The Rev. C. Spurgeon. AN ANGRY HUSBAND TRIES TO THRASH HIM. AN AMUSING-ACCOUNT FROM AN AMERICAN PAPER.

Te Aroha News, Volume VII, Issue 381, 29 June 1889, Page 3

The Rev. C. Spurgeon. AN ANGRY HUSBAND TRIES TO THRASH HIM. AN AMUSING- ACCOUNT FROM AN AMERICAN PAPER.

(San Francisco "Chronicle." May 25bh. | Two ladies saved Key, Charles Spurgeon trom the wrath of a supposedly injured I husband at Wawona, Mariposa County, on Thursday., The son of the ' great "pulpit thumper" of London, pastor «.<)f .' the South Baptist Church, 5 Elliot Park, Lewisham, England, sought safety behind the women, while his accuser andthreatener tore off his coat, rolled up his shirt-sleeves, dared him to " come on," danced about him in a very vicious manner, and stared savagely at him through a pair of goggles. All this gave the people of Wawona in) tense amusement, was a source of great ex citement for the, friends of the preacher, made the lady who was' the cause of all the trouble to scream in her distress, and brought the town Poohbah, B. M. Leitch, on the scene, who promptly told the supposedly injured husband that he was under arrest. It must not be supposed that the witnesses to the , assault stood idly by, or contented themselves with saying, "Go in, gentleman ; go in, parson." With a proper consideration|for the proprieties that doeshimjustice, and with a kindness and liberality thatare not often displayed toward the public who do not have an opportunity of visiting the athletic clubs, 0. C. Biggins entreated the gentleman to compose himself until a ring could be formed, where the' good fight must be fought in peace and comfort. His excellent services were nullified by the appearance of Marshall Leitch. Rev. Mr, Spurgeon was uninjured— at least he was not fatally wounded in the affray, as after he had put a few milesbetween himself and the excited foe, he waved his hand encouragingly toward those who would notice him and shouted to them that he was' "not dead yet." For the benefit ot those who might think, he said" this with intent to, deceive, .it can be stated authoritatively th'ab he was not dead at that time, however much ho may regreb the fact now.

A TRAVELLING ACQUAINTANCE. The reverend gentleman, who will doubtless gain much notoriety on accbunt , of the attack made on him' at- the famous Catering place, became distinguished because of the fact that he was the son of Rev. JVtr Spurgeon of London. He arrived from New Zealand on the Mariposa two weeks ago to-morrow. In the land of Maoris he had been visiting a brother, who also occupied a pulpit.' While " doing " the colonies he met Mr James Duckworth of Castleton Hall, Rochdale, England, one of the richest mill-owners in the three kingdoms, who was travelling with his young wife. Rev. Mr Spurgeon had seen enough of the colonies, and had started for these ex-colonies with the mill-owner and his spouse. Mrs Duckworth is some years [younger than her hus:, band ; is a typical English woman, with a • bright, fresh complexion, light eyes and a perfect figure. She is of a quiet, dignified temperament, and was admirably suited to carry on discussions on theological subjects with Rev. Mr Spurgeon. The trip ' was a very delightful and short one to the preacher, although it lacked much of taking its place as a red-letter day with the husband. Did some one suggest a green-letter day? No doubt he became jealous before the Mariposa docked in San Francisco. Expostulations must have been in vain, for Mr Spurgeon accepted the invitation to visit the Yosemit'e with Mr* Duckworth and husband. "Whether outsiders noticed that the pastor was constantly marking places in the lady's book, poinbing out the beauties of nature to her, discussing theology from her standpoint and making her head comfortable with pillows and shawls, is not known. These things were, however, apparent to Mr Duckworth, and he spoke of them to Mr Spurgeon, telling him of the pain they caused him and expressing the wish that thej r should be discontinued. The freedom of the husband caused an estrangement with his friend, but Mr Spurgeon continued in the party. The Yosemite was visited and its beauties were the topic of many conversations between the lady and the pastor. The latter has a quick eye for^ beauty, a musical tongue for metaphor, and can paint in pleasing words a simile that would sound very sweet in the ears of maid or matron. His attentions to the lady became noticeable again ; the husband saw cause for jealousy in every look ; and on the stage line .from the Yosemite ' to Mr Washburn's charming hotel the husband could hardly contain his feelings^ *On Wednesday last the party reached ' Wawona on their way back to the city,, and there the storm that had been brewing in the mind of Mr Duckworth for the past four or five weeks burst, and caused Rev. Mr Spurgeon to shake and seek ' the protection of two weak ladies. The\preacher was a very surprised man when his friend "disturbed , the peace," , for which Marshal Leitchput'him under arrest. The tourists were strolling about, enjoying the beauties of the place,' partaking of the waters, and very anxious for something to break the dull monotony, of spiritual pleasure.

