Chapter 98: Three Memorable Excursions

Chapter 98.
Three Memorable Excursions At Leeds—Festival at Reading—Excursion to Silchester, etc.—Visit to Bristol—Presents his Books to the College at Bristol—Breakdown—"Sermons in Candles"—On the Continent—Letters—Return to the Tabernacle—Conference—Australia—Baptist Union—Orphanage Festival.

Towards the end of August, 1877, Mr. Spurgeon preached in honour of the centenary of the chapel at Farsley, near Leeds. On Saturday, the 25th of the month, he wrote to me: "On Wednesday we all, orphans and teachers, go down to Reading. Will you go with us?... I want you also to go with me to Silchester to write for The S. and T. an account of that ancient British city." In a postscript it was added: "Suppose we go on Tuesday, the 4th of September, to Silchester, Basingstoke, and Strathfieldsaye?"

Though the weather had been tempestuous for August, the day at Reading was fine, the place of entertainment being Whitley Park Farm, lent for the occasion. Mr. Anderson, who was then pastor in the town, met us at the station, with a number of friends. Mr. Spurgeon arrived somewhat later than the main party; and he was greeted by a large number, some of whom brought money for the Orphanage. One poor woman gave him a shilling, while a countryman presented a rose "picked on purpose" in the morning. On this occasion he disclaimed being the founder of the institution, and gave that honour to Mrs. Hillyard, who was then suffering from illness. A great crowd assembled to see the children return to the station. In regard to the excursion to Silchester, he wrote to me: "We may perhaps stop at Basingstoke on Tuesday night and see Old Basing. Look it up if you have time. We will also go to Strathfieldsaye. This all depends upon whether the weather is fine or no." On Friday, August 31, he wrote again: "Will you come to Tabernacle on Monday evening? Come home here and take a bed, and then we can start in the morning to Silchester. 'Half-Hours of English History' has a chapter on Silchester." On the 3rd of September I attended the prayer-meeting at the Tabernacle, and returned with him to Helensburgh House. The night was wet and blustering, and as he already had a cold the outlook for the morning following, on which we were to start, was anything but promising. We did not reach Nightingale Lane until nearly eleven; and that was but a sample of other nights, so many were the people who gathered around the vestry door, seeking the opportunity of an interview. We supped together in the study, and after making a hearty meal he worked until one o'clock, revising a sermon for the press, and was again abroad soon after six a.m. After such a night the morning was raw, and, still suffering from his cold, almost the first words he said on seeing me were that he could not go. He seemed so thoroughly decided on the question that I supposed our pleasure trip was finally abandoned; but just as I was about to take my departure there came symptoms of a decided change. The carriage was hastily ordered and we were presently on the road, our companions being Mr. May and Mr. Charles Spurgeon. At Basingstoke we were met at the station by a carriage and pair, for which Mr. May had thoughtfully telegraphed, and we drove first of all to the old Roman city of Silchester, in the excavations and uncovered portions of which Mr. Spurgeon manifested the deepest interest. We all came away from this interesting spot feeling that it was indeed the British Pompeii. If not, as in the case of the Italian city, overwhelmed by the flood of ashes from the burning mountains, it was ruined and probably burned by a wave of barbarous soldiery.

We put up at the inn at Strathfieldsaye. After dinner Spurgeon told us many stories of his early days. He mentioned Dunmow in Essex as the town where he first received money for preaching. He preached three sermons on the Sabbath. His expenses were eight shillings and ninepence, and they gave him ten shillings.

