A VISIT TO THE LATE MR. SPURGEON'S FATHER.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XXIX, Issue 8842, 2 April 1892, Page 2 (Supplement)

A VISIT TO THE LATE MR. SPURGEON'S FATHER.

"You know you are our Grand Old Man," wrote Mrs. Spurgeon from Mentono a little time ago to the venerable father of her lamented husband. A correspondent, a few days after Sir. Spurgeon's death, saw the Rev. John Spurgeon at his home in West Croydon. lid seemed to bear wonderfully the double load of his grief and his 82 years. He talked freely of his son, and, recalling his boyhood, said : — " Charles was a healthy child and boy, having a good constitution, and he was of an affectionate disposition, and very studious. Ho was always reading books— never digging in the garden or keeping pigeons, like other boys. It was always books and books. If his mothor wanted to take him for a ride she would be sure to find him in my study, pouring over a book. He was clever, of course, and clever in most directions of study. Ho learned to draw very well." " That, I think, lias never been mentioned before ?" " Perhaps not. I have a drawing by him of an anoiont pile—from a copy—in another room. It is signed by him and bears the date of 1843 —that is, when ho had grown rather a big boy. During one of his visits to mo before he came ill Charles said, alluding to this picture, ' Father, I should like you to leave it to me.' I said, ' You can have it now, my boy, if you like.' 'No, no,' he replied, ' it has hung here a long time, and I only want you to leave it to mo,' ' It's yours,' I remarked again ; ' take it whenever you like.' " Then, in answer to other questions, the old gentleman explained that from school at Maidstone Charles went to Mr. Swindles' at Newmarket as a junior teacher. " For his teaching ho was to be taught Greek—that was the return, you understand. I think I can give you the precise date on which he went to Nowmarket, if 1 refer to my diaries." "Have you diaries going so far back as that'!" " Oh, dear, yea ; diaries for every year — diaries in which from day to day I have entered almost every matter. Let me see. Yes, here is the entry uudcr date August 17, 1849. The words of my entry are: ' Charles started for Newmarket this morning. His mothor wont with him. The Lord go with him and keep him and bless him. " Before he went to Nowmarket Charles had been converted, and while at Newmarket he was zealouc to do something for religion, Ho distributed tracts among the people, some of whom, I suppose, were not particularly anxious at that time to have them. Anyhow, Charles adopted a measure to keep him in his house-to-house visitation and distribution. He curried copybooks, and taught the boys of a household to write, while at the same time he distributed the tracts. Indeed, from the very first Charles was active to do good."