Mrs. Leifchild might well be proud of her husband; and here, in conclusion, let me repeat what I have said elsewhere: his sermons were constructed upon the principle of reaching a climax in the peroration. All prepared for that, and he used to lay down this maxim for pulpit oratory: “Begin low, proceed slow; rise higher, catch fire; be self-possessed when most impressed.” Though he produced wonderful effects at public meetings, the pulpit was his throne, where he ruled his audience with a kind of imperial sway. His skill in the introduction of religious topics into common conversation was very remarkable, and he abounded in anecdotes illustrative of scripture truth and spiritual experience. On his death bed he fancied himself entering within the everlasting doors, and exclaimed, “Why, don’t you hear it, those beautiful harps? You can’t all go in with me. I must go first; but keep close behind me, and open the gates wide, wide, wide for all.” On his tombstone are inscribed these words of his own: “I will creep as well as I can to Thy gates. I will die at Thy door. Yea, I will be found dead on the threshold of Thy mercy, with the ring of that door in my hand.” [55]
IV. THE FOURTH PASTORATE.
THE REV. ROBERT VAUGHAN, D.D.
1825–1843.
Dr. Leifchild relinquished the pastorate in August, 1824. Dr. Vaughan received a “call” signed by about eighty members, and this he accepted in February, 1825. His acceptance is dated from Worcester. “It is not,” he says, “without being truly thankful for the many blessings which have accompanied my religious connection in this city that I yield to the influence of circumstances, which in my own view and that of the more judicious of my friends, fully warrant the step which I now take in freely stating my acceptance of your call. I do, however, wish you, my dear friends, to be fully aware that I have not dared to proceed thus far without confiding greatly in your deeper sympathies, and more fervent prayers in my behalf. The doctrines I have preached in your hearing will never I trust lose their prominence in my ministry. To my own heart they yield its best, its only stay, and to apply them as a balm of never-failing efficacy to your spirits is what I now propose as the one object of my life while continued as your pastor.”
Dr. Vaughan was not educated at any of our colleges, but studied under the Reverend William Thorp, of Bristol,—a man, the breadth of whose intellect might be said to be symbolized by the extraordinary portliness of his figure. As there was much nobility in his nature, he might, in that respect, be likened to a monarch of the forest,—with this additional and curious resemblance, that whereas a lion rejoices in having two cubs at a time, so the leonine Bristol pastor never had but two pupils under his care, and they came both at once—Robert Vaughan and John Jukes. The latter presided over John Bunyan’s Church at Bedford; and I have heard him and his friend at Kensington crack obvious jokes on their relationship to each other, and to their remarkable instructor. After entering on the ministry, Dr. Vaughan spent six years at Worcester in hard study, preparing himself for what he afterwards became. There he took an honourable position, but it could scarcely at first be augured that he would rise to be what he ultimately was.
He was intensely devoted to reading, especially in the historical department of literature, and of this he gave some presage as a boy when, at the age of twelve, he carried home triumphantly Raleigh’s “History of the World,” on the purchase of which he had invested a birthday gift. He largely overcame early defects in education; and by dint of extraordinary diligence, acquired large stores of historical learning. His tastes did not lie in the same direction as Dr. Leifchild’s, and he never became the popular preacher which his predecessor was; though on the platform, in depth of thought, range of argument, and sometimes brilliancy of illustration, he surpassed him. Every man in his own order. The one excelled in appeals to the head, the other in appeals to the heart. Each did a vast deal of good in the Great Master’s service.
The recognition, or “ordination,” as it is called, of the new pastor took place on the 5th of May, 1825. The Reverend Joseph Hughes, of Battersea, the Nonconformist Secretary of the British and Foreign Bible Society, and a friend of Leifchild—who wrote interesting memoirs of his life—opened the service with Scripture reading and prayers. Dr. Winter, of New Court, one of the leading city ministers, “stated the nature of a Gospel Church”; Dr. Waugh offered the ordination prayer, for which his wonderful “gift in prayer” eminently fitted him; Dr. Fletcher, of Stepney, “an eloquent man,” delivered the charge; and George Clayton preached to the people.
Kensington was considerably changed when the new pastor reached it. The suburb was much more populous than of yore. Streets and squares, terraces and crescents were rising and stretching here and there; but the town, as it was now called, remained compact. Beyond the turnpike road, then bordered by only single lines of houses, there spread out north and south a wide border country of market gardens and orchards; and my predecessor told me of his dreary walks in winter, from his residence on Notting Hill to Hornton Street Chapel. No good pavement, no gas-lighted lamps, existed then; and the wayfarer was left to pick his path as best he could on pitch dark evenings, across Campden Hill, helped only by a glimmering lantern carried in his hand.
Unfortunately the Kensington records supply scanty information respecting the Vaughan period,—the years between November, 1825, and November, 1832, being passed over without one single line; whilst before and after, secular concerns are the chief subjects of entry. Now the appointment of new managers, then the retirement of a secretary, next the letting of pews; and, as a variation, the erection of a tablet in the chapel to the memory of a departed hearer. These are the topics which occur on the pages of the old parchment-bound volume.
The “History of Kensington” supplies a list of the institutions existing in connection with Hornton Street just before the close of Dr. Leifchild’s ministry, and these continued in working order under Dr. Vaughan.
“A Benevolent Society, for visiting, instructing, and relieving the sick poor of all descriptions, at their own habitations, and which is at present chiefly conducted by ladies belonging to the congregation. A Tract Society, for the dispersion of religious tracts by the subscribers, to whom they are furnished at reduced prices. A Blanket Society, for the gratuitous distribution of blankets to the poor during the severity of the winter season. The Infants’ Friendly Society,—a female institution, which provides clothing and nourishment for poor women and their children during their confinement. An Auxiliary Missionary Society, to assist in the propagation of the Gospel in foreign parts, and which, by means of contributions of one penny per week (and upwards), raises the sum of nearly one hundred pounds per annum. Besides these, collections are made at the chapel for the Hoxton Academy; and every severe winter, on a smaller scale, to assist in relieving the poor of the parish.” [61]