Chapter 104: Death of Mrs. John Spurgeon

Chapter 104.
Death Of Mrs. John Spurgeon

Death and Funeral of Mr. Spurgeon's Mother—Letters—Conference of 1889—Fugual Tunes-Missionary Convention—Medicine for the Gout—Letters—Dr. Parker's "Open Letter"—At Brighton—William Olney.

While unwell himself, Mr. Spurgeon lost his mother by death in the spring of 1888. She had been ailing for some time, but feeling somewhat better, the invalid was conveyed, at her own desire, to Hastings on May 18; but taking a chill, bronchitis and inflammation came on, and death followed on May 23. The Rev. John Spurgeon and two of his daughters were present at the closing scene. The funeral took place in Croydon Cemetery on May 26, when Mr. Spurgeon gave an address in the chapel. On the following day Mr. James Spurgeon preached on the conversion, call, and charge of young Timothy, and the influence of Timothy's mother Eunice and his grandmother Lois. At the Stockwell Orphanage fete, held in honour of his fifty-fourth birthday, Mr. Spurgeon was able to stay only a very short time in consequence of bodily weakness; the weather was also cold;and cheerless for the season. Early in August he attended the jubilee of Wellington Square Chapel, Hastings, of which the late Mr. W. Barker was the minister, and there he preached, and in the afternoon gave an address, in the course of which he remarked:—

"What a company before the Throne look down on this place—not gaudy in architecture, especially the schoolroom. I believe that grand buildings ruin good fellowship in the church itself. People used to meet in the plain old building and nod to one another; but now in the handsome building people did not speak to one another; it would be unbecoming. They walked up the aisles on stilts with a new pair of gloves on, and entered the stately catacomb places."

Towards the end of August the Baptist Union was again severely criticised in consequence of one being asked to preach the autumnal sermon whose published views on inspiration seemed to deny inspiration altogether as it had commonly been understood. Thus the Evangelical Church papers showed a disposition to vindicate Spurgeon in the attitude he had taken up. "We have no desire to have fellowship with those who would practically rob us of our Bibles," said The Rock. "Far better the intolerant priests, who would by persecution endeavour to prevent us from reading that book, than the so-called preacher of the Gospel who will present us with a book called the Bible, but will at the same time deprive us of our faith in that sacred volume as the Word of God." The controversy, however, flagged; the man chiefly concerned was so feeble in health that he was arranging to leave England as early as possible; yet all the while he showed wonderful energy. Early in September he was the life of the party when Mr. and Mrs. C. F. Allison entertained the tutors and students at their country house, Town Court, Orpington. On the 18th of the month the annual College meeting came off at the Tabernacle, when the President once more lectured in his best style. It was about this time that Spurgeon became a member of the Surrey and Middlesex Baptist Association. On September 25 he gave a sympathetic address to the Southwark branch of the Young Men's Christian Association in the Tabernacle. In speaking of the influence of early days he made some telling remarks. "As far as I myself am concerned, I cannot imagine what I should have done at the present time if I had not been a servant 'of the Lord Jesus Christ when I was fifteen, and pastor of a church when I was sixteen. Those first years moulded all the rest of my life. If I had not then preached, I should not now have preached, and I think it is so with you." Such extra services had the usual effect, however, and on October 20 he was confined to his bed. About a month later he started for the South of France, and was absent from his pulpit at the Tabernacle for a little over four months. On September 26 he preached at the opening of New Surrey Chapel, and, without knowing it, selected the same text that Rowland Hill had enlarged on at the opening of the old sanctuary in 1783. My friend Mr. Benjamin Senior, the present pastor, has supplied some reminiscences of C. H. Spurgeon and Surrey Chapel:—

