Chapter 95: The Book Fund and Pastors' Aid
Chapter 95.
The Book Fund And Pastors' Aid
How the Book Fund originated—Conference of 1876—Illness—Still urged to visit America—Friends at the Orphanage—Domestic Servants—Party at Helensburgh House—A Clergyman and Disestablishment—Advice to Students—At Minster Lovell—In Scotland—Ned Wright—At Portsmouth—The Daily News on Spurgeon.
The establishment of the Book Fund and Pastors' Aid belongs to the period at which we have now arrived. On a certain day I received a note from the pastor, in which he said that Mrs. Spurgeon wished me to do a little service. Some time before, when "Lectures to My Students "appeared, the author asked his wife how she liked the book, and when she replied by expressing a wish that every minister in the land could have a copy, the author further asked, "What will you give? "That was an appeal not to be resisted, and when it had been well thought over, Mrs. Spurgeon determined to surrender a number of crown-pieces which she had shown a fancy to collect. A hundred copies were distributed; but to make a beginning in such a work was to do far more than was at first suspected. When one hundred poor preachers had been supplied with the Lectures there was another hundred who were quite as anxious to possess the book, and behind them there were hundreds and thousands of others in a like position. In a word, one thing led to another, until the Book Fund was really founded in a most providential manner. There were further distributions, and when friends saw what was being done, many sent gifts of money, so that the work might be still further extended. Then there came from certain recipients letters giving accounts, not only of want of books, but of a famine which extended to the bare necessaries of life. Depths of poverty and of suffering were revealed which had been little suspected: preachers who were expected to present a genteel appearance, with stipends amounting to only about the wages of day-labourers, while their wives were wearing themselves out in a kind of domestic slavery. Hence the Pastors' Aid Fund was instituted to supplement books 'with gifts of money, wearing apparel, etc. During some years the Pastors' Aid has distributed about £300 in money annually, while the annual expenditure of the Book Fund has reached to or about £1,200. At the end of 1893 close upon 150,000 volumes had been distributed among all churches and sects, orthodox and heterodox, without any distinction whatsoever. The duty which I was asked to undertake in the year 1876 was to write the first Report of this service. Mrs. Spurgeon had then recently passed through a severe illness, and felt some misgivings in regard to undertaking the work. Since then, however, the founder of the Fund has generally prepared the annual statements. At the Conference at the College during the first week in April Spurgeon appeared pretty well, and spoke with extraordinary power on "The Holy Spirit in connection with the Christian Ministry." The address was believed to have been as solemnly searching as anything he ever delivered. The President seemed to find more and more delight in these annual gatherings year by year; and the Conference was the place both to see and hear him at his best. At the annual meeting in the chapel he was surprisingly affected by the reports from Spain. The Earl of Shaftesbury presided at the annual supper to subscribers, and a sum of £1,870 was collected. On the last day of the Conference Mr. Spurgeon preached from Psa 81:10 : "I am the Lord thy God," etc. Not long after these happy meetings he was laid aside by illness, and thus, as it seemed to many, the excitement had proved too much for him. He was not able to attend the annual meeting of the colporteurs in the middle of May; but at the annual gathering of the Orphanage, on his forty-second birthday, in June, he spoke with his usual spirit and power. The meeting assembled on the lawn; and in the waggon were three generations of Spurgeons.
Some time before this a sermon was preached at the Tabernacle by a leading divine; and the editor of a certain journal of extreme views—both editor and paper are now dead—thought he saw something so exceedingly indecorous in this arrangement that he published a series of articles calling the managers of the Tabernacle church to account, and demanding an apology or explanation from the pastor himself. Why? might be asked. Because Mr. ------ was supposed to be not quite sound in some of the fundamentals—he accepted the annihilation theory. Had Mr. Spurgeon replied, as was expected, there might have been a second Rivulet controversy; but he assured me that he intended to take no notice, and hoped the newspapers would do the same. This hope was realised. In the spring of this year the preacher again received a very pressing invitation to visit the United States; but his reply to the Boston Lecture Bureau was similar to what it had been before: "I am placed where I am by highest orders, and dare not leave. When permitted a furlough I must seek rest, not fresh work. I thank you for your courteous invitation, but I am unable to accept it." Notwithstanding, The Boston Transcript circulated the report that Spurgeon was really coming, which, however, The Freeman of July 14 contradicted on authority. Mr. Spurgeon himself referred to the subject in a letter to The Watchman and Reflector: "Here I am and here I must be till I go to another and yet more glorious land than yours. I am still weak, but free from my complaint. All goes on gloriously with the Tabernacle and its works; 'for the Lord is our helper.'"
It was still some time before this matter was set at rest. The managers of a leading agency sent the news paragraph announcing Spurgeon's coming visit to America with this note:—
"Boston, Mass., June 22, 1876.
