered upon. There was a tap at the door, and the child was soon out of bed and in the sfarden with his new friend, who won his heart in no time by pleasing stories and kind words, and giving him a chance to communicate in return. The talk was all about Jesus, and the pleasantness of loving Him. Nor was it mere talk ; there was pleading too. Into the great yew arbor, cut into the shape of a sugar loaf, both went, and the soul-winner knelt down ; with his arms around the youthful neck, he poured out vehe- ment intercession for the salvation of the lad. The next morningwitnessed the same instruction and sup- plication, and the next also, while all day long the pair were never far apart, and never out of each other's thoughts. The mission sermons were preached in the old Puritan meeting-house, and the man of God was called to go to the next halting place in his tour as deputation for the Society. But he did not BLCIXX/.YG OF MIRACLES. 73 leave until he had uttered a most remarkable pro- phecy. After even more earnest prayer with his little protege, he appeared to have a burden on his mind, and he could not go till he had eased himself of it. In after years he was heard to say that he felt a singular interest in me, and an earnest expectation for which he could not account. Calling the family together, he took me on his knee, and I distinctly remember his saying, 'I do not know how it is, but / feel a solemn presentiment that this child will preach the gospel to thousands, and God will bless him to many souls. So sure am I of this that when my little man preaches in Rowland Hill's chapel, as he will do one day, I should like him to promise me that he will give out the hymn commencing, — " ' God moves in a mysterious way, His wonders to perform.' " "This promise was of course made, and was followed by another, namely, that at his express desire I would learn the hymn in question and think of what he had said." " The prophetic declaration was fulfilled. When I had the pleasure of preaching the Word of Life in Surrey Chapel, and also when I preached in Mr. Hill's first pulpit at Wotten-under-Edge, the hymn was sung in both places. Did the words of Mr. Knill help to bring about their own fulfillment ? I think so. I believed them, and looked forward to the time when I should preach the Word. I felt 74 CHARLES H. SPURGE ON. very powerfully that no unconverted person might dare to enter the ministry. This made me the more intent on seeking salvation, and more hopeful of it ; and when by grace I was enabled to cast myself on the Saviour's love, it was not long before my mouth began to speak of His redemption. How came that sober-minded minister to speak thus to and of one into whose future God alone could see? How came it that he lived to rejoice with his younger brother in the truth of all he had spoken ? The answer is plain. But mark one particular lesson ; would to God that we were all as wise as Richard Knill in habitually sowing beside all waters. Mr. Knill might very naturally have left the minister's little grandson on the plea that he had other duties of more importance than praying with children ; and yet who shall say that he did not effect as much by that simple act of humble ministry as by dozens of sermons addressed to crowded audiences? To me his tenderness in considering the little one was fraught with everlasting consequences, and I must ever feel that his time was well laid out." It will be noticed that there is no necessary dis- crepancy between these two accounts, although Mr. Knill remembered having said " that the boy would love Jesus Christ and preach His gospel in the largest chapel in the world," while Mr. Spurgeon's account of the same incident declares : " I distinctly remember his saying, " I do not know how it is, but I feel a solemn presentiment that this child will preach BEGINN.NG OF MIRACLES. 75 the gospel to thousands, and God will bless him to many souls. So sure am I of this that when my little son preaches in Rowland Hill's chapel, as he will do one day, I should like him to promise me that he will give out the hymn commencing : " ' God moves in a mysterious way, His wonders to perform.' " Mr. Spurgeon seems to have given the general import of a lengthy conversation, while Mr. Knill presents the exact words of a part of his prophecy. There is no question probably in any candid mind but that this scene at the arbor and this wonderful prophecy are matters of fact. Assuming then that no discussion can arise concerning the general accu- racy of these reports, we have presented to us the question : How did Mr. Knill then know that Charles would preach in " the largest chapel in the world?" It might be said by those who believe only in the consecutive course of nature's cause and effect that Mr. Knill may have been unusually wise, and that he judged the future by the past or that he only sur- mised what would be probable from what he had known in his own experience of the history of other boys. Or it may be assumed by the more skeptical that it was altogether a wild guess, such as any per- son might make and would forget if it was left un- fulfilled. If this had been the only strange incident of the kind in the life of Mr. Spurgeon, or even had y6 CHARLES H. SPUKGEON. it been the most mysterious incident connected with his strange history, it might more readily be passed by as a mere coincidence — where a shrewd guess was accidentally as true as prophecy. But other incidents to which reference is yet to be made, present such cumulative evidence that there was working at this very time a mysterious spirit beyond human scrutiny, that very few people who believe in a spiritual agency, doubt but that Mr. Knill was in this a veritable prophet. The religious world will believe that he was given a supernatural foresight, and that a gleam of divine light opened to him the future of this servant of the living God. Neither the prophecies of the Old or the New Testament, nor the strange foretelling of subsequent events on the part of great and saintly Christian men since that day, can be reduced to any system or adjusted to any known law of the natural or spirit- ual world. That under a certain inspiration and condition human beings do in a measure foresee comino- events is well established, and needs no confirmation in this place. In fact, a close consideration of the subject leads one to the conclusion that, in a greater or less degree, every person has a certain amount of fore- sight and that such a foresight is not altogether the result of previous experience. Premonitions are among the most common things in daily life, and their fulfillment does not especially BEGINNING OF MIRACLES. yy surprise any one. To be a divine prophet after the manner of Isaiah or Agabus appears to be only this that they were given a higher degree of foresight or what is called " exalted spiritual vision." But after all discussion is passed, the whole matter assumes again the form of a belief, and persons will accept or reject it as a matter of faith, and be influenced but little by the argument. So many persons who have not the gift of pro- phecy judge other people by themselves, and deny that power to every other person ; yet it is easily seen by the candid mind that it is not positive proof that the gift of prophecy is not held by any person, because another lacks the same gift. The days of prophecy are not passed, neither is the period of miracles closed ; yet, because the sub- ject is not understood and is necessarily in the domain of the mysterious, many deceivers have waxed bold and surrounded the thought with so many shams and falsehoods as to cause good people to greatly mistrust even the most clearly established facts. But it is the part of men of sense to allow no prejudice to sweep them to absurd extremes, or compel them to take the foolish position that be- cause so many men falsify no man tells the truth. There under those closely trimmed yews, in the shady arbor of Stambourne, God revealed Himself, and, for a purpose higher than that which man can fully comprehend, impressed his servant's mind with the events which must necessarily come to pass. It 78 CHARLES H. SPURGEON. was irrevocably fixed that the boy would grow to become a man and preach in the largest •chapel in the world. Listeners to such incidents from the mouth of men whose life, and whose words have ever been noted for truth and calm good sense should attend reverently when the same persons re- late even miraculous things. But we are all of us far too much inclined to regard such statements as wholly or partially illusionary, and so dismiss them with but slight thought, and make no account of them whatever in summing up the causes or results of a human life. Science digs deep, but it has not yet thrust its shovel low enough to unsettle the foundation of things, nor has any philosopher been able to present by the law of material things a com- prehensive, conclusive reason for the most ordinary events. We are strangers after all, and in a strange world. We surmise but do not know. Simple belief is finallythe sum of all the results which the most ana- lytical mind secures. We believe Mr. Knill's pro- phecy was supernatural ; so do the many hundred thousands of living men who knew Mr. Spurgeon. Then it reasonably follows that while many doubters will not accept the conclusions we draw as infallibly proven, yet we do believe Charles was then selected of God as a special apostle to do a definite religious work. We will look back again to the experience related in the last chapter concerning Mr. Spurgeon's decis- BEGINNING OF MIRACLES. yg ion to go on with his preaching-, without a college education. In that it will be seen that he stated, " That afternoon having to preach at a village station, I walked slowly in a meditating frame of mind, over Midsummer Common, to the little wooden bridge which leads to Chesterton, and in the midst of the Common I was startled by what seemed to me to be a loud voice, but which may have been a singular illusion; whatever it was, the impression it made on my mind was most vivid ; I seemed very distinctly to hear the words, ' Seekest thou great things for thyself, seek them not !' This led me to look at my position from a different point of view, and to challenge my motives and intentions." This experience reminds one very strongly of the "Genius" of Plato. He is said by the classical his- torian to have heard a voice suoforestino- to him which way he should go, and the ideas it would be wise to adopt. Many persons have trusted the record and de- clared their belief that Plato did actually hear some voice which was superhuman, or which, if not, was an impression beyond the understanding of natural philosophers. But the greater number of classical scholars have assumed at once, without investi- gation, that Plato's Genius was an imaginary creature, and that the voice was only heard "echo- ing in his soul." Yet it is clearly impossible to prove the negative in this case and place beyond controversy or doubt the theory that Plato could 3q CHARLES H. SPURGEON. not have heard any communication save that of the voice of some living- man. But many superstitious people have drawn their own extreme conclusions, and some of them by their very absurdity, have driven minds away from that careful investigation which it is at least reasonable to give to a matter of this kind. That the Apostle Paul heard a voice when on his way to Damascus has sometimes been denied by most profound theologians, and the whole scene ex- plained as being an inner impression, made out- wardly from the soul, rather than inwardly from any external shining light. Such is the interpretation put upon the voice heard at Christ's Baptism, and heard when the Greeks in the Temple said "it thundered." But that theory explains nothing. It is no less supernatural or wonderful even if that interpretation were correct. But the millions of Christians who take the Bible to be the spiritual word of God and an infallible guide to heaven, believe that Paul heard a real voice, and they believe it was the voice of Jesus the Christ. Augustine heard strange voices. Luther heard supernatural voices. But their historians and phi- losophers have never come to any clear decision whether the voices they heard were imaginary or real. Thousands of other Christians have related how, at their conversion or at other times, messages have Spurgeon at the Age of Nineteen. BEGINNING OF MIRACLES. $$ come to them which seemed to be spoken in tones of a human voice, and which turned the whole current of their lives into a channel toward which no previous application of the "law of association of ideas" would lead them. We would teach no superstition, nor advocate the trustworthiness of strange impulses nor approve of the hallucinations which come to minds often more or less unbalanced. But with calmness and conservatism, and yet with firmness in the right as God gives us to see the right, let us frankly face this question, Did Mr. Spurgeon hear a voice, or did he not? The great profit to be obtained in the study of such a matter is that it prevents thoughtful minds from sweeping into that materialistic condition which leads them to trust more to the sectarian bigotry of some modern scientists than to the eternal truth of revelation, or the judgment of good common sense. On the other hand, examination will tend to pre- vent the acceptance of wild and reckless conclusions concerning such matters, and offset the foolish " inspi- rations" which have led astray so many weak Chris- tians in these later years. Mr. Spurgeon was unquestionably a man of strict integrity, he would not intentionally misrepresent the slightest circumstance in connection with any event, and the logical conclusion to which he came concerning the voice he heard at Midsummer Com- mon, is one of great importance to the Christian world. 6 84 CHARLES H. SPURGEON. He said " which may have been a singular illusion." He does not venture to assert the supernatural. He might be mistaken as to the origin of the voice, But the same impression was received by his mind, which human language makes through vibration in the ear. It would require in order to truth- fully deny that any real voice was heard, that the person denying it should have infinite knowl- edge. For he who says that such a thing could not occur, thereby claims to be acquainted with all the laws of nature, and above nature, and that he is so fully able to measure their powers and possible com- binations as to mathematically figure out of all the in- finite possibilities the impossibility of such an event. Any person could declare that he did not believe it, and might be truthful in his statement. But he who asserts that such a thing is actually impossible assumes a divinity of knowledge which is sublimely absurd. Yet, on the other hand, so many voices are said to have been heard by those who are wholly un- trustworthy in other matters and so many of them have been used to prop up so many of the most silly superstitions that it is reasonably difficult for the superficial thinker to decide that any real voice of this kind is ever heard in modern years. The sanctified common sense of Mr. Spurgeon is beautifully shown in his expression, given in his ac- count, that the loud voice " may have been a singular illusion." Such illusions are not rare and certainly are to be most carefully investigated before being BEGINNING OF MIRACLES. gr accepted as established truth. But it is certain that Mr. Spurgeon evidently believed that it was the voice of God. At all events, he allowed it to guide him to the most important decision of his life and ever after kept the saying of that voice vividly before his mind to determine his actions in situations of great difficulty. As Henry Ward Beecher said of Abraham Lin- coln's belief in signs, " even if it was an illusion, it was still the voice of God." What difference does it make if the right impression is made upon the mind, whether it be the result of a trumpet blast, or of a still small voice whispering in the soul ? God is not confined to any particular agency in making His chosen communications ; and however weak may be our speculations concerning the channel through which God conveys His divine will, it is perhaps enough for us to know that He does communicate •with His own in some way, and impresses upon them His will in a manner akin to that which He used with the saints of old. Impressions of great variety are continually being made upon the wicked, going into deeper wrong, which to the Christian are clearly warnings from a great and good spirit, which would turn them back from their evil ways, before their souls are utterly lost. And in the same way, spiritual voices, though perhaps using no mechanical instru- ment for expression, are continually encouraging the soul which is struggling after the truth, and are help- 86 CHARLES H. SPURGEON. ing upward by mysterious suggestions the servant of God who would know more of Christ and be better fitted to perform His will. If we were to surrender this position, we would suffer complete defeat as defenders of the Christian principles that God still saves and impels by His Holy Spirit. We declare unhesitatingly our unshaken belief in the fact that the voice which Mr. Spurgeon heard at that time was the voice of the Holy Spirit of God. We also declare, that it must have been the same Divine agency which afterward followed him from that .point on, and in the most miraculous ways answered his prayers and furthered his efforts for the salvation of men. Only a few of the uncounted number of singular events in his history are probably known to any writer. And if they all could be known, it would be impossible to write the books which should contain their narration. We will gather here as many as we feel are perfectly trustworthy, being sadly con- scious, however, of the fact that any collection of the Providential visitations of God to Mr. Spurgeon and his work will be but a hint to the great aggregation of unwritten events. We believe in the miraculous agency of the Holy Spirit in connection with the conversion of every soul which he saw turn