ife."

From Yalta the steamer sailed across the Black Sea, through the
Bosphorus, down the coast of Asia Minor, to the Gulf of Smyrna,
anchoring in the harbour of Smyrna. A delay was made to give time to
visit the ruins of the ancient city of Ephesus. Passing the coast of the
Isle of Cyprus the next landing place was Beirut, where several days
were spent, affording the pilgrims opportunity to visit the Mountains
of Lebanon, the ruins of Baalbec, and the city of Damascus. From Beirut
we sailed down the coast of Palestine, passing Tyre and Sidon. The
steamer anchored off the harbour of Jaffa. Three weeks were given to
visit Jerusalem, Bethany, the River Jordan, the Dead Sea, Jericho, and
other places in the Holy Land. At Jerusalem one of the Plymouth Church
passengers, Mr. Moses Beach, purchased an olive tree at the foot of the
Mount of Olives near the Garden of Gethsemane, had it cut down and
transported to Jaffa, where it was placed on board the _Quaker City_,
brought home, and through the generosity of Mr. Beach was made into
furniture which now stands in Plymouth pulpit. The next landing place
was Alexandria, Egypt, giving an opportunity to visit Cairo and the
Pyramids. From Alexandria the voyage was continued homeward, stopping at
Malta, Gibraltar and Bermuda.

It was a great journey, as it afforded a majestic and sublime panorama
of the different nations, kindreds, and tongues of the world, and may
well take its place among other great events of Plymouth Church.

_PERSONALIA_

A great deal of the power of church life, as well as of personal life,
centres about personal items. Without seeking to arrange them
chronologically or even to associate them topically, I wish to gather up
in this chapter some of the incidents that do not well belong in the
preceding chapters. Some of them it is easy to locate, others have lost
their setting, as the years have gone by, and stand out with an
individuality that is their own. It is no reflection on Mr. Beecher's
successors, noble and true men, that he figures so prominently in them.
The memory of those early days when, as a country lad, I came to
Brooklyn, naturally centres around the man who from my boyhood, through
early manhood and into middle age had a mighty influence upon my life.

One event I recall, in the very first year of my new life. In itself it
was no more significant or important than many others, but it meant much
to me, opening up as it did a broader