The Irish standard. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn. ;) 1886-1920, 1907-07-20
This Ruddy, Old-Fashioned Catholic Priest
is Member Of One of the Finest
Families in England.
Church of Immaculate Conception, of Which
He is Pastor, is in the Heart of
Fashionable London.

Everybody in London loves and hon.
ors Father Vaughan. and yet he is the
pulpit scourge of the town. He
breaches truths that terrify and he
hurls them at you with terrible earn
estness, and yet you are not afraid
Of him. He defines with awful vivid
ness the penalties of wasted time and
wasted effort and wasted ideals. and
vet YOU are not afraid of him. Some
times he makes you wish to lay your
head on your arm and sob FOR very
shame and pealitence; sometimes ne
makes YOU wish to spring from your
seat and cheer: sometimes he draws
the tear of pity from the eyes of gen.
tie women; sometimes he makes men
set their laws hard and vow to them
selves that they will try to be better
saws James O'Donnell Bennett in his
London letter to the Chicago Record
Herald.
He makes you quail he sends yor
away tren1u1ous with a hundred emo
tions, hopes. anxieties, regrets. reso-
lutions aspirations. He grips you
buffets you, rails at you, then seems
to throw his great arms around you
and drag you, painting, hurt. ashamed
and eager, onward with him to the
heights. For prodigious effects pro-
duced by simple and at times uncouth
means he surpasses any preacher
ever heard, and ! have reported over
100 and written analyses, as thorough
as | could compass. of them all. He
uses no notes. He begins falteringly
speaking very slowly and with labored
clearness.
For the first fifteen minutes his
matter is extremely commonplace and
he will tell. with a simplicity so per-
feet that "A child could follow him.
some familiar gospel story. You are
Gisappointed You feel that you have
come again upon an overrated preach
err. and you wonder how he could pos
sibly have gained a name the mere
mention of which makes London look
up and listen. Then he begins to ap-
/ ply the gospel story to, modern condi-
attention is caught. You begin to
weigh the words which now are COM
ing faster. Long sentences, pitched
together in harsh, strong Saxon mono
syllables, are beginning to rush from
his lips. His face. ruddy even in re-
pose, grows scarlet. His voice. care
fully and slowly projected at first now
rise at times to a jubilant shout. The
ring and roar of a battle cry are in it.
The enormous volume of sound and
| the wild. hoarse. exultant passion in
the tone are maddening. They set
the blood tinglng.
| If you are reporting. your excite
ment sends the pencil jumping over
! the page. This is terrific stuff" (the
newspaper mans shop term for mo-
mentous uttera nccs), and you must
catch it all. Epigrams. threats. in
suits. epithets come crashing down
/ from the pulpit. You give it up. You
are listening with open mouth and
wide eyes, and you may be glad if the
tears are not streaming down your
cheeks. If they are, you will not be
conspicuous, for all around you the
people are looking with wet eyes to-
ward the pulpit. They breathe hard
You can hear the short gasping OF
women who are laboring under a
strain that is almost beyond bearing
The men moisten their lips. ther
shut them tight. A great rushing
sound seems to fill the church. II
roars from arch to arch, rises, falls
rises again. One wave of sound shat
ters another You have a sick sensa-
ton of wondering how much longer
you can bear this. The face looking
upon you from the pulpit is flaming
The arms are extended in frantic ap.