The Richmond Virginian. (Richmond, Va.) 1910-1920, 1915-09-20

dered distinct service to the people
OF Virginia In bringing out the biogra
ply OF his distinguished father. the
late Rev. William e. Hatcher. d. D..
long pastor of Grace-Street Baptist
Cnurch. and one OF the most widely
known ministers In the Southern Bap.
list convention. It is an fnterestino
work on the interesting life 81 an IN.
teresting man and will be very ren.
orally read. Rev. DR. r. Fl. PHI :.
| lifelong friend of Dr. Hatcher Ia
written for the Religious World the
| Following sympathetic review 81 this
biography:
biographies may be roughly divid-
/ ed into two classes. In one class
the author dominates the subject. He
Ills the book with eulogies, or 1t may
De In some attempt to be over honest,
ne undertakes to make critical .st!-
mates Of his man. Books of this type
abound and for the most part are
| moribund. They are sure to lack vital
ity They present opinions instead OF
| portraying life. But life Is always
| interesting, while opinions are often
duh and dreary reading.
In the other class of biogra p HES
, formed by our rough division. the
author, keeping himself and his
opinions in the background, is con-
tent with disclosing. through the use
OF such materials as are available.
the personality, the vital traits and
activities of the man whose memory
he would perpetuate. This class may
be still further divided. We have in
mind at the moment life Of one OF
our most beloved and distinguished
| friends. in which the authors There
were two) confined themselves too
| largely to the reproduction of letters
and to merely formal record Of the
progress of their subjects life.
Something more than literary skill.
though this is essential Ia needed
to make an interesting biography
There must be some genuine and APP
preciative sympathy between the
author and his subject, and il TO TINS
is added long and intimate personal
association, the equipment for such Il,
work Is still more adequate and salts.
flying.
The late beloved William f.
Hatcher was striking and unique
figure in the history Of Virginia Bap-
lists, and indeed, of the Raptists OF
the whole land. There was neve-
anybody within the range of our
somewhat wide acquaintance whose
individuality was so marked and un-
usual. IN his lifetime his friends
were. accustomed to speak of him as
versatile. The word Moala ae-sery
we'll but for the fact that in common
use. II. seems 10 connote. or at any
rate Ia Intimate. a certain shallow
ness a lack of seriousness. Or.
Hatcher was versatile. IL We are to UNI
derstand the word az meaning that
he was gifted. highly gifted, in many
ways. lie was piquant and attrac-
tive writer. with style thoroughly
Il
attention to the conventions of public
speech. he was, nevertheless, an en-
pertaining. impressive. and on occa-
sion. powerful preacher He was
sinGularly wise and far-seeing leader
and had a large part in forming and
in making effectual the policies of the
denomination in the State and in the
South. His great value in this partic-
ular was notably manifested at GER
tain serious crises In denomnational
affairs OF the largest Importance.
Though his humor and sprightliness
often efYervescen and a certain mental
ingenuity OTTER challenged the admira-
ton of his friends. he was, neyerthe-
less, capabl of high and serious
thinking and gave abundant proof OF
this quality throughout his life. Per-
haps the most outstanding feature OF
hish remarkable personality would be
found In his social gifts He used
to say of himself that he had pas
sion for friendship. Certainly he had
n remarkable gift for making and
holding friends. Virginia Baptists
have lost many strong and admira BILE
men during the period of our own ac-
tive life. men who had borne large
and honorable part in the life OF the
denomination. and who had made
large and enduring contributions to
its progress and prosperity. 1t In
no way disparages them to say that
probably the death OF no one of them
was a painful personal bereavement
to quite 80 many of our Virginia
brotherhood
These general considerations pre-
pare the way for the further state
ment that Rev. Eldridge b. Hatcher,
an only son, had. in the life. the
character. the active service. and the
striking personality of his father an
ideal subject for an interesting and
attractive biography. The son in this
case. was also singularly well
equipped TO do the work In satisfac-
tory fashion, In this woek he has
been engaged for some months past,
and the result is before us In volume
of 700 pages with the simple title.
William f. Hatcher, A Biography.
1t Is published by the w. c. Hill
Printing Company. Richmond, Va,
and the mechanical work seems to
have been we'll done. The paper is !
good. the print is clear. the margins
are ample. and the binding is taste !
full and substantial
The book falls at once into the
class of biographies described above,
in which the writer keeps himself as
far as is possible In the background.
seams n nS that NTH alv,oas T.
Grant taste and skill, he has selected
from what was probably a great mass
of material, just the Incidents, the
correspondence. the extracts from,
other publications. which were needed
to set out his subject in bold relief
Our reading of the volume has neces- |
sarily been hasty and later and /