A sturdy tree, standing alone in a vast field, suggesting strength,
growth and independence, and regarded both as a landmark and a shelter;
withstanding alike the heats of summer and wrestling with and throwing
off the blasts of winter; drawing from Nature her myriad stores of
nutrition and giving back to Nature a wealth of power and grace in
return; seemed Henry Ward Beecher, in his youth of old age, to the
observation of men. Original orator, advocate, poet, humorist, agitator,
rhetorician, preacher, moralist and statesman. The greatest preacher of
modern times, possibly of all times, the man was one of the wonders of
America; one of the marvels of the world.
Henry Ward Beecher's career has been phenomenal for the activity and
variety of its achievements. Coming from a long line of mentally alert
and physically vigorous ancestors, he was richly endowed with the
qualities going to make up the highest type of human nature. He was
handicapped only in being the son of a man whose fame was world-wide; a
preacher of such intensity of spirit and eloquence of expression that he
stood at the head of, if not above, all of his contemporaries. Yet,
while Dr. Lyman Beecher will always hold an honored place in American
history and biography, who can deny that his fame has been far outshone
by that of his brilliant son? It may be truly said, therefore, that
Henry Ward Beecher won a double triumph. He emerged from the comparative
obscurity in which he dwelt, behind the shadow of his father's
greatness, and he lived to see his own name emblazoned more brightly and
engraved more indelibly upon the records of time than that of his noble
father.
He was born at Litchfield, Connecticut, June 24th, 1813. His father was
a busy minister, and the mother divided her time among several children,
so that no especial attention was paid to Henry Ward, nor was he
considered more promising than some of the others. He was not, by any
means, fond of books in early life. He gives the following sketch of
himself in one of his personal writings: 'A hazy image of myself comes
back to me--a lazy, dreamy boy, with his head on the desk, half-lulled
asleep by the buzzing of a great blue-bottle fly, and the lowing of the
cows, and the tinkling of their bells, brought into the open door,
across the fields and meadows.' Through the advice of his father, he
attended Mount Pleasant Academy. Afterwards he attended Amherst College
where he graduated in 1834. During his last two years of school, Beecher
followed the example of many another young man who has since attained
eminence in his chosen profession, and taught in district schools. With
the money thus obtained he laid the foundation upon which he built that
splendid superstructure which is recalled at the sound of his name.
Dr. Lyman Beecher meanwhile had accepted a professorship at Lane
Seminary, Cincinnati, and having decided to follow the ministry, the son
went West this same year and began the study of theology under his
father. He finished his course three years later, married, and accepted
the first charge offered him; a small Presbyterian Church in
Lawrenceburg, a little town on the Ohio river, near Cincinnati. Of this
dismal beginning of his illustrious career he said:
"How poor we were! There were only about twenty persons in the flock. I
was janitor as well as pastor of the little white-washed church. I
bought some lamps and I filled them and lighted them. I swept the church
and dusted the benches, and kindled the fire, and I didn't ring the
bell, because there wasn't any; did everything in fact but come to hear
myself preach, that they had to do. It doesn't occur to me now that
Lawrenceburg was remarkable for anything but a superabundance of
distilleries. I used to marvel how so many large distilleries could be
put in so small a town. But they were flourishing right in the face of
the Gospel, that my little flock and I were preaching in the shadows of
the chimneys. My thoughts often travel back to my quaint little church
and the big distilleries at Lawrenceburg. Well, my next move was to
Indianapolis. There I had a more considerable congregation, though I was
still far from rich in the world's goods. I believe I was very happy
during my eight years out there. I liked the people. There was a hearty
frankness, a simplicity in their mode of life, an unselfish intimacy in
their social relations that attracted me. They were new
people--unharrowed and uncultured like the land they lived on--but they
were earnest and honest and strong. But the ague shook us out of the
State. My wife's health gave out and we were forced to come East."
From this it would seem that chills and fever were the means used by
Providence for bringing Henry Ward Beecher and Plymouth Church together.
