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SPURGEON'S LOVE LETTERS
REMARKABLE DISCLOSURES BY HIS WIDOW.
London, August 26, 1898.
The most interesting sections of the second volume of the "Life of Spurgeon" are the extraordinary love letters which he addressed to his wife and the account which that lady 
After it had been settled that young Spurgeon should occupy New Park-street pulpit with a view to the permanent pastorate, Miss Thompson used to meet him occasionally at the house of their common friends, Mr. and Mrs. Olney, and she sometimes went to hear him preach. About this time she became alarmed at her backsliding spiritual state, and was moved to seek guidance from one of the pillars of the Sunday-School, Mr. Olney's second son. "He may have told the new pastor about me," she says, "I cannot say; but one day I was greatly surprised to receive from Mr. Spurgeon an illustrated copy of 'The Pilgrim's Progress,' with this inscription:—'Miss Thompson, with desires for her progress in the blessed pilgrimage, from C. H. Spurgeon. Ap. 20,1854.'" Their friendship steadily grew after this, and on June 10 the lover made his first "revelation." They were present with a large party of friends at the opening of the Crystal Palace on that day:—
"We occupied some raised seats at the end of the palace where the great clock is now fixed. As we sat there talking, laughing, and amusing ourselves as best we could, while waiting for the procession to pass by, Mr. Spurgeon handed me a book, into which he had been occasionally dipping, and pointing to some particular lines, said—"What do you think of the poet's suggestion in those verses?" The volume was Martin Tupper's "Proverbial Philosophy." The pointing finger guided my eyes to the chapter on "Marriage," of which the opening sentences ran thus:-
Seek a good wife of thy God, for she is the best gift
of His providence;
Yet ask not in bold confidence that which He hath
not promised:
Thou knowest not His goodwill: be thy prayer then
submissive thereunto,
And leave thy petition to His mercy, assured that He
will deal well with thee.
If thou art to have a wife of thy youth she is now
living on the earth;
Therefore think of her and pray for her weal.
"Do you pray for him who is to be your husband?" said a soft low voice in my ear—so soft that no one else heard the whisper.
I do not remember that the question received any vocal answer, but my fast-beating heart, which sent a tell-tale flush to my cheeks, and my downcast eyes, which feared to reveal the light which at once dawned in them, may have spoken a language which love understood. From that moment a very quiet and subdued little maiden sat by the young pastor's side, and while the brilliant procession passed round the palace I do not think she took so much note of the glittering pageant defiling before her as of the crowd of newly awakened emotions which were palpitating within her heart."
There were nearly two months of "loving looks and tender, tones and clasping hands," and the Crystal Palace remained the lovers' trysting place, where they met on one afternoon every week if his preaching engagements permitted. Then on August 2 came the "verbal confession," and Miss Thompson made the following entry in her diary against that day:—"It is impossible to write down all that occurred this morning. I can only adore in silence the mercy of my God, and praise Him for all His benefits."
The love-letters here are among the most remarkable love-letters ever published. She is "My own doubly-dear Susie," and he "My dearest;" he "your much-loved, and ardently loving, C. H. S.;" she "fondly and faithfully yours, Susie." On January 11, 1855, he acknowledges having received her confession of repentance and faith. "I fatter no one," he writes, "but allow me to say, honestly, that few cases which have come under my notice are so satisfactory as yours. Mark, I write not now as your admiring friend, but impartially as your pastor." And so in this epistle he signs himself, "Yours with pure and holy affection, as well as terrestrial love." The following letter was written from Scotland, whither the pastor had gone, partly on a holiday, and partly to fulfil many preaching engagements:—
"July 17th, 1855.
"My Precious Love—"Your dearly prized note came safely to hand, and verily it did excel all I have ever read, even from your own loving pen. Well, I am all right now. Last Sabbath I preached twice; and to sum up all in a word, the services were 'glorious.' In the morning Dr. Patterson's place was crammed, and in the evening Dr. Wardlaw's Chapel was crammed to suffocation by more than 2,500 people, while persons outside declared that quite as many went away. My reception was enthusiastic; never was greater honor given to mortal man. They were just as delighted as are the people at Park-street. To-day I have had a fine drive with my host and his daughter. Tomorrow I am to preach here. It is quite impossible for me to be left in quiet. Already letters come in begging me to go here, there, and everywhere. Unless I go to the North Pole I never can get away from my holy labor.
"Now to return to you again, I have had day-dreams of you while driving along, I thought you were very near me. It is not long, dearest, before I shall again enjoy your sweet society, if the providence of God permit. I knew I loved you very much before, but now, I feel how necessary you are to me; and you will not lose much by my absence if you find me, on my return, more attentive to your feelings, as well as equally affectionate. I can now thoroughly sympathise with your tears, because I feel in no little degree that pang of absence which my constant engagements prevented me from noticing when in London. How then must you, with so much leisure, have felt my absence from you, even though you well knew that it was unavoidable on my part. My darling, accept love of the deepest and purest kind from one who is not prone to exaggerate, but who feels that here there is not room for hyperbole. Think not that I weary myself by writing; for, dearest, it is my delight to please you, and solace an absence which must be even more dreary to you than to me since travelling and preaching lead me to forget it. My eyes ache for sleep, but they shall keep open till I have invoked the blessings from above—mercies temporal and eternal—to rest on the head of one whose name is sweet to me, and who equally loves the name of her own, her much-loved C.H.S."
He presented her at this time with a book bearing the title of "The Pulpit Library," the first published volume of his sermons. The occasion of the gift is expressed by the inscription:—"In a few days it will be out of my power to present anything to Miss Thompson. Let this be a remembrance of our happy meetings and sweet conversations.—Dec 22, 1855. C. H. Spurgeon." The wedding took place on January 8,1856, in New Park-street Chapel amid great enthusiasm. Prospective brides and bridegrooms will be deeply interested in Mr. Spurgeon's inscription in the family Bible recording the marriage; and not less in the "loving comment" he added to this inscription eleven years afterwards:—
Charles Haddon Spurgeon and Susannah Thompson were by the gracious arrangement of Divine Providence most happily married at New Park-street Chapel by Dr. Alexander Fletcher on Tuesday, January 8, 1856.
And as year rolls after year
Each to other still more dear.
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