He retired early, and on the following morning we visited Strathfieldsaye, the Duke of Wellington's seat, hard by, which we also found to be full of objects of interest—relics of the "Iron Duke." We then visited the ruins of Basing House, just outside the town of Basingstoke, a scene which recalled very vividly the stirring days of the great Protector. I could not help especially prizing the opportunity of accompanying Spurgeon round the ruins of Basing House. Only the day before, September 3, had been the anniversary of Cromwell's death, but still his great day—"The day of Dunbar field and Worcester's laureate wreath." The site of Basing House seemed to have many things associated with it belonging to the heroic age. At all events, my companion looked upon the spot with extraordinary interest. He seemed to be picturing in his mind what the place was like when it defied the Parliamentary army; and then he quoted Carlyle's words concerning Cromwell's successful assault, "Storming like a fire-flood!" He probably enjoyed these excursions all the more because he was able to move about unknown. On September 25 a special meeting of the London Baptist Association was held at the Tabernacle; and in an address on the evangelisation of London Mr. Spurgeon was able to say that his men had built about forty chapels in the Metropolis. At the Butchers' Festival, held at the Tabernacle early in October, he gave the company some reminiscences of early days at Waterbeach. He told how he had commenced his ministry at sixteen on a stipend of £45 a year, and not "all found." "I had to find myself a good suit of black, go about like a gentleman, with nothing in my pocket; yet I never wanted, for I was God's servant. The other day I was down in that village where I preached, and I was told that the biggest 'screw' who ever lived had recently died. This man came down from upstairs to die, in order that no one should earn sixpence by removing him. He directed that he should be buried in his own garden to save expense, and he was never known to give anything away in his life." As already shown, that man once gave the boy-preacher ten shillings for a hat, however. This was one of the anecdotes which Mr. Spurgeon often told either in public or in private, but the story was hardly complete until the man actually died. On the last day of October he preached in the afternoon at West Croydon Chapel, where the present Dr. James A. Spurgeon had been pastor for six years. At the evening public meeting some sarcastic references were made to the fact that the pastor's goods had been taken under an execution levied for tithes by the Vicar of Croydon. Referring to the clergy who had attended the recent Church Congress, he went on to say that there were a great many gentlemen, many of whom had lately adorned the streets of Croydon, who had manifested a general fear—which kept them quiet and well-behaved the one to the other at their Conference—that if they quarrelled and disruption ensued, they would have to resort to the horrible voluntary principle, and trust to the free-will offerings of the people. He was sure they laboured under that dread. Nonconformists, however, did not find much difficulty as to the cost of washing their surplices. His own expenses in that direction had never been very great; they could usually afford to appear in clean linen, respectable and decent. The Church of England, too, had managed to exist without its church rates—nay, from the moment of the abolition she had seemed to receive new spiritual life; and if they lived long enough to see her other false props knocked away he would prognosticate for her what had taken place in the Irish Church—she would become more vigorous and powerful than she had ever been; all that was good and had life and force in it would still maintain itself without dependence upon the State.

After this I did not see him for some weeks, until I called at Clapham on one of the Saturday afternoons of November. He had complained in The Sword and the Trowel of having been misrepresented in newspaper reports of his speeches, and as I had only just before given a sketch of his visit to a Quaker mission hall at the back of St. Luke's Hospital, I had supposed myself to be a possible offender. He not only sent me a very genial letter saying this was not the case, but when I entered his study he at once referred to the subject, remarking that when he had anything against me he would tell me to my face and not write about it in the magazine. On Tuesday, December 4, I went with him to Bristol, having first been present at the opening of a bazaar at Westbourne Park Chapel—the beautiful building then recently erected by the present Dr. Clifford and his people. The speech delivered on this occasion, so far as it referred to the decadence of the Old Connexion of General Baptists and to the spread of negative theology among the Independents, was in the main identical with one he delivered on the following morning at Bristol. It was arranged that he should take luncheon with a family who resided near at hand, and the lady with her carriage and servants waited to convey him away; but as he had to be at Paddington Station before 1.50, it was soon seen that the engagement could not be kept. How many people were similarly disappointed in the course of a year it would be unsafe to surmise; but the disappointment chiefly arose from the extreme anxiety of people to entertain Mr. Spurgeon without any calculations being made as to the possibility of his accepting their kindness, which, however, he never failed to appreciate. The lady referred to drove us to Paddington Station, and, in company with Mr. Abraham and another gentleman, we were soon on the road to the metropolis of the West. One of the things first referred to was Mrs. Spurgeon and the Book Fund. On that morning Mrs. Spurgeon had been extremely agitated in consequence of the conduct of one or two Primitive Methodist ministers. An intimation having been given that for the time being no further donations of books would be made to this particular denomination, one or two individual ministers with something of the nettle in their constitution professed to be highly chagrined; one sent a Post-Office order for what he had received, another returned the books. The mental disquiet which this conduct occasioned the invalid was indescribable, and Mr. Spurgeon even said that she was worse than he had ever yet seen her.

