AN ENGLISHWOMAN'S GLIMPSE OF SPUR GEON, V. A SCOTCH VIEW.

Colonist, Issue 8, 17 November 1857, Page 2

AN ENGLISHWOMAN'S GLIMPSE OF SPUR GEON, V. A SCOTCH VIEW.

To the Editor of the Colonist.:. ' ' *' . Sir, —I cannot forbear noticing an article in the Colo-

nist, copied from the Edinburgh Weekly HeralS, fraught with undisguised satirical abuse of the pulpit talents of this extraordinary man. I gladly welcome the freedom of a press which gives an opportunity of vindication, notwithstanding the inadequacy and feebleness of attempt, combined with the entire absence of all ocular demonstration to reverse the criti-

cism. Yet, to think of building a defence entirely upon the ideal, would be an outrage of law and reason; mere supposition establishes no fact. But as the various organs of the British press have most of them something to say either^ro or con in the Spurgeon case, and I feel confident that more cannot be said against him than has been said already, I merely ask on hia behalf, through the same medium, the hearing of. an impartial and disinterested public. Referring to the article in question, I find him denominated a pulpit quack; very respectable phraseology this. Is it anovel term amidst this earth's legion of empirics ? Before me is his likeness: certainly it is not a very good one. Nevertheless, the broad forehead, and poetry of the eye, with a pure originality of expression on the countenance, tells of something within. Yes, and there is something of no common order in £he man who at any hour of the day, or day of the week can attract thousands of London citizens to hear him preach the gospel, when all grades and extremes of extravagances are going forward in that vast metropolis. Does the definition of quackism apply only to the multitude of his hearers, or,* is it routine that will bear the term? The routine of Spurgeon is something different from the usual order of things certainly. A departure from parallels; but surely the bold and irregular dashes by which he breaks off from the line is infinitely better than what Mrs. Stow calls " a dead sea." The dreamy dressing-gown arm-chair style of pulpit oratory has had its day. The time is" come for it to wane, The state of antedeluvian slumber into which preachers'and people had imperceptibly fallen, has been broken in upon,' while facts require presenting to the million with a living, tangible, earnest reality—.a.strength which indicates power. * The soft breeze which has hitherto" swept over the surface of generalities, is giving'place to the rising of a stronger wind—a wind that will eventually rend the,quiet diffidence and supineness of congregations into shreds, who while they considered themselves safely aloof from the contagion of a miasma of social evil, rested comfortably content in the assurance that all things were well. Spurgeon; the vilified, and persecuted,, and anon, extolled to the skies, has disturbed the calm. Many are the noble and true-hearted who rejoice to see liis day, and extend to him the right hand of fellowship, bidding him God'speed. But envious eyes look askance at his popularity, and malicious tongues freely bestow upon him the venom of their spite. ; What matters ? Fasten a newt to an eagle's wing and give it liberty; upward and onward the noble bird shall soar its heavenward flight" unimpeded by , /# the appendage. So shall Spurgeon go on iriopposition to all that slander shall do or say to arrest his progress. Why, he. is the better for it all. In the intricacy of Providence his foes are but instruments used . for the cutting and polishing of a jewel, which, if 1.----mistake not, is destined to' shine with greater brilliancy. He is charged with being young. I should like to ask my Scotch'friends if John Kriox was ever • a child! a youth, or did he suddenly emerge from the interior of one of their high mountains, in the full ■ maturity of his manhood—the strong iron-faced Rei former of Scotland, with gigantic intellect and unflinching denunciation' of evil, fearing not the wrath of his antagonists, though arrayed in robes of royalty and power? Was Chalmers ever a lad? Did he descend from the upper regions, a man in the prime of life, just ready to take his place on the arena of which he was destined to be the mighty focus, immortalizing his , name by the pure tone'of his piety, solidity of understanding, depth of scholarship, and thunders of eloquence ? Tell up, if you can, "of any man, great or not, who, differing from the universality of nature's laws, has never passed through the successive age9 of childhood and youth—there will be a new thing under the sun. But wisdom does not always dwell with age, said tho • friend of the man in the land of Uz, a truth that holds good in our day. An extract from the editor of • > the Glasgoio Examiner, convinces me that. all tho • Scotch do not see alike. Speaking of Mr. Spurgeon, the writer says:—" Among the thirty thousand Eng- ■ lisli preachers and three thousand Scotch ones, there . are many sweet voices as well as this; many who have . studied the art of speaking with the greatest assiduity, and yet they fail to attract an audience. Mr. Spurgeon is more than "that of a voice crying—he Has rare . powers of observation, recollection, assimilation and creation. His field of observation is wide and varied. He has opened his eye's to nature in all its varieties, to science in all its discoveries, and to literature in all .- its departments. Thoughts that have come floating . • down from the long by-gone ages are placed in the - crucible of his mind; and., purged of the objectionable,. . come out bearing his own image and superscription, while his popularity allows him a license of illustration, , manner and action peculiarly his own. Many a pen' has been dipped in gall by jealous rivals; many in honey by generous critics. One who has heard him; professes to be disgusted with his egotism, another .. with his ignorance, a third with the impudence of tho young man; but he still lives on—lives in the affections of thousands, preaches on with multitudes at his feet, to crowds greater than before. Facta correct theory, and detractors must account for it as they can." Such is a very brief outline from the unprejudiced testimony of one Scotchman amongst the many. Like other people, they differ in opinion. Crowds thronged to Queen-street Hall, Edinburgh, despite . torrents of rain; multitudes to Dr. King's Chapel, - Glasgow, and twenty thousand were unable to gain admission, IJie Glasgow papers sold well ■.. the following week with Spurgeon for a subject. Thanks to North British hospitality, he '.' had no reason to complain. His visit to the Highlands was a source of gratification,'and while hie de- , claied the Scotch were a " cannie people," he acceded to the urgency of their request, in the promise of an annual visit. • " ■ - As regards the accident in the Surrey Gardens, which, by some, has been construed into a special mark of Divine displeasure, I can only remark that no doubt other and even more calamitous accidents have been the result of immense crowding where no Buch conclusion has been arrived - at. The powers of darkness are ever on the alert for mischief, and while the emissaries of evil were willing agents in this case, charity forbids us to accuse them, of foresight in the consequences. Spurgeon may justly be called a pioneer. He has paved the way for a more earnest and successful ministry. When Lord .'" Dungannon objected to services being held in Exeter Hall in'connection with the Church of England, fearing it would lead to an introduction of Spurgeonism, the t Bishop of London and others declared it to be in the * ' highest degree expedient, for they could testify to tho fact of crowds at those services who never entered the \.; luxuries churches of the metropolis. r ' % ; ' •' - • , And who are Spurgeon's hearers ? They are the mechanics ,the artizans, the thinkers: • the; ■ ■ real working people of London., Other'-con-■'""; gregations are thinned, and the legion of his hearers, consists of tho respectable church - . and chapel going community—people who ;by their . ' i tangible contributions to the elaborate manufactories "' of art and science,' which form the gems of that uh-> rivalled city are capable of rational judgment on any, subject of public attention. What is Mr, Spurgeon :

