STYLE OF PREACHING. 33 



or not I thought that I possessed a soul, I think that I 

 should astonish him not a little by my answer. For if 

 that question were put to me, I should say, No." Of 

 course there was absolute silence in all parts of the 

 church. Every eye was fixed upon the preacher who 

 could give vent to such an appalling doctrine ; every ear 

 was eagerly waiting for the next words ; the clergy 

 in the chancel stalls were obviously most uncomfortable, 

 and wondering whether or not such a statement ought 

 to be permitted to pass unchallenged. Then he went 

 on with his sentence. " Man has no soul. Man has a 

 body ; man is a soul." 



It was always a source of great regret to my father 

 that the bonds of custom prevented him from using 

 a black-board while preaching. He said that he could 

 make himself understood so very much better if only he 

 could illustrate his remarks with coloured chalks now 

 and then as he proceeded, just as he did in his sketch 

 lectures. He also longed at times to be able to hang 

 up a map, and to have the pulpit formed rather after the 

 fashion of a platform, so that he might walk up and 

 down while delivering his sermon. Yet he was always 

 one of the quietest of preachers, generally abstaining 

 from even the slightest of gestures from beginning 

 to end of his sermon, standing perfectly still, and 

 seldom even raising his voice. He never ranted ; he 

 never declaimed ; he never gave way to impassioned 

 bursts of oratory. Just as in his lectures, he was plain 

 and simple throughout ; the charm lay in the freshness 

 of thought, the aptness of illustration, and the novelty 



