4i
THOMAS SPURGEON
A BIOGRAPHY
BY THE SAME AUTHOR
AT THE SIXTIETH MILESTONE
Incidents of the Jonmey
Six Shillings Net
MARSHALL BROTHERS, LIMITED
LIFE'S DUSTY WAY
Old FaUnres and New Ideak
Thbee Shillings Net
MORGAN AND SCOTT, LIMITED
THOMAS SPURGEON.
[Frontispiece
» J , * )
THOMAS SPURGEON
A BIOGRAPHY
W. Y. FULLERTON
n
AUTHOR OF
AT THE SIXTIETH MILESTONE," " LIFE'S DUSTY WAY'
ETC.
ILLUSTRATED
HODDER AND STOUGHTON
LONDON NEW YORK TORONTO
MCMXIX
%7s r<g
Printed in Great Britatn hy flazell,'^ Watson i: Vinev, Ld.,
London and AyUthury.
^)A
PREFACE
Three motives combined to impel me to attempt
this book — love to my friend, reverence for the
gentle lady who bears his name, and gratitude to
the father whose name he bore. I have found it
impossible to disentangle the life of Thomas
Spurgeon from his father's, for he was truly his
father's son. The interest of the following pages
will be none the less, I hope, because of the fre-
quent reference to C. H. Spurgeon ; I think his
son would be pleased to have it so.
My admiration for my friend has been deepened
as I have examined the memorials of the past,
read his letters — ^many of them quite intimate, and
come to know more closely the inner springs of his
conduct. His life had its limitations, of course,
but it was utterly sincere and altogether true.
He was what he appeared to be — that and no
other. I finish my grateful labour with the assur-
ance that, however unworthily performed, it has
been worth while to write this biography — a story
so full of interest and incident, and, in spite of the
defects in its telling, I believe its readers will think
it worth while too.
My grateful thanks are due to Mrs. Thomas
Spurgeon for her unstinted help in the choice of
material, and her guidance in various perplexities ;
to Mr. Charles Spurgeon for his sympathetic assis-
507280
vi PREFACE
tance so freely rendered ; to Mr. William Higgs for
placing his remarkable collection of contemporary
evidence at my disposal, as well as for the portrait
page of the Spurgeon sons from infancy to manhood;
and to Mrs. E. G. Cook for biographical extracts
from Mr. Spm-geon's writings and sermons. I also
heartily recognize the kindness of many friends
who have allowed me to see such of Mr. Spurgeon's
letters as were in their possession ; where extracts
have been made from them the som'ces are acknow-
ledged, but they have all been helpful in supplying
an atmosphere.
The volume might easily have been twice its
present size, but enough has been written, I think,
to present the living figure of the man whom many
loved, the man who humbly claimed his heritage,
and stedfastly followed in his father's steps to-
wards their Common Goal. His memory beckons
us all forward. ^
W. Y. FULLEBTON.
CONTENTS
CHAPTER I
THE NAME HE BORE
The renown of Spurgeon — ^The wonder of his career — Other great
preachers — The verdict of his contemporaries — The halo
round his memory — ^His son's tribute — ^The name in the
forehead , . . . . pp. 1 -14
CHAPTER II
THE SPURGEON ERA
The Victorian Age — Father and son — The sixty-three milestones
—The year 1834— The 1859 Revival— Moody and Sankey
— ^The Salvation Army — ^The Student Christian Move-
ment—The Welsh Revival . . pp. 15-30
CHAPTER III
THE TWINS
The home of their infancy — Boyhood's days — ^Mother's letters
— Business careers — Early Christian service — ^The part-
ing of the ways ..... pp. 31-48
vii
viii CONTENTS
CHAPTER IV
THE FIRST VOYAGE
His father's consent — ^The Lady Jocdyn — ^The diary of the
three months — Preaching on board — ^Incidents pp. 49-61
CHAPTER V
THE AUSTRALIAN VISIT
Newspaper greeting — His father's fame — Crowded services
— Letters to and from home — ^The Sea-gull . pp. 62-81
CHAPTER VI
A YEAR WITH HIS FATHER
Preaching at the Tabernacle — ^Mentone — Sketches — Pastors'
College — ^Back to AustraUa — ^His father's sorrow — The
night in prayer pp. 82-89
CHAPTER VII
THE SETTLEMENT IN NEW ZEALAND
The Sobraon — ^Tasmania — ^The call to Auckland— The Choral
Hall— The new Tabernacle— Back to England . pp. 90-110
CONTENTS ix
CHAPTER VIII
FIVE MONTHS IN ENGLAND
Pleading for the new Tabernacle — ^Preaching in the old Taber-
nacle— Brighter Britain — Gifts from home — Back to New
Zealand . . , . . , pp. 111-118
CHAPTER IX
AUCKLAND TABERNACLE
A quaint telegram — ^The opening free of debt — ^Poems — ^Mar-
riage— Sorrow in the home — ^Resignation — ^Reminiscences
pp. 11&-136
CHAPTER X
THE EVANGELIST
Amid the gums at Ocean Grove" — Set apart by the New
Zealand Baptist Union — Journeys — ^Sermons — Lectures —
Baptisms — ^Invitations . ... pp. 137-143
CHAPTER XI
THE TABERNACLE TEMPEST
Spurgeon ill — His death — Problems of the Church — ^Dr. A. T.
Pierson — ^Thomas Spurgeon back in London — ^Three months'
ministry — ^The enthusiastic farewell — ^The unwilling rivals
— ^A year's probation . » • . . pp.. 144-163
CONTENTS
CHAPTER XII
THE FIRST TABERNACLE YEARS
Thomas Spurgeon as a preacher — " Not a chip of the old block
— ^the old block itself" — ^The inner life of the time — The
call to the pastorate — ^Mrs. Spurgeon's arrival pp. 164-180
CHAPTER XIII
THE CATASTROPHE
The Tabernacle on fire — Description of the scene — At Exeter
Hall — ^The College Conference in session — A sense of values
— ^Laaanis in the *' Epistle of Karshish " pp. 181-189
CHAPTER XIV
THE NEW TABERNACLE
The Basement Hall — ^The plan of the new Tabernacle— The
decision to open free of debt — ^The sympathy of all the
Churches—Receptions— £45,000 . . pp. 190-199
CHAPTER XV
THE SECOND SEVEN YEARS
The Pastor described — Sermon extracts — Missions — ^The Welsh
Revival meetings — ^Death of Mrs. C. H. Spurgeon — ^Resigna-
tion— ^Phonograph message . . pp. 200-213
CONTENTS xi
CHAPTER XVI
THE COLLEGE CONFERENCE
The new President — ^The Presidential Address — ^Twenty-one
years — Extracts from the yearly messages — ^The ship Frtt
6^ce— The Memorial Conference . . pp. 214-240
CHAPTER XVII
TRAVEL SCENES
Paris — Switzerland — ^yroX — Italy — Norway — Canary Islanda
— America — Holidays at home . . . pp. 241-250
CHAPTER XVIII
TREASURED LETTERS
From Church leaders — From his father — ^To his son — ^To many
friends on many occasions — His great correspondence —
Extracts from many letters . . pp. 251-265
CHAPTER XIX
THE ARTIST
Hi» mother's prophecy — ^Three exhibitions of pictures — Sales
and criticisms — ^The scenes of his father's early life — ^The
artist in colour, in words, and in souls pp. 266-271
xii CONTENTS
CHAPTER XX
LITERARY ACTIVITIES
His books — Contributions to The Sword and Trowel — ^The Editor-
ship— His poems . . . . . pp. 27^276
CHAPTER XXI
THE TRIPLE PRESIDENCY
The Pastors' College — ^Wit and humour — Friendship with
students — Stockwell Orphanage — ^Deputation journeys —
Directorship — A projected book — ^The Colportage Associa-
tion . . . . . . . pp. 277-286
CHAPTER XXII
THE CLOSING DAYS
The last year — Health reports — Diamond Jubilee — His son's
recollections — ^His homes — His kindness — His father's death
— ^The benediction of Thomas Cox — Appreciations— His
own view of heaven — ^The funeral service — His last meeting
pp. 287-302
iNDEa^ , , , , , . -pp. 303-304
ILLUSTRATIONS
Thomas Spurgeon . . • Frontispiece
PAGE
The Spurgeon Sons: Twenty-one Yearly
Pictures 64
An Early Caricature . , . 105
Mr. and Mrs. Thomas Spurgeon : A Jubilee
Photograph 208
At Spurgeon's Orphanage , . , . 272
zm
CHAPTER I
THE NAME HE BORE
The name of Spurgeon is written large in the
annals of the world, and graven deep in the heart
of the Church. But until that December evening
in 1853 when, in country garb, with a black satin
stock, and a blue handkerchief adorned with white
spots, a young preacher came to London and
lodged in a boarding-house in Bloomsbury, it was
practically unknown. Then it suddenly flashed
upon the history of his time, the preacher himself,
all unconsciously, being the best illustration of
the text of his sermon at New Park Street Chapel
the next morning : " Every good gift and every
perfect gift cometh from the Father of Lights,
with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of
turning." Truly Spurgeon was a good gift to his
generation, a light from the Source of Light ;
those who invited him from his little corner in
Cambridgeshire must almost have been inspired,
and long since, they, and he, and the son whose
biography is the burden of this book, know in
their own experience the truth of the text on the
evening of that memorable day : " They are with-
out fault before the throne of God."
It would be an exaggeration to say that the
1
2 THE NAME HE BORE
name was utterly unknown before that day, for
it was borne by Huguenot ancestors who in their
time were worthy ; worthily borne, too, by the
godly Congregational minister of Stambourne,
whose grandfatherly guardian influence on the
lad was so deep and lasting, and by John Spur-
geon, his father, also a Congregational minister,
who outlived his son, and exercised a gracious
ministry in various places. Him I knew well,
preached for him at Ishngton, heard him preach
in his son's Tabernacle, but neither in him nor
in his father was there a trace of the genius of
the Messenger of God who thrilled the world with
his gospel, became the acknowledged evangelical
leader of his day, and made the name of Spurgeon
an honour to the Baptists for all time. Yet until
he was fourteen years of age he had never heard
of the Baptists, and it was amongst the Metho-
dists that on the sixth day of January, 1850, he
first came into a living experience of the grace of
God. Years after he wrote : " Richard Knill says
that at such a time of the day, clang went every
harp in heaven for Richard Knill was born again ;
and it was even so with me."
The story of that snowy Sunday has been often
told. Perhaps Thomas Spurgeon may be allowed
to tell it again. " I stood the week before last,"
he says in a sermon, " with uncovered head and
throbbing heart, as near as it was possible to get
to the spot where my dear father, your late be-
loved pastor, ' looked and lived.' I paid a special
visit to the Primitive Methodist Chapel in Artil-
lery Street, Colchester, to see the place where the
THE NAME HE BORE 3
local preacher cried, ' Young man, you look very
miserable ! Look to Jesus. Young man, look to
Jesus, look and live.' They have erected a tablet
with an inscription after this fashion, ' Near this
spot C. H. Spurgeon looked and lived.' And then
there is a quotation from one of his sermons de-
scribing his conversion. It was a sacred spot to
me and to many another. Run and see it if you
have opportunity, and as you look at it, lift up
your heart to God that you may be kept looking
to Jesus, and that your loved ones may be kept
looking also. A single look will save thee.
*' * I looked on Him, He looked on me,
And we were one for ever.'
That is the briefest description of C. H. Spurgeon's
conversion that I have ever seen, and I do not
think there could be a better."
There is, I imagine, no case on record where a
preacher so instantly claimed the ear of the people,
and held it for so long a time. He did not gradu-
ally grow in popular favour, he descended as a
star from heaven. William Pitt is the only public
man who in an equal degree walked upon the stage
of Hfe as one whose right it was to reign. It is al-
most impossible for the present generation to
realize how great was the renown of Spurgeon at
his zenith. He was not only followed and admired,
he was trusted and loved beyond his fellows.
Thomas Binney was London's greatest preacher
when Spurgeon arrived, and at first he was in-
clined to deride the boy in the pulpit as a charla-
tan, but he quickly saw his mistake, and to a
4 THE NAME HE BORE
gathering of students he said : "I have enjoyed
some amount of popularity ; I have always been
able to draw together a congregation ; but in
the person of Mr. Spurgeon, we see a young man,
be he who he may and come whence he will,
who at twenty-four hours' notice can command a
congregation of twenty thousand people. Now I
have never been able to do that, and I never knew
of anybody else who could do it."
D. L. Moody had not then appeared upon the
scene, but mighty as was his influence his verdict
on Spurgeon was : "In regard to coming to your
Tabernacle I consider it a great honour to be in-
vited : and, in fact, I should consider it an honour
to black your boots, but to preach to your people
would be out of the question. If they will not
turn to God under your preaching, neither will
they be persuaded though one rose from the
dead." He did, however, preach in the Tabernacle
afterwards, and in his London campaign he got
Spurgeon to preach for him. In writing to thank
him he said : "I wish you could give us every
night you can for the next sixty days. There are
so few men who can draw on a week night."
Remember that this was twenty-two years after
Spurgeon had come to London, and that during
all that time he was able at any time to command
a crowd as great as Chrysostom in Constanti-
nople or Savonarola in Florence, though each of
them commanded it for a much shorter time.
That was the wonder of it : he built a Taber-
nacle seating between five or six thousand per-
sons, and able to contain over seven thousand, and
THE NAME HE BORE 5
for thirty-eight years maintained his congregation
there and elsewhere in London. At one time he
moved to the Agricultural Hall and filled it.
Francis and Bernard, Wesley and Whitefield
gathered as great throngs, but they passed from
place to place, while Spurgeon remained rooted
in the metropolis. Henry Ward Beecher and
Canon Liddon were as popular, but they did not
preach so continuously nor so long. There are,
indeed, not wanting some who trace back through
the history of the Church and only find Spurgeon's
peer in Paul.
The wonder grows when we consider that week
by week the sermons were printed and sold, and
reproduced in countless ways. Ian Maclaren has
told us of the Scotch wife who gave parting in-
structions to her husband when he went to town,
and called after him the final message : " Dinna
forget Spurgeon," and has added to the story his
own verdict on the preacher. " Who of all
preachers you can mention in our day could have
held such companies save Spurgeon ? Who is to
take their place when the last of these well-known
sermons disappear from village shops and cottage
shelves ? Is there any other gospel which will
ever be so understanded of the people, or so move
human hearts, as that which Spurgeon preached
in the best words of our own tongue ? . . . I
cannot forget Spurgeon." In thousands of homes
these sermons were read, in many little assemblies
they were the message of God to the people, and
not a few preachers boldly redelivered them to
their congregations. So that all over the world
6 THE NAME HE BORE
Spurgeon led people to God, comforted people in
their sorrows and stablished them in their faith.
Little wonder that he was venerated and adored.
I know of an old man in a country district which
Spurgeon was to visit who asked permission from
his master to attend the preaching. The farmer
insisted on the day's work being done first, and
so the old man began at the first streak of day to
use his scythe, and at every sweep of it he said :
'* Spurgeon ! Spurgeon ! Spurgeon ! " until, hav-
ing finished his task, with a glad spirit he got
away to hear the man whose name had inspired his
heart for years and been on his lip all the morning.
There is also a story of an old lady who was so
comforted by one of the printed sermons that
she bought twenty copies of it, and had them
bound in a volume.
Dr. MacArthur of New York tells that on pass-
ing the cottage by the gate of Melrose Abbey he
discovered how Spurgeon was honoured there.
*' I saw an old Scotch lady, with white hair and
the bloom of heather on her cheek, and she was
sitting and reading. She was the wife of the
gate-keeper, and I could not help noticing, with-
out intending to be intrusive, that she was reading
one of Mr. Spurgeon's sermons. I said to her, ' I
am glad you are reading that sermon, for I love
the man and the sermons,' and I added, ' do you
know I expect to see him and hear him next
Sunday.' She looked at me a moment, and then
exclaimed, ' Oh ! what wadna / gie to see his
face, and hear his voice ! ' She called her hus-
band that he might look at me, because I was
THE NAME HE BORE 7
to look at Spurgeon on Sunday, and she said :
' I dinna wish to envy ye, but I wad gie all I hae
if I could see him mysel'.' "
Very pertinently The Pall Mall Gazette said :
" At first a curiosity, then a notoriety, but he has
been recognized long since as one of the first
celebrities of the day." The Spectator gave as true
a verdict : '' Mr. Spurgeon is, in fact, a Cobden
in the pulpit preaching a well-understood form
of Christianity instead of Free Trade." The
Church Times was generous enough to admit that
*' he was a master of an English style which many
a scholar might envy ; the style could only have
been acquired by great pains, and by the constant
study of the best literary models which it recalls."
The Christian Weekly recalled the fact that " one
of the most accomplished literary critics of our
time has declared that ' in Mr. Spurgeon's ser-
mons there are many passages which a really
catholic anthology of English prose would not
omit, and an informing spirit which hardly breathes
among us now.' "
Professor Ferrier said to Principal Tulloch
when they had heard a sermon in the Tabernacle
— " It sat so close to reality." Alongside which
may be put the saying of a man who was encoun-
tered outside the Tabernacle under the portico by
another from his village. The second, an earnest
Christian man, expressed to the first, who was
one nobody would have expected to go and hear
Spurgeon, his astonishment in finding him there.
" Ah," he answered in a tone of unfeigned solemnity,
" every man has his own tale told here."
8 THE NAME HE BORE
" Coming to London," Dr. Culross wrote,
" scarcely out of his boyhood he discarded pulpit
twang and jargon, threw off the trammels of cul-
ture, and spoke straight out of the heart in the
simplest and clearest language that he could
command;" while Dr. Clifford declares: "He
initiated a new epoch in spiritual reality, of pas-
sionate faith in the Lord Jesus Christ as the one
remedy for sin, of robust and manly religion, and
of hatred of all shibboleths, hesitations and in-
sincerities. In preaching he created a revolution :
he substituted naturalness for a false and stilted
dignity, passion for precision, plain homely Saxon
for highly Latinized English, humour and mother-
wit for apathy and sleepiness, glow and life for
machinery and death."
In one of the latest of autobiographical books
Lord Morley bears his witness : " He had a glorious
voice, unquestioning faith and ready knowledge of
apt texts of the Bible, and a deep, earnest desire
to reach the hearts of the congregation, who were
just as earnest in responding."
On the occasion of Mr. Thomas Spurgeon's visit
to Edinburgh, Dr. Alexander Whyte wrote on
May 4th, 1912 : " The name of Spurgeon always
thrills my heart, and that more and more the
longer I live. Both personally and as a preacher
I cannot put in common words all I owe to Spur-
geon. And extraordinarily high as is the rank
that Spurgeon holds in the estimation of multi-
tudes, I much question if, even so, he has yet
come to his own in this respect. The absolute
amazing fertility of Spurgeon's pulpit and desk,
THE NAME HE BORE 9
and the noble and charitable and educational
movements that he began and carried on, and all
steeped in the truest apostolical and evangelical
spirit, all combine to place Spurgeon in the very
foremost rank of our great preachers and pastors.
I wish much that I could have shaken Mr. Spur-
geon's hand in my honour and love to him as the
son of such a father."
One of the finest tributes paid to him is in a
preface by Sir William Robertson Nicoll to the
little selection of Spurgeon's sermons published
by Nelson. He says :
" There were hundreds of thousands who believed
that they owed to him their own souls. What
was said of Newman may with certain modifica-
tions be applied to him. It was he who had
opened to them visions of the unseen ; it was he who
sometimes half lifted the very veil of the other
Country. It was he who made heaven and hea-
venly ministers something more than objects of
faith. It was he who invested all the facts of
the Christian redemption with new and entranc-
ing certainty. It was he who made life for his
disciples a more august thing in contact with him,
and made them capable of higher efforts and
nobler sacrifices. But even those who stood
further away knew as if it was by instinct that
Mr. Spurgeon was a man of the stuff of which
saints are made. They knew that whoever else
might sink into self-seeking or fall down before
the golden image of the world, that would he
never. They knew that religion was always the
10 THE NAME HE BORE
prevailing and mastering idea of his life. He was
one of those elect few to whom religious cares and
interests are what secular cares and interests are
to most men. He was self- controlled, observant,
and wise, and he had a homely shrewdness and
humour which were very refreshing. Mr. Spur-
geon played his part well in the practical world,
but his life was not there. The growth of the
kingdom of grace was his prosperity ; the open-
ing of a new vein of spiritual life was his wealth.
The one road to his friendship was a certain like-
mindedness. This spirituality is so rare in men
of great powers that it is invariably the way to
influence. It inspires a kind of awe. Men bow
before it, feel themselves in the presence of the
eternal world, think wistfully of their own state,
and are touched for a moment at least by a cer-
tain sense of wonder and regret."
How much further the influence of the name
went in the minds of some to whom it was but
a name may be imagined from an incident which
Thomas Spurgeon recounts. He says :
'' Being doomed, through a blunder, to wait at
a railway station for an hour, I got into conversa-
tion with a young man. The prevailing fog served
as an opening topic, and I was able to assure him,
since he had never been in London, that this
was a mere mist, unworthy the dignity of being
called a fog. My companion asked me if I be-
lieved in fate ; I answered that I believed in a
good and wise God. Then the young man tolcj
THE NAME HE BORE 11
me of an atheist, who often spake with him, and
had expressed the conviction that he, too, would
ere long think with him (the which may God for-
bid !). ' He tells me,' said the young man, ' that
he believes Jesus was a good man, but nothing
more.' ' Well,' said I, ' you know how to answer
that. Tell him that Jesus claimed to be God, and
that if He was not God He was not good.' ' Well,
but,' rejoined my friend, ' he says there have been
other men as good as Jesus — Spurgeon for in-
stance ! ' I have on more than one occasion had
to conceal emotion, so I managed to keep an un-
moved face. But I felt the more, and I replied,
' Ah ! but you should remind him that Spurgeon
would not for a moment have suffered himself to
be compared to Jesus, and that he believed most
firmly that Jesus of Nazareth was the unblemished
Lamb of God.' "
That of course was a vulgar and almost blas-
phemous estimate, but Spurgeon himself bore a
true witness that is almost overwhelming in its
spiritual implication, and I should fancy unmatched
in the history of any other man. On Monday,
May 26th, 1890, he said in the Tabernacle at a
prayer meeting : " How many thousands have
been converted here ! There has not been a single
day but what I have heard of two, three or four
having been here converted : and that not for
one, two, or three years, but for the last ten
years ! ! "
This is the name that Thomas Spurgeon and
12 THE NAME HE BORE
his brother Charles bore. It was an inestimable
privilege, but it was even more a severe handicap.
With such a heritage life was almost certain to
assume a bias. He was almost certainly destined
to be a preacher, and when he became a preacher
was sure to be compared, and compared unfavour-
ably, with his father. It was as difficult for him
to grow up naturally as for an heiress to discover
whether she is loved for herself or only sought
for her money. He might so easily have grown
up a prig or a pretender, and he was neither, for
never was a man more truly humble and more
really sincere. The name helped him and it
hindered him. At the beginning he had the good
sense to see that it was his name that carried him
into the favour of the people. He writes from
Austraha to his father, who had expressed some
fears on his account : " I do not think that I
am being either lionized or idolized in the true
sense of the term. The attention paid to me and
the interest taken by the great majority is out of
pure Christian love to the honoured name of
Spurgeon and the honoured man who bears it."
He would be the first to give his father the long
precedence. He honoured him above all men,
because he honoured God most. " My father's
God ! " he said. " I want to see Him as father
saw Him, with eyes opened by the Holy Spirit's
touch, and to speak with Him as friend speaketh
with his friend. Among the few treasures I pos-
sess which once belonged to my dear sire, I have
a staff on which he used to lean, a walking-stick
which often helped him on the road, and some-
THE NAME HE BORE 18
times even on the platform. But, thank God, I own
another staff, which he too rejoiced in, my God
and his, on whom he leaned in days of persecution
and distress, and illness and weakness. How
hard he leaned none but he and his Helper know.
' I will exalt him ' by leaning on Him as dear
father did, I will exalt ' my father's God ' by
preaching the self-same truths my father preached,
by passing on the message that was on his lips al-
most to the latest day. I would rather that my
lips were sealed than that they should attempt
to preach another gospel."
The nearest parallel to the history of the father
and son is in the history of the two Jonathan
Edwards, father and son, both of them preachers,
both presidents of a college. In that case it is
more difficult to say which was the greater, though
the man whom God used to begin the New Eng-
land revival no doubt excelled his son. In this
case, while both are great, it is no disparagement
to the son to say that the father was much greater.
Thomas Spurgeon built two Tabernacles, one in
New Zealand, and the other at Newington Butts.
Both are in the same style as the Tabernacle his
father built, but both are smaller, though the
second is larger than the first. Thomas Spur-
geon was built on the same plan as his father, but
he was not so spacious : yet he greatened with
the years, and even had he not been known as a
Spurgeon he would have been loved and honoured
as a man.
In later years he felt that the honour of the
name was in his keeping, and sometimes when his
14 THE NAME HE BORE
own generous heart might have led in one direc-
tion he feared, and rightly feared, to compromise
the testimony his father had borne. He had not
only to ask what would his father have done, but
what other people might think his father would
have done, and he was wilHng, on occasion, to
suffer reproach rather than even run the risk
of smirching the name. To the end he kept the
flag flying and kept it mast high.
A stranger who had never seen him before once
greeted him and called him by his name, and when
Thomas Spurgeon asked him how he knew him
the stranger gave as answer, " Your name is written
on your forehead." It was also written on his
heart and in his life.
CHAPTER II
THE SPURGEON ERA
Mr. Asquith in the '' Romanes Lecture'' for 1918
on Some Aspects of the Victorian Age, in his
masterly review of that period was only able to
devote a few sentences to Church affairs. *' I may
say nothing to-day about the religious aspect of
the matter. The rise and fall of Tractarianism ;
the fears and the hopes aroused by the Roman
Catholic propaganda and the so-called Papal
Aggression ; the powerful influence of that remark-
able set of personalities who were rather crudely
grouped as ' The Broad Church ' ; the sway of the
Preachers, such as Robertson at one extreme and
Spurgeon at the other (for the Victorians were a
church-going and chapel-going people) : all these
are topics which an historian of the Age will have
to sort into due proportions and perspective."
As a contribution to that study it may be sug-
gested that a distinct religious epoch was covered
by the two Spurgeon ministries ; an Era begin-
ning about the same time as the Victorian Age,
perhaps a little later, and continuing longer ; an
Era distinguished by spiritual uprising and by
ecclesiastical reform, marked off by the war and
15
16 THE SPURGEON ERA
destined to give place to a new Era in the days
of peace that are to come.
The two Spurgeon ministries may, for this pur-
pose, be taken as one. The influence of C. H.
Spurgeon was undoubted. Mr. Asquith, though
placing him second, would no doubt give him the
premier place so far as influence on the multitude
is concerned. Thomas Spurgeon faithfully carried
on the tradition, and his years saw the outwork-
ing of the forces of his father's time.
That his father associated his son's ministry
with his own is clear enough from occasional refer-
ences which, sometimes unconsciously, revealed his
inner mind. Several of these will be quoted in
subsequent chapters. Here it will be enough to
refer to two sermons and one letter.
In a sermon on " The True Apostolical Succes-
sion " we find this passage : " How many there
are in our midst who have been raised up by God
to fill similar positions in the Church to those
which their forefathers occupied ! I hope there
will always be a family succession in the eldership
and in the deaconship and, what if I were egotistical
enough to say so, in the ministry too. I would
to God there might be in every single position of
the Church, as soon as one dies, another allied
to and descended from the departed to take his
place."
Another passage even more definite occurs in a
sermon on " Now : a Sermon for Young Men and
Women " : ** It may not be my honour to be suc-
ceeded in this pulpit by one of my sons, greatly
as I would rejoice if it might be so ; but at least
THE SPURGEON ERA 17
I hope they will be here in this church to serve
their father's God ; and to be regarded with
affection by you for the sake of him who spent his
life in your midst."
To his son himself, in a letter dated August 26th,
1887, he opens his heart : "I awoke this morning
saying to myself," he writes, " ' If Tom could live
here I should die happy, for I should drop the
reins into his hands.' Now I am not going to drop
them so far as I can see, but it shows that I was
dreaming of you as a successor."
If the son's ministry had remained alone we
might scarcely be justified, in spite of his father's
judgment, in considering it as part of the same
Era, but it is a remarkable fact that though C. H.
Spurgeon had passed, so far as the speaking of the
Message was concerned (and it may here be noted
that he died at an age four years younger than his
son), the publication of his sermons continued all
along the course of his son's ministry. Both ended
together, and the sixty-three volumes of sermons
that have been issued in regular succession since
1855 (the last volume not quite completed) are
the milestones on the way. Never in the world's
history has there been such a record. In the
original form the sermons have been circulated to
the extent of over 105,000,000, and they have been
reprinted in countless ways and in many lan-
guages. Mr. Charles Spurgeon, like his brother,
has also ministered the word during these years,
but he is now devoting himself to the care of his
father's Orphanage, so the Spurgeon ministry, in a
very real sense, may be thought of as a thing of
2
18 THE SPURGEON ERA
the past, ceasing with the end of the pubHcation
of The Metropolitan Tabernacle Pulpit.
When the last sermon was pubhshed, a remark-
able article appeared in The Times, part of which
may be reproduced not only as a tribute to the
preacher, but as an estimate of the Era the ser-
mons represent :
" The publishers have announced that for the
present they have terminated the weekly publica-
tion of Mr. C. H. Spurgeon's sermons. The series
began in January, 1855, and every week since that
date a sermon by the great Baptist preacher has
been published. They provide a contribution to
homiletic literature from a single preacher of un-
precedented extent and of quite special significance.
"It is instructive to observe that, since the
preachers of each age have spoken in the language
of their times, few things help us better to judge
religious life and thought in any period than the
sermons of its popular divines. The homely style
of Latimer gave place to the conceits of Andrewes
and Donne, to be succeeded by the ornate splen-
dour of Jeremy Taylor, who in turn gave place to
the massive thought of Barrow, to be followed by
the flowing style of men like Tillotson, and then
by philosophers like Butler, and from each we
learn much of the days in which they lived. The
Nonconformist and Puritan divines were often
preachers of great power ; and Baxter, Owen,
Bunyan, and Howe not only give vivid expression
to their conception of the faith, they match the
needs and aspirations of their fellows. John
THE SPURGEON ERA 19
Wesley and Whitefield began a new era in preach-
ing, appealing directly to those who were outside
the ministrations of both Church and Nonconfor-
mity. Since their day English preachers have
striven to give their ministry a directly popular
aim, while the names of men like Newman, F. D.
Maurice, Robertson of Brighton, Liddon, R. W.
Dale, Maclaren, and C. H. Spurgeon remind us of
preachers whose message has challenged the con-
sciences as well as appealed to the minds of modern
Englishmen of the most varied religious experi-
ence. Among the preachers of the nineteenth
century, and remarkable men are to be numbered
among them, Spurgeon has a special place. He
was from the first identified with militant Non-
conformity.
" In character, thought, religious experience,
speech, and, we may add, appearance, Spurgeon
was typical of the Nonconformity of the lower
middle class sixty or seventy years ago. A keen
student of human nature, thoroughly alive to the
motives by which men are influenced, he was an
acute experimental psychologist, able without any
finesse to make his direct appeal to the consciences
of men in the terms which they could at once
understand. Though he had considerable intel-
lectual gifts he was not a man of any wide culture.
He had never been at a college and was a self-
educated man, but he had read diligently in various
fields of religious literature. His knowledge of
the great Puritan divines was extensive and
accurate. And Spurgeon could always bring all
his powers into action. He was hindered by no
20 THE SPURGEON ERA
hesitations of self-consciousness, no misgiving as
to the value of what he had to say, no doubt as
to the needs of his hearers ; for he was entirely
certain that his message had come to him from
Heaven, and that he was bidden to deliver it by the
power of the Divine Spirit for the conversion of
his fellow-men.
" The results justified his confidence. Almost
from the first crowds flocked to hear him. The
chapel which had been almost empty when he be-
came its pastor was soon far too small for the con-
gregations, and while it was being enlarged he
migrated to Exeter Hall. The interest he excited
there was so widespread that as a consequence
Sunday evening services were begun in St. Paul's
Cathedral and Westminster Abbey, where they have
been continued ever since. When Exeter Hall
was no longer available Spurgeon preached to huge
congregations in the Surrey Gardens Music Hall,
and it is claimed thousands of conversions took
place. At last the great Metropolitan Tabernacle
was built in Newington ; and there until his last
illness and death, in 1892, Spurgeon retained a
congregation of about 7,000 people who flocked to
hear him twice every Sunday.
*' It is not to be wondered at that Spurgeon
was for a time a butt of ridicule. There was
much which at first glance seemed to invite it.
His appearance, his manner in the pulpit, his
humour, his homeliness of speech made him an
easy prey to the caricaturist ; even his undoubted
success became a cause of offence to unfriendly
critics. He was described as ' a clerical poltroon,'
THE SPURGEON ERA 21
presuming to indulge in ' arrogant declamation
to the Deity,' offering prayers ' most profanely
familiar.' One religious journal which might
have been expected to show more sympathy stated,
' Solemnly do we express our regret that insolence
so unblushing, intellect so feeble, flippancy so
ostentatious, and manner so rude should, in the
name of religion and in connection with the Church,
receive the acknowledgment of even a momentary
popularity.' But the real power and worth of
Spurgeon made itself felt. In the course of time
men of wide experience and culture learned to
appreciate his character, abilities, sincerity, and
spiritual power. A man may claim to be known
by his fruits ; and no ministry in modern times
has affected so many men of such varied experi-
ences in every part of the world as C. H. Spurgeon's.
There is something in these sermons which grips
the heart and challenges the conscience ; and
many who never heard the preacher have read
these homely but persuasive discourses almost
in every corner of the world.
" Spurgeon's life and character were all of a
piece. He belonged to the lower middle classes,
and his ideals were theirs. The poor preacher who
at first was content to supplement his pastor's
pittance by teaching in a private school, when his
income increased and the profits from the sale of
his sermons and books enabled him to live in the
comfort of a prosperous professional man, had no
hesitation in using the good things of the world
after the method of the class to which he belonged.
There is an amusing entry in Archbishop Benson's
22 THE SPURGEON ERA
diary which describes a visit Spurgeon paid to him,
and reports the Baptist pastor saying that — ' "There
are some heathen that won't give in to anything
but the Word — it takes ingenuity to find the
Word that will convince them. It's not the real
meaning of the passage that affects them. It's
the applicability of the words themselves to their
particular case." So he talked on, the Antiquus
Ego was ever before his eyes. But he made us
all like him very much, and respect the Ego which
he respected, and feel that he had a very definite
call by the help of it to win souls for Christ, or
rather to help those souls to Christ who were sure
to come one way or other. " I'm a very bad
Calvinist, quite a Calvinist — I look on to the time
when the Elect will be all the world." This I don't
understand, I fear. He stayed nearly two hours,
interesting us all much, and he drove away in a
very nice brougham with two very nice light chest-
nuts, almost cream coloured, and his coachman
had a very shabby hat.'
" Spurgeon's sermons are nearly always arranged
according to the same plan. There are the three
or four main headings with their various sub-
divisions, presenting repeated and direct appeals to
the consciences of his hearers. But with this per-
manence of outline there is the greatest variety of
subject. He was alive to everything that was
going on around him, quick to make use of any
notable event, if by that means he could give
emphasis to his message. For instance, Londoners
of about forty years ago will remember the way in
which they were moved by the loss of many lives
THE SPURGEON ERA 23
in the sinking of the Princess Alice, a pleasure
steamer which went down in the Thames. The
sermon preached by Spurgeon at that time served
to give the disaster a vividness of spiritual meaning
which affected many. Throughout these sermons,
of which millions of copies have been sold, there
is constant proof that the preacher is in the closest
sympathy with the people to whom he preached.
He never forgot the great central verities of the
Christian faith. It is true that he was a strong
Baptist and a Calvinist, and would have nothing
to do with liberalism in theology. But he be-
lieved that the Christ whom he preached was able
to save all men. He preached with the purpose
of conversion, and he succeeded to a wonderful
degree.
" Spurgeon was a tireless worker, and his com-
paratively early death in his fifty-eighth year was
caused by over- work. Yet the constant preach-
ing which would have exhausted the powers of
most strong men was but a part of his work. His
sermons and numerous writings brought him con-
siderable sums of money, which he devoted to the
Pastors' College, the Stockwell Orphanage, the
Colportage Association, and other works which he
founded. To these he gave himself and his means
without reserve. Some of his lectures to the
students of the Pastors' College are to be read in
four volumes of Lectures to my Students, and
they are to be warmly commended to the candi-
dates for the ministry of all denominations. Few
books are so full of spiritual counsel to preachers
and yet so thoroughly sane as these. The Trea-
24 THE SPURGEON ERA
sury of David is another work of quite special
importance which we owe to Spurgeon, containing
as it does a vast collection of the choicest Puritan
literature on the Psalms. The publishers have
met the sustained demand for Spurgeon's sermons
by publishing them in volumes according to their
subjects or the texts from which they were taken,
or as devotional books of various kinds, so that
the Spurgeon literature takes many forms.
" Spurgeon was a Puritan and a Calvinist. In
so far as this is a true description of the man it
would seem to declare his inability to appeal to
the religious instincts and needs of the men of our
time. But in fact no modern preacher has spoken
so directly to men's hearts as this herald of re-
actionary Protestantism. The secret lay in his
knowledge of God as He is revealed in the Bible,
and his knowledge of men as he learned it in his
own experience. To these he brought an entire
devotion to his ministry in the conviction that in
it he was appointed to glorify His Master and save
the souls of his fellow-men. He had the Calvinist's
belief in the Sovereignty of God, and the Puritan's
passion for righteousness, but his humour and his
sympathy saved him from the harshness of both
and enabled him to commend to his hearers the
Gospel which he preached with a homeliness that
only served to manifest its power."
In very truth Spurgeon was a Puritan and a
Calvinist — ^there can be no juster characterization of
his qualities, and if we consider the time of his
appearance, and the circumstances of his day, it
THE SPURGEON ERA 25
will be difficult, in the review, for any of us to
doubt that it was God's Sovereign Grace that sent
him, him and no other, at such an hour. It might
be said that he was the product of his time, if he
had not been trained so much apart from it and
begun to influence his time before it had the oppor-
tunity of influencing him.
In the year that William Carey died, 1834, ten
days afterwards, Spurgeon was born, just as
Carey called the Church of Christ to expect great
things from God, and attempt great things for
God, the year after John Wesley's voice was
silenced. Here is the true succession of Apostles.
One age was ending and another about to begin.
A Voice was needed, and God sent a man ade-
quately fitted for the appointed task. It was the
very year when new tides of spiritual power began
to flow all along the coast of the Church of Christ.
In the Anglican Church the Tractarian Move-
ment, inaugurated the previous year, had gathered
such force in 1834 that the Christian Observer raised
the cry of Romanism, and in Spurgeon's boyhood,
under the leadership of Keble, Newman, and
Pusey, it increased in volume and power.
In the Scotch Church the attempt to force an
unpopular minister on the parish of Auchterarder,
in 1834, led to a struggle for the independence of
Church and State, which in 1843 impelled 470
ministers to leave the Church of St. Andrew's in
Edinburgh to form the Free Church of Scotland,
with such men as Chalmers, Guthrie, CandHsh,
Duff, and McCheyne as leaders — one of the most
glorious processions in history. Spurgeon was
26 THE SPURGEON ERA
then nine years of age. In 1885 he wrote : " When
a boy we remember the enthusiasm of the Inde-
pendent congregation with which my family are
connected. Certain of the Disruption men have
been amongst our choicest friends, and we hke to
think of all they did and suffered for the truth's
sake."
Another movement of a different order, yet in-
formed by the same desire for reality and freedom,
began in Ireland, and took shape amongst the
Brethren at Plymouth, spreading rapidly amongst
eager Evangelical folk in this country and on the
Continent. Again, 1834 was a year of crisis, for
it was then that J. N. Darby published his book
on Christian Liberty in Preaching, and proclaimed
that the Church was in ruins.
These different movements seemed to have no-
thing in common, seemed indeed to oppose each
other like contrary currents ; the people of the
time could not guess that they were all caused by
the rising of the tide, which on one side of an
island may flow in a direction the exact opposite
of the tide on the other side of the island, though
they are both part of one great impulse. The
whole nation — ^may we not say the whole world ?
— ^was feeling after God, and God was not forgetful
of His people. One evidence of His care was that
He was preparing a prophet to speak His word —
a prophet who was in the desert until the time of his
showing unto Israel, who then came forth, know-
ing well the Shepherd's Voice, and not knowing,
nor caring to know the voice of strangers.
That he was part of his time, though he was not
THE SPURGEON ERA 27
the product of it, is seen in the harmonious deve-
lopments in other directions. In 1859, five years
after his ministry in London began, there came
the Great Revival which has left its mark on the
life of the people until this day. Nobody knows
how it began : its first manifestation was in
America, after a series of business failures in that
country, but whether caused by them or whether
they sprang from the same cause as the Revival
cannot be determined. In the following year
Ireland and Scotland witnessed the same phe-
nomena accentuated by physical signs, real enough,
but difficult to explain. Professor Cairns bears
witness that in his young days the Christian leaders
in aggressive Evangelical circles were largely the
fruit of '59, and I can bear the same witness as
to the north of Ireland. In the sixties the move-
ment, shorn of its extravagances and partly bereft
of its power, reached England, where it came as a
sort of aftermath of Spurgeon's own ministry.
All along the course of the Spurgeon ministry
such visitations of God's grace occurred, not
caused by it, but not apart from it. In 1873 D. L.
Moody and Ira D. Sankey came to this country.
Mr. Moody, asked to state his creed, declared that
it was already in print in the fifty-third of Isaiah,
and Mr. Sankey sang that the search for the lost
sheep was more to the mind of Christ than even
the care of the ninety and nine. The evangelists
had no warmer friend than the Pastor of the
Tabernacle — ^that has already been made clear
in the previous chapter.
It cannot be said that the Keswick Convention
28 THE SPURGEON ERA
which was the outgrowth of this Revival had the
support of either Spurgeon, though both were
close friends of many of its leaders. But the truth
embodied in the teaching of the Convention, that
holiness, like conversion, comes not by works
but by faith, and that Christ can give instant
deliverance from sin and constant victory over
temptation, has now become almost axiomatic in
Christian thinking, and was, in fact, part of the
Spurgeon message.
The uprising of the Salvation Army was but a
symptom of the same desire to bring Christ to the
people, and to lead the people to God. It was the
flowing of the tide into another bay, with a head-
land between, which prevented observers in either
bay seeing both as one movement — ^that was only
given to those on the headland or on the height.
Spurgeon held aloof from the Army but greatly
admired the zeal of both Catherine and William
Booth. General Booth visited him on one occa-
sion in the early years and sought his co-operation.
With characteristic adroitness he said that he
would not like to have it reported that Spurgeon
had refused him the Tabernacle for a meeting,
but that if Spurgeon would hold up his little finger
he would ask him for it. "I did not hold up
my finger," said Spurgeon to me afterwards. But
he gave General Booth his hand, and in after years
the General spoke in the new Tabernacle on two
different occasions.
The Spurgeon Era also covers the rise of the
Student Christian Movement, with the consequent
missionary advance ; and the great manifestation
THE SPURGEON ERA 29
of essential unity as seen in the memorable
Edinburgh Conference. It may seem to be a
far cry from the Spurgeons to Dr. John Mott —
again it is only from the headland or from the
height that the whole view can be seen. The
essential truth is common to both of them — " I,
if I be lifted up will draw all men unto Me." Why,
the very text that led Spurgeon to the light is a
missionary text, " Look unto me, and be ye saved,
all the ends of the earth I " and nobody had greater
sympathy with student life than he.
In Thomas Spurgeon's day there came the
Welsh Revival, and when he was laid aside from
preaching I could not forbear comparing him with
Evan Roberts, my immediate neighbour in
Leicester, since he also, once so greatly used, has
been called into retirement. The greatness of
both men is seen in their unspoiled temper during
their forced inaction. Neither was soured by
disappointment, or rendered unsympathetic to-
ward those who held the field. Mr. Spurgeon
visited Wales during the Revival time, preached
in a coal-pit to some of the exuberant spirits, and
was afterwards through the instrumentality of the
Welsh students of the Pastors' College permitted
to see a splash of the tide in the Tabernacle.
That it is no mere fancy of a friendly biographer
which looks upon the sixty-three years as the
Spurgeon Era may be illustrated by some words
written of Dr. James Denney, by Sir William
Robertson Nicoll, whom I quote again, wishing
that he might even yet be induced to write the
C. H. Spurgeon biography for which we still wait.
80 THE SPURGEON ERA
" We believe," he says concerning Denney, " that
his wife, who gave him the truest and most perfect
companionship, led him into a more pronounced
Evangelical creed. It was she who induced him
to read Spurgeon, whom he had been inclined to
despise. He became an ardent admirer of this
preacher and a very careful and sympathetic
student of his sermons. It was Spurgeon, perhaps
as much as any one, who led him to the great
decision of his life — the decision to preach Christ
our righteousness."
Though the great controversy of his life involved
the Baptist Union, it is a satisfaction to-day to
find, in the Entrance Hall of the Baptist Church
House, a fine statue of the great preacher. What-
ever the new age may hold for us it cannot lessen
the greatness of that figure, nor lower the eternal
truth he proclaimed of Christ's Deity, Lordship,
Atonement and Reign.
CHAPTER III
THE TWINS
Two years after C. H. Spurgeon settled in London
twin sons were born to him. They came on Sep-
tember 20th, 1856, to his earhest London home,
217, New Kent Road. Great was the joy in the
home and in the church. The oft-repeated story
that when his father heard of it he said, " Not i^
more than others I deserve ; but God hath given
me more " is as apocryphal as that earlier story
that Carey said to Andrew Fuller that he would
go down into the mine if others would hold the
ropes. No doubt both sayings would quite truly
have expressed the feelings of the two men, but
in both cases they are the sayings of others. In
the earliest instance the foundation of the story
is that Fuller wrote concerning Carey : ''It was
as if he had said, I will go down if you will hold
the ropes," and in the later it was no doubt the
comment of one of Spurgeon's friends who suggested
that the happy father might have said so-and-so.
But there was no doubt about the boys — there
they were — the elder called Charles after his
father, and with a touch of humour, the younger
called Thomas because he was a twin. That at
any rate is the probable explanation, though the
31
32 THE TWINS
said Tom once in Australia gave a different answer
when he was asked why his father had given him
that name. " Before my mother was married,"
he said, " her name was Thompson, so it was quite
natural that I should be Son Tom."
No son was ever a fonder lover of his mother
than he ; his earlier letters overflow with affection
for " Mudge," became indeed almost extravagant
in their expressions of endearment, and he never
wavered in that devotion. It was quite natural
for him to reply when a superior person said to
him in the after years, " You would not be where
you are if you had not been your father's son,"
'' But surely you will give my mother a little of the
credit too " — an answer which stamped him more
surely as his father's son than his mother's.
His father more than once said that if God
honours His saints before the people, He gener-
ally takes them behind the door and gives them
a whipping, and in his own case this was often
true. But now the order was reversed. God sent
the great joy into the home, and barely a month
after sent him in public the greatest sorrow of his
life. On October 19th, there arose a panic in the
great congregation at the Surrey Music Hall the
first time he preached there. Some thieves cried
'' Fire," and the frantic people rushed for the
doors, seven being killed and many others injured.
The preacher did much to calm their fears, but
afterwards his own mind was paralysed, and the
next month was spent in a state of inconsolable
distress. Gradually peace of heart was given to
him, and mother and children joined him at Croy-
THE TWINS 33
don, where he had gone to get away from the
horror that pursued him amid famihar scenes.
He never quite recovered his nerve in the face of
an unfamihar crowd, but when the joy of the Lord
was restored, he gratefully dedicated his twin
boys, as far as in him lay, to the Lord and to His
service, and the happy family returned home
again.
The lads were a little more than a year old
when their father preached in the Crystal Palace
to the largest congregation he ever addressed,
23,654 persons, on October 7th, 1857, the national
Fast-Day for the Indian Mutiny. A day or two
before the service he went to the Palace to test
the acoustics of the place, men being placed at
various points to see if they could hear his voice.
As ever, having to say something, he said some-
thing worth the saying — '' Behold the Lamb of
God who taketh away the sin of the world." A
workman, hearing the message unexpectedly, re-
ceived it as a message from heaven, and was led
to Christ by it. On the day itself the text was
" Hear ye the rod and Him that hath appointed
it," the congregation was deeply impressed, the
Mutiny Fimd benefited to the extent of £700,
and Mr. Spurgeon was so exhausted that going to
bed that Wednesday night he did not awake until
Friday morning ! !
About this time the home had been moved to
Nightingale Lane, Clapham Common, then in the
country, now in the busy traffic of London ; and
here the boys, in the fresher air, grew apace.
They were of course just like other boys. Their
3
4
34 THE TWINS
father was once asked " Which is the best, Charlie
or Tom ? " and his answer was characteristic.
'* CharHe is the best boy when Tom is not with
him, and Tom is best when CharUe is away.'*
Their first education was given by a governess,
and to her the earhest letter of T. S. that has been
preserved is addressed. It was sent to his son
Harold quite recently by a lady who says : " My
dear father came across it at an old curiosity shop,
and paid five shillings for it, thinking it would
please me to have it : which it did." The letter,
in stiff clear writing, runs ;
" May 6th, 1866.
