At the recent anniversary of Spurgeon's Pastors' College, Mr. Spurgeon, in his own shrewd, incisive way enumerated some of the causes why some ministers run down. This was true of some, because their natural force is abated through age. But if their running days were over, they could still walk and not faint. Others have a cessation of early success, since on first going into a field a reaper might get more sheaves than he would later, when there were not so many left. Another cause of running down, he said, was mental wear and tear. The duties of the ministry were peculiarly exacting and exhausting. Some get down because of the want of association, living in a place where they found no one to talk to, and from whom to get intellectual stimulation and cheer. But others, said Mr. Spurgeon, run down because they lose their first love. God walked contrary to them because they walked contrary to him. It is no wonder if such preachers felt less force; for if the roots were not strong, how could the branches be healthy? If there had been self-indulgence, selfishness would bring a plague, and ruin their joy. Such running down as this sometimes ended in a catastrophe—one great sin, like a volcanic jet, being the development of a life of wrong-doing. Let them avoid the curse, and cry to God to cleanse the way.