In the evening he addressed a public meeting, when the joy of the people at again beholding him, and their gratitude to him for coming, were almost overwhelming. Each one in the procession which came to meet him, and amongst them were some of the most respectable tradesmen in the town, had some strange history of his own but subsequently the Rev. Canon Smith,*-has in his autobiography, entitled "My Life; or, a Brand plucked from the Burning," given a graphic account of the presentation, and of Mr. Rogers' reception at a public meeting. He says (p. 100): "It was a deeply affecting sight to see the men who once strove to lay their hands upon him, now, with the same hands, present him with the bread of life, the word of the living God. Keenly did he feel it; for he sank down in an armchair, and then gave vent to the mingled feelings which overpowered him-remembrances of the bitter past, and joy to see the poor demoniacs sitting at the feet of Jesus, clothed and in their right mind. "At an early hour the room was completely filled, and hundreds could not gain admittance. As he entered, the people could no longer contain themselves, but gave vent to their feelings by calling for blessings upon his head. After a highly instructive lecture was over, Mr. Rogers distributed a tract or a book, with his own hand, to almost every individual in that large assembly. It was near eleven o'clock before all had dispersed. That night will long remain treasured up among the reminiscences of bygone days!" * See "The Converted Publican," No. 1 Dover Tracts. to tell; each vied with another in seeking to carry something belonging to Mr. Rogers. "I shall never forget, sir, the last time you spoke to me," said one. "I was going to be married, and I had to come to you as surrogate to get a license. And then when you had got me in your study, you talked to me about my soul, and you never rested till you had got me down on my knees. I vowed to myself when I got away, that you should never catch me in that study again. But oh! sir, I would give anything to see you there now!" 66 "I remember well enough, sir, the last time I ever carried anything about you," said another, who had succeeded in getting Mr. Rogers' carpetbag to carry. My pockets were crammed full of libels defaming your character, which I was carrying about, and distributing all over the neighbourhood." "And was there any truth in them ?" inquired Mr. Rogers. 66 Truth, sir! not a word of it! But what did we care about that? All we wanted was to blacken your character, in hopes of getting rid of you." Many similar stories were volunteered, showing not only the reality of the change in his former foes, but the danger of receiving statements inspired by questionable motives.* They told him too-and his heart bled on hearing it-that while so many of those who had before opposed him, were now truly converted to God, some forty of those who had distinguished themselves as his persecutors, had been either cut off in their sins, by deaths so sad and startling that all had seen in them the finger of God,-or else had been obliged to leave the town. None now remained *Even without any unkind motive, or ulterior design, very singular mis-statements will occasionally find their way into the public prints. An instance of this occurred in a recent article in the Leominster paper, giving an account of the interment of my beloved husband, which I felt it needful to notice. After recalling, and severely condemning the conduct of those who had driven him away in 1851, the paper graphically relates how, on leaving, Mr. Rogers had literally obeyed the injunction in Mark vi. 11 by stopping at the turnpike gate as he passed, where he took off his shoes, and shook the dust from his feet, as a testimony against them! This, related though it is in all seriousness, is, I need hardly say, a pure and groundless fiction. Anything more at variance with his patient and forgiving spirit, could hardly be conceived. Instead of this he prayed constantly that the Holy Spirit might yet water the seed sown, and change the hearts of his opponents. And long before the revival wave of 1856-9 had swept over England, Scotland, and Ireland, Leominster was one of the earliest spots to feel the Spirit's revivifying influences. but such as were ready to accord him a grateful welcome. It had been at Leominster that we had first learnt by bitter experience to understand the language of David, and "out of the depths" to appropriate Psalms lvi., lvii., cxlii., cxliii., and many others, which made the contrast all the more delightful. Need it be said that the events of this day obliterated from his mind every painful remembrance of the past ? Is it strange if after this, Leominster filled a large niche in his heart? In addressing them that evening, he urged upon them the exhortation in 1 Cor. xv. 58. Willingly and faithfully they obeyed the injunction; and ere those words were again read,—this time over his lifeless remains,-from Leominster had gone forth a sound which had been heard to the ends of the earth.* Is it then strange if I feel comforted and soothed by the remembrance that "his precious dust,"-to use their own expression,-is laid at Leominster ? *One of the striking features of that " Mission" was the way in which its members, having first sought to evangelize the immediate neighbourhood, dispersed themselves abroad in all parts. Mr. Smith became "the Spurgeon of Australia"; the labours of Mr. Wall at Rome are well known; others are evangelists in Spain and elsewhere. |