,the ,story of ,fifty-,seven ,cents     
,by ,,robert ,,shackleton               
,the ,story of the ,sword               
,the ,beginning at ,old ,lexington      
,the ,story of ,fifty-,seven ,cents     
,his ,power as a ,preacher              
,gift for ,inspiring ,others            
,,volume #f      ,,national             
,,extension ,,university      #eig      
,fifth ,avenue1 ,new ,york      ,,acres 
,,of ,,diamonds      ,copyright1 #aiae1 
by ,harper  ,brothers     ,printed in   
the ,united ,states of ,america     ,i  
,,the ,,story ,,of ,,the ,,sword#a      
,footnote #a3 ,dr4 ,conwell was living1 
and actively at work1 when these pages  
were written4 ,it is1 therefore1 a much 
truer picture of his personality than   
anything written in the past tense4  ,i 
shall write of a remarkable man1 an     
interesting man1 a man of power1 of     
initiative1 of will1 of persistence2 a  
man who plans vastly and who realizes   
his plans2 a man who not only does      
things himself1 but who1 even more      

important than that1 is the constant    
inspiration of others4 ,i shall write of
 ,russell ,h4 ,conwell4  ,as a farmer's 
boy he was the leader of the boys of the
 rocky region that was his home2 as a   
school-teacher he won devotion2 as a    
newspaper correspondent he gained fame2 
as a soldier in the ,civil ,war he rose 
to important rank2 as a lawyer he       
developed a large practice2 as an author
 he wrote books that reached a mighty   
total of sales4 ,he left the law for the
 ministry and is the active head of a   
great church that he raised from        
nothingness4 ,he is the most popular    
lecturer in the world and yearly speaks 
to many thousands4 ,he is1 so to speak1 
the discoverer of ,acres of ,diamonds1  
through which thousands of men and women
 have achieved success out of failure4  
,he is the head of two hospitals1 one of
 them founded by himself1 that have     
cared for a host of patients1 both the  
poor and the rich1 irrespective of race 
or creed4 ,he is the founder and head of

 a university that has already had tens 
of thousands of students4 ,his home is  
in ,philadelphia2 but he is known in    
every corner of every state in the      
,union1 and everywhere he has hosts of  
friends4 ,all of his life he has helped 
and inspired others4  ,quite by chance1 
and only yesterday1 literally yesterday 
and by chance1 and with no thought at   
the moment of ,conwell although he had  
been much in my mind for some time past1
 ,i picked up a thin little book of     
description by ,william ,dean ,howells1 
and1 turning the pages of a chapter on  
,lexington1 old ,lexington of the       
,revolution1 written1 so ,howells had   
set down1 in #ahhb1 ,i noticed1 after he
 had written of the town itself1 and of 
the long-past fight there1 and of the   
present-day aspect1 that he mentioned   
the church life of the place and        
remarked on the striking advances made  
by the ,baptists1 who had lately1 as he 
expressed it1 been reconstituted out of 
very perishing fragments and made strong

 and flourishing1 under the             
ministrations of a lay preacher1        
formerly a colonel in the ,union army4  
,and it was only a few days before ,i   
chanced upon this description that ,dr4 
,conwell1 the former colonel and former 
lay preacher1 had told me of his        
experiences in that little old          
,revolutionary town4  ,howells went on  
to say that1 so he was told1 the        
colonel's success was principally due to
 his making the church attractive to    
young people4 ,howells says no more of  
him2 apparently he did not go to hear   
him2 and one wonders if he has ever     
associated that lay preacher of         
,lexington with the famous ,russell ,h4 
,conwell of these recent years6         
,attractive to young people4 ,yes1 one  
can recognize that to-day1 just as it   
was recognized in ,lexington4 ,and it   
may be added that he at the same time   
attracts older people1 too6 ,in this1   
indeed1 lies his power4 ,he makes his   
church interesting1 his sermons         

interesting1 his lectures interesting4  
,he is himself interesting6 ,because of 
his being interesting1 he gains         
attention4 ,the attention gained1 he    
inspires4  ,biography is more than      
dates4 ,dates1 after all1 are but       
mile-stones along the road of life4 ,and
 the most important fact of ,conwell's  
life is that he lived to be eighty-two1 
working sixteen hours every day for the 
good of his fellow-men4 ,he was born on 
,february #ae1 #ahdc--;born of poor     
parents1 in a low-roofed cottage in the 
eastern ,berkshires1 in ,massachusetts4 
,i was born in this room1 he said to me1
 simply1 as we sat together recently#b  
in front of the old fireplace in the    
principal room of the little cottage2   
for he has bought back the rocky farm of
 his father1 and has retained and       
restored the little old home4 ,i was    
born in this room4 ,it was bedroom and  
kitchen4 ,it was poverty4 ,and his voice
 sank with a kind of grimness into      
silence4  ,footnote #b3 ,this interview 

took place at the old ,conwell farm in  
the summer of #aiae4  ,then he spoke a  
little of the struggles of those        
long-past years2 and we went out on the 
porch1 as the evening shadows fell1 and 
looked out over the valley and stream   
and hills of his youth1 and he told of  
his grandmother1 and of a young         
,marylander who had come to the region  
on a visit2 it was a tale of the        
impetuous love of those two1 of rash    
marriage1 of the interference of        
parents1 of the fierce rivalry of       
another suitor1 of an attack on the     
,marylander's life1 of passionate       
hastiness1 of unforgivable words1 of    
separation1 of lifelong sorrow4 ,why    
does grandmother cry so often8 he       
remembers asking when he was a little   
boy4 ,and he was told that it was for   
the husband of her youth4  ,we went back
 into the little house and he showed me 
the room in which he first saw ,john    
,brown4 ,i came down early one morning1 
and saw a huge1 hairy man sprawled upon 

the bed there--and ,i was frightened1 he
 says4  ,but ,john ,brown did not long  
frighten him6 ,for he was much at their 
house after that1 and was so friendly   
with ,russell and his brother that there
 was no chance for awe2 and it gives a  
curious side-light on the character of  
the stern abolitionist that he actually1
 with infinite patience1 taught the old 
horse of the ,conwells to go home alone 
with the wagon after leaving the boys at
 school1 a mile or more away and at     
school-closing time to trot gently off  
for them without a driver when merely   
faced in that direction and told to go6 
,conwell remembers how ,john ,brown1 in 
training it1 used patiently to walk     
beside the horse1 and control its going 
and its turnings1 until it was quite    
ready to go and turn entirely by itself4
  ,the ,conwell house was a station on  
the ,underground ,railway and ,russell  
,conwell remembers1 when a lad1 seeing  
the escaping slaves that his father had 
driven across country and temporarily   

hidden4 ,those were heroic days1 he     
says1 quietly4 ,and once in a while my  
father let me go with him4 ,they were   
wonderful night drives--the cowering    
slaves1 the darkness of the road1 the   
caution and the silence and dread of it 
all4 ,this underground route1 he        
remembers1 was from ,philadelphia to    
,new ,haven1 thence to ,springfield1    
where ,conwell's father would take his  
charge1 and onward to ,bellows ,falls   
and ,canada4  ,conwell tells1 too1 of   
meeting ,frederick ,douglass1 the       
colored orator1 in that little cottage  
in the hills4 ',i never saw my father1' 
,douglass said one day--his father was a
 white man--'and ,i remember little of  
my mother except that once she tried to 
keep an overseer from whipping me1 and  
the lash cut across her own face and her
 blood fell over me4'  ,when ,john      
,brown was captured1 ,conwell went on1  
my father tried to sell this place to   
get a little money to send to help his  
defense4 ,but he couldn't sell it1 and  

on the day of the execution we knelt    
solemnly here1 from eleven to twelve1   
just praying1 praying in silence for the
 passing soul of ,john ,brown4 ,and as  
we prayed we knew that others were also 
praying1 for a church-bell tolled during
 that entire hour and its awesome boom  
went sadly sounding over these hills4   
,conwell believes that his real life    
dates from a happening of the time of   
the ,civil ,war--a happening that still 
looms vivid and intense before him and  
which undoubtedly did deepen and        
strengthen his strong and deep nature4  
,yet the real ,conwell was always       
essentially the same4 ,neighborhood     
tradition still tells of his bravery as 
a boy and a youth1 of his reckless      
coasting1 his skill as a swimmer and his
 saving of lives1 his strength and      
endurance1 his plunging out into the    
darkness of a wild winter night to save 
a neighbor's cattle4 ,his soldiers came 
home with tales of his devotion to them 
and of how he shared his rations and his

