The Dorset County Express and Agricultural Gazette.
Dorchester, Dorset, England, 1883-02-27 00:00:00

irMININIMMIIIUM°II_nrt

THE CONVERTED CLOWN AT HOPE CHAPEL.

Mr. Hervey Tem&le, aneouneed as "The Con-
verted Clown," gave an widrea at Hops Chapel, on
Tuesday evening list, under tee peidd.s.y of the
minister, Rey. W. Lewis. Mr. Teesdale Is evidently
man of great mobility ; he lint looking all round,
above aid below, and motioning the *Meals to the
various vomit seals.
Mr. Lamm spoke= Mr. Tended' as =tag • member
of the Ocagregational Chapel at Sheffield (Mr. Teas-
note "Sixteen years").
The speaker said be was born In Sheffield. his
father being • cutler, and his father desired his to be
brought up in the knowledge of Oboist; but it was
defeated by the wickedness of his heart. He was
afterwards said to baths greatest mm oo the stage Is
Ragland to play the monkey, and well he might, for
he began to play the monkey soma. Early in life he
wee peering about, an I fell in his mother's flour-bin,
and was taken out all over flour. He learns Ito ran
on all fours like • cat, and climb op spouts like •
monkey; once the spout was loom, and he fell. But
God spared him, thouoh for week.s he lay In • shit
room. His parents thought this would cure him of
Ms monkey tricks ; but DO. One day I= mot some
°owe, ant sent them running down another street; the
woman who drove them laid • blackthorn dick on his
head, and drove in • hit of his skull, and be had to go
to the Infirmary. His tether sent him to • boarding
school in Derbyshire ; but the echo-dotard= we, •
drunkard, and would leave the *cahoot while he went
out to drink. Drink, drink, drink, wai ruining many
In this county, and he told of • young mem who when
In drink with • loaded revolver shot two man dead. At
Alter life • woman, who drank so that eke softened
her brain, went into the shop and drank poison from
• bottle, and, though her Heads crowded around her,
in • few minutes she dl-d. In Sheffield thousands heel
signed the pledge-5,000 or 6,000 • week--einoe the
Blue Ribbon Army went there. (Applause.) In the
Mechanic.' Rail hundreds who earned or £4 •
week, but who were in rags through drink, olgood the
pledge, and brought knee their awnings. A boy
whose father had been • drunkard capered in the
streets at sett am of the Blue Ribbon Army, for
h father
is faer had ma and given him a par of boots; •
wife, who had o starring for year., went to the
pawnbroker for her things, and blessed the Blue
Ribbon Army, for before they came she hod not had
a psi, of shoes sin= the was married, and that was
94 rears. He called on the children to go to the
flonday school, join the Band of Hope, and follow
Christ. Wheel at echool, he was the moans of saving
an old woman's life—• bright spot in his life. The
woman tried to cross • osuesway ; but the water had
dam, and she was swept over; but he jumped In and
saved her; she next cried "Where's my knitting r
And be lumped in and saved the knitting, and she
gave him a spiced bull's eye for saving her. It wee •
small reward, and he deephed it; but foe all her
meanness, she was • true child of God. This in
summer' but winter cams, • esters one, with fires
ma the Don river mishit rum thrutash Sheffield; he
bad to go • mile through the now at six o'clock to
fetch the milk, and brooded over his wrongs till he
dogmatised to run away. He got home and saw his
mother first, and told her he would be killed if he
stopped at school, either by the schoolmaster or the
cold. She was afraid his father would kill him; but
promised to break it to Mos. She sent him upstairs
and he went into • recess where the clothes were
waiting to be washed. As 00.111 as t dd, his fattier
went for • boring =Sok to chattel him, but Hervey
put the bolster In the dark garret, and his father
In his pmdon thrashed the bolster till he was tired.
He we= away saldellut, and certainly Harvey was,
sod then Is crept Into bed, and his mother *ems up
and gave him toast and tea, end prayed that God
would bless him and change his bead- He was left
all night, but nut morning his father began
to try aid make him • cutler. At • theatre
he saw the play of "George Barnum," deter'
mined to be as actor, and several of them
started ass amateurs, and always found fools to
encourage them. The preparations for the ploy were
