Qfflffimnii ! I U Hi FROM THE LIBRARY OF REV. LOUIS FITZGERALD BENSON. D. D. BEQUEATHED BY HIM TO THE LIBRARY OF PRINCETON THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY /QSC R. C. MORGAN: HIS LIFE AND TIMES In Preparation THE TRAVELS OF R. C. MORGAN BY HIS WIDOW WILMA MORGAN ILLUSTRATED WITH FOUR PHOTOGRAVURES AND NUMEROUS HALF-TONE ENGRAVINGS MORGAN & SCOTT Ltd.. LONDON /£>£& 1908. 'Z^~^c-p- A VETERAN IN REVIVAL,/^ 0CT 12 mi £ R. C. MORGAN7 HIS LIFE AND TIMES BY HIS SON GEORGE E. MORGAN, M.A. WITH AN INTRODUCTION BY The Rt. Hon. LORD KINNAIRD NEW YORK GOSPEL PUBLISHING HOUSE (D. T. BASS, Mgr.) 54 WEST 22nd STREET INTRODUCTION BY THE RIGHT HONOURABLE LORD KINNAIRD II JfY acquaintance with Mr. R. Cope Morgan extended over a period of more than forty years, during which I was associated with him in a great many spheres of Christian service. More particularly we were allied in the great London campaigns conducted by Messrs. Moody and Sankey and other leading evangelists, in the work of the Young Men's Christian Association, and in the aims of the Evangelical Alliance; and these represent three direc- tions, among others, in which his many-sided earnestness found outlet — namely, Gospel effort among the masses, the spiritual care of the youth of our land, and the uniting in faith and service of the children of God, irrespective of sect or nationality. As a bold advocate of the Fundamental Truths of the vi INTRODUCTION Gospel, a firm adherent of Protestant, Temperance, and Missionary principles, a trusted leader, a wise coun- sellor, a generous friend, Mr. Morgan served with a fidelity which has left its mark upon his generation. The story of a life embracing so many aspects of Christian activity should do much to stimulate spiritual desire in those who read it ; while the chapters devoted to the Revivals of the last half-century form a most inspiring record, which will surely move many to pray : 1 Lord, wilt Thou not revive us again ? ' ' / 22nd March, 1900. AUTHOR'S PREFACE TT is never an easy task for a son to write his father's ' Life.' Personal relationship is apt to loom unduly large, and matters of deep family interest may not appeal to strangers. He is apt to be incorrect in his perspective, to mix his colours too vividly, or to impose them with too great a freedom. These and many other faults, from the artist's standpoint, may perhaps be discovered herein, for which I can but crave in- dulgence. It has been my object to revive memories of former days, to recall the stirring scenes among which my father lived and moved ; for they have left an impress upon the religious and social life of Great Britain such as long years will not erase. It will, I verily believe, be an eye-opener to many to discover what viii AUTHOR'S PREFACE God wrought in those mighty days of a generation past. My father touched life at so many points — radiating like the spokes of a wheel, from a centre of Divine impulse to the circumference of an ever-speeding Christian activity — that whether viewed in his public or private capacity, his life-story is worthy of thoughtful study, and his example is one for earnest emulation. Perhaps the most difficult portion of my task, however, has been to hold the balance between his business life, as such, and the multifarious spiritual influences with which his career was permeated. I have sought not to protrude the one, while striving to do justice to the other. Readers who knew him will realise how well- nigh impossible it is to disassociate the two. Others will, I trust, find much in this biography that will interest them regarding matters of which they may hitherto have had but little knowledge ; and if the God who ruled my father's life shall find a greater place in theirs, this record of unvarnished facts will not have been penned in vain. AUTHOR'S PREFACE ix As my subject embraces so many lines of activity which run concurrently, I think I have simplified the scheme of the book for the reader by — instead of attempting to treat it chronologically as a whole — dealing separately with its various aspects, as indicated by the chapter-topics ; the events associated with each of these being set forth in datal order. In recording a career which we mourn as ended, it has been necessary to adopt the past tense throughout. But of my father it may be said : ' He, being dead, yet speaketh,' and 'his works do follow him.' So also it will be understood that many of the spiritual movements of his time to which reference