sVn 0>K ^l^^^\?e^^^ Cornell University Library The original of tiiis bool< is in tine Cornell University Library. There are no known copyright restrictions in the United States on the use of the text. http://www.archive.org/details/cu31924050618242 CORNELL UNIVERSITY LIBRARY 3 1924 050 618 242 REV. STKPHEN ,,. TYNG, U.l). vETAS 42. {From an engraving by A. IT. Putchi< RECORD OF THE LIFE AND WORK OF THE Rey. STEPHEN HIGGINSON TYNG, D.D. AND HISTOEY OF ST. GEORGE'S CHURCH, NEW YORK TO THE CLOSE OF HIS EECTOESHIP COMPILED BY HIS BON CHARLES ROCKLAND TYNG NEW YORK E. P. BUTTON & COMPANY 31 West 23d Street 1890 CoprniGHT, 1890, by B. P. DUTTON & CO. B'f Press of J, J. Little tt Go, ABtor Place, New York,. TO 'STljJ ':31ofhcr, WHOSE PLEASUKE IN THE WORK HAS LIGHTENED ITS LABOR, AND WHO WAS FOR MORE THAN Jfiflg §£ars THE PARTNER AND THE STAY OF THE LIFE WHICH IT COM- MEMORA TES, THIS RECORD IS MOST AFFECTIONA TEL V MmcnhtlOi. TABLE OF CONTENTS, PAGE Preface 9 PART I. Autobiography, 1800 to 1845, and Additional Notes. chapter i. Family History 15 chapter II. Early Life, 1800-1813 25 CHAPTER III. College Life, 1813-1817. Commercial Life, 1817-1819. Conversion. Call to the Ministry 30 CHAPTER IV. Theological Student Life, 1819-1821. Bristol. Bishop Griswold. Revival. Quincy. Return to Bristol. Ordination. Visit to New York. Dr. Milnor. Notes. — Incident of Daniel Waldron. Letters to Father. Letter of Dr. Milnor 41 CHAPTER V. Ministry in Georgetown, D. C, 181 1-1823. Arrival in Georgetown. Call to St. John's Church. Marriage. School. Extemporaneous Preaching. Call to Prince George's Co., Md. Notes. — Missionary Society. Alexandria Seminary. Correspond- ence with Bishop Kemp 56 CHAPTER VL Ministry in Prince George's Co., Md., 1823-1829. Description of Parish. Ministry. Call to Philadelphia. 7^/^j.— Letters to his father. Character of preachmg. Letter to his Aunt. Theological Views. Desire for Removal. Remmis- cence of Bishop Clark ■ • • ■ 7i 5 6 Table of Contents. CHAPTER VII. Ministry in St. Paul's Church, Philadelphia, 182^1834- Dissensions in Church. Father's Death. Enlargement of Church. Bishop White. Revival. Incidents. Wife's Sickness and Death. Thomas Mitchell. Second Marriage. Notes. — Views regarding Controversies. Sermon at reopening of Church. Letter recalling Sermon. American Sunday-school Un- ion. Domestic and Foreign Missionary Society. Lectures on '■ The Law and the Gospel," and "Guide to Confirmation," pub- lished 90 CHAPTER VIII. Ministry in the Church of the Epiphany, Philadelphia. 1834-1845. Establishment of Church. Elected Rector. Visit to South. Preach- ing at Charleston. Erection of Church. Success of Ministry. Visit to England. Election of Bishop. Notes. — Biography of Dr. Bedell. Episcopal Education Society. Sermon for Manual Labor School. Editor" Episcopal Recorder. " Fifth Pastoral Report of Church of Epiphany. Reminiscences of Bishop Clark. Incidents of Ministry. " Israel of God " published Enlargement of Church. Letters from England. Carey Ordina- tion. Defence of Bishop Onderdonk. Case of Bishop of Pennsyl- vania. Sermon, "A Plea for Union." Archbishop Kendrick's Letter. Election of Bishop Potter io8 PART II. MINISTRY, 1845-1885. HISTORY OF ST. GEORGE'S CHURCH, NEW YORK. CHAPTER I. St. George's Church, 1748-1845. Trinity Church. St. George's Chapel. Separation from Trinity, Election of Vestry. Rev. Mr. Brady elected Assistant Mmister. Rev. John Kewley elected Rector. Church destroyed by Fire. Re- built by Trinity. Resignation of Mr. Brady. Change in Vestry. Resignation of Dr. Kewley. Election of Dr. Milnor. Biographi- cal Sketch. Death of Dr. Milnor. Character of his Mmistry. Dr. Tyng's Address at his Funeral. Decline of Church. Plan ot Free Chapel. Memorial to Trinity Church 149 Table of Contents. 7 CHAPTER II. Ministry, 1845-1847 Call to St. George's Church. Letter of Acceptance. Beginning of Ministry. First Sermon as Rector. Removal to New York. Per- sonal Narrative. Diocesan Convention. Speech on Restoration of Bishop Onderdonk. Location of new Church. Laying of Cor- ner-stone. Dudley A. Tyng elected Assistant. Services of Church 173 CHAPTER III. Ministry, 1847-1853. Visit to Europe. Extracts from Journal. Opposition to new Church. Death of Dr. Stearns. Statement to Congregation. Election of Vestry. Charges oi B. L. WooUey. Investigation of Same. Re- port of Commission. Letter of Rev. Mr. Lewis. " Christ is All " published. Opening of new Church. Negotiation with Trinity. Consecration of Church. System of Ministry. Recollections of Dr. Dyer. Rectory Built. Resolution of Vestry , 204 CHAPTER IV. Ministry, 1853-1857. Visit to Europe. Extracts from Journal. Slavery. "Christian Titles." "Fellowship with Christ," " Rich Kinsman,"' published. Erection of Spires. Tenth Anniversary Sermon. Speech at Dio- cesan Convention. " The Rector Rectified." Completion of Church. Memorial Tablets 234 CHAPTER V. Visit to Palestine. Ministry, 1857-1861. Extracts from Journal. Mission Chapel proposed. Death of Peter G. Arcularius. Death of Dudley A. Tyng. " Child of Prayer." Notice in " Boston Courier." Letter of Dr. Cock. Letter of New York Clergy. Dr. Tyng's Reply. Resignation of Dr. Dyer. His Recollections of St. George's and of Dr. Tyng. " Captive Orphan " published. Contributions to " The Independent." " Forty Years in Sunday-schools," " The Lost One Found," " Erratic and Un- ruly Presbyter." " American Church Missionary Society ' organ- ized First Annual Report. Death of Rev. Dr. Anthon. Dr. Tyng's Sermon. Editor of " Protestant Churchm£.n 257 CHAPTER VI. Union Societies. Pijblic Addresses, i 845-1860. Connection of Dr. Milnor and St. George's Church. Interest of Dr. Tvne Ability as Speaker. Bishop Clark. Rev. Dr. Cuyler. Spelch for Bible Society. Jews' Society. Temperance. Amen- 8 Table of Contents. can Sunday-school Union. Missionary Convention. Rev. Dr Duff. Young Men's Christian Association. Slavery Question. Controversy in Tract Society. "Clerical Contempt for Lent." Reply to Bishop Alonzo Potter. Defence of American Sunday- school Union 292 CHAPTER VII. Ministry, 1861-1865. Civil War. Political Sermons. Sermon, " Let the Dead Bury their Dead." Ser- mon, " Duty of the Crisis." National Freedman's Relief Associa- tion. Negro Question. Sermon, " Christian Loyalty." Sermon, "Open Ye the Gates." Re-electicn of President Lincoln. Sermon, "Shall the Sword Devour Forever?" Close of War. Sermon, " Victory and Re-union" ' Z'^'l CHAPTER VIIL Lectures on Preaching, 1861-1865. Several Series of Lectures. "Office and Work of Ministry." Qualifi- cations for Ministry. Incidents of Ministry. System of Personal Ministry. Sermon, " The Spirit and the Letter." 372 CHAPTER IX. Ministry, 1865-1870. Twentieth Parochial Report. Home at Irvington. Changes in Vestry. Death of Joseph Lawrence. Destruction of Church. Measures for Restoration. Cost of Re-building. Memorials, Scripture Testimonies. Rearrangement of pews. Names of Ves- try. Reopening of Church. Consecration. Dr. Tyng's Sermon. "The Spencers" and "The Feast Enjoyed" published. Settle- ment with Trinity Church. Sale of Beekman Street Church 427 CHAPTER X. Relation to Controversies, 1865-1870. Reply to Bishop Potter. Ritualism. Revision of Prayer-book. Triai of Rev. Stephen H. Tyng, Jr. Dr. Tyng's Review, Protest and Appeal. Action of Vestry, regarding Benevolent Contributions. Sermon, " The True Christ and the False Christs." 446 CHAPTER XL Ministry, 1870-1875. Seventieth Birthday. Twenty-fifth Anniversary of Rectorship. Sermon. Visit to England. Speeches. Forty-sixth Anniversary American Tract Society. Semi-Centennial of Alexandria Seminary. Forty- ninth Anniversary American Tract Society. Semi-Centennial of American Sunday-school Union. American Bible Society. Sec- ond Church Congress. Visits to Prince George's Co., Quincy, Newburyport. Sermon, " Our Church a Bible Church." 494 Table of Contents. g XTHAPTER XII. Ministry, 1875-1878. Changes in Congregation. Retirement of Samuel Hopkins. Plan for new Church. Memorandum of Vestry. Call of Mr. Marston as Associate Rector. Letter declining. Thirtieth Anniversary Ser- mon. Statistics of Ministry. Death of William Whitlock, Adolphus Lane, William T. Blodgett. Fifty-first Anniversary of American Tract Society. Changes in Church. Dr. Tyng's Position. Ser- mon, " The Old Paths." Call of Dr. Williams as Associate Rector. Illness of Dr. Tyng. Action of Vestry on Retirement. Resigna- tion of Rectorship. Resolutions of Vestry. Last Sermon as Rec- tor 539 CHAPTER Xin. Sunday-school and Mission Work of St. George's Church. Sunday-schools. Growth. Dr. Tyng's Address, " Object of Sunday- school Teaching." His Efforts in Instruction and Entertainment. Missionary Offerings. Plan. Various Objects. Amounts. Cify Missions. History. Organization. Mission Chapels. Min- isters. Death of Rev. Dr. Wolcott. Rev. Mr. Bolton. Rev. Dr. Schramm. Rev. Mr. Stephenson. Annual Reports. Total Expenses 574 CHAPTER XIV. Retirement, i 875-1 878. Letters on Retirement. Bishop Bedell. Autobiography. Removal from Rectory. Sermons at Church of Holy Trinity. Address at " Pre- millennial" Conference. Letter to Dean Carus. Removal to Irvington. Last Years. Mental Decay. Death. Funeral. Bishop Lee's Address. Tributes to his Memory. Memorial Ser- mon by Bishop Bedell. " In Memoriam." 618 APPENDIX. I. Dr. Milnor's Last Sermon in St. George's Church 653 II. Dr. Tyng's Address at Twenty-fourth Anniversary of American Sun- day-school Union, Musical Fund Hall, Philadelphia, May 15th, 1848 1660 lo Table of Contents. III. Dr. Tyng's Address at Second Anniversary of Young Men's Christian Association, Church of the Puritans, New York, May 15th, 1854.. 665 IV. Dr. Tyng's Address at Anniversary of American Tract Society of Boston, Church of the Puritans, New York, May loth, i860 670 V. Subscriptions for Restoration of St. George's Chi rch 678 VI. Wardens and Vestrymen of St. George's Church 680 PR EFACE. The position wliicli Dr. Tyng occupied in tlie Church of God, was in many respects individual and peculiar. His life covered important periods in the history of the Church to whose ministry it was consecrated. In all these his strong personality, his inflexi- ble independence, his wonderful power, his earnest zeal, his un- ceasing activity, made him a prominent figure. It would tax the skill of the ablest pen to depict his remarkable qualities, and require a history of his times to portray him in the many connec- tions in which they were so constantly displayed. It wiU therefore seem a bold undertaking for one inexperienced in literary labor, and whose life has been spent in other pursuits, to have attempted to record the history of such a life. A few words are evidently, therefore, required in explanation of the purpose and plan of this work, as well as of the circumstances which have caused its com- pletion by the present writer, at the present time. From the hour of his death, the desire that a memorial of my father's life and work should be prepared led to much considera- tion, and many plans for its accomplishment. All proved fruitless, however, and year after year passed without any prospect of an attainment of the wish. It seemed too great an undertaking for any one to attempt. It was known that little had been preserved by Dr. Tyng which could be made available for such a work, and that the necessary material must therefore be gathered wherever " it mip'ht be found. This must be a laborious effort, while its suc- cessful result could neither be predicted nor assured. 9 lo Preface. Dr. Tyng liad long outlived the majority of his generation. Few survived him who could contribute any facts of interest, fewer still, who were so free from the infirmities of age, that they could make the exertion necessary to formulate and prepare what might be within their knowledge or remembrance. Every year increased the difficulties, and lessened the number of those who might aid to overcome them. It was at this time, when hours of leisure were given to the writer, that he determined to employ them, to the best of his abihty, in the collection and arrangement of such material as could be obtained. Thus much at least would be preserved, which other- wise would soon be lost. It was the intention to retain the whole, until some one, more qualified, would undertake its proper arrange- ment, but the various items grouped themselves so naturally, and in their sequence formed a narrative so connected, that but little skill seemed necessary to unite them and complete the work in its present form. The value of biography is not so much in the mere recital of facts as in its exposition of the principles on which they are based; in its expression of opinions and thoughts of importance to the lives of others; in its themes of instruction to those who may be willing to apply its teachings. In these will be found the value of this memorial of my father's life. It is a record of his work, his principles and views, as these were, declared at various times, and in various ways. Nothing has been added, nothing with- held. Neither comments nor criticism were needed to explain his meaning, nor was defense required. The compiler's work has sim- ply been to condense, and so connect, the different parts, that the reader might understand the occasions and events to which allu- sions are made. At the close of Dr. Tyng's active ministry, by their urgent re- quest, he wrote for his children a sketch of his life previous to his ministry in New York. This, his occupation in hours of recovery from an exhausting illness, a history of his youth as he viewed it in the retrospection of age, forms the basis of the first part of this Preface. 1 1 •work. Much was, however, omitted from this personal record, which appeared important, and many facts are merely mentioned which it seemed essential to relate more fully. These omissions the writer has endeavored to supply from other sources, as addenda to the record of the periods to which they refer. In a contmuation of this autobiography. Dr. Tyng intended to include the history of St. George's Church, the great work of his life, the development of his principles and practice. Failing health, however, prevented the execution of this design, when only its mere outline had been drawn, and this has been closely followed in the history which makes the second part of this record of his life. The whole is, therefore, in its arrangement, but the completion of his de- sign, and stated to the utmost extent in his own words. Thus its autobiographical character has been preserved, and authority given to all its facts. The testimony of contemporaries has been at times employed to illustrate important points, but friend and foe have alike been quoted, and words of eulogy have not been sought more diligently than those of censure. The one purpose and effort has been, to give a strictly impartial view of Dr. Tyng, as he stood in the com- munity and time in which he lived and labored, that the fidelity and consistency of his life should be exhibited in the clearest and strongest lines. Composed as this record is of many extracts, differing in charac- ter and subject, it must often seem disjointed. Such an effect could not be avoided and yet preserve the integrity of its parts. No one can more readily i)erceive its defects, or be more conscious of its imperfections, than the writer himself, and he gratefully acknowl- edges the kindness of his father's and his own fi-iends, J. Pierpont Morgan, Esq., and George Dudley Wildes, D. D., who in their ap- proval have so greatly encouraged and aided the publication of his effort. To what extent the work may interest others cannot be known. It is offered as a tribute of filial reverence and love, in the simple desire to perpetuate a father's character as an example to his " chU- 1 2 Preface. dren and children's children," and a pattern to those called to the ministry of " the Word." It win be, it is hoped, an enduring record of the testimony of one who " knew whereof he spoke. " Though some may think the subjects belong to a by-gone age, in their principles they are as liv- ing questions to-day, as when the words were uttered, and, in how- ever different application, they will remain living questions to the end of time. 0. R T. Irvington-ox-Hudson, April, 1890. PART I. AUTOBIOGRAPHY— 1800 to 1845, AND ADDITIONAL NOTES. CHAPTER I. FAMILY HISTORY. " In the lives of men who have been remarkable in the world, there is often found much of an interesting and predictive character, even in the incidents of their earliest youth. These facts, though, at the time of their occurrence, they may be but little attended to, are afterwards remembered in connection with the events of the subsequent life, and made the subject of much interesting reflec- tion. They are calculated to bestow ^increased interest upon the history in which they are contained, and to secure for succeeding circumstances the most favorable notice." So wrote Dr. Tyng, in his biography of a beloved brother in the ministry, in whose early days he found but few incidents to record. The words, then used in their general application, are peculiarly true of his own history. Seldom are the characteristics of matu- rity more clearly displayed, as merely the gifts of inheritance and the development of the traits of youth than as they are exhibited in the facts of his Ufe. The incidents of his youth, furnish the key to the principles and practice of his later life, and it was doubtless the consciousness of this fact, which led him to devote so large a part of his autobiography to the memories of his early years. Though never completed, in accordance with his intention, it happUy supplies all the facts important to show the foundations upon which his character was buUt, and fully depicts the youth, which was only matured and ripened in age. Its title, " The Eecord of a Life of Mercy," sufficiently revealed the spirit and purpose with which it was written, but these were even more fully impressed upon its every page, that it might stand, the tribute and testimony, of a heart overflowing with gratitude to God, for the boundless mercies he had enjoyed. In this simple desire, " to mag- nify the grace and power of a pardoning God," and " to make a grateful record of the goodness of the Lord," he proceeded with this sketch, as in the following pages: 15 1 6 Rev. Stephen Higginsoti Tyng, D.D. In the "grateful retrospect of the gracious Providence which has governed all the lines and facts of my personal history, my honored descent has always been to me a subject for thoughtful gratitude. My family name of Tyng was not the inherited name of my di- rect hne of paternal ancestry. My father's original name was Dudley Atkins. The name of Tyng was the lineal name of a col- lateral relation, and was adopted^by my father at his own maturity, upon receiving by inheritance, an estate of that long-established family, at Tyngsborough, in Massachusetts, which had been bequeathed to him by an aged lady, the last female heir and a remote relation, the male line of that family having become extinct. My father's grandfather^ the first of the family of Atkins in this country, came from Norfolk, in England, in 1710, and settled in the town of Newbury, in Massachusetts, on the banks of the Merrimac Eiver, now the city of Newburyport. His name was Joseph Atkins. He was from an honored family in England, distinguished in the legal profession, several members of which have their monuments in Westminster Abbey, and he himself had been an officer in the British navy. On his arrival in this country he engaged in mercan- tile pursuits, and obtained thus a moderate share of wealth. He married Mary Dudley, the second daughter of Joseph Dudley, the Governor of Massachusetts. Their only son, my grandfather, was named Dudley Atkins, and from him the combined name was transmitted to my father. His wife, my father's mother, was Sarah Kent, daughter of Eichard Kent, whose home and inheritance were on Kent's Island, in the neighborhood of Newbury. My grandfather inherited his father's business, but was not successful in its management, and, dying, left but little to his widow and children. He left a family of six children, of whom my father was the youngest but one. They aU became dependent for their sup- port on the labor and management of their faithful mother. My venerated grandmother, Sarah Atkins, survived her husband to a very old age. She died in 1810, having been a widow near fifty years. She lived to see her famUy prosperously settled in life, and to enjoy many years of grateful support from the avails of their success. Dear and venerated matron ! Madame Atkins she was called by all. Hundreds knew her; and all venerated and loved her as a pattern of holiness, kindness, and fidelity in every relation of life. My father, the Hon. Dudley Atkins Tyng, was born in Newbury- port, August 3, 1760. His father's death occurred while he was but a child. Family Histcny. I'J My father's ancestry had been, in every generation, members of the Church of England. The first church in Newbury, was buUt on the Plains above the Port, where the ancient burial-ground is still remaining. Many years after, another church was built at "The Port," where the present church stUl stands. In the yard around this church, repose the remains of six generations of my family. It has been made to me a dear and hallowed spot. The rector of this church, at the time of my father's birth, and also at my birth, forty years subsequent, was the Eight Eev. Edward Bass, the first Bishop of Massachusetts; and by him both of us were baptized. My father grew up in this church, related to its pastor as a beloved chUd, and in all his maturity a dear and faithful friend. And the love and gratitude of the bishop toward him remained till that venerable man departed to his rest. In such relations my father's habits laid the foundation of a life-long, unswerving attach- ment to the Church of his ancestors. His prosperity he shared with her. Her bishops and ministers were always the cordially welcomed friends in his house and in his heart. I look back upon a life's testimony, to this very striking trait in his character, with the most grateful pleasure. My father's classical education was completed at Dummer Academy, about six miles from Newburyport; and in Harvard College from 1777 to 1781. His early and fixed desire was to enter the ministry of his beloved Church. But grad- uating at Cambridge in the midst of the war, a voyage to England was impossible, and he had no means to wait for more advantageous results, and this cherished object of his life was most unwillingly relinquished. This early desire influenced the whole character of his subsequent years. His chosen employment in all his leisure hours was theological reading. After being graduated at Cambridge he accepted the oifer of a place as a private tutor in the family of Selden, in Stafford County, Virginia, near the Potomac. More than fifty years afterwards, I had the pleasure of visiting some of his pupils, in the house in which he passed two years in this employment. During these years passed in Virginia, he pursued the study of law, under the direction of "Judge Mercer, of Fredericksburg," and subsequently completed it, in the office of Judge Parsons, in Newburyport, when he entered the practice of his profession. Soon after his return from Virginia, he received the formal communica- tion of the Tyng estate, to which I have already referred. I make an extract from the biographical notice prepared for the Massa- chusetts Historical Society, by the Hon. John LoweU, of Boston: 1 8 Rev. Stephen Higginson Tyng, D.D. " Upon" the death of James Tyng, the last male heir of the ancient Tyng family, one of the oldest in New England, the landed estates in the ancient town of Tyngsborough, descended to Mrs. Win- slow, his only surviving sister and heir. Mrs. Winslow resolved, as all the Tyng blood in that quarter was extinct, to settle the estate on her distinguished maternal famUy, the Dudleys. Unfor- tunately for Mr. Tyng, then Mr. Atkins, she fixed upon him. They were mutually descendants from Mrs. Eebecca Tyng, the wife of Gov- ernor Joseph Dudley, and thus stood in the relation of sixth cousins." Mrs. Winslow made her intention known to my father, the nearest heir, through Judge Lowell, her brother-in-law, and the very particular friend of my father's mother. My father accepted the offer, and legally assumed the name of Tyng, with the added burden of a farm of one thousand acres, in Tyngsborough, to which he removed, as his residence, without any adequate means for maintaining or improving the vast estate. It was a very im- portant but not a prosperous crisis in his hfe. Henceforth he was to be known as Dudley Atkins Tyng. In 1792 he was married to my beloved mother, Sarah Higginson. She was the eldest daughter of the Hon. Stephen Higginson, of Salem, Massachusetts, the descendant, and only living male repre- sentative, of the eminent Francis Higginson, who settled the town of Salem, Mass., with his company of emigrants, in 1629. My grandfather Higginson, was an active pubHo man during the Amer- ican Revolution His life was occupied in commerce as a very successful merchant. He removed to Boston after the restoration of peace in 1783, and lived there to a very old age, highly esteemed and venerated among aU classes of his fellow-citizens, and died in 1827, at 87 years of age. My maternal grandmother was Susan Cleveland, of Salem. In the various lines of her family, I have found many collateral rela- tions in life, whose acquaintance and society have given me much pleasure. My father's farming proved an unsuccessful experiment, and his vast estate an expensive gift. Neither his education nor his taste was adapted to the life which was required of him. Yet his earnest determination kept him up. Vast improvements in his neighbor- hood were devised by him in opening the canal around the falls below Tyngsborough, which opened the free navigation of the river from the upper country, and prepared the site and the power for the large and flourishing city of Lowell; both of which -were the result of his mind and his exertions. Family History. 19 After four years' residence at Tyngsborough he received from President Adams, the appointment of Collector for the Port of New- bury, and removed again to his native to-wn. He occupied this office, however, but a short period, and returned again to the prac- tice of law. In 1805 he removed from Newburyport to Boston, to pursue his profession there. In 1806 he was appointed Eeporter of Decisions for the Supreme Judicial Court of Massachusetts, and held that office till 1821. His reputation in this office was highly honorable, and his volumes of Massachusetts reports, remain a legal authority of undisputed importance and worth. In 1823, having completed his sixty years of age, he determined to retire from public life, and again removed from Boston, to his na- tive town, and for his whole remaining life, occupied his old maternal home; and there, on the 1st of August, 1829, he departed to his rest. His closing years were passed in retirement, amidst the many duties of his family relations, and in the many engagements of social benevolence, which were to him the highest enjoyment of his life. In his library he found much gratification, and in correspond- ence with his absent children, he had much to interest and employ him. The cultivation of his grounds was a constant pleasure, and his gathered family of children, and grandchildren constantly en- hanced his pleasures as they passed. No family of children ever had a father more full of generous, painstaking, and self-denying love, or more constantly willing to deny himself for their advantage, and they would be most ungrateful did they not rise up and call him blessed. Among Dr. Tyng's papers was found the following transcript from the Atkyns monument in Westminster Abbey, with this note : " These inscriptions I had copied for me. The monument is in the North Transept of Westminster Abbey. Joseph Atkins, who came to Newburyport and married the daughter of Grovernor Dudley, was the son of the last named Sir Edward Atkyns and brother to Edward, last mentioned. He died in Newburyport. His widow survived him several years. They are buried in the church-yard at Newburyport. "ATKYNS MEMOEIALS. " Sir Edward Atkyns. — To the memory of Sir Edward Atkyns, one of the Barons of the Exchequer in the reign of King Charles the 20 Rev. Stephen Higginson Tyng, D.D. First and Second. He was a person of such integrity, that he resisted the many advantages and honors offered him by the chiefs of the Great EebeUion. He departed this life in 1669, aged 82 years. " Sir Eobert Atkyns, his eldest son, created Knight of the Bath at the Coronation of King Charles the Second, afterwards Lord Chief Baron of the Exchequer, under King William, and Speaker of the House of Lords, in several Parhaments, which place he filled with distinguished ability and dignity, as his learned writings abundantly prove. He died 1709, aged 88 years. " Sir Edward Atkyns, his youngest son, Lord Chief Baron of the Exchequer, which office he discharged with great honour and integ- rity. But retired upon the Revolution, from publick business, to his seat in Norfolk, where he was revered for his piety to God and Humanity to men. He employed himself in reconciling differences among his neighbors, in which he obtained so great a character, that few would refuse the most difficult cause to his decision, and the most litigious would not appeal from it. He died 1698, aged 68 years. " Sir Eobert Atkyns, eldest son of Sir Eobert above mentioned, a gentleman versed in polite literature and in the antiquities of this country, of which his history of Gloucestershire is a proof. He died 1711, aged 65 years. " In memory of his ancestors who have so nobly presided in the Courts of Justice in Westminster Hall, Edward Atkyns, Esquire, late of Ketteringham in Norfolk, second son of the last named Sir Edward, caused this monument to be erected. He died January 20, 1750, aged 79 years." So great was Dr. Tyng's admiration of his father's character, and so peculiarly were many of the father's characteristics trans- mitted to his son, that it is interesting to note some of these as they are described by Judge Lowell in the biographical sketch before quoted. " His pre-eminent quaUty," Judge Lowell says, " was his rare independence of mind; his opinions were always free and he pronounced them on all occasions with freedom. He was a man of strong feelings and strong passions, never indifferent on any sub- ject or as to any person. Where he loved, he loved with an intensity which few people feel, and of which, when they perceived it in him they could scarcely form any conception. " His temper was frank, approaching, in the view of strangers, to Family History. 21 abruptness and severity. A nearer approach, and a more intimate knowledge, convinced you that no man had a greater share of what is termed ' the milk of human kindness.' He was the most tender- hearted man whom I ever knew, and he was the most solicitous to conceal this weakness — shall we call it sublimity ? He affected to do it under the guise of an apparent roughness, but it was ill-concealed, and a very slight acquaintance showed the honest disguise. He was eminently benevolent. Distress in whatever form, it presented itself took deep hold upon his heart, and no man of his age or country ever devoted more hours or greater exertions, than he did, to relieve the suffering, to bring forward retiring merit, and to soften and alleviate the anxieties and wants of his fellow-men. " A Christian upon conviction and research, a man of high moral principles; the exemplary performance of domestic duties followed as a necessary consequence. To his church his whole life was devoted, and probably that church cannot name among its members one more devoted to its interests; and few who rendered it more efficient service. Tet he was no bigot. He was perfectly cath- olic in his religious creed." The high Christian character which Mr. Tyng sustained in the community in which he lived, and more particularly in the Church to which he was so devoted, received a singular recognition in his being urged to accept the bishopric of Massachusetts, when it was made vacant by the death of Bishop Bass. This incident is related as foUows, by Bishop Stevens of Penn- sylvania, in the sermon delivered at the consecration of the Et. Rev. Benjamin H. Paddock as the Fifth Bishop of Massachusetts: " Shortly after his (Bishop Bass') death," Bishop Stevens says : " there occurred the only instance in the American Church, where a bishopric was tendered to a layman. Among the honorable men of Massachusetts, there was one who, Uke Ambrose, in the 4th century, was early entrusted with the judicial office, like him truly godly and zealous for Christ, and to whom, as to Ambrose, was tendered a bishopric while yet engaged in secular duties. That man was Dudley Atkins Tyng. " Ambrose, despite his reluctance, was forced to ' lay down the fasces and take up the crosier,' and was consecrated Bishop of Milan. Judge Tyng, however, refused the solicitation made to him by Dr. Dehon, subsequently Bishop of South Carolina, who waited upon him in the name and at the request of the clergy of Rhode Island and Massachusetts, and asked him to ' receive orders as Deacon and Priest, that they might with as little delay as possi- 22 Rev. Stephen Higginson Tyng, D.D. ble, elect him their Bishop.' The transaction is singularly inter- esting, and is honorable alike to the clergy who proposed it, and to the layman who declined the proffered honor.'' " As early as 1783, which was only two years after he left college, most unfortunately for his future success in life," as Judge Lowell further remarks, Mr. Tyng " received an intimation that he was to receive a fortune on the death of Mrs. Winslow. No event of his whole life could have been so adverse, as the accidental circumstance of her fixing her preferences upon him. He was the announced heir of the great Tyng estates ; but no man ever passed so severe a novitiate for admission to a monkish order. She changed her wiU as the, wind blew north or south, and finally bequeathed to him a large farm, giving away the principal means, and Lnearly aU the means of supporting it. " He took possession of his farm, of very indifferent soU gener- ally; and with scientific skill he tried its capacities, tUl he found ruin the inevitable consequence. His pride — and no man had a greater share of that honorable quality, — induced him to persevere. With greater means of knowledge than any other individual could possess, we have no hesitation in saying, that to these circumstances he owed the defeat of the fairest prospects in his profession, and was reduced by them to shifts and expedients, in his futui-e life, from which his sound talents and learning, his industry and vigor of mind, would have elevated and secured him." The father's character thus portrayed after forty years' close inti- macy and friendship, was the pattern and guide followed and ven- erated by the son. No one who ever knew Dr. Tyng, could fan to recognize how these hereditary virtues were revealed throughout his life. CHAPTEE II. EAELY LIFE, 1800 to 1813. I WAS born in Newburyport on the first day of March, 1800. My father had eight children; in the line of birth I was the fourth. Newbirryport, has never ceased to be the home of some of the sweetest memories of my Ufe. The first five years of my Ufe were passed there, and all my springs of action were there imbibed. There I was baptized by Bishop Bass, in the church which is still standing. Nineteen years after, I first united in the communion of the Lord's Supper, in that church. There, in two years after that, I preached my first sermon after my ordination. This church has always been to me a place of delightful remembrance. My strong attachment to it I have never lost, "With the families composing it I was intimate from my childhood. There my own personal attach- ment to the Church of my fathers, in which my ministry has been passed, was deeply inwrought in aU the affections and experience of my soul. In 1805 my father removed to Boston, as I have already stated. We took possession of a wooden house, belonging to my grand- father Higginson, on the western side of Federal Street, making the corner of High Street. I entered upon a higher step of life whUe we lived in Federal Street, by going to a man's school. It was a famous school in Boston, kept by Master Lyon, in the yard of Dr. Channing's church in Federal Street, corner of Berry St. But everything of that day has been removed. The schools are aU forgotten, and the church stands removed to Clarendon Street, west of the Common, where, in the day of which I speak, the sea was spread from Charles Street to Brookline and Roxbury. In the autumn of 1806, I was sent from home to my first board- ing-school at Quincy, in the neighborhood of Boston, kept by the Bev. Peter Whitney, the Congregational minister in that town, in his own family. This system of education was much the habit of 23 24 Rev. Stephen Higginson Tyng, D.D. that day. Most of the country ministers in the neighborhood of Boston, received boys into their families for education; I was five years in this place. There was here a school of fifteen boys, nearly all of whom lived in the family. One family of four, and another single one, were from the West Indies, under a guardianship in Boston. The residue were from Boston. They have aU gone from my knowledge except Josiah Quincy, of Boston. Our teacher paid but little attention to us, and seemed indiffer- ent to our scholarship, and still more so to any moral training or habits. We were shut up in the school-room together, to take care of ourselves in study, and were called upon for recitations at the close of the session. But no attempt at personal religious instruc- tion, by book or voice, was known by any of the gathering of youth who were there. We were left to govern ourselves according to our own taste and habits while out of school. There was always something in Summer and Winter to furnish the elements of youth- ful enjoyment and mirth. In religious relations the Congregational meeting-house was the only place of professed worship in the town which was regularly opened, and we attended that on every Sunday. There was also an old Episcopal church there, erected before the Eevolution, in which the service was read by a layman once in the month, and of which it is strange to say, that it was afterwards the place of my opening ministry, and the scene of my first Sunday-school. This church was opened once in a month for the few families belonging to it. But I was not allowed to attend it. One illustration of the personal vigor acquired in this rustic life I well remember. In the winter of 1807-8, three of us started to go home across the harbor to Boston on foot — on the ice — in one Saturday afternoon, without permission. The weather was intensely cold, and the harbor of Boston was entirely closed. The dista!nce from Quincy to Boston across the ice was perhaps eight or nine miles. We stopped at a small island on our way, and kindled a fire to warm ourselves, and finally arrived at our homes in Boston, about nine o'clock in the evening. My personal welcome was a severe chastisement from my father, the painful distress of my dear mother, and an immediate supperless bed. The guUt of running away from school wholly obscured the remarkable enterprise of the deed. Themext morning we were sent back in a sleigh belonging to the grandfather of one of the boys, to receive another flogging at school The place and method of that punishment I have never forgotten. It was a specimen of discipline which I should not be Early Life. 25 likely to forget. But I was too much accustomed to this severity of treatment to be cast down by it. How precious is the rebound- ing cheerfulness and activity of youth ! At the time of which I speak Boston was a town of less than thirty thousand inhabitants. It was extremely rural in its aspect, from the yards and gardens connected with most of the houses. The citizens pastured their cows upon the Common, and in the eventug drove them home to their various dwelhngs. To me, Bos- ton was the abode of family connections, both on my father's and my mother's side, including a large portion of the best families in the town. It seemed to me that I knew evfery family in the place. My father's official and social position filled our house with con- stant company of the most instructive and attractive chai-acter. A large number of the men of consequence of that day, which com- prised the fijst generation after the Revolution, were visitors at my father's house, and thus passed before my youthful eye and ear, and aided unconsciously in my education. I recall the aspect of those venerable men, and the character of the conversations to which I often listened with a peculiar interest. Though I was but a boy I was the daily observer of men who had passed through all the scenes of the Revolution in mature life, and were familiar with its facts and persons. The value of this education, by mere company and association, I have felt through aU. my succeeding life. My father was a very decided Federalist. AU my family associations were earnestly devoted to the same line of thought and party. I was thus always really at school at home as well as abroad. The " infidelity " of that day, was also pronounced and decided. I well remember a conversation at my father's table which im- pressed me much. A judge of the Supreme Court, a venerable- looking old man, said in a very positive tone, in the course of a religious discussion: "I believe that Jesus Christ was a man like Dudley Tyng, but not in all respects as good a man as Dudley Tyng." The utterance struck my youthful mind with horror. My father rose from his seat with great emotion, and said: " Judge, no man can be permitted to indulge in such remarks at my table, in the midst of my family." The impression of these words and of the silence which followed, I cannot forget. Such were the influences under which my youthful years were passed at home. They made an indeUble impression on my mind and char- acter. Our church in Boston was Trinity, in Summer Street, a plain wooden building erected in 1735. The Eev. Dr. Gardiner 26 Rev. Stephen Higginson Tyng, D.D. was our rector, to whom I said my catechism in the vestry-room. From my earliest days I learned to love my Church and all its services. My father's strictness, for us, in the observance of relig- ious worship sometimes made a heavy day ; and yet the value of such an early education I have never ceased to estimate highly. My dear mother was taken from us in 1808. My recollections of this beloved woman are very distinct, and they have been Ufe- long with me. When she was taken from me I.had been at my first boarding-school more than two years. I was then eight years of age. My home was a very different place for me after she was gone. I missed her tenderness and love, and was distressed with many sad wants and feelings connected with her departure. I still make no visit to Boston without making my first point of observation my mother's grave on the Common. There have I often stood, in soUtude and silence, while crowds have passed all unconscious of the one controlling fact which led me there. My father subse- quently married my mother's younger sister, who survived him as his widow. This was in 1809. I have spoken of my education at Quincy as superficial. But when I remember that I had studied there, before I was twelve years old,, all the books which were then required in an examina- tion for college, it would seem that in the surface of books I was not deficient. Thus my appointed time in Quincy passed away. The remem- brance of it, and of the many pleasant acquaintances then made, and the attractive families among whom my father's character made me entirely at home, have made my whole remembrance of the town and the time, one of the most agreeable recollections of my Ute. In September, 1811, I left my home again to commence a new effort for education in Phillips' Academy at Andover. Here I was thrown wholly upon my own personal responsibility; I lodged by myself in a farm-house about half a mile from the academy ; stud- ied all the lessons in my own room out of school hours, and went to the academy at regular hours for recitation. There were in this academy at that time more than a hundred pupils of all ages, from childhood to manhood. They all boarded at different houses round the town, perhaps within the circle of a mile from the academy. The means for education were doubtless appropriate for the elder scholars; but the younger were necessarily neglected. I was turned back to the beginning of my studies again, and started upon Early Life. 27 a system entirely new and strange. My whole year was to an im- portant degree lost, leaving me but little farther advanced in attainment than it found me. But there were other influences there, which the gracious provi- dence of God prepared for me, most abiding and important. The Theological Seminary, which was near the academy, had been but a short time in operation. But the religious influence which was exercised in its connection was very decided, and operated strongly upon members of the academy. The various religious meetings and lectures which were held in the seminary were open to the students of the academy, and were gladly attended by many of them. There were also a large number of older youth of a decided religious character and purpose in the academy, whose influence was very effective. Some of these boarded in the same house with me, and their personal influence upon my character and habits was a permanent blessing. I felt myself to be in a new and religious atmosphere ; and I was enabled to welcome its influences upon my own life and purpose. I was not then converted, but I found the utmost welcome in my heart for religious thought and religious occupation. I often walked a distance of miles in an evening with some of the older students to attend a religious meeting in some school-house or other public room. I wfll relate one important instance which is indelibly impressed upon my memory. This occurred on a public national fast-day in 1812. Our public worship at the meeting-house had an intermission between the meetings for the public worship of an hour at noon. On that occasion I joined five other students of the academy, who were much my seniors, in a walk across the river. I was the only boy in the company. "We wandered into a neighboring wood, and came to an open space around the stump of a tree which had been cut down. Some one proposed that we should hold a prayer-meet- ing there ; and we passed that hour in united prayer. All the young men who were thus engaged were afterwards distinguished ministers of the gospel. They were Samuel Green, minister of Essex Street Congregational Church in Boston ; Daniel Temple, a missionary of Christ in Malta, in the Mediterranean; Asa Cum- mings. Congregational minister in North Yarmouth, Maine; Alva Woods, Professor in Brown University, Providence, and President of the University of Alabama; William GoodeU, for more than forty years a faithful missionary in Constantinople. Of these all have departed to be with Christ, except Dr. Woods and myself. There 28 Rev. Stephen Higginson Tyng, D.D. were no unusual circumstances which led us thus together on that day. But the fact, united with our subsequent history, was very re- markable. So decided was this religious influence upon all the students, that there was probably no boarding-house in which the students abiding there did not maintain united prayer as part of their privi- lege. Thus my Andover year went by. I cannot say that it left me with a character divinely changed or with a heart converted. But it much reversed all the mischievous influences of the previous years. It imparted to me a knowledge of the gospel, an under- standing of true religion, and a taste and love for its instruction, which I had never before received. It brought me into relations, in that period of youth, which were of imperishable value in my subsequent life. I may truly say that it settled the principles of my character and life, as they were afterwards divinely brought out. I was a mere boy, but all the associations in which I was placed were mature, and my own habits and tastes became conformed to them. It was a large growth of individual experience for a single year, without one prank of boyish crime or mischief, and with many deep and precious convictions of religious obligation, and many attractive impressions of religious truth. In September, 1812, my father removed me from Andover to Brighton, near Boston, my last and far my happiest place of school education. During this past year Dr. Benjamin Allen, a very dis- tinguished teacher, who had been a professor in Union College and in the University of Pennsylvania, and afterwards the preceptor of Dummer Academy, near Newburyport, had removed to Brighton, and had there opened a large private boarding-school- for boys. He had about thirty boys who lived in his house, and were taught by him in person. They were mostly from .Boston, from families of high standing, and were very agreeable companions. Dr. Allen was a determined and severe master to rebellious boys. But never was the hand of punishment laid on me. Such a teacher I have never seen beside. He had the most remarkable faculty of attracting youthful minds to study, and of drawing out the tastes and habits of boys. To me he made all the books of study full of life and pleasure; Latin and Greek authors became a delight to me. In the mere letter of these I was already sufficiently advanced to enter college. He reviewed all these studies with me, and also taught me the rudiments of French and Spanish. By his immense personal information he made every branch of Early Life. 29 learning equally living. I was conscious of no weariness ia study. Nine hours a day he spent with us, in three sessions. Days and evenings were given with equal alacrity to the work. There were no difficulties or drawbacks. Every day was passed and every day was anticipated with the joy of emulation and impatience. When I went to Dr. AUen's I was considered prepared for col- lege examination. But twelve years of age was too youthful for college life ; and this year was passed in refreshing my whole career and enlarging my stores on every side. Dr. Allen's personal conversation, and his relations to us individ- ually, were charming. We felt perfectly happy and at home with him. He joined in all our games and every side contended for him as a partner. He belonged to the Episcopal Church, and my sympathies were drawn to him in this relation. I went back to the regular worship of my paternal church with increasing attachment. My young heart was more and more drawn to all its ordinances and ways. In September, 1813, my last year of school was finished, and I was to be presented by Dr. Allen for admission to Harvard College, in Cambridge. I left my dear and faithful teacher with the most sincere regret, and with earnest gratitude for his unfailing care, as well as with the highest estimate of his skill and wisdom. The years of perhaps as happy a youth had been completed as any one has ever found. I look back upon it from my old age with a grate- ful sense of the goodness of my gracious Lord, which had thus pro- vided for me so abundantly, and had laid up such happy memories of youth for the enjoyment of the many years to come. CHAPTER III. COLLEGE LIFE, 1813 TO 1817; COMMEKCIAL LIFE, 1817 TO 1819. The day of my exammation for college can never be forgotten. It was the special examination, at the close of the summer vacation and the opening of the autumn term. And thus began a new series of my personal experience, and a new era in my life. I entered with a class in which there was a largo proportion of youth near my own age. There were eighty-six who entered with this class. Some of them were full-grown men. I was the young- est but one in the class. Many of them about my own age, lite Caleb Cushing and George Bancroft, have since become distin- guished men. The education of that day assigned a preponderance to classical study, for which such youth were fully adequate. My fii-st year was one of continued triumph for me. In the languages I was thoroughly instructed. But when we came to the higher and more abstruse branches of mathematical and mental study, there were difficulties in my way which made for me an inevitable falling off in my standing as a scholar. But the four years of my college life were a very joyous and happy period. They were filled with a suc- cession of facts which are very distinctly remembered, but would be a tedious relation in their details. I shall attempt nothing beyond a general description. My brother Dudley had been in college at Harvard one year before me. And now, to give us both our dwelling at home, my father had removed from Boston to Cambridge. I have always looked upon this removal as one of the most re- markable proofs of my father's interest in his children's welfare, and also as one of the most remarkable divine protections of my youth from the peculiar temptations of a college life. I had com- paratively little exposure to the evil influences around me, and was much sheltered from associations adapted to overwhelm and de- stroy me. My study was at home, generally at a desk in my 30 College Life. 31 father's office. And my vacations were always devoted to addi- tional studies, chiefly in the languages, under the tuition of some coUege instructor whom my father specially engaged for this purpose. In this way I went through several Greek and Latin authors, which were not demanded in the public course. I also studied Hebrew and Syriac with the professor of Oriental languages, and even commenced the study of Arabic. These studies in vacation were not regarded by me as a hardship. My taste and active habits led me to occupation, and this class of studies was attractive to me. How little I imagined for what my gracious Lord was pre- paring me as my appointed work for mature life ! The influence of my father's wish was always a supreme authority with me. I had a sincere and earnest desire in every thing to meet his plans and views. And yet I was merely a boy. There was in me a volatile and ungovernable spirit which he could not under- stand, and over which, as if it were intentional rebellion, he fre- quently mourned. My natural temper was marked by extreme determination and eagerness in my pursuit, which would yield to no difficulties or opposition 'where my purposes were really en- gaged. My father deemed this a headstrong and rebellious spirit, which ought to be overcome, instead of a most important gift, which required only a proper direction and encouragement in right path's and for approved ends. I have often thought how little he comprehended the degree in which he was loved and reverenced by me. An illustration of this state of mind occurred in connection with a class rebellion which took place in my third year in college. The Paculty refused to yield the customary recitations of our class on a day, which the Junior class had been accustomed to receive as a holiday ; and the whole class refused to attend recitations for three days. The refusal was attended with all the circumstances of class meetings and turbulence which were usual in such connections. Prom a regard to what I knew would be my father's desire, I determined to take no part in the rebel- lion. I attended every recitation, some of them entirely alone, and passed through the crisis without shrinking or fear. Such was tiie respect of my class for my motives and conduct that I met with no insult or reproach in the course of the trial. I have often heard since from members of my class that they truly respected and admired my decision and perseverance. It was indeed a heavy trial of affection and principle for a boy of fifteen 32 Rev. Stephen Higginson Tyng, D.D. years. But its endurance brought with it its own reward, and I lost nothing by my fidelity to my father's wish. Another very important element in my personal protection through my college life was my love for my Church; the students had the privilege of worshipping on Sunday with their own families while dwelling with them. I was never in the college chapel on Sunday during my whole college life. The Episcopal Church in Cambridge was then without a minister, and was served by lay- readers, who were candidates for orders, generally among the resi- dent graduates of the college. But its worship was always dear and attractive to me, and I was never absent. I took lessons in music that I might play the organ; and my interest in every thing connected with the welfare of the Church was unceasing. I was never without religious convictions or religious desires. The habit of private per- sonal prayer I maintained. And I cannot doubt that I was then under the divine teaching, as well as the divine care and restraint, little as I knew of the power which was leading me on, in God's own appointed way, for my life-long work. I bad been under no religious ministry which was especially adapted to awaken and control me since I left Andover. In the Junior year of my college life, Bishop Griswold visited the church in Cambridge, and I presented myself for con- firmation, according to the order of our Church. I had no author- ized pastor, and I was left to judge for myself. It was an occasion to me of truly serious thought and feeling. This holy rite so solemnly performed by him, was adapted to impress my mind with very serious thought, and so I seriously and earnestly received it. The day of visitation from the Lord in my new creation for His ser- vice had not yet come to me. During this period of coUege life I found great delight in occa- sional visits to Newburyport. I had become so accustomed to long walks, together with my brother Dudley, that a walk of thirty or forty miles, to Newburyport, was not considered by us an excessive day's journey. These were illustrations of our vigorous constitution and habits, the product of a New England education. In the year 1814 I made a very interesting and important visit to Newburyport. During this visit, the Eev. Gardiner Spring, of New York, also a native of that town, was making a visit to his father, an aged minister there. I heard him preach on two even- ings in his father's pulpit with the deepest interest and impression. They awakened very serious impressions in my mind. So well did I remember those sermons that since my dwelling in New York I mentioned to Dr. Spring, on one occasion of visiting him, the pas- College Life. 33 sages of Scripture on which he preached on the occasions of my hearing him. He said he still had the two sermons. This influence constituted another element in my secret religious training under the teaching of the Holy Spirit, which came to its issue in my sub- sequent life. Thus the college years passed by, and their many scenes of pleas- ure and of disappointment were completed. The recollection of them aU is most vivid and agreeable. In August, 1817, my four years of college lite were completed, and I was graduated as a responsible man, to be launched in my little bark upon an* untried sea. I had thus far been enriched with every privilege of social life, and endowed with every opportu- nity of education which our country could present. And now that sixty years have been completed since that eventful day, I would praise my gracious God for all his kindness and watchful care and bounty through all those youthful years of trial and tempta- tion. Little could I have imagined His gracious designs concerning me, or the life of usefulness and unmerited honor which He laid out before me. When that Commencement day was over, the place which had so long known us was to know us no more in our united relations. But while it necessarily separated us as companions, it did not break our mutual bonds of interest, sympathy and respect. Dur- ing the next forty-six years we were scattered abroad, and rarely met even as individual companions. I was not present at any Com- mencement at Harvard in that whole period. In July, 1863, we celebrated in Boston the semi-centennial anni- versary of our entrance upon a college life. We had graduated with sixty-seven members. At the period of which I speak thirty- three were still living. Of these twenty-two dined together, and letters were received from the remainder. It was a strange sight to me when ushered into the presence of so many old and gray- haired men. I was unable to recognize the greater portion at our meeting. But after a general conversation the youthful aspect of all returned. I saw them as if we had lately parted, and we welcomed each other with much enjoyment. We gave in turn our separate histories and all rejoiced in listening to the welfare and happiness of each. I was the youngest person at the table. But I was received with a respect and kindness which gratified me in a high degree. This class meeting was again renewed in 1867, a semi-centennial of our graduation. And it has been again repeated in 1873 and 34 Rev. Stephen Higginson Tyng, D.D. 1877 as the sixtieth anniversary, at which I was unable to be pres- ent from a confinement in a long and severe sickness, from which at the time of my present writing I have not entirely recovered. In the summer of 1817, when my college life approached its conclusion, the question arose, What shall succeed it ? My father had always hoped for my entrance into the ministry of the Episco- pal Church. My outward aspect of attendance upon aU religious sei"vices within my reach seemed often to furnish him encouragement that I might be led that way. I had never a question in my mind about the doctrines of the gospel; I truly loved my Church, and never failed in my attendance upon its service, or in my sincere union in the utterance of its responses in pubhc worship. I was perfectly sincere in my religious consciousness and purpose. But I did not feel myself to be worthy of any such position or responsibihty as a minister of Christ. No other employment presented any attraction to my view. But to enter upon such a ministry, or to undertake a distinct course of preparation for it, with a heart so Httle ready for it, and an outward Character so little accordant with it, seemed to me a step which it was impossible for me to take. What could be done I knew not. I saw no light before me in any quarter. And yet my gracious God was even then preparing the way for me in a scheme which I could not have imagined. In the midst of all this bewildering hesitation He graciously opened for me a new and unimagined path by His own wisdom and goodness. My uncle Perkins, whose wife was sister to my mother, and who was a large East India merchant in Boston, proposed to me to enter his counting house for a commercial life. Samuel Gr. Perkins & Co. were a very large East India firm on India Wharf in Boston. The partner was Edward A. Newton, who became the husband of my elder sister, many years after this. At this time Mr. Newton was residing in Calcutta as the agent of the firm. The proposal to me was to become practically familiar with the fuU knowledge of the business in the home employment, and then to succeed Mr. Nevrton and to spend five years or more in Calcutta in his place. It was a most honorable and attractive proposal, and far beyond any imagination I could have formed. It opened to me an immediate active occupation, and gave me the prospect of a future high position and probable wealth. This proposal was made to me in August, 1817, just before our Commencement and graduation. When my father opened it to me I was astounded. But I accepted the offer without hesitation, and with sincere thankfulness and pleasure. Thus far my mind was at rest; my way seemed to be Commercial Life. 35 opened by a far higher power than human wisdom; and I had no doubt that the future would justify my decision. On the morning after Commencement I walked into Boston to enter upon my new sphere of duty. My brother Dudley was at the same time studying medicine in Boston, and we thus made our daily morning's walk together until my father removed his family again to Boston. This removal was accomplished in a few weeks, and gave me my last home in Boston. During this whole period, from 1806, my father had been the Reporter of Decisions of the Supreme Court of Massachusetts. In this office he had been obliged to attend the court, in all its sessions, which for several years included also "the District of Maine," now a separate state. He was thus absent from home for many weeks in every year, in his attendance upon these circuits. In September, 1814, I accompanied him on one of these journeys through the western counties of the state. The journey was a very delightful one. It gave- associations, acquaintance, and information which have been useful to me to this day. The judges and chief officers of the court generally took some ladies of their families. And we thus visited Northampton, Pittsfield, Lebanon Springs, Hartford, and Litchfield, in separate rests for some days each. My father was a man of great economy and wonderful management in his expenses. He was also pecuHarly free and generous. How he so completely educated us, and maintained the comfort and elegance of the living which he gave us, I have never ceased to wonder. Indeed his whole character and method were very noble and exemplary in all the relations of life. From my observation of his example I gained the substance of all the practical directions and principles which have governed my whole Hfe. How much I owe to him, even to this day, I have no power to recount. And the hope of a practical usefulness and gratitude to him was a constraining motive in my willingness to enter upon a commercial life. And now upon this new field I entered with an active interest and pleasure. I rapidly gained general commercial knowledge and habits, and particular intelligence of the extensive correspondence of the house, and soon understood their whole field of mercantile adventure and enterprise. The years which I thus passed were years of great enjoyment and personal gain. Boston was then in every thing attractive and delightful to me. I was in the midst of a large circle of family connections, with many houses to visit, and many attractive young friends of both sexes for companions. My commercial prospects were 36 Rev. Stephen Higginson Tyng, D.D. supposed by others to be, as tliey really -were, most attractive and satisfactory. Every thing was mine that this world can give to a reasonable young man. My mind, my hopes, my plans were all in the affairs and prospects of my worldly engagements and anticipa- tions. I imagined, indeed at that time I desired, no change of character or of condition, in the plans of occupation which had been laid out before me. I was too much engaged to anticipate any thing but the prospective ripened fruits of my present employment, and with them I was perfectly satisfied. Thus I was unceasingly occupied, and more than contented with my condition, and with the fruits which it reasonably promised, when my gracious Lord visited me with His peculiar, conquering grace. The facts of this, to me wonderful, occurrence I wUl relate as they occurred. They made up an important part of my commercial life, for they made its close a necessity, and opened to me a new field of thought and motive and action which it was impossible to avoid. There was nothing in my condition, my occupation, or any weariness of the world in which I was laboring, to account for the remarkable change of my whole career thus accomplished. On the morning of the 19th of July I awoke, as my habit was, before any of the family, that I might have an hour of leisure before I went down to my day's work at the store. While lying awake in my bed an impression was made suddenly on my conscious mind, sounding in my ear as if a voice had spoken to me from the ceiling in actual audible words. It said to me, calling me by name, " What a wasteful life you are leading." The power of the utterance reached my conscience and my heart at once. I replied without a moment's hesitation," Lord ! I wUl live so no longer. " And I immediately threw myself out of bed and knelt down upon the floor and prayed. I implored divine forgiveness. I was overwhelmed with astonishment. There was a practical, secret power which worked upon me and within me, bringing me at once to a new choice, and a new deter- mination for my life to come. This impression and choice were not attended with strong emotions. I had no distressing convictions of guQt. I had no clear views of a Saviour. Indeed I had but little knowledge of Him. What would be called a true convicUon. of sin had not been reached by me. I had a simple, indelible impression that my life had been wholly wrong, and thxt without any room for defence or excuse. And I had the most distinct and earnest determination to yield to that impression and to start immediately upon a better course. Not five Commercial Life. 37 minutes perhaps elapsed between my first awakened thought and my prayer upon my knees. I was never more calm, more self-possessed or more considerate. But this was the hour of the divine power and purpose, and the work of the Spirit of God in me. It was the turning point of my life. I arose from my knees with a fixed deter- mination, and without a single hesitation or doubt. I was con- verted. ' The whole outward aspect and manner of my life were suddenly changed, and, to human and worldly eyes, without cause or reason. Many of my worldly friends said I was crazy — I have no doubt they really thought so. My father and the family looked upon me with silence, perhaps with amazement, certainly with sorrow and distrust. They scarcely spoke to me at all. Perhaps they pitied me. But no one took me by the hand. No voice of human encouragement reached me. No welcome of Christian kindness was extended to me. " I had no earthly place to flee unto. No man cared for my soul." Thus the days passed by me in those first weeks of my new life. I went back and forth to the house and to the store in an entire solitude of spirit. The rehgion of my father's house was but the more serious aspect of the religion of that day among my connections. It was a mere serious formalism, correct in all the moralities of life, but with no heart experience of the divine power. It was really an orthodox Christianity, but without a Christ. To this I had been accustomed in the circle around me, and but in the excep- tions which I have related, I knew nothing above it. Our rector was a man of remarkable powers in eloquent utterance, and with great attractions in personal conversation. I was individu- ally extremely fond of him. But as I have since looked back upon his personal intercourse, and his public ministry with us, I can recall nothing which was in the least degree adapted to lead a sinner to the Saviour, or to edify the people of God in their knowledge of the truth. Not many weeks after the day and the change which I have described, I went up from the store to his residence expressly to visit him. I was alone and I was sad. I found no sympathy in others; I hoped I should find it in him. But he received me as if my emotion were a mere pretence or an absurd excitement. I left him and walked back to my desk, in the sad feeling that I was with- out one sympathizing friend on earth. All were shocked with what they called /awa^Jdsw, and all seemed to repel and shun me as being unreasonably ^fanatic. Thus was my way perplexed. The guiltiness 38 Rev. Stephen Higginson Tyng, D.D. of my own life oppressed me, but I knew no comforter. I longed to be a servant of God, but I had no one to show me the way of life. The Lord did not forsake me. Some of my female cousins had given an account of my strange condition to an old lady of our acquaintance, with the specific statement that " Stephen Tyng wa8 out of his mind." She asked them to bring me to her. This old lady was a pensioned nurse of a wealthy family of my acquaintance, and had been long a Methodist. I accepted her invitation, and called to see her. This old lady was the first person who entered into my want. Her kind and humble instructions were suited to my condition and wants. In her I found the first really sym- pathizing friend in Boston. She was the first person who under- stood me, believed me, and talked to me practically of a Saviour and His salvation. I have always remembered her with gratitude and affection as one of the Lord's true people, and as illustrating how useful the humblest piety may be when it is real and expe- rienced. Immediately after my conversion my thoughts were earnestly drawn to the ministry of the gospel. My few weeks' reading dur- ing this period was wholly in works of a spiritually religious character. I had no taste for any other books or any other employ- ment, and my mind was every day more intensely drawn to this one great purpose as the work of my life. This alone seemed a real and adequate object for the education which my father had so generously given me. The one thought was impressed upon my mind, in the most clear and positive manner, that it was my duty to preach the Word of God. It was impossible for me to resist the impulse, though as yet I saw no way in which the purpose could be accomplished. About the 1st of August my conviction on this- subject became so settled and entire that I could hesitate no longer. I wrote a letter to my father, with whom it was not easy for me to talk freely, giving him all the reasons for my change of purpose, the simple recital of which, I hoped, might move him to consent to my wish. But my letter disturbed him extremely. He could not enter into my convictions of duty. He considered the proposal to be a mere sudden and unreasoning impulse. And in a few days he answered me verbally that he could not consent to my wish. He remon- strated with me against any change, saying that my business prospects were the finest of any young man in Boston; my habits of business and acquaintance with mercantile life were now thoroughly formed; my certainty of wealth and independence was Commercial Life. 39 complete. And now all these, after all his efforts for me, I hastily wished to throw away. He thought I had no talents or quahfica- tions for the ministry, and said: " You will spoil a first-rate merchant to make a yery poor parson." I answered him with an acknowledgment of all my defects. But I said that I was convinced I was called to preach the gospel, and I felt compelled to relinquish all my earthly prospects to under- take the preparation for this. He asked me where I would go. I answered I could not tell. But I knew that I was called to preach the gospel, and there was some place for me, between Boston and the Kocky Mountains, and I would go until I found it. I have no doubt that my father thought me so excited as to be really insane. I was compelled to do that which trained me for much in my succeed- ing life, to act upon my own conviction and responsibility alone. Thus my determination became absolute and fixed. My purpose was in some way to support myself while I pursued my necessary studies. And as my first step, I decided quietly to leave the store and to commence my study in my own chamber at home. Like aU educated New England boys, I knew that I could take care of myself, and I was in no degree anxious about the risk of the effort. The earthly aspect was no subject of concern to me. I had never wanted I believed that I should never want. And I was satisfied and at rest. Thus one great step in life had been accomplished. This period of my commercial engagement I have always regarded as of high value to me. It gave me a knowledge of men and of the business of the world, of commercial relations and occupations, and also personal habits and qualifications which have been of great use to me through my whole life. It was as real and valuable a part of my preparation for the ministry as any portion of my studies; and as my graciousLord has been pleased to lay out my career in His service, fkese were years in some respects really more important and profitable than any beside. I have now been for more than fifty years a city rector over large churches. The cares, the calculations, occupations, and various en- gagements which are involved in the experience of such a life no one can understand who has not been personally occupied in it. In my personal ministry a multitude of questions of every kind, and involving all the relations of human life, have been referred to me, calling for all those habits of precision and activity which my edu- cation in a large commercial house was adapted to give me. This is an illustration of the gracious and minute providence of God. 40 Rev. Stephen Higginson Tyng, D.D. The autumn of 1819 was the time specified in which I was to go to Calcutta in the employ of the firm. AH my past expectations and preparations were connected with this anticipated occupation. My withdrawal made it necessary that some other one should go. The young man who occupied the same desk with me ^as appointed and embarked upon the voyage. Strange as it appears, the ship in which he sailed was burned at sea, off the Cape of Good Hope, and he was heard of no more. Thus wonderfully was my way hedged around by the gracious providence of God, and I was spared for the work which has filled up my long life in the ministry of the gospel. Thus my prepara- tion I for this great work was divinely arranged and most mercifully wrought out for me in the fulness of wisdom and love. Thus far has the Lord led me on in His own way, opening my path as the time arrived in which I was to enter it, removing aU obstacles from it, but in a way which humbles me with the deepest self-renuncia- tion, and fiUs me with entire confidence in the permanency of His plan and the certainty of its accomplishment in His own way and at His own time. CHAPTER IV. THEOLOGICAL STUDENT LIFE, 1819 to 1821. I FINALLY left the counting-house in the latter part of August, 1819. This act of necessity led to an explanation in which, though my father was not angry, he was reaUy much disheartened and distressed. The whole feeling of the family was unhappy. This state of association continued for several days, when, to avoid un- necessary contest, I asked permission to visit Newburyport. This my father willingly granted. In connection with this a little inci- dent occurred which was not without important results upon my father's mind. The office for the Newburyport stage was in Ann Street, quite across the centre of the town, and a mUe from our house. There was no one within reach to carry my trunk, and I quietly took it myself on a wheelbarrow, in the middle of the day, and wheeled it through the crowded streets, and brought the barrow back. I probably passed many in the streets who knew me, but I felt no concern for that. I was entering on a new course of life ; it might be a very self-de- nying one; I had laid aside the fancies which might contend with it. My father was looking at me from the window of his study when I returned with the barrow. I did not know that he saw me. But it was an incident which won his heart. "When I returned to the house he called me in, and asked me where I had been, and for what. I frankly told him. " Stephen, that was noble," was his reply. This was the first expression of satisfaction or kindness which I had received from him during this trying period of my life- and it was the close of all the censure and the unkindness which I was to bear. Prom this hour my path was easy, success- ful and pleasant. In Newburyport I passed a month with great enjoyment. I felt inexpressibly reHeved by my father's parting kindness, and I was welcomed by many loved and loving friends who animated me with universal approbation and encouragement. The Eev, James Morss, the rector of the church in Newbury- 41 42 Rev. Stephen Higginson Tyng, D.D. port, had been from my childhood the pastor of my grandmother and my aunt. He was my first welcoming friend in the ministry of our Church. He received me with much kindness and encourage- ment as a young Christian brother whom he gladly welcomed to the work which he desired for him. The value of such Christian sympathy none can know but they who have gone through some similar crisis. This was the Lord's gracious provision for me in this new opening of my experience. On the fijrst Sunday in September I presented myself for the first time at the Lord's table, in the church in which I had been baptized and among the people who had known me from my earli- est youth. I had comparatively little religious knowledge. Con- scious sinfulness and ^accepted salvation were the two simple thoughts within me. I was entirely at rest. I was perfectly happy. I was unspeakably grateful. And my loved and precious Saviour was the object of the whole. In this visit to Newburyport I became quite intimate with a young man from Amesbury, who was entering upon a similar course with myself. This was Benjamin Dorr, afterwards for many years the rector of Christ Church, in the city of Philadelphia. His friendship and conversation were very agreeable to me, and our mutual esteem lasted with his life. In the leisure of this visit I took occasion to plan, if it were possible, some scheme for my future occupation and support. Two attractive offers were made to me, through personal friends, of em- ployment as a private tutor, and I kept them under consideration until my return to Boston. In the last week of October I returned to Boston, by water. We had a long trip, and I arrived in Boston at nine o'clock on Sunday evening. No laborers were about the wharf, and I shoul- dered my trunk and carried it from the wharf to my father's house, about the same distance as I had wheeled it before, fatigued, but determined, and not ashamed. And thus I was established again in quietness to wait for some further opening of my way. How little I coiild have imagined what the gracious Lord had prepared for me ! My father received me with the most generous kindness. He had provided a desk for me in his own study and prepared for me aU the books adapted to my purpose in my preparation for my work. There, with a most grateful heart, I sat down to my daily study. I had been regularly admitted as a " candidate for orders," and was most industriously occupied in my studies, encompassed with every comfort and mercy. Theological Student Life. 43 My father and I were thus one morning seated quietly at our separate work, when he said, " Stephen, how would you like to go and spend a year with the Bishop at Bristol ? " I answered, " It would be to me like opening a door into heaven." He then said, " I have written to the Bishop about you, and he agrees to receive you as a student, and you may get ready to go at once." My out- ward difficulties seemed to have vanished completely. And now a new and most effectual door was opened before me. I was to go to Bristol, where every thing in example, in study, and in personal attractions, was to become realized and enjoyed in actual fact and experience. God had graciously heard the very prayers of my silent heart, and had wonderfully and completely answered them aU. The importance of this new arrangement for me could not be magnified. The influence attendant upon it governed my whole subsequent life. It opened the fountain from which every succeed- ing blessing of my life has flowed. I have been all that I have been, simply and wholly, from and because of this new dwelling which was now laid open for me with Bishop Griswold in Bristol. My arrangements for this change were soon made, and on the 9th of November I went in the stage to Bristol, more than fifty miles. I was welcomed and made at home in the family of the Bishop, not only in my relation as a student, but on account of my father and his family. In a few days I was comfortably established in my ap- pointed boarding-house, and thoroughly engaged in my appointed course of study. My room-mate, about my own age, is stiU living in the ministry as the Kev. Samuel Brenton Shaw, D.D., now at Bar- rington, E. I. He was a very agreeable companion, and we pursued our studies together with much harmony and mutual aid. Bristol was filled with intelligent and attractive society, among which I found the most agreeable acquaintance. The elements of my advantage there were numerous and peculiar. The one great fact was the Bishop himself. The religious opportunities and ser- vices which were suppUed to the church were much dependent on the Bishop's personal residence. He was often absent for several weeks together, in his diocesan visitations, and he had no perma- nent assistant. His fidehty in the parochial ministry, when he was at home, was " in season and out of season." He generally main- tained three services on the Sabbath, and conducted several relig- ious meetings in the intervening week. His preaching was quiet in manner, but it was earnest and peculiarly instructive and simple. To me his whole style of ministry was perfectly new, and in the highest degree attractive and exemplary. No one whom I have 44 Rev. Stephen Higginson Tyng, D.D. ever seen has walked more truly and faithfully in the steps of his Heavenly Example who "pleased not Himself." No ministry of equal usefulness, or of greater power and wisdom, has ever passed before my observation. I had been settled in my new home but a single week when the Bishop invited me to accompany him to an evening meeting in the country. At the hour appointed he called for me, and we walked together a mile out of the town to a farm-house. Here a congre- gation of neighbors was collected which entirely filled the rooms and entry on the first floor. The Bishop sat down at a table, on which were laid the Bible and Prayer-book, and the dim light of a single candle had been prepared. After singing and prayer he read a portion of Holy Scripture, and expounded and applied it in a very simple and delightful way. The whole scene was entirely new to me. I had been familiar with the meetings at Andover. But I had never attended a familiar meeting like this in connection with the Episcopal Church. Such simple, appropriate teaching I had never heard from any minister of this Church. "When I thus look back and recall the incidents and associations of that evening, they appear to me in an aspect so solemn and so impressive as to be httle less than sublime. This gracious walk of that tall and venerable man, with a mere stripling at his side, and the meekness and dignity of his whole aspect and ministration, so apostolic in its appearance and so exalted in its influence, gave me such a view of the Christian ministry as was adapted to be a perfect pattern for my life. When I have surveyed the wonderful combination of learning and piety, of dignity and simplicity, of gentleness and seriousness, in this remarkable man, as he appeared before me day by day, my heart has sincerely blessed God for aU the gracious influences under which he placed me, in that temporary abode for study for my appointed work, of which this first meeting might be considered the type and the introduction. It was not long after this meeting that the Bishop called for me at my room, in an afternoon, to accompany him in some visits which he intended to make among his poor families. We walked through some of the back streets of the town, and called at the habitations of several of these famihes. In one house dwelt an aged couple of the highest personal respectability, though they were very poor. They were venerable in aspect, as in religious character. The Bishop's gentle conversation with the aged matron affected me much, and when he knelt upon their humble floor and prayed, in a manner Theological Student Life. 45 so tender and so simple and so truly Christian, it was a lesson to me never to be forgotten. In a fewweeks after my establishment in Bristol, the Bishop was caUed away upon one of his risitations, and the care of the church in all its services was left to the students, of whom there were at this time four residing at Bristol. In the service of Sunday we were readers only. But in the more social assemblies of the week we were under no obligation to read, and our ministry became in all respects our own. Here was my first attempt in conducting public meetings, and my first efforts in extemporaneous speaking. To a youth like me, with all the disadvantages of my education and habit, the trial was great. My first efforts were very discouraging. All of practical religious truth and teaching was new to me. All of public commun- ication of thought, whoUy untried. I cannot forget the over- whelming terror of my first attempt. But I soon succeeded so well and learned to speak with so much facility, that my fellow-students left the work almost wholly to me. Thus I became installed as the regular supply in the absence of the Bishop. " Little King David," I was familiarly called, "a youth with a ruddy countenance." Thus commenced my life's career of public preaching, in three months after my conversion, at nineteen years of age; and I prob- ably preached as often in the two' succeeding years as I have done in any subsequent period of two years in my whole ministry. When the Bishop returned from the visitation, of which I have just spoken, instead of assuming again the regular conducting of these weekly meetings, he left them to the students, and the others quietly turned them over to me, and they thus became part of my regu- lar work. "When the Bishop personally attended, he restricted himself to a closing address to the people assembled. Thus the remainder of the year 1819 passed away, my private studies and my public efforts keeping me fully occupied. It was in these daily visitations to the poor, that the interesting case of Daniel Waldron occurred to me, the substance of which, in many of the incidents involved, I have given in " The Spencers," only substituting " Mary " for myself in the forming of the story. That saUor boy was, so far as I know, the first-fruits of my ministry in the salvation of souls. He has always been a very precious object of memory to me. In the opening of the year 1820 a new and very wonderful scene and experience was presented to me ia this work of my youthful ministry. Bristol was visited with a very remarkable revival of 46 Rev. Stephen Higginson Tyng, D.D. religion, the manifest work of the Spirit of God. It was the first of such gracious displays of the power of the Holy Spirit, in the Church of God which I had seen. Of such a divine interposition in ita influence and results I could have formed no conception. There had been but little in the previous autumn to indicate it. Our weekly meetings had not been largely attended, partly perhaps ow- ing to the weather, but more to the spirit of worldliness which had been spreading abroad. On the last precedent Friday evening, the regular week night, not twenty persons were present ia the school-room in which the meetings were held. The aspect was very discouraging. On the succeeding Sunday evening the Bishop, after preaching twice in the day, was taken ill in the evening service, and was unable to complete his sermon. The effect of this sudden interruption of the service was very solemn aad impressive. He was assisted slowly to his house by some friends. ■ The residue of the congregation were gathered in small companies for mutual expression around the church. As I came out of the church, I stopped where one such company was assembled around a young woman as if she were sick. On approaching the place, I was called to her as one in deep spiritual distress. This proved to be the first drop of a gracious shower. The next morning to this Sabbath, was probably occupied in every famUy vrith thought and conversation about the events which had occurred on this evening. The day revealed an extensive, almost an universal influence and interest awakened among the people. The general conversation became directed to the one subject of religious truth and teaching. As we mingled in our common acquaintance, this change of general feeling among the people was displayed in a very remarkable manner. Succeeding days indicatec^ the same feeling stiU increasing and extending. This widespread earnestness among the church people demanded an assembling for the special consideration of the subject, and made them unvnlling to wait until the regular weekly meeting on Friday evening. We therefore appointed one for Thursday evening, in a private house opposite the church. It was with unbounded surprise that I went into this house at the hour appointed. It was crowded in every room, staircase, and entry, as if some unusually crowded funeral were there. But for ministering to this people, hungry for the bread of life, I was there alone. They had placed a table with a Bible and Prayer-book on the first landing of the stairs. And there I stood, to speak for Theological Student Life. 47 Jesus'my Lord, in the opening of this wonderful season. The people were crowded above me and below me, as far as my eye could reach, in the most eager attention to the word. My utter incompe- tency for such a work I deeply felt. But I had no earthly aid. It was the most solemn assembly I had ever seen, and its impression upon my mind and memory, was overwhelming and abiding. But this was the commencement of months of work of a similar description ; and from this day we had a similar meeting appointed for every evening. We added afterwards other meetings for every afternoon and morning. These were held in various rooms and houses throughout the town. My whole time for about three months was given up to this one work. Three times every day I was engaged in addressing different assemblies, in various parts of the town and of the surrounding country, and in conversing with awak- ened and anxious persons connected with these various meetings. My fellow-students had become otherwise employed ; some of thpm had left Bristol, and for the chief portion of the work I was alone, so far as any stated ministry was concerned. This was a season of great labor and responsibility for a youth like me. But it was also a season of the most valuable instruction. I was growing and improving for my future work, under the influ- ence of this experience, far more rapidly and really than I could have done under any system of private intellectual study. The knowledge which I gained of the Lord's work, and of the experience of awakened and converted souls, under the divine teaching, was to me inestimable. God was pleased to bless me through it all, with a mind constantly delighting in the employment, and with a growth of grace in my own heart continually encouraging. He also gave me adequate bodUy strength for all the work I had to do and a remarkable success in a work, so entirely new, so far above all knowledge and powers of mine, and so foreign from any advan- tage fi-'om my previous education. Such a scene in human society as Bristol then displayed I have never imagined. The whole time was given up to this one work. The business of the world was for a time suspended. The stores were in many instances closed, as if the whole week were a Sabbath. The general thought of the people seemed to be devoted to the one great purpose of the soul's salva- tion. The reality and depth of the impression, were proved by the large number of persons who became truly the followers of the Lord Jesus. During the most of this period the Bishop was confined to his house by sickness. Many weeks of this remarkable revival had 48 Rev. Stephen Higginson Tyng, D.D. passed before he was well enough to receiTe our visits or to counsel us in his own house. And we were made happy indeed, when ho was so far restored to health that we might consult him in regard to the important interests which were left upon our hands. It was an occasion of intense delight, when I was permitted to bring an assembly of the subjects of this wonderful work of grace to the Bishop's house. It was an afternoon in the early spring. He received us in his dining-room, sitting in his easy-chair, robed in his dressing-gown. Near fifty persons thus converted were gathered there around him, to hear the gracious words of counsel and en- couragement which he was enabled to give to them. As soon as the Bishop was able to be abroad, a confirmation was appointed in the church. A very large number of the convert- ed subjects of this revival were received to the public communion of the church. Thus this whole amazing and interesting season passed by. My memory is filled with the incidents and persons connected with it. Many of these would be precious in their worth as a recital. But they do not belong to my personal narrative. At this period, my father desired me to return to Boston and pursue my studies with the Rev. Dr. Jarvis, who had lately removed from New York to Boston, as the rector of St. Paul's Church, then just completed. Such a change was in all respects undesirable to me. But I could not refuse to meet my father's wish, when he had so generously and kindly supported me in Bristol, and in the month of May I returned to my home in Boston. The Bishop gave me a commission to assume the charge of the small ancient church in Quincy, Mass., in the neighborhood of Bos- ton, at which place I have already described my early dwelling as a boy. The Eev. Edward R. Lippitt, of Providence, had been there during the previous year, and was about removing. I accordingly removed my home to the house of my eldest sister, who was then living in Quincy, and undertook this prescribed duty. There were very few families or persons who were then attend- ing this church. But some of these were very zealous and earnest, and made the place and labor very agreeable to me. I was merely a lay-reader on the Sabbath, and I desired to accomplish more than this formal service. There had never been a public Sunday-school in the town of Quincy, and I determined to accomplish this ad- vance. Two ladies and two young men united with me in this work. Thus I established the first Sunday-school in this ancient town. We were very successful in this attempt, and gathered more than fifty children at the first opening. This school became Theological Student Life. 49 the foundation of the permanent restoration of this old church, which at this time is a large and flourishing congregation. I was permitted to preach at the consecration of a new and very beautiful edifice for this transmitted church in 1875, and it now stands in a position of relative importance among other churches around it. The summer of 1820 passed very pleasantly in my appointed work, but not satisfactorily in my studies. I was therefore glad to receive an invitation to return to Bristol on a salary, to succeed in a vacancy, as an instructor in the academy. This position made me independent in my means, and gave me ability to finish my studies in Bristol. I thankfully accepted the proposal, and returned to Bristol in July. Thus, with great delight, I was once more inde- pendently settled in my old quarters. The influences of the revival of the previous winter were very manifest. And the religious at- mosphere which I now met and enjoyed in Bristol was most remark- able and refreshing. My personal labors became now very heavy. The duty of six hours' teaching every day, and the necessity of adequate study be- side, occupied me completely. I toiled on with industry and self- denial My nights were largely passed in study. It was sometimes four in the morning before I could go to my rest. Yet my health did not suffer. There was scarcely an evening in the week without some opportunity of preaching the word of God ; and I might almost say 1 was at work the whole of every day and night. But I was perfectly happy in my work, and in aU the attendants and en- couragements which came with it. Thus passed before me the winter of 1820-21. The month of March, 1821, arrived. I was twenty-one years of age ; I had com- pleted my course of study as prescribed by our canons, and I was ready for my examination for deacon's orders. The Rev. Dr. Jar- vis came from Boston to preach at my ordination. The Bishop had superintended all my studies, yet 1m examined me, with Dr. Jarvis to assist him, for more than eight hours, in the most thorough man- ner! And in the morning of the 4th of March, 1821, 1 was ordained a deacon, in St. Michael's Church, Bristol. My ministry had been attained. Thus the first great chapter of my religious history had passed. I was now to enter upon new relations and new prospects. To say how deeply I was impressed and affected by the occurrences of that period, would now be vain. My earliest sermons were as dis- tinct and settled in principle as my later ones. My mind was thor- oughly awake, and thoroughly established in the great scheme of 5o Rev. Stephen Higginson Tyng, D.D. grace whicli I had received, and which since that time, through my Saviour's power, I have never failed to preach. From the mere business of the world I had been led most remarkably to the minis- try of the gospel, which I had thus received and embraced. I seemed to have lived a long life in these two years. On Monday morning, the 5th of March, I arose to look upon the world before me with new views. Whither should or would my course be turned? I had still to say, "The world was all before me, and Providence my guide." My little bark,, loosed from its previous moorings, floated upon the waters, waiting, hoping, look- ing out, for the revelation of that something before me, which the Lord had appointed for me, and to which He would graciously di- rect me in His own time. But who could tell me the way in which I was to be led. On the succeeding Wednesday, which was Ash- Wednesday, I preached, in the Bishop's pulpit, my first sermon in deacon's orders. The next morning I went to Boston, and thence to Newburyport, where I passed my first Sunday, preaching for my friends there in the church in which I was baptized. More than forty years afterward, I met in New York with an old lady who gave me an account of that Sunday and the pleasure which she had received from it. She had then just been married in Hartford, and was on her wedding tour. They passed that Sun- day in Newburyport. This lady had never forgotten the preach- ing of that day, though she had not imagined that she should ever see me again, and stiU less, as the result proved, as her own rector, with her grandchildren under my pastoral care. After a visit of a few days to my father in Boston, I returned to Bristol. There seemed no opening for me in the diocese of Bishop Griswold, and I was not of a nature to sit down in idleness and wait for something to " turn up." Precious as were the personal associations which I had been permitted to establish there, I could not afford to waste my time for (Juty in the most delightful idleness. Accordingly,. gathering up all my little stock, I left Bristol on Mon- day morning in a regular packet sloop for New York. Thirty-six hours brought us to the harbor of this great city. I arrived at New York in a snow-storm. I was amazed by the crowded shipping which filled the harbor and the docks as we sailed round the East River. Familiar as I was with the commerce of Boston, I had never imagined an exhibition of shipping in such numbers and such variety. It looked like a forest of masts, as if the shipping of the world might be assembled there. The inroads and revolution of steam had not then commenced. I landed among Theological Student Life. 5i the coasting sloops near the lower part of South Street. I was a stranger in a strange place. Neither London nor any city of Europe which I have since seen has appeared to me so new, so strange, or so wonderful as did New York on that day. I took my lodging in a house in Whitehall Street,' then in the midst of the fashionable residences of the city, all of which were gathered around the lower part of Broadway. The only person whom I knew in this city was the Ilev. Dr. Wainwright, then living in Eector Street, in the rear of Grace Church, of which he was rec- tor. After establishing myself in my new lodging, I went up at once to call upon him. 1 was received by him with the utmost affection. He had been very intimate as a visitor in my father's family, and he cordially invited me to transfer my home to his house; my first night in New York was thus passed in his family. He had also been my tutor in college, and unto the day of his lamented death, as the Bishop of New York, he remained always to me an unchanging friend. In this visit I passed three weeks in New York. I formed many acquaintances among the clergy of the city, all of whom have gone to their heavenly home before me. Prom Bishop Hobart, who was an acquaintance of my father, I also received much attention and kindness. The Bishop very frankly said he had nothing to offer me in the ministry, and advised me to go farther to the south. I soon found that the Lord had not called me to a settlement here. The Rev. Dr. Milnor welcomed me as coming from Bishop Griswold, and offered me every encouragement in his power. It was a very delightful part of my visit to be with him and to attend the various meetings for religious worship and instruction in St. George's Church, in which also I preached several times. When I came to New York as my permanent home, twenty-four years after this, I found many persons who remembered me at this visit, and recalled to me the passages of Scripture from which I had preached at this time. How little could I have imagined that I should be the appointed successor of Dr. Milnor, in this great and responsible field of labor, and thus selected to carry on the work which he had so successfully inaugurated and maintained. Dr. Milnor had received from a friend in Virginia, an invitation for some young clergyman of his views and acquaintance, to take charge of two contiguous parishes in that state. He presented the opening to me, and I at once determined to embrace it. With letters from Dr. Milnor, addressed to different clergymen on my route, I left New York for Virginia in the last week of March. 