Lives and labors of eminent divines ...

Chapter I

Dr. Parkhurst's Conspicuous Position.— His Ancestors and Parents.— As a Boy.— As a Youth. — As an Educator. — His Residence Abroad. — Choosing a Profession.— His Pastorate at Lenox.— The New Field in New York.— His Growing Fame. — A Sermon on Reform.— Personal Investigation of Crime #nd Sin 17

Chapter II

A Corrupt City.— Attacking the Social Evil.— Befriending Fallen Women.— Discrediting Dr. Parkhurst.— Superintendent Byrnes' Attack.— An Open Letter.— Dr. Parkhurst's Idea of a Citizen's Rights".— How He Exercised His Right 27

Chapter III

The Banquet in Dr. Parkhurst's Honor.— Gen. Horace Porter's Speech.— Remarks by Dr. Parkhurst.— An Address by Bishop Potter.— Remarks by Charles A. Schieren and Mr. Goff.— The Crusade to be Continued. — Dr. Parkhurst's Work Benefiting Other Cities 33

CONTENTS.

Chapter IV

The Parkhurst Home and Its Mistress.— Mrs. Parkhurst her Husband's Counsellor and Helpmeet.— Her Early Life and Education.— Her Administration of Manifold Duties.— Her Belief in Her Husband.— Her Methods of Helping Him.— The Administration of Her Household.— Her Charitable Projects.— Her Many Womanly and Wifely Characteristics 47

Chapter I. The Moody And Holton Families

Lineage of the Moodys and the Holtons. — Description of Northfield — The Aborigines. — The House in which D. L. Moody was born. — Mr. Edwin Moody. — His Death. — Impression on his Son. — Mrs. Moody's Character and Trials. — Her Pastor. — Traits of D. L. Moody in Boyhood. — A Trial to Mr. Everett. — Love for his Mother. — His First Prayer. — His Work on the Farm. — His Boyish Pranks. — He attempts to buy a Yoke of Oxen. — His Oldest Brother leaves Home. — Anxiety of the Family. — Early Education. — Influences under which Young Moody's Character was developed. — The Remark of an Old Man. — The Story of a Money-loving Farmer

Chapter II

MR. MOODY IN BOSTON AND CHICAGO.

Young Moody leaves School. —A Clerk in his Uncle Holton's Store. — Conditions on which he entered it. — He attends Mount Vernon Church and Sabbath School. — His Personal Appearance at this Time. — Letter from Home. — He is visited by Mr. Kimball, and converted. — How he repays Mr. Kimball for his Kindness. — Opposition to his Speaking in the Meetings.— He is examined and admitted into Dr. Kirk's Church. — Deacon Palmer at Exeter Hall in London. — Dr. Kirk's Opinion. — Young Moody removes to Chicago. — The Advantages he derived from living in Boston. — His Opinion of the City. — He joins the Rev. J. E. Roy's Church. — Engages in Recruiting- Service for the Sabbath School « . . . i I

CHAPTER HI.

MISSION-SCHOOL ANB A3M? "WOKK.

Mr. Moody's Study of the Bible. — His Mission. — His Business Relations.— His School at the Rookery. — His Method of managing it. — Description of the School, — Mr. Reynolds's Opinion. — Recruiting for Pupils. — Removal to

CONTENTS.

PAGB

the Hall of North Market. — J. V. Farwell, Superintendent. — Increase of the School. — Energy of Mr. Moody. — His Character as a Man of Business.

— He pays a Bill for a Customer. — He devotes his Whole Time to God. — His Life in Danger. — An Assault. — One Idea. — Interview with Infidels. — Prayer in a Saloon. — A Drunkard saved. — Interview with Bishop Duggan.

— Thanksgiving at the Rookery. — Visit of Mr. Lincoln. — Prayer in the Cars.

— The Old Pony. — Mr. Moody's Army Life. — Marriage. — Answer to Prayer.

— Chapel. — Entrance into Richmond 5!

Chapter IV

ME. MOODY AS A PREACHEB.

Plan of Mr. Moody's Church. — His Power of Endurance. — New Year's Calls.

