him, and his comment was summed up
in his reassuring answer to the Admiral--"But you were there."

It was during our stay in Florida that Dr. Talmage and Joseph Jefferson,
the actor, renewed their acquaintance. The Doctor never saw him act
because he had made it a rule after he entered the ministry in his youth
never to go to the theatre to see a play. In crossing the ocean he had
frequently appeared with stage celebrities, at the usual entertainments
given on board ship for the benefit of seamen, and in this way had made
some friends among actors. He was particularly fond of Madame Modjeska,
whom he had met on the steamer, and whose character and spirit he
greatly admired.

Jefferson was a great fisherman, and most of his day was spent on the
water or on the pier. There we used to meet him, and he and Dr. Talmage
would exchange reminiscences, serious and ludicrous. One of the Doctor's
favourite stories was an account of a terrific fight he saw in India,
between a mongoose and a cobra. Mr. Jefferson also had a story, a sort
of parody of this, which described a man in _delirium tremens_ watching
in imaginary terror a similar fight. Years before this, when the Doctor
had delivered his famous sermon in Brooklyn against the stage, Jefferson
was among the actors who went to hear him. Recalling this incident, Mr.
Jefferson said:--

"When I entered that church to hear your sermon, Doctor, I hated you.
When I left the church, I loved you." He talked very little of the
theatre, and seemed to regard his stage career with less importance than
he did his love of painting. He never grew tired of this subject.

When we were leaving Palm Beach, Mr. Jefferson said to me, "I know Dr.
Talmage won't come and see me act, but when I am in Washington I will
send you a box, and I hope the Doctor will let you come."

Dr. Talmage's resignation from his church in Washington took place in
March, 1899. I quote his address to the Presbytery because it was a
momentous event occurring in the gloaming of what seemed to us all,
then, the prime of his life:

"March 3, 1899.

"To the Session of the First Presbyterian Church of Washington.

"Dear Friends--

"The increasing demands made upon me by religious journalism, and
the continuous calls for more general work in the cities, have of
late years caused frequent interruption of my pastoral work. It is
not right that this condition of affairs should further continue.