HOW HENRY WARD BEECHER BEGAN LIFE.

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume VII, Issue 89, 13 April 1872, Page 4

HOW HENRY WARD BEECHER BEGAN LIFE.

Henry Ward Beecher, the ; popular American preacher, in a recent "lectureroom talk" on " The religious duly of thanksgiving," gave the following account of his early experience as a minister :-r---"I do not believe that to-day I feel as thankful for the comfort of my house as I did when. l first began to preach, and had two rooms, and felt that they were ,m ; ne, and went round among the people of the neighborhood : with tbe thought, *. Was there ever a man so happy as lam?' Well, I may as, well tell you — when I began to preach I never expected to do much. But I meant to do as well as I could. I never expected to go anywhere. I was asked to cross the river from Cincinnati and preach in Coving ton, and I went oyer^nti began to preach there. I was going to stay there; And I was perfectly willing to stay. But I was soon called by a woman to Lawrenceburg. She was the factotum of the r whole church. And I wenMhere and tpoke to a well-nigh empty buildiug. I was settled over . a town wicvu d two distilleries cud twenty

devils in it. I was very poor. There was no patrimouy coming to me, as you know. The moment I was out of the semiuary I was without my father's support, and was obliged to take care of myself. I bad a salary ; but it was only a salary of 400 dollars. And I took half of that to go to New England to get married with. And as the parish paid only half of i', and the other half was to come from the Missionary Society, I found myself very short of fueds. I had just 18 cents in my pocket when I came back. I was taken up by a good Methodist brother for about a week, and then I got these two rooms to which I have alluded. They were upstairs. One was the kitchen, cellar, and sittingroom. The other was the library, bedroom, and parlor. So that we had six rooms, calling each three. The ce'lar was made by putting things under the bed ; and the other rooms were added by sundry devices. You who go into flash houses, furnished by your grandpapas and grsndmamas do not know anything about the joys of housekeeping. Persons ought to begin at the bottom to know what those joys are. And I began down there. I had no idea that I could preach. I never expected that I could accomplish much. I mere'y went <o work with the feeling, 'I will do as well as I can, and I will stick to H, if the Lord pleases, and fi^ht His battle the best way I know how.' And I was as thankful as I could be. Nobody ever sent roe a spare rib that I did not thank God for the kindness that was shown me. I reco'lect that when Judge gave me his cast-off clothinjr, I felt that I was sumptuously clothed. I wore old coats and second-hand shirts for two or three years ; and I was not above it either — although sometimes as I was physically a somewhat well-developed man, and the judge was thin and his legs were slim, they were rather a tight fit."