He was very animated and cheerful during the journey, talking for our entertainment; and at one time he read a lengthy passage from the second series of "Lectures to My Students." He also spoke about the excursions he had enjoyed on the Thames, and of his adventures in Scotland in company with a friend. One memorable scene on the English river he depicted as having been the happiest moment of his life. They one day happened to descry a number of children on the shore, in charge of a lady, and, to please them, all were taken on board, when their delight was quite inexpressible. They crowded the yacht, went about peeping curiously at all its arrangements, Mr. Spurgeon, sitting on deck, being a no less delighted onlooker. When they were landed these little folks soon spread the news far and wide of the treat they had received at the hands of Mr. Spurgeon, and, of course, brought down their elders to the water's edge. One of these excursions was marred by a severe fit of illness, aggravated, indeed, by the wet weather. The most common annoyance, however, was from the well-meaning friends who ceaselessly worried him to preach for them. Dozens of pastors, all along the route, would suppose their case to be exceptional. He once, I believe, became so disheartened by this conduct that, like one baffled in the attempt to enjoy a few hours' relaxation, he returned home in despair. On arriving at Bristol we were met by Mr. Gange with a carriage, and on our way to the pastor's house we halted for a few minutes at Broadmead Chapel, which was lighted for inspection. The alterations made were so extensive that old attendants on the ministry of Robert Hall and John Foster would not have recognised the sanctuary; and probably the chapel is now as large again as formerly.

We dined with Mr. Gange in the evening, and the four other Bristol ministers who had been educated in the Pastors' College afterwards joined our circle. Mr. Spurgeon appeared to be quite himself, and was cheerful and brilliant. The conversation turned on the falling away of many among the Dissenters; and one popular minister was mentioned who had lately resigned his pastorate, and whose removal all thought would be a good thing for the cause of religion. Mr. Spurgeon retired about eleven, and it was understood that we were to be at the old College in Stoke's Croft at nine on the following morning.

One part of our evening's entertainment has been omitted. Mr. Spurgeon's luggage included a plain deal case; and when the contents of this were turned out upon the carpet, we saw before us the whole collection of his works, uniformly bound in morocco and gold, and numbering forty-four volumes. These were a present to the College library; they cost £31 3s., and the gift was supplemented with £68 17s., making a total of £100, which he handed over to the institution for the purchase of modern works. The address which he gave to the students lasted for three-quarters of an hour. The young men from the Congregational Institute joined the Baptists; and, though all seemed to be entertained, it was thought by some that they listened as though they did not quite fully appreciate the man who was addressing them, and especially his intense earnestness.

After this two sermons were preached at Colston Hall to a greater crowd than had perhaps ever before congregated in that building. The admission was, of course, by ticket; but the crowd at one time rushed past the police at the entrance and gained admittance. The desire to procure tickets was scarcely comprehensible to those who did not understand the preacher's unique popularity. People came from distant places, and it was even said that £10 had been offered for a seat. Judging from appearances, I should be inclined to the belief that they would have readily sold in Bristol at a guinea each; but this mode of raising money was never countenanced by Mr. Spurgeon. He returned to London on the following day. According to my notes he preached for his friend Dr. Allon at Islington on Monday, the 10th of December. I was more grieved than surprised to learn that he had broken down on the Tuesday, consequent on an attack of his old enemy, rheumatism. He was unable on that day to preach at the opening of the Norwood Association Chapel. The singing at Dr. Allon's new chapel was highly approved by those whose musical ears allowed of their fully appreciating the artistic performance. With Mr. Spurgeon it was quite otherwise. To him the effect was as if a rat was running into a corner of the chapel with the basses after it; then the little animal would run into another corner with all the tenors after it, and so on. It was, I believe, before he began his sermon, and while some of the singing was proceeding, that some such question as "Is not that fine—is it not grand?" was whispered to him. He replied by asking whether his friend had ever been in a Primitive Methodist chapel when the only harmony was bawling discordance which reached its climax in the chorus. Yes; the friend had been in such a purgatory. "And how did you feel?" asked Mr. Spurgeon. "Oh, awful!" "Well," he continued, "I feel like that now."

During the journey to Bristol he remarked that the saying, "No man is a hero to his valet," did not apply to him, because, in point of fact, the exact contrary was true. Just the people who made much of him and treated him with the greatest veneration were those in his own house. On Saturday, the 29th December, I received a message from him that he was much better and would be able to see me. I found him on the sofa in his study, Mr. Blackshaw being busy at the table, as he usually was on Saturday afternoons. Mr. Spurgeon was apparently somewhat shaken by the late attack, but he was still very cheerful and communicative. He confessed that he had been working too hard. "You must not do it again," I remarked; and he replied again by saying, "I can't." I said the change in the weather perhaps affected him (the frost of Christmas was succeeded by a warm thaw); but he said his ailment was all in the brain. He had been preaching and speaking incessantly in the weeks preceding his breakdown. He told me he had arrived at such a state that he thought and preached in his sleep. When he lay down at night he would call aloud on the students to get together in the lecture-hall, and ask them why they were lingering outside; or he would imagine that he was addressing a congregation. All this overwork arose from his desire to do all he could, and from his inability to say No. He was anticipating being at Menton in three weeks. His absence from the Stockwell Orphanage on Christmas Day was sorely felt.

