The central Presbyterian. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1856-1908, 1869-02-10
Current Anecdotes.
BY REV. JAMES UpHAM, D. D.

1t great mystery where some anecdotes
come from. They pass current as wholly
true, and yet are utterly false. Sometimes
they are in keeping with the character and
are held to be striking illustrations of promi-
nent traits, and the tenacity with which they
cling to life and establish sort of immortali-
ty in tradition is due to this fact. At other
times, they are wholly foreign to the char
acter, and yet live to perpetuate wrong
against the reputation. Many of them must
come from those who love to tell good story,
and have peculiar facility in drawing on
fancy when the facts fail. A great fault of
ancient historians and biographers was that
they swooped all up together with their drag
nets, and passed them down to US, to the
great marring, in many cases, of very noble
names. Niebuhr school of critical history
has had deal of work in gathering the good
into baskets and throwing the bad away.
The interesting anecdote of DR.. Beecher
preaching to a congregation of one and
in after years meeting that person as de
voted Christian minister who dated his con-
version back to that occasion, was long be-
ieved and widely told, until DR.. Beecher' s
own emphatic public declaration, There is
not a word of truth in it, finally extin-
guished it.
One of the most eminent American divines
of the age of Whitefeld was William Ten
nent. When young man he seemed to die,
but at the time fixed for his funeral he re-
vived and spent long life in the service of
his Master. He Away supposed that dur
ing the three days in which he lay to all
appearance dead, he was really in heaven,
favored, as Paul was, with an immediate
vision of the inefable glory of the celestial
word. His piety made him special object
of dislike in that dark period of our nat onal
history when French infdelity was the very
rage of fashion. Among the malignant an
noyances to which he was subjected was
charge of having stolen horse, one Sab
bath, from the gentleman who entertained
him when on pulpit supply. There is a
story, which has long been currently be-
lieved, that at his prosecution he was &C
quilted through the testimony of man who,
being warned of his peril by dream, hur.
ried from his distant home, and though he
did not know the condition of his friend,
was able on the spot to establish Mr.. Ten
nent's innocence by witnessing to an abb on
the day of the theft. This story of the
dream, so striking in itself and so much in
harmony with Mr.. Tennent's life, late
number of the Princeton Review has shown
to be wholly without foundation.
There is reason to believe that not little
which gets into the current Sabbath School
literature is equally baseless. The marvel
lous seize on it with avidity But religious
teachers, whether through the press, the pull
pit or the platform, need to. make sure of
the character of the illustrations by means
of which they seek to impress truth. Ro-
man Catholic history is full of such things,
and the general result has been scepticism
instead of faith, and superstition at the best.
We believe in God. We believe in prayer.
We believe in providence, general and spe-
cial, We do not forget, however, that God
is sparipg of miracles. He prefers to leave
men mainly to the great lessons of his word.
If they hear not Moses and the prophets,
neither will they be persuaded though one
rose from the dead. - Waterman and Re-
fectOr.