CHAPTER XXXVI.
Letter from R. C. Ricketts.-Encouragement
to Write.-Hopson's Position on the War Question.-His Conservatism on the
Subject.-His Friends in Both Parties.-Effect of his Arrest.-His Return to
Kentucky after the War.-Speech at Midway.-Cordial Reception.-Estimate of
the Man in Every Way.
Bro. J. H. Hardin's Letter.-First Acquaintance with Dr. Hopson.-His
Kindness to Me.-Easy in his Presence.-Estimate of Him as a Preacher and
Christian Man.
Bro. Wm. Van Pelt's Letter.-Warmth of Friendship.-Political
Differences.-Fraternal Feelings.-Grand Sermons.
Bro. W. B. Emmal's Letter.-Bro. W. S. Giltner's Letter.-Eminence, Ky.-Bro.
C.B. Edgar.-Cynthiana.-Extract of
Letter from Ella B. Myles.-Letter from Bro. Fred Power, of Washington
City.-Extract of Letter from Pres. J. T. Patterson, of Hamilton College,
Lexington, Ky.-Letter from Chas. L. Loos, President Kentucky
University.-Letter from Prof. Robert Graham, Kentucky University.-Letter
from S. W. Crutcher.-Letter from Mrs. Alexander Campbell.-Letter from
Pres. J. W. Ellis, Plattsburg, Mo.-Letter from Prof. J. W. McGarvey,
Kentucky University.-Letter from Z. F. Smith, Louisville.-Letter from R.
M. Bishop, Cincinnati.
Bro. R. C. Ricketts, well known among our brethren, and for years a tried
friend and for months an inmate of
our home, was kind enough to contribute the following letter:
"PALMYRA, May 15, 1886.
"Dear Sister Hopson:"I am glad to know that you propose to write a history
of Dr. Hopson's life. No person is as capable as yourself. You have the
ability in an eminent degree; you have the facts as no other person can
have, and I know you will
be true and faithful.
[book page] 219
"I was, as you know, intimate with both the Doctor and yourself long
before the late war, as was my wife also. When the war broke out I had a
free conversation with the Doctor. His true position was not generally
understood. He would greatly have preferred the unity of the Government in
what he thought was the constitutional rights of the States. But the war
was inaugurated; and, looking at its probable horror, the loss of
treasure and thousands of valuable lives, as a merciful expedient he
preferred a peaceable separation, thinking that if the matter didn't work
well there was enough wisdom in the country to bring back a peaceable
union. He looked at the matter from the standpoint of Bible morality and
mercy. He was always temperate and calm in his expressions, and very
tolerant toward those brethren who differed from him, never using unkind
remarks about them. He continued doing the work of his Master, violating
no law of the land, when the purpose to arrest him became known. He
had many friends in both political parties who mourned over
his arrest, and but few, if any, were more surprised or shocked
than I was. I knew the Doctor well. On our first acquaintance I
was charmed by his large, well-formed person and courteous
manners. In deportment he was dignified, and he manifested
habitually the refinement of a Christian gentleman.
"As a preacher of the gospel he had but few equals, if any.
He handled his subjects with much clearness and marked ability. He was
both fluent and eloquent; hence turned many from darkness to light.
"As a housekeeper be was a man of generous and elegant
hospitality, causing his guests to feel that they were welcome
athis hospitable home. No man knew better how or loved more to
entertain his friends than he. I state these things from both personal
experience and observation, and I may add, as ground of high personal
regard and Christian esteem.
"
But the war, with its privations and imprisonments, finally came to an
end. The Doctor returned to Lexington on a visit, at the earnest
solicitation of friends. About that time some over-zealous brethren had
called for a convention at Midway, of the friends, to consider the wants
of orphan boys, as to their care, education, etc. I moved an indefinite
postponement, as we had a female orphan school in hand at that place. This
was agreed to, and
our meeting adjourned. Dr. Hopson was on the ground that day,the
first sight I had had of him from the time of his arrest This was the
[book page] 220
case with many who were present on that occasion. Our deliberations being
closed, it was proposed to state to Dr. Hopson the facts, the conclusions
to which we came, and the ground of our action. We all wanted to see him
and once more hear his voice, with none to make afraid. The Doctor was
happy in his remarks that day, and the partisans of both sides gave him a
most cordial greeting.
"In closing, I need not say to you that since then the Doctor married me
to one you had long loved as a sister, and that we have spent a large part
of the time since then as members of your immediate household. It was home
to us all in the true sense of the word. Our only trouble was the Doctor's
feeble health and some sickness on my part. My wife joins in Christian
love to both. As ever, R. C. RICKETTS."
"HANNIBAL, May 13, 1886.
"Dear Sister Hopson:"Yours received, and my reason for not complying
earlier is, that I desired a little time for reflection, in order that I
might write something worthy of him whose life-work you are trying to
record. Now that I have undertaken it, I am entirely at a loss to know how
to express the high estimate I have for your beloved husband.
