Rev. Robert Stuart MacArthur, D.D., LL.D

              Rev. Robert Stuart MacArthur, D.D., LL.D.


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LIST OF SUBJECTS:



The Empire of the Czar—the Great Bear of the North


Elements of Success in Life


India, the Mysterious and Magnificent


True Story of the Louisiana Purchase


America's Great Place among the Nations


The New Era in Old China


Japan—The Sunrise Kingdom


Peter the Great—Third Founder and Real Father of Russia


The Panama Canal—A Drama in Four Acts.


The Slayton Lyceum Bureau, Steinway Hall, Chicago, Ill.


The Brockway Lecture Bureau, 6101 Penn Ave., Pittsburg, Pa.


The Midland Bureau, Des Moines, Iowa.


The Eaton Bureau, 43 West Street, Boston, Mass.


Wilbur L. Davidson, D. D. 1711 Lamont Street, N. W., Washington, D. C.




For the Chautauqua Season.






Rev. Robert Stuart MacArthur, D.D., LL.D.

EARLY LIFE

D
R. MAC ARTHUR'S father and mother were of ancient Highland stock, and they used in their conversation their ancestral Gaelic.  The original Lairds of the rocky shores of Loch Awe were of the Clan Mac Arthur, which in later times was merged into the Clan Campbell.  His mother was a Stuart, and some members of the Clan delight to trace the family line back to Prince Charles Edward Stuart, 
Bonnie Prince Charlie,
 whose name is conspicuously linked with many popular Scottish songs.  Dr. Mac Arthur was graduated from the University of Rochester in 1867, and was especially distinguished for oratorical power.  Among other prizes for literary excellence during his college course, he won on the day of his graduation the first prize Senior gold medal, for superior ability as a writer and orator.  His theological training was received in the Rochester Theological Seminary, from which institution he was graduated in 1870.




FIRST AND ONLY PASTORATE



After receiving and declining flattering and enthusiastic invitations to other pastorates, he decided to accept the unanimous call of the Calvary Baptist Church of New York City, which was extended to him on February 25, 1870.  Immediately upon his graduation from the Seminary he went to that church and began his official services, and from that time until the present he has labored without cessation.  The degree of D.D. was conferred upon him by the University of Rochester, in 1880; and in 1896 the degree of LL.D., by Columbia University.  For thirty-seven years Dr. Mac Arthur has filled his present position, and the success which has attended his ministry has been phenomenal.  Large offerings frequently have been made for benevolent objects, one offering for Home and Foreign Missions amounting to the sum of $71,000.  The edifice on Twenty-third street, after a few years, was sold, and the costly and magnificent structure now occupied by the Calvary church was erected on Fifty-seventh street, between Sixth and Seventh Avenues.  The edifice is one of the finest churches on this continent.  During his ministry of thirty-seven years, the church has given for benevolent and missionary purposes more than two million dollars.





LITERARY WORK



Dr. MacArthur has been busy with his pen during these years.  He was for many years the regular correspondent of the Chicago Standard, and was editorially associated with the Christian Inquirer; wrote articles for the Watchman, of Boston, and other religious , and he is a frequet contributor to magazines  publications.  He has also acquired so wide  as a popular lecturer that he is asked for  part of the country.  He has been a keen  in extended travels abroad, and has gathered  material, which has been skilfully utilized in .





PUBLIC SPIRIT AND INTEREST


 New York City he is constantly sought after to  addresses at dinners, before literary and  clubs and kindred societies.  He has taken an  part in municipal, state and national politics,  although only a naturalized citizen he is widely  for his loyal Americanism.  His church is  on Thanksgiving and other patriotic days  it is known that he is to speak on national .  Dr. MacArthur is an extensive author.   he has published a dozen volumes of sermons and , has compiled a number of hymn-books that are  used, and now has four volumes in press, and it  purpose to issue at least one volume each year for  time to come.  He was chosen to fill the place of  lamented Spurgeon in furnishing sermons to the  Herald.  Few men in the Christian pulpit of  are more busy than the Calvary pastor.





