The San Francisco Call. Newspaper, June 15, 1902, Page 15

THE SUNDAY CALL. 15 : Eaa BTN ol L) grew and he was called to Alameda for an afternoon service, and to San Fran- cisco in the eveiling, and as he began to put into execution some ideas of what the modern church should be, he found that one man was not bie enough to go round if he was to be get-at-able at all hours of the day and night by all sorts and conditions of people with all kinds of axes to grind and grievances to unload. So he moved back to the very edge of the Piedmont hills, where he could be half in town, half in the country; where from his study windows he could have:for an outlook on one side his own garden, on the other astretch of green flelds, a lake, the farther hills and in the distance East Oakland and Alameda. Here he is close to the nature that he loves and far enongh away to sort out his visitors. After breakfast there is the mail—and such mail. Letters from good people, who weep and pray over this man because he does mnot think as they do; letters pages long and fathoms deep from people whose wheels have slipped d cog; letters from visionary founders of strange sects and occult orders, who want him to join them; letters from men and women from whom old faiths are slipping and who want friendly, sympathetic gounsel; letters of- fering a last chance to get in on the ground floor of a sure-thing scheme; let- ters, some of them that never get beyond the secretary, and others that have in- stant attention; letters sweet and helpful tc a2 man whose business it is to do for others; letters stupid, silly and inane; oh, yes, and bills. No wonder the desk of Benjamin Fay Mills looks like a magnified mouse nest. No wonder the pigeon holes look as if they would burst their wooden sides. After an hour with his secretary Mr. Mills is ready for a breathing spell and every morning at this time he goes with his wife for a stroll out in the fields or by the edge of the lake. So much a part of one soul are these two that at this hour the man plans aloud as if he were think- ing to himself, or if the lecture he s writing is far enough along he talks it over and gets suggestions and advice. Then it is time for study. Perhaps Mr. Mills bas carried with him an umbrella, books and a writing pad. If so, when he is left alone, he stretches full length among the grass and wild flowers to read and think and scribble down thoughts that are worth saving. The smooth green lawn at the edge of his own garden is another favorite place a preacher 1s not half bad for study; and still another is a corner of the upper balcony where, with an um- Eave him new, wholesome impulses and brella stuck in the front of his walstcoat eased hisimind in regard to the suffering Gill, he is the he has brought upon others. Mr. Mills m intrusion. 80es upon the theory that the world Is n EING if you can be a preacher and not have to depend on donation parties and stray invitations to dinner for and his feet on the window a living. picture of comfort, safe FOR QUIET I¢ Benjaiih Fay Mijlarever hall’to da- . Until noon his mustnpt be.intérruptsd & vast Eymuasiom for the, develogmen: oF STUD Y, - s e Dentwoon thattsart of thing he has out-, Biye.for urgent renson. »Ihis every mem- moral muscle, and it is ‘a not half-bad n" p # groyen it; §ust @s he has outgrown. certain ber of the household, down to thetinieat doctrine to preach, even to a man'in jail. 3 % ik p Erown it, Just as he has outgTown certaln tot, knows and only one of Mr. Mills' as- Then there was a Woman to be seen Who INTR m 3 3 T i T e or I ber. Slstants or some ono With an important had herselt wrought up to the point of g % goocly i g 5 mission can break the rule. In this event thinking she wanted a divorce from her ices, and n v d vices, and no one who hdg tagged at his Too o0 "L ng0d that can be heard out husband, and who needed only to be e s T on ARy AR D ear s it field or on the roof. In answer shown that she had made a mistake in dowm. goes he umbrella and e man v} ¢ Ot ‘course, Benjamin Fay Mills spends concy “tiom his books to make arrang %:,“}fl,gg,o“éil;o:;1‘::;:,”3;‘:0:0[),';.“;1':; s time on his knees and more at hiS pepts with some one to lecture befors people there are who like to share their n most men who wear iong-tailed tne Unity Club, to offer consolation t0 troubles with some one, any one with a and white ties; but that is because ¢ome one who is facing a Keen SOITOW, listening ear and a sympathetic word n_contains a strong flavor of op to greet an old friend from a AIStance Ola. young and middle.aged they come. yday ethics aud & emistiering o Ao« whoiie leaving towil thet ateruoon, e nei e Sl lence, economics and other whole- ~when the creative mood s on, b IR 1o rettit 1h batt Bt have to do with the Mg needs the whole house. He t ooz iy Redbad e e Hispocks the devil and thelr yp gnd down his study, wanders u e o i ey and down, and perhaps into the gardem. . ° 0‘,?;‘1;:;:&": M"'n:*‘"}im Faiting to 1 is a busy day. The physical exertion seems to afd men- 20 G¥€l AT OF 'Am‘? 5 1‘; h' o col- less of varlety. It i3 tal parturition. He can never tell where o fi‘?mmlfian % h.u:(.-h“ ‘i;kp;" :22 s’ a Do & He was followed by two women inter- bhand to be ready when it comes. ested In the establishment of rou S diis pocket igpalways full of cards so .0 ¥, . 