52 Rev. Stephen Higginson Tyng, D.D. Journeyings in our country wfire then long and slow. A very long day's work carried me to Philadelphia. And on this day, for the first time in my life, I was on board a steamboat This was the boat from New York to New Brunswick, with Captain Vanderbilt, since so famous, as her commander. A stage took me to Trenton, and another steamboat on the Delaware to Philadelphia. There I now passed a few days of rest and observation. I was anxious to finish my journey and find my abiding home, and I therefore pressed on to Baltimore. There I made no delay, but went on to Georgetown, in the District of Columbia, where I had an appoint- ment to meet the gentleman, to whom I was consigned in Virginia, and from whom my further instructions were to be received. In Georgetown I made my final stop. This was the end of pubhc traveUing, and from this point I was to go forward in a private conveyance to my Virginia home. The incident of Daniel Waldron was related as follows by Dr. Tyng in one of his lectures: " I was called," he said, " to visit a poor sailor boy who was ill in a consumption. He had been a wild, wandering youth from his childhood. When I first saw him, he seemed to me as spiritually ignorant as the Greenlanders among whom, in his whaling voyages, he had been. I questioned in my own mind whether he was com- petent to be taught the precious truths of the gospel How won- derful was the lesson which God had graciously prepared for me at that bedside of poverty and distress. I daily read to him, the precious word of God. I told him of the love of Jesus for the lost and the wretched. I prayed by his bedside every day. My whole heart went out to him in loving sympathy and earnestness. Divine light from the Saviour's countenance soon burst upon him and upon me with heavenly brightness. This poor outcast boy was filled with the Holy Ghost, ' with aU joy and peace in beUeving.' The gracious Spirit in teaching him, was every day teaching me yet more and more abundantly. " The poor youth partially recovered, and in the opening Spring was able to be out. Some months after, I was conducting one of the meetings of the church. In the dim Ught, in the extreme part of the haJl, a man arose and asked permission to give an account of the Lord's dealing vnth him. He told his story with a deep hol- low voice, but in language of singular simplicity and beauty. Every Theological Student Life. 53 heart was moved; every eye wept in grateful sympathy. It was my p.oor sailor boy whom I had thought too ignorant to be taught. But ha had become under the blessing of Grod my teacher. Soon after this, he departed with the clearest hope in Jesus, and with an intense, absorbing love for his divine Bedeemer. " The history and experience of that sailor boy, have been to me a perennial comfort and joy in my constant remembrance of him. I have never since doubted the power or the fulness of that exacted Saviour to raise the most sunken, or to transform to an angel of light, the most darkened and ignorant of the lost children of sorrow and sin. The torch of divinely imparted hope and confidence, which was hghted at that poor boy's bed, has never fallen from my hand, in a ministry since so largely demanded and tried." The letters written by Mr. Tyng to his father, during these two years in Bristol, exhibited his constant desire to be governed in every action by his father's wish, while they evince the earnest and determined spirit which actuated him. His father's great desire was, that he should have every oppor- tunity of education and that no anxiety as to his support should inter- fere with his studies. It was with this object that he desired him to return to Boston, to be under the instruction of Dr. Jarvis, and again, later, to remain another year in Bristol previous to his ordination. All the comforts and advantages thus offered, were however freely abandoned in the desire to be at work, and the additional labor which this choice involved was cheerfully undertaken. The fact, that he had become engaged to marry a daughter of Bishop Griswold, was of much influence, too, in this decision. Writing to his father, after his return to Bristol, in August, 1820, he says: " I have delayed writing to you till this time, my dear father, because I wished to tell you more particularly of my situation. I have now been here for a fortnight. My occupation at school I find rather a relaxation than a labor. Mr. Taft has given me the Latin and Greek scholars, and I am soon to teach a few French. This revives my knowledge of the minutiae of all these languages and will be rather an advantage to me. Little as you credit me, I do not hesitate still to say that I can do much more work here than in Boston, and I am determined to let nothing stand in the way of the main object of my pursuit. If labor and application will make me useful and respectable, I will insure to myself both." In a succeeding letter, in which he refers to an opportunity for a settlement in the ministry at Pawtucket E. I., he writes: 54 Rev. Stephen Higginson Tyng, D.D. " As you have my promise not to leave Bristol till March, '22, 1 should not think of it upon any consideration contrary to your wishes. I shall not go from here untU that time, unless you place me at liberty to do so Upon all these ac- counts, it would be to me a very desirable situation, stiU as it does not meet your approbation, I shall give up all idea of it. " I suppose the wish I have to be settled in hfe, is natural to all young men, and so far am I from looking forward to the duties of my profes- sion as a reason for diminished diligence in study, that I shaU con- sider it as affording me more opportunity for improvement in knowl- edge. My jJresent engagements, with the hours I choose to apply to study, take up most of the four and twenty; this I am satisfied will not be long consistent with my health, and I shall never feel myself at liberty to relinquish my present situation till I find another that wUl support me. " This is not from a wish to be my own master, but from a knowledge of the continued increasing demands upon your purse. I believe no one of your children can feel more truly grateful for your kindness and care, than I do, and it is only a belief that it is my duty, that could make me give my health to my desire for exer- tion It is far from my wish to take any, and especially so important a step ia my life without your advice. I consider myself as^ fixed here till a year from March, let what will happen, unless removed by your advice. My duties here are very arduous, but I trust that the divine Providence wiU preserve me as long as I shall be useful to the world." In a further letter, informing his father of the arrangements for his ordination, he writes : " My life has afforded me too much evidence to allow me, were I disposed to doubt your entire willingness to take care of me ; but I know the shortness of your circumstances, and that about to increase, and I cannot consent to remain at home idle. There will be, I trust, opportunity to support myself by my profession, and shall you not be willing, under the circumstances, to relinquish your plan of study for me and allow me liberty to get along if pos- sible in my profession ? " I believe you have confidence sufficient in my desire for im- provement, readily to believe that I shall not shrink from any labor in my duty. I believe that one chief cause of my unhappy feeUngs of late is, that I see my school failing and have so little prospect of being able, and so great a dread of being obliged, to support my- self for a year to come by a school. Theological Student Life. 55 "I trust to your constant kindness and affection to me, upon reflection, to grant me the liberty I ask, and am your truly affec- tionate son." The desired consent having been thus obtained, he allowed no delay to occur in the execution of his plans. In a letter to the Kev. Charles P. Mcllvaine, in Georgetown, D. C, Dr. Milnor thus commended Mr. Tyng to him: " I am happy now to have it in 'my power to reciprocate your kindness in making known to me your friend, Mr. Eobinson, by presenting to you one of mine, the Eev. Mr. Tyng, a recent pupil of Bishop Griswold, who is anxious to be employed without delay in the work of an evangelist. I have thought, my dear friend, that God has given me an opportunity in him of gratifying all Mr. Eob- inson's vyishes. " He is a young gentleman of good talents and acquirements; of personal piety and agreeable manners ; of decidedly evangelical views; a moderate Churchman, who loves our communion, but does not exclude from his affections any who love the Lord Jesus Christ in sincerity, and a pleasing speaker. " I am persuaded that Mr. Tyng's heart is so much in the work as to promise great success to his exertions; and that should he be- come an inmate of our friend's family, he will commend himself to their friendship and esteem." CHAPTER V. MINISTRY IN GEORGETOWN, V. C, 1821 to 1823. In the three cities of the District of Columbia there were five Episcopal churches, with as many earnest Evangelical clergymen settled in them. This was a remarkable instance of such a gather- ing in the United States. In Georgetown there were two churches. In one of these Mr. Mcllvaine, afterwards the eminent Bishop of Ohio, had been established for a year. He was one year my senior in age and in orders. At the other, the Rev. Mr. Addison, an aged clergyman, had just resigned, and the place was vacant. The Rev. William Hawley, was in St. John's Church, Washington. Dr. Mil- nor had given me letters to aU these brethren. And on the morn- ing after my arrival I called upon them, and was received with much kindness, and the welcome of a friendship which afterwai-ds never failed. Mr. Hawley carried me immediately to his house, I looking at it as a short stay before I went on to Virginia. There I remained for three weeks, thus commencing a friendship which lasted un- broken by a single word through his whole life. During this visit T ministered my first • baptism, to his daughter, now dwelling in Philadelphia. In Alexandria, the Rev. Dr. Wilmer and the Rev. Mr. Norris, were the pastors of the two churches there, and were equally kind and affectionate in all their relations to me. It is a delightful privilege to reflect upon them, and to be grateful for them, and for the influence which they have exercised for me through the whole of my life. During the weeks which I passed with Mr. Hawley's family, the Rev. Mr. Addison, who had been the rector of St. John's Church, Georgetown, resigned his cure on account of his own failing health; and to my astonishment, without any previous notice to me, upon his recommendation, I was elected as his successor. This appeared to me a providence so remarkable and so entirely unsought, that I could deem it no less than a divine direction. I had no engage- 56 Ministry in Georgetown, D. C. 5 7 ment with the people whom I was on my way to visit in Virginia. They were in no expectation of my coming, and I was at perfect Uberty to stop where I deemed it desirable. It was time that I should be at work. I therefore accepted the invitation. Thus, in six weeks after my ordination, I was most gra- ciously settled in a home, which proved to be a very congenial and happy one. Onthe Sunday before Lent, I was ordained in St. Michael's Church, in Bristol, in Rhode Island, and on the Sunday after Easter, I was established in my ^own home, in St. John's Church, Georgetown, in the District of Columbia. Georgetown was an old continental town, and still remained a thriving and beautiful place. It was the head of navigation on the Potomac, and was still, also, a place of extensive trade. Washington was at this time but a collection of widely scattered edifices and population. The merchandise which it required and " used was brought by water to Georgetown, and the stores and shops for the two cities were still chiefly there. The upper part of Georgetown was occupied by large and elegant private dwellings, which were encompassed with groves and shrubbery. St. John's Church being the first Episcopal Church in George- town, was chiefly composed of the old and leading families of the town, constituting a society highly intelligent and agreeable. I was a mere youth, but I was received with a kindness which left me nothing to desire. One of the most influential and agreeable of the mothers in the church said to me : " I do not see that you have more than one defect, and that is mending every day." Their hospitality was unbounded, and their means of exercising it were abundant. No young minister could be employed amidst circum- stances more attractive, or relations more agreeable. The opening spring and summer brought a new world of beauty to my eyes in this southern cHmate. And whether at home or abroad, for the things of the present life I really had no wants. I entered upon my ministry with an earnest desire to do my Master's work and will, faithfully and usefully. I set myself to edify the church committed to me in every way within my reach. The memory of aU my experience and observation at Bristol was my unceasing guide. My venerated Bishop and father there was the pattern whom I tried in every thing to follow. My preaching was certainly very slender and youthful. But it proved acceptable not only to my own congregation, but to others also far beyond any expectations of mine. Mr. Mcllvaine, the minister of Christ Church, was a preacher 58 Rev. Stephen Higginson Tyng, D.D. of great eloquence and power for a young man, and I could main- tain no comparison ■with him. It was a great surprise and gratifi- cation to me, that, with a contrast so discouraging, I found myself at all acceptable, I was as popular as in my own conviction was safe, and I was perfectly satisfied. My study was my constant joy. The clergy around me were most friendly in their encouragement, and united to give me every incentive and inducement to advance in knowledge and usefulness. And as I now survey my condition at that period, I can only ask with gratitude, how could any one so young be more favorably estabUshed, in the a£fairs of outward life, for usefulness to others or for happiness to himself? I entered upon my work without fear, and preached and spoke with a self-confidence and self-possession which experience and age certainly have not increased. One written and one extemporaneous sermon in each week were adequate employment, and not burden- some or unreasonable labor. A cheerful and hopeful heart made every thing which was required of me easy and agreeable ; but filled me with astonishment at the success which followed me. My last visit to Georgetown was in February, 1870. I then re- ceived a message from the congregation, through their rector, that they were about to remodel the old church, and they wished me to spend one Sunday in it before they destroyed it. I went with much pleasure, and preached for them twice ; it was forty-nine years from the year in which I began my work with them. My memory repeo- pled the place, when I began to speak, with the families of former days. Of all those families I saw none remaining now. I pointed to the various pews and designated their occupants in that day. But when the service was concluded, many came to me and recalled themselves as the children and grandchildren of my old friends. A new generation had arisen, and I felt that in reality 1 was num- bered among the past. Bishop Mcllvaine was preaching on that day also; for a simi- lar occasion in Christ Church, his own former parish. Neither of us was aware of the presence of the other until the work was over, and each had been speaking particularly of the ministry of the other. The visit was filled with added pleasure, when in the after- noon we met together to recall a friendship of fifty years' duration. Returning to my own history, — the opening summer of 1821 opened to me new plans and relations in other respects. I was now independently established in my work, and there seemed no obstacle to my marriage. I therefore hastened to make aiTange- Ministry in Georgetown, D. C. 59 ments for this happy anticipation. My church building was to be renewed in this summer, and I could readily have an absence for a visit to my friends at home. My journey to Bristol met with im- pediments upon the road, and it was the fourth day before I arrived there. More than a week of my visit elapsed before the day ap- pointed for our marriage. On Sunday evening the 5th of August, before the com- mencement of the public service in the church, the ceremony was accomplished in the presence of the whole congregation. We went from our pew to the chancel, and returned from the chancel to our pew for the public worship. This was an instance of the solemn method of performing such a service in those days. So my married hfe began. On Thursday, the 9th, we left Bristol and made a visit to my father's family in Boston, and in Newburyport; and then returned for a few weeks' final visit in Bristol. And in the latter part of September, I returned to my church and to my work, with my new and most precious addition to my household and my home. There had already been some improvement in the mode of trav- elling since I first went from Bristol to New York. A new stage road and line had been opened from Providence to New London, and two steamboats placed upon the Sound, one between New Lon- don and New Haven, and the other between New Haven and New York, reducing the journey from Providence to New York to thirty-six hours. We went up to Providence, and passed the night in the honse of our friends, and took the stage the next morning to New London, and the steamboat Fulton in the evening for New Haven. We had scarcely cleared the harbor, about nine p.m., when we were met by a violent storm, which drove us back to New Lon- don before midnight, disabled and needing repairs. Here we were detained for two days. This delay led to an acquaintance with the Rev. Bethel Judd, rector of the church in New London, who took us to his house. For him I preached on each of the two evenings. We left New London again about ten o'clock in the evening of the second day. While with Mr. Judd, I received an invitation to visit the church in Norwich, just vacant by the resignation of an aged clergyman, the Rev. Mr. Tyler, who had been long its rector. My lot, however, had now been cast with the South, and I declined considering it. Our time came for the pursuit of our journey. But our second attempt in the steamer was as unsatisfying as the first. We met another and a heavier storm at this time; we just 6o Rev. Stephen Higginson Tyng, D.D. escaped shipwreck on Fisher's Island, entirely out of our course; and after contending with the storm through the whole night, we found ourselves at the dock in New London on the next morning. The third attempt was in the day. We arrived at New Haven late in the evening; and in the other regular boat finished our journey to New York the next evening. The next morning we went on to Philadelphia, and arrived at that city on Sunday morn- ing, while our friends were at church. In the latter part of the week we pressed on through Baltimore, and arrived at our new home. We passed about two months in our first home in the dwell- ing of a family, whose watchful kindness never failed us, while we had our home in Georgetown. But we soon longed for a home of our own, and I hired a house of moderate character and cost, but sufficiently large for all our wants. I soon found that to meet the demands of this moderate expenditure would require a larger income than my church could yield, and I determined to open a private school for boys. My success in teaching at Bristol made me perfectly confident in this undertaking. My house was convenient and suitable, and I re- ceived about twenty boys, varying in all the stages of an English and classical education, some of whom are living, and personal friends to this day. I received a few as boarders in my family, and found additional pleasure in their society. These boys were the children of families around me. . Many of them have since become distinguished in public life. The labor of preparing for my Sabbath preaching while thus oc- cupied with teaching was great. I know not howl end'ored it. My habit of extemporaneous speaking, acquired in Bristol, in- creased my ability to accomplish the work which I had undertaken. This habit I endeavored to maintain and cultivate. It became the more important to me in consequence of my loss of the use of my right eye from an accident in my childhood. My whole life's work has been accomplished with one eye. I wish I could say in its figurative application with " a single eye." I have thus been com- pelled to study much in thought and quietness; but as I have ad- vanced in age my eyes have improved in strength and for practical usefulness. In the spring of 1822 I removed to another house, smaller and more manageable. The friend who was my landlord here built for me a small school-house opposite to my new dwelling, in which I was able to carry on my school, in larger numbers and with more Ministry in Georgetown, D. C. 6i convenience; thus my income was abundant, though my salary was small. We were both managing and industrious, and all things succeeded happily with me and to my constant satisfaction. In speaking of my extemporaneous preaching I may record a lit- tle anecdote which I have often heard referred to by others. My father's name and position had given me many acquaintances among the members of Congress, who on his account frequently attended my church on Sunday. On one morning there was a very conspicuous number of distinguished men at church, and I had no written sermon. I had designed to speak extemporaneously. The aspect of such a congregation frightened me extremely; and after proceeding a few minutes, I stumbled on untU, in entire confusion of mind and feeling, I was obliged to stop, and I left the pulpit with excessive mortification. As we were returning home, my dear wife entreated me not to attempt extemporaneous preaching again. She said: "Tou remember that father said, 'Extemporaneous preaching would always be crude and unconnected.' " I replied, " This very failure has made me more determined; I will acquire the power, if by any effort I can do it." More than forty years after that day I saw a distinguished Senator from New York, in St. George's Church, who was one of my congregation on that trying occasion. He stopped after the service was over and spoke to me, vnth the friend whom he was visiting. I asked him if he remem- bered that occasion. He replied, "O yes; but you have never failed since." This habit of speaking has been with me the result of unflinching effort and determination, and whatever success I have attained may be just so much an encouragement to other young men. On the 9th of December, 1822, the gracious Lord gave us our first-born child in my dear Anna. This made a new interest and joy in our little home. It opened to me a father's love as my new experience, and made my life still happier than before. I looked upon my dear young wife, a mother at seventeen years of age, with new reverence and affection. And I more than ever desired to live vrith my household to the glory of a pardoning, forbearing, and bountiful Lord. The winter of 1822-3 went by in a succession of calm and tranquil prosperity. All things seemed to be combining to make our whole condition desirable and our prospects encourag- ing. I had no imagination and no desire which presented to me a change of dwelling, but the pressure of my twofold work, which seemed to increase in its power as the winter passed. 62 Rev. Stephen Higginson Tyng, D.D. In February, 1823, a very unexpected change of residence was pro- posed to me. I was earnestly invited to take charge of the parish of Queen Anne, in Prince George's County, Maryland. This was one of the largest and most wealthy parishes in the state. Many of the families were connected with AVashington and Georgetown families. Their stores for family supply and their market for their crops, were both in these two places. At the invitation of one of the gentlemen of the parish I made them a visit of a single Sunday, and received stUl more pressing invitations to accept their authorized election. I had never seen this portion of the country before. It is about half- way between Washington and Annapolis. It was called the " Forest of Prince George's," from the splendid growth and collection of forest which originally occupied it, though now supplanted by large and splendid , plantations, having tobacco as their chief marketable crop. Other openings had been presented to me, and had solic- ited my consideration. But this came to me unsought and unex- pected, and with such unanimity among the people, that I was led to consider and accept it; and I agreed to remove at Easter, in 1823. I left my Georgetown friends with great regret. But the first years of a young minister's life are very wearing; unfurnished and ignorant, he is obliged to grapple with the whole work of the min- istry as if he were thoroughly mature. He plunges into the deep sea at full tide. His first parish and his first experiments in labor wear him out. Thus I had found it. I therefore mo^t thankfully accepted so favorable an opportunity to remove, and gladly embraced the new position thus unexpectedly offered to me. Thus my two years were completed in Georgetown. Perhaps I gained more of information and practical ability here than in any other equal period of my life. I was in the very centre of observation and influence in our land, and always within reach of some valued brother in the ministry for consultation and spiritual gain, giving me a privilege which for years I had not again. It is much to be regretted that Dr. Tyng should have confined his personal record, so exclusively to the incidents of his own paro- chial ministry. His reminiscences of the times in which he lived; of the many interesting events which occurred during his ministry; of the men with whom he was so intimately associated, and of the important questions in which he took so prominent a part, would now be of great interest and value. AH these, however, he deemed Ministry in Georgetown, D. C. 63 irrelevant to a record prepared for those for whom this was designed, and its pages, therefore, included those facts only which seemed of special interest to^them. No mention is made of many circumstances with which he was closely identified and which are memorable in the history of the Church, and it is impossible, from other sources, to supply this defi- ciency satisfactorily. It is important, however, that some reference should be made to some of these, in order to make the record of his life in any wise complete. Contemporaneous with the beginning of his ministry was the origin of the organized missionary and educational work of the Protestant Episcopal Church in the United States. To these important affairs vo. their beginnings, he gave his most earnest efforts, as through life they continued to be objects of his unceasing interest. As the condition of the Church, in different sections of the country, became more settled, a missionary spirit was gradually de- veloped, and at the General Convention in 1820, this took form for co-operating action in the organization of a missionary society. Minor details in its organization, however, were unsatisfactory to many, and to meet the objections to these, the Domestic and Foreign Missionary Society was organized in November, 1821. This society, aided by its different auxiliary associations, carried on the mission- ary operations of the Church in succeeding years. The first of these auxiliary societies to be formed was " the Diocesan Missionary Society for Maryland," organized at the Convention of the Diocese of Maryland held in 1822, and Mr. Tyng's hearty interest in the cause was evinced by the resolution which he offered, recommend- ing this new society to the earnest support of the different parishes and urging them to exertion in the collection of funds for its uses. Thus his enlistment in the missionary work of the Church dates from the first year of his ministry, and his active connection with it remained unbroken until the end. By his efforts, in later periods, enormous amounts were contributed to the extension of this work, which was always a favorite object of the benefactions of the churches under his care. The educational work of the Church was the necessary accom- paniment of its missionary effort. Men were as necessary for its pros- ecution as means for their support, and the need of properly quali- fied ministers to fill the vacant places in the Church, gave this work additional importance. In no section was this need greater than in Maryland and Virginia, and the efforts of the clergy of those dioceses to meet it make an interesting chapter in the history of the Church. 64 Rev. Stephen Higginson Tyng, D.D. The connection wLicli Mr. Tyng had with these efforts makes this also a notable period in his life, and exhibits him, when scarcely past maturity, in a bold stand against Episcopal assumption and in defence of principles and the liberty of the clergy to maintain them. The ^General Seminary of the Episcopal Church had already been established and removed to New Haven fi'om New York, where Bishop Hobart had organized a diocesan school in accord with his own plans and under his own control. The bequest of a legacy, however, which by its terms was to be paid to the seminary " to be established in New York by the General or Diocesan Con- vention " brought up at once the discussion to which of the two seminaries it properly belonged. A special session of the General Convention was called in the fall of 1821, to decide this question. At this a compromise was effected between the friends of the two institutions, and a General Theological Seminary, to be located at New York, was established, that in New Haven being again removed and be- coming a part of the new school. Thereupon, under the zeal- ous lead of Bishop Hobart, the Episcopal authority and influr ence of the Church was largely cast in support of this new sem- inary, and in opposition to all efforts to provide means of education for the ministry elsewhere. Distance from New York, however, and the expense incurred in a journey and residence there, made it' impossible for many to avail themselves of the opportunities thus offered, and made it necessary that other provisions should be made to meet this need. Bishop Chase, when organizing his work in Ohio, ex- perienced it, and said: "We may think of the privileges of the East, of the means of education there, but this is all, they are out of our reach." Finding it impossible to get missionaries from the East, he projected his seminary at Gambler, but met disapproval of his plans, from those who looked upon it only as a scheme of op- position to the General Seminary, and was even threatened with ruin, if he should persist in his efforts to obtain the necessary funds in England. In Maryland the same state of affairs existed, and those who were in earnest in the cause of education there met the same opposition, and even in greater degree, on account of their known objections to the General Seminary, on the ground that it was and must be necessarily under the special influence of Bishop Hobart, and inevitably used to propagate the doctrines by which he was peculiarly distinguished. Bishop Kemp, then the Bishop of Ministry in Georgetown, D. C. 65 Maryland, earnestly co-operated -with Bishop Hobart in the cause of the new seminary, and threw the weight of his influence against any efforts in any other direction, though a large proportion of both the clergy and laity of his diocese were not in agreement with him. As early as 1818 several of the clergy of Maryland and Virginia had organized the " Society for the Education of Pious Young Men for the Ministry of the Protestant Episcopal Church," but its operations had been very limited, and confined to the assist- ance of a few young men, pursuing their studies with individual clergymen. In 1821, however, the Diocese of Virginia proposed to establish a seminary in that State, and locate it at the coUege at Williamsburg. In this plan they asked the co-operation of Mary- land, and at the convention of that dioc'ege, in that year, a resolution, . commending and approving the plan, was offered and considered, but definite action was postponed until the next meeting of the convention. At the next session, in 1822, the subject was again brought forward, and, as Virginia had not carried out its plan, a resolu- tion was adopted to establish " a local Theological Seminary,'' and a committee was chosen by ballot to report a constitution for its government. The Rev. Mr. Henshaw, afterward Bishop of Rhode Island, the Rev. Mr. Hawley, and the Rev. Mr. Johns, subse- quently Bishop of Virginia, were the clerical members of this com- mittee, which soon reported a plan for the organization of the seminary, placing its management in a board of thirteen trustees, (8 clerical and 5 lay), the Bishop of the Diocese being ex-officio Presi- dent. The constitution so reported was adopted by the convention, by the large vote of 23 out of 30 of the clergy, and 19 out of 30 of the laity, so strong was the sentiment in its favor. Of this board of trustees Mr. Tyng was elected a member, and he engaged actively in support of the effort. Bishop Kemp was, however, most outspoken in his opposi- tion to the whole scheme, and soon after issued a pastoral let- ter in which he inveighed against it in strong terms. In this letter, after reciting the action of the General Convention in reference to the General Seminary, and claiming that such ac- tion was binding upon the whole Church, he said: "The pres- ent plan of erecting a Theological Seminary, independent of the General Convention, I view as counteracting that authority, and opening a door for errors and divisions of the most destructive kind. That the intentions of those who planned and promoted this scheme, 66 Rev. Stephen Higginson Tyng, D.D. was rebellious I am not prepared to say, with their motives I have nothing to do, they must be tried by the searcher of hearts, but their conduct is a fair subject of examination and judgment." Much correspondence ensued, in the course of which, the Bishop made an attack upon the clergy who were directly engaged in this movement, censuring them not only for the course which they had pursued in this connection, but as well for the doctrines which they held and taught. He decUned to act in any way in the organiza- tion of the seminary, and it was due to his opposition that the effort failed. In the following year the trustees reported success in the collection of funds, but recommended the suspension of further proceedings " until greater unanimity among members of the Church may induce the convention to pass further orders on the • subject. " The most active agents in the organization of this seminary and in the attempt to establish it in Maryland, were the clergy of the District of Columbia, " the District clergy," as they were called. These were .six in number, Messrs. Wilmer and Norris, in Alexan- dria, Hawley and Allen, in Washington, Mcllvaine and Tyng, ia Georgetown. They were the most numerous body of Evangelical clergymen, who lived contiguous to each other in any part of the Church territory, and were ia constant association in the editing of a monthly paper entitled, "The Theojogical Eeportory." At the meetings held by them for this purpose, they were frequently joined by others of the clergy from more distant places, and every question of importance in regard to the Evangelical party in the Church was habitually discussed. It was against them particularly that the censures of the Bishop's pastoral letter were directed, and it elicited from them, individually, immediate replies. In the letters which Mr. Tyng addressed to the Bishop, in the course of their correspondence upon this subject, the character of the charges made is sufficiently indicated. As soon as he came into the diocese, as he states in one of his letters to his father, he became the subject of "Episcopal proscription," and during the first week he was at Georgetown received a letter containing a violent attack upon him, from the Bishop, whom he had not then seen. The treatment which he was called upon to bear even caused him to desire removal, notwithstanding all the circumstances of advantage and comfort in which he was otherwise placed. His letters to the Bishop express clearly, as follows, the views and the position which Mr. Tyng maintained, as weU as his independence of mind and action. Ministry in Georgetown, D. C. 67 Georgetown, Jidy 23d, 1822. Eight Eev. and Dear Sir — I acknowledge with pleasure the receipt of a pastoral letter addressed by you to your diocese, and should have written to you before upon the subject, but I have thought it expedient to delay. In this letter I am surprised to find a general censure upon the clergy of the District, for preaching doctrines in many points opposed to the generally received doctrines of the Church, and for practicing and countenancing dangerous departures from the Liturgy and usages of the Church. I am not account- able for the conduct of my brethren, but I should say gener- ally of the clergy of the District, that I know of no aberrations, either in doctrine or practice, which are peculiarly practised by them. I say peculiarly practised by them, because it must ever remain a matter of opinion merely what doctrines are correct and what are otherwise. For my own conduct I am responsible and I am willing to answer. It is most undoubtedly your province to examine, and, when it is necessary, to censure the conduct of your clergy, and whenever I am found open to reproof I shall receive it with humility, and am perfectly willing that my conduct as a clergyman of the Church should be narrowly scrutinized; but, sir, you must allow me to say respectfully, that I consider the charges of your letter upon me as a clergyman of the District to be in every respect unjust. It is my pride as it is my duty to comply in every respect with the established usages of the Church of which I am a member, and I feel perfectly satisfied that I am liable to no censure for any violations of those usages. I should avoid as scrupulously as your- self anything which might have the appearance of deviation from constituted rules, and I have ever, in aU my ministrations, been ob- servant of them. With regard to the doctrines I preach, it is, as I have before said, a matter of opinion whether they are correct or not. I do trust that I have not deviated from my sole purpose of preaching the truth as it is in Jesus, and I have no desire ever to declare anything to mankind but that. Froin the charge of Calvin- ism, I believe, however, I am entirely clear, at least I know of none of the peculiarities of Calvin that I support, and certainly none that I ever preach. I should not perhaps have been so willing to write to you upon this subject but for the complaints which are made by my people of the injustice of the charges of your letter as applied to me. If 68 Rev. Stephen Higginson Tyng, D.D. my language is anything but perfect respect, it does not express the feelings- of Your servant in Christ, Stephen H. Tyng. Georgetown, July 1^t\ 1822. Eight Eev. and Deae Sih — I am gratified to have received from you your favor of the 26th inst. So far as my own feelings are con- cerned, it is perfectly satisfactory, and I assure you I -will never voluntarily become unworthy of the good feelings and opinion you manifest towards me. This letter has afforded to me an entire relief from suspicion that I was included in the censure of your charge, and had the accusations been also private it would have been amply sufficient. But, sir, we . must consider it in another point of view. Tour pastoral letter was given to the world, and being in print everybody may become acquainted with it. The subject of it is a censure of the Theological Seminary estabhshed by the Convention, when, in the course of it, you hint at the faults of your clergy in the District, and censure some of them. To what shall your people recur for a more particular demarkation of the offending individ- uals ? Will they not at once refer to the Journals of the Convention, and there find which of them voted contrary to your opinion, and in favor of an institution which you have declared you consider as systematizing Calvinism in your diocese. The impression from your pastoral letter is gone abroad that three of the , District clergy, Mr. Hawley, Mr. Mcllvaine and myself are Calvinists and are censurable for their conducting of the Liturgy. Y^e are considered as the objects of reproof in your public communica- tion to your diocese. We are, of course, throughout the country wherever your letter is seen, thought to be leagued in opposition to your views. I have at the North many friends, and highly respect- able in the Church, persons whose opinion is of great importance to me, and how unfavorable must be the impression on their minds of a young man who came from them to commence his ministry in your diocese, and in little more than a year laid himself open to such marked reproof. In your letter you acquit me of the censure, it is true, but your letter can go no farther than myself, and the acquittal should be as public as the charge. These considerations, sir, have induced me, notwithstanding our private correspondence upon the subject, to unite with my brethren Ministry in Georgetown, D. C. 69 in the District, in a public letter to yourself, correcting what we conceive mistaken charges against our doctrines and our practice. I regret exceedingly the occasion of this. I regret that I particu- larly, when I have endeavored in every respect to preserve unbroken the bond of peace, and have followed my own unbiased opinion in all my conduct, should be considered as leagued in any opposition against one, whose situation and office, I have ever so highly vene- rated as that of a Bishop of the Church of Christ. Be assured, sir, that whatever others may be, the character of a party man is one which from my soul I despise, and I shall never engage in any measure in the Church, but from deliberate persuasion that it is my duty, and though now I appear in opposition to you, ascribe it, I pray you, sir, to the circumstances in which I am necessarily placed, and not to any want of respect or affection in Your servant and friend, S. H. Tyng. Georgetown, August 1st, 1822. Eight Rev. and Dear Sir — I have just received yours of the 31st, in answer to mine of the 29th inst., and I must beg permission to answer it in the same candid spirit with which it was evidently written. I shall first say with the utmost sincerity, that if, during our present correspondence or upon any other occasion, I have been in:a single point wanting in that respect which wUl be ever due from my situation to yours and from myself to you, I am extreme- ly sorry, and with unfeigned humility do ask to have it forgotten. With regard to my conduct in the present business, I have pursued what I did conceive and what I still conceive to be the strict princi- ples of duty. I have in my last letter spoken sufficiently of the manner in which I have acted. I need therefore to say no more. I said not that I had "joined in amy remonstrance against your pastoral letter," but that " I had united with my brethren in a public letter correct- ing ivhal we conceive to bemistaJcen charges against our doctrine and our practice. " In doing this, whatever may be the " consequences " by which I " must abide," I hope I shall not have subjected myself to your displeasure. What T have done or said I am convinced was required of me by my situation as a minister of the gospel, and as an indi- vidual, and if the manner of it has implied the least disrespect, I now repeat that it was entirely unintentional. I am utterly at a loss to discover your meaning in saying, "in this business I wiU not deny that I think there is more 70 Rev. Stephen Higginson Tyng, D.D. intended than avowed." I know of nothing which is kept se- cret. Was this observation meant to be applied to me or others ? If to myself, I do say decidedly that I think my conduct in every respect in "this business, "and always toward you, sir, should have saved me from such a charge. I do with solemnity say that I know of nothing with regard to " this business " that I would not with perfect willingness declare to you. If the observation be meant for others, I can only say that I know nothing about it. I have never been made one of any cabal, nor have I been consulted upon any subject. If there is intentional secrecy, I have no part in it, neither do I know anything of it. In every matter, and most of all in one connected with religion and the Church, I am desirous to act openly and decidedly, as I think duty prompts me, without acqui- escing designedly in the opinion of any man on earth. I do most sincerely regret the occasion of our correspondence, but I hope by it I shall not forfeit your esteem and good wUl. Be assured, sir, that I am with sincere affection and respect, Tour son and servant, Stephen H. Tyno. Upon the failure of the effort to establish a seminary in Mary- land a renewed effort was made in Virginia. The Rev. Reuel Keith, then Professor in William and Mary College at Williamsburg, was induced to remove to Alexandria, and there, in the lecture room of St. Paul's Church, in 1823, the Theological Seminary of Virginia, familiarly known as " the Alexandria Seminary " was opened. The Rev. Dr. WUmer and the Rev. Mr. Norris, both of whom had been accustomed to take theological students, were as- sociated with Dr. Keith in the Faculty of the Seminary. Of all its founders. Dr. Wibner was perhaps the most earnest and efficient, and the influence of " the District clergy " was most instru- mental in its organization. Thus interested and active in its for- mation, Dr. Tyng continued the life-long friend of the Seminary, and by hia efforts contributed greatly to its prosperity and useful- ness. He alone of all its founders remained to unite in the celebra-- tion of its Semi-centennial Anniversary, in 1873, and on that occasion to bear his testimony in memory of those who had stood with him in efforts for its establishment, and to narrate " the Maryland side" of its history. CHAPTER YI. MINISTRY IN PRINCE GEORGE'S CO., MARYLAND, 1823 to 1829. This period of my ministry commenced with May, 1823. My cordial and unanimous invitation to Prince George's occasioned much surprise. Their past ministry had been of a very dififerent stamp from mine. A clergyman whom I esteemed highly, remarked to me that he would give me six months for that experiment ; by that time I should be compelled to leave them. I passed there six most happy and useful years. I encountered some opposition. But it always yielded to my quiet pursuit of manifest duty. And I found many faithful and steady friends who never failed me. Their children and grandchildren keep me in their re- membrance with affectionate interest to this day. I was indeed supported there during my whole period of ser- vice as their rector most kindly and liberally. And when I felt that my duty in my Lord's work called me elsewhere, it was against their united desire, and their earnest wish that I would spend my whole life with them. At Easter, 1823, I removed my little family to Prince George's. To understand our position in this parish, it must be remember- ed that the whole territory of Maryland, was originally laid out in parishes, in all of which the Church of England claimed to be the established religion. The bounds of these parishes were the terri- torial limits recognized by law. Queen Anne Parish was a stretch of territory about thirty miles in length and perhaps twenty in width. Its eastern boundary was the Patuxent River. It was occupied by large plantations, of from 500 to 1000 acres. Its plantations and dwellings were frequently in the possession of families by whom they had been owned from the first history of the State. Their chief production, and that which was familiarly caUed " the crop," was tobacco. The land was cultivated wholly by slaves, of whom there were about 2500 in the parish. There were two churches ten miles apart. The one was the parish Church, the other was the chapel. 71 72 Rev. Stephen Higginson Tyng, D.D. They stood about ten miles from the north and the south borders of the parish. The chapel, adjoining which my pai-sonage was built, was about ten miles south of the turnpike, now the railroad from Baltimore to Washington. The church was a large brick edifice. The chapel was a small wooden one. I was to preach in each on alternate Sunday mornings. There was but one service on each Sunday, but both were well attended. Perhaps an average of fifty to one hundred slaves were at each service. This whole territory was an extremely beautiful, undulating and fertile country. The ministry of the church was supported wholly by subscriptions obtained and collected by different members of the vestry in divisions of the territory, which were called their " rides.'' The public duty demanded of the minister was one service on each Sabbath. AU additional public labor was voluntary. On this work and this field I had thus entered. The liberality of this peo- ple to me was uniform and large; every year the voluntary subscrip- tions for my support amounted to much more than the salary origi- nally proposed to me. My real duties were all laid out by myself. I was accustomed to appoint missionary preaching tours occupying the two weeks from one alternate Sunday to another in the neighbor- hood, to which the intervening Sunday was central; preaching every evening from house to house, to the servants of the plantation at which I stopped for the night. The neighboring families would thus collect, and all the slaves on the plantation would be called up; I thus had a very large audience before me on each occasion. Thus I might be said to have lived on horseback, traveUing an average of a hundred miles every week. I extended these mission- ary rides far beyond the bounds of my own parish, throughout the peninsula between the Patuxent and the Potomac rivers. I often crossed the Potomac, extending my rides down the peninsulas of Lower Virginia, and across the Patuxent, over toward the Chesa- peake Bay. I have frequently thus ridden upon preaching tours more than two hundred miles within the week. I thus became ex- tensively acquainted through Maryland and Virginia, and was always welcomed and at home in every house. I frequently preached also in the villages of Queen Anne and Upper Marlboro' in my own county, in the large rooms of the taverns. The people were always ready to hear, and they welcomed a preacher whom they fancied at aU times and in all places. This was my customary method of work in every year. My preaching was always wholly extemporaneous, and I had no care where Ministry in Prince Georges Co., Md. 73 it was or to whom. I was bold and earnest in my manner and utter- ance, and had the reputation of an uncompromising preacher. I was perfectly free with the people; and if at any time they com- plained of my strong expressions, I was accustomed to say to them, " Come once more and I will try •^o make you forget this." I felt myself to have been called to the parish which I held, to influence a self-indulgent and proud people. I therefore never withheld my testimony; I endeavored to be bold and faithful in my warnings. But the people believed in me and I became more acceptable year by year. God was pleased to own and bless my efforts. Many were awakened. Many precious souls were con- verted, praising God for His redeeming love and thankful for the ministry under which they had been led to seek a Saviour's power and grace. Such blessed fruits early crowned my labors in this beloved parish, and made the place a truly happy home for me. Friends were raised u]d for us whose affection never failed, and whose decision and influence overcame all surrounding hostility which enemies to the truth might endeavor to excite. I was able in this place to study much in the winter, when I was less abroad, and all my studies were consecrated to the one ob- ject of my life. I thus gained much as a preacher, aud with my habit of speaking, obtained a reputation which I had never antici- pated. In my first summer in Prince George's, I was laid by for some weeks with an attack of bilious fever. In all my subsequent years, I enjoyed constant and effective health, and passed a most active and animating, though often a fatiguing life, building me up in mind, body, and experience with peculiar effect. In January, 1825, my dear Dudley was born, a noble and beau- tiful boy. During this year a trying event happened to me which gave me some uneasiness at the time, but a far greater permanent bene- fit. The gentleman who first brought me to this place, and one of the richest men in the parish, at that time apparently a truly relig- ious man, then a widower, was married by me to his second wife. The festivities of the occasion, and the multitude of friends whom he entertained, seemed to revive his early habits of dissipation and excesses, and drew him off from his religious life to extreme indul- gence. I ventured to remonstrate with him upon his course, and he became much enraged with me. He withdrew from me his pecuniary support, and engaged in a very bitter persecution of me, determined, if possible, to drive me from the parish. His charges circulated 74 Rev. Stephen Higginson Tyng, D.D. against me were wlioUy unfounded, but tliey were so bold and posi- tive that they created much concern and inquiry among my friends. I refused to take any notice of them, and whenever I was asked if they were true, I always answered, " Go ask Mr. C." " But he al- ready says so," was the reply. " Well, if I should say they were false, how should I mend the matter?" Thus I endured his reproach and hostiUty for five years. One of Bishop Griswold's rules for me was, " Never vindicate yourself," and I have faithfully followed his direction in this as in other matters. This man died some time after my removal to Philadelphia in 1829, and sent me, by my successor, a message from his death-bed, entreating my for- giveness, declaring that he had never reaUy entertained any other sentiment towards me than the utmost respect, and could not die in peace without my forgiveness. On the margin of the letter was written: " Mr. G. died this morning at four o'clock. " This was the only personal difficulty or opposition that I met during the six years I was in this parish. To recount the acts and relations of affection and kindness which filled up those years would be impossible. Never were a people more kind, more atten- tive, or more sincere. The intelligence and education which I was obliged to meet there excited my utmost powers, and I gained much from my constant study and my excited efforts. There was no good school in the reach of my neighbors, and during a portion of these years I was persuaded to receive ten of my young parishioners to be taught in my own house. This was an amusement, rather than an employment, and while it added to my income, did not encroach upon my other duties. I taught them in my own study, myself studying at the same time. In July, 1827, our dear Alexander had been added to our little flock. During this summer I was laid aside from my work with a putrid sore throat, which confined me for several weeks and quite deprived me of my voice. In my recovery from this attack my brother Dudley, a physician, visited me. He told me that it was impossible to proceed in my ministry, and begged me to resign it. He said "You are cer- tainly in a consumption, and cannot live two years if you persist in preaching. " I assured him promptly, " I will never give up preach- ing, if I die in the pulpit." My brother has now been dead for many years, and I am still living and still active in my work. But my Lord's appointed time for this happy country life drew near to its conclusion. I had come to the conclusion that I ought to find, if it were possible, some more concentrated field of labor; in Ministry in Prince George s Co., Md. 75 which I should not be required to be so much absent from home. My parishioners pressed me to remain with them, and for my own comfort I could readily consent, but I felt I was accomplishing but little, although I saw no special opening towards any other field. Where I should go, I little imagined. No place seemed to pre- sent a constraining aspect, and it was my duty and my purpose to wait until the Lord should clearly open my way. Several different churches were visited by me at their request, but there was no " dew upon the fleece " in any one of them for me. Thus the autumn of 1828 passed by. In the following winter, whUe reading our weekly papers, which contained repeated accounts of the controversies in the churches of Philadelphia, and of the trials of the Eev. Benja- min Allen in St. Paul's Church, in that city, I used often to say, " Wherever I must go, I trast the Lord will not send me to St. Paul's Church," which had become vacant by Mr. Allen's death. And yet the opening of the spring of 1829, proved that to be the very place to which I was appointed to go. Mr. Allen died at sea on his return from England, in March, 1829. I had scarce become informed of his unexpected decease before a call came from this same St. Paul's Church, in such a form that I felt compelled to accept it, averse as I had felt in the antici- pation to the possibility of such a trial. We had but a weekly mail, on Thursday. The post-office was more than a mUe from my house. On one Thursday early in April I found five letters for me from Philadelphia. I took them home with me to read. They included a regular invitation from the vestry of St. Paul's Church, and private letters from friends urging me not to decline it. I considered them and talked over their sub- ject through the ensuing week, and I came to the conclusion that I could not undertake the charge of such a church. Such a reply to them severally I wrote for the next week's maU. When I went with my letters on that day I found several other letters from Philadel- phia which related to the same subject, and I took them and my own letters back to my house. These letters contained a cmrnn'wni- cation from a committee appointed at a meeting of professed pew- holders in St. Paul's Church, assembled to prevent my coming as their rector. And this committee forwarded to me a protest to that effect, signed by seventy-five persons professing to be legal voters in that church. I received also at this time other letters from mem- bers of the vestry, denying the legal authority of these persons, 76 Rev. Stephen Higginson Tyng, D.D. and from clerical friends in Philadelphia, begging me not to be moved by such opposition. It was an opposition avowedly resting upon my professed evan- gelical sentiments and character, and made up of persons hostile to such views, who professed at the same time the utmost respect, per- sonally, for myself. This was manifestly an hostility for the trufKs sake; and I felt at once the impossibility of shrinking from that. I accordingly determined to accept the call at once, and so answered all the communications; and gave notice to each party that I would be in St. Paul's as its rector on the 1st day of May. Thus far Ufe had passed for me with unceasing comforts. God had graciously given me a reputation in the ministry far beyond any expectations of mine. Every thing in the prospect seemed bright and encouraging. " A great and effectual door was opened to me, though there were many adversaries." The openings for a life of usefulness and faithfulness, which were now offered to me, seemed unlimited. There was no apparent obstacle to the gather- ing of an abounding harvest, and the disseminating a wide influ- ence for my dear and gracious Lord. I left Prince George's for Philadelphia about the 1st of May. In Baltimore I met a committee of the vestry of St. Paul's who were on their way to conduct me to my new home. With them I took the boat for Philadelphia, sorrowing to leave the many friends and brethren whom I had loved, and with whom I had labored so happUy in Maryland. I had thus finished an important portion of my ministry as a field of education for aU that was to come, and from old age I trace back its influence upon the whole intervening period of life. A constant correspondence with his father was maintained during all the years passed in Maryland, and many of these letters have been preserved. Though they add but few facts to those already related, they are of much interest as revealing the spirit and principles which governed Mr. Tyng in these first years of his ministry. His life in this country parish, effective as it was in its educa- tion for succeeding years, was attended by many difiiculties and trials, which often caused a desire for removal. The treatmept which he received from Bishop Kemp, and "the dreadful evil of slavery," are at first mentioned as his reasons for a change, but others are urged in later letters, and a return to the North was at Ministry in Prince Georges Co., Md. "]"] all times desired. Bishop Kemp's opposition to him does not seem to have been long continued, however, and it is a singular fact that upon his death, Mr. Tyng was considered as his successor in the church of which he had been rector. Writing to his father in March, 1824, less than a year after removal to Prince George's County, he says : " My difficulties with Bishop Kemp are, I trust, forever put to rest. I shaU make no attempt to revive them. He ordained me the other day and treated me with marked complaisance and atten- tion. His opposition to me may have arisen, as you suppose, from a suspicion that I was a Calvinist. But I assure you it is a most unfounded surmise. It is somewhat curious that my Calvinistic brethren rate me as a rank Arminian, and the others again imagine that I am a follower of Calvin. The truth is that I am neither the nor the other. It is a controversy in which I have never interfered, nor do I believe an attention to it would be at all advantageous to me. I defend myself by turns from each imputation, and, without paying attention to any of these schemes of doctrine, labor to preach and to practice as I think the Word of God directs. " I beg you never to hint again that I am a favorer of any pre- destinarian plan, for though I know many Calvinists whose character I venerate, I can never bring myself to a unity of faith with them." Again, writing a few weeks later, he says : " Since I wrote you Bishop Kemp has made me a visit, and manifested perfect satisfaction with all my parochial concerns. He has appointed me to preach one of the regular convention sermons. His late conduct to me has been such that I have no possible cause for complaint. I am the more pleased to state this to you because I have mentioned before the difiference which has existed between us." Of his association with Bishop Kemp at this time Dr. Tyng once told the following story : " He came to visit me in my country parish once, and had been re- buking me a great deal more than I liked. I was driving him in my chaise from one appointment to another, and I said,' Bishop, there is not an old woman in my parish who can put her pot on to boil, but you must lift the lid to see what is inside of it.' Brother Hawley and Brother Mcllvaine were in the carriage with us, and when they laughed at my remark, for they too had been reproved by the Bishop, I said, • My dear Bishop, we had better move off and let you get another set of preachers.' He was an honest, old-fashioned kind of man, and a very broad Scotchman, and he said, ' Ah, if you 78 Rev. Stephen Higginson Tyng, D.D. go, I will get a worse set of preachers.' Said I, ' It is not likely that you will, for a worse set for a Bishop to dragoon it would be hard to find.' " In the following letter, referring to a possible opening for him at Gardiner, Maine, his various motives for removal are set forth iq detail, and many of the difficulties of his position are clearly depicted. Prince Geoege's Co., Md., Oct. %d, 1825. " Tour letter of the 8th inst," he writes, " was received, my dear father, with much thankfulness, and all its matters I intend now to treat of at large. I am sincerely grateful to you for the kind wish you have expressed to help me in my wants. I had no expectation of any assistance, nor if you were able to help me would it be nee-, essary. With regard to the matter of my removal, I wish now to sum up all the various motives which bear upon my mind on either side. The situation which I now hold is considered the best coun- try parish in Maryland. The salary is in general a good support for my family, and so far as I know my labors are universally accept- able to the people. I receive many marks of attachment and regard from them, and have reason to beHeve that they in truth esteem me highly for my work's sake. We have a most comfortable and convenient house and have this year enjoyed uninterrupted health. The people probably have no idea of my removing at present. The society in some respects is pleasant, and the contiguity to many of my brethren in the Church is valuable. So much, in addition to the general inexpediency of changes, for remaining where I am. " On the other hand, the parish is too large for me to perform its duties properly or satisfactorily. It extends twenty-five miles by H^ven, and I have parishioners in the remotest corners. My churches are nine miles apart, and all these distances I am obliged to ride on horseback, the only practicable way of journaying alone in this country. This perpetual exposure is very severe. My salary, arising from an annual voluntary subscription, is altogether uncertain and depends entirely upon the caprice of individuals, by which it has more than once been already considerably affected, although, as I have before said, it may be probably calculated upon under general circumstances as a reasonable support. Then I am elected as the minister every year, and can be but for one year at a time. This the law of the State directs. This places everything at loose at the year's end, and if three vestrymen out of five, which by law constitutes a quorum, become dissatisfied, with reason or Ministry in Prince George s Co., Md. 79 ■without, 1 am liable to be placed adrift with all my family without a day's warning. Then for the climate, although we have been perfectly well this season, it is the valley of the shadow of death. Every home exhibits yearly its cases of biUous fever, more or less malignant. The slavery system goads me perpetually, and the proud and haughty character of the masters is quite intolerable, though I believe I see the system under its mildest type. These, in addition to my entire remoteness from my own family and friends, for my removal. Now it is my intention to remove to the North at some early period, at any rate. The question is whether I had better take the present opportunity of removing or wait another. I can move but at one time in the year. My engagements here terminate with every March, and when renewed, must be re- newed for a year. It is my wish to get away as soon as I can, and yet I can hardly tell whether in consistence with my duty I ought to go at present. " The situation at Gardiner I imagine would please me, whether I should satisfy them it is impossible for me to say. It will be im- possible for me to visit them now. They must judge from what evidence they can obtain of my qualiiications, and if they think fit must write to me here. This is all that can be done. Now I wish you, from a review of all these circumstances, to advise me upon the subject as it regards a definitive step. I have heard that I have just been invited to Alexandria, but I have not received the communication, nor should I at all accede to it if I did. I shall never remove from here tiU. I can make a final settlement at the North. When I can do that I shall feel truly thankful. " I need not teU you, I feel pleasure at your favorable notice of my sermon. I care very little for rank or reputation on my own account, compared to the desire which I ever feel that you should realize something like recompense for past trouble in whatever little respectability I may be able to obtain. Notwithstanding your thousand apprehensions and the contentment which you used to express with any prospect short of the gaUows for your sons, I hope you will live to find that none of them disgrace you in the end. My prevailing and overruling desire is that I may gloriiy His name, whether by life or by death, that I may finish my course with joy and the ministry which I have received of the Lord Jesus to testify the gospel of the grace of God. I meet with many difficul- ties and trials here, but I can look forward in faith to an hour when they shall have gone forever, and when, through the blood and 8o Rev. Stephen Higginson Tyng, D.D. righteousness of God my Saviour, I shall be made a partaker of an inheritance which is unfading in the Heavens. " Let me hear from you soon about the matters of this letter and try to excuse its length. " Affectionately your son, " Stephen H. Tyng." A description of the character of the people in this parish and the boldness of his preaching to them, is given as follows in one of his lectures: " I suppose in my chapel in Maryland I never had over fifty per- sons, while my average congregation was twenty-five. In that con- gregation there were two governors of the state, a member of Con- gress and a judge of the United States Supreme Court, and every one of them I believe was skeptical. I do not believe that one of them had a decided belief in Christianity even. But the Lord sent me there to learn. * " I preached in taverns, and from house to house, wherever I could find a room or a gathering for the purpose; of some of my sermons to this people in one of the taverns I wUl repeat my texts. " Isaiah iii. 9, ' The show of their countenance doth witness against them; and they declare their sin as Sodom, they hide it not. Woe unto their soul, for they have rewarded evil unto themselves.' " Isaiah y. 11, 'Woe unto them that rise up early in the morning that they may follow strong drink ; that continue until night, till wine inflame them. But they regard not the work of the Lord, neither consider the operation of His hands. Therefore hell hath enlarged herself, and opened her mouth without measure : and their glory, and their multitude, aud their pomp, and he that rejoiceth, shall descend into it.' " " Ezekiel xvi. 49, ' Behold this was the iniquity of Sodom: pride, fulness of bread, and abundance of idleness was in her and in her daughters: therefore I took them away as I saw good.' " There was at first a good deal of bustling and some threats under these direct rebukes of their prevailing sin. But I yielded nothing, and the complaints ended under the counsel of an old res- ident, who said, ' You had better let that young man alone. You will not do much with him and you know he is right.' " God gave me many precious souls among that people. When I left them they gathered around me with ,the appeal, ' Why do you leave us ? ' You might spend your life with us. We wiU do any thing for you, we shall never get another minister that we shall like Ministry in Prince Georges Co., Md. 8i BO much.' And yet by the help of my gracious Lord I did not truckle to their habits of life." In speaking of his studies at this time, he said: " I was a poor country minister. My salary one year with a family was $264, and I doubt if any of you will get down lower than that. I went to housekeeping in a very small way. I began living in one room, which was my study, my bed-room, my dining-room. I bought here and there a book. I weU remember when I got hold of four vol- umes of Ezekiel Hopkins, and read them straight through six times, over and over again. I had nothing else to read, " Then I went to preaching them from memory. I may truly be said to have preached extemporaneously Bishop Hopkins' sermons over and over again. Then Bishop Reynolds' six volumes I read over and over again, till I could tell in which volume any striking quotation could be found. I did the same with Leighton's. These three formed my chief furniture. I never read Ralph Erskine tiU going into a store its owner said, ' I don't know that you want such a book; it is all Calvin.' 'WeU,' I said, 'what is one man's meat, is another man's poison.' I got it, and of all writings Ralph Erskine is fuller, grander, more discriminating, more instructive than any writer on the Gospels and the Acts that I know." Constant reference is made in his letters to the affection with which he was regarded by his people, and which bound him so closely to them, notwithstanding the various motives which induced him to make a change. In one he says: " More affection I could not receive from any people than these manifest toward me. Kind assistance and attentions are sponta- neously offered from many quarters and every house and family is a home to us." Again he writes upon the same subject as follows: March 27th, 1827. My Deab Father — After a long period of anxiety I received your kind letter of the 7th, a fortnight since I have, yesterday, made a new engagement with my parish under very pleasing circumstances. Upon notice of the plans which others had formed for me they have without an exception ex- pressed their anxious hope that I should not be induced to leave them, and with these gratifying expressions of personal attachment they have made a considerable increase of my income. These man- ifestations of affection on their part are in a high degree pleasing to me, both as increasing the probable comfort of my future residence 82 Rev. Stephen Higginson Tyng, D.D. and as indicating the value -which has been assigned to my past labors. And they present another point of paramount importance in laying open a way for more profitable exertions among them here- after. I hope I may feel truly grateful for the high estimation which God has given to these exertions with them, without vainly confiding in myself or thinking of them more highly than I ought to think. My vigilance and my most sincere prayers have been ever directed against the power of flattery among friends. Every clergyman is in some degree exposed to its temptations and many by them destroyed. I have never sought or valued what is called popularity as a preacher. But the respect and esteem which result from a faithful discharge of public and private duties I desire to be always anxious to secure. My habits and my disposition are re- tired. I meddle with no matters beyond my own vocation and I sel- dom preach out of my own pulpit. I am not absent from home more than three or four Sundays in the year, and yet I have never repeated sermons, nor have I preached all that I have written. You will allow therefore that with my constant calls from home and my habits of frequent visiting among my people, I can seldom be an idle man. But I should hardly have been led to say so much to you of myself, had you not so kindly referred to my habits of life in your last. I feel gratified exceedingly, my dear father, with that affection- ate reference which you now so frequently make to the high inter- ests and the rich consolations of the gospel. The comfort of a peaceful prospect for another and an unchanging state, can never fail us and should never be forgotten or put aside. Whether we are young or old, our present state is but a day, the only possible value of which, is that it is a day of salvation. Not a day has passed me for these several years that I have not uj^on my knees presented to a merciful God the wants of my dear father and his children. We are here widely separated, perhaps we shall always be so. But we can daily meet together before the throne of grace and be the means even in our bodily separation of bringing down the rich- est blessings upon each other. And may I not think that God has heard our mutual supplications ? May I not believe that my con- tinued and unspeakable comforts are the fruits of my father's prayers and that even in your behalf the petitions, sincere and affectionate, of a child once wandering but now I trust brought back and forgiven, have been heard and answered ? I truly hope that you will never find yourself forsaken, for an hour^ by our heavenly Ministry in Prince George s Co., Md. 83 Friend. I shall never cease to pray that through the precious blood-shedding of a Mighty Eedeemer— for that is my only ground of confidence — ^you may receive amiercLful and comforting guidance through your remaining days and a free and gracious pardon and acceptance when your last conflict is finished. This devoutness of spirit and mind pervades all his letters, while devotion to the one aim of his ministry characterized him not less strongly, than in his later ministry in the larger fields he then occupied. The earnestness of his purpose and principle in' preaching is nowhere more fully or more clearly expressed than in a letter to a favorite aunt in Newburyport when he writes : Prince George's Co., Md., November 15, 1827. I shall take the opportunity of Oapt. Doles' return to comply with my promise to my dear aunt, in the transmission of Bishop Dehon's sermons. They are written, you wiU find, in a polished and beautiful style, and are certainly correct and orthodox in their representations of the faith of the gospel. But they are very de- ficient, in my opinion, in those clear and forcible declarations of divine truth which are alone calculated to carry conviction to the heart of man. The great object in the preaching of the gospel, is the awakening a race dead and sleeping in sins and the converting of them unto God. Now this effect can hardly foUow upon merely didactic preaching, however correct may be all the points which it presents. "We feel ourselves, the continually lethargic dispositions of our own hearts, and the necessity that we should be frequently aroused, in order to maintain, with any degree of life, the fervor of religion within oiir souls. The experience of my own necessities, and the conviction that heart answereth to heart among men, has led me to a style of preaching thought by some, I am well aware, too vehement, if not fanatical. But I am daily the more convinced, that it is the only consistent way of preaching the gos- pel. The dead and careless way in which 'he truth as it is in Jesus is too often proclaimed, hardly presents the idea, that the preacher is sincere and earnest about the great matters of judgment and eternity and heaven and hell which he professes to set before the attention of others. If we believe these things, indeed how can we help feeling them. I might far more rationally be cool and philo- sophic, when pestilence was preying upon my body or fire was de- 84 Rev. Stephen Higginson Tyng, D.D. stroying my habitation, than when I am assured that " the wrath of God is revealed against every soul of man that doeth evil," and " that affj " have thus " sinned and come short of the glory of God." I am persuaded, that however earnest and excited any may be, in matters of salvation, we are still far too cold and unmoved. And in heaven or heU we shall see reason for far greater earnestness and devotion than we are now willing to feel or to tolerate. Excuse this, my dear aunt, but I well know you think in. some measure with me upon these subjects. I hope you will be pleased vrith the Bishop, remembering this one exception. •Since my return I have been busily occupied in parochial and domestic cares. A most unusual degree of health has been granted me, which I feel ought to be devoted far more exclusively and sin- cerely to the service of the Great God than it ever has been. I wish to become more faithful and disinterested in my labors for men. But alas, I see in myself, what I hope few others find in the same degree, a continual self-seeking and wandering from the one great object of proper love and adoration, a crucified and exalted Jesus. I so much need humbling, that I often fear, God in His wise goodness, wiU take severe and awful methods to bring me down. I hope His grace will be found sufficient for me, for while I Hve it shall be my labor to serve Him daily with more fidelity in the gos- pel of His Son You would be dehghted, I am sure, to see how many mercies and blessings encompass us here. I only hope we may be made more contented and thankful. Earthly comforts after aU are but trifling matters. A few more years, and they will be nothing to us. But then are we ready for the arrival of that hour ? Does Jesus dwell in our hearts by faith ? And are we laboring to drink more deeply into His holy and harmless and self-denying Spirit. These are the important matters for our consideration.- It is too fearfully true, my dear aunt, you may rely upon it, that many around us, around you, are building upon a hope of security which has no foundation. I cannot but tremble when I reflect upon the mournful disappointment of such when Jesus says, " I never knew you." I can find no way of salvation revealed in the Bible but through a radical change of heart by the power of the Holy Spirit. I am smiled at perhaps by some for my insisting upon this. A few years will tell the truth. I feel sure there is no other way for me. I hope God may have mercy upon those who reject this way. I cannot say, I believe He will. Let us, however, give all diligence and feel that no exertions are too great, for an Ministry in Prince Georges Co., Md. 85 object so unspeakably important, as our eternal salvation. Let me be remembered with much loye by you, and be assured I can never cease to love my Aunt B. You vrill hear from me soon through my father. Till then farewell. It is alike expressed in the following letters to his father, whose health was then gradually failing: Prince Geoege's Co., Md., March 2>\st, 1828. I am deeply grieved, my dear father, to hear from Susan last week of your painful and long indisposition, and though it is not a long time since you have heard from me, I felt a strong desire to write to you at once. The situation of my own family has been such for three weeks past, as would lead me to sympathize with sickness in any one, and it added peculiarly to my distress to hear in the midst of our sufferings, of your painful confinement. How painfully at such a time as this do I feel my distant separation from you. I would thankfully be with you, in some measure to comfort and support you, were it not thus made impracticable by our wide removal, preventing me even from hearing from you as I wish. I do pray God most sincerely to be with you, and strengthen you in any hours of trial through which He may lead you, though I trust He win give you yet a measure of restored health and present peace. The nearer divine providence brings us to a world of eternal recompense, the more, my dear father, must we tremble with the consciousness of our own sinful, weak and worthless character. What are we, we are ready to say, in the eye of an holy and heart-searching God, but poor beings who have abused our privileges, wasted our days of grace, and returned ingratitude and negligence to the highest love ? And what is there in ourselves that He can look upon without aversion and abhorrence ? Alas, if we can see these deficiencies so plainly, how must they appear to Him who cannot be deceived, or look upon transgression but with displeasure ? How much in such seasons of dejection and sorrow do we feel the need of a Redeemer, who shall be able to uphold, whose fuU atonement can make provision for our forgiveness and acceptance, and who wUl not forsake us, though all others should ! Are we not aU dying sinners, differing only in that, in God's wis- dom, some of us may be nearer the end than others ? And when that end comes, my dear father, is it not a most important matter for consideration, in what is the foundation of our hope of life ? It is quite evident that we cannot appear before the throne of God in 86 Rev. Stephen Higginson Tyng, D.D, the confidence of our own integrity, because even to our own retrospective view, life has been filled with transgressions and follies, with omissions of duty and positive violations of law. If our confi- dence is in the mercy of God, as offered in Jesus Christ, there then comes to our hearts the solemn question, whether that mercy has been rejected or received, whether casting away all hope in our own obedience, we have been disposed only to plead the value of His redemption, praying God of His promised goodness, not to weigh our merits but to pardon our offenses, or whether we have not destroyed the influence of His intervention, by trusting, partially at least, in our own righteousness ? I often ask myself what is a good ground of hope in a dying hour, and I can see no other than this, that in the consciousness of my own weakness and guUt I have embraced in my heart that free salvation which is offered in the blood of Jesus, and by His Holy Spirit have labored to glorify Him in a holy conformity to His image. A future day must prove whether this is my case indeed, but there is no other foundation than that which God hath laid in Jesus Christ. O may we be found to have built upon this ^foundation, "gold, silver, precious stones," that whether you or I be called first, our rest may be together in heaven. I know not the extent of your present sufferings, and my mind is extremely distressed and anxious. Let me hear weekly of your situation, and if it be not improved, at whatever sacrifice, you shall see me this spring In addition to the frequent journeys of which he writes in his record and as being required in his own parish work, his interest in the Alexandria Seminary was unabated. In a letter under date of Dec. 2, 1828, he says : " I have but yesterday returned from a long journey, in an agency for our education society and theological seminary, and in the spring have agreed to undertake for a much longer period the same business. The affairs of our seminary are highly prosperous, and the increased number of students renders absolutely necessary a large increase of funds and accommodations. We hope in the course of the ensuing year to be able to place it on as extensive foundations as any school of the kind in the United States." The following letter, while speaking of an accumulation of trials as pressing him to some change, is also of interest as mentioning the earliest occasion on which he took part in " the Anniversaries " in New York, in which he was so prominent in later years. Ministry in Prince Georges Co., Md. 87 Prince George's Co., Md., F^. 19ffe, 1828. My Deae Father — ^Your kind letter of the 11th of January was duly received, and I only postponed my reply to it until after I had made a visit to Baltimore, whence I returned the latter part of last week. I had received an invitation from Dr. Wyatt to preach in the vacancy occasioned by the death of Bishop Kemp. The vestry of the church, I have repeatedly understood, design to give me a call to this place, but such are the terms and the character of the situation that to me they would be at present insurmountable ob- stacles. Whether therefore this invitation be given or not, I shall no longer think of it as a place for me Not from personal suffering, but materially from the afflictions of those around me I have been much cast down of late. During my short visit to Baltimore two valuable members of my parish were called out of this world, and my chief and best friend here, Mr. Brooke, had his new and valuable house, with all its contents, consumed by fire. These losses to me are afflictive from the many of the same kind which I have been required hitherto to bear. By the death of some friends and the losses of others, my income, which depends altogether upon voluntary subscriptions, has been much reduced. These circumstances sometimes seem sufficient to drive me to another place of labor. But then I reflect, that divine providence in a remarkable way placed me here, and has hedged my way from all possibility of honorable removal, whenever I have thought of it; that my people are attached to me and satisfied with me, and it is unkind of me to leave them, because they are in difficulty, and this satisfies me. I dislike to talk of removal, for I shall be nowhere more happy than I am here. But the claims of my family wiU soon make it necessary, if my life is spared. I wish to do nothing hastily about it, at any time, and 1 assure you that as I have com- municated to you with the utmost freedom all my views hitherto, I shall do nothing without your advice. It pains me to find you so much complaining of age and infirm- ity. I pray God yet to spare you to us for many years. We all need your counsel and direction, and a day of bitter mourning it will be for us when it can no more be had. But whether life be long or short appears but of little importance. You refer to your worldly concerns as not depreciating. I am thankful they do not. Though whatever they may be, for I have had no means for know- ing, my only desire is that you should make them minister to your own comfort, even if, like the good Archbishop Leighton, your days and your last farthing of property are expended 88 Rev. Stephen Higginson Tyng, D.D. together. I would not have you think of those you leave behind, for they can all be well taken care of. Consult nothing but your own wants and comfort, and have no anxiety for the conclusion. I have received a very flattering invitation to address the Ameri- can Tract Society in New York, on the 9th of May, and should be pleased to comply with it if it be practicable. My wish is to go on from there iipmediately to visit you for a few days. It will be a powerful inducement for a journey, that I may have the opportu- nity of seeing you all together once more. I have had a kind and affectionate letter from Bishop Chase, of late. I suppose you may see him in his tour through New England for the aid of his new college. I hope, indeed I know, he wiU suc- ceed, but I hope for much prosperity in his behalf. I highly approve his plan and the principles upon which it has been formed I pray God to be ever with you, and abundantly to bless you all with the exceedingly valuable privileges and comfort of the gospel of His Son. Tour truly affectionate son, Stephen H. Tvno. Bishop Clark of Ehode Island, who was a fellow townsman in Newburyport, and for more than fifty years a warm personal friend, in some reminiscences of Dr. Tyng, thus pleasantly recalls the occa- sions of his visits to Newburyport, and the old church, so often men- tioned in his record. " As I sit here to-night in my lonely study, I seem to hear the clanging tones of the old church bell in Newburyport as it broke upon the stillness of the evening once or twice in the course of the year, in response to the news which had been spread through the little town that our distinguished townsman, the Kev. Mr. Tyng, was expected to preach. The Episcopal Church at that period was the home of a select and somewhat limited circle of worshippers, and everything connected with it presented a most respectable and venerable appearance. It was the first parish established in the township; the organ was the oldest instrument of the kind in New England; the organist was as old as a man could well be and still continue to finger the worn-out ivory keys ; his brother, the sexton, was older still; the rector seemed to be old because he had been in charge of the church from his youth; the people were so staid and precise and punctilious in their costume that they also impressed the beholder with an air of antiquity. I remember them, just as Ministry in Prince George s Co., Md. 89 they looked, sixty years ago, but the old familiar faces have all van- ished, oR hut one, and that is the face of a man who stiU goes round as warden with the plate, not much changed in his appearance, al- though he has passed beyond the ninetieth year of his pilgrimage. " On the evenings when young Mr. Tyng of&ciated, the whole town was represented without regard to denomination, and the most rigid Presbyterians did not hesitate to ' go to church,' which in those days always meant going to the Episcopal Church, to hear this zealous young man set forth the gospel of Christ. He began his ministry, preaching the same old Scripture truths which served his purpose to the end ; the speculations of philosophers, the intru- sions of science, the discussions of critics never diverting him for a moment, from the direct, plain, uncompromising path in which he believed it was his Master's will that he should walk. From the beginning to the end of his ministry, Christ as the only refuge and hope of the sinner was the theme of discourse, and God only knows how many broken and contrite souls, through his ministra- tions, were brought to the Saviour." CHAPTEE VII. MINISTRY IN ST. PAUL'S CHUECH, PHILADELPHIA, 1829 to 1834. The whole commencement of my ministry in St. Paul's was very remarkable. It was the oldest of all the churches in Philadelphia but one, having been built in 1760. I did not know a single person in the congregation. I had preached in the church several years before ; but it was then as an unknown stranger. The congregation had an unhappy reputation as a divided and contentious body. The Rev. Benjamin AUen, my immediate pre- decessor, had encountered great difficulties in his ministry there, and had been represented to me as much persecuted. I have already stated my aversion to a connection with this church. But until I came there I had no knowledge of the extent or character of the labors which were required, or of the extreme measures which had been adopted to prevent my coming. Many of these were so riotous and disgraceful that I prefer to make no record of them. I was elected as the rector according to their charter, at a meeting of the members of the congregation. The controversy awakened by this election disavowed all personal relation to me. The offence was the open and decided stand which I had taken in the doctrinal discussions in the Church. The hostility came from the external party influence which had been at that time very ex- cited in the election of an assistant bishop for Pennsylvania. They carried this attempt so far that large placards were placed upon the posts of the church gates warning against such ministers as I was alleged to be. It was the knowledge of this attempt which made me feel it my duty to accept the election, disagreeable as were the circumstances attending it. It was a bold step in one so young. But I could never yield to mere personal hostility or persecution. I felt convinced that it was the Lord's controversy in which I was engaged; and it was not consistent with my duty to flee or to hold back. On the first Sunday in May, 1829, I took possession of St. Paul's 90 Ministry in St. Paul's Church, Philadelphia. 91 as its rector. The congregation was very large and very attentive. My text -was Paul's declaration to the Eomans, " I am sure that when I come unto you I shall come in the fulness of the blessing of the gospel of Christ." I had scarcely cast my eye round upon the congregation before I discerned very clearly my opposers and my defenders. The Lord was with me and blessed my work in proclaiming His word. Monday morning brought me one of the most valuable members of the congregation, converted through His grace under that message of His word. This was His divine seal upon my entrance among this people that "it was not in vain." Prom that day the church was always crowded with hearers; and the prospering of the work of the Lord was wonderful during my labors there. Of all this I must teU in its proper order. The first week of my residence in Philadelphia brought to me the first trial of my position, and of my purposes and principles. It was an adjourned meeting of the vestry of St. Paul's, and I was there as its presiding officer. The chairman of the company of " protesters," who had written to me in their name, was one of the vestry, but I had never before seen him. When the minutes of the preceding meeting of the vestry were read by the clerk, among them was a resolution assigning the salary for the rector. This man violently interrupted the reading with a loud utterance : " That is a mistake; the rector's salary is yet to be fixed." I saw at once the purpose of making new difficulty. And I instantly remarked, " Your by-laws say that no member shall be allowed to speak until the question has been stated by the chair. The chair has stated no question. The gentleman wiU take his seat." " The chair is right," resounded from several voices. The vestry was composed of twenty members, and perhaps aU were present. The gentleman quietly took his seat. This first incident settled my whole relation to this class of the congregation. That gentleman became one of my warmest friends, and the whole party whom he represented yielded the ground. " Jerusalem became a quiet habitation." No congregation have I ever seen more united and affectionate than they proved to me. A fixed purpose in the pursuit of a wisely selected end wiU always be a line respected and effective. A similar incident, however, occurred about a year after, when the vestry determined upon altering the church building to its present aspect. A very bitter hostility arose in the vestry, which treated me with much rudeness for presuming to advocate the measure. I answered their personal rudeness at a meeting which was very excited: " Gentlemen, some one can guide this house. If 92 Rev. Stephen Higginson Tyng, D.D. I canaot do it I shall retire. I will not be thrown down by vio- lence; and I wiU never remain to be persecuted as I have heard my predecessor was." These two incidents made up the whole of the opposition which I met at St. Paul's. Perhaps I was indiscreet in my defence, for one so young. But I had become convinced that I had no hope of success there but in the utmost decision of purpose and action. In the beginning of August of this summer I was called to New- buryport by the extreme iUness of my dear father. It was a great comfort for me to pass ten days with him, and to find him perfectly happy and hopeful. This was the first time he had ever been laid upon a bed of sickness, though he was now sixty-nine years of age. He lived but a few days after I was compelled to leave him. But he was taken from us in a sure and blessed hope. He said to me on one occasion: " My dear son, I have thought all my life, while I was trying to do good to others, that I was laying up comfort for myself for my dying hours. But I have been trying in vain to re- member any of these things; they have all gone from me." I re- plied, " My dear father, this is what the Saviour has taught us. The righteous whom He accepted could remember none of all the evidences of their fidelity which He recounted to them. But He had not forgotten them." At another time, when I was raising him in his bed, he clasped me to his bosom and said: "My dear son, I have a wonderful curiosity to see the world to come." I have already related, his removal from Boston in the autumn of 1821. The last eight years of his life he had passed in the place of his birth in a peaceful retirement, but evidently in the want of ade- quate employment. He lived to see me in my honored ministry and well settled in my life, and he had much happiness in thinking of me and of my little household. He had kept all my letters to him, and they were returned to me by the family after his depart- ure. In my grateful memory he still lives, though I am now more than eight years older than he was at the time of his death. His life and character are cherished by me as one of the most precious heritages of my life. His opinion was my constant authority, and his exalted and upright life has been my example through all my years. In this same month of August, 1829, the General Convention met in Philadelphia, and Bishop Griswold became, for the first time, a visitor at my house. He and his wife passed two weeks with us to our great joy. Thus the first summer and autumn of my new rectorship passed Ministry in St. Pauls Church, Philadelphia. 