AS A PREACHER


 MacArthur preaches as if the Gospel were a  and the master force in human conduct, the cause  real victory, and the supreme element in the  of human life.  His sermons are  by gracefulness of diction, clearness of , richness of illustration, directness of appeal and  of argument.  His voice is well modulated, , deep and sympathetic.  He is always fresh and , and speaks with an unction, directness, , earnestness and eloquence which never fail to  the attention, arouse the enthusiasm and  the judgment of the hearer.  In the membership  church there are ministers, lawyers, physicians, , authors, and men and women of varied culture  wide intelligence; in the same membership are the , who are made as welcome as the rich.  Pastor  people believe in a religion which reaches and  all classes in the community.





SOME FRUITS



During his pastorate Dr. MacArthur has received  the church about 5,000 persons; two colonies have  sent out to form new churches, and its present  is considerably over 2,000.  The influence  this great church reaches out in every direction;  its pastor, Dr. R. S. Mac Arthur, is widely known  of the most eminent and popular divines in the  pulpit.





Some Recent  Commendations.



Views of a Distinguished Educator


A widely known and justly honored educator in a Western State writes:  
I have heard Dr. MacArthur in four of his historical lectures, and I have not hesitated to say that I believe he has a divine call to popularize unfamiliar history.  By prolonged study he has gained a masterful knowledge of the history of Russia, Japan, Spain, India and other countries; and by long rhetorical training and special gifts in oratory, he has acquired the ability to give the results of his study so as greatly to interest and inspire popular audiences.  His lectures show as much familiarity with history as do the lectures of Dr. John Lord; but, unlike Dr. Lord, Dr. MacArthur delivers his lectures without even a scrap of paper to give him facts or dates.  In his lower register his voice is soft, sweet and musical; and in denunciation and appeal, it rises to a trumpet blast, stirring the emotions and compelling immediate decisions.  Traces of his Highland Scotch ancestry are discovered in his tones, while his careful mastery of the best English and American writers and speakers is constantly in evidence.  In articulation, enunciation and pronunciation many public teachers gladly accept him as a model.  His lectures at Chautauquas and in Lyceum Courses are stimulative of patriotic impulse, intellectual endeavor and moral earnestness.



 Knoxville (Tenn.) Daily Journal and Tribune


One of the most entertaining and instructive lectures  the Alkahest Course was that of Dr. Robert Stuart .  * * * He traced the history of the  rulers from the founding of the government to  present time, giving short sketches of Rurik, the  founder of the empire, 862; Vladimir, the 
sunny ; Ivan III., the second founder, 1462; Ivan IV.,  
The Terrible
; Peter the Great, the third and great  of the empire, 1682.  * * * Dr. MacArthur  his audience completely, and was repeatedly , especially when he announced some of the  American doctrines which have made this country  very home of liberty.



 River (Mass.) Daily Globe


Dr. Robert Stuart MacArthur lectured in the Y. M.  A. Course on 
The Empire of the Czar.
  * * *  the moment of his appearance on the stage the  formed the impression that the speaker was a  of wide experience and capable of interesting them  topic.  He has a keen sense of humor, and he caused  laughter with his recitations of personal .  Dr. MacArthur retired amid rounds of applause.





Doylestown (Pa.) Daily Democrat


The Rev. Robert Stuart MacArthur delivered one of the most fascinating lectures that it has been the pleasure of Doylestown people to hear.  His subject was, 
The Empire of the Czar.
  * * * It was a lecture to lift one out of the commonplace, broaden his vision, and give him a glimpse of the vast expanse of world history and politics.  Dr. MacArthur spoke of the boundless ambition of this people for the acquisition of territory, and of the elasticity of their conscience, the two main national characteristics.  * * * The lecturer's description of the crown jewels of Russia was eloquent and thrilling.  The lecture was polished, thoughtful, forceful, an oratorical gem; and the deep impression it made upon his audience was evident in the rapt attention which his hearers gave him and the applause accorded him at the close.




The Ashland (O.) Press


There are other great preachers and lecturers in this Union of ours besides Gunsaulus, Dixon, Conwell—MacArthur is one of them.  Robert Stuart MacArthur—he of Scottish clan but unbounded Americanism—demonstrated the fact last Thursday night in the first lecture of the new Ashland course.  It was a grand effort.  * * * It is not every farmer who can unload a ton of hay and at the same time amuse and entertain any bystanders who may be onlookers.  Neither is it every lecturer who can unload a storehouse of facts—ponderous, significant, prophetic, historical facts—and at the same time embellish them so that they attract and entertain, not to say amuse his hearers.  MacArthur can do that, however.




