The Warner weekly sun. (Warner, Brown Co., Dakota [S.D.]) 1883-1885, 1884-06-20
IRVING AND REEcHER.
Visit Of the Great Actor to the treat
Praechar.

the actreSS:
IF one had arranged events in Ameri-
ca to ones W liking one could not
have them go along more pleasantly"
said Irving, one Sunday afternoon, when
he was giving me an account Of his Wis
it to Henry Ward Beecher and Mrs.
Beecher, at Brooklyn; indeed, one
would have to lay in a stock of vanity
to even dream Of such a reception as we
have had. 1t needs a little hostility
here and there in the press at home, and
on this side, to give a wholesome flavor
to the sweets. 1t is a great reward, all
this, for ones labor. =
Mr.. Beecher has evidently been a hard
worker all his life, q persistant man;
and nothing is done without it. First
lay down your lines; settle what you
find you can do, and do it; the greater
the opposition the more courageous and
~perseyering you must be; and if you
are right, and strength and life hold
out, you must win. But / want to tell
you about the visit to Brooklyn. Miss
Terry and / were invited TO visit Mr..
Henry Ward Beecher. We went on
Sunday to his church. He preached a
good, stirring sermon, full of strong
common sense. It was what might, in
some respects, be called an old-fashioned
sermon, though it was also exceedingly
liberal. The spirit Of its teaching was
the doctoring of brotherly love. The
preacher told his congregation that a
man was not simply a follower of
Christ because he went to church on
Sundays. A man could, he said, be a
follower of the Savior without going to
church at all. He could also be
a follower Of Christ, if he wished,
and belong to any church he
liked-Babtlst, Wesleyan, Luthean.
A Pagan could be a follower of Christ
if he lived up to His doctrine of charity.
To do good is the chief end and aim of
a good life. 1t was an extemperaneous
sermon so far as the absence Of manus-
cript or notes went, and was delivered
with masterful point and yigor, and with
some touches of pure comedy; Mr..
Beecher is a great comedian. After the
service Mr.. Beecher came to us and of
fered his arm to Miss Terry. She took
one arm, his wife the other. / followed
with his son and several other relatives.
A few members of the congregation
joined the little procession. Following
Mr.. Beecher with the ladies, we walked
down the aisle and into the street to his
house. There was something very simple
and dignifed about the whole business,
something that to me smacked Of the
primitive churches, without their aus
terity. Mrs. Beecher is seventy-one
years of age-a perfect gentle-woman
Quaker like in her dress and manners,
gentle of speech, but with acertain sug-
gestion of firmness of purpose. Beecher
struck me as a strong. robust, genial,
human man, q broad, big fellow. We
had dinner-the early dinner that was
in vogue when / was a boy. 1t was, i
should say, a regular solid New England
I meal-rich sonp. plenty of fish, q Joint
| Of beef; and some generous port was on
the table. The host was most pleasant
and simple; the hostess most unsophis-
ticated and kindly. She took greatly to
Miss Terry, who also took greatly to
her"
"Mr. Beechcr had been at the theater
the night before?"
"Yes, to see Louis XII
@Did he talk much"
ooh, yes and his conversation was
most interesting
ssIt used to be said of Lord Beacons-
field" Irving continued, "that his Or
iental blood and his race instincts gave
him his fondness for jewels; but Beech
er seems to have the same kind OF taste.
He brought out from a cabinet a hand
full of rings, and ask me which / thought
Miss Terry would like best. Then ne
took them to her, and she selected an
aqua marina, which he placed upon her
finger, and begged her to accept as a
souvenir of her visit to Brooklyn. May
I?' said Miss Terry to Mrs. Beecher.
Yes, my dear, take it., said Mrs. Beech
err and she did. 1t was quite touching
to see the two women together, SO diff
| ferent in their stations, their wears.
their occupations. Miss Terry was the
first actress MRS. Beecher had ever
known. 10 begin with, she was very
courteous; her greeting was hospitable,
but not cordial. The suggestion Of
| GOODNESS in her demeanor gradually
thawed, and at the close of the visit she
took Miss Terry into her arms, and the
two ONE cried. sOne touch
Of nature makes the whole world
kim Human sympathy what a
fine thing it isl 1t is
easy to understand how a woman Of the
training and surrounding that belong to
the class in which Mrs. Beecher has
lived might regard an actress, and es-
pecially one who has made a name, and
is therefore the object Of gossip. All
the more delightful is the bit Of woman
ly sympathy that can bind together two
natures which the austerity of professed
religionists wonld keep asunder.n
1T is a greater triumph for the stage
than you, perhaps, quite appreciate
this Welt ~ fba hopna ~ nxIa~