93 by in the midst of many faithful and dear brethren and friends, with whom it was a great pleasure to associate. Our association in the ministry was frequent, and our preaching round the neigh- boring country was an habitual work. We were a very united body in all our efforts in the gospel, and our labors were pros- pered and effective. The congregation of St. Paul's had now become a very large one. The church building was an old one and very uncomfortable. Its aisles were paved on the solid earth, and occupied by vaults for burial beneath. The pews were high, old and very uncomfortable. But notwithstanding aU these repulsive facts, the congregation always crowded the place. I opened an evening service on Sun- day, thus preaching three times in the day. I had also a lecture on every Wednesday evening. I found there a prayer-meeting on every Saturday evening, which I also habitually attended and con- ducted. The Sunday-schools of St. Paul's had always been flourish- ing. They were established in 1816. Many of the original teachers had been steadily there, thus engaged to the time of my rectorship. There were over five hundred children instructed in them in my time. This was my first opportunity to work in so large a field for a cause to which I have since given so much labor and care, and I entered upon this work with very great delight. Since that time I may say that my chief pleasure in the active ministry has been with the children committed to me; and I do not know that I have failed on a single Sunday to visit the schools belonging to my care. What an army of the Saviour's little ones have passed under my ministry in this relation ! I praise my glorious Lord that I may say what a household of converted youth have been brought to Him through this blessed instrument of His power. Thus in the very opening of my work in Philadelphia there was much to encourage and to cheer me. I was happy in all my rela- tions, and I was prospered in all my work. And thus passed the first year in Philadelphia in peace. A very interesting and encour- aging fact occurred to me in the early part of this year. On the first Sunday evening on which I opened my third service, amidst all the outside hostility which I had encountered, just before I be- gan the reading of the service, the tall and venerable form of Bishop White was seen walking up our middle, aisle, with his cane in his hand, and his green spectacles on his eyes. He came up to the chancel, and laid his hat and cane down upon the cushion, and seated himself quietly in a chair. It was a most generous defence 94 R^- Stephen Higgiiison Tyng, D.D. — as much as to say, Whosoever contends with this young man must also fight with me. This he continued regularly on Sunday even- ings, and gave me the full benefit of his paternal defence, com- pletely protecting me and establishing me in my work. In the spring of 1830, the ministry and the congregation re- quired so much more provision for our work and convenience that I proposed to the vestry a renewing and remodelling of the old church. This old edifice was much venerated and valued by a large portion of the congregation, who had been accustomed to it from their childhood, and the idea of altering it in any way seemed like sacrilege to them. I had formed my own plans very deliberately, to take out the whole pews, floor, and galleries; to dig the whole surface eight feet deep; and then to raise a floor six feet above the former level, and thus have a complete basement story for our lectures and oxu' varied church work in the week. I laid my plans before Mr. Strickland, a very eminent architect in that day, who thoroughly approved them and drew them out in an attractive shape. I readily induced the vestry to agree to my proposals, and to appoint a committee to carry them out. The scheme was then laid before the congregation; and although there was much hostility and some very angry opposition, the whole pro- posal was adopted by a large majority. This opposition alienated from me the support of some of my warmest friends. The hostihty was carried out in the most aggressive way. Efforts were made by misrepresentations to annihilate the credit of the church, and thus to frustrate our attempts in the practical execution of the work. But the Lord graciously raised up for us very efficient and valuable friends. John Parr, a warden of the church, and one of the most wealthy men in the congregation, and, more than this, one of the noblest and purest men I have ever known, thoroughly sustained my plan, and personally assumed the whole responsibility of accomplishing the work. He advanced all the necessary funds, and enabled the committee appointed to execute the plan to meet all their engage- ments in cash. We commenced the actual work in the spring of 1830, and transferred our public worship to a hall which we hired in Cherry Street. And on the first day of January, 1831, Bishop White con- secrated the new edifice, greatly to our joy completed. This renewal of that aged building made it what it has since remained, with the exception of some later minor alterations, which Ministry in St. Paul's Church, Philadelphia. qS have been made in the furnishing -within. With the completion of this work new and extended prosperity attended my ministry. The church became always intensely crowded from the day of its opening. I preached a sermon at the consecration, giving a history of St. Paul's from its first establishment in 1760, in its material and its religious aspects. From this time my whole work at St. Paul's was unceasing prosperity and success. The aisles were habitually filled at our Sunday evening service. The people around called the building " Tyng's Theatre," and were accustomed to say, " He could walk from the pulpit to the door on the heads of the people." It was indeed a period of unceasing blessing from the Spirit of God, some aspects of which I wUl relate as I proceed. In the summer of 1830, all things being weU settled in my parish and church, I took my whole family to make a visit among our friends in New England, and made a journey with my dear wife through the mountain country of New Hampshire and Ver- mont. Her health had already commenced its final failure. For the whole year past, symptoms of consumption, her family complaint, had appeared. This mountain journey and our whole summer's absence furnished a large measure of comfort and temporary relief But we returned from all only to see that the dreaded dispensation was sure in its progress and in its final results. The finished alteration of our church had given us very adequate and appropriate provision for our Sunday Schools, lectures and meetings of various kinds in a large and well-ventilated basement, and our work was enlarged in every department in like propor- tions. The church in aU its varied parts was alway full, and never appeared to be open in vain. Bishop White had been a friend and a father to me from the time of my first coming to Philadelphia. His venerated and gener- ous countenance had been a great comfort and help to me amidst much hostility from others. On the 3d of January, 1831, my first confirmation was held by Bishop White, and the first fruits of my work, in twenty-eight new members for the Lord's household, were presented. From that time the state of the church in its religious aspect was an unceasing encouragement. During the next year one hundred and sixty-two persons ratified their vows to the Lord in confirmation. Two hundred were added as com- municants ; persons in whom I could entirely confide. Early in this year the Lord was pleased to send us a very remarkable revival, the blessed fruits of which were to me a most joyful result. 96 Rev. Stei)hen Higginson Tyng, D.D. Its manifestation opened at our Saturday night prayer-meeting, When the social exercises were concluded, and the people were retiring, sixteen persons remained kneeling on the floor, weeping in deep emotion. I went round to converse with each, and subse- quently prayed with all. It was a refreshing season to me indeed — my old experience in Bristol over again. There were among them young and old, and some of the best educated and most intel- ligent in the congregation. I invited them all to meet me on Monday evening in the large vestry-room. On Sunday I gave .■notice of this meeting for personal religious instruction, and ex- tended the invitation to others of a similar experience and desire. On Monday evening more than seventy persons were present to ask instruction in the way of personal salvation. It was indeed a wonderful sight. This meeting was continued as a weekly inquiry meeting for many months. As another instrument to meet the enlarging want, I established another meeting for prayer at six in the morning of every day. This meeting was well attended, andjwas maintained at this hour through all the seasons for more than two years. The whole of this period was one of continued and deep interest among the whole congregation. The church was crowded on all occasions, and the assemblies for worship were exceedingly solemn and earnest. There were many special and remarkable incidents of persons and occasions connected with this season which I should desire to record as I have opportu- nity. Never has there been, under my observation, a religious scene more impressive or affecting than the condition of St. Paul's Church during the period of which I speak. " The Lord was in His holy temple, and the earth kept silence before Him." "The dew of the Lord was upon our habitation, and by His light we walked in darkness." How often have I looked back on this divine visitation and longed again to see its renewal. But though I have received great blessings upon my subsequent ministry, I have never witnessed a scene at all like this. Many of the children of grace given to me in that day remain still at work in various por- tions of the Eedeemer's Church, and I may, perhaps, see no more such scenes on earth. But " mine eyes shall behold the King in His beauty,'' amidst the glories of " the land which is now not very far off" in the prospect before me. During this remarkable season a young man called to see me at my house in the evening. He was well dressed and a gentleman in manners. I obtained from the history which he gave me, the facts that he was a married man, with a religious wife, who had Ministry in St. Paul's Church, Philadelphia. 97 earnestly desired his conversion. After some conversation, I said to him, " Will you go home and tell your wife that you mean to set out at once to serve the Lord, and ask her to join you in prayer for God's blessing ? " He answered nothing. I repeated the ques- tion, and asked him again. He still refused. I repeated the de- mand again. He said nothing. After a few moments, I said, "I have nothing more to say." Presently, he started up and ex- claimed, " I will," and rushed out of the house. On the succeeding Wednesday evening I saw him coming in to our lecture as I was sitting in the desk. A young woman, dressed in deep mourning, whom I had often seen there alone, was leaning on his arm. After the service was concluded, I went to them and asked him if this was his wife, which he acknowledged. I then told her of our conversation and of his promise. I asked her if he fulfilled it. She said he did. I said to him, " How do you feel to- I ight ? " He said, " I am the happiest man in the city of Philadel- phia." I attended this dear young man some years after in his bed of death. I asked him if he remembered that night. He stretched out his feeble arms and exclaimed, " Eemember it ? I shall never I'orget it throughout eternity. It was the new birth of my soul." Another remarkable incident in this connection was in the win- ter. A very fashionable lady, the wife of a high officer in the navy, was at our six o'clock morning prayer-meeting on one occasion, and remained till all had gone and then asked me to walk home with her. The morning was still scarcely day. I expressed my astonishment to her. She said, " I left my husband and family all in bed and asleep. But I remembered this meeting, and I thought I should find you here, and I therefore came. Last evening I was walk- ing down Walnut Street, by Washington Square, and I heard a bell ringing as it were for a religious service, and I crossed the square to follow the sound. I found a number of persons going into a church in which I had never been, and under some peculiar impression I followed them as they ascended the stairs to a hall over the front door. A number of persons were assembled. But I saw no one whom I knew. While waiting there what was my surprise in seeing you come in and go up to take your seat in the desk. I heard you through, and was never so impressed before. I have had no rest since. I could not sleep under the deep impres- sions which were made upon my mind. I called this early meeting to mind, and came, leaving all my family in bed, that X might have the opportunity to see you." Thus this lady became a true child and a faithful servant of God. But how strange the 98 Rev. Stephen Higginson Tyng, D.D. appointment 1 At my tea the preceding evening two gentlemen called upon me to ask if I would go up and take their evening lecture in the place of theii- pastor, Mr. Barnes, who had suddenly been taken sick. I went with thorn,, and this was the result which the Lord had appointed in the fulness of His wisdom and grace. My narrative brings me to the spring of 1831. I had now finished two happy and useful years at St. Paul's. As the summer opened the health of my dear wife had very sensibly failed, and some arrangement was to be made for the season. A dwelling among the mountains had been recommended by our physician, and I determined to take her to Wilkesbarre. The accomplishment of this plan opened the way for the exercise of tender kindness on the part of others, which overwhelmed me with gratitude. There was a divine providence involved in the arrangement thus laid out, the whole bearing of which upon my future life has been very remarkable. Mr. Thomas Mitchell's family was a valuable and important fam- ily in St. Paul's Church. Mr. Mitchell was a man of large business and a very benevolent spirit. His wife and their two elder daugh- ters had united in our communion during the period of which I have spoken. The younger of these was a member of my ladies' Bible class, a very large and gratifying assembly of ladies, whom I met in every week for an hour spent in an earnest study of the Scriptures. The elder was an invalid and rarely abroad. Mr. Mitchell called upon me one morning, and gently asked in what way I proposed to carry my family upon this proposed journey. I replied that I designed to hire a hack for the purpose, and proceed with short journeys, . as my wife should prove able to bear the fatigue. He replied in the simple request that I would make no positive engagement until he saw me again. In the mean- time I discovered that he had sent his second daughter to Wilkes- barre, with some other friends, to make a promised visit there, to the family of the Rev. James May, a very dear friend of mine. A few days passed by, and Mr. Mitchell came to me again and announced this absence of his daughter, and asked me that I would take his carriage and horses to carry my wife to Wilkesbarre and permit his daughter to return with me in the carriage to her home. The delicacy and generosity of this proposal impressed me deeply. But much as it proposed to do for me, I gratefully accepted it. When the morning for our departure came, Mr. Mitchell ac- companied his carriage and directed the loading and preparing of Ministry in St, Pauls Church, Philadelphia. 99 it himself, and then accompanied us on horseback to see that we got on with safety. This whole arrangement was so graciously adapted to the con- dition of my dear wife that it appeared to me then, as it has always since, a special arrangement of the mercy of our heavenly Father for the comfort of a child whom He loved. We were four days in accomplishing this journey of one hundred and twenty miles. My intention was to remain with my family a week, and then to return to Philadelphia. In the meantime Mr. Mitchell had written to his daughter to return in the stage, and to leave the carriage and horses for the use of my dear wife during the summer. When the cool weather of the autumn returned, we went back to Philadelphia in the same conveyance, and she was again at our little home with apparent comfort. It soon appeared, however, that there was no hope or prospect of permanent relief. All that could be done by medical skill and watchful, earnest care was tried in vain. She maintained her active, cheerful habits of constant employment and affectionate interest in all around her. In fine weather the unceasing kindness of Mr. Mitchell gave her the op- portunity to ride abroad, and his daughter, her unchanging friend, constantly accompanied and attended to her. Early in the spring of 1832 the final confinement came. Yet after this, on several fine days, she was able again to ride. But as the month of May approached, her faithful physician said " she could last but little longer." For about two weeks she did not leave her room. Yet she was not confined to her bed for a single day. In my overwhelming grief she cheered and encour- aged me by her own cheerful hope. When I expressed anxiety for our children, she said: " Give yourself no concern for my children, God will bring them all to Himself" AU that earthly mind and care could do for her was freely provided. But aU was vain, ex- cept to comfort and cheer her. The appointed end had come. On Friday we committed her precious body to the tomb. On Sunday afternoon I preached to my people on her exalted life and character, from Jeremiah xv. 9 : " Her sun has gone down while it was yet day." Many years have gone by. The sorrows of that period, the love- liness of that character, the influence of that example, have never faded from my mind. I truly bless my gracious God and Saviour for His boundless mercies thus attending me. And I trust my life and ministry have in some degree shown the fruits of the mercies and the discipline involved in the period which I have thus described. lOO Rev. Stephen Higginson Tyng, D.D. In the same month of May I carried out certain arrangements which I had previously made for my family, not anticipating this sad event so soon, and undertook a journey on horseback alone fiirough the western and northern parts of Pennsylvania, occupying about six weeks, and thus gained much in health and bodily strength. During the succeeding winter my church continued very crowded and flourishing. The congregation was large, and all things around me were entirely prosperous and promising. The minuter circum- stances of this interval I need not describe. The Lord was very gracious to me. He had already given me a position and reputation in His Church which I had never anticipated. I had published two of my earliest books, which have since received a large and constant sale. In July, 1833, a very important change in my household and in my personal condition was made, by the goodness of my gracious Heavenly Governor, in my marriage with the second daughter of my generous friend, Mr. Thomas Mitchell. We were married in the morning, at his house, No. 99 Walnut Street, by the Et. Eev. Bishop White. Any farther particular reference to my family concerns will be unnecessary. My children are living witnesses of the untiring fidelity and affection manifested in the unceasing, self-denying caro for us all, which have marked and distinguished the whole domestic ministry of her who was given to me to supply my vacant heart and home; who for more than forty years has had the mother's care of my household, and been the loving, patient partner of my life, and stiU remains the most precious of my earthly blessings. Few households on earth have been more prospered. Few famUies have enjoyed such unbroken harmony and mutual love. And I am fully persuaded that she will be ever reverenced and loved as her patient fidelity and her unselfish kindness deserve and demand from all of my children, and from theirs also, in the generations soon to take the place which we have occupied so long. May the gracious blessings of their father's God thus abide with them aU and prosper them in His heavenly way. The removal to Philadelphia brought Mr. Tyng at once into greatly increased responsibility and labor in pastoral work, and placed him in important connections in other lines of effort. Into all these he entered with aU his natural earnestness and zeal. It was a time of great excitement, but little subsequent to the election of Dr. Henry U. Onderdonk, as assistant Bishop, and Ministry in St. Paul's Church, Philadelphia. loi throughout the entire period of Mr. Tyng's ministry there, there was scarcely a lull in the agitations and controversies arising from one and another cause. From the comparative seclusion of his country parish, he had looked as from a distance upon the field to which he was now trans- ferred, but there was no uncertainty in his stand upon the ques- tions which divided the Church, and he bore his full share of the responsibility devolving on those who maintained its Evangelical principles. Though fearless in defence of the truth, he was, how- ever, far from having a controversial spirit, and the following extract from a sermon preached at St. Paul's in 1830, clearly voiced his governing principles in this connection. " In a conclusion of these remarks we may learn the importance of contending only for matters of consequence in the doctrines of the gospel. Had the controversies among Christians, been nar- rowed down to those which really had an object of any moment, their number would have been extremely limited. Let us profit by the experience of those who have gone before us. For the faith delivered to the saints we are surely to contend, but not for meats or drinks, or times, or ceremonies are we to destroy the work of God. If infidelity raise its sneering front against the gospel, we are to oppose its influence with all our strength. If serious errors creep in, leading men to deny or dishonor the Lord who bought them, we are not to be secret in our acknowledgment of the truth. There may be occasions in which duty wUl place us in a jjosition of conflict, but let us watch over the spirit of controversy, and if it be the fact, as I trust I have shown, that the subject of some of the most serious controversies which have ever agitated the Christian Church is, after all, a point of but small moment and quite unde- termined in the Word of God, let the knowledge of this fact lead us to suspect every disposition to contend for anything, which is not one of the most important points of Christian truth. "Let the subject show us also the necessity of a spirit of kindness and forbearance. When the Scripture has left any point without very clear decision, there can be no power afterwards to erect a standard of infallibility, and men must be permitted to see with their own eyes. If any of our Christian brethren think that to be important which we consider quite of minor consequence, the pleasure which arises from what we consider a higher degree of light is quite sufficient for us, without the disposition to reproach or to triumph over others. Let every man be fully persuaded in his own mind, and 102 Rev. Stephen Higginson Tyng, D.D. let us endeavor to cultivate more and more that spirit of love which while it believeth all things revealed, endureth all things." These principles and desires are reiterated, even more fully and clearly, in the sermon preached on January 1, 1831, at the opening service in the reconstructed St. Paul's. This sermon was upon the text, Haggai ii. 9, " The glory of this latter house shall be greater than the glory of the former, saith the Lord of Hosts; and in this place will I give peace, saith the Lord of Hosts.'' After reviewing the history of the church and its successive rectors he continued: " This has been the ' glory of the former house,' the glory of the gospel, the glory of Christ. In looking forward to the ' glory of this latter house ' upon the present occasion, it is more than possible that our ardent wishes may give a coloring to our expectations of future prosperitj^, and lead us to hope for more than shall be actually realized. We are to remember, however, that the results of our present engagements and plans will be determined much by our own conduct and character. " In our text he gives the Israelites the great reason why the glory of the latter temple should exceed the glory of the former; that, in that place He would give peace — peace, the greatest and most desirable of all earthly blessings. While that house re- mained, Jesus, the desire of all nations, was offered a sacrifice for sin, and there was opened in His blood the only possible fountain for human transgression, a fountain which could cleanse from all sin, and give to every conscience eternal peace " It is upon this prospect of the peace, which we may be per- mitted to enjoy in this house, that I would have your minds to rest at this time, with thankfulness and hope. " Peace, in our ecclesiastical relation to other congregations in the diocese. " Peace, in our internal affairs, as an independent congregation. " Peace, in our spiritual experience, as individual believers in the Lord Jesus. " We hope the period of controversies and disputes in the Epis- copal Church has passed forever. Days of religious dissension have been days of spiritual blight and desolation; and religious pros- perity, in its proper sense, we can never look for, while with the excited passions of depraved hearts, every man's hand is against his brother. Whatever might have been the necessity for these ecclesiastical contentions, in the years which have passed by, that Ministry in St. Paul's Church, Philadelphia. 103 necessity does not now exist. Whatever course duty might have required me to pursue, had I been placed here before that time, I should certainly have acted, as I always design to act, openly and fearlessly, as an honest man, according to the best directions of my own judgment. But when I came among you, I found no jusi cause for dissension, nor have I since discovered any. " I have seen no danger of infringement upon that independence of ministration which is secured to every clergyman, and that power of internal self-government which belongs to every congregation, under the wholesome discipline of our canons. No unlawful inter- ference has been used in our affairs, nor any improper imposition laid upon us, withLa my knowledge, by any who have authority over us. I deem it a matter of duty, to bear a public and honest testimony to the paternal kindness which has been always mani- fested towards me by our venerable Diocesan, and to the uniform affection and respect with which I have been met by every clergy- man of our Church in this city, with whom I have been placed in intercourse. Whatever reason, therefore, there might formerly have been for separation between this congregation and others, there is none such now; and while our rights are not denied, our services are not disturbed ; but with a spirit of kindness others are disposed to further and assist us, though not perhaps conviaced of the expediency of all our selected instruments of usefulness. I can see nothing to militate against the universal cultivation of a spirit of ecclesiastical peace. " This spirit of mutual peace I have truly desired and labored here to maintain, and I trust that we may all be led, thus to cut off occasion, from persons who care little for the real prosperity of rehgion, but seek, from a supposed, or pretended opposition in us, to the authority and laws of the Church, to throw obstacles in the way of our success, and to raise unnecessary disturbances among ourselves. This pulpit, while occupied by me, will be freely open, and affectionately offered to every respectable clergyman of the Protestant Episcopal Church, by whatever distinctive appella- tion he may be known. If illegal impositions are placed upon us, I trust we shall not be backward in our determination, to stand fast in the liberty which is our proper right. But let no imaginary difficulties take the place of real ones, nor any merely supposed causes of dissent, throw up unprofitable lines of separation between us and others, with whom we are and must be connected. " In this place, we trust, God will give us peace in our internal affairs, as an independent congregation. It is full time that the I04 Rev. Stephen Higginson Tyng, D.D. reproach was wiped off from our character, which has been so fre- quently repeated to me in this city, that this has been a contentious church from its foundation. And the entire harmony, and unanim- ity, and energy, with which the wardens and vestry of the present year have carried on the affairs committed to them; the unusually {jeneral satisfaction which has been expressed among the congrega- tion in their government; the success with which this arduous undertaking has been completed, in the present beautiful improve- ment of the church; and the pleasing testimonials of unquaUfied approbation which are borne to the result, by many who feared and deprecated the commencement of this enterprise; give us the most cheering hopes that peace is to be restored within our walls, and prosperity within our palaces " This peace, I have said, is the object of our hope. I say so, be- cause I see a reviving spirit of true religion among our members; because the outward divisions in the Church, which formerly gave shape to your internal dissensions, have so passed away, that the names by which they were known are now hardly used; because for many years there has not been so great an union of effort and desire and success in this congregation, as God has been pleased to grant us during the -year which has past, because the entire harmony which has subsisted between the present officers of the church, gives us reasonable ground for this expectation; and because I hope and believe that all are wearied with contention. To this end, to put down a spirit of controversy and dispute, and to ' live peaceably, if it be possible, with all men,' I pray the members of my congregation to direct their exertions, their determinations, and their prayers. " Here we trust, God wiU give spiritual peace, in Jesus Christ His Son, to many an individual heart. " I turn to this, as the great object of our desires, that men may have peace in believing, and innumerable ransomed souls may be spiritually united to the Lord Jesus Christ Eeligion is one thing, as regarded in the order, regularity, and beauty of its outward services, in which even the worldly may partake; and quite another, in the experimental knowledge of its powei-, which belongs pecuUarly to the converted heart. The peace which Jesus gives, is in answer to the deep consciousness of want which His Spirit has before awakened, in satisfaction of the earnest calls for that consolation and hope which the mourning sinner anxiously desires " The promise that spiritual peace shall be given, implies that there must be such preaching here, as shall tend to awaken the Ministry in St. Pauls Church, Philadelphia. loS careless and unconcerned. Men must be made to know and feel their own necessities, and not allowed to persuade themselves that there is peace, when there is no peace It implies that there must be such preaching as shall be calculated to lead the awakened soul to Jesus Christ. The unsearchable riches of His grace must be freely offered to the acceptance of aU, and free redemption through His blood be made the sum and substance of the promises here proposed. ' Other foundation must no man lay than that is laid, which is Jesus Christ.' ..... " If the promise of our text is to be fulfilled among us, it wUl be mainly in answer to your effectual supplications. In the closet and in the family, in the social meeting and the public service, remember that your pastor rests, under the blessing of the Spirit, upon your prayers, and that God will bless him in proportion to the sincerity and ardor of your devotion. If he is faithful in preaching the gos- pel of Jesus, and you are faithful in sustaining him in the work he has to do, the gracious promise of our text shall be fulfilled to ua from day to day. '' A singular testimony to the faithfulness and power of his preach- ing at this time, is borne by the following letter, which was received some fifty years later: New York, A^gril 2, 1881. Rev. Stephen H. Ttng, D.D. B£V. and Dear Sir; — It must now be fifty years ago, being in Philadelphia, my classmate (at Dr. Muhlenberg's school at Flush- ing, L. I.,) the late Rt. Rev. Bishop Odenheimer, son of John Oden- heimer, invited me to stay a few days of our annual vacation at his father's house. You were then the pastor of a church in Third Street, near Spruce, in that city. One Sunday evening you preached c sermon from the text, " He that sat upon the white horse was faithful and true." Although only a boy of fourteen years, that sernon made a most powerful impression on me. Since then I have been in many lands and do not now think of any place that I have visited in which that sermon has not been recalled to my memory. I wiU mention an incident which you tnay possibly not have forgotten. During the delivery of that sermon, a man who was either asleep or intoxicated disturbed you; you paused for a moment and then remarked that, " you thanked God if only one head had bowed in forgetfulness." And now, dear sir, may I ask a favor of io6 Rev, Stephen Higginson Tyng, D.D. you. I see by to-day's Herald that you are advertised to proacli at the "Holy Trinity" at botU services. This shows me that you are still living, and the favor I ask is, that you will repeat that sermon on the night of April 11th inst, in that church. I am a stranger to you and live in the far South, and you may regard this request as an impertinence, but if you knew my heart and how thankful I am that you are still preserved to our Church, you would forgive me. With the earnest hope and prayer, that a good and merciful Father may preserve you for many years, and that when you shall be called upon to cross the dark river you shaU hear the welcome plaudit, " Well done, good and faithful servant, inherit the king- dom," etc., " you have borne the cross, you shall now wear the crown," is the earnest prayer of Your most obedient servant. Immediately upon coming to Philadelphia Dr. Tyng engaged most actively and energetically in the support of the various associations for benevolent and religious effort, which were organized and lo- cated there. Interested in their objects and operations, as he had been in previous years, he was now enabled to take a part in their practical work, and whether it was in those specially identified with the Episcopal Church, or those which embraced Christians of every name, he was their earnest and constant advocate. In the aims and methods of the American Sunday School Union, he took especial interest. His vigorous defence of its princi- ples and methods when they were assailed, at a later date, may be referred to here as expressing the views which he held in these earliest years of his connection with it. Several long and arduous journeys were made by him to urge the claims and the importance of its work, and at its anniversaries and the public meetings iu its interest his voice was constantly heard in its behalf. Into the mitsionary work under the Domestic and Foreign Mis- sionary Society of the Episcopal Church, he entered with zeal ; one of the first sermons which he preached in St. Paul's, in 1829, on the topic, " Divine power promoting divine plans," being a very earnest appeal for liberal support of their work. In May, 1830, he was elected one of the Board of Directors of the Domestic and Foreign Missionary Society, and in 1833 was appointed a member of its Executive Committee. It was in this Ministry in St. Pauls Church, Philadelphia, 107 connection and at this time that he was first brought into associa- tion with Dr. Henry Anthon, of New York, with whom in later years he held most intimate relations, though their views were then so divergent. In the year last named Dr. Tyng, with Bishop Doane, and the Hon. Edward A. Newton, composed the committee to whom the subject of a mission to Africa was referred, and upon their recommendation that important mission was established. This identification with the missionary work of the Church con- tinued during the whole period of his ministry in Philadelphia, and the subsequent years. The two works to which Dr. Tyng refers as having been pub- lished during his ministry at St. Paul's were " Lectures on the Law and the Gospel," and the " Guide to Confirmation." The former of these was a course of sermons delivered in the autumn of 1831, and published, as he writes, from the conviction " in the personal experience of the work of divine grace through which he was led, and in the habitual observation of others which occurred in his pastoral ministry, that an ignorance of the real condition of man under a violated law, and of the fulness and completeness of his redemption through the Son of God, the fulfiUer of the law for him, revealed in the gospel, was the cause of a large portion of the spiritual darkness under which many Christians mourned, and the fountain of most of the errors of doctrine, by which the minds of professing Christians were perturbed. . . . But while he was enabled to gather portions and degrees of light from various sources, there was no work, within his knowledge, which laid down the system of divine truth, which he was led to adopt, to which he could direct inquirers for adequate instruction upon this subject." Two editions of this work were published during the year 1833, and in a subsequent year another large edition was issued, contain- ing several additional lectures, over five thousand copies being thus circulated within a few years. The " Guide to Confirmation," prepared as a manual for candi- dates, comprised an explanation of the rite, an examination of its authority, of the qualifications required, of the profession made, of the advantages to be expected, and of the obligations imposed. It was a summary of the system of private instruction, which Dr. Tyng habitually gave to those to be presented for confirmation, and has since been extensively adopted and used by the clergy as an aid in their instruction upon the same subject. CHAPTER VIII. MINISTRY IN THE CHURCH OF THE EPIPHANY, PHILADELPHU, 1834 to 1845. The history of St. Paul's Church continued an unchanging scene of parochial prosperity through all these years which I have now described. But my gracious Master's will had laid out my course, and I was now to see and understand it, and thus to guide my succeeding path in His service. St. Paul's was the one original Evangelical Episcopal Church in the city of Philadelphia, formed under the ministry of Whitfield, and always maintaining their ministry upon this same basis of Evangelical truth. Other smaller churches had proceeded from it. The last, the largest, and the most popular had been St. Andrew's, in 1822. But the city had spread very largely to the west in the succeeding years. When I first camo to Philadelphia as a pastor. Tenth Street was the western boundary of settled population. During these years a very encouraging opening for a new church was presented in this western quarter. The subject was made one of frequent consultation among the leading members of existing churches. Several efforts had been made to induce other clergy- men to enter upon the field thus opened to view. No one had been found willing to assume the responsibility of such an enterprise; and, most unexpectedly, the appeal was made directly to me to undertake this promising but arduous work. The gentlemen in- volved, belonged to the different active churches of the city. The wardens were from St. Paul's and St. James's. The vestrymen were similarly selected. They had organized themselves into a corporate body, under the title of " The Church of the Epiphany." They unanimously elected me as the rector of the church thus or- ganized, and a committee waited on me with the notice of their action. This was another most unexpected appeal to me, involv- ing a change in my work filled with heavy responsibility. I had no reason for desiring any change. My whole condition was emi- 108 Ulitlllllll I Ulll 111! I I II I II I M I I I I I I t I I II I I I U ' I I 11 I I I I J I I U I I .(I I ^ CHANCEL OP CHUIil'II OF THE EPIIMIAXY, PFIl l.A DEEPU [ A. (From a phutufjrupli,) Church of the Epiphany, Philadelphia. 109 nently satisfying, and far from any ground of complaint. And yet the opening appeared so important that I could not feel satisfied to refuse this unexpected call. Accordingly, in the autumn of 1833, I accepted the invitation which had been presented to me, and be- came rector of the Church of the Epiphany. At that time, however, I had no intention of resigning the charge of St. Paul's. The persons combining for this new effort were not disposed to separate themselves for united worship until they had a permanent edifice for themselves, and I proposed to continue my actual services at St. Paul's. Thus I should see, in the opening of another year, what line of personal duty my gracious Lord had really intended for me. The vestry of St. Paul's deemed the position which 1 had assumed as so unfavorable to them and to their congregation that they formally requested my resignation of my rectorship there. To this request, painful as it was, I felt my- self compelled to yield; and I accordingly resigned St. Paul's, though it left me unsettled and unemployed in my stated ministry for some months to come. But I still remained in the occupation of the house in which I had lived for the few years past, and con- tinued to officiate in St. Paul's in my regular engagements in the ministry when they were destitute of other service which they de- sired. This continued during the autumn and winter of 1833 and 1834 Another service was now opened to me. Within the few pre- vious years we had established in the neighborhood of Philadelphia a manual labor school for an education to' the ministry, under the control of an educational society with this particular design. For the proper establishment of this institution it was essential to in- clude much of the Evangelical strength in our Church in other parts of the country. And I consented to undertake a southern tour lor this purpose. Upon this work I entered in January, 1834. I vis- ited the churches of Richmond and Norfolk, in Virginia; Raleigh and Fayetteville, in North Carolina: Georgetown, Charleston, and Beaufort, in South Carolina. This journey gave me an opportunity of forming many new acquaintance, and renewing my relations to many whom I had previously known. The gratification afforded me was great, and my success in my mission and my ministry was a call for much thanksgiving. In Charleston ] remained several weeks and found much encouragement. 1 preached in ali the churches in the city, and for one whole week, on every evening, in the theatre, which had lately been prepared and used for a public military baU. Some of the clergy objected to this service, and ai)- no Rev. Stephen Higginson Tyng, D,D. plied to Bishop Bowen to prohibit me. The Bishop, who had been an old friend of my father, had received me with great kindness. He now invited me to dinner, and at his request I laid the whole matter before him. His earnest reply was, " God forbid that I should put a straw in your way.'' Our first service at the theatre was on Monday evening. A temporary desk and pulpit had been prepared on the stage. The edifice was crowded to its utmost extent. It was indeed an over- whelming sight. I feared the difficulty of controlling such a crowd, literally reaching from the floor to the ceiling. But the first verse of the opening hymn settled the whole question. That was sung with such a volume of sound and with such earnestness of spirit that there remained no doubt of the feeling and purpose of the as- sembly. I have never since seen a more solemn and truly religious service, or addressed an audience responding with more manifest sympathy and solemnity. The Spirit of the Lord was manifestly in the midst of these crowded gatherings. They were repeated on every evening in the week, and on every occasion the crowd seemed to be more compressed and more earnest. Great blessings were bestowed upon these efforts. There were many particular incidents of most awakening interest, and the effect of the whole was to es- tablish the church and ministry of the Bev. Wm. Barnwell, in an unbroken history of advancing usefulness and influence in succeed- ing years. Many instances of effective conversion were the results of this week's preaching, which afterwards came to my knowledge. Among theso was the eminent Bishop Boone, since our faithful missionary to China, who visited me in Philadelphia the next year on his way to the Alexandria Theological Seminary, and gave me a personal account of the Lord's gracious dealings with him in this connection. Another singular fact was the conversion of a gentleman m mercan- tile business in Charleston, who went home to his chamber immedi- ately after our public service, deeply impressed, as he told his wife, and was found by her, early in the morning, sitting at his table with his open Bible and lamp before him, as if occupied in reading the Word of God. But his spirit had departed to God who gave it. His last conversation was with the friend who accompanied him to his house and witnessed to his new-found testimony. When this week's work was ended, I went to Beaufort, where an old friend, the Eev. Joseph R. Walker, then was and still survives, the pastor of a loving, faithful people; and the Episcopal Church was a pat- tern of united influence and miitual encouragement in the Lord's Church of the Epiphany, Philadelphia^ iii work. It was a great privilege to preach to such a people; and I was much refreshed by my visit among them. Prom Beaufort I re- turned to Charleston, and took passage, on the succeeding Saturday afternoon in the steamer for New York. The steamer was crowded with passengers. She was one of the earliest specimens of ocean steamers built in this country, and proved unfit to contend with the storms of the sea. On Sunday evening we were assailed by a heavy storm, and put into Cape Fear Harbor, anchoring opposite to Smithfield, N. C. Here we were quiet through all of Monday, waiting for the quieting of the storm. On Tuesday we got under way again, and went through the inlets in perfect calmness until we came out just south of Cape Hatteras. We passed this stormy cape in a perfectly calm sea, sailing near the shore, and making thus far a pleasant passage home- ward. It was an interesting and new view to me of a point of which I had eo often heard as the abode of storms. Off the capes of Virginia, about two o'clock P. M. of Thursday, we were startled by the cry of fire on board. Through the good- ness of God the fire was at last subdued. The weather was calm, and we felt a grateful sense of the peacefulness of our deliverance, although the whole interior of the ship had been made almost un- inhabitable. The weather very suddenly changed to extreme cold ; and we arrived in New York on Saturday morning in a driv- ing snow-storm. Thus my southern journey had been completed, and in the afternoon of Saturday I went onward to Philadelphia. My mind and time were now to be given to the new and important work which I had assumed in the erection and establishment of the Church of the Epiphany. The corner-stone was laid by Bishop White, on the 24th of March, 1834, and as the spring advanced the work of building was carried on with no obstructions or difficulties in our way. The walls and roof were finished with great rapidity. The gentlemen engaged in the enterprise were men of abUity, and with a deep, personal interest in the work. On the first Sunday of August, the public worship of the con- gregation was commenced in the lecture room, and there continued until the whole edifice was completed. On the 24th of October, 1834, the church was consecrated by the venerable Bishop White. Thus the whole enterprise was inaugurated, and a large audience of the most effective character was soon collected. The Sunday- schools and the weekly lectures were arranged upon a basis of permanency, and the whole work of a parish was in the most suc- cessful operation. 112 Rev. Stephen Higginson Tyng, D.D. The congregation advanced within the first year to a complete filling of the church. And it suffered no declension during the eleven years in which I was permitted to minister to it. We opened our communion in 1834 with twenty-nine communicants; it had increased at the ensuing Easter to eighty-seven, and to six hundred and fourteen at Easter, 1845, which closed my last year with this united and happy flock. Our Sunday-schools were a very precious and important aspect of our Church work in this connec- tion. We opened them on the first Sunday in December, 1834, with nine teachers and twenty-five scholars. And I left them in 1845 with seventy-four teachers and seven hundred and ninety- eight scholars. Every succeeding fact in this prosperous and beloved church was a new encouragement to me. The most affec- tionate attentions surrounded me, and all my labors were a privilege and a delight. In the autumn of 1839 I was laid by with an attack of inflamma- tory rheumatism, which rendered me helpless during most of the winter, and separated me from all public service from November to March. As soon as I was able to be out in the spring, I determined to take a journey on horseback to the Sulphur Springs of Virginia. I was absent from home nearly four months, and returned perfectly restored and strengthened, and prepared for all my work. My actual riding had been full eight hundred miles, and my horse came back as fresh and lively as he went. In the spring of 1841 I removed my family to a house in Filbert Street, which I had purchased, where our next three years were passed. In this same spring I had an operation performed on my right eye for strabismus, which most successfully restored me the use of that eye, which I had never used from my childhood. And thus the summer and autumn of 1841 passed by in much comfort. In the spring of 1842 I determined to take a voyage to Europe. I took my passage to lAverpool in a packet-ship from New York. We were four weeks crossing the ocean, and I arrived in London in time to attend all the May anniversaries there. This was a most gratifying experience. It brought me into a new world, and gave me a personal acquaintance with many of the wisest, greatest, and best men of the age. I passed several weeks in London, ard made a northern tour through England and parts of Scotland, and passed several weeks in Liverpool, with most agreeable friends, in the family of Dr. Eobert Bickersteth, the brother of the elder Eev. Edward B. From thence I made excursions in various visits, in answer to invitations from personal friends. My object was rather Church of fhe Epiphany, Philadelphia. 1 1 3 to see and become acquainted with distinguislied and well-known men, than merely to visit places and scenes. In this desire I was eminently favored. Among the class to whom I refer were Hugh McNeil, of Liverpool; Hugh Stowell, of Manchester; Baptist Noel, of London; William Carus, Simeon's successor, at Cambridge, and others of a similar stamp of character, who afterwards, while they lived, maintained the most intimate friendship with me. I had been favored with some of the best letters of introduction and was thus placed in the very best society, and received attentions which I could not have anticipated, and gained an amount of information and a widening of my own views and experience which have been of great worth to me in all my years since. Since this voyage I have been to Europe in 1847, 1853, 1857, and 1872, and have been rewarded on each occasion with new attainments and a wider observation and experience. In the month of August I returned home to Philadelphia, direct from Liverpool, and was grateful to find everybody and everything belonging to me graciously preserved and well. In this quiet routine my domestic and parochial life passed on until January, 1844, when I sold my house in Filbert Street, and purchased a residence of great beauty and value in Chestnut Street, northwest corneir of Eighteenth Street, to which we then removed. " Here," I said, " I shall die in my nest; " so little can we anticipate the changes which are prepared for us. In September, 1844, the General Convention was held in St. Andrew's Church, in Philadelphia. Of this body I had been ap- pointed a member from Pennsylvania. Immediately before this a meeting of the Diocesan Convention was also held there. The question of the election of a bishop for Pennsylvania, in place of Bishop Onderdonk, who had resigned his office, arose at this con- vention. A meeting of the Evangelical clergy was held to consider the nomination of a suitable candidate for this high office. A com- mittee waited on me to inform me that I had been the unanimous choice of this meeting, and asking my consent to the use of my name for this purpose. I answered them with the most sincere decision that my feeling and my habit were wholly opposed to such a project or imagination. I would, however, consent that they should write to the clergy of a supposed union in their general senti- ments; and if I was proved to be the real choice of a majority of the clergy thus personally applied to, I would consent to the use of my name in the next convention, when the election must be perfected. They subsequently returned to me with the assurance 114 R^' Stephen Higginson Tyng, D.D. that this condition had been fulfilled, and with success ,to their wishes and views. And thus this matter rested until the convention met, in the spring of 1845. At that convention I peremptorily declared that I would consent to the use of my name but for two ballots. The first might be scattering ; the second would surely be tha real choice of the clergy. Thus they proceeded. The first ballot of the clergy was decided. My name wanted four votes of an election ; the second ballot resulted in the same manner. I refused to vote for myself. I then rose in the convention and withdrew my name from the contest, and retired to my own house. The next morning I received a message that if I would come to the convention my vote would nominate the Rev. Alonzo Potter as the Bishop of the Diocese. I obeyed the summons, and that highly- esteemed clergyman was nominated by a majority of the clergy, and confirmed by the unanimous vote of the laity. And Alonzo Potter was elected, to my great joy and thankfulness, and I was clear. In the opening spring of 1845 I was most unconsciously on the eve of the most serious and important change in the outward relation of my whole Ufe. We were so comfortably and richly established in all my circumstances in the ministry, that I desired no change. I had attained an age which asks for comparative repose. I was in the midst of friends whose affection I had long proved. I was perfectly contented and at home. This was not the Lord's design concerning me, and His plans, aU now concealed from me, would be opened in due time. I had completed a minis- try of twenty-four years, eleven of which had been spent in the Epiphany. I must truly say that, in my connection with this church, I never encountered a single obstacle ; I never heard of one utter- ance of hostility or complaint. My closing years were a period of unbroken happiness and of complete satisfaction in all my work and in all my relations. And as I look back upon this happy min- istry, over this distance of more than thirty years since its close, I have no memory which is not precious to me, and can recall no personal relation which does not minister to me cause for thanks- giving in the remembrance of this honored connection. And I feel sure that no man was ever more highly favored in the exercise of the Christian ministry among men. It was doubtless through the instrumentality of Dr. Bedell, who was then the rector of St. Andrew's Church, that Dr. Tyng was in- Church of the Epiphany, Philadelphia. 1 1 5 duced to take the charge of St. Paul's, and due probably, in large degree, to the same influence, that he consented to undertake the still greater responsibility of the establishment of the Church of the Epiphany. United in their sympathies, and in perfect agreement in all their views, though very dissimilar in personal characteristics, they had for many years been bound together by the strongest tie of confidence and affection. They had labored together in the varied efforts which had for them a common interest, and in their ministries in the adjoining parishes of St. Andrew's and St. Paul's had been to each other unfailing in encouragement and support. All these happy relations were, however, sundered by the death of Dr. Bedell on the 30th of August, 1834. His death occurring thus, in the very beginning of the work of " the Eiiiphany," when his counsel and assistance would have been of inestimable value, was indeed a grievous loss to Dr. Tyng, and one which he deeply felt. In a memorial sermon, delivered at the request of the vestry of St. Andrew's Church, he was enabled to bear testimony to the importance of Dr. BedeU's ministry and example, and no one was better qualified for such a service. Still later he was urged to prepare a biography, and, notwith- standing the labors and cares by which he was so heavily pressed, gladly consented to perform this duty. Though at first prepared as a short memoir prefixed to a volume of Dr. Bedell's sermons, the rapidity of its sale and the continued demand were so great that he was soon induced to enlarge it into a separate volume, published in 1835. The whole proceeds of the sale of both volumes were gener- ously applied to the benefit of Dr. Bedell's family, and it seemed singularly appropriate when, fifty years later, his son stood in St. George's Church, New York, to bear his testimony in memory of his own and his " father's friend." In the work of the Episcopal Education Society Dr. Bedell and Dr. Tyng had been particularly earnest and active. This society organized in 1825, for the increase of " pious, devoted Evangelical ministers in the Church," aimed to occupy a field which made it an important adjunct to the various theological seminaries, by provid- ing for the preparatory education of those who wished to enter the ministry, but were debarred from other means of obtaining necessary instruction. In pursuance of this object, the society had purchased a farm near Wilmington, Del., and established a school or the self-supporting principle of uniting manual labor with mental improvement, and converting the hours of recreation into a source of pecuniary profit. Such a plan had been successfully Ii6 Rev. Siephen Higginson Tyng, D.D. tested at the institution of Hofwyl, in Switzerland, where a large number of youth, by their own labor, were enabled to pay the expenses of a valuable education, and it was believed that equal success would be attained in this school. The urgent need of an increase of the ministry, as it presented itself at this time, is thus expressed in an address issued in 1834, in behalf of this school : " In several extensive commonwealths our services are entirely unknown, and in some an Episcopal minister would be looked upon as an ecclesiastical curiosity. In the whole of Indiana, Illinois, Mis- souri and Florida there is not one to be found out of the little town of St. Louis. In Mississippi there are only /owr / Alabama, Louisiana and Georgia have three each. " Now, if ever the Episcopal Church is to appropriate her share of that rich inheritance, she must press out into the wilderness and there, with the enterprise and vigor of a new settler, hew the logs and build the house of her own prosperity." This statement, incredible as it may seem at the present time, is stiU further impressed and confirmed in these words of a sermon deUvered by Dr. Tyng, in urging the claims of this school : " That we have no means of education for our clergy at all commensurate with the demands for their multiplication, is the matter of such universal acknowledgment and mourning that it is unnecessary to attempt its proof. " In the whole region which the Church occupies in the United States we have but three schools devoted to this object, from all of which the next annual supply wiU not fiU the vacancies which have been created by death during the past year. There are through- out the United States about sixty candidates for the ministry of the Church, in different stages of their preparatory studies. If twice that number were at this moment ready for the work, there is abundant employment for them all. Ministers, laborious, active energetic ministers, we must have. The calls of our old States cannot be answered, and the almost unlimited opportunities for oxertion in the cause of Christ which the western territory opens to us are now quite beyond our reacL These small local schools Ln the North, the South, and the West open the only fountains within our reach. If we invite the pious youth of our land to become for us some of the prophets, we can give them no adequate help, we can offer them no tight hand of encouragement. We have no place to send them for instruction, because we have no Church of the Epiphany, Philadelphia^, 117 place in which instruction, for more than very few individuals, can be got without money. " Such are the necessities of the Church arising from our inade- quate means of ministerial education. Our present seminaries, much as they wish and labor to do, only baffle expectation by their inadequate ability, and in many instances the best and most pre- pared men they give us, from the debihty resulting from sedentary study, do us the least good. .... " Scattered throughout our Sunday Schools are to be found many dear youth upon whom God's Spirit has set His seal, but who are obliged to be placed at trades or in other situations, from inability to obtain that education which their talents and their characters deserve. When our Sunday Schools are brought into this course of operation they will be made what they are now often called, ' the hope of the Church '; they will be the first step of a thorough religious education, the seed plot from which the most valuable and thriving plants may be transferred to another place of cultivation, opening to tl^em the opportunity of perfect growth and profi.table bearing. " Comparing the plan of this school with that pursued by educa- tion societies of making pecuniary loans, to be repaid out of their income in future life, which in few instances is more than adequate to the supply of daily necessities, he continued: " The first plan sends young men into the ministry burdened with a heavy debt. The noble and generous spirit which they ought to possess as worthy of their high vocation, is crushed by this pecuniary obligation. If they possess an honorable mind, they are straitened and distressed until this debt is discharged. If they have no sense of proper obligation, they disgrace themselves, for- getting it altogether, and leaving it finally unpaid. The plan which I now suggest imposes no debt. The youth leaves the institution with an independent mind. No bond reminds him all the time that he is another man s property. He can eat his bread with gladness and singleness of heart, because no consuming tithe is urging its demands for those who have paid for his education, and think they have made him what he is. " The first plan, by educating the poor in the sedentary and luxurious habits of the rich, entails all the destructive habits of Ufe upon them which wealth is siupposed to generate. It leads them to be indolent and covetous of the scenes of easiest duty. It enervates them and makes them incompetent to active exertion. It puffs them up with emulation and tempts them to shrink from the ii8 Rev. Stephen Higginson Tyng, D.D. mountain that they may dwell in the plain. Their artificial wants demand unreasonable satisfactions, and the small incomes of remote and arduous settlements are not sufficient to supply them. " This finishes the injury entailed by this system. It places the youthful minister in his scene of labor with debilitated health, a heavy pecuniary responsibility, and with habits which demand larger means than he has reason to expect, and then, having de- stroyed his power of labor, it bids him to go out to the highways and the hedges as the messenger of the Lord. " On the other hand, the plan which we now propose generates habits of frugality and independence. It makes the necessities few and easily answered. It enables the man to live, and live with comfort upon a smaller income, and to labor with contentment when others would despond. But little has he a right to expect as pecuniary remuneration, and the habits he has acquired make that little sufficient for his wants." By the joint efforts of Dr. Bedell and Dr. Tyng, the funds had been provided for the establishment of the school, and in order to extend its operations. Dr. Tyng undertook the Southern journey, of which he writes, in the winter of 1834. Though always ready to give his aid at any sacrifice of his per- sonal comfort, absence from his home wo,s always a peculiar hard- ship, and he frequently said, " if nothing else would prevent my being Bishop, or agent, or missionary, my constant homesickness would be reason enough." In one of his letters during this journey he writes: " I have been much delighted with the life of Dr. Cornelius in which I have been occupied through the day. There was in him a devotedness to God which I long to imitate and possess. In the very agency in which I am now engaged, he felt, just as I do, the exceeding sacrifice of absence from home and family. But God enabled him to bear the burden, and the same grace is sufficient for me also. I feel indeed the greatness of my work, but I encourage myself in the Lord and hope for His blessing. Cornelius says in regard to such efforts, ' the only way is to try, and if you fail, to try again and never to cease trying tUl you have succeeded.' " So may I be able to go forward with a spirit of perseveranco and trust to God for the gracious result." The school at Wilmington was most promising in its success, but the ground on which it was located, proved inadequate for such a purpose, and many applications for admission had to be refused. The property was therefore sold and a much larger estate pur- Church of the Epiphany, Philadelphia. 1 1 9 chased near Bristol, Pennsylvania, where some one hundred and fifty students could be accommodated and a more extended course of study pursued. In this new location, under the name of Bristol College, the school prospered for several years, but finally becom- ing involved in financial difficulty, the whole enterprise had to be abandoned. In addition to this effort, the Episcopal Education Society had a means of large influence and usefulness in its control and publi- cation of the Hpiscapal Becorder, which was for so long a period the representative paper of the Evangelical school in the Episcopal Church. This paper had been originally established by Dr. BedeU, soon after he came to Philadelphia, and continued under his editor- ship for the years following. In 1829, however, it became the property of the Episcopal EducatioTi Society, and was placed under the direction of a committee of the Board of Managers of that soci- ety. To its columns Dr. Tyng was a constant contributor, and in 1838, in association with Dr. John A. Clark and Dr. William Sud- dards, assumed the editorial control. During all this period Dr. Tyng had been unremitting in his labors in the Church of the Epiphany, which had finally become established in abounding prosperity and extended influence. In his Eifth Annual Eeport as its rector, he reviewed the years which had then been passed, and spoke as follows of the earnest purpose which had marked the labors of his associates not less than his own. "The persons who entered upon this work well understood what it would cost them, and they commenced the enterprise with a generous determination to complete it thoroughly. Their great object was the erection of an Episcopal Church in this important section of the city, which should exercise a wide and permanent influence in support of the great principles of Evangelical piety, for the benefit of the city and of the world abroad. " They estimated the value of the end to be accomplished and were willing to undergo the cost and difficulty by which it should be attained They have pursued their determination with un- ceasing ardor and perseverance and Almighty God has abundantly prospered and blessed them. The lot was expensive and valuable. It might have been so divided and managed that an inferior por- tion might have been retained almost without cost. But this was not the spirit of those who had entered upon this work. The in- fluence which they desired and which they felt bound to exercise re- quired a building of a different description from that. I20 Rev. Stephen Higginson Tyng, D.D. " The first effort which was made to obtain funds for this purpose, resulted in the subscription of $12,000— by twenty-five persons. On this list were the first and abiding friends of this church. From some of the same individuals, a subsequent subscription was made of $3,400, by ten persons, for the completion of the exterior of the buUding. And on another occasion, to remove some of the claims which were held against the church, $10,900 was subscribed by thirteen persons, for which they were ready to take that portion of the pews which were least likely to be salable to others. These sums made, in the whole, $26,300. " The first sale of pews was exceedingly limited. The annual income of the church was not one-fourth of its needful expense. And there were repeated occasions of discouragement and great difficulty within the first three years of the efibrt. But the same spirit remained — and I have never seen the occasion when the same generous and noble determination, did not mark the feelings and the efforts of the vestry of this church. " Subsequently these generous exertions have relieved the pecuni- ary incumbrances to a'very great extent; and it is long now since every original biU against the building has been fully paid. To accomplish this, however, there have been required great and fre- quent efibrts on the part of the founders of this enterprise. It has cost some of them much, indeed more than could have been reason- ably expected or afforded. " But they have never shrunk from the demand. There has been the most unbroken harmony in aU their operations. No single oc- casion has arisen in the whole of these five years, for a diflference in judgment, still less for discord of feeling, among the members of the vestry. All have displayed the same plan and the same spirit. " There have been marked instances of great liberality among us. It would be wrong in me to speak of them personally. Their possessors and agents enjoy a consciousness which is far better than outward applause. These have often required great incon- venience. " But how little will those who come after us and enter into our labors, be able to understand the labor and care with which all this has been done. There is One, to whom it is all known; and while others enjoy the fruits of their secret liberality and efforts, from Him, I trust, they will receive their reward. " I trust I may be permitted to say, that in the same spirit of willingness to spend and labor for so great a good, I entered upon the duties and responsibilities of this work. I was fully aware of Church of the Epiphany, Philadelphia. 1 2 1 all the exertion and anxiety ■which its accomplishment -would require of me. But it opened to my mind a most important and effectual enterprise ; and, though against the advice and solicita- tions of many friends, I relinquished a charge in which everything was permanent and settled, and sufficient, to enter upon this great experiment. My great object was to rear an altar unto the Lord, which should be a benefit to thousands for years to come, and I came to the work without a single misgiving or doubt as to the actual and final success. I cannot speak of moneyed cost, because though I have declined for the sake of my present charge, much higher pecuniary emolument, I have done it cheerfully, and per- haps as much in regard to my own comfort as it would be right for me to consider. No; I have been followed here in every year, with the kindest generosity, the most respectful acceptance, and the most affectionate attention which any pastor could desire -^t con- ceive. My labors have been an unceasing reward, and this congre- gation has given me no opportunity to speak of sacrifices as made by me. " But the effort has cost me much anxiety and deep solicitude. I have been from tne beginning a partner in all the trials and cares which the management of the temporal concerns of the church has demanded; and I could have enough to say, if it were allowable, of the harassing, sleepless concern which the prosecution of this new enterprise has required. But all this has now weU-nigh passed. And supported as I have been from the beginning, not only by the high consciousness of God's presence and blessing, but also by the great success bestowed upon my pastoral labors, and the union, energy and love of those whom God has raised up to act with me in the vestry of this church, I shall have little to say of the pressxire of a load of anxiety that has been now removed. " Writing in the same report of his own pastoral labors, he says : " I have met the congregation in whole or in various parts, for the different purposes of united worship and instruction at least an average of two hundred and eighty-two occasions in each year, above fourteen hundred times for the past five years, or nearly six times a week. I have attempted to give such an amount of time and study to mv preparations for the public services of the sanctuary, that they should not seem to have cost me nothing; and I have desired and endeavored to fulfil to the utmost of my power the important private duties of a pastor among the people. With unalterable affection I would finish my course and my ministry in this place, and here lay my mortal remains where I have deposited those of 122 Rev. Stephen Higginson Tyng, D.D. other dear ones, among a people who have been always affectionate and kind." In his reminiscences of Dr. Tyng, Bishop Clark says of him at this time : " It was in the prime of his most vigorous days that he entered upon the bold experiment of starting a new enterprise in what was then the outskirts of the city, and with nothing but the probabili- ties of the future to lean upon. The triumph of this bold move- ment was very complete, and the Church of the Epiphany became the centre of a mighty religious influence, and was constantly thronged by a multitude who, attracted to the church at first by their admiration of his fiery eloquence, after a while were led, by the power of the gospel truth which he expounded to them, to become the faithful followers of Jesus. "Dr. Tyng never had his own way more entirely than he did whUe he was in charge of the Church of the Epiphany, and this absolute freedom was a very important factor in his career. He was a man who must be allowed to build after his own pattern; he must be his own architect, and choose his own tools, and work after his own fashion. He had a great deal of self-confidence, and this, was one secret of his success. Behind aU this, there existed the dominating element of a deep, abiding, all-absorbing spiritual earnestness. The gospel of Christ was everything to him ; he was never troubled with any theoretical doubts, and never for a moment seemed to question his own intimate and close personal relation to the Saviour; he Uved in habitual communion with Him, and it was the one great object of his life to bring souls to Christ. " Of those who were directly associated with him in his ministry, how few there are left! Meade, and Mcllvaine, and Johns, and BedeU, and John A. Clark, and Suddards, and Cutler, and others of the same school, leaders of the old Evangelical phalanx, standing in their place like men, who knew what their Master required of them, and were determined at aU hazards to do His will, and now they are all silent and their voices will be heard on earth no more. The school which they represented may not be in the ascendency to-day, but they were men whom the Church could poorly have spared, and if there has been in later times a general advance in the way of earnest and faithful preaching in our pulpits among all grades of churchmen, it may be only the continuation of the note which these men first sounded. " Among them all there was no one who filled a larger space in the public estimation than Dr. Tyng. He did not please every. Church of the Epiphany, Philadelphia. 123 body, and he did not care to please everybody; he had strong antipathies, and this of itself arouses opposition ; he was bold and fearless, and took no counsel of flesh and blood ; earnest and stern in his convictions, and thoroughly loyal to his Master. ' Cry aloud and spare not ! ' was the watchword of his ministry from the beginning; ' Christ and Him crucified,' his one uniform theme. There may have been some hard points in his theology, but they were softened by the tenderness of his heart and his overwhelming sense of the Saviour's love. He rests at last, a man who knew little of repose whUe he lived. And the echoes of his ciear ringing voice stiU seem to linger in the air and speak to us of Jesus." An incident of Dr. Tyng's ministry at the Epiphany, is related, which is most characteristic of him and aptly illustrates his discouragement of popular excitement or applause. It was at a time when there was much excitement among " MUlerites " in expectation of the second coming of the Lord. He had been lecturing, at his usual Wednesday evening services, upon the Book of Daniel, as during the previous year he had lectured on Isaiah, and had reached in course the ninth chapter. It had been said that he would on that particular evening give his views on the " Seventy weeks " and " the time and half a time." The lecture-room was crowded to its utmost capacity and still people were coming in much curiosity and excitement. This state of affairs was reported by one of the vestry, and immediately Dr. Tyng declared that he would not satisfy the crowd. He went into the desk and conducted the short service, but instead of interpret- ing prophecy, preached a pointed gospel sermon. He amnounced his text, " Strive to enter in at the strait gate ; for many, I say unto you, wUl seek to enter in and shall not be able." (Luke xiii. 24) His rebuke was, do not concern yourselves with what is no business of yours ; do not inquire how many will be saved or when the Lord will come. Attend to the things which concern your own peace, strive to enter in at the strait gate, and then, no matter whether few or many be saved, no matter when the Lord may come, you will be ready for Him. It is said he never preached with more earnestness or more directness of appeal, and few that heard him will ever forget that night. The crowd Hstened with respect and interest, but after the services some complained of their dis- appointment, though they acknewledged the justice of his re- proof. During the year 1839, the third of his published works was issued, a volumo of sermons to which the title "The Israel of God" 124 -^^^- Stephen Higginson Tyng, D.D. was given. Like his previous books, it had a large circulation, several thousand copies having been sold within a short period. The Church of the Epiphany, capacious as it had been deemed at the time of its erection, soon proved entirely inadequate in its accommodations. Such was the continued demand for seats that it became necessary to make some enlargement to provide addi- tional room, and it was determined to accomplish this by the addition of side galleries. This work was undertaken in 1842, and the necessary closing of the church for the purpose offered Dr. Tyng an opportunity for a sufficient vacation to enable him to make a European voyage. Twenty-one years as a settled pastor had been finished, and during this whole period his life had been one of unceasing labor, without any interval of relaxation or repose. In the last sermon preached before his departure he spoke of these years of labor, and said, " I have never been without a charge for a day. I have never left the charge committed to me except when absolute inability to preach has driven me away, or when some paramount caU of duty has occupied me for a time in other and not less exhausting labors. " Having passed my life thus, and these last two years in a peculiar confinement to the duties of my ministry, I have found myself extremely exhausted and broken in strength, and compelled to seek a relaxation, perhaps already full long deferred." By such an absence alone, as that proposed, could he hope to regain his former strength, and in all things his way seemed to have been opened to him at this time. He therefore left Philadelphia on the 29th -of March, having taken his passage on a steamer to sail from Boston, but on arriving at New York learned that the vessel would be unable to return by steam, in consequence of an accident on her passage out. Unwilling to sail in a temporarily rigged vessel, he concluded to take passage in the ship Europe, Capt. Marshall, to sail from New York on the 1st of April, and passed the intervening days with his friends in New York, from whom ha received many letters which were of much value as introductions in England. Among other attentions of this kind Mr. Buchanan, the English consul, made him bearer of despatches, thus relieving him from Custom House investigation and delay on his reaching Liverpool, where he arrived on the 28th of April. Having been accredited by the Board of Missions, the American Bible Society, the American Tract Society, and the American Sunday School Union as a delegate to the anniversaries of their kindred societies in London, he was thus brought immediately into Church of the Epiphany, Philadelphia. laS close association with those whoni it was his great desire to meet. "I went," he writes in one of his letters, "to see God's living temples, the men whose names and characters had so long been objects of deep regard and reverence to me, and whose labors are the honor and ornament of the English Church, To find them where I could, and to become acquainted with them, was the end and motive of all my visits and journeyings." The anniversary meetings were therefore occasions of the deepest interest, and his letters are filled with comments upon them, impressions of those who took part in them, and their words of protest against the Tractarian Movement, which had so lately caused its great agitation of the English and American Church. After his return these letters were prepared in a series, published in the Episcopal Becorder, and subsequently combined in a volume, entitled " Recollections of England." Any extended quotation from them is therefore superfluous, but a few extracts may not inappropriately be made. In a letter from Oxford he writes of those with whom he met there, and says: " Our conversation naturally turned much upon the subjects and persons which had been involved in the late discussions, and upon the Episcopal charge, which had been delivered the week before by the Bishop of Oxford. But 1 am wearied of considering and writing upon this subject of controversy in the Church ; and the noxious influence of the Tractarian party seems now so well un- derstood, and so generally acknowledged, that I hope we may be relieved from the necessity of speaking or writing much more about it. The hostility to their sentiments and agency certainly was not less decided or active at Oxford, than elsewhere, nor were the feel- ings and views of the gentlemen with whom I met less purely Evangelical. I felt no desire to seek the persons who have been prominent in bringing out these false doctrines, for I could not meet them honestly without bearing testimony against them, so that I did not gain introduction to a single one of their number, and declined calling upon them when it was proposed by the friends with whom I became acquainted. The gentlemen with whom I was in company were such as held similar views with my- self, and with whom I could take counsel without fear, and their society was far more agreeable to me." In a letter, descriptive of his visit to York Minster, he writes as follows of cathedral services: " While I was roaming through the immense edifice," he says^ 126 Rev. Stephen Higginson Tyng, D.D. " the sounding of the organ indicated the hour of worship, and I went into the choir where it is performed. But the service was worse performed than I had seen it anywhere before, in the manner and deportment both of ministers and singers. It amounted to an absolute burlesque of religious worship. There seemed to be no one engaged in it who felt the least concern in the whole matter, except in the desire to get through as quick as possible. To expect any religious influence or effect from mummery like this, is preposterous. It is an exposure of the whole subject which it represents, to ridicule and contempt. These may seem strong expressions. They indicate, however, exactly the impression made upon me by the occasion. " The great instrument of divine blessing under the gospel is the preaching of the "Word. And, though we are by no means to undervalue the meeting together of Christians for prayer and praise alone, yet the substitution of these formal, unmeaning and unfeel- ing services, performed by careless and irreligious hired agents, for the real prayer and praise of the people of God, is but a mock- ery of the whole subject. In this case there was not even the compensation of tolerable music." Again, in an account of his visit to Durham Cathedral, he writes: " It was the hour of evening prayer when I entered the build- ing. There was a vast improvement in the method of performance here, in comparison with the last which I heard. The swelling notes of the organ, as they roUed through the long aisles and lofty arches, mingled with the clear and sweet tones of the responsive chants, which were performed with great harmony, affected me with feelings of solemnity, and excited my heart to praise. Cer- tainly I heard no cathedral music in England equal to this evening's worship. I formed no new opinion of the importance or the advantage of these cathedral services. They may inspire religious sensibility in the minds of a few, but they are the fruits and agents of mere formalism, and sinful mockery of God, it is to be feared, in many more. Here in a small country town is an edifice, which if it were employed for the proper ends of the gospel, the religious instruc- tion of the people, is perhaps sufficient to contain nearly all the worshippers in the place, but which, as far as I could see, in its present system, is made useless at the best. The people are gathered for instruction in other places. Churches and chapels are scattered round the town. But this immense pile is reserved for the mere purpose of a formal singing through the worship of Church of the Epiphany, Philadelphia. 1 2^' the Church, in which few unite but those who are paid for the purpose, and still fewer, probably, derive any spiritual benefit from the circle through which they are required thus formally to tread. With the whole system of scriptural and gospel operation among men they are apparently inconsistent, and for the end of promoting this, m^anifestly useless." After leaving London, a journey of about a month's duration was made through England and Scotland. This gave him oppor- tunity to visit the Eev. Edward Bickersteth, at his home at Watton, as well as other friends whom he had met during his sojourn in London. He was thus brought into a more intimate acquaintance with them, and into relations with their families, which were con- tinued through life, and many of his warmest friends were those whose acquaintance he first made in this visit. On the 15th of July he embarked in the ship Thomas P. Cope, for Philadelphia, and after a tedious voyage arrived there on the 24th of August. He had been absent five months, and returned home completely restored to health, and refreshed in mind to enter again upon his work at the Epiphany. During the years immediately succeeding, a series of events oc- curred which, in the excitement they caused, and the intensity of party spirit they aroused, convulsed the Church throughout its whole extent, and have had an important influence upon its suc- ceeding history. From Dr. Tyng's connection with these they demand some ref- erence and they are particularly notable as displaying his character in various lights. The first was the so-called Carey ordination in New York in July, 1843, when Drs. Smith and Anthon took their stand in public pro- test against the Episcopal act of Bishop Onderdonk, of that dio- cese. Mr. Arthur Carey, a young graduate of the General Theo- logical Seminary, was charged with holding opinions " contrary to the doctrine and discipline of the Episcopal Church," and therefore not properly to be admitted to its ministry. In the presence of the Bishop and other clergymen, he was examined by Drs. Smith and Anthon, and at its conclusion, both, separately, protested against his ordination. This the Bishop ordered, however, and at the ordination service in St. Stephen's Church, on July 2, 1843, the two clergymen named rose and read written protests founded upon Mr. Carey's holding sentiments " contrary to the doctrine of the Protestant Episcopal Church, and in close alliance with the errors of the Church of Kome." 128 Rev. Stephen Higginson Tyng, D.D. At once a storm of controversy was aroused in tlie press and various pamphlets, as tlie case was considered from the different points of view. The course which Bishop Onderdonk had pursued being as earnestly defended and justified on the one side, as the po- sition which Dr. Smith and Dr. Anthon had taken was approved and commended on the other. Among the latter class were aU of those with whom Dr. Tyng was in sympathy and agreement, and his own views of the action of the two clergymen were clearly expressed when, speaking of the case at a later date, he said: " Their stand on that remarkable day was as truly faithful and God-fearing, as it was decided and effectual. Never did two men more thoroughly act out a conscientious conviction of duty or con- fer less with flesh and blood in taking a stand for the truth of God, and that stand was triumphant. From end to end of our land, the fidelity of these witnesses of God attracted new affection for our Church, won new friends for the Saviour's truth, awakened new hearts of love and prayer for themselves, and gave them a new name of renown which generations will honor with delight. The respect and gratitude of all who loved the gospel was theirs.'' Dr. Tyng would not, however, unite in the condemnation of Bishop Onderdonk so freely expressed, and did not hesitate to come to his defence with a clear statement of his views upon the case. The stand which he thus took was the cause of much comment, as it arrayed him in apparent opposition to those with whom he was supposed to be in entire accord, and it is as notable an instance of his own independeace of mind and action as of the impartiality and justice of his conclusions. In a communication to the Episcopal Eecorder over his own sig- nature, he reviewed as follows several important aspects of the case: " The controversy seems to me to have remained very much among the incidents of the occasion, and to have thus far left very important principles far too much unnoticed. Undoubtedly, the real issue in this individual instance, which must be considered also a representative of a class of such to follow, is to be found in the actual false doctrines charged upon the young man and their utter inconsistency with our standards of received truth. I presume the general respect of the Church would have been accorded to Bishop Onderdonk and his attending and examining presbyters, if they had, at least in consideration of the views of other persons, and Church of the Epiphany, Philadelphia. 129 they not a few, deferred the ordination for further consideration. I think it will be almost a8 generally conceded, that the avowal of such sentiments as he declared, even after all the compulsory ex- planations of them which have been drawn out, ought to be a suffi- cient reason for exclusion from orders in the Protestant Episcopal Church. But are these the only points at issue ? or do they include the only facts which ought to be considered ? Are we to consider the occasion in the concrete a mere question of the admission or exclusion of Popish sentiments from our ministry ? I certainly would not appear to undervalue this question. But I have not been able to satisfy my mind with this view. After all that has been written, I am not satisfied with the mere condemnation of Bishop Onderdonk in all the facts of the case. "First: In regard to the actual final protest: was the subject of it one that came within the prescription of the rubric ? I shall not be suspected of dealing lightly with the difficulties suggested. My course in reference to all the questions of Popery, is at least well known, by those who know anything of me. But are the assembled congregation at an ordination, old and young, male and female, to be considered, in the view of the Church, as judges of the intellectual and doctrinal qualifications and preparation of candidates for or- ders ? In such an assembly we can recognize no respect of per- sons. Any two have as good a right to object, as any other two, when the call is made: "Brethren, if there be any of you who knoweth," etc., etc. The only question is, what have^any persons a right to object to the candidate proposed ? It must be answered, I think clearly, that, which persons so situated, may be supposed, or competent to know. " The exhortation is ' any impediment or notable crime, etc., for the which he ought not to be admitted to that office.' But is a charged or suspected tendency to Popery, an equal impediment, if it were reasonably known ? Or is it such an impediment even when established, as comes within the intended reach of the exhortation and the rubric, to which reference is made ? Any moral crime is within the judgment and view and ability to testify of aU persons present, who have had opportunities of witnessing it, and it may have been entirely unknown to the Bishop and presbyters engaged in the ordination. And of any fact within such a range, any person present may justly testify. The very fact that the Bishop is required by the rubric, absolutely to ' cease from ordering the person until such time as the party accused shall be found clear,' shows that the fact imnlied is something which can be demonstratively proved, or 130 Rev. Stephen Higginson Tyng, D.D. shown to be imtrue. It must be something in regard to which there can be no hberty of judgment, whether it exists or not, or whether if existing, it be right or wrong. The Bishop is bound to stay all proceedings till the person ' be found clear,' of course im- plying, by the testimony of others and not by his own assertions merely. But it seems to me, when the canons of the Church have provided three years study for the candidate for orders, under the supervising direction of the Bishop, and three distinct examinations by the Bishop and presbyters iato the results of this education, in order to ascertain and exhibit his mental and theological sufficiency for the ministry; and then require him in the Seventh Article of the Constitution to subscribe the declaration of his faith in the Holy Scriptures, of the Old and New Testament, as the Word of God, and containing all things necessary to salvation, and an engagement of conformity to the doctrines and worship of the Church, the minis- try of which he is seeking, that the door cannot be considered as left open for any persons at the very last, to declare their dissatis- faction with him on this ground, to the effect of arresting his ordi- nation. If so, then any persons present may be allowed to make any conceivable objections of this character, which seem to them important, either to the manifest injury of the candidate, if they be regarded by the Bishop, or to the manifest breaking up of all order and decorum in the service, if they be disregarded. The decision in this case, what supposed docti-ines are an ' impediment or nota- ble crime,' would be left entirely to the judgment or prejudices of the persons making the objection. And if any one may charge supposed Popery, another may accuse of Calvinism or Arminianism or Puritanism, or whatever seems to any to be grievous religious error, or a doctrinal deficiency amounting to just impediment to ordination in our Church. It must depend then wholly upon the character and will and personal theology of the individual Bishop, what effect each particular charge should be allowed to have. If such objections were to be considered in order in their nature, and regarded as such, inasmuch as the Bishop has no liberty of action by the rubric, one Bishop must necessarily suspend one class of candidates, and another must refuse another class, according to the particular views of each, to the certain breaking up of all order and propriety in our service and all regularity in our disciphne, and, as I shall attempt to show subsequently, to the violation of the actual rights of the candidate himself. Our patch- work Church, no longer at unity in itself, would then exhibit the strange incoherence, that Bishop A. would not ordain Popish meiij Church of the Epiphany, Philadelphia. 