He was a man among men. He revealed then the same friendly earnestness and sincerity that gave him during his whole life such wonderful grip on men and boys. In his class-work he was always bright, and mastered his subjects easily, though excellence in scholarship was never his aim, for to him it was only a means to the high end of preaching the everlasting Gospel of Christ. His remarkable memory enabled him to assimilate in the least possible time the substance of whatever he heard or read, and it was systematically stored in his mind, ready for instant use. He was even then a master in facility and beauty of diction, which adorned and made most captivating the message of the Gospel he so greatly loved. He was also a great lover of music, and possessed a voice of wonderful sweetness, and he sang the leading part in the chapel choir of Lane during those years.

It was natural that in our confidential talks in those days our future plans would be discussed. Some of us were drawn to the foreign field, and others to Home Mission work, and J. Wilbur Chapman remarked to me once that if there was any pulpit he would desire to occupy, more than any other, it would be in the First Church of Indianapolis, giving as his reason its unequalled position to preach Christ's message to the men of his home state. Little did we then know how soon he would be welcomed into the foremost pulpits of the world! It was natural that, during his seminary days, his Sundays should be occupied in preaching, and he gave his services with great acceptance, and during most of that time exclusively, in the churches in Liberty, Indiana, and College Corner, Ohio, and it was their call to be their pastor which he accepted in preference to all others at the conclusion of his Seminary course.

During all these later years, in all our associations together, I have been more and more impressed by two outstanding facts revealed in Doctor Chapman's character and work. First of all, he was fully surrendered, "body, soul and spirit," to the indwelling and power of the Spirit of God. And second, he had one great purpose in life, like the "this one thing I do" of the great Apostle, the "mark of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus"-it was to "preach the Gospel to every creature." Like Zinzendorff of old, Doctor Chapman could also say, "I have but one passion, IT IS HE!”

Dr. A. N. Thompson, also of the same class, says of him:

Doctor Chapman's seminary course did not seem to me to be markedly different from the ordinary. At its beginning he was the

youngest man in the Seminary, and I think held that position until graduation.

His preaching, as a student, was very evangelistic-far more so than that of his fellow students. I do not recall that in any other particular than this his seminary course presaged his future course of usefulness as an evangelist and evangelistic administrator.

There was little opportunity in the Seminary for the manifestation of the organizing and executive ability which he later developed, and I do not think that either Faculty or fellow student at that time realized his superiority in these particulars.

In a general way he seemed to me to be almost brilliant; but not at that time an outstanding genius. He was not a close student: but his brilliancy seemed to me to show itself in his ability to acquire knowledge, to acquire it readily, to acquire it with much less than the usual amount of study, and to use it effectively both in conversation and discourse.

His student sermons did not impress me as being more thoughtful than those of other students; but they seemed less bookish both in arrangement and delivery, and they were more simple, direct, personal.

He did more preaching in the vacant churches within reach than did other students and he was very popular with the congregations to which he ministered.

During these years he developed a marked talent for music. His voice was of peculiar timbre, round, full, sonorous, abundantly strong, and yet of a smoothness and mellowness that softened and melted the most unresponsive. The undefinable, almost weird power of these appealing tones, made hallowed and more pungent by intense love and hunger for souls, constituted an element in his subsequent preaching that had so much to do with its winsome power.

Dr. Arthur J. Brown, known and loved throughout the Presbyterian Church as the efficient Secretary of the Board of Foreign Missions, says of him:

We were fellow students in Lane Theological Seminary in Cincinnati. He was a year ahead of me, and you will understand how

warmly my heart responded when, shortly after my arrival as a new student, he sought me out and gave me cordial welcome. The personal friendship which was then begun became closer during the remainder of his seminary course, and all through his ministry we continued these delightful and intimate relations as opportunity permitted. He was characterized in the Seminary by a sunniness of disposition, a charm of manner, and a spirituality of life that deeply impressed us all. His passionate desire to preach the Gospel of his Lord and Saviour could not wait for his graduation, and he regularly preached during his student course, and always to the marked acceptance of his hearers. I counted Doctor Chapman one of the most devoted servants of Christ that I have ever known; a man who walked with God, who proclaimed the Gospel with extraordinary power, and who not only preached, but lived in such a way that all who knew him took knowledge of him that he had been with Jesus.