doing for the masa—these people? Why, as Lord Chief Justice ChapriSn told him, after hearing one of his discourses at the Surrey Gardens — " You are doing good, Sir, an immense amount of good to the people." Yes, it is a good — glorious in its cause, fruitful in effect, and fraught with results that eternity alonecan devulge. Where lies the secret of his success? It is in his earnestness. Be in earnest ahout any undertaking, and mountains sink-to molehills: giants dwindle to the size of a very puny inhabitant. Oh the cold, the freezy atmosphere that pervades the halfhearted and amphibious. prosiness of many who are really desirous of doing something, but for lack of vitality of earnestness go mourning day after day beneath the crushing weight of successive failures. Great men have all been in earnest; Galileo, Columbus, Luther, Knox, Whitficld, Wesley, a few of the bright constellations that have successively risen on our planet, and all bore the stigma of empiricism in their day. Far back in the pages of inspiration! was it thus. Even the Divine Author of Christianity, and the Apostle of the Gentiles shared the same fate. Then abuse is nothing new in Spurgeon. All hail, brother, go on and prosper, warning and teaching men whether they will hear or whether they will forbear. AZILE, Nelson, November 14. [Previous to receiving " Azile's" letter, we had selected " A Scotch Minister's View of Mr. Spurgeon " for publication (see our fourth page), which certainly seems to us to be given with a more unbiassed judgment than the article our correspondent refers to as having been published ina late number of this journal.—Ed. Colonist.]