,t4 ,,de ,,witt ,,talmage ,,as ,i ,,knew
 ,,him  ,,by ,,the ,,late ,t4 ,,de      
,,witt ,,talmage1 ,d4,d4  ,,with        
,,concluding ,,chapters ,,by ,,mrs4 ,t4 
,,de ,,witt ,,talmage  ,,with           
,,illustrations  ,,new ,,york3 ,e4,p4   
,,dutton ,,and ,,company #aiab          
,,contents  ,,first ,,milestone ,,second
 ,,milestone ,,third ,,milestone        
,,fourth ,,milestone ,,fifth ,,milestone
 ,,sixth ,,milestone ,,seventh          
,,milestone ,,eighth ,,milestone ,,ninth
 ,,milestone ,,tenth ,,milestone        
,,eleventh ,,milestone ,,twelfth        
,,milestone ,,thirteenth ,,milestone    
,,fourteenth ,,milestone ,,fifteenth    
,,milestone ,,sixteenth ,,milestone     
,,seventeenth ,,milestone ,,biographical
 ,,sketch ,,of ,,his ,,last             
,,milestones--    ,,first ,,milestone   
,,second ,,milestone    ,,third         
,,milestone    ,,last ,,milestone       
,,list ,,of ,,illustrations  ,,the      
,,rev4 ,t4 ,,de ,,witt ,,talmage1 ,d4,d4
 ,,david ,,and ,,catherine              

,,talmage--,,parents ,,of ,,dr4 ,t4 ,,de
 ,,witt ,,talmage ,,dr4 ,,talmage ,,in  
,,his ,,first ,,church1 ,,belleville1   
,,new ,,jersey ,,dr4 ,,talmage ,,as     
,,chaplain ,,of ,,the ,,thirteenth      
,,regiment ,,of ,,new ,,york ,,the      
,,third ,,brooklyn ,,tabernacle ,,the   
,,first ,,presbyterian ,,church1        
,,washington1 ,d4,c4 ,,dr4 ,,and ,,mrs4 
,t4 ,,de ,,witt ,,talmage ,,facsimile   
,,of ,,president ,,abraham ,,lincoln',s 
,,letter     ,,preface  ,i write this   
story of my life1 first of all for my   
children4 ,how much would ,i now give   
for a full account of my father's life  
written by his own hand6 ,that which    
merely goes from lip to ear is apt to be
 soon forgotten4 ,the generations move  
on so rapidly that events become        
confused4 ,i said to my son1 ,do you    
remember that time in ,philadelphia1    
during the war1 when ,i received a      
telegram saying several hundred wounded 
soldiers would arrive next day1 and we  
suddenly extemporised a hospital and all

 turned in to the help of the suffering 
soldiers8 ,my son's reply was1 ,my      
memory of that occurrence is not very   
distinct1 as it took place six years    
before ,i was born4 ,the fact is that we
 think our children know many things    
concerning which they know nothing at   
all4  ,but1 outside my own family1 ,i am
 sure that there are many who would like
 to read about what ,i have been doing1 
thinking1 enjoying1 and hoping all these
 years2 for through the publication of  
my entire ,sermons1 as has again and    
again been demonstrated1 ,i have been   
brought into contact with the minds of  
more people1 and for a longer time1 than
 most men4 ,this ,i mean not in boast1  
but as a reason for thinking that this  
autobiography may have some attention   
outside of my own circle1 and ,i mention
 it also in gratitude to ,god1 ,who has 
for so long a time given me this        
unlimited and almost miraculous         
opportunity4  ,each life is different   
from every other life4 ,god never       

repeats ,himself1 and ,he never intended
 two men to be alike1 or two women to be
 alike1 or two children to be alike4    
,this infinite variety of character and 
experience makes the story of any life  
interesting1 if that story be clearly   
and accurately told4  ,i am now in the  
full play of my faculties1 and without  
any apprehension of early departure1 not
 having had any portents1 nor seen the  
moon over my left shoulder1 nor had a   
salt-cellar upset1 nor seen a bat fly   
into the window1 nor heard a cricket    
chirp from the hearth1 nor been one of  
thirteen persons at a table4 ,but my    
common sense1 and the family record1 and
 the almanac tell me it must be towards 
evening4     ,t4 ,,de ,,witt ,,talmage  
,,as ,i ,,knew ,,him     ,,first        
,,milestone  #ahcb-ahde   ,our family   
,bible1 in the record just between the  
,old and the ,new ,testaments1 has this 
entry3 ,thomas ,de,witt1 ,born ,january 
#g1 #ahcb4 ,i was the youngest of a     
family of twelve children1 all of whom  

lived to grow up except the first1 and  
she was an invalid child4  ,i was the   
child of old age4 ,my nativity1 ,i am   
told1 was not heartily welcomed1 for the
 family was already within one of a     
dozen1 and the means of support were not
 superabundant4 ,i arrived at           
,middlebrook1 ,new ,jersey1 while my    
father kept the toll-gate1 at which     
business the older children helped him1 
but ,i was too small to be of service4  
,i have no memory of residence there1   
except the day of departure1 and that   
only emphasised by the fact that we left
 an old cat which had purred her way    
into my affections1 and separation from 
her was my first sorrow1 so far as ,i   
can remember4  ,in that home at         
,middlebrook1 and in the few years      
after1 ,i went through the entire       
curriculum of infantile ailments4 ,the  
first of these was scarlet fever1 which 
so nearly consummated its fell work on  
me that ,i was given up by the doctors  
as doomed to die1 and1 according to     

custom in those times in such a case1 my
 grave clothes were completed1 the      
neighbours gathering for that purpose4  
,during those early years ,i took such a
 large share of epidemics that ,i have  
never been sick since with anything     
worthy of being called illness4 ,i never
 knew or heard of anyone who has had    
such remarkable and unvarying health as 
,i have had1 and ,i mention it with     
gratitude to ,god1 in whose hand our    
breath is1 and all our ways4  ,the      
grippe1 as it is called1 touched me at  
,vienna when on my way from the ,holy   
,land1 but ,i felt it only half a day1  
and never again since4  ,i often wonder 
what has become of our old cradle in    
which all of us children were rocked6   
,we were a large family1 and that old   
cradle was going a good many years4 ,i  
remember just how it looked4 ,it was    
old-fashioned and had no tapestry4 ,its 
two sides and canopy were of plain wood1
 but there was a great deal of sound    
sleeping in that cradle1 and many aches 

and pains were soothed in it4 ,most     
vividly ,i remember that the rockers1   
which came out from under the cradle1   
were on the top and side very smooth1 so
 smooth that they actually glistened4   
,but it went right on and rocked for    
,phoebe the first1 and for ,de,witt the 
last4  ,there were no lords or baronets 
or princes in our ancestral line4 ,none 
wore stars1 cockade1 or crest4 ,there   
was once a family coat-of-arms1 but we  
were none of us wise enough to tell its 
meaning4 ,do our best1 we cannot find   
anything about our forerunners except   
that they behaved well1 came over from  
,wales or ,holland a good while ago1 and
 died when their time came4 ,some of    
them may have had fine equipages and    
postilions1 but the most of them were   
sure only of footmen4 ,my father started
 in life belonging to the aristocracy of
 hard knuckles and homespun1 but had    
this high honour that no one could      
despise3 he was the son of a father who 
loved ,god and kept ,his commandments4  

,two eyes1 two hands1 and two feet were 
the capital my father started with4     
,benignity1 kindness1 keen humour1 broad
 common sense and industry characterised
 my mother4 ,the ,reverend ,dr4         
,chambers was for many years her pastor4
 ,he had fifty years of pastorate       
service1 in ,somerville1 ,n4,j41 and the
 ,collegiate ,church1 ,new ,york4 ,he   
said1 in an address at the dedication of
 the ,brooklyn ,tabernacle1 that my     
mother was the most consecrated         
,christian person he had ever known4 ,my
 mother worked very hard1 and when we   
would come in and sit down at the table 
at noon1 ,i remember how she used to    
look4 ,there were beads of perspiration 
along the line of her grey hair1 and    
sometimes she would sit down at the     
table1 and put her head against her     
wrinkled hand and say1 ,well1 the fact  
is1 ,i'm too tired to eat4  ,my father  
was a religious1 hard-working1 honest   
man4 ,every day began and closed with   
family worship1 led by my father1 or1 in

 case of his absence1 by ,mother4 ,that 
which was evidently uppermost in the    
minds of my parents1 and that which was 
the most pervading principle in their   
lives1 was the ,christian religion4 ,the
 family ,bible held a perfect           
fascination for me1 not a page that was 
not discoloured either with time or     
tears4 ,my parents read out of it as    
long as ,i can remember4 ,when my       
brother ,van ,nest died in a foreign    
land1 and the news came to our country  
home1 that night they read the eternal  
consolations out of the old book4 ,when 
my brother ,david died that book        
comforted the old people in their       
trouble4 ,my father in mid-life1 fifteen
 years an invalid1 out of that book read
 of the ravens that fed ,elijah all     
through the hard struggle for bread4    
,when my mother died that book illumined
 the dark valley4 ,in the years that    
followed of loneliness1 it comforted my 
father with the thought of reunion1     
which took place afterward in ,heaven4  

,to the wonderful conversion of my      
grandfather and grandmother1 in those   
grand old days of our declaration of    
independence1 ,i trace the whole        
purpose1 trend1 and energies of my life4
 ,i have told the story of the          
conversion of my grandfather and        
grandmother before4 ,i repeat it here1  
for my children4  ,my grandfather and   
grandmother went from ,somerville to    
,baskenridge to attend revival meetings 
under the ministry of ,dr4 ,finney4     
,they were so impressed with the        
meetings that when they came back to    
,somerville they were seized upon by a  
great desire for the salvation of their 
children4 ,that evening the children    
were going off for a gay party1 and my  
grandmother said to the children1 ,when 
you get all ready for the entertainment1
 come into my room2 ,i have something   
very important to tell you4 ,after they 
were all ready they came into my        
grandmother's room1 and she said to     
them1 ,go and have a good time1 but     

while you are gone ,i want you to know  
,i am praying for you and will do       
nothing but pray for you until you get  
back4 ,they did not enjoy the           
entertainment much because they thought 
all the time of the fact that ,mother   
was praying for them4 ,the evening      
passed4 ,the next day my grandparents   
heard sobbing and crying in the         
daughter's room1 and they went in and   
found her praying for the salvation of  
,god1 and her daughter ,phoebe said1 ,i 
wish you would go to the barn and to the
 waggon-house for ,jehiel and ,david    
7the brothers7 are under powerful       
conviction of sin4 ,my grandparent went 
to the barn1 and ,jehiel1 who afterward 
became a useful minister of the ,gospel1
 was imploring the mercy of ,christ2 and
 then1 having first knelt with him and  
commended his soul to ,christ1 they went
 to the waggon-house1 and there was     
,david crying for the salvation of his  
soul--,david1 who afterward became my   
father4 ,david could not keep the story 

to himself1 and he crossed the fields to
 a farmhouse and told one to whom he had
 been affianced the story of his own    
salvation1 and she yielded her heart to 
,god4 ,the story of the converted       
household went all through the          
neighbourhood4 ,in a few weeks two      
hundred souls stood up in the plain     
meeting house at ,somerville to profess 
faith in ,christ1 among them ,david and 
,catherine1 afterward my parents4       
,illustration3 ,,david ,,talmage4       
,,catherine ,,talmage4 7,the ,parents of
 ,dr4 ,t4 ,de,witt ,talmage7  ,my       
mother1 impressed with that1 in after   
life1 when she had a large family of    
children gathered around her1 made a    
covenant with three neighbours1 three   
mothers4 ,they would meet once a week to
 pray for the salvation of their        
children until all their children were  
converted--this incident was not known  
until after my mother's death1 the      
covenant then being revealed by one of  
the survivors4 ,we used to say3 ,mother1

 where are you going8 and she would say1
 ,i am just going out a little while2   
going over to the neighbours4 ,they kept
 on in that covenant until all their    
families were brought into the kingdom  
of ,god1 myself the last1 and ,i trace  
that line of results back to that       
evening when my grandmother commended   
our family to ,christ1 the tide of      
influence going on until this hour1 and 
it will never cease4  ,my mother died in
 her seventy-sixth year4 ,through a long
 life of vicissitude she lived          
harmlessly and usefully1 and came to her
 end in peace4 ,we had often heard her1 
when leading family prayers in the      
absence of my father1 say1 ,o ,lord1 ,i 
ask not for my children wealth or       
honour1 but ,i do ask that they all may 
be the subjects of ,thy converting      
grace4 ,her eleven children brought into
 the kingdom of ,god1 she had but one   
more wish1 and that was that she might  
see her long-absent missionary son1 and 
when the ship from ,china anchored in   

,new ,york harbour1 and the long-absent 
one passed over the threshold of his    
paternal home1 she said1 ,lord1 now     
lettest ,thou ,thy servant depart in    
peace1 for mine eyes have seen ,thy     
salvation4 ,the prayer was soon         
answered4  ,my father1 as long as ,i can
 remember1 was an elder in churches4 ,he
 conducted prayer-meetings in the       
country1 when he was sometimes the only 
man to take part1 giving out a hymn and 
leading the singing2 then reading the   
,scriptures and offering prayer2 then   
giving out another hymn and leading in  
that2 and then praying again2 and so    
continuing the meeting for the usual    
length of time1 and with no lack of     
interest4  ,when the church choir would 
break down1 everybody looked around to  
see if he were not ready with           
,woodstock1 ,mount ,pisgah or ,uxbridge4
 ,and when all his familiar tunes failed
 to express the joy of his soul1 he     
would take up his own pen1 draw five    
long lines across the sheet1 put in the 

notes1 and then to the tune he called   
,bound ,brook1 begin to sing3      ,as  
when the weary traveller gains          
,the height of some o'erlooking hill1   
,his heart revives if 'cross the plains 
,he eyes his home1 though distant still2
      ,thus1 when the ,christian pilgrim
 views1       ,by faith1 his mansion in 
the skies1     ,the sight his fainting  
strength renews1       ,and wings his   
speed to reach the prize4      ',tis    
there1 he says1 ,i am to dwell          
,with ,jesus in the realms of day2      
,there ,i shall bid my cares farewell   
,and ,he will wipe my tears away4  ,he  
knew about all the cheerful tunes that  
were ever printed in old ,new ,brunswick
 ,collection1 and the ,shunway1 and the 
sweetest melodies that ,thomas ,hastings
 ever composed4 ,he took the pitch of   
sacred song on ,sabbath morning1 and    
kept it through all the week4  ,my      
father was the only person whom ,i ever 
knew without any element of fear4 ,i do 
not believe he understood the sensation4

  ,seated in a waggon one day during a  
runaway that every moment threatened our
 demolition1 he was perfectly calm4 ,he 
turned around to me1 a boy of seven     
years1 and said1 ,de,witt1 what are you 
crying about8 ,i guess we can ride as   
fast as they can run4  ,there was one   
scene ,i remember1 that showed his poise
 and courage as nothing else could4 ,he 
was ,sheriff of ,somerset ,county1      
,n4,j41 and we lived in the court house1
 attached to which was the ,county      
,jail4 ,during my father's absence one  
day a prisoner got playing the maniac1  
dashing things to pieces1 vociferating  
horribly1 and flourishing a knife with  
which he had threatened to carve any one
 who came near the wicket of his prison1
 ,constables were called in to quell    
this real or dramatised maniac1 but they
 fell back in terror from the door of   
the prison4 ,their show of firearms made
 no impression upon the demented wretch4
 ,after awhile my father returned and   
was told of the trouble1 and indeed he  

heard it before he reached home4 ,the   
whole family implored him not to go near
 the man who was cursing1 and armed with
 a knife4 ,but father could not be      
deterred4 ,he did not stand outside the 
door and at a safe distance1 but took   
the key and opened the door1 and without
 any weapon of defence came upon the    
man1 thundering at him1 ,sit down and   
give me that knife6 ,the tragedy was    
ended4 ,i never remember to have heard  
him make a gloomy remark4 ,this was not 
because he had no perception of the     
pollutions of society4 ,i once said to  
my father1 ,are people so much worse now
 than they used to-be8 ,he made no      
answer for a minute1 for the old people 
do not like to confess much to the boys4
 ,but after awhile his eye twinkled and 
he said3 ,well1 ,de,witt1 the fact is   
that people were never any better than  
they ought to be4  ,ours was an         
industrious home4 ,i was brought up to  
regard laziness as an abominable        
disease4 ,though we were some years of  

age before we heard the trill of a      
piano1 we knew well all about the song  
of ,the ,spinning-,wheel4  ,through how 
many thrilling scenes my father had     
passed6 ,he stood1 at ,morristown1 in   
the choir that chanted when ,george     
,washington was buried2 talked with     
young men whose fathers he had held on  
his knee2 watched the progress of ,john 
,adams's administration2 denounced1 at  
the time1 ,aaron ,burr's infamy2 heard  
the guns that celebrated the ,new       
,orleans victory2 voted against         
,jackson1 but lived long enough to wish 
we had another just like him2 remembered
 when the first steamer struck the      
,north river with its wheel-buckets2 was
 startled by the birth of telegraphy2   
saw the ,united ,states grow from a     
speck on the world's map till all       
nations dip their flag at our passing   
merchantmen4 ,he was born while the     
,revolutionary cannon were coming home  
from ,yorktown1 and lived to hear the   
tramp of troops returning from the war  

of the great ,rebellion4 ,he lived to   
speak the names of eighty children1     
grand-children and great-grand-children4
 ,he died just three years from the day 
when my mother sped on4  ,when my father
 lay dying the old country minister said
 to him1 ,mr4 ,talmage1 how do you feel 
now as you are about to pass the ,jordan
 of death8 ,he replied--and it was the  
last thing he ever said--,i feel well2  
,i feel very well2 all is well--lifting 
his hand in a benediction1 a speechless 
benediction1 which ,i pray ,god may go  
down through all the generations--,it is
 well6  ,four of his sons became        
ministers of the ,gospel3 ,reverend     
,james ,r4 ,talmage1 ,d4,d41 who was    
preaching before ,i was born1 and who   
died in #ahgi2 ,reverend ,john ,van     
,nest ,talmage1 ,d4,d41 who spent his   
life as a missionary in ,china1 and died
 in the summer of #ahib2 ,reverend ,goyn
 ,talmage1 ,d4,d41 who after doing a    
great work for ,god1 died in #ahia4 ,but
 all my brothers and sisters were       

decidedly ,christian1 lived usefully and
 died peacefully4  ,i rejoice to        
remember that though my father lived in 
a plain house the most of his days1 he  
died in a mansion provided by the filial
 piety of his son who had achieved a    
fortune4  ,the house at ,gateville1 near
 ,bound ,brook1 in which ,i was born1   
has gone down4 ,not one stone has been  
left upon another4 ,i one day picked up 
a fragment of the chimney1 or wall1 and 
carried it home4 ,but the home that ,i  
associate with my childhood was about   
three miles from ,somerville1 ,n4,j4    
,the house1 the waggon-shed1 the barn1  
are now just as ,i remember them from   
childhood days4 ,it was called ,uncle   
,john's ,place from the fact that my    
mother's uncle1 ,john ,van ,nest1 owned 
it1 and from him my father rented it on 
shares4 ,here ,i rode the horse to      
brook4 ,here ,i hunted for and captured 
,easter eggs4 ,here the natural world   
made its deepest impression on me4 ,here
 ,i learned some of the fatigues and    

hardships of the farmer's life--not as  
,i felt them1 but as my father and      
mother endured them4 ,here my brother   
,daniel brought home his bride4 ,from   
here ,i went to the country school4     
,here in the evening the family were    
gathered1 mother knitting or sewing1    
father vehemently talking politics or   
religion with some neighbour not right  
on the subject of the tariff1 or        
baptism1 and the rest of us reading or  
listening4 ,all the group are gone      
except my sister ,catherine and myself4 
,my childhood1 as ,i look back upon it1 
is to me a mystery4 ,while ,i always    
possessed a keen sense of the ludicrous1
 and a hearty appreciation of fun of all
 sorts1 there was a sedate side of my   
nature that demonstrated itself to the  
older members of the family1 and of     
which they often spoke4 ,for half days1 
or whole days1 at a time ,i remember    
sitting on a small footstool beside an  
ordinary chair on which lay open        
,scott's ,commentaries on the ,bible4 ,i

 not only read the ,scriptures out of   
this book1 but long discourses of       
,thomas ,scott1 and passages adjoining4 
,i could not have understood much of    
these profound and elaborate            
commentaries4 ,they were not written or 
printed for children1 but they had for  
my childish mind a fascination that kept
 me from play1 and from the ordinary    
occupations of persons of my years4     
,so1 also1 it was with the religious    
literature of the old-fashioned kind1   
with which some of the tables of my     
father's house were piled4 ,indeed1 when
 afterwards ,i was living at my         
brothers' house1 he a clergyman1 ,i read
 through and through and through the    
four or five volumes of ,dwight's       
,theology1 which must have been a       
wading-in far beyond my depth4 ,i think 
if ,i had not possessed an unusual      
resiliency of temperament1 the reading  
and thinking so much of things          
pertaining to the soul and a future     
state would have made me morbid and     

unnatural4 ,this tendency to read and   
think in sacred directions was not a    
case of early piety4 ,i do not know what
 it was4 ,i suppose in all natures there
 are things inexplicable4 ,how strange  
is the phenomenon of childhood days to  
an old man6  ,how well ,i remember      
,sanderson's stage coach1 running from  
,new ,brunswick to ,easton1 as he drove 
through ,somerville1 ,new ,jersey1      
turning up to the post-office and       
dropping the mail-bags with ten letters 
and two or three newspapers6 ,on the box
 ,sanderson himself1 six feet two       
inches1 and well proportioned1 long     
lash-whip in one hand1 the reins of six 
horses in the other1 the leaders        
lathered along the lines of the traces1 
foam dripping from the bits6 ,it was the
 event of the day when the stage came4  
,it was our highest ambition to become a
 stage-driver4 ,some of the boys climbed
 on the great leathern boot of the      
stage1 and those of us who could not get
 on shouted ,cut behind6 ,i saw the old 

stage-driver not long ago1 and ,i       
expressed to him my surprise that one   
around whose head ,i had seen a halo of 
glory in my boyhood time was only a man 
like the rest of us4 ,between           
,sanderson's stage-coach and a ,chicago 
express train1 what a difference6  ,and 
,i shall always marvel at our family    
doctor4 ,dear old ,dr4 ,skillman6 ,my   
father's doctor1 my mother's doctor1 in 
the village home6 ,he carried all the   
confidences of all the families for ten 
miles around4 ,we all felt better as    
soon as we saw him enter the house4 ,his
 face pronounced a beatitude before he  
said a word4 ,he welcomed all of us     
children into life1 and he closed the   
old people's eyes4     ,,the ,,second   
,,milestone  #ahde-ahfi   ,when moving  
out of a house ,i have always been in   
the habit1 after everything was gone1 of
 going into each room and bidding it a  
mute farewell4 ,there are the rooms     
named after the different members of the
 family4 ,i suppose it is so in all     

households4 ,it was so in mine2 we named
 the rooms after the persons who        
occupied them4 ,i moved from the house  
of my boyhood with a sort of mute       
affection for its remembrances that are 
most vivid in its hours of crisis and   
meditation4 ,through all the years that 
have intervened there is no holier      
sanctuary to me than the memory of my   
mother's vacant chair4 ,i remember it   
well4 ,it made a creaking noise as it   
moved4 ,it was just high enough to allow
 us children to put our heads into her  
lap4 ,that was the bank where we        
deposited all our hurts and worries4    
,some time ago1 in an express train1 ,i 
shot past that old homestead4 ,i looked 
out of the window and tried to peer     
through the darkness4 ,while ,i was     
doing so1 one of my old schoolmates1    
whom ,i had not seen for many years1    
tapped me on the shoulder1 and said3    
,de,witt1 ,i see you are looking out at 
the scenes of your boyhood4  ,oh1 yes1  
,i replied1 ,i was looking out at the   

old place where my mother lived and     
died4  ,i pass over the boyhood days and
 the country school4 ,the first real    
breath of life is in young manhood1     
when1 with the strength of the unknown1 
he dares to choose a career4 ,i first   
studied for the law1 at the ,new ,york  
,university4  ,new ,york in #ahej was a 
small place compared to the ,new ,york  
of to-day1 but it had all the           
effervescence and glitter of the entire 
country even then4 ,i shall never forget
 the excitement when on ,september #ast1
 #ahej1 ,jenny ,lind landed from the    
steamer ,atlantic4 ,not merely because  
of her reputation as a singer1 but      
because of her fame for generosity and  
kindness were the people aroused to     
welcome her4 ,the first #aj1jjj she     
earned in ,america she devoted to       
charity1 and in all the cities of       
,america she poured forth her           
benefactions4 ,castle ,garden was then  
the great concert hall of ,new ,york1   
and ,i shall never forget the night of  

her first appearance4 ,i was a college  
boy1 and ,jenny ,lind was the first     
great singer ,i ever heard4 ,there were 
certain cadences in her voice that      
overwhelmed the audience with emotion4  
,i remember a clergyman sitting near me 
who was so overcome that he was obliged 
to leave the auditorium4 ,the school of 
suffering and sorrow had done as much   
for her voice as the ,academy of        
,stockholm4  ,the woman who had her in  
charge when a child used to lock her in 
a room when she went off to the daily   
work4 ,there by the hour ,jenny would   
sit at the window1 her only amusement   
singing1 while she stroked her cat on   
her lap4 ,but sitting there by the      
window her voice fell on a listener in  
the street4 ,the listener called a music
 master to stand by the same window1 and
 he was fascinated and amazed1 and took 
the child to the director of the ,royal 
,opera1 asking for her the advantages of
 musical education1 and the director    
roughly said3 ,what shall we do with    

that ugly thing8 ,see what feet she has4
 ,and1 then1 her face2 she will never be
 presentable4 ,no1 we can't take her4   
,away with her6 ,but ,god had decreed   
for this child of nature a grand career1
 and all those sorrows were woven into  
her faculty of song4 ,she never could   
have been what she became1 royally      
arrayed on the platforms of ,berlin and 
,vienna and ,paris and ,london and ,new 
,york1 had she not first been the poor  
girl in the garret at ,stockholm4 ,she  
had been perfected through suffering4   
,that she was genuinely ,christian ,i   
prove not more from her charities than  
from these words which she wrote in an  
album during her triumphal ,american    
tour3      ,in vain ,i seek for rest    
,in all created good2     ,it leaves me 
still unblest       ,and makes me cry   
for ,god4     ,and safe at rest ,i      
cannot be       ,until my heart finds   
rest in ,thee4  ,there never was anyone 
who could equal ,jenny ,lind in the     
warble4 ,some said it was like a lark1  

but she surpassed the lark4 ,oh1 what a 
warble6 ,i hear it yet4 ,all who heard  
it thirty-five years ago are hearing it 
yet4  ,i should probably have been a    
lawyer1 except for the prayers of my    
mother and father that ,i should preach 
the ,gospel4 ,later1 ,i entered the ,new
 ,brunswick ,theological ,seminary4 ,why
 ,i ever thought of any other work in   
the world than that which ,i have done1 
is another mystery of my youth4         
,everything in my heredity and in my    
heart indicated my career as a preacher4
 ,and yet1 in the days of my infancy ,i 
was carried by ,christian parents to the
 house of ,god1 and consecrated in      
baptism to the ,father1 and the ,son1   
and the ,holy ,ghost2 but that did not  
save me4 ,in after time ,i was taught to
 kneel at the ,christian family altar   
with father and mother and brothers and 
sisters4 ,in after time ,i read         
,doddridge's ,rise and ,progress1 and   
,baxter's ,call to the ,unconverted1 and
 all the religious books around my      

father's household2 but that did not    
save me4 ,but one day the voice of      
,christ came into my heart saying1      
,repent1 repent2 believe1 believe1 and  
,i accepted the offer of mercy4  ,it    
happened this way3 ,truman ,osborne1 one
 of the evangelists who went through    
this country some years ago1 had a      
wonderful art in the right direction4   
,he came to my father's house one day1  
and while we were all seated in the     
room1 he said3 ,mr4 ,talmage1 are all   
your children ,christians8 ,father said3
 ,yes1 all but ,de ,witt4 ,then ,truman 
,osborne looked down into the fireplace1
 and began to tell a story of a storm   
that came on the mountains1 and all the 
sheep were in the fold2 but there was   
one lamb outside that perished in the   
storm4 ,had he looked me in the eye1 ,i 
should have been angered when he told me
 that story2 but he looked into the     
fireplace1 and it was so pathetically   
and beautifully done that ,i never found
 any peace until ,i was inside the fold1

 where the other sheep are4  ,when ,i   
was a lad a book came out entitled ,dow 
,junior's ,patent ,sermons2 it made a   
great stir1 a very wide laugh all over  
the country1 that book did4 ,it was a   
caricature of the ,christian ministry   
and of the ,word of ,god and of the ,day
 of ,judgment4 ,oh1 we had a great      
laugh6 ,the commentary on the whole     
thing is that the author of that book   
died in poverty1 shame1 debauchery1     
kicked out of society4  ,i have no doubt
 that derision kept many people out of  
the ark4 ,the world laughed to see a man
 go in1 and said1 ,here is a man        
starting for the ark4 ,why1 there will  
be no deluge4 ,if there is one1 that    
miserable ship will not weather it4     
,aha6 going into the ark6 ,well1 that is
 too good to keep4 ,here1 fellows1 have 
you heard the news8 ,this man is going  
into the ark4 ,under this artillery of  
scorn the man's good resolution         
perished4  ,i was the youngest of a     
large family of children4 ,my parents   

were neither rich nor poor2 four of the 
sons wanted collegiate education1 and   
four obtained it1 but not without great 
home-struggle4 ,the day ,i left our     
country home to look after myself we    
rode across the country1 and my father  
was driving4 ,he began to tell how good 
the ,lord had been to him1 in sickness  
and in health1 and when times of        
hardship came how ,providence had always
 provided the means of livelihood for   
the large household2 and he wound up by 
saying1 ,de ,witt1 ,i have always found 
it safe to trust the ,lord4 ,i have felt
 the mighty impetus of that lesson in   
the farm waggon4 ,it has been fulfilled 
in my own life and in the lives of many 
consecrated men and women ,i have known4
  ,in the minister's house where ,i     
prepared for college there worked a man 
by the name of ,peter ,croy4 ,he could  
neither read nor write1 but he was a man
 of ,god4 ,often theologians would stop 
in the house--grave theologians--and at 
family prayer ,peter ,croy would be     

called upon to lead2 and all those wise 
men sat around1 wonder-struck at his    
religious efficiency4  ,in the church at
 ,somerville1 ,new ,jersey1 where ,i was
 afterwards pastor1 ,john ,vredenburgh  
preached for a great many years4 ,he    
felt that his ministry was a failure1   
and others felt so1 although he was a   
faithful minister preaching the ,gospel 
all the time4 ,he died1 and died amid   
some discouragements1 and went home to  
,god2 for no one ever doubted that ,john
 ,vredenburgh was a good ,christian     
minister4 ,a little while after his     
death there came a great awakening in   
,somerville1 and one ,sabbath two       
hundred souls stood up at the ,christian
 altar espousing the cause of ,christ1  
among them my own father and mother4    
,and what was peculiar in regard to     
nearly all of those two hundred souls   
was that they dated their religious     
impressions from the ministry of ,john  
,vredenburgh4  ,i had no more confidence
 in my own powers when ,i was studying  

for the ministry than ,john             
,vredenburgh4 ,i was often very         
discouraged4 ,de,witt1 said a man to me 
as we were walking the fields at the    
time ,i was in the theological school1  
,de,witt1 if you don't change your style
 of thought and expression1 you will    
never get a call to any church in       
,christendom as long as you live4 ,well1
 ,i replied1 if ,i cannot preach the    
,gospel in ,america1 then ,i will go to 
heathen lands and preach it4 ,i thought 
,i might be useful on heathen ground1 if
 ,i could ever learn the language of the
 ,chinese1 about which ,i had many      
forebodings4 ,the foreign tongue became 
to me more and more an obstacle and a   
horror1 until ,i resolved if ,i could   
get an invitation to preach in the      
,english language1 ,i would accept it4  
,so one day1 finding ,rev4 ,dr4 ,van    
,vranken1 one of our theological        
professors 7blessed be his memory71     
sauntering in the campus of ,rutgers    
,college1 ,i asked him1 with much       

trepidation1 if he would by letter      
introduce me to some officer of the     
,reformed ,church at ,belleville1       
,n4,j41 the pulpit of which was then    
vacant4 ,with an outburst of heartiness 
he replied3 ,come right into my house1  
and ,i will give you the letter now4 ,it
 was a most generous introduction of me 
to ,dr4 ,samuel ,ward1 a venerable elder
 of the ,belleville church4 ,i sent the 
letter to the elder1 and within a week  
received an invitation to occupy the    
vacant pulpit4  ,i had been skirmishing 
here and there as a preacher1 now in the
 basement of churches at week-night     
religious meetings1 and now in          
school-houses on ,sunday afternoons1 and
 here and there in pulpits with brave   
pastors who dared risk having an        
inexperienced theological student preach
 to their people4  ,but the first sermon
 with any considerable responsibility   
resting upon it was the sermon preached 
as a candidate for a pastoral call in   
the ,reformed ,church at ,belleville1   

,n4,j4 ,i was about to graduate from the
 ,new ,brunswick ,theological ,seminary1
 and wanted a ,gospel field in which to 
work4 ,i had already written to my      
brother ,john1 a missionary at ,amoy1   
,china1 telling him that ,i expected to 
come out there4  ,i was met by ,dr4     
,ward at ,newark1 ,new ,jersey1 and     
taken to his house4 ,sabbath morning    
came4 ,with one of my two sermons1 which
 made up my entire stock of pulpit      
resources1 ,i tremblingly entered the   
pulpit of that brown stone village      
church1 which stands in my memory as one
 of the most sacred places of all the   
earth1 where ,i formed associations     
which ,i expect to resume in ,heaven4   
,the sermon was fully written1 and was  
on the weird battle between the         
,gideonites and ,midianites1 my text    
being in ,judges vii4 #bj1 #ba3 ,the    
three companies blew the trumpets1 and  
brake the pitchers1 and held the lamps  
in their left hands1 and the trumpets in
 their right hands to blow withal2 and  

they cried1 ,the sword of the ,lord1 and
 of ,gideon4 ,and they stood every man  
in his place round about the camp2 and  
all the host ran1 and cried1 and fled4  
,a brave text1 but a very timid man to  
handle it4 ,i did not feel at all that  
hour either like blowing ,gideon's      
trumpet1 or holding up the ,gospel lamp2
 but if ,i had1 like any of the         
,gideonites1 held a pitcher1 ,i think ,i
 would have dropped it and broken that  
lamp4 ,i felt as the moment approached  
for delivering my sermon more like the  
,midianites1 who1 according to my text1 
ran1 and cried1 and fled4 ,i had placed 
the manuscript of my sermon on the      
pulpit sofa beside where ,i sat4        
,looking around to put my hand on the   
manuscript1 lo6 it was gone4 ,but where 
had it gone8 ,my excitement knew no     
bound4 ,within three minutes of the     
greatest ordeal of my life1 and the     
sermon on which so much depended        
mysteriously vanished6 ,how much        
disquietude and catastrophe were crowded

 into those three minutes it would be   
impossible to depict4 ,then ,i noticed  
for the first time that between the     
upper and lower parts of the sofa there 
was an opening about the width of three 
finger-breadths1 and ,i immediately     
suspected that through that opening the 
manuscript of my sermon had disappeared4
 ,but how could ,i recover it1 and in so
 short a time8 ,i bent over and reached 
under as far as ,i could4 ,but the sofa 
was low1 and ,i could not touch the lost
 discourse4 ,the congregation were      
singing the last verse of the hymn1 and 
,i was reduced to a desperate effort4 ,i
 got down on my hands and knees1 and    
then down flat1 and crawled under the   
sofa and clutched the prize4            
,fortunately1 the pulpit front was wide1
 and hid the sprawling attitude ,i was  
compelled to take4 ,when ,i arose to    
preach a moment after1 the fugitive     
manuscript before me on the ,bible1 it  
is easy to understand why ,i felt more  
like the ,midianites than ,i did like   

,gideon4  ,this and other mishaps with  
manuscripts helped me after a while to  
strike for entire emancipation from such
 bondage1 and for about a quarter of a  
century ,i have preached without        
notes--only a sketch of the sermon      
pinned in my ,bible1 and that sketch    
seldom referred to4  ,when ,i entered   
the ministry ,i looked very pale for    
years1 for four or five years1 many     
times ,i was asked if ,i had            
consumption2 and1 passing through the   
room1 ,i would sometimes hear people    
sigh and say1 ,a-ah6 not long for this  
world6 ,i resolved in those times that  
,i never1 in any conversation1 would say
 anything depressing1 and by the help of
 ,god ,i have kept the resolution4  ,the
 day for my final examination for a     
licence to preach the ,gospel for       
ordination by the laying on of hands1   
and for installation as pastor for the  
,reformed ,church of ,belleville1       
,n4,j41 had arrived4 ,the examination as
 to my qualifications was to take place 

in the morning1 and if the way proved   
clear1 the ordination and installation  
were to be solemnised in the afternoon  
of the same day4 ,the embarrassing      
thought was that members of the         
congregation were to be present in the  
morning1 as well as the afternoon4 ,if  
,i made a mistake or failure under the  
severe scrutiny of the ,ecclesiastical  
,court1 ,i would ever after be at a     
great disadvantage in preaching to those
 good people4  ,it so happened1 however1
 that the ,classis1 as the body of      
clergy were called1 was made up mostly  
of genial1 consecrated persons1 and no  
honest young man would suffer anything  
at their hands4 ,although ,i was        
exceedingly nervous1 and did not do     
myself justice1 and no doubt appeared to
 know less than ,i really did know1 all 
went well until a clergyman1 to whom ,i 
shall give the fictitious name of ,dr4  
,hardman1 took me in hand4 ,this ,dr4   
,hardman had a dislike for me4 ,he had  
once wanted me to do something for him  

and take his advice in matters of a     
pastoral settlement1 which ,i had1 for  
good reasons1 declined to take4 ,i will 
not go further into the reasons of this 
man's antipathy1 lest someone should    
know whom ,i mean4 ,one thing was       
certain to all present1 and that was his
 wish to defeat my installation as      
pastor of that church1 or make it to me 
a disagreeable experience4  ,as soon as 
he opened upon me a fire of             
interrogations1 what little spirit ,i   
had in me dropped4 ,in the agitation ,i 
could not answer the simplest questions4
 ,but he assailed me with puzzlers4 ,he 
wanted to know1 among other things1 if  
,christ's atonement availed for other   
worlds2 to which ,i replied that ,i did 
not know1 as ,i had never studied       
theology in any world but this4 ,he     
hooked me with the horns of a dilemma4  
,a ,turkish bath1 with the thermometer  
up to #aac1 is cool compared to the     
perspiration into which he threw me4 ,at
 this point ,rev4 ,james ,w4 ,scott1    

,d4,d4 7that was his real name1 and not 
fictitious7 arose4 ,dr4 ,scott was a    
,scotchman of about #fe years of age4   
,he had been a classmate of the         
remarkable ,scottish poet1 ,robert      
,pollock4 ,the ,doctor was pastor of a  
church at ,newark1 ,n4,j4 ,he was the   
impersonation of kindness1 and          
generosity1 and helpfulness4 ,the       
,gospel shone from every feature4 ,i    
never saw him under any circumstances   
without a smile on his face4 ,he had    
been on the ,mount of ,transfiguration1 
and the glory had never left his        
countenance4  ,i calculate the value of 
the soul by its capacity for happiness4 
,how much joy it can get in this        
world--out of friendships1 out of books1
 out of clouds1 out of the sea1 out of  
flowers1 out of ten thousand things6    
,yet all the joy it has here does not   
test its capacity4  ,as ,dr4 ,scott rose
 that day he said1 ,mr4 ,president1 ,i  
think this examination has gone on long 
enough1 and ,i move it be stopped1 and  

that the examination be pronounced      
satisfactory1 and that this young man be
 licensed to preach the ,gospel1 and    
that this afternoon we proceed to his   
ordination and installation4 ,the motion
 was put and carried1 and ,i was        
released from a ,protestant purgatory4  
,but the work was not yet done4 ,by rule
 of that excellent denomination1 of     
which ,i was then a member1 the call of 
a church must be read and approved      
before it can be lawfully accepted4 ,the
 call from that dear old church at      
,belleville was read1 and in it ,i was  
provided with a month's summer vacation4
 ,dr4 ,hardman rose1 and said that he   
thought that a month was too long a     
vacation1 and he proposed two weeks4    
,then ,dr4 ,scott arose and said1 if any
 change were made he would have the     
vacation six weeks2 ,for1 said he1 that 
young man does not look very strong     
physically1 and ,i believe he should    
have a good long rest every summer4 ,but
 the call was left as it originally     

read1 promising me a month of           
recuperation each year4  ,at the close  
of that meeting of ,classis1 ,dr4 ,scott
 came up to me1 took my right hand in   
both his hands1 and said1 ,i            
congratulate you on the opportunity that
 opens here4 ,do your best1 and ,god    
will see you through2 and if some       
,saturday night you find yourself short 
of a sermon1 send down to ,newark1 only 
three miles1 and ,i will come up and    
preach for you4 ,can anyone imagine the 
difference of my appreciation of ,dr4   
,hardman and ,dr4 ,scott8  ,only a few  
weeks passed on1 and the crisis that    
,dr4 ,scott foresaw in my history       
occurred1 and ,saturday night saw me    
short of a sermon4 ,so ,i sent a        
messenger to ,dr4 ,scott4 ,he said to   
the messenger1 ,i am very tired2 have   
been holding a long series of special   
services in my church1 but that young   
,talmage must be helped1 and ,i will    
preach for him to-morrow night4 ,he     
arrived in time1 and preached a glowing 

and rousing sermon on the text1 ,have ye
 received the ,holy ,ghost8 ,as ,i sat  
behind him in the pulpit and looked upon
 him ,i thought1 ,what a magnificent    
soul you are6 ,tired out with your own  
work1 and yet come up here to help a    
young man to whom you are under no      
obligation6 ,well1 that was the last    
sermon he ever preached4 ,the very next 
,saturday he dropped dead in his house4 
,outside of his own family no one was   
more broken-hearted at his obsequies    
than myself1 to whom he had1 until the  
meeting of ,classis1 been a total       
stranger4  ,i stood at his funeral in   
the crowd beside a poor woman with a    
faded shawl and worn-out hat1 who was   
struggling up to get one look at the    
dear old face in the coffin4 ,she was   
being crowded back4 ,i said1 ,follow me1
 and you shall see him4 ,so ,i pushed   
the way up for her as well as myself1   
and when we got up to the silent form   
she burst out crying1 and said1 ,that is
 the last friend ,i had in the world4   

,dr4 ,hardman lived on4 ,he lived to    
write a letter when ,i was called to    
,syracuse1 ,n4,y41 a letter telling a   
prominent officer of the ,syracuse      
,church that ,i would never do at all   
for their pastor4 ,he lived on until ,i 
was called to ,philadelphia1 and wrote a
 letter to a prominent officer in the   
,philadelphia ,church telling them not  
to call me4 ,years ago he went to his   
rest4 ,but the two men will always stand
 in my memory as opposites in character4
 ,the one taught me a lesson never to be
 forgotten about how to treat a young   
man1 and the other a lesson about how   
not to treat a young man4 ,dr4 ,scott   
and ,dr4 ,hardman1 the antipodes6  ,so  
my first settlement as pastor was in the
 village of ,belleville1 ,n4,j4 ,my     
salary was eight hundred dollars and a  
parsonage4 ,the amount seemed enormous  
to me4 ,i said to myself3 ,what6 all    
this for one year8 ,i was afraid of     
getting worldly under so much           
prosperity6 ,i resolved to invite all   

the congregation to my house in groups  
of twenty-five each4 ,we ,a began1 and  
as they were the best congregation in   
all the world1 and we felt nothing was  
too good for them1 we piled all the     
luxuries on the table4 ,i never         
completed the undertaking4 ,at the end  
of six months ,i was in financial       
despair4 ,i found that we not only had  
not the surplus of luxuries1 but we had 
a struggle to get the necessaries4      
,a ,while at ,belleville ,dr4 ,talmage  
married ,miss ,mary          ,avery1 of 
,brooklyn1 ,n4,y41 by whom he had two   
children--a          son1 ,thomas ,de   
,witt1 and a daughter1 ,jessie4 ,mrs4   
,talmage          was accidentally      
drowned in the ,schuylkill ,river while 
,dr4          ,talmage was pastor of the
 ,second ,reformed ,church of           
,philadelphia4  ,although the first call
 ,i ever had was to ,piermont1 ,n4,y41  
my first real work began in the         
,reformed ,church of ,belleville1 ,n4,j4
 ,i preached at ,piermont in the        

morning1 and at the ,congregational     
meeting held in the afternoon of the    
same day it was resolved to invite me to
 become pastor4 ,but for the very high  
hill on which the parsonage was situated
 ,i should probably have accepted4 ,i   
was delighted with the congregation1 and
 with the grand scenery of that region4 
,i was ordained to the ,gospel ,ministry
 and installed as pastor ,july #bith1   
#ahef1 my brother ,goyn preaching the   
sermon from the text1 ,first            
,corinthians iii4 #ab1 #ac4 ,reverend   
,dr4 ,benjamin ,c4 ,taylor1 the oldest  
minister present1 offered the ordaining 
prayer1 and about twenty hands were laid
 upon my head4 ,all these facts are     
obtained from a memorandum made by a    
hand that long since forgot its cunning 
and kindness4 ,the three years passed in
 ,belleville were years of hard work4   
,the hardest work in a clergyman's      
lifetime is during the first three      
years4 ,no other occupation or          
profession puts such strain upon one's  

nerves and brain4 ,two sermons and a    
lecture per week are an appalling demand
 to make upon a young man4 ,most of the 
ministers never get over that first     
three years4 ,they leave upon one's     
digestion or nervous system a mark that 
nothing but death can remove4 ,it is not
 only the amount of mental product      
required of a young minister1 but the   
draft upon his sympathies and the       
novelty of all that he undertakes2 his  
first sermon2 his first baptism2 his    
first communion season2 his first       
pastoral visitation2 his first wedding2 
his first funeral4  ,my first baptism   
was of ,lily ,webster1 a black-eyed     
baby1 who grew up to be as beautiful a  
woman as she was a child4  ,i baptised  
her4 ,rev4 ,dr4 ,john ,dowling1 of the  
,baptist ,church1 ,new ,york1 preached  
for me and my church his great sermon   
on1 ,i saw a great multitude which no   
man could number1 of all nations1 and   
kindreds1 and people1 and tongues1      
clothed in white robes4 ,in my verdancy 

,i feared that the ,doctor1 who did not 
believe in the baptism of infants1 might
 take it for a personal affront that ,i 
had chosen that evening for this my     
first baptism4  ,illustration3 ,,dr4    
,,talmage ,,in ,,his ,,first ,,church1  
,,belleville1 ,,new ,,jersey4           
,sometimes at the baptism of children1  
while ,i have held up one hand in       
prayer1 ,i have held up the other in    
amazement that the parents should have  
weighted the babe with such a dissonant 
and repulsive nomenclature4 ,i have not 
so much wondered that some children     
should cry out at the ,christening font1
 as that others with such smiling faces 
should take a title that will be the    
burden of their lifetime4 ,it is no     
excuse because they are ,scriptural     
names to call a child ,jehoiakim1 or    
,tiglath ,pileser4 ,i baptised one by   
the name of ,bathsheba4 ,why1 under all 
the circumambient heaven1 any parent    
should want to give a child the name of 
that loose creature of ,scripture times1

 ,i cannot imagine4 ,i have often felt  
at the baptismal altar when names were  
announced somewhat like saying1 as did  
the ,rev4 ,dr4 ,richards1 of            
,morristown1 ,new ,jersey1 when a child 
was handed to him for baptism1 and the  
names given1 ,hadn't you better call it 
something else8  ,on this occasion ,i   
had adopted the theory1 which ,i long   
since abandoned1 that an officiating    
clergyman at baptism should take the    
child in his arms4 ,now1 there are many 
ministers who do not know how to hold a 
baby1 and they frighten the child and   
increase the anxiety of the mother1 and 
may create a riot all along the line if 
there be other infants waiting for the  
ceremony4  ,after reading the somewhat  
prolonged liturgy of the dear old       
,reformed ,church1 ,i came down from the
 pulpit and took the child in my arms4  
,she was1 however1 far more composed    
than myself1 and made no resistance2 but
 the overpowering sensation attached to 
the first application of the holy chrism

 is a vivid and everlasting memory4     
,then1 the first pastoral visitation6   
,with me it was at the house of a man   
suffering from dropsy in the leg4 ,he   
unbandaged the limb and insisted upon my
 looking at the fearful malady4 ,i never
 could with any composure look at pain1 
and the last profession in all the world
 suited to me would have been surgery4  
,after praying with the man and offering
 him ,scriptural condolence1 ,i started 
for home4  ,my wife met me with anxious 
countenance1 and said1 ,how did you get 
hurt1 and what is the matter8 ,the sight
 of the lame leg had made my leg lame1  
and unconsciously ,i was limping on the 
way home4  ,but ,i had quite another    
experience with a parishioner4 ,he was a
 queer man1 and in bad odour in the     
community4 ,some time previously his    
wife had died1 and although a man of    
plenty of means1 in order to economise  
on funeral expenses1 he had wheeled his 
wife to the grave on a wheelbarrow4     
,this economy of his had not led the    

village to any higher appreciation of   
the man's character4 ,having been told  
of his inexpensive eccentricities1 ,i   
was ready for him when one morning he   
called at the parsonage4 ,as he entered 
he began by saying3 ,i came in to say   
that ,i don't like you4 ,well1 ,i said1 
that is a strange coincidence1 for ,i   
cannot bear the sight of you4 ,i hear   
that you are the meanest man in town1   
and that your neighbours despise you4 ,i
 hear that you wheeled your wife on a   
wheelbarrow to the graveyard4 ,to say   
the least1 our conversation that day was
 unique and spirited1 and it led to his 
becoming a most ardent friend and       
admirer4 ,i have had multitudes of      
friends1 but ,i have found in my own    
experience that ,god so arranged it that
 the greatest opportunities of          
usefulness that have been opened before 
me were opened by enemies4 ,and when1   
years ago1 they conspired against me1   
their assault opened all ,christendom to
 me as a field in which to preach the   

,gospel4 ,so you may harness your       
antagonists to your best interests and  
compel them to draw you on to better    
work4 ,he allowed me to officiate at his
 second marriage1 did this mine enemy4  
,all the town was awake that night4     
,they had somehow heard that this       
economist at obsequies was to be        
remarried4 ,well1 ,i was inside his     
house trying1 under adverse             
circumstances1 to make the twain one    
flesh4 ,there were outside              
demonstrations most extraordinary1 and  
all in consideration of what the        
bridegroom had been to that community4  
,horns1 trumpets1 accordions1 fiddles1  
fire-crackers1 tin pans1 howls1         
screeches1 huzzas1 halloos1 missiles    
striking the front door1 and bedlam let 
loose6 ,matters grew worse as the night 
advanced1 until the town authorities    
read the ,riot ,act1 and caused the only
 cannon belonging to the village to be  
hauled out on the street and loaded1    
threatening death to the mob if they did

 not disperse4 ,glad am ,i to say that  
it was only a farce1 and no tragedy4 ,my
 mode of first meeting this queer man   
was a case in which it is best to fight 
fire with fire4 ,i remember also the    
first funeral4 ,it nearly killed me4 ,a 
splendid young man skating on the       
,passaic ,river in front of my house had
 broken through the ice1 and his body   
after many hours had been grappled from 
the water and taken home to his         
distracted parents4 ,to be the chief    
consoler in such a calamity was         
something for which ,i felt completely  
incompetent4 ,when in the old but       
beautiful church the silent form of the 
young man whom we all loved rested      
beneath the pulpit1 it was a pull upon  
my emotions ,i shall never forget4 ,on  
the way to the grave1 in the same       
carriage with the eminent ,reverend ,dr4
 ,fish1 who helped in the services1 ,i  
said1 ,this is awful4 ,one more funeral 
like this will be the end of us4 ,he    
replied1 ,you will learn after awhile to

 be calm under such circumstances4 ,you 
cannot console others unless you        
preserve your own equipoise4  ,those    
years at ,belleville were to me         
memorable4 ,no vacation1 but three times
 a day ,i took a row on the river4      
,those old families in my congregation  
,i can never forget--the ,van           
,rensselaers1 the ,stevenses1 the       
,wards4 ,these families took us under   
their wing4 ,at ,mr4 ,van ,rensselaer's 
we dined every ,monday4 ,it had been the
 habit of my predecessors in the pulpit4
 ,grand old family6 ,their name not more
 a synonym for wealth than for piety4   
,mrs4 ,van ,rensselaer was one of the   
saints clear up in the heaven of one's  
appreciation4  ,wm4 ,stevens was an     
embodiment of generosity4 ,he could not 
pray in public1 or make a speech2 but he
 could give money1 and when he had      
plenty of it he gave in large sums1 and 
when monetary disaster came1 his grief  
was that he had nothing to give4 ,i saw 
him go right through all the            

perturbations of business life4 ,he was 
faithful to ,god4 ,i saw him one day    
worth hundreds of thousands of dollars4 
,i saw him the next day and he was not  
worth a farthing4 ,stevens6 ,how plainly
 he comes before me as ,i think of the  
night in #aheg after the ,new ,york     
banks had gone down1 and he had lost    
everything except his faith in ,god1 and
 he was at the prayer meeting to lead   
the singing as usual6 ,and1 not noticing
 that from the fatigues of that awful   
financial panic he had fallen asleep1 ,i
 arose and gave out the hymn1 ,my drowsy
 powers1 why sleep ye so8 ,his wife     
wakened him1 and he started the hymn at 
too high a pitch1 and stopped1 saying1  
,that is too high2 then started it at   
too low a pitch1 and stopped1 saying1   
,that is too low4 ,it is the only       
mistake ,i ever heard him make4 ,but the
 only wonder is that amid the           
circumstances of broken fortunes he     
could sing at all4  ,dr4 ,samuel ,ward6 
,he was the angel of health for the     

neighbourhood4 ,before anyone else was  
up any morning1 passing along his house 
you would see him in his office reading4
 ,he presided at the first nativity in  
my household4 ,he it was that met me at 
the railroad station when ,i went to    
preach my first sermon as candidate1 at 
,belleville4 ,he medicated for many     
years nearly all the wounds for body and
 mind in that region4 ,an elder in the  
,church1 he could administer to the soul
 as well as to the perishable nature of 
his patients4  ,and the ,duncans6 ,broad
 ,scotch as they were in speech6 ,i was 
so much with them that ,i got           
unconsciously some of the ,scottish     
brogue in my own utterance4 ,william1   
cautious and prudent2 ,john1 bold and   
venturesome--both so high in my         
affections6 ,among the first ones that  
,i ask for in ,heaven will be ,john and 
,william ,duncan4  ,gasherie ,de ,witt6 
,he embodied a large part of the        
enterprise and enthusiasm of the place4 
,he had his head full of railroads long 

before the first spike was driven for an
 iron pathway to the village4 ,we were  
much together and ardently attached2    
went fishing together on long summer    
days1 he catching the fish1 and ,i      
watching the process4 ,when we dedicated
 the first ,brooklyn ,tabernacle1 he was
 present1 and gave the money for        
building a baptistry in the pulpit1 and 
gave besides #ajj for his wife and each 
one of his children4 ,when we parted    
from each other at ,oxford1 ,england1 he
 to go to ,geneva1 ,switzerland1 to die1
 and ,i to come back to ,america1 much  
of sweet acquaintanceship and complete  
confidence ended for this world1 only to
 be taken up under celestial auspices4  
,but time and space would fail to tell  
of the noble men and women that stood   
around me in those early years of my    
ministry4 ,they are all gone1 and their 
personality makes up a large part of my 
anticipation of the world to come4      
,,the ,,third ,,milestone  #ahef-ahfb   
,my first sermons were to me the most   

tremendous endeavours of my life1       
because ,i felt the awful responsibility
 of standing in a pulpit1 knowing that a
 great many people would be influenced  
by what ,i said concerning ,god1 or the 
soul1 or the great future4  ,when ,i    
first began to preach1 ,i was very      
cautious lest ,i should be              
misrepresented1 and guarded the subject 
on all sides4 ,i got beyond that point4 
,i found that ,i got on better when1    
without regard to consequences1 ,i threw
 myself upon the hearts and consciences 
of my hearers4  ,in those early days of 
my pastoral experience ,i saw how men   
reason themselves into scepticism4 ,i   
knew what it was to have a hundred      
nights poured into one hour4  ,i        
remember one infidel book in the        
possession of my student companion4 ,he 
said1 ,de,witt1 would you like to read  
that book8 ,well1 said ,i1 ,i would like
 to look at it4 ,i read it a little     
while4 ,i said to him1 ,i dare not read 
that book2 you had better destroy it4 ,i

 give you my advice1 you had better     
destroy it4 ,i dare not read that book4 
,i have read enough of it4 ,oh1 he said1
 haven't you a stronger mind than that8 
,can't you read a book you don't exactly
 believe1 and not be affected by it8 ,i 
said1 ,you had better destroy it4 ,he   
kept it4 ,he read it until he gave up   
the ,bible2 his belief in the existence 
of a ,god1 his good morals2 until body1 
mind and soul were ruined--and he went  
into the insane asylum4 ,i read too much
 of it4 ,i read about fifteen or twenty 
pages of it4 ,i wish ,i had never read  
it4 ,it never did me any good2 it did me
 harm4 ,i have often struggled with what
 ,i read in that book4 ,i rejected it1  
,i denounced it1 ,i cast it out with    
infinite scorn1 ,i hated it2 yet        
sometimes its caricature of good and its
 eulogium of evil have troubled me4     
,with supreme gratitude1 therefore1 ,i  
remember the wonderful impression made  
upon me1 when ,i was a young man1 of the
 presence of a consecrated human being  

in the pulpit4  ,it was a ,sabbath      
evening in spring at ,the ,trinity      
,methodist ,church1 ,jersey ,city4 ,rev4
 ,william ,p4 ,corbit1 the pastor of    
that church1 in compliment to my        
relatives1 who attended upon his        
services1 invited me to preach for him4 
,i had only a few months before entered 
the ,gospel ministry1 and had come in   
from my village settlement to occupy a  
place in the pulpit of the great        
,methodist orator4 ,in much trepidation 
on my part ,i entered the church with   
,mr4 ,corbit1 and sat trembling in the  
corner of the sacred desk1 waiting for  
the moment to begin the service4 ,a     
crowded audience had assembled to hear  
the pastor of that church preach1 and   
the disappointment ,i was about to      
create added to my embarrassment4  ,the 
service opened1 and the time came to    
offer the prayer before sermon4 ,i      
turned to ,mr4 ,corbit and said1 ,i wish
 you would lead in prayer4 ,he replied1 
,no6 sharpen your own knife6 ,the whole 

occasion was to me memorable for its    
agitations4 ,but there began an         
acquaintanceship that became more and   
more endearing and ardent as the years  
went by4 ,after he ceased1 through the  
coming on of the infirmities of age1 to 
occupy a pulpit of his own1 he          
frequented my church on the ,sabbaths1  
and our prayer-meetings during the week4
 ,he was the most powerful exhorter ,i  
ever heard4 ,whatever might be the      
intensity of interest in a revival      
service1 he would in a ten minute       
address augment it4 ,i never heard him  
deliver a sermon except on two          
occasions1 and those during my boyhood2 
but they made lasting impressions upon  
me4 ,i do not remember the texts or the 
ideas1 but they demonstrated the        
tremendous reality of spiritual and     
eternal things1 and showed possibilities
 in religious address that ,i had never 
known or imagined4  ,he was so unique in
 manners1 in pulpit oratory1 and in the 
entire type of his nature1 that no one  

will ever be able to describe what he   
was4 ,those who saw and heard him the   
last ten or fifteen years of his        
decadence can have no idea of his former
 power as a preacher of the ,gospel4    
,there he is1 as ,i first saw him6 ,eye 
like a hawk's4 ,hair long and straight  
as a ,chippewa ,indian's4 ,he was not   
straight as an arrow1 for that suggests 
something too fragile and short1 but    
more like a column--not only straight1  
but tall and majestic1 and capable of   
holding any weight1 and without fatigue 
or exertion4 ,when he put his foot down1
 either literally of figuratively1 it   
was down4 ,vacillation1 or fear1 or     
incertitude1 or indecision1 were        
strangers to whom he would never be     
introduced4 ,when he entered a room you 
were1 to use a ,new ,testament phrase1  
exceedingly filled with his company4    
,he was as affectionate as a woman to   
those whom he liked1 and cold as        
,greenland to those whose principles    
were an affront4 ,he was not only a     

mighty speaker1 but a mighty listener4  
,i do not know how any man could speak  
upon any important theme1 standing in   
his presence1 without being set on fire 
by his alert sympathy4  ,but he has     
vanished from mortal sight4 ,what the   
resurrection will do for him ,i cannot  
say4 ,if those who have only ordinary   
stature and unimpressive physique in    
this world are at the last to have      
bodies resplendent and of supernal      
potency1 what will the unusual          
corporiety of ,william ,p4 ,corbit      
become8 ,in his case the resurrection   
will have unusual material to start     
with4 ,if a sculptor can mould a        
handsome form out of clay1 what can he  
not put out of ,parian marble8 ,if the  
blast of the trumpet which wakes the    
dead rouses life-long invalidism and    
emaciation into athletic celestialism1  
what will be the transfiguration when   
the sound of final reanimation touches  
the ear of those sleeping giants among  
the trees and fountains of ,greenwood8  

,good-bye1 great and good and splendid  
soul6 ,good-bye1 till we meet again6 ,i 
will look around for you as soon as ,i  
come1 if through the pardoning grace of 
,christ ,i am so happy as to reach the  
place of your destination4 ,meet me at  
the gate of the city2 or under the tree 
of life on the bank of the river2 or    
just inside of the door of the ,house of
 ,many ,mansions2 or in the hall of the 
,temple which has no need of stellar or 
lunar or solar illumination1 ,for the   
,lamb is the ,light thereof4  ,after    
three years of grace and happiness at   
,belleville ,i accepted a call to a     
church in ,syracuse4 ,my pastorate      
there1 in the very midst of its most    
uplifting crisis1 was interrupted1 as ,i
 believe1 by ,divine orders4 ,the ordeal
 of deciding anything important in my   
life has always been a desperate period 
of anxiety4 ,i never have really decided
 for myself4 ,god has told me what to   
do4 ,the first great crisis of this sort
 came to me in ,syracuse4 ,while living 

there ,i received a pastoral call from  
the ,second ,reformed ,church of        
,philadelphia4 ,six weeks of agony      
followed4  ,i was about #cj years of    
age4 ,the thick shock of hair with which
 ,i had been supplied1 in those six     
weeks was thinned out to its present    
scarcity4 ,my church in ,syracuse was   
made up of as delightful people as ever 
came together2 but ,i felt that the     
climate of ,philadelphia would be better
 adapted to my health1 and so ,i was    
very anxious to go4 ,but a recent       
revival in my ,syracuse ,church1 and a  
movement at that time on foot for       
extensive repairs of our building1 made 
the question of my leaving for another  
pastorate very doubtful4 ,six weeks of  
sleeplessness followed4 ,every morning  
,i combed out handfuls of hair as the   
result of the nervous agitation4 ,then  
,i decided to stay1 and never expected  
to leave those kind parishioners of     
,syracuse4  ,a year afterward the call  
from ,philadelphia was repeated1 and all

 the circumstances having changed1 ,i   
went4 ,but ,i learned1 during those six 
weeks of uncertainty about going from   
,syracuse to ,philadelphia1 a lesson ,i 
shall never forget1 and a lesson that   
might be useful to others in like       
crisis3 namely1 that it is one's duty to
 stay where you are until ,god makes it 
evident that you should move4  ,in all  
my life ,i never had one streak of good 
luck4 ,but ,i have had a good ,god      
watching and guiding me4  ,while ,i was 
living in ,syracuse ,i delivered my     
first lecture4 ,it was a literary       
lecture4 ,my ideas of a literary lecture
 are very much changed from what they   
used to be4 ,i used to think that a     
lecture ought to be something very      
profound4 ,i began with three or four   
lectures of that kind in stock4 ,my     
first lecture audience was in a patient 
community of the town of ,hudson1 ,n4,y4
 ,all my addresses previously had been  
literary4 ,i had made speeches on       
literature and patriotism1 and sometimes

 filled the gaps when in lecture courses
 speakers announced failed to arrive4   
,but the first paid lecture was at      
,hudson4 ,the fifty dollars which ,i    
received for it seemed immense4 ,indeed 
it was the extreme price paid anyone in 
those days4 ,it was some years later in 
life that ,i got into the lecturing     
field4 ,it was always1 however1         
subordinate to my chief work of         
preaching the ,gospel4  ,syracuse in    
#ahei was the ,west4 ,i felt there all  
the influences that are now western4    
,now there is no ,west left4 ,they have 
chased it into the ,pacific ,ocean4  ,in
 #ahfb ,i accepted a call to the ,second
 ,reformed ,church of ,philadelphia4    
,what remembrances come to me1 looking  
backward to this period of our terrific 
national carnalism6 ,i shall never      
forget the first time ,i ever saw       
,abraham ,lincoln4 ,we followed into his
 room1 at the ,white ,house1 a committee
 that had come to ,washington to tell   
the ,president how to conduct the war4  

,the saddest-looking man ,i ever saw was
 ,abraham ,lincoln4 ,he had a far-away  
look while he stood listening to an     
address being made to him by one of the 
committee1 as though beyond and far and 
wide he could see the battlefields and  
hospitals and conflagrations of national
 bereavement4 ,one of our party asked   
for his autograph2 he cheerfully gave   
it1 asking1 ,is that all ,i can do for  
you8 ,he was at that time the most      
abused man in ,america4  ,i remember the
 alarm in ,philadelphia when ,general   
,lee's army invaded ,pennsylvania4      
,merchants sent their goods quietly to  
,new ,york4 ,residents hid their        
valuables4 ,a request for arms was made 
at the arsenals1 and military companies 
were organised4 ,preachers appealed to  
the men in their congregations1         
organised companies1 engaged a drill    
sergeant1 and carried on daily drills in
 the yards adjoining their churches4    
,in the regiment ,i joined for a short  
time there were many clergymen4 ,it was 

the most awkward squad of men ever got  
together4 ,we drilled a week or two1 and
 then disbanded4 ,whether ,general ,lee 
heard of the formation of our regiment  
or not ,i cannot say1 but he immediately
 retreated across the ,potomac4  ,there 
were in ,philadelphia and its vicinity  
many camps of prisoners of war1         
hospitals for the sick and wounded4     
,waggon trains of supplies for the      
soldiers were constantly passing through
 the streets4 ,i was privileged to be of
 some service in the field to the       
,christian ,commission4 ,with ,dr4      
,brainerd and ,samuel ,b4 ,falls ,i     
often performed some duty at the ,cooper
 shop2 while with ,george ,h4 ,stuart   
and ,george ,t4 ,merigens ,i invited    
other cities to make appeals for money  
to forward the great work of the        
,secretary and ,christian ,commissions4 
,in our churches we were constantly busy
 getting up entertainments and fairs to 
help those rendered destitute by the    
loss of fathers and brothers in the     

field4  ,just before the battle of      
,gettysburg a long procession of        
clergymen1 headed by ,dr4 ,brainerd1    
marched to ,fairmount ,park with spades 
over their shoulders to throw up        
entrenchments4 ,the victory of the      
,federal troops at ,vicksburg and       
,gettysburg rendered those earthworks   
unnecessary4  ,a distinguished gentleman
 of the ,civil ,war told me that        
,abraham ,lincoln proposed to avoid our 
civil conflict by purchasing the slaves 
of the ,south and setting them free4 ,he
 calculated what would be a reasonable  
price for them1 and when the number of  
millions of dollars that would be       
required for such a purpose was         
announced the proposition was scouted1  
and the ,north would not have made the  
offer1 and the ,south would not have    
accepted it1 if made4  ,but1 said my    
military friend1 the war went on1 and   
just the number of million dollars that 
,mr4 ,lincoln calculated would have been
 enough to make a reasonable purchase of

 all the slaves were spent in war1      
besides all the precious lives that were
 hurled away in #bej battles4  ,there   
ought to be some other way for men to   
settle their controversies without      
wholesale butchering4  ,it was due      
partly to the national gloom that       
overspread the people during the ,civil 
,war that ,i took to the lecture        
platform actively4 ,i entered fully into
 the lecturing field when ,i went to    
,philadelphia1 where ,de,witt ,moore1   
officer in my church and a most intimate
 friend1 asked me to lecture for the    
benefit of a ,ball ,club to which he    
belonged4 ,that lecture in a hall in    
,locust ,street1 ,philadelphia1 opened  
the way for more than ,i could do as    
lecturer4  ,i have always made such     
engagements subordinate to my chief work
 of preaching the ,gospel4 ,excepting   
two long journeys a year1 causing each  
an absence of two ,sundays1 ,i have     
taken no lecturing engagements1 except  
one a week1 generally ,thursdays4       

,lecturing has saved my life and        
prolonged my work4 ,it has taken me from
 an ever-ringing door-bell1 and         
freshened me for work1 railroad         
travelling being to me a recuperation4  
,i have lectured in nearly all the      
cities of the ,united ,states1 ,canada1 
,england1 ,ireland and ,scotland1 and in
 most of them many times4 ,the prices   
paid me have seemed too large1 but my   
arrangements have generally been made   
through bureaus1 and almost invariably  
local committees have cleared money4    
,the lecture platform seemed to me to   
offer greater opportunity for           
usefulness4 ,things that could not be   
said in the pulpit1 but which ought to  
be said1 may be said on the lyceum      
platform4 ,and there was so much that   
had to be said then1 to encourage1 to   
cheer1 to brighten1 to illumine the     
sorrow and bereavement4 ,from the first 
,i regarded my lecture tours as an annex
 to my church4 ,the lecture platform has
 been to me a pastoral visitation4 ,it  

has given me an opportunity of meeting  
hundreds of thousands of people to whom1
 through the press1 ,i have for many    
years administered the ,gospel4  ,people
 have often asked me how much money ,i  
received for my lectures4 ,the amounts  
have been a great surprise to me1 often4
  ,for many years ,i have been paid from
 #djj to #a1jjj a lecture4 ,the longer  
the journey the bigger the fee usually4 
,the average remuneration was about #ejj
 a night4 ,in ,cleveland and in         
,cincinnati ,i received #gej4 ,in       
,chicago1 #a1jjj4 ,later ,i was offered 
#f1jjj for six lectures in ,chicago1 to 
be delivered one a month1 during the    
,world's ,fair1 but ,i declined them4   
,my expenses in many directions have    
been enormous1 and without a large      
income for lectures ,i could not have   
done many things which ,i felt it       
important to do4 ,i have always been    
under obligation to the press4          
,sometimes it has not intended to help  
me1 but it has1 being hard pressed for  

news4  ,during the ,civil ,war1 when    
news was sufficiently exciting for the  
most ambitious journalist1 they used to 
come to my church for a copy of my      
,sermons4 ,news in those days was pretty
 accurate1 but it sometimes went wrong4 
,on a ,sabbath night1 at the close of a 
preaching service in ,philadelphia1 a   
reporter of one of the prominent        
newspapers came into my study adjoining 
the pulpit and asked of me a sketch of  
the sermon just delivered1 as he had    
been sent to take it1 but had been      
unavoidably detained4 ,his mind did not 
seem to be very clear1 but ,i dictated  
to him about a column of my sermon4 ,he 
had during the afternoon or evening been
 attending a meeting of the ,christian  
,commission for raising funds for the   
hospitals1 and ex-,governor ,pollock had
 been making a speech4 ,the reporter had
 that speech of the ex-,governor of     
,pennsylvania in his hand1 and had the  
sketch of my sermon in the same bundle  
of reportorial notes4 ,he opened the    

door to depart and said1 ,good evening1 
and ,i responded1 ,good evening4 ,the   
way out from my study to the street was 
through a dark alley across which a pump
 handle projected to an unreasonable    
extent4 ,look out for that pump handle1 
,i said1 or you may get hurt4 ,but the  
warning did not come soon enough4 ,i    
heard the collision and then a hard     
fall1 and a rustle of papers1 and a     
scramble1 and then some words of        
objurgation at the sudden overthrow4    
,there was no portable light that ,i    
could take to his assistance4 ,beside   
that1 ,i was as much upset with cruel   
laughter as the reporter had been by the
 pump handle4 ,in this state of         
helplessness ,i shut the door4 ,but the 
next morning newspaper proved how utter 
had been the discomfiture and           
demoralisation of my journalistic       
friend4 ,he put my sermon under the name
 of ex-,governor ,pollock at the meeting
 of the ,christian ,commission1 and he  
made my discourse begin with the words1 

,when ,i was ,governor of ,pennsylvania4
  ,never since ,john ,gutenberg invented
 the art of printing was there such a   
riot of types or such mixing up of      
occasions4 ,philadelphia went into a    
brown study as to what it all meant1 and
 the more the people read of            
ex-,governor ,pollock's speech and of my
 sermon of the night before1 the more   
they were stunned by the stroke of that 
pump handle4  ,but it was soon          
forgotten--everything is4 ,the memory of
 man is poor4 ,all the talk about the   
country never forgetting those who      
fought for it is an untruth4 ,it does   
forget4 ,picture how veterans of the war
 sometimes had to turn the hand-organs  
on the streets of ,philadelphia to get a
 living for their families6 ,how        
ruthlessly many of them have been turned
 out of office that some bloat of a     
politician might take their place6 ,the 
fact is1 there is not a man or woman    
under thirty years of age1 who1 born    
before the war1 has any full            

appreciation of the four years martyrdom
 of #ahfa to #ahfe1 inclusive4 ,i can   
scarcely remember1 and yet ,i still feel
 the pressure of domestic calamity that 
overshadowed the nation then4  ,since   
things have been hardened1 as was the   
guardsman in the ,crimean ,war who      
heartlessly wrote home to his mother3 ,i
 do not want to see any more crying     
letters come to the ,crimea from you4   
,those ,i have received ,i have put into
 my rifle1 after loading it1 and have   
fired them at the ,russians1 because you
 appear to have a strong dislike of     
them4 ,if you had seen as many killed as
 ,i have you would not have as many weak
 ideas as you now have4  ,after the ,war
 came a period of great national        
rejoicing4 ,i shall never forget1 in the
 summer of #ahfi1 a great national peace
 jubilee was held in ,boston1 and       
,de,witt ,moore1 an elder of my church1 
had been honoured by the selection of   
some of his music to be rendered on that
 occasion4 ,i accompanied him to the    

jubilee4 ,forty thousand people sat and 
stood in the great ,colosseum erected   
for that purpose4 ,thousands of wind and
 stringed instruments2 twelve thousand  
trained voices6 ,the masterpieces of all
 ages rendered1 hour after hour1 and day
 after day--,handel's ,judas            
,maccabaeus1 ,spohr's ,last ,judgment1  
,beethoven's ,mount of ,olives1 ,haydn's
 ,creation1 ,mendelssohn's ,elijah1     
,meyerbeer's ,coronation ,march1 rolling
 on and up in surges that billowed      
against the heavens6 ,the mighty        
cadences within were accompanied on the 
outside by the ringing of the bells of  
the city1 and cannon on the common1 in  
exact time with the music1 discharged by
 electricity1 thundering their awful    
bars of a harmony that astounded all    
nations4 ,sometimes ,i bowed my head and
 wept4 ,sometimes ,i stood up in the    
enchantment1 and sometimes the effect   
was so overpowering ,i felt ,i could not
 endure it4  ,when all the voices were  
in full chorus1 and all the batons in   

full wave1 and all the orchestra in full
 triumph1 and a hundred anvils under    
mighty hammers were in full clang1 and  
all the towers of the city rolled in    
their majestic sweetness1 and the whole 
building quaked with the boom of thirty 
cannon1 ,parepa ,rosa1 with a voice that
 will never again be equalled on earth  
until the archangelic voice proclaims   
that time shall be no longer1 rose above
 all other sounds in her rendering of   
our national air1 the ,star ,spangled   
,banner4 ,it was too much for a mortal1 
and quite enough for an immortal1 to    
hear3 and while some fainted1 one       
womanly spirit1 released under its      
power1 sped away to be with ,god4 ,it   
was a marvel of human emotion in        
patriotic frenzy4  ,immediately         
following the ,civil ,war there was a   
great wave of intemperance1 and bribery 
swept over our land4 ,the temptation to 
intemperance in public places grew more 
and more terrific4 ,of the men who were 
prominent in political circles but few  

died respectably4 ,the majority among   
them died of delirium tremens4 ,the     
doctor usually fixed up the case for the
 newspapers1 and in his report to them  
it was usually gout1 or rheumatism1 or  
obstruction of the liver1 or exhaustion 
from patriotic services--but we all knew
 it was whiskey4 ,that which smote the  
villain in the dark alley smote down the
 great orator and the great legislator4 
,the one you wrapped in a rough cloth1  
and pushed into a rough coffin1 and     
carried out in a box waggon1 and let him
 down into a pauper's grave1 without a  
prayer or a benediction4 ,around the    
other gathered the pomp of the land2 and
 lordly men walked with uncovered heads 
beside the hearse tossing with plumes on
 the way to a grave to be adorned with a
 white marble shaft1 all four sides     
covered with eulogium4 ,the one man was 
killed by logwood rum at two cents a    
glass1 the other by a beverage three    
dollars a bottle4 ,i write both their   
epitaphs4 ,i write the one epitaph with 

my lead pencil on the shingle over the  
pauper's grave2 ,i write the other      
epitaph with a chisel1 cutting on the   
white marble of the senator3 ,slain by  
strong drink4 ,the time came when       
dissipation was no longer a hindrance to
 office in this country4 ,did we not at 
one time have a ,secretary of the       
,united ,states carried home dead drunk8
 ,did we not have a ,vice-,president    
sworn in so intoxicated the whole land  
hid its head in shame8 ,judges and      
jurors and attorneys sometimes tried    
important cases by day1 and by night    
caroused together in iniquity4  ,during 
the war whiskey had done its share in   
disgracing manhood4 ,what was it that   
defeated the armies sometimes in the    
late war8 ,drunkenness in the saddle6   
,what mean those graves on the heights  
of ,fredericksburg8 ,as you go to       
,richmond you see them4 ,drunkenness in 
the saddle4 ,in place of the bloodshed  
of war1 came the deformations of        
character1 libertinism6  ,again and     

again it was demonstrated that impurity 
walked under the chandeliers of the     
mansion1 and dozed on damask upholstery4
 ,in ,albany1 in ,harrisburg1 in        
,trenton1 in ,washington1 intemperance  
was rife in public places4  ,the two    
political parties remained silent on the
 question4 ,hand in hand with           
intemperance went the crime of bribery  
by money--by proffered office4  ,for    
many years after the war had been almost
 forgotten1 in many of the legislatures 
it was impossible to get a bill through 
unless it had financial consideration4  
,the question was asked softly1         
sometimes very softly1 in regard to a   
bill3 ,is there any money in it8 ,and   
the lobbies of the ,legislatures and the
 ,national ,capitol were crowded with   
railroad men and manufacturers and      
contractors4 ,the iniquity became so    
great that sometimes reformers and      
philanthropists have been laughed out of
 ,harrisburg1 and ,albany1 and ,trenton1
 and ,washington1 because they came     

empty-handed4 ,you vote for this bill1  
and ,i'll vote for that bill4 ,you      
favour that monopoly of a moneyed       
institution1 and ,i'll favour the other 
monopoly of another institution4 ,and   
here is a bill that is going to be very 
hard to get through the ,legislature1   
and some friends met together at a      
midnight banquet1 and while intoxicated 
promised to vote the same way4 ,here are
 #e1jjj for prudent distribution in this
 direction1 and here are #a1jjj for     
prudent distribution in that direction4 
,now1 we are within four votes of having
 enough4 #e1jjj to that intelligent     
member from ,westchester1 and #b1jjj to 
that stupid member from ,ulster1 and now
 we are within two votes of having it4  
,give #ejj to this member1 who will be  
sick and stay at home1 and #cjj to this 
member1 who will go to see his          
great-aunt languishing in her last      
sickness4 ,the day has come for the     
passing of the bill4 ,the ,speaker's    
gavel strikes4 ,senators1 are you ready 

for the question8 ,all in favour of     
voting away these thousands of millions 
of dollars will say1 ',ay4' ,ay6 ,ay6   
,ay6 ,ay6 ,the ,ays have it4 ,it was a  
merciful thing that all this corruption 
went on under a republican form of      
government4 ,any other style of         
government would have been consumed by  
it long ago4 ,there were enough national
 swindles enacted in this country after 
the war--yes1 thirty years              
afterwards--to swamp three monarchies4  
,the ,democratic party filled its cup of
 iniquity as it went out of power1      
before the war4 ,then the ,republican   
party came along and it filled its cup  
of iniquity a little sooner2 and there  
they lie1 the ,democratic party and the 
,republican party1 side by side1 great  
loathsome carcasses of iniquity1 each   
one worse than the other4  ,these are   
reminiscences of more than thirty years 
ago1 and yet it seems that ,i have never
 ceased to fight the same sort of human 
temptations and frailties to this very  

day4     ,,the ,,fourth ,,milestone     
#ahfb-ahgg   ,i spent seven of the most 
delightful years of my life in          
,philadelphia4 ,what wonderful ,gospel  
men were round me in the ,city of       
,brotherly ,love at this time--such men 
as ,rev4 ,alfred ,barnes1 ,rev4 ,dr4    
,boardman1 ,rev4 ,dr4 ,berg1 ,rev4      
,charles ,wadsworth1 and many others    
equally distinguished4 ,i should        
probably never have left ,philadelphia  
except that ,i was afraid ,i would get  
too lazy4 ,being naturally indolent ,i  
wanted to get somewhere where ,i would  
be compelled to work4 ,i have sometimes 
felt that ,i was naturally the laziest  
man ever born4 ,i am afraid of          
indolence--as afraid of indolence as any
 reformed inebriate is afraid of the    
wine cup4 ,he knows if he shall take one
 glass he will be flung back into       
inebriety4 ,i am afraid1 if ,i should   
take one long pull of nothing to do1 ,i 
should stop forever4  ,my church in     
,philadelphia was a large one1 and it   

was crowded with lovely people4 ,all    
that a congregation could do for a      
pastor's happiness they were doing1 and 
always had done4  ,we ministers living  
in ,philadelphia at this time may have  
felt the need for combating indolence1  
for we had a ministerial ball club1 and 
twice a week the clergymen of all       
denominations went out to the suburbs of
 the city and played baseball4 ,we went 
back to our pulpits1 spirits lightened1 
theology improved1 and able to do better
 service for the cause of ,god than we  
could have done without that healthful  
shaking up4  ,the reason so many        
ministers think everything is going to  
ruin is because their circulation is    
lethargic1 or their lungs are in need of
 inflection by outdoor exercise4 ,i have
 often wished since that this splendid  
idea among the ministers in             
,philadelphia could have been emulated  
elsewhere4 ,every big city should have  
its ministerial ball club4 ,we want this
 glorious game rescued from the roughs  

and put into the hands of those who will
 employ it in recuperation4  ,my life in
 ,philadelphia was so busy that ,i must 
have had very little time for keeping   
any record or note-books4 ,most of my   
warmest and life-long friendships were  
made in ,philadelphia1 however1 and in  
the retrospect of the years since ,i    
left there ,i have sometimes wondered   
how ,i ever found courage to say        
good-bye4  ,i was amazed and gratified  
one day at receiving a call from four of
 the most prominent churches at that    
time in ,america3 ,calvary ,church of   
,chicago1 the ,union ,church of ,boston1
 the ,first ,presbyterian ,church of    
,san ,francisco1 and the ,central       
,church of ,brooklyn4 ,these invitations
 all came simultaneously in ,february1  
#ahfi4 ,the committees from these       
various churches called upon me at my   
house in ,philadelphia4 ,it was a period
 of anxious uncertainty with me4 ,one   
morning1 ,i remember1 a committee from  
,chicago was in one room1 a committee   

from ,brooklyn in another room of my    
house1 and a committee from my          
,philadelphia church in another room4   
,my wife ,b passed from room to room    
entertaining them to keep the three     
committees from meeting4 ,it would have 
been unpleasant for them to meet4       
,b ,in #ahfc1 ,dr4 ,talmage married his 
second wife1 ,miss          ,susan ,c4  
,whittemore1 of ,greenport1 ,n4,y4 ,they
 had five          children3 ,may1      
,edith1 ,frank1 ,maud1 and ,daisy4  ,at 
this point my ,syracuse remembrance of  
perplexity returned1 and ,i resolved to 
stay in ,philadelphia unless ,god made  
it very plain that ,i was to go and     
where ,i was to go4 ,an engagement to   
speak that night in ,harrisburg1        
,pennsylvania1 took me to the depot4 ,i 
got on the train1 my mind full of the   
arguments of the three committees1 and  
all a bewilderment4 ,i stretched myself 
out upon the seats for a sound sleep1   
saying1 ,lord1 what wilt ,thou have me  
to do8 ,make it plain to me when ,i wake

 up4 ,when ,i awoke ,i was entering     
,harrisburg1 and as plainly as though   
the voice had been audible ,god said to 
me1 ,go to ,brooklyn4 ,i went1 and never
 have doubted that ,i did right to go4  
,it is always best to stay where you are
 until ,god gives you marching orders1  
and then move on4  ,i succeeded the     
,rev4 ,j4,e4 ,rockwell in the ,brooklyn 
,church1 who resigned only a month or so
 before ,i accepted the call4 ,mr4      
,charles ,cravat ,converse1 ,,ll4,d41 an
 elder of the ,church1 presented the    
call to me1 being appointed to do so by 
the ,board of ,trustees and the         
,session1 after ,i had been unanimously 
elected by the congregation at a special
 meeting for that purpose held on       
,february #af1 #ahfi4 ,the salary fixed 
was #g1jjj1 payable monthly4  ,in       
looking over an old note-book ,i carried
 in that year ,i find1 under date of    
,march #bb1 #ahfi1 the word installed   
written in my own handwriting4 ,it was  
written in pencil after the service of  

installation held in the church that    
,monday evening4 ,the event is recorded 
in the minutes of the regular meetings  
of the church as follows3  ,monday      
evening1 ,march #bb1 the ,rev4 ,t4      
,de,witt ,talmage having been received  
as a member of the ,presbytery of       
,nassau1 was this evening installed     
pastor of this church4 ,the ,rev4 ,c4,s4
 ,pomeroy preached the sermon and       
proposed the constitutional questions4  
,rev4 ,mr4 ,oakley delivered the charge 
to the pastor1 and ,rev4 ,henry ,van    
,dyke1 ,d4,d41 delivered the charge to  
the people2 and the services were closed
 with the benediction by the pastor1 and
 a cordial shaking of hands by the      
people with their new pastor4  ,the old 
church stood on ,schemerhorn ,street1   
between ,nevins and ,power ,streets4 ,it
 was a much smaller church community    
than the one ,i had left in             
,philadelphia1 but there was a glorious 
opportunity for work in it4 ,i remember 
hearing a minister of a small           

congregation complain to a minister of a
 large congregation about the sparseness
 of attendance at his church4 ,oh1 said 
the one of large audience1 my son1 you  
will find in the day of judgment that   
you had quite enough people for whom to 
be held accountable4  ,my church in     
,brooklyn prospered4 ,in about three    
months from the date of my installation 
it was too small to hold the people who 
came there to worship4 ,this came about1
 not through any special demonstration  
of my own superior gifts1 but by the    
help of ,god and the persecution of     
others4  ,during my pastorate in        
,brooklyn a certain group of preachers  
began to slander me and to say all      
manner of lies about me2 ,i suppose     
because they were jealous of my success4
 ,these calumnies were published in     
every important newspaper in the        
country4 ,the result was that the ,new  
,york correspondents of the leading     
papers in the chief cities of the       
,united ,states came to my church on    

,sundays1 expecting ,i would make       
counter attacks1 which would be good    
news4 ,i never said a word in reply1    
with the exception of a single          
paragraph4  ,the correspondents were    
after news1 and1 failing to get the     
sensational charges1 they took down the 
sermons and sent them to the newspaper4 
,many times have ,i been maligned and my
 work misrepresented2 but all such      
falsehood and persecution have turned   
out for my advantage and enlarged my    
work4  ,whoever did escape it8  ,i was  
one summer in the pulpit of ,john       
,wesley1 in ,london--a pulpit where he  
stood one day and said3 ,i have been    
charged with all the crimes in the      
calendar except one--that of            
drunkenness1 and his wife arose in the  
audience and said3 ,you know you were   
drunk last night4  ,i saw in a foreign  
journal a report of one of ,george      
,whitefield's sermons--a sermon preached
 a hundred and twenty or thirty years   
ago4 ,it seemed that the reporter stood 

to take the sermon1 and his chief idea  
was to caricature it1 and these are some
 of the reportorial interlinings of the 
sermon of ,george ,whitefield4 ,after   
calling him by a nickname indicative of 
a physical defect in the eye1 it goes on
 to say3 ,here the preacher clasps his  
chin on the pulpit cushion4 ,here he    
elevates his voice4 ,here he lowers his 
voice4 ,holds his arms extended4 ,bawls 
aloud4 ,stands trembling4 ,makes a      
frightful face4 ,turns up the whites of 
his eyes4 ,clasps his hands behind him4 
,clasps his arms around him1 and hugs   
himself4 ,roars aloud4 ,holloas4 ,jumps4
 ,cries4 ,changes from crying4 ,holloas 
and jumps again4  ,one would have       
thought that if any man ought to have   
been free from persecution it was       
,george ,whitefield1 bringing great     
masses of the people into the kingdom of
 ,god1 wearing himself out for ,christ's
 sake3 and yet the learned ,dr4 ,johnson
 called him a mountebank4 ,robert ,hall 
preached about the glories of heaven as 

no uninspired man ever preached about   
them1 and it was said when he preached  
about heaven his face shone like an     
angel's1 and yet good ,christian ,john  
,foster writes of ,robert ,hall1 saying3
 ,robert ,hall is a mere actor1 and when
 he talks about heaven the smile on his 
face is the reflection of his own       
vanity4 ,john ,wesley stirred all       
,england with reform1 and yet he was    
caricatured by all the small wits of his
 day4 ,he was pictorialised1 history    
says1 on the board fences of ,london1   
and everywhere he was the target for the
 punsters2 yet ,john ,wesley stands     
to-day before all ,christendom1 his name
 mighty4 ,i have preached a ,gospel that
 is not only appropriate to the home    
circle1 but is appropriate to ,wall     
,street1 to ,broadway1 to ,fulton       
,street1 to ,montague ,street1 to       
,atlantic ,street1 to every street--not 
only a religion that is good for half   
past ten o'clock ,sunday morning1 but   
good for half past ten o'clock any      

morning4 ,this was one of the           
considerations in my work as a preacher 
of the ,gospel that extended its        
usefulness4 ,a practical religion is    
what we all need4 ,in my previous work  
at ,belleville1 ,n4,j41 and in          
,syracuse1 ,i had absorbed other        
considerations of necessity in the      
business of uniting the human character 
with the church character4  ,although   
the ,central ,presbyterian ,church in   
,brooklyn of which ,i was pastor was one
 of the largest buildings in that city  
then1 it did not represent my ideal of a
 church4  ,i learned in my village      
pastorates that the ,church ought to be 
a great home circle of fathers1 mothers1
 brothers1 and sisters4 ,that would be a
 very strange home circle where the     
brothers and sisters did not know each  
other1 and where the parents were       
characterised by frigidity and          
heartlessness4 ,the ,church must be a   
great family group--the pulpit the      
fireplace1 the people all gathered      

around it4 ,i think we sometimes can    
tell the people to stay out by our      
church architecture4 ,people come in and
 find things angular and cold and stiff1
 and they go away never again to come2  
when the church ought to be a great home
 circle4  ,i knew a minister of religion
 who had his fourth settlement4 ,his    
first two churches became extinct as a  
result of his ministry1 the third church
 was hopelessly crippled1 and the fourth
 was saved simply by the fact that he   
departed this life4 ,on the other hand1 
,i have seen pastorates which continued 
year after year1 all the time           
strengthening1 and ,i have heard of     
instances where the pastoral relation   
continued twenty years1 thirty years1   
forty years1 and all the time the       
confidence and the love were on the     
increase4 ,so it was with the pastorate 
of old ,dr4 ,spencer1 so it was with the
 pastorate of old ,dr4 ,gardiner        
,spring1 so it was with the pastorate of
 a great many of those old ministers of 

,jesus ,christ1 of whom the world was   
not worthy4  ,i saw an opportunity to   
establish in ,brooklyn just such a      
church as ,i had in my mind's eye--a    
,tabernacle1 where all the people who   
wanted to hear the ,gospel preached     
could come in and be comfortable4 ,i    
projected1 designed1 and successfully   
established the ,brooklyn ,tabernacle   
within a little over a year after       
preaching my first sermon in ,brooklyn4 
,the church seated #c1ejj people1 and   
yet we were compelled to use the old    
church to take care of all our active   
,christian work besides4  ,the first    
,brooklyn ,tabernacle was1 ,i believe1  
the most buoyant expression of my work  
that ,i ever enjoyed4 ,it drew upon all 
my energies and resources1 and as the   
sacred walls grew up towards the skies1 
,i prayed ,god that ,i might have the   
strength and spiritual energy to grow   
with it4  ,prayer always meets the      
emergency1 no matter how difficult it   
may be4  ,that was the substantial      

backing of the first ,brooklyn          
,tabernacle--prayer4 ,prayer furnished  
the means as well as the faith that was 
behind them4 ,i was merely the promoter1
 the agent1 of a company organised in   
,heaven to perpetuate the ,gospel of    
,christ4 ,it was considered a great     
thing to have done1 and many were the   
reasons whispered by the worldly and the
 envious and the orthodox1 for its      
success4 ,some said it was due to       
magnetism4  ,as a cord or rope can bind 
bodies together1 there may be an        
invisible cord binding souls4 ,a        
magnetic man throws it over others as a 
hunter throws a lasso4 ,some men are    
surcharged with this influence1 and have
 employed it for patriotism and         
,christianity and elevated purposes4    
,it is always a surprise to a great     
majority of people how churches are     
built1 how money for which the world has
 so many other uses can be obtained to  
build churches4 ,there are names of men 
and women whom ,i have only to mention  

and they suggest at once not only great 
wealth1 but religion1 generosity1       
philanthropy1 such as ,amos ,laurence1  
,james ,lennox1 ,peter ,cooper1 ,william
 ,e4 ,dodge1 ,miss ,wolfe1 ,mrs4        
,william ,astor4 ,a good moral character
 can be accompanied by affluent         
circumstances4  ,in the '#gj's and      
'#hj's in ,brooklyn and in ,new ,york   
there were merchants who had prospered1 
but by ,christian methods--merchants who
 took their religion into everyday life4
 ,i became accustomed1 ,sabbath after   
,sabbath1 to stand before an audience of
 bargain-makers4 ,men in all            
occupations--yet the vast majority of   
them1 ,i am very well aware1 were       
engaged from ,monday morning to         
,saturday night in the store4 ,in many  
of the families of my congregations     
across the breakfast table and the tea  
table were discussed questions of loss  
and gain4 ,what is the value of this8   
,what is the value of that8 ,they would 
not think of giving something of greater

 value for that which is of lesser      
value4 ,they would not think of selling 
that which cost ten dollars for five    
dollars4 ,if they had a property that   
was worth #ae1jjj1 they would not sell  
it for #d1jjj4 ,all were intelligent in 
matters of bargain-making4  ,but these  
were not the sort of men who made       
generous investments for ,god's ,house4 
,there was one that sort1 however1 among
 my earliest remembrances1 ,arthur      
,tappen4 ,there were many differences of
 opinion about his politics1 but no one 
who ever knew ,arthur ,tappen1 and knew 
him well1 doubted his being an earnest  
,christian4 ,arthur ,tappen was derided 
in his day because he established that  
system by which we come to find out the 
commercial standing of business men4 ,he
 started that entire system1 was derided
 for it then2 ,i knew him well1 in moral
 character ,a#a4 ,monday mornings he    
invited to a room in the top of his     
storehouse in ,new ,york the clerks of  
his establishment4 ,he would ask them   

about their worldly interests and their 
spiritual interests1 then giving out a  
hymn and leading in prayer he would give
 them a few words of good advice1 asking
 them what church they attended on the  
,sabbath1 what the text was1 whether    
they had any especial troubles of their 
own4  ,arthur ,tappen1 ,i have never    
heard his eulogy pronounced4 ,i         
pronounce it now4 ,there were other     
merchants just as good--,william ,e4    
,dodge in the iron business1 ,moses ,h4 
,grinnell in the shipping business1     
,peter ,cooper in the glue business1 and
 scores of men just as good as they     
were4  ,i began my work of enlarging and
 improving the ,brooklyn ,church almost 
the week following my installation4 ,my 
first vacation1 a month1 began on ,june 
#be1 #ahfi1 the trustees of the church  
having signified and ordered repairs1   
alterations and improvements at a       
meeting held that day1 and further      
suspending ,sabbath services for four   
weeks4 ,i spent part of my vacation at  