— His Trust in God for Daily Support. — President of the Young Men's Christian Association. —Dedication of Farwell Hall. — Open- Air Meetings. — Prayer of the Rich Man. — Sunday-School Conventions. — Mr. Moody visits England. — " Out and Out for Christ." — How he prepares a Sermon. — The Man at the Lamp-Post. — Farwell Hall Burned. — The New Home. — Mrs. Moody. — The Bible-Readings. — Love. — The " I ams " of John. — Alliance with Mr. Sankey. — The Great Fire. — Mr. Moody's Account of it. — Visit to Philadelphia. — The Tabernacle erected. — The Order of Services held therein.

— He revisits England

CHAPTER V. LABORS Etf GREAT BRITAIN

. Memorable Day. — Why the Evangelists went to England. — Their Work at York. — Sunderland. — Newcastle-upon-Tyne. — The Promises. — Farewell to Newcastle. — They visit Edinburgh. — Distrust of the Scotchmen. — Mr. Moody's Faith. — The Infidel Club. — Eagerness of the People to hear the Gospel. — Meeting at the Corn Exchange. — Tolbooth Church. — Week of Prayer. — Farewell Meeting at Arthur's Seat. — Glasgow visited. — Open-Air Meetings. — City Hall. — Erving Place Chapel. — Waiting. — Meeting for Children. — The Crystal Palace. — Results of Labors. — A German Pastor. — Temperance. — Activity of Christians. — Return to Edinburgh. — AL Scotland interested. — Perth. — Aberdeen. — Tain. — Huntley. — An Outdoor Meeting at Elgin. — Rothesay. — The Evangelists visit Belfast. — Last Meeting in that City. — Londonderry. — Dublin. — View of au Episcopalian. — An Aged Man converted. — Unity of Sentiment. —A Convention of Ministers and Others. — Visit to Manchester. — Sheffield. —Birmingham. — Assemblies described. —Liverpool. — Visit to London. — The City described. — Plan of Labor. — Results of the Revival on England and America

CONTENTS.

Chapter VI. Evangelism In Brooklyn And Philadelphia

Farewell to England. — Mr. Moody visits Northfield. — His Bible. — How he i3 Supported. — His Brother Converted. — Begins to preach at Brooklyn. — The First Meeting. — A Battle-Field. — The Singing of Mr. Sanlcey. — Conversion of an Infidel.— The Interest deepens. — " Hold the Fort."— How God forgives Sin. —Dr. Cuyler's Account of the Work. — Meeting of Ministers.— Letters to Converts abroad. — " Only Trust Him." — Mr. Moody's Activity. — Conversion of a Lady. — Preparations in Philadelphia. — The old Freight Depot. —The Opening Service. —The Classes of People attending. — How a London Lady works for Christ. — Cause of the Success of the Revivalists. — Thanksgiving Day. — President Grant. — Midnight Watch-Meeting for Sabbath-School Teachers. — George H. Stuart's Letter. — Results. — Closing Words to Converts. — The Orange-Tree. — Visit to Princeton 125

CHAPTER VTI.

NEW YORK, AUGUSTA, AND CHICAGO.

The Hippodrome. — Use of Means. — The Meetings opened. — Setting Christians at Work. — Mr. Moody's Sermons. — Extract from a Letter. — The Gospel. — Tramps. — A Scotchman's Idea of Christ. — Distinguished Men present. — Secular Press. — Going to the Stake. — Dom Pedro. — Young Converts. — Convention. — Witty Replies. — Music. — Closing Services. — Results. — An Editor's Opinion of Mr. Moody. — Augusta, Ga. — Mr. Moody's New Church Edifice. Dedication.— He visits Northfield. — Springfield. — Work in Chicago commences. — The Tabernacle. — Harmony among the Clergy. — Open Service. — Ministers affected. — Death of Samuel H. Moody. — Sermon on the Same. — Inquirers. — Interest deepening. — Faithful Sunday-School Teacher. — Germans interested 154

CHAPTER VIH.

CONTINUATION OF THE WORK IN CHICAGO.

