Indiana American. [volume] (Brookville, Ind.) 1833-1861, 1856-06-20

several sketches OF the distinguished
members Of the late General Confer
ence. The following is his taking"
of DR.. Holiday.
Among those who are FIRST and la
test in their seats during the session OF
the conference, may be mentioned Fer
nando Cortes Holiday, the whilom
chum and classmate Of our boyhood,
and one Of our cherished friends. He
sits now In an advanced position Of
the semi-circles that are arranged in
front Of the speakers desk, Watching
The speakers eye with tho carefulness
Of a king6sher. and seldom fails to get
the floor In contest with the oldest
parliamentarian. Albeit. the charge
We hear brought against some. lies not
at his door. He does not'deem 1t nec-
essary to make a speech on every sub.
ject that comes before the body. In
deed, be speaks bat rarely. and then
briefly. and yen..r.lly to the point; n
qualify this. We have always thought.
indicative Of men Of the greatest In
luence. either ia ecclesiastical or civil
assemblies. A man that Is always on
his feet. becomes q monopolist OF the
time Of his brethren, and Il will not be
surp Using II he be charged with q less
welcome virtue than that OF n deness
--ego:ism. Physically. Bro. Holiday
tends to corporalily. q little below The
medium In stature. and made to limp
by most severe aiiliciion OF erysipe-
las about sixteen years ago. which ter
minated In an obslinats suppuration
Of the knee. joint. His lsmehrss. how
ever, scarcely stamps him an invalid.
and he walks with much erectneas and
~pidity. His eiiquetical air is natur.
ally urbane. the lew of kindness lights
up his whole dencanor. and we have
seldom met him without being greeted
with smile. while he seems to enjoy,
as much as any one we ever knew. q
good. hearty, anti-dyspeptic, but not
obstreperous laugh.
Genius, with her saddened hues and
deepened lines. has not placed her sig
net upon him. ImagInalion--he has
ne.-but he delights in Its creative
potency II others. Fancy has been
more liberal 10 him. and the mild, the
gentle. the lovely and the placid. often
sninglc prominently with the furniture
Of his mind. He would gaze IN rap.
ture on simple beauty. but go to sleep
on q sunny day, to the music Of Mag.
ara. He Is a sound. though not pro
found logician, and is much ofIener
right in his conclusions. than those
who pass us being much more pro-
found. When nature made i'm. she
seems to have said. Twill try my hand
on making one purely sensible man,
As preacher. his sermons are always
eminen;Iy marked with chasteness
and great intslligibility Of language.
constructed upon some great principle,
with all the mechanical regularity VI a
Yankee cottage. smiling In snowy
whiteness from its nestling-plac
amid grass and evergreens. Flowers
are not numerous II we except--to
drop the 6gure--now and then an ex-
otto In the lorm Of poetry. His ser.
mons are evidently well.siudied. and
to hear him from the same text the
second time, one would bs ready to
conclude that he Is. to alarge extent.
a memoriter preacher. But let no one
suppose that his sermons are delivered
in any sense as school-boy parrots
his piece. The fact is, this is the man
nsr Of preparation adapted to the cry
constitution Of Bro. HIS mind. Being
therefore, perfectly natural, everything
appears SO TO his audience, and for
years. he has stood at the head Of his
conference, ms one Of its first preach
ers. For instructiveness. and what
we will call Willingness and lasting
impressiveness, there are but Few ser.
mons preached. that equal Bro. Holli.
days take him rs We will say, upon
the average. Ills carly advantages
we're limited. but he Ind care to iri.
umph over the rigor Of fortune, plan.
ned his own curriculum Of study with
such aids rs he had Mt hand. pursued
4 regular course. and bscame self.
graduated. Whether he ever had rc.
sort to the comforting ofa degree upon
HIMSELF which he certainly merilcd.
and which. perhaps. would have done
Just m we'll, we never inquired. but
10 do rrmembcr that In 1880. he 70.
ccived the degree Of a. NJ. from the
McIiendree College. In Illinois. Il
not extensively accurate In science. CO
few men thus educated. nre. IL IL rich
ly atoned Tor by tha. extended infor'
nation TO which conira.dIslInguIshing'
T.. We may give q name of learning
Ae commenced the ministry, NJ to-
many have. too early. probably. W.
heard him exhort In his sixteenth
year. he was licensed TO preach In hil
seventeenth. and In his eighteenth
We find him bobbIng along on horse
back. around one OF those extenslv,
circuits that were then 10 DO found II
Southern and middle Indiana. III
has been In the travelling connection
ever since, being now about forly.on'
years of age. and has filed all the Of
hces In his church. land also many o
the stations Of the first class from
class-leader to presiding elder. and |
now, We believe, for the frst time.
delegate TO the General Conference
where every one believes. that he GIL
well his seat. His ministry and nd
minisiration have always been success
ful and satisfactory TO bis brethren
by whom he is now esteemed for hi
works sake. His influence has ofte
been more like the brook that mean
ders no:selessly through the grass
field, watering untold thousands q
roots. than the cascade leaping in eli
very sheen. with song Of wildnes
from the mountain side. lie Is one {
those men to whom critics must hes
tate TO give the title Of greatness. an
vet Ia there so much Of the truly Qres