"The first time I heard my late dear friend preach was on a Thursday night at the Tabernacle. I said to a gentleman sitting next to me, 'What is the secret of this man's success?' He said, 'Why, the man is real. I will illustrate what I mean. A conversation took place the other day in the house of business where I am employed about the most popular preachers in London. Everyone said that Spurgeon stood the first. One man said, "I used to think that Spurgeon was a humbug until I went to hear him. Ho preached from the text, Am I my brother's keeper?' Among other things he said that he regarded every man as his brother. I said I will test the fellow to-morrow. The next morning I went to his house in Nightingale Lane; I rang the bell. When the servant answered the door I said, 'Will you tell Mr. Spurgeon that his brother wants to see him?' She seemed to hesitate. I said, 'Will you kindly carry my message?' She took the message and at once returned, asking me into the study. 'Well, my friend, what is the object of your visit?' I said, 'Well, sir, I heard you preach yesterday, and you said that you regarded every man as your brother. I am a man and I am out of work, and I thought I would come and see if you would regard me as your brother.' He laughed right heartily and said, 'Well, I have had a good many visitors, but I think you are the strangest I ever had; but keep your seat and you shall have some refreshment.' He rang the bell, and when the girl came he said, 'Bring this good gentleman something to eat. Never mind, cold beef, pickled onions, anything you have got.' I enjoyed the refreshment immensely; he chatted with me all the time; gave me a note to take to one of his deacons, and then prayed with me. I can never forget that visit. Now," said the man, "I was not out of work nor did I want anything, but I thought I would test the fellow and see if he would practise what he preached."' So my friend said to me in the pew, 'That is the best illustration I can give you that the man is real.'

"Yes, he was real, and that was the main secret of his great success. He was real in all that he said and did; in his love, sympathy and benevolence. How often I have had proof of this in my thirteen years' ministry at Surrey Chapel! How his great heart was struck when old Surrey Chapel was lost to the Christian Church! The following letter was received from him in 1880:—

"'Westwood, Beulah Hill, "'Upper Norwood.

"'Dear Sir,—The loss of Surrey Chapel from the Blackfriars Road is a social calamity; and any effort to revive its holy agencies, if it be wisely planned and well supported, will be a blessing to the south of London.

"'C. H. Spurgeon.'

"But how delighted he was a few years after, when I told him that within forty yards of the old chapel we had secured a splendid freehold site in the Blackfriars Road for a new Surrey Chapel; and still later on, when I went to ask him for the loan of the Tabernacle and lecture-hall for the tea and public meeting at the stone-laying, I shall never forget how heartily he congratulated me upon this success, and would have me come and tell them all about it in the Tabernacle that night at the prayer meeting. I did as he asked me, and the next morning The Daily Chronicle gave a report of the address with this title, 'Mr. Spurgeon and the Primitive Methodist.' And what had the Primitive Methodist to do with him? Why, a great deal, as he told them that night how in a little chapel of our3 he was converted. I need not give the details, as they are so well known. He came and preached the opening sermon of our new chapel; and here a most remarkable thing occurred. Without knowing it, he took the same text that Rowland Hill preached from over a hundred years before, when he opened old Surrey Chapel. The text was, 'But we preach Christ crucified.' It was indeed a most remarkable sermon. I was in the pulpit with him when he sat down, and told him what he had done, when he exclaimed, 'How strange that I should have had the same text!' I told the congregation, and they were immensely delighted. I have had the two sermons published, and they are said to be two of the most remarkable sermons preached from the same text. The first edition of twenty thousand copies is being sold. When Mr. Spurgeon had finished his sermon he gave me a cheque for £10, and promised £10 for each £1,000 until the debt was paid off; and one of the last cheques that he wrote was just before he left England for Menton. How he delighted to speak of Rowland Hill and old Surrey Chapel! In this sermon he gave a striking illustration of his soul-saving power, when our eighty-years-of-age Rowland Hill and C. H. Spurgeon were in many respects alike in their intense love to Jesus Christ and their passionate love to save the souls of men. How fully they succeeded in saving souls will never be known. Surrey Chapel and the Tabernacle are places of world-wide interest. It was at Surrey Chapel that the first Sunday-school in London was commenced; the first meeting of the Religious Tract Society and the first meeting of the Ragged-School movement were held here. A well-known minister, preaching at the closing of old Surrey Chapel, said he believed that as many souls had been saved in that chapel as there were bricks in the walls. Could this not be said of the Tabernacle? Would to God that it could be said of every other place of worship! Oh! that the soul-saving passion may take hold more fully of the ministry and the church! It is a sweet memory for us to think of the two honoured servants of God who for so many years preached the glorious Gospel of the blessed God in London, and whose sermons have been made such a blessing to so many millions of people in this and other lands. Their life and work will still be an inspiration to the Christian ministry and to the churches of this and other lands. May we follow them as they followed Christ, and may our lives be full of the fragrance of holy toil for the good of others!" In connection with the controversy with the Baptist Union a resolution of sympathy was passed by the Baptist Convention of the Maritime Provinces of Canada, to which this reply was sent:—