"My acquaintance with Dr. Hopson began while I was a student in Kentucky
University, and he was pastor of the Fourth and Walnut Street Church, in
Louisville. He was then, I think, the finest looking man I had ever seen.
His portrait in the Living Pulpit is a good picture of him as he then
appeared. After I left college I was frequently in Louisville, and he gave
me strict orders that I was never to stop at a hotel while he kept house
there. His generosity of spirit was unbounded. He could always put the
diffident and fearful young preacher more fully at ease in his presence
than any man I was ever thrown with.
"As a preacher at the period I mention, for clearness of statement,
elegance of diction, pertinence of argument, ease and grace of manner,
together with tender persuasiveness. I have never seen him excelled. No
man has ever impressed himself as a preacher of Christ more deeply upon
the hearts of the people of Missouri, the scene of his early labors as
well as his latest efforts, than he has. I have traveled much, as you
know, over the State among the older churches and elderly brethren and
sisters. I heard no human name so frequently as his, and in all the
allusions to him that I have ever heard there has never been a
[book page] 221
whisper of anything that would suggest a suspicion against his character
as a gentleman and a Christian. I may add that by no means the smallest
portion of the admiration I have heard thus expressed has been from the
poor and humble.
"How sad to think that the days of usefulness for him who was so useful
are over; that the friend of my early ministry can no longer lead us young
preachers to do daring deeds for Christ; that the voice so full of sweet
eloquence when it rang with the gospel story, must now tremble and falter
and be hushed. May God grant him peacefulness in these hours of enforced
retirement; and, should it be our Father's will to soon take him from us,
may he find sweet rest in the bosom of that Saviour to whom he has won so
many thousands of men and women, and, after all, the rest that remains for
the people of God.
"J. H. HARDIN."
Bro. Hardin has since been elected President of Christian University,
Canton, Mo.
I
will now take an extract from a most interesting
and sympathetic letter of Bro. Wm. Van Pelt, of Lexington, Ky., of
December 28, 1886:
"I am happy to know that the Doctor remembers our past
history with pleasure, and that he sometimes thinks of the many
happy hours spent together in my own dear home. Notwithstanding our political views
were so radically different, we could
talk together as Christian brethren, each believing the other honest in his respective views. We always let the mantle of charity
cover us, believing that everything in this world is only a secondary
matter when brought in contrast with the Christian religion.
"I often call to mind the many grand sermons I have sat and listened to
from the old Main Street pulpit, from the lips of Dr. Hopson, and it is my
candid opinion that no man I ever heard preach could surpass them. Oh, the
joy and gladness that those discourses brought to the minds and hearts of
the members of that church! Eternity alone can reveal the great good that
was done by those precious efforts of the Doctor's at that time. Take
comfort, dear brother, even as you have so often comforted others from the
blessed promises of the word of God. Be strong in the faith the few remaining days or years of your life. When you have finished your course,
you will go home to the bright man-
[book page] 222
sions that Jesus has gone to prepare for all his faithful followers. I can
not expect to be here many years longer, for I have now passed my
'threescore years and ten; and if by reason of strength they be fourscore
years, yet is their strength labor and sorrow, for it is soon cut off and
we fly away.'
"Now let me say, dear sister and brother, you have my deepest sympathy in
your sad affliction. May God give you grace and fortitude to bear it.
"Your Brother in Christ,
"WM. VAN PELT."
The following is from another of those noble Union men of Kentucky whose Christianity rose above political differences, and who has always proved himself a tried and true friend. Many a pleasant day have we spent under his hospitable roof, where he and his good wife have always made us feel they were indeed and truth our brother and sister.
"
LEXINGTON, Ky., Nov. 30, 1886.
"Dear Brother:"I was so much pleased to receive a letter from Sister
Hopson a few days since. In it she informs me that you could not walk
alone; that was not pleasing news. Well, just remember that a good man's
steps are ordered by the Lord, and, should he fall, he will rise again.
"How the years have passed since we first met, more than a quarter of a
century ago, at a time that tried men's souls! A man that could guide his
feelings with discretion, and not fall out by the way, was a wise man.
You and I tried to do this, but was it not hard to keep the body under the
control of the mind? It was not fighting against the air, but
principalities and powers in high places. All that is past now, and God's
will be done, notwithstanding our body is decaying (and who would want to
live always?) God has been so kind to us in that our minds are in good
condition. God grant that they may so continue until time with us shall be
no more,then we shall meet and know each other there where eternal youth
and joy shall be our portion, with all the redeemed, to praise God and the
Lamb forever.
"Fraternally Your Brother,
"
W. B. EMMAL."
[book page] 223
Bro. W. S. Giltner, a prominent educator, who has done much towards educating young men for the ministry in Kentucky, and is President of Eminence College, says:
EMINENCE, Ky.
"Dear Sister Hopson:"Your letter is received. I am glad to learn that you
are gathering up the facts in regard to the important meetings held by
your distinguished husband, and putting them on record as a part of the
history of the great reformatory movement of the nineteenth century.
