Evening star., 1899-06-10

course there was opposition from some
church members; few were even bitter
However, the first of the special Sunday
evening services was held on schedule time
and an audience of more than l,2o0, not
used to worshiping God in ST. Marks
Church, filled the pews. Some went from
curiosity no doubt, as shown by the pres
ence OF Quakers, who. according to the
traditions of their faith kept their hats on
throughout the service. In a little time
the plan was seen by every one TO be a
thoroughgoing success, and before the first
year of the Hoffman rectorate was over
the communicates of st. Marks had more
than doubled in number.
Visiting Smallpox Cases.
DR.. Hoffman remained rector of st.
Marks till 1879. In his ten years service
he had become personally acquainted with
some member of each of the nearly 1909
families In the parish. His acquaintance
with his parishioners was by no means per
functory-he knew them as a friend who
always visited them when they needed
him, even when they were suffering from
contagious diseases. This was true, also
in every one of his earlier locations. From
Brooklyn. from Elizabeth and Burlington,
n. j., and from Philadelphia come stories
of visitations that were little less than
heroic made by him in times of pestilence
His theory seems to have been that the
clergyman is needed quite as much as the
doctor when death is near, and he never
when the disease was smallpox or yellow
fever. During the prevalence of a small
pox epidemic in one of his New Jersey
parishes he visited the patients so regu-
larly that the mayor of the city threatened
to lock him up unless he would promise
to stop the practice, for fear the disease
would be spread by his comings and goings.
Knew His Parishioners.
He was not stopped either there or in
Brooklyn, where he went freely among pa
tients afflicted with yellow fever. DR.. Hoff-
mans house to house visitations We're
such a noteworthy feature of his work as
long as he served the churches that his
parishioners felt free to call upon him in
every sort of emergency. Thus at Eliza
beth little girl rushed into his study one
day, crying:
':Mother hopes you'll come to the house
right away, sir. Father says he's going to
kill her"
The doctor left the sermon he was pre-
pairing and followed the child. At the
house he found the father crazy drunk. As
the young clergyman entered-thts was all
of forty years aGo-the fellow raised chair
high in air as if to brain the intruder.
I'm not afraid of you nor no other man"
yelled the drunken man, and you'd better
clear out
Il don't want you to be afraid of me-
replied the clergyman, but there's one
chap you'd better be afraid of. His name
is James Anderson. He lives here, and
when drunk he's dangerous"
The chair dropped to the floor at this un-
expected speech, and James Anderson al
ready half sobered, begged pardon for his
brutality and promised to keep the peace.
Then the rector went placidly back to his
sermon writing.
Dean Hoffmans business ability is con-
sidered of a high order by New York men
of affairs, and his capacity for doing things
is recognized by his associates in seminary
management, who sometimes make play
upon his initials (E Al and call him Ex-
ecutive Ability Hoffman. He is popular
alike with students and faculty.