 blankets and bravely risked his life2  
of how he crept off into a swamp1 at    
imminent peril1 to rescue one of his men
 lost or mired there4 ,the present      
,conwell was always ,conwell2 in fact1  
he may be traced through his ancestry1  
too1 for in him are the sturdy virtues1 
the bravery1 the grim determination1 the
 practicality1 of his father2 and       
romanticism1 that comes from his        
grandmother2 and the dreamy qualities of
 his mother1 who1 practical and         
hardworking ,new ,england woman that she
 was1 was at the same time influenced by
 an almost startling mysticism4  ,and   
,conwell himself is a dreamer3 first of 
all he is a dreamer2 it is the most     
important fact in regard to him6 ,it is 
because he is a dreamer and visualizes  
his dreams that he can plan the great   
things that to other men would seem     
impossibilities2 and then his intensely 
practical side--his intense efficiency1 
his power1 his skill1 his patience1 his 
fine earnestness1 his mastery over      

others1 develop his dreams into         
realities4 ,he dreams dreams and sees   
visions--but his visions are never      
visionary and his dreams become facts4  
,the rocky hills which meant a dogged   
struggle for very existence1 the        
fugitive slaves1 ,john ,brown--what a   
school for youth6 ,and the literal      
school was a tiny one-room school-house 
where young ,conwell came under the care
 of a teacher who realized the boy's    
unusual capabilities and was able to    
give him broad and unusual help4 ,then a
 wise country preacher also recognized  
the unusual1 and urged the parents to   
give still more education1 whereupon    
supreme effort was made and young       
,russell was sent to ,wilbraham         
,academy4 ,he likes to tell of his life 
there1 and of the hardships1 of which he
 makes light2 and of the joy with which 
week-end pies and cakes were received   
from home6  ,he tells of how he went out
 on the roads selling books from house  
to house1 and of how eagerly he devoured

 the contents of the sample books that  
he carried4 ,they were a foundation of  
learning for me1 he says1 soberly4 ,and 
they gave me a broad idea of the world4 
,he went to ,yale in #ahfj1 but the     
outbreak of the war interfered with     
college1 and he enlisted in #ahfa4 ,but 
he was only eighteen1 and his father    
objected1 and he went back to ,yale4    
,but next year he again enlisted1 and   
men of his ,berkshire neighborhood1     
likewise enlisting1 insisted that he be 
their captain2 and ,governor ,andrews1  
appealed to1 consented to commission the
 nineteen-year-old youth who was so     
evidently a natural leader2 and the men 
gave freely of their scant money to get 
for him a sword1 all gay and splendid   
with gilt1 and upon the sword was the   
declaration in stately ,latin that1     
,true friendship is eternal4  ,and with 
that sword is associated the most vivid1
 the most momentous experience of       
,russell ,conwell's life4  ,that sword  
hangs at the head of ,conwell's bed in  

his home in ,philadelphia4 ,man of peace
 that he is1 and minister of peace1 that
 symbol of war has for over half a      
century been of infinite importance to  
him4  ,he told me the story as we stood 
together before that sword4 ,and as he  
told the story1 speaking with quiet     
repression1 but seeing it all and living
 it all just as vividly as if it had    
occurred but yesterday1 ,that sword has 
meant so much to me1 he murmured2 and   
then he began the tale3  ,a boy up there
 in the ,berkshires1 a neighbor's son1  
was ,john ,ring2 ,i call him a boy1 for 
we all called him a boy1 and we looked  
upon him as a boy1 for he was           
under-sized and under-developed--so much
 so that he could not enlist4  ,but for 
some reason he was devoted to me1 and he
 not only wanted to enlist1 but he also 
wanted to be in the artillery company of
 which ,i captain2 and ,i could only    
take him along as servant4 ,i didn't    
want a servant1 but it was the only way 
to take poor little ,johnnie ,ring4     

,johnnie was deeply religious1 and would
 read the ,bible every evening before   
turning in4 ,in those days ,i was an    
atheist1 or at least thought ,i was1 and
 ,i used to laugh at ,ring and after a  
while he took to reading the ,bible     
outside the tent on account of my       
laughing at him6 ,but he did not stop   
reading it1 and his faithfulness to me  
remained unchanged4  ,the scabbard of   
the sword was too glittering for the    
regulations--the ghost of a smile       
hovered on ,conwell's lips--and ,i could
 not wear it1 and would only wear a     
plain one for service and keep this     
hanging in my tent on the tent-pole4    
,john ,ring used to handle it adoringly 
and kept it polished to                 
brilliancy4--,it's dull enough these    
many years1 he added1 somberly4 ,to     
,ring it represented not only his       
captain1 but the very glory and pomp of 
war4  ,one day the ,confederates        
suddenly stormed our position near ,new 
,berne and swept through the camp1      

driving our entire force before them2   
and all1 including my company1 retreated
 hurriedly across the river1 setting    
fire to a long wooden bridge as we went 
over4 ,it soon blazed up furiously1     
making a barrier that the ,confederates 
could not pass4  ,but1 unknown to       
everybody1 and unnoticed1 ,john ,ring   
had dashed back to my tent4 ,i think he 
was able to make his way back because he
 just looked like a mere boy2 but       
however that was1 he got past the       
,confederates into my tent and took     
down1 from where it was hanging on the  
tent-pole1 my bright1 gold-scabbarded   
sword4  ,john ,ring seized the sword    
that had long been so precious to him4  
,he dodged here and there1 and actually 
managed to gain the bridge just as it   
was beginning to blaze4 ,he started     
across4 ,the flames were every moment   
getting fiercer1 the smoke denser1 and  
now and then1 as he crawled and         
staggered on1 he leaned for a few       
seconds far over the edge of the bridge 

in an effort to get air4 ,both sides saw
 him2 both sides watched his terrible   
progress1 even while firing was fiercely
 kept up from each side of the river4   
,and then a ,confederate officer--he was
 one of ,general ,pickett's             
officers--ran to the water's edge and   
waved a white handkerchief and the      
firing ceased4  ',tell that boy to come 
back here6' he cried4 ',tell him to come
 back here and we will let him go free6'
  ,he called this out just as ,ring was 
about to enter upon the worst part of   
the bridge--the covered part1 where     
there were top and bottom and sides of  
blazing wood4 ,the roar of the flames   
was so close to ,ring that he could not 
hear the calls from either side of the  
river1 and he pushed desperately on and 
disappeared in the covered part4  ,there
 was dead silence except for the        
crackling of the fire4 ,not a man cried 
out4 ,all waited in hopeless expectancy4
 ,and then came a mighty yell from      
,northerner and ,southerner alike1 for  

,johnnie came crawling out of the end of
 the covered way--he had actually passed
 through that frightful place--and his  
clothes were ablaze and he toppled over 
and fell into shallow water2 and in a   
few moments he was dragged out1         
unconscious1 and hurried to a hospital4 
,he lingered for a day or so1 still     
unconscious1 and then came to himself   
and smiled a little as he found that the
 sword for which he had given his life  
had been left beside him4 ,he took it in
 his arms4 ,he hugged it to his breast4 
,he gave a few words of final message   
for me4 ,and that was all4  ,conwell's  
voice had gone thrillingly low as he    
neared the end1 for it was all so very1 
very vivid to him1 and his eyes had     
grown tender and his lips more strong   
and firm4 ,and he fell silent1 thinking 
of that long-ago happening1 and though  
he looked down upon the thronging       
traffic of ,broad ,street1 it was clear 
that he did not see it1 and that if the 
rumbling hubbub of sound meant anything 

to him it was the rumbling of the guns  
of the distant past4 ,when he spoke     
again it was with a still tenser tone of
 feeling4  ,when ,i stood beside the    
body of ,john ,ring and realized that he
 had died for love of me1 ,i made a vow 
that has formed my life4 ,i vowed that  
from that moment ,i would live not only 
my own life1 but that ,i would also live
 the life of ,john ,ring4 ,and from that
 moment ,i have worked sixteen hours    
every day--eight for ,john ,ring's work 
and eight hours for my own4  ,a curious 
note had come into his voice1 as of one 
who had run the race and neared the     
goal1 fought the good fight and neared  
the end4  ,every morning when ,i rise ,i
 look at this sword1 or if ,i am away   
from home ,i think of the sword1 and vow
 anew that another day shall see sixteen
 hours of work from me4 ,and when one   
comes to know ,russell ,conwell one     
realizes that never did a man work more 
hard and constantly4  ,it was through   
,john ,ring and his giving his life     

through devotion to me that ,i became a 
,christian1 he went on4 ,this did not   
come about immediately1 but it came     
before the war was over and it came     
through faithful ,johnnie ,ring4  ,there
 is a little lonely cemetery in the     
,berkshires1 a tiny burying-ground on a 
wind-swept hill1 a few miles from       
,conwell's old home4 ,in this isolated  
burying-ground bushes and vines and     
grass grow in profusion1 and a few trees
 cast a gentle shade2 and tree-clad     
hills go billowing off for miles and    
miles in wild and lonely beauty4 ,and in
 that lonely little graveyard ,i found  
the plain stone that marks the          
resting-place of ,john ,ring4     ,,ii  
,,the ,,beginning ,,at ,,old ,,lexington
   ,it is not because he is a minister  
that ,russell ,conwell is such a force  
in the world4 ,he went into the ministry
 because he was sincerely and profoundly
 a ,christian1 and because he felt that 
as a minister he could do more good in  
the world than in any other capacity4   