"One who was as active as the Doctor in his able advocacy of the
principles of primitive Christianity, was an important factor in
crystallizing the religious thought of the day into that permanent form
which constitutes the literature of the 'current reformation,' and he
richly deserves that the important part he took in this grand work
should become a part of its history. I will consult with Bro. King and
others, and gather up the data requested and send them to you.
"Yours faithfully, in the hope of a better life,
" W. S. GILTNER."
"CYNTHIANA, Ky., Feb. 10, 1887.
"My Dear Bro. Hopson:"I have not seen you for more than four years, but I
have thought of you many, many times, and inquired of your health of
every one likely to know.
"Lately I learned that you and Sister Hopson are at Nashville, and that
you are in feeble health. Thinking it might be some pleasure for you to
hear from us, and feeling that it would be a great pleasure to us to
write, I venture to send you this through
Bro. Cave. I want to assure you
that we are warmly interested in your condition, and speak of you often
and tenderly. I feel that I want you to know that you are very dear to us,
and that we earnestly pray God's blessing upon you in your afflictions and
his comforting help to the end.
"I can never forget how very kind you always were to me especially in the
early days of my ministry, when your kindness and encouragement were so
much needed and so deeply appreciated. So you early won my heart, and you
have it still.
"You will be glad to learn that we are very happily wedded-still perfectly
happy in each other, etc.
"Your Brother in Christ,
C. B. EDGAR."
[book page] 224
The Doctor had the pleasure of marrying Bro. Edgar to his beautiful wife,
in Hannibal, Mo., and it was a great gratification to him to receive the
above letter.
I
turn from this bright, beautiful picture of domestic happiness to another
letter, written to me by one we knew as a bright, beautiful school-girl in
Lexington, Ky., as the happy, joyous bride of a young man of talent and
deep piety. It was beautiful to see the young girl unite her life with the
earnest servant of the cross, and go forth to stand bravely by his side,
bearing with him, the heat and burden of the day. She was peculiarly
fitted for a minister's wife. When I met her again she was a watcher by
the couch of pain. Her beloved husband had sunk under his work, and for
years she nursed him till the end came. The Doctor pronounced the sad
words that consigned first her darling babe to the grave, and in a few
months her beloved husband. But little over a year ago these words were
written by her, and she has been with her loved ones more than half the
time since. I
have several of her letters, but none that touches me so deeply as this:
"MAYFIELD, Ky., March 15, 1886.
"My Dear Friend and Sister :"I have so often thought of you, and intended
writing sooner, but various causes have prevented. You have been carrying
a heavy load a long time; I know by sad experience how heavy and heavier
it grows. You have loving sympathetic friends, far and wide, whose hearts
are touched with
your sorrow, and whose prayers mingle with yours for God's grace to be
sufficient for you.
"The promise is sure and steadfast; it will not fail. I so often think of
Dr. Hopson as I knew him in my childhood and in our St. Louis life. He
once gave me a never to be forgotten encouragement
as to Albert's training. He said that I must work upon his affections;
that no other way promised such success. I know it now more fully than I
could then. I wish to thank him once again or his hopeful words to me.
Albert is in his fourteenth year, a
[book page] 225
young Disciple, a loving boy, an ambitious student, well advanced. He is
not faultless, by any means; that we do not expect in the flesh.
"I feel that I have many blessings, though many times the way is so dark I
can not see how I am to walk. It is made clear when I leave it all at
Jesus' feet. My little girl is a five-year-old darling, affectionate and
precious. She is devoted to church work,claps her hands when the bell
calls us to church. Last Lord's day there was a young preacher with us,
and in his sermon he repeated some excellent suggestions he had once
heard Dr. Hopson make, at Main Street prayer-meeting, in Lexington. May
his warm heart be warmed over the knowing that his works do follow him.
His cheering words and sound counsel are still remembered, though his
voice is silent in the gatherings he so loved. Many of us are enabled to
go forward under the influence of the years gone by.
"I should be so glad to hear from you and him, but I know your hands are
full, and can not ask you to write often. My warmest love and sympathy for
both you and your dear one.
"Sincerely, ELLA B. MYLES."
"VERMONT AVE. CHRISTIAN CHURCH,
WASHINGTON, D. C., July 7,1886.
"My Dear Bro. Hopson:"I learn, through Sister Hopson, of your continued
illness. I have thought much of you during the trial through which you
have been called to pass, and it was very gratifying to me to get her
letter recently, and to learn of your heroic bearing in adversity. It is a
lesson which is mightier, if possible, than any sermon you ever preached,
and this term would apply to your sermons as I remember them,they were
mighty.
"People are sometimes led to think that we who teach others could not be
equal to the full practice of our teachings. I remember your sermons were
very full of the doctrinal element of our holy religion. You have fully
vindicated yourself as a practical disciple of our Master, and who shall
say that God has not used you thus as gloriously as he ever used you in
the pulpit, which you so much adorned.