Boonville (Mo.) Western Christian Union


The lecture on Russia, by Rev. Dr. MacArthur, was one of the best lectures we ever heard in the English language.  Dr. MacArthur has been pastor of the Calvary Baptist Church in New York City for many years—his first and only pastorate.  The influence of such a man is not confined within denominational limits, but becomes the commonwealth of entire Christendom.  We have profound respect for such powerful intellects.




The Ironton (O.) Daily Irontonian


It would be manifestly unfair to the other persons who have appeared here in this course to state that the best was reserved to the last, but this seemed to be the consensus of opinion of the auditors of Dr. MacArthur.  His subject, 
America's Great Place Among the Nations,
 was a learned and interesting discussion.  He presented facts and statistics showing the rapid progress of the United States until it has reached its acknowledged position at the very head of the nations.  * * * Dr. MacArthur is an American by adoption, a scholarly gentleman and a pleasing speaker.  His presence is commanding, his personality attractive, and his eloquence enthralled his audience to the close of the lecture, which was one of the best ever heard in Ironton.




Dr. MacArthur at the Ottawa (Kan.) Assembly


Perhaps the most marked feature of the session, and the most commented upon, was the lecture by Rev. R. S. MacArthur, on 
America's Great Place Among the Nations.
  Pregnant with facts, ruddy with patriotism, scintillating with wit, and moving like a cloud in a summer sky, it was a sublime utterance.  Dr. MacArthur's honors at the Ottawa Assembly are without qualification.  He was eminently helpful in many ways during a stay of several days.—Dr. W. R. Wood, in 
The Standard,
 Chicago.




Oskaloosa (Iowa) Daily Herald


Dr. MacArthur has been a student of Russia and Russian politics for twenty-five years.  He has traveled the length and breadth of Russia.  He has traveled also in Japan.  He heard the victorious 
Banzai!
  when the Japanese troops came home, triumphant, after the war with China.  He has lectured upon Russia and the Orient for the last ten years.  During that time his lectures have been the standard of lyceum opinion on the question of politics in the Far East.




Warren (O.) Daily Tribune


Dr. R. S. MacArthur gave the third entertainment of the lecture course, with is lecture on 
America's Great Place Among the Nations.
  This was a return engagement for Dr. MacArthur, he having appeared on the course last year.  The management showed good judgment in this respect, for he is one of the most eloquent speakers as well as one of the most prominent divines of the country.  He placed America in advance of all other nations in all the essentials of real influence and true greatness.  * * * The speaker accomplished many eloquent and patriotic climaxes, and was frequently applauded by his enthusiastic audience.




Oneonta (N. Y.) Daily Star


Dr. Robert Stuart MacArthur delivered his lecture, 
The Empire of the Czar—the Great Bear of the North,
 at the Normal Assembly Hall.  The lecture was entertaining, instructive, scholarly and historic.  The lecturer was brilliant, holding his audience in a sway of oratory and humor.  He, as he said in the beginning, could only touch the hilltops of Russian history.  But he did this in such a masterly manner and with such characteristic word painting that the story of Russia's past was made a vivid picture.  The country's great rulers were brought forth one by one and shown in the impartial light of the historian.  The description of the line of thrones and crowns captured by Russia during her numerous wars and now standing in the treasury building at Moscow was a masterly effort.




Cincinnati (O.) Journal and Messenger


The lecture of Dr. MacArthur on Tuesday evening, on 
India, the Mysterious and Magnificent,
 was one of the most eloquent, impressive and profitable of all the evening entertainments.  It entertained, but it did more—it gave such a view of India, geographically, ethnologically, historically, religiously, as few had ever had before.  It told of the wonderful uplift which has come to the great country under British rule, and of the encouragement to missionary endeavor there.  Dr. MacArthur will be welcomed in the future.  He is 
full of matter,
 and he has a wonderful art of pouring it out upon his audiences.  On the platform, as in the pulpit, he is a master.




