,getting at the ,inner ,man             
,millions of ,hearers                   
,how a ,university ,was ,founded        
,conwell's ,splendid ,efficiency        
,the ,story of ,acres of ,diamonds      
,by ,,robert ,,shackleton               
and                                     
,fifty ,years on the ,lecture ,platform 
,by ,,russell ,h4 ,,conwell             
,,volume #g      ,,national             
,,extension ,,university      #eig      
,fifth ,avenue1 ,new ,york      ,,acres 
,,of ,,diamonds      ,copyright1 #aiae1 
by ,harper  ,brothers     ,printed in   
the ,united ,states of ,america     ,i  
,,millions ,,of ,,hearers   ,that       
,conwell is not primarily a             
minister--that he is a minister because 
he is a sincere ,christian1 but that he 
is first of all an ,abou ,ben ,adhem1 a 
man who loves his fellow-men1 becomes   
more and more apparent as the scope of  
his life-work is recognized4 ,one almost
 comes to think that his pastorate of a 
great church is even a minor matter     

beside the combined importance of his   
educational work1 his lecture work1 his 
hospital work1 his work in general as a 
helper to those who need help4  ,for my 
own part1 ,i should say that he is like 
some of the old-time prophets1 the      
strong ones who found a great deal to   
attend to in addition to matters of     
religion4 ,the power1 the ruggedness1   
the physical and mental strength1 the   
positive grandeur of the man--all these 
are like the general conceptions of the 
big ,old ,testament prophets4 ,the      
suggestion is given only because it has 
often recurred1 and therefore with the  
feeling that there is something more    
than fanciful in the comparison2 and    
yet1 after all1 the comparison fails in 
one important particular1 for none of   
the prophets seems to have had a sense  
of humor6  ,it is perhaps better and    
more accurate to describe him as the    
last of the old school of ,american     
philosophers1 the last of those         
sturdy-bodied1 high-thinking1 achieving 

men who1 in the old days1 did their best
 to set ,american humanity in the right 
path--such men as ,emerson1 ,alcott1    
,gough1 ,wendell ,phillips1 ,garrison1  
,bayard ,taylor1 ,beecher2#a men whom   
,conwell knew and admired in the long   
ago1 and all of whom have long since    
passed away4  ,footnote #a3 ,the life of
 ,henry ,ward ,beecher parallels that of
 ,russell ,h4 ,conwell in many respects4
 ,his ,plymouth ,church in ,brooklyn    
became the largest in ,america with a   
seating capacity of nearly #c1jjj4 ,but 
it was not to this audience alone that  
he preached2 for1 believing as ,dean    
,conwell did after him1 that all things 
concerning the public welfare are fit   
subjects for a minister's attention1 his
 opinions on all questions were eagerly 
followed by the public at large4 ,he    
was1 perhaps1 the most popular lecturer 
in the country of his day1 and was an   
unrivaled after-dinner speaker4 ,he     
allied himself with the ,republican     
party as soon as it was formed1 lent his

 pen and pulpit to further its aims1 and
 during the canvass of #ahef traveled   
far and wide to speak at mass meetings4 
,beecher visited ,europe in #ahfc for   
his health and when in ,great ,britain  
he addressed vast audiences on the      
purpose and issues of the ,civil ,war1  
speaking in one instance for three hours
 consecutively1 and changing materially 
the state of public opinion4 ,he was a  
strong advocate of free trade and of    
woman suffrage4 ,his last public speech 
was in favor of high license1 at        
,chickering ,hall1 ,new ,york1 ,feb4    
#be1 #ahhg4  ,it was as a speaker that  
,beecher was seen at his best4 ,his     
mastery of the ,english tongue1 his     
dramatic power1 his instinctive art of  
impersonation which had become a second 
nature1 his vivid imagination1 his      
breadth of intellectual view1 the       
catholicity of his sympathies1 and his  
passionate enthusiasm made him a        
preacher without a peer in his own time 
and country4 ,later1 like ,beecher1     

,conwell was without peer in his day and
 the description which characterizes the
 former applies with equal force to     
,conwell himself4  ,and ,conwell1 in his
 going up and down the country1         
inspiring his thousands and thousands1  
is the survivor of that old-time group  
who used to travel about1 dispensing wit
 and wisdom and philosophy and courage  
to the crowded benches of country       
lyceums1 and the chairs of school-houses
 and town halls1 or the larger and more 
pretentious gathering-places of the     
cities4  ,conwell himself is amused to  
remember that he wanted to talk in      
public from his boyhood1 and that very  
early he began to yield to the inborn   
impulse4 ,he laughs as he remembers the 
variety of country fairs and school     
commencements and anniversaries and even
 sewing-circles where he tried his      
youthful powers1 and all for experience 
alone1 in the first few years1 except   
possibly for such a thing as a ham or a 
jack-knife6 ,the first money that he    

ever received for speaking was1 so he   
remembers with glee1 seventy-five cents2
 and even that was not for his talk1 but
 for horse hire6 ,but at the same time  
there is more than amusement in         
recalling these experiences1 for he     
knows that they were invaluable to him  
as training4 ,and for over half a       
century he has affectionately remembered
 ,john ,b4 ,gough1 who1 in the height of
 his own power and success1 saw         
resolution and possibilities in the     
ardent young hill-man1 and actually did 
him the kindness and the honor of       
introducing him to an audience in one of
 the ,massachusetts towns2 and it was   
really a great kindness and a great     
honor1 from a man who had won his fame  
to a young man just beginning an        
oratorical career4  ,conwell's lecturing
 has been1 considering everything1 the  
most important work of his life1 for by 
it he has come into close touch with so 
many millions--literally millions6--of  
people4  ,i asked him once if he had any

 idea how many he had talked to in the  
course of his career1 and he tried to   
estimate how many thousands of times he 
had lectured1 and the average attendance
 for each1 but desisted when he saw that
 it ran into millions of hearers4 ,what 
a marvel is such a fact as that6        
,millions of hearers6  ,i asked the same
 question of his private secretary1 and 
found that no one had ever kept any sort
 of record2 but as careful an estimate  
as could be made gave a conservative    
result of fully eight million hearers   
for his lectures2 and adding the number 
to whom he has preached1 who have been  
over five million1 there is a total of  
well over thirteen million who have     
listened to ,russell ,conwell's voice6  
,and this staggering total is1 if       
anything1 an underestimate4 ,the        
figuring was done cautiously and was    
based upon such facts as that he now    
addresses an average of over forty-five 
hundred at his ,sunday services 7an     
average that would be higher were it not

 that his sermons in vacation time are  
usually delivered in little churches2   
when at home1 at the ,temple1 he        
addresses three meetings every ,sunday71
 and that he lectures throughout the    
entire course of each year1 including   
six nights a week of lecturing during   
vacation-time4 ,what a power is wielded 
by a man who has held over thirteen     
million people under the spell of his   
voice6 ,probably no other man who ever  
lived had such a total of hearers4 ,and 
the total is steadily mounting1 for he  
is a man who has never known the meaning
 of rest4  ,i think it almost certain   
that ,dr4 ,conwell has never spoken to  
any one of what1 to me1 is the finest   
point of his lecture-work1 and that is  
that he still goes gladly and for small 
fees to the small towns that are never  
visited by other men of great           
reputation4 ,he knows that it is the    
little places1 the out-of-the-way       
places1 the submerged places1 that most 
need a pleasure and a stimulus1 and he  

still goes out1 man of well over seventy
 that he is1 to tiny towns in distant   
states1 heedless of the discomforts of  
traveling1 of the poor little hotels    
that seldom have visitors1 of the       
oftentimes hopeless cooking and the     
uncleanliness1 of the hardships and the 
discomforts1 of the unventilated and    
overheated or underheated halls4 ,he    
does not think of claiming the          
relaxation earned by a lifetime of      
labor1 or1 if he ever does1 the thought 
of the sword of ,john ,ring restores    
instantly his fervid earnestness4  ,how 
he does it1 how he can possibly keep it 
up1 is the greatest marvel of all4 ,i   
have before me a list of his engagements
 for the summer weeks of this year1     
#aiae1 and ,i shall set it down because 
it will specifically show1 far more     
clearly than general statements1 the    
kind of work he does4 ,the list is the  
itinerary of his vacation4 ,vacation6   
,lecturing every evening but ,sunday1   
and on ,sundays preaching in the town   

where he happens to be6      ,june #bd  
,ackley1 ,ia4         #be ,waterloo1    
,ia4         #bf ,decorah1 ,ia4         
#bg #b,waukon1 ,ia4         #bh ,red    
,wing1 ,minn4         #bi ,river ,ralls1
 ,wis4         #cj ,northfield1 ,minn4  
,july  #a ,faribault1 ,minn4          #b
 ,spring ,valley1 ,minn4          #c    
,blue ,earth1 ,minn4          #d        
#b;,fairmount1 ,minn4          #e ,lake 
,crystal1 ,minn4          #f ,redwood   
,falls1             ,minn4          #g  
,willmer1 ,minn4          #h ,dawson1   
,minn4          #i ,redfield1 ,s4 ,d4   
#aj ,huron1 ,s4 ,d4         #aa         
#b;,brookings1 ,s4 ,d4         #ab      
,pipestone1 ,minn4         #ac          
,hawarden1 ,ia4         #ad ,canton1 ,s4
 ,d4         #ae ,cherokee1 ,ia4        
#af ,pocahontas1 ,ia4         #ag       
,glidden1 ,ia4         #ah #b;,boone1   
,ia4         #ai ,dexter1 ,ia4          
#bj ,indianola1 ,ia4         #ba        
,corydon1 ,ia4         #bb ,essex1 ,ia4 
#bc ,sidney1 ,ia4         #bd ,falls    

,city1 ,nebr4         #be #b;,hiawatha1 
,kan4         #bf ,frankfort1 ,kan4     
#bg ,greenleaf1 ,kan4         #bh       
,osborne1 ,kan4         #bi ,stockton1  
,kan4         #cj ,phillipsburg1 ,kan4  
#ca ,mankato1 ,kan4  ,en route to next  
date on circuit4      ,aug4 #c          
,westfield1 ,pa4         #d ,galston1   
,pa4         #e ,port ,alleghany1 ,pa4  
#f ,wellsville1 ,n4 ,y4         #g      
,bath1 ,n4 ,y4         #h #b;,bath1 ,n4 
,y4         #i ,penn ,yan1 ,n4 ,y4      
#aj ,athens1 ,n4 ,y4        #aa ,owego1 
,n4 ,y4        #ab ,patchogue1 ,l4 ,i41 
,n4 ,y4        #ac ,port ,jervis1 ,n4   
,y4        #ad ,honesdale1 ,pa4         
#ae #b;,honesdale1 ,pa4        #af      
,carbondale1 ,pa4        #ag ,montrose1 
,pa4        #ah ,tunkhannock1 ,pa4      
#ai ,nanticoke1 ,pa4        #bj         
,stroudsburg1 ,pa4        #ba ,newton1  
,n4 ,j4        #bb #b,newton1 ,n4 ,j4   
#bc ,hackettstown1 ,n4 ,j4        #bd   
,new ,hope1 ,pa4        #be ,doylestown1
 ,pa4        #bf ,phoenixville1 ,pa4    

