The Sun.
London, England, 1856-11-24 00:00:00

fc.,) Iz6?--;Le
E S PERPA, z)
17'
1"""•,' !,11;*&_ 7:4
fiA,74 ?..4
MR. SPURGEON AT THE a .(:). re.".
MUSIC-HALL.
(From the Times.) N. 11 S
Yesterday morning this popular Nonconformist
preacher made his appearance again in the New Music-
hal
l at the Surrey-gardens, and conducted a religious
service, at which some 5,000 or 6,000 people were pre-
sent. The circumstance of itself would have had little
or no public interest but for the calamity, still fresh in
the public recollection, in which his previous visit her,
unhappily resulted, and by which seven persons lost
their lives. The greatest precautions were taken to pre-
vent the recurrence of any similar catastrophe, both by
the managers of the gardens and by the police authori-
ties. The recommendation of the jury as to the con.
struction of the stairs in the four corner towers leading to
the galleries in the building has not yet been carried into
effect, but the directors have since had the balustrades
properly secured, So as to resist a much greater amount
of pressure than any to which it is at all likely they will •
or
ever be subjected in future, and they have recently had,
will shortly have, a plan under their consideration
for erecting a grand external flight of steps at the west
end of the hall, communicating with all the galleries,
with other c mnmodious appliances calculated to
add to the convenience of visitor 3 to enhance the archi-
tectural effect of the building, and, what is of more im-
portance, to multiply the facilities of access and retreat
on occasions of great pressure.
•
It was not deemed advisable yesterday to admit more
than 5,000 or 6,000 persons into the building, though
it is capable on an emergency of accommodating half as
many more, and hundreds went away without being able
to obtain adm;ssion. Mr. Superintendent Lued was
present, with upwards of 20 of the metropolitan police
acting under his iestrucion, an these were posted at
various points in the building and at the entrance to
the grounds. He had also some detective officers placed
among the congregation, a precaution which would seem
to have been necessary, for after the service he noticed
three women,' dressed in a style of far greater elegance •
than any one else present, whom he knew to be notorious
thieves, depart with the crowd. The ground floor and
the three galleries were crowded, but not inconveniently
so, and the audience, which included an immense num-
ber of respectably-dressed and well-behaved persons,
came and went fortunately without the occurrence of any
casualty to mar the occasion. Mr. Spurgeon preached
from a kind of rostrum or platform improvised for him
on the spot where at other times M. Jullien is accustomed
to wave his wand. His sermon was an ordinary one, and
in it be made no reference whatever to the disaster which
happened on his former appearance there, though in a
prayer which preceded it be invoked consolation for the
persons bereaved of their relatives on that occasion, and
forgiveness for those with whom the calamity origi-
nated. He also sought in the course of the service to
correct certain rumours which, he said, prevailed in
reference to himself and his congregation, and especially
that which attributed to them an intention to build a
place of worship capable of containing 15,000 people,
which, be said, was just treble the number they sought
to accommodate. For his own part, he added, he had
no wish for such a place, but at the same time he bad
also no desire, Sunday after Sunday, to nave as many
people go away as entered the edifice in which he was
accustomed to preach in New Park-street. He never
asked any one to come and hear him ; but if they did
and would be did not see how be was to be blamed for
it. If, however, it was a sin, it was a very uncom-
mon one—one which very few ever committed, but which
many would like to commit if they could. He went on
to state that some bad suggested that he ought not to
admit anyone to that hall except by ticket. But it should
be remembered that he had come there for the very pur-
pose of preaching to those who could not afford to pay
for seats, and he wished as many as possible of the gene-
ral public to come. His discourse was altogether free
from any of the peculiar sallies with which it is said he
is accustomed to startle his audience, and sometimes to
move them to laughter. In that respect, perhaps, it
was no fair specimen of the kind of preaching with which
the public associate his name ; but it now and then
abounded with striking metaphors, indicating consider- •.
able power of imagination, heightened by more energy
of action and graphic language than one is accustomed
to see and hear in the pulpit, and in these qualities
seems to lie the secret of his popularity, such as it is.

Leiz(&'.

.jl-2-44--/ (-4-d•

(Front the Morning Post.)

Mr. Spurgen made his reappearance at the Surrey
Music Hall yesterday morning, his patrons and sup-
porters having secured to their favourite oracle the re-
occupancy of this fine building f;r more consecutive
Sundays.
The curiosity natural to Londoners has been fully ex-
cited during the past week, by the announcement that
Mr. Spurgeon would resume that pulpit from which,
on'ya few short weeks since, he witnessed a scene of
horror which might have palled the stoutest heart.
Probably an expectation that the preacher would descant
at some length up,sn that terrible calamity and give his
own onpr,,sn.na of the causes which ltd to it may have
had something to do with aysembling together the encl.-
Molls crowd which, for a long period before the gates
were opene.i, surrounied the entra),ces of the Surrey
Gardens yesterday morning. If this were so, they must
have been to a great extent disappointed, for Mr. Spur.
goon made but little allusion to the catastrophe, and
almost confined his observations extraneous to the re-
ligions service to an exposition of the intentions of his
friends in relation to the erection of a monster Taber-
nacle.

