Besides that, it is desirable that I have more opportunity to meet
face to face, in religious assemblies, those in this country and in
other countries to whom I have, through the kindness of the printing
press, been permitted to preach week by week, and without the
exception of a week, for about thirty years. Therefore, though very
reluctantly, I have concluded, after serving you nearly four years
in the pastoral relation, to send this letter of resignation....

"T. DEWITT TALMAGE."

I had rather expected that the Doctor's release from his church would
have had the desired effect of reducing his labours, but he never
accomplished less than the allotment of his utmost strength. Rest was a
problem he never solved, and he did not know what it meant. My life had
not been idle by any means, but it seemed to me that the Doctor's
working hours were without end. When I told him this, he would say:--

"Why, Eleanor, I am not working hard at all now. This is very tame
compared to what I have done in the years gone by."

His weekly sermon was always put in the mail on Saturday night, as also
his weekly editorials. Sunday the sermon was preached, and on Monday
morning the syndicate of newspapers in this country printed it. He made
always two copies of his sermon. One he sent to his editorial offices in
New York, the other was delivered to the _Washington Post_. I was told a
little while ago that a prominent preacher called on the editor of this
newspaper and asked him to publish one of his own sermons. This was
refused, even when the aforesaid preacher offered to pay for the
privilege.

"But you print Talmage's sermons!" said the preacher.

"We do," replied the editor, "because we find that our readers demand
them. We tried to do without them, but we could not."

Dr. Talmage's acquaintance with men of national reputation was very
wide, but he never seemed to consider their friendship greater than any
others. He was a great hero worshipper himself, always impressed by a
man who had done something in the world. There was a great deal of
praise being bestowed about this time on Mr. Carnegie's library gifts.
Dr. Talmage admired the Scottish-American immensely, having formed his
acquaintance while crossing the ocean. Five or six years later, during
the winter of 1899, the Doctor met him in one of the rooms of the White
House. He tells this anecdote in his own words, as follows:--

"I was glad