from the world unto God. No known natural law accounts for the revolution in disposition and the change in re- lation to God and Godly things, which comes to the BEGINNING OF MIRACLES. $/ heart that surrenders itself to a belief in Jesus the Christ. Accompanying this religious work he found, as many other servants of Christ have found, that there are ever at work mysterious, unaccountable, provi- dential causes leading to the definite result. Our religious libraries are filled with books giving ac- counts of marvelous answers to prayer, of the most strange turning about in the lives of bad men, of the building of churches, the beginnings of missions, of power in revivals, healing of diseases and the hundred other transformations of human character or human circumstances. All of these help to confirm the idea that Mr. Spurgeon's life was one specially led by a supernatural spirit. Yet so interwoven with this record are the natural results of the well- understood human agencies that no one may hope to draw a clear line of division and say this was supernatural, and that was natural. How difficult then is the task of the historian working in human limitations, lacking the infallibility of divine inspiration. The writer can at the best, only touch upon the facts here and there, catching but occasional glimpses of the plan which Mr. Spurgeon lived out, the main features of which are hidden with God. Only when the books are opened beyond this present existence, can there be pre- sented a true record of all the supernatural influences which worked with the natural ones in the making up of his romantic career. CHAPTER IV. EARLY RELIGIOUS EXPERIENCES. We must tread a^ain the border-land of the known and the unknown, as we try to present a truthful narration of Mr. Spurgeon's earliest religious life. It was as remarkable and startling as many of the other things in his strange career. Yet it may be that we ought not to regard his religious experiences as bemnninsf at the time when he thought he was converted ; for he was a child of religious parents and was ever under the influence of Biblical teachings, from the day he began to learn any- thing - . The Church and Sabbath-school were as familiar to him as was his grandfather's sitting-room. The Bible was a book which was kept in mind by con- tinual quotation 'and by daily reading, both morning and evening. Thus he lived through all his early years in the atmosphere of a religious and holy home-life. A hatred of evil and a love for the good were inculcated by teachers and friends, both in precept and example, until it must have been a kind of second nature to him to be religious in an ex- ternal sense. He has told us how the Pilgrim's Progress and EARL Y RELIGIOUS EXPERIENCES. &g the Lives of the Martyrs were among the first books that he ever read, and the impression they made upon his thoughts and feelings never disap- peared. He lived in the Church as some boys do on the streets, he was as much at home with the Sunday- school classes and books as some boys are with the billiard-rooms and dram-shops. If careful and conscientious training could ever be of advan- tage to a child, he could not fail to be a good boy. While he does not appear to have been preco- ciously intellectual, he does appear to have been precociously religious. His grandfather never wearied of telling the inci- dents connected with Charles' evangelistic tendencies, and with great delight used to relate how the boy once went into an ale-house on an errand, and hav- ing found there, drinking and carousing, a member of the church, indignantly rebuked him by exclaiming, " What doest thou here, Elijah !" Then, too, he in- herited that deep emotional nature, that large phil- anthropic spirit, which would lead him to most ten- derly sympathize with sorrow and pain, and would arouse him to lion ferocity to witness cruelty or injustice. He was an upright youth and no hint of anything immoral, no suggestion of vice comes to us concerning him, in all the traditions connected with his early years. His forceful utterances from the pulpit were never go CHARLES H. SPURGE ON. afterward weakened by the remembrance of wrongs committed in his youth. He was never compelled to meet in his pastoral duties or works of mercy the bitter insinuations which surround the preacher whose previous life is a matter of sorrow or shame. Men often proclaim, and with an appearance of pride, that they have descended to the lowest experi- ences of vice and debauchery, and that they have been lifted from the horrible pit and the miry clay by the especial and miraculous interference of God in their behalf. Many such testimonies seem to state the truth ; but it would appear as though the man who had never tasted evil nor committed an act of which he had reason to be ashamed, should praise God with the loudest voice or with the most sincere emotion. For the stain and scars of a life once evil are never erased beyond recognition. A wasted life or wasted half a life ! How sad it must be to reflect upon it continually ; and to think how much more good might have been done, had relig- ious life began in childhood, instead of opening in volcanic eruptions or in purifying thunder-storms. The startling conversions and thrilling experiences of which we hear, perhaps none too much, are after all not so much the subject of praise or congratula- tion as to have led an entire life under the influence and in the service of the Saviour. Yet Mr. Spur- geon, notwithstanding his moral uprightness of char- acter, had the same struggle with Satan, and the same EARL Y RELIGIOUS EXPERIENCES. 91 turmoil of spirit which has characterized a large por- tion of the religious conversions recorded in the books. He has told us about it himself and in lan- guage so plain and interesting that we will give his statement here in his own words, and for conveni- ence, combine two different accounts. He was converted at New Market, near Cambridge, England, when he was between fifteen and sixteen years of age, and while he was attending school. He said : " I can remember the time when my sins first stared me in the face. I thought myself to be most accursed of all men. I had not committed any very great open transgressions against God ; but I recollected that I had been well trained and tutored, and I thought my sins were thus greater than other people's. I cried to God to have mercy, but I feared that He would not pardon me. Month after month I cried to God, but He did not hear me, and I knew not what it was to be saved. Sometimes I was so weary of the world that I desired to die ; but then I recollected that there was a worse world after this, and that it would be an ill matter to rush be- fore my Maker unprepared. At times I wickedly thought God a most heartless tyrant, because He did not answer my prayer ; and then at others I thought, ' I deserve His displeasure ; if He sends me to hell, He will be just.' But I remember the hour when I stepped into a place of worship, and saw a tall thin man in the pulpit; I have never seen him from that day, and probably never shall until we meet in 92 CHARLES H. SPURGE ON. heaven. He opened the Bible and read in a feeble voice, 'Look unto me and be ye saved, all the ends of the earth ; for I am God, and beside me there is none else.' Ah ! thought I, I am one of the ends of theea/th; and then turning around, and fixing his gaze on me, as if he knew me, the minister said : ' Look, look, look ! ' Why, I thought I had a great deal to do, but I found it was only to look. I thought I had a garment to spin out for myself; but I found that if I looked, Christ would give me a garment. Look, sinner ; that is the way to be saved. Look unto Him, all ye ends of the earth, and be saved." * * * " I will tell you how I, myself, was brought to the knowledge of this truth. It may happen the telling of that will bring some one else to Christ. It pleased God in my childhood to convince me of sin. I lived a miserable creature, finding no hope, no comfort, thinking that surely God would never save me. At last the worst came to worst — I was miserable ; I could scarcely do anything. My heart was broken in pieces. Six months did I pray, prayed agoniz- ingly with all my heart, and never had an answer. I resolved that in the town where I lived I would visit every place of worship in order to find out the way of salvation. I felt I was willing to do anything and be anything, if God would only forgive me. I set off determined to visit the chapels, and I went to all the places of worship ; and though I dearly venerate the men who occupy those pulpits now, and did so then, I am bound to say that I never EARL Y RELIGIOUS EXPERIENCES. 93 heard them once fully preach the gospel. I mean by that, they preached truth, great truths, many good truths that were fitting to many of their con- gregation who were spiritually-minded people ; but what I wanted to know was, How can I get my sins forgiven. And they never once told me that. I wanted to know how a poor sinner, under the sense of sin, might find peace with God ; and when I went I heard a sermon on, ' Be not deceived. God is not mocked,' which cut me up worse, but did not say how I might escape. I went again another day, and the text was something about the glories of the righteous ; nothing for poor me. I was something like a dog under the table, not allowed to eat of the children's food. I went time after time, and I can honestly say, I don't know that I ever went without prayer to God, and I am sure there was not a more attentive listener in all the place than myself, for I panted and longed to understand how I might be saved. " At last one day — it snowed so much that I could not go to the place to which I had determined to go, and I was obliged to stop on the road, and it was a blessed stop for me — I found rather an obscure street, and turned down a court, and there was a lit- tle chapel. I wanted to go somewhere, but I did not know this place. It was the primitive Methodists' chapel. I had heard of these people from many, and how they sang so loudly that they made peo- ple's heads ache ; but that did not matter. I wanted 94 CHARLES H. SPURGEON. to know how I might be saved, and if they made my head ache ever so hard I did not care. So sitting down, the service went on, but no preacher came. At last a very thin looking man, Rev. Robert Eaglen, came into the pulpit and opened his Bible and read these words : ' Look unto me and be ye saved, all ye ends of the earth.' Just setting his eyes upon me, as if he knew me all by heart, he said : ' Young man you are in trouble.' Well, I was, sure enough. Said he, 'you will never get out of it unless you look to Christ.' And then lifting up his hands he cried out, as I think only a Primitive Methodist could do, ' Look, look, look.' ' It is only look,' said he. I saw at once the way of salvation. Oh! how I did ka-p for joy on that moment. I know not what elsr. he said. I did not take much notice of that — I was so possessed with that one thought. Like as when the brazen serpent was lifted up, they only looked and were healed. I had been waiting to do fifty things, but when I heard this word, ' look,' what a charming word it seemed to me. Oh ! I looked until I could almost have looked my eyes away, and in heaven I will look on still in my joy unutterable. " I now think I am bound never to preach a ser- mon without preaching to sinners. I do think that a minister who can preach a sermon without ad- dressing sinners does not know how to preach." The change of heart and faith which this incident marks was so great, notwithstanding his previous unimpeachable character, that all his friends and ac- EARL Y RELIGIOUS EXPERIENCES. 95 quaintances who had not heard of his conversion, recognized the great transformation. Life took upon itself a new robe. His entire ambition concentrated in the thought of doing good. He had decided to be a Christian teacher, and felt that he could not possibly keep back the message, even should he bring all his naturally stubborn disposition to bear upon the repression. An irresistible desire to pro- claim the new gospel he had found impelled him on with such speed that he had no opportunity to even look back. The very next day found him visiting the poor and talking to his classmates concerning their religious life, and heard him declare to his teacher, " it is all settled, I must preach the gospel of Christ." Yet he was by disposition very timid, had always trembled at the sound of his own voice in public declamation, and up to that period had shown a discouraging disposition to stutter and choke when suddenly called upon to answer a question or make a remark in a public assembly. But nearly all that timidity disappeared before his very first experience as a preacher. It is a matter of no little surprise to many early friends of Mr. Spurgeon that he should have de- parted from the faith of his fathers' and instead of uniting with the Congregational body, should enter into the fellowship of a Baptist Church. It is said that his decision to enter the Baptist Church was caused entirely by his own independent conscien- 9 6 CHARLES H. SPURGEOtf. tious convictions concerning the principles of the Church and the form of baptism. He read his Bible with great care, and insisted with great enthusiasm on literally complying, as far as possible, with the actual example of the Saviour. He had been drawn into association with some students connected with the Baptist Church at Isleham and so had occasion- ally attended worship in that church. When he de- cided that it was his duty to unite with that denom- ination he pleaded most strenuously with his father and mother and grandfather for their consent. They were, in no sense, bigoted sectarians, and when they found his heart so strongly fixed upon that Church, they withdrew their first objections and bid him heartily "Godspeed." He was baptized by the Rev. Mr. Cantlow, of Isleham Baptist Church, May 3d, 1851, celebrating at the same time as he often afterward claimed, the birthday of his mother. The Isleham pastor was one of the old vigorously protestant Baptist teachers who insisted most persistently in declaring the prin- ciple that " every person shall have the right and ought to exercise it, to worship God according to the dictates of his own enlightened conscience," The remark of his mother concerning his baptism and his reply has been running through the news- papers for a great many years, wherein she said, " I have often prayed the Lord that you might be con- verted, but never asked Him that you might be a EARL V RELIGIOUS EXPERIENCES. 97 Baptist." To which Charles replied that God had \ answered her prayer with His usual bounty, and had ' " ofiven her more than she had asked." Connected with the church at Isleham was ayoung schoolmate who was also closely connected with the "lay preachers' association "of the Baptist Church in Cambridee. Through him Charles was introduced to the pastor and some of the deacons of the Cam- bridge Church. He joined that church soon after his baptism, either by letter from the Isleham Church or upon a letter of commendation from the Rev. Mr. Cantlow. His purpose in uniting with the church at Cambridge seems to have been specially to identify himself with the " lay preachers' associa- tion," which was an organization of young men who devoted their Sabbaths largely to missionary and per- sonal Christian work. There he found most con- genial companionship and very agreeable religious employment, entering into it with all his heart and soul and winning the hearts of many of the poor and the sinful. It was in connection with this associa- tion that he preached his first sermon. It was entirely an impromptu address, about which he had but a few minutes to think in advance. He entered the pulpit a boy, dressed in a round jacket and a broad turned-down collar. Perhaps it will add to .the interest if we should give in his own language the manner in which the address was thrust upon him. " I had been asked to walk out to the village of 7 9 8 CHARLES H. SPURGE ON. Taversham, about four miles from Cambridge, where I then lived, to accompany a young man whom I supposed to be the preacher for the evening, and on the way I said to him that I trusted God would bless him in his labors. ' Oh ! dear,' said he, ' I never preached in my life ; I never thought of doing such a thing. I was asked to walk with you and I sin- cerely hope God will bless you in your preaching.' ' Nay,' said I, ' but I never preached, and I don't know that I could do anything of the sort.' We walked together until we came almost to the place, my inmost soul being all in a tremble as to what would happen. When we found the congregation assembled, and no one else there to speak of Jesus, although I was only sixteen years of age, I found that was I expected to preach, so I did preach." The sermon is said by some of those who heard it, to have been most truly amusing, because it was so serious, practical, and earnest, and given by a mere boy, amid such dignified surroundings. He was in earnest to the verge of fanaticism, and soon lost all consciousness of self, and all embarrassment on ac- count of his age, and threw himself into the deliv- ery of the message with an abandon which to the preacher is the keenest, richest joy. Some of his hearers afterward compared his youthful appearance and his unaccountable wisdom to the scene of Christ among the doctors, while skeptical or envious ones, said "the boy is wildly bold." He was wholly, un- reservedly in earnest, and that covered a multitude EARL Y RELIGIO US EXPERIENCES. \ o I of faults, and forced to defeat all of his theological and literary critics. His first practical Christian work, was, as a mat- ter of course, very largely among the humble peo- ple, and his first experience was connected with the leadership of small prayer-meetings. Some of these meetings did not number more than, as he said,." he could count on his hands," and were often held in the kitchen or sitting-room of some humble dwelling. But he was young, vigorous, and enthu- siastic and often walked ten miles to attend a short evening service. He removed