" My dear Miss Steventon,
'' Mamma desires me to write and say, with
her kind regards, that we shall not be able to come
to school all next week, as we are going out.
'' I remain,
" Your affectionate pupil,
" Thomas Spurgeon."
Then they went to a school at Lansdowne
Road, Stockwell, and afterwards to Lang's School
at Clapham Park. For a while afterwards they
were tutored by Mr. Rylands Brown when he was
a student in the Pastors' College, the boys coming
down to the Tabernacle for their lessons. When
at Clapham Park they might have been seen any
morning running to catch Tilling's omnibus which
took City men to their work in those days, four-
in-hand. The conductor knew them as Spurgeon's
boys, and gladly gave them a lift till his omnibus
THE TWINS 35
filled up- Once Thomas missed his step and fell
flat on his face, but he had spirit enough to pick
himself up and get on the omnibus after all. They
were fond of skating and of cricket, and Mr.
Higgs bought a beautiful boat which they used
to sail on the pond on the Common.
" I remember as a child," he said in a sermon,
" earning sixpence from my beloved father once
for sitting still for a quarter of an hour. I never
found wage so hard to earn before or since. I
never consented a second time to attempt such a
feat at such poor rate of payment."
In another sermon this occurs — " I used to do
canvas work when I was a little boy, and if I did
it wrong I had to unpick it. I know I did not
like that part. I would always rather do a new
square. I often think how glad we should be if
we could only unpick in life those squares that we
have done amiss."
On Sunday evenings their mother used to take
the boys aside and talk to them about the way of
life, and with one each side of her at the piano
sing the songs of Zion. " I like to tell," her son
said years afterwards, '' how she bade us sing
' There is a fountain filled with blood ' and of how
when she came to the chorus she used to say,
' Dear boys of mine, I have no reason to sup-
pose that you are yet trusting Christ : you will,
I hope, in answer to our constant prayers, but till
you definitely do you must not say or sing '*I
do believe, I will beHeve, that Jesus died for me."
It is just as wrong to sing a lie as to tell one.'
Then she used to sing it by herself. Somehow or
I
36 THE TWINS
other it did not seem to me, even in those early
days, that a chorus should be sung by one voice
only ! Perhaps that little thought helped me to
long to be able to sing it too, and the Holy Spirit
wrought in my heart an earnest craving to be
able to sing
I do believe, I will believe.
That Jesus died for me.
That on the Cross He shed His blood.
From sin to set me free.
Oh, how I longed for that ! I remember well the
bright morning when as we came to the breakfast-
table, I climbed upon her seat and put my arms
round dear mother's neck — ^^I like to have them
there still — ^and I said to her, ' Dear mother, I
really think I do love Jesus.' Thank God, she
took me at my word, and said to me, ' I am so
glad to hear it, I believe you do.' Then I wanted
Sunday night to come that I might be able to
sing my loudest in the chorus. Whatever else
may fade from my memory that scene is indelibly
fixed there. ' I opened my mouth unto the
Lord and I cannot go back.' The words were
spoken into the Lord's ear. The Lord was listen-
ing, and I believe He also said, ' Dear child, I
believe you do love Me.' "
His father's sister, Mrs. Page, about this time
visited her brother at Nightingale Lane. She
had been led to Christ by Archibald Brown's
mother, but had only told two or three of her
intimate friends of the change in her life. One
day her nephew Tom, " then quite a little chap
THE TWINS 37
in knickers, climbed on to my knee," she writes,
" and putting his arms round my neck, said :
' Aunt Louie, do you love Jesus ? ' I said, ' Yes,
Tommy,' and then came the thought that if I
had thus told a little child, why should I not con-
fess it to others, and it led me to be baptized and
to join the Tabernacle Church."
Through my friend Dr. Thirtle I have come into
possession of a little book bound in purple leather
with the boy's name in gold on the cover. It is
The Pleasant Catechism Concerning Christ, which
was presented to him by Thomas D. Marshall, who
was, if I mistake not, Newton Marshall's father.
On the fly-leaf he has written the words : " He is
my God . . . my father's God. I will exalt him "
(Ex. XV. 2-3). Evidently Thomas learnt this
Catechism for some time, for there are marks, about
a page distant from each other, to mark the lessons.
He went steadily through the sections, " The
Person of Christ," "The Character of Christ,"
" The Work of Christ," but in the fourth section,
" The Commands of Christ," he seems to have been
arrested — it is a wonder he did not make an
illustration of it in years to come. The fifth sec-
tion, " The People of Christ," he does not seem
to have touched.
An interesting episode occurred in the ninth
year of the twins. On March 14th, 1865, at the
close of a lecture by their father in the Metro-
politan Tabernacle, on behalf of " The United
Kingdom Band of Hope," a branch was formed at
the Tabernacle, and the two boys came to the
front of the platform to be enrolled as the first
38 THE TWINS
two members. Mr. Selway placed the medal and
ribbon round the neck of each, and asked them
to address a few words to the meeting. They
both made the same speech, the first public utter-
ance for either of them : "I hope to be a teetotaller
all my life." A letter of "Son Tom " is extant,
dated March 1865, which will be of interest to
his friends. Remember that the writer was only
between eight and nine years old.
" My dear Mr. Selway,
" I am very much obliged to you for that
beautiful book you gave me, and the kind way
you gave me the medal. I must thank you again
and again for both. It is a very nice book ; I
tried hard to read the preface but found the words
rather difficult, but I will ask Mamma to explain
them to me. I send my love to you, and hope
that all your prayers and Papa's will be answered
for us, and that we may grow up good men and
preachers like our dear Papa. I hope to keep
that book as long as I live. I will be able to look
at it and will then remember what I did when
I was a little boy. I was very happy in receiving
the medal, and thought it was a very beautiful one,
and hope to keep it a very long time. I am sure
I ought to be, and am, very grateful to you. I
hope that I will make a longer speech soon." The
last page is in praise of his father's lecture on
Candles, which he seems to have enjoyed very
much ; then he finishes :
" From your grateful little Friend,
" Thomas Spurgeon."
THE TWINS 89
In course of time the house at Nightingale Lane
was to be rebuilt, and the household moved to
Brighton during the operation. The boys were
sent to Camden House School there, and for three
years and a half were under the care of Mr. William
Oldring.
In a letter to his mother, dated " Brighton,
February 20th, 1871," evidently written when his
parents had returned home, he says : '' Somebody
sent me a love token, and as the postmark was
London, S.W., I suppose I shall not be far wrong
in guessing that the Somebody lives not far from
Nightingale Lane. " Then, referring to his mother's
letter of February 14th, he adds : " Ah ! but
mamma, I have received something better than a
valentine, something more substantial. If I could
but speak to you in reality I would like to make
you guess what it is — A Certificate of Approbation
awarded to T. S. for good work and conduct
during the week. Four weeks have slipped away
and your Tommie has not been reported yet."
Then, boy-like, he speaks of a holiday to be given
to the school because some of the scholars had
distinguished themselves in the Cambridge Local
Examination, and ends in triumph by saying that
there is going to be a clock put on the steeple of
the school chapel, and that perhaps his father
would like to contribute to it !
He and his brother were evidently set on getting
money for good works early in their lives. About
this time they compiled a magazine entitled Read-
ings for Leisure Hours, both being editors, with
Henry Olney as foreign correspondent. In the
40 THE TWINS
only issue preserved, Vol. II., No. 5, April 1872,
they state that they have already raised a guinea
for the Pastors' College, and ask for more.
For his sixteenth birthday his mother sends
him a little note. '' I thank God for sparing you
so long to me," she says; " and hope that I may
live to see you a brave, earnest, devoted Christian
man. My highest wish for you is that you may
be holy."
Five other letters from his mother during the
year 1873 have been carefully guarded by her son.
In the first, dated February 11th, she says :
" I am not at all surprised at your elevation to
the monitorship, but I pray earnestly for you that
as your privileges and responsibilities increase so
may your grace and wisdom, and your reliance on
God. You will be thrown now, my son, into the
company of elder boys of the school. Oh, I pray
you, remember what the burden of my heart was
the night you took leave of me at Brighton.
' Lord, keep my boys from the evil that is in the
world.'
" You will hear and see and learn things from
elder boys that perhaps you never dreamed of
before. Oh, my darling, my precious son, turn reso-
lutely away from everything that looks like vice or
wickedness, and keep yourself pure unto the Lord.
Temptation will be very strong sometimes, but cry
unto God ; cry mightily and He will deliver you.
Something in my heart compels me to say this
to you to-day ; if you do not feel the force of it
now, you will soonj so treasure up myj^words,
THE TWINS 41
darling, and above all, trust Jesus and c^i^trust
self.
" I shall be very anxious to hear what you do,
and how you get on with your ' Debates.' Papa
says that extempore speaking is gained only by
practice, I could wish my boys to shine in this
particular, but I must in this also learn to say
' Thy will be done.'
" God bless the prayer meeting ! May it never
become a mere formal service, but have loving,
earnest, pleading hearts to keep it alive, and well
pleasing to the Lord.
" Your loving
" MOTHEK."
That this letter has been kept all these years
is an indication that, as his mother wished, her
words had been treasured. Which leads me to
observe that while the children of good fathers
often go wrong, the wise and Christian mother can
generally influence her children aright, especially
if they are boys.
About this time Thomas showed an aptitude
for drawing, and having copied a picture of a
coastguard from the British Workman sent it home.
His mother in the same letter says :
" Your sailor is shown to nearly everybody, and
they are all loud in its praise. Certainly my
Tommie can have no doubt about one talent which
God has given him: how many others has he?
May they all be devoted to His service ! "
4^ THE TWINS
The picture is reproduced in Mrs. C. H. Spur^
geon's biography of her husband.
On March 19th his mother writes :
" I was very pleased with the pretty Httle draw-
ing you sent me. I think it is excellently well
done, and I am quite proud of my son. By the
way, I did not know that you aspired to be a poet
as well as an artist, but your verses are first-rate
(except the first). Papa says so, and you know
he is no mean critic.
" I want particularly to say to you that you
are to be sure not to take drawing lessons from
anybody. Last night a professional gentleman
saw my sailor, and after praising it very highly
he said, ' never let that dear boy learn drawing.
Nature will be his best teacher, and the less he
copies the better.' So, darling, I advise you to
try your hand on all sorts of objects, for surely
some day, if you wish it, you will rise to eminence
in your art."
Almost a prophecy. In the next letter, written
from Deal, where she was resting while her hus-
band was exploring the beauties of the New Forest,
Mrs. Spurgeon quotes a long description of the
forest scenery from one of her husband's letters,
and ends wuth : '' There, dear boys, is not that a
fine description ? that simple language Papa uses,
and yet how forcible ! One can almost see the
scenes he pictures."
The last school letter is to sympathize with hex
THE TWINS 48
boy in a disappointment, and his mother gives him
a very sound bit of advice, as well as good cheer :
" Don't be discouraged. I am most truly sorry
for you, for it seems hard, after having tried your
best, but another time, if I were you, I would
tackle the most difficult part of any task first,
and then, that once mastered, all the rest would
be comparatively easy. For instance, if you had
begun with the fourteenth proposition and con-
quered it you would have been sure to have suc-
ceeded with the others, and this misfortune would
not have befallen you. Your Papa says this is
the right way, and he hopes his boy will follow
it. He, too, is sorry for you, but bids you to be
of good courage."
The brothers were chums all along their school
life, and both were avowed Christians. It was no
infrequent thing for them to be discovered dis-
tributing their father's sermons along the Parade
at Brighton, and, as we have seen, they took the
lead in a prayer meeting at the school. In honour
they preferred one another. Mrs. Barker, the
wife of the minister at Hastings, was once calling
on Mrs. C. H. Spurgeon, and " on being shown
into the room was attracted by a pile of handsome
books on the table, which she found on inspection
were prizes awarded to ' Master Thomas Spur-
geon.' In a few moments the owner entered,
evidently sent to entertain the caller until his
mother was free to appear, and she remarked to
him that she was looking at his beautiful prijses.
44 THE TWINS
At once he replied, ' Oh, but let me show you my
brother Charlie's prizes. Aren't they nice ? ' and
took her to another pile. The act of the boy in
seeking to draw my attention from himself to his
brother was so beautiful, I felt that his disposition
was delightful, and that he must become a great
and good man." The correspondent who supplies
the incident adds : " When later on I had the
honour of calling him friend, I proved a hundred
times how the boy was father to the man. He
never desired great things for himself, but was
content ' to fill a little space ' in man's estima-
tion, that Christ might be glorified."
School days over it became a question what was
to become of the boys, and the outcome of the
discussion was that Charles started on a career
as a merchant in the office of Messrs. Frith Sands
and Co., in Broad Street, and Thomas as an artist
in the office of Mr. William Ho Hedge, wood-
engraver, in Fetter Lane, and both of them were
in a fair way of prospering when the call came to
devote themselves to the ministry of the Word
of God.
It is difficult to understand why their parents,
with such a high sense of the value of learning, did
not give their sons the opportunity of a University
career. A hint of the reason may be found in
the letter from their mother when she exhorts
Tom not to let anybody teach him drawing.
Deep down in the hearts of both father and mother
there was, I believe, a sort of intuitive faith that
their sons would preach the Gospel, and they
determined that God's Spirit and Nature (though
THE TWINS 45
I am not quite sure whether any distinction should
be drawn between the two) should suffice for their
equipment. Meanwhile they were to know the
world they lived in, and the men amongst whom
they would have to labour.
There was another reason if we search deep
enough to find it. Those who know the father's
story will remember how in his early days he
thought of applying for entrance to Regent's Park
College, and in the house of Mr. Macmillan at
Cambridge waited for an interview with Dr.
Angus, who in another room, owing to the stu-
pidity of a servant, was waiting for him. Going
across the Common, disappointed, the Word of
the Lord came to him, " Seekest thou great things
for thyself ? seek them not," the words of Jeremiah
to Baruch in the olden days, the words which
Bishop Ken wrote in two books that he had
constantly in use: — '^ Et tu quceris tibi grandia?
Noli qucerere.^^ Knowing his father and some of
his deep thoughts, I think that he deliberately
faced the problem for his boys as well as for him-
self. " Seekest thou great things for thy sons ?
seek them not." Perhaps he may have been less
than just to them, but he was ever more than
kind, and he had faith that God who called and
equipped him would do as much for them. Nor
was his faith disappointed.
The boys joined the church at the Tabernacle
when they were eighteen years of age. On Sep-
tember 20th, 1874, their father preached on the
text "I and the children," and the next evening
he baptized them both. The right hand of fellow-
46 THE TWINS
ship with the Church was theirs on October 4th,
and the motto given to them — a motto they never
forgot — was " Ye are not your own, for ye are
bought with a price."
They soon got to work for Christ, though it was
in quite an unconventional way. Near their
home a gardener, Mr. Rides, had begun informal
services in his own house, 12, Swaby Road, and
the brothers soon joined him. Charles was first
enlisted, and he brought Thomas ; they preached
in turn, and the rooms soon became too small for
the people who wished to attend ; it then became
necessary to seek larger premises. No doubt the
name of Spurgeon was an attraction. Boling-
broke Chapel was built in 1877, and the work grew
until it became the foundation of the present
Northcote Road Baptist Church.
But in the very thick of the early success Tom
discovered that God had for him another way :
before the year was out he was in Australia, and
at one of his great meetings there he said that he
had not been frightened at the services he was
called to conduct, for when at home he was accus-
tomed to hold, in a gardener's cottage, a children's
service in the morning and one for adults in the
evening.
" It is nearly twenty-seven years ago," he said
in a Tabernacle sermon when he was Pastor of
that Church, " since I preached from this text
(2 Kings iii. 16) for the first time, in the little
mission where I first began to dig for Jesus. I
tried to urge the people to make the valley full
of ditches, and I have lived long enough to see
THE TWINS 47
the whole of that valley — for it was literally a
valley — ^not only filled with population, but filled,
as I believe, with earnest Christian work and
workers ; I bless God that the little one has be-
come a thousand, for God has made it to prosper.
We little thought of such results those years ago.'*
That was the preparation for all the service that
was to follow. He illustrated it from his own
experience, in an address to the students of the
Pastors' College, twenty years afterwards. " If,
when I began to learn the art of wood-engraving,
my teacher had let me start away with the graver
and scooper and tint tool at one of his best blocks,
he would have had his picture spoiled for one
thing, and I should never have mastered the art.
Therefore he set me to single lines and facsimile
work, then to cross-hatching and to various simple
tints. One thing I remember on which he laid
great stress — too much stress to please me at the
time ; he would have me learn well how to sharpen
my tools. That was sharp on his part, but I
myself should have been a poor tool if I could not
sharpen my instrument."
The earliest letter to him from his father that
has been preserved is dated Mentone, December
5th. It has been twelve times folded and evidently
carried for a long time in the boy's pocket.
'' My dear Son Tom," it says, " I hope the
engraving business is becoming an easy matter
with you. God bless you, my boy, and prosper
you for this life : but yet more for the life to come.
Work as steadily in both spheres of service ; to
48 THE TWINS
neglect either would be like tying up one of your
hands or one of your feet. God is glorified in the
shop and in the pulpit. May you see good results
in both directions ! I pray for you in relation to
the two. I hope Bolingbroke does not get empty
through the cold and wet. I must help you there.
Eass your dear mother, and try and tell her how
dear she is to us all three. Our angel and delight,
is she not ? With much love,
'' Your affectionate father,
'' C. H. S."
CHAPTER IV
THE FIRST VOYAGE
But another way was opening than either father
or son intended. The first inkhng of it is to be
found in the next letter from father to son that
has been preserved. It was written from Mentone
on a Monday, but is undated, save only that the
year 1877 is added in the son's writing. There are
things in it that need not be quoted : the pregnant
paragraphs are as follows :
" My dear Son Tom,
" I am very sorry that you are feeling so
weak, and as your dear Mother thinks a voyage
would do you good I cannot but yield to the wish.
I am rather afraid that it will be too severe a
remedy, but I shall not demur to its being tried.
If it ends in your going in for the College course
and coming into the ministry I shall not regret it ;
indeed, I shall rejoice if you went round the world
seven times if it ended so.
" You will preach, I am sure, but without good
training you cannot take the position which I want
you to occupy. Theology is not to be learned in
its amplitude and accuracy by one destined to be
4 49
50 THE FIRST VOYAGE
a public instructor without going thoroughly into
it, and mastering its terms and details. Perhaps
a voyage may give tone to your system and pre-
pare you for two years of steady application.
Only may the Lord make you a great soul-winner,
and I shall be more than content.
" We meet some awful donkeys when travelling,
but a lady at San Remo is beyond all others. She
said she regretted that our Lord Jesus was a Jew.
When asked if she would have preferred his being
an Enghshman she replied, ' No, but you see it
is such a pity that he was a Jew : it would have
been far better if he had been a Christian like
ourselves ' ! !
" Your loving father,
" C. H. Spurgeon."
Arrangements were made for him to sail with
Captain Jenkins, a Christian seaman, in the three-
masted schooner Lady Jocelyn. He was accom-
panied by the son of the artist to whom he had
been apprenticed, and the two " Toms " set out
on their voyage on Friday, June 15th, 1877. His
father had warned him that " life on a ship was
like going to prison, with the added chance of
being drowned," but he seems to have taken the
risk gaily. Mrs. C. H. Spurgeon happily preserved
the frequent and lengthy letters her son sent
home ; sometimes it is the boy who speaks and
sometimes the man, always the son. This should
be remembered when the following extracts are
read.
" Speaking to the steward we found the pilot
THE FIRST VOYAGE 51
would leave us to-night and then we should be
left indeed, so ' what thou doest do quickly '
floated across my mind. The next moment a pen
was seized, and here I am writing. The Black
Prince has us in tow and the ripple of three small
boats astern makes splash-dash music.
" Captain Jenkins has just come alongside me
and wants to be kindly remembered to Ma and
Pa. ' Would she like the portrait of the ship ? '
was readily answered in the affirmative, and here
it is with her husband (the Captain) and the
facetious remark that a ship is in love when at-
tached to a buoy.
" We have, I think, sixteen sheep and any
quantity of fowls and ducks. Poor things, they
have close quarters indeed. It will be kindness to
eat some of them to give the others more room.
'* Loneliness has scarcely troubled me yet. A
kind of wonderment and a restful trust in God is
what I feel.
" Saturday morning. — Our doctor is a very young
man on his first voyage, so I am going to be ready
to doctor him. A lady last evening mistook me
for this important individual and gave me quite a
lecture as to my duties in attending to her. As
I told you the Captain introduced me to her by
saying I would look after her, I was not surprised
at first when she spoke of my responsibilities, but
when she said that of course I should be wanted
day and night, and so on, I opened her eyes and
my mouth by telling her I was not the doctor.
52 THE FIRST VOYAGE
She seemed rather bewildered, and apologized for
the mistake.
^''Saturday afternoon, June IQth, 77. — My greatest
friend as yet is Mr. Keen of Croydon. I believe
him to be a Christian man, and doubt not I shall
get on with him swimmingly. He asked me this
morning about services on board. I told him I
hoped to have the opportunity of speaking, at
which he greatly rejoiced, being especially glad
to hear that the Captain was a godly man. It
seems that since that he has spoken to the Cap-
tain about it, and he in turn has spoken to me.
He said that he would leave the matter entirely
in my hands. He would not think of reading
prayers — * Just do it in your own way,' was the
advice he gave me, 'and we shall be very pleased.'
What a chance to serve the Master ! What a
responsibility in so doing ! Oh, that He may
even guide me in this also, and give me acceptable
words, and then help me to practise what I preach !
I have made up my mind, God helping me, not
to be discouraged at the result of the first meeting,
whatever it may be."
The next morning at half-past six off Portland
Bill, he writes to his brother, sending loving mes-
sages to him and to the little meeting in which
they were both so deeply interested. *' I have
been thinking of the verse :
All scenes alike engaging prove
To souls impressed with sacred love;
Where'er they dwell they dwell in Thee,
In heaven, in earth, or on the sea ;
THE FIRST VOYAGE 58
and glad indeed it makes me to know that the
place where men ought to worship is here and
there and everywhere. God bless the Mission
Room is my constant prayer. Seek God as your
helper. Remember He is the Great and Good
Shepherd and you are co- or sub-pastor. Give
my Christian love to all of the people. I hope
they'll like their new House and send many a
prayer from it to the old ship.
" Good-bye, dear home and country ! Farewell,
sweet mother and loving friends ! I cannot help
tears just now : still, I think they are tears of joy
as well as of sadness, an eye full of each, for God
is good and always will be."
On Tuesday evening June 19th, 1877, another
letter was written to his mother in which he says
that owing to lack of wind they were still in sight
of Land's End. " Sunday was a glorious day. I
was up before five endeavouring to get a sermon,
and the whole day was anxious because we were
unable to have the service till seven o'clock.
Tom and myself are the only dissenters on board,
but the Captain would have none of the Church
service. The ladies willingly consented to help
in the singing, and altogether it passed off pretty
well. I shall feel more at home shortly."
It is a simple, wholesome, modest, unspoiled
personality that is revealed in these letters, but
withal a person sure of himself, and fixed in his
54 THE FIRST VOYAGE
purpose, looking out on life unafraid, with a
conscious sense of God's presence. The next
letter, written during the voyage, consists of no
less than twentj'-two four-page sheets, eighty-
eight pages in all — something like a letter that,
to come into a mother's hand. It was commenced
on August 13th, finished on September 1st, is
addressed to " My dear Parents," and at the head
of the first sheet there is an index of nine topics —
" I have done this so that you can begin where
you think you will be most interested," he writes.
Perhaps the reader will think it was an Index of
the Coming Man. There is of course only space
here for a few descriptive sentences.
" I have at no time been at a loss for anything
to do, and the monotony of life on board certainly
does not equal that of hurrying to the city in the
morning to peck all day, and returning weary
night after night."
He records with thankfulness that he has not
been sea-sick at all : "I was looked upon with
wonder, sometimes with envy, while day after
day morning querists would ask me if I still felt
quite the thing. Unable to say what the length
of the voyage may be, I can only say that I have
no desire for its completion." Several pages are
given to a realistic description of his fellow-pas-
sengers ; then there comes an inventory of his own
quarters.
*' Cabin No. 5 for some time had a notice over
the door which bore in red letters the announce-
ment that it was engaged by Mr. T. Spurgeon and
friend. Mr. T. Spurgeon and friend were not
THE FIRST VOYAGE 55
sorry to fulfil their part of the engagement, but
soon found that, the space being somewhat limited,
it was rather too much of a full fill. It was there-
fore in a most friendly way that I parted with my
friend's company on the fourth night, he removing
to the next apartment, the two being connected
by a door.
" Of course it was something to do to set my
room in order, for as it stood it looked anything
but inviting. My first attempts at house -furnish-
ing have been remarkably successful. This is
owing possibly to the facts that the house was
not extensive and that there has been plenty of
time for alterations and improvements. These
have been effected from time to time as weather
or inclination suggested. No. 5 Starboard Street
is next door to the residence of Captain Jenkins,
whose high reputation among Australian travellers
is so well-known. Thus the neighbourhood is
aristocratic. This charming sea-side residence is
delightfully situated on the edge of the ladies'
boudoir, and has in consequence a curtained
entrance. Somebody, too, seems to have said to
the carpet, ' Thus far but no farther shalt thou go.'
Walking in I find my apartment can boast two
posts, two doors, two bunks," and so it goes on
for two pages more, followed by an equally admir-
able description of the saloon. The playful tone
is evidence of renewed health.
Quite clever accounts of the wonders of the ocean
follow on page after page. Note this — " Now and
then the rainbow arched itself completely, and
gazing at it we suddenly became impressed with
56 THE FIRST VOYAGE
the necessity of preparing for the worst. Soon
the rain reached us, and, as we stood on the com-
panion ladder, we looked westward to see the sun
for a few minutes only tinging the rain-smitten
waters with a marvellous green. I never saw so
magical an effect. The ocean for a time stood
dressed in living green, and it required no stretch
of imagination to fancy that we were speeding
past fertile meadows. How it made us long to go
for a walk ! " Here is surely both the eye and
the touch of the artist.
" Father will be glad to hear," he writes, " that
the promise I gave respecting theological works was
by no means forgotten. You too will be pleased
to learn that shorthand received due attention."
In fact they had a shorthand class on deck every
morning. " Nor have I been idle in the Art
department. I scarcely know how many charts
I drew. I also produced two pictures. . . . Be-
sides these I began a block of the Lady Jocelyn,
but bad weather prevented its completion."
Each Sunday of the voyage Mr. Spurgeon
preached. On the third Sunday out, which was
spent in the Tropics, he determined to have two
services. Sunday, July 15th, is recorded as the
happiest Sabbath spent on board. " Both meet-
ings were better attended than ever, and in the
evening there were nearly sixty persons present.
When you remember that there were so many
Roman Catholics, a band of men on the watch,
and those who preferred sleep to service, besides
several absentees through sickness, you will see
that this was a most encouraging audience. I
THE FIRST VOYAGE 57
bless the Lord for inclining them to come, for
making them so wonderfully attentive, and for
aiding me in speaking. I spent nearly the whole
day in making sure of my sermons, for I preach
without notes, one reason being that at night we
are obliged to turn the lights down on account of
the heat."
" July 29th was about our roughest Sunday.
With little wind to steady the ship the rolling was
very considerable and very inconvenient. Especi-
ally so during service, for it was difficult for some
to retain their seats and for me to retain my post.
It was not easy either to sustain the thread of the
discourse, for swinging trays and an audience
' moved ' in anything but a desirable way are not
conducive to retention of ideas or expression of
thoughts. That evening our largest congregation
met, and best of all the Lord was there.
" I did what I could to follow up remarks in
sermon in conversation afterwards, only regretting
that I found myself less fitted to speak with one
or two." This paragraph I note with interest, for
years ago in Scotland his father, in an intimate
talk, made exactly the same confession. Is there
heredity in such things ?
On August 28th the voyage ended.
Only a parent's heart can know with what
eagerness the news of the arrival of the ship
bearing such a precious cargo was awaited at
Nightingale Lane, but something of it may be
guessed by the fact that the following letter was
written only two days after the passengers landed
at Melbourne. It is under such circumstances
53 THE FIRST VOYAGE
that the blessings of telegraphy can be truly under-
stood.
August ZOih, 1877.
" Mine own dear Son,
" We have all been delighted to hear of the
arrival of the Lady J. at Melbourne, for we hope
that it means that our Tom is all right. By this
time you will have had enough sea, and when this
reaches you I hope you will have found that ' the
barbarous people have showed you no little kind-
ness.'
" I have had a very loving and pressing invitation
to come out, but how can I leave home ? I shall
have to write and decline for I am anchored here
too fast, but I feel very grateful for the loving
invitation and wish that I could accept it.
" Give them the Gospel. Study all you can,
preach boldly and let your behaviour be with great
discretion, as indeed I am sure it will be.
" You will be a man ere this reaches you : may
the Lord give you full spiritual manhood. We
shall try to keep your birthday and Charlie's,
and I must invest something great in the way
of presents for your majority. This must be
placed round the neck of the fatted calf when
you return.
*' Char is to come into the College in September.
He will have a little start of his brother : but he
managed that at an early period, and I suppose
you must put up with it. The Bolingbroke Chapel
is paid for and will be a blessing, I hope. The
people want their co-pastor back, and so do I.
THE FIRST VOYAGE 59
" You will, I trust, find the Lord open up ways
and means for you to see the country and do good
and get good. I am all right : full of work and
in pretty good force for doing it. The Lord bless
thee, my son, and keep thee, and be ever thy guide.
Live to Him, and you will be better than great.
Thy father's blessing rests upon thee.
" Your ever loving Father,
" C. H. Spurgeon."
Later, his father remarked in view of his son's
ministry on board this ship : " Evidently God was
teaching his youthful hands to war, and his fingers
to fight, in anticipation of future battles. Three
months' preaching to the same audience amid the
rolling of the sea is an admirable preparation for
addressing crowds on shore."
Evidently his son agreed with this opinion, for
in his preface to his volume Down to the Sea he says :
" I have always loved the sea. Ships and sailors
have had a wonderful charm for me ever since I sailed
my boat on the Clapham Long Pond and read
Mr. Kingston's stories of adventure. I may as
well confess that there was a time when I cherished
a secret longing for a life on the ocean wave.
When in 1877, under doctor's orders, I voyaged
to the Antipodes, I eagerly hailed the opportunity
for actual acquaintance with the sea and its sons.
A godly captain and a steady crew, agreeable
passengers and a happy combination of weather
— good, bad, and indifferent — provided for me a
most interesting and instructive trip. I tried to
keep my eyes and ears open, and to act on Captain
60 THE FIRST VOYAGE
Cuttle's advice — ' When found, make a note of.'
I little guessed at the time to what good use
nautical knowledge might be put. Not the least
of my joys on board the good ship Lady Jocelyn
was the preaching of the Word. In saloon and
fo'csle I was privileged to tell the story of the Cross.
I soon got to know the seamen well, and to admire
much in them. They were very good to their
' sky pilot.' Since then I have had an increasing
interest in seafaring men. ... I confess to a
weakness to pictures. I ploughed the boxwood
with my graver before I ploughed the seas in a
ship. If woodcuts seem to detract from the
dignity of a volume of sermons, what matters it
if they add to its usefulness ?
" How well I remember when I set sail for the
other side of the world. I was somewhat of a
novice myself as to seafaring matters, but X was
nevertheless not a little surprised when one more
ignorant than I came to me as we were abreast
of the Lizard. The sun was setting, and we were
taking our last view of dear old England. Looking
up to the spread of canvas my fellow-passenger
exclaimed, ' I suppose they will take the sails
down presently ? ' I said, ' Do you mean that
they will furl them ? ' For I was determined to
let him see that I knew a little of nautical terms
even then. ' Yes,' he said, ' I suppose they will
take them down by-and-bye.' ' But,' I said,
' why ? ' * Well,' he answered, ' the sun is setting ;
it will be dark soon.' ' My good fellow,' I replied,
' we shall take twelve weeks to get to Melbourne
probably if we sail day and night, but what a
THE FIRST VOYAGE 61
voyage it will be if we sail only while the sun
shines ! ' "
To his mother, in a letter overflowing with
affection, the son wrote words which must have
set her heart singing. Remember, the sentences
were meant for her eyes alone, and were written
by her boy. " Tom thinks he has helped to serve
his Master by a consistent life as well as by preach-
ing, though he mourns his imperfections. I won't
ask you to pray for me. You always do. Pray
harder though. Just now I ask that I may be
kept humble and near to Jesus."
CHAPTER V
THE AUSTRALIAN VISIT
When Thomas Spurge on landed in Australia it
was not with the idea of a preaching tour, but
with the intention of continuing his work as an
engraver. In bidding good-bye to Victoria he told
the people that " when he got to Melbourne he
had meant to set up in business if he did not return
by the same ship. Like Paul he was not ashamed
to earn his living with his hands. Wisely his father
had given him a trade, and he would not object
to drawing a sketch for their illustrated paper."
But his father in giving him a letter of introduc-
tion had added the words — " he can preach a bit,"
and the Australians were not slow to take the hint.
From Geelong, where he first went, in an early
letter to his father which reveals the spirit in
which he started, he says : " Mr. Bunning is a
right good fellow, so thoughtful and so kind. I
did not intend preaching on my first Sunday ashore,
but as I expected to be at Ballarat next Sabbath,
I seized perhaps my only opportunity of helping
our dear brother. We had a grand time; the
beautiful chapel was crowded and God was in the
place. Dear Father, I believe I have the way
open to many hearts in this colony. I have seen
62
THE AUSTRALIAN VISIT 68
them weep when I spoke. I suppose because of
the recollections that are raised. God give the
youthful mind prudence and discretion ! Mr.
Bunning says he thinks there will always be
manifested a leniency toward the young man as
to criticism, and he has given me kind advice in
various matters, telling me that from last Sunday's
service he is sure I need not mind facing any
audience. Confidence in God is the great thing,
but I think a certain amount of self-confidence is
also necessary."
Many details of the visit are available in the
letters which, covering a whole year, he wrote to
his mother, most of them lengthy, five of them
fifteen sheets long (that is sixty pages), and also
in a scrap-book containing newspaper comments
which he evidently kept with scrupulous care.
Perhaps it may be as well to take the public
appreciations first, and afterwards to turn to the
intimate correspondence.
His first sermon passed unnoticed, but the
second drew forth the comment in The Ballarat
Courier that *' the young gentleman had studied his
subject well, and possessed qualifications which
might make him in the future a finished and
eloquent speaker." But The Stawell Chronicle
the next week only said, " Mr. Spurgeon is earnest,
and that earnestness makes him impressive, but
he does not seem to possess any of those gifts
which have raised his father to so high a position."
However The Southern Cross the same week was
a little more encouraging : " Young Spurgeon
does not possess the fire and dash of his 'father,
641 THE AUSTRALIAN VISIT
but he has much originality, humour and force.'*
The Bendigo Advertiser ten days later : " Mr.
Spurgeon is a very young man ; he possesses
great confidence and good command of language,
and earnestness," which The Bendigo Evening News
echoes by saying, ** He may well be called the boy
preacher ; still, he possesses great oratorical powers
and not less confidence." One might almost
hazard a suggestion that these two critiques came
from the same pen.
The East Charlton Tribune ten days later says
something worthier : " While listening to the
son one could detect in the grand conceptions
and the clear and lucid manner in which the
subject of the text was explained, the master hand
of the father, and no doubt the thought was more
than once expressed that day by a youthful listener,
' Would I had such a father,' and by a fond parent,
' Would I had such a son.' "
The Methodist Journal of November 30th :
" Crowds attend to hear him preach, and the im-
pression produced is decidedly in his favour. He
is quite at his ease in the presence of the largest
assembly. He speaks deliberately, distinctly, with
considerable force and animation, and his voice
enables him to be heard in a capacious building.
Mr. Spurgeon has made a good start (would that
thousands of our young men would follow suit),
and as years and experience are given him, we shall
be surprised if the pardonable crudities of youth
do not give place to the development of a vigorous
style, a good intellectual grasp and a liberal measure
of originality."
THE AUSTRALIAN VISIT 65
A week later The Advertiser of Moonta says :
" He has found himself welcomed for his father's
sake and liked for his own." The Port Augusta
Dispatch is pedantic enough to draw attention to
his pronunciation of " Saviour," " before," and
" fear," which it says he pronounced as " Saviah,"
" befoah," and " feah." The Beanpip (what a
name for a newspaper !) of Gawler, early in January,
1878, says, " His manner and delivery were very
easy and graceful and his self-possession remarkable
for one so young." The Methodist Journal gives
him a leading article on January 18th. " He has
his father's sincerity and earnestness, his simplicity
of aim, and not a little of his humour and mother-
wit. Though youthful he has the balance and
control of an older man, and we are thankful that
the son of Charles H. Spurgeon so becomes his noble
father." The Launceston Examiner in April says,
" Mr. Spurgeon is but a young man, but promises
to make a powerful speaker." So the criticism runs.
Wherever he went he had crowds : his sermons
were often reported at considerable length, his
platform speeches were amusing, and we find him
now and again not only reciting such pieces as
" The Leper," but actually singing in a duet. On
his birthday, when he attained his majority, he
was presented with a gold watch at Geelong, and
on leaving South Australia in January for Tas-
mania, a handsome Emu inkstand in frosted
silver, which yet graces the home in London, was
presented to him at Adelaide. " So for the father's
sake the son was dear, and dearer was the father
for the child."
5
6q THE AUSTRALIAN VISIT
Now we turn to the letters. On September 22nd,
1877, he describes the royal way his birthday was
kept, and incidentally says that his railway
travelling will not be very expensive, for by the
good offices of a member of Parliament, with
whom he was then staying, a free pass over the
Victorian railways has been secured for him.
" Some one told me last evening that I must
give a glowing account of Sunday evening last,
but I replied that I should do nothing of the kind,
for I should have to weary you with a somewhat
similar description of every Sabbath."
" The Mission room is still near my heart, and
great crowds here have not made me unmindful
of that small assembly."
" Yesterday I received an invitation to New
Zealand. The writer urged many reasons, the
most remarkable of which was worded thus : —
' My father, I believe, married your grandparents —
you owe something to his son ! ' "
On October 6th, he writes from Quambatook,
Victoria, and begins : " Have you noticed the
remarkable address which heads this letter ? Father
will remember that he once received £100, through
Mr. Bunning, from a squatter. That individual
was no less a person than Gideon Rutherford, Esq.,
on whose station we are now stopping.
" We started with the object of preaching, to the
shearers. Since September 20th shearing has
been going on at Mr. Rutherford's station, and it
is not yet completed. He scarcely knows himself
THE AUSTRALIAN VISIT 67
within a few thousand how many will be shorn.
The woolshed is close to the home station, and
when first we visited it the morning after our arrival
the men left off their work (although they are
paid according to the number of sheep shorn),
and came round us while one of their number in
a few words welcomed Mr. Bunning and the
Right Reverend Mr. Spurgeon to Quambatook.
" I have such a deal to tell you about our pleasant
week at Quambatook that I hardly know where
to begin, and can't imagine when I shall finish,"
he says. On which it may be remarked that he
spoke the literal truth, for he finished years after-
wards by marrying Mr. Rutherford's daughter !
He does not mention her, however, but speaks of
Mrs. Rutherford's baptism in the river Avoca,
where he offered prayer before Mr. Bunning
baptized her, and asks his mother to pray for
" the children, that they may be converted."
" We left with an invitation to come again and
stop for six weeks or longer, and an intimation
that Mr. R.'s house at some lakes near Geelong
was entirely at our disposal."
From Kerang he reports : " We left this place
after having despatched a tin of sweets to Quam-
batook addressed to ' the bairns who stole our
hearts.' Quite a proper thing to do.
*' Far from the streams of Father Thames, but
near the Murray's banks, away from the hills of
Surrey and traversing the plains of Victoria,
removed from old friends but surrounded by new
ones, your welcome letters take me back again, back
o'er the leagues of ocean, back to a mother's side,
68 THE AUSTRALIAN VISIT
to a father's blessing, back to the Mission work and
its dear worker, back to the old house at home,
back in imagination as I trust God will bring me
really in His own good time."
A letter begun at Adelaide on November 24th
contains this passage — " one name seems common
in the city, that of Day. Connected with the
principal newspaper are three gentlemen bearing
that name. They are thus distinguished. One
of them preaches occasionally and is called Sun-
day ; another attends to the financial department
and is termed Pay-day ; while the third from his
connection with the law courts goes by the appella-^
tion of Judgment-day.
'' I met up at Kadina a man named Kemp from
Waterbeach, who said, ' I've heard your great-
grandfather, your grandfather and your father,
and now I've heard you.' "
" Sunday, December 16th, — I preached in the
open air a few miles from Adelaide. The advertise-
ment would have amused you. After the usual
announcement of meeting came ' Moonlight,^
People drove in from considerable distances, and
moonlight aided their return. We had a blessed
season beneath a clear Australian sky, among the
gum trees.
" What rejoices me is that I am not labouring
in vain. This will gladden you too. By God's
blessing the Churches are profiting and souls are
being saved. I have ever so many kind letters
THE AUSTRALIAN VISIT 69
encouraging me, and though adverse criticism
appears occasionally, it is usually in the Melbourne
Argus or some other atheistical paper."
The first letter in the year 1878 naturally has
some paragraphs in the way of retrospect. On
January 8th, writing to his mother, he says ; —
*' Each day I am increasingly thankful that
even the Lady Jocelyn had Thos. S. for a passenger.
We saw God's hand in the matter before I left,
but I for one had no idea that it would lead to such
results. Little did I think that things would
turn out so pleasantly, or that such opportunities
would occur for serving the Master.
" Father's characteristic remark to Mr. Bunning
that ' he can preach a bit,' which by the way has
gone the round of the papers, seems to have sug-
gested to many that C. H. S. would be glad if they
would get me to preach more, and as it certainly
suited their interests, they have taken the hint
and acted on it.
" No one is more thankful that this is one
result of my severance from home and friends,
than I am. I wanted bringing out and wondered
what would do it. Who would have thought
twelve months ago that fifteen thousand miles of
ocean had to be traversed first ? What a grand
thing it is to have a God and guide — a Father to
direct I "
Visiting Lyndoch Valley he writes : " It was
rather a novel spectacle on Saturday afternoon to
see Mr. Morgan prepare to give his horses a drink
70 THE AUSTRALIAN VISIT
of water. Very often he drives them down to
a neighbouring creek, but sometimes, as on this
occasion, he adopts a more expeditious though
less economical plan. He opens the back door
of the church, and as there is no vestry, he lifts
a board that covers the Baptistery, and while
the little one fetches a pail the horses are sum-
moned and soon come trotting up. Charlie and
Taby, and the little foal and the foal's mamma,
are soon anxiously peering into the church and
casting longing glances at the pool. But of course
they must not enter and there they wait, all four
contemplating with their heads poked through the
narrow doorway. And when the bucket arrived
they were each served in turn with the water that
fell from heaven upon the roof, and was collected
in the Baptistery. I could not help laughing at
the novel scene — my only fear is that unless it
rains soon there will be but little water for the
ordinance, at all events unless the quadrupeds go
elsewhere.
" Perhaps this is a fitting opportunity to tell
you how difficult I find it to prepare fresh sermons.
I never see a commentary, and rarely get sufficient
time to prepare as I like. On the other hand there
is this to be said, that going about as I do I need
not hesitate to redeliver sermons."
Here is a heart-touch when acknowledging his
mother's letter : " Dear Mother, it made me go all
goose's flesh to see you sign yourself ' your very
own, happy, contented and supremely thankful
mother.' Am I not a goose ? "
Writing from Melbourne on January 22nd,
THE AUSTRALIAN VISIT 71
1878, to " My very dear Father," he says — " How
generous of you to think of placing my name and
Charhe's alongside yours as preachers of the Gospel.
If I can have but a portion of my father's mantle
I might be well content. I feel the honour of
serving Jesus more and more, and pray for that
full consecration and that consuming zeal which
God has helped you to."
This was evidently in response to a letter which
his father had written to him on November 23rd,
1877, in which occur the following passages.
" My dear Son Tom,
" I have been greatly delighted with your
letters and they have caused great joy all round ;
especially has your own dear mother been much
cheered and comforted. Write all you can for
her sake — though we all share the pleasure.
" God has been very gracious to you in opening
so many hearts and ears to you. May His grace
abide with you that these golden opportunities
may all be used to the best possible result. I am
overwhelmed with your reception, accepting
it as a token of the acceptance which my works
have among the people. When I have you and
Char at my side to preach the same great truths
we shall by God's grace make England know more
of the Gospel's power.
" Char is working well at College and will, I
trust, come forth thoroughly furnished. When you
come home I hope that your practice in Australia
will lessen your need of college training so that
one year may suffice. Still every man regrets
72 THE AUSTRALIAN VISIT
when in the field that he did not prepare better
before he entered it. We shall see.
" I hope you will stay while your welcome is
warm, and while you are getting and doing good,
and then come home a free man in all respects,
free I mean from all entanglements, and buckle
down to the work of the ministry here.
" Receive your father's best love and think lots
of this letter, for I am so pressed for time that
it means a good deal more than appears upon the
paper. May our God bless you more and more
and use you in His Kingdom to the utmost possible
degree !
" Your loving Father,
"C. H. Spurgeon."
The son is, as yet, free from " entanglements,"
but unconsciously he is preparing the way for a
later date. His next letter, January 29th, 1878,
describes a visit from Geelong to the picturesque
Lake Como, Mr. Rutherford's residence, and
after praising its beauty he says : " But even if
the place were only half as inviting I should be
happy there, for I am once again amongst my best
friends. Just as kind and hearty as they were
upon the plains of Quambatook, just as hospitable
and friendly as when amongst the haunts of emu
and of kangaroo. I need not speak their praises,
for 'twould puzzle me to convey in words any
adequate idea of their sterling worth."
An incident occurred about this time to which
he afterwards referred in his Tabernacle ministry
as an example of the joy which may accrue from
THE AUSTRALIAN VISIT 78
the discipline of sorrow. His letter home on
February 7th, 1878, makes guarded allusion to it.
Here is the extract from the later sermon : —
" I have never told in public, scarce ever in
private, of a great sorrow that afflicted me once
when I was first in Australia. Whether it was
the tongue of slander in the old land, or some mis-
information or mistake, I do not know, but there
came to my dear father's ears a story which did
not reflect credit upon his absent son. It came in
such a form that he was almost bound to believe
it. I remember the grief that tore my heart when
I received a letter from him, chiding me, kindly
chiding me, for this supposed wrong-doing. I
knew, before God, that I was innocent ; but,
despite that conviction, there was some pain, of
course, and there had to be a delay of many
months ere my contradiction of the damaging
tale could reach him. I left the matter with God,
and He espoused my cause. In a few days' time
I received a cablegram — and telegraphing was
expensive in those days — which read thus : ' Dis-
regard my letter ; was misinformed.' I cannot
tell you the thrill of joy that filled my heart to
feel that I was restored to my father's approbation
and confidence. I will not say to his lo\e, for I
had surely never fallen from that. It was many
months ere I could come into possession of parti-
culars, but to know that he had found out his
mistake and that confidence was restored, why,
it was almost worth while having been in the
sorrow to experience the delicious thrill "
74 THE AUSTRALIAN VISIT
Writing a week later he says : "I can but
repeat the words I wrote to you, ' 'Tis welcome
trouble if it drive me close to Him.' How earnestly
did I pray that God would point out the mistake,
and before I cried He heard, for I did not know
of it till February 5th, and Father telegraphed
February 2nd."
In the letters which follow he gives realistic
descriptions of a fair at Ballarat, a feast to the
Governor of the Colony at which he was present,
his journey to Tasmania, boating on the river at
Native Point, Perth, inspections of the cattle and
sheep, and his acquaintance with his fellow-guest,
Mr. Henry Varley, at Mr. Gibson's hospitable home.
Of him he says, in spite of some prepossession
to the contrary, "he is a companion of a very
pleasant and sanctified sort and really he has done
me good." In a later letter speaking of his im-
proved health, he says, " When I see Mr. Varley
preaching every day, I almost wish I could do the
same, and thus devote my life. Perhaps the time
will come when this shall be my proper course
(evangelizing), and if these quiet months' spell be
the preparation for it, who shall call it wasted
time?
" Most grateful am I to father for his loving
words. Really it is worth all the sadness of being
so far away to have such sweet loving counsel from
him, and the thought that a recital of my experi-
ences gives him pleasure makes me happy in the
extreme. Tell him, please, that as to ' starring '
my one desire is to ' turn many to righteousness,'
that I may ' shine as the stars for ever and ever,' "
THE AUSTRALIAN VISIT 75
In a letter begun at Hobarton on May 27th
occurs this paragraph : "I have to-day discovered
in The Hobarton Mercury a reprint of dear father's
letter to the Albert Street Church, in the Postscript
of which he says, ' Love my son Tom if he comes
your way.' When I read it I was shivering on
board a river steamer, and it warmed the cockles
of my heart and no mistake. I think my dear
parents vie with each other in the art of letter-
writing and skill in correspondence. What a happy
fellow I should be to have such correspondents ! "
On June 23rd, 1878, he writes from Melbourne
recounting news of blessing in several places of
which he has heard, and adds : " There again I
have to rejoice in the good that God has wrought
in the homes I have visited. God blessed the
house of Obededom because His ark was there, and
I verily believe that my kind friends have had
their reward for entertaining His little servant."