,but being a minister is but an         
incident1 so to speak4 ,the important   
thing is not that he is a minister1 but 
that he is himself6  ,recently ,i heard 
a ,new-,yorker1 the head of a great     
corporation1 say3 ,i believe that       
,russell ,conwell is doing more good in 
the world than any man who has lived    
since ,jesus ,christ1 ,and he said this 
in serious and unexaggerated earnest4   
,yet ,conwell did not get readily into  
his life-work4 ,he might have seemed    
almost a failure until he was well on   
toward forty1 for although he kept      
making successes they were not permanent
 successes1 and he did not settle       
himself into a definite line4 ,he       
restlessly went westward to make his    
home1 and then restlessly returned to   
the ,east4 ,after the war was over he   
was a lawyer1 he was a lecturer1 he was 
an editor1 he went around the world as a
 correspondent1 he wrote books4 ,he kept
 making money1 and kept losing it2 he   
lost it through fire1 through           

investments1 through aiding his friends4
 ,it is probable that the unsettledness 
of the years following the war was due  
to the unsettling effect of the war     
itself1 which thus1 in its influence1   
broke into his mature life after        
breaking into his years at ,yale4 ,but  
however that may be1 those seething1    
changing1 stirring years were years of  
vital importance to him1 for in the     
myriad experiences of that time he was  
building the foundation of the ,conwell 
that was to come4 ,abroad he met the    
notables of the earth4 ,at home he made 
hosts of friends and loyal admirers4    
,it is worth while noting that as a     
lawyer he would never take a case1      
either civil or criminal1 that he       
considered wrong4 ,it was basic with him
 that he could not and would not fight  
on what he thought was the wrong side4  
,only when his client was right would he
 go ahead6  ,yet he laughs1 his quiet1  
infectious1 characteristic laugh1 as he 
tells of how once he was deceived1 for  

he defended a man1 charged with stealing
 a watch1 who was so obviously innocent 
that he took the case in a blaze of     
indignation and had the young fellow    
proudly exonerated4 ,the next day the   
wrongly accused one came to his office  
and shamefacedly took out the watch that
 he had been charged with stealing4 ,i  
want you to send it to the man ,i took  
it from1 he said4 ,and he told with a   
sort of shamefaced pride of how he had  
got a good old deacon to give1 in all   
sincerity1 the evidence that exculpated 
him4 ,and1 say1 ,mr4 ,conwell--,i want  
to thank you for getting me off--and ,i 
hope you'll excuse my deceiving         
you--and--,i won't be any worse for not 
going to jail4 ,and ,conwell likes to   
remember that thereafter the young man  
lived up to the pride of exoneration2   
and1 though ,conwell does not say it or 
think it1 one knows that it was the     
,conwell influence that inspired to     
honesty--for always he is an inspirer4  
,conwell even kept certain hours for    

consultation with those too poor to pay 
any fee2 and at one time1 while still an
 active lawyer1 he was guardian for over
 sixty children6 ,the man has always    
been a marvel1 and always one is coming 
upon such romantic facts as these4      
,that is a curious thing about him--how 
much there is of romance in his life6   
,worshiped to the end by ,john ,ring2   
left for dead all night at ,kenesaw     
,mountain2 calmly singing ,nearer1 my   
,god1 to ,thee1 to quiet the passengers 
on a supposedly sinking ship2 saving    
lives even when a boy2 never            
disappointing a single audience of the  
thousands of audiences he has arranged  
to address during all his years of      
lecturing6 ,he himself takes a little   
pride in this last point1 and it is     
characteristic of him that he has       
actually forgotten that just once he did
 fail to appear3 he has quite forgotten 
that one evening1 on his way to a       
lecture1 he stopped a runaway horse to  
save two women's lives1 and went in     

consequence to a hospital instead of to 
the platform6 ,and it is typical of him 
to forget that sort of thing4  ,the     
emotional temperament of ,conwell has   
always made him responsive to the great1
 the striking1 the patriotic4 ,he was   
deeply influenced by knowing ,john      
,brown1 and his brief memories of       
,lincoln are intense1 though he saw him 
but three times in all4  ,the first time
 he saw ,lincoln was on the night when  
the future ,president delivered the     
address1 which afterward became so      
famous1 in ,cooper ,union1 ,new ,york4  
,the name of ,lincoln was then scarcely 
known1 and it was by mere chance that   
young ,conwell happened to be in ,new   
,york on that day4 ,but being there and 
learning that ,abraham ,lincoln from the
 ,west was going to make an address1 he 
went to hear him4  ,he tells how        
uncouthly ,lincoln was dressed1 even    
with one trousers-leg higher than the   
other1 and of how awkward he was1 and of
 how poorly1 at first1 he spoke and with

 what apparent embarrassment4 ,the      
chairman of the meeting got ,lincoln a  
glass of water1 and ,conwell thought    
that it was from a personal desire to   
help him and keep him from breaking     
down4 ,but he loves to tell how ,lincoln
 became a changed man as he spoke2 how  
he seemed to feel ashamed of his brief  
embarrassment and1 pulling himself      
together and putting aside the written  
speech which he had prepared1 spoke     
freely and powerfully1 with splendid    
conviction1 as only a born orator       
speaks4 ,to ,conwell it was a tremendous
 experience4  ,the second time he saw   
,lincoln was when he went to ,washington
 to plead for the life of one of his men
 who had been condemned to death for    
sleeping on post4 ,he was still but a   
captain 7his promotion to a colonelcy   
was still to come71 a youth1 and was    
awed by going into the presence of the  
man he worshiped4 ,and his voice        
trembles a little1 even now1 as he tells
 of how pleasantly ,lincoln looked up   

from his desk1 and how cheerfully he    
asked his business with him1 and of how 
absorbedly ,lincoln then listened to his
 tale1 although1 so it appeared1 he     
already knew of the main outline4  ,it  
will be all right1 said ,lincoln1 when  
,conwell finished4 ,but ,conwell was    
still frightened4 ,he feared that in the
 multiplicity of public matters this    
mere matter of the life of a mountain   
boy1 a private soldier1 might be        
forgotten till too late4 ,it is almost  
the time set-- he faltered4 ,and        
,conwell's voice almost breaks1 man of  
emotion that he is1 as he tells of how  
,lincoln said1 with stern gravity3 ,go  
and telegraph that soldier's mother that
 ,abraham ,lincoln never signed a       
warrant to shoot a boy under twenty1 and
 never will4 ,that was the one and only 
time that he spoke with ,lincoln1 and it
 remains an indelible impression4  ,the 
third time he saw ,lincoln was when1 as 
officer of the day1 he stood for hours  
beside the dead body of the ,president  

as it lay in state in ,washington4 ,in  
those hours1 as he stood rigidly as the 
throng went shuffling sorrowfully       
through1 an immense impression came to  
,colonel ,conwell of the work and worth 
of the man who there lay dead1 and that 
impression has never departed4  ,john   
,brown1 ,abraham ,lincoln1 old          
,revolutionary ,lexington--how          
,conwell's life is associated with      
famous men and places6--and it was      
actually at ,lexington that he made the 
crucial decision as to the course of his
 life6 ,and it seems to me that it was1 
although quite unconsciously1 because of
 the very fact that it was ,lexington   
that ,conwell was influenced to decide  
and to act as he did4 ,had it been in   
some other kind of place1 some merely   
ordinary place1 some quite usual place1 
he might not have taken the important   
step4 ,but it was ,lexington1 it was    
brave old ,lexington1 inspiring         
,lexington2 and he was inspired by it1  
for the man who himself inspires nobly  

is always the one who is himself open to
 noble inspiration4 ,lexington inspired 
him4  ,when ,i was a lawyer in ,boston  
and almost thirty-seven years old1 he   
told me1 thinking slowly back into the  
years1 ,i was consulted by a woman who  
asked my advice in regard to disposing  
of a little church in ,lexington whose  
congregation had become unable to       
support it4 ,i went out and looked at   
the place1 and ,i told her how the      
property could be sold4 ,but it seemed a
 pity to me that the little church      
should be given up4 ,however1 ,i advised
 a meeting of the church members1 and ,i
 attended the meeting4 ,i put the case  
to them--it was only a handful of men   
and women--and there was silence for a  
little4 ,then an old man rose and1 in a 
quavering voice1 said the matter was    
quite clear2 that there evidently was   
nothing to do but to sell1 and that he  
would agree with the others in the      
necessity2 but as the church had been   
his church home from boyhood1 so he     