his school re- lations from New Market to Cambridge, where his father had employed a tutor, and, with his comrades of the Lay Preachers' Association, took up the most systematic course of house visiting, ascertaining who were Christians, and exhorting most earnestly those who were not. The boys connected with that so- ciety became very well known in the course of a very few months, and Charles was' recognized by them all as a leader. He was often compared with Peter by his companions because of his impulsiveness and his strong inclination to chastise himself for any neglect or seeming sin. He arose early with the sun, studied his lessons hard until the hour for school, he then remained in school until four o'clock in the afternoon, and for one year attended some kind of religious service almost every evening in the week, and preached the gospel on Sunday. His pulpit in the week was sometimes I02 CHARLES H. SPURGE ON. a chair, at other times a barrel, while frequently he stood in the open road and occasionally he found his way into the pulpits of the smaller churches. He taught a Sunday-school class, which soon grew out of all proportion with the rest of the school, but he reduced it by urging the scholars to .go out and be- come evangelists, in the distribution of tracts, caring for the poor, and praying for the sick. There were two young men connected with the Lay Preachers' Association who were far more elo- quent than he, but there was a conspicuous lack in their character of that impulsive power, that in- fluence over the action of others, that ability to or- ganize them into effective work which was then and has been his chief characteristic ever since that day. He often volunteered to assist the children of the village in their studies at home, frequently making their acquaintance on the street or at school, and thus found his way into the families as a Christian evangelist, to the great delight of the parents and to the profit of the children. Religious work became with him a positive pas- sion, inspiring all his thought and the object of his entire ambition. He was bright, active, and at times very witty. His fun was exuberant, natural, and contagious. He was often seen running races with the children, rolling the hoop for their amusement, and performing feats in youthful athletics to the sur- prise and admiration of the boys whose souls he desired to win to the Lord Jesus Christ. EARL Y RELIGIO US EXPERIENCES. \ 03 He studied his Bible constantly, and was often overheard repeating chapters of it by heart, that he might so fasten them upon his memory as to make them indelible there. It appears that from the very first he was so posi- tively in earnest in the work himself that he took little time to listen to the preaching of others. This may in a measure account for his singular originality, and may have aided him greatly in reaching the eminence on which he stood at the time of his death. If he had been less anxious to eno-agfe at once in some practical work, and had spent more time lis- tening to the preachers of that day, he would have been inclined to copy their forms of expressions, their gestures, intonations, or dress. But all his life he was so perpetually busy about something in which his own personality was needed that he rarely ever had time to listen to a sermon or address by any other person. He read sermons, lectures, and books by the hun- dred, and thus secured the best ideas of his time on theological matters. But he copied no one, and carved for himself such an independent place as an orator and teacher that even his blunders and extravagances added greatly to his attractiveness and power. He had no Oxford airs, no aristocratic affectations, and was often mentioned by those who spoke of him as one who was " different from every other man on earth." In this way he adjusted himself to all the circum- io4 CHARLES H. SPURGE ON. stances in which he was placed and went directly toward the object he had in view. His language and his entire appearance were the products of his own age and time, and were adjustable to the variety of his present needs. He lived in his own time and for his own generation, and consequently was es- pecially fitted for the personal and public Christian work which he was so anxious to perform. There are practical machinists, there are theoret- ical machinists, there are theoretical farmers, and there are practical farmers, even so there are theo- retical ministers and practical ministers. As the practical farmer and mechanic make all the money, while the theorists spend it all, just so the practical preacher wins all the souls, while the theorist drives them away. He loved greatly to attend Sabbath-School con- ventions and anniversaries, and while making no pretensions to oratory was always called upon to speak whenever he was present. He was simple as a child, consequently the children delighted to hear him. His fund of anecdotes, traditions, stories, and illustrations were positively inexhaustible. Every anecdote or description which he read in a periodical or a book seems to have remained with him subject to instant call. But he was colloquial and often awkward. He did not hesitate to use expressive local phrases which would be regarded by the polished scholars as par- taking altogether too largely of slang. But he EARL Y RELIGIO US EXPERIENCES. \o"^ scrupled not to use any sort of effective weapon in his contest with evil, and hastened to throw to the sinking - sinner a window-frame or a cabin table in the absence of handy life preservers. The effect of his teaching was immediately felt in the entire vicinity, to such an extent that he was called for on every side to pray with the sick and counsel the dying, although he was but a mere boy in years or experience. In the year 1851, which was the first year of his preaching experience, he was invited to deliver an address in the church at Waterbeach, not far from Cambridge, and is said to have had less than a dozen at his initial service. But the Waterbeach Baptist Church was composed of very poor people and paid a salary of but $100 per year to the really distinguished men who had presided over its religious services. The church was small, built of composite, plastered outside and in, with rude benches and a very high pulpit. The best description we have been able to obtain of the old church, which has since been de- stroyed by fire, reports it to have been a barren and sterile place except when filled with the devoted Christians, to many of whom it was a veritable Mecca. The old ladies who heard him preach his first sermon regarded him as a " dear good boy," but would not have dreamed of accepting him as their pastor until he began to make his influence felt in their homes and among their children. He was always diligently at work. They often asked him if he ever slept. io 5 CHARLES H. SPURGE ON. He had no thought, however, of beginning a pas- torate at Waterbeach during the first two or three months of his active work in that neighborhood as an evangelist, but the thought at first absurd soon be- came possible, then arose to the probable, and finally was a certainty. The churchunanimouslycalledhimto be their pastor, when he was about nineteen years of age, and probably the youngest ordained preacher of any denomination in England. He accepted the position after a great deal of hesitation and many hours spent by himself in prayer. It was then that he was compelled to come to the important decision to which we have referred in a previous chapter, concerning the pursuit of his edu- cation through a college course. He felt that he belonged to the Lord. His body, his soul, his tal- ents, and his time. He believed that the Lord could use him without an education, if his Heavenly Father was so inclined ; and he cut himself off from educa- tional opportunities and entered directly into the work of saving souls, assured that in some way the Lord would make up for the deficiency. Many persons regarded him as a fanatic, and tried their best to discourage him by calling his attention to the fact that he was so young. Some even wrote to his father, saying that it was a shame to allow a bright boy like that to throw himself away in such a foolish manner. But he was ready to go through fire and water, and had determined to sacrifice every- thing and anything in the cause he had espoused. EARL Y RELIGIO US EXPERIENCES. \ y Yet he entered upon it with the most deliberate thought, with most broad common sense, and com- bined with these such skill and tact in the management of others, and in the declaration of truth, as to establish himself quickly with the oldest and most conserva- tive of his hearers. The fire in his soul which many feared would become a hard master he ever kept within proper bounds and compelled it to be a good servant. Unstinted praise was heard on every side and the extremest flattery was spoken unblushingly to his face. It is a marvel that the boy was not completely destroyed by egotism. But he had the natural tact to consult with old men, and to follow their advice rather than to give heed to flatterers, who would have led him so sadly to overestimate his forces. Many say that during his youth he did at times exhibit considerable self-importance, and there are those who seem to recognize that trait, though largely in abeyance, in the entire history of the man. Mr. Spurgeon has also left an account of his first pastorate, in which he said : " Well I remember be- ginning to preach in a little thatched chapel, and my first concern was, would God save any souls through me ? They called me a ragged headed boy ; I think I was — I know I wore a jacket. I preached and I was troubled in my heart because I thought, 'This gospel has saved me, but then somebody else preached it ; will it save anybody if I preach it ?' Some IQ 3 CHARLES H. SPURGE ON. Sundays went over, and I used to say to one of the deacons, ' Have you heard of anybody finding the Lord ?' My good old friend said, ' I am sure there has been, I am quite sure about it.' ' Oh !' I said, ' I want to know it, I want to see it.' And one Sunday afternoon he said, ' There is a woman who lives over at so-and-so who found the Lord three or four Sun- days ago through your preaching.' I said, ' Drive me over there, I must go directly,' and the first thing on Monday morning I was driving down to see my first convert. Many fathers recollect their first child ; mothers recollect their first baby — no child like it, you never had another like it since. I have had a great many spiritual children born of the preaching of the word, but I do think that woman was the best of the lot. At least, she did not live long enough for me to find many faults in her. After a year or two of faithful witness-bearing she wenthometo lead the way for a goodly number since. I have had nothing else to preach but Christ cruci- fied. How many souls there are in heaven who have found their way there through that preaching ; how many there are still on the earth, serving the Master, it is not for me to tell ; but whatever there has been of success has been through the preaching of Christ in the sinners' stead." A glimpse of the domestic side of his life is afforded us in a humorous off-hand line he sent about this time to his sister, which Mr. Bliss has given to the public : — EARL Y RELIGIOUS EXPERIENCES. 10C) " Cambridge, Thursday. " To Miss Carolina Louisa Spurgeon : — " Your name is so long that it will almost reach across the paper. We have one young gentleman in our school, whose name is Edward Ralph William Baxter T . The boys tease him about his long name, but he is a very good boy, and that makes his name a good one. " Everybody's name is pretty if they are good people. " The Duke of Tuscany has had a little son. The little fellow was taken to the Catholic cathedral, and had some water put on his face, and then they named him — you must get Eliza to read it — ' Gio- vanni Nepomuceno Maria Annunziata Giuseppe Giovanbattista Ferdinando Baldassere Luigi Gon- zaga Pietro Allesandro Zanobi Antonio.' "A pretty long name to go to bed and get up with. It will be a long while before he will be able to say it all the way through. "If any one is called by the name of Christian, that is better than all these great words. It is the best name in the world, except the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. "My best love to you. I hope you will enjoy yourself and try to make others happy too, for then you are sure to be happy yourself. Whereas, if you only look out to please yourself, you will make others uncomfortable, and will not make yourself HO CHARLES H. SPURGEON. happy. However, you know that, and I need not tell you of it. A happy Christmas to you. " Your loving brother, " Charles." Mr. Spurgeon's personal letters have always been distinguished for their simplicity and originality of style. He had no time, even if he had the inclina- tion, to study the copy-books for fashionable letter- writing. He lost no time, but wrote concisely and directly what he meant, omitting generally the orna- mental and the flourish. In this was the great gain to him found in the omission of a classical education in the schools. No one would ever accuse him of plagiarism who understood his style or knew his habits. Imitators never succeed, Even painters who en- deavor to copy Raphael or Rubens fail as copyists, and bring shame to themselves as artists, and the literary man or public speaker who endeavors to copy any minister is doing a most conspicuously foolish thing-. When Beecher died, a host of little Beechers arose, claiming to be a second Beecher. They were all very little Beechers. Successors to John B. Gough, to John Wesley, to Martin Luther, have often been foolishly advertised, but their lack ot genius and learning was in every case as notorious as was the success of the persons they attempted to imitate. EARL Y RELIGIOUS EXPERIENCES. \ \ \ Probably no profession in the world contains as many imitators as that of the ministry. One man's success immediately brings about him a school of prophets, who regard him as a superior model, and follow him in the closest details ; but every such follower is a dismal failure. The curse of the pul- pit, if there be any one curse more deleterious than another, is this weak tendency to imitate some suc- cessful man. The fear of being- original and the timidity with which they meet criticism after having stated something different from the declarations of other people, keep men and women from doing their duty, and suppresses the sublime natural power found in all our pulpits, Let every man remain him- self. If in being individual, he blunders and flound- ers like a porpoise, or brays like a donkey, he will attract more respectful attention in that manner which is natural than with all the most refined sen- tences stolen from classical models. If God had intended or desired that men should be all alike, He would have so constructed them, and would have surrounded each with the same influences. But He made no two men alike, and they best answer the ends of their being by keeping to the in- dividuality and originality which God impresses upon their natures. Mr. Spurgeon was Charles Haddon Spurgeon. No other person. His expressions were so original that his declarations are recognized anywhere. There was no danger of his being confounded 112 CHARLES H. SPt/RGEOM. with Cardinal Manning, Joseph Parker, or Henry Ward Beecher. These excellent preachers excelled him in some things, but he was their peer in origin- ality. He was nature's nobleman, and nature had her perfect work. When our schools and colleges can so adjust themselves to the needs of the age as to give to each student an open field for his individual genius, then shall we have a perfect system of education. Until then, many of our schools and theological insti- tutions will serve in a measure to destroy much of the effectiveness of many persons who by nature are brilliant or gigantic. We see, too, that his theological training in actual personal Christian work among all classes of people in all the different grades of religious teaching was a far better discipline for the real battle of his life than could have been the same number of months given him even in the halls of Cambridge or the Uni- versity of Leipsic. Not that these great institutions are to be despised, but that if one must choose between the practical experience and impractical theory, reason always dictates that a person should take the practice. Mr. Spurgeon's pastorate at Waterbeach lasted only a few months. But it was a most valuable school, without which he could not have hoped to succeed in London. His youth and impetuosity made him a remarkable curiosity, and drew to the old church an immense audience, requiring on his part, EARL Y RELIGIOUS EXPERIENCES. 