"Upper Norwood, London, "October 5, 1888.

"To the Ministers and Delegates forming the Baptist Convention of the Maritime Provinces of Canada.

"Dear Brethren in Christ,—I heartily thank you all for the words of cheer which you have sent me. Such a resolution, from such brethren, at such a time, gladdened me greatly. From the depths of my soul I thank all the brethren, and I pray the Lord richly to recompense them. I am grateful that you have not misjudged my action in reference to the English Baptist Union, from which I have felt bound to separate myself. I have not acted from sudden impulse, much less from any personal grievance; but I have been long protesting quietly, and have been at last compelled to make a stand in public. I saw the testimony of the churches becoming obscure, and I observed that in some instances the testimony from the pulpit was very wide of the Word of God, and I grieved over the state of things which is sure to follow upon defection from the Gospel. I hoped that the many faithful brethren would be aroused to the peril of the situation, and would earnestly endeavour to cleanse their Union of the most flagrant offenders. Instead of this, I am regarded as a troubler in Israel by many, and others feel that, important as truth may be, the preservation of the Union must be the first object of consideration. Nothing could have more fully proved to me that my protest is rather too late than too early.

"On surveying the position, I perceive that the basis of our Baptist Union afforded nothing to work upon if a reform were attempted, for any person who has been immersed is eligible for membership. So far as anything found in the printed basis is concerned, every immersed person has a right to join it. Within its bounds there is neither orthodoxy nor heterodoxy, for all have an equal right of place. This does not appear to me to be the right condition of matters, and therefore I quitted the confederacy. Altogether apart from the soundness or unsoundness of individuals, the compact itself is on wrong grounds, and can never produce real unity. There are numbers of faithful, honoured, and beloved brethren in the Union; but these, by their presence and countenance, are bolstering up a confederacy which is upon a false foundation. It is not for me to censure them, any more than it was for them to censure me; but I cannot but feel that a more decided course of action on their part would have secured for our country a testimony to the truth which is greatly needed in these evil times; whereas their shielding of the false and erroneous has given a sanction to evil teachers which they are not slow to perceive.

"The pain I have felt in this conflict I would not wish any other man to share; but I would bear ten thousand times as much with eagerness if I could see the faith once for all delivered to the saints placed in honour among the Baptist churches of Great Britain. I resolved to avoid personalities from the very beginning; and, though sorely tempted to publish all that I know, I have held my peace as to individuals, and thus have weakened my own hands in the conflict. Yet this also I had rather bear than allow contention for the faith to degenerate into a complication of personal quarrels. I am no man's enemy, but I am the enemy of all teaching which is contrary to the Word of the Lord, and I will be in no fellowship with it.

"Nothing has occurred to cause my mind the least alienation from Baptist brethren who hold the doctrines taught in Holy Scripture. Far otherwise. I have never had a doubt as to the Scriptural correctness of our view of baptism; and I rejoice that with the mass of those who obey the Lord in this matter I am still in hearty union. Assuredly I am one with you, and all the more consciously so because you have not hesitated to stand by me in the hour of trouble, when many shun my company and condemn my conduct.