The fifty-five page letter begun at Sydney on
July 11th is specially interesting. He tells that
on seeking to book his passage to Brisbane the
clerk, after stating the fare, said, " You ought to
wear a white tie," and when asked the reason told
him that clergymen were entitled to reduced rates.
After some argument the clerk asked if he were
willing to sign his name as " Reverend." This
evidently was the first time he had practically
faced the question, and when he answered that
he would do it if it came cheaper, there was still
debate in the office until some one declared that
he had journeyed a considerable distance the
evening before to hear Mr Spurgeon, and had been
76 THE AUSTRALIAN VISIT
crowded out. " This was proof pretty positive
that I did preach, and it was decided to carry
the important matter to the manager for settle-
ment. He pronounced in my favour, and from
this day forth, and even for evermore, a man can
be a minister in the eyes of the A.S.N.Co. without
wearing a white tie. Marvel, O Earth, and be
astonished, O Sea ! " This seems to be all the
ordination ever given to him.
" Hearty grasps welcomed me to Queensland
when we got alongside the quay. They seemed to
say, as plain as pressure can speak, ' We're very
glad to see your father's son. Selah.'
" Have you noticed the native names for places ?
They are far better than the English barbarisms
that are so common. For my part with the author
of the following verse :
" I like the native names as Farramatta
And Illawarra and WooUoomooloo,
Mandoura, Woogarora, Bulkomatta,
Tomah, Toongabbee, Mittagong, Meroo ;
Buckobbla, Cumleroy and Coolingatta,
The Warragumby, Bogielong, Emu,
Cookbundoon, Carrabaija, Wingycaribbee,
The Woblondilly, Yurumbon, Bungaribbee."
While writing this letter he had received and
has treasured a letter from his father dated June 5th,
1878, in which occur the following paragraphs :
" Your letters give us all great delight, and the
readers of The Sword and Trowel enthusiastically
praise the delicious dishes which your dear mother
prepares from your capital material. Keep on
excelling where your father fails.
THE AUSTRALIAN VISIT 77
'* If only you were here a look at my Australian
son would make a day's delight. Everj^^body
seems interested in your goings on. How rejoiced
I am I am quite unable to tell you. I would give
all glory to God, but I may also praise you for the
excellent manner in which you have conducted
yourself on all occasions, out of the pulpit as well
as in it. Go on, dear son, as you have done, and
my heart will have to bless the Lord daily at every
remembrance of you.
" I shall be glad soon to see you home, but still
I should like you to see New Zealand. Mr. Sands
thinks you would be a suitable successor to Dr.
Culross, who is leaving Highbury, but the time
which must intervene will, I think, render that
of no avail. We will leave such engagements till
your course can be more clearly foreseen.
" We want zealous, cultured, sound ministers,
and when one of these can be met with several
churches will be after him. May our Lord clothe
you with so much power that you may be very
valiant in Israel I
" Dear son, your love is very sweet to me. God
keep you ever and bring you back to
" Your loving father
" Who again blesses you in the name of the Lord,
'' C. H. Spurgeon."
To this the son responds : " How I value dear
Father's letter words fail to tell. Bless him ! a
thousand times. Every word is a treasure indeed.
A few minutes devoted from his precious time has
«<caused his wandering son hours of rare delight.
78 THE AUSTRALIAN VISIT
Foremost amongst my happiness is the joy of
knowing that he is delighted. To be able to add
a ray of sunshine to his noble life is — well — I was
going to say well worth living for, and having
said it I'll stick to it, for I mean it most assuredly.
" I was mightily amused at the reason of Mr.
Sands' visit. I wonder somewhat that so prudent
a man should cherish such an idea — but there,
we have known Mr. Sands making mistakes before.
Whatever other folks may fancy, Thos. S. feels
himself very incompetent for any such under-
taking, but nevertheless he feels confident that
the Potter will shape the vessel for the particular
service in which He chooses to employ it, whatever
that may be."
In the letter begun at Brisbane on August 16th
he says : " Who would have expected to see George
Coulson, our old coachman, his wife and family,
at Ipswich ? O how pleased they were to be sure.
Such delight! Talk. Talk. The very sight of
him stirred up old memories, and in course of
conversation forgotten incidents came fresh to
mind. Coulson told me several times that he was
surprised 1 was the one to be preaching and
travelling, and was incessant in enquiries after
Master Charles. I told him that it was evident
I had turned out better than he anticipated, and
in admitting that he explained that the reason why
he expected my brother to be such a prodigy was
because ' there was always such a deal of mischief
in Master Charles.' "
The next letter, begun on August 16th, is the
last of the series of home letters which lovingly
THE AUSTRALIAN VISIT 79
preserved are lengthy enough to fill this volume.
It carries him on to Warwick, August 26th, and
suddenly breaks off, " But a few hours after
writing the foregoing, I received the dismal news
that Mother was worse. Oh ! may my gracious God
spare her till I return. I give up all engagements
except to-night (when may the Lord assist) and
hope to be home the second or third week in
October. I am trying to cast all my care on Him,
for I am His care."
The dismal news was contained in a cable
message, "Mother's worse, return." The next
morning he started for home, preaching at Brisbane
and Melbourne on the way. At a farewell meeting
on September 12th, at Melbourne, he was presented
with a silver epergne and a sum of money. " One
of the happiest experiences of that week was a
chat with dear Mr. Rutherford, who came down
from Quambatook although very busy."
Writing on October 13th, from Aden, whither
he had come on his homeward voyage, he says,
" I had expected to be home by now, for as soon
as I received the recalling telegram I hastened
down to Brisbane, but missed the mail steamer
by about ten minutes, nor could I possibly over-
take her. By my telegram you understood, I
trust, that the Lusitania is bearing me across the
water. She is considered a very fast boat, but
we have been singularly unfortunate. From Mel-
bourne to Adelaide we experienced really dreadful
weather. An evening congregation at Adelaide
on Sunday, August 15th, were disappointed, for
we did not arrive till late that night, but I addressed
80 THE AUSTRALIAN VISIT
crowded churches on Monday and Tuesday.
Leaving Adelaide we found the weather not in the
least abated — boisterous to the last degree.
" Sometimes I half expect you to be pretty well
the day that ' Tommy comes marching home,'
and then oh, joy! the vision brightens, but my
dreams are not all so bright, as you can well
imagine. These have been dreary weeks indeed !
Once only have I preached, the other Sundays have
been too hot or too rough."
In several of the later letters he speaks of him-
self as his mother's " sea-gull." That reference is
explained, and the story of the Australian visit
well ended, by an extract from a sermon preached
some time afterwards :
" Some time before I left the other side of the
world, where God has called me to preach this
same gospel, I received from home a very beautiful
Christmas-card, which I greatly prize, partly be-
cause it is most artistic in itself, but more because
of the good mother who sent it to me. Across
a troubled sea, angry and storm-tossed, a sea-gull
flies with its snowy wings outspread above the
dark waters, its whiteness standing in striking
contrast to the gloomy clouds, while just above
the picture are these words : ' I would take thee
home to my heart, but thou wilt not come to me.'
I am not ashamed to confess that, when I read the
inscription, the tears started to my eyes, and I
said to myself, ' O mother mine, how gladly would
I come to thee if I only could ! ' But on my voyage
home — for the way soon after opened for me to
THE AUSTRALIAN VISIT 81
return — I occupied some of my leisure moments
in making as exact a copy of this picture as I could.
The same white sea-bird, the same angry waves,
the same dark clouds ; but I did not put the same
words above them. I sent the sketch on from
Naples, so that it might arrive before me some
four or five days, and this was the message that
it brought : ' I am coming home to thy heart !
Wilt thou not welcome me ? ' The answer I
received at ten o'clock one Thursday night, when
mother's arms were round her son and mother's
kiss was on his lips.
" O God, how often hast Thou said to the
prodigal, ' I would take thee home to My heart,
but thou wilt not come to Me.' Oh, help him now,
as Thy Spirit only can, to say believingly, ' I am
coming home to Thy heart ! Wilt Thou not
welcome me?' Oh, that Thou wilt I So let it
be for Thy mercy's sake. Amen."
CHAPTER VI
A YEAR WITH HIS FATHER
On Sunday, November 10th, 1878, Thomas
Spurgeon was suddenly called to preach in the
Tabernacle m his father's place. Until late on
Saturday C. H. Spurgeon had hoped himself to
take the services, especially as he had asked his
usual congregation to vacate their places in the
evening in favour of strangers, a practice observed
for some time once a quarter during his later
ministry. There was scarcely any other choice
but that " Son Tom " must step into the breach,
and with courage and modesty he accepted the
task, commending himself so greatly to the people
that he was invited for the following Sunday, and
for one of the services the Sunday after. His
brother Charles took the other service on the third
Sunday.
The record in The Sword and Trowel is tantalizing
in its brevity : " During the pastor's illness the
pulpit of the Tabernacle has been five times
occupied by Mr. Thomas Spurgeon and once by
Mr. Charles ; and it has been a delight of no ordinary
kind for both of the sick parents to hear on all
hands the highly favourable judgments of God's
people as to the present usefulness and ultimate
82
A YEAR WITH HIS FATHER 83
eminence of their sons. Applications for the
services of Messrs. C. and T. Spurgeon are becoming
so numerous that it is needful to prepare the
writers' minds for a refusal. For some time to
come they would prefer to lend their father all
the assistance he may require. Godly parents
should be encouraged by our experience to pray
for and expect the salvation of their offspring."
His father recovered sufficiently to preach once
in December, and in the middle of January he
journeyed to his favourite resting-place in the
South of France — Mentone, taking his son Thomas
with him. After such long and distant travels it
is scarcely surprising that the son was not very
eager to leave home so soon again, even though
it was in the company of the father to whom he
was so deeply attached. In fact he was still his
mother's boy. But the advantage to himself
when his father suggested that he would guide
his studies while they were away, as well as the
hope of rendering some help to the invalid, at
length prevailed. His letters to his mother during
the three months he was abroad have been preserved,
and in the fourth volume of his father's biography
edited by his mother, he himself gives an account
of the visit.
Mentone, with its two bays, of all the places in
the French Riviera was the chosen retreat during
the last quarter of the nineteenth century of those
who sought winter sunshine apart from the gaieties
of fashion. Dr. Bennet — whose beautiful garden,
" a veritable paradise on the side of a rocky steep,"
is one of the sights of the place — was the first to
84 A YEAR WITH HIS FATHER
draw public attention to the charms of this part
of the coast, and Mr. Spurgeon shared with him
in promoting its fame. Indeed, he had hoped to
issue a descriptive volume on Mentone and its
neighbourhood, many of the chapters having
been published in The Sword and Trowel in his
later years. With Cap Martin on the west, the
Italian frontier on the east, the Berceau behind,
Corsica visible on fine mornings and evenings across
the tideless blue sea, and numberless excursions
possible up the valleys running inland, it is an ideal
place for an extended sojourn. Year after year
Mr. Spurgeon came thither. John Richard Green,
the historian, died here, " still learning," as the
inscription on his tomb tells us. Here were
discovered in a sea-cave the skeletons of some
pre-historic men, which I was fortunate enough to
see shortly after they were found in 1893. Here
too, in 1892, Spurgeon died.
The books appointed for the young student at
Mentone seem chiefly to have been a French
History, a Primer on Political Economy, Carlyle's
French Revolution, which his father read to him,
as for long he was accustomed to read it year by
year for his own pleasure, and Hodge's Outlines
of Theology, In the evening Thomas would read
to the company Ingoldshy Legends. A curious
medley, but probably quite effective for the end
in view. The son reports, "The driest matter
bursts into a blaze when C. H. S. puts some of his
fire to it."
He had the privilege of meeting three notable
men — Hudson Taylor, George Miiller, and Pastor
A YEAR WITH HIS FATHER 85
John Bost of the Hospitals of La Force. Each
of them contributed something to the mind all
eager for impressions. At a communion service
George Miiller prayed for "the dear son in Aus-
tralia," on which there comes the remark, " I had
great pleasure in informing him that I was the son
in Australia, and oh ! how warmly did he grasp
my hand — ^the dear old man. Little did we dream
then that, nine years after, he would help to marry
me in New Zealand."
Quite a number of sketches were made by him
during this visit, most of which have been repro-
duced and published. Mr. Spurgeon, as was his
wont, conducted family prayers in his own room
morning by morning, and the Presbyterian service
then held in Mrs. Dudgeon's villa was taken several
times by the younger preacher. During a later
visit Mr. C. H. Spurgeon opened the pretty church
where Rev. L. E. Somerville has ministered year
by year ever since. I saw him as he passed through
London the other week, and he reports that in this
war year he has had a busier winter than ever.
There was also the constant study of nature —
trees and flowers and trap-door spiders. The
Carnival afforded great amusement. An invitation
came from America. " Sometimes Father says it
would be well to accept, and again that he would
like me soon to be settling down at home. When
he asked me if I would like to go, I told him the
simple truth that I should be very sorry to have
to return home again as from Australia."
In April they were home again, and when father
and son appeared together in the Tabernacle pulpit
86 A YEAR WITH HIS FATHER
on the thirteenth of that month, the congregation,
glad to greet them both, spontaneously rose and
sang the doxology.
A little while after that I saw him for the first
time. I was in the College with his brother, and
through the failure of the health of A. J. Clarke,
a call came for a helper to join Manton Smith at
Bacup. Mr. Spurgeon asked me to go, and sent
the note by the hand of Son Tom. Already I
had spoken night after night during the February
services in the Tabernacle, and now I was to be
launched on my life work. I am glad it was from
the hand of T. S. that I got my marching orders.
Perhaps I may be allowed to mention here that
my first sermon in England was, without any
arrangement of my own, preached at Teversham
on the spot where C. H. Spurgeon preached his
first sermon. It was on Easter Sunday evening,
1875, when I was visiting at the home of my friend
Rev. J. W. Campbell, whose father was then
minister of Zion Chapel, and the last time I visited
Cambridge two persons were present who remem-
bered both the occasion and the sermon !
During that year Thomas Spurgeon also entered
the College, and it is reported that he showed
aptitude in his studies. On the first Friday his
father lectured he saw the new student at the back
of the hall, and said he would like to see him at
the front ; on which he was by acclamation elected
as an " Apostle," as the twelve men on the front
bench were named. He made the thirteenth that
year. At once he came to the top bench, and as
he sat down beside Charles he scored a round of ap-
A YEAR WITH HIS FATHER 87
plause by saying that he would rather be beside his
brother than beside himself. Dr. McCaig says : " At
the Front has been his place ever since : his gifts
have made way for him ; he was never a shirker.
Sitting with him in the Greek classes I know how
faithfully he did his work." But ill-health often
interrupted his attendance, and ere the year was
out it became evident that he must seek his further
training where he had received his earliest — under
the sunny Australian skies.
So on Thursday, October 2nd, 1879, he sailed
on the Sobraon, having as his companions two of
the College men, J. S. Harrison and R. McCuUough.
He had seen and admired the ship at Melbourne,
little expecting that he would sail in her before
long.
His father saw him off and then came to the
Tabernacle for the week-night service, which in
his time was a high festival. I sat behind him
on the platform that evening, and remember the
sermon he preached from the text, " Hannah
answered and said, ' No, my lord, I am a woman
of a sorrowful spirit.' " He preached, as he ever
did, out of his own experience, but made no refer-
ence to his own sorrow. Yet those who knew could
trace an undertone of sadness all through the
discourse. It is published in the 1880 volume.
" Brethren and sisters," he said, " this is one of
our hardest lessons : to learn to give up what we
most prize at the command of God and to do so
cheerfully." And again, *' Take up your load,
my beloved. Do not become murmurers as well
as mourners. Carry your cross, for it is indeed a
88 A YEAR WITH HIS FATHER
golden one." Yet once more, " This bitterness
of spirit may be an index of our need of prayer,
and an incentive to that holy exercise. When a
live coal from off the altar touches our lips we
should preach, but when a drop of gall falls on our
lips we should pray."
Only twice in his life did C. H. Spurgeon spend
a whole night in prayer. He was not indeed ac-
customed to remain long on his knees, for his idea
of prayer was the passing of a cheque over the
bank counter ; there was no need to urge that it
should be honoured, all that was necessary was to
wait till the answer came. But twice he agonized
all night, like Jacob " confident in self-despair,"
With Thee all night I mean to stay
And wrestle till the break of day.
One of these nights of intense supplication was
for a personal need, and those who know his history
may conjecture when he was driven to his knees,
like Lincoln, because he had nowhere else to go.
The other was when the hopes he had built on his
son Tom being by his side were shattered. How
deep those hopes had gone may be guessed by the
upheaval of his life when they were renounced.
Truly this bitterness of spirit may be an index of
our need of prayer, and an incentive to its holy
exercise.
Did he get the victory ? The next Sunday
morning's sermon — and, remember, he always
preached from his own experience — was " Mistrust
of Gk)d deplored and denounced." He was halting
A YEAR WITH HIS FATHER 89
upon his thigh, but his Bethel and his Peniel had
made him a prince with God ; he had in very truth
prevailed. " How long will it be ere they believe
me ? " was his text. " Certain of us," he says,
" have received special and infallible proofs of
the Lord's faithfulness to His promises. He has
answered the prayers of some of us in a way that
has drowned our eyes with tears of joy." What a
vista that opens into the watches of that Thursday
night !
Did he get the victory ? Listen to the closing
words of the sermon : " God the Holy Ghost help-
ing you, resolve in your hearts this day that all
the boasted discoveries of science you will doubt,
all the affirmations of the wise you will doubt, all
the speculations of great thinkers you will doubt,
all your own feelings and all the conclusions drawn
from outward circumstances you will doubt, yea
and everything that seems to be demonstrable
to a certainty you will doubt, but never, never,
never, while eternity shall last, will you suffer
the thought to pass your mind that God can ever
in the least degree run back from anything that
He has spoken, or change the word that has gone
forth of His lips."
CHAPTER VII
THE SETTLEMENT IN NEW ZEALAND
The voyage in the Sohraon was not quite so
pleasant as that in the Lady Jocelyn, nor the
opportunities of preaching so frequent. The eon-
duct of the Sunday services on board was given
to a curate who seems to have been a rather in-
effective person, and as one of his fellow-passengers
phrases it, *' dissent was at a discount." Still
there were many opportunities of service, and not
a little good cheer.
In writing to the Rev. J. S. Harrison some time
before, in an undated letter, Thomas Spurgeon
advises, as a practised traveller, about luggage and
equipment, and advises very sensibly. Two other
letters with further details follow, but the first
letter to his mother is dated October 13th, 1879,
" not far from Madeira," and from this the following
extracts are taken.
" On Saturday evening I had asked and gained
the captain's permission to hold a service in the
Second Cabin, whose occupants were desirous for
the same, and we had arranged that ' Mac ' should
preach. But somehow the first-class folks got to
90
THE SETTLEMENT IN NEW ZEALAND 91
fancy that I was to give the address. Lest any
should think themselves taken in, I was constrained
to promise to preach the next Sunday."
" I had been longing to get at the sailors, and
when I went for'ard I received an invitation to
come at any time and address them. I should be
welcome morning, noon or night. Some of them
had heard Father preach, one was at Melbourne
when I was there before, and altogether I found
them to be (as they called themselves) a tidy set
of men.
" In all respects we are very comfortable. Our
ship is a beauty to look at and a good 'un to go.
We have been longer getting to our present posi-
tion " (in relation to the passengers) " than in any
previous voyage, but that is not the fault of the
ship. We seem to pass everything on the road,
and have two or three times got lovely sights of
barques, brigs and ships running close alongside
for a while but gradually dropping astern.
" I think you will agree with me that my early
morning exercise is a wise and health-giving pro-
ceeding. As soon as sleep is over I arise (generally
between five and six), and take a turn at the pump
and have a sea-water bath in the tub on deck.
There are two small bathrooms at the top of the
stairs, but they are in such constant demand and
are so poorly supplied with water that we prefer
to take it in turns to plunge into the tub and have
the hose played on to us. Before and after the
refreshing shower we work at the pump which
supplies the baths and tub for washing passengers
and deck, working handles backward and forward
92 THE SETTLEMENT IN NEW ZEALAND
as in a manual fire engine. Sometimes, too, we
take a turn at the brooms and mops and try to
develop muscle." Quite a pleasant glimpse this,
of three wholesome-minded men.
" I think I shall get through a good deal of
reading. During the first week or two it is quite
impossible to attempt any heavy stuff, so I de-
voured The Old Curiosity Shop, Since then I have
been perusing a deeply interesting biography of
honest Hugh Latimer. Then of a morning, besides
the best of books, I read The Pilgrim's Progress^
Miss Havergal's portion, and a chapter of Never
Say Die:'
On October 20th in the same letter he says :
" I cannot forbear to tell you of the happy Sabbath
we spent yesterday. At twelve o'clock we three
and a young man named Barber assembled for
prayer, and right heartily did we invoke the
Master's smile. We thought of the blessing vouch-
safed the week before and hoped it might be
doubled. We rose refreshed and strengthened for
work, and when the hour came for service and a
goodly number of folks assembled I felt we were
ready for the answer to our supplications. In-
deed, we had them part answered already in the
presence of so many hearers of the Word. Speak-
ing to them as we separated I told them that I and
my brethren would come to the forecastle in the
evening, at which they were indeed delighted.
" At seven o'clock we went for'ard and met with
quite an enthusiastic reception. Having preached
in the afternoon I could not attempt an address,
but we all took part in a service that to outsiders
THE SETTLEMENT IN NEW ZEALAND 93
would have seemed very rough and ready, but
which was to honest Jack 'a real good time.'
When I proposed coming to see them on Wednesday
evening their unfeigned gratification and gratitude
found expression in polite ' Thank you Sir ' s and
hearty ' God bless you ' s.
" But the best remains to be told. On leaving
the foc'sle Mr. Barber imparted to us the joyful
tidings that while we were singing he had been
talking to and praying with a young man in Second
Cabin, who had at length found peace in believing.
He had been a professing Christian and nothing
more, had given way to drink, but during my
sermon and afterwards the Spirit strove with him,
and by our brother's prayers and conversation he
was led to the sinner's Friend."
Another letter of no less than 152 pages was
begun on November 29th, when about a fortnight
from Melbourne. In this the traveller begins by
contrasting his feelings on the two voyages, the
assurance that he will not now be a stranger in
Austral lands, but his fear that his absence from
home may be longer. He writes with satisfaction
that he has not coughed once since stepping on
board. He gives a long description of the captain
and officers : the captain being compared to a
bull-dog, and the first officer to a Skye terrier.
Incidentally, in describing the sailmaker, he says
that " there are about two acres of canvas on our
masts and yards."
" Altogether I have come to the conclusion that
this is the most godless set of people that I have
94 THE SETTLEMENT IN NEW ZEALAND
ever met — a fair specimen of the world at large
I dare say, but certainly more light and frivolous
and sinful than any I have met before. And yet
on Sundays they persist in calling themselves
* miserable sinners,' while all the time they are
delighting themselves in iniquity. Saddest of all
is it to find the curate the ringleader of their
amusements. ' Good morning, Spurgeon,' is the
most I ever get from him and as brief a reply is all
he gets from me, and we are mutually edified by
the conversation ! "
The captain had his wife and little daughter
" Coral " on board, and on her fourth birthday
Thomas Spurgeon composed some verses in her
honour which gave him the reputation on board of
being " a tremendous poet."
Of the Sunday services during the voyage he
writes : " While I must admit that the work has
been very discouraging I am right glad we under-
took it. During this voyage I heard of a con-
version that took place during my first one, so we
will hope for a joyful repetition of that experience.
Our meetings with the sailors were not much more
encouraging. Several times in the midst of a
discourse the order was given, ' All hands reef the
main sheet,' and our hopes of reaching the heart
were scattered."
A further considerable list of books which have
been read is given as the shores of Australia are
neared — quite a creditable report. The drinking
on board seems to have been considerable. " No
less than 5,000 bottles of beer have been used, and
the Sohraon can proudly boast that more liquor
THE SETTLEMENT IN NEW ZEALAND 95
has been consumed during the voyage of '79 than
in any previous year."
The lengthy letter, so full and descriptive, must
have been a great joy to his parents ; its last three
sheets were written ashore. " Between ten and
eleven on December 18th we cast anchor off San-
dridge Pier, and soon Mr. Wade and Mr. Garrett
came to meet us. I was soon visited by the
ministers, and everybody welcomes me most
heartily.
" My good friends the Rutherfords have left
Quambatook and have gone to New Zealand. I
may have more to say about them after seeing
Mr. Bunning on Christmas Day. In a week's time
I shall be in Tasmania."
Rev. R. McCuUough is able to recall the pleasant
days of the voyage in the Sohraon during which
he shared a cabin with Mr. Spurgeon and their
mutual experiences thereafter. " One looks back
with fondness upon those days we three spent
at sea. We spent Christmas at Melbourne, and
arrived at Tasmania on the closing days of the
year. We were cordially welcomed by Mr. and
Mrs. Gibson of Native Point, whose names will
never be forgotten. They loved C. H. Spur-
geon, whom they had never seen, and loved his son
as if he had been their own. They consulted him
about their plans for erecting places of worship,
and he had an important part in the founding of
the denomination on this beautiful island.
"Mr. Spurgeon and I spent a good part of the
year together at Native Point. He did not feel
fit for work, he had first to get strong: riding,
96 THE SETTLEMENT IN NEW ZEALAND
rowing and croquet filled up a good part of our
time. Mr. Gibson was rather stern in manner, but
his guest's playfulness and sparkling wit were
irresistible. His life was good. He had position
and gifts which would have opened many doors to
him, and he was at an age when smiles and flattery
are often dangerous ; but I never knew him to
trouble about society, or to have an inclination for
anything of the world. He took a leading part
in the laying of foundation stones and in the
opening ceremonies of our church buildings.
" He visited me twice at Hobart, but there
lingers with me the picture of him as I knew him
in all the freshness of youth, with gifts that gave
promise of something great, looking into the future
and quietly preparing himself for it, a knight with
honour unstained, armour bright, anticipating his
battle with calm confidence."
Those days also dwell in the memory of his
friend the Rev. Harry Wood, who writes concerning
them : "He was the guest of Mr. and Mrs. Gibson
at Native Point during his first visit to Tasmania
in 1878. He soon won their hearts and became
more like a son than a visitor.
" It was during this first visit that in company
with the Gibsons he went to Wesley Dale, the
country residence of the revered Mr. and Mrs.
Henry Reed, who sought to make known the Gospel
both in Tasmania and in the ' Regions Beyond.'
Mr. Reed had arranged for Mr. Spurgeon to hold
some services, and in this Bush district large con-
gregations gathered and God manifestly blessed the
Word.
THE SETTLEMENT IN NEW ZEALAND 97
" At this time there were only two Baptist
churches in Tasmania ; we have now thirteen
churches with some forty mission stations. Our
beloved friends Mr. and Mrs. Gibson, with their
son Mr. W. Gibson, have given approximately
£70,000 in support of the Baptized Church in
Tasmania. On the human side we owe it greatly
to the influence of Mr. Thomas Spurgeon that this
work for God has been accomplished. When the
large Tabernacle was built in Launceston it was
hoped that he would have been the Pastor.
" My first meeting with our beloved President
was on his second visit. I came over from Aus-
tralia to spend a month's holiday in Tasmania,
On arriving at Perth station a young gentleman
came to the carriage window and inquired for
me by name. It was Mr. Spurgeon, and he
got into the carriage and rode with me to the
next station, where he had just time to catch
the return train to Perth. We were only about a
quarter of an hour in each other's company, but
he won my heart, and the friendship commenced
in the railway carriage grew and deepened with
the years.
" What happy buoyant days those were. Our
generous host provided us with saddle horses, and
we rode all over the country taking the word of
life to most out-of-the-way places. The result of
my visit was that within a few months I was led
to settle in this — ' The Gem of the Southern Seas ' —
where I have now laboured in the Gospel for thirty-
five years.
" Mr. Spurgeon never forgot those early days.
7
98 THE SETTLEMENT IN NEW ZEALAND
During his great and busy life in London he wrote
me : ' It was all an apprenticeship.' '*
In The Sword and Trowel of October 1880 there is
an article entitled " Tasmanian Tabernacles,"
describing the erection of two houses of prayer
there, one at Deloraine where Mr. Harrison was
labouring, and one at Longford in connection with
the work carried forward by Mr. McCullough, both
of which were to be completed the following year.
The December number of the same magazine has
an article on his Australian experiences entitled
" Warrambeen Revisited," the sheep station where,
in 1878, some services had been held.
In the " shearers' hut," a large building where
in shearing time the men sleep, with a dining-room
and fireplace beyond, some 150 people gathered
to the preaching, a very fine assemblage under
the circumstances, illustrating the remark of a
good man who said, "It's the son of your father
only that could get such a congregation." In the
evening he preached again in the church, and the
news rapidly spreading, people came from far and
near. Then on to Ballarat, where " the Academy
of Music was attended by the largest colonial
audience (about 2,300) that I have ever preached
to, and the desire for blessing was evident in the
rapt attention and devout feeling."
In the January, 1881, number we read of
" Trophies from Toowoomba," a township a
hundred miles from Brisbane, where a great crowd
assembled for the preaching, and the report to the
preacher was " Your testimony in Toowoomba
gave us a great lift." The April number has an
THE SETTLEMENT IN NEW ZEALAND 99
article on " Over the Ranges" by the Southern
and Western Railway of Queensland on Septem-
ber 8th, 1880, when the journey to Toowoomba
was undertaken and Mr. Spurgeon rode for a
considerable portion of the way on the engine.
*' The name of Spurgeon works wonders in many
circles, and especially with those who, like this
engineer, have * been to the Tabernacle and heard
him.' "
Of the staple of his ministry at this time we get a
glimpse in an incident recorded by the preacher
himself. " Were you hearing young Spurgeon last
night, and what did you think of him ? " asked
one. " Little enough,'* replied the other. '' It
was the same old stuff. He told us nothing new.'*
But if he kept to the old truth, and largely to the
old phraseology, he was evidently acquiring a style.
From his writing we may judge him to be in that
transition period which is as awkward for a speaker
or writer as the hobbledehoy stage is for a growing
man.
Early in the year 1881 we find him in New
Zealand, whither he had gone to supply the pulpit
at Hanover Street Church, Dunedin, which was at
that time without a minister. He was the guest
of Mr. and Mrs. Rutherford, who had moved hither
from Australia to a house, " Dalmore," beautifully
situated overlooking the town and harbour. Here
he remained for six months, and it is not to be
overlooked that Miss Lila Rutherford, afterwards
to become Mrs. Spurgeon, was, as a school girl, also
at home at the time. The next call was from the
south of the South Island to the north of the North
100 THE SETTLEMENT IN NEW ZEALAND
Island, about a thousand miles away, the outcome
of which was announced in the January, 1882,
Sword and Trowel by the simple statement : *' The
President has peculiar pleasure in announcing that
another Pastors' College student, his son, Thomas
Spurgeon, has accepted the pastorate of the church
at Auckland, New Zealand, lately under the care
of Pastor A. W. Webb."
On August 22nd, 1881, he writes to his fellow-
traveller, Mr. Harrison, urging him to visit New
Zealand. *' This is a wonderful country and well
worth seeing, a sinful one much needing the Gospel.
I have had much blessing here, but not as much
as in Dunedin. I shall stay about Auckland for
some while yet," he wrote, " it is such a lovely
place." To Mr. Harrison he dedicated, about this
time, his poem " All Glory," which was prompted
by an incident in his experience, and in the same
letter he declares his intention to seek the '' old
country " in the spring of 1883. Of course that
plan was frustrated by the development of affairs.
" In a week or two's time," he writes on Oc-
tober 21st, " I shall be the Pastor (pro tern.) of
this church, i.e,, until I am able to get advice from
home or am decided by other circumstances." So
he urged his friend to come to his help. On
November 11th things had developed. *' I have
accepted the Pastorate here at least for a time,
and mention this as an extra reason why you
should visit N.Z. I feel sure the Lord would
have me stop here for a while, nor should I be
surprised if I remain for good. It depends on three
things. (1) If my health holds good. (2) If the
THE SETTLEMENT IN NEW 2;5;ALAND 101
Lord blesses the word. (3) If my parents ofler no
decided objection."
In order to facilitate Mr. Spurgeon's acceptance
of the pastorate the church suggested that he
should visit other parts of New Zealand during the
summer months, and that Mr. Harrison and Mr.
Isaacs should help during his absence. He writes
to the former in Tasmania on November 26th
saying : " If I settle here — of course there is still
a doubt — I shall want my books, etc. It would be
a wonderful convenience to me if you could possibly
bring them. At the same time I should like to
fetch them myself, but it means a long journey and
injury to this church unless you could fill the gap.
Then if you were here I confess I should like to
work with you. I am sure we should have some
glorious times."
On December 7th, 1881, he has heard that
Harrison is coming, and writes to him : "I feel
pretty certain that I shall remain here if my health
holds. A telegram from home leaves it all to
myself and promises no objection from my parents."
His father wrote to him on the subject from
Mentone, on November 28th, 1881 ;
*' Mine own Dear Son,
'' How your whole conduct delights me I
You are quite able to judge for yourself, and yet
you defer to your parents in all things. May your
days, according to the promise, be long in the land.
'' I think the case is clear enough that you ought
to settle, for a time at least, in Auckland, but still
you see, we know but little of the facts and so I
102 THE SETTLEMEJ^T IN NEW ZEALAND
preferred to leave you to your own judgment. I
know what that judgment will be. I believe the
work before you will arouse all your energies —
which is good ; but I hope it will not tax them —
which would be mischievous. It is a sphere worthy
of you, and yet its excellence lies rather in what
it may be than in what it is. All things con-
sidered, it is full of promise.
" Do not come home. I should dearly love to
see you, but how could we part with you again ?
Stay away till there is a call to come home. When
the Lord wills it, it will be safer and will be better for
us all. To come home in 1882 would be a journey
for which there is no demand, at a time when you
are needed elsewhere.
*' I have thought of you many tim.es here, and
especially while worshipping in the room at Les
Grottes. How honoured I am to have sons who
preach the Gospel so fully. I would sooner this
than be the progenitor of the twelve patriarchs.
'* Dear Son, may the Lord make you his work-
man wisely instructed in moulding upon the wheel
a future empire, as yet plastic clay. Who knows
what the southern colonies may become ? Im-
press your Master's image upon the molten wax,
and seal New Zealand as the Lord's for ever.
" May your desires be fulfilled and your expecta-
tions be exceeded.
" Your loving father,
*' C. H. Spurgeon.
" Son Tom."
A week later we get a glimpse of his surroundings.
THE SETTLEMENT IN NEW ZEALAND 103
" We, i.e., two young men and myself, think of
changing our abode soon. Here I have no separate
study and no stable (for I possess a pony now). So
we talk of getting a furnished house a little way
out of town. If we succeed we shall be able to
accommodate you finely, and I want to be with you
all the time you can stay here."
On his arrival Mr. Harrison voted for Sunday
evening services in the Choral Hall at once, and
although somewhat dubious about it the Church
agreed. From the first the gatherings were an
immense success, and there were distinct signs of a
spiritual movement. From Mount Eden, where
his home was situated, the pastor writes to the
departing evangelist on February 25th : " The
Choral Hall meetings are a grand success, and the
morning congregations are as large as ever. The
Church Census has just been taken, and you will
be pleased to know that although we were out of
the Choral Hall — it being otherwise engaged — we
had the largest congregations both morning and
evening of any church in Auckland, 547 in the
morning and over 600 in the evening. The Star
put a footnote to our record saying that hundreds
were turned away. This is a lift for us. To God
be the glory. Oh ! that the hundreds would come
to Jesus ! They will yet, I believe." Again on
March 7th, 1882, he writes : " We are still rejoicing
in the lift you gave us. I have had Friday evening
meetings with converts : schoolroom quite full and
such nice times ; about seventy have returned
cards, over fifty wishing to join Wellesley Street.
Regular application for membership has been made
104 THE SETTLEMENT IN NEW ZEALAND
in only a few cases, and I am not anxious that they
should be too soon. Last Sunday night, although
the meeting was not advertised, the Choral Hall was
crammed full, and we had a glorious time."
Mr. Harrison returned to England, partly in
pursuance of his own plans, partly to give a report
of the prospects at Auckland, and on June 26th of
that year we find him at the Metropolitan Taber-
nacle prayer meeting. *' He was able to bear
personal testimony to the need of a new chapel
for the large congregation already gathered at
Auckland." There plans had been laid on a gener-
ous scale, an acre of land had been purchased, and
a Bazaar projected to be held at Christmas. The
glad father in London proposed that gifts of money
and kind should be sent out from the friends in
London. Some acknowledgments were made the
following month in The Sword and Trowel, with the
reminder that " The members of the Old Tabernacle
at home should be the first to help the New Taber-
nacle in Auckland. They cannot have forgotten
young Thomas whom they were so pleased to hear.
Let him not imagine that he has slipped out of the
memories of those at home."
Tidings now began to arrive of the high success
of the new ministry in New Zealand. Such items as
** Nineteen were baptized, sixteen of whom were
present to receive the right hand of fellowship on
the following Sunday " ; "At our last church
meeting seven were proposed for membership " ;
** Last Sunday week we had an overflowing con-
gregation at the Choral Hall. Every chair about
the building was placed down the aisles and
REV. THOMAS SPURQEON (a caricature).
From '*Th$ 01>9*rver arvi Fru Lanct^" Junt 4th, X887.
106 THE SETTLEMENT IN NEW ZEALAND
occupied " ; " Wednesday evening prayer meetings
still continue to draw large congregations " ; *' On
Sunday we had a larger congregation than ever at
the Choral Hall " ; " Congregations keep up well :
Sundays for the last five weeks have been wet and
cold and therefore most uncomfortable ; but for
all that the people come to be warmed in their
souls. When once inside the chapel and the hall,
and the Holy Spirit warming up the people in their
hearts, we then have a good time. The young man
wears well, no diminution of ' a new way of telling
the old, old story.' "
In The Chicago Standard of August 25th, 1887,
Major Henry C. Dane gives some reminiscences of
his visit to Auckland. Speaking of Thomas
Spurgeon he says : " He is quite tall, rather spare,
sharp-visaged and spiritually intellectual, a plain,
unaffected, strong preacher, often, when deep in
his subject, much like his father in manner and
style. There is that same deep earnestness, that
same yearning of soul, that same sweetness of
spirit, that same simplicity and devoutness of
manner which captivates and captures his hearers,
and that same boldness of utterance which com-
mands the respect of all." Which makes pleasant
reading.
On October 10th, 1882, he had the joy of wel-
coming Joseph Cook to Auckland. " We were
strangers to each other," he said, " except that he
knew my parents, and I knew his children — in the
shape of the celebrated Boston lectures. Having
secured my prize, it was my honour to conduct him
home — ^if Bachelor's Hall be worthy of such a
THE SETTLEMENT IN NEW ZEALAND 107
sacred name — to break his fast and share our family
prayers." They climbed Mount Eden together.
" We had not travelled far when something arrested
our companion's attention, and demanded a halt,
though I neither saw nor heard anything unusual.
A lark singing o'er our heads had gained one ardent
admirer, and America soon listened entranced to
New Zealand's song. Our young colonial thrilled
the heart of Boston's noble citizen. ' You, fellow,
you,' said he, ' why, you're worth timing,' and out
came the watch. Then we were told that, during
his visit to England, he was so anxious to hear a
lark that he would not leave till in one of the
southern counties he hstened to the sweet music.
There he timed the lark's song for seven consecutive
minutes." Afterwards there was a lecture which
lasted two hours and a half to the crowded Opera
House. " Silence reigned supreme over the people,
and Mr. Cook over the silence."
Welcoming Mr. Harrison on his return to the
Antipodes, Mr. Spurgeon writes under date April
Tth, 1883 : " The wave that rose during your
visit has not subsided yet. Even lately I have
converts applying for baptism who trace either their
first impression or final decision to your ministry.
You, too, were my chief adviser as to engaging the
Choral Hall, and you were right. It has remained
crowded ever since."
The circular about the church building bears
date March 16th, 1882, and the estimate of the cost
then was £3,200 for the land and £5,000 for the
building. The Church Report for September 1883
gives the membership as 567, and expresses joy
108 THE SETTLEMENT IN NEW ZEALAND
that with the aid of a legacy the last instalment due
on the land has been paid ; and that the Church
solemnly covenanted to determine to open the
new Tabernacle entirely free from debt. The old
chapel had been sold for £2,500, and the esti-
mate for the new building had risen to £7,000,
leaving at that time a sum of £2,400 still to be
secured.
The Christmas Bazaar seems to have raised
£1,000, and the Stone-laying at Easter, April 14th,
1884, brought in £500, but the estimates still grew
(as estimates will), and it was determined that Mr.
Thomas Spurgeon should visit England to obtain
help from the old country. He started early in
May. At Melbourne he shared in what Mr. Chap-
man declared to be the best meeting the Baptist
denomination had ever known in that part of the
world — some 1,500 people came to tea. He was
present at the opening of the Launceston Taber-
nacle in Tasmania. On May 27th the members
of the newly formed Baptist Union of Tas-
mania marched down in a body to see him on
board the Iberia, the ship that was to bear him
home.
" Bless the old boat that carried us so well," he
says. " She never looked so nice as when we had
the pleasure of seeing the last of her. At Padding-
ton my brother met me and bore me off in triumph
to the Metropolitan Tabernacle. I was soon in
the embrace of the best man in the world, and
soon afterwards bowling along behind two swift
steeds towards ' West wood.' Weariness was for-
gotten in excitement, especially when Mother's
THE SETTLEMENT IN NEW ZEALAND 109
arms were around the wanderer and I was safe
at home.
'' Sunday at the Tabernacle was almost too good.
Such sermons ! Such singing ! Such a com-
munion service I Such hearty welcomes ! Dear
Father announced that I would preach on Sunday
week, with collections for the Auckland Tabernacle,
and the people are delighted at the prospect of
hearing me and helping us."
On July 16th at the annual fete of the Stock we 11
Orphanage, at which one of the chief items was
" Welcome home to Mr. Thomas Spurgeon," the
guest of the day said that there was only one man's
name in Australia and New Zealand which was
heard as much as the name of his dear father. He
guessed they wondered what the other name was.
It was John Ploughman. Then he gave his parable
of the three telegrams, which became quite classic.
The first was the message which summoned him
home in 1878. " Mother's worse — Return," on
which he based God's call to sinners to come back
to Him, and continued — " Not many months ago it
fell to my lot to be the sender of a cablegram.
Amongst other words were these, ' I am coming
home.' " He wanted them all to send that tele-
gram to their Father that afternoon. Then there
was the third telegram. A few days afterwards
he received an answer from his father. There was
a lot about business, saying he would send a first-
rate man to take his place, though a second-class
man would have done that. But he put a sweet
word at the beginning, " Welcome." Turning to
his father he said, '' Bless you, Father. I knew I
110 THE SETTLEMENT IN NEW ZEALAND
was welcome. You had to pay extra for it, but
it would have been a thousand pities to have left
it out. I read it on board ship, and it made
assurance doubly sure. So the heavenly answer
waits all who come : Welcome ! Welcome ! "
CHAPTER VIII
FIVE MONTHS IN ENGLAND
The five months Thomas Spurgeon spent in Eng-
land in 1884 were almost incessantly occupied by-
preaching and lecturing on behalf of the Auckland
Tabernacle. He occupied the pulpit at the Taber-
nacle in London on many occasions, and some of his
sermons are embodied in his first book, which was
issued on the eve of his return — The Gospel of the
Grace of God, " These sermons," says his father in
the preface, " have given great delight to the friends
at the Metropolitan Tabernacle. From Brighter
Britain our son has come to visit us in our best
weather, but when the first frosts and fogs of winter
surround our misty isle he must be gone, like the
swallows, to a sunnier clime." The preacher's
simple and picturesque style will be understood by
the following examples :
"I heard it said the other day, in the Metro-
politan Tabernacle, that when God made the world,
He did not wind it up like a watch, and then put it
under His pillow and go to sleep. Not He, indeed.
He made it, and then set it agoing, but He still
111
112 FIVE MONTHS IN ENGLAND
directs its course, and regulates its forces, ' up-
holding all things by the word of His power.'
" * He rides upon the stormy wind,
And manages the seas.* "
*' Do you notice how the Lord takes unbelieving
prayers and transforms them into assurances to
stimulate and increase feeble faith ? As He treated
this poor suppliant, so does He in mercy deal with
us. For instance, I say to Him, ' Lord, is it possi-
ble, can it be, that such a sinner as I, on whose black
list well-nigh every imaginable sin is chronicled,
should be washed whiter than snow ? ' Then
listening for the answer from the mercy-seat, I
hear the assuring echo, ' Whiter than snow.* ' But,
Lord, I am one of those who have sinned against
light and knowledge. A mother's tears have be-
dewed my head as I knelt at her knee. A father's
counsels, a pastor's pleadings, and many a heaven-
sent message have remained unheeded. My sin is
aggravated and inexcusable. Can it be that there
is mercy for the vilest ? ' And, listening once
again, the ear of faith catches the sweet voice that
sounds aloud from Calvary, ' Mercy for the vilest.'
' Ah, Lord, it seems too good to be true. I can
scarcely credit that it is possible ' Hark how the
everlasting hills echo and re-echo the assurance,
' It is possible 1 It is possible ! ' "
*' The natives of Australia were very much sur-
prised the first time they saw a man on horseback.
They had seen a horse before, and they had seen a
man before, but they had never seen a man and a
horse together before. They fancied that some
FIVE MONTHS IN ENGLAND 113
unheard-of monster was coming upon them, which
in the distance looked Hke a gigantic emu. But
when the apparition drew near, and they perceived
that the creature resolved itself into man and horse,
their fears were allayed. The reason why the
doctrines of Divine sovereignty and human re-
sponsibility appear so inconsistent to some is, that
they are not regarded as quite distinct : the one
being as far above the other as man is superior to
the horse. They were made to go together, though
they can never be one. No one would think of
reconciling steed and rider. Seek not to reconcile
these doctrines. Give each its proper position, and
grace and wisdom appear, instead of inconsistency
and partiality. Assign to God the honour that is
due to His name, and the right to choose and to
refuse, and at the same time feel that thou thyself
art answerable for all that thou dost or dost not
do. Then, and only then, the mystery is solved."
" But, alas, I must confess that in New Zealand,
as well as in Old England, there are many who,
though they hear it, do not hearken to it. I will
try to show you the difference. We have in the
Colonies a custom in connection with the Fire
Brigade which will illustrate my point. The city is
divided into numbered wards, and when the alarm
has been sounded, the bell tolls out the number of
the ward in which the conflagration has occurred.
By this arrangement those who are from home,
attending a service or visiting their friends, are
informed of the locality of the fire. Suppose the
system could be amplified, so that every street and
each house were indicated ; what eager listening
8
114 FIVE MONTHS IN ENGLAND
there would be ! When the bell had finished clang-
ing its alarm, would not every householder count
the strokes ? and he who heard the number of his
house sounded out, would have wings to his heels
immediately, and rush away to save his children
and his goods from the fiery element. Now, it is
when the Gospel comes home to a man like that —
when he hears his number rung out, and feels that
his soul is in danger of eternal burning — when the
finger of God points at him as Nathan's did at
David, and a stern voice declares ' Thou art the
man ' — ^then it is that he has given up hearing for
hearkening, and hearkening becomes equivalent to
obeying. Then he hastens to the Saviour, saying
' I flee unto Thee to hide me.' **
In subsequent Tabernacle sermons he often re-
verted to his experiences on the other side of the
world, and the extracts which follow will show how
his later style developed.
" I remember seeing on a remarkably quiet
morning in the Southern Seas, sun, moon and stars
all shining together. Perhaps it is not such an
uncommon sight as I have supposed. To me it
was novel, and all was so bright and beautiful that
the vision of it remains with me to this day. The
sun had only lately risen from the sea. The moon,
well orbed, with silvery light, was doing her best
to shine, even though her stronger rival had entered
into competition, and clustering close to them was
a certain lustrous star, bright even in the opening
day. I find, in God's Word, lights of various de-
FIVE MONTHS IN ENGLAND 115
grees, stars of different magnitudes. Sun, moon
and stars combine to gladden the devout reader.
The light is the same throughout."
" I remember sailing upon a wonderful lake in
New Zealand ; the water of this lake is icy cold
and of a deep blue colour, but the strange pe-
culiarity of these dreadful waters is that men who
have lost their lives there — and there have been
many accidents, for it is a stormy lake — have never,
never come back again. I mean, that their bodies
having sunk into the water have never reappeared.
The reason I do not know, but so it is ; and I am
glad to think that into such a sea as that, God
Almighty in His omnipotent love has cast my sin
and yours, so that they shall never trouble me any
more."
'* You know I used to live a few years ago in the
city of Auckland, New Zealand. Well, out away
in the distant suburbs of that city was the most
wonderful bridge I have ever seen in my life, and
I do not care if I never see another like it. There
had been some difficulty between the two vestries,
or parishes, or whatever they called them there.