131 nor Bishop B., Calvinistic men, nor Bishop C, Arminian men, etc., and what would be the inevitable result, but the complete breaking up of our whole Church throughout the land ? " The impossibility of erecting with any equity such a tribunal for judgment in theological questions, as would be found in the minds of every promiscuous congregation, or of carrying it out to any result, but confusion and dissension in the Church, and the en- tire opposition of such a plan to the canonical provisions of the Church, in regard to the preparation and examination of candidates for orders, lead me to conclude with certainty in my own mind, that the possible impediments suggested to the consideration, cannot be mental or theological impediments of which the Bishop and presbyters must be reasonably judged far better informed than they — but must be moral impediments which any persons in the congregation may know, though the Bishop does not. " The moral character of the candidate has been also certified by canonical testimonials — but these may be to a great extent with but partial knowledge in the persons signing them. Any persons are competent witnesses of moral facts. Many persons may know facts which are wholly inconsistent with the testimonials which have been given. The congregation are supposed to be witnesses of the life and conversation of the candidate. They are therefore called upon to testify what they know upon this subject, and their testimony is of course to be considered and examined according to the rubric. I have not been able to convince myself that the protest at the ordination which is particularly referred to, was within the range of this rubric, or, consequently, much as I respect the persons in- volved, an orderly and just proceeding, though the novelty of the question and the occasion, and the fact that the principle involved, was as yet unsettled, must shield from all censure, in this incident of the occasion, men, who had so faithfully discharged their duty in this whole crisis. If our Canons do not sufficiently reach possible theological errors, some other method of greater stringency must be discovered. But I cannot as one agree that the extremity of any case, will hereafter justify or warrant that which seems to me, an illegal effort to meet its supposed evils. " Secondly: In regard to the candidate himself. It has been a very serious consideration in my mind in connection with this sub- ject, how far there are to be acknowledged actual rights in the candidate himself which cannot be violated or refused but vrith great injustice, and whether the submission to a protest against ordination like the one we have seen, would not be an actual viola- 132 Rev. Stephe7i Higginson Tyng, D.D. tion of these rights ? If a candidate for orders Las rights in him- self, secured by the laws and action of the Church, and the arrest- ing of his ordination upon a protest involving insufficient or illegal objections, would be a violation of these rights, not only is he the victim of great injustice, but he has also a right to call for the protection of the civil law, to secure him against the power and effects of ecclesiastical oppression. It becomes therefore a very important question to consider, what are the rights of a candidate for orders? " Our Canons lay open his path with great distinctness. They also guard it and limit it with very marked and pecu- liar restraints. The question is, does a perfect compliance with all these directions and restraints give from the Church to the candidate a right to expect and claim his orders at the last, nothing fl.ppearing in any legal way to vitiate this performance of his re- quired course ? It must be granted, of course, that if his qualifica- tions, mental or moral, are ultimately found insufficient, he may be justly rejected. If his examining Bishop and presbyters are dis- satisfied with the one, they have certainly the right to reject him there. If any persons are acquainted with moral crimes, which, if known, would actually overturn all the worth and influence of his certificates of character, they may declare them at the very last moment, and he may be arrested there. But if his examinations have been satisfactory to the persons appointed to direct them, and his character is unstained with moral crime, has he not a right se- cured to him, to the ordination, for which he has fulfilled his ap- pointed preparation ? Or is it to be considered by him, and for him, utterly uncertain to the very last moment whether he shall be al- lowed to gain the object of his wish ? May he be exposed to be arrested, in the very attainment of his desire, by the possible judg- ment of two persons in the assembled congregation that he is de- ficient or erroneous in rehgious doctrine or theological training ? I confess this amounts in my view to extreme oppression. " What young man of honorable and ingenuous feelings would be willing to expose himself to this possible disgrace and this entii-e un- certainty of prospect ? Or what Christian parent would be willing, in the face of such a hazard, to commit his son to the faith and guardianship of a Church whose system of law was so insecure and so destitute of all protection to his character or prospects ? Tet if the principle that a final protest founded upon the personal sus- picion or conviction of any persons, that the theological attain- ments and preparation of thje candidate are insufficient or unsound, Church of the Epiphany, Philadelphia. 133 is to be of necessity regarded aud acted upon by the Bishop ordaining, to what other result than this shall we be brought ? Will it not completely unsettle our whole Church in thus undermining the just prospects and rights of the ministry at the very commence- ment of their course ? Will not the secret reservation of such arbi- trary and irresponsible power, amount to a complete exclusion of desirable candidates from our ministry? I am necessarily led therefore from these considerations to the conviction that these are rights secured to the candidate upon the implied faith of the Church. The connection seems to me to have the aspect of a mutual contract. The candidate voluntarily yields himself to re- straints and laws to which he was not before subjected, to gain ad- vantages and benefits which are thus promised and secured to him. The Church therefore comes under an obligation to bestow upon him, on the fulfillment of his part of the contract, the advantages of ministry to which it has encouraged him to look, and he, in con- sequence, has a right to the result of his labors, which cannot justly be withheld from him. " In the present case I certainly allow that the difficulties objected, might have been sufficient to exclude the candidate from orders. But the place and time at which this ought to have been done, were at his three canonical examinations. There, and there only, it seems to me, was the question to be settled of his theological sufficiency. Beyond this, it appears to me, to have been an invasion of his rights, to appoint another examination and a concession of them on his part to submit to it. If the canon- ical examinations are not adequate, let the proper remedy be ap- plied by the General Convention. But I should be compelled to resist all extra canonical actions, especially that which seems to me to compromise the personal rights of any member of the Church, as being an expedient both dangerous and unsound. I cannot therefore but consider Bishop Onderdonk, however, acting errone- ously, in previously passing a young man against whom such charges are made, with approbation through his examinations for orders, yet, as being at the time of the ordination, the defender and protector of the canonical rights of the candidate, the guardian of constitutional liberty and law, and the opposer of a cause of action which in my mind would have been, in a very high degree, oppressive and unjust. " Thirdly : This subject must be viewed in regard to the Bishop. It appears to me a very important question in this case, what power the Bishop actually has in the premises stated. If a candi' 134 R^' Stephen Higginson Tyng, D.D. date may not be justly thrust back from his expected ordination by the illegal objections of the people, which point I have just con- sidered, may he be put aside by the arbitrary and irresponsible power of the Bishop himself. The concession of this power seems to be required as the foundation -.of censure upon the Bishop, for not exercising such authority in this case. The question of actual Episcopal power in our Church, seems by some, to be considered an unsettled question. Extravagant claims are made by some in behalf of our Bishops ; for it must be truly said, I think, that the Bishops have not often made undue claims for themselves. I remember once hearing it said that aU power emanated from the Bishops, and whatever powers were not by them voluntarily con- ceded to the Church, they still actually possessed.. This amounts simply to the assertion that the power to hang or imprison men was still possessed by them, as it certainly was not by them con- ceded or by the Canons assigned to any other persons. Others, and with manifest justice, it seems to me, consider the jurisdiction and government of the Bishop to emanate wholly from the Church, and to be conceded and given to him by the law of the Church. Bishops may not justly ordain ministers, but according to the prescriptions and directions of the Canons. May they by any arbitrary power refuse ordination, when, according to my previous supposition, all the demands and directions of the Church have been complied with? I conceive the whole previous argument applies with increased force here. " My whole education and experience have led me earnestly to oppose secret and constructive powers, and to desire every right and duty of man to be laid out in written law. I con- ceive the safety and peace of our Church to consist chiefly in the universal conformity of all orders among us to written law. [ should feel compelled to resist the exercise of undefined power in any officer among us, as being a violent encroach- ment upon the rights which are secured to us all, as members of this Church, whose glory is the openness and regularity of her system of law. But the arresting of a candidate at the very point of his ordination, when he has been previously altogether accepted, and approved by the secret and sole determination of the Bishop himself, seems to me one of the most tyrannical instances of power which can be well conceived. The concession of the existence of such a power, is a virtual annihilation of the whole authority of the solemnly established Canons of- the Church. Who can imagine that any such power can be acknowledged in the Bishop ? He is Church of the Epiphany, Philadelphia. 136 appointed to execute the laws of the Church, and to see that they are executed by others; not to violate and annul them. By these very laws he may himself be tried, and to them he is continually amenable. He is as much bound to submit to them as the youngest deacon in his diocese, and should be to aU an example of such obedience. But if he has the secret right to refuse ordination according to his own wiU, to a candidate legally qualified, or if he may arrest the ordination of such a one at the very last, upon his own personal dissatisfaction with him, for any cause not within the written requisitions of the law, we have brought in a power to operate in the Church of the most oppressive and tyrannical charac- ter. And I may say again, few young men of worthiness for the ministry would, be wiUing to go through a course of preparation exposed to the hazard of being crushed at last, by the secret and irresponsible determination of the Bishop. " Certainly the Bishop possesses the power to arrest the course of unworthy candidates. They are under his partic- idar direction through their whole course. They are subject to his repeated examinations. If they are theologically defi- cient or unsound, they are then to be rejected. If they are found morally unqualified, they may be arrested at the last moment. But I apprehend that it is too late, then, to object merely mental or theological disqualifications. And I should hesi- tate much to allow to the Bishop the final right for the refusal to exercise which the Bishop of New York is blamed. I must say again, the blame, in this case, as one of the facts, must be put upon previous acts. In the refusal to reject the candidate at the last, upon the objections made, he seems to me only to have refused the exercise of a power, which, in my view, he did not possess, and the exercise of which, it appears to me, if it had been tolerated, would have been one of the most dangerous precedents ever established in the Church. " These are questions which have occurred to my mind in connection with this subject considered in its canonical and legal aspect, and wholly separate from the incidental questions of doctrine which have been involved in this peculiar case. I sug- gest them, as appearing to me, to be very important principles for our consideration, which have not in this controversy been ade- quately regarded. I leave them to the examination of other brethren, many of whom are so much wiser and better informed upon the subject than myself. I utter them upon my own personal responsi- bility alone, that you may not be considered in any way involved in the statement of them." 136 -Rev. Stephen Higginson Tyng, D.D. The controversy awakened by this case had not yet ended when that of the Bishop of Pennsylvania was presented for consideration. Humors affecting his reputation and usefulness had for some time prevailed, and had become so important, when the annual conven- tion assembled in May, 1844, that the clergy felt it imperative that some investigation of the charges should be made. After various meetings and much consultation, a solemn remonstrance was adopted and signed by sixty-eight of the clergy, and ten of the senior presbyters were deputed to present it to the Bishop and obtain his reply. They waited upon him, but his reply was unsat- isfactory and discouraging. The committee, however, resolved to take no action hastily, and adjourned for several weeks, after appointing a committee of five to confer with the Bishop in the interval. Before they could have any conference with him, however, he sent his resignation to the Standing Committee, and thus opened the whole case to public discussion. Of both the committees referred to Dr. Tyng was a member, and all his exertions were made to avert the calamity which had now occurred. Bishop Clark, at that time the rector of St. Andrew's Church, writes: "It was Dr. Tyng's lot to act as spokesman of this committee and the painful duty that devolved upon him, is said to have been discharged with singular tenderness and fidelity. If the Bishop had responded in the same spirit, the calamity that followed might have been evaded; and the pursuance of the same exemplary and consistent life, which afterward distinguished his career, might have reinstated him in the public confidence and regard, without the infliction of the sad sentence of suspension. " Although at the time Dr. Tyng acted with his brethren in that unanimous course which included the Bishop's withdrawal, his sympathy with the aged sufferer was so acute that he announced his intention of casting in his lot with the Bishop, and doing every thing in hia power to arrest all further proceedings against him ; and it was only by means of persistent and earnest remonstrance on the part of Dr. Tyng's friends, who saw that while this interfer- ence could do the Bishop no good it might materially affect the Doctor's usefulness, that he was induced to let the matter rest." The consideration of the Bishop's resignation came before a special convention, which assembled in St. Andrew's Church on the 6th of September, 1844. In the opening sermon, which he was se- lected to preach, Dr. Tyng strove to allay the intense feeling and party spirit which all the circumstances of the case were calculated Church of the Epiphany, Philadelphia. 137 to engender. It was upon the text, " Sirs, ye are brethren," (Acts vii. 26) and entitled, in accordance with its words, " A Plea for Union." " I trust I shall need no excuse," he said, upon an occasion like this, for attempting to promote the cause and to advocate the claims of union among my brethren. Such an effort is equally the result of my solemn conviction of personal duty and the spontaneous expression of the state and feelings of my own heart. And there are the strongest motives, arising from the importance of the duties which are now devolved upon us, the consequences which must result from them, the interests which must be affected by them, and the extended observation abroad under which we discharge them, to lead us to lay aside every other feeling than the single desire to know and to do the wUl of God, and to glorify Him in our present consultation for the care and edification of His Church. " I long to find, and to abide in, that unity of the spirit, and that bond of peace, especially in our own household of faith, which the Saviour has given us as the mark of His disciples, and which the apostle so earnestly urges us to endeavor to keep. The condi- tion and the mind of man, and the maintenance and defence of the truth of God, render inevitable frequent discussions of the avowed principles of revealed truth; and involve] an equally inevitable difference of opinion upon many of their subjects. And it would be neither wise nor just to arrest or prohibit these discussions, even were it possible. But amidst them all the bond of peace and love may be, and must be preserved unbroken stUl. "Are we not brethren ? Are we not entirely united in funda- mental faith, in Church communion and discipline, and in our views of its importance; in exposure to outward assaults ; in conflicts with various foes on every side ? Are we not united in the sorrows which we are required to bear; and in the bright and blessed hope of future eternal deliverance, by the one great Eedeemer, by whose name we are called. Have we any lines of division or motives for separation, at all to be compared in importance and worth with the reasons for our union, or with the facts in which we are actually agreed ? " Our Church has wisely confined her authoritative declarations of the Christian faith to a comparatively few fundamental and in- dispensable articles. She has expressed these in a very general manner, but in the most distinct and intelligible terms. She has thus displayed a peculiar evidence of her conformity, to both the Scriptural and the primitive standard. 138 Rev. Stephen Higginson Tyng, D.D. " Thus the great doctrines, which the Scriptures reveal, are declared as certain and indisputable facts to be received; and then are left without a minute definition of all the consequences which man's wisdom may suppose to be justly derived from them, to be accepted upon the authority of Him who has revealed them. Thus the early disciples of the Lord proclaimed their creeds from the teachings of Holy Scripture, in simple and intelligible terms, and were perfectly joined together in the same mind and judgment, because the articles of faith which they imposed, as necessary to be received, were few and easily defined. " The commencement of most of the heresies and schisms which have destroyed the peace of the Christian Church, may be found in the attempt of man's philosophy to define specific doctrines more accurately, and to carry out their consequences more minutely, than God has been pleased to do; and then to impose these conclu- sions of man upon man, and to insist upon their acceptance, as if they were the teachings of God. This spirit was very early dis- played in the Christian history, and it has continued its action in every age, avowing the purpose of producing greater unity, among the followers of Christ, but uniformly leading to more entire and numerous divisions, both of sentiment and feeling. Our Church has taken a position directly opposed to this scholastic system, the parent of necessary division, and has adhered to the primitive sys- tem of a simple and easily defined faith, as in this relation the only permanent bond of union and peace. Her confession of faith rests upon the sufficiency of the Holy Scriptures alone, for instruction unto salvation. It proclaims the glorious and satisfying doctrine of the Trinity of persons in the Godhead as the foundation upon which all other articles rest. It establishes the perfect Deity, and the full propitiation of the Son of God. It teaches the personal agency, and the sanctifying power of the Holy Ghost. It avows the entire corruption of our own nature: its impotence to anything spiritually good; and its absolute need of the grace and inspiration of the Holy Ghost to the production of any good works. It main- tains man's free justification in the merits of Christ, by faith only. It insists upon the persevering obedience of a Christian life, as the necessary and only adequate evidence of a living faith. And it teaches us to ascribe all our salvation to the special grace and mercy of Him who hath chosen us in Christ. Now here, are funda- mental articles of faith in which we are all agreeing. I do not mean to say, that these are the only such articles. I do not mean either to undervalue the points of doctrine, or the several illustrations of Church of the Epiphany, Philadelphia. 1 39 doctrine, about which we should still differ in judgment. But I freely confess, after having passed through more than twenty years of participation in the various discussions which have been main- tained in our Church, the result of my whole experience, is the con- viction, that the great body of our clergy and intelligent laity, are far more of one mind in the precious and abiding faith, which the Lord hath taught, and the Church hath received, than some others are prepared to think. This unity of sentiment has become even more settled and manifest, within the last few years. The animated internal controversies which have been carried on among us within this period, have had a very decided influence, to the amazement of surrounding observers, to heal, and not to increase or perpetuate divisions; to consolidate and not to rend the Church, and to create a clearer mutual understanding, or to manifest in undoubted light, an actual unity of sentiment which was before hidden and un- known " We have no right to ask for the concession of judgments ma- turely formed and conscientiously entertained, upon points of doc- trine not absolutely defined from Holy Scripture, by the authority of the Church. But we may ask for the yielding to each other, affectionately and temperately, the same personal authority to searc'n and see; and the same personal right to be thoroughly per- suaded in their own mind, which we claim for ourselves. It re- quires nothing but an united determination on the part of the clergy, to preserve this forbearing stand, to maintain a permanent and happy union among our churches, upon this first ground of our fundamental faith " We are entirely united in our Church communion, and in cor- dial attachment to the Church of which we are members. There has been a steady, constant growth of unity in our general judg- ment and feeling, in regard to the importance, and to the authority, of that ecclesiastical organization, in which we are bound together, as one household, in our profession of the faith of Christ. " We have unitedly received, and we earnestly adhere to, a min- istry which we unfeignedly believe Christ our Lord established for His Church; and which His apostles, beyond all reasonable dispute, as it appears to us, maintained and transmitted, in opening the privileges and blessings of this Church to mankind. We unitedly believe it unlawful for us to subvert or annul an organization which the Lord bath constituted as the law of His house. We could not, therefore, feel justified, in ministering under or acknowl- edging any professed authority which does not conform to this 140 Rev. Stephen Higginson Tyng, D.D. apostolic standard, and derive itself from this divine appoint- ment " To the Church as thus divinely constituted, vre are unitedly attached. And no imputation could be more unjust, than that of looseness of adherence to this Church, or of indiflference to the privilege and blessing of her manifestly valid and regular ministry, as applied to any of those, who have consecrated their lives, in these stormy days, to the service of Christ in His Church, in this ministry received from Him. " But beyond our unity of sentiment at this point, we are also entirely agreeing, in very important and sufficient views, of the office and authority of the Church as the keeper and witness of the Word of God, and the appointed teacher and interpreter of its truths. We freely acknowledge and cheerfully submit to the authority which the Church hath, in controversies of faith. The points of doctrine which she hath ruled and laid before us, as taught in the divine Word, we receive without controversy, as facts which are wholly settled and determined. Discussions of such doctrines, for further intelligence and explanation, we freely permit. But controversy with such doctrines in themselves, or questioning of their truth and their authority, we cannot allow. " The present admirable Bishop of Calcutta has expressed views upon this subject in which I imagine we should all perfectly agree, in very precise and perspicuous language. " ' The Church,' says he, 'is the pillar and ground (or stay, as our margin renders it,) of the truth, ministerially, and among men, as it is the appointed means, of deriving from Holy Writ the great, obvious, and necessary truths of revelation, and duly upholding them in the world. The Church is the pillar and ground of the truth, not personally and absolutely, for in this sense Christ alone is the truth. Not authoritatively and infallibly, for thus the sacred Scriptures are the only standard of truth. But instrumentally and liturgically, of truth as clearly revealed in the oracles of God; and expounded, preached and maintained in a weak and erring world. The Church is the means by which God upholds and preserves His truth amongst mankind. It furnishes a succession of men to ex- pound and inculcate the gospel. It is tho voice and trumpet of truth to a careless world. When the Church is silent, truth is in exile; and division, heresy and schism desolate the fold. But when the body of the faithful discharge their high and holy function, and appeal to the unerring records of the revealed word, for all the tenets they inculcate; then there is a rallying point for the wander- Church of the Epiphany, Philadelphia. 141 ing sheep, a solace for the distressed conscience, an interpreter for the inquiring penitent, a pillar in the border of the land, unto the Lord.' " These sentiments must be considered by us all as undoubtedly- wise and just. How inferior in consequence are the points in refer- ence to Church authority and discipline, upon which we might differ in opinion, when compared with these. " We cannot here, with a good conscience, separate in our views of doctrine and authority; why should we separate from each other in personal affection and mutual tendency and regard ? "We are entirely united in our exposure to outward assaults. Here again we are brethren. Whether we refer to what we suffer, from the multiplied Protestant denominations around us, who re- nounce, and not unfrequently revile, our Episcopacy, or from the Eomish Church, which denies our ministry, and the pure truth of God, which we defend, we have no separate personal advantages, no individual grounds of exception, from the hostility to which we are exposed. There was a time, when the former class of persons affected to distinguish in their warfare upon our Church, between different classes of our clergj'; assuming that some were less strongly attached to the principles which they opposed, than others, and excepting them, therefore, from the controversy which they were waging with these. It was said, not to be Episcopacy itself, but extreme and unjust extension of the claims of Episcopacy, against which they contended. There seemed to be a hope indulged, that the Church might be thus divided against itself, and its strength wasted in partial or mutual warfare, while one portion of the clergy were selected, as the objects of assault, and a desire for peace with others was at the same time continually avowed. It was an attempt too well adapted to succeed. Let God be praised that its success, if it had any, was transitory and very partial. But its failure, and the clear evidence thus furnished, that in the points at issue between us and them there is but little variety of judgment, and no readiness of concession among any of our ministers have led to an unmasked and unrelaxing hostility to the Church itself. It is now a warfare with Episcopacy, and by that name. It has ceased to distinguish between different theories of Episcopacy. It wiU grant peace upon no terms other than an entire renunciation of the claims which we make to a Scriptural ministry, and of our derived right thereto, through an appointed succession from the apostles. This is a point which we can never with a good con- ' science yield. We are therefore left, I fear^ with but little hope of 142 Rev. Stephen Higginson Tyng, D.D. toleration in this quarter. We believe ourselves contending for the faith in the ministry which the Lord established, and precious and desirable as is peace abroad to us as to all Christians, we can- not make shipwreck of faith and a good conscience to obtain it. "This resulting position of necessary separation from many Christians around, whom we highly esteem, is much to be re- gretted. But it appears inevitable, and it is not we who have sought it, nor can the blame of it rest upon us. Even those among us, who have labored most earnestly ' to maintain and set forward as much as liefch in us, quietness, peace, and love, among all Chris- tian people,' have become with sorrow convinced that, in our present circumstances, the hope of accomplishing this is vain. When we speak of peace, they make themselves ready for war. The continued avowal that this vehement hostility is still only against extreme views, which are supposed to be but partially entertained, could be received with more regard if the excited opposition were directed only against those to whom such views have been imputed. But, happily for us, we are here again made one. The firm and equal devotion of all to the principles of the Church, has been thoroughly proved. The uniform outward pressure has created, I trust, a new power in the bond of mutual confidence within, and surrounding hostility has consolidated and rendered more compact the body which it was designed to sunder. " In regard to our controversy with the Romish Church, and our defence of the truth of God committed to us, against their assaults, we are equally united. The Protestant spirit of our Church is, with manifestly few exceptions, I rejoice to say, a living and pervading spirit throughout all her members. In maintaining our defence against Eome, the habits of thought, and education, and the differing convictions of individuals, may lead some to press the particular arguments of Scriptural truth, and others to employ the weapons of primitive consent, and historical evidences and traditional remonstrance, in a single selection, and to the apparent neglect of other branches of argument. Yet it is perfectly evident that an entire and faithful anti-Eomish stand is the determination of all. She cannot, therefore, justly look with more reasonable favor upon the feelings toward her, of one class of our clergy, than of another, however she may have reason to dread, as I think, the effect of one class of arguments employed, than of any of the residue. But we must here bear the same assaults, and be made partakers of the same destiny. With whatever class of foes we contend, against whatever description of error we lift up our voice, Church of the Epiphany, Philadelphia. 143 to whatever impending hosts we stand opposed as the servants of God in His Church, we have a perfectly common interest, an in- dissoluble unity of experience before us. We stand or fall together. " Let us then cheerfully and entirely dismiss every rising feeling of mutual rivalry and contention upon inferior issues. Let our mutual discussions be friendly and affectionate. Let not outward opposers find us divided from each other within. But in the culti- vation of a fraternal and mutually sustaining spirit, let us remember in. all our subjects for consideration and settlement that we are brethren. " We are united, I trust, beyond all present circumstances of outward agreement, in a bright and blessed hope of eternal redemp- tion and peace, through our glorious Lord and Saviour. To this everlasting bond of union I desire now to call the feelings and thoughts of all who hear me. " In this precious hope we are brethren, as we are made com- panions in tribulation, and in the kingdom and patience of Jesus Christ. In the sorrows which we bear upon the road, our interest is one. Whether our grief be found in the secret bitterness which each heart knoweth for itself, or in the anxious trembling which our hearts together feel for the ark of God, our portion is a common one. " Let U9 think of ourselves, and of each other, as if even now standing together in the triumphant body which will surround the throne of God and the Lamb. " Let us anticipate the emotions and judgments of that great day, and look upon each other, and act towards each other, with the reciprocal estimation which will then control our judgments, if, clothed in robes of peace, we bow together before the Redeemer there. " When we gain that glorious home one song will employ our tongues; one spirit wUl fiU and actuate our souls; one Lord, one faith, one heavenly baptism will bind us forever together, as one body, before the God and Father of all, who will be above all, and through all, and in you all. " In making this humble effort to unite the feelings and views of my beloved brethren and friends in this congregation, I trust no one wUl consider me assuming anything not properly belonging to this especial place and duty as a preacher of the gospel to my brethren. " I would be governed, as I know I must be judged, by the principles of duty which I thus, with great deference for my brethren, lay down for them. We should have strong and reason- able hope, if such principles could prevail, and wrong and disunit- 144 R^' Stephen Higginson Tyng, D.D. ing feelings be laid aside; — then would be found among us a fully sufficient, and a permanent union of opinion and judgment, upon aU material questions of doctrine and duty in our Church." This earnest appeal, directed with a purpose so honorable and expressed in words so distinct, was not without a powerful effect upon his hearers, but it caused him notwithstanding to be most unjustly charged by some with the desire to secure his own electioi; as Bishop Onderdonk's successor. A motive so entirely opposed to his whole character and wish, is disproved, however, by all the facts and aU his action in the case. Among all the clergy in Philadelphia probably none was more prominent in his opposition to Bomanism than Dr. Tyng, or more decided in his antagonism to every Romanistic tendency in the Episcopal Church. During the anti-Catholic riot in the spring of 1844, however, his protection was freely offered to the Eoman Catholic Archbishop, the object of the hatred of the mob. In the night of the 7th of May in that year, St. Augustine's Church had been burned by the rioters. They were seeking the Archbishop, whose life they threatened, and who had been driven from his home. There seemed to be no place of safety for him. A near neighbor, a Roman Catholic gentleman, Mr. Lopez, came to Dr. Tyng and asked if he would allow the Archbishop to take refuge in his house. Unhesitatingly he consented to receive him, and said, " If they take the Bishop from here they will have to take him over my dead body." Apartments were at once prepared for his reception, but the Archbishop finally concluded to leave the city for a time, and was thus prevented accepting Dr. Tyng's hospitality, and before leaving addressed to him the following letter, in acknowledgment of his courtesy and kindness : Philadelphia, May dth, 1844. Rev. S. H. Tyng, D. D. Bev. and Dear Sir — A friend from the country has prevailed on me to leave the city. I feel deeply grateful for your kind offer of protection in case of emergency, and regret that I have put you to trouble. The fear of danger is lessened, yet my fiiends press me to leave the city for a short time, although my judgment does not coincide as to the necessity of the measure. I shall ever remember with gratitude your kind offer. Tours gratefully, »l( Francis Patrick, ArcMnshqp. Church of the Epiphany, Philadelphia. \\S It is an incident which is full of interest, and displays the abounding Christian charity and courage which prompted the generous offer in circumstances of such danger as in the hour in which it was made. The closely contested election, of a successor to Bishop Onder- donk, which followed in AprU, 1845, evidences the state of feeUng in the Diocese. Seven successive ballots were taken before a choice was made. The Eev. Samuel Bowman and Dr. Tyng were the prominent candidates, and on the first ballot received, respectively, thirty-seven and thirty-five votes— thjrty-nine being necessary to a choice. On the second ballot. Dr. Bowman received thirty-eight votes and Dr. Tyng thii-ty-five as before, and he then declined to permit his name to be further used in reference to the nomination. Two more ballots were taken without result, when, on the fifth ballot. Dr. Bowman received the necessary thirty-nine votes. The laity, however, refused to confirm the nomination thus made by the clergy, and, on the sixth ballot. Dr. Tyng's name was again pre- sented without his consent, receiving thirty-six votes, and Dr. Bow- man thirtyTseven, again. At this point a committee was appointed to suggest some pres- byter upon whom the clergy could unite, but upon the following day this committee reported their inability to agree. A seventh ballot was therefore ordered, and Dr. Alonzo Potter, having been nominated by Dr. Suddards, received forty-one votes, and was thus chosen, his election being unanimously confirmed by the lay rote. In the meantime the call to St. George's Church had been pre- sented to Dr. Tyng, and thus released from all his obligations to hia brethren in Pennsylvania, the way was opened for its acceptance. Twenty-four years of his ministry had been completed, when, in May, 1845, he entered upon the responsibilities and demands of this large field of duty and began the career which in the details of its history fills the following pages. ^-.-.^ ;^^^.^^^;^ /-/< ''T. .^^^ (r7 ^z"/, ^ C UC^?^.^' A ^ ^ KKV. JAMKS Mir.NOIi, II, D. I.From an ai.jnmmj. by ,„n„im,m of Amerirati Tru.-I Siirirl,)., PART II. HISTORY OF ST. GEORGES CHURCH, 114.8 to 1878. MINISTRY IN NEW YORK, 1845 to 1885. CHAPTER I. ST. GEORGE'S CHURCH, 1748 to 1845. " The history of St. George's Church is the record of a con- tinued earnest Evangelical influence in the Protestant Episcopal Church; of generous, benevolent action in all the great instru- ments and efforts for the propagation of the Saviour's truth among men; and of the cultivation of friendly and edifying relations with all who love the Lord Jesus Christ in sincerity. For this scheme and purpose in its own peculiar way of carrying them forward, St. George's Church was originally established. To accomplish this its successive ministers have been selected, and its history is to be regarded in the light of this peculiar relation and aspect." In these words Dr. Tyng summarized the history of St. George's Church. They present the end and object which gives the value to its history, and in establishing the view in which his own course is to be considered, form an appropriate preface to the record of his ministry as its rector. A sketch of the early history of St. George's Church becomes a necessary introduction, therefore, to that of its later years, and stUl more requisite is a review of its preceding ministry. It would be impossible here to trace the steps by which in a ministry of nearly thirty years' duration. Dr. Milnor raised St. George's Church to its high position of influence and power among the churches of the land, and made its rectorship an ofiice of pecuhar requirements and responsibility, one which few could fill. The facts of his valued hfe have been fuUy recorded, and need not be repeated at any length, but the character and principles of his ministry should be stated, and, happily, have been clearly defined. With what fidelity they were maintained and the influence of St. George's Church constantly extended and enlarged throughout the long ministry of Dr. Tyng, the record of bis thirty-three years of unceasing labor will bear abundant testimony. St. George's Church, in its original establishment a chapel of 149 l5o Rev. Stephen Higginson Tyng, D.D. Trinity Church, was the second Protestant Episcopal Church erected in the city of New York. This origin, as well as the history of the two churches, is of much interest in view of the different systems of which they were subsequently the representa- tives. Trinity Church, the original Parish Church of the city of New "York, was established in 1697, under its first corporate title, "The rector and inhabitants of New York in communion of the Protestant Episcopal Church." As the representative of the Church of England it became the channel through which flowed the influ- ence and benefactions of that Church in aid of missionary efforts ia the colony, and was the constant recipient of the favor of tha English crown. In the year 1705, during the reign of Queen Anne, it received the grant of the large tract of land, which by its increase in value has produced the great wealth of the corporation to which it was given, and enabled it to be the benefactor of so many churches subsequently founded. The questions which arose from the terms • of this grant, and the title of the corporation to which it was made, need not be referred to here. They were long since settled, and the large estate remained in possession of Trinity Church, notwith- standing all efforts for its distribution for the purposes for which it was claimed to have been given. For half a century after its foundation Trinity Church proved adequate in its accommodation for all who desired to worship there. New arrivals in the colony and accessions from the Dutch Choirch so increased its congregation, however, that additional provision soon became necessary, and in 1748 it was resolved that a " Chapel of Ease " should be built. In the desire to build this chapel where it would be most con- venient for those who should wish to worship therein, a committed was appointed to " hear the sentiments of the congregation," the site at first proposed being on ground facing Nassau and Fair (now Fulton) Streets. Before the purchase of this land was com- pleted, however, the committee reported that " several persona residing in Montgomerie Ward, appearing and alledging that the lots of Col. Beekman, fronting Beekman and Van Cliff Streets, would be more commodious for building the said chapel on, pro- posed, that if the vestry would agree to building the chapel there, the inhabitants of Montgomerie Ward would raise money among themselves to purchase the ground." This proposition was there- fore accepted, and the purchase money of the land, 645 pounds Si. George's Church. i5i sterling, having been paid by the inhabitants of Montgomerie Ward, a committee was appointed in 1749 " to manage the build- ing of a chapel of Ease." Thus the chapel, afterwards called " St. George's Chapel," was buUt at the corner of Beekman and Cliff Streets, where it stood for more than a century. It was a building " faced with hewn stone," seventy-two feet wide and ninety-two feet long, and was considered a very fine edifice, having a steeple which rose to a height of one hundred and seventy-five feet. As it stood upon a hi ll, thence called Chapel Hill, it was a prominent landmark and a great ornament in that part of the city. The opening of the chapel took place on the 1st day of July, 1752, and is thus described: "Last Wednesday being the day appointed for the Consecra- tion of St. G-eorge's Chapel, lately erected in this city, the Eector, Assistant, Church Wardens and Vestry of Trinity Church, assembled at the Vestry Room in the Charity School House, where they t^ere met by some of the Town and neighboring clergy, and omer Gentlemen of Distinction ; from whence (attended by fif ty-<-wo Charity Scholars) they went in Procession as far as the City Hall, where they were joined by the Mayor, Recorder, Aldermen and Common CouncU. They all proceeded with great regularity and Decorum to the chapel, where Divine Service was performed, and the Rev. Mr. Barclay preached an excellent sermon from Lev. xxvi. 2, ' Reverence my sanctuary, I am the Lord.' " Many interesting facts are related in connection with the build- ing of this chapel, and many noteworthy services are mentioned as having been held in it, during the time it was under the control of Trinity Church, but they cannot be included in this sketch. In the year 1811, a separation from Trinity Church being con- sidered desirable, committees of the congregation of the chapel and of the vestry of the church met for conference upon the sub- ject, and a separation was finally arranged upon satisfactory terms. In the process of this arrangement the committee of the congre- gation of St. George's Chapel had proposed certain questions which were answered as follows by the vestry of Trinity: 1. The endowment shall be in lands sufiicient to yield a perma- nent annual revenue of three thousand dollars. In case the present rents fall short of this sum, Trinity Church will annually make up the deficiency, and whenever St. George's Chapel shall, by law, be enabled to receive the same, the permanent endowment shall be increased to four thousand dollars. In the meantime, if the income 1 52 Rev. Stephen Higginson Tyng, D.D. of St George's stall be insufficient to defray the annual expenses, the deficiency, not exceeding one thousand dollars a year, shall be supplied by Trinity Church. 2. Trinity Church will cherish the recollection of their union with St. George's, and will be always disposed, according to their abilities, to assist St. George's in their necessities. 3. In every matter affecting their mutual harmony and prosperity, Trinity Church wiU freely and sincerely confer with St. George's, it being their opinion that these conferences should be conducted by committees of the respectire vestries. 4. St. George's wiU choose their own minister, without any interference or control on the part of Trinity Church. 5. Trinity Church will build or purchase for St. George's a parsonage house, and until that can be conveniently done they will hire a house for the minister. As soon as their funds wiU permit, they will likewise erect a vestry-room, enlarge the churchyard, and inclose the same. 6. The dead to be buried as heretofore, and without discrim- ination between the churches. 7. The endowment to be exclusive of pew-rents, which wiU be regulated and applied by St. George's. 8. Should the rector of St. George's, through age or infirmity, be at any time unable to perform his customary duties. Trinity Church will assist St. George's in the support of an assistant. The rector, church-wardens and vestrymen of Trinity Church do approve and agree to the separation of St. George's Chapel upon the terms expressed in the aforesaid report, and do engage and promise to do and perform all things which, according to the tenor thereof, ought to be done and performed on their part; pro- vided always, and this promise, as well as the performance, is upon the express condition that the church so separated be, and shall continue, in union with the Protestant Episcopal Church in the State of New York. Signed, T. L. Ogden, Clerk. November 7, 1811. On these honorable terms St. George's became separate from Trinity, and soon after organized as a separate corporation under its present title, "The Rector, Church- wardens and Vestrymen of St. George's Church in the City of New York," the incorporation being certified and completed on the 20th of November, 1811. The light in which the separation was viewed by the members of St. George's ^. Georges Church. i53 Chapel is apparent from a communication made a little later by the vestry of St. George's to that of Trinity, when they wrote : " It should be remembered that those whose case it is our duty to press upon you, had rights in the estate of your church which were generously relinquished at your instance with a view to your benefit, and on an understanding that they were not on that account to be subjected to any disadvantage or sacrifice." The first election of wardens and vestrymen of St. George's Church was held on the 23d of November, 1811, Garrett H. Van Wagenen and Harry Peters being elected wardens, and Eobert Wardell, John Onderdonk, Isaac Carow, Edward W. Laight, John Greene, Isaac Lawrence, Francis Dominick, and Cornelius Schermerhorn, vestrymen. In March, 1812, ia accordance with their agreement, the corporation of Trinity conveyed to that of St. George's the property on Beekman Street, and twenty-four lots of ground, producing an income of three thousand dollars, and in the following year made a grant of eight additional lots, leased for one thousand and twenty dollars per annum. The endowment of St. George's thus comprised a total of thirty-two lots, in addition to the land purchased for the parsonage, and an enlargement of the churchyard, as provided in their agreement. The deeds by which this property was conveyed, however, contained conditions which, as will be seen, were made most burdensome to St. George's in future years, and at a critical period in its history would have been destructive, had not one member of its vestry, in great liber- ality, interposed to avert the otherwise inevitable result. The facts in this connection belong to a later date. They display the wisdom and skill with which the affairs of St. George's were administered by those to whose care they were at that time committed. The earUest settlement of a regular minister in St. George's Church was that of the Eev. Mr. Brady, but it was specified that when a rector should be elected, Mr. Brady should be considered an assistant merely, and he accepted the ofiSce on these terms. Previous to his appointment, dependence had been placed on such ministrations as might be obtained. These services were foi some time rendered by the Eev. Dr. Bowdoin, and it is worthy oJ note that, when the sum of one hundred and fifty dollars was voted to him by the vestry, he declined any remuneration, stating that he considered the thanks of the corporation sufficient compensation for his services. This generous action was not forgotten by the vestry, when some years later it was learned that he had suffered a 1 54 Rev. Stephen Higginson Tyng, D.D. loss of property, and an appropriation then made to him was grate- fully accepted. In the fall of 1812 it was deemed expedient that a permanent rector should be installed, but it having been previqusly enacted that the salary of the rector " should be in the pleasure of the vestry," it was feared that difficulty " might arise in obtaining a respectable clergyman, in consequence of the annual uncertainty attending his support." A meeting of the congregation was there- fore called to consider the subject, and at this meeting, held on the 2d of December, 1812, it was resolved that the church should have " a rector and an assistant minister, and that the Bev. Dr. John Kewley should be called as rector, at a fixed salary of two thousand dollars and a dwelling." Dr. Kewley accepted the invitation extended to him, and thus became the 'First Hector of St. George's Church, beginning his minis- try there in April, 1813. Of his antecedent history, little informa- tion is to be obtained. He was a native of England, and previous to removal to New York was settled at Middletown, Connecticut. His rectorship was of short duration, and had no marked influence on the church. On the 5th of January, 1814, St. George's Church was destroyed by fire. Among the agreements with Trinity, at the time of the separation, was the engagement by the corporation of Trinity Church to rebuild St. George's Church if it should be burned. In the emergency, therefore, which had been thus anticipated, re- course was at once had to Trinity for its aid. The reply received was expressed in the most friendly terms, but the proposition which it covered was not satisfactory to St. George's. It provided that Trinity would rebuild the church upon the original plan, with the exception of the steeple, which was to be replaced by a tower, but it stipulated that Trinity should be allowed to sell the pews at auction, to reimburse the cost of building. The vestry of St. George's remonstrated, urging that many of their congregation would be unable to buy pews, and that no provision could be made for the accommodation of the poor, and it was in this connection that they made the communication which has been already referred to. A final agreement having been made that the gallery and the twelve pews nearest the door should be left at the disposal of St. George's, the rebuilding of the church was at once proceeded with. In the interval, the services were held in the Church of the St. Esprit, in Pine Street near Nassau, the use of which had been tendered for that purpose. Si, George's Church. i55 In the month of August, 1814, Dr. Kewley having asked leave of absence to revisit England, made a proposition for the mainte- nance of the services in his absence, which was accepted by the vestry. He did not return until November in the following year, and during this interval the entire charge of the church de- volved upon Mr. Brady. The church was completed in October, 1815, and on the 7th of November, was consecrated by Bishop Hobart, then the Assistant Bishop of the Diocese. The cost of the rebuilding was stated as about $30,000, but this was probably the net cost, after the sale of the pews, and the aggregate value of all the grants and expenditures made by Trinity for St; George's, has been estimated at over $200,000. " Such," as Dr. Tyng remarks, " had been the liberal views with which the venerable corporation of Trinity established the independ- ence and the subsequent self-sustaining power of St. George's. It is a record of justice and liberality which I hope may never be forgotten. Certainly in the years of my own ministry it has been gratefully re- membered and sincerely honored. The relations of Trinity to St. George's were much more intimate and friendly than they were supposed to be in later periods of their history. This historic fact should be remembered by all concerned with gratitude and respect.'' In February, 1816, in consequence of the publication of some report which, in his opinion, impaired his usefulness to the congre- gation, Mr. Brady tendered his resignation, but the vestry declined to receive it. He insisted upon its acceptance, however, and his request was then reluctantly acceded to, accompanied by a res- olution that, "considering the beneficial labors of the Eev. Mr. Brady, in the congregation, and as a testimony of the regret of the vestry at the dissolution of their connection, the sum of $500 be presented to him." The resignation of Mr. Brady was soon followed by that of Dr. Kewley. This appears to have been due to disaffection in the con- gregation, which subsequent events indicate was based on dissatis- faction with his theological views. The consideration of it was, however, " postponed until the next meeting the rector was disposed to call," and at the annual election of wardens and vestrymen which Occurred on the 22d of April, 1816, a decided change was made in the vestry. Immediately thereafter. Dr. Kewley renewed his resigna- tion, and soon returned to England, and entered the Roman Cath- olic Church. 1 56 Rev. Stephen Higginson Tyng, D.D. The history of St. George's Church is thus brought to the elec- tion of its SmmA Bedor, the Rev. James Milnor, in the month of June, 1816. Dr. Milnor^-was at this time in the forty-third year of his age, but had been in the ministry less than two years. He was born in the city of Philadelphia on the 20th of June, 1773, his parents being members of the Society of Friends. After his admission to the bar in the year 1794, he practiced his profes- sion in Norristown, Penn. , for some three years, and then removed to Philadelphia, vyhere he soon rose to eminence. On his marriage to an Episcopalian in 1799, he was disowned by the Society of Friends, and then, though not immediately, be- came a member of the Protestant Episcopal Church, and later a vestryman of the United Churches of Philadelphia, and a delegate to the Diocesan and the General Convention. In 1805 he was elected a member of the Select Council of Phila-; delphia, holding that office for five years, when he was asked to permit his name to be used as a candidate for Eepi'esentative in the United States Congress. He consented, as it is stated, " with the expectation and almost the hope of being defeated," but he had so won the confidence and respect of his fellow-citizens, that he was the only Federalist candidate elected. He attained much distinction during his Congressional career, being spoken of as a nominee for the Governorship of Pennsylvania, but having resolved to devote his remaining years to the ministry of the gospel, he retired from political life and became a candidate for orders. After his ordination on August 14, 1814, he was elected minister in the United Churches of Philadelphia, of which Bishop White was rector, by whom a year later he was ordained to the priesthood. Early in the month of May, 1816, he was invited to visit New York for the purpose of preaching in St. George's Church, but declined on the ground that it would imply his willingness to accept the position if it should be tendered to him. A com- mittee of its vestry subsequently visited Philadelphia, and on their return his election as rector was communicated to him and its acceptance strongly urged. Upon visiting New York he became convinced that it was his duty to accept the call, and on the 10th of July, 1816, entered upon his duties as the rector of St. George's Church. " This happy event," says Dr. Tyng, " decided the character and history of St. George's from the date of its occurrence. His edify- SL Georges Church. \^*J ing and faithful ministry was a gracious gift from God and the church flourished under his labors. St. George's became a leading church in the United States. It was the standard for guidance to other congregations and the authority and protection of younger and more secluded ministers in their efforts to establish and main- tain the EvangeHcal principles which so truly distinguish the char- acter of the Episcopal Church in its standards and worship. "St. George's maintained this influence and authority during the whole life of its venerated rector. It yielded none of the guid- ing principles which had been adopted, and gathered a large and influential congregation. All who were connected with it were united in love and reverence for him, in perfect sentiment with him, and active and earnest in carrying forward these discriminat- ing testimonies through all congregations which came under their influence or could be moved by their example. This was an un- broken history through the whole of Dr. Milnor's life." In his Life of Dr. Milnor, speaking of the Evangelical clergy of his time. Dr. John S. Stone writes: " He was, by common consent, not the most highly gifted man in all their ranks — for in learning and mental endowments, some were possibly his superiors — but, from various causes, the most widely known and the most largely influential. He stood most in the eyes of the world. For thirty years he was at the very point of convergence and radiation of all our great influences and move- ments. He was at the centre of conflict between the Evangelical and the anti-Evangelical portions of our Church; nay, for years he was, in his own person, the one point against which the most strenuous assaults of the latter were directed; and had he fallen, many others would have been unable to stand. " From sympathy, as well as from respect and veneration, there was a rallying around him, as a sort of Evangelical centre. He touched a greater number than others could touch, of religious and theological minds in their forming state. He touched more of the causes which, under God, generate Evangelical results. In a word, through the early training of his mind, the practical character of his pursuits, the finished amenity of his manners, the peculiar post of labor assigned him, and above all, the eminently intelligent and elevated character of his piety, the providence of God gave him a position which, during his life, was on the whole, more com- manding than that of any other Evangelical clergyman of our Church." His honored and useful life was brought to its close, in the l58 Rev. Stephen Higginson Tyng, D.D. night of the 8th of April, 1845. He presided on that evening, at a meeting of the Directors of the Institution for the Deaf and Dumb, and retired at his usual hour in apparent health, but he died about midnight, his family being absent from home, with the exception of his eldest son. Thus suddenly ended a ministry, truly remark- able in its elements of power, and equally remarkable in its influ- ence and value. The clergy of his own Church, and of the churches of every denomination; the various societies with which he had been so long identified; the religious and secular press, united in this testimony. A meeting of the vestry of St. George's Church was immediately called, to make suitable arrangements for the funeral, which it was decided should take place on the afternoon of Friday, the lltb instant. It was resplved that Dr. Tyng should be requested to dehver an address on that occasion, being urged to accept this appointment, as having been " long a particular friend to Dr. Milnor," and " as representing Philadelphia, his native place.'' He was in New York at the time, and consented to perform the duty which the vestry of St. George's Church thus imposed upon him. The funeral is described as a remarkable testimony of the reverence and respect in which Dr. Milnor was held by all classes in the com- munity, and the characteristics of his ministry were forcibly por- trayed in the address which Dr. Tyng delivered, in these words: "My Christian Brethren and Friends: I need hardly say with how much diffidence I have yielded to the urgent request of the vestry of this church, in the attempt to address you upon this oc- casion. While my strong personal affection for my venerated brpther, whom God hath now exalted to the enjoyment of His glory and with whom I have been on terms of intimate friendship for nearly twenty-five years past, would lead me to take any position, at whatever sacrifice, which might contribute to the just honor of his name; and my cordial approval and reverence for the great principles which have uniformly governed his happy and honored ministry, would constrain me in any service, to testify to, and per- petuate them; my consciousness of inability to do justice to the occasion in the presence of this multitude of sympathizing friends, especially upon a notice so brief, would still have compelled me to retire from the very honorable post here assigned me, did I not feel that neither the example which is before me, nor the times in which we are tried, will suffer any one to retire under selfish im- pulse, where Jesus may be glorified, and His truth promulgated and maintained. Never did my venerable friend yield to the influence Si, George's Church. iSg of diffidence, though it was beautifully characterized in his spirit; or of weariness, though he might well have asked repose in labors which were still multiplied in age, beyond what vigorous youth de- sires generally to bear; or otfear, though in his whole ministry he has stood at that open door where are many adversaries; or of regard to reputation, though he had an exaltation of character, with which the highest expectations of others were always connected. But simple, faithful, assiduous, disinterested, and unshrinking, he was ever standing at the post of duty; living for Christ; testifying the fulness of His grace; and preaching ' in season and out of season' the life-giving word of His gospel to the souls of men. And he might stand to-day, and I may stand in his name, in the midst of this congregation and community, among whom he has both minis- tered and honored the gospel of the Lord Jesus, for nearly thirty years past, and say: 'ye are witnesses, and God also, how holily, and justly, and unblamably, we have behaved ourselves among you.' ' Ye know how we exhorted and comforted, and charged every one of you, as a father doth his children, that ye would walk worthy of God, who hath called you unto His kingdom and glory.' " I may go even further in an application of the apostle's words so appropriate to his case; and say, 'we were gentle among you, even as a nurse cherisheth her children — and being affectionately desir- ous of you, we were willing to have imparted unto you, not the gospel of God only, but also our own souls, because ye were dear unto us.' "And yet his ministry was not only affectionate, it was effectual. There has been a power attending his labors for Christ, which mul- titudes have felt, and by which multitudes have been saved. It was a power which sprang not from native intellect, or large at- tainments merely, which depended not. upon the animation of youth, or the outward charms and glow of beautiful enunciation; which failed not under the weakness of age, nor flickered in its brightness, as it passed toward the darkness of the grave. It was the power of the Holy Ghost, giving to him much assurance in preaching the word with fidelity, and causing others to receive it with joy, as the Word of God, effectually working in them, believ- ing, and becoming in their conversion his glory and joy. And as we to-day contemplate his character and work, which have been before us, and are now recorded on high, it will be profitable to consider some few of the peculiar traits which have evidently and eminently distinguished them. To profess to enter upon a minute and extended examination of such a ministry and life, in this hasty i6o Rev. Stephen Higginson Tyng, D.D. and unprepared waj-, would be doing great injustice to the subipct. I trust that God will be pleased to qualify and prepare some pea that shall be able to do adequate justice to this important subject, and set forth for the instruction of the Church, the triumphs of the grace of God in his conversion, and the pecuhar excellence and holiness of his example, so worthy of imitation, in his long succeed- ing ministry. But to gain the utmost edification and instruction for ourselves, which the limits of the occasion allow, is equally our present duty and our privilege. We must not be forbidden to re- joice for our allowed season, in the sunlight of such an example, because we have not time completely to analyze and display its separate beams of brightness and beauty. " His ministry has been distinguished by a clear perception of vital truth; by an ardent love for the truth and a deep experience of its inward power; by an affectionate earnestness in imparting and proclaiming it to others; by exceeding wisdom and discrimination in teaching it purely, and teaching nothing in the place of it; by an evident life of prayer and holiness, under its controUing and sanctifying operation upon his own soul. He thus always stood for Christ, stood with Christ, stood by Christ, and Christ hath spoken by him, with the demonstration of His Spirit, and honored him as the instrument of bringing many souls to God. " His intimate perception of the truth, made him uniformly dis- tinct and clear in its exposition, and his whole course as its advo- cate. Those who understood the gospel could never doubt, where he was to be found, or what he would proclaim. He saw the utter ruin and condemnation of sinful man; he saw the perfect substitu- tion for the guilty, of the glorious God who died in the stead of all; he saw the finished salvation which He had attained for those who believe; the glorious righteousness which He has perfected as their hope; the sure redemption which He has accomplished in their behalf; he saw the appointed agency of the declaration of this wonderful work, as the instrument of the Holy Ghost, to give life to the dead, and to convert the wandering soul to God. He saw that it was by lifting up Jesus to the mind, as evidently cruci- fied for their sins, and persuading the heart to embrace Him with love, and to rest upon Him with confidence, as all their salvation; that the Holy Ghost was ministering godly sorrow to the awakened,' and peace to the penitent, and hope to the believer, and joy to the desponding, and spiritual life and growth to the fainting and the weak. And thes6 were the habitual themes of his discourse, and the unceasing subjects of his public and his priTate teaching. Si. Georges Church. i6i " He loved to tread that blessed circle wHcli starts from Christ and runs round to Christ again; which exhibits Christ as every thing, at every point; and compels the tongue and the heart to say: 'none but Christ'; in every step and section of its course. He was brought to a knowledge of this truth in mature life; and under circumstances which enabled him and compelled him to weigh thoroughly, and to examine well every fact and doctrine which it appeared to teach; when his practiced mind was too wise to be easily imposed upon; and his condition and prejudices united too strongly, to draw him back from an adoption of principles, which involved for him self-sacrifice in no ordinary degree, to allow him to be led an easy captive ; when the limited influence of Evan- gelical truth and the few instances of its renewing power, among the class of persons in which he moved, made conversion almost synonymous with insanity, and a real love for Christ, the object of astonishment and contempt, as the bewilderment of a low and ab- surd fanaticism. Under such circumstances, it was no small thing for him to yield to the power of a revelation of which he had known so little, and neglected so entirely. Nor till he was made, not by man, but by the Holy Ghost, to understand and feel the regenera- ting power of the gospel, did he embrace and follow it. But then he was fixed like a rock of adamant; and from that time, the truth which he then discerned so clearly, and which he immediately be- gan to preach to others, he has been unwavering, unifoi-m and decided in proclaiming on all occasions and in every place; tes- tifying unceasingly the glorious righteousness of faith, ' Christ the end of the law for righteousness to every one that behev- eth.' " His ardent love for the truth of the gospel, and his deep expe- rience of its inward power, made him most sensible of its importance and worth to others. He felt the preciousness of free forgiveness through the blood of Jesus; the life to the soul of Christ dwelling in the heart by faith as the hope of glory; the joy which is found in knowing the salvation perfected in the one offering of the Lord Jesus; the firm and steadfast anchor which its clearly defined ac- complishment gives to the believer, and he coveted for aU the blessed privileges which he thus perceived and enjoyed himself. The power of this truth, had broken the fetters of his pride; had out- weighed the honors of his worldly station; had led him to count all things but loss for Christ, and to consider shame as a disciple, higher glory than applause as an opposer; had brought him forth from the world, and in the world — to take a position which became 1 62 Rev. Stephen Higginson Tyng, D.D. a wonder to many, and lie could not but declare the things -which he had seen and heard. " He had been sustained in trials, and refreshed in losses, and comforted in afflictions, by this hfe-giving gospel. It imparted cheerfulness to his spirit, animation to his duties, and life to his hopes. It was within him a living principle ; a fountain springing up; and he longed to have the whole world acquainted with the Saviour, who was so sufficient for his soul. Who, that has seen him in social religious exercises, as it has often been my privilege, where Christian brethren and friends meet together for prayer and counsel; or at the bedside of the sick; or in the house of sorrow, and witnessed his emotion — his earnestness — ^his tenderness^his unquestioned sincerity and love for souls — while tears successive rolled from his cheeks, as he spoke of the things of Christ, has not felt convinced that there was an inward power operating upon his soul, of no human origin or gift. " The energy of gospel truth was quick and manifest within him, and it gave an influence to his ministry of the Word, which was instantly perceived, and could not be denied. This inward experi- ence of the power of the gospel expressed itself constantly in an affectionate earnestness in proclaiming it to others. Whether in the pulpit, or in private, he was always kind, yet always frank and faithful. He endured patiently with error, when error was invol- untary and in ignorance, and with great tenderness he desired and labored to correct it. But he never yielded to error, or com- promised for peace with its advocates when it was obstinate and determined. Boldly and candidly and fearlessly he stood as the advocate of the gospel, earnestly engaged in urging its acceptance upon sinful men; realizing, that the power with which he was en- trusted as a minister of Christ, was no mystical authority, by dumb rites and ordinances to apply salvation to whom he would, but the blessed privilege, ' by manifestation of the truth to every man's conscience in the sight of God,' to be the instrument and messen- ger of God, to enhghten, guide and control their minds and hearts, to lead them to embrace and hold fast the blessed hope which was given them in Christ. Accordingly, the preaching of the gospel, in his view the keys which are to bind and loose, to retain or remit the sins of men, as Jesus is embraced or rejected by their hearts, was the great treasure with which he was entrusted, and the instrument of his power, and ia the degree of his faithfulness in preaching, did he hope for the blessing from God upon the souls of men who heard. He was ever therefore engaged in this work, SL Georges Church. 163 ready to speak, anxious to persuade, willing to be spent, in the la- bor of teaching and preaching Jesus Christ. And all who heard him were witnesses, that he certainly believed the things which he declared, and that his heart was warm, whUe his mind was inteUigent in the sacred cause of a Saviour's glory, and man's conversion. In this trait there was an especial power in his minis- try, insinuating itself into the hearts of men, subduing and meet- ing them under the dominion of Christ, in peaceful and glad sub- jection to his holy will. " But he was also particularly wise and discriminating in preach- ing the gospel purely, and in the determination to preach nothing in the place of its eternal and living truth. The long distinction between error and truth, he readily discerned, and not less so the frequently neglected distinction between vital and subordinate truths. Every thing was not, in his mind, necessarily, the truth because it was true; multiplied points of doctrine which he was ready to receive as undoubted, he would refuse to press upon others as indispensable. For meat he would not destroy, nor refuse to aid the work of God. He loved to unite with all the people of God in efforts of usefulness to man, to the utmost extent of their possible agreement in the imperishable truths of the gospel; and whereto they had already attained, to walk with them according to the same rule. And though he was willing, in their proper place and measure, to teach dividing principles, as they were received and adopted by his own mind, he would only teach them in their due relation, as subordinate — lawful — in their measure, expedient; but not essential to the hfe of the soul, not able to give it life from the dead. That error in perception and judgment, or the maUcious design, as in some cases it is justly feared to be, of charging with indifference to the distinguishing doctrines among Christians, the unwillingness to exalt them unduly, which in our day is so com- mon, and to many minds is so fearful, had no effect upon him. Yet, upon few men was the experiment tried more frequently, or for a longer period. But in his abounding in the spiritual work of the Lord, he was steadfast and immovable, equally independent of the influence of the actual novelties of the time, and of the triflings of alleged antiquity anew exposed to sight. I speak thus distinctly upon this subject, because I would bear my solemn testimony up- on this occasion, of thorough approval of his faithful ministry, and because in this point of view, I deem this ministry to have been an example of exceeding importance, of that wisdom and moderation 164 Rev. Stephen Higginson Tyng, D.D. which are characteristic of a scribe well instructed in the kingdom of heaven. " There was no wasted time, or wasted breath in his ministry. The opening of his lips was ever of right things. And both the actual value and influence of the truths which ho taught, and the entire confidence and freedom of mind towards him, which his teaching inspired in those who were accustomed to hear him, con- stituted an important element of power in his dispensation of the gospel. " But perhaps the manifest influence of the truth which he loved and taught, upon his own character and life, was an instrument of influence, not surpassed by any of the elements to which I have re- ferred. Love to Christ, faith in Christ, estimation of Christ as a friend and portion, personally connected with himself, constituted the pervading characteristics of his life, ccmtrolling, sanctifying, elevating, adorning every hour and every act. " It was the spring of his cheerfulness, calmness and peace. To dwell upon this subject particularly now as remarkable, may seem to some younger Christian brethi-en and friends, comparatively un- necessary. But the time is present to my memory, when the men who preached and hved as he did, were comparatively few, and when the prejudice against his whole system of teaching was exceedingly great. I can never forget the astonishment which a clergyman expressed to me in the first commencement of my acquaintance with my revered friend, after parting with him on one occasion, at his great cheerfulness of temper, ' Considering,' as he said, ' his very gloomy views of religion.' "How little such a mind perceived the excellence and precious- ness of the gospel, the comfort of its pardon so freely proclaimed, or the joy of its hope so securely founded, and so clearly revealed in Christ, is instantly manifest to many who listen to me. But we have lived to see the number of like-minded men greatly multiplied and similar lights shining brightly in theii- several degrees among us, at many points. In this regenerating operation upon our Church, a precursor, I trust, of the hastening of Zion's glory, no man probably has exercised a greater influence than this beloved minister of God. And no example of ministry among us, could be presented of more spotless value, or more worthy to be imitated as eminently wise and holy, by those who are entering upon the sacred work of preaching the unsearchable riches of Christ. " But changed as has become the state of mind around, so that multitudes can now understand and appreciate and love his princi- S^. Georges Church. i65 pies, where few used to comprehend or value them, the influence of his own life as an illustration of his ministry remains stUl a most important consideration. He was a living epistle, known and read of all who could understand the writing of the Spirit of God. No Christian approached him, or was connected with him, no anxious mind sought his counsel, no disciple listened to him, no sufferer asked consolation from him, who did not immediately feel that he was a man of prayer and holiness. Though there was absolutely nothing about him of the cant of religious profession, the mere dia- lect of the gospel, there was the unceasing shining forth of actual religious influence from his conversation and conduct among men, studding with countless brilliant points the whole framework of his character and life in every relation, displaying a loveliness" and ex- cellence in attractive beauty far beyond the habitual walk of Chris- tians around. " In all these points was the power of the ministry of our revered and beloved friend. It was the dispensation of saving truth; earnest, aflectionate, discriminating, and wise, in a very remarkable degree. It honored God, and God honored it in return. It glori- fied Christ, and Christ made it the instrument of saving men. It manifested warm affection for perishing souls, and it received the warmest reciprocation of affection from those among whom it passed. It has been a faithful, glowing ministry of love and peace, and many may study it with much advantage and profit, as an example and a source of instruction to themselves. It has passed in the view of multitudes around, and has been made a centre of influence which the remotest portions of our land have felt. Its honored years have now come to their conclusion, and brethren and friends have assembled here to testify around the opening tomb, the estimation in which a faithful man of God has been beld in His Church on earth; and the love of which he was the object to the multitude of his people. " To my respected brethren in the ministry of the gospel in our own Church, I would commend the example and life of my honored friend, as a bright and blessed guide in duty. Eemember the end of his conversation, 'Jesus Christ, the same yesterday, to-day and forever.' What is now his hope, or joy, or crown of rejoicing? Is it not the converted souls of men whom we shall meet in the pres- ence of the Lord Jesus ? They are his glory and joy. This is the end for which we labor; to pluck as brands out of the burning, the un- converted from the condemnation of sin, and to restore, as workerc together with God, the wandering, to the faith and love of Christ. i66 Rev. Stephen Higginson Tyng, D.D. " In proportion to our simple and spiritual preaching of Christ, as the salvation of men, will be our success in this glorious work. In this, will be the measure of our comfort in the retrospect of life. In this, will be our joy in eternity. O let us this day gird on anew the armor of light; resolved by the help of God, to know nothing but a crucified Christ, as the theme of our instruction to the souls of men. Let us seek a deep and living experience of this great truth, in our own hearts, and warn and admonish, and exhort, with all diligence and fidelity, the ungodly and perishing to whom we are sent, to fly to Jesus for refuge and hope. Linger not, trifle not, be not turned aside by inferior, outward, perishing objects, in the pursuit of this one great end. Be faithful unto death, striving with the grace of God, which shall work within you, that you may be found with many ransomed souls in the presence of the Lord Jesus at His coming. And however little the world may understand or esteem you, you will have a name with God and a record on high. "To our respected Christian brethren and friends, the ministers and members of other Churches of the Lord Jesus, who have as- sembled with us to-day to testify their love for our venerated brother, I ought to speak in the name of my venerable friend, in the fraternal language of afifectionate gratitude and encouragement. He has been honored in your midst, as a fellow-worker in many great and blessed efibrts of usefulness to men. He was with you, as a guide, a counsellor, and a true yoke-fellow in the cause of Christ, distinguished by wisdom, gentleness, moderation and love. His presence hushed the spirit of controversy and rebuked the vio- lence of sectarianism. He was eminently a man of peace; and a promoter of peace among the Churches of the Lord. The ardor of this spirit burned in him to the end. " The last sermon he delivered from this desk urged the spirit of union upon the people of God in their mutual judgments, and intercourse and efforts on the earth. Precious link to bind to- gether his earthly and his heavenly ministry ! the last message of the aged departing saint, seeming like the anticipation of the first lesson of the higher sanctuary into which he so immediately en- tered: taught of God, as the instruction of that heavenly school, where saints shall learn forever, the imperishable truth, ' My dove, my undefiled, is one.' "The schemes and plans of benevolence in which he was en- gaged, were so varied and numerous, that it is impossible to dwell upon them minutely. No class of want and sorrow, temporal or spiritual, relative or individual, failed to interest or employ him. Si. Georges Church. 167 "For the sorrowing children to whom sight or speech and hearing had been denied, his tender heart felt habitual sympathy; oyer these last, he presided with paternal tenderness and wisdom from the- foundation of the institution for their education. In the circulation of the sacred Scriptures he was earnestly engaged. In the dissemination of religious instruction by the press, he labored as- siduously. To the heathen nations, his faithful spirit turned with affectionate longings. Whatever plan of usefulness was presented to him, either in his own Church, or combined with other Churches, which his judgment approved, was sure of his efforts and affectionate co-operation. Here his departure is a loss which wiU be widely felt, and many, many Christians will lift up the heart to God over its sad annunciation, in the prayer, ' Help, Lord, for the godly man ceaseth.' He has been taken from earth at a crisis, when men will say, he can iU. be spared. But we must cast our anchor upon God, and remember that in instruments for His honor. He can supply aU our need out of the riches of His glory in Christ Jesus. Never was he more important in the Christian community here. But per- haps never would he have become less so until the imbecility of age, or the inroads of disease had buried up the noble powers of his mind and heart; and we should have waited in vain for an hour short of that sadder dispensation than death, when we might freely say that his work was completed, and his place some other one might take. "But great as is the public loss in the departure of this venera- ble minister of God, to this congregation, and his own intimate do- mestic relations, the sharpest edge of the dispensation has been directed. Of the latter I shall not dare to speak; God, our gra- cious God, be pleased to lighten the burden, and to make preparation for the sad tidings, in distant hearts, which are yet to know how much a single hour has darkened and desolated their dwelling. To the former I may speak. Thirty years, though few of the pres- ent congregation have passed with him through the whole, has he preached in this house the fulness and the freeness of Christ. Many, many have gone home to welcome in triumph his coming to their glory, whom he has led down in his gentle, faithful ministra- tions, to the margin of the stream, and committed in death to a Saviour's care. " They were, they are, witnesses of his faithfulness as a guide of redeemed souls. Many remain, to hold fast the precious hope, which he has set before them, and to follow him in the heavenly way. Your loss is peculiar, for the ministry which you have had, 1 68 Rev. Stephen Higginson Tyng, D.D. has been peculiar. Its tenderness and watchfulness have set up their monuments in every family and in everj' house. With whom has he not mingled his tears in sorrow? Whom has he not ex- horted in paternal love, to find a liome and a shelter in the bosom of the Lord Jesus ? The aged will not forget his sympathy and patience and courteous reverence in his intercourse with them. The young cannot cease to remember his cheerfulness and love in ministering to them. The little children can not fail to call to mind his venerable aspect, and sweet demeanor, as he laid his hand upon their heads, in affectionate benediction. His interest in them was particular and beautiful. " His work among you has been now completed; and while his memory wiU be embalmed in your hearts while hfe shall last, you can see him going in and out among you in the flesh no more. His departure has been most instant, leaving no time for those special exercises and testimonies which often edify and encourage us, from the Christian bed of death. But we needed not a closing testimony to be j)ersuaded that a prophet had been among us. And the more rapidly the horses and chariots of fire ascended with him to the mount of glory, the happier for him. O that there be many Elishas to catch his falling mantle, to imbibe his heavenly spirit, and to fol- low him in the path of faithfulness to God which he hath trodden. And as we separate from this house of mourning to-day, let it be with the solemn prayer and purpose in every mind, that to us, like him, to live shall be Christ, and to die eternal gain." Dr. MUnor's remains were laid temporarily in the vault of the senior warden, but upon the completion of a vault, under the pulpit in the church, were removed to it in the month of July following, and there reposed for many years, until the sale and destruction of the church required their removal. During the few last years of Dr. Milnor's life the gradual decline of St. George's Church in its numbers and income, had brought before its vestry questions of great importance. It was evident that some measures must be taken to meet the impending need, or the church must lose much of its abiUty for influence and usefulness. This had arisen from no failure on the part of Dr. Milnor, but whoUy ' from causes incidental to the growth of the city. The increasing demands of business required increased accommodation, and necessitated the transformation into factories and warehouses of the dwellings in the lower parts of the city, compelling their foi-mer occupants to, seek homes in the newer and more distant sections. Every year witnessed more and more SL Georges Church. 169 changes of this kind. The course of the current could not be stayed, it was vain to bemoan or resist it. The location of the church had become less and less desirable for a place of worship. A comparatively small number of persons remained, residing within a moderate distance, though many who had removed continued to attend its services. So great had been its decline that the income from pew-rents had fallen to about fifteen hundred dollars, whUe of the communicants recorded not more than two hundred and thirty were in actual connection with the church. Such a condition of afl'airs demanded earnest attention. It be- came of stUl greater importance in the consideration of the state of the Episcopal Church in New York at this time, which for years had not in any degree kept pace with the growth of the city or the increase in its population. In this view the responsibility for action was much increased, as is very clearly stated by Dr. Henry Anthon, in a sermon which he dehvered in St. Mark's Church, in May, 1845: " "With all the efforts making by various Christian denomina- tions in this metropolis to abate the evil, what a terrific proportion of a population of near four hundred thousand souls are absolutely shut out from our churches ? " They could find no seats within the walls, were they disposed to avail themselves of the privilege. Have we taken the estimate of our responsibility as Protestant Episcopalians in the matter ? Three years ago we were reminded that it was painful to contrast the condition of our Church in this city, with that which it ought to maintain. Her course, with a mighty tide of human life pouring in on her aU the time, was not merely stemmed, but retrograde. Within ten years, as we learned, one hundred and ten thousand had been added to the population of New York, and during this period only five new Episcopal Churches had been consecrated; affording accommodation to about four thousand persons, and leaving about one hundred and six thousand souls, so far as the Episcopal Church was concerned, unprovided for. In 1830 we had twenty-two churches, the various dissenting bodies around us had seventy-two places of worship. Now they have one hundred and sixty-three, we have twenty-seven. Such was the melancholy and reproachful picture of 1842. Our Church, we were assured, and no one could gainsay it, was^si, very fast, going behind the population. So far as the responsibihty rests with us, have these dark tints been softened down in 1845 ? No, the same, if not greater, is the moral waste encompassing us. What can be done to meet this pressing emergency ? " 170 Rev. Stephen Higginson Tyng, D.D. What should be done by St. George's Church? This was a question which could not be ignored. Its own condition, not less than the urgent need thus described, pressed for an early decision. With its liberal endowment, its duty to do its part in provision for the rapidly increasing population, was manifest and clear. During the winter of 1845 there were many conferences on the subject, between Cr. Milnor and members of the congregation and the vestry. No plan of removal could be entertained. The church hallowed by so many associations could not be abandoned, nor could Dr. Milnor favor such a movement. StiU, to maintain the old and establish a new church seemed to require larger means than the church possessed, and to involve a greater responsibility than could be assumed. In this dilemma a way was unexpectedly opened for the accomplishment of the desired result, and it is the subject of the earliest recorded action of the vestry in this connec- tion. At a meeting held on the 2d of April, 1845, less than a week before Dr. Milnor 's death, it is recorded that: " The rector stated to the vestry, that after service on Good Friday, he was applied to for the purpose of obtaining his influence and co-operation in the building of a free Chapel of St. George's Church in the upper part of the city, where the rich and the poor might worship together, according to the spirit of the gospel and ancient usage. A former member of this parish had generously offered a subscription of five thousand dollars, and to use his efforts in carrying forward the design to completion. The rector stated his unwillingness to embark in the enterprise until he had the consent and concurrence of the vestry; and he felt the more deli- cacy after the remark of a member of the vestry, who in stating the wishes and designs of those who urged it, said, that in addition to other and weighty motives, they also designed it as a lasting memento of the piety, faithfulness and extended usefulness of the present rector of St. George's Church. He hoped that the subject would be thoroughly investigated by the vestry through a com- mittee, to report at a future meeting." A committee, consisting of the rector and the five senior mem- bers of the vestry, was accordingly appointed to consider, and report upon the subject, and after consultation concluded to rec- commend the erection of such a chapel as that proposed. The aid of Trinity Church was, however, considered essential, and it was believed that an application to that corporation would not fail to obtain their hearty co-operation. Si. Georges Church. 