PRE-19-Chapter Nineteen

Chapter Nineteen

Poem—What the “Christian” and “Standard” Said—Challen’s Last Song—Farewell. The loving and tender words found in the preceding chapters seem doubly so when it is taken into account that some of the speakers and writers were of different religious denominations, but who, by intercourse with Brother Shaw, had learned to know and love him. His own brethren, all over the land, paid fitting tributes to his memory. Of these we can only give a few. With the sad news of his death there came a request that the author should embody his own sentiments and those of others in verse. This was done briefly as follows: IN MEMORY OF KNOWLES SHAW.

Gone in his prime-too soon, alas! too soon
For us the sudden, startling summons came,
Which called our brother from our sight away,
Swift as the prophet in his car of flame. A precious gift of God he was to us;
To have him with us long we all were fain;
So dear he made himself to all our hearts,
We feel it hard to give him back again.

Sweet as the songs of Judah’s shepherd king
To Israel, his songs to us shall be;
Sweeter, now that the singer sweet has gone,
And deeper graven on our memory. A reaper in God’s harvest, many sheaves
By his strong hand were safely gathered in;
And his shall be the bright reward of those
Who to God’s service precious souls shall win. A red cross knight, without reproach and fear,
Fresh from a battle nobly fought and won;
Seeking another field he bravely fell,
Just as he wished, with all his armor on. His soul is now with Christ in paradise;
Why, then, should we, who loved him so, be sad,
When his freed spirit from its happy home
Looks down in love upon us, and is glad?

All the papers of the brotherhood of which Brother Shaw was a member, made fitting mention of his life and labors. We have only room for the two following—the first from the Christian:

“BROTHER SHAW IS DEAD.

“We know this announcement will carry sorrow to thousands of hearts as it has already to our own. The city papers of last Saturday contained a dispatch from Galveston, Texas, announcing a railroad accident one mile south of McKinney, on the Texas Central, in which thirteen persons were dangerously wounded and Brother Shaw killed. The accident was caused by a broken rail and rotten ties. The coach in which Brother Shaw was riding was precipitated down an embankment, forty feet, turning over three times, and stopping in two feet depth of water. Brother Shaw was under the car, and had to be cut out. A hole had been cut in his head, and he was dead when rescued from the car. To-day (Monday) we are in receipt of the following card, which not only confirms the sad news of Brother Shaw’s death, but gives Brother Baxter’s name as one of the wounded:

“‘MCKINNEY, TEXAS, June 7, 1878.

“‘Editors Christian:—Our beloved Brother Knowles Shaw is dead. He was killed in a railroad accident near this place this morning. He was coming to hold us a meeting. Had just closed a grand meeting at Dallas, with one hundred and twelve additions. Brother Baxter is badly hurt, but, we hope, not dangerously.

“‘Your sister,  ELLA M. PRICE.’

“Thus the sweet singer, the tender and tearful pleader with sinners, the great evangelist, the untiring and unceasing worker for Christ, has been cut off suddenly, in the prime of his life and in the midst of his usefulness. Over eleven thousand souls have been won to Christ by the gospel as sung and preached by him. Few men among us, if any, have so large a circle of personal acquaintances as Brother Shaw had. He has held meetings in many States of the Union, and in most of our principal cities. Thousands have thus learned to love him for his works’ sake, and will mourn to learn of his violent death. Our own heart is too sad to say much now. At another time we hope to give our readers a suitable notice of the life and labors of this remarkable man of God.

“Brother Shaw could not be regarded as a man of extraordinary intellectual grasp, or great logical power. He could make a plain argument, and was not without the power of correct reasoning; but his greatness did not consist in these things. His heart-power, and exhaustless enthusiasm, that seemed to flow like a perennial fountain; his accurate knowledge of, and deep sympathy with, humanity in its humblest conditions—these were his resources of power. The vilest sinner that ever came tremblingly forward to confess Christ, under his appeals, was met with the same glad welcome that he extended to those in the highest social position. To save sinners was, with him, a controlling passion. For this he lived and labored, and in pursuance of this grand work he died.

“Few men have such power to reach the hearts of people as that possessed by our lamented evangelist. We have often seen whole congregations in tears, including hardened sinners, as he narrated, in his own inimitable way, some touching incident, usually connected with his own experience in the labor of the gospel. We have never heard a man so gifted in the power of exhorting his brethren and sisters to be faithful in their Christian duties. His day-talks to the members exceeded anything we have ever heard from any other man, taking them through a whole meeting.

“We have often longed for his exhaustless flow of enthusiasm and hopefulness. Nothing damped his ardor. He began a meeting with the expectation that it was to be a glorious revival, and worked under the stimulus of that confident hope, without flagging in his zeal or good cheer. Gloomy weather, small audiences, and other kindred circumstances that cool the ardor of most men, had no such effect on him. He talked as well to a dozen hearers that had come out through a storm to hear him as to a crowded house. There were the same beaming face, tuneful voice and tearful eyes, pleading with sinners to be reconciled to God, and brethren to cling closer to Christ.

“There are those who could not approve all his methods of work, and certainly some of them, if used by anybody else, would seem entirely out of place; but he was himself, and had his own way of working, and God blessed his work; and, while we may criticize his methods, few of us can be as efficient as he was in winning souls to Christ.

“It is especially comforting to know, in this sad hour, that while his eccentricities and idiosyncrasies have sometimes been criticized, his fair fame is unstained by even the breath of suspicion. His character as a Christian, in all his labors as a preacher of the gospel and as the author of several popular musical works, is, so far as we know, without reproach.