quavered and quivered on1 he begged that
 they would excuse him from actually    
taking part in disposing of it2 and in a
 deep silence he went haltingly from the
 room4  ,the men and the women looked at
 one another1 still silent1 sadly       
impressed1 but not knowing what to do4  
,and ,i said to them3 ',why not start   
over again1 and go on with the church1  
after all6'  ,typical ,conwellism1 that6
 ,first1 the impulse to help those who  
need helping1 then the inspiration and  
leadership4  ',but the building is      
entirely too tumble-down to use1' said  
one of the men1 sadly2 and ,i knew he   
was right1 for ,i had examined it2 but  
,i said3  ',let us meet there to-morrow 
morning and get to work on that building
 ourselves and put it in shape for a    
service next ,sunday4'  ,it made them   
seem so pleased and encouraged1 and so  
confident that a new possibility was    
opening that ,i never doubted that each 
one of those present and many friends   
besides1 would be at the building in the

 morning4 ,i was there early with a     
hammer and ax and crowbar that ,i had   
secured1 ready to go to work--but no one
 else showed up6  ,he has a rueful      
appreciation of the humor of it1 as he  
pictured the scene2 and one knows also  
that1 in that little town of ,lexington1
 where ,americans had so bravely faced  
the impossible1 ,russell ,conwell also  
braced himself to face the impossible4  
,a pettier man would instantly have     
given up the entire matter when those   
who were most interested failed to      
respond1 but one of the strongest       
features in ,conwell's character is his 
ability to draw even doubters and       
weaklings into line1 his ability to stir
 even those who have given up4  ,i      
looked over that building1 he goes on1  
whimsically1 and ,i saw that repair     
really seemed out of the question4      
,nothing but a new church would do6 ,so 
,i took the ax that ,i had brought with 
me and began chopping the place down4   
,in a little while a man1 not one of the

 church members1 came along and he      
watched me for a time and said1 ',what  
are you going to do there8'  ,and ,i    
instantly replied1 ',tear down this old 
building and build a new church here6'  
,he looked at me4 ',but the people won't
 do that1' he said4  ',yes1 they will1' 
,i said1 cheerfully1 keeping at my work4
 ,whereupon he watched me a few minutes 
longer and said3  ',well1 you can put me
 down for one hundred dollars for the   
new building4 ,come up to my            
livery-stable and get it this evening4' 
',all right2 ,i'll surely be there1' ,i 
replied4  ,in a little while another man
 came along and stopped and looked1 and 
he rather gibed at the idea of a new    
church and when ,i told him of the      
livery-stable man contributing one      
hundred dollars1 he said1 ',but you     
haven't got the money yet6'  ',no1' ,i  
said2 'but ,i am going to get it        
to-night4'  ',you'll never get it1' he  
said4 ',he's not that sort of a man4    
,he's not even a church man6'  ,but ,i  

just went quietly on with the work1     
without answering and after quite a     
while he left2 but he called back1 as he
 went off1 ',well1 if he does give you  
that hundred dollars1 come to me and    
,i'll give you another hundred4'        
,conwell smiles in genial reminiscence  
and without any apparent sense that he  
is telling of a great personal triumph  
and goes on3  ,those two men both paid  
the money1 and of course the church     
people themselves1 who at first had not 
quite understood that ,i could be in    
earnest1 joined in and helped1 with work
 and money1 and as1 while the new church
 was building1 it was peculiarly        
important to get and keep the           
congregation together1 and as they had  
ceased to have a minister of their own1 
,i used to run out from ,boston and     
preach for them1 in a room we hired4    
,and it was there in ,lexington1 in     
#ahgi1 that ,i determined to become a   
minister4 ,i had a good law practice1   
but ,i determined to give it up4 ,for   

many years ,i had felt more or less of a
 call to the ministry1 and here at      
length was the definite time to begin4  
,week by week ,i preached there--how    
strange1 now1 to think of ,william ,dean
 ,howells and the colonel-preacher6--and
 after a while the church was completed1
 and in that very church1 there in      
,lexington1 ,i was ordained a minister4 
,a marvelous thing1 all this1 even      
without considering the marvelous       
heights that ,conwell has since         
attained--a marvelous thing1 an         
achievement of positive romance6 ,that  
little church stood for ,american       
bravery and initiative and              
self-sacrifice and romanticism in a way 
that well befitted good old ,lexington4 
,to leave a large and overflowing law   
practice and take up the ministry at a  
salary of six hundred dollars a year    
seemed to the relatives of ,conwell's   
wife the extreme of foolishness and they
 did not hesitate so to express         
themselves4 ,naturally enough1 they did 

not have ,conwell's vision4 ,yet he     
himself was fair enough to realize and  
to admit that there was a good deal of  
fairness in their objections2 and so he 
said to the congregation that1 although 
he was quite ready to come for the six  
hundred dollars a year1 he expected them
 to double his salary as soon as he     
doubled the church membership4 ,this    
seemed to them a good deal like a joke1 
but they answered in perfect earnestness
 that they would be quite willing to do 
the doubling as soon as he did the      
doubling1 and in less than a year the   
salary was doubled accordingly4  ,i     
asked him if he had found it hard to    
give up the lucrative law for a poor    
ministry1 and his reply gave a          
delightful impression of his capacity   
for humorous insight into human nature1 
for he said1 with a genial twinkle3  ,oh
 yes1 it was a wrench2 but there is a   
sort of romance of self-sacrifice1 you  
know4 ,i rather suppose the old-time    
martyrs rather enjoyed themselves in    

being martyrs6  ,conwell did not stay   
very long in ,lexington4 ,a struggling  
little church in ,philadelphia heard of 
what he was doing1 and so an old deacon 
went up to see and hear him1 and an     
invitation was given2 and as the        
,lexington church seemed to be          
prosperously on its feet1 and the needs 
of the ,philadelphia body keenly        
appealed to ,conwell's imagination1 a   
change was made1 and at a salary of     
eight hundred dollars a year he went1 in
 #ahhb1 to the little struggling        
,philadelphia congregation1 and of that 
congregation he is still pastor--only1  
it ceased to be a struggling            
congregation a great many years ago6    
,and long ago it began paying him more  
thousands every year than at first it   
gave him hundreds4  ,dreamer as ,conwell
 always is in connection with his       
immense practicality1 and moved as he is
 by the spiritual influences of life1 it
 is more than likely that not only did  
,philadelphia's need appeal1 but also   

the fact that ,philadelphia1 as a city1 
meant much to him1 for1 coming ,north1  
wounded from a battle-field of the      
,civil ,war1 it was in ,philadelphia    
that he was cared for until his health  
and strength were recovered4 ,thus it   
came that ,philadelphia had early become
 dear to him4  ,and here is an excellent
 example of how dreaming great dreams   
may go hand-in-hand with winning superb 
results4 ,for that little struggling    
congregation now owns and occupies a    
great new church building that seats    
more people than any other ,protestant  
church in ,america--and ,dr4 ,conwell   
fills it6     ,,iii  ,,story ,,of ,,the 
,,fifty-,,seven ,,cents   ,at every     
point in ,conwell's life one sees that  
he wins through his wonderful personal  
influence on old and young4 ,every step 
forward1 every triumph achieved1 comes  
not alone from his own enthusiasm1 but  
because of his putting that enthusiasm  
into others4 ,and when ,i learned how it
 came about that the present church     

buildings were begun1 it was another of 
those marvelous tales of fact that are  
stranger than any imagination could make
 them4 ,and yet the tale was so simple  
and sweet and sad and unpretending4     
,when ,dr4 ,conwell first assumed charge
 of the little congregation that led him
 to ,philadelphia it was really a little
 church both in its numbers and in the  
size of the building that it occupied1  
but it quickly became so popular under  
his leadership that the church services 
and ,sunday-school services were alike  
so crowded that there was no room for   
all who came1 and always there were     
people turned from the doors4  ,one     
afternoon a little girl1 who had eagerly
 wished to go1 turned back from the     
,sunday-school door1 crying bitterly    
because they had told her that there was
 no more room4 ,but a tall1 black-haired
 man met her and noticed her tears and1 
stopping1 asked why it was that she was 
crying1 and she sobbingly replied that  
it was because they could not let her   

into the ,sunday-school4  ,i lifted her 
to my shoulder1 says ,dr4 ,conwell1 in  
telling of this2 for after hearing the  
story elsewhere ,i asked him to tell it 
to me himself1 for it seemed almost too 
strange to be true4 ,i lifted her to my 
shoulder--and one realizes the pretty   
scene it must have made for the little  
girl to go through the crowd of people1 
drying her tears and riding proudly on  
the shoulders of the kindly1 tall1 dark 
man6 ,i said to her that ,i would take  
her in1 and ,i did so1 and ,i said to   
her that we should some day have a room 
big enough for all who should come4 ,and
 when she went home she told her        
parents--,i only learned this           
afterward--that she was going to save   
money to help build the larger church   
and ,sunday-school that ,dr4 ,conwell   
wanted6 ,her parents pleasantly humored 
her in the idea and let her run errands 
and do little tasks to earn pennies1 and
 she began dropping the pennies into her
 bank4  ,she was a lovable little       