Meeting in Farwell Hall. — A Conversion. — Singular Notions in Respect to Mr. Moody.— A Convention. — Great Meetings. — Letter from a Prisoner. —A Pledge. — An Incident. — Spread of the Revival. — An Appeal to the Churches. — Christmas. — Death of Mr. Bliss and Wife. — Influence of the Work. — An Account by tbe Rev. Mr. Pentecost. — Great Audiences — Reports from Churches. -r- Union of Christians. — Plan in the Work. — Sectarian Walls demolished. — Christians awakened. — Assurance. — Worldliness. — An Incident. — Dumb Christians. — Backsliders restored. — Effect on the Clergy. — Mr. Moody's Belief. — The Intemperate. — The Inquiry-Room. — Talk with a Sceptic. —Converts 177

CONTENTS. 9

PAQB

CHAPTER IX.

THE REVIVALISTS EST BOSTON.

Preparations for the Revival.— The Tabernacle. — "Unity of Sentiment. - -Dedication of the Building. — Obstacles to the Work. — The Beginning. —Luxury of Doing Good. — Mr. Moody's Aim. — He asks for Prayer. — His Success. — Temperance. — Ladies' Meeting. — Reasons for Separate Services. — Jericho and Boston. — Rooms of Inquiry opened. — Spirit of the Meetings. — An Intemperate Man. — Days of Fasting. — Ministers at the Meeting. — "Faith."

— Praise Meeting. — Dr. Mallalieu preaches on the Revival. — Mr. Moody's Belief. — His Sermons on Heaven. — Story of Mr. Sankey. — Service of Song.

— Elements of his Power. — Simple Language . — Imagination. — Study of the Bible. — Earnestness. —Naturalness. — Rapidity of Utterance. — The Spirit

of God. —Mr. Moody's Personal Appearance. — Voice. — Manner 204

IRA D. SANKEY.

HIS BIRTH, BOYHOOD, EDUCATION, ANT) MISSION.

Birth. —Education. — Love of Music. — Religious Impressions. — Conversion. — Unites with the Church. — Superintendent of Sunday School, and Class Leader. — Study of the Bible. — Army Life. — Connection with the Revenue Service. —His Character. — Sings in Conventions. — President of the Young Men's Christian Association. — Meets Mr. Moody. — Consents to labor with him. — Singing in Chicago. — His Manner and Motives. — A Touching Story. Takes Charge of the Service at the Tabernacle. — His only Hymn. — Visits Great Britain. — Overcomes Prejudice. — His Singing Popular. — Effects of his Music. — In the Highlands. — Opinion of an Edinburgh Journalist. — Of Another Writer. — Popularity of Certain Songs. — Theatre and Circus, London. — "Ninety and Nine." — His Singing at Brooklyn; at Philadelphia. — His Views of Church Music. — His Singing at New York. — Address at the Close. — Gospel Songs No. 2. — Singing in Boston. — A Prayer for Song. — Mr. Sankey's Tact and Power. — Remarks of " The Inter-Ocean ; " of Mrs. Barbour. — Mr. Sankey's Personal Appearance. — An Address to him by Mr. Caverly 233

THE BIRTH AND EDUCATION OF MR. BLISS. — HIS MUSIC, WORK, AND DEATH.

Birth of Mr. Bliss. — Early Taste for Music— His Disposition. —Comes to Chicago. — His Wife's Influence over him. — He conducts Musical Institutes. — Effect of his Singing on Mr. Moody. — At a Sunday-School Convention. — His Publications. — His Connection with Major Whittle. — A Notice of one of their Meetings. — A Letter. — " The Gospel Songs." — Style of the Music. — Sources of his Hymns. — " Lower Lights." — >' I am so glad." — " Life-Boat."