Though in feeble health at the opening of the year 1878, he made brave endeavours to do what was required of him before setting out for France. The morning service at the Tabernacle on Sunday, December 30, proved too much for his strength, however, and he could not preach in the evening. Earnest prayer was offered that the efforts of the Government to mediate between the contending parties in the East might be successful; and in reference to prevailing unbelief, it was remarked in the sermon that some clergymen were not afraid to profess principles which formerly only the most daring atheists had the temerity to avow. On the following Wednesday, January 2, he furbished up his lecture, "Sermons in Candles," and gave it at the annual meeting of the Pastors' College. Though an old subject, it attracted the attention of a leading daily paper as though it had been a new one, a full leading article being devoted to the lecturer and his theme. I give this extract:—

"The lecture lasted two whole hours, and was listened to with earnest attention by the audience. We can well believe it; and, had Mr. Spurgeon's store of strength only served, there is no valid reason why he should not have gone on talking about candles for two whole days. The subject is almost inexhaustible. Life itself is only a candle; and who does not recollect Jeremy Taylor's beautiful similitude on the ease with which the existence of a little babe could be puffed out, but in which the good Bishop of Down, Connor, and Dromore was only unconsciously paraphrasing Shakespeare's 'Out, out, brief candle'? To a Biblical scholar of Mr. Spurgeon's ripeness, again, the close parallel between the prophet of old searching Jerusalem with candles and Diogenes going about with his lantern in quest of an honest man must have been obvious. The charge that was of candlesticks; the olive trees on the right side of the candlesticks; and the awful words which, at Belshazzar's Feast, were 'wrote over against the candlesticks,' might, by easy transition, have brought the lecturer to dwell on the detective bull's-eye of justice and the small, flickering gas-jet which by night lights up the cell of the convict. And then the versatile lecturer might have opened up another branch of his fertile theme, and have told his hearers how King Alfred measured time by candles, and how the mamma of the Saxon king, when he was a naughty boy, used to whip him with candles—not, it is to be hoped, of very hard wax. The superstitious uses to which candles have been put in the Roman Catholic Church would have formed a most interesting subject for a dissertation; and Mr. Spurgeon might have reminded his hearers that condemned criminals making the amende honorable at the church doors were constrained to bear in their hands a wax taper of six pounds weight; that it is only thirty-two years since a woman convicted of the offence of brawling in church stood, by sentence of the Ecclesiastical Court, in a white sheet and with a candle in her hand, coram publico, in a church in Devonshire; and that since then many thousands of pounds sterling have been squandered in law costs on the vexed question whether it be permissible for Ritualistic clergymen to embellish their altars with candles, and whether, if the tapers themselves are admissible, they are to be lighted or not. We are yet some four weeks distant from Candlemas Day, else it might have been expected that Mr. Spurgeon would tell his hearers how the Pope blesses, or used to bless, whole cartloads of candles on the feast of the Purification; how in olden times in England the reserved parts of Candlemas tapers were supposed to possess supernatural virtues; and how 'Candlemas Blaze' was, until recently, a bonfire festival still observed in sequestered parts of Scotland." When he was unwell it was necessary that his holiday party on the Continent should not be too large. Thus, at this time he wrote to his old friend Mr. James Toller of Waterbeach:—

"Nightingale Lane, Balham, Surrey, "January 3, 1878.

"Dear Mr. Toller,—Mr. Abraham writes me that you wish to go to Menton with me, but I have written to propose another arrangement.

"I cannot take you in my party. If I am able to go I shall have my son, Mr. Passmore, and my man George; and this is quite a large enough party for me. I want quiet and rest, and I cannot therefore go about with a lot of people, not even the best friends in the world.

"I would suggest, therefore, that you and Mr. Abraham should make the trip together, and I shall be glad to see you there. You are quite able to get on without me, and you could travel a bit and go and see something of Rome, Naples, etc. As for me, I am altogether an invalid and seem to make no progress. Whether I shall be able to leave home or not is quite doubtful.

"Please don't be vexed; but I really cannot have any more in my company on any terms whatever.—Yours ever heartily, "C. H. Spurgeon."

At the annual church meeting on January 9, it appeared that the number of names on the church roll was 5,040, and that the net increase for the year was 100. The money given to the poor of the church annually amounted to £1,000, including the allowance made to the aged women in the almshouses. The raising of £5,000 to endow the almshouses was now seen to be a necessity.