There was a short space of water, and the land on
that side belonged to one county or company, and
the land on this side to another. They could not
come to terms — not as to the building of the bridge,
but about the finishing of it. I do not know how it
happened, but so it was, that on the further side
were several arches or spans of the bridge, and on
this side just as many, but the one that should have
joined them was missing; and there it stood for
many a year, and stands still — stands still in more
116 FIVE MONTHS IN ENGLAND
than one sense — even to this day, for aught I know,
a mockery, a vanity, because it has never been
completed."
His lecture on *' Brighter Britain " seems to have
been most popular wherever it was given. In
London it drew a large audience, and his father,
who presided, provided a pleasant interlude in
which he described his own congregation. *' He
knew them on Sunday when they were going to the
Tabernacle. There was a difierent kind of walk
about them from that of other people. He saw
good people going along so (imitating their walk
amidst much laughter). They were going to
church or somewhere, and they went slowly, as if
they had plenty of time and there was plenty of
room when they got there. But his own people
came trotting along quick (imitating them also
amid roars of laughter). They knew that unless
they got there in time they would not get there at
all."
Early in December, at the annual meeting of the
Pastors' College, Mr. Thomas Spurgeon was received
with a long ovation of cheers and waving of hand-
kerchiefs. He told the people that this home-
coming had been one of the happiest seasons in
his life. Altogether since his return he had re-
ceived £2,500. He had not got all that he wanted,
as whoever knew a Spurgeon that had ? His
brother's people at Greenwich had given him a
clock to keep Greenwich time, and his father had
given him the old Bible that he had preached out
of in Park Street Chapel, while the Tabernacle
FIVE MONTHS IN ENGLAND 117
friends had given him a Communion service for his
new Tabernacle in Auckland.
On December 12th, 1884, he set sail in the
Ligiiria, his father having bid him not to return
again, for he could never bear the pain of another
parting. Yet many and many a time thereafter
he longed for his return.
During this voyage he had two travelling com-
panions, Mr. H. H. Driver, who was returning to
New Zealand after his course at the Pasters'
College, and Mr. J. R. Cooper, who had been selected
by C. H. S. to take charge of the new church at
Perth in Tasmania. Mr. Cooper has been gcod
enough to recall some of the experiences of the
voyage. He took his bride with him, and Mr.
Driver shared the cabin with Mr. Spurgeon. " We
had much happy fellowship, and his gentle kindly
way made him a favourite with those whose good-
will was to be welcomed. It was our custom to
join in devotional fellowship day by day in Tom's
cabin. The four of us read together a Psalm and
then the exposition of it from The Treasury of
David, At Naples fortune favoured us — we were
able to spend eight hours ashore."
A descriptive article, " Christmas in the Canal,"
is to be found in the 1885 volume of The Sword and
Trowel from the pen of T. S. "So lovely a morning
I have seldom seen ; even Australia and New
Zealand could scarcely rival it. Happy children
romped about us with the presents Santa Claus
had placed in their hung-up stockings."
They arrived at Adelaide on January 20th, 1885,
and were heartily welcomed, as also at Melbourne,
118 FIVE MONTHS IN ENGLAND
and as the Tasmanian boat did not leave till after
the Sunday they all three preached in different
churches in the city. Mr. Gibson, his son, and all
the Baptist ministers of the Island welcomed them
to Tasmania. Mr. Spurgeon saw the newly married
couple safely installed in their manse, and then
continued the journey to New Zealand. Writing
to Mr. Cooper on February 12th, 1885, he gives
him such advice as might have come from a Bishop,
and asks for a letter of cheer from time to time.
In response to such a letter he wrote from Auckland
on January 29th, 1889 : " It is really good news
you give me of yourself* Do you know I almost
feel inclined to envy you. A hundred times I have
wished to be out of the forefront in some smaller
and quieter sphere where peace and quietness might
be possible. Yet doubtless the Lord placed me
here, and I must tarry till He moves me. Our
little one rejoices in the name of ' Daisy,' her full
title being Marguerite May. She is, I rejoice to
add, very well, and of course superlatively lovely
in her parents' eyes." But that is anticipating.
CHAPTER IX
AUCKLAND TABERNACLE
From Adelaide Mr. Spurgeon lost no time in sending
a message to the Church at Auckland. A para-
graph went the round of the New Zealand papers
to the effect that amongst the cable officials
his ingenuity in squeezing a pastoral on the ten-
words minimum tariff was regarded as a very
astute idea ; the message when written out in full
extended to no less than seventeen lines. It was
reported that when the message was read the
following Sunday by Rev. W. E. Rice, who had
occupied Mr. Spurgeon' s place during his absence,
a smile flickered across the congregation at " seeing
so much theology covered by seven shillings."
The cable ran, " Romans first eight twelve Second
Corinthians first eleven." It may be worth while
to quote the Scriptures ; their appropriateness will
be self-evident.
" First, I thank my God through Jesus Christ
for you all, that your faith is spoken of throughout
the whole world. For God is my witness whom
I serve with my spirit in the Gospel of His Son, that
without ceasing I make mention of you always in
my prayers : making request, if by any means
119
120 AUCKLAND TABERNACLE
now at length I might have a prosperous journey
by the will of God to come to you. For I long to
see you. that I may impart unto you some spiritual
gift, to the end that ye may be established ; that
is, that I may be comforted together with you by
the mutual faith both of you and me. Ye also
helping together by prayer for us, that for the gift
bestowed upon us by the means of many persons
thanks may be given by many on our behalf."
In that spirit pastor and people met. On
March 1st, 1885, a soiree was held in the Choral
Hall to bid him welcome, and also to say farewell
to Mr. Rice, who, at his father's request, had come
from England to Auckland to shepherd the church
during the pastor's absence. Mr. Spurgeon had
promised to send a " first-rate man," and amid
great cheering that estimate was endorsed by the
meeting. The Church, which numbered 650 mem-
bers, presented Mr. Rice with a testimonial and
very heartily welcomed Mr. Spurgeon.
As to the new Tabernacle, " long after the hoped-
for time, and far beyond our anticipated cost, the
building was complete in all its most important
portions late in April. There remained another
£1,000 to raise," Mr. Spurgeon continues in an
article written about that time, " and our hearts
rise to our rich Banker for this last overdraft. At
length, money or no money, we fixed the day of the
opening. On Sunday, May 10th, we said farewell
to the wooden tenement, which for eight and
twenty years had braved the battle (of the elements)
and the breeze. Our friend Mr. Cornford, for five
AUCKLAND TABERNACLE 121
and twenty years the pastor of this people, was the
preacher. He revived old memories by preachirg
the old Gospel. At night the Choral Hall was
' farewelled,' a great crowd gathering to pay its
last respects to a place hallowed by sacred associa-
tions and sweet experiences."
The building was opened free of debt. " Even
now I find it difficult/' the pastor writes, " to
credit that in a few years we have succeeded in
obtaining nearly an acre of land, with two houses
on it, one of them an almshouse and the other for
the chapel keeper, and our new House of Prayer,
and still have enough ground remaining to realize
between two thousand and three thousand pounds,
but destined, I trust, to accommodate some other
Institution to our Saviour's praise. The shrewdest
heads among us could hardly have ' seen their
way ' to such a scheme, but we have had a Managing
Director whose thoughts are higher than ours. All
glory be to His holy name." This familiarity of
faith is recorded with the utmost reverence, albeit
with primitive simplicity.
Tuesday, May 12th, 1885, was the day of the
opening service. The Tabernacle, which actually
cost £14,628, is a building which accommodates
1,200 worshippers, and " the interior presents an
aspect of elegance, of commodiousness, and of
solidity." As one of the Auckland newspapers
puts it, it is " a credit to the denomination to which it
belongs, an ornament to the city, and an enduring
monument to the self-devotion and energy of the
gifted young preacher who initiated the enterprise
and has carried it out to successful fruition." On
122 AUCKLAND TABERNACLE
the opening day the utmost enthusiasm prevailed
amongst the people. " They rejoiced to enter the
building not alone as their gift to God, but as His
gift to them. It was meet that the first sounds
heard within the walls when the people assembled
for the first service should be the familiar strains of
the Doxology." The sermon Mr. Spurgeon then
preached on " Hear Thou in heaven Thy dwelling
place," as well as the sermon of the following
Sunday, " True Worship," was afterwards pub-
lished in exactly the same form and type as his
father's sermons. The three thoughts of the first
sermon were given in the hymn which Mr. Spurgeon
had written for the occasion, two verses of which
are —
The " House of God" henceforth
Shall be its sacred name ;
A monument to prayer, it must
A " House of Prayeb" remain.
Yet one more boon we crave,
May many through Thy grace.
That this a " House of Mercy" prove.
Be born within this place.
Meeting followed meeting during the week, and on
Sunday, May 17th, thronged services were held, a
crowd of 1,700 people being accommodated in the
evening.
The next two or three years were of unexampled
prosperity in the Church life. In the address pre-
faced to the Report of July 1886, the Pastor,
pausing at the milestone, says : " How about the
next mile ? Can we not adopt a pace at once more
AUCKLAND TABERNACLE 123
swift and more steady than before ? May we not
hope to keep more directly in the straight Hne, that
is, with less waste of energy and fewer wanderings ?
Will it not be our happy privilege to gain more
companions on the road ? And shall it not be said
of us, more truly than before, that we have laid
aside every weight ? Thus pausing by the way, we
hear the distant bells which chime of stronger zeal,
and firmer faith, more fervent faith, holier hving,
and more spiritual power."
On the copy which has come into my hand a
traveller has made the note, " The most flourishing
Church I have visited in the colonies. A great
family likeness to his father in the Pastor,"
Once a year the said pastor provided a social
evening for the Young Men's Mutual Improvement
Society, and on August 31st we find him rendering
his own poem " In Perils on the Sea," the most
ambitious of his poems, pubhshed that year in a
separate form. The following extract will show its
strength.
But what of Paul ? Methiiiks I saw him leap
Among the first to swim, for in the deep
He'd spent a night and day, and thrice before
Had suffered shipwreck on a storm-beat shore.
Upborne by faith as well as strength and skill,
He battles with the surging surf, until
A kindly billow takes him in its reach,
And casts him pale and panting on the beach.
With scarce a moment's rest, behold he strives —
His ©wn life saved — to rescue other lives ;
Anon he shouts a word of cheerfulness
To yonder sufferers in dire distress ;
Anon he bends to chafe some ice-cold form.
Or snatches other trophies from thejstorm.
124 AUCKLAND TABERNACLE
Breast-high he ventures in, and bravely saves
Exhausted strugglers from the refluent waves.
All things to all these men he has become,
If he by all means may deliver some.
Nay, nay ; not some alone, but all, for so
Jehovah's angel pledged a week ago !
No sailor lost, and not one soldier drowned,
The passengers all saved, the prisoners found.
Close on three hundred souls — a hapless host —
Stand safe, though shiv'ring on Melita's coast !
What holy gladness fills the eyes of Paul ;
As answers to his prayer he views them all ;
His joy — though stained with blood, or salt with sea.
His crown — or Jew or Gentile, bond or free !
On November 6th of the same year, C. H.
Spurgeon, leaving his London congregation for a
spell in the south of France, writes a pastoral, and
on the back of it there is printed for the first time
the hymn " All of Grace," suggested by his father's
book with that title, perhaps the finest of Thomas
Spurgeon's poetic writings, certainly the one which
has gained most acceptance.
* All of grace ' — from base to summit,
Grace on every course and stone ;
Grace in planning, rearing, crowning,
Sovereign grace, and grace alone !
' All of grace ' — from keel to topmast,
Grace the hull and spars has wrought ;
Grace designing, building, launching,
Grace unaided, grace imsought !
Grace primeval ! grace eternal !
Grace foreknows, and grace elects ;
Grace provides a full salvation,
Grace the rebel heart affecti.
AUCKLAND TABERNACLE 125
' * All of grace ' — for useless strivings
Perfect pardon's sweet content!
Light and life for death and darkness !
' All of grace ' omnipotent !
' Grace bids Christian quit Destruction,
Leads him to the Crucified ;
Brings to Beulah, helps o'er Jordan,
Welcomes on the other side I
* Grace for grace,' and ' Grace sufi&cient,*
' Grace abounding,' ' Grace that reigns,*
Grace the guarantee of glory !
Grace ! Grace ! Grace ! How sweet the strains !
Chorus
*• ' All of Grace,' oh ! ' All of grace,'
* Not of works lest man should boast,
Frank forgiveness suits the vilest !
Largest debtors love the most ! "
From a long report in The New Zealand Baptist by
a visitor to Auckland we find that the success of the
earlier years was well maintained. " The Auckland
Tabernacle," it says, '' is erected in a most com-
manding position, and can be seen from most parts
of the city and suburbs. As we neared the church
we found a stream of people from city and subvirb
all bound for the same place, and we were forcibly
reminded of many visits to the London Tabernacle."
Then follows a realistic description of what was
evidently a service full of power. *' In three
minutes the Tabernacle was empty owing to the
excellent arrangements, and the writer was on his
way home deeply grateful to God that such men
as C. H. Spurgeon and his twin sons rejoiced to
126 AUCKLAND TABERNACLE
preach the old-fashioned gospel in a plain, homely
way that reaches the hearts of the people."
Rev. J. D. Gilmore on his return to New Zealand
from the Pastors' College, was invited by Mr.
Spurgeon to be his guest and spend several weeks
with him in his bachelor home in Mount Albert.
*' At his suggestion," Mr. Gilmore says, '' I preached
at Ponsonby, and became Pastor of the church, so
I was his near neighbour for seven years. At the
time I was in his house he had a dog called Flirt,
well-named, for she transferred her affections to me.
" I went over to the Tabernacle one evening for
a Baptism. As we were going on the platform we
passed a young woman in the corridor, and Mr.
Spurgeon, always courteous, stopped and spoke to
her. * You are not a member with us, I think,' he
said. To which she replied, ' Oh, no, I belong to
the Gathered-Outs.' At once Mr. Spurgeon re-
sponded, ' Do you indeed ? I belong to the
Gathered-Ins.' He was always quick at repartee ;
once when I wrote asking if he were better, he
answered, ' Thanks, I am not altogether well yet,
but I am much better than I was when I w^as worse
than I am now.'
The Headmaster of the High School at Auckland
regularly took a class of his boys to the Tabernacle
simply to hear Mr. Spurgeon read the Scriptures,
he considered the enunciation to be so fine. One
Saturday afternoon he took those same boys up to
Mount Eden, an extinct volcano outside Auckland,
and got them to write an essay on their experience.
One answer Mr. Spurgeon afterwards used as an
illustration of looking for God in the wrong way ;
AUCKLAND TABERNACLE 127
the boy had written, " And when we got to the
top we saw the great creator ! "
One evening Mr. Spurgeon was to be the principal
speaker at a big Temperance demonstration held
in a large building with a corrugated iron roof.
Just as the meeting was about to commence, a
thunderstorm burst and the rain came down in
torrents. As it was impossible to give an address,
Mr. Spurgeon, equal to the occasion, said, " My
friends, I have never spoken against water in my
life, and I do not intend doing so to-night."
Rev. W. S. Potter, sometime his neighbour in
Auckland, in an appreciative letter says : '* During
his single days I occasionally visited him, and he
never allowed me to leave without praying with
me : once when I was in trouble he said in his
prayer, ' O Lord, we know Thou wilt help us in
our troubles or help us out of them.' On two
occasions when he found himself too ill to conduct
the service in the Choral Hall I took it for him.
'* When I removed to the Thames, the mining
there had largely failed. During a visit to Auck-
land Mr. Spurgeon inquired about my work and
when I suggested that he might come and give us
a lecture, he said, ' I will right heartily.' His
lecture on ' The Truth, the whole Truth, and
nothing but the Truth ' so stirred the people that
they gave nearly £7. Then at the close of the
meeting he asked the people to buy his book The
Gospel of the Grace of God, and the ' annual report
of his mother's Book Fund,' and another £6 was
raised, not one penny of which would he take for
himself. His steamboat expenses were considerable ;
128 AUCKLAND TABERNACLE
so I wrote a letter expressing my thanks, enclosing
£l to cover his expenses, and gave it to him just
as the steamer was moving. He opened it, and
quickly rolled up the note in the envelope and
threw it at me on the wharf.
" Eight years ago I was in London, but he was
in Switzerland. On his return he arranged for
Mrs. Potter and me to spend a day in Slough. It
was one of the happiest days I have spent in my
life. He took us to the church of which ' Gray's
Elegy ' is written, and through Burnham Beeches,
but the real joy of the visit was Mr. Spurgeon him-
self. I felt he was conferring a great favour on
me, and yet he put it all the other way, and bring-
ing his hand down warmly on mine, he said, * You
dear old fellow to give me this happy day.' "
The event which makes the year 1888 memorable
was the marriage of Mr. Spurgeon on February 10th
to Miss Lila Rutherford, at Hanover Street, Dune-
din. Already we have seen his friendship with the
family from his earliest days in Australia, and
have noted the removal of Mr. Gideon Rutherford
to New Zealand, and Mr. Spurgeon's sojourn in the
home there before his settlement in Auckland.
The friendship was not confined to the younger
people, for on September 1st, 1881, C. H. Spurgeon
writes to his son, " Do give my love to Mr. Ruther-
ford. The thought of him touches my heart.
May the Lord bless all the children, and sanctify
family sorrows ! I wish I could go to Australia or
New Zealand if it were only for the sake of seeing
that loving friend."
It may not be out of place here to transcribe
AUCKLAND TABERNACLE 129
some half- playful references in the father's letters
to " Son Tom " on the question of marriage. At
least three times he gave him the opportunity of
opening his heart on the matter. One letter, dated
" Sweet Home, March 15th," says, " I half suspect
you are getting fond of some Australian girl, for
you have written a great deal about a certain
Victoria, but then there was almost as much about
Adelaide, I hope you have not two strings to your
bow, and yet you write very lovingly about both.
Mind your heart, my boy, or it will be gone before
you know it." And on September 1st, 1881, he
writes, " When you see a lady of your own age who
is at all like what your mother was, be sure to pop
the question at once. If you get her and she
lives to be what your dear mother is, you will
lament her weakness and yet reckon her to be
better than the strongest of women." In another
letter referring to Brother Charles, the father says,
" I fancy he will soon be wanting to be tied to the
stake which he now leans upon very tenderly."
It was in 1886 that Miss Rutherford and Mr.
Spurgeon, who had long been drawn towards each
other, became formally engaged. They had there-
after frequent opportunity of meeting, for an attack
of rheumatic fever compelled his fiancee to go to
the North Island for treatment at the Hot Springs,
about forty miles from Auckland. Mr. Rutherford
found here, with his gun, enough to occupy his
attention, but the young people did not accompany
him on his shooting expeditions.
Needless to say the wedding, which was con-
ducted by Mr. North at Hanover Street Chapel,
9
130 AUCKLAND TABERNACLE
was quite an event in Dunedin. Many were unable
to gain admission to the crowded church, and
expressions of goodwill on the occasion abounded.
The marriage was ideally happy, the qualities of
husband and wife balancing and perfecting each
other, and their mutual love and devotion grow-
ing with the years. After their honeymoon they
settled in Auckland at Remuera, about three miles
from the Tabernacle. A letter written to his father
soon afterwards will best give the colour of the
moment. It is dated March 22nd, 1888.
" My own Dear Father,
" How can I thank you for the kind letter
you wrote me from Mentone ? I had been expect-
ing it ere it arrived. My hopes were high. I knew
that kind love and wise counsel would be in it,
but I scarcely ventured to hope for so much of both.
And as for your good gift to mark my marriage
and feather the nest, I had never so much as dreamed
of such a thing. A thousand thanks for your
gracious generosity. . . .
" I thought you would rejoice that George
Miiller was at our wedding. I count it no small
matter to have had a seat on Dr. Brock's knee (I
remember it so well), and his presence at our
baptism, to have had also Dr. Moffat's hand upon
my head while he prayed our father's God to bless
us, and to have had George Miiller' s presence and
prayer at our nuptials.
" Better than all three put together is the con-
stant blessing of having you as both Father and
Friend. How I have sympathized with you lately
AUCKLAND TABERNACLE 131
— ^for though you are on the winning side the strife
must be sore. Thousands rejoice in you and plead
for you. I wish I could tell you all dear Mr. Miiller
said about the conflict, and convey, as it should be
conveyed, his ' dear love' to his ' pelov'd brudder.'
" My love and esteem for you can never die or
even wane, but this seems poor return for all your
goodness. Such as I have give I thee. If I could
help you anyhow, holding the horses, or carrying
the whip, or scraping the plough, it would be all
too great an honour.
" With heartiest love and gratitude,
" I am your fond and faithful,
" Son Tom."
As a wedding gift the church presented Mr.
Spurgeon with a writing-table, a replica of one that
the New Zealand people gave to the Pope ; in fact,
Mr. Spurgeon received the one made for the Pope,
and the Pope got the one begun for Mr. Spurgeon,
which was not finished in time for the presentation.
It is in the London home to-day — a very fine piece
of furniture. At the same time a large china
cabinet made of all the different sorts of wood
grown in New Zealand was presented to Mrs.
Spurgeon : that also graces the London home, and
is an object of great interest to visitors.
On Christmas Day 1888, a little daughter —
Daisy — came as God's good gift to the home, but
in March she was gone. The sorrowing parents
had no picture of her, save the image engraven on
their hearts, for the intention of having a photo-
graph taken was postponed until she should have
132 AUCKLAND TABERNACLE
been a little older. For this the father never quite
forgave himself, he had been so engrossed in the
work of the Church that he had not noted the
passage of the months. His own sorrow made him
very sympathetic with others. Long afterwards
he wrote :
'' Have some of my readers lost their little ones ?
Then hear me, for I too have walked that Via
Dolorosa. A certain well-loved text hung on my
study-wall, illuminated by my own hand. I little
thought, as I drew the letters and gilded the
capitals, that the words would have a very literal
fulfilment. But I knew it ere the blossom fell.
She had been sick a little while, and none could tell
how it might end. As I hoped, and feared, the
truth leapt from the wall right into my heart, in the
twinkling of an eye : ' Sutler the little children to
come unto Me.' Soon after that my firstborn was
with the angels. Then, once more ' was there a
voice heard, lamentation and weeping, and great
mourning.' Did we do wrong to grieve ? Is weep-
ing sin ? Nay, nay ; for ' Jesus wept.' But we
did not sorrow as those without hope ; we did not
refuse to be comforted. I own no foot of land
save a little plot in an Auckland cemetery, and
there, beneath a drooping acacia, is a little shell-
strewn mound, and a simple stone with this in-
scription—
DAISY SPURGEON,
AGED 3 MONTHS.
'* Even so, Father . .
AUCKLAND TABERNACLE 133
** My sorrowing friend, write ' Even so, Father '
on your gravestones. Your little ones are ' gone
before.' Do not push away the pierced hand that
holds the kerchief of consolation to your streaming
eyes. I pray you, refuse not to be comforted.
* The Spirit and the Bride say Come,' and if your
tear-dimmed eyes prevent you coming to the Com-
forter, remember He is called the Paraclete. He
will come to you, if you will call to Him."
The death of his child brought to a crisis the fear
that had been growing for some time that his health
was not equal to the strain of the great church —
the largest in Australasia — that was now his care ;
so in the month of June he declared his intention of
resigning the pastorate. The Leader of June 7th,
1889, wrote : *' The announcement of Pastor
Spurgeon's determination to resign the pastorate
of the Baptist Tabernacle at Auckland, in conse-
quence of failing health, has caused very great
regret, not only amongst the members of his own
denomination, but amongst all sections of the
Church of Christ. It is acknowledged, even by
those who have not seen eye to eye with Mr.
Spurgeon, that he has evinced no ordinary ability
and devotion in welding the Baptist body in this
city into its present compact form. It is due to
his zeal, piety and pulpit oratory that his church
has attained to the efficiency which has made it
such a potent influence for good on the com-
munity." And so on for a column.
On June 10th, at a meeting of the Church, with
much regret the decision was taken as final, Mr.
134 AUCKLAND TABERNACLE
Spurgeon not being willing to accept the alternative
of a prolonged holiday, but expressing his willing-
ness to remain until the end of the year. His
father and Dr. Maclaren were empowered to choose
a successor, and Mr. William Birch was sent out
to what proved a somewhat unbalanced pastorate.
But that does not concern us here. More to the
point is Thomas Spurgeon's letter to his father,
dated June 17th, 1889, in which amongst other
things he says ;
" This mail will bring you tidings of my resigna-
tion, if you have not heard of it previously. I
meant to send you a copy of my letter to the Church,
but have not time to write it. But it is perhaps
as well not to bother you. I gave two reasons.
One was that I did not feel ' able ' enough to do
justice to all the work, and the other was that for
some long time the blessing seemed to have been
withheld and the church was not prospering as it
should. I further intimated that my inability to
visit all the folk and personally to superintend all
the efforts was partly accountable for the lack of
success. I therefore asked to be released from the
too heavy burdens at the end of November.
" I found it sad work to do this, but I had the
assurance ere I did it that it should be, and I am
more and more convinced that I have acted rightly.
If I were well and strong I would delight to remain,
or if I got so by and by I would not object to
return. But the furlough which was kindly offered,
and the assistant suggested, did not meet the case.
I am sure it is best to secure a successor.
AUCKLAND TABERNACLE 135
" I have no hesitation in saying that the sphere
is a good one and some of the best of men and
women are here. As to myself I have the vaguest
of plans. Invitations are coming to me already,
but cannot be accepted. I think of going to Mr.
Gibson after our Union meetings in December, of
resting there a while, and then of helping the
churches in Tasmania. It may be that I visit the
other colonies too. I feel sure that the way will
open, for in no matter of my life have I more
earnestly sought direction than in this. The ut-
most grief prevails here, and throughout the colony,
at my decision, though there are some few who look
at the case somewhat as I do and, regretting it
like myself, they judge that I have acted the wise
and honest part. I hope therefore you will not
grieve over it. I shall keenly feel the parting, yet
cannot help being glad to be relieved of the burden."
On November 8rd Mr. Spurgeon preached his
farewell sermon. Of the service The Leader of
November 8th says : " It is not difficult to account
for Mr. Spurgeon's popularity and power. We
noticed members of the Anglican, Presbyterian,
Congregational, and other churches present, and
have no doubt that the young preacher's blameless
life, elocutionary power, clear enunciation, good
memory, and above all his clear and fearless preach-
ing of the old Gospel story of man the sinner and
Christ the Saviour, account for Mr. Spurgeon's hold
on such vast numbers. Auckland people would
soon see through and rip up sham and humbug.
Any young man who can therefore pass through
186 AUCKLAND TABERNACLE
the ordeal which Thomas Spurgeon has stood during
the eight years he has ministered at the Tabernacle,
must have some grit in him. Envious detractors
said when he came here that * his father's name and
fame do it,' but being in no way connected with Mr.
Spurgeon's church we can give an unbiassed
opinion, and we must say that he has proved by his
ministry here that he is a manly man, a sterling
preacher of no mean order, and that if his name
were Tom Jones his genuine ability and aptness to
preach would have placed him where he is now —
in the front rank of all the preachers in Auckland.'*
The next evening a farewell soiree was held when
addresses were presented from the Church, the
Auckland Ministers' Association, and the Young
Men's Christian Association. Mr. Spurgeon had a
great ovation, and presented the Church with a
pulpit Bible to replace the one his father had pre-
sented to him, which he had hitherto used. So
closed a ministry that has left an impress on the
Colony that remains to this day. During the
month of December Mr Spurgeon supplied the
pulpit at Dunedin, and on January 23rd, 1890, he
left New Zealand for Tasmania, " having given
much of the red blood of his youth to the city by
the W aitemata,'^ and even on his departure being
retained as Pastor Emeritus by the Church at the
Tabernacle.
CHAPTER X
THE EVANGELIST
On January 27th, 1890, Mr. and Mrs. Spurgeon
arrived in the s.s. Rotomahana at Tasmania, where
for some months they were the guests of Mr. and
Mrs. Gibson at Native Point. Here they rested
for some weeks. On March 16th, Mr. Spurgeon
preached at Longford, the following Sunday at
Launceston, giving his lecture on " The Apostle of
Burmah " on the Tuesday, and at Hobart on the
following Friday. Influenza caused a break, but
in April he preached the Association Sermon for
the Baptist Union of Tasmania at Launceston, and
we find him also at Latrobe, Devonport, and Perth.
In May he was again at Launceston, and on the
last day of that month he left Tasmania, having
accepted the proposal of the Baptist Union of New
Zealand, made at its meetings in Dunedin on the
previous December 10th, that he should devote
himself to evangelistic work in the Islands.
In The New Zealand Baptist he writes : " To-
wards the end of my furlough I was led to Victoria,
and there received much spiritual stimulus. At
the closing meeting of the half-yearly session of the
Baptist Union I solicited the prayerful sympathy of
the brethren on my own behalf and for the work.
137 »
188 THE EVANGELIST
I am not likely to forget the gathering amid the
gums of Ocean Grove, when men full of faith pleaded
that God would endue me with power and abun-
dantly bless my testimony in New Zealand. I
humbly believe that the prayer was answered then
and there. So great was the interest that several
of the leading ministers voluntarily pledged them-
selves to lay our work before their prayer meetings
week by week. I love to think that in Launceston,
Geelong and Melbourne those who have the ear
of the King are pleading our cause — His, rather,
for we are co-workers together with God."
In a letter to Mr. T. Batts, kindly forwarded by
his daughter Mrs. C. R. Macdonald, Mr. Spurgeon
writes from Tasmania on February 10th, 1890, and
states his attitude to certain doctrines which his
successor in Auckland Tabernacle was preaching.
The extract is interesting in view of the new service
which awaited him : " The best way to proclaim
holiness is to preach the doctrines of grace (so I
think) and to exhort to Christlikeness. All boasting
about perfection is anti-scriptural. Christ drew
lessons from sparrows and ravens but not from
peacocks. They are mentioned in the Bible I know,
but in the society of apes. May the Lord direct his
heart to something more practical and scriptural,
for I fear me that those who get so quickly to
the top of the ladder will have to step painfully
down or else tumble over on the other side."
For eighteen months this evangelistic work con-
tinued with signs of blessing everywhere. While
these words are being written frequent letters are
being received from New Zealand recalling the grace
THE EVANGELIST 139
of them — " Those were grand days" ; *' The best
workers are the people brought in then " ; " His
ministry is bearing fruit to-day," is the testimony
from place after place. Mrs. Spurgeon accom-
panied her husband in these journeys as long as
she could. Travelling was difficult, for out-of-the-
way places were visited ; often the journeys had to
be undertaken by springless carts, over the roughest
of roads, and frequently on horseback. The ac-
commodation, always kindly, was often primitive,
meals served on a clothless table with the men sit-
ting down in their shirt- sleeves. But the intrepid
couple only laughed at their hardships, saw the
best side of everything, and endeared themselves
very greatly to the people wherever they went.
In The Sword and Trowel for 1890 and 1891 there
are very readable accounts from Mr. Spurgeon' s
own pen of the places he visited. From these and
from newspaper extracts, happily preserved, can
be gleaned the following particulars.
Invercargill, where the mission work began,
was reached on June 3rd after a tempestuous
voyage ; and on the following two Sundays and
on the days between, services were held deepening
in power each day, and culminating at a great
meeting in the Theatre. " The population of
Invercargill is essentially Scotch. At every street
corner you may hear the Scotch bodies ' crackin*
awa' ' in their broadest brogues, and two or three
Kirks proclaim that the majority of the folk there-
about are of the Presbyterian persuasion." Of the
outcome of the meetings the missioner wisely
writes : '' Without tabulating results — for who can
140 THE EVANGELIST
tell whither the blessing tends, much less where it
ends ? — I may say that God gave us to see signs
following, and assured us that a glad key-note had
been struck for a mission which, with His blessing,
cannot fail to be an anthem full of praise to the
Lord of love."
The next centre was Caversham, and to reach it
a severe winter journey had to be undertaken — it
seems strange to think of winter in June. The
pastor there was a son of Howard Hinton; and
Charles Carter, famous in Ceylon in connection with
the Baptist Missionary Society, had been a previous
minister of the church. Of the special services a
friend reports that it was —
Christ first, Christ last, Christ all day long.
My strength, my glory, and my song.
And The New Zealand Baptist is constrained to
write : " Better work the Union never did than when
it committed itself to this evangelistic campaign."
MosGiEL, visited during the first fortnight in
July, yielded some fifty confessors of faith. " More
inspiring meetings I never attended, more interested
hearers I never addressed."
The rest of July was given to Oamuru, which is
to be pronounced Wom-a-roo. " A native name
of course ; but an easy one to pronounce. What
say you to Whakarewarewa or Nihootekisse, or
Tapuacharuru ? " The town stands on the east
coast of the South Island, about seventy miles
north of Dunedin. Here the experience of the
previous missions was repeated.
A hundred miles further north is Ashburton.
THE EVANGELIST 141
*'Here*s your fishing-rod, sir," said a voice behind
me as I was about to take my seat in the train,
and two sticks and a small parcel were handed to
the departing Evangelist. The apparatus turned
out to be a calico sign, with hems to take the eight-
feet sticks, and the announcement on it " Spur-
geon's Mission. To-night at 7.30." " Alas ! that
this fresh fishing-ground yielded little," writes the
Mssioner. " For six nights the Gospel was pro-
claimed, yet only a few submitted themselves to
the righteousness of God."
The next mission was held at Sydenham at the
end of August, but it was somewhat hindered by
labour troubles, and the unrest made it difficult
to get away to the next place. With a scratch
crew the steamer started, but owing to a storm it
was not able to get beyond Picton ; thence the
next morning train was taken to Blenheim, and
then an eighty-mile road journey had to be under-
taken in a two-horse buggy. This drive through
Marlborough and Havelock occupied two days,
and at length the travellers arrived just in time
at Nelson. *' The town lies embosomed amidst
verdant hills, and is remarkable for its well-kept
gardens and prolific orchards. This sheltered
spot enjoys a climate of the mildest sort. A more
charming place of residence can hardly be imagined.
It is perhaps the healthiest place in the colony."
Here the services were excellent, as they also were
at Richmond, the next town visited. Thence,
crossing the Straits to Wellington, the journey
was continued to Wanganui, where the results
were meagre. " Nevertheless, some of the fruit
142 THE EVANGELIST
fell at the shaking of the tree, and perhaps more
of it was helped in ripening for a harvest to be
revealed."
At Wellington, the Empire city, in spite of the
weather and the Wild West Show pitched im-
mediately opposite the church, good meetings
gathered, and the Evangelist was glad to work
alongside the Pastor, Mr. H. H. Driver, who had
been one of his ship companions in the voyage of
1885. A journey of two hundred miles brought
him to Napier and to another happy mission, in
which the sympathy of all the churches of the
town was freely given. Toward the end of the
year 1890 a mission was held at The Catlins —
Owaki and Puerua, where in addition to the white
people there is a Maori settlement, and nearly all
the score or so are consistent Christians. " How
eagerly these dark-skins listened to the message —
they said they understood it too, and how heartily
they sang ! " Toward the close of the mission ' ' just
where a little creek loses itself in the infinite main,
four daughters of my Puerua host confessed ' Jesus
as Lord,' while some who witnessed their bold
profession were, I trust, resolved to follow their
example, and Christ's, ere long. As this was the
first occasion on which I had administered this
ordinance out in the open, it had a peculiar interest
for me."
In quick succession came visits to Canterbury,
Oxford, Kirwee and Christchurch. At Kirwee
*' a clergyman, having arranged for a concert and
a dance (dancing is one of the curses of these up-
country townships), was not a little dismayed that
THE EVANGELIST 143
the fiddlers who generally supplied the music had
been converted and declined to attend."
Great blessing rested upon the mission at Dune-
din, " Not only scores, but hundreds, have received
Christ as their Saviour," said The New Zealand
Baptist. There were, as a result, forty-eight
baptisms the following month. Similar grace
seems to have rested on the meetings at Ponsonby
during the latter part of June.
On July 2nd, 1891, Thomas Harold Spurgeon
was born at Auckland, and later in the month his
father was at Thames, the workers in the Sunday
schools of the town largely rejoicing in the result
of his labours. During August the churches in
the neighbourhood of Auckland were visited,
including the Tabernacle, where the former Pastor
baptized nineteen candidates during his visit.
Lincoln, Greendale, Malvern and Caversham
followed in quick succession, and so ended the year,
and the eighteen months of evangelistic ministry.
In a little book the names of seven hundred and
seventy-six persons are noted as fruits of the
missions, to be remembered and prayed over as
the days went on.
Several churches during these months invited
Mr. Spurgeon to accept the pastorate, including his
old church in Auckland. To all of them he turned
a deaf ear. Overtures were also made to him to
conduct similar services in Australia, but events
were hastening on which changed the whole course
of his ministry.
CHAPTER XI
THE TABERNACLE TEMPEST
The family history in England was rapidly
reaching a climax. Spurgeon was ill. Painful
illness had often been his lot before, but this was
recognized as serious. Clouds were over Westwood,
over the Tabernacle, and over all Evangelical
Christendom. The clouds grew darker and it
seemed as if the storm must break, when, doubtless
in answer to prayer as well as in response to skill
and affection, the sun shone through and health
seemed again in sight. But it was only an inter-
lude, a bright and lovely interlude ; then the dark-
ness gathered once more, and on the morning of
the first day of February, eighteen hundred and
ninety-two, the world learned that the prophet of
the Lord had passed. Many of the contents-bills
of the newspapers had only one item upon them
that morning — " Death of Spurgeon." People
paused as if stunned, and tears coursed down
unaccustomed cheeks. There has been nothing to
compare with it save the afternoon when another
generation read the news-lines — "" Death of Kit-
chener." In both cases a star had fallen from the
sky, and the powers of heaven were shaken.
Now for the details of the story. Early in May
144
THE TABERNACLE TEMPEST 145
Spurgeon was taken ill, but he struggled on preach-
ing occasionally, until the first Sunday in June.
That was the last time he was in the Tabernacle.
Perhaps I may be permitted to recount the in-
cidents from my own standpoint, as it all came
home to me in an unexpected way.
There were two immediate difficulties flowing
from the illness, which, of course, was itself the
greatest difficulty of all. The first concerned the
empty pulpit which, for a while, was well supplied
by trusted ministers ; the second, the wider
ministry of the printed sermons. Happily, Mrs.
Spurgeon's health had improved, and she was able
to share in the responsibility, and the devoted
secretary, Joseph W. Harrald, knew the mind of
his Chief. But other help was needed, and I was
permitted, in a working agreement with them, to
take the revision of the weekly sermon. Of this
task I have already written in my book, At the
Sixtieth Milestone. Many of these sermons were
revised at the Manor House, Newton Harcourt,
in Leicestershire, which had been placed at my
disposal that summer, and there morning by
morning, brought along the canal bank by a
railway porter from Glenn Station, the telegram
came giving the latest report of the invalid — a
bundle of thirty lies before me as I write. But
there came a glad day when the bulletins ceased,
and then, on occasion, it was necessary for me to
see the preacher to talk over future plans.
It was hoped that a visit to Mentone would
complete the cure, which had been gradually
welcomed from the beginning of August. So, on
10
140 THE TABERNACLE TEMPEST
October 26th, accompanied by his wife, who was
happily able to undertake the journey, he set forth
to the place which I believe he loved most in all
the earth. There they had three months of
" perfect earthly happiness." Mrs. Spurgeon was
able to report that "" not a care burdened him, not
a grief weighed upon his heart, not a desire remained
unfulfilled, not a wish unsatisfied." He was per-
mitted to enjoy an earthly Eden before his trans-
lation to the Paradise above. From that spot,
at five minutes past eleven at night on the last
day of January, he went to God.
Now that all concerned in it are gone, there can
be no harm in stating that a little while before the
final summons came Harrald was in the passage
of the Hotel Beau Rivage, where the end window
looks toward the hills, and under a cloudless sky
he declared that he saw, hovering over the Berceau,
a company of angels. So convinced was he of it
that he ran to call Mrs. Spurgeon, but when she
came there was nothing to be seen. His faith in
his vision remained unshaken to the end. It^is
easy to say that he was tired and overstrained
and excited. Perhaps it will be better to put his
story beside the story of the angels at Mons, and
there let it stand.
Of the subsequent days little need be said.
They are chronicled in the volume I was allowed
to edit, From the Pulpit to the Palm Branch, Each
day was crowded with incident. At first there
was talk of a grave at Mentone, then a hint of a
tomb in Westminster Abbey, but the officers of the
Church rightly decided that their Pastor must, in
THE TABERNACLE TEMPEST 147
death, lie amongst his own people. After the
memorial service at Mentone, the body was borne
lumberingly across France, was received by reverent
hands at Victoria Station, London, brought to the
Pastors' College, transferred to the Tabernacle,
visited by fifty thousand people who walked in
homage past the coffin, crowded services were
held, and, after the vigil, the funeral passed through
thronged roads to Norwood Cemetery. It was a
procession of triumph. At Norwood a memorable
eulogy and farewell was uttered by Archibald G.
Brown, who will perhaps be chiefly remembered
by his words that day. The only music was the
lilt of a robin, who almost broke his red breast in
the vehemence of his song as the people parted.
Near-by the son now rests, and many others of
God's saints have also been brought there for
burial. One might say of Norwood Cemetery what
Moody said of Greyfriars in Edinburgh when he
read the names of so many of the holy dead, *' I
should like to be there on the resurrection morning."
For twelve days the attention of the civilized
world was centred on Spurgeon's work and memory,
and in death, as in life, he was able to bear a noble
testimony to his faith. From the highest to the
lowest, in cathedral and in cottage, his praise was
spoken, and God was thanked for so rare a ministry.
Nor should the outburst of affection shown in the
prayer meetings at the early stage of the illness
be forgotten: thousands gathered three times a
day, there were mighty wrestlings, and some who
prayed appeared as if they had " searched the
Bible through and through, in order that they
148 THE TABERNACLE TEMPEST
might find promises that they might plead at the
throne of Grace."
It was not to be supposed that such a man could
pass without leaving behind him many problems.
No ship can go forward without a hand on the
wheel, and the question now became urgent —
" Whose hand ? " There were at least four who
seemed to have some claim for consideration.
First amongst these was Dr. James A. Spurgeon,
the brother who for so many years had stood as
Co-Pastor by the great preacher's side. His past
service, his knowledge of affairs, and his many
qualities could not be disregarded. He was not a
prophet, but only by the possession of great
pastoral gifts could he have gathered and held
together the great church at West Croydon Taber-
nacle. But it was evident that though the Church
needed his service he could not take his brother's
place ; quite naturally he was looked to for guid-
ance and support. He could not be overlooked,
and accordingly at a church meeting on March 1st
he was requested to serve the Church for a limited
time as Acting Pastor.
At the same meeting the brilliant and volatile
man who had occupied the pulpit for three months
was asked to continue to act as Officiating Minister.
He had come at a time of great need, and, throwing
himself without stint into his task, he had drawn
vast congregations, maintained the finances, and
inspired hundreds of lives with new purposes and
hopes. He was truly a man sent of God to that
place at that time ; of that there can be no doubt.
The manner of his coming was curious. When
THE TABERNACLE TEMPEST 149
Spurgeon was recovering from his illness in August,
he cast about in his mind as to who could occupy
his pulpit during the coming months, and remem-
bering Dr. Pierson, wrote to him inquiring whether
he would be free to serve him. The very next
morning after the letter was despatched, a letter
arrived from Pierson expressing his willingness to
come if he could help, and Spurgeon at once wrote
again and invited him. If Pierson had only
waited he would have had the invitation all the
same, but his action was characteristic of the man
in his impulsiveness and disregard of ordinary
methods. It was not egotism, but the simplicity
and eagerness of a child which led him to volunteer
even though it meant measuring himself with the
greatest preacher of the world, and it was these
same qualities that were partly the cause of the
after trouble. I can speak of it quite freely, for I
came to know him well; he frequently visited
Leicester in the after years, and more than once
preached for me at Melbourne Hall, and was
sometimes present when I was the preacher.
He was a great Bible student, a missionary
enthusiast, a facile writer, a magnetic speaker.
He was always making discoveries, and the quainter
they were the more he liked them. When he
thought of a striking thing he could not help saying
it, and he was so largely the centre of his own
world that he was rather surprised when he dis-
covered he was not the centre of other people's.
But, withal, he was most lovable, and when he
gave himself to any one he gave himself com-
pletely.
150 THE TABERNACLE TEMPEST
Mr. Spurgeon, in inviting him to the Tabernacle,
did not foresee the difficulty that afterwards arose,
thought, indeed, that he had provided against it.
In the last interview I had with him on the eve of
his departure for Mentone, we talked of many
things, and, finally, of the coming preacher. As
he was being carried in his chair up-stairs I followed
him to the hall, and the last words he said to me,
looking back, were, " There is no danger of him
being thought of as my successor, since he is a
Presbyterian." A saying which opens several
avenues into his mind at the moment.
In spite of his Presbyterianism, however, it
seemed a very good working arrangement to have
Spurgeon' s brother as pastor and Pierson as
preacher. But the Tabernacle church is a Baptist
church, and we had not then begun even to think
of a federation of the Free Churches. Indeed, if
we had, it would have been a dubious expedient to
have a minister of another order than that in which
people had been trained. We tried the experiment
when I left Melbourne Hall : a Wesleyan minister
succeeded me, but in spite of the points of contact
there are too many points of divergence to make
such an arrangement easy.
When the early glamour had somewhat passed
the question rose — What of Spurgeon' s sons ?
Neither of them had given any sign or raised any
question. Charles was near at hand, and if
Thomas had been an ecclesiastic, or a place-seeker,
or a Mr. Worldly Wiseman, he would have lost no
time in coming to England, too. But he did not
even offer his services, he just went on with his
THE TABERNACLE TEMPEST 151
work and waited, raising not a finger, and writing
not a word to secure his recall. It was one of the
great testing times of life, revealing character and
trying faith. Only a disciplined heart could have
answered the test successfully.
After a year's ministry Dr. Pier son found it
necessary to return to America. Before he went
he was invited to come back to the Tabernacle for
another period, and it seemed fitting that in the
interval Mr. Thomas Spurgeon should be called
to occupy his father's pulpit. The thought of
permanent occupancy seemed barred by the reports
of his health, but the memory of his preaching in
former years caused many to look forward to his
coming with great expectancy. He was asked to
preach for three months, and he accepted the
invitation. Mr. Moody was fixed for a mission
directly afterwards, and then Dr. Pierson was to
take up the work again. All seemed satisfactorily
arranged.
On Friday, June 10th, 1892, with his wife and
child, Mr. Thomas Spurgeon arrived in London.
On the following Sunday he was at the Tabernacle.
The Baptist said, " It was pathetic to see him
sitting by Dr. Pierson' s side at the Sunday morning
service, although he took no active part in it."
The Sunday after he preached at " a service of
singular impressiveness," from the felicitous text,
" Behold, the third time I am ready to come to
you : and I will not be burdensome to you, for I
seek not yours but you : I will very gladly spend
and be spent for you." Dr. Pierson sent back his
good wishes in the message — " After eight days
152 THE TABERNACLE TEMPEST
His disciples were within and Thomas was with
them." Such fanciful use of Scripture was common
at the time, and Dr. Pierson was an adept in it;
as witness the text with which he had begun his
Tabernacle ministry a year previously, Peter's
words to Cornelius, " Wherefore I came to you
without gainsaying when I was sent for : I ask,
therefore, with what intent ye have sent for me ? "
That year had done much for the people, but it
was a very different type of ministry they had
enjoyed. When the New Zealand son came, many
of the congregation began again to detect
the authentic Spurgeon note, and their hearts
warmed to the younger preacher. The three
months passed happily, health was fully main-
tained, and so greatly did the preacher win his way
into the hearts of the people that many of them
asked why he could not stay with them always.
Towards the end of the term there was a great deal
of suppressed excitement in the services, and when
the final sermon was preached on October 9th,
there was " one of the most remarkable and affect-
ing scenes which ever occurred at the Metropolitan
Tabernacle." At the end of the service, amid
tears, the people called on the preacher to come
back again, and thronged to shake his hand in
affectionate farewell.
The enthusiasm of the people can be imagined
by the fact that a special steamer, the Empress
Frederick, was engaged to convey Mr. Spurgeon
and three hundred or four hundred of his friends on
October 14th from the Old Swan Pier, London
Bridge, to Gravesend to join his ship. The Daily
THE TABERNACLE TEMPEST 158
Chronicle of October 15th, in describing the scene
said : " Occasionally as the steamer went on, a
hand would come out of some grimy warehouse
window to wave a farewell. Then Mr. Spurgeon
would take his hand from the pocket of his water-
proof coat, and give his felt hat a hearty swing
through the air. He rose to the whole affair
admirably."
A farewell address was presented to him on
board, he made a speech, those who had hymn-
books insisted on getting his autograph in them,
and then they sang that heart-breaking song,
" God be with you till we meet again." Again, to
quote — ■'' The final break in the good-bye not
unnaturally was the most pathetic, the most
affecting part of all. But for the absence of the
Salvationists' colour and the Salvationist music, it
might have been the parting between General
Booth and a vesselful of Salvationists. Amongst
those who gave the final greeting were Charles
Spurgeon, William Stott, W. J. Mayers, J. W.
Harrald, and W. Higgs." The first person caught
sight of on the ss. Kaikoura was Mrs. Thomas
Spurgeon, holding aloft her little fifteen-months-old
boy.