10 CONTENTS.

PAGE

" More to follow." — " Meet me at the Fountain." — Effects of his Mnsic. — An Incident. — His Mission. — Mrs. Bliss. — The Royalty on "The Gospel Hymns and Sacred Songs." — " Gospel Hymns No. 2." — "Waiting and Watching." — Singing at Chautauqua —Remarks on Church Music. — A Letter. — A Prophecy. — Disaster at Ashtabula Bridge. —Death of Mr. and Mrs. Bliss. — Telegrams. — Letter of Condolence. — Memorial Services at Chicago. — Boston. — Notice from "The Tribune." — Mrs. Bliss. — Personal Traits of Mr. Bliss. — His Monument. — Birth of Dr. Tourjee. — Education. — His Praise-Meetings. — Conservatory. — Character 263

DE. EBEN TOURJEE 291

SACRED SONG IN EVANGELISM.

THE POWER AND RESULTS OF SACRED SONG IN EVANGELISM. — REMARKS ON THE PSALMODY OF THE CHURCH.

General Effect of Music. — Singing in Ancient Times. — St. Augustine. — Ambrosian and Gregorian Tones. — Luther and the Reformation. — Richard Baxter. — Our Forefathers.— Hymns of Wesley. — An Actress. —An Irishman converted by Song. — A Hymn of Charles Wesley. — Revival Songs. — Contributions to Hymnology. — W. B. Bradbury, Bliss, Phillips, and other Hymnists. — Effect of their Songs. — Sankey's Singing. — A Young Girl converted.— A Gentleman led to Christ. —An Old Man's Saying. — An Infidel. —An Aged Man's Story. — Singing at Glasgow. — A Highlander. — A Sceptic. — An Incident. — Mr. Baxter. — Isaac R. Diller. — Remarks of "The Moravian." — Dr. Talmage. — Maggie Lindsay. — A Touching Death-Scene.— Influence of the New Style of Music on the Psalmody of the Church. — More of the Gospel Hymns. — Psalms of David. — Gospel Songs. — " Teaching Hymns." — More Singing needed. — Formality in Music. — Design of Church Music — How far is the Revival Method of Singing practicable ?— What is requisite ? 303

ILLUSTRATIONS OF MR. MOODY.

CHOICE SAYINGS, INCIDENTS, STORIES, AND ILLUSTRATIONS OF MR. MOODY.

Christ Conquering. — The Net. — Realities. — God here. — Feeling. — Jesus. — Mysteries. — Knowledge. — Purgatory. — The Blood. — Feeling and Faith. — Morality. — Consequential People. — The Devil in Church. — Down Grade. — Thankfulness. — Judas. — Nearness to God. — Book of Wonders. — Strength. — Juniper-Tree. — Reason for Faith. — Lost. — Faith. — Three Steps. — Garibaldi. — Laziness. — Wesley. — Bravery. — Rushlight. — Dead Sea. — Adversity, — Workers. — Missing Stone, — A Smile. — Conversion. — Roll-Call. -?

CONTENTS. 1 1

| PAGE Light. — Prairie on Fire. — Love. — Not Me. — Duty. —A Lie. — Your Life. — Law. — The Earth. — The Law. — Man a Failure. — Chain and All. — Scarlet Thread. — A Resolve. — Infidel. — A Substitute. — The Crown. — The Surgeon. — " Blazing." — The Soul. — Burden-Bearer. — God and the World. — The Shadow. — God's Love. — Now. — Life-Boat. — Heart and Head. — The Bescue. — A Lady Converted. — Belief. —Norwegian Boy. — The Worm.— A Wan*;. — The Bible. — Not Enough of Them. — One in Christ. — Money. — Higher Up. — Sympathy. — The Check. — Silence in Heaven. — Eleventh Hour. — Prayer. — Enthusiasm. — A Line. — A Scotch Woman. — Trust. — Pride. — The Bible. — Bun upon the Banks 329

LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS.

Portrait of Dr. Charles H. Parkhurst . . Frontispiece.