The church came into existence on the 8th of May, 1847, when six
gentlemen met in Brooklyn at the house of one of their number, Mr.
Henry C. Bowen, the present proprietor of the _Independent_, and formed
themselves into a company of trustees of a new Congregational Church,
the services of which they decided to begin holding at once in an
edifice on Cranberry street, purchased from the Presbyterians. The
following week Mr. Beecher happened to speak in New York, at the
anniversary of the Home Missionary Society. He had already attracted
some attention by his anti-slavery utterances, and the fearless manner
in which he had preached against certain popular vices.
The founders of the new congregation invited him to deliver the opening
sermon on the 16th. A great audience was present, and shortly afterwards
the young preacher was asked to become the first pastor of the
organization. He accepted, and on the 10th of the following October he
entered upon the term of service which lasted until the day of his
death. And what a pastorate that was! The congregation readily grew in
numbers and influence until Plymouth Church and Henry Ward Beecher
became household words all over the land, and a trip to Brooklyn to hear
the great preacher grew to be an almost indispensable part of a
stranger's visit to New York.
At the opening of the civil war, in 1861, Mr. Beecher undertook the
editorship of the _Independent_ which, like the church under his
administration, speedily became a power in the country. In addition to
all this work he was continually delivering speeches; for from the
firing of the first gun on Fort Sumpter on April 12th, Plymouth's
pastor was all alive to the needs of the nation. With voice and pen he
pointed out the path of duty in that dark and trying hour, and his own
church promptly responded to the call by organizing and equipping
the First Long Island regiment. But the strain of this threefold
service--preaching, speaking and editing, was too much for his strength,
powerful and well-grounded, as he was, physically. His voice gave out at
last, and doctors imperatively demanded rest. This brought about the
trip to Europe which was destined to be remembered as the most
remarkable epoch in the remarkable career of this man.
Decidedly the most memorable oratorical success ever achieved by an
American citizen abroad, in behalf of the name and honor of his country,
was that by the Rev. Henry Ward Beecher, which he achieved during this
trip. Undertaking the journey for recreation and recuperation he was
bitterly opposed by his friends in his decision, but he saw there was
work to be done, and felt that he must do it. Beginning at Manchester,
October 9th, Mr. Beecher delivered five great speeches in the great
cities of the kingdom, Manchester, Glasgow, Edinburgh, Liverpool and
London, each speech being devoted to some special train of thought and
argument bearing upon the issues involved in the momentous contest; and
the whole series taken together did more for the Union cause in Great
Britain than all that had before been said or written. Possessing the
faculty beyond any other American orator of combining close, rapid,
powerful, practical reasoning with intense passion--his mind always
aglow with his subject--the effect of Mr. Beecher's speaking was to
kindle sympathy, even if it did not flash conviction. It is this
quality, according to the opinion of those best acquainted with Mr.
Beecher's oratory, which combined with his marvelous power of
illustration, marvelous alike for its intense vividness and unerring
pertinency, and his great flexibility whereby he seemed to adapt himself
completely to the exigency of the instant gave him rare command over a
popular assemblage.
Mayor Carrington, of Richmond, tells the following: "He went to Richmond
in 1881, his first appearance there after the war, and he was somewhat
doubtful as to the reception he would get. He walked onto the stage
where he was to lecture, before a crowded house, and was not greeted
with the slightest welcoming applause. Immediately in front of the stage
facing Mr. Beecher were several leading ex-generals of the Confederate
army, among them General Fitz-Hugh Lee. Mr. Beecher surveyed the cold
and critical audience for a moment, and then stepping directly in front
of General Lee, he said, 'I have seen pictures of General Fitz-Hugh Lee,
and judge you are the man; am I right?' General Lee was taken aback by
this direct address, and nodded stiffly, while the audience bent forward
breathless with curiosity as to what was going to follow. 'Then,' said
Beecher, his face lighting up, 'I want to offer you this right hand
which, in its own way, fought against you and yours twenty-five years
ago, but which I would now willingly sacrifice to make the Sunny South
prosperous and happy. Will you take it, General?' There was a moment's
hesitation, a moment of death-like stillness in the hall, and then
General Lee was on his feet, his hand was extended across the
footlights, and was quickly met by the preacher's warm grasp. At first
there was a murmur, half surprise, half-doubtfulness, by the audience.