Several letters descriptive of the voyage have
been preserved by Mr. William Higgs, to whom they
were addressed. In the first Mr. Spurgeon says,
" Now about that trip down the river. I confess
that I have been a little troubled because I seemed
to take so much for granted. Yet, believe me, I am
far from being ungrateful. You have done me good
at every turn and shown me kindness in every way.
154 THP: tabernacle TEMPEST
What a mint of money I must have cost you !
What can I say to you ? I can only thank you
agam, and again and again, and wonder why you
should love me so. Every turn of the screw
lessens our nearness to you and increases your
dearness to us. Try to keep our party patient.
I must not be a bone of contention. When all
say come, I must return, but not till then."
Nearing the Cape he writes in another letter,
*' You can guess that I often think of the past and
of the future, too. What an experience I have
had ! Do you know I don't think I can ever
return to the dear old Tabernacle ; so I feel at
present at all events. Friend Moody's invitation
I cannot forget, yet I cannot bring myself to want
to accept it."
In a letter from Dunedin dated January 23rd,
1893, he says : " It is probable that you will
receive this just about the time of the annual
church meeting. What can I say about it ? I
have told you already my feelings concerning any
request to supply on probation. The only test
that should be necessary is a test of health during
the winter, and nothing but a twelve months'
pastorate would afford a fair trial of that. I would
not quit my work here, and sail so far again for
less than that — at least that is how I feel at present.
I hear much of Dr. Pierson's splendid preaching,
and I am unfeignedly glad if real good is being
accomplished."
For some days after the departure of Thomas
Spurgeon the energies of the Church were directed
into the mission conducted by Mr. Moody, and
THE TABERNACLE TEMPEST 155
after a few weeks its attention was devoted to the
return of Dr. Pier son, who received a worthy
welcome. He soon discovered that he had come
back to a different Church. Without a pilot it had
drifted. It was impossible, perhaps, for those
inside the Church to estimate or to avoid the
danger ; equally impossible for those outside to
warn or to guide it, lest they should have been
suspected of interested motives. The disability
attaching to a Church, even of the size and
weight of the Church at the Tabernacle, standing
outside its own denomination, was made evident ;
there was no official channel of influence, none had
the right to proffer advice or service ; so the drift
continued, deflected or hastened for the moment by
newspaper opinion.
When two candidates are before a Church the
usual result is that both find it necessary to retire,
and the Church that has been unwise enough to
allow such a contingency, has to fall back on a
third, probably less suitable than either of the two.
The alternative is that the Church is divided into
two parties, one saying, " I am of Paul," and the
other " I am of Apollos." So it happened at the
Tabernacle. The Church was not split, for it was
impossible for any party to inaugurate a new
assembly worthy of the Spurgeon tradition, but
the rift in the ranks of the membership went deep,
even to the severing of family relationships and the
sundering of lifelong ties . The feeling was so strong
that the retirement of either candidate would not
have been a solution. If only the three Spurgeons
could have been associated in the great enterprises
156 THE TABERNACLE TEMPEST
left as a heritage by the departed Pastor and
President, it might have made the Tabernacle the
Baptist cathedral of Britain. There were other
possible arrangements if only the minds of the
people had been normal, but any of them would
have necessitated the most delicate adjustment
and called for a single controlling mind. Alas ! the
great mind that had for so long controlled such
diverse forces was missing, and for some months
there was much unrest, freely spoken of as " The
Tabernacle Tempest." Dr. Pierson still appealed
to a large congregation, but laid himself open to
criticism in the Church. The British Weekly was
perhaps nearest the truth, when about this time
it said : " Our own belief is that Dr. Pierson has not
had justice done to him, that he has had bad advice,
and that his desire has been to act throughout
with a single mind."
On March 28th, 1893, the Church emerged like
a ship that had been through a hurricane, battered
and shorn, but still seaworthy. In a meeting of
over two thousand members Mr. Thomas Spurgeon
was called by a majority of three to one to occupy
the pulpit for twelve months, this time with a view
to the pastorate. Dr. James Spurgeon resigned,
and Dr. Pierson' s engagement terminated. From
New Zealand Mr. Spurgeon at once cabled, " I
cheerfully and gratefully accept the invitation,"
and then in the mode of the moment added a
Scripture reference — " Not that we are sufficient
of ourselves to think anything as of ourselves, but
our sufficiency is of God."
New heart was taken by the church membership,.
THE TABERNACLE TEMPEST 157
and in reviewing the situation The Freeman finely
said in its issue of April 7th : " If they tniss the
music of the march to which they all kept step in
former years, they must resolve that its echoes
shall not be allowed to die into silence."
Some surprise was expressed at Mr. Spurgeon's
ready response, but it must be remembered that
the whole situation had been before his mind for
months, and as far as he was concerned there was
no reason for delay, while for the sake of the
Church a speedy answer was almost necessary.
Perhaps his position is best set forth in a letter
which he addressed to Mr. Wilham Olney on
April 19th ;
*' It seemed to me that in view of so substantial
a majority, and specially in view of the earnest
praying, that I could not decline to come, although
there are some features of the case which make
me shrink from the task.
" Looking at it from every standpoint I con-
cluded that I ought to make the attempt, and if I
find that on account of ill-health or for any other
reason I cannot stay, I hope that no harm will
come of it, either to the beloved Church or to
myself. I had some hope that Uncle James would
see differently and that we could work happily
together. But it was not to be. Oh ! how I hope
that this whole business is of the Lord ! May He
prevent it from coming about after all, if it is not !
Cease not to pray for me that I may be fitted to
bear so high an honour, and to carry on so glorious
a work."
158 THE TABERNACLE TEMPEST
Though no public mention was made of it till
the time of probation was over, it may here be
recorded, in Thomas Spurgeon's own words, that
on the last Sunday of his previous visit, when Mr.
Moody preached in the evening at the Tabernacle,
'' he had a talk with me in the vestry in which he
said, ' You are yet to come back to this place, and
I am going to pray God here and now that it may
be so.' Now that it has come to pass," Mr. Spur-
geon continued, " I do not need to keep it secret, as
I felt when I had the call to come here it was the
least I could do to go round Moody's way."
A further letter, written on April 18th, 1893,
from Ashburton, New Zealand, to Mr. William
Higgs, gives a vista into his heart at this time.
" My dear good Friend,
'' I feel as if I could hardly write to you —
my heart is so full. 'Tis done — the great transac-
tion's done. The die is cast and the engagement
made. O Lord 1 bless Thou this — from first to
last ! I could not say Nay ; even though the
experiment will not be thoroughly successful. If
I only stay a year I may, by God's help, be able
during those twelve months to bring about a more
desirable state of things. God grant it !
'' I am receiving congratulations on all sides, on
account of this great honour which has come upon
me; and no wonder. I stand amazed that I am
counted worthy of such a call, and I cast myself
at my dear Master's feet, a suppliant for fitness
for the work. ' O use me, Lord, use even me ! '
" Your loving friend,
" Tom Spurgeon."
THE TABERNACLE TEMPEST 159
Accordingly, in the Alameda he arrived in San
Francisco on June 8th, exactly three weeks after
setting sail from New Zealand. Some articles
descriptive of his experiences appeared in The
Sword and Trowel for the year 1893, but a more
intimate narrative is available in several letters to
his wife written on the journey. The first, dated
" May 23rd, a day's sail from Samoa," gives a de-
scription of the ship and passengers. " As there is
no second-class we have a good many second-rate
people in the first cabin." Then he describes a
number of music people. As they were journeying
eastward an extra day was added ; "we have
more evenings than appears, for the Monday was
repeated." The clergyman who conducted the
first Sunday service asked Spurgeon to take the
next. A sentence interesting to his biographer
comes next, " There is one nice American, however ;
he is a Baptist, and was lately in the Metropolitan
Tabernacle and heard FuUerton."
" I am not sure that I shall leave the boat at
Samoa, for the captain, in a chatty lecture last
evening, declared Apia to be ' the hottest place on
earth,' " he says ; but he did, for the first sentence
in the letter of " May 29th over the line," is, " our
run ashore at Apia brought us unalloyed delight."
Even a prospective pastor of the Tabernacle may
be allowed to change his mind. A school festival
at which some six hundred men, women, and
children were present, the children with beautiful
eyes and copper-coloured skin, hugely delighted
him. " I conducted last Sunday morning's
service, and the captain, a real old believer.
160 THE TABERNACLE TEMPEST
ventured in. It was a good time, all things con-
sidered."
At Honolulu he stayed long enough to preach,
and at San Francisco spent some pleasant hours,
being " quite bewildered with its bustle." Delayed
by an accident in the Sierra mountains, he was late
in arriving at Salt Lake City. " I tried to remain
incognito, but some fellow passengers split on me,
and soon the Baptist ministry was on my trail."
And that Sunday evening he preached. At Denver,
which he reached by the Rio Grande Railway with
its wonderful scenery, he visited a Sunday School
Convention but hid his identity, and at Omaha
made another pause.
At Chicago Moody was on the look-out for him,
and he was able to speak to the crowds that
thronged " The World's Fair." His host pressed
him to stay for the Northfield Convention, and the
Christian Endeavour Convention at Montreal, but,
in view of the work that awaited him, he was wise
enough to refuse. Niagara he reports as " beating
all that there is at the Exhibition." On July 1st
he reached Brooklyn and went to stay with the Rev.
A. C. Dixon, " who invited me over some years ago
— such a dear good fellow. He and his wife
lavished kindness on me. I preached for him last
Sunday morning to a teeming crowd ; in the
evening I went over to New York to preach for Dr.
MacArthur, whose marvellously beautiful church
was thronged to suffocation."
Of that visit Dr. Dixon, in his memorial sermon
at the Metropolitan Tabernacle on October 28th,
1918, said ; " When, about twenty-three years ago,
THE TABERNACLE TEMPEST 161
I heard that Thomas Spurgeon was in America, I
hastened to invite him to preach in my Brooklyn
pulpit and sojourn in our home. His acceptance of
the invitation gave the pastor's family and the
Church great pleasure, and when the hour for the
Sunday morning service arrived, the house was
crowded to its utmost capacity, and hundreds, if
not thousands, were turned away disappointed. It
was the reputation of C. H. Spurgeon which, for the
most part, drew the people ; but after the sermon,
all felt that there would be in future no need of
another's reputation to attract the people of
Brooklyn to hear Thomas Spurgeon preach. His
text was : ' I have need to be baptized of Thee,
and comest Thou to me ? ' — and I have rarely seen
an audience more deeply moved. His humble,
unassuming manner, his heart-earnestness, his clear
unfolding of the text, his homely and happy
illustrations, his musical voice, his utter dependence
upon the Holy Spirit, and, above all, his exaltation
of the Lord Jesus Christ as pre-eminent in all
realms, made us realize that we were listening to a
truly great sermon by a truly great preacher. That
July morning Thomas Spurgeon entered our hearts
never to be expelled. We had esteemed him for
his father's sake ; we now admired and loved him
for his own sake. The closer touch of our home
associations for a week, which brought out the
exceeding winsomeness of his character, increased
our admiration and intensified our love. When he
left, we felt that we were parting with a real friend,
whose friendship it would ever be an honour and
delight to cultivate. When, a few years afterwards,
11
162 THE TABERNACLE TEMPEST
my wife and I had the joy of spending a week in
his London home, we felt that we were visiting old
friends, whose hospitality had such a flavour of
heartiness, kindliness, and delicate attention that
we rejoiced to have our first taste of a real English
home — the little Paradise of which we had heard
so much, and were now permitted to enjoy."
He was still with the Dixons on the " glorious
fourth," and toward the end of the week visited
Boston and Plymouth, " to see the ground where
first they trod — ^those pilgrims of whom you used
to sing so sweetly." The next Sunday he preached
at Martha's Vineyard, where at the close of the
service an old lady rose and asked to say a few
words. She asked the congregation to stand en
masse to show their appreciation, and it did. On
the Tuesday he lectured in Calvary Church, New
York, and the next day set sail on the Majestic for
Liverpool. " Every baby and child I see reminds
me of mine, you queen of all the earth."
In a letter written during the Atlantic voyage,
he says ; "I am already exercised as to my first
sermon at the Tabernacle. ' Thy way is in the sea,'
asks to be preached from, but I cannot make it
go : perhaps it will come ere it is really wanted."
Then perhaps the veil of family life may be lifted
far enough to allow the quotation of these sentences,
" There is discipline in this separation. Learn its
lessons and so rejoice in tribulation. As for our
little ones, you are wise and loving and will train
them for God. Oh ! that the line of saints, aye,
and of preachers too, may be maintained. You
are already the mother of an angel ; if God sees fit
THE TABERNACLE TEMPEST 163
to make your son an apostle won't it be glorious ?
And why not ? "
On July 27th he arrived at Sussex Lodge,
Clapham, the charming residence of Mr. and Mrs.
William Higgs, who have always been his staunchest
friends. Here he was destined to be entertained,
much to his satisfaction, until December 11th.
His ministry at the Tabernacle began on
July 30th, the Sunday after his arrival, when he
preached, not on God's way in the sea, as he had
purposed, but appropriately enough on Christ's
call to the two brothers beside the Sea of Galilee.
Preparation for this new chapter of Church history
had been made during the previous month by a
series of prayer meetings ; the Tabernacle itself
had been newly painted ; and August was ushered
in with hope.
CHAPTER XII
THE FIRST TABERNACLE YEARS
The ministry which then began was destined to
continue for fourteen years, but at first it was only
to be a prolonged experiment. On the Monday
morning Mr. Spurgeon had a cordial greeting from
the press. The Sun contained an article on
" Spurgeon, Junior," in which it was said " that
the Metropolitan Tabernacle was packed from floor
to ceiling." The prayer meeting on the Monday
evening lacked nothing in enthusiasm. Mr. T. H.
Olney took the chair at first, to welcome the
preacher ; when he vacated it the new leader was
welcomed with applause and the waving of hand-
kerchiefs. " I never prayed the Lord to bring
me here," Mr. Spurgeon said, " I never found it
in my heart to ask Him to put me in this place
even for twelve months. I thought I did better
by just putting myself in God's hands, saying,
' Send by whom Thou wilt send.' Therefore, when
you sent for me I felt obliged to come."
The chief interest centred, of course, in his
preaching. Perhaps an extract from The Christian
Weekly may help our judgment. " Thomas Spur-
geon has a command of good Saxon, which he
knows how to use with effect. The cultured
164
THE FIRST TABERNACLE YEARS 165
simpleness of speech which conveys all the rich
variety of feeling and phrase — ^the rhythm that
gives a suggestion of poetry, the happy combination
of phrases imparting a quality of radiance that
gives oratorical glimpses of new meanings and
ampler views — are within his reach. The common
people will listen with ease, for he speaks their
language. When last year he stood in the sacred
place for the first time he unconsciously courted
comparison with the prince of phrase-makers by
approximation to his style. In voice and in a
few familiar gestures he recalls the dead."
But lest we should get a one-sided view another
verdict may be recalled. A writer in The Freeman
a few weeks after said : "I knew of course that I
was going to hear his son, Thomas Spurgeon. If
I had not known this beforehand I should not
have discovered it in the service. There are some
small matters in the manner of the son, which with
a Httle ingenuity you can trace back to the father,
and yet how different ! In fact, I was pleased to
find that there was not in the son one particle of
mimicry of his father. Whatever Thomas Spur-
geon may be he is himself — a distinct individuahty
— as his father was himself the most striking
personality of his day. I observed in the son, it
is true, the same fervid delight in the doctrines of
grace, the same directness of address to God in
prayer, the same textual treatment of the subject,
the same mighty trust in God, the same clearness
of enunciation in delivery that distinguished his
father, and for all this I honour him."
The most picturesque description is, however,
166 THE FIRST TABERNACLE YEARS
to be found in the columns of The Daily News for
October 3rd, 1892, and although the reference is
to the preliminary visit the previous year, the
informed and sympathetic impression it gives may
correct and reconcile the two already quoted :
" Outsiders may be permitted to look on, and
there can be no impropriety in our expressing the
opinion that no impartial onlooker can fail to
understand the desire that has arisen for another
Spurgeon in the pulpit, as they sit and listen to
the son of their late revered minister. The huge
building yesterday, notwithstanding the wet, was
quite full, and to the stranger taking his seat in the
midst of the human mass piled two galleries high,
before and behind, on the right hand and on the
left, it looked to be very doubtful whether that
rather young-looking man standing out prominently
on the rostrum, which serves for a pulpit at the
Tabernacle, could possibly hold the great concourse
of people.
"Mr. Thomas Spurgeon is not quite so young
as he looks : as a matter of fact he is thirty-seven
years of age, and seen from the floor of the Taber-
nacle he looks to be about his father's height,
though somewhat slighter in build. As the great
volume of the rather crude unaccompanied music,
in which the preacher seemed to be heartily joining,
died down, and his voice rose clear and distinct
in the reading of the Scriptures, it was quite easy
to understand the fervour with which many of the
congregation had caught up the suggestion that
he should be their pastor. Seen from the midst
of the congregation he is not very dissimilar in
THE FIRST TABERNACLE YEARS 167
appearance from his father. There is the frock
coat, the Httle black tie, the quiet self-possessed
demeanour, the clear, studied articulation ; a voice,
not quite that of Charles Spurgeon, not quite so
strong and not quite so musical, so marvellously
expressive and flexible, as his father's, but clear
and pleasant and melodious, and with many of the
late pastor's modulations and inflexions.
" When presently, after the manner of the great
preacher, he breaks off from the chapter he is
reading and begins to comment upon it, it im-
mediately becomes apparent that he has the same
ready fluency of speech, the same easy, familiar
style of address, and when he announces his text
and plunges into his sermon, he soon shows himself
not altogether lacking in the racy way of putting
things, the terse and vigorous English, and the
strong sense of humour that were so characteristic
of the Tabernacle pulpit for many a long year.
" Many of the gifts of his father — ^though no
doubt in smaller measure — he certainly possesses,
and every here and there one might have shut one's
eyes and fancied that it was the old pastor back
again. When it is added that in doctrinal matters
the son appears very accurately to echo the father,
and not only avowed his unfaltering adherence to
the ' old ways,' but every now and again displayed
touches of the characteristic narrowness — or what
many persons regarded as narrowness — of the
famous preacher before him, it must be apparent
that the agitation for his appointment is not only
intelligible, but the most natural thing in the world.
" Most decidedly Thomas Spurgeon is a chip of
168 THE FIRST TABERNACLE YEARS
the old block. It has been publicly stated that he
himself would like to occupy the vacant post.
Nothing seems more probable. He is living at
present in the old house at Norwood, and he finds
himself with a great and honoured name, with
troops of friends, and an immense sphere of in-
fluence waiting to be filled. Whether he is the
best man to fill it — having regard to his health and
strength amongst other things — is a matter entirely
for the Church to decide. He himself made no
direct allusion to the question of appointment
during yesterday morning's service, but he prayed
with great earnestness that all their decisions
might be arrived at in all charity and brotherhood,
and the subdued ' Amens ' that rose from every
part of the great congregation displayed the depth
of the existing feeling."
Though it was written almost ten years later
the following letter from Dr. Theodore L. Cuyler
will reinforce a sentence in the last extract . Writing
from 176, Oxford Street, Brooklyn, on May 13th,
1903, he says :
" Well-beloved Brother,
" I have just read with intense delight your
fresh, sunny, and meaty address to the Pastors'
College. When I had finished it I said to myself,
' This is not a chip of the old block — it is the old
block itself.' Your blessed father lives again in
every racy line, and in the spiritual unction of the
address.
" Give my earnest love to your dear mother, and
tell her that she can bear a great deal of sickness
THE FIRST TABERNACLE YEARS 169
as long as God is giving her such a son to carry on
her husband's glorious work.
" My precious wife and I have lately celebrated
our golden wedding with an inflow of congratula-
tions and some generous gifts. May you and your
dear Australian spouse live to stand on the same
delectable mount on your road to the Celestial
City!
" My health is not vigorous but I am often in
various pulpits, and on the platform of religious
societies, and the papers kindly say, ' with the
same old force and fire.' (When these two Fs
give out, then I want to be off Home.)"
Then with a paragraph about Mr. Sankey's
illness, he ends ; " Send me a few lines when you
can, and always think of me as your devotedly
loving American brother in Christ Jesus,"
" Theodore L. Cuyler."
" Thomas Spurgeon."
Some letters to his wife, written about this time,
which I have been permitted to examine, throw
side-lights on the events of these months. They
are mostly written from Sussex Lodge, and, of
course, are in a very intimate strain.
On August 3rd, 1873, just after his arrival, he
reports : "I am in the richest and sweetest of
clover. ... I must just record the fact that we
have had a most delightful trip across the Atlantic.
... On Sunday, in Manchester, we went to hear
Dr. Maclaren and enjoyed a wonderful treat. He
was pleased to see me at the close of the service and
spoke many words of cheer. , . . I was awfully
170 THE FIRST TABERNACLE YEARS
delighted at the success of my letter to Harold. I
had thought that he would not care to hear it more
than once or twice. You will be sick to death of
it before the next reaches you.
" Now for some tidings of Tom himself. The
day after my arrival {i.e. on Friday evening) I
attended the week's special prayer -meeting. I
came in as they were singing ' There is a fountain.'
But they all stopped in the midst of a line, and
shouted and cheered and clapped and waved.
Then they sang ' Praise God.' The lecture hall
was packed, and such earnest prayers ! I spoke
at some length amidst the greatest possible en-
thusiasm, and after the meeting had at least seven
hundred handshakes.
" On Sunday, feeling very much my position, I
struggled through. There were huge congregations
and great interest, but I was anxious and nervous
and ill at ease. On Monday, though I had re-
quested that there should be no demonstration,
thousands came to the prayer meeting. I was
greatly helped to speak. I kept them in roars of
laughter, and yet maintained the solemn and de-
votional character of the meeting. Last night
(Thursday) there must have been three thousand
present, so we have truly made a good beginning.
Praise ye the Lord ! As soon as the Sunday ser-
vices were over I felt much relieved and better in
every way."
On August 11th, he writes : " My second Sunday
was much more pleasant (to myself) than the first.
The crowds were almost as great, and I felt free
and less constrained."
THE FIRST TABERNACLE YEARS 171
On September 1st : " We had a first-rate day
last Sabbath. Dr. John Hall, of New York, was
with us in the evening : he came down to the
Communion service and spoke a bit. ... I have paid
two or three more visits to the sculptor and he has
at last finished the clay model. I lay claim to a
good deal of the credit for what success has been
achieved. The sculptor never even saw dear
father, and was quite prepared to accept my hints.
He entirely altered the bust at my suggestion.
On Thursday I was studying all morning ; at four
I was at the Tabernacle and saw no less than
thirteen applicants, some of them resulting from
the previous Sunday's sermons. Praise ye the
Lord ! — ^this is best of all."
On September 8th : " Last Sunday was quite a
memorable day with us. Some adversaries have
complained of the morning's sermon, but the Lord
has owned it. In the evening Mr. Thomas Olney
received me into the Church with words which
could not have been more appropriate, and then I
received thirty-nine others ! "
On December 29th : " I have now quite settled
down at Jubilee House, at the back of the Taber-
nacle, and my little den looks quite cheery and
home-like. It is a grand institution, for I feel so
much more like work in a workshop. My little
stay at West wood was very pleasant, and I think
mother enjoyed it, too. My way is still hidden from
me. I know not what to do. The officers, too, are
puzzled as to how to proceed. The most of them
are prepared to recommend the Church to invite
me forthwith, but I'm not at all sure they're right.
172 THE FIRST TABERNACLE YEARS
" I sometimes think I must ask you to come to
Old England, even if I do not remain at the Taber-
nacle, so dearly do I long to see you. Yet I must
not do it until it is plain either that I tarry at the
Tabernacle, or decide to work somewhere else in
England. Really, I can't see that it is likely I can
work again in New Zealand. May the Lord grant
us a happy home of our own again in the place that
He appoints !
" Meanwhile He will care for us, and even our
trials — and you have had many — will not cause us
to lose faith in Him, but rather to trust the more
I put you all again into His loving arms."
As the months passed the issue cleared. Those
who desired Dr. Pierson to be the minister became
less in number but more decided in tone. A
correspondence was carried on in The Daily Chron-
icle, as to " Who shall succeed Mr. Spurgeon ? "
and the religious papers, especially The Baptist ,
discussed the matter freely. All this kept attention
on the Tabernacle, where the congregations were
wonderfully maintained, and Mr. Spurgeon grew
in forcefulness of delivery and acquired a new ease
of style. When the end of 1893 came, it was found
that two hundred persons had been baptized, and
that the contributions of the Tabernacle Church
to the Pastors' College had been £1,600, only £400
less than the year before.
So marked was the success, that, instead of
waiting for the expiry of the twelve months, a
special meeting of the Church was called for
March 21st, 1894, to consider the resolution, " That
Mr. Thomas Spurgeon, having supplied the pulpit
THE FIRST TABERNACLE YEARS 173
with a view to the pastorate for eight months, be
now elected pastor." Mr. William Higgs moved
the resolution, declaring that the election of
Thomas Spurgeon would fulfil his father's dearest
wish, who had only mentioned the names of two
men as likely to succeed him, and " Son Tom's "
was the first. " When I die," he said, " of course
the Church will send for Tom."
Mr. William Olney gave five reasons why he
should be elected — that he preached Christ cruci-
fied, that his sermons were so largely illustrative and
therefore appealed to the people, that already his
ministry among them had the seal of God, that he
worked harmoniously with his uncle; and so, with a
Spurgeon at the head of the College and Orphanage,
and a Spurgeon in the Tabernacle, it would be
like old times back again, and that the various
works connected with the Church were all pros-
pering. There were nearly three thousand persons
present, the counting of the votes occupied an
hour, and then the report was made, amidst much
enthusiasm, that 2,127 had voted for the resolution
and 649 against it. The best comment on these
figures was that of The British Weekly, " The
minority is considerable, the majority is decisive."
Mr. Spurgeon was at St. Leonards at the time,
and Dr. and Mrs. Alfred Hall, now of Toronto,
who were then his host and hostess, recall the scene
in their home when the telegram arrived giving
the result. " Of the hallowed hour, late at night,
when we passed to him the telegram from London
conveying the news of his being chosen by the
great Metropolitan Church as successor to his
174 THE FIRST TABERNACLE YEARS
illustrious father, we cannot trust ourselves to
write. Nor dare we speak of the great prayer
which followed. Our eyes were dim with tears
when we arose from our knees ; and it is one of
the most sacred privileges of life to remember that
our ears were permitted to hear those wonderful
petitions which must have gone so direct to God's
ear."
This, perhaps, is the best place to say that a
very intimate and true friendship existed between
the Halls and Spurgeon. A week before the
decisive Church meeting, for instance, he wrote to
them : "I thank God that you are willing to
shelter me. I thank you, too. May He shelter
me in His pavilion from the strife of tongues that
is besetting me before and behind just now. It is
terrible, and the mist grows thicker, yet ' when we
halt no track discovering, etc' " In a letter a
week after there occurs the sentence, " I cannot
say I feel triumphant over my acceptance " ; and,
as a sample of his love of metaphor, another letter
to the Halls may be quoted, though it is perhaps
out of place here. On February 21st, 1895, he
writes : " To-day I have ventured out of my snug
moorings in Blanket Bay, and am having a short
cruise in Dining-Room Harbour ; but I am not
in racing trim yet, I can assure you. Cordage is
slack, the ballast has shifted, and some of the sails
seem rent."
Mr. Spurgeon accepted the call in a lengthy
letter which was read to a large meeting of the
Church on April 2nd. One sentence of it runs :
" In humble and absolute dependence on Divine
THE FIRST TABERNACLE YEARS 175
aid, and counting on the earnest and affectionate
co-operation of officers and members, and hoping
for the prayers not of these only, but of Christians
the world over, I do accept the position to which
you have invited me, with its glorious privileges, its
stupendous tasks, and its solemn responsibilities."
Taking the chair as Pastor of the Church he closed
his speech by reading a letter which he had had
in his possession for years, written by his father
in 1885, in which he said, " Get very strong, and
when I am older and feebler be ready to take my
place."
Ten days afterwards a public meeting was held
in the Tabernacle, such as could only be matched
at C. H. Spurgeon's Jubilee. Nearly two thousand
persons sat down to tea, and at seven o'clock, when
Mr. Thomas Olney took the chair, the vast building
was crowded in every part. A few friends who
wished to show their gratitude to God " for the
election of their dear pastor," had subscribed £100,
which was handed to Mr. Spurgeon to be used
entirely as he pleased. He handed it at once to
the treasurer of the Church " for those institutions
that are in most necessitous case just now," and
then made a speech which The Christian Common-
wealth praised as a most able utterance, reporting
it in ecctenso.
This settlement meant the retirement, instant
or gradual, of a considerable number who had
become involved in opposition to Mr. Spurgeon,
some of whom could ill be spared ; but the bulk of
the membership were ready to welcome the old
pastor's son as the new pastor, and so the second
176 THE FIRST TABERNACLE YEARS
phase of the Spurgeon era began. The pubUc
voice was given in The Echo of March 30th, 1894 :
" During the trying period through which he has
just passed he held himself aloof from all partisan-
ship, giving evidence of a modesty and self-restraint
which must have made a favourable impression
even on his opponents. His refraining from
bringing his wife and child to England, lest it might
seem that he had come to stay, is a case in point.
Take him for all in all, ' Son Tom ' is probably the
nearest approach to the ' prince of preachers ' to
be found amongst the younger generation of Baptist
ministers."
The same year witnessed another very interesting
gathering. In the summer Mr. Spurgeon invited his
people to meet him at the Stockwell Orphanage
on July 14th. " You have welcomed me before,"
he said, " at least half of me. I want you to
welcome the other half of me on Friday afternoon."
Mrs. Spurgeon and the two children, who had been
left behind in New Zealand, had made the journey
to England in safety. In one of his sermons her
husband tells how he waited impatiently at Ply-
mouth when her boat was due, and with what joy
he had welcomed her on her arrival.
At the Orphanage meeting Mr. Thomas Olney,
who presided, told him that they were all proud of
him, and with much satisfaction reported that not
only were the congregations well maintained, but
that there was " a feeling of unity in the Church
that we could scarcely have hoped for a few months
ago." Then, in the name of his friends, about
five hundred of whom had contributed, he handed
THE FIRST TABERNACLE YEARS 177
Mr . Spurgeon a cheque for £350 . At the Tabernacle
welcome the pastor had given to the works of the
Church the £100 then presented, but this time, in
view of the establishment of a new home, he
frankly said that he felt justified in keeping their
gift for his own uses, which was quite the desire
of those who had given it.
At the beginning of the next year a series of very
interesting services were held at the Tabernacle,
with the intent of reaching various sections of the
people, and on the last evening, in wintry weather,
some fifty meetings were held in the homes of the
members; the average attendance seems to have
been about a score — " not a bad record," says
The Sword and Trowel, " for such a night." The
church meeting the following year, 1896, seems to
have been of a very delightful character, the area
and the first gallery of the vast building being
nearly filled. " It must have greatly encouraged
and cheered the pastor," says The Sword and
Trowel, "to be assured again and again in the
most unmistakable manner that the heart of the
Church at the Tabernacle beats as true to him as
it did to his beloved father."
That such was abundantly the case can be
gathered from a letter, addressed to the Halls, in
which he " let himself go."
February 2(ith, 1896.
" My dear Friends,
" How I would like to be able to tell you all
the details of last night's meeting. I was led in
triumph all the time — i,e, gracing my Lord's
12
178 THE FIRST TABERNACLE YEARS
triumph and triumphing in His grace. We had
hundreds more than were expected to tea, and as
large a church meeting as (if not larger than) ever.
I spoke boldly, as I ought to speak, re loyalty, etc.,
and was cheered to the echo. The utmost enthusi-
asm prevailed ! ! Every speaker made kindliest
reference to myself, and my hands are doubtless
greatly strengthened. It was a sight and time
never to be forgotten.
"Mr. Higgs made a splendid speech, ostensibly
about Thomas Olney, but in reality more about
T. S. He said T. H. O. had seen C. H. S.'s enemies
discomfited — their arrows missing the mark or
falling blunted from his shield, or returning to the
heart of the archers. ' I believe,' said he, ' that
Mr. Olney will live to see history repeat itself in
the case of Great-Heart's son — ^himself a great-
heart, too.' Oh my ! wasn't there a rumpus of
dehght I
" When it came to the proposal as to an assistant
pastor all still went well. Never have I been so
helped to speak. I became a fool in glorying.
I insisted that I had toiled my utmost, that it was
part of the bargain that I should have help ; that
I had hesitated till now as some had already proved
that they would be content with none unless of
their own choosing. I insisted also that the
selection must be my own — the election theirs.
When I told them that the deacons and elders and
pastor combined to recommend Mr. Sawday (for
a year), there was manifest approval.
" When I declared the proposal carried ' by an
overwhelming majority ' there was another huUa-
THE FIRST TABERNACLE YEARS 179
baloo, and I had a private one inside ! Didn't we
sing ' Praise God,' — ^that's all. So we've got a
new start, and my heart singeth for joy, and my
eyes stream with tears of thankfulness.
" Pardon the length of this Hallelujah harangue.
I'd hug you both if I could for very joy. I'm sure
the agitation helped to this issue, and your letters
played their part. Fare ye well."
" Yours,
" Thomas Spurgeon."
So four years' pastorate happily passed. They
were not without their trials, but joy was in the
ascendant. Honour on honour was heaped on the
minister of the Tabernacle. At the College Public
Meeting on May 1st, 1896, Dr. James A. Spurgeon
suddenly resigned the Presidency of the College,
on the ground of loyalty to the Trust Deed, which
stated that the college existed to train men for the
Particular Baptist denomination, and should,
therefore, be associated with that denomination.
When Thomas Spurgeon rose there was long-con-
tinued cheering ; it was known that he took an
opposite view, but he simply said : " Dear friends,
I should be sorry if this meeting assumed the form
of a demonstration — and I regret to have to use
the words — on either side. I am not going to reply
to the remarks that have been made." And so,"
says The Baptist, " in one half -minute we had
passed the quicksands." An admirable instance
of tact. As a consequence of the withdrawal of his
uncle, Thomas Spurgeon became president of the
College, and shortly afterwards was elected president
180 THE FIRST TABERNACLE YEARS
of the Orphanage, and of the Colportage Society,
too. He entered fully into his father's heritage,
for (though it is anticipating) he also became
editor of The Sword and Trowel in 1902. His
sermons were reported week by week in Word and
Work and in The Christian Signal ; his services
were sought for far and wide, his health seemed to
be re-established, and everything bade fair for a
prosperous future, when on the morning of April
20th, 1898, there suddenly came the great catas-
trophe— the Tabernacle was burnt to the ground.
CHAPTER XIII
THE CATASTROPHE
The College burned the Tabernacle down. All
sorts of rumours were in circulation at the beginning
as to the cause of the fire ; it was said that some
fanatic had set the building alight because he
thought that no voice but that of C. H. Spurgeon
was worthy to be heard within its sacred walls ;
that the spirit of faction was so strong that it even
led to arson, and so on. The simple explanation,
however, was just a defective flue. The Pastors'
College Conference was in session, and a dinner for
some four hundred ministers was being prepared
in the Tabernacle basement. The fire for cooking
overheated a flue, which set some dry exposed
wood alight, and the disaster occurred. The fire
was caused by the cooking, the cooking by the
Conference, and the Conference by the College. So
we may say that if there had been no college there
would have been no fire.
Superstitious people laid some stress on the
fact that Old Moore's Almanack for the year
predicted that, in the middle of April, " the de-
struction of a famous building by fire may be
expected about this time. Insurance will cover
the actual cost, but historical associations, alas I
181
182 THE CATASTROPHE
have no money equivalent." Practical people were
scandalized that when the fire was first discovered
in the top gallery there was not even a fire bucket
ready to quench an outbreak that at first could
easily have been conquered by a few quarts of
water. Sympathetic people mourned that the
place consecrated by such a ministry of the Gospel
should be doomed to sudden destruction, and
wondered as to the future.
The fire was first discovered about half-past
twelve on Wednesday morning, April 20th, 1898 ;
in half an hour the roof fell in, and at a quarter-past
two o'clock the Tabernacle was burnt out. The
event was published to the whole world : all the
newspapers and illustrated journals took notice
of it, and pictures abounded of the havoc the fire
had made. The best description of the scene
appeared in The Daily Telegraph the next morning.
Same of the paragraphs are reproduced :
" The first notification that something was wrong
appears to have been given by some people occupy-
ing shops facing the Tabernacle, who remarked
that smoke was issuing from a corner of the front
portion of the roof. A few minutes later persons
were seen leaving the premises in a state of great
alarm, and in less than a quarter of an hour the
vast edifice was blazing like tinder. The fire
commenced in the gallery, attacked the roof, and
then literally encircled the building until every
portion, from top to basement, was a prey to the
flames.
'" A clergyman who witnessed the scene from a
neighbouring roof states that within twenty
THE CATASTROPHE 188
minutes of the first alarm the place was like a
seething cauldron. All the windows had been
broken, the flames were leaping forth in every
direction, and above all was the fierce crackling
of timber, the roar of a vast conflagration, fanned
fiercer and fiercer by a gentle breeze.
" It would be impossible to exaggerate the scene
of excitement in Newington Butts during the pro-
gress of the conflagration. The first measure
adopted by the police was to stop all trams and to
divert the omnibus traffic. Vehicles going from
Blackfriars Bridge to the Elephant and Castle were
unable to continue their journey beyond the
Obelisk. In the neighbourhood of the Tabernacle
many thousands of people soon assembled, and the
spectacle which was presented to them, though
painful, had many picturesque features. The
breeze was sufficiently strong to stimulate the
power of the flames, but not to dispel the great
volumes of smoke which hung like a canopy at
some distance above the doomed building. The
gloom of the day only served to heighten the effect.
In spite of tons of water which were hurled by the
steamers upon the great temple, the hose being
directed from all the neighbouring roofs and from
every conceivable point of vantage, the fire burnt
like a gigantic furnace. Columns of flame shot
from every side, the great fa9ade and Corinthian
pillars, built of stone, were lapped and encircled
by the fire, and then, at a time when it seemed
impossible that the din could be more terrific or
the conflagration fiercer, the majestic roof crashed
to the ground. It fell with a terrible noise, like
184 THE CATASTROPHE
the sound of big artillery, and immediately after-
wards the flames burst with renewed vigour and
showers of sparks ascended.
'' Soon after the roof came down the firemen
had the outbreak well in hand, and by two o'clock
no danger was to be apprehended. Nothing re-
mained of the Tabernacle — which was built at a
cost of £31,362, and opened in May, 1861, free of
debt — but the blackened walls. The fa9ade stood
forth as usual, except for the grime caused by the
smoke and heat, but the interior of the building
was simply a mass of charred woodwork. The
great iron pillars which had supported the galleries
were still to be seen, but the heat had played strange
pranks with them. One was literally twisted into
a spiral, and the shapes of all were grotesque.
Every vestige of furniture was destroyed : the
great iron safes containing many valuable papers
were kept on the premises, and these, it is believed,
will be safely recovered. The Communion plate,
and various important records kept in the offices
at the back of the Tabernacle, were happily removed
without injury."
Not only the valuable Communion service, but
the oil portraits of the previous pastors of the
Church were fortunately saved. A marble bust of
C. H. Spurgeon which adorned the vestry was also
spared. The deacons tried to drag it away from
the flames, but it proved too heavy, so they removed
it from its pedestal, covered it with a carpet, and
hoped for the best. It survived, stained so deeply
that its original whiteness cannot be restored, and
it stands to-day a memorial of the fiery ordeal
THE CATASTROPHE 185
through which it has passed. It was this bust
which called forth one of Mr. Spurgeon's caustic,
yet humorous remarks, in the old days : when it
was presented to him he thanked the donors but
declared that he did not want to be busted.
Many other unexpected things escaped the
ravages of the flames. I have a cancelled cheque,
made out in my name for a month's allowance in
my old mission days, which defied the scorching
heat, long after the money it represented had
melted away.
Almost as if by magic the deacons had printed
announcements displayed that the Thursday meet-
ing of the College would be held in Exeter Hall,
and before three o'clock on Friday those bills had
been removed, and others displayed giving notice
that the Sunday services would also be held there.
Other buildings had been offered, including Christ
Church, which Mr. Meyer generously placed at
Mr. Spurgeon's disposal, but it was felt that, if
for nothing else than old associations' sake, the
historic hall in the Strand was best suited for the
purpose.
On the Sunday morning the congregation filled
the building. Many were in tears as in his opening
prayer Mr. Spurgeon quoted the verse : " For we
know that if our earthly house of this tabernacle
were dissolved, we have a building of God, an house
not made with hands, eternal in the heavens."
The appropriate text was Isaiah Ixiv. 11, 12 : " Our
holy and our beautiful house, where our fathers
praised Thee, is burned up with fire ; and all our
pleasant things are laid waste. Wilt Thou refrain
186 THE CATASTROPHE
Thyself for these things, O Lord ? Wilt Thou
hold Thy peace and afflict us very sore ? "
During the sermon the preacher said, " We have
lost a good many things as well as the structure.
We are sorry that the table on the platform is no
more, and that the Bible into which my dear father
so often looked is now in blackened pieces. We
are sorry that your hymn-books and Bibles, which
you had stored in so many places, have ceased to
be. It is a pity that we have lost the little child's
chair in which my father used to sit as a boy, and
where my own children were so pleased to seat
themselves. But it is a comfort to know that the
books, the accounts, the trust deeds, and some of
the pictures have been saved. If we have lost our
hymn-books we have not lost our songs ; though
our Bibles are burned the Word remains. Our
pleasant things are those which nothing can des-
troy : the Church of God, the Holy Spirit, the
fellowship of saints, the ordinances of the sanctuary.
I am glad to tell you that the old copy of the
Declaration of Faith which hung in the pastor's
vestry has been saved, but even if it had been lost
our faith would have remained."
A touch of the grotesque was given to the
situation after the fire by the luncheon in the
basement, which, though saturated with water,
still remained on the tables : a large pan of potatoes
was still on the stove ; and bottles of aerated water
were strewn about the floor.
When the fire began the College Conference was
in session. A deacon's daughter brought the
alarming news of it to the College Hall, and whis-
THE CATASTROPHE 187
pered it to those near the door. Without making
a fuss they ran over to the Tabernacle and dis-
covered the serious nature of the situation. Mr.
Nicholson, of Bedford, thereupon hurriedly walked
up to the platform and told the news to Mr.
Spurgeon. After a minute's pause he turned to
those beside him, and said, *' What shall we do ?
Go on with the meeting ? " There was none to
deny, so the address in progress by Rev. James
Stephens, of Highgate, on " The Lord is with you
while ye be with Him," was continued. But the
people guessed something was the matter, so the
president had to interrupt the speaker and
announce, " I am told, friends, that the Tabernacle
is on fire. We can do no good by rushing out.
I dare say we should only be in the way of the
firemen. Let us go on quietly with our meeting."
Mr, Stephens resumed, but in about ten minutes
the heat became so intense that, closing the meeting
with prayer, the president asked the ladies in the
gallery to go out first, and then the four hundred
or five hundred ministers followed. By the time
the last had departed it had become unpleasantly
hot, but, happily, the College buildings were never
in danger.
From the platform Mr. Spurgeon must have been
able all along to see the tongues of flame shooting
forth from the building in which he was more
interested than any other man in the assembly ;
yet he calmly maintained his place, and kept the
meeting in hand. As in a flash it revealed his
sense of values. To him the sacred exercises in
which they were engaged were of more importance,
188 THE CATASTROPHE
at that moment, than even the sight of the burning
sanctuary. The story of the fire is interesting,
but far more interesting to his biographer, at all
events, is the unconscious manifestation of the
soul of the man. Few would have taken the same
course. I confess that I should have been eager,
and I think rightly eager, to see the spectacle, but
to Thomas Spurgeon, not only were the eternal
things of first value, but the particular exercises
in which he was engaged far outweighed any mere
earthly consideration. In the light of the fire
there stands revealed the man — there is the inner-
most secret of his life. Nothing to him was to be
compared to the spiritual realities, he was so sure
of Christ that nothing could shake his faith, nor
obscure his sense of the divine, and all else was
vanity.
Again and again Browning's conception of
Lazarus, in his Epistle of Karshish, seems to fit his
case and to express his character.
** Heaven opened to a soul while yet on earth,
Earth forced on a soul's use while seeing heaven ;
The man is witless of the size, the sum,
The value in proportion of all things,
Or whether it be little or be much.
Should his child sicken imto death — why, look
For scarce abatement of his cheerfulness.
Or pretermission of his daily craft !
While a word, gesture, glance from that same child
At play or in the school or hard asleep,
Will startle him to an agony of fear,
Exasperation, just as like.
THE CATASTROPHE 189
** Whence has the man the bahn that brightens all ?
This grown man eyes the world now like a child
That sets the undreamed-of rapture at his hand
And puts the cheap old joy in the scorned dust.
*' And oft the man's soul springs into his face
As if he saw again and heard again
His Sage that bade him ' Bise.'
** This man is apathetic you deduce ?
Contrariwise, he loves both old and yoimg,
Able and weak, affects the very brutes
And birds — how say I ? flowers of the field —
As a wise workman recognises tools
In a master's workshop, loving what they make.
Thus is the man as harmless as a lamb :
Only impatient, let him do his best,
At ignorance and carelessness and sin."
It is Christ's resurrection word that makes the
saint, and of Thomas Spurgeon, saint and gospeller,
it may be truly said as of Lazarus raised from the
dead, " Because of him many went away and
believed on Jesus."
CHAPTER XIV
THE NEW TABERNACLE
Twenty and nine months was the Tabernacle in
re-building. When it lay in ruins on that April
evening it took an heroic spirit to contemplate its
renewal. But Thomas Spurgeon and his helpers
never hesitated. On that same evening he an-
nounced to the public that it would be rebuilt. It
needed only the occasion to show of what fine
stuff he was built. A man's own character can
often be deduced from the sort of people he admires.
Thomas Spurgeon' s heroes, as he told me one day
on the Alps, were Oliver Cromwell, Joan of Arc,
Abraham Lincoln, C. H. Spurgeon, and — Paul
Kruger ! That last name will perhaps be read
with surprise, but it is a singular thing that there
is one portrait of Kruger and one portrait of
Spurgeon that so closely resemble each other that
one might, at a quick glance, easily be taken for the
other ; and, when you come to think of it, there
were elements of similarity in their character.
The new Tabernacle, which cost £45,000, was
opened, like the first Tabernacle, free of debt. A
sum of £22,000 was received from the insurance
companies, who behaved quite generously in the
matter, and before " The Feast of the Dedication *'
190
THE NEW TABERNACLE 191
began— a long and happily sustained festival, from
September 19th to October 18th, 1900— £23,300
had been contributed by the people. At no time
during the progress of the work was there any lack
of means to carry it forward : the Lord sent
supplies as they were needed.
The fire had scarcely burnt itself out before
messages of sympathy by letter and telegraph
began to arrive. One friend wrote that if some-
thing startling had not happened the son would
not have been in the Spurgeonic succession, and
tried to comfort him with the thought that the
fiery baptism proved his heritage. His faith,
expressed in a meeting of the Church and congrega-
tion at Upton Chapel on Monday, May 9th, that
whether £10,000 or £20,000 were needed he did
not doubt but that it would come in God's good
time, was a surer sign of his calling. Concerning
an earlier gathering on April 21st, he wrote to his
friend, Mr. William Higgs : " Last night's meeting
was overwhelming — a tidal wave of sympathy and
love."
Singularly enough the trust deed of the old
Tabernacle had a clause dealing with the rebuilding
of the Sanctuary, and in accordance with it, a
meeting of the men members of the Church gathered
on May 27th, 1898, to consider the matter . Woman
had not yet gained her place, either in the world
or in the Church. At that meeting, it was felt
that while temporary accommodation for the church
services would be found in Exeter Hall, the Pastors'
College, and the Stockwell Orphanage, it would be
in the best interests of the work to get back to
192 THE NEW TABERNACLE
Newington Butts as soon as possible. Therefore,
on expert advice it was decided that the entire
basement of the Tabernacle should be cleared, and
roofed in with what would be the fireproof floor
of the new Tabernacle. In this way accommodation
could be provided for two thousand persons. It
was expected that this could be accomplished in
three or four months ; as a matter of fact, the first
services in the basement hall were held on the first
day of January the following year, and the pastor
then wrote, " We find that considerably over two
thousand people can be accommodated, and that they
can all hear.'^ The estimated cost of this part of
the work was £7,866.
So far good. But the rebuilding of the super-
structure was a more serious business. There were
those who questioned whether it should be rebuilt
at all, whether the destruction of the old building,
permitted by God, was not an indication that the
people should go further afield, especially as the
neighbourhood in Newington was so rapidly
changing ; whether two or three places of worship
might not be built instead of one ; whether a much
smaller tabernacle might not suffice on the old site ;
whether it was necessary to have two galleries in
the new structure, and a host of other questions.