Portrait of Mr. Moody 13

Northfteld Village (looking north) 22

NORTHFIELD VILLAGE (looking SOUtll) 23

Birthplace of Dwight Lyman Moody 2d

Mount Vernon Church 46

Farewell at Glasgow 109

The Rink, Brooklyn 128

The Old Depot, Philadelphia 144

Young Men's Christian Association, Philadelphia . . 152

The Heppodro:\ie, New York 156

Young Men's Christian Association, Chicago . . . 170 Interior View of Farwell Hall, Chicago . .172

Interior of Tabernacle, Chicago 185

Moody and Sankey's Tabernacle, Boston 206

Interior View of Tabernacle, Boston 208

Portrait of Ira D. Sankey . 233

Portrait of Mr. and Mrs. P. P. Bliss 263

Portrait of Dr. Eben Tourjee . . . . . . .291

THE LIFE OF CHARLES H. PARKHURST.

Chapter I

Dr. Parkkurst's Conspicuous Position. — His Ancestors and Parents. — As a Boy. — As a Youth. — As an Educator. — His Eesidence Abroad. — Choosing a Profession. — His Pastorate at Lenox. — The New Field in New York. — His Growing Fame. — A Sermon on Reform. — Personal Investigation of Crime and Sin.

To Rev. Charles H. Parkhurst, D. D., pastor of the Madison Square Presbyterian Church of New York City, belongs a more contradictory fame than that of any man, public or private, contemporary with him. His method and manner of reform have been such that the vituperate utterances of those whose misconduct he has been either the primary or secondary cause of exposing, are as natural a consequence as the unstinted praise of his constituents, of whose full sympathy he is possessed.

No man can be engaged in a conspicuous capacity as

a reformer, either of religion or government, and escape

the criticisms, whether just or unjust, and the slander

of those against whom his crusade is directed. On

the other hand, such a man's following, intensely

sympathetic and enthusiastic at first, will sooner or later

divide itself into two classes, one of which considers it 17 its individual and collective duty to express doubts, utter suspicions, and make use of suggestions, because perchance the great reformer elects to pursue his own methods.

In the following pages we shall see in what Dr. Parkhurst has merited the esteem of his associates of the Society for the Suppression of Vice and the City Vigilance League of New York City, for the untiring zeal he has displayed in suppressing vice and in endeavoring to raise the standard of New York's municipal government. We shall also see the animus of the many attacks made upon him, either by or at the instigation of those whose criminal operations he exposed. * * *

As the botanist traces with care the facts concerning the existence of the rare flower, so we shall be interested in glancing back at the boyhood, youth, and early manhood of the great reformer, Parkhurst, and note the influences and heredities that fitted him for the conspicuous and honorable position he holds to-day.

The Parkhursts were an English family of no small distinction in their native land. They came to America and made their home in New England several generations ago. The particular branch of the family of which Charles H. Parkhurst came, settled in South Framingham, Mass. Dr. Parkhurst' s father was an eminent member of the second generation of American Parkhursts and was a thorough New Englander — fond of his family, his books, his fellows, and his God, living a serene and happy life, — a model citizen. Into this atmosphere the baby, Charles H. Parkhurst, was born one beautiful spring day in 1842. He was a ruddy, rugged child, reared in that peculiar New England way that lays the foundation for a true and useful manhood.

It cannot be said of Parkhurst as a boy that he was " remarkable " or " gave evidence of a career of usefulness and honor, " as biographers are wont to write of their subjects. He was a bright, studious lad, however, whose natural inclinations were toward literary pursuits — philology, and in fact higher education. It is said of Spurgeon, Beecher, Talmage, Conwell, and other noted clergymen, that they were " born preachers." Not so with Parkhurst. As a lad he began to trend by inclination to the scholar's life and work. He gave that same untiring application to his studies and his youthful duties that has characterized his later work as preacher and municipal reformer. Almost unconsciously was bred into his soul the intense spirit of fire that lay smouldering until by chance it was fanned into a fierce flame of indignation and horror by a visit to the slums of New York one wintry night in 1886, when Castle Garden, Water Street, the Bowery, and almost the entire vicinity of New York Harbor was a pest-hole of ribaldry, debauchery, obscenity, and shame. * * *

Young Parkhurst entered Amherst College in 1862, and was graduated with honor, but without special distinction, in 1866, at the age of twenty-four. A year after graduation he took charge of Amherst High School, which position he held for two years. During this incumbency he formed an attachment for one of his pupils, a lovely young woman of New England birth and parentage, whom two years later he married. Upon his return from East Hampton, where he went as an instructor "to several special classes of young men, Dr. Parkhurst once said : "I firmly believe I learned much more during those two years at East Hampton than my pupils were able to gather from my tuition."

