Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1899-10-04

boriurlS efforts ne had made in prcpar-
ing sermons for large audiences that
failed to appear
But Sunday morning dawnrd on the
town of Raymond one of these perfect
davs that sometimes come after long
periods of wind and rain and mud. The
air WIS clear and hracing. the sky wa7
free from all threatening signs. AMI rv-
cry one in Henry Maxwrll'S parish pre-
pared to 90 To church When the service
opened ut II o'clock. the large huilding
was filled with IN audience of the best
dressed. most comfortable lacking pro-
pie in Raymond
The First church of Raymond be
| lirvcd in having the best music that
money could buy. and its quartet choir
| this morning was Il great source of
pleasure to the congregation The an
them WAS inspiring All the music WAS
in keeping with the subject of the ser
mon And the anthem w;lS IN elaborate
adaptation to the most modern music,
of the hymn
| Jesus | my cross have taken.
All To leave AMI follow thee.
Just before the sermon the soprano
sang Il solo. the we'll known hymn
Where he leads III" ! will follow.
| I'll :" with him. with him all the way.
Rachel Win>iuw locked very bcauti
| ful that morning aS she stood up be-
hind the screen of carved oak which
wis significantly marked with the en-
bl,nlS Of the cross and the crown Her
voice was even more hrautiIul than
her face and that mrannt Il great deal
There WAS Il general rustic of rNp"cta-
tiun over the audience us she arose
Henry Maxwell settled himself c"ntrnt'
clly behind the pulpit Rachel Wins
lows singing always helped him. HE
generally arranged for Il song before
the sermon 1t made pnSSihlc Il certain
inspiration of feeling that he knew
made his delivery more impressive.
People said to themselves they had
never heard such singing even i'll the
First church 1t is certain that if it
had not been a church service her solo
would have been vigorously applaudrd
1t even seemed to Henry Maxwell when
she sat down that something like IN at
tempted clappilic of hands or striking
of feet on the iour swept through the
church lie WIS startled 10y it. As he
rose. however. and laid his sermon un
the open l'ihlr he said to himself he
| had been Il, c,ivrd OF course it cunld
not occur I'm Il few moments hc WAS
al<urhrd in his sermon. and everything
else was forgotten in the pleasure of
the delivery
No one had ever accused Henry Max
well ~ being Gull preacher On the
contrary. he had often been charged
with hing sensational. not in what he
said 80 much as in his way of saying
it Bnt the First church people liked
that 1t gave their preacher and their
parish pleasant distinction that was
agreeable
1t wa> also true that the pastor OF
the First rh.!rrh loved tn preach. He
seldom rxcian@rd He WAS eager to be
in his own pulpit when Sunday came.
There WIS an yhilarating half hour
/ for him us he stood fHcing Il church full
of p,urlr and knew that he had hear
iny He WIS peculiarly sensitive to
variations in the attendance. He never
preached we'll before Il small audlrnc"
The WEE; her also affected him decided
| " He was ut his hest lnfurr just such
in audience nS faced him now, OH just
4, L., f,,lt ,r1,,N ,,f S.It.
iSfactiur aS he went on. The church
waS the ,r>t in the city. 1t had the best
choir 1t had Il membership composed
Of the leading prnplr, representatives
of the wealth. S"cirty and intelligence
of RAYMOND He waS going abroad on
Il three rrunthS' vacation III the sum-
mrr. and the circumstances of his pas
turatr. his Influence and his position as
pastor of the first church in the city
1t is not certain that the Rev. Henry
Maxwell knew Just how he could carry
OH I'LL that Thought in connection with
his sermon. Int aS he drew near the
end of it he knew that hr had ut some
punt in his delivery had I'LL these feel
inyS They had entered into the very
Sul>tanc" Of his thought. 1t might
have been all in few seconds of time
but hr h;ll been conscious of defining
his position and his rnutiuns as we'll rs
if he had held >"lil"quy, and his de-
livery lart""k of tn" thrill IF deep per
Sunal satisfaction
The Srrllnm WIS interesting 1t WAS
full Of Strikin" sentences They would
have commanded attention printed
Spoken with the passion of Il dramatic
utt"rlncr hat had the good taste never
t" offend with Il suspicion of ranting "r
d"ramalun, they We're very rtfcCtiv"
II the Rev Henry Maxwell that morn
in. felt satisfied with the conditions of
his pasiuratr. the parish of First church
also had Il similar feeling rs it comSrat.
ulat"l itself "n the lr'Srnr" in the pull
pit of this scholarly. refined. somewhat
striking face and figure. preaching
with such animation and freedom from
all vulgar. noisy or diSagrrrahlc man-
ncriSlm
Suddenly. into In" midst uf this p,'r-
feet accord amI concord h'twr,n preach
cr and audience. there came Il very re-
markahl. interruption Ii would l"'
difficult tu Indicate the extent If tn"
Sh''k which this interruption measured
1t wis 81 unexpected. :" entirely CON
trary t" amy Thought of any prS II
present. that il offered nn room for
argument or. for llr. tim" hn'ing. of r.
siSianc".
The sermon had come +" Il close. Til"
| Roy IIrmrN NnNN,ll had tmrlnl liz,