“May God bless his bereaved family, whose hearts are crushed by this sad calamity, and the thousands of his converts who will be grieved by the news of his death. He has died like a soldier, on the field of duty, with his armor on. His spirit, like that of the lamented Bliss, took its departure from earth amid the terrible crash of a railroad disaster; thus emphasizing the lesson he has so often taught about the importance of being always ready. When we shall all of us, ‘Gather round the great white throne,’ among the voices of the innumerable choir that shall ‘ Sing God’s praise through endless days,’ we shall doubtless hear the swelling tones of our beloved evangelist, ascribing praise and honor and dominion to that Savior whom he loved so well and served so faithfully.

“We pray for Brother Baxter’s speedy recovery, lest we have sorrow upon sorrow.

“We are indeed grateful to God that Brother Baxter was spared to his family and to the Church of God. And we are grateful, that, since Brother Shaw has been taken from us, he leaves so bright an example of earnest and heroic devotion to the Master. Fitting words are these with which to close such a life: ‘Oh! it is a grand thing to rally people to the Cross of Christ!’ May his brethren in the ministry catch the inspiration of these, his last words, and lift higher the banner of the cross, so that in his death, as well as in his life, he shall have given a renewed impetus to the cause he loved so well.” The Christian Standard, after giving the sad intelligence of his death, says:

“It thus appears that suddenly, without a moment’s warning, this earnest, ever-busy servant of God was called home. In death, as in life, there was dispatch. We judge that, if he had been consulted about the time and manner of his death, he would have said: ‘Let it be when the Lord will, and let it be without long waiting, or lingering disease.’ As one of our sweetest sacred poets has expressed it—

“‘O that without a lingering groan
I may the welcome call receive;
My body with my charge lay down,
And cease at once to work and live.’

“We made the acquaintance of Brother Shaw some eighteen years ago, when we accompanied Alexander Campbell on a preaching tour through Indiana. It was at Rushville. He was just beginning to feel his strength as a preacher. He was clear-headed, but with a tinge of enthusiasm in his work, and a ceaseless restlessness of manner, which foreshadowed the untiring energy with which he prosecuted his labors until his dying moment. In all seasons, in all places, under all circumstances, he was the same hopeful, earnest, indefatigable worker, whether in the pulpit or out of it. With ability to preach the gospel clearly, pointedly, fearlessly, he mingled some eccentricities of style, manner and action, which excited curiosity, and sometimes subjected him to sharp criticism. But his manner was his own, and befitted him alone. Of his purity of life and singleness of purpose none that knew him entertained a doubt. His dear love of music, and his genius for poetical and musical composition, he made tributary to his one great passion—the salvation of souls. His success as a preacher was greater than that of most preachers—nor was he lacking in the qualities essential to a teacher. For incisive, pungent, fearless application of scripture doctrine he had few equals. His sudden departure, in the prime of life, at a time when he was achieving great success, cannot but be mourned by myriads as a great loss to the church and to humanity. To his family, this sudden bereavement will be a crushing calamity. May the God of all consolation comfort their hearts in this season of bitter anguish. Let the living be animated and strengthened to greater zeal and devotion by the bright example of this remarkable man, and let us all be ready for the summons from the Master, for in such an hour as we think not, the Son of Man cometh.” As a fitting close of these notices, we can think of nothing better than the following spirited song, which was written by the venerable Elder James Challen, of precious memory, in his seventy-seventh year. It was the last production of his pen:

“KNOWLES SHAW—THE DEAD EVANGELIST.

“His last words before he was killed on a wrecked train of a railroad in Texas, June 7^th, 1878, were, “Tis a grand thing to rally the people to the Cross of Christ.’

“‘Twas the battle-cry of one who was coming from the field,
Who in courage never faltered, and to fear would never yield,
With his armor bright and perfect, and with ready sword in hand,
As he bore the cross of Jesus in triumph through the land.
Chorus.

“‘Tis a grand thing to rally the people to the cross,’
And for the name of Jesus to count all things but loss:
To lift on high his banner, who died our souls to save,
And faithful in his service, to be earnest, strong and brave.
Rally, rally, rally to the cross,
To the cross of Him who died a ruined world to save.

“In the vigor of his youth, and with talents rich and rare,
With a faith that never faltered, and a soul to do and dare,
He gave his life to Jesus—Him who died for me and you—
And was faithful to his Leader, and to his conscience true.
Chorus.

“‘He preached the cross of Jesus to sinners night and day,
And drew them to the Savior, the true and living way;
At home, in large assemblies, he taught both young and old,
And urged his fellow soldiers the ancient Fort to hold.
Chorus.

“‘He sung the songs of Zion, with heart and lips afire;
With consecrated soul and voice he struck the trembling lyre;
With words of invitation, he melted, conquered, won;
Till his work of faith was finished, and his earthly race was run.”
Chorus.

Numerous as are the extracts given, they form only a small part of what was said and written concerning him. From these, however, we cannot fail to gather the impression that was made in every community where he was known, by his life and labors. His whole life was one of great activity. He would not have died unknown, even if he had directed his energies into some other channel. His religious life was one of entire consecration; he gave himself, with all his powers, to the Master’s service. He entered upon that life with a noble purpose, pursued it with untiring effort, was eminently successful in winning souls—his converts numbering eleven thousand four hundred—nearly six hundred for every year of his ministry—and fitly ended his earnest, useful career, with the memorable words, which for years to come shall arouse a kindred spirit in others, “Oh! it is a grand thing to rally the people to the Cross of Christ.” Then, till the dawning of the endless brighter day,

Farewell, dear brother, while our falling tears
But feebly tell how much we mourn thy loss,
May thy example lead us all, like thee,
To rally sinners to the Savior’s cross.