CHAPTER XXXIII
Bro. Gruhbs' Letter.-House Full of Boarders.-Aunt Mima.-Bought a Home.-Last Payment on Missouri Debt.-Preachers' Wives.-Dr. Hopson a Good Financier.-His Desire for Rest.-His Resignation.-Press Notice.
I will here insert a letter from Bro. I. B. Grubbs, as it refers particularly to his work in Louisville:
"LEXINGTON, Ky., Jan. 3, 18S7.
"Dear Sister Hopson:"Herewith I enclose my estimate of the character of Bro. Hopson. You will read it as the sincere outpourings of my heart. Please read it to him. I want him to know the estimation in which he has ever been held by me.
DR. Wintrop H. Hopson.
"It was in 1860 that I first saw that noble man of God. He was standing in the pulpit in old Hancock St. Church, in Louisville, in the midst of a most interesting protracted meeting.
"It was not long after his Cincinnati meeting, in which that great city was profoundly agitated by his might as a preacher. My interest in him, therefore, was intensified as I beheld for the first time his manly form and felt the power of his enchaining eloquence. Those who knew and heard Dr. Hopson in the days of his undiminished strength and full splendor of his ministerial gifts, can never forget his leonine appearance, his imposing presence, his personal magnetism, and his wonderful power in the pulpit over the immense audiences that gathered to hear his discourses. On arising before them his very attitude and manner inspired all with the conviction that a rich feast of soul was in store for them,and in this expectation they were not disappointed. Very few men have been blessed with such a felicitous combination of personal graces and advantages and intellectual endowments as Winthrop H. Hopson. The majesty of a splendid physique never fails to augment and emphasize the power of mind.
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"If I am asked what I regard as the special feature in which the ministerial excellence of Dr. Hopson was manifested, my answer would be, in his matchless power of expression, the varying charms and well sustained force of his diction, combined with the wonderful clearness with which he stated his positions and set forth his reasons to support them.
"No one ever complained of vagueness or indistinctness of meaning in any sermon of Dr. Hopson's. His hearers might be borne along upon the resistless tide of his eloquence, but they failed not to receive edification from the simplicity of treatment and lucid method of presentation in the discussion of his theme.
"His was pre-eminently the power of the true orator; whose function it is both to convince and to persuade. Such was Dr. Hopson before the insidious influence of disease invaded his system, and by its stealthy progress undermined his physical strength and mental condition.
"But as greatly as I appreciated the personal and intellectual gifts with which Dr. Hopson was endowed, there was that in him which called forth my admiration in a yet higher degree. I speak now of his large heartedness, his breadth of soul, the unsurpassed generosity and unselfishness of his disposition. With a keen appreciation of the merits of others, he made reference to their just deserts without stint of expression.
"Friendship was no mere word upon his lips or mere sentiment in his heart. When he could confer a favor, he would do so with all his heart, even at the expense of self-sacrifice or great inconvenience. This testimony to his moral excellency is not grounded on superficial acquaintance, but on closeness of association in personal friendship and ministerial work. During a part of the period of his protracted ministry in Louisville, serving the large and influential Christian congregation at the corner of Fourth and Walnut streets, it was my good fortune to labor for another congregation in that city, and thus to be brought into intimate relations with this good and gifted man. It was a constant source of pleasure to me to enjoy his society, his good counsel and cooperation in the advocacy and defense of the great cause which lay very near to our hearts. I thus learned to know and appreciate the moral worth as well as the intellectual power of Dr. Hopson, and to love on account of the goodness most clearly discerned by those who stood in the closest connection with him.
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"As might be supposed, a man of the description just given would prove true in his devotion to the Christian religion. Of this we speak last, for this, indeed, was the most admirable trait of Dr. Hopson's character. Unswerving in conviction as to the truth which he advocated and loved with all his great soul, he was uncompromising in its maintenance and preservation in all its integrity, simplicity and purity.
"The faith of his own heart in the perfect adaptation of the religion of the New Testament to the wants and condition of the present generation, he forcibly urged with a heroic daring and a loftiness of spirit that evinced the profound seriousness by which he was inspired; and this earnest faith pertained not merely to what are called the elements of the gospel, but to the all-sufficiency of New Testament Christianity as a whole, in all its practical bearings and results.
"May the cause of Christ find in every age such true and earnest advocates as Winthrop H. Hopson.
"I. B. GRUBBS."
The love Bro. Grubbs bore Dr. Hopson met with a hearty response, and their communion and fellowship was perfect. They rested in each other's companionship and love, each a mutual support to the other.
Before the close of the first year in Louisville, Mr. Cave had been prevailed upon by the brethren in Lexington to enter the Bible College to prepare himself for the ministry. This step met the Doctor's hearty approval. He has never regretted the encouragement he gave him. No father could be prouder of a son, and he has proved himself a "workman that needeth not to be ashamed."
