The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1897-01-10
TALMAGE's SECRET.
How He made "A Break and Drew
Large Congregations.
From the Chicago Times-Heral6.

! church of the Mohawk valley to fill a
more modern niche. / OF more liberal
! faith. He was an old man; I young. IN
/ one Of our many long conversations. for
we were cronies. and liked to hear his
/ "reminiscences, he told me of his school
fellow, Talmage. What, T. DEWITT"
Yea, verify. the same, we were in col
/ lcge and in the theological seminary to-
4 gether" Being encouraged, the dominic
went on. Robert Talmage was the great
/ Taimage of the Talmage family. He Was
/ born great, he has been a missionary h
! China many, many years, but Dewitt
! has made himself great" you interest
me, genius of birth and of growth both in
the same family. Tell me of the genius
! that grows, develops-there is hope for
/ some of us, maybe" broad grin spread
over his face as he complied. 1--WE were
installed in charges not very distant from
/ each other, and as two young men began
our work. 1t was among the good old
Dutch Reform brethren, not far from New
/ York. Being in the same presbytery, as
we call it now, Dewitt and myself we're
brought together from time to time We
were interested, yes glad to know of the
J grow IN u the LOTQ WOrk IN edCn OLler :
4 hands. During the first year we met one
day, and to my hail. Dewitt, how goes
/ the times? he made answer, Slow, slow,
! b., SLOW How is that% Well, there are
too many empty pews. I tell you, b., l
am going to make a break. l laughed
and said: You better spend more time
/ with your Bible; be on your knees more
for your people. Agonize more for souls.
He replied hastily. 1 do all those things;
am wearing myself out to no purpose that
way, and / am going to make a break
I'VE went our several ways, and had
forgotten his threat if. indeed, it was a
| threat. Il am going to make a break"
when one day we met on a committee,
| ana 1 grasped his hand with the Well,
| old boy, how goes it?' His answer was
First rate. splendid and he looked it.
| But l whispered, they say they are go
| ing to ship you down there All right
! SAID he, III go to larger place. You
| made the break, and have no empty pews;
tell me about it, And this was his story.
/ He noticed the show people and theater
| people had the willing crowds, and the
| churches the unwilling few. What was
the secret? Who had the secret? Evil
( IDENTIFY the actors. We have had the best
of training, but the drawing power is not
with us or our teachers Christ had the
! multitude, why not we? Talmage had been
long thinking on those lines, and with
him to think was to act. He Immediately
WTOl6 10 a IItGIQ III new 1OIk CITY lOi
| the address Of some one who would be
a good trainer for the stage, and in due
time by engagement was greeted at his
door. 1t was his annual summer vacation.
| The man looked surprised when he learn
! ed DeWItt's errand, seemed to hesitate
for a moment, and then said: Mr.. Tai
| mage / suspect you are clergyman, and
/ never train a clergyman, so cannot take
you as a pupil Dewitt bridled at the
thought. Why, sir, why? Simply inn
possible. You would not do as / tell you,
and If you did they would expel you from
the pulpit. But 1 will do as you tell me,
and l will take the risk of expulsion But
let me give you the story in his own words.
The trainer went on to say: You were
I educated all wrong according to our
standard of speaking. All ministers are
l answered promptly. believe YOU He
continued: You speak from a little box
pulpit high up?' Yes sir VIII you
agree to abandon that and have a large
platform like a stage for you to walk
around on to talk to men from" Yes,
sir with some hesitation, as the ghosts
from the unchanging past. However,
of ministerial propriety glared at me
Mr. Talmage the greatest difficulty to re-
move 1 will find in yourself rather than in
the church building. There is not
thing you have been trying
to do but is wrong He was growing in
teresting. Mr.. Talmage, you believe in
illS bOOks plthiAb w q SiiiehAA DAbANi NAANt
men must know its truths?' Yes, sir, l
do That if they would be saved they
must receive them. That the choice of life
or death is here? Yes, sir That thous-
ands will go down to death unsaved IN
less you teach them to receive Christ?
Yes. sir And this is the way you go
about it, Changing his quick, nervous
earnest ways to great elaboration, he
Strengthened up to his highest, seemingly,
buttoned his coat touched up his hair,
slowly adjusted pair of glasses. dropped
his arms by his sides and began a dead
march in Saul pace to the imaginary pull
pit A face of chalk would have had as
much expression as his as he calmly open
ed the book and read in a perfunctory way
some scripture. He cleared his ministerial
voice and turning to me, said Mr.. Tai
mage, did ! do il justiceY Yes, too true
TO life He came back to my side. I'M
bottoned his coat, put on an alert look,
strobe to his pulpit, opened the book with
eagerness and with flashing eye and ferv
ent voice read scripture, making my blood
Jingle His every hair seemed to believe
and speak his flesh to creep as If pent
with a great message. He talked as
though he stood between the living
and the dead, as though for the
last time. As though earth as a grain of
sand were being lost on the shores of OBJ
lvon and frosted and palsed all the
achievements of man. If lifeiess with
dignity before he was now all life, all elo-
quence. He stopped and said, Mr.. Tai
mage, VII you do like that?' l said. 1
will try. He said, note this you minis
ters express what you believe in such a
way that people do not believe you be-.
lieve it, while we actors express what we
do not believe in such a way that people
believe we believe it. SO you see,' said
Mr. Talmage 1 have the secret and the
multitude
My northwestern friend laughingly con-
Guided: when you again see the great
Talmage trying to force his fingers into
the wall to scramble up the side, as he
describes the sinking ship and mans
sinking condition, you will remember that
It all traces back to the time when he
made break i'm our early ministry, when
he became a real man dealing with living
issues. before a real multitude. Talmage
allowed himself to be made over. he ex-
presses the fire and fury of our Saxon fore
fathers. He was taught that God ex-
presses himself in life; life in face and
feature, In foot and form. II is so rare and
racy and right that men pay princely