nd regiment. But the strain of this threefold
service--preaching, speaking and editing, was too much for his strength,
powerful and well-grounded, as he was, physically. His voice gave out at
last, and doctors imperatively demanded rest. This brought about the
trip to Europe which was destined to be remembered as the most
remarkable epoch in the remarkable career of this man.

Decidedly the most memorable oratorical success ever achieved by an
American citizen abroad, in behalf of the name and honor of his country,
was that by the Rev. Henry Ward Beecher, which he achieved during this
trip. Undertaking the journey for recreation and recuperation he was
bitterly opposed by his friends in his decision, but he saw there was
work to be done, and felt that he must do it. Beginning at Manchester,
October 9th, Mr. Beecher delivered five great speeches in the great
cities of the kingdom, Manchester, Glasgow, Edinburgh, Liverpool and
London, each speech being devoted to some special train of thought and
argument bearing upon the issues involved in the momentous contest; and
the whole series taken together did more for the Union cause in Great
Britain than all that had before been said or written. Possessing the
faculty beyond any other American orator of combining close, rapid,
powerful, practical reasoning with intense passion--his mind always
aglow with his subject--the effect of Mr. Beecher's speaking was to
kindle sympathy, even if it did not flash conviction. It is this
quality, according to the opinion of those best acquainted with Mr.
Beecher's oratory, which combined with his marvelous power of
illustration, marvelous alike for its intense vividness and unerring
pertinency, and his great flexibility whereby he seemed to adapt himself
completely to the exigency of the instant gave him rare command over a
popular assemblage.

Mayor Carrington, of Richmond, tells the following: "He went to Richmond
in 1881, his first appearance there after the war, and he was somewhat
doubtful as to the reception he would get. He walked onto the stage
where he was to lecture, before a crowded house, and was not greeted
with the slightest welcoming applause. Immediately in front of the stage
facing Mr. Beecher were several leading ex-generals of the Confederate
army, among them General Fitz-Hugh Lee. Mr. Beecher surveyed the cold
and critical audience for a moment, and then stepping directly in front
of General Lee, he said, 'I have seen pi