113 great variety of illustrations and appeal in order to win the souls of the different classes represented. His sincerity won for him the positive love of the church membership, and no matter what he might state or do, they were as blind to his faults as any lover can be. He had been a pastor but a few months when there was held a Sunday-school convention at Cam- bridge, where he was especially invited to give a short address. But he was so busy in his own pastorate, and so anxious concerning some of the local enterprises connected with the church that he gave the address but little thought. When his turn came to speak he felt that he had but little to say, and was wise enough to say that little in a few words and sit down. Here again we see, that, if he had taken more time and had more carefully prepared a cultured address, he would have failed to accomplish the great good which fol- lowed these few remarks. Not that any person can ever be excused from doing his best. Should a minister of the Gospel spend his time in amusement or laziness, then his impromptu remarks would be stale and disgraceful. But if his time is fully occu- pied with earnest practical Christian work, then in every case he can depend safely upon the promise of the Saviour, that it shall be given him what he shall say. The best speeches, like the most noted specimens of oratory, are always inspired by the circumstances ! I4 CHARLES H. SPURGEON. present, and are panoplied Minervas leaping forth from sudden and inspiring emotions awakened by a desire to do good. The hard worker, whose life is crowded with varied experiences in the severe con- flicts with sin, is always a full man and usually ready to speak effectively on the shortest notice. His daily experience supplies him with themes and his actual practice makes him an authority on the sub- ject. What Mr. Spurgeon said to the Sunday-school scholars who were present at the assembly, or what advice he grave to the teachers he did not himself re- member in after years, and every other person seems to have forgotten. But one listener was present who did not forget the boy, and who re- membered especially his originality and independent way. That listener was the instrumentality which Providence used to take Charles to London, for a few weeks later he met one of the deacons of the church in London, of which Charles afterward be- came the pastor, and in conversation with the deacon, mentioned this precocious young man, stating that he was greatly impressed with his spiritual power and his excellent common sense. That conversation, though for a time forgotten by both of them, was afterward recalled by the deacon and led to the in- vitation of which we will speak further, in the next chapter. It was during his first pastorate, at Waterbeach, when his name had been spread abroad far and wide EARL Y RELJGIO I T S EXPERIENCES. j T r as the "boy preacher," and while the aged shook their heads and the ungodly made sport, that he wrote a long and affectionate letter to his mother, the character of which may well be judged from the following extract : "lam more and more glad that I never went to college. God sends such sunshine on my path, such smiles oferace, that I cannot reoret if have forfeited all my prospects for it. I am conscious I held back from love and His cause, and I had rather be poor in His service than rich in my own. I have all that heart can wish for ; yea, God giveth more than my desires. My congregation is as oreatand lovine as ever. During all the time that I have been atWaterbeach I have had a different house for my home every day. Fifty-two families have thus taken me in ; and I have still six other invita- tions not yet accepted. Talk about the people not caring for me because they give me so little ! I dare tell anybody under heaven " tis false ! They do all they can !" CHAPTER V. THE HISTORY OF HIS CHURCH. The planting of a church is like the planting of a seed which is almost certain to grow into a tree, spreading its branches in beauty and beneficence at home and sending the fruit into every portion of the earth. How incredulous the forefathers would have been had any prophet informed them that the New Park Street Baptist Church would become so influential for good and so widely known. It had its origin far back in the days of persecu- tion, when men paid for their opinions with property, pain, shame, and often death. The founders of that Church over which Mr. Spurgeon eventually became the pastor were brave men who feared not the stake and who had often seen fires burning their co-religionists. It will be in- teresting and highly helpful in the study of Mr. Spurgeon's life to trace the history of this organiza- tion, in order that we may better understand the circumstances into which he was drawn when he went to London. Mr. Spurgeon has himself furnished a complete and accurate history of the Tabernacle and the 116 THE HISTOR V OF HIS CHURCH. II 7 Church, but he wrote at the time when many of the individuals were still living who welcomed him to London, and wrote when also conscious that the sons and grandsons of those who had acted a part in the history of that Church would read his book. No one writes without great restraint, under such cir- cumstances, and while he need never state an untruth, yet all the truth is not to be spoken at all times. One could heartily wish in the preparation of a story like this that some accurate records of the thoughts of Mr. Spurgeon himself might somewhere be found. But no such private diary seems to ex- ist. The unwritten history of the Church, especially in the early days of Mr. Spurgeon's ministry, would furnish most interesting reading. The best, however, that can be done now is to gather up all the material he has left behind him into a connected and useful history. Friends often forsook him, to which he indirectly refers. Enterprises promising well were often de- stroyed by some unkind act or by the foolishness of the managers. Expected gifts of money did not come at the time appointed, and some revivals did not furnish the harvest which was expected of them. But, on the other side, he often received more than he expected in money, or friendship, and in every kind of success. Such seems also to have been very largely the history of the pastorate which preceded his time. TI g CHARLES H. SPURGEON. It was ever the unexpected which was happening, and we may go further and say that such is the usual history of every Church, and human oversight is not able to arrange for the events which are almost cer- tain to surprise both pastor and people, and yet without which there is no possible success in the work. The successful church organization i s the one which works on endeavoring to be guided by the Divine hand, and which regards nothing either en- coura^ina or discourag-inof as at variance with the general Divine plan they may not then understand. The power which brought light out of the darkness brings harmony out of discord, and beauty out of wretchedness, also exhibits its characteristics in the conduct of the spiritual Church. That same power can often reverse the processes and send night or discord, and often does so in the spiritual history of mankind for reasons of good, unaccountable to us. Hence a glance at the condensed history of that Church as given by Mr. Spurgeon shows us a con- tinued, but irregular series of advances and retreats. It will be well for the student of his life to read a portion of Mr. Spurgeon's statement concerning the history of the Church, before studying further his personal connection with it. In his history of the Metropolitan Tabernacle Mr. Spurgeon said : " When modest ministers submit their sermons to the press they usually place upon the title-page the THE II1ST0R Y OF HIS CHURCH. r T ( j words, ' Printed by request.' We might with em- phatic truthfulness have pleaded this apology for the present narrative, for, times without number, friends from all parts of the world have said : ' Have you no book which will tell us all about your work ? Could you not give us some printed summary of the Tabernacle history ?' Here it is, dear friends, and we hope it will satisfy your curiosity and deepen your kindly interest." " Dr. Stoughton tells us : 'By the Parliamentary ordinance of April, 1645, forbidding any person to preach who was not an ordained minister in the Presbyterian or some other reformed Church, all Baptist ministers became exposed to molestation, they being accounted a sect, and not a Church. A few months after the date of this law, the Baptists being pledged to a public controversy in London with Edmund Calamy, the Lord Mayor interfered to prevent the disputation — a circumstance which seems to show that, on the one hand, the Baptists were becoming a formidable body in London, and, on the other hand, that their fellow-citizens were highly exasperated against them.' Or, say rather, that the Lord Mayor's views not being those of the Baptists, he feared the sturdy arguments which would be brought to bear upon his friends, and con- cluded that the wisest course he could take was to prevent the truth being heard. No Lord Mayor, or even King, has any right to forbid free public speech, and when in past ages an official has done so, it is 120 CHARLES H. SPUR GEO At. no evidence that his fellow-citizens were of the same mind : Jack-in-office is often peculiarly anxious that the consciences of others should not be injured by hearing- views different from his own." " From some one of the many Baptist assemblies which met in the borough of Southwark, the Taber- nacle Church took its rise. Crosby says : ' This people had formerly belonged to one of the most ancient congregations of the Baptists in London, but separated from them, in the year 1652, for some practices which they judged disorderly, and kept together from that time as a distinct body.' They appeared to have met in private houses, or in such other buildings as were opened to them. Their first pastor was William Rider, whom Crosby mentions as a sufferer for conscience' sake, but he is alto- gether unable to give any further particulars of his life, except that he published a small tract in vindica- tion of the practice of laying on of hands on the baptized believers. The people were few in num- ber, but had the reputation of being men of solid judgment, deep knowledge, and religious stability, and many of them were also in easy circumstances as to worldly goods. Oliver Cromwell was just at that time in the ascendant, and Blake's cannon were sweeping the Dutch from the seas ; but the Presby- terian establishment ruled with a heavy hand, and Baptists were under a cloud. In the following year Cromwell was made Protector, the old Parliament THE HISTORY OF HIS CHURCH \ 2 I was sent about its business, and England enjoyed a measure of liberty of conscience." " How lone William Rider exercised the minis- terial office we are unable to tell, but our next record bears date 1668, when we are informed that, ' the pastor having been dead for some time, they unanimously chose Mr. Benjamin Keach to be their elder or pastor.' Accordingly he was solemnly or- dained with prayer and the laying on of hands in the year 1668, being in the twenty-eighth year of his age. Keach was one of the most notable of the pastors of our Church. He was continually en- gaged in preaching in the towns of Buckinghamshire, making Winslow his headquarters ; and so well did the good cause flourish under his zealous labors, and those of others that the Government quartered dragoons in the district in order to put down unlaw- ful meetings and stamp out dissent. The amount of suffering which this involved, the readers of the story of the Covenanting times in Scotland can readily imagine. A rough soldiery handle with little tenderness those .whom they consider to be miser- able fanatics. When the favorite court poet was lampooning these poor people and ridiculing their claims to be guided by the Spirit of God, common soldiers of the Cavalier order were not likely to be much under restraint in their behavior to them." " Having written a book called The Child's In- structor, in which he avowed that children are born in sin, and in need of redemption by Jesus Christ, 122 CHARLES ff. S PUR GEO N. he was publicly tried and convicted. The merciful (?) judge pronounced upon the culprit the following sentence : — "'Benjamin Keach, you are here convicted for writing, printing, and publishing a seditious and schismatical book, for which the court's judgment is this, and the court doth award : That you shall go to jail for a fortnight without bail or mainprize ; and the next Saturday to stand trial upon the pillory at Aylesbury in the open market, from eleven o'clock till one, with a paper upon your head with the in- scription : For writing, printing, and publishing a schismatical book, entitled The Child's Instructor ; or, a New and Easy Primer. And the next Thursday to stand, in the same manner and for the same time, in the market at Winslow ; and then your book shall be openly burnt before your face by the common hangman, in disgrace of you and your doctrine. And you shall forfeit to the King's majesty the sum of twenty pounds, and shall remain in jail until you find sureties for your good behavior, and for your appearance .at the next assizes; then to renounce your doctrines, and make such public submission as shall be enjoined you. Take him away, keeper!' " Keach simply replied, ' I hope I shall never re- nounce the truths which I have written in that book.' "The attempts made to obtain a pardon or a relaxation of this severe sentence were ineffectual ; Vjlli THE HISTORY OF HIS CHURCH. i 2 $ and the sheriff took care that everything should be punctually performed. " When he was brought to the pillory at Aylesbury, several of his religious friends and acquaintances accompanied him ; and when they bemoaned his hard case and the injustice of his sufferings, he said, with a cheerful countenance, ' The cross is the way to the crown.' His head and hands were no sooner placed in the pillory, but he began to address himself to the spectators, to this effect : ' Good peo- ple, I am not ashamed to stand here this day with this paper on my head ! My Lord Jesus was not ashamed to suffer on the cross for me ; and it is for His cause that I am made a orazino--stock. Take notice, it is not for any wickedness than I stand here ; but for writing and publishing those truths which the Spirit of the Lord hath revealed in the Holy Scriptures.' " Very sweetly did Mr. Keach preach the great fundamental truths of the Gospel, and glorify the name and work of Jesus. His Gospels Mine Opened, and other works rich in savor, show that he was no mere stickler for a point of ceremony, but one who loved the whole truth as it is in Jesus, and felt its power. The doctrine of the Second Advent evidently had great charms for him, but not so as to crowd out Christ crucified. He was very solid in his preaching, and his whole conduct and behavior be- tokened a man deeply in earnest for the cause of God. In addressing the ungodly he was intensely 126 CHARLES H. SPURGEOAi. direct, solemn, and impressive, not flinching- to de- clare the terrors of the Lord, nor veiling the freeness of Divine orace. H e was a voluminous writer, having written in all forty-three works — eighteen practical, sixteen polemical, and nine poetical. Some of them were very popular, having reached the twenty-second edition." " Mr. Keach was of a very weak constitution, being often afflicted with illness, and once to such a degree that he was given over by the physicians ; and several of the ministers and his relations had taken their leave of him as a dying man and past all hope of recovery; but the Rev. Mr. Hanserd Knollys, seeing his friend and brother in the gospel so near expiring, betook himself to prayer, and in a very extraordinary manner begged that God would spare him, and add unto his days the time He granted to His servant Hezekiah. As soon as he had ended his prayer, he said, ' Brother Keach, I shall be in heaven before you,' and quickly after left him. So remarkable was the answer of God to this good man's prayer that we cannot omit it ; though it may be discredited by some, there were some who could bear incontestable testimony to the fact. Mr. Keach recovered from that illness, and lived just fifteen years afterward ; and then it pleased God to visit him with that short sickness which put an end to his days. 'He fell on sleep' July 16th, 1704, in the sixty-fourth year of his age, and was buried at the Baptists' burying-ground, in the Park, South- THE HIS TOR Y OF HIS CHURCH. 1 27 wark. It was not a little singular that in after years the church over which he so ably presided should pitch its tent so near the place where his bones were laid, and New Park Street should appear in her annals as a well-beloved name." " When Mr. Keach was upon his death-bed he sent for his son-in-law, Benjamin Stinton, and solemnly charged him to care for the Church which he was about to leave, and especially urged him to accept the pastoral office, should it be offered him by the brethren. Mr. Stinton had already for some years helped his father-in-law in many ways, and therefore he was no new and untried man. It is no small blessing when a church can find her pastors in her own midst; the rule is to look abroad, but perhaps if our home gifts were more encouraged the Holy Spirit would cause our teachers to come forth more frequently from among our own brethren. Still, we cannot forget the proverb about a prophet in his own country. When the Church gave Mr. Stinton a pressing invitation, he delayed awhile, and gave himself space for serious consideration ; but at length, remembering the dying words of his father- in-law, and feeling himself directed by the Spirit of God, he gave himself up to the ministry, which he faithfully discharged for fourteen years — namely, from 1704 to 1 71 8." " Spending himself in various works of usefulness, Mr. Stinton worked on till the nth of February, 1 718, when a sudden close was put to his labors and 128 CHARLES H. SPURGEON. his life. He was taken suddenly ill, and saying to his wife, ' I am going/ he laid himself down upon the bed, and expired in the forty-third year of his life. He smiled on death, for the Lord smiled on him. He was buried near his predecessor, in the Park, Southwark." " In the beginning of the year 1 719, the Church at Horsleydown invited John Gill to preach, with a view to the pastorate ; ' but there was a determined opposition to him in about one-half of the church. The matter was referred to the club of ministers meeting at the Hanover Coffee-house, and they gave the absurd advice that the two parties should each hear their own man turn about till they could agree. Common sense came to the rescue, and this sort of religious duel never came off. The friends with far greater wisdom, divided. John Gill's friends secured the old meeting-house for the term of forty years, and he was ordained March 22d, 1720." " Little did the friends dream what sort of a man they had thus chosen to be their teacher ; but had they known it they would have rejoiced that a man of such vast erudition, such indefatigable industry, such sound judgment, and such sterling honesty had come among them. He was to be more mighty with his pen than Keach, and to make a deeper im- pression upon his age, though perhaps with the tongue he was less powerful than his eminent predecessor. Early in his ministry he had to take up the cudgels for Baptist views against a PaHobap- THE H1ST0R Y OF HIS CHURCH. 