is made are still fulfilling their God-given errands. In conclusion, I wish to express my indebtedness to Mr. W. H. Harding, a valued member of the editorial staff, whose assiduous and painstaking research has fur- nished me with many of the facts relating to the Great Revival period. In the belief that many a minister and lay-worker will derive from this peep into the religious past an x AUTHOR'S PREFACE inspiration to more consecrated service and a deeper faith in Him who doeth wondrously, this humble tribute to a noble life is launched upon its mission. For years beyond our ken The light he leaves behind him lies Upon the paths of men. And so the interrupted breath Inspires a thousand lives. — Longfellow. G. E. MORGAN. CONTENTS PART I HIS PERSONAL LIFE AND WORK CHAPTER I PAGE Boyhood and Parentage . . . . .3 CHAPTER II Conversion and Marriage . . . . .11 CHAPTER III Family Lights and Shadows . . . .24 CHAPTER IV Led by the Right Way . . . . .34 CHAPTER V Editor and Publisher ... 44 CHAPTER VI Pastor and Flock ...... 68 CHAPTER VII The Inner Sanctuary . . . • .83 xii CONTENTS PART II HIS RELATION TO EVANGELISM CHAPTER VIII PAGE Revival : Memories of '59 . . . .95 CHAPTER IX Revival : Its Friends and Foes .... 106 CHAPTER X Revival : Mid- Victorian Evangelists . . .116 CHAPTER XI Revival : A Distinguished Circle .... 136 CHAPTER XII Revival : Philanthropic Memorials . . . 143 CHAPTER XIII Revival : The Moody and Sankey Campaigns . . 169 CHAPTER XIV Revival: The Evangelists and the Churches . . 189 CHAPTER XV Revival: The Oxford and Cambridge Conquests . 207 CONTENTS xiii PART III MOVEMENTS OF HIS DAY CHAPTER XVI PAQE In the Realm op Theology ..... 223 CHAPTER XVII 1 Unity, Liberty, Charity ' . . . . . 235 CHAPTER XVIII The Pope and the Priest ..... 252 CHAPTER XIX ' Where'er Thy People Meet ' . . . . . 270 CHAPTER XX A Friend of Youth ...... 277 CHAPTER XXI The Mission of Women . . . . .294 CHAPTER XXII 'Into All the World' ..... 303 CHAPTER XXIII A Man Greatly Beloved ..... 320 xiv CONTENTS PART IV APPENDIX PAGE Some Personal Correspondence . . . 329 Index . . . . . . . .357 LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS Richard Cope Morgan (Photogravure) The House in which R. C. Morgan was Born R. C. Morgan, about 1850 (Photogravure) Mrs. Lydia M. Morgan Samuel Chase, First Partner Robert Scott, Second Partner George E. Morgan, Son and Partner Mr. Morgan's Father and Mother, and Three Sons .... R. C. Morgan, 1865 (Photogravure) . R. C. Morgan, 1885 (Photogravure) . Mrs. Wilma Morgan . Sydney Cope Morgan, Grandson Frontispiece Elder PAGE 4 12 18 44 50 62 90 136 270 304 318 PART I HIS PERSONAL LIFE AND WORK CHAPTER I BOYHOOD AND PARENTAGE 1 rpHERE goes the wickedest little demon in Aber- -*■ gavenny ! ' remarked a nurse-maid, drawing her infant charges close to her skirt to make room for 1 Copey Morgan ' as he passed along the pavement with a jaunty air. In moods of less than normal seriousness he has been known to describe this incident as ' one of the proud moments of my life.' For, be it remembered, Richard Cope Morgan was not yet a Christian editor. He was just a boy, with a boy's mischief twinkling in his eye, and a wealth of fun twitching at the corners of his mouth. Serious enough he became in later years — yet never devoid of the ' saving sense of humour ' which lightened many a mental load — but in his happy boyhood he thought more of pea-shooters and catapults than the wielding of the pen, and great was his joy on one bright day when an ill-fated owl fell before his aim. On another occasion, while ' larking ' with some kindred spirits by a pit's mouth in the colliery district of Blaendare, the handle of a windlass became entangled 4 BOYHOOD AND PARENTAGE in his clothing. His companions, in a fright, let go the winding apparatus, and he was lifted off his feet, in imminent peril of falling down the shaft. But the good hand of God was upon him, and falling backwards he alighted safely a few feet away. 1 His span of life was long. He lived in four reigns. In his youthful days he moved among many to whom Waterloo was no very remote memory, and to whom the splendid applications of modern scientific discovery to the conveniences and comforts of life would have seemed like a fantastic dream. He remembered the time when railways were curious and rare ; when a shilling was paid for the postage of a letter; when wheat was 70s. a quarter; when the cavalry under the orders of Wellington himself patrolled the streets of London