171 The preparation of a memorial to Trinity Church was committed to Dr. MUnor, and was probably the last act of his life, having been found unfinished upon his desk. After his death it was adopted by the vestry and communicated to the corporation of Trinity Church. It presents, as follows, the Uberal views with which it was proposed to embark on the enterprise and carry it to completion. " To THE Rector, Church-wabdens and Vestetmen of Trinity Church, New Tore: " The memorial of the rector, church- wardens and the vestrymen of St. George's Church, New York, respectfully showeth: " That it has been represented to your memorialists that an addition to the accommodations afforded for the public worship of Almighty God, according to the usages of our venerable Church, in the upper part of the city, is extremely desirable, and will soon, from the rapid increase of buildings in that quarter, become abso- lutely necessary; and that there is a disposition on the part of many individuals to contribute towards the erection of a Free Church, in a location in the upper part of the city, sufficiently remote from other Episcopal Churches, provided the purchase of ground and the erection of such a building should be undertaken by your memorialists and be connected as a Chapel with St. George's Church. " Tour memorialists, therefore, believing that the increase in the number of Episcopal Churches in this city for the last thirty years has not born a just proportion to the increase of the population during that time; and that a commodious edifice on the plan pro- posed of having the seatings free, and the current expenses to be defrayed by the voluntary contributions of the worshippers, would be peculiarly acceptable to many of our members, and tend much to the enlargement of their numbers; believing also that the accomplishment of such an undertaking is practicable on the part of your memorialists; at an estimated cost of sixty-five to seventy thousand dollars, provided they can obtain from your body a sum adequate to meet the expense of purchasing suitable lots for the erection of such an edifice thereon, respectfully request your body to make them a grant of twenty- five thousand dollars in money; or lots of ground which may be estimated to be worth that sum, towards carrying the proposed object into execution; and your memorialists believe that the erection of such edifice, without interfering with the interests of existing establishments, will most 1^:1 Rev. Stephen Higginson Tyng, D.D. essentially contribute to the promotion of religion, and the growth and prosperity of our Church, objects which they doubt not your honorable body, as well as your memorialists are anxious to pro- mote. " In the event of your concurrence in these views, and a grant being made from your funds, of the sum required, your memorialists propose to embark in the undertaking, and to pledge themselves, with the blessing of God, for its accomplishment, upon a scale com- mensurate with the increasing wants of the Church, and imencum- bered with debt. " Your memorialists, therefore, respectfully and urgently request, that you wUl take the subject into consideration, and by a compK- ance with the request now made, enable your memorialists to proceed at once, with all reasonable expedition, to the commence- ment and accomplishment of a design, which they trust will con- duce to the glory of God, the welfare of the community, and the honor and advantage of the Church." How grandly and successfully the whole spirit if not the letter of this plan was carried out • in the subsequent history of St. George's Church 1 The necessity and duty of such an eflfort had been thus acknowl- edged. The manner in which it was to be accomplished, and the many difficulties involved were as yet unknown. How, where and when such a plan was to be completed, remained to be determined. Thus it stood at the time of Dr. Tyng's assumption of the rectorship of St. George's Church, as its Third Sector in the order of succession. This was the responsibility which he assumed in coming to New Tork. It is not difficult to realize the sacrifice required of him in the relinquishing of all the comforts of a peaceful ministry in an established, prosperous church, to enter upon a work as laborious and as uncertain as this must be. CHAPTER II. MINISTEY, 1845 to 1847. The brief review, which has been thus taken, of its history and existing condition may sufiSce to show the circumstances in which St. George's Church was placed by Dr. Milnor's sudden death. The necessity of a speedy choice of a successor who should carry on his work and steadfastly maintain his principles, was apparent and at once the duty and desire of the vestry. Happily there was no doubt as to the choice of the people, and none as to Dr. MUnor's wish. Only a few weeks before his death he had expressed to Dr. Tyng his earnest desire that he should be his successor, and doubtless had communicated it to others, in anticipation of the event which had now occurred. The whole congregation united in it, and with one accord approved the action of the vestry in the execution of this desire. Much uncertainty, however, existed whether Dr. Tyng could be induced to accept an invitation when tendered to him, his strong attachment to Philadelphia being well known, as also his position at the time in reference to the Episcopate of Pennsylvania. All these premises stand proven in the action of the vestry, in their meeting on the 17th of AprU, 1845, when a committee was appointed to wait upon Dr. Tyng, in Philadelphia, and ascertain if he would accept the rectorship of St. George's Church. They were instructed to assure him of the unanimity with which an invitation would be given him, and to state fully the condition of the parish, its resources and its plans. In their report they state: " They were not limited in the amount of pecuniary considera- tion to be offered, otherwise than in general terms, the salary would be three thousand dollars per annum, and the rectory to live in. They were also requested to make use of the argument, of the important sphere of usefulness thus presented for the dissemina- tion of sound doctrines, etc., and the expectation the public entertained, as well as our friends, that we should obtain the services of a person of well-known piety and talents to fill the 173 174 R^- Stephen Higginson Tyng, D.D. vacancy occasioned by the decease of the late venerable rector, so long and so favorably known in this community, as also the favorite plan, of a free chapel in the upper part of the city, he had in view at the time of his death. " Dr. Tyng informed us that his situation with regard to many of his friends at that particular time was such that he could not give a decisive answer, that he viewed the situation as a very impor- tant one, and that if, after examining the subject, he should come to the conclusion that his usefulness in the Churchwould be increased, it wotild have the controlling influence in his decision. " He expressed apprehension that three thousand dollars in New York would not go much, if any, farther than twenty-five hundred in Philadelphia, and stated that he wanted nothing more than a sufficiency to support and educate his family of eight children, but that he could not consent to labor under pecuniary embarrassment which would operate to the prejudice and detriment of more impor- tant duties; that he did not expend more than was necessary; that Dr. Milnor had exercised a liberal hospitality from his private means, which the rector of St. George's would be expected in some measure to continue, but if after making the experiment for a year, in the event of his coming, and finding that sum insufficient, he would then withdraw." On the return of this committee, at a meeting of the vestry, on the 24th of April, Dr. Tyng was unanimously elected rector, his election being communicated to him by the senior warden, in the following letter: " It gives me great pleasure to add that the foregoing resolu- tion was not only passed with entire unanimity, but with great cordiality, and with the earnest wish and expectation that you may consider it your duty to occupy the important position left vacant by your friend, our late venerated rector. The vestry were fully informed of the conversation which took place between yourself and the committee on the subject of an increased appropriation for your support, should it become necessary, and concurred in the views and pledges made you by the latter. We think, therefore, that you may dismiss aU anxiety in reference to your pecuniary affairs, other than a wise and judicious regulation of them, should you accede to our wishes. You will meet an affectionate congrega- tion, who will welcome you with warm hearts, and appreciate, and, I trust, profit by your ministrations among them." This urgent invitation Dr. Tyng felt obliged to accept, and in reply to it wrote: ST. GI0OHGE''S (HrHCH, BEEKMAN STREET, NEW YORK. (From, an old print.) Ministry, i8^^ to 184^. i75 Philadelphia, May 2M, 1845. To The Wardens and Yestet op St. George's Church: By the guidance of divine providence I have been led to the determination to accept the rectorship of St. George's Church, to which I was called by your resolution. I shall hope to enter upon the immediate discharge of the duties connected therewith, and shaU expect under the Lord's blessing to occupy the pulpit on a week from next Sunday. I trust it may be the wiU of God to bless me in this position with His abundant grac«, and to enable me to carry forward a ministry in its principles and character such as that to which the congregation of St. George's Church has been long accustomed. I thank you for your kind promises made in your resolution, for the residence and support of my family, and I have no doubt that whatever will be found necessary for me, you wiU be found as ready and wiUing to supply. I earnestly pray for God's blessing upon you as a church, and upon yourselves and families individually. May the gracious presence of our Saviour and Redeemer be with you. I am respectfully and affectionately your friend and servant, Stephen H. Tyng. In his personal narration Dr. Tyng thus records his communica- tion with the committee, when they called upon him in Philadel- phia, and the views with which he considered the invitation to the rectorship of St. George's: " A committee from the vestry of St. George's Church came to me in Philadelphia, with a personal communication from that body, to consult me with reference to the vacant rectorship of St. George's Church. I declined to consider the terms which they proposed. I answered them that I was dwelling in my own house, and perfectly satisfied with my condition and provision. I knew how to live where I was, and I could not go to a new field to strug- gle with personal difficulties. They left me with manifest reluc- tance that I could not accede to their proposal, and assuring me that I should hear stiU further from the vestry who had sent them. Thus I was most unexpectedly brought into a new and surprising relation to this important object. That such an event should have resulted for my personal consideration, and especially at this early period, had not occupied or awakened my thoughts with any degree of personal expectation. It was brought before me without any 176 Rev. Siephen Higgiiison Tyng, D.D. previous suggestion from those who had the right to speak, and unexpected as it was, I was compelled to consider it. " Dr. Milnor's sudden departure made a chasm in the religious history of St. George's not to he adequately supplied by any other Presbyter in the Episcopal Church. " No other enjoyed or merited more universal confidence and respect. His own natural temper, his peculiar history, his truly Christian character and spiritual habit of teaching, combined to settle upon his memory unlimited confidence and most affectio-iate reverence and esteem. "I had known him personally, intimately, had enjoyed his society and received his hospitaUty in the most frequent and intimate degree, during the whole course of my personal relation to him. " To succeed to such a ministry, to be measured in such a com- parison, to attempt the filling of such a vacancy, and the occupation of such a post of public ministry, I was called to New York, and was induced to make the experiment. " Personally, I was conscious of no power in myself to assume a responsibility like this. I earnestly endeavored to obey that which seemed to me a call from the Lord. " The amended invitation came to me subsequently, and after long and repeated consideration, as impartial as I was able to make it, I determined to accept the invitation thus received, and did so, commencing immediately an occasional ministry in that church, and perfecting arrangements for the removal of my family. It appeared to me as the grand crisis of my life. It overturned all my happy relations to my beloved Epiphany. No one ever made a more unvidlling removal. It separated me from a city and associa- tions in which I had passed sixteen useful and happy years. I knew how to dwell in the quietness and social relations of Philadel- phia. In all its connections I was perfectly at home. I was going to a congregation in which I really had no intimate personal acquaintance, whose departed rector had been one of the best and most distinguished of all our clergy, to whom for nearly thirty years the affection of this people had been singularly devoted, and whose ability and renown I could not reasonably hope to attain. " And yet, when in my meditations I compared the two fields of Christian labor, the probable hopes and instruments of influence in my Master's work, I was compelled to acknowledge to myself that the argument of duty was wholly on the one side, and the objections to this were wholly personal and social. As I look back upon this crisis now, after the passage of more than thirty addi- Ministry, 184^ to 18 4^. ^77 tional years, and upon all the Lord's gracious dealings -with me since, the propriety and the duty of that removal appear more clear, and the obligations to it the more imperative. Restoring myself in thought to that crisis, what might be the issue of this new and important step in my life I could little imagine. " As I contemplate the whole period from my present point of retrospection, it stands before me as an unbroken scene of pros- perity and usefulness, and filled with divine mercies and human friendships ; with the remembrance of dear and precious friends whose personal kindness has made a treasure for me never to be forgotten." While Dr. Tyng's official relation dated from the 1st of May, 1845, the actual commencement of his ministry did not occur until the 1st of June. In his Sermon Bible, which contains a record of every sermon and lecture delivered during his ministry in New York, with the text selected for each, is found this simple entry of the beginning of his work in St. George's Church: " May 1st, 1845 — I was elected rector of St. George's Church, New York. " May 23d — 1 accepted the call. " June 1st — I entered upon its duties and preached that day as rector. " May God be with me, aid me, sanctify me, and make me the humble instrument of gathering many of His redeemed. And to His name be eternal praise. Amen." The text of his first sermon was in itself a distinct declaration of his view of the call to succeed to such a ministry as that of his honored predecessor. The sermon, a clear enunciation of his prin- ciples, those of the Evangelical party in the Church, those which St. George's Church had so long and so prominently maintained, was in the following words: " ' They said, the spirit of Elijah doth rest on EUsha.' II Kings ii. 15. " These two prophets were men of exceedingly different char- acter. The one, bold and fearless and terrible in rebuke ; — separated to a great degree from the society of his countrymen, and opposed to the habits of the age in which he lived, appearing to be a troubler of Israel, and in his fidelity in the discharge of duty; and to a great degree opposed and hated by the rulers of his na- tion. The other, mild and gentle in his demeanor, — having his abode chiefly with the persons of the highest consideration in the 178 Rev. Stephen Higginson Tyng, D.D. land, and mingling through a long l^e with the society of the court and capital of his nation. The one was persecuted through life by men, but vindicated in his departure, by an honor from God, which asked for no addition of human praise, or tribute of human approbation. The other was respected and welcomed among men, through his many days, and wept over on his dying bed by the King of Israel, as the ' chariot of Israel and the horsemen thereof.' Probably their mental endowments, had we any opportunity of ascertaining them, were as unlike as the other aspects of their character. But their spirit, the purpose and design of their mis- sion among men, was precisely the same. They maintained the same relation as messengers of the Lord of Hosts, and they deliv- ered the same message in His name. " When Elijah first called Elisha to be his companion and successor in the office of instructing Israel, he cast his mantle upon him as the symbol of his office, and he followed him. And when Elijah was taken up into heaven, Elisha took the mantle which fell from his ascending master, as an evidence of the fulfilment of his prayer, that a double portion of his spirit might rest upon him. With the mantle as they went out from Jericho, Elijah divided the waters of Jordan, that they might pass through. And with this mantle which he had just caught from his departing master, Elisha also divided the waters as he returned alone. And when the sons of the prophets, who had assembled to view the scene, beheld the power with which he proved his mission from God, they said: ' The spirit of Elijah doth rest on Elisha.' It was not a tribute to the mental powers of the successor of the great prophet who had ascended to the heavens, but an acknowledgment of the unity of their office, and of the identity of their instruction. They received the one, as the proper and ap- proved successor of the other, and acknowledged him as perpetua- ting the same peculiar ministry, and as fairly representing the same purposes and principles. " The application which I purpose to make of this testimony, win be very manifest. My venerated friend whose successor in the ministry I have been appointed, (though most unworthy,) was the advocate and teacher of a very specific system, both of Christian truth, and of Christian duty. A system in all its principles and points easily perceived and easily defined. Of this system, he was long one of the most important and influential representatives in our Church. And I mean it to be most distinctly understood, that there is a perfect identity, so far as I know, of sentiment,-and purpose, Ministry, 184^ to 184J. 179 and principle, in the ministry which God has been pleased to appoint to succeed him. So that, however there may be diversity of method, and inferiority in wisdom and power and respect in the succession to his work, yet in doctrine and design and effort, if God shall please to bless us, 'the spirit of Elijah shall rest on Elisha.' We have no wish to conceal or to qualify the fact, that we have been the teachers of doctrines, and have contended for principles and rights in our Church, which our opposers have been fond to repre- sent as a troubling of Israel. " With him, through the whole course of my ministry, I have set my face as a flint, for the maintenance and defence of great and imperishable principles of truth, which have been continually at stake. With a mind unwavering, I have borne in other places of duty, a testimony unchanged. With a mind unwavering stiU, I am sent to bear in this place a testimony equally unalterable and irrev- ocable in the cause of Christ and His gospel. To attempt to cover the fact that our Church has been exceedingly divided in sentiment on many important points, both of doctrine and practice, would be absurd. To depreciate the importance of the principles which have been constituted the points of this division, would be to make the division itself, wicked and reprehensible in a high degree. But in this whole history and warfare, we have been uniformly acting on the defensive, against the oppression of unauthorized power, and the imposition of unscriptural doctrines. " Standing on the platform of the established standards, and within the laws of our Church, desiring to impose nothing upon others, but resolved, by the help of God, to maintain and defend our liberty of action, and our system of instruction, just as the Lord has delivered them, and as the Church has received the same and committed them to us ; upon the platform of Protestant Episcopal Christianity, in doctrine, discipline and worship, we mean, by God's help, still to stand, giving place by subjection, no, not for an hour, to any who may come in privily to spy out our liberty, which we have in Christ Jesus, that they may bring us into bondage. " We shall seek, as we have uniformly sought, the things which make for peace, willing to make any concessions which truth will warrant, for its attainment; but never ready to make shipwreck of faith, and of a good conscience, to secure it merely in a false and painted image. "It may be well asked, and it is often asked, what are the things for which we have contended ? It is too likely — amidst the bewildering and mazy theology of the current day, our children l8o Rev, Stephen Higginson Tyng, D.D. will forget them, and lose sight of them entirely. The stream of Evangelical truth flows more widely perhaps, but, I fear, far less deeply than it used to do. Our more youthful agents, are exposed to much confusion, and to much error in the confusion which their undiscriminating minds will be unable to detect and evolve. And it becomes us therefore to state plainly what are the principles which we have held absolutely sacred, and which we have never felt at liberty to compromise for an hour. What are the instructions which have marked the spirit of Elijah? What are the instructions which Elisha is to perpetuate ? They may be regarded as princi- ples of doctrine, of worship and of Christian and ministerial con- duct and character. " In doctrine, we have maintained the entire natural depravity, guilt and condemnation of man. The complete and eternally fin- ished redemption of man by the obedience and death of God manifest in the flesh. The full and perfect justification before God, of every believing man, in the personal obedience of the Lord Jesus Christ, imputed to Him by the grace of God — the righteous- ness of God by faith ; the necessity and the actual accomplishment in all the people of God, of a new birth of the soul by the Holy Ghost, through the instrumentality of the word of truth; constitut- ing every one who is in Christ a new creature: the universal fruit and evidence of this new creation to be found in a life of faith and holiness, the operation and result of a spiritual mind. "To bring men to this conversion, unto God, and to edify and to nourish them as converted, we have uniformly preached Christ Himself, as personally all their salvation, as made of God unto them, wisdom, righteousness, sanctification and redemption. We have maintained that the appointed instrument for this end, is the preaching of the salvation which is in Christ, and the sole agent in attaining it is the Holy Spirit of God, accompanying the word with the demonstration of His power. We have taught that the ap- pointed sacraments of the gospel, are signs and seals of the right- eousness of faith, and instruments of renewing grace, to those who rightly receive them ; that baptism is to such the sign and seal of a spiritual regeneration which is bestowed by the Holy Ghost, and the instrument of an outward and formal regeneration of condition and state, in regard to the visible Church, to which it is the intro- duction; that the Lord's Supper, is to the believer in whose heart Christ dwells by faith, a blessed commemoration of a Saviour's suf- ferings and merits and love, and thus the instrument of the Holy Ghost of a spiritual strengthening and refreshing of his soul, as it Ministry, 1845 to 184'/. 181 brings him, ia contemplation and affection, nearer to Christ; but that in no sense or manner whatever, does Christ dwell in the ma- terial elements, or become connected with them; that in the whole ordinance, the believer in Christ truly but spiritually feeds upon the precious body and blood of his adorable Lord, and thus in the in- crease of faith and love ia his own heart, by the Holy Spirit, through this ordinance, maintains and perpetuates his personal communion with his Lord. We have taught that the Church, the spiritual body of Christ, is composed of the whole company of His elect, knit together in one communion and fellowship, by one faith, which is the operation of the Holy Ghost, uniting them to one glorious head; that the gathering and creation of this Church is the office and work of the Holy Ghost, forming Christ in their hearts, as the hope of glory; that tiie ministry and outward appointments of the visible Church are incidental, secondary and subordinate to this abiding spiritual body; designed and appointed to minister to its increase, as the instrument of its edifying and perfection. We have taught that apostolic example and practice have authorized and required the three-fold ministry which from that beginning has been continued in the Church. And though we have never felt allowed to deny the validity and usefulness of a faithful ministry differently consti- tuted, or to call that common which God hath manifestly cleansed, we have not hesitated to proclaim at all times the necessity of this organization, to the regiilar and entire outward constitution of the Church. " But we have refused to insist upon this or any special arrange- ment of the ministry, as ia itseK absolutely essential to the being of a Church; so that the want of this ministry should destroy the existence of the Church which is deprived of it. " These are points of doctrine which we have taught, and for which we have at all times contended. In these points there has been an unity of sentiment in the Church. And we have pleaded for an acknowledged and satisfied union on these points, as sufficient for a foundation of peace. Had men been contented with these, which are the teaching of our Church itself, there would have been no warfare at any time among us. But it has been at the line where others have attempted to force upon us other doctrines as the doc- trine of the Church, and to drive us to their adoption by the as- sumed authority of the Church, that our contest has commenced, a contest which with us has been uniformly a defence. " While other men have taught other additional things, as their own personal judgment and conclusions, we have never 1 82 Rev. Stephen Higginson Tyng, D.D. attempted, or felt at liberty to attempt, any other restraint of them, than free and fair discussions of the subjects. But when they have undertaken to coerce us into the adoption of them, as if they were of absolute Church authority, and to denounce us as not holding the doctrines of the Church, because we have refused these impositions of men, then we have stood upon the defence of the liberty which Christ has given us, and which the Church of our fathers has secured to our possession. " It is very certain that if the rights here claimed, and which have been in substance exercised by others, who denied them to us, had been peaceably conceded, we should have had no contention on such subjects. They constitute a fair and legitimate exercise of that private judgment in matters respecting which the Canons and Constitution are silent, that the Church herself allows, and which none are more certain to employ, when it suits their convenience, than those who have most vehemently objected to the particular application of it here described. " The truth ,^13, that moderate Episcopalians, in their contest with High Churchmen, in reference to matters in which the gospel is not essentially involved, have always and only acted on the defensive. All that they have felt concerned to do, was simply to repel assaults. They never insisted that their brethren should adopt their views, respecting points of internal order. They only asked that they should be allowed to think and act freely for them- selves, except so far as their thoughts and actions were controlled by the legitimate authorities of the Church. It is true, indeed, that the position of things has been somewhat altered within a few years by the avowal and vigorous maintenance of erroneous doc- trines in religion. False churchmanship has of late formed a very close alliance with false theology, and is now assailing with great boldness and power the very foundations of our Protestant faith. On such subjects Evangelical religion must ever be aggressive in its character. Christianity itself becomes an aggressive system where fundamental errors are concerned. " • In worship ' we have maintained the duty of a strict con- formity to the prescribed liturgy of the Church, upon the pub- lic occasions not inhibited by law. After all sermons and lect- ures, however public, and on aU occasions of private, personal, family and social worship, we have considered ourselves secured in the liberty of employing such prayers, whether extempora- .neous, written, or printed, as seemed to us individually expe- 'dient and applicable. We have maintained the right of con- Ministry, 1845 to 184^. 183 ducting our Sunday Schools, Bible-classes, lectures and prayer- meetings precisely according to our own judgment of usefulness and duty. And though we have often conceded in practice the liberty which we have claimed as our right, from a regard to the sentiments and wishes of others, or in subjection to our own conceptions of the expediency of the case, we have never yielded for a day, and never shall yield, until some change in our laws shall restrain and limit our present rights, the liberty of action with which in this respect we are by the Church endowed. Had this right been conceded to us in quiet- ness, as it ought to have been, we should have had no warfare upon this subject. We have 'never attempted nor desired to impose our views or habits upon others. We have freely left to them the liberty of action here, which we have claimed for our- selves. But it is just at this line, in defence and maintenance of this liberty, that we have been obliged to contend, resisting the encroachments of a power and personal interference, which we have considered uncanonical and intolerant. "The rights which we have claimed in this respect we have seen continually exercised by those who have forbidden us. Books of prayer, for all occasions, have been published and recommended, though the order of family worship and for the visitation of the sick are as much authoritative im- positions as any other office in the Prayer-book. Missionary meetings and any other similar meetings of the most public character have been habitually conducted in our midst with- out the morning or evening prayer and a sermon, according to the liturgy, but with a selection of various other prayers, some of which were not even to be found in the liturgy, and with a succes- sion of extemporaneous addresses from the chancels of our churches, and this under the countenance and by the direction of those who are known as censuring the liberty which we have claimed. We are far from complaining of this usage; we thoroughly approve it. We rejoice to encourage it. But we insist upon the mainte- nance for ourselves also of the rights and liberties which others have thus claimed and enjoyed, standing upon the same authority, and secured by the same laws. " In Christian and ministerial conduct we have taken ground equally intelligible and decided. Wo have maintained the duty of professing Christians to keep themselves from conformity to the sinful vanities of the world; to govern both themselves and house- holds as the people of God, setting an example of holiness, and 184 Rev. Stephen Higginson Tyng, D.D. atriviiig to shine as lights to the Lord's glory. The gay and giddy amusements of fashionable society we have considered as utterly inconsistent with Christian character. The habitual indulgence in them we have regarded as an evU living, whereby the congregation is justly and reasonably offended. And we have maintained the duty of aU who call themselves by the name of Christ, to keep themselves unspotted from the world, and to walk holQy, justly and unblamably among men. Upon this subject we always felt com- pelled to bear a faithful and an uniform testimony, and though among those who would maintain the name, but dislike the power of godliness, it has exposed us to much reproach, we cannot feel at liberty to yield a single point of duty here to the hostility or caprice of men. " We have insisted upon the right to maintain an union with other Christians in worksjof benevolence which are common to us all. Nor have we ever been willing to allow that our doing a thing which was in itself right, could be made wrong, because others united with us in it, who did not unite with us in judgment or action in many other points. To give the word of God to perishing men, to send it abroad in all languages, if it be possible, to save the souls of all, is in itself a work of transcendent importance and benefit to men. How can it be made less so because all who call themselves Christians unite with us in accomplishing it ? Can our acceptance in the discharge of a personal portion of common Christian duty be prevented and destroyed by the presence and combination of even unworthy men in its fulfilment ? How much less by the union of those who are themselves as acceptable before God as we ! To bestow a copy of books like Baxter's ' Call,' Doddridge's ' Rise and Progress,' "Wilberforce's ' Practical View,' is a benefit, often an unspeakable, incalculable benefit to the souls of men. Myriads have been eternally saved by an instrumentality like this. Does such a gift to man become an evil immediately, because some with whom I do not agree in aU things, some even whom I do not personally like, or who do not like me, unite in it ? Such a doctrine is absurd, and cannot bear the examination of a moment. These engagements are to be individually considered in their objects and ends, and in the arrangements to gain the end proposed, exclusively. If these are right the union of other persons in them can never sustain a reasonable objection. "If I am required to concede in such an union, principles of truth which are important, or to withhold by other instrumentality instruc- tion which I esteem essential, or to sanctioli impressions justly re- Ministry, i8^£ to 184.1 . ^^^ oeived, whicli I deem to be Titally erroneous, upon this ground, objec- tions may be justly made, and ought to be maturely considered. And if such be the fact in any particular case of demanded or invited union, the instance should be thoroughly examined and 'weighed upon its own merits. The union itseU must always be right, and whereto we have already attained, we are to walk by the same rule, and mind the same thing. How expedient or inexpedient in certain circumstances such an union may be, is a wholly different subject for consideration. For many years we maiatained it in many important works, amicably and usefully, with mutual kindness, for- bearance and respect. Our Church was respected and our minis- ters were received and honored. For the few last years, I mourn to say, there have been from various quarters almost unceasing and' very unjust assaults upon us as a Church; affecting to identify our whole system with the corruptions of individuals, and charging them upon us all, displaying a spirit which, however provoked, we personally had never excited, and the bitterness of which rendered our continuance in such engagements exceedingly painful, and of very doubtful expediency. In such contingency we have not hesi- tated to say that the advantages of apparent union, if they were to be purchased thus, were, after our full experience, very question- able; and that our ends of good, while this spirit prevailed, might be better attained by labors confined to ourselves. But if, on the one side, this individual intolerance barring our road to union with others, shall yield to truth and Christian duty, as we would hope from lateappearances it is Hkely to do, and if, on the other, our engagements in efforts nominally our own, is to throw us into the inevitable position of advocates for corruptions in doctrine which we abhor, as many recent publications indicate, our views of expedi- ency in duty must certainly unite with our solemn conviction of the rights which we have always maintained. And we shall far prefer to unite with those who have no Episcopacy in propagating truth, to an union with those who are in this point combined with us, in the dissemination and support of error. The right of union with other Christians we sternly maintain. The propriety and advantage of employing it we choose to determine for ourselves by such considerations as seem to us, at one time or another, severally adequate and imperative. " These are illustrations of points of doctrine and duty for which we personally have always contended in our Church, and the con- cession of which to us, as our own right, would have precluded all contest among us. I believe I have justly stated the principles for 1 86 Rev. Stephen Higginson Tyng, D.D. the defence of which my venerable predecessor in this church has always stood. This has been the spirit of Elijah's testimony. This is the spirit of Ehsha's determined testimony also. For many years past in the beloved city and the dear church which I have left (I believe under God's own call) for you, I have maintained, and, by the blessing of God, not without success, this unchanging and decided stand. I have no new course to pursue here. I come bound in the spirit for the work of the Lord. It has cost me the breaking of the strongest ties that can ever entwine my heart, the forsaking in presence (I can never do it in heart) of the most united and affectionate flock that was ever gathered under a pastor's care, the separation of me and mine from scenes and con- nections which in every possible aspect were most dear to us. I cannot hope in any degree to be personally benefited by the change. You can never honor and love me more than I have been loved and honored there; you can never provide for me more tenderly and affectionately than they have provided for me there ; and since the step has been taken my heart has often misgiven me whether I can ever be more useful here than I have been there. But I have come under a solemn consciousness of duty to God and His Church; and I hope in Him that my coming unto you will not be in vain. Tou have the reputation of an affectionate and zealous people. I trust that I shall find you so. I can bear labor and toil without concern, if I am sustained and loved; I can endure outward contests without fear, if I have a flock united and attentive; ready to second and uphold me in my work at home. That I shall ever remove from here, but to the house appointed for all the living, is not at my age to be supposed. I trust that I shall be allowed to inherit with the place of my venerable friend the affection which has cherished him in life, and the reverence which has honored his grave in death. And that you will endeavor to make up to me the kindness, and tenderness and care which I have sacrificed in others, not without a painful struggle, for your sakes. Thus shall the great work which we have here to do prosper in our hands, and God, our great God and Saviour, be with us and give us His bless- ing." Continuing his narrative of the beginning of his ministry in New York, Dr. Tyng says: " The month of June was occupied in the necessary vacation of our house in Philadelphia, though during this time I made several visits to New York. The first week of July 1845 perfected our removal to New York, as our future permanent abode, but instead of an Ministry, 184^ to 1841. 187 immediate occupation of a city dwelling, we removed for a period of rest to Staten Island, where we had secured agreeable accom- modations for the summer. We remained there until the opening of the autumn, when we exchanged these lodgings for similar tem- porary ones in a boarding house in Vesey Street, unwUhng that the family of Dr. Milnor should be removed from the rectory for our convenience. " Thus the summer of 1845 was occupied and the month of November found us at last quietly estabhshed in our new home in Beekmau Street, adjoining the Church. " From that day, all the members of the vestry and the congre- gation vied with each other in expressions of affectionate welcome and of grateful acceptance of my ministry, both public and private. I was welcomed by all classes and families iu the congregation with a cordiality of expression which was gratifying and encouraging in a high degree, and which did much to displace my feeling as a stranger and one but partially known among the people. At this time, the family of Dr. Milnor had removed to Brooklyn, but it was an increased gratification to enjoy the expression of their kindness, and to be welcomed to all the advantages of their affectionate ac- quaintance. To m-i personally and to my family, the kindest hos- pitality and the most affectionate welcome made us happy in every home. " The Church in Beekman Street would accommodate an audi- ence of near one thousand people. It was habitually well filled with attentive hearers, and a general spirit of seriousness in listen- ing to the instruction from the pulpit, appeared always as a cheer- ing and encouraging element in this particular relation. " The people were in unison with the minister, and heard his instruction with reverence and interest. They had been accus- tomed to an evening lecture in the week, and to the maintenance of a weekly meeting for prayer, which were attended with much regularity and seriousness. Thus I felt myself entirely at home among them. ' ' Dwelling in the rectory which Dr. Milnor had occupied so long, and ia which I had been so often welcomed as a guest, 'and mov- ing among a people who concurred vrith me in sentiment, I felt my- self satisfied and thankful under the gracious providence which had placed me here. " Beyond the limits of the congregation of St. George's I was encouraged and conforted in my new position, by the relations which I was invited to occupy with others. I was welcomed with 1 88 Rev. Stephen Higginson Tyng, D.D. much kindness by the clergy of the Episcopal Church, and found an encouraging salutation among all the Churches and from ministers of all denominations. They seemod to transfer freely to me the kind and fi-aternal emotion with which my eminent predecessor had been so constantly regarded and welcomed. "All my wants were abundantly supplied, all my labors encour- agingly welcomed among aU with whom I was called to associate. " Such was the opening of my work in St. George's Church. Such was the commencement of the ministry which has now been prolonged for more than thirty-three years. This was ' my manner of entering in ' to the occupation and demands of this extensive field of obligation and duty." The period at which Dr. Tyng entered the Diocese of New York was one marked by great excitement in the Episcopal Church and he was soon compelled to take a prominent part in the discussions of the time. The " Carey ordination " had separated the two parties in the Church more distinctly than perhaps ever before, while the trial of the Bishop of New York, terminating in his sus- pension, had brought into the controversy an element of personal antagonism which added much to the intensity of party feeling. The Diocese of New York was naturally the field of the sharpest conflict, and there the adherents of jthe two schools were arrayed in the most open opposition. The memorable convention of the diocese, which met on the 24:th of September 1845 was the first which Dr. TjTig attended as a member and though he had been in the diocese for so short a time, the established and recognized position which he held in the Church made him a prominent figure in its debates. Its sessions continued for a week, and were at times a scene of such excitement and dis- order as would seem incredible. It was the first meeting of the convention after the Bishop's suspension, and the chief subjects of discussion were therefore the anomalous condition of the diocese and the measures necessary for its relief. These questions gave rise to a sharp debate between the leading men on either side and elicited from them speeches of remarkable eloquence and power. The weU-known independence of Dr. Tyng's views and actions caused not a little uncertainty as to the position he would hold in the controversy, and he was looked to to declare himself in the new relation to it in which he now stood. He had defended Bishop Orderdonk in his action as to the Carey ordination and had openly expressed disapproval of his trial and suspension upon the evidence which had been offered, in both instances opposing many of his own Ministry, 1845 to 184J. 189 friends and those with whom in doctrinal views he was in perfect accord. Strong in his convictions, unhesitating, and fearless in tho expression of his judgment, his speeches at this convention are of special interest as displaying these qualities so clearly, and are not less notable for the soundness of their conclusions and the force of their arguments. The question first presented was whether by the suspension of the Bishop, the episcopate was canonically vacant. Upon this Dr. Tyng spoke as foUows, after reciting the action of the Standing Com- mittee, in receiving his testimonials and issuing to him the required certificate : " The principle is as fundamental as the existence of our Church, that there can be no Church ' without a Bishop.' K the power of performing Episcopal functions is not in the hands of an individual, by reason of his being incapacitated from exercising it, it is in commission. That commission assumes aU the responsibilities and duties of the episcopal^, as if held by an individual. It is Episco- pal still, though the functions may be fulfilled by a commission. We cannot have two bishops. There can be no episcopizing in an- other man's diocese. If one is overseer, the other is not. When one Bishop comes in, is there no power to say who has the power in the diocese, an individual or a committee acting in his place ? When I heard read yesterday the document ema- nating from the Et. Eev. Bishop of New Jersey (Bishop Doane), I supposed it to luaintain doctrines as clear as the sunbeam, and to state the question beyond the power of contradiction . If one side of the scale is down, the other must be up. If the stand now taken by the Standing Committee, that there is no vacancy in the bishop- ric, be correct, I feel compelled to say, with the independence of a minister of this diocese, and the independence of a citizen, that I have been deluded in their representations to me, as to the proper ecclesiastical authority. So far as I am concerned, the Standing Committee has given me a certificate that the diocese is vacant, and I consider it my first duty to see that vacancy fiUed. " Though I am but a babe of yesterday in the diocese, as it were, I have the right of a member of it, and in questions of future facts I am deeply concerned. I do not want to enter in- to the meaning of the sentence imposed upon the late Bishop of this diocese. Whether the sentence of suspension for an in- definite period is equivalent to actual deposition or not, is not now a matter for examination, but I will state that at the last General Convention, the House of Bishops sent to the House of I90 Rev, Stephen Higginson Tyng, D.D. Clerical and Lay Delegates, a Canon under the provisions of which a sentence of indefinite suspension voided jurisdiction. " When the House of Bishops prepared and sent down this Canon, they were called on soon after to enter into a practical explanation of the meaning of it, and their first act was to pass that very sentence of indefinite suspension which vacated jurisdic- tion. I challenge denial upon this point, and I challenge denial that they have brought that principle into action in this very case. And when that sentence comes before this house I am prepared to give it the same interpretation. I have the testimony of the Standing Committee that the diocese is vacant. I have the testimony of the action of the House of Bishops that the intention of the sentence of indefinite suspension was to declare the diocese vacant. And how- ever gentlemen may in secret whispers confer upon these facts, and however they may determine that a certain proposition shall not prevail — " Here a call to order interrupted him, and he continued: " I submit vrith the utmost deference, and if the chair will with equal promptness correct the whispering and concerting around me, he will not be compelled to speak of that which he does not know. I had no intention to impute any motives to the gentlemen who surround me, but most deliberately do. I submit. I was about to_say, that with these two things before me, I can come to no other conclusion than that this diocese is entirely and absolutely vacant, and that the convention is at perfect liberty, if it so choose, at this moment to elect my brother who now looks me in the face, for its diocesan — " Here again being interrupted, amid much excitement, he waived the privilege of saying anything more, but being called on to pro- ceed, continued: " I had but little more to say, sir, and it was hardly worth while to interrupt me. I am sorry that I should be the instrument of creating disturbance here or elsewhere. No man, sir, is more deeply impressed with the solemnity of this occasion than myself, and if there be any man present who has more fervently raised his soul to God; who has more earnestly sought strength and grace at his bedside for this occasion, I am glad of it. " I have not uttered a word calculated or intended to call out any display of feeling, and if I am to be held responsible for the excitement which pervades this audience, I shall hold it to be a burthen which vdll keep me silent. " I have stated my reasons for believing that the diocese is vacant. Ministry, i8^^ to 184.']. 191 I hold that it is in the power of this convention to move that at twelve o'clock to-morrow it wiU proceed to elect a Bishop to fill that vacancy, and I hold that such an act would be sus- tained by a majority of the Standing Committee and the House of Bishops, and so sure am I of it, that I do not beheve any other remedy can be applied by the Standing Committee and the House of Bishops. " I am thankful, sir, for your admonitions, and thankful for the attention with which you have listened to my remarks, which I will now bring to a close." The supporters of the Bishop were very earnest in their deter- mination to obtain his restoration if possible, and endeavoring to commit the convention to their view, insisted upon the claim that there was no vacancy. There were those, however, who thought that the charges, even if true, were not of sufficient magnitude to require the Church to present him for trial; and others who held that the evidence had been insufficient to justify his conviction. When, however, the question had been adjudicated by the proper tribunal, both these classes united in holding that by the sentence the Bishop had been disqualified from ever re-assuming Episcopal functions. They would concur in an application to the General Convention for aid, but woiild at the same time express their opinion that the Bishop should never be restored. When, therefore, a resolution was offered requesting the Gen- eral Convention to enact the necessary Canons, an amendment was at once proposed, stating it as the judgment of the convention that no Canons should be enacted which would lead in any contingency to Bishop Onderdonk's restoration. The whole discussion at once turned upon this amendment, and in support of it Dr. Tyng spoke as follows, and, as it was said, " with almost matchless eloquence. " " No man," he said, " would approach the point under discus- sion without a deep feeling of responsibility for every word he might utter, if he had the heart of a man in him. Gladly, sir, would I have been silent from the beginning, and much more at this stage of the discussion, and could I retire from this church as a minister of the Church, and face with a clear conscience the congregation to whom I minister, you would not listen to a single word from my mouth. I am not accustomed to tremble when I see the face of man, and there are few cases which compel my nervous system to quiver. But now, sir, all within me trembles and is ready to sink, and while 192 Rev. Stephen Higginson Tyng, D.D. I ask myself whether it is not possible that I may do injustice to a fellow-being whom I must meet at the judgment-seat of Christ, I ask, on the other hand, whether I may not be in danger of sacrific- ing principles to personal sympathies? I have considered this question, sir, over and over again with the deepest soKcitude, to arrive at the truth. Sir, I have no prejudice on this subject. The individual whose name is mentioned in this amendment has to me been always courteous and kind, and has shown me personal respect, the remembrance of which is grateful to me, and it is known, sir, to you and others that I have separated from friends, with whom I had generally acted, in a course in which I thought they were manifestly in the wrong, to sustain and defend the action of the individual of whom I speak, and could I this day restore to him the confidence of this community, could I raise him up from the position in which he is placed, to preside with that amenity, dignity, courtesy and great preciseness exhibited by him on all occasions when I have met him, securing the universal respect of every assemblage, I dare not say, sir, what I would not sacrifice or imperil to attain such a result. But looking at the condition in which we are placed, it is impossible that any man who is conscious of his responsibility to God, can fail to meet this crisis irrespective of personal feelings and sympathies, and whether my reverend friend, who has just spoken, imagines that the majority will be against me or not, my own heart and conscience shall not be against me, and I will retiirn to my church and the community able to lift up a front that at least shall not be crimsoned in this connection with any reproach. The great question, sir, is the amendment, and I will not trouble you with minor questions. Full well do I know the temper, character and feelings, the habitual mind of the mem- bers of the General Convention, and I am prepared to throw this whole subject into their hands, and abide by their decision. I have no desire personally to instruct them on the subject, or make out a line of duty for them to pursue. If at any period in the history of the Church later than the records of inspiration speak of, God has guided the councils of the Church by His personal agency, it has been during the last session of that convention; their sittings have been watched over by that Spirit who has honored the Church by His presence, and to the calmness, and investigation, and dignity, and noble self-control of that body when it meets two years hence, I can safely leave this question. " Ought the person named in the amendment to be restored to the control of this diocese ? Can he be restored to that position ? Ministry, 18^5 to iS^y. 193 This is the simple question in this amendment. I mil discuss the last inquiry first. " Sir, character depends not upon acts of repentance consiun- mated by reformation. We may receive the penitent back again into our affections. We may open the doors of the father's house to the prodigal wandering child, and forget in the flowing out of our paternal affection and confidence that he has ever stepped aside from the paths of truth and duty. We may weep over this indi- vidual in the depths of his fall, and the time may come when on his contrition and reformation we may greet him with joy as one restored to . the fold of Christ, when we may receive him to our hearts and entirely restored affections, and weep with gushing joy over him, aa we repeat the blessed testimony, ' He was dead and is alive again, he was lost and is found.' " But repentance never restores, and cannot restore public confi- dence and reputation. As well might you attempt to gather the fragments of a crystal vase which you have hurled upon the granite block, and reunite them so that no seam or scar shall appear, as reinstate the fallen minister of God to a position in which he may again create around Mm a holy and blissful influence. You may load your table with resolutions to that effect, but you will not thereby touch a single feeling of a single heart, they will not turn the frown into a smile upon a single countenance that may meet him in the house of God, they will not bring back a single portion of that feeling of holy and reverent affection which has brought the flock of Christ to his feet to receive his holy benediction in the sacred rites of the Church. No, sir, it is not in the power of laws and Canons to accomplish this result, no declarations, however unani- mous or decided, can build up the breach, wide as the ocean-bed, which because of crime, believed crime, exists between public con- fidence and the individual named. " Oh, could I reach his private ear with the language of influence, could I put the arm of affection around his neck, could I address him with passionate solicitation and entreaty, having no other desire than to rescue him from the deep tide of contumely that has assailed him, I could not procure for him a greater favor than his calm and peaceful retirement from this scene of conflict. Generous and noble as his nature is, few men are so likely to be crushed, and tortured, and ground to powder beneath the withering sentence of public rebuke. But this is not within my power. In another similar instance I made the effort, and without success. I perilled everything for myself, without conferring any benefit upon him for 194 R^- Stephen Higginson Tyng, D.D. whom I labored. Nay, sir, I can say nothing, but breathe an earnest solicitation to heaven that some blessed influence may move his heart to make the sacrifice for the benefit, the resuscitation from death, of a body of which he has been for years considered an ornament, and in which, with sorrow and grief, we miss the shining of his influence and his counsel from among us. I say, again, sir, it is vain to seek to reproduce public confidence, or to let him return to any congregation. The influence would be the same in every place. Tou could not retain a congregation with- in the waUs of any place to meet him in these peculiar circum- stances. "But consider, sir, the influence of this restoration on the Church itself. This is the main point of the amendment, and it is so because aU the action of the committee Tuis tencbd to this, aU other propositions and amendments have been but the mountain rivulets running down into this last ocean, where they were aU to sink. The purport of this report of the ma- jority is restoration, and the restoration to office of the late di- ocesan, has been the polar star that has conducted the barque of the majority over the devious ways of this discussion. Can he minister with benefit to the Church ? That depends on the settle- ment of the former principle. Can men teach their children to look up to him with that deep feeling of reverence with which his office has ever been regarded in our families ? Can the members of the Church receive him into their domestic circles ? Nay, would it not be as a lay gentleman said the other day, ' his first visit would be the last ' ? I do not wish to excite anything but solemn, tender sympathy. There is no feeling iu my breast that would not make any sacrifice for the honor, benefit and comfort of this man. But when we look at the character of the Church, what is the effect? What is to be gained by the restoration of this gentleman to his office ? Sir, it is vain to hide from our eyes the influence of his reputation on the community and the Church. We are compara- tively a small body in the land, and have been gaining for years, with rapidity, moral and religious strength. Men have been accustomed to look up to our Bishops as lights, as guides, as they have moved through the community. What would at this day have been the influence of Bishops White, and Moore, and Griswold, and Bowen, had their names come down to us tainted vrith believed immorality, had they been convicted of impurity in their intercourse with their flocks ? Their character has been our capital. That they were such men as they were, has been the grand secret Ministry, 184^ to 18 ^y. igS of their influence and ours, the lives which God has given us to extend the borders of our Zion. " But, sir, I have been sorry to hear in the course of the pre- ceding remarks an attempt to bring in one venerable and great man as an aegis to cover up a case hke this. Sir, I heard a rever- end brother call upon those who were venerators of Hobart, to support in this case that holy man's views, contending at the same time that the report touched only principle. I do not feel called upon to define my position. Those who desire it will know my principles in due time. Perhaps I should not be allowed to come under such a designation. But who that admires genius the most exalted, integrity the most unbounded, candor and frankness the most open and child-like, is not a venerator of Hobart ? I do not and did not agree with many of his principles. But I have partaken of hia hospitality. I have been entertained beneath his roof, and have well knovm the generous candor with which he allowed men honestly to differ with him. And, sir, his name is not to be used to cover up anything that is partial in the Church to which we belong. All that was partial in him is gone; they were but the spots on the sun's disk as it rolled across the heavens; when that sun is set the spots are remembered no more, and men are glad to reflect that they have seen the light; and shall that name be brought down to cover up cases like this ? Go, sir, to that magnificent temple where in solemn marmorean pomp his effigies repose with uplifted eye, indicative of confidence and hope, and call him there to throw the shield of his spotless name over the guilt of his successor. Sir, the very marble seems to live, the brow contracts with a solemn frown, the eyes turn round in holy indignation, the lips open to utter a denunciation of the man who would employ his character to clothe and cover up such corruptions as have befallen the Church he loved. " Go, sir, to the public corners of your streets; would the com- munity tolerate ' Hdbartism outdone,' placarded upon the walls, as the title of books unholy and corrupt? "Would they suffer pictures to be displayed and circulated of Satan slapping him on the back in scenes of ministerial dishonor, with the superscription, ' This is the Bishop for us.' No, sir; no, sir; there is a public feeling in this com- munity which would tread such a reproach indignantly beneath their feet. And men would not submit to such an outrage on his incorruptible character and integrity. Bring not that stainless name to be the segis of believed, if not convicted and determined, crime. If this gentleman is to be restored to ofSce, what is to be 1.96 Rev. Stephen Higginson Tyng, D.D. the effect of the confidence of the people in the ministry ? Sir, a feeling on this subject glows in my heart's blood and beats in every pulse. Take away public confidence in our characters, destroy that freedom of affection with which we may mingle in the scene of domestic retirement, and you destroy that which is the great instrument of our usefulness among men. We are commanded to abstain from tho very appearance of evil, and can we ask confidence in the character of miaisters, the majority of whom are prepared to say that they do not believe these facts an absolute disqualification for the piibUc ministry. Wo shall perish before the breath of such a furnace like flax, nor can we, nor, sir, ought we, to be sustained by chose whose nicer sensibilities we have thus driven over and out- raged. " What would be the influence of this restoration on our rising clergy ? We flnd it already difficult to gain for youthful ministers of the cross the character and position which they require. And are we to cripple the feebleness of the fledgling who tries to soar, instead of bearing him on our wings in his upward flight of truth and usefulness ? Are we to send him out contaminated ? Is he to go out on a message in reference to which apostles tremble, poor, alone, youthful, feeble, away from parental control and paternal support, and at the same time are we to set a mark upon him that he is one of a stock to which it is considered no reproach to be convicted of absolute immorality ? " Again, sir, we are compelled to ask what will be the effect of this restoration on the favor and blessing of Grod ? Can the Church sustain the burden of accredited and assumed corruption ? "Can we uphold our office in the midst of the community around ? Can we maintaia our influence, when at the outset we take the authority of God's commandment and trample it under our feet ? Vain mdeed are aU our ordinances, unless the Spirit breathe His holy influence through them, but wiU that Spirit breathe life into our ordinances, can we ask Him so to do, when we disre- gard His authority and the principles which He has established, by permitting among us an accredited or assumed iniquity ? " Less than this, sir, I could not say, and do justice to my own soul. More than this I do not desire or think it necessary to say. If my brethren do sanction a course of action looking to this restoration to office, I csfti do nothing but personally protest against it. I shall be no rebel in the Church. If ho is restored, he be- comes my diocesan, and I must submit myself cheerfully to his authority or leave the field he oversees. Ministry, i8^£ to i8^y. igj "I ■will never be the instrument of rebellion in tlie Churcli. But can the members of this convention say in the language of the solemn testimonial, ' they appeal to Almighty God that he is not justly liable to evil report either for error in religion or for vicious- ness in life,' that they do in their consciences believe him to be of such sufficiency in learning, such soundness in faith, and of such virtuous and pure manners, and godly conversation that he shall minister in the office to the edification of the Church, and the glory of God ? I cannot say it, I do not believe it. Are they prepared to take this stand ? When they take a course that leads to this, I can only say that if they wLU do it, I trust so far as the church which is placed under my pastoral care is concerned, they will second and sustain me m a solemn stand and protest against it. " However the question may be settled, I must adhere to the Church, in the bosom of which 1 was bom, and shall die. " By one venerable Bishop, long since gone to his rest, was 1 received by baptism into the flock of Christ, by another, who has followed him to glory, was 1 trained and sent forth to the ministry. Many years have passed, and I must transmit to my children the privilege which from many generations of my ancestors 1 received. They will never be compelled to blush with shame that their father, through perverseness or fear, allowed himself to conceal, or justify, or protect crime and immorality in the sacred ministry of the Church in which he lived and died." The debate was continued for some time, and at its close a vote was taken by orders. When the significance of the question is considered, it seems remarkable that only forty of the clergy voted for the amendment, while seventy-six opposed it, the vote of the laity being equally divided. The amendment was thus lost, but the influence of the discussion was far-reaching in its results, the whole question being finally postponed for another year. Despite every effort on the part of the Bishop's supporters, his restoration could never be accomplished, however, though for many years, and even until his death, it was the cause of constant agita- tion in the diocese. Notwithstanding the decided stand which Dr. Tyng held upon this question, it was in the utmost sympathy with the Bishop, who in after years, it is worthy of note, was a frequent attendant upon the services in St. George's Church. During the autumn of 1845, the project of a chapel in the upper part of the city was the subject of constant consideration by Dr. Tyng and the vestry of St. George's. 1 98 Rev. Stephen Higginson Tyng, D.D. No definite action was taken, lioweTer, until March, 1846, though an offer had been in the meantime received from Mr. Peter G. Stuy- vesant, proposing to sell certain lots on Stuy vesant Square for the sum of twenty thousand dollars. No reply had been made to the memorial presented to the corporation of Trinity Church, and hence the enterprise must be undertaken by St. George's, on its own re- sources and by its own efforts alone. At a meeting on the 7th of March, the vestry adopted a resolution declaring it to be " incum- bent on this corporation to erect a chapel in the upper part of the city, to be under the charge of the rector of this church and in connection therewith," and the undertaking was at once proceeded with, a committee consisting of Dr. John Stearns and Mr. Wm. Whit- lock, Jr., the wardens, and Mr. Frederick S. Winston, of the ves- trymen, being appointed to select a suitable site for the proposed chapel. Of the various plots of ground submitted, the lots on the south- east corner of Fourteenth Street and Irving Place, where the Academy of Music was afterwards built, and those at the northwest corner of Seventeenth Street and Fourth Avenue, where the Everett House now stands, were most favorably considered, and an offer of thirty thousand dollars was ordered to be made for the land on Fourteenth Street. This property, however, was found to be unavailable, and at the next meeting of the vestry, it was reported that Mr. Stuyvesant had made the gratuitous offer of ground on Stuyvesant Square on which to erect the proposed church, with the choice of the present site of the church, or of the lots at the northwest corner of Seventeenth Street and Second Avenue. The property on Sixteenth Street was selected, and in accepting the gift the resolution was adopted: "That the vestry present their grateful acknowledgments for Mr. Stuyvesant's munificent gift to this corporation, with the assur- ance of their determination to commence immediately the erection of a church building of a style of architecture and of an extent of accommodation, for those who desire a place of worship in that vicin- ity, such as shall prove a permanent and appropriate record of his liberality, and a great and lasting blessing to our Church." On this question of the selection of a suitable location for the church. Dr. Tyng expressed his views most decidedly, and in a re- markable prediction of that which after years fuUy realized: "This property," he says, referring to the lots oh Seventeenth Street and Foxirth Avenue, "was then an old and neglected garden. Ministry, 184$ to 184'/. 199 An abundant lot for the new church was here offered to the cor- poration of St. George's Church for thirty thousand dollars. The choice and purchase of this lot was earnestly pressed by me, but in the circumstances in which we were, other influences prevailed, and my effort was without success. "At the next meeting of the vestry, a new intelligence was brought for their consideration. The committee reported that Peter Gr. Stuyvesant, Esq., had made to them the gratuitous offer of ground on which to erect the proposed church and rectory on Rutherford Place and Stuyvesant Square, and they earnestly recom- mended the acceptance of this generous offer. In expressing my views upon this subject at that time, I simply aflirmed that, in my opinion, the ground offered by Mr. Stuyvesant, though a noble gift from him, would be found, as the result of its location, com- pared with the one on Fourth Avenue, by far the most costly of the two. It would not grow old or become unsatisfactory with time. The other, I was sure, would not be found so valuable or desirable in its relation to the population which would be gathered there in the future. " This would be the result of the experience of the church. I objected to the ground on Fourteenth Street, as being evidently upon a future thoroughfare for active business, for which imagina-. tion I was ridiculed by some who doubted any such future growth of the city. "The ground on Seventeenth Street, I earnestlj' selected, as facing that beautiful Square, and in its relation manifestly secure as well as attractive. As I look at it now facing south on Union Square, with all its connections, I can never lose the impression of its admirable adaptation to our purpose and prosperity, but I was overruled by gentlemen of business habits and long experience around me. At that time, the whole surrounding region was unoc- cupied by buildings or habitations between Broadway and the East Eiver. It was not that I undervalued Mr. Stuyvesant's gift, but that the moving population on which we must depend was not ad- vancing, or likely to grow, in that direction. My judgment did not prevail, and the resolution was passed." The property received from Mr. Stuyvesant, was in dimension, one hundred and seventy-five feet on Sixteenth Street and one hun- dred and four feet on Rutherford Place, but a lot fifteen by one hundred and four was afterwards added to this gift, and lots ad- joining, ninety by ninety-two feet, acquired by purchase from him. When the deed of this property had been received, the same 200 Rev. Stephen Higginson Tyng, D.D. gentlemen who had been before deputed to select a location, were again designated a committee to procure plans and superintend the erection of the church, and they diligently supervised the whole work until its completion. Among the plans presented, were designs from ieading archi- tects in New York and Philadelphia, but preference was unqual- ifiedly given to those submitted by Mr. Leopold Eidlitz and Mr. Charles Blesch, his partner, and their plans were unanimously adopted. Mr. Eidlitz was then a very young man, who had but re- cently arrived in this country, this being his first work of such a character, but from that time, no other architect was ever employed in the construction of any buUding erected by St. George's corpo- ration. On Tuesday afternoon the 23d of June, 1846, the corner-stone was laid by the Eight Eev. WiUiam Meade, Bishop of the Diocese of Virginia, Bishops Mcllvaine, of Ohio, Alfred Lee, of Delaware, Carlton Chase, of New Hampshire, and Alonzo Potter, of Pennsyl- vania, assisting; a large number of the clergy of New York and other dioceses being also present. An address was delivered by Dr. Tyng to the very large audi- ence assembled on this interesting occasion, but no report of it has been preserved. Thus the important work was at last formally initialed and the new St. George's Church, so prospered and so powerful in all its influence and efforts, was placed in course of erection. As the corner-stone was the symbol of the foundation of its material building, so the articles it contained demand special atten- tion, as ^he significant testimony of that of its spiritual buUding, which alone could give the church its energy and life. Beside the names of members of the corporation, the architects and builders, they comprised: 2d. The Holy Scriptures. — In token that the Bible, and the Bible alone, contained the system of religion in acceptance of which the Church was built. 3d. The Book of Common Prayer. — In token of the adoption and the design to cherish and perpetuate the truly scriptural liturgy there contained, 4th. The Journals and Canons of the General Convention and of the Diocese of New York. — In token of adherence to the discipline and government which in the great principles of its system have been transmitted in the Protestant Episcopal Church. 5th. The last sermon of the Bev. Dr. Mdnor, and the address and Ministry, 1845 to iS^y. 201 sermon delivered at Ms funeral.* — lu token that the topic of his sermon " The duty of a charitable judgment of the opinions of others," and all the priaciplea and characteristics of his ministry were to testify the fraternal relation -which St. George's Church should hold to all who loved the Lord Jesus Christ in sincerity. 6th. Copies of the published works of the present rector of St. George's Church. — ^In token that the continual preaching of a crucified Saviour as the one and only way of salvation, was to be the theme and the mission to which the church should be bound. 7th. Copies of the last religious papers. — To certify to a future generation the events and the questions amid which the principles of the Church were thus firmly enshrined. Such were the foundations upon which the new St. George's Church was to be firmly established and on which it was to endure. Immediately upon the beginning of the new church, the gather- ing of a congregation became the subject of consideration, and in the anticipation of the increased labor which would be necessarily involved to Dr. Tyng ia this, his son Dudley was elected his assistant. He had then just been graduated from Jie Alexandria Seminary, and ordained by Bishop Meade, in Christ Church, Alexandria, on the 9th of July, 1846. Referring to this action by the vestry and to his ministry during the faU and winter of 1846-1847, Dr. Tyng says, in his Record: " Another step in the line of kindness to me was the appoint- ment of my dear son, Dudley, as my assistant in this new field of labor. With this, was also another appointment for my opening work. One of the Presbyterian Churches from the lower part of the city had been removed in this passing year to Astor Place. This edifice stUl remains there and has been occupied for many different purposes since. " Early in the winter of 1846, this edifice was engaged by the vestry of St. George's for a regular Sunday night service, and as an addition to my two engagements for the day in Beekman Street, I assumed the duties of this third appointment. The location was then quite in the upper precincts of the city. "Here a crowded audience met me on every Sabbath even- ing. They habitually filled all the aisles and the pulpit steps. There was the constant manifestation of deep interest ia the ser- vice, and a grateful acceptance of the truth which they hoard. The * See Appendix I. 202 Rev. Stephen Higginson Tyng, D.D. Lord was in this place. Many conversions of precious souls were there; several of them among the highest and most instructed class, and men of talent and power were there converted to the Lord by the power of the Spirit. " This regular service was maintained through the whole winter of 1846-1847, and its precious fruits were among those who after- ward made up a portion of the large and effective congregation of the new St. George's, so well known and so effective for the glory of God. These three services made a laborious work for Sunday, but I was in the fulness of my personal strength, encouraged by enlarging prosperity in the station and tho work prepared for me, and by the divine gift of power and patience, for all the demands thus made upon me. It was a season of gracious results. I could relate many instances of the exercise of divine power in the calling of some of the most valuable minds to the work of the Lord. " On one Sunday evening, amidst a crowd of others, a very dis- tinguished man was seated on the upper step of the stairs to the pulpit looking intently upon me. Within a few weeks I became acquainted with him by his own solicitation. He was a man of commanding aspect, and a well known judge of the Supreme Court. He became to me a devoted friend, and to the Saviour a faithful and effective servant. His whole family, with three most useful young men, his sons, united with him in an earnest Christian stand of life with great influence. To call to mind many such practical illustrations of the work of the Lord among us would be a pleasure. But I must confine myself to more general views. "In the spring of 1847, the vestry obtained the use of the chapel of the University on Washington Square, for our Sunday morning worship, and we were thus completely furnished for the gathering congregation, in anticipation of the new and large edifice which we had undertaken for a permanent home." The services of the church in Beekman Street were not inter- rupted in this time. The exhausting labors of these Sunday ser- vices, added to his pastoral work in connection with the two con- gregations and the unremitting anxiety and care which the building of the new church imposed; proved to be more than Dr. Tyng's strength was adequate to sustain, and in the spring of 1847 he was completely prostrated by this accumulation of toU, and compelled to seek a period of rest. It was suggested that a European voyage would be most beneficial to him; generous provision being made Ministry, 1845 to iS^y. 203 by the vestry, not only for his absence but for all its attending ex- pense, -while the senior warden of the church, his faithful friend Mr. Whitlock, tendered him a passage in one of his packet-ships to Havre. Gladly accepting this invitation, he sailed from New York in the ship " Argo," on the 16th of AprU, seeking by this means the health which was necessary for the arduous labor waiting him on his return. CHAPTER III. VISIT TO EUROPE, 1847. MINISTRY, 1847 to 1853. On all his successive visits to Europe, it was Dr. Tyng's invaria- ble habit to keep a journal for the entertainment and instruction of his children, for whose gratification he was ever seeking. The arrival of this weekly packet was looked for with eager expectation, and its pages read and reread with unceasing pleasure. The de- scriptions of the various places which he visited, novel as they then were, have since become too familiar, however, to be of interest now, and it is therefore needless to make other quotations than of such passages as reflect some habit of his life or thought. From Havre, where he arrived on the 6th of May, his journey was taken to Paris, and a fortnight spent there is thus summed up : "I have lost no time in this place, so far as the seeing of it is concerned. I have been in every section of the city, and have be- come acquainted with the most of its main objects of observation. I leave it without regret. I hope the time I have spent in it will not be lost to me. But other days and other scenes must determine this, everything is lost which is not improvement for the future. God be praised with heart and voice that He has not fixed my home in a land like this." Embarking at Marseilles, he stopped at various points on the coast of Italy, and on the 29th of May landed at Civita Vecchia, to proceed by diligence to Kome, whence he writes: " Sunday, May 30th. My first day in Rome. How many thoughts of faithful men departed, of that great master builder in the house of God who dwelt two whole years in his own hired house, came into my mind. I could hardly realize that I was in the same place. - O that I could imbibe something of their spirit, who in former days witnessed for Christ in this corrupt place. I went out this morning to the little English Chapel, in the upper part of c building outside of the gate, the only place which is allowed them in this citadel of Satan. Here some fifty persons were assembled. 204 Visit to Europe. 2o5 In the plainest possible way, with no music, was the service per- formed. The sermon was sound in its doctrine, and I was gratified to bo there, though the scene and all its circumstances were most humiliating to the mind. But this is the only Protestant worship in the neighborhood of Eome. The permission for this was ob- tained only after years of solicitation. This is the toleration of Rome. The residue of the day I have passed in my room. I can- not go to Romish Churches for curiosity on the Sabbath day. I must defer these, even my visit to St. Peter's, to another day. I cannot profess to delight in the religion of the place." Of St. Peter's, he says: " Monday, May 31st. The magnificence of its appearance, its wonderful dome, its vast extent, certainly do not disappoint my expectations. They cannot be described. They could hardly be exceeded by man. Its profusion of ornament be- wilders the mind. I roved through the whole, entered every chapel, stood before every mosaic and statue, and what shall I say ? In grandeur, elegance, grace, finish, display, this building stands alone probably on the earth. But it produces no solemn impres- sion. It looks too new, has too much show, seems all of the pres- ent age, brings one into no connection with the past. Its Grecian and Roman architecture does not admit of the influence of serious impression. And after all the unrivalled glory of this temple, it reminds me more of ' Diana of the Ephesians, and the image which fell down from Jupiter,' than of Him who had not where to lay His head. A stroll through York Minster or Westminster Abbey, pro- duces an impression which St. Peter's has no power to make. " It requires months to see Rome to advantage. Yet I have obtained in this hurried visit just the general view which I desired, and I have neither time nor wish to prolonj^ my stay. I am not an artist, and profess not to be even a connoisseur in the arts. I gain at a glance the view I wish. Every aspect of this city to the mere imagination and interest becomes enchanting. Men with no other views than present gratification may weh select it." " Thursday, June 3rd. This is one of the great days of Eome, Corpus Christi, or a festival in honor of the peculiar idolatry of this establishment. It is perhaps the greatest and the peculiar ceremony of Rome. I suppose from all that I have been able to learn, it was celebrated with unusual attempt at display. It was the first of a most popular Pope. The military were dressed with new uni- forms. The Pope himself in a new dress, of course. This sacra- ment has been the great Juggernaut of Rome. Thousands have been put to death for its sake, who would not and could not ao- 2o6 Rev. Stephen Higginson Tyng, D.D. knowledge this piece of bread to be an infinite God to be wor- shipped by man. Its impression therefore was horror upon my mind. And as I looked upon the multitude of monks following in procession, I could not but be convinced from the whole appear- ance, that there wants but the permission and the opportunity and they are ready for the very same work of death again. My visit to Rome has disgusted me far more with all the superstitions of this manifested Anti-Christ, than I have ever been before. " Ho, as God, sitteth in the temple of God, shewing himself that he is God." In the weekly paper of Saturday, he is called ' That Great Being, to whom as a guiding star the interests of Catholic Christendom have been com- mitted.' What beyond this can be said of the Glorious Redeemer Himself? I was glad when the hour came to leave this place." After leaving Rome, a visit was made to Naples, Florence, Nice and Milan; when writing of the Church of St. Ambrose, he says: " Our next visit was to the Church of St. Ambrose, where the remains of this great and good man repose. It is perhaps the old- est Church in Europe, built wholly upon the ancient model, with a court in front for the catechumens, and though the most of it was rebuilt in the ninth century, the earliest column and style were still preserved. The doors of bronze which Ambrose shut against the Emperor Theodosius, when he returned from the massacre of Thes- salonica are there, and the undoubted tomb of Ambrose. The lat- ter is covered with a golden case, set with precious stones of amaz- ing value and beauty. I cared but little for the gold or jewels. But I could not repress deeply solemn thoughts at the tomb of a man like him; nor avoid breathing a secret prayer for grace to be as faithful and devoted in duty in my appointed place. " In an ancient Church like this, there are many thoughts most interesting to a Christian scholar. We cannot but mourn over the superstitions even of the age of Ambrose. But there was a zeal and devotedness to Christ of inestimable worth and beyond all praise. From here we went to the great Cathedral of Milan, which has now been five hundred years in building and is not yet com- pleted. I was perfectly entranced with the magnificence of the edifice. The front, however, is very defective; it wants majesty and unity. And you feel immediately a peculiar disappointment in looking at it, after examining the interior." On the 22nd of June, Dr. Tyng left Milan for Geneva, but on arrival there his travelling companion (Mr. Willis) became ill, and it seemed necessary to hasten to Paris. " But, " he writes, " I am saddened to find there is no possi- Visit to Europe. 207 ble method to avoid travelling on the Sabbath. I have had much consideration and thought upon the subject before I could consent. But after trying every way to avoid it, I came to the con- clusion in my present circumstances it was a matter of duty, and therefore agreed to go. We have taken the whole coupe of the diligence for Paris to-morrow, and I hope by fiUing it well with pillows to get my friend comfortably there." " Paris, June 28th. After three days' hard journeying, we ar- rived here this evening, glad indeed to be back again and safely through the work. Here Mr. W. finds his brother and his family, and I feel released from my responsibilities." Two pleasant days were passed with friends whom he met in Paris, and as his passage home had been taken in the steamer ""Washington," which was not to sail until the 10th of July, he de- termined to pass the intervening time in England. " Worried with all the oppressions and extortions and gloom of Continental Europe," he says, " I gladly left its shores. I joy- fully found the steamer in motion for England. I had done with passports, extortion and popery. Never was I such o Prot- estant or such a republican before. I was the very first to spring upon English ground. Here no passports and no inso- lence. My trunk was treated with respect, and I was soon seated in the train for London. O how beautiful did this country look after having come through the desolation of Italy and Prance. I seemed to be among another race of beings, so cleanly, so re- spectable, so intelligent appeared aU who were with me and about me. I came to London about four o'clock. Here I was soon settled. " On arrival in London, however, he learned with great surprise that his letters, Eecollections of England, which he had written for the I}piscqpal Becorder in 1842, had been lately republished in England. " I refused permission for this some years ago," he writes, " and yet to my extreme mortification I find it done. There is such an ex^ posure of private families and concerns as must make me appear very ill-bred to others; I have no means of relief. I shall write letters of apology to my friends and insist upon withdrawing from circulation the books which are unsold. But I shall have great difficulty in satisfying others. Indeed, the mortification is CO great to me that it has made me sick. " Thursday, July 6th. I left London vnth different feelings from those with which I entered it. This unfortunate book has marred 2o8 Rev. Stephen Higghison Tyng, D.D. all my peace, and I was glad to get away from all who Lad ever seen me or known me here. I made the remainder of the day a rest at Southampton." To any readers of the letters thus referred to, it will seem strange that their pubUcation should have caused him such regret as he expresses, and that he should have been so pained must be ac- cepted as evidence of the extreme sensibility and delicacy of his feel- ing. They contain few passages which could be construed in other than the highest approbation and praise of those with whom he was brought into any relations or upon whose words any comment was made. The few days which remained before the day of sailing were occupied in visits to Winchester, Salisbury and the Isle of Wight, and on the 10th of July he went on board the steamer anticpat- ing a quick passage home, Here, however, he was to suffer a great disappointment. Soon after the pilot was discharged, it was dis- covered that the coal purchased in Southampton had so injured the bars of the furnaces that it was impracticable for the steamer to proceed. A return to Southampton was necessary, and an in- evitable delay until the damage could be repaired and the coal re- placed. " How many days all this would require," he says, " it was im- possible to say. I have meditated much whether I should remain with the vessel, and after the utmost consideration, it appears to me to be in my line of duty, in which I can hope and ask for the divine protection. I therefore shall remain where I am and commit my- self to Him who is able to protect and keep me. I am deeply un- worthy of any of His mercies, and feel myself to be more and more so. That He has thus far defended me is only to be ascribed to His distin- guishing forbearance and tender mercies. How great His goodness and grace have been to me it is impossible for me to declare. May I so live as to show forth His glory." The repairs having been completed, the steamer sailed on the 16th and arrived at New York on the 30th of July, and the journal closes with the following ascription of thankfulness and praise. "To me the passage has been particularly tedious. Never could I have welcomed home with all its cares and labors as I now shall. Thus God has graciously preserved and guarded me in safety to a better home, eternal in the heavens. Praised be my gracious God, who has thus far brought "me through many dangers and a long journey to my own happy home in peace." During Dr. Tyng's absence in Europe the vestry had rented Ministry, i8^y to iS^j. 209 for his use a house in Sixteenth Street, near the church, to which he removed soon after his return. He was thus located more con- veniently for his constantly increasing work. Notwithstanding this vacation of its rectory, there was no intention of any interruption or change in the services of the old church. On the contrary, an effort was made to provide for their permanence, by the settlement of an assistant rector, the Eev. Thomas M. Clark being elected. When, however, he declined the invitation extended to him, further action in this matter was postponed. Meantime, the Eev. Dudley A. Tyng having been called to Columbus, Ohio, the services in the chapel of the Universitj- and the church in Beekman Street were conducted by Dr. Tyng and his temporary assistant, the Eev. Thomas Y. Eooker. The work on the new church was now far progressed, and rapidly approaching completion. From its first inception nothing had been proposed in opposition to the original plan, a church in connection with St. George's Church, under the charge of its rector and vestry, and bearing the title " St. George's Church, Stuyvesant Square." When the purchase of land was at first proposed, two members of the vestry had protested that the plans adopted would involve too great expenditure, and be a departure from the original plan of building a free chapel. They had, how- ever, coincided in the measures subsequently taken, or had not openly opposed them, but now, eighteen months after the work had been undertaken and successfully continued, a proposition was made subversive of the whole scheme. This in its terms pro- vided that upon completion the new church should be sold to a new corporation, and thus ahenated entirely from St. George's Church. It met no approval from a majority of the vestry, nor did it cause any change in their plans, but it introduced an element which was calculated to impede their work, and which in the pre- vailing circumstances was of great moment. It was important that a definite settlement of the question should be made, and that the relation in which the new church should stand should be clearly established. Dr. Tyng had ex- pressed his views freely upon the subject, and a majority of the vestry were in perfect accord with him, but in order that the ques- tion might be presented to the congregation, he embodied in a series of resolutions the changes which in his view should be made from the original plan. These resolutions, submitted to the vestry on the 9th of March, 1848, and by his request retained for future consideration, stated: 2IO Rev. Stephen Higginson Tyng, D.D. " That it is the intention of this vestry that the church edifice which they are now erecting on Stuyvesant Square, and which was originally proposed as a free chapel in connection with St. George's Church, should be considered and used after its completion for public worship, as the Parish Church of the parish of St. George's Church, in the city of New York, and shall be known by the title of St. George's Church, New York. " That it is the intention of this vestry that the church edifice in Beekman Street, heretofore known as the parish church of St. George's Church, in the city of New York, shall be maintained as a chapel in connection with St. George's Church, under the sole and entire control of the rector, church-wardens and vestrymen of St. George's Church, to be known by the title of 8t. George's Chajad, the seats of which shall at some suitable time hereafter be made free from all ground rent charge to be paid to St. George's Church. " That it is not the wish or intention of this vestry, under any circumstances, hereafter to sell or alienate the said chapel and grounds on which it stands on Beekman Street, but for the purpose of purchasing or building another chapel in some more convenient location in the lower part of the city of New York, if hereafter such a course shall be considered most expedient for the interests of the congregation which shall assemble in said chapel, and best calcu- lated to promote the religious and temporal welfare of the parish. " That it is the purpose of this vestry to elect a permanent assist- ant minister of St. George's Church, at some suitable period here- after, whose services, duties and responsibilities in connection with the worship and pastoral duties of the whole parish, including the church and the chapel, shall be regulated by the directions of the rector, wardens and vestry of St. George's Church." The alleged ground of all opposition was affection for the old church, and the desire that it should not be destroyed, but these resolutions clearly state that there was no such intention. " That they were not completely carried out in the end," says Dr. Tyng, in a pamphlet to be hereafter referred to, " arose from no change of purpose or desire on the part of the vestry of St. George's Church, but from the extremely oppressive course which ' Trinity Church pursued toward St. George's in the subsequent settlement of their questions of property. But, arrested as they were in their full accomplishment, these resolutions still show that it was not the desire of the corporation of St. George's Church to destroy, or sell, or raze to the ground St. George's Chapel in Beekman Street, as affirmed. Ministry, i8^j to iS^j. 211 " They manifest that it was their unchangiBg desire and inten- tion to preserve it, and to maintain it as a free church as long as it should seem suitable or desirable for that purpose in the circum- stances of its location. " The corporation of St. George's had no power to sell that building, if they had desired to do it. The deed by which they received it from Trinity Church, in 1812, required it to be used ' for the purpose of divine service, according to the rites and cere- monies of the Protestant Episcopal Church in the State of New York, as long as it should continue and endure.' In case this con- dition should be violated, the property was forfeited to Trinity Church, from whom it was received. Trinity Church thus held a firm grasp of legal authority and right over that building. There could have been no title given to it without her consent. If the building was ever sold, therefore, it must be with the active con- currence of Trinity Church, and could not have been without it." As the fad;s in connection with the disposition of the church in Beekman Street by St. George's belong to a later period, further reference to it is unnecessary here, but another difficulty which arose in the affairs of the church at this time is mentioned as follows by Dr. Tyng, in the same pamphlet : " In the deeds of all the property which St. George's originally received from Trinity there was a restrictive clause, which pre- vented any advantageous sale of this property by St. George's. When the corporation of St. George's undertook the erection of their new church, in 1846, their reliance for the means of its com- pletion was on the sale of this corporate property held by them. They confided in the original covenant of friendly co-operation under which they were peacefully separated from Trinity, in the hope that no obstacle to their work would be interposed by the corporation of Trinity Church. "Accordingly they addressed their application to Trinity Church, to grant them a clear title to all their property, and offer- ing to transfer the same restriction to the new property which they had acquired on Stuyvesant Square. Of the memorial which they thus addressed to Trinity Church, no notice was taken. The cor- poration of Trinity Church knew to what an embarrassing extent St. George's had gone in the erection of their new church. They saw them struggling with a noble energy to erect one of the most substantial and desirable houses for worship in the city of New York, and yet they turned a deaf ear to their petition, endeavoring to force them to a ruinous sale of their property, burdened with 212 Rev. Stephen Higginson Tyng, D.D. its restrictions, or to compel them to sacrifice the unfinished edifice which they were endeavoring to complete. It is sickening to read the record of this cruel action on the part of Trinity. The corpo- ration of St. George's nobly persevered. One individual of their body raised and secured the whole amount of funds by which their edifice was built and paid for, while Trinity Church stood by in silent neglect, and would not even reply to or notice theii' applica- tions." When difficulties were thus threatening, St. George's met with a grievous loss in the death of Dr. John Stearns, its honored and valued senior warden. Those who, like him, were so truly the " Fathers of St. George's," claim a record on the pages of its his- tory, and though it would be impossible to commemorate them as fully as desired, the minutes of the vestry furnish a brief memorial of each, as they were called from their labors in the Church on earth. In his long ministry in St. George's it was the painful privilege of Dr. Tyng to attend many of them in their closing hours, and prepare the short minute with which the records of the vestry perpetuate the remembrance of their services, until at the close of his rectorship he remained the only represent- ative of those who had so unitedly labored in the erection of the new church. Upon the death of Dr. Stearns the vestry inscribed upon its minutes the following record : " It having pleased a wise Providence to remove by death John Stearns, M. D., a venerable and distinguished physician of this city, and for many years the Senior Warden of this parish, " Besolved: That in the purity of life, elevation of character, fidelity to duty, fervent charity exhibited during a long professional and religious life, by our late associate and friend, this vestry recog- nizes the power and influence of that religion he professed and loved. "Besolved: That while we mourn the loss of a zealous and devoted associate, who for many years has taken a deep interest in all the temporal and spiritual concerns of this parish, and that the Church at large has also lost in him a man of enlarged benevolence and Catholic spirit, yet we are comforted with the hope that our loss is his great gain, and that his bright and consistent Christian example will animate us to do with all diligence the duties entrusted to us, that we may be enabled with like precious faith and joyful hope to look forward to that rest which remaineth for the people of God." Ministry, 18^'j to 1853. 