,east ,hampton1 ,l4,i41 going from there
 for two or three short lecturing trips4
 ,i find that ,i can never rest over two
 weeks4 ,more than that wearies me4 ,of 
all the places ,i have ever known ,east 
,hampton is the best place for quiet and
 recuperation4  ,i became acquainted    
with it through my brother-in-law1 ,rev4
 ,s4,l4 ,mershon4 ,his first pastorate  
was at the ,presbyterian ,church in     
,east ,hampton1 where1 as a young man1  
,i preached some of my first sermons4   
,east ,hampton is always home to me4    
,when a boy in grammar-school and       
college ,i used to visit my             
brother-in-law and his wife1 my sister  
,mary4 ,later in life ,i established a  
summer home there myself4 ,i            
particularly recall one incident of this
 month's vacation that has affected my  
whole life4 ,one day while resting at   
,sharon ,springs1 ,new ,york1 walking in
 the ,park of that place1 ,i found      
myself asking the question3 ,i wonder if
 there is any special mission for me to 

execute in this world8 ,if there is1 may
 ,god show it to me6  ,there soon came  
upon me a great desire to preach the    
,gospel through the secular             
printing-press4 ,i realised that the    
vast majority of people1 even in        
,christian lands1 never enter a church1 
and that it would be an opportunity of  
usefulness infinite if that door of     
publication were opened4 ,and so ,i     
recorded that prayer in a blank book1   
and offered the prayer day in and day   
out until the answer came1 though in a  
way different from that which ,i had    
expected1 for it came through the       
misrepresentation and persecution of    
enemies2 and ,i have to record it for   
the encouragement of all ministers of   
the ,gospel who are misrepresented1 that
 if the misrepresentation be virulent   
enough and bitter enough and continuous 
enough1 there is nothing that so widens 
one's field of usefulness as hostile    
attack1 if you are really doing the     
,lord's work4 ,the bigger the lie told  

about me the bigger the demand to see   
and hear what ,i really was doing4 ,from
 one stage of sermonic publication to   
another the work has gone on1 until week
 by week1 and for about twenty-three    
years1 ,i have had the world for my     
audience as no man ever had4 ,the       
syndicates inform me that my sermons go 
now to about twenty-five millions of    
people in all lands4 ,i mention this not
 in vain boast1 but as a testimony to   
the fact that ,god answers prayer4      
,would ,god ,i had better occupied the  
field and been more consecrated to the  
work6  ,the following summer1 or rather 
early spring1 ,i requested an extension 
of my vacation time1 in order to carry  
out a plan to visit the ,old ,world4 ,as
 the trustees of the church considered  
that the trip might be of value to the  
church as well as to myself1 ,i was     
given leave of absence from pastoral    
duties for three months' duty from ,june
 #ah1 #ahgj4 ,all that ,i could do had  
been done in the plans in constructing  

the new ,tabernacle4 ,i could do nothing
 by staying at home4  ,i have crossed   
the ,atlantic so often that the         
recollections of this first trip to     
,europe are1 at this writing1 merely    
general4 ,i think the most terrific     
impression ,i received was my first     
sight of the ocean the morning after we 
sailed1 the most instructive were the   
ruins of church and abbey and palaces4  
,i walked up and down the stairs of     
,holyrood ,palace1 once upon a time     
considered one of the wonders of the    
world1 and ,i marvelled that so little  
was left of such a wonderful place4     
,ruins should be rebuilt4  ,the most    
spiritual impression ,i received was    
from the music of church organs in the  
old world4  ,i stopped one nightfall at 
,freyburg1 ,switzerland1 to hear the    
organ of world-wide celebrity in that   
place4 ,i went into the cathedral at    
nightfall4 ,all the accessories were    
favourable4 ,there was only one light in
 all the cathedral1 and that a faint    

taper on the altar4 ,i looked up into   
the venerable arches and saw the shadows
 of centuries2 and when the organ awoke 
the cathedral awoke1 and all the arches 
seemed to lift and quiver as the music  
came under them4 ,that instrument did   
not seem to be made out of wood and     
metal1 but out of human hearts1 so      
wonderfully did it pulsate with every   
emotion2 now laughing like a child1 now 
sobbing like a tempest4 ,at one moment  
the music would die away until you could
 hear the cricket chirp outside the     
wall1 and then it would roll up until it
 seemed as if the surge of the sea and  
the crash of an avalanche had struck the
 organ-pipes at the same moment4 ,at one
 time that night it seemed as if a      
squadron of saddened spirits going up   
from earth had met a squadron of        
descending angels whose glory beat back 
the woe4  ,in ,edinburgh ,i met ,dr4    
,john ,brown1 author of the celebrated  
,rab and his ,friends4 ,that one        
treatise gave him immortality and fame1 

and yet he was taken at his own request 
to the insane asylum and died insane4   
,what are you writing now1 ,dr4 ,brown8 
,i said to him in his study in          
,edinburgh4  ,oh1 nothing1 he replied1  
,i never could write4 ,i shall never try
 again4  ,i saw on his face and heard in
 his voice that melancholy that so often
 unhorsed him4  ,i went to ,paris for   
the first time in this summer of #ahgj4 
,it was during the ,franco-,german war4 
,i stood studying the exquisite         
sculpturing of the gate of the          
,tuileries4 ,lost in admiration of the  
wonderful art of that gate ,i knew not  
that ,i was exciting suspicion4         
,lowering my eyes to the crowds of      
people ,i found myself being closely    
inspected by government officials1 who  
from my complexion judged me to be a    
,german1 and that for some belligerent  
purpose ,i might be examining the gates 
of the palace4 ,my explanations in very 
poor ,french did not satisfy them1 and  
they followed me long distances until ,i

 reached my hotel1 and were not         
satisfied until from my landlord they   
found that ,i was only an inoffensive   
,american4 ,inoffensive ,americans were 
quite as welcome in ,europe in #ahgj as 
they are now4 ,i was not curious of the 
signs ,i found anywhere about me of     
aristocratic grandeur1 of the deference 
paid to lineage and ancient family name4
 ,i know in ,america some people look   
back on the family line1 and they are   
proud to see that they are descended    
from the ,puritans or the ,huguenots1   
and they rejoice in that as though their
 ancestors had accomplished a great     
thing to repudiate a ,catholic          
aristocracy4  ,i look back on my family 
line1 and ,i see there such a mingling  
and mixture of the blood of all         
nationalities that ,i feel akin to all  
the world4 ,i returned from my first    
visit to ,europe more thankful than ever
 for the mercy of having been born in   
,america4 ,the trip did me immeasurable 
good4 ,it strengthened my faith in the  

breadth and simplicity of a broadminded 
religion4 ,we must take care how we     
extend our invitation to the ,church1   
that it be understandable to everyone4  
,people don't want the scientific study 
of religion4  ,on ,sunday morning1      
,september #be1 #ahgj1 the new          
,tabernacle erected on ,schemerhorn     
,street was dedicated to the worship of 
,almighty ,god4 ,it was to my mind a    
common-sense church1 as ,i had planned  
it to be4 ,in many of our churches we   
want more light1 more room1 more        
ventilation1 more comfort4 ,vast sums of
 money are expended on ecclesiastical   
structures1 and men sit down in them1   
and you ask a man how he likes the      
church3 he says1 ,i like it very well1  
but ,i can't hear4 ,the voice of the    
preacher dashes against the pillars4    
,men sit down under the shadows of the  
,gothic arches and shiver1 and feel they
 must be getting religion1 or something 
else1 they feel so uncomfortable4  ,we  
want more common sense in the rearing of

 churches4 ,there is no excuse for lack 
of light when the heavens are full of   
it1 no excuse for lack of fresh air when
 the world swims in it4 ,it ought to be 
an expression1 not only of our spiritual
 happiness1 but of our physical comfort1
 when we say3 ,how amiable are ,thy     
tabernacles1 ,o ,lord ,god of ,hosts6 ,a
 day in ,thy courts is better than a    
thousand4  ,my dedication sermon was    
from ,luke xiv4 #bc1 ,and the ,lord said
 unto the servants1 go out into the     
highways and hedges1 and compel them to 
come in that my house may be filled4    
,the ,rev4 ,t4,g4 ,butter1 ,d4,d41      
offered the dedicatory prayer4 ,other   
clergymen1 whose names ,i do not recall1
 were present and assisted at the       
services4 ,the congregation in          
attendance was very large1 and at the   
close of the services a subscription and
 collection were taken up amounting to  
#ac1jjj1 towards defraying the expenses 
and cost of the church4  ,in less than a
 year later the congregation had grown  

so large and the attendance of strangers
 so pressing that the new church was    
enlarged again1 and on ,september #aj1  
#ahga1 the ,tabernacle was rededicated  
with impressive services4 ,the sermon   
was preached by my friend the ,rev4     
,stephen ,h4 ,tyng1 ,d4,d4 ,he was a    
great worker1 and suffered1 as many of  
us in the pulpit do1 from insomnia4 ,he 
was the consecrated champion of         
everything good1 a constant sufferer    
from the lash of active work4 ,he often 
told me that the only encouragement he  
had to think he would sleep at night was
 the fact that he had not slept the     
night before4 ,insomnia may be only a   
big word for those who do not understand
 its effect4 ,it has stimulated         
intellectuality1 and exhausted it4 ,one 
of the greatest ,english clergymen had a
 gas jet on each side of his bed1 so    
that he might read at nights when he    
could not sleep4 ,horace ,greeley told  
me he had not had a sound sleep in      
fifteen years4 ,charles ,dickens        

understood ,london by night better than 
any other writer1 because not being able
 to sleep he spent that time in         
exploring the city4  ,i preached at the 
evening service from the text in ,luke  
xvi4 #e3 ,how much owest thou unto my   
,lord8 ,it was a wonderful day for us   
all4 ,enough money was taken in by      
collections and subscriptions at the    
morning and evening services to pay the 
floating debt of the church4 ,we        
received that one day #ba1jjj4  ,i quote
 the following resolution made at a     
meeting in my study the next ,thursday  
evening of the ,session1 from the       
records of the ,tabernacle3  ,in regard 
to the payment of the floating debt of  
this church and congregation1 the       
,session adopted the following          
resolution1 viz43--  ,in view of the    
manifest instance that ,god has heard   
the supplications of this people        
regarding the floating debt of the      
,church1 and so directed their hearts as
 to accomplish the object1 it is        

therefore resolved that we set apart    
next ,wednesday evening as a special    
season of religious thanksgiving to ,god
 for his great goodness to us as a      
,church1 in granting unto us this       
deliverance4  ,i reverently and solemnly
 believe the new ,tabernacle was built  
by prayer4  ,my congregation with great 
munificence provided for all my wants1  
and so ,i can speak without any         
embarrassment on the subject while ,i   
denounce the niggardliness of many of   
the churches of ,jesus ,christ1 keeping 
some men1 who are very apostles for     
piety and consecration1 in circumstances
 where they are always apologetic1 and  
have not that courage which they would  
have could they stand in the presence of
 people whom they knew were faithful in 
the discharge of their financial duties 
to the ,christian ,church4 ,alas1 for   
those men of whom the world is not      
worthy6 ,in the ,united ,states to-day  
the salary of ministers averages less   
than six hundred dollars1 and when you  

consider that some of the salaries are  
very large1 see to what straits many of 
,god's noblest servants are this day    
reduced6 ,a live church will look after 
all its financial interests and be as   
prompt in the meeting of those          
obligations as any bank in any city4    
,my church in ,brooklyn prospered       
because it was a soul-saving church4 ,it
 has always been the ambition of my own 
church that it should be a soul-saving  
church4 ,pardon for all sin6 ,comfort   
for all trouble6 ,eternal life for all  
the dead6  ,moral conditions in the     
cities of ,new ,york and ,brooklyn were 
deplorably bad during the first few     
years ,i went there to preach4 ,there   
was an onslaught of bad literature and  
stage immorality4 ,for instance1 there  
was a lady who came forth as an         
authoress under the assumed name of     
,george ,sand4 ,she smoked cigars4 ,she 
dressed like a man4 ,she wrote in style 
ardent and eloquent1 mighty in its      
gloom1 terrible in its unchastity1 vivid

 in its portraiture1 damnable in its    
influence1 putting forth an evil which  
has never relaxed1 but has hundreds of  
copyists4 ,yet so much worse were many  
,french books that came to ,america than
 anything ,george ,sand ever wrote1 that
 if she were alive now she might be     
thought almost a reformer4 ,what an     
importation of unclean theatrical stuff 
was brought to our shores at that time6 
,and yet professors of religion         
patronised such things4 ,i remember     
particularly the arrival of a foreign   
actress of base morals4 ,she came       
intending to make a tour of the ,states1
 but the remaining decency of our cities
 rose up and cancelled her contracts1   
and drove her back from the ,american   
stage1 a woman fit for neither          
continent4 ,i hope ,i was instrumental  
to some degree in her banishment4 ,we   
were crude in our morals then4 ,i hope  
we are not merely civilised in them     
to-day4 ,i hope we understand how to    
live better than we did then4  ,scarcely

 a year after the final dedication of   
our ,tabernacle in #ahga it was         
completely burned1 just before a morning
 ,sabbath service in ,december1 #ahgb4  
,i remember that ,sabbath morning4 ,i   
was coming to the church1 when ,i saw   
the smoke against the sky4 ,i was living
 in an outlying section of the city4 ,i 
had been absent for three weeks1 and1 as
 ,i saw that smoke1 ,i said to my wife3 
,i should not wonder if that is the     
,tabernacle2 at the same time1 this was 
said in pleasantry and not in earnest4  
,as we came on nearer where the church  
stood1 ,i said quite seriously3 ,i      
shouldn't wonder if it is the           
,tabernacle4  ,when ,i came within a few
 blocks1 and ,i saw a good many people  
in distress running across the street1  
,i said3 ,it is the ,tabernacle2 and    
when we stood together in front of the  
burning house of ,god1 it was an awfully
 sad time4 ,we had stood together       
through all the crises of suffering1 and
 we must needs build a church in the    

very hardest of times4  ,to put up a    
structure in those days1 and so large a 
structure and so firm a structure as we 
needed1 was a very great demand upon our
 energies4 ,the fact that we had to make
 that struggle in the worst financial   
period was doubly hard4  ,it was a      
merciful providence that none of the    
congregation was in the church at the   
time4 ,it was an appalling situation4   
,in spite of the best efforts of the    
fire department1 the building was in    
ruins in a few hours4 ,my congregation  
was in despair1 but1 in the face of     
trial1 ,god has always given me all but 
superhuman strength4 ,in a thousand ways
 ,i had been blessed2 the ,gospel ,i had
 preached could not stop then1 ,i knew1 
and while my people were completely     
discouraged ,i immediately planned for a
 newer1 larger1 more complete           
,tabernacle4 ,we needed more room for   
the increasing attendance1 and ,i       
realised that opportunity again was     
mine4  ,we continued our services in the

 ,academy of ,music1 in ,brooklyn1 while
 the new ,tabernacle was being built4   
,not for a minute did ,i relax my       
energies to keep up the work of a       
practical religion4 ,there were #cjj1jjj
 people in ,brooklyn who had never heard
 the ,gospel preached1 an army worthy of
 ,christian interest4 ,there was room   
for these #cjj1jjj people in the        
churches of the city4  ,there was plenty
 of room in heaven for them4  ,an       
ingenious statistician1 taking the      
statement made in ,revelation xxi4 that 
the heavenly ,jerusalem was measured and
 found to be twelve thousand furlongs1  
and that the length and height and      
breadth of it are equal1 says that would
 make heaven in size nine hundred and   
forty-eight sextillion1 nine hundred and
 eighty-eight quintillion cubic feet2   
and then reserving a certain portion for
 the court of heaven and the streets1   
and estimating that the world may last a
 hundred thousand years1 he ciphers out 
that there are over five trillion rooms1

 each room seventeen feet long1 sixteen 
feet wide1 fifteen feet high4 ,but ,i   
have no faith in the accuracy of that   
calculation4 ,he makes the rooms too    
small4 ,from all ,i can read the rooms  
will be palatial1 and those who have not
 had enough room in this world will have
 plenty of room at the last4 ,the fact  
is that most people in this world are   
crowded1 and though out on a vast       
prairie or in a mountain district people
 may have more room than they want1 in  
most cases it is house built close to   
house1 and the streets are crowded1 and 
the cradle is crowded by other cradles1 
and the graves crowded in the cemetery  
by other graves2 and one of the richest 
luxuries of many people in getting out  
of this world will be the gaining of    
unhindered and uncramped room4 ,and ,i  
should not wonder if1 instead of the    
room that the statistician ciphered out 
as only seventeen feet by sixteen1 it   
should be larger than any of the rooms  
at ,berlin1 ,st4 ,james1 or ,winter     

,palace4  ,so we built an exceedingly   
large church4 ,the new ,tabernacle      
seated comfortably #e1jjj people4 ,it   
was open on ,february #bb1 #ahgd1 for   
worship1 and completed a few months     
later4     ,,the ,,fifth ,,milestone    
#ahgg-ahgi   ,without boast it may be   
said that ,i was among those men who    
with eager and persistent vigilance made
 the heart of ,brooklyn feel the        
,christian purpose of the pulpit1 and   
the utility of religion in everyday     
life4 ,the fifteen years following the  
dedication of the new ,tabernacle in    
#ahgb mark the most active milestone of 
my career as a preacher4  ,a minister's 
recollections are confined to his       
interpretation of the life about him2   
the men he knows1 the events he sees1   
the good and the bad of his environment 
and his period become the loose leaves  
that litter his study table4  ,i was in 
the prime of life1 just forty years of  
age4 ,from my private note-books and    
other sources ,i begin recollections of 

the most significant years in ,brooklyn1
 preceding the local elections in #ahgg4
 ,new ,york and ,brooklyn were playmates
 then1 seeming rivals1 but by           
predestined fate bound to grow closer   
together4 ,i said then that we need not 
wait for the three bridges which would  
certainly bind them together4 ,the      
ferry-boat then touching either side was
 only the thump of one great municipal  
heart4 ,it was plain to me that this    
greater ,metropolis1 standing at the    
gate of this continent1 would have to   
decide the moral and political destinies
 of the whole country4  ,prior to the   
,november ,elections in #ahgg1 the only 
cheering phase of politics in ,brooklyn 
and ,new ,york was that there were no   
lower political depths to reach4  ,there
 was in ,new ,york at that time         
political infamy greater than the height
 of ,trinity ,church steeple1 more      
stupendous in finance than the          
#aj1jjj1jjj spent in building their new 
,court ,house4 ,it was a fact that the  

most notorious gambler in the ,united   
,states was to get the nomination for   
the high office of ,state ,senator4     
,both ,democrats and ,republicans       
struggled for his election--,john       
,morrisey1 hailed as a reformer6 ,on    
behalf of all the respectable homes of  
,brooklyn and ,new ,york ,i protested   
against his election4 ,he had been      
indicted for burglary1 indicted for     
assault and battery with intent to kill1
 indicted eighteen times for maintaining
 gambling places in different parts of  
the country4 ,he almost made gambling   
respectable4 ,tweed trafficked in       
contracts1 ,morrisey in the bodies and  
souls of young men4 ,the ,district      
,attorney of ,new ,york advocated him1  
and prominent ,democrats talked         
themselves hoarse for him4 ,this        
nomination was a determined effort of   
the slums of ,new ,york to get          
representation in the ,state            
,government4 ,it was argued that he had 
reformed4 ,the police of ,new ,york knew

 better4  ,in ,brooklyn the highest     
local offices in #ahgg1 those of the    
,collector1 ,police ,commissioners1     
,fire ,commission1 ,treasurer1 and the  
,city ,works ,commissioners1 were under 
the control of one ,patrick ,shannon1   
owner of two gin mills4 ,wearing the    
mask of reformers the most astute and   
villainous politicians piloted          
themselves into power4 ,they were all   
elected1 and it was necessary4 ,it was  
necessary that ,new ,york should elect  
the foremost gambler of the ,united     
,states for ,state ,senator1 before the 
people of ,new ,york could realise the  
depths of degradation to which the      
politics of that time could sink4 ,if   
,tweed had stolen only half as much as  
he did1 investigation and discovery and 
reform would have been impossible4 ,the 
re-election of ,morrisey was necessary4 
,he was elected not by the vote of his  
old partisans alone1 but by             
,republicans4 ,hamilton ,fish1 ,general 
,grant's secretary1 voted for him4      

,peter ,cooper1 the friend of education 
and the founder of a great institute1   
voted for him4 ,the brown-stone-fronts  
voted for him4 ,the ,fifth ,avenue      
equipage voted for him4 ,murray ,hill   
voted for him4 ,meanwhile gambling was  
made honourable4 ,and so the law-breaker
 became the law-maker4  ,among a large  
and genteel community in ,brooklyn there
 was a feeling that they were           
independent of politics4 ,no one can be 
so4 ,it was felt in the home and in the 
business offices4 ,it was an influence  
that poisoned all the foundations of    
public and private virtue in ,brooklyn  
and ,new ,york4 ,the conditions of      
municipal immorality and wickedness were
 the worst at this time that ever       
confronted the pulpits of the ,city of  
,churches1 as ,brooklyn was called4     
,there was one bright spot in the dark  
horizon of life around me then1 however1
 which ,i greeted with much pleasure and
 amusement4  ,in the early part of      
,november1 #ahgg1 ,president ,hayes     

offered to ,colonel ,robert ,ingersoll  
the appointment of ,minister to         
,germany4 ,the ,president was a         
,methodist1 and perhaps he thought that 
was a grand solution of ,ingersollism4  
,it was a mirthful event of the         
hour--the joke of the administration4   
,germany was the birthplace of what was 
then modern infidelity1 ,colonel        
,ingersoll had been filling the land    
with belated infidelism4  ,on the stage 
of the ,academy of ,music in ,brooklyn  
he had attacked the memory of ,tom      
,paine1 assaulted the character of ,rev4
 ,dr4 ,prime1 one of my neighbours1 the 
,nestor of religious journalism1 and on 
that same stage expressed his opinion   
that ,god was a great ,ghost4 ,this     
action of ,president ,hayes kept me     
smiling for a week--,i appreciated the  
joke among others4  ,during this month  
the ,american ,stage suffered the loss  
of three celebrities3 ,edwin ,adams1    
,george ,l4 ,fox1 and ,e4,l4 ,davenport4
 ,while the ,theatre never interested   

me1 and ,i never entered one1 ,i cannot 
criticise the dead4 ,four years before  
in the ,tabernacle ,i preached a sermon 
against the ,theatre4 ,i saw there these
 men1 sitting in pews in front of me1   
and that was the only time4 ,they were  
taking notes of my discourse1 to which  
they made public replies on the stage of
 the ,chestnut ,street ,theatre1        
,philadelphia1 and on other stages at   
the close of their performances4        
,whatever they may have said of me1 ,i  
stood uncovered in the presence of the  
dead1 while the curtain of the great    
future went up on them4 ,my sympathy was
 with the destitute households left     
behind4 ,public benefits relieved this4 
,i would to ,god clergymen were as      
liberal to the families of deceased     
clergymen as play-actors to the families
 of dead play-actors4 ,what a toilsome  
life1 the play-actor's6 ,on the #beth of
 ,march1 #ahcc1 ,edmund ,kean1 sick and 
exhausted1 trembled on to the ,english  
stage for the last time1 when he acted  

in the character of ,othello4 ,the      
audience rose and cheered1 and the      
waving of hats and handkerchiefs was    
bewildering1 and when he came to the    
expression1 ,farewell6 ,othello's       
occupation's gone6 his chin fell on his 
breast1 and he turned to his son and    
said3 ,o ,god1 ,i am dying6 speak to    
them ,charles1 and the audience in      
sympathy cried1 ,take him off6 take him 
off6 and he was carried away to die4    
,poor ,edmund ,kean6 ,when ,schiller1   
the famous comedian1 was tormented with 
toothache1 some one offered to draw the 
tooth4 ,no1 said he1 but on the #ajth of
 ,june1 when the house closes1 you may  
draw the tooth1 for then ,i shall have  
nothing to eat with it4 ,the            
impersonation of character is often the 
means of destroying health4 ,moliere1   
the comedian1 acted the sick man until  
it proved fatal to him4 ,madame ,clarion
 accounts for her premature old age by  
the fact that she had been obliged so   
often on the stage to enact the griefs  

and distresses of others4 ,mr4 ,bond    
threw so much earnestness into the      
tragedy of ,zarah1 that he fainted and  
died4 ,the life of the actor and actress
 is wearing and full of privation and   
annoyance1 as is any life that depends  
upon the whims of the public for        
success4  ,one of the events in ,church 
matters1 towards the close of this year1
 was a pastoral letter of the ,episcopal
 ,bishops against ,church fairs4 ,so    
many churches were holding fairs then1  
they were a recognised social attribute 
of the ,church family4 ,this letter     
aroused the question as to whether it   
was right or wrong to have ,church      
fairs1 and the newspapers became very   
fretful about it4 ,i defended the       
,church fairs1 because ,i felt that if  
they were conducted on ,christian       
principles they were the means of an    
universal sociality and spiritual       
strength4 ,so far as ,i had been        
acquainted with them1 they had made the 
,church purer1 better4 ,some fairs may  

end in a fight2 they are badly managed1 
perhaps4 ,a ,church fair1 officered by  
,christian women1 held within ,christian
 hours1 conducted on ,christian plans1  
,i approved1 the pastoral letter of the 
,episcopal ,bishops notwithstanding4    
,just when we were in the midst of this 
religious tempest of small finances1 the
 will of ,commodore ,cornelius          
,vanderbilt came up in the court for    
discussion4 ,the whole world was anxious
 then to know if the ,vanderbilt will   
could be broken4 ,after battling half a 
century with diseases enough to kill ten
 men1 ,mr4 ,vanderbilt died1 an         
octogenarian1 leaving over              
#ajj1jjj1jjj--ie1jjj1jjj to his eldest  
son--#e1jjj1jjj to his wife1 and the    
remainder to his other children and     
relations1 with here and there a slight 
recognition of some humane or religious 
institution4 ,i said then that the will 
could not be broken1 because #ie1jjj1jjj
 in this country seemed too mighty for  
#e1jjj1jjj4 ,it was a strange will1 and 

if ,mr4 ,vanderbilt had been his own    
executor of it1 without lawyers'        
interference1 ,i believe it would have  
been different4 ,it suggests a          
comparison with ,george ,peabody1 who   
executed the distribution of his        
property without legal talent4 ,peabody 
gave #bej1jjj for a library in his own  
town in ,massachusetts1 and in his will 
left #aj1jjj to the ,baltimore          
,institute1 #bj1jjj to the poor of      
,london1 #aj1jjj to ,harvard1 #aej1jjj  
to ,yale1 #ej1jjj to ,salem1            
,massachusetts1 and #c1jjj1jjj to the   
education of the people of the ,south in
 this country4 ,no wonder he refused a  
baronetcy which the ,queen of ,england  
offered him1 he was a king--the king of 
human benefaction4 ,that ,vanderbilt    
will was the seven days wonder of its   
time4  ,it made way only for the        
,president's message issued the first   
week in ,december1 #ahgg4 ,it was1 in   
fact1 ,mr4 ,hayes's repudiation of a    
dishonest measure prepared by members of

 ,congress to pay off our national debt 
in silver instead of in gold as had been
 promised4  ,the newspapers received the
 ,president's message with indifferent  
opinion4 ,it is disappointing1 said one4
 ,as a piece of composition it is terse 
and well written1 said another4 ,the    
,president used a good many big words to
 say very little1 said another4         
,president ,hayes will secure a         
respectful hearing by the ability and   
character of this document1 said        
another4 ,leaving out his bragging over 
his policy of pacification and          
concerning things he claims to have     
done1 the space remaining will be very  
small1 said another4  ,but all who read 
the message carefully realised that in  
it the ,president promised the people to
 put an end to the dishonour of thieving
 politics4 ,there was something in the  
air in ,washington that seemed to       
afflict the men who went there with     
moral distemper4 ,i was told that       
,coates ,ames was almost a ,christian in

 ,massachusetts1 while in ,washington1  
from his house1 was born that           
monster--,the ,credit ,mobilier4        
,congressmen who in their own homes     
would insist upon paying their private  
obligations1 dollar for dollar1 forgot  
this standard of business honour when   
they advocated a swindling policy for   
the ,government of the ,united ,states4 
,in its day of trouble the ,government  
was glad to promise gold to the people  
who had confidence in them1 and just as 
gladly the ,government proposed to      
swindle them by a silver falsehood in   
#ahgg4 ,but the ,nation was just        
recovering from a four years' drunk2    
,mr4 ,hayes undertook to steady us1     
during the aftereffects of our          
war-spree4 ,why should we neglect to pay
 in full the price of our four years'   
unrighteousness8 ,as a nation we had so 
often been relieved from financial      
depression up to that time1 but1 we were
 just entering a period of unlicensed   
ethics1 not merely in public life1 but  

in all our private standards of         
morality4  ,it seems to me1 as ,i recall
 the character of ,brooklyn life at this
 time1 there never was a period in its  
history when it was so intolerably      
wicked4 ,and yet1 we had #bgf churches4 
,one night about ,christmas time1 in    
#ahgg1 ,brooklyn ,heights was startled  
by a pistol shot that set everyone in   
,new ,york and ,brooklyn to moralising4 
,it was the ,johnson tragedy4 ,a young  
husband shot his young wife1 with intent
 to kill4 ,she was seriously wounded4   
,he went to prison4 ,there was a child1 
and for the sake of that child1 who is  
now probably grown up1 ,i will not      
relate the details4 ,in all my          
experience of life ,i have heard many   
stories of domestic failure1 but there  
are always two sides4 ,those who        
moralised about it said1 ,that's what   
comes of marrying too young6 ,others1   
moralising too1 said1 ,that's what comes
 of not controlling one's temper4 ,who  
does control his temper1 always8  ,to my

 mind the chief lesson was in the fact  
that the young men of ,brooklyn had     
taken too much of a notion to carry     
firearms4 ,there was a puppyism sprang  
up in ,brooklyn that felt they couldn't 
live unless they were armed4 ,young boys
 went about their daily occupations     
armed to the teeth1 as if ,fulton       
,street were an ambush for ,indians4 ,i 
mention this1 because it was a singular 
phase of the social restlessness and    
tremor of the times4  ,in commercial    
evolution there was the same            
indistinctness of standards4 ,the case  
of ,dr4 ,lambert--the ,life ,insurance  
fraud--had no sooner been disposed of1  
and ,lambert sent to ,sing-,sing1 than  
the sudden failure of ,bonner  ,co41    
brokers in ,wall ,street1 presented us  
with the problem of business            
rehypothecation4  ,in my opinion a man  
has as much right to fail in business as
 he has to get sick and die4 ,in most   
cases it is more honourable to fail than
 to go on4 ,every insolvent is not      

necessarily a scoundrel4 ,the greatest  
crime is to fail rich4 ,john ,bonner    
,co41 as brokers1 had loaned money on   
deposited collaterals1 and then borrowed
 still larger sums on the same          
collaterals4 ,their creditors were duped
 to the extent of from one to three     
millions of dollars4 ,it was the first  
crime of rehypothecation4 ,it was not a 
,wall ,street theft2 it was a new use   
for an almost unknown word in ,noah     
,webster's dictionary4 ,it was a new    
word in the rogue's vocabulary4 ,it was 
one of the first attempts made1 in my   
knowledge1 to soften the aspect of crime
 by baptising it in that way4 ,crime in 
this country will always be excused in  
proportion to how great it is4 ,but even
 in the face of ,wall ,street tricksters
 there were signs that the days were    
gone when the ,jay ,goulds and the ,jim 
,fisks could hold the nation at their   
mercy4  ,the comedy of life is sometimes
 quite as instructive as a tragedy4     
,there was a flagrant disposition in    

,america1 in the late 'seventies1 to    
display family affairs in the           
newspapers4 ,it became an epidemic of   
notoriety4 ,what a delicious literature 
it was6 ,the private affairs of the     
household printed by the million copies4
 ,chief among these novelettes of family
 life was the ,hicks-,lord case4 ,the   
world was informed one morning in       
,february1 #ahgh1 that a ,mr4 ,lord1 a  
millionaire1 had united his fortune with
 a ,mrs4 ,hicks4 ,the children of the   
former were offended at the second      
marriage of the latter1 more especially 
so as the new reunion might change the  
direction of the property4 ,the father  
was accused of being insane by his      
children1 and incapable of managing his 
own affairs4 ,the ,courts were invoked4 
,one thing was made plain to all the    
world1 though1 that ,mr4 ,lord at eighty
 knew more than his children did at     
thirty or forty4 ,the happy pair were   
compelled to remain in long seclusion   
because of murderous threats against    

them1 the children having proposed a    
corpse instead of a bride4 ,the         
absorbing question of weeks1 ,where is  
,mr4 ,lord8 was answered4 ,he was in the
 newspapers--and the children8 they were
 across the old man's knee1 where they  
belonged4 ,mr4 ,lord was right4 ,mrs4   
,hicks was right4 ,it was nobody's      
business but their own4 ,brooklyn and   
,new ,york were exceeding busy-bodies in
 the late 'seventies4 ,it was a relief  
to turn one's back upon them            
occasionally1 in the pulpit1 and search 
the furthest horizon of ,europe4        
,scarcely had ,victor ,emmanuel been    
entombed when on ,feb4 #gth a tired old 
man1 eighty-four years of age1 died in  
the ,vatican1 ,pius ,,ix41 a kind and   
forgiving man4 ,his trust was not wholly
 in the crucifix1 but something beyond  
the crucifix2 and yet1 how small a man  
is when measured by the length of his   
coffin6 ,events in ,europe marshalled   
themselves into a formula of new        
problems at the beginning of #ahgh4 ,the

 complete defeat of ,turkey by the      
,russians left ,england and the ,united 
,states--allies in the great causes of  
civilisation and ,christianity--aghast4 
,it was the most intense political      
movement in ,europe of my lifetime4 ,i  
was glad the ,turkish ,empire had       
perished1 but ,i had no admiration then 
for ,russia1 once one of the world's    
greatest oppressors4  ,my deepest       
sympathies at that time were with       
,england4 ,when ,england is humiliated  
the ,christian standards of the world   
are humiliated4 ,her throne during      
,queen ,victoria's reign was the purest 
throne in all the world4 ,remember the  
girl ,victoria1 kneeling with her       
ecclesiastical adviser in prayer the    
night before her coronation1 making     
religious vows1 not one of which were   
broken4 ,i urged then that all our      
,american churches throughout the land  
unite with the cathedrals and churches  
in ,england in shouting ,god ,save the  
,queen4 ,england held the balance of the

 world's power for ,christianity in this
 crisis abroad4  ,about this time1 in   
,february1 #ahgh1 ,senator ,pierce      
presented a ,bill before the            
,legislature in ,albany for a new city  
charter for ,brooklyn4 ,in its reform   
movement it meant that in three years at
 the most ,brooklyn and ,new ,york would
 be legally married4 ,instead of        
,brooklyn being depressed by ,new ,york1
 ,new ,york was to be elevated by       
,brooklyn4 ,already we felt at that     
time1 in the light of ,senator ,pierce's
 efforts1 that ,brooklyn would become a 
reformed ,new ,york2 it would be--,new  
,york with its cares set aside1 ,new    
,york with its arms folded at rest1 ,new
 ,york playing with the children1 ,new  
,york at the tea table1 ,new ,york gone 
to prayer-meeting4 ,nine-tenths of the  
,brooklynites then were spending their  
days in ,new ,york1 and their nights in 
,brooklyn4 ,in the year #ahgg1          
#hj1jjj1jjj of people crossed the       
,brooklyn ferries4 ,paris is ,france1   

,london is ,england1 why not ,new ,york 
the ,united ,states8  ,the new charter  
recommended by ,senator ,pierce urged   
other reforms in a local government that
 was too costly by far4 ,under right    
administration who could tell what our  
beloved city is to be8 ,prospect ,park1 
the geographical centre1 a beautiful    
picture set in a great frame of         
architectural affluence4 ,the boulevards
 reaching to the sea1 their sides lined 
the whole distance with luxurious homes 
and academies of art4 ,our united city a
 hundred ,brightons in one1 and the     
inland populations coming down here to  
summer and battle in the surf4 ,the     
great ,american ,london built by a      
continent on which all the people are   
free2 her vast populations redeemed2 her
 churches thronged with worshipful      
auditories6 ,before that time we may    
have fallen asleep amid the long grass  
of the valleys1 but our children will   
enjoy the brightness and the honour of  
residence in the great ,christian city  

of the continent and of the world4  ,it 
was this era of optimism in the civic   
life of ,brooklyn that helped to defeat 
the ,lafayette ,avenue railroad4  ,it   
was a scheme of ,new ,york speculators  
to deface one of the finest avenues in  
,brooklyn4 ,the most profitable business
 activity in this country is to invest  
other people's money4 ,it seemed to me  
that the ,lafayette railroad deal was   
only a sort of blackmailing institution 
to compel the property holders to pay   
for the discontinuance of the           
enterprise1 or the company would sell   
out to some other company2 and as the   
original company paid nothing all they  
get is clear gain2 and whether the      
railroad is built or not1 the people for
 years1 all along the beautiful route1  
would be kept in suspense4 ,there was no
 more need of a car track along         
,lafayette avenue than there was need of
 one from the top of ,trinity ,church   
steeple to the moon6 ,the greater       
facility of travel1 the greater         

prosperity6 ,but ,i am opposed to all   
railroads1 the depot for which is an    
unprincipled speculator's pocket4  ,it  
was only a few weeks later that ,i had  
to condemn a much greater matter1 a     
national event4  ,on ,march #a1 #ahgh1  
the ,silver ,bill was passed in         
,washington1 notwithstanding the        
,president's veto4 ,the ,house passed it
 by a vote of #aif against #gc1 and the 
,senate agreed with a vote of #df       
against #aj4 ,it would be asking too    
much to expect anyone to believe that   
the #aif men in ,congress were bought   
up4 ,so far as ,i knew the men1 they    
were as honest on one side of the vote  
as on the other4 ,senator ,conkling1    
that giant of integrity1 opposed it4    
,alexander ,h4 ,stephens voted for it4  
,i talked with ,mr4 ,stephens about it1 
and he said to me at the time1 ,unless  
the ,silver ,bill pass1 in the next six 
months there will not be two hundred    
business houses in ,new ,york able to   
stand4 ,still1 the ,silver ,bill seemed 

like the first step towards repudiation 
of our national obligation1 but ,i      
believe that at least #aij out of those 
#aif men who voted for it would have    
sacrificed their lives rather than      
repudiate our national debt4  ,i had an 
opportunity to comprehend the political 
explosion of the passage of this ,bill  
all over the country1 for it so happened
 ,i made a lecturing trip through the   
,south and ,south-west during the month 
of ,march1 #ahgh4  ,there is one word   
that described the whole feeling in the 
,south at this time1 and that was hope4 
,the most cheerful city1 ,i found1 was  
,new ,orleans4 ,she was rejoicing in the
 release from years of unrighteous      
government4 ,just how the ,state of     
,louisiana had been badgered1 and her   
every idea of self-government insulted1 
can be appreciated only by those who    
come face to face with the facts4 ,while
 some of the best patriots of the ,north
 went down with the right motives to    
mingle in the reconstruction of the     

,state governments of the ,south1 many  
of these pilgrimists were the cast-off  
and thieving politicians of the ,north1 
who1 after being stoned out of ,northern
 waters1 crawled up on the beach at the 
,south to sun themselves4 ,the ,southern
 ,states had enough dishonest men of    
their own without any importation4 ,the 
day of trouble passed4 ,louisiana and   
,south ,carolina for the most part are  
free4 ,governor ,nichols of the one1 and
 ,governor ,wade ,hampton of the other1 
had the confidence of the great masses  
of the people4  ,it was my opinion then 
that the largest fortunes were yet to be
 made in the ,south1 because there was  
more room to make them there4 ,during my
 two weeks in the ,south1 at that time1 
mingling with all classes of people1 ,i 
never heard an unkind word against the  
,north1 and that only a little over ten 
years since the close of the war4       
,congressional politicians were still   
enlarging upon the belligerency of the  
,south1 but they had personal designs at

 ,president making4 ,there was no more  
use for ,federal military in ,new       
,orleans than there was need of them in 
,brooklyn4 ,i was the guest in ,new     
,orleans of the ,hon4 ,e4,j4 ,ellis1    
many years in ,congress1 and ,i had a   
taste of real ,southern hospitality4 ,it
 was everywhere4 ,the spirit of         
fraternity was in the ,south long before
 it reached the ,north4 ,up to this time
 ,i had echoed ,horace ,greeley's       
advice1 ,go ,west4 ,for years afterwards
 ,i changed it4 ,in my advice to young  
men ,i said to all1 ,go ,south4  ,in the
 spring of #ahgh1 however1 things in    
,brooklyn began to look more promising  
for young men and young women4 ,i       
remember after closely examining ,mayor 
,howell's report and the ,police        
,commissioner's report ,i was much      
pleased4 ,mayor ,howell was one of the  
most courteous and genial men ,i ever   
knew1 and ,superintendent ,campbell was 
a good police officer4 ,these two men1  
by their individual interest in         

,brooklyn reforms1 had gained the       
confidence of our tax-payers and our    
philanthropists4 ,the police force was  
too small for a city of #e1jjj1jjj      
people4 ,the taxes were not big enough  
to afford an adequate equipment4 ,there 
was a constant depreciation of our      
police and excise officials in the      
churches4 ,city officials should not be 
caricatured--they should be respected1  
or dismissed4 ,it was about this time a 
mounted police department was started in
 ,brooklyn1 and though small it was     
needed4 ,what the miscreant community of
 ,brooklyn most needed at this time was 
not sermons or lessons in the common    
schools1 but a police club--and they got
 it4  ,there was a political avarice in 
,brooklyn in the management of our      
public taxes which handicapped the local
 government4 ,for a long while ,i had   
been thinking about some way of         
presenting this sin to my people1 when  
one day a woman1 ,barbara ,allen by     
name1 dropping in fatal illness1 was    

picked up at the ,fulton ,ferry ,house1 
and died in the ambulance4 ,on her arm  
was a basket of cold victuals she had   
lugged from house to house4 ,in the rags
 of her clothing were found deposit     
slips in the savings banks of           
,brooklyn--for #bj1jjj4 ,the case was   
unique at that time1 because in those   
days great wealth was unknown1 even in  
,new ,york1 and the houses in ,brooklyn 
were homes--not museums4 ,twenty        
thousand dollars was a fortune4 ,it was 
a precedent that established miserliness
 as an actual sin1 a dissipation just as
 deadly as that of the spendthrift4 ,it 
was a tragic scene from the drama of    
life1 and its surprise was avarice4 ,the
 whole country read about ,barbara      
,allen1 and wondered what new strange   
disease this was that could scourge a   
human soul with a madness for           
accumulating money without spending it4 
,the people of the ,united ,states      
suffered from quite a different idea of 
money4 ,they were just beginning to feel

 the great ,american fever for spending 
more of it than they could get4 ,this   
was a serious phase of social conditions
 then1 and ,i remember how keenly ,i    
felt the menace of it at the time4      
,those who couldn't get enough to spend 
became envious1 jealous1 hateful of     
those who could and these envious ones  
were the ,american masses4  ,in the     
spring of #ahgh1 in ,may1 there was a   
tiger sprang out of this jungle of      
discontent1 and1 crouching1 threatened  
to spring upon ,american ,society4  ,it 
was--,communism4 ,its theory was that   
what could not be obtained lawfully1    
under the pressure of circumstances1 you
 could take anyhow4 ,communism meant no 
individual rights in property4 ,if wages
 were not adequate to the luxurious     
appetite1 then the wage-earner claimed  
the right to knock his employer down and
 take what he wanted4 ,bread or blood   
was the motto4 ,it all came from across 
the ,atlantic1 and it spread rapidly4   
,in ,brooklyn1 ,new ,york1 ,chicago1    

,st4 ,louis1 it was evident that        
,communism was organising1 that its     
executive desperadoes met in rooms1     
formed lodges1 invented grips and       
pass-words4  ,in the eighth ward of ,new
 ,york an organisation was unearthed at 
this time1 consisting of #hjj men1 all  
armed with muskets and revolvers4 ,these
 organisations described themselves as  
working-men's parties1 and so tried to  
ally themselves with the interests of   
trade unions4  ,twenty ,american        
newspapers advocated this shocking      
creed4 ,tens of thousands adopted this  
theory4 ,i said then1 in response to the
 opinion that ,communism was impossible 
in this country1 that there were just as
 many cut-throats along the ,east ,river
 and the ,hudson as there were along the
 ,seine or the ,thames4 ,there was only 
one thing that prevented revolution in  
our cities in this memorable spring of  
#ahgh1 and that was the police and the  
military guard4  ,through               
dissatisfaction about wages1 or from any

 cause1 men have a right to stop work1  
and to stop in bands and bodies until   
their labour shall be appreciated2 but  
when by violence1 as in the summer of   
#ahgg1 they compel others to stop1 or   
hinder substitutes from taking the      
places1 then the act is ,communistic1   
and ought to be riven of the lightnings 
of public condemnation4 ,what was the   
matter in ,pittsburg that summer8 ,what 
fired the long line of cars that made   
night hideous8 ,what lifted the wild    
howl in ,chicago8 ,why1 coming toward   
that city1 were we obliged to dismount  
from the cars and take carriages through
 the back streets8 ,why1 when one night 
the ,michigan ,central train left       
,chicago1 were there but three          
passengers on board a train of eight    
cars8 ,what forced three rail trains    
from the tracks and shot down engineers 
with their hands on the valves8         
,communism4 ,for hundreds of miles along
 the track leading from the great ,west 
,i saw stretched out and coiled up the  

great reptile which1 after crushing the 
free locomotive of passengers and trade1
 would have twisted itself around our   
republican institutions1 and left them  
in strangulation and blood along the    
pathway of nations4 ,the governors of   
,states and the ,president of the       
,united ,states did well in planting the
 loaded cannon at the head of streets   
blocked up by desperadoes4 ,i felt the  
inspiration of giving warning1 and ,i   
did4  ,but the summer came1 ,august     
came1 and after a lecture tour through  
the far ,west ,i was amazed and         
delighted to find there a tremendous    
harvest in the grain fields4 ,i had seen
 immense crops there about to start on  
their way to the ,eastern sea-boundary  
of our continent4 ,i saw then that our  
prosperity as a nation would depend upon
 our agriculture4 ,it didn't make any   
difference what the ,greenback party1 or
 the ,republican and ,democratic        
parties1 or the ,communists were        
croaking about2 the immense harvests of 

the ,west indicated that nothing was the
 matter4 ,what we needed in the fall of 
#ahgh was some cheerful talk4  ,during  
this summer two of the world's          
celebrities died3 ,charles ,mathews1 the
 famous comedian1 and the great         
,american poet1 ,william ,cullen        
,bryant4 ,charles ,mathews was an       
illustrious actor4 ,he was born to make 
the world laugh1 but he had a sad life  
of struggle4  ,while ,charles ,mathews  
was performing in ,london before immense
 audiences1 one day a worn-out and      
gloomy man came into a doctor's shop1   
saying1 ,doctor1 what can you do for me8
 ,the doctor examined his case and said1
 ,my advice is that you go and see      
,charles ,mathews4 ,alas6 ,alas6 said   
the man1 ,i myself am ,charles ,mathews4
  ,in the loss of ,william ,cullen      
,bryant ,i felt it as a personal        
bereavement of a close friend4 ,nowhere 
have ,i seen the following incident of  
his life recorded1 an incident which ,i 
still remember as one of the great      

events in my life4  ,in the days of my  
boyhood ,i attended a meeting at        
,tripler ,hall1 held as a memorial of   
,fenimore ,cooper1 who at that time had 
just died4 ,washington ,irving stepped  
out on the speaker's platform first1    
trembling1 and in evident misery4 ,after
 stammering and blushing and bowing1 he 
completely broke down in his effort to  
make a speech1 and briefly introduced   
the presiding officer of the meeting1   
,daniel ,webster4 ,rising like a huge   
mountain from a plain this great orator 
introduced another orator--the orator of
 the day--,william ,cullen ,bryant4 ,in 
that memorable oration1 lasting an hour 
and a half1 the speaker told lovingly   
the story of the life and death of the  
author of ,leather ,stocking and ,the   
,last of the ,mohicans4  ,george ,w4    
,bethune followed him1 thundering out in
 that marvellous flow of ideas1 with an 
eloquence that made him the pulpit      
orator of his generation in the ,south4 
,bryant's hair was then just touched    

with grey4 ,the last time ,i saw him was
 in my house on ,oxford ,street1 two    
years ago1 in a company of literary     
people4 ,i said3 ,mr4 ,bryant1 will you 
read for us ',thanatopsis'8 ,he blushed 
like a girl1 and put his hands over his 
face and said3 ,i would rather read     
anything than my own production2 but if 
it will give you pleasure ,i will do    
anything you say4 ,then at #hb years of 
age1 and without spectacles1 he stood up
 and with most pathetic tenderness read 
the famous poem of his boyhood days1 and
 from a score of lips burst forth the   
exclamation1 ,what a wonderful old man6 
,what made all the land and all the     
world feel so badly when ,william       
,cullen ,bryant was laid down at        
,roslyn8 ,because he was a great poet   
who had died8 ,no2 there have been      
greater poets4 ,because he was so able  
an editor8 ,no2 there have been abler   
editors4 ,because he was so very old8   
,no2 some have attained more years4 ,it 
was because a spotless and noble        

character irradiated all he wrote and   
said and did4  ,these great men of      
,america1 how much they were to me1 in  
their example of doing and living6      
,probably there are many still living   
who remember what a disorderly place    
,brooklyn once was4 ,gangs of loafers   
hung around our street corners1         
insulting and threatening men and women4
 ,carriages were held up in the streets1
 the occupants robbed1 and the vehicles 
stolen4 ,kidnapping was known4 ,behind  
all this outrage of civil rights was    
political outrage4 ,the politicians were
 afraid to offend the criminals1 because
 they might need their votes in future  
elections4 ,they were immune1 because   
they were useful material in case of a  
new governor or ,president4 ,it was a   
reign of terror that spread also in     
other large cities4 ,the farmers of     
,ohio and ,pennsylvania were threatened 
if they did not stop buying             
labour-saving machinery4 ,they were not 
the threats of the working-man1 but of  

the lazy1 criminal loafers of the       
country4 ,it is worth mentioning1       
because it was a convulsion of an       
,american period1 a national growing    
pain1 which ,i then saw and talked      
about4 ,the nation was under the cloud  
of political ambition and office-seeking
 that unsettled business conditions4    
,every one was occupied in              
,president-making1 although we were two 
years from the ,presidential election4  
,there was plenty of money1 but people  
held on to it4  ,the yellow fever       
scourge came down upon the ,south during
 the late summer of #ahgh1 and softened 
the hearts of some4 ,there was some     
money contributed from the ,north1 but  
not as much as there ought to have been4
 ,in the ,brooklyn ,tabernacle we did   
the best we could2 ,new ,york city had  
been ravaged by yellow fever in #ahcb1  
the year ,i was born1 but the memory of 
that horror was not keen enough to      
influence the collection plate4 ,what   
with this suffering of our neighbours in

 the ,south1 and the troubles of        
political jealousies local and national1
 there were cares enough for our church 
to consider4 ,still1 the summer of #ahgh
 was almost through1 and many           
predictions of disaster had failed4 ,we 
had been threatened with general riots4 
,it was predicted that on ,june #bg all 
the cars and railroad stations would be 
burned1 because of a general strike     
order4 ,we were threatened with a fruit 
famine4 ,it was said that the ,maryland 
and ,new ,jersey peach crop was a       
failure4 ,i never saw or ate so many    
peaches any summer before4  ,then there 
was the ,patten investigation committee1
 determined to send ,mr4 ,tilden down to
 ,washington to drive the ,president out
 of the ,white ,house4 ,none of these   
things happened1 yet it is interesting  
to recall this phase of ,american nerves
 in #ahgh4  ,there was one event that   
aroused my disgust1 however1 much more  
than the croakers had done--,ben ,butler
 was nominated for ,governor of         

,massachusetts4 ,that was when politics 
touched bottom4 ,there was no lower     
depths of infamy for them to reach4 ,ben
 ,butler was the chief demagogue of the 
land4 ,the ,republican party was to be  
congratulated that it got rid of him4   
,his election was a cross put upon the  
,state of ,massachusetts for something  
it had done we knew not of4 ,fortunately
 there were men like ,roscoe ,conkling  
in politics to counterbalance other     
kinds4  ,backed up by unscrupulous      
politicians1 the equally irresponsible  
railroad promoter began his invasion of 
city streets with his noisy scheme4 ,i  
opposed him1 but the problem of         
transportation then was not as it is    
now4 ,just as the year #ahgi had begun1 
a gigantic political promoting scheme   
for an elevated railroad in ,brooklyn   
was attempted4 ,from ,boston came the   
promoters with a proposition to build   
the road1 without paying a cent of      
indemnity to property holders4 ,i       
suggested that an appeal be made to     

,brooklynites to subscribe to a company 
for the agricultural improvements of    
,boston ,common4 ,it was a parallel     
absurdity4 ,mayor ,howell1 of ,brooklyn1
 courageously opposed an elevated road  
franchise1 unless property holders were 
paid according to the damage to the     
property4 ,this was one of many inspired
 grafts of political ,brooklyn1 years   
ago4  ,a great event in the world was   
the announcement in ,november1 #ahgh1   
that ,professor ,thomas ,edison had     
applied for a patent for the discovery  
of the incandescent electric light4 ,he 
harnessed the flame of a thunderbolt to 
fit in a candlestick4 ,i hope he made   
millions of dollars out of it4 ,in      
direct contradiction to this progress in
 daily life there came1 at the same     
time1 from the ,philadelphia clergy a   
protest against printing their sermons  
in the secular press4 ,it was an        
injustice to them1 they declared1       
because the sermons were not always     
fully reported4 ,i did not share these  

opinions4 ,if a minister's gospel is not
 fit for fifty thousand people1 then it 
is not fit for the few hundred members  
of his congregation4 ,my own sermons    
were being published in the secular     
press then1 as they had been when ,i was
 in ,philadelphia4  ,almost at the close
 of the year #ahgh the loss of the      
,s4,s4 ,pomerania1 in collision in the  
,english ,channel1 was a disaster of the
 sea that ,i denounced as nothing short 
of murder4 ,it was shown at the trial   
that there was no fog at the time1 that 
the two vessels saw each other for ten  
minutes before the collision4 ,if such  
gross negligence as this was possible1  
,i advised those people who bought a    
ticket for ,europe on the ,white ,star1 
the ,cunard1 the ,hamburg1 or other     
steamship lines1 to secure at the same  
time a ticket for ,heaven4 ,what a      
difference in the ocean ferry-boat of   
to-day6  ,scarcely had the submarine    
telegraph closed this chapter of sea    
horror than it clicked the information  

that the beautiful ,princess ,alice had 
died in ,germany4 ,only a few days      
later1 in ,america1 we were in mood of  
mourning for ,bayard ,taylor1 our       
,minister ,plenipotentiary to ,germany4 
,in the death of ,princess ,alice we    
felt chiefly a sympathy for ,queen      
,victoria1 who had not then1 and never  
did1 overcome her grief at the loss of  
,prince ,albert4 ,in the decease of     
,bayard ,taylor we remembered with pride
 that he was a self-made gentleman of a 
school for which there is no known      
system of education4 ,regarded as a     
dreamy1 unpractical boy1 nothing much   
was ever expected of him4 ,when he was  
seventeen he set type in a printing     
office in ,westchester4 ,it was ,bayard 
,taylor who exploded the idea that only 
the rich could afford to go to ,europe1 
when on less than a thousand dollars he 
spent two years amid the palaces and    
temples1 telling of his adventures in a 
way that contributed classic literature 
to our book-shelves4 ,he worked         

hard--wrote thirty-five books4 ,there is
 genius in hard work alone4 ,i have     
often thought that women pursue more of 
it than men4 ,they work night and day1  
year in and year out1 from kitchen to   
parlour1 from parlour to kitchen4       
,there was some strong legislative      
effort made in our country about this   
time to exclude the ,chinese4 ,i opposed
 this legislation with all the voice and
 ability ,i had1 because ,i felt not    
merely the injustice of such            
contradiction of all our national       
institutions1 but ,i saw its political  
folly4 ,i saw that the nation that would
 be the most friendly to ,china1 and    
could get on the inside track of her    
commerce1 would be the first nation of  
the world4 ,the legislature seemed      
particularly angry with the ,chinese    
immigrants in this country because they 
would not allow themselves to be buried 
here4 ,they were angry with the ,chinese
 then because they would not intermarry4
 ,they were angry with the ,chinese     

because they invested their money in    
,china4 ,they did not think they were   
handsome enough for this country4 ,we   
even wanted a monopoly of good looks in 
those days4  ,i was particularly        
friendly to the ,chinese4 ,my brother1  
,john ,van ,nest ,talmage1 devoted his  
life to them4 ,i believed1 as my brother
 did1 that they were a great nation4    
,when he went1 my last brother went4    
,stunned was ,i until ,i staggered      
through the corridors of the hotel in   
,london1 ,england1 when the news came   
that ,john was dead4 ,if ,i should say  
all that ,i felt ,i would declare that  
since ,paul the ,apostle to the         
,gentiles a more faithful or consecrated
 man has not lifted his voice in the    
dark places of heathenism4 ,i said it   
while he was alive1 and might as well   
say it now that he is dead4 ,he was the 
hero of our family4 ,he did not go to   
,china to spend his days because no one 
in ,america wanted to hear him preach4  
,at the time of his first going to      

,china he had a call to succeed in      
,brooklyn1 ,n4,y41 the ,rev4 ,dr4       
,broadhead1 the ,chrysostom of the      
,american pulpit1 a call at a large     
salary2 and there would have been       
nothing impossible to my brother in the 
way of religious work or ,christian     
achievement had he tarried in his native
 land4 ,but nothing could detain him    
from the work to which ,god called him  
long before he became a ,christian4  ,my
 reason for writing that anomalous      
statement is that1 when a small boy in  
,sabbath-school1 he read a library book1
 ,the ,life of ,henry ,martin4 ,he said 
to my mother1 ,i am going to be a       
missionary4 ,the remark at the time made
 no special impression4 ,years after    
that passed on before his conversion2   
but when the grace of ,god appeared to  
him1 and he had entered his studies for 
the ,gospel ministry1 he said one day1  
,mother1 do you remember that years ago 
,i said1 ',i am going to be a           
missionary'8 ,she replied1 ,yes1 ,i     

remember it4 ,well1 said he1 ,i am going
 to keep my promise4 ,how well he kept  
it millions of souls on earth and in    
,heaven have long since heard4 ,when the
 roll of martyrs is called before the   
throne1 the name of ,john ,van ,nest    
,talmage will be called4 ,he worked     
himself to death in the cause of the    
world's evangelisation4 ,his heart1 his 
brain1 his hand1 his voice1 his muscles1
 his nerves could do no more4 ,he sleeps
 in the cemetery of ,somerville1 ,n4,j41
 so near his father and mother that he  
will face them when he arises in the    
resurrection of the just1 and1 amid a   
crowd of his kindred now sleeping on the
 right of them and on the left of them1 
will feel the thrill of the trumpet that
 wakes the dead4  ,you could get nothing
 from my brother at all4 ,ask him a     
question to evoke what he had done for  
,god and the ,church1 and his lips were 
as tightly shut as though they had never
 been opened4 ,indeed1 his reticence was
 at times something remarkable4 ,i took 

him to see ,president ,grant at ,long   
,branch1 and though they had both been  
great warriors1 the one fighting the    
battles of the ,lord and the other the  
battles of his country1 they had little 
to say1 and there was1 ,i thought1 at   
the time1 more silence crowded together 
than ,i ever noticed in the same amount 
of space before4  ,but the story of my  
brother's work has already been told in 
the ,heavens by those who1 through his  
instrumentality1 have already reached   
the ,city of ,raptures4 ,however1 his   
chief work is yet to come4 ,we get our  
chronology so twisted that we come to   
believe that the white marble of the    
tomb is the milestone at which the good 
man stops1 when it is only a milestone  
on a journey1 the most of the miles of  
which are yet to be travelled4 ,the     
,chinese ,dictionary which my brother   
prepared during more than two decades of
 study2 the religious literature he     
transferred from ,english into ,chinese2
 the hymns he wrote for others to sing1 

although he himself could not sing at   
all 7he and ,i monopolising the musical 
incapacity of a family in which all the 
rest could sing well72 the missionary   
stations he planted2 the life he lived1 
will widen out and deepen and intensify 
through all time and all eternity4      
,never in the character of a ,chinaman  
was there the trait of commercial fraud 
that assailed our ,american cities in   
#ahgi4 ,it got into our food            
finally--the very bread we ate was      
proven to be an adulteration of impure  
stuff4 ,what an extravagance of         
imagination had crept into our daily    
life6 ,we pretended even to eat what we 
knew we were not eating4 ,except for the
 reminder which old books written in    
byegone simpler days gave us1 we should 
have insisted that the world should     
believe us if we said black was white4  
,still1 among us there were some who    
were genuine1 but they seemed to be     
passing away4 ,it was in this year that 
the oldest author in ,america died1     

,richard ,henry ,dana4 ,he was born in  
#aghh1 when literature in this country  
was just beginning4 ,his death stirred  
the tenderest emotions4 ,authorship was 
a new thing in ,america when ,mr4 ,dana 
began to write1 and it required         
endurance and persistence4 ,the         
atmosphere was chilling to literature   
then1 there was little applause for     
poetic or literary skill4 ,there were no
 encouragements when ,washington ,irving
 wrote as ,knickerbocker1 when ,richard 
,henry ,dana wrote ,the ,buccaneer1 ,the
 ,idle ,man1 and ,the ,dying ,raven4    
,there was something cracking in his    
wit1 exalted in his culture4 ,he was so 
gentle in his conversation1 so pure in  
his life1 it was hard to spare him4 ,he 
seemed like a man who had never been    
forced into the battle of the world1 he 
was so unscarred and hallowed4  ,it was 
just about this time that our           
,tabernacle in ,brooklyn became the     
storm centre of a law-suit which        
threatened to undermine us4 ,it was     

based upon a theory1 a technicality of  
law1 which declared that the            
subscriptions of married women were not 
legal subscriptions4 ,our attorneys were
 ,mr4 ,freeman and ,judge ,tenney4      
,theirs was a battle for ,god and the   
,church4 ,there were only two sides to  
the case4 ,those against the ,church and
 those with the ,church4 ,in the        
preceding eight years1 whether against  
fire or against foe1 the ,tabernacle had
 risen to a higher plane of useful      
,christian work4 ,i was not alarmed4    
,during the two weeks of persecution1   
the days were to me days of the most    
complete peace ,i had felt since ,i     
entered the ,christian life4 ,again and 
again ,i remember remarking in my home1 
to my family1 what a supernatural peace 
was upon me4 ,my faith was in ,god1 who 
managed my life and the affairs of the  
,church4 ,my work was still before me1  
there was too much to be done in the    
,tabernacle yet4 ,the disapproval of our
 methods before the ,brooklyn           

,presbytery was formulated in a series  
of charges against the pastor4 ,i was   
told my enthusiasm was sinful1 that it  
was unorthodox for me to be so4 ,my     
utterances were described as inaccurate4
 ,my editorial work was offensively     
criticised4 ,the ,presbytery listened   
patiently1 and after a careful          
consideration dismissed the charges4    
,once more the unjust oppression of     
enemies had seemed to extend the        
strength and scope of the ,gospel4 ,a   
few days later my congregation presented
 me with a token of confidence in their 
pastor4 ,i was so happy at the time that
 ,i was ready to shake hands even with  
the reporters who had abused me4 ,how   
kind they were1 how well they understood
 me1 how magnificently they took care of
 me1 my people of the ,brooklyn         
,tabernacle6     ,,the ,,sixth          
,,milestone  #ahgi-ahha   ,in the spring
 of #ahgi ,i made a ,gospel tour of     
,england1 ,ireland1 and ,scotland4 ,on a
 previous visit ,i had given a series of

 private lectures1 under the management 
of ,major ,pond1 and ,i had been more or
 less criticised for the amount of money
 charged the people to hear me4 ,as ,i  
had nothing whatever to do with the     
prices of tickets to my lectures1 which 
went to the managers who arranged the   
tour1 this was something beyond my      
control4 ,my personal arrangement with  
,major ,pond was for a certain fixed    
sum4 ,they said in ,europe that ,i      
charged too much to be heard1 that as a 
preacher of the ,gospel ,i should have  
been more moderate4 ,if the management  
had been my own ,i should not have been 
so greedy4  ,because of this            
recollection and the regret it gave me1 
,i decided to make another tour at my   
own expense1 and preach without price in
 all the places ,i had previously       
visited as a lecturer4 ,it was the most 
exhausting1 exciting1 remarkable        
demonstration of religious enthusiasm ,i
 have ever witnessed4 ,it was an        
evangelistic yearning that could not be 

repeated in another life-time4  ,the    
entire summer was a round of ,gospel    
meetings1 overflow meetings1 open-air   
meetings1 a succession of scenes of     
blessing4 ,from the time ,i arrived in  
,liverpool1 where that same night ,i    
addressed two large assemblages1 till ,i
 got through after a monster gathering  
at ,edinburgh1 ,i missed but three      
,gospel appointments1 and those because 
,i was too tired to stand up4 ,i        
preached ninety-eight times in          
ninety-three days4  ,with nothing but   
,gospel themes ,i confronted multitudes4
 ,a collection was always taken up at   
these gatherings for the benefit of     
local charities1 feeble churches1 orphan
 asylums and other institutions4 ,my    
services were gratuitous4  ,it was the  
most wonderful summer of evangelical    
work ,i was ever privileged to enjoy4   
,there must have been much praying for  
me and my welfare1 or no mortal could   
have got through with the work4 ,in     
every city ,i went to1 messages were    

passed into my ears for families in     
,america4 ,the collection taken for the 
benefit of the ,y4,m4,c4,a4 at ,leeds   
was about #f1jjj4 ,during this visit ,i 
preached in ,scenery ,chapel1 ,london1  
in the pulpit where such consecrated    
souls as ,rowland ,hill and ,newman     
,hall and ,james ,sherman had preached4 
,i visited the ,red ,horse ,hotel1 of   
,stratford-on-,avon1 where the chair and
 table used by ,washington ,irving were 
as interesting to me as anything in     
,shakespeare's cottage4 ,the church     
where the poet is buried is over seven  
hundred years old4  ,the most           
interesting place around ,london to me  
is in ,chelsea1 where1 on a narrow      
street1 ,i entered the house of ,thomas 
,carlyle4 ,this great author was away   
from ,london at the time4 ,entering a   
narrow hall1 on the left is the literary
 workshop1 where some of the strongest  
thunderbolts of the world's literature  
have been forged4 ,in the room1 which   
has two front windows shaded from the   

prying street by two little red calico  
curtains1 is a lounge that looks as     
though it had been made by an author    
unaccustomed to saw or hammer4 ,on the  
wall were a few woodcuts in plain frames
 or pinned on the wall4 ,here was a     
photograph of ,carlyle1 taken one day1  
as a member of his family told me1 when 
he had a violent toothache and could    
attend to nothing else1 and yet         
posterity regards it as a favourite     
picture4 ,there are only three copies of
 this photograph in existence4 ,one was 
given to ,carlyle1 the other was kept by
 the photographer1 and the third belongs
 to me4 ,in long rough shelves was the  
library of the renowned thinker4 ,the   
books were well worn with reading4 ,many
 of them were books ,i never heard of4  
,american literature was almost ignored2
 they were chiefly books written by     
,germans4 ,there was an absence of      
theological books1 excepting those of   
,thomas ,chalmers1 whose genius he      
worshipped4 ,the carpets were old and   

worn and faded4 ,he wished them to be   
so1 as a perpetual protest against the  
world's sham4 ,it did not appeal to me  
as a place of inspiration for a writer4 
,i returned to ,america impressed with  
the over-crowding of the ,british       
,isles1 and the unsettled regions of our
 own country4  ,tell the ,united ,states
 we want to send her five million       
population this year1 and five million  
population next year1 said a prominent  
,englishman to me4 ,i urged a mutual    
arrangement between the two governments1
 to people the ,west with these         
populations4 ,great ,britain was the    
workshop of the world2 we needed        
workers4 ,the trouble in the ,united    
,states at this time was that when there
 was one garment needed there were three
 people anxious to manufacture it1 and  
five people anxious to sell it4 ,we     
needed to evoke more harvests and fruits
 to feed the populations of the world1  
and more flax and wool for the clothing4
 ,the cities in ,england are so close   

together that there is a cloud from     
smokestacks the length and width of the 
island4 ,the ,canon of ,york ,minster   
showed me how the stone of that great   
cathedral was crumbling under the       
chemical corrosion of the atmosphere1   
wafted from neighbouring factories4     
,america was not yet discovered then4   
,those who had gone ,west twenty years  
back1 in #ahei1 were1 in #ahgi1 the     
leading men of ,chicago1 and ,omaha1 and
 ,denver1 and ,minneapolis1 and         
,dubuque4 ,when ,i left1 ,england was   
still suffering from the effects of the 
long-continued panic in ,america4       
,brooklyn had improved2 still1 we were  
threatened with a tremendous influx of  
people4 ,the new bridge at ,fulton      
,ferry across the ,east ,river would    
soon be opened4 ,it looked as though    
there was to be another bridge at ,south
 ,ferry1 and another at ,peck ,slip     
,ferry4 ,montauk ,point was to be       
purchased by some enterprising          
,americans1 and a railroad was to       

connect it with ,brooklyn4 ,steamers    
from ,europe were to find wharfage in   
some of the bays of ,long ,island1 and  
the passage across the ,atlantic reduced
 to six days6 ,passengers six days out  
of ,queenstown would pass into          
,brooklyn4 ,this was the ,brooklyn to   
be1 as was seen in its prospectus1 its  
evolution in #ahgi-hj4  ,our local      
elections had resulted in a better local
 government4 ,with the exception of an  
unsuccessful attempt by the ,board of   
,canvassers to deprive ,frederick ,a4   
,schroeder of his seat in the ,senate1  
because some of the voters had left out 
the middle initial in his name in their 
ballots1 all was better with us         
politically than it had been4 ,to the   
credit of our local press1 the two      
political rivals1 the ,brooklyn ,eagle  
and the ,times1 united in their efforts 
to support ,senator ,schroeder's claim4 
,there was one man in ,brooklyn at this 
time who was much abused and caricatured
 for doing a great work--,professor     

,bergh1 the deliverer of dumb animals4  
,he was constantly in the courts in     
defence of a lame horse or a stray cat4 
,i supported and encouraged him4 ,i     
always hoped that he would induce       
legislation that would give the poor    
car-horses of ,brooklyn more oats1 and  
fewer passengers to haul in one car4 ,he
 was one of the first men to fight      
earnestly against vivisection--which was
 a great work4  ,just after we had      
settled down to a more comfortable and  
hopeful state of mind ,mr4 ,thomas      
,kinsella1 one of our prominent         
citizens1 startled us by showing us1 in 
a published interview1 how little we had
 any right to feel that way4 ,he told us
 that our ,brooklyn debt was            
#ag1jjj1jjj1 with a tax area of only    
three million and a half acres4 ,it was 
disturbing4 ,but we had prospects1      
energies4 ,we had to depend in this     
predicament upon the quickened          
prosperity of our property holders1 upon
 future examiners to be scrupulous at   

the ballot box1 on the increase of our  
population1 which would help to carry   
our burdens1 and on the revenue from our
 great bridge4 ,these were local affairs
 of interest to us all1 but in          
,december1 #ahgi1 we had a more serious 
problem of our own to consider4 ,this   
concerned the future of the new         
,tabernacle4  ,in consequence of        
perpetual and long-continued outrages   
committed by neighbouring clergymen     
against the peace of our church1 the    
,board of ,trustees of the ,tabernacle  
addressed a letter to the congregation  
suggesting our withdrawal from the      
denomination4 ,i regretted this1 because
 ,i felt that the time would soon come  
when all denominations should be helpful
 to each other4 ,there would be enough  
people in ,brooklyn1 ,i was sure1 when  
all the churches could be crowded4 ,i   
positively refused to believe the things
 that my fellow ministers said about me1
 or to notice them4 ,i was perfectly    
satisfied with the ,christian outlook of

 our church4 ,i urged the same spirit of
 calm upon my church neighbours1 by     
example and precept4 ,it was a long     
while before they realised the value of 
this advice4 ,in the spring of #ahgi my 
friend ,dr4 ,crosby1 pastor of the      
,second ,presbyterian ,church at the    
corner of ,clinton and ,fulton ,streets1
 was undergoing an ecclesiastical trial1
 and an enterprising newsboy invaded the
 steps of the church1 as the most       
interested market for the sale of the   
last news about the trial4 ,he was      
ignominiously pushed off the church     
steps by the church officers4 ,i was    
indignant about it4 7,i saw it from a   
distance1 as ,i was coming down the     
street47 ,i thought it was a row between
 ,brooklyn ministers1 however1 and      
turned the corner to avoid such a       
shocking sight4 ,my suspicions were not 
groundless1 because there was even then 
anything but brotherly love between some
 of the churches there4  ,a synodical   
trial by the ,synod of ,long ,island was

 finally held at ,jamaica1 ,l4,i41 to   
ascertain if there was not some way of  
inducing church harmony in ,brooklyn4   
,after several days at ,jamaica1 in     
which the ministers of ,long ,island    
took us ministers of ,brooklyn across   
their knees and applied the             
ecclesiastical slipper1 we were sent    
home with a benediction4 ,a lot of us   
went down there looking hungry1 and they
 sent us back all fed up4 ,even some of 
the church elders were hungry and came  
back to ,brooklyn strengthened4  ,it    
looked for awhile after this as though  
all clerical antagonisms in ,brooklyn   
would expire4 ,i even foresaw a time    
coming when ,brothers ,speare1 ,van     
,dyke1 ,crosby and ,talmage would sing  
,moody and ,sankey hymns together out of
 the same hymn-book4  ,the year #ahhj   
began with an outbreak in ,maine1 a sort
 of miniature revolution1 caused by a   
political appointment of my friend      
,governor ,garcelon contrary to the     
opinions of the people of his ,state4   

,garcelon ,i knew personally1 and       
regarded him as a man of honour and pure
 political motives1 whether he did his  
duty or not2 whatever he did he believed
 was the right and conscientious thing  
to do4 ,the election had gone against   
the ,democrats4 ,in a neat address ,mr4 
,lincoln ,robinson1 ,democrat1 handed   
over the keys of ,new ,york ,state to   
,mr4 ,carroll1 the ,republican          
,governor4 ,antagonists though they had 
been at the ballot-box1 the surrender   
was conducted with a dignity that ,i    
trust will always surround the          
gubernatorial chair of the ,state of    
,new ,york1 once graced by such men as  
,de,witt ,clinton1 ,silas ,wright1      
,william ,h4 ,seward1 and ,john ,a4     
,dix4  ,in ,january1 #ahhj1 ,frank      
,leslie1 the pioneer of pictorial       
journalism in ,america1 died4 ,i met him
 only once1 when he took me through his 
immense establishment4 ,i was impressed 
with him then1 as a man of much elegance
 of manner and suavity of feeling4 ,he  

was very much beloved by his employees1 
which1 in those days of discord between 
capital and labour1 was a distinction4  
,the arrival of ,mr4 ,parnell in ,new   
,york was an event of the period4 ,we   
knew he was an orator1 and we were      
anxious to hear him4 ,there was some    
uncertainty as to whether he came to    
,america to obtain bayonets to stick the
 ,english with1 or whether he came for  
bread for the starving in ,ireland4 ,we 
did not understand the political problem
 between ,england and ,ireland so       
well--but we did understand the meaning 
of a loaf of bread4 ,mr4 ,parnell was   
welcome4  ,the failure of the harvest   
crops in ,europe made the question of   
the hour at the beginning of            
#ahhj--;bread4 ,the grain speculator    
appeared1 with his greedy web spun      
around the world4 ,europe was short     
#bjj1jjj1jjj bushels of wheat4 ,the     
,american speculator cornered the       
market1 stacked the warehouses1 and     
demanded fifty cents a bushel4 ,europe  

was compelled to retaliate1 by          
purchasing grain in ,russia1 ,british   
,india1 ,new ,zealand1 ,south ,america1 
and ,australia4 ,in one week the markets
 of the ,american ,north-west purchased 
over #ae1jjj1jjj bushels1 of which only 
#d1jjj1jjj bushels were exported4       
,meanwhile the cry of the world's hunger
 grew louder1 and the bolts on the grain
 cribs were locked tighter than ever4   
,american finances could have been      
straightened out on this one product1   
except for the ,american speculator1 who
 demanded more for it than it was worth4
 ,the ,united ,states had a surplus of  
#ah1jjj1jjj bushels of grain for export1
 in #ahhj4 ,but the kings of the wheat  
market said to ,europe1 ,bow down before
 us1 and starve4  ,suddenly we in       
,america were surprised to learn that   
flour in ,london was two dollars cheaper
 a barrel than it was in ,new ,york4    
,our grain blockade of the world was    
reacting upon us4 ,lying idle at the    
wharves of ,new ,york and ,brooklyn were

 #ajb ships1 #dci barques1 #hg brigs1   
#agh schooners1 and #dg steamers4 ,six  
or seven hundred of these vessels were  
waiting for cargoes4 ,the gates of our  
harbour were closed in the grip of the  
grain gambler4 ,the thrift of the       
speculator was the menace of our        
national prosperity4 ,the octopus of    
speculative ugliness was growing to its 
full size1 and threatened to smother us 
utterly4 ,there was a corner on         
everything4  ,we were busy trying to    
pick out our next ,president4 ,there was
 great agitation over the ,republican   
candidates3 ,grant1 ,blaine1 ,cameron1  
,conkling1 ,sherman4 ,greatness in a man
 is sometimes a hindrance to the        
,presidency4 ,such was the case with    
,daniel ,webster1 ,henry ,clay1 ,thomas 
,h4 ,benton1 and ,william ,c4 ,preston4 
,we were only on the edge of the        
whirlpool of a presidential election4   
,in ,england the election storm was just
 beginning4 ,the first thunderbolt was  
the sudden dissolution of ,parliament by

 ,lord ,beaconsfield4 ,the two mightiest
 men in ,england then were antagonists1 
,disraeli and ,gladstone4  ,what a      
magnificent body of men are those       
,members of ,parliament4 ,they meet and 
go about without the ostentation of some
 of our men in ,congress4 ,men of great 
position in ,england are born to it2    
they are not so afraid of losing it as  
our celebrated ,republicans and         
,democrats4 ,even the man who comes up  
into political power from the masses in 
,england is more likely to hold his     
position than if he had triumphed in    
,american politics4  ,in the spring and 
summer of #ahhj ,i took a long and      
exhaustive trip across our continent1   
and completely lost the common dread of 
emigration that was then being talked   
about4 ,there was room enough for fifty 
new nations between ,omaha and          
,cheyenne1 room for more still between  
,cheyenne and ,ogden1 from ,salt ,lake  
,city to ,sacramento4  ,an unpretentious
 youth1 ,carey by name1 whom ,i had     

known in ,philadelphia1 went ,west in   
'#fg4 ,i found him in ,cheyenne a       
leading citizen4 ,he had been ,district 
,attorney1 then judge of one of the     
courts1 owned a city block1 a cattle    
ranch1 and was worth about #ejj1jjj4    
,there wasn't room enough for him in    
,philadelphia4 ,senator ,hill of        
,colorado told me1 while in ,denver1    
about a man who came out there from the 
,east to be a miner4 ,he began digging  
under a tree because it was shady4      
,people passed by and laughed at him4   
,he kept on digging4 ,after a while he  
sent a waggon load of the dust to be    
assayed1 and there was #i1jjj worth of  
metal in it4 ,he retired with a fortune4
  ,a man with #c1jjj and good health    
could have gone ,west in #ahhj1 invested
 it in cattle1 and made a fortune4 ,san 
,francisco was only forty-five years old
 then1 ,denver thirty-five1 ,leadville  
sixteen1 ,kansas ,city thirty-five4     
,they looked a hundred at least4        
,leadville was then a place of palatial 

hotels1 elegant churches1 boulevards and
 streets4 ,the ,west was just aching to 
show how fast it could build cities4    
,leadville was the most lied about4 ,it 
was reported that ,i explored ,leadville
 till long after midnight1 looking at   
its wickedness4 ,i didn't4 ,all the     
exploring ,i did in ,leadville was in   
about six minutes1 from the wide open   
doors of the gambling houses on two of  
the main streets2 but the next day it   
was telegraphed all over the ,united    
,states4 ,there were more telephones in 
,leadville in #ahhj than in any other   
city in the ,united ,states1 to its     
population4 ,some of the best people of 
,brooklyn and ,new ,york lived there4   
,the newspaper correspondents lost money
 in the gambling houses there1 and so   
they didn't like ,leadville1 and told   
the world it was a bad place1 which was 
a misrepresentation4 ,it is a well known
 law of human nature that a man usually 
hates a place where he did not behave   
well4 ,i found perfect order there1 to  

my surprise4 ,there was a vigilance     
committee in ,leadville composed of     
bankers and merchants4 ,it was their    
business to give a too cumbrous law a   
boost4 ,the week before ,i got to       
,leadville this committee hanged two    
men4 ,the next day eighty scoundrels    
took the hint and left ,leadville4 ,a   
great institution was the vigilance     
committee of those early ,western days4 
,they saved ,san ,francisco1 and        
,cheyenne1 and ,leadville4 ,i wish they 
had been in ,brooklyn when ,i was there4
 ,the ,west was not slow to assimilate  
the elegancies of life either4 ,there   
were beautiful picture galleries in     
,omaha1 and ,denver1 and ,sacramento1   
and ,san ,francisco4 ,there was more    
elaboration and advancement of dress in 
the ,west than there was in the ,east in
 #ahhj4 ,the cravats of the young men in
 ,cheyenne were quite as surprising1 and
 the young ladies of ,cheyenne went down
 the street with the elbow wabble1 then 
fashionable in ,new ,york4 ,san         

,francisco was ,chicago intensified1 and
 yet then it was a mere boy of a city1  
living in a garden of ,eden1 called     
,california4 ,on my return came ,mr4    
,garfield's election4 ,it was quietly   
and peaceably effected1 but there       
followed that exposure of political     
outrages concerning his election1 the   
,morey forgeries4 ,i hoped then that    
this villainy would split the           
,republican and ,democratic parties into
 new fields1 that it would spilt the    
,north and the ,south into a different  
sectional feeling4 ,i hoped that there  
would be a complete upheaval1 a renewed 
and cleaner political system as a       
consequence4 ,but the reform movement is
 always slower than any other4  ,i      
remember the harsh things that were said
 in our denomination of ,lucretia ,mott1
 the quakeress1 the reformer1 the       
world-renowned woman preacher of the    
day4 ,she was well nigh as old as the   
nation1 eighty-eight years old1 when she
 died4 ,her voice has never died in the 

plain meeting-houses of this country and
 ,england4 ,i don't know that she was   
always right1 but she always meant to be
 right4 ,in ,philadelphia1 where she    
preached1 ,i lived among people for     
years who could not mention her name    
without tears of gratitude for what she 
had done for them4 ,there was great     
opposition to her because she was the   
first woman preacher1 but all who heard 
her speak knew she had a divine right of
 utterance4  ,in ,november1 #ahhj1      
,disraeli's great novel1 ,endymion was  
published by an ,american firm1         
,appleton  ,co41 a ,london publisher    
paying the author the largest cash price
 ever paid for a manuscript up to that  
time--#ej1jjj4 ,noah ,webster made that 
much in royalties on his spelling book1 
but less on one of the greatest works   
given to the human race1 his dictionary4
 ,there was a great literary impulse in 
,american life1 inspired by such        
,american publishing houses as          
,appleton's1 the ,harper ,bros41 the    

,dodds1 the ,randolphs1 and the         
,scribners4 ,it was the brightest moment
 in ,american literature2 far brighter  
than the day ,victor ,hugo1 in youth1   
long anxious to enter the ,french       
,academy1 applied to ,callard for his   
vote4 ,he pretended never to have heard 
of him4 ,will you accept a copy of my   
books8 asked ,victor ,hugo4 ,no thank   
you1 replied the other2 ,i never read   
new books4 ,riley offered to sell his   
,universal ,philosophy for #ejj4 ,the   
offer was refused4 ,great and wise      
authors have often been without food and
 shelter4 ,sometimes governments helped 
them1 as when ,president ,pierce        
appointed ,nathaniel ,hawthorne to      
office1 and ,locke was made             
,commissioner of ,appeals1 and ,steele  
,state ,commissioner of ,stamps by the  
,british ,government4 ,oliver ,goldsmith
 said3 ,i have been years struggling    
with a wretched being1 with all that    
contempt which indigence brings with it1
 with all those strong passions which   

make contempt insupportable4 ,mr4       
,payne1 the author of ,home1 ,sweet     
,home1 had no home1 and was inspired to 
the writing of his immortal song by a   
walk through the streets one slushy     
night1 and hearing music and laughter   
inside a comfortable dwelling4 ,the     
world-renowned ,sheridan said3 ,mrs4    
,sheridan and ,i were often obliged to  
keep writing for our daily shoulder of  
mutton2 otherwise we should have had no 
dinner4 ,mitford1 while he was writing  
his most celebrated book1 lived in the  
fields1 making his bed of grass and     
nettles1 while two-pennyworth of bread  
and cheese with an onion was his daily  
food4 ,i know of no more refreshing     
reading than the books of ,william      
,hazlitt4 ,i take down from my shelf one
 of his many volumes1 and ,i know not   
when to stop reading4 ,so fresh and yet 
so old6 ,but through all the volumes    
there comes a melancholy1 accounted for 
by the fact that he had an awful        
struggle for bread4 ,on his dying couch 

he had a friend write for him the       
following letter to ,francis ,jeffrey3--
      ,dear ,sir1--,i am at the last    
gasp4 ,please send me a hundred         
pounds4--,yours truly1      ,,william   
,,hazlitt4  ,the money arrived the day  
after his death4 ,poor fellow6 ,i wish  
he had during his lifetime some of the  
tens of thousands of dollars that have  
since been paid in purchase of his      
books4 ,he said on one occasion to a    
friend3 ,i have carried a volcano in my 
bosom up and down ,paternoster ,row for 
a good two hours and a half4 ,can you   
lend me a shilling8 ,i have been without
 food these two days4 ,my readers1      
to-day the struggle of a good many      
literary people goes on4 ,to be editor  
of a newspaper as ,i have been1 and see 
the number of unavailable manuscripts   
that come in1 crying out for five       
dollars1 or anything to appease hunger  
and pay rent and get fuel6 ,oh1 it is   
heartbreaking6 ,after you have given all
 the money you can spare you will come  

out of your editorial rooms crying4     
,disraeli was seventy-five when         
,endymion was published4 ,disraeli's    
,endymion came at a time when books in  
,america were greater than they ever    
were before or have been since4 ,a flood
 of magazines came afterwards1 and      
swamped them4 ,before this time new     
books were rarely made4 ,rich men began 
to endow them4 ,it was a glorious way of
 spending money4 ,men sometimes give    
their money away because they have to   
give it up anyhow4 ,such men rarely give
 it to book-building4  ,in ,january1    
#ahha1 ,mr4 ,george ,l4 ,seavey1 a      
prominent ,brooklyn man at that time1   
gave #ej1jjj to the library of the      
,historical ,society of ,new ,york4     
,attending a reception one night in     
,brooklyn1 ,i was shown his check1 made 
out for that purpose4 ,it was a great   
gift1 one of the first given for the    
intellectual food of future bookworms4  
,most of the rich men of this time were 
devoting their means to making          

,senators4 ,the legislatures were       
manufacturing a new brand1 and turning  
them out made to order4 ,many of us were
 surprised at how little timber1 and    
what poor quality1 was needed to make a 
,senator in #ahha4 ,the nation used to  
make them out of stout1 tall oaks4 ,many
 of those new ones were made of willow1 
and others out of crooked sticks4 ,in   
most cases the strong men defeated each 
other1 and weak substitutes were put in4
 ,the forthcoming ,congress was to be   
one of commonplace men4 ,the strong men 
had to stay at home1 and the accidents  
took their places in the government4    
,still there were leaders1 ,north and   
,south4  ,my old friend ,senator ,brown 
of ,georgia was one of the leaders of   
the ,south4 ,he spoke vehemently in     
,congress in the cause of education4    
,only a few months before he had given1 
out of his private purse1 forty thousand
 dollars to a ,baptist college4 ,he was 
a man who talked and urged a hearty     
union of feeling between the ,north and 

the ,south4 ,he always hoped to abolish 
sectional feeling by one grand movement 
for the financial1 educational1 and     
moral welfare of the ,nation4 ,it was my
 urgent wish that ,president ,garfield  
should invite ,senator ,brown to a place
 in his ,cabinet1 although the ,senator 
would probably have refused the honour1 
for there was no better place to serve  
the ,american people than in the        
,american ,senate4  ,during the first   
week in ,february1 #ahha1 the world     
hovered over the death-bed of ,thomas   
,carlyle4 ,he was the great enemy of all
 sorts of cant1 philosophical or        
religious4 ,he was for half a century   
the great literary iconoclast4 ,daily   
bulletins of the sick-bed were published
 world-wide4 ,there was no easy chair in
 his study1 no soft divans4 ,it was just
 a place to work1 and to stay at work4  
,i once saw a private letter1 written by
 ,carlyle to ,thomas ,chalmers4 ,the    
first part of it was devoted to a eulogy
 of ,chalmers1 the latter part          

descriptive of his own religious doubts4
 ,he never wrote anything finer4 ,it was
 beautiful1 grand1 glorious1 melancholy4
  ,thomas ,carlyle started with the idea
 that the intellect was all1 the body   
nothing but an adjunct1 an appendage4   
,he would spur the intellect to costly  
energies1 and send the body supperless  
to bed4 ,after years of doubts and fears
 ,i learned that towards the end he     
returned to the simplicities of the     
,gospel4  ,while this great thinker of  
the whole of life was sinking into his  
last earthly sleep1 the men in the      
parliament of his nation were squabbling
 about future ambitions4 ,thirty-five   
,irish members were forcibly ejected4   
,neither ,beaconsfield nor ,gladstone   
could solve the ,irish question4 ,nor do
 ,i believe it will ever be solved to   
the satisfaction of ,ireland4 ,but a    
greater calamity than those came upon   
us2 in the summer of this year          
,president ,garfield was assassinated in
 ,washington4     ,,the ,,seventh       

,,milestone  #ahha-ahhd   ,on ,july #b1 
#ahha1 an attempt was made to           
assassinate ,president ,garfield1 at the
 ,pennsylvania ,station1 ,washington1   
where he was about to board a train4 ,i 
heard the news first on the railroad    
train at ,williamstown1 ,mass41 where   
the ,president was expected in three or 
four days4  ,absurd1 impossible1 ,i     
said4 ,why should anyone want to kill   
him8 ,he had nothing but that which he  
had earned with his own brain and hand4 
,he had fought his own way up from      
country home to college hall1 and from  
college hall to the ,house of           
,representatives1 and from ,house of    
,representatives to the ,senate         
,chamber1 and from the ,senate ,chamber 
to the ,presidential chair4 ,why should 
anyone want to kill him8 ,he was not a  
despot who had been treading on the     
rights of the people4 ,there was nothing
 of the ,nero or the ,robespierre in    
him4 ,he had wronged no man4 ,he was    
free and happy himself1 and wanted all  

the world free and happy4 ,why should   
anyone want to kill him8 ,he had a      
family to shepherd and educate1 a noble 
wife and a group of little children     
leaning on his arm and holding his hand1
 and who needed him for many years to   
come4  ,only a few days before1 ,i had  
paid him a visit4 ,he was a bitter      
antagonist of ,mormonism1 and ,i was in 
deep sympathy with his ,christian       
endeavours in this respect4 ,i never saw
 a more anxious or perturbed countenance
 than ,james ,a4 ,garfield's1 the last  
time ,i met him4 ,it seemed a great     
relief to him to turn to talk to my     
child1 who was with me4 ,he had suffered
 enough abuse in his political campaign 
to suffice for one lifetime4 ,he was    
then facing three or four years of      
insult and contumely greater than any   
that had been heaped upon his           
predecessors4 ,he had proposed greater  
reforms1 and by so much he was          
threatened to endure worse outrages4    
,his term of office was just six months1

 but he accomplished what forty years of
 his predecessors had failed to do--the 
complete and eternal pacification of the
 ,north and the ,south4 ,there were more
 public meetings of sympathy for him1 at
 this time1 in the ,south than there    
were in the ,north4 ,his death-bed in   
eight weeks did more for the sisterhood 
of ,states than if he had lived eight   
years--two terms of the ,presidency4    
,his cabinet followed the reform spirit 
of his leadership4 ,postmaster ,general 
,james made his department illustrious  
by spreading consternation among the    
scoundrels of the ,star ,route1 saving  
the country millions of dollars4        
,secretary ,windom wrought what the     
bankers and merchants called a financial
 miracle4 ,robert ,lincoln1 the son of  
another martyred ,president1 was        
,secretary of ,war4  ,guiteau was no    
more crazy than thousands of other      
place-hunters4 ,he had been refused an  
office1 and he was full of unmingled and
 burning revenge4 ,there was nothing    

else the matter with him4 ,it was just  
this3 ,you haven't given me what ,i     
want2 now ,i'll kill you4 ,for months   
after each presidential inauguration the
 hotels of ,washington are roosts for   
these buzzards4 ,they are the crawling  
vermin of this nation4 ,guiteau was no  
rarity4 ,there were hundreds of         
,guiteaus in ,washington after the      
inauguration1 except that they had not  
the courage to shoot4 ,i saw them some  
two months or six weeks after4 ,they    
were mad enough to do it4 ,i saw it in  
their eyes4  ,they killed two other     
,presidents1 ,william ,henry ,harrison  
and ,zachary ,taylor4 ,i know the       
physicians called the disease congestion
 of the lungs or liver1 but the plain   
truth was that they were worried to     
death2 they were trampled out of life by
 place-hunters4 ,three ,presidents      
sacrificed to this one demon are enough4
 ,i urged ,congress at the next session 
to start a work of presidential         
emancipation4 ,four ,presidents have    

recommended civil service reform1 and it
 has amounted to little or nothing4 ,but
 this assassination ,i hoped would      
compel speedy and decisive action4      
,james ,a4 ,garfield was prepared for   
eternity4 ,he often preached the        
,gospel4 ,i heard him preach1 he        
preached for me in my pulpit1 a minister
 told me4 ,he preached once in ,wall    
,street to an excited throng1 after     
,lincoln was shot4 ,he preached to the  
wounded soldiers at ,chickamauga4 ,he   
preached in the ,united ,states ,senate1
 in speeches of great nobility4 ,when a 
college boy1 camped on the mountains1 he
 read the ,scriptures aloud to his      
companions4 ,after he was shot1 he      
declared that he trusted all in the     
,lord's hand--was ready to live or die4 
,if the ,president die1 what of his     
successor8 was the great question of the
 hour4 ,i did not know ,mr4 ,arthur at  
that time1 but ,i prophesied that ,mr4  
,garfield's policies would be carried   
out by his successor4  ,i consider      