"Dear Sir,—Is the above paragraph true? We have tried so long and so hard for many years to secure you that we thought it impossible, and long since gave up all hope. We are the exclusive agents of all the leading lecturers in America. We will give you one thousand dollars in gold for every lecture you deliver in America, and pay all your expenses to and from your home, and place you under the most popular auspices in the country. Will you come?—Yours truly, "The Redpath Lyceum Bureau.
"To the Rev. C. H. Spurgeon, London, England." To the above this reply was sent:—
"Clapham, London, England, July 6.
"Gentlemen,—I cannot imagine how such a paragraph should appear in your papers except by deliberate invention of a hard-up editor, for I have never had any idea of leaving home for America for some time to come. I am not a lecturer, nor would I receive money for preaching.—Yours truly, "C. H. Spurgeon." The anniversary of the Orphanage took place on June 20, Sir Henry Havelock, Bart., presiding. Mr. Spurgeon spoke of the fat and healthy appearance of the boys. During the past year they had spent less and received more, and were in a better position than in any previous year. The Orphanage was full; they had hundreds of applications, and had selected as many as they should be likely to take for the next twelve months; and they could not take more than the place would hold. He had thought of a girls' orphanage, bat did not know when that would come. In attending a meeting of the Female Servants' Home Society about this time he gave forth some sentiments which were misunderstood. Indeed, one leading journal said that if such views were carried out "the world of domestic service would rise in justifiable rebellion." What he did say was that happiness did not come from the union of a Christian woman and a man who was otherwise, and that such marriages were a constant source of trouble at the Tabernacle. He went on to say that there were many things that affected the character of servants and the happiness of households. Some were too quick-tempered—and so were many people besides servants; others were negligent; some too gossipy; and many were too fond of reading stupid novels—and so were many of their mistresses. Some of these novels he would not like to carry with a pair of tongs to the fire, and yet, from the reviews which he saw in the newspapers, he supposed they had a large circulation. No wonder, then, that the Divorce Court was pretty well occupied. For his part, he could not benefit by reading fiction, and the large majority of such works only gave one stilted notions of things which "are not as they seem." On July 11 a company which had been brought together by special invitation assembled on the lawn at Helensburgh House to hear an address from Dr. Landels on the fund which was being collected to provide annuities for poor ministers. The collection amounted to £2,400. I believe it was on this occasion that a friend gave Mr. Spurgeon £100 to be divided among a dozen poor ministers who needed a holiday. Such a gift pleased him almost as much as the sixpence he once received from a woman in a workhouse on behalf of the Stockwell Orphanage. On the 1st of August the President took the chair at the annual dinner of the College in the grounds of Sir Charles Forbes, at Clapham. He appeared to be in excellent health and spirits as he turned to one and another. A cluster of friends gathered around him and spoke about his sermons, and the use they were made of by the High Church clergy. It appeared that they were preached all over the country by these gentlemen, and were, of course, very generally approved by the congregations.
It was always interesting on such an occasion to take notice of the "freshmen," or new students. There were now twenty of these, and the President cautioned them that this was not to be taken as a specimen of their work in general, but rather as a trial of their industry. The freshmen had their usual good word, though some of them may probably have been a little startled at the intimation that the tutors always reckoned to "kill off" a few of their new hands—that is to say, some broke down, or were otherwise discouraged, and returned to their work and homes. Any man had to get through an immense amount of work if he wished to succeed, and at the same time he had to be, as it were, of the very salt of the earth.
While he would thus set before the students the harder phases of the service to be undertaken, he still never failed to give that word of encouragement which the rank-and-file had a right to look for from their leader. Hence to-day he spoke with admiration of the hard underground service which some of their number were doing, adding that the honour might possibly be reaped by some who came after them. He then declared that he would rather be a preacher of the Gospel than the angel Gabriel; and he would rather have a pastorate at Slowcombe-in-the-Marsh than not preach at all. This was the afternoon that Sir Charles Forbes showed Mr. Spurgeon some of the most interesting rooms of his historical residence. In one of these Wilberforce had presided at the first anti-slavery meeting, while in another the late Bishop Samuel Wilberforce was born.
It was about this time that Spurgeon preached for Mr. Newman Hall at Christ Church, Lambeth, what was, I believe, the last sermon of the opening series. At the students' dinner on the first of the month he referred to this engagement, speaking of it to a number of friends. I understood him to say that he had written to Mr. Hall in a pleasant strain on his "sacerdotal tendencies," and this note brought a more lengthy reply by way of justification. In a word, "Christ Church" was not liked by some so well as "Surrey Chapel," and they thought that the old name should have been retained.
