The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1856-1888, 1869-08-21
lrRox oCR own coRREsroSDEST.I

IescLer'S Character
TTKoM oCR OWN CORRESPONDENCE
NEW YoKx. June II, 1869.
have lately made new observation of the
rbenomenon known "a Henry Ward Beecher.
Other churches are becoming each Sunday
more and more empty, as the warm weather be-
comes warmer; but Plymouth Church is rs
crowded ~ ever, and will continue to attract an
audience Of three thousand people, morning and
evening. until the last Of July, when Mr.. Beechcr
will take his customary summer vacation
Come with me to Brooklyn. It is cool,
brirht June evening; leave the Fulton
Avenue cars at Orange street, and find that all
the other passengers do the same, and are bound
unon the same errand with ourselves. 1t is
quarter after seven O'Clock, and the sidewalks
are already crowded with people who are going
10 hear Beecher. Arriving in front Of the plain
brick etIiiice known as Plymouth Church, We find
a macs Of people, perhaps 500 in number, stand
ing before the doors. Policemen preserve an
open way through the centre OF the crowd, which
presses inward. not tumuItuously, yet with con-
siderable force. But for their aid the pew-hold-
ers' seats would be pre-oecupied by the public an
hour before the service begins. As it is, adven-
turous persons who own no sittings often sail
into church in the wake Of pew-holders, and get
into the front ranks OF the crowd which occupies
the vestibule. This is n great advantage; for
the pew-owners retain claim upon their own
seats il these remain unoccupied after the hour
for the commencement of the service. At that
time QO:30 A. VI. and 7:5O p. NJ all the empty
seats are promptly filed with strangers
To get n seat in Plymouth Church, the best
way is to go with friend who owns pew.
But If you n stranger in the church, the fol-
lowing rules will generally prove sufficient: l.,
Adopt the seIf-possessed and serene air Of pew
holder, and advance boldly To the front ranks Of
the crowd in the vestibulc. 2, Having reached
this commanding position, drop the mien of
authority gnze affhbly upon the ushers, and
en,Ieavor To look as if you had come all the way
from Texas to hear Mr. Beecher. Then you will
be likely to be seated well up in front, in thou
sand-dollar pew ....
Not only the seats but the arches are densely
packed, the hitter being provided with folding
chairs that in of panic from fire n ter
rible crushing to death would occur. In this
community, however, there is n charming nom
ehaanee about the safety Of life. Americans dc
not discuss accidents until after they have hap
pencd.
PunetuaIly Mr.. Beecher appears, n strong,
aorid man in his face the geniuses Of solemnity
and Of fun seem intimately blended. The most
thorough feeling and expression of reverence per-
wade, however, the invocation, and the reading Of
hymn and scripture. Mr.. Beecher's reading oi
hymns is the most affecting elocution that have
heard. Perhaps no other speaker in the
country than Mr.. Beecher can express such q
thrill and glow Of emotion simply by the un-
studied accents of his voice. He conveys all the
warmth, tenderness, glowing feeling Of his na-
ture in those expressive tones. His reading o
Wesley's or OF the MOrayan Brcthren's hymns
is often very thrilling; and you almost expect
the preachers voice to fail or shatter in q mist
Of tears"
When the sermon gets fairly under way the
- many-sIdedness ~ of the preacher begins to up
pear. His manner and active movements; hi;
solIly planted attitudes; his gestures like those
ot u blacksmith ut the forge; his face, fOrit
with the efforts of oratory; the mixed impression
OF poetic power, plain eommon-sense, hunor
rudeness and reverence, that you derive from th'
Vigorous current of his speech that draws n thou
sand SMILES from thousand sources rs it pour
aIong,-alI convey the unn1istakable information
variety, strength, and exuberance-
Yet Mr.. Bcecher is not n Of the highes
Intellectual endowment. Few people care Il
read his sermons second time; and his news
paper contributions, pleasant as they are, neyel
take higher place than that OF the literature o
the hour. Ills novel, 80 Norwood" was one o
the most scattering and incoherent OF stories
his best book, the first series of the '' Sta
Papers," is now hardly read Yet it deserved I
better fate than forgetfune-s; for it abounded il
passages Of poetic beauty and OF real feeling
and had less Of that carelessness and turgidity o
style that is so frequent in his other works
1t hsnot, however, by the intellect that Beeche
mainly aecomplishes his part He is n maj
gifted at once with deep feeling and with grea
power OF expressing that feeling. 1t is his per
'nai magnetism, his ability to communicate &
an audience the inmost feelings of his own arden
nature, that draws three thousand people, ever.
sunday morning and night, to hear him. Their
wonderful freshness about his speech,
'Pris OF daring in the very intonation Of hi
voice. Other ministers speak If they wsr
Tue necessary product Of their circumstances an
y. their ereeds, and seem thoroughly tanned b
e'i''zation- But Bcecher impresses one with
sense OF wldness akin to that Of the forest or G
sue winds When hear his lusty and unterri
neu voice / am reminded Of the birds whor
N"aueer Describes in one of his minor poems:
And some DID sing al out with the han throatep
-e stands there to say what he feels-to hui
'e'srn ut you, to mourn and exalt with you, I
P"'y with the airiest saIlies OF humor or Of in
sna'ion at will Beecher is Beecher, because
Nh''ns force. FIRE, and something to say, he dar'
say it and to be himself. IL is refreshing
zee a man who Is not eowed by civilization. b
yona other men he seems daring, spontaneou
'"eere- Yet Henry Ward Beecher is by 1
'''ns q man OF hasty or unguarded speech. r
-AS conquered peace with the churches, and do