thing--but in only a few weeks after    
that she was taken suddenly ill and     
died2 and at the funeral her father told
 me1 quietly1 of how his little girl had
 been saving money for a building-fund4 
,and there1 at the funeral1 he handed me
 what she had saved--just fifty-seven   
cents in pennies4  ,dr4 ,conwell does   
not say how deeply he was moved2 he is1 
after all1 a man of very few words as to
 his own emotions4 ,but a deep          
tenderness had crept into his voice4    
,at a meeting of the church trustees ,i 
told of this gift of fifty-seven        
cents--the first gift toward the        
proposed building-fund of the new church
 that was some time to exist4 ,for until
 then the matter had barely been spoken 
of1 as a new church building had been   
simply a possibility for the future4    
,the trustees seemed much impressed1 and
 it turned out that they were far more  
impressed than ,i could possibly have   
hoped1 for in a few days one of them    
came to me and said that he thought it  

would be an excellent idea to buy a lot 
on ,broad ,street--the very lot on which
 the building now stands4 ,it was       
characteristic of ,dr4 ,conwell that he 
did not point out1 what every one who   
knows him would understand1 that it was 
his own inspiration put into the        
trustees which resulted in this quick   
and definite move on the part of one of 
them4 ,i talked the matter over with the
 owner of the property1 and told him of 
the beginning of the fund1 the story of 
the little girl4 ,the man was not one of
 our church1 nor1 in fact1 was he a     
church-goer at all1 but he listened     
attentively to the tale of the          
fifty-seven cents and simply said he was
 quite ready to go ahead and sell us    
that piece of land for ten thousand     
dollars1 taking--and the unexpectedness 
of this deeply touched me--taking a     
first payment of just fifty-seven cents 
and letting the entire balance stand on 
a five-per-cent4 mortgage6  ,and it     
seemed to me that it would be the right 

thing to accept this unexpectedly       
liberal proposition1 and ,i went over   
the entire matter on that basis with the
 trustees and some of the other members1
 and all the people were soon talking of
 having a new church4 ,but it was not   
done in that way1 after all1 for1 fine  
though that way would have been1 there  
was to be one still finer4  ,not long   
after my talk with the man who owned the
 land1 and his surprisingly good-hearted
 proposition1 an exchange was arranged  
for me one evening with a ,mount ,holly 
church1 and my wife went with me4 ,we   
came back late1 and it was cold and wet 
and miserable1 but as we approached our 
home we saw that it was all lighted from
 top to bottom1 and it was clear that it
 was full of people4 ,i said to my wife 
that they seemed to be having a better  
time than we had had1 and we went in1   
curious to know what it was all about4  
,and it turned out that our absence had 
been intentionally arranged1 and that   
the church people had gathered at our   

home to meet us on our return4 ,and ,i  
was utterly amazed1 for the spokesman   
told me that the entire ten thousand    
dollars had been raised and that the    
land for the church that ,i wanted was  
free of debt4 ,and all had come so      
quickly and directly from that dear     
little girl's fifty-seven cents4        
,doesn't it seem like a fairy tale6 ,but
 then this man has all his life been    
making fairy tales into realities4 ,he  
inspired the child4 ,he inspired the    
trustees4 ,he inspired the owner of the 
land4 ,he inspired the people4  ,the    
building of the great church--the       
,temple ,baptist ,church1 as it is      
termed--was a great undertaking for the 
congregation2 even though it had been   
swiftly growing from the day of ,dr4    
,conwell's taking charge of it1 it was  
something far ahead of what1 except in  
the eyes of an enthusiast1 they could   
possibly complete and pay for and       
support4 ,nor was it an easy task4      
,ground was broken for the building in  

#ahhi1 in #ahia it was opened for       
worship1 and then came years of raising 
money to clear it4 ,but it was long ago 
placed completely out of debt1 and with 
only a single large subscription--one of
 ten thousand dollars--for the church is
 not in a wealthy neighborhood1 nor is  
the congregation made up of the great   
and rich4  ,the church is built of      
stone1 and its interior is a great      
amphitheater4 ,special attention has    
been given to fresh air and light2 there
 is nothing of the dim1 religious light 
that goes with medieval churchliness4   
,behind the pulpit are tiers of seats   
for the great chorus choir4 ,there is a 
large organ4 ,the building is peculiarly
 adapted for hearing and seeing1 and if 
it is not1 strictly speaking1 beautiful 
in itself1 it is beautiful when it is   
filled with encircling rows of men and  
women4  ,man of feeling that he is1 and 
one who appreciates the importance of   
symbols1 ,dr4 ,conwell had a heart of   
olive-wood built into the front of the  

pulpit1 for the wood was from an        
olive-tree in the ,garden of            
,gethsemane4 ,and the amber-colored     
tiles in the inner walls of the church  
bear1 under the glaze1 the names of     
thousands of his people2 for every one1 
young or old1 who helped in the         
building1 even to the giving of a single
 dollar1 has his name inscribed there4  
,for ,dr4 ,conwell wished to show that  
it is not only the house of the ,lord1  
but also1 in a keenly personal sense1   
the house of those who built it4  ,the  
church has a possible seating capacity  
of #d1bjj1 although only #c1ace chairs  
have been put in it1 for it has been the
 desire not to crowd the space          
needlessly4 ,there is also a great room 
for the ,sunday-school1 and extensive   
rooms for the young men's association1  
the young women's association1 and for a
 kitchen1 for executive offices1 for    
meeting-places for church officers and  
boards and committees4 ,it is a spacious
 and practical and complete church home1

 and the people feel at home there4     
,you see again1 said ,dr4 ,conwell1     
musingly1 the advantage of aiming at big
 things4 ,that building represents      
#aji1jjj above ground4 ,it is free from 
debt4 ,had we built a small church1 it  
would now be heavily mortgaged4     ,,iv
  ,,his ,,power ,,as ,,orator ,,and     
,,preacher   ,even as a young man       
,conwell won local fame as an orator4   
,at the outbreak of the ,civil ,war he  
began making patriotic speeches that    
gained enlistments4 ,after going to the 
front he was sent back home for a time1 
on furlough1 to make more speeches to   
draw more recruits1 for his speeches    
were so persuasive1 so powerful1 so full
 of homely and patriotic feeling1 that  
the men who heard them thronged into the
 ranks4 ,and as a preacher he uses      
persuasion1 power1 simple and homely    
eloquence1 to draw men to the ranks of  
,christianity4  ,he is an orator born1  
and has developed this inborn power by  
the hardest of study and thought and    

practice4 ,he is one of those rare men  
who always seize and hold the attention4
 ,when he speaks1 men listen4 ,it is    
quality1 temperament1 control--the word 
is immaterial1 but the fact is very     
material indeed4  ,some quarter of a    
century ago ,conwell published a little 
book for students on the study and      
practice of oratory4 ,that clear-cut    
articulation is the charm of eloquence  
is one of his insisted-upon statements1 
and it well illustrates the lifelong    
practice of the man himself1 for every  
word as he talks can be heard in every  
part of a large building1 yet always he 
speaks without apparent effort4 ,he     
avoids elocution4 ,his voice is         
soft-pitched and never breaks1 even now 
when he is over seventy1 because1 so he 
explains it1 he always speaks in his    
natural voice4 ,there is never a        
straining after effect4  ,a speaker must
 possess a large-hearted regard for the 
welfare of his audience1 he writes1 and 
here again we see ,conwell explaining   

,conwellism4 ,enthusiasm invites        
enthusiasm1 is another of his points of 
importance2 and one understands that it 
is by deliberate purpose1 and not by    
chance1 that he tries with such         
tremendous effort to put enthusiasm into
 his hearers with every sermon and every
 lecture that he delivers4  ,it is easy 
to raise a laugh1 but dangerous1 for it 
is the greatest test of an orator's     
control of his audience to be able to   
land them again on the solid earth of   
sober thinking4 ,i have known him at the
 very end of a sermon have a ripple of  
laughter sweep freely over the entire   
congregation1 and then in a moment he   
has every individual under his control1 
listening soberly to his words4  ,he    
never fears to use humor1 and it is     
always very simple and obvious and      
effective4 ,with him even a very simple 
pun may be used1 not only without taking
 away from the strength of what he is   
saying1 but with a vivid increase of    
impressiveness4 ,and when he says       

something funny it is in such a         
delightful and confidential way1 with   
such a genial1 quiet1 infectious        
humorousness1 that his audience is      
captivated4 ,and they never think that  
he is telling something funny of his    
own2 it seems1 such is the skill of the 
man1 that he is just letting them know  
of something humorous that they are to  
enjoy with him4  ,be absolutely truthful
 and scrupulously clear1 he writes2 and 
with delightfully terse common sense1 he
 says1 ,use illustrations that          
illustrate--and never did an orator live
 up to this injunction more than does   
,conwell himself4 ,nothing is more      
surprising1 nothing is more interesting1
 than the way in which he makes use as  
illustrations of the impressions and    
incidents of his long and varied life1  
and1 whatever it is1 it has direct and  
instant bearing on the progress of his  
discourse4 ,he will refer to something  
that he heard a child say in a train    
yesterday2 in a few minutes he will     

speak of something that he saw or some  
one whom he met last month1 or last     
year1 or ten years ago--in ,ohio1 in    
,california1 in ,london1 in ,paris1 in  
,new ,york1 in ,bombay2 and each memory1
 each illustration1 is a hammer with    
which he drives home a truth4  ,the vast
 number of places he has visited and    
people he has met1 the infinite variety 
of things his observant eyes have seen1 
give him his ceaseless flow of          
illustrations1 and his memory and his   
skill make admirable use of them4 ,it is
 seldom that he uses an illustration    
from what he has read2 everything is1   
characteristically1 his own4 ,henry ,m4 
,stanley1 who knew him well1 referred to
 him as that double-sighted ,yankee1 who
 could see at a glance all there is and 
all there ever was4  ,and never was     
there a man who so supplements with     
personal reminiscence the place or the  
person that has figured in the          
illustration4 ,when he illustrates with 
the story of the discovery of           