#bg ,kennett1 ,pa4        #bh ,oxford1  
,pa4        #bi #b,oxford1 ,pa4         
,footnote #b3 ,preach on ,sunday4  ,and 
all these hardships1 all this traveling 
and lecturing1 which would test the     
endurance of the youngest and strongest1
 this man of over seventy assumes       
without receiving a particle of personal
 gain1 for every dollar that he makes by
 it is given away in helping those who  
need helping4  ,that ,dr4 ,conwell is   
intensely modest is one of the curious  
features of his character4 ,he sincerely
 believes that to write his life would  
be1 in the main1 just to tell what      
people have done for him4 ,he knows and 
admits that he works unweariedly1 but in
 profound sincerity he ascribes the     
success of his plans to those who have  
seconded and assisted him4 ,it is in    
just this way that he looks upon every  
phase of his life4 ,when he is reminded 
of the devotion of his old soldiers1 he 
remembers it only with a sort of pleased
 wonder that they gave the devotion to  

him1 and he quite forgets that they     
loved him because he was always ready to
 sacrifice ease or risk his own life for
 them4  ,he deprecates praise2 if any   
one likes him1 the liking need not be   
shown in words1 but in helping along a  
good work4 ,that his church has         
succeeded has been because of the       
devotion of the people2 that the        
university has succeeded is because of  
the splendid work of the teachers and   
pupils2 that the hospitals have done so 
much has been because of the noble      
services of physicians and nurses4 ,to  
him1 as he himself expresses it1        
realizing that success has come to his  
plans1 it seem as if the realities are  
but dreams4 ,he is astonished by his own
 success4 ,he thinks mainly of his own  
short-comings4 ,god and man have ever   
been very patient with me4 ,his         
depression is at times profound when he 
compares the actual results with what he
 would like them to be1 for always his  
hopes have gone soaring far in advance  

of achievement4 ,it is the ,hitch your  
chariot to a star idea4  ,his modesty   
goes hand-in-hand with kindliness1 and  
,i have seen him let himself be         
introduced in his own church to his     
congregation1 when he is going to       
deliver a lecture there1 just because a 
former pupil of the university was      
present who1 ,conwell knew1 was         
ambitious to say something inside of the
 ,temple walls1 and this seemed to be   
the only opportunity4  ,i have noticed1 
when he travels1 that the face of the   
newsboy brightens as he buys a paper    
from him1 that the porter is all        
happiness1 that conductor and brake-man 
are devotedly anxious to be of aid4     
,everywhere the man wins love4 ,he loves
 humanity and humanity responds to the  
love4  ,he has always won the affection 
of those who knew him1 and ,bayard      
,taylor was one of the many2 he and     
,bayard ,taylor loved each other for    
long acquaintance and fellow experiences
 as world-wide travelers1 back in the   

years when comparatively few ,americans 
visited the ,nile and the ,orient1 or   
even ,europe4  ,when ,taylor died there 
was a memorial service in ,boston at    
which ,conwell was asked to preside1    
and1 as he wished for something more    
than addresses1 he went to ,longfellow  
and asked him to write and read a poem  
for the occasion4 ,longfellow had not   
thought of writing anything1 and he was 
too ill to be present at the services1  
but1 there always being something       
contagiously inspiring about ,russell   
,conwell when he wishes something to be 
done1 the poet promised to do what he   
could4 ,and he wrote and sent the       
beautiful lines beginning3      ,dead he
 lay among his books1     ,the peace of 
,god was in his looks4  ,many men of    
letters1 including ,ralph ,waldo        
,emerson1 were present at the services1 
and ,dr4 ,conwell induced ,oliver       
,wendell ,holmes to read the lines1 and 
they were listened to amid profound     
silence to their fine ending4  ,conwell1

 in spite of his widespread hold on     
millions of people1 has never won fame1 
recognition1 general renown1 compared   
with many men of minor achievements4    
,this seems like an impossibility4 ,yet 
it is not an impossibility1 but a fact4 
,great numbers of men of education and  
culture are entirely ignorant of him and
 his work in the world--men1 these1 who 
deem themselves in touch with           
world-affairs and with the ones who make
 and move the world4 ,it is             
inexplicable1 this1 except that never   
was there a man more devoid of the      
faculty of self-exploitation1           
self-advertising1 than ,russell         
,conwell4 ,nor1 in the mere reading of  
them1 do his words appeal with anything 
like the force of the same words uttered
 by himself1 for always1 with his spoken
 words1 is his personality4 ,those who  
have heard ,russell ,conwell1 or have   
known him personally1 recognize the     
charm of the man and his immense        
forcefulness2 but there are many1 and   

among them those who control publicity  
through books and newspapers1 who1      
though they ought to be the warmest in  
their enthusiasm1 have never felt drawn 
to hear him1 and1 if they know of him at
 all1 think of him as one who pleases in
 a simple way the commoner folk1        
forgetting in their pride that every    
really great man pleases the common     
ones1 and that simplicity and directness
 are attributes of real greatness4  ,but
 ,russell ,conwell has always won the   
admiration of the really great1 as well 
as of the humbler millions4 ,it is only 
a supposedly cultured class in between  
that is not thoroughly acquainted with  
what he has done4  ,perhaps1 too1 this  
is owing to his having cast in his lot  
with the city1 of all cities1 which1    
consciously or unconsciously1 looks most
 closely to family and place of         
residence as criterions of merit--a city
 with which it is almost impossible for 
a stranger to become affiliated--or     
aphiladelphiated1 as it might be        

expressed--and ,philadelphia1 in spite  
of all that ,dr4 ,conwell has done1 has 
been under the thrall of the fact that  
he went north of ,market ,street--that  
fatal fact understood by all who know   
,philadelphia--and that he made no      
effort to make friends in ,rittenhouse  
,square4 ,such considerations seem      
absurd in this twentieth century1 but in
 ,philadelphia they are still potent4   
,tens of thousands of ,philadelphians   
love him1 and he is honored by its      
greatest men1 but there is a class of   
the pseudo-cultured who do not know him 
or appreciate him4 ,and it needs also to
 be understood that1 outside of his own 
beloved ,temple1 he would prefer to go  
to a little church or a little hall and 
to speak to the forgotten people1 in the
 hope of encouraging and inspiring them 
and filling them with hopeful glow1     
rather than to speak to the rich and    
comfortable4  ,his dearest hope1 so one 
of the few who are close to him told me1
 is that no one shall come into his life

 without being benefited4 ,he does not  
say this publicly1 nor does he for a    
moment believe that such a hope could be
 fully realized1 but it is very dear to 
his heart2 and no man spurred by such a 
hope1 and thus bending all his thoughts 
toward the poor1 the hard-working1 the  
unsuccessful1 is in a way to win honor  
from the ,scribes2 for we have ,scribes 
now quite as much as when they were     
classed with ,pharisees4 ,it is not the 
first time in the world's history that  
,scribes have failed to give their      
recognition to one whose work was not   
among the great and wealthy4  ,that     
,conwell himself has seldom taken any   
part whatever in politics except as a   
good citizen standing for good          
government2 that1 as he expresses it1 he
 never held any political office except 
that he was once on a school committee1 
and also that he does not identify      
himself with the so-called movements    
that from time to time catch public     
attention1 but aims only and constantly 

at the quiet betterment of mankind1 may 
be mentioned as additional reasons why  
his name and fame have not been steadily
 blazoned4  ,he knows and will admit    
that he works hard and has all his life 
worked hard4 ,things keep turning my way
 because ,i'm on the job1 as he         
whimsically expressed it one day2 but   
that is about all1 so it seems to him4  
,and he sincerely believes that his life
 has in itself been without interest2   
that it has been an essentially         
commonplace life with nothing of the    
interesting or the eventful to tell4 ,he
 is frankly surprised that there has    
ever been the desire to write about him4
 ,he really has no idea of how          
fascinating are the things he has done4 
,his entire life has been of positive   
interest from the variety of things     
accomplished and the unexpectedness with
 which he has accomplished them4        
,never1 for example1 was there such an  
organizer4 ,in fact1 organization and   
leadership have always been as the      

breath of life to him4 ,as a youth he   
organized debating societies and1 before
 the war1 a local military company4     
,while on garrison duty in the ,civil   
,war he organized what is believed to   
have been the first free school for     
colored children in the ,south4 ,one day
 ,minneapolis happened to be spoken of1 
and ,conwell happened to remember that  
he organized1 when he was a lawyer in   
that city1 what became the first ,y4 ,m4
 ,c4 ,a4 branch there4 ,once he even    
started a newspaper4 ,and it was natural
 that the organizing instinct1 as years 
advanced1 should lead him to greater and
 greater things1 such as his church1    
with the numerous associations formed   
within itself through his influence1 and
 the university--the organizing of the  
university being in itself an           
achievement of positive romance4  ,a    
life without interest6 ,why1 when ,i    
happened to ask1 one day1 how many      
,presidents he had known since ,lincoln1
 he replied1 quite casually1 that he had

 written the lives of most of them in   
their own homes2 and by this he meant   
either personally or in collaboration   
with the ,american biographer ,abbott4  
,the many-sidedness of ,conwell is one  
of the things that is always            
fascinating4 ,after you have quite got  
the feeling that he is peculiarly a man 
of today1 lecturing on today's          
possibilities to the people of today1   
you happen upon some such fact as that  
he attracted the attention of the       
,london ,times through a lecture on     
,italian history at ,cambridge in       
,england2 or that on the evening of the 
day on which he was admitted to practice
 in the ,supreme ,court of the ,united  
,states he gave a lecture in ,washington
 on ,the ,curriculum of the ,prophets in
 ,ancient ,israel4 ,the man's life is a 
succession of delightful surprises4  ,an
 odd trait of his character is his love 
for fire4 ,he could easily have been a  
veritable fire-worshiper instead of an  
orthodox ,christian6 ,he has always     