"God bless you, my beloved brethren, and keep you in His faith as at this day! May the Lord increase and strengthen you more and more, and bless all the 'Maritime Provinces' through your works of faith and labours of love. You are not ashamed to state your beliefs. You do not wish to cover up error by a cloudy, indefinite state of things, which, like darkness, encourages evil. You love the truth, and therefore do not shun the light. May the Holy Ghost be with all your ministers, and dwell in all your members! Peace be to you and grace!

"Unable to write all that I feel, I turn to prayer, and beseech our God in Christ Jesus to bless you exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or even think.—Yours most gratefully and lovingly, "C. H. Spurgeon." In a note accompanying this letter it was added:—

"Weary and worn and ill—my motto is 'faint, yet pursuing.' 'He is near that justifieth me.' The inspiration of Scriptures is the point assailed, and with it all true religion stands or falls. May you be kept from this dread tidal wave which is rolling over our country! " On November 18, or just about the time that he left England for Menton, he sent the following letter to his congregation:—

"Dear Friends,—May this be a great day among you—a fit sequel to so memorable a week. I wish that by any means the work of grace, which has now begun, may be followed up. Let all the soul-winners be alive to look after those who have come under Divine power. To-day also bring an offering to aid the evangelical work, and to discharge the cost of the services. You will not fail to do this if you have seen what God has done. My dear friend, Mr. Hugh D. Brown, of Dublin, who was to have preached next Lord's Day, is obliged to keep his bed. I am therefore very grateful to Dr. Monro Gibson and Mr. Frank White for consenting to take the services at so short a notice. A whole fortnight has been cut out of my rest by my sheer inability to move; but now I can walk a little, and hope on Monday to make a short journey towards the place where I have so often found restoration. I trust you will have patience with me, and that in my absence God will bless you as much as He has done when I have been with you. I feel peculiar love and gratitude to the officers of the church and many ready helpers who have spent the past week in seeking the souls of others. May they find, through the supply of the Spirit, that in blessing others they have themselves obtained a blessing most surely. I hope those who have found the Lord will be prompt to confess His name in His own way. May great peace be upon you all through our Lord Jesus!—With constant affection, your old and feeble minister, "C. H. Spurgeon."

Unhappily the expression "your old and feeble minister" was true to life, for Spurgeon had become prematurely old, and, as time was proving, he was growing feeble past recovery. When, on the last Sunday of the year, Mr. E. H. Ellis preached at the Tabernacle, the following letter was read:—

"Dear Friends,—I wish you all, in the deepest and highest sense, a Happy New Year—a year of the Lord loaded with His benefits. I heartily wish myself among you, whatever the cold and the fog may be, for I feel anxious for the welfare of the new converts, and to see the faces of my veteran fellow-soldiers. Up till now I can only call myself 'well, but weak.' The swelling of the feet is greatly diminished each evening, but it has not gone so completely as I hoped. I shall always be liable to fail in my bodily standing; but I think I am more firm than ever in my standing spiritually upon the old Rock of Divine truth. I have borne no false testimony among you. I have nothing to retract nor even to modify, but everything to repeat with more full assurance and affection. 'Abide in Him.' Your prayer will be to Him, 'Abide in us.' I should like to come home rejuvenated—made young again; but if this cannot be, I hope you think that 'the old is better.' An old friend, who will set before you the old Wine of the Kingdom and tell you again the old, old story, is all you may expect. To you all I send the old blessing—'The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Ghost, be with you all. Amen.'—Yours in the Lord, "C. H. Spurgeon." On the last Sunday of the year he met with an accident at Menton which caused friends some alarm. After conducting a service he and some friends retired to an unoccupied house overlooking the sea; but, on descending the carpeted marble stairs, Mr. Spurgeon happened to place his stick outside of the carpet, when it slipped, and he fell violently down, two teeth being knocked out, while some of the money in his pocket found its way into his boots. On being raised the pastor remarked, "Painless dentistry!" but he had to take to his bed, and the telegram sent to the congregation on Sunday, January 6, was not reassuring:—"I am worse than my fall led me to think. It has caused a sort of total injury. It will take time; but I shall yet walk, speak, and be glad." A week later the preacher was able to write himself:—

"Kind Friends,—My injuries are far greater than I supposed. It will take some time before foot, mouth, head, and nerves can be right again. What a mercy that I was not smashed quite up! The angels did their work well, for another stone would have brought me to mine end.