He preached on the first Sunday in August, and then started off to Scotland on a visit to Mr. James Duncan, of Benmore, whose residence, being at the head of Holy Loch, allowed of some good yachting being enjoyed. On Sunday, the 20th of the month, he preached to over 3,000 people, the congregation being picturesquely accommodated on a hill-side overlooking the Firth of Clyde. It was noticed that his matchless voice carried his words to a great distance. On August 21 he arrived at Greenock on his way home, having come across from Kilmun in the steamer Benmore, accompanied by his sons and his host, Mr. Duncan.
Just before he returned from this tour, Mr. Spurgeon lost by death his old friend, Dr. Robert Halley, of New College, and the historian of Lancashire Nonconformity. Another afflictive dispensation was the somewhat sudden death of Mrs. A. G. Brown, on account of which Mr. Brown's evangelistic work in connection with the London Baptist Association was interrupted. A resolution of regret and sympathy was passed at the meeting of the Association held on September 25, when Mr. Spurgeon gave an address on the conditions of successful preaching.
Soon afterwards he took part in the proceedings in connection with the stone-laying of a large hall in George Street, Camberwell, for the congregation of Ned Wright, making some telling remarks on getting the people into churches and chapels to hear the Gospel:—
"I am always hearing it said the great problem is to get the working classes to listen to the Gospel. I do not believe that to be the problem at all, and I deny altogether that the working classes of London attend less at the house of God than any other classes in London. In proportion to their numbers they attend as well as any other class—at least, that is my experience. People come to the Tabernacle, and when they see the congregation coming out they say no working classes go there, because they would not be so well dressed. But why should not a working-man wear as good a suit of clothes as he can possibly get? Do you expect that on Sunday he would wear the same clothes in which during the week he is bricklaying or carpentering, in which he is up to his neck in dust, or in which he goes down a sewer? One of the first things I notice about a man when he turns from his evil ways is that he gets a decent suit of clothes, and if he ever had such a thing before, I am afraid he was in the habit of leaving them rather long at his uncle's. I don't believe anyone in Europe could tell the difference between a working-man in his best clothes and any other swell. I suppose two-thirds of my congregation at the Tabernacle are working-men, and wherever you have a vigorous living church you will find that the bulk of it is made up of the very men whom it is said to be the problem to get to go to the house of God. There is a problem I should like to see solved, and that is, how to get the people of the West-end into church, because, although there are many places in connection with the Church of England in which the Gospel is truly preached, I must say I do not call it going to the house of God when a man goes to witness processions and pomps and shows." In the fall of 1876 I was with Spurgeon at Portsmouth. Immense posters in the streets had announced his coming, the result being that there was great eagerness to secure tickets for the service in Lake Road Chapel, Landport, where "the first student" was then pastor. The spacious sanctuary which had been erected for the present pastor of Regent's Park Chapel, Mr. E. G. Gange, was on this occasion densely crowded with representatives of all sections of the population. For the time being the gentry of Southsea were mixed up with the tradespeople of Portsea and Portsmouth town and the workpeople and Government officials of the Dockyard.
Mr. Spurgeon preached in the afternoon from a text I had heard him enlarge upon before on special occasions similar to the one now referred to—"If thou seek him, he will be found of thee" (1Ch 28:9). The evening service was, if possible, still more densely crowded, and there was a larger proportion of men. At the conclusion the preacher expressed the pleasure it afforded him to visit Portsmouth, and thanked those who gave money to support the 240 boys who were then in the Orphanage as well as the 116 men who were being trained in the College. It will be observed that there were many more students in 1876 than at present, when the total may probably not exceed more than about two-thirds of the number then in training.