Spurgeon was disappointed this year in not being able to attend the annual meeting of the London Baptist Association on January 15. On Sunday, the 13th, he preached in the morning with some difficulty; and in the evening he asked the people to sing a hymn in the middle of the sermon, besides telling them that he must get away for his holiday or he should not be able to get away at all. The result was that on the morrow various wild rumours were afloat in London that Mr. Spurgeon broke down in the service; that he was dying; and so on. On Tuesday, the 15th, I received a note from him saying he was off to the Continent and was feeling very ill. In a few days I heard again, saying he was considerably better now that the daily routine was suspended; and that his only complaint was brain weariness. On Sunday, the 20th, this welcome news was given to his people at the Tabernacle in the following letter, which was read by the preacher, Mr. Chown:—

"Paris, Friday.

"My Beloved Friends,—As I have before told you, I have suffered greatly from "weariness of the brain, and this has caused me the loss of sleep, and brought on my lameness. My memory seemed to fail me, and my spirits sank. It was imperative on me to throw up all and get away. I have done so, and already I feel a mental improvement, and sleep has come back to me, for which I am very grateful. I hope and trust that in answer to your prayers I shall be recovered by means of such a period of rest as I have usually taken. I am very anxious that no Tabernacle work should flag through my absence. I was sorry to hear the Association meetings were so thin. I pray you do not let anything else suffer. Especially let our usual services be well sustained, and the prayer-meetings. You have never failed me in this matter, and I entreat you do not go back from former attainments. I remember returning and finding one hundred and forty to receive into the church, as the result of the labours of beloved friends in my absence. Shall I see the like again? I pray that I may. Rally round the deacons and elders. I cannot too highly recommend them to you. Seldom has a church had such a band of officers. When my brother and Messrs. Clarke and Smith call you to united action, do not, for our Lord's sake, falter or fall back. I long to see a great revival again in your midst while I am away. I feel that I am less and less able to be to you what I have been, but Jesus is the same, and His grace is still almighty. We shall see greater things yet if we pray, labour, and believe. It were better for me to die than to live and see my building fall to pieces because I did not personally stand by; but the Lord will not suffer it to be so. Up then, and see to it, each one, that nothing declines in any way. My love in Jesus Christ, as ever, with each one of you.—Your anxious pastor, "C. H. Spurgeon." The fact was that he had deferred his departure too long, and among other ominous signs was a breakdown of his voice. At a meeting of the London Association, Mr. J. A. Spurgeon "explained the cause of his brother's absence, stating that, his voice having now left him, he could not be heard a yard and a half distant." On the last Sabbath of January the pulpit was occupied by Mr. T. G. Tarn, now of Cambridge, who read the following letter from the pastor:—

"Menton, Wednesday Evening.

"It is only a few days since I wrote you, and therefore I have nothing fresh to report, except that each day I feel the need and the value of the rest which I am beginning to enjoy. I have only arrived here this afternoon, but the warm sunshine and the clear atmosphere made me feel as if I had reached another world, and tend really to revive a weary mind. It would be well if I could write without a word of mention of myself, and for your edification only. Forgive the need which there is of mentioning my health. It would best please me if I could work right on, and never have a wretched item of self to mention. My mind runs much upon the work at home—the services, the College, the Orphanage, the Sabbath-school, the evening meetings, and so on.... You will care for the state of the work, and so the Lord will use your instrumentality for His glory. We are set for a sign and token of the power of the old-fashioned Gospel, and we are bound to prove to all around not only that truth can gather, but that it can hold. It will not only forcibly draw men together, but it will bind them together, and that, too, not through some famous preacher, but by its own intrinsic force. This assertion needs proof, and you will prove it. May God, the Eternal Spirit, abide over you all, beloved, and cause you to be strong in the anointing of the Holy One. May the poor be comforted, the sick supported, the warriors be strengthened, and the labourers sustained." On the 21st of February I received the third note he sent to me during his vacation. This is sufficiently characteristic to be inserted:—

"Menton, Monday.

"Dear Mr. Pike,—I am always glad to hear from you. Foxe is inserted, as you see, in next number of S. and T. I may be here longer than I expected, for I am getting so much benefit; therefore let me have some racy article, short and telling. I would suggest a visit to the lodging-houses with Mr. Woodcock, whose address Mr. Elvin would give you, of whom inquire of Blackshaw. Said Mr. W. gave a wonderful speech at Tabernacle, and is a character. I improve every three minutes. It was cloudy to-day, but when the sun came out his glare and blaze were more than I could well bear, and I retreated into the shade of the olives. This is a wonderful sanatorium for me, and yet some complain of the heat and say it is relaxing. I like to be relaxed, and to be half baked is better than being sodden and frozen in England....—With kindest regards, yours truly, "C. H. Spurgeon." On the first two Sundays of March evangelistic services were held at the Tabernacle in the evening with marked success. On one occasion the regular congregation was dismissed, and others belonging to all classes that could be reached were admitted to take their places. The following letter was read on Sunday, March 11:—

"Menton, February 28.