"Through what a stupor I have passed! Yet in a day or two I shall be none the worse. I am overcome with gratitude. May I be spared to keep my own footing to the end, and let the down-graders know how terrible is a fall from the high places of the Lord's truth.—Yours very truly, "C. H. Spurgeon." The invalid made some progress, and when the Rev. John McNeill preached at the Tabernacle on the last Sunday of January the following letter was read:—

"Menton, January 24, 1889.

"Dear Friends,—I have to sing of the mercy of the Lord towards me. This morning I feel as if within sight of harbour. I cannot yet walk, nor could I even stand for five minutes; but there is every sign that the knee is gathering strength and recovering from its injuries. The friends—deacons and elders, one and all—have left me in the utmost freedom; and most of these who have endeavoured to influence me at all have suggested longer rest. This makes my position the more responsible, and I am the more anxious to do the very best and rightest thing. Turning everything over with the single eye to God's glory and the permanent good of the church, I can get no further than this—as soon as I can stand through a sermon, and walk without pain, I will take it as my order home. Soon may the glad token be given me, for I long to be among you after these months of weakness interset with weeks of pain. All things being thus uncertain, I yet propose to set before me as the desired thing to be preaching among you on February 17. If I improve from day to day, as I now do, this is not too sanguine a hope. If I do not improve, it would be useless for me to travel home merely to crawl to bed or keep indoors. I am in the Lord's hands, and your loving prayers will be my surest restoratives. May the Lord richly bless you! Never had man a kinder company of friends, or felt more bound to them. Let us pray for a blessing exceeding all we have hitherto known.—Yours very heartily, "C. H. Spurgeon"

Notwithstanding recent differences, a telegram of sympathy was sent to the invalid by Mr. T. V. Tymms on behalf of the London Baptist Association, and this reply was returned:—

"Menton, January 23, 1889.

"Dear Mr. Tymms,—I received the telegram of the L.B.A. a little after seven in the evening—too late for me to communicate an answer to the assembled friends. Had it not been for the long time taken up in transmission, you should have had a reply to read. As it is, I thank the Assembly of the L.B.A. with all my heart for their generous thought of me, and their sympathy with me in my personal affliction. My heart's desire is that each man in his turn, as he shall press through the glooms of life, may have the help of God, and may have it in measure in the form of fraternal sympathy. This is a golden chalice for the wine of consolation.—With sincere gratitude, yours truly, "C. H. Spurgeon."

He left Menton on Monday, February 18, arrived at Paris on Tuesday, where he passed the night, and reached home on the following day. He was welcomed back to the Tabernacle by an immense assembly on February 24, while the deacons urgently requested him to husband his strength in future for home duties. Such advice was no doubt highly necessary; but ordinary persons found it hard to believe that a man was really fast wearing out whose flow of humour seemed as youthful as it had been a third of a century before. Thus, in introducing Mr. Frank Smith to a meeting at the Orphanage on April 5, he remarked that the Smiths were a most respectable family, said to be of Shemite extraction. The story went that while the Temple was in course of erection at Jerusalem, Solomon gave the workpeople a holiday; but certain of the artisans would not allow the smiths to dine with them. On the next day when a number of tools were brought in to be sharpened the smiths objected. "No, if we are not good enough to dine with you, we will not sharpen your tools!" So it happened that Solomon had to get up another dinner for the Smiths on their own account, and since then they had been the most respectable family in the world. The College Conference opened on May 6 at Dalston Junction Chapel; and the President's address on the following morning was on "Our Power, and the Conditions of Obtaining it." The collection at the supper on the following day amounted to £2,800.