"It is with pleasure I look back upon the winter of 1865 and '6, when I
met and heard you so frequently in Richmond, Va. Though I was but a boy
then, your preaching greatly impressed
[book page] 226
me, and your kindly notice which I was so fortunate as to receive has
always been most gratefully remembered.
"My father and Judge Muscoe Garnet were ardent admirers of yours, and the
services at old Sycamore Church were the treat of the week, and helped to
keep the distinguished legislators in good moral tone constantly. I
believe you had better material to deal with in the Virginia Legislature
than has fallen to me in the United States Congress. I remember there was
actually a legislative prayer-meeting held at the time in the Senate
Chamber, conducted by the members of the Legislature.
"May the promise, 'I will be with you alway,' give you constant
cheer. Christianly Yours,
"
FRED D. POWER."
I find in a private letter, not intended for publication, the following complimentary notice of Dr. H.:
"In regard to my opinion of the Doctor, what I say is my judgment of his
worth as a splendid specimen of the finished pulpit orator, his unswerving
Christian integrity, his devotional attachment to his personal friends,
and his open-handed charity in helping the poor. In other words, 1 could
not speak of the Doctor in any other way than as furnishing and filling my
idea of a noble Christian gentleman. I was not as intimately acquainted
with Bro. Hopson as I was with
Bro. Lard, and yet I think I knew him well
enough to form a just and generous opinion of his real merit. The
impressions I formed of him, the first time I heard him preach, were never
changed, and I can only express my regret to hear you say, 'His work is
done.' May Heaven strengthen your hands, and make you strong to help the
tottering giant on his way to the tomb. Heaven bless you, and brighten the
future before you, is the wish of all.
"Sincerely yours, J. T. PATTERSON."
Bro. Patterson is the popular President of Hamilton Female College, Lexington, Ky. He with his good wife, "Aunt Lou," helped to make our lives very pleasant while we were in Lexington the last year we were there. Bro. Charles L. Loos sends me the following letter, which I insert with pleasure [book page] 227
"LEXINGTON, Dec. 16, 1886.
"Dear Sister Hopson:"The purpose you have formed of writing the life of
your husband is most honorable to yourself, and will be very gratifying to
the multitude among us who, by personal acquaintance and by reputation,
know the life, the labor and the worth of our brother as a preacher of the
gospel and as a Christian man. It is a good thing that your heart has
moved you to do this and that you have the courage to undertake the task.
The life-history of men who have been eminent in the great office of
preacher of the cross should not be lost to coming generations. It is a
treasure that is precious to God's people, in its example and in the
record of what such men have actually accomplished for their Master among
men.
"Dr. Hopson has been a servant of the Lord in the word of much more than
common power. He has stood among the first in his day,in
the day of his vigor,as an advocate
of ancient Christianity. His fidelity to the cause he has served in the
ministry, his bravery in defending it, the passionate ardor with which he
espoused it, the sincerity and earnestness he manifested in urging it upon
men, the dignity with which he advocated it, have always been prominent
and distinguished characteristics of Dr. Hopson as a preacher. This
tribute will be accorded him wherever he has labored in the gospel; above
all, where he has been best known.
"The story of his life deserves to be told by one who knows it best, who
is most familiar with its inner as well as its outer history; nothing is
truer than this, that the inner life alone can truly expound the outer, it
alone can give light, truth and reality to it. We can never know a man
until we understand well what the inner hidden springs and motives of his
actions have been. The thousands of Dr. Hopson"s friends will read wish
pleasure and interest the story of his life, rich in incidents, in labor
and results, written by the hand of one who has been nearest to him, who
understands it best, knows best its real worth, and who alone can tell it
as it ought to be told.
"
Your Brother in Christ,
"
CHAS. Louis Loos."
I
owe many thanks to
Bro. Graham for his words of encouragement
[book page] 228
"LEXINGTON, Ky., Jan. 1, 1887.
"Dear Sister Hopson:"Your kind letter reached me a few days ago. I am glad
you are preparing a memoir of the Doctor, and hope his many friends
will furnish you interesting facts of his history that will be worthy of a
place in your forthcoming book.
"In such a book as you propose to publish, we look not
so much for an
account of great achievements as for incidents that reveal character, and
attach us more and more to the object of our admiration. We want to see
his inner and domestic life, the virtues he displayed among his most
intimate friends more than the conquests made upon the world's great
battlefield. A preacher's life differs from all others, even as his
calling does; his is a ministry of mercy to the poor as well as the rich;
to the obscure and suffering more than to the opulent and prosperous; his
visits and his preaching, if he follow his Master, must be benedictions
to the broken-hearted and those ready to perish; and the laurels he wins
are mostly the gratitude of the sinful, the sad and the lost. I hope,
therefore, you will not disdain to give us such a biography of your
gifted husband as will let the world see he was a generous man, a loving
and faithful friend, as well as a transcendent orator.