1 2 g tist preacher of Rowel, near Kettering, and he did so in a manner worthy of that eulogium which Top- lady passed upon him in reference to other contro- versies, when he compared him to Marlborough, and declared that he never fought a battle without win- ning it." " Mr. Gill, being settled in London, became more intimately acquainted with that worthy minister of the gospel, Mr. John Skepp, pastor of the Baptist Church at Cripplegate. This gentleman, though he had not a liberal education, yet, after he came into the min- istry, through great diligence acquired a larger acquaintance with the Hebrew tongue. As Mr. Gill had previously taken great delight in the Hebrew, his conversation with this worthy minister rekindled a flame of fervent desire to obtain a more extensive knowledge of it, and especially of Rabbinical learn- ing. Mr. Skepp dying a year or two after, Mr. Gill purchased most of his Hebrew works, the Baptist Fund making him a grant of eighty-seven dollars for this purpose. Having obtained the books, he went to work with great eagerness, reading the Targums and ancient commentaries, and in acourse of between twenty and thirty years' acquaintance with these writings he collected a large number of learned observations. Having also, in this time, gone through certain books of the Old Testament, and almost the whole of the New Testament, by way of exposition, in the course of his ministry, he put all the expository, critical, and illustrative parts together 9 130 CHARLES II SPURGE ON. and in the year 1745 issued proposals for publishing" his Exposition of the whole New Testament, in three volumes folio. The work meeting due encourage- ment, it was put to press the same year, and was finished, the first volume in 1746, the second in 1747, and the third in 1748. Toward the close of the publication of this work, in 1 748, Mr. Gill received a diploma from Marischal College, Aberdeen, creating him Doctor in Divinity on account of his knowledge of the Scriptures, of the Oriental language, and of Jewish antiquities. When his deacons in London congratulated him on the respect which had been shown him he thanked them, pleasantly adding, " I neither thought it, nor bought it, nor sought it.' " " The ministry of Mr. Gill being acceptable not only to his own people but to many persons of dif- ferent denominations, several gentlemen proposed among themselves to set up a week-day lecture, that they might have an opportunity of hearing him. Accordingly they formed themselves into a society, and agreed to have a lecture on Wednesday even- ings, in Great Eastcheap, and set on foot a subscrip- tion to support it. Upon their invitation Mr. Gill undertook the lectureship. He opened it the year 1729 with a discourse or two on Psalm Ixxi, 16: ' I will go in the strength of the Lord God : I will make mention of Thy righteousness, even of Thine only.' Through divine grace he was enabled to abide by this resolution to the edification of many, preaching in Great Eastcheap for more than twenty- THE HISTORY OF HIS CHURCH. jjl six years, and only relinquished the lectures when the infirmities of years were telling upon him, and he felt a great desire to give all his time to the com- pletion of his great expository works." " As a pastor he presided over the flock with dignity and affection. In the course of his ministry he had some weak, some unworthy, and some very wicked persons to deal with. To the feeble of the flock he was an affectionate friend and father. He readily bore with their weaknesses, failings, and in- firmities,, and particularly when he saw they were sincerely on the Lord's side. A godly woman visited him one day, in great trouble, about the singing ; for the clerk, in about three years, had introduced two new tunes. Not that he was a famous singer, or able to conduct a great variety of song, but he did his best. The young people were pleased with the new tunes ; but the good woman could not bear the innovation. The Doctor, after patiently listen- ing, asked her whether she understood singing? ' No,' she said. ' What ! can't you sing ?' No, she was no singer, nor her aged father before her. And though they ha URGE OX. we labor to maintain a high tone of spirituality. I have endeavored in my lectures and addresses to stir up the holy fire ; for well I know that if the heavenly flame burns low, nothing else will avail. The earnest action of the College Missionary Society has been a source of great joy to me ; for above all things I desire to see many students devoting them- selves to foreign work. The Temperance Society also does a good work, and tends to keep alive amoncr the men a burning hatred of England's direst curse." " We need the daily prayer of God's people that much grace may be with all concerned in this im- portant business ; for what can we do without the Holy Spirit? How few ever pray for students! If ministers do not come up to the desired standard, may not the members of the churches rebuke them- selves for having restrained prayer on their ac- count? When does a Christian worker more need prayer than in his early days, when his character is forming and his heart is tenderly susceptible both of good and evil influences ? I would beseech all who have power with God to remember our col- leges in their intercessions. The solemn interests involved in the condition of these schools of the prophets compel me to entreat, even unto tears, that the hopeful youth of our ministry may not be for- gotten in the supplications of the saints. For us also, who have the responsible duty of guiding the minds of these young men, much prayer is re- THE PASTORS' COLLEGE. 397 quested, that we may have wisdom, love, gentle- ness, firmness, and abounding- spiritual power. It is not every man who can usefully influence students, nor can the same men have equal power at all times. The Divine Spirit is needed, and He is given to them that ask for His sacred teaching." "In Great Britain three hundred and fifty-five former students are preaching the Word, some in the more prominent pulpits of the denomination, and others in positions where their patience and self-denial are severely tested by the present de- pression in trade, and the consequent inability of rural congregations to furnish them with adequate support. The College has reason to rejoice not only in the success of her most honored sons, but in the faithfulness and perseverance of the rank and file, whose services, although they are little noticed on earth, will receive the ' well done ' of the Lord." " This institution is not alone a College, but a Home and Foreign Missionary Society. Our three evangelists have traversed the land with great dili- gence, and the Lord has set His seal to their work." " It is my greatest pleasure to aid in commencing new churches. The oftener brethren can create their own spheres the more glad shall I be. It is not needful to repeat the details of former reports ; but many churches have been founded through the College, and there are more to follow. I announced at the beginning of this enterprise that it was not 3q3 CHARLES II SPURGE ON. alone for the education of ministers, but for thegen- eral spread of the Gospel ; and this has been ad- hered to, a part of the income being always ex- pended in that direction." The buildings now known as the Pastors' Colleg-e were begun in 1873 ; the foundation corner-stone being laid in October of that year. Mr. Spurgeon was led to the enterprise for the construction of a special building for the accommodation of students by a gift of five thousand dollars which was pre- sented to him in the previous May. During the construction of the building he received a gift of five thousand more with fifteen hundred dollars from the students. Afterward a gentleman died, leaving him a bequest of twenty-five thousand dollars in his will. The students themselves entered with zeal into the work of raising money for the building, and although they were themselves universally poor they did have influence enough with others to raise twelve thousand five hundred dollars. The completed buildings cost seventy-five thou- sand dollars, the debt for which was entirely paid within a few months after its completion. Fifteen thousand dollars toward the payment was given by a lady as a memorial to her husband, and ten thou- sand dollars was left to the College by the will of a stranger who had regularly read Mr. Spurgeon's sermons. The statistics of the College as late as 1889, show that the students who had oraduated had established THE PASTORS' COLLEGE. 399 over eighty churches in and about London, and in all over two hundred churches in the world. Some in the most distant countries and a few on the islands of the sea. They had baptized over forty thousand people, and the increase of their churches had been over thirty-nine thousand. In America they have instituted fourteen different churches and proved themselves most efficient evangelists among all classes of people. They are men who not only preach and teach, but positively work, imitating very closely the example of Mr. Spurgeon. He was al- ways engaged in some profitable labor, excepting only the hours positively necessary to physical and mental rest. The following- is a list of the graduates of the Pastors' College up to 189 1, giving first those who are at present preaching in America : Former students now in the United States and Canada: Auvache, F. W. Dunn, H. Avery, J. F. Fairbrother, A. Ball, G. W. Forth, Joseph Biss, W. A. Foster, James F. Blaikie, P. H. Gibb, Austin Brown, A. F. Gilkes, W. Games, W. Gregory, C. W. Childs, H. W. Harrison, R. M., D. D. Clark, John Holmes. R. Clatworthy, W. Hughes, R. Cocks, H. Irving, J. J. Coker, J. Johnson, T. L. Cook, C. A. Kemp, G. H. Cooper, A. McArthur, A. Cother, W. J. Mc Kinney, W. Dann, Frank Mayo, W. L. too CHARLES H. SPURGE OX- Noble, Mark Ostler, W. Ferrins, W. Prichard, W. E. Read, Albert Richardson, C. H. Shadick, R. A. Silke, W. G. Smith, C. Wilson Smith, Napo'eon Stote, Amos H. Trapp, G. H. Ward, F. J. Willis, Wi W. With am, A. A. Wotton, W. T. Yeatman, R. Former students now in England and the Colo- nies, or in Missionary Stations : Adams, H. F. Adams, W. Adamson,'T. Almy, J. T. Anderson, J. G. Archer. H. D. Ash ton, E. Askew, J. Aubrey, J. Aust, F. J. Ayers, R. W. Bailey, G. T. Baily, R. Baker, S. J. Banfield, J. H. Barred, H. E. Barton, J. Baster, W. Bateman, F. R. Bateman, John Batts, II. J. Batts, H. J. Bax, A. Beecliff, R. J. Bennett, J. L. Berry, E. W. Billington, A. Bird, A. Blackaby, F. E. Blackie, H. G. Blaikie, J. Blake, J. Blamire, T. Blewett, E. Blocksidge, W. W. Bloom, W. K. Bloy, C. Bonser, W. Bool, H. Boulsher, G. Bowler, G. B. Boyall, C. Bradford, H. Bradford, J. Breewood, T. Brett, J. E. Bridge, A. Bridge, I. Brigg, B. Briggs, J. Broad, \V. II. Brown, A. G. Brown, II. Rylands Brown, J. A., M. R. U. S, Bruce, D. Bruce, J. S. Bryan, W. C. Budgen, A. Bunning, W. C. Burnham, J. Burt, H. M. Cameron, T. D. Campbell, J. O'Neili Campbell, J. W. Carlile, J. C. Carr, G. H. Carter, E. A. Carter, F. C. Carver, T. A^ Case, H. B. Chadwick, J. Chambers, A. C. Chambers, Clarence Channer, II. THE PASTORS' COLLEGE. 401 Chapman, C. Chapman, D. C. Chettleborough, R. E. Chinnery, D. Churcher, T. G., M. D., M. R. C. S. Clark, C. J. Clark, Henry Clark, James A. Clark, Joseph Clark, W. Clarke, A. J. Clow, W. G. Cockerton, F. M. Cole, C. Cole, E. S. Cotley, J. W. Collins, John Compton, E. Coombs, W. Cooper, J. R. Corbet, A. F. Cottam, J. Cotton, A. F. Cox, G. D. Cox, J. M. Crabb, S. Crouch, C. D. Crouch, J. Cuff, W. Cumming, M. Curry, T. B. Curtis, A. Curtis, G. Curwood, A. W. Dallaston, C. Dalton, J. J. Dann, C. A. Dann, G. J. Davidson, A. K. Davidson, G. W. Davies, G. Davies, James W. Davis, H. Davis, J. Davis, W. A. Day, A. Deal, C. Deane, J. J. Dewdney, A. Doubleday, J. Dowen, Z. T., F. R. G. S. Downing, J. 26 Driver, H. H. Duncan, G., D. D. Dunington, H. Dunster. F. W. Dupee, J. Durbin, F. Dyer, E. Dyer, H. J. Dyke, S. A. Easter, J. Edgerton, W. F. Edgley, G. T. Edwards, E. H. Edwards, E. J. Edwards, T. L. Ellis, E. H. Ellis, J. J. Emerson, C. E. Ennals, G. T. Ensoll, R. Evans, George D. Everett, A. G. Ewens, W. Ewing, J. W., B. A. Fairey, S. Fellowes, C. A. Feltham, F. J. Field, H. C. Field, John Field, J. B. Field, T. B. Finch, R. R. Fisk, E. E. Flatt, F. J. Fletcher, H. A. Forth, Jacob C. Foskett, L. R. Foster, W. R. Fowler, C. J. Freeman, G. Fullerton, W. Y. Gathercole, T. G. Genders, J. W. George, E. Gibson, Jesse Gibson, J. G. Gillard, W. Gilmore, J. D. Glendening, R. E. Glover, J. Goacher, W. Good, C. E. L. 402 CHARLES H. SPURGE ON. Goodchild, G. Gooding, C. D. Gordon, C. L. Gordon, S. C. Gower, H. F. Graccy, D. Graham, Arthur Graham, R. H. C. Grant, James Grant, J. H. Green, John Greenwood, T. Greer, A. Hackney, W., M. A. Hadler, E. S. Hadler, John R. Hagen, T. Hailstone, W. G. Haines, W. W. Hall, A. Hamilton, E. L. Hancocks, T. Harmer, A. A. Harrald, J. W. Harrington, T. Harris, G. H. Harris, W. J. Harrison, J. S. Hart, Josiah Harvey, F. Haste, A. G. Hay, D. H. Hayman, J. J. Hearson, G. Heath, N. Harries, R. Hewitt, C. Hewlett, A. Hewson, J. C Hibberd, F. Higgins, W. Higlett, W. Hiley, D. J. Hillman, J. Hobbs, W. Hobby, E. A. Hockey, J. S. Hogbin, F. A. Hollinshead, J. Honour, D. Hook, G. H. Hopper, A. W. Home, J. Hudgell, P. A. Huntly, A. H. Huntley, G. A. J. Hyde, A. Ince, E. G. Ingram, C. A. Ingrem, C. Isaac, E. Jackmann, G. H. F. Jackson, F. A. Jackson, John James, F. Jasper, J. E. Jeffrey, R. F. Johns, A. E. Johnson, A. Johnson, A. E. Johnson, T. Jones, Samuel Jones, Sydney J. Jones, W. Cordea Jones- Miller, N. T Joseph, C. Judd, T. A. Julyan, W. Juniper, W. J. Kemp, F. G. Kemp, J. Kendon, J. J. Keys, J. L. Kidncr, H. Kilby, H. King, A. H. Kitchener, J. Knee, H. KneK, A. Knight, G. J. Knight, J. J. Knight, W. H. Laing, D. W. Lambourne, W. T. Lang, W. L., F. R. G. S. Lardner, T. Last, E. Latham, A. W. Latimer, R. S. Lauderdale, E. Layzell, R. Lennie, R. Lester. A. Levinsohn, I. THE PASTORS' COLLEGE. 403 Lewis, R. T. Lirraecar, G. W. Llewellyn, W. S. Loinaz, D. Longhurst, T. J. Lyne, S. Lynn, W. E. M'Allister, S. McAuslane, J. McCaig, A., B. A. McCullough, R. McDougall, A. Mackenzie, W. L. Macmillan, D. M'Nab, J. Mace, D. Mackey, H. O. Macoun, T. Malins, G. H. Mann, W. Maplesden, R. Marchant, F. G Markham, J. Marshall, B. Marshall, G. Marshall, R. Martin, H. J. Martin, J. E. Martin, W. A. Mason, E. Mateer, J. T. Maycock, T. Mayers, W. J. Maynard, W. Medhurst, T. W. Mesquitta, R. Middleton, R. J. Mifledge, H. Miller, G. A. Mills, A. Minifie, W. C. Mitchell, W. S. Monk, G. Moore, H. Morgan, A. R. Morley, E. Morris, J. S. Morris, M. Morrison, R. B. Moyle, J. E. Murphy, J. M. Myles, W. G. Neale, E. S. Near, I. Needham, S. NeyJ. Nichols, W. B. Oldring, G. W. Osborne, E. Osborne, W. Padley, C. J. A. N. Page, W. Page, W.H.J. Palmer, J. Palmer, L. Papengouth, C. A. V. Papengouth, N. Parker, A. Parker, A. J. Parker, E. J. Passmore, H. R. Patrick, N. H. Payne, A. J. Peach, H. T. Pearce, C. Pearson, E. B. Peden, R. J. Perry, T. Pettman, W. Phillips, A. Phillips, H. A. Phillips, H. R. Philpot, T. Pidgeon, A. Piggot, A. Pilling, S. Plumbridge, J. H. Pope, G. W. Porter, J. Potter, F. Petter, J. G. Poulton, J. S. Preece, H. J. Price, W. F. Pring, G. Priter, A. Prosser, W. H. Pullen, E. R. Pullen, H. H. Pursey, R. Rankine, J. Rawlings, T. E. Raymond, J. Reid, Andrew J. 404 CHARLES H. SPURGE ON. Rice, W. E. Richards, E. Richards, W. Richardson, G. B. Robert, G. W. Roberts, E. Robinson, W. W. Roger, J. L. Rootham, J. N. Rudge, C. Rumsey, G. H. Russell, D. Russell, F. Ruthven, W. Samuel, G. Santos, J. M. G. dos Savi.le, A. S. Sawday, C. B. Scamell, T. W. Scilley, J. Scott, R. Seaman, W. Sexton, W. Sharp, D. Shearer, J. F. Short, A. G. Simmonds, H. W. Simmonds, G. Skelly, W. Skingle, S. Slack, C. A. Slater, W. Smale, J. Smathers, R. Smith, Albert Smith, B. Smith, Frank M. Smith, G. K. Smith, Henry Smith, H. Samuel Smith, James Smith, James Smith, James Smith, J. Manton Smith, T. H. Smith, W. Smith, W. H. Sole, R. T. Soper, J. A. Soper, W. T. Spanswick, J. Spanton, E. Speed, R. Spufford, H. T. Spurgeon, C. Spurgeon, R. Spurgeon, T. Stalberg, I. O Stanley, C. Stanley, G. Stanley, J. Starling, C. Stead, W. F. Steedman, L. S. Steward, F. J. Stockley, T. I. Stone, C. E. Stone, H. E. Stubbs, J. Styles, W. J. Sullivan, W. Sumner, W. Swift, J. T. Tait, D. Tansley, J. Taylor, H. W. Taylor, W. J. Tessier, A. Testro, C. Thomas, J. W. Thomason, T. W. Thompson, F. Thompson, J. L. Thorn, W. Tomkins, W. J. Townsend, C. W. Tranter, F. D. Tredray, W. H. Trotman, H. Trueman, H. Tuck, F. Tomer, G. Turner, Joshua J. Tydeman, E. A. Usher, W., M. D. Vanstone, W. J. N. Vaughan, C. W. Vaughan, E. Waddell, T. F. Wainwright, G. Walker, G. Walker, W. Walker, W. Wallace, R. THE PASTORS' COLLEGE- 405 Walter, E. E. Walton, J. E. Ward, I. A. Warren, J. B. Warren, J. F. M. Watson, I. Webb, G. A. Weeks, T. H. Welch, A. W. Welch, E. J. Wells, W. E. Welton, C. West, F. G. Westlake, F. T. B. Whale, W. Wheatley, T. Whetnall, M. H. White, E. White, Frank H. White, G. W. White, W. White, W. J. Whiteside, T. Whittet, G. Whittle, T. Wicks, W. A. Wiggins, W. Wigstone, J. P. Wilkins, Joseph Wilkinson, John Williams, G. C. Williams, J. G. Williams, S. T. Williams, W. Williamson, R. Williamson, R. J. Wills, R. E. Wilson, John Wilson, J. A. Winsor, H. Wintle, W. J. Wood, A. W. Wood, Harry Wright, G. Young, James Young, Joseph CHAPTER XIV. THE ORPHANAGE. The Orphanage connected with the work of the Metropolitan Tabernacle is one of those institutions which presents most beautifully the tenderest and loveliest side of Mr. Spurgeon's character. His love for children was only exceeded by their love for him. It was one of the prominent features of his character which won for him so much of the success in his early ministry. The children admired him greatly. The hearts of the mothers and fathers always followed the love of their children, and, in fact, the man who can make himself attractive to the pure, sweet minds of childhood will also be ne- cessarily interesting and helpful to those of older minds. Men are truly " but children of a larger growth." Mr. Spurgeon's childish simplicity, which was a wonderful feature of his noble life, convinced every person who knew him or heard of him that he was positively sincere. And this aided him in reach- ing 1 their hearts and shielded him from the attacks of those who would malign him. " Innocent as a child," said Mr. Gladstone, con- cerning him, and indeed few children of middle growth could be said to be as innocent as he. Evil 406 THE ORPHANAGE. 