made principally on Sun lay, and indeed, in every
place where the Christmas pantomime is played, they
have to make the preparations on Sunday, and have
had to sit up all night before. Oa Sunday forenoon
Reim to the outvonation in the green-room, and you
shall bad it Is such that you dread t -listen to, led
you drop into the pit that ha. no bottom. The mothers
let them go for the sake of the few pence they earn,
and the children are excited all the week, each anxious
to go to the theatre on Sunday
_morning,to rehearse bee
pert for the pantomime. Bast children pow to
ballet glris, ballet girls fill our streets with
fallen ibis, and all because their mothers have given
them • haste for the theatre in their youth. Harvey
Teesdale was only an outwear, and wanted to be an
actor, when the man of busisses of • manager, who
had starved out several companies of actors, went for
them, and_promised them they'd woke their fortunes
d 0110 t. They went, and he played tumbling about
eight DLitt*, and never got eightpsoos for It; but
when his clothes were going, he thought It wee time
to go too, and they erect to Sheffield. Of the party
who went with him, he was dejighted to tell them
seven had been converted to God, sod most of them
had gone over the river to hearse, an ho was the one
8 Sir to them os the margin of the river. But in
t ileum, Harvey Teoodale anoounc ho would sail
down the river In stub drawn by ducks. and thousands
of fools were there besides the one in • tub. After
that his theatre was crammed to the miller, wad a box
of ooppere ease* to his share. They stood drink for all
the actors, and helps! drink It, stayed till helf-past
two in the morning, ated then *ant home, and as
they were carrying the box the bottom fell out,
and all went feeling about for the wooers. G .ing on
to speak of the mdoo, which, he said, Ii even worse
than the theatre, he gild that generally soaps man took
the girl through the gin palms to the Chewer, giving
her a " "on the way; they go to the theatre, and
when they o me out she hoe no wish to go home, the
man Sods her • home, where perhaps the lives
foe years; but It is misery, and ends in the sheet*.
Harvey Temdale kept • public:house, and played clown,
mskieg the home roar with laughter whi'e the tease
were nutning down his cheeks; he played in Dahlia,
crossed the Chemist to Fleetwood in • storm. la which
people prayed to God who never prayed before, and
among tbern.was Has vey Teesdale. Though bowed
down with misery and tempted to suicide, he went on
to Sheffield, gabled £3O a night for makiag foo's of
people, but ran through it so that he had not a peony.
Attempting suicide, he we, stop/to:I on the brisk of
the canal by the there running down his cheeks, they
were the memengers of God crying—" No 'Med..
Harvey Teesdale, I have loved thee wi h . to areal set-
log love." Next morning be woe again tempted, sot
was told to buy drink, sad that wouid take sled
fear, and to take hie wife with him and do for her
also. At last he bred at her ; but lbws was only
powder in the pistol, and it did not hurt her. But he
was arrested and sent to prison. When he cause out be
spurned the Invitation to go to Dublin and "el awn "
In the pantomime, sod since thee be had boon work-
ing on the Loed'as side. Whim he deold oi no this
Satan tried to torment him with the thought that his
had no trade, But be said—" Get thee With d me,
Satan," and had nothing to do but elatioer raga and
bonseoutd people used to follow him to roe the orost
Herr Teesdale, the man monkey, so reduced. They
bought • donkey and cart, but the donkey ses yoong
and unbroken, sad the cart worn out, and he sold
them at Sheffield fair, after shading out • I d ay, for
6r. id. Yet William Therm, lees= of Don. aiier
Thommelet.essolt him an eagagtment for six ;
but the WY never answered, owl he ke le at till
It was wore out. Hie =lshtar caged no bun and
found Min breakfasting shortly before Christmas on
two sold potatoes, and made • collection toe him, and
it was the happiest Okrishoes he ever had. He
never had so much tea before, for when hi was •
drunkard he could not bear the smell of ire; but
when he became an abstainer his rule warn tea for
breakfast, dinner, and ese also, only with plenty of
gad teed. Mier giving Noe description of his