The Portland daily press., 1880-05-18
Spurgeon.
Cousin Sophia's View.

| To the Editor Of the Press:
The we'll known London correspondent of
one of our daily papers has been writing some-
what wearily at times of different experiences
| in the great metropolis. We have been taken
to hear Spurgeon, for instance, and that has
| brought to mind our experiences one Sunday.
taking oar omnibus from Noting Hill, going
down the Bayswater road by Kensington Gar.
dens and Hyde Park Corner for a moments
| stop at Regent Circus; then down. Oxford street
-on,-on-into the City over to Newington
Butts.
We had been told to take an Elephant and
Castle Buss." But several years familiarity
with London manners and terms had accus-
toned us to expecting only Public House to
be the end of our route. And the high-sound-
ing Elephant and Castle peered out at us,
as we had expected-simply common, vulgar
gin-mill; that is, a superb, brilliant London
Public with its plate-glass windows and gen.
eral air Of prosperity "Don't go to hear Spur
geon until you have lived year or two in Lon
don," said kind English friend to US, shortly
after.w. were feeling domesticated on British
soil. ."Why not?'' was the question that natu-
rally followed. Because you will form an
opinion at once. You will be saying what were
your.impressions. Wait-wait. Don't have
any opinions about us, anyway, for year or
two"
Dear friends, that was hard we feltl Had
we not already sent little leaflets across the
Atlantic to the home papers containing our i'm
pressons of the Strand, and st. Paul, the baby
elephant in the Zoo, and of Westminster Alb
hov ;afIv i, u
lish conservatism asked mot to have any opin-
ions for year or two" An American without
an opinion on any subject under the sun would
be as rare to meet.as an Englishman-with one,
(only that is impelite to say). Nevertheless our
friends advice haunted us for many long
day, and we found ourselves somewhat more
guarded in our statements in our home letters,
occasionally even admitting that perhaps from
the four months that we had been in England.
&C., we could hardly be prepared 10 speak pos
itively, &C., &c. We were all staunch church
people, therefore we knew it was from no fear
of our becoming Baptist -Dissenters. that we
had been urged not to hear Spurgeon just yet.
In fact, our love for our own beautiful Liturgy
grew stronger every day, and as the roots were
deeper, so the branches put out farther, and
little by little we became aware of the wonder
full work that Spurgeon and the entire body OF
Dissenters were carrying on in that vast
London world.
A noble Christian woman, member of the
Scotch Kirk in London, had told me Of the
congregation that assembled in that Taberna-
Gle every Sunday to hear Spurgeon. Don't
expect to hear any such pulpit eloquence as
| you have in your own country, don't look for
such congregation as at ST. Peters Noting
Hill. You must go to hear Spurgeon under
standiAay or you will be disappointed, and no
| one has right to be disappointed in hearing
him; tie fault lies with themselves il they are
so; foe2 himself, his Tabernacle, his congre-
gation nare all genuine" We at last felt that
liberal,a cautious, and-we had almost said
pious-to hear the man who for nearly thirty
years had preached to five thousand people
nearly every Sunday Of the year; who at nine
teen years-0f age had filled Exeter Hall week
after week. and whose warm personal friends
had given one hundred and fifty thousand
dollars to build this Tabernacle. Surely such
a man must have some ability and some great
power But all this time we are most uncour-
teouslys leaving our friends who have come
with us to the Elephant and Castlestandng too
long near that alluring neighborhood. we
must cross over to the Tabernacle.
No better pen and ink sketch of the famous
Baptist preacher could be given than many of
| your readers have seen probably in the corre-
spondent's letter referred to already. As to his
congregation also, we fancied even this odor of
the onions came over those three thousand
miles OF ocean as pungently almost as we got
| it also that Sunday morning.
Well! taking it for granted that onions are
| Objectionable at times; they are strong and
wholesome and so is Mr.. Spurgeon's preaching
They are excellent seasoning: so is perhaps Mr..
Spurgeon's style They are good for great
many people: and so are Mr.. Surgeons home
ly truths.
You look around you-you may live fifty
years in London and never again see a face
now before you in that immense congregation.
| Yes, there is your Butcher, yonder your Green
| grocer. People of the clover middle class"
| (wear in England now and may speak of
classes) But among all these people some may
| go advantageous onl the boxes of the car
| riages perhaps-certainly never in any other
way-yOu see none whom you will jostle
against tomorrow at the Royal Academy or
| driving in the Park, and yet this immense
! multitude is reached by the words of that one
| ordinary looking man.
| times John Ploughman." His own words
| give good picture of his strange style in the
pulpit. 1t would not suit you nor me. 1t would
make us both cringe. But it suits his own peo-
pie, and it helps them to lead better lives. Is
| not that what is needed?
John Ploughman says: every minister
| has put his hand to the plough it is his busi-
| ness to break up the fallow ground, and cast
in good seed. That have written often in a
| semi-humorous vein shall need no apology if,
| thereby sound moral teachings wins hearing
| from the million. There is no particular vir-
tue in being seriously unreadable." And then
| for instance, follow-not in dainty words but
in homely phrases-words ito the Idle, to
"Tall Talk"
| One number Of the Standard series publishes
| John Ploughman's talks and one of Thomas
| Carlyle's essays. Like strong (?) dish of on
ions and an entree of delicate game coming to-
gether. But we can't all of us claim Carlyle
for our favorite dish-doubtless the masses
| prefer Spurgeon. So when you are listening
to the beautiful music at State street or the
| First Parish you know that the "roar' that
goes up from Surgeons Tabernacle is as good
to those people as are the sweet sounds you
hear "a you.
No. give never went again. We didn't
want t6 hear Spurgeon again. But we are glad
| all thesame that his great work goes on, and
that this people are being helped by plain ad-
vice and strong expressions. 'Isn't it COM
| fort that Catholic means universal 2" That
is the thought uppermost in our minds as we
rattle along towards home in the Bayswater
bus. And in our talk at dinner with that
same friend before mentioned, we are liberal
enough, quiet enough, unopnionated enough
to meet even his views. Our last thoughts, as
| we doze before the drawing-room fire are of
the millions and millions of Brahmins, Bud
hists, Mahomedans, and of the little band of
Christians. And the bright Goals before us
seem to sing drowsiy-
| "Catholic-Universal."
/