40? thoughts found no place in his disposition and deceit had no part in his magnificent make-up. Yet he mingled continually with the lower classes in their poverty and in their home life, being called to visit them in all conditions of want and distress. He saw the children bare-headed and bare-footed, often crying with cold, more often besmeared with dirt, sometimes crippled as a result of lack of pa- rental care, and his heart went forth in prayer to God for some method of relief. He had a great ad- miration for George Miiller, whose magnificent work of faith has greatly surprised the unbelieving world, and often said all that he could to encourage people to assist Mr. Miiller in his special work for the orphans of London. Mr. Spurgeon always entertained the idea that there might be arranged some grand institution which would not only provide for the parentless children but also for those little ones whose parents were unable or unwilling to provide for them the necessities of life ; yet he never saw the way in which to engage personally in such an undertaking until it was thrust upon him unexpectedly. While writing an article for his magazine, The Sword and The Trowel, in 1866, he incidentally mentioned the great need there was of some insti- tution or work for the care of neglected orphans. The result of that little article has been surprisingly romantic. A lady who had been the wife of a clergyman of the Church of England and was left a 408 CHARLES H. SPURGEON. widow with considerable means, had been but a few months before received into the Baptist Church on the profession of her faith in its principles. She read Mr. Spurgeon's reference to the needs of the children, and, being especially impressed at the time with a strong desire to be of some special use in the Master's work, she thought at once of establishing the Orphanage herself. For a few days she prayed over the matter, and the impression deepening upon her, she at last decided to write to Mr. Spurgeon and offer him a sum of money for an Orphanage if he would establish it and superintend it himself. Consequently a letter was received by him from her containing the astounding offer of $100,000 for an Orphanage, and to be paid at once. Mr. Spurgeon was so very busy in other matters connected with his religious work that he felt he could not give the proper attention to such a work, but Mrs. Hillyard, who gave the money, insisted that he should take charge of the matter, until he reluctantly consented. In fact, he regarded her per- severing insistence as the direct call of God. After consultation with his friends, a small meeting was called and a board of trustees elected to take charge of the money and provide for the building of an Orphanage. Very soon after they purchased the ground at Stockwell on which the different homes for the orphans have since been constructed. It is es- pecially interesting in this connection to know what Boys' Home. Stockuti i. Orphanage. THE ORPHANAGE. 4 U Mr. Spurgeon said himself in his diary with refer- ence to the Orphanage. In the following June after he had received the gift of $100,000, he said : "The Lord is beginning to appear to us in the matter of the Orphanage ; but as yet He has not opened the windows of heaven as we desire and expect. We wait in prayer and faith. We need no less than ;£ 10,000 to erect the buildings, and it will come ; for the Lord will answer the prayer of faith." And in July, 1867, he wrote. — "We have been waiting upon the Lord in faith and prayer concern- ing our Orphanage ; but He is pleased at present to try us. As we have no object in view but the glory of God by the instruction of fatherless boys in the ways of the Lord, having a special view to their soul's salvation, we had hoped that many of the Lord's people would at once have seen the useful- ness and practical character of the enterprise, and have sent us substantial aid immediately. The Lord's way, however, is the best, and we rejoice in it, let it be what it may. If the work is to be one of time and long effort, so let it be, if thereby God's name is magnified. " We have engaged a sister to receive the first four orphans into her own hired house until the orphanages are ready. Our beloved friend, the original donor, has given her plate to be sold for this object, and in so doing, has set an example to all the believers who have surplus silver which 412 CHARLES H. SPURGE ON. ought to be put to better use than lying wrapped up in a box." And in August, 1867, he wrote. — "Let the facts which with deep gratitude we record this month, strengthen the faith of believers. In answer to many fervent prayers, the Lord has moved His people to send in during last month, in different amounts, toward the general fund of the Orphanage, the sum of ,£1,075 (about $5,375) for which we give thanks unto the name of the Lord. More especially do we see the gracious hand of God in the following in- cidents : — A lady (Mrs. Tyson), who has often aided us in the work of the College, having been spared to see the twenty-fifth anniversary of her marriage-day, her beloved husband presented her with £500 (about $2,500) as a token of his ever- growing love for her. Our sister has called upon us and dedicated the ^500 to the building of one of the houses, to be called The Silver Wedding House. The Lord had, however, another sub- stantial gift in store to encourage us in our work : for a day or two ago, a brother believer in the Lord called upon us on certain business, and when he retired, he left in a sealed envelope the sum of ^600 (about $3,000), which is to be expended in erecting another house. This donation was as little expected as the first, except that our faith expects that all our needs will be supplied in the Lord's own way. The next, day when preaching in the open air, an unknown sister put an envelope into my hand THE ORPHANAGE. 413 enclosing ^200 (about $1,000) for the College and another ^20 for the Orphanage. What has God wrought ! " A number of workmen who had been employed during the construction of the Metropolitan Taber- nacle combined together and agreed to give their labor for the building of one of the Orphanage houses. Mr. Spurgeon had the good sense to see that it was not desirable to crowd a great number of children of all classes and attainments into one large building. He saw that children of that age required most of all a home training and home care, hence he insisted upon the erection, if possible, of a large number of small houses so that only a few children would be received in each. The corner-stones for three of the houses, which were named "The Silver Wedding House," "The Merchants' House," and "The Workingmen's House," were all laid on the 9th of August, 1867. They celebrated the occasion by a large gathering and public addresses, at which $25,000 was contri- buted. Eleven thousand dollars was soon afterward sent in directly in consequence of the public meeting at the laying of the corner-stones. The trustees then determined to erect as soon as possible eight different houses, but they were somewhat discouraged when they came to estimate the annual cost of maintaining them, finding it to be at least $15,000. Yet Mr. Spurgeon would only answer every question con- 414 CHARLES H. SPURGEOtf. cerning it with the very simple remark, "it will come." The ways in which the money was contri- buted for building the other houses brings promi- nent again to the foreground the most miraculous powers which accompanied him in his charitable and philanthropic undertakings. In the month of January, 1868, a gentleman handed him unostentatiously a package of $5,000 toward the Orphanage, giving no name or address with it. In March, of the same year, another, or the same unknown person, sent him a munificient gift of $10,000, and ever remained concealed. Many persons connected with the Tabernacle and the College had opposed the institution of the Orphan- age upon the plea that it would be likely to impov- erish the other great interests which the Church had at stake ; but with nearly every one of these great gifts toward the Orphanage came either a check for the other work of the Tabernacle or a letter saying that the gifts toward the Orphanage should in no wise interfere with the regular offerings toward the Tabernacle or the College. One friend, writing to Mr. Spurgeon mentioned this very thought and said: "I have this day dropped in your letter-box an envelope containing $2,000; $1,000 for the College and $1,000 to build the Orphanage. The institution of the Orphanage inclined me to contribute toward the College. I am a stranger to you but not to your printed ser- mons." THE ORPHANAGE. 415 Two houses for the Orphanage were constructed by a general collection taken among the Baptist Churches of England and are named "The Testi- monial Houses." On Mr. Spurgeon's birthday, the 19th of June, 1868, the Sunday-School of the Metro- politan Tabernacle laid the foundation stones for two houses of the Orphanage and soon after com- pleted the entire payment for them. The young men who had graduated from the College combined to raise the capital for another house. It is curious to note how similarly Provi- dence deals with such enterprises, and how often Mr. Spurgeon found the Orphanage with its bills all paid, but little or no money in the treasury. In the conduct of Geo. Muller's great work of faith for the orphans, as has been found in a thou- sand other Christian enterprises, the Lord never left him in disgraceful debt, nor did he ever leave him with sufficient funds on hand to relieve him of a needed sense of dependence on Divine power. In December, 1873, Mr. Spurgeon wrote concern- ing the Orphanage, saying, "To our surprise, the report of the secretary was, ' All bills paid, but only £z ($ l 5) m hand.' Prayer went to work at once, and results follow. Will the reader, however, picture himself with more than two hundred and twenty boys to feed, and only ($15) in hand. He may say, ' The Lord will provide,' but would he feel the force of this if he were in our straits." But Mr, Spurgeon was continually being asked 416 CHARLES H. SPURGE ON. why he did not institute a girls' Orphanage, as there were just as many of these poor creatures without a home as there were of the boys ; but it was not until 1879 that he saw his way clear to establish such an institution. Many a poor mother's heart throbbed with increasing joy when she heard that it had been decided by Mr. Spurgeon to care of the orphan girls as well as of the boys. Of the institution of this Orphanage Mrs. Spur- geon most sweetly wrote, in 1880: "June 22. — My dear little book, you must faith- fully bear the record of the Lord's great mercy to me and mine this day ! With the loving shouts of the people still ringing in my ears — the warm grip of many fingers yet pressing on my hands — and my heart still throbbing with the unwonted excitement of appearing in the midst of a crowded gathering — I turn to you now in the quietude and rest of home to intrust to your pages a grateful memorial of a happy day ! "The 'Girls' Orphanage' has been inaugurated amidst great rejoicing, the Lord inclining His peo- ple's hearts to give liberally to the work, so that its ' stones were laid in fair colors ' of faith and hope, and my beloved sees this new 'labor of love ' abund- antly prospering in his hands. Blessed be the Lord who thus giveth to His servant the ' desire of his heart,' fulfilling ' all his petitions.' The people gath- ered round with glad hearts and beaming faces, and many a prayer ascended from loving lips that the THE ORPHANAGE. 4I - dear children, who should be housed, and taught, and cared for in the new homes, might all grow up there in the fear and love of God, and be a blessing in their day and generation. " The band of thirty little girls marching along in front of the boys (' place aux dames !') attracted much attention, and touched all hearts ; some of them are such wee mites, and they look very pretty and tender, when compared with the hosts of sturdy boys, who come tramping by in such overwhelming numbers that one wonders if there be any end to them ! Few can look unmoved on such masses of orphan children ; for in spite of their merry faces, their bright ways, and their happy laughter, the pain- ful fact will force itself upon the mind of the ob- server that every one of these little ones is taken from a desolate home, where the saddest of all earth's bereavements has been suffered ; for the children are ' fatherless,' and the wife is a ' widow.' There was ' April weather ' on many a face to-day ; I saw the tears stealing down cheeks on which approving smiles were struggling for the mastery ; but the sun- shine gained the victory, and the pitying drops were quickly wiped away, for the happy condition and appearance of the children led all to forget the sorrow which brought them there, in intense thank- fulness for their present joy and future prospects. " If ever the strange title of ' Godfather ' were permissible, I think it would be in the case of Mr. Spurgeon toward his boys' and girls at Stockwell; 4I 3 CHARLES ff. SPURGE ON. for .God has made him, as it were, in His stead, a 1 father of the fatherless, and a judge of the widow !' The Lord bless him on his birthday, and on every other day, and give him many more years in which to be a blessing to the Church, the College, the Orphanage, and the world !" Mr. Spurgeon's birthdays were especially ob- served by the congregation at the Tabernacle and by all his friends as a day on which to make special offerings for the philanthropic works which were under his oversight. The Orphanage was especially remembered each year. Mr. Spurgeon was always fortunate in securing competent persons of excellent judgment to super- intend his enterprises, and Mr. Bornan J. Chatsworth who was formerly associate pastor with Newman Hall, accepted the superintendency of the Orphanage and conducted it with wonderful skill and Christian affection. The Orphanage has required large sums for its buildings, its improvement and maintenance which would have appeared impossible to secure when the enterprise was begun. Yet it may be safely said that the institution of that charity has brought to the other enterprises of the Tabernacle more than double of the amounts which it otherwise would have received. "There is that which withholdeth, which tendeth to poverty" said a wiser than any modern writer; and how strikingly true this has been proven to be in the undertakings of the Churches to-day in the THE ORPHANAGE. 4^ noble work of the Lord. There are many philan thropic people in every land who desire very much to invest their money where it will perpetually do good, but their business training has taught them that they cannot safely entrust their funds to the management of timid people, or to irresponsible organizations. Hence as soon as it was made clear to the prac- tical business men of England that Mr. Spurgeon possessed the necessary qualifications of making the best possible use of funds entrusted to his care, he did not lack for generous coutributions, and the charities he prayed for were always fully supplied. No question of creed or race was asked of an or- phan, neither was it necessary for the single parent or friend to canvass any board of trustees, in order to secure a vote for the admission of the children to Mr. Spurgeon's care. The whole matter was conducted as a friendly kindness, and although thousands of applications had been rejected for lack of room, yet those who were received were not compelled to pass through any ordeal of a "circum- locution office " to reach the hearing or kindness of the Orphanage trustees. The cost per annum for maintaining the Orphan- age has been about $25,000, including food and clothing. Mr. Spurgeon himself has stated that " No widow ever goes away lamenting over time, labor, and money spent in vain. The worst that can happen 420 CHARLES H. SPURGE ON. is to be refused because there is no room, or her case is not so bad as that of others ; not a shilling will have been spent in purchasing votes, no time lost in canvassing, no cringing to obtain patronage. Her case is judged on its merits, and the most ne- cessitious wins the day. We have now so many ap- plications and so few vacancies that women with two or three children are advised not to apply, for while there are others with five, six, or seven chil- dren depending on them they cannot hope to help themselves." The orphans themselves after leaving the institu- tion have often contributed directly or through their friends considerable sums toward its maintenance. Several of them are already most acceptably teach- ing the Gospel .and one is a superintendent of another Orphanage. Twice there have been held a bazaar for the pur- pose of raising money for the Orphanage which was successful both in securing funds and in carrying on personal religious work as was done in the case of the first bazaar held for the construction of the Tabernacle. Mr. Spurgeon's own ideas concerning the work of the Orphanages will be more interesting to the reader than anything else we might give, and we quote what he said about them at a time when they were not placed on the stable basis where they now so securely rest. Ten years ago he said : THE ORPHANAGE. 