The Parkhurst finances were always in that state which the parlance of to-day describes as " easy." Dr. Parkhurst as boy and man has probably never known a desire that he has not had the means to gratify. This, however, is as much due to the fact that his wants have always been simple and in keeping with his unostentatious mode of living, as to the comfortable dimensions of his purse.

Although his engagements as an educator were probably only sufficiently remunerative to enable him to purchase what books he needed for the prosecution of his pet studies, philology and metaphysics, his inherited wealth enabled him to spend a year in Germany at the University of Halle, shortly after leaving East Hampton.

His residence abroad was a great benefit to him, making him, in the true sense of the term, " a man of the world." He became acquainted, and a thorough sympathizer, with the great efforts of mankind, both contemporaneous and past, and imbibed that high purpose and sense of duty to mankind that has animated his later life. As he studied and familiarized himself with the work of the world's great reformers during that year of his residence abroad, by intercourse with great men of great minds and by recourse to the literature of the ages, he unwittingly prepared himself for that grand struggle for home, purity, and honor which he so nobly made a quarter of a century later, in the second city of the world — our country's great metropolis — New York.

On his return to his native country in 1871, he took the chair of Latin and Greek in Williston Seminary, East Hampton, Mass., and delved still deeper into the history and literature of his two pet studies. He seemed to have no settled idea as to his vocation in life. His object, happily, was not to make the world serve him, but to serve the world. Occupation he did not look upon as a means of bread-winning, but as a means of directing those activities, of wdiich he felt himself possessed, into channels that would lead to the highest good of his fellow -men.

At this period in his life, young Parkhurst began to see the necessity of choosing a profession to which he should devote his life-work. Upon consultation with Dr. Seelye, then president of Amherst, he decided to enter the ministry. Although he had no predilections toward that profession, and had scarcely given it a thought, so highly did he value the advice of his teacher and friend that he went into the necessary preparations for the ministry with that zest and earnestness that have ever characterized his undertakings as a man and crusader.

Dr. Parkhurst once said to a brother of the cloth : " I recall with mingled wonder and thankfulness the night I decided to take the advice of my good old friend and ' preach.' In airy other calling I should never have met even with that moderate degree of success which has been my good fortune as a minister of the gospel." This is truly Parkhurstian simplicity. His iron will and steadfastness of purpose would have lifted Parkhurst head and shoulders above " the rank and file " of humanity in any avocation. Parkhurst's place could never be with the mediocrity.

In 1874, at the age of thirty- two, Parkhurst became pastor of the Presbyterian Church of that lovely Berkshire town, Lenox. This was an important link in the chain that drew and bound him to New York, for it was while spending a portion of a summer at Lenox that John E. Parsons, the great lawyer, conceived the idea of transplanting the earnest, sincere Christian worker from the mountain, town to a larger field of usefulness in the great metropolis. This was in 1880.

Parkhurst went to the Madison Square Presbyterian Church, in New York City, with the record of six years of successful, though not brilliant, work at Lenox. To some of his new congregation he was known ; with a few he was on terms of intimate friendship and regard ; to the majority he was barely known.

Like all wealthy and aristocratic congregations, the people of the Madison Square Church received the new man from the popular summer resort with very evident expectations. He was not a trained preacher nor a learned theologian. As a traveler, pedagogue, and student of secular history and literature up to the age when most of his fellow-clergymen had completed their preparation for ecclesiastical duties, he labored under difficulties, more being expected of him than was just under the circumstances. Parkhurst began his preparation for the ministry at the time when most clergymen assume the cloth.