2 \ 3 On a Sunday succeeding, in a memorial sermon upon the text: Colossians iv. 14, " Luke, the beloved physician," Dr. Tyng paid a just tribute to the exemplary life, of which so large a part had been devoted to the service of St. George's Church. The annual election of wardens and vestrymen at Easter, 1848, was awaited with not a little anxiety. Three influential members of the vestry were arrayed in opposition to the work now so nearly completed. To what extent they might be supported by members of the congregation could not well be known. The treasurer of the corporation, Mr. William Whitlock, Jr., had personally advanced the sum of one himdred and thirty thousand dollars, as it had been required to make the necessary payments, and much concern was felt lest a change in the corporation should involve him in loss, through his liberal action. It was a crisis in the history of St. George's Church. In order that there should be no misunderstanding of the case, and no objection to any subsequent action. Dr. Tyng prepared a full statement of the facts, which he read in giving notice of the Easter election, thus presenting the subject freely and fuUy. After explaining the provisions of law under which the members of the corporation were elected and under which it acted, he pro- ceeded with a statement of the qualifications of voters; of the property owned by the church; of the history of the movement toward the erection of a church up town, so far as it had progressed before he became the rector of the church, and continuing said: " The subject was first brought before my notice on the 22d of April, 1845, by a committee of the vestry of St. George's Church, who were appointed to visit me at my residence in Philadelphia, to ask my acceptance of a call to the rectorship of St. George's Church. Among other considerations presented to me by that committee in the name of the vestry, to induce my acceptance of their invitation, the chief one was the very important prospect of religious usefulness, which was offered in this proposed enterprise of erecting a new church in the upper part of the city, aocording to the views presented in the preceding memorial (to Trinity Church). The exhibition of this prospect was the main inducement which led me to believe it my duty to forsake a precious and happy field of usefulness where I had labored in perfect peace without a foe, and with an increasing blessing from God upon my work, and at a sacrifice both of feeling and pecuniary interest, which is not necessary to describe, to accept the ofi^er of the laborious post of duty, which in the providence of God I now occupy. The principles 214 Rev. Stephen Higginson Tyng, D.D. of the plan, as expressed in the memorial to Trinity Church, were that the new church was to be a free chapel united with St George's Church, under the one vestry and rector, and to be built at a cost of from $65,000 to $70,000, from the funds of St. George's Church, and subsequently supported from the same funds, demand- ing an annual allowance from the same source, which could hardly be computed at less than the interest of $50,000 more. " The enterprise proposed was thus to be at a cost of from $115,000 to $120,000 to the corporation of St. George's Church. It was expected that private contributions would, to some extent, assist in the endurance of this cost. " As no effort was ever made for this purpose, it is impossible, however, to make any just calculations concerning it. When this enterprise wa.j presented to me by the committee of the vestry, I stated my views upon the subject to be^: that it would be a better plan to erect the new church proposed, which was to be in the midst of a rising, flourishing and prominent part of the city, for the parish church of St. George's Church, and to constitute the old church a free chapel as proposed, to be connected with it. This view I have invariably presented on all occasions since, as my con- viction of duty and interest in the case. I have embodied it in a series of resolutions which I presented to the vestry March 9th, 1848, as distinctly expressing my judgment in the case. And this one fact constitutes the only change proposed by me, from the ©Eiginal plan proposed by my venerated predecessor, whose views in this enterprise it has been my solemn desire fully to carry out, a change which I have much reason to believe he would have approved and adopted, had his life been spared. In presenting these resolutions I have carried out the original plan proposed in the first undertaking of this enterprise, with the single change of constituting the new edifice the parish church, and the old one the free chapel. This is the plan with which I have gone on from the beginning in this undertaking, some of my own views of which, and reasons for which, I propose to present to the congregation. "It seemed to me unwise to attempt to' maintain St. George's parish in a location which was every day failing to collect a perma- nent congregation, and to expend the funds of the corporation for the erection of an edifice, which should be considered a chapel merely, in a portion of the city certain to be permanent as the residence of private and settled families. It appeared to me un- necessary and wrong to erect a building for free worship in the very midst of a community perfectly able to sustain the worship and Ministry, iS^y to z8^j. 2 1 5 ordinances of the gospel for themselves, and to continue an imposed tax upon a building where the worshippers were to a much larger extent in limited circumstances, and necessarily transitory in their connection with the church. I have, therefore, constantly urged that we should buUd a church for the parish La the new location, and maintain a chapel for the public in the old one. Such a church the vestry are now erecting, and on my part, and on the part of the majority of the vestry, with such designs. " We have devoted to this work the property of St. George's Church, which was given to the corporation for this very purpose, without laying a tax upon any individual of a single dollar. We shaU. hope to complete it according to the original proposal, ' upon a scale commensurate with the increasing wants of the church, and entirely unincumbered with debt. ' " When completed this new edifice will be perfectly competent to support itself. The moneys which are realized from the sale of its pews will go to constitute a fund for the maintenance of the chapel free of charge to the worshippers therein. The income of the funded property of the corporation, when my ministry here was commenced, was little more than $5,000. The result of this investment wUl, beyond all question, from the same property, more than double this income. We had accommodations in our present church for about one thousand worshippers ; with the same property we have added a new church, with accommodations for two thousand five hundred more. We have thus, in the erection of a building, which in size, and convenience, and appearance will have no equal among our churches, and in durability and worth wUl testify to other generations the spirit by which we were moved in its erection, provided for the preaching and ordinances of the gospel, in the most convenient method, to tens of thousands of our feUow-men, and probably, in the result, at a less charge upon the funds of the corporation than was originally proposed 4n the first opening of the undertaking to Trinity Church. " These two opposite series of resolutions now upon the table of the vestry, are left there by common consent, to be considered and determined by the vestry to be now elected. And in thus pre- senting them I have exhibited the facts which have occurred in this enterprise under my supervision and knowledge. Of the wisdom of the different courses and plans which have been thus detailed, the members of the congregation of St. George's Church must decide for themselves. They have to elect now a vestry by whom a finsd settlement of this whole matter must be made. They can 2i6 Rev. Stephen Higginson Tyng, D.D. now act with entire intelligence on the whole matter. If their views coincide with the plans of the rector and a majority of the present vestry, they will sustain them in thi> course. If the views of a majority of the voters dissent from these, and accord with the views of the minority of the present vestry, in the substitute pre- sented, they have now an opportunity of giving a practical declara- tion of their judgment. But I take the liberty particularly to urge upon the members of the congregation a punctual attention to their duty in this respect. " I trust every one entitled to vote, will without fail exercise his right upon this occasion, that, whatever shall be the decision of the congregation at this election, no imputation may hereafter arise ; that the course adopted, whatever it shall be, was the wish and act of but a minority of the congregation. " I have felt it my duty to make this precise statement to you, because I considered the interests of the gospel, as connected with this church, vitally involved in its decision. I feel it to be my duty to express my own deliberate and settled judgment in this matter, and then I leave every member of the congregation to judge and act intelligently and conscientiously for himself. My own line of personal duty will be determined by the action of the congregation, and it will be in sufficient season hereafter to determine and announce that. But I feel it my duty frankly to declare to you that no separation of these churches and congregations can be made by any vestry without my consent as the rector of this church, and that consent will under no circumstances whatever be given to the alienation of the property of St. George's Church to another corporation. " My sincere desire and earnest prayer are that different judg- ments may be entertained without hostility of feeling, and while every one frankly avows his own judgment and purpose, all should agree to stlidy the things which make for peace, and things where- with you may edify each other, that God may graciously overrule it to the permanent prosperity of the portion of His vineyard com- mitted to my charge." The issue thus frankly presented was decided by the election of a vestry, in hearty accord with Dr. Tyug and the future position of the new church thus established, but the approval of his judg- ment and wish thus obtained was at the cost of many months of severe trial. The circumstances of this case, as related by him, are particularly notable, as the occasion of the only act of ecclesiastical discipline performed in the whole course of his ministry. Ministry, i8^y to i8^j. 2 1 7 " This statement," he says, " was read on the 16th of April, 1848. A member of the vestry (Mr. B. L. Woolley) in conversation with another, on leaving the church, pronounced it to be false. "Within the next three days, there were two meetings held, professedly of members of the congregation, at which the same gentleman read a statement in which he declared the assertions of the public state- ment to be false. The day after the last 01 these meetings, the ves- try were elected, and the whole subject of discussion was settled, so far as the congregation were concerned. ' ' By this election, he with some others was removed from the office of vestrymen. Immediately subsequent to this, and for some months afterward, he was engaged in reading the same or similar statements to various families and individuals of the congregation, and on the 23rd of May he addressed a communication to me, con- taining these and other charges against my personal character, to which I made no reply. On the 5th of July, he again addressed a similar letter, containing additional charges against me, which I im- mediately returned by mail to him. On the 19th of July, these two letters, with an introductory note addressed to the congregation of St. George's Church, containing another charge, of deliberate and wilful falsehood, against me were published by him in the Com- mercial Advertiser of this city. Some of my personal friends called upon the editors of that paper and found the publication had been made in the absence of the senior proprietor of the paper, who had previously refused to insert such a communication, and has since expressed his regret, for the publication, in very strong terms. The editors then present, being convinced of the false and libellous character of these letters, on the next day published an expression of theii- regret at the publication of them, and their con- viction that the charges were false. " I took no personal notice of the publications, though I was urged by many friends to have the matter judicially examined, and even by some, whose opinion was of weight, to have the author in- dicted for libel. I frequently heard of his reading in various houses the charges he had made against me, thus very greatly in- juring my ministry and destroying the peace of the Church, and I was urged by several of the communicants to suspend him from the communion. I resolved, however, as the case was so much a per- sonal one, after consultation with a clerical brother in whose judg- ment I had great confidence, to bear as long as it could be possible with him. I had hoped he would in time see for himself the vast injury and injustice he had done, and be led to make a proper repara- 2i8 Rev. Stephen Higginson Tyng, D.D. tion. Thus the matter rested on my part. But on his, there was a frequent repetition of the same statements to individuals in the congregation. On the 30th of November an advertisement appeared in the New York Courier and Enquirer, signed ' A Member of St. George's,' accusing me of very gross and fraudulent conduct in the conducting of the election of the vestry at St. George's, on the 25th of April, 1848. The editor gave the name of the au- thor to some of my friends who called upon him. In consequence of this article, which I pronounced a grossly false and malicious libel, I gave to him on the first of December, 1848, the ' advertisement,' re- quired by the rubric before the Communion office. " Immediately subsequent to the publication of the first of these letters, the vestry met, without Dr. Tyng's presence or knowledge, and adopted a resolution : " That the fervent piety, unwearied zeal, single-hearted devo- tion of eminent gifts to the duties of his sacred calling, and inces- sant labor in every good word and work, tending to promote the spiritual and temporal happiness of mankind, ought to shield the character and reputation of our rector from the assaults of enemies, and at all times render the shafts of malignity impotent and power- less." This was at once published in the Commernal Advertiser on the 21st of July, and throughout the whole proceeding he had their unqualified sympathy and support, but the charges were peculiarly malignant, and the position which their author had held made them peculiarlj' dangerous. Tho required notice of suspension having been given to the Standing Committee of the Diocese, and an appeal made for an early investigation, a commission of inquiry was duly appointed. This commission, consisting of the Rev. Henry J. Whitehouse, D. D., the Eev. William H. Lewis, the Hon. Luther Bradish, and Stephen Cambreling, Esq., held their first meeting on the 22nd of January, 1849. In submitting the case to them Dr. Tyng said: " I present this whole matter to the consideration of the Board of Commissioners, desiring nothing but a thorough examination of the facts in the case. The board will see the vital importance of this examination to myself. Charges of wicked and immoral con- duct have been made against me, which, if in the opinion of this board are sustained by facts, and the truth of which are proved to their satisfaction, involve the consequent necessity of my own per- sonal trial before the proper ecclesiastical tribunal He has done the utmost in his power to injure and destroy me. He has publicly Ministry, 1847 to 18 ^j. 219 and repeatedly accused me of wilful falsehood, arbitrary and Yiolent conduct, a creating of divisions in the congregation committed to me, and pecuniary fraud. To the utmost extent of the influence of his name and character he has attempted to destroy my charac- ter, to break up my livelihood, to annihilate my ministry and to bring reproach upon my family. He has had all the advantage in doing this, of his secret and uninterrupted personal representations, of his long residence in the community, of his occupation of many responsible offices of public trust, of his long connection with St. George's Church, of my position as a stranger in this community, brought here by his action and consent, and therefore supposed to be personally known to him. Had not God raised me up friends in this city, from among strangers, and protected me from the effect of his assaults upon me, his effijrts would probably have accomplished their purpose, and he would have triumphed over the destruction of me and my family. I have borne these assaults without reply or vindication of myself. He has repeatedly represented my silence to be from a consciousness of my guilt, and the impossibility of deny- ing the charges which he has made. I have taken no steps in any way to avenge the bitter wrongs which I have received through his means. " For more than nine months past, he has persevered in a system of secret persecutions and misrepresentations of me, which have alienated many persons from me, destroyed my happiness, created distrust in reference to my ministry, and exceedingly undermined my health. " No earthly consideration could have induced me to undergo all that I have been thus required to bear. This whole important subject is now brought, as I have much desired to have it brought, before a legal and honorable tribunal. I respectfully ask a full examination of the facts involved. I have called the charges ' grossly false.' I ani ready to be held responsible for the truth of this. I respectfully ask that he may be required thoroughly to prove their truth. I have called them ' malkwus. ' They have had no conceivable object or tendency but to destroy my char- acter, and to hold me up to public reprobation and reproach, — there being no single point or end which they even profess to accomplish, but to state what he declares to be facts in reference to myself. " For the first time in near thirty years' ministry, am I to answer for the exercise of pastoral discipline. I regret to trouble your honorable board with such a subject in connection with my- 220 Rev, Stephen Higginson Tyng, D.D. self I am conscious of having endeavored to do my duty in the fear of God, and to Him and to your board under His direction, I humbly and reverently entrust my cause." After nearly sixty sessions of from three to four hours each, and a most exhaustive examination of the whole case, the commission, on the 5th of July, 1849, in a long and full report reviewed the testimony minutely, and completely vindicated Dr. Tyng in all his action. It was supposed that the whole case was here concluded, so far as the commission was concerned. A supplemental report, how- ever, by its chairman, the Rev. Dr. Whitehouse, subsequently made to the Standing Committee, presented a further history. In this Dr. "Whitehouse communicated the correspondence and conversa- tions which he had had with Mr. Woolley, in which he indicated the desire, through the commission, to make a suitable expression of his repentance and to seek restoration. The completion of this desire was, however, prevented by his death, which occurred on the 20th of August, 1849. In referring to it, the Eev. Mr. Lewis, a member of the commission, in the following letter expressed more personally and even more fully to Dr. Tyng the complete vindica- tion which he had received: Beooklto, L. I., Sept. 12, 1849. 2?e«. and Dear Brother: — The sad termination of that business which has so long occupied our attention, by the death of Mr. "Woolley, has been much in my thoughts, and undoubtedly has had a large place in yours. And it would be to suppose you to be des- titute of all feeling, not to conclude, that his decease under such circumstances has caused you great grief. I have felt as if it was my duty to express to you my sympathy, under this and all your trials, and my hope and prayer, that out of aU, God in His own good time may give you deliverance. In the decision of our commission exonerating you'ftom all blame, in the matters involved in Mr. "WooUey's charges, I fully concurred. My prejudices were in favor of Mr. "Woolley at the outset, as I am free to confess, thinking that from your known temperament, you might have been hasty with him. But the weight of strong evidence has led me to a different conclusion, and I rejoice in the conrplete vindication of your character, a vindication which seems to be confirmed by God's own solemn seal to it. Excuse the liberty I have taken in writing to you. My wish Ministry, 18^'/' to 18 £3. olii was, to express to you my satisfaction with your whole course in regard to Mr. WooUey, and my hope that you will not let his de- cease in any way prey upon your mind, or give you any more than that sorrow which all ought to feel at such a departure out of life. I have written in haste and hope to see you some time and talk over these things. And in the meantime, pray that all may fit you more earnestly and faithfully to discharge the great work to which you are called. Very truly yours, William H. Lewis. In a "Pastoral Letter to the Congregation of St. George's Church," in October, 1849, the report of the commissioners was submitted by Dr. Tyng, and he thus concludes: "And now, my beloved friends of the congregation of St. George's Church, having furnished you with the official documents in this painful case, I leave the whole matter for your deliberate consideration. You wiU see that the commissioners appointed by the Standing Committee have completely vindicated my character from the libels published against me by Brittain L. Woolley, and sus- tained and justified my action in maintaining the discipline of the Church. " You will see that probably the very last writing of Mr. Woolley, before his death, was an acknowledgment of his regret over his past course in this relation, and a declaration of his wish to make the restitution which should be required for the wrong he had done. This action of his, of course, furnishes for me the most entire vindication and defence I could have asked in the case. I exceedingly regret that no information was given me of this last action of Mr. Woolley until after' his death. The reason is very manifest and sufficient. I had no information of his sickness or death until after his burial. I had no opportunity, therefore, to hear of any expressions of sorrow from him or to act in any way regarding them. Had his views and feelings, as they are stated in his communications to the commissioners, been made known to me before his death, I should have been willing to receive them as the fulfilment of the rubric in reference to the case. But he was re- moved without the opportunity being thus given for his restora- tion to the communion of the Church on earth. The whole case was taken from the hands of man before the unerring tribunal of God. " Yet, his removal under these circumstances, — his last acts 222 Rev. Stephen Higginson Tyng, D.D. being a justification of the sentence under which he had been placed, and an avowal of his sorrow for the wrongs which he had done,— furnish us a remembrance of him which I think ought to cover the memory of his previous course of error and wrong. And I desire to think of him, and to have you think of him, not as a Christian brother who had sinned and fallen, but as one who had acknowledged his faults and declared his repentance; and who had been forgiven and restored, so far as the act and judgment of man could have been permitted to reach. " I trust, that this whole dispensation, painful and injurious as it has been to me, may be made the seed of lasting benefit to our Church, and of glory and honor to the great Master and Saviour whom we serve." In speaking of this case, Dr. Tyng at one time said: " It was a bitter persecution, the most violent I endured in my whole minis- try. It almost killed me. It drove me down almost to absolute death, hterally so, for before it came to its conclusion, I feU down as dead in the pulpit, and they carried me out. They thought I was dead, that I had come before them for the last time. It seemed to me it was the article of death. But the efi'ect of that trial was to start an energy in the church which has continued ever since." In the midst of all these anxieties and trials, he found oppor^ tunity, notwithstanding, to prepare a new edition of his former work, " The Israel of God," and also a new volume, to which he gave the title, " Christ Is All." "The great kindness with which his former publications have been received in the Christian community," he writes, in the preface of this work, "has emboldened the author to offer also the present work to their acceptance. His object in it is a very distinct one. How far it has been successfully ac- complished, he does not presume to say. His purpose and vrish are to display the spiritual safety of man, as found solely in his personal union, by a living faith, to Christ, — a faith which is of the operation of God; the work of the Holy Ghost within the heart. He believes that there is a very extended tendency and disposition displayed in the current writings upon the subjects of spiritual in- struction, to exalt that which is outward and visible in religious profession above that which is inward and spiritual in religious experience. It is a tendency which goes far towards making the real work of the Holy Spirit upon the heart, appear fanatical and con- temptible, while it elevates the means and agencies which are in the hands of man, into an undue place of honor and regard. It almost Ministry, iS^y to i8^j. 223 completely substitutes the outward Church for Christ Himself; and the form of godliness for its power. It is often united with & mys- ticism of expression, which wears a false appearance of depth of thought; and a serious earnestness of statement, which would claim the aspect of a real reverence for truth. " Against this whole system of ecclesiastical exaltation, the author of this work feels a deep repugnance, as being un- scriptural in its character, and destructiye of true spiritual piety in its operation. Without a direct or avowed conflict with the principles of this system of error, as he esteems it, he has at- tempted, in these pages, to state to the best of his ability, the oppo- site principles of gospel truth. " They are the gospel for which he must contend, and which it is impossible for him to yield. Living or dying, all his hope and all his desire are indissolubly bound to the great and precious truths which are here proclaimed." In the autumn of 1848, the new St. George's Church was suffi- ciently completed to permit its occupation for public worship. The opening service was, therefore, appointed for Sunday, the 19th day of November. An event so anxiously anticipated, and which had been attained by such effort, was indeed one which might justify the expression of exultation and be considered a cause for rejoicing, but Dr. Tyng's only allusion to it is found in a letter written a few days later to his son Dudley, in which he says: "We opened our new church on Sunday with an immense crowd. How it will succeed I am not sure. God can carry us through, if it be His sacred wiU. I am very much hurried and very much harassed." In the sermon which he preached on this occasion, there is no reference to it, his topic being, " The duties of the gospel min- istry," as suggested by the text, "Who is sufficient for these things ?" n Corinthians ii. 16. AU questions as to the future relations of the new church were now finally settled by the recorded declaration of the vestry, that it should be thereafter the " Parish Church," and known as " St. George's Church in the City of New York." In a series of resolutions the vestry also recorded their thankfulness, " to Almighty God in prospering them thus far;" to the building committee, "for giving their time and watchful attention to the carrying out of the plan; " to the treasurer, Mr. Whitlock, for "furnishing them with the necessarv means; "and in conclusion, "to their beloved pastor, 224 R^""' ^ephen Higgiitson Tyng, D.D. for the watcliful and unremitted attention to the rise and pro- gress of this sanctuary, praying as they most devoutly would, that his hfe and health may be precious in the sight of God, and that he may long live to go in and out among thptu breaking the Bread of Life, and may the blessing of God the Saviour be upon him, never leaving him to his own wisdom or strength, but ever leading him to rely on the wisdom and strength of Jehovah, Jesus, the Lord his Righteousness, and when his work is finished in the sanctuary below, may he have an abun- dant entrance into the kingdom of God above." Measures were at once taken for the sale of the pews, of which there were two hundred on the ground floor, and ninety-three in the gallery, the aggregate valuation being one hundred and fifteen thousand eight hundred and fifty dollars. Those not sold, were di- rected to be rented at an assessed annual rental of fifteen per cent, and as the highest valuation was semen hundred dollars, the range being from that down to one hundred dollars, the rent in any case was inccm- Siderable. In order, however, that no one might be debarred from the possession of a pew by reason of inability to pay even the mod- erate rents designated, permission was given to the committee to modify the rents according to their judgment, and in. several cases pews were occupied and enjoyed year after year without any charge whatever. Such was the care exercised that no one should be ex- cluded from the church, or the rightful occupation of their own seat, and thus, if not in form and name, St. George's was from its earliest opening essentially an open and free church to aU who wished to hear the gospel there proclaimed. The cost of the church to the time of its opening for service was one hundred and ninety-two thousand five hundred dollars, the whole of which sum had been advanced by Mr. Whit- lock. His assumption of this responsibility, even, as it was known, to the endangering of his own commercial credit, was a remarkable proof of devotion and fidelitj' to the church of which he was, through life, an earnest and honored member, as he was an unwa- vering faithful friend to its pastor. Of his action. Dr. Tyng says in one of his anniversary sermons: " One of the most remarkable of all the features of the history, was the providence by which internal dissensions in the congrega- tion and outward hostility from others, in whose hands there was power to annoy, were made to arrest the premature sale of the property of the corporation, and to tie it up until such a change in its value as should fully reUeve our obligations had taken place. CIIAXCEI. OF ST. GEOROE'S CIirHCH, 1H4S— ],SU5. iFrojn a photograph.) Ministry, iS^y to i8^j. ziS " The opposition was meant for evil; God was pleased to over- rule it for remarkable good. In the meantime He gave to one faith- ful friend of the church, the ability and the will to meet the whole responsibility, and it must never be forgotten that, to his energy and noble conception of Christian duty, this church is wholly in- debted for the edifice in which we now worship. " The subsequent application of the property of the church, and the complete overcoming of aU the obstacles which were placed in the way of its successful sale, enabled the vestry to meet all the obligations which he assumed. But the prospect of such a result at the time when this burden was undertaken by him, the most pru- dent men would have been ready to think the least probable." To render the property of the church available to meet the heavy indebtedness thus incurred, was the constant effort of the vestry, but such a result, unfortunately, could not be attained with- out the agreement of Trinity Church. More than a year passed in negotiation before that consent could be obtained. The history of this negotiation is related as follows by Dr. Tyng, in the pamphlet before quoted, and is of much interest, as it em- bodies the facts -which compelled the corporation of St. George's to make a transfer of the property in Beekman Street, and thus abandon their plans in reference to that church. " In May, 1850, the vestry of St. George's Church, having long sought relief from Trinity in vain, thus addressed that ancient cor- poration: " ' They desire with perfect respect to remind your venerable body that the requests contained in said communications and reso- lutions, involving matters so vital to the interests of our corpora- tion, have been before you for action for nearly one year and a half, during which time we have been put to much additional cost and embarrassment, from the accumulation of a large amount of interest on our unliquidated debt, while anxiously waiting from month to month your favorable action, which from various^ precedents, as well as from the entire reasonableness of our requests, we have good grounds for confidently anticipating. " ' This vestry are constrained by their necessities to declare that they can not longer postpone definite action in reference to the sale of their property consistently with their obligations to this corporation and its creditors, and that they must proceed, without further delay, to a final disposition of their real estate, to pay their debt, whether the restrictions are removed by your action or not. " ' Having earnestly and patiently sought by aU proper means 2 26 Rev. Siephen Higginson Tyng, D.D. to obtain from your corporation tho removal of these restrictions, valueless to you, but highly oppressive and embarrassing to us, we trust and believe that you will not subject us to the pain and mor- tification of witnessing a needless sacrifice of a portion of that property which was given for ' pious uses,' and which must be for ever lost to the Church, and enrich those mostly who have no sympathy with its communion and worship, by declining our prop- ositions; but that you will, by prompt and favorable action in our behalf, place us in such circumstances as you would desire, were our position your own.' " In this accumulation of difficulties with which the corpora- tion of St. George's was struggling, and which had been increased and perpetuated by the refusal of release to their property, on the part of Trinity Church, this ' munificent corporation ' came forward with its first answer condescended to the earnest appeals from St. G-eorge's, in the following words: " ' This corporation will release the condition or conditions ol the grants respectively to St. George's Church, pursuant to its application, provided the sum of twenty-five thousand dollars shall he paid to this corporation as a valuable consideration therefor.' " Yes, this ' munificent corporation,' knowing all the pecuniary difficulties and obligations with which St. George's was actually con- tending, demanded from that struggling corporation a payment in mxmey of twenty-five thomand dollars, for the simple consent to the removal of a restriction from their property, which the merest justice required, and which cost them nothing. And even this offer wag to be connected with the transfer of the same restrictions to aU the new property which the corporation of St. George's had acquired on Stuyvesant Square, and the church edifice which they had built thereon. It was probably anticipated that the vestry of -St. George's would refuse this unrighteous demand, which they instantly did. Then it was that in June, 1850, another proposition came from Trinity Church, in these words: " ' That instead of requiring the payment of twenty-five thousand dollars by St. George's Church, that corporation shall convey the church in Beekman Street, with the land about it, which was conveyed to it by Trinity Church, and with all its furniture, bell, clock and organ, subject to the rights of all vault and pew owners, to such persons or body corporate as this corporation shall appoint, upon the exe- cution and delivery to St. George's Church of the Bond of this corpo- ration for twenty-five thousand dollars, payable in five years, with six per cent interest, payable half yearly.' Ministry, 184."^ to 18 ^j. 327 " This ' munificent corporation ' thus again demanded, not only the real estate of the chapel in Beekman Street, but also the lell, clock and organ, neither of which had been received from Trinity, bat which had been purchased by the personal contributions of the congrega- tion of St. George's, at a cost of near ten thousand dollars. This was munificence indeed. But such at the time were the circumstances of difficulty into which the long continued refusal of the release of their property by Trinity Church had brought the corporation of St. George's, and such had been the weariness and vexation of the long years of controversy and entreaty which had been carried on with Trinity on this subject, that the vestry of St. George's most unvriUingly agreed to this proposal, and thus far deviated from their determined line of duty, and their earnest desire in regard to the maintenance of St. George's Chapel, Beekman Street, as a free chapel, by the corporation of St. George's Church, and yielded to the proposal to transfer that property to another corporation. " Their final agreement upon this subject was completed in November, 1850, by the nomination of the Church of the Holy Evangelists, to whom the property in Beekman Street was trans- ferred in July, 1851. Thus St. George's yielded a real property valued at seventy-five thousand dollars, with furniture worth more than five thousand doUars besides, for the free use of the Church of the Evangelists, receiving only the bond of Trinity for twenty- five thousand doUars, of which Trinity received a portion in return, how large we are not able to say, from the subsequent sale of the prop- erty in Vandewater Street, before occupied by the Church of the Evangelists. " In regard to St. George's, it was a cruel and bitter scheme of oppression, apparently designed to accomplish the ruin of that church. But the good providence of God made its result a vast gain to St. George's. There was an immense and unexpected rise in the value of their property while it was thus tied up by Trinity, which more than compensated St. George's for all the evils and loss of that delay, and called for their gratitude to the Divine pro- tection, however little they owed to the ' kind interposition of this munificent corporation'. " The report of the committee which had been charged with this whole negotiation, expressed the satisfaction with which it was accomplished and the important results attained, when they said: " In closing their protracted, complicated and laborious negoti- ation with Trinity Church, your committee are grateful to be able to say that they have yielded no principle of independence or right. 228 Rev. Stephen Higginson Tyng, D.D. and that the settlement of the question at issue has been made upon a mutually acknowledged prerogative and obligation. Your committee have felt the anxiety, so often expressed by the vestry, to sell the property of this corporation for the purpose of reducing its large debt, but they Judged it would be better to wait, at some inconvenience, until the restrictions existing in the deeds from Trinity Church should be removed. We have thus the gratification to announce to the vestry the completion of these arrangements, so vitally important to the interests and prosperitj' of this parish, removing, as they do, every obstacle of an outward character to its advancement and increase. We secure to the inhabitants of old Montgomerie Ward, and to those of our friends, who feel a deep interest in sustaining it, the old church in Beekman Street, with its vaults for the dead, in perpetuity by the bond of Trinity Church to us, while those of us who love the church on Stuyvesant Square, for its unrivalled appropriateness and beauty, for its associations, as well as what it has cost us in labor and treasure, will rejoice to know that its perpetuity in our communion is secured by our bond to Trinity Church, and thus it must ever remain in its present con- nection and position. "We gladly acknowledge that 'hitherto the Lord hath helped us,' and by His wisdom and strength alone we have been prospered." When the settlement with Trinity Church had been thus arranged, sales of property were made, aggregating two hundred and ten thousand dollars in amount. This more than sufficed to liquidate the whole indebtedness, besides leaving eight lots with the buildings thereon unsold. For the property so disposed of an advance of about seventy- five pert cent was obtained over the valuation of the same property in 1846, when the new church was at first projected, so bounti- fully had all obstacles been overruled to its permanent benefit and prosperity. In the meantime, it having been learned that the Bight Kev. Carlton Chase, Bishop of the Diocese of New Hampshire, had con- sented to perform Episcopal services in the still existing vacancy in the Episcopate of New York, request was made for the appointment of a day for the consecration of St. George's Church. The day originally selected, the 29th of November, 1849, having been ap- pointed as the annual day of Thanksgiving, Tuesday, the 4th of December, was subsequently designated. On that day, therefore, the new church was duly consecrated by Bishop Chase, in the presence of about fifty of the clergy of the city Ministry, iS^j to i8^j. 229 and neighborhood, and a very large congregation. The clergy assist- ing in the service were the Eev. Gregory T. BedeU, rector of the Church of the Ascension, the Rev. Benjamin I. Haight, professor of Pastoral Theology in the General Theological Seminary, the Rev. Lewis W. Balch, D. D., Rector of St. Bartholomew's Church, the Rev. Jonathan M. Wainwright, D. D., assistant minister in Trinity Church, the Rev. Wm. Berrian, D. D., rector of Trinity Church, and the Rev. Francis L. Hawks, D. D., rector of the Church of the Mediator. The sermon was preached by Dr. Tyng, upon the text, " My dove, my undefiled is one," Song of Solomon vi. 9, but the manuscript was not preserved, and no adequate report of its con- tents can now be obtained. When the church was thus consecrated the chapel or lecture- room had been completed, and the whole work of the church could be at once put in full operation. The arrangement of its services then made was continued through all the subsequent years of Dr. Tyng's ministry, with scarcely a variation in the whole period of more than twenty-five years, and he was seldom absent from the pulpit at any service. In one of his reports he mentions having been absent but fifteen times in three years, an average of but five times in each year. His custom of devoting the afternoon service on Sunday partic- ularly to the young, was regularly maintained. The various courses of these sermons, on subjects which would specially interest and instruct them, and in language which the youngest could understand, wUl be remembered by many who heard them, and were means of untold influence and blessing. The series beginning in January,1849, with the history of Ruth, was continued by that of Samson, Joseph, Esther, David and Daniel, and followed by courses of sermons on the " Religious Instruction of Animal Instinct," "The Mountains of Scripture," "The Christian's Journey," and "The Botany of Scripture." Such was his comprehensive plan for the instruction of the young of his congregation, which naturally attracted a regularity of attendance, not only from them, but from many not of the church, who delighted in the instruction offered. The Sunday sermons were, however, a small part of his preach- ing. Two lectures in every week were regularly maintained in the lecture-room, throughout every season. One on every Wednesday evening was particularly applied to the religious instruction and edification of communicants and members of the church, whUe that on Friday evening was specially for the Sunday School teachers and older scholars, the subject being always the lesson for the 230 Rev. Stephen Higginson lyng, D.D. following Sunday. To these was added a preparatory lecture on the Saturday preceding the monthly communion. A very large addition was made, however, when the season of Lent was reached, and the special lectures of that time were begun without interruption to any of the others. These were afternoon lectures, in an entirely distinct course, occupying always two, and in some years, four afternoons in each week. Thus every day had its appointed lecture to be prepared, and each week five different courses of instruction were in progress. The Bible, which contains a note of every text from which Dr. Tyng preached during more than twenty-five years, has a record of more than sixty sermons delivered in St. George's Church and chapel, in the Lenten season of 1850, and the same number is maintained in every subsequent season for many years. Such a plan of work, with all the attend- ing requirements and demands of such a parish as St. George's, might well be thought to exceed the ability of any one to maintain unaided, as he was at any time, by any assistant other than in the reading of the services of Sunday. It was carried on, however, regularly and systematically through every recurring year, the number of two hundred sermons being one from which in all this time there was seldom any variation. To these public services, however, are to be added those which Dr. Tyng deemed of even greater value to the fruitfulness of his ministry, and which bound the hearts of his people so strongly to him. Constant as he was in the regular visiting of the families of the church, he was untiring in his attention and ministry to the sick or afflicted among them. Nor were these visits Umited to those of his own congregation. Former parishioners, and even entire strangers, who knew of him only by reputation, constantly sent for him, and to such he never failed to devote unceasing care, at whatever sacrifice it might be. Many are the cases which might be related in which a blessed influence was exerted even in these temporary ministrations. It was a matter of knowledge that the rectors of two neighboring churches habitually sent for him to visit the sick in their congregations, simply because he was so acceptable and so useful in such ministry. Writing of him at this period, Dr. Heman Dyer says, in his " Record of an Active Life : " " During those days, I saw much of Dr. Tyng, and was greatly impressed by his administrative abilities. He was both methodical, and yet very rapid in action. " The new St. George's had but recently been opened, and he Ministry, i8^y to i8^j. 231 was intensely engaged in building up a comparatively new con- gregation. ' ' It was easy to see many of the sources of his wonderful power. Beside his remarkable gift as a preacher, he was very accessible, full of sympathy and ready everywhere, and on all occasions, to lend a helping hand. These and other traits endeared him to his people, both to the young and the old. The children were amaz- ingly fond of him, and in ministering among the sick and sorrow- ing he had few equals. " It was also easy to see why he might be disliked by those op- posed to him. While generous in aU his instincts, he was fearless, and at times fearfully scathing, in his denunciations of what he deemed wrong. He was certainly a foe to be dreaded, and often to be feared." During the year 1851, Dr. Tyng received the honorary degree of doctor of divinity from Harvard College. Though the same degree had been conferred upon him in 1834 by Jefferson College, it was a highly appreciated honor when it was given to him by his Alma Mater, representing theological doctrines so diametrically opposed to those which were the unceasing topic of his whole ministry and discourse. Soon after the opening of the church, the vestry were called upon to record the loss of another of their associates in the work now accomplished. At their meeting on the 6th of April, 1850, the death of Mr. Thomas L. Callender, having been announced, united testimony to his character was borne, by the following minute, there- upon recorded: " Resolved: That this vestry bear in grateful remembrance the fidelity, patience and unobtrusive Christian character of their late associate, Thomas L. Callender, for many years connected with the corporation of this church, in the prosperity of which he manifested the liveliest interest. " Besolved: That while, with the family of the deceased, we mourn the loss of one with whom we have long taken sweet counsel and walked together in perfect harmony in endeavoring to promote the best interests of the parish committed to our trust, yet we are comforted in our loss by the assurance that our deceased brother is now enjoying that rest from his labors which is the purchased possession of those who, through faith and patience, inherit the promises of a covenant-keeping God." Pew had been more diligent and earnest in its work than Mr. Callender, during his ten years' service in the vestry, which was 232 Rev. Stephen Higginson Tyng, D.D. just completed at his death. And none of its members had been more unswerving in attachment to Dr. Tyng through all the trials which he then lately had been required to endure. The wonderful manner in which aU these obstacles to the pros- perity of St. George's had been overcome, was viewed by its vestry as imposing a responsibility for its future, rather than as giving them relief from anxiety for its present. In fulfilment of this obligation, the most rigid care was ever after exercised to protect its invested fund, and no circumstances of temporary requirement could ever induce them to depart from this principle. When the erection of a rectory was proposed in the spring of 1851, the project was fully considered, and in a report then made by a com- mittee appointed for this purpose, the future policy of the corpora- tion was thus determined: "The value of the real estate belonging to the corporation in the Third Ward, together with bonds and mortgages remaining in the hands of the treasurer, after cancelling all our indebtedness, will be about One Hundred Thousand dollars. " Tour committee recommend, in view of the source and pur- pose of the endowments as originally made to this corporation and of the circumstances of necessity which may arise hereafter, in so large and expensive a church establishment as ours, that no portion g/" the principal of our present property be expended or used for pur- poses of building, improvement or current expenses. They also earnestly recommend to this present vestry and their successors in office, not to use any greater portion of the surplus revenue of the church than will accrue in five years from the time any appropria- tion may be made. Should the finances of the corporation be wisely administered, the net income from the property and the rent from pews wiU. probably exceed our necessary expenses four thousand to six thousand dollars per annum, to which may be added a consid- erable sum from the sale of pews every year, from the large number stiU unsold. This will be ample in a few years to pay for a rectory, complete the spires, purchase an organ, and afterward to build and sustain a chapel for the poor in the destitute part of the city." The firmness with which this resolution was ever after adhered to, it is not too much to say, has contributed, more than any other cause, to the maintenance of St. George's Church in its prosperity and position. It was a principle which Dr. Tyng guarded with the utmost jealousy. He constantly insisted that the future of St. George's must be as a Free Church, and claimed that the income from the endowment fund thus protected, would always support a Ministry, iS^y to 1853. 233 ministry, while the offerings of the congregation •would sufBce to meet the remaining expenses. "When this earhest action was taken, however, the day seemed far distant when such necessity should arise. In all the existing circumstances the erection of a rectory was deemed to be expedient, and to it, on its completion in the spring of 1852, Dr. Tyng removed, making it his home, convenient and desirable in all its arrangements, for the next twenty-five years, untU his retirement from the rectorship of St. George's made the provision of another necessary. Thus in the period of seven years from his election as rector, the new St. George's, with its rectory and chapel complete, had been built at a cost of over two h/undred and fifty thousand dollars. Noth- ing remained in the completion of the building, but the erection of the spires, which, in the prudence and care exercised, was post- poned for a few years. Every difficulty had been overcome, and the church firmly established in the most prosperous condition, with a congregation which in its influence and power was proba- bly never exceeded. Every step in its progress displayed the indomitable energy and earnestness of its rector, and the unity and devotion of its people. CHAPTER IVo VISIT TO EUROPE, 1853. MINISTEY, 1853 to 1857. The work of Sfc. George's Church continued from year to year in a course of uninterrupted prosperity and increasing power. The ministry of Dr. Tyng as its rector, was, however, a life of uninter- mitted labor. He literally had no season of rest while he was within reach of the incessant demands to which he would not refuse to respond. He would not spare himseK, and his periodical voyages to Europe, therefore, became a necessity. In no other way could recreation be obtained. In the spring of 1853, five years of even unusual anxiety and toil had been past, and it was not only evident that some rehcf must be sought, but that it could not be longer postponed. He was therefore urged to make another visit to Europe, and em- braced the opportunity to revisit his many friends in England. All preparations were made that he might be present at the anni- versary meetings in London, in May, and in their enjoyment a fort- night was most pleasantly spent. His journal of this time is filled with a graphic account of these occasions, of so much interest, in which he constantly participated in some way. The " Slavery Question," which at the time was the cause of so great agitation in this country, was found an even more disturbing factor in England. The several references to it indicate most clearly Dr. Tyng's views upon the subject, as well as his own relation and action in the circumstances in which he was thus placed. Writing from London on the day succeeding his arrival, he says : " I arrived here once more last night. I went to the Church Missionary House and the Bible House. In each place I found myself at home and among friends. At the latter I found quito a stir about the American delegates on the subject of slavery. Mrs. Stowe's arrival is to blow everything into a flame. " The papers had assailed some of the gentlemen from America 234 Visit to Europe. 235 by name, and had threatened to prevent their appearing on the platform, because they were not clear on the subject of slavery. " I endeavored to settle the matter the best way I could, being chairman of the committee by whom the delegates were appointed, but not myself a delegate. I hope we may get through peacefully, but I have some fears that aU things will not be pleasant." Of this meeting some days later, he writes: " Wednesday, May 4th. This was Bible Society day, but the slavery question made it the poorest meeting of all. " There was no disturbance, as we feared there might be, but every reference to the subject jn any speech awakened the utmost demonstration of feeling. " The first speaker was Baptist Noel. When he spoke of the Bible as ' the great emancipator,' there was a storm of applause. This was the key-note. Every reference to it TDroduced animation, everything beside sounded flat." " I had made an appointment with the Eev. Mr. Crummell, a black man, to meet me here this morning. He came in at breakfast time, and I invited him to breakfast with me, which he did. I was amazed to see the glances of the people around the coffee-room. They showed me that all the English plea of indifference to color is mere pretence. Here was an American clergyman at breakfast with a black man, and Englishmen not well satisfied with the fact as it appeared " I dined with Mr. Seeley, and had a slavery discussion with a young Mr. McGregor, a religious and sensible man. He soon found that there were more difiiculties in the way than he imagined. This subject has to be met everywhere. I am resolved to meet it on all occasions with good humor. Excitement of temper would be most of all fooHsh on such an occasion. I am persuaded that the English people will be wearied with the Stowe farce before they get through with it." Another reference to the same subject is made at a subsequent date; when describing a part of his tour in Switzerland, he writes: " The road for us was a foot-path over the great Scheidack, which separates this valley from Meiningen. It is a walk of about ten hours; we made it twelve. We took horses as far as the sum- mit of the mountain, and walked down. Three hours were con- sumed in the ascent. When I came to start, the horse-master re- fused to have my bag put upon the back of a horse, averring that it was too heavy. The alternative proposed, was to hire a man to carry it, to which I assented, though I was to pay ten francs addi- 236 Rev. Stephen Higginson Tyng, D.D. tionaL After we had gone on our way about an hour, we overtook the ^man' and it was a poor girl about eighteen years old. " I scolded the guide with the utmost indignation. But it was of no avail, the poor creature was required to carry the load upon her back over the mountain more than 6,000 feet high. He de- clared it was her own desire. I told him that only made the matter worse. These women are so degraded and wretched that they are thaniful to do anything for an increase of their means of com- fort. And yet these are the people all through Europe who cry over 'Uncle Tom.' "The degradation of the laboring people of Germany and Switzerland is far beneath the lowest level of our slavery; the licentiousness of Prance habitually beyond the grossest charges against American slavery. The hypocrisy and mawkishness of this whole movement are most disgusting.'' At the end of his visit in London, he had arranged to make a short trip on the Oontinent with Drs. Butler, Vmton and Vermilye, and on the 14th of May took his departure to meet them in Brus- sels. His notes of this journey afford many passages illustrative of his feeling and thought, and in the following extracts require no comment: " Sunday, May 22d. Thankful I arose refreshed this morning. I desire to be truly and deeply thankful for the Lord's goodness thus continued. Every day renews His mercies and makes more manifest the riches of His love in a divine Saviour. Oh, that my heart might truly feel its dependence and its joy in Him ! At 11 A.M. and 3 P.M. I attended the Enghsh Church. The service most agreeable, the preaching exceedingly poor. It is amazing to me how few men I find who seem to preach the gospel as if they understood and felt its power. " This is Trinity Sunday, and how full of grace and blessedness is that grand doctrine which lies at the very foundation of the whole gospel, and seems to compel us to speak of the Father's love, of the Son's obedience, and of the Spirit's comfort and guid- ance. I cannot abide to hear a man spend a whole Siinday in the barren attempt to prove the doctrine true. Why, what heart that feels the power of the gospel doubts it? I want to have its preciousness unfolded, its intermingled application to the whole experience of the soul, its ever-springing source of consolation and support to the believing soul, its sure foundation for faith and its attractive invitation to human hope. How will a lecture upon the prism or the varied operations of the sunbeam warm Visii to Europe. 237 me ? Give me sunshine itself. This is what I need. I care not how sunshine is made, I want the sunshine after it is made. The man gave me na sunshine to-day, and I am no wiser than I was this morning. I wandered after service in a soUtary walk of four or five miles around the beautiful grounds which surround this free and flourishing town, and felt happier. Here one thing has aston- ished me; I have not met a single man in Frankfort whom I recog- nized as a popish priest. The first European city I was ever in of which I could say that. I am now on the old ground of the Refor- mation. Eeformed Churches are large, and their congregations seem large also. But it has been a barren Sabbath. How I long to be at home again. "Wednesday, May 25. I stopped at Erfurt, while my com- panions went on to Leipsic. At Erfurt is the monastery in which Luther was a monk, and where he first read the Bible in the library of the convent. The convent has been converted into an Orphan House, but Luther's cell remains unaltered. Its walls are inscribed with texts of Scripture written by himself, and lately retouched to make them intelligible. Here in this very cell he passed his years of struggling from the bondage of Rome, and learned the truth which he was afterwards so powerfully to preach. "After dinner we went to Halle for the night, arriving there in time to inspect Francke's immense Orphan House. Here this good man began to teach a few poor orphans, without funds or means, and the work so increased upon his hands that now there are more than two thousand pensioners there. It was incredible to me as I stood and looked at this wonderful estabUshment, that all this should be the result of one man's labor. How little do the most of men accomplish in life I Here is benevolence triumphant, as other objects have given me truth triumphant in Luther. I was much impressed with the plans and cheap character of the buildings. Nothing for display. No ornament before the eye, but extent and usefulness and operation the character. I hope I may be excited and encouraged by the view. " Thursday, May 26. Left HaUe this morning for Berlin. At Willemburg, so many recollections of the great reformer are gath- ered, that it was an attractive spot. The two daughters of the pastor of the Church in which he is buried, were my guides. I went to the church and stood upon his tomb, and contemplated the door where he nailed his theses against Rome, the first chal- lenge of the Reformation. We went to his house in the university, where he was a professor. Here his study remains, and its old 238 Rev. Stephen Higginson Tyng, D.D. furniture is there. Everything brings back the brave old man faithfully before the view. Yes, here is the spot on which these great scenes, which have so long interested me, and from which all that is good or great on earth has come, were transacted. How wonderful what one man may be made the instrument of accom- plishing ! We arrived at BerUn in the evening. " Saturday, May 28. We went this morning to Potsdam, the royal city, the Versailles of Berlin. Here everything which money can do to create splendor, with no natural advantages, has been done. The palaces of Frederick the Great, are the astonishment of the world. All manifest the power of the man. He was perhaps one of the most execrable of mankind. Here he maintained his infidel club, with the avowed purpose of extinguishing Christianity. But the gospel remains, and his infidel club and all its power have van- ished. How puny is man, in contrast with God ! Our hours were passed in wandering through these magnificent scenes, within and without, until, wearied, we returned to Berlin. " Sunday, May 29. This day but one opportunity of English service is presented, in a miserable little chapel adjoining the hotel. Poorer than anything before was the service. A few people gath- ered to hear a sermon, which none of them understood and which gave no light to any. There was nothing to make up, but the service of the liturgy, which remains, however, real. I think if the people of St. George's could have for seven weeks what I have had for seven Sundays, they would never complain of anything they have ever heard yet. Surely never did I pass one Sunday in my own land so barren as these. I shall never complain of the provis- ions of my own land for body or spirit after this tour. Gladly shall I turn my face homeward as soon as possible. " Tuesday, May 31st, Dresden. The two great objects of curi- osity in Dresden are the picture gallery and the immense collec- tion of jewels belonging to the King of Saxony. The gaUery contains the works of many of the masters of the art. . But the chief picture in it, a picture which can never be copied, is Raphael's celebrated Madonna. Certainly this transcends every thing in the shape of a picture, in its heavenly and exalted character. The eye never tires in contemplating it. It would be well worth a building by itself. We wandered through the halls amazed. Yet there is always a painful thought connected with the whole. Nothing seems to have awakened the power of these artists of celebrity but superstition and crime. The moment they get out of one, they revel in the other. The number of pictures devoted to popish Visit to Europe. 239 superstition is immense. The number devoted to all the aspects of human licentiousness, in every shape of heathen mythology, is also immense. But there is nothing else. Nothing to awaken high emotions, or to excite or encourage the exercise of emotions of virtue. This fact has always struck me in European galleries, never so strongly as in this of Dresden. When shall the highest art be devoted to the highest purposes ? That it may be so, how evident is it from Lessing's two noble pictures of Huss. " I determined to pursue a different course from my compan- ions. They go from here to Vienna and Italy. I wish to go to Munich and Switzerland, accordingly I bade them farewell, and started alone for Leipsic, to go from there by Nuremberg to Munich. " Saturday, June 4th. The magnificent picture gallery is every thing. Rich in edifice, in numbers, in character of the works. It is a far purer collection than Dresden in its subjects. There is not a single picture here to shock the purest moral sense. In this I was greatly delighted. It would be vain to record the beauties of this grand collection. I went to the atelier of Kaulbach, to see his great painting of the ' Destruction of Jerusalem,' painted by order of the King, for the new picture gallery, which is not yet completed. This is the largest picture of modern times, perhaps of any time. The noblest, grandest, greatest, finest, most complete in conception, in execution, in finish, in instruction. Never have I seen its Kke. Nay, it is worth a journey to Munich to see. I could spend days in studying it, and gain something every day. I shall never forget it. " Two hard days' work have now been given to Munich, and not half its beauties have been seen, but I must leave on Monday. The Sabbath intervenes, when the finest exhibitions are always made in these European cities. But the Sabbath is sacred. Never can I, or will I, take G-od's holy day of rest to see or to hear the provi- sions of human show or mirth. I shall leave Munich with regret. It has been the most agreeable part of my journey. A week might be occupied in seeing new objects every day. Beautiful city, with thy rapid -rolling stream, I am grateful for aU that I have enjoyed. " Sunday, June 5th. This, as usual in these continental cities, is a poor day in outward privileges. A little English chapel, in the ambassador's house, had some fifty people in it. Another of those clerical machines, who huddled up everything, and hurried through everything. I did not wonder that few were there, there was nothing but duty to attract. The Lord's Supper was admin- 240 Rev. Stepheti Higginson Tyng, D.D. istered to about twenty, with little reverence. How blessed is a liturgy, in such circumstances ! That remains the same. The rest of the day, as usual, in my room. The shops in the streete are all open. The people crowd the public squares. Everythinfj is animation and life. Oh, my happy country, wilt thou ever bo taught by luxury thus to forget thy God ? The heart saddens over the scene. I never i^so love my own land as on the Sabbath. There is nothing like it elsewhere. To me the quietness of my soUtude is all the outward provision for the Sabbath pleasure which I have found in Europe. " Sunday, June 12th, Prague. There is no English worship here, so that I have passed this day by myself. It is the first Sabbath in which I have found no outward worship. The morning has been pleasantly passed with my Bible and prayer-book, in my own room. To go through the whole service alone is a pleasant worship to |me in a strange land. In this ancient town there would be much to see, had I time. I mourn over the unceasing violation of the Sabbath in these lands, and in taking it at all for the mere purpose of my own pleasure, I cannot but feel that I participate with a far higher amount of guilt. And yet I can in no way learn the habits of the people but by witnessing them in some degree. And this makes for me a constant contest of judgment as weU as desire. Safer and happier is it always to follow the voice of the Spirit in the conscience, and lose any advantages which seem to come only with sin. " Monday, June 13th. I left Prague this morning, and on my arrival at Dresden, I immediately took the cars for Herrnhut, the famous mother colony of the Moravians. A most remarkable look- ing place. Never have I seen a place like it. And here I was, not a soul could speak or understand a word of anything but German, and I could speak no German. But I had picked up a few words and sentences, enough to answer my pressing wants. Yet the con- dition was so peculiar and so ridiculous, that I laid down on the sofa and laughed aloud. What strange mistakes were made, I wUl not write. "Tuesday, June 14th. Eose in peace and fought through another German contest for my breakfast. But while I was eating, the Rev. Mr. Carrow, one of the ministers of the Unity, came in. He was born in America, and lived for twenty years in England. I had thus a few hours' very agreeable conversation with a pleasant and excellent Christian brother, and learned much of the history and habits of a people in whom I have always taken the deepest Visit to Europe. 241 interest. The whole history of this people is wonderful. They are one of the purest and most living classes of Christians in the world, and a visit to them was far more interesting to me than aU the cathe- drals of Europe. " I left this quiet place of repose, and took the cars for Halle, on my way to Switzerland. There was no other convenient way to go to Basle, where I desired to be before Sunday. " Sunday, June 19. This has been another of those blank Sab- baths which I have passed upon the Continent. There is a little English chapel here, in which I attended service this morning, with eight other persons, and this afternoon with six. We had a sermon in the morning which might be called nothing about nothing. How astonishing is this whole system of preaching ! What can the men mean ? What can they expect ? Not one gospel sermon have I heard on the Continent, though I have attended English service on every Sunday but one. Surely never did I so value the gospel, and a simple manner of preaching it. If I am permitted to return to my own flock, I shall preach more simply and faithfully than ever before. How I should delight now to hear one single down- right salvation sermon ! But salvation does not seem to enter into the scheme of these preachers. Accordingly many of the English on the continent attend the Romish worship, where, at least, they find people really engaged and in earnest, and are attracted by that display. The contrast is so remarkable, that I do not wonder at its effect on unsettled minds, and many such are perverted by it. This place seems one of remarkable quietness. I hear nothing, and see nothing of Sunday gaiety among the people. The quietness of the place at least is agreeable, but I must to-morrow set out for a couple of weeks in Switzerland, and then I shall return to England, and so homeward, where I long to be once more." Having reached London on the 15th of July, two weeks were occupied in visits to friends in various parts of England, and on the 4th of August Dr. Tyng set out upon a short trip to the western coast of Ireland. During his visit in London he had heard much of what was styled " The New Eeformation in Ireland," the facts stated having been so remarkable, that he determined to make a personal investigation of the missionary work being carried on there by the " Society for Irish Church Missions," and obtain larger information upon a subject so important in its relations to the gospel. So im- pressed was he by the evidences of the value and success of this effort for the conversion of the Irish people, and by his examina- tion of many of the converts, that, on his return to New Tort, he 242 Rev. Stephen Higginson Tyng, D.D. prepared and delivered a course of four lectures, in which he related the incidents of his visit, the proceeds being devoted to the further- ance of the cause. Soon after his return, in the fall of 1853, the General Conven- tion again held its sessions in New York. The Second Triennial Meeting of the Evangelical Knowledge Society was held at this time in St. George's Church. The anniversary sermon was delivered by Dr. Tyng, his topic being, " the Duty and Eesponsi- bUity of Private Judgment in Religion," founded upon the text Luke xii. 57: "Why even of yourselves, judge ye not what is right." This, the first of the three Evangelical societies of the Protestant Episcopal Church, had been organized in New "fork during the session of the General Convention in 1847, for the purpose of dis- seminating Evangelical truth through the instrumentality of the press. Though not at first agreeing fully in the wisdom of its organiza- tion, because it seemed necessarily to occupy the same field as the American Sunday School Union, Dr. Tyng subsequently gave it his most earnest co-operation. It was the recipient and agent of the largest benefactions of St. George's Church, while he personally con- tributed largely to its prosperity, by transferring to it the plates of his published works, as they were successively prepared. During the year 1853, two of these were added to the increasing list. The first, his volume " Christian Titles," comprised the lect- ures delivered during the Lenten seasons of 1852 and 1858 ; a series of practical meditations upon the various names by which the Lord's people are called, and a consideration of the obligations and duties which each involves. It well illustrates the character of his instruction in these familiar lectures. Later in the same year, was published "Fellowship with Christ," considering its nature in connection with its outward and appointed tokens: Baptism the token of dedication; Confirmation the token of acknowledgment ; the Lord's Supper the token of dependence. These books were followed, early in 1855, by " The Rich Kins- man," lectures on the Book of Ruth, delivered in his courses of Sunday afternoon sermons to the young. In his preface to this volume he thus voices his earnest desires in this branch of his work: "The author has long been impressed with the feeling that neither commentaries nor sermons have yet made that simple and Ministry, i8^j to i8^y. 243 practical use of the fulness of Scripture truth for which it is adapted, perhaps he might say for which it is designed. The young mind certainly can be interested in the Word of God as a book full of attraction as well as full of truth. Nothing is more desirable at the present time than a complete commentary upon the Bible adapted to such an end, a commentary that should avoid the deep ruts of mere traditional exposition, and be designed to exhibit the fulness of truth and beauty, which in a new path remain yet to be explored and displayed. Such a commentary for our Sunday Schools would be a priceless gift. To prepare it, however, wUl require equal acquaintance with the minds and wants of the youug, and with the deep and exhaustless treasures of the Word of God. May not the ministry be generally led to direct their minds and study more to the great purpose of preparing scriptural attractions as well as scriptural instruction for the young ? " Such is a bare synopsis of these valuable works. In the winter of 1855, a favorable time seemed to have arrived for the completion of St. George's Church, by the erection of the spires, but in the same jealous care of the invested funds of the cor- poration, which had before actuated them, the vestry would take no action, until the subject had been maturely considered. A committee, consisting of Messrs. William Whitlock, Jr., and Frederick S. Winston, wardens, and Messrs. Joseph Lawrence and Samuel Hopkins, vestrymen, was therefore appointed for this pur- pose. In their report, while stating that the income of the church exceeded its expenses by some three thousand dollars, and that the time seemed as favorable as might offer for some years, they said: " Should the finances of the corporation be deemed by the vestry to be in a condition to take advantage of the present low proposals, and strictly carry out our former design, the committee would have no hesitation in recommending that the work be now entered on and finished at as early a date as possible. They, how- ever, have yet no reason to doubt the wisdom of the resolution adopted by the vestry, in March, 1851. Should -the vestry there- fore limit the entire expenses to twelve thousand dollars, or in any other way reduce the expenditures, this amount (three thousand five hundred dollars) below the receipts, the committee are pre- pared to concur in directing that a contract be now made to build the spires on the most favorable terms. In doing this the vestry wiU be acting in conformity with the principles of the report 244 R^'^- Stephen Higginson Tyng, D.D. adopted by them in 1851, which this committee are particularly- desirous of guarding and perpetuating." Such was their watchful care, not only of the present, but the future prosperity of the church. The spiritual history of St. George's Church is, however, even more remarkable than that of its material establishment. At Easter, 1855, Dr. Tyng completed the first decade of his rectorship, and from this Tenth Anniversary reviewed some of the evidences of the Divine blessing upon his work. In a sermon upon the text " God hath not given us the spirit of fear, but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind," II Timothy ii. 17, he presented the spirit which should distinguish a faithful ministry. " It must," he premised, " be a told and independent ministry, ' not the spirit of fear ' : a spiritual, searching ministry, ' the spirit of power'; an affectionate and tender ministry, 'the spirit of love'; a judicious, discriminating ministry, ' the spirit of a sound mind,' " and in conclusion, said: " Such a bold, unfearing temper, such a union of ability, tender- ness and wisdom, in the responsible work of laboring for Christ, and watching for souls in the Saviour's name, Paul declares God has given to the appointed ministers of His word. " "Whether such a spirit has characterized my ten years' minis- try among you, my beloved friends, you must judge for yourselves. That it ought to have distinguished it, I am bound to maintain. I have freely devoted to you probably the best ten years of my life. I aru honestly conscious of having labored among you as earnestly and as assiduously as I have had strength to bear. I have habitu- ally done this one thing, instant and unrelaxing in the work appointed me here. " The pleasures of literature, the indulgences of general society, and even the occupations of mind which might have been made, in a degree, kindred to my ministry in the gospel, I have cheerfully renounced, for the single purpose of giving my whole time and strength to you, and taking heed to my ministry to fulfil it. That I may be justly charged with many infirmities and errors in my work and walk among you, is beyond a doubt. But no man can charge me with eating any man's bread for naught, or with lording it over God's heritage, or with taking heed to the flock for ' filthy lucre's ' sake. I speak this in no vain-glorious boasting. And I shaU make no apology for giving you a simple and concise account of my ten years' ministry among you, however personal its allusions and details may appear. •■..., Ministry, i8^j to i8^y. 245 " "When I turn to the religious history of the ten past years, the facts which make it up are not so easily compressed. The religious influence of this church goes entirely beyond itself. It has been the means for witnessing for the truth and glory of our Lord Jesus Christ, to the encouragement and edification of many thous- ands who have no personal connection with it, and of sustaining and supporting many distant churches and laborers by its example, and of showing the path of truth and spiritual success to multi- tudes who have rejoiced to follow it. When we survey the recorded facts of our own history, we may find enough that shall stand as evidence of the character of the ministry by which they have been gathered, and of the gracious attending approbation and blessing of that glorious Saviour, who is the Head of the body and the fountain of all grace to His Church. " When I became the rector of St. George's Church I found two hundred and twenty-nine communicants in actual connection with the church, of whom but forty-one are now stated members of this congregation; to them have been added six hundred and ninety in the ten years of my ministry, one hundred and ninety- seven coming from other churches, in removal to this, and four hundred and ninety-three received by me in their first communion made upon their own profession here. Our probable habitual attendance of communicants does not vary much from seven him- dred. Our present number on the record is eight hundred and thirty-three. The baptisms administered by me during these ten years have been four hundred and seven, of which eighty-one have been adults, and three hundred and twenty-six have been infants. The confirmations have been four hundred and forty-five." After referring to the Sunday School and mission work, which wiU be treated of in its appropriate place, he continued: " My own personal labors ought to be well known among you. They have averaged, for the ten years past, more than two hundred sermons and lectures, and over one thousand pastoral visits in each year. Of these I have nothing more to say, than that my public labors have been always received by my people with a grate- ful respect and estimation, far beyond any claims they have pos- sessed. And my private intercourse with you has been welcomed and rewarded by an affectionate tenderness and unrelaxing and reverential confidence, which has left me nothing to ask. I bless God that I can truly say in His presence, that I do not know a person in the congregation whom I suppose to be personally hostile to myself; and that there is certainly not one towards whom I do 246 Rev. Stephen Higginson Tyng, D.D. not entertain the spirit of love -which woiild delight to be active in every possible shape of usefulness to them. Whether God has given with it the spirit of power and of a sound mind, I must simply say again, I must leave you to survey the course and results of my ministry, and judge for yourselves. " And now allow me to conclude this survey of the ten years past with a review of our benevolent statistics for the same period. " In a statement of these years, in their succession, the whole public collections in the congregation are recorded, as they have passed through my hands, excluding all those contributions and collections which have been made in the congregation without my connection or particular reports to me. The collections have been: For the year ending Easter 1846 $2,800 1847 3,502 1848 4,761 " " 1849 4,703 1850 4,942 1851 5,215 1852 10,036 1853 12,451 1854 12,646 « « 1856 16,039 Making a total sum for the ten years .... $77,095 " In a Statement of these ten years, in the arrangements of the objects for which collections have been made, throwing off in the same way the fractions of a dollar, they have been: The American Bible Society $13,313 Foreign Missions 13,918 Domestic Missions 6,471 Diocesan Missions 2,778 American Tract Society 11,354 Sunday Schools of St. George's Church .... 2,992 American Sunday School Union 1,358 Evangelical Knowledge Society 2,587 Colonization Society 1,722 Seamen and Seamen's Children 1,807 Education for the Ministry 2,092 Aged and Infirm Clergymen 992 Temperance Society 495 Prayer Book Society 244 Communion and General Collections 14,977 " In addition to these general operations, the Dorcas Society have made and distributed during the past six years, five thousand Ministry, i8^j to iS^y. 247 nine hundred and forfcy-two garments among the poor children of the Sunday Schools, at a cost in money of one thousand seven hun- dred and ninety-five dollars, besides the donations which they have received in materials for their work. The ladies have also main- tained a weekly sewing-school for the instruction of poor children, and a daily parish-school for poor children has been also supported by us for four years past. " This is a very hurried and compressed survey of my ten years' ministry among you. The passage of these years finds me at a time of life when it is hardly possible that I can hope for ten more such years of labor and success. The time must come that necessity will demand of me some bodily and mental relaxa- tion. I shall not be disposed to take it before its demand arrives. I have never been happier with you than now. I have never seen the congregation more united and apparently more satisfied under my ministry. I have no ground of personal complaint. I am cheerfully, thankfully ready to spend and be spent to do you good. May the Lord Jesus Christ, our gracious Master, be pleased to own, to pardon, and to bless all the facts of our mutual connection for His own sake, and to His own glory. And as you hear of His gracious dealings with us, let me entreat you to accustom your- selves, in thanksgiving and in prayer, to look up to His sovereign grace and wisdom, and give Him the sole honor and glory of all His work. May He pour out His blessings upon you, and your children after you, making you rich in His great goodness for this world and the world to come. And unto the Father, Son and Holy Ghost, the holy, blessed and glorious Trinity, be the ever- lasting praise. Amen." Such were some of the elements of the prospered career of St. George's Church, in the first ten years of its new history. They are displayed, however, in a stiU stronger light by Dr. Tyng, in the course of a controversy which occurred about this time, and which demands reference here. In the diocesan convention of 1855, the chief subject of discus- sion was the increase of the Episcopal fund. As a large portion of this fund was appropriated to Bishop Onderdonk, it became neces- sary to make some additional provision for the support of the pro- visional Bishop, and with the consideration of this subject the course of Trinity Church became closely connected. The claim had been repeatedly made in previous years that Trinity held its large property simply as trustees for the Episcopal Church in New York, and though its corporate title had been changed many years 248 Rev. Stephen Higginson Tyng, D.D. before, to prevent any such claim as was possible under its original incorporation, it was still urged that the income of the property should be apphed for the benefit of the whole Church. When, therefore. Trinity offered to give its bond for twenty thousand dollars only, to the Episcopal fund, and that only on the condition that the rest of the diocese should raise fifty thousand dollars within a short given time, it was a subject of severe criticism. Speaking in the convention, in the course of this debate, Dr. Tyng said: " This subject seems to have involved in the discussion both the provision for the support of the Bishop and the relation and conduct of Trinity Church. These ought to be separated from each other. I shall not join in a hue and cry against Trinity Church. " I have reason every week to contemplate the results which this property entrusted to her has accomplished in the case of St. George's, in the majestic grandeur of that edifice and enterprise. "With an extension of a similar course of action. Trinity Church might have fiUed this city with St. G-eorges, and gpen our Church a dominion here which it can never now obtain. If Trinity desires influence and authority in this diocese, this is her only plan of action. Let her manage justly and liberally the public fund in- trusted to her. The segis of benevolence wiU be her only defence. Let her shield herself with the united affectionate defence of the members of the Church throughout the diocese. Let her gird around her a warm band of affectionate and grateful hearts, more permanent and effective than Daniel's band of iron and brass around the stump of his prophetic tree. I do not complain of her desire for control. I have no ungenerous jealousy of the exercise of a power justly acquired and held. If I were the rector of Trinity Church I would show you what I would do. I would make the diocese smoke. Trinity has come to the Kingdom for such an end as this. " What immense results might she accomphsh with a faithful and liberal exercise of the immense fund in her trust 1 She might stand here, and, dipping one hand in the Atlantic and the other in the St. Lawrence, she might water this whole extent of intervening territory, till there should not be a desert place between, that would not bloom and flourish under her exalted ministry. For this pur- pose she is entrusted with this fund, and for this she is bound to administer it. We may hope she is planning for a better future system. We may hope that the shell of her exclusion is to break, and she means to moimt to a new and higher flight, and for a Ministry, i8§j to i8^j. 249 melody louder and more attractive in the season to come. She has enlarged her local ministry perhaps by twenty-one thousand doUars a year. She is taking under her charge, we hear, the whole lower portions of the city, planning for large Sunday Schools, opening religious worship in the large Castle Garden depot, with its thous- ands of foreign emigrants, giving public notice that henceforth she means ' to catch men.' And we rejoice in the prospect, and trust that she will cast her net now on the right side of the ship and find eminent success in her work. If she means to send out a life- current through the whole arterial system of our diocese, and make its thousand capillary mouths to praise her, she must see that her heart is healthful and right at home, and send no poisons out from thence. What a station is the rector of Trinity Church ? Tour Episcopate ! Why, in comparison, what a drivelling, poor thing it is ! Trinity takes from this public fund, for her own expenses and advantage, some fifty thousand doUars a year, and offers to appro- priate to the whole diocese, for the support of its Episcopate, on most improbable conditions, the large sum of twelve hundred dollars. " Your Bishop is to come like a beggar, with his old sOk hand- kerchief, and ask for broken victuals at the door of Trinity. He is to beg for the crumbs which her assistants may leave upon their table. " Let Trinity pursue this course, and see what is her condition when she has alienated from her defence all the members of this diocese, and made them, in the great public struggle for the property she holds, to stand in the lobby of your legislature, plead- ing their wrongs and her injustice. Let her see what is to be the result of the cries of the blood of the needy whom she has refused, and the wailings of the poor whom she has despised. I say again,, her only shield of defence at such a time is her liberal fulfilment of her public trust for the Church. " But if Trinity refuse, let us show her that if Trinity can do without us, we can do without Trinity. If she will shelter herself under the miserable toadstool of her avarice, let the toadstool be her mausoleum, and beneath its umbrageous shelter let her memory- be buried and forgotten. " But why do we mix tbe question of what Trinity does with the question of our Bishop's support ? We are bound to sustain him, and must do it. I trust no church in the diocese will refuse its portion of his adequate support. If the vestry of St. George's should do it, it will be against my solemn protest. He is eminently entitled to our liberal support. When our beloved Wainwright was crowned, we hardly hoped to find another who should be able 25o Rev. Stephen Higginson Tyng, D.D. to follow in his steps. But we seemed to hear a divine voice, which said: ' Arise, and go down to the Potter's house, and there I wUl talk with thee,' and we did go. And we rejoice in the ministry which has been the result, distinguished beyond our hope in its moderation, and holiness and wisdom. This Episcopate we must sustain, and I can not doubt we shall sustain it. " Trinity is bound to employ the public fund entrusted to her for this purpose. If she wUl not do it, then must our parishes still unite in a liberal and determined effort to do it without de- pending on her aid." This discussion led to a defence of Trinity Church by its rector, Dr. Berrian, published in a pamphlet entitled " Facts against Fancy." To this the Hon. Wm. Jay sharply replied, in a pamphlet, " Letter to the Eev. Wm. Berrian, D. D., on the Besources, Pres- ent Position and Duties of Trinity Church, occasioned by his late pamphlet, 'Facts against Fancy.' " These two pamphlets, from the pens of those so familiar with, and so capable of discussing the subject, present it most clearly. A further answer, however, to the " Facts against Fancy " of Dr. Berrian, was made by Dr. Tyng, in a series of letters published in the 'Protestant Churchman. These were afterwards republished in the pamphlet entitled " The Eector Rectified," which has been previously quoted in this record, in its reference to several points in the history of the two churches. The final letter in the series was in reply to the comments which the rector of Trinity had made upon the Comparative Beneficence of Trinity Church, and that of St. Mark's, St. George's and Grace Church, which had been, as asserted, the recipients of the bounty of Trinity Church, and whose rectors had been prominent in their criticism of her course. The comparison which Dr. Tyng draws in this letter between the results and the systems of the two churches is most striking, while the facts stated bear remarkable testimony to the efficiency and influence of the ministry under which they had been produced. " We must now bring our strictures to a close," he writes, "by a review of the comparison which he has chosen to institute between the ' munificence ' of his own corporation and the niggardly want of Uberality in St. Mark's, St. George's, and Grace Church. He throws down to them the gauntlet of defiance in as bold a challenge as such a writer is likely to make. We will see how he is to endure the tut which his glove provokes and demands. He says: " ' But this is not the only view of the case. It is confidently believed, and it is thought on very good grounds, that the united Ministry, iS^j to i8^y. 25 1 incomes of St. Mark's Church, Grace Church and St. George's are equal at least to one-half the net income of Trinity Church itself. If this conjecture be true, then, after aU the suitable arrangements in these parishes are made, and all needful expenses incurred, there ■would stiU remain a considerable surplus beyond their own proper and peculiar wants. Now what becomes of this surplus ? To what purposes is it applied? To whom is it a boon, a blessing and re- lief ? I have never learned, neither have I ever met with a man who had. If, however, it is generously and beneficently applied to the good of others, it can then only be said that their reputation for liberality has suffered unjustly in the public estimation from their modesty. But even though they may have acted on the principle of not letting the right hand know what the left hand doeth, it may stiU be doubted whether, in proportion to their means, they have exercised their bounty on a more liberal scale or on broader and more comprehensive grounds than Trinity Church has done, freely and indiscriminately, not partially and inquisitorially, nor with the nice regard to the peculiar views and party feelings of those on whom it is bestowed, which too often directs and controls in the case of others.' " Now of all the unfortunate assertions to which the venerable rector of Trinity Church has committed himself in this pamphlet, this passage is'certainly the most unwise and unfounded. We have simply carried "the facts involved to the test of the published records of the church, and we will give some of the comparative results which are derived from thence. Let it be remembered that Trinity Church has included in the years past, to which we are now to refer, three congregations, while St. Mark's and St. George's have but one each. ' ' On each side we simply give in our first table a transcript of the parochial reports of contributions from these different churches in the years from 1837 to 1844, inclusive, as they appear upon the journals: Trinity and Tier chapels. St. Mark's. St. George's. $2,912 $1,058 $2,115 1,454 1,616 2,293 1,622 2,285 1,966 1,744 1,001 2,014 1,397 2,000 1,929 1,271 1,500 1,822 2,090 2,270 2,393 2,722 3,397 3,008 $15,212 $15,127 $17,540 252 Rev. Stephen Higginson Tyng, D.D. " That is, in these eight years previous to 1845, the three congre- gations of Trinity contributed eighty-five dollars more than the one congregation of St. Mark's, and two thousand three hundred and eighteen dollars less than the one congregation of St. George's. "From the suspension of Bishop Onderdonk in 1844, the journals of the convention contain no parochial reports until Bishop Wainwright's election in 1853. We now give in a second table the reports of contributions from the three several churches for the three years subsequent to 1853: Trinity and her chapels. St. Mark's. St. Georges. $3,605 $3,747 $12,441 3,600 4,391 12,646 6,311 5,235 16,039 $13,516 $13,373 $41,126 " In these three years Trinity reports her contributions one hun- dred and forty-three dollars more than St. Mark's, and twenty- seven thousand six hundred and ten dollars less than St. George's. " Here are the actual reports of the benevolent contributions of these three churches on the one side, and each of the other two on the other, for the period of eleven years. And yet, in the face of these printed reports, the rector has the hardihood to say of these two churches: ' Now what becomes of this surplus ? To what pur- poses is it applied ? To whom is it a boon or a blessing, — a relief ? I have not learned, neither have I ever met a man who had.' " We have, however, made a third tnhle, extracted fi'om the annual reports of the Board of Missions of the Protestant Episcopal Church in the United States. This is the great missionary institution of the Church, established by the General Convention of the whole Church, — the highest Church authority known to us in our scheme of ecclesiastical government. Dr. Berrian claims for Trinity in his pamphlet, as her peculiar characteristic, and one great cause of all the obloquy she suffers, ' the entertainment of sound Church principles, and the manftd maintenance of them at all times, through good and evil report' He more than insinuates that the other churches whom he challenges to a comparison with Trinity on the field of benevolent action, have acted 'partially and inquisitorially , and with the nice re- gard to tJie peculiar views and party feelings of those on uJtoni it is be- stowed.' But, in our present view we bring this subject, with his charges, to a distinct test. If there be any ' party feelings or pecu- liar views ' in relation to the Board of Missions, the division of the two committees furnishes the only opportunity to display its op- Ministry, i8§j to i8^y. 2 53 eration which could be given. Now, we have examined the ac- knowledgments of receipts by these two committees, from Trinity with her chapels and from St. George's for the past eleven years, from 1845 to 1855. The whole acknowledgments from Trinity, St. Paul's and St. John's are four thousand five hundred and fifty-one dollars and ninety-five cents, from St. Mark's four thousand eight hun- dred and three dollars and twenty-six cents, from St. George's nine- teen thousand four hundred and fifty-five dollars and thirty-six cents. "Perhaps this general statement might be enough. But we will give beside the minute and specific tables of all these acknowledg- ments, just as they stand on the annual reports of the Board of Missions, and our readers shall see for themselves to whom and in what degree either of these churches have been ' a boon or a bless- ing,' or the ' maintainers of sound Church principles.' BECAPITDLATION. Domestic. Foreign. Trinity Parish. $3,327.14 $1,17481 St. Mark's. 2,082.63 2,270.63 St. George's. 3,766.87 15,688.49 " Perhaps the foregoing tables may be enough to show the com- parative beneficence of these various congregations in the mere as- pect of their many gifts. But Dr. Berrian may choose to shift the ground from the contributions of the congregations to the appro- priations of the corporate funds of the several churches. He says, ' The united incomes of St. Mark's Church, Grace Church and St. George's are equal at least to one-half the net income of Trinity Church itself. If this conjecture be true, then after all the suitable arrangements in these parishes are made, and all needful expenses incurred, there would still remain a considerable surplus beyond their own proper and peculiar wants. Now what becomes of this surplus ? ' " We might first answer that neither of these churches hold the property in their hands in trtist for others. They are therefore the judges of their own appropriations. None beyond have any claims upon them. And all they should dispense would be a grant of benevolence. But Trinity is a legal, and a legally appointed trustee, and has no right of control whatever over the proceeds of the prop- erty she holds. Its income is the lawful property of others. If she refuse it or withhold it from them, they are defrauded, and have their jast ground of complaint and action. We shut Grace Church out of the account in this view also, because we have already proved 254 Rev. Stephen Higginson Tyng, D.D. that they have never received any grant from Trinity, but have paid amply, we might say enormously, for all that they have ever ob- tained from this 'munificent corporation.' The income of the property of St. Mark's is three thousand nine hundred dollars. Of this there is no surplus beyond the just fulfilment of the duties and necessities of the parish to itself. There remains only to be con- sidered, therefore, the condition of St. George's. That tMy have any property we have already proved to have been the result of divine protection, in defiance of the oppression and persecution of the vestry of Trinity Church. But -their church edifice is still unfin- ished and there can be, therefore, no surplus income from their property until this result is accomplished, . and their own debt for its accomplishment has been met. But in the midst of all this necessary outlay for their building, the vestry of St. George's have, for four years past, supported a missionary exclusively for ministra- tions to the surrounding poor, and have rented and maintained a free chapel for public worship, and a mission Sunday School, wholly separate from the poor members of their own congregation, entirely from their corporate funds. All this has been done in addition to the benevolent contributions of the congregation, which have been already specified. And it is a happy evidence of what they will be disposed to do for the poor around them whenever there shall be a surplus income from their property at their dis- posal. Let Trinity foUow their example in such ministrations, and from the funds committed to her trust for the benefit of otjier churches, pay over to those who are entitled to them the proceeds of these funds, that other churches may also be made able to follow the same example. " In the meantime the parochial reports of these two selected corporations, as they appear for a single year, in the last diocesan convention, may well make a final comparison which shall show to what extent each has become ' a boon, a blessing, a relief ' to others. St. Geobge's Church: One congregation, One minister. Eight hundred and thirty-three communicants, Sunday Schools, 93 teachers, 1586 scholars. Tbinitt Church. Four congregations. Nine ministers, Eight htmdred communicants, Sunday Schools, mme reported. Ministry, iS^j to iS^j. 255 " St. George's benevolent contributions, from one congregation, $16,039 for one year. " Trinity's benevolent contributions, from four congregations, for one year, $5,811. " These results are a fair estimate of the relative usefulness of the two establishments as they stand, and may be received as a fair practical demonstration of the ' sound Church principles,' which are assumed to distinguish the one, and of the ' Evangelical princi- ples ' which are known to characterize the other. " If the rector of Trinity should choose to boast of the ease and honor of his position, while he drives his four-wheeled chariot, eight in hand, in contrast with the one-wheeled barrows which his contempora- ries t:;undle alone, we should not dare to utter a syllable of dissent. But when it comes to a comparison of work and its results, we doubt if ' the gleanings of Ephraim ' may not be more than the ' vintage of Abiezer,' and whether the burdened rectors of St. George's and St. Mark's may not, after all, be found to have been allowed to bring from the Lord's harvest-field as fair a portion into His granary, with the humble instruments of their toU, as the rector of Trinity with all the wealth, and aU the aid of his exalted and enviable earthly position." The building of the new St. George's Church and its establish- ment upon such a foundation for future usefulness, in all the cir- cumstances of difficulty and aU the elements of power which have been thus related, attests the energy and fidelity of the rector and vestry by whom the result had been so successfully accomplished. On the 8th of October, 1856, the last stone of the spires was laid, the work having been completed at an expense of forty-five thousand seven hundred dollars, exclusive of the clock and bell, subsequently added at a cost of about three thousand dollars. Thus St. George's Church was completed in aU its parts, and it was eminently appropriate that marble tablets should be placed in its wall to record for future generations the names of its honored founders. As these tablets, subsequently destroyed by fire, have never been restored, it is especially fitting that their inscriptions should be recorded here, at the close of this portion of its history. 