Omaha daily bee., 1889-08-04
PHILLIPS
A Couple of Anecdotes OF the Great
Boston Preacher.

Boston Preacher.
Perhaps no manlin this city comes so
near to living up 10 the ideal which peo-
pie have OF himtas does Phillips Brooks,
says the Boston Home Journal. The
good he does in the world cannot be
overestimated. 10 He possesses that ready
tact and those quick perceptions which
aid a man not only to do good but to
discover opportunities to do it. He is
not n man whoseiaid springs up only in
response to IN appeal.
An illustration OF that will be found
in a story recently told me. Some time
ago q lady had occasion to travel from
Providence with her father, who was
very weak in his mind. Whether it
was the excl, ement or the journey which
developed so suddenly in this usually
quiet and inoffensive man an unruly dis
| position, or whether it was merely the
ordinary course OF his disease, | do not
know, but u ali events long before they
reached Boston he became possessed OF
a fancy that he must get off the train
while it was still in motion; that some
absolute duty called him. His daughter
e~ndeavored to quiet him, but it was diff
ticult to do it, and she was just giving
up in despair when she noticed n very
large man just across the aisle who was
WuICIluR Jlt D~EbCCSullB hbcuulI ONol
the top of his paper.
AS soon as he caught her eye he rose
and crossed quickly to her. Il beg
your pardon, :" he said. You are in
trouble. May | help your" AS soon as
he spoke she felt perfect trust in him.
"What is your fathers name?" he
asked. She told him, and with IN en-
couraging smile he bent over the gen.
tleman in front of her, and said n few
words in his ear. With u smile the
gentleman rose, crossed the aisle and
took the vacant seat, and the next mo-
mcnt the large a had turned over
the seat, and, leaning toward the
troubled old man. had addressed him
by name, shaken hands cordially with
him, and engaged him in II CONVERSE
ton so interesting and so cleverly ar
ranged to keep his mind occupied that
he forgot his iced to leave the train,
and did not think of it again until they
were in Boston. Here the stranger put
the lady and her charge into a car
riage, received her assurance that she
felt perfectly safe, had cordially shaken
her hand. and was about to close the
carriage door, when she remembered
that she had felt so safe in the keeping
of this noble-looking mar that she had
not eve asked his name. Hastily put
lihS iOl hbho tS III p'O oooi ciiS
said: pardon me, but-you rendered
me such u service-may | not know
whom | am thanking?" The big man
, smiled as he answered, "Phillips
| Brooks,' and turned away.
An excellent foil to this, as showing
! a different side to his nature, and yet
identical in its ready tact, is another
| story which was told me recently. The
great divine has no stronger interest in
the world than that which he feels for
the young men who sit within reach of
his voice. Last winter he noticed three
young men whe came to hear him quite
regularly, and DIS they looked like work
ingmen he took pains to find out who
they were, and made an opportunity to
| speak with them. Having ascertained
where they lived and what they did, he
vent one day to call on them. He
climbed several flights of stairs and
knocked at the door. All three of the
young men were in, and they were talk
ing their comfort in their shirt-sleeves.
Naturally, they were a tritle embar-
raised at being surprised by this man to
whom they looked up with so much re-
spect. Mr.. Brooks shook hands all
round and then said, with a cheerful
smile, "Well, boys, it's a little warm
here. think, if you will let me, 1 will
take off my coat" and he did and sat
down and made his call in his shirt
sleeves. 1t is needless to say that those
boys will never need any better influ-
ence in their lives than Phillips
Brooks will keep there, for it is remark
able how many men he can carry in his
mind and keep safe in his influence.
There may be two opinions in regard
to the eloquence of this divine; there
may by more than that number in re-
gard to his originality; there can be but
one in regard to the place ne has in the
affections of the world or of the wonder
full good that his remarkable life has
done in the world, which has too few
good examples and where too few men
live up to the ideal that one has of what
the lives OF the clergy should be.