,president ,garfield was a man with the 
most brilliant mind who ever occupied   
the ,white ,house4 ,he had strong       
health1 a splendid physique1 a fine     
intellect4 ,if ,guiteau's bullet had    
killed the ,president instantly1 there  
would have been a revolution in this    
country4  ,he lingered amid the prayers 
of the nation1 surrounded by seven of   
the greatest surgeons and physicians of 
the hour4 ,then he passed on4 ,his son  
was preparing a scrap-book of all the   
kind things that had been said about his
 father1 to show him when he recovered4 
,that was a tender forethought of one   
who knew how unjustly he had suffered   
the slanders of his enemies4 ,there was 
much talk about presidential inability1 
and in the midst of this public         
bickering ,chester ,a4 ,arthur became   
president4 ,he took office1 amid severe 
criticism4 ,i urged the appointment of  
,frederick ,t4 ,frelinghuysen to the    
,president's ,cabinet1 feeling that4    
,mr4 ,arthur would have in this         

distinguished son of ,new ,jersey1 a    
devout1 evangelical1 ,christian adviser4
 ,in ,october ,i paid a visit1 to ,mr4  
,garfield's home in ,mentor1 ,ohio4 ,on 
the hat-rack in the hall was his hat1   
where he had left it1 when the previous 
,march he left for his inauguration in  
,washington4 ,i left that bereaved      
household with a feeling that a full    
explanation of this event must be       
adjourned to the next state of my       
existence4  ,the new ,president was     
gradually becoming1 on all sides1 the   
bright hope of our national future4 ,in 
after years ,i learned to know him and  
admire him4  ,in the period of          
transition that followed the            
,president's assassination we lost other
 good men4  ,we lost ,senator ,burnside 
of ,rhode ,island1 at one time commander
 of the ,army of the ,potomac1 and three
 times ,governor of his ,state4 ,i met  
him at a reception given in the home of 
my friend ,judge ,hilton1 in ,woodlawn1 
at ,saratoga ,springs4 ,he had an       

imperial presence1 coupled with the     
utterance of a child4 ,the ,senator     
stood for purity in politics4 ,no one   
ever bought him1 or tried to buy him4   
,he held no stock in the ,credit        
,mobilier4 ,he shook hands with none of 
the schemes that appealed to ,congress  
to fleece the people4 ,he died towards  
the close of #ahha4  ,a man of greater  
celebrity1 of an entirely different     
quality1 who had passed on1 was about   
this time to be honoured with an effigy 
in ,westminster ,abbey--,dean ,stanley4 
,i still remember keenly the afternoon  
,i met him in the ,deanery adjoining the
 abbey4 ,there was not much of the      
physical in his appearance4 ,his mind   
and soul seemed to have more than a fair
 share of his physical territory4 ,he   
had only just enough body to detain the 
soul awhile on earth4  ,and then we lost
 ,samuel ,b4 ,stewart4 ,the most of     
,brooklyn knew him--the best part of    
,brooklyn knew him4 ,i knew him long    
before ,i ever came to ,brooklyn4 ,he   

taught me to read in the village school4
 ,his parents and mine were buried in   
the same place4 ,a few weeks later1 the 
,rev4 ,dr4 ,bellows of ,new ,york went4 
,i do not believe that the great work   
done by this good man was ever written4 
,it was during that long agony when the 
war hospitals were crowded with the     
sick1 the wounded1 and the dying4 ,he   
enlisted his voice and his pen and his  
fortune to alleviate their suffering4 ,i
 was on the field as a chaplain for a   
very little while1 and a little while   
looking after the sick in ,philadelphia1
 and ,i noticed that the ,sanitary      
,commission1 of which ,dr4 ,bellows was 
the presiding spirit1 was constantly    
busy with ambulances1 cordials1 nurses1 
necessaries and supplies4 ,many a dying 
soldier was helped by the mercy of this 
good man's energies1 and many a farewell
 message was forwarded home4 ,the       
civilians who served the humanitarian   
causes of the war1 like ,dr4 ,bellows1  
have not received the recognition they  

should4 ,only the military men have been
 honoured with public office4  ,the     
chief menace of the first year of       
,president ,arthur's administration was 
the danger of a policy to interfere in  
foreign affairs1 and the danger of      
extravagance in ,washington1 due to     
innumerable appropriation bills4 ,there 
was a war between ,chili and ,peru1 and 
the ,united ,states ,government offered 
to mediate for ,chili4 ,it was a        
pitiable interference with private      
rights1 and ,i regretted this indication
 of an unnecessary foreign policy in    
this country4 ,in addition to this1     
there were enough appropriation bills in
 ,washington to swamp the nation        
financially4 ,i had stood for so many   
years in places where ,i could see      
clearly the ungodly affairs of political
 life in my own country1 that the       
progress of politics became to me a     
hopeless thing4  ,the political         
nominations of #ahhb involved no great  
principles4 ,in ,new ,york ,state this  

was significant1 because it brought     
before the nation ,mr4 ,grover          
,cleveland as a candidate for ,governor 
against ,mr4 ,folger4 ,the general      
opinion of these two men in the         
unbiassed public mind was excellent4    
,they were men of talent and integrity4 
,they were not merely actors in the     
political play4 ,i have buried          
professional politicians1 and the most  
of them made a very bad funeral for a   
,christian minister to speak at4 ,i     
always wanted1 at such a time1 an       
,episcopal prayer book1 which is made   
for all eases1 and may not be taken     
either as invidious or too assuring4    
,there was another contest1             
non-political1 that interested the      
nation in #ahhb4 ,it was the            
,sullivan-,ryan prize-fight4 ,i had no  
great objection to find with it1 as did 
so many other ministers4 ,it suggested a
 far better symbol of arbitration       
between two differing opinions than war4
 ,if ,mr4 ,disraeli had gone out and met

 a distinguished ,zulu on the field of  
,english battle1 and fought their       
national troubles out1 as ,sullivan and 
,ryan did1 what a saving of life and    
money6 ,how many lives could have been  
saved if ,napoleon and ,wellington1 or  
,moltke and ,mc,mahon had emulated the  
spirit of the ,sullivan-,ryan prize     
fight6 ,i saw no reasonable cause why   
the law should interfere between two men
 who desired to pound one another in    
public2 ,i stood alone almost among my  
brethren in this conclusion4  ,the      
persecution of the ,jews in ,russia1    
which came to us at this time with all  
its details of cruelty and horror1 was  
the beginning of an important chapter in
 ,american history4 ,dr4 ,adler1 in     
,london1 had appealed for a million     
pounds to transport the ,jews who were  
driven out of ,russia to the ,united    
,states4 ,it seemed more important that 
civilisation should unite in an effort  
to secure protection for them in their  
own homes1 than compel them to obey the 

will of ,russia4 ,this was no ,christian
 remedy4 ,we might as well abuse the    
,jews in ,america1 and then take up a   
collection to send them to ,england or  
,australia4 ,the ,jews were entitled to 
their own rights of property and        
personal liberty and religion1 whether  
they lived in ,new ,york1 or ,brooklyn1 
or ,london1 or ,paris1 or ,warsaw1 or   
,moscow1 or ,st4 ,petersburg4 ,and yet  
we were constantly hearing of the       
friendly feeling between ,russia and the
 ,united ,states4  ,in after years ,i   
was privileged personally to address the
 ,czar and his family1 in a private     
audience1 and questions of the ,russian 
problem were discussed2 but the ,jews   
flocked to ,america1 and we welcomed    
them1 and they learned to be ,americans 
very rapidly4 ,their immigration to this
 country was a matter of religious      
conscience1 in which ,russia had no     
interest4  ,a man's religious           
convictions are most important4 ,i      
remember in ,october1 #ahhb1 what       

criticism and abuse there was of my     
friend ,henry ,ward ,beecher1 when he   
decided to resign from the religious    
associations of which he was a member4  
,i was asked by members of the press to 
give my opinion1 but ,i was out when    
they called4 ,mr4 ,beecher was right4   
,he was a man of courage and of heart4  
,i shall never forget the encouragement 
and goodwill he extended to me1 when ,i 
first came to ,brooklyn in #ahfi and    
took charge of a broken-down church4    
,mr4 ,beecher did just as ,i would have 
done under the same circumstances4 ,i   
could not nor would stay in the         
denomination to which ,i belonged any   
longer than it would take me to write my
 resignation1 if ,i disbelieved its     
doctrines4 ,mr4 ,beecher's theology was 
very different from mine1 but he did not
 differ from me in the ,christian life1 
any more than ,i differed from him4 ,he 
never interfered with me1 nor ,i with   
him4 ,every little while some of the    
ministers of ,america were attacked by a

 sort of ,beecher-phobia1 and they      
foamed at the mouth over something that 
the pastor of ,plymouth ,church said4   
,people who have small congregations are
 apt to dislike a preacher who has a    
full church4 ,for thirteen years1 or    
more1 ,beecher's church and mine never  
collided4 ,he had more people than he   
knew what to do with1 and so had ,i4 ,i 
belonged to the company of the orthodox1
 but if ,i thought that orthodoxy       
demanded that ,i must go and break other
 people's heads ,i would not remain     
orthodox five minutes4 ,brooklyn was    
called the city of churches1 but it     
could also be called the city of short  
pastorates4 ,many of the churches1      
during fifteen years of my pastorate1   
had two1 three1 and four pastors4 ,dr4  
,scudder came and went2 so did ,dr4     
,patten1 ,dr4 ,frazer1 ,dr4 ,buckley1   
,dr4 ,mitchell1 ,dr4 ,reid1 ,dr4        
,steele1 ,dr4 ,gallagher1 and a score of
 others4 ,the ,methodist ,church was    
once famous for keeping a minister only 

three or four years1 but it is no longer
 peculiar in this respect4 ,mr4 ,beecher
 had been pastor for thirty-six years in
 ,brooklyn when1 in the summer of #ahhc1
 he celebrated the anniversary of his   
seventieth birthday4  ,every now and    
then1 for many years1 there was an      
investigation of some sort in ,brooklyn4
 ,our bridge was a favourite target of  
investigation4 ,where has the money for 
this great enterprise been expended8 was
 the common question4 ,i defended the   
trustees1 because people did not realise
 the emergencies that arose as the work 
progressed and entailed greater         
expenditures4 ,originally1 when         
projected1 it was to cost #g1jjj1jjj1   
but there was to be only one waggon     
road4 ,it was resolved later to enlarge 
the structure and build two waggon      
roads1 and a place for trains1 freight1 
and passenger cars4 ,those enlarged     
plans were all to the ultimate advantage
 of the growth of ,brooklyn4 ,it was at 
first intended to make the approaches of

 the bridge in trestle work1 then plans 
were changed and they were built of     
granite4 ,the cable1 which was          
originally to be made of iron1 was      
changed to steel4 ,for three years these
 cables were the line on which the      
passengers on ferry-boats hung their    
jokes about swindling and political     
bribery4 ,no investigation was able to  
shake my respect for the integrity of   
,mr4 ,stranahan1 one of the bridge      
trustees4 ,he did as much for ,brooklyn 
as any man in it4 ,he was the promoter  
of ,prospect ,park1 designed and planned
 from his head and heart4 ,with all the 
powers at my disposal ,i defended the   
bridge trustee4  ,there was an attempt  
in ,new ,york1 towards the close of     
#ahhb1 to present the ,passion ,play on 
the stage of a theatre4 ,a licence was  
applied for4 ,the artist1 no matter how 
high in his profession1 who would dare  
to appear in the character of the       
,divine ,person1 was fit only for the   
,tombs prison or ,sing-,sing4 ,i had no 

objection to any man attempting the role
 of ,judas ,iscariot4 ,that was entirely
 within the limitations of stage art4   
,seth ,low was ,mayor of ,brooklyn1 and 
,mr4 ,grace was ,mayor of ,new ,york--a 
,protestant and a ,catholic--and yet    
they were of one opinion on this        
proposed blasphemy4  ,i think everyone  
in ,america realised that the           
,democratic victory in the election of  
,grover ,cleveland1 by a majority of    
#aij1jjj votes1 as ,governor of ,new    
,york1 was a presidential prophecy4 ,the
 contest for ,president came up1        
seriously1 in the spring of #ahhc1 and  
the same headlines appeared in the      
political caucus4 ,among the candidates 
was ,benjamin ,f4 ,butler1 ,governor of 
,massachusetts4 ,i believed then there  
was not a better man in the ,united     
,states for ,president than ,chester ,a4
 ,arthur4 ,i believed that his          
faithfulness and dignity in office      
should be honoured with the nomination4 
,there was some surprise occasioned when

 ,harvard refused to confer an ,,ll4,d4 
on ,governor ,butler1 a rebuke that no  
previous ,governor of ,massachusetts had
 suffered4 ,after all1 the country was  
chiefly impressed in this event with the
 fact that an ,,ll4,d41 or a ,d4,d41 or 
an ,f4,r4,s41 did not make the man4     
,americans were becoming very good      
readers of character2 they could see at 
a glance the difference between right   
and wrong1 but they were tolerant of    
both4 ,much more so than ,i was4 ,there 
was one great fault in ,american        
character that the whole world admired2 
it was our love of hero-worship4 ,a     
great man was the man who did great     
things1 no matter what that man might   
stand for in religion or in morals4     
,there was ,gambetta1 whose friendship  
for ,america had won the admiration of  
our country4 ,i myself admired his      
eloquence1 his patriotism1 his courage  
in office as ,prime ,minister of        
,france2 but his dying words rolled like
 a wintry sea over all nations1 ,i am   

lost6 ,gambetta was an atheist1 a man   
whose public indignities to womanhood   
were demonstrated from ,paris to        
,berlin4 ,gambetta's patriotism for     
,france could never atone for his       
atheism1 and his infamy towards women4  
,his death1 in the dawn of #ahhc1 was a 
page in the world's history turned down 
at the corner4  ,what an important year 
it was to be for us6 ,in the spring of  
#ahhc the ,brooklyn bridge was opened1  
and our church was within fifteen or    
twenty minutes of the hotel centre of   
,new ,york4 ,i said then that many of us
 would see the population of ,brooklyn  
quadrupled and sextupled4 ,in many      
respects1 up to this time1 ,brooklyn had
 been treated as a suburb of ,new ,york1
 a dormitory for tired ,wall ,streeters4
 ,with the completion of the bridge came
 new plans for rapid transit1 for the   
widening of our streets1 for the        
advancement of our municipal interests4 
,a consolidation of ,brooklyn and ,new  
,york was then under discussion4 ,it was

 a bad look-out for office-holders1 but 
a good one for tax-payers4 ,at least    
that was the prospect1 but ,i never will
 see much encouragement in ,american    
politics4  ,the success of ,grover      
,cleveland and his big majority1 as     
,governor1 led both wings of the        
,democratic party to promise us the     
millennium4 ,even the ,republicans were 
full of national optimism1 going over to
 the ,democrats to help the jubilee of  
reform4 ,four months later1 although we 
were told that ,mr4 ,cleveland was to be
 ,president1 he could not get his own   
legislature to ratify his nomination4   
,his hands were tied1 and his idolaters 
were only waiting for his term of office
 to expire4 ,the politicians lied about 
him4 ,because as ,governor of ,new ,york
 he could not give all the              
office-seekers places1 he was1 in a few 
months1 executed by his political       
friends1 and the millennium was         
postponed that politics might have time 
to find someone else to be lifted       

up--and in turn hurled into oblivion4   
,that the politics of our country might 
serve a wider purpose1 a great agitation
 among the newspapers began4 ,the price 
of the great dailies came down from four
 to three cents1 and from three to two  
cents4 ,in a week it looked as though   
they would all be down to one cent4 ,i  
expected to see them delivered free1    
with a bonus given for the favour of    
taking them at all4 ,it was not a       
pleasant outlook1 this deluge of printed
 matter1 cheapened in every way1 by     
cheaper labour1 cheaper substance1 and  
cheaper grammar4 ,it was a plan that    
enlarged the scope of influence over    
what was arrogantly claimed as editorial
 territory--public opinion4 ,public     
opinion is sound enough1 so long as it  
is not taken too seriously in the       
newspapers4  ,the difference between a  
man as his antagonists depict him1 and  
as he really is in his own character1   
may be as wide as the ocean4 ,i was     
particularly impressed with this fact   

when ,i met the ,rev4 ,dr4 ,ewer of ,new
 ,york1 who had been accused of being   
disputatious and arrogant4 ,truth was1  
he was a master in the art of religious 
defence1 wielding a scimitar of sharp   
edge4 ,i never met a man with more of   
the childlike1 the affable1 and the     
self-sacrificing qualities than ,dr4    
,ewer had4  ,he was an honest man in the
 highest sense1 with a never-varying    
purity of purpose4 ,dr4 ,ewer died in   
the fall of #ahhc4  ,i began to feel    
that in the local management of our own 
big city there was an uplift1 when two  
such sterling young men as ,james ,w4   
,ridgeway1 and ,joseph ,c4 ,hendrix1    
were nominated for ,district ,attorney4 
,they were merely technical opponents1  
but were united in the cause of reform  
and honest administration against our   
criminal population4 ,we were fortunate 
in the degree of promise there was1 in  
having a choice of such competent       
nominees4 ,but it was a period of       
historical jubilee in our country1 this 

fall of #ahhc4  ,we were celebrating    
centennials everywhere1 even at         
,harvard4 ,it seemed to be about a      
hundred years back since anything worth 
while had really happened in ,america4  
,since #ahgj there had been a round of  
centennials4 ,it was a good thing in the
 busy glorification of a brilliant      
present1 and a glorious future1 that we 
rehearsed the struggle and hardships by 
which we had arrived to this great      
inheritance of blessing and prosperity4 
,the ,united ,states ,government is a   
bubble-bursting nationality1 said ,lord 
,john ,russell1 but every year since has
 disproved the accuracy of this jeer4   
,even our elections disproved it4       
,candidates for the ,presidency are     
pushed out of sight by a sudden wave of 
split tickets4 ,in the elections of     
#ahhc1 in ,ohio ten candidates were     
obliterated2 in ,pennsylvania five were 
buried and fifteen resurrected4 ,in     
,indiana1 the record of names in ,united
 ,states political quicksands is too    

long too consider1 the new candidates   
that sprang up being still larger in    
numbers4 ,and yet only six men in any   
generation become ,president4 ,out of   
five thousand men1 who consider         
themselves competent to be captains1    
only six are crowned with their         
ambition4 ,and these six are not        
generally the men who had any prospect  
of becoming the people's choice4 ,the   
two political chiefs in convention1     
failing on the thirtieth ballot to get  
the nomination1 some less conspicuous   
man is chosen as a compromise4          
,political ambition seems to me a poor  
business4 ,there are men more worthy of 
national praise than the successful     
politicians2 men like ,isaac ,hull2 men 
whose generous gifts and ,christian     
careers perpetuate the magnificent      
purposes of our lives4 ,isaac ,hull was 
a ,quaker--one of the best in that sect4
 ,i lived among quakers for seven years 
in ,philadelphia1 and ,i loved them4    
,mr4 ,hull illustrated in his life the  

principles of his sect1 characterised by
 integrity of finance and of soul4 ,he  
rose to the front rank of               
public-spirited men1 from the humble    
duties of a farmer's boy4 ,he was one of
 the most important members of the      
,society of ,friends1 and ,i valued the 
privilege of his friendship more than   
that of any celebrity ,i ever knew4 ,he 
lived for the profit in standards rather
 than for wealth1 and he passed on to a 
wider circle of friends beyond4  ,i have
 a little list of men who about this    
time passed away amid many              
antagonisms--men who were misunderstood 
while they lived4 ,i knew their worth4  
,there was ,john ,mc,kean1 the ,district
 ,attorney of ,new ,york1 who died in   
#ahhc1 when criticism against him1 of   
lawyers and judges1 was most bitter and 
cruel4 ,a brilliant lawyer1 he was      
accused of non-performance of duty2 but 
he died1 knowing nothing of the delays  
complained of4 ,he was blamed for what  
he could not help4 ,some stroke of      

ill-health2 some untoward worldly       
,transcriber's ,note3 original says     
wordly circumstances1 or something in   
domestic conditions will often          
disqualify a man for service2 and yet he
 is blamed for idleness1 for having     
possessions when the finances are       
cramped1 for temper when the nerves have
 given out1 for misanthropy when he has 
had enough to disgust him for ever with 
the human race4 ,after we have exhausted
 the vocabulary of our abuse1 such men  
die1 and there is no reparation we can  
make4 ,in spite of the abuse ,john      
,mc,kean received1 the courts adjourned 
in honour of his death--but that was a  
belated honour4 ,mc,kean was one of the 
kindest of men2 he was merciful and     
brave4  ,there was ,henry ,villard1     
whose bankruptcy of fortune killed him4 
,he was compelled to resign the         
presidency of the ,northern ,pacific    
,railroad ,company1 to resign his       
fortune1 to resign all but his          
integrity4 ,that he kept1 though every  

dollar had gone4 ,only two years before 
his financial collapse he was worth     
#cj1jjj1jjj4 ,in putting the great      
,northern ,pacific ,railroad through he 
swamped everything he had4 ,all through 
,minnesota and the ,north-west ,i heard 
his praises4 ,he was a man of great     
heart and unbounded generosity1 on which
 fed innumerable human leeches1 enough  
of them to drain the life of any fortune
 that was ever made4 ,on a magnificent  
train he once took1 free of charge1 to  
the ,yellowstone ,park1 a party of men1 
who denounced him because1 while he     
provided them with every luxury1 they   
could not each have a separate          
drawing-room car to themselves4 ,i don't
 believe since the world began there    
went through this country so many titled
 nonentities as travelled then1 free of 
cost1 on the generous bounty of ,mr4    
,villard4 ,the most of these people went
 home to the other side of the sea1 and 
wrote magazine articles on the          
conditions of ,american society1 while  

,mr4 ,villard went into bankruptcy4 ,it 
was the last straw that broke the       
camel's back4 ,it would not be so bad if
 riches only had wings with which to fly
 away2 but they have claws with which   
they give a parting clutch that         
sometimes clips a man's reason1 or      
crushes his heart4 ,it is the claw of   
riches we must look out for4  ,then     
there was ,wendell ,phillips6 ,not a man
 in this country was more admired and   
more hated than he was4 ,many a time1   
addressing a big audience1 he would     
divide them into two parts--those who   
got up to leave with indignation1 and   
those who remained to frown4 ,he was    
often1 during a lecture1 bombarded with 
bricks and bad eggs4 ,but he liked it4  
,he could endure anything in an audience
 but silence1 and he always had a secure
 following of admirers4  ,he told me    
once that in some of the back country   
towns of ,pennsylvania it nearly killed 
him to lecture4 ,i go on for an hour1 he
 told me1 without hearing one response1 

and ,i have no way of knowing whether   
the people are instructed1 pleased1 or  
outraged4  ,he enjoyed the tempestuous  
life4 ,his other life was home4 ,it was 
dominant in his appreciation4 ,he owed  
much of his courage to that home4       
,lecturing in ,boston once1 during most 
agitated times1 he received this note   
from his wife3 ,no shilly-shallying1    
,wendell1 in the presence of this great 
public outrage4 ,many men in public life
 owe their strength to this reservoir of
 power at home4  ,the last fifteen years
 of his life were devoted to the        
domestic invalidism of his home4 ,some  
men thought this was unjustifiable4 ,but
 what exhaustion of home life had been  
given to establish his public career6 ,a
 popular subscription was started to    
raise a monument in ,boston to ,wendell 
,phillips4 ,i recommended that it should
 be built within sight of the monument  
erected to ,daniel ,webster4 ,if there  
were ever two men who during their life 
had an appalling antagonism1 they were  

,daniel ,webster and ,wendell ,phillips4
 ,i hoped at that time their statues    
would be erected facing each other4     
,wendell ,phillips was fortunate in his 
domestic tower of strength2 still1 ,i   
have known men whose domestic lives were
 painful in the extreme1 and yet they   
arose above this deficiency to great    
personal prominence4  ,what is good for 
one man is not good for another4 ,it is 
the same with ,state rights as it is    
with private rights4 ,in '#hc-'hd1 the  
whole country was agitated about the    
questions of tariff reform and free     
trade4 ,tariff reform for ,pennsylvania1
 free trade for ,kentucky4 ,new ,england
 and the ,north-west had interests that 
would always be divergent4 ,it was      
absurd to try and persuade the ,american
 people that what was good for one      
,state was good for another ,state4     
,common intelligence showed how false   
this theory was4 ,until by some great   
change the manufacturing interests of   
the country should become national      

interests1 co-operation and compromise  
in inter-state commerce was necessary4  
,no one section of the country could    
have its own way4 ,the most successful  
candidate for the ,presidency at this   
time seemed to be the man who could most
 bewilder the public mind on these      
questions4 ,blessed in politics is the  
political fog6  ,the most significantly 
hopeful fact to me was that the three   
prominent candidates for ,speakership at
 the close of #ahhc--,mr4 ,carlisle1    
,mr4 ,randall1 and ,mr4 ,cox--never had 
wine on their tables4 ,we were1         
moreover1 getting away from the old     
order of things1 when senators were     
conspicuous in gambling houses4 ,the    
world was advancing in a spiritual      
transit of events towards the close4 ,it
 was time that it gave way to something 
even better4 ,it had treated me         
gloriously1 and ,i had no fault to find 
with it1 but ,i had seen so many        
millions in hunger and pain1 and        
wretchedness and woe that ,i felt this  

world needed either to be fixed up or   
destroyed4  ,the world had had a hard   
time for six thousand years1 and1 as the
 new year of #ahhd approached1 there    
were indications that our planet was    
getting restless4 ,there were           
earthquakes1 great storms1 great        
drought4 ,it may last until some of my  
descendants shall head their letters    
with ,january #a1 #ae1jjj1 ,a4,d42 but  
,i doubt it4     ,,the ,,eighth         
,,milestone  #ahhd-ahhe   ,i reached the
 fiftieth year of my life in ,december1 
#ahhc4 ,in my long residence in         
,brooklyn ,i had found it to be the     
healthiest city in the world4 ,it had   
always been a good place to live        
in--plenty of fresh air blowing up from 
the sea--plenty of water rolling down   
through our reservoirs--the ,sabbaths   
too quiet to attract ruffianism4  ,of   
all the men ,i have seen and heard and  
known1 there were but a few deep        
friendships that ,i depended upon4 ,in  
,february1 #ahhd1 ,i lost one of these  

by the decease of ,thomas ,kinsella1 a  
,brooklyn man of public affairs1 of     
singular patriotism and local pride4    
,years ago1 when ,i was roughly set upon
 by ecclesiastical assailants1 he gave  
one wide swing of his editorial         
scimitar1 which helped much in their    
ultimate annihilation4 ,my acquaintance 
with him was slight at the time1 and ,i 
did not ask him to help me4 ,i can more 
easily forget a wrong done to me than ,i
 can forget a kindness4 ,he was         
charitable to many who never knew of it4
 ,by reason of my profession1 there came
 to me many stories of distress and     
want1 and it was always ,mr4 ,kinsella's
 hand that was open to befriend the     
suffering4 ,bitter in his editorial     
antagonisms1 he was wide in his         
charities4 ,one did not have to knock at
 many iron gates to reach his           
sympathies4  ,mr4 ,kinsella died of     
overwork1 from the toil of years that   
taxed his strength4 ,none but those who 
have been behind the scenes can         

appreciate the energies that are        
required in making up a great daily     
newspaper4 ,its demands for copy come   
with such regularity4 ,newspaper writers
 must produce just so much1 whether they
 feel like it or not4 ,there is no      
newspaper vacation4 ,so the             
commanders-in-chief of the great dailies
 often die of overwork4 ,henry ,j4      
,raymond died that way1 ,samuel ,bowles1
 ,horace ,greeley4 ,once in a while     
there are surviving veterans like       
,thurlow ,weed1 or ,erastus ,brooks1 or 
,james ,watson ,webb--but they shifted  
the most of the burden on others as they
 grew old4 ,success in any calling means
 drudgery1 sacrifice1 push1 and tug1 but
 especially so in the ranks of the      
newspaper armies4  ,a great many of us1 
however1 about this time1 survived a    
worse fate1 though how we did it is     
still a mystery of the period4 ,we      
discovered1 in the spring of #ahhd1 that
 we had been eating and drinking things 
not to be mentioned4 ,honest            

old-fashioned butter had melted and run 
out of the world4 ,instead of it we had 
trichinosis in all styles served up     
morning and evening--all the evils of   
the food creation set before us in raw  
shape1 or done up in puddings1 pies1 and
 gravies4 ,the average hotel hash was   
innocent merriment compared to our      
adulterated butter4 ,the candies1 which 
we bought for our children1 under       
chemical analysis1 were found to be     
crystallised disease4 ,lozenges were of 
red lead4 ,coffees and teas were so     
adulterated that we felt like ,charles  
,lamb1 who1 in a similar predicament1   
said1 ,if this be coffee1 give me tea2  
and if it be tea1 give me coffee4 ,even 
our medicines were so craftily          
adulterated that they were sure to kill4
 ,there was alum in our bread1 chalk in 
our milk1 glass in our sugar1 ,venetian 
red in our cocoa1 and heaven knows what 
in the syrup4  ,too much politics in our
 food threatened to demoralise our large
 cities4 ,the same thing had happened in

 ,london1 in #ahfh4 ,we survived it1    
kept on preaching against it1 and giving
 money to prosecute the guilty4 ,it was 
an age of pursuit2 ministers pursuing   
ministers1 lawyers pursuing lawyers1    
doctors1 merchants1 even ,arctic        
explorers pursuing one another1 the     
,north ,pole a jealous centre of        
interest4 ,everything is frozen in the  
,arctic region save the jealousies of   
the ,arctic explorers4 ,even the ,north 
,pole men were like others4 ,this we    
discovered in #ahhd1 when1 in           
,washington1 the post-mortem trial of   
,de,long and his men was in progress4   
,there was nothing to be gained by the  
controversy4 ,there were no laurels to  
be awarded by this investigation1       
because the men whose fame was most     
involved were dead4 ,it was a quarrel1  
and the ,jeannette was the graveyard in 
which it took place4 ,it was            
disgraceful4  ,jealousy is the rage of a
 man1 also of a woman4  ,it was evident1
 in the progress of this one-sided      

trial1 that our legislature needed to   
have their corridors1 their stairways1  
and their rooms cleaned of lobbyists4   
,at the ,state ,capital in ,albany1 one 
bright spring morning in the same year1 
the legislature rose and shook itself1  
and the ,sergeant-at-,arms was          
instructed to drive the squad of        
lobbyists out of the building4 ,he did  
it so well that he scarcely gave them   
time to get their canes or their hats4  
,some of the lowest men in ,new ,york   
and ,brooklyn were among them4 ,that was
 a spring cleaning worth while4 ,but it 
was only a little corner of the         
political arena that was unclean4  ,i   
remember how eagerly1 when ,i went to   
,canada in ,april1 the reporters kept   
asking me who would be the next         
,president4 ,it would have been such an 
easy thing to answer if ,i had only     
known who the man was4 ,in this dilemma 
,i suggested some of our best           
presidential timber in ,brooklyn as     
suitable candidates4 ,these were        

,general ,slocum1 ,general ,woodford1   
,general ,tracey1 ,mayor ,low1 ,judge   
,pratt1 ,judge ,tierney1 ,mr4           
,stranahan1 and ,judge ,neilson4 ,some  
of these men had been seriously         
mentioned for the office4 ,honourable   
mention was all they got1 however4 ,they
 were too unpretentious for the role4   
,it was the beginning of a mud-slinging 
campaign4 ,new ,york versus ,new        
,york--,brooklyn versus ,brooklyn4  ,i  
long ago came to the conclusion that the
 real heroes of the world were on the   
sea4 ,the ambitions of men crowded      
together on land were incontestably     
disgusting4 ,on the vast1 restless deep 
men stand alone1 in brave conflict with 
constant danger4 ,i was always deeply   
impressed by the character of men1 as   
revealed in disasters of the sea4 ,there
 were many of them during my life-time4 
,the bigger the ships grew1 the more    
dangerous became ocean travel4 ,our     
improvements seemed to add to the humour
 of grim old ,neptune4 ,in #ahhd the    

ocean was becoming a great turnpike     
road1 and people were required by law to
 keep to the right or to the left4 ,a   
population of a million sailors was on  
the sea at all times4 ,some of the ships
 were too busy to stop to save human    
lives1 as was the case in the disaster  
of the ,florida4 ,in distress1 her      
captain hailed ,the ,city of ,rome1 a   
monster of the deep4 ,but ,the ,city of 
,rome had no time to stop1 and passed on
 by4 ,the lifeboats of the ,florida were
 useless shells1 utterly unseaworthy4   
,the ,florida was unfit for service4    
,john ,bayne1 the engineer1 was the hero
 who lost his life to save others4 ,but 
this was becoming a common story of the 
sea2 for when the ,schiller went down1  
,captain ,thomas gave his life for      
others4 ,when the ,central-,america     
sank1 ,president ,arthur's father-in-law
 perished in the same way4 ,every       
shipwreck ,i have known seems lighted up
 with some marvellous deed of heroism in
 man4  ,in #ahhd there was a failure in 

,wall ,street for eight or ten million  
dollars1 and hundreds went down during  
this shipwreck4 ,by heroism and courage 
alone were they able to outlive it4 ,to 
whom did all this money belong8 ,to     
those who were drowned in the storm of  
financial sea4 ,but it was only a ,wall 
,street flurry2 it did not affect the   
national ship as it would have done     
twenty years before4 ,the time had      
passed when ,wall ,street could         
jeopardise the commerce of the country4 
,twenty years before1 such a calamity in
 three days' time would have left all   
the business of the nation in the dust4 
,it would have crashed down all the     
banks1 the insurance companies1 the     
stock-houses4 ,new ,york1 ,boston1      
,philadelphia1 ,san ,francisco1 ,new    
,orleans--from coast to coast1          
everything would have tumbled down4     
,the principal lesson derived from this 
panic was to keep excitable men out of  
,wall ,street4 ,while the romance of a  
failure for hundreds of thousands of    

dollars is more appealing than a failure
 for a small sum1 the greater the       
deficit the greater the responsibility4 
,ferdinand ,ward was in this ,wall      
,street crash of #ahhc4 ,the roseate    
glasses of wealth through which he saw  
the world had made him also see millions
 in every direction4 ,george ,l4 ,seney 
lost his bank and railroad stock in this
 failure1 but he had given hundreds of  
thousands to the cause of education1    
,north and ,south4 ,some people         
regretted that he had not kept his      
fortune to help him out of his trouble4 
,i believe there were thousands of good 
people all over the country who prayed  
that this philanthropist might be       
restored to wealth4 ,there was one man  
in ,wall ,street at this time who ,i    
said could not fail4 ,he was ,mr4 ,a4,s4
 ,hatch1 ,president of the ,new ,york   
,stock ,exchange4 ,he had given large   
sums of money to ,christian work1 and   
was personally an active church member4 
,that which ,i hear about men who are   

unfortunate makes no impression on me4  
,there is always a great jubilee over   
the downfall of a financier4 ,i like to 
put the best phase possible upon a man's
 misfortune4 ,no one begrudged the      
wealth of the rich men of the past4     
,the world was becoming too compressed1 
it was said2 there was not room enough  
to get away from your troubles4 ,all the
 better4 ,it was getting to a           
compactness that could be easily poked  
up and divinely appropriated4 ,a new    
cable was landed at ,rockport1 ,mass41  
that was to bring the world into closer 
reunion of messages4 ,we were to have   
cheaper cable service under the         
management of the ,commercial ,cable    
,company4 ,simultaneously with this     
information1 the s4s4 ,america made the 
astounding record of a trip from shore  
to shore of the ,atlantic1 in six days  
fourteen hours and eighteen minutes4 ,it
 was a startling symbol of future       
wonders4 ,i promised then to exchange   
pulpits with any church in ,england once

 a month4 ,it seemed a possibility1 as  
proposed in ,mr4 ,corbin's scheme of    
harbours at ,montauk ,point4 ,there were
 pauses in the breathless speed we were 
just beginning at this time4 ,we paused 
to say farewell to the good men whom we 
were passing by4 ,they were not         
spectacular4 ,some of them will no doubt
 be unknown to the reader4  ,a gentle   
old man1 his face illumined always by a 
radiant smile1 fell behind4 ,he was     
,bishop ,simpson4 ,we paused to bid him 
farewell4 ,in #ahfc1 walking the streets
 of ,philadelphia one night with an army
 surgeon1 we passed the ,academy of     
,music in that city1 where a meeting was
 being held on behalf of the ,christian 
,commission1 the object of which was to 
take care of wounded soldiers4 ,as we   
stood at the back of the stage          
listening1 the meeting seemed to be very
 dull4 ,a speaker was introduced4 ,his  
voice was thin1 his manner unimpressive4
 ,my friend said1 ,let's go1 but ,i     
replied1 ,wait until we see what there  

is in him4 ,suddenly1 he grew upon us4  
,the address became adorned with a      
pathos1 a sublimity1 and an enthusiasm  
that overwhelmed the audience4 ,when the
 speaker sat down1 ,i inquired who he   
was4  ,that is ,bishop ,simpson1 said my
 informant4 ,in later years1 ,i learned 
that the ,bishop's address that night   
was the great hour of his life4 ,his    
reputation became national4 ,he was one 
of the few old men who knew how to treat
 young men4 ,he used no gestures on the 
platform1 no climaxes1 no dramatic      
effects of voice1 yet he was eloquent   
beyond description4 ,his earnestness    
broke over and broke through all rules  
of rhetoric4 ,he made his audiences     
think and feel as he did himself4 ,that1
 ,i believe1 is the best of a man's     
inner salvation4  ,in the autumn of the 
same year we paused to close the        
chapters of ,jerry ,mc,cauley's life1 a 
man who had risen from the depths of    
crime and sin--a different sort of man  
from ,bishop ,simpson4 ,he was born in  

the home of a counterfeiter4 ,he became 
a thief1 an outlaw4 ,by an influence    
that many consider obsolete and         
old-fashioned1 he became converted1 and 
was recognised by the best men and women
 in ,new ,york and ,brooklyn4 ,i knew   
,mc,cauley4 ,i stood with him on the    
steps of his mission in ,water ,street4 
,he was a river thief changed into an   
angel4 ,it was supernatural1 a miracle4 
,mc,cauley gave twelve years to his     
mission work4 ,two years before his     
death he changed his quarters1          
converting a dive into a ,house of ,god4
 ,what an imbecile city government      
refused to touch was surrendered to     
hosannas and doxologies4 ,the story of  
,jerry ,mc,cauley's missionary work in  
the heart of a wicked section of ,new   
,york was called romantic4 ,i attest    
that ,i am just as keenly sensitive to  
the beauty of romance as any human      
being1 but there was a great deal that  
was called romantic in ,american life in
 #ahhd-ahhe that was not so4 ,romance   

became a roseate mist1 through which old
 and young saw the obligations of life  
but dimly4  ,a strange romance of       
marriage became epidemic in ,america at 
this time4 ,european ethics were being  
imported1 and the romance of ,european  
liberty swept over us4 ,a parental      
despotism was responsible4 ,the         
newspapers of the summer of #ahhd were  
full of elopements4 ,they were long     
exciting chapters of domestic calamity4 
,my sympathies were with the young      
fellow of seven hundred dollars income1 
married to a millionaire fool who       
continually informed him how much better
 her position was before she left home2 
the honeymoon a bliss of six months1 and
 all the rest of his life a profound    
wish that he had never been born2 his   
only redress the divorce court or the   
almshouse4 ,the poetry of these         
elopements was false1 the prose that    
came after was the truth4 ,marriage is  
an old-fashioned business1 and that     
wedding procession lasts longest that   

starts not down the ladder out of the   
back window1 but from the front door    
with a benediction4  ,but1 morally and  
politically1 we were in a riot of       
opinion against which ,i constantly     
protested4 ,politically1 we were without
 morals4  ,the opposing ,presidential   
candidates in #ahhd were ,grover        
,cleveland and ,james ,g4 ,blaine4 ,it  
was the wonder of the world that the    
,american people did not make ,mr4      
,blaine ,president4 ,there was a        
world-wide amazement also at the abuse  
which preceded ,mr4 ,cleveland's        
election4 ,the whole thing was a        
spectacle of the ignorance of men about 
great men4 ,all sorts of defamatory     
reports were spread abroad about them4  
,men of mind are also men of            
temperament4 ,there are two men in every
 one man1 and for this reason ,mr4      
,blaine was the most misunderstood of   
great men4 ,to the end of his brilliant 
life calumny pursued him4 ,there were   
all sorts of reports about him4  ,one   

series of reports said that ,mr4 ,blaine
 was almost unable to walk2 that he was 
too sick to be seen2 that death was for 
him close at hand1 and his obituaries   
were in type in many of the printing    
offices4  ,the other series of reports  
said that ,mr4 ,blaine was vigorous2    
went up the front steps of his house at 
a bound2 was doing more work than ever1 
and was rollicking with mirth4 ,the     
baleful story was ascribed to his       
enemies1 who wanted the great man out of
 the world4 ,the reassuring story was   
ascribed to his friends1 who wanted to  
keep him in the ranks of ,presidential  
possibilities4  ,the fact is that both  
reports were true4 ,there were two ,mr4 
,blaines1 as there are two of every     
mercurial temperament4 ,of the          
phlegmatic1 slow-pulsed man there is    
only one4 ,you see him once and you see 
him as he always is4 ,not so with the   
nervous organisation4 ,he has as many   
moods as the weather1 as many changes as
 the sky4 ,he is bright or dull1 serene 

or tempestuous1 cold or hot1 up or down1
 ,january or ,august1 day or night1     
,arctic or tropical4 ,at ,washington1 in
 #ahhi1 ,i saw the two ,blaines within  
two hours4 ,i called with my son to see 
the great ,secretary of ,state at his   
office1 and although it was his day for 
seeing foreign diplomats1 he received us
 with great cordiality4 ,his face was an
 illumination2 his voice resonant2 his  
manner animated2 he was full of         
gesticulation4 ,he walked up and down   
the room describing things under        
discussion2 fire in his eye1 spring in  
his step4 ,although about fifty-nine    
years of age1 he looked forty-five1 and 
strong enough to wrestle with two or    
three ordinary men4 ,he had enough      
vitality for an athlete4  ,we parted4   
,my son and ,i went down the street1    
made two or three other calls1 and on   
the way noticed a carriage passing with 
two or three people in it4 ,my attention
 was startled by the appearance in that 
carriage of what seemed a case of       

extreme invalidism4 ,the man seemed     
somewhat bolstered up4 ,my sympathies   
were immediately aroused1 and ,i said to
 my son1 ,look at that sick man riding  
yonder4 ,when the carriage came nearer  
to us1 my son said1 ,that is ,mr4       
,blaine4 ,looking closely at the        
carriage ,i found that this was so4 ,he 
had in two hours swung from vigour to   
exhaustion1 from the look of a man good 
for twenty years of successful work to a
 man who seemed to be taking his last   
ride4 ,he simply looked as he felt on   
both occasions4 ,we had seen the two    
,blaines4  ,how much more just we would 
be in our judgment of men if we realised
 that a man may be honestly two         
different men1 and how this theory would
 explain that which in every man of high
 organisation seems sometimes to be     
contradictory6 ,aye1 within five minutes
 some of us with mercurial natures can  
remember to have been two entirely      
different men in two entirely different 
worlds4 ,something said to us cheering  

or depressing2 some tidings announced1  
glad or sad2 some great kindness done   
for us1 or some meanness practised on us
 have changed the zone1 the pulsation1  
the physiognomy1 the physical1 the      
mental1 the spiritual condition1 and we 
become no more what we were than summer 
is winter1 or midnoon is midnight1 or   
frosts are flowers4  ,the air was full  
of political clamour and strife in the  
election of #ahhd4 ,never in this       
country was there a greater temptation  
to political fraud1 because1 after four 
month's battle1 the counting of the     
ballots revealed almost a tie4 ,i urged 
self-control among men who were angry   
and men who were bitter4 ,the enemies of
 ,mr4 ,blaine were not necessarily the  
friends of ,mr4 ,cleveland4 ,the enemies
 of ,mr4 ,cleveland were bitter1 but    
they were afraid of ,mr4 ,blaine2 for he
 was a giant intellectually1            
practically1 physically1 and he stood in
 the centre of a national arena of      
politics1 prepared to meet all          

challenge4 ,mr4 ,cleveland never really 
opposed him4 ,he faced him on party     
issues1 not as an individual antagonist4
 ,the excitement was intense during the 
suspense that followed the counting of  
the ballots1 and ,mr4 ,cleveland went   
into the ,white ,house amidst a roar of 
public opinion so confused and so       
vicious that there was no certainty of  
ultimate order in the country4 ,in after
 years ,i enjoyed his confidence and    
friendship1 and ,i learned to appreciate
 the stability and reserve of his       
nature4 ,in a ,milestone beyond this1 ,i
 have recalled a conversation ,i had    
with him at the ,white ,house1 and      
recorded my impressions of him4 ,above  
the clamour of these troublesome times1 
,i raised my voice and said that in the 
distant years to come the electors of   
,new ,york1 ,alabama1 and ,maine1 and   
,california1 would march together down  
,pennsylvania ,avenue in ,washington for
 the discharge of the great duties of   
the ,electoral ,college4  ,the storm    

passed1 and the ,democrats were in      
power4 ,it was the calm that follows an 
electrical disturbance4 ,the paroxysm of
 filth and moral death was over4  ,mr4  
,vanderbilt1 converted into a           
philanthropist1 gave five hundred       
thousand dollars to a medical institute1
 and the world began to see new         
possibilities in great fortunes4 ,that a
 railroad king could also be a          
,christian king was a hopeful tendency  
of the times4 ,these were the acts that 
tended to smother the activities of     
,communism in ,america4  ,in the        
previous four years the curious         
astronomer had discovered the evolution 
of a new world in the sky1 and so while 
on earth there were convulsions1 in the 
skies there were new beauties born4     
,with the rising sun of the year #ahhe1 
one of our great and good men of        
,brooklyn saw it with failing eyesight4 
,doctor ,noah ,hunt ,schenck1 pastor of 
,st4 ,ann's ,episcopal ,church1 was     
stricken4 ,for fifteen years he had     

blessed our city with his benediction4  
,the beautiful cathedral which grew to  
its proportions of grandeur under       
,doctor ,schenck's pastorate1 stood as a
 monument to him4  ,a few weeks later   
,schuyler ,colfax1 speaker of the ,house
 of ,representatives1 passed on4 ,in the
 vortex of political feeling his        
integrity was attacked but ,i never     
believed a word of the accusations4 ,ten
 millions of people hoped for his       
election as ,president4 ,he was my      
personal friend4 ,when the scandal of   
his life was most violent1 he explained 
it all away satisfactorily in my own    
house4 ,this explanation was a          
confidence that ,i cannot break1 but it 
made me ever afterwards a loyal friend  
to his memory4 ,he was one of those upon
 whom was placed the burden of living   
down a calumny1 and when he died        
,congress adjourned in his honour4      
,members of the legislature in his own  
country gathered about his obsequies4 ,i
 have known many men in public life1 but

 a more lovable man than ,schuyler      
,colfax ,i never knew4 ,the generous    
words he spoke of me on the last        
,sabbath of his life ,i shall never     
forget4 ,the perpetual smile on his face
 was meanly caricatured1 and yet it was 
his benediction upon a world unworthy of
 him4  ,in #ahhe1 from far away over the
 sea came muffled thunder tones of war  
and rebellion4 ,the deadly nightshade   
was indigenous to our times4 ,the       
dynamite outrages at ,westminster ,hall 
and the ,house of ,commons were         
explosions we in ,america heard faintly4
 ,their importance was exaggerated4 ,a  
hundred years back1 the kings of        
,england1 of ,france1 of ,russia who    
died in their beds were rare4 ,the      
violent incidents of life were less     
conspicuous as the years went on4 ,what 
riots ,philadelphia had seen during the 
old firemen's battle in the streets6    
,and those theatrical riots in ,new     
,york1 when the military was called out1
 and had to fire into the mob1 because  

the friends of ,macready and ,forrest   
could not agree as to which was the     
better actor6  ,an alarming number of   
disputes came up at this time over      
wills4 ,the ,orphan ,courts were        
over-worked with these cases4 ,i        
suggested a rule for all wills3         
one-third at least to the wife1 and let 
the children share alike4 ,when a child 
receives more than a wife1 the family is
 askew4 ,a man's wife should be first in
 every ambition1 in every provision4    
,one-third to the wife is none too much4
 ,the worst family feuds proceed from   
inequality of inheritance4  ,this       
question of rights under testamentary   
gifts of the rich was not so important1 
however1 as the alarming growth in our  
big cities of the problem of the poor4  
,the tenement house became a menace to  
cleanliness4 ,never before were there so
 many people living in unswept1 unaired 
tenements4 ,stairs below stairs1 stairs 
above stairs1 where all the laws of     
health were violated4 ,the ,sanitary    

,protective ,league was organised to    
alleviate these conditions4 ,asiatic    
cholera was striding over ,europe1 and  
the tenement house of ,america was a    
resting place for it here4  ,after a    
lecturing trip in the spring of #ahhe   
through ,ohio1 ,indiana1 ,michigan1     
,illinois1 and ,wisconsin1 ,i returned  
to ,brooklyn1 delighted with the        
confidence with which the people looked 
forward to the first ,cleveland         
administration4 ,on the day that        
#ej1jjj1jjj was voted for the ,river and
 ,harbour ,bill1 both parties sharing in
 the spoils1 ,american politics touched 
bottom4 ,there were symptoms of         
recuperation in ,mr4 ,cleveland's       
initiative4 ,belligerency was abandoned 
as a hopeless campaign4  ,the graceful  
courtesy with which ,president ,arthur  
bowed himself out of the ,white ,house  
was unparalleled4 ,never in my memory   
was a sceptre so gracefully             
relinquished4 ,nothing in his           
three-and-a-half years of office did him

 more credit4 ,i think we never had a   
better ,president than ,mr4 ,arthur4 ,he
 was fortunate in having in his ,cabinet
 as chief adviser ,mr4 ,frederick ,t4   
,frelinghuysen4  ,my office as a        
minister compelled me to see1 first and 
foremost1 the righteous uplift of the   
events as ,i passed along with them4    
,these were not always the most         
conspicuous elements of public interest1
 but they comprised the things and the  
people ,i saw4  ,i recall1 for instance1
 chief amongst the incidents of ,mr4    
,cleveland's administration1 that the   
oath of office was administered upon his
 mother's ,bible4 ,many people regarded 
this as mere sentimentality4 ,to me it  
meant more than words could express4    
,the best of ,bibles is the mother's4   
,it meant that the man who chose to be  
sworn in on such a book had a grateful  
remembrance4 ,it was as though he had   
said1 ,if it had not been for her1 this 
honour would never have come to me4 ,for
 all there is of actual solemnity in the

 usual form of taking an oath1 people   
might just as well be sworn in on a city
 directory or an old almanac4 ,but1 as  
,i said then1 ,i say now--make way for  
an administration that starts from the  
worn and faded covers of a ,bible       
presented by a mother's hand at parting4
  ,mr4 ,blaine's visit to the ,white    
,house to congratulate the victor1 his  
cordial reception there1 and his long   
stay1 was another bright side of the    
election contest4 ,there must have been 
a good deal of lying about these two men
 when they were wrestling for the       
honours1 for if all that was said had   
been true the scene of hearty salutation
 between them would not only have been  
unfit1 but impossible4  ,all this       
optimism of outlook helped to defeat the
 animosity of the previous campaign4 ,a 
crowning influence upon the national    
confusion of standards was the final    
unanimous vote in ,congress in favour of
 putting ,general ,grant on the retired 
list1 with a suitable provision for his 

livelihood1 in view of a malady that had
 come upon him4 ,it had been a long1    
angry1 bitter debate1 but the generous  
quality of ,american sympathy prevailed4
 ,men who fought on the other side and  
men who had opposed his ,presidential   
policy united to alleviate his sickness1
 the pulsations of which the nation was 
counting4 ,president ,arthur's last act 
was to recommend ,general ,grant's      
relief1 and almost the first act of ,mr4
 ,cleveland's administration was to     
ratify it4 ,republics are not           
ungrateful4 ,the ,american ,republic    
subscribed about #djj1jjj for the relief
 of ,mrs4 ,garfield2 voted pensions for 
,mrs4 ,polk and ,mrs4 ,tyler2 some years
 ago subscribed #bej1jjj for ,general   
,grant1 and increased it by vote of     
,congress in #ahhe4 ,the ,conqueror on  
the pale horse had already taken many   
prisoners among the surviving heroes of 
the war4 ,it was fitting that he should 
make his coming upon the great leader of
 the ,union ,army as gentle as the south

 wind4  ,there was a surplus of men fit 
for official position in ,america when  
the hour of our new appointments        
arrived4 ,there were hundreds of men    
competent to become ministers to        
,england1 to ,france1 to ,germany1 to   
,russia2 as competent as ,james ,russell
 ,lowell or ,mr4 ,phelps4 ,this was all 
due to the affluence of ,american       
institutions1 that spread the benefits  
of education broadcast4 ,i remember when
 ,daniel ,webster died1 people said1 ,we
 shall have no one now to expound the   
constitution1 but the chief expositions 
of the constitution have been written   
and uttered since then4 ,there were     
pigmies in the old days1 too4 ,i had a  
friend who1 as a stenographer some years
 ago1 made a fortune by knocking bad    
grammar out of the speeches of          
,congressmen and ,senators1 who were    
illiterate4 ,they said to him haughtily1
 ,stenographer1 here are a couple of    
hundred dollars2 fix up that speech ,i  
made this morning1 and see that it gets 

into the ,congressional ,record all     
right4 ,if you can't fix it up1 write   
another4  ,in #ahhe1 there were plenty  
of women1 too1 who understood politics4 
,there were mean and silly women1 of    
course1 but there was a new race        
springing up of grand1 splendid1        
competent women1 with a knowledge of    
affairs4 ,the appointment of ,mr4 ,cox  
as ,minister to ,turkey was a compliment
 to ,american literature4 ,in           
consequence of a picturesque description
 he gave of some closing day in a       
foreign country1 he was facetiously     
nicknamed ,sunset ,cox4 ,i rechristened 
him ,sunrise ,cox4 ,when ,president     
,tyler appointed ,washington ,irving as 
,minister to ,spain1 he set an example  
for all time4 ,men of letters put their 
blood into their inkstands1 but the     
sacrifice is poorly recognised4  ,some  
of us were faintly urging world-wide    
peace1 but around the night sky of #ahhe
 was the glare of many camp fires4      
,never were there so many wars on the   

calendar at the same time4 ,the ,soudan 
war1 the threat of a ,russo-,english war
 and of a ,franco-,chinese war1 the     
,south-,american war1 the ,colombian    
war--all the nations restless and       
arming4 ,the scarlet rash of            
international hatred spread over the    
earth1 and there were many predictions4 
,i said then it was comparatively easy  
to foretell the issue of these          
wars--excepting one4 ,i believed that   
the ,revolutionist of ,panama would be  
beaten2 the half-breed overcome by the  
,canadian2 that ,france would humble    
,china1 but that the ,central ,american 
war would go on1 and stop1 and go on    
again1 and stop again1 until1           
discovering some ,washington or         
,hamilton or ,jefferson of its own1 it  
would establish a ,united ,states of    
,south ,america corresponding with the  
,united ,states of ,north ,america4 ,the
 ,soudan war would cease when the       
,english ,government abandoned the      
attempt to fix up in ,egypt things      

unfixable4 ,but what would be the result
 of the outbreak between ,england and   
,russia was the war problem of the      
world4 ,the real question at issue was  
whether ,europe should be dominated by  
the lion or the bear4  ,in the ,united  
,states we had no internal frictions    
which threatened us so much as rum and  
gambling4 ,in ,brooklyn we never ceased 
bombarding these rebellious agents of   
war on the character of young men4      
,coney ,island was once a beautiful     
place1 but in the five years since that 
time1 when it was a garden by the sea1  
the races at ,brighton ,beach and       
,sheepshead ,bay had been established4  
,in ,new ,york and ,brooklyn pool rooms 
were open for betting on these races4   
,in ten years' time ,i predicted that no
 decent man or woman would be able to   
visit ,coney ,island4 ,the evil was     
stupendous1 and the subject of ,coney   
,island could no longer be neglected in 
the pulpit4  ,betting was a             
new-fashioned sort of vice in ,america  

in #ahhe2 it was just becoming a        
licensed relaxation for young boys4 ,as 
the years went on1 it has grown to great
 distinction in all forms of ,american  
life1 but it was yet only at its        
starting point in this year4 ,looking   
over an address ,i made on this subject1
 ,i find this statement3  ,what a       
spectacle when1 at ,saratoga1 or at     
,long ,branch1 or at ,brighton ,beach1  
the horses stop1 and in a flash #ej1jjj 
or #ajj1jjj change hands--multitudes    
ruined by losses1 others1 ruined by     
winnings4 ,many years afterwards the    
money involved in racing was in the     
millions2 but in #ahhe1 #ajj1jjj was    
still a good bit4 ,there were three     
kinds of betting at the horse races     
then--by auction pools1 by ,french      
mutuals1 and by what is called          
bookmaking--all of these methods        
controlled for a consideration4 ,the    
pool seller deducted three or five per  
cent4 from the winning bet 7incidentally
 ringing up more tickets than were sold 

on the winning horse71 while the        
bookmaker1 for special inducement1 would
 scratch any horse in the race4 ,the    
jockey also1 for a consideration1 would 
slacken speed to allow a prearranged    
winner to walk in1 while the judges on  
the stand turned their backs4  ,it was  
just a swindling trust4 ,and yet1 these 
race tracks on a fine afternoon were    
crowded with intelligent men of good    
standing in the community1 and          
frequently the parasols of the ladies   
gave colour and brilliancy to the scene4
 ,our most beautiful watering places    
were all but destroyed by the race      
tracks4 ,to stop all this was like      
turning back the ocean tides1 so regular
 became the habit of gambling1 of       
betting1 of being legally swindled in   
,america4 ,no one was interested in the 
evils of life4 ,we were on the frontier 
of a greater ,america1 a greater waste  
of money1 a greater paradise of         
pleasure4  ,some notice was taken of    
,general ,grant's malady1 mysteriously  

pronounced incurable4 ,the bulletins    
informed us that his life might last a  
week1 a day1 an hour--and still the     
famous old warrior kept getting better4 
,one moment ,grant was dying1 the next  
he was dining heartily at his own dinner
 table4 ,this was one of the mysteries  
of the period4 ,personally1 ,i believe  
the prayers of the ,church kept him     
alive4  ,in ,april1 #ahhe1 the huge     
pedestal for the wonderful statue of    
,liberty1 presented to us by the        
citizens of ,france1 was started4 ,that 
which ,congress had ignored1 and the    
philanthropists of ,america had         
neglected1 the masses were doing by     
their modest subscription--a dollar from
 the men1 ten cents from the children4  
,all ,europe wrapped in war cloud made  
the magnificence and splendour of our   
enlightened liberty greater than ever4  
,it was time that the gates of the sea1 
the front door of ,america1 should be   
made more attractive4 ,castle ,garden   
was a gloomy corridor through which to  

arrive4 ,i urged that the harbour       
fortresses should be terraced with      
flowers1 fitting the approach to the    
forehead of this continent that         
,bartholdi was to illumine with his     
,coronet of ,flame4  ,the ,bartholdi    
statue1 as we read and heard1 and talked
 about it1 became an inspired impulse to
 fine art in ,america4 ,in the right    
hand of the statue was to be a torch2 in
 the left hand1 a scroll representing   
the law4 ,what a fine conception of true
 liberty6 ,it was my hope then that     
fifty years after the statue had been   
placed on its pedestal the foreign ships
 passing ,bedloe's ,island1 by that     
allegory1 should ever understand that in
 this country it is liberty according to
 law4 ,life1 as we should live it1 is   
strong1 according to our obedience of   
its statutes4  ,in my boyhood this was  
impressed upon me by association and    
example4 ,when in ,may1 #ahhe1          
,frederick ,t4 ,frelinghuysen1          
ex-,secretary of ,state1 died1 ,i was   

forcibly reminded of this fact4 ,i grew 
up in a neighbourhood where the name of 
,frelinghuysen was a synonym for purity 
of character and integrity4 ,there were 
,dominie ,frelinghuysen1 ,general ,john 
,frelinghuysen1 ,senator ,theodore      
,frelinghuysen--and ,frederick          
,frelinghuysen1 the father of ,fred1 as 
he was always called in his home state4 
,when ,i was a boy1 ,fred ,frelinghuysen
 practised in the old ,somerville       
,courthouse in ,new ,jersey1 and ,i used
 to crowd in and listen to his          
eloquence1 and wonder how he could have 
composure enough to face so many people4
 ,he was the king of the ,new ,jersey   
bar4 ,never once in his whole lifetime  
was his name associated with a moral    
disaster of any kind4 ,amid the pomp and
 temptations of ,washington he remained 
a consistent ,christian4 ,all the       
,feloniousness were alike--grandfather1 
grandson1 and uncle4 ,on one side of the
 sea was the ,prime ,minister of        
,england1 ,gladstone2 on the other side 

was ,secretary of ,state ,frelinghuysen2
 two men whom ,i associate in mutual    
friendship and esteem4  ,towards the end
 of ,june1 #ahhe1 we were tremendously  
excited4 ,all one day long the cheek of 
,new ,york was flushed with excitement  
over the arrival of the ,bartholdi      
statue4 ,bunting and banners canopied   
the harbour1 fluttered up and down the  
streets1 while minute guns boomed1 and  
bands of music paraded4 ,we had         
miraculously escaped the national       
disgrace of not having a place to put it
 on when it arrived4 ,it was a gift that
 meant ,european and ,american          
fraternity4 ,the #ajj1jjj contributed by
 the masses for the pedestal on         
,bedloe's ,island was an estimate of    
,american gratitude and courtesy to     
,france4 ,the statue itself would stand 
for ages as the high-water mark of      
civilisation4 ,from its top we expected 
to see the bright tinge of the dawn of  
universal peace4     ,,the ,,ninth      
,,milestone  #ahhe-ahhf   ,as time kept 

whispering its hastening call into my   
ear ,i grew more and more vigorous in my
 outlook4 ,i was given strength to hurry
 faster myself1 with a certain energy to
 climb higher up1 where the view was    
wider1 bigger1 clearer4 ,as ,i moved    
upward ,i had but one fear1 and that was
 of looking backward4 ,a minister1      
entrusted with the charge of souls1     
cannot afford to retrace his steps4 ,he 
must go on1 and up1 to the top of his   
abilities1 of his spiritual purposes4   
,in the midst of a glorious summer1 ,i  
refused to see the long shadows of      
departing day2 in the midst of a snow   
deep winter1 ,i declined to slip and    
slide as ,i went on4 ,so it happened    
that a great many gathered about me in  
the tabernacle1 because they felt that  
,i was passing on1 and they wanted to   
see how fast ,i could go4 ,i aimed      
always for a higher place and the way to
 get up to it1 and ,i took them along   
with me1 always a little further1 week  
by week4  ,the pessimists came to me and

 said that the world would soon have a  
surplus of educated men1 that the       
colleges were turning out many nerveless
 and useless youngsters1 that education 
seemed to be one of the follies of      
#ahhe4 ,the fact was we were getting to 
be far superior to what we had been4    
,the speeches at the commencement       
classes were much better than those we  
had made in our boyhood4 ,we had dropped
 the old harangues about ,greece and    
,rome4 ,we were talking about the       
present4 ,the sylphs and naiads and     
dryads had already gone out of business4
 ,college education had been            
revolutionised4 ,students were not      
stuffed to the ,adam's apple with ,latin
 and ,greek4 ,the graduates were        
improved in physique4 ,a great advance  
was reached when male and female        
students were placed in the same        
institutions1 side by side4 ,god put the
 two sexes together in ,eden1 ,he put   
them beside each other in the family4   
,why not in the college8  ,there were   

those who seemed to regard woman as a   
,divine afterthought4 ,judging by the   
fashion plates of olden times1 in other 
centuries1 the grand-daughters were far 
superior to the grand-mothers1 and the  
fuss they used to make a hundred years  
ago over a very good woman showed me    
that the feminine excellence1 so rare   
then1 was more common than it used to   
be4 ,at the beginning of the nineteenth 
century a woman was considered well     
educated if she could do a sum in rule  
of three4 ,look at the books in all     
departments that are under the arms of  
the school miss now4 ,i believe in equal
 education for men and women to fulfil  
the destiny of this land4  ,for all     
women who were then entering the battle 
of life1 ,i saw that the time was coming
 when they would not only get as much   
salary as men1 but for certain          
employments they would receive higher   
wages4 ,it would not come to them       
through a spirit of gallantry1 but      
through the woman's finer natural taste1

 greater grace of manner1 and keener    
perceptions4 ,for these virtues she     
would be worth ten per cent4 more to her
 employer than a man4 ,but she would get
 it by earning it1 not by asking for it4
  ,in the summer of #ahhe ,i made       
another trip to ,europe4 ,the day ,i    
reached ,charing ,cross station in      
,london the exposures of vice in the    
,pall ,mall ,gazette were just issued4  
,the paper had not been out half an     
hour4 ,mr4 ,stead1 the editor1 was later
 put on trial for startling ,europe and 
,america in his crusade against crime4  
,there were the same conditions in      
,america1 in ,upper ,broadway1 and other
 big thoroughfares in ,new ,york1 by    
night1 as there were in ,london4 ,i     
believe the greatest safety against vice
 is newspaper chastisement of dishonour 
and crime4 ,i urged that some paper in  
,america should attack the social evil1 
as the ,pall ,mall ,gazette had done4 ,a
 hundred thousand people1 with banners  
and music1 gathered in ,hyde ,park in   

,london1 to express their approval of   
the reformation started by ,mr4 ,stead1 
and there were a million people in      
,america who would have backed up the   
same moral heroism4 ,if my voice were   
loud enough to be heard from ,penobscot 
to the ,rio ,grande1 ,i would cry out   
,flirtation is damnation4 ,the vast     
majority of those who make everlasting  
shipwreck carry that kind of sail4 ,the 
pirates of death attack that kind of    
craft4  ,my mail bag was a mirror that  
reflected all sides of the world1 and   
much that it showed me was pitifully    
sordid and reckless4 ,most of the       
letters ,i answered1 others ,i          
destroyed4  ,the following one ,i saved1
 for obvious reasons4 ,it was signed1   
,one of the ,congregation3  ,dear       
,sir1--,i do not believe much that you  
preach1 but ,i am certain that you      
believe it all4 ,to be a ,christian ,i  
must believe the ,bible4 ,to be         
truthful1 ,i do not believe it4 ,i go to
 hear you preach because you preach the 

,bible as ,i was taught it in my youth1 
by a father1 who1 like yourself1        
believed what in the capacity of a      
preacher he proclaimed4 ,for thirty-five
 years ,i have been anxious to walk in  
the path my mother is treading--a simple
 faith4 ,i have lived to see my         
children's children1 and the distance   
that lies between me and my real estate 
in the graveyard1 cannot be very great4 
,at my age1 it would be worse than folly
 to argue1 simply to confound or dispute
 merely for the love of arguing4 ,my    
steps are already tottering1 and ,i am  
lost in the wilderness4 ,i pray because 
,i am afraid not to pray4 ,what can ,i  
do that ,i have not done1 so that ,i can
 see clearly8  ,all my sympathies were  
excited by this letter1 because ,i had  
been in that quagmire myself4 ,a student
 of ,doctor ,witherspoon once came to   
him and said1 ,i believe everything is  
imaginary6 ,i myself am only an         
imaginary being4 ,the ,doctor said to   
him1 ,go down and hit your head against 

the college door1 and if you are        
imaginary and the door imaginary1 it    
won't hurt you4  ,a celebrated          
theological professor at ,princeton was 
asked this1 by a sceptic3--  ,you say1  
train up a child in the way he should   
go1 and when he is old he will not      
depart from it4 ,how do you account for 
the fact that your son is such a        
dissipated fellow8  ,the doctor replied1
 ,the promise is1 that when he is old1  
he will not depart from it4 ,my son is  
not old enough yet4 ,he grew old1 and   
his faith returned4 ,the ,rev4 ,doctor  
,hall made the statement that he        
discovered in the biographies of one    
hundred clergymen that they all had sons
 who were clergymen1 all piously        
inclined4 ,there is no safe way to      
discuss religion1 save from the heart2  
it evaporates when you dare to analyse  
its sacred element4  ,i received        
multitudes of letters written by anxious
 parents about sons who had just come to
 the city--letters without end1 asking  

aid for worthy individuals and          
institutions1 which ,i could not meet   
even if ,i had an income of #ejj1jjj per
 annum--letters from men who told me    
that unless ,i sent them #be by return  
mail they would jump into the ,east     
,river--letters from people a thousand  
miles away1 saying if they couldn't     
raise #a1ejj to pay off a mortgage they 
would be sold out1 and wouldn't ,i send 
it to them--letters of good advice1     
telling me how to preach1 and the poorer
 the syntax and the etymology the more  
insistent the command4 ,many encouraging
 letters were a great help to me4 ,some 
letters of a spiritual beauty and power 
were magnificent tokens of a preacher's 
work4 ,most of these letters were       
lacking in one thing--,christian        
confidence4 ,and yet1 what noble        
examples there were of this quality in  
the world4  ,what an example was        
exhibited to all1 when1 on ,october #h1 
#ahhe1 the organ at ,westminster ,abbey 
uttered its deep notes of mourning1 at  

the funeral of ,lord ,shaftesbury1 in   
,england4 ,it is well to remember such  
noblemen as he was4 ,the chair at       
,exeter ,hall1 where he so often        
presided1 should be always associated   
with him4 ,his last public act1 at #hd  
years of age1 was to go forth in great  
feebleness and make an earnest protest  
against the infamies exposed by ,mr4    
,stead in ,london4 ,in that dying speech
 he called upon ,parliament to defend   
the purity of the city4 ,as far back as 
#ahdj1 his voice in ,parliament rang out
 against the oppression of factory      
workers1 and he succeeded in securing   
better legislation for them4 ,he worked 
and contributed for the ragged schools  
of ,england1 by which over #bjj1jjj poor
 children of ,london were redeemed4 ,he 
was ,president of ,bible and ,missionary
 ,societies1 and was for thirty years   
,president of the ,young ,men's         
,christian ,association4 ,i never       
forgave ,lord ,macaulay for saying he   
hoped that the praying of ,exeter ,hall 

would soon come to an end4 ,on his #hjth
 birthday1 a holiday was declared in    
honour of ,lord ,shaftesbury1 and vast  
multitudes kept it4 ,from the ,lord     
,mayor himself to the girls of the      
,water ,cress and ,flower ,mission1 all 
offered him their congratulations4      
,alfred ,tennyson1 the ,poet ,laureate1 
wrote him1 ,allow me to assure you in   
plain prose1 how cordially ,i join with 
those who honour the ,earl of           
,shaftesbury as a friend of the poor4   
,and1 how modest was the ,earl's reply4 
,he said3 ,you have heard that which has
 been said in my honour4 ,let me remark 
with the deepest sincerity--ascribe it  
not1 ,i beseech you1 to cant and        
hypocrisy--that if these statements are 
partially true1 it must be because power
 has been given me from above4 ,it was  
not in me to do these things4  ,how     
constantly through my life have ,i heard
 the same testimony of the power that   
answers prayer4 ,i believed it1 and ,i  
said it repeatedly1 that the reason     

,american politics had become the most  
corrupt element of our nation was       
because we had ignored the power of     
prayer4 ,history everywhere confesses   
its force4 ,the ,huguenots took         
possession of the ,carolinas in the name
 of ,god4 ,william ,penn settled        
,pennsylvania in the name of ,god4 ,the 
,pilgrim ,fathers settled ,new ,england 
in the name of ,god4 ,preceding the     
first gun of ,bunker ,hill1 at the voice
 of prayer1 all heads uncovered4 ,in the
 war of #ahab an officer came to        
,general ,andrew ,jackson and said1     
,there is an unusual noise in the camp2 
it ought to be stopped4 ,the ,general   
asked what this noise was4 ,he was told 
it was the voice of prayer4  ,god forbid
 that prayer and praise should be an    
unusual noise in the camp1 said ,general
 ,jackson4 ,you had better go and join  
them4  ,there was prayer at ,valley     
,forge1 at ,monmouth1 at ,atlanta1 at   
,south ,mountain1 at ,gettysburg4 ,but  
the infamy of politics was broad and    

wide1 and universal4 ,even the record of
 ,andrew ,johnson1 our seventeenth      
,president1 was exhumed4 ,he was charged
 with conspiracy against the ,united    
,states ,government4 ,because he came   
from a border ,state1 where loyalty was 
more difficult than in the ,northern    
,states1 he was accused of making a     
nefarious attack against our            
,government4 ,i did not accept these    
charges4 ,they were freighted with      
political purpose4 ,i said then1 in     
order to prove ,general ,grant a good   
man1 it was not necessary to try and    
prove that ,johnson was a bad one4 ,the 
,president from ,tennessee left no sons 
to vindicate his name4 ,i never saw     
,president ,johnson but once1 but ,i    
refused to believe these attacks upon   
him4 ,they were an unwarranted          
persecution of the sacred memory of the 
dead4 ,no man who has been eminently    
useful has escaped being eminently      
cursed4  ,at our local elections in     
,brooklyn1 in the autumn of #ahhe1 three

 candidates for mayor were nominated4   
,they were all exceptionally good men4  
,two of them were personal friends of   
mine1 ,general ,catlin and ,dr4 ,funk4  
,catlin had twice been brevetted for    
gallantry in the ,civil ,war1 and ,dr4  
,funk was on the prohibition ticket1    
because he had represented prohibition  
all his life4 ,mr4 ,woodward1 the third 
candidate1 ,i did not know1 but he was a
 strict ,methodist1 and that was        
recommendation enough4 ,but there were  
pleasanter matters to think about than  
politics4  ,in ,november of this year1  
there appeared1 at the ,horticultural   
,hall in ,new ,york1 a wonderful floral 
stranger from ,china--the chrysanthemum4
 ,thousands of people paid to go and see
 these constellations of beauty4 ,it was
 a new plant to us then1 and we went mad
 about it in true ,american fashion4 ,to
 walk among these flowers was like      
crossing a corner of heaven4 ,it became 
a mania of the times1 almost like the   
tulip mania of ,holland in the #agth    

century4 ,people who had voted that the 
,chinese must go1 voted that the        
,chinese chrysanthemum could stay4 ,the 
rose was forgotten for the time being1  
and the violets1 and the carnations1 and
 the lily of the valley4 ,in ,america we
 were still the children of the world1  
delighted with everything that was new  
and beautiful4  ,in ,europe1 the war    
dance of nations continued4 ,in the     
twenty-two years preceding the year     
#ahbj ,christendom had paid ten billions
 of dollars for battles4 ,the exorbitant
 taxes of ,great ,britain and the       
,united ,states were results of war4    
,there was a great wave of ,gospel      
effort in ,america to counteract the    
,european war fever4 ,it permeated the  
legislature in ,albany4 ,one morning    
some members of the ,new ,york          
legislature inaugurated a prayer meeting
 in the room of the ,court of ,appeals1 
and that meeting1 which began with six  
people1 at the fifth session overflowed 
the room4 ,think of a ,gospel ,revival  

in the ,albany ,legislature6 ,yet why   
not just such meetings at all ,state    
,capitals1 in this land of the ,pilgrim 
,fathers1 of the ,huguenots1 of the     
,dutch reformers1 of the ,hungarian     
exiles8  ,occasionally1 we were inspired
 by the record of honest political      
officials4 ,my friend ,thomas ,a4       
,hendricks died when he was             
,vice-president of the ,united ,states  
,government4 ,he was an honest official1
 and yet he was charged with being a    
coward1 a hypocrite1 a traitor4 ,he was 
a great soul4 ,he withstood all the     
temptations of ,washington in which so  
many men are lost4 ,i met him first on a
 lecturing tour in the ,west4 ,as ,i    
stepped on to the platform1 ,i said1    
,where is ,governor ,hendricks8 ,with a 
warmth and cordiality that came from the
 character of a man who loved all things
 that were true1 he stood up1 and       
instead of shaking hands1 put both his  
arms around my shoulders1 saying        
heartily1 ,here ,i am4 ,i went on with  

my lecture with a certain pleasure in   
the feeling that we understood each     
other4 ,years after1 ,i met him in his  
rooms in ,washington1 at the close of   
the first session as presiding officer  
of the ,senate1 and ,i loved him more   
and more4 ,many did not realise his     
brilliancy1 because he had such poise of
 character1 such even methods4 ,the     
trouble has been1 with so many men of   
great talent in ,washington1 that they  
stumble in a mire of dissipation4 ,mr4  
,hendricks never got aboard that        
railroad train so popular with political
 aspirants4 ,the ,dead ,river ,grand    
,trunk ,railroad is said to have for its
 stations ,tippleton1 ,quarrelville1    
,guzzler's ,junction1 ,debauch ,siding1 
,dismal ,swamp1 ,black ,tunnel1         
,murderer's ,gulch1 ,hangman's ,hollow1 
and the terminal known as ,perdition4   
,mr4 ,hendricks met one as a man ought  
always to meet men1 without any airs of 
superiority1 or without any appearance  
of being bored4 ,a coal heaver would get

 from him as polite a bow as a chief    
justice4 ,he kept his patience when he  
was being lied about4 ,speeches were put
 in his mouth which he never made1      
interviews were written1 the language of
 which he never used4 ,the newspapers   
that had lied about him1 when he lived1 
turned hypocrites1 and put their pages  
in mourning rules when he died4 ,there  
were some men appointed to attend his   
memorial services in ,indianapolis on   
,november #cj1 #ahhe1 whom ,i advised to
 stay away1 and to employ their hours in
 reviewing those old campaign speeches1 
in which they had tried to make a       
scoundrel out of this man4 ,they were   
not among those who could make a dead   
saint of him4 ,mr4 ,hendricks was a     
,christian1 which made him invulnerable 
to violent attack4 ,for many years he   
was a ,presbyterian1 afterwards he      
became associated with the ,episcopal   
,church4 ,his life began as a farmer's  
boy at ,shelbyville1 his hands on the   
plough4 ,he was a man who hated show1 a 

man whose counsel in ,church affairs was
 often sought4 ,men go through life1    
usually1 with so many unconsidered      
ideals in its course1 so many big       
moments in their lives that the world   
has never understood4  ,i remember ,i   
was in one of the western cities when   
the telegram announcing the death of    
,cornelius ,vanderbilt came1 and the    
appalling anxiety on all sides1 for two 
days1 was something unique in our       
national history4 ,it was an event that 
proved more than anything in my lifetime
 the financial convalescence of the     
nation4 ,when it was found that no      
financial crash followed the departure  
of the wealthiest man in ,america1 all  
sensible people agreed that our         
recuperating prosperity as a nation was 
built on a rock4 ,it had been a         
fictitious state of things before this4 
,it was an event1 which1 years before1  
would have closed one half of the banks1
 and suspended hundreds of business     
firms4 ,the passing of #bjj1jjj1jjj from

 one hand to another1 at an earlier     
period in our history would have shaken 
the continent with panic and disaster4  
,in watching where this #bjj1jjj1jjj    
went to1 we lost sight of the million   
dollars bequeathed by ,mr4 ,vanderbilt  
to charity4 ,its destiny is worth       
recalling4 #ajj1jjj went to the ,home   
and ,foreign ,missionary ,society2      
#ajj1jjj to a hospital2 #ajj1jjj to the 
,young ,men's ,christian ,association2  
#ej1jjj to the ,general ,theological    
,seminary2 #ej1jjj for ,bibles and      
,prayer-,books2 #ej1jjj to the ,home for
 ,incurables2 #ej1jjj to the missionary 
societies for seamen2 #ej1jjj to the    
,home for ,intemperates2 #ej1jjj to the 
,missionary ,society of ,new ,york2     
#ej1jjj to the ,museum of ,art2 #ej1jjj 
to the ,museum of ,natural ,history2 and
 #ajj1jjj to the ,moravian ,church4     
,while the world at large was curious   
about the money ,mr4 ,vanderbilt did not
 give to charity1 ,i celebrate his      
memory for this one consecrated million4

  ,he was a railroad king1 and they were
 not popular with the masses in #ahhe-f4
 ,and yet1 the ,grand ,central ,depot in
 ,new ,york and the ,union ,depot in    
,philadelphia1 were the palaces where   
railroad enterprise admitted the public 
to the crowning luxury of the age4 ,men 
of ordinary means1 of ordinary ability1 
could not have achieved these things4   
,and yet it was necessary to keep armed 
men in the cemetery to protect ,mr4     
,vanderbilt's remains4 ,this sort of    
thing had happened before4 ,winter      
quarters were built near his tomb1 for  
the shelter of a special constabulary4  
,since ,a4,t4 ,stewart's death1 there   
had been no certainty as to where his   
remains were4 ,abraham ,lincoln's       
sepulchre was violated4 ,only a week    
before ,mr4 ,vanderbilt's death1 the    
,phelps family vault at ,binghamton1    
,new ,york1 was broken into4 ,pinkerton 
detectives surrounded ,mr4 ,vanderbilt's
 body on ,staten ,island4 ,wickedness   
was abroad in all directions1 and there 

were but fifteen years of the nineteenth
 century left in which to redeem the    
past4  ,in the summer of #ahhf1 ,doctor 
,pasteur's inoculations against         
hydrophobia1 and ,doctor ,ferron's      
experiments with cholera1 following many
 years after ,doctor ,jenner's          
inoculations against small-pox1 were    
only segments of the circle which       
promised an ultimate cure for all the   
diseases flesh is heir to4 ,miracles    
were amongst us again4 ,i had much more 
interest in these medical discoveries   
than ,i had in inventions1 locomotive or
 bellicose4 ,we required no inventions  
to take us faster than the limited      
express trains4 ,we needed no brighter  
light than ,edison's4 ,a new realm was  
opening for the doctors4                
,simultaneously1 with the gleam of hope 
for a longer life1 there appeared in    
,brooklyn an impudent demand1 made by a 
combination of men known as the         
,brewers' ,association4 ,they wanted    
more room for their beer4 ,the mayor was

 asked to appoint a certain excise      
commissioner who was in favour of more  
beer gardens than we already had4 ,they 
wanted to rule the city from their beer 
kegs4 ,in my opinion1 a beer garden is  
worse than a liquor saloon1 because     
there were thousands of men and women   
who would enter a beer garden who would 
not enter a saloon4 ,the beer gardens   
merely prepare new victims for the      
eventual sacrifice of alcoholism4       
,brooklyn was in danger of becoming a   
city of beer gardens1 rather than a city
 of churches4  ,on ,january #bd1 #ahhf1 
the seventeenth year of my pastorate of 
the ,brooklyn ,tabernacle was           
celebrated4 ,it was an hour for         
practical proof to my church that the   
people of ,brooklyn approved of our     
work4 ,by the number of pews taken1 and 
by the amount of premiums paid in1 ,i   
told them they would decide whether we  
were to stand still1 to go backward1 or 
to go ahead4 ,we were1 at this time1    
unable to accommodate the audiences that

 attended both ,sabbath services4 ,the  
lighting1 the warming1 the artistic     
equipment1 all the immense expenses of  
the church1 required a small fortune to 
maintain them4 ,we had more friends than
 the ,tabernacle had ever had before4   
,at no time during my seventeen years'  
residence in ,brooklyn had there been so
 much religious prosperity there4 ,the  
memberships of all churches were        
advancing4 ,it was a gratifying year in 
the progress of the ,gospel in          
,brooklyn4 ,it had been achieved by     
constant fighting1 under the spur of    
sound yet inspired convictions4 ,how    
close the events of secular prominence  
were to the religious spirit1 some of   
the ministers in ,brooklyn had managed  
to impress upon the people4 ,it was a   
course that ,i pursued almost from my   
first pastoral call1 for ,i firmly      
believed that no event in the world was 
ever conceived that did not in some     
degree symbolise the purpose of human   
salvation4  ,when ,mr4 ,parnell returned

 to ,england1 ,i expected1 from what ,i 
had seen and what ,i knew of him1 that  
his indomitable force would accomplish a
 crisis for the cause of ,ireland4 ,my  
opinion always was that ,england and    
,ireland would each be better without   
the other4 ,mr4 ,parnell's triumph on   
his return in ,january1 #ahhf1 seemed   
complete4 ,he discharged the ,cabinet in
 ,england1 as he had discharged a       
previous ,cabinet1 and he had much to do
 with the appointment of their          
successors4 ,i did not expect that he   
would hold the sceptre1 but it was clear
 that he was holding it then like a true
 king of ,ireland4  ,there was a storm  
came upon the giant cedars of ,american 
life about this time1 which spread      
disaster upon our national strength4 ,it
 was a storm that prostrated the ,cedars
 of ,lebanon4  ,secretary               
,frelinghuysen1 ,vice-president         
,hendricks1 ex-,governor ,seymour1      
,general ,hancock1 and ,john ,b4 ,gough 
were the victims4 ,it was a cataclysm of

 fatality that impressed its sadness on 
the nation4 ,the three mightiest        
agencies for public benefit are the     
printing press1 the pulpit1 and the     
platform4 ,the decease of ,john ,b4     
,gough left the platforms of ,america   
without any orator as great as he had   
been4 ,for thirty-five years his theme  
was temperance1 and he died when the    
fight against liquor was hottest4 ,he   
had a rare gift as a speaker4 ,his      
influence with an audience was unlike   
that of any other of his contemporaries4
 ,he shortened the distance between a   
smile and a tear in oratory4 ,he was one
 of the first1 if not the first1        
,american speaker who introduced        
dramatic skill in his speeches4 ,he     
ransacked and taxed all the realm of wit
 and drama for his work4 ,his was a     
magic from the heart4 ,dramatic power   
had so often been used for the          
degradation of society that speakers    
heretofore had assumed a strict reserve 
toward it4 ,the theatre had claimed the 

drama1 and the platform had ignored it4 
,but ,mr4 ,gough1 in his great work of  
reform and relief1 encouraged the       
disheartened1 lifted the fallen1        
adopting the elements of drama in his   
appeals4 ,he called for laughter from an
 audience1 and it came2 or1 if he called
 for tears1 they came as gently as the  
dew upon a meadow's grass at dawn4 ,mr4 
,gough was the pioneer in platform      
effectiveness1 the first orator to study
 the alchemy of human emotions1 that he 
might stir them first1 and mix them as  
he judged wisely4 ,so many people spoke 
of the drama as though it was something 
built up outside of ourselves1 as if it 
were necessary for us to attune our     
hearts to correspond with the human     
inventions of the dramatists4 ,the      
drama1 if it be true drama1 is an echo  
from something divinely implanted4      
,while some conscienceless people take  
this dramatic element and prostitute it 
in low play-houses1 ,john ,b4 ,gough    
raised it to the glorious uses of       

setting forth the hideousness of vice   
and the splendour of virtue in the      
salvation of multitudes of inebriates4  
,the dramatic poets of ,europe have     
merely dramatised what was in the       
world's heart2 ,mr4 ,gough interpreted  
the more sacred dramatic elements of the
 human heart4 ,he abolished the old way 
of doing things on the platform1 the    
didactic and the humdrum4 ,he harnessed 
the dramatic element to religion4 ,he   
lighted new fires of divine passion in  
our pulpits4  ,the new confidence that  
this wonderful ,cedar of ,lebanon put   
into the work of contemporary ,christian
 labourers in the vineyard of sacred    
meaning is our eternal inheritance of   
his spirit4 ,he left us his confidence4 
,when you destroy the confidence of man 
in man1 you destroy society4 ,the       
prevailing idea in ,american life was of
 a different character4 ,national and   
civic affairs were full of plans to pull
 down1 to make room for new builders4   
,that was the trouble4 ,there were more 

builders than there was space or need to
 build4 ,a little repairing of old      
standards would have been better than   
tearing those we still remembered to    
pieces1 merely to give others something 
to do4  ,all this led to the betrayal of
 man by man--to bribery4 ,it was not of 
much use for the pulpit to point it out4
 ,men adopted bribery as a means to     
business activity4 ,it was of no use to 
recall the brilliant moments of         
character in history1 men would not read
 them4 ,their ancestry was a back       
number1 the deeds of their ancestors    
mere old-fashioned narrowness of        
business4 ,what if a member of the      
,american ,congress1 ,joseph ,reed1     
during the ,american ,revolution did    
refuse the #aj1jjj guineas offered by   
the foreign commissioners to betray the 
colonies8 ,what if he did say           
,gentlemen1 ,i am a very poor man1 but  
tell your ,king he is not rich enough to
 buy me8 ,the more fool he1 not to      
appreciate his opportunities1 not to    

take advantage of the momentary         
enterprise of his betters6 ,a bribe     
offered became a compliment1 and a bribe
 negotiated was a good day's work4 ,i   
had not much faith in the people who    
went about bragging how much they could 
get if they sold out4 ,i refused to     
believe the sentiment of men who        
declared that every man had his price4  
,old-fashioned honesty was not the cure 
either1 because old-fashioned honesty1  
according to history1 was not wholly    
disinterested4 ,there never was a       
monopoly of righteousness in the world1 
though there was a coin of fair exchange
 between men who were intelligent enough
 to perceive its values1 in which there 
was no alloy of bribery4 ,bribery was   
written1 however1 all over the first    
chapters of ,english1 ,irish1 ,french1  
,german1 and ,american politics2 but it 
was high time that1 in ,america1 we had 
a ,court ,house or a ,city ,hall1 or a  
jail1 or a post office1 or a railroad1  
that did not involve a political job4   

,at some time in their lives1 every man 
and woman may be tempted to do wrong for
 compensation4 ,it may be a bribe of    
position that is offered instead of     
money2 but it was easy to foresee1 in   
#ahhf1 that there was a time coming when
 the most secret transaction of private 
and public life would come up for public
 scrutiny4 ,those of us who gave this   
warning were under suspicion of being   
harmless lunatics4  ,necessarily1 the   
dishonest transactions of the bosses led
 to discontent among the labouring      
classes1 and a railroad strike came1 and
 went1 in the winter of #ahhf4 ,its     
successful adjustment was a credit to   
capital and labour1 to our police       
competency1 and to general municipal    
common-sense4 ,in ,chicago and ,st4     
,louis1 this strike lasted several days2
 in ,brooklyn1 it was settled in a few  
hours4 ,the deliverance left us facing  
the problem whether the differences     
between capital and labour in ,america  
would ever be settled4 ,i was convinced 

that it could never be accomplished by  
the law of supply and demand1 although  
we were constantly told so4 ,it was a   
law that had done nothing to settle the 
feuds of past ages4 ,the fact was that  
supply and demand had gone into         
partnership1 proposing to swindle the   
earth4 ,it is a diabolic law which will 
have to stand aside for a greater law of
 love1 of co-operation1 and of kindness4
 ,the establishment of a labour         
exchange1 in ,brooklyn in #ahhf1 where  
labourers and capitalists could meet and
 prepare their plans1 was a step in that
 direction4  ,i said to a very wealthy  
man1 who employed thousands of men in   
his establishments in different cities3 
,have you had many strikes8  ,never had 
a strike2 ,i never will have one1 he    
said4  ,how do you avoid them8 ,i asked4
  ,when prices go up or down1 ,i call my
 men together in all my establishments4 
,in ease of increased prosperity ,i     
range them around me in the warehouses  
at the noon hour1 and ,i say1 ',boys1 ,i

 am making money1 more than usual1 and  
,i feel that you ought to share my      
success2 ,i shall add five1 or ten1 or  
twenty per cent4 to your wages4' ,times 
change4 ,i must sell my goods at a low  
price1 or not sell them at all4 ,then ,i
 say to them1 ',boys1 ,i am losing      
money1 and ,i must either stop          
altogether or run on half-time1 or do   
with less hands4 ,i thought ,i would    
call you together and ask your advice4' 
,there may be a halt for a minute or    
two1 and then one of the men will step  
up and say1 ',boss1 you have been good  
to us2 we have got to sympathise with   
you4 ,i don't know how the others feel1 
but ,i propose we take off #bj per cent4
 from our wages1 and when times get     
better1 you can raise us1' and the rest 
agree4  ,that was the law of kindness4  
,many of the best friends ,i had were   
,american capitalists1 and ,i said to   
them always1 ,you share with your       
employees in your prosperity1 and they  
will share with you in your adversity4  

,the rich man of ,america was not in    
need of conversion1 for1 in #ahhf1 he   
had not become a monopolist as yet4 ,he 
had accumulated fortunes by industry and
 hard work1 and he was an energetic     
builder of national enterprise and civic
 pride1 but his coffers were being      
drained by an increasing social         
extravagance that was beyond the        
requirements of happiness of home4      
,,the ,,tenth ,,milestone  #ahhf        
,society life in the big cities of      
,america in #ahhf had become a strange  
nightmare of extravagance and late      
hours4 ,it was developing a queer race  
of people4 ,temporarily1 the ,lenten    
season stopped the rustle and flash of  
toilettes1 chained the dancers1 and put 
away the tempting chalice of social     
excitement4 ,when ,lent came in the     
society of the big cities of ,america   
was an exhausted multitude4 ,it seemed  
to me as though two or three winters of 
germans and cotillions would be enough  
to ruin the best of health4 ,the victims

 of these strange exhaustions were      
countless4 ,no man or woman could endure
 the wear and tear of social life in    
,america without sickness and depletion 
of health4 ,the demands were at war with
 the natural laws of the human race4    
,even the hour set for the average      
assembling of a society event in #ahhf  
was an outrage4 ,once it was eight      
o'clock at night1 soon it was adjourned 
to nine-thirty1 and then to ten1 and    
there were threats that it would soon be
 eleven4 ,a gentleman wrote me this way 
for advice about his social burden3     
,what shall ,i do8 ,we have many        
friends1 and ,i am invited out          
perpetually4 ,i am on a salary in a     
large business house in ,new ,york4 ,i  
am obliged to arise in the morning at   
seven o'clock1 but ,i cannot get home   
from those parties till one in the      
morning4 ,the late supper and the       
excitement leave me sleepless4 ,i must  
either give up society or give up       
business1 which is my living4 ,my wife  

is not willing that ,i should give up   
society1 because she is very popular4   
,my health is breaking down4 ,what shall
 ,i do8  ,it was not the idle class that
 wasted their nights at these parties2  
it was the business men dragged into the
 fashions and foibles of the idle1 which
 made that strange and unique thing we  
call society in ,america4  ,i should    
have replied to that man that his wife  
was a fool4 ,if she were willing to     
sacrifice his health1 and with it her   
support1 for the greeting and applause  
of these midnight functions1 ,i pitied  
him4 ,let him lose his health1 his      
business1 and his home1 and no one would
 want to invite him anywhere4 ,all the  
diamond-backed terrapins at fifty       
dollars a dozen which he might be       
invited to enjoy after that would do him
 no harm4 ,society would drop him so    
suddenly that it would knock the breath 
out of him4 ,the recipe for a man in    
this predicament1 a man tired of life1  
and who desired to get out of it without

 the reputation of a suicide1 was very  
simple4 ,he only had to take chicken    
salad regularly at midnight1 in large   
quantities1 and to wash it down with    
bumpers of wine1 reaching his pillow    
about #b a4m4 ,if the third winter of   
this did not bring his obituary1 it     
would be because that man was proof     
against that which had slain a host     
larger than any other that fell on any  
battle-field of the ages4 ,the          
,scandinavian warriors believed that in 
the next world they would sit in the    
,hall of ,odin1 and drink wine from the 
skulls of their enemies4 ,but society1  
by its requirements of late hours and   
conviviality1 demanded that a man should
 drink out of his own skull1 having     
rendered it brainless first4 ,i had     
great admiration for the suavities and  
graces of life1 but it is beyond any    
human capacity to endure what society   
imposes upon many in ,america4 ,drinking
 other people's health to the           
disadvantage of one's own health is a   

poor courtesy at best4 ,our             
entertainments grew more and more       
extravagant1 more and more demoralising4
 ,i wondered if our society was not     
swinging around to become akin to the   
worst days of ,roman society4 ,the      
princely banquet-rooms of the ,romans   
had revolving ceilings representing the 
firmament2 fictitious clouds rained     
perfumed essences upon the guests1 who  
were seated on gold benches1 at tables  
made of ivory and tortoise-shell4 ,each 
course of food1 as it was brought into  
the banquet room1 was preceded by flutes
 and trumpets4 ,there was no wise man or
 woman to stand up from the elaborate   
banquet tables of ,american society at  
this time and cry ,halt6 ,it might have 
been done in ,washington1 or in ,new    
,york1 or in ,brooklyn1 but it was not4 
,the way ,american society was moving in
 #ahhf was the way to death4 ,the great 
majority1 the major key in the weird    
symphony of ,american life1 was not of  
society4  ,we had no masses really1     

although we borrowed the term from      
,europe and used it busily to describe  
our working people1 who were massive    
enough as a body of men1 but they were  
not the masses4 ,neither were they the  
mob1 which was a term some were fond of 
using in describing the destruction of  
property on railroads in the spring of  
#ahhf4 ,the labouring men had nothing to
 do with these injuries4 ,they were done
 by the desperadoes who lurked in all   
big cities4 ,i made a ,western trip     
during this strike1 and ,i found the    
labouring men quiet1 peaceful1 but idle4
 ,the depots were filled with them1 the 
streets were filled with them1 but they 
were in suspense1 and it lasted         
twenty-five days4 ,then followed the    
darkness and squalor--less bread1 less  
comfort1 less civilisation of heart and 
mind4 ,it was hard on the women and     
children4 ,senator ,manderson1 the son  
of my old friend in ,philadelphia1      
introduced a bill into the ,united      
,states ,senate for the arbitration of  

strikes4 ,it proposed a national board  
of mediation between capital and labour4
  ,jay ,gould was the most abused of men
 just then4 ,he was denounced by both   
contestants in this ,american conflict  
most uselessly4 ,the knights of ,labour 
came in for an equal amount of abuse4   
,we were excited and could not reason4  
,the men had just as much right to band 
together for mutual benefit as ,jay     
,gould had a right to get rich4 ,it was 
believed by many that ,mr4 ,gould made  
his fortune out of the labouring        
classes4 ,mr4 ,gould made it out of the 
capitalists4 ,his regular diet was a    
capitalist per diem1 not a poor         
man--capitalist stewed1 broiled1        
roasted1 panned1 fricaseed1 devilled1 on
 the half shell4 ,he was personally1 as 
,i knew him1 a man of such kindness that
 he would not hurt a fly1 but he played 
ten pins on ,wall ,street4 ,a great many
 adventurers went there to play with    
him1 and if their ball rolled down the  
side of the financial alley while he    

made a ten strike or two or three       
spares1 the fellows who were beaten     
howled4 ,that was about all there really
 was in the denunciation of ,jay ,gould4
  ,i couldn't help thinking sometimes1  
when the ,united ,states seemed to      
change its smile of prosperity to a     
sudden smile of anger or petulance1 that
 we were a spoiled nation1 too much     
pampered by divine blessings4 ,if we had
 not been our own rulers1 but had been  
ruled--what would ,america have been    
then8 ,we were like ,ireland crying for 
liberty and abusing liberty the more we 
got of it4  ,mr4 ,gladstone's policy of 
,home ,rule for ,ireland1 announced in  
,april1 #ahhf1 proposed an ,irish       
,parliament and the ,viceroy4 ,it should
 remain1 however1 a part of ,england4 ,i
 fully believed then that ,ireland would
 have ,home ,rule some day1 and in      
another century ,i believed that        
,ireland would stand to ,england as the 
,united ,states stands to ,england1 a   
friendly and neighbouring power4 ,i     

believed that ,ireland would some day   
write her own ,declaration of           
,independence4 ,liberty1 the fundamental
 instinct of the most primitive living  
thing1 would be the world's everlasting 
conflict4  ,our exclusion of the        
,chinese1 which came up in the spring of
 #ahhf1 when an ,ambassador from ,china 
was roughly handled in ,san ,francisco1 
was a disgrace to our own instincts of  
liberty4 ,a great many people did not   
want them because they did not like the 
way they dressed4 ,they objected to the 
,chinaman's queue4 ,george ,washington  
wore one1 so did ,benjamin ,franklin and
 ,john ,hancock4 ,the ,chinese dress was
 not worse than some ,american clothes  
,i have seen4 ,some may remember the    
crinoline monstrosities of '#fe1 as ,i  
do--the coal-scuttle bonnets1 the silver
 knee-buckles6 ,the headgear of the fair
 sex has never ceased to be a mystery   
and a shock during all my lifetime4 ,i  
remember being asked by a lady-reporter 
in ,brooklyn if ,i thought ladies should

 remove their hats in the theatre1 and  
,i told her to tell them to keep them   
on1 because in obstructing the stage    
they were accomplishing something worth 
while4 ,any fine afternoon the spring   
fashions of #ahhf1 displayed in ,madison
 ,square between two and four o'clock1  
were absurdities of costume that        
eclipsed anything then worn by the      
,chinese4  ,the ,joss ,house of the     
,chinese was entitled to as much respect
 in the ,united ,states1 under the      
constitution1 as the ,roman ,catholic   
church1 or the ,quaker ,meeting house1  
or any other religious temple4 ,a new   
path was made for the ,chinese into     
,america via ,mexico1 when #fjj1jjj were
 to be imported for work on ,mexican    
territory4 ,in the discussion it aroused
 it was urged that ,mexico ought to be  
blocked because the ,chinese would not  
spend their money in ,america4 ,in one  
year1 in ,san ,francisco1 the ,chinese  
paid #b1djj1jjj in rent for residences  
and warehouses4 ,our higher civilisation

 was already threatened with that style 
of man who spends three times more money
 than he makes1 and yet we did not want 
the thrifty unassuming religious        
,chinaman to counteract our mania for   
extravagance4 ,this entire agitation    
emanated from corrupt politics4 ,the    
,republican and ,democratic parties both
 wanted the electoral votes of          
,california in the forthcoming          
,presidential election1 and1 in order to
 get that vote1 it was necessary to     
oppose the ,chinese4 ,whenever these    
,asiatic men obtain equal suffrage in   
,america the ,republican party will     
fondle them1 and the ,democrats will try
 to prove that they always had a deep   
affection for them1 and some of the     
political bosses will go around with an 
opium pipe sticking out of their pockets
 and their hair coiled into a suggestion
 of a queue4  ,the ship of state was in 
an awful mess4 ,no sooner was the good  
man in power than politics struggled to 
pull him down to make room for the      

knaves4 ,when ,thomas ,jefferson was    
inaugurated1 the ,sentinel of ,boston   
wrote the obituary of the ,american     
nation4 ,i quote it as a literary scrap 
of the past3  ,,monumental              
,,inscription--expired yesterday1       
regretted by all good men1 ,,the        
,,federal ,,administration ,,of ,,the   
,,government ,,of ,,the ,,united        
,,states1 aged #ab years4 ,this         
,monumental ,inscription to the virtues 
and the services of the deceased is     
raised by the ,sentinel of ,boston4  ,it
 might have been a recent editorial4    
,van ,buren was always cartooned as a   
fox or a rat4 ,horace ,greeley told me  
once that he had not had a sound sleep  
for fifteen years1 and he was finally   
put to death by ,american politics4 ,the
 cartoons of ,mr4 ,blaine and ,mr4      
,cleveland during their election battle1
 as compared to those of fifty years    
before1 were seraphic as the themes of  
,raphael4 ,it was not necessary to go so
 far back for precedent4 ,the game had  

not changed4 ,the building of our new   
,raymond ,street jail in ,brooklyn1 in  
#ahhf1 was a game which the politicians 
played1 called money1 money1 who has got
 the money8 ,suddenly there was an      
arraignment in the courts4 ,mr4 ,jaehne 
was incarcerated in ,sing ,sing for     
bribery4 ,twenty-five ,new ,york        
aldermen were accused4 ,nineteen of them
 were saloon keepers4 ,there was a      
fearful indifference to the illiteracy  
of our leaders in #ahhf4 ,it threatened 
the national intelligence of the future4
  ,in the rhapsody of ,may1 however1 in 
the resurrection of the superlative     
beauties of spring1 we forgot our human 
deficiencies4 ,in the first week of     
lilacs1 the ,americanised flower of     
,persia1 we aspired to the breadth and  
height and the heaven of our gardens4   
,the generous lilac1 like a great purple
 sea of loveliness1 swept over us in the
 full tide of spring4 ,it was the       
forerunner of joy2 joy of fish in the   
brooks1 of insects in the air1 of cattle

 in the fields1 of wings to the sky4    
,sunshine1 shaken from the sacred robes 
of ,god6 ,spring1 the spiritual essence 
of heaven and physical beauty come to   
earth in many forms--in the rose1 in the
 hawthorn white and scarlet1 in the     
passion flower4 ,in this season of      
transition we hear the murmurings of    
heaven4 ,there were spring poets in     
#ahhf1 as there had been in all ages4   
,love and marriage came over the country
 like a divine opiate1 inspired1 ,i     
believe1 by that love story in the      
,white ,house1 which culminated on ,june
 #b1 #ahhf1 in the wedding of ,mr4 and  
,mrs4 ,cleveland4 ,never in my knowledge
 were there so many weddings all over   
the ,united ,states as during the week  
when this official wedding took place in
 the ,white ,house4 ,the representatives
 of the foreign ,governments in         
,washington were not invited to ,mr4    
,cleveland's wedding4 ,we all hoped that
 they would not make such fools of      
themselves as to protest--but they did4 

