The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1903-10-18
WIDOW OF FAMOUS
ENGLISH PREACHER
Mrs. Charles Sturgeon, Who
Helped Her Husband, Is in
Critical Condition.
Special Foreign Service.

Special fOrelSn service.
LONDON. Oct. 17.-Unless an ex-
traordinary change takes place in the
present critical condition of Mrs.
Charles Spurgeon. it is probable that
the accompanying recent photograph is
the last that ever will be taken of the
widow of the famous English preacher
who possessed so many admirers In
the United States. AS this is written,
the quiet, kindly woman who took so
great part in her famous husbands
work. but who has been an invalid for
more than thirty years, lies in the
family home among the trees at West
wood, the quiet suburb just out of Lon
don, fighting for life against the latest
assault of her malady-and apparently
without much chance of victory this
time.
: Frail as Mrs. Surgeons health has
been for so long, it is probable that her
present condition would not be so criti-
cal had 1t not been for the devoted
work in the cause Of religion which she
has insisted on doing even in her sick
room. 1t is doubtful, too, if Mrs. Spur
geon has not suffered from the effects
of the really heroic part she took three
years ago in raising funds for the new
Metropolitan tabernacle which has re-
placed the famous place of worship
founded by her husband and DESTROYED
by fire after his death.
At the start off, the progress of the
new tabernacle was rather slow, Mrs.
Spurgeon and her son, the Rev. Thorn
as Spurgeon, who had succeeded to his
fathers pulpit, worked hard to help
%Well the list of donations, but money
came in by driblets, and as with an
aversion to debt characteristic of his
father, Thomas Spurgeon allowed the
new tabernacle to go up no faster than
funds were obtained to meet current
expenses the end of several years found
the new building only half finished.
In thinking over the situation one
day it occurred to Mrs. Spurgeon that
her husbands old Pensioners might be
induced to offer more liberal contribu-
lions If 1t were announced that she
herself would receive them, and with
thought came the conviction that no
better place for such a ceremony could
be chosen than the Tabernacle itself
incomplete as 1t was-and so it came
about that one chilly day in February
the workmen were turned out of the
church, it was put as much in order as
possible, and Mrs. SDurgeon-unheed-
ing the absolute prohibition of her
physician-sat for more than two hours
upon a hastily erected platform amid
the debris of building in the partly
finished house of worship while an
apparently endless stream OF people
passed by, each one leaving in her
hand as she shook it. a sealed envelope
containing a sum of money. When the
reception was over Mrs. Spurgeon was
tenderly helped from her chair and
taken to her home, while beside where
she had sat lay envelopes containing
more than 100000, mostly in small
sums.
In this way, and in doing all in her
power to make her dead husbands
fame secure-both by preparing his
sermons for publication in permanent
form and working on a biography Of
him-Mrs. Spurgeon continuously has
taxed her feeble strength, and her re-
cent relapse has come as a surprise
to none of her friends.
The Rev. Thomas Spurgeon, who
occupies the pulpit of the new Metro
politan Tabernacle. is just past his
forty-seventh birthday anniversary,
and in appearance and manner inher-
its many of his distinguished fathers
characteristics. Like Charles Spur
geon, he uses few gestures and speaks
from notes, which are published week
ly in sermon form just as his fathers
were. Old Pensioners also recognize
his habit of pushing back the hair from
his forehead while talking.
Besides meeting his congregation
twice every Sunday and taking a lead
ing part in all the affairs of the Taber-
nacle, "Son Tom," as his mother calls
him. is interested in the Stockwell
orphanage. the Pastors college and
the Colport association, all of which
We're founded by the late Charles
Spurgeon.