t SQUARING^ OFF. ■ "I have a mind to thrash you, sir," said Mr Duckworth, Genb'.', of Castleton Halli Rochdale, Eng. , in a , tone that was heard ,with pleasure „by a number of persons' standing about. ♦•,\Yh— -what?"" gasped Rev. GharleV Spurgeon, pastor, South Baptist Church, f o Elliott Place, Lewisham, also England, to the. intense joy of the same and other per-, sons who t gathered abput v } . . ; • I'lkbhraßh you, 4 sir,' answered.Mr^Duckwprth, etc. ..altering, the phraseography ' oV ihe sentence, but in no sense robbing it of ,its salient, features. ,;}\/ ; - ' Th'bse\preBeht r canj^easilyj . prevent the thrashing; Mr Sp,urgeon .evidently thought, { and a little/,' bluff " mig^t|yrprk in here. ! lV*W,ell, U 6: it' now," bo, said," anUiwibV

commendable DuckVorth set;-, iJboutf s his ."B^lf -imposed * task. J But * the men were h'eldrasuridefl J tOrie' struggled" so thfttfttef might* be Held/tighter ; the other; struggled" with- a different* 1 purpose. 1 ' Mr Duckworth said " they wouldmeet again." Mr Spurgeoh may have thought : ' f f, Not if I can help' it." • , ; The incident was thoroughly- enjoyed' by the many people at the Wawona • Hotel, whdfailed to apprise Marshal of the disturbance,' and his appearance on the scene next morning was entirely unpre-^ meditated. • After the threat of Mr Duckworth,' the, guests went' infcp dinner 'and talked the matter over while sorting ' out the bones of their fish, and had not finished discussing it when the'coffoe was served. Rev. Mr Spurgeon's appetite was unimpaired, and vvnen he saw his late friend and present antagonist, who came in ! later, take his seat, he jeeringly remarked : i " There he is ; why don't, he do it now ?" ' Some of. the; guests sat up all night so that they would riot lose anything of -the v expected fight by having- to put on their clothes. But nothing of an exciting nature happened before morning. After breakfast preparations were made for the departure, • and the disturb ance of the evening "was almost forgotten in the bustle and hurry to ; catch the stage. Some hoped for a renewal of hostilities, and their hope was not in vain.

AT IT AGAIN. "I'll thrash you now," ; cried Mr Duckworth, shedding his coat and squaring off in true British fashion at Rev. Mr Spurgeon. " I'll thrash you now: Come out." He made a rush at the preacher, who attempted to clinch, fearing to strike his antagonist, as in the hurry of the fray Mr -Duckworth had not removed his goggles, which certainly would have been in the way had Rev. Mr Spurgeon delivered a " shutter closer." " They're at it again," yelled some one. " Form a ring, gentlemen, form a ring," cried Mr Higgins, addressing /the spectators. "Break away, break away there!" he shouted, as he saw the contest was about to degenerate into a wrestling match. Just at that instant a lady broke through the crowd. She threw herself between the combatants. 11 Oh, James, James, don'b," she cried j " don't fight ; don't do that," and she pushed the men apart in such a manner that Rev. Mr Spurgeon was concealed from view behind two ladies. Mr Duckworth adjusted his glasses, but he could not see the preacher, yet notwithstanding tne protestations of his wife continued to square off, invite his opponent to " come on," and in other ways commit a breach of the peace against the people of the State of California. Marshal Leitch, who did not know there was a fight in the neighbourhood, strolled along, and seeing a map coatless and hatless, and giving every indication of entering upon a combat, approached him from behind, raised his right hand as if calling all the gods to witness the courage he displayed, and said solemnly: '•You will consider yourself under arrest." Mr Duckworth made a note of it, was released on his own recognisances, and was led away by his wife.