,they were displeased at the            
,president's omission to invite them4   
,it was always a wish of ,mr4           
,cleveland's to separate the happiness  
of his private life from that of his    
public career1 so as to protect ,mrs4   
,cleveland from the glare to which he   
himself was exposed4 ,his wedding was an
 intimate1 private matter to him1 and if
 there is any time in a man's life when 
he ought to do as he pleases it is when 
he gets married4 ,it was a remarkable   
wedding in some respects1 remarkable for
 its love story1 for its distinguished  
character1 its ,american privacy1 its   
independent spirit4 ,the whole country  
was rapturously happy over it4 ,the     
foreign ministers who growled might have
 benefited by the example of            
,americanism in the affair4 ,even the   
reporters1 none of whom were invited1   
were happy over it1 and gave a more     
vivid account of the joyous scene than  
they could have given had they been     
present4  ,the difference in the ages of

 the ,president and his beautiful bride 
was widely discussed4 ,into the garland 
of bridal roses let no one ever twist a 
sprig of night-shade4 ,if #di would     
marry #bb1 if summer is fascinated with 
spring1 whose business is it but their  
own8 ,both ,may and ,august are old     
enough to take care of themselves1 and  
their marriage is the most noteworthy   
moment of their too short season of     
life4 ,some day her voice is silenced1  
and the end of the world has come for   
him--the morning dead1 the night dead1  
the air dead1 the world dead4 ,for his  
sake1 for her sake1 do not spoil their  
radiance with an impious regret4 ,they  
will endure the thorns of life when they
 are stronger in each other's love4     
,that ,june wedding at the ,white ,house
 was the nucleus of happiness1 from     
which grew a great wave of matrimony4   
,the speed of ,god's will was increasing
 in ,america4 ,most of the things       
managed by divine instinct are          
characterised by speed--rapid currents1 

swift lightnings1 swift coming and going
 of lives4 ,in the old-fashioned days a 
man got a notion that there was sanctity
 in tardiness4 ,it was a great mistake4 
,in ,america we had arrived at that     
state of mind when we wanted everything 
fast--first and fast4 ,fast horses1 fast
 boats1 fast runners are all good things
 for the human race4  ,the great yacht  
races of ,september #g1 #ahhf1 in which 
the ,may ,flower distanced the ,galatea 
by two miles and a half1 was a spanking 
race4 ,our sporting blood was roused to 
fighting pitch1 and we became more      
active in every way of outdoor sports4  
,lawn tennis tournaments were epidemic  
all over the country4 ,there were good  
and bad effects from all of them4 ,those
 romping sports developed a much finer  
physical condition in our ,american     
women4 ,lawn tennis and croquet were    
hardening and beautifying the race4     
,from the ,english and ,german women we 
adopted athletics for our own women4    
,our girls began to travel more         

frequently in ,europe4 ,it looked as    
though many of the young ladies who     
prided themselves upon their bewitching 
languors and fashionable dreaminess1    
would be neglected by young men in      
favour of the more athletic types4 ,it  
had been decided1 in the social channels
 of our life1 that doll babies were not 
of much use in the struggle1 that women 
must have the capacity and the strength 
to sweep out a room without fainting2   
that to make an eatable loaf of bread   
was more important than the satin cheek 
or the colour of hair that one strong   
fever could uproot4 ,i was accused of   
being ambitious that ,americans should  
have a race of ,amazons4 ,i was not4 ,i 
did want them to have bodies to fit     
their great souls4 ,what ,i did wish to 
avoid1 in this natural transition1 was a
 misdirected use of its advantages4     
,there is dissipation in outdoor life1  
as well as indoors1 and this was to be  
deplored4 ,i wanted everything ,american
 to come out ahead4  ,in science we were

 still far behind4 ,the ,charleston     
earthquake in ,september1 #ahhf1 proved 
this4 ,our philosophers were disgusted  
that the ministers and churches down    
there devoted their time to praying and 
moralising about the earthquake1 when   
only natural phenomena were the cause4  
,science had no information or comfort  
to give1 however4 ,the only thing the   
scientist did was to predict a great    
tidal wave which would come and destroy 
all that was left of the previous       
calamity4 ,science lied again4 ,the     
tidal wave did not come2 the ,september 
rains stopped1 and ,charleston began to 
rebuild4 ,that is one of the wonderful  
things about ,america2 we are not only  
able to restore our damages1 but we have
 a mania for rebuilding4 ,our chief     
fault lies in the fact that we rebuild  
for profit rather than for beauty of    
character or moral strength4  ,there had
 been a time during my pastorate when   
,brooklyn promised to be the greatest   
watering place in ,america4 ,we were in 

a fair way of becoming the summer       
capital of the ,united ,states4 ,it was 
destroyed by the loafers and the        
dissoluteness of ,coney ,island4 ,in the
 autumn of #ahhf1 ,brooklyn was more    
indignant than ,i had ever seen it      
before1 and ,i knew it intimately for a 
quarter of a century4 ,our trade was    
damaged1 our residences were            
depreciated1 because the gamblers and   
liquor dealers were in power4 ,part of  
the summer people were too busy looking 
for a sea serpent reported to be in the 
,east ,river or up the ,hudson to       
observe that a ,dragon of ,evil was     
twining about the neck and waist and    
body of the two great cities by the sea4
  ,in contrast to all this political    
treachery in the ,north there developed 
a peculiar symbol of political sincerity
 in ,tennesee4 ,two brothers1 ,robert   
and ,alfred ,taylor1 were running for   
,governor of that ,state--one on the    
,republican and the other on the        
,democratic ticket4 ,at night they      

occupied the same room together4 ,on the
 same platform they uttered sentiments  
directly opposite in meaning4 ,and yet1 
,robert said to a crowd about to hoot   
his brother ,alfred1 ,when you insult my
 brother you insult me4 ,this was a     
symbol of political decency that we     
needed4 ,one of the great wants of the  
world1 however1 was a better example in 
high life4 ,we were shocked by the moral
 downfall of ,sir ,charles ,dilke in    
,england1 by the dissolute conduct of an
 ,american official in ,mexico1 by the  
dissipations of a ,senator who attempted
 to address the ,united ,states ,senate 
in a state of intoxication4  ,mr4       
,cleveland's frequent exercise of the   
,president's right of veto was a hopeful
 policy in national affairs4 ,the habit 
of voting away thousands of dollars of  
other people's money in ,congress needed
 a check4 ,the popular means of         
accomplishing this out of the national  
treasury was in bills introduced by     
,congressmen for public buildings4 ,each

 ,congressman wanted to favour the      
other4 ,the ,president's veto was the   
only cure4 ,this prodigality of the     
,national ,legislature grew out of an   
enormous surplus in the ,treasury4 ,it  
was too great a temptation to the       
law-makers4 #gj1jjj1jjj in a pile added 
to a reserve of #ajj1jjj1jjj was an     
infamous lure4 ,i urged that this money 
should be turned back to the people to  
whom it belonged4 ,the ,government had  
no more right to it than ,i had to five 
dollars of overpay1 and yet1 by         
over-taxation1 the ,government had done 
the same sort of thing4 ,this money did 
not belong to the ,government1 but to   
the people from whom they had taken it4 
,from private sources in ,washington ,i 
learned that officials were overwhelmed 
with demands for pensions from          
first-class loafers who had never been  
of any service to their country before  
or since the war4 ,they were too lazy or
 cranky to work for themselves4 ,grover 
,cleveland vetoed them by the hundred4  

,we needed the veto power in ,america as
 much as the ,roman ,government had     
required it in their tribunes4 ,poland  
had recognised it4 ,the ,kings of       
,norway1 ,sweden1 and the ,netherlands  
had used it4 ,with the exception of two 
states in the ,union1 all the ,american 
,governors had the privilege4 ,because a
 railroad company buys up a majority of 
the legislature there is no reason why a
 ,governor should sign the charter4     
,there was no reason why the ,president 
should make appointments upon           
indiscriminate claims because the       
ante-room of the ,white ,house was      
filled with applicants1 as they were in 
,cleveland's first administration4 ,my  
sympathies were with the grand army men 
against these pretenders4  ,what a waste
 of money it seemed to me there was in  
keeping up useless ,american embassies  
abroad4 ,they had been established when 
it took six weeks to go to ,liverpool   
and six months to ,china1 so that it was
 necessary to have representation at the

 foreign courts4 ,as far back as #ahff  
it was only half an hour from           
,washington to ,london1 to ,berlin1 to  
,madrid4 ,i have seen no crisis in any  
of these foreign cities which made our  
ambassadors a necessity there4          
,international business could be managed
 by the ,state ,department4 ,the foreign
 embassy was merely a good excuse to get
 rid of some competent rival for the    
,presidency4 ,the cable was enough      
,minister ,plenipotentiary for the      
,united ,states1 and always should be4  
,i regarded it as humiliating to the    
constitution of the ,united ,states that
 we should be complimenting foreign     
despotism in this way4  ,the war rage of
 ,europe was destined to make a market  
for our bread stuff in #ahhf1 but at the
 cost of further suffering and disaster4
 ,i have no sentimentality about the    
conflicts of life1 because the ,bible is
 a history of battles and hand to hand  
struggles1 but war is no longer needed  
in the world4 ,war is a system of       

political greed where men are hired at  
starvation wages to kill each other4    
,could there be anything more savage8   
,it is the inoffensive who are killed1  
while the principals in the quarrel sit 
snugly at home on throne chairs4  ,a    
private letter1 ,i think it was1 written
 during the ,crimean war by a sailor to 
his wife1 describing his sensations     
after having killed a man for the first 
time1 is a unique demonstration of the  
psychology of the soldier's fate4  ,the 
letter said3--  ,we were ordered to     
fire1 and ,i took steady aim and fired  
on my man at a distance of sixty yards4 
,he dropped like a stone1 at the same   
instant a broadside from the ship       
scattered among the trees1 and the enemy
 vanished1 we could scarcely tell how4  
,i felt as though ,i must go up to the  
man ,i had fired upon to see if he were 
dead or alive4 ,i found him quite still1
 and ,i was more afraid of him when ,i  
saw him lying so than when he stood     
facing me a few minutes before4 ,it is a

 strange feeling that comes over you all
 at once when you have killed a man4 ,he
 had unfastened his jacket1 and was     
pressing his hand against his chest     
where the wound was4 ,he breathed hard1 
and the blood poured from the wound and 
his mouth at every breath4 ,his face was
 white as death1 and his eyes looked big
 and bright as he turned them staring up
 at me4 ,i shall never forget it4 ,he   
was a fine young fellow1 not over five  
and twenty4 ,i knelt beside him and ,i  
felt as though my heart would burst4 ,he
 had an ,english face and did not look  
like my enemy4 ,if my life could have   
saved his ,i would have given it4 ,i    
held his head on my knee and he tried to
 speak1 but his voice was gone4 ,i could
 not understand a word that he said4 ,i 
am not ashamed to say that ,i was worse 
than he1 for he never shed a tear and ,i
 did4 ,i was wondering how ,i could bear
 to leave him to die alone1 when he had 
some sort of convulsions1 then his head 
rolled over and with a sigh he was gone4

 ,i laid his head gently on the grass   
and left him4 ,it seemed so strange when
 ,i looked at him for the last time4 ,i 
somehow thought of everything ,i had    
ever read about the ,turks and the      
,russians1 and the rest of them1 but all
 that seemed so far off1 and the dead   
man so near4  ,this was the secret      
tragedy of the common fraternity of     
manhood driven by custom into a sham    
battle of death4 ,the ,european war of  
#ahhf was a conflict of ,slav and       
,teuton4 ,france will never forgive     
,germany for taking ,alsace and         
,lorraine4 ,it was a surrender to       
,germany of what in the ,united ,states 
would be equal to the surrender of      
,philadelphia and ,boston1 with vast    
harvest fields in addition4 ,france     
wanted to blot out ,sedan4 ,england     
desired to keep out of the fight upon a 
naval report that she was unprepared for
 war4 ,the ,danes were ready for        
insurrection against their own          
,government4 ,only #c1jjj miles of      

,atlantic ,ocean and great wisdom of    
,washington kept us out of the fight4   
,the world's statesmanship at this time 
was the greatest it had ever known4     
,there was enough of it in ,st4         
,petersburg1 ,berlin1 ,rome1 ,paris1 and
 ,london to have achieved a great       
progress for peace by arbitration and   
treaty1 but there was no precedent by   
which to judge the effect of such a     
plan4 ,the nations had never before had 
such vast populations to change into    
armies4 ,the temptations of war were    
irresistible4  ,in ,america1 remotely   
luxurious in our own prosperity from the
 rest of the world1 we became           
self-absorbed4 ,the fashions1 designed  
and inspired in ,europe1 became the     
chief element of attraction among the   
ladies4 ,it was particularly noticeable 
in the autumn of #ahhf for the          
brilliancy and grandeur of bird         
feathers4 ,the taxidermist's art was    
adapted to women's gowns and hats to a  
degree that amazed the country4 ,a      

precious group of ,french actresses1    
some of them divorced two or three      
times1 with a system of morals entirely 
independent of the ten commandments1    
were responsible for this outbreak of   
bird millinery in ,america4 ,from one   
village alone #gj1jjj birds were sent to
 ,new ,york for feminine adornment4     
,the whole sky full of birds was swept  
into the millinery shops4 ,a three      
months foraging trip in ,south ,carolina
 furnished #aa1jjj birds for the market 
of feathers4 ,one sportsman supplied    
#aj1jjj aigrettes4 ,the music of the    
heavens was being destroyed4 ,paris was 
supplied by contracts made in ,new      
,york4 ,in one month a million bobolinks
 were killed near ,philadelphia4        
,species of birds became extinct4 ,in   
,february of this year ,i saw in one    
establishment #b1jjj1jjj bird skins4    
,one auction room alone1 in three       
months1 sold #c1jjj1jjj ,east ,india    
bird skins1 and #a1jjj1jjj ,west ,india 
and ,brazilian feathers4  ,a newspaper  

description of a lady's hat in #ahhf was
 to me savage in the extreme4 ,i quote  
one of many3  ,she had a whole nest of  
sparkling1 scintillating birds in her   
hat1 which would have puzzled an        
ornithologist to classify4  ,here is    
another one ,i quote3  ,her gown of     
unrelieved black was looped up with     
blackbirds and a winged creature so     
dusky that it could have been intended  
for nothing but a crow reposed among the
 strands of her hair4  ,public sentiment
 in ,american womanhood eventually      
rescued the songsters of the world--in  
part1 at any rate4 ,the heavenly        
orchestra1 with its exquisite prelude of
 dawn and its tremulous evensong1 was   
spared4  ,many years ago ,thomas        
,carlyle described us as forty million  
,americans1 mostly fools4 ,he declared  
we would flounder on the ballot-box1 and
 that the right of suffrage would be the
 ruin of this ,government4 ,the forty   
million of fools had done tolerably well
 for the small amount of brain ,carlyle 

permitted them4  ,better and better did 
,america become to me as the years went 
by4 ,i never wanted to live anywhere    
else4 ,many believed that ,christ was   
about to return to ,his reign on earth1 
and ,i felt confident that if such a    
divine descent could be1 it would come  
from ,american skies4 ,i did not believe
 that ,christ would descend from        
,european skies1 amidst alien thrones4  
,i foresaw the time when the ,democracy 
of ,americans would be lifted so that   
the ,president's chair could be set     
aside as a relic2 when penitentiaries   
would be broken-down ruins2 almshouses  
forsaken1 because all would be rich1 and
 hospitals abandoned1 because all would 
be well4  ,if ,christ were really       
coming1 as many believed1 the moment of 
earthly paradise was at hand4     ,,the 
,,eleventh ,,milestone  #ahhf-ahhg      
,the balance of power in ,brooklyn and  
,new ,york during my lifetime had always
 been with the pulpit4 ,i was in my     
fifty-fourth year1 and had shared       

honours with the most devout and        
fearless ministers of the ,gospel so    
long that when two monster receptions   
were proposed1 in celebration of the    
services of ,rev4 ,henry ,ward ,beecher 
and ,rev4 ,r4,s4 ,storrs1 ,d4,d41 ,i    
became almost wickedly proud of the     
privileges of my associations4 ,these   
two eminent men were in the seventies4  
,dr4 ,storrs had been installed pastor  
of the ,church of ,pilgrims in #ahdf2   
,mr4 ,beecher pastor of ,plymouth       
,church in #ahdg4 ,they were both       
stalwart in body then1 both ,new        
,englanders1 both ,congregationalists1  
mighty men1 genial as a morning in      
,june4 ,both world-renowned1 but        
different4 ,different in stature1 in    
temperament1 in theology4 ,they had     
reached the fortieth year of pastoral   
service4 ,no movement for the welfare of
 ,brooklyn in all these years was       
without the benediction of their names4 
,the pulpit had accomplished wonders4   
,in ,brooklyn alone look at the         

pulpit-builders4 ,there were ,rev4      
,george ,w4 ,bethune of the ,dutch      
,reformed ,church1 ,rev4 ,dr4 ,samuel   
,h4 ,cox1 ,rev4 ,w4 ,ichabod ,spencer1  
,rev4 ,dr4 ,samuel ,thayer ,speer of the
 ,presbyterian ,church1 ,dr4 ,john      
,summerfield and ,dr4 ,kennedy of the   
,methodist ,church1 ,rev4 ,dr4 ,stone   
and ,rev4 ,dr4 ,vinton of the ,episcopal
 ,church--all denominations pouring     
their elements of divine splendour upon 
the community4 ,who can estimate the    
power which emanated from the pulpits of
 ,dr4 ,mc,elroy1 or ,dr4 ,de,witt1 or   
,dr4 ,spring1 or ,dr4 ,krebs8 ,their    
work will go on in ,new ,york though    
their churches be demolished4           
,large-hearted men were these pulpit    
apostles1 apart from the clerical       
obligations of their denominations4 ,no 
proverb in the world is so abused as the
 one which declares that the children of
 ministers never turn out well4 ,they   
hold the highest places in the nation4  
,grover ,cleveland was the son of a     

,presbyterian clergyman1 ,governor      
,pattison of ,pennsylvania1 ,governor   
,taylor of ,tennessee1 were sons of     
,methodist preachers4 ,in congressional 
and legislative halls they are scattered
 everywhere4  ,of all the metaphysical  
discourses that ,mr4 ,beecher delivered1
 none are so well remembered as those   
giving his illustrations of life1 his   
anecdotes4 ,much of his pulpit utterance
 was devoted to telling what things were
 like4 ,so the ,sermon on the ,mount was
 written1 full of similitudes4 ,like a  
man who built his house on a rock1 like 
a candle in a candle-stick1 like a hen  
gathering her chickens under her wing1  
like a net1 like salt1 like a city on a 
hill4 ,and you hear the song birds1 and 
you smell the flowers4 ,mr4 ,beecher's  
grandest effects were wrought by his    
illustrations1 and he ransacked the     
universe for them4 ,we need in our      
pulpits just such irresistible          
illustrations1 just such holy vivacity4 
,his was a victory of similitudes4      

,towards the end of ,november1 #ahhf1   
one of the most distinguished sons of a 
,baptist preacher1 ,chester ,a4 ,arthur1
 died4 ,he had arisen to the highest    
point of national honour1 and preserved 
the simplicities of true character4     
,when ,i was lecturing in ,lexington1   
,kentucky1 one summer1 ,i remember with 
what cordiality he accosted me in a     
crowd4  ,are you here8 he said2 why1 it 
makes me feel very much at home4  ,mr4  
,arthur aged fifteen years in the brief 
span of his administration4 ,he was very
 tired4 ,almost his last words were1    
,life is not worth living4 ,our public  
men need sympathy1 not criticism4       
,macaulay1 after all his brilliant      
career in ,parliament1 after being      
world-renowned among all who could      
admire fine writing1 wrote this3  ,every
 friendship which a man may have becomes
 precarious as soon as he engages in    
politics4  ,political life is a         
graveyard of broken hearts4 ,daniel     
,webster died of a broken heart at      

,marshfield4 ,under the highest monument
 in ,kentucky lies ,henry ,clay1 dead of
 a broken heart4 ,so died ,henry        
,wilson1 at ,natick1 ,mass42 ,william   
,h4 ,seward at ,auburn1 ,n4,y42 ,salmon 
,p4 ,chase1 in ,cincinnati4 ,so died    
,chester ,a4 ,arthur1 honoured1 but     
worried4  ,the election of ,abram ,s4   
,hewitt as mayor of ,new ,york in #ahhf 
restored the confidence of the best     
people4 ,behind him was a record        
absolutely beyond criticism1 before him 
a great ,christian opportunity4 ,we made
 the mistake1 however1 of ignoring the  
great influence upon our civic          
prosperity of the business impulse of   
the ,west4 ,we in ,new ,york and        
,brooklyn were a self-satisfied         
community1 unmindful of our dependence  
upon the rest of the ,american          
continent4 ,my ,western trips were my   
recreation4 ,an occasional lecture tour 
accomplished for me what yachting or    
baseball does for others4 ,my           
congregation understood this1 and never 

complained of my absence4 ,they realised
 that all things for me turned into     
sermons4 ,no man sufficiently           
appreciates his home unless sometimes he
 goes away from it4 ,it made me realise 
what a number of splendid men and women 
there were in the world ,man as a whole 
is a great success2 woman1 taking her   
all in all1 is a great achievement1 and 
the reason children die is because they 
are too lovely to stay out of paradise4 
,three weeks in the ,west brought me    
back to ,brooklyn supremely optimistic4 
,there was more business in the markets 
than men could attend to4 ,times had    
changed4 ,in ,cincinnati once ,i was    
perplexed by the difference in clock    
time4 ,they have city time and railroad 
time there4 ,i asked a gentleman about  
it4  ,tell me1 how many kinds of time   
have you here8 ,i asked4 ,three kinds1  
he replied1 city time1 railroad time1   
and hard time4  ,there was no hard time 
at the close of #ahhf4 ,the small rate  
of interest we had been compelled to    

take for money had been a good thing4   
,it had enlivened investments in        
building factories and starting great   
enterprises4 ,the #b per cent4 per month
 interest was dead4 ,the fact that a few
 small fish dared to swim through ,wall 
,street1 only to be gobbled up1 did not 
stop the rising tide of national        
welfare4 ,we were going ahead1 gaining1 
profiting even by the lives of those who
 were leaving us behind4  ,the loss of  
the ,rev4 ,j4 ,hyatt ,smith restored the
 symbol and triumph of self-sacrifice4  
,in the most exact sense of the word he 
was a genius4 ,he wasted no time in his 
study that he could devote to others1 he
 was always busy raising money to pay   
house rent for some poor woman1         
exhausting his energies in trying to    
keep people out of trouble1 answering   
the call of every school1 of every      
reformatory1 every philanthropic        
institution4 ,had he given more time to 
study1 he would hardly have had an equal
 in the ,american pulpit4 ,he depended  

always upon the inspiration of the      
moment4 ,sometimes he failed on this    
account4 ,i have heard him when he had  
the pathos of a ,summerfield1 the wit of
 a ,sidney ,smith1 and the wondrous     
thundering phraseology of a ,thomas     
,carlyle4 ,he had been everywhere1 seen 
everything1 experienced great variety of
 gladness1 grief1 and betrayal4 ,if you 
had lost a child1 he was the first man  
at your side to console you4 ,if you had
 a great joy1 his was the first telegram
 to congratulate you4 ,for two years he 
was in ,congress4 ,his ,sundays in      
,washington were spent preaching in     
pulpits of all denominations4 ,the first
 time ,i ever saw him was when he came  
to my house in ,philadelphia1 ringing   
the door bell1 that he might assuage a  
great sorrow that had come to me4 ,he   
was always in the shadowed home4 ,how   
much the world owes to such a nature is 
beyond the world's gift to return4 ,his 
wit was of the kind that1 like the dew1 
refreshes4 ,he never laughed at anything

 but that which ought to be laughed at4 
,he never dealt in innuendoes that      
tipped both ways4 ,we were old friends  
of many vicissitudes4 ,together we wept 
and laughed and planned4 ,he had such   
subtle ways of encouragement--as when he
 told me that he had read a lecture of  
mine to his dying daughter1 and         
described how it had comforted her4 ,his
 was a life of profound self-sacrifice1 
but weeping may endure for a night1 but 
joy cometh in the morning4  ,the new    
year of #ahhg began with a controversy  
that filled the air with unpleasant     
confusion4 ,a small river of ink was    
poured upon it1 a vast amount of talk   
was made about it4 ,a priest in the     
,roman ,catholic ,church1 ,father       
,mc,glynn1 was arraigned by ,archbishop 
,corrigan for putting his hand in the   
hot water of politics4 ,in various ways 
,i was asked my opinion of it all4 ,my  
most decided opinion was that outsiders 
had better keep their hands out of the  
trouble4 ,the interference of people    

outside of a church with its internal   
affairs only makes things worse4 ,the   
policy of any church is best known by   
its own members4 ,the controversy was   
not a matter into which ,i could        
consistently enter4  ,the earth began   
its new year in hard luck4 ,the         
earthquake in ,constantinople1 in       
,february1 was only one of a series of  
similar shakes elsewhere4 ,the          
scientists were always giving us a lot  
of trouble4 ,electric showers in the sun
 disturbed our climate4 ,comets had been
 shooting about the sky with enough fire
 in their tails to obliterate us4       
,caracas was shaken1 ,lisbon buried1    
,java very badly cracked4 ,it is a      
shaky1 rheumatic1 epileptic old world1  
and in one of its stupendous convulsions
 it will die4 ,it's a poor place in     
which to make permanent investments4 ,it
 was quite as insecure in its human     
standards as in its scientific          
incompetence4  ,our laws were moral     
earthquakes that destroyed our          

standards4 ,we were opposed to sneak    
thieves1 but we admired the two million 
dollar rascals4 ,why not a tax of five  
or ten thousand dollars to license the  
business of theft1 so that we might put 
an end to the small scoundrels who had  
genius enough only to steal door mats1  
or postage stamps1 or chocolate drops1  
and confine the business to genteel     
robbery8 ,a robber paying a privilege of
 ten thousand dollars would then be able
 legally to abscond with fifty thousand 
dollars from a bank2 or1 by watering the
 stock of a railroad1 he would be       
entitled to steal two hundred thousand  
dollars at a clip4 ,the thief's licence 
ought to be high1 because he would so   
soon make it up4  ,a licence on         
blasphemy might have been equally       
advantageous4 ,it could be made high    
enough so that we could sweep aside all 
those who swear on a small scale1 those 
who never get beyond ,by ,george6 ,my   
stars6 or ,darn it6 ,then1 again1 the   
only way to put an end to murder in     

,america is by high licenced murderers4 
,put a few men in to manage the business
 of murder4 ,the common assassins who do
 their work with car hooks1 dull knives 
or ,paris green1 should be abolished by 
law4 ,let the few experts do it who can 
accomplish murder without pain3 by      
chloroform or bulldog revolvers4 ,give  
these men all the business4 ,the licence
 in these cases should be twenty        
thousand dollars1 because the           
perquisites in gold watches1 money      
safes1 and plethoric pocket-books would 
soon offset the licence4  ,high licences
 in rum-selling had always been urged1  
and always resulted in dead failures2   
therefore the whole method of legal     
restraint in crime can be dismissed with
 irony4 ,the overcrowding in the ,east  
was crushing our ethical and practical  
ambition4 ,that is why the trains going 
westward were so crowded that there was 
hardly room enough to stand in them4 ,we
 were restoring ourselves in ,kansas and
 ,missouri4 ,after lecturing1 in the    

spring of #ahhg1 in fifteen ,western    
cities1 including ,chicago1 ,st4 ,louis1
 and westward to the extreme boundaries 
of ,kansas1 ,i returned a ,westerner to 
convert the ,easterner4 ,in the ,west   
they called this prosperity a boom1 but 
,i never liked the word1 for a boom     
having swung one way is sure to swing   
the other4 ,it was a revival of         
enterprise which1 starting in           
,birmingham1 ,ala41 advanced through    
,tennessee1 and spread to ,kansas1      
,nebraska1 ,missouri4 ,my forecast at   
this time was that the men who went     
,west then would be the successes in the
 next twenty years4 ,the centre of      
,american population1 which two years   
before had been a little west of        
,cincinnati1 had moved to ,kansas1 the  
heart of the continent4 ,the national   
,capital should have been midway between
 the ,atlantic and the ,pacific1 in     
which case the great white buildings in 
,washington could have been turned into 
art academies1 and museums and          

libraries4  ,prohibition in ,kansas and 
,iowa was making honest men4 ,i did not 
see an intoxicated man in either of     
these ,states4 ,all the young men in    
,kansas and ,iowa were either           
prohibitionists or loafers4 ,the ,west  
had lost the song plaintive and adopted 
the song jubilant4  ,in the spring of   
this year1 #ahhg1 ,brooklyn was examined
 by an investigating committee4 ,even   
when ,mayor ,low was in power1 three    
years before1 the city was denounced by 
,democratic critics1 so ,mayor ,whitney1
 of course1 was the victim of           
,republican critics4 ,the whole thing   
was mere partisan hypocrisy4 ,if anyone 
asked me whether ,i was a ,republican or
 a ,democrat1 ,i told them that ,i had  
tried both1 and got out of them both4 ,i
 hope always to vote1 but the title of  
the ticket at the top will not influence
 me4 ,outside of heaven ,brooklyn was   
the quietest place on ,sunday4 ,the     
,packer and the ,polytechnic institutes 
took care of our boys and girls4 ,our   

judiciary at this time included         
remarkable men3 ,judge ,neilson1 ,judge 
,gilbert1 and ,judge ,reynolds4 ,we had 
enough surplus doctors to endow a       
medical college for fifty other cities4 
,it looked as though our grandchildren  
would be very happy4 ,we were only in   
the early morning of development4 ,the  
cities would be multiplied a            
hundredfold1 and yet we were groaning   
because a few politicians were          
conducting an investigation for lack of 
something better to do4 ,from time      
immemorial we had prayed for the        
,president and ,congress1 but ,i never  
heard of any prayers for the ,state     
,legislatures1 and they needed them most
 of all4 ,they brought about the groans 
of the nation1 and we were constantly in
 complaint of them4 ,i remember a great 
mass meeting in the ,academy of ,music  
in ,brooklyn1 at which ,i was present1  
to protest against the passage of the   
,gambling ,pool ,bill1 as it was called4
 ,i was accused of being over-confident 

because ,i said the ,state ,senate would
 not pass it without a public hearing4  
,a public hearing was given1 however1   
and my faith in the legislators of the  
,state increased4 ,we ministers of      
,brooklyn had to do a good deal of work 
outside of our pulpits1 outside of our  
churches1 on the street and in the      
crowds4  ,when the ,ives ,gambling ,pool
 ,bill was passed ,i urged that the     
,legislature should adjourn4 ,the race  
track men went to ,albany and triumphed4
 ,brooklyn was disgraced before the     
world by our race tracks at ,coney      
,island1 which were a public shame6     
,all the money in the world1 however1   
was not abused4 ,philanthropists were   
helping the ,church4 ,miss ,wolfe       
bequeathed a million dollars to         
evangelisation in ,new ,york2 ,mr4      
,depau1 of ,illinois1 bequeathed five   
million dollars to religion1 and the    
remaining three million of his fortune  
only to his family4 ,there were         
others--,cyrus ,mc,cormick1 ,james      

,lenox1 ,mr4 ,slater1 ,asa ,d4 ,packer4 
,they1 with others1 were men of great   
deeds4 ,we were just about ready to     
appreciate these progressive events4    
,in the summer of #ahhg ,i urged a great
 ,world's ,fair1 because ,i thought it  
was due in our country1 to the          
inventors1 the artists1 the industries  
of ,america4 ,how to set the idea of a  
,world's ,fair agoing8 ,it only needed  
enthusiasm among the prominent merchants
 and the rich men4 ,all great things    
first start in one brain1 in one heart4 
,i proposed that a ,world's ,fair should
 be held in the great acreage between   
,prospect ,park and the sea4  ,in #ahec 
there was a ,world's ,fair in ,new      
,york4 ,in the same year the            
dismemberment of the ,republic was      
expected1 and a book of several volumes 
was advertised in ,london1 entitled     
,history of the ,federal ,government    
from the ,foundation to the ,dissipation
 of the ,united ,states4 ,only one      
volume was ever published4 ,the other   

volumes were never printed4 ,what a     
difference in ,new ,york city then1 when
 it opened its ,crystal ,palace1 and    
thirty-four years later--in #ahhg6 ,that
 ,crystal ,palace was the beginning of  
,world's ,fairs in this country4  ,in   
the presence of the epauleted           
representatives of foreign nations1     
before a vast multitude1 ,franklin      
,pierce1 ,president of the ,united      
,states1 declared it open1 and as he did
 so ,julien1 the inspired musical leader
 of his day1 raised his baton for an    
orchestra of three thousand instruments1
 while thousands of trained voices sang 
,god ,save the ,queen1 ,the             
,marseillaise1 ,bonnie ,doon1 ,the ,harp
 that once through ,tara's ,halls1 and  
,hail ,columbia4 ,what that ,crystal    
,palace1 opened in ,new ,york in #ahec1 
did for art1 for science1 for           
civilisation1 is beyond record4 ,the    
generation that built it has for the    
most part vanished but future           
generations will be inspired by them4   

,the summer of #ahhg opened the baseball
 season of ,america1 and ,i deplored an 
element of roughness and loaferism that 
attached itself to the greatest game of 
our country4 ,one of the national events
 of this season of that year was a      
proposal to remove the battle-flag of   
the late war4 ,good sense prevailed1 and
 the controversy was satisfactorily     
settled2 otherwise the whole country    
would have been aflame4 ,it was not     
merely an agitation over a few bits of  
bunting4 ,the most arousing1 thrilling1 
blood-stirring thing on earth is a      
battle-flag4 ,better let the old        
battle-flags of our three wars hang     
where they are4 ,only one circumstance  
could disturb them1 and that would be   
the invasion of a foreign power and the 
downfall of the ,republic4 ,the         
strongest passions of men are those of  
patriotism4  ,the best things that a man
 does in the world usually take a       
lifetime to make4 ,a career is a life   
job1 and no one is sure whether it was  

worthy or not till it is over4 ,i except
 doctors from this rule1 of whom ,homer 
says3--      ,a wise physician skilled  
our wounds to heal     ,is more than    
armies to the public weal4  ,some may   
remember the stalwart figure of ,dr4    
,joseph ,hutchinson1 one of the best    
,american surgeons4 ,for some years1 in 
the streets of ,brooklyn1 he was a      
familiar and impressive figure on       
horseback4 ,he rode superbly1 and it was
 his custom to make his calls in that   
way4 ,he died in this year4 ,daniel     
,curry was another significant1 superior
 man of a different sort1 who also died 
in the summer of #ahhg4 ,he was an      
editor and writer of the ,methodist     
,church4 ,at his death he told one thing
 that will go into the classics of the  
,church2 and five hundred years beyond1 
when evangelists quote the last words of
 this inspired man1 they will recall the
 dying vision that came to ,daniel      
,curry4 ,he saw himself in the final    
judgment before the throne1 and knew not

 what to do on account of his sins4 ,he 
felt that he was lost1 when suddenly    
,christ saw him and said1 ,i will answer
 for ,daniel ,curry4 ,in this world of  
vast population it is wonderful to find 
only a few men who have helped to carry 
the burden of others with distinction   
for themselves4 ,most of us are driven4 
,in the two years and a half that our   
,democratic party had been in power1 our
 taxes had paid in a surplus to the     
,united ,states treasury of             
#abe1jjj1jjj4 ,the whole country was    
groaning under an infamous taxation4    
,most of it was spent by the ,republican
 party1 three or four years before1 to  
improve navigation on rivers with about 
two feet of water in them in the winter1
 and dry in summer4 ,in the ,state of   
,virginia ,i saw one of these dry creeks
 that was to be improved4 ,taxation     
caused the war of the ,revolution4 ,it  
had become a grinding wheel of          
government that rolled over all our     
public interests4 ,politicians were     

afraid to touch the subject for fear    
they might offend their party4 ,i touch 
upon it here because those who live     
after me may understand1 by their own   
experience1 the infamy of political     
piracy practised in the name of         
government taxation4  ,we had our school
 for scandal in ,america over-developed4
 ,a certain amount of exposure is good  
for the soul1 but our newspaper         
headlines over-reached this ideal       
purpose4 ,they cultivated liars and     
encouraged their lies4 ,the peculiarity 
of lies is their great longevity4 ,they 
are a productive species and would have 
overwhelmed the country and destroyed   
,george ,washington except for his      
hatchet4 ,once born1 the lie may live   
twenty1 thirty1 or forty years4 ,at the 
end of a man's life sometimes it is     
healthier than he ever was4 ,lies have  
attacked every occupant of the ,white   
,house1 have irritated every man since  
,adam1 and every good woman since ,eve4 
,today the lie is after your neighbour2 

to-morrow it is after you4 ,it travels  
so fast that a million people can see it
 the next morning4 ,it listens at       
keyholes1 it can hear whispers3 it has  
one ear to the ,east1 the other to the  
,west4 ,an old-fashioned tea-table is   
its jubilee1 and a political campaign is
 its heaven4 ,avoid it you may not1 but 
meet it with calmness and without fear4 
,it is always an outrage1 a persecution4
  ,nothing more offensive to public     
sentiment could have occurred than the  
attempt made in ,new ,york in the autumn
 of #ahhg to hinder the appointment of a
 new pastor of ,trinity ,church1 on the 
plea that he came from a foreign        
country1 and therefore was an ally to   
foreign labour4 ,it was an outrage on   
religion1 on the ,church1 on common     
sense4 ,as a nation1 however1 we were   
safe4 ,there was not another place in   
the world where its chief ruler could   
travel five thousand miles1 for three   
weeks1 unprotected by bayonets1 as ,mr4 
,cleveland did on his ,presidential tour

 of the country4 ,it was a universal    
huzzah1 from ,mugwumps1 ,republicans1   
and ,democrats4 ,we were a safe nation  
because we destroyed ,communism4  ,the  
execution of the anarchists in ,chicago1
 in ,november1 #ahhg1 was a disgusting  
exhibition of the gallows4 ,it took ten 
minutes for some of them to die by      
strangulation4 ,nothing could have been 
more barbaric than this method of       
hanging human life4 ,i was among the    
first to publicly propose execution by  
electricity4 ,mr4 ,edison1 upon a       
request from the government1 could      
easily have arranged it4 ,i was         
particularly horrified with the blunders
 of the hangman's methods1 because ,i   
was in a friend's office in ,new ,york1 
when the telegraph wires gave           
instantaneous reports of the executions 
in ,chicago4 ,i made notes of these     
flashes of death4  ,now the prisoners   
leave the cells1 said the wire2 now they
 are ascending the stairs2 now the rope 
is being adjusted2 now the cap is being 

drawn2 now they fall4 ,had ,i been there
 ,i would probably have felt thankful   
that ,i was brought up to obey the law1 
and could understand the majesty of     
restraining powers4 ,one of these men   
was naturally kind and generous1 ,i was 
told1 but was embittered by one who had 
robbed him of everything2 and so he     
became an enemy to all mankind4 ,one of 
them got his antipathy for all          
prosperous people from the fact that his
 father was a profligate nobleman1 and  
his mother a poor1 maltreated1 peasant  
woman4 ,the impulse of anarchy starts   
high up in society4 ,chief among our    
blessings was an ,american instinct for 
lawfulness in the midst of lawless      
temptation4 ,we were often reminded of  
this supreme advantage as we saw passing
 into shadowland the robed figure of an 
upright man4  ,the death of ,judge      
,greenwood of ,brooklyn1 in ,november1  
#ahhg1 was a reminder of such matters4  
,he had seen the nineteenth century in  
its youth and in its old age4 ,from     

first to last1 he had been on the right 
side of all its questions of public     
welfare4 ,we could1 appropriately1 hang 
his portrait in our court rooms and city
 halls4 ,the artist's brush would be    
tame indeed compared with the living1   
glowing1 beaming face of dear old ,judge
 ,greenwood in the portrait gallery of  
my recollections4  ,the national event  
of this autumn was ,president           
,cleveland's message to ,congress1 which
 put squarely before us the matter of   
our having a protective tariff4 ,it was 
the great question of our national      
problem1 and called for oratory and     
statesmanship to answer it4 ,the whole  
of ,europe was interested in the        
subject4 ,i advocated free trade as the 
best understanding of international     
trading1 because ,i had talked with the 
leaders of political thought in ,europe1
 and ,i understood both sides1 as far as
 my capacity could compass them4 ,in    
,america we were frequently compared to 
the citizens of the ,french ,republic   

because of our nervous force1 our       
restlessness1 but we were more patient4 
,in #ahhg1 the resignation of ,president
 ,grevy in ,france re-established this  
fact4 ,though an ,american ,president   
becomes offensive to the people1 we wait
 patiently till his four years are out1 
even if we are not very quiet about it4 
,we are safest when we keep our hands   
off the ,constitution4 ,the             
demonstration in ,paris emphasised our  
,republican wisdom4 ,public service is  
an altar of sacrifice for all who       
worship there4  ,the death of ,daniel   
,manning1 ex-,secretary of the          
,treasury1 in ,december1 #ahhg1 was     
another proof of this4 ,he fell         
prostrate on the steps of his office1 in
 a sickness that no medical aid could   
relieve4 ,four years before no one      
realised the strength that was in him4  
,he threw body and soul into the        
whirlpool of his work1 and was left in  
the rapids of celebrity4 ,in the closing
 notes of #ahhg1 ,i find recorded the   

death of ,mrs4 ,william ,astor4 ,what a 
sublime lifetime of charity and kindness
 was hers6 ,mrs4 ,astor's will read like
 a poem4 ,it had a beauty and a pathos1 
and a power entirely independent of     
rhythmical cadence4 ,the document was   
published to the world on a cold        
,december morning1 with its bequests of 
hundreds of thousands of dollars to the 
poor and needy1 the invalids and the    
churches4 ,it put a warm glow over the  
tired and grizzled face of the old year4
 ,it was a benediction upon the coming  
years4     ,,the ,,twelfth ,,milestone  
#ahhh   ,it seems to me that the        
constructive age of man begins when he  
has passed fifty4 ,not until then can he
 be a master builder4 ,as ,i sped past  
the fifty-fifth milestone life itself   
became better1 broader1 fuller4 ,my     
plans were wider1 the distances ,i      
wanted to go stretched before me1 beyond
 the normal strength of an average      
lifetime4 ,this ,i knew1 but still ,i   
pressed on1 indifferent of the speed or 

strain4 ,there were indications that my 
strength had not been dissipated1 that  
the years were merely notches that had  
not cut deep1 that had scarcely scarred 
the surface of the trunk4 ,the soul1 the
 mind1 the zest of doing--all were keen 
and eager4  ,the conservation of the    
soul is not so profound a matter as it  
is described4 ,it consists in a         
guardianship of the gateways through    
which impressions enter1 or pass by2 it 
consists in protecting one's inner self 
from wasteful associations4  ,the       
influence of what we read is of chief   
importance to character4 ,at the        
beginning of #ahhh ,i received          
innumerable requests from people all    
over ,new ,york and ,brooklyn for advice
 on the subject of reading4 ,in the     
deluge of books that were beginning to  
sweep over us many readers were drowned4
 ,the question of what to read was being
 discussed everywhere4  ,i opposed the  
majority of novels because they were    
made chiefly to set forth desperate love

 scrapes4 ,much reading of love stories 
makes one soft1 insipid1 absent-minded1 
and useless4 ,affections in life usually
 work out very differently4 ,the lady   
does not always break into tears1 nor   
faint1 nor do the parents always oppose 
the situation1 so that a romantic       
elopement is possible4 ,excessive       
reading of these stories makes fools of 
men and women4 ,neither is it advisable 
to read a book because someone else     
likes it4 ,it is not necessary to waste 
time on ,shakespeare if you have no     
taste for poetry or drama merely because
 so many others like them2 nor to pass a
 long time with ,sir ,william ,hamilton 
when metaphysics are not to your taste4 
,when you read a book by the page1 every
 few minutes looking ahead to see how   
many chapters there are before the book 
will be finished1 you had better stop   
reading it4 ,there was even a fashion in
 books that was absurd4 ,people were    
bored to death by literature in the     
fashion4  ,for a while we had a ,tupper 

epidemic1 and everyone grew busy writing
 blank verse--very blank4 ,then came an 
epidemic of ,carlyle1 and everyone wrote
 turgid1 involved1 twisted and breakneck
 sentences1 each noun with as many verbs
 as ,brigham ,young had wives4 ,then    
followed a romantic craze1 and everyone 
struggled to combine religion and       
romance1 with frequent punches at       
religion1 and we prided ourselves on    
being sceptical and independent in our  
literary tastes4 ,my advice was simply  
to make up one's mind what to read1 and 
then read it4 ,life is short1 and books 
are many4 ,instead of making your mind a
 garret crowded with rubbish1 make it a 
parlour1 substantially furnished1       
beautifully arranged1 in which you would
 not be ashamed to have the whole world 
enter4  ,there was so much in the world 
to provoke the soul1 and yet all        
persecution is a blessing in some way4  
,the so-called modern literature1       
towards the close of the nineteenth     
century1 was becoming more and more the 

illegitimate offspring of immaturity in 
thought and feeling4 ,we were the slaves
 of our newspapers2 each morning a      
library was thrown on our doorstep4 ,but
 what a jumbled1 inconsequent1          
muddled-up library6 ,it was the best    
that could be made in such a hurry1 and 
it satisfied most of us1 though ,i      
believe there were conservative people  
who opened it only to read the marriage 
and the death notices4 ,the latter came 
along fast enough4  ,in ,january1 #ahhh1
 that well-known ,american jurist and   
illustrious ,brooklynite1 ,judge ,joseph
 ,neilson1 died4 ,he was an old friend  
of mine1 of everyone who came upon his  
horizon4 ,for a long while he was an    
invalid1 but he kept this knowledge from
 the world1 because he wanted no public 
demonstration4 ,the last four years of  
his life he was confined to his room1   
where he sat all the while calm1        
uncomplaining1 interested in all the    
affairs of the world1 after a life of   
active work in it4 ,he belonged to that 

breed which has developed the brain and 
brawn of ,american character--the       
,scotch-,irish4 ,if ,christianity had   
been a fallacy1 ,judge ,neilson would   
have been just the man to expose it4 ,he
 who on the judicial bench sat in solemn
 poise of spirit1 while the ablest      
jurists and advocates of the century    
were before him to be prompted1         
corrected1 or denied1 was not the man to
 be overcome by a religion of sophistry 
or mere pretence4 ,chief ,justice       
,salmon ,p4 ,chase said that he had     
studied the ,christian religion as he   
had studied a law case1 and concluded   
that it was divine4 ,judge ,neilson's   
decisions will be quoted in court rooms 
as long as ,justice holds its balance4  
,the supremacy of a useful life never   
leaves the earth--its influence remains 
behind4  ,the whole world1 it seemed to 
me1 was being spiritualised by the      
influences of those whose great moments 
on earth had planted tangible and       
material benefits1 years after they     

themselves were invisible4 ,it was an   
elemental fact in the death chamber of  
,mr4 ,roswell1 the great botanist1 in   
,england2 in the relieved anxieties in  
,berlin2 in the jubilation in ,dublin2  
by the gathering of noblemen in ,st4    
,petersburg2 and in the dawn of this new
 year4 ,i could see a tendency in       
,european affairs to the unification of 
nations4  ,the ,german and the ,french  
languages had been struggling for the   
supremacy of ,europe4 ,as ,i foresaw    
events then1 the two would first conquer
 ,europe1 and the stronger of the two   
would swallow the other4 ,then the      
,english language would devour that1 and
 the world would have but one language4 
,over a million people had already began
 the study of ,volapuek1 a new language 
composed of all languages4 ,this was an 
indication of world nationalisation4    
,congresses of nations1 meeting for     
various purposes1 were establishing     
brotherhood4 ,it looked as though those 
who were telling us again in #ahhh that 

the second coming of ,christ was at hand
 were right4 ,the divine significance of
 things was greater than it had ever    
been4  ,there was some bigotry in       
religious affairs1 of course4 ,in our   
religion we were as far from unity of   
feeling then as we had ever been4 ,the  
,presbyterian bigot could be recognised 
by his armful of ,westminster           
catechisms4 ,the ,methodist bigot could 
be easily identified by his declaration 
that unless a man had been converted by 
sitting on the anxious seat he was not  
eligible4 ,the way to the church        
militant1 according to this bigot1 was  
from the anxious seat1 one of which he  
always carried with him4 ,the ,episcopal
 bigot struggled under a great load of  
liturgies4 ,without this man's          
prayer-books no one could be saved1 he  
said4 ,the ,baptist bigot was bent      
double with the burden of his baptistry4
  ,it does not seem as if some of you   
had been properly washed1 he said1 and  
,i shall proceed to put under the water 

all those who have neglected their      
ablutions4 ,religion was being served in
 a kind of ecclesiastical hash that1    
naturally enough1 created controversy1  
as very properly it should4 ,in spite of
 these things1 however1 some creed of   
religious faith1 whichever it might be1 
was universally needed4 ,i hope for a   
church unity in the future4 ,when all   
the branches in each denomination have  
united1 then the great denominations    
nearest akin will unite1 and this       
absorption will go on until there will  
be one great millennial ,church1 divided
 only for geographical convenience into 
sections as of old1 when it was the     
,church of ,laodicea1 the ,church of    
,philadelphia1 the ,church of ,thyatira4
 ,in the event of this religious        
evolution then there will be the ,church
 of ,america1 the ,church of ,europe1   
the ,church of ,asia1 the ,church of    
,africa1 and the ,church of ,australia4 
,we are all builders1 bigots1 or master 
mechanics of the divine will4  ,the     

number of men who built ,brooklyn1 and  
who have gone into eternal industry1    
were increasing4 ,one day ,i paused a   
moment on the ,brooklyn ,bridge to read 
on a stone the names of those who had   
influenced the building of that span of 
steel1 the wonder of the century4 ,they 
were the absent ones3 ,the president1   
,mr4 ,murphy1 absent2 the               
vice-president1 ,mr4 ,kingsley1 absent2 
the treasurer1 ,mr4 ,prentice1 absent2  
the engineer1 ,mr4 ,roebling1 absent4   
,our useful citizens were going or gone4
 ,a few days after this ,alfred ,s4     
,barnes departed4 ,he has not           
disappeared1 nor will until our         
,historical ,hall1 our ,academy of      
,music1 and ,mercantile ,library1 our   
great asylums of mercy1 and churches of 
all denominations shall have crumbled4  
,his name has been a bulwark of credit  
in the financial affairs over which he  
presided4 ,he was a director of many    
universities4 ,what reinforcement to the
 benevolence of the day his patronage   

was6 ,i enjoyed a warm personal         
friendship with him for many years1 and 
my gratitude and admiration were        
unbounded4 ,he was a man of strict      
integrity in business circles1 the      
highest type of a practical ,christian  
gentleman4 ,unlike so many successful   
business men1 he maintained an unusual  
simplicity of character4 ,he declined   
the ,mayoralty and ,congressional       
honours that he might pursue the ways of
 peace4  ,the great black-winged angel  
was being desperately beaten back1      
however1 by the rising generation of    
doctors1 young1 hearty1 industrious1    
ambitious graduates of the ,american    
universities4 ,how bitterly vaccination 
was fought even by ministers of the     
,gospel4 ,small wits caricatured it1 but
 what a world-wide human benediction it 
proved4 ,i remember being in ,edinburgh 
a few weeks after the death of ,sir     
,james ,y4 ,simpson1 and his photograph 
was in every shop window1 in honour of  
the man who first used chloroform as an 

anaesthetic4 ,in former days they tried 
to dull pain by using the hasheesh of   
the ,arabs4 ,dr4 ,simpson's wet sponge  
was a blessing put into the hands of the
 surgeon4 ,the millennium for the souls 
of men will be when the doctors have    
discovered the millennium for their     
bodies4  ,dr4 ,bush used to say in his  
valedictory address to the students of  
the medical college1 ,young gentlemen1  
you have two pockets3 a large pocket and
 a small pocket4 ,the large pocket is   
for your annoyances and your insults1   
the small pocket for your fees4  ,in    
,march1 #ahhh1 we lost a man who        
bestowed a new dispensation upon the    
dumb animals that bear our              
burdens--,henry ,bergh4 ,abused and     
ridiculed most of his life1 he          
established a great work for the good   
men and women of the ensuing centuries  
to carry out4 ,long may his name live in
 our consecrated memory4 ,in the same   
month1 from ,washington to ,toledo1 the 
long funeral train of ,chief ,justice   

,white steamed across country1 passing  
multitudes of uncovered heads bowed in  
sorrowing respect1 while across the sea 
men honoured his distinguished memory4  
,what a splendid inheritance for those  
of us who must pass out of the multitude
 without much ado1 if we are not        
remembered among the bores of life4     
,there were bores in the pulpit who made
 their congregations dread ,sundays2    
made them wish that ,sunday would come  
only once a month4 ,at one time an      
original ,frenchman actually tried      
having a ,sunday only once every ten    
days4 ,a minister should have a         
conference with his people before he    
preaches1 otherwise how can he tell what
 medicine to give them8 ,he must feel   
the spiritual pulse4 ,every man is a    
walking eternity in himself1 but he will
 never qualify if he insists on being a 
bore1 even if he have to face           
sensational newspaper stories about     
himself4  ,i never replied to any such  
tales except once1 and that once came   

about in the spring of #ahhh4 ,i        
regarded it as a joke4 ,some one        
reported that one evening1 at a little  
gathering in my house1 there were four  
kinds of wine served4 ,i was much       
interviewed on the subject4 ,i announced
 in my church that the report was false1
 that we had no wine4 ,i did not take   
the matter as one of offence4 ,if ,i had
 been as great a master of invective and
 satire as ,roscoe ,conkling ,i might   
have said more4 ,in the spring of this  
year he died4 ,the whole country watched
 anxiously the news bulletins of his    
death4 ,he died a lawyer4 ,about        
,conkling as a politician ,i have       
nothing to say4 ,there is no need to    
enter that field of enraged controversy4
 ,as a lawyer he was brilliant1 severely
 logical1 if he chose to be1 uproarious 
with mirth if he thought it appropriate4
 ,he was an optimist4 ,he was on board  
the ,bothnia when she broke her shaft at
 sea1 and much anxiety was felt for him4
 ,i sailed a week later on the ,umbria1 

and overtaking the ,bothnia1 the two    
ships went into harbour together4       
,meeting ,mr4 ,conkling the next        
morning1 in the ,north-,western ,hotel1 
at ,liverpool1 ,i asked him if he had   
not been worried4  ,oh1 no1 he said2 ,i 
was sure that good fortune would bring  
us through all right4  ,he was the only 
lawyer ,i ever knew who could afford to 
turn away from a seat on the bench of   
the ,supreme ,court of the ,united      
,states4 ,he had never known misfortune4
 ,had he ever been compelled to pass    
through hardships he would have been    
,president in #ahgh4 ,because of certain
 peculiarities1 known to himself1 as    
well as to others1 he turned aside from 
politics4 ,although neither ,mr4        
,conkling nor ,mr4 ,blaine could have   
been ,president while both lived1 good  
people of all parties hoped for ,mr4    
,conkling's recovery4  ,the national    
respect shown at the death-bed of the   
lawyer revealed the progress of our     
times4 ,lawyers1 for many years in the  

past1 had been ostracised4 ,they were   
once forbidden entrance to ,parliament4 
,dr4 ,johnson wrote the following       
epitaph1 which is obvious enough3--     
,god works wonders now and then2        
,here lies a lawyer an honest man4      
,,the ,,thirteenth ,,milestone          
#ahhh-ahhi   ,the longer ,i live the    
more ,i think of mercy4 ,fifty-six years
 of age and ,i had not the slightest    
suspicion that ,i was getting old4 ,it  
was like a crisp1 exquisitely still     
autumn day4 ,i felt the strength and    
buoyancy of all the days ,i had lived   
merging themselves into a joyous        
anticipation of years and years to come4
 ,for a long while ,i had cherished the 
dream that ,i might some day visit the  
,holy ,land1 to see with my own eyes the
 sky1 the fields1 the rocks1 and the    
sacred background of the ,divine        
,tragedy4 ,the tangible plans were made1
 and ,i was preparing to sail in        
,october1 #ahhi4 ,i felt like a man on  
the eve of a new career4 ,the fruition  

of the years past was about to be a     
great harvest of successful work4 ,i    
speak of it without reserve1 as we offer
 prayers of gratitude for great mercies4
  ,everything before me seemed finer    
than anything ,i had ever known4 ,few   
men at my age were so blessed with the  
vigour of health1 with the elixir of    
youth4 ,to the world at large ,i was    
indebted for its appreciation1 its      
praise sometimes1 its interest always4  
,my study in ,brooklyn was a room that  
had become a picturesque starting point 
for the imagination of kindly newspaper 
men4 ,they were leading me into a new   
element of celebrity4  ,one morning1 in 
my house in ,brooklyn1 ,i was asked by a
 newspaper in ,new ,york if it might    
send a reporter to spend the day with me
 there4 ,i had no objection4 ,the       
reporter came after breakfast4          
,breakfast was an awkward meal for the  
newspaper profession1 otherwise we      
should have had it together4 ,i made no 
preparation1 set no scene1 gave the     

incident no thought1 but spent the day  
in the usual routine of a pastor's duty4
 ,it is an incident that puts a         
side-light on my official duties as a   
minister in his home1 and for that      
reason ,i refer to it in detail4 ,some  
of the descriptions made by the reporter
 were accurate1 and illustrative of my  
home life4  ,my mail was heavy1 and my  
first duty was always to take it under  
my arm to my workshop on the second     
floor of my home in ,south ,oxford      
,street4 ,in doing this ,i was closely  
followed by the reporter4 ,my study was 
a place of many windows1 and on this    
morning in the first week of #ahhh it   
was flooded with sunshine1 or as the    
reporter1 with technical skill1         
described it1 ,a mellow light4 ,the sun 
is always mellow in a room whenever ,i  
have read about it in a newspaper4 ,the 
reporter found my study an unattractive 
room1 because it lacked the signs of    
luxury or even comfort4 ,as ,i was      
erroneously regarded as a clerical      

,croesus at this time the reporter's    
disappointment was excusable4 ,the      
,gobelin tapestries1 the ,raphael       
paintings1 the ,turkish divans1 and the 
gold and silver trappings of a throne   
room were missing in my study4 ,the     
reporter found the floor distressingly  
hard1 but polished wood4 ,the walls were
 painfully plain--all white4 ,my table1 
which the reporter kindly signified as a
 big one1 was drawn up to a large       
window4 ,of course1 like all tables of  
the kind1 it was littered4 ,i never read
 of a library table in a newspaper that 
was not littered4 ,the reporter spied   
everything upon it at once1 letters1    
newspapers1 books1 pens1 ink bottles1   
pencils1 and writing-paper4 ,all of     
which1 of course1 indicated intellectual
 supremacy to the reporter4 ,the chair  
at my table was stiff backed1 and1      
amazing fact1 it was without a cushion4 
,in front of the chair1 but on the      
table1 the reporter discovered an open  
book1 which he concluded showed that the

 great preacher had been hurriedly      
called away4 ,in every respect it was a 
typical literary man's den4 ,glancing   
shrewdly around1 the reporter discovered
 bookshelves around the walls1 books    
piled in corners1 and even in the middle
 of the room4 ,also a newspaper file was
 noticed1 and--careless creature that ,i
 am--there were even bundles of old     
letters tied with strings thrown        
carelessly about4 ,the reporter then    
said3--  ,he told me this was his       
workshop1 and looked me in the face with
 a merry twinkle in his eye to see      
whether ,i was surprised or pleased4    
,then ,i asked the reporter to sit down1
 which he promptly did4 ,i was closely  
watched to see how ,i opened my mail4   
,nothing startling happened4 ,i just    
opened letter after letter4 ,some ,i    
laid aside for my secretary1 others ,i  
actually attended to myself4  ,a letter 
from a young lady in ,georgia1 asking me
 to send her what ,i consider the most  
important word in my vocabulary1 ,i     

answered immediately4 ,the ever-watchful
 reporter observes that to do this ,i   
pick up a pen and write on the margin of
 the girl's letter the word             
'helpfulness4' ,then ,i sign it and     
stick it in an envelope4 ,then ,i dash  
off the address4 ,obviously ,i am not at
 all original at home4 ,i replied to a  
letter from the president of a          
theological seminary1 asking me to speak
 to his young men4 ,i like young men so 
,i agree to do so if ,i can4 ,i startle 
the reporter finally1 by a sudden burst 
of unexpected hilarity over a letter    
from a man in ,pennsylvania who wants me
 to send him a cheque by return mail for
 one hundred thousand dollars1 on a sure
 thing investment4 ,the reporter says3--
  ,i am startled by a shrill peal of    
laughter1 and the great preacher leans  
back in his chair and shakes his sides4 
,the reporter looks over my shoulder and
 sees other letters4  ,a young minister 
writes to say that his congregation is  
leaving him4 ,how shall he get his      

people back8 ,an old sailor scrawls on a
 piece of yellow paper that he is bound 
for the ,china seas and he wants a copy 
of each of ,dr4 ,talmage's sermons sent 
to his old wife in ,new ,bedford1       
,mass41 while he is gone4 ,here is a    
letter in a schoolgirl's hand4 ,she has 
had a quarrel with her first lover and  
he has left her in a huff4 ,how can she 
get him back8 ,another letter is from   
the senior member of one of the biggest 
commercial houses in ,brooklyn4 ,it is  
brief1 but it gives the good doctor     
pleasure4 ,the writer tells him how     
thoroughly he enjoyed the sermon last   
,sunday4 ,the next letter is from the   
driver of a horse car4 ,he has been     
discharged4 ,his children go to ,dr4    
,talmage's ,sunday ,school4 ,is that not
 enough to show that the father is      
reliable and steady1 and will not the   
preacher go at once to the              
superintendent of the car line and have 
him reinstated4 ,here is a perfumed note
 from a young mother who wants her child

 baptised4 ,there are invitations to go 
here and there1 and to speak in various 
cities4 ,young men write for advice3    
,one with the commercial instinct       
strongly developed1 wants to know if the
 ministry pays8 ,still another letter is
 from a patent medicine house1 asking if
 the preacher will not write an         
endorsement of a new cure for           
rheumatism4 ,other writers take the     
preacher to task for some utterance in  
the pulpit that did not please them4    
,either he was too lenient or too       
severe4 ,a young man wants to get       
married and writes to know what it will 
cost to tie the knot4 ,a ,new ,york     
actress1 who has been an attendant for  
several ,sundays at the ,tabernacle1    
writes to say that she is so well       
pleased with the sermons that she would 
be glad if she could come earlier on    
,sunday morning1 but she is so tired    
when ,saturday night comes that she     
can't get up early4 ,would it be asking 
too much to have a seat reserved for her

 until she arrived6  ,a maid in a white 
cap comes to the door and informs me    
that a roomful of people are waiting to 
see me downstairs4 ,it is the usual     
routine of my morning's work1 when ,i   
receive all who come to me for advice   
and consolation4 ,the reporter regards  
it1 however1 as an event1 and writes    
about it in this way3--  ,visitors to   
the ,talmage mansion are ushered through
 a broad hall into the great preacher's 
back parlour4 ,they begin to arrive     
frequently before breakfast1 and the    
bell rings till long after the house is 
closed for the night4 ,there are men and
 women of all races1 some richly        
dressed1 some fashionably1 some very    
poorly4 ,many of them had never spoken a
 word to ,dr4 ,talmage before4 ,they    
think that ,talmage has only to strike  
the rock to bring forth a stream of     
shining coins4 ,he steps into their     
midst pleasantly4  ',well1 young man1'  
he says to a youth of seventeen1 who    
stands before him4 ,he offers the boy   

his hand and shakes it heartily4  ',i   
don't suppose you know me1' says the    
lad1 'but ,i'm in your ,sunday ,school4 
,mother thinks ,i should go to work and 
,i have come to you for advice4'  ,then 
follows in whispers a brief conversation
 about the boy himself1 his parents1 his
 education and mode of life4  ',now1'   
says the preacher1 leading him by the   
hand to the door1 'get a letter from    
your mother1 and also one from your     
,sunday ,school teacher1 and one from   
your ,day ,school teacher1 and bring    
them to me4 ,if they are satisfactory ,i
 will give you a letter to a warm friend
 of mine who is one of the largest dry  
goods merchants in ,new ,york4 ,if you  
are able1 bright1 and honest he will    
employ you4 ,if you are faithful you may
 some day be a member of the firm4 ,all 
the world is before you1 lad4 ,be       
honest1 have courage4 ,roll up your     
sleeves and go to work and you will     
succeed4 ,goodbye6' and the door closes4
  ,the next caller is an old woman who  

wants the popular pastor to get her     
husband work in the ,navy ,yard4 ,no    
sooner is she disposed of1 with a word  
of comfort1 than a spruce-looking young 
man steps forward4 ,he is a book agent1 
and his glib tongue runs so fast that   
the preacher subscribes for his book    
without looking at it4 ,as the agent    
retires a shy young girl comes forward  
and asks for the preacher's autograph4  
,it is given cheerfully4 ,two old ladies
 of bustling activity have come to ask  
for advice about opening a soup kitchen 
for the poor4 ,a middle-aged man pours  
out a sad story of woe4 ,he is a        
hard-working carpenter4 ,his only       
daughter is inclined to be wayward4     
,would ,dr4 ,talmage come round and talk
 to her8  ,finally1 all the callers have
 been heard except one young man who    
sits in a corner of the room toying with
 his hat4 ,he has waited patiently so   
that he might have the preacher all     
alone4 ,he rises as ,dr4 ,talmage walks 
over to him4  ',i am in no hurry1' he   

says4 ',i'll wait if you want to speak  
to--to--to that man over there1'        
pointing to me4  ',no1' is the reply4   
',we are going out together soon4 ,what 
can ,i do for you8'  ',well ,i can call 
again if you are too busy to talk to me 
now8'  ',no1 ,i am not too busy4 ,speak 
up4 ,i can give you ten minutes4'  ',but
 ,i want a long talk1' persists the     
visitor4  ',i'd like to oblige you1'    
says the preacher1 'but ,i'm very busy  
to-day4'  ',i'll come to-morrow4'  ',no2
 ,i shall be busy to-morrow also4'      
',and to-night1 too8'  ',yes2 my time is
 engaged for the entire week4'  ',well1 
then1' says the young man1 in a         
stammering way2 ',i want your advice4   
,i'm employed in a big house in ,new    
,york and ,i am getting a fair salary4  
,i have been offered a position in a    
rival house4 ,would it be right and     
honourable for me to leave8 ,i am to get
 a little more salary4 ,i must give my  
answer by to-morrow4 ,i must make some  
excuse for leaving4 ,i've thought it all

 over and don't know what to say4 ,my   
present employers have treated me well4 
,i want your advice4'  ,the good        
preacher protests that it is a delicate 
question to put to a stranger1 even if  
that stranger happens to be a minister4 
',is the firm a good one8 ,are you      
treated well8 ,haven't you a fair       
chance8 ,aren't they honourable men8'   
,the answer to all these questions was  
in the affirmative4  ',but you could    
tell me whether it would be right for me
 to do it1 and--and--if ,i could get a  
letter of recommendation from you it    
would help me4'  ',why don't you ask    
your mother or father for advice8'      
',they are dead4'  ',was your mother a  
,christian8'  ',yes4'  ',then get down  
on your knees here and lift your face to
 heaven4 ,ask your angel mother if you  
would be doing right4'  ,the young man's
 eyes fall to the floor4 ,he toys       
nervously with his hat and backs out of 
the hall to the door4 ,as he turns the  
knob he holds out his right-hand to the 

preacher and whispers3  ',i thank you   
for your advice4 ,i'll not leave my     
present employer4'  ,now the great      
preacher hastily puts on a thick        
overcoat and1 taking a heavy            
walking-stick in hand1 says3 ',we'll go 
now4' ,he calls a cheery 'goodbye' to   
,mrs4 ,talmage and closes the big door  
behind him4 ,the air is crispy and      
invigorating4 ,once in the street the   
preacher throws back his shoulders until
 his form is as straight as that of an  
,indian4 ,his blue eyes look out from   
behind a pair of shaggy eyebrows4 ,they 
snap and sparkle like a schoolboy's4    
,the face denotes health and strength4  
,the preacher is fond of walking and    
strides along with giant steps4 ,the    
colour quickly mounts to his cheeks and 
reveals a face free from lines and full 
of health and manly vigour4 ,he has     
noted the direction that he is to take  
carefully4 ,as he walks along the street
 he is noticed by everybody4 ,his figure
 is a familiar one in the streets of    

,brooklyn4 ,nearly everybody bows to    
him4 ,he has a hearty ',how are you     
to-day8' for all4  ,our direction lies  
in a thickly-populated section1 not many
 blocks from the water front4 ,it is in 
the tenement district where dozens of   
families are huddled together in one    
house4 ,we pause in front of a rickety  
building and stop an urchin in the      
hallway1 who replies to the question    
that we are in the right house4 ,then   
the good ,doctor pulls out of his pocket
 the letter he received some hours ago  
from the grief-stricken young mother    
whose baby was ill and who asked for    
aid4  ,up flight after flight of stairs 
we go2 two storeys1 three1 four1 five4  
,as we reach the landing1 a tidy young  
woman appears4 ,she is holding her face 
in her hands and sobbing to break her   
heart4  ',oh1 ,i knew you would come1'  
she says1 as the tears roll down her    
cheeks2 ',i used to go to your church1  
and ,i know how deeply your sermons     
touched me4 ,oh6 ,that was long ago4 ,it

 was before ,i knew ,john1 and before   
our baby came4'  ,here the speaker broke
 down completely4  ',but it's all over  
now1' she began again4  ',john has      
ill-used me1 and beaten me1 and forced  
me to support him in drunkenness4 ,i    
could stand all that for my baby's      
sake4'  ,she had sunk to the floor on   
her knees4 ,she was pouring out her soul
 in agony of grief4  ',oh6 my baby1 my  
baby6' she cried piteously4 ',why were  
you taken8 ,oh1 the blow is too much6 ,i
 can't stand it4 ,merciful ,father1 have
 ,i not suffered enough8'  ,she fell in 
a heap on the floor4 ,the heavy         
breathing and sobbing continued4 ,we    
looked into the little room4 ,it was    
scrupulously clean1 but barren of       
furniture and even the rudest comforts  
of a home4 ,the window curtains are     
pulled down1 but a ray of bright        
sunlight shoots in and lying on the     
apology for a bed is a babe4 ,its eyes  
are closed4 ,its face is as white as    
alabaster4 ,the little thin hands are   

folded across its tiny breast4 ,its     
sufferings are over4  ,the ,angel of    
,death had touched its forehead with its
 icy finger and its spirit had flown to 
the clouds4  ,the end had come before   
the preacher could offer aid4  ,what a  
scene it was6  ,here1 in one of the     
biggest cities in the world1 an innocent
 child had died of hunger1 and because  
its mother was too poor to pay for      
medical attendance4  ,a word or two was 
whispered in the mother's ear and we    
pass down the creaking stairs to the    
street4 ,the sun is shining brightly4 ,a
 half-dozen romping children are on     
their way home to lunch4 ,the business  
of the great city is moving briskly4 ,it
 is ,christmas week and the air is      
redolent with the suggestions of good   
things to come and visions of ,kriss    
,kringle4 ,truck drivers are whipping   
their horses and swearing at others in  
their way4 ,an organ-grinder is playing 
',sweet violets' on a neighbouring      
corner4 ,everyone in the streets is of  

smiling face and happy4  ,the picture is
 not mine1 nor could ,i have drawn one  
of myself1 but it is a sketch           
illustrating the almost daily           
experiences of a popular minister1 as ,i
 was called4 ,it was estimated that my  
weekly sermons1 in all parts of the     
world1 reached #ahj1jjj1jjj people every
 ,monday morning--the year #ahhh4 ,this 
was gratifying to a man who1 in his     
student days1 had been told that he     
would never be fit to preach the ,gospel
 in any ,american pulpit4 ,i thanked    
,god for the great opportunity of ,his  
blessings4  ,illustration3 ,,dr4        
,,talmage ,,as ,,chaplain ,,of ,,the    
,,thirteenth ,,regiment4  ,in the spring
 of #ahhh ,i received the honour of     
being made chaplain of the ,old         
,thirteenth ,regiment of the ,national  
,guard1 with a commission as captain1 to
 succeed my old friend and              
fellow-worker1 ,henry ,ward ,beecher1   
who had died4 ,although ,i was a very   
busy man ,i accepted it1 because ,i had 

always felt it my duty to be a part of  
any public-spirited enterprise4 ,on     
,march #gth1 #ahhh1 before a vast       
assembly1 the oath was administered by  
,colonel ,austen1 and ,i received my    
commission4 ,memories of my actual1     
though brief1 sight of war1 at          
,sharpsburg and ,hagerstown1 where the  
hospitals were filled with wounded      
soldiers1 mingled faintly with the      
actual scene of peace and plenty around 
me at that moment4 ,we needed no epaulet
 then but the shoulder that is muscular1
 and we needed no commanding officer but
 the steadiness of our own nerves4 ,the 
,thirteenth ,regiment was at the height 
of its prosperity then2 our band1 under 
the leadership of ,fred ,inness1 was the
 best in the city4 ,i remembered it well
 because1 in the parade on ,decoration  
,day1 ,i was on horseback riding a      
somewhat unmusical horse4 ,it was       
comforting1 if not strictly true1 to    
read in the newspaper the following day 
that ,doctor ,talmage rides his horse   

with dash and skill4  ,the association  
of ideas in ,american life is a         
wonderful mixture of the appropriate and
 the inappropriate4 ,because my church  
was crowded1 because ,i lived in a      
comfortable house1 because ,i could     
become1 on occasions1 a preacher on     
horseback1 ,i was rated as a millionaire
 clergyman4 ,it was amusing to read     
about1 but difficult to live up to4     
,there were many calculations in the    
newspapers as to my income4 ,some of the
 more moderate figures were correct4 ,my
 salary was #ab1jjj as pastor of the    
,tabernacle1 ,i have made over #bj1jjj a
 year from my lectures4 ,from the       
publication of my sermons my income was 
equal to my salary4 ,i received #e1jjj a
 year as editor of a popular monthly2 ,i
 sometimes wrote an article that paid me
 #aej or more1 and a single marriage fee
 was often as high as #bej4 ,there were 
some royalties on my books4  ,we lived  
well1 dressed comfortably2 but there    
were many demands on me then1 as on all 

public men1 and ,i needed all ,i could  
earn4 ,i carried a life insurance of    
#ge1jjj4 ,all this was a long way from  
being a ,croesus of the clergy1 however4
 ,i mention these figures and facts     
because they stimulate to me1 as ,i hope
 they will to others1 the possibilities 
of temporal welfare in a minister's     
life1 provided he works hard and is     
faithful to the tremendous trusts of his
 calling4  ,a man's industry is the     
whole of that man1 just as his laziness 
is the end of him4 ,i always believed   
heartily1 profoundly1 in the equality of
 a man's salvation with a man's         
self-respect in temporal affairs4 ,i am 
sure that whoever keeps the books in    
,heaven credits the account of a new    
arrival with the exact amount of        
salvation he or she has achieved1 making
 a due allowance for the amounts earned 
and paid over to the causes of charity1 
kindliness1 and mercy4  ,i always       
believed in the business and the        
religious method of the ,salvation      

,army1 because it was an effort to      
discipline salvation on a working basis4
 ,when the ,salvation ,army first began 
its meetings in ,brooklyn its members   
were hooted and insulted in the streets 
to an extent that rendered their        
meetings almost impossible4 ,i was      
requested to present a petition to      
,mayor ,whitney asking protection for   
them in the streets of the city4 ,people
 residing near the ,salvation           
headquarters were in constant danger of 
annoyance from the mobs that gathered   
about them4 ,it was the fault of the    
,brooklyn ruffianism4 ,i demanded that  
the ,salvation ,army be permitted to    
hold meetings and march in processions  
unmolested4 ,no one was ever killed by a
 street hosannah1 no one was ever hurt  
by hearing a hallelujah4 ,the more      
inspiring the music the more virile the 
optimism we can show1 the more good we  
can do each other in the climb to       
,paradise4 ,a minister's duty in his own
 community1 and in all other communities

 in which he may find himself1 is to    
make the great men of his time          
understand him and like him4  ,a        
minister who could adapt himself to the 
lights and shadows of human character in
 men of prominence enjoyed many         
opportunities that were enlightening4   
,one met them1 these men of many        
talents1 at their best at dinners and   
banquets4 ,it was then they were in     
their splendour4  ,those dinners at the 
,press ,club in #ahhh1 what treat they  
were6 ,in the days of ,john ,a4         
,cockerill1 the handsome1 dashing       
,colonel1 as he was called1 of ,mayor   
,grant the suave1 ,chauncey ,m4 ,depew  
the wit1 of ,charles ,emory ,smith the  
conservative journalist1 of ,henry      
,george the ,socialist1 ,moses ,p4      
,handy the ,major1 of ,roswell ,p4      
,flower1 of ,judge ,henry ,hilton1 of   
,general ,felix ,agnus--and of ,hermann1
 the original1 the great1 the magic     
wonder-maker of the times4 ,they were   
the leading spirits of an army of bright

 men who pushed the world upside down1  
or rolled it over and over1 or made it  
stand still1 according to how they felt4
 ,mingling with these arbiters of our   
fate were all sorts and conditions of   
men4 ,at one of these dinners ,i        
remember seeing ,inspector ,byrnes1 the 
,sherlock ,holmes of ,american crime1   
,colonel ,ochiltree1 the red savage1    
,steven ,fiske1 ,samuel ,carpenter1     
,judge ,david ,mc,adam1 ,john ,w4       
,keller1 ,judge ,gedney1 ,pat ,gilmore1 
,rufus ,hatch1 ,general ,horatio ,c4    
,king1 ,frank ,b4 ,thurber1 ,j4 ,amory  
,knox1 ,e4,b4 ,harper1 ,w4,j4 ,arkell1  
,dr4 ,nagle1 the poet ,geogheghan1 ,doc 
,white1 and ,joseph ,howard1 jun4 ,they 
were the old guard of the land of       
,bohemia1 where a minister's voice      
sounded good to them if it was a voice  
without cant or religious hypocrisy4 ,i 
remember a letter sent by ,president    
,harrison to one of these dinners1 in   
which1 after acknowledging the receipt  
of an invitation to attend1 he regretted

 being unable to be present at so       
attractive an event4  ,among the men    
whom ,i first met at this time1 and who 
made an impression of lasting respect   
upon me1 was ,henry ,cabot ,lodge4 ,he  
was the guest of ,general ,stewart ,l4  
,woodford1 at a breakfast given in his  
honour in the spring of #ahhh at the    
,hamilton ,club4 ,general ,woodford     
invited me1 among others1 to meet him4  
,we all came--,mr4 ,benjamin ,a4        
,stillman1 ,mr4 ,j4,s4,t4 ,stranahan1   
,mr4 ,theodore ,roosevelt1 ,judge ,c4,r4
 ,pratt1 ex-,mayor ,schroeder1 ,mr4     
,john ,winslow1 president of the ,new   
,england ,society1 ,mr4 ,george ,m4     
,olcott1 ,mr4 ,william ,copeland        
,wallace1 ,colonel ,albert ,p4 ,lamb1   
,mr4 ,charles ,a4 ,moore1 ,mr4 ,william 
,b4 ,williams1 ,mr4 ,ethan ,allen ,doty1
 ,mr4 ,james ,s4 ,case1 ,mr4 ,t4,l4     
,woodruff4 ,it was a social innovation  
then to arrange a gathering of this sort
 at #aa a4m4 and call it a breakfast4   
,it came from ,england4 ,mr4 ,lodge was 

only in town on a visit for a few days1 
chiefly1 ,i think1 to attend the annual 
dinner of the ,sunrise ,sons1 as the    
members of the ,new ,england society    
were called4 ,as ,i read these names    
again1 how big some of them look now1 in
 the world's note-book of celebrities4  
,some of them were just beginning to    
learn the pleasant taste of ambitious   
careers4 ,most of them had discovered   
that ambition was the gift of hard work4
 ,there is more health in work than in  
any medicine ,i ever heard of4  ,work is
 the only thing that keeps people alive4
 ,whatever posterity may proclaim for   
me1 ,i always had the reputation of     
being a worker4 ,perhaps for this reason
 ,i became the object of a microscopic  
investigation before the people in      
#ahhh4 ,it was the first time in my life
 that any notable attention had been    
taken of me in my own country1 that was 
not a personal notoriety over some      
conflict of the hour4 ,whenever the     
,american newspaper begins to describe  

your home life with an air of analysis  
that is not libellous you are among the 
famous4 ,it took me a little while to   
understand this4 ,a man's private life  
is of such indifferent character to     
himself1 unless he be an official       
representative of the people1 that ,i   
never quite appreciated the importance  
given to mine1 at this time1 in         
,brooklyn4 ,chiefly because ,i had made 
money as a writer1 my fellow-citizens   
were curious to know how1 in the        
clerical profession1 it could be made4  
,articles appeared constantly in the    
newspapers with headlines like          
these--,dr4 ,talmage at ,home1 ,in a    
,clergyman's ,study1 ,dr4 ,talmage's    
,wealth1 ,talmage ,interviewed4 ,nearly 
all of them began with the ,american    
view point uppermost1 in this fashion3  
,the ,american preacher lives in a      
luxurious home4  ,his income1 from all  
sources1 exceeds that of the ,president 
of the ,united ,states4  ,the impression
 is everywhere that ,dr4 ,talmage is    

very rich4  ,i regretted this because   
there is a notion that a minister of the
 ,gospel cannot accumulate money for    
himself1 that he should not do so if he 
could1 that his duty consists in        
collecting money for his church1 his    
parish1 his mission--for anything and   
everyone but his own temporal           
prosperity4 ,i had done this all my     
life4 ,i can solemnly say that ,i never 
sought the financial success which in   
some measure came to me4 ,i regarded the
 money which ,i received for my work as 
pastor of the ,tabernacle1 or from other
 sources as an earning capacity that is 
due to every working man4 ,i was able to
 do more work than some1 because the    
motives of my whole life have insisted  
that ,i work hard4 ,the impetus of my   
strength was not abnormal1 it was merely
 the daily requirement of my health that
 ,i work as hard as ,i knew how as long 
as ,i could4 ,restlessness was an       
element of life with me4 ,i could not   
keep still any length of time4 ,my mind 

had acquired the habit of ideas1 and my 
hands were always full of unfinished    
labours4  ,i remember trying once to sit
 still at a concert of ,gilmore's band1 
at ,manhattan ,beach4 ,after hearing one
 selection ,i found myself unable to    
listen any farther--,i could not sit    
quiet for longer4 ,i rarely allowed     
myself more than five minutes for       
shaving1 no matter whether the razor    
were sharp or blunt4 ,they used to tell 
me that ,i wore a black bow tie till it 
was not fit to wear4 ,on the trains ,i  
slept a great deal4 ,sleep is the great 
storage battery of life4 ,four days of  
the week ,i was on the train4 ,i rose   
every morning at six4 ,the first thing  
,i did was to glance over the morning   
newspaper1 to catch in this whispering  
gallery of the world the life of a new  
day4 ,first the cable news1 then the    
editorials1 then the news about         
ourselves4 ,i received the principal    
newspapers of almost every big city in  
the morning mail ,i enjoyed the         

caricatures of myself1 they made me     
laugh4 ,if a man poked fun at me with   
true wit ,i was his friend4 ,they were  
clever fellows those newspaper          
humorists4 ,i consider walking a very   
important exercise--not merely a stroll1
 but a good long walk4 ,often ,i used to
 go from the ,grand ,central ,depot in  
,new ,york to my home in ,brooklyn4     
,there and back was my usual promenade4 
,seven miles should be an average walk  
for a man past fifty every day4 ,i have 
made fifteen and twenty miles without   
fatigue4 ,i always dined in the middle  
of the day4 ,contrary to ,combes'       
,physiology1 ,i always took a nap after 
dinner4 ,in my boyhood days this was a  
book that opposed the habit4 ,combes    
said that he thought it very injurious  
to sleep after dinner1 but ,i saw the   
cow lie down after eating1 and the      
horse1 and it seemed to me that ,combes 
was wrong4 ,a morning bath is absolutely
 indispensable4 ,when ,i was in college 
there were no luxurious hot and cold    

bath rooms4 ,i often had to break the   
ice in my pitcher to get at the water4  
,these were the habits of my life1      
formed in my youth1 and as they grew    
upon me they were the sinews that kept  
me young in the heart and brain and     
muscle4 ,my voice rarely1 if ever1      
failed me entirely4 ,in #ahhh1 to my    
surprise and delight1 my western trips  
had become ovations that no human being 
could fail to enjoy4 ,in ,st4 ,paul1    
,duluth1 ,minneapolis1 the crowds in and
 about the churches where ,i preached   
were estimated to be over twenty        
thousand4 ,it was a joy to live         
realising the service one could be to   
others4 ,this year of #ahhh was to be a 
climax to so many aspirations of my life
 that ,i am forced to record it as one  
of the most important of all my working 
years4 ,no event of any consequence in  
the country1 social or political1 or    
disastrous1 happened1 that my name was  
not available to the ethical phase of   
its development4 ,newspaper squibs of   

all sorts reflect this fact in some way4
 ,here is one that illustrates my       
meaning3      ,,only ,,talmage6         
,the weary husband was lounging in the  
old armchair reading before     the fire
 after the day's work4 ,suddenly he     
brought down his hand     vigorously    
upon his knee1 exclaiming1 ',that's so6 
,that's so6' ,a     minute after1 he    
cried again1 ',well1 ,i should say4'    
,then later1     ',good for you2 hit    
them right and left4' ,soon he stretched
 himself     out at full length in the  
chair1 let his right hand1 holding the  
paper1 drop nearly to the floor1 threw  
up his left and laughed aloud     until 
the rafters rang4 ,his anxious wife     
inquired1 ',what is it so     funny1    
,john8'      ,he made no reply1 but     
lifted the paper again1 straightened    
himself     up1 and went on reading4    
,very quiet he now grew by degrees4     
,then     slyly he slipped his left hand
 around and drew out his handkerchief1  
wiped his brow and lips by way of excuse

 and gave his eyelids a     passing     
dash4 ,the very next moment he pressed  
the handkerchief to     his eyes and let
 the paper drop to the floor1 saying1   
',well1 that's     wonderful4' ',what is
 it1 ,john8' his good wife inquired     
again4 ',oh6     ,it's only ,talmage6'  
,my contemporaries in ,brooklyn         
celebrity at this time were unusual men4
 ,some of them were dear friends1 some  
of them close friends1 some of them     
advisers or champions1 guardians of my  
peace--all of them friends4  ,about this
 time ,i visited ,johnstown1 shortly    
after the flood4 ,my heart was weary    
with the scenes of desolation about me4 
,it did not seem possible that the      
hospitable city of ,johnstown ,i had    
known in other days could be so tumbled 
down by disaster4 ,where ,i had once    
seen the street1 equal in style to      
,euclid ,avenue in ,cleveland1 ,i found 
a long ridge of sand strewn with planks 
and driftwood4 ,by a wave from twelve to
 twenty feet high1 #hjj houses were     

crushed1 twenty-eight huge locomotives  
from the round house were destroyed1    
hundreds of people dead and dying in its
 anger4 ,two thousand dead were found1  
#b1jjj missing1 was the record the day  
,i was there4 ,the place became used to 
death4 ,it was not a sensation to the   
survivors to see it about them4 ,i saw a
 human body taken out of the ruins as if
 it had been a stick of wood4 ,no crowd 
gathered about it4 ,some workmen a      
hundred feet away did not stop their    
work to see4 ,the devastation was far   
worse than was ever told4 ,the worst    
part of it could not even be seen4 ,the 
heart-wreck was the unseen tragedy of   
this unfortunate ,american city4 ,from  
,brooklyn ,i helped to send temporary   
relief4 ,with a wooden box in my hand   
,i1 with others1 collected from the     
bounty of that vast meeting in the      
,academy of ,music4 ,the exact amount   
paid over by our relief committee in all
 was #ie1ije4 ,there was no end to the  
demand upon one's energy in all         

directions4  ,i was called upon in      
,september1 #ahhh1 to lay the corner    
stone of the ,first ,presbyterian       
,church at ,far-,rockaway1 and amid the 
imposing ceremonies ,i predicted the    
great future of ,long ,island4 ,it      
seemed to me that ,long ,island would   
some day be the ,london of ,america1    
filled with the most prominent churches 
of the country4  ,while in the plans of 
others ,i was an impulse at least       
towards success1 in my own plans1 how   
often ,i have been scourged and beaten  
to earth4 ,as it had been before1 so it 
was in this zenith of my personal       
progress4 ,to my amazement1 chagrin and 
despair1 on the morning of ,october #ac1
 #ahhi1 our beautiful church was again  
burned to the ground4     ,,the         
,,fourteenth ,,milestone  #ahhi-ahia    
,for fifteen years1 to a large part of  
the public1 ,i had been an experiment in
 church affairs4 ,in #ahhi ,i had caught
 up with the world and the things ,i had
 been doing and thinking and hoping     

became suitable for the world4 ,in the  
retrospect of those things ,i had left  
behind what gratitude ,i felt for their 
strife and struggle6 ,a minister of the 
,gospel is not only a sentinel of divine
 orders1 he must also have deep         
convictions of his authority to resist  
attack in his own way1 by his own force1
 with his own strength and faith4 ,when1
 on ,june #c1 #ahgc1 ,i laid the        
corner-stone of the new tabernacle1 ,i  
dedicated the sacred building as a      
stronghold against rationalism and      
humanitarianism4 ,i knew then that this 
statement was regarded as questionable  
orthodoxy1 and ,i myself had become the 
curious symbol of a new religion4 ,still
 ,i pursued my course1 an independent   
sentry on the outskirts of the old      
religious camping-ground1 but inspired  
with the converting grace ,i had        
received in my boyhood1 my duty was     
clearly not so much a duty of           
regulations as it was a conception1 a   
sympathy1 a command to the ,christian   

needs of the human race4  ,when the     
first ,tabernacle was consumed by fire  
my utterances were criticised and my    
enthusiasm to rebuild it was            
misconstrued4 ,my convictions then were 
the same1 they have always been the     
same4 ,to me it seemed that ,god's most 
vehement utterances had been in flames  
of fire4 ,the most tremendous lesson ,he
 ever gave to ,new ,york was in the     
conflagration of #ahce2 to ,chicago in  
the conflagration of #ahga2 to ,boston  
in the conflagration of #ahgb2 to my own
 congregation in the fiery downfall of  
the ,tabernacle4 ,some saw in the flames
 that roared through its organ pipes a  
requiem1 nothing but unmitigated        
disaster1 while others of us heard the  
voice of ,god1 as from ,heaven1 sounding
 through the crackling thunder of that  
awful day1 saying1 ,he shall baptise you
 with the ,holy ,ghost and with ,fire6  
,it was a very different state of public
 feeling which met the disaster that    
came to the ,tabernacle on that early   