In the minute book of the Church a statement
of the case was made in which occur the following
paragraphs : " It seems to be taken for granted,
from the first, that the Tabernacle would be re-
built, and with God's help it shall be done." " We
cherish no sort of doubt that the Lord will, in His
own good time, reinstate us, and establish the
THE NEW TABERNACLE 193
work of our hands." *' No words can set forth
our grief at losing a place endeared to us by ten
thousand hallowed associations ; but we are
persuaded that He Who helped our late loved
pastor, C. H. Spurgeon, to rear it, and then so
successfully to occupy its pulpit, will enable us to
rebuild the structure, and to continue the good
work."
Finally, it was decided that the new building
should be on the general plan of the old, omitting
the top gallery if that was found to be desirable.
Three conditions were imposed on the building
committee : " That the restored building must
worthily perpetuate the memory of the beloved
founder, C. H. Spurgeon ; that it should meet the
requirements of the times and be suitable for
conventions and anniversaries, as well as for the
regular services of the Sabbath ; that any scheme
adopted should give effect to the pastor's suggestion
that he and his hearers be brought into closer
proximity to each other."
In the result, the committee determined to retain
the top gallery, and when tenders were handed in
from six builders the estimates ranged from
£36,000 to £33,000. Mr. F. H. Ford, the secretary
of the building committee, tells that having
attended at the architect's office to see the tenders
opened, he hurried to the Tabernacle to inform
Mr. Spurgeon of the result. The estimates were
greatly in excess of what had been anticipated, so
the news was imparted gently, the sugar first, the
pill to follow.
" You will be glad to hear that the tender of
13
194 THE NEW TABERNACLE
Messrs. Higgs and Hill is the lowest, and that they
will build the Tabernacle," to which the Pastor
responded, " The Lord be praised." Then came
the serious announcement of the contract price,
and the pastor answered as promptly, " The Lord
will provide."
The difficulties were not treated lightly, as the
following letter to Mr. William Higgs, dated
December 16th, 1898, will show :
*' My dear, dear Friend,
" You should not have troubled to reply to
my wire, which I fear only served to cast you
down, though it was not intended to do so. Be of
good cheer. All is well. We must make what
reductions are possible and go ahead. Work and
faith will do it. I half fear we must relinquish
the Temple Street project, but the Tabernacle must
be rebuilt, and God will help us. It is a bit of a
staggerer, but we must face it confidently. We
shall not appeal in vain, and I will work with
might and main to ensure success.
" Yours, with ever -deepening love,
" Tom."
The faith of the Tabernacle people was greatly
sustained by the sympathy of friends beyond the
borders of the Church. The British Weekly at
once started a fund for the rebuilding. *' It will
be a grand object lesson to our unity as Non-
conformists and our mutual sympathy," it said,
"if at this moment of crisis, and irrespective of
denominations, we rally together to put the
THE NEW TABERNACLE 195
fortunes of the Metropolitan Tabernacle Church
beyond doubt, so far as human aid can do this.
It is poor sympathy that evaporates and ends in
the passing of resolutions and in the writing of
letters. What is needed is money, money, given
kindly and prayerfully." The Echo also opened
a shilling fund, and The Christian Herald received
contributions.
At a meeting on December 19th, 1898, it was
reported that a sum of £16,000 was still required.
At a reception by Mrs. C. H. Spurgeon at the
Tabernacle, on February 8th, 1899, amidst the
greatest enthusiasm, no less than £6,367 was
contributed. When the sum of £5,000 was shown
on the notice-board, the stream of givers stopped
while the people sang the Doxology, but until
nearly nine o'clock at night the queue continued,
not as in these war days to get something, but in
eagerness to give, and at the end they sang " All
hail the power of Jesus' name," and went home,
according to the report, in an " O be joyful "
mood.
The progress of the Metropolitan Tabernacle
Building Fund can be followed in The Sword and
Trowel for 1898, 1899, and 1900. At the end of
November, 1899, a sum of £5,000 was still required.
By the following June this had been reduced to
£3,500, and this had to be raised in less than four
months, and it was nearly all contributed the
following month.
A reception was held by Mrs. Thomas Spurgeon
on July 4th, " the glorious fourth," as the
Americans call it. This, for enthusiasm and gener-
196 THE NEW TABERNACLE
ous and general giving, was almost a repetition of
the reception by Mrs. C. H. Spurgeon the previous
year. The morning post brought £671 ; early in
the afternoon only £1,000 was needed to complete
the contract price, and the people could not refrain
from singing the Doxology. Before the gathering
dispersed at nine o'clock £2,772 had been contri-
buted, and only a sum of £346 more was needed.
Meanwhile, the ministry was exercised with many
signs of God's blessing, and, as far as possible, the
various organizations carried forward. Perhaps
the most memorable days in the basement hall
were those of a special mission in February, con-
ducted by Archibald G. Brown and W. Y. FuUerton.
It is reported in the April number of The Sword
and Trowel, under the heading " The Lord's Doing,"
and truly His power was very evident. Mr. A. G.
Brown was not able to be present till towards the
end, being detained on the Continent, but he took
charge of the last two days ; Mr. Spurgeon himself
made up part of lack, and I was permitted to
share. The students of the College were there in
force, and one of the elders said, " During the time
of my long connection with the Tabernacle I have
never seen such enthusiasm — so many officers of
the Church so persistent in their attendance, or the
workers drawn from so many sources." Nobody
was more thoroughly in it than Mr. Spurgeon
himself, and as I was a guest in his house all the
time, we were able to rejoice together.
The new sanctuary was fast rising. Its audi-
torium is thirteen feet less in length, and the
vestries so much longer. The seats are further
THE NEW TABERNACLE 197
apart, and are meant to accommodate 2,703 persons,
as against the 3,600 sittings in the old Tabernacle
that could be let. Of course the crowd in both
buildings often exceeded the official sittings.
During the progress of the work Mr. T. H. Olney,
the treasurer, died, and his place was taken by
Mr. J. E. Passmore. Mr. Spurgeon himself took
the greatest interest in every detail, and was often
to be seen on the ladders, and on the roof. But,
above all others, Mr. William Higgs is to be praised ;
early and late he devoted personal attention to
the structure, meeting with an accident one day
which happily did not prove to be as serious as was
at first feared, and not content with such service,
he and Mrs. Higgs gave as a thankoffering the
structural improvement of the roof and several
other extra details of the building. There were
others who made special contributions, amongst
them the former scholars of the Stockwell Orphan-
age, who gave carpet and clock for the pastor's
vestry, while the vestry chair was contributed by
a missionary on the Congo who was a former
student of the College.
A great feature at the opening services was the
presence of Mr. Ira D. Sankey. On the morning
of Wednesday, September 19th, a devotional
service, largely attended, was conducted by Mr.
A. G. Brown, when a telegram of greeting was read
from Mrs. C. H. Spurgeon. The new Tabernacle
was crowded in the afternoon, and Rev. John
Thomas preached. In the evening, it is estimated,
there were 4,000 persons in the Tabernacle, and
1,800 in the basement hall : Sir George Williams
198 THE NEW TABERNACLE
presided. The following morning Rev. F. B . Meyer
presided, and in the evening Rev. J. H. Jowett
preached. The sermons of these two days, as well
as Mr. Spurgeon's sermon the following Sunday
morning, appeared in The Christian World Pulpit
of September 26th.
Mr. and Mrs. Spurgeon held a reception in the
afternoon of September 20th, it being the pastor's
birthday, and some £600 were brought as a birthday
offering. Mr. T. A. Denny presided on the Friday,
and Reuben Saillens paid tribute to C. H. Spurgeon
as " the greatest Englishman of the century," who
was a devoted admirer of " John Calvin, the
greatest Frenchman that ever lived." Mr. Sankey
sang at several of these meetings, and on the
Saturday evening, to a crowded Tabernacle, gave
a service of song. Mr. Spurgeon preached both
morning and evening on Sunday, and Mr. Tolfree
Parr addressed a great crowd of children in the
afternoon. Mr. John Marnham presided on the
Monday evening, the workmen met the next night
and had John Ploughman's Pictures, the various
societies gathered on the Wednesday, when there
were some presentations ; John McNeill preached
on the Thursday, with Lord Kinnaird presiding.
Mr. Hugh Brown was the preacher the following
Sunday ; J. W. Ewing conducted the first baptism
on the following Thursday ; Rev. Dinsdale T.
Young preached the Thursday after, and Dr.
Alexander McLaren the next Thursday, when there
was " a United Communion Service for Believers
of all Denominations."
The generosity of the people may be gauged by
THE NEW TABERNACLE 199
the fact that, at the end of a month's services, a
collection of £100 was given at this last service for
the Indian Famine Fund. Here I take some pride
in mentioning that on the Sunday after the Taber-
nacle was burnt, collections were to be taken for
the Baptist Missionary Society, and with a large-
heartedness which goes a long way to explain the
universal support accorded to the Tabernacle
Church of these days, the collections were still
taken at Exeter Hall for the Missionary Society,
and realized about £80.
It was a notable achievement to carry through
successfully such a vast undertaking, a tribute to
faith that without adventitious aid all the money
was so freely given, a signal providence that there
was no serious accident during the erecting of the
structure. The first gift towards the rebuilding
came from a man in the street, who saw Mr.
Spurgeon outside the ruins shortly after the fire
and slipped five shillings into his hand, saying,
" This is to build it up again, sir." That five
shillings grew until, at the end of The Sword and
Trowel for 1900, we find gifts acknowledged
amounting to £25,000.
CHAPTER XV
THE SECOND SEVEN YEARS
jfe In one respect Thomas Spurgeon the Twin re-
sembled Jacob the Twin — ^he served two periods
of seven years for his reward. In all else he was
an Israel, having power with God and with man.
His experience in London was very similar to his
experience in Auckland — he built a tabernacle and,
in a comparatively short time, found his health
unequal to the task the Church involved, and was
compelled at length to resign it. The great per-
sonal event in his Auckland ministry was his
Marriage, in his London ministry his Jubilee.
That was on September 20th, 1906. At a
reception in the afternoon Mr. and Mrs. Spurgeon
received from seven hundred guests over £1,000,
which was, as customary with the birthday gifts,
devoted to the various good works in connection
with the Tabernacle. The evening meeting was
enough to gladden any man's heart. His friend,
Mr. William Higgs, presided, an oil painting of
himself to adorn the walls of his vestry was pre-
sented to the pastor, and a grandfather's clock to
adorn his own home. To Mrs. Spurgeon a silver
tray, to Mr. Charles Spurgeon at Nottingham,
where he then was minister, a hearty message of
greeting. The speakers were F. B. Meyer, Dins-
THE SECOND SEVEN YEARS 201
dale Young, and Archibald Brown, and to the
delight of the audience Campbell Morgan, just
returned from America, came to give his good
wishes.
This was the crest of the hill. It was from a
time of rest at Deeside that the pastor came to the
meeting, and, although the membership of the
Church was still three thousand, changing circum-
stances aroused many questionings. It was on a
Sunday during this interval that, in spite of his
pain, Thomas Spurgeon wrote : —
Never mind the why and wherefore,
Never mind the how and when ;
For the thoughts of God are higher
Than the thoughts and ways of men.
Never mind the peradventures.
Never mind the ifs and buts ;
Jesus holds the key of David,
When He opens no man shuts.
Never mind the fear or favour.
Never mind the ayes and noes ;
He who sides with God and goodness
Far outnumbers all his foes.
Never mind the weights and measures.
Never mind the have and had ;
Christ can banquet starving thousands
From the wallet of a lad.
Never mind the whence and whither,
Never mind the thens and tills ;
Trust in God's unchanging mercy,
Best upon His shalls and wills.
Of the man himself at this time there is no better
sketch than that of his friend, F. A. Jackson,
>vhich appeared in The Baptist : " The hair is
202 THE SECOND SEVEN YEARS
iron grey, and the striking face is not without
traces of time, and thought, and heavy responsi-
bihty, but the age of his heart is less than half the
number of his years, for he is, at heart, a boy.
Soft is the hand held out in greeting, gentle are the
eyes that look into yours, and there is essential
kindness in the tones of the voice. Meeting him
casually you may be impressed by the exceeding
gentleness of the man, along with a certain aloofness
which is not coldness, and, mayhap, a suggestion
of weariness born of impaired health and increasing
burdens. But if you are fortunate enough to enjoy
a closer acquaintance, and especially if it is your
privilege to become his fellow-worker, you will
discover an underlying strain of sternness and a
flash of fire, which will go far to explain the personal
force by which a thirteen years' pastorate at the
Metropolitan Tabernacle has been maintained
against enormous odds. ' Upon the top of the
pillars was lily work.' Strength crowned with
beauty. Massive workmanship and inspired
grace."
An admirable appreciation appeared in The
British Monthly of November, 1903, in which
occurs this characterization : " Mr. Thomas Spur-
geon's reputation as a preacher is growing steadily,
year by year. Like his father he is an Anglo-Saxon
in all his modes of thought and speech. His
simple, straightforward language goes right to the
heart of the people — there is no London minister
who has a richer variety of striking illustration.
His week-day addresses have the pleasant healthy
flavour of John Ploughman's Talk. Mr. Spurgeon
THE SECOND SEVEN YEARS 203
is a Nonconformist by conviction, and has taken
a prominent part in the passive resistance agita-
tion : some of the most inspiring letters in the
fight have come from his pen."
During the Baptist World's Congress in London
in 1905, which he only attended on one occasion,
when he was received with enthusiasm, and though
asked to speak only led the assembly in prayer,
the president of the South African Baptist Union
contributed a very readable description of a
service in the Tabernacle to the columns of The
Baptist, It was a wet Sunday, and he says : " The
congregation at the Tabernacle evoked the out-
spoken wonder of an American, who said that with
such rain on a Sunday morning it was surprising
to him that so many were there. To a casual
visitor it was not the size but the intention of the
gathering that seemed most striking. There was
a great preponderance of men, which was a very
suggestive item in itself. The singing was hearty
and the listening was grand."
" One good soul said that the recent ingatherings
at the Tabernacle had done the pastor much good,
and the fresh vigour of these heartening days was
manifest. After the Congress one cannot help
comparing men and methods ; and having listened
to some of the foremost London preachers during
the past few weeks, it would seem not too much
to say that Mr. Thomas Spurgeon has the freest
pulpit style in London to-day. With ease and
dignity, undisfigured by excessive action, he deals
with his theme in a manner that makes the hearer
feel that it is of present and vital interest,"
204 THE SECOND SEVEN YEARS
The London newspapers frequently made refer-
ence to Tabernacle affairs, and sometimes reported
Mr. Spurgeon's sermons. The Daily News of
November 5th, 1906, gave a lengthy risumi of a
sermon on " Asking wisdom," and concluded with
the following paragraph : '' The sermon was
brought to a close with a telling anecdote of
Gordon's confidence in God. — ' When Gordon was
sent to the Soudan he confessed that no man ever
undertook a harder task, but he said, " The task
sits on me as lightly as a feather, for I have asked
God for wisdom, and I know that He will give it
to me." ' "
General Gordon's experience was his also. In
one of his sermons he opened his heart to his
people : " Do you know that when I had got thus
far with the preparation of my discourse last night,
I sat me in my chair and said to myself, ' You are
going to try to get these people to cast their cares
on God, but you will not succeed unless you do so
yourself.' Then I thought of the College, where we
are just now expending more than our income, of
the Orphanage, with its five hundred dear orphan
children, of the fifty colporteurs, of the new Taber-
nacle, and of the great Church of many thousand
members, which we can hardly minister to as we
desire. I thought of many another care beside,
and when I had put them in a great heap, I prayed
for strength enough to lift it to the Lord, and I
found it was too much for me. So I asked Him
just to lift the load Himself and carry it away.
I believe that He has done it, and will do it. I
fancy He has lifted me as well."
THE SECOND SEVEN YEARS 205
Another sermon extract may be given as an
example of the direct blessing resting on the
ministry at this time. " A few Lord's days back
I ventured, in yonder pulpit, to urge some of my
hearers to begin to run in the way of God's com-
mandments, and I went a little out of my ordinary
track by using such an illustration as this : ' We
are starting a race this morning ; come all of you
who have it in your hearts to begin to run towards
God. Listen to me now. Stand ready for the
signal.' I cannot exactly remember the words I
used, but I have good reason to rejoice that I did
use the metaphor, for God blessed it to the salvation
of some souls. I told them of the prize that was
set before them. I pointed to the cloud of wit-
nesses that held them in full survey. I bade them,
for their own sakes, and for their loved ones' sakes,
to begin to live for God, and then at last I cried
' Are you ready ? ' ' Are you ready ? ' And
presently, so to speak, the flag fell, and I exclaimed
' Go ! In the name of the Lord, go ! ' Only a few
days later, one dear friend wrote to me, and said,
' I could not stand the falling of that flag, and the
saying *' In the name of the Lord, go ! " Pray for
me, for I have begun to run in the way of God's
commandments.' "
Such blessing was not singular. Another bears
witness to the preacher in this striking sentence,
" when you closed with the Benediction I closed
with Christ."
The Morning Leader of August 10th, 1903, in
its series " The Man in the Pulpit," had an ad-
mirable and sympathetic sketch of the Tabernacle
206 THE SECOND SEVEN YEARS
pastor. " Simple is the preacher, simple the
prayer, simple the sermon. The Puritan spirit is
strong in him. He prays that simple worship may
take the place of what art suggests and science
admires. He prays for the unaged Gospel and
the unembellished Cross. He prays for deliverance
from priestcraft and unfair legislation. Let the
saints of God be dowered with the gentle spirit of
Jesus, combined with adamantine firmness."
An interesting incident occurred on Sunday,
April 13th, 1907, when his son and daughter were
baptized. Mr. Hugh D. Brown, of Dublin, was
the preacher, but before the baptism Thomas
Spurgeon rose and said : "I need not tell you that
this occasion is one of deepest joy to me. You can
understand that this scene and this action remind
me of my own baptism with my dear brother in
this place at my dear father's hands. For that
act of obedience and consecration I have reason to
thank God from that day until now, and my prayer
is to-night, as my own dear children, and the
children of other friends of ours, obey their Lord
in baptism, that they may have a similar joy, and
that their example may have a similar happy effect,
and that for the rest of their days they may know
the keeping power of Christ."
During these years there were four missions at
the Tabernacle. First the Simultaneous Mission
at the end of January, 1902, when Gipsy Smith,
John McNeill, and Hugh Price Hughes were the
missioners, and great crowds assembled. Last a
mission conducted by myself, to which two articles
are devoted in the 1906 Sword and Trowel, and one
THE SECOND SEVEN YEARS 207
by Mr. W. R. Lane, of whom Mr. Spurgeon had the
highest opinion. But the outstanding mission was
that which sprang up after the Welsh Revival, and
was carried forward by six Welsh brethren then in
training in the Pastors' College, one of them now
a missionary on the Congo, and the others in
pastorates at home : D. C. Davies ; A. LI. Ed-
wards ; J. R. Edwards ; T. Hayward ; Caradoe
Jones ; F. Williams. The meetings began on
March 13th, 1905, and continued until the middle
of April. Three articles in The Sword and Trowel
for 1905 describe it, and Dr. McCaig feels that he
is justified in calling it a Revival. Over seven
hundred names were registered of those who con-
fessed Christ. The great features of these meetings
were the midnight marches to gather in the people,
in which Mr. and Mrs. Spurgeon shared. He was
heart and soul in the work. Writing to Mr.
Jackson on March 25th, he says : "At eleven we
formed up in the space between Tabernacle and
railings, and marched forth about 11.30. We
were four deep, I know not how long. Mrs.
S., Dr. McCaig and his wife, marched with me just
behind the musicians. We sang and shouted out
the news of the meeting all the way. What a sight
when we got back to the Tabernacle steps —
drunkards, harlots, all sorts of refuse, many in
drink, but all singing ' There is a fountain filled
with blood.' The meeting lasted till three o'clock !
Solemn, subduing, wonderful. The end was strik-
ing. Just as 6ne brother announced the Doxology,
I felt impelled to step forward and repeat, ' He
hath made Him to be sin for us,' etc. Then the
208 THE SECOND SEVEN YEARS
brother said, ' Let us all repeat it after Mr. Spur-
geon,' and they did. This was no sooner done
than another started ' Hallelujah ! What a
Saviour ! ' and oh, the power and grace as we sang
that hymn through. Then the Doxology and
Benediction, but there had been doxology and
benediction all the time. Twenty were gathered
in ! Rejoice with me, and with God. ' Who is a
pardoning God like Thee.' "
Again on March 30th he says : " Both meetings
last night were glorious. I saw twelve applicants
for membership, and yet was in time to have an
hour and a half of the fresh meeting. There must
have been five hundred in the procession. We
shouted ourselves hoarse, and tramped ourselves
hors de combat. The Lord has not removed our
candlestick. How good of Him ! They say I look
haggard, but I would rather look haggard than be
a laggard ! "
One of the great sorrows of this time was the
death of his dear mother, on October 22nd, 1903.
From the glimpses into the early correspondence
between mother and son it will have been seen
how dear they were to each other. '' On Saturday,
October 17th," he writes, " I received a parting
benediction from her dear lips, that will echo in my
grateful heart till I also hear the Master's call.
It was Christiana's farewell blessing to her children :
— ' The blessing — the double blessing of your
father's God be upon you, and upon your brother,"
she said with fervour ; and a little later, ' Good-bye,
dear Tom, the Lord bless you for ever and ever.
Amen.'
MR, AND MRS. THOMAS SPURGEOX : A JUBILEE PHOTOGRAPH.
208]
THE SECOND SEVEN YEARS 209
" On the previous day she had said to her
faithful friend and companion, Miss Thorne, who
had been with her for forty years, ' Whom shall
I see next ? ' ' Whom would you like to see,
darling ? ' was the response. Then with a face
all aflame with joy of blest anticipation the exile,
so soon to be brought home, exclaimed, ' My
Husband ! ' But when the last moment came a
fairer vision was granted to her ; she exclaimed,
' Blessed Jesus ! Blessed Jesus ! I can see the
King in His glory 1 ' "
Mrs. C. H. Spurgeon was a truly remarkable
woman. From the year 1868 she was a great
sufferer, but she had learnt to rejoice in tribulation.
In the home she was a veritable queen, and she
delighted in the Gospel as preached by her husband ;
to her he was king, or as she playfully called him,
''The Tirshatha." I remember holding a Sunday
evening service with Manton Smith, in the
library of " West wood," when she presided at the
organ, having called in her neighbours to hear the
word of the Lord. Her great work was the dis-
tribution of books by means of " the Book Fund " —
no less than 199,315 volumes having been sent to
preachers by this means. The story has been
chronicled in two books. Ten Years of my Life in
the Service of the Book Fund, and Ten Years After.
Of the next day, Tuesday, October 28th, her
son writes, "To-day has proved the most trying
experience of my hfe, but I have been helped."
Immediately on the death of his mother, it proved
necessary for his wife to have an operation, so there
was the double anxiety. Happily Mrs. Thomas
14
210 THE SECOND SEVEN YEARS
made a good recovery, and in two months' time
was able to get about again.
Two other members of the family had already
passed over : his grandfather, Rev. John Spurgeon,
who died on June 14th, 1902, aged ninety-two years,
and his uncle, Dr. James A. Spurgeon, who died
on March 22nd, 1899, in a railway carriage, as he
was on a journey to London.
On February 13th, 1907, owing to continued
ill-health, a letter of resignation was written to
the Church : " Only a strong sense of duty, I can
assure you, induces me to take this step." The
deacons replied suggesting a long rest, to which
he reluctantly agreed. The London papers, with
one consent, made very sympathetic reference to
the event. But as it was necessary for the work
to continue, a very hearty invitation was sent to
Rev. Archibald G. Brown to become co-pastor.
On May 4th he accepted the offer, and was duly
installed at a great meeting on June 17th.
Meanwhile, after a sojourn at Woodhall Spa,
Mr. Spurgeon had been able to address the College
Conference, and almost immediately he left for
Carlsbad, in company with Mr. J. Hill. From
thence he journeyed to Meran ; from whence, on
February 8th, 1908, he sent his final resignation
to the Church, which they had no option but to
accept. On March 11th, Mr. A. G. Brown was
invited as his successor, and for three years he
exercised a very fruitful and fragrant ministry at
the Tabernacle as Pastor of the Church. A com-
petent judge of the preachers of the day has said
that Archibald G. Brown was the greatest unac-
THE SECOND SEVEN YEARS 211
knowledged orator of his time. Happily, he still
lives and preaches. He, in turn, was succeeded
at the Tabernacle by Dr. A. C. Dixon, of America.
The farewell meeting was on Monday, June 22nd.
The love of the people overflowed in gifts, a cheque
of £450 to Mr. Spurgeon, and a dressing-case and
pearl necklace to Mrs. Spurgeon. It was recorded
that during his ministry 2,200 persons had been
received into the fellowship of the Church, but that
is not the full measure of the ministry of these
brave fourteen years, so filled with opportunity
and difficulty, joy and pain, decreasing membership
and increasing weakness.
Once he wrote — it was on July 26th, 1902 — to
his old comrade. Rev. J. S. Harrison : " There
have been many and sore trials, and I have been
depressed beyond measure. Truth to tell, I am
at this present time not altogether jubilant. The
difficulties are enormous and they seem to increase.
Many of the people are loyal and faithful in a high
degree, but I have had many bitter disappoint-
ments in this respect. My one dread is of remain-
ing in a post of honour longer than I should. I
cannot doubt that God led me hither, but I some-
times wonder if He bids me stay. I am opening up
my heart to you, for you are a true friend of mine."
Yet three years later he was able to write and
sing:
In burning fiery furnace, the glowing coals I tread.
The flames, though seven times heated, hurt neither feet nor
head :
They bum the bands that bind me, they have no power to kill,
Th ey c««mot even scorch m©, for God is with me still.
212 THE SECOND SEVEN YEARS
My soul's among the lions, the den is dark and deep,
And yet I rest securely. He gives His loved one sleep :
The lions cannot hurt me, they learn to do my will,
My God has sent his angel, and He is with me still.
The tempest howls around me, nor sun nor stars appear,
My comrades lose their courage, my craft is stripped of gear ;
Yet I am calm and thankful, I have no thought of ill.
An angel stood beside me, and God is with me still.
E'en though I walk the valley, where death's dark shadows fall.
Yet will I fear no evil, no terrors can appal ;
The rod and staff of Jesus my soul with comfort fill,
I cannot but be happy, for God is with me still.
Of course Mr. Spurgeon often spoke in the
Tabernacle after he resigned the charge of the
Church, but with less frequency as the years went
on, until by and by he was quite silent. There
is, however, a permanent record of his voice, for
on August 2nd, 1905, he spoke into an Edison-Bell
phonograph, first giving his father's last words in
the Tabernacle, and then making a record of his
own, entitled " A Parable of the Phonograph."
It runs as follows : —
" The apostle Paul called the Corinthian Chris-
tians the epistle of Christ. Were he describing
believers to-day, he would probably employ an
up-to-date comparison, and say, ' Ye are Christ's
phonographs, Christ's voice-recorders, Christ's
talking machines.'
'* It is the privilege of true Christians to receive
and to record Divine impressions, to register the
voice of the Spirit, and then to reproduce the
heavenly message. That which has been spoken
to them they utter ; what God has wrought
THE SECOND SEVEN YEARS 213
within them, they in their Uves work out. They
should sound forth faithful echoes of the word of
Christ which abideth in them. The veriest
whisper should be recorded by the sensitive soul,
and the tenderest tones repeated by a consistent
life.
'* This thought it is that finds expression in
the lines we love to sing, ' Lord, speak to me that
I may speak in living echoes of Thy tone.' At
best we are imperfect instruments, but the Master
is ever at work upon us, and we shall be absolutely
accurate transcripts of Him by and by. We shall
be like Him for we shall see Him as He is."
CHAPTER XVI
THE COLLEGE CONFERENCE
For fifty-four years the past students of the
Pastors' College have assembled in annual con-
ference in the Spring, either in the week before or
the week after the meetings of the Baptist Union,
the date being regulated by the recurrence of
Easter. These Conferences generally continued
from the Monday afternoon to the Friday after-
noon, and were entirely sui generis, C . H. Spurgeon
breathed his own spirit into them from the first,
and a fine feeling of brotherhood exists between
the members. Many a time they have been
thrilled as with linked hands they have sung, after
the final Communion service, the College psalm : —
'*Pray that Jenisalem may have
Peace and felicity.
Let them that love thee and thy truth
Have still prosperity."
Many a time enthusiasm has risen to boiling point
as the assembled ministers have sung together the
College anthem : —
** The Cross it standeth fast.
Hallelujah I "
214
THE COLLEGE CONFERENCE 215
Many a time, too, they have been melted to tears
as they have bent before the Throne of grace, or
recalled the history of some departed brother, or
listened to some of their number setting forth the
things of Christ. Not always tears, however;
cheers have not been infrequent, and laughter has
often rung round the Conference Hall of the
College.
But nothing has ever evoked more interest than
the President's annual address, and Thomas
Spurgeon gave twenty-one of these. Dr. James
Spurgeon three, and C. H. Spurgeon twenty-seven.
During the earher years the President also preached
on the last day of the Conference : on several
occasions Thomas Spurgeon has also rendered this
service ; on the year that his father died the task
fell to me, the next year to Dr. Pierson, the follow-
ing year to Thomas Spurgeon ; but of late years a
vice-president has been annually elected who took
this as part of his office. In succession to his uncle,
who was elected twice to the position, Thomas
Spurgeon was elected President in 1894, and was
elected every year after. Even in the last two
years, when failing health made it impossible for
him to perform the duties of the post, he was still
voted into the chair, Charles, who for years sup-
ported his younger brother, being annually chosen
as deputy president all along, loyally making up
his lack of service.
In passing it may be noted that there was a
humorous rivalry as to which of the brothers was
the elder man. Charles was born first, but Thomas
always insisted that, as he was in Australia on the
216 THE COLLEGE CONFERENCE
day of their majority, he came of age earlier than
his brother — a. contention that must be conceded.
But as against that, it may be remarked that, as
in his final voyage to England Thomas came by
the Pacific route and added a day to his year as
he crossed longitude 180 '', he fell a whole day behind
his brother, and consequently Charles was his
senior by over eleven hours ! But a truce to such
nonsense.
The relation between the brothers and the
Conference may be judged by the following letter
of greeting, which is but a sample of many. It is
dated December 28th, 1897.
" Dear Friend and Brother,
" Again we greet you. ' A Happy New
Year to you.' How fares it with you and with your
work ? Does the fire burn brightly on the altar ?
Does the dew fall copiously on the field ? Is the
old flag still waving, and the same war-cry sound-
ing ? And how goes the fight ? Can you let us
have answers to these inquiries, short, pointed
replies, as soon as possible ? We should also like
to know how you are, and what you look like now.
Send us a photo if you can. As for us, we are
toiling on, and leaning hard, and looking up.
" Yours very heartily,
" Thomas Spurgeon, President
" Charles Spurgeon, Vice-President'^
With pardonable self-deception it was declared
year by year that the last presidential address was
the best : even cautious brethren, carried away in
THE COLLEGE CONFERENCE 217
the common elevation of feeling, admitted there
never was a better. In a sense this was all true:
the address just delivered was actually the best at
the moment, for it was vivid while the others were
but dim memories . The repetition of such a verdict
year after year might have amused the cynic, but
it was evidence of the deep hold the President had
on the six hundred or more men, and of the affection
with which they regarded him. The last love-letter
is always the best ; and the man who is in love is
always eloquent.
Thomas Spurgeon rightly looked upon these
addresses as the chief utterance of the year. He
did not, however, deal with current topics ; indeed,
sometimes his subjects were quite remote from the
sentiment of the time, and perhaps gained by the
contrast. He often used similitudes, was ever fond
of a parable, broke into poesy at times, and,
especially towards the end, laid his head on the
bosom of nature. On several occasions his address
was but a glorified sermon — none the worse for
that ; nearly always it was illustrated copiously
from his own experience, and more than once
entered into the holy of holies of the speaker's
soul. Any man might be proud to have produced
twenty-one such addresses, and the brief greeting
of the twenty-second year, when further address
was impossible, was a fitting crown for the whole.
The last two years the Conference has been so
abbreviated that there has been no address — ^there
is, in fact, now no president.
It need scarcely be wondered at that such a
seafarer should have chosen for his first address in
218 THE COLLEGE CONFERENCE
1895 the subject " En Voyage." It was felt to be
the key-note of his own ministry when he said :
" I find that in a comparatively ordinary letter
that Whitefield wrote to a friend he says in the
closing lines — ' Free grace for ever.' Brethren, put
that, not at the end of your ministry, but through-
out it, with a large mark of exclamation — two if
you like — ' Free grace for ever ! ' ' Free grace for
ever ! ! '"
The nautical metaphor was carried well through.
He instances the Doldrums, the Sargasso Sea, and
the ice-fields, as the hindrances to the Church, and
the high tone of the deliverance may be judged by
one of the closing paragraphs. " Have you ever
heard of ' the brave West winds.' I blessed God
when they began to blow. There was no more
battling against head winds, no more of that
close-hauled sailing which meant sea-sickness to
most passengers. The brave West winds ! They
came behind with mighty force, and away we sped
for thousands of miles, with fair winds and flowing
sheets. Oh ! it was glorious sailing, that ! Fine
weather all the time ; a strong wind, with huge
green seas careering round us — ^the hugest waves
the world over, thirty or forty feet in height.
The waves in the Channel are bad enough, but they
are only eight or ten feet high ; but with stately
march these big waves chased each other, and
helped us on toward the sunny South. You know
of Whom I speak, and of what mighty power I tell.
We have got now to where we came this time last
year, when we spake of the power of the Holy Ghost.
He is the brave West Wind. I dare to speak of
THE COLLEGE CONFERENCE 219
Him under such an emblem, for Jesus did the same.
Not that He is mere breath, but because the best
thing earth or sky affords, with which to compare
Him, is this same mysterious but well-nigh omni-
potent wind. Said a thoughtful passenger to me
on my first voyage across the Southern ocean,
' What a pity it is,' — ^for the wind was blowing fair
and fresh — ' What a pity it is that we cannot use
it all.' They were taking in sail, and the fresher
it blew the more they had to furl. Soon we were
speeding along under little more than bare poles.
I liked the thought — ' What a pity it is that we
cannot use it all ! ' Suppose a ship should be
constructed on which sails could be piled the more
the breezes blew, what a pace she would go at !
And oh ! if you and I would only trust the Holy
Spirit more, and use Him to the full, we should be
sluggards and laggards no longer ! Then would
we show our heels, and speed away towards heaven,
successfully serving Christ the journey through."
The subject for 1896 was " Antidotes," suggested
by the saying of an old woman, who stayed at home
on Sundays and read Spurgeon's sermons, instead
of attending her chapel, saying of the preacher,
" It was antidotes, antidotes, antidotes, from be-
ginning to end, nothing but antidotes." This is
one of the sermonic addresses, and it is very
successfully built up on the report of His mission
which our Lord sent to the imprisoned John Baptist.
His estimate of much of the modern music is
evidenced by the quotation :
" I cannot sing the old songs," they heard the maiden say,
And then the guests with one accord rose up and said " Hooray,"
220 THE COLLEGE CONFERENCE
Back again next year to allegory, he spoke in
1897 on " The Heaven-ward Railway," a subject
which, in less masterly hands, might have become
trivial. *' The membership of my Church," said
one, " is three hundred and some odd." " Oh,"
said another, *' I have only a hundred, all odd.'^
That is to illustrate the thought that ministers as
guards of the train will have some strange pas-
sengers to deal with. A memorable passage was,
" On a voyage to the Antipodes, it was my lot to
sit next to the chief engineer at meal-times. He
was a genial fellow, and a good conversationalist ;
but every now and then he was as those that
dream. He had missed the last sentence altogether
and had to beg pardon for apparent inattention.
' I was listening to my ponies,' he would add, by
way of explanation. He called the engines his
ponies, and more than once I have known him
quit the feast because they didn't trot quite
evenly." The lesson, of course, is obvious, as is
also the suggestion of the incident that came soon
after about Napoleon : " Are you ever afraid.
Citizen Consul ? " said one of his councillors to
him after the explosion of a royalist infernal
machine. He answered, " I afraid — oh ! if I were
afraid, it would be a bad day for France ! " — a
story well suited to these days of terror in which
we live.
In 1898 the topic was " A Letter from Home,"
suggested by the replies which were given to the
New Year's letter quoted earlier in this chapter.
The fire at the Tabernacle occurred the next day,
and those on the look-out for coincidences remem-
THE COLLEGE CONFERENCE 221
bered the references to " No strange fire " in the
address the day before. Fire, the dew, the flag,
and the fight, occupied the first half of the dis-
course. Professor Blackie once said, " I want
three things : first, a great cause ; second, a great
battle ; third, a great victory." The second part
of the address was allotted to the three phrases,
" toiling on " ; " leaning hard " ; " looking up."
On the last idea, this — " One soon becomes
accustomed at sea to hearing commands sounded
forth in stentorian tones from the quarter-deck ;
but I was not a little startled, one fine day, when
the good ship was rolling heavily, to hear the first
mate shout at his loudest, ' Look up ! ' Anxiety
was mingled with authority in his tone. And no
wonder. Yonder raw apprentice was clambering
up the rigging, but his eye was on the deck. I
think I hear the warning message now, ' Look up ! '
The officer seemed almost angry. The lad had
doubtless been warned, but he was disobeying. I
know the thought that was in the old salt's heart.
' The young idiot, to trifle thus — didn't I tell him
of his danger ? He deserves to fall, but I must
try to save him. — Look up ! ' He was just in
time ; another instant, and there would have
resounded through the ship that awful thud which
tells of a fall from aloft, and of the spilling of a
soul. 'Twas well that the first officer of that craft
had a tender heart, a quick eye, and a trumpet
tongue. Our God has all these — He has saved
us from falling many a time ! "
Mr. Spurgeon's summons to the 1899 Conference
said : " How will the Lord visit us this time, I
222 THE COLLEGE CONFERENCE
wonder. Perchance our experience will resemble
Elijah's, ' After the fire a still small voice.* " The
President again dealt in similitudes. This year
" Lessons from Lighthouses." Quoting Michelet,
" From base to summit every stone biting thus
into its neighbour, the lighthouse is but one sole
block, more one than the very rock it stands on.
The billows know not where to assail it : they
smite, they rage, they glide," he said. " Oh, it is
wonderful what strength they have who trust in
God. They can defy all blasts and billows. A
stranger from the provinces once came to the
Tabernacle, and heard ' the voice that is still ' say,
as she opened the door, ' A simple-hearted child
of God can floor a dozen devils.' She has never
forgotten it . Many a time that sentence has helped
her. May it help you, dear friend, though I only
echo it, ' a simple-hearted child of God can floor
a dozen devils.'
" In the United States, the following rigorous
order is in force : ' The inspector's visit may occur
at any time, and in welcoming him the head keeper
presents him with a white linen napkin.' As he
goes his rounds, he passes this over the lens, the
lamp, and even inside the kitchen utensils ; if the
cloth comes out immaculate from the test, he
enters in the lighthouse log-book this record :
' Service napkin not soiled,' while the slightest
smirch on the linen means a black mark for the
keeper ! Who of us could stand such a test in
spiritual things ?
" Henry Ward Beecher once ridiculed the idea
of a glow-worm offering itself to the Government
THE COLLEGE CONFERENCE 223
as a lighthouse, and imagined it saying when it
was refused — * Then I won't be anything.' ' Is
it not worth while,' he inquired, ' for a glow-worm
to be a glow-worm ! '
" Let us take our bearings, and prepare for
arrival. That Christian nobleman, the Master of
Blantyre, who navigated his own steam-yacht till
his health failed, said, as he passed away, ' Full
steam ahead ! ' There was much meaning in the
unusual death-cry. He knew his whereabouts.
He saw the light. It was all plain sailing when he
came to die. What bliss will flood our souls when
the end of the journey we see ! Not more glad
was the Ancient Mariner to behold his native land
than we shall be to hail the glory-shore. His song
will find an echo in our hearts : —
" Oh ! dream of joy I is this indeed
The lighthouse top I see ?
Is this the hill ? is this the kirk ?
Is this mine own countree ?
> " We drifted o'er the harbour-bar,
And I with sobs did pray —
O let me be awake, my God ;
Or let me sleep alway."
" We shall be both sleeping and awake : ' I sleep,
but my heart waketh.'
" When I last steamed towards the English
Channel, a thick fog hindered my progress. For
two or three days it kept us back. Still, we ' felt '
our way homewards. At length, we knew that we
must be nearing land. Presently we found our-
selves among a little fleet of trawlers. Passing
224 THE COLLEGE CONFERENCE
dead slow round the stern of one of these, we
looked down from the towering deck upon this
mere cockleshell, for so she appeared. Our captain
was at the edge of his bridge, and made as if he
would speak to the skipper of the fishing-boat.
Just as he was about to do so, the latter put his
hands round about his mouth, and shouted the
welcome news, ' Eddystone light right ahead, sir.'
' Thank you,' said the captain, and he had no
sooner put his vessel on her course again than,
sure enough, like the red glow of an incandescent
light when the current is first switched on, there
glimmered through the fog the longed-for beam.
In a few minutes we were abreast of it, and in
another, past it, and — strange to tell — clear of the
fog. Then it was ' full steam ahead ' till Plymouth
port was gained.
" I wonder, will the mists gather as we end our
voyage ? It may be so. In that case, we shall
be glad indeed of a cheering word, whoever speaks
it. If a liner may have guidance of a lugger,
maybe a little child will lead us, or a leaflet, or a
well-worn text. Let some one say distinctly, when
the fog is round my soul, ' Cross of Calvary right
ahead, sir ! Cross of Calvary right ahead, sir ! '
Ah, yes ! I was heading that way surely ; but,
oh ! the mist, the mist. But see, the blood-red
glow beckons me — ^it brightens as I near it. Now
is my salvation nearer than when I believed. The
fog-bank is safely passed — yonder is the port !
' Full steam ahead ! ' "
" Our Holy War," the theme for 1900, might
serve for the present moment. It was partly
THE COLLEGE CONFERENCE 225
sermonic, partly pictorial, with the Corinthian
text, " Though we walk after the flesh we do not
war after the flesh," as a starting-point. " Our
feeble frames, our fading locks, our failing memo-
ries, our fainting hearts," he cries, " are welcome
if they conspire to lift His glories high." And with
a glimpse of self -revelation : " O brethren, my
heart is heavy at my own folly ! What though
our services and sermons have never been of the
garnished sort, what though we have not departed
from the old paths in doctrine, I am painfully
conscious that I have not so fully trusted the Word
of truth, and the power of God, as I ought to, and
as I meant to. Self has crept in. Oh ! the folly
of it, for self is fatal to real blessing and true
success." At the hearing of which words 1 am
sure that in every man's heart there was a sigh.
" One Lord, one Faith, one Baptism," was the
subject for 1901. Following the experience of the
Simultaneous Mission of the Free Church Federa-
tion, in which he had heartily shared, Mr. Spurgeon
emphasized the continued need for the Baptist
witness. With McCheyne he said, " I bless God
we live in witnessing times." The hearts of the
Conference were moved as with common impulse
when he said, " Thomas Carlyle says that Danton,
when the tumult in poor France was growing shrill,
exclaimed — ' Peace, O peace with one another !
Are we not alone against the world : a little band
of brothers ? ' " Then he urged that we should
have some of the old-time blessing when we got
back to the old-time practices, and with an illus-
tration again taken from the sea, he re-read three
15
226 THE COLLEGE CONFERENCE
points of the compass which formed the title of
the discourse.
The address of 1902 on " Increase our faith " is
best remembered by the parable of the starling,
to which reference was made for years afterwards.
But there were other memorable things. The
prayer is, " Increase neither funds, nor friends, nor
fame, unless Thou pleasest, but our faith.^'' " We
can urge upon them a generous spirit like that
which Turner evinced when he took down one of
his own pictures that the work of an unknown
provincial artist might be conspicuously hung."
"It is a suggestive thing that the word difficulty
occurs but once in the Bible, and then it is in the
margin." '' I was the happy recipient, while
laid aside, of many helpful messages. I was glad
of them all, but you will wonder at the text that
comforted me most. It read thus : ' And after this
lived Job an hundred and forty years.' I cannot
tell you what a lift this gave me. It* made me laugh
for one thing ; it also made me hope. I began to
realize that there was an ' After this ' for me also."
Then came the piece about the starling. " May
I tell you a parable by which, perchance, a faint-
hearted warrior may be stimulated ? A certain
minister had had influenza with complications.
Lying on his bed, no longer seriously ill, but weak
and low, he listened to the birds that announced
the coming of the springtime. A glossy starling
came, morning by morning, to the gable of a neigh-
bouring house, and having announced his arrival
by a long, sweet call, like a note of exclamation
and one of interrogation combined, began his
THE COLLEGE CONFERENCE 227
special tune. He seemed to look the invalid in
the face as he said again and again, ' Give it up ;
give it up.' ' That,' thought the listener, ' is the
decision I had almost come to ; strange that a bird
of the air should carry it. The task is too great
for me. My work is done in that sphere at least.'
Just then, the starling cried again, ' Give it up ;
give it up.'
" At that moment the door was opened, and the
minister's wife entered. ' My dear,' said he, in
rather dolorous tones, ' I have had a message
unmistakably from Heaven.' ' Indeed,' she said,
perhaps a little suspiciously. ' Yes, there's a
starling on the gable yonder, that keeps saying to
me, " Give it up." Now, you listen.' She did not
smile or blame. She knew that the speaker was
in sad earnest. She listened, and the bird obliged.
Then she listened again. (Wives like to make sure
before they express an opinion. ) Then the message
sounded out more distinctly than ever, and the
patient was convinced that no happier interpreta-
tion was possible. But a radiant face was turned
upon him, and a cheery voice exclaimed, ' Why, he
says, " Keep it up ; keep it up," as plainly as a
starling can. Listen again.' So they listened, the
two of them. ' So he does,' said the already
encouraged convalescent, 'it is " Keep it up," as
plain as can be.' Whereupon he blessed his wife,
thanked God and took courage, and almost begged
the starling's pardon for so misinterpreting his
joyful song.
"Comrades, we must 'keep it up.' Nothing
must be given up. Keep up your courage. Keep
228 THE COLLEGE CONFERENCE
up your faith. Keep up your hope. Keep up the
Cross. Keep up your strenuous toiling, and so,
keep up the blessed cause. It is not for long. The
dayspring is at hand. Jesus will be where we are,
till we can be where He is. Oh, for increased
faith, that we may hold Him fast ! "
The topic for 1903 was " Pulpit Supplies." After
a graceful reference to the preachers known by this
name on their occasional visits, the recent voyage
to the Canaries on ss. Axion was laid under
contribution, to illustrate " the supply of the Spirit
of Jesus Christ." There is also the supply of texts
for sermons. Tholuck well said that " every
sermon should have Heaven for its father and
Earth for its mother." Teneriffe supplied the
thought, " Our hearers should see the Mount of
Atonement from every standpoint. Tone and
temper, new views of truth, illustrations and utter-
ance will all be supplied. Holy boldness, too."
Mr. Spurgeon then quoted the divisions of one of
his own sermons, and added that on the following
Monday, at the prayer meeting, one of the brethren
thanked God for the word of the Sabbath, and the
sub-divisions, saying they had been ringing in his
ear like sweet-toned bells the livelong day. ** And
what, think you, happened next ? Why ! — ^those
sub-heads began to chime for me. Oh, how de-
lightsomely they rang ! I was compelled to listen
to those charming bells . And this is what they said .
What God has done, our God can do —
Can do what He has done !
Who from the pit His chosen drew.
Who all their glorious vict'ries won,
Ockn do what He has done !
THE COLLEGE CONFERENCE 229
Sweet bells of hope, ring out anew,
He Rahab cut, the dragon slew.
He can His former acts renew.
Can do what He has done !
What God has done our God will do,
He'll do what He has done !
He keeps His covenant in view.
He is the never changing One,
He'll do what He has done !
Sweet bells of faith, ring out anew,
His mercies are not small, nor few.
His love, though old, is ever new.
He'll do what He has done I
What God has done, our God will crown —
He'll crown what He has done !
Best wine at last is His renown.
The brightest part may be outdone.
He'll crown what He has done !
Sweet bells, ring out o'er all the Town,
Poor Mansoul's fears for ever drown;
God's wont has been, the ages down.
To crown what He has done."
These words, set to music by Mr. G. W. Gregory,
whose prayer suggested them, were thereafter sung
by Madame Annie RyaU.
" The Baptist " was the subject for 1904. " He
was the clasp of the Covenants, the loop which
couples Old and New Testaments. He thought and
taught imperially ; and while he was yet speaking
the King appeared." " O men of God, declare
God's truth at all hazards. It does not need toning
down, nor trimming up." A fine description of a
lunar rainbow scene in the Tasmanian bush
prompts the reflection that " a solar rainbow at
its worst outshines a lunar rainbow at its best."
230 THE COLLEGE CONFERENCE
After quoting Wordsworth on " Daffodils," there
comes the personal witness. *' I sometimes take
a glance at a precious note-book, containing a list
of those who professed decision for Jesus during
my evangelistic tours. I read the names, and, in
many instances, recall the cases :
*' And then my heart with pleasure fills.
And dances with the daffodils."
" God's Fellow-Workers " was the subject for
1905, It was given on the heels of a remarkable
time of blessing at the Tabernacle, and has an
afterglow in it. " * When God loved He loved a
world, and when He gave He gave His Son,' said
Peter Mackenzie. ' The Master is come and calleth
for thee,' said Sister Dora to herself, every time
she opened the hospital gate at dead of night."