42 1 " When we remember how this gracious work be- gan by the consecrated thought of a holy woman, and then grew into an actual gift from her hand, and further developed, by the large help of others, into houses and schools, infirmary and dining-hall, and all manner of provision for destitute children, we feel bound to cry, ' What hath God wrought ! ' Our God has supplied all our need according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus. The story of the Stockwell Orphanage will be worth telling in heaven when the angels shall learn from the Church the manifold wisdom and goodness of the Lord. In- cidents which could not be published on earth will be made known in the heavenly city, where every secret thing shall be revealed. How every need has been supplied before it has become a want ; how guidance has been given before questions have be- come anxieties ; how friends have been raised up in unbroken succession, and how the One Great Friend has been ever present, no single pen can ever record. "To care for the fatherless has been a work of joyful faith all along, and in waiting upon God for supplies we have experienced great delight. The way of faith in God is the best possible. We could not have carried on the work by a method more pleasant, more certain, more enduring. If we had depended upon annual subscribers we should have had to hunt them up and pay heavy poundage, or perhaps fail to keep up the roll ; if we had advertised 422 CHARLES H. SPURGE ON. continually for funds our outlay might have brought in a scanty return ; but dependence upon God has been attended with no such hazards. We have done our best as men of business to keep the Orphanage before the public, but we have desired in all things to exercise faith as servants of God. Whatever weakness we have personally to confess and deplore, there is no weakness in the plan of faith in God. Our experience compels us to declare that He is the living God ; the God that heareth prayer ; the God who will never permit those who trust in Him to be confounded. The business world has passed through trying times during the last few years, but the Orphanage has not been tried ; men of great enter- prise have failed, but the home of the fatherless has not failed ; for this enterprise is in the divine hand, and an eye watches over it which neither slumbers nor sleeps. " Let the people of God be encouraged by the fact of the existence and prosperity of the Stockwell Orphanage. Miracles have come to an end, but God goes on to work great wonders: the rod of Moses is laid aside, but the rod and staff of the Great Shepherd still compass us. "The operations of the institution reveal to the managers the wide-spread necessity which exists. The cry of the orphan comes from every part of our beloved land, and the plea of the widow for Christian sympathy and help is restricted to no one class of the community. Faces once radiant with tz±±=£ ^^ W^M^lk^J> /,,Mi. THE ORPHANAGE. 425 smiles are saddened with grief, for the dark shadow which death casts falls everywhere. How true are the lines of the poet : — " ' There is no fireside, howsoe'er defended, But has one vacant chair.' " It is a constant joy to the president and the committee that they are able to mitigate to such a large extent the misery and need which are brought under their notice ; and it must be an equal joy to the subscribers to know that their loving contribu- tions furnish the sinews for this holy war. " As our Sunday-school is affiliated to the Sunday- school Union, we allow the boys who desire to do so to sit for examination. Of the candidates who were successful at the last examination, three gained prizes, twelve first-class certificates, and thirty-eight second-class certificates. " During the year the boys took part in tht Crys- tal Palace Musical Festivals, arranged by the Band of Hope Union and the Tonic Sol-fa Association. " In order to make the character and claims of the institution more widely known, the head master and the secretary have held meetings in London and the provinces, and the success which has crowned their efforts is of a very gratifying character. The boys who accompany them to sing and to recite fur- nish a powerful appeal by their appearance and conduct, and commend the institution to which they owe so much. The local papers speak in terms of the highest praise of their services, and thus a most 426 CHARLES H. SPURGEON. effective advertisement is secured without any cost to the institution. So far as the boys are concerned, these trips have an educational value, for they get to know a great deal of the products and industries of different parts of the country, besides securing the advantage of being brought into contact with Christian families where they reside during their visit. " The amount realized during the year, after de- fraying all expenses, is $3,320, and our thanks are hereby tendered to all who assisted in any way to secure such a splendid result. "The committee record with thankfulness that there has been no lack of funds contributed for the efficient maintenance of the institution. Friends prefer to give donations rather than pledge them- selves to send annual subscriptions, and the benevo- lence thus manifested is purely spontaneous. The admirable custom of making shirts for the boys is still continued by the young ladies of an educational establishment, who send in a supply of two hundred shirts every year. Their efforts are supplemented by several working associations, but the supply is not yet equal to the demand, and we cordially invite the co-operation of others, to whom we shall be glad to send samples and patterns. "The work of caring for the widow and the fatherless is specially mentioned by the Holy Spirit as one of the most acceptable modes of giving out- ward expression to pure religion and undented be- fore God and the Father, and therefore the Lord's THE ORPHANAGE. 427 people will* not question that they should help in carrying it out. Will it need much pleading? If so, we cannot use it, as we shrink from marring the willinghood which is the charm of such a service. The work is carried on in dependence upon God, and as His blessing evidently rests upon it, we are confident the means will be forthcoming as the need arises. While commending the work to our Heav- enly Father in prayer, we deem it right to lay before the stewards of His bounty the necessities and claims of the institution. "The year 1880 will be a memorable one in the history of the institution, and we record with grati- tude the fact that the foundation-stones of the first four houses for the Girls' Orphanage were laid on the twenty-second of June, when the president's birthday was celebrated. It was a joy to all present that Mrs. Spurgeon was able to lay the memorial stone of 'The Sermon House, the gift of C. H. Spurgeon and his esteemed publishers, Messrs. Passmore and Alabaster.' The memorial stone of another house, the gift of Mr. W. R. Rickett, and called ' The Limes, in tender memory of five be- loved children,' was laid by C. H. Spurgeon, who made a touching allusion to the sad event thus com- memorated. Mrs. Samuel Barrow laid the memorial stone of the house called 'The Olives,' the amount for its erection having been given and collected by her beloved husband. The trustees of the institu- tion having subscribed the funds for the erection ©f 428 CHARLES H. SPURGEON. a house, the treasurer, Mr. William Higgs, laid, in their name, the memorial stone which bears the in- scription, ' Erected by the Trustees of the Orphanage to express their joy in this service of love.' " At the present moment the buildings of the Orphanage form a great square, enclosing a fine space for air and exercise. Visitors generally ex- press great surprise at the beauty and openness of the whole establishment. Much remains to be done before the institution is completely accommodated ; there is needed an infirmary for the girls, and till that is built one of the houses will have to be used for that purpose, thus occupying the space which would otherwise be filled by thirty or forty children : this should be attended to at an early date. Baths and wash-houses will be urgently required for the girls, and we propose to make them sufficiently commodious for the girls to do the washing for the entire community of five hundred children, thus in- structing them in household duties and saving a considerable expense. We would not spend a six- pence needlessly. No money has been wasted in lavish ornament or in hideous ugliness. The build- ings are not a workhouse or a county jail, but a pleasant residence for those children of whom God declares himself to be the Father. The additional buildings which we contemplate are not for luxury, but for necessary uses ; and as we endeavor to lay out money with judicious economy, we feel sure that we shall be trusted in the future as in the past. THE ORPHANAGE. ^ 2 Q " Are there not friends waiting to take a share in the Stockwell Orphanage Building ? They cannot better commemorate personal blessings, nor can they find a more suitable memorial for departed friends. No storied urn or animated bust can half so well record the memory of beloved ones as a stone in an Orphan House. Most of the buildings are already appropriated as memorials in some form or other, and only a few more will be needed. Very soon all building operations will be complete, and those who have lost the opportunity of becoming shareholders in the Home of Mercy may regret their delay. At any rate, none who place a stone in the walls of the Stockwell Orphanage will ever lament that they did this deed of love to the little ones for whom Jesus cares. Honored names are with us already engraven upon the stones of this great Hostelry of the All-merciful ; and many others are co-workers whose record is on high, though un- known among men. Who will be the next to join us in this happy labor ? " When the whole of the buildings are complete, the institution will afford accommodation for five hundred children, and prove a memorial of Christian generosity and of the loving-kindness of the Lord. " In our address at the presentation of the late testimonial, we disclaimed all personal credit for the existence of any one of the enterprises over which we preside, because each one of them has been forced upon us. T could not help undertaking 430 CHARLES H. SPUR G EON. them,' was our honest and just confession. This is literally true, and another illustration of this fact is now to come before the Christian public. Several of us have long cherished the idea that the time would come in which we should have an Orphanage for girls as well as for boys. It would be hard to con- ceive why this should not be. It seems ungallant, not to say unrighteous, to provide for children of one sex only, for are not all needy little ones dear to Christ, with whom there is neither male nor female? We do not like to do such things by halves, and it is but half doing the thing to leave the girls out in the cold. We have all along wished to launch out in the new direction, but we had quite enough on hand for the time being, and were obliged to wait. The matter has been thought of, and talked about, and more than half promised, but nothing has come of it till this present, and now, as we believe at the exact moment, the hour has struck, and the voice of God in providence says, 'Go forward.' "The fund for the Girls' Orphanage has com- menced, and there are about a dozen names upon the roll at the moment of our writing. The work will be carreid on with vigor as the Lord shall be pleased to send the means, but it will not be unduly pushed upon any one so as to be regarded as a new burden, for we want none but cheerful helpers, who will count it a privilege to have a share in the good work. We shall employ no collector to make a per- centage by dunning the unwilling, and shall make no THE ORPHANAGE. 43! private appeals to individuals. There is the case: if it be a good one and you are able to help it, please do so ; but if you have no wish in that direc- tion, our Lord's work does not require us to go a- begging like a pauper, and we do not intend to do so. "We have never been in debt yet, nor have we even borrowed money for a time, but we have al- ways been able to pay as we have gone on. Our prayer is that we may never have to come down to a lower platform and commence borrowing. " It has often happened that we have been unable to assist widows in necessitous circumstances with large families, because there did not happen to be a boy of the special age required by the rules of our Boys' Orphanage. There were several girls, "but then we could not take girls, and however deserv- ing the case, we have been unable to render any assistance to v.ery deserving widows, simply because their children were not boys. This is one reason why we need a Girls' Orphanage. " Everywhere also there is an outcry about the scarcity of good servants, honest servants, industri- ous servants, well-trained servants. We know where to find the sisters who will try to produce such workers out of the little ones who will come under their care. "We have succeeded, by God's grace and the dili-. gent care of our masters and matrons in training the lads so that they have become valuable to 432 CHARLES H. SPURGE ON. business men : why should not the same divine help direct us with the lasses, so that domestics and gov- ernesses should go forth from us, as well as clerks and artisans ? We believe that there are many friends who will take a special interest in the girls, and that there are some whose trades would more readily enable them to give articles suitable for girls than those which are useful to boys. Q said he, ' I have succeeded in collecting ^300 ($1,500,) that is most encouraging, is it not?' 'But,' said two or three of them at once, in a hurry, ' You said you would get ^500 ($2,500) or drop the mat- ter, and we mean for you to keep your word. ' ' By all means,' said he, 'and I mean to keep my word, too, there is ^800 ($4,000) which the friends gave me almost without asking, and the rest is nearly all promised.' The prudent officials were taken aback, but recovering themselves, they expressed their great pleasure, and would be ready to meet the pas- tor at any time and arrange for the expending of funds. 'No, no, my brethren,' said the Doctor, 'I shall not need your services. You have opposed me all along, and now I have done the work without you, you want to have your say in it to hinder me still, but neither you nor any other deacons shall plague a minister about this business. So, brethren, you can attend to something else.' Accordingly, the old trust deed of the almshouses had a clause to the effect that the pastor shall elect the pensioners, 'no deacon interfering' The present pastor had great pleasure in inducing the Charity Commissioners to expunge this clause, and give the pastor and dea- cons, unitedly, the power to select the objects of charity. '•The original endowments, after payment of re- pairs, do not suffice wholly to provide for six inmates, and there are now seventeen ; the support of the re- maining eleven involves a heavy draught upon the 44o CHARLES H. SPURGE ON. communion fund of our church, which is already fully weighed down with poor members. We greatly need at least ^5000 ($25,000) to endow the alms- houses, and place the institution upon a proper foot- ing - . Already C. H. Spurgeon, Thomas Olney and Thomas Greenwood have contributed ^200 ($1,000) each towards the fund, and we earnestly trust that either by donations or legacies, the rest of the ,£5,000 ($25,000) will be forthcoming. This would only provide five shillings($i.25) per week for each poor woman, which is little enough. If more could be raised it would be so much the better for the pen- sioners. The pastors are anxious to see this matter put into proper order ; they confess that the respon- sibility of having increased the number of rooms and alms-women rests mainly on them, and there- fore they feel that their work is not done till at least five shillings per week shall have been provided for their poor sisters ; if it could be double that amount they would be glad. We wish to leave the Taber- nacle in good working order when our work is done ; but the present burden might prove far too heavy for our successors ; indeed, they ought not to be saddled with it. In future years the church may find itself barely able to support its own expenses, and we do not think that we are justified in leaving it the legacy of so heavy a charge. Our present anxiety is to get the ship tight and trim, and this is one of the matters which is not in a satisfactory con- dition. Brethren, let us set it straight. Our aged THE OLD LADIES' HOME. aa X sisters are worthy of all that we can do for them, and their grateful faces often make our hearts glad. We should like to see more alms-rooms, and we hope some one will build and endow a row for aged men. We have had a hint that this project is tak- ing shape in the mind of a generous friend ; we hope he will carry it out in his own lifetime, rather than wait and have it done by a legacy." Mr. Spurgeon took a personal interest in the af- fairs of the Home and frequently contributed largely for its support. He was the power behind the throne in the management and supplies, as he was in almost every other enterprise taken by the church. No one ever knew how many bills Mr. Spurgeon paid in connection with the Home for he was continually settling small accounts for gas, heating, groceries, clothing, errands, and small comforts. Although he has enjoyed the inestim- able privilege of giving at times quite large sums such as that at his silver wedding when, being pre- sented with $25,000, he gave the whole of it over as an endowment to the Home, yet what he gave in large sums did not approach the aggregate of what he contributed in a continuous stream of small gifts which he was ever granting to a great variety of charities. There was a wisdom in this matter of expendi- ture which accomplished a double purpose; it not only provided for the sustenance of the noble chari- ties but it also prevented any quarrels arising 442 CHARLES //. SrURGEOM. among the officials concerning the payment of dis- «puted bills and relieved the object of charity from the unpleasantness of any public discussion. Some newspapers accused him of hoarding large sums of money and he frequently was compelled to deny the assertion which was made that he was a very rich man. There was some reason behind the surmises in reference to his wealth, from the fact that it was well known that he had a very large in- come, and it was not equally well known to what purpose he applied his funds. Yet, he conscientiously regarded his salary and the gifts which he personally received as a sacred trust given him of the Lord, all of which was to be devoted to Christ's cause and only a reasonable por- tion of it used economically in the support of his family and the payment for his home. Hence if the occupants of the Old Ladies' Home were seen to be in need of anything he did not wait for any vote of the board or action of the church, but simply went himself and purchased what he saw in his fre- quent visits was really needed. He paid almost in- numberable bills in various directions which no one knew he had settled, unless perchance his wife should find the bundle of receipted bills in his pocket or lying upon his desk. It thus sometimes happened that the same bill was paid twice, where the officers of the church did not know that Mr. Spurgeon had settled the account; and the fact of his generosity thus becoming unexpectedly known led in several important cases to quite large donations THE OLD LADIES' HOME. j* j toward his work from friends, who otherwise would not have understood the necessities. The Home includes two school rooms and a class room, which are occupied every week-day by about four hundred children under the tutelage of a head master. There are seventeen rooms occupied by the old ladies, but only those who are over sixty years of age and destitute, are received. CHAPTER XVI. POWERFUL REINFORCEMENTS. Mr. Spurgeon was wise enough to set a high value upon printed matter. In the very earliest days of his ministry some of his sermons were placed in print with his consent and encouragement, and he often wrote small articles for periodicals during the first five years of his pastorate in London. The assistance which he has received from peri- odicals of his own and those published by other people will account in an a great measure for the success of his many undertakings. Some excellent judges regard the printing press as Mr. Spurgeon's stronghold in the evangelization of the multitudes he has reached. Certainly through his printed sermons he has reached a larger audience by a hun- dred fold than those who sat under the sound of his voice. It appears reasonable to state that Mr. Squrgeon's influence would have been very little compared to that which it did reach if he had not availed himself of this very powerful reinforcement in the establishment of public opinion. He issued a sufficient number of printed sermons before his death to fill forty volumes. Certainly 444 POWERFUL REINFORCEMENTS. 