We were entertained a great deal through the South,
where I believe my husband had the warmest friends
and a more cordial appreciation than in any other
part of the country. There was no lack of excitement
in this life that I was leading at the elbow of the
great preacher, and sometimes he would ask me if the
big crowds did not tire me. To him they were
the habit of his daily life, a natural consequence
of his industry. However, I think he always found
me equal to them, always happy to be near him where
I could see and hear all.
In October of this year we returned to Washington,
when the Pan-Presbyterian Council was in session,
and we entertained them at a reception in our house
till late in the evening. The International Union
of Women’s Foreign Missionary Societies of the
Presbyterian and Reformed Churches were also meeting
in Washington at this time, and they came. At
one of the meetings of the Council Dr. Talmage invited
them all to his house from the platform in his characteristic
way.
“Come all,” he said, “and bring
your wives with you. God gave Eve to Adam so
that when he lost Paradise he might be able to stand
it. She was taken out of man’s side that
she might be near the door of his heart, and have
easy access to his pockets. Therefore, come, bringing
the ladies with you. My wife and I shall not
be entertaining angels unawares, but knowing it all
the while. To have so much piety and brain under
one roof at once, even for an hour or two, will be
a benediction to us all the rest of our lives.
I believe in the communion of saints as much as I
believe in the life everlasting.”
In November, 1899, Dr. Talmage installed the Rev.
Donald McLeod as succeeding pastor of the First Presbyterian
Church in Washington, and delivered the installation
address, the subject of which was, “Invitation
to Outsiders.” There had been some effort
to inspire the people of Washington to build an independent
Tabernacle for the Doctor after his resignation, but
he himself was not in sympathy with the movement because
of the additional labour and strain it would have put
upon him.
As the winter grew into long, gray days, we were already
planning a trip to Europe for the following year of
1900, and we were anticipating this event with eager
expectancy as the time grew near.
THE THIRD MILESTONE
1900-1901
So much has been written about Dr. Talmage the world
over, that I am tempted to tell those things about
him that have not been written, but it is difficult
to do. He stood always before the people a sort
of radiant mystery to them. He was never really
understood by those whom he most influenced.
A writer in an English newspaper has given the best
description of his appearance in 1900 I ever saw.
It is so much better than any I could make that I
quote it, regretting that I do not know the author’s
name:—
“A big man, erect and masterful in spite of
advancing years, with an expressive and mobile mouth
that seems ever smiling, and with great and speaking
eyes which proclaim the fervent soul beneath.”
