Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1882-06-03
MRS. BEECHER,S SERMON.
An destructive Lesson % Young Married
Folk.

MFRS. BEECHER,s SERMON.
An Instructive Les.en % Young Married
Folk
HOW THE PARsoN AND HIS WIFE KEPT HOUSE
HAPPY DAYS OF POVERTY AND HARD WORK
Correspondence Boston Herald.
New YORK, May g. 1662.-Mrs. Henry Ward
Beecher can preach as valuable and instructive
q sermon as her husband can. But to begin at
the beginning.
went to Plymouth church on Sunday morn
ing and heard q sermon on 1.-The Illustrations
Of Children" Before beginning, Mr.. Beecher
asked that collection might be taken up 'for
his hearts sake" to help build up q church at
Lawrenceburg, Ind. THAT is when l began
to preach" said he. 81 went there when /
was first married. when was % or 1882" He
looked down at one Of the front pews inqur-
there was laughter. 81 preached in school,
room for two years, and they have been preach
Ing in that same room ever since. Iswept out
the room Saturday nights, filled the lamps, and
fitted the place for its use on the Sabbath. It
was In poor and struggling community. had
$500 dollars year salary, and how we ever lived
on $500 my wife can tell you better than can"
Then he told story or two about the little band
at Lawrenceburg, and the boxes were passed
diOulu, bringing DaCk $4UU.
Yesterday dropped in to see Mr. Beecher at
the house Of his eldest son, Col Harry Beecher.
where he and his wife now live. The colonel
and his family were away, and Mr.. Beecher had
gone up the Hudson to Peekskill for the day. the
first spring venture up to the farm which, after
all the trials OF the last ten years. he still re-
tains. The handsome three-story brown-stone
house, l24 Columbia heights presented to Mr.
Beecher by Plymouth church twenty years ago.
has gone down in the maelstrom of litiga-
tion and he and his wife are now driven to take
refuge with Harry in q much less desirable
location. Indeed believe the Peekskill farm
is mortgaged, and Mr.. Beecher has just gone on
bonds amounting to 300, 600 in behafOf South
American steamship company that is very likely
to come to grief. He does foolish things.
At "Harrys" / found Mrs. Henry Ward
Beecher, and 1t was not difficult to beguile her
into talking about Indiana, and the early strug-
giles in Lawrenceburg and indianapolis.
Here we are, in two rooms" she said. smil-
ing; and added, without displaying any bitter
ness, 1--WE lost our lovely home during the trial.
and good deal Of money besides; not less than
SlO,OOO it took to pay for being troubled 60
much. But don't care so much now, for Mr.
Beecher has come out of it more honOred than
ever before, and his slanderers are unheard of.
l assented that it was 80, more or less. and
she said. II could have told them dozens of
things that thew could found more plausible
charges on. Not in his relation to women,
though; in that he was always above reproach
or suspicion. He has had enough adulation
almost alteration, from women to turn any
mans head; has had foolish and imprudent
letters, but he has always come and flung them
down into my lap. He is inherently and essen
italy
MODEST MAN.
He has never had sufficient confidence in him
SELL He always faces an audience with hesita-
ton. Sometimes when want TO go and hear
him lecture he says, quite seriously, Don't CO.
Eunice; I'm going to make middle of it. /
used to let that influence me to stay at home;
but lately l find that he is lust as likely to do
well when he thinks he isn't. 1t is something of
trial to him to go into society-toa little party
for instance, at the houses of our neighbors. His
lace Will flush when We go into room, as if he
were perfect novice"
when did you go to Lawrenceburg, Ind?"
ut was two or three months after Mr.. Beecher
began to preach there. He had $500 year
not quite $6 week. WethOught we could risk
1t on that, and he came for me- up to Worcester
county, Mass. We boarded for few mouths
The church consisted of twenty-four women and
q; one man; and about the first thing Henry did
IL SOUNDS funny nOw-waS to turn that one man
out OF the church for unwerthiness. Then there
were twenfy-fOur women-mOstly working
women, school teachers, sewing girls, etc. and
MISS Sawyer OBLIGATED as q sort of deacon,
though when we had communion Henry usually
borrowed real deacon from another town. /
remember how bashful l was when went into
that little circle as the minister's wife, The
nrst Sunday Miss Sawyer met US on the steps of
the church. as we called it, and Mr.. Beecher
duce you to Mrs. Beecher' Twas Mustered. and
said, How do you do, Mrs. Beecher3' Mr.
beecher laughed at me. and has leased me ever
since about it. The other day they sent US a
photograph Of the church. It is almost exactly
as 1t was then, excepting that they seem to have
/ QQi6 fo
Those steps look natural. That step is where
you introduced me to Mrs. Beecher, and that
step Is where ! tore my new delaine Dress"
You must have had to economize on $500 a
year. Mrs. Beecher."
Eyes, most people nowadays would call it
ec0nOmizing somewhat. she said with smile
lone day | was told that we must leave 0ur
boarding house They needed the room for a
member OF the family who was coming home
There was no other place in town where we
could board within our income Henry was
down at Cincinnati attending the synod What
TO 90 didn't know. thought that if we cOuld
get four rooms we could 60 to housekeer ng-a
parlor, bedroom, study and kitchen. ran all
we could afford. Then / concluded that three
rooms would have to answer-study in the bed
room. But my search for those rooms was
equally failure-tOO high. We
COULDN'T AFFORD LUxUR1Es
SO again thought it over carefully and con-
cluded that two rooms would do-seep in the
parlor. discovered two small rooms over a
stable. The horses had been moved out. and
the building leaned up against store next door.
They were the dirtiest rooms ever saw looking
as II they had been tenanted by pigs-except
that pigs don't chew tobacco do they? The
floors were carpeted with tobacco juice The
walls were frescOed with tobacco Juice. But I
concluded that enough work could be put into
these rooms to clean them. Then l took the
next boat and went to Cincinnati, twenty miles
down the river, getting the captains permission
to bring back furniture free Of charge. found
Henry at his father's-Dr. Beecher was there
then, and Mrs. Stowe was there. / explained
matters. Two rooms, said Henry; you can't
Keep house In two rOOms-it can't be DONE
starve.' ''
"'Are the rooms furnished?' asked Mrs.
Stowe.
No. said, not even a chair
And haven't single dollar said Henry.
to even buy a chair with -
1T doesn't make any difference said I. for
my mind was made up. Mrs. Stowe laughed
heartily to think Of my going to Housekeeping
on nothing as she called it,
oofA TO- hy1ch