,sabbath morning of ,october #ah1 #ahhi4
 ,i had a congregation of millions all  
over the world to appeal to4 ,i stood   
before them1 accredited in the religious
 course ,i had pursued1 approved as a   
minister of the ,gospel1 upheld as a man
 and a preacher4 ,the hand of           
,providence is always a mysterious grasp
 of life that confuses and dismays1 but 
it always rebuilds1 restores1 and       
prophesies4  ,the second ,tabernacle was
 destroyed during a terrific            
thunderstorm4 ,it was crumpled and torn 
by the winds and the flames of heaven4  
,i watched the fire from the cupola of  
my house in silent abnegation4 ,the     
history of the ,brooklyn ,tabernacle had
 been strange and peculiar all the way  
through4 ,things that seemed to be      
against us always turned out finally for
 us4 ,our brightest and best days always
 follow disaster4 ,our enlargements of  
the building had never met our needs4   
,our plans had pleased the people1 but  
we needed improvements4 ,in this spirit 

,i accepted the situation1 and the      
,board of ,trustees sustained me4 ,our  
insurance on the church building was    
over #abj1jjj4 ,i made an appeal to the 
people of ,brooklyn and to the thousands
 of readers my sermons had gained1 for  
the sum of #ajj1jjj4 ,it would be much  
easier to accomplish1 ,i felt1 than it  
had been before4  ,at my house in       
,brooklyn1 on the evening of the day of 
the fire1 the following resolutions were
 passed by the ,board of ,trustees3--   
,resolved--that we bow in humble        
submission to the ,providence which this
 morning removed our beloved ,church1   
and while we cannot fully understand the
 meaning of that ,providence we have    
faith that there is kindness as well as 
severity in the stroke4                 
,resolved3--,that if ,god and the people
 help us we will proceed at once to     
rebuild1 and that we rear a larger      
structure to meet the demands of our    
congregation1 the locality and style of 
the building to be indicated by the     

amount of contributions made4  ,a       
committee was immediately formed to     
select a temporary place of worship1 and
 the ,academy of ,music was selected1   
because of its size and location4  ,i   
was asked for a statement to the people 
through the press4 ,from a scrap-book ,i
 copy this statement3--      ,to the    
,people--      ,by sudden calamity we   
are without a church4 ,the building     
associated     with so much that is dear
 to us is in ashes4 ,in behalf of my    
stricken congregation ,i make appeal for
 help4 ,our church has never            
confined its work to this locality4 ,our
 church has never been     sufficient   
either in size or appointments for the  
people who came4     ,we want to build  
something worthy of our city and worthy 
of the     cause of ,god4      ,we want 
#ajj1jjj1 which1 added to the insurance1
 will build what is     needed4 ,i make 
appeal to all our friends throughout    
,christendom1 to     all denominations1 
to all creeds and to those of no creed  

at all1 to     come to our rescue4 ,i   
ask all readers of my sermons the world 
over     to contribute as far as their  
means will allow4 ,what we do as a      
,church depends upon the immediate      
response made to this call4 ,i was      
on the eve of departure for a brief     
visit to the ,holy ,land that ,i        
might be better prepared for my work    
here1 but that visit must be            
postponed4 ,i cannot leave until        
something is done to decide our         
future4      ,may the ,god who has our  
destiny as individuals and as churches  
in     ,his hand appear for our         
deliverance6      ,responses to this    
appeal to the people may be sent to me  
in     ,brooklyn1 and ,i will with my   
own hand acknowledge the receipt        
thereof4      ,t4 ,,dewitt ,,talmage4   
,i had planned to sail for the ,holy    
,land on ,october #cj1 but the disaster 
that had come upon us seemed to make it 
impossible4 ,i had almost given it up4  
,there followed such an universal       

response to my appeal1 such a remarkable
 current of sympathy1 however1 that     
completely overwhelmed me1 so that by   
the grace of ,god ,i was able to sail4  
,to the trustees of the ,tabernacle much
 of this was due4 ,they were the men who
 stood by me1 my friends1 my advisers4  
,i record their names as the ,christian 
guardians of my destiny through danger  
and through safety4 ,they were ,dr4     
,harrison ,a4 ,tucker1 ,john ,wood1     
,alexander ,mc,lean1 ,e4,h4 ,lawrence1  
and ,charles ,darling4 ,in a note-book  
,i find recorded also the names of some 
of the first subscribers to the new     
,tabernacle4 ,they were the real        
builders4 ,wechsler and ,abraham were   
among the first to contribute #ajj1     
,texas ,siftings through ,j4 ,amory     
,knox sent #be1 and ,judge forwarded a  
cheque for the same amount1 with the    
declaration that all other periodicals  
in the ,united ,states ought to go and  
do likewise4 ,a4,e4 ,coates sent #bjj1  
,e4,m4 ,knox #bjj1 ,a4,j4 ,nutting #ajj1

 ,benjamin ,l4 ,fairchild #ajj1 ,joseph 
,e4 ,carson #ajj1 ,haviland and ,sons   
#be1 ,francis ,h4 ,stuart1 ,m4,d41 #be1 
,giles ,f4 ,bushnell #be1 and ,pauline  
,e4 ,martin #be4  ,even the small       
children1 the poor1 the aged1 sent in   
their dollars4 ,about one thousand      
dollars was contributed the first day4  
,everything was done by the trustees and
 the people1 to expedite the plans of   
the ,new ,tabernacle so that in two     
weeks from the date of the fire ,i broke
 ground for what was to be the largest  
church in the world of a ,protestant    
denomination1 on the corner of ,clinton 
and ,greene ,avenues4 ,that afternoon of
 ,october #bh1 #ahhi1 when ,i stood in  
the enclosure arranged for me1 and      
consecrated the ground to the word of   
,god1 was another moment of supreme joy 
to me4 ,it was said that those who      
witnessed the ceremony were impressed   
with the importance of it in the course 
of my own life and in the history of    
,christianity4 ,to me it was akin to    

those pregnant hours of my life through 
which ,i had passed in great exaltation 
of spiritual fervour4  ,my words of     
consecration were brief1 as follows3    
,may the ,lord ,god of ,abraham1 and    
,isaac1 and ,jacob1 and ,joshua1 and    
,paul1 and ,john ,knox1 and ,john       
,wesley1 and ,hugh ,latimer1 and ,bishop
 ,mc,ilvaine take possession of this    
ground and all that shall be built upon 
it4  ,before me was a vision of that    
church1 its ,gothic arches1 its         
splendour of stained-glass windows1 its 
spires and gables1 and1 as ,i saw this  
our third ,tabernacle rise up before me1
 ,i prayed that its windows might look  
out into the next world as well as this4
 ,i was glad that ,i had waited to turn 
that bit of ,god-like earth on the old  
,marshall homestead in ,brooklyn1 for it
 filled my heart with a spiritual       
promise and potency that was an         
invisible cord binding me during my     
pilgrimage to ,jordan with my           
congregation which ,i had left behind4  

,with ,mrs4 ,talmage and my daughter1   
,may ,talmage1 ,i sailed on the ,city of
 ,paris1 on ,october #cj1 #ahhi1 to     
complete the plan ,i had dreamed of for 
years4 ,i had been reverently anxious to
 actually see the places associated with
 our ,lord's life and death4 ,i wanted  
to see ,bethlehem and ,nazareth1 and    
,jerusalem and ,calvary1 so intimately  
connected with the ministry of our      
,saviour4 ,i had arranged to write a    
,life of ,christ1 and this trip was     
imperative4 ,in that book is the        
complete record of this journey1        
therefore ,i feel that other things that
 have not been told deserve the space   
here that would otherwise belong to my  
recollections of the ,holy ,land4 ,it   
was reported that while in ,jerusalem ,i
 made an effort to purchase ,calvary and
 the tomb of our ,saviour1 so as to     
present it to the ,christian ,church at 
large4 ,i was so impressed with the fact
 that part of this sacred ground was    
being used as a ,mohammedan cemetery    

that ,i was inspired to buy it in token 
of respect to all ,christendom4 ,of     
course this led to much criticism1 but  
that has never stopped my convictions4  
,i was away for two months1 returning in
 ,february1 #ahij4  ,during my absence  
our ,sunday services were conducted by  
the most talented preachers we could    
secure4 ,with the exception of a few    
days' influenza while ,i was in ,paris1 
in ,january1 just prior to my return1   
the trip was a glorious success4        
,according to the editorial opinion of  
one newspaper ,i had discovered a new   
,adam that was to prove a puissant ally 
in his future struggles with the old    
,adam4 ,this was not meant to be        
friendly1 but ,i prefer to believe that 
it was so after all4 ,in ,england ,i was
 promised1 if ,i would take up a month's
 preaching tour there1 that the ,english
 people would subscribe five thousand   
pounds to the new ,tabernacle4 ,these   
and other invitations were tempting1 but
 ,i could not alter my itinerary4       

,while in ,england ,i received an       
invitation from ,mr4 ,gladstone to visit
 him at ,hawarden4 ,he wired me1 pray   
come to ,hawarden to-morrow1 and on     
,january #bd1 #ahij1 ,i paid my visit4  
,i was staying at the ,grand ,hotel in  
,london when the telegram was handed to 
me4 ,with the rest of the world1 at that
 time1 ,i regarded ,mr4 ,gladstone as   
the most wonderful man of the century4  
,he came into the room at ,hawarden     
where ,i was waiting for him1 an alert1 
eager1 kindly man4 ,he was not the grand
 old man in spirit1 whatever he may have
 been in age4 ,he was lithe of body1 his
 step was elastic4 ,he held out both his
 hands in a cordial welcome4 ,he spoke  
first of the wide publication of my     
sermons in ,england1 and questioned me  
about them4 ,in a few minutes he        
proposed a walk1 and calling his dog we 
started out for what was in fact a run  
over his estate4 ,gladstone was the only
 man ,i ever met who walked fast enough 
for me4 ,over the hills1 through his    

magnificent park1 everywhere he pointed 
out the stumps of trees which he had cut
 down4 ,once a guest of his1 an ,english
 lord1 had died emulating ,gladstone's  
strenuous custom4 ,he showed me the     
place4  ,no man who has heart disease   
ought to use the axe1 he said2 that very
 stump is the place where my friend used
 it1 and died4  ,he rallied the         
,american tendency to exaggerate things 
in a story he told with great glee1     
about a fabulous tree in ,california1   
where two men cutting at it on opposite 
sides for many days were entirely       
oblivious of each other's presence4     
,each one believed himself to be a lone 
woodsman in the forest until1 after a   
long time1 they met with surprise at the
 heart of the tree4 ,american stories   
seemed to tickle him immensely4 ,he told
 another kindred one of a fish in       
,american lakes1 so large that when it  
was taken out of the water the lake was 
perceptibly lowered4 ,he grew buoyant1  
breezy1 fanciful in the brisk winter    

air4 ,like his dog1 he was tingling with
 life4 ,he liked to throw sticks for    
him1 to see him jump and run4  ,look at 
that dog's eyes1 isn't he a fine fellow8
 he kept asking4 ,his knowledge of the  
trees on his estate was historical4 ,he 
knew their lineage and characteristics  
from the date of their sapling age1 four
 or five hundred years before4 ,the old 
and decrepit aristocrats of his forest  
were tenderly bandaged1 their arms in   
splints4  ,look at that sycamore1 he    
said2 did you find in the ,holy ,land   
any more thrifty than that8 ,you know   
sometimes ,i am described as destroying 
my trees4 ,i only destroy the bad to    
help the good4 ,since ,i have thrown my 
park open to visitors the privilege has 
never been abused4  ,we drifted upon all
 subjects1 rational1 political1         
religious1 ethical4  ,divorce in your   
country1 is it not a menace8 he asked4  
,the great danger is re-marriage4 ,it   
should be forbidden for divorced        
persons4 ,i understand that in your     

,state of ,south ,carolina there is no  
divorce4 ,i believe that is the right   
idea4 ,if re-marriage were impossible   
then divorce would be impossible1 he    
replied to his own question4            
,gladstone's religious instinct was     
prophetic in its grasp4 ,his            
intellectual approval of religious      
intention was the test of his faith4 ,he
 applied to the exaltations of          
,christianity the reason of human fact4 
,i was forcibly impressed with this when
 he told me of an incident in his       
boyhood4  ,i read something in          
',augustine' when ,i was a boy1 he said1
 which struck me then with great force4 
,i still feel it to-day4 ,it was the    
passage which says1 ',when the human    
race rebelled against ,god1 the lower   
nature of man as a consequence rebelled 
against the higher nature4'  ,i asked   
him then if the years had strengthened  
or weakened his ,christian faith4 ,we   
were racing up hill4 ,he stopped        
suddenly on the hillside and regarded me

 with a searching earnestness1 a        
solemnity that made me quake4 ,then he  
spoke slowly1 more seriously3  ,dr4     
,talmage1 my only hope for the world is 
in the bringing of the human mind into  
contact with divine revelation4 ,nearly 
all the men at the top in our country   
are believers in the ,christian         
religion4 ,the four leading physicians  
of ,england are devout ,christian men4  
,i1 myself1 have been in the ,cabinet   
forty-seven years1 and during all that  
time ,i have been associated with sixty 
of the chief intellects of the century4 
,i can think of but five of those sixty 
who did not profess the ,christian      
religion1 but those five men respected  
it4 ,we may talk about questions of the 
day here and there1 but there is only   
one question1 and that is how to apply  
the ,gospel to all circumstances and    
conditions4 ,it can and will correct all
 that is wrong4 ,have you1 in ,america1 
any of the terrible agnosticism that we 
have in ,europe8 ,i am glad none of my  

children are afflicted with it4  ,i     
asked him if he did not believe that    
many people had no religion in their    
heads1 but a good religion in their     
hearts4  ,i have no doubt of it1 and ,i 
can give you an illustration1 he said4  
,yesterday1 ,lord ,napier was buried in 
,st4 ,paul's ,cathedral4 ,after the war 
in ,africa ,lord ,napier was here for a 
few days1 at the invitation of ,mrs4    
,gladstone and myself1 and we walked as 
we are walking now4 ,he told me this    
story4 ,i cannot remember his exact     
words4 ,he said that just when the      
troops were about to leave ,africa there
 was a soldier with a broken leg4 ,he   
was too sick to take along1 but to leave
 him behind seemed barbaric4 ,lord      
,napier ordered him to be carried1 but  
he soon became too ill to go any        
further4 ,lord ,napier went to a native 
woman well known in that country for her
 kindness1 and asked her to take care of
 the soldier4 ,to ensure his care she   
was offered a good sum of money4 ,i     

remember her reply as ,lord ,napier     
repeated it to me4 ',no1 ,i will not    
take care of this wounded soldier for   
the money you offer me1' she said2 ',i  
have no need of the money4 ,my father   
and mother have a comfortable tent1 and 
,i have a good tent2 why should ,i take 
the money8 ,if you will leave him here  
,i will take care of him for the sake of
 the love of ,god4'  ,gladstone was in  
the thick of political scrimmage over   
,home ,rule1 and he talked about it with
 me4  ,it seems the dispensation of ,god
 that ,i should be in the battle1 he    
said2 but it is not to my taste4 ,i     
never had any option in the matter4 ,i  
dislike contests1 but ,i could not      
decline this controversy without        
disgrace4 ,when ,ireland showed herself 
ready to adopt a righteous constitution1
 and do her full duty1 ,i hesitated not 
an hour4  ,two nights before1 at a      
speech in ,chester1 ,mr4 ,gladstone had 
declared that the increase of the       
,american navy would necessitate the    

increase of the ,british navy4 ,i       
rallied him about this statement1 and he
 said1 ,oh6 ,americans like to hear the 
plain truth4 ,the fact is1 the tie      
between the two nations is growing      
closer every year4  ,it was a bitter    
cold day and yet ,mr4 ,gladstone wore   
only a very light cape1 reaching        
scarcely to his knees4  ,i need nothing 
more on me1 he said2 ,i must have my    
legs free4  ,after luncheon he took me  
into his library1 a wonderful place1 a  
treasure-house in itself1 a bookman's   
palace4 ,the books had been arranged and
 catalogued according to a system of his
 own invention4 ,he showed many presents
 of ,american books and pictures sent to
 him4  ,outside of ,america there is no 
one who is bound to love it more than ,i
 do1 he said1 you see1 ,i am almost     
surrounded by the evidences of ,american
 kindnesses4 ,he gave me some books and 
pamphlets about himself1 and his own    
,greek translation of ,jesus1 ,lover of 
my ,soul4 ,mrs4 ,gladstone had been     

obliged to leave before we returned from
 our walk4 ,mr4 ,gladstone took me into 
a room1 however1 and showed me a        
beautiful sculptured portrait of her1   
made when she was twenty-two4  ,she is  
only two years younger than ,i am1 but  
in complete health and vigour1 he said  
proudly4  ,he came out upon the steps to
 bid me good-bye4 ,bareheaded1 his white
 hair flowing in the wind1 he stood in  
the cold and ,i begged him to go in4 ,i 
expressed a wish that he might come to  
,america4  ,i am too old now1 he said1  
wistfully1 ,i thought4  ,is it the      
,atlantic you object to8 ,i asked4  ,oh6
 ,i am not afraid of the ocean1 he said1
 as though there were perhaps some other
 reason4  ,tell your country ,i watch   
every turn of its history with a heart  
of innermost admiration1 he called after
 me4 ,i carried ,gladstone's message at 
once1 going straight from ,hawarden to  
,america1 as ,i had intended when       
leaving ,london4  ,i was prepared for a 
reception in ,brooklyn on my return1 but

 ,i never dreamed it would be the       
ovation it was4 ,it becomes difficult to
 write of these personal courtesies1 as 
,i find them increasing in the progress 
of my life from now on4 ,i trust the    
casual reader will not construe anything
 in these pages into a boastful desire  
to spread myself in too large letters in
 print4  ,when ,i entered the           
,thirteenth ,regiment ,armoury on the   
evening of ,february #g1 #ahij1 it was  
packed from top to floor4 ,it was a     
large building with its three acres of  
drill floor and its half mile of        
galleries4 ,there were over seven       
thousand people there1 so the newspapers
 estimated4 ,against the east wall was  
the speaker's platform1 and over it in  
big letters of fire burned the word     
,welcome4  ,on the stage1 when ,i       
arrived at eight o'clock1 were ,mayor   
,chapin1 ,colonel ,austen1 ,general     
,alfred ,c4 ,barnes1 the ,rev4 ,j4      
,benson ,hamilton1 ,judge ,clement1 ,mr4
 ,andrew ,mc,lean1 the ,rev4 ,leon      

,harrison1 ex-,mayor ,whitney1 the ,hon4
 ,david ,a4 ,boody1 ,u4,s4 ,marshal     
,stafford1 ,judge ,courtney1 ,postmaster
 ,hendrix1 ,john ,y4 ,culver1 ,mark ,d4 
,wilber1 ,commissioner ,george ,v4      
,brower1 the ,rev4 ,e4,p4 ,terhune1     
,general ,horatio ,c4 ,king1 ,william   
,e4 ,robinson and several others4  ,the 
,trustees of the ,tabernacle1 like a    
guard of honour1 came in with me1 and as
 we made our way through the crowds to  
the stage1 the long-continued cheering  
and applause were deafening4 ,the band1 
assisted by the cornetist1 ,peter ,ali1 
played ,home1 ,sweet ,home4 ,for a few  
minutes ,i was very busy shaking hands4 
,the most inspiring moment of these     
preliminaries was the approach of the   
most distinguished man in that vast     
assembly1 ,general ,william ,t4         
,sherman4 ,he marched to the platform   
under military escort1 while the band   
played ,marching through ,georgia4      
,everyone stood up in deference to the  
old warrior1 handkerchiefs were waved1  

hats flew up in the air1 everyone was so
 proud of him1 so pleased to see him6   
,mayor ,chapin introduced the ,general1 
and as he stood patiently waiting for   
the audience to regain its self-control1
 the band played ,auld ,lang ,syne4     
,then in the presence of that great     
crowd he gave me a soldier's welcome4 ,i
 remember one sentence uttered by       
,sherman that night that revealed the   
character of the great fighter when he  
said1 ,the same ,god that appeared at   
,nazareth is here to-night4  ,but       
nothing on that auspicious evening was  
so great to me as when ,sherman spoke   
what he described as the soldier's      
welcome3  ,how are you1 old fellow1 glad
 to see you6 he said4  ,the building of 
the new ,tabernacle1 my third effort to 
establish an independent church in      
,brooklyn1 went on rapidly4 ,we were    
planning then to open it in ,september1 
#ahia4 ,the church building alone was to
 cost #aej1jjj4 ,its architectural      
beauty was in accord with the elegance  

of its fashionable neighbourhood on ,the
 ,hill1 as that residential part of     
,brooklyn was always described4  ,the   
,hill was unique4 ,when people in       
,brooklyn became tired of the rush and  
bustle of life they returned to ,clinton
 ,avenue4 ,it was an idyllic village in 
the heart of the city4 ,the front yards 
were as large as farms4 ,new ,yorkers   
described this locality as ,sleepy      
,hollow4 ,on this account1 during my    
absence1 there had developed in the     
neighbourhood some opposition to the    
building of the new ,tabernacle there4  
,some of the residents were afraid it   
would disturb the quiet of the          
neighbourhood4 ,they opposed it as they 
would a base ball park1 or a circus4    
,they were afraid the organ would annoy 
the sparrows4 ,the opposition went so   
far that a subscription paper was passed
 around to induce us to go away4 ,as    
much as #ae1jjj was raised to persuade  
us4 ,these objections1 however1 were    
confined to a few people1 the majority  

realising the adornment the new church  
would be to the neighbourhood4 ,when ,i 
returned ,i found that this opposing    
sentiment had described us as the       
,tabernacle ,rabble4 ,i was in splendid 
health and spirits however1 and refused 
to be downcast4  ,during my absence our 
pews had been rented1 realising #ah1jjj4
 ,the largest portion of these pews were
 rented by letter1 and the balance at a 
public meeting held in ,temple ,israel4 
,the second gallery of the church was   
free4 ,the highest price paid in the    
rental for one pew for a year was #ge1  
the lowest was #bj4 ,in the interval1   
pending the completion of the church1   
pew holders were given tickets for      
reserved seats in the ,academy of       
,music1 where our ,sunday services were 
held4 ,there were #a1ejj free seats in  
the second gallery of the new           
,tabernacle4  ,it was a great joy to    
find that the enterprise ,i had         
inaugurated before sailing for the ,holy
 ,land had made such good progress4 ,but

 we were always fortunate4  ,i recall   
that my congregation was surprised one  
morning to learn that ,emma ,abbott1 the
 beautiful ,american singer1 had left a 
bequest of #e1jjj to the ,brooklyn      
,tabernacle4 ,i was not surprised4 ,i   
had received a private note from her    
once expressing her kindly feeling      
toward our ,church and promising1 in the
 event of her decease1 to leave some    
remembrance to us4 ,she always had a    
presentiment that her life was to be    
short1 and this always had a very       
depressing effect upon her4 ,her grief  
for her husband's death hastened her    
own4 ,she loved him with all her heart4 
,she was a good woman4 ,mr4 ,beecher was
 a kind and loyal friend to her in her  
obscurer days4 ,in those days ,mr4      
,beecher brought her over from ,new     
,york and put her in care of a ,mrs4    
,bird in ,brooklyn4 ,until she went     
abroad she was helped in her musical    
education by these friends4 ,she        
attended ,mr4 ,beecher's prayer meetings

 regularly4 ,everyone who met her felt  
that she was a noble-hearted woman of   
pure character and sweet soul4  ,on     
,february #i1 #ahij1 ,i preached my     
first sermon since my return from the   
,holy ,land in the ,academy of ,music4  
,it was expected that ,i would preach   
about the country of sacred memories    
that ,i had visited1 but ,i was         
impressed with what ,i had found on my  
return in religious history of a more   
modern purpose4 ,they had been fixing up
 the creeds while ,i was abroad1 tracing
 the footsteps of divine law1 and ,i    
felt the importance of this fact4 ,so ,i
 chose the text in ,joshua vi4 #bc1 ,and
 the young men that were spies went in  
and brought out ,rahab1 and her father  
and her mother1 and her brethren1 and   
all that she had4  ,i did not read the  
newspapers while ,i was away so ,i was  
not familiar with all the discussion4 ,i
 understood1 however1 that they were    
revising the creed4 ,you might as well  
try to patch up your grandfather's      

overcoat4 ,it will be much better to get
 a new one4 ,the recent sessions of the 
,presbytery had been divided into two   
parties4 ,one was in favour of patching 
up the old overcoat1 the other in favour
 of a new one4 ,dr4 ,briggs had pointed 
out the torn places--at least five of   
them4 ,he had revealed it1 shabby and   
somewhat threadbare4 ,presbyterians had 
practically discarded the garment4 ,why 
should they want to flaunt any of its   
shreds8 ,so ,i agreed with ,dr4 ,briggs1
 that we had better get a new one4  ,the
 laying of the corner stone of the new  
,tabernacle took place on the afternoon 
of ,february #aa1 #ahij4 ,it was a      
modest ceremony because it was          
considered wise to defer the festivities
 for the dedication services that were  
to occur in the church itself in the    
spring4 ,the two tin boxes placed in the
 corner stone contained the records of  
the church organisation from #ahed to   
#ahgc1 a copy of the ,bible1 coins of   
#ahgc1 newspaper accounts of the        

dedication of the old ,tabernacle1      
copies of the ,brooklyn and ,new ,york  
newspapers1 photographs of the trustees1
 a #be-;cent gold piece from the        
,philadelphia mint with the ,lord's     
,prayer engraved on one side1 drawing   
and plans of the new ,tabernacle1 and   
some ,colonial money dated #agei1 #agga1
 #aggc1 #aggd4 ,during my trip in the   
,holy ,land ,i had secured two stones1  
one from ,mount ,calvary and one from   
,mount ,sinai1 which were to be placed  
in the ,tabernacle later4  ,the         
,tabernacle ,rabble1 as the ,philistines
 of ,clinton ,avenue called us1         
continued to meet in the ,academy of    
,music with renewed vigour4 ,my own     
duties became more exacting because of  
the additional work ,i had undertaken1  
of an editorial nature1 on two          
periodicals4  ,of course my critics were
 always with me4 ,what man or thing on  
earth is without these stimulants of    
one's energy4 ,they were fair and       
unfair4 ,i did not care so much for my  

serious critics as my humorous ones4    
,solemnity when sustained by malice or  
bigotry is a bore4 ,some call it        
hypocrisy1 but that is too clever for   
the tiresome critic4 ,frequently1 in my 
scrap book1 ,i kept the funny comments  
about myself4  ,here is one from the    
,chicago ,american1 published in        
#ahij3--      ,when ,talmage the        
terrible shouts his ,god-speed       ,to
 illit'rate 7and worse7 immigration1    
,who knows but his far-seeing mind feels
 a need       ,of recruits for his mix'd
 congregation8     ,and when he1        
self-made gateman of ,heaven1 says he's 
glad       ,to rake in1 on his free     
invitation1     ,the fit and the unfit1 
the good and the bad1       ,put it down
 to his tall-'mag-ination4--,pan4  ,my  
critics were particularly wrought up    
again on my return from ,palestine over 
my finances4 ,what a crime it was1 they 
said1 for a minister to be a            
millionaire6 ,had ,i really been one how
 much more ,i could have helped some of 

them along4 ,finally the subject became 
most wearisome1 and ,i gave out some    
actual facts4 ,from this data it was    
revealed that ,i was worth about        
#bjj1jjj1 considerably short of one     
million4 ,in actual cash it was finally 
declared that ,i was only worth         
#ajj1jjj4 ,my house in ,brooklyn1 which 
,i bought shortly after my pastorate    
began there1 cost #ce1jjj4 ,i paid      
#e1jjj cash1 and obtained easy terms on 
a mortgage for the balance4 ,it was     
worth #fj1jjj in #ahij4 ,my country     
residence at ,east ,hampton was         
estimated to be worth #bj1jjj4 ,i owned 
a few lots on the old ,coney ,island    
road4 ,my investments of any surplus    
funds ,i had were in #e per cent4       
mortgages4 ,i had as much as #hj1jjj    
invested in this way since ,i had begun 
these operations in #ahhb4 ,most of the 
mortgages were on private residences4 ,i
 mention these facts that there may be  
no jealous feeling against me among     
other millionaires4 ,because of my      

reputation for wealth ,i was sometimes  
included among ,new ,york's fashionable 
clergymen4 ,i deny that ,i was ever any 
such thing1 and ,i almost believe such a
 thing never was1 but ,i find1 in my    
scrapbook1 a contemporaneous list of    
them4  ,dr4 ,morgan ,dix1 of ,trinity   
,church1 with a salary of #ae1jjj1 heads
 the list1 ,dr4 ,brown of ,st4 ,thomas' 
,church1 received the same amount2 so   
did ,dr4 ,huntington of ,grace ,church1 
and ,dr4 ,greer of ,st4 ,bartholomew's4 
,the ,bishop of the diocese received no 
more4 ,dr4 ,rainsford of ,st4 ,george's 
,church received #aj1jjj1 and like ,dr4 
,greer1 possessing a private fortune1 he
 turned his salary over to the church4  
,the clergymen of the ,methodist        
,episcopal churches were not so rich4   
,the ,bishop of ,new ,york received only
 #e1jjj4 ,the pastor of ,st4 ,paul's1 on
 ,fourth ,avenue1 received the same     
amount1 so did the pastor of the        
,madison ,avenue ,church4  ,the         
,presbyterian pulpits were filled with  

some of the ablest preachers in ,new    
,york4 ,dr4 ,john ,hall of the ,fifth   
,avenue ,church received the salary of  
#cj1jjj1 ,dr4 ,paxton #aj1jjj1 ,dr4     
,parkhurst and ,dr4 ,c4,c4 ,thompson    
#h1jjj respectively4 ,dr4 ,robert       
,collyer of the ,park ,avenue ,unitarian
 ,church1 received #aj1jjj1 and ,dr4    
,william ,m4 ,taylor of the ,broadway   
,tabernacle the same amount4  ,i was    
included among these men of fashion1    
much to my surprise4 ,this fact1 forced 
upon me by contemporary opinion1 did not
 have anything to do with what happened 
in the spring of #ahia1 though it was   
applied in that way4 ,my congregation   
were not told about it until it was too 
late to interfere4 ,this ,i thought wise
 because there might have been some     
opposition to my course4 ,i kept it a   
secret because it was not a matter ,i   
could discuss with any dignity4 ,then1  
too1 ,i realised that it was going to   
affect the entire brotherhood of        
newspaper artists1 especially the       

cartoonists4 ,i shuddered when ,i       
thought of the embarrassment this act of
 mine would cause the country editor    
with only one ,talmage woodcut of many  
years in his art department4 ,so ,i did 
it quietly1 without consultation4  ,in  
the spring of #ahia ,i shaved my        
whiskers4     ,,the ,,fifteenth         
,,milestone  #ahia-ahib   ,on ,april    
#bf1 #ahia1 the new ,tabernacle was     
opened4 ,there were three dedication    
services and thousands of people came4  
,i was fifty-nine years of age4 ,up to  
this time everything had been           
extraordinary in its conflict1 its      
warnings4 ,i found myself1 after over   
thirty years of service to the ,gospel1 
pastor of the biggest ,protestant church
 in the world4 ,it seems to me there    
were more men of indomitable success    
during my career in ,america than at any
 other time4 ,there were so many        
self-made men1 so many who compelled the
 world to listen1 and feel and do as    
they believed--men of remarkable energy1

 of prophetic genius4  ,everywhere in   
,england ,i had been asked about ,cyrus 
,w4 ,field4 ,he was the hero of the     
nineteenth century4 ,in his days of     
sickness and trouble the world          
remembered him4 ,of all the population  
of the earth he was the one man who     
believed that a wire could be strung    
across the ,atlantic4 ,it took him      
twelve years of incessant toil and fifty
 voyages across the ,atlantic4 ,i       
remember well1 in #aheg1 when the cable 
broke1 how everyone joined in the great 
chorus of ,i told you so4 ,there was a  
great jubilee in that choral society of 
wise know-nothings4 ,thirty times the   
grapnel searched the bottom of the sea  
and finally caught the broken cable1 and
 the pluck and ingenuity of ,cyrus ,w4  
,field was celebrated4 ,ocean cablegrams
 had ceased to be a curiosity1 but some 
of us remember the day when they were4  
,i kept a memorandum of the two first   
messages across the ,atlantic that      
passed between ,queen ,victoria and     

,president ,buchanan in the summer of   
#aheh4  ,from ,england1 in the ,queen's 
name1 came this3      ,to the ,president
 of the ,united ,states1 ,washington--  
,the ,queen desires to congratulate the 
,president upon the successful          
completion of this great international  
work1 in which the ,queen has     taken 
the deepest interest4 ,the ,queen is    
convinced that the     ,president will  
join with her in fervently hoping that  
the electric     cable which now        
connects ,great ,britain with the       
,united ,states will     prove an       
additional link between the nations     
whose friendship is     founded upon    
their common interest and reciprocal    
esteem4 ,the ,queen     has much        
pleasure in thus communicating with the 
,president and     renewing to him her  
wishes for the prosperity of the ,united
 ,states4  ,the ,president's answering  
cable was as follows3      ,to ,her     
,majesty ,victoria1 ,queen of ,great    
,britain--      ,the ,president         

cordially reciprocates the              
congratulations of ,her     ,majesty the
 ,queen on the success of the great     
international     enterprise            
accomplished by the science1 skill1 and 
indomitable     energy of the two       
countries4 ,it is a triumph more        
glorious than was     ever won by any   
conquest on the field of battle4 ,may   
the ,atlantic     telegraph1 under the  
blessing of ,heaven1 prove to be a bond 
of     perpetual peace and friendship   
between the kindred nations and an      
instrument designed by ,divine          
,providence to diffuse religion1        
civilisation1 liberty and law throughout
 the world4 ,in this view     will not  
all nations of ,christendom             
spontaneously unite in the              
declaration that it shall be forever    
neutral1 and that its     communications
 shall be held sacred in passing to     
their destination1     even in the midst
 of hostilities4      ,,james           
,,buchanan4  ,it is interesting to      

compare the elemental quality1 the inner
 character of these national flashes of 
feeling1 that came so comparatively soon
 after the days of the revolution in    
,america4 ,it was a sort of prose poetry
 of the new century4 ,this recollection 
came back to me1 on my return from      
,europe1 upon the opening of the new    
,tabernacle1 a symbol of the eternal    
human progress of the world4 ,materially
 and spiritually we were striving ahead1
 men of affairs1 men of religion1       
philosophers1 scientists1 and poets4  ,i
 was present in #ahia at the celebration
 of ,whittier's eighty-fourth birthday4 
,he was on the bright side of eighty    
then4 ,the schools celebrated the day1  
so should the churches have done1 for he
 was a ,christian poet4  ,john          
,greenleaf ,whittier was a ,quaker4     
,that means that he was a genial1 kind1 
good man--a simple man4 ,i spent an     
afternoon with him once in a barn4 ,we  
were summering in the mountains near by4
 ,we found ourselves in the barn1 where 

we stretched out on the hay4 ,the world 
had not spoiled the simplicity of his   
nature4 ,it was an afternoon of pastoral
 peace1 with one who had written himself
 into the heart of a nation4 ,how much  
,i learned from that man's childlikeness
 and simplicity6  ,if he had lived to be
 a hundred he would still have remained 
young4 ,the long flight of years had not
 tired his spirit1 for wherever the     
,english language is spoken he will     
always live4 ,he was born in ,christmas 
week1 a spirit in human shape1 come to  
earth to keep it forever young4 ,he was 
the bell-ringer of all youthful ages4   
,and yet he remembered also those who   
for any reason could not join in the    
merriment of the holidays4 ,to those ,i 
recommend ,whittier's poem1 in which he 
celebrates the rescue of two ,quakers   
who had been fined ,l#aj for attending  
church instead of going to a ,quaker    
,meeting ,house1 and not being able to  
pay the fine were first imprisoned and  
then sold as slaves1 but no ship master 

consenting to carry them into slavery   
they were liberated4 ,the closing stanza
 of this poem is worth remembering3--   
,now1 let the humble ones arise1        
,the poor in heart be glad1     ,and let
 the mourning ones again       ,with    
robes of praise be clad2     ,for ,he   
who cooled the furnace1       ,and      
smoothed the stormy wave1     ,and      
turned the ,chaldean lions1       ,is   
mighty still to save4  ,the new         
,tabernacle more than met our           
expectations4 ,from the day we opened   
it1 it was a great blessing4 ,it seated 
#f1jjj persons1 and when crowded held   
#g1jjj4 ,there was still some debt on   
the building1 for the entire enterprise 
had cost us about #djj1jjj4 ,there were 
regrets expressed that we did not follow
 the elaborate custom of some           
fashionable churches in these days and  
introduce into our services operatic    
music4 ,i preferred the simple form of  
sacred music--a cornet and organ4       
,everybody should get his call from     

,god1 and do his work in his own way4 ,i
 never had any sympathy with dogmatics4 
,there is no church on earth in which   
there is more freedom of utterance than 
in the ,presbyterian church4            
,illustration3 ,,the ,,third ,,brooklyn 
,,tabernacle4  ,we were in the midst of 
a religious conflict on many sacred     
questions in #ahib4 ,there came upon us 
a plague called ,higher ,criticism4 ,my 
idea of it was that ,higher ,criticism  
meant lower religion4 ,the ,bible seemed
 to me entirely satisfactory4 ,the chief
 hindrance to the ,gospel was this      
everlasting picking at the ,bible by    
people who pretended to be its friends1 
but who themselves had never been       
converted4 ,the ,higher ,criticism was  
only a flurry4 ,the world started as a  
garden and it will close as a garden4   
,that there may be no false impression  
of the sublime destiny of the world as  
,i see it1 let me add that it is not a  
garden of idleness and pleasure1 but a  
vineyard in which all must labour from  

early morning till the glory of sundown 
wraps us in its revival robes of golden 
splendour4  ,what a changing1 hurrying  
world of desperate means it is4 ,what a 
mirage of towering ambition is the whole
 of life6 ,i have so often wondered why 
men1 great men of heart and brain1      
should ever die out1 though they pass on
 to live forever under brighter skies4  
,in ,january1 #ahib1 ,congressman       
,william ,e4 ,robinson was buried from  
our church1 and in ,february of the same
 month ,spurgeon died in ,england4      
,though men may live at swords' points  
with each other they die in peace4 ,this
 last forgetfulness is some of the      
beautiful moss that grows on the ruins  
of poor human nature4  ,congressman     
,robinson was among the gifted men of   
his time4 ,his friends were giants1 his 
work was constructive1 his pen an       
instrument of literary force4 ,he landed
 in ,america with less than a sovereign 
in his pocket1 and achieved prominence  
in national and ,state affairs4 ,i knew 

him well and respected him4  ,there is  
an affinity of souls on earth and       
doubtless in heaven4 ,we seek those who 
are our kindred souls when we reach     
there4 ,in this respect ,i always feel a
 sense of gratitude1 of cheerfulness for
 those who have passed on4 ,my old      
friend1 ,charles ,h4 ,spurgeon1 in      
,february1 #ahib1 made his last journey2
 and ,i am sure that the first whom he  
picked out in heaven were the souls of  
,jonathan ,edwards and ,john            
,calvin--two men of tremendous          
evangelism4 ,i first met ,spurgeon in   
,london in #ahgb4  ,i read your sermons1
 ,i said to him first4  ,everybody reads
 yours1 he replied4  ,spurgeon made a   
long battle against disease2 the last   
few months in agony4 ,his name is on the
 honour roll of the world's history1 but
 for many years he was caricatured and  
assailed4 ,he kept a scrap-book of the  
printed blasphemy against him4 ,the     
first picture ,i ever saw of him        
represented him as sliding down the     

railing of his pulpit in the presence of
 his congregation1 to show how easy it  
was to go to hell1 and then climbing up 
on the opposite railing to show how     
difficult it was to get to heaven4 ,most
 people at the time actually believed   
that he had done this4  ,in this same   
month ,dr4 ,mackenzie1 the famous       
physician1 died1 and my old friend1 the 
,rev4 ,dr4 ,hanna of ,belfast1 the      
leading ,protestant minister of         
,ireland4 ,out of the darkness into the 
light2 out of the struggle into victory2
 out of earth into ,heaven6  ,there was 
always mercy on earth1 however1 for     
those who remained4 ,mercy6 ,the biggest
 word in the human language6 ,i remember
 how it impressed me1 when1 at the      
invitation of ,dr4 ,leslie ,keeley1 the 
inventor of the ,gold ,cure for         
drunkenness1 ,i visited his institution 
at ,dwight1 ,ill4 ,it was a new thing   
then and a most merciful miracle of the 
age4 ,it settled no question1 perhaps1  
but intensified the blessings of        

reformed thought4  ,there were questions
 that could not be solved1 however1     
questions of industrial moment that we  
almost despaired of4 ,the tariff was one
 of them4 ,i felt convinced that the    
tariff question would never be settled4 
,the grandchildren of every generation  
will always be discussing it1 and thresh
 out the same old straw which the       
,democrats and ,republicans were        
discussing before them4 ,when ,i was a  
boy only eight years old the tariff was 
discussed just as warmly as it will ever
 be4 ,like my friend ,henry ,watterson1 
of ,kentucky1 ,i was a ,free ,trader4   
,politics were so mixed up it was       
difficult to see ahead4 ,cleveland was  
after ,hill and ,hill was after         
,cleveland2 that alone was clear to     
everybody4  ,for my own satisfaction1 in
 the spring of #ahib1 ,i went to see    
what ,washington was really doing1      
thinking1 living4 ,it had improved      
morally and politically1 its streets    
were still the trail of the mighty4 ,a  

great change had taken place there4  ,a 
higher type of men had taken possession 
of our national halls4 ,duelling1 once  
common1 was entirely abolished1 and a   
,senator who would challenge a          
fellow-member to fight would make       
himself a laughing-stock4 ,no more      
clubbing of ,senators on account of     
opposite opinions6 ,mr4 ,covode of      
,pennsylvania1 no longer brandished a   
weapon over the head of ,mr4 ,barksdale 
of ,mississippi4 ,grow and ,keitt no    
more took each other by the throat4     
,griswold no more pounded ,lyon1 ,lyon  
snatching the tongs and striking back   
until the two members in a scuffle      
rolled on the floor of the great        
,american ,congress4 ,one of the        
,senators of twenty-five years ago died 
in ,flatbush ,hospital1 idiotic from his
 dissipations4 ,one member of ,congress 
,i saw years ago seated drunk on the    
curbstone in ,philadelphia1 his wife    
trying to coax him home4 ,a ,senator    
from ,new ,york many years ago on a cold

 day was picked out of the ,potomac1    
into which he had dropped through his   
intoxication1 the only time that he ever
 came so near losing his life by too    
much cold water4 ,talk not about the    
good old days1 for the new days in      
,washington were far better4 ,there was 
,john ,sherman of the ,senate1 a moral1 
high-minded1 patriotic and talented man4
 ,i said to him as ,i looked up into his
 face3 ,how tall are you8 and his answer
 was1 ,six feet one inch and a half2 and
 ,i thought to myself ,you are a tall   
man every way1 with mental stature      
over-towering like the physical4 ,there 
was ,senator ,daniel of ,virginia1      
magnetic to the last degree1 and when he
 spoke all were thrilled while they     
listened4 ,fifteen years ago1 at        
,lynchburg1 ,va41 ,i said to him3 ,the  
next time ,i see you1 ,i will see you in
 the ,united ,states ,senate4 ,no1 no1  
he replied1 ,i am not on the winning    
side4 ,i am too positive in my opinions4
 ,i greeted him amid the marble walls of

 the ,senate with the words ,didn't ,i  
tell you so8 ,yes1 he said1 ,i remember 
your prophecy4 ,there also were         
,senators ,colquitt and ,gordon of      
,georgia1 at home whether in secular or 
religious assemblages1 pronounced       
,christian gentlemen1 and both of them  
tremendous in utterance4 ,there was     
,senator ,carey of ,wyoming1 who was a  
boy in my church debating society at    
,philadelphia1 his speech at eighteen   
years demonstrating that nothing in the 
way of grand achievement would be       
impossible4 ,there was ,senator         
,manderson of ,nebraska1 his father and 
mother among my chief supporters in     
,philadelphia1 the ,senator walking     
about as though he cared nothing about  
the bullets which he had carried ever   
since the war1 of which he was one of   
the heroes4 ,brooklyn was proud of her  
,congressmen4 ,i heard our              
representative1 ,mr4 ,coombs1 speak1 and
 whether his hearers agreed or disagreed
 with his sentiments on the tariff      

question1 all realised that he knew what
 he was talking about1 and his easy     
delivery and point-blank manner of      
statement were impressive4 ,so1 also1 at
 the ,white ,house1 whether people liked
 the ,administration or disliked it1 all
 reasonable persons agreed that good    
morals presided over the nation1 and    
that well-worn jest about the big hat of
 the grandfather1 ,president ,william   
,henry ,harrison1 being too ample for   
the grandson1 ,president ,benjamin      
,harrison1 was a witticism that would   
soon be folded up and put out of sight4 
,anybody who had carefully read the #abj
 addresses delivered by ,president      
,benjamin ,harrison on his tour across  
the continent knew that he had three    
times the brain ever shown by his       
grandfather4 ,great men1 ,i noticed at  
,washington1 were great only a little   
while4 ,the men ,i saw there in high    
places fifteen years ago had nearly all 
gone4 ,one venerable man1 seated in the 
,senate near the ,vice-,president's     

chair1 had been there since he was      
introduced as a page at #aj years of age
 by ,daniel ,webster4 ,but a few years  
change the most of the occupants of high
 positions4 ,how rapidly the wheel      
turns4 ,call the roll of ,jefferson's   
,cabinet8 ,dead6 ,call the roll of      
,madison's ,cabinet8 ,dead6 ,call the   
roll of ,monroe's ,cabinet8 ,dead6 ,call
 the roll of ,pierce's ,cabinet8 ,dead6 
,call the roll of ,abraham ,lincoln's   
,cabinet8 ,dead6 ,the ,congressional    
burying ground in the city of           
,washington had then #agj cenotaphs     
raised in honour of members4  ,while ,i 
was in ,chicago1 in the spring of #ahib1
 there came about an almost national    
discussion as to whether the ,world's   
,fair should be kept open on ,sunday4   
,nearly all the ministers foresaw empty 
churches if the fair were kept open4    
,in spite of the personal malice against
 me of one of the great editors of ,new 
,york1 the people did not seem to lose  
their confidence in the ,christian      

spirit4 ,both ,dr4 ,parkhurst and myself
 were the targets of this brilliant     
man's sarcasm and satire at this time1  
but neither of us were demoralised or   
injured in the course of our separate   
ways of duty4  ,in the summer of #ahib  
the working plans of what the newspapers
 generously called my vacation took me  
to ,europe on a tour of ,great ,britain 
and ,ireland1 including a visit to      
,russia1 to await the arrival of a      
ship-load of food sent by the religious 
weekly of which ,i was editor4 ,some    
criticism was made of the way ,i worked 
instead of rested in vacation time4     
,someone asked me if ,i believed in     
dreams4 ,i said1 no2 ,i believed in     
sleep1 but not in dreams4 ,the ,lord1 in
 olden times1 revealed ,himself in      
dreams1 but ,i do not think ,he does so 
often now4 ,when ,i was at school we    
parsed from ,young's ,night ,thoughts1  
but ,i had no very pleasant memories of 
that book4 ,i had noticed that dreamers 
are often the prey of consumption4 ,it  

seems to have a fondness for exquisite  
natures--dreamy1 spiritual1 a foe of the
 finest part of the human family4 ,there
 was ,henry ,kirke ,white1 the author of
 that famous hymn1 ,when ,marshalled on 
the ,nightly ,plains1 who1 dying of     
consumption1 wrote it with two feet in  
the grave1 and recited it with power    
when he could not move from his chair4  
,we sailed on the ,new ,york1 ,june #ae1
 #ahib1 for ,europe4 ,this preaching    
tour in ,england was urged upon me by   
ties of friendship1 made years before1  
by the increased audiences ,i had       
already gained through my public        
sermons1 and of my own hearty desire to 
see them all face to face4 ,my first    
sermon in ,london was given on ,june    
#be1 #ahib1 in the ,city ,temple1 by    
invitation of that great ,english       
preacher1 ,dr4 ,joseph ,parker4 ,when my
 sermon was over1 ,dr4 ,parker said to  
his congregation3--  ,i thank ,god for  
,dr4 ,talmage's life and ministry1 and  
,i despise the man who cannot appreciate

 his services to ,christianity4 ,may he 
preach in this pulpit again6  ,on       
leaving his church ,i was obliged to    
address the crowd outside from my       
carriage4 ,nothing can be so gratifying 
to a preacher as the faith of the people
 he addresses in his faith4 ,in ,england
 the religious spirit is deeply rooted4 
,i could not help feeling1 as ,i saw    
that surging mass of men and women      
outside the ,city ,temple in ,london    
after the service1 how earnest they all 
were in their exertions to hear the     
,gospel4 ,in my own country ,i had been 
used to crowds that were more curious in
 their attitude1 less reverent of the   
occasion4 ,dr4 ,parker's description of 
the sermon after it was over expressed  
the effect of my ,gospel message upon   
that crowd in ,england4  ,he said3 ,that
 is the most sublime1 pathetic and      
impressive appeal we ever listened to4  
,it has kindled the fire of enthusiasm  
in our souls that will burn on for ever4
 ,it has unfolded possibilities of the  

pulpit never before reached4 ,it has    
stirred all hearts with the holiest     
ambition4  ,so should every sermon1     
preached in every place in the world on 
every ,sunday in the world1 be a message
 from ,god and ,his angels6  ,the       
sustaining enthusiasm of my friend1 ,dr4
 ,parker1 and his people at the ,city   
,temple1 preceded me everywhere in      
,england1 and established a series of   
experiences in my evangelical work that 
surprised and enthralled me4  ,in       
,nottingham ,i was told that ,albert    
,hall1 where ,i preached1 could not hold
 over #c1jjj people4 ,that number of    
tickets for my sermon were distributed  
from the different pulpits in the city1 
but hundreds were disappointed and      
waited for me outside afterwards4 ,this 
was no personal tribute to me1 but to   
the ,english people1 to whom my ,gospel 
message was of serious import4 ,the text
 ,i used most during this preaching tour
 was from ,daniel xi4 #b3 ,the people   
that do know their ,god shall be strong 

and do exploits4 ,it applied to the     
people of ,great ,britain and they      
responded and understood4  ,in a more   
concrete fashion ,i was privileged to   
witness also the tremendous influence of
 religious feeling in ,england at the   
banquet tendered by the ,lord ,mayor at 
the ,mansion ,house on ,july #c1 #ahib1 
to the ,archbishops and ,bishops of     
,england4 ,the ,archbishop of           
,canterbury1 the ,bishop of ,london1 and
 the diocesan bishops were present4 ,the
 ,lord ,mayor1 in his address1 said that
 the association between the ,church and
 the ,corporation of ,london had been   
close1 long1 and continuous4 ,in that   
year1 he said1 the ,church had spent on 
buildings and restorations thirty-five  
million pounds2 on home missions1 seven 
and a half millions2 on foreign         
missions1 ten millions2 on elementary   
education1 twenty-one millions2 and in  
charity1 six millions4 ,what a          
stupendous evidence of the religious    
spirit in ,england6 ,a toast was        

proposed to the ,ministers of other     
,denominations1 which included the ,rev4
 ,dr4 ,newman ,hall and myself of       
,america1 among other foreign guests4   
,to this ,i responded4  ,before leaving 
for ,russia ,i met a part of the        
,american colony in ,london at a        
reception given by ,mr4 ,lincoln1 our   
,minister to ,england4 ,we gathered to  
celebrate the ,fourth of ,july4 ,mrs4   
,mackey1 ,mrs4 ,paran ,stevens1 ,mrs4   
,bradley ,martin1 and ,mrs4 ,bonynge    
received among others4 ,phillips ,brooks
 and myself were among the clerical     
contingent1 with such ,americans abroad 
as ,colonel ,tom ,ochiltree1 ,buffalo   
,bill1 ,general and ,mrs4 ,williams1    
,a4,m4 ,palmer1 ,mrs4 ,new1 the         
,consul-,general's wife1 ,mr4 and ,mrs4 
,john ,collins1 ,senators ,farwell and  
,mc,donald4  ,while travelling in       
,england ,i saw ,john ,ruskin4 ,this    
fact contains more happiness to me than 
,i can easily make people understand4 ,i
 wanted to see him more than any other  

man1 crowned or uncrowned4 ,when ,i was 
in ,england at other times ,mr4 ,ruskin 
was always absent or sick1 but this time
 ,i found him4 ,i was visiting the ,lake
 district of ,england1 and one afternoon
 ,i took a drive that will be for ever  
memorable4 ,i said1 ,drive out to ,mr4  
,ruskin's place1 which was some eight   
miles away4 ,the landlord from whom ,i  
got the conveyance said1 ,you will not  
be able to see ,mr4 ,ruskin4 ,no one    
sees him or has seen him for years4     
,well1 ,i have a way of keeping on when 
,i start4 ,after an hour and a half of a
 delightful ride we entered the gates of
 ,mr4 ,ruskin's home4 ,the door of the  
vine-covered1 picturesque house was     
open1 and ,i stood in the hall-way4     
,handing my card to a servant ,i said1  
,i wish to see ,mr4 ,ruskin4 ,the reply 
was1 ,mr4 ,ruskin is not in1 and he     
never sees anyone4 ,disappointed1 ,i    
turned back1 took the carriage and went 
down the road4 ,i said to the driver1   
,do you know ,mr4 ,ruskin when you see  

him8 ,yes1 said he2 but ,i have not seen
 him for years4 ,we rode on a few       
moments1 then the driver cried out to   
me1 ,there he comes now4 ,in a minute we
 had arrived at where ,mr4 ,ruskin was  
walking toward us4 ,i alighted1 and he  
greeted me with a quiet manner and a    
genial smile4 ,he looked like a great   
man worn out2 beard full and tangled2   
soft hat drawn down over his forehead2  
signs of physical weakness with         
determination not to show it4 ,his valet
 walked beside him ready to help or     
direct his steps4 ,he deprecated any    
remarks appreciatory of his wonderful   
services4 ,he had the appearance of one 
whose work is completely done1 and is   
waiting for the time to start homeward4 
,he was in appearance more like myself  
than any person ,i ever saw1 and if ,i  
should live to be his age the likeness  
will be complete4  ,i did not think then
 that ,mr4 ,ruskin would ever write     
another paragraph4 ,he would continue to
 saunter along the ,english lane very   

slowly1 his valet by his side1 for a    
year or two1 and then fold his hands for
 his last sleep4 ,then the whole world  
would speak words of gratitude and      
praise which it had denied him all      
through the years in which he was       
laboriously writing ,modern ,painters1  
,the ,seven ,lamps of ,architecture1    
,the ,stones of ,venice1 and ,ethics of 
the ,dust4 ,we cannot imagine what the  
world's literature would have been if   
,thomas ,carlyle and ,john ,ruskin had  
never entered it4 ,i shall never forget 
how in the early years of my ministry ,i
 picked up in ,wynkoop's store1 in      
,syracuse1 for the first time1 one of   
,ruskin's works4 ,i read that book under
 the trees1 because it was the best     
place to read it4 ,ruskin was the first 
great interpreter of the language of    
leaves1 of clouds1 of rivers1 of lakes1 
of seas4  ,in ,july1 #ahib1a went to    
,russia4 ,it was summer in the land of  
snow and ice1 so that we saw it in the  
glow of sunny days1 in the long         

gold-tipped twilights of balmy air4 ,in 
,america we still regarded ,russia as a 
land of cruel mystery and imperial      
oppression4 ,there was as much ignorance
 about the ,russians1 their ,government1
 their country1 as there was about the  
,fiji ,islands4 ,americans had been     
taught that ,siberia was ,russia1 that  
,russia and ,siberia were the same1 one 
vast infinite waste of misery and       
cruelty4 ,granted that ,i went to       
,russia on an errand of mercy1 and as a 
representative of the most powerful     
nation in the world1 nevertheless ,i    
contend that the ,russian people and    
their ,government were hugely           
misrepresented4 ,there was no need for  
the ,emperor of ,russia to give audience
 to so humble a representative as a     
minister of the ,gospel unless he had   
been sincerely touched by the evidence  
of ,american generosity and mercy for   
his starving peasants in ,central       
,russia4 ,his courtesy and reception of 
me was a complete contradiction of his  

reported arrogance and hard-heartedness4
 ,there was no need for the ,town       
,council of ,st4 ,petersburg to honour  
myself and my party with receptions and 
dinners1 and there was no reason for the
 enthusiasm and cheers of the ,russian  
people in the streets unless they were  
intensely kind and enthusiastic in      
nature4 ,when the famine conditions     
occurred in the ten provinces of ,russia
 a relief committee was formed in ,st4  
,petersburg1 with the ,grand ,duke      
himself at the head of it1 and such men 
as ,count ,tolstoi and ,count ,bobrinsky
 in active assistance4 ,america answered
 the appeal for food1 but their was     
sincere sympathy and compassion for     
their compatriots in the imperial       
circles of ,russia4  ,in the famine     
districts1 which were vast enough to    
hold several nations1 a drought that had
 lasted for six consecutive years had   
devastated the country4 ,according to   
the estimate of the ,russian ,famine    
,relief ,committee we saved the lives of

 #abe1jjj ,russians4  ,as at the hunger 
relief stations the bread was handed    
out--for it was made into loaves and    
distributed--many people would halt     
before taking it and religiously cross  
themselves and utter a prayer for the   
donors4 ,some of them would come        
staggering back and say3--  ,please tell
 us who sent this bread to us8 ,and when
 told it came from ,america1 they would 
say3 ,what part of ,america8 ,please    
give us the names of those who sent it4 
,my visit to the ,czar of ,russia1      
,alexander ,,iii41 was made at the      
,imperial ,palace4 ,i was ushered into a
 small1 very plain apartment1 in which  
,i found the ,emperor seated alone1     
quietly engaged with his official cares4
 ,he immediately arose1 extended his    
hand with hearty cordiality1 and said in
 the purest ,english1 as he himself     
placed a chair for me beside his table1 
,doctor ,talmage1 ,i am very happy to   
meet you4  ,this was the beginning of a 
long conversation during which the      

,emperor manifested both the liveliest  
interest and thorough familiarity with  
,american politics1 and1 after a lengthy
 discussion of everything ,american1 the
 ,emperor said1 ,dr4 ,talmage1 you must 
see my eldest son1 ,nicholas1 with which
 he touched a bell1 calling his         
aide-de-camp1 who promptly summoned the 
,grand ,duke ,nicholas1 who appeared    
with the youngest daughter of the       
,emperor skipping along behind him--a   
plump1 bright little girl of probably   
eight or nine years4 ,she jumped upon   
the ,emperor's lap and threw her arms   
about his neck4 ,when she had been      
introduced to me she gave ,the ,american
 gentleman the keenest scrutiny of which
 her sparkling eyes were capable4 ,the  
,grand ,duke was a fine young man1 of   
about twenty-five years of age1 tall1 of
 athletic build1 graceful carriage1 and 
noticeably amiable features4 ,on being  
introduced to me the ,grand ,duke       
extended his hand and said1 ,dr4        
,talmage1 ,i am also glad to meet you1  

for we all feel that we have become     
acquainted with you through your        
sermons1 in which we have found much    
interest and religious edification4     
,noticing the magnificent physique of   
both father and son1 ,i asked the       
,emperor1 when the conversation turned  
incidentally upon matters of health1    
what he did to maintain such fine       
strength in the midst of all the cares  
of ,state4 ,he replied1 ,doctor1 the    
secret of my strength is in my physical 
exercise4 ,this ,i never fail to take   
regularly and freely every day before ,i
 enter upon any of the work of my       
official duties1 and to it ,i attribute 
the excellent health which ,i enjoy4    
,the ,emperor insisted that ,i should   
see the ,empress and the rest of the    
,imperial ,family1 and we proceeded to  
another equally plain1 unpretentious    
apartment where1 with her daughters1 we 
found the ,empress4 ,after a long       
conversation1 and just as ,i was        
leaving1 ,i asked the ,emperor whether  

there was much discontent among the     
nobility as a result of the emancipation
 among the serfs1 and he replied1 ,yes1 
all the trouble with my empire arises   
from the turbulence and discontent of   
the nobility4 ,the people are perfectly 
quiet and contented4  ,a reference was  
made to the possibility of war1 and ,i  
remember the fear with which the        
,empress entered into the talk just     
then1 saying ,we all dread war4 ,with   
our modern equipments it could be       
nothing short of massacre1 and from that
 we hope we may be preserved4  ,my      
presentation at ,peterhoff ,palace to   
,alexander ,,iii4 and the royal family  
of ,russia was entirely an unexpected   
event in my itinerary4 ,it was in the   
nature of a compliment to my mission1 to
 the ,american people who have          
contributed so much to the distress in  
,russia1 and to the ,christian ,church  
for which this hardhearted1 cruel ,czar 
had so much respect and so much         
interest4 ,it was said that in common   

with all ,americans ,i expected to find 
the ,emperor attired in some bomb-proof 
regalia4 ,perhaps ,i was impressed with 
the ,czar's indifference and            
fearlessness4 ,someone said to me that  
no doubt he was quite used to the       
thought of assassination4 ,i discovered1
 in a long conversation that ,i had with
 him1 that he was ready to die1 and when
 a man is ready why should he be afraid8
  ,the most significant and important   
outcome of this presentation to the     
,czar was his pledge to my countrymen   
that ,russia would always remember the  
generosity of the ,american people in   
their future relations4 ,everywhere in  
,st4 ,petersburg and ,moscow1 the       
,russian and ,american flags were       
displayed together on the public        
buildings1 so that ,i look back upon    
this occasion with a pardonable         
impression of its international         
importance4 ,there was a suggestion of  
this feeling in an address presented to 
us by the ,city ,council of ,st4        

,petersburg1 in which a graceful        
remembrance was made of that occasion in
 #ahfh1 when a special embassy from the 
,united ,states1 with ,mr4 ,g4,v4 ,fox1 
a ,cabinet officer1 at its head1 visited
 ,st4 ,petersburg and expressed sympathy
 for ,russia and its ,sovereign4        
,returning from ,russia1 ,i continued my
 preaching tour in ,england1 preaching  
to immense crowds1 estimated in the     
,english newspapers to be from fifteen  
to twenty thousand people1 in the large 
cities4 ,in ,birmingham the crowd       
followed me into the hotel1 where it was
 necessary to lock the doors to keep    
them out4 ,what incalculable kindness ,i
 received in ,england6 ,i remember a    
farewell banquet given me at the        
,crystal ,palace by twenty              
,nonconformists1 at which ,i was        
presented with a gold watch from my     
,english friends2 and a scene in        
,swansea1 when1 after my sermon1 they   
sang ,welsh hymns to me in their native 
language4  ,some people wonder how ,i   

have kept in such good humour with the  
world when ,i have been at times        
violently assailed or grossly           
misrepresented4 ,it was because the     
kindnesses towards me have predominated4
 ,for the past thirty or forty years the
 mercies have carried the day4 ,if ,i   
went to the depot there was a carriage  
to meet me4 ,if ,i tarried at the hotel 
some one mysteriously paid the bill4 ,if
 ,i were attacked in newspaper or church
 court there were always those willing  
to take up for me the cudgels4 ,if ,i   
were falsified the lie somehow turned   
out to my advantage4 ,my enemies have   
helped me quite as much as my friends4  
,if ,i preached or lectured ,i always   
had a crowd4 ,if ,i had a boil it was   
almost always in a comfortable place4   
,if my church burned down ,i got a      
better one4 ,i offered a manuscript to a
 magazine1 hoping to get for it forty   
dollars1 which ,i much needed at the    
time4 ,the manuscript was courteously   
returned as not being available2 but    

that article for which ,i could not get 
forty dollars has since1 in other uses1 
brought me forty thousand dollars4 ,the 
caricaturists have sent multitudes of   
people to hear me preach and lecture4 ,i
 have had antagonists2 but if any man of
 my day has had more warm personal      
friends ,i do not know his name4        
,,the ,,sixteenth ,,milestone           
#ahib-ahie   ,i had only one fault to   
find with the world in my sixty years of
 travel over it and that was it had     
treated me too well4 ,in the ordinary   
course of events1 and by the law of the 
,psalmist1 ,i still had ten more years  
before me2 but1 according to my own     
calculations1 life stretched brilliantly
 ahead of me as far as heart and mind   
could wish4 ,there were many things to  
take into consideration4 ,there was the 
purpose of the future1 its obligations1 
its opportunities to adjust4 ,my whole  
life had been a series of questions4 ,my
 course had been the issue of problems1 
a choice of many ways4  ,shortly after  

the dawn of #ahic the financial         
difficulties in which the ,new          
,tabernacle had been reared confronted  
us4 ,it had arisen from the ashes of its
 predecessor by sheer force of energy   
and pluck4 ,it had taken a vast amount  
of negotiation4 ,a loan of #abe1jjj1    
made to us by ,russell ,sage1 payable in
 one year at #f per cent41 was one of   
the means employed4 ,this loan was      
arranged by ,mr4 ,a4,l4 ,soulard1 the   
president of the ,german-,american      
,title and ,guarantee ,company4 ,mr4    
,sage was a friend of mine1 of my       
church1 and that was some inducement4   
,the loan was made upon the guarantee of
 the ,title ,company4 ,it was reported  
to me that ,mr4 ,sage had said at this  
time3--  ,it all depends upon whether   
,dr4 ,talmage lives or not4 ,if he      
should happen to die the ,brooklyn      
,tabernacle wouldn't be worth much4     
,the ,german-,american ,title and       
,guarantee ,company then secured an     
insurance on my life for #be1jjj and    

insisted that the ,board of ,trustees of
 the church give their individual bonds 
for the fulfillment of the mortgage4    
,the trustees were ,w4,d4 ,mead1 ,f4,h4 
,branch1 ,john ,wood1 ,c4,s4 ,darling1  
,f4,m4 ,lawrence1 and ,james ,b4        
,ferguson4 ,in this way ,mr4 ,sage      
satisfied both his religious sympathies 
and his business nature4 ,for more      
reasons than one1 therefore1 ,i kept    
myself in perfect health4 ,this was only
 one of the incidents involved in the   
building of the ,new ,tabernacle4 ,for  
two years ,i had donated my salary of   
#ab1jjj a year to the church1 and had   
worked hard incessantly to infuse it    
with life and success4 ,this information
 may serve to contradict some scattered 
impressions made by our friendly        
critics1 that my personal aim in life   
was mercenary and selfish4 ,my income   
from my lectures1 and the earnings from 
my books and published sermons1 were    
sufficient for all my needs4  ,during   
the year #ahic ,i did my best to stem   

the tide of debt and embarrassment in   
which the business elements of the      
church was involved4 ,i find an entry in
 my accounts of a check dated ,march    
#bg1 #ahic1 in ,brooklyn1 for #aj1jjj1  
which ,i donated to the ,brooklyn       
,tabernacle ,emergency ,fund4 ,there is 
a spiritual warning in almost every     
practical event of our lives1 and it    
seemed that in that year1 so            
discomforting to the ,new ,tabernacle1  
there was a spiritual warning to me     
which grew into a certainty of feeling  
that my work called me elsewhere4 ,i    
said nothing of this to anyone1 but     
quietly thought the situation over      
without haste or undue prejudice4 ,my   
,gospel field was a big one4 ,the whole 
world accepted the ,gospel as ,i        
preached it1 and ,i concluded that it   
did not make much difference where the  
pulpit was in which ,i preached4  ,after
 a full year's consideration of the     
entire outlook1 in ,january1 #ahid1 ,i  
announced my resignation as pastor of   

the ,tabernacle1 to take effect in the  
spring of that year4 ,i gave no other   
cause than that ,i felt that ,i had been
 in one place long enough4 ,an attempt  
was made by the ,press to interpret my  
action into a private difference of     
opinion with the trustees of the        
church--but this was not true4 ,all     
sorts of plans were proposed for raising
 the required sum of our expensive      
church management1 in which ,i concurred
 and laboured heartily4 ,it was said    
that ,i resigned because the trustees   
were about to decide in favour of       
charging a nominal fee of ten cents to  
attend our services4 ,i made no         
objection to this4 ,my resignation was a
 surprise to the congregation because ,i
 had not indicated my plans or intimated
 to them my own private expectations of 
the remaining years of my life4  ,on    
,sunday1 ,january #bb1 #ahid1 among the 
usual church announcements made from the
 pulpit1 ,i read the following          
statement1 which ,i had written on a    

slip of paper3--  ,this coming spring ,i
 will have been pastor of this church   
twenty-five years--a quarter of a       
century--long enough for any minister to
 preach in one place4 ,at that          
anniversary ,i will resign this pulpit1 
and it will be occupied by such person  
as you may select4  ,though the work has
 been arduous1 because of the           
unparalleled necessity of building three
 great churches1 two of them destroyed  
by fire1 the field has been delightful  
and blessed by ,god4 ,no other          
congregation has ever been called to    
build three churches1 and ,i hope no    
other pastor will ever be called to such
 an undertaking4  ,my plans after       
resignation have not been developed1 but
 ,i shall preach both by voice and      
newspaper press1 as long as my life and 
health are continued4  ,from first to   
last we have been a united people1 and  
my fervent thanks are to all the ,boards
 of ,trustees and ,elders1 whether of   
the present or past1 and to all the     

congregation1 and to ,new ,york and     
,brooklyn4  ,i have no vocabulary       
intense enough to express my gratitude  
to the newspaper press of these cities  
for the generous manner in which they   
have treated me and augmented my work   
for this quarter of a century4  ,after  
such a long pastorate it is a painful   
thing to break the ties of affection1   
but ,i hope our friendship will be      
renewed in ,heaven4  ,there was a       
sorrowful silence when ,i stopped       
reading1 which made me realise that ,i  
had tasted another bitter draft of life 
in the prospect of farewell between     
pastor and flock4 ,i left the church    
alone and went quietly to my study where
 ,i closed the door to all inquirers4   
,if my decision had been made upon any  
other ground than those of spiritual    
obligation to the purpose of my whole   
life ,i should have said so4 ,my        
decision had been made because ,i had   
been thinking of my share in the        
evangelism of the world1 and how        

mercifully ,i had been spared and       
instructed and forwarded in my ,gospel  
mission4 ,i wanted a more neighbourly   
relation with the human race than the   
prescribed limitations of a single      
pulpit4  ,in ,february1 #ahic1 ,i lost  
an evangelical neighbour of many        
years--,bishop ,brooks4 ,he was a giant1
 but he died4 ,my mind goes back to the 
time when ,bishop ,brooks and myself    
were neighbours in ,philadelphia4 ,he   
had already achieved a great reputation 
as a pulpit orator in #ahgj4 ,the first 
time ,i saw him was on a stormy night as
 he walked majestically up the aisle of 
the church to which ,i administered4 ,he
 had come to hear his neighbour1 as     
afterward ,i often went to hear him4    
,what a great and genial soul he was6   
,he was a man that people in the streets
 stopped to look at1 and strangers would
 say as he passed1 ,i wonder who that   
man is8 ,of unusual height and stature1 
with a face beaming in kindness1 once   
seeing him he was always remembered1 but

 the pulpit was his throne4 ,with a     
velocity of utterance that was the      
despair of the swiftest stenographers1  
he poured forth his impassioned soul1   
making every theme he touched luminous  
and radiant4  ,putting no emphasis on   
the mere technicalities of religion1 he 
made his pulpit flame with its power4   
,he was the special inspiration of young
 men1 and the disheartened took courage 
under the touch of his words and rose up
 healed4 ,it will take all time and all 
eternity to tell the results of his     
,christian utterances4 ,there were some 
who thought that there was here and     
there an unsafe spot in his theology4   
,as for ourselves we never found        
anything in the man or in his utterances
 that we did not like4  ,although fully 
realising that ,i was approaching a     
crisis of some sort in my own career1 it
 was with definite thankfulness for the 
mercies that had upheld me so long that 
,i forged ahead4 ,my state of mind at   
this time was peaceful and contented4 ,i

 find in a note-book of this period of  
my life the following entry1 which      
betrays the trend of my heart and mind  
during the last milestone of my ministry
 in ,brooklyn3  ,here ,i am in ,madison1
 ,wisconsin1 ,july #bc1 #ahic4 ,i have  
been attending ,monona ,lake            
,chautauqua1 lecturing yesterday1       
preaching this morning4 ,this ,sabbath  
afternoon ,i have been thinking of the  
goodness of ,god to me4 ,it began many  
years before ,i was born2 for as far    
back as ,i can find anything concerning 
my ancestry1 both on my father's and    
mother's sides1 they were virtuous and  
,christian people4 ,who shall estimate  
the value of such a pedigree8 ,the old  
cradle1 as ,i remember it1 was made out 
of plain boards1 but it was a ,christian
 cradle4 ,god has been good in letting  
us be born in a fair climate1 neither in
 the rigours of frigidity nor in the    
scorching air of tropical regions4      
,fortunate was ,i in being started in a 
home neither rich nor poor1 so that ,i  

had the temptations of neither luxury   
nor poverty4 ,fortunate in good         
health--sixty years of it4 ,i say sixty 
rather than sixty-one1 for ,i believe   
the first year or two of my life        
compassed all styles of infantile       
ailments1 from mumps to scarlet fever4  
,a quarter of a century ago1 looking at 
a pile of manuscript sermons1 ,i said   
again and again to my wife3 ',those     
sermons were not made only for the      
people who have already heard them4     
,they must have a wider field4' ,the    
prophecy came true1 and every one of    
those sermons through the press has come
 to the attention of at least           
twenty-five million people4 ,i have no  
reason to be morose or splenetic4       
',goodness and mercy have followed me   
all the days of my life4' ,here ,i am at
 #fa years of age without an ache1 a    
pain1 or a physical infirmity4 ,now     
closing a preaching and lecturing tour  
from ,georgia to ,minnesota and         
,wisconsin1 ,i am to-morrow morning to  

start for my residence at the seaside   
where my family are awaiting me1 and    
notwithstanding all the journeying and  
addressing of great audiences1 and      
shaking hands with thousands of people1 
after a couple of days' rest will be no 
more weary than when ,i left home4      
',bless the ,lord1 ,o my soul6'  ,my    
ordinary mode of passing vacations has  
been to go to ,east ,hampton1 ,long     
,island1 and thence to go out for two or
 three preaching and lecturing          
excursions to points all the way between
 ,new ,york and ,san ,francisco1 or from
 ,texas to ,maine4 ,i find that ,i      
cannot rest more than two weeks at a    
time4 ,more than that wearies me4 ,of   
all the places ,i have ever known ,east 
,hampton is the best place for quiet and
 recuperation4  ,i became acquainted    
with it through my brother-in-law1 ,rev4
 ,s4,l4 ,mershon4 ,the ,presbyterian    
church here was his first pastoral      
settlement4 ,when a boy in grammar      
school and college ,i visited him and   

his wife1 my sister ,mary4 ,the place is
 gradually submitting to modern notions1
 but ,east ,hampton1 whether in its     
antiquated shape or epauletted and      
frilled and decorated by the hand of    
modern enterprise1 has always been to me
 a semi-,paradise4  ,as ,i approach it  
my pulse is slackened and a delicious   
somnolence comes over me4 ,i dream out  
the work for another year4  ,my most    
useful sermons have been born here4 ,my 
most successful books were planned here4
 ,in this place1 between the hours of   
somnolence1 there come hours of         
illumination and ecstasy4 ,it seems far 
off from the heated and busy world4     
,east ,hampton has been a great blessing
 to my family4 ,it has been a mercy to  
have them here1 free from all summer    
heats4 ,when nearly grown1 the place is 
not lively enough for them1 but an      
occasional diversion to ,white ,sulphur1
 or ,alum ,springs1 or a summer in      
,europe1 has given them abundant        
opportunity4 ,all my children have been 

with us in ,europe1 except my departed  
son1 ,de,witt1 who was at a most        
important period in school at the time  
of our going1 or he would have been with
 us on one of our foreign tours4  ,i    
have crossed the ocean twelve times1    
that is six each way1 and like it less  
and less4 ,it is to me a stomachic      
horror4 ,but the frequent visits have   
given educational opportunity to my     
children4 ,foreign travel1 and lecturing
 and preaching excursions in our own    
country have been to me a stimulus1     
while ,east ,hampton has been to me a   
sedative and anodyne4 ,for this         
beautiful medicament ,i am profoundly   
thankful4  ,but ,i am writing this in   
the new house that we have builded in   
place of our old one4 ,it is far more   
beautiful and convenient and valuable   
than the old one1 but ,i doubt if it    
will be any more useful4 ,and a railroad
 has been laid out1 and before summer is
 passed the shriek of a locomotive will 
awaken all the ,rip ,van ,winkles that  

have been slumbering here since before  
the first almanac was printed4  ,the    
task of remembering the best of one's   
life is a pleasant one4 ,under date of  
,december #bj1 #ahic1 ,i find another   
recollection in my note-book that is    
worth amplifying4  ,this morning1       
passing through ,frankfort1 ,kentucky1  
on my way from ,lexington1 at the close 
of a preaching and lecturing tour of    
nearly three weeks1 ,i am reminded of a 
most royal visit that ,i had here at    
,frankfort as the guest of ,governor    
,blackburn1 at the gubernatorial mansion
 about ten years ago4  ,i had made an   
engagement to preach twice at ,high     
,bridge1 ,ky41 a famous camp meeting4   
,governor ,blackburn telegraphed me to  
,brooklyn asking when and where ,i would
 enter ,kentucky1 as he wished to meet  
me on the border of the ,state and      
conduct me to the ,high ,bridge         
services4 ,we met at ,cincinnati4       
,crossing the ,ohio ,river1 we found the
 ,governor's especial car with its      

luxurious appointments and group of     
servants to spread the table and wait on
 every want4 ,the ,governor1 a most     
fascinating and splendid man1 with a    
warmth of cordiality that glows in me   
every time ,i recall his memory1        
entertained me with the story of his    
life which had been a romance of mercy  
in the healing art1 he having been      
elected to his high office in           
appreciation of his heroic services as  
physician in time of yellow fever4  ,at 
,lexington a brusque man got on our car1
 and we entered with him into vigorous  
conversation4 ,i did not hear his name  
on introduction1 and ,i felt rather     
sorry that the ,governor should have    
invited him into our charming seclusion4
 ,but the stranger became such an       
entertainer as a colloquialist1 and     
demonstrated such extraordinary         
intellectuality1 ,i began to wonder who 
he was1 and ,i addressed him1 saying1   
,sir1 ,i did not hear your name when you
 were introduced4 ,he replied1 ',my name

 is ,beck--,senator ,beck4' ,then and   
there began one of the most entertaining
 friendships of my life4 ,great ,scotch 
soul6 ,beck came a poor boy from        
,scotland to ,america1 hired himself out
 for farm work in ,kentucky1 discovered 
to his employer a fondness for reading1 
was offered free access to his          
employer's large library1 and marched   
right up into education and the legal   
profession and the ,senate of the       
,united ,states4  ,that day we got out  
of the train at ,high ,bridge4 ,my      
sermon was on ,the ,divinity of the     
,scriptures4 ,directly in front of me1  
and with most intense look1 whether of  
disapprobation or approval ,i knew not1 
sat the ,senator4 ,on the train back to 
,lexington1 where he took me in his     
carriage on a long ride amid the scenes 
of ,clayiana1 he told me the sermon had 
re-established his faith in             
,christianity1 for he had been brought  
up to believe the ,bible as most of the 
people in ,scotland believe it4 ,but ,i 

did not know all that transpired that   
day at ,high ,bridge until after the    
,senator was dead1 and ,i was in        
,lexington1 and visited his grave at the
 cemetery where he sleeps amid the      
mighty ,kentuckians who have adorned    
their ,state4  ,on this last visit that 
,i speak of1 a young man connected with 
the ,phoenix ,hotel1 ,lexington1 where  
,senator ,beck lived much of the time1  
and where he entertained me1 told me    
that on the morning of the day that     
,senator ,beck went with me to ,high    
,bridge he had been standing in that    
hotel among a group of men who were     
assailing ,christianity1 and expressing 
surprise that ,senator ,beck was going  
to ,high ,bridge to hear a sermon4 ,when
 we got to the hotel that afternoon the 
same group of men were standing         
together1 and were waiting to hear the  
,senator's report of the service1 and   
hoping to get something to the          
disadvantage of religion4 ,my informant 
heard them say to him1 ,well1 how was   

it8 ,the ,senator replied1 ,doctor      
,talmage proved the truth of the ,bible 
as by a mathematical demonstration4 ,now
 talk to me no more on that subject4    
,on ,sunday morning ,i returned to ,high
 ,bridge for another preaching service4 
,governor ,blackburn again took us in   
his especial car4 ,the word immensity   
may give adequate idea of the audience  
present4 ,then the ,governor insisted   
that ,i go with him to ,frankfort and   
spend a few days4 ,they were memorable  
days to me4 ,at breakfast1 lunch and    
dinner the prominent people of ,kentucky
 were invited to meet me4 ,mrs4         
,blackburn took me to preach to her     
,bible ,class in the ,state ,prison4 ,i 
think there were about #hjj convicts in 
that class4 ,paul would have called her 
,the elect lady1 ,thoroughly furnished  
unto all good works4 ,heaven only can   
tell the story of her usefulness4 ,what 
days and nights they were at the        
,governor's ,mansion4 ,no one will ever 
understand the heartiness and generosity

 and warmth of ,kentucky hospitality    
until he experiences it4  ,president    
,arthur was coming through ,lexington on
 his way to open an ,exposition at      
,louisville4 ,governor ,blackburn was to
 go to ,lexington to receive him and    
make a speech4 ,the ,governor read me   
the speech in the ,state ,house before  
leaving ,frankfort1 and asked for my    
criticism4 ,it was an excellent speech  
about which ,i made only one criticism1 
and that concerning a sentence in which 
he praised the beautiful women and the  
fine horses of ,kentucky4 ,i suggested  
that he put the human and the equine    
subjects of his admiration in different 
sentences1 and this suggestion he       
adopted4  ,we started for ,lexington and
 arrived at the hotel4 ,soon the throngs
 in the streets showed that the         
,president of the ,united ,states was   
coming4 ,the ,president was escorted    
into the parlour to receive the address 
of welcome1 and seeing me in the throng1
 he exclaimed1 ,dr4 ,talmage6 ,are you  

here8 ,it makes me feel at home to see  
you4 ,the ,governor put on his          
spectacles and began to read his speech1
 but the light was poor1 and he halted  
once or twice for a word1 when ,i was   
tempted to prompt him1 for ,i remembered
 his speech better than he did himself4 
,that day ,i bade good-bye to ,governor 
,blackburn1 and ,i saw him two or three 
times after that1 once in my church in  
,brooklyn and once in ,louisville       
lecture hall1 where he stood at the door
 to welcome me as ,i came in from ,new  
,orleans on a belated train at half-past
 nine o'clock at night when ,i ought to 
have begun my lecture at #h o'clock2 and
 the last time ,i saw him he was sick   
and in sad decadence and near the       
terminus of an eventful life4 ,one of my
 brightest anticipations of ,heaven is  
that of seeing my illustrious ,kentucky 
friend4  ,that experience at ,frankfort 
was one of the many courtesies ,i have  
received from all the leading men of all
 the ,states4 ,i have known many of the 

,governors1 and ,legislatures1 when ,i  
have looked in upon them1 have adjourned
 to give me reception1 a speech has     
always been called for1 and then a      
general hand-shaking has followed4 ,it  
was markedly so with the ,legislatures  
of ,ohio and ,missouri4 ,at ,jefferson  
,city1 the capital of ,missouri1 both   
,houses of ,legislature adjourned and   
met together in the ,assembly ,room1    
which was the larger place1 and then the
 ,governor introduced me for an address4
  ,it is a satisfaction to be kindly    
treated by the prominent characters of  
your own time4 ,i confess to a feeling  
of pleasure when ,general ,grant1 at the
 ,memorial ,services at ,greenwood--,i  
think the last public meeting he ever   
attended1 and where ,i delivered the    
,memorial ,address on ,decoration       
,day--said that he had read with        
interest everything that appeared       
connected with my name4 ,president      
,arthur1 at the ,white ,house one day1  
told me the same thing4  ,whenever by   

the mysterious laws of destiny ,i found 
myself in the cave of the winds of      
displeasure1 there always came to me    
encouraging echoes from somewhere4 ,i   
find among my papers at this time a     
telegram from the ,russian ,ambassador  
in ,washington1 which illustrates this  
idea4  ,this message read as follows3-- 
,washington1 ,d4,c41 ,may #bj1 #ahic4   
,to ,rev4 ,t4 ,de,witt ,talmage1 ,bible 
,house1 ,new ,york4      ,i would be    
very glad to see you on the #bgth of    
,may in ,philadelphia     on board the  
,russian flagship ',dimitry ,donskoy' at
 eleven o'clock1     to tender to you in
 presence of our brilliant sailors and  
on ,russian     soil1 a souvenir ,his   
,majesty the ,emperor ordered me to give
 in his     name to the ,american       
gentleman who visited ,russia during the
 trying     year #ahib4                 
,,cantacuzene4  ,gladly ,i obeyed this  
request1 and was presented1 amid        
imperial ceremonies1 with a magnificent 
solid gold tea service from the ,emperor

 ,alexander ,,iii4 ,these were the sort 
of appreciative incidents so often      
happening in my life that infused my    
work with encouragements4  ,the months  
preceding the close of my ministry in   
,brooklyn developed a remarkable        
interest shown among those to whom my   
name had become a symbol of the ,gospel 
message4 ,there was a universal1        
world-wide recognition of my work4 ,many
 regretted my decision to leave the     
,brooklyn ,tabernacle1 some doubted that
 ,i actually intended to do so1 others  
foretold a more brilliant future for me 
in the open trail of ,gospel service    
they expected me to follow4  ,all this  
enthusiasm expressed by my friends of   
the world culminated in a celebration   
festival given in honour of the         
twenty-fifth anniversary of my pastorate
 in ,brooklyn4 ,the movement spread all 
over the country and to ,europe4 ,it was
 decided to make the occasion a sort of 
,international reception1 to be held in 
the ,tabernacle on ,may #aj and #aa1    

#ahid4  ,i had made my plans for a wide 
glimpse of the earth and the people on  
it who knew me1 but whom ,i had never   
seen4 ,i had made preparations to start 
on ,may #ad1 and the dates set for this 
jubilee were arranged on the eve of my  
farewell4 ,i was about to make a        
complete circuit of the globe1 and      
whatever my friends expected me to do   
otherwise ,i approached this occasion   
with a very definite conclusion that it 
would be my farewell to ,brooklyn4  ,i  
recall this event in my life with keen  
contrasts of feeling1 for it is mingled 
in my heart with swift impressions of   
extraordinary joy and tragic import4    
,all of it was ,god's will--the blessing
 and the chastening4  ,the church had   
been decorated with the stars and       
stripes1 with gold and purple4 ,in front
 of the great organ1 under a huge       
picture of the pastor1 was the motto    
that briefly described my evangelical   
career3--  ,tabernacle his pulpit2 the  
world his audience4  ,the reception     

began at eight o'clock in the evening   
with a selection on the great organ1 by 
,henry ,eyre ,brown1 our organist1 of an
 original composition written by him and
 called1 in compliment to the occasion1 
,the ,talmage ,silver ,anniversary      
,march4 ,on the speaker's platform with 
me were ,mayor ,schieren1 of ,brooklyn1 
,mr4 ,barnard ,peters1 ,rev4 ,father    
,sylvester ,malone1 ,rev4 ,dr4 ,john ,f4
 ,carson1 ex-,mayor ,david ,a4 ,boody1  
,rev4 ,dr4 ,gregg1 ,rabbi ,f4 ,de ,sol  
,mendes1 ,rev4 ,dr4 ,louis ,albert      
,banks1 ,hon4 ,john ,winslow1 ,rev4     
,spencer ,f4 ,roche1 and ,rev4 ,a4,c4   
,dixon--an undenominational gathering of
 good men4 ,there is1 perhaps1 no better
 way to record my own impressions of    
this event than to quote the words with 
which ,i replied to the complimentary   
speeches of this oration4 ,they recall1 
more closely and positively1 the        
sensibilities1 the emotions1 and the    
inspiration of that hour3      ,dear    
,mr4 ,mayor1 and friends before me1 and 

friends behind me1 and     friends all  
around me1 and friends hovering over me1
 and friends in     this room1 and the  
adjoining rooms1 and friends indoors and
     outdoors--forever photographed upon
 my mind and heart is this scene     of 
,may #aj1 #ahid4 ,the lights1 the flags1
 the decorations1 the     flowers1 the  
music1 the illumined faces will remain  
with me while     earthly life lasts1   
and be a cause of thanksgiving after ,i 
have     passed into the ,great ,beyond4
 ,two feelings dominate me              
to-night--gratitude and unworthiness2   
gratitude first to ,god1 and     next1  
to all who have complimented me4        
,my twenty-five years in ,brooklyn have 
been happy years--hard work1     of     
course4 ,this is the fourth church in   
which ,i have preached since     coming 
to ,brooklyn1 and how much of the       
difficult work of church     building   
that implies you can appreciate4 ,this  
church had its mother     and its       
grandmother1 and its great-grandmother4 

,i could not tell the     story of      
disasters without telling the story of  
heroes and heroines1     and around me  
in all these years have stood men and   
women of whom     the world was not     
worthy4 ,but for the most part the      
twenty-five     years have been to me a 
great happiness4 ,with all good people  
here     present the wonder is1 although
 they may not express it1 ',what will   
be the effect upon the pastor of this   
church2 of all this scene8'     ,only   
one effect1 ,i assure you1 and that an  
inspiration for better     work for ,god
 and humanity4 ,and the question is     
already absorbing my     entire nature1 
',what can ,i do to repay ,brooklyn for 
this great     uprising8' ,here is my   
hand and heart for a campaign of harder 
work     for ,god and righteousness than
 ,i have ever yet accomplished4 ,i have 
been told that sometimes in the ,alps   
there are great avalanches     called   
down by a shepherd's voice4 ,the pure   
white snows pile up     higher and      

higher like a great white throne1       
mountains of snow on     mountains of   
snow1 and all this is so delicately and 
evenly poised     that the touch of a   
hand or the vibration of air caused by  
the human     voice will send down the  
avalanche into the valleys with         
all-compassing and overwhelming power4  
,well1 to-night ,i think that     the   
heavens above us are full of pure white 
blessings1 mountains of     mercy on    
mountains of mercy1 and it will not take
 much to bring down     the avalanche of
 benediction1 and so ,i put up my right 
hand to reach     it and lift my voice1 
to start it4 ,and now let the avalanche 
of     blessing come upon your bodies1  
your minds1 your souls1 your homes1     
your churches1 and your city4 ,blessed  
be the ,lord ,god of ,israel from       
everlasting to everlasting1 and let the 
whole earth be filled with     ,his     
glory6 ,amen and ,amen6  ,on the next   
day1 ,may #aa1 the reception was        
continued4 ,among the speakers was the  

,hon4 ,william ,m4 ,evarts1             
ex-,secretary of ,state1 who1 though    
advanced in years1 honoured us with his 
presence and an address4 ,senator       
,walsh1 of ,georgia1 spoke for the      
,south2 ex-,congressman ,joseph ,c4     
,hendrix of ,brooklyn1 ,rev4 ,charles   
,l4 ,thompson1 ,murat ,halstead1 ,rev4  
,dr4 ,i4,j4 ,lansing1 ,general ,tracey1 
were among the other speakers of the    
evening4  ,from ,st4 ,petersburg came a 
cable1 signed by ,count ,bobrinsky1     
saying3--,heartfelt congratulations from
 remembering friends4  ,messages from   
,senator ,john ,sherman1 from ,governor 
,mc,kinley 7before he became            
,president71 from ,mr4 ,gladstone1 from 
,rev4 ,joseph ,parker1 and among others 
from ,london1 the following cable1 which
 ,i shall always prize among the        
greatest testimonials of the broad      
,gospel purpose in ,england--           
,cordial congratulations2 grateful      
acknowledgment of splendid     services 
in ministry during last twenty-five     

years4 ,warm wishes for     future      
prosperity4      7,signed7              
,,archdeacon ,,of ,,london1     ,,canon 
,,wilberforce4     ,,thomas ,,davidson4 
,,professor ,,simpson4     ,,john       
,,lobb4     ,,bishop ,,of ,,london4     
,appreciation1 good cheer1 encouragement
 swept around and about me1 as ,i was to
 start on what ,dr4 ,gregg described as 
,a walk among the people of my          
congregation around the world4  ,the    
following ,sunday1 ,may #ac1 #ahid1 just
 after the morning service1 the         
,tabernacle was burned to the ground4   
,,the ,,seventeenth ,,milestone         
#ahie-ahih   ,among the mysteries that  
are in every man's life1 more or less   
influencing his course1 is the mystery  
of disaster that comes upon him         
noiselessly1 suddenly1 horribly4 ,the   
destruction of the ,new ,tabernacle by a
 fire which started in the organ loft   
was one of these mysteries that will    
never be revealed this side of eternity4
 ,the destruction of any church1 no     

matter how large or how popular1 does   
not destroy our faith in ,god4 ,great as
 the disaster had been1 much greater was
 the mercy of ,divine mystery that      
prevented a worse calamity in the loss  
of human life4 ,the fire was discovered 
just after the morning service1 and     
everyone had left the building but      
myself1 ,mrs4 ,talmage1 the organist1   
and one or two personal friends4 ,we    
were standing in the centre aisle of the
 church when a puff of smoke suddenly   
came out of the space behind the organ4 
,in less than fifteen minutes from that 
discovery the huge pipe organ was a     
raging furnace1 and ,i personally       
narrowly escaped the falling debris by  
the rear door of my church study4 ,the  
flags and decoration which had been put 
up for the jubilee celebration had not  
been moved1 and they whetted the        
appetite of the flames4 ,it was all     
significant to me of one thing chiefly1 
that at some points of my life ,i had   
been given no choice4 ,at these places  

of surprise in my life there was never  
any doubt about what ,i had to do4      
,god's way is very clear and visible    
when the ,divine purpose is intended for
 you4  ,i had delivered that morning my 
farewell sermon before departing on a   
long journey around the world4 ,my      
prayer1 in which the silent sympathy of 
a vast congregation joined me1 had      
invoked the ,divine protection and      
blessing upon us1 upon all who were     
present at that time1 upon all who had  
participated in the great jubilee       
service of the preceding week4 ,on the  
tablets of memory ,i had recalled all   
the kindnesses that had been shown our  
church by other churches and other      
pastors on that occasion4 ,the general  
feeling of my prayer had been an        
outpouring of heartfelt gratitude for   
myself and my flock4 ,as ,i have said   
before1 ,god speaks loudest in the      
thunder of our experiences4 ,there were 
several narrow escapes1 for the fire    
spread with great rapidity1 but1        

fortunately1 all escaped from the doomed
 building in time4 ,mr4 ,frederick ,w4  
,lawrence and ,mr4 ,t4,e4 ,matthews1    
both of them trustees of the church1    
were exposed to serious danger and their
 escape was providential4 ,mr4 ,lawrence
 crept out on his hands and knees to the
 open air1 and ,mr4 ,matthews was almost
 suffocated when he reached the street4 
,the flames spread rapidly in the       
neighbourhood and destroyed the ,hotel  
,regent1 adjoining the church4 ,at my   
home that day there were many messages  
of sympathy and condolence brought to   
me1 and neighbouring churches sent      
committees to tender the use of their   
pulpits4 ,in the afternoon the          
,tabernacle trustees met at my house and
 submitted the following letter1 which  
was adopted3--      ,,dear ,,dr4        
,,talmage4--,with saddened hearts1 but  
undismayed1 and with     faith in ,god  
unshaken and undisturbed1 the trustees  
of the ,brooklyn     ,tabernacle have   
unanimously resolved to rebuild the     

