The Manitowoc pilot. [volume] (Manitowoc, Wis.) 1859-1932, 1872-01-25
How Beecher began Preaching at
LnWrenceburx. Indiana.

A""fenceourX: INDIANA.
l asked to cross thegiver from Cincinnati
and preach 10 Covington, and went over
and began to preach there. did not know
bat | was geins to stay tsye. And was
perfectly willing to stay. But | was soon
called By woman TO Lawre8eeburg. She
was the factotum of the 1hoF church. And
went there and sple to a well nigh
empty building. | was settled over town
with two di,tilleries and twenty devils in it,
1 was very poor. There was no patrimonv
coming to me, as YOU know. The moment
| was out Of the seminary | was without
my fathers support, and was obliged TO
take care of myself. | had salary, but it
was a salary of only 500, and | took
half of that to go to New England to get
married. And as the parish paid only half
of it, and the other half was to come from
the missionary society, | found myself
short of funds. had Just eighteen cents
IN my pocket when | came back | was
| taken up by a good Methodist brother for
about week, and then | got these two
rooms to which | have alluded They
were up stairs. One was the kitchen, cellar
and sitting room; the other was the library,
bedroom and parlor. So that we had six
rooms, calling each three. The cellar was
made by putting things under the bed and
the other rooms were added by sundry
devices. You who 20 in flush houses. fur
nlshed by your grandpapas and grand
mammas, do not know anything about the
joys of housekeeping. Persons ought to
begin at the bottom to know what these
joys are. And | began down there.
| had no idea that | could preach.
hat 7 = !,
much. | merely went TO work with the
feeling, g | will do as well as | can, and |
will stick to it, if the Lord pleases, and
fight His battle the best l know how"
And | was thankful as l could be. No
body ever sent me spare-rib that did not
thank God for the kindness which was
shown me. | recolcct when
Judge - gave me his cast off clothing, l
felt that | was sumptuously clothed. |
wore old coats and second hand shirts for
two or three years; and | was not above it,
either, although sometimes as | was phys
lcally somewhat well developed man, and
the Judge was thin and his legs were slim,
they We're rather tight fit
There was humorous side to this, bat
could easily have put dolorous side To it,
| could have said :" lIumphl pretty bust
ness, son of Lyman Bcecher, President Of
the Theological Seminary, in this misera-
bic hole, where there is no church, ami
where there are no elders, and 10 men to
make them out Of This is not according
to my deserts. | could do better. ought
not to waste my talents in such place
But was delivered from any such feeling.
| felt that it was an unspeakabIe privilege
to be anywhere and speak of Christ. had
very little theolosy-that is to say, it slip
ped away from me. | knew it, bat it did
not do me any good. 1t was like an armor
which had lost its buckles, and would not
stick on. But | had one vivid point-the
realization of the love of God in Jesus
Christ And | tried to work that up in
every possible shape for the people. And
it was the secret Of all the little success
which had in the early part of my minis
try. | remember that | used to ride out in
the neighborhood and preach to the desti-
| tute, and that my predominant feeling was
Thanksgiving that God permitted me to
preach the unsearchable riches Of Ills
Christina Union.