On April thirteenth, 1881, the Presbytery of Whitewater met at Shelbyville, and J. W. Chapman "having given satisfaction as to his accomplishments in literature, as to his experimental acquaintance with religion, and as to his proficiency in divinity and other studies," the said Presbytery licensed him "to preach the Gospel of Christ, as a probationer for the holy ministry, within the bounds of this Presbytery, or wherever else he should be orderly called."

On August eighth of the same year, 1881, he received from the Probate Court, Butler County, Ohio, a "Minister's License," by which he was "authorized and empowered to solemnize marriages" within the state "according to the Statute in such cases made and provided."

CHAPTER IV

THE WHITEWATER AND THE HUDSON

THE graduating exercises at Lane came to a close on Thursday, May fourth, and the fourteen men constituting the class of '82 received the salutation given to those inducted into the sacred knighthood of the gospel ministry. Dr. D. E. Evans, a member of the class, writes:

It was one of those balmy days of spring for which southern Ohio is noted, and the beautiful suburb of Walnut Hills was an ideal place for the Commencement. The routine classwork of the three previous years, and the examinations of the three previous days were but a memory. The reception on Tuesday evening, in the Chapel, gave us once more the glad hand of encouragement from our professors and friends of the Seminary, the cordiality of which had ever been among the most helpful influences during the years of preparation.

Upon the special invitation of the Session of the First Presbyterian Church of Walnut Hills, of which Rev. George Fullerton, D. D., was then Pastor, the Commencement Exercises were held in the spacious auditorium of their beautiful new building, being the first public meeting held there. Besides our professors there were seated on the platform some notable friends of the Seminary, and the Board of Trustees, among them the Reverend George M. Maxwell, D. D., the President of that Board, and the Honourable Henry Preserved Smith, of Dayton, Ohio, and the Honourable Daniel P. Eells, of Cleveland.

The graduating class consisted of fourteen men, each delivering an oration. The theme of Doctor Chapman's oration-"The Immortality of Influence"-thirty-seven years ago, was significant of the eminent usefulness of his devoted life; for our influence, whether great or small, will be as immortal as the souls we meet. On the flyleaf of my little memorandum book of that period I find written with Chapman's pen the following:

"How long sometimes a day appears,

And weeks, how long are they;

Months move as if the years would never pass away.

But months and weeks are passing by,

And soon must all be gone;

For day by day, as moments fly,

Eternity comes on."

The myriad-fold fruits of his many-sided life will evermore increase throughout eternity. He "rests from his labours, but his works go right on."

On the following Thursday, May eleventh, there appeared in the Cincinnati Enquirer the following announcement:

MARRIED

CHAPMAN-STEDDOM. At the residence of the bride's father, Mr. Joseph Steddom, near Russell's Station at 2 o'clock P. M., May 10th, by the Rev. D. F. Harris, Rev. J. Wilbur Chapman of Liberty, Indiana, to Miss Irene E. Steddom.

"While in Lane Seminary"-so Mr. White has written"Wilbur renewed the acquaintance of Miss Irene E. Steddom, my cousin, whom he had met when a little boy at Richmond and whom he married just a few days after he finished his work at Lane Seminary. She had resided in Cincinnati practically all of her life, her parents were members of the Quaker Church of Cincinnati, her mother, who is still living was, and is, a pianist of unusual ability. Miss Steddom was a girl of delightful personality, an accomplished vocalist, and possessed a soprano voice of unusual sweetness."

Before his graduation Wilbur had received concurrent calls from Liberty, Indiana, and College Corner, Ohio.

The churches in these two places were at that time under the care of one pastor. On Saturday, March eleventh, 1882, he was formally called to the pastorate of the church