MR SPURGEON'S HOME AT BEULAH HILL. How it Struck an American D.D.

Te Aroha News, Volume VI, Issue 368, 15 May 1889, Page 6

MR SPURGEON'S HOME AT BEULAH HILL. How it Struck an American D.D.

A recent issue of the is exceptionally interesting, as it got hold of a series of interesting articles by_Dr. Hatcher, 'one of our denominational lights on the other side of the Atlantic,' dwelling with much detail on his experiences of and with Mr Spurgeon. ' As we passed the porter's lodge, entered .the grounds and caught sight of the home of tho metropolitan preacher,' writes this D.D., • we were filled with astonishment to find that he lived in such magnificence and elegance. His grounds, which include ten 'or twelve acres, are in the highest state of cultivation ; his park abounds in choicest trees and flowers, and is adorned with statuary : his lawns are the perfection of neatness and beauty, on hi? lakes and stream? were swimming geese, ducks, and swan's ; and his home, crowning one of the loftiest hills of London, is capacious, and furnished with almost everything that can • please the eye or administer to thecomfort ot its inmates. His conservatory is a thing of beauty, and contains an exceedingly rare and.rich collection of plants, many of which,' as he took occasion to tell us, Wjere.bent to him by friends and brethren from various quarters of the globe. He has also 'an " extensive vegetable garden," in which were growing cabbage, beets, beans,