"Beloved Friends,—I rejoice to think that my return to you is now a matter of a few days, and that I have every prospect, if the Lord will, of returning with health established and mind restored. Perhaps never before have I been brought so low in spirit, and assuredly never more graciously restored. May the Lord sanctify both the trial and the recovery, so that I may be the fitter instrument, in His hand, to promote His glory and your highest good. The last fortnight of additional rest was wisely ordained by a higher hand than that of the good deacons who suggested it to me, for without it I should not have had space to pass through an attack of pain which has just swept over me, and left me improved by its violence. The last few days will, I feel, bo the best of the whole, when I shall not have to be thoughtful of recovery, but altogether restful. Good news from the Tabernacle continues to be as cold water to a thirsty soul. You have had great times of refreshing; may their influence abide with you. We must not go to sleep on my return, nor at any other time, but steadily labour on and watch for souls. Spurts are very helpful, but to keep up the pace at a high regular figure is the most important thing. Even an invalid can make a great exertion when some remarkable occasion excites him to do so; but consistent, unwearied effort belongs only to those who have stamina and inward force. May our whole church prove itself to be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might by unceasingly carrying on its work of faith and labour of love. In these days we are regarded as Puritanical and old-fashioned, and this, I trust, we shall never be ashamed of, but wear it as an ornament. The old orthodox faith is to us no outward creed of past ages, but a thing of power. In the name of the Lord, who by that faith is honoured, we press forward to proclaim again and again the doctrines of the grace of God, the efficacy of the blood of the Divine Substitute, and the power of the Eternal Spirit. And we feel assured that whoever may oppose, the omnipotent Gospel will prevail. The multitudes are hungering for that old-fashioned bread whereof their fathers fed; and too many preachers now give them newly-carved stones, and bid them admire the skill of the modern sculptors. We mean to continue the distribution of bread, and the stone-cutters will meet with no competition from us in their favourite amusement. But, brethren, only a living church—holy, prayerful, active—can make the old truths victorious. Linked with the mass of mere profession, it will perform no exploits. To you and to me there is a growing call for greater spirituality and more Divine power, for the work before us increases in difficulty. The Lord be with you all. So prays yours lovingly, "C. H. Spurgeon." On Sunday, the 17th of March, he again stood in his place at the Tabernacle, where he had not preached since the second Sunday in January. I reached the chapel in good time, and found all concerned in a state of expectation. I happened to be on the vestry stairs when he was coming up. "I can pass you!" he cried, after a cheerful greeting; and the words implied a good deal when one noticed the comparative ease with which he walked. In a moment a cluster of deacons and others surrounded him, and before he entered the vestry, "Glad to see you back again" was the burden of their remarks. "Glad to see you again; there are no faces like yours!" he replied. When seated in the vestry he told one of his friends that he felt like a new man; and all were rejoiced to see that he really looked like one. The attendance at the service was overwhelming; and a number had to be shut out to avoid undue pressure and confusion. The sermon from the words occurring in Job xxxvi., "I have yet to speak on God's behalf," was in his best style. On the evening following, a thanksgiving meeting for his safe return was held, when the chapel was well-nigh filled. The Butchers' Festival was also celebrated during the same week. On the Friday I attended at the College at three o'clock, when he was to resume his weekly lecture from the President's chair. The room was very full, and when he entered, the audience of young men did not cheer, but sang the Doxology. The lecture, which occupied about an hour and a quarter in delivery, was on "Experimental Preaching." In the course of it he mentioned that when he was about to leave the country for more exciting scenes, an elderly friend remarked to him, "Young man, if you are going to be a preacher in London you will have to swallow bush faggots crossways; but they will do you no harm." They had not done harm; they had tended rather to clear the throat. The Conference this year opened on April 8 at John Street Chapel, Bedford Row, and everybody seemed to be indulging in high expectations on account of their President being in such good health. He was not so stout, his flesh appeared to be firmer, and he could walk with greater ease. This improvement in the main arose from his partial adoption of a vegetable diet. He thought most people injured themselves by the consumption of more meat than was necessary, and was greatly pleased at finding himself much better for the change, especially as the force of his rheumatism was correspondingly abated. At the evening meeting in John Street Chapel he made some pertinent references to the two former pastors—Harrington Evans and Baptist Noel. The former was the greater preacher; but the latter was justly characterised as a grand man. Many among the audience would be able to remember the controversy between Mr. Spurgeon and the Evangelical clergy of the Establishment on the publication of his famous Baptismal Regeneration sermon. Those who remembered the stir would also be able to call to mind the position assumed by the Hon. Baptist Noel in defence of his friends in the English Church, which at the time produced a deep impression, besides strengthening in no small degree the cause of the opponents of Mr. Spurgeon. Many of these friends would consequently hear with surprise that some time after he had published his defence of the Evangelicals, Mr. Noel confessed to Mr. Spurgeon, "I am not sure that I was right." This difference never in any degree marred the friendship of the two pastors for each other. Mr. Noel loved his younger brother, and Mr. Spurgeon revered Mr. Noel as a father in Christ.