Spurgeon attended the meetings of the Baptist Union at Birmingham in October, Dr. Landels being President. On Thursday, the 5th of the month, he preached in Graham Street Chapel on 1Sa 17:47—"The battle is the Lord's." This service was announced to commence at seven o'clock, but at half-past five the eager throng besieging the entrance was so great that the doors had to be opened, and it was only with difficulty that those with delegates' tickets could gain admittance. The sermon is given entire in the reports of the proceedings. The second free night at the Tabernacle came off on Sunday, Oct. 22, the regular congregation staying away to allow of "strangers" taking their places. A daily paper thus describes the scene:—
"The doors of the Tabernacle are usually thrown open at six o'clock, but last night a crowd began to assemble at half-past five, and by ten minutes to six it had grown so dense that in order to prevent it overflowing beyond the railings, and so interfering with the street traffic, the doors were straightway opened. In little more than a quarter of an hour every seat appeared to be occupied, and by a quarter-past six the aisles were thronged, and, to the inexperienced observer, the problem of what was to be done with the stream that still poured in through a dozen open doors seemed insoluble. But the deacons and pew-openers at the Tabernacle have by constant practice obtained a remarkable degree of perfection in packing a crowd. They found odd seats here and there in the long rows of pews; they filled the benches running all round the walls; they got a few more on the platform beneath the preacher's desk; and, all this done, flaps were let down from either side of the benches opening in the various aisles, and hereon alone were disposed a number of people who, in one of the old churches now disappearing from the City, would comprise a startlingly large Sunday congregation. All classes were represented, from the lady in silk to the wearer of carefully-preserved print-calico, and from the man in broadcloth and fine linen to the costermonger ineffectually disguised in a frock-coat. At half-past six precisely Mr. Spurgeon appeared, making his way through the crowd that blocked the approaches to the platform level with the lower gallery from which he preaches. At this moment the interior presented a spectacle such as it would be difficult to match amongst Sunday-evening gatherings. The Tabernacle was built to seat 6,000 persons. Last night the numbers present were nearer 7,000, for up and down, from ground floor to the spacious galleries, there was not a square yard of available room unoccupied. This was at half-past six, and for nearly half an hour later a constant stream of people arrived at the gates, taking a desperate chance of finding admission. In the hope of catching some of these a prayer-meeting was held in the lecture-hall, which speedily became full to its utmost capacity." At the beginning of November the pastor of the Tabernacle was laid aside by an attack of his old complaint, and his place had to be taken by others. On the first Sunday of the month an unusual scene had been anticipated. The announcement was made that "it was the intention of the Lord Mayor, Alderman Cotton, to attend the morning service in state, and preparations were accordingly being made for his reception, when an intimation was received on Saturday afternoon from the Mansion House that his lordship was unable to be present through unforeseen circumstances."
Though his illness was severe the pain went off, and though he was unable to preach for Mr. George Hatton in St. Giles's, he managed to visit the northern suburbs towards the end of November, preaching at Tottenham and twice at Enfield. On December 12 he preached at the Nottingham Tabernacle, and on the 15th he and the College students visited Regent's Park College. Mr. Spurgeon gave an address on "Culture," while Dr. Angus's theme was "Go." His sentiments on the Eastern Question, which was now attracting much attention, were well expressed in a letter to Mr. J. C. Thomson, of Kensington:—
"Dear Sir,—I view the Eastern matter as a question between a bitterly oppressed people and a barbarous despotism which overrides them. I perceive that Turkish rule means oppression, fraud, cruelty, and the crushing down of every principle of liberty, and therefore I long to see the power of the Turks broken to pieces. War by us on behalf of the Turk cannot, I hope, be ventured upon; but Lord Beaconsfield's speech at the Mansion House was a boastful provocation of Russia, and proved that the man who could speak in such a fashion is not fit to be trusted with the destinies of our nation at such a time as this. I trust that the whole question can be reasonably settled, without going to war, by such an arrangement as shall secure a measure of liberty to the non-Mohammedan populations. If it cannot be so settled, I must needs consider that the bragging speech I allude to has been the chief means of creating that impossibility. The national interests will always be best conserved by our doing that which is just and right, and it can never be just or right for us to support a despotism which could tolerate and even reward atrocities which no man can even think of without just indignation. My politics are simply these: England is the friend of liberty and right, at all hazards.—Yours truly, "C. H. Spurgeon.
"Nightingale Lane, Clapham, Dec. 4" The year 1876 finished pleasantly. On Christmas Eve the post brought me a note in Mr. Spurgeon's familiar writing, giving an invitation to the Orphanage. On that occasion the President appeared to be in good health and spirits, and the speeches at table were of the usual cheerful and stimulating kind. In the play-room after dinner the children scrambled for halfpence with great liveliness, Mr. Spurgeon himself stimulating the uproarious merriment by the showers of coppers he threw amongst the youngsters. The usual presents to the staff were given in the afternoon, and in each instance this was supplemented by the addition of a sovereign from the President himself. In regard to this he once remarked to me that those who served at the Orphanage did not receive very high wages.
He was now worn and thoroughly tired, and in need of rest and change. On the 2nd of January he attended the annual meeting of the College, and gave an address on "Strange Scenes," one of which was an adventure of his own. He was asked to attend a Welsh meeting, and after reading a chapter was begged to preach, which he did, and such was the enthusiasm created that he had to keep on preaching again and again until midnight, as the people would not leave. Some eighty conversions resulted, and as a singular instance of God's providence, he noticed that many of these converts the very next week lost their lives in the Risca Colliery explosion. A week later he was with the Wesleyans at the Centenary Hall, Bishopsgate Street, when a large number of City men and others assembled to hear an address on the "Deliverance of the Church from Error and Corruption, and its Increase in Faith and Activity." At the annual meeting of the London Baptist Association, held in the Tabernacle, he also gave an address, on the "Importance of the Churches undertaking more Evangelistic Work." He showed that it was a kind of Protestant-Romanism to leave so much to be done by ministers: all should work for the spread of the Gospel.