The Emporia news. [volume] (Emporia, Kan.) 1859-1881, 1872-09-13
REV. HENRY WARD BEECHER.
Amusing Account Of His First Charge
A Model Sexton.

Mr.. Beecher's early breaking in
for the ministry, i'll an obscure
parish in the West, is thus re-
lated by himself with delicious
egotism:
1t was my lot at first to be
placed in village with q mere
handful of inhabitants in one of
the Western States. 1 conceive it
to be one of the kindnesscs of
Providence that / was sent to so
small a place. 1 had but one
male member in the church, and l
wished him out all the time l was
there.
/ practiced public speaking
from the time of my sophomore
year in college. I was addicted
to going out and making temper
ance speeches and holding confer
ence meetings, so that 1 acquired
considerable confidence, being
naturally very diffident. When 1
went to the seminary 1 still kept
up that habit, practicing whenever
1 had the opportunity. At the
end of my three years seminary
course-six months of which, how
ever, were diverted to editorial
work, 4 loss of tins to my studies
which was afterward made up-I
went to q small town in Indiana,
the last one in the State toward
Cincinnati, on the Ohio river. 1t
had perhaps five or six hundred
inhabitants. 1t had IN it a Meth
odist, a Baptist, and this Presby-
terian church to which I went.
The church would hold perhaps
from $50 to 300 people. 1t had
no lamps and no hymn books. 1t
had nineteen female members, and
the whole congregation could
hardly raise from 5000 to $3.50 as
salary. took that field and went
to work in it.
Among the earliest things l did
was to beg money from Cincln-
natl to buy side lamps to hang up
in the church, so that we could
have night service. After being
there q month or two / went to
Cincinnati again, and collected
money enough to bay hymn books.
1 distributed them in the seats.
Before this the hymns had been
lined out. / recollect one of the
first strokes of management
ever attempted in that parish was
in regard to these hymn books.
Instead of asking the people if
they were willing to have them,
justaput the books into the pews;
for there are ten men that will
fight a change about which they
are consulted to one that will
fight it when it has taken place.
1 simply made the change for them.
There was little looking up and
looking around, but nothing was
said. So after that we sang out
of books Then there was no.
body IN the church to light the
lamps, and they could not affertl
to get a. sexton. Such q thiAe
was unknown In the primitive
simplicity of that Hoosier time.
Well, 1 unanimously elected my
self to be the sexton. I swept
out the church, trimmed the
lamps, and lighted them. i was
literally, the light of that church.
1 didn't stop to groan about it, OF
moan about it, but / did it. AZ
first the men folk thereabout seem;
ed to think it was chaff to catcI
them with, or something of that
kind, but I went steadily on doing
4 the work. After q month, or &
| two young men, who were clerks
in 9 store then8 lsuggesEsisb to me
| that they would help me-: Ididn''
think / wanted any help; it wa
Eonly what one man could do
Then they suggested three or foui
of Us taking one month each, anS
in that way they were worked in
1t was the best thing that eve
happened to them. Having some
thing to do in the church was /,
4 means of grace to them. 1t dreV
them to me and me to them Nom
of them were Christian youn;
men, but / consulted them abou
various things, and by-and-by