Had he fallen into the rut of conventionalism, he would not have occupied the proud position he to-day holds. Humanity was his chief concern, and his doctrines and theories were only those that had to do with making men and women more pure and wholesome. His sermons were appreciated as having the true ring of high purpose, and he immediately won the hearts of his people. " Eight Living" was the motto that shone out bold and resplendent in all his sermons. Like the Alpine youth who struggled up the dizzy heights crying, " Excelsior!" this modern advocate of purity shouted from pulpit, platform, and printed page, " Reform! Reform! in society and municipality," as he ascended the avenue of fame.

It must be remembered that Dr. Parkhurst 's fame was gradual in its growth. It will therefore be the more lasting. Perhaps the first direct evidence of the popular attention he gradually attracted was the establishment of a rule in his church that pew-holders must arrive early at the evening service if they wished their seats reserved. This rule was made necessary by the ever-increasing crowds that thronged to hear the sermons of the man who dared to criticise the existing local evils, having first investigated the things of which he spoke. It Avas made imperative by increasing congregations, attracted in a large measure by the first utterings of the crusade of this comparative " newcomer." Learned doctors of divinity looked askance upon the New Englander who dared to preach to refined and cultured people of vice, immorality, and corruption existing at their very doors. These were matters for the police and the courts. They beheld with wonder Dr. Parkhurst's congregations swelling with non-church goers and no small number of truants from their own folds. As Parkhurst became the object of general attention, he also became the subject of much unfair criticism of both person and methods. He was characterized as a man struggling for personal aggrandizement and notoriety — a sensationalist. However, criticism seemed to act rather as a tonic, and he pursued the even tenor of his way oblivious to abuse, criticism, or threat.

It was evident to the few favored ones who were near to Parkhurst in those days that he was preparing for a battle royal against sin, and particularly that phase of sin we are wont to call " the social evil." It is sufficient to say that neither the great reformer himself nor his friends anticipated his instrumentality in the overturning of the greatest organization of power and the most stupendous corporation of crime the century has known. The man who had spent his life in the pleasantest places of New England, in delving in Continental libraries, and in familiarizing himself with facts in history and the great achievements of literature, now began to investigate local conditions which he had just begun to realize.

It was now about January, 1887, and the press of New York City was ablaze with descriptions of the corruptions and vice of her slums. Occasionally a feeble note was heard from the pulpits of those clergymen whose sense of obligation to mankind in the lower strata was scarcely as well developed as their love of oratorical efforts and fear of offence to hypersensitive audiences.

Not being a city man, Dr. Parkhurst found it hard to realize the possibility of such a state of affairs as the newspapers depicted. He gave the matter much thought and resolved to investigate personally. Many matters of creed he could accept on faith, but he well knew if he was to deal in a successful measure with the hydraheaded monster of iniquity, he must see personally the conditions which he wished to alleviate.

One blustry winter night, accompanied by an expolice commissioner, one of the few men who had held that position and retained his self-respect and integrity, he made a tour of the darkest dens of vice the city knew. He saw vice and crime as it existed in its lowest and most revolting forms. Later, accompanied by another person, he investigated vice as it existed in higher forms, and at the same time proved to his own mind the profitable and protective connection existing between crime, vice, and debauchery on the one hand, and the executive branch of the law and the officials of the municipal government on the other. Nothing escaped his thoroughly aroused and horrified mind, not even the most minute detail. The scenes he witnessed stamped themselves upon his mind indelibly. Almost before he began to realize the enormity and strength of the alliance between vice and the law, he began to study out a remedy.

Dr. Parkhurst's election to the presidency of the Society for the Prevention of Crime occurred on April 30, 1891, immediately after the death of Dr. Howard Crosby, its first president. He made it a condition when he accepted the position that the society's operations must be on the line which has been followed out with much success since he has been its president. Before Dr. Parkhurst's connection with the society, it had worked in conjunction with the police. Dr. Parkhurst's fundamental principle was that the Society should henceforth deal with the police as its arch antagonist. H« believed the police department to be thoroughly rotten and not fit for his society to lean upon.

As the congregation was largely composed of young people, many of them young men, his solicitude was ever to keep them from those forms of sin which too soon lead to crime and ruin. His struggle was to be doubly objective — for the best interests of the young people to whom he is devoted, and for the good of the city at large.