loved a blaze1 and he says reminiscently
 that for no single thing was he        
punished so much when he was a child as 
for building bonfires4 ,and after       
securing possession1 as he did in middle
 age1 of the house where he was born and
 of a great acreage around about1 he had
 one of the most enjoyable times of his 
life in tearing down old buildings that 
needed to be destroyed and in heaping up
 fallen trees and rubbish and in piling 
great heaps of wood and setting the     
great piles ablaze4 ,you see1 there is  
one of the secrets of his strength--he  
has never lost the capacity for fiery   
enthusiasm6  ,always1 too1 in these     
later years he is showing his strength  
and enthusiasm in a positively noble    
way4 ,he has for years been a keen      
sufferer from rheumatism and neuritis1  
but he has never permitted this to      
interfere with his work or plans4 ,he   
makes little of his sufferings1 and when
 he slowly makes his way1 bent and      
twisted1 downstairs1 he does not want to

 be noticed4 ,i'm all right1 he will say
 if any one offers to help1 and at such 
a time comes his nearest approach to    
impatience4 ,he wants his suffering     
ignored4 ,strength has always been to   
him so precious a belonging that he will
 not relinquish it while he lives4 ,i'm 
all right6 ,and he makes himself believe
 that he is all right even though the   
pain becomes so severe as to demand     
massage4 ,and he will still1 even when  
suffering1 talk calmly1 or write his    
letters1 or attend to whatever matters  
come before him4 ,it is the ,spartan boy
 hiding the pain of the gnawing fox4    
,and he never has let pain interfere    
with his presence on the pulpit or the  
platform4 ,he has once in a while gone  
to a meeting on crutches and then1 by   
the force of will1 and inspired by what 
he is to do1 has stood before his       
audience or congregation1 a man full of 
strength and fire and life4     ,,ii    
,,how ,a ,,university ,,was ,,founded   
,the story of the foundation and rise of

 ,temple ,university is an extraordinary
 story2 it is not only extraordinary1   
but inspiring2 it is not only inspiring1
 but full of romance4  ,for the         
university came out of nothing6--nothing
 but the need of a young man and the    
fact that he told the need to one who1  
throughout his life1 has felt the       
impulse to help any one in need and has 
always obeyed the impulse4  ,i asked    
,dr4 ,conwell1 up at his home in the    
,berkshires1 to tell me himself just how
 the university began1 and he said that 
it began because it was needed and      
succeeded because of the loyal work of  
the teachers4 ,and when ,i asked for    
details he was silent for a while1      
looking off into the brooding twilight  
as it lay over the waters and the trees 
and the hills1 and then he said3  ,it   
was all so simple2 it all came about so 
naturally4 ,one evening1 after a        
service1 a young man of the congregation
 came to me and ,i saw that he was      
disturbed about something4 ,i had him   

sit down by me1 and ,i knew that in a   
few moments he would tell me what was   
troubling him4  ',dr4 ,conwell1' he     
said1 abruptly1 ',i earn but little     
money1 and ,i see no immediate chance of
 earning more4 ,i have to support not   
only myself1 but my mother4 ,it leaves  
nothing at all4 ,yet my longing is to be
 a minister4 ,it is the one ambition of 
my life4 ,is there anything that ,i can 
do8'  ',any man1' ,i said to him1 'with 
the proper determination and ambition   
can study sufficiently at night to win  
his desire4'  ',i have tried to think   
so1' said he1 'but ,i have not been able
 to see anything clearly4 ,i want to    
study1 and am ready to give every spare 
minute to it1 but ,i don't know how to  
get at it4'  ,i thought a few minutes1  
as ,i looked at him4 ,he was strong in  
his desire and in his ambition to fulfil
 it--strong enough1 physically and      
mentally1 for work of the body and of   
the mind--and he needed something more  
than generalizations of sympathy4       

',come to me one evening a week and ,i  
will begin teaching you myself1' ,i     
said1 'and at least you will in that way
 make a beginning'2 and ,i named the    
evening4  ,his face brightened and he   
eagerly said that he would come1 and    
left me2 but in a little while he came  
hurrying back again4 ',may ,i bring a   
friend with me8' he said4  ,i told him  
to bring as many as he wanted to1 for   
more than one would be an advantage1 and
 when the evening came there were six   
friends with him4 ,and that first       
evening ,i began to teach them the      
foundations of ,latin4  ,he stopped as  
if the story was over4 ,he was looking  
out thoughtfully into the waning light1 
and ,i knew that his mind was busy with 
those days of the beginning of the      
institution he so loves1 and whose      
continued success means so much to him4 
,in a little while he went on3  ,that   
was the beginning of it1 and there is   
little more to tell4 ,by the third      
evening the number of pupils had        

increased to forty2 others joined in    
helping me1 and a room was hired2 then a
 little house1 then a second house4     
,from a few students and teachers we    
became a college4 ,after a while our    
buildings went up on ,broad ,street     
alongside the ,temple ,church1 and after
 another while we became a university4  
,from the first our aim--7,i noticed how
 quickly it had become our instead of   
my7--our aim was to give education to   
those who were unable to get it through 
the usual channels4 ,and so that was    
really all there was to it4  ,that was  
typical of ,russell ,conwell--to tell   
with brevity of what he has done1 to    
point out the beginnings of something1  
and quite omit to elaborate as to the   
results4 ,and that1 when you come to    
know him1 is precisely what he means you
 to understand--that it is the beginning
 of anything that is important1 and that
 if a thing is but earnestly begun and  
set going in the right way it may just  
as easily develop big results as little 

results4  ,but his story was very far   
indeed from being all there was to it1  
for he had quite omitted to state the   
extraordinary fact that1 beginning with 
those seven pupils1 coming to his       
library on an evening in #ahhd1 the     
,temple ,university has numbered1 up to 
,commencement-time in #aiae1 #hh1hba    
students6 ,nearly one hundred thousand  
students1 and in the lifetime of the    
founder6 ,really1 the magnitude of such 
a work cannot be exaggerated1 nor the   
vast importance of it when it is        
considered that most of these           
eighty-eight thousand students would not
 have received their education had it   
not been for ,temple ,university4 ,and  
it all came from the instant response of
 ,russell ,conwell to the immediate need
 presented by a young man without money6
  ,and there is something else ,i want  
to say1 said ,dr4 ,conwell1             
unexpectedly4 ,i want to say1 more fully
 than a mere casual word1 how nobly the 
work was taken up by volunteer helpers2 

professors from the ,university of      
,pennsylvania and teachers from the     
public schools and other local          
institutions gave freely of what time   
they could until the new venture was    
firmly on its way4 ,i honor those who   
came so devotedly to help4 ,and it      
should be remembered that in those early
 days the need was even greater than it 
would now appear1 for there were then no
 night schools or manual-training       
schools4 ,since then the city of        
,philadelphia has gone into such work1  
and as fast as it has taken up certain  
branches the ,temple ,university has put
 its energy into the branches just      
higher4 ,and there seems no lessening of
 the need of it1 he added1 ponderingly4 
,no2 there is certainly no lessening of 
the need of it6 ,the figures of the     
annual catalogue would alone show that4 
,as early as #ahhg1 just three years    
after the beginning1 the ,temple        
,college1 as it was by that time called1
 issued its first catalogue1 which set  

forth with stirring words that the      
intent of its founding was to3  ,provide
 such instruction as shall be best      
adapted to the higher education of those
 who are compelled to labor at their    
trade while engaged in study4           
,cultivate a taste for the higher and   
most useful branches of learning4       
,awaken in the character of young       
laboring men and women a determined     
ambition to be useful to their          
fellow-men4  ,the college--the          
university as it in time came to        
be--early broadened its scope1 but it   
has from the first continued to aim at  
the needs of those unable to secure     
education without such help as1 through 
its methods1 it affords4  ,it was       
chartered in #ahhh1 at which time its   
numbers had reached almost six hundred1 
and it has ever since had a constant    
flood of applicants4 ,it has            
demonstrated1 as ,dr4 ,conwell puts it1 
that those who work for a living have   
time for study4 ,and he1 though he does 

not himself add this1 has given the     
opportunity4  ,he feels especial pride  
in the features by which lectures and   
recitations are held at practically any 
hour which best suits the convenience of
 the students4 ,if any ten students join
 in a request for any hour from nine in 
the morning to ten at night a class is  
arranged for them1 to meet that request6
 ,this involves the necessity for a much
 larger number of professors and        
teachers than would otherwise be        
necessary1 but that is deemed a slight  
consideration in comparison with the    
immense good done by meeting the needs  
of workers4  ,also ,president           
,conwell--for of course he is the       
president of the university--is proud of
 the fact that the privilege of         
graduation depends entirely upon        
knowledge gained2 that graduation does  
not depend upon having listened to any  
set number of lectures or upon having   
attended for so many terms or years4 ,if
 a student can do four years' work in   

two years or in three he is encouraged  
to do it1 and if he cannot even do it in
 four he can have no diploma4           
,obviously1 there is no place at ,temple
 ,university for students who care only 
for a few years of leisured ease4 ,it is
 a place for workers1 and not at all for
 those who merely wish to be able to    
boast that they attended a university4  
,the students have come largely from    
among railroad clerks1 bank clerks1     
bookkeepers1 teachers1 preachers1       
mechanics1 salesmen1 drug clerks1 city  
and ,united ,states government          
employees1 widows1 nurses1 housekeepers1
 brakemen1 firemen1 engineers1 motormen1
 conductors1 and shop hands4  ,it was   
when the college became strong enough1  
and sufficiently advanced in scholarship
 and standing1 and broad enough in      
scope1 to win the name of university    
that this title was officially granted  
to it by the ,state of ,pennsylvania1 in
 #aijg1 and now its educational plan    
includes three distinct school systems4 