"The first I ever heard of Bro. Hopson was from the lips of old Bro. Joel
Hayden, of Missouri, long since gone to his rest. He was on a visit to
Fayetteville, Ark., where he had relatives, and I was engaged in building
up Arkansaw College and the cause of Christ. Father Hayden, as we called
him, used to tell me of your husband's marvelous power in the pulpit, and
would dwell more and more on the theme on each subsequent visit. Bro.
Hayden had then been in the ministry over half a century, and was a good
judge of preaching; and I doubt not had much to do in inducing Bro. Hopson
to give up the practice of medicine and take to the pulpit on the death
of his wife.
"More than this, I knew but little of the Doctor till I removed to
Kentucky, in 1859. He had just held his great meeting in Cincinnati, Ohio,
during which the press to hear him was so great that, on one occasion, the
use of Smith & Nixon's Hall had to be procured to accommodate the
audience. The hall was, at that time, the largest in the city. When, in
1862, I was called to preach for the church in Cincinnati, I often heard
the brethren say that they never heard more powerful sermons than the Doctor delivered during that meeting.
[book page] 229
"As yet I had not seen Bro. Hopson, and it was not until my return from
California, in 1806, when I located in Lexington, Ky., that we became
acquainted with each other. When, in 1869, we became coeditors with
Lard,
McGarvey and Wilkes, we became intimate friends. From that time till now
we have known each other well, and our attachment has grown stronger as
the years have passed by. This period included his ministry in Louisville,
his return to Lexington, and, his service on the editorial staff of the Apostolic Times.
"It was during the last year of his ministry in Lexington that his health
began to give way seriously, and, as I think, his splendid power as a
preacher.
"It is as a preacher, rather than as an editor, he will be in after years
remembered. I never thought he excelled as a writer or in profound
scholarship, but as a pulpit speaker I never heard him surpassed when he
was at himself, and I have heard many great preachers in my time. From
1856 to 1876 he was, among us, without a superior in the pulpit, and with
few, if any, equals. Bro. Lard was his only rival here in Kentucky, in my
opinion. The Doctor had as fine a personal appearance in the pulpit as I
ever saw, and he could use his material to as great advantage in a
sermon as any man I ever heard.
"To some who did not know him he appeared proud; but, as he once told me,
if God had given him a commanding body it was no fault of his, and he
would have to bear it. But he was not proud in the common sense of that
word. He was sensitively alive to the good opinion of others, and this
gave a slight tinge of vanity to his conversation; but we could all
forgive that, for we knew him to be wholly free from envy, that is so
often joined to it. In his intercourse with people in and out of the
church, he always maintained a becoming dignity of demeanor, which, united
to his large and symmetrical body, made all but his familiar friends
approach him with deference.
"There was nothing small in Dr. Hopson; he was large-hearted and
generous; he had a good word and kind deed, when needed, for his younger
brethren in the ministry. He always rejoiced in the prosperity of his
fellow-laborers and the church. For them he commanded recognition, and,
while a perfect gentleman in all his intercourse with other religious
bodies, he never accepted a compliment at the expense of his brethren. He
was always considerate of the feelings of others in the advocacy of his
own
[book page] 230
views, but he made no compromises with any. His whole life shows he was
just to all, generous to those needing his help, and a brave defender of
truth and righteousness as God gave him to see them.
Respectfully yours,
"ROBERT GRAHAM."
I
am indebted to Bro. S. W. Crutcher for the appended letter:
"It was during the session of 1858-'9, while a student at Bethany College,
that I first heard of Dr. Hopson. Bro. B. H. Smith, of Missouri, brought
up his name while it was in order to name the best preacher any of the
company had ever heard.
"A year or two after this I first saw the Doctor, with his wife, on their
way to church, during a meeting he was holding in Richmond, Kentucky. I
heard him a number of times during this series of sermons. One day when he
had entered the church, before many others had come into the house, I
ventured to introduce myself and ask him to give me a little aid in
understanding Matt. xi. 12.
"The manner in which he received me, and the simplicity of his exposition
of the passage, alike charmed me and at once removed the barrier which
his dignified appearance in the pulpit would have placed between himself
and a diffident country boy, who had a purpose in his heart to preach the
gospel some day. I also observed his kind and deferential manner to an
humble, and, but for their Bible knowledge, I would say an illiterate
class of ministerial brethren who were in attendance on this meeting with
an anxiety that would catch at his every sentence, as coming from one who
was possessed of advantages superior to theirs, and who was, therefore,
worthy to have them sit at his feet.
"This trait in Dr. Hopson's Character, more than any other, drew me to
him in the first place; and the many subsequent exhibitions of this same
spirit satisfied me that it came from a heart that had been made right by
the spirit of the meek and lowly One. 'Bear ye one another's burdens, and
so fulfill the law of Christ.' I
can think of no finer exhibition of this spirit than to see a man looked
up to as a superior, in turn condescending to take a deep interest in the
inexperienced boy-preacher, or the humble, true man of God feeling keenly
his need of better educational advantages.