,california gold at ,sutter's he almost 
parenthetically remarks1 ,i delivered   
this lecture on that very spot a few    
years ago2 that is1 in the town that    
arose on that very spot4 ,and when he   
illustrates by the story of the         
invention of the sewing-machine1 he     
adds3 ,i suppose that if any of you were
 asked who was the inventor of the      
sewing-machine1 you would say that it   
was ,elias ,howe4 ,but that would be a  
mistake4 ,i was with ,elias ,howe in the
 ,civil ,war1 and he often used to tell 
me how he had tried for fourteen years  
to invent the sewing-machine and that   
then his wife1 feeling that something   
really had to be done1 invented it in a 
couple of hours4 ,listening to him1 you 
begin to feel in touch with everybody   
and everything1 and in a friendly and   
intimate way4  ,always1 whether in the  
pulpit or on the platform1 as in private
 conversation1 there is an absolute     
simplicity about the man and his words2 
a simplicity1 an earnestness1 a complete

 honesty4 ,and when he sets down1 in his
 book on oratory1 ,a man has no right to
 use words carelessly1 he stands for    
that respect for word-craftsmanship that
 every successful speaker or writer must
 feel4  ,be intensely in earnest1 he    
writes2 and in writing this he sets down
 a prime principle not only of his      
oratory1 but of his life4  ,a young     
minister told me that ,dr4 ,conwell once
 said to him1 with deep feeling1 ,always
 remember1 as you preach1 that you are  
striving to save at least one soul with 
every sermon4 ,and to one of his close  
friends ,dr4 ,conwell said1 in one of   
his self-revealing conversations3  ,i   
feel1 whenever ,i preach1 that there is 
always one person in the congregation to
 whom1 in all probability1 ,i shall     
never preach again1 and therefore ,i    
feel that ,i must exert my utmost power 
in that last chance4 ,and in this1 even 
if this were all1 one sees why each of  
his sermons is so impressive1 and why   
his energy never lags4 ,always1 with    

him1 is the feeling that he is in the   
world to do all the good he can possibly
 do2 not a moment1 not an opportunity1  
must be lost4  ,the moment he rises and 
steps to the front of his pulpit he has 
the attention of every one in the       
building1 and this attention he closely 
holds till he is through4 ,yet it is    
never by a striking effort that         
attention is gained1 except in so far   
that his utter simplicity is striking4  
,i want to preach so simply that you    
will not think it preaching1 but just   
that you are listening to a friend1 ,i  
remember his saying1 one ,sunday        
morning1 as he began his sermon2 and    
then he went on just as simply as such  
homely1 kindly1 friendly words promised4
 ,and how effectively6  ,he believes    
that everything should be so put as to  
be understood by all1 and this belief he
 applies not only to his preaching1 but 
to the reading of the ,bible1 whose     
descriptions he not only visualizes to  
himself1 but makes vividly clear to his 

hearers2 and this often makes for       
fascination in result4  ,for example1 he
 is reading the tenth chapter of ,i     
,samuel1 and begins1 ',thou shalt meet a
 company of prophets4'  ',singers1' it  
should be translated1 he puts in1       
lifting his eyes from the page and      
looking out over his people4 ,then he   
goes on1 taking this change as a matter 
of course1 ',thou shalt meet a company  
of singers coming down from the high    
place--'  ,whereupon he again interrupts
 himself1 and in an irresistible        
explanatory aside1 which instantly      
raises the desired picture in the mind  
of every one1 he says3 ,that means1 from
 the little old church on the hill1 you 
know4 ,and how plain and clear and real 
and interesting--most of all1           
interesting--it is from this moment6    
,another man would have left it that    
prophets were coming down from a high   
place1 which would not have seemed at   
all alive or natural1 and here1         
suddenly1 ,conwell has flashed his      

picture of the singers coming down from 
the little old church on the hill6      
,there is magic in doing that sort of   
thing4  ,and he goes on1 now reading3   
',thou shalt meet a company of singers  
coming down from the little old church  
on the hill1 with a psaltery1 and a     
tabret1 and a pipe1 and a harp1 and they
 shall sing4'  ,music is one of         
,conwell's strongest aids4 ,he sings    
himself2 sings as if he likes to sing1  
and often finds himself leading the     
singing--usually so1 indeed1 at the     
prayer-meetings1 and often1 in effect1  
at the church services4  ,i remember at 
one church service that the choir-leader
 was standing in front of the massed    
choir ostensibly leading the singing1   
but that ,conwell himself1 standing at  
the rear of the pulpit platform1 with   
his eyes on his hymn-book1 silently     
swaying a little with the music and     
unconsciously beating time as he swayed1
 was just as unconsciously the real     
leader1 for it was he whom the          

congregation were watching and with him 
that they were keeping time6 ,he never  
suspected it2 he was merely thinking    
along with the music2 and there was such
 a look of contagious happiness on his  
face as made every one in the building  
similarly happy4 ,for he possesses a    
mysterious faculty of imbuing others    
with his own happiness4  ,not only      
singers1 but the modern equivalent of   
psaltery and tabret and cymbals1 all    
have their place in ,dr4 ,conwell's     
scheme of church service2 for there may 
be a piano1 and there may even be a     
trombone1 and there is a great organ to 
help the voices1 and at times there are 
chiming bells4 ,his musical taste seems 
to tend toward the thunderous--or       
perhaps it is only that he knows there  
are times when people like to hear the  
thunderous and are moved by it4  ,and   
how the choir themselves like it6 ,they 
occupy a great curving space behind the 
pulpit1 and put their hearts into song4 
,and as the congregation disperse and   

the choir filter down1 sometimes they   
are still singing and some of them      
continue to sing as they go slowly out  
toward the doors4 ,they are             
happy--,conwell himself is happy--all   
the congregation are happy4 ,he makes   
everybody feel happy in coming to       
church2 he makes the church attractive  
just as ,howells was so long ago told   
that he did in ,lexington4  ,and there  
is something more than happiness2 there 
is a sense of ease1 of comfort1 of      
general joy1 that is quite unmistakable4
 ,there is nothing of stiffness or      
constraint4 ,and with it all there is   
full reverence4 ,it is no wonder that he
 is accustomed to fill every seat of the
 great building4  ,his gestures are     
usually very simple4 ,now and then1 when
 he works up to emphasis1 he strikes one
 fist in the palm of the other hand4    
,when he is through you do not remember 
that he has made any gestures at all1   
but the sound of his voice remains with 
you1 and the look of his wonderful eyes4

 ,and though he is past the threescore  
years and ten1 he looks out over his    
people with eyes that still have the    
veritable look of youth4  ,like all     
great men1 he not only does big things1 
but keeps in touch with myriad details4 
,when his assistant1 announcing the     
funeral of an old member1 hesitates     
about the street and number and says    
that they can be found in the telephone 
directory1 ,dr4 ,conwell's deep voice   
breaks quietly in with1 ,such a number  
giving it1 ,dauphin ,street--quietly1   
and in a low tone1 yet every one in the 
church hears distinctly every syllable  
of that low voice4  ,his fund of        
personal anecdote1 or personal          
reminiscence1 is constant and           
illustrative in his preaching1 just as  
it is when he lectures1 and the         
reminiscences sweep through many years1 
and at times are really startling in the
 vivid and homelike pictures they       
present of the famous folk of the past  
that he knew4  ,one ,sunday evening he  