The next year's topic was like unto it, " Am-
bassadors for Christ." Because we occupy this
high position — " Away with apologies and compro-
mises. Away with unprepared sermons and half-
hearted prayers and slovenly services. Away with
untidiness of person and hastiness of speech, and
meanness of disposition and littleness of mind.
Away with self-seeking, and worldly-mindedness,
and frivolity." The story of the stately Scotch
divine lingered in the minds of the meeting. Being
received at a cottage, as he thought too familiarly,
he said, " * Woman, I am the servant of the Lord,
come to speak with you on the concerns of your
soul ! ' ' Then you'll be humble, like your
Master,' admirably rejoined the cottager."
" It has been asserted that there are in the Bible
THE COLLEGE CONFERENCE 231
no less than twenty thousand promises. I hke to
think of them as my Master's carriages, which He
keeps for His people to ride in. ' The chariots of
God are twenty thousand.' Some one said to me a
while ago, rather superciliously I thought ; ' Have
you many carriage folk now at the Tabernacle ? '
' Why, bless your heart,' I answered, ' we are all
carriage folk.' Then I explained the mystery to
him, for he was fairly astonished, I assure you.
One of my faithful people, when he heard the story,
declared he would never walk to the Tabernacle
again. (He evidently had not been one of the
carriage folk until then.) I related the incident
at a public meeting a few weeks since, and while I
was hurrying off to another engagement, a good
woman hastened after me, despite the rain and
mud, and exclaimed, ' I say, Mr. Spurgeon, I'm
going to come to chapel in a carriage now ! ' She
was gone ere I could add, ' And not to chapel only,
mind you ride in it to every place, and to every
duty.' "
The college motto " Et Teneo, et Teneor,'^ was
the text of the address in 1907, the Jubilee year.
" A critic, who came to the Tabernacle a while ago,
was pleased to declare that so far as he could judge,
there were not more than six persons of consequence
and culture present. I will venture to say that
there was not one person, say what we may about
the culture, who was not of consequence — to
Jesus. An Indian, who had been a Hindu, said,
' When I became a Mohammedan, it was I who
embraced Mohammedanism, but when I became a
Christian, it was Christ Who embraced me.'
282 THE COLLEGE CONFERENCE
Richard Tange used to say, * We launched the
" Great Eastern," and she launched us.' "
For 1908 there was "A Comfortable Vision."
The seven-branched lampstand which Zechariah
saw was the subject. " I have been helped to
word this by a sweet poem, which a brother beloved
forwarded to me in my exile. I quote it, trust-
ing it may help you also.
*' It isn't raining rain to me,
It's raining daffodils;
In every dimpled drop I see
Wild flowers on the hills :
The clouds of grey engulf the day
And overwhelm the town,
It isn't raining rain to me.
It's raining roses down I
'* It isn't raining rain to me
But fields of clover bloom,
Where any buccaneering bee
May find a bed and room ;
A health to him that's happy,
A fig for him that frets !
It isn't raining rain to me,
It's raining violets ! '*
The final act in the vision, when the topstone is
brought forth, called forth a peroration which
thrilled the hearers :
" I have tried to realize the scene. The news
has reached the City of the Great King that the
last of the prodigals is coming home ; so the kind
angels are crowding to the gate. Gay garlands
garnish all the streets. Fair flags are fluttering
everywhere. The bells ring merrily. The city is
en fHe, The Lamb, Who is the lamp thereof, sheds
THE COLLEGE CONFERENCE 238
His brightest lustre on the walls of jasper and the
streets of gold. Those streets are thronged with
ransomed souls, ' clothed in white robes and palms
in their hands.' An unusual joy surprises these
blest inhabitants of Zion.
" And now the supreme moment has arrived.
Escorted by a phalanx of the heavenly host, there
climbeth up the steeps on which the Eternal City
stands the last believer to quit the Vale of Tears.
The crest of the heavenly hill is reached. The
cavalcade sweeps in. The gate of pearl swings to,
upon its golden pivot. The crowd is closing in,
and the long procession presses to the Throne.
One word resounds from every lip — the sweet word
Grace. The happy angels shout it — Grace, grace !
The four and twenty elders shout it — Grace, grace !
The spirits of just men made perfect shout it —
Grace, grace ! The noble army of martyrs shout
it — Grace, grace ! The glorious company of the
Apostles shout it — Grace, grace ! But there is one
voice that rises high above the rest — that of the
prodigal himself. He is keeping a promise that he
made on earth,
" * Then, loudest of the crowd I'll sing.
While heaven's eternal arches ring
With shouts of sovereign grace.*
" And then, met bought a reverent silence fell upon
the multitude that no man can number, as ' the
Son of His love ' said unto His Father, ' Here am
I, and the children whom Thou hast given me, I
have lost none. They are saved by grace ; * and
then — and then — ^the innumerable company took
234 THE COLLEGE CONFERENCE
up the strain, and sent the echo back again. It
was like the sound of many waters. Grace, grace !
Grace, grace !
Grace all the work shall crown
Through everlasting days.
It lays in heaven the topmost stone.
And well deserves the praise ! "
. " The Land of Havilah " was the somewhat
fanciful title of the 1909 address, though it was
intensely practical. The artist is in evidence in
the illustrations. " A successful artist told me the
other day, that when he first turned to water-
colours as a medium, he used no less than sixty-four
pigments. ' Now,' he said, ' I find five or six
sufficient.' There is a story of Stanhope Forbes,
of Newlyn. Says a burly fisherman, who had
been watching operations : ' I can mind you paint-
in' down here, along twenty years ago, Mr. Forbes.
Ain't you tired of it yet ? ' And the painter laughs
as he picks up his kit, and climbs to his home at
the top of the hill. And we — brethren — we who
love the Book, are not tired of it, but more enam-
oured of it than ever." This address contained
two of Mr. Spurgeon's own poems — " I'm happy
all the time," and " What a beautiful morning
that will be."
One of the greatest sermons C. H. S. ever
preached was from Job's words, " I have yet to
speak on God's behalf." T. S. took the revised
margin, " There are yet words for God," as the
text of his next address in 1910, " Words for God."
" For each of the Holy Three we must speak ; for
THE COLLEGE CONFERENCE 285
the Book ; for the Gospel ; for every righteous
cause ; for the missionary enterprise." This was
the prelude to a memorable missionary Conference.
In 1911 the title of the address, which was built
on the incident of Joshua and the man with the
drawn sword, was " The Church and its Captain."
The Church was considered in relation to its Head,
and to its inner life. The illustration which caught
the fancy of the men was of an artist who "was
visiting a little tidal harbour in ' glorious Devon,'
in search of 'a bit ' for his brush, and said to an
old fisherman, ' Is the tide making or falHng ? '
' Well,' said he, after looking round as if he had
not noticed the tide before, ' it's about half-tide,
sir, and when it begins to make again, I reckon
(this with a keen glance out to sea) we'll get a blow
from the east'ard. Most mysterious thing, this
tide, sir ; why the moon attracts it ; and why the
wind rises with it as it mostly does, most mysterious
thing, sir, but ' (with a sweep of the hand toward
the half-empty harbour) — ' but there it is.' And
the artist, who by the way, preaches too, bethought
him of the Spirit and the Word, and the cleansing
tide, and of the miracles that have been daily
wrought, and he said within himself, ' Most mys-
terious thing, but THERE IT IS ; ' and he determined
that he would be in league with those mysterious
and omnipotent forces."
The address ended with the sentence from one
of his father's letters : " Go on with the Gospel,
for it is of God, and that which is of God will see
all the others at Jericho among the tumbling
houses."
236 THE COLLEGE CONFERENCE
One of the greatest Conference addresses was
given in 1912 — " Salvation by Grace." It was not
only published in The Sword and Trowel, but in
Fundamentals, that series of booklets for which
Dr. Dixon was responsible in America. Quoting
with approval the definition given by Thomas
Phillips, in his great sermon at the Philadelphia
Congress, " Grace is something in God which is
at the heart of all His redeeming activities, the
downward stoop and reach of God, God bending
from the height of His majesty to touch and grasp
our insignificance and poverty," and following
it with great words on grace from Dr. Dale, Dr.
Maclaren, and Dr. Jowett, he recalled Hart's
quaint verse — the verse which Dr. Horton quotes
in his biography with some amusement :
" Everything we do we sin in,
Chosen Jews
Must not use
Woollen mixt with linen.*'
" No article can be broken beyond repair — the more
it is smashed the better we like it,^^ was the sentence
read in a rivetter's shop window ; " and I said
within myself, ' Thus it is with the grace of God,
and as long as I live I will tell poor sinners so.' "
The address had a fine passage toward the end :
" An unusual opportunity was once afforded me
of viewing the vessel on which I was a passenger,
before the voyage was quite complete. After
nearly three months in a sailing ship, we were
greeted by a harbour tug, whose master doubtless
hoped for the task of towing us into port. There
THE COLLEGE CONFERENCE 237
was, however, a favourable breeze, which, though
light, promised to hold steady. So the tug's
services were declined. Anxious to earn an honest
penny her master ranged alongside the clipper,
and transhipped such passengers as cared to get
a view from another deck of the good ship that had
brought them some fifteen thousand miles. You
may be sure I was one of them. A delightful
experience it was to draw away from our floating
home, to mark her graceful lines, her towering
masts, her tapering yards, her swelling sails — the
white wave curling at her fore -feet, and the green
wake winding astern. From our new view-point
items that had grown familiar were invested with
fresh interest. There was the wheel to which we
had seen six seamen lashed in time of storm, and
there the binnacle whose sheltered compass had
been so constantly studied since the start, and
there the chart-house with its treasures of wisdom,
and yonder the huge fluked anchors, and over all
the network of ropes — a tangle to the uninitiated.
Even the smoke from the galley-fire inspired respect
as we remembered the many meals that appetites,
sharpened by the keen air of the southern seas,
had fastened upon. And yonder is the port of
one's own cabin ! What marvellous things had
been viewed through that narrow peephole, and
what sweet sleep had been enjoyed beneath it,
' rocked in the cradle of the deep.' Oh ! it was a
brave sight, that full-rigged ship, so long our ocean
home, which, despite contrary winds and cross-
currents, and terrifying gales and tantalizing
calms, had half compassed the globe, and had
238 THE COLLEGE CONFERENCE
brought her numerous passengers and valuable
freight across the trackless leagues in safety. Do
you wonder that we cheered the staunch vessel,
and her skilful commander, and the ship's company
again and again ? I hear the echoes of those
hurrahs to-day. Do you wonder that we gave
thanks for a prosperous voyage by the will of God,
and presently stepped back from the tug-boat to
the ship without question that what remained
of the journey would be soon and successfully
accomplished ? "
The reputation of Thomas Spurgeon might well
rest on that bit of descriptive writing, not to be
excelled and seldom to be equalled, in all sermon
literature, or in any other literature ; and when he
came to apply it to the good ship *' Free Grace,"
is it any wonder that the men stood and cheered,
and that the speaker was taken to their hearts for
ever ?
'' We have, perchance, a few more leagues to
cover," he said, in concluding. " We may even
stand off and on a while near the harbour mouth,
but, please God, we shall have abundant entrance
at last. To-day we have circled the ship, and I
call on every passenger to bless her in the name of
the Lord, and to shout the praise of Him Who
owns and navigates her. All honour and blessing
be unto the God of Grace, and unto the Grace of
God ! Ten thousand, thousand thanks to Jesus !
and to the blessed Spirit equal praise!"
" The Preacher's Purpose " was the theme for
19 13. Speaking of naturalness in delivery, ' ' ' There
is room for a natural painter,' said Constable,
THE COLLEGE CONFERENCE 239
and forthwith filled the void by selecting homely
themes and treating them artlessly — by which
I do not mean unskilfully. ' I have always
succeeded best with my nature scenes,' he said,
' they have always charmed, and I hope they
always will.' And they always did ! If we are to
preach of sin we cannot make it too sinful, or man's
state by nature too desperate. When Turner
mourned the passing of Wilkie, he painted a
picture of his death at sea. ' You are painting the
sails very black,' said Stanfield. He rephed, ' If
I could find anything blacker than black I would
use it.' While still a village preacher C. H. Spur-
geon used to say, ' Souls, souls, souls. I hope this
rings in my ears, and hurries me on.' "
" Sweet Spring " was a fragrant message for
1914. Spring in the soil, in the sky, in the sea, at
the sepulchre, in the soul, in the study, in the
school, in the sanctuary. It would need to be all
quoted to catch its charm.
" Our Most Delightful Guest," the address for
1915, was not delivered owing to the President's
illness, but it had been printed in preparation and
was distributed. It is a fitting climax to the series
of addresses, ending on the note that would have
been chosen had Mr. Spurgeon known it was to be
his last. " Inviting me to a certain church to
preach, my correspondent said, by way of further
inducement, ' We will give you a spikenard wel-
come.' I am sure that is the kind of welcome that
befits the Spirit. When Mr. Moody — grand, rug-
ged, tender-hearted Moody — I having begged a
corner in the hearts and prayers of the people — ^said
240 THE COLLEGE CONFERENCE
bluntly, ' Not a bit of it, we've got no corners
in our hearts for Spurgeon's son. Come right
along,' I fancy that was a spikenard welcome."
The message in 1916 was but a fragment, brief
but delightful : the topic " A Bridge -Building
Brotherhood." '' The task before us is noble,
joyful, responsible, and will be well paid. Every
stone must be well and truly laid. Woe — woe to
the spiritual jerry builder ! ' Sir,' said a builder's
foreman breathlessly, ' all that row of houses has
collapsed.' Whereupon, the master replied, wrath-
fuUy, ' Didn't I tell you not to take down the
scaffolding till you had put up the wall-papers ? '
In just such flimsy fashion some have built bridges,
which have proved refuges of lies."
In 1917 the Conference itself, owing to war
conditions, was greatly curtailed, being restricted
to one day, and Mr. Spurgeon was too ill to be
present. In 1918 another brief session was held,
and it fell to Mr. F. A. Jackson and me to dehver
memorial tributes to our friend. In the corner
sat Mrs. Spurgeon and her daughter, and we all
shared their grief. Who can tell what the next
Conference will reveal, or whether there will ever
be another ?
CHAPTER XVII
TRAVEL SCENES
When I was guest in the Spurgeon home in 1900,
it was arranged that we should visit Paris and
Switzerland together that summer. So in July,
only waiting for the Christian Endeavour Con-
vention at the Alexandra Palace, we set forth —
Mr. and Mrs. Spurgeon, Mrs. Fullerton, and I. At
the last moment a perplexity arose, for Manton
Smith, my comrade in mission service for fifteen
years, died the day before, and I scarcely knew
whether to go or stay. At length it was arranged
that I should accompany the party to Paris, and
return for my friend's funeral. But on the way
I heard that the funeral had to be hastened, and
so it came to pass that I was unable to show a last
tribute of love to the honoured man with whom
my life had been so happily linked. Instead, I
had to content myself with writing six or eight
appreciations of him for various journals at odd
times during our early Paris days.
My friend. Dr. Reuben Saillens, had kindly
arranged accommodation for us, though in the
Exhibition year it was rather difficult. When I
first wrote he thought it would be impossible, but
one of his members at the church, which was then
in the Rue Meslay, going on holiday, vacated his
appartement in the Rue Fourcroy for us, and so
16 241
242 TRAVEL SCENES
during our stay we had a little suite of four rooms
three stories up, with a housekeeper who came in
the morning and left in the afternoon. Needless
to say, we came into close contact : the dining-room
was so tiny that those who came in last had to go
out first, for there was no room to pass. Here I
had the joy of introducing Monsieur and Madame
Saillens to my fellow-travellers. Mr. Spurgeon
fell ill during our stay, and when we called in
Dr. Monod to advise us, I remember amongst other
things he said, in his charming English, " You
English are so funny. You think that eggs make
you bilious because they are yel — low ! "
For a week we did full justice to the " Exposi-
tion," and Mr. Spurgeon, unable to start for
Switzerland on the appointed day, followed us there
some days later, Mrs. Spurgeon, on account of the
children, being compelled to return home.
That prolonged stay at Riederfurka was a time
of unalloyed joy. I have been there so often that
it almost seems like home to me, but to him it had
all the charm of magnificent novelty. The chalet
where we had our rooms, facing the little hotel,
looks on one side to the Rhone Valley, and on the
other to the Aletsch glacier, the largest in Europe.
On the ridge the only other house is the pretentious
villa built by Sir Ernest Cassel, who has chosen
his site well. On the south is a splendid panorama
of snow peaks, Monte Leone, Fletschorn, Monte
Rosa, and others ; on the north, Fieschorn,
Finsteraarhorn, and others ; and, after a walk of
five minutes, the great stretch of the glacier to the
east ; and one of the most superb views in the
TRAVEL SCENES 243
Alps in the west — Mischabel and Weisshorn, with
the Matterhorn between.
Excursions on the hillside were varied by descents
to the ice. As my wife sketched, Mr. Spurgeon
resumed his work with the pencil, which he had
laid aside for a while, and I read to both the artists
as they vied with each other in catching the glories
of the view. Across the glacier is Bel Alp with
the cottage beyond built by Professor Tyndall
at the foot of the Sparrenhorn, which, in their
early days, Mr. Spurgeon's father and mother had
climbed, afterwards crossing the very ridge where
we had our dwelling, then bare and unappreciated,
seven thousand feet above the level of the sea.
One day we were gladdened by the arrival of a
great party of friends, who were journeying in
the contrary direction — Mr. and Mrs. Higgs and
family, Mr. and Mrs. Amsden and friends, with a
retinue of porters, and after some photographs
were taken, we had the pleasure of escorting them
to the place where the ice could be the easiest
crossed.
Another day we went to the Concordia Hut,
high up, just beneath the south face of the Jung-
frau, and we spent the night there, literally under
the snow, for our blankets were white with it in
the morning. On the return journey Mr. Spurgeon,
who had only an alpenstock to help him, accident-
ally dropped it as we were crossing some difficult
ice, and away it went glissading towards a crevasse,
where it fortunately stuck, and was presently
recovered by our guide. The traveller sitting on
his mackintosh on a hummock of ice the while,
244 TRAVEL SCENES
unable to move, was less happy than I have ever
seen him anywhere else.
We had a royal time together, and afterwards,
making a short tour by the Grimsel and the Brunig
to Lucerne, with a brief visit to Murren, where we
saw a double rainbow more vivid than any of us
ever conceived rainbows could be, the holiday
ended with a very closely cemented friendship.
When he got home, Mr. Spurgeon wrote : "I shall
never cease to rejoice over this happy holiday, the
best I have ever had."
A close friendship also began with Dr. Saillens.
Already they had known each other by correspon-
dence, and Mr. Spurgeon had taken a deep interest
in the French students of the Pastors' College ;
now he took under his wing the English Auxiliary,
which helps to evangelize France, and very greatly
helped it in the coming years. On October 25th,
1900, he writes : " The trustees have fallen in
with my suggestion as to helping Pasteur Saillens.
M. Blocher is to be known as our agent."
At the invitation of M. le Pasteur he visited
Paris again with Mrs. Spurgeon a few years later.
'* We wanted our people to know him," writes the
eloquent French pastor, " and we felt that his
message to them would be most beneficial. There
is another consideration, equally important, which
prompted us to urge him to come. Before the
war there were always a large number of English
and American residents in Paris, besides the
multitudes of tourists who come for a few days or
a few weeks to enjoy the sights and pleasures of
our capital. We have heard an estimate, which
TRAVEL SCENES 245
seems fairly accurate : there were thirty thousand
EngHsh- speaking settlers in Paris and its suburbs.
Of that number only a small proportion were con-
nected with the churches, while the vast majority
— shop-assistants, clerks, art-students, etc. — had no
sort of religious life. Away from home-restraining
influences, many of these young people caught the
worldly spirit, which was so prevalent in Paris, even
more badly than the real Parisians ; for in this, as in
the case of some infectious diseases, it often happens
that new-comers get it even worse than the natives.
" How Paris has changed since then !
" For all these reasons we were anxious that our
dear friend should come to us for as long a period as
possible ; but he was not able to give us more than
a week or so in the spring of 1902. Our mission
church was full, both on Sunday and through the
week. Mr. Spurgeon was a most easy speaker to
interpret. Our people were delighted with him.
He also preached in English in the Roquepine
Methodist Chapel, a beautiful building situated right
in the midst of the fashionable quarter, and that
place also was full. He made a deep impression.
" I remember our trip to Chantilly by motor-car,
which became so unmanageable by the way that
we were compelled to return by train to be in time
for the evening meeting. There are few men whom
it has been so delightful to welcome under our roof.
Since then many have been the occasions when we
have worked, conversed, prayed together in
London. He was changed physically, but he was
as gentle, peaceful, submitted — and as bright, too —
as we had ever seen him."
246 TRAVEL SCENES
It will be remembered, as set forth in Chapter VI.,
that his first Continental visit was with his father
to Mentone. Already we have mentioned the visit
to Carlsbad in 1907. From thence he moved to
Garmisch and Levico, where Mrs. Spurgeon joined
him, and in a little while they went together for
a tour to Venice, Florence, Rome and Genoa,
retm^ning to Meran in the Tyrol for the winter.
Here the invalid settled down to take the cure.
Mrs. Spurgeon left him, as they had let their house
in London, and there were many things there
needing attention ; but he was soon joined by his
dear friend, William Higgs, afterwards by Dr.
McCaig, and still later, by Mr. F. A. Jackson, who for
The Sword and Trowel, March 1908, wrote a charm-
ing article on his visit. He says : " The surround-
ings of Meran are commanding and interesting.
Forst, Naturno, Tirol, Schoeuna, Lana, Marling —
Mr. Spurgeon has made a sketch in each place. We
would go out in the morning after breakfast, and
select a suitable position for a picture ; then I would
leave him to his work, in which he became quite
absorbed, wander further afield, and come back to
him later in the day. The sketching has been of real
interest to him, and a distinct boon. Levico, Gar-
misch, Genoa, Bozen, Meran, all bear witness, in his
portfolio, to his gift and skill with the brush." In
The Sword and Trowel for the following month Mr.
Jackson also contributed a fine poem on "Meran."
Mr. Spurgeon returned to England in time for
the College Conference, over which he presided
with much ability and acceptance. In his pre-
sidential address there are two references to the
TRAVEL SCENES 247
Tyrol. *' Tradition says that Duke Frederick of
the Tyrol, unjustly nicknamed ' of the empty
pocket,' by way of refutation of the libel, erected
the golden roof at Innsbruck. Let those who are
disposed to forget how opulent God is call to mind
the golden roof that He has built." " Divine erec-
tions are unruinable. I have sojourned a long time
in the Tyrol, where ruined castles abound. A while
ago a castle could be bought for something less than
a five pound note. They have lasted longer than the
armies and the pomp of which they are now almost
the only relics, but they themselves have nearly
passed away. The Spirit builds for eternity."
On three occasions Norway was visited : the
first time in company with Mr. and Mrs. J. K.
Slater, of Liverpool, in August, 1905 ; the second,
with Mr. W. Mannington, of Robertsbridge ; and
the third, with his son on his coming of age in 1912 ;
but no details of these journeys are available. In
1904, in company with the Slaters, he crossed to
New York just for the sake of the voyage, returning
by the next boat. The Sunday evening was spent
as listeners in Dr. MacArthur's church ; after the
service, when they made themselves known. Dr.
MacArthur was so overjoyed to see Mr. Spurgeon
that he kissed him on both cheeks. In 1903, in
the company of Mr. James Hall of the Tabernacle,
the Canary Islands were visited, and in 1902 a
voyage round the British Islands is reported to
Mr. Slater in a series of postcards. In 1906 a
projected visit to the States, to take the services
in Tremont Temple, Boston, during July and
August, had to be cancelled owing to ill-health.
248 TRAVEL SCENES
At one time Mr. Spurgeon indulged the hope of
visiting the Continental churches — Dutch, German,
Scandinavian, Russian, — and had gone so far in
his thinking out the plan as to choose his com-
panions for the journey ; but that is only one of
the things that might-have-been.
He always had the traveller's heart, and was
never so happy as when he was visiting new scenes
or moving forward amid surroundings that were
familiar. He delighted to watch a good cricket
match, and was at home on the golf links, but
even at ordinary times his most refreshing holiday
was a few hours spent on board one of the river
steamers which go out as far as Walton-on-the-
Naze. Southwold was his favourite holiday resort ;
here Mr. F. A. Jackson often spent a week with
him, as also at Ilkley, Shankhn, and Brighton.
With Mrs. Spurgeon he visited for holiday Scot-
land, Jersey, Derbyshire, Berwick, Blackpool, the
Isle of Man, and, in later artist days, Devon and
Cornwall. His mind never seemed to turn either
to the Far East or to the Near East, his early
colonial experience, perhaps, giving him a bias
toward civilizations and countries that were new
rather than those that were ancient; but always
his chief joy was the sea, the wide and the open
sea. Not without justification did his father in
playful mood call him " his stormy petrel."
That he could make good use in the pulpit of
the incidents of travel will be seen by his description
of an experience of his during his visit to Ireland.
" It was my lot last Monday to visit a place some
twenty miles, I suppose, from the city of Dublin,
TRAVEL SCENES 249
a favourite resort for pleasure-seekers and holiday-
makers ; one of the most striking and beautiful
bits of scenery to be discovered even in fair Ireland.
I looked from the top of a gigantic archway down
into the depths of a sunlit valley. A roaring
cascade leaped under my feet, and far down in the
bottom of the glade I saw the red coats of the
soldiery, for a military picnic, you must know, was
in progress, and the soldiers and their wives and
children were enjoying themselves in this pictur-
esque spot. Presently, I and my friends descended,
looked up at the falling waters and gazed at the
tall trees that almost spanned the gulf and, with
their bright and fresh green leaves, beautified and
blest the scene.
" Walking a while amongst the pathways under
the steep precipice, my eyes presently discovered,
clinging to the rock half-way up the cliff, the form
of a young man. I said to the friend who stood
beside me, ' See yonder man, what does he there ?
Is he not in a most dangerous predicament ? He
cannot ascend, for the cliff is too steep above him ;
he dare not look down, or he would be broken to
shivers at the foot of the precipice.' And, as I
looked, my heart beat high with anxiety, till I saw
that he was calling out for help, and that some of
his brother soldiers on the top of the cliff had
heard his cry and were hastening to his relief.
Even to me the seconds seemed like minutes, and
the minutes grew, or seemed to grow, to hours.
What, think you, did they seem to him, who at any
instant might have been dashed to his death !
*' There seemed to me to be a good share of bustle
250 TRAVEL SCENES
and confusion. Hither and thither the men were
running. Presently, to my great rejoicing, I saw
one hurry up the pathway with a rope. It looked
to me to be all too thin and frail and scarcely long
enough, and so, indeed, it proved to be ; for, as
they tried to shake it down to this poor, clinging
lad, it soon appeared that it could not reach him.
If it had reached him, I doubt very much if it
would have borne his weight and sufficed to pull
him up to safety. There was still further delay,
but presently we beheld strong men, with strong
ropes, hastening to their comrade's rescue. They
tied a heavy piece of wood to the end of the rope
and then shook it down the acclivity — which,
though very steep, was cumbered with the trunks
and roots of trees — that so the rope might reach
the man ; and presently — much to our joy we beheld
it — ^the rope reached him and he reached it, for you
may be sure he strove as much as he was able to
embrace that saving cord. He clutched it with
both his hands, and then to my surprise — for I
thought he must have been by that time exhausted
— he began to climb the cliff. I think he must
have been a sailor once, though a soldier now, for
he scrambled up that rope hand over fist, and I
heard a cheer and voices of congratulation when he
was safe once more ; and as I saw it, this text came
more forcibly than it has ever done before to my
mind, ' He sent from above. He took me ; He
drew me out of many waters ' ; for certain it is
that this poor man had not only been dashed in
pieces, but had been submerged by the roaring
waters, too, if deliverance had not arrived."
CHAPTER XVIII
TREASURED LETTERS
When the Spurgeons moved to their latest and
smallest home, by mutual agreement they burned
the letters they had written to each other during
the years ; there were so many of them and such
little room. They also destroyed quite a number
of others which his biographer wishes had been
preserved. As it is, a few hidden in odd corners
escaped the fire, and a few others were counted
precious enough to be reserved in the day of
burning.
There is, for instance, a note from George Miiller,
signed " yours affectionately in the Lord " ; a
letter from F. B. Meyer, written on behalf of one
hundred and twenty ministers, assuring Mr.
Spurgeon of their sympathy as he began his work
at the Tabernacle ; one from J. G. Greenhough
protesting against an unfair paragraph in The
Freeman in reference to the settlement at the
Tabernacle, and expressing in felicitous terms his
personal good wishes ; one from Professor W. W.
Clow, with the interesting paragraph, " May I
say that, as I spent my boyhood in Auckland,
N.Z., my interest in your work has a certain
261
252 TREASURED LETTERS
depth of colour, apart from the more enduring and
nobler reasons which make your name and your
ministry of the Word so much to be revered '* ; one
from Joseph Cook, congratulating him on being
called to London, " The soul of your sainted father,
I have no doubt, is your guardian spirit." There
is also a note from a publishing firm, acknowledging
Mr. Spurgeon's criticism of a book : " No doubt
there must be a good deal in the view you have
adopted of this little tale, and, whilst I have had
many other criticisms from clergymen, I have none
dictated in the same spirit as yours. Still, as I say,
I thank you for it, and it has been the means of
making me decide not, under any circumstances,
to publish it in any of our papers " — an interesting
sidelight on the hidden influence of a religious
leader. There is also a very grateful letter from
his grandfather. Rev. John Spurgeon.
Two letters may be transcribed in full : one from
Dr. Parker, dated December 20th, 1893 ; the other
from General Booth, dated January 29th, 1907.
" Deab Mr. Spuegeon,
" I want you to do me a favour. I am tired.
I must rest a while. Within the period of my rest
one Thursday occurs — viz. Thursday, January
11th. I want you to take my 12 o'clock service
at the City Temple on that day. Do it, and thus
please us all. We divide the collection into equal
parts, one for you, one for us."
" I leave the case with your generous heart,
" Ever cordially yours,
" Joseph Parker."
TREASURED LETTERS 258
Mr. Spurgeon did not accept the invitation, nor
later, at the opening of the new Tabernacle, when
Dr. Parker indirectly conveyed to him his willing-
ness to speak at the opening services, did Mr.
Spurgeon invite him. But on December 8th, 1902,
he wrote to a friend : " Dr. Parker has gone. So
soon after Hugh Price Hughes' sudden departure.
I was at the funeral service in each case. One
forgets even the ' open letter ' at the open grave."
The Salvation Army letter was evidently most
grateful.
" Dear Pastor Spurgeon,
'' I fear I was somewhat physically under
the effort at my meeting at the Tabernacle the
other evening, but I hope a large amount of good
was done. I am sorry you were unable to be
with us.
" Please receive herewith cheque for fifty pounds
towards your Spurgeon College Jubilee Fund.
May God give you and your fellow-workers every
blessing.
*' Very sincerely,
" William Booth."
From his old friend. Rev. Levi Palmer, of
Taunton, a letter dated October 9th, 1900, has
been preserved, with the comment in the corner,
"a Treasure, indeed, T. S." "Well done, my
strong friend," his correspondent writes, " you
have passed through what not one minister in ten
thousand is ever called to face. Now remember !
254 TREASURED LETTERS
if thou faint in the day of adversity, thy strength
is small. And yet God's Elijahs pass from Carmel
to Horeb, and from victory to despondency.
Maybe, by the time this reaches you, you will
have been brought down into the valley : if so
do not forget the sights you had when on the
mountain."
Several letters speak of blessing through the
ministry of the Word, and one old lady declares,
" The very way you say the name of Jesus makes
me love Him more." In one of his sermons he
says : "I am by no means able to keep all the
letters I receive, but there are some amongst them
that never find a resting-place in the grate or the
waste-paper basket. I have a whole sheaf of them
by now. I look at them with tearful eyes and
thankful heart sometimes. These letters tell of
blessings received through sermons, addresses, and
letters. I like to spread them before the Lord,
and say, ' Lord, the praise for this belongs to Thee.'
I am grateful to those friends who tell me of the
blessings they have received, but all glory be to
God, for it was He Who gave the seed, and then
made it fruitful." But that sheaf of letters has
disappeared.
Letters from his father have been drawn upon
in other chapters. It must suffice here to give a
few extracts from others. They show the delightful
relations between father and son.
" When you have need tell me, and it will not
be in vain."
In sending a wedding gift : "I have never had
much for self or son because the work needs it, and
TREASURED LETTERS 255
must have it. In all your future way the God of
our fathers watch over you for good, and make
you a blessing to the nations."
There are two letters from Mentone : '' These
olive groves remind me of you, and make me feel
how much I lose by your distance from me. Still,
the Lord's work is all the better done by your being
in the southern world, and so let it be.
" Your father in the flesh and
" Your brother in Christ,
" C. H. Spurgeon."
'' In this lovely retreat I cannot but remember
those happy times when you were here with me,
and made even the Riviera sun more bright."
From Westwood there are letters on all sorts of
topics, but love is in them all.
" January 8th is our silver wedding day. How
old your parents are getting ! They love their
dear sons more and more, and have nothing but
joy in them. Our golden blessing rests upon you
evermore. Your mother loves you as much as
Rebekah did Jacob, and we have no Esau. Your
father joys in his absent Jacob as much as in his
firstborn. You are more of Israel than Jacob,
there will, therefore, be no need to suppose that we
suspect you of any of Jacob's faults. You will not
come home with twelve sons and a daughter, for
you will not have a Leah to be the envy of Rachel,
who will be the una sola.
" All my heart flies out to you."
'' I can't write letters like you, but I love you
as much as if I could write from here to New
256 TREASURED LETTERS
Zealand, and all in capital letters. I have only
joy in thinking of you. God bless you ! "
" You are daily my delight. The Lord streng-
then you is my heart's prayer. Shall I ever see
you with these spectacled eyes ? I see you now
with the eyes of my heart."
" The Lord spare you long to the Church for
which you have done so much, and to your parents
to whose hearts you are so dear. I pray heaven's
reserved benediction may descend upon you in a
manner beyond that which any other has enjoyed.
My love is ever with you as it communes with you."
" How I joy in God because of you ! Son of
my heart, the Lord be praised for making you so
firm in the faith, so zealous for souls, so regardless
of man's opinion. The Lord be with you and give
you long life, and power from on high yet more
abundantly. Be whose you may, it will be all one
to me if God is glorified in you. My plans about
having you to assist me were scattered to the wind,
and I have never dreamed again of the matter.
The Lord has called you to stand foot to foot with
me, the whole earth between ; so keep your footing
and God bless you. Yet may we live to meet
again, not once or twice."
" Dear Son, need I say how much I love you. I
will not attempt to do more than to say again,
' God bless you.' Happy will be the day when my
eyes behold you. I put you again into my heavenly
Father's hand. None but He shall have my son.
May His presence be a bright reality to you 1 "
'' I hope you are cheered by the smile of our
Great Father. He will not fail you. You have
TREASURED LETTERS 25*
had a heavy dose of bitters, and I doubt not it will
brace you if only it does not burden your heart*
I rejoice in you, and pray the Lord to bear you up
and bear you through, as indeed He will. How I
wish I could see you. Get strong, and when I am
older and feebler be ready to take my place."
The last letter is dated Mentone, December 15th,
1891:
" As I write I have sweet memories of your
delightful companionship with me in this land of
the sun. I seem to hear your pleasant voice even
now. The Lord bless thee, my son, and thy
spouse, and the little one.
" I write this day joyfully because I feel better
than for many a month. I am weak, but I have
the hope that I have turned the cold corner and
am turning to the warmer side of the hill. I am
indeed a debtor to my Lord and to the prayers of
His people, that I now live in the hope of perfect
restoration and in the expectation of future service.
" And your mother is here. I know it is true
for I see her, otherwise I could not believe it. And
she is — well — she is splendid. I pray the Lord to
guide you in your tried path. I think you must
settle somewhere in the Antipodes, because you
could not bear the fogs of Old England. My hope
is that some city will be grateful yet for your
laborious and valuable services. You have yet
a glorious work to do. The coming of a family
about you points to a pastorate. God will open
a door into ' a large place.' God's own true
benediction rest upon thee."
Three other letters have imwittingly been pre-
17
258 TREASURED LETTERS
served ; a few extracts may fittingly follow those
other heart words from father to son. This time
it is from the son to the grandson in New Zealand.
The first is written on board the Pacific steamer ;
the letter which had to be repeated to the two-year-
old boy innumerable times.
'' What do you think is on board the ship. I
wonder if mother knows ? Shall I tell you ? Two
lovely gee-gees and ever so many sheep — poor
things, they do not look happy, they would rather
be in the fields. And what else ? Three kan-
garoos ! Only fancy. But they are in big cages.
The other day they let one out, and he hopped all
round the deck like mother does when she plays
at Kangaroo with dear little Harold. One of the
kangaroos has died ! ' It was too old to go in the
big steamer, and felt very ill, and at last it died,
and they threw his body overboard. Aren't you
sorry for his poor wife and little Joey ? Last night
a great big bird flew on deck, with such a funny
name. They called him a Booby. We let him go
again, and he said, ' Quack, quack,' instead of
' Thank you.' Good-bye, my dear little ' unmiti-
gated humbug.' "
The second letter is from London on August 3rd.
" Mother doesn't like water and ships," it says,
" because they have taken father away from her,
but perhaps they will bring him back some day.
Hip, hip, hooray ! When father comes marching
home."
The third, written the same month, is chiefly
about some portraits received from New Zealand.
" Harold looks such a dear, laughing, loving little
TREASURED LETTERS 259
fellow " ; and the fond father's heart goes out in
longing for the day they will soon meet again, and
sends his love to sister Vera.
Mr. Spurgeon had a genius for letter-writing.
As one puts it, " he was a master of affectionate
phrasing." In normal times he wrote with his
own hand twenty to thirty letters a day ; many
of these were, of course, brief acknowledgments o
gifts or responses to requests made to him, but not
a few were worthy of being preserved, as they have
been, by many of his friends.
Between Mr. William Higgs and Mr. Spurgeon
there existed a very deep friendship for many years.
Two letters addressed to him may be taken as
samples of others. The first was written after the
wreck of a channel steamer, when Mr. and Mrs.
Higgs were on board ; the second on his Jubilee.
"Saturday, January 5th, 1895.
" My own dear Friend,
" I cannot describe my emotions as I read
this morning's paper, nor my gratitude when I
found that you were delivered from your extreme
peril. It has fallen to your lot to be shipwrecked,
and you and yours are monuments of sparing
mercy. The Lord be praised !
" My eyes swim with tears at the thought of the
danger to which you and your dear ones have been
exposed, and my heart swells with joy that you are
preserved to one another, and to me, and to the
work of God. Ah, me ! how little do we know
what awaits us. I could not help fearing that you
would have a stormy passage, though I spoke
'260 TREASURED LETTERS
cheerily about it to Mrs. Higgs, but I little dreamed
of this. How unfortunate you seem to be as to
crossing over — yet how fortunate ! It must have
been a very alarming and exciting experience for
you all, but I feel sure your brave heart would stay
itself upon God, and so grow braver still. How
good it was of you to send me a wire. I longed for
it, but hardly hoped for it. It has comforted us
greatly. We must all give thanks to-morrow in
the house of the Lord.
" I am lonely without you, but not so lonely as
I was a year ago. With loving congratulations,
" I am thankfully yours,
" Tom Spurgeon."
''May I5th, 1902.
" My very dear Friend,
" I have quite a large assortment of pens,
but I don't know which one to use on this occasion.
Truth to tell I have none facile enough, none
graphic enough to tell you of my thought concerning
you and my love for you.
" I thank God that you are spared to be fifty,
though I could wish you were growing younger
rather than older. Yet ' such is life.' We grow
old together. My heart blesses you for all you have
been to me and done for me and for my work. The
paint and gilt of the Tabernacle owe, if I mistake
not, their refreshing to your consideration and
liberality. You are always gilding something or
somebody — bless you !
" I thank God for you, and on your fiftieth
birthday I greet you with a very special joy. May
TREASURED LETTERS 261
your health improve, and your soul prosper I May
you have increasing joy in your dear ones — wife
and sons and daughters ! May your heart be
cheered by the sight of the longed-for blessing at
the Tabernacle, and may you ever know assuredly
that you are the Pastor's dearest friend.
" My better half bids me greet you on her behalf,
and say all sorts of kind things for her. But she
must say them herself when she sees you. I am
sure you will prefer that.
" May I ask you to accept a little love token. I
fear I may not have hit upon an appropriate
present. Yet this is a special volume, its main
fault being that the builder of the Tabernacle is
not (for some unaccountable reason) numbered
amongst the notables.
" With all kind congratulations and good wishes,
" I am, dear friend,
" Yours affectionately,
" Tom Spurgeon."
Extracts from the himdreds of other letters that
have been passed in review must suffice ; those
sentences have been selected that reveal the heart
of the writer rather than the circumstances of the
moment. It will not always be necessary even to
give dates.
Rev. F. A. Jackson has a wealth of correspond-
ence which yields the following. The dates range
from 1906 to 1917.
" So you have taken to the woods again ! How
I would like to be the other Babe. It is better to
262 TREASURED LETTERS
paint one's face (with wind and snn and rain) than
the Matter horn with water-colours."
" I have had a few days on the moors. The
heather was past its prime, but the sohtude ! oh !
it was good to be there."
October 21st, 1914. — " I must send you a Hne for
I have good news. This evening I received a
telegram from Harold as follows, ' Gold medal.
Second of all.' I know you will be glad to hear
this. He has gone to-day to take up a position in
a school as classical tutor, and his address is ' The
Abbey, Tipperary.' It is a long way, but he has
got there."
Dr. A. McCaig was favoured with hundreds of
letters, but many of these are technical. On
January 24th, 1905, about the time of the Welsh
Revival, Mr. Spurgeon wrote to him : " The spirit of
hope is in the Metropolis. It is the harbinger of true
reviving. God is about to glorify His great name.
I ask constant prayer for my own heart, life, and
Church-work." Later in the year: "My muse
awoke this morning, and I wrote ' So Shine,' but I
am not sure that she would not have done better to
sleep on." Next year he writes : "I seem always
to be fixing something up : services or shelves or
sinners or saints or something " ; and again, " I
have nothing to say except thanks, thanks, thanks,
thanks to God for His wonderful mercy, and thanks
to friends innumerable for their gulf stream of
tender sympathy," — this with reference to his
Jubilee.
Dr. J. W. Ewing has treasured some letters. To
TREASURED LETTERS 268
him Mr. Spurgeon wrote, " Your affectionate
greeting greatly gladdened me. I love to be loved.
Who does not ? " When, at the beginning of 1903,
Rye Lane Chapel was renovated, this : " Haven't
you an extension scheme on, and won't there be a
bringing of grist to the mill one of these fine days ?
Well, here is a peck of rye for Rye Lane, Peckham.
God bless the miller ! "
" I myself have been hors de combat I thought
to get past the Sunday following the Conference
on the crest of the wave, but I slipped into the
trough of the sea. I was nearly swamped, but
have been in dry dock at Liverpool and Southport.
I managed to make the port of ' Sweet Home '
under jury rig yesterday, and am now refitting to
sail on Sunday next."
" I have been useless enough for two long years,"
he writes on April 14th, 1909 ; " yet I still cling
to the hope that I may yet speak on God's behalf."
" I have just discovered that you are off to the
West Indies. Were Bristol nearer I should be
there to wave farewell. I was once almost setting
sail to Jamaica myself, but was prevented, as
also when I essayed to go again to U.S.A. But
perhaps my travelling days are done."
To Rev. Phihp A. Hudgell he writes : " Though
I am no longer in the forefront of the battle it is
mine to wait, and watch, and make intercession.
The days are shadowed, but the children of light
are not afraid of the dark — and the morning com^th,''
To Rev. C. Douglas Crouch : "I have had three
weeks' holiday lately (in a bath-chair) at Bridling-
ton." To Rev. Austin L. Edwards : "I could
264 TREASURED LETTERS
wish that more of the students felt called to serve
their King and country in this desperate time."
To Rev. E. H. Ellis, on his settlement at the East
London Tabernacle : '' ' I will go in the strength of
the Lord ' is your brave determination, and ' Cer-
tainly I will be with you ' is the starry promise of
the great I Am." To Miss Batts, of Auckland :
" It is indeed gratifying to be remembered by
friends from whom in the Lord's providence —
strange, yet surely good — we have been separated."
To Miss Weekes, at the Tabernacle : " The texts
were very helpful, especially ' After this lived Job
a hundred and forty years.' "
From the bundle of letters written to me during
the years, I find one dated March 2nd, 1896,
beginning : "On Friday last the following cable-
gram came from the Secretary of the Auckland
Tabernacle, New Zealand : ' Blaikie resigned ; it
is reported that Brown and Fullerton contemplate
visiting Colonies. Could either or any one else
supply ? How soon, and for how long ? ' " It
was a baseless rumour in each case. From other
communications I extract but a few sentences :
" I love your letters because I love you. Moreover,
they are themselves lovely." " Many thanks for
what you call your mist of words in November
Sword and Trowel. I would not have missed
them for anything. I forgot the horrors of the
London ' particular,' which still prevails, while
reading them. Encore ! Encore ! " "It is a
special joy to greet you as you enter the pulpit
of the new Metropolitan Tabernacle. You need
not to be assured of a welcome from a Tabernacle
TREASURED LETTERS 265
audience, for you have been greatly beloved among
us these many years. Moreover, not a few of your
converts are to be found in the flock."
From Bavaria he sent a spontaneous postcard
dated July 12th, 1907, on the eve of my visit
to China.
" Dear friend Fullerton,
" I understand that you are to ' farewell '
at the Tabernacle. I am glad of that, and wish
I could be among the throng of well-wishers. Yejt,
believe me, no one, in or out of that throng, is more
desirous than I for the safe convoy of yourself and
your comrade, or more anxious for an altogether
successful issue to your tour. I rejoice that you
have been selected for this honourable embassy.
I wish you a prosperous journey by the will of God.
You will do good, and get good, I am sure, and
your dear ones will be in the shelter of His Hand.
" The Lord send you good speed this day !
" I am your friend,
" Thomas Spurgeon."
And since I have been at the Baptist Mission
House, he has often shown his interest in the work
of the Baptist Missionary Society. In sending a
donation on February 3rd, 1915, he writes : "I
trust that the well is springing. You cannot have
a drop too much for so great and good a work.
The Lord give you, my brother, colossal strength
for a gigantic task*"
CHAPTER XIX
THE ARTIST
The wish of his mother, loyally obeyed by " Son
Tom " at school, will be remembered — '' I want
particularly to say to you that you are sure not to
take drawing lessons from anybody " ; and her
prophecy will not be forgotten — " Surely some day,
if you wish it, you will rise to eminence in your
art."
The day came when he wished it. During one
of his illnesses the desire suddenly seized him to
paint, and though prostrate he produced two little
pictures which adorn the walls of his drawing-room
still. This started him on a new career when his
preaching days were over, and he developed
wonderful skill in his most recent vocation. His
father used to say that he could draw nothing but
a crowd, but the son, with increasing success,
produced pictures which worthily adorn any wall,
and will, no doubt, increase in value with the years.
His art was one of God's alleviations of the weary
years that followed his public work, and in Scot-
land, in the Tyrol, in Bavaria, in Italy, in Switzer-
land, in Devonshire, around London and his father's
early haunts in Essex and Cambridgeshire, he
secured admirable subjects for his brush. He was
366
THE ARTIST 267
able to have no less than three Exhibitions of his
work.
The first was held in Walker's Gallery, New Bond
Street, from October 25th to November 6th, 1909,
and consisted of no less than eighty pictures. The
next was in the same gallery, from October 2nd-
14th, 1911, when he was able to present a hundred
pictures. The third at the Stockwell Orphanage,
on behalf of that institution, was held in connection
with the Annual Festival, from June 21st to 29th,
1916, and it may best be described in the artist's
own words in an intimate letter to Mr. Jackson :
" The whole proceeds of the sale goes to the Or-
phanage, and some £40 has been reaped. I paid
even for the framing, so that the good work should
benefit to the full. Still, what matters it ? — ^the
Lord knows. This Exhibition has overtaxed my
slender strength. I am tired beyond measure. I
got the rest of my pictures back on Friday and have
been reinstating them. I showed one hundred and
twenty-four in all, seventy of which are for sale."
Mrs. Spurgeon amplifies the story by saying that
some of the pictures, which had been reserved for
their own home, were sent to grace the Exhibition ;
these were amongst the earliest sold, and as no
note was taken of the names of purchasers, it was
impossible for her husband to produce replicas of
them, as he had intended to do, for her. But she
does not complain.
To return to the earliest exhibition ; its progress
duing the opening days is shown by some postcards
to his friend. Oct. 26th. — *' A day of incessant
rain ; nevertheless, we had many visitors and
268 THE ARTIST
several purchasers." Oct 27th, — " It poured all
yesterday, yet I took orders and made sales to the
amount of seven, the perfect number. So that is
thirty-five sales, and nine or ten orders already."
Oct. 29th. — '' All goes well. We forge ahead, even
though the clouds are grey. To-day we have
reached a half-way house, having sold forty out of
eighty. In addition to this I have booked perhaps
a dozen orders."
