Grant County herald. [volume] (Lancaster, Wis.) 1850-1968, 1877-05-10
BEEOHER AND PLYMOUTH
@raphIe Picture of Sundays GoiDgs on ia Ply
mouth.
Brooklyn Cores. Cincinnati Com mercial.

Brooklyn Ceres. Cincinnati Commercial.
The visitor approaching Plymouth
Church encounters q throng at the
church doors. A good-natured scuf.
ie is going on for first chances as
soon as visitors are admitted, for
they are not let in until the church
members are seated, ten minutes
before the service is to begin.
The church is plain. Inside every
III ng is b0isterOus. The aisle-seqts
ara banged down with a crash
Everybody is talking with his negh
Dor The voice of the excited usher
is heard crying, "Herel here really
now you must not sit there" You
must keep back" "Don't crowd 80 >
As some rural visitor steps past them
one races down the aisle after him,
collars and leads him back. In the
Galleries score of men are reading
newspapers. Old John Zundel is
making great show of himself in
pulling out and pushing in orgap
stops, and occasionally trying
chord or two. As soon as the strang-
ers are let IN there is general
scrambling for seats, and more con-
fusion. Things have just begun TO
stamps in through the side door, and
up on the platform; his face sll aglow
from his brisk walk. He SHES his
big broad -brimmed black felt hat an-
der chair, fiingsof his big cloak
and slsps it over one end of the little
tete, rubs his hand briskly together.
feels of his necktie to ascertain
whether it is straight, shakes out his
long locks, aods to the reporters who
are arranged In semi circle arOuud
the pulpit, twists his head around 10
see whether Brother Camp, w5o
leads the singing, is in his plsce,
picks up hymn book, and, az
down in the nearest chair, looks p 4
the great audience to see wis IS
there. Twenty-eight hundred faces
are turned toward him. LeaC
Camp nudges John ZundeI, and toe
big organ starts off with a crash
There is buzz of expectancy as Mr..
Beecher rises to offer the opening
prayer, and before he is through with
it half of his congregation is likely
to be in tears. Mr.. Beecher breaches
very much as he lectures, or delivers
political speeches, or addresses agri-
cultural societies. If he can i'm
prove a thought by an outlandish
gesture, or bit OF acting, he does
not hesitate to do so. He particlar-
ly detests stingy men, and initiates
nearly every Sunday to the immense
amusement of the spectators. He
imitstes the spendthrift by walking
to and fro on the platform, and scat
tering imaginary handsfui of coin
from his pockets. He climbs lad
ders of fame with bis hands and feet,
commits suicide with razors, struts
about like fop, waves battle flags
from the ramparts of stormed for
tresses, and very foreibly shuts the
gate of heaven against sinners. BE
gets very red in the face before he
has talked ten minutes, and is in q
dripping Precipitation when he closes
his discourse. His speech is not so
smooth, his sentences not finished
with such gracefully rounded ora
torioAl curves as are DR.. Storrs'. ln
fact, Mr.. Beecher often gets stuck on
O word-to use homely term-and
shutters aud stammers like a forget
full school boz. But this is invarla-
bly, merely the cloggIng up of flow
of eloquenoe, for it comes on With
fourfold power and beauty as soon as
the obstruction is removed. Some
folks say he does it purpose!y To
make what follows more impressive.
Neither q litter nor rustic is ever
heard in DR.. Storrs' Church; the very
air is heavy with solemuity. Mr..
Beecher's audiences often laugh ont
right at his oddities, and applaud
with foot and hand, and shou,s of