,first3 it offers a high-school         
education to the student who has to quit
 school after leaving the               
grammar-school4  ,second3 it offers a   
full college education1 with the        
branches taught in long-established     
high-grade colleges1 to the student who 
has to quit on leaving the high-school4 
,third3 it offers further scientific or 
professional education to the college   
graduate who must go to work immediately
 on quitting college1 but who wishes to 
take up some such course as law or      
medicine or engineering4  ,out of last  
year's enrolment of #c1fed it is        
interesting to notice that the law      
claimed #ada2 theology1 #ahb2 medicine  
and pharmacy and dentistry combined1    
#ceg2 civil engineering1 #cg2 also that 
the teachers' college1 with normal      
courses on such subjects as household   
arts and science1 kindergarten work1 and
 physical education1 took #agd2 and     
still more interesting1 in a way1 to see
 that #bfi students were enrolled for   

the technical and vocational courses1   
such as cooking and dress-making1       
millinery1 manual crafts1               
school-gardening1 and story-telling4    
,there were #eaa in high-school work1   
and #bdc in elementary education4 ,there
 were #gi studying music1 and #fh       
studying to be trained nurses4 ,there   
were #fjf in the college of liberal arts
 and sciences1 and in the department of 
commercial education there were         
#ihg--;for it is a university that      
offers both scholarship and             
practicality4  ,temple ,university is   
not in the least a charitable           
institution4 ,its fees are low1 and its 
hours are for the convenience of the    
students themselves1 but it is a place  
of absolute independence4 ,it is1       
indeed1 a place of far greater          
independence1 so one of the professors  
pointed out1 than are the great         
universities which receive millions and 
millions of money in private gifts and  
endowments4  ,temple ,university in its 

early years was sorely in need of money1
 and often there were thrills of        
expectancy when some man of mighty      
wealth seemed on the point of giving4   
,but not a single one ever did1 and now 
the ,temple likes to feel that it is    
glad of it4 ,the ,temple1 to quote its  
own words1 is ,an institution for strong
 men and women who can labor with both  
mind and body4  ,and the management is  
proud to be able to say that1 although  
great numbers have come from distant    
places1 not one of the many thousands   
ever failed to find an opportunity to   
support himself4  ,even in the early    
days1 when money was needed for the     
necessary buildings 7the buildings of   
which ,conwell dreamed when he left     
second-story doors in his church671 the 
university--college it was then         
called--had won devotion from those who 
knew that it was a place where neither  
time nor money was wasted1 and where    
idleness was a crime1 and in the        
donations for the work were many such   

items as four hundred dollars from      
factory-workers who gave fifty cents    
each1 and two thousand dollars from     
policemen who gave a dollar each4       
,within two or three years past the     
,state of ,pennsylvania has begun giving
 it a large sum annually1 and this state
 aid is public recognition of ,temple   
,university as an institution of high   
public value4 ,the state money is       
invested in the brains and hearts of the
 ambitious4  ,so eager is ,dr4 ,conwell 
to place the opportunity of education   
before every one1 that even his servants
 must go to school6 ,he is not one of   
those who can see needs that are far    
away but not those that are right at    
home4 ,his belief in education1 and in  
the highest attainable education1 is    
profound1 and it is not only on account 
of the abstract pleasure and value of   
education1 but its power of increasing  
actual earning power and thus making a  
worker of more value to both himself and
 the community4  ,many a man and many a 

woman1 while continuing to work for some
 firm or factory1 has taken ,temple     
technical courses and thus fitted       
himself or herself for an advanced      
position with the same employer4 ,the   
,temple knows of many such1 who have    
thus won prominent advancement4 ,and it 
knows of teachers who1 while continuing 
to teach1 have fitted themselves through
 the ,temple courses for professorships4
 ,and it knows of many a case of the    
rise of a ,temple student that reads    
like an ,arabian ,nights' fancy6--of    
advance from bookkeeper to editor1 from 
office-boy to bank president1 from      
kitchen maid to school principal1 from  
street-cleaner to mayor6 ,the ,temple   
,university helps them that help        
themselves4  ,president ,conwell told me
 personally of one case that especially 
interested him because it seemed to     
exhibit1 in especial degree1 the ,temple
 possibilities2 and it particularly     
interested me because it also showed1 in
 high degree1 the methods and           

personality of ,dr4 ,conwell himself4   
,one day a young woman came to him and  
said she earned only three dollars a    
week and that she desired very much to  
make more4 ,can you tell me how to do   
it8 she said4  ,he liked her ambition   
and her directness1 but there was       
something that he felt doubtful about1  
and that was that her hat looked too    
expensive for three dollars a week6     
,now ,dr4 ,conwell is a man whom you    
would never suspect of giving a thought 
to the hat of man or woman6 ,but as a   
matter of fact there is very little that
 he does not see4  ,but though the hat  
seemed too expensive for three dollars a
 week1 ,dr4 ,conwell is not a man who   
makes snap-judgments harshly1 and in    
particular he would be the last man to  
turn away hastily one who had sought him
 out for help4 ,he never felt1 nor could
 possibly urge upon any one1 contentment
 with a humble lot2 he stands for       
advancement2 he has no sympathy with    
that dictum of the smug1 that has come  

to us from a nation tight bound for     
centuries by its gentry and aristocracy1
 about being contented with the position
 in which ,god has placed you1 for he   
points out that the ,bible itself holds 
up advancement and success as things    
desirable4  ,and1 as to the young woman 
before him1 it developed1 through       
discreet inquiry veiled by frank        
discussion of her case1 that she had    
made the expensive-looking hat herself6 
,whereupon not only did all doubtfulness
 and hesitation vanish1 but he saw at   
once how she could better herself4 ,he  
knew that a woman who could make a hat  
like that for herself could make hats   
for other people1 and so1 ,go into      
millinery as a business1 he advised4    
,oh--if ,i only could6 she exclaimed4   
,but ,i know that ,i don't know enough4 
,take the millinery course in ,temple   
,university1 he responded4  ,she had not
 even heard of such a course1 and when  
he went on to explain how she could take
 it and at the same time continue at her

 present work until the course was      
concluded1 she was positively           
ecstatic--it was all so unexpected1 this
 opening of the view of a new and       
broader life4  ,she was an unusual      
woman1 concluded ,dr4 ,conwell1 and she 
worked with enthusiasm and tirelessness4
 ,she graduated1 went to an up-state    
city that seemed to offer a good field1 
opened a millinery establishment there1 
with her own name above the door1 and   
became prosperous4 ,that was only a few 
years ago4 ,and recently ,i had a letter
 from her1 telling me that last year she
 netted a clear profit of three thousand
 six hundred dollars6  ,i remember a    
man1 himself of distinguished position1 
saying of ,dr4 ,conwell1 ,it is         
difficult to speak in tempered language 
of what he has achieved4 ,and that just 
expresses it2 the temptation is         
constantly to use superlatives--for     
superlatives fit6 ,of course he has     
succeeded for himself1 and succeeded    
marvelously1 in his rise from the rocky 

hill farm1 but he has done so vastly    
more than that in inspiring such hosts  
of others to succeed6  ,a dreamer of    
dreams and a seer of visions--and what  
realizations have come6 ,and it         
interested me profoundly not long ago1  
when ,dr4 ,conwell1 talking of the      
university1 unexpectedly remarked that  
he would like to see such institutions  
scattered throughout every state in the 
,union4 ,all carried on at slight       
expense to the students and at hours to 
suit all sorts of working men and women1
 he added1 after a pause2 and then1     
abruptly1 ,i should like to see the     
possibility of higher education offered 
to every one in the ,united ,states who 
works for a living4  ,there was         
something superb in the very imagining  
of such a nation-wide system4 ,but ,i   
did not ask whether or not he had       
planned any details for such an effort4 
,i knew that thus far it might only be  
one of his dreams--but ,i also knew that
 his dreams had a way of becoming       

realities4 ,i had a fleeting glimpse of 
his soaring vision4 ,it was amazing to  
find a man of more than three-score and 
ten thus dreaming of more worlds to     
conquer4 ,and ,i thought1 what could the
 world have accomplished if ,methuselah 
had been a ,conwell6--or1 far better1   
what wonders could be accomplished if   
,conwell could but be a ,methuselah6    
,he has all his life been a great       
traveler4 ,he is a man who sees vividly 
and who can describe vividly4 ,yet often
 his letters1 even from places of the   
most profound interest1 are mostly      
concerned with affairs back home4 ,it is
 not that he does not feel1 and feel    
intensely1 the interest of what he is   
visiting1 but that his tremendous       
earnestness keeps him always concerned  
about his work at home4 ,there could be 
no stronger example than what ,i noticed
 in a letter he wrote from ,jerusalem4  
,i am in ,jerusalem6 ,and here at       
,gethsemane and at the ,tomb of         
,christ--reading thus far1 one expects  

that any man1 and especially a minister1
 is sure to say something regarding the 
associations of the place and the effect
 of these associations on his mind2 but 
,conwell is always the man who is       
different--,and here at ,gethsemane and 
at the ,tomb of ,christ1 ,i pray        
especially for the ,temple ,university4 
,that is ,conwellism6  ,that he founded 
a hospital--a work in itself great      
enough for even a great life--is but one
 among the striking incidents of his    
career4 ,and it came about through      
perfect naturalness4 ,for he came to    
know1 through his pastoral work and     
through his growing acquaintance with   
the needs of the city1 that there was a 
vast amount of suffering and            
wretchedness and anguish1 because of the
 inability of the existing hospitals to 
care for all who needed care4 ,there was
 so much sickness and suffering to be   
alleviated1 there were so many deaths   
that could be prevented--and so he      
decided to start another hospital4      

,and1 like everything with him1 the     
beginning was small4 ,that cannot too   
strongly be set down as the way of this 
phenomenally successful organizer4 ,most
 men would have to wait until a big     
beginning could be made1 and so would   
most likely never make a beginning at   
all4 ,but ,conwell's way is to dream of 
future bigness1 but be ready to begin at
 once1 no matter how small or           
insignificant the beginning may appear  
to others4  ,two rented rooms1 one      
nurse1 one patient--this was the humble 
beginning1 in #ahia1 of what has        
developed into the great ,samaritan     
,hospital4 ,in a year there was an      
entire house1 fitted up with wards and  
operating-room4 ,now it occupies several
 buildings1 including and adjoining that
 first one1 and a great new structure is
 planned4 ,but even as it is1 it has a  
hundred and seventy beds1 is fitted with
 all modern hospital appliances1 and has
 a large staff of physicians2 and the   
number of surgical operations performed 

there is very large4  ,it is open to    
sufferers of any race or creed1 and the 
poor are never refused admission1 the   
rule being that treatment is free for   
those who cannot pay1 but that such as  
can afford it shall pay according to    
their means4  ,and the hospital has a   
kindly feature that endears it to       
patients and their relatives alike1 and 
that is that1 by ,dr4 ,conwell's        
personal order1 there are not only the  
usual week-day hours for visiting1 but  
also one evening a week and every       
,sunday afternoon4 ,for otherwise1 as he
 says1 many would be unable to come     
because they could not get away from    
their work4  ,a little over eight years 
ago another hospital was taken in       
charge1 the ,garretson--not founded by  
,conwell1 this one1 but acquired1 and   
promptly expanded in its usefulness4    
,both the ,samaritan and the ,garretson 
are part of ,temple ,university4 ,the   
,samaritan ,hospital has treated1 since 
its foundation1 up to the middle of     