cauliflower, and,T«kno>v ; ho,b wh^tjelee ; .and ttjat, boo,, ireutiia'ost Ju.xp'rftnde.rf ',Thll ; l)6uie of his chief steward, siCuatedT at' the'rear'of this garden, wns a^cosy cottage, in excellent order,, and .very- neat and pretty. There were also rich and verdant meadows, iii which could be seenseveral fat milch coy?'?,' ' evidently of superior stocks, His stablestwell,,my par by, had, just, a Jfew Jclaya,' before . gone through the Royal .stables at WiAflWiv Castle, and -we agreed that, in* point of neatness, and beauty of. arrangement, they were not one whit ahead of the stable at Beulah Hill. Mr Spurgeon has not sd-many *V " or^» nnd carriages as Her Majesty ira?,- ' ,>for pc has no ot BO .many, but he b«w enopgh forJiis-puvpo^^andthut, too, .of , the best sort. His private;. t«~ r j a ), e j g ver y superior, his horsey are finoly 'kfepD./u^Kt. footed, and beautifuVan^s+driyeTriS/essett \ in livery, look? like a gentleman of rank. Mr' Spurgeon baa also a fondness fan"fowlraising, and there must have been several hundred chicken's in his poultry' yatfd ,tho day I peeped into it. Indeed, I fancied that he;has a little of everything, in his richly-endowed home at Beulah Hill.'. ' I did not ask him why he was living m such princely style, for it was none of'my business, and, besides, I was siricerely pleased to see that the Lord had sun'ounded ' His busy and self-sacrificing servant with so many comforts. But it came to pa*«s that in our free and unrestrained chat he broached the matter, and said that it had sometimes caused him anxiety. He then explained that he had never cared for >uch thingp. He told mejthat years agoi wive- . he built his tabernacle, 'he bought for himself a home,' with hpme gionnd attached, and while he slept 'that property grew to be very valuable — so valuable, indeed, ibat he was enabled to exchange it for bite pre*senb noble estate at Beulah Hill. Now Beulah Hill, is rapidly increasing in value, and, as he explained, -it seemed the best economy to hold on to it until reaches the high-water mark of value, and then ghe it to the Lord. ' Whab he makes at Beulah Hill goes into the treasury of the Lord. " I would gladly' explain how this is done, but I can give only a single illustration of whab I mean. While ab the tea-table in his house I was served with a glass of milk. Having a seal near Mrs S,p*irgeon, I ventured' a pleasant reference to her magnificent cows' which I ' had seen in the pasture. " Nob mine," sh.e said, '' theybeloMg to our divine Lord," and I keep them- for Him. ,AU theinilk which they give is sold and the money) put into His treasury, and even that milk you are. now drinking has been paid for." Mfe^ Spurgeon is a very devout woman. , . ' Wo engaged 'to .-be at^Mr Spurgebn's home at one, o'clock, and we rung the bell just *at, the* strike "of the *clock. VA's his man servant opened the dooj I announced our names, and -asked- if- Mr "Spurgeon was in. " Yes," he answered from 'within, "lam in. and you are in time, too, a fact much in your favour." Out he came with a oroadrimmed felb hat on }As head, and wearinga* long, lighb-cploured, ill-fitting sack coat, rocking uneasily on'hih gouty legs, and betraying a decided stoop in his shoulders. Bub he gave us an interesting welcome — open, informal, and whole-hearted; with a -refreshing touch of English brusqueness in it. Conducting us into h,i§ study, he immediately drew oiit "a box of cigars' and' '" handed ' them around, saying that as we were Americans he supposed bhat we s-mpked. I- took>on,e, but did nob light it, abl had given -.up smoking years before. He andex.prossed surprise that I did' -not Tall" into line. On anotheroccasion I did s'rnoke with him, it being my first -gmoke fon a 4ozej\ yetlrs. ' Mr Spurgeon is not an exces^i^e, suaoker. Judging from what I saw,.' Ho uses "only two or three cigars each day. When the cigars. -were lighted he proposed] a"walk r and for an hourjwe loitered through his grounds looking ab his flowers,, vegetables, cows, horses, fowls, &c, and finally wandered into a quaint old summer house, where he organised -us into- a social-olubj A'eohuine carnival of fun we enjoyed in that curious old summer house. . „ „ 7 • Back bo the-study a long, high-pitched, -room, and fitted up as a literary workshop. It has an immense table, broad and long,, with a favourite chair at orfe end, and at the sides seats for his secretaries. >When we gob seated, the talk began, and went on for several hours. It covered an extensive range of topics,' but in "due time^ came around to the " Down Grade,", in which I was particularly interested. 'I observed a sober and .even pathetic tone in his conversation on" the subject His withdrawal from the Baptist Union has put him in a new "attitude toward- his brethren, and he looks upon it as one nl the serious events of his life. He said that he, had been bndly wounded in the house of his friends, adding bhab in one instance he gave a preacher a set of artificial teeth', and he turned round and bit him." t - . s ' Mrs Spurgeon is charming. She has a' fine. figure, and is attractive^.™ person Arid, manners. There is a sincerity and earnest-, ness in her bearing that is very winsoirie*! She is a Christly woman. • Afber tea we strolled bhrough his library, topk a peep into the parlour, and then assembled in, the study for evening worship. Mrs Spurgeon, , three maid-servants, and one- man-servant were also present, A chapter was read by Mr Spurgeon, and the reading was rendered delightful and improssive by his expository comments. Two brethren wero 'a'Jied to pray, and we parted at six, that , being the hour on Saturday when he begin* work on hi 3 sermons for the next day. We departed from Beulah Hill in a glow of happiness. Ib was something.to be bhankful for that we had spent five hours in pleasant companionship wibh the world's most famous preacher, but far better -.than \ that was the hallowing spiritua.l charm bhe man himself. Ho lives upon the moun-, tain' and bhe tran'-figurmg light is upon his face. Ib^'is impossible to touch him without receiving the ( , thrill of his-holy-power. We fejb,as if we had been, bo a ,re-_ vival and had gotten nearer to the Lord.f It was a privilege cherished and priceless^ which I could not hope would come aerain.*' In a subsequent article on a visit to thei orphanage- Dr. Platcher says : — \ As is well* known, the doctorate is rarely gi\;en ttvo v Dissenbers in England, and Spurgeon treats* lit with no gt eat respect. Indeed, it seems to have become a habit with him to» shed his pungesb jest at the expense of the, doctors. He cracked me 1 on the subject" quite often, but usually in an amiable' and* r aerreeable way, and I always bore it with the utmost serenity. Bub when he presented me to the children, ,he joked so broadly that I retorted in a way which, while "not worth repeating, had, ab least, the effect to bring down... the house at his expense. What - amused me most was the heartiness with which* he joined in -the laughter., It is 'worth 5 whilo to say that on several occasions I saw the laugh turned on him, and -he Enjoyed it exceedingly. . The truth is',, that he is quite a man — a- real, big-hearted, good, natured man ; his busy life" needs ''those" , playful breaks and happy jests whiclvbrihg him relief from tho heavy strain of his toilsWhile he is too serious to be frivolous, "he J is too honest and spontaneous not toVbe fond of pleasantries. He does not hesitate to indulge a little dry humour at .the e^ pense of his brother, and if the brotKeV comes Jback in apt.retort, lie takes it in good, part. " ' \' ' ' ,