The daily dispatch. [volume] (Richmond [Va.]) 1850-1884, 1867-05-09
A WHY Preacher.

ITO NV III opihSuC, III MS NioltS w
European Celebrities" gives anecdotes
of the Rev. Matthew Wilks, celebrated
London preacher:
There was nothing for which he had q
more cordial adherence than exhibition of
dandyism in a young minister, and nothing
of this kind ever came in contact with him
without meeting rebuke. On one occa-
sion young minister, of good deal of
pretension and pride, went from the coun-
try to London, and carried Mr.. Wilks a
letter, designed to procure for him an in
vtation to preach.
"Well, young man." said Matthew, with
a nasal twang that is perfectly indescriba-
BILE, but which nobody who has once heard
can ever forget swell, young man, you
want to preach in London, don't you p
81 am going to pass few days here,
sir, and if it should suit Mr.. Wiiks's con-
venience, should be very happy, indeed,
to give his people sermon while l am
| here"
Well, replied Matthew, "you can preach;
you can preach-come along next We'd
nesday morning to the Tabernacle. will
meet you there, and you can take my lee
ture for that morning"
The young man agreed to do so, and
was on the ground at the appointed hour.
Matthew met him'at the door, disguised,
as he had been before, with his dandy airs,
and thus addressed him:
"Go along into the pulpit, young man,
and | will be below and look at you, and
shall hear every word you say"
The young preacher darted through the
aisle into the pulpit in manner that
seemed better to befit ballroom than q
place of worship. He performed the in
troductory service with an air of insuffer-
able self-complacency, and in due time
opened the Bible and read his text, which
was the last verse of the first chapter of
John " Hereafter ye shall see Heaven
open, and the angels of God ascending and
descending upon the Son of Man." He
had written his sermon and committed it
all to memory, as he supposed, to word !;
but, unfortunately, he had left his manu-
script behind. When he had read his text,
he found it impossible to remember the
first sentence. He hestated and hemmed,
and began thus:
You perceive, my brethren-you per-
ceive-that the angels of God-are here
Representative ascending-and descend
ing" He then set up a good stout cough,
in the hope that his memory might get to
work in the mean time; but the cough was
as unproductive as it was artificial, and he
could do nothing but 60 right over again
with the absurd sentence with which he
had started. He coughed again and again,
but his memory was in too profound a
slumber to be awakened by it. After two
or three minutes, during which he was a
spectacle to the congregation, and espe-
cially to Matthew, who was all the time
watching and listening, according to his
promise, he shut his Bible in perfect con-
sternation, and abruptly closed the SER
vice. Or course he came out of the pull
pit with very different air from that with
which he had entered it. But the worst
was to come-he had to meet Matthew
and hear his scathing comments.
"Well, WE'LL" said he, "young man,
you've preached-you've preached in Lon
don-ha'nt your I've heard you; I've
heard every word you've said, and I've
only one comment to make if you had
assembled as you descended, then you
might have descended as you assembled
1t is needless to say that the young man
was by this time completely cured of his
ambition to preach in the Tabernacle.
; Another young minister of similar
character paid him a visit, and Matthew
observed he sported what he thought q
very indecent number Of watch-seals. He
eyed them for some time, as if scrutinizing
the material of which they were made,
and then said, with terribly sarcastic air
at seems to me you've got great many
seals to your ministry, considering how
young you are"
He was once preaching on some public
occasion, when there were not less thar
fifty persons in the congregation taking
notes of his sermon. At length he stopped
suddenly for q minute, and the steno.
graphers, having nothing to do, all looked
up, and were gazing at him with astonish.
) ment.
Behold" said he; 81 have COMPOUNDED
the Scribes."
On one occasion, as he was on his way
to meeting of ministers, he got caught il
a shower in the place called Billingsgate
where there were large number Of wo
men dealing in fish, who were using mos
profane and vulgar language. As he stop
: ped under shed in the midst Of them
he felt called upon to give at least his ties
; timony against their wicked9ess.
"Don't you Think" said ne, speaking
with the greatest deliberatioD and so
lemnity "don't you think ! shall appea
, as a swift witness against you in the da!
of Judgment 7"
IL presume So" said one, "for tn
biggest rogue always turns States evi
dence
Matthew, when he got to the meeting
; related the incident.
"And what did you say in reply
Mr.. Wilks?" said one of the minister
present.
"Whst could n" vas the character
istic reply,