made an almost casual reference to the  
time when he first met ,garfield1 then a
 candidate for the ,presidency4 ,i asked
 ,major ,mc,kinley1 whom ,i had met in  
,washington1 and whose home was in      
northern ,ohio1 as was that of ,mr4     
,garfield1 to go with me to ,mr4        
,garfield's home and introduce me4 ,when
 we got there1 a neighbor had to find   
him4 ',jim6 ,jim6' he called4 ,you see1 
,garfield was just plain ,jim to his old
 neighbors4 ,it's hard to recognize a   
hero over your back fence6 ,he paused a 
moment for the appreciative ripple to   
subside1 and went on3  ,we three talked 
there together--what a rare talking that
 must have been--,mc,kinley1 ,garfield1 
and ,conwell--we talked together1 and   
after a while we got to the subject of  
hymns1 and those two great men both told
 me how deeply they loved the old hymn1 
',the ,old-,time ,religion4' ,garfield  
especially loved it1 so he told us1     
because the good old man who brought him
 up as a boy and to whom he owed such   

gratitude1 used to sing it at the       
pasture bars outside of the boy's window
 every morning1 and young ,jim knew1    
whenever he heard that old tune1 that it
 meant it was time for him to get up4   
,he said that he had heard the best     
concerts and the finest operas in the   
world1 but had never heard anything he  
loved as he still loved ',the ,old-,time
 ,religion4' ,i forget what reason there
 was for ,mc,kinley's especially liking 
it1 but he1 as did ,garfield1 liked it  
immensely4  ,what followed was a        
striking example of ,conwell's          
intentness on losing no chance to fix an
 impression on his hearers' minds1 and  
at the same time it was a really        
astonishing proof of his power to move  
and sway4 ,for a new expression came    
over his face1 and he said1 as if the   
idea had only at that moment occurred to
 him--as it most probably had--,i think 
it's in our hymnal6 ,and in a moment he 
announced the number1 and the great     
organ struck up1 and every person in the

 great church--every man1 woman1 and    
child--joined in the swinging rhythm of 
verse after verse1 as if they could     
never tire1 of ,the ,old-,time          
,religion4 ,it is a simple              
melody--barely more than a single line  
of almost monotone music3      ,it was  
good enough for mother and it's good    
enough for me6     ,it was good in the  
fiery furnace and it's good enough for  
me6  ,thus it went on1 with             
never-wearying iteration1 and each time 
with the refrain1 more and more rhythmic
 and swaying3      ,the old-time        
religion1     ,the old-time religion1   
,the old-time religion--     ,it's good 
enough for me6  ,that it was good for   
the ,hebrew children1 that it was good  
for ,paul and ,silas1 that it will help 
you when you're dying1 that it will show
 the way to heaven--all these and still 
other lines were sung1 with a sort of   
wailing softness1 a curious monotone1 a 
depth of earnestness4 ,and the man who  
had worked this miracle of control by   

evoking out of the past his memory of a 
meeting with two of the vanished great  
ones of the earth1 stood before his     
people1 leading them1 singing with them1
 his eyes aglow with an inward light4   
,his magic had suddenly set them into   
the spirit of the old camp-meeting days1
 the days of pioneering and hardship1   
when religion meant so much to          
everybody1 and even those who knew      
nothing of such things felt them1 even  
if but vaguely4 ,every heart was moved  
and touched1 and that old tune will sing
 in the memory of all who thus heard it 
and sung it as long as they live4     ,v
  ,,gift ,,for ,,inspiring ,,others     
,the constant earnestness of ,conwell1  
his desire to let no chance slip by of  
helping a fellow-man1 puts often into   
his voice1 when he preaches1 a note of  
eagerness1 of anxiety4 ,but when he     
prays1 when he turns to ,god1 his manner
 undergoes a subtle and unconscious     
change4 ,a load has slipped off his     
shoulders and has been assumed by a     

higher power4 ,into his bearing1        
dignified though it was1 there comes an 
unconscious increase of the dignity4    
,into his voice1 firm as it was before1 
there comes a deeper note of firmness4  
,he is apt to fling his arms widespread 
as he prays1 in a fine gesture that he  
never uses at other times1 and he looks 
upward with the dignity of a man who1   
talking to a higher being1 is proud of  
being a friend and confidant4 ,one does 
not need to be a ,christian to          
appreciate the beauty and fineness of   
,conwell's prayers4  ,he is likely at   
any time to do the unexpected1 and he is
 so great a man and has such control    
that whatever he does seems to everybody
 a perfectly natural thing4 ,his        
sincerity is so evident1 and whatever he
 does is done so simply and naturally1  
that it is just a matter of course4  ,i 
remember1 during one church service1    
while the singing was going on1 that he 
suddenly rose from his chair and1       
kneeling beside it1 on the open pulpit1 

with his back to the congregation1      
remained in that posture for several    
minutes4 ,no one thought it strange4 ,i 
was likely enough the only one who      
noticed it4 ,his people are used to his 
sincerities4 ,and this time it was      
merely that he had a few words to say   
quietly to ,god and turned aside for a  
few moments to say them4  ,his          
earnestness of belief in prayer makes   
him a firm believer in answers to       
prayer1 and1 in fact1 to what may be    
termed the direct interposition of      
,providence4 ,doubtless the mystic      
strain inherited from his mother has    
also much to do with this4 ,he has a    
typically homely way of expressing it by
 one of his favorite maxims1 one that he
 loves to repeat encouragingly to       
friends who are in difficulties         
themselves or who know of the           
difficulties that are his2 and this     
heartening maxim is1 ,trust in ,god and 
do the next thing4  ,at one time in the 
early days of his church work in        

,philadelphia a payment of a thousand   
dollars was absolutely needed to prevent
 a law-suit in regard to a debt for the 
church organ4 ,in fact1 it was worse    
than a debt2 it was a note signed by    
himself personally1 that had become     
due--he was always ready to assume      
personal liability for debts of his     
church--and failure to meet the note    
would mean a measure of disgrace as well
 as marked church discouragement4  ,he  
had tried all the sources that seemed   
open to him1 but in vain4 ,he could not 
openly appeal to the church members1 in 
this case1 for it was in the early days 
of his pastorate1 and his zeal for the  
organ1 his desire and determination to  
have it1 as a necessary part of church  
equipment1 had outrun the judgment of   
some of his best friends1 including that
 of the deacon who had gone to          
,massachusetts for him4 ,they had urged 
a delay till other expenses were met1   
and he had acted against their advice4  
,he had tried such friends as he could1 

and he had tried prayer4 ,but there was 
no sign of aid1 whether supernatural or 
natural4  ,and then1 literally on the   
very day on which the holder of the note
 was to begin proceedings against him1 a
 check for precisely the needed one     
thousand dollars came to him1 by mail1  
from a man in the ,west--a man who was a
 total stranger to him4 ,it turned out  
that the man's sister1 who was one of   
the ,temple membership1 had written to  
her brother of ,dr4 ,conwell's work4    
,she knew nothing of any special need   
for money1 knew nothing whatever of any 
note or of the demand for a thousand    
dollars2 she merely outlined to her     
brother what ,dr4 ,conwell was          
accomplishing1 and with such enthusiasm 
that the brother at once sent the       
opportune check4  ,at a later time the  
sum of ten thousand dollars was         
importunately needed4 ,it was due1      
payment had been promised4 ,it was for  
some of the construction work of the    
,temple ,university buildings4 ,the last

 day had come1 and ,conwell and the very
 few who knew of the emergency were in  
the depths of gloom4 ,it was too large a
 sum to ask the church people to make   
up1 for they were not rich and they had 
already been giving splendidly1 of their
 slender means1 for the church and then 
for the university4 ,there was no rich  
man to turn to2 the men famous for      
enormous charitable gifts have never let
 themselves be interested in any of the 
work of ,russell ,conwell4 ,it would be 
unkind and gratuitous to suggest that it
 has been because their names could not 
be personally attached1 or because the  
work is of an unpretentious kind among  
unpretentious people2 it need merely be 
said that neither they nor their agents 
have cared to aid1 except that one of   
the very richest1 whose name is the most
 distinguished in the entire world as a 
giver1 did once1 in response to a strong
 personal application1 give thirty-five 
hundred dollars1 this being the extent  
of the association of the wealthy with  

any of the varied ,conwell work4  ,so   
when it was absolutely necessary to have
 ten thousand dollars the possibilities 
of money had been exhausted1 whether    
from congregation or individuals4       
,russell ,conwell1 in spite of his      
superb optimism1 is also a man of deep  
depressions1 and this is because of the 
very fire and fervor of his nature1 for 
always in such a nature there is a      
balancing4 ,he believes in success2     
success must come6--success is in itself
 almost a religion with him--success for
 himself and for all the world who will 
try for it6 ,but there are times when he
 is sad and doubtful over some          
particular possibility4 ,and he         
intensely believes in prayer--faith can 
move mountains2 but always he believes  
that it is better not to wait for the   
mountains thus to be moved1 but to go   
right out and get to work at moving     
them4 ,and once in a while there comes a
 time when the mountain looms too       
threatening1 even after the bravest     

