The Great Acceptance: The Life Story of F. N. CharringtonThorne, Guy
History
The Great Acceptance: The Life Story of F. N. Charrington
Thorne, Guy
Charrington, Fredk. N. (Frederick Nicholas), 1850-1936; Poor -- England -- London
One of the preachers whom Mr. Charrington enlisted under his banner
was known as "Hellfire Tom." This man was an engine-driver on the
Brighton line, a skilful mechanic, and, at the same time, a great
drunkard. Upon one occasion, when driving his engine at full speed, he
was so drunk that he missed a warning signal, and dashed through two
gates upon a level crossing, thus endangering his own life and those
of all the passengers in the train. He was tried for the offence, and,
very rightly, received a sentence of three months' hard labour.
However, he was converted, and became a strict teetotaler, an earnest
preacher for Christ, and would relate his experiences with a
rough-and-ready eloquence that touched many hearts and led others to
find the salvation that he himself had found. In connection with this
man there is a curious story, which seems singularly à propos to tell
here, when, as one reads, certain alterations in the Burial Service of
the Church of England are proposed, and it is suggested that a
modified form of the beautiful words of committal should be used in
the case of evil-livers--thus constituting the officiating clergyman a
sort of judge-in-advance of a person who has departed this life, and
whom he may be called upon to bury. This man, "Hellfire Tom," lived
before his conversion in a house of ill-fame. He related that one of
the poor girls there died, and two or three of her friends attended
her wretched funeral. These girls had no good influence whatever in
their lives, Christ was little more than a name to them, but one of
them came back to Hellfire Tom, and said that "it was all right with
Sal, as the parson had said she had sure and certain hope of
everlasting life"--words which seemed to comfort the poor creatures
very much.
Another man who addressed Mr. Charrington's congregations in the
earlier days was a certain Harvey Teasdale in private life. In public
he rejoiced in the proud distinction of being the "Chief Man Monkey of
London." He earned his bread by leaping and climbing round the
galleries of Sadler's Wells Theatre, and was, it seems, a most
disreputable character until he came under the influence of the gospel
and definitely embraced a Christian life. He became one of the
preachers at the hall, and numbers came to hear him who had known him
in his theatrical days.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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