Grant County herald. [volume] (Lancaster, Wis.) 1850-1968, 1882-12-07
THE GOTHAM MIRR0R
Reflections Caught ON the Fly and Put Down In
Black and White by one OF ..0ur Own" 80

ment TO the people OF New York, and a
marvel OF mystery to the public at large
Where else could Tallmadge and Beech
er reign supreme, DIR. Fulton fight
vigorously and drive fast teams, and the
Rev. Richardson lead a flock while
breaking nearly all the ten command
ments at once? Nowhere. The air of
Brooklyn lures them on and nourishes
them. Take the Rev. Fred. Bell. He
was a p~ettifogging corne bowler in
New York, chased by the police and
stoned by the boys. He went to Brook
Ign. Within three months he was
preaching in the Academy of Music to
two thousand people. The police said
they knew him and he admitted that he
had been a blackguard and a beast, but
the people yelled for him and fought to
hear him preach. Disgusting rumors of
his intimacy with a very young girl
among his parishioners received what
might be called a slight confirmation,
when the father of the girl took the Rev.
Fred. Bell by the nose, nearly shook his
head off of his shoulders, kicked him
out of his own church, and threw him
into the gutter. The Rev. Fred. said it
was simply a plot of his enemies, and
took converts in hand. After this
little episode people fought for the priv
ilege of going heavenward under the
charge of the Rev. Fred. There were
then serious charges of embezzlement,
but his worshippers increased. At this
juncture the Rev. Fred. made the collos-
al mistake of his life-he left Brooklyn.
The idea of making a great revival in
London after the style of Moody and
Sankey got possession of him, he went
abroad. His subsequent career was
what might have been expected, and
now he languishes in prison under a
two-years sentence. But this did not
discourage Brooklyn by a large majority.
She turned to Richardson, and he was
the hero for a time, until finally kicked
out, but only after ten years of iniquity
and because the newspapers made it too
hot for him.
But Mr.. Beecher holds his own in
Plymouth Church Notwithstanding his
recently announced progressive theo-
logy. His Wednesday evening talks
are still exceedingly popular. AT the
last one, however, he appeared in a
rather melancholy mood. The death of
Thurlow Weed, he said, had awakened
in him a train of thought, and he re-
called the many great men who had
left the stage of life since he began to
preach. Webster, Clay, Calhoun and
many other great figures had disap-
peared, but the world went on Just the
same without them. Among the preach
ers who were known when he came to
Brooklyn DR.. Storrs alone survived to
be his senior. The dropping out of a
man whom the world considered great
produced no more effect than would the
dipping a bucket of water out of the
East River. There would be a little de-
preston for a twinkling, then with a
slight gurgle the waves would fill it and
the stream would flow on, with the sun
shining upon the spot as before. Re-
ferring to himself, Mr.. Beecher remark
ed, with considerable emotion, that it
was perfectly willing to work so long as
it pleased God to have him live; but '.if
| were to die now" he said, '.it would
be no more than the shutting out of a
candle in the midst Of the Desert of
Sahara. There would be a few tears
shed among those nearest to me, fewer
among those not so near, and when the
circle widened out there would be many
who would smile TO hear my death"
Noble foreigners have never been
more numerous in the city han now,
and the list of titled visitors is long
enough to satisfy the craving of the
most ambitious of matchmaking mann
mas. The arrivals of noblemen no long
er cause remark. In Thursdays papers
insignificant iottings in small type re-
corded the arrival OF the Duke of New
castle and Earl of Lincoln, a Young
man only Is years of age, and the Earl
Of Aylesford and Baron of Guernsey,
also of youthful age. These two noble
men are travelling Independently, and
both oddly enough on the sane errand
the pursuit of health. Time was
and not very long ago-when the ar
rival of two gentlemen, one bearing the
titles of Duke and Earl, and the other of
Earl and Baron, would have created a
furry of excitement in New York. Now
it passes almost unnoticed. By the-bye
his grace of Newcastle is not much of
an object of envy, in spite of his honors,
for the poor man is a very bad way
physically. He became Duke in 70,
when he was only 10 years old, | had
rather be a robust American.
The old adage ''it's an i'll wind that
blows nob'ly good holds true of news
papers, aud especially of illustrated
journals. A great calamity is actually
a godsend to the picture papers," since
it is sure to swell the sales, and there
fore the profits, of such journals as the
New York Graphic, Harper's Weekly
and Frank Leslie's. Never was the
truth more strikingly illustrated than in
the case of Garfield's assassination.
People throughout the country were
anxious 10 see pictures of all the scenes
in that long-drawn-out tragedy, and the
illustrated papers met such \ sale as
they had never before known. | hear
that the circulation of Frank Leslie's
during the twelve weeks which covered
the period from the fatal shot to the
burial in Cleveland Cemetery averaged
fully 100. 900 copies above the usual
figures in the duh summer season, and
doubtless Harper's Weekly showed a
q -, .I.r s,,raaaa l., a4I1r .-1-J- H.