#aiae1 #bi1cja patients2 the ,garretson1
 in its shorter life1 #e1ibc4 ,including
 dispensary cases as well as house      
patients1 the two hospitals together1   
under the headship of ,president        
,conwell1 have handled over #djj1jjj    
cases4  ,how ,conwell can possibly meet 
the multifarious demands upon his time  
is in itself a miracle4 ,he is the head 
of the great church2 he is the head of  
the university2 he is the head of the   
hospitals2 he is the head of everything 
with which he is associated6 ,and he is 
not only nominally1 but very actively1  
the head6     ,,iii  ,,his ,,splendid   
,,efficiency   ,conwell has a few strong
 and efficient executive helpers who    
have long been associated with him2 men 
and women who know his ideas and ideals1
 who are devoted to him1 and who do     
their utmost to relieve him2 and of     
course there is very much that is thus  
done for him2 but even as it is1 he is  
so overshadowing a man 7there is really 
no other word7 that all who work with   

him look to him for advice and          
guidance--the professors and the        
students1 the doctors and the nurses1   
the church officers1 the ,sunday-school 
teachers1 the members of his            
congregation4 ,and he is never too busy 
to see any one who really wishes to see 
him4  ,he can attend to a vast intricacy
 of detail1 and answer myriad personal  
questions and doubts1 and keep the great
 institutions splendidly going1 by      
thorough systematization of time1 and by
 watching every minute4 ,he has several 
secretaries1 for special work1 besides  
his private secretary4 ,his             
correspondence is very great4 ,often he 
dictates to a secretary as he travels on
 the train4 ,even in the few days for   
which he can run back to the            
,berkshires1 work is awaiting him4 ,work
 follows him4 ,and after knowing of     
this1 one is positively amazed that he  
is able to give to his country-wide     
lectures the time and the traveling that
 they inexorably demand4 ,only a man of 

immense strength1 of the greatest       
stamina1 a veritable superman1 could    
possibly do it4 ,and at times one quite 
forgets1 noticing the multiplicity of   
his occupations1 that he prepares two   
sermons and two talks on ,sunday6  ,here
 is his usual ,sunday schedule1 when at 
home4 ,he rises at seven and studies    
until breakfast1 which is at            
eight-thirty4 ,then he studies until    
nine-forty-five1 when he leads a men's  
meeting at which he is likely also to   
play the organ and lead the singing4 ,at
 ten-thirty is the principal church     
service1 at which he preaches1 and at   
the close of which he shakes hands with 
hundreds4 ,he dines at one1 after which 
he takes fifteen minutes' rest and then 
reads2 and at three o'clock he          
addresses1 in a talk that is like       
another sermon1 a large class of        
men--not the same men as in the morning4
 ,he is also sure to look in at the     
regular session of the ,sunday-school4  
,home again1 where he studies and reads 

until supper-time4 ,at seven-thirty is  
the evening service1 at which he again  
preaches and after which he shakes hands
 with several hundred more and talks    
personally1 in his study1 with any who  
have need of talk with him4 ,he is      
usually home by ten-thirty4 ,i spoke of 
it1 one evening1 as having been a       
strenuous day1 and he responded1 with a 
cheerfully whimsical smile3 ,three      
sermons and shook hands with nine       
hundred4  ,that evening1 as the service 
closed1 he had said to the congregation3
 ,i shall be here for an hour4 ,we      
always have a pleasant time together    
after service4 ,if you are acquainted   
with me1 come up and shake hands4 ,if   
you are strangers--just the slightest of
 pauses--come up and let us make an     
acquaintance that will last for         
eternity4 ,i remember how simply and    
easily this was said1 in his clear1 deep
 voice1 and how impressive and important
 it seemed1 and with what unexpectedness
 it came4 ,come and make an acquaintance

 that will last for eternity6 ,and there
 was a serenity about his way of saying 
this which would make strangers         
think--just as he meant them to         
think--that he had nothing whatever to  
do but to talk with them4 ,even his own 
congregation have1 most of them1 little 
conception of how busy a man he is and  
how precious is his time4  ,one evening 
last ,june--to take an evening of which 
,i happened to know--he got home from a 
journey of two hundred miles at six     
o'clock1 and after dinner and a slight  
rest went to the church prayer-meeting1 
which he led in his usual vigorous way  
at such meetings1 playing the organ and 
leading the singing1 as well as praying 
and talking4 ,after the prayer-meeting  
he went to two dinners in succession1   
both of them important dinners in       
connection with the close of the        
university year1 and at both dinners he 
spoke4 ,at the second dinner he was     
notified of the sudden illness of a     
member of his congregation1 and         

instantly hurried to the man's home and 
thence to the hospital to which he had  
been removed1 and there he remained at  
the man's bedside1 or in consultation   
with the physicians1 until one in the   
morning4 ,next morning he was up at     
seven and again at work4  ,this one     
thing ,i do1 is his private maxim of    
efficiency1 and a literalist might point
 out that he does not one thing only1   
but a thousand things1 not getting      
,conwell's meaning1 which is that       
whatever the thing may be which he is   
doing he lets himself think of nothing  
else until it is done4  ,dr4 ,conwell   
has a profound love for the country and 
particularly for the country of his own 
youth4 ,he loves the wind that comes    
sweeping over the hills1 he loves the   
wide-stretching views from the heights  
and the forest intimacies of the nestled
 nooks4 ,he loves the rippling streams1 
he loves the wild flowers that nestle in
 seclusion or that unexpectedly paint   
some mountain meadow with delight4 ,he  

loves the very touch of the earth1 and  
he loves the great bare rocks4  ,he     
writes verses at times2 at least he has 
written lines for a few old tunes2 and  
it interested me greatly to chance upon 
some lines of his that picture heaven in
 terms of the ,berkshires3      ,the    
wide-stretching valleys in colors so    
fadeless1     ,where trees are all      
deathless and flowers e'er bloom4  ,that
 is heaven in the eyes of a ,new        
,england hill-man6 ,not golden pavement 
and ivory palaces1 but valleys and trees
 and flowers and the wide sweep of the  
open4  ,few things please him more than 
to go1 for example1 blackberrying1 and  
he has a knack of never scratching his  
face or his fingers when doing so4 ,and 
he finds blackberrying1 whether he goes 
alone or with friends1 an               
extraordinarily good time for planning  
something he wishes to do or working out
 the thought of a sermon4 ,and fishing  
is even better1 for in fishing he finds 
immense recreation and restfulness and  

at the same time a further opportunity  
to think and plan4  ,as a small boy he  
wished that he could throw a dam across 
the trout-brook that runs near the      
little ,conwell home1 and--as he never  
gives up--he finally realized the       
ambition1 although it was after half a  
century6 ,and now he has a big pond1    
three-quarters of a mile long by half a 
mile wide1 lying in front of the house1 
down a slope from it--a pond stocked    
with splendid pickerel4 ,he likes to    
float about restfully on this pond1     
thinking or fishing1 or both4 ,and on   
that pond he showed me how to catch     
pickerel even under a blaze of sunlight6
  ,he is a trout-fisher1 too1 for it is 
a trout stream that feeds this pond and 
goes dashing away from it through the   
wilderness2 and for miles adjoining his 
place a fishing club of wealthy men     
bought up the rights in this trout      
stream1 and they approached him with a  
liberal offer4 ,but he declined it4 ,i  
remembered what good times ,i had when  

,i was a boy1 fishing up and down that  
stream1 and ,i couldn't think of keeping
 the boys of the present day from such a
 pleasure4 ,so they may still come and  
fish for trout here4  ,as we walked one 
day beside this brook1 he suddenly said3
 ,did you ever notice that every brook  
has its own song8 ,i should know the    
song of this brook anywhere4  ,it would 
seem as if he loved his rugged native   
country because it is rugged even more  
than because it is native6 ,himself so  
rugged1 so hardy1 so enduring--the      
strength of the hills is his also4      
,always1 in his very appearance1 you see
 something of this ruggedness of the    
hills2 a ruggedness1 a sincerity1 a     
plainness1 that mark alike his character
 and his looks4 ,and always one realizes
 the strength of the man1 even when his 
voice1 as it usually is1 is low4 ,and   
one increasingly realizes the strength  
when1 on the lecture platform or in the 
pulpit or in conversation1 he flashes   
vividly into fire4  ,a big-boned man he 

is1 sturdy-framed1 a tall man1 with     
broad shoulders and strong hands4 ,his  
hair is a deep chestnut-brown that at   
first sight seems black4 ,in his early  
manhood he was superb in looks1 as his  
pictures show1 but anxiety and work and 
the constant flight of years1 with      
physical pain1 have settled his face    
into lines of sadness and almost of     
severity1 which instantly vanish when he
 speaks4 ,and his face is illumined by  
marvelous eyes4  ,he is a lonely man4   
,the wife of his early years died long1 
long ago1 before success had come1 and  
she was deeply mourned1 for she had     
loyally helped him through a time that  
held much of struggle and hardship4 ,he 
married again2 and this wife was his    
loyal helpmate for many years4 ,in a    
time of special stress1 when a          
defalcation of sixty-five thousand      
dollars threatened to crush ,temple     
,college just when it was getting on its
 feet1 for both ,temple ,church and     
,temple ,college had in those early days

 buoyantly assumed heavy indebtedness1  
he raised every dollar he could by      
selling or mortgaging his own           
possessions1 and in this his wife1 as he
 lovingly remembers1 most cordially     
stood beside him1 although she knew that
 if anything should happen to him the   
financial sacrifice would leave her     
penniless4 ,she died after years of     
companionship2 his children married and 
made homes of their own2 he is a lonely 
man4 ,yet he is not unhappy1 for the    
tremendous demands of his tremendous    
work leave him little time for sadness  
or retrospect4 ,at times the realization
 comes that he is getting old1 that     
friends and comrades have been passing  
away1 leaving him an old man with       
younger friends and helpers4 ,but such  
realization only makes him work with an 
earnestness still more intense1 knowing 
that the night cometh when no man shall 
work4  ,deeply religious though he is1  
he does not force religion into         
conversation on ordinary subjects or    