445 Bluchers reinforcements at Waterloo were not more necessary to Wellington than has been the Sword and Trowel to Mr. Spurgeon's religious campaign. Colonol Grant, United States Consel at Man- chester, England wrote in 1890 concerning Mr. Spur- o^eon as follows: — " He has fought his way to a commander's place in the religious world, and holds it with no abatement of faithfulness, although the work of years is leav- ing weak spots in his body. There's life in the old guard yet, however and he stands squarely to his work on the outpost, no matter how the storms may gather about him. His energy, his heroism under bodily pain, his sweet toil, all combine to make him stand out in the clear light as an evangel of the Lord worthy of the cross and crown. What a great loving heart he has : How his sympathies encircle the whole world : As one of God's workers, he has no superior among men." As the qualifications of a great General require that he shall be a diplomatist and a tactician, as well as a brave leader, so Mr. Spurgeon exhibited his great generalship as much in his power to mass the different religious forces under his control and over- see the entire campaign as in those personal charges upon the forces of evil, as the leader of his own great church. Too much will not be stated when we say that in a^l probability every one of the great enterprises | 4 6 CHARLES H. SPUR G EON. which the church has undertaken and every charity which Mr. Spurgeon has espoused, either had its origin in some article in the Sword and Trowel or was chiefly indebted to that publication for a con- tinued support. That magazine was begun on the first of January 1865 and up to the time of Mr. Spurgeon's death was edited by him, not only with the contribution of articles, but by a personal oversight of everything printed therein. There were periods during the publication when as Mr. Spurgeon was laid aside by sickness, when others were called in to do his work. But that magazine was the last to be laid aside when pain afflicted him. He seemed to understand that upon its regular appearance depended the success of all the christian work over which Providence had made him the superintendent. The circulation of the magazine reached in 1892, fifteen thousand subscribers at the high price of about 6 cents per copy. It began of course in a modest and small way and appealed directly to the local spirit of the Metropolitan Tabernacle. It put forth no flaring advertisements and found its read- ers among personal friends of the editor or among the personal acquaintances of his hearers. But, when Mrs. Spurgeon began to use the in- come of her Book Fund to supply the sermons to missionaries for free distribution in the homes and for the supply of all the light house keepers of Eng- land, Australia and India, of course, the circulation POWERFUL REINFORCEMENTS. 447 leaped at once into most respectable proportions. Within ten years of the time when the first number was issued it had found its way into nearly all the religious reading rooms of the English speaking world, was purchased for the large libraries, and found a ready sale on all the prominent news-stands of the railroad companies. The circumstances gave it a position of honor among the other magazines of the world, which added great force to Mr. Spurgeon's evangelistic powers. We have already seen that the Orphan- age was due to an article which Mrs. Hillyard read in that Magazine. It is also stated that the first gift for the building of the Pastors' College and the first donation towards the Girls' Orphanage came di- rectly in response to an editorial article in the Sword and Trowel. It advertised itself in most legitimate ways and also presented in the most effective manner all the needs of the church and its various mission stations. It was each month a personal letter from Mr. Spurgeon; he had not been educated by Universi- ties out of that peculiar personality which made nearly all his communications seem like familiar conversations with a personal friend. He was not afraid to speak directly of himself and hesitated not to give his own opinion upon any matter which came under his attention. He seemed to be so art- lessly unconscious of egotism and so regardless of criticism that he freely spoke of himself, his circum- 44 8 CHARLES H. SPURGEON. stances, his wishes and his experiences without a trace of embarassment. The publication of that magazine would in itself have been a great achievement for the cause of Christ had it stood entirely alone with no connection with the Metropolitan Tabernacle. But each of these great institutions were a necessity to the other. The Tabernacle could not have been what it be- came had it not been for the " Sivord and TroweV and the Magazine could not have reached the dignified position it held had it not been for the large congregations in the Tabernacle. His audi- ence of fifty-five hundred in the Tabernacle was only- one tenth the size of the audience he reached through the Magazine, for the best estimates which have been given concerning its circulation show that it is largely taken in families where a single copy furnished a whole household with reading matter. Like the volumes of his sermons it went into the humblest homes and the finest palaces; into the office and the workshop, into the hospital and the sick room; into the poor-house and the great libra- ries; into the hands of the school children and the aged professors; under the eye of vigorous man- hood, and before the spectacles of ripe old age. The Magazine had an immense advantage over his spoken words in preserving in a permanent form the exhortations and advice which Mr. Spurg- eon so freely gave. If a person was touched by any article they could take up the Magazine again POWERFUL REINFORCEMENTS. ^g and re-read it scrutinizingly or prayerfully, as often as they chose. That many of his articles were fre- quently re-read most effectively is shown by the continued testimony coming incessantly through all the years from generous givers toward his work, and from persons testifying concerning their con- version of their renewed power in Christian under- takings. The Magazine made the Metropolitan Taber- nacle known all over the English speaking coun- tries and answered a better purpose in making each reader feel personally acquainted with Mr. Spurg- eon himself. It had a marvelous reflex influence upon the attendance at the Tabernacle in London and upon every department of its local work. Per- sons in America would read some interesting item in the Sword and Troiuel connected with the mis- sionary work or the church service of the Taber- nacle and would, under the inspiration of the ar- ticle, write to their acquaintances in London and urge them to attend Mr. Spurgeon's preaching ser- vices. In the great metropolis there were thous- ands of people who for years had lived near the Tabernacle and had not heard mention made of its preacher or its work until some friend in America, Australia or India wrote them concerning it. " A prophet is not without honor save in his own country and among his own kin." It is safe to state that one-third of the present membership of the Tabernacle consists of persons 29 ,cq CHARLES H. SPURGEON. who were advised to attend Mr. Spurgeon's service by their acquaintances living outside of London. The potent influence which the Magazine exerted upon all the local interests of his church could be partially measured by the continual statement of visitors at the Tabernacle, saying, "I have come to- day to bring friends from out of the city, who de- sired very much to hear Mr. Spurgeon. " The dea- cons and ushers in the church were constantly ap- pealed to by persons crowding the doors who reit- erated the same request as* though thousands had learned it together by heart. "I do not care so much for a seat for myself as I do for friends who are here from a great distance. " The exalted opinion which strangers entertained of Mr. Spurgeon who had made his acquaintance through his Magazine and sermons, increased the respect for him among his neighbors. He exhibited a striking instance of the necessity that a Bishop should be in good report "among those that are without. " The amount of gifts received in small offerings by mail from distant places presented to Mr. Spurgeon for his Christian work has been estimated by a per- sonal friend of the writer, who was also an honored acquaintance of Mr. Spurgeon, at the annual aver- age of sixteen thousand dollars. The hold which Mr. Spurgeon secured upon his hearers could scarcely have been so permanent and so effective had it not been reinforced and persist- POWERFUL REINFORCEMENTS. 45 t ently sustained by the publication of this periodical. There are lessons to be learned from this in the conduct of church work and in arousing spiritual life which are not fully appreciated yet by the churches of England or those of other lands. The difficulty in applying the excellent teachings of Mr. Spurgeon's useful example will be found in the natural tendency of persons and churches to imitate him under widely different circumstances from those which surrounded his life. Hence thev must fail. No imitator of Mr. Spurgeon can ever reasonably hope to succeed. His circumstances, his physique, his education, his training, will never be repeated in the entire history of the rolling years ; yet a general application can be made of the lessons which his example furnishes which must be very useful to the individual churches and very inspiring to the cause of Christianity. It is not enough to preach the gospel by word of mouth. Christ indeed wrote nothing which remains for our instruction, but the Apostles trained in His own school and following out implicitly His divine direc- tion, not only disputed in the schools and officiated in the Synagogues, but wrote down in order that we might have the books of the New Testament without which our preaching would be vain. The Gospel may be preached to the eye as fully as to the ear and he who uses but one method is like he who sculls in competition with a fully accoutred oarsman. True orators and great editors are 452 CHARLES H. STURGEON. brothers, giants both, together they can save the world. In fractricidal combat they can ruin it. Mr. Spurgeon brought both forces into a most compatible alliance. In one of Mr. Spurgeon's notices appearing in the Sword and Trowel as an introduction to another volume for a new year he gives a most excellent insight into the purpose and management of the Magazine. " Kind Readers. — Throughout another year you have sustained the magazine; and as very many of you have expressed your satisfaction, and few, if any, have favored me with a complaint, I feel en- couraged to believe that you have been pleased with my monthly numbers. It was once observed in my hearing by a friend who wished to account for my fulfilment of numerous duties, that as for the magazine, it was a merely nominal thing to be the editor, for few editors ever saw their magazines till they were in print. However this may be as a rule, it does not contain a spark of truth in my case, for I have personally superintended every page, and I do not think a single line of the mag- azine has passed through the press without having been read by me. Whether I succeed or not, I certainly do not delegate my task to others. If I had more leisure I am sure I could do better, and it is with unfeigned satisfaction that I find my sub- scribers contented with what I can procure for them." "The Sword and Trowel has been the happy PO JVERFUL REINFORCEMENTS. 453 means of uniting in gracious service a band of gra- cious givers and workers, who now for these seven- teen years have joined to aid the institutions which, though they locally surround the Tabernacle, are really the off-spring of a congregation which is found scattered throughout all lands. By means of this warm-hearted brotherhood the Pastors' Col- lege has been sustained from year to year, until some six hundred ministers have been educated in it, the most of whom are still faithfully preaching the old-fashioned gospel in which they have been trained. In connection with this enterprise three brethern have been supported as evangelists and their itinerant labors bave been signally successful. Testimonies that churches have been aroused and sinners converted by their means, have been plenti- fully sent in, and these pages have been increased in interest thereby. Hundreds of thousands have heard the gospel through this instrumentality." " The Stockwell Orphanage originated through an article in this magazine, and from time to time its support has been mainly supplied by its readers. During the past year the houses for the girl's side have been completed and partly furnished; and at the present time the first detachment of little ones has entered into occupation. More remains to be done by way of furniture for other houses, and the further contracts for the infirmary, baths, and out- buildings have to be met; but it is a great comfort to have seen the project so far in progress, and to 454 CHARLES H. SPUKGEON. feel assured that all that is yet required will be forth- coming in its season. The bazaar which is so soon to be held will, we hope, secure the amount needed to bring the enterprise up to the next stage, and then we may lay our plan for the final outlay on the chapel of the Orphanage, and a few other neces- saries. All that has been done has been accom- plished without personal solicitation, or the allot- ment of votes, or the dissemination of heart-rend- ing appeals: it has sufficed to lay the case before the Lord in prayer, and then to mention it to His people in plain and earnest terms, and the funds have come in with marvellous regularity, the larger amounts having been timed to meet the hour of need as exactly as if the whole went by clock work. The hand of the Lord is in this thing, and to Him be glory. That this institution has brought honor to God is plain enough, for many a time those who would have abused our ministry have admitted that a good work has been wrought, and have had no heart to revile. There is something about orphan work which wins the sympathy of the most careless, and none can tell till the last great day how many have been by this means led to think well of the gos- pel, and next to hear it and experience its power." "The Colportage Association has held on its most useful course. It has been sustained with difficulty, for somehow it does not chime in with the tastes and views of large donors, but its influence for good is second to no existing agency. Where there are POWERFUL REINFORCEMENTS. 455 ' not enough dissenters to support a minister, or where ministers are unable to cover large and scat- tered districts, the colporteur makes his way with his pack, and speaks a word for Jesus at every door, either by personal conversation or by leaving a tract. Besides this, he preaches by the roadside or in village chapels, gets up temperance meetings, visits the sick, and above all sells good books. This society, and several other useful works, report them- selves in these pages, and enlist good friends there- by." " Mrs. Spurgeon's Book Fund quietly pursues its beneficent course. It is putting sound theology just now upon the shelves of many a poor curate and ill-paid minister, and this it does so largely that it would be a miracle of a strange sort if it did not greatly affect the ministry of the day. That the sermons distributed and the