PATCHED-UP PEACE. . An hour or two later, on the way to Grant Springs, Mr Spurgeon reported progress by informing the people he was still alive. No fireworks blazed or cracked the common rejoicing. The estrangement between Duckworth and Spurgeon was complete for some hours. They had engaged the drawing room. of the .sleeper, but Mr Duokworth declined to • occupy if with a person of the name of Spurgeon, and a sympathiser gave him his section in exchange. Toward evening friends of the parties to the remarkable scenes tried to effect a reconcilja"-* tion, and. after some time apologies were made and accepted. But the wound which the husband (received is probably not yet healed. '*••>,' jMr Spurgeon told a reporter who got on the train at Martinez that the whole affair was a' misunderstanding. It was because of a misunderstanding that the assault; was made on him, and he was sorry the thing happened. Like a, good Christian he did not deny the story, but considered it personal property. Mr Duckworth deprecated the affair, and said _it had all been made clear to him. It was due to a misunderstanding which had been very unfortunate in its He had spoken to Rev. Mr Spurgeon expostulating with him on his conduct, and the answer which he had received had aroused hie feelings. He had assaulted Mr Spurgeon, but it was in the heat of passion.

Mr Richard Taylor, writing to the "Otago Daily Times " with reference to the " sweating " of the poor in Dunedin, says : " A certain large nrm in London have immense numbers of oatmeal and flour bags made, which they sell to the millers and others. These bags are made by contract. A short | time ago 2s 6d per gross (144) was paid, but recently this firm has squeezed the price down to Is per gross, and not long ago one of the managers of a departmental terviewed one contractor and offered her the whole of the work if she would do it for lid per gross, the contractor (as is usual) finding her own thread and sewing machines, and suggested to the contractor to do the same a3 others do. Another contractor makes the bags at Is Id per gross, and emplo3's girls afc 5s a week. Several other women do the same. There is one at St. Kilda getting girls to do the work for 5s a week. The offer was refused. The \ work to be done making these bags is as follows,: — (1) The calico has to be cut into proper sizes ; (2) to be properly sewn ; (3) to be turned neatly ready for use ; (4) to be tied in bundles of three dozen each. It must be remembered that the contractor bsys< her own thread from the firm that gives the work, and when the bill for payment of work done is presented, 5 per cent, is deducted as discount. These facts are, well known to some of the clerks in the 1 office, but if <the" public have any doubts about the above^' dozens of women can come forward and prove what I say is true in' every particular." Tramp (after ringing the tfeU) — '* Please* mam, I've seen better days — " Housekeeper— tf So have I. It's real foggy today.' B ,', In eyery feminine parade,' bustles invariably bring up the rear. Yes,!* It is certainly true. ,A§k any of your friends who have purchased there; , Garlick an*d" Cranwpll haye numerous, unasked for arid very" favourable commendations from" country customers on their excellent, packing of Furniture, Crockery, and' 'Glass, 1 &d. "/Lotties and gentlemen about to- furnish 'should' remember that' Garlick'and Crah well's is * THisF CheapiJFurnishing of Auckland. Furni- 1 •ture to'suitfaircfassis ; *also*Carpets, Floor* Cloths'a!nd'all Ht>\ise Necessaries.^ If your new 1 house is nearly 1 * finished, or i r you 'are going 'to get 1 married; visit Garlick ! andt> 'Cranw&ll, QueWstreet ! and fLorrie-streefcj Auckland, v 'lntending* purchasers can have* rqatalogu,* sent free. • *•" *•.;-.' 1 - ~ *