his Crathie sermon--so
extensive was the sale which, in the form of a shilling pamphlet, it was
able to command. The same sermon was translated on the Continent, under
the auspices of the Chevalier Bunsen, Ambassador from the German Court
to London, who has since died. Bunsen was well known as one of the most
accomplished scholars of his day, and the preface which he wrote for
this sermon suddenly carried the fame of the preacher into all parts of
the Christian world.

In 1857 Dr. Caird accepted a call to Park Church, Glasgow. During the
following year he published a volume of sermons marked by great
chasteness and beauty of language, strength and delicacy of thought,
and, above all, by spirituality of tone, and breadth of earnest sympathy
with men. By this time his fame as a preacher had reached its zenith.
The demands made upon his powers of endurance were such as no one could
possibly last for any length of time. His sermons were not the mere
inspirations of the hour. They were rather like the _chef d'oeuvre_
of a great painter or sculptor--well thought out, carefully and
conscientiously reasoned, and polished until their lustre was perfectly
dazzling. We have before us an extract from _Fraser's Magazine_,
published about this time, which justly estimates Dr. Caird's oratorical
gifts and graces. The writer states that Dr. Caird "begins quietly, but
in a manner which is full of earnestness and feeling; every word is
touched with just the right kind and degree of emphasis; many single
words, and many little sentences which, when you read them do not seem
very remarkable, are given in tones which make them absolutely thrill
through you; you feel that the preacher has in him the elements of a
tragic actor who would rival Kean. The attention of the congregation is
riveted; the silence is breathless; and as the speaker goes on gathering
warmth till he becomes impassioned and impetuous, the tension of the
nerves of the hearer becomes almost painful. There is abundant ornament
in style--if you were cooler you might probably think some of it carried
to the verge of good taste; there is a great amount and variety of the
most expressive, apt, and seemingly unstudied gesticulation; it is
rather as though you were listening to the impulsive Italian speaking
from head to foot, than to the cool and unexcitable Scot. After two or
three such climaxes, with pauses between, after the manner of Dr.
Chalmers, the preacher gathers himself