It was probably an unprecedented thing for a
Baptist minister to have a gallery of pictures
exhibited in the heart of London — perhaps any-
where. To Spurgeon lovers the scenes that at-
tracted greatest interest were those associated with
his father's early history. " C. H. Spurgeon's
Birthplace, Kelvedon " ; " Isleham Ferry, where
C. H. Spurgeon was baptized " ; " Cottage at
Teversham, where C. H. Spurgeon's first sermon
was preached." There were two different pictures
of each, and they were in such demand that the
artist made no less than forty reproductions of
them.
In a current number of The British Weekly, he
gives a racy account of his sketching tour in
Spurgeon's country. He speaks of the kindness
of Mr. John Chi vers in putting a swift motor-car
at his disposal ; of the companionship of Charles
Joseph, of Cambridge, with whom he made a trip to
Teversham in search of the cottage, which, through
Mr. Chivers' liberality, has now become a Noncon-
formist treasure, being used as a reading-room and
institute. " I had scarcely completed the sky,
with its cumulus clouds betokening a storm, ere
THE ARTIST 269
there came slowly towards me, down the narrow
pathway, an old man, somewhat bent. He came
smiling, however, and I guessed that he was Mr.
Foote, of whom I had heard, who remembered my
father's first sermon. As I had a spare camp-stool
by me I asked him to take a seat, and for an hour
or more we chatted as I plied my sables."
The next day he was at Isleham. " I was sorry
I had to miss the good woman who was baptized
at the same time as C. H. Spurgeon, and has
attended well-nigh every ceremony since. When
one put a finger on my drawing and said signi-
ficantly, ' It was just there,^ I was better pleased
than if an art critic had praised the touch or
admired the tone." The third day was devoted
to the birthplace at Kelvedon. " I found myself
quite at one with an onlooker, who declared his
conviction that ' Spurgeon's side ought to buy that
property.' I asked for an explanation of the term
' Spurgeon's side,' and discovered that Noncon-
formity was intended. Good man, / think so too.'^
The press took considerable notice of the Ex-
hibition. The Baptist Times said : " Mr. Spurgeon
is an artist born and not made : he paints ' the
things as he sees them,' and he sees things ' whole
and steadily,' as well as beautifully. In lending us
his eyes he is but following what every one who
knows him will testify has always been the key-note
of his life, ' Giving out to others.' " The British
Weekly said : " The pictures I admired most were
those from the Tyrol and the Bavarian Highlands.
My favourite of all was ' The street of the Foun-
tains, Garmisch, Bavaria.' One of his own favour-
270 THE ARTIST
ites is ' Wendover Canal, Bucks.' " The Daily
Graphic said : " The drawings show an aptitude
for colour, and a happy knack of seizing the
picturesque ; some have uncommon merit of feeling
and execution. ' ' Another popular paper, that shall
be nameless, said : " Rev. Thomas Spurgeon is now
an artist. So he can still place his views before the
public." The Westminster Gazette said : " He
works in a careful, somewhat old-fashioned manner,
with none of the affectation that marks the up-to-
date amateur ; he has an uncommonly good eye
for arrangement, while his colour is invariably
respectable, and often decidedly effective."
As a glimpse into the way the pictures were
produced this — Mr. F. A. Jackson, who was with
him at Meran, says : " Perhaps the most impressive
bit was a glimpse of the Dolomites from above
Bozen. We had a pretty stiff climb to get that.
In vain did I protest against it, fearing he would
be exhausted. He laughed at my ' grandmotherly
objections,' and indeed, for the most part, he took
little ill from the long tramps in that delightful air.
When a sketch pleased him he would stand back
and admire it : the boy in him that never died
delighted with the touch of creative work." With
reference to another picture Mr. Spurgeon, recalling
Ruskin's description of the Alps, writes to his
friend : "I have been working at a bare outline
I brought from Switzerland of the view from the
Stanserhorn. It is mainly mist and mountain-
tops, but in the middle distance is a range of
snow- clad peaks. I think of calling it — what do
you think ?— ' Suddenly-Behold-Beyond.' "
THE ARTIST 271
If one characterization were needed for Mr.
Spurgeon it would be " Artist." He was not only
an artist in line and colour, he was an artist in
words. This was especially true in his prayers,
and chiefly in those prayers in the home or amongst
little groups, when, with amazing wealth of imagery
and use of the unexpected but inevitable word, he
gathered up the need of the moment and felt his
way to the very heart of God. He was also an
artist in souls, eager to see the likeness of Christ
reproduced in the lives of men and not satisfied
with anything but the best. Yes, that is it : in all
realms — Thomas Spurgeon, Artist.
CHAPTER XX
LITERARY ACTIVITIES
As an author Mr. Thomas Spurgeon's hterary
output is represented by six volumes — he was
engaged on a seventh at the time of his death,
but of that later. There are five books of sermons
and one of verse. The latter, a comparatively
early effort, with a preface by his mother, was
published in 1892, printed in two colours in keeping
with the title. Scarlet Threads and Bits of Blue,
It contains some capital temperance rhymes and
dainty religious pieces. He had quite a gift of
versification, but some of his best poems came
later. Two verses from this early volume shall
suffice.
Yes, Lord, the night is Thine as surely as the day,
In silver syllables the " milky way"
Sets forth Thy name upon night's silver scroll.
In one long line of light from pole to pole.
The night is Thine ! Its silence speaks of Thee :
Thine is its hush, and Thine its mystery.
The stars are Thine : the kindUng sparks that fly
From Thy great anvil, glorious Most High !
Of his first little volume of sermons, published in
1884, The Gospel of the Grace of God, we have
272
LITERARY ACTIVITIES 273
already written in Chapter V. The next contained
twenty sermons selected from the series published
week by week in 1897, and was entitled Light and
Love. In 1902 two volumes appeared — My Gospel,
containing twelve sermons on general subjects,
and God save the King, ten addresses concerning
King Jesus and His Royal Estate, suggested by
the postponed Coronation of King Edward that
year. On June 26th a great streamer was stretched
across the Tabernacle, bearing the legend, " Fear
God, Honour the King.'''
The book on which he spent most time and
thought, both on the contents and illustration, was
entitled Down to the Sea. It consists of chapters
on themes suggested by the mighty deep and the
ships that sail thereon, and is full of material for
preachers, as well as interesting homilies for
general readers. The author knew what he was
talking about, for he was at home on the ocean.
The Chart and Compass, of September 1906, calls
him " Spurgeon the Sea-Rover." Dr. Dixon says
of the book, " It ought to be published in cheap
form, and circulated amongst our sailors by the
hundred thousand."
For almost ten years, 1902 to 1912, he was
editor of The Sword and Trowel, and he took
his duties in this department seriously. In times
of ill-health he had the valued help of Dr. McCaig,
and many of the letters to him concern his editorial
responsibilities. A very useful series of " Chats
with the Children " appeared from his pen during
the year 1904, and during all the years the magazine
was conducted with signal ability.
18
274 LITERARY ACTIVITIES
He had long been a contributor to its pages, and
his writings were much valued and highly praised
by his father. " You write better every time," he
said ; " you are really a writer of remarkable
excellence, style and attractiveness of matter."
And again, " Your Sword and Trowel pieces are ever
welcome to Editor and readers. They are better
and better ; you will make a racy writer, and do
as well with your pen as with your tongue." His
earliest appearance was in 1877, when a letter
signed by both brothers, appealing for their
" Bolingbroke Chapel," occupied a page. Three
Australian pieces appeared during 1878, and others
in 1879 and 1880. In 1880 an interesting series
on " Sayings from the Sea " stands to his credit ;
and in 1881 there is a contribution each month, his
first poem, " Jesus for me," being one of them.
This year also he began, with " Ants and their
Antics," the natural history articles which attracted
much attention. " The Vegetable Caterpillar " fol-
lowed in 1883 ; "My Birds " and "My Beasts "
in 1884; " The Ungrateful Bee " in 1885 ; "Glow-
worms," " Spiders," and " Mosquitoes " in 1889 ;
" The Kiwi," with a floral initial drawn and en-
graved by himself, in 1891 ; and " Snails " in 1893.
These papers might be worth repubhcation in days
to come.
" The Pastor's Page " was a feature month by
month of the year 1897, and poems and sermons
appeared at intervals all through the years. A
series of articles entitled, " An Alphabet of Aphor-
isms " appeared during 1913 ; and another series,
" On the Wing," reporting his journeys on behalf
LITERARY ACTIVITIES 2'?5
of the Stockwell Orphanage, during 1914.
Memorial notices and comments on the topics of
the hour abound, and up to the end there were
messages from his pen — in 1917 two pieces, " A
New Song for the New Year," and " An Invincible
Promise.'* Altogether, there are two hundred and
sixty pieces of his in The Sword and Trowel volumes,
a creditable output for a busy preacher. In
addition to these he contributed occasional articles
to The Home Messenger, The Christian Endeavour
Times, Good Words, The Quiver, and to some
American and New Zealand journals. Descriptive
pieces about the Stockwell Orphanage were also
contributed to its quarterly magazine, Within our
Gates.
Some of his poems have been given on earlier
pages. Here one other shall suffice. It is founded
on a beautiful saying of a Russian convert, as
reported by Dr. McCaig : "I have loved Jesus a
little while, but Jesus has loved me all the time."
Unborn, His love was on me set,
While still a child, disposed to stray.
In youth, averse to Wisdom's way ;
He loved me then. He loves me yet :
From Spring's bright dew to Winter's rime,
** Jesus has loved me all the time."
When dead in trespasses and sin.
When Godless, strengthless, lost, undone,
Rebellious as " the younger son,"
The Saviour longed my love to win ;
'Spite unbeUef — that crowning crime,
** Jesus has loved me all the time."
Yea, since He did my heart compel
His love to answer, and His name to blesa.
He has not loved one whit the less,
276 LITERARY ACTIVITIES
Though I have failed to love Him well ;
Hia constancy has proved sublime,
*' Jesus has loved me all the time.'*
'Tis like a flood — ^this lasting love,
From deeps beneath it welleth up ;
Forth from His ever brimming cup
It poureth on me from above :
Beyond its rea>ch I cannot climb,
For Jesus loves me all the time.
A little while I've loved, but He
The charming bells of love and grace,
Whose music glads the heavenly place.
Has rung from all eternity ;
And I shall ever hear their chime.
He'll love when Time's no longer Time.
CHAPTER XXI
THE TRIPLE PRESIDENCY
In addition to the Presidency of the College Con-
ference, to which he was annually elected, Mr.
Spurgeon was permanent President of the three
great auxiliaries to the Tabernacle Church — the
Pastors' College, the Colportage Association, and
the Stockwell Orphanage. Each of these offices
carried a measure of responsibility, and it was
little wonder that at length the burden became too
heavy to be borne.
As President of the College from 1896 to the
end, he sought to maintain the high tradition of his
father, to train preachers rather than to make
scholars. " Our policy," said C. H. Spurgeon,
" has been to imitate the florist, by planting a large
number of slips in the hope that some of them
would strike." To Mr. William Olney, then in
New Zealand, he wrote on May 25th, 1896 : " Last
Thursday the College trustees asked me to accept
the Presidency of the College. I feel obliged to
accept the post, though, truth to tell, I have more
than enough to do already. But I am just trusting
for fresh supplies as I need them." In this he had
the seconding of his brother, and the valued help
of Principal McCaig and Professors Hackney and
277
278 THE TRIPLE PRESIDENCY
Gaussen. They all bear witness to his courtesy
and brotherliness, and to his wise judgment and
sagacious counsel. He presided over the Selection
Committee, and his letters bear witness to the
thoroughness of spirit with which he approached
the solemn decisions concerning candidates for
training.
" His messages at the opening or close of session,"
says Dr. McCaig, " were always full of wisdom and
sparkling with wit, and charged with spiritual
power, an inspiration to all ; none more so than
his latest utterances, which, with all the fine
qualities of previous messages, had a charm and
pathos arising from his conscious weakness and
our sympathy with him."
This reference to his wit suggests that this may,
perhaps, be the appropriate place to refer to its
quality. He had his father's faculty of making
play with words, could pun quite easily, but as the
years advanced avoided this form of wit rather
than indulged it, though many a time he must have
been sorely tempted. C. H. Spurgeon used to say
that he was most humorous in the pulpit when his
bodily weakness was greatest, for then he had not
the power to repress the things that clamoured
for utterance.
When Thomas Spurgeon took farewell of the
College, after his brief studies there, he uttered a
hon-mot which is quoted to this day ; "I have
read in Scripture," he said, "that Enoch was
translated by faith, but I have discovered in college
that Homer can only be translated by work."
His father used to tell, with grateful pride, how
, J
THE TRIPLE PRESIDENCY 279
when he had his boys and others out in the country
one day in their youth, he set them guessing which
trees they liked best. Thomas was silent for some
time, but when his father urged him for his opinion
he smiled up in his face and answered, " Yew,
father," an answer that often brought joy to his
father's heart in after years.
The joke his father counted as his best is really
worth repeating. Sucking pig was a luxury-dish
very much esteemed in Nightingale Lane. I am
told that it must be eaten hot. One day it was
brought steaming to the table and father and son
were in their place, but the worthy Secretary, Rev.
J. W. Harrald, had not appeared ; he was still in
the study. " I wonder what is keeping Harrald,"
the father said, " he knows we have sucking pig."
To which answered Thomas demurely, " Perhaps
he has a litter upstairs ! "
To return to College matters. Thomas Spurgeon
did not find it possible to lecture every Friday as
his father had done, but he managed to do it
with some frequency, especially in the earlier years,
and often these lectures made a great impression.
In The Sword and Trowel some of them have been
reproduced. In 1895, " The Three Ns " ; in 1898,
" The Students' Stoop " ; " Clocks to Mend " ;
and a most ingenious talk on " How a holiday
yields illustration." In 1899, " A Proper Sort of
Parson " ; in 1905, *' The Great Secret " ; in 1907,
" Affectation." There were many other lectures,
of course. In the year prior to his death he spoke
to the men on " The Right Text " and " Trifles."
Amongst the great bundle of papers Dr. McCaig
280 THE TRIPLE PRESIDENCY
has preserved there are two written messages to
the students. One is dated April 28th, 1900, and
conveys to the men the hearty thanks of the Church
for the help the students had rendered in a mission
just concluded in the Tabernacle, and impresses
on them the value to their own ministry of the
experience. The letter is very grateful to me, but
it need not here be reproduced.
The second message to the students is a longer
document, dated August 1901, and greets the men
as they reassemble after the holidays. It pokes
some fun at the tutors, especially at Professor
Gaussen, who had just got married. " He is twice
the man he was, which is saying a good deal."
After praise for tutors and students and a welcome
to the freshmen, he proceeds : " You are all ready
for real earnest toil, I trust. The time is short.
This opportunity will never recur, nor can you
expect another to be compared to it in value. You
hardly need urging to work — besides, I think the
tutors are quite capable of spurring you on should
it be necessary. They are one with me in urging
upon you a jealous care of your spiritual life. No
knowledge is to be compared with the experimental
acquaintance with ' Jesus Himself.' No books
can take the place of the Book of books. No hour
is more helpful than the hour of prayer." And
much besides.
In a letter to Dr. McCaig on January 22nd, 1917,
the year of his death, he urges him to " tell the
brethren and tutors how grieved I am to be away,
and wish them all (if not too late) a Happy New
Year ; or, better still, as Rabbi Duncan said to his
THE TRIPLE PRESIDENCY 281
students, ' Gentlemen, I wish you a Happy Etern-
ity.' "
In greeting Mr. F. A. Jackson on June 18th, 1902,
when he was about to lecture to the students, he
says ; "In case I find it absolutely necessary to
conserve my strength in the morning, I send a
brief message to the brethren. Please assure them
that it is a matter of deep regret to me that I have
been so little with them this year. They ought to
have an able-bodied President, instead of such a
weakling, but as they have no voice in appointing
him they must make the best of a bad job till there
is a change for the better. Yet I am sure they
could not find one who loves them more." And
again, at another time, evidently after the Revival
services at the Tabernacle, he writes : " Tell the
students that my soul is singing ' Songs of Praises '
all the time, including, by the way, a large part
of the night."
The students repaid him in deep trust and
affection. He was their friend, they felt it, and
therefore his least word was law. Sometimes he
presided at the Friday lecture when another gave
it. On July 17th, 1905, he writes again to Dr.
McCaig an intimate letter, in which he says :
" Judge Willis was with us yesterday, and paid
me the high compliment of saying it was worth
while coming to hear me read ' Lord speak to me,' —
and he is a judge."
To very few he would bare his soul like that ;
but he valued praise and recognition, and when he
was quite sure of his ground did not scruple to say
so. To Mr. Jackson he writes, on July 4th, 1905,
282 THE TRIPLE PRESIDENCY
about an altogether different matter. He had been
invited to speak at one of the mission meetings at
the Albert Hall. So he says : ** I cannot help
telling you about last night. When Lord Kinnaird
called on me — oh my ! I climbed Torrey's dais as
giddily as a ship boy his mast (first go off). The
people clapped and cheered and ' went on ' tremend-
oiis. Talk about ovations. I've scarcely slept a
wink thinking of it. It has turned my head and
puffed me up, and all the rest of it. I was helped
to speak, and received no end of congratulations.
The Glory Song was sung gloriously, and some man
sang the ninety and nine most marvellously."
Then, in a postscript, " Pardon my vanity in telling
you of my reception, but I know you will be glad,
and I do praise God for giving me favour in the
eyes of the people."
As President of the Stockwell Orphanage he was
a prime favourite with the girls and boys when he
visited them — he had no doubt about that : they
would flock round him to receive his greeting and
his blessing. At the meetings of the Trustees he
was just as welcome, and he took a very practical
share in the guidance and governance of the
institution. When he resigned the pastoral over-
sight of the Tabernacle Church he devoted himself,
as we have seen, to painting. But that was only
a phase, and a new avenue of service eventually
presented itself, which brought help both to College
and Orphanage.
The first suggestion of it was made by Rev. T. LI.
Edwards, at the annual meeting of the College on
May 7th, 1908. It appears that I had spoken imtil
THE TRIPLE PRESIDENCY 288
a late hour and there were but a few minutes left,
so he boldly made a plunge for his plan. Turning
to Mr. Spurgeon he said, " And what shall this man
do?" "Ah, what?" said the President; on
which Mr. Edwards urged that he should take the
world for his parish, and go forth to plead the needs
of both College and Orphanage.
The suggestion took root. In the middle of the
following night Thomas Spurgeon burst into
laughter, and when his wife asked the reason, he
answered, " I think I can see Edwards now, looking
into my eyes and saying, ' And what shall this man
do ? ' " Not until two years had passed was the
plan put into execution ; then, with Mr. Edwards
as honorary secretary, the " Thomas Spurgeon
Deputation Fund " was organized, and in the
autumn of 1911 he began a ministry which embraced
Great Britain, lasted for three years, and, in
addition to the spiritual impulse it gave to the
Churches visited, brought in some £3,000 to the
agencies it was designed to help.
The diaries and the correspondence connected
with it are before me as I write. Mr. Spurgeon
threw himself without reserve into the business,
preaching and lecturing north and south and east
and west, making hosts of friends for the Institu-
tions and for himself ; as some of the letters sent
to those who were his hosts, and treasured by them,
plainly testify. He himself writes at this period,
*' I found quite a number of new friends. I shall
have room for them without shelving any of the
old ones."
The details of this quest would be tedious, but
284 THE TRIPLE PRESIDENCY
almost at random I lay my hand on a request for
a visit from Berwick-upon-Tweed, signed by Mayor,
sheriffs, aldermen, councillors, ministers, and
others ; a programme which announces Mr.
Spurgeon as the preacher in St. Giles' Cathedral,
Edinburgh, and lecturer in the Assembly Hall ; a
report of a visit to one place in these words, " the
people are poor, or else there is a copper mine in
the district — I toiled hard for £9 12s" ; another,
" All very good, except the liberty taken with my
name. I am not, and never was, the Rev. Tom
Spurgeon."
Toward the close of the year 1912 Mr. Spurgeon
was approached with a view to a visit to South
Africa and New Zealand, and for some time such a
visit was seriously entertained, but was at length
found to be impracticable; and, largely on the
ground of health, and on expert advice that
absolute rest was essential, on July 23rd, 1914, he
definitely resigned the work which had at first
seemed to be within his powers, and had already
been fruitful to a large degree. On June 14th, 1913,
he wrote, " I am a sort of flying machine, but in
July I shall turn turtle." The following July he
came down with broken wings.
The two years' interval between the suggestion
of this work and its adoption were passed chiefly
in Devonshire and Cornwall, with intervals in
London largely for Orphanage and College business.
Two periods were spent at Paignton — from Nov-
ember 29th, 1909, to June 14th, 1910 ; and from
September 23rd, 1910, to April 20th, 1911. During
this second visit Mr. Spurgeon preached every
THE TRIPLE PRESIDENCY 285
Sunday morning and every Tuesday evening at the
Baptist Church, which was then pastorless.
On the death of the headmaster of the Orphanage,
Rev. V. J. Charlesworth, Mr. Spurgeon, being
now free and somewhat stronger, was appointed
as Director of the Orphanage, still holding the
office of President. Writing to Mr. G. A. Eaton
on February 15th, 1915, he says : "I shall be glad
of your prayers and your friends' prayers that God
will set His seal on this appointment. It has
come as such a surprise, and is such a providence."
In spite of his physical weakness, he was able to
render important service in this new post. He
wrote to Rev. Edward Last on February 27th,
1916 : "I am thankful to be able still for a little
hedging and ditching on my Master's farm." But by
January 26th, 1917, he found this too great a strain
and retired from it. To his confidant, Mr. Jackson,
he writes : " You will be glad to hear that I have
resigned the Stockwell Orphanage directorship. /
could stand it no longer, and when I fell sick at
Christmas-time I thought it was my opportunity.
To-day the Board has regretfully agreed to what I
insisted on. I shall remain President and Editor,
and Special Commissioner, Answerer, Matrons'
Prayer-Meeting Conductor, Sword and Trowel
notes writer — isn't that enough ? C. S. is to take up
deputation work, on a bigger scale than mine. You
will be interested to know that I have undertaken
to write the history of the Stockwell Orphanage to
its Jubilee — not quite my sort of writing, this.
Still, I am having a shot at it, and I hope I shan't
miss. I must have an analogy, you know, as I am
286 THE TRIPLE PRESIDENCY
attempting to write on A Goodly Cedar. It seems
to lend itself — God-planted, its growth, its glory
and beauty, its scent, its music, its shade, its sap,
its support and protection and pruning, etc., etc."
In developing the idea in a letter to his friend,
Mr. William Higgs, he notes that George Miiller's
work was compared by C. H. S. to cedars of Le-
banon, and that " fifty is the youth of age." After
giving the outline of Contents, he says : " Under
some such headings I hope to bring in everything
of interest and use. I hope the idea is worth
developing and will prove a change from the
ordinary official guide-book style."
He did well that it was in his heart, but the idea
was frustrated by a paralytic stroke, and the care
of the Orphanage has now passed into the capable
hands of his brother, who, as President -Director, is
making the Jubilee year, without the book, a time
of advance. May the future hold for him and for
Spurgeon's Orphanage much prosperity and grace !
The third Presidency was that of the Metropolitan
Colportage Association. Mr. Spurgeon's interest
in this good work was evidenced by his addresses
at the Annual Conference of the Colporteurs. In
The Sword and Trowel for 1895, we find one on
" Constancy and Consistency " ; and in 1896
another on K. E. P. T., while in the volume for
1899 there is a plea for colportage under the title,
" A Mighty Weapon " ; and in 1901 another appeal,
" It is still perfectly true."
So to the end his life was full of faith and of good
works. Where he came he was the natural leader,
where he led there was blessing and goodwill.
CHAPTER XXH
THE CLOSING DAYS
Of the last year of Mr. Spurgeon's life little need
be said. He lived in retirement, and his house was
taken down, not suddenly, but brick by brick.
He saw the end approaching, but it came gently,
and he was never less than his brave, considerate
self, all the while. " San Remo," his charming but
modest residence, is near Tooting Bee Common,
and he used to walk there ; later, when he was
partially paralysed, he walked only in his own
little garden, a garden to which Mrs. Spurgeon has
devoted herself with love and skill, as much for
his sake as for her own. She and his daughter
Vera were in constant attendance on the invalid :
for a little while they went to Tunbridge Wells, and
stayed with his friend. Rev. F. J. Feltham ; but
there was no place like home, and there the un-
eventful waiting days were spent, not unregarded
indeed by his friends outside, but almost sacred to
his own family circle. On the morning of Oc-
tober 20th, 1917, he spoke of a pain between his
eyes, and lapsed into unconsciousness ; and while
the sun was yet high in the sky he passed to his
heaven.
287
288 THE CLOSING DAYS
The wonder was not that he died at sixty-one,
but that he lived so long. He was four years older
than his father. When it is remembered that twice
he had to flee our shores because of threatened
lung trouble, it is remarkable that there was no
mischief there at the end. All along he suffered
from nephritis, which developed into arterio
sclerosis, and the direct cause of death was the
breaking of an artery in the brain. Though he
was always a good soldier, he was ever conscious
that there was something wrong, and never felt
quite normal. " The doctor is, I think, a little
disappointed that I have not made more headway,"
he wrote to Rev. Austin L. Edwards, when he was
staying at Llandrindod Wells, " but I myself am
not surprised, therefore not discouraged."
Some of his own references to his health may
perhaps be assembled at this point. To Jackson
he wrote on April 2nd, 1906 : " The doctor over-
hauled me on Monday and pronounced me better.
It was news to me — but good news. He ought to
know. He counsels patience. Ah ! patience,
that's it. Patience sees the grape- juice turned into
the sweetmeat and the mulberry leaf into silk."
And on May 8th, 1914 : " I have suffered from
almost constant headache, and when I feel a little
stronger the next meeting pulls me off my perch
again. Terrible slackness, the doctor calls my
condition, and such indeed it is."
To Rev. Philip A. Hudgell on December 27th,
1914 : " The specialist says I ought never to have
engaged in that deputation work, and must never
dream of resuming it. It appears that to do
THE CLOSING DAYS 289
nothing is the only hope of doing some little
jmething." On February 8rd, 1915, he writes
to Dr. McCaig : " On Sunday evening I was pressed
in the spirit, and have been oppressed in the body
ever since " ; while to Rev. Walter Owen, of
Penzance, on January 26th, 1916, this is his report :
" I am not much in the papers now. I have had
my share thereof. I am grateful, though, that I
have not yet figured in the Obituary Colunm."
The celebration of his Diamond Jubilee on
September 20th, 1916, gave his friends an oppor-
tunity of special greeting. An interviewer of
The Christian writes : " Looking back over the
sixty years, Mr. Spurgeon's uppermost feeling is
one of overwhelming gratitude for the goodness
and mercy that have followed him continually, and
particularly for the special grace and strength
granted, so that a full and fruitful life has been
lived, notwithstanding severely hampering con-
ditions. He feels himself to be, not in midstream,
but in more or less of a backwater ; yet his firm
grip upon life is well maintained, and he is upheld
by the consciousness of the affectionate goodwill of
a host of friends both in this country and at the
Antipodes."
Again we must draw on his intimacies with F. A.
Jackson ; " You decline to believe I am sixty.
Oh ! but I could at times believe myself to be a
hundred. I have had congratulations galore. The
letters were lying (only in one sense, I think)
seventy deep before the day was done, and the
kind notices and articles in The Baptist Times, The
British Weekly, The Christian, and The Life of
19
290 THE CLOSING DAYS
Faith, are bringing me in a fresh and fragrant crop.
It is all very wonderful and humbling. It must
be confessed it is very gratifying, too."
Of him Jackson writes : " Even in sickness, of
which he seemed to have more than his share ; in
sorrow and distress, of which he bore a man's full
load ; and under the pressure of exhausting labours
and solemn responsibilities, I cannot recall an
instance in which he was less than his lovable self.
" Did ever a man so poke fun at his own aches
and pains, or make his own sick-room such a place
of wholesome mirth ? He was ill indeed when he
could no longer make those that were near him
laugh or smile.
" His nature was utterly foreign to subterfuge of
every sort. A master of tact, he was incapable of
pretence, and it is safe to say that if ever he made
an enemy his enemy never challenged, or so much
as questioned, his honour.
" Of that still deeper thing — his intimate inter-
course with Christ — I must not write, except to
say this : it was the ruling passion of his life.
" As the Samoan chief said of Stevenson, so
would I say of my friend : ' The day was never
long enough for his kindness.' "
Rev. Hugh D. Brown, of Dublin, who was his
intimate friend, writes : " To my mind, the best
sermon I ever heard from him was the somewhat
quaint and suggestive utterance, ' Bar and all,'
and now he has had through grace a ' bar and all '
salvation into the presence of the King.
" When we once had the joy of a couple of weeks'
fellowship at Loch Katrine, I remember our visiting
THE CLOSING DAYS 291
Glengyle, the home of the MacGregors, where, in
their romantic family burial ground, the inscription
upon the central tomb ran thus concerning one of
the departed heroes : ' Who did his best for the
old name ' ; and methinks I can see another penman
write this inspired epitaph in connection with our
beloved brother : ' Thou hast borne, and hast
patience, and for my name's sake hast laboured and
hast not fainted.' "
Here, I think, we may pause, and let his son,
Mr. T. Harold Spurgeon, speak. He is good
enough to write to me from his home in Dublin
with the characteristic name of " Bohernabreena,"
and says : " The following scraps are, I am afraid,
only trivialities in the life of one who ' filled the
public eye ' as much as my dear father did, albeit
to me they are very precious memories. I send
them along in the hope that amongst them there
may be, perhaps, one or two touches that may
serve : please do not feel that I shall mind in the
least if you think there is nothing worthy of in-
clusion, for, from the public point of view, I have
come to the same conclusion.
" One of my earliest definite recollections of
father dates back to the autumn of 1899. We were
in the train coming home from ' Westwood ' (how
brim-full of happiness those days were for me !),
and, seeing his eyes full of sadness and anxiety as
he read the evening paper, I asked him what was
wrong. ' I'm afraid there's going to be war, old
boy ; and it's a wrong war ' ; — ^and he explained
to me very simply the trouble in South Africa, and
stamped my child's mind with a hatred of Jingoism
292 THE CLOSING DAYS
which has remained, and will remain, please God,
as long as I live.
" Busy as he always was at the Tabernacle, he
would find time almost every day to amuse and
instruct us. A great feature of those days was his
' spelling-bees,' which usually took place at tea-
time, and it was exceptional indeed when he failed
to propound one word, at least, which would baffle
us both. Inaccurate spelling was always one of
his bSteS'fioires, and he spared no pains to ensure
our correctness in this respect.
" He took considerable interest in Biblical
archaeology, and many happy hours I have spent
as a child with him over CasselVs Bible Dictionary^
while he explained the pictures to me. One of the
red-letter days of my life was when (in May, 1901)
he took me on my first visit to the British Museum :
we began with the Egyptian and Assyrian Depart-
ment, and I don't think we got any further than
that ; I felt I could stay there for ever, and I think
he was well content. In the afternoon of that
same day he took me for the first time to Kenning-
ton Oval. It was Surrey v, Gloucester, and I shall
never forget my breathless interest as he pointed
out to my admiring gaze such mighty ones as
Bobby Abel and Tom Richardson, and G. L. Jessop.
He was very fond of cricket all his life, and we went
back together to the Oval more than once in
after years.
" Another unforgettable day, of a very different
sort, is that on which my dear mother's life was
hanging in the balance during her serious illness
towards the end of 1908. He had just lost his own
THE CLOSING DAYS 293
dear mother, and he called Vera and me into the
dining-room, and prayed for Mother and for us
and for himself, as only he could pray. I cannot
recall anything he said ; but the spirit of that
prayer is with me still.
" Ever since my schooldays began he used to
talk a good deal to me about literature. I think
there was nothing he really loved just as much as
The Ancient Mariner ; he would read it and re-read
it, and quote it again and again. Perhaps I should
not have said ' nothing,' for I fancy not even it
came before The Pilgrim'' s Progress. Other favour-
ites of his were Milton (he loved to hear him read
aloud), and Richard Jefferies and Carlyle. He had
intense reverence for Ruskin as an art critic : I
doubt whether he felt just the same about his
Economics. He read Dickens over and over again :
his favourite books he had been through many
times.
" I do not recall ever hearing him speak with any
appreciation of Shakespeare or of Tennyson ; I
asked him once, a few years ago, what he thought
of Browning, but he only replied, ' I can't read
him ; he's too deep for me.' (I fancy it was the
brusque style rather than the deep philosophy that
was the real barrier in this case.) His delight when
I sent him, three or four years ago, a copy of Francis
Thompson's Hound of Heaven, knew no bounds.
A year or two later he wrote to me, ' Oh ! what joy
Francis Thompson's ' Kingdom of God ' has
brought me lately ! ' (I had copied out the poem
and sent it over to him, thinking it would be after
his own heart.)
294 THE CLOSING DAYS
" Of his graciousness and modesty I need not
say much, for you know. He wrote to me once,
' It is sweet to be loved, even if one has to wonder
why.' On one occasion he met with an artist of
some note, who subjected his work to pretty
severe criticism. Father closes his account of the
interview with these words, ' It was well to sit at the
feet of a Master — even though he kicked at times ! '
" Yet, as all know, he could hit hard ; I have
seen bumptiousness and bluster cower on more
than one occasion before his gentle and serene
dignity. ' Well, Mr. Spurgeon,' said an influential
host of his, at the time that the present Premier
was at the height of his unpopularity with the
capitalist class, seven years or so ago, ' what do
you think of that abominable man, Lloyd George ? '
' I think he is a God-raised man,' was the reply.
The subject was abruptly changed.
" He was always an optimist, even about himself,
but I think he knew during his last few years that
the end (as we pagan-souled Christians still call
it !) was not far off. He wrote to me in June, 1916,
' How I wish I could say " I am really better."
The little rest has freshened me up a bit, but I
cannot disguise from myself that (to put it mildly)
I am NOT getting better. Yet all is well, and I
may serve another day, if the Lord sees fit.' When
I saw him last, in August of last year, he talked
quite freely (as far as his speech would allow him,
poor dear) of his Home-going. ' They say it might
be any time. ... I'm ready, . . . but we should all
be ready ; ... it may be you that will be taken
first, old boy.'
THE CLOSING DAYS 295
" The last letters I received from him (just before
the first stroke) were very full of the projected
history of the Orphanage, which he was just under-
taking. He says : ' Figures and facts require a
good deal of hunting up and verifying, and thrice-
told incidents are difficult to re-tell, but I shall
break the back of it by and by, if I don't, in the
meantime, break my own ! . . . It is not quite my
sort of writing — still, I have pleasure in hunting
for the gold, in putting it into the crucible, and in
trying to fashion a crown.' "
In London he had three homes : 87, KnatchbuU
Road, Camber well ; 14, Macaulay Road, Clapham
Common ; and 40, Prentis Road, Streatham,
where he fell asleep. At intervals during his
wandering days he had rooms in various places,
chiefly at Montrell Road, Streatham Hill, where
he returned again and again. In his last home,
" San Remo," his widow and daughter still reside,
facing life bravely with the heritage of a name the
world honours and of a memory fragrant with
sweetness.
Rev. H. H. Driver, who accompanied him on one
of his voyages, says truly, as reported in The New
Zealand Baptist : " His own lovely life was more
eloquent than his finest sermon. He ever radiated
the sunshine of a singularly unselfish heart. He
found his chief pleasure in diffusing happiness
around him. Few men had a finer capacity for
friendship. He grappled to himself with hooks of
steel the spirits he found congenial to his own."
296 THE CLOSING DAYS
Dr. McCaig, in his men^orial article, wrote truly :
" Undoubtedly he had the pastor's heart. Who
could have been more sympathetic with the
sorrowing, more tender to the erring, more en-
couraging to the downcast ? How the people
used to crowd around him at the prayer-meeting
to get a pleasant smile, a cheery word, and a grip
of his hand, that hand which had so much of the
softness of his father's. The young were naturally
attracted to him, and, most singular, the oldest
people were the most attached to him."
"Even in the last months," Mr. F. H. Ford
recalls, " when his weakness and pain were at their
worst, he constantly thought of the needs of others,
and, as one who knew him best remarked, ' he was
always trying to make some one happy.' As the
invalid passed along the roads in his short periods
of exercise, the little children would run across,
kiss his hand, and speed away. Of incidents which
could be mentioned that tell the kindliness of his
heart, one little story is too tempting to omit. On
the eve of Christmas last, the sick pastor remem-
bered the household of a worthy minister, where
he thought the preparations for the festive season
might be inadequate. With his own hands he
carried the Christmas dinner to the house through
densely dark streets, and refusing the help of the
shopkeeper lest a mistake in delivery might be
made, handed the package to the good housewife."
What he said at the second anniversary of his
father's death might now be said of himself:
" During more than one stormy passage across the
ocean I have seen the captain mount his bridge
THE CLOSING DAYS 297
and stand by the instrument that communicates
with the engine-room below. Sometimes he takes
the lever and moves it to ' Stand by.' Down in
the engine-room all is attention, for they expect
another order presently. I think the Great Captain
has His hand upon the telegraphic instrument in
the case of some of you who have indications that
you are nearing the port, and God says ' Stand by ' ;
be ready for the next order ! ! Stand prepared
for what is coming soon. Then He moves the
needle a little later to ' Slow.' Presently the Lord
Himself will grasp the lever again and put it to
' Stop.' Soon after that the cable is run out, the
ship is brought up, and the voyage is over. So
has it been with our dear pastor. How could that
ship maintain such wondrous speed so long ! "
He had faced death and conquered it long before
the last call came, faced it for himself and others.
When Mr. Thomas Cox, an old student of the
college, and for thirty-two years an Elder of
the Church, died, Mr. Spurgeon gave the address
at his funeral on March 19th, 1914. As an example
of the way he could call forth friendship on the
part of others because he gave himself to them, a
part of the address may be quoted :
" Nor need you wonder that I myself speak
tearfully of him. He was my father's friend and
my own friend. I could tell you things, trifling in
themselves perhaps, which showed so plainly that
this man of few words and quiet mood was full of
heart, and much more than a mere philosopher.
" I may be allowed to tell of my last interview
with my friend. At my entry he seemed slow to
298 THE CLOSING DAYS
recognize me, but he gradually awoke to the fact
that his message to the effect that he was ' very,
very ill,' had brought me to his side. He was calm,
resigned, and even cheerful, and oh ! so grateful.
I read to him the portion for the day in Morning
by Morning, then offered prayer, and attempted to
say farewell. Then it was that, sitting up in his
bed — a somewhat gaunt figure it must be owned,
yet full of graciousness withal — he held my hand in
both of his, and proceeded to pronounce on me the
benediction Jehovah gave the priests of Israel to
bless His people with : ' The Lord bless thee and
keep thee : the Lord make His face to shine upon
thee, and be gracious unto thee : the Lord lift up
His countenance upon thee, and give thee peace.'
Then followed a heartfelt ' Amen ' from both of us.
" I value that blessing more than I can say. I
believe, with C. H. Spurgeon, that ' God allows His
people whom He has made kings and priests to put
His name upon others, and to pronounce blessings
upon them : their word shall stand, and what they
bound on earth shall be bound in heaven.' "
In the early Tabernacle days, when there were
many perplexities, in one of his Conference talks
he ejaculated, " Oh ! when shall we get into the
blue." The College Principal treasured the sen-
tence, and when the President departed, wrote
some verses with the refrain. Two of them, which
will find response in the hearts of others, run : —
" The rocks and the shoals of his life are all past.
Safely is weathered each pitiless blast.
And the calm clear water is reached at last
And glad is the mariner true."
THE CLOSING DAYS 299
'* And we who have loved him longest and best.
Though by his passing our hearts are opprest.
Yet may rejoice he has entered his rest,
And has now passed into the blue."
Hundreds of messages were sent to Mrs. Spurgeon
when it became known that Thomas Spurgeon had
passed. Not a few wrote that he had been to them
the dearest friend on earth ; all recalled his courtesy
and gentleness. Three telegrams are treasured.
From Auckland Tabernacle, " Deepest Christian
sympathy on loss of one held in honoured memory."
From Hugh D. Brown, who was so soon to follow
him, " Irish Baptists thanking God for stalwart
leader, noble character, kindly heart, unswerving
Calvary loyalty, tender profound sympathy. John
seventeen twenty-four." While from Toronto,
Dr. and Mrs. A. Hall sent the message, " Our
mourning hearts send tenderest sympathy. Place
anchor to dearest of dear friends."
The Baptist Church of Paris sent a letter written
both in French and English, and signed by all the
members of the Church present at the meeting.
Rev. J. H. Shakespeare sent a fitting message on
behalf of the Baptist Union. Dr. Charles Brown
said : "It was a great privilege to know him, a
privilege for which I shall always be thankful. One
is disposed to envy him now, and to say with special
emphasis, ' Blessed are the dead which die in the
Lord,' away from this world which is plunged in
tears and sorrow."
Miss R. L. Clark is good enough to send me a
copy of some verses Mr. Spurgeon wrote in her
album, entitled " At Home." The first five stanzas
300 THE CLOSING DAYS
describe the scene of an artist, no doubt himself,
and a little maid who drew nearer and nearer to
his easel.
" Where do you live, my little maid ? '*
The artist softly said,
Forthwith she let her eyelids down.
And shook her golden head.
So he, as if to say, " Is this
Or that your dwelling place ? "
His pencil poised, first here, then there,
The while he watched her face.
He pointed to the old church tower.
And to the windmill hill.
Then to the red-roofed cottages.
But she was silent still.
The sketch complete, " Good-bye, good-bye,
My little friend,'* he said.
" Please — Sir — I — lives — at home," she cried.
And thro' the cornfield sped.
They ask me where my heaven will be,
I little light afford,
I only know that I shall dwell
" At home" with my dear Lord.
The funeral service was held in the Metropolitan
Tabernacle on Friday, October 26th, 1917. Dr.
J. W. Ewing presided. Dr. A. C. Dixon read the
Scripture. Rev. Dinsdale T. Young led in prayer.
Rev. F. J. Feltham gave an address full of feeling
and grace, the Orphanage children sang, and then
the wearied body was taken to its last resting-place
in Norwood Cemetery, where, after another brief
service, it was laid hard by his father's tomb,
THE CLOSING DAYS 801
awaiting the day when they both shall rise amidst
the multitude of other saints who rest in those
acres.
The last public meeting Thomas Spurgeon
addressed was held at Tooting on behalf of the
Pioneer Mission. He came in late and at first sat
in the congregation. I happened to be there, and
when I had spoken, the Chairman, Mr. John Chown,
called him up, and welcomed him with a dignified
grace and a tender courtesy that even at the time
reminded me of Mary anointing the Lord for His
burial. After some general references, Mr. Spur-
geon spoke from his deepest heart of his own
experience of Christ. And where did this champion
of orthodoxy find expression for it ? In Francis
Thompson ! The two men were so different, and
yet they both had suffered, and both believed. So
it was with an accent of conviction that Spurgeon
quoted the verses :
" But (when so sad thou canst not sadder)
Cry I and upon thy so sore loss
Shall shine the traffic of Jacob's ladder.
Pitched between Heaven and Charing Cross.
" Yea, in the night, my Soul, my daughter,
Cry — clinging Heaven by the hems.
And lo, Christ walking on the water
Not of Gennesareth but Thames!"
Other things he said, exhorting us all to the highest,
and ere he closed his neat ten minutes' speech, he
reverted again to Thompson's poem, " In no
strange land." It scarcely sounded like poetry,
and probably most persons there thought the words
802 THE CLOSING DAYS
to be his own, but an awe fell upon the people as he
spoke them in that voice so like his father's, full
of tone and tenderness, with a strong grasp of the
hand when he reached the final clause :
" O world invisible, we view thee ;
O world intangible, we touch thee,
O world unknowable, we know thee,
Inapprehensible, we clutch thee."
We went homeward together in the same tram-
car, and — a small thing, but not a slight thing, for
it was a symbol — he paid my fare. I render him
this tribute.
INDEX
Asquith, Mr., 15
Baptist Missionary Society, 199,
265
Baptist Union, 30
Baptist World's Congress, 203
Beecher, Henry Ward, 5, 223
Benson, Archbishop, 21
Binney, Thomas, 3
Birch, WiUiam, 134, 138
Booth, General, 28, 253
Bost, Pastor John, 84
Brock, Dr., 130
Brown, Archibald G., 147, 196, 197,
201,210,264
Brown, Dr. Charles, 299
Brown, Hugh D., 198, 206, 290 299
Bunning, Mr., 62, 66, 95
Carey, William, 25, 31
Charlesworth, V. J., 285
Chivers, John, 268
Chown, John, 301
Clifford, Dr. John, 8
Clow, Professor W. W., 251
Cook, Dr. Joseph, 106, 262
Cooper, J. R., 117
Cox, Thomas, 297
Crouch, Douglas C, 263
Culross, Dr., 8
Cuyler, Dr. Theodore L., 168
Dane, Major H. C, 106
Denney, Dr. James, 29
Denny, T. A., 198
Dixon, Dr. A. C, 160, 211, 236, 273,
300
Driver, H, H., 117, 142, 296
Eaton, G. A., 285
Edwards, Austin L., 263, 288
Edwards, T. L., 282, 283
Ellis, E. H., 264
Ewing, Dr. J. W., 198, 262, 263,
300
Feltham, F. J., 287, 300
Ferrier, Professor, 7
Forbes, Stanhope, 234
Ford, F. H., 193, 296
Fullerton, W. Y., 86, 146, 169, 196,
215, 240, 264, 301
Gatissen, Professor, 278
Gibson, Mr., of Tasmania, 74, 95,
135, 137
Gilmore, J. D., 126
Grace, 124, 218, 233, 236, 237, 238
Green, John Richard, 84
Greenhough, J. G., 251
Hackney, Professor, 277
Hall, Dr. and Mrs. Alfred, 178, 299
Hall, James, 247
Hall, Dr. John, 171
Harrald, J. W., 145, 153, 279
Harrison, J. S., 90, 100, 103, 107,
211
Higgs, Mr. and Mrs. W., 153, 168,
163, 173, 178, 191, 194, 197, 200,
243, 246, 259, 260, 286
Hill, J., 210
Horton, Dr. Robert, 236
Hudgell, Philip A., 263, 288
Hughee, Hugh Price, 206, 263
303
804
INDEX
Jackson, F. A., 201, 240, 246, 248,
261, 262, 267, 270, 281, 285, 288,
289
Joseph, Charles, 268
Jowett,Dr, J. W., 198, 236
Kinnaird, Lord, 198
Lane, W. R., 207
Last, Edward, 285
Macarthur, Dr., 6, 160, 247
Maclaren, Dr., 134, 169, 198, 236
Mckclaren, Ian, 5
Mannington, W., 247
Mamham, John, 198
McCaig, Dr., 87, 207, 246, 262, 273,
275, 276, 278, 280, 281, 289, 296,
298
McCheyne, R. M. M., 225
McCiillough, R., 87, 95, 98
McKenzie, Peter, 230
McNeill, John, 198,206
Meyer, Dr. F. B., 185, 198, 200, 251
Moody, D. L„ 4, 27, 151, 154, 158,
160, 239
Morgan, Dr. Campbell, 201
Morley, Lord, 8
Mott, Dr. John, 29
Miiller, George, 84, 130, 131, 251
NicoU, Sir W. Robertson, 9, 29
North, Mr., 129
Ohiey, T. H., 164, 176, 176, 178,
197
Ohiey, WilUam, 157, 173, 277
Owen, Walter, 289
Palmer, Levi, 253
Parker, Dr. Joseph, 252, 253
Parr, J. Tolfree, 198
Passmore, J. E., 197
Phillips, Thomas, 236
Pierson, Dr. A. T., 149, 166, 172,
216
Potter, W. S., 127
Reed, Mr. and Mrs. Henry, 96
Rice, W. E., 119, 120
Roberts, Evan, 29
Rutherford, Gideon, 66, 72, 79, 95,
99, 128, 129
Saillens, Dr. Reuben, 198, 241, 242,
244
Sankey,IraD.,27, 169, 197
Sawday, C. B., 178
Selway, Mr., 38
Shakespeare, J. H., 299
Slater, J. K., 247
Smith, Gipsy, 206
Smith, J. Manton, 86, 209, 241
Somerville, E. L., 85
Stephens, James, 187
Spurgeon,C. H., 1, 6, 9, 11, 17, 32,
88, 144
Letters, 17, 47, 58, 71, 76, 101,
173, 175, 254, 255, 256
Spurgeon, Mrs. C. H., 39, 79, 108,
195, 208
Spurgeon, Charles, 17, 31, 44, 58,
78, 82, 129, 153, 200, 215, 216,
285
Spurgeon, Dr. J. A., 148, 156, 179,
210,215
Spurgeon, John, 2, 210, 252
Taylor, Hudson, 84
Thomas, John, 197
Thompson, Francis, 293, 301
Thirtle, Dr., 37
Varley, Henry, 74
Welsh Revival, 29, 207
Whitefield, George, 5, 218
Whyte, Dr. Alexander, 8
Williams, Sir George, 197
Wood, Harry, 96
Young, Dinsdale T., 198, 200, 300
Printed in Ortat Britain by Hazell, Watson A Viney, Ld.
London and Aylesbury,
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