Tlie members of the Park-street Chapel congregation
and many others were admitted to the Music Hall by
private tickets before the doors opened to the public.
When the latter entered the body of the hall was already
well filled, but the galleries and corridors afforded ac-
eommudation for so large a number that when all in
a tendance had been provided with seats there was still
room and to spare; the audience probably at no period
exceediug 8,000 persons.

At a ciiarter to 11 o'clock Mr. Spurgeon was con iucted
by Mr. Olney, and other deacons of Park-street Chapel,
to an enormous pulpit constructed to snit the preacher's
style of oratory, with Pufficient space to walk backwards
and forwards while addressing his congregation. The
service commenced with a prayer by Mr. Spurgeon
who, after invoking the blessing of God upon the ser-
vice, proceeded to pray—" Wherever people are assem-
bled to worship God, that place is sacred—whether be-
neath the magnificent canopy of the blue sky or in a
building such as that in which we are assembled—
every place is sacred when devoted to such a purpose,
fur God is everywhere. May God be in our midst at
this time ! Let nothing frighten His sheep. Grant that
they may feed in quietness. Grant that the preacher
may preach with that earnestness Which becomes a
man who must soon stand before his Maker's bar—a
dying man to dying men. May this be a time of great
display of the grace of God. Let sinners be saved. Let
the people be saved, and glory be begotten to the name
of the Most High God by this service. Thou who hast
shown us great troubles wilt quicken us again, and
bring us from the depths of our woe. Thou. who hast
smitten us and wounded us to the quick, lift up the
light of Thy countenance upon us, and mu:tiply Thy
blessings among us. Grant that music, sweeter than is
often heard here, may arise—even the music of the peni-
tential sigh, and the aspitatiou of the breaking heart
mourning over its own wickedness."

This prayer was followed by a hymn, in which the
combination of many thousand voices had a grand and
imposing effect. The preacher next read the 15th chap.
ter of the Gospel according to St. Mark, interspersing
copious commentaries upon the incidents of our Saviour's
trial and condemnation before Pontius Pilate. This
portion of the service concluded, prayer was again
offered, in the course of which Mr. Spurgeon made a
brief allusion to the late catastrophe, imploring blessings
and heavenly consolations upon those who have been
bereaved, or suffered injury on that occasion.
Previously to selecting his text, Mr. Spurgeon said—
" I wish, my dear friends, to say a word or two be-
fore I commence preaching to-day. Tnere have been a
great many rumours abroad respecting the new chapel
the builditie of which has been contemplated by a num-
ber of my freeds. It has been asserted that we want
t,, build a tabernacle capable of holding 15,000 people 1
With respect to that I will only ,ay that some truthful
person has thought fit to put a' 1 ' before the .5,' for
we have never eirertained even a thought of building
such a place. It ha., however, been, thought tbat a
place of worship capable of accommodating about 5,000
persona eas necessary. For my own part I have no
wi-b for such a place—only I cannot bear to see, Sab-
bath after Sabbath, so many people go away as enter
the chapel were we have been accustomed to assemble
for worship. It is the will of people to come in large
multitudes to listen to my feeble proclamation of
come
truths of the Gospel. I have not asked them
to come
that
—it is their 'own free will ; and if it is a
in
uncommoninm sin
etalrfmfheeyp
they should do so, it is at least
pay for
whie'i many others would like to commit
their seats. Tnat would defeat the
It has been said let those who wish to hi
eannot afford to
view. I wall to preach to whothnos.ef,
is
my
wish to ad.
object I have in
pay for seat- in a chapel, d
a publicasseads proosusoibdle.toT-dhaeyre;
f expenses attending
but as there are
worshipnecessarily
in this hall, the
inwiitll asbema: cnifilltehcetinggenbe,rocaels i
yp
the celebration of Divine
are
disposed will be re.
contributions of such
.easarmg.
Do you think we are
ceived at the doors onin_ A
h k 130, we would not have your
begging. If you t..
friends, I know, are most anxious ou
like. Many of my
It is open for all to do just as they
money as a gift.
give double what they have done
lwarogoefrdplace of worship than we have
afford it. It is proposed to hold a service
if they could
mornings. It is
at the e
present,subject of
the inconvenience of my congregation to attend
have a comfortable place of worship elsewhere.
:eneidtvery sappy together : there I have a con-
as many members as any mortal man
There we
ghmb
reepo_rrgeoe
a.h
tit onovo
ne
thiseeonfolyllowwinhgaSvuinedwayof winning souls .0
can desire.
God that we have come to this larger place, and should
we be accused of other objects, the Judgment-day will
lay bare what our motives have truly been."
The rev. gentleman took his text from the sth
e sthEctfhtaaptoedr
of St. Paul's Epistle to the Romans,
v. 8—"
commendeth Ilia love towards us, in that, while we were
yet sinners, Christ died for us," -Upon this passage tee
rev. gentleman preached an eloquent discourse, setting
forth the love and condescension of God towards a sinful
world in the expiatory sacrifice of His Son. The sermon
was listened to throughout with marked attention by the
congregation, the sonorous voice of the preacher pent)•
tratiug to the remotest corner of the hall.
disApetrtshede.close of the sermom the vast assemblage quietly

A body of police, under Mr. Superintendent Lund,
were in attendance within the ball as well as in the gar•
dens and preserved Admirable order.