as a warning to revolutionaries ; and when the gunners at the Tower stood to arms. The creation of modern Italy, as of modern Germany, and the American Civil War, were among the world happenings of his time. He was the contemporary of Wordsworth and Coleridge, of Tennyson and Brown- ing, of Disraeli and Gladstone, of Lincoln and Garibaldi, of Shaftesbury and Elizabeth Fry. But he assessed his epoch, and regarded its politics and movements, not as journalist, philosopher, or dialectician, but from the view-point of one whose chief concern was the prosperity of the Kingdom of God. Born on 13th May, 1827, at Abergavenny, he in- herited Welsh blood, though he was never intimately 1 Other narrow escapes in later life are recorded on pp. 40-43. THE HOUSE IN WHICH R. C. MORGAN WAS BORN SCHOOL DAYS 5 conversant with the Welsh tongue. As childhood merged into youth he became a diligent and earnest reader — not of scraps and tit-bits, which fortunately were not so much in vogue then as now — but of healthy standard literature, and delved deeply into the mines of English poetry. Some specimens of his own art in ' making verse ' are reserved for a later chapter. He was educated at the Old Priory School, Monk-st., Abergavenny ; having as its principal Mr. Relf Rutherford, B.A., whose son, Mr. J. T. Rutherford, is the present town-clerk. Boasting an average of forty boarders and a like number of day-boys, it stood one of the first schools of the county of its day, and in course of time several men of distinction — including one of London's Lord Mayors, Sir Walter Vaughan-Morgan — paid tribute to the early tuition they had received within its walls. Only a very few of my father's schoolfellows survive him. One is Mr. John Holehouse, who (as his father before him) was proprietor and driver of the old mail-coach between Abergavenny, Newport, and Bristol. My father often called upon this veteran when in the district in later years, and as recently as November, 1906, gave him a copy of his (then) latest book, The Outpoured Spirit, inscribing it : — TO MY DEAR FRIEND AND SCHOOLFELLOW JOHN HOLEHOUSE WITH THE OLD LOVE R. 0. Morgan. 6 BOYHOOD AND PARENTAGE Writing since Mr. Morgan's death, with a retrospect of nearly seventy years, his cousin, Ebenezer Glanville, of Southampton, who was a few years his junior, speaks of him as 'the boy-hero of my earliest recollection; handsome, bright, and quick, full of merriment, not always free from mischief, but always free from malice.' At the age of fourteen he said good-bye to school- desk and play-ground, and ' life's fair morning ' became somewhat greyer in the shadow of his father's shop. Here he was initiated into the mysteries of a printing- press worked by hand, and found employment in supplying the stationery and literary requirements of the manufacturers and ' quality ' of his native district. Some diversion was afforded by visits to the local police-court, where he gained his first experience of ' taking notes,' and doing some writing for the country papers. Other spare moments were devoted to sys- tematic reading. Thus he stored his mind, and with treasure, not with trash. These were his golden oppor- tunities, the grasping of which stood him in excellent stead in the strenuous years that were to follow. Mr. Morgan's father, James Hiley Morgan, was a Welsh-speaking Welshman, and a prominent member of the Abergavenny Cymreigyddion Society, formed in 1834 to promote the national culture of music, literature, and art. The Eisteddfodau held under its auspices from that date till 1853 were the means of bringing ix> light some of the most brilliant literary geniuses which Wales has ever produced. The Cymreigyddion was a non-political and un- HIS FATHER 7 sectarian society; its first meeting was held in the Sun Inn, a report of which was printed by Mr. Hiley Morgan in 1834 It is therein recorded that some of the members did not favour the meetings being held on licensed premises, and suggested the use of one of the chapels in the town. This was opposed by my grand- father and others ; for although himself a staunch Non- conformist, he was so jealous to preserve the unsectarian character of the new movement that he pressed the matter to a division, and won his point by thirty-four votes to six. So the meetings were convened at the inn till the Cymreigyddion Hall (which is now in ruins) was built in Tudor-st., Abergavenny. The in- cident is of some interest as showing that Temperance was not without its adherents