Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1884-11-28
"FROM ANVIL TO PULPIT"
Lecture by Rev. Robert Collyer, ut city
Hall, saturday Evening.

Hall, saturday Evening.
Rev. Robert Collyer, the well-known
pulpit orator and lyceum speaker, de
livered the opening lecture Of the Y. NJ.
c. a. course, at City Hall, last Saturday
evening. His subject was From
Anvil to Pulpit" The hall was filled
to its utmost capacity with cultivated
audience of our citizens, and as Mr..
Collyer advanced to the platform, he was
warmly welcomed with applause. The
speaker was introduced by Mr. w. j.
Van patten. For more than an hour he
carried the large audience with him,
through the experience of his cVentful and
remarkable life The lecture was full of
bright flashes of wit eloquent description
and narration. and humorous anecdotes
of old Yorkshire, told with all the grace
and liVcliness Of one TO the manner born.
The lecturer began by saying that it is Il
great thing for man to he well born. He
then went on to show that it was the no
hility of health, of honesty, purity and in
dusIry to which he referred, and not the
nobility of wealth or station. \ beautiful
picture of his parents and the home life of
his childhood followed. | was well born,
he said, because my father and mother
were so healthy and SO alike in difference.
In taking care of themselves before | was
born they were taking care of me.
ued. | think that we, the Collyers,
were well bred. We were brought up on
oat meal and milk plenty, potatoes and
milk and more oat meal, now and then
bowl of soup and bit of meat when we
could get hold of it. Sunday school twice
every Sunday no rewards and no picnics.
My best education and training were aC-
quired in that Sunday school. Our home
was cottage of two rooms and an attic.
with "A bit of greensward and a clump of
% l,,.,,,
rooms were as white as snow, and
the floors clean enough to eat on. The
lecturer then humorously described the
SATURDAY. night bath. and told how his
with "a rod of iron. Then he related some
of the stories which she used to tell to her
children. and recited beautiful poem of
his own, conceived and written with one of
these delightful old tales in mind There
was another article in our home creed, said
must learn trade. My father was me
chanic-we must be mechanics too That
is how came to be Blacksmith ut
most limit of my ambition then. Mr.
to neighborng blacksmith his tendency
to fall into habits of ntemperance. en-
couragcd bv the habits of his employer
and fellow apprentices how he was prov
identinllv saved by the death of his en-
plovcr. through excess. and how he made
IN ms mind that he must take his stand
then and forever on the question of strong
drink. 81 will never touch a drop again
until | am absolutely sure of myself. =" was
his resolve. That was the second step
from the anvil to the pulpit. Yet, even
then. he continued. | had never got any
farther but for n grand force
that came in to help me. | began
to read read everything that
could lay my hands on had devouring
hunger for books. | read while blowing
the bellows. very seldom ate but was
reading n book-which was wrong. of
course, read when | walked. and even
read when | went accounting. Give a man
y passion. and Won give him a lever to
lift the world And then followed the
next step-something which read would
SET me to thinking. Iwould sit down on
rock on the moors and talk it out
to myself and to the moor
Bv and by i found my way
into little Methodist meet
ing, and was warmly welcomed and
sometimes they would even ask me to be
their spokesman. Finally the young con
very small way, so far as pecuniary returns
were concerned, for found, he said, that
ut the end of nv first ten years y pastoral
work nv salary averaged lust seyentv-five
Giants a year earlv had n yearnin1 for
the New World in nv heart. from hearing
nv father and mother talk about imiprat
inc to America, At last made up NV
mind 70 90 and took massage with nv
wife in the steerage of a vessel bound for
New York. met with unexpected kind
ness and help on every hand. | soon found
the kind of work I wanted, but lost it
owing IN renairs necessary 1Inon the hoiIers
of the man,ifactory- and was Obliged toturn
to the hod the anvil and the most
mental kinds of labor. until after the
manic of 1s51 went TO preaching as soon
AS they would let me in this country. |
soon began TO think very much as think
nov and nt last struck the supreme iov
Of nv life in the beginning of nv pastor8te
as Unitarian minister in the CITY of chi
cago And now in conclusion I may he
nermitted 70 noint two or three morals
from the story Of nv life I would saw in