[book page] 231
"During the summer of 1870 Bro. Hopson spent his vacation from Louisville
in and around Georgetown, where I was then located. Among the meetings of
this tour, he held one at Newtown, and this one stirred up the venerable
and venerated Thomas P. Dudley. I happened at Father Dudley's Saturday
meeting at Georgetown, the first one held after the Doctor's visit to
Newtown, and I found all the particular Baptists on hand, and their
preacher on the war-path. After pointing over towards the Baptist College
and comparing it sarcastically to bullet-molds, because it was a machine
for making preachers, he proceeded to Doctor Hopson's heretical teaching
at Newtown. 'One of these has just closed a meeting at Newtown. He
actually denied any divine call to the ministry. He examined the
Presbyterian, the Methodist and the Baptist ministers in turn, and found
each claimed to be called and sent to preach, and yet each was preaching a
different ism. He, therefore, argued that each was mistaken about this
divine call. "And now, so far," said he, "as I am concerned, I don't claim
to have any call, and yet I preach what I believe just as they do." No
doubt he was right about it, brethren; a man who preaches heresy need not
tell me he has no call to preach,his preaching will show that.'
This last sentence brought out quite a smile over the audience. A few who
knew me cast humorous glances at me. He continued: 'He actually preached
so much about baptism that one of my sisters, that is, one who has long
been a child of God by faith, and has told us, around the fireside, of
God's work of grace upon her heart, but who, for some reason, we could
never get to make a public profession, having heard all this talk about
baptism, was taken sick one night and sent for me, and wanted me to go and
baptize her in the night. I endeavored to show her how absurd the idea was
that a child of God could ever be lost, whether baptized or not. What
heresy! what heresy !' I met Dr. Hopson a few days after this and told
him about it. He laughed immoderately while he expressed a profound
respect for Thos. P. Dudley, whose honesty and piety none could doubt; at
the same time it was amusing to him to know that it took just such 'heresy' as he was preaching on the necessity of
baptism to get Bro. Dudley's converts to make a public profession, and
obey Christ in the ordinance of baptism.
"It would be curious to know how many are members of other
religious organizations, who would not have been there to-
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day but for our preaching on the importance of attending to this
appointment of Christ.
"Yours truly,
"S. W. CRUTCHER."
We appreciate very much the following letter from our aged sister, Mrs. Alexander Campbell. When Bro. Campbell and wife made their final visit to Missouri, in 1859, I think, Dr. Hopson and I met them at Clarksville, and traveled two weeks with them. The trip was a continued feast of good things from the heart of that great man.
"LOUISVILLE, June 21, 1886.
"DR. W. H. Hopson:"Beloved Brother in the Hope of the
Gospel:"I desire to address you, with unfeigned sincerity of heart, a few
lines culled from memory's store-house. I refer to the past with
earnestness, believing it will bring a gladdening influence to your heart
at this time.
"You, accompanied by your devoted helpmeet, met us at Clarksville, Mo.,
when my dear husband was canvassing for Bethany College. It was so kind in
you to proffer your aid and comfort to the aged veterans at that time, who
were traveling in such a good cause. It was an arduous work he had
undertaken at his advanced age, but his convictions were strong that an
overruling Providence would watch over him and return him safely home.
Your kind care and watchfulness made the burden much lighter for him than
it would have been.
"I remember one pleasing way you pursued, when rising to address the many
brethren who came to hear. You referred to the age of my beloved
husband,telling it (as you had been so often inquired of),you remarked
that Bro. Campbell was among them in his seventy-first year, etc. Surely
Mr. Campbell had reason to be grateful to the brotherhood wherever he went
in Missouri for their aid in rebuilding Bethany College, that stands as a
noble monument to his memory.
"But let me add another pleasing recollection in regard to your labors for
Christ. While traveling in Illinois, in company with my husband, over
large spaces of territory, before railroads were spread over it, at
numerous places where we sojourned we were told the story of the young
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Bro. Hopson; how he had preached among them, even to his own personal
disadvantage, though greatly to the upbuilding of the cause of Christ,
bringing many to the obedience of the gospel. I assure you, my dear
brother, it ever after left an abiding impression on my heart in your
favor, learning as I did your ardent devotion to the cause in your youth,
and that, too, when it was indeed a courageous work to plead the return to
primitive Christianity.
"I often sat under your ministry in this city, and well remember your
earnest preaching. I was at Bloomington when the Missionary Convention met
there several years ago. One item I remember, that, in deference to you,
the organ was not heard during the Convention, but good, hearty
congregational singing.
"I hope, dear Bro. Hopson, you will accept of my weak tribute of memory as
a token of Christian love, that I trust will only be enlarged and renewed
when we have safely entered the Celestial City. We shall unite in singing
praises to God and the Lamb forever.
"Yours in the hope of eternal life,
"MRS. ALEXANDER CAMPBELL."