256 Rev, Stephen Higginson Tyng, D.D. ST, GEOEGE'S CHURCH, NEW YOEK. OOKNER-STONE OF THIS ChUECH LAID JuNE 23d, 1846. Chdbch opened for public worship, Nov. 19th, 1848. Consecrated, Deo. 4th, 1849. Spires completed, Oct. 8th, 1856. building Committee. John Stearns, M.D., Wm. Whitlock, Jr., Fred'k S. Winston, Jacob LeRot, Peter Gr. Arculaeius, Samuel Hopkins. aORPORATION OF ST. GEORGE'S CHURCH. BY WHOM THIS CHUECH WAS EEECTED. Rev. Stephen H. Tyng, D.D.^ Rector. Church Wardens. John Stearns, M. D., Wm. Whitlock, Jr., Feed'k S. Winston, Adolphus Lane. Vestri/men. Thomas S. Callendeb, Sam'l M. Cornell, Heney Anstice, Joseph Lawrence, Jacob LeRoy, Petee G. Aeculabius, Sam'l Hopkins, Wm. K. Steong, Ross W. Wood, Chaeles Tracy, Horace Webster. ST. GEORGE'S CriUROH, STUYVESANT SQUARE, XKW YORK. CHAPTER V. VISIT TO PALESTINE, 1857. MINISTRY, 1857 to 1861. In the spring of 1857, again worn out by his exhausting labors, Dr. Tyng was induced to make another voyage to Europe, and, accompanied by one of his sons and a young man of the same age, sailed for Liverpool soon after Easter. He had long desired to visit the Holy Land, but an opportunity to gratify this wish, at a season of the year most favorable for such a journey, could never be obtained. He, therefore, determined to undertake it at this time. With such an object in view, no time could be lost in any preliminary journey, and all haste was made to reach Jaffa at the earliest day. From the notes of this journey and visit to Jerusalem it may be possible to make "only the following brief extracts. Writing on the 8th of June, he says: "Our arrangements for our journey to Jerusalem were made, and we started on horseback, at 3 P. M. We had a pretty view of Jaffa as we passed away. Had we never been within its walls we might have been pleased with the delusion still. " Everything remains unchanged in these Asiatic towns. T^e tanneries are stUl here on the seaside as in Peter's time. The housetops are still employed for prayer. The ships in the narrow harbor still go forth to Tarshish, as in Jonah's time, and wretched as is the construction of the place, it has a hundred interesting asso- ciations to make it attractive. But we were glad to leave it, bound as we were for Jerusalem. We made our first stopping place at Eamleh, and at nine we started on our night journey, with the addition of two more to our party. " Our course was over the modern road, nearly southeast, di- rectly through the mountains to Jerusalem. About midnight we struck the mountains, and from that time had a terrible ride. I have climbed the Alps on horseback and on foot lines. But such a road as that fifteen miles to Jerusalem I never saw. It seemed impossible that the horses should tread the path, so rocky and 257 258 Rev. Stephen Higginson Tyng, D.D. broken it was. It is a terrific desolation whicli reigns here, and it continues an unchanging ■wilderness of rocks, till Jerusalem bursts upon your view. At daybreak we stopped beneath a tree to re- pose a whUe and get our morning lunch. There w^e first saw a well-known point in the height of Mizpah, which stood before us. Soon afterward we passed the Valley of Elah and the brook where David gathered his five smooth stones. At about nine o'clock we saw the Mount of Olives before us, and presently Jerusalem burst upon us, lymg in its basin of hills, on its own four summits. It is not the most beautiful view of Jerusalem, but every view is striking. No other place can look like it. Travellers speak much of their first emotions at such a time. " The first sight of Jerusalem must make a solemn impression upon every one. I could not but feel it. Yet, I had so long studied it, and was so famUiar with its whole scenery and appearance, that it did not vary in any degree from my anticipations. I was de- lighted to be there, and repeated to myself many of David's refer- ences to it, as I approached its walls. ' Our feet shall stand in thy gates, O Jerusalem.' 'Beautiful for situation, the joy of the whole earth is Mt. Zion.' We entered the Jaffa Gate, and passed by the residence of the English Bishop, and then through two narrow streets, until we came to the Mediterranean Hotel. "The beauty of Jerusalem is gone as soon as you get within the walls, and we were glad to get out of the tangled mass and find the shelter of our hotel. Peculiar feelings take pos- session of the mind, as you find yourself actually here. The very scene of the Saviour's earthly manifestation. The very place of His future return in glory. Meditations left but little desire or opportunity for sleep to me. 1 had now much to see and much to think of. Far more than ever in my life before. Like the disciples who sought their own company, my first object was to find men like-minded with myself. I had letters from Lord Shaftesbury and others to Bishop Gobat, and I went out to call upon him. I found him, as I expected, a most desirable companion. .Simple-hearted as a Christian, and thoroughly evangelical in sentiment and feeling. I had an hour's conversation with him in his study, with much delight, and gained much information of the actual state of things in Jerusalem. The Bishop meets with opposition here among some of the English residents, as he has in England. But he is a man of most gentle feelings as well as determined principles, and appears unmoved by all the obloquy which he has endured. I cannot doubt that he is raised up to accomplish a great and impor- Visit to Palestine. 269 tant work here. The Lord will prosper and bless him. I shall hope to see much of him hereafter. " At one o'clock we went to the Church of the Holy Sepulchre; we walked around its limits again and again. There was a great Latin show going on, but it did not interfere with us. We saw the rent in the rock, and went into the sepulchre. It requires a great deal of determination to be satisfied with the location. And yet it was never disputed 'til of late, and suffi- cient answer may be given, I think, to any objection. The sepul- chre is about two hundred feet from the place of the cross. The whole was an impressive, solemn scene. But I must visit it alone to understand and feel the proper influence of the place. The various bodies of Christians who possess the place have their different altars scattered in every part. It would be a great satisfaction to see the whole removed, and the place laid bare again. "Friday, June 12th. This morning I took my morning walk alone. I went out to the Mt. of Olives, and employed an hour in looking upon Jerusalem from its height, as my Saviour surveyed it when He pronounced its doom. According to His word, it is still trodden down of all nations, and must be ' tiU the times of the Gen- tiles are fulfilled.' Beautiful for situation, its moral and social degradation are extreme. But we still look forward with earnest faith and hope to His appearing. From this higher point I came down to the Garden of Gethsemane, which lies immediately be- neath. I saw from above that the old monk, who keeps the gar- den, was watering his plants, and I knocked at his little iron door for admission. He gently came and opened it, and welcomed me within. It is kept with the neatest care. There are eight remarkable old olive trees there, which must have stood there for many centuries, and are probably growing from the very roots of the trees under which the Saviour prayed. I walked around the sacred spot with peculiar emotion, and for some time reclined beneath two of the trees, to enjoy the meditations of the scene. No earthly object interferes but the sharp and desolate outline of the city wall against the sky. Thus the Saviour saw the city from this very spot, and here in agony poured out His soul in prayer for a sinful race, for whom He was to die. The solemnity of such a scene is almost oppressive. It cannot but bring to the mind a deep conviction of its own sin, as it recalls His anguish beneath its burden. It was the earnest desire of my heart as I bowed before Him there, that I might live a more devoted life for Him who had suffered and 26o Rev. Stephen Higginson Tyng, D.D. died for me. I trust His gracious Spirit, who led me to the earnest prayer of my heart, -will be pleased to guide and keep me in His holy heavenly way. I came home to breakfast, and afterwards again went out alone to the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. There was no visitor there but me. I passed a half hour alone in the sepulchre, and then walked round and round the various points and chapels. I felt the solemnity of the place, but also the oppres- sion of the various impositions of human design intended to in- crease the impression. How often did I wish that the whole place had been left in the simplicity of nature ; as it is, the vulgar tawdri- ness of all the ornaments constitutes a very important hindrance to devotion. It is quite impossible to reaUze the feeling of reverence with which, if the place be real, the Christian heart would desire to regard it. " Sunday, June 14th. The first service in the church this morning was in Spanish, with an address in Hebrew. The second was in Arabic, with quite a large congregation attending. The third, at ten o'clock, was in English. At this, by the Bishop's earnest request, I preached to a very earnest and attentive congre- gation. It was a pleasure to proclaim the gospel on Mt. Zion. The fourth service, at four, was in German. I attended this also, and found the worship quite interesting to me. The evening is occupied by various private meetings in the different houses. I was not able to attend any of them. Thus the Sabbath was passed in Jerusalem. An interesting and grateful day, and one that will be long remembered by me. I feel my mind to have been stored with the facts of this week. Years may be passed in reflecting upon them and improving the information which has been thus acquired. I trust years may be given to me to make it useful to myself and others. The Lord be pleased to write new and living lessons on my heart, and to give me a clearer knowledge of His abounding grace and love in an incarnate and crucified Saviour. " Monday, June 15th. We had appropriated this day to our trip to Jordan and the Dead Sea. We took the Pool of Siloam on our way, and the Well of En Eogel and the Virgin's Well, all of which are very interesting points at the southern end of Jerusalem. Then we started over the Mt. of Ohves, and came to Bethany. This is the very last viUage on the side of Jerusalem towards Jericho and the Valley of Jordan. Just over it is the last height of the Mt. of Olives, where the nature of the place would locate the Lord's ascension. No one can look at the ruins of Bethany and the Mt. of Olives immediately over, without the deepest interest. Visit to Palestine. 261 From Bethany the road descends all the way to Jordan, a descent of some four thousand feet. It is a deep chasm, excessivsly desert, and every step reminds us of the Lord's description. It is a desert way indeed, where many men might fall among thieves. About sun- set we came to our tent, pitched by the fountains of Jericho. " June 16th. Early in the morning we started on our day's journey. We were crossing the plains of Jericho. This immense plain, as it stretches from mountain to mountain, might furnish incalculable quantities of wheat. The harvest had just been gath- ered, and the field was covered with the stubble. We rode for six miles, perhaps, before we came to Jordan. The view is not seen until you are on the very brink. It runs among a tangled swamp, well furnishing a shelter for the wild beasts of which the Scriptures speak. We lingered around the bank for an hour, and then took our departure for the Dead Sea. We reached this about eleven o'clock. It is indeed a beautiful lake, as it spreads out be- fore the view. We got our lunch upon the shore, and began to ascend the hiUs towards Jerusalem again. The valley is a gloomy and precipitous chasm, which David well calls the Valley of the Shadow of Death. Its precipitous sides are filled with the deserted cells of ancient anchorites, of whom it is said fourteen thou sand were at one time murdered here by the Turks. In a later day they built the convent, under Mar Saba's direction. It is his tomb, and a most defensible and substantial place. Here the Greek monks now reside. They received us with great hospitality. " June 17th. Our journey to Jerusalem was by the way of Bethlehem, where we stopped to see the place of the Saviour's birth. They show it as underground, but when I surveyed the exterior, and saw it upon a steep hillside, and the remote end of the village from Nazareth whence the family came, many of the difficulties of the position vanished. There is an air of probability in the circum- stances of the location, which may well overcome any unnecessarj' objections. The town is beautifully situated in the top of a valley. In this fertile valley one may well imagine the shepherds watching over their flocks. And here we saw all the scenes of Euth re-enacted in our sight. What a freshness and reality it gives to the Scripture narrative ! The whole appears to live over again under our view. We got back to Jerusalem to dinner. " Thursday, June 18th. I gave the morning to such prepara- tions as we needed for our return. In the evening I had engaged to be at the Bishop's, where was the meeting of the mission. The Bishop read a chapter of Isaiah, and expounded it, and then made 262 Rev. Stephen Higginson Tyng, D.D. the passage a subject for general conversation. He closed in prayer, in which he commended me in a most tender manner to the Divine protection and blessing. It was a great comfort to me, and I parted with him and the brethren with a very special affection. The meeting closed a most agreeable visit at Jerusalem. I have been much impressed with many views of the missionary work here, which I have not time to record. There may come to me an opportunity in which I can say or do something that may promote the work in which these brethren are most laboriously and wisely engaged." Early in the morning of the 19th Dr. Tyng and his com- panions set out from Jerusalem, on their return to Jaffa, which they reached that afternoon. Here Saturday and a part of Sun- day were passed. And on Sunday afternoon they embarked on the steamer for Constantinople. The intense heat suffered on the ride from Jerusalem, brought on a serious illness, which confined him to his state-room for many days following. It was a great dis- appointment thus to be unable to go ashore at any of the in- teresting places at which the steamer stopped, and especially to be unable to visit the missions at Beyroot, where the vessel re- mained two days, but he was compelled to remain quiet until he arrived at Constantinople, on the 2d of July, whence he writes: " Thursday, July 2d. When I arose at five I found we had just entered the Bosphorus, and were passing the beautiful shore of Constantinople. We anchored in the Golden Horn in an hour, and were soon on board a boat, with all our luggage, for the Hotel D'A.ngleterre, in Pera. Here we were snugly fixed before break- fast time, amidst every desirable comfort. In about an hour the missionary brethren. Dr. Groodell, Dr. Dwight, Mr. Trowbridge, Mr. Schauifler, all called to see me, and I felt myself perfectly at home among brethren, some of whom I had known and loved from my chUdhood. Near fifty years had passed since I was with Goodell at Andover. It was a privilege to meet him once more. And here we are at Constantinople, where there is everything to see and to know. Little did I ever think I should be here." The two days following were spent in visiting the various objects of interest in the city. On the 4th of July they joined the American residents in a celebration of the day, in an excursion on an American vessel up the Bosphorus, and of the remainder of his visit he writes: " Sunday, July 5th. I had promised to preach in the American missionary chapel this morning. I was surprised at the assembly. Visit to Palestine. 263 These brethren have three chapels here, and constant preaching in Armenian, Turkish, and Greek. Their congregations are full, and the work which God has enabled them to accomplish is wonderful indeed. "Probably there is no more successful mission in the whole compass of the lands of darkness. These American missions make a very important fact in this place, and no one pretends to under- value or disregard them. There are now six regular Protestant congregations assembled here, under either the American mission or native pastors ordained by them. These brethren live in differ- ent quarters of the city, quite remote from each other, and thus maintain an intimate connection with the native Christians around them. They have a large printing establishment, and are giving to the nations the standard English religious works, like Doddridge, Bunyan, etc., to the very great delight of the people. But they cannot keep pace with the demand for reading. They have two Bible depositories, one in the main street of Pera, and the other in the very centre of Stamboul, both of which are large and respect- able rooms, quite filled with copies of the Scriptures. These trans- lations have been made by the missionaries here, and they are still engaged in this work. It was an interesting engagement to preach to them in the language of encouragement in their work, and they listened with gratitude and delight. The service was an American Liturgy, in which they all united with interest. My heart and mind were much engaged in proclaiming the Lord's goodness to these faithful laborers in His vineyard. A Turkish service at nine, English at half-past ten, Greek at twelve, by differ- ent ministers and to different congregations. And this in a field where opposition and prejudice have been more violent than any- where on earth beside. The Lord be praised. " Monday, July 6th. My engagement to-day was with Dr. Dwight. I found some difficulty in disco-vering his- abode, so seques- tered is it. I cannot express my sense of the simplicity and self- denial of his Ufe. In a quarter of the city almost inaccessible, he has pitched his tent among the people to whose salvation he ministers. Scarce a foot of room around him to breathe, yet here he lives, a man who might enjoy the most agreeable of American homes, and for Christ's sake, that he may be a messenger of salva- tion to the souls of men. I crossed the whole of the immense city in getting to his home. On my way I stopped at the Bible ware- house, in the centre of Stamboul, on a street where it is more public than it could be on any other there. Here the Scriptures 264 Rev. Stephen Higginson Tyng, D.D. are sold in all the languages of the East, and are demanded for circulation faster than they can be prepared. There is a wonderful advance in. the public sentiment on this subject, in every part of this country, and no obstacle exists to the freest distribution of the Word of God. " Tuesday, July 7th. , There were two interesting meetings to- day at the American chapel, in Pera. The Evangelical Alliance at twelve, when the Dutch Ambassador presided, and the Turkish Bible Society at two, when Dr. Goodell presided. The communica- tions at the former meeting gave a very interesting account of the work of the gospel in the country regions around. It amazes me to see how abundantly these laborers are at work here. Dr. Hamlin is engaged in building church edifices throughout the sur- rounding regions, and everywhere it is found that the British Consuls are the chief protectors of the missionaries. The Bible Society presented reports from their depositories in Pera and Stamboul, Constantinople, by which it appeared that they were quite embarrassed in their work for want of funds. I immediately authorized a draft on the treasurer of the American Bible Society, for the fuU sum of their need. It would seem enough that they should assume the whole burden of the management of the con- cern, without being obliged to suffer the burden of pecuniary embarrassment. I, therefore, could not resist the duty of assuring them that the American Society would cheerfully meet all necessary expenditures in the management of their depositories. The brethren were not a little comforted at my assurance, and Dr. Goodell express- ed himself in the strongest terms in regard to the blessing of my visit. ' ' Leaving Constantinople on the 8th of July, several days were spent in a most agreeable visit to Athens, where he was much interested in the missionary work which Dr. and Mrs. HiU had so long conducted there. On the 23d they arrived at Marseilles, on their return, and from there he writes: " I cannot but regard myself as dealt with in great mercy in this journey. I have been brought back in perfect safety — about four thousand miles; we have travelled around the Mediterranean, without an accident or evU. No earthly journey could have been more richly fiUed with important places or facts. Probably I shall reap the benefit of it during my whole life. I trust it will be worth much in my future ministry. And now that I stand once more upon the Continent, I look back upon my whole journey with thankfulness and delight. I have found everywhere the most Ministry, zS^j to i86r. 265 agreeable friends, and have been treated with a consideration and kindness which have extremely gratified and humbled me. The Lord be praised for all His goodness." After a short journey in Switzerland and Germany, several weeks were spent in England, whence they sailed about the middle ot September, on their homeward voyage. At the first meeting of the vestry of St. George's Church after Dr. Tyng's return, the committee reported the completion of the spires, with clock and bell in place; and thus the whole design had been executed in all its parts. The time had now come when a further step could be taken in fulfilment of "the comprehensive plan adopted when the work was undertaken, and again declared by the vestry in their action in 1851. The original project of a free chapel had been enlarged into the foundation of a church of commanding influence and power, practically free in aU its privileges, and with an income, independent of the pew-rents, sufficient to maintain its ministry and worship. Now stiU more earnest efibrts might be made to carry the gospel throughout the district which lay before it, as the special field of _ labor of St. George's Church. The history of this city mission work, which was one of the remarkable features of Dr. Tyng's ministry, may be properly written only when it can be surveyed from its inception to the close of his rectorship. A few of its facts may, however, be appro- priately mentioned at this date of its permanent location. As early as April, 1851, the Eev. Calvin Wolcott had been appointed a missionary, to give his special care to the large num- bers of the destitute and poor who were even then gathered in that section of the city. His diligent effi)rts and ministry were so prospered that it soon became evident that some special provision must be made for this work. In April, 1854, therefore, a room was obtained at Avenue A and Nineteenth Street, in which instruction could be given to some at least of the large number of children who were entirely uncared for, and could not be brought to the Sunday School at the church. The rapidity of the growth of this first mission school was remarkable. It soon exceeded any accommodation possible in the building in which it was placed, and an enlargement in some way was imperative. To meet this necessity, Dr. Tyng proposed to the vestry, that if they would buy the land, the children of the Sunday School of St. George's Church would erect a chapel upon it. 266 Rev. Stephen Higginson Tyng, D.D. In this plan the vestry cordially concurred, and a committee was immediately appointed to acquire suitable lots. A purchase was soon after made, and the erection of the chapel at once begun. Thus the important work, afterward so successftiUy maintained and so liberally supported, was placed on a firm foundation. One of its most earnest advocates, Mr. Peter G. Arcularius, was not, however, permitted to see the fruition of its hope. Within a month succeeding his appointment on the committee above referred to, his sudden death deprived the church of one of its most faithful servants. The records of the vestry bear this sincere but brief testimony to his character and their loss: "Resolved: That when we recall his usefulness and fidelity in all the relatiops which he filled in connection with St. George's Church for many years past, his unexpected departure is to us as a vestry, and as individuals, a cause of serious grief, making an important vacancy in our number which few can fill with equal usefulness and acceptance. "Mesolved: That while we mourn his departure, we bear our grateful testimony to the purity and simplicity of his Christian character, as he has gone in and out among us; always proving himself a steadfast and grateful friend, a man of peace and kind- ness, and an example of conscientious fidelity in duty, and candor and gentleness in his judgments and feeUngs toward those who were connected with him, a lover of the truth and the spirit of the gospel, and a consistent professor of its principles and commands." The death of Mr. Arcularius was the loss to Dr. Tyng of a truly devoted friend. Another month had scarcely intervened, however, before he was called to endure a most grievous affliction in the death of his oldest son, Dudley, stricken down in the midst of a most useful career, and when he had obtained a position and influence which betokened a ministry of remarkable power. Of the circumstances of this dispensation, in their successive occurrence. Dr. Tyng writes in the little memorial of his son, which was soon afterwards published, under the title "The Child of Prayer." " The 18th of April, was the appointed Anniversary of the Sun- day Schools of St. George's Church, and this passage of Scripture (I Samuel i. 27, 28) had been selected by me, as the topic for my address to the multitude of children gathered on that day. But God was pleased to arrest my work on that occasion, by summon- ing me to the bedside of my dear first-born son. The succeeding Sabbath, the 25th of April, I had long before engaged to pass with Ministry, i8^j to 1861. 267 my son in the ministry for his own Church in Philadelphia, and I was looking forward to this day of communion with him among his people, with aU the delight with which his visits and my pres- ence with him were ever anticipated. How little could I imagine that on that very day I was to stand in his place, to preach in commemoration of his own departure ! My loved one gone, and his father's desolated heart trying to speak of him to a gathered multitude who loved and venerated him ! Little could I have dared to hope that I could ever perform a task like that. Both morning and evening I was permitted to stand and speak for Christ, and to speak of my dear boy with a heart bleeding with sor^ row, and yet rejoicing with gratitude. I did it, not to commemorate the honor of that son as a minister of Christ, but to speak of a life now finished, as in aU its succeeding events — a gift of God, to tes- tify of 'A Child of Prayer,' in the father's simple history as a father feels. " Of the remarkable cause of the death of this beloved son, I need say but little. It was one of those facts, which, as one ex- amines the place and manner of its occurrence, would be said to be impossible. Yet, this was the will and plan of God, who loved him, bought him, owned him. He had passed the whole of Tuesday, the 13th of April in his study. In the afternoon, he walked to his barn, where his laborers were at work with a common horse-power con- nected with some farming machine. He stood on the right side of the mule which was at work, patting the animal on the head, in his usual gentleness of spirit. The right side of his study gown was caught by the small cog-wheel on the axle. Probably before he discovered the fact, he was dragged down by this wind- ing of his dress, and fell with his right arm upon the large wheel, beyond any power, which he had, of resistance. The man who was attending the machine discovered him in a moment in this condition, but before he could stop the mule, the cogs had ground the flesh from the bone, from the elbow to the shoulder. The resistance of the bones united with the brake to stop the wheels, but not until a death-wound was made, which no human skUl or power could avail to cure. " Prom Tuesday to Friday, the symptoms appeared encourag- ing', but the necessity for immediate amputation occurred, and it was accomplished about three o'clock on Saturday morning. A consultation of his physicians spoke hopefully of his case. But no professional anticipation could delude me into a moment's hope. I had read the result in my first sight of him. I could not be mis- 268 Rev. Stephen Higginson Tyng, D.D. taken, thankful as I would have been to be so persuaded. About nine o'clock on Monday morning, I perceived him sinking with great rapidity. At twenty minutes of two in the afternoon all was quietness and rest. It was an holy place, and a solemn, subduing hour. My Isaac whom I loved had been offered. The desire of mine eyes had been taken away from me with a stroke. And though I had hoped to pass my weary age, and to be gathered to the tomb under his tender and faithful ministrations, while he should fill after me the important posts of duty to which the Lord had been pleased to call me, and maintain my testimony after I had gone, I have nothing to say. Good is the word of the Lord, that He hath spoken. ' Bless the Lord, O my soul, and all that is within me bless His holy name.' " Ye who know the blessedness of bowing down the head like a bulrush, in sweet submission before a covenant God, alone can know the peaceful repose with which I looked upon that dear face, which had never met me but with the sweetest tenderness of filiai affection; which for years had been the manly index of a brother's heart, beaming with clear intelligence of the things of God; which in every relation, had been the very joy and pride of my heart, now marked with the seal of death, and was able to say with Abraham, in my poor degree : ' Lord, here I am. Be it unto me according to thy word.' " The funeral services of this beloved son were celebrated on Thursday, the 22nd of April, at ' Concert Hall,' Chestnut Street, in which his Church was accustomed to assemble for worship, and where but ten days before he had been preaching to them the Word of God, with his accustomed earnestness. What unprece- dented honors were paid to his memory in that sublime and over- whelming spectacle of his funeral ! How strange seemed the fact that respect for a private youthful minister of Christ should thus gather crowds of sympathizing thousands, literally to stop the pas- sages of the streets of a busy city in the very noon of its earthly engagements. How wonderful the testimony which collected and venerated ministers of Christ bore to his character, fidelity and usefulness! How remarkable has been the interest awakened in this connection throughout the land ! Newspapers of every kind, re- ligious and secular, and of every shade of political opinion, record- ing an expression of an universal sentiment. It would be impossi- ble to numerate the hundreds of pulpits in which, already within these few weeks, his youthful death has been made the subject of public remark, and the most sympathizing interest. My own per- Ministry, i8^j to 1861, 269 sonal griefs have been swallowed up in my sense of the public loss." ' Among the innumerable tributes of the press none more truly than the following delineated the striking features of his character and career. It is an extract from an editorial notice in the Boston Courier : " The almost unprecedented interest awakened in the whole community, by the lamented death of this singularly gifted and exemplary young clergyman, induces us to devote more than a usual portion of our columns to a wUling tribute to his life and labors. The Rev. Dudley Atkins Tyng was descended on both sides from a race distinguished for its primitive and sturdy independ- ence and integrity of character. He was born in Prince George's County, Maryland, on the 14:th of January, 1825. An ancestry com- bining such marked qualities of mind and heart in the individual cases is seldom found among family antecedents, and in the character of the lamented deceased there was exhibited a very decided and happy union of the most valuable qualities, thus illustrating his lineage. If it could be said, as it has been, that ' those who knew the father of Mr. Tyng, knew his son also, ' it could be said with equal truth, that those to whom the venerable Bishop Griswold was known, could confidently say that they knew Dudley Atkins Tyng. The father stiU lives, ' in labors abundant ;' in influence for the pro- motion of the cause of his Divine Master unsurpassed ; in the gift of a noble heart and an eloquent utterance almost peerless through- out the Church ; the grandfather still lives, as does the grandson, in the power of a character dear to the Christian heart, cherished in Christian memories, and stUl speaking, by the manifested beauty of a ' life hid with Christ in Grod,' and by the triumphant glories of a death which was as the ' very gate of heaven.' " Mr. Tyng was early distinguished for scholarship ; and in the year 1839 entered the University of Pennsylvania, where he gradu- ated in 1843 with high honors. Eventually deciding to enter upon the ministry, he became a member of the Episcopal Theological Seminary of Virginia, and while there took rank among the first as a scholar, and was unsurpassed in the gift of a ready extempora- neous oratory. " After leaving the seminary, he was for a whUe the assistant to his father at St. George's, from which church he was called to Columbus, Ohio, and then successively to Charlestown, Va., and Cincinnati. In every position, the record of his life, character, and work is one which may well compel the respect of every 270 Rev. Stephen Higginson Tyng, D.D. Ghristian man. In Cincinnati, especially, Dudley Tyng won the love of all classes, by his noble example of a lofty and unswerving CLristian demeanor, his broad catholicity of opinion and sympathy, and his labors in every good work ; and secured the marked attention of the whole community, by his power as a pulpit orator, 8incere,Jearnest, and eloquent, in the defence and confirmation of the gospel. Some two or three years since, he was called to the rectorship of the Church of the Epiphany, in Philadelphia, a church, the fruit of his father's labors and prayers, and in the charge of which the son was the worthy representative of the fa- ther's eloquence, zeal, and activity in Christian duty. " Of the circumstances under which Mr. Tyng surrendered the charge of the Epiphany we do not now propose to speak. If we differ from any as to the course pursued by him in relation to the introduction of the discussion of political or governmental pohcy into the pulpit, we shall certainly not differ from his friends as to the Christian demeanor manifested by him in the issue. If we have ever entered our protest against the treatment of political topics in the pulpit, we shall never withhold our admiration of him who in the defence of even a mistaken judgment bears himself so courteously and Christianly throughout its issues. " For the last year, or more, Mr. Tyng has been the rector of the Church of the Covenant in Philadelphia. " It is not too much to say of him, that in this connection no clergyman of his age in the Church commanded a wider circle of regard and influence. The charm of his ready extemporaneous oratory, together with the fervid earnestness, directness, and clear method of his preaching, unifotmly drew to his ministrations a con- gregation which in numbers and united sympathy with a loved and honored rector, was perhaps without a parallel in the Episcopal Church. Nor was this all. As one whose heart went forth in all love for those who dififering from him in ecclesiastical views, yet loved the same Lord, and cherished the same faith, Dudley Tyng was in return the object of the most affectionate regard of Chris- tians of every name. It has been well said of him, that ' the exam- ple of his honored father had taught him to combine loyalty to his own communion with fraternity toward the universal communion of the saints ; and a remarkably genial and amiable temperament united with these principles of his early training in disposing him to fraternize with all the friends of Christ.' " And it is in this aspect that our sincere respect is commanded for the character of the lamented dead. This is an age which Ministry, iS^y to 1861. 271 empliatically demands a closer union of all Christian hearts to the efficient promulgation of gospel truth. The sturdy and rightly directed blows, by which a rigid and assuming ecclesiastical spirit, wherever found, has been met at the hands of the sterling rector of St. George's have been matched by the fearless energy of his son, in supporting the principle and adopting the practice of Christian union for a common object. The prayer of the noble Liturgy of the Church, ' from all uncharitableness, Good Lord, de- liver us,' has, in both individuals, found its complement of a dili- gent watching thereunto. " The example of both, consecrated for a new influence by the death of the younger, will surely tend to raise up new advocates of an expansive Christian love, and thereby adyance in a surer strength and a wider influence the cause of Him whose whole life is but the record of an undying love. '' In the death of Mr. Tyng the Church Catholic has indeed experienced a great loss. A noble standard-bearer of the cross has fallen upon the battle-field, but his last words of divine cheer will still multiply in power in every Christian heart. No more touching incident has ever met an eye, in the range of Christian biography, than is presented in the dying moments of this young soldier of the cross. " Mrs. Hemans, in one of her beautiful martial lyrics, commem- orates a youthful warrior, who wrapped the flag of his country round his breast, and thus saved it from dishonor, even in his death. But more touching than this, is that last charge of a dying son to a father, by whom it had originally been given ; that calm yet resolute testimony to the value of the Christian faith, in words which had been to the aspiring young clergyman as 'a scroll written upon the standard of his calling.' These words them- selves, in which after all the germ and purpose of a simple gospel •faith are embraced — 'Stand up for Jesus' \hese came forth from the scene of his last struggle, amid the deeply afflicting circum- stances in which they were uttered, with an appeal to which the hardest heart could scarcely be found insensible. For him, the tears of the Church universal will hallow the grave of the departed ; whUe the memory of his high faith, of his noble eloquence, of his gentle virtues, so dear to the domestic and social circle, and of that wide range of Christian influence, begotten by the divine Spirit of Christian love, can not fail of its proper effect upon the hearts and lives of thousands tvho have known but to love the life and charac- ter of Dudley Atkins Tyng." 272 Rev. Stephen Higginson Tyng, D.D. Many were the expressions of sympathy which were borne to Dr. Tyng, from the multitudes who mourned with him in this great affliction. Among these the following, which was communicated by his esteemed friend. Dr. Thomas Cock, of the Society of Friends, is especially worthy of note. Sixth Day Morning, 7th Mo., 9th, 1858. Dear Friend: I have this morning received a letter from a par- ticular friend of mine, now residing in Iowa, formerly of this city, a minister of the Society of Friends. Extract. " Every feeling in me capable of religious sensibility has been awakened, and deep Christian sympathy has extended to that worthy and devoted servant of the Lord Jesus Christ, Stephen H. Tyng, in that deeply afflicting dispensation that his Heavenly Father has lately called him to endure. For years I have loved him with the love of Christ, as a Brother in the Lord, and vener- ated him as a Father in the Church, having his writings to instruct me and open clearly to my understanding, whilst the witness for God in my heart bore testimony to the fruits of the Spirit, the influences of which were and are to gather souls to Christ and bring all unto God, through Him the alone way. " What a remarkable evidence of the Almighty power of the grace of God in man was the meekness and submission of Stephen H. Tyng and his faithfulness given in Philadelphia after his son's death. Here we have the realities of Religion — a precept of Life, Power, and Love in the soul of man, having God for its author and sus- tainer. As it retains its godlikeness it knows no sectional bound, but is free as the air and universal as the light of day. Because I love this disciple, I feel for him in his deep grief and sorrow and rejoice with him in the glorious prospect of ere long joining in the realities of eternal bliss, his and other purified and redeemed spirits, never more to know of trials and separation, but where, through the boundless mercies of our God in Christ Jesus our Lord, we shall forever and ever enjoy his presence and mingle in the countless multitudes in celebrating His praises from gold harps of His love. " 1 never spoke to this dear minister, but for years have owned his writings. I have often felt it was his due to know what a bless- ing they have been unto myself. " Ministry, i8^y to 1861. 273 He further adds that at some suitable time this should be read to thee. I have forwarded his kind expression of Christian sympa- thy, hoping this] may give that consolation which I beUeve, aa a Christian brother, thee sincerely feels. Thy affectionate friend, Thomas Cock. Other similar letters might well be referred to, but this record may not appropriately include more than the affectionate letter re- ceived by Dr. Tyng from his clerical brethren in New York, and his reply thereto. New York, April 1\st, 1858. Brother, Sore Afflicted: Accept from brethren some token of their fellowship in your grief. We waive the forms of condolence — too deeply have our hearts been touched by the fearful stroke that has smitten yours. The agony of a father over a child already a dis- tinguished brother in the ministry crushed ere his zenith, in the midst of his valor for his Lord, and the clinging affections of his rising household — no words of ours can soothe. We can only turn to the consolation of knowing whose Hand hath done it. With you, we bow before His sovereignty, confessing, through the clouds and darkness round about Him, righteousness and judgment the habi- tation of His seat. Nor only submission; acquiescence in His will is our peace, knowing that He smites to heal, and that the severest chastenings of His children are the discipline of His love. But you know these things full well, and all which we would say. We will not add to our words. We leave you, dear brother, with the sympathy you most desire : our prayers that God, in His good pleasure, will accomplish in you all that He purposes in this trial of your faith, making you to know and testify more abundantly the riches of His grace in Christ Jesus — and for the bereaved ones of our departed brother that such may be the orderings of His provi- dence towards them, and the blessings of His Spirit, that they shall adore the Lord who has taken away, as the Lord who can give; and confess the fulfilment of the promise, " the seed of the right- eous shall not be forsaken." " Grace, mercy and peace from God the Father, and the Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit." Affectionately your brethren in Christ. Horatio Potter, Samuel H. Turner, Etc., Etc. , Etc. 274 R^'^- Stephen Higginson Tyng, D.D, St. George's Eectohy, A^pril lUh, 1858. at Eev. and Dear Sir: JRev. and Bear Brethren : Your affectionate and tender communication was handed to me by Kev. Dr. Cutler, on the day of the funeral of my beloved son, and I have but just returned to my own home. The sorrow through which I have passed has been great, almost more than I have felt able to endure. When I look at the deep beneath me, my spirit sinks helpless and crushed. When I meditate upon my grief, my heart bursts with agony. My love, my pride, my sympathies, my hope, were placed completely, perhaps sinfully, upon that dear boy. We made but one heart between us, and he seemed to me like another self. The loss to me for the residue of my life, under any circumstances, would be a burden that I can never forget, per- haps not for a single waking hour to come. How dear, how tender, how affectionate, how absorbing to me he was, I cannot tell you. But such was the suddenness of this dispensation, so terrific in its nature, so full of circumstances of bitterness in the anguish he en- dured, that I was stunned with the agony of my distress. Yet God, our gracious God and Saviour, as He comforted and supported me with marvellous dispensations of His love, so also has been pleased to support me with special demonstrations of kindness. The pleas- ure of being with him to the last, and witnessing all the wonderful exhibitions of the grace of God in him, as the love of God was shed abroad in his heart by the Holy Ghost given unto him, was a precious alleviation. The witnessing of the boundless sympathy and tenderness which waited upon him and watched around him was a great comfort. The manifestation of the divine strength and peace which was made in the experience and ability of his dear ^Stricken wife was a precious example. The honor which he re- ceived from brethren of every relation among the people of the Lord was a source of much consolation. And by all these and other instruments, and especially beyond them all, by the immedi- ate ministrations of His Holy Spirit, God has been pleased to carry me through in peace, though in anticipation the sorrow would have seemed more than my poor heart could bear. Even now, when my mind regards the sorrow itself, I am unable to contain the anguish of my spirit. But in Jesus all is peace. It hais been His gracious will to give me complete submission; yea, in your own precious words, " acquiescence in His will," and I find it peace. He has strengthened me to go through the trial without complaint, and with unfeigned gratitude. He has enabled me to see the un- Ministry, i8^j to 1861. 275 searchable riches of His grace in the work which He has thus completed, and I feel no disposition to say anj-thing to Him but the language of new love and praise. Though sorrowing, I am still rejoicing in my sorrow. My beloved brethren, your precious letter to me has been a di- vine cordial to my heart. How much I thank you for it, and love you for it, I have no words to express. For thirteen years' minis- try among you, I have had no cause for one unkind feeling towards any of you. And now your tender sympathy fills my soul with peace. May our gracious Saviour pour back into your own bosoms all the kindness which your words express to me. Should His love ever shade your habitations with sorrow like unto my sorrow, may you find His precious ministrations of peace to your own wounded hearts, in even more abundance than He has been pleased to grant to me. I sincerely trust that all our future relations will be a nlani- festation of the kindness and grateful love which I feel towards you all, leading to a mutual edification in love, in the service and Church of our Lord Jssus Christ. Tou will excuse my replying to your kind letter in the method I have adopted, it seeming to be the only one in which I could hope to reach you personally with an expression of my gratitude. May the Lord's everlasting goodness and love in Christ Jesus shine upon you all, in your own souls, in your ministry, and in your families, filling you with all joy and peace in believing, through the power of the Holy Ghost. I am, Kight Kev. and Dear Sir, and Rev. and Beloved Brethren, with the most affectionate respect and gratitude, Your faithful friend and brother in Christ, Stephen H. Tyng. Et. Rev. Horatio Potter, D.D., Rev. Samuel H. Turner, D.D., Etc., Etc., Etc. In February, 1859, the Rev. Dr. Heman Dyer, who since 1854 had been Dr. Tyng's only assistant in the services of St. George's Church, was obliged, by the accumulation of other duties, to sever his connection with the church. His resignation was most unwillingly accepted by the vestry, with a testimony of their esteem in these words: " Resolved: That this vestry entertain the highest opinion of the integrity, purity and holiness of personal character which has dis- tinguished the Rev. Dr. Dyer, in all his personal and official re- lations to this church and vestry, and they agree to his request to 276 Rev. Stephen Higginson Tyng, D.D. dissolve Ibis connection with very sincere regret, and a grateful re- membrance of the services so faithfully and cordially rendered." Any record which could be made, would, however, be an inade- quate expression of the affection and esteem with which he was ever regarded in St. George's Church. " His praise is in all the churches," and the influence of his life and ministry can never be forgotten in the Church, in which, with such distinguished ability, he has labored so faithfully and so long. The intimate relations which he held with Dr. Tyng, not only at this time, but through life, and his peculiar opportunities of observation, make of greater value and interest the reminiscences of this period, which he has em- bodied in the record of his own life. " For five years," he says, " I was the assistant at St. George's. During six or seven months of one of these years Dr. Tyng was ab- sent in Europe, when I was alone in charge of the church. " I take great pleasure in saying that mj' connection with St. George's, and my relations to Dr. Tyng, to the vestry and the con- gregation were of the pleasantest character. I found the Doctor always considerate, obliging and accommodating. He was rigidly exact and methodical, as well as prompt and energetic, in the ad- ministration of affairs. His cares and responsibilities were im- mense. " The great church, accommodating two thousand people and more, was crowded. The Sunday Schools and Bible classes num- bered between one and two thousand. And yet to all this work he gave a personal supervision. He knew every teacher, and could call every child nearly by name. His administrative abilities were simply marvellous. But in all this work, he was never in a hurry. From his Sunday Schools and Bible classes he would come into the vestry room, robe himself and prepare for the services with the ut- most deliberation. He could not tolerate a fidgety or fussy person. The sexton knew his place and kept it. He was never obsequious, never obtrusive ; but simply respectful, attentive and on time. He knew better than to volunteer to do things, but followed with ex- actness the prescribed rules. Upon the instant, he opened the door for the officiating clergy to pass into the church, and this was a signal for many of the gentlemen to take out their watches to see if they were right. They well knew that if there was correct time to be found anywhere in the city, it would be at St. George's. " The church was crowded to excess. It came to be a common thing to have all the spaces around the chancel completely filled every Sunday, and not untrequently many had to stand during the Mitiistry, iS^j to 1861. 277 entire service. By crowding, the churcli could aeeommodate from two thousand five hundred to three thousand persons; of course many of these were strangers, so that each Sunday, beside his own congregation proper, the Doctor preached to hundreds of strangers from all parts of the country. It was indeed one of the things for a visitor to do, on coming^to the city, to attend St. George's and hear Dr. Tyng preach. " The more I was with Dr. Tyng, the more could I understand the devotion of his people, and particularly that of the teachers and children of his Sunday Schools to him. They almost idolized him; and well there might be this devotion, for he never wearied in his devotion to them. In sickness and in trouble, he was promptly with them, and untiring in his ministrations for their good. " The Anniversaries of his Sunday Schools and the offerings there made by the various classes, and all the services connected with them, became a matter of public interest, and drew immense crowds. During this period, the offerings of the Sunday Schools and of the congregation generally, for benevolent and Christian objects, were much larger than those of any other Episcopal Church in the country, so that the influence of Dr. Tyng, and of St. George's throughout the country was very'great, and was freely ad- mitted by all fair-minded people, though there were some who never liked to speak kindly or^peaceably of him. '' On one occasion, a clergyman from another diocese was in one of our book-stores, the proprietor of which was an old-fashioned High Churchman, when something in the conversation led the book- seller to mention the name of Dr. Tyng. Instantly this clergyman commenced a tirade against him, and after blowing out for a whUe, he closed by saying that ' he wished he would leave the Church; he was no Churchman, and he did the Church nothing but harm.' " My old friend, who was usually very calm and very courteous, was thoroughly annoyed by this onslaught, and responded: ' That may be your opinion, but I tell you it is not my opinion, nor the opinion of those who know Dr. Tyng. If you take the whole of ,' here mentioning the clergyman's diocese, ' all its clergymen and all its congregations, and put them together, you could not begin to make one St. George's.' " On another occasion Bishop Whittingham was dining at the house of a friend of mine, and there were present two or three young clergymen, who thought perhaps they might gain a little favor with the old Bishop by making some disparaging remarks about Dr. Tyng, and so they expressed the opinion that he, and all 278 Rev. Stephen Higginson Tyng, D.D. such men, did much harm, and that it would be better for the Church if they would leave it. The Bishop kept silent till they were through, and then quietly remarked: " 'Young gentlemen, you are much mistaken. I have known Dr. Tyng, long and well. I do not agree with him in many things; but I do not hesitate to say that he has done a great work, and brought more people into our Church than any clergyman in it.' After this, the young men had nothing more to say. " One day I was walking with Bishop Wainwright, and as we came into Second Avenue, near Sixteenth Street, we turned around, and there stood St. George's in all its grandeur. The Bishop stood for a minute, and said nothing, and then lifting up both hands, he said in the most solemn manner: 'I bless God for St. George's; it is doing a wonderful work. I wish we had twenty such churches.' " It is not possibly generally known, that during his last days, Bishop Onderdonk of New York attended the services of St, George's and the ministrations of Dr. Tyng. In the popular mind. Dr. Tyng was always regarded as a Low Churchman, and so in the popular sense he was, but he was a very decided Churchman, as his father, Judge Tyng, was before him. I heard Bishop Mcllvaine once remark that Dr. Tyng said but little about his Churchman- ship, though he had a good deal of it. When the Church was at- tacked, he was like a thermometer plunged in boiling water, shoot- ing at once up to the highest point. So he was in all his connec- tions, tastes and habits, a thorough Churchman. " When I was with him, it was his custom ; upon the occasion of the Bishop visiting his church for confirmation, always to say to the Bishop when he arrived: 'I hand the Church over to you as the chief pastor for this occasion. Please arrange the services as you wish to have them.' But no man was ever quicker to oppose any unlawful assumptions of power, or any infractions of the rights of the clergy by the Bishop, than he was." In his letters on " Preachers and Preaching in America," writ- ten at this time. Dr. Dyer speaks more particularly of Dr. Tyng in his characteristics as a preacher and public speaker, and thus completes the picture : " As a preacher. Dr. Tyng stands among the foremost in America. He speaks without notes; has a wonderful memory, and an almost unUmited command of language and illustration. His views of gospel truth are clear and distinct, and in the pulpit he is always solemn, earnest and impressive. He confines himself strictly to preaching the gospel, never allowing himself to be diverted by Ministry, iS^y to 1861. 279 outside influences from this one great object. His instructions are sought by multitudes who do not belong to his Church, and his own people place them above aU price. No man is more beloved than Dr. Tyng is by his own flock. The children and the youth almost idolize him. As a platform speaker Dr. Tyng is unrivalled. The less prepared, the more wonderful apparently he is. Some of his impromptu addresses reach the highest style of eloquence. They seem like inspiration. He is grand, severe, argumentative and playful, as occasion may require. His form is slight, his presence commanding, his actions graceful and his voice clear and pene- trating. Everybody hears him, and everybody understands him. He is never so great as when his indignation is kindled. Then the lightnings flash and the thunderbolts are hurled in every direction, and woe to the man who gets in the way. But he is never so happy as when, in gentle mood, he tells of Jesus and His great sal- vation. As age draws on, he seems more and more inclined to withdraw from everything else and devote himself to his own people. Among them he is perfectly knovm and understood, and with them he is happy. Such is Dr. Tyng." On the retirement of Dr. Dyer, the system was inaugurated by Dr. Tyng of having for his assistants the young men who had been educated for the ministry under his guidance. Of these there were always several in different periods of prepara- tion, and when their course in the seminaries was completed, a year of practical experience as assistant in St. George's was of thoroughly appreciated value as preparation for their work. Thus was St. George's a fountain from which flowed, in many directions, streams of blessing and of power throughout the Church of God. Its influence was not confined in any narrow channel, but as widely diffused as the tireless energy of its rector found no restraint when there was any work to be done. There was proba- bly no feature of Dr. Tyng's ministry in which his influence was more effective, however, than in the devotion of so much of hi3 thought and care to the instruction of the youthful portion of his flock, and led by his example and success he had many followers in this most important field. The number of those who came within the hearing of his voice was small when compared with the vast numbers whom his contri- butions to the press brought within the circle of his influence, and, amidst whatever cares and duties, time was found for con- stant efforts in this direction. The large circulation which his lectures on the history of Ruth had received, induced him in 1859 28o Rev. Stephen Higginson Tyng, D.D. to issue another volume of the same character, and he therefore prepared for publication the lectures on the history of Esther, which had been the subject of his Sunday afternoon sermons during the previous year. To this volume he gave the title " The Captive Orphan," and as he had drawn from the history of Kuth a distinct illustration of the doctrine of redemption, so the history of Esther was taken as delineating and explaining the great doctrine of divine providence. Thus in successive courses of sermons the various histories of the Old Testament were brought out fully in the truths which they were designed to teach. An opportunity for the exertion of a still more enlarged influ- ence was opened to him when the editor of the 'New York Independ- ent asked him to become a regular contributor to that influential paper, and suggested to him a number of articles on Sunday Schools. A series of letters was therefore prepared, which he entitled, "Familiar Letters on Sunday Schools." Their publica- tion was begun in February, 1860, and continued, weekly, during the six months following, when by urgent request they were gath- ered and published in a volume called " Forty Years Experience in Sunday Schools." On the completion of these letters a new series of weekly papers, under the title, " The Lost One Found," was at once begun, the subject selected being the parable of the prodigal son. These have never been published in a more permanent and accessible form, but the following letter attests their interest and usefulness, and was most gratifying to Dr. Tyng, not alone in its expressions of appreciation, but in its testimony that his words were thus given the still larger hearing of which it speaks: Eev. S. H. Tyng, D.D. Bear Sir: — I thank you a thousand times for the series of arti- cles on " The Lost One Found." I bless you for the light of life in your own soul, and for the ability and willingness to communicate to others, what gives you such joy and what has been so often blessed to those who have attended. For more than twenty years, I have been trying to proclaim the gospel of Christ to the lost, and nowhere have I found it expressed so clearly, — so much as I would be glad to express it, — as in the writings from your pen. Indeed, dear brother, I have availed myself of your ideas, words and instructions in some two or three instances in preaching to my own charge, and I think with great profit and interest to all who heard, and it is my intention to be still more indebted to you. Ministry, iS^j to 1861. 281 I am constrained to say so much to encourage you to go on in the use of your pen doing so much good to souls. In the mean- time, though not a member of the Episcopal Church, nor of the denomination of the The Ind^endent, I am, yours, A. H. H. The contributions to The Independent were continued untU. early in 1861, when the editorship of Tlie Protestant Churchman devolved upon Dr. Tyng and compelled his whole attention. The very decided stand which Dr. Tyng maintained in his rela- tions with his fellow-Christians, and his readiness in every good word and work, made him constantly the subject of criticism and censure. He stood as a leader or standard-bearer of the Evangelical party of the Church, and against him the hostile shafts of its oppo- nents were continually hurled. The Churchman, then distinctively the organ of the High Church party, was particularly bitter in its attacks, and seldom lost an opportunity for animadversion, which often was expressed in peculiarly malicious terms. One of its editorials about this time, under the caption, " An Erratic and Unruly Pres- byter," was quoted, with the following comments by The Independent, and is notable for its reflection of circumstances of iaterest and of the lights in which his independent course was regarded: " Such is the style in which The Churchman speaks of that emi- nent presbyter of the Protestant Episcopal Church, in the Diocese of New York, whose contributions have enriched the columns of this journal. "We have always regarded Dr. Tyng as one of the favored few to whom 'God has not given the spirit of fear; but of power and of love, and of a sound mind.' We have found him always liberal, catholic, magnanimous; yet, as emphatic in his preferences for the Episcopal Church, as in the avowal of Christian charity. Such we believe is the favorable judgment which non-Episcopal Christians in general have pronounced upon the rector of St. George's Church ia this city, as one, who, though uncompromising in his devotion to Episcopacy, and indefatigable in zeal for the growth of his own Church, is to be adniired for the breadth of his Christian sentiment, the depth and earnestness of his piety, and the perfect self-poise of a mind occupied with such manifold and various labors. But we are required by the highest authority that the Episcopal Church boasts in journalism to reverse this judgment, and to look upon our extra- denominational collaborator as ' erratic ' in mind and ' unruly ' in Churchmanship. The evidence, we con- fess, is as weighty as the charge is aggravated. We give the items: 282 Rev. Stephen Higginson Tyng, D.D. "Imprimis: 'A few weeks since, Dr. Tyng officiated, contrary to the express wish of the rector, in a parish in New Jersey. For some unexplained reason, the rector, of the parish upon which Dr. Tyng intruded, allowed the case to fall through after it had been brought before the provisional Bishop of the diocese. " ' Emboldened by impunity, Dr. Tyng is now proceeding to greater lengths, in open and expressed defiance of Church order and public opinion.' "But does not the gravamen of this charge lie against the authorities of the Church itself, rather than against Dr. Tyng ? If the sacred prerogative of the Episcopate and the Apostolic ' Church-order ' are so feebly guarded that an individual presbyter can put them openly at ' defiance,' what is there worth maintain- ing in either ? We suspect, moreover, that Dr. Tyng's ' impunity ' in this regard, is of no recent date, and is not limited to this dio- cese. His specific ofience now, is that he preached the gospel somewhere in New Jersey, without asking permission of the neigh- boring rector. "The second count is as follows: An excellent body of Metho- dist brethren, — who have separated themselves from the Methodist Episcopal Church, — are building a house of worship in Forty-first Street. These 'schismatics of schismatics,' as The Churchman styles them, invited Dr. Tyng to participate in the religious services at the laying of the corner-stone of their edifice. In the course of a manly and Christian address. Dr. Tyng said: " ' He was opposed to the practice of ministers apologizing for taking part in an enterprise that was not immediately connected with their particular denomination. If it was a work upon which God looked with favor, it was all right. As for himself, he went where he liked, and did not care a snap of his finger who opposed him. Christ had broken down all partitions, so far as bigotry was con- cerned, and yet it was necessary to have the great Christian family parceled out into sects. He was firmly attached to Episcopacy, and he respected brethren of other denominations the more for their adherence to their respective creeds; but he hoped the walls that divided the religious world would not be so high as to prevent brethren of various denominations from looking at each other.' " In this, The Churchman scents the dreadful sin of schism: — sin, by the way, nowhere specified in the New Testament, but belong- ing to the category of mortal offences invented by the Church of Borne. Ministry, iS^j to 1861. 283 " 'So far as we can interpret Dr. Tyng's peculiar construction oi language, he intended to apologize for scliism. " ' " From all false doctrine, heresy and schism, Good Lord, de- liver us. " " ' May we inquire, in all charity, whether Dr. Tyng uses the Litany, and if so, how he reconciles it to his conscience to pray for deliverance from schism, and then, not only encourage it by his presence, but actually to become its apologist ? Let us have con- sistency. If Dr. Tyng believes that schism is justifiable, let him not pretend any longer to belong to the Church which regards it as a deadly sin.' " If there is such a sin as schism, and if separation from the ecclesiastical party which The Churchman represents, be that sin, then surely Dr. Tyng is most erratic, schismatic and unruly. But why should The Churchman advise him openly to commit that ' deadly sin ' ? May we lawfully advise unto mortal o£fences ? Why not deliver the defiant and unruly offender over to Satan, with bell, book and candle ? " Bern No. 3: 'On Sunday last, at a meeting of the Evangelical Alliance, held in the Presbyterian Church in Fifth Avenue, (Rev. Dr. Alexander's Church), we again find this reckless adventurer holding forth.' " We suspect there is no denying the fact here alleged, and The Churchman assures us that ' this public behavior of Rev. Dr. Tyng is grossly inconsistent with his obligations as a presbyter of the Church.' "Item No. 4: 'Dr. Tyng held in his own chapel, a meeting to raise contributions toward the proposed monument to Luther, at Worms.' Such are the facts upon which the charge of ' erratic and unruly ' conduct is based. And we put it to the reader whether the charge is not fairly made out? Ought a minister of Christ, who preaches without getting permission from a parish rector, who utters words of Christian fellowship at the laying of a corner-stone, who enters the pulpit of another denomination to plead for the gospel in behalf of the masses who are living in ignorance and sin, who recognizes the schismatic Luther as a true Christian and re- former, — who not only does such things, but does them in the most open, unaccountable, reckless, adventurous and defiant manner — ought such a minister to be regarded as of sound judgment and orderly deportment ? " We beg our readers not to suffer the excellent contributions of Dr. Tyng to warp their judgment upon such a momentous 284 Rev. Stephen Higginson Tyng, D.D, question. The fact of his writing for The Independent, is as ' erratic and unruly ' as anything we have specified. And yet, alas, for con- duct such as this. The Churchman can find no remedy, it says, and we believe it fully. " ' "We have not the slightest hope that anything we have said or can say, wiU have any effect upon Dr. Tyng, who, as he says, " does not care a snap of his finger who opposes him," but we do most earnestly and seriously beg to draw the attention of the provisional Bishop of this diocese to the conduct of one of the presbyters under his charge. This is a case in which the Bishop is imperatively bound to exercise his Episcopal authority, and we trust that Dn Potter will at qnce bring his erratic and unruly presbyter to an account for his conduct. Pending this action on the part of the provisional Bishop of New York, we have nothing further to say upon the subject at the present moment.' "As soon as we are informed of Bishop Potter's action we will lay it before our readers. Meanwhile we agree with TM Church- man, that we are bound to believe ' that Dr. Tyng's unaccountable conduct will be so overruled by divine providence as, in the end, to be of service to the Church.' We are quite sure that 'the Church' needs just the service that Dr. Tyng is rendering. Would that all the ministers of Christ were such prophets, and that His Spirit were upon them all." The two parties in the Episcopal Church differed widely, not only in respect to the relations thus referred to, but upon important points of doctrine. They had, however, existed for z long period, in a general unity which was well represented by Dr. Tyng in an illustration on one occasion, when he likened the Church to the body, with its two parties, as the legs which might not be strapped together, but each allowed full play in the locomotion of the body. In this unity had been the comprehensiveness of the Church in all its history; for this, the liberty to hold their own principles and act in accordance with them, the Evangelical party alone con- tended. They sought by manifestation of the truth, not by legis- lative or judicial action, to establish the prevalence of their princi- ples in the Church. When they found, however, that the machinery of the Church was used to propagate the views which distinguished the opposing party, and they seemed to be forced into bondage by it, the time came when they were compelled to take a stand in their own defence. Such were the circumstances in which, in the year 1860, an important step was taken by the formation of the American Church Missionary Society. Ministry, i8^y to 1861. 285 For a period of twenty-five years the whole missionary work of the Church had been managed by a board of missions, appointed by the General Convention. In this the Evangelical element had never had a just or reasonable allowance of influence or authority. They had always been in a minority, habitually without ability to direct, often under circumstances of extreme opposition in the work which they were required to support. The churches which they represented had contributed the larger portion of the funds expended, though deprived of due influence in their dispensation. Thus they had generously given their money and efforts to the collection of funds administered by an authority in the constitution of which the contributors, as such, had no voice. They had seen that the necessary tendency was to spread and establish throughout the missionary field the very doctrines against which their earnest and conscientious efforts had been always directed. All this injustice and oppression they had endured, in the desire to maintain a continued appearance of union. As the last step in this partisan tendency the late General Con- vention had divided the whole organized western field between two new Bishops, representing the same class of church views. There had been recurring intimations of dissatisfaction and efforts of relief from the system thus pursued. In 1851, and again in 1855, meetings had been held to consider the subject, but the earnest request of some, not yet prepared to unite in a separate organization, had induced continued delay. Subsequent to these meetings there had been frequent conferences, until the preparatory steps were taken to form the American Church Missionary Society. The several meetings at which this important result had been ac- complished were composed of the most efficient and influential clergymen and laymen of the Evangelical portion of the Church. They were marked by the most open and free discussion, without concealment or the exclusion of any who desired to participate. The conclusion reached appeared the clear and undoubted line of duty in the crisis involved, and it was the cause of the highest satisfaction that at last a stand had been taken in accordance with honesty of conviction and purpose, and most likely to promote and maintain the truths of the gospel in the Church. The first Anniversary meeting of the new society was held in St. George's Church, on the evening of the 24th of October, 1860. On this occasion Dr. Tyng presented and read the report of the executive committee. It recited at much length the history of the organization and the progress of its operations, and closed with 286 Rev. Stephen Higginson Tyttg, D.D. the following declaration of the motives with which the Society was established, and the course which it was intended to pursue: " This ia a society founded upon distinct and distinctly adopted principles. The two rival schemes of mere Ritualism and of Evan- gelical truth, the one leading to a satisfaction with the form and the letter, and the other leading to a spiritual and intelligent em- bracing and maintenance of the gospel in the spirit, as these two schemes are seen contending in the Episcopal Church, are wholly inconsistent with each other. The necessity of the defence of the gospel in our Church, led, thirteen years ago, to the formation of the Evangelical Knowledge Society, to maintain its all-important truths by the press. Well would it have been for us, if, instead of delaying, under the solicitation of respected and beloved individ- ual brethren, we had consummated at the same time, as many desired to do, a society for the maintenance of these great princi- ples by living missionaries. At last, after all the experiments of delay and concession have proved unavailing, our brethren and the friends of Evangelical truth have been constrained to assume a stand, which, if taken thirteen years ago, would have saved large sums of money, expended in opposition to these very truths, and occupied large tracts of ground with a faithful EvangeUcal minis- try. To send out such a ministry, and such a ministry only, is the purpose of this society, not a ministry merely fortified with ecclesi- astical certificates, but a ministry known and certified in Evan- geUcal personal character. This distinguishing purpose must be openly avowed, and thoroughly understood. We desire to find Evangelical, spiritual men, whose hearts are really engaged in the preaching of a crucified Saviour, and in saving the souls of their fellow-men, who do not employ themselves in the mere preaching of the Church and the Sacraments, but truly proclaim the riches of pardoning grace in the blood of Jesus to penitent sinners; who are not occupied in the maintenance of a mere sectarian warfare, in crying ' The Temple of the Lord are we,' but desire grace, and exercise love towards all those who love our Lord Jesus Christ, who are not satisfied in the mere adding to the numbers of an out- ward flock, in Baptism, Confirmation, and the Lord's Supper, but labor that sinners may be converted in heart, born again of the Spirit, and made new creatures in Christ Jesus; who do not direct sinners to a Saviour to be found in ordinances and outward forms, but to a Saviour to be received in the heart by faith, and embraced in the soul by the power of the Holy Spirit, in the assurance of a lively and blessed hope; who do not proclaim the sinner's justifi- Ministry, iS^'j to 1861. 287 cation by human works, or ordinances of man's observance, but by the glorious righteousness of Christ, made by faith in Him, the robe and clothing of the soul; ministers who will tread in the bright path of apostles, reformers and messengers of a later day, like the Venns, Simeons, Wilsons, Scotts, and Richmonds of Eng- land; and the Griswolds and Moores, the Milnors and Bedells of our Church. " If such men can be found among us, we wish to send them and estabhsh them throughout our Church. If such laborers as these cannot be found, or are not to be brought forward to the harvest, we shall have no employment in this association, for we are purposed to send no others. Nor, if in any case we find our- selves deceived in individuals, shall we consent to employ them, after they are discovered to be not of us. " If it be objected that this is a party stand and movement, we are not careful to answer. We mean it shall be only the party of the Saviour, and the movement of the Holy Spirit, if the Lord shall be pleased graciously to bless and prosper our work. And ij is upon the ground of these distinctive principles as expressed in the clear and faithful standards of our Evangelical and Apostolic Church that we have united, and mean to stand. If men do not like these principles, and do not wish to promote them and to see them triumph, we cannot expect their union and co-operation with us. Principles opposed to these are arrayed with an openness which we should have done well always to imitate; and they who choose them have abundant instruments for their promotion in channels already opened. This is the first perfectly free and open channel for the extension and furtherance of principles like ours. Our single avowed platform is loyalty to Jesus the Saviour, devo- tion to His gospel, and desire and purpose, only and always, to promote and establish His dominion over souls redeemed, con- verted and saved. If the years of our past concessions had been thus occupied and devoted, the aspect of the Episcopal Church would have dififered widely from the present. " For the extension of these great Evangelical principles, for which we have professedly contended, and which we have desired to estabhsh, there is an abundant and opening field. There is not a single organized diocese in our country in which there are not communities and churches desiring and asking for such a ministry, and often struggling in feebleness and disappointment to obtain it. Often in years past have we personally found hands stretched out to exclaim against the oppressions of Tractarianism and semi- 288 Rev. Stephen Higginson 7yng, D.D. popery in the teachings of the pulpit, and in the corruptions of the simple and earnest worship of our Prayer-book, and asking us personally and individually for aid to gain a faithful and edifjing ministry of the Word. We have now an association to answer, if the Lord permit, such important and imperative applications. " The whole domestic missionary field, beyond the organized dioceses, asks for just the ministry which we desire to send. There is no limit to the future extended usefulness of such a society, if liberally supported, faithfully administered, and earnestly main- tained. If others desire to receive or to maintain another ministi-y, we have no warfare with them for places or persons. But the sup- port of such a ministry must come from those who desire and prefer it. No longer can we permit ourselves to labor and pay for the extension and support of a system which we conscientiously believe to be fundamentally erroneous, under the plea of an exter nal but heartless union, and in r^ real concession of personal con' victions of duty, solemn acknowledgments of truth, and indispensar' ble obligations to maintain it. " For this great work of spreading the Saviour's gospel, in its purity and power, by a faithful Evangelical ministry, over a large, open and unoccupied field, we are here united. We thus plainly, and without qualification, declare our principles and our purposed work. And convinced that we are truly on the Lord's side, and in the Lord's service, we look up to Him for His prospering blessing, and to our friends and brethren around, for their liberal persever- ing and earnest co-operation. If Jesus shall be pleased to smile upon our work, His blessing will make us rich, and no sorrow therewith. A reviving gospel will glorify His name, many precious souls converted and saved, and churches yet unborn, in fields thus prepared and transmitted, shall shine to His honor, when, like David, ' we have served our generation and fallen asleep." " With these distinctively avowed purposes the society entered upon its work. Its organization gave rise to much discussion, and the tone of many of the articles in the Church press, in opposition to it, were hostile in the extreme, but its supporters ably defended their position, and but a short time elapsed before conciliatory propositions were made by the Board of Missions. These were, however, firmly declined, as independent action seemed a more desirable course. In the close and constant connection which Dr. Tyng had maintained with the missionary work of the Church, and for many years as one of the most active members of the foreign committee Ministry, iS^y to l86i. 289 of the Board of Missions, he had pressed the claims of both domes- tic and foreign missions unceasingly. He had, it may l;e affirmed, collected c larger amount of funds for their support than any other of the clergy of his time, but he had consistently and strenuously advocated at all times the voluntary system as the only correct and equitable mode of their administration. The organization of the American Church Missionary Society was, therefore, the attainment of his hopes and desires for many years, and he engaged actively and earnestly in its projected establishment, and all the proceedings by which it was successfully accomplished. Continued prosperity attended it in aU its efforts, and among the churches contributing to the successful prosecution of its work, none exceeded St. George's in the amount of its collections, or in the interest of its individual members. One of Dr. Tyng's most earnest associates in the organization of this society, the Kev. Henry Anthon, D.D., rector of St. Mark's Church, New York, did not long survive to co-operate in its work. His lamented death, on the 5th of January, 1861, removed one of its most ardent advocates and most valued officers. In the memo- rial sermon which Dr. Tyng delivered, at the request of the vestry of St. Mark's Church, he mentioned the following incident of his first acquaintance with Dr. Anthon, and in view of -their recent con- nection, and the very intimate relation which had long existed between them, it is a most interesting fact. "It has been," he said, " but for the twelve years past that my relations to him have been particularly personal or intimate. Our first mutual introduction, when compared with the facts of these closing years, was singular enough. " In 1829 he and another clergyman in this city were appointed with myself a committee at the annual meeting of the Domestic and Foreign Missionary Society, in Philadelphia, to adjudicate, if it were possible, some terms of a^greement between the two parties in the Church, in the affairs of that society. We met in my study in Philadelphia; they, the selected representatives of the one side, and I of the other. We could agree on but little; our views were very separate, and the discussion of separating principles in our Church was then what it has remained for the more than thirty years since. But how changed has been the issue with these indi- viduals themselves ! One pushed his exclusive sentiments until he left the Church and became a Papist. The other followed them as long as lie could with a clear conscience toward God, and then turned nobly back, in the midst of immense and accumulated diffi- 290 Rev. Stephen Higginson Tyng, D.D. culties, and for years has stood on tlie very ground which on that day he earnestly opposed, and filled at his death the office ot chairman of the executive conamittee of the new missionary society, forced into separation by the very principles which he then defended and maintained. The facts which have been included between these two points of time, and involvjCt in the very relations which they have illustrated, have in a remarkable manner demonstrated the proper application of our text to him. " The religious schools of Bishop Griswold in Massachusetts, and of Bishop Hobart in New York, in which we were severally brought up, were certainly very different indeed ; and the individ- ual transfer of mind and habits from the one to the other, was in many great points of thought, a complete revolution. That he completely renounced the one for the other in such a revolution, it would not become me to say. That the tendency of his mind and feelings was for many years wholly in that course, has been a fact too openly avowed and displayed by him to be denied. My first acquaintance with him, more than thirty years ago, impressed me with a peculiar pleasure from his manifest earnestness of con- science, and his extremely frank and friendly manners, and from that time, every year but the more engaged my respect for him as a truly earnest religious man. But when from 1830, the semi- papist doctrines of the Tractarian school began their procession among our churches, though his feelings and opinions were very strongly on the old High Church ground, it was impossible for him to sustain the new errors which, as it appeared to him, were now to be engrafted upon the sentiments of his youth. He instantly opposed them, and contended with earnestness against them, as a system which he knew and felt to be thoroughly wrong. He main- tained this opposition till, in July, 1843, the great conclusion of the .Carey ordination threw him completely off from all his old ecclesi- astical connections, and placed him necessarily and finally upon the opposing side " His departure has made a sad chasm for many. Few men are like-minded, generously to care for the state of others. Pew men would be so generally and truly missed in the varied walks which afifection blesses, and fidelity relieves. To us who were especially connected with him in the benevolent affairs of our Church, his loss wiU be great indeed, and we can hardly dare to look for any one who can catch his ready pen, his quick perception, his clear decis- ion, his unfailing punctuality, his unwearied ability and wilhngness Ministry, i8^y to 1861. 291 to work. His cheerful manner and habit were the very life of our Associations. He never failed to minister to our pleasure, to our encouragement, to our greater earnestness and readiness in duty; and there will be no dissenting voice among those who have associ- ated with him in the labors of the gospel, from the testimony which I have given.'' The death of Dr. Anthon not only made an important vacancy in the management of the two Evangelical Societies, in both of which he had been particularly active, but he had also most ably edited the Protestant Churchman, which under his direction had been the representative paper of the Evangelical party. In this responsibil- ity and labor Dr. Tyng had for some time previously assisted him, and now, on his death, assumed the whole burden of this work, within a few months becoming the proprietor and sole editor of the paper, which position he retained for several years. The conduct of a weekly paper of such a character, imposed great responsibility and added greatly to his labors, yet it brought him no remuneration in any pecuniary return. The work wap cheerfully assumed, however, and it affords but another instance of his readiness in every good work. Notwithstanding the burdensome ■cares which his immense pastoral work involved, in whatever variety of effort, no appeal to Mm was ever made in vain. CHAPTER VI. UNION SOCIETIES. PUBLIC ADDRESSES, 1845 to 1860. The prominent and close connection of St. George's Church with what were known as Union Societies is one of the most inter- esting and important facts in its history. In the present establish- ment of these organizations of Christians of every name, it is diffi- cult to realize the opposition and obloquy with which many who united in them were forced to contend. The attitude of the Episcopal Church was especially hostile to them, and the more honor is due to those of her members who took a decided stand in affiliation with their Christian brethren in these, then questioned but long since acknowledged means of united labor lor the glory of God and the welfare of their fellow-men. In the formation of the American Bible Society in 1816, as in that of its natural outgrowth, the American Tract Society, nine years later, Dr. MUnor and members of the congregation of St, George's Church were most active agents. Thus identified with them in their origin, St. George's continued ever steadfast in their support. To Dr. Milnor's " quiet persever- ance" it has been said " The Episcopal Church owes much of its present interest in the cause of the American Bible Society. The cause of Union, the union of Christian hearts and labors, is incal- culably indebted to the dignified stand he so calmly and so firmly held." A review of Dr. Tyng's labors in this field is an important chapter in his history. There was no more distinguishing charac- teristic of his ministry than the earnestness with which he engaged in and advocated these so-called " religious amalgamation societies." In the first years of his ministry he espoused their cause and he remained their constant champion, defending them on all oc- casions and from every species of attack. The American Bible Society, the American Tract Society, the American Sunday School Union and others, had no more faithful laborer in their different 292 Union Societies. 293 lines of religious effort. In these connections, lie succeeded Dr. Milnor not less directly than in his pastoral work, and with ability unexcelled he gave their service a devotion equalled by few of his contemporaries. The anniversary meetings of these different societies, in the month of May each year, the " May Anniversaries," so long held in the old Broadway Tabernacle, were then in their full glory. People came from far and near to attend them, while the ablest speakers in the land were sought to give them interest and influence. In them Dr. Tyng was always prominent, welcomed continually as a speaker always ready, bold and uncompromising in his utter- ances, and possessing a power of thought and expression which commanded universal attention. It has been written of him in this connection, that: "WhUe faithful and successful as a pastor to an uncommon degree, he exerted an influence far beyond the bcahds of his parish, and made his power felt in almost every department of Christian philanthropy and benevolence. Of a broad, catholic spirit, with in- tense convictions of the eflS.cacy of the gospel of Christ for the re- demption of lost and suffering humanity, and with unsurpassed, if it was not unequalled, power, to enforce his convictions, upon aU who came within the sound of his voice, his services were not re- stricted to the Church of his love, but were freely given to all branches of the household of faith. So quick and responsive was his sympathy for every well-ordered effort to bring men nearer to Christ, and so ardent and zealous and effective were his appeals for those engaged in these efforts, that he was regarded as the staunch and eloquent advocate of every deserving cause of benevolence and reform, and no orator upon their platform was more eloquent than he. " Especially was he a mighty power for good in the days when the anniversaries of the great National Benevolent Societies were centres of interest throughout the Evangelical Church. Year after year was he the central and commanding figure of 'Anniversary Week, ' and often his voice was heard at most of the meetings that occupied that week. " He impressed his peculiar personality upon every occasion. Of commanding presence, resembling a general at the head of his army rather than the pastor of a quiet flock. And with a facility and fluency of extemporaneous utterance that never hesitated for a word, and that the most fitting word, and with rare felicity of thought and illustration, with fiery, impassioned, magnetic elo- 294 R^' Stephen Higginson Tyng, D.D. quence swaying an audience at his will, Dr. Tyng will ever hold a place in the memories of his favored auditors, as among the most gifted, persuasive, cogent and irresistible orators of our day." Bishop Clark, in writing of Dr. Tyng's power as a speaker, says: " On the platform, in certain respects, he had no superior. It never appeared to make the slightest difference whether he had been able to prepare himself by days of study or was called to speak without a moment's preparation. The promptness with which he launched himself into a speech and the spontaneousness of his utterance were very characteristic of him. From the moment that he opened his mouth the words seemed to come of themselves clean, clear cut and sparkling, gliding out so rapidly that it some- times appeared as if they must outrun the thought that gave them their impulse. The sentences of one of his off-hand speeches would often assume the same protracted, elaborate form which charac- terizes Barrow's' discourses, and the wonder was how such compli- cated periods could be framed without any previous study. I once ventured to ask him if he never forgot the beginning of one of these long sentences before he came to the conclusion, and he said that this was often the case, and then he added: 'I just talk on for a whUe, until everybody else has forgotten; after which I can finish the sentence as I please.' It is not to be inferred from this, that he ever failed to make a most distinct and definite impression. Amid all the rich profusion of words and interlacing of sentences, the thought stood out sharp and clear. He had a marvellous mag- netic power over an audience. There was something behind the ar- gument, and even behind the earnestness by which the argument was expressed, which gave him a peculiar power, and if he had been bred to the bar, there are very few lawyers in the land who could have coped with him. " I remember a great public meeting where he was assigned his place as the last speaker of the evening. Before his time came the audience, wearied by the lateness of the hour and the efforts of listening to a series of duU addresses, was fast dropping away, and when the clock struck ten I whispered to him, ' It will not be pos- sible to keep these people any longer, and if I were you, I would not try to do it.' ' We will see about that,' he replied, and just as the last speaker closed, the Doctor sprang to his feet and with half a dozen lightning words arrested the receding tide of men and women and held them aU spell-bound to the end; for no one seemed able to move from his place after the electric fire of the Doctor's eloquence had touched his soul." Public Addresses. 295 The Rev. Dr. Theodore L. Cuyler, who was more frequently perhaps than any one in association with him on the platform, remarks: " He was, in my judgment, the prince of platform speakers. His ready and rapid utterance, his hearty enthusiasm, his cour- ageoas style of speech, and his fervent j3ro;'ec<«ie power of reaching the hearts of his audience, gave him this undisputed supremacy. " One evening, a compUmentary reception was given to John B. Gough, in Niblo's Garden Hall. A large number of eminent speakers participated. After Henry Ward Beecher and I had fin- ished our brief addresses, we took a seat over by the wall and lis- tened to Dr. Tyng, who was in one of his happiest moods. " While he was speaking, I whispered to Mr. Beecher, ' Is not that superb platforming ? ' Beecher replied, 'Yes, it is indeed. He is the one man I am afraid of. I never want to speak after him, and if I speak first, then when he gets up, I wish I had not spoken at alL' Some of the rest of us felt just as Mr. Beecher did. " The printed reports of his popular addresses, do him no ade- quate justice. He spoke too rapidly for the average reporter, and no pen or paper could transfer the electric voice or powerful elocu- tion of the orator. He was always the man to be heard, and not to be read. His personal magnetism was wonderful. " 1 count it to have been a constant inspiration to have heard him so often, and a bless,ed privilege to have enjoyed his intimate friendship." Dr. Tyng's principle of action in his Master's service, as he declared on one occasion, was to be always ready when called upon in a good cause — and most truly did he prove the truth of this assertion. It would be vain to attempt to recall a tithe of the occasions upon which he spoke during the years covered by the present review. Many of his speeches were not reported, but a few may be specially referred to as depicting his character and giving expression to his views. On. the arrangement of the Standing Committees of the Ameri- can Bible Society in 1846, he was appointed Chairman of the Committee on Anniversaries, and so continued for the twelve succeeding years. In this position, as he said in one of his speeches, he acted " as the sexton of the Anniversaries; it was his duty to bury every delinquent speaker.'' At its anniversary in May, 1846, he delivered an address which, even in the following imperfect abstract, is worthy of particular 296 Rev. Stephen Higginson Tyng, D.D. note, alike for the earnestness of its expression and the beauty of its thought. " I feel that I am doing my Master's work," he said, " when 1 plead the cause of the American Bible Society. I have nailed the flag to this cause, and never shall it be hauled down. I view it as the work of God, and it is not the right of any man to gainsay the principles on which it is founded or the work which it accomplishes. I cannot find it within my conscience to withhold my co-operation in its efforts. From the first day until this day, and in time to come, my heart is with it. The day is hastening when the men who have clung to this cause will be the truly honored. The interests in which we are engaged are imperishable, and the time wUl come when men who now look with jealousy on this society will be glad to shelter themselves under an influence which is felt to be good, only good, and good forever. In looking abroad upon the spiritual destitution, the direct and only method of its supply is by giving them the Bible. I do not mean to undervalue other instrumentaU- ties. But everything connected with the Bible, except its sacred truth, is but an incident thereto. Give me that, and I will view all other things, — ^the Church and its clergy, — but as its building, as the means and instruments of its conveyance. For this, were churches made, and for this only was the ministry established. I agree most heartily with the gentleman from Virginia : 'We will stick to the ministry whUe, and only while, they stick to the Bible.' " The right to have the Bible, to interpret the Bible and to ap- ply its truth is not the right of the Church nor the Clergy. It is the right of every individual. The Comforter is not promised to the Church nor the Clergy, but to every believing soul. And I hold that each individual soul has the unqualified right to read and interpret and apply the Bible for himself. It is my Pilgrim blood that has made me Episcopalian, It is the very independence which brought our fathers to Plymouth Rock, that brought me un- der the shelter of that kind of hierarchy which, in the corruptions of its power, those men rejected, and against which they rebelled, and I honor them for that rejection. I would have rebelled and rejected it myself. And should similar oppression and similar cor- ruption ever arise nearer home, I would follow the Puritans and the Scotch in resisting its power, but I would imitate the Puritans in seeking a refuge in the wilderness rather than the Scotch in tak- ing up a sword in my own defence. In this spirit we are bound to follow out this work. We must respect and regard the right of every man to have the Bible. What' are the great contests of our Public Addresses. 