Then there was a hesitating clapping of hands, and before Mr. Beecher
had loosed the hand of Robert E. Lee's nephew,--now Governor of
Virginia--there were cheers such as were never before heard in that
hall, though it had been the scene of many a war and political meeting.
When the noise subsided, Mr. Beecher continued: 'When I go back home I
shall proudly tell that I have grasped the hand of the nephew of the
great Southern Chieftain; I shall tell my people that I went to the
Confederate capitol with a heart full of love for the people whom my
principles once obliged me to oppose, and that I was met half way by the
brave Southerners who can forgive, as well as they can fight.' That
night Beecher entered his carriage and drove to his hotel amid shouts,
such as had never greeted a Northern man since the war."
The famous Beecher-Tilton trial began in a series of whispers. With such
an immense congregation, with everybody in Brooklyn familiar with his
affairs, and with the whole community seemingly resolved into an immense
gossiping committee, it was no wonder that rumors and report went flying
about until at last, in the summer of 1874, Plymouth Church appointed a
committee to investigate the charges preferred by Theodore Tilton
against Mr. Beecher.
Mr. Tilton read a sworn statement detailing his charges and specifying
the actions of Mrs. Tilton and Mr. Beecher during the previous two
years. This was on July 28th, and on the next day Mr. Beecher made his
speech declaring the innocence of Mrs. Tilton; and she, too, testified
in her own defense. Mr. Beecher made an elaborate statement before his
congregation, August 14th, denying all immorality. Mr. and Mrs. Tilton
were subjected to a most thorough examination and cross-examination, and
then Mr. Francis D. Moulton, the famous mutual friend, came into the
matter with his story of a most remarkable series of confessions and
letters. The committee reported its findings at the weekly
prayer-meeting, August 28th. Mr. Beecher was acquitted, and Mr. Moulton
was most vigorously denounced, and when he left the meeting it was under
police protection, because of the fury of the friends of the pastor.
Before this Mr. Tilton had concluded to go to the courts, and on August
19th opened a suit for $100,000 against Mr. Beecher. It was not until
October 17th that Judge Neilson granted an order for a bill of
particulars against the plaintiff, and William M. Evarts, for Mr.
Beecher, and Roger A. Pryor for Mr. Tilton, carried the case up to the
Court of Appeals, where the decision of the general term was reversed,
and on December 7th, the new motion for a bill was granted.
It was on January 4th, 1875, that the case was taken up in the City
Court of Brooklyn. For Mr. Tilton appeared General Pryor, ex-Judge
Fullerton, William A. Beach and S. D. Morris; while on the other side
were William M. Evarts, General Benjamin F. Tracy and Thomas G.
Shearman. The first witness was Editor Maverick, who testified on the
13th of January to the Tilton marriage. Mr. Tilton took the stand on
January 29th, and Mr. Evarts objected to his being sworn, and took
several days to state his objections. From February 2nd to February
17th, Mr. Tilton was on the stand, and the case for the defense opened
on February 25th, and the first witness took the stand March 2nd. Mr.
Beecher took the stand April 1st, and affirmed his testimony. He kept
the stand until April 21st, and on May 13th the testimony on both sides
closed after the examination of one hundred and eleven witnesses, and
the consumption of four and one-half months of time. Mr. Evarts took
eight days for his summing up, and other counsel for the defense six
more. Mr. Beach talked for nine days, and Judge Neilson, on June 24th,
charged the jury, which, after a consultation of eight days, reported on
July 2nd, that they were unable to agree. All through the trial Mrs.
Beecher sat beside her husband in court. The court was packed day after
day, and in the daily papers thousands of columns were consumed in
reporting every word uttered. It was never tried again.