even in those far-off days, although it did not, apparently, claim my grand- father as an ardent advocate. Mr. Hiley Morgan was a printer of no mean repute in his day. Many specimens of his industry are still preserved by the Hon. Mrs. Herbert, in the Old Hall at Llanover; and it is stated — on the authority of Mr. O. J. Owen, of Abergavenny (an expert in the printing art, and a member of the present Cymreigyddion Society), who, with other experts, has recently for another purpose examined the old records, reports, posters, handbills, etc. — that the work would compare favourably with printing done by many up-to-date firms of the present day. Some of the posters preserved are 3-sheet double-crown, and three royals printed in black and red and other colours; some display the 8 BOYHOOD AND PARENTAGE Royal Coat of Arms, and there still exists the electro- block (17 x 10) from which they were produced. ' We also,' says Mr. Owen, 'again and again during our researches, came across Mr. Hiley Morgan's name as presenting prizes for various competitions in music and art, showing the great interest he took in the movement, and his prominence as a member of the Society.' These old-time particulars are further corroborated by a former apprentice, Mr. J. L. Powell (now of Vancouver, B.C.), who, volunteering a kindly apprecia- tion of my father, gives this interesting glimpse of his early environment : — 1 It was in 1865 that I saw Mr. R. C. Morgan first, ' at the house of your grandfather, James Hiley Morgan. ' His father and stepmother were exceedingly proud of 1 him, and " our Cope " was everything to them when he ' visited his old home. ' He was a man of God, and his father always got 1 him to conduct the family prayers at these times. I 1 learned to honour him then ; but it was not till I got 1 into correspondence with him, and had the pleasure of 1 visiting him at his home, that I learned what a ' beautiful character his was. He was so loving, so ' unassuming ; there was no talking down, as to an ' inferior in position in life or accomplishments — as I ' have found by experience there is with so many men 1 who have advanced even in spiritual affairs, whilst it 1 it is exceeding common amongst those who have 1 attained to worldly position. 1 His character in many points was formed at home. 1 His beloved mother I did not know, nor his sister 1 Christiana, although they were frequently spoken of. ' But his father I knew well, as I served two years ' of my apprenticeship with him. He was a robust LOCAL ENTERPRISE 9 ■ Christian of the old school, and from him your father ' learned thoroughness, industry, punctuality, truthful- ' ness, and all that pertains to uprightness. ' Your grandfather was always engaged in works 1 of public good, in the advancement of charitable 1 institutions and of Christian enterprises. I may ' mention the markets, lighting, waterworks, and 1 sewerage systems of the town ; the Dorcas Society, ' Ladies' Charity and Public Dispensary ; also the ' Religious Tract Society, the Bible Society, and the ' London Missionary Society ; besides being a pillar of ' the church of which he was a member. He was an 1 extremely active man, often up by three and four in ' the morning, taking a walk of which he was exceed- ' ingly fond. He was also, mechanically, an unusually ' clever man. He constructed a ruling-machine — the ' first in South Wales 1 — a printing-press, and also a ' beating-machine ; and I once had the pleasure of 1 helping him a little in the construction of a hydraulic 1 device. 'His motto was: "Anything that is worth doing ' at all is worth doing well." This he carried out in ' his own life, and instilled into others. He was to me ' a friend, a counsellor, and a father, for I was a fatherless ' boy. Thus you will see that Richard Cope Morgan had ' an excellent father to counsel and guide him as a lad.' It may be added that at eight o'clock every morning my grandfather met all his work-people for prayer, and 1 It was while visiting the Great Exhibition in London in 1851, that, having examined an American ruling-machine (for ledgers and the like), he conceived the idea which he afterwards perfected. With his machine he did all the ruling required for his own use and that of the firms which he supplied during a long business career. It was similarly used for many years by his successors, Messrs. Edmunds & Thomas, and is now justly prized —albeit somewhat of a curiosity— by Messrs. Owen Brothers, who ultimately took over the printing department of the concern. io BOYHOOD AND PARENTAGE each person present either read or recited a verse of Scripture. He also edited and published a local news- paper. My grandmother (nee Emily Williamson Cope) was the daughter of Rev. Richard Cope, LL.D., who exercised a potent influence in Nonconformity during the first half of the last century. Born in 1776, as a boy he set the Christian ministry before him as the ideal of life, and for this he wisely prepared himself by fidelity and diligence as a clerk in a London office. 