, 1874-06-14
BY the sunlight and perfumod With the flowers,

pet in the din Of BATTLE or sinks into the conver
sational tone as he tells you some New Euglans
| tempest Of excitement,-the NEXT, toppling yo1
over into an unseen abyss Of laughter.
Mr. Beecher is Of too versatile talent to b
tied down to manuscript sermon, though he oc
casionally reads one, aud then it is apt to be o.
the highly metaphysical order. His skeleton o.
the sermon is hastily traced out on paper, the
| characters boug sometimes an inch long, so tha
his eye may catch them from distance. 1t il
Eaid that both sarmous are prepared on Sunday
which would seem to be an almost incredible
stretch OF labor. Be that as it may, tho evening
sermon, often
THE MORE POWERFUL AND ELECTRIC
! of the two, is Hketched out on Sunday after
noon, after nap has followed his dinner. Some
| after all, hasty and imperfect method Of work.
His blunt. characteristic reply WAS, .Some peo-
| pie Like their bread hot. aud some like 1t cold.
l like mine hot There is no way Of describing
| or formulating his style in speaking. It is 81
| mnny-sided as his mind. He begins, perhaps,
| in low tone; his voice warns and rises with
| the theme until it swells into thuDder-peal or
| solemn note Of denunciation; and, having car
| ried his audience with him to the highest pitch
Of feryor, he drops suddenly from his great alrl-
| tude, and quietly resumes the reading OF bis
| notes.
But, difficult rs it is TO give q description Of
| this marvellous aad various oratoricA display,
| there are two phnsos Of his delivery which eau,
perhaps, DC chosen As e4u1DlL1ub L0Qht p4AluIy
| the marked characteristics Of his genius. Tho
| first ia that fight Of oratory which he takes
when something Of especial import moyes him.
Perhaps lie is pleading for higher aud better
lives, or denounciDg some great public wrong.
Then his voice rings out, clear and rosistloss,
filling every nook of tho vast edfco, and thrill
ing you in every nerve with sense OF its power.
Then it is that you feel him to be working at
high pressure. There is no time in this light
ning-lke speech for deltoration. Tho combus-
to4 4-.u. ,11 %1.1
most hlghy-traned intellect could feed his
tongue fast enough. Hearing bin speak at this
rate you realize the richness and fullness of his
vocabulary. Every word
SHOT OUT As IF FROM GUN,
fits in it's place es squarelv as the brick which
the bricklayer lays with mortar and trowe!
There is no time to search for words and choose
between Synonyms. Each one is caught in this
6orce flame, and sent out whirling; and it is al
ways the right one. There are many old and
derived from his reading in the curly diyines, Of
whom he is said to be close student. Some
thing of the variety and appropriateness Of his
language is no doubt lest on his hearers. They
1ologists, though. perhaps. they are above the
gun OF church-audieuccs in intelligence.
The other distinctive phase to which I refer is
exhibited in his illustrations and anecdotes. Ho
pauses to point moral with g. little story or bit
of acting. II it be humorous, you begin to see
THE FUN TWINKLE IN H1s EYES
and twitch in his lips. He unconsciously takes
on the posture, or the tone, or the dialect, Of
the man he is describing; and the acting is in
imitahle. He relates q conversation between
two men. and the two are as distinct ag il you
saw them in costume. Mr. Beecher, think,
often makes his congregation laugh without in
tending to, though there would seem no more
harm in laughing in church than in crying. lie
often looks little startled whom he hears the
ripple of mertimcnt that sweeps over the sen Of
f1faE wnn1hrft1} 1nt
man SO full Of life and spirits should let little
of it out occasionally. 1t is in these CONVERSE
tloual passages that he
D1srnAcTs THE snoRT-HASD REPORTERS.
His own reporter, Elinwood, who has iotted
him down for many year. and who writes like
the wind, has confessed that at these times the
best he can generally do is to sketch an outline
OF what has been said, and I'LL it out as we'll as
he can from memory. The conduct Of the scribe
who writes at good rate in shorthand, aud who
is getting report for paper, is couaical in
these emergencies- He drops his pencil in des-
peration, screws his eyo-glass on his nose, and
looks at the speaker as if ho believed him to be
an unexpected victim Of hydtopnobia. i
Whether speaking grayely, or jocose1y, or ve-
homently, one thing is apparent which will ex-
plain to you one e. .at secret of his power, and
that ls
us PRACTICAL KNOWLEDGE.
Hs has been d keen observer, and has
stored Lis mind With the details OF mems |
Of tho mechanic arts, and thousand |
md one things that concern daily life. |
He once said thut he never met man from
whom he could not learn something; and it bus |
from men such vast variety Of useful things. |
In the sermon heard, he used as illustrations
The sailing Of ship the plowing Of q farm, and
The cutting Of diamond; and, from his thor
ough familiarity with technical terms, and his
lueucy and accuracy in using them, could |
swear that he had p1owed farms. sailed boats,
and, I had almost said, out diamonds. These
Ire only random instances and comparatively
The man who comes fresh from
lis shop office. and hears this student using the
erms OF Ills daily work with IS much apparent
familiarity as If he worked aide by sido with
i'm, adnlres him aud is drawn to him.
It ia almost . pity to speak as I did OF AIr.
Beecber's acting, because it may mislead peo-
already erred. So much has been said Of his
'acting" that great many good people expect.
Shen they go to his church, to find themselves
4 SORT OF THEATRE,
md to see star-actor. i lady once snid to me,
nent and find him theatrical aud stacy in his
nouons and gestures, instead of which he is
natural and simple" And the impression which |
personal yigit in this case dissolved is carried
II through life By many a sincere person who
lever saw Mr. Beecher. His acting is not the
trical because it is so much better than the
citing we see in the theatres that it is an insult
0 his mi1netic powers to cali it go. 1t is perfect
initiation Of Nature, and, as tbeatre-goers can
asily imagine, is
THE LAST THING IN TIE WORLD
0 suggest the stage.
It is almost to be regretted that Mr.. Deecher
SO popular, 30 much loved, and 80 much
ought after. II he could be moro Of recluse,
he could live more slowly, there can hardly be
question that his work would last longer.
hero are 60 many calls on him now that he is
ompeled to writo and speak nearly at the ratio
le writer scribblcs when the printers are call
~ for moro "copy-" A speech, an article, an
dltorial q sermon, are thrown OF with such
aridity that there is
NO TINE TO TRIM TIE 1oUGu EDGES.
nd this man does an amazing deal Of work.
Ie edta large religious weakly, contributing
;s principal editorials, writes for the LedqeT
cgularly, Is generally at work on some
ook, is constantly speaking in public. and
reaches two sermons week, which arc tho
My ones heard in these parts worthy of
egular publication. Several diyines have en-
Dyed the honor of published sermons, but only
fenry Ward Beecher has managed to keep up
be supply OF matter worthy of the type-setters
tteut'on. 4 large publishing
LIVES ALMOST ENTIRELY ON BIS BRAINS.
le has imitators, of course, who mistake their .
3iorio ]