The enormous expense of the defense was met by a generous subscription.
Mr. Beecher's letters were remarkable productions for any man other than
Beecher to pen, and the explanation of them so that the jury-men, and
men generally, could comprehend them was the task of his counsel. Mr.
Tilton is now in Europe, and Mrs. Tilton is in this country. Mr. Beecher
passed through the ordeal of his life in safety, and since the trial he
has been watched as no man ever has been before or since.
He was unquestionably one of the most able, if not the ablest, preacher
the world ever knew, and it is not strange that the country should be
startled at the announcement of his sudden death on march 7th, 1887, at
his home in Brooklyn.
Henry Ward Beecher is already as historical a character as Patrick
Henry; with this exception, that whereas there are multitudes living who
have seen and heard Mr. Beecher, and many who knew him personally; there
are few, if any, who can remember Patrick Henry. Mr. Beecher was the
most versatile and ready orator this country has ever produced,--a kind
of Gladstone in the pulpit. He was a master of every style; could be as
deliberate and imposing as Webster; as chaste and self-contained as
Phillips; as witty and irregular as Thomas Corwin; as grandiloquent as
Charles Sumner; as dramatic as father Taylor, and as melo-dramatic as
Gough.
To attempt to analyze the sources of his power is like exhibiting the
human features separately, in the hope of giving the effect of a
composite whole; for whether he moved his finger, elevated his brow,
smiled, frowned, whispered or vociferated, each act or expression
derived its power from the fact that it was the act and expression of
Henry Ward Beecher. His oratory was marked by the entire absence of
trammels, of rhetoric gesture or even grammar. Not that his style was
not ordinarily grammatical and rhetorical, but that he would never allow
any rules to impede the expression of his thought and especially of his
feelings, nor was he restrained by theological forms, and always
appeared independent and courageous. He believed in the absolute
necessity of conversion and a thorough change of heart; he taught the
beauty of living a religious life, for the nobleness of the deeds rather
than for the purpose of escaping a future punishment, and his sayings in
this connection were often misconstrued.
He stimulated the intellect by wit; he united the heart and mind by
humor; he melted the heart by un-mixed pathos. He was characterized by
the strange power of creating an expectation with every sentence he
uttered, and though he might on some occasions, when not at his best,
close without meeting the expectations aroused, no dissatisfaction was
expressed or apparently felt by his hearers. In personal appearance he
was remarkable, chiefly for the great transformation of his countenance
under the play of emotion.
On the platform of Plymouth Church he was as a king upon his throne, or
the commander of a war-ship in victorious action. His manners in private
life were most ingratiating. His writings can impart to coming
generations no adequate conception of his power as an orator. His career
in England during those five great speeches were worth 50,000 soldiers
to the National government, and probably had much to do with the
prevention of the recognition of the Southern Confederacy by European
nations. It was a triumph of oratory; he literally compelled a vast
multitude, who were thoroughly in opposition to him, to take a new view
of the subject.
A Metropolitan in the pulpit, a magician on the platform, a center of
life and good cheer in the home, a prince in society possessed of
exhaustive vitality, warmth and energy, he suggested to any one who
gazed upon him the apostrophe of _Hamlet_ to the ideal man: "What a
piece of work is man! How noble in reason! How infinite in faculties! In
form and moving how express and admirable! In action how like an angel!
In apprehension how like a god! The beauty of the world, the paragon of
animals!" Such a piece of work was Henry Ward Beecher. He had no
predecessor, and can have no successor till a similar ancestry and life;
the one coeval with birth, and the other running parallel with the lusty
youth of such a nation, and a similar life and death struggle, both in a
conflict of moral principles fought out under a Democratic form of
Government, shall combine to evolve a similar career. The course of
human history does not furnish a probability of another coincidence of
elements so extraordinary.
[Illustration: PERCEPTION. Engraved Expressly for "Hidden Treasures."]
[Illustration: GREAT INVENTORS AND THEIR INVENTIONS.]