Keep quiet; and always believe this: that
there is a great deal of common sense abroad in the world, and a man is
always safe in trusting it to do him justice."
They were not pleasant and easy days for Bok, for Doctor Storrs kept up
the din for several days. Bok waited for the word to appear in court.
But this never came, and the matter soon died down and out. And,
although Bok met the clergyman several times afterward in the years that
followed, no reference was ever made by him to the incident.
But Edward Bok had learned a valuable lesson of silence under fire--an
experience that was to stand him in good stead when he was again
publicly attacked not long afterward.
This occurred in connection with a notable anniversary celebration in
honor of Henry Ward Beecher, in which the entire city of Brooklyn was to
participate. It was to mark a mile-stone in Mr. Beecher's ministry and
in his pastorate of Plymouth Church. Bok planned a worldwide tribute to
the famed clergyman: he would get the most distinguished men and women
of this and other countries to express their esteem for the Plymouth
pastor in written congratulations, and he would bind these into a volume
for presentation to Mr. Beecher on the occasion. He consulted members of
the Beecher family, and, with their acquiescence, began to assemble the
material. He was in the midst of the work when Henry Ward Beecher passed
away. Bok felt that the tributes already received were too wonderful to
be lost to the world, and, after again consulting Mrs.
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