Spurgeon's annual address on Tuesday morning was duly delivered from the President's chair. At the Stockwell Orphanage in the evening he was as usual all alive. If possible he was more joyous than ever, on account of the settlement at a Cambridgeshire village of an "old boy" of the Orphanage, this being the first-fruits of the institution so far as preaching the Gospel was concerned. It had been determined to present the young pastor with a testimonial in the shape of ten pounds' worth of books, the money having been chiefly subscribed by the Orphanage staff. When he first heard of this, Mr. Spurgeon was sitting in the master's house at tea, and he insisted on becoming a subscriber. He wished to give half a sovereign, but only a shilling was accepted. A beautiful framed address was also sent to Mrs. Spurgeon, which was acknowledged in a letter read before the assembly on the following morning.

These sittings of the Conference seldom passed without some passage-at-arms between the President and Mr. Rogers in respect to the question of baptism. On this occasion he gave an amusing account of how he should, on reaching heaven, inquire for Mr. Rogers, drink a cup of tea with him, and then ask if he had not been mistaken "down there" on the question of baby sprinkling. The collection at the supper was less than usual, though it reached £1,600.

After the close of the Conference on Friday, the 12th, I went for a drive with him in an open carriage to Helensburgh House round Dulwich. He spoke of the good which the men derived from the Conference. He also referred to a certain renegade who owed him £30, and, having changed his creed and crossed to America, excused himself from paying on account of the services he had done the denomination. On Monday, the 6th of May, he met the colporteurs and gave them an address, and afterwards drank tea with them. The progress of the society afforded him much delight, and he complimented the men on doing even more than they had bargained to do. In the spring of 1878 papers which arrived from the Antipodes showed that endeavours had been made during the previous autumn to prevail upon the great English preacher to visit Victoria at least. "Mr. Spurgeon would like to come, and would do much good work here and in the other colonies; we shall act wisely if we make prayer and supplication that the way may be cleared for his coming," remarked The Victorian Freeman, which also printed a letter that had been received by Mr. John Reid:—

"Nightingale Lane, Clapham, "September 22.

"Dear Sir,—The invitation, or rather the preliminary to an invitation, which you so kindly sent me was most pleasing to me for many reasons, and especially for the kind way in which you worded it. How I wish I could glide over and return in a month, and see all your kind faces! Thank you all very much.

"But do not allow others to waste time in hoping to induce me, for I conclude that it would be wrong for me to leave England for so long a journey unless I were thoroughly broken down. I am. not well, but I can keep on somehow, and I must do so. Everything grows, and demands more and more attention. The pecuniary need is by no means small, but I would leave that. Oversight, however, there must be, and if things went wrong I should have all the blame.

"My deacons are too good to dissuade me; but when I ask their opinion I can see that they are alarmed at the idea of such an absence. No, I must tarry here. For the present, at any rate, I shall not see Australia, but I send you all my very grateful thanks.

"Please take care of my son for my sake. May he be a blessing wherever he goes.—Yours very heartily, "C. H. Spurgeon."

The reference to "my son" may remind us that thus early one had gone forth from Helensburgh House to evangelise in the Australasian colonies. Thus, as we learn from a news paragraph: "Mr. Thomas Spurgeon left by the Melbourne steamer on Tuesday, after a visit extending over about two months, during which he has been, though anything but robust in health, almost incessantly engaged in public services.... He has his father's sincerity and earnestness, his simplicity of aim, and not a little of his humour and mother wit."

Sunday, the 12th of May, was free-seat evening at the Tabernacle. After the service I saw Spurgeon for a few minutes, and, in consequence of its being a lovely evening, on coming outside he quoted the saying of an Irishman, "The night is the best part of the day." The decisive vote given at the Congregational Union on the Leicester Conference seemed to afford him extreme satisfaction; but he said that he wished all who had voted on the side of orthodoxy could be considered orthodox.