,tabernacle4 ,we     find that after    
paying the present indebtedness there   
will be     nothing left to begin with4 
,but if we can feel assured that our    
dear pastor will continue to     break  
the bread of life to us and to the great
 multitudes that are     accustomed to  
throng the ,tabernacle1 we are willing  
to undertake the     work1 firmly       
believing that we can safely count upon 
the blessing of     ,god and the        
practical sympathy of all ,christian    
people4      ,will you kindly give us   
the encouragement of your promise to    
serve     the ,tabernacle as its pastor1
 if we will dedicate a new building     
free from debt1 to the honour1 the      
glory1 and the service of ,god8         
,,trustees ,,of ,,the ,,tabernacle4     
,on reading this letter1 or rather      
hearing it read to me1 in the impulse of
 gratitude ,i replied in like sympathy4 
,i thanked them1 and remembering that ,i
 had buried their dead1 baptised their  
children and married the young1 my heart

 was with them4 ,i sincerely felt then1 
and perhaps ,i always did feel1 that ,i 
would rather serve them than any other  
people on the face of the earth4 ,it was
 my conclusion that if the trustees     
could fulfil the conditions they had    
mentioned1 of building a new            
,tabernacle1 free of debt1 ,i would     
remain their pastor4  ,my date for      
beginning my journey around the world   
had been ,may #ad1 the day following the
 disaster4 ,before leaving1 however1 ,i 
dictated the following communication to 
my friends and the friends of my        
ministry everywhere3--      ,our church 
has again been halted by a sword of     
flame4 ,the     destruction of the first
 ,brooklyn ,tabernacle was a mystery4   
,the     destruction of the second a    
greater--profound4 ,the third calamity  
we     adjourn to the ,judgment ,day for
 explanation4 ,the home of a vast       
multitude of souls1 it has become a heap
 of ashes4 ,whether it will     ever    
rise again is a prophecy we will not    

undertake4 ,god rules and     reigns and
 makes no mistake4 ,he has ,his way with
 churches as with     individuals4 ,one 
thing is certain3 the pastor of the     
,brooklyn     ,tabernacle will continue 
to preach as long as life and health    
last4     ,we have no anxieties about a 
place to preach in4 ,but woe is unto us 
if we preach not the ,gospel6 ,we ask   
for the prayers of all good     people  
for the pastor and people of the        
,brooklyn ,tabernacle4      ,t4 ,,dewitt
 ,,talmage4  ,at half past nine o'clock 
on the night of ,may #ad1 #ahid1 ,i     
descended the front steps of my home in 
,brooklyn1 ,n4,y4 ,the sensation of     
leaving for a journey around the world  
was not all bright anticipation4 ,the   
miles to be travelled were numerous1 the
 seas to be crossed treacherous1 the    
solemnities outnumbered the             
expectations4 ,my family accompanied me 
to the railroad train1 and my thought   
was should we ever meet again8 ,the     
climatic changes1 the ships1 the shoals1

 the hurricanes1 the bridges1 the cars1 
the epidemics1 the possibilities hinder 
any positiveness of prophecy4 ,i        
remembered the consoling remark at my   
reception a few evenings ago1 made by   
the ,hon4 ,william ,m4 ,evarts4  ,he    
said3 ,dr4 ,talmage ought to realise    
that if he goes around the world he will
 come out at the same place he started4 
,the timbers of our destroyed church    
were still smoking when ,i left home4   
,three great churches had been consumed4
 ,why this series of huge calamities ,i 
knew not4 ,had ,i not made all the      
arrangements for departure1 and been    
assured by the trustees of my church    
that they would take all further        
responsibilities upon themselves1 ,i    
would have postponed my intended tour or
 adjourned it for ever2 but all whom ,i 
consulted told me that now was the time 
to go1 so ,i turned my face towards the 
,golden ,gate4  ,in a book called ,the  
,earth ,girdled1 ,i have published all  
the facts of this journey4 ,it contains 

so completely the daily record of my    
trip that there is no necessity to      
repeat any of its contents in these     
pages4  ,i returned to the ,united      
,states in the autumn of #ahid and      
entered actively into a campaign of     
preaching wherever a pulpit was         
available4 ,of course there was much    
curiosity and interest to know how ,i   
was going to pursue my ,gospel work1    
having resigned my pastorate in         
,brooklyn4 ,on ,sunday1 ,january #f1    
#ahie1 ,i commenced a series of         
afternoon ,gospel meetings in the       
,academy of ,music1 ,new ,york1 every   
,sunday4 ,because the pastors of other  
churches had written me that an         
afternoon service was the only one that 
would not interfere with their regular  
services1 ,i selected that time1        
otherwise ,i would much have preferred  
the morning or the evening4 ,i decided  
to go to ,new ,york because for many    
years friends over there had been       
begging me to come4 ,i regarded it as   

absurd and improbable to expect the     
people of ,brooklyn to build a fourth   
,tabernacle1 so ,i went in the direction
 that ,i felt would give me the largest 
opportunity in the world4  ,i continued 
to reside in ,brooklyn pending future   
plans4 ,i liked ,brooklyn immensely--not
 only the people of my own former       
parish1 but prominent people of all     
churches and denominations there are my 
warm personal friends4 ,any particular  
church in which ,i preached thereafter  
was only the candlestick4 ,in different 
parts of the world my sermons were      
published in more than ten million      
copies every week4 ,how many readers saw
 them no one can say positively4 ,those 
sermons came back to me in book form in 
almost every language of ,europe4  ,my  
arrangements at the ,academy of ,music  
were not the final plans for my ,gospel 
work4 ,i expected1 however1 to gather   
from these ,gospel meetings sufficient  
guidance to decide my field of work for 
the rest of my life4 ,i felt then that  

,i was yet to do my best work free from 
all hindrances4 ,i looked forward to    
fully twenty years of good hard work    
before me4  ,over nine churches in my   
own country1 and several in ,england1   
had made very enthusiastic offers to me 
to accept a permanent pastoral          
obligation4 ,for some reason or other ,i
 became more and more convinced1        
however1 that the divine intention in my
 life from this time on would be        
different from any previous plan4 ,the  
only reason that ,i declined to accept  
these offers was because there was      
enough work for me to do outside a      
permanent pulpit4  ,my literary work    
became extensive in its demand upon my  
time1 and my weekly sermons were like a 
sacred obligation that ,i could not     
forego4 ,i never found any difficulty in
 finding a pulpit from which to preach  
every ,sunday of my life4 ,there were   
some ministers who preferred to sandwich
 me in between regular hours of worship1
 if possible1 so as to maintain the even

 course of their way and avoid the      
crowds4 ,i never could avoid them and ,i
 never wanted to4 ,i was never nervous1 
as many people are1 of a crowded        
place--of a panic4  ,the sudden         
excitement to which we give the name of 
panic is almost always senseless and    
without foundation1 whether this panic  
be a wild rush in the money market or   
the stampede of an audience down the    
aisles and out of the windows4 ,my      
advice to my family when they are in a  
congregation of people suddenly seized  
upon by a determination to get out right
 away1 and to get out regardless as to  
whether others are able to get out1 is  
to sit quiet on the supposition that    
nothing has happened1 or is going to    
happen4  ,i have been in a large number 
of panics1 and in all the cases nothing 
occurred except a demonstration of      
frenzy4 ,one night in the ,academy of   
,music1 ,brooklyn1 while my congregation
 were worshipping there1 at the time we 
were rebuilding one of our churches1    

there occurred a wild panic4 ,there was 
a sound that gave the impression that   
the galleries were giving way under the 
immense throngs of people4 ,i had been  
preaching about ten minutes when at the 
alarming sound aforesaid1 the whole     
audience rose to their feet except those
 who fainted4 ,hundreds of voices were  
in full shriek4 ,before me ,i saw strong
 men swoon4 ,the organist fled the      
platform4 ,in an avalanche people went  
down the stairs4 ,a young man left his  
hat and overcoat and sweetheart1 and    
took a leap for life1 and it is doubtful
 whether he ever found his hat or coat1 
although1 ,i suppose1 he did recover his
 sweetheart4 ,terrorisation reigned4 ,i 
shouted at the top of my voice1 ,sit    
down6 but it was a cricket addressing a 
cyclone4 ,had it not been that the      
audience for the most part were so      
completely packed in1 there must have   
been a great loss of life in the        
struggle4 ,hoping to calm the multitude 
,i began to sing the long meter         

doxology1 but struck it at such a high  
pitch that by the time ,i came to the   
second line ,i broke down4 ,i then      
called to a gentleman in the orchestra  
whom ,i knew could sing well3 ,thompson1
 can't you sing better than that8       
whereupon he started the doxology again4
 ,by the time we came to the second line
 scores of voices had joined1 and by the
 time we came to the third line hundreds
 of voices enlisted1 and the last line  
marshalled thousands4 ,before the last  
line was reached ,i cried out1 ,as ,i   
was saying when you interrupted me1 and 
then went on with my sermon4 ,the cause 
of the panic was the sliding of the snow
 from one part of the roof of the       
,academy to another part4 ,that was all4
 ,but no one who was present that night 
will ever forget the horrors of the     
scene4  ,on the following ,wednesday ,i 
was in the large upper room of the      
college at ,lewisburg1 ,pa42 ,i was     
about to address the students4 ,no more 
people could get into this room1 which  

was on the second or third storey4 ,the 
,president of the college was           
introducing me when some inflammable    
,christmas greens1 which had some six   
months before been wound around a pillar
 in the centre of the room1 took fire1  
and from floor to ceiling there was a   
pillar of flame4 ,instantly the place   
was turned from a jolly commencement    
scene1 in which beauty and learning and 
congratulation commingled1 into a raving
 bedlam of fright and uproar4 ,the panic
 of the previous ,sunday night in the   
,academy of ,music1 ,brooklyn1 had      
schooled me for the occasion1 and ,i saw
 at a glance that when the ,christmas   
greens were through burning all would be
 well4  ,one of the professors said to  
me1 ,you seem to be the only composed   
person present4 ,i replied1 ,yes1 ,i got
 prepared for this by something which ,i
 saw last ,sunday in ,brooklyn4  ,so ,i 
give my advice3 ,on occasions of panic1 
sit still2 in #iii cases out of a       
thousand there is nothing the matter4   

,i was not released from my pastorate of
 the ,brooklyn ,tabernacle by the       
,brooklyn ,presbytery until ,december1  
#ahid1 after my return from abroad4     
,some explanation was demanded of me by 
members of the ,presbytery for my       
decision to relinquish my pastorate1 and
 ,i read the following statement which  
,i had carefully prepared4 ,it concerns 
these pages because it is explanatory of
 the causes which carried me over many  
crossroads1 encountered everywhere in my
 life3      ,to the ,brooklyn           
,presbytery--      ,dear                
,brethren1--,after much prayer and      
solemn consideration ,i apply     for   
the dissolution of the pastoral relation
 existing between the     ,brooklyn     
,tabernacle and myself4 ,i have only one
 reason for asking     this4 ,as you all
 know1 we have1 during my pastorate1    
built three     large churches and they 
have been destroyed4 ,if ,i remain      
pastor we     must undertake the        
superhuman work of building a fourth    

church4 ,i do     not feel it my duty to
 lead in such an undertaking4 ,the plain
     providential indications are that  
my work in the ,brooklyn ,tabernacle    
is concluded4 ,let me say1 however1 to  
the ,presbytery1 that ,i do not         
intend to go into idleness1 but into    
other service quite as arduous     as   
that in which ,i have been engaged4     
,expecting that my request will     be  
granted ,i take this opportunity of     
expressing my love for all the          
brethren in the ,presbytery with whom ,i
 have been so long and so     pleasantly
 associated1 and to pray for them and   
the churches they     represent the best
 blessings that ,god can bestow4--,yours
 in the     ,gospel1      ,t4 ,,dewitt  
,,talmage4  ,the following resolution   
was then offered by the ,presbytery as  
follows3      ,resolved--,that the      
,presbytery1 while yielding to ,dr4     
,talmage's     earnest petition for the 
dissolution of the relationship existing
     between the ,brooklyn ,tabernacle  

and himself1 expresses its deep         
regret at the necessity for such action1
 and wishes ,dr4 ,talmage     abundant  
success in any field in which in the    
providence of ,god he     may be called 
to labour4 ,presbytery also expresses   
its profound     sympathy with the      
members of the ,tabernacle ,church in   
the loss of     their honoured and      
loving pastor1 and cordially commends   
them to go     forward in all the work  
of the church4  ,in ,october1 #ahie1 ,i 
accepted the call of the ,first         
,presbyterian ,church in ,washington4   
,my work was to be an association with  
the ,rev4 ,dr4 ,byron ,w4 ,sunderland1  
the ,president's pastor4 ,it was ,dr4   
,sunderland's desire that ,i should do  
this1 and although there had been some  
intention in ,dr4 ,sunderland's mind to 
resign his pastorate on account of      
ill-health ,i advocated a joint         
pastorate4 ,there were invitations from 
all parts of the world for me to preach 
at this time4 ,i had calls from churches

 in ,melbourne1 ,australia2 ,toronto1   
,canada2 ,san ,francisco1 ,california2  
,louisville1 ,kentucky2 ,chicago1       
,illinois2 ,new ,york ,city2 ,brooklyn1 
,n4,y4 ,london had pledged me a larger  
edifice than ,spurgeon's ,tabernacle4   
,all these cities1 in fact1 promised to 
build big churches for me if ,i would go
 there to preach4  ,the call which came 
to me from ,washington was as follows3  
,rev4 ,dr4 ,t4 ,de,witt ,talmage--      
,the congregation of the ,first         
,presbyterian ,church1 of ,washington1  
,d4,c41 being on sufficient grounds well
 satisfied of the ministerial           
qualifications of you1 the ,rev4 ,dr4   
,t4 ,de,witt ,talmage1 and having       
good hopes from our knowledge of your   
past eminent labours that your          
ministrations in the ,gospel will be    
profitable to our spiritual             
interests1 do earnestly1 unanimously1   
harmoniously and heartily1 not     one  
voice dissenting1 call and desire you to
 undertake the office of     co-pastor  

in said congregation1 promising you in  
the discharge of     your duty all      
proper support1 encouragement and       
obedience in the     ,lord4 ,and that   
you may be free from worldly cares and  
avocations1     considering your well   
and wide-known ability and generosity1  
we do     not assume to specify any     
definite sum of money for your          
recompense1     but we do hereby        
promise1 pledge and oblige ourselves1 to
 pay to you     such sums of money and  
at such times as shall be mutually      
satisfactory during the time of your    
being and remaining in the     relation 
to said church to which we do hereby    
call you4  ,on ,september #bc1 #ahie1   
accompanying this call1 ,i received the 
following dispatch from ,dr4            
,sunderland3      ,t4,d4,w4 ,talmage1   
#a1 ,south ,oxford ,street4             
,meeting unanimous and enthusiastic4    
,call extended1 rising vote1 all     on 
their feet in a flash4 ,call mailed     
special delivery4      ,b4 ,,sunderland4

  ,on ,september #bf1 #ahie1 ,i accepted
 the call in the following letter3      
,the call signed by the elders1 deacons1
 trustees1 and members of     the       
congregation of the ,first ,presbyterian
 ,church of ,washington is     before   
me4 ,the statement contained in that    
call that you 'do     earnestly1        
unanimously1 harmoniously and heartily1 
not one voice     dissenting1' desire me
 to become co-pastor in your great and  
historical church has distinctly        
impressed me4 ,with the same            
heartiness ,i now declare my acceptance 
of the call4 ,all of my     energies of 
body1 mind1 and soul shall be enlisted  
in your ,christian     service4 ,i will 
preach my first sermon ,sabbath evening1
 ,october #bg4  ,washington was always a
 beautiful city to me1 the climate in   
winter is delightful4 ,president        
,cleveland was a personal friend1 as    
were many of the public men1 and ,i     
regarded my call to ,washington as a    
national opportunity4 ,it had been my   

custom in the past1 when ,i was very    
tired from overwork1 to visit           
,washington for two or three days1      
stopping at one of the hotels1 to get a 
thorough rest4 ,for a long time ,i was  
really undecided what to do1 ,i had so  
many invitations to take up my home and 
life work in different cities4 ,while   
preaching was to be the main work for   
the rest of my life1 my arrangements    
were so understood by my church in      
,washington that ,i could continue my   
lecture engagements4  ,i delivered a    
farewell sermon before leaving for      
,washington1 at the ,lafayette ,avenue  
,presbyterian ,church1 in ,brooklyn1    
before an audience of five thousand     
people4 ,my text was #b ,samuel xii4    
#bc3 ,i shall go to ,him4  ,i still     
recall the occasion as one of deep      
feeling--a difficult hour of            
self-control4 ,i could not stop the flow
 of tears that came with the closing    
paragraph4 ,the words are merely the    
outward sign of my inner feelings3      

,farewell1 dear friends4 ,i could wish  
that in this last interview ,i     might
 find you all the sons and daughters of 
the ,mighty4 ,why not     cross the line
 this hour1 out of the world into the   
kingdom of ,god8     ,i have lived in   
peace with all of you4 ,there is not    
among all the     hundreds of thousands 
of people of this city one person with  
whom     ,i could not shake hands       
heartily and wish him all the happiness 
for     this world and the next4 ,if ,i 
have wronged anyone let him appear at   
the close of this service1 and ,i will  
ask his forgiveness before ,i     go4   
,will it not be glorious to meet again  
in our ,father's house1     where the   
word goodbye shall never be spoken8 ,how
 much we shall then     have to talk    
over of earthly vicissitudes6 ,farewell6
 ,a hearty1     loving1 hopeful1        
,christian farewell6  ,illustration3    
,,the ,,first ,,presbyterian ,,church   
,,of ,,washington ,,dr4 ,,talmage',s    
,,last ,,charge4  ,i was installed in   

the ,first ,presbyterian ,church in     
,washington on ,october #bc1 #ahie4 ,my 
first sermon in the new pulpit in       
,washington was preached to a crowded   
church1 with an overflow of over three  
thousand persons in the street outside4 
,the text of my sermon was1 ,all ,heaven
 is looking on4  ,in a few days1 by     
exchange of my ,brooklyn property1 ,i   
had obtained the house #adjb            
,massachusetts ,avenue1 in ,washington1 
for my home4 ,it had at one time been   
the ,spanish ,legation1 and was in a    
delightful part of the city4 ,shortly   
after my arrival in ,washington ,i      
received my first introduction at the   
,white ,house1 with my daughters1 to    
,mrs4 ,cleveland4 ,our reception was    
cordial and gracious in the extreme4 ,i 
had engaged a suite of rooms at the     
,arlington ,hotel for a year4 ,we       
remained there till our lease was up    
before entering our new home4 ,there was
 a desire among members of the          
congregation of the ,first ,presbyterian

 ,church to have me preach at the       
morning as well as the evening services4
 ,with three ministers attached to one  
church there was some difficulty in the 
arrangement of the sermons4 ,eventually 
it was decided that ,i should preach    
morning and evening4  ,in #ahif ,i made 
an extensive lecturing tour1 in which ,i
 discussed my impressions of the world  
trip ,i had recently made4  ,the world  
was getting better in spite of          
contrasting opinions from men who had   
thought about it4 ,god never launched a 
failure4  ,in #ahig ,i made an appeal   
for aid for the famine in ,india4 ,i    
always believed it was possible to      
evangelise ,india4  ,my life in         
,washington was not different from its  
former course4 ,i had known many        
prominent people of this country1 and   
some of the great men of other lands4   
,i had known all the ,presidents of the 
,united ,states since ,buchanan4 ,i had 
known ,mr4 ,gladstone1 all the more     
prominent men in the bishoprics1 and in 

high commercial1 financial and religious
 position4 ,i had been presented to     
royalty in more than one country4       
,legislatures in the ,north and ,south  
have adjourned to give me reception4    
,the ,earl of ,kintore1 a ,scottish     
peer1 entertained us at his house in    
,london in #ahgi4 ,i found his family   
delightful ,christian people1 and the   
,countess and their daughters are very  
lovely4 ,the ,earl presided at two of my
 meetings4 ,he took me to see some of   
his midnight charities--one of them     
called the ,house of ,lords and the     
other the ,house of ,commons1 both of   
them asylums for old and helpless men4  
,we parted about two o'clock in the     
morning in the streets of ,london4 ,as  
we bade each other good-bye he said1    
,send me a stick of ,american wood and  
,i will send you a stick4 ,his arrived  
in ,america1 and is now in my           
possession1 a shepherd's crook2 but     
before the cane ,i purchased for him    
reached ,scotland the good ,earl had    

departed this life4 ,i was not surprised
 to hear of his decease4 ,i said to my  
wife in ,london1 ,we will never see the 
,earl again in this world4 ,he is ripe  
for ,heaven1 and will soon be taken4 ,he
 attended the ,house of ,lords during   
the week1 and almost every ,sabbath     
preached in some chapel or church4  ,i  
shall not forget the exciting night ,i  
met him4 ,i was getting out of a        
carriage at the door of a church in     
,london where ,i was to lecture when a  
ruffian struck at me1 crying1 ,he that  
believeth not shall be damned4 ,the     
scoundrel's blow would have demolished  
me but for the fact that a bystander put
 out his arm and arrested the blow4     
,from that scene ,i was ushered into the
 ante-room of the church where the ,earl
 of ,kintore was awaiting my arrival4   
,from that hour we formed a friendship4 
,he had been a continuous reader of my  
sermons1 and that fact made an          
introduction easy4 ,i have from him five
 or six letters4  ,lord and ,lady       

,aberdeen had us at their house in      
,london in the summer of #ahib4 ,most   
gracious and delightful people they are4
 ,i was to speak at ,haddo ,house1 their
 estate in ,scotland1 at a great        
philanthropic meeting1 but ,i was       
detained in ,st4 ,petersburg1 ,russia1  
by an invitation of the ,emperor1 and   
could not get to ,scotland in time4     
,glad am ,i that the ,earl is coming to 
,canada to be ,governor-,general4 ,he   
and the ,countess will do ,canada a     
mighty good4 ,they are on the side of   
,god1 and righteousness1 and the        
,church4 ,since his appointment--for he 
intimated at ,aberdeen1 ,scotland1 when 
he called upon me1 that he was to have  
an important appointment--,i have had   
opportunity to say plauditory things of 
them in vast assemblages in ,ottawa1    
,montreal1 ,toronto1 ,london and        
,grimsby ,park4  ,in a scrap book in    
which ,i put down1 hurriedly1 perhaps1  
but accurately1 my impressions of       
various visits to the ,white ,house     

during my four years pastorate in       
,washington1 ,i find some notes that may
 be interesting4 ,i transmit them to the
 printed page exactly as ,i find them   
written on paper3      ,may #a1 #ahif4  
,had a long talk this afternoon with    
,mrs4 ,cleveland at     ,woodley4 ,i    
always knew she was very attractive1 but
 never knew how     wide her information
 was on all subjects4 ,she had her three
 children     brought in1 and the two   
elder ones sang ,easter songs for me4   
,mrs4     ,cleveland impresses me as a  
consecrated ,christian mother4 ,she     
passes     much of her time with her    
children1 and seems more interested in  
her     family than in anything else4   
,the first lady of the land1 she is     
universally admired4 ,i took tea with   
her and we talked over many             
subjects4 ,she told me that she had     
joined the church at fourteen     years 
of age4 ,only two joined the church that
 day1 a man of eighty     years old and 
herself4 ,she was baptised then1 not    

having been     baptised in infancy4    
,she said she was glad she had not been 
baptised     before because she         
preferred to remember her baptism4      
,she said she did not like the great    
crowds attending the church     then1   
because she did not like to be stared at
 as the ,president's     wife4 ,but ,i  
told her she would get used to that     
after a while4 ,she     said she did not
 mind being stared at on secular        
occasions1 but     objected to it at    
religious service4 ,she said she had    
long ago     ceased taking the ,holy    
,communion at our church because of the 
fact     that spectators on that day    
seemed peculiarly anxious to see how she
     looked at the ,communion4      ,my 
first meeting with ,mrs4 ,cleveland was 
just after her marriage4     ,she was at
 the depot1 in her carriage1 to see     
,miss ,rose ,cleveland1     the         
,president's sister1 off on the train4  
,dr4 ,sunderland introduced     me at   
that time1 when ,i was just visiting    

,washington4 ,mrs4     ,cleveland       
invited me to take a seat in her        
carriage4 ,i accepted the               
invitation1 and we sat there some time  
talking about various things4     ,i    
saw1 as everyone sees who converses with
 her1 that she is a very     attractive 
person1 though brilliantly attired1     
unaffected in her     manner as any     
mountain lass4      ,march #c1 #ahig4   
,made my last call this afternoon on    
,mrs4 ,cleveland4     ,found her amid a 
group of distinguished ladies1 and      
unhappy at the     thought of leaving   
the ,white ,house1 which had been her   
home off and     on for nearly eight    
years4 ,her children have already gone  
to     ,princeton1 which is to be her   
new home4 ,she is the same beautiful1   
unaffected1 and intelligent woman that  
she has always been since ,i     formed 
her acquaintance4 ,she is an inspiration
 to anyone who     preaches1 because she
 is such an intense listener4 ,her going
 from     our church here will be a     

great loss4 ,it is wonderful that a     
woman     so much applauded and admired 
should not have been somewhat spoiled4  
,more complimentary things have been    
said of her than of any living          
woman4 ,she invited me to her home in   
,princeton1 but ,i do not expect        
ever to get there4 ,our pleasant        
acquaintance seems to have come to      
an end4 ,washington society will miss   
this queen of amiability and            
loveliness4      ,february #d1 #ahig4   
,had one of my talks with ,president    
,cleveland4      ,as ,i congratulated   
him on his coming relief from the duties
 of his     absorbing office1 he said3  
',yes6 ,i am glad of it2 but there are  
so many things ,i wanted to             
accomplish which have not been          
accomplished4'      ,then he went into  
extended remarks about the failure of   
the ,senate     to ratify the           
,arbitration plan4 ,he said that there  
had been much     work and anxiety in   
that movement that had never come to the

     surface2 how they had waited for   
cablegrams1 and how at the same         
time1 although he had not expressed it1 
he had a presentiment that     through  
the inaction of the ,senate the splendid
 plan for the     pacification of the   
world's controversies would be a        
failure4      ,he dwelt much upon the   
,cuban embroglio1 and said that he had  
told     the ,committee on ,foreign     
,relations that if they waited until    
spring     they had better declare war1 
but that he would never be responsible  
for such a calamity4      ,he said that 
he had chosen ,princeton for his        
residence because he     would find     
there less social obligation and less   
demand upon his     financial resources 
than in a larger place4 ,he said that in
 all     matters of national as well as 
individual importance it was a          
consolation to him to know that there   
was an overwhelming     ,providence4    
,when ,i congratulated him upon his     
continuous good     health1             

notwithstanding the strain upon him for 
the eight years of     his past and     
present administration1 he said3        
',yes6 ,i am a wonder to myself4 ,the   
gout that used to distract me is        
almost cured1 and ,i am in better health
 than when ,i entered office4'      ,he 
accounted for his good health by the    
fact that he had     occasionally taken 
an outing of a few days on hunting      
expeditions4      ,i said to him1 ',yes6
 ,you cannot think of matters of ,state 
while out     shooting ducks4'      ,he 
answered3      ',no1 ,i cannot1 except  
when the hunting is poor and the ducks  
do not     appear4'      ,may #ba1      
#ahif4 ,this morning when ,i entered    
,president ,cleveland's     room at the 
,white ,house1 he said3 ',good morning1 
,i have been     thinking of you this   
morning4'      ,the fact is he had under
 consideration the recall of a minister 
plenipotentiary from a ,european        
,government4 ,i had an opportunity of   
saying something about a gentleman who  

was proposed as a substitute     for the
 foreign embassy1 and the ,president    
said my conversation with     him had   
given him a new idea about the whole    
affair1 and ,i think it     kept the    
,president from making a mistake that   
might have involved     our ,government 
in some entanglement with another       
nation4      ,the ,president read me a  
long letter that he had received on the 
subject4 ,i felt that my call had been  
providential1 although ,i went     to   
see him merely to say good-bye before he
 went away on his usual     summer trip 
to ,gray ,gables1 ,buzzards ,bay1       
,massachusetts4      ,the ,president is 
in excellent health although he says he 
much needs     an outing4 ,he is very   
fond of his children1 and seemed        
delighted to     hear of the good time  
,i had with them at ,woodley4 ,when ,i  
told how     ,ruth and ,esther sang for 
me he said he could not stand hearing   
them     sing1 as it was so touching it 
made him cry4 ,i told him how the       

baby1 ,marian1 looked at me very soberly
 and scrutinisingly as long     as ,i   
held her in my arms1 but when ,i handed 
her to her mother1 the     baby1 feeling
 herself very safe1 put out her hands to
 me and wanted     to play4 ,but what a 
season of work and anxiety it had been  
to the     ,president1 important        
question after question to be settled4  
,march #a1 #ahig4 ,i have this afternoon
 made my last call on ,president        
,cleveland4 ,with ,dr4 ,sunderland and  
the officers of our church ,i went      
to the ,white ,house to bid our retiring
 ,president goodbye4                    
,notwithstanding appointments he had    
made1 ,thurber1 his private             
secretary1 informed us that the         
,president could not see us because     
of a sudden attack of rheumatism4 ,but  
after ,thurber had gone into     the    
,president's room1 he returned saying   
that the ,president would     see ,dr4  
,sunderland and myself4 ,indeed1        
afterwards1 he saw all our     church   

officers4 ,but he could not move from   
his chair4 ,his doctor     had told him 
that if he put his foot to the floor he 
would not be     able to attend the     
inauguration of ,major ,mc,kinley on the
 following     ,thursday4      ,after   
,dr4 ,sunderland and the officers of the
 church had shaken     hands for        
departure1 the ,president said to me3   
',doctor1 remain1 ,i want to see you4'  
,the door closed1 he asked me if ,i had 
followed the ,chinese     ,immigration  
,bill that was then under consideration4
 ,we discussed it     fully4 ,the       
,president read to me the veto which he 
was writing4 ,he     stated to me his   
objection to the bill4 ,our conversation
 was     intimate1 but somewhat saddened
 by the thought that perhaps we might   
not meet again4 ,with an invitation to  
come and see him at ,princeton1     we  
parted4      ,during a conversation of  
an earlier period at the ,white ,house1 
,i     congratulated the ,president upon
 his improved appearance since          

returning from one of his hunting       
expeditions4      ',oh6 ,yes6' he said1 
',i cannot get daily exercise in        
,washington4 ,it     is impossible1 so  
,i am compelled to take these occasional
 outings4 ,i     approach the city on my
 return with a feeling that work must be
     pulled down over me1 like a        
nightcap1' and as he said this he made  
the motion as of someone putting on a   
cap over his head4      ,i congratulated
 him on the effect of his proclamation  
on the ,monroe     ,doctrine as it would
 set a precedent1 and really meant      
peace4 ,he     agreed with me1 saying3  
',yes1 but they blame me very much for  
the excitement ,i have caused     in    
business circles1 and the failures      
consequent4 ,but no one failed     who  
was doing a legitimate business1 only   
those collapsed who were     engaged in 
unwarranted speculations4 ,i wish more  
of those people     would fail4'        
',mr4 ,president1' ,i said1 ',i do not  
want to pry into ,state secrets1     but

 ,i would like to know how many ducks   
you did shoot8' ,he laughed1     and    
said1 ',eleven4 ,the papers said        
thirteen4 ,indeed1 the country          
papers before ,i began to shoot said ,i 
had shot a hundred and     twenty4' ,i  
spoke of the brightness and beauty of   
his children again4     ,i remarked that
 the youngest one1 then four months old1
 had the     intelligence of a child a  
year old1 and the ,president said3      
',yes1 she is a great pleasure to us1   
and seems to know everything4'          
,march #c1 #ahif4 ,started from         
,washington for the great ,home         
,missionary meeting to be held in       
,carnegie ,hall1 ,new ,york1 ,president 
,cleveland to preside4 ,we left on the  
eleven o'clock train1 by                
,pennsylvania railroad4 ,i did not go to
 the ,president's private car     until 
we had been some distance on our way1   
although he told me when     ,i went in 
that he had looked for me at the depot1 
that ,i might as     well have been in  

his car all the way4 ,no one was with   
him except     ,mrs4 ,cleveland and his 
private secretary1 ,mr4 ,thurber1 who is
 also     one of my church4 ,we had an  
uninterrupted conversation4 ,the        
servants     and guards were at the     
front end of the car1 and we were at the
     rear4      ,i asked the ,president 
if he found it possible to throw off the
     cares of office for a while4 ,he   
laughed1 and said3      ',they call a   
trip of this kind a vacation2' then with
 a countenance     of sudden gravity he 
added3 ',we no sooner get through one   
great     question than another comes4' 
,it made me think of the tension on     
the ,president's mind at that time4     
,there was the ,venezuelan     question4
 ,there were suggestions of war with    
,england1 and then there     was the    
,cuban matter with suggestions of war   
with ,spain1 and all the     time the   
overshadowing financial questions4      
,during our conversation the ,president 
referred to the conditions     ever and 

anon inflicted upon him by newspaper    
misrepresentations1     particularly    
those of inebriety1 of domestic         
quarrels1 of turning     ,mrs4          
,cleveland out of doors at night so that
 she had to flee for     refuge to the  
house of ,dr4 ,sunderland1 my pastoral  
associate1     passing the night there2 
and then the reports that his children  
were     deaf and dumb1 or imbecile1    
when he knew ,i had seen them and       
considered them the brightest and       
healthiest children ,i had known4       
,all these attacks and falsehoods       
concerning the ,president and his       
family ,i saw hurt him as deeply as they
 would any of us1 but he is     in a    
position which does not allow him to    
make reply4 ,i assured him     that he  
was only in the line of                 
misrepresentation that had assailed     
all the ,presidents1 ,george ,washington
 more violently than himself1     and   
that the words cynicism1 jealousy1      
political hatred1 and     diabolism in  

general would account for all4 ,i do    
think1 however1     that the factories  
of scandal had been particularly busy   
with our     beloved ,president4 ,they  
were running on extra time4      ,if ,i 
were asked who among the mighty men at  
,washington has most     impressed me   
with elements of power ,i would say     
,grover ,cleveland4      ,june #be1     
#ahif4 ,it seems now that ,major        
,mc,kinley1 of ,canton1 ,ohio1     will 
be elected ,president of the ,united    
,states4 ,i was in ,canton     about    
three weeks ago and called at ,major    
,mc,kinley's house4 ,he was     just    
starting from his home to call on me4   
,he presided at the first     lecture ,i
 delivered at ,canton in #ahga4 ,on my  
recent visit he     recalled all the    
circumstances of that lecture1          
remembering that he     went to my room 
afterwards in the hotel1 and had a long 
talk with     me1 which he said made a  
deep impression upon him4      ,my visit
 at ,canton three weeks ago was to      

lecture4 ,major ,mc,kinley     attended 
and came upon the platform afterwards to
 congratulate me4     ,he is a          
,christian man and as genial and lovable
 a man as ,i ever     met4              
,september #ba1 #ahig4 ,had a most      
delightful interview with ,president    
,mc,kinley in the ,white ,house4      ,i
 congratulated him on the peaceful      
opening of his administration4     ,he  
said3      ',yes6 ,i hope it is not the 
calm before a storm4'      ,he said that
 during the last six weeks at least a   
half million of     people had passed   
before him1 and they all gave signs of  
their     encouragement4 ,especially1 he
 said1 the women and children looked    
and acted as though they expected better
 times4      ,the ,president looked     
uncommonly well4 ,i told him that during
 the     past summer ,i had travelled in
 many of the states1 and that from the  
people everywhere ,i gathered hopeful   
feelings4 ,i told him that they     were
 expecting great prosperity would come  

to the country through     his          
administration4  ,of course these are   
merely scraps torn from old note-books1 
but ,i cannot help commending the value 
of first impressions1 of the first-hand 
reports1 which are made in this way4    
,there is in the unadorned picture of   
any incident in the past a sort of      
hallowed character that no ornate frame 
can improve4  ,so the pages of these    
recollections are but a string of       
impressions torn from old note-books and
 diaries4         99       99       99  
99       99  ,from scrap books and other
 sources1 some other person may set up  
the last milestones of my journey       
through life1 and think other things of 
enough importance to add to the furlongs
 ,i have already travelled2 and ,i give 
permission to add that biography to this
 autobiography4  ,illustration3 ,t4 ,de 
,witt ,talmage signature4     ,a        
,,biographical ,,sketch ,,of ,,dr4      
,,talmage',s ,,last ,,milestones  ,,by  
,,mrs4 ,t4 ,,dewitt ,,talmage           

#ahih-aijb     ,,the ,,last ,,milestones
  ,,by  ,,mrs4 ,t4 ,,dewitt ,,talmage   
#ahih-aijb   ,the wishes of ,doctor     
,talmage reign paramount with me2       
otherwise ,i should not dare to add     
these imperfect memoirs to the finished 
and eloquent1 yet simple1 narration of  
his life-work which has just charmed the
 reader from his own graphic pen4 ,dr4  
,talmage did not consider his           
autobiography of vital importance to    
posterity2 his chief concern was for his
 sermons and other voluminous writings4 
,the intimate things of his life he held
 too sacred for public view1 and he     
shrank from any intrusion thereupon4    
,his autobiography1 therefore1 was a    
concession to his family1 his friends1  
and an admiring public4  ,so many people
 all over the world have paid homage to 
his personality1 and to his remarkable  
influence1 that it seemed evident not   
only to us but to many others1 that his 
own recollections would give abiding    
pleasure4 ,i remember when we were      

travelling to ,washington after our     
marriage1 many men of prominence1 who   
were on the ,congressional ,limited1    
said to ,dr4 ,talmage3 ,doctor1 why     
don't you write your memoirs8 ,they     
would be especially interesting because 
you have bridged two centuries in your  
life4 ,then1 turning to me1 they urged  
me to use my influence over him4 ,later 
on ,i did so1 placing over his desk as a
 reminder1 in big letters1 the one      
word--,autobiography4  ,his celebrity   
was something so unique1 and so         
widespread1 that it is difficult to     
write of it under the spell which still 
surrounds his memory4 ,many still       
remember seeing and feeling almost with 
awe the tremendous grasp of success     
which ,dr4 ,talmage had all his life4 ,a
 reminiscence of my girlhood will be    
pardoned3 ,my father was his great      
admirer many years before ,i ever met   
the ,doctor4 ,whenever ,i went with my  
father from my home in ,pittsburg on a  
visit to ,new ,york1 ,i was taken over  

to ,brooklyn every ,sunday morning1     
unwillingly ,i must confess1 to hear    
,dr4 ,talmage4 ,at that time there were 
other things which ,i found more        
pleasant1 for ,i had many young friends 
to visit and to entertain4 ,however1 my 
father's wishes were always uppermost   
with me1 and his admiration of the great
 preacher inspired me also with         
reverence4 ,the ,doctor soon became one 
of the great men of my life4  ,dr4      
,talmage was among the builders of his  
century--a watchman of his period4 ,he  
was a man of philanthropy and           
enterprise4 ,his popularity was         
world-wide2 his extraordinary power was 
exerted over people of all classes and  
conditions of life4 ,his broad human    
intellectuality1 his constant good      
humour1 his indomitable energy1 threw a 
glamour about him4 ,his happy laughter1 
which attested the deep peace of his    
heart1 rang everywhere1 through his     
home1 in social meetings with his       
friends1 in casual encounters even with 

strangers4  ,illustration3 ,,dr4 ,,and  
,,mrs4 ,t4 ,,de ,,witt ,,talmage4  ,no  
one who ever knew the ,doctor thought of
 him as an old man4 ,he himself almost  
believed that he would live for ever4   
,barring an accident1 he often said1 ,i 
shall live for ever4 ,the frankness and 
buoyancy of his spirit were like youth3 
were the enchantment of his personality4
 ,even to-day1 when memories begin to   
grow cold in the shadow of his tomb1 ,i 
am constantly reminded by those who     
remember him of the strange magical     
eternity that was in him4 ,he had been  
so active and busy through all the years
 of his life1 keeping pace with each one
 in its seemingly increasing speed1 that
 his heart remained ever young1 living  
in the glory of things that were        
present1 searching with eager vigour the
 horizon of the future4  ,wherever ,i   
am1 whether in this country or in       
,europe1 but especially in ,england1    
,dr4 ,talmage's name still brings me    
remembrance of his distinguished career 

from the men of prominence who knew him4
 ,they come to me and tell me about him 
with unabated affection for his memory4 
,he attracted people by a kind of       
magnetism1 and held them afterwards with
 ties of deep friendship and respect4   
,the standards of his youth were the    
standards of his whole life4  ,my       
appreciation of ,dr4 ,talmage in these  
printed pages may not be wholly in      
harmony with his ideas of the privacy of
 his home life2 but it is difficult to  
think of him at all in any mood less    
intimately reverent4  ,as ,i look over  
the scrapbook1 my scrapbook 7as he and  
,i always called it71 ,i feel the       
reserve about it that he himself did4   
,my share in the ,doctor's life1        
however1 belongs to these last years of 
his distinguished career1 and ,i am a   
contributor by special privilege4  ,i   
met him first at ,east ,hampton1 ,long  
,island1 in the summer of #ahif1 when ,i
 was visiting friends4 ,the other day1  
while in reminiscent struggle with my   

scrapbook1 ,i was visited by an old     
friend of ,dr4 ,talmage1 who recalled   
the following incident3  ,it was ,dr4   
,talmage's custom1 he said1 to take long
 drives out into the country round about
 ,washington4 ,sometimes he sent for me 
to drive with him4 ,one afternoon ,i    
received a specially urgent call to be  
sure and drive with him that day1       
because he had something of great       
importance to discuss with me4 ,on our  
way back1 towards evening1 ,i asked him 
what it was4 ,he said1 ',i work hard1   
very hard4 ,sometimes ,i come back to my
 home tired1 very tired--lonely4 ,i open
 my door and the house is dark1 silent4 
,the young folks are out somewhere and  
there is no one to talk to4' ,then he   
became silent himself4 ,i said to him3  
',have you any one in mind whom you     
would like to talk to8' ',i have1' he   
said positively4 ',if so1' ,i said1 'go 
to her at once and tell her so4' ',i    
will1' he replied briskly--and the next 
night he went to ,pittsburg4  ,we were  

married in ,january1 #ahih4  ,the first 
reception given in our home on          
,massachusetts ,avenue was in the nature
 of a greeting between the ,doctor's    
friends and myself4 ,his own interest in
 the social side of things in           
,washington was an agreeable            
interruption rather than a part of his  
own activities4 ,his friends were men   
and women from every highway and byway  
of the world4 ,my father1 a man of      
unusual intellectual breadth and heart1 
had been my companion of many years1 so 
that ,i was1 to some degree1 accustomed 
to mature conceptions of people and     
affairs4 ,but the busy whirl in the life
 of a celebrity was entirely new4  ,it  
was soon quite evident that ,dr4        
,talmage relied upon me for the         
discretionary duties of a man besieged  
by all sorts of demands4 ,from the first
 ,i feared that ,dr4 ,talmage was       
over-taxing his strength1 undiminished  
though it was at a time when most men   
begin to relinquish their burdens4      

,therefore1 ,i entered eagerly into my  
new duties of relieving the strain he   
himself did not realise4  ,his was a    
full and ample life devoted to the      
gospel of cheerfulness2 and to me1 ,i   
think1 was given the best part of       
it--the autumn4 ,when ,i knew him he had
 already impressed the wide world of his
 hearers with his striking originality  
of thought and style4 ,he had already   
established a form of preaching that was
 known by his name--,talmagic4 ,its     
character was the man himself1 broad1   
brilliant1 picturesque1 keen with divine
 and human facts1 told simply1 always   
with an uplift of spiritual beauty4  ,in
 ,march1 #ahih1 ,dr4 ,talmage was called
 ,west for lecture engagements1 and ,i  
went with him4 ,what strange and        
delightful events that spring tour      
brought into my life6 ,the ,doctor      
lectured every night in what was to me  
some new and undiscovered country4 ,we  
were always going to an hotel1 to a     
train1 to an opera house1 to another    

hotel1 another train1 another opera     
house4 ,our experiences were not less   
exciting than the trials of one-night   
stands4 ,i had never travelled before   
without a civilised quota of trunks2 but
 the ,doctor would have been overwhelmed
 with them in the rush to keep his      
engagements4 ,so we had to be content   
with our bags4 ,when we were not        
studying time tables the ,doctor was    
striding across the land1 his ,bible    
under his arm1 myself in gasping haste  
at his side4 ,what primitive hotels we  
encountered2 what antiquated trains we  
had to take6 ,frequently a milk train   
was the only means of reaching our      
destination1 and1 alas6 a milk train    
always leaves at the trying hour of #d  
a4m4 ,once we had to ride on a special  
engine2 and frequently the caboose of a 
freight train served our desperate      
purpose4 ,i began to understand         
something of the loneliness of the      
,doctor's life in experiences like      
these4  ,i insisted upon sitting in the 

front row at every one of ,dr4          
,talmage's lectures1 which ,i soon knew 
by heart4 ,he used to laugh when ,i     
would repeat certain parts of them to   
him4  ,then he would beg me to stay away
 that ,i might not be bored by listening
 to the same thing over again4 ,i would 
not have missed one of his lectures for 
the world4 ,these were the great moments
 of his life2 the combined resources of 
his character came to the surface       
whenever he went into the pulpit or on  
to the platform4 ,these were the moments
 that inspired his life1 that gave it an
 ever-increasing vigour of human and    
divine perception4 ,the enthusiasm of   
his reception by the crowds in these    
theatres keyed me up so that each new   
audience was a new pleasure4 ,there were
 no preliminaries to his lectures4      
,frequently he had time only to drop his
 hat and step on to the stage as he had 
come from the train4 ,after every       
lecture it was his custom to shake hands
 with hundreds of people who came up to 

the platform4 ,this was very exhausting1
 but these were to him the moments of   
fruition--the spiritual harvest of the  
,christian seeds he had scattered over  
the earth4 ,they were wonderful scenes1 
dramatic in their earnestness1          
remarkable in the evidence they brought 
out of his universal influence upon the 
hearts of men and women4 ,everywhere the
 same testimony prevailed3  ,you saved  
my father1 ,god bless you6 ,you saved my
 brother1 thank ,god6 ,you made a good  
woman of me6 ,you gave me my first start
 in life6 ,in these words they told him 
their gratitude1 as they grasped his    
hand4  ,on these occasions the ,doctor's
 face was wonderful to see as1 with the 
silent pressure of his hand1 he looked  
into the eyes that were filled with     
tears4 ,sometimes people would come to  
me and whisper the same truths about    
him1 and when ,i would tell him1 his    
answer was characteristic3 ,eleanor1    
this is what gives me strength4 ,it is  
worth living to hear people tell me     

these things4  ,dr4 ,talmage's instincts
 were big1 evangelical impulses4 ,i     
often used to urge him to relinquish his
 pastorate2 but he would reply that     
after all the ,church was his           
candlestick2 that he must have a place  
to hold his candle while he preached to 
a world of all nations4 ,yet he often   
said he would rather have been an       
unfettered evangelist1 bent on saving   
the world1 than the pastor of any one   
flock or church4 ,to preach to the      
people was the breath of his life4 ,it  
was the restless energy of his soul that
 kept him for ever young4 ,he would put 
all his strength into every sermon he   
preached1 and every lecture he          
delivered4  ,dr4 ,talmage had absolutely
 no personal vanity4 ,he was a man      
absorbed in ideas1 indifferent to       
appearances4 ,he lived in the           
opportunities of his heart and mind to  
help others2 although he had been one of
 the most tried of men1 he had never    
spared himself to help others4 ,he never

 lost faith in anyone4 ,there were many 
shrewd enough to realise this           
characteristic in him1 who would put a  
finger on his heart and draw out of him 
all he had to give4  ,on one occasion we
 were travelling through ,iowa1 when a  
big snow storm made it evident that we  
could not make connections to meet an   
engagement he had made to lecture that  
evening in ,marietta1 ,ohio4 ,he had    
just said to me that after all he was   
glad1 because he was very tired and     
needed the rest4 ,will ,carleton was on 
the same train1 bound for ,zanesville1  
,ohio1 to give a lecture that night4 ,he
 was very much afraid that he1 too1     
would miss his engagement4 ,he asked the
 ,doctor to telegraph to the railroad   
officials to hold the limited at        
,chicago ,junction1 which the ,doctor   
did4 ,the result was that we were       
whisked in a carriage across ,chicago   
and whirled on a special car to the     
junction1 where the limited was held for
 us1 much to the disgust of the other   

passengers4  ,he saw the mercy of ,god  
in every calamity1 the beauty of faith  
in ,him in every mood of earth or sky4  
,one spring day we were sitting in the  
room of a friend's house4 ,there were   
flowers in the room1 and ,dr4 ,talmage  
loved these children of nature4 ,he     
always said that flowers were           
appropriate for all occasions4 ,some one
 said to him1 ,doctor1 how have you kept
 your faith in people1 your sweet       
interpretation of human nature1 in spite
 of the injustice you have sometimes    
been shown8 ,looking at a great bunch of
 sweet peas on the table1 he said3 ,many
 years ago ,i learned not to care what  
the world said of me so long as ,i      
myself knew ,i was right and fair1 and  
how can one help but believe when the   
good ,god above us makes such beautiful 
things as these flowers8  ,his creed1 as
 ,i learned it1 was perfect faith1 and  
the universal commands of human nature  
to live and let live4 ,although ,i was  
destined to share less than five years  

of his life1 there was in the whole of  
it no chapter or incident with which he 
did not acquaint me4 ,he was not a man  
of theory4 ,no one could live near him  
without awe of his genius4  ,we returned
 to ,washington after this spring       
lecturing tour1 where the ,doctor       
resumed his preaching twice on ,sunday1 
and his mid-week lecture1 till ,june4   
,then1 according to ,dr4 ,talmage's     
custom1 we went to ,saratoga for a few  
weeks before the crowds came for the    
season4 ,the ,doctor found the ,saratoga
 ,springs beneficial and made it a rule 
to go there for a time each summer4 ,on 
,july #c1 #ahih1 we started for the     
,pacific coast on what ,dr4 ,talmage    
called a summer vacation4 ,on his desk  
there was always a great number of      
invitations to preach and lecture       
awaiting his acknowledgment or refusal4 
,the greatest problem of the last years 
of his life was how to find time for all
 the things he was asked to do and      
wanted to do4 ,in vain ,i tried to make 

him conform to the usual plans of a     
summer outing4 ,he asked me if he might 
take a few lectures on our route to     
,california1 and he did1 but he always  
managed to slip in a few extra ones     
without my knowledge4 ,when ,i would    
protest about these additional          
engagements he would say that the people
 wanted to hear him1 that they were new 
people he had never seen1 which meant   
more to him than anything else2 then1 of
 course1 ,i had to yield my judgment4   
,it had been ,dr4 ,talmage's original   
plan to go to ,europe during this first 
summer of our marriage1 but the outbreak
 of the ,spanish war made him afraid he 
might not be able to get back in time   
for his church work in ,october4        
,although ostensibly this was a vacation
 trip1 it was so only in the spirit and 
gaiety of the ,doctor's moods4 ,three   
times a week ,dr4 ,talmage lectured1 and
 preached once1 sometimes twice1 every  
,sunday4 ,from ,cincinnati westward to  
,denver1 we zigzagged over the country1 

keeping in constant pursuit of the      
,doctor's engagements4 ,no argument on  
our part could alter these working plans
 which my husband had made before we    
left ,washington4 ,he was so happy1     
however1 in the midst of his energies1  
that we forgot the exertion of his      
labours4  ,the three places where1 by   
agreeable lapses1 ,dr4 ,talmage really  
enjoyed a rest1 were ,colorado ,springs1
 the ,yellowstone ,park1 and ,coronado  
,beach in ,california4 ,aside from these
 points1 we were travelling incessantly 
in the ,doctor's reflected glory1 which 
was our vacation1 but by no means his4  
,while at ,colorado ,springs1 where we  
stayed two weeks1 ,dr4 ,talmage preached
 once1 and once in ,denver1 but he did  
not lecture4  ,in ,salt ,lake ,city the 
,doctor preached in the ,tabernacle1 the
 throne room of polygamy1 that he had so
 often attacked in previous years4 ,that
 was a remarkable feature of these last 
milestones of his life1 that all        
conflicts were forgotten in a universal 

acknowledgment of his evangelism4 ,his  
grasp of every subject was always close 
to the hearts of others1 and it was     
instinctive1 not studied4  ,during our  
visit in the ,west1 he talked much of   
the effect of the ,spanish war1         
regarding our victory in ,cuba and the  
,philippines as an advance to           
civilisation4  ,we entered the          
,yellowstone ,park at ,minado and drove 
through the geyser country4 ,we stopped 
at ,dwelly's1 a little log-cabin famous 
to all travellers1 just before entering 
the park4 ,on leaving there1 we had been
 told that there were occasional        
hold-ups of parties travelling in       
private vehicles1 as we were4 ,the      
following day1 while passing along a    
lonely road1 a man suddenly leaped from 
the bushes and seized the bridles of the
 horses4 ,the ,doctor appeared to be    
terribly frightened1 and we were all    
very much excited when we saw that the  
driver had missed his aim when he fired 
at the bandit4 ,the robber was of the   

appearance approved in dime novels2 he  
wore a sacking over his head with       
eye-holes cut in it through which he    
could see1 and looked in all other      
respects a disreputable cut-throat4     
,just as we were about to surrender our 
jewels and money1 ,dr4 ,talmage         
confessed that he had arranged the      
hold-up for our benefit1 and that it was
 a practical joke of his4 ,he was always
 full of mischief1 and took delight in  
surprising people4  ,on ,sunday ,dr4    
,talmage preached in the parlours of the
 ,fountain ,hotel4 ,the rooms were      
crowded with the soldiers who were      
stationed in the park4 ,the ,doctor's   
sermon was on garrison duty2 he said    
afterwards that he found it extremely   
difficult to talk there because the     
rooms were small1 and the people were   
too close to him4 ,we paid a visit to   
,mr4 ,henderson1 who was an official of 
the ,yellowstone ,park at that time1 and
 whose brother was ,speaker of the      
,house in ,washington4 ,he begged ,dr4  

,talmage to use his influence with      
members of ,congress to oppose a project
 which had been started1 to build a     
trolley line through the ,yellowstone   
,park4 ,the ,doctor promised to do so1  
and ,i think the trolley line has not   
been built4 ,we left the ,yellowstone   
,park1 at ,cinabar1 and went direct to  
,seattle4 ,during our stay in ,seattle  
the whole town was excited one morning  
by the arrival of a ship from the       
,klondike1 that region of golden romance
 and painful reality4 ,the ,doctor and  
,i went down to the wharf to see the    
great ship disembark these gold-diggers2
 but for several hours the four hundred 
passengers had been detained on board   
because #bd1jjj in gold dust1 carried by
 two miners1 had been stolen2 and though
 a search had been instituted1 to which 
everyone had been compelled to submit1  
no clue to the thief had been found4    
,dr4 ,talmage was profoundly impressed  
by the misfortune of these two men1 who 
after months of exposure and fatigue    

were now obliged to walk ashore         
penniless4 ,a number of these four      
hundred passengers had brought back an  
aggregate of about #d1jjj1jjj from the  
,klondike2 but many among them had      
brought back only disappointment1 and   
their haggard faces were pitiful to see2
 indeed1 the ,doctor told me that out of
 the thousands who went fortune hunting 
to ,alaska1 only about #c per cent4 came
 back richer than when they started4    
,in the early part of ,september ,dr4   
,talmage lectured in ,san ,francisco on 
,international ,policies4 ,his          
admiration of the ,czar's manifesto for 
disarmament of the nations was          
unbounded1 and he emphasised it whenever
 he appeared in public4 ,he prophesied  
the millennium as if he looked forward  
to personal experiences of it2 this came
 from his remarkable confidence in the  
life forces nature had given him4 ,at   
,coronado ,beach we determined upon a   
rest for two weeks2 but the ,doctor     
could in no wise be induced to forego   

his lecture at ,san ,diego4 ,a pleasant 
visit to ,los ,angeles was followed by a
 delightful sojourn of a few days at    
,santa ,barbara1 the floral paradise of 
the ,golden ,coast2 here the ,doctor was
 met at the station by carriages1 and we
 were literally smothered in flowers2   
even our rooms in the hotel were banked 
high with roses4 ,in the afternoon we   
accepted an invitation to drive through 
,santa ,barbara1 hoping against hope    
that we might do so inconspicuously4    
,but the same flower-laden carriages    
came for us1 and we were driven through 
the city like a miniature flower parade4
 ,much to the ,doctor's regret he was   
followed about like a circus2 but his   
courtesy never failed4  ,on our route   
,east we again stopped in ,san          
,francisco4 ,an announcement had been   
made that ,dr4 ,talmage would preach for
 the ,sunday evening service at ,calvary
 ,presbyterian ,church1 on the corner of
 ,powell and ,geary ,streets4 ,never had
 ,i seen such a crowd before4 ,as we    

made our way to the church1 we found the
 adjoining streets packed so solidly    
with people that we had to call a       
policeman to make an opening for us4    
,once inside1 we saw the church rapidly 
filling1 till at last1 as a means of    
protection1 the doors were locked       
against the surging crowd4 ,but ,dr4    
,talmage had scarcely begun his sermon  
when the doors were literally broken    
down by the crowd outside4 ,quick to see
 the danger the ,doctor sent out word to
 the people that he would speak in      
,union ,square immediately after the    
church service4 ,this had the desired   
effect1 and the great crowd waited      
patiently for him a block away till nine
 o'clock4 ,it was rather a raw evening  
because of a fog that had come up from  
the sea1 and for this reason the ,doctor
 asked permission to keep his hat on    
while he talked from the band stand4 ,it
 was the first time ,i ever heard him   
speak out of doors1 and ,i was amazed to
 hear how clearly every word travelled1 

and with what precision his voice       
carried the exact effect4 ,it was a     
coincidence that the theme of his sermon
 should have been1 ,there is plenty of  
room in ,heaven4  ,the tremendous       
enthusiasm1 the almost worshipful       
interest with which he was received1    
could easily have spoiled any man1 but  
with ,dr4 ,talmage such an ovation as we
 had witnessed seemed only to intensify 
the simplicity of his character4 ,he    
lost his identity in the elements of    
inspiration1 and when he had finished   
preaching it was not to himself but to  
the power that had been given him1 he   
gave all the credit of his influence4   
,he was always simple1 direct1          
unpretentious4  ,during a short stay in 
,chicago ,dr4 ,talmage preached in his  
son's church1 and then hurried home to  
begin his duties in his own church4     
,duty was the ,doctor's master key2 with
 it he locked himself away from the     
mediocre1 and unlocked his way to       
ultimate freedom of religious impulse4  

,for a long while he had formed a habit 
of preaching without recompense1 as he  
would have desired to do all his life1  
because he felt that the power of       
preaching was a gift from ,god1 a trust 
to be transmitted without cost to the   
people4 ,he never missed preaching on   
,sunday1 paying his own expenses to     
whatever pulpit he was invited to       
occupy4 ,there were so many invitations 
that he was usually able to choose4 ,it 
was this conviction that led to his     
ultimate resignation from his church in 
,washington1 that he might be free to   
expound the ,scriptures wherever he was4
  ,he was always so happy it was hard to
 believe that he was overworking2 yet ,i
 feared his labour of love would end in 
exhaustion and possible illness4        
,everything in the world was beautiful  
to him1 and yet beauty was not a matter 
of externals with him4 ,it radiated from
 him1 even when it was not about him4   
,especially was this noticeable when we 
were away together on one of his short  

lecturing trips4 ,at these times we were
 quite alone1 and then1 without         
interruptions1 in the sequestered domain
 of some country hotel he would admit me
 into the wonderland of his inner hopes1
 his plans for the future1 his ideas of 
life and people and happiness4 ,once we 
were staying in one of these country    
hotels obviously pretentious1 but very  
uncomfortable--the sort of hotel where  
the walls of the room oppress you1 and  
the furniture astonishes you1 and there 
are no private baths4 ,he sat down in   
the largest chair1 literally beaming    
with delight4  ,isn't it beautiful8 he  
said2 now ,i take my home with me2      
before ,i used to be so much alone4 ,now
 ,i have someone to talk to4  ,there was
 nothing comparative in his happiness2  
everything was made perfect for him by  
the simplicity of his appreciation4 ,i  
used to look forward to these trips as  
one might look forward to an excursion  
into some new and unexpected transport  
of existence1 for he always had new     

wonders of heart and mind to reveal in  
these obscure byways we explored        
together4 ,they were all too short1 and 
yet too full for time to record them in 
a diary4 ,these were the hours that one 
puts away in the secret chamber of      
unwritten and untold feeling4 ,i turn   
again to the pages of our scrap book1 as
 one turns to the dictionary1 for       
reserve of language4  ,in ,november of  
#ahih ,i find there a clipping that     
reminds me of the day ,dr4 ,talmage and 
,i spent at the home of ,senator        
,faulkner1 in ,martinsburg1 ,west       
,virginia4 ,the ,anglo-,american        
,commission was in session in           
,washington then1 and during the        
following winter4 ,the ,joint ,high     
,commission was the official title1 and 
we were invited by ,senator ,faulkner   
with these men to get a glimpse of that 
rare ,americanism known the world over  
as ,southern hospitality4 ,the foreign  
members of the ,commission were ,lord   
,herschel1 ,sir ,wilfred ,laurier1 ,sir 

,louis ,davis1 and ,sir ,richard        
,cartwright4 ,our host was one of the   
,americans on the ,commission4  ,we left
 ,washington about noon1 lunched on the 
train1 and reached the old ancestral    
home in a snow storm4 ,all of the       
available carriages and carry-alls were 
at our disposal1 however1 and we were   
quickly driven to the warm fireside of a
 true ,southerner1 who1 more than any   
other kind of man1 knows how to brand   
the word ,home upon your memory4 ,we    
dined with true ,southern sumptuousness4
 ,never shall ,i forget the resigned and
 comfortable expression of that little  
roast pig as it was laid before us4 ,to 
the ,englishmen it was a rare chance to 
understand the cordial relations between
 ,england and ,america1 in an atmosphere
 of ,colonial splendour4 ,the house     
itself has not undergone any change     
since it was built2 it stands a complete
 example of an old ancestral estate4 ,as
 we were leaving1 our host insisted that
 no friend should leave his house       

without tasting the best egg-nog ever   
made in ,virginia4 ,the doctor and ,i   
drove to the station in a carriage with 
,lord ,herschel4 ,he was a man of great 
reserve and high breeding4 ,on the way  
he showed us a letter that he had just  
received from his daughter1 a little    
girl in ,england1 telling him to be sure
 and come home for the ,christmas       
holidays1 and not to let those rich     
,americans keep him away4  ,this was the
 beginning of a series of dinners given 
by members of the ,joint ,high          
,commission in ,washington during the   
winter1 to which we were often invited4 
,a few months later ,lord ,herschel died
 in ,washington4 ,dr4 ,talmage was      
almost the last man to see him alive4   
,he called at his hotel to invite him to
 stay at his house1 but he was then too 
ill to be moved4  ,during the early     
,fall of #ahih the ,doctor lectured at  
,annapolis4 ,it was his first visit to  
the old historic town1 and he was       
received with all the honour of the     

place4 ,we were the guests of ,governor 
,lowndes at the executive mansion1 where
 we were entertained in the evening at  
dinner4 ,just before the ,christmas     
holidays1 ,dr4 ,talmage made a short    
lecturing trip into ,canada1 and ,i went
 with him2 it was my privilege to       
accompany him everywhere1 even for a    
brief journey of a day4  ,in ,montreal1 
while sitting in a box with some        
,canadian friends1 during one of the    
,doctor's lectures1 they told me how    
deep was the affection and regard for   
him in ,england4  ,wait till you see how
 the ,english people receive him1 they  
said2 you will be surprised at the hold 
that he has on them over there4 ,the    
following year ,i went to ,england with 
him1 and experienced with pride and     
pleasure the truth of what they had     
said4  ,the end of our first year       
together seemed to be only the prelude  
to a long lifetime of companionship and 
happiness1 without age1 without sorrow1 
without discord4     ,,the ,,second     

,,milestone  #ahii-aijj   ,in his study 
no wasted hours ever entered4 ,with the 
exception of the stenographer and his   
immediate family no one was admitted    
there4 ,it was his eventful laboratory  
where he conceived the greatest sermons 
of his period4 ,i merely quote the      
opinions of others1 far more important  
than my own1 when ,i say this4 ,it is a 
sort of haunted room to-day which ,i    
enter not with any fear1 but ,i can     
never stay in it very long4 ,it has no  
ghostly associations1 it is too full of 
vital memories for that2 but it is a    
room that mystifies and silences me1 not
 with mere regrets1 for that is sorrow1 
and there is nothing sad about the place
 to me4 ,i can scarcely convey the      
impression2 it is as though ,i expected 
to see him come in at the door at any   
moment and hear him call my name4 ,the  
room is empty1 but it makes me feel that
 he has only just stepped out for a     
little while4 ,the study is at the top  
of the house1 a long1 wide1             

high-ceilinged room with many windows1  
from which the tops of trees sway gently
 in the breeze against the sky above and
 beyond4 ,i spent a great deal of time  
with him in it4 ,sometimes he would talk
 with me there about the themes of his  
sermons which were always drawn from    
some need in modern life4  ,with the    
,bible open before him he would seek for
 a text4  ,after forty years of         
preaching about all the wonders of this 
great ,book1 he would say1 ,i am often  
puzzled where to choose the text most   
fitting to my sermon4  ,his habits were 
methodical in the extreme2 his time     
punctually divided by a fixed system of 
invaluable character4 ,his inspirations 
were part of his eternal spirit1 but he 
lived face to face with time1 obedient  
to the law of its precision4 ,i think of
 him always as of one whose genius was  
unknown to himself4  ,we could always   
tell the time of day by the ,doctor's   
habits4 ,they were as regular as a clock
 that never varies4 ,at #g4cj to the    

second he was at the breakfast table4   
,it was exactly one o'clock when he sat 
down to dinner4 ,at #f4cj his supper was
 before him4 ,some of our household     
would have preferred dining in the      
evening1 but in that case the ,doctor   
would have dined alone1 which was out of
 the question4  ,every day of his life1 
excepting ,friday1 ,saturday and        
,sunday1 the ,doctor walked five miles4 
,in bad weather he went out muffled and 
booted like a sailor on a stormy sea4   
,his favourite walk was always from our 
house to the ,capitol1 around the       
,library of ,congress and back4 ,he     
never varied this walk for he had no    
bump of locality1 and he was afraid of  
losing his way4 ,if he strayed from the 
beaten path into any one of the         
beautiful squares in ,washington he was 
sure to have to ask a policeman how to  
get home4  ,fridays and ,saturdays ,dr4 
,talmage spent entirely in his study1   
dictating his sermons4 ,how many miles  
he walked these days he himself never   

knew1 but all day long he tramped back  
and forth the length of his study1      
composing and expounding in a loud voice
 the sermon of the week4 ,he could be   
heard all over the house4 ,we had a new 
servant once who came rushing downstairs
 to my room one morning in great fear4  
,mrs4 ,talmage1 ma'am1 there is a crazy 
man in that room on the top floor1 she  
cried4 ,she had not seen nor heard the  
,doctor1 and did not know that that room
 was his study4 ,on these weekend days  
we always drove after dark4 ,an open    
carriage was at the door by #h o'clock1 
and no matter what the weather might be 
we had our drive4 ,in the dead of       
winter1 wrapped in furs and rugs1 we    
have driven in an open carriage just as 
if it were summer4 ,usually we went up  
on ,capitol ,hill because the ,doctor   
was fond of the view from that height4  
,my share in the ,doctor's labours were 
those of a watchful companion1 who      
appreciated his genius1 but could give  
it no greater light than sympathy and   

admiration4 ,occasionally he would ask  
me to select the hymns for the services1
 and this ,i did as well as ,i could4   
,sunday was the great day of the week to
 me4 ,it has never been the same since  
the ,doctor died4 ,our friendships were 
always mutual1 and we shared them with  
equal pleasure4 ,the ,doctor's          
friendship with ,president ,mc,kinley   
was an intimate mutual association that 
ended only with the great national      
disaster of the ,president's            
assassination4 ,very often1 we walked   
over in the morning to the ,white ,house
 to call on the ,president for an       
informal chat4 ,a little school friend1 
who was visiting my daughter that       
winter1 told my husband how anxious she 
was to see a ,president4  ,come on with 
me1 ,i will show you a real ,president1 
said ,dr4 ,talmage one morning1 and over
 we went to the ,white ,house4 ,while we
 were talking with the ,president1 ,mrs4
 ,mc,kinley came in from a drive and    
sent word that she wished to see us4  ,i

 want to show you the ,president's      
library and bedroom1 she said1 that you 
may see how a ,president lives4 ,then   
she took us upstairs and showed us their
 home4  ,while we did not keep open     
house1 there was always someone dropping
 in to take dinner or supper informally1
 and ,i was somewhat surprised when ,dr4
 ,talmage told me one day that he       
thought we ought to give some sort of   
entertainment in return for our social  
obligations4 ,it was not quite like him 
to remember or think of such things4 ,on
 ,january #bc1 #ahii1 we gave an evening
 reception1 to which over #cjj people   
came4 ,it was the first social affair of
 consequence the ,doctor had ever given 
in his house in ,washington4  ,my       
husband's memory for names was so       
uncertain that when he introduced me to 
people he tactfully mumbled4 ,on this   
occasion ,senator ,gorman very kindly   
stood near me to identify the people for
 me4 ,i remember a very dapper1 very    
little man in evening clothes1 who was  

passed on to me by the ,doctor1 with the
 usual unintelligible introduction1 and 
,i had just begun to make myself        
agreeable when1 pointing to a medal on  
his coat1 the little man said3  ,i am   
the only woman in the ,united ,states   
who has been honoured with one of these 
medals4  ,i was very much mystified and 
looked up helplessly at ,senator        
,gorman1 who relieved me at once by     
saying1 ,mrs4 ,talmage1 this is the     
celebrated ,dr4 ,mary ,walker1 of whom  
you have heard so often4  ,it was       
difficult for ,dr4 ,talmage to          
assimilate the social obligations of    
life with the broader demands of his    
life mission1 which seemed to constantly
 extend and increase in scope into the  
far distances of the world4 ,more and   
more evident it became that the         
candlestick of his religious doctrine   
could no longer be maintained in one    
church1 or in one pulpit4 ,the necessity
 of breaking engagements out of town so 
as to be in ,washington every ,sunday   

became irksome to him4 ,he felt that he 
could do better in the purposes of his  
usefulness as a preacher if he were to  
bear the candle of his ,gospel in a     
candlestick he could carry everywhere   
himself4 ,i confess that ,i was not     
sorry when he reached this decision and 
submitted his resignation to the ,first 
,presbyterian ,church in the spring of  
#ahii1 after our return from a short    
vacation in ,florida4  ,on our trip     
,south ,i remember ,admiral ,schley was 
on the train with us part of the way4   
,the ,admiral told the ,doctor the whole
 story of the ,santiago victory1 and    
commented upon the official             
investigation of the affair4 ,my husband
 was very fond of him1 and his comment  
was summed up in his reassuring answer  
to the ,admiral--,but you were there4   
,it was during our stay in ,florida that
 ,dr4 ,talmage and ,joseph ,jefferson1  
the actor1 renewed their acquaintance4  
,the ,doctor never saw him act because  
he had made it a rule after he entered  

the ministry in his youth never to go to
 the theatre to see a play4 ,in crossing
 the ocean he had frequently appeared   
with stage celebrities1 at the usual    
entertainments given on board ship for  
the benefit of seamen1 and in this way  
had made some friends among actors4 ,he 
was particularly fond of ,madame        
,modjeska1 whom he had met on the       
steamer1 and whose character and spirit 
he greatly admired4  ,jefferson was a   
great fisherman1 and most of his day was
 spent on the water or on the pier4     
,there we used to meet him1 and he and  
,dr4 ,talmage would exchange            
reminiscences1 serious and ludicrous4   
,one of the ,doctor's favourite stories 
was an account of a terrific fight he   
saw in ,india1 between a mongoose and a 
cobra4 ,mr4 ,jefferson also had a story1
 a sort of parody of this1 which        
described a man in delirium tremens     
watching in imaginary terror a similar  
fight4 ,years before this1 when the     
,doctor had delivered his famous sermon 

in ,brooklyn against the stage1         
,jefferson was among the actors who went
 to hear him4 ,recalling this incident1 
,mr4 ,jefferson said3--  ,when ,i       
entered that church to hear your sermon1
 ,doctor1 ,i hated you4 ,when ,i left   
the church1 ,i loved you4 ,he talked    
very little of the theatre1 and seemed  
to regard his stage career with less    
importance than he did his love of      
painting4 ,he never grew tired of this  
subject4  ,when we were leaving ,palm   
,beach1 ,mr4 ,jefferson said to me1 ,i  
know ,dr4 ,talmage won't come and see me
 act1 but when ,i am in ,washington ,i  
will send you a box1 and ,i hope the    
,doctor will let you come4  ,dr4        
,talmage's resignation from his church  
in ,washington took place in ,march1    
#ahii4 ,i quote his address to the      
,presbytery because it was a momentous  
event occurring in the gloaming of what 
seemed to us all1 then1 the prime of his
 life3      ,march #c1 #ahii4      ,to  
the ,session of the ,first ,presbyterian

 ,church of ,washington4      ,dear     
,friends--      ,the increasing demands 
made upon me by religious journalism1   
and     the continuous calls for more   
general work in the cities1 have of     
late years caused frequent interruption 
of my pastoral work4 ,it is     not     
right that this condition of affairs    
should further continue4     ,besides   
that1 it is desirable that ,i have more 
opportunity to meet     face to face1 in
 religious assemblies1 those in this    
country and in     other countries to   
whom ,i have1 through the kindness of   
the printing     press1 been permitted  
to preach week by week1 and without the 
exception of a week1 for about thirty   
years4 ,therefore1 though very          
reluctantly1 ,i have concluded1 after   
serving you nearly four years     in the
 pastoral relation1 to send this letter 
of resignation4444      ,t4 ,,dewitt    
,,talmage4  ,i had rather expected that 
the ,doctor's release from his church   
would have had the desired effect of    

reducing his labours1 but he never      
accomplished less than the allotment of 
his utmost strength4 ,rest was a problem
 he never solved1 and he did not know   
what it meant4 ,my life had not been    
idle by any means1 but it seemed to me  
that the ,doctor's working hours were   
without end4 ,when ,i told him this1 he 
would say3--  ,why1 ,eleanor1 ,i am not 
working hard at all now4 ,this is very  
tame compared to what ,i have done in   
the years gone by4  ,his weekly sermon  
was always put in the mail on ,saturday 
night1 as also his weekly editorials4   
,sunday the sermon was preached1 and on 
,monday morning the syndicate of        
newspapers in this country printed it4  
,he made always two copies of his       
sermon4 ,one he sent to his editorial   
offices in ,new ,york1 the other was    
delivered to the ,washington ,post4 ,i  
was told a little while ago that a      
prominent preacher called on the editor 
of this newspaper and asked him to      
publish one of his own sermons4 ,this   

was refused1 even when the aforesaid    
preacher offered to pay for the         
privilege4  ,but you print ,talmage's   
sermons6 said the preacher4  ,we do1    
replied the editor1 because we find that
 our readers demand them4 ,we tried to  
do without them1 but we could not4  ,dr4
 ,talmage's acquaintance with men of    
national reputation was very wide1 but  
he never seemed to consider their       
friendship greater than any others4 ,he 
was a great hero worshipper himself1    
always impressed by a man who had done  
something in the world4 ,there was a    
great deal of praise being bestowed     
about this time on ,mr4 ,carnegie's     
library gifts4 ,dr4 ,talmage admired the
 ,scottish-,american immensely1 having  
formed his acquaintance while crossing  
the ocean4 ,five or six years later1    
during the winter of #ahii1 the ,doctor 
met him in one of the rooms of the      
,white ,house4 ,he tells this anecdote  
in his own words1 as follows3--      ,i 
was glad ,i was present that day1 when  

,mr4 ,andrew ,carnegie decided     upon 
the gift of a library to the city of    
,washington4 ,i was in one     of the   
rooms of the ,white ,house talking with 
,governor ,lowndes1 of     ,maryland1   
and ,mr4 ,b4,h4 ,warner1 of ,washington1
 who was especially     interested in   
city libraries4 ,mr4 ,carnegie entered  
at the opposite     end of the room4 ,we
 greeted each other with heartiness1 not
 having     met since we crossed the    
ocean together some time before4 ,i     
asked     ,mr4 ,carnegie to permit me to
 introduce him to some friends4 ,after  
each introduction the conversation      
immediately turned upon     libraries1  
as ,mr4 ,carnegie was then constantly   
presenting them in     this and other   
lands4 ,before the conversation ended   
that day1 ,mr4     ,carnegie offered    
#bej1jjj for a ,washington library4 ,i  
have always     felt very happy at      
having had anything to do with that     
interview1     which resulted so        
gloriously4  ,dr4 ,talmage's opinions   

upon the aftermath of the ,spanish war  
were widely quoted at this time4        
,the fact is this war ought never to    
have occurred1 he said4 ,we     have had
 the greatest naval officer of this     
century1 ,admiral ,schley1     assailed 
for disobeying orders1 and ,general     
,shatter denounced for     being too fat
 and wanting to retreat1 and ,general   
,wheeler attacked     because of        
something else4 ,we are all tired of    
this investigating     business4 ,i     
never knew a man in ,church or ,state to
 move for an     investigating committee
 who was not himself somewhat of a      
hypocrite4     ,the question is what to 
do with the bad job we have on hand4 ,i 
say1     educate and evangelise those   
islands4  ,as he wrote he usually       
talked1 and these words are             
recollections of the subjects he talked 
over with me in his quieter study hours4
 ,they were virile talks1 abreast of the
 century hurrying to its close1 full of 
cheerfulness1 faith1 and courage for the

 future4  ,he was particularly          
distressed and moved by the death of    
,chief ,justice ,field1 in ,april1      
#ahii4 ,it was his custom to read his   
sermons to me in his study before       
preaching4 ,he chose for his sermon on  
,april #af1 the decease of the great    
jurist1 and his text was ,zachariah xi1 
#b3 ,howl fir tree1 for the cedar has   
fallen4 ,many no doubt remember this    
sermon1 but no one can realise the      
depths of feeling with which the ,doctor
 read it to me in the secret corner of  
his workroom at home4 ,but his heart was
 in every sermon4 ,he said when he      
resigned from his church3--  ,the       
preaching of the ,gospel has always been
 my chosen work1 ,i believe ,i was      
called to it1 and ,i shall never abandon
 it4  ,during this season in ,washington
 we gave a few formal dinners4 ,my      
husband wished it1 and he was a         
cheerful1 magnetic host1 though he      
accepted few invitations to dinner      
himself4 ,no wine was served at these   

dinners1 and yet they were by no means  
dull or tiresome4 ,our guests were men  
of ideas1 men like ,justice ,brewer1    
,speaker ,reed1 ,senator ,burrows1      
,justice ,harlan1 ,vice-,president      
,fairbanks1 ,governor ,stone1 and       
,senators who have since become members 
of the old guard4 ,it was said in       
,washington at the time that ,dr4       
,talmage's dinner parties were          
delightful1 because they were ostensible
 opportunities to hear men talk who had 
something to say4 ,the ,doctor was      
liberal-minded about everything1 but his
 standards of conduct were the laws of  
his life that no one could jeopardise or
 deny4  ,a very prominent society woman 
came to ,dr4 ,talmage one day to ask the
 favour that he preach a temperance     
sermon for the benefit of ,sir ,wilfrid 
,laurier1 whom she wanted to interest in
 temperance legislation4 ,she promised  
to bring him to the ,doctor's church for
 that purpose4  ,madame1 ,i shall be    
very glad to have ,sir ,wilfrid ,laurier

 attend my church1 said the ,doctor1 but
 ,i never preach at anybody4 ,your      
request is something ,i cannot agree to4
 ,the lady was a personal friend1 and   
she persisted4 ,finally the ,doctor said
 to her3  ,mrs4 ,g----1 my wife and ,i  
are invited to meet ,sir ,wilfrid       
,laurier at a dinner in your house next 
week4 ,will you omit the wines at that  
dinner8 ,the lady admitted that that    
would be impossible4  ,then you see1    
,madame1 how difficult it would be for  
me to alter my principles as a preacher4
 ,in ,may1 #ahii1 ,dr4 ,talmage and ,i  
left ,washington and went to ,east      
,hampton--alone4 ,contrary to his usual 
custom of closing his summer home       
between seasons1 the ,doctor had allowed
 a minister and his family to live there
 for three months4 ,diphtheria had      
developed in the family during that time
 and the ,doctor ordered everything in  
the house to be burned1 and the walls   
scraped4 ,so the whole house had to be  
refurnished1 and the ,doctor and ,i     

together selected the furniture4 ,it was
 a joyous time1 it was like redecorating
 our lives with a new charm and         
sentiment that was intimately beautiful 
and refreshing4 ,i remember the         
tenderness with which the ,doctor showed
 me a place on the door of the barn     
where his son ,de,witt1 who died1 had   
carved his initials4 ,he would never    
allow that spot to be touched1 it was   
sacred to the memory of what was perhaps
 the most absorbing affection of his    
life4 ,he always called ,east ,hampton  
his earthly paradise1 which to him meant
 a busy ,utopia4 ,he was very fond of   
the sea bathing1 and his chief          
recreation was running on the beach4 ,he
 was #fe years old1 yet he could run    
like a young man4 ,these few weeks were 
a memorable vacation4  ,in ,june1 ,dr4  
,talmage made an engagement to attend   
the #fjth commencement exercises of the 
,erskine ,theological ,college in ,due  
,west1 ,south ,carolina4 ,this is the   
place where secession was first planned1

 as it is also the oldest ,presbyterian 
centre in the ,united ,states4 ,we were 
the guests of ,dr4 ,grier1 the president
 of the college4 ,it was known that     
,rev4 ,david ,p4 ,pressly1 ,presbyterian
 patriarch and graduate of this college1
 had been my father's pastor in         
,pittsburg1 and this association added  
some interest to my presence in ,due    
,west with the ,doctor4 ,the ,rev4      
,e4,p4 ,lindsay1 my brother's pastor in 
,pittsburg1 had also been born there1   
and his mother1 when ,i met her in      
#ahii1 was still a vigorous             
,secessionist4 ,her greatest            
disappointment was the fact that her son
 had abandoned the sentiments of        
,secession and had gone to preach in a  
,northern church4 ,she told us that she 
had once hidden ,jefferson ,davis in her
 house for three days4 ,due ,west was a 
quiet little village inhabited by some  
rich people who lived comfortably on    
their plantations4 ,the graduating class
 of the college were entertained at     

dinner by ,dr4 ,grier and the ,doctor4  
,there was a great deal of comment upon 
the physical vigour and strength of ,dr4
 ,talmage's address1 most of which      
reached me4 ,a gentleman who was present
 was reminded of the remarkable energy  
of the ,rev4 ,dr4 ,pressly1 who preached
 for over fifty years1 and was married  
three times4 ,when asked about his      
health1 ,dr4 ,pressly always throughout 
his life made the same reply1 ,never    
better2 never better4 ,after he had won 
his third wife1 however1 he used to     
reply to this question with greater     
enthusiasm than before1 saying1 ,better 
than ever2 better than ever4 ,another   
resident of ,due ,west1 who had heard   
both the ,booths in their prime1 said1  
,talmage has more dramatic power than ,i
 ever saw in ,booth4 ,this visit to ,due
 ,west will always remain in my memory  
as full of sunshine and warmth as the   
days were themselves4  ,we returned to  
,east ,hampton for a few days1 and on   
,july #d1 #ahii1 the ,doctor delivered  

an oration to an immense crowd in the   
auditorium at ,ocean ,grove4 ,this was  
the beginning of a summer tour of       
,chautauquas1 first in ,michigan1 then  
up the lakes near ,mackinaw ,island1 and
 later to ,jamestown1 ,new ,york4  ,in  
the ,fall of #ahii we made a trip       
,south1 including ,nashville1 ,memphis1 
,chattanooga1 ,birmingham1 and ,new     
,orleans4 ,one remarkable feature of    
,dr4 ,talmage's public life was the way 
in which he was sought as the man of    
useful opinions upon subjects that were 
not related to the pulpit4 ,he was      
always being interviewed upon political 
and local issues1 and his views were    
scattered broadcast1 as if he were      
himself an official of national affairs4
 ,he never failed to be ahead of the    
hour4 ,he regarded the affairs of men as
 the basis of his evangelical purpose4  
,the ,spanish war ended1 and his views  
were sought about the future policy in  
the ,east4 ,the ,boer war came1 and his 
opinions of that issue were published4  

,nothing moved in or out of the world of
 import1 during these last milestones of
 his life1 that he was not asked about  
its coming and its going4 ,his readiness
 to penetrate the course of events1 to  
wrap them in the sacred veil of his own 
philosophy and spiritual fabric1        
combined to make him one of the foremost
 living characters of his time4  ,dr4   
,talmage was the most eager human being 
,i ever knew1 eager to see1 to feel the 
heart of all humanity4 ,i remember we   
arrived in ,birmingham1 ,alabama1 the   
day following the disaster that visited 
that city after the great cyclone4 ,the 
first thing the ,doctor did on our      
arrival was to get a carriage and drive 
through those sections of the city that 
had suffered the most4 ,it was a        
gruesome sight1 with so many bodies     
lying about the streets awaiting burial4
 ,but that was his grasp of life1 his   
indomitable energy1 always alert to see 
and hear the laws of nature at close    
range4  ,we were entertained a great    

deal through the ,south1 where ,i       
believe my husband had the warmest      
friends and a more cordial appreciation 
than in any other part of the country4  
,there was no lack of excitement in this
 life that ,i was leading at the elbow  
of the great preacher1 and sometimes he 
would ask me if the big crowds did not  
tire me4 ,to him they were the habit of 
his daily life1 a natural consequence of
 his industry4 ,however1 ,i think he    
always found me equal to them1 always   
happy to be near him where ,i could see 
and hear all4  ,in ,october of this year
 we returned to ,washington1 when the   
,pan-,presbyterian ,council was in      
session1 and we entertained them at a   
reception in our house till late in the 
evening4 ,the ,international ,union of  
,women's ,foreign ,missionary ,societies
 of the ,presbyterian and ,reformed     
,churches were also meeting in          
,washington at this time1 and they came4
 ,at one of the meetings of the ,council
 ,dr4 ,talmage invited them all to his  

house from the platform in his          
characteristic way4  ,come all1 he said1
 and bring your wives with you4 ,god    
gave ,eve to ,adam so that when he lost 
,paradise he might be able to stand it4 
,she was taken out of man's side that   
she might be near the door of his heart1
 and have easy access to his pockets4   
,therefore1 come1 bringing the ladies   
with you4 ,my wife and ,i shall not be  
entertaining angels unawares1 but       
knowing it all the while4 ,to have so   
much piety and brain under one roof at  
once1 even for an hour or two1 will be a
 benediction to us all the rest of our  
lives4 ,i believe in the communion of   
saints as much as ,i believe in the life
 everlasting4  ,in ,november1 #ahii1    
,dr4 ,talmage installed the ,rev4       
,donald ,mc,leod as succeeding pastor of
 the ,first ,presbyterian ,church in    
,washington1 and delivered the          
installation address1 the subject of    
which was1 ,invitation to ,outsiders4   
,there had been some effort to inspire  

the people of ,washington to build an   
independent ,tabernacle for the ,doctor 
after his resignation1 but he himself   
was not in sympathy with the movement   
because of the additional labour and    
strain it would have put upon him4  ,as 
the winter grew into long1 gray days1 we
 were already planning a trip to ,europe
 for the following year of #aijj1 and we
 were anticipating this event with eager
 expectancy as the time grew near4      
,,the ,,third ,,milestone  #aijj-aija   
,so much has been written about ,dr4    
,talmage the world over1 that ,i am     
tempted to tell those things about him  
that have not been written1 but it is   
difficult to do4 ,he stood always before
 the people a sort of radiant mystery to
 them4 ,he was never really understood  
by those whom he most influenced4 ,a    
writer in an ,english newspaper has     
given the best description of his       
appearance in #aijj ,i ever saw4 ,it is 
so much better than any ,i could make   
that ,i quote it1 regretting that ,i do 

not know the author's name3--  ,a big   
man1 erect and masterful in spite of    
advancing years1 with an expressive and 
mobile mouth that seems ever smiling1   
and with great and speaking eyes which  
proclaim the fervent soul beneath4      
,this portrait is very true1 with a     
suggestion of his nature that makes it a
 faithful transcript of his presence4   
,it is a picture of him at #ff years of 
age4 ,his strength overwhelmed people1  
and yet he was very simple1 easily      
affected by the misfortunes of others1  
direct in all his impressions2 but no   
one could take him by surprise1 because 
his faith in the eternal redemption of  
all trials was beyond the ways of the   
world4 ,his optimism was simple         
,christianity4 ,he always said he       
believed there was as great a number out
 of the ,church as there was in it that 
followed the teaching of ,christianity4 
,he was among the believers1 with his   
utmost energy alert to save and comfort 
the unbelievers4 ,he believed in        

everything and everyone4 ,the           
ingenuousness of his nature was         
childlike in its unchallenged faith and 
its tender instincts4 ,his unworldliness
 was almost legendary in its belief of  
human nature4 ,i remember he was asked  
once whether he believed in ,santa      
,claus1 and in his own beautiful imagery
 he said3  ,i believe in ,santa ,claus4 
,haven't ,i listened when ,i was a boy  
and almost heard those bells on the     
reindeer2 haven't ,i seen the marks in  
the snow where the sleigh stopped at the
 door and old ,santa jumped out8 ,i     
believed in him then and ,i believe in  
him now--believe that children should be
 allowed to believe in the beautiful    
mythical tale4 ,it never hurt anyone1   
and ,i think one of the saddest memories
 of my childhood is of a day when an    
older brother told me there was no      
,santa ,claus4 ,i didn't believe him at 
first1 and afterwards when ,i saw those 
delightful mysterious bundles being     
sneaked into the house1 way down deep in

 my heart ,i believed that ,santa ,claus
 as well as my father and mother had    
something to do with it4  ,in the last  
years of his life music became the      
greatest pleasure to ,dr4 ,talmage4 ,an 
accumulation of work made it necessary  
for me to engage a secretary4 ,we were  
fortunate in securing a young lady who  
was an exquisite pianist4 ,in the       
evening she would play ,liszt's         
rhapsodies for the ,doctor1 who enjoyed 
the ,hungarian composer most of all4 ,he
 said to me once that he felt as if     
music in his study1 when he was at work1
 would be a great inspiration4 ,so my   
,christmas present to him that year was 
a musical box1 which he kept in his     
study4  ,the three months preceding our 
trip to ,europe were spent in the usual 
busy turmoil of social and public life4 
,in truth we were very full of our plans
 for the ,european tour1 which was to be
 devoted to preaching by ,dr4 ,talmage1 
and to show me the places he had seen   
and people he had met on previous       

visits4 ,there was something significant
 in the welcome and the ovations which  
my husband received over there4 ,neither
 the ,doctor nor myself ever dreamed    
that it would be his farewell visit4    
,and yet it seems to me now that he was 
received everywhere in ,europe as if    
they expected it to be his last4  ,i    
must confess that we looked forward to  
our jaunt across the water so eagerly   
that the events of the preceding months 
did not seem very important4 ,with ,dr4 
,talmage ,i went on his usual lecture   
trip ,west1 stopping in ,chicago1 where 
the ,doctor preached in his son's       
church4 ,everywhere we were invited to  
be the guests of some prominent resident
 of the town we were in4 ,it had been so
 with ,dr4 ,talmage for years4 ,he      
always refused1 however1 because he felt
 that his time was too imperative a     
taskmaster4 ,for thirty years he had    
never visited anyone over night1 until  
he went to my brother's house in        
,pittsburg4 ,but we were constantly     

meeting old friends of his1 friends of  
many years1 in every stopping place of  
our journeys4 ,i remember particularly  
one of these characteristic meetings    
which took place in ,new ,york1 where   
the ,doctor1 had gone to preach one     
,sunday4 ,we had just entered the       
,waldorf ,hotel1 where we were stopping1
 when a little man stepped up to the    
,doctor and began picking money off his 
coat4 ,he seemed to find it all over    
him4 ,dr4 ,talmage laughed1 and         
introduced me to ,marshall ,p4 ,wilder4 
,dr4 ,talmage started me in life1 said  
,mr4 ,wilder1 and proceeded to tell me  
how the ,doctor had filled him with     
optimism and success4 ,he was always    
doing this1 gripping young men by the   
shoulders and shaking them into         
healthful life4 ,and then men of        
political or national prominence were   
always seeking him out1 to gain a little
 dynamic energy and balance from the    
,doctor's storehouse of experience and  
philosophy4 ,he was a giant of          

helpfulness and inspiration1 to everyone
 who came into contact with him4  ,in   
,january we dined with ,governor ,stone 
at the executive mansion in ,harrisburg1
 where ,dr4 ,talmage went to preach1 and
 on our return from ,europe ,governor   
,stone insisted upon giving us a great  
reception and welcome4 ,of course1 those
 years were stirring and enjoyable1 and 
never to be forgotten4 ,the reflected   
glory is a personal pleasure after all4 
,in ,april1 #aijj1 we sailed on the     
,kaiser ,wilhelm der ,grosse bound for  
,london4 ,the two points of interest the
 ,doctor insisted upon making in ,europe
 were the ,north ,cape1 to see the      
,midnight ,sun1 and the ,passion ,play  
at ,ober-,ammergau4 ,hundreds of        
invitations had been sent to him to     
preach abroad1 many of which he         
accepted1 but he could not be persuaded 
to lecture4  ,there was never a jollier1
 more electric companion de voyage than 
,dr4 ,talmage during the whole of his   
trip4 ,he was the life of the party1    

which included his daughter1 ,miss ,maud
 ,talmage1 and my daughter1 ,miss       
,rebekah ,collier4  ,on a very stormy   
,sunday1 on board ship going over1 ,dr4 
,talmage preached1 holding on to a      
pillar in the cabin4 ,there were some   
who wondered how he escaped the tortures
 of mal-de-mer1 from which he had always
 suffered4 ,it was a family secret4     
,once1 when crossing with ,mrs4         
,vanderbilt1 she had given ,dr4 ,talmage
 an opium plaster1 which was absolute   
proof against the disagreeable          
consequences of ocean travel4 ,with the 
aid of this plaster the ,doctor's poise 
was perfect4 ,disembarking at           
,southampton we did not reach ,london   
until #c a4m41 going to the hotel       
somewhat the worse for wear4            
,temporarily we stopped at the ,langham1
 moving later to the ,metropole4 ,before
 lunch the same day the ,doctor drove to
 ,westminster ,abbey to see the grave of
 ,gladstone4 ,it was his first thought1 
his first duty4 ,it had been his custom 

for many years to visit the graves of   
his friends whenever he could be near   
them4 ,it was a characteristic impulse  
of ,dr4 ,talmage's to follow to the edge
 of eternity those whom he had known and
 liked4 ,when he was asked in ,england  
what he had come to do there1 he said3  
,i am visiting ,europe with the hope of 
reviving old friendships and stimulating
 those who have helped me in the old    
gospel of kindness4  ,his range of      
vision was always from the ,gospel point
 of view1 not necessarily               
denominational4 ,i remember he was      
asked1 while in ,england1 if there was  
an organisation in ,america akin to the 
,evangelical ,council of ,free          
,churches1 and he said1 while there was 
no such body1 there was a common        
platform in the ,united ,states upon    
almost every subject4  ,the principal   
topic in ,england then was the ,boer    
,war1 which aroused so much hostility in
 our country4 ,the ,doctor's sympathies 
were with the ,boers1 but he tactfully  

evaded any public expression of them in 
,england1 although he was interviewed   
widely on the subject4 ,he never        
believed in rumours that were current1  
that the ,united ,states would interfere
 in the ,transvaal1 and prophesied that 
the ,american ,government would not do  
so--remembering their common origin4    
,the great need in ,america1 he said1 is
 of accurate information about the      
,transvaal affairs4 ,a great many       
,democratic politicians are trying to   
make ,presidential capital out of the   
,boer disturbances1 but it is doubtful  
how far these politicians will be       
permitted to dictate the policy of even 
their own party4  ,i remember the       
candidature for ,president of ,admiral  
,dewey was discussed with ,dr4 ,talmage1
 who had no very emphatic views about   
the matter1 except to declare ,admiral  
,dewey's tremendous popularity1 and to  
acknowledge his support by the good     
,democrats of the country4 ,the ,doctor 
was convinced however that ,mr4         

