The Washington times., 1895-03-03
HNHMELESS STORY
Romance of a Once Famous Boston
Preacher, Who Sold His Birth
right for Mess of Pottage.
Written for THE TINES

i
ting names from this recital Of truth is that
the parties are stnI alive.
| About twenty years ago there came to the
pulpit of a certain prominent church in Bos-
ton vigorous man. young in years. highly
! educated. of original thought. and great
talent as an orator. The society calling
him to preside over its devotions was one
OF the most celebrated in Boston. and its
edifice stood upon one OF the most con-
/ spieuous corners. The new pastor had not
been long located there when he kindled
/ the greatest amount OF enthusiasm among
the younger element in tie society. drew
them to him, ard filled the long deserted
pews morning and evening; and the church
entered upon a season OF decided and en-
| couraSing prosperity But the aggres-
/ sive pastor developed idiosyncracies
/ which shocked the influential members Of
the church. He publicly took his drink.
publicly smoked his cigar, publicly drove
his fast horse, publicly visited race courses,
and the public gossiped over this startling.
departure from conventional professional
/ department
| Finally the spirit Of protest waxed warm,
and a split occurred in the famous old
church, quite a colony Of seceders Joining
the eccentric pastor in his withdrawal.
The new society opened it's worship in a
/ large hall; the pastor started a news paper
/ he gave lectures once week which were
printed all over the United States he started
stock farm in the lower section OF New
/ England; and he gave attention to improve
! mentS IN road wagons. In summer he and
/ MS wlfe-Who was Of a scholarly turn of
/ m1nd-passed their vacation in the noun
I tains, fishing, hunting and rDughing il with
/ true athletic spirit.
/ There is but one point upon which this
/ brilliant thinker, writer. taIker seriously
\ stumbled, and that was finance A salary
\ OF 81 900 year to preach did not satisfy
/ him 1t was not enough that he was the
/ most famed and admired preacher Boston
/ contained. He got his friends and admirers
/ into his newspaper schemes. into his wagon
I projects, into his hOrse-breeding ventures.
and one day the crash came, with several
/ hundred thousand dollars worth of obli-
cations rattling about his ears. Then he
/ took mis- departure
! While he had been preacher and editor
/ he had beautiful young blonde woman
/ as secretary. She was the only daughter
/ OF a retired aged sea captain from away
/ down East. When diplomacy impelIed the
/ preacher to abandon Boston ne started for
1 Nova Scotia, accompanied by his seCre-
/ tary, and on the way they picked uD the
/ young Woman's father IN his Maine home,
1 and with string of horses from the stock
\ farm on Long Island Sound created quite
| caper, the preacher jockey varying the
monOtony Of horse trading by delivering
/ lectures, for he was extremely popular as
/ a platform speaker.
/ The wife OF the preacher quietly betOOk
/ herself to the home of her youth diSgUsted,
/ disheartened, and sick of the whole farcicaI
business. determined to bury her past un-
D Ha.ar -.
] medicine, to which she had given years OF
I study.
His wife out of the way, his creditors
\ distanced, his horses turned into money
I his handsome secretary devoted to him.
| the erTatic preacher made a flying trip
/ southwest, and we next hear OF h IN in
I Texas; his admiring lady friends father
/ bringing up the rear of very disreputable
procession, with a dazed idea tEat he was
/ having very royal tine in very Jolly COM
! pany. ItwaS such a cE ange in the old mans
I Life he was too happy TO OQueStion. AuheCOuld
do was TO marvel and enjoy. But things did
4 not go well with this abSCOnding expedition
! in Texas, for money gave cut, and farming
I and contract wOCd-CUtting for Iew rail-
! road were extremes of the dilemma. and
at this stage of tie esCaTade the old sea
captain very plainly saw that the preacher
no longer had any need for a secretary
/ when his time from daylight 10 dusk was
/ spent in the woods cutting rail ties: and it
| began to dawn upon tim that he had been
/ duped into COnniying at a disgrace which
| enyelOped his only child Then his fatherIy
affection arose, and he made it lis business
to ascertain just what tie true condition
of things was; and what he found led him to
/ plead with his child 10 abandon her life
/ and return with him to their honest New
I England home But the daUghter-regal,
beauteOus creature though she was-Iistened
/ To Tut one voice. and absolutely refused
to entertain her fathers wishes
One day the preacher and the young
I woman came in from the woods and found
the poor, old man lying across his bed-dead-
/ Suicide, or a broken heart? Who could
( tell? He had c1uel, bitter letter Of his
\ daughters IN his stiffened fingers: that
was all. They buried him, and flew from
the scene of such a tragedy TO the far North,
into Canada, where they together engaged
in the keeping of a restaurant in Montreal
This didn't last long. and they disappeared
from Canada and re-entered the States
Along the shore OF famous sheet Of
/ NorthNew England water one summer after
I noon about nine years ago saw massive
( form, clad in rough hunting dress, bending
over boat in process OF cons tTuction. On
| nearer approach, despite his whiteued
locks. 1 recognized the once celebrated
preacher. Near by under the shade OF a
tree. sat a lovely woman, with blond
tresses. reading a book. / acCOsted the
! boat builder. and he lay aside his work, and
We sat down and talked. We were within
sight OF the mountains he had made famous
with his pen.
He gaveme alaughing, rambling narration
| of his mid-life career, but it was all gar
nished with rhetoric. furhelOwed with epi-
sodes, and told with testimony eXtenuating
his department. We had a cigar. a drink,
sail on the lake, and l visited him away
out on the la Ike road, where he had a cottage
among lot of Dago neighbors; where he
| kept house with the fascinating blonde
and another woman, said to be his sister,
the latter dying one night and buried be-
fore sunrise, so the neighbOrs reported.
Mr. BeeCher had lately died, and he ts@d
me he was offered SIS, 600 a year to fill
his pulpit; but no. he'd never preach againi
He was out of the ministry and out of re-
ligionI He was writing books novels OF
primeval America, adapted legends of the
Hudson Bay Indians. He wanted to take
on the abandoned mantle of j Fennimore
Cooper 1t was all visionary, ephemeral,
| impracticable.
left him, disgusted that he could thus
prostitute the transcendant gifts God had
bestowed. Then i heard of him lecturing
in Boston, where throngs flocked to see
him after years of absence, charmed as OF
yore by the subtle art of the soft-s poken,
convincing orator.
Then out OF sight he went again for some
years; and then | received letter written
by the faiT-haired beauty who this time
signed herself as his adopted daughter Then
the blanks ran again, and they have been
running ever since Where they are now
God only knows! / was impelled to write
this by remembering that about twelve
years ago / saw both the gifted word
painter and his idolatrous companion
upon the platform of the depot in New
| Haven and IL WAS Christmas Dav-