Extract of a letter from Dr. H. Christopher, who was one of the elders of
the church in St. Louis, the year 1874, when we were living there. He
writes:
"I never heard the Doctor preach much until he took charger of the church,
in 1874. He went to Kentucky in 1860, and Missourians lost nearly all
knowledge of him except what was gleaned from the newspapers. His work in
Cincinnati, in 1859, threw him very prominently before the public. I then
knew very little, comparatively, of his ability as a preacher; but the
results of that meeting were such as to draw all observing minds to him. I
had a talk with
Dr. Richardson, in the summer of 1860, about that meeting
and the preacher, and a remark that he then made struck me with great
force. It was made to account for the opposition that assailed him from
the denominations. He said: 'He makes the Scriptures too plain.' His idea
was that people got mad because the plain exposition of the Scriptures
showed that they were grossly blind not to have seen the truth before.
Like one who pays a big price for a secret process of doing a desired
thing, and, when he learns it, feels like going out behind the house and
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kicking himself for being so foolish as not to have seen it before. I
often thought of Dr. R.'s remark when listening to the Doctor while he was
in St. Louis in 1874. I then for the first time formed a satisfactory (to
me) estimate of him as a preacher and a man. I then obtained data enough
on which to base a rational judgment.
"Socially he was a desirable companion to me, and I think to all who were
fond of the subjects on which his mind continually fed. To persons in
general I think he was very agreeable company. All liked him; some for
one reason and some for another, which is true of all persons. But he had
warm friends and ardent admirers, who thought him what they conceived of
and called a big preacher.
"But I think he was properly appreciated only by such as observe closely
and consider everything that they see of a man. As a preacher of a
certain type, he had no peer. For clearness of statement and fullness of
expression; for correct and exact diction, terse, plain, elegant,
smooth, correct in syntax and rhetoric; for forcible and plain argument
that left no escape nor retreat, that mauled the life out of error, and
made the truth luminous in contrast; that disgusted a man with himself,
and made happy and contented him who had the truth, and saw it in his
light, he had no superior and really no equal on the same plane.
"He spoke so correctly, his sentences were so elegant and complete, and
his words so well chosen to express his thoughts, that, when published,
they read like previously-prepared written addresses, the result of
studied thought and careful consideration, and of weighing every word and
thought. I think this was a gift. It was natural, inborn and not studied.
I believe he could speak better than he could write. The inspiration of
an audience was a power with him, and, though not absolutely necessary,
yet was a very great aid, as it is to most public speakers. Such means of
inspiration the study does not afford, hence one's composition in writing
may fall far below that of speaking."
Bro. J. W. Ellis was a co-elder with Dr. Christopher.
"PLATTSBURG, Mo., April 17, 1888.
"Dear Sister Hopson :"I deeply regret to hear that the Doctor is not
strong, and that he is not improving; and yet you could tell from my last
letter that I feared as much.
"I wonder if the Doctor really ever knew how much I, many years his
junior, admired him and loved him, notwithstanding
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such disparity. Many a morning have I started to my office earlier than
necessary, in order to stop in the 'Study,' at Seventeenth and Olive, to
talk with him. He ever received me kindly, and never seemed impatient of
my intrusion. I always left him feeling better, and with encouragement to
enter upon the duties before me. I can see the welcome smile, 'Good
morning, Bro. Ellis,' as I used to enter. He ordained me to the eldership
in the church, which office I hold in this church also.
"Father of all mercies, bless the declining years of my Christian brother.
Be his refuge and strength; keep him under the shadow of thy wing; give
him peace, rest, eternal life, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
"Your brother in the one hope,
"
J. W. ELLIS."
Bro. J. W. McGarvey writes me, in answer to my request, as follows:
"LEXINGTON, Ky., Nov. 2, 1886.
"Dear Sister Hopson:"In response to your request for a written estimate of
the Doctor, I pen the following:
"When Dr. Hopson was in his prime, he was the most popular preacher among
the Disciples. He was not what is commonly called an eloquent speaker,
and yet he was eloquent in the true sense of the word. His discourses were
methodically arranged, his argument convincing, his style was
transparent, and he left a line of light behind him as he advanced with
his subject. His manner was bold and confident without being defiant, and
his action was full of grace and dignity. His voice was melodious, and
his person commanding. His exhortations, never boisterous, were full of
tenderness; and they deeply impressed upon the heart the lessons set forth
in the discourse. As a man he was generous, kind-hearted and the soul of
honor. These qualities caused his discourses to have the greater weight
with those who knew him. His superiority, as I think, consisted in the
ease with which he could comprehend a subject, and the facility with which
he could distribute and arrange. In these particulars he had no equal
among his fellow-laborers.
"Truly and fraternally yours,
"J. W. MCGARVEY."
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"Louisville, Ky., June 1, 1887.
"Dear Sister Hopson:"You have asked me to give you my
personal reminiscences of Dr. Hopson, my beloved brother.