1 He was a man of deep and fervent piety and of sterling worth — qualities which impressed themselves upon his daughter Emily — Puritan in his principles, Evangelical in his faith, yet wide in holy sympathies toward those who differed from him denominationally. Of his four pastorates, he held two for twenty years each, and one for fourteen ; and at the age of eighty he entered into rest, when my father was in his thirtieth year. Such, then, was the family stock from which sprang the future Editor; and to the robust characteristics of his forbears may be traced many of the qualities which were so prominent in his own career. 1 ' The bearer, Mr. Richard Cope, has been with me about three years, and I can with great safety recommend him as a sober, diligent, well-informed young man, and so well qualified as a clerk that no pecuniary consideration should have induced me to part with him, had my views been to carry on any business in London. I have found him perfectly worthy of trust and confidence, and very correct in writing and accounts, both of which he understands better than most young men I have met with' — so testified his employer, when retiring from business. CHAPTER II CONVERSION AND MARRIAGE AT the age of seventeen Mr. Morgan began to realise that 'man doth not live by bread alone,' and spiritual yearnings worked within. His mother was a most gracious woman — gracious in the twofold sense in which her son also may be so described ; that is, by the natural gifts of a gentle, tender, but energetic disposition, and winning personal endowments ; and by the supernatural gift of Divine love in her heart, brightening, deepening, and sanctifying her natural qualities, and converting them to holiest purposes. These characteristics were also charmingly reflected in his only and invalid sister, Christiana, to whom he was very deeply attached. Many and earnest were their talks together over the open Bible, which made lasting impressions and deepened his soul's desires. To this, and to their earnest prayers and pleadings, he owed, under God, the dawn of light within his soul, in the year 1849, he being then twenty-two years of age. Writing in mature years, my i2 CONVERSION AND MARRIAGE father gratefully recalled those hallowed days in these words : — c My Conversion ' The chief instrument in my conversion was my mother. She died at the age of forty, but she left a memory fragrant of the beatitudes of Matt. v. and of the Love Chapter in the Corinthian Epistle. Her training of her children may be summed up in the prophet's appeal, which was among her last words to me : " Seek ye the Lord while He may be found ; call ye upon Him while He is near. Let the wicked for- sake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts ; and let him return unto the Lord, and He will have mercy upon him, and to our God, for He will abun- dantly pardon." 1 She told me on her dying bed : " You are not yet a Christian, but I know you will become one." For the Spirit had borne witness with her spirit, that God had heard her prayers, would fulfil her petitions and re- ward her faithful instructions and her heavenly example. Besides her, I only remember a very few who spoke to me personally and directly concerning the Lord who bought me. My grandmother used to write to me with loving entreaty to be reconciled to God. A minister who had been entertained at our home over a Lord's Day spoke kindly to me in a similar way, as he bade me good-bye. A cousin, a few years my senior, asked me on one Communion Sunday : " And why should not you be there ? " — at the Lord's Table. Doubtless there were other messages to me from the Throne, amongst them many from my sister, two years older than I; but those I have mentioned are all I distinctly remember. ' My mother died when I was seventeen, just when I needed her most, and my sister was her constant com- panion during the years of her illness. The discovery of ////,■/,, 7s/ 1£>0/U /fc'/t/