,mc,kinley would be the next ,president 
at this time4  ,the first service in    
,england which ,dr4 ,talmage conducted  
was in ,cavendish ,chapel at            
,manchester4 ,the next was at ,albert   
,hall in ,nottingham1 under the auspices
 of the ,y4,m4,c4,a4 ,he was described  
in the ,nottingham newspapers as the    
most alive man in the ,united ,states4  
,a great crowd filled the hall at       
,nottingham1 and as usual he was        
compelled to hold an open-air meeting   
afterwards4 ,the first lecture he ever  
delivered in ,england was given in this 
place twenty-one years before4  ,nothing
 interfered with the routine of the     
,doctor's habits of industry during all 
this ,european trip4 ,he had taken over 
with him the proofs of about #bj volumes
 of his selected sermons for correction1
 and all his spare moments were spent in
 perfecting and revising these books for
 the printer4 ,his sermons were the only
 monument he wished to leave to         
posterity4 ,it has caused me the deepest

 regret that these books have not been  
perpetuated as he so earnestly wished4  
,in addition to this work he wrote his  
weekly sermon for the syndicate1        
employing stenographers wherever he     
might be in ,europe two days every week 
for that purpose4 ,and yet he never lost
 interest in the opportunities of       
travel1 eagerly planning trips to the   
old historic places near by4  ,near     
,nottingham is the famous ,byron country
 which ,dr4 ,talmage had never found    
time to visit when he was in ,europe    
before4 ,we were told1 at the hotel in  
,nottingham1 that no visitors were      
allowed inside ,newstead ,abbey1 so that
 when we ordered a carriage to drive    
there the hotel people shrugged their   
shoulders at what they regarded as our  
,american irreverence4 ,the rain was    
coming down in torrents when we started1
 the ,doctor more than ever determined  
to overthrow ,british custom in his     
quiet1 positive way4 ,through slush and 
mud1 under dripping trees1 across       

country landscapes veiled in the tender 
mist of clouds1 we finally arrived at   
the ,abbey4 ,the huge outer gates were  
open1 but the driver1 with proper       
,british respect for the law1 stopped   
his horses4 ,the ,doctor leaned his head
 out of the carriage window and told him
 to drive into the grounds4 ,obediently 
he did so1 and at last we reached the   
great heavy doors of the entrance4 ,dr4 
,talmage jumped out and boldly rang the 
bell4 ,a sentry appeared to inform us   
that no one was allowed inside the      
,abbey4  ,but we have come all the way  
from ,america to see this place1 the    
,doctor urged4 ,the sentry1 with wooden 
militarism1 was adamant4  ,is there no  
one inside in authority8 the ,doctor    
finally asked4 ,then the housekeeper was
 called4 ,she told us that the ,abbey   
belonged to an ,army officer and his    
wife1 that her master was away at the   
war in ,south ,africa where his wife had
 gone with him1 and that her orders were
 imperative4  ,look here1 just let us   

see the lower floor1 said ,dr4 ,talmage2
 we have come all the way from ,new     
,york to see this place1 and he slipped 
two sovereigns into her hand4 ,still she
 was unmoved4 ,my daughter1 who was then
 about #ad1 was visibly disappointed4   
,england was to her hallowed ground1 and
 she was keenly anxious to walk in the  
footsteps of all its romance1 which she 
had eagerly absorbed in history4        
,turning to the ,doctor1 she said1      
almost tearfully3  ,why1 ,doctor        
,talmage1 how can they refuse you8  ,the
 housekeeper caught the name4  ,who did 
you say this was8 she asked4  ,doctor   
,talmage1 said my daughter4  ,dr4       
,talmage1 ,i was just reading the sermon
 you preached on ,sunday in the         
,nottingham newspaper1 ,i am sure if my 
mistress were at home she would be glad 
to receive you4 ,come in1 come in6  ,so 
we saw ,newstead ,abbey4 ,the           
housekeeper insisted that we should stay
 to tea1 and made us enter our names in 
the visitors' book1 and asked the       

,doctor to write his name on a card1    
saying1 ,i will send this to my mistress
 in ,south ,africa4  ,in the effort to  
remember many of the details of our stay
 in ,england and ,scotland1 ,i find it  
necessary to take refuge for information
 in my daughter's diary4 ,it amused ,dr4
 ,talmage very much as he read it page  
by page4 ,i find this entry made in     
,manchester1 where she was not well     
enough to attend church3--  ,sunday1    
,a4,m4--,doctor ,talmage preached and ,i
 was disappointed that ,i could not go4 
,the people went wild about the ,doctor1
 and he had to make an address after    
church out-of-doors for those who could 
not get inside4 ,several policemen stood
 around the church door to keep away the
 crowd4 ,i saw the ,high ,sheriff       
driving home from church4 ,he was inside
 a coach that looked as though it had   
been drawn out of a fairy tale--a huge  
coach painted red and gold1 with crowns 
or something like them at each of the   
four corners4 ,two footmen dressed in   

,george ,,iii4 liveries were hanging    
behind by ribbons1 and two on the box1  
all wearing powdered wigs4 ,to be sure1 
,i didn't see much of the ,sheriff1 but 
then the coach was the real show after  
all4  ,many of the details of the side  
trips which we made through ,england and
 ,scotland have escaped my memory4 ,in  
looking over my daughter's diary ,i find
 them amplified in the manner of        
girlhood1 now lightly touched with      
fancy1 now solemn with historical       
responsibility1 now charmed with the    
glamour of romance4 ,dr4 ,talmage       
thought so well of them that they will  
serve to show the trail of his footsteps
 through the gateways of ancestral      
,england4  ,we went to ,haddon ,hall    
with ,dr4 ,wrench1 physician to the     
,duke of ,devonshire4 ,we drove from    
,bakewell4 ,in this part of my          
daughter's diary ,i read3--  ,it was a  
most beautiful drive4 ,derbyshire is    
called the ,switzerland of ,england4    
,the hills were quite high and          

beautifully wooded1 and our drive lay   
along the river's edge--a brook we would
 call it in the ,states1 but it is a    
river here--and winds in and out and    
through the fields and around the foot  
of the highest hill of all1 called the  
,peak of ,derbyshire4 ,we passed        
picturesque little farmhouses1 built of 
square blocks of rough1 grey stone      
covered with ivy4 ,we drove between     
hawthorn hedges1 through beautiful green
 fields and orchards4 ,from the midst of
 a little forest of grand old trees we  
caught sight of the highest tower of the
 castle1 then we crossed over a little  
stone bridge and passed through the     
gates4 ,another short drive across the  
meadow and we stopped at the foot of a  
little hill1 looking up at ,haddon      
,hall4  ,we walked up to the castle and 
stood before the great iron-studded oak 
door1 which has been there since the    
days of ,queen ,elizabeth4 ,it had not  
been opened for years1 but a smaller one
 had been cut in it through which       

visitors passed4 ,for over #bjj years no
 one had lived in the castle4 ,it was   
built by the ,normans and given by      
,william the ,conqueror to one of his   
,norman ,barons4 ,finally by marriage it
 became the property of ,sir ,george    
,vernon1 who had two daughters1 famous  
for their beauty4 ,margaret ,vernon     
married a ,stanley1 and on the night of 
the wedding ,dorothy ,vernon eloped with
 ,mr4 ,john ,manners4 ,the story is very
 romantic4 ,the ballroom from which     
,dorothy stole away when the wedding    
party was at its height is still just as
 it was then1 excepting for the         
furniture4 ,from the windows you can see
 the little stone bridge where ,manners 
waited for her with the horses4 ,haddon 
,hall became the property of ,dorothy   
,manners and has remained in the hands  
of the ,rutland family1 being now owned 
by the ,duke of ,rutland4  ,that is the 
romance of ,haddon ,hall1 but one could 
make up a hundred to oneself when one   
walks through the different rooms4 ,what

 a queer feeling it gives me to go      
through the old doorways1 to stop and   
look through the queer little windows1  
and on the courtyard1 wondering who     
used1 long ago1 to look out of the same 
windows4 ,i wonder what they saw going  
on in the courtyard8  ,we climbed to the
 top of the highest tower4 ,the stairway
 wound upward with stone steps about    
three feet high cut out of the wall4 ,at
 intervals we found little square rooms1
 very possibly where the men at arms    
slept4 ,what a view at the top6 ,the    
towers and roofs and courtyards of the  
castle lay before us4 ,all around us the
 lovely ,english country1 and as far as 
the eye could see1 hills1 woodland1 and 
the winding river4 ,it was glorious4    
,maud and ,i danced a two-step in the   
ballroom4  ,if stones could only talk6  
,well1 if they could ,i should want a   
long confab with each one in the old    
courtyard of ,haddon ,hall4 ,who can    
tell1 ,william the ,conqueror himself   
may have stepped on some of them4  ,we  

drove from ,haddon ,hall to the ,peacock
 ,inn for luncheon1 going over to       
,chatsworth for the afternoon4 ,again ,i
 turn a few leaves of the diary3        
,chatsworth is one of the homes of the  
,duke of ,devonshire4 ,the park is      
fourteen miles across and ,i don't know 
how big it is1 but ,dr4 ,wrench told me 
the number of acres1 and ,i think it was
 three or four thousand4 ,we drove five 
miles through the park before reaching  
the gates of ,chatsworth--shall ,i call 
it house or castle8 ,i have pictures of 
it1 and it is a good thing for ,i could 
not describe it4 ,dr4 ,wrench1 being the
 ,duke's physician1 was able to take us 
through the private rooms4 ,on entering 
the ,hall1 a broad marble staircase     
leads to the corridors above1 from which
 others branch out through different    
parts of the house4 ,we walked miles1 it
 seems1 until we got to the ,duke's     
private library4 ,when you are once in  
the room the doors are shut4 ,you cannot
 tell how you got in or how you will get

 out4 ,on every wall the bookcases are  
built in and there is not an opening of 
any kind2 not a break in the rows and   
rows of books4 ,the explanation is      
simply this3 the doors themselves are   
made to look like book shelves1 painted 
on4  ,chatsworth is so large that were  
,i living there ,i should want a ,cook's
 guide every time ,i moved4 ,one picture
 gallery is full of sketches by         
,hogarth1 and pictures of almost every  
old master you ever heard of1 and some  
you never heard of4 ,opening out of this
 gallery are great glass doors leading  
into halls into which the different     
bedrooms open4 ,in one bedroom the walls
 and ceiling were covered with oil      
paintings1 not hanging but literally    
painted on them4 ,the bed was a huge    
four-poster4 ,the curtains were of heavy
 brocaded satin4 ,the windows looked out
 on terraces1 garden and fountains4 ,i  
like this room best of all4 ,we were    
taken through the state apartments where
 ,i saw on a throne a huge chair of     

state on a platform1 with canopy over   
it1 with the ,duke's crest in gold woven
 upon it4 ,in one of the drawing-rooms  
we saw a life-size portrait of ,henry   
,,viii41 a real true one painted from   
life1 and one of ,philip ,,ii4 of       
,spain1 and of ,charles ,v41 and of     
,anne of ,austria4 ,the ,duke had sent  
special word from ,london to have the   
fountains in the park play for us1 and  
we watched them from the window4 ,they  
are beautiful4 ,such nice shower baths  
for the marble statues on the terrace6  
,the ,prince of ,wales has often visited
 ,chatsworth1 and a funny story was told
 about one of his visits4 ,it was after 
dinner and the drawing-room was full of 
people4 ,whenever ,royalty is present it
 is expected that the men will wear all 
their decorations4 ,well1 the ,earl of  
,something-or-other had forgotten one of
 his1 and someone reported this fact to 
the ,prince who sent for the culprit to 
be brought before him4 ,at the time the 
,prince was seated on one of the huge   

lounges1 on which only a giant could sit
 and keep his feet on the floor4 ,the   
,prince was sitting far back and his    
feet stuck straight out in the air4     
,when the guilty man was brought up to  
be reprimanded the attitude of the      
,prince was far from dignified4 ,his    
,royal ,highness was not really angry1  
but he told the poor ,earl of           
,something-or-other that he must write  
out the oath of the ,order that he had  
forgotten to wear4 ,it was a long oath  
and the ,earl's memory was not so long4 
,we went from ,nottingham to ,glasgow4  
,the date1 ,i find1 is ,may #a1 #aijj4  
,it was always ,dr4 ,talmage's custom to
 visit the cemetery first1 so we drove  
out to the grave of ,john ,knox4 ,in    
,glasgow the ,doctor preached at the    
,cowcaddens ,free ,church to the usual  
crowded congregation1 and he was        
compelled to address an overflow meeting
 from the steps of the church after the 
regular service4 ,the best part of ,dr4 
,talmage's holiday moods1 which were as 

scarce as he could make them because of 
the amount of work he was always doing1 
were filled with the delight of watching
 the eager interest in sightseeing of   
the two girls1 ,miss ,maud ,talmage and 
my daughter4 ,in ,glasgow we encountered
 the usual wet weather of the proverbial
 ,scottish quality1 and it was ,saturday
 of the week before we ventured out to  
see the ,lakes4 ,my daughter naively    
confesses the situation to her journal  
as follows3--  ,this ,a4,m4--,got up at 
the usual starting hour1 #g o'clock1 and
 as it looked only dark we decided to   
go4 ,at breakfast it started to rain    
again and ,mamma and the ,doctor began  
to back out1 but ,maud and ,i talked to 
some advantage4 ,we argued that if we   
were going to sit around waiting for a  
fair day in this country we might just  
as well give up seeing anything more    
interesting than hotel parlours and     
dining-rooms4  ,we started1 and just as 
a 'send off' the old sky opened and let 
down a deluge of water4 ,it rained all  

the time we were on ,loch ,lomond1 but  
that didn't prevent us from being up on 
deck on the boat4 ,from under umbrellas 
we saw the most beautiful scenery in    
,scotland4 ,part of this trip was made  
by coach1 always in the pouring rain4   
,we drove on and on through the hills1  
seeing nothing but sheep1 sheep1 sheep4 
,doctor ,talmage asked the driver what  
kind of vegetables they raised in the   
mountains and the driver                
replied--'mutton4' ,we had luncheon at a
 very pretty little hotel on ,loch      
,katrine1 and here boarded a little     
steamer launch1 ',rob ,roy1' for a      
beautiful sail4 ,i never1 no matter     
where ,i travel1 expect to look upon a  
lake more beautiful4 ,the mountains give
 wildness and romance to the calm and   
quiet of the lake1 and the island4 ,maud
 read aloud to us parts of ',the ,lady  
of the ,lake' as we sat out on deck4    
,in ,edinburgh ,dr4 ,talmage preached   
his well-known sermon upon unrequited   
services1 at the request of ,lord       

,kintore1 the son of the ,earl of       
,kintore1 who had suggested the theme to
 him some years before4 ,in fact the    
,doctor wrote this sermon by special    
suggestion of the ,earl of ,kintore4    
,incidents great and small were such a  
large part of the eventful trip to      
,europe that it is difficult to make    
those omissions which the disinterested 
reader might wish4 ,the ,doctor1 like   
ourselves1 saw with the same            
rose-coloured glasses that we did4 ,we  
were very pleasantly entertained in     
,edinburgh by ,lord ,kintore and others1
 but the most interesting dinner party  
,i think was when we were the guests of 
,sir ,herbert ,simpson1 brother of the  
celebrated ,sir ,james ,y4 ,simpson1 the
 man who discovered the uses of         
chloroform as an anaesthetic4 ,we dined 
in the very room where the discovery was
 first tested4 ,when ,dr4 ,simpson had  
decided upon a final experiment of the  
effects of chloroform as an anaesthetic1
 he invited three or four of his        

colleagues and friends to share the test
 with him4 ,they met in the very room   
where we dined with ,sir ,herbert       
,simpson and his family4 ,the story goes
 that when everything had been prepared 
for the evening's work1 ,dr4 ,simpson   
informed ,sandy1 an old servant1 that he
 must not be disturbed under any        
circumstances1 telling him not to       
venture inside the door himself until #e
 a4m4 ,then1 if no one had left the     
room1 he was to enter4 ,sandy obeyed    
these instructions to the letter1 and   
came into the room at #e in the morning4
 ,he was very much shocked to find his  
master and the others under the table in
 a stupor4 ,i never thought my master   
would come to this1 said ,sandy4 ,he was
 still in the employ of the family1     
being a very old man4  ,dr4 ,talmage's  
engagements took him from ,edinburgh to 
,liverpool1 where he preached4 ,it was  
while there that we made a visit to     
,hawarden to see ,mrs4 ,gladstone4 ,the 
,doctor had been to ,hawarden before as 

the guest of ,mr4 ,gladstone1 and was   
disappointed to find that ,mrs4         
,gladstone was too ill to be seen by    
anyone4 ,we were entertained1 however1  
by ,mrs4 ,herbert ,gladstone4 ,i        
remember how much the ,doctor was moved 
when he saw in the hall at ,hawarden a  
bundle of walking sticks and three or   
four hats hanging on the hat-rack1 as   
,mr4 ,gladstone had left them when he   
died4  ,from ,liverpool we went to      
,sheffield1 where ,dr4 ,talmage preached
 to an immense congregation4 ,it was in 
,may1 the time when all ,england is     
flower-laden1 when the air is as sweet  
as perfume and the whole countryside is 
as fascinating as a garden4 ,it was the 
coaching season1 too1 and the ,doctor   
entered into the spirit of these        
beautiful days very happily4 ,we took a 
ten days' trip from ,leamington after   
leaving ,sheffield1 coaching through the
 exquisite scenery around about         
,warwick1 ,kenilworth1 and the          
,shakespeare country in                 

,stratford-on-,avon4 ,most of these     
reminiscences are full of incidents too 
intimate for public interest4 ,like a   
dream that lifts one from prosaic life  
into the places of precious remembrance 
,i recall these long1 happy days in the 
glorious sunset of his life4  ,we       
returned to ,london in time for the     
,doctor's first preaching engagement    
there on ,may #bh1 #aijj4 ,the ,london  
newspapers described him as ,the        
,american ,spurgeon4  ,and now before   
the services opened at ,st4 ,james'     
,hall a congregation of #c1jjj people   
waited to hear ,dr4 ,talmage1 says a    
,london newspaper4 ,then it goes on to  
say further3--  ,dr4 ,talmage1 who has  
preached from pulpits all over the      
world1 may be described as an ',american
 ,spurgeon4' ,none of our great ,english
 speakers is less of an orator4 ,dr4    
,talmage is a great speaker1 but his    
power as an orator is not by any means  
that of a ,gladstone or a ,bright4 ,it  
lies more in the matter than in the     

manner1 in his wonderful imagery1 the   
vividness with which he conjures up a   
picture before the congregation4 ,he is 
a great artist in words4 ,dr4 ,talmage  
affects nothing2 he is naturalness      
itself in the pulpit1 and the manner of 
his speech suggests that he is angry    
with his subject4 ,the sermon on this   
occasion lent itself well to a master of
 metaphor such as ,dr4 ,talmage1 it     
being a review of the last great battle 
of the world1 when the forces of right  
and wrong should meet for the final     
mastery4  ,dr4 ,talmage rarely preached 
this sermon because it was a great tax  
on his memory4 ,it included a suggestion
 of all the great battles of the earth1 
a vivid description of the armies of the
 world marching forward in the eternal  
human struggle of right against wrong   
until they were masked for the last     
great battle of all1 when ,satan would  
take the field in person1 in whose      
make-up nothing bad was left out1       
nothing good was put in4  ,it is very   

remarkable to see the universal         
acknowledgments of the ,doctor's genius 
in ,england1 one of the ,london         
newspapers going so far as to describe  
him in its headlines as ,america's      
,apostle4 ,nothing ,i could write about 
him could be more in eulogy1 more in    
sympathy in comprehension of his        
brilliant sacred message to the world4  
,england proclaimed him as he was1 with 
deep sincerity and reverence4  ,his     
favourite sermon1 and it was mine also1 
was upon the theme of unrequited        
services1 the text being from ,i ,samuel
 xxx4 #bd1 ,but as his part is that     
goeth down to the battle1 so shall his  
part be that tarrieth by the stuff4 ,it 
was in this sermon that ,dr4 ,talmage   
made reference to ,florence             
,nightingale1 in the following words3-- 
,women1 your reward in the eternal world
 will be as great as that of ,florence  
,nightingale1 the ,lady of the ,lamp4   
,while in ,london he preached this      
sermon1 and the following day to our    

surprise the ,doctor received the       
following note at his hotel3--          
,june #c1 #aijj4     #aj1 ,south        
,street1     ,park ,lane4      ,dear    
,sir--     ,i could gladly see you      
to-morrow 7,monday7 at #e4--,yours      
faithfully1     ,,florence              
,,nightingale4     ,t4 ,de,witt         
,talmage1 of ,america4  ,i have         
carefully kept the letter in my         
autograph album4  ,dr4 ,talmage and ,i  
called at the appointed time4 ,it was a 
beautiful summer day and we found the   
celebrated woman lying on a couch in a  
room at the top of the house1 the       
windows of which looked out on ,hyde    
,park4 ,she was dressed all in white4   
,her face was exquisitely spiritual1    
calm1 sweet with the youth of a soul    
that knew no age4 ,she had never known  
that she had been called ',the ,lady of 
the ,lamp' by the soldiers of the       
,crimea till she read of it in the      
,doctor's sermon4 ,she was curious to be
 told all about it4 ,in conversation    

with the ,doctor she made many inquiries
 about ,america and the ,spanish war1   
making notes on a pad of what he said4  
,the ,doctor told her that she looked   
like a woman who had never known the    
ordinary conflicts of life1 as though   
she had always been supremely happy and 
calm in her soul4 ,i remember she       
replied that she had never known a day's
 real happiness till she began her work 
as a nurse on the battlefield4  ,i was  
not always happy1 she said2 ,i had my   
idle hours when ,i was a girl4 ,i may   
not remember her exact words1 but this  
is the sense of them4 ,she was past #hb 
years of age at the time4  ,enjoying the
 intervals of sight-seeing1 such as the 
,tower1 the ,museum1 ,westminster       
,abbey1 and the usual wonders of        
historical ,london1 we remained in town 
several weeks4 ,i remember a visit which
 ,mr4 ,choate1 the ,american            
,ambassador1 made us with a view to     
extending any courtesy he could for the 
,doctor while we were in ,england4 ,i   

told him that ,i was more anxious to see
 the ,british ,parliament in session    
than anything else4  ,i should think1 as
 ,dr4 ,talmage has with him a letter    
from the ,president of the ,united      
,states1 this request could be arranged1
 ,i said4  ,mr4 ,choate gracefully      
replied that ,dr4 ,talmage required no  
introduction anywhere1 not even from the
 ,president1 and arranged to have the   
,charge d',affaires1 ,mr4 ,white1 who   
was later ,ambassador to ,france1 take  
us over to the ,houses of ,parliament1  
where we were permitted a glimpse of the
 ,members at work from the cage         
enclosure reserved for lady visitors4   
,the ,doctor's friends in ,england did  
their best to make us feel at home in   
,london4 ,we were dined and lunched1 and
 driven about whenever ,dr4 ,talmage    
could spare time from his work4 ,sir    
,alfred ,newton1 the ,lord ,mayor1 and  
,lady ,newton gave us a luncheon at the 
,mansion ,house on ,june #e1 #aijj4 ,i  
remember the date because it was an     

epoch in the history of ,england4       
,during the luncheon the news reached   
the ,lord ,mayor of the capture of      
,pretoria4 ,he ordered a huge banner to 
be hung from the ,mansion ,house on     
which were the words--  ,,the ,,british 
,,flag ,,flies ,,at ,,pretoria4  ,this  
was the first intimation of the event   
given to ,londoners in that part of the 
city4 ,side by side with it another     
banner proclaimed the ,national prayer1 
,god ,save the ,queen1 in big red       
letters on the white background4 ,a     
scene of wild enthusiasm and excitement 
followed4 ,every ,englishman in that    
part of ,london1 ,i believe1 began to   
shout and cheer at the top of his lungs4
 ,an immense crowd gathered in the      
adjoining streets around the ,mansion   
,house4 ,the morning war news had only  
indicated a prolonged struggle1 so that 
the capture of ,pretoria was a great and
 joyous surprise to the ,british heart4 
,suddenly all hats were off1 and the    
crowds in the streets sang the ,national

 ,anthem4 ,there were loud calls for the
 ,lord ,mayor to make a speech4 ,we     
watched it all from the windows in the  
parlour of the ,mansion ,house1 at the  
corner of ,queen ,victoria ,street4 ,dr4
 ,talmage was as wildly enthusiastic as 
any ,englishman1 cheering and waving his
 arm from the open windows in hearty    
accord with the crowd below4 ,there was 
no sleep for anyone in ,london that     
night4 ,around our hotel1 the blowing of
 horns and cheering lasted till the     
small hours of the morning4 ,it seemed  
very much like the excitement in        
,america after the capture of the       
,spanish ,fleet4  ,we left ,london      
finally with many regrets1 having       
enjoyed the hospitality of what is to me
 the most attractive country in the     
world to visit4 ,we went direct to      
,paris to attend the opening ceremonies 
of the ,paris ,exposition of #aijj4 ,it 
seems like a very old story to tell     
anything to-day of this event1 and to   
,dr4 ,talmage it was chiefly a          

repetition of the many ,fairs he had    
seen in his life1 but he found time to  
write a description of it at the time1  
which recalls his impressions4 ,he      
regarded it as ,an ,object ,lesson of   
,peace and a ,tableau of the            
,millennium4  ,his defence of ,general  
,peck1 the ,american                    
,commissioner-,general1 who was         
criticised by the ,american exhibitors1 
was made at length4 ,he considered these
 criticisms unjust1 and said so4 ,during
 our stay in ,paris ,dr4 ,talmage       
preached at the ,american churches4     
,fearing that it would be difficult to  
secure rooms in ,paris during the       
,exposition1 the ,doctor had written    
from ,washington during the winter and  
engaged them at the hotel which a few   
years before had been one of the best in
 ,paris4 ,many changes had occurred     
since he had last been abroad1 however1 
and we found that the hotel where we had
 engaged rooms was far from being       
suitable for us4 ,the mistake caused    

some amusement among our ,american      
friends1 who were surprised to find ,dr4
 ,talmage living in the midst of a      
,parisian gaiety entirely too           
promiscuous for his calling4 ,we soon   
moved away from this zone of oriental   
music and splendour to a quieter and    
more remote hotel in the ,rue           
,castiglione4  ,dr4 ,talmage was        
restless1 however1 to reach the ,north  
,cape in the best season to see the     
,midnight ,sun in its glory1 and we only
 remained in ,paris a few days1 going   
from there to the ,hague1 ,amsterdam1   
and thence to ,copenhagen in ,denmark4  
,in all the cities abroad we were always
 the guests of the ,american ,embassy   
one evening during our stay1 and this   
frequently led to private dinner parties
 with some of the prominent residents1  
which the ,doctor greatly enjoyed1      
because it gave him an opportunity to   
know the foreign people in their homes4 
,i remember one of these invitations    
particularly because as we drove into   

the grounds of our host's home he       
ordered the ,american flag to be hoisted
 as we entered4 ,the garden was         
beautiful with a profusion of yellow    
blossoms1 a national flower in ,denmark 
known as ,golden ,rain4 ,we admired them
 so much that our host wanted to present
 me with sprigs of the trees to plant in
 our home at ,east ,hampton4 ,dr4       
,talmage said he was sure that they     
would not grow out there so near the    
sea4 ,remembering ,judge ,collier's     
grounds in ,pittsburg1 where every sort 
of flower grows1 ,i suggested that they 
would thrive there4 ,our host took my   
father-in-law's address1 and to-day this
 ,golden ,rain of ,denmark is growing   
beautifully in his garden in ,pittsburg4
  ,we saw and explored ,copenhagen      
thoroughly4 ,the ,king of ,denmark was  
absent from the capital1 but we stood in
 front of his palace with the usual     
interest of visitors1 little expecting  
to be entertained there1 as afterwards  
we were4 ,it all came as a surprise4    

,we were on our way to the station to   
leave ,copenhagen1 when ,mr4 ,swenson1  
the ,american ,minister1 overtook us and
 informed us that the ,crown ,prince and
 ,princess desired to receive ,dr4      
,talmage and his family at the summer   
palace4 ,though it may be at the risk of
 lese majeste to say it1 some persuasion
 was necessary to induce the ,doctor to 
remain over4 ,our trunks were already at
 the station and ,dr4 ,talmage was      
anxious to get up to the ,north ,cape4  
,however1 the ,american ,minister       
finally prevailed upon the ,doctor to   
consider the importance of a request    
from royalty1 and we went back to the   
hotel into the same rooms we had just   
left4  ,our presentation took place the 
next day at the summer palace1 which is 
five miles from ,copenhagen4 ,it was the
 most informally delightful meeting4    
,the formalities of royalty that are    
sometimes made to appear so overwhelming
 to the ordinary individual1 were so    
gracefully interwoven by the ,crown     

,prince and the ,princess with          
cordiality and courtesy1 that we were as
 perfectly at ease1 as if there had been
 crowns hovering over our own heads4    
,the royal children were all present1   
too1 and we talked and walked and       
laughed together like a family party4   
,the ,crown ,princess said to me1 ,come1
 let me show you my garden1 and we      
strolled in the beautiful grounds4 ,the 
,crown ,prince said1 ,come1 let me show 
you my den1 and there gave us the       
autographs of himself and the ,princess4
 ,we left regretfully4 ,as we drove away
 the royal party were gathered at the   
front windows of the palace waving their
 handkerchiefs to us in graceful adieus4
 ,i remember my little daughter was very
 much surprised with the simplicity of  
the whole affair1 saying to me as we    
drove away1 ,why1 it was just like      
visiting ,grandpa's home4  ,on our way  
to ,troendhjem from ,copenhagen we      
stayed over a few days at ,christiania1 
where we were the guests of ,nansen1 the

 ,arctic explorer4 ,his home1 which     
stood out near the water's edge1 was    
like a bungalow made of pine logs4      
,there were no carpets on the floors1   
which were covered with the skins of    
animals he had himself killed4 ,trophies
 of all sorts were in evidence4 ,it was 
a very memorable afternoon with the     
simple1 brave1 scientific ,nansen4  ,at 
,troendhjem we took the steamer ,koeng  
,harald for the ,north ,cape4 ,a party  
of ,american friends had just returned  
from there with the most lugubrious     
story about the bad weather and their   
utter failure to see the sun4 ,as it was
 pouring rain when we started1 it would 
not have taken much persuasion to induce
 us to give it all up4 ,but we had      
started with a purpose1 and silently but
 firmly we went on with it4 ,dr4        
,talmage never turned back at any cross 
road in his whole life4 ,in a few hours 
after leaving ,troendhjem we were in the
 raw1 cold ,arctic temperature where a  
new order of existence begins4  ,we lose

 all sense of ordinary time1 for our    
watches indicate midnight1 and there is 
no darkness4 ,the over-hanging clouds   
draw slowly apart1 and the most         
brilliant1 dazzling midnight sun covers 
the waters and sets the sky on fire4 ,it
 neither rises from the horizon or sinks
 into it4 ,it stays perfectly1 immovably
 still4 ,after a while it rises very    
slowly4 ,the meals on board are as      
irregular as the time2 they are served  
according to the adaptability of one's  
appetite to the strangeness of the new  
element of constant daytime4 ,we        
scarcely want to sleep1 or know when to 
do so4 ,fortunately our furs are handy1 
for there is snow and ice on the wild1  
barren rocks on either side of us4  ,on 
,july #a1 at #h p4m41 we sighted this   
northernmost land1 the ,cape1 and were  
immediately induced to indulge in cod   
fishing from the decks of our steamer4  
,it is the custom1 and the cod seem to  
accept the situation with perverse      
indiscretion1 for many of them are      

caught4 ,our lines and bait are provided
 by sailors4 ,dinner is again delayed to
 enable us to indulge in this sport1 but
 we don't mind because we have lost all 
the habitual tendencies of our previous 
normal state4  ,at #aj p4m41 in a bright
 daylight1 the small boats full of      
passengers begin to leave the steamer   
for the shore4 ,in about fifteen minutes
 we are landed at the base of that      
towering ,cape4 ,there are some who     
doubt the wisdom of ,dr4 ,talmage's     
attempting to climb at his age4 ,he has 
no doubts1 however1 and no one expresses
 them to him4 ,he is among the first to 
take the staff1 handed to him as to all 
of us1 and starts up at his usual brisk1
 striding gait4 ,it is a test of lungs  
and heart1 of skill and nerve to climb  
the ,north ,cape1 and let no one attempt
 it who is unfitted for the task4 ,steep
 almost as the side of a house1 rocky as
 an unused pathway1 it is a feat to     
accomplish4 ,we were the first party of 
the season to go up1 and the paths had  

not been entirely cleared of snow1 which
 was two and three feet deep in places1 
the path itself sometimes a narrow ledge
 over a precipice4 ,a rope guard was the
 only barrier between us and a slippery 
catastrophe4 ,every ten or fifteen      
minutes we sat down to get our breath4  
,it took us two hours to reach the top4 
,it was a few minutes after midnight    
when the sun came out gloriously4       
,coming down was much more perilous1 but
 we got back in safety to the ,koeng    
,harald at #b a4m4 ,on our way down to  
,troendhjem we celebrated the ,fourth of
 ,july on board4 ,the captain decorated 
the ship for the occasion and we all    
tried to sing ,the ,star ,spangled      
,banner1 but we could not remember the  
words1 much to our mutual surprise and  
finally we compromised by singing       
,america1 and1 worst of all1 ,yankee    
,doodle4 ,dr4 ,talmage made a very happy
 address1 and we came into port finally1
 pledged to learn the words of ,the     
,star ,spangled ,banner before the year 

was up4  ,in our haste to reach the     
,north ,cape we had passed hurriedly    
through ,sweden1 so1 on our return we   
went from ,troendhjem to ,stockholm1    
where we arrived on ,july #g1 #aijj4    
,when in ,london ,dr4 ,talmage had      
accepted an invitation to preach in the 
largest church in ,sweden1 with some    
misgiving1 because1 as he himself said  
when asked to do this1 ,shall ,i have an
 audience8 ,of course the ,doctor did   
not speak the ,swedish language4 ,dr4   
,talmage had been told in ,england that 
his name was known through all ,sweden1 
which was a fact fully sustained by a   
publisher in ,stockholm who came to the 
hotel one afternoon and brought copies  
of ten of the ,doctor's books translated
 into ,swedish4 ,this insured a cordial 
greeting for the ,doctor1 but how was he
 to make himself understood8  ,the      
,immanuel ,church in ,stockholm1 one of 
the largest ,i ever saw1 with two       
galleries and three aisles1 was filled  
to its capacity4 ,dr4 ,talmage was to   

preach through an interpreter1 himself a
 foremost preacher in his own country4  
,the ,doctor had preached through       
interpreters three times in his life2   
once when a theological student         
addressing a congregation of ,american  
,indians1 once in a church in ,hawaii1  
and once in ,ceylon through an          
interpreter standing on each side of    
him1 one to translate into ,cingalese1  
and the other to translate into         
,hindustan4 ,no one who was present at  
that morning ,sabbath service on ,july  
#h1 #aijj1 will forget the strange      
impressions that translated sermon      
preached by ,dr4 ,talmage made upon     
everyone4 ,sentence by sentence the     
brilliant interpreter repeated the      
,doctor's words in the ,swedish         
language1 while the congregation in     
eager silence studied ,dr4 ,talmage's   
face while listening to the translation 
of his ideas4  ,whether ,i did them any 
good or not they did me good1 said the  
,doctor after the service4  ,while in   

,stockholm we dined with ,mr4 ,wyndham1 
,secretary of the ,american ,legation1  
and were shown through the private rooms
 of the royal palace1 of which my       
daughter took snapshots with            
surreptitious skill4 ,the ,queen was a  
great invalid and scarcely ever saw     
anyone1 but while driving to her summer 
palace we caught a glimpse of her being 
lifted from her little horse1 on which  
she had been riding1 seated in a sort of
 armchair saddle4 ,with a groom to lead 
the horse ,her ,majesty took the air    
every day in this way4 ,she was a very  
frail little woman4  ,from ,stockholm we
 started by steamer for ,st4            
,petersburg1 but the crowd was so great 
that we found our staterooms impossible1
 and we disembarked at ,alba1 the first 
capital in ,finland4 ,we were curious to
 see the new capital1 ,helsingfors1 and 
stopped over a day or two there4 ,from  
,helsingfors we went by rail to the     
,russian capital4  ,dr4 ,talmage had    
been in ,russia years before1 on the    

occasion of his presentation of a       
shipload of flour from the ,american    
people to the famine sufferers4 ,at that
 time he had been presented to ,emperor 
,alexander ,,iii41 as well as the       
,dowager ,empress4 ,it was his intention
 to pay his respects again to the new   
,emperor1 whose father he had known1 so 
that we looked forward to our stay in   
,st4 ,petersburg as eventful4 ,the      
,crown ,prince of ,denmark had urged the
 ,doctor to see his brother-in-law1 the 
,czar1 while in ,st4 ,petersburg1 and we
 learned later that he had written a    
letter to the ,court concerning our     
coming to ,st4 ,petersburg4  ,on ,july  
#bc1 #aijj1 we received the following   
note from ,dr4 ,pierce1 the ,american   
,charge d',affaires in ,st4             
,petersburg3--      ,july #bc1 #aijj4   
,embassy of the ,united ,states1 ,st4   
,petersburg4      ,dear ,dr4 ,talmage-- 
,i take much pleasure in informing you  
that you and ,mrs4 ,talmage and     your
 daughters will be received by ,their   

,majesties the ,emperor and     ,empress
 on ,wednesday next1 at #ba_/b p4m4     
,yours very sincerely1     ,,herbert    
,h4,d4 ,,pierce4      ,p4,s4--,i will   
let you know the details later4  ,mr4   
,pierce called in full court dress and  
informed ,dr4 ,talmage that it would be 
necessary for him to appear in like     
regalia4 ,as the ,doctor was not        
accustomed to wearing swords1 or cocked 
hats1 or brass buttons on his coat1 he  
received these instructions with some   
distress of mind4 ,later1 we received   
from the ,grand ,master of ,ceremonies  
of the ,russian ,court a formal         
invitation to be presented at ,peterhof1
 the summer palace4  ,on ,wednesday1    
,july #be1 #aijj1 ,i find this          
irreverent entry in my ,american girl's 
diary3--  ,i can't think of any words   
sufficiently high sounding with which to
 begin the report of this day1 so shall 
simply write about breakfast first1 and 
gradually lead up to the great event4   
,in spite of the coming honour and the  

present excitement we all ate a hearty  
breakfast4  ,as our train was to leave  
for ,peterhof about noon we spent the   
morning dressing4  ,after all1 writes my
 irreverent daughter in her diary1      
dressing for royalty is not more        
important than dressing for a dance or  
dinner4 ,it can't last for much over an 
hour4 ,when we had everything on we sat 
opposite each other as stiff as         
pokers--waiting4  ,my daughter took a   
snapshot picture of us while waiting4   
,mrs4 ,pierce had kindly given us some  
instructions about curtseying and       
backing away from royalty1 a ceremony   
which neither the ,czar nor the ,czarina
 imposed upon us1 however4 ,the trip to 
,peterhof was made on one of the        
,imperial cars4 ,the distance by rail   
from ,st4 ,petersburg was only          
half-an-hour4 ,a gentleman from the     
,american ,embassy rode with us4 ,we    
were met at the station by footmen in   
royal livery and conducted to a carriage
 with the ,imperial coat-of-arms upon   

it4 ,sentinels in grey coats saluted us4
  ,we were driven first to the ,palace  
of ,peterhof1 where more footmen in gold
 lace1 and two other officials in       
gorgeous uniform1 conducted us inside1  
through a corridor1 past a row of bowing
 servants1 into a dining-room where the 
table was set for luncheon1 with gold   
and silver plates1 cut glass and rare   
china4 ,a more exquisite table setting  
,i never saw4 ,three dressing-rooms     
opened off this big room1 and these we  
promptly appropriated4  ,the luncheon   
was perfect1 though we would have       
enjoyed it better after the strain of   
our presentation had been over4 ,the    
four different kinds of wine were not   
very liberally patronised by any of our 
party4 ,after luncheon we were driven   
through the royal park which was        
literally filled with mounted ,cossacks 
on guard everywhere1 to the abode of the
 ,emperor4 ,through another double line 
of liveried servants we were ushered    
into a small room where the ,master of  

,ceremonies and a lady-in-waiting       
greeted us4 ,we waited about five       
minutes when an officer came to the     
,doctor and took him to see the         
,emperor4 ,a little later we were       
ushered into another room into the      
presence of the ,empress of ,russia4    
,she came forward very graciously with  
outstretched hands to meet us4 ,the     
,czarina is the most beautiful woman ,i 
ever saw1 aristocratic1 simple1         
extremely sensitive4 ,she was dressed in
 a black silk gown with white polka     
dots4 ,slightly taller than the ,czar1  
the ,empress was most affable1 girlish  
in her manner4 ,as she talked the colour
 came and went on her pale1 fair cheeks1
 and she gave me the impression of being
 a very sensitive1 reserved1 exquisitely
 rare nature4 ,her smile had a charming 
yet half melancholy radiance4 ,we all   
sat down and talked4 ,i remember the    
little shiver with which the ,empress   
spoke of a race in the ,orient whom she 
disliked4  ,they would stab you in the  

back1 she said1 her voice fading almost 
to a whisper4 ,she looked to be about   
twenty-eight years old4 ,once when we   
thought it was time to go1 and had      
started to make our adieus1 the ,czarina
 kept on talking1 urging us to stay4    
,she talked of ,america chiefly1 and    
told us how enthusiastic her cousin was 
who had just returned from there4 ,when1
 finally1 we did leave we were spared   
the dreaded ceremony of backing out of  
the room1 for the ,empress walked with  
us to the door1 and shook hands in true 
democratic ,american fashion4  ,dr4     
,talmage's interview with the ,czar was 
quite as cordial4 ,the ,emperor         
expressed his faith in the results of   
the ,peace movement at the ,hague1 for  
he was himself at peace with all the    
world4 ,during the interview the ,doctor
 was asked many questions by the        
,emperor about the heroes of the        
,spanish war1 especially concerning     
,admiral ,dewey4 ,his ,majesty laughed  
heartily at the ,doctor's story of a    

battle in which the only loss of life   
was a mule4  ,how many important things 
have happened since we met1 the ,czar   
said to the ,doctor2 ,i was twenty-four 
when you were here before1 now ,i am    
thirty-two4 ,my father is gone4 ,my     
mother has passed through three great   
sorrows since you were here--the loss of
 my father1 of my brother1 and during   
this last year of her own mother1 the   
,queen of ,denmark4 ,she wishes to see  
you in her own palace4  ,the ,czar is   
about five feet ten in height1 is very  
fair1 with blue eyes1 and seemed full of
 kindness and good cheer4  ,as we were  
leaving1 word came from the ,dowager    
,empress that she would see us1 and we  
drove a mile or two further through the 
royal park to her palace4 ,she greeted  
,dr4 ,talmage with both hands           
outstretched1 like an old friend4       
,though much smaller in stature than the
 ,empress of ,russia1 the ,dowager      
,empress was quite as impressive and    
stately4 ,she was dressed in mourning4  

,her room was like a corner in ,paradise
 set apart from the grim arrogance of   
,imperial ,russia4 ,it was filled with  
exquisite paintings1 sweet with a       
profusion of flowers and plants4 ,she   
seemed genuinely happy to see the       
,doctor1 and her eyes filled with tears 
when he spoke of the late ,emperor1 her 
husband4 ,at her neck she was wearing a 
miniature portrait of him set in        
diamonds4 ,very simply she took it off  
to show to us1 saying1 ,this is the best
 picture ever taken of my husband4 ,it  
is such a pleasure to see you1 ,dr4     
,talmage1 ,i heard of your being in     
,europe from my brother in ,denmark4    
,the ,dowager ,empress was full of      
remembrances of the ,doctor's previous  
visit to ,russia1 eight years before4   
,how did you like the tea service which 
my husband sent you8 she asked ,dr4     
,talmage2 ,i selected it myself4 ,it is 
exactly like a set we use ourselves4    
,the informal charm of the ,empress's   
manner was most friendly and kind4  ,do 

you remember the handful of flowers ,i  
picked for you1 and asked you to send   
them to your family8 she said4  ,you    
stood here1 my husband there1 and ,i    
with my smaller children stood here4    
,how well ,i remember that day2 but1 oh1
 what changes6  ,the ,dowager ,empress  
invited us to come to her palace next   
day and meet the ,queen of ,greece1 her 
niece by marriage1 and her sister-in-law
 who was visiting ,russia just then1 but
 we were obliged to decline because of  
previous plans4 ,very graciously she    
wrote her autograph for us and promised 
to send me her photograph1 which later  
on ,i received4 ,we were driven back to 
the station in the ,imperial carriage1  
where a representative of the ,american 
,embassy met us and rode back to ,st4   
,petersburg with us4  ,so ended a day of
 absorbing interest such as ,i shall    
never experience again4 ,there is a     
touch of humour always to the most      
important events in life4 ,i shall never
 forget ,dr4 ,talmage's real distress   

when he found that the sword which he   
had borrowed from ,mr4 ,pierce1 the     
,charge d',affaires of the ,american    
,embassy1 had become slightly bent in   
the course of its royal adventure4 ,i   
can see his look of anxiety as he tried 
to straighten it out1 and was afraid he 
couldn't4 ,he always abhorred borrowed  
things and hardly ever took them4       
,fortunately1 the sword was not         
seriously damaged4  ,our objective point
 after leaving ,russia was              
,ober-,ammergau1 where ,dr4 ,talmage    
wanted to witness the ,passion ,play4   
,we travelled in that direction by easy 
stages1 going from ,st4 ,petersburg     
first to ,moscow1 where we paid a visit 
to ,tolstoi's house4 ,from ,moscow we   
went to ,warsaw1 and thence to ,berlin4 
,the ,doctor seemed to have abandoned   
himself completely to the lure of       
sightseeing by this time4 ,churches1    
picture galleries1 museums were our     
daily diet4 ,while in ,berlin we        
returned from a drive one day to the    

hotel and found ourselves the objects of
 unusual solicitude and attention from  
the hotel proprietor and his servants4  
,with many obsequious bows we were      
informed that the ,russian ,ambassador  
had called upon us in our absence1 and  
had informed the hotel people that he   
had a special package from the ,czar to 
deliver to me4 ,he left word that he    
would be at the hotel at #b p4m4 the    
following day to carry out his ,imperial
 ,master's instructions4 ,at the time   
appointed the next day the ,russian     
,ambassador called and formally         
presented to me1 in the name of the     
,emperor1 a package that had been sent  
by special messenger4 ,i immediately    
opened it and found a handsome ,russian 
leather case4 ,i opened that1 and inside
 found the autographs of the ,emperor   
and ,empress of ,russia1 written on     
separate sheets of their royal note     
paper4  ,we had a very good time in     
,berlin4 ,the presence of ,sousa and his
 band there gave it an ,american flavour

 that was very delightful4 ,the         
,doctor's interest was really centred in
 visiting the little town of            
,wuerttemberg1 famous for its ,luther   
history4 ,dr4 ,dickey1 ,pastor of the   
,american ,church in ,berlin1 became our
 guide on the day we visited the haunts 
of ,luther4 ,one day we went through the
 ,kaiser's ,palace at ,potsdam1 where my
 daughter managed to use her kodak with 
good effect4  ,from ,berlin we went to  
,vienna1 and thence to ,munich1 arriving
 at the little village of               
,ober-,ammergau on ,august #be1 #aijj4  
,dr4 ,talmage's impressions of the      
,passion ,play1 which he wrote at       
,ober-,ammergau on this occasion1 were  
never published in this country1 and ,i 
herewith include them in these last     
milestones of his life4   ,,the         
,,passion ,,play ,,at ,,ober-,,ammergau 
,by ,rev4 ,t4 ,de,witt ,talmage1 ,d4,d4 
,about fifteen years ago the good people
 of ,america were shocked at the        
proposition to put on the theatrical    

stage of ,new ,york the ,passion ,play1 
or a dramatic representation of the     
sufferings of ,christ4 ,it was to be an 
imitation of that which had been every  
ten years1 since #afcd1 enacted in      
,ober-,ammergau1 ,germany4 ,every       
religious newspaper and most of the     
secular journals1 and all the pulpits1  
denounced the proposition4 ,it would be 
an outrage1 a sacrilege1 a blasphemy4 ,i
 thought so then2 ,i think so now4 ,the 
attempt of ordinary play actors amid    
worldly surroundings1 and before gay    
assemblages1 to portray the sufferings  
of ,christ and ,his assassination would 
have been a horrible indecency that     
would have defied the heavens and       
invoked a plague worse than that for the
 turning back of which the ,passion     
,play at ,ober-,ammergau was            
established4 ,we might have suggested   
for such a scene a ,judas1 or a         
,caiaphas1 or a ,pilate1 or a ,herod4   
,but who would have been the ,christ8   
,the ,continental protest which did not 

allow the curtain of that exhibition to 
be hoisted was right1 and if a similar  
attempt should ever be made in ,america 
,i hope it may be as vehemently         
defeated4 ,but as certain individuals   
may have an especial mission which other
 individuals are not caused to exercise1
 so neighbourhoods and provinces and    
countries may have a call peculiar to   
themselves4  ,whether the ,german       
village of ,ober-,ammergau which ,i have
 just been visiting1 may have such an   
especial ordination1 ,i leave others to 
judge after they have taken into        
consideration all the circumstances4    
,the ,passion ,play1 as it was proposed 
for the theatrical stage in ,new ,york1 
would have been as different from the   
,passion ,play as we saw it at          
,ober-,ammergau a few days ago as       
midnight is different from mid-noon4    
,ober-,ammergau is a picture-frame of   
hills4  ,the mountains look down upon   
the village1 and the village looks up to
 the mountains4 ,the river ,ammer1      

running through the village1 has not    
recovered from its race down the steeps1
 and has not been able to moderate its  
pace4 ,like an arrow1 it shoots past4   
,through exaltations and depressions of 
the rail train1 and on ascending and    
descending grades1 we arrived at the    
place of which we had heard and read so 
much4 ,the morning was as glorious as   
any other morning that was let down out 
of the heavens4 ,though many thousands  
of people from many quarters of the     
earth had lodged that night in          
,ober-,ammergau1 the place at dawn was  
as silent as a hunter's cabin in any of 
the mountains of ,bavaria4 ,the         
,ammergauers are a quiet people4 ,they  
speak in low tones1 and are themselves  
masters of the art of silence4 ,their   
step1 as well as their voice1 is quiet4 
,reverence and courtesy are among their 
characteristics4 ,though merry enough1  
and far from being dolorous1 ,i think   
the most of them feel themselves called 
to a solemn duty1 that in some later    

time they will be called to take part in
 absorbing solemnities1 for about #gjj  
performers appear in the wonderful      
performance2 there are only about #a1djj
 inhabitants4  ,while the morning is    
still morning1 soon after #g o'clock1   
hundreds and thousands of people1 nearly
 all on foot1 are moving in one         
direction1 so that you do not have to   
ask for the place of mighty convocation4
 ,through fourteen large double doors   
the audience enter4 ,everything in the  
immense building is so plain that       
nothing could be plainer1 and the seats 
are cushionless1 a fact which becomes   
thoroughly pronounced after you have for
 eight hours1 with only brief           
intermissions1 been seated on them4     
,all is expectancy6  ,the signal gun    
outside the building sounds startlingly4
 ,we are not about to witness an        
experiment1 but to look upon something  
which has been in preparation and       
gathering force for two hundred and     
sixty-six years4 ,it was put upon the   

stage not for financial gain but as a   
prayer to ,god for the removal of a     
,destroying ,angel which had with his   
wings swept to death other villages1 and
 was then destroying ,ober-,ammergau4   
,it was a dying convulsion in which     
,widowhood and ,orphanage and           
,childlessness vowed that if the ,lord  
should drive back that ,angel of ,death1
 then every ten years they would in the 
most realistic and overwhelming manner  
show the world what ,christ had done to 
save it4  ,they would reproduce ,his    
groan4 ,they would show the blood-tipped
 spear4 ,they would depict the demoniac 
grin of ecclesiastics who gladly heard  
perjurers testify against the best      
,friend the world ever had1 but who     
declined to hear anything in ,his       
defence4 ,they would reproduce the      
spectacle of silence amid wrong2 a      
silence with not a word of protest1 or  
vindication1 or beseechment2 a silence  
that was louder than the thunder that   
broke from the heavens that day when at 

#ab o'clock at noon was as dark as #ab  
o'clock at night4  ,poets have been busy
 for many years putting the ,passion    
,play into rhythm4 ,the ,bavarian       
,government had omitted from it         
everything frivolous4 ,the chorus would 
be that of drilled choirs4 ,men and     
women who had never been out of the     
sight of the mountains which guarded    
their homes would do with religious     
themes what the ,david ,garricks and the
 ,macreadys and the ,ristoris and the   
,charlotte ,cushmans did with secular   
themes4 ,on a stage as unpretentious as 
foot ever trod there would be an        
impersonation that would move the world4
 ,the greatest tragedy of all times     
would find fit tragedian4 ,we were not  
there that ,august morning to see an    
extemporised performance4 ,as long ago  
as last ,december the programme for this
 stupendous rendering was all made out4 
,no man or woman who had the least thing
 objectionable in character or          
reputation might take part4  ,the       

,passion ,council1 made up of the pastor
 of the village church and six devout   
members1 together with the ,mayor and   
ten councillors selected for their moral
 worth1 assembled4 ,after special       
,divine service1 in which heaven's      
direction was sought1 the vote was      
taken1 and the following persons were   
appointed to appear in the more         
important parts of the ,passion ,play3  
,rochus ,lang1 ,herod2 ,john ,zwink1    
,judas2 ,andreas ,braun1 ,joseph of     
,arimathea2 ,bertha ,wolf1 ,magdalen2   
,sebastian ,baur1 ,pilate2 ,peter       
,rendi1 ,john2 ,william ,rutz1          
,nicodemus2 ,thomas ,rendi1 ,peter2     
,anna ,flunger1 ,mary2 ,anton ,lang1    
,christ4  ,the music began its          
triumphant roll1 and the curtains were  
divided and pulled back to the sides of 
the stage4 ,lest we repeat the only     
error in the sacred drama1 that of      
prolixity1 we will not give in minutiae 
what we saw and heard4 ,the full text of
 the play is translated and published by

 my friend1 the ,reverend ,doctor       
,dickey1 pastor of the ,american ,church
 of ,berlin1 and takes up #afi pages1   
mostly in fine print4  ,i only describe 
what most impressed me4  ,there is a    
throng of people of all classes in the  
streets of ,jerusalem1 by look and      
gesture indicating that something       
wonderful is advancing4 ,acclamations   
fill the air4 ,the crowd parts enough to
 allow ,christ to pass1 seated on the   
side of a colt1 which was led by the    
,john whom ,jesus especially loved4 ,the
 ,saviour's hands are spread above the  
throng in benediction1 while ,he looks  
upon them with a kindness and sympathy  
that win the love of the excited        
multitude4 ,arriving at the door of the 
,temple1 ,jesus dismounts and1 walking  
over the palm branches and garments     
which are strewn and unrolled in ,his   
way1 ,he enters the ,temple1 and finds  
that parts of that sacred structure are 
turned into a marketplace1 with cages of
 birds and small droves of lambs and    

heifers which the dealers would sell to 
those who wanted to make a live offering
 in the ,temple4 ,indignation gathers on
 the countenance of ,christ where       
gentleness had reigned4 ,he denounces   
these merchants1 who stood there        
over-reaching in their bargains and     
exorbitantly outrageous in their        
charges4 ,the doors of the cages holding
 the pigeons are opened1 and in their   
escape they fly over the stage and over 
the audience4 ,the table on which the   
exchangers had been gathering           
unreasonable percentage was thrown down1
 and the coin rattled over the floor1   
and the place was cleared of the        
dishonest invaders1 who go forth to plot
 the ruin and the death of ,him who had 
so suddenly expelled them4  ,the most   
impressive character in all the sacred  
drama is ,christ4  ,the impersonator1   
,anton ,lang1 seems by nature far better
 fitted for this part than was his      
predecessor1 ,josef ,mayr1 who took that
 part in #ahgj1 #ahhj1 and #ahij4 ,mayr 

is very tall1 brawny1 athletic4 ,his    
hair was black in those days1 and his   
countenance now is severe4 ,he must have
 done it well1 but ,i can hardly imagine
 him impersonating gentleness and       
complete submission to abuse4 ,but      
,anton ,lang1 with his blonde           
complexion1 his light hair1 blue eyes   
and delicate mouth1 his exquisiteness of
 form and quietness of manner1 is just  
like what ,raphael and many of the old  
masters present4 ,when we talked with   
,anton ,lang in private he looked       
exactly as he looked in the ,passion    
,play4 ,this is his first year in the   
,christ character1 and his success is   
beyond criticism4 ,in his trade as a    
carver of wood he has so much to do in  
imitating the human countenance that he 
understands the full power of           
expression4 ,the way he listens to the  
unjust charges in the court room1 his   
bearing when the ruffians bind him1 and 
his manner when1 by a hand1 thick-gloved
 so as not to get hurt1 a crown of      

thorns was put upon his brow1 and the   
officers with long bands of wood press  
it down upon the head of the sufferer1  
all show that he has a talent to depict 
infinite agony4  ,no more powerful      
acting was ever seen on the stage than  
that of ,john ,zwink1 the ,judas4 ,in   
repose there is no honester face in     
,ober-,ammergau than his4 ,twenty years 
ago he appeared in the ,passion ,play as
 ,st4 ,john2 one would suppose that he  
would do best in a representation of    
geniality and mildness4 ,but in the     
character of ,judas he represents1 in   
every wrinkle of his face1 and in every 
curl of his hair1 and in every glare of 
his eye1 and in every knuckle of his    
hand with which he clutches the money   
bag1 hypocrisy and avarice and hate and 
low strategy and diabolism4 ,the        
quickness with which he grabs the bribe 
for the betrayal of the ,lord1 the      
villainous leer at the ,master while    
seated at the holy supper1 show him to  
be capable of any wickedness4 ,what a   

spectacle when the traitorous lips are  
pressed against the pure cheek of the   
,immaculate ,one1 the disgusting smack  
desecrating the holy symbol of love4    
,but after ,judas has done his deadly   
work then there comes upon him a remorse
 and terror such as you have never seen 
depicted unless you have witnessed the  
,passion ,play at the foot of the       
,bavarian mountains4 ,his start at      
imaginary sounds1 his alarm at a        
creaking door1 his fear at nothing1 the 
grinding teeth and the clenched fist    
indicative of mental torture1 the       
dishevelled hair1 the beating of his    
breast with his hands1 the foaming      
mouth1 the implication1 the shriek1 the 
madness1 the flying here and there in   
the one attempt to get rid of himself1  
the horror increased at his every       
appearance1 whether in company or alone1
 regarded in contrast with the dagger   
scene of ,macbeth makes the latter mere 
child's play4 ,that day1 ,john ,zwink1  
in the character of ,judas1 preached    

fifty sermons on the ghastliness of     
betrayal4 ,the fire-smart of ill-gotten 
gain1 the iron-beaked vulture of an     
aroused conscience2 all the bloodhounds 
of despair seemed tearing him4 ,then1   
when he can endure the anguish no       
longer1 he loosens the long girdle from 
his waist and addresses that girdle as a
 snake1 crying out3--  ,ha6 ,come1 thou 
serpent1 entwine my neck and strangle   
the betrayer1 and hastily ties it about 
his neck and tightens it1 then rushes up
 to the branch of a tree for suicide1   
and the curtain closes before the #d1jjj
 breathless auditors4  ,do ,i approve of
 the ,passion ,play at ,ober-,ammergau8 
,my only answer is that ,i was never so 
impressed in all my life with the       
greatness of the price that was paid for
 the redemption of the human race4 ,the 
suffering depicted was so awful that ,i 
cannot now understand how ,i could have 
endured looking upon its portrayal4 ,it 
is amazing that thousands in the        
audience did not faint into a swoon as  

complete as that of the soldiers who    
fell on the stage at the ,lord's        
reanimation from ,joseph's mausoleum4   
,imagine what it would be to see a      
soldier seemingly thrust a spear into   
the ,saviour's side1 and to see the     
crimson rush from the laceration4       
,would ,i see it acted again8 ,no4 ,i   
would not risk my nerves again under the
 strain of such a horror4 ,one dreams of
 it nights after4  ,when ,christ        
carrying ,his cross falls under it1 and 
you see ,him on ,his hands and knees1   
,his forehead ensanguined with the      
twisted brambles1 and ,veronica comes to
 ,him offering a handkerchief to wipe   
away the tears1 and sweat and blood1    
your own forehead becomes beaded with   
perspiration4 ,as the tragedy moves on1 
solemnity is added to solemnity4 ,not so
 much as a smile in the eight hours1    
except the slight snicker of some fool1 
such as is sure to be found in all      
audiences1 when the cock crew twice     
after ,peter had denied him thrice4     

,what may seem strange to some1 ,i was  
as much impressed with ,christ's mental 
agony as with his physical pangs4 ,oh6  
what a scene when in ,gethsemane ,he    
groaned over the sins of the world for  
which ,he was making expiation1 until   
the angelic throngs of heaven were so   
stirred by ,his impassioned utterance   
that one of their white-winged number   
came out and down to comfort the ,angel 
of the ,new ,covenant6  ,some of the    
tableaux or living pictures between the 
acts of this drama were graphic and     
thrilling1 such as ,adam and ,eve       
expelled from arborescence into         
homelessness2 ,joseph1 because of his   
picturesque attire sold into serfdom1   
from which he mounts to the ,prime      
,minister's chair2 the palace gates shut
 against ,queen ,vashti because she     
declines to be immodest2 manna snowing  
down into the hands of the hungry       
,israelites2 grapes of ,eshcol so       
enormous that one cluster is carried by 
two men on a staff between them2 ,naboth

 stoned to death because ,ahab wants his
 vineyard2 blind ,samson between the    
pillars of the ,temple of ,dagon1 making
 very destructive sport for his enemies4
 ,these tableaux are chiefly intended as
 a breathing spell between the acts of  
the drama4 ,the music rendered requires 
seven basses and seven tenors1 ten      
sopranos and ten contraltos4 ,edward    
,lang has worked thirty years educating 
the musical talent of the village4 ,the 
,passion ,play itself is beyond         
criticism1 though it would have been    
mightier if two hours less in its       
performance4 ,the subtraction would be  
an addition4  ,the drama progresses from
 the entering into ,jerusalem to the    
condemnation by the ,sanhedrim1 showing 
all the world that crime may be         
committed according to law as certainly 
as crime against the law4  ,oh1 the     
hard-visaged tribunal2 countenances as  
hard as the spears1 as hard as the      
spikes1 as hard as the rocks under which
 the ,master was buried6 ,who can hear  

the metallic voice of that ,caiaphas    
without thinking of some church court   
that condemned a man better than        
themselves8 ,caiaphas is as hateful as  
,judas4 ,blessed is that denomination of
 religionists which has not more than   
one ,caiaphas6  ,on goes the scene till 
we reach the goodby of ,mary and ,christ
 at ,bethany4 ,who will ever forget that
 woman's cry1 or the face from which    
suffering has dried the last tear8 ,who 
would have thought that ,anna ,flunger1 
the maiden of twenty-five years1 could  
have transformed her fair and happy face
 into such concentration of gloom and   
grief and woe8 ,mary must have known    
that the goodbye at ,bethany was final1 
and that the embrace of that ,mother and
 ,son was their last earthly embrace4   
,it was the saddest parting since the   
earth was made1 never to be equalled    
while the earth stands4  ,what groups of
 sympathetic women trying to comfort    
her1 as only women can comfort6  ,on    
goes the sacred drama till we come to   

the foot-washing4 ,a few days before1   
while we were in ,vienna1 we had        
explained to us the annual ceremony of  
foot washing by the ,emperor of         
,austria4 ,it always takes place at the 
close of ,lent4 ,twelve very old people 
are selected from the poorest of the    
poor4 ,they are brought to the palace4  
,at the last foot-washing the youngest  
of the twelve was #hf years of age1 and 
the oldest #ib4 ,the ,imperial family   
and all those in high places gather for 
this ceremony4 ,an officer precedes the 
,emperor with a basin of water4 ,for    
many days the old people have been      
preparing for the scene4 ,the ,emperor  
goes down on one knee before each one of
 these venerable people1 puts water on  
the arch of the foot and then wipes it  
with a towel4 ,when this is done a rich 
provision of food and drink is put      
before each one of the old people1 but  
immediately removed before anything is  
tasted4 ,then the food and the cups and 
the knives and the forks are put in     

twelve sacks and each one has his       
portion allotted him4 ,the old people   
come to the foot-washing in the         
,emperor's carriage and return in the   
same way1 and they never forget the     
honour and splendour of that occasion4  
,oh1 the contrast between that          
foot-washing amid pomp and brilliant    
ceremony and the imitated foot-washing  
of our ,lord at ,ober-,ammergau4 ,before
 each one of the twelve ,apostles       
,christ comes down so slowly that a sigh
 of emotion passes through the great    
throng of spectators4 ,christ even      
washes the feet of ,judas4 ,was there in
 all time or eternity past1 or will     
there be in all time or eternity to     
come1 such a scene of self-abnegation8  
,the ,lord of heaven and earth stooping 
to such a service which must have       
astounded the heavens more than its     
dramatisation overpowered us6 ,what a   
stunning rebuke to the pride and        
arrogance and personal ambition of all  
ages6  ,the ,hand of ,god on ,human     

,foot in ,ablution6  ,no wonder the     
quick-tempered ,peter thought it        
incongruous1 and forbade its taking     
place1 crying out3 ,thou shalt never    
wash my feet6 ,but the ,lord broke him  
down until ,peter vehemently asked that 
his head and his hands be washed as well
 as his feet4  ,during eight hours on   
that stage it seems as though we were   
watching a battle between the demons of 
the ,pit and the seraphs of ,light1 and 
the demons triumph4 ,eight hours telling
 a sadness1 with every moment worse than
 its predecessor4 ,all the world against
 ,him1 and hardly any let up so that we 
feel like leaving our place and rushing 
for the stage and giving congratulations
 with both hands to ,simon of ,cyrene as
 he lightens the ,cross from the        
shoulder of the sufferer1 and to        
,nicodemus who voted an emphatic ,no at 
the condemnation1 and to ,joseph of     
,arimathea who asks the honour of being 
undertaker at the obsequies4  ,scene    
after scene1 act after act1 until at the

 scourging every stroke fetches the     
blood2 and the purple mantle is put upon
 ,him in derision1 and they slap ,his   
face and they push ,him off the stool   
upon which ,he sits1 laughing at ,his   
fall4 ,on1 until from behind the curtain
 you hear the thumping of the hammers on
 the spikes2 on1 until hanging between  
two bandits1 ,he pledges ,paradise      
within twenty-four hours to the one1 and
 commits ,his own broken-hearted mother 
to ,john1 asking him to take care of her
 in her old age2 and ,his complaint of  
thirst brings a sponge moistened with   
sour wine on the end of a staff2 and    
blasphemy has hurled at ,him its last   
curse1 and malice has uttered concerning
 ,him its last lie1 and contempt has    
spit upon ,him its last foam1 and the   
resources of perdition are exhausted1   
and from the shuddering form and white  
lips comes the exclamation1 ,it is      
finished6  ,at that moment there        
resounded across the river ,ammer and   
through the village of ,ober-,ammergau a

 crash that was responded to by the     
echoes of the ,bavarian mountains4 ,the 
rocks tumbled back off the stage1 and   
the heavens roared and the graves of the
 dead were wrecked1 and it seemed as if 
the earth itself had foundered in its   
voyage through the sky4 ,the great      
audience almost leaped to its feet at   
the sound of that tempest and           
earthquake4  ,look6 the ruffians are    
tossing dice for the ownership of the   
,master's coat4 ,the darkness thickens4 
,night1 blackening night4 ,hark6 ,the   
wolves are howling for the corpse of the
 slain ,lord4 ,then1 with more pathos   
and tenderness than can be seen in      
,rubens' picture1 ,descent from the     
,cross1 in the cathedral at ,antwerp1 is
 the dead ,christ lowered1 and there    
rises the wailing of crushed motherhood1
 and with solemn tread the mutilated    
body is sepulchred4 ,but soon the door  
of the mausoleum falls and forth comes  
the ,christ and1 standing on the        
shoulder of ,mount ,olivet1 ,he is ready

 for ascension4 ,then the ,hallelujah   
,chorus from the #gjj voices before and 
behind the scenes closes the most       
wonderful tragedy ever enacted4  ,as we 
rose for departure we felt like saying  
with the blind preacher1 whom ,william  
,wirt1 the orator of ,virginia1 heard   
concluding his sermon to a backwoods    
congregation3  ,socrates died like a    
philosopher1 but ,jesus died like a     
,god6  ,i have been asked whether this  
play would ever be successfully         
introduced into ,america or ,england4 ,i
 think there is some danger that it may 
be secularised and turned into a        
mercenary institution4 ,instead of the  
long ride by carriages over rough       
mountain roads for days and days1 as    
formerly was necessary in order to reach
 ,ober-,ammergau1 there are now two     
trains a day which land tourists for the
 ,passion ,play1 and among them may     
appear some ,american theatrical manager
 who1 finding that ,john ,zwink of      
,ober-,ammergau impersonates the spirit 

of grab and cheat and insincerity better
 than any one who treads the ,american  
stage1 and only received for his        
wonderful histrionic ability what equals
 forty-five pounds sterling for ten     
years1 may offer him five times as much 
compensation for one night4 ,if avarice 
could clutch ,judas with such a         
relentless grasp at the offer of thirty 
pieces of silver1 what might be the     
proportionate temptation of a thousand  
pieces of gold6  ,the impression made   
upon ,dr4 ,talmage by the ,passion ,play
 was stirring and reverent4 ,he         
described it as one of the most         
tremendous and fearful experiences of   
his life4  ,i have seen it once1 but ,i 
would not see it again1 he said1 ,i     
would not dare risk my nerves to such an
 awful1 harrowing ordeal4 ,accustomed as
 ,i am to think almost constantly on all
 that the ,bible means1 the ,passion    
,play was an unfolding1 a new and       
thrilling interpretation1 a revelation4 
,i never before realised the            

capabilities of the ,bible for dramatic 
representation4  ,we went from          
,ober-,ammergau to that modern ,eden for
 the overwrought nerves of kings and    
commoners--,baden-baden1 where we spent 
ten days4 ,at the end of this time we   
returned to ,paris to enjoy the         
,exposition at our leisure4 ,paris is   
always a place of brightness and        
pleasure4 ,king ,leopold of ,belgium was
 among the distinguished guests of the  
,french capital1 whom we saw one day    
while driving in the ,bois4 ,we made    
visits to ,versailles and the palace of 
,fontainebleau4 ,the ,doctor enjoyed    
these trips into the country1 and always
 manged to make his arrangements so that
 he could go with us4 ,from ,paris we   
went to ,london for a farewell visit4   
,dr4 ,talmage had promised to preach in 
,john ,wesley's chapel in the ,city     
,road1 known as ,the ,cathedral of      
,methodism4  ,on ,sunday1 ,september    
#cj1 #aijj1 the crowd was so great that 
had come to hear ,dr4 ,talmage that a   

cordon of police was necessary to guard 
the big iron gates after the church was 
filled4 ,the text of his sermon that day
 was significant4 ,it may have been a   
conception of his own life work--its    
text4 ,it was taken from a passage in   
the eleventh chapter of ,daniel3--  ,the
 people that do know their ,god shall be
 strong and do exploits4  ,it is        
difficult to conceive of the enthusiasm 
that ,dr4 ,talmage aroused everywhere   
the immense crowds that gathered to see 
and hear him4 ,during our stay in       
,london this time1 after a preaching    
service in a church in ,piccadilly1 the 
wheels of our carriage were seized and  
we were like a small island in a black  
sea of restless men and women4 ,the     
driver couldn't move4 ,the ,doctor took 
it with great delight and stood up in   
the carriage1 making an address4 ,from  
where he was standing he could not see  
the police charging the crowd to scatter
 them4 ,when he did1 he realised that he
 was aiding in obstructing the best     

regulated thoroughfare in ,london4      
,stopping his address1 he said1 ,we must
 recognise the authority of the law1 and
 sat down4 ,it was said that ,dr4       
,talmage was the only man who had ever  
stopped the traffic in ,piccadilly4     
,from ,london ,dr4 ,talmage and ,i went 
together for a short visit to the ,isle 
of ,wight1 and later to ,swansea where  
he preached2 we left the girls with     
,lady ,lyle1 at ,sir ,john ,lyle's house
 in ,london4  ,it had become customary  
whenever the ,doctor made an address to 
ask me to sit on the platform1 and in   
this way ,i became equal to looking a   
big audience in the face1 but one day   
the ,doctor over-estimated my talents4  
,he came in with more than his usual    
whir1 and said to me3  ,eleanor1 ,i have
 been asked if you won't dedicate a new 
building at the ,wood ,green ,wesleyan  
,church in ,north ,london4 ,i said ,i   
thought you would1 and accepted for you4
 ,won't you please do this for me8      
,there was no denying him1 and ,i       

consented1 provided he would help me    
with the address4 ,he did1 and on the   
appointed day when we drove out to the  
place ,i had the notes of my speech held
 tightly crumpled in my glove4 ,there   
was the usual crowd that had turned out 
to hear ,dr4 ,talmage who was to preach 
afterwards1 and ,i was genuinely        
frightened4 ,i remember as we climbed   
the steps to the speaker's platform1 the
 ,doctor whispered to me1 ,courage1     
,eleanor1 what other women have done you
 can do4 ,i almost lost my equilibrium  
when ,i was presented with a silver     
trowel as a souvenir of the event4      
,there was nothing about a silver trowel
 in my notes4 ,however1 the event passed
 off without any calamity but it was my 
first and last appearance in public4    
,as the time approached for us to return
 to ,america the ,doctor looked forward 
to the day of sailing4 ,it had all been 
a wonderful experience even to him who  
had for so many years been in the glare 
of public life4 ,he had reached the     

highest mark of public favour as a man1 
and as a preacher was the most          
celebrated of his time4 ,i wonder now1  
as ,i realise the strain of work he was 
under1 that he gave me so little cause  
for anxiety considering his years4 ,he  
was a marvel of health and strength4    
,there may have been days when his      
genius burned more dimly than others1   
and often ,i would ask him if the zest  
of his work was as great if he was a bit
 tired1 hoping that he would yield a    
little to the trend of the years1 but he
 was as strong and buoyant in his       
energies as if each day were a new      
beginning4 ,his enjoyment of life was   
inspiring1 his hold upon the beauty of  
it never relaxed4  ,from ,london we went
 to ,belfast1 on a very stormy day4 ,dr4
 ,talmage was advised to wait a while1  
but he had no fear of anything4 ,that   
crossing of the ,irish ,channel was the 
worst sea trip ,i ever had4 ,we arrived 
in ,belfast battered and ill from the   
stormy passage1 all but the ,doctor1 who

 went stoically ahead with his          
engagements with undiminished vigour4   
,going up in the elevator of the hotel  
one day1 we met ,mrs4 ,langtry4 ,dr4    
,talmage had crossed the ocean with her4
  ,won't you come and see my play       
to-night8 she asked him4  ,i am very    
sorry1 ,madame1 but ,i am speaking      
myself to-night1 said the ,doctor       
courteously4 ,he told me afterwards how 
fortunate he felt it to be that he was  
able to make a real excuse4 ,invitations
 to the theatre always embarrassed him4 
,from ,belfast we went to ,cork for a   
few days1 making a trip to the          
,killarney lakes before sailing from    
,queenstown on ,october #ah1 #aijj1 on  
the ,oceanic4  ,isn't it good to be     
going back to ,america1 back to that    
beautiful city of ,washington1 said the 
,doctor1 the moment we got on board4    
,whatever he was doing1 whichever way he
 was going1 he was always in pursuit of 
the joy of living4 ,although the        
greatest year of my life was drawing to 

a close1 it all seemed then like an     
achievement rather than a farewell1 like
 the beginning of a perfect happiness1  
the end of which was in remote          
perspective4     ,,the ,,last           
,,milestone  #aijj-aijb   ,there was no 
warning of the divine purpose2 there was
 no pause of weakness or illness in his 
life to foreshadow his approaching end4 
,until the last sunset hours of his     
useful days he always seemed to me a man
 of iron4 ,he had stood in the midst of 
crowds a towering figure2 but away from 
them his life had been a studied        
annihilation1 an existence of hidden    
sacrifice to his great work4 ,he used to
 say to me3 ,eleanor1 ,i have lived     
among crowds1 and yet ,i have been much 
of the time quite alone4 ,but alone or  
in company his mind was ever active1 his
 great heart ever intent on his         
apostolate of sunshine and help towards 
his fellow-men4 ,and the good things he 
said were not alone the utterances of   
his public career2 they came bubbling   

forth as from a spring during the course
 of his daily life1 in his home and     
among his friends1 even with little     
children4 ,books have been written      
styled1 ,conversations of ,eminent ,men2
 and ,i have often thought had his      
ordinary conversations been reported1   
or1 better1 could the colossal crowds   
who admired him have been1 as we1 his   
privileged listeners1 they would have   
been no less charmed with his brilliant 
talk than with the public displays of   
eloquence with which they were so       
captivated4  ,immediately after his     
return from ,europe in the autumn of    
#aijj1 ,dr4 ,talmage took up his work   
with renewed vigour and enthusiasm4 ,he 
stepped back into his study as if a new 
career of preaching awaited him4 ,never1
 indeed1 had a ,sunday passed1 since our
 union1 on which he had not given his   
divine message from the pulpit2 never   
had he missed a full1 arduous1 wearisome
 day's work in his ,master's vineyard4  
,but ,i think ,dr4 ,talmage now wrote   

and preached more industriously and     
vigorously than ,i had ever seen him    
before4 ,his work had become so         
important an element in the character of
 ,american life1 and in the estimate of 
the ,american people--,i might add1 in  
that of many foreign peoples1 too--that 
his consciousness of it seemed to double
 and treble his powers2 he was carried  
along on a great wave of enthusiasm2 and
 in the joy of it all1 we1 with the     
thousands who bowed before his          
influence1 looked naturally for a great 
many years of a life of such wide-spread
 usefulness4 ,over him had come a new   
magic of autumnal youth and strength    
that touched the inspirations of his    
mind and increased the optimism of his  
heart4 ,no one could have suspected that
 the golden bowl was so soon to be      
broken2 that the pitcher1 still so full 
of the refreshing draughts of wisdom1   
was about to be crushed at the fountain4
 ,but so it was to be4  ,invigorated by 
his delightful foreign trip1 ,dr4       

,talmage now resumed his labours with   
happy heart and effervescing zeal4 ,he  
used to say3 ,i don't care how old a man
 gets to be1 he never ought to be over  
eighteen years of age4 ,and he seemed   
now to be a living realisation of his   
words4 ,he had given up his regular     
pastorate at the ,first ,presbyterian   
,church in ,washington1 that he might   
devote himself to broader               
responsibilities1 which seemed to have  
fallen upon him because of his          
world-wide reputation4 ,i cannot forbear
 quoting here--as it reveals so much the
 character of the man--a portion of his 
farewell letter1 the mode he took of    
giving his parting salutation3      ,the
 world is full of farewells1 and one of 
the hardest words to     utter is       
goodby4 ,what glorious ,sabbaths we have
 had together6 ,what     holy           
communions6 ,what thronged assemblages6 
,forever and forever we     will        
remember them4444 ,and now in parting ,i
 thank you for your     kindness to me  

and mine4 ,i have been permitted1       
,sabbath by ,sabbath1     to confront1  
with the tremendous truths of the       
,gospel1 as genial and     lovely1 and  
cultivated and noble people as ,i ever  
knew1 and it is a     sadness to part   
with them4444 ,may the richest blessing 
of ,god abide     with you6 ,may your   
sons and daughters be the sons and      
daughters of     the ,lord ,almighty6   
,and may we all meet in the heavenly    
realms to     recount the divine mercies
 which have accompanied us all the way1 
and to celebrate1 world without end1 the
 grace that enabled us to     conquer6  
,and now ,i give you a tender1 a hearty1
 a loving1 a     ,christian goodby4     
,t4 ,,dewitt ,,talmage4  ,apart from his
 active literary and editorial work1 he 
was now to devote himself to sermons and
 lectures which should have for audience
 the whole country4 ,as a consequence1  
on re-entering his study after his long 
absence1 he found accumulated on his    
desk an immense number of invitations to

 preach1 applications from all parts of 
the land4 ,he smiled1 and expressed more
 than once his conviction that ,god's   
,providence had marked out his way for  
him1 and here was direct proof of ,his  
divine call and ,his fatherly love4  ,at
 a monster meeting in ,new ,york this   
year ,dr4 ,talmage revived national     
interest in his presence and his        
,gospel4 ,ten thousand people crowded to
 the ,academy of ,music to hear his     
words of encouragement and hope4 ,it was
 the twentieth anniversary of the       
,bowery ,mission1 of which ,dr4 ,talmage
 was one of the founders4 ,this century1
 he said in part1 is to witness a great 
revival of religion4 ,cities are to be  
redeemed4 ,official authority can do    
much1 but nothing can take the place of 
the ,gospel of ,god4444 ,no man goes    
deliberately into sin2 he gets aboard   
the great accommodation train of        
,temptation1 assured that it will stop  
at the depot of ,prudence1 or anywhere  
else he desires1 to let him off4 ,the   

conductor cries3 ',all aboard' and off  
he goes4 ,the train goes faster and     
faster1 and presently he wants to get   
off4 ',stop'6 he calls to the conductor2
 but that official cries back3 ',this is
 the fast express and does not stop     
until it reaches the ,grand ,central    
,station of ,smashupton4' ,the sinner   
can be raised up1 he insists4 ,the      
,bible says ,god will forgive #dij      
times4 ,at your first cry ,he will bend 
down from his throne to the depths of   
your degradation4 ,put your face to the 
sunrise4  ,faith in ,god was his armour2
 his shield was hope2 his amulet was    
charity4 ,he harnessed the events of the
 world to his chariot of inspiration1   
and sped on his way as in earlier years4
 ,he had become a foremost preacher of  
the ,gospel because he preached under   
the spell of evangelical impulse1 under 
the control of that remarkable faith    
which comes with the transformation of  
all converted men or women4 ,the        
stillness of the vast crowds that stood 

about the church doors when he addressed
 them briefly in the open air after     
services was a tribute to the spell he  
cast over them by the miracle of that   
converting grace4 ,he was quite         
unconscious of the attention he         
attracted outside the pulpit1 on the    
street1 in the trains4 ,his celebrity   
was not the consequence of his          
endeavours to obtain it1 nor was it won1
 as some declared1 by studied dramatic  
effects2 it was the result of his       
moments of inspiration1 combined with   
continual and almost superhuman mental  
labour--labour that was a fountain of   
perennial delight to him1 but none the  
less labour4  ,if ,genius is infinite   
patience1 as a ,french writer said1 ,dr4
 ,talmage possessed it in an eminent    
degree4 ,every sermon he ever wrote was 
an output of his full energies1 his     
whole heart and mind2 and while         
dictating his sermons in his study1 he  
preached them before an imaginary       
audience1 so earnest was his desire to  

reach the hearts of his hearers and     
produce upon them a lasting influence4  
,his sermons were born not of the crowd1
 but for the crowd1 in deep religious   
fervour and conviction4 ,his lectures1  
incisive and far-reaching as they were  
in their conceptions and in their moral 
and social effects1 were not so         
impressive as his sermons1 with their   
undertone of divine inspiration4  ,in   
accord with an invitation sent to us in 
,paris1 from the ,governor of           
,pennsylvania1 we went to ,harrisburg as
 the guests at the ,executive ,mansion1 
where a dinner and reception were given 
,dr4 ,talmage in honour of his return   
from abroad4 ,during this dinner1 the   
,rev4 ,dr4 ,john ,wesley ,hill1 then    
pastor of the church in ,harrisburg in  
which ,dr4 ,talmage preached1 told us of
 a rare autograph letter of ,lincoln1   
which he owned4 ,it was his wish that   
,dr4 ,talmage should have it in his     
house1 where he thought more people     
would see it4 ,the next day1 ,dr4 ,hill 

sent this letter to us3--               
,,gentlemen1--,in response to your      
address1 allow me to attest the         
accuracy of its historical statements2  
indorse the sentiments it     expresses2
 and thank you1 in the nation's name1   
for the sure promise     it gives4      
,nobly sustained as the government has  
been by all the churches1 ,i     would  
utter nothing which might1 in the least1
 appear invidious     against any4 ,yet1
 without this1 it may fairly be said    
that the     ,methodist ,episcopal      
,church1 not less devoted than the best1
 is1 by     its greater numbers1 the    
most important of all4 ,it1 is no fault 
in     others that the ,methodist       
,church sends more soldiers to the      
field1     more nurses to the hospitals1
 and more prayers to ,heaven than any4  
,god bless the ,methodist ,church--bless
 all the churches--and blessed     be   
,god1 ,who1 in this our great trial1    
giveth us the churches4      ,a4        
,,lincoln4      ,may #ahth1 #ahfd4      

,illustration3 ,,facsimile ,,of         
,,president ,,lincoln',s ,,letter4  ,a  
great welcome was given ,dr4 ,talmage in
 ,brooklyn1 in ,november1 #aijj1 when he
 preached in the ,central ,presbyterian 
,church there4 ,it was the ,doctor's    
second appearance in a ,brooklyn church 
after the burning of the ,tabernacle in 
#ahid4  ,it was urged in the newspapers 
that he might return to his old home4   
,the invitation was tempting1 judging by
 the thousands who crowded that ,sunday 
to hear him4 ,in my scrapbook ,i read of
 this occasion3  ,women fainted1        
children were half-crushed1 gowns were  
torn and strong men grew red in the face
 as they buffeted the crowds that had   
gathered to greet the ,rev4 ,t4 ,de,witt
 ,talmage at the ,central ,presbyterian 
,church in ,brooklyn4  ,in the autumn of
 #aijj1 an anniversary of ,east         
,hampton1 ,n4,y41 was held1 and the     
,doctor entered energetically and       
happily into the celebration1 preaching 
in the little village church which had  

echoed to his voice in the early days of
 his ministry4 ,it was a far call       
backward over nearly five decades of his
 teeming life4 ,and he1 whose magic     
style1 whether of word or pen1 had      
enchanted millions over the broad       
world--how well he remembered the fears 
and misgivings that had accompanied     
those first efforts1 with the warning of
 his late professors ringing in his     
ears3 ,you must change your style1      
otherwise no pulpit will ever be open to
 you4  ,now he could look back over more
 than a quarter of a century during     
which his sermons had been published    
weekly2 through syndicates they had been
 given to the world in #c1fjj different 
papers1 and reached1 it was estimated1  
#cj1jjj1jjj people in the ,united       
,states and other countries4 ,they were 
translated into most ,european and even 
into ,asiatic languages4 ,his collected 
discourses were already printed in      
twenty volumes1 while material remained 
for almost as many more4 ,his style1    

too1 in spite of his original           
eccentricities1 had attracted hundreds  
of thousands of readers to his books on 
miscellaneous subjects--all written with
 a moral purpose4 ,among a score of them
 ,i might mention3 ,from ,manger to     
,throne2 ,the ,pathway of ,life2 ,crumbs
 ,swept ,up2 ,every-day ,religion2 ,the 
,marriage ,ring2 ,woman3 her ,powers and
 ,privileges4  ,dr4 ,talmage edited     
several papers beginning with ,the      
,christian at ,work2 afterwards he took 
charge1 successively1 of the ,advance1  
,frank ,leslie's ,sunday ,magazine1 and 
finally ,the ,christian ,herald1 of     
which he continued to be chief editor   
till the end of his life4 ,he spoke and 
wrote earnestly of the civilising and   
educational power of the press1 and felt
 that in availing himself of it and     
thereby furnishing lessons of           
righteousness and good cheer to         
millions1 he was multiplying beyond     
measure his short span of life and      
putting years into hours4 ,he said3 ,my 

lecture tours seem but hand-shaking with
 the vast throngs whom ,i have been     
enabled to preach to through the press4 
,his editorials were often wrought out  
in the highest style of literary art4 ,i
 am pleased to give the following       
estimate from an author who knew him    
well3 ,as an editorial writer1 ,dr4     
,talmage was versatile and prolific1 and
 his weekly contributions on an immense 
variety of topics would fill many       
volumes4 ,his writing was as            
entertaining and pungent as his         
preaching1 and full of brilliant        
eccentricities--',talmagisms1' as they  
were called4 ,he coined new words and   
invented new phrases4 ,if the topic was 
to his liking1 the pen raced to keep    
time with the thought4444 ,still1 with  
all this haste1 nothing could exceed the
 scrupulous care he took with his       
finished manuscript4 ,he once wired from
 ,cincinnati to his publisher in ,new   
,york instructions to change a comma in 
his current sermon to a semicolon4 ,he  

had detected the error while reading    
proof on the train4  ,dr4 ,talmage's    
personal mail was thought to be the     
largest of any man in the country1      
outside of some of the public officers4 
,thousands1 men and women1 appealed to  
him for advice in spiritual things1     
revealing to him intimate family        
affairs1 laying their hearts bare before
 him as before a trusted physician of   
the soul4 ,i have seen him moved to the 
depths of his nature by some of these   
white missives bearing news of          
conversion to faith in ,christ wrought  
by his sermons2 of families rent asunder
 united through his words of love and   
broadmindedness2 of mothers whose broken
 hearts he had healed by leading back   
the prodigal son2 of prisoners whose    
hope in life and trust in a loving      
,father had been awakened by a casual   
reading of some of his comforting       
paragraphs4  ,the life of ,dr4 ,talmage 
was by no means the luxurious one of the
 man of wealth and ease it was sometimes

 represented to be4 ,he could not endure
 that men should have this aspect of    
him4 ,he was a plain man in his tastes  
and his habits2 the impression that he  
was ambitious for wealth1 ,i know1 was a
 false one4 ,i do not believe he ever   
knew the value of money4 ,the possession
 of it gave him little gratification    
except for its use in helping to carry  
on the great work he had in hand2 and1  
indeed1 he never knew how little or how 
much he had4 ,he never would own horses 
lest he should give people reason to    
accuse him of being arrogantly rich4 ,we
 drove a great deal1 but he always      
insisted on hiring his carriages4 ,if he
 accepted remuneration for his brain and
 heart labour1 ,scripture tells us1 ,the
 labourer is worthy of his hire4 ,he was
 foremost in helping in any time of     
public calamity1 not only in our own    
country but more than once in foreign   
lands4 ,and when volumes of his sermons 
were pirated over the country1 and he   
was urged to take legal steps to stop   

the injustice1 he said3 ,let them alone2
 the sermons will go farther and do more
 good4  ,dr4 ,talmage's opinions were   
sought eagerly1 and upon all subjects of
 social1 political1 or international    
interest4 ,he was a student of men1 and 
kept ever in close touch with the       
progress of events4 ,a voluminous and   
rapid reader1 he was quick to grasp the 
aim and significance of what he read and
 apply it to his purpose4 ,his library  
in ,washington contained a large and    
valuable collection of classics1 ancient
 and modern2 and his ,east ,hampton     
library was almost a duplicate of this4 
,he never travelled very far without a  
trunkful of books4 ,i remember1 in the  
first year of our marriage1 his interest
 in some books ,i had brought from my   
home that were new to him4 ,many of them
 he had not had time to read1 so1 in the
 evenings1 ,i used to read them aloud to
 him4 ,tolstoi's works were his first   
choice2 together we read a life of the  
great ,russian1 which the ,doctor       

enjoyed immensely4  ,the ,bible was ever
 held by ,dr4 ,talmage in extreme       
reverence1 which grew with his continual
 study and meditation of the sacred     
pages4 ,he repudiated the higher        
criticism with a vehemence that caused  
him to be sharply assailed by modern    
critics--pronounced infidels or of      
infidel proclivities--who called him a  
bibliolater4 ,he asserted and reasserted
 his belief in its divine inspiration3  
,the ,bible is right in its             
authenticity1 right in its style1 right 
in its doctrine1 and right in its       
effects4 ,there is less evidence that   
,shakespeare wrote ',hamlet1' that      
,milton wrote ',paradise ,lost1' or that
 ,tennyson wrote ',the ,charge of the   
,light ,brigade1' than that the ,bible  
is ,god's ,word1 written under          
inspiration by evangelists and prophets4
 ,it has stood the bombardment of ages1 
but with the result of more and more    
proof of its being a book divinely      
written and protected4 ,science and     

,revelation are the bass and soprano of 
the same tune1 he said4 ,he defied the  
attempts of the loud-mouthed orators to 
destroy belief in the ,bible4 ,i compare
 such men as ,ingersoll1 in their       
attacks on the ,bible1 to a grasshopper 
upon a railway-line with the express    
coming thundering along4  ,his living   
portraits of ,jesus1 the ,saviour of    
men1 his studies of that divine life1 of
 the words1 the actions of the ,son of  
,god1 especially of ,his sufferings and 
death1 merging into the glory of ,his   
resurrection and ascension1 are all well
 known to those who were of his wide    
audience4 ,the sweetness1 gentleness1   
and sympathy of the ,saviour were       
favourite themes with him4 ,in a sermon 
on tears1 he says3 ,jesus had enough    
trials to make him sympathetic with all 
sorrowful souls4 ,the shortest verse in 
the ,bible tells the story3 ',jesus     
wept4' ,the scar on the back of either  
hand1 the scar in the arch of either    
foot1 the row of scars along the line of

 the hair1 will keep all ,heaven        
thinking4 ,oh1 that ,great ,weeper is   
the ,one to silence all earthly trouble1
 to wipe all the stains of earthly      
grief4 ,gentle6 ,why1 ,his step is      
softer than the step of the dew4 ,it    
will not be a tyrant bidding you hush   
your crying4 ,it will be a ,father who  
will take you on ,his left arm1 ,his    
face beaming into yours1 while with the 
soft tips of the fingers of the right   
hand ,he shall wipe away all tears from 
your eyes4 ,and here is a word of appeal
 to those gone astray3 ,the great heart 
of ,christ aches to have you come in2   
and ,jesus this moment looks into your  
eyes and says3 ',other sheep ,i have    
that are not of this fold4'  ,dr4       
,talmage was at times acutely sensitive 
to the thrusts of sharp criticism dealt 
to him through envy or misunderstanding 
of his motives4 ,a great writer has said
 somewhere3 ,accusations make wounds and
 leave scars2 but even the scars were   
soon worn off his outraged feelings by  

the remembrance of his divine ,master's 
gentleness and forgiveness4 ,how often  
have ,i seen the mandate1 ,love your    
enemies2 do good to them that hate you1 
verified in ,dr4 ,talmage4 ,he could not
 bear detraction or uncharitableness4   
,his heart was so broad and loving that 
he seemed to have room in it for the    
whole world2 and his greeting of        
strangers on an ,australian platform1   
amid the heathers of ,scotland1 or in   
the ,golden ,gate of ,california1 was so
 free and cordial that each one might   
have thought himself a dear friend of   
the ,doctor1 and he would have been     
right in thinking so4 ,again1 his sense 
of humour was so great that he could    
laugh and poke fun at his critics with  
such ease and good humour that their    
arrows passed harmlessly over his head4 
,men have a right to their opinions1 he 
would genially say4 ,there are twenty   
tall pippin trees in the orchard to one 
crab apple tree4 ,there are a million   
clover blooms to one thistle in the     

meadow4  ,his will power was            
extraordinary2 it was endowed with a    
persistence that overcame every obstacle
 of his life2 there was an air of       
supreme confidence1 of overwhelming     
vitality1 about his every act4 ,nothing 
seemed to me more wonderful in him than 
this2 and it entered into all his       
actions1 from those that were important 
and far-reaching in their consequences  
to the workings of his daily life in the
 home4 ,though his way through these    
last milestones1 during which ,i        
travelled with him1 was chiefly through 
the triumphal archways he had raised for
 himself upon the foundations of his    
work1 there were indications that their 
cornerstone was the will power of his   
nature4  ,many incidents of the years   
before ,i knew him justify this opinion4
 ,one in particular illustrates the     
extraordinary perseverance of ,dr4      
,talmage's character4 ,when his son     
,de,witt was a boy1 in a sudden mood of 
adventure one day1 he enlisted in the   