He gave his opinion on the work of the country churches at the Congregational Home Missionary Society on May 7, when he expressed the view that the polity of the Wesleyans and Presbyterians was better adapted to country towns than Independency. While there were villages in England which were difficult to keep, the Presbyterians had managed to evangelise all Scotland and to sustain an efficient minister in every parish. It was advisable to learn of such and to see to weak points in their own system. The country churches needed to be looked after. While they believed in the voluntary principle, and that the poor were some of the best people in the church, they could not get blood out of a gate-post; and those who had to live on twelve shillings a week could not be expected to support the Christian ministry. It was thought that there ought to be large expenditure to encourage the country churches, and it was recommended that two of the best men should be chosen to visit rural districts and stay in each place a month. "I always speak very reverentially of committees," Mr. Spurgeon went on to say, "only I am afraid that there is something of idolatry about it; for 'eyes have they, but they see not—ears have they, but they hear not.' It is not always so, however, I believe, in committees; but they must be committees of three, and two of them must stop at home, and on that occasion something would be done." A preacher's power with the people depended on his being understood. They must preach a very plain Gospel, for the people wanted very plain food. At the Stockwell Orphanage festival this year the weather proved uncertain; but the President seemed to make all things go cheerfully on this his forty-fourth birthday. There was more truth in his remarks than many present liked to admit when he had to confess that he felt old—older than his father really was. He had crowded a long life into a comparatively short space, and he began to feel the wear and tear. He made a tolerably long speech, referring to the faith and unity of the church at the Tabernacle. In one memorable passage he spoke very nearly as follows:—

"I do bless God that all we have been enabled to do as a church has been the outcome of spiritual life. We have been alive unto God, and therefore God has put this work and that work into our hands. Do you wish to show your piety? You can do it by working a beautiful altar-cloth, or by giving a new paten and chalice to such-and-such a church. You can do it by decorating a chasuble and working a gold cross; for pure religion and undefiled before God and the Father is to put as many ornaments as you can conveniently hand about your pretty body, and so stand before the church dressed in such robes that none but an angel can tell whether you are a man or a woman. That is the way in which some people's religion ritualises itself. Ours, however, has ritualised itself in another way. My mother scolded me yesterday for having signed my letter, 'Your ugly son.' She protested I was not ugly. I protested I was, and had always been so, and should be so. There is not the slightest cut or trace of anything priestly, not to say decently parsonic, about me; and if anything I wore made me look like a priest, I would rend it in pieces, for I do abominate it. But we must have an outward show for everything that inwardly exists—an outward and visible sign of inward and spiritual grace. Does the world wish such a sign? Let them look "around them. Pure and undefiled religion with us is this—to visit the fatherless and widow, and to keep ourselves unspotted from the world. Be that our ritualism, and may we abound in it, adorning the doctrine of God our Saviour in all things by acts of piety and charity." The grass was sodden, for on some of the preceding days and nights the storms of wind and rain made the weather more resemble December than Midsummer. The people brought between four and five hundred pounds as birthday offerings; but their kindness as Mr. Spurgeon moved about the grounds was too demonstrative for a man in such health as his. On Friday evening, June 28, he attended the tea at the Tabernacle on the occasion of the break-up of the evening classes, and afterwards addressed the youths and young men, whom he styled his "Band of Hope." He also spoke of a certain active deacon as "the man in the shirt-sleeves," besides paying other compliments to him as an indefatigable server of tables. I was interested in noticing what keen eyes these deacons had, and how well they used them in the service of their leader. The pastor of a small country church, somewhat fussy and forward, came and sat down close to Mr. Spurgeon to unroll a long narrative of his crosses and successes, although someone else was already speaking to him on business. The bored looked once or twice as though he should be glad to be rid of the bore; but the bore showed no disposition to move until "the man in the shirt-sleeves" gave him a hint too broad not to be taken. In anticipation of a summer preaching engagement he wrote lo Mr. Toller of Waterbeach:—

"Nightingale Lane, Clapham, "June 27, 1878.

"Dear Friend,—I shall he occupied to the last moment, therefore meet me at Paddington on Monday evening at 6.30. I shall he delighted with your company. Be ready with a sermon for Tuesday in case I should break down.—Yours truly, "C. H. Spurgeon."

Though, in a letter like this, the writer might appear to he joking when he said "Be ready with a sermon," the preacher would now sometimes even need to have such a substitute in attendance at the Metropolitan Tabernacle. What some of his sermons in that great building—especially in his latter years—must have cost the preacher will never be known.