The semi-weekly messenger. [volume] (Wilmington, N.C.) 1897-1908, 1899-01-17

We wish today to write of one of
whom we never heard until within the
last fifteen years or so, but never
saw in the flesh; of whose writings we
know but little, having never seen but
n or two contributions from his per
in a Presbyterian Quarterly; of whose
oratory and power as a preacher we
were never informed until within a
year, until, in fact, he was dead. From
what we have read concerning him in
the last year we verify believe he was
the genius of the south, not by n
means barren at any time in a rich n
imposing oratory and in great ability
as theologians and ~expounders Of the
Word. We refer to the late Rev. Dr.
, John L. Girardeau, of South Carolina,
who died last year. 1t is a mystery
quite inexplicable to us how so Won
derfully endowed a man, Of such very
rare and superlative gifts, Of such in
tensity of religious views and convic-
lions, of such mastery powers in the
pulpit, Of such splendOr and beauty OF
thought, of such fervid, magnetic,
v w III ~ 'A"~AS ~
richly cultured, should ave lived so
long in southland without creating a
great furore of admiration and his name
becoming a household word. But, in
fact. his fame was not general in the
south, and he was but little known in
the north. Indeed outside Of his
church and his native state he had not
one-half the fame to which men of not
half his natural gifts or fine cultivation
had attained. After reading of what
distinguished men have said of him
and the very great impressions he made
upon the simplest minds and exalted
and cultured as we'll, we are much in
,cHned to believe he has had no fellow
in a half century, or indeed since Rob
ert Hall was enthralling congregations
in England in the early decades of this
prolific century, who was probably the
greatest preacher, take him all in all
in eighteen centuries. We do not wish
to exaggerate DR.. Girardeau's qualities
or his claims to ~uniqueness and great.
ness. We nave been greatly impressed
by what we have read Of the fullness
&uS IICIlIlCSS VI LIZ C4LoO" AlCAA(S oLAN
the solid character Of his piety and de
votion to God and what he believed t.
be true with all his soul.
It seems that when young, a studen
OF theology, that he attracted the at
tention Of grave scholars in divinit,
and excited the admiration and aston
fshment Of brother students studying
in the same school and drinking at tn
same fountain of inspiration daily. Hi
manifold qualities of mind and heart
his b~rilliancy, his power of thought
his ~eloquence and splendor of rhetori
engaged the earnest attention of thee
iogues n teachers and divinity stu
dents. He evidently was the NOR
richly endowed in a school that con
sained most extraordinary teachers an
preachers-Dr. Palmer, DR.. Thoma
Smythe, DR.. John Leighton Wilson, d.
John B. Adger, DR.. Charles A. Jones
DIR. Thornwell Zone of the greatest min
listers yer produced in the Unite
States), Rev. DR.. Thomas A. Hoyt, Q
Philadelphia, was a student with hir
ian the Theological Seminary at Colum
bia. DR.. Hoyt says that young Girar
deau, quoting Shakespeare, "appeare
amongst US like The Herald Mercur
new-lighted on a heaven-kissing hill
"the hill of truth where the air is al
ways clear and serene Above it hun
a brilliant constellation"
DR.. Hoyt has done some excellen
work recently in a superb sketch an