,united ,states ,navy4 ,shortly         
afterwards he regretted having done so4 
,some one went to his father and told   
him that the boy was on board a warship 
at ,hampton ,roads1 homesick and        
miserable4 ,dr4 ,talmage went directly  
to ,washington1 straight into the office
 of ,mr4 ,thompson1 the ,secretary of   
the ,navy4 ,i am ,dr4 ,talmage1 he said 
promptly2 my son has enlisted in the    
,navy and is on a ship near ,norfolk4 ,i
 want to go to him and bring him home4  
,he is homesick4 ,will you write me an  
order for his release8 ,the ,secretary  
replied that it had become an impression
 among rich men's sons that they could  
take an oath of service to the ,u4,s4   
,government1 and break it as soon as    
their fathers were ready1 through the   
influence of wealth1 to secure their    
release4 ,he was opposed to such an     
idea1 he said2 and1 therefore1 though he
 was very sorry1 he could not grant ,dr4
 ,talmage's request4 ,the ,doctor       
immediately took a chair in the office1 

and said firmly3 ,i shall not leave this
 office1 ,mr4 ,secretary1 until you     
write out an order releasing my son4    
,the hour for luncheon came4 ,the       
,secretary invited the ,doctor to lunch 
with him4 ,i shall not leave this       
office1 ,mr4 ,secretary1 until ,i get   
that order1 was the ,doctor's reply4    
,the ,secretary of the ,navy left the   
office2 after an absence of an hour and 
a half1 he returned and found ,dr4      
,talmage still sitting in the same      
place4 ,the afternoon passed4 ,dinner   
time came round4 ,dr4 ,talmage1 will you
 not honour me by coming up to my house 
to dine1 and staying with us over night8
 asked the ,secretary4 ,i shall not     
leave this office until you write out   
that order releasing my son1 ,mr4       
,secretary1 was the calm1 persistent    
reply4 ,the ,secretary departed4 ,the   
building was empty1 save for a watchman1
 to whom the ,secretary said in passing1
 ,there is a gentleman in my room4 ,when
 he wishes to leave let him out of the  

building4  ,about nine o'clock at night 
the ,secretary became anxious4          
,telephones were not common then1 so he 
went down to the office to investigate2 
and sitting there in the place where he 
had been all day was ,dr4 ,talmage4 ,the
 order was written that night4 ,this    
incident was told me by a friend of the 
,doctor's4 ,there can be no doubt that  
,dr4 ,talmage was justified in this     
demand of paternal love and sympathy1   
since numbers of such concessions had   
been made by the ,secretary and his     
predecessors4 ,his daring and his       
pertinacity were overwhelming forces of 
his genius4  ,in the winter months of   
this year ,i enjoyed another lecturing  
tour with him through ,canada and the   
,west4 ,the lecture bureau that arranged
 his tours must have counted on his     
herculean strength1 for frequently he   
had to travel twenty-four hours at a    
stretch to keep his engagements4        
,occasionally he was paid in cash at the
 end of the lecture an amount fixed by  

the lecture bureau4 ,i have seen him    
with perhaps #b1jjj in bills and gold   
stuffed away carelessly in his pocket1  
as if money were merely some curious    
specimen of no special value4 ,sometimes
 he would receive his fee in a cheque1  
and1 as happened once in a small        
,western town1 he would have very little
 money with him4 ,i remember an occasion
 of this kind1 because it was amusing4  
,the cheque had been given the ,doctor  
as usual at the end of his lecture4 ,it 
was about eleven at night1 and we were  
compelled to take a midnight train out  
to reach his next place of engagement4  
,at the hotel where we stayed they did  
not have money enough to cash the       
cheque4 ,we walked up the street to the 
other hotel1 but found there an equal   
lack of the circulating medium4 ,it was 
a bitter cold night4  ,here we are out  
in the world without a roof over our    
heads1 ,eleanor1 said the ,doctor1      
merrily4 ,what a cold world it is to the
 unfortunate4 ,finally ,dr4 ,talmage    

went to the ticket office of the        
railroad and explained the situation to 
the young man in charge4 ,i can't give  
you tickets1 but ,i will buy them for   
you1 and you can send me the money1 the 
clerk said promptly4 ,as we had an      
all-day ride before us and a drawing    
room to secure1 the amount was not      
inconsiderable4 ,i think it was on this 
trip that ,william ,jennings ,bryan got 
on the train and enlivened the journey  
for us4 ,the stories he and the ,doctor 
hammered out of the long hours of travel
 were entertaining4 ,we exchanged       
invitations to the dining car so as not 
to stop the flow of conversation between
 ,mr4 ,bryan and the ,doctor4 ,we would 
invite him to lunch1 and ,mr4 ,bryan    
would ask us to dinner1 or vice versa1  
so that the social amenities were       
delightfully extended to keep us in     
mutual enjoyment of the trip4 ,dr4      
,talmage and myself agreed that ,mr4    
,bryan's success on the platform was    
much enhanced by his wonderful voice4   

,the ,doctor said he had never heard so 
exquisite a speaking voice in a man as  
,mr4 ,bryan's4 ,he always spoke in      
eloquent support of the masses1         
denouncing the trusts with vehemence4   
,travelling was always a kind of luxury 
to me1 when we were not obliged to stop 
over at some wretched hotel4 ,the       
,pullman cars were palatial in comfort  
compared to the hotels we had to enter4 
,but ,dr4 ,talmage was always satisfied2
 no hotel1 however poor1 could alter the
 cheerfulness of his temperament4  ,in  
,january1 #aija1 ,queen ,victoria died1 
and ,dr4 ,talmage's eulogy went far and 
wide4 ,i quote again from my scrap-book 
a part of his comment on this world     
event3  ,while ,queen ,victoria has been
 the friend of all art1 all literature1 
all science1 all invention1 all reform1 
her reign will be most remembered for   
all time1 all eternity1 as the reign of 
,christianity4 ,beginning with that     
scene at #e o'clock in the morning in   
,kensington ,palace1 where she asked the

 ,archbishop of ,canterbury to pray for 
her1 and they knelt down imploring      
,divine guidance until her last hour1   
not only in the sublime liturgy of her  
established ,church1 but on all         
occasions1 she has directly or          
indirectly declared3 ',i believe in     
,god1 the ,father ,almighty1 ,maker of  
,heaven and ,earth1 and in ,jesus       
,christ1 ,his only begotten ,son4'  ,the
 ,queen's book1 so much criticised at   
the time of its appearance1 some saying 
that it was skilfully done1 and some    
saying that the private affairs of a    
household ought not to have been        
exposed1 was nevertheless a book of rare
 usefulness1 from the fact that it      
showed that ,god was acknowledged in all
 her life1 and that ',rock of ,ages' was
 not an unusual song at ,windsor        
,castle4  ,i believe that no throne     
since the throne of ,david and the      
throne of ,hezekiah and the throne of   
,esther1 has been in such constant touch
 with the throne of heaven as the throne

 of ,victoria4 ,sixty-three years of    
womanhood enthroned6  ,in ,march of     
#aija ,dr4 ,talmage inaugurated a series
 of ,twentieth ,century ,revival        
,meetings in the ,academy of ,music1 in 
,new ,york4 ,it was a great ,gospel     
campaign in which thousands were        
powerfully impressed for life4 ,the     
,doctor seemed to have made a new start 
in a defined evangelical plan of saving 
the world4 ,indeed1 to save was his     
great watchword1 to save sinners1 but   
most of all to save men from becoming   
sinners4 ,one of his famous themes--and 
thousands remember his burning          
words--was ,the ,three ,greatest ,things
 to ,do--,save a ,man1 ,save a ,woman1  
,save a ,child4 ,there was a certain    
anxiety in my mind about ,dr4 ,talmage  
in this sixty-eighth year of his life1  
and ,i used to tell him that he had     
reached the top of all religious        
obligations as he himself felt them1    
that there was nothing greater for him  
to do1 and that he might now move with  

softer measure to the inspired impulses 
of his life4 ,but he never delayed1 he  
never tarried1 he never waited4 ,he     
marched eagerly ahead1 as if the        
milestones of his life stretched many   
years beyond4  ,our social life in      
,washington was subservient to ,dr4     
,talmage's reign of preaching4 ,we never
 accepted invitations without the       
privilege of qualifying our acceptance1 
making them subject to the ,doctor's    
religious duties4 ,the privilege was    
gracefully acknowledged by all our      
friends4 ,we were away from ,washington1
 too1 a great deal4 ,in the spring of   
this year1 #aija1 the ,doctor made a    
lecturing tour through the ,south1 that 
was full of oratorical triumphs for him1
 but no less marked by delightful social
 incidents4 ,there was a series of      
dinners and receptions in his honour    
that ,i shall never forget1 in those    
beautiful homes of ,mississippi1        
,alabama1 and ,tennessee4 ,because of   
his ,gospel pilgrimage of many years in 

these places1 ,dr4 ,talmage had grown to
 be a household god among them4  ,when  
winter had shed his garland of snow over
 nature1 or when we were knee deep in   
summer's verdure and flowers1 ,east     
,hampton was the ,doctor's headquarters4
 ,from there we made our summer trips4  
,it was after a short season at ,east   
,hampton in the summer of #aija1 that   
the ,doctor went to ,ocean ,grove1 where
 he delivered a ,fourth of ,july        
oration1 the enormous auditorium being  
crowded to its utmost capacity4 ,a few  
days later we went to ,buffalo1 where1  
in a large tent standing in the         
,exposition ground1 ,dr4 ,talmage       
lectured1 his powerful voice triumphing 
over the fireworks that1 from a place   
near by1 went booming up through the    
heavens4 ,after a series of ,chautauqua 
lectures through ,michigan and          
,wisconsin1 the ,doctor finished his    
course at ,lake ,port1 ,maryland1 near  
picturesque ,deer ,park4 ,these are     
merely casual recollections1 too brief  

to serve otherwise than as evidence of  
,dr4 ,talmage's tremendous industry and 
energy4  ,in ,september1 #aija1 came the
 assassination of ,president ,mc,kinley4
 ,dr4 ,talmage had an engagement to     
preach at ,ocean ,grove the day         
following the disaster4 ,on our arrival 
at the ,west ,end ,hotel1 ,long ,branch1
 the ,doctor went in to register while  
we remained in the carriage at the door4
 ,suddenly he came out1 and ,i could see
 that he was very much agitated4 ,he had
 just received the news of the tragedy4 
,i cannot preach to-morrow1 he said4    
,this is too horrible4 ,mc,kinley has   
been shot4 ,what shall ,i do8 ,and he   
stood there utterly stunned2 unable to  
think4 ,well1 we will stop at the hotel 
to-night1 at any rate1 ,i said1 let us  
go in4  ,later the ,doctor tried to     
explain to those in charge at ,ocean    
,grove that he could not preach1 but    
they prevailed upon him to deliver the  
sermon he had with him1 which he did1   
prefacing it with appropriate remarks   

about the national disaster of the hour4
  ,the following telegram was           
immediately sent to the ,chief of the   
,nation1 cut off so ruthlessly in his   
career of honour and usefulness3--      
,long ,branch1 ,september #fth4         
,president ,mc,kinley1 ,buffalo1 ,n4,y4 
,the ,nation is in prayer for your      
recovery4 ,you will be nearer and       
dearer to the people than ever before   
after you have passed this     crisis4  
,mrs4 ,talmage joins me in sympathy4    
,t4 ,,dewitt ,,talmage4  ,after the     
death of the ,president the ,doctor     
preached his sermon ,our ,dead          
,president for the first time in the    
little church at ,east ,hampton1 where  
it had been written in his study4 ,in   
,october the ,doctor was called upon to 
preach at the obsequies of the ,rev4    
,dr4 ,sunderland1 for many years pastor 
of the ,first ,presbyterian ,church in  
,washington4 ,what a long season of     
obsequies ,dr4 ,talmage solemnised6 ,and
 yet1 with what supreme optimism he     

defied the unseen arrow in his own life 
that came to pierce him with such       
suddenness in ,april1 #aijb4  ,the      
,doctor had been a good traveller1 and  
he was fond of travelling2 but1 toward  
the end of his life1 there were moments 
when he felt its fatiguing influences4  
,he never complained or appeared        
apprehensive1 but ,i remember the first 
time he showed any weariness of spirit4 
,i almost recall his words3 ,i have     
written so much about everything1 that  
now it becomes difficult for me to      
write4 ,i am tired4 ,it frightened me to
 hear him say this1 he was so wonderful 
in endurance and strength2 and ,i could 
not shake off the effect that this first
 sign of his declining years made upon  
me4 ,he was then sixty-nine years old1  
and the last of the twelve children1    
save his sister4  ,the last sermon he   
ever wrote was preached in ,february1   
#aijb4 ,the text of this was from       
,psalms xxxiii4 #b3 ,sing unto ,him with
 the ,psaltery1 and an instrument of ten

 strings4 ,this was ,david's harp of    
gratitude and praise4 ,after some       
introductory paragraphs on the harp1 its
 age1 the varieties of this most        
consecrated of all instruments1 its     
tenderness1 its place in the richest    
symbolism of the ,holy ,scriptures1 he  
writes3 ,david's harp had ten strings1  
and1 when his great soul was afire with 
the theme1 his sympathetic voice1       
accompanied by exquisite vibrations of  
the chords1 must have been              
overpowering4444 ,the simple fact is    
that the most of us1 if we praise the   
,lord at all1 play upon one string or   
two strings1 or three strings1 when we  
ought to take a harp fully chorded1 and 
with glad fingers sweep all the strings4
 ,instead of being grateful for here and
 there a blessing we happen to think of1
 we ought to rehearse all our blessings1
 and obey the injunction of my text to  
sing unto ,him with an instrument of ten
 strings4 ,have you ever thanked ,god   
for delightsome food8 he asks2 and for  

sight for the eye1 the window of our    
immortal nature1 the gate through which 
all colours march1 the picture gallery  
of the soul8 ,he enumerates other       
blessings--hearing1 sleep1 the gift of  
reason1 the beauties of nature1 friends4
 ,i now come1 he continues1 to the tenth
 and last4 ,i mention it last that it   
may be more memorable--heavenly         
anticipation4 ,by the grace of ,god we  
are going to move into a place so much  
better than this1 that on arriving we   
will wonder that we were for so many    
years so loath to make the transfer4    
,after we have seen ,christ face to     
face1 and rejoiced over our departed    
kindred1 there are some mighty spirits  
we will want to meet soon after we pass 
through the gates4 ,as his graphic pen  
depicts the scene--the meeting with     
,david and the great ones of ,scripture1
 the heroes and heroines who gave their 
lives for the truth1 the ,gospel        
proclaimers1 the great ,christian poets1
 all the departed ,christian men and    

women of whatever age or nation--he     
seems to have already a foretaste of the
 wonderful vision so soon to open to his
 eyes4 ,now1 he concludes1 take down    
your harp of ten strings and sweep all  
the chords4 ,let us make less complaint 
and offer more thanks2 render less dirge
 and more cantata4 ,take paper and pen  
and write in long columns your          
blessings4444 ,set your misfortunes to  
music1 as ,david opened his dark sayings
 on a harp4444 ,blessing1 and honour and
 glory and power be unto ,him that      
sitteth upon the throne and unto the    
,lamb for ever4 ,amen6  ,i recall that  
when ,dr4 ,talmage first read this      
sermon to me in his study1 he said3     
,that is the best ,i can do2 ,i shall   
never write a better sermon4 ,i have    
been told that when a man says he has   
reached the topmost effort of his       
abilities1 it presages his end1 and the 
march of events seemed to verify the    
axiom4  ,dr4 ,talmage's last journey    
came about through the invitation of the

 ,mexican minister in ,washington4 ,the 
latter met ,dr4 ,talmage at dinner1 and 
on hearing that he had never preached in
 ,mexico he urged him to go there4 ,when
 the ,doctor's plans had all been made1 
some friends tried to dissuade him from 
going1 secretly fearing1 perhaps1 the   
tax it would be on his strength4 ,yet   
there was no evidence at this time to   
support their fears1 and the ,doctor    
himself would have been the last to     
listen to any warning4 ,he was very busy
 during the few days that preceded our  
departure from ,washington in attending 
the meetings of the ,committee of       
distinguished clergymen who were in     
session to revise the creed of the      
,presbyterian ,church4  ,the day before 
we left for ,mexico1 the ,doctor told me
 he desired to entertain these          
gentlemen1 as had been his custom during
 all important gatherings of            
representative churchmen who visited    
,washington4 ,he was in great spirits4  
,his ideas of a social affair were      

definite and generous1 as we discovered 
that day1 much to our amusement4        
,eleanor1 he said1 ,i feel as though ,i 
would like to have these gentlemen to   
luncheon at my house to-morrow4 ,can you
 arrange it8 ,i could not possibly leave
 ,washington without showing them some  
special courtesy4 ,now1 ,i want a real  
meal1 something to sit down to4 ,none of
 your floating oysters1 or little daubs 
of meat in pastry1 but real food1 whole 
turkeys1 four or five of them--a        
substantial meal4 ,the ,doctor's respect
 for chicken patties1 creamed oysters1  
and the usual buffet reception luncheon1
 was clearly not very great4  ,the      
luncheon was given at #a4cj on the day  
appointed2 the distinguished guests all 
came1 two by two1 into our house4 ,a few
 weeks later1 they came again in a body1
 two by two1 into the house of mourning4
  ,besides the visiting clergy1 ,dr4    
,talmage had also invited for this      
luncheon other representative men of    
,washington4 ,it was the last social    

gathering which the ,doctor ever        
attended in his own home1 and perhaps   
for that reason becomes a significant   
event in my memory4 ,after the rest had 
departed1 ,dr4 ,henry ,van ,dyke        
remained for an hour or two to talk with
 my husband in his study4 ,dr4 ,talmage 
so often referred to the great pleasure 
this long interview had given him1 that 
,i am sure it was one of the supreme    
enjoyments of his last spiritual        
milestone4  ,the night before we left   
,washington an incident occurred that   
directly concerns these pages4 ,we had  
gone down into the basement of the house
 to look for some papers the ,doctor    
kept there in the safe1 and in taking   
them out he picked up the manuscript of 
his autobiography4 ,as we went upstairs 
,i said to the ,doctor1 ,what a pity    
that you have not completed it entirely4
  ,the ,doctor replied1 ,all the obscure
 part of my life is written here1 and a 
great part of the rest of it4 ,when ,i  
return from ,mexico ,i will finish it4  

,if anything should happen1 however1 it 
can be completed from scrapbooks and    
other data4  ,we went into his study and
 the ,doctor had just begun to read it  
to me when we were interrupted by a call
 from ,senator ,hanna4 ,dr4 ,talmage    
particularly admired ,senator ,hanna1   
and1 as they were great friends1 the    
autobiography was forgotten for the rest
 of the evening4 ,knowing that the      
,doctor was about to leave ,washington  
the ,senator had come to wish him       
goodby1 and to urge him to visit his    
brother at ,thomasville1 ,georgia1 where
 we were to stop on our way to ,mexico4 
,i remember ,senator ,hanna said to the 
,doctor1 ,you will find the place very  
pretty2 we own a good deal of property  
there1 so much so that it could easily  
be called ,hannaville4 ,the next morning
 we started for the ,city of ,mexico1   
going direct to ,charleston1 where the  
,doctor preached4 ,he was entertained a 
good deal there1 and we witnessed the   
opening of the ,charleston ,exposition4 

,from ,charleston we went to            
,thomasville1 ,georgia1 where we spent a
 week1 during which time the ,doctor    
preached and lectured twice at nearby   
places4 ,it was here that we met the    
first accident of our journey4 ,just as 
we were steaming into ,thomasville we   
ran into a train ahead1 and there was   
some loss of life and great damage4     
,fortunately we were in the last        
,pullman car of the train4 ,i have      
always believed that the shock of this  
accident was the beginning of the end   
for ,dr4 ,talmage4 ,he showed no fear1  
and he gave every assistance possible to
 others2 but1 in the tension of the     
moment1 in his own self-restraint for   
the sake of others1 ,i think that he    
overtaxed his strength more than he     
realised4 ,i never wanted to see a train
 again1 and begged the ,doctor to let us
 remain in ,thomasville the rest of our 
lives4 ,the next morning1 however1 ,dr4 
,talmage started out on a preaching     
engagement in the neighbourhood by      

train1 but we remained behind4 ,our stay
 in ,thomasville was made very enjoyable
 by the relatives of ,senator ,hanna1   
whose beautiful estates were a series of
 landscape pictures ,i shall always     
remember4 ,although the ,doctor was     
obliged to be away on lecturing         
engagements three times during the week 
he enjoyed the drives about ,thomasville
 with us while he was there4 ,our       
destination after leaving ,thomasville  
was ,new ,orleans1 where ,dr4 ,talmage  
was received as if he had been a        
national character4 ,he was welcomed by 
a distinguished deputation with the     
utmost cordiality4 ,the ,christian      
,herald said of this occasion3 ,when he 
went on the following ,sunday to the    
,first ,presbyterian ,church he found a 
great multitude assembled1 the large    
building densely packed within and a    
much vaster gathering out of doors      
unable to obtain admittance4 ,thousands 
went away disappointed4 ,he spoke with  
even more than usual force and          

conviction4 ,never were we more royally 
entertained or feted than we were here4 
,from ,new ,orleans we went to ,san     
,antonio1 where we stopped off for two  
or three days' sight-seeing4 ,the       
,doctor was urged to preach and lecture 
while he was there2 but he excused      
himself on the ground of a previous     
engagement1 promising1 however1 to      
lecture in ,san ,antonio on his return  
trip to ,washington4  ,on our way from  
,san ,antonio to the ,city of ,mexico   
our train ran into one of the           
sand-storms1 for which the ,mexican     
country is famous at certain times of   
the year2 and we were at a standstill on
 a side track at a small station for    
twenty-four hours4 ,the food was        
execrable1 the wind and sand were       
choking1 and the whole experience trying
 in the extreme4 ,we were warned against
 thieves of the neighbourhood1 and1     
during the night we were locked in the  
cars to ensure the safety of our        
belongings4 ,in spite of these          

precautions a shawl which the ,doctor   
valued1 because it had been presented to
 him by the citizens of ,melbourne1     
,australia1 was stolen during the night 
through an open window4 ,they were not  
bashful those thieves of the sandstorm4 
,from a private car attached to the rear
 of our train they stole a refrigerator 
bodily off the platform4  ,the ,doctor  
had long been suffering from his throat1
 and all these annoyances had the effect
 of increasing the painful symptoms to  
such a degree that when we finally got  
into the city of ,mexico on ,saturday1  
,march #ast1 it was necessary to call a 
physician4 ,dr4 ,talmage had brought    
with him a number of letters of         
introduction from ,washington to people 
in the ,city of ,mexico1 but the        
,mexican minister had written ahead of  
us1 and on the day we arrived people    
left their cards and extended           
invitations that promised to keep us    
socially busy every day of our week's   
visit4  ,the ,doctor was ailing a       

little1 ,i thought1 but not seriously4  
,he had a slight cold4 ,although he had 
planned to preach only in the           
,presbyterian ,church a week from our   
arrival1 the people of the other        
,protestant denominations urged him with
 such importunity that he agreed to     
preach for them on the first ,sunday1   
the day after our arrival4 ,this was an 
unexpected strain on ,dr4 ,talmage after
 a very trying journey2 but he never    
could refuse to preach1 no matter how   
great his fatigue4 ,on the following    
,tuesday a luncheon was given ,dr4      
,talmage by ,general ,porfirio ,diaz1   
the ,president of the ,mexican          
,republic1 at his palace in             
,chapultepec4 ,the ,doctor enjoyed a    
long audience with the aged statesman1  
during which the mutual interests and   
prospects of the two countries were     
freely discussed1 ,president ,diaz      
manifesting himself1 as always1 a friend
 and admirer of our government and      
people4 ,during the afternoon a cold    

wind had come up1 and the drive home    
increased the ,doctor's indisposition1  
so that he was obliged to confine       
himself to his room4 ,still he was up   
and about1 and we felt no alarm         
whatever4 ,on ,thursday night1 he       
complained of a pain at the base of his 
brain1 and at about four in the morning 
,i was awakened by him3--  ,eleanor1 he 
said1 ,i seem to be very ill2 ,i believe
 ,i am dying4 ,the shock was very great1
 it was such a rare thing for him to be 
ill4 ,we sent for the best ,american    
physician in the city of ,mexico1 ,dr4  
,shields1 who diagnosed the ,doctor's   
case as grippe4 ,he at once allayed my  
fears1 assuring me that it would not be 
serious4  ,dr4 ,talmage had promised to 
lecture on ,friday1 ,march #gth1 and we 
had some trouble to prevent him from    
keeping this engagement4 ,dr4 ,shields  
insisted that ,dr4 ,talmage should not  
leave his room1 declaring that the      
exertion would be too much for him4 ,not
 until ,dr4 ,shields had assured ,dr4   

,talmage that the people could be       
notified by special handbills and the   
newspapers would he consent to break the
 engagement4  ,on ,friday night ,dr4    
,talmage grew worse2 and finally he     
asked to be taken home1 personally      
making arrangements with ,dr4 ,shields  
to travel with us as far as the ,mexican
 border1 as my knowledge of ,spanish was
 very limited4 ,eventually it became    
necessary for ,dr4 ,shields to go all   
the way with us4 ,in the great sorrow   
that the people of ,mexico felt over the
 sudden illness of ,dr4 ,talmage1 their 
regret at his cancelled engagements was 
swallowed up1 and there was one great   
wave of sympathy which touched us not a 
little4  ,the journey to ,washington was
 a painful one4 ,dr4 ,talmage kept      
growing worse4 ,all day long he lay on  
the couch before me in our drawing-room 
on the train1 saying nothing--under the 
constant care of the physician4         
,telegrams and letters followed the     
patient all the way from ,mexico to the 

,capital city4 ,at every station silent1
 awe-stricken crowds were gathered to   
question of the state of the beloved    
sufferer4 ,in ,new ,orleans we had to   
stay over a day1 so as to secure        
accommodation on the train to           
,washington4 ,while there many messages 
of condolence were left at the hotel1 a 
party of ladies calling especially to   
thank me for the great care ,i was      
taking of their ,dr4 ,talmage4  ,on our 
route to the national city1 ,i remember 
the ,doctor drew me down beside him to  
speak to me4 ,he was then extremely weak
 and his voice was very low3 ,eleanor1  
,i believe this is death1 he said4  ,the
 long journey1 in which years seemed    
compressed into days1 at last came to a 
close4 ,the train pulled up in          
,washington1 and our own physician1 ,dr4
 ,magruder1 met us at the station4 ,dr4 
,talmage was borne into his home in a   
chair1 and upstairs into his bedroom1   
where already the angel of death had    
entered to welcome and guard him1       

though1 alas6 we knew it not1 and still 
hoped against hope4 ,occasional rallies 
took place2 but evidences of cerebral   
inflammation appeared1 and the patient  
sank into a state of unconsciousness1   
which was only a prelude to death4      
,bulletins were given to the public     
daily by the attending physicians2 and  
if aught could have assuaged the anguish
 of such moments it would have been the 
universal interest and sympathy shown   
from all parts of the world4  ,readers  
will pardon me if ,i reproduce from ,the
 ,christian ,herald a record of the last
 scene4 ,it is hard to take down the    
folded shadows of our bereavement and   
hold it even to the gaze of friends4    
,after a painful illness1 lasting       
several weeks1 ,america's best-beloved  
preacher1 the ,reverend ,thomas ,de,witt
 ,talmage1 passed from earth to the life
 above1 on ,april #abth1 #aijb4 ,ever   
since his return from ,mexico1 where he 
was prostrated by a sudden attack which 
rapidly assumed the form of cerebral    

congestion1 he had lain in the sick     
chamber of his ,washington home1        
surrounded by his family and cared for  
by the most skilful physicians4 ,each   
day brought its alternate hopes and     
fears4 ,much of the time was passed in  
unconsciousness2 but there were         
intervals when1 even amid his           
sufferings1 he could speak to and       
recognise those around him4 ,no murmur  
or complaint came from his lips2 he bore
 his suffering bravely1 sustained by a  
,higher ,power4 ,the message had come   
which sooner or later comes to all1 and 
the aged servant of ,god was ready to   
go2 he had been ready all his life4     
,occasional rallies took place1 raising 
hopes which were quickly abandoned4     
,from ,april #eth to ,april #abth these 
rallies occurred at frequent intervals1 
always followed by a condition of       
increased depression1 more or less      
augmented fever and partial             
unconsciousness4 ,on ,saturday1 ,april  
#abth1 a great change became apparent4  

,for many hours the patient had been    
unconscious4 ,as the day wore on1 it    
became evident that he could not live   
through another night4 ,all of ,dr4     
,talmage's family--his wife1 his son1   
the ,rev4 ,frank ,de,witt ,talmage1 of  
,chicago2 ,mrs4 ,warren ,g4 ,smith and  
,mrs4 ,daniel ,mangam1 of ,brooklyn2    
,mrs4 ,allen ,e4 ,donnan1 of ,richmond2 
and ,mrs4 ,clarence ,wycoff and ,miss   
,talmage1 were gathered in the chamber  
of death4 ,dr4 ,g4,l4 ,magruder1 the    
principal physician1 was also in        
attendance at the last4 ,at #i4be       
o'clock p4m41 the soul took flight from 
the inanimate clay1 and the spirit of   
the world's greatest preacher was       
released4  ,the ,rev4 ,t4 ,chalmers     
,easton1 an old and valued friend of    
,dr4 ,talmage1 was in frequent          
attendance upon him1 and never ceased   
his ministrations until the eyes of the 
beloved one were closed in death4 ,a    
brief excerpt from his address at the   
,memorial ,service of the ,rev4 ,t4     

,de,witt ,talmage held at the ,eastern  
,presbyterian ,church1 ,washington1 may 
not be unacceptable to the reader3  ,a  
truly great man or eloquent orator does 
not die--      ',and is he dead whose   
glorious mind       ,lifts thine on     
high8     ,to live in hearts we leave   
behind       ,is not to die4'  ,what    
shall we say of the prince in ,israel   
who has left us8 ,can we compress the   
ocean into a dewdrop8 ,no more is it    
possible to condense into one brief hour
 what is due to the memory of our       
beloved and illustrious friend4 ,his    
moral courage was only equalled by his  
giant frame and physical strength4 ,he  
was made of the very stuff that martyrs 
are made of3 one of the most remarkable 
individualities of our time4 ,a man of  
no negative qualities1 aggressive and   
positive4  ,his whole soul was full of  
convictions of right and duty4 ,a firm  
friend1 a man of ready recognition1 a   
human magnet in his focalising power4   
,he was true in every deed1 and never   

needed a veil to be drawn4444 ,if1 as   
his personal friend for more than twenty
 years1 ,i should attempt to open up the
 treasures of his real greatness1 where 
shall we find more of those sterling    
virtues that poets have sung1 artists   
portrayed1 and historians commended8 ,he
 was truly a great man--a man of ,god6  
,the last years of his life were full of
 happiness in the living companionship  
of her who so sadly mourns his          
departure4 ,he frequently spoke to me of
 the great inspiration brought into     
these years by her ceaseless devotion to
 all his plans and work1 making what was
 burdensome in his accumulating literary
 duties a pleasure4444 ,the last fond   
look of recognition was given to his    
beloved wife1 and the last word that    
fell from his lips1 when far down in the
 valley1 was the sweetest music to his  
ears--',eleanor4'  ,it was said once by 
an eminent writer that when ,abraham    
,lincoln1 the forest-born liberator1    
entered ,heaven1 he threw down at ,god's

 throne three million yokes as the      
trophies of his great act of            
emancipation2 as great as that was1 ,i  
think it was small1 indeed1 compared    
with the tens of thousands of souls     
,talmage redeemed from the yokes of sin 
and shame by the glorious ,gospel       
preached with such fervour and power of 
the ,holy ,ghost4 ,what a mighty army   
stood ready to greet him at the gates of
 the heavenly city as the warrior passed
 in to be crowned by his ,sovereign and 
,king6  ,the funeral services were held 
at the ,church of the ,covenant1        
,washington1 on ,april #aeth4 ,the      
ceremony began at #e p4m41 with the     
,dead ,march from ,saul1 and lasted     
considerably over an hour4 ,the coffin  
rested immediately in front of the      
pulpit1 and over it was a massive bed of
 violets4 ,on a silver plate was the    
inscription3      ,,thomas ,,dewitt     
,,talmage1     ,,january #g,,th1        
#ahcb-;,,april #ab,,th1 #aijb  ,the     
floral offerings were numerous1         

including a wreath of white roses and   
lilies of the valley sent by ,president 
and ,mrs4 ,roosevelt4 ,the officiating  
clergymen were the ,rev4 ,dr4 ,t4,s4    
,hamlin1 pastor of the ,church2 the     
,rev4 ,dr4 ,t4 ,chalmers ,easton1 of    
,washington2 and the ,rev4 ,drs4 ,s4,j4 
,nicols1 and ,james ,demarest1 of       
,brooklyn4 ,a male quartette sang3      
,lead1 ,kindly ,light1 a favourite hymn 
of ,dr4 ,talmage2 ,beyond the ,smiling  
and the ,weeping2 and ,it is well with  
my ,soul4 ,the addresses of the         
,reverend ,doctors were eulogistic of   
the dead preacher1 of whom they had been
 intimate friends for more than a       
quarter of a century4 ,the body lay in  
state four hours1 during which thousands
 passed in review around it4  ,at       
midnight the remains of ,dr4 ,talmage   
were conveyed by private train to       
,brooklyn1 where the burial took place  
in ,greenwood ,cemetery4 ,the funeral   
cortege arrived about ten o'clock in the
 morning2 hundreds were already in the  

cemetery1 waiting to behold the last    
rites paid to one they revered and      
loved4 ,the ,episcopal burial service   
was read by the ,rev4 ,dr4 ,howard      
,suydam1 an old friend and classmate of 
,dr4 ,talmage1 who made a brief address1
 and concluded the simple ceremonies by 
the recital of the ,lord's ,prayer4     
,tributes were paid to the illustrious  
dead all over the civilised world1 and  
in many languages2 while thousands of   
letters of condolence and telegrams     
assured the family in those days of     
affliction that human hearts were       
throbbing with ours and fain would      
comfort us4 ,one wrote feelingly3  ,when
 ,dr4 ,talmage described the ,heavenly  
,jerusalem1 he seemed to feel all the   
ecstatic fervour of a ,bernard of       
,cluny1 writing3      ',for thee1 ,o    
dear1 dear ,country6       ,mine eyes   
their vigils keep2     ,for very love   
beholding       ,thy holy name1 they    
weep4'  ,and it seems to me that ,i     
cannot better close this altogether     

unworthy sketch of ,dr4 ,talmage than by
 offering the reader as a parting       
remembrance1 in its simple beauty1 his  
,celestial ,dream3  ,one night1 lying on
 my lounge when very tired1 my children 
all around me in full romp and hilarity 
and laughter1 half awake and half       
asleep1 ,i dreamed this dream3 ,i was in
 a far country4 ,it was not in ,persia1 
although more than oriental luxuries    
crowned the cities4 ,it was not the     
tropics1 although more than tropical    
fruitfulness filled the gardens4 ,it was
 not ,italy1 although more than ,italian
 softness filled the air4 ,and ,i       
wandered around looking for thorns and  
nettles1 but ,i found that none of them 
grew there2 and ,i saw the sun rise and 
watched to see it set1 but it set not4  
,and ,i saw people in holiday attire1   
and ,i said1 ',when will they put off   
all this1 and put on workman's garb1 and
 again delve in the mine or swelter at  
the forge8' ,but they never put off the 
holiday attire4  ,and ,i wandered in the

 suburbs of the city to find the place  
where the dead sleep1 and ,i looked all 
along the line of the beautiful hills1  
the place where the dead might most     
blissfully sleep1 and ,i saw towers and 
castles1 but not a mausoleum or a       
monument or a white slab was to be seen4
 ,and ,i went into the chapel of the    
great town1 and ,i said3 ',where do the 
poor worship1 and where are the benches 
on which they sit8' ,and the answer was 
made me1 ',we have no poor in this      
country4'  ,and then ,i wandered out to 
find the hovels of the destitute1 and ,i
 found mansions of amber and ivory and  
gold2 but not a tear could ,i see1 not a
 sigh could ,i hear2 and ,i was         
bewildered1 and ,i sat down under the   
branches of a great tree1 and ,i said1  
',where am ,i1 and whence comes all this
 scene8' ,and then out from among the   
leaves and up the flowery paths and     
across the bright streams1 there came a 
beautiful group thronging all about me1 
and as ,i saw them come ,i thought ,i   

knew their step1 and as they shouted ,i 
thought ,i knew their voices1 but they  
were so gloriously arrayed in apparel   
such as ,i had never before witnessed1  
that ,i bowed as stranger to stranger4  
,but when again they clapped their hands
 and shouted ',welcome6 ,welcome6' the  
mystery all vanished1 and ,i found that 
time had gone and eternity had come1 and
 we were all together again in our new  
home in ,heaven4  ,and ,i looked around1
 and ,i said1 ',are we all here8' ,and  
the voices of many generations          
responded1 ',all here6' ,and while tears
 of gladness were raining down our      
cheeks1 and the branches of the ,lebanon
 cedars were clapping their hands1 and  
the towers of the great city were       
chiming their welcome1 we all together  
began to leap and shout and sing1       
',home1 home1 home1 home6'     ,,index  
,abbott1 ,emma1 her bequest to the      
,brooklyn ,tabernacle1 #bdd2            
character1 #bdd4 ,aberdeen1 ,lord and   
,lady1 #bii4 ,adams1 ,edwin1 #ga4       

,adams1 ,john1 his administration1 #h4  
,adler1 ,dr41 #aah4 ,agnus1 ,general    
,felix1 #bbc4 ,alba1 #cfh4 ,albany1     
intemperance1 #de2   bribery1 #df2      
lobbyists driven out1 #acb4 ,alice1     
,princess1 her death1 #ij4 ,allen1      
,barbara1 case of1 #hb4 ,america1 s4s41 
length of voyage1 #ace4 ,ames1 ,coates1 
#gd4 ,amoy1 #ai4 ,anarchists1 execution 
of1 #aih4 ,anglo-,american ,commission1 
members of the1 #cbe4 ,annapolis1 #cbf4 
,arkell1 ,w4,j41 #bbd4 ,arthur1 ,chester
 ,a41 elected ,president1 #aae2         
relinquishes office1 #adc2   at         
,lexington1 #ahh1 #bgh2   his death1    
#ahh4 ,astor1 ,mrs4 ,william1 #ee2   her
 death1 #bjj2   will1 #bjj4 ,atlantic1  
passage across1 reduction1 #ii4 ,austen1
 ,colonel1 #bba1 #bda4 ,avery1 ,miss    
,mary1 her marriage1 #be note4          
,baden-baden1 #chh4 ,bakewell1 #cea4    
,ball club1 a ministerial1 #di4 ,banks1 
,rev4 ,dr4 ,louis ,albert1 #bha4        
,barnes1 ,rev4 ,alfred1 #dh4 ,barnes1   
,general ,alfred ,c41 #bda4 ,barnes1    

,alfred ,s41 #bjg4 ,bartholdi statue1   
#adi1 #aej4 ,baskenridge1 #d4 ,bayne1   
,john1 heroism of1 #acd4 ,beaconsfield1 
,lord1 #ajd2   amount given for his     
,endymion1 #ajg1 #aji4 ,beck1 ,senator1 
#bgf4 ,bedloe's ,island1 #adi4 ,beecher1
 ,rev4 ,henry ,ward1 his views on       
theology1 #aai2   celebration of his    
fortieth year of pastoral service1 #ahf2
   character of his discourses1 #ahg4   
,belfast1 #cia4 ,belgium1 ,king ,leopold
 of1 in ,paris1 #chh4 ,belleville1      
,reformed ,church at1 #ah4 ,bellows1    
,rev4 ,dr41 #aaf4 ,benton1 ,thomas ,h41 
#ajd4 ,berg1 ,rev4 ,dr41 #dh4 ,bergh1   
,professor ,henry1 his defence of       
animals1 #ajj2   opposition to          
vivisection1 #ajj2   his death1 #bjh4   
,berlin1 #cgd4 ,bethune1 ,george ,w41   
#ahf4 ,betting1 practice of1 in         
,america1 #adg4 ,bible1 ,higher         
,criticism1 #bec4 ,bill1 ,buffalo1 #bfa4
 ,bird1 ,mrs41 #bdd4 ,birds1 the        
slaughter of1 #ahd4 ,birmingham1 #bfg4  
,birmingham1 ,alabama1 cyclone at1 #cdj4

 ,blackburn1 ,governor1 #bge2   his     
reception of ,dr4 ,talmage1 #bgf2       
speech1 #bgh4 ,blackburn1 ,mrs41 #bgh4  
,blaine1 ,james ,g41 candidate for the  
,presidency1 #ach2   reports against1   
#ach2   his vigour and exhaustion1 #aci2
   reception at the ,white ,house1 #add2
   cartoons of1 #age4 ,boardman1 ,rev4  
,dr41 #dh4 ,bobolinks1 number of1       
killed1 #ahd4 ,bobrinsky1 ,count1 #bfc1 
#bhc4 ,boer ,war1 #cdg4 ,bond1 ,mr41    
#gb4 ,bonnet  ,co41 failure of1 #gf4    
,bonynge1 ,mrs41 #bfa4 ,boody1 ,hon4    
,david ,a41 #bda1 #bha4 ,boston1        
conflagration of #ahgb1 #bca2   ,union  
,church of #di4 ,bound ,brook1 #i4      
,bowery ,mission1 anniversary1 #cie4    
,bowles1 ,samuel1 #aca4 ,brainerd1 ,dr41
 #ch4 ,branch1 ,f4,h41 #bfi4 ,brewer1   
,justice1 #ccg4 ,brewers' ,association1 
demand1 #afb4 ,bribery1 practice of1    
#afe-afg4 ,briggs1 ,dr41 #bde4 ,brighton
 ,beach1 races at1 #adg4 ,broadhead1    
,rev4 ,dr41 #ia4 ,brooklyn1 corrupt     
condition1 #fd1 #fi1 #ge2   custom of   

carrying firearms1 #ge2   standard of   
commerce1 #ge2   ,bill for a new city   
charter1 #gh2   number crossing the     
ferries1 #gh2   ,lafayette ,avenue      
railroad scheme1 #gi1 #hh2   police     
force1 #hb2   management of public      
taxes1 #hb2   spread of communism1 #hc2 
reign of terror1 #hg2   bridge1 #ii2    
cost1 #abj2   opened1 #abb2             
improvement in local administration1    
#ii2   number of pastors1 #abj2   pool  
rooms opened1 #adg2   railway strike1   
#afg2   establishment of a labour       
exchange1 #afg2   new jail1 #age2       
pulpit builders1 #ahf2   committee of   
investigation1 #aic2   ovation on the   
return of ,dr4 ,talmage1 #bda4          
,brooklyn1 the central ,church of1 #di1 
#ej1 #ec2   alterations1 #eg4 ,brooklyn 
,tabernacle1 the first1 #ee2            
dedication1 #c1 #fa1 #fb1 #bdi2         
enlarged1 #fb2   rededication1 #fb2     
amount of collections1 #fb1 #fc2   burnt
 down1 #fe1 #bbi1 #bca1 #bhd-bhf2   size
 of the new1 #fg1 #beb2   law-suit1 #id2

   prosperity1 #afb2   appeal for funds 
to rebuild1 #bcb2   trustees1 #bcc2     
subscribers1 #bcd2   consecration of the
 ground1 #bcd2   cost1 #bdb2   position1
 #bdb2   rent of pews1 #bdc2            
corner-stone laid1 #bde2   contents1    
#bde2   opened1 #bdi2   financial       
difficulties1 #bfh2   celebration       
festival of the #beth anniversary of    
,dr4 ,talmage's     pastorate1 #bhj-bhc2
   letter from the ,trustees1 #bhg4     
,brooks1 ,erastus1 #aca4 ,brooks1       
,phillips1 #bfa1 #bgb4 ,brower1         
,commissioner ,george ,v41 #bda4 ,brown1
 ,henry ,eyre1 #bha4 ,brown1 ,dr4 ,john1
 #fj4 ,brown1 ,dr41 amount of his       
salary1 #bdg4 ,brown1 ,senator1 of      
,georgia1 #aaj4 ,bryan1 ,william        
,jennings1 #djf2   his wonderful voice1 
#djf4 ,bryant1 ,william ,cullen1 his    
death1 #he2   incident of1 #he2         
,thanatopsis1 #hf2   his noble          
character1 #hf4 ,buchanan1 ,james1      
,president1 his reply cablegram to      
,queen ,victoria1 #bej4 ,buckley1 ,dr41 

#abj4 ,buffalo1 #djh4 ,bunker ,hill1    
#aef4 ,burnside1 ,senator1 #aae4 ,burr1 
,aaron1 his infamy1 #h4 ,burrows1       
,senator1 #ccg4 ,bush1 ,dr41 his advice 
to students1 #bjh4 ,bushnell1 ,giles    
,f41 #bcd4 ,butler1 ,ben ,f41 nominated 
,governor of ,massachusetts1 #hh2       
candidate for the ,presidency1 #aba4    
,butter1 ,rev4 ,t4,g41 #fb4 ,byrnes1    
,inspector1 at the ,press ,club1 #bbc4  
,cable service1 a cheaper1 #ace4        
,cablegram1 the first1 #bej4 ,campbell1 
,superintendent1 #ha4 ,canada1 #cbf1    
#dje4 ,canton1 ,ohio1 #cjf4 ,carey1     
,senator1 #bef2   at ,cheyenne1 #ajd4   
,carleton1 ,will1 #cag4 ,carlisle1 ,mr41
 #abh4 ,carlyle1 ,thomas1 his house1    
#ig2   portrait1 #ih2   library1 #ih2   
death-bed1 #aaj2   his opinion of       
,americans1 #ahd4 ,carnegie1 ,andrew1   
his gift of a library to ,washington1   
#cce4 ,carpenter1 ,samuel1 #bbc4        
,carroll1 ,mr41 #ajb4 ,carson1 ,rev4    
,dr4 ,john ,f41 #bha4 ,carson1 ,joseph  
,e41 #bcd4 ,cartwright1 ,sir ,richard1  

#cbe4 ,case1 ,james ,s41 #bbd4 ,catlin1 
,general1 #aeg4 ,central-,america1      
sinks1 #acd4 ,chambers1 ,rev4 ,dr41 #c4 
,chapin1 ,mayor1 #bda4 ,charleston1     
#dad2   earthquake at1 #agh4 ,chase1    
,salmon ,p41 his death1 #ahh4           
,chatsworth1 #cec-cee4 ,chattanooga1    
#cci4 ,chelsea1 #ig4 ,cheyenne1 #ajd2   
fashions in1 #ajf4 ,chicago1 #ii2       
,calvary ,church of1 #di2   spread of   
communism1 #hc2   railway strike1 #afg2 
execution of anarchists1 #aih2          
conflagration of #ahga1 #bca4 ,chili1   
war with ,peru1 #aag4 ,chinese1         
legislative effort to exclude1 #ij2     
exclusion of1 #agc2   dress1 #agc2      
immigration ,bill1 #cjd4 ,chloroform1   
first use of1 #bjg1 #cef4 ,choate1 ,mr41
 #cfj4 ,cholera1 experiments on1 #afb4  
,christian ,herald1 extract from1     on
 the illness and death of ,dr4 ,talmage1
 #dai4 ,christiania1 #cfe4              
,chrysanthemum1 rage for the1 #aeh4     
,church fairs1 pastoral letter against1 
#gb3 ,cincinnati1 #bgf2   differences in

 clock time1 #ahi4 ,city of ,paris1     
#bce4 ,city of ,rome1 #acc4 ,civil ,war1
 #ch2   result1 #db1 #gd4 ,clarion1     
,mdme1 #gb4 ,clay1 ,henry1 #ajd2   his  
death1 #ahh4 ,clement1 ,judge1 #bda4    
,cleveland1 ,grover1 candidate1 #aag2   
elected ,governor of ,new ,york1 #aba2  
candidate for the ,presidency1 #ach2    
elected1 #adj2   his mother's ,bible1   
#add2   reception of ,mr4 ,blaine1 #add2
   cartoons1 #age2   marriage1 #agf2    
his exercise of the right of veto1 #ahj2
   tour1 #aih2   message to ,congress1  
#bjj2   his intercourse with ,dr4       
,talmage1 #cja-cjf2   attack of         
rheumatism1 #cjc2   objections to the   
,chinese ,immigration ,bill1 #cjd2      
attacks against1 #cjf4 ,cleveland1      
,mrs41 #big2   her characteristics1     
#cjj1 #cja4 ,cleveland1 ,miss ,rose1    
#cjj4 ,clinton1 ,de,witt1 #ajb4 ,coates1
 ,a4,e41 #bcd4 ,cockerill1 ,col4 ,john  
,a41 at the ,press ,club1 #bbc4 ,colfax1
 ,schuyler1 #ada4 ,collier1 ,judge1     
#cfc4 ,collier1 ,miss ,rebekah1 #cdf2   

her diary1 #cej4 ,collins1 ,mr4 and     
,mrs4 ,john1 #bfa4 ,collyer1 ,dr4       
,robert1 amount of his salary1 #bdg4    
,colorado springs1 #cbj4 ,colquitt1     
,senator1 #bef4 ,commons1 ,house of1    
dynamite explosion1 #adb4 ,communism1   
theory of1 #hc4 ,coney ,island1 #adg1   
#agi4 ,conkling1 ,senator ,roscoe1 his  
opposition to the ,silver ,bill1 #hj2   
characteristics1 #bji2   death1 #bji4   
,constantinople1 earthquake1 #aia4      
,converse1 ,charles ,cravat1 #ej4       
,coombs1 ,mr41 #beg4 ,cooper1 ,fenimore1
 #he4 ,cooper1 ,peter1 #ee1 #eg1 #gj4   
,copenhagen1 #cfc ,corbit1 ,rev4        
,william ,p41 #cc-ce4 ,cork1 #cia4      
,coronado ,beach1 #cbj1 #cbb4 ,corrigan1
 ,archbishop1 #aia4 ,courtney1 ,judge1  
#bda4 ,cox1 ,rev4 ,dr4 ,samuel ,h41     
#ahf4 ,cox1 ,mr41 #abh2   appointed     
minister to ,turkey1 #adf2   his        
nicknames1 #adf4 ,cradle1 the family1   
#b4 ,creeds1 revision of the1 #bdd4     
,crosby1 ,dr41 his ecclesiastical trial1
 #aja4 ,croy1 ,peter1 #ag4 ,crystal     

,palace1 banquet given to ,dr4 ,talmage 
at1 #bfg4 ,cuba1 victory in1 #cbj4      
,culver1 ,john ,y41 #bda4 ,curry1       
,daniel1 #aif4  ,dana1 ,richard ,henry1 
his death1 #ic2   literary works1 #id4  
,daniel1 ,senator1 #bef4 ,darling1      
,charles ,s41 #bcc1 #bfi4 ,davenport1   
,e4,l41 #ga4 ,davis1 ,jefferson1 #cci4  
,davis1 ,sir ,louis1 #cbe4 ,deer ,park1 
#dji4 ,demarest1 ,rev4 ,dr4 ,james1 at  
the funeral of ,dr4 ,talmage1 #dbb4     
,democratic party1 #df4 ,denmark1 the   
national flower ,golden ,rain1 #cfc4    
,denmark1 ,crown ,prince and ,princess  
of1 receive ,dr4 ,talmage1 #cfd4        
,denver1 #ii1 #cbj2   its age1 #aje2    
picture galleries1 #ajf4 ,depau1 ,mr41  
his bequest to religion1 #aid4 ,depew1  
,chauncey ,m41 #bbc4 ,derbyshire1 #cea4 
,dewey1 ,admiral1 #cdh4 ,de,witt1 ,dr41 
#ahg4 ,de,witt1 ,gasherie1 #ca4 ,diaz1  
,gen4 ,porfirio1 ,president of ,mexico1 
#dag2   his interview with ,dr4         
,talmage1 #dag4 ,dickens1 ,charles1     
result of insomnia1 #fb4 ,dickey1 ,dr41 

#cgd4 ,dilke1 ,sir ,charles1 #agi4      
,divorce1 views on1 #bcg4 ,dix1 ,john   
,a41 #ajb4 ,dix1 ,dr4 ,morgan1 amount of
 his salary1 #bdg4 ,dixon1 ,rev4 ,a4,c41
 #bha4 ,dodge1 ,william ,e41 #ee1 #eg4  
,donnan1 ,mrs4 ,allen ,e41 #dbj4 ,doty1 
,ethan ,allen1 #bbd4 ,dow ,junior's     
,patent ,sermons1 #af4 ,dowling1 ,rev4  
,dr4 ,john1 #bf4 ,dream1 ,the           
,celestial1 sketch1 #dbc4 ,due ,west1   
#cch4 ,duncan1 ,john1 #ca4 ,duncan1     
,william1 #ca4  ,earth ,girdled1 ,the1  
publication of1 #bhi4 ,earthquake at    
,charleston1 #agh2   ,constantinople1   
#aia4 ,east ,hampton1 #eg1 #bgd1 #cch1  
#djh4 ,eastern1 ,rev4 ,t4 ,chalmers1 on 
the death of ,dr4 ,talmage1 #dbj2   at  
his funeral1 #dbb4 ,edinburgh1 #fj1 #ig1
 #cef4 ,edison1 ,prof4 ,thomas1 #hi4    
,education1 views on1 #aeb4 ,ellis1     
,hon4 ,e4,j41 #ha4 ,erskine ,theological
 ,college1 ,due ,west1 #cch4 ,evarts1   
,hon4 ,william ,m41 #bhc1 #bhh4 ,ewer1  
,rev4 ,dr41 #abc4  ,fairbanks1          
,vice-president1 #ccg4 ,fairchild1      

,benjamin ,l41 #bcd4 ,falls1 ,samuel    
,b41 #ch4 ,far-,rockaway1 ,first        
,presbyterian ,church at1 #bbi4         
,farwell1 ,senator1 #bfa4 ,faulkner1    
,senator1 #cbe4 ,ferguson1 ,james ,b41  
#bfi4 ,ferron1 ,dr41 his experiments    
with cholera1 #afb4 ,field1 ,cyrus ,w41 
lays the cable1 #bdi4 ,field1 ,chief    
,justice1 his death1 #ccf4 ,finney1     
,dr41 his revival meetings1 #d4 ,fish1  
,rev4 ,dr41 #bi4 ,fish1 ,hamilton1      
,secretary to   ,general ,grant1 #gj4   
,fiske1 ,steven1 #bbc4 ,florida1        
disaster of1 #acc4 ,flower1 ,roswell    
,p41 #bbc4 ,folger1 ,mr41 #aag4 ,food1  
adulteration of1 #aca4 ,foster1 ,john1  
#ec4 ,fox1 ,george ,l41 #ga4 ,fox1      
,g4,v41 #bff4 ,frankfort1 ,kentucky1    
#bge4 ,franklin1 ,benjamin1 #agc4       
,frazer1 ,dr41 #abj4 ,free trade        
question1 #abh4 ,freeman1 ,mr41 #id4    
,frelinghuysen1 ,dominie1 #adi4         
,frelinghuysen1 ,frederick1 #adi4       
,frelinghuysen1 ,frederick ,t41 #aae1   
#add2   his death1 #adi4 ,frelinghuysen1

 ,gen4 ,john1 #adi4 ,frelinghuysen1     
,senator ,theodore1 #adi4 ,fulton       
,ferry1 new bridge at1 #ii4 ,funk1 ,dr41
 #aeg4  ,gallagher1 ,dr41 #abj4         
,gallows1 death by the1 #aih4 ,gambling 
,pool ,bill1 protest against1 #aid4     
,gambetta1 #abb4 ,garcelon1 ,governor1  
#ajb4 ,garfield1 ,president1 his        
election1 #ajf2   attempt on his life1  
#aaa1 #aab2   views on ,mormonism1 #aac2
   reforms1 #aac2   result of his death1
 #aac2   sermons1 #aad2                 
characteristics1 #aae4 ,garfield1 ,mrs41
 amount subscribed1 #ade4 ,gateville1   
#i4 ,gedney1 ,judge1 #bbd4 ,geogheghan1 
the poet1 #bbd4 ,george1 ,henry1 #bbc4  
,gettysburg1 battle of1 #ch4 ,gilbert1  
,judge1 #aic4 ,gilmore1 ,pat1 #bbd4     
,gladstone1 ,mrs41 #bdj2   her portrait1
 #bdj2   illness1 #ceg4 ,gladstone1     
,mrs4 ,herbert1 #ceg4 ,gladstone1 ,rt4  
,hon4 ,w4,e41 #ajd1 #aej2   his policy  
of ,home ,rule for ,ireland1 #agc1 #bci2
   reception of ,dr4 ,talmage1 #bcf2    
,american stories1 #bcg2   view on      

divorce1 #bcg2   religion1 #bch2        
library1 #bdj2   congratulations1 #bhd4 
,glasgow1 #cee4 ,goldsmith1 ,oliver1 his
 struggles as an author1 #ajh4 ,gordon1 
,senator1 #bef4 ,gorman1 ,senator1 #cca4
 ,gough1 ,john ,b41 his gift of oratory1
 #afd2   dramatic power1 #afd4 ,gould1  
,jay1 #agb4 ,grace1 ,mr41 ,mayor of ,new
 ,york1 #aba4 ,grain1 failure of1 in    
,europe1 #ajc2   blockade in the ,united
 ,states1 #ajc4 ,grant1 ,general1       
,president1 #ib1 #bgi2   his pension1   
#ade2   malady1 #ade1 #adh4 ,grant1     
,mayor1 at the ,press ,club1 #bbc4      
,greeley1 ,horace1 #aca1 #age2   his    
sufferings from insomnia1 #fb4          
,greenport1 #ej note4 ,greenwood        
cemetery1 #dbb4 ,greenwood1 ,judge1     
#aii4 ,greer1 ,dr41 amount of his       
salary1 #bdg4 ,gregg1 ,rev4 ,dr41 #bha4 
,grevy1 ,president1 his resignation1    
#bjj4 ,grier1 ,dr41 ,president of the   
,erskine ,theological ,college1 ,due    
,west1 #cch4 ,grinnell1 ,moses ,h41 #eg4
 ,guiteau1 assassinates ,president      

,garfield1 #aac4  ,haddon ,hall1        
#cea-cec2   romance of1 #ceb4           
,hagerstown1 #bba4 ,hall1 ,rev4 ,dr41   
#aed4 ,hall1 ,dr4 ,john1 amount of his  
salary1 #bdg4 ,hall1 ,rev4 ,dr4 ,newman1
 #ig2   at the ,mansion ,house1 #bfj4   
,hall1 ,robert1 #ec4 ,halstead1 ,murat1 
#bhc4 ,hamilton1 ,rev4 ,j4 ,benson1     
#bda4 ,hamilton ,club1 #bbd4 ,hamlin1   
,rev4 ,dr4 ,t4,s41 at the funeral of    
,dr4 ,talmage1 #dbb4 ,hampton1 ,governor
 ,wade1 #ha4 ,hancock1 ,john1 #agc4     
,handy1 ,moses ,p41 #bbc4 ,hanna1 ,rev4 
,dr41 his death1 #bed4 ,hanna1 ,senator1
 #dad4 ,hardman1 ,dr41 #ba1   his method
 of examining ,dr4 ,talmage1 #bb4       
,harlan1 ,justice1 #ccg4 ,harper1       
,e4,b41 #bbd4 ,harrisburg1 #cif2        
intemperance1 #de2   bribery1 #df4      
,harrison1 ,president ,benjamin1 #beg4  
,harrison1 ,rev4 ,leon1 #bda4 ,harrison1
 ,william ,henry1 #aad1 #beg4 ,hatch1   
,a4,s41 ,president of the ,new ,york    
,exchange1 #ace4 ,hatch1 ,rufus1 #bbd4  
,hawarden1 #bcf1 #ceg4 ,hawthorne1      

,nathaniel1 #ajg4 ,hayes1 ,president1   
#gj2   character of his message1 #gd4   
,hazlitt1 ,william1 his struggles as an 
author1 #ajh4 ,helsingfors1 #cfh4       
,henderson1 ,mr41 #cba4 ,hendricks1     
,thomas ,a41 ,vice-president1 #aeh2     
his character1 #aei2   invulnerability  
to attacks1 #aei2   religious views1    
#afj4 ,hendrix1 ,joseph ,c41 #abd1 #bda1
 #bhc4 ,hermann1 #bbc4 ,herschel1 ,lord1
 #cbe2   his illness and death1 #cbf4   
,hewitt1 ,abram ,s41 elected ,mayor of  
,new ,york1 #ahh4 ,hicks-,lord case1    
#gf4 ,high ,bridge1 #bge1 #bgf4 ,hill1  
,rev4 ,dr4 ,john ,wesley1 #cif4 ,hill1  
,rowland1 #ig4 ,hill1 ,senator1 #aje4   
,hilton1 ,judge ,henry1 #aaf1 #bbc4     
,holy ,land1 #bce4 ,holyrood ,palace1   
#ei4 ,home ,missionary meeting1 in      
,carnegie ,hall1 #cje4 ,howard1 ,joseph1
 #bbd4 ,howell1 ,mayor1 his report on   
the condition of ,brooklyn1 #ha4        
,hudson1 #cg4 ,hugo1 ,victor1 #ajg4     
,hull1 ,isaac1 #abe4 ,huntington1 ,dr41 
amount of his salary1 #bdg4 ,hutchinson1

 ,dr4 ,joseph1 #aif4 ,hydrophobia1      
inoculations against1 #afb4  ,india1    
famine in1 #bih4 ,indiana1 elections1   
#abd4 ,ingersoll1 ,colonel ,robert1 #gj4
 ,inness1 ,fred1 #bba4 ,insomnia1       
sufferings from1 #fb4 ,iowa1 prohibition
 in1 #aic4 ,ireland1 ,home ,rule for1   
#agc1 #bci4 ,irish ,channel1 crossing   
the1 #cia4 ,irving1 ,washington1 #he2   
,knickerbocker1 #id2   appointed        
,minister to ,spain1 #adf4 ,isle of     
,wight1 #chi4  ,jackson1 ,gen4 ,andrew1 
#aef4 ,jaehne1 ,mr41 his incarceration1 
#age4 ,jamaica1 ,long ,island1 synodical
 trial at1 #aja4 ,james1 ,general1 his  
reforms in the ,post ,office1 #aac4     
,jamestown1 #cci4 ,jefferson1 ,joseph1  
#ccb4 ,jefferson1 ,thomas1 inaugurated1 
#agd4 ,jews1 persecution of1 in ,russia1
 #aah2   settle in ,america1 #aai4      
,johnson1 ,andrew1 ,president1 charges  
against1 #aeg4 ,johnson1 ,dr4 ,samuel1  
#ec2   his epitaph1 #baj4 ,johnstown1   
result of the flood at1 #bbh4  ,kaiser  
,wilhelm der ,grosse1 #cdf4 ,kansas1    

#aic2   its age1 #aje2   prohibition in1
 #aic4 ,katrine1 ,loch1 #cef4 ,kean1    
,edmund1 #ga4 ,keeley1 ,dr4 ,leslie1    
#bed4 ,keller1 ,john ,w41 #bbd4         
,kennedy1 ,dr41 #ahg4 ,killarney lakes1 
#cia4 ,king1 ,gen4 ,horatio ,c41 #bbd1  
#bda4 ,kingsley1 ,mr41 #bjg4 ,kinsella1 
,thomas1 #ajj1 #acj4 ,kintore1 ,earl of1
 #bih1 #cef4 ,klondike1 arrival of      
gold-diggers from1 #cba4 ,knox1 ,e4,m41 
#bcd4 ,knox1 ,john1 his grave1 #cee4    
,knox1 ,j4 ,amory1 #bbd1 #bcd4 ,krebs1  
,dr41 #ahg4  ,lafayette ,avenue1        
railroad scheme1 defeat of1 #gi4 ,lake  
,port1 ,maryland1 #dji4 ,lamb1 ,col4    
,albert ,p41 #bbd4 ,lamb1 ,charles1 on  
the adulteration of food1 #aca4         
,lambert1 ,dr41 case of1 #ge4 ,lang1    
,anton1 takes part in the ,passion      
,play1 #chj4 ,langtry1 ,mrs41 #cia4     
,lansing1 ,rev4 ,dr4 ,i4,j41 #bhc4      
,laurence1 ,amos1 #ee4 ,laurier1 ,sir   
,wilfred1 #cbe4 ,lawrence1 ,e4,h41 #bcc4
 ,lawrence1 ,f4,w41 #bhf4 ,leadville1   
its age1 #aje2   number of telephones1  

#aje2   vigilance committee1 #ajf4      
,leamington1 #ceh4 ,lectures1 fees for1 
#dj4 ,lee1 ,general1 his invasion of    
,pennsylvania1 #ch4 ,leeds1 collection  
at1 #ig4 ,lennox1 ,james1 #ee1 #aid4    
,leslie1 ,frank1 the pioneer of         
pictorial journalism1 #ajb4 ,lexington1 
#ahh1 #bge1 #bgf4 ,liberty1 statue of1  
#adh-aej4 ,lies1 system of1 #aig4       
,lincoln1 ,abraham1 #cg2   violation of 
his sepulchre1 #afa2   his letter1 #cig4
 ,lincoln1 ,robert1 ,secretary of ,war1 
#aac4 ,lind1 ,jenny1 #ad4 ,lindsay1     
,rev4 ,e4,p41 #cch4 ,liverpool1 #ceg2   
addresses given at1 #ig4 ,locke1        
,commissioner of ,appeals1 #ajg4 ,lodge1
 ,henry ,cabot1 #bbd4 ,lomond1 ,loch1   
#cee4 ,london1 ,lord ,mayor of1 his     
banquet at the ,mansion ,house1 #bfj4   
,long ,island1 #bbi4 ,los ,angeles1     
#cbb4 ,louisiana1 ,state of1 #hj4 ,low1 
,seth1 ,mayor of ,brooklyn1 #aba1 #acc4 
,lowell1 ,james ,russell1 #ade4         
,lowndes1 ,governor1 #cbf4 ,lyle1 ,lady1
 #chi4  ,macaulay1 ,lord1 #ahh4         

,mackenzie1 ,dr41 his death1 #bed4      
,mackey1 ,mrs41 #bfa4 ,mackinaw ,island1
 #cci4 ,madison1 #bgc4 ,magruder1 ,dr4  
,g4,l41 #dah1 #dbj4 ,maine1 outbreak in1
 #ajb4 ,malone1 ,rev4 ,father           
,sylvester1 #bha4 ,manchester1          
,cavendish ,chapel1 #cdh4 ,manderson1   
,senator1 #bef2   his ,bill for the     
arbitration of strikes1 #agb4 ,mangam1  
,mrs4 ,daniel1 #dbj4 ,manning1 ,daniel1 
his death1 #bjj4 ,marietta1 ,ohio1 #cag4
 ,marriages1 number of elopements1 #acg4
 ,martin1 ,mrs4 ,bradley1 #bfa4 ,martin1
 ,pauline ,e41 #bcd4 ,mathews1 ,charles1
 his death1 #he2   story of1 #he4       
,matthews1 ,t4,e41 #bhf4 ,mc,adam1      
,judge ,david1 #bbd4 ,mc,cauley1 ,jerry1
 #acf4 ,mc,cormick1 ,cyrus1 #aid4       
,mc,donald1 ,senator1 #bfa4 ,mc,elroy1  
,dr41 #ahg4 ,mc,glynn1 ,father1 #aia4   
,mc,kean1 ,john1 #abe4 ,mc,kinley1      
,president1 his congratulations1 #bhd2  
election1 #cjf2   friendship with ,dr4  
,talmage1 #ccj2   assassination1 #dji4  
,mc,lean1 ,alexander1 #bcc4 ,mc,lean1   

,andrew1 #bda4 ,mc,leod1 ,rev4 ,donald1 
installed pastor of the ,first          
,presbyterian     ,church in            
,washington1 #cda4 ,mead1 ,w4,d41 #bfi4 
,memphis1 #cci4 ,mendes1 ,rabbi ,f4 ,de 
,sol1 #bha4 ,merigens1 ,george ,t41 #ch4
 ,mershon1 ,rev4 ,s4,l41 #eg1 #bgd4     
,mexico1 #daf4 ,michigan1 #cci1 #dji4   
,middlebrook1 ,new ,jersey1 #a4 ,minado1
 #cbj4 ,ministers1 amount of salaries1  
in the ,united ,states1 #fc4            
,minneapolis1 #ii4 ,mitchell1 ,dr41     
#abj4 ,mitford1 #ajh4 ,modjeska1 ,mdme41
 #ccb4 ,moliere1 the comedian1 #gb4     
,monona ,lake1 #bgc4 ,monroe ,doctrine1 
#cjd4 ,montauk ,point1 purchase of1 #ii4
 ,montreal1 #cbf4 ,moore1 ,charles ,a41 
#bbd4 ,moore1 ,de,witt1 #ci1 #dc4       
,morey1 forgeries1 #ajf4 ,morrisey1     
,john1 #fi4 ,moscow1 #cgd4 ,mott1       
,lucretia1 the quakeress1 #ajf4 ,munich1
 #cge4 ,murphy1 ,mr41 #bjg4  ,nagle1    
,dr41 #bbd4 ,nansen1 the explorer1 #cfe4
 ,napier1 ,lord1 his story of a wounded 
soldier1 #bci4 ,nashville1 #cci4        

,neilson1 ,judge ,joseph1 #acc1 #aic1   
#bjd4 ,new1 ,mrs41 #bfa4 ,new ,brunswick
 ,theological ,seminary1 #ae4 ,new      
,orleans1 #cdj1 #dae1 #dah2   victory1  
#h4 ,new ,york1 corrupt condition1 #fd2 
#fi2   spread of ,communism1 #hc2       
,historical ,society1 gift to the       
library1 #aji2   ,passion ,play1 attempt
 to present1 #aba2   pool rooms opened1 
#adg2   conflagration of #ahce1 #bca2   
revival meetings1 #djg4 ,new ,york      
,university1 #ad4 ,new ,york1 #beh4     
,newark1 #ai4 ,newspaper reporter1 day  
with a1 #baa-bbj4 ,newspapers1 reduction
 in the price1 #abc4 ,newstead ,abbey1  
#cdi4 ,newton1 ,lady1 #cfa4 ,newton1    
,sir ,alfred1 ,lord ,mayor1 #cfa4       
,nichols1 ,governor1 #ha4 ,nicols1 ,rev4
 ,dr4 ,s4,j41 at the funeral of ,dr4    
,talmage1 #dbb4 ,nightingale1 ,florence1
 note from1 #cei2   receives ,dr4       
,talmage1 #cfj4 ,north ,cape1 view from1
 of the ,midnight ,sun1 #cfe1 #cff4     
,north ,river1 first steamer1 #h4       
,northern ,pacific ,railroad ,co41 #abf4

 ,nottingham1 #bfj2   ,albert ,hall1    
#cdh4 ,nutting1 ,a4,j41 #bcd4  ,oakley1 
,rev4 ,mr41 #ea4 ,ober-,ammergau        
,passion ,play1 #cge2   impressions of1 
#cge-chh2   actors1 #cgh4 ,ocean ,grove1
 #djh4 ,oceanic1 #cia4 ,ochiltree1      
,colonel ,tom1 #bfa2   at the ,press    
,club1 #bbc4 ,ogden1 #ajd ,ohio1        
elections1 #abd2   ,river1 #bgf4        
,olcott1 ,george ,m41 #bbd4 ,omaha1     
#ii1ajd2   picture galleries1 #ajf4     
,osborne1 ,truman1 #af4 ,our ,dead      
,president1 sermon on1 #daj4  ,packer1  
,asa ,d41 #aid4 ,paine1 ,tom1 #ga4      
,palmer1 ,a4,m41 #bfa4 ,panics1 view on1
 #bij-bic4 ,paris1 #fj1 #bcf2           
,exposition of #aijj1 #cfb1 #chh4       
,parker2 ,rev4 ,dr4 ,joseph1 #bei2   his
 description of ,dr4 ,talmage's sermon1 
#bei2   congratulations1 #bhd4          
,parkhurst1 ,dr41 #beh2   amount of his 
salary1 #bdg4 ,parnell1 ,c4,s41 in ,new 
,york1 #ajb2   triumph on his return to 
,england1 #afc4 ,passaic ,river1 #bi4   
,pasteur1 ,dr41 his inoculations against

 hydrophobia1 #afb4 ,patten1 ,dr41 #abj4
 ,paxton1 ,dr41 amount of his salary1   
#bdg4 ,payne1 ,mr41 his song ,home1     
,sweet ,home1 #ajh4 ,peabody1 ,george1  
his will1 #gc4 ,peace ,jubilee1 a       
national1 #dc4 ,peck1 ,general1 defence 
of1 #cfb4 ,penn1 ,william1 #aef4        
,pennsylvania1 invasion1 #ch2           
election1 #abd4 ,peru1 war with ,chili1 
#aag4 ,peterhof1 ,palace of1 #cgj4      
,peters1 ,barnard1 #bha4 ,phelps1 ,mr41 
#ade4 ,philadelphia1 ,second ,reformed  
,church of1 #cg4 ,phillips1 ,wendell1   
#abg4 ,pierce1 ,dr41 #cfi4 ,pierce1     
,mrs41 #cgj4 ,pierce4 ,president1 opens 
the ,world's ,fair1 #aie4 ,pierce1      
,senator1 his ,bill for a new city      
charter for ,brooklyn1 #gh4 ,piermont1  
#be4 ,pilgrim ,fathers1 in ,new         
,england1 #aef4 ,pius ,,ix41 ,pope1 #gg4
 ,policies1 ,international1 lecture on1 
#cbb4 ,polk1 ,mrs41 her pension1 #ade4  
,pollock1 ,robert1 ex-,governor1 #bb2   
report of his speech1 #da4 ,pomerania1  
s4s41 loss of1 #hi4 ,pomeroy1 ,rev4     

,c4,s41 #ea4 ,pond1 ,major1 #if4 ,poor1 
problem of the1 #adc4 ,potomac1 the1    
#ch4 ,pratt1 ,judge ,c4,r41 #acc1 #bbd4 
,prayer1 the influence of1 #adh4        
,prentice1 ,mr41 #bjg4 ,press ,club1    
dinners at1 #bbc4 ,pressly1 ,rev4 ,david
 ,p41 #cch4 ,preston1 ,william ,c41     
#ajd4 ,pretoria1 capture of1 #cfa4      
,prime1 ,rev4 ,dr41 #ga4 ,princeton1    
#cja4  ,queenstown1 #cia4  ,railway     
strike1 #aff4 ,rainsford1 ,dr41 amount  
of his salary1 #bdg4 ,randall1 ,mr41    
#abh4 ,raymond1 ,henry ,j41 #aca4 ,reed1
 ,joseph1 #aff4 ,reed1 ,speaker1 #ccg4  
,rehypothication1 crime of1 #gf4 ,reid1 
,dr41 #abj4 ,republican party1 #df4     
,reynolds1 ,judge1 #aic4 ,rhode ,island1
 #aae4 ,richards1 ,rev4 ,dr41 #bg4      
,ridgeway1 ,james ,w41 #abd4 ,riley1 his
 ,universal ,philosophy1 #ajg4 ,river   
and ,harbour ,bill1 #adc4 ,robinson1    
,lincoln1 #ajb4 ,robinson1 ,william ,e41
 #bda1 #bec4 ,roche1 ,rev4 ,spencer ,f41
 #bha4 ,rockport1 new cable landed at1  
#ace4 ,rockwell1 ,rev4 ,j4,e41 #ej4     

,roebling1 ,mr41 #bjg4 ,roosevelt1      
,theodore1 #bbd1 #dbb4 ,roosevelt1      
,mrs41 #dbb4 ,rosa1 ,parepa1 #dc4       
,roswell1 ,mr41 #bje4 ,ruskin1 ,john1   
#bfa2   his literary works1 #bfb4       
,russia1 #bfc2   defeats ,turkey1 #gg2  
persecution of the ,jews1 #aah2         
famine1 #bfd4 ,russia1 ,alexander       
,,iii42 ,czar of1 receives ,dr4         
,talmage1 #bfc-bff2   gift to him1 #bhj4
 ,russia1 ,nicholas ,,ii41 ,czar of1    
receives ,dr4 ,talmage1 #cga4 ,russia1  
,czarina of1 receives ,mrs4 ,talmage1   
#cga2   her appearance1 #cga4 ,russia1  
,dowager ,empress of1 receives ,dr4     
,talmage1 #cgb4 ,russia1 ,nicholas1     
,grand ,duke1 #bfd4  ,sacramento1 #ajd2 
picture galleries1 #ajf4 ,sage1         
,russell1 his loan to ,brooklyn         
,tabernacle1 #bfh4 ,sailors1 character  
of1 #acc4 ,st4 ,louis railway strike1   
#afg4 ,salt ,lake ,city1 #ajd1 #cbj4    
,salvation ,army1 meetings in ,brooklyn1
 #bbb4 ,san ,antonio1 #dae4 ,san        
,francisco1 #cbb2   the first           

,presbyterian ,church of1 #di2   its    
age1 #aje2   picture galleries1 #ajf2   
amount paid by ,chinese1 #agd4 ,sand1   
,george1 character of her writings1 #fd4
 ,sanderson1 driver of the stage coach1 
#aa4 ,sand-storm1 a ,mexican1 #dae4     
,sanitary ,protective ,league1          
organisation of1 #adc4 ,santa ,barbara1 
#cbb4 ,saratoga1 #cai4 ,scenery ,chapel1
 #ig4 ,schenck1 ,dr4 ,noah ,hunt1 #ada4 
,schieren1 ,major1 #bha4 ,schiller1 the 
famous comedian1 #gb4 ,schiller1 the1   
sinks1 #acd4 ,schley1 ,admiral1 #ccb1   
#ccf4 ,schroeder1 ,frederick ,a41 #ii1  
#bbd4 ,schuylkill ,river1 #be note4     
,scott1 ,rev4 ,james ,w41 #bb2   his    
kindness to ,dr4 ,talmage1 #bb-bd2      
death1 #bd4 ,scudder1 ,dr41 #abj4       
,seattle1 #cba4 ,seavey1 ,george ,l41   
#ace2   his gift to the library of the  
,historical ,society1 ,new ,york1 #aji4 
,seward1 ,william ,h41 #ajb2   his      
death1 #ahh4 ,shafter1 ,general1 #ccf4  
,shaftesbury1 ,lord1 his funeral1 #aee2 
last public act1 #aee2   ,president of  

various societies1 #aef4 ,shannon1      
,patrick1 #fi4 ,sharon ,springs1 #eg4   
,sharpsburg1 #bba4 ,sheepshead ,bay1    
races at1 #adg4 ,sheffield1 #ceg4       
,shelbyville1 #afj4 ,sheridan1 ,mr4 and 
,mrs41 #ajh4 ,sherman1 ,james1 #ig4     
,sherman1 ,john1 #bef1 #bhd4 ,sherman1  
,gen4 ,william ,t41 #bdb4 ,shields1     
,dr41 #dag2   attends ,dr4 ,talmage1    
#dag2   accompanies him home1 #dah4     
,siberia1 #bfc4 ,silver ,bill1 passed1  
#hj4 ,simpson1 ,bishop1 #acf4 ,simpson1 
,sir ,herbert1 #cef4 ,simpson1 ,sir     
,james ,y41 his use of chloroform1 #bjg1
 #cef4 ,skillman1 ,dr41 #aa4 ,slater1   
,mr41 #aid4 ,slocum1 ,general1 #acc4    
,smith1 ,charles ,emory1 #bbc4 ,smith1  
,rev4 ,j4 ,hyatt1 #ahi2   his life of   
self-sacrifice1 #aij4 ,smith1 ,mrs4     
,warren ,g41 #dbj4 ,somerville1 #c1 #i4 
,soudan war1 #adf4 ,soulard1 ,a4,l41    
#bfh4 ,southampton1 #cdg4 ,south        
,carolina1 #ha4 ,spain1 war with the    
,united ,states1 #cbj2   investigation  
into1 #ccf4 ,speer1 ,dr4 ,samuel        

,thayer1 #ahf4 ,spencer1 ,dr41 #ed4     
,spencer1 ,rev4 ,w4 ,ichabod1 #ahf4     
,spring1 ,dr4 ,gardiner1 #ed1 #ahg4     
,spurgeon1 ,rev4 ,charles ,h41 #bec2    
his death1 #bed4 ,stafford1 ,marshal1   
#bda4 ,stanley1 ,dean1 #aaf4 ,staten    
,island1 #afa4 ,stead1 ,mr41 his crusade
 against crime1 #aec4 ,steele1 ,dr41    
#abj4 ,steele1 ,commissioner of stamps1 
#ajg4 ,stephens1 ,alexander ,h41 #hj4   
,stevens1 ,mrs4 ,paran1 #bfa4 ,stevens1 
,w41 #cj4 ,stewart1 ,samuel ,b41 #aaf4  
,stillman1 ,benjamin ,a41 #bbd4         
,stockholm1 ,immanuel ,church1 #cfg4    
,stone1 ,rev4 ,dr41 #ahg4 ,stone1       
,governor1 #ccg1 #cdf4 ,storrs1 ,rev4   
,r4,s41 pastor of the ,church of        
,pilgrims1 #ahf4 ,stranahan1 ,j4,s4,t41 
#abj1 #acc1 #bbd4 ,stratford-on-,avon1  
#ceh2   the ,red ,horse ,hotel1 #ig4    
,strikes1 #afg2   ,bill for the         
arbitration of1 #agb4 ,stuart1 ,francis 
,h41 #bcd4 ,stuart1 ,george ,h41 #ch4   
,sullivan-,ryan prize fight1 #aag4      
,summerfield1 ,dr4 ,john1 #ahg4         

,sunderland1 ,rev4 ,dr4 ,byron ,w41     
#bid1 #daj4 ,suydam1 ,rev4 ,dr4 ,howard1
 at the burial of ,dr4 ,talmage1 #dbb4  
,swansea1 #bfg1 #chi4 ,sweden1 #cfg4    
,swenson1 ,mr41 #cfd4 ,syracuse1 #ce4   
,talmage1 ,catherine1 her character1 #c2
   conversion1 #e2   covenant with her  
neighbours1 #e2   death1 #f4 ,talmage1  
,daisy1 #ej note4 ,talmage1 ,daniel1    
#aj4 ,talmage1 ,david1 his ,christian   
principles1 #c2   conversion1 #e2   mode
 of conducting prayer-meetings1 #f2     
fearlessness1 #g2   sheriff1 #g2        
scenes of his life1 #h2   death1 #i2    
sons1 #i4 ,talmage1 ,edith1 #ej note4   
,talmage1 ,mrs4 ,eleanor1 her           
,biographical ,sketch of ,dr4 ,talmage1 
#caa2   first meeting1 #cac2   marriage1
 #cad2   accompanies him in his travels1
 #cae1 #cai2   attends his lectures1    
#caf2   held up in ,yellowstone ,park1  
#cbj2   received by the ,czarina1 #cga2 
dedicates the ,wood ,green ,wesleyan    
,church1 #cij4 ,talmage1 ,rev4 ,frank   
,de,witt1 #ej note1 #dbj4 ,talmage1     

,rev4 ,goyn1 #i4 ,talmage1 ,rev4 ,james 
,r41 #i4 ,talmage1 ,jehiel1 his         
conversion1 #e4 ,talmage1 ,jessie1 #be  
note4 ,talmage1 ,rev4 ,john ,van ,nest1 
#i2   missionary at ,amoy1 #ai2         
devotion to the ,chinese1 #ia2   death1 
#ia2   reticence1 #ib2   work1 #ic4     
,talmage1 ,mrs4 ,mary1 #be note4        
,talmage1 ,maud1 #ej note1 #cdf1        
#cee1dbj4 ,talmage1 ,may1 #ej note1     
#bce4 ,talmage1 ,mrs4 ,susan1 #ej note1 
#bce4 ,talmage1 ,thomas ,de,witt1 his   
birth1 #a2   ancestors1 #b2   father1   
#c2   mother1 #c2   the family ,bible1  
#c2   conversion of his grand-parents   
and parents1 #d2   home1 #i2            
childhood1 #aj2   early religious       
tendencies1 #aj2   at ,new ,york        
,university1 #ad2   ,new ,brunswick     
,theological ,seminary1 #ai2            
conversion1 #af2   first sermon1 #ai2   
ordination1 #ba-bc2   pastorate at      
,belleville1 #be2   marriage1 #be note2 
children1 #be note1 #ej note2   his     
first baptism1 #bf2   first pastoral    

visitation1 #bg2   first funeral1 #bi2  
pastorate at ,syracuse1 #ce2   first    
literary lecture1 #cf2   call to        
,philadelphia1 #cg2   amounts received  
for his lectures1 #dj1 #if2   at the    
,national peace jubilee1 #dc2   his fear
 of indolence1 #dh2   ministerial ball  
club1 #di2   second marriage1 #ej note2 
call to ,brooklyn1 #ej2   installed1    
#ea2   charges against1 #ea1 #eh1 #id2  
character of his sermons1 #ec1 #eh1     
#cae1 #cbc1 #cie2   establishes the     
first ,brooklyn ,tabernacle1 #ee2       
vacations at ,east ,hampton1 #eg1 #bgd1 
#cch1 #djh2   visits to ,europe1 #ei1   
#aec1 #beh1 #cdf2   impressions on      
hearing the organ at ,freyburg1 #ei2    
meeting with ,dr4 ,john ,brown1 #fj2    
in ,paris1 #fj1 #cfb1 #chh2   sermons1  
#fb1 #bbj1 #bgc1 #bhf1 #bij1 #bif1 #cbc1
 #ccf1 #cdh1 #cef1     #ceh1 #cei1 #chi1
 #cif1 #daj-dab2   on the size of the   
heavenly ,jerusalem1 #ff2   his opinion 
of ,church fairs1 #gb2   lecturing      
tours1 #hj1 #hd1 #adc1 #aei1 #big1 #cbf1

 #cci1 #cdh1 #dje1 #djh2   opposes the  
effort to exclude the ,chinese1 #ij2    
death of his brother ,john1 #ia2        
,gospel meetings1 #if1 #bhi2   visits to
 the house of ,t4 ,carlyle1 #ig2   trip 
to the ,west1 #ajd1 #agb1 #ahi2   views 
on betting1 #adg2   on education1 #aeb2 
his numerous letters1 #aec-aee2   on the
 demands of ,society1 #afi-aga2   views 
on war1 #aha2   at ,lexington1 #ahh2    
protest against the ,gambling ,pool     
,bill1 #aid2   proposal of a ,world's   
,fair1 #aie2   on execution by          
electricity1 #aih2   advocates free     
trade1 #bjj2   advice on books1         
#bjb-bjd2   a day with a newspaper      
reporter1 #bab-bbj2   his study1 #bab1  
#cbh2   correspondence1 #bac-bae2       
visitors1 #bae-bah2   appearance1 #bah1 
#cdc2   pastoral visit1 #bai2   chaplain
 of the ,old ,thirteenth ,regiment1     
#bba2   his income1 #bba1 #bbe1 #bdf2   
dinners at the ,press ,club1 #bbc2   at 
the ,hamilton ,club1 #bbd2              
restlessness1 #bbf2   mode of life1     

#bbf1 #cbi2   squib on1 #bbh2   on the  
result of the flood at ,johnstown1 #bbh2
   on the lessons learnt from           
conflagrations1 #bca2   appeal for      
funds1 #bcb2   consecration of the      
ground1 #bcd2   his visit to the ,holy  
,land1 #bce2   attack of influenza1     
#bcf2   visit to ,mr4 ,gladstone1       
#bcf-bda2   ovation on his return home1 
#bda2   on the revision of ,creeds1     
#bdd2   lays the corner stone1 #bde2    
editor of periodicals1 #bde1 #cih2      
critics1 #bdf2   shaves his whiskers1   
#bdh2   on the ,higher ,criticism of the
 ,bible1 #bec2   preaching tours in     
,england1 #beh1 #bfg2   views on        
dreaming1 #beh2   sermons in the ,city  
,temple1 #bei2   at ,nottingham1 #bfj2  
at the ,mansion ,house1 #bfj1 #cfa2     
visits ,john ,ruskin1 #bfa2   reception 
in ,russia1 #bfc2   audience of the     
,czar ,alexander1 #bfc-bff2   donation  
of his salary1 #bfi2   resignation1     
#bgj1 #bic1 #ccc2   voyages across the  
ocean1 #bge1 #cdf2   visit to ,governor 

,blackburn1 #bge-bgi2   meeting with    
,senator ,beck1 #bgf2   presentation of 
a gold tea-service1 #bhj2   #beth       
anniversary of his pastorate1 #bhj-bhc2 
his speech1 #bhb2   messages of         
congratulation1 #bhd2   journey round   
the world1 #bhh2   ,the ,earth ,girdled1
 #bhi2   his views on panics1 #bij-bic2 
accepts the call to ,washington1        
#bid-bif2   installed1 #big2   reception
 at the ,white ,house1 #big2            
intercourse with ,mr4 and ,mrs4         
,cleveland1 #cjj-cjf2   interview with  
,major ,mc,kinley1 #cjg2   his          
characteristics1 #cab1 #cae1 #cag1 #cdc1
 #djb-djf2   magnetic influence1 #cac2  
third marriage1 #cad2   cheerfulness1   
#cae1 #cbd2   mode of travelling1 #cae2 
his lectures1 #caf1 #cdh1 #cif2   love  
of flowers1 #cah2   in ,yellowstone     
,park1 #cbj2   lecture on ,international
 ,policies1 #cbb2   his sense of duty1  
#cbc2   methodical habits1 #cbi2        
friendship with ,president ,mc,kinley1  
#ccj2   publication of his sermons1     

#ccd1 #cih2   his dinner parties1 #ccg2 
at ,due ,west1 #cch2   love of music1   
#cdd2   views on the ,boer ,war1 #cdg2  
visits ,newstead ,abbey1 #cdi2   ,haddon
 ,hall1 #ceb2   ,chatsworth1 #cec2      
,scotland1 #cee-ceg2   ,hawarden1 #ceg2 
,the ,american ,spurgeon1 #ceh2   his   
power as an orator1 #ceh2   interview   
with ,florence ,nightingale1 #cfj2   at 
,copenhagen1 #cfc2   received by the    
,crown ,prince of ,denmark1 #cfd2       
ascends ,north ,cape1 #cff2   preaches  
in ,stockholm1 #cfg2   at ,st4          
,petersburg1 #cfh2   received by the    
,czar ,nicholas1 #cga2   the ,dowager   
,empress1 #cgb2   at ,berlin1 #cgd2     
his impressions of the ,passion ,play1  
#cge-chh2   at ,baden-baden1 #chh2      
preaches in ,john ,wesley's ,chapel1    
#chh2   in ,ireland1 #cia2   return to  
,america1 #cia2   his vigour and        
enthusiasm for his work1 #cic2   welcome
 at ,brooklyn1 #cig2   style of his     
writings1 #cii2   personal mail1 #cii2  
simple tastes1 #djj2   libraries1 #dja2 

reverence for the ,bible1 #dja2   sense 
of humour1 #djc2   will power1 #djc2    
perseverance1 #djc-dje2   eulogy on     
,queen ,victoria1 #djf2   inaugurates   
,revival meetings1 #djg2   his last     
sermon1 #daj-dab2   in a railway        
accident1 #dad2   in ,mexico1 #daf2     
audience with ,president ,diaz1 #dag2   
his illness1 #dag-dbj2   journey home1  
#dah2   death1 #dbj2   funeral service1 
#dba2   burial1 #dbb2   tributes to1    
#dbb2   his ,celestial ,dream1 #dbc4    
,tappen1 ,arthur1 #ef4 ,tariff ,reform  
question1 #abh1 #bee2   protective1     
#bjj4 ,taylor1 ,alfred1 #agi4 ,taylor1  
,bayard1 his career1 #ij2   number of   
his books1 #ij2   death1 #ij4 ,taylor1  
,rev4 ,dr4 ,benjamin ,c41 #be4 ,taylor1 
,robert1 #agi4 ,taylor1 ,dr4 ,william   
,m41 amount of his salary1 #bdg4        
,taylor1 ,zachary1 #aad4 ,tenney1       
,judge1 #id4 ,tennyson1 ,lord1 #aef4    
,terhune1 ,rev4 ,e4,p41 #bda4 ,thomas1  
,capt41 heroism of1 #acd4 ,thomasville1 
#dad2   accident at1 #dad4 ,thompson1   

,dr4 ,c4,c41 amount of his salary1 #bdg4
 ,thompson1 ,rev4 ,charles ,l41 #bhc4   
,thompson1 ,mr41 ,secretary of the      
,navy1 #djd4 ,thurber1 ,frank ,b41      
private secretary to ,president         
,cleveland1 #bbd1 #cjc1 #cje4 ,tierney1 
,judge1 #acc4 ,tolstoi1 ,count1 #bfc4   
,tracey1 ,general1 #acc1 #bhc4 ,trenton1
 intemperance1 #de2   bribery1 #df4     
,troendhjem1 #cfe4 ,tucker1 ,dr4        
,harrison ,a41 #bcc4 ,turkey1 defeated  
by ,russia1 #gg4 ,tyler1 ,mrs41 her     
pension1 #ade4 ,tyng1 ,rev4 ,stephen    
,h41 #fb2   his sufferings from         
insomnia1 #fb4  ,uncle ,john's ,place1  
#i4 ,united ,states1 the ,civil ,war1   
#ch2   result1 #db1 #gd2   intemperance1
 #dd2   bribery1 #de1 #afe-afg2         
salaries of ministers1 #fc2   spread of 
communism1 #hc2   fever for spending    
money1 #hc2   predictions of disaster in
 #ahgh1 #hh2   legislative effort to    
exclude the ,chinese1 #ij2   commercial 
frauds1 #ic2   pacification of ,north   
and ,south1 #aac2   purchase of grain1  

#ajc2   surplus for export1 #ajc2       
blockade1 #ajc2   republican candidates 
for the ,presidency1 #ajd2   quality of 
the new ,senators1 #aji2   interference 
in foreign affairs1 #aag2   celebration 
of centennials1 #abd2   adulteration of 
food1 #aca2   number of elopements1     
#acg2   problem of the poor1 #adc2      
practice of betting1 #adg2   demands of 
,society1 #afi-aga2   the working       
people1 #aga2   number of weddings1     
#agf2   sports1 #agg2   mania for       
rebuilding1 #agh2   fashions1 #ahc2     
slaughter of birds1 #ahd2   system of   
taxation1 #aig2   of lies1 #aig2   war  
with ,spain1 #cbj4 ,unrequited services1
 sermon on1 #cef1 #cei4  ,van ,buren1   
cartoons of1 #age4 ,vanderbilt1         
,cornelius1 his will1 #gc1 #afa2   gift 
to a medical institute1 #ada2   death1  
#afj2   protection of his remains1 #afa4
 ,vanderbilt1 ,mrs41 her remedy against 
sea-sickness1 #cdg4 ,van ,dyke1 ,rev4   
,dr4 ,henry #ea1 #dac4 ,van ,nest1      
,john1 #aj4 ,van ,rensselaer1 ,mr4 and  

,mrs41 #cj4 ,van ,vranken1 ,rev4 ,dr41  
#ah4 ,vicksburg1 victory at1 #ch4       
,victoria1 ,queen1 character of her     
reign1 #gh2   first cablegram1 #bej2    
her death1 #djf4 ,vienna1 #cge4         
,villard1 ,henry1 #abf4 ,vinton1 ,rev4  
,dr41 #ahg4 ,volapuek1 the study of1    
#bje4 ,vredenburgh1 ,john1 #ag4         
,wadsworth1 ,rev4 ,charles1 #dh4 ,wales1
 ,prince of1 at ,chatsworth1 #ced4      
,walker1 ,dr4 ,mary1 her appearance1    
#cca4 ,wall ,street1 failure of #ahhd1  
#acd4 ,wallace1 ,william ,copeland1     
#bbd4 ,walsh1 ,senator1 #bhc4 ,ward1    
,ferdinand1 #acd4 ,ward1 ,dr4 ,samuel1  
#ai1 #cj4 ,warner1 ,b4,h41 #cce4 ,wars1 
number of1 in #ahhe1 #adf2   cost1 #aeh2
   character1 #aha4 ,warsaw1 #cgd4      
,washington1 intemperance1 #de2         
bribery1 #df2   ,silver ,bill passed1   
#hj2   number of appropriation ,bills1  
#aag2   improvements1 #bee2   ,first    
,presbyterian ,church at1 #bid2         
library presented to1 #cce2             
,pan-,presbyterian ,council1 #cda4      

,washington1 ,george1 #agc2   his       
burial1 #h4 ,watterson1 ,henry1 #bee4   
,webb1 ,james ,watson1 #aca4 ,webster1  
,daniel1 #hf1 #ajd2   monument erected  
to1 #abh2   his death1 #ahh4 ,webster1  
,lily1 her baptism1 #bf4 ,webster1      
,noah1 his dictionary1 #gf1 #ajg4 ,weed1
 ,thurlow1 #aca4 ,wesley1 ,john1 #eb2   
caricatures of1 #ec4 ,westminster ,hall1
 dynamite outrage1 #adb4 ,wheeler1      
,general1 #ccf4 ,white1 ,chief ,justice1
 #bjh4 ,white1 ,doc1 #bbd4 ,white1      
,henry ,kirke1 #beh4 ,white1 ,mr41 #cfa4
 ,whitefield1 ,george1 caricature of his
 preaching1 #eb4 ,whitney1 ex-,mayor1   
#bda4 ,whittemore1 ,miss ,susan ,c41 her
 marriage1 #ej note4 ,whittier1 ,john   
,greenleaf1 #bea2   poem1 #beb4 ,wilber1
 ,mark ,d41 #bda4 ,wilder1 ,marshall    
,p41 #cdf4 ,williams1 ,general and      
,mrs41 #bfa4 ,williams1 ,william ,b41   
#bbd4 ,wills1 number of disputes over1  
#adb4 ,wilson1 ,henry1 his death1 #ahh4 
,windom1 ,secretary1 #aac4 ,winslow1    
,hon4 ,john1 #bbd1 #bha4 ,wisconsin1    

#dji4 ,witherspoon1 ,dr41 advice from1  
#aed4 ,wolfe1 ,miss1 #ee2   her bequest 
to the ,church1 #aid4 ,wood ,green      
,wesleyan ,church1 dedication of1 #cij4 
,wood1 ,john1 #bcc1 #bfi4 ,woodford1    
,gen4 ,stewart ,l41 #acc1 #bbd4         
,woodruff1 ,t4,l41 #bbd4 ,woodward1     
,mr41 #aeg4 ,world's ,fair1 #aie4       
,wrench1 ,dr41 #cea1 #cec4 ,wright1     
,silas1 #ajb4 ,wuerttemberg1 #cgd4      
,wycoff1 ,mrs4 ,clarence1 #dbj4         
,wyndham1 ,mr41 #cfh4  ,yellow fever1   
scourge of1 #hg4 ,yellowstone ,park1    
#cbj4  ,zanesville1 #cag4 ,zwink1 ,john1
 takes part in the ,passion ,play1 #chj2
   character of his acting1 #cha4       
99       99       99       99       99  
,,garden ,,city ,,press ,,limited1      
,,printers1 ,,letchworth1 ,,herts4