The Cecil Whig. [volume] (Elkton, Md.) 1841-current, 1875-05-29
THE EVANGELISTS IN LONDON.
BY JOHN W. FORNEY.

in its long history no event ever attracted
such crowds as now swarm to hear the two
American evangelists, D. L. Moody and Ira
d. Sankey. One of these gentlemen is a
native of Lawrence county, Western Penn
sylvania, we'll connected with leading poll
ticians, and the other, long before he came
to Ireland and Scotland was popular emo
tional clergyman in the Western States.
Not simply to crafty a natural desire to
hear these two renowned characters, but
also to study the vast audiences they at
tract, have twice visited the Royal Opera
House, in Haymarket. There are five tiers
of boxes and a lower floor, or parquet, of
vast dimensions, while the deep and sweep
ing stage, from which all the dramatic ma
chinery has been removed, is filled with
chairs, a broad pulpit and a small cabinet
organ facing the immense auditorium
This stage is called the platform, and, like
the front of the house, is crowded to sutfo-
cation during the services, so that there is
not a spot of the vast Opera House left
unoccupied by the people; and, should
think, on the two afternoons of my visit
there could not have been less than from
five to eight thousand persons present.
There is much discussion as to the rela-
tive advantages conferred upon what is
called religion by these great gatherings,
and yet there can be no doubt, Judging by
the curiosity and interest they have awak-
ened, that a certain positive amount of
good must result. l watched very care
fully the faces and manners of the people
They were evidently of the middle classes,
we'll dressed, and Enthusiastically sympa-
thetic. Mr.. Moody himself was the first
figure I recognized, from his photographs
found in nearly all the print shops in the
quarters inhabited by the working people
and in the great thoroughfares of trade,
but never in what are called the show, high
art windows, and never in the photograph
galleries dedicated to Royal and 'noble !"
portraits MIR. Moody is a thick-set man,
about five feet eleven, with dark, full
beard, high cheek bones, sunken eyes, and
square forehead-a little after the style of
the lamented E. NJ. Stanton.
Immediately after Moody entered the pull
pit Mr. Sankey took his seat at the small
cabinet organ. Taller and better looking
than his comrade, with younger face, a
large moustache, and wells shaved chin,
with English side whiskers, he resembled
well conditioned opera singer.
1t was strange to watch the effect of the
they were instantly from the large con,
course of clergymen around them and the
dense background of ladies and gentlemen
crowding the platform. They were in
mediately stilled the audience. The open
ing feature was hymn given out by Mr..
Moody, the first verse of which was:
Oh, think of the home, over there,
BY the side of the river of light,
Where the saints all immortal and fair
Are robed i'll their garments of white,
Over there, over there, over there,
Oh, think of the home ever there,
in which the whole body of the people
joined, rising, after the Methodist fashion.
In the front of the five tiers of these cir
cling boxes which l should think were at
least twice the size of the tiers of our Acad-
envy of Music, stood the females of the
congregation, each with hymn book in
her hand. Sankey led the great chorus,
though his voice could not be heard, and
the regularity and harmony of the whole
proceeding was singularly impressive
After this prayer, then a snort exhorta-
ton by an English clergymen, then an
other hymn, chorus led by the people, and
then Moody stepped forward, and, in
military and somewhat impatient voice,
exclaimed :" Now let us have No. 49,
sung by Sankey alone. The first stanza,
succeeded by four other verses, was as fol-
lows:
There were ninety and nine that safely lay
In the shelter of the fold,
But one was out on the hills away,
Far off from the gates of gold.
Away on the mountains wild and bare,
Away from the tender Shepherds care.
We sat at the extreme end of the i'm
mense temple, on the very last bench, near
the doo:, and SO clear was Sankey's voice,
and SO distinct and sharp-cut his articula-
ton, that every word and syllable and in
donation could be heard with singular sweet
ness. 1t was not cultivated voice. There
was no atfectation in the pronunciation
and there was little Western twang; but
| could readily understand how hymn so
would reach hearts already more than half
prepared to approve. At the end of every
verse he would pause for nearly minute
and the silence intensified the deep emo
ton of the mass; and then he resumed very
low, and rose to the last like the prolonged
note of cornet or bugle.
There were a number of other exercises,
but Moody was the chief character. Ihave
heard and read him somewhat carefully
One of his sermons suffices for all. 1t was
that preached a few days ago, when the
Royal box was occupied by the Duchess of
Sutherland, Lady Constance Leveson- Cow
er, and the Duke and Duchess of Adams.
1t is not an argument in any sense, and
scarcely a defamation, but rather an ex-
hortation. the point being that to know
Christ we must know him first as our
Saviour. All through ran a series of quaint
comparisons and incidents. Let me illus
trate his way of showing the redeeming
power of the Saviour by this passage:
" A friend of mine told me that one day as
he was going to Dublin lie met lad who
had got sparrow, and the little bird tried
hard to get its liberty, but it was a captive.
My friend said to the lad, 'Why don't you
open your hand and let the bird go?' Oh,
faith, then, l wont be after doing that.
I've been chasing him for the last two or
three hours My friend then tried to in
duce him to let it go on principle, and told
him how absurd it would be to keep a spar
row in cage, as it would cost more to
keep it alive than it was worth; but no,
the boy was firm, and would not consent.
At last my friend bought the bird, and the