The Salt Lake tribune. [volume] (Salt Lake City, Utah) 1890-current, 1910-08-12
TODAY IN HISTORY
FRIDAY, AUGUST 12, 1910,
Birthday OF Rev. Rowland Hill.

Birthday Of Rev. Rowland Hill.
Today August r., i7ii, is the BIRTHDAY,
eminent divines of his period, as well as
one of the most eccentric preachers.
sheridan used 10 say, II often 80 TO hear
com red hot from the hcart' The cc-
come red-hOt from the heart The &C.
ccntrlclties of manner. the quaintness OF
expression, the anecdotes and witticlsms
IN the pulpit, were forgotten By his resu-
lar hearers. in the rich vein OF sterling
plety and spiritual instruction that
marked the service.
Rowland Hill was Calvanistic Metho
dist and took Withheld for his model.
His diacouscs were singular, being
sometimes crowded With puns and stories.
while at Others their solemnlty was un-
broken. Some Of his straits are men
TONED In his diary.
''17GI January lst preached at Ches-
tcrtown; We had the honor OF a mob; no
broke" THURSDAY. in a barn. for the
frs, time. with much comfort. Cod send,
II | am TO live, this may not be my last
barn, Some eownsmen were there, but
they were not permitted to do more than
gnash their teeth"
Mr. Hill used to be circumspect in re-
a great desire to preach. and talked
about hiding his talents, he replied that
,'the closer he hid them the better In
his field campaigns he used to so to
large towns on market days. and address
the assemblage In the market houses.
When he heard OF a fair or a revel, he
preached there in spite Of the violence
with which he was assailed. and often
with success. His favorlte text was
Come ye out from among them The
freshness and originality OF his addresses
attracted crowds to hear him. He
preached in Calton Hill. In Edinburgh,
to an audience OF ten thousand. Nor
was he admired By vulgar and unedu-
Gated class only.
On one occasion. Hill was preaching
for public charity. when a note was
handed up to him, lnquirins II 1t would
be right for a bankrupt TO contribute:
He noticed the matter In the course OF
his sermon. and pronounced decidedly
mat mat such person could not do so in
Christian honesty; But my friends. :
he added. Il would advise you who are
not insolvent, not to pass the plate this
evening, as the people will be sure to
say; There goes the bankrupt >"
One wet day he observed a number OF
persons enter his chapel to take shelter
from a heavy shower OF rain, and re-
marked. .pithily., that many people, were
but he did not think those were much
better who made IL an umbrella"
1t Is related that IJili. in the pulpit.
used to make personal illusions 10 his
wife. as an example of the transformers
Of beauty and the necessity OF humility
an self depreciation. On one Sunday
morning; as his wife entered the church
comes my wife with chest OF drawers
| on her head! She went out TO buy them.
and spent all her money in that hoty-
Rowland Hill died April II. 1888. in his
eighty ninth year Almost TO the last he
maintained his mental vigor unimpaired
and delivered his last sermon only a lit
tie more than week before his death.
On August r. 1916, the death OF King
Philip brought an end to his war. 1t
Is the date on which the first American
railroad was completed In 1850. connect
Ing Albany with Schenectady. that Cen
eral William T. Sherman was made major
general in the regular army and that
United States in 1898 II is the birthday
OF George w, Of England G762). Rob-
ert Southey, poet G77D; Robert Mills,
the designer of the Washington monu-
ment Q7SD, Lille Devereux Blake. re-
former and author QS36); and Edith NJ.
Thomas, poet QS5d). II is the date OF
Pope Innocent Xf Q6S9); George Steph-
enson, engineer QS4S), and Albert Gal
latin OSig).