efforts and the deepest trust4 ,such a  
time had come--the ten-thousand-dollar  
debt was a looming mountain that he had 
tried in vain to move4 ,he could still  
pray1 and he did1 but it was one of the 
times when he could only think that     
something had gone wrong4  ,the dean of 
the university1 who has been closely in 
touch with all his work for many years1 
told me of how1 in a discouragement     
which was the more notable through      
contrast with his usual unfailing       
courage1 he left the executive offices  
for his home1 a couple of blocks away4  
,he went away with everything looking   
dark before him4 ,it was                
,christmas-time1 but the very fact of   
its being ,christmas only added to his  
depression--,christmas was such an      
unnatural time for unhappiness6 ,but in 
a few minutes he came flying back1      
radiant1 overjoyed1 sparkling with      
happiness1 waving a slip of paper in his
 hand which was a check for precisely   
ten thousand dollars6 ,for he had just  

drawn it out of an envelope handed to   
him1 as he reached home1 by the         
mail-carrier4  ,and it had come so      
strangely and so naturally6 ,for the    
check was from a woman who was          
profoundly interested in his work1 and  
who had sent the check knowing that in a
 general way it was needed1 but without 
the least idea that there was any       
immediate need4 ,that was eight or nine 
years ago1 but although the donor was   
told at the time that ,dr4 ,conwell and 
all of us were most grateful for the    
gift1 it was not until very recently    
that she was told how opportune it was4 
,and the change it made in ,dr4         
,conwell6 ,he is a great man for maxims1
 and all of us who are associated with  
him know that one of his favorites is   
that ',it will all come out right some  
time6' ,and of course we had a rare     
opportunity to tell him that he ought   
never to be discouraged4 ,and it is so  
seldom that he is6  ,when the big new   
church was building the members of the  

church were vaguely disturbed by        
noticing1 when the structure reached the
 second story1 that at that height1 on  
the side toward the vacant and unbought 
land adjoining1 there were several doors
 built that opened literally into       
nothing but space6  ,when asked about   
these doors and their purpose1 ,dr4     
,conwell would make some casual reply1  
generally to the effect that they might 
be excellent as fire-escapes4 ,to no    
one1 for quite a while1 did he broach   
even a hint of the great plan that was  
seething in his mind1 which was that the
 buildings of a university were some day
 to stand on that land immediately      
adjoining the church6  ,at that time the
 university1 the ,temple ,university as 
it is now called1 was not even a        
college1 although it was probably called
 a college4 ,conwell had organized it1  
and it consisted of a number of classes 
and teachers1 meeting in highly         
inadequate quarters in two little       
houses4 ,but the imagination of ,conwell

 early pictured great new buildings with
 accommodations for thousands6 ,in time 
the dream was realized1 the imagination 
became a fact1 and now those            
second-floor doors actually open from   
the ,temple ,church into the ,temple    
,university6  ,you see1 he always thinks
 big6 ,he dreams big dreams and wins big
 success4 ,all his life he has talked   
and preached success1 and it is a real  
and very practical belief with him that 
it is just as easy to do a large thing  
as a small one1 and1 in fact1 a little  
easier6 ,and so he naturally does not   
see why one should be satisfied with the
 small things of life4 ,if your rooms   
are big the people will come and fill   
them1 he likes to say4 ,the same effort 
that wins a small success would1 rightly
 directed1 have won a great success4    
,think big things and then do them6     
,most favorite of all maxims with this  
man of maxims1 is ,let ,patience have   
her perfect work4 ,over and over he     
loves to say it1 and his friends laugh  

about his love for it1 and he knows that
 they do and laughs about it himself4 ,i
 tire them all1 he says1 for they hear  
me say it every day4  ,but he says it   
every day because it means so much to   
him4 ,it stands1 in his mind1 as a      
constant warning against anger or       
impatience or over-haste--faults to     
which his impetuous temperament is      
prone1 though few have ever seen him    
either angry or impatient or hasty1 so  
well does he exercise self-control4     
,those who have long known him well have
 said to me that they have never heard  
him censure any one2 that his           
forbearance and kindness are wonderful4 
,he is a sensitive man beneath his      
composure2 he has suffered1 and keenly1 
when he has been unjustly attacked2 he  
feels pain of that sort for a long time1
 too1 for even the passing of years does
 not entirely deaden it4  ,when ,i have 
been hurt1 or when ,i have talked with  
annoying cranks1 ,i have tried to let   
,patience have her perfect work1 for    

those very people1 if you have patience 
with them1 may afterward be of help4    
,and he went on to talk a little of his 
early years in ,philadelphia1 and he    
said1 with sadness1 that it had pained  
him to meet with opposition1 and that it
 had even come from ministers of his own
 denomination1 for he had been so       
misunderstood and misjudged2 but1 he    
added1 the momentary somberness lifting1
 even his bitter enemies had been won   
over with patience4  ,i could understand
 a good deal of what he meant1 for one  
of the ,baptist ministers of            
,philadelphia had said to me1 with some 
shame1 that at first it used actually to
 be the case that when ,dr4 ,conwell    
would enter one of the regular          
ministers' meetings1 all would hold     
aloof1 not a single one stepping forward
 to meet or greet him4  ,and it was all 
through our jealousy of his success1    
said the minister1 vehemently4 ,he came 
to this city a stranger1 and he won     
instant popularity1 and we couldn't     

stand it1 and so we pounced upon things 
that he did that were altogether        
unimportant4 ,the rest of us were so    
jealous of his winning throngs that we  
couldn't see the good in him4 ,and it   
hurt ,dr4 ,conwell so much that for ten 
years he did not come to our            
conferences4 ,but all this was changed  
long ago4 ,now no minister is so        
welcomed as he is1 and ,i don't believe 
that there ever has been a single time  
since he started coming again that he   
hasn't been asked to say something to   
us4 ,we got over our jealousy long ago  
and we all love him4  ,nor is it only   
that the clergymen of his own           
denomination admire him1 for not long   
ago1 such having been ,dr4 ,conwell's   
triumph in the city of his adoption1 the
 rector of the most powerful and        
aristocratic church in ,philadelphia    
voluntarily paid lofty tribute to his   
aims and ability1 his work and his      
personal worth4 ,he is an inspiration to
 his brothers in the ministry of ,jesus 

,christ1 so this ,episcopalian rector   
wrote4 ,he is a friend to all that is   
good1 a foe to all that is evil1 a      
strength to the weak1 a comforter to the
 sorrowing1 a man of ,god4 ,these words 
come from the heart of one who loves1   
honors1 and reverences him for his      
character and his deeds4  ,dr4 ,conwell 
did some beautiful and unusual things in
 his church1 instituted some beautiful  
and unusual customs1 and one can see how
 narrow and hasty criticisms charged    
him1 long ago1 with                     
sensationalism--charges long since      
forgotten except through the hurt still 
felt by ,dr4 ,conwell himself4 ,they    
used to charge me with making a circus  
of the church--as if it were possible   
for me to make a circus of the church6  
,and his tone was one of grieved        
amazement after all these years4  ,but  
he was original and he was popular1 and 
therefore there were misunderstanding   
and jealousy4 ,his ,easter services1 for
 example1 years ago1 became widely      

talked of and eagerly anticipated       
because each sermon would be wrought    
around some fine symbol2 and he would   
hold in his hand1 in the pulpit1 the    
blue robin's egg1 or the white dove1 or 
the stem of lilies1 or whatever he had  
chosen as the particular symbol for the 
particular sermon1 and that symbol would
 give him the central thought for his   
discourse1 accented as it would be by   
the actual symbol itself in view of the 
congregation4 ,the cross lighted by     
electricity1 to shine down over the     
baptismal pool1 the little stream of    
water cascading gently down the steps of
 the pool during the baptismal rite1 the
 roses floating in the pool and his gift
 of one of them to each of the baptized 
as he or she left the water--all such   
things did seem1 long ago1 so           
unconventional4 ,yet his own people     
recognized the beauty and poetry of     
them1 and thousands of ,bibles in       
,philadelphia have a baptismal rose from
 ,dr4 ,conwell pressed within the pages4

  ,his constant individuality of mind1  
his constant freshness1 alertness1      
brilliancy1 warmth1 sympathy1 endear him
 to his congregation1 and when he       
returns from an absence they bubble and 
effervesce over him as if he were some  
brilliant new preacher just come to     
them4 ,he is always new to them4 ,were  
it not that he possesses some remarkable
 quality of charm he would long ago have
 become1 so to speak1 an old story1 but 
instead of that he is to them an always 
new story1 an always entertaining and   
delightful story1 after all these years4
  ,it is not only that they still throng
 to hear him either preach or lecture1  
though that itself would be noticeable1 
but it is the delightful and delighted  
spirit with which they do it4 ,just the 
other evening ,i heard him lecture in   
his own church1 just after his return   
from an absence1 and every face beamed  
happily up at him to welcome him back1  
and every one listened as intently to   
his every word as if he had never been  

heard there before2 and when the lecture
 was over a huge bouquet of flowers was 
handed up to him1 and some one          
embarrassedly said a few words about its
 being because he was home again4 ,it   
was all as if he had just returned from 
an absence of months--and he had been   
away just five and a half days6