upon people who may not be interested in
 it4 ,with him1 it is action and good   
works1 with faith and belief1 that      
count1 except when talk is the natural1 
the fitting1 the necessary thing2 when  
addressing either one individual or     
thousands1 he talks with superb         
effectiveness4  ,his sermons are1 it may
 almost literally be said1 parable after
 parable2 although he himself would be  
the last man to say this1 for it would  
sound as if he claimed to model after   
the greatest of all examples4 ,his own  
way of putting it is that he uses       
stories frequently because people are   
more impressed by illustrations than by 
argument4  ,always1 whether in the      
pulpit or out of it1 he is simple and   
homelike1 human and unaffected4 ,if he  
happens to see some one in the          
congregation to whom he wishes to speak1
 he may just leave his pulpit and walk  
down the aisle1 while the choir is      
singing1 and quietly say a few words and
 return4  ,in the early days of his     

ministry1 if he heard of a poor family  
in immediate need of food he would be   
quite likely to gather a basket of      
provisions and go personally1 and offer 
this assistance and such other as he    
might find necessary when he reached the
 place4 ,as he became known he ceased   
from this direct and open method of     
charity1 for he knew that impulsiveness 
would be taken for intentional display4 
,but he has never ceased to be ready to 
help on the instant that he knows help  
is needed4 ,delay and lengthy           
investigation are avoided by him when he
 can be certain that something immediate
 is required4 ,and the extent of his    
quiet charity is amazing4 ,with no      
family for which to save money1 and with
 no care to put away money for himself1 
he thinks only of money as an instrument
 for helpfulness4 ,i never heard a      
friend criticize him except for too     
great open-handedness4  ,i was strongly 
impressed1 after coming to know him1    
that he possessed many of the qualities 

that made for the success of the        
old-time district leaders of ,new ,york 
,city1 and ,i mentioned this to him1 and
 he at once responded that he had       
himself met ,big ,tim1 the long-time    
leader of the ,sullivans1 and had had   
him at his house1 ,big ,tim having gone 
to ,philadelphia to aid some henchman in
 trouble1 and having promptly sought the
 aid of ,dr4 ,conwell4 ,and it was      
characteristic of ,conwell that he saw1 
what so many never saw1 the most        
striking characteristic of that ,tammany
 leader4 ,for1 ,big ,tim ,sullivan was  
so kind-hearted6 ,conwell appreciated   
the man's political unscrupulousness as 
well as did his enemies1 but he saw also
 what made his underlying power--his    
kind-heartedness4 ,except that ,sullivan
 could be supremely unscrupulous1 and   
that ,conwell is supremely scrupulous1  
there were marked similarities in these 
masters over men2 and ,conwell          
possesses1 as ,sullivan possessed1 a    
wonderful memory for faces and names4   

,naturally1 ,russell ,conwell stands    
steadily and strongly for good          
citizenship4 ,but he never talks        
boastful ,americanism4 ,he seldom speaks
 in so many words of either ,americanism
 or good citizenship1 but he constantly 
and silently keeps the ,american flag1  
as the symbol of good citizenship1      
before his people4 ,an ,american flag is
 prominent in his church2 an ,american  
flag is seen in his home2 a beautiful   
,american flag is up at his ,berkshire  
place and surmounts a lofty tower where1
 when he was a boy1 there stood a mighty
 tree at the top of which was an eagle's
 nest1 which has given him a name for   
his home1 for he terms it ,the ,eagle's 
,nest4  ,remembering a long story that  
,i had read of his climbing to the top  
of that tree1 though it was a well-nigh 
impossible feat1 and securing the nest  
by great perseverance and daring1 ,i    
asked him if the story were a true one4 
,oh1 ,i've heard something about it2    
somebody said that somebody watched me1 

or something of the kind4 ,but ,i don't 
remember anything about it myself4  ,any
 friend of his is sure to say something1
 after a while1 about his determination1
 his insistence on going ahead with     
anything on which he has really set his 
heart4 ,one of the very important things
 on which he insisted1 in spite of very 
great opposition1 and especially an     
opposition from the other churches of   
his denomination 7for this was a good   
many years ago1 when there was much more
 narrowness in churches and sects than  
there is at present71 was with regard to
 doing away with close communion4 ,he   
determined on an open communion2 and his
 way of putting it1 once decided upon1  
was3 ,my friends1 it is not for me to   
invite you to the table of the ,lord4   
,the table of the ,lord is open4 ,if you
 feel that you can come to the table1 it
 is open to you4 ,and this is the form  
which he still uses4  ,he not only never
 gives up1 but1 so his friends say1 he  
never forgets a thing upon which he has 

once decided1 and at times1 long after  
they supposed the matter has been       
entirely forgotten1 they suddenly find  
,dr4 ,conwell bringing his original     
purpose to pass4 ,when ,i was told of   
this ,i remembered that pickerel-pond in
 the ,berkshires6  ,if he is really set 
upon doing anything1 little or big1     
adverse criticism does not disturb his  
serenity4 ,some years ago he began      
wearing a huge diamond1 whose size      
attracted much criticism and caustic    
comment4 ,he never said a word in       
defense2 he just kept on wearing the    
diamond4 ,one day1 however1 after some  
years1 he took it off1 and people said1 
,he has listened to the criticism at    
last6 ,he smiled reminiscently as he    
told me about this1 and said3 ,a dear   
old deacon of my congregation gave me   
that diamond and ,i did not like to hurt
 his feelings by refusing it4 ,it really
 bothered me to wear such a glaring big 
thing1 but because ,i didn't want to    
hurt the old deacon's feelings ,i kept  

on wearing it until he was dead4 ,then  
,i stopped wearing it4  ,the ambition of
 ,russell ,conwell is to continue       
working and working until the very last 
moment of his life4 ,in work he forgets 
his sadness1 his loneliness1 his age4   
,and he said to me one day1 ,i will die 
in harness4     ,,iv  ,,the ,,story ,,of
 ,,acres ,,of ,,diamonds   ,considering 
everything1 the most remarkable thing in
 ,russell ,conwell's remarkable life is 
his lecture1 ,acres of ,diamonds4 ,that 
is1 the lecture itself1 the number of   
times he has delivered it1 what a source
 of inspiration it has been to myriads1 
the money that he has made and is       
making1 and1 still more1 the purpose to 
which he directs the money4 ,in the     
circumstances surrounding ,acres of     
,diamonds1 in its tremendous success1 in
 the attitude of mind revealed by the   
lecture itself and by what ,dr4 ,conwell
 does with it1 it is illuminative of his
 character1 his aims1 his ability4  ,the
 lecture is vibrant with his energy4 ,it

 flashes with his hopefulness4 ,it is   
full of his enthusiasm4 ,it is packed   
full of his intensity4 ,it stands for   
the possibilities of success in every   
one4 ,he has delivered it over five     
thousand times4 ,the demand for it never
 diminishes4 ,the success grows never   
less4  ,there is a time in ,russell     
,conwell's youth of which it is pain for
 him to think4 ,he told me of it one    
evening1 and his voice sank lower and   
lower as he went far back into the past4
 ,it was of his days at ,yale that he   
spoke1 for they were days of suffering4 
,for he had not money for ,yale1 and in 
working for more he endured bitter      
humiliation4 ,it was not that the work  
was hard1 for ,russell ,conwell has     
always been ready for hard work4 ,it was
 not that there were privations and     
difficulties1 for he has always found   
difficulties only things to overcome1   
and endured privations with cheerful    
fortitude4 ,but it was the humiliations 
that he met--the personal humiliations  

that after more than half a century make
 him suffer in remembering them--yet out
 of those humiliations came a marvelous 
result4  ,i determined1 he says1 that   
whatever ,i could do to make the way    
easier at college for other young men   
working their way ,i would do4  ,and so1
 many years ago1 he began to devote     
every dollar that he made from ,acres of
 ,diamonds to this definite purpose4 ,he
 has what may be termed a waiting-list4 
,on that list are very few cases he has 
looked into personally4 ,infinitely busy
 man that he is1 he cannot do extensive 
personal investigation4 ,a large        
proportion of his names come to him from
 college presidents who know of students
 in their own colleges in need of such a
 helping hand4  ,every night1 he said1  
when ,i asked him to tell me about it1  
when my lecture is over and the check is
 in my hand1 ,i sit down in my room in  
the hotel--what a lonely picture1       
too6--,i sit down in my room in the     
hotel and subtract from the total sum   

received my actual expenses for that    
place1 and make out a check for the     
difference and send it to some young man
 on my list4 ,and ,i always send with   
the check a letter of advice and        
helpfulness1 expressing my hope that it 
will be of some service to him and      
telling him that he is to feel under no 
obligation except to his ,lord4 ,i feel 
strongly1 and ,i try to make every young
 man feel1 that there must be no sense  
of obligation to me personally4 ,and ,i 
tell them that ,i am hoping to leave    
behind me men who will do more work than
 ,i have done4 ,don't think that ,i put 
in too much advice1 he added1 with a    
smile1 for ,i only try to let them know 
that a friend is trying to help them4   
,his face lighted as he spoke4 ,there is
 such a fascination in it6 he exclaimed4
 ,it is just like a gamble6 ,and as soon
 as ,i have sent the letter and crossed 
a name off my list1 ,i am aiming for the
 next one6  ,and after a pause he added3
 ,i do not attempt to send any young man

 enough for all his expenses4 ,but ,i   
want to save him from bitterness1 and   
each check will help4 ,and1 too1 he     
concluded1 naively1 in the vernacular1  
,i don't want them to lay down on me6   
,he told me that he made it clear that  
he did not wish to get returns or       
reports from this branch of his         
life-work1 for it would take a great    
deal of time in watching and thinking   
and in the reading and writing of       
letters4 ,but it is mainly1 he went on1 
that ,i do not wish to hold over their  
heads the sense of obligation4  ,when ,i
 suggested that this was surely an      
example of bread cast upon the waters   
that could not return1 he was silent for
 a little and then said1 thoughtfully3  
,as one gets on in years there is       
satisfaction in doing a thing for the   
sake of doing it4 ,the bread returns in 
the sense of effort made4  ,on a recent 
trip through ,minnesota he was          
positively upset1 so his secretary told 
me1 through being recognized on a train 