After the Conference he wrote to Mr. Toller:—

"Westwood, May 22, 1889.

"Dear Friend,—I am very grateful for your kind help. Working on from day to day with the College, it is a great mercy to be preserved from all anxiety as to money matters. I praise God for moving His servants to supply the needs of the Institution, and I thank you for being one of them. The sum of two guineas has been safely received by me. The Lord have you ever in His holy keeping!—Yours, with hearty thanks, "C. H. Spurgeon.

"P.S.—I wonder you can give as much as you do, for farming seems very bad. Success to you!"

About three weeks later he wrote again:—

"Westwood, June 15, 1889.

"Dear Mr. Toller,—I am now over-pressed with many labours, and to remain at Waterbeach all night involves losing the next day. It takes me a very long time to get here; I am then wearied and unfit for anything all day. If I get home at night, I get a good night's rest in my own bed, which is everything to a feeble man, and then I have the day before me. I am sorry it is so, for I should like to have seen more of my old friends, but this is the best I can do. You won't get Mr. Brown—it is hardly likely; you do well to try. Have a public meeting in the evening should preacher fail. I shall want you to get me to Cambridge by 7. Then I shall not be here till 10, or later. It is so bad getting across London. As it is Tuesday, I can get to you by 12.37.—Yours very truly, "C. H. Spuegeon."

Thus the work of the year continued, and if the elasticity of former years was wanting, there was still plenty of enthusiasm. Spurgeon addressed the colporteurs in May; in June a party of sailors had a sermon at the Tabernacle; and during that same month he addressed a large assembly who met to hear some of the old fugual tunes of other days. It was also during this same month of June that Mr. Spurgeon officiated at the marriage of the Rev. David Davies, minister at West Brighton, and Miss Ellen Higgs, of Brixton. In July he paid a memorable visit to Guernsey, when a number of special services were held in connection with the work of Mr. F. T. Snell. At the Stockwell Orphanage festival, Mr. Charlesworth, the head master, received a testimonial on completing his fiftieth year. In twelve months six thousand applications for admission came to hand, out of which only sixty could be entertained. The All Day Missionary Convention at the Tabernacle on October 15 was one of the chief events of the year. There were three meetings, and Mr. Spurgeon, Dr. Maclaren, and Mr. McNeill were the principal speakers. The scene was one of great enthusiasm when Spurgeon descended from the upper to the lower platform to shake hands with a number of young men and women who were going out to China.

Mr. S. G. Richardson, the Sheffield Master Cutler elect in 1889, invited Mr. Spurgeon to his banquet and received this reply:—

"You are most kind, and so is the Master Cutler; but I am so taken up with work that I must not leave home. Really I am not a man for a feast, even if I could come. Our Lord Mayor pressed me to meet the Archbishop and bishops at a banquet; but I could not bring my soul to it—the banquet. I had no objection to the bishops. Last week I had tea at the Archbishop's and luncheon with the Bishop of Rochester; but the banquet was out of my line. I am best at work—my own work. Still, God bless you and the Master, and all the good folk!"

He had had occasion just before this to ask a question of the Archbishop of Canterbury, and in course of his reply the Primate said it would be a pleasure to see Mr. Spurgeon at Addington at any time, and the invitation appears to have been accepted, as referred to in the note to Mr. Richardson. As he was now a member of the Surrey and Middlesex Association, he attended at the autumnal meeting at Wimbledon on October 28, and preached in the afternoon at the Congregational Chapel on "Mary at the Sepulchre," John 20:11-16. It was about this time that an American lady sent him a box of "A Remedy for Rheumatism," which the sufferer himself acknowledged:—

