“At half-past ten he goes directly to the Upper Temple, where as a rule he conducts all the exercises with the exception of the ‘notices’ and a prayer offered by the associate pastor, or in his absence at an overflow service in the Lower Temple, by the dean of the College or chaplain of the Hospital.  The pastor meets the candidates for baptism in his study before service, for conference and prayer.  In administering the ordinance, he is assisted by the associate pastor, who leads the candidates into the baptistry.

“The pastor reads the hymns.  It is his custom to preach without any notes whatever; rarely, a scrap of paper may lie on the desk containing memoranda or suggestions of leading thoughts, but frequently even when this is the case the notes are ignored.

“A prominent—­possibly the prevailing—­idea in the preparation of his sermons is the need of individuals in his congregation.  He aims to say those things which will be the most helpful and inspiring to the unconverted seeking Christ, or to the Christian desiring to lead a nobler spiritual life.  It may be said of nearly all his illustrations that they present such a variety of spiritual teaching that different persons will catch from them different suggestions adapted to needs of each.

“The morning service closes promptly at twelve o’clock; then follows an informal reception for thirty minutes or it may be an hour, for hundreds, sometimes a thousand and more, many of them visitors from other cities and states, press forward to shake hands with him.  This, Dr. Conwell considers an important part of his church work, giving him an opportunity to meet many of the church members and extend personal greetings to those whom he would have no possible opportunity to visit in their homes.

“He dines at one o’clock.  At two, he is in The Temple; again he receives more callers, and if possible makes some preparation for services of the afternoon, in connection with the Sunday-school work.  At two-thirty, he is present at the opening of the Junior department of the Sunday-school in the Lower Temple, where he takes great interest in the singing, which is a special feature of that department.  At three o’clock, he appears promptly on the platform in the auditorium where the Adult department of the Sunday-school meets, gives a short exposition of the lesson for the day, and answers from the Question Box.  These cover a great variety of subjects, from the absurdity of some crack-brained crank to the pathetic appeal of some needy soul.  Some of these questions may be sent in by mail during the week, but the greater part of them are handed to the pastor by the ushers.  To secure an answer the question must be upon some subject connected with religious life or experience, some theme of Christian ethics in everyday life.

“When the questions are answered, the pastor returns to the Lower Temple, going to the Junior, Intermediate, or Kindergarten department to assist in the closing exercises.  At the close of the Sunday-school session, teachers and scholars surround him, seeking information or advice concerning the school work, their Christian experience or perhaps to tell him their desire to unite with the church.[A]