by a young man who had been helped      
through ,acres of ,diamonds1 and who1   
finding that this was really ,dr4       
,conwell1 eagerly brought his wife to   
join him in most fervent thanks for his 
assistance4 ,both the husband and his   
wife were so emotionally overcome that  
it quite overcame ,dr4 ,conwell himself4
  ,the lecture1 to quote the noble words
 of ,dr4 ,conwell himself1 is designed  
to help every person1 of either sex1 who
 cherishes the high resolve of          
sustaining a career of usefulness and   
honor4 ,it is a lecture of helpfulness4 
,and it is a lecture1 when given with   
,conwell's voice and face and manner1   
that is full of fascination4 ,and yet it
 is all so simple6  ,it is packed full  
of inspiration1 of suggestion1 of aid4  
,he alters it to meet the local         
circumstances of the thousands of       
different places in which he delivers   
it4 ,but the base remains the same4 ,and
 even those to whom it is an old story  
will go to hear him time after time4 ,it

 amuses him to say that he knows        
individuals who have listened to it     
twenty times4  ,it begins with a story  
told to ,conwell by an old ,arab as the 
two journeyed together toward ,nineveh1 
and1 as you listen1 you hear the actual 
voices and you see the sands of the     
desert and the waving palms4 ,the       
lecturer's voice is so easy1 so         
effortless1 it seems so ordinary and    
matter-of-fact--yet the entire scene is 
instantly vital and alive6 ,instantly   
the man has his audience under a sort of
 spell1 eager to listen1 ready to be    
merry or grave4 ,he has the faculty of  
control1 the vital quality that makes   
the orator4  ,the same people will go to
 hear this lecture over and over1 and   
that is the kind of tribute that        
,conwell likes4 ,i recently heard him   
deliver it in his own church1 where it  
would naturally be thought to be an old 
story1 and where1 presumably1 only a few
 of the faithful would go2 but it was   
quite clear that all of his church are  

the faithful1 for it was a large        
audience that came to listen to him2    
hardly a seat in the great auditorium   
was vacant4 ,and it should be added     
that1 although it was in his own church1
 it was not a free lecture1 where a     
throng might be expected1 but that each 
one paid a liberal sum for a seat--and  
the paying of admission is always a     
practical test of the sincerity of      
desire to hear4 ,and the people were    
swept along by the current as if        
lecturer and lecture were of novel      
interest4 ,the lecture in itself is good
 to read1 but it is only when it is     
illumined by ,conwell's vivid           
personality that one understands how it 
influences in the actual delivery4  ,on 
that particular evening he had decided  
to give the lecture in the same form as 
when he first delivered it many years   
ago1 without any of the alterations that
 have come with time and changing       
localities1 and as he went on1 with the 
audience rippling and bubbling with     

laughter as usual1 he never doubted that
 he was giving it as he had given it    
years before2 and yet--so up-to-date and
 alive must he necessarily be1 in spite 
of a definitive effort to set himself   
back--every once in a while he was      
coming out with illustrations from such 
distinctly recent things as the         
automobile6  ,the last time ,i heard him
 was the #e1abdth time for the lecture4 
,doesn't it seem incredible6 #e1abd     
times6 ,i noticed that he was to deliver
 it at a little out-of-the-way place1   
difficult for any considerable number to
 get to1 and ,i wondered just how much  
of an audience would gather and how they
 would be impressed4 ,so ,i went over   
from where ,i was1 a few miles away4    
,the road was dark and ,i pictured a    
small audience1 but when ,i got there ,i
 found the church building in which he  
was to deliver the lecture had a seating
 capacity of #hcj and that precisely    
#hcj people were already seated there   
and that a fringe of others were        

standing behind4 ,many had come from    
miles away4 ,yet the lecture had        
scarcely1 if at all1 been advertised4   
,but people had said to one another3    
,aren't you going to hear ,dr4 ,conwell8
 ,and the word had thus been passed     
along4  ,i remember how fascinating it  
was to watch that audience1 for they    
responded so keenly and with such       
heartfelt pleasure throughout the entire
 lecture4 ,and not only were they       
immensely pleased and amused and        
interested--and to achieve that at a    
crossroads church was in itself a       
triumph to be proud of--but ,i knew that
 every listener was given an impulse    
toward doing something for himself and  
for others1 and that with at least some 
of them the impulse would materialize in
 acts4 ,over and over one realizes what 
a power such a man wields4  ,and what an
 unselfishness6 ,for1 far on in years as
 he is1 and suffering pain1 he does not 
chop down his lecture to a definite     
length2 he does not talk for just an    

hour or go on grudgingly for an hour and
 a half4 ,he sees that the people are   
fascinated and inspired1 and he forgets 
pain1 ignores time1 forgets that the    
night is late and that he has a long    
journey to go to get home1 and keeps on 
generously for two hours6 ,and every one
 wishes it were four4  ,always he talks 
with ease and sympathy4 ,there are      
geniality1 composure1 humor1 simple and 
homely jests--yet never does the        
audience forget that he is every moment 
in tremendous earnest4 ,they bubble with
 responsive laughter or are silent in   
riveted attention4 ,a stir can be seen  
to sweep over an audience1 of           
earnestness or surprise or amusement or 
resolve4 ,when he is grave and sober or 
fervid the people feel that he is       
himself a fervidly earnest man1 and when
 he is telling something humorous there 
is on his part almost a repressed       
chuckle1 a genial appreciation of the   
fun of it1 not in the least as if he    
were laughing at his own humor1 but as  

if he and his hearers were laughing     
together at something of which they were
 all humorously cognizant4  ,myriad     
successes in life have come through the 
direct inspiration of this single       
lecture4 ,one hears of so many that     
there must be vastly more that are never
 told4 ,a few of the most recent were   
told me by ,dr4 ,conwell himself1 one   
being of a farmer boy who walked a long 
distance to hear him4 ,on his way home1 
so the boy1 now a man1 has written him1 
he thought over and over of what he     
could do to advance himself1 and before 
he reached home he learned that a       
teacher was wanted at a certain country 
school4 ,he knew he did not know enough 
to teach1 but was sure he could learn1  
so he bravely asked for the place4 ,and 
something in his earnestness made him   
win a temporary appointment4 ,thereupon 
he worked and studied so hard and so    
devotedly1 while he daily taught1 that  
within a few months he was regularly    
employed there4 ,and now1 says ,conwell1

 abruptly1 with his characteristic      
skimming over of the intermediate       
details between the important beginning 
of a thing and the satisfactory end1 and
 now that young man is one of our       
college presidents4  ,and very recently 
a lady came to ,dr4 ,conwell1 the wife  
of an exceptionally prominent man who   
was earning a large salary1 and she told
 him that her husband was so unselfishly
 generous with money that often they    
were almost in straits4 ,and she said   
they had bought a little farm as a      
country place1 paying only a few hundred
 dollars for it1 and that she had said  
to herself1 laughingly1 after hearing   
the lecture1 ,there are no acres of     
diamonds on this place6 ,but she also   
went on to tell that she had found a    
spring of exceptionally fine water      
there1 although in buying they had      
scarcely known of the spring at all2 and
 she had been so inspired by ,conwell   
that she had had the water analyzed and1
 finding that it was remarkably pure1   

had begun to have it bottled and sold   
under a trade name as special spring    
water4 ,and she is making money4 ,and   
she also sells pure ice from the pool1  
cut in winter-time--and all because of  
,acres of ,diamonds6  ,several millions 
of dollars1 in all1 have been received  
by ,russell ,conwell as the proceeds    
from this single lecture4 ,such a fact  
is almost staggering--and it is more    
staggering to realize what good is done 
in the world by this man1 who does not  
earn for himself1 but uses his money in 
immediate helpfulness4 ,and one can     
neither think nor write with moderation 
when it is further realized that far    
more good than can be done directly with
 money he does by uplifting and         
inspiring with this lecture4 ,always his
 heart is with the weary and the        
heavy-laden4 ,always he stands for      
self-betterment4  ,last year1 #aiad1 he 
and his work were given unique          
recognition4 ,for it was known by his   
friends that this particular lecture was

 approaching its five-thousandth        
delivery1 and they planned a celebration
 of such an event in the history of the 
most popular lecture in the world4 ,dr4 
,conwell agreed to deliver it in the    
,academy of ,music1 in ,philadelphia1   
and the building was packed and the     
streets outside were thronged4 ,the     
proceeds from all sources for that      
five-thousandth lecture were over nine  
thousand dollars4  ,the hold which      
,russell ,conwell has gained on the     
affections and respect of his home city 
was seen not only in the thousands who  
strove to hear him1 but in the prominent
 men who served on the local committee  
in charge of the celebration4 ,there was
 a national committee1 too1 and the     
nation-wide love that he has won1 the   
nation-wide appreciation of what he has 
done and is still doing1 was shown by   
the fact that among the names of the    
notables on this committee were those of
 nine governors of states4 ,the         
,governor of ,pennsylvania was himself  

present to do ,russell ,conwell honor1  
and he gave to him a key emblematic of  
the ,freedom of the ,state4  ,the       
,freedom of the ,state--yes2 this man1  
well over seventy1 has won it4 ,the     
,freedom of the ,state1 the ,freedom of 
the ,nation--for this man of            
helpfulness1 this marvelous exponent of 
the gospel of success1 has worked       
marvelously for the freedom1 the        
betterment1 the liberation1 the         
advancement1 of the individual4         
,conwell's ,own ,story  ,,fifty ,,years 
,,on ,,the ,,lecture ,,platform  ,,by   
,,russell ,h4 ,,conwell   ,an           
autobiography6 ,what an absurd request6 
,if all the conditions were favorable1  
the story of my public life could not be
 made interesting4 ,it does not seem    
possible that any will care to read so  
plain and uneventful a tale4 ,i see     
nothing in it for boasting1 nor much    
that could be helpful4 ,then ,i never   
saved a scrap of paper intentionally    
concerning my work to which ,i could    

refer1 not a book1 not a sermon1 not a  
lecture1 not a newspaper notice or      
account1 not a magazine article1 not one
 of the kind biographies written from   
time to time by noble friends have ,i   
ever kept even as a souvenir1 although  
some of them may be in my library4 ,i   
have ever felt that the writers         
concerning my life were too generous and
 that my own work was too hastily done4 
,hence ,i have nothing upon which to    
base an autobiographical account1 except
 the recollections which come to an     
overburdened mind4  ,my general view of 
half a century on the lecture platform  
brings to me precious and beautiful     
memories1 and fills my soul with devout 
gratitude for the blessings and         
kindnesses which have been given to me  
so far beyond my deserts4 ,so much more 
success has come to my hands than ,i    
ever expected2 so much more of good have
 ,i found than even youth's wildest     
dream included2 so much more effective  
have been my weakest endeavors than ,i  

ever planned or hoped--that a biography 
written truthfully would be mostly an   
account of what men and women have done 
for me4  ,i have lived to see           
accomplished far more than my highest   
ambition included1 and have seen the    
enterprises ,i have undertaken rush by  
me1 pushed on by a thousand strong hands
 until they have left me far behind     
them4 ,the realities are like dreams to 
me4 ,blessings on the loving hearts and 
noble minds who have been so willing to 
sacrifice for others' good and to think 
only of what they could do1 and never of
 what they should get6 ,many of them    
have ascended into the ,shining ,land1  
and here ,i am in mine age gazing up    
alone1      ,only waiting till the      
shadows     ,are a little longer grown4 
,fifty years6 ,i was a young man1 not   
yet of age1 when ,i delivered my first  
platform lecture4 ,the ,civil ,war of   
#ahfa-fe drew on with all its passions1 
patriotism1 horrors1 and fears1 and ,i  
was studying law at ,yale ,university4  

