On leaving his church I was obliged to address the crowd outside from my carriage.  Nothing can be so gratifying to a preacher as the faith of the people he addresses in his faith.  In England the religious spirit is deeply rooted.  I could not help feeling, as I saw that surging mass of men and women outside the City Temple in London after the service, how earnest they all were in their exertions to hear the Gospel.  In my own country I had been used to crowds that were more curious in their attitude, less reverent of the occasion.  Dr. Parker’s description of the sermon after it was over expressed the effect of my Gospel message upon that crowd in England.

He said:  “That is the most sublime, pathetic and impressive appeal we ever listened to.  It has kindled the fire of enthusiasm in our souls that will burn on for ever.  It has unfolded possibilities of the pulpit never before reached.  It has stirred all hearts with the holiest ambition.”

So should every sermon, preached in every place in the world on every Sunday in the world, be a message from God and His angels!

The sustaining enthusiasm of my friend, Dr. Parker, and his people at the City Temple, preceded me everywhere in England, and established a series of experiences in my evangelical work that surprised and enthralled me.

In Nottingham I was told that Albert Hall, where I preached, could not hold over 3,000 people.  That number of tickets for my sermon were distributed from the different pulpits in the city, but hundreds were disappointed and waited for me outside afterwards.  This was no personal tribute to me, but to the English people, to whom my Gospel message was of serious import.  The text I used most during this preaching tour was from Daniel xi. 2:  “The people that do know their God shall be strong and do exploits.”  It applied to the people of Great Britain and they responded and understood.

In a more concrete fashion I was privileged to witness also the tremendous influence of religious feeling in England at the banquet tendered by the Lord Mayor at the Mansion House on July 3, 1892, to the Archbishops and Bishops of England.  The Archbishop of Canterbury, the Bishop of London, and the diocesan bishops were present.  The Lord Mayor, in his address, said that the association between the Church and the Corporation of London had been close, long, and continuous.  In that year, he said, the Church had spent on buildings and restorations thirty-five million pounds; on home missions, seven and a half millions; on foreign missions, ten millions; on elementary education, twenty-one millions; and in charity, six millions.  What a stupendous evidence of the religious spirit in England!  A toast was proposed to the “Ministers of other Denominations,” which included the Rev. Dr. Newman Hall and myself of America, among other foreign guests.  To this I responded.