7 = 3-31“"‘ that wherever he is when he has a hap- Py thought he can book it. It is & com- nion thing to see Mr. Mills tumble oft his wheel n the middle of a busy thorough- fare, or Tide up against a fence by the readside, take out a card and make a note of something that has come into his head as he pedals along. These notes in time find their way to a certain drawer of his desk. Mr. Mills * has & sort of progressive lectu inig system all his own. When he decides on & topic or a line of thought, down it goes on a slip and into the low right-hand drawer. By and by some of these begin to grow. Just a hint of something more, a reference, & quotation or an incident that serves to fllustrate a point, each, perhaps, jotted écwn cn a separate scrap of paper. Whe they reach this stage, they go into t! upper ht-hand drawer, though man never get past the first. Then when one is selected and put into some kind of shape and worked upon and thought upon during a period of stridir up and down the study floor, it is ad- vanced to the lower left-hand drav This drawer is kept 1 onably full, for often when Mr. Mills is working at top speed on one lecture he is brought up with a jerk by a thought presenting itself that belongs to another subject, and he ‘ goes into drawer, number two, matches up the thoughts and works on the other one awhile, His mind isn't a hice, orderly one that grinds away like a hand organ with a single tune. ‘When the sermon is complete it is pro- moted to the top drawer to await an oc- casion that may or may not come. Per- haps just as it is finished a subject of current interest presents itself, is worked out at once and crowds the other aside s0 that it never seems to be the right thing at the right time. At noon there {8 a wedding at the church, and this means an hour and a Lalf or two out of the middle of the day. Other days it 18 & funeral and that takes all afternoon. But this is where a pastor gets right into the lives of his people, and with all the work he has in connectlion women’s boardin home, which is the with threo congregations, Mr. Mills 15 DUt step tn the way, of institutional work straight preach, preach, preach, all day, 0ath to leave the pastoral dutles to his (o pe undertaken by the Unity Club of r only that instead of sermons his preach. 2ssistant. San Franelsco. ings are called lectures. Oakland, Ala- “I like to go to funerals,” he declares, There was much to talk about, for the meda and San Franolsco take turns '@nd I like to have péople come to me plans are all In embryo and the women through the day. with their perplexities. That is a part of did not know that some one else had come On week ays it i more Ifke the jirs ™Y business. I belleve in the ecternal in and was Waiting In the reception-room. of & man at the head of a big corpors, B00d; I beligve in the right; I do not fear Nor did they guess when there was a tion, with the fifteen socleties and gub. BVthing in the present or the hereafter; timid knock at the study door and a wee Socleties in three towns liké so many 8R4 When I can carry that spirit into mald slipped through the curtains and branch houses of the coricern. other lives I like to do it. Only now and Intc the arms opened toward her, lisping Benjamin Fay Mills begins the day in a then the gloom of others settles down “Mamma sent you these. way that would make a study for the UPOD me like a miasma and I have to ‘Al AERy mie, tHB oat of the, desma, artist who did that other picture calleq NEDt to shake it off.” e e owner o (ie “Love's Awakening.” He is kissed awake After tho wedding, home again; and as 8r™S, as bo ‘g“’k HHebunch of Swest by two curly-haired mites, who never On d&ys when he s at home for luncheon, P35 She sty dream of fearing this man whom they the next quarter of an hour is spent in the m?;‘;;:: ::’:::::" e :‘,’::;“‘;h" in the know rather as a rompin, layfellow garden, cutting roses or strolling along . than as a stern parent with ios. iy tho paths with the two little curly-heads wataers SEEE Rt Shat home ing big things to think about to ever stop a for company. Of a Sunday morning, 0o, "5t was prettlly done. As expected, th minute and have fun. there are always a few minutes spent in interruption served its purpose, and the Before he is ready for breakfast there the garden before church, for the place 18 flowers were divided with the visitors as 1s a telephone call from the secretary of soothing and restful and coaxes good they rose to go. ;he Unity Club, in 8an Francisco, as that thoughts. What with visits, visitors and telephone ranch of the Mills corporation is called. And now comes the secret of the stay- talks, dinner always seems to come be- There is always something to @iscuss, as ing qualities of Benjamin Fay Mills, fore its time. :lxe Unity Club is very young and grow- Every day for the first hour of the aft-. After dinner a romp with the children ng and has ambitions to make itself a ernoon he goes to bed. None of your put- 18 the first thing in order. The man that power in the intellectual and soctal lifs of ting on & dressing sack and lounging in stands befors an audiencs two hours ez Pracclicn half-hearted fashion on a couch, but later, dressed in ministerlal garb, discuss- en there is a telephone talk with the blinds drawn, undressed and to bed and INg Questions of moment, does not look sssistant pastor of the First Unitarlan to sleep. And by this M#. Mills clatms he 1'ke the man that just before was romp- Church in Oakland, which has first claim gains an extra day every day. ing, wrestling and playing horse for two R pDenjamin Tay SMills. It was this. ' Afterithe réabtour/visits. Not the reg.. Toubled arvers . Now: and’fheny (¢t & gharch that discoversd him when he was ular pastoral how-do-you-do and how-js- Stray . evenlng, the rough-and-tumble aaon amone the Tledmont hills seokiliy /ahsitamnly, Visits;; 50 many, dgsen ‘toithe/ IToLC 1S followed by ‘charades and. sthet health. It was this church, then puny afternoon and a duty done; but visits EMes. In which the older children fake growing punler, that asked him to made in answer to the cry of part, and these are the rarest evenings come and give It new life. Tt asked s0 5 pern ¥ of souls In need 4, illg family knows. earnestly that Benjamin Fay Mills came 7 For the other evenings there are Uni down out of the Pledmont hills, forgot , Firoc it Was {0 see a man in fall Who iy, entertainments, dinners 04 about his health, and went to work, with L sent foi ; & man who had made gpecches are expected, a talk befors this the resuit that his church is the most Bimself believe he wag worrying solely on soclety or the other, an hour or two at flourishing one in. Oakland. account of his wife and child, a large, un- the social settlement south of Market, In the first days he lived right in the Selfish sort of worry. But a good, sensi- Where the Unity Club hopes to become a ¢ power or good—and what not? heart of Oakland, where everybody could ble talk with the pastor made him un- ~yes, it is safe to say that Benjamin Fay find him, and did. But .as the work twist his way of viewing his own case; Miils earns his salary.