The Paterson (N. J.) Guardian


Rev. Dr. R. S. MacArthur, noted Baptist clergyman of New York and known all over the country as a lecturer of great power in holding and swaying his audience, lectured on the timely subject, 
The Empire of the Czar, the Great Bear of the North.
  Before 8 o'clock all the seats were taken, and not long after standing room was at a premium, and many had to be turned away.  So many were the complimentary remarks heard last evening, and on account of the large number turned away, the Young Men's League will make an effort to have Dr. MacArthur appear again before the present series of lectures concludes.




Rochester (N. Y.) Democrat


Last evening the Rev. Dr. Robert Stuart MacArthur, of Calvary Church, New York, held an audience spellbound while he talked to them about 
The Empire of the Czar.
  Dr. MacArthur is well known in this city, and, therefore, when he was presented by the Rev. Dr. A. H. Strong, it was as one who introduces an old friend to friends.  * * * * Dr. MacArthur is one of the most brilliant as well as intensely dramatic speakers that are often heard on the lyceum platform.  He engages the attention of his listeners from the beginning and holds them throughout by the intensity of his utterances, the clearness of his word pictures, and the force and conviction of his sentiments.  The theme which he presented last evening was an interesting one, and it left an impression not easily effaced.




Worcester (Mass.) Gazette


Dr. MacArthur is one of the most acceptable platform speakers in the country.  His voice is imperial.  He is exceedingly genial, and by his sallies of Scotch wit and humor constantly keeps his auditors in the very best mood.  Dr. MacArthur will always be sure of an enthusiastic hearing in the future on these grounds.





Watertown (N. Y.) Daily Standard


Rev. Robert Stuart MacArthur, one of the few great American lecturers of the present day, delivered his famous lecture, 
The Empire of the Czar—The Great Bear of the North,
 last right.  * * * *


The lecture was the best intellectual treat that has been offered to Watertownians in years.  Dr. MacArthur combines with his complete mastery of Russian history the rare ability to make palatable a seemingly undesirable dish, punctuating his historical sketches with incidents of living human interest, and keeping ever in mind the edict that to instruct you must also entertain.  An excellent criterion of the intense interest aroused in his audience is the fact that after the lecture a number of school boys who had taken notes remained to consult the lecturer.





Somerville (Mass.) Paper


Dr. MacArthur is a man of fine personal appearance, and as he elaborated the four principal points of his address in eloquent and graphic language, and illustrated them by numerous references to men and women of ancient and modern times, he held the closest attention of his great audience.  Here and there a sally of Scotch wit relieved the tension and rendered the graceful oratory and powerful rhetoric all the more effective and fascinating.  It was probably one of the grandest intellectual treats ever enjoyed by a Somerville audience.




The Utica (N. Y.) Observer


Dr. MacArthur is a man of force upon the lecture platform, both in what he says and how he says it.  A scholar of extensive study, a traveller in foreign countries, possessed of keen observation, a man who has for years made a study of international politics, he is in a position to speak advisedly of Russia or any other country.  Couple with this an eloquence far above that of the average platform lecturer, a pleasing voice and manner, adequate facial expression and dramatic power, a fund of humor and of stories which he tells well at the proper time in illustration of the different features of the subject upon which he is speaking, and you will not wonder that his audience listened to him closely for an hour and three-quarters and kept their seats when he had closed as if to catch the echo of his last words.  His peroration was very eloquently spoken.  Dr. MacArthur was frequently interrupted by applause and laughter, while at other times he held his hearers spellbound by his vivid pictures of Russian cruelties.




Owosso (Mich.) Press-American


The lecture given in the Star Lecture Course by Rev. Dr. Robert Stuart MacArthur was in every respt one of the most masterly lectures ever given in this city in any course.  Dr. MacArthur is a scholar of ripe experience and extensive research.  He is an easy speaker and possesses a voice that carries distinctly to the remotest portion of the auditorium.  The lecture commanded the closest attention of the large audience.  The management of the Star Course is to be commended for placing Dr. MacArthur on its list.




The Westfield (N. J.) Leader


A large, intelligent and enthusiastic audience greeted the Rev. Dr. Robert Stuart MacArthur when he came before it to deliver his lecture on 
The Empire of the Czar—The Great Bear of the North,
 and from the beginning to the end every one was straining ears and eyes to catch every word and note every gesture of the great orator and preacher.


