The daily morning journal and courier., 1896-12-10
SOME QUEER MINISTER'S
OLD AND NEW STORIES ABOUT FA-
 NOUS PARSONS.

Lyman Beeoher's Spectaoles-The Rev.
 Thomas Williams and Professor Stuart
 Father TayIor-An Eccentric Presby-
 terian and His Three Handkerohiefs.
 There has been more or less published of late in some of our religious journals with reference to the necessity of man ly" pulpit preaching, It is claimed that there is too much of what has been termed the whining tone," which Is heard in the pulpit and is rarely heard on the platform or in the halls of legis- lation. Why should not our ministers be as manly as sturdy and enthusias- tic in their pulpit utterances as our po- litical speakers? It would not be just to say that. this remark applies to all the clergy. There are noble and nota- able exceptions in all denominations, but that there is room for improve ment in this respect there can be no doubt. Converts to Christianity are not generally won by whining and 
 most entirely to the clergy and other leaders of religious thought, and 1t un- dobtedly tends to detract from the in fluence and power of the pulpit. It must be admitted, however, that the last fifty years have seen very great change for the better in this respect. The whining tone is now confined to a small per cent. of the clergy, and, as rule, is only noticeable among the un- educated. The pulpit of the present day, with the advantages of collegiate and theological culture, is quite unlike the pulpit of the earlier days of the church. Still 1t must be admitted that not few of the earlier ministers were men of great ability and pulpit power, and the church of to-day is largely in debted to them for it's present success. Some of those who have lived and la bored during the earlier part of the present century in Boston and immedi- ate viciniey have, by certain peculiari- ties of character and eccentricites of speech, won distinction and success, while they have at the same time not been lacking in spiritual ferVor and de- voton.
 While the Rev. Lyman Beecher. fla ther of Henry Ward Beecher was in his best days a man of extraordinary pulpit power, there can be no doubt much of his great success was owing to certain eccentrcities which tended to make him famous. There are many stories related of him, some of which are well authenticated. When asked in the early part of his ministry why he did not reply to a certain man who had abused him, he answered, II once threw book at a skunk and he had the best of it. It made up my mind never to try it again. When waited upon by some of his parishioners with the com plaint that he pounded the cushion too much when preaching, he replied that his ancestors were blacksmiths and he supposed he had acquired the habit by hereditary descent" Dr. Beechers second sermon that he preached was on duelng, written and delivered at the time Aaron Burr killed Alexander Ham ilton. In sending the manuscript to a friend for criticism before printing 1t for publication, it was lost in the wa ter and was not recovered for a month. Being carefully wrapped up and tied, 1t was found to be in good condition, and by request was published in pamphlet form. It won for him imme- diate distinction and caused him to be widely known. pr. Beecher was ac- customed to saw wood for exercise, and sometimes when he had no wood of his own to saw would beg the privilege of of saving for a neighbor. He sharpen ed his own saw and was very proud of 1t. One day he left his home ell disha- billie, without craVat and in his shirt sleevs, to see a neighbor who had a large pile of wood to be sawed Dr. Beecher took the job without being rec ognized by the owner. Nodding his head significantly at the house oppo- site, the owner of the wood asked Dr. Beecher if he lived there. "Yes," was the reply Do you work for the old man Beecher?" Yes" What sort of an old fellow is he?" "Oh, pretty much like the rest of us good man enough to work for" Tough old chap isn't he?" Guess SO" said Beecher "to them that try to chaw him up" Where can I get a saw like that?" said the owner of the wood. Don't know, un- less you buy mine" Calling the next day on the minister who was then fresh from the hands of his wife, he was astOnished to find that pr. Beech CT had been saving his wood. "Oh," said the doctor, you are the man that wanted to buy my saw. You can have it for nothing, only let me have some of your wood to saw" Be hanged" said the man, as he afterwards told his story, If I didn't want to crawl into an auger hole when I found it was old Beecher himself" They were after wards good friends. Beecher's famous six sermons on temperance" are we'll known. He was accused of drinking by the enemies of temperance himself, and it was stated he used his oil can when he went after his liquor, This gave rise to the story about 'Beecher's oil" When settled in Boston, he was noted for his habit in the pulpit of throwing his spectacles back from his ears to the top of his head. Every one knew when the glasses went up there would be a. burst of eloquence which would thrill the whole congrega- tion.
 The Rev. Thomas Williams was one of the most eccentric ministers of his time. He was an orthodox CUngrega- tionalist and was noted for his ready wit. He had a special dislike for Pro lessor Stuart of Andover. The latter