After the inauguration of President Grant, Mr. Turner received the appointment of Consul General to Liberia, the government of which received him with distinguished honors. At his reception, Mr. Turner said: "In the true spirit of progress, you have planted upon these shores the germ of a republic that is destined not only to develop a civilization worthy of the respect and admiration of unborn generations, but by means of the Christian religion to debarbarize and benefit for almost immediate usefulness thousands of human beings whose intellects are to-day debased by the destructive potency of heathenish superstition."
HENRY M. TURNER, D. D., LL. D.
Of our many gifted, enthusiastic, and eloquent men, few have been more favored by nature than Henry M. Turner. A native of South Carolina, he seems to have the genius and fire of the Calhouns and McDuffies, without possessing a drop of their blood. Mr. Turner is a good-sized, fine-looking, brown-skinned man, of forty years of age, with a splendid voice, fluent in speech, pleasing in gestures, and powerful in his delivery. It is said that at the tender age of twelve, he had a dream in which he saw multitudes of men coming to him to be taught.[1] That dream made an impression that followed him to the present time, and no doubt had much influence in shaping his course of life. He was licensed to preach before he had reached his
- ↑ Tanner's "Apology," p. 415.