"The medicine has just now arrived, and as I happen to be suffering from an attack, it comes at the right time. I have already taken so many drugs that I am like the woman who suffered many things of many physicians, and was nothing bettered. Yet I will try again. May God bless the means! The newspapers represent me as soon to be done for; but I shall outlive many of them, and be heard when some of their thunder is hushed in the eternal silence." On November 17 he preached for the last time before going to his winter retreat; but he was suffering so severely that "it was apparent to any observer that his shoulder was drawn up as if by sharp hitches of pain." One of the deacons was heard to remark to one of his comrades, "I've just told him that he'll pull through all right;" but such symptoms were becoming more and more ominous, though the sufferer himself still looked on the brightest side of all things. On arriving at his sunny destination he wrote to his people:—

"Christian Friends,—For some reason or other I have lost my voice; but I rejoice that it has left me just now when I can be quite quiet without loss to anyone. I have not, however, lost my heart or my pen, and I therefore send warm Christian salutations to all of that army of friends who are with me in the work of our Lord. It is a heaven below to remember your love. I pray you gather up the fruits of the special mission That we may have a large increase to the Lord's glory. Our delightful brother, Dr. Pierson, will urge you on to a sacred crusade for our Lord. I hope his trumpet call will bring out many a missionary. Keep up the prayer meetings. Grace, mercy, and peace be with you all.—Your loving friend and minister.

"C. H. Spurgeon." On December 19 he sent his Christmas greetings to the congregation:—

"Beloved Friends,—I wish you a joyful Christmas and Happy New Tear. I am informed of all that is going on at home by the coming to me of Mr. Allison. My own Lord continues His shepherd care of all the flock, and feeds you by the hands of the beloved brethren who fill my place. To them who are newly converted be lovingly attentive, and endeavour to lead them to know the Lord more fully. To the meetings for prayer I entreat you to pay special heed, that there be no flagging in this the central channel of power. This is a season for thanksgiving. Let us be specially mindful of the needs of the Lord's work and the necessities of the poor. Set aside also a portion for the Surrey Gardens Memorial, which is to be the work of the coming year, a token of gratitude to the Lord our God. I am well in all but the voice. The doctor says that I have the gout in my throat, and I have no doubt that it is so. It will soon be gone. I rejoice that this loss of voice only comes when there is no need for me to speak aloud. I hope to return to you restored in body, refreshed in mind, and revived in spirit. Then, too, I trust the voice will again be the force needed for making all hear in our great sanctuary, Grace, mercy, and peace be with you all for evermore. Please pray for me always, for I always need it, and the Lord is always ready to bless. With the New Tear may all enter upon an era of fuller consecration, greater holiness, and larger usefulness.—Your loving minister, "C. H. Spurgeon." His so-called rest at Menton this year was devoted to the preparation of his posthumous commentary on the Gospel of Matthew, and extracts from the MS. were read to the company which assembled daily at family prayer. On February 2 the pastor's voice was again heard in his own pulpit. He entered very heartily into various works; for early in March we find him earnestly advocating the Blue-ribbon movement at the Tabernacle, and a little later paying a visit to Westbourne Grove Chapel on behalf of the chapel renovation fund. On March 1 he wrote to his Waterbeach friend:—