After Mr. Cave and family removed to Lexington, I proposed to the Doctor that as we had such heavy rent to pay, we should take some boarders, which would enable us to save a large portion of his salary towards paying his debts. He consented reluctantly, as he was always indisposed to have a house full of strangers. We
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were very fortunate in securing delightful boarders, all members of the Christian Church,Sister Pittman and her daughter Anna, Brother and Sister F. Spears, and old Sister Anderson, who was a Miss Lewis, of Virginia, and an own niece of Gen. Washington. We did not love her so much for the last mentioned fact as for her pure and noble Christian life. These, with father and mother Fife, the Doctor and myself, made up a very happy family. I should have added Aunt Mima, our faithful and devoted Christian servant, who left all and followed us from Richmond, and who still links her fortunes with ours. Everybody that ever visited our house will remember her, and her cheerful attention to guests.
Early in 1872 he decided to buy a home, on which he could pay what he was expending in rent and a little more each year, until he should own it. He bought a comfortable house on Seventh street, and we moved into it, taking all our family except Sister Anderson, who went to her son's to live. The house and repairs cost Dr. Hopson $3,000. January, 1873, he made the last payment on his Missouri debts. By the time he had paid the debt of $8,000, the whole expenditure, including the accumulated compound interest during his imprisonment and stay South, when he was unable to pay anything, amounted to $22,000. Preachers are generally considered poor financiers. I do not believe it. Very few that I have known ever had anything to financier on. Most of our preachers have just about salary enough to keep body and soul together, properly clothed, and take care of their usually rapidly increasing progeny, and it takes splendid financiering to do it in many instances.
One great trouble about preachers is their lack of
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judgment in marrying. They frequently secure wives who are neither dressmakers, tailors, milliners, shoemakers, nor washerwomen. A preacher's wife should be all these, besides being "wise as serpents and harmless as doves." I do not believe there is another position in the world a woman is called upon to fill that takes the same amount of patience, prudence and discretion as that of a preacher's wife, and, so far as my knowledge extends, I think our preachers have excellent wives.
With Dr. Hopson's liberality in church matters, his generosity to the poor, and his kindness to those depending on him for support, he was the best financier I have ever met. All this while he was carrying an insurance of $10,000,$5,000 for the benefit of his creditors and $5,000 for his family, at an expense of about $300 a year for both. The Piedmont and Arlington, of Virginia, failed while he was so ill ten years ago, and he lost the $1,600 he had paid in premiums.
He was very happy when the last dollar of that Missouri debt was paid, and he felt he was a freeman. The labor and anxiety of the preceding years began to tell upon his iron constitution. During much of his pastorate in Louisville he was associate editor of the Apostolic Times, which originated with Brethren Wilkes, Graham, Lard, McGarvey and himself. His connection with the paper was never of any financial benefit to him, and if the co-editors made any money out of it I never heard of it.
During our last year in Louisville the Doctor used often to say to me, "Ella, I must rest; I am so tired of this hurry and bustle." At length he made up his mind to resign the charge of the church and evangelize,take
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up our old Bohemian life. I copy the following from the Courier-Journal of March 1, 1874:
"On Sunday last Dr W. H. Hopson, pastor of the Fourth and Walnut Sts. Christian Church of this city, tendered his resignation, to take effect the last Lord's day in May.
"This announcement gave much surprise to his congregation, but very few being informed of his intention, and many regrets have been expressed for his taking such a step. Dr. Hopson has been connected with this church six years, and within that time has done much for the increase and edification of his congregation, and has at all times, by reason of his eminence as a divine and his eloquence as a preacher, commanded one of the largest audiences in the city.
"He is known to be, as he deserves to be, one of the foremost men in his denomination. Pointed and powerful as a thinker, clear and demonstrative as a speaker, he enjoys a reputation widespread and enviable. He leaves his congregation in this city in the height of his popularity, as a matter of his own choosing, preferring for the present to go into the 'general field,' where he can enjoy more rest and accomplish, he thinks, as much good.
"We are glad to learn, however, that Louisville will be his home for the most part, so that his friends may still hope to enjoy occasionally his influence and teaching."
It was with great reluctance he took this step, but he felt he could no longer bear the strain the care of such a large church entailed upon the minister.
We broke up housekeeping at once, and mother and father went to Lexington to stay with Mr. Cave until we were once more settled.
We bade a sorrowful farewell to the beloved friends in Louisville (we alone knew how dear they were to us), and began our journey towards the setting sun.
We spent the summer traveling through Missouri, visiting many of the churches for which the Doctor had held meetings long years before. He enjoyed meeting
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with his old friends so much, his tour was a perpetual feast to him.
We visited many of our old school-girls, who were delighted to see us again. They were all anxious for us to build up a school, where they could send their children to us. He told them he was not able to run any more risks.
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