,i had from childhood felt that ,i was  
called to the ministry4 ,the earliest   
event of memory is the prayer of my     
father at family prayers in the little  
old cottage in the ,hampshire highlands 
of the ,berkshire ,hills1 calling on    
,god with a sobbing voice to lead me    
into some special service for the       
,saviour4 ,it filled me with awe1 dread1
 and fear1 and ,i recoiled from the     
thought1 until ,i determined to fight   
against it with all my power4 ,so ,i    
sought for other professions and for    
decent excuses for being anything but a 
preacher4  ,yet while ,i was nervous and
 timid before the class in declamation  
and dreaded to face any kind of an      
audience1 ,i felt in my soul a strange  
impulsion toward public speaking which  
for years made me miserable4 ,the war   
and the public meetings for recruiting  
soldiers furnished an outlet for my     
suppressed sense of duty1 and my first  
lecture was on the ,lessons of ,history 
as applied to the campaigns against the 

,confederacy4  ,that matchless          
temperance orator and loving friend1    
,john ,b4 ,gough1 introduced me to the  
little audience in ,westfield1          
,massachusetts1 in #ahfb4 ,what a       
foolish little school-boy speech it must
 have been6 ,but ,mr4 ,gough's kind     
words of praise1 the bouquets and the   
applause1 made me feel that somehow the 
way to public oratory would not be so   
hard as ,i had feared4  ,from that time 
,i acted on ,mr4 ,gough's advice and    
sought practice by accepting almost     
every invitation ,i received to speak on
 any kind of a subject4 ,there were many
 sad failures and tears1 but it was a   
restful compromise with my conscience   
concerning the ministry1 and it pleased 
my friends4 ,i addressed picnics1       
,sunday-schools1 patriotic meetings1    
funerals1 anniversaries1 commencements1 
debates1 cattle-shows1 and              
sewing-circles without partiality and   
without price4 ,for the first five years
 the income was all experience4 ,then   

voluntary gifts began to come           
occasionally in the shape of a          
jack-knife1 a ham1 a book1 and the first
 cash remuneration was from a farmers'  
club1 of seventy-five cents toward the  
horse hire4 ,it was a curious fact that 
one member of that club afterward moved 
to ,salt ,lake ,city and was a member of
 the committee at the ,mormon           
,tabernacle in #ahgb which1 when ,i was 
a correspondent1 on a journey around the
 world1 employed me to lecture on ,men  
of the ,mountains in the ,mormon        
,tabernacle1 at a fee of five hundred   
dollars4  ,while ,i was gaining practice
 in the first years of platform work1 ,i
 had the good fortune to have profitable
 employment as a soldier1 or as a       
correspondent or lawyer1 or as an editor
 or as a preacher1 which enabled me to  
pay my own expenses1 and it has been    
seldom in the fifty years that ,i have  
ever taken a fee for my personal use4   
,in the last thirty-six years ,i have   
dedicated solemnly all the lecture      

income to benevolent enterprises4 ,if ,i
 am antiquated enough for an            
autobiography1 perhaps ,i may be aged   
enough to avoid the criticism of being  
an egotist1 when ,i state that some     
years ,i delivered one lecture1 ,acres  
of ,diamonds1 over two hundred times    
each year1 at an average income of about
 one hundred and fifty dollars for each 
lecture4  ,it was a remarkable good     
fortune which came to me as a lecturer  
when ,mr4 ,james ,redpath organized the 
first lecture bureau ever established4  
,mr4 ,redpath was the biographer of     
,john ,brown of ,harper's ,ferry renown1
 and as ,mr4 ,brown had been long a     
friend of my father's ,i found          
employment1 while a student on vacation1
 in selling that life of ,john ,brown4  
,that acquaintance with ,mr4 ,redpath   
was maintained until ,mr4 ,redpath's    
death4 ,to ,general ,charles ,h4        
,taylor1 with whom ,i was employed for a
 time as reporter for the ,boston ,daily
 ,traveler1 ,i was indebted for many    

acts of self-sacrificing friendship     
which soften my soul as ,i recall them4 
,he did me the greatest kindness when he
 suggested my name to ,mr4 ,redpath as  
one who could fill in the vacancies in  
the smaller towns where the great lights
 could not always be secured4  ,what a  
glorious galaxy of great names that     
original list of ,redpath lecturers     
contained6 ,henry ,ward ,beecher1 ,john 
,b4 ,gough1 ,senator ,charles ,sumner1  
,theodore ,tilton1 ,wendell ,phillips1  
,mrs4 ,mary ,a4 ,livermore1 ,bayard     
,taylor1 ,ralph ,waldo ,emerson1 with   
many of the great preachers1 musicians1 
and writers of that remarkable era4     
,even ,dr4 ,holmes1 ,john ,whittier1    
,henry ,w4 ,longfellow1 ,john ,lothrop  
,motley1 ,george ,william ,curtis1 and  
,general ,burnside were persuaded to    
appear one or more times1 although they 
refused to receive pay4 ,i cannot forget
 how ashamed ,i felt when my name       
appeared in the shadow of such names1   
and how sure ,i was that every          

acquaintance was ridiculing me behind my
 back4 ,mr4 ,bayard ,taylor1 however1   
wrote me from the ,tribune office a kind
 note saying that he was glad to see me 
on the road to great usefulness4        
,governor ,clafflin1 of ,massachusetts1 
took the time to send me a note of      
congratulation4 ,general ,benjamin ,f4  
,butler1 however1 advised me to stick to
 the last and be a good lawyer4  ,the   
work of lecturing was always a task and 
a duty4 ,i do not feel now that ,i ever 
sought to be an entertainer4 ,i am sure 
,i would have been an utter failure but 
for the feeling that ,i must preach some
 gospel truth in my lectures and do at  
least that much toward that             
ever-persistent call of ,god4 ,when ,i  
entered the ministry 7#ahgi7 ,i had     
become so associated with the lecture   
platform in ,america and ,england that  
,i could not feel justified in          
abandoning so great a field of          
usefulness4  ,the experiences of all our
 successful lecturers are probably      

nearly alike4 ,the way is not always    
smooth4 ,but the hard roads1 the poor   
hotels1 the late trains1 the cold halls1
 the hot church auditoriums1 the        
overkindness of hospitable committees1  
and the broken hours of sleep are       
annoyances one soon forgets2 and the    
hosts of intelligent faces1 the messages
 of thanks1 and the effects of the      
earnings on the lives of young college  
men can never cease to be a daily joy4  
,god bless them all4  ,often have ,i    
been asked if ,i did not1 in fifty years
 of travel in all sorts of conveyances1 
meet with accidents4 ,it is a marvel to 
me that no such event ever brought me   
harm4 ,in a continuous period of over   
twenty-seven years ,i delivered about   
two lectures in every three days1 yet ,i
 did not miss a single engagement4      
,sometimes ,i had to hire a special     
train1 but ,i reached the town on time1 
with only a rare exception1 and then ,i 
was but a few minutes late4 ,accidents  
have preceded and followed me on trains 

and boats1 and were sometimes in sight1 
but ,i was preserved without injury     
through all the years4 ,in the          
,johnstown flood region ,i saw a bridge 
go out behind our train4 ,i was once on 
a derelict steamer on the ,atlantic for 
twenty-six days4 ,at another time a man 
was killed in the berth of a sleeper ,i 
had left half an hour before4 ,often    
have ,i felt the train leave the track1 
but no one was killed4 ,robbers have    
several times threatened my life1 but   
all came out without loss to me4 ,god   
and man have ever been patient with me4 
,yet this period of lecturing has been1 
after all1 a side issue4 ,the ,temple1  
and its church1 in ,philadelphia1 which1
 when its membership was less than three
 thousand members1 for so many years    
contributed through its membership over 
sixty thousand dollars a year for the   
uplift of humanity1 has made life a     
continual surprise2 while the ,samaritan
 ,hospital's amazing growth1 and the    
,garretson ,hospital's dispensaries1    

have been so continually ministering to 
the sick and poor1 and have done such   
skilful work for the tens of thousands  
who ask for their help each year1 that  
,i have been made happy while away      
lecturing by the feeling that each hour 
and minute they were faithfully doing   
good4 ,temple ,university1 which was    
founded only twenty-seven years ago1 has
 already sent out into a higher income  
and nobler life nearly a hundred        
thousand young men and women who could  
not probably have obtained an education 
in any other institution4 ,the faithful1
 self-sacrificing faculty1 now numbering
 two hundred and fifty-three professors1
 have done the real work4 ,for that ,i  
can claim but little credit2 and ,i     
mention the ,university here only to    
show that my fifty years on the lecture 
platform has necessarily been a side    
line of work4  ,my best-known lecture1  
,acres of ,diamonds1 was a mere         
accidental address1 at first given      
before a reunion of my old comrades of  

the ,forty-sixth ,massachusetts         
,regiment1 which served in the ,civil   
,war and in which ,i was captain4 ,i had
 no thought of giving the address again1
 and even after it began to be called   
for by lecture committees ,i did not    
dream that ,i should live to deliver it1
 as ,i now have done1 almost five       
thousand times4 ,what is the secret of  
its popularity8 ,i could never explain  
to myself or others4 ,i simply know that
 ,i always attempt to enthuse myself on 
each occasion with the idea that it is a
 special opportunity to do good1 and ,i 
interest myself in each community and   
apply the general principles with local 
illustrations4  ,the hand which now     
holds this pen must in the natural      
course of events soon cease to gesture  
on the platform1 and it is a sincere1   
prayerful hope that this book will go on
 into the years doing increasing good   
for the aid of my brothers and sisters  
in the human family4      ,,russell ,h4 
,,conwell4      ,south ,worthington1    

,mass41     ,september #a1 #aiac4       
,,the ,,end