The morning call., 1892-02-07
REV. MR.. STURGEON
At A TEA MEETING.
One Of the Events at a N0l-C0li0rmist
Church in England.
The Manner in Which the Late Prominent
Divine Was Received and Welcomed at
One Of the Social Gatherings.
Written FOR THE SUNDAY CALL

Tea meetings" among the Nom Conform
| iSt Church of England answer the snme
! purpose as do the ice-cream church recep-
tions in vogue here. By their aid money Is
raised and social intercourse is fOstered.
Instead, however, OF meeting at o'clock in
the evening the people gather together at
80 o'clock. and at o'clock sharp the meal
is commenced, for a meal undoubtedly it Is,
those partakiDg of it usually dispensing
with their afternoon cups Z home in order
to do justice to the well-liked institution of
their church-the quarterly, half-yeary or
annual tea meeting, whichever it may
chance to be. Picture, then. a long, white
washed room with here and there an appro-
pirate text on the wall and strips of mat
ting running lengthwse over the floor; a
slightly raised platform with harmonium
upon il at the far end. and you see the Sun
day-scnool room of the Baptist Church at
Kingston-on- Thames.
A great event was to be celebrated here,
for c. H. Sturgeon, tile intellectual giant
of the Baptist denomination, was expected
In a few short hours, and all was hustle and
excitement. In honor of his coming the
walls were draDed with ropes OF evergreen,
and all sorts Of ornamental devices helped
to cover the baroness before so conspicuous.
Long narrow tables, placed in rows, were
ranged the whole length of the room. with
benches on either side, and lucky was the
man or woman who secured seat on the
bench next the wall, for though it left lit
tie whitening on the clothes. it afforded
desirable support TOR the back,
On the snowy cloths. little distant apart,
were beautiful hOt-hOuSe plants, their pots
hidden by fancy covers of different cOlored
tissue paper, and underneath the graceful
branches OF maiden-haiT fern, geraniums,
bOuVardias and Camillas
THE DAINTY DISHES
OF delicious bread and butter, the piles of
rich plum buildings and the pyramids of
yellow pound cake were placed. Plates
were not always used on these occasions,
the saucers generally fulfilling two pur-
poses; but this was gala day, and so each
one was provided with a shining piece Of
def which reflects back his or her own
image. Yes, and actually dishes of fresh
water cress were to be seen hiding IN their
green arms the necessary salt-cellar No
wonder the greedy little bOy-whO is always
foremost at the tea meetng-smlled as he
thought Of the good shilling's worth he was
going to have, with" as he confdentially
remarked 10 a chum, ''SpurReon thrown in"
At last everything was ready, and the
ladies', who not only subscribed five shll-
lings-the sum requisite for the provision Of
each table-but who had been preparing the
ed bleS for the last three hours, took their
seats with happy sigh, only to begin work
again when the large urns containing the
fragrant tea were placed before them. In
the meantime the people we're filing in.
First came the inevitable gossip Of the neigh
bOrhOnd who, with a shake OF her curls,
told the same story in "stTict confidence"
10 every one she met, and who. in spite of
her otherwise good living, had an unhappy
knack OF ferTetlng out all she could about
other people and retailing 1t with additions
Of her own TO all who would listen TO her.
Alas for the lOng-t0ngued woman at tea
meeting; give her wide berth every time.
Following IN her wake came the long
vsaged, melancholy individual, who looked
with gloomy eye upon everything and
everybody; who believed the world Is going
to wreck and ruin; who, as a rule, never
mixed with her fellows, because there were
so few good Christians In the world, es-
pecially among church people, and who had
only condesCeuded to miugle among others
on this occasion that she might see and hear
Mr.. SpurgeOn, who, she has already settled
in her mind, Is a very much Oyerrated man.
She lett a chill behind her as she walked,
and two girls, who were giggling at her
funereal appearance, were shamed into
silence by the scOrn OF
HER WRATHFUL. EYE,
AS she caught them in the very act. What
Il ltlltA ~ Nulu ~ VIC WblIdu WIZ NllppcQ
lightly III behind her, with an infant in her
arms. Her own chiid?" queTled n by
standeT Oh, no, she has neither husband
nor child, but is one OF those blessed spirits
who takes sunshine wherever she goes. and
about whom il will be said and written
when she has passed to her reward, "she
went about doing good" To her came the
happy thought of helping poor delicate
widowed Mrs. Jones thrO' with her work.
that she and the baby might get out to the
tea meeting, "ior dear MI Surgeons God
bless YOU" she said, will rest like a bene-
diction on the child all thro' lie, because he
is the friend OF the orphan"
Following infancy was age; an old man
who would take sixteen cups of tea or
break a record Of many years, and then the
blushng girls and gawky youths who didn't
know what 10 do with their hands and feet
were all on hand, peeping shyly at each
other, and who would have but sparrow APP
pettes by and 10y, because, poor foolish
young things, they imagined 1t bad form"
10 be seen eating heartily. Don't laugh at
them, few short years have cured them Of
that
Presently everybody was seated and sup
pressed excite ment was visible on the ex-
peCtant faces. The clock licked on, and
''He can't be coming" is OminOusly whis-
pered, when, 10 the great relief OF ALL Mr..
SpurgeOn entered quietly by side door.
Every one arose, and such clapDlng of
US ask blessing" rams out from the pas
tor, and all reverently bowed their heads,
except the baby, who, by strange cUinci-
denCe, was so close to the noted guest. and
who, with seemingly intultive knowledge.
reached out its little hands toward him.
With a smile Mr.. SpuTgeOn stopped over
the little one and whispered, God bless
you, sweet babe" while the little mothers
eyes fill with glad tears, which fell like
baptism on the hand stretched GU. to ca
reSs her fatherless child.
THEN ALL WAS ANIMATION,
Especially when Mr.. Smith dropped cup
of tea into the lap of Miss Brown; but what
of that? She only smiles at the accident,
and his tender glances amply atone for the
damage done TO her dress, besides she has
prcSentiment that on the way home he will
ask her TO allow him the privilege of pro-
vidtng for all her wants through life, which,
but for the spilled cup of tea, lie might have
lacked the courage to do
MIR. SpurgeOn walked leiSurely about
drinking a little tea here and there, and
when he had a su1icency still he had the
friendly word for others, so that none were
jealous and none felt left out in the cold
young lady seeing him for the first time,
and with his face in TepOse, was greatly dis
appointed. The short stout and ungrace-
full figure, the thick neck low brow, SWarthy
complexion and heavy features were so un-
attractive that she asked: Is it possible
tnaJ Jhdt IS MI. OpuTR6On w ait mlu-
ute," answered her companion, and leading
her by the hand she approached Mr. Spur
geOn, saying, ALLOW me, sir, tc Introduce
TO you my friend, Miss c." The great
man extended his hand very cordially. and
cOnversed with the young ladies for some
minutes, after which Miss c. turned
away completely daZed. and why? Because
when Mr. SpurEeOn smiled his face became
so TRANSPORTED that the LONELINESS seemed
to absolutely disappear. Indeed, both his
times; the latter had penetrating quality
which but few mel have possessed he
never spoke with effort; in fact he gave ona
the impression OF never emitting its full