"Dear Mr. Toller,—I wish I could be constantly out; but I do not get any stronger, and every year I have more to do. If I get to Beach every other year, it is as much as I can hope to do, for I have so very many to visit that I cannot get round the list even when well. I rejoice in all your prosperity. It makes me happy to feel that you are getting on. I have been laid up three days with swollen left hand and pain. I may expect a good deal of this. Still, I shall hold up as long as I can. Do not expect me this year." At the opening of the annual Conference at Talbot Tabernacle, Notting Hill, he appeared to be in excellent spirits, and the collection of £2,706 at the supper was again strikingly large. He met the colporteurs also, as usual; and appeared to be in good spirits at the Stockwell Orphanage birthday fete, when he was fifty-six years of age. It was during this spring that Dr. Parker's "Open Letter" to Spurgeon made some stir and drew forth some comment, though Spurgeon himself never replied. His address at the Bible Society anniversary at Exeter Hall was one of the great speeches of the May meetings, and a profound impression was produced. A little later, on July 1, he honoured his friend, Mr. Charles Cook, by speaking at the Metropolitan Music Hall, Edgware Road, on behalf of the Hyde Park Open-Air Mission. On account of Mr. Cook's extended tours among foreign prisons, Mr. Spurgeon called him the modern Howard. On September 9 he preached for his friend, Mr. David Davies, at Holland Road Chapel, West Brighton, a beautiful building erected at the cost of Mr. G. T. Congreve. The great preacher was certainly at his best on that memorable occasion. After the service the news of the death of Canon Liddon saddened many hearts. A week later he was at Hackney College, addressing the students in his old characteristic way, showing that all preachers should look for large results. Meanwhile he must have realised that his old friends were falling one by one. Dr. Trestrail and Dr. Hannay passed away, and so also did William Olney, the pastor's right-hand man at the Tabernacle, whose work was well-nigh as effective as that of a successful co-pastor. A loving tribute was paid to the good deacon's memory at the laying of the memorial-stones of the Surrey Gardens Memorial Hall on Monday, October 20. Spurgeon also attended the meeting of the Surrey and Middlesex Baptist Association at Maiden, Surrey, when he made the proposal that the name should be altered to the Home Counties Association. As soon as he was able he left England. The following letter was read to his people; and I believe that some outsiders, not supposed to be uneducated, put a literal interpretation on the coach turning over and the horses going down:—

"Dear Friends,—How much I wish that I could have held out till to-day, but last night my coach turned over and the four horses went down.

"I have had a week of special pain and sleeplessness and unrest of brain. These evils will soon be gone now that I am to have a season of rest. There are so many matters pressing upon me when I am in work that I get brain weary. I have had too much of late. I do not sit down this morning to tell my woes, but to thank the Lord. I could not see you on Friday; but. you brought what was needed all the same, and one hundred pounds more. Never people responded more heartily, lovingly, and generously; each one gave according to his means. You saw it needful, and you did it for the Lord's sake. You have made me very glad, and I am proud; only when you have an aching head one cannot comfortably be exultant. Accept my loving thanks. God bless you all!—Your grateful pastor, "C. H. Spurgeon" On December 14 the following letter was read to the congregation:—

"Beloved Friends,—Although not quite well, I am now free from pain. I am grateful in the belief that I shall soon receive physical and mental power, and that I shall soon return to the ministry. I pray that I may also have spiritual power given to me. Have been able to work a little. 'The name of that city is, The Lord is there.' May that be the name of our church. Then holiness will be plenteous, vitality will be strengthened, power will be increased, usefulness will be ensured, and happiness will abound. If He be with us, He will supply us with grace, and raise for us men to fill up gaps which death has caused. His Spirit will abide and His precious Word will remain. God bless you all. Bear with me if I shall be a long time away. Send true Christian love to every member of the church, to my most attached people. Stand firm in the faith, and you will cheer the heart of your loving pastor, "C. H. S."

During the pastor's absence the Tabernacle was cleaned, repaired, and painted, an operation which involved an outlay of over one thousand pounds.

About this time he showed great interest in the establishment of a magazine for the defence of the evangelical faith, which he thought to be now unduly assailed. He wrote to the editor at Weston-super-Mare:—

"November 13, 1890.

"Dear Mr. Urquhart,—I like No. 1 'King's Own' very much. It is of a high class, and ought to secure a high-class position. I am glad that you will now have a gunboat of your own, and will not ask leave to fire your shots at error. Another rallying-point for the good and true is now found. The importance of such an organ of orthodoxy it would be hard to estimate. May you prosper even beyond your most sanguine hope!—Yours heartily, "C. H. Spurgeon."

While the controversy was still in progress, the chief combatant wrote again to Mr. Urquhart:—

"I am pleased to see that the magazine is bearing a testimony. There had need be plain speaking, for things are no better.—Yours ever heartily, "C. H. Spurgeon."