New-York tribune., 1889-12-22
PITCHER IN THE PULPIT.

1900 article in last SUNDAYS Tribune on tie
..creations of the clergy appears TO have been
,.,d and enjoyed by great many good people.
T;,,le thought had been given to the diversions
- ,onular ministers. and the statements concern
-. the various ways in which they amuse them
..lves when off duty were in many instances
.,,roris;na. The brief and breezy chats with Dr.
...a nvke DR.. TAYLOR, DIR. Parkhurst, DR. Eaton.
A. NcCrew. Mr.. Faunce, and few other much
- pastors. gave the public a closer view of
.s.i, daily life than it ever had before, and, as
~ the public and the preachers arc the gamers
~ 60 ucasing an exhibition, it is highly probable
n.t all will find further entertainment in the
roIlowinc interviews with such pulpit favortes
,s Or Macarthur, DIR. Collyer. DR.. Bridgman, Dr.
c,eer Mr. McChesney and Wilton Merle Smith on
.hoir pastimes and amusements.
DR. cOLLYER'S HAPPY PHILOSOPHY.
Four men were going up in the elevator in the
s,,atbmore Flats at Broadway and Fifty-second-
aLet me OF at DR.. Colyers." said one.
HES way up-near Heaven" said another.
pcsumaby tenant
-Yes- said a third. also tenant, presumably,
.,,ar Heaven here.as elsewhere. WISH" he added.
rverentially that YOU and ] were as sure of
Going to the good place as he is.'
The first speaker got out at the sixth floor
and was received by the man of whom it has
hecn remarked thousand times How much he
resembles Henry Ward Beecher" The venerable
nastor of the Church Of the Messiah has a hand
ike the hand of Providence. and he extended 1t
in a generous way that caused his visitor to
surrender at once. unconditionaly. The Doctor
entered upon his 'sixty-seventh wear two weeks
,ro. He is perfect picture Of lusty youth IN the
repose Of old age. He must be one of Father
Times favorites. for the old wrecker ha left
him not only youthful in heart. but robust In
constitution.
Il never was sick day in my life" he said
70 the writer.
He is all aglow with health. The vivacity Of
his eve indicates the purity of his life He does
ool, like Beecher. He looks also like Denman
Thompson in "The Old Homestead" His hair is
whittier than Beechers was. and more silky. HIS
forehead is not as broad as Beecher's was. but 1t
Is higher. His face is longer than Beecher's was
and thicker through the jaws. lie weighs more
than Beeeher ever weighed. Beecher in the street
was often mistaken for a farmer 1t would be
;unossible for DR.. CoIlyer to look like farmer.
Peing invited to enter The Tribune's symposium
,be Doctor craciously submitted The first oues-
ton. usual was
DO YOU shootg
s.o that the Doctor. taken somewhat by surprise
=, the absurditv of the question, had suddenly gone
hack in the recesses of his memory to something
s,owed away there more than fifty wears ago
The discovery of il caused him to smile away down
belovr the belt When man like DR.. Colyer
smiles he smiles all over.
/ never shot a gun but once In my fne' nc
said. and that was by accident. 1t came near
killing another boy. ] was fifteen years ola ao
the time"
@Of course you follow the example OF st. Pcter
and Izaak Walton?"
Fishing is my favorite sport. though nave
not practised it since / was in Colorado
you see nothing Objectionable. then' IN eluher
hunting fishing ?"
Il think it is wrong to hunt as hares are
bupted-by coursing. That is a species OF crnelty
which | cannot approve. AS for fishing. where
lies the harm When you throw In your NOOK
and pull cut tine trout and lay him down on the
fresh grass. and he wrigeles and wrlggles ana
Jumps about. tapping his tail on one SIDE then
rolling over and Tapping it on the other, thlnk
he enjoys il just much as you DO. lie seems
perfectly happy, doesn't heY He seems 10 'hanK
YOU for taking him out of the water ana lettlng
him frolic in the grass Anyway. that is the view
Us TO take of 1T.
Are YOU fond of other outdoor sports-base-
ball. football, and so forth?
Il dearly enjoy good game OF baseball
like 10 90 with my English friends in order TO
show them how much better our baseball is than
their cricket. j went 10 see game not long
,ro and reckon / must have done some shouting,
though / am not positive on that point doh
Ike 70 see the game falling into the hands of
professionals men with great salaries and all that
would rather have it as it used to be when mines
fnrc nothing
Are Won patron of the theatre?"
Oh dear me YES j go whenever l feel ike
II and have the time ] have been on several
occasions this year and am going again soon.
Nv son has promised TO treat me TO an evening at
Daly's; we are going 10 the new play
Do you ride ?"
NO do not
Play cards?"
That Is an amusement never fancied. My
children play in the evening, and ! sometimes look
o. ] once knew young man who as he was
going home from a card party saw the devil; al
least he said he saw him, and he never played
.srds again do not say that was the young
man
How do YOU spend your vacations, Doctor r
BY going of to a strange place and getting
acquainted with strange people; learning their
language their ways, and so forth l think that
is the Dest KIND OF recreation am iona OF reau-
ing have been fond of il since ! was small boy.
! used to read when / went courting think
did more reading than courting, and my sweet
heart would have given me the mitten if she
hadn't been so good"
Accompanying his visitor to the elevator. the
Doctor suddenly broke out with:
oh, by-the-by, that was too bad about Door
Rainsford, wasn't it. To think that he should
have cot into such trouble! Poor fellow I'm
sorry it happened"
But, Doctor, he broke the game law. and the
general impression is that he got off light Only
s@5 and costs, you know DR.. Rainsford is very
popular in Southampton, and the Judge didn't
want to fine him at all.
Yes, yes, they all like sporting parsons, and we