"About the 1st of January, 1860, I moved my family from New Castle, Ky.,
to Lexington, and made my residence for nearly three years in the suburbs
of the city. Dr. Hopson had been called from Missouri to the pastoral
charge of the Main Street Church at that time, and I at once became a
member of that congregation. Here was my first meeting with the Doctor.
From that time on, while he exercised his pastoral functions, began and
continued a fraternal and friendly intimacy of a significance far beyond
that which usually exists in the mere relation of pastor and member. The
causes for this were several. I was not closely confined to business, and
my time was much my own. The social and sympathetic instinct was never
more marked in a man than in the Doctor. To this he added an exuberant
cheerfulness and conversational humor and vivacity, tempered with a never-absent dignity and self-restraint, that, while it pleased, never
left a sensation of pain or unpleasantness on the present company. These
qualities, with his rare intelligence on general topics, gave to him
magnetism of personal attraction that made him one of the most agreeable
companions I have ever met socially.
"This was the period which embraced the ominous approach of the great
civil strife, and the first year or so of hostilities. These were topics
of daily, absorbing interest and conversation; and upon the causes, the
issues, the events and startling episodes of the day, so strange and novel
to us all, we were generally agreed.
"As you will remember, yourself and the Doctor were often the guests of
our house during this time. I was a constant attendant on his pulpit
ministrations, and I think I was well prepared to judge of his discretion
there and in the walks of private life. Throughout the trying ordeal of
this dark chapter of our history, a circumspection of his speech, whether
in the ministerial or social sphere, was ever present. No word from the
pulpit was ever uttered that could give offence; the same tender regard
for partisan opinions and preferences was observed in the presence of
friends. I think I may say of the Doctor, as far as can be said of any
man, he was incapable of insulting or wounding by rude words, so much of
kindliness had he in his nature, chastened with the spirit of the
Christian religion.
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"The angry sectional passions were intensified to the spirit of strife,
while the criminations and recriminations made it sure that it would begin
with the first pretext for violence. This was not long wanting. The
struggle for military mastery in a central border State, the recruiting
and arming in military camps on both
sides, the plunge into the maelstrom of war and its fierce and
varying conflicts, put the severest strain on Christian manhood it had
ever known in our generation. Dr. Hopson bore his part, and did his duty
ever faithfully. He knew no difference, in the discharge of these duties,
between the sympathizers and soldiers of the Union cause and those of the
Confederacy.
"His arrest and imprisonment, in 1862, was by no means anomalous or
strange. After the first raids in Kentucky, it was thought to terrorize
and restrain the Confederate element by a series of arrests of prominent
representative men. The Doctor's views were well known; though he held
them harmless to all, he was singled out for an example. This
information, conveyed to him by friends of the Union party, led him to the
choice of evils,submitting to arrest and imprisonment, or seeking safety
in flight. He attempted the latter; but soon found the country was so
filled with Union troops that escape was impossible, and he returned to
Lexington, where he was arrested and thrown into prison. As soon as
advised of this, I called to see him, and to do him any service I could to
make his strange quarters comfortable. I found him resigned, cheerful and
trustful. I need not say that every comfort was tendered him, for scores
of brethren and friends were ready and anxious to minister to such wants.
He was borne to a distant prison, where he lay for months, not knowing
the cause of his arrest. At last a change was affected, and he went South,
where he remained until the close of the war. How we missed him during
that long interval, and how gladly we welcomed him back again, I well
remember.
"It was about this time that the agitation for the removal of Kentucky
University from Harrodsburg to Lexington began, and the Doctor credited
the first conception of such a policy to myself, if I may be pardoned any
appearance of egotism in the mention. As a curator, my first prudential
step was to submit the plan to the trustees of Transylvania University in
secret session, and to receive their sanction to a proposal for a
consolidation of the two. This the trustees formally did, and gave written
authority to open negotiations. The whole programme was discussed with the
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Doctor, and together we proceded to Harrodsburg to lay the matter before
prominent officials there. It was favorably considered, and the question
brought before the public and Board of Curators.
"It may not be improper or intrusive here to give my impressions of the
intellectual qualities of one whom I intimately knew and esteemed. By
nature he was remarkably endowed. His brain, while not massive, was finely
organized, and supported by one of the most perfect physiques I have ever
known. While his mind was comprehensive, it was also readily incisive. It
was notably well balanced and symmetric, and not an organ seemed defective
or ever at fault in its working. Whatever came within his observation he
learned almost by intuition, and retained and used with rare skill. He was
an orator by nature, not so much in the ostentation of rhetoric and the
art of Elocution; but in the natural simplicity and grandeur of logic and
illustration, and in the pathos and sentiment of glowing words that
touched the reason and the heart at the same time.
"Dear brother, his was a companionship to give life here something of a
foretaste of heaven, and hereafter to make heaven more heavenly.
"May we meet again where the weary are at rest, if no more on
earth.
In Christ and hope, yours,
"Z. F. SMITH."
THE
END
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