The doctor was evidently at his best, and his portrayal of the conditions in Russia, his graphic description of the country and his delineation of character, as well as his interesting resume of the country's history from its foundation, were wonderfully expressive.




APPRECIATIVE WORDS FROM THE LECTURE COMMITTEE AT WESTFIELD, N. J.



Dr. MacArthur is undoubtedly the foremost historical lecturer of the present day.  His gift in painting historic pictures is rare.  His lecture on Russia is especially interesting and instructive, and is enlivened with humor and anecdote from his personal experiences among the Russians




The Sterling (Ill.) Gazette


Nothing affords so much pleasure as a brilliant address.  Much more than a concert, for that is simply music.  In a fine address you have the music of the voice, the play of the emotions, the poetry of motion, the beauty of language, the grandeur of thought and the richness of experience.  Dr. Robert Stuart MacArthur has all the qualifications of a finished orator.  A noble presence, winning manner, impressive action, language vigorous and elegant, and a voice that runs the whole gamut of the emotions, Dr. MacArthur is equally eloquent and impressive on the popular platform as in the pulpit.  There is no more earnest or dramatic speaker.  His lecture at Dixon on 
The Empire of the Czar
 was a vivid and comprehensive discussion of the struggle that may reconstruct the map of Asia and affect the course of civilization.




Another Educator's Opinion


Week before last Dr. MacArthur lectured in Amsterdam, N. Y., and Mr. Charles S. Davis, Supervisor of Schools in that city, writes as follows relative to the lecture:  
In the height of their glory it was my privilege to hear several of America's orators, Sumner, Beecher, Evarts, Conkling, Gough, and, among others, Wendell Phillips, in his matchless 'Toussaint l'Ouverture,' but I place Dr. MacArthur and his incomparable 'Empire of the Czar' above them all.  For masterly imagery, for terse and vigorous diction, for richness of coloring, as well as for the irresistible impetuosity with which he transports you from age to age in the fascinating story of the Czar's domain, Dr. MacArthur in this lecture stands unsurpassed.




The Newton Kansan-Republican


Dr. R. S. MacArthur delighted a large audience by his fine discussion of the Russian people and history.  He is a scholarly man and lives and moves in the highest circles of literary, club and church life.  That he is a polished gentleman is apparent in every detail of his appearance and demeanor.  His strong and vigorous countenance, with its Highland Scotch characteristics, was in itself an inspiration to the audience.  He also has Celtic wit, vigor and enthusiasm.  * * * The lecture will be remembered as one of the best which the lecture course has ever afforded.  The patrons of the course would rejoice over another opportunity to hear this talented and polished speaker.




Watertown (N. Y.) Daily Times


Rev. Dr. Robert Stuart MacArthur, one of the foremost present day American preachers and pastor of the Calvary Baptist Church, New York, addressed an audience last night that filled the First Baptist Church.  He spoke on the timely subject, 
The Empire of the Czar—the Great Bear of the North.
  The lecture was interesting throughout, and the speaker entertained and instructed his audience in a manner that was remarkable.  Dr. MacArthur is a scholar and an orator.  His familiarity with universal history and world politics is seldom equalled in one individual, and he possesses the characteristics which enable him to impart this knowledge to his audience in a most impressive and at the same time entertaining manner.




New York Times


Dr. MacArthur is an attractive speaker, his voice being ringing and pleasant, his articulation distinct, his action graceful and self-possessed, his style graphic, and his imagination vivid.




Mansfield (O.) Shield


Dr. Robert Stuart MacArthur lectured on 
The Empire of the Czar.
  Though the night was a terrible one, the audience was good and every one had words of highest praise for the eloquent lecturer and his magnificent presentation of the 
Great Bear of the North.




The Mt. Gretna (Pa.) Chautauqua


The lecture, on 
India, the Mysterious and Magnificent,
 by Dr. MacArthur, was a magnificent exhibition of enthusiasm, patriotism and scholarly eloquence.  The large audience in the auditorium hung on his words with breathless interest, and frequently applauded him to the echo.