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Show SPURGE0N IS DEAD. THE RENOWNED PREACHER PASSES AWAY AT MENT0NE. The C.rent of the English Baptists A Brief Sketch of His Life and of His Service in the Cause of Christ. Mentoxe, Fell. 1. Mr. Spurgcou died shortly after 11 o'clock last night. ir. Spurgeou's end was painless. Ho remained unconscious to tin: last. His wife, Dr. Fitz- hencry and Mrs. Thome weru present when he died. London, Feb. 1. The. morning papers contain long memoirs and obituary articles. The Chronicle appears with a mourning border. bor-der. It compares the dead pastor to Martin Luther. The Telegraph characterizes him as a great, fearless and fait lit ul minister, and adds: "lie leaves a vufd that will be tilled with dillieulty." The body will be brought to England for burial. Once or twice during his last hours Spurgcou recovered consciousness for a few moments and recognized his wife. Friends had been confident that he would recover, because the last altaek had been milder than the previous one! but the gout had reached his heart and congestion of the kidneys hau returned. During all the moments when-conscious when-conscious lie constantly thought of his wife, and once or twice expressed himself anxious to scud a message to hits congregation. Charles lladdou Spiirgeou was born at Kelvedou, Essex, Enjand, in jafMBWr' father was a CongregaUwnal minister. When 15 years old lie lelt xliool as a pupil and engaged himself as an ijutertakcr at Newmarket. New-market. After a remarlable .religious' experience ex-perience he conscerati d lis life to the mini-try of the Baptist dcimrVjualion, ot. which he had become a mcirVcr, HiB...;lirst sermon was d.Fvered in a smaJfjfvU-lage smaJfjfvU-lage chapel while he held t hit0Mtion nfas-sistautanasUr nfas-sistautanasUr of a school rfeCab)ttf'iilge. ! The -ssfnltin wieard with. reln'r' .blf luj i tereot and his ervlees x.ci'e IsrgeTProlfnr for after this, he being known in that pari of the country as "the boy preacher." At 17 years of age Spurgcou assumed the pastorale of a Baptist church at Waterbeaeh, whence he removed to tlie New Park street chapel, Southwark. London, where he at- tinned marvelous popularity, A large new church was soon erected, and from that time until now the edifice has been thronged each Sunday that Mr. Spurgcou occupied the pulpit pul-pit by congregations averaging bOOO persons. Connected with Spurgeon's church is the pastor's college and orphanage, in which about 800 children are fed, cared for and ed ucated. Mr. Spurgcou taught that baptism should be administered to believers exclusively, exclu-sively, but he administers the Lord's supper to those who differ from him in this view. His church refuses membership to all excepting ex-cepting those who hold that only persons who have been baptized after profession of faith should be admitted to church membership, member-ship, hut old christians are welcome to commune com-mune with him. Mr. Spurgcou w as happily married w hen he was a young man. His tw in sons he lias no other children are ministers, one living at Greenwich, England, and the other in New Zealand. |