297 day but contests between the Bible and something which men would have us accept in its stead ? At what do all the anti-Chris- tian organizations of the day aim, but to deprive us of the Bible, and to lead us to take what they offer us in its room. " The Socialists, the Fourierites, the infidels of every class would take from me my Bible and throw me upon passions and appetites and interests which nothing but the Word of God can give me power to control. And shall I abandon this sure guide and accept of their proffered substitutes ? Shall I leave the light and the glory of God, and go down to dig and delve with self and sin and Satan beneath the sod ? ShaU I leave the lofty heights of the empyrean, the seat of God's ineffable glory, and stoop to commune with the powers of darkness and of hell ? I hold the whole system to be a perfect incarnation of Satan in its influence. Its purposes are base and its principles, which I am sorry to see some respectable book- sellers keep upon their shelves, involve nothing but moral pesti- lence and death, to be dealt out to man. " There is another class who would take the Bible from me and give me in its place the dogmas of the Church of Kome. Now, sir, I hold that if any man is infallible, I am infallible myself. If I am to submit to the opinions of any mere man, it shall be the man who lives within my breast. I will be bound by no man's in- fallibility. But I will take the Bible for myself, and ask assistance from that source where all have the promises of guidance and di- rection. " But there is still another form of hostility to the Bible, sacred in its origin, but baneful in its results. It is that which seeks to break it up in catechisms and forms and creeds of man's device. I will take the creeds of my own Church, on the ground which that Church decides, so far as to me they are in accordance with the sacred Scriptures and no farther. The connection between the Bible and the men who immediately succeeded the period of in- spiration is between infallible and fallible. However I may rever- ence the men, I can acknowledge no authority in them beyond the Word of God. There is no shelving shore from revelation to later periods of the Church. The junction is like the elevated pier in the full tide of ocean. No man shall throw me overboard, no man shall tempt me overboard, nor will I go to sea with any man or any class of men, vrithout that sure and infalliblecompass, the Word of God. And by that, and that alone, shall my bark be directed. " The Bible is itself supreme. It does not need a ministry to interpret it; it does not tolerate a ministry to stand upon its ground. 2.98 Rev. Stephen Higginson Tyng, D.D. Every one, the highest and the lowest, the poorest cottage girl who sits by her door and knows nothing but the truth as it is in Christ, ' a truth the brUliant Frenchman never knew,' must read it for herself and interpret it for herself, and is as truly responsible for the manner in which she applies its truth as the moat learned of its readers. " When I go to that book, God speaks to me. I need no succes- sion. I go at once to the fountain-head. It is not man that speaks. He speaks to me, as if there were but one single Bible, and an an- gel had come down and bound it upon my bosom. It is my Bible. It was written for me. It is the voice of God, holding communion with my own soul, and never will I forfeit my right to commune with God. Nor is that communion to be held before councils or in open temples, or in the presence of sects and priests and through the intervention of others. It is an act to be transacted in the most sacred sanctuary of the Lord. No sects, no priestly interference can be admitted. It is an affair between God and my soul. And as Abraham bid the young men abide with the ass at the foot of the mountain, so will I ascend and go to meet God, alone at the top. I wish my views upon this point, thrown out as they are before this large assembly, to be stated clearly and to be distinctly understood. The press may proclaim them to the world as those of a man who speaks for himself, and not under the constraint of creeds or the imposition of men. That book is the book of God, and when I go and commune with it, I hold communion with my God. "I am Moses, just come down from the moving mountain, his face shining with joy and the glory of God. " I am Isaiah, and have come from the golden courts where the seraphim and cherubim shout hallelujah to the Lord God of Hosts. " I am Paul, and have seen the third heavens opened, and can tell what is uttered there, and have seen glories ineffable, which no tongue can tell nor imagination conceive. " I am John, and have laid my head upon the Master's bosom, and have caught, warm with his breath, the very whispers of the sweet counsels which He has breathed into my ear. " It ia not from any intervention or interpretation of man that it derives its power. God gave it to me. He made it and He has preserved it, nor does the fact that He has transmitted it for cen- turies through the agency of unclean birds, as Elijah was fed by the ravens of the valley, change its character. It is still bread and food for all the world. " And now that I am called to speak for this society, I can Public Addresses. 299 speak with confidence and determination. We are brought to the crisis when the work must either go on or be given up. On every side, need, desire, suffering, pressing want meet our view. And we at this day, to an extent we have little power to calculate, hold the key of supply. " We are to save this land for Christ in this generation in which we live, or we are to lose it forever. We are to carry on the work now or lose the chance of settling the question who shall have do- minion over it. If each one of the thousands gathered here from widely distant sections of the land will go away resolved to double his exertions and contributions to the cause, we shall carry out the plan and seven hundred and fifty thousand apostles and prophets will be sent out into the length and breadth of the land." In an address in the same year, at the anniversary of the Society for AmeHorating the Condition of the Jews, he took as his subject " The Fulfilment of Prophecy " and said: " It is now more than fifteen years since the veil had been taken from his eyes regarding the prophecies that told of the warfare and glory of Israel, and ever since, he had everywhere and at aU times proclaimed the belief which he still devoutly held that the literal interpretation of prophecy is the only consistent one; that the Jew- ish people would yet return to the land of promise, and that the Lord Jesus Christ would personally reign among them, literally making Jerusalem the throne of the Lord, and using Jacob for his battle-axe to subdue the nation unto Himself." Continuing, he said: " There is not a pulse in my heart that does not beat in sympa- thy with and hope for Israel. For years I have pondered their destinies in the privacy of my study. The Bible has become more precious and the Jews more loved, and there is not a Christian en- terprise of the day which so interests my heart. When four years ago I was in London and that dearly loved man, most fitly named Michael Solomon, was about to proceed on his mission to Jerussf- lem, I thought, and indeed remarked to a friend: 'Who knows but he may live to see the feet of the Saviour alight on Olivet. ' But he sleeps on the heights of Zion, and stUl the glory is not there. Faith, however, none the less relying on the divine promises, con- firmed by the divine providence, halts not, falters not, doubts not; but waiting for the hastening unto the glorious result when aU Is- rael shall be saved, feels that no spirit is too earnest, no plan too large or too liberal, and no prayer too fervent that looks to the great end of giving Israel to Christ and Christ to Israel." 300 Rev. Stephen, Higginson Tyng, D.D. In advocating the cause of Temperance, in which through life he was most earnestly engaged, he said: " Men may say I speak strongly. If men on the watch-tower fail to sound the alarm, who wiU? It is the duty of the puJpit to speak out boldly and faithfully." An address upon the same subject, which he delivered in be- half of the New York City Temperance Society, during the year 1846, is thus referred to: " In a speech of much power and beauty he reviewed the good that had been already accomplished, and showed the necessity of a rehgious prosecution of the work on the part of Christians, and especially Christian ministers. It is a part of Christian duty, for intemperance is an evil which stands wonderfully in the way of the labors of the ministry, and tells fearfully against them. He con- tinued, in his own peculiar and impulsive eloquence, to show the necessity there is for every Christian minister identifying himself with the cause; none have a right to excuse themselves. The work belongs to the Church, and by the Church of God it can best be done. This was his leading point, and those who have heard him need not to be informed of the clearness and beauty with which it was demonstrated. " Could those who are in doubt respecting the necessity there is for them to take a stand in this matter, have listened to him, could they have followed him from point to point in this argument, as for nearly an hour he went on, they would have gained more light and a better knowledge than they now profess to have.'' At the Twenty-fourth Anniversary of the American Sunday School Union, held at Musical Fund Hall, in Philadelphia, on the evening of May 15th, 1848, Dr. Tyng delivered a notable address.* In offering the resolution that " The real welfare and the useful influence of our beloved country must ever be mainly dependent on the religious training of the children of our land, and that the American Sunday School Union is an agency wisely adapted to promote this end," he spoke upon the subject at much length, and in his most forcible manner, in the approval of its work. Though frequently urged to accept engagements upon the lecture platform, he could not be induced to employ his time for the purposes either of personal gain or of merely literary enter- tainments. Seldom, therefore, was his voice heard upon any subject dissociated from the one object of his life and thought * Appeudix II. Public Addresses. 301 One of these few occasions, and it is the more interesting from this fact, was the celebration of the centennial of the initiation of Washington into the Fraternity of Free and Accepted Masons. Elaborate preparations were made by the Grand Lodge of the State of New York, for the proper commemoration of this interest- ing event, which occurred on the 4th of November, 1852. From his well-known interest in the order, of which he had been a mem- ber since 1826, Dr. Tyng was invited to deliver the oration. The celebration was most imposing and brilliant in its character, as well from the impressive ceremonies as from the attendance of the various lodges in the full regalia of their different degrees. Metro- politan Hall, accommodating an audience of some four thousand persons, was crowded in every part, and still large numbers were unable to obtain admission. Tlie oration of Dr. Tyng was a eulogy of the character of Washington as " an exemplification of the principles of Free Masonry," and was subsequently published by the Grand Lodge, as being particularly adapted to remove prejudices against the order. It is probably the only extant example of his writing of a similar character, and in its delivery was said to have been most eloquent and effective. Identified as Dr. Tyng had been with the operation of the American Bible Society, the provision of enlarged accommodation for its increasing work was a project into which he entered with much interest and effort. The completion and opening of the new Bible House on Astor Place, in February, 1854, was therefore an occasion of great gratification, a large amount of the special contributions necessary to defray its cost having been personally obtained by him. It is related that at one meeting, when required funds were not at hand, it was proposed that an intermission for an hour should be taken, during which each one present should make a special effort. At the end of the time. Dr. Tyng, it is said, returned with pledges amounting to more than ten thousand dol- lars, as the result of his one hour's work. The amounts of the collections in St. George's Church, which have been before men- tioned, abundantly attest the interest and Uberal action of its people in the work and system of this and its kindred societies. They were favorite objects of its beneficence, and the annual offering for each was as regular as for any department of its own or its mission work. The Anniversary meetings of May, 1854, were rendered espe- cially interesting by the presence of the Rev. Dr. Duff, the distin- 302 Rev. Stephen Higginson Tyng, D.D. guished missionary to India. Having its origin in his visit, a remarkable convention of the friends of missions of the various Christian denominations was held, to deliberate on the general subject of missions to the heathen world. It assembled in the lecture-room of the Fifth Avenue Presbyterian Church, (Rev. Dr. Alexander's) on two successive days, the 4th and 6th of May, and in the number who met together, the high position which they occupied in the Church and State, the subjects discussed and the spirit which pervaded the assembly, it was an occasion of very great moment. As a member of this convention Dr. Tyng spoke several times, though no report of any of his speeches has been found. In his address at the anniversary of the American Bible Society, however, some days later, he spoke in the most feeling and eulogistic manner of Dr. Duff, and referred to the convention in the following words: " Seven different families of Christians sat down together at that meeting, and fed on that spiritual bread that liveth forever. Never have I spent two such days as we spent at that convention. Never can we hope to spend happier days till we meet together around the throne of our Master, and all forget the nation, the language, the color, the tribe, the circumstances of life from which we came, learning that as God ' has made of one blood all nations of men to dwell on the face of the whole earth,' so He has washed in One the whole company of His redeemed forever.' " After again referring to Dr. Duff, he closed by saying : " In the very degree in which we have learned to love him, we have learned to love our Master more under the guidance of the divine Spirit and the influence of his example." With such views it was impossible that he should fail to take a lively interest in the then new Young Men's Christian Associations. They encountered much of the same opposition which had before been experienced by other unions for religious but unsectarian efforts. Few of the Episcopal clergy were disposed to give their approval to these associations, and many of other denominations hesitated in assent and co-operation. From their first inception, however, Dr. Tyng's encouragement was unreservedly extended, and his interest and assistance were never wanting at any stage of their work. His address at the Church of the Puritans, on May 15th, 1854, the second anniversary of the New York Association, is worthy of note, in its testimony of his confidence in its organization and plans.* * Appendix III. Public Addresses. 303 The " Slavery Question," so long the great subject of contro- versy, was brought still more prominency forward by the events of the year 1850. Hitherto its discussion had been chiefly confined to the arena of political debate, but it soon,entered as a disturbing and dividing subject in religious associations, where before it had not been the cause of any agitation. The passage of the Fugitive Slave Law, and subsequent at- tempts to enforce it, evoked from the opponents of slavery most vehement denunciation, and, at times, violent resistance. Large numbers of the clergy united in indignant protest against a law so capable of evil in its provisions and powers. Many even counselled resistance to its enforcement. On the other hand the commercial classes deprecated the disturbing influence of the agitation in the North, in their fear of the threatening attitude of the South, and with them many of the clergy coincided in sympathy and action. When the question arose in associations in which these two classes had before harmoniously engaged, the conflict between them was often sharp and bitter. In the American Tract Society this was especially the case, and as Dr. Tyng occupied a prominent part [in the controversy, his relations to it and the declaration of his views upon it become of not a little importance. Repugnance to slavery, innate from his New England origin, had been strengthened by his observation of the system during his ministry in the South. No one was more confirmed and unchange- able in anti-slavery principles than he, but he has been frequently and most erroneously classed among those who advocated and urged extreme and radical measures for the abatement of the evil. Sympathy with revolutionary schemes of any kind was foreign to his whole nature and mind. This is proven by all his utterances, but nowhere, perhaps, more clearly expressed than in his sermon "Duty to our Generation," delivered on Thanksgiving Day, De- cember 12th, 1850, when he said: " This secured and consolidated freedom is an attainment, for the perpetuation of which we are deeply responsible to our genera- tion. But its perpetuation must depend upon reverence for the majesty of the law; upon the wisdom, caution and mutual forbearance of the various sections of our people, in their different territories, and wii,h their sometimes conflicting interests; upon the solemn de- termination of all classes to resist ' all sedition, privy conspiracy, and rebellion,' to protect and maintain the execution of the law against the power of individual opposition, or organized anarchy. 304 Rev. Stephen Higginson Tyng, D.D. however temporary evil or individual injustice may seem to arise from its administration, " Over this glorious prospect of human freedom, one sad and heavy cloud has been slowly passing, but certainly passing, as I still hope and believe. This cloud of inherited slavery, a burden not sought or voluntarily assumed by the people of this nation, im- posed upom them, and transmitted to them by a colonizing parent, has been gradually narrowing its shadow, until within the few past years, we were encouraging ourselves with the hope that the evil would be soon finally and forever removed. "We were content to wait, and hope patiently for its complete extinction, in the course which had been so successfully and happily commenced. But a violent eagerness for the immediate overthrow of the evil has, I fear, in its operation, materially retarded it, and thrown new diffi- culties in the way, of very peculiar sind painful force. And yet, notwithstanding this discouraging interference, I would never lose sight of the purpose, by every equitable, constitutional and Chris- tian means, to extinguish the dominion of human slavery forever. Unlimited and immediate emancipation, upon my soul, I believe to be impossible, and certainly ruinous to one class involved, if not equally to both. But there is one manifest remedy, and I must still labor, and hope and pray for the time to arrive, when the gen- eral sense of the nation shall perceive its interest and duty, by a complete and generous colonization of Africans in Africa, to loosen every bond, and thus to perpetuate, as [may be so readily done, on the largest scale, and with the most glorious results, the principles of freedom, Christianity and civilization, upon the densely peopled continent, as they have been established in the rising republic of Liberia, — a community whose organization is scarcely less an honor to the United States, than the settlement of our own Pacific shores. " Of the frequent threats of national rupture and political de- struction which are heard in connection with this subject, I shall not trust myself here to speak. Agitating as they are, I cannot suppose they will be urged, or allowed to proceed to an actual accom- plishment of purpose thus declared. I cannot believe that thp gracious blessing and protection of God, over a nation which He hat so. remarkably fostered, have been so utterly withdrawn, that the continuance of this great union, the last earthly shelter of the wretched, from the evils both of despotism and anarchy, is to be made dependent upon the perpetuation of suffering on the one side or the threats of violence on the other. Slavery cannot be violently or immediately broken up in those states in which it has been in- Public Addresses. 3o5 herited, and the continuance of the Union seems to me the ap- pointed and the only possible instrument for the prevention of this violent issue. Many months would not elapse, I fear, after the pro- tection of that Union was thus fatally rejected, before the tragedy of St. Domingo would be repeated on the soil which had thus cast off the guardianship of national defence; and the destruction of either one or the other of the two races involved would be the inev- itable result. To gain the final universal abolition of slavery in the United States, is one of the responsibilities we have to this generation, and to those who are ^to succeed us To accomplish this result, in connection with the great principles and purposes of our national confederacy, and in furtherance of them, is certainly another. But the maintenance of this Union, for the great moral ends in human welfare which it is to accomplish, and to secure the still greater extent of human freedom, which it is intended to perpetuate, I esteem an object for us, paramount in its importance, and for which every sacrifice is wisely made, but the final surrender of righteousness to wrong." Some few months later, when speaking at the anniversary of the New York Colonization Society on May 8, 1851, he said: " It was thirty-two years since he had attended the first meeting of a colonization society, and during that long period he had, through good report and evil report, remained steadfast in his at- tachment to the cause as one of the noblest enterprises of Christian benevolence. It appeals to principle and correct feeling. Its friends are no disorganizers, no anarchists striving to overturn society by insane agitation. He had seen the day when the friends of coloniza- tion had been depressed, but he had not doubted that the enterprise was to solve the problem of Africa's redemption and America's peace. " His own course had been censured as pro-slavery and dis- graceful to his New England origin. He regarded it as his highest honor to have been born in the ' Old Bay State,' where he was taught obedience to law as a first duty. He would always contend for the higher law, the law of God, but one of the first precepts of that law was to render obedience to the laws of the land. If to obey law, was to be pro-slavery, he should continue to be so. He hated the ' Fugitive Slave Law,' but while it was the law of the land, he should obey it." Such expressions, at the very height of the then prevailing ex- citement, admit no question as to the stand which he maintained, and when the subject was presented in another relation, his words were with no uncertain sound. 3o6 Rev. Stephen Higginson Tyng, D.D. There had been for several years a growing discontent with the position of the Tract Society on the subject of slavery. The course of its management had been very earnestly discussed, and its mem- bers were distinctly arrayed for the contest, which for a time over- shadowed aU other questions in its work. In the beginning Dr. Tyng was disposed to uphold the man- agement of the society in the conservative course which they sought to pursue, and in no wise sympathized in the effort to force into the society's publications a discussion of the slavery question in its political aspect. He was decided in opposition to all schemes which would make the society an engine of political agitation. At its anniversary, in May, 1856, he was unexpectedly called -upon to speak, and after an earnest appeal in its behalf, said: " In the work of the Tract Society the attitude of apology has been taken too long.- It is remarkable that all hostility to the society is from things that are not, and not from things that are. When has a man ever stood up and endeavored to demonstrate that the Tract Society is wrong ? Who says our positive teaching of doctrine is false ? What charges are there of vicious principles or vicious practices ? But when the society has incorporated the whole Bible, and not compromised a single truth, when every pub- lication is breathing of a Saviour, and every page seems like a feather dropped from an angel's wing, all fragrant with the aroma of a higher atmosphere and the sweet resplendence of the throne of God, then if men complain because we have omitted the tenth pin of ■ the tabernacle, or a similar matter, I would say. Away with such people; I would never apologize or retract. " When a man comes and says this work cannot be Christianity, . because it puts a little ' a ' for a capital ' A '; it cannot be Christianity because it has lost one word out of the title page, I would deal with him as a trifler and treat him as such. It is too late to apolo- gize. We have tried for thirty years to preach the gospel; let it be shown that we have not preached the gospel and we will retract. As an officer of the society I will never consent to concede its great . national basis for any sectional or local one. Southern or north- ern, eastern or western, occasional or permanent, wherever it ma^f be, or affecting however it may any particular interest of any part of this great community, I will make no concessions." This speech drew upon him an attack, which is notable from the fact that his reply is one of the very few instances in which he ever defended himself. " I am obliged to you," he writes to the editor of the EeligiouS Public Addresses. 307 Herald, " for the paper of the 24th sent me, and also for the notice of myself in it. It is a fixed rule and habit of my life never to vindicate my own course or character from personal animadver- sion, partly because I am reaUy conscious that on the vyhole I am more generally overestimated than undervalued by criticism vrhich I read concerning myself, and partly because I really find myself most generally agreeing in opinion with those who appear to think the least of me. This is my present position. I quite concur with you in your estimate of my address at the last anniversary of the Tract Society, and deem it to have been a very weat and unworthy performance. But I wish to correct two suppositions in your notice which involve the character of others. " First: the society had no responsibility for a word uttered by me, nor was I 'charged with any unpleasant duty by them.' Some of their expected speakers failed, and I was asked, very unexpect- edly, to take their place. I did it hastily, and whatever were the faults of my effort, no member of the society had any responsibility for them, nor gave me any other request than to speak in some way of the periodical press, which I tried to do. " Second: In the offensive expressions which you quote, and which you very justly censure, I had no reference in my mind whatever to the persons or to the class to whom you have applied them. I had just been engaged in a defence of the society against a very different class of assailants, and on very different grounds, and this controversy gave a shape to my remarks, which, after all, was, as you say, to be regretted. And I quite agree with you in the gratification that ' there was scarcely anybody there to hear it.' But I hope I shall be believed by you when I assure you nothing could induce me ' wantonly to insult any Christian brother,' and far less the venerated and excellent brethren to whom you have referred. May I ask you thet favor of an insertion of this in your next paper ? Stephen H. Tyng. New Tobk, May 25th, 1855. Quoting and commenting upon this letter. The Independent re- marked: "This manly explanation wiU heighten the respect of every reader for the Christian character of Dr. Tyng," and the Beligious Herald, to which it was written, said: '• Those then who have exulted in the idea that Dr. Tyng be- stowed a scourging upon the anti-slavery censors of the Tract So- ciety, will please to repent of their malicious joy and believe that he was too much of a gentleman and a Christian to do any such thing." 3o8 Rev. Siephen Higginson Tyng, D.D. At the annual meeting of the Tract Society, in May, 1856, it was known that a strong effort to change the management of the society would be made by those who wished it to take a more de- cided anti-slavery stand. In this, as has been said, Dr. Tyng did not concur, and he was vehemently attacked at the meeting for a notice which he had given on the Sunday preceding this annual election. His whole course in his defence presents an important view of his character in circumstances of great aggravation. Speaking in reply to the charge which had been made, he said: " Mr. President, I need affect no modesty, sir, when an assault so personal, so undignified, so violent, and so irrelevant is made upon my personal, of&cial and social character and relation. A gentleman has chosen to refer to me personally as the author of an incendiary announcement from a sacred place called a pulpit, or some other sacred place. The effect of the announcement he de- clares to have been the charging of himself, perhaps alone, per- haps with others, as a ' disguised enemy of the Tract Society.' " Sir, I proclaim in the face of this whole meeting, that never upon any occasion, public or private, civil or social, have I used such an expression with reference to that gentleman, nor in refer- ence to any other gentleman whom I suppose to be represented by him, in the exceedingly improper assault he has made upon my personal course, character and station. I did, sir, openly declare to the members of a congregation, who are contributing between three and four thousand dollars annually to the support of the American Tract Society, that in consequence — I now repeat the expression as near' as memory serves me, and the Spirit of the Lord shall give me utterance — in consequence of publications appearing to bear altogether the persecuting and unrighteous character of assaults upon the action and agencies of the American Tract Society, I stepped out of my usual course to request the personal attendance of persons in that congregation, who had contributed twenty dollars and upwards as life members, or fifty dollars and upwards as life directors of the society. I gave an honest notice, sir; I gave a gentlemanly notice, sir; I gave a notice which became my position, and a notice by which I am perfectly ready to stand in the midst of a community who know me, and upon whose re- spebt and confidence I throw myself, without the slightest reserve or hesitation. I ask no response. I feel perfectly able to defend and protect myself. I do not this day, sir, charge that gentle- man — with whom I have no personal acquaintance — I do not charge that gentleman as ' a disguised enemy of the Tract Society.' Public Addresses. 309 I do not charge him as disguising anything. I do not believe that such a man will stoop to disguise himself in any pursuit. I -will never descend even to mingle in a warfare with weapons^ the use of which he has set me here the improper e.xample. I revere his character, I honor his ministry, I applaud his high position, I have truly respected the fidelity with which in his whole life he has appeared in the midst of the churches of this land. I respect him now. Nothing has been said at this time which in the slightest degree affects or shall affect the fraternal and affectionate confidence with which I will regard and cherish his reputation and influence. " I spoke to my congregation of public assaults that were made in public papers, assaults that I denominated persecuting; assaults that I denominated unrighteous; they were the words which 1 used. Before any gentleman is called to hold himself responsible for a mere newspaper paragraph, written, it may be, from memory, or by some uninformed reporter, and that, sir, by a gentleman not unfamiliar with the press, its errors, its possible mistakes and fre- quent misapprehensions — I hold, sir, that a gentleman so arranged, so constituted, and so related, ought to hold himself aloof and superior to the possibility of being entrapped by the errors, sir, of the printer's devil, into that which the world wUl interpret to be the work of the far higher agent of evil himself." When at this time a committee of fifteen was appointed to inquire into and review the proceedings of the Executive Commit- tee and report what course the society should pursue, Dr. Tyng earnestly opposed the proposition, arguing that it implied a lack of confidence in the Executive Committee, and it was due in no small degree to his argument that a disavowal was made of such intention. At the annual meeting in 1857, the committee made a report which marked the line of discrimination in what the society, according to its constitution, should publish. This report was unanimously adopted, and, in reference to slavery, provided that " the political aspects of slavery were entirely without the proper sphere of the society," " but that those moral duties which grow out of the existence of slavery, as well as those moral evils which it is known to promote and which are condemned in Scripture, undoubt- edly do fall within the province of the society, and can and ought to be discussed in a fraternal spirit." However opposed to the appointment of the committee, Dr, Tyng thoroughly approved its conclusions, and, in speaking for the society at its next anniversary, said: 31 o Rev. Stephen Higginson Tyng, D.D. " It was not his good fortune to be present at the anniversary of 1857. The society at that meeting laid a foundation broad and deep, and agreed to stand upon it, with a remarkable and surpris- ing unanimity. " The resolutions then passed, he had read over and over again, and he pronounced them to be a perfectly unexampled instance oi calm, moderate, conservative and righteous jurisdiction in the premises involved. It was not a temporary or local issue. It was not a question of slavery or anti-slavery. It was simply the question whether the great principles of the American Tract Society should have a local or universal application. Who could say that this society ought not to testify against vices growing out of certain circumstances. We do not touch the rights of any slave- holder ; we do not interfere with him where we have no right to interfere ; we wish only to publish against the immoralities and vices which slave-holding is known to promote ; we ask that thou- ands and tens of thousands of faithful parents and masters at the South, who are longing to have the means and opportunity of direct personal influence for good upon their families, shall be per- mitted to have them. The question is a question of the mainte- nance of the fundamental principles of the Tract Society. Our hearts are pressed upon the line of duty in this conviction." He concluded by offering a resolution affirming those of the previous year and instructing the management to carry them into effect. After a long and excited discussion, the faUure of the manage- ment to take any action was, however, approved and the pubHcations of the society remained silent upon the subject In the following year (1859) the subject was again brought forward, but an effort to suppress any discussion or any instruction of the Publishing Committee was successfully accomplished. So great was the iufluence of those who feared any action which might offend the slave-power, that a resolution condemning the slave- trade was defeated, though subsequently adopted, in a qualified form, expressing dissent from any approval of that trade. When the determination of the society became so manifest, Dr. Tyng and others like-minded, withdrew, and transferred their sup- port to the American Tract Society of Boston, with which he was thenceforth identified for several years. This society, organized in 1814 as the New England Tract Society, changed its name in 1823 to the American Tract Society of Boston, and in 1825, when the American Tract Society was founded in New York, agreed to co- Public Addresses. 311 operate, though not to combine, with it. It now became again inde- pendent, and the refuge of those who could no longer unite in the action of the New York Society. Dr. Tyng entered enthusiastically into the cause, which was thus estabUshed. His speech in its behalf at the Church of the Puri- tans on the 10th of May, I860,* brings out in bold reUef many strik- ing points of his character, and presents in more detail some of the questions involved in the controversy which has thus been sketched. Subsequent to this time the spirit of the May meetings gradu- ally declined. The permanence and power of the institutions in whose behalf they were held had become firmly established. In the next few years other subjects absorbed the attention of the people, other objects arose to make for a time superior claims to their interest, and though the work of the societies continued with unin- terrupted success, graver questions pressed for public discussion. Through every year that followed, however. Dr. Tyng continued unfailing in his support and unceasing in his interest, and even to the last years of his ministry was their consistent and abiding friend. In his fidelity to their cause he met frequent opposition, and, as has been already mentioned, not a httle abuse, but he was as unde- terred by any remonstrances as unmoved by any objections. The following, an editorial from The Churchman, may not inaptly be quoted as in fair degree an expression of the sentiment of many whom that paper represented: " Oleeical Contempt of Lent. " The insincerity of the ultra-Protestant school of our clergy as respects even so solemn a season of this Church as Lent, is receiv- ing a signal illustration here just now. " The city is placarded with advertisements of a grand ' Com- plimentary Entertainment,' of a most attractive character, at Mblo's Saloon, in honor of some great zealot of temperance, at which the world is tempted to go and revel by the promise of ' well-spread tables, sweet music, and rich speaking from Eev. Dr. Tyng,' the said reverend doctor being, as one of her ordained ministers, sworn to regard the injunction of a Church which directs the said season of Lent to be kept as a solemn fast, — that is, from all such carnal distractions, especially as ' well-spread tablesand sweet music,' aye, and such ' rich speaking,' too, as Dr. Tyng on such occasions is ad- dicted to, — in the words of the prayer, which it is the reverend do'c- * Appendix IV. 312 Rev. Stephen Higginson Tyng, D.D. tor's duty to offer up in his church every day this week, ' by using such abstinence, our flesh being subdued to the Spirit, we may ever obey God's holy motions in righteousness and true holiness.' What can the Church, what can the world think of such duplicity and charlatanry as this ? Can one much wonder at earnest, over- sensitive minds being driven to Rome? Has our Church no remedy for so pernicious an outrage." Long accustomed as he had been to such criticism and to every species ot objection to these union societies, he viewed as of es- , pecial importance an attack upon the principles and methods of the American Sunday School Union, which appeared in April, 1855, in the columns of Thb Episcopal Becorder. Though this communication bore the signature " A.," its author was subsequently acknowledged to be the Bishop of Pennsylvania. Such an authority added great ■weight to the pleas which the communication contained, and Dr. Tyng at once made a vigorous reply in the Union's defence. To avoid all appearance of responsibility in other persons, however he published this answer in an independent pamphlet, which also contained the original communication and the favorable comments upon it by The Banner of tile Cross, a Church paper published in Philadelphia. Thus the case was fully presented. In the force of its argument, his reply was unanswerable and a final disposition of the objections urged. The following extracts from it wUl exhibit the strength of his position as well as the character of the charges which were made, and it may fitly conclude this review of his labors in the cause of Christian fellowship and united Christian labors: " After having been for so many years," he wrote, " associjited with Bedell and Milnor and others of most respected kindred brethren among the dead and the living, who have personally and affectionately maintained this institution and the principles of union involved in it; after having on more than thirty public occasions urged its claims upon others, in addresses on its behalf, it appears to me my right and duty to defend my own course and that of my brethren who have been united with me in this work, which we have believed to be the work of God, from the difficulties and objections which ' A. ' has arrayed against us. " The article referred to presents the two distinct parts of direct objections to the organization and the management of the American Sunday School Union and of practical censure upon those Episcopalians who still unite in it. I am greatly delighted that in setting out upon his array of objections against the American Sun- Public . Addresses. 313 day School Union, * A.' particularly concedes the general principle^of desirable and practicable union among Christians, so far at least as the circulation of the Holy Scriptures is concerned. ..... " We will hereafter, therefore, consider it as a question now con- ceded and settled, that ' the union of Christians of variom names, in circulating the Scriptures, is one which, under proper restrictions, seems liable to no (Ejections, except from those who deny tliat the Bible is the rule of faith.' To this ' union of Christians of various names,' there is therefore in itself no objection. In regard to the general theory of organization upon which such societies are founded, the warfare now has ceased, and all questions are now to be considered as spe- cific, and in sole reference to the particular and selected objects for which such ' union of Christians of various names ' may be formed. This is a very important and satisfactory clearing of the ground. It leaves for our consideration the single question: Is the American Sunday School Union such an ' union of Christians of various names,' and for such a specific object, as Episcopalians may justly approve and adopt ? " 'A.' denies this in very decided terms and upon several grounds of objection. He denies indeed at the outset the possibility of such an union for ' missionary labor, or in the Christian training and nurture of the yoimg.' Or at any rate, he thinks that here we encounter diffi- culties of which ' they only will speak contemptuously who have not consid- ered themJ It is undoubted that we have encountered difficulties, of. which I at least have no disposition to speak contemptuously. But certainly the chief difficulty of all, is in the separating and hostile spirit which we meet in many whom we would gladly com- prehend in such an union. ..... The objections constantly urged to such unions, are, as in the article of 'A.,' not to the positive objects for which they are organized, but from other objects and ends which are not included, and which are supposed therefore to be improperly and needlessly sacrificed. " ' A.' says, 'In point of fact no such union exists. The Ameri- can Sunday School Union is a union of all Christians only in name.' With neither of these assertions can I at all agree. ' The union of Christians of various names,' for any specified object, is simply an union of individuals who agree in that object, and in the terms which are proposed for its accomplishment. It is a simple obedi- ence to the Apostle's precept: 'Whereto we have already attained, let us walk by the same rule, let us mind the same thing.' These individual Christians ' have attained ' the same mind and the same judgment in reference to the particular object which is proposed 314 R^- Stephen Higginson Tyng, D.D. for their consideration and action in this specified union, and they agree to act together in its accomplishment. " The American Sunday School Union does not profess to be ' an union of all Christians,' but of those only who agree in the object which it proposes, and in the way which they have adopted for the attainment of this object. In such an union there is no possible exclusion of any. It is a previous agreement of separate individuals to unite on certain terms for a specific object; of course those only who agree in this object on these terms can be included. All vol- untary societies are necessarily eclectic in their comprehension, and must exclude those who do not agree in their proposed purposes and plans. " When ' A.' passes from a consideration of the membership of the American Sunday School Union, to review its actual organi- zation and the administration of its afi'airs, he arrays objections which at least give us this one consolation, that he has exhausted the fountain of difficulties, and permits only the complaint to be made of him which was formerly made of the sermons of Dr. Bar- row, — that he left nothing to be said by those who came after him. " Under this category he says, first, that ' its operations arc such that even of the churches which its members represent a large proportion of the ministers and people in each decline to participate.' This is undoubt- edly true. This is the very history of the voluntary - exclusion of themselves by objecting persons of which I havo already spoken. . . . Certainly ' A.' may say: 'I object to these operations, and therefore I withdraw,' but it would be very absurd for ' A.' to say. 'I object to these operations, and therefore you ought to with- draw,' or, ' I object to these operations, and therefore you cannot really be united in them.' And it would be stiU more unworthy of the independent judgment of 'A.' to say : ' A great proportion of ministers and people decline to participate in these operations, and therefore I am bound to withdraw,' ' A.'s personal objections to the operations may be something. But the allegation of the fact, that he knows a great many other people who also object, ought to be, to a wise mind like his, certainly nothing at all. " ' A.' next argues that ' wo clergyman holds a place m the adminis- tration of its affairs except as a subordinate agent, ' and then, that ' in its teaching only so muchoj Christian doctrine is permitted to appear as twelve laymen, who constitute the pieblishimg committee, shall unanimously judge to be Eva/ngehcal on the one side, or expedient on the other.' "These may be reasonable objections against uniting in the American Sunday School Union to those who, in their estimate of Public Addresses. 31 5 such facts, find them to be great difficulties to be encountered. But surely they are very strange and entirely empty arguments against the ' catholicity or the ' comprehensive ' character of this union in itself. And yet ' A.' does not hesitate in the bold asser- tion' ' Such facts refute most conclusively all claims to catholicity. The American Sunday School Union is comprehensive neither in respect to membership, administration nor teaching.' .... " The merits of tho objection that ' no clergyman holds place in the administration of its affairs,' have been always worthy of con- sideration. I have often heard it discussed, and have thought of it not a little. But i have found no personal difficulty in an union with this association upon the terms in which this fact is included. Nor shall I feel any more difficulty if the ground of such an objection were removed. And the objection to uniting in an association because certain of its offices, whose duties, and labors and calcula- tions are peculiarly appropriate to laymen, must be held by laymen, would seem to me, so far from presenting a difficulty to be encoun- tered, that I should only rejoice in the fact that Christian laymen were willing to give their time, and thought and labor so freely to the work, and thus to become in the most efficient sense helpers to the ministry and laborers in the husbandry of God. In the ' administration of the affairs' of the American Sunday School Union, it is indispensable that agencies in the various departments of such an institution should be devolved upon selected committees. And it would appear impossible that a Publishing Committee could be more wisely selected than upon the principle of appointing ' twelve laymen ' from the different bodies of ' Christians of various names,' who are united ia the operation. ... In the American Sunday School Union the right of adopting and publishing is ex- pressly made dependent on the unanimous agreement of the com- mittee. No book can be published until they do all agree. How palpable then becomes the fallacy of ' A.'s assertion, that the 'teach- ing of the great association depends on the judgment of any one of this dozen of gentlemen. Surely the power to refuse to teach in the shape of a particular book, is not the power to teach by the publication of books, which is the shape of teaching here described. Can any one of this number thus teach ? " Does not the teaching oi this great association require the unanimous 'judgment of all of the twelve '? And can it ever, there- fore, ' depend on the judgment of one ' ? Upon the principle of his objection there could be no ' union of Christians ' of any one name, for there can never be the reposing of trust, or 3i6 Rev. Stephen Higginson Tyng, D.D. the confiding of authority to man without the commission of power. And the insisting upon absolute security against such possible abuse is to insist upon abolishing all associations of men. I am ready to submit, therefore, thus far in my consideration of the article of ' A.' that his assertions are far from being proved. They are unsusceptible of proof. They are not founded upon truth. They may be, I respectfully submit, they have here been entirely and adequately disproved. " From the first ground of objection, ' A.' proceeds next to con- sider the actual teaching of the union, and from this part of his review, referring to their silence on subjects of controversy among Christians composing the union, he derives, as his final conclusion, the very distinct and strange annunciation : ^from this studied silence Episcopalians have nothing to hope, and everything to fear.' Any possi- ble application of the principle that silence is to be regarded so pregnant an agency for evil, and so fatal a soiirce of danger, would seem to our general experience to bear the aspect of a new discovery. "What possible harm any one can do to the Episcopal Church, or any church, by saying nothing about it, it would be hard to conceive. . . . Poor indeed is the condition of the Episcopal Charch, if it trembles before an imagined enemy, be- cause in ' studied silence ' that enemy takes no notice of it. My own thirty years' experience of the practical and demonstrated relations of the American Sunday School Union to the Episcopal Church, an experience which certainly in this department has not been negative, ^would lead me in the most solemn manner to reverse precisely the assertion of 'A.' and to say: 'from this studied silence Episcopalians have everything to hope and nothing to fear.' And I should appeal, in the freest consciousness of truth, and with the assurance of triumphant success, to the recorded history of our Church for the settlement of the single question. Who have done more to extend this Church, or who have actually extended and established it more completely and permanently in the fields which they have occupied than the clergy and members of the Episcopal Church, who have been for these thirty years associated with the American Sunday School Union ? Let even Philadelphia alone reply, and let the origin and history of her increasing surface of Episcopal influence for these thirty years be examined for a verdict in the case proposed. In actual historical operation, I affirm that no institution has more constantly and really helped the sound and Evangelical growth of the Episcopal Church than the American Sunday School Union. Public Addresses. 317 "But let us analyze the foundation on which 'A.' builds this unqualified assertion. In the principle of his aggression, he gives us now an illustration of just that kind of opposition to the ' union of Christians of various names,' to which I have referred. This principle is to object not to what the union does say and teach, but to what it does not. . . . Upon this particular head his funda- mental objection is ^ its teaching is restricted /' 'restricted hy tlie fun- damental terms of the association.' " This is indubitable. The union is founded for the purpose of a restricted teaching. Its teaching is to be restricted to subjects religious, not secular; scriptural, divine, not human; fundamental, the truths of Holy Scripture, in which its associates concur, not inci- dental and subordinate truths in which they differ. " These are the fundamental terms of the association. Doubt- less. The very creation of an eclectic association for any object, im- plies inevitable restriction. This union is an association to furnish ' teaching,' to Sunday Schools, ' restricted ' to the Bible as its auj thority; to Evangelical religion as its subject; to the fundamental doctrines of man's salvation as the surface of its field. That it does this, that it has faithfully followed out this avowed object in its ad- ministration, ' A. ' does not pretend to deny. He can not deny it. It can not be denied with truth. How strangely then sounds the proposition that from such teaching ' Episcopalians have nothing to hope and everything to fear.' Could I believe such a proposition, it woidd lead me not to renounce the union, the Scriptural character of whose teaching could not be gainsaid, but a Church whose pros- perity and welfare could not abide in the simple teaching of the Scripture. If it ever came to the inevitable question, the Bible or the Episcopal Church, — a question which really can never arise — I could not allow myself an hour of hesitating deliberation in my own decision of it. This actual unscriptural teaching is what ' A' was bound to show, and what he must show to maintain any ground that his own judgment can approve. He must prove that the posi- tive teaching of the union is unscriptural and false, if he means to try that teaching by the Bible. He must show that its positive teaching is hostile to the standards of the Episcopal Church, if he choose to examine it by that tribunal. Or if he acknowledge that its positive teaching is not anti-scriptural and false, and yet is inconsistent with the prosperity of the Episcopal Church, he must assume the strange responsibility of the assertion that from teach- ing which is acknowledged to be Scriptural and true ' Episcopalians have nothing to hope and every thing to fear.' . . . 3l8 Rev. Stephen Higginson Tyng, D.D. " But what are the particular points of restriction which ' A.' finds here as the subject of his objection? I answer by an enumer- ation of them all, in his own arrangement. They are : ' Infant Baptism,' ' Succession in the ministry,' ' Galvinism,' ' Baptism as a means of grace,' ' Liturgical worship,' ' Church catechetical train- ing,' ' Confirmation,' ' Episcopacy,' ' Commemorative festivals in the Church of Christ.' These are the subjects on which ' thei/ (the American Sunday ScJiool Union) are mute, — on which they can not speak favoraUy ; they can not speak unfavorably.' And, ' from this studied silence, Episcopalians have nothing to hope and everything to fear.' These are all the subjects which ' A.' alleges as illustra- tions of this fatal reserve. Is it possible? And these are the ' articuli stantis aut cadentis Ecclesim I ' And these are the points upon which ' reserve ' is so fatal and destructive to the Episcopal Church. I am ashamed of such an exhibition of the character of my Church; that Church which is founded with apostles and prophets iipon the doctrine, of which Jesus Christ Himself is the chief cor- ner-stone ; that Church which has been from my birth ' my own friend,' and in all generations past ' my father's friend,' and which never ' will I forsake.' " That Church depends neither upon speech nor silence on any or all of the subjects thus reserved. Her glory is higher, her foun- dations are deeper, her life is more real, and her prosperity more secured and permanent than to be touched by the ' studied silence ' of any man or combination of men, in regard to any or all of these restricted points. Some of these points are the subject of as much difiference of opinion, and of as much reserve and ' studied silence ' within the limits of the Episcopal Church itself, as in the Publish- ing Committee of the American Sunday School Union. And if none of them were ever mentioned in a single Episcopal pulpit or Sunday School, the permanent growth and prosperity of this Church would not by that omission be injured, or Episcopalians have anything less to hope or anything more to fear. These are not the things which save or which defile a man. "Could 'A.' have found 'reserve' in the publications of the American Sunday School Union upon the Trinity of God; the Saviour's deitj', or atonement for sin; the work and influence of the Holy Ghost; the fall and corruption of man, the need and the accomplishment of his redemption and conversion; the justification of his soul by faith in the Lord Jesus Christ; the glories of his future salvation, and the dangers of his eternal condemnation in sin, well might he have sounded the alarm ' from this studied silenco Public Addresses. 319 Episcopalians have nothing to hope and every thing to fear.' But he wUl search in vain for any restrictions or reserve on points like these. In aU these great doctrines, and in their great kindred and accordant truths, this ' Society that takes care ofchUdren faithfully leads the lambs of the flock to the green pastures of the gospel, and the waters of salvation. In the simple and constant teaching of such fundamental and saving truths, they utter to the flock a clear and certain sound, which none can fail to understand, and which multi- tudes are led to foUow. It is for these truths' sake, the very Hfe and being of the Episcopal Church and of every true Church, truths, which this union so faithfully and constantly teaches, — ■ (■•'•uths to which the Union restricts its teaching, but which in them- selves it never reserves or conceals, — it is for the sake of these, from which ' Episcopalians have every thing to hope and nothing to fear,' that we have so long and so cordially loved and supported the American Sunday School Union. And with all these positive truths before him, taught in all the publications of the Union, and held in no reserve ; how is it possible that a writer like ' A.' should have been willing to exalt a list of secondary and comparatively unim- portant doctrines to a level with these, as if they were of compara- ble importance or worth? " Does ' A.' believe that a single one of his Hst of doctrines reserved is essential to the salvation of a single soul ? Does he deny or doubt that the great and glorious truths which the Union does constantly teach, are adequate or indispensable or essential to the salvation of the souls of men ? How, then, can he bring the authority of his name and influence thus to confound that which is justly questionable and merely incidental, with that which is vital and indisputable in the great subject of rehgious teaching. How can he thus denounce a society to the prejudices of Episco- palians, the whole of whose pubhcations he will acknowledge to be pure from error, and filled with the glorious doctrine of our great salvation? He thus accomplishes two evUs, in neither of which will he ultimately justify himself. The one is, undermining in the minds of others the influence and value of great truths, upon which alone his own soul is resting all its hopes. The other is exciting and protecting in these minds prejudices and feelings of hostility, which it is impossible his calm judgment should flnally approve Nor do I believe that ' A.' wouldhesitate for one moment in the expression of his sincere desire, that his own children might be led to embrace the truths which this union teaches; or that he would withhold the joy of his heart when he saw those truths thus 320 Rev. Stephen Higginson Tyng, D.D. embraced and loved by those mosf dear to him; though not a sin- gle one of the doctrines of his reserved list had been studied, or was mentioned, or regarded as connected with them. " And in the review of all the peculiar objections which he has thus made in detail to ' the restrictions ' of the Union, to the mode of their arrangement, and to the points of doctrine, which by their operation are ' reserved,' I have only to say that so far from their being ' difficulties to be encountered ' by me, they are the very things for which I love the American Sunday School Union and do still labor for, and desire, its promotion. Nor has one ' difficulty,' as he calls them, which • A.' has urged, appeared before me with any novelty in its aspect, with any force of truth in itself, with any convincing power in the method of its arrangement or presenta- tion, or with any other probable influence on the minds of others than that which the exalted name and character of the declared writer are adapted to impart, or the uninquiring and unconsidering minds of many of his readers are likely to lead them, from such an authority, too willingly to receive. " In following ' A.' through a consideration of the actual relation of the American Sunday School Union to the Episcopal Church, which constitutes the third part of his communication, I would first of all transcribe with much pleasure his valuable description of Christian Unity : ' It is not through a factitious uniformity of opin- ion that we are to bring about a real unity among Christians. A thorough uniformity of doctrine on aU points is simply unattaina- ble. If we would have the imiti/ of the Spirit in the bond of peace, we must not only tolerate opinions different from our own; we must honor and love those who maintain them, if in other respects they exemplify the Spirit of Christ.' " I delight also to record the fact that the Editor of the Banner of the Cross has cheerfully said, in reference to this noble sentiment, ' That response is aU tJiat we could desire.' Here, I rejoice to declare my hearty concurrence with the brethren. If this single principle had been practically conceded to us, and aU had agreed to act upon its terms, and under its influence, our controversies would have been extremely few. This is as complete a definition of the prin- ciples of union and of operation, established and displayed in the American Sunday School Union, and adopted by those who co- operate with it, as could have been given to us. The great Jeremy Taylor, in his dedication of his Life of Christ, says in a similar spirit, and with his accustomed richness of eloquence, ' God hath de- scribed our way plain, certain and determined ; and although He Public Addresses. 321 was pleased to leave us indeterniined in the questions of exterior communion, yet He put it^eyond all question, that we are bound to be charitable. He hath placed the question of the state of sep- aration in the dark, in hidden and undiscovered regions , but He hath opened the windows of heaven and given great light to us, teaching how we are to demean ourselves in the state of conjunction. Then he says of the ' gaining of proselytes,' ' from Church to Church : ' ' In aU this, there is nothing certain, nothing noble ; but he that follows the work of God, that is, labors to gain souls, not to a sect or a subdivision, but to the Christian religion, that is, to the faith and obedience of the Lord Jesus, hath a promise to be assisted and rewarded ; and all those that go to heaven, are the purchase of such undertakings, the fruit of such culture and labors ; for it is only a holy life that leads us there. And now I shall not be ashamed to say, that I am weary and toiled with rowing up and down in the seas of questions which the interests of Christendom have commenced. And I find that men are most confident of those articles, which they can so little prove that they never made ques- tions of them ; but I am most certain that by living in the religion and fear of God, in obedience to the King, in the charities and duties of communion with my spiritual guides, in justice and love with all the world in their several proportions, I shall not fail of that end which is perfective of human nature and which will never be obtained by disputing.' These are the simple principles of human conduct, which the gospel proposes and promotes. And these are the prin- ciples upon which we profess to act, and strive to act, in maintain- ing such religious associations as the American Sunday School Union. It is not, as ' A.' calls it, in marked inconsistency with his own declared principle of unity, ' an agreement to hold only one set of opinions as important, and to represent all others as unscrip- tural and insignificant ; to assume that we alone know what scrip- ture teaches, that it reveals just four or five doctrines, and neither more nor less.' The Union represents no opinions as unimportant either positively or negatively. It gives the Bible and Question Books upon the Bible as its books of instruction. It ' suppresses nothing which God has revealed.' All the doctrines which the Scriptures contain, be they ' four or five,' or ten times four or five, it gives, with the Scriptures which contain them, and leaves them to be . Irawn out by the teachers who impart them, ' neither compromis- ing nor diluting anything found in the Bible.' And if any or all of the doctrines which ' A.' has said are ' reserved,' are to be found in the Bible, the Union leaves them, and leaves them to be taught 322 Rev. Stephen Higginson Tyng, D.D. from thence as ' A.' or any other Christian teacher shall think most accordant to the spirit and language of.the passages of Scripture which are severally studied " And precisely at this point comes in the consideration of the further objection of 'A.', that 'the fundamental conception of Christianity in this scheme, is that of teaching instead of training.' What more can an association of this kind do than to prepare the material for teaching 9 " The training is not an abstract provision, but a living practical application of the means and instruments of this provision in actual use. This is a work which no society, even within the limits of any one church, however sectarian in its character, can accomplish. It can but prepare the means for teaching. The responsibility for training must always be left, just where the American Sunday School Union leaves it : in the hands of the living ministry of the Church, and the actual teachers and conductors of the School. . . Practically and theoretically, and in great varie- ties of illustrations, it teaches the great fundamental doctrine of the gospel, and thus lays that foundation of Scripture truth, of which the several churches who desire it may take full advantage, and upon which they may erect in peaceful structure their own separate edifices of government or doctrine. . . . "When ' A.' descends, in this connection, to prejudice the minds of his read- ers, by the insinuation ' that the selection and preparation of works for the Union press, is in the hands of a gentleman of great worth, but whose antecedents, habits and opinions, all pledge him to a theology httle varying from the Congregational and Indepen- dent,' and that ' we see at once whither the literature which eman- ates from such a press must tend,' he puts himself beyond the pale of just defence. Not only does this become a broad insinuation of the dishonesty of a professedly impartial salaried agent, but also one equally broad, of the weakness or connivance of the three gentlemen, ' most estimable and respectable men,' who are mem- bers and representatives of his own Church in the Publishing Com- mittee, under whom this agent is employed to act. And when he refers to ' antecedents and habits,' he should remember that not every Roman citizen was 'free born,' and that even in the highest places of our own Episcopacy, there are not a few whose ' antece- dents, habits and opinions,' were anything but Episcopal. This was an allusion far from becoming in a writer like 'A.' "Of the blessings which have flowed from the American Sunday School Union, no Church has more richly partaken than Public Addresses. 3^3 the Episcopal Church, and ' the gifts of the Episcopalians' have been most abundantly repaid in the fruits which we have gathered. Tm this Union was established, we had none professedly in our own Church. It is not at all probable that we ever should have had one but for this example. But alas ! even since we have had what is called a ' Protestant Episcopal Sunday School Union,' how perfectly unworthy of our confidence has it proved itself to be ! ' A.' says of our own Church : ' There is the alienation of brethren of the same communion. Some of them array themselves in sup- port of the Union, others withhold such support, and the con- sequence is seen, as now, in a household strife, which is neither seemly nor useful. Here is a mournful family quarrel, and for that quarrel we hold the American Sunday School Union in good part responsible.' This is an illustration of the fable of the lamb and the wolf, to be sure. Either the lamb or his grandfather troubled the stream, and therefore, at any rate, he ought to be destroyed. "Does 'A.' believe for one moment that our great Evangelical contest in the Episcopal Church depends upon mere questions of association ? Or that its foundation and importance are in the flimsy dispute of a mere famUy quarrel ? Suppose we, who are caUed EvangeHcal, and mean to call ourselves so, had been inclined to unite in the ' Protestant Episcopal Sunday School Union,' what chance had we, from the very beginning of its existence, of an union upon any other ground than that of the whole doctriae against which we were contending ? What offer of inclusion was ever made to us, but the hold of a triumphant prison-ship ? That Union started upon the very principles which we renounced as false ; against which we had contended and were contending ; which we solemnly believed, and do still believe, were not only unevangehcal but anti-evangeUcal ; which we considered another gospel, that was no gospel, and could never adopt but with the shipwreck of faith and a good conscience. We never had the op- portunity of union upon any ground that was in any sense com- mon. Those were days in which Evangelical men in the Epis- copal Church were considered doomed to death, and were hardly permitted to live ; when one Bishop could write to another concerning them (see Bishop Hobart's Life, Vol 1, p. 372 and succeeding, A.D. 1827) — as ' a party too unprincipled to be wrought upon by fact or argument. I trust there will be firmness enough in a majority of the Bishops to commit the cause to God, by cleaving to principles at every hazard, refusing every attempt 324 Rev. Stephen Higginson Tyng, D.D. at compromise. With the help of God, I shall watch to keep my diocese free from this infection. Let all walk by this rule and D.'s increasing Evangelicals, wUl disappear like the morning dew.' The mighty are fallen, but the dew remains and multiplies upon the earth. From the day of its establishment to this day, that Society has never made one concession of the boldest High Church doc- trine. And even now, after a pretended revision, which has left behind books in numbers, that we can not with a clear conscience give to our children — books which I presume to say are no more satis- factory to ' A. ' than they are to me — the possibility of our union on the ground which they propose to us, is more distant than ever. We can never sacrifice the gospel of Christ to a mere hollow and insincere union in an outward conformity. I say, then, we should have been left completely destitute of books for the Sunday Schools of our Evangelical Episcopal churches but for the American Sunday School Union. " And now to what an issue does 'A.' himself conduct us? "We must renounce an association, the positive teaching of which is purely good and thoroughly Evangelical, against which we can neither see nor hear a single solid objection, because it does not occupy the ground of an additional Episcopal teaching which we can readily supply ; and we must settle a ' mournful family quarrel,' by uniting in an association, the main current of whose positive teaching is radically corrupt, and whose deficiencies are the very gospel which we need, but which can never be supplied in conjunction with teaching so vitally unsound " And ' A.' wishes me to settle ' a household strife which is neither seemly nor useful,' by adopting what I know to be dark- ness in exchange for light, and selling my conscience towards God for a temporary expediency with man. He will not be surprised to hear me say, this is impossible. And still the more impossible the older I grow, the more my experience , increases, and the nearer my account is at hand. . . . As an Episcopalian, I believe in the sacred inspiration of the Holy Scriptures, and feel bound to follow their direction. As a believer in the Scripture I feel bound to avoid those who make unnecessary divisions in the Church of God, and whereto I have already attained the same mind with any, to walk by the same rule and mind the same thing. As a believer in the Holy Scriptures I have attained the same mind with many of my fellow ' Christians of various names' in regard to the import- ance of their circulation without note or comment, and I therefore unite with these in a fellowship in this great work. As an Episco- Public Addresses. 325 palian, I have attained the same mind with many of my fellow 'Christians of various names' in regard to the importance of estab- lishing Bible Sunday Schools and preparing a purely Scriptural scheme of books. for the instruction and the enjoyment of the children in them ; and seeing no ' diflficulties to be encountered,' I cheerfully unite with them in this important work. They do not ask me to sacrifice a single principle of truth that I hold, for the sake of this Union, or even to concede the most decided expression of my Church peculiarities or preferences for the maintenance of it. "I have worked in it and with it for thirty years, and have never found the single instance in which either it interfered with my rights as an Episcopalian or my duties as a pastor in the Church. t therefore adhere to it without hesitation. I see its influence to be great and good ; increasingly great and purely good. It helps rae in the ministry of the gospel. It fouls none of the streams to which I lead my flock. It corrupts none of the pastures in which t feed my lambs. " I therefore love it more and m.ore as I see and know the more of its operations and its worth. As an Episcopalian calling myself Evangelical, and meaning so to be, I see the importance, in their proper place, of the ordinances, and ministries and ritual observ- ances, and peculiarities of my own Church, for which this Union can make no provision. In this department I have attained the same mind with many of my Evangelical brethren in the Episcopal Church, and I walk with them by the same rule, in forming and maintaining the Evangelical Knowledge Society, in which we can adopt all the foundations which the American Sunday School Union has laid for us, and build upon it a Church-structure with which we may be satisfied, and in which we can abide. Here we can prepare and furnish to our schools and churches an Evangeli- cal scheme of Episcopacy, conformed at once to the Scriptures, in which I unite with the American Sunday School Union, and to the Prayer-book, in which I cannot ask them to unite with me. " And the more I see and know of the works and labors of the Evangelical Knowledge Society, the more am I satisfied that, in this arrangement, we have for our Episcopal Churches just what we need, Evangelical truth and apostolical order. Here we have an ultimate issue and provision which is aU that Evangelical men and churches among us have asked and do ask. And as an Episcopa- lian, I feel my whole course in this succession of relations to be sus- ceptible of the clearest defence and subject to no just animadver- sion. I may adopt 'A. 's own expressions, and say: I 'close as I 326 Rev. Stephen Higginson Tyng, D.D, began, with a full recognition of their integrity and intelligence, from whom I unhappily differ. I claim no exemption from fallibil- ity ; I ask for the views here presented no other consideration than is due to their intrinsic force.' I have spoken frankly and freely of ' A.'s communication. In himself, I recognize none other than a brother sincerely beloved and respected in the highest degree. But even to one whom I esteem so highly, I cannot give ' placG by subjection, no, not for an hour,' when the truth of God appears to me to be at stake. And after all my desires and at- tempts at union with brethren in various relations in the Church of God, I find, like Gurney, that there are duties and opinions remain- ing, in which I am entirely solitary, and must ascend to the top ol the iDyramid and be alone with God." CHAPTER VIT. MINISTRY, 1861 to 1865. CIVIL WAK. When all previous forebodings and fears were suddenly changed into awful reality, and the Civil War burst upon the land, there was no uncertainty as to the position which Dr. Tyng held in refer- ence to the questions at issue. Many hesitated, and among aU classes wide differences of opinion existed, but he took his stand firmly at the beginning, and maintained it unfalteringly even to ithe end. Throughout that whole period of trial he was constantly in the fore-front of those who strove to lead the people to the highest plane of principle and the utmost decision of purpose. His face was literaUy " set as a flint," in an unwavering support of the National authority, an un- ceasing demand for established National liberty. For these he contended earnestly and eloquently at all times, and succeeding events justified in a most singular manner his foresight and predic- tion. His various sermons upon National affairs are remarkable, not less for their prescience and boldness in declaration of the principles which must be acknowledged and maintained, than for their exhibition of so many of his prominent traits of character, and hence call for particular notice. The discussion of subjects of pohtical or temporary interest was not in his view appropriate to the pulpit, and therefore avoided on all occasions, save those of such special appointment as forbade silence, upon the questions of the day. This was a rule of his min- istry, never more strictly adhered to than during the years when its breach could have been most reasonably excused. On the Sunday following the intelligence of the attack on Fort Sumter, when the whole country was aflame with excitement, and the minds of the people seemed wholly engrossed with the one subject of thought, Dr. Tyng announced most decidedly the course which he should pursue, whatever might be the demand with which other subjects were pressed. 327 328 jRev. Stephen Higginson Tyng, D.D. "Let the dead bury tbeir dead: but go tliou and preach the Kingdom of God," were the significant words of his text. In justi- fying their application to the circumstances in which he then stood, he clearly defined the position which the pulpit should occupy in such a connection. " This," he said, " is a principle eminently applicable and imper- ative in the present condition of our social relations. A crisis has arisen in our nation and government; a revolution has burst forth in society; a conflict of sentiment, of sections, of intense personal determinations; an actual, internal mutual warfare has been com- menced, the issue of which no man can predict, the continuance of which it is impossible for human wisdom to define, and the sorrows and ramified influence of which every class, and, perhaps, every person in the nation must feel. The relation of the Christian pulpit and the gospel ministry to such anticipations of trial, and such absorbing of human attention and thought, is a very impor- tant question, not only to the ministry, but to the Church; not for the preachers merely, but for those who hear them. The daily press, that immense modern engine of influence upon human thought and action, urges the occupation of the pulpit with the special subject which this crisis has introduced. The desires, per- haps the convictions, of many who habitually and seriously listen to the public ministry, are moved to make a similar demand. It is impossible for the Christian ministry to avoid the responsibility and the obligation of a consideration of such demands. But it is a very serious question for them, which is not to be settled merely by the opinions of their feUow-men, or the temporary pressure of sur- rounding judgment, how far they shall consent to yield to the in- fluence which they must thus meet, and discuss the questions which are in social debate, or reflect the different opinions of men and papers of the day, in their appointed preaching of the kingdom of God. " As men and citizens, they have their own rights of opinion and judgment, and of their free and responsible expression, when in any of the equal relations of social life they mingle with their feUow- men. They have the same channels of public communication with others, and they may well resist any attempt to limit the freedom of their exercise of these social rights by any opposition or aversion of their fellow-men to their liberty of speech and thought, them- selves bearing the whole responsibility of the results. "But it becomes a very different and an immensely important question — shall they occupy the sanctuary of God with the things of Ministry, 1861 to 186^. 329 Caesar ? Shall they pervert the ambassage for Jesus to a discussion of questions of tribute or of strife ? And what though I could ex- cite you to shout with the wildness of your awakened feelings, and convert this sacred temple of the Spirit of Jesus into a mere theatre of confused noise, should I, could I, bless you thus ? It is not the high claim of burying my father. It would be better for me, indeed, if I had had no father to bury. I should have but a poor consolation in the applause which I received from the few or the many, when Jesus should ask me, ' Hast thou done these things at all unto me ? ' The inflammable passions of men find food and occasion enough from every source beside, however right and just may be the demand which calls them out, and if the pulpit join in the exciting cry of warfare and blood, to be converted into the mere platform of poUtics and patriotism, whence is any influence to come through earthly agency, to moderate and harmonize the acerbities of men, to caU to mind the higher authority of the Prince of Peace ? Shall I rob you of this day of heavenly peace, and fill it up with a continuance of the discussions of politics and statecraft, which have wearied and overwhelmed you through all the week ? What difiference is there in moraUty between a Sunday newspaper and a Sunday secular pulpit ? Surely it is neither my dutj' nor my right, though my opinions are decided and my desires long settled on these questions; it is neither my Master's wHl nor for your real happiness and welfare to take this sacred hour and sacred place for such themes or such employments. Bishop Leighton said, in the convulsions of his day, when English intoler- ance was desolating the fields of Scotland, and he was reproached for withholding from the controversy, ' While all are preaching for the times, let one poor priest preach for eternity.' While other pulpits echo the strife of parties and stir up the earnestness and passions of men for earthly contests, let this congregation at least have the Sabbath in peace. " To this line must I be confined in my appointed work, nor turn aside to any temporary questions which cannot profit because they are vain. The duties which the crisis brings, the trials which ib creates, are within my province of ministry clearly. The interests which have made, and the causes which have promoted it, the ends in which it must result, and the principles and side which it must exalt, are the wise and gracious providence of God alone." The Sabbaths at St. George's were, therefore, days of rest, de- voted to their own appointed claim, occupied by their own appro- priate theme. 330 Rev. Stephen Higginson Tyng, D.D. The frequently recurring days of National Fast and Thanksgiving afforded Dr. Tyng, however, abundant opportunities for the expres- sion of his views on public questions. On all these occasions, which were so marked a feature of that period, his voice was heard in the clearest proclamations of the special testimony which each required. It would be interesting to recall them fully, in connec- tion with the events by which they were prompted, but it may be permitted to refer briefly to those which seem the most impoitant. On the first of these National days of worship appointed by President Lincoln, the 26th of September, 1861, Dr. Tyng's sermon was particularly striking. It was at a time when the magnitude of the struggle had just become realized, and disappointment, discouragement and dismay pervaded the entire community. Many doubted and openly denied the justice of the war, while the propriety of its prosecution was the subject of frequent discussion. Few would acknowledge that slavery was the fundamental cause of the conflict or an issue which must be determined by its result. The fear that such a claim might defeat or defer a peaceful adjustment, was emphasized in the oft-repeated assertion that the war had no reference to slavery. It was long before either the government or the people were brought to realize that the nation's triumph must be slavery's doom, while some time was yet to elapse before the negro's right to engage in the contest was acknowledged, or he was permitted to enlist in the armies of the United States. On this day, however. Dr. Tyng took as his text the passage of Scripture, " And the Lord said unto Moses, Wherefore criest thou unto me ? Speak unto the children of Israel, that they go for- ward." " There is an instinct in man," he said, " which compels him in an hour of difiSculty to call upon God. Such a crisis led Moses to call upon God, on the borders of the Red Sea. It was his own secret prayer for aid. We read of no offering here of united or national supplication. The murmuring people cried unto Moses, but the believing Moses cried unto God, and the divine answer to his prayer we have before us. " It is not forbidding the prayer of faith, but the cry of doubt and fear. It is not repressing the soul's reference, in the hour of danger, to an Infinite Protector, but reminding the fearful soul of a previous command and promise. When therefore, the crisis came, of which they had been forewarned, their duty to trust and obey God, who had thus commanded and promised, was settled Ministry, 1861 to -iSSy. 331 and clear. The performance of duty sanctified by prayer is the Christian's privilege and right. The withholding of conscious duty in the mere cowardly cry for help, is sinful and unbelieving. To the former, the reply justly is. Pray, but work; calmly trust, but actively go on. To the latter the answer must be, Go on in the fulfilment of known obligation, and cease the mere outcry of indo- lence and fear " It is a national crisis which has called us together to pray. We may consider, therefore; the crisis and the duty which it involves and demands. " This is the first occasion since this outbreak cf violence occurred on which I have spoken on the subject to you. My ovm opinion and views upon the conflict itself I have withheld from the pulpit, in the desire rather to edify and sustain your hearts in the trial which it brings, than to discuss the elements of the conflict itself. On this occasion I shall calmly but distinctly speak what I think upon the whole subject. " A year ago we were a nation in great earthly prosperity, and at rest. Most of our political questions were at rest. One only all- important, all-pervading subject of discussion remained. This one subject was the maintenance and perpetuation of African sla- very " This made the crisis It is a struggle forced upon us, not by the South, but by the factious demagogues of the South. Not by all the slave-holders of the South, but by that vio- lent portion of them whose spirits are desperate, whose ambition has been disappointed, and whose only hope of personal exaltation and advancement appeared to themselves to consist in the success- ful inauguration of a reign of universal violence, terror and blood. Not to maintain our country and government in such a struggle, is simply to yield to this incursion of violence everything which is worth defending on earth, and everything which, in our varied responsibilities, we are solemnly bound to defend Was there ever a national crisis which involved higher and deeper, more vital and important principles of truth and duty? Take aU the Word of the Hving God, all its principles, promises and com- mands, can there be a moment's doubt on which side they are arrayed, or by the success of which side they are to be maintained and propagated ? Not more certainly was Israel in the path of. duty, when Moses cried at the sea, than is our nation in the strug- gle in which we are engaged. Not more appropriate was the prayer of faith sanctifying duty in their case, than is ours; not 532 Rev. Stephen Higginson Tyng, D.D. more wrong the unbelieving, trembling cry of despair or doubt, when uttered thus by them, than if uttered by us now. ' Where- fore criest thou unto me ? Speak unto the children of Israel, that they go forward.' If they go forward in prayer, victory will crown their nation. If they stand still to cry, or vainly court a sinful peace with crime, because they are afraid to resist it, they may invoke the pardon of Pharaoh, they may yield to his slave-bearing authority, but they wiU find no peace in subjection to his will. " What, then, is our duty in this crisis ? ' Go forward.' ' Speak unto them that they go forward.' The government must go for- ward. The people must insist upon it that they do go forward. " Forward in the prosecution of this actual struggle, until, cost what it may, it has been triumphantly and finally settled in the full re-establishment of our government, our country, our laws, our liberty, and our territory, over every foot of soil which violent insurgence has pretended to claim. The great principles at stake are only to be secured by final victory. We cannot afford to rest at any point, as a nation keeping the truth, till, by the blessing of God, we have made that truth triumphant. To doubt whether we may as a rightful nation do this is to deny the whole authority and purpose of human government. It is aa much the righteous duty of a government to punish vice as to maintain true religion and virtue. And what state or aspect of vice more 'destructive, more inexcusable, more an outrage upon men, could have ever been imagined by man than the wide-spread and slaughtering rebellion with which our country is now struggling ? The duty of the gov- ernment is to go forward, and the daty of the people is to speak unto them that they go forward, with increasing vigor and deter- mination, at whatever cost of wealth, and with whatever employ- ment of arms or men. " But they must go forward in tKe principle and' purpose of the contest, as well as in the power of its maintenance. The one great outward purpose and end of this contest, the external form of the result which we are to secure, is the complete re-establishment of our Constitution and Union. Under its control and wise direction we have prospered and grown through the years and generations past. We cannot sacrifice it to the claims of anarchy, or allow it to be overthrown by the arm of violence. Its administration has, beyond all question, elucidated in it defects which must be reme- died, and provisions which require to be altered. But these altera- tions must be accomplished by the regular, appointed, peaceful, considerate methods which the Constitution provides. Any other Ministry, 1861 to 18 6y. 333 method would be but the very subversion of the Constitution by the arm of force — itself the hostility and Yiolence on the part of others, against which we are now contending. "The demanded supremacy and universal acknowledgment of established slave-holding, was the one real occasion of this struggle. This was the demand, pressed in every variety of shape, and by every class of public appeal. In Congress, in the courts, in public addresses, in convention resolutions, they have said to the resisting people, acknowledge it, cease to contend with it, allow its establish- ment, submit to its dominion. It is the right and the only right re- lation of the black man to the white, or of labor to capital. It is scriptural, it is benevolent, it is humane, it is refining, it is exalting. No other system of social dependence and service is equally so. Allow its universal sway and law, and we wiU consent to be at peace. This was the varied cry for war. This was the unceasing demand of those who have made the war. A vast portion and a final majority of the people have calmly but earnestly resisted the extension of this oppression in every shape. They would earnestly have desired — in a peaceful colonization, in a liberal purchase at any cost, in any system of progressive and gradual emancipation — to have removed the evil unitedly and peacefully. Every offer, every suggestion was refused and reviled; and now it has been forced into the issue of war. And the government must go forward, and the rising people must speak unto them that they go forward, and make the finaljissue of the war the settling of this all-corroding question. . .... As long as it remains unsettled, we are not only at war among ourselves, we are at war with Providence, with justice, with God. Well did Mr. Jefferson say, when this peo- ple were in their infancy, of little more than half a million: ' I trem- ble for my country when I remember that God is just.' Had the men of his day removed the load forever, how peaceful and free from fear and contest would have been our dispensation and ap- pointed Hfe. '• Every motive of interest, of justice, of duty to our country and duty to our posterity requires that we should determine on the absoltite extinction of this burden now. Others have the responsi- bility of bringing up this subject to view in a shape and relation which we should never have desired. Let us not lose the occasion of putting it, in a final extinction of slavery in our land, beyond the reach of further poisoning our inheritance, and embittering all the relations of our life. To do this now, or solemnly to purpose to do this, wisely, quietly, but with an unshrinking determination, is, in 334 -^^- Stephen Higginson Tyng, D.D. this great relation, ' to do justly, to loTe mercy, and to walk hum- bly with our God.' " More than this. Here are one miUion of enslaved Africans in the midst of this contest, in the vigor of adult years. They cannot be made and they will not be kept neutral in the contest. They understand its operation. They have perhaps very exaggerated expectations of its results. If our nation and government do not in some way declare and establish or enter upon the determined plan for their emancipation, we cannot doubt that sooner than the insurgents will consent to submission, they wUl array, with the promise of freedom, this whole immense host against us. It seems indubitable to my anticipation, that we have but the choice whether they shall be on our side or against us, — whether, by an act of gra- cious justice, — we shaU. place them on the standing of freemen and take them out of the warfare so far as we can; or whether we shall consent to see them thrust into a relation in which we really have no alternative left but their utter extermination, or our own untold losses and sufferings from their unreasoning and brutal warfare. That such a choice and alternative alone remain to us, I confess I have no doubt. Justice and mercy to this people, so long delayed, involve far more and greater difficulties than if they had been timely ministered in their healing power to bless and to save them. I fully appreciate aU the difficulties of dealing with the subject suc- cessfully according to our Constitution. But I also appreciate the fact that the Constitution itself is at stake in this contest, and wiU, I believe, never be brought out of this contest, if this question be left imsettled. I have hoped that the great principle laid down by Mr. Adams, that in a time of Civil War this great internal question was taken out of the process of civil law, and put under the control of military necessity, might be considered established. " Then a proclamation from the highest military authority might adjudicate and settle it; and define and decree the terms and con- ditions of emancipation; both in limited localities and applications like the cases already occurring, and in the general and universal relations of the whole subject to the successful prosecution of the struggle for the Nation's life. I do not ask for any violent action. The resTilt of sanguinary insurrection and brutal warfare is the very thing which I deeply dread. But I do ask for a solemn, united purpose on the part of the government and people, never again to construct a union with perpetuated slavery therein, nor throw forward, in a mere temporary healing of the difficulty, the whole grievous burden on other generations, provoking their Ministry, 1861 to i86y. 335 hatred, the abhorrence of mankind, and the just anger of a holy God. " At any rate this is my view of the necessity, freely and calmly expressed. I would call the wisdom of the administration to the consideration of the question, for the method of its final adjustment. And then I would say to the executive power: ' Go forward.' Pro- claim liberty throughout the land, — and to the waiting and rising people, in the majesty of their sovereignty and strength: ' Speak unto them, that they go forward. ' " Sound it from every hiU-top on the continent. Echo it from every valley. Let the inhabitants of the cities take it up. Let high and low, rich and poor, one with another, solemnly, unitedly resolve : we will break every yoke, we will let the [oppressed go free. Such a stand assumed and carried out in this crisis, would command the homage of the world, as it displayed the uprising wisdom and justice of a great people; would bring down the blessing of God, as it exhibited a people determined to do right, and to be the protectors of the feeble and the oppressed; would open through the sea a path to certain triumph, because it would make the contest, in aU its aspects, lofty and just, and would insure permanent dominion of peace, because it would leave no festering sore in the body, or gaU-bearing root in the ground. For such a cause and in such a crisis, thus to be settled on principles of right- eousness and truth forever, we may surely lift up the prayer of faith, and reverently and acceptably ask the blessing of a just and holy God, confessing our crime as a nation in this prolonged injus- tice, and imploring His mercy ' that our arms may be blessed and made effectual for the re-establishment of law, order and peace throughout our country, and that God Himself may be our God, as our father's God, forevermore.' " In the marvellous works of benevolence which so distinguished the people during the years of the war. Dr. Tyng took deep inter- est and gave most hearty co-operation. At the frequent meetings held in their interest, he was constantly a prominent speaker, but the pressure upon the columns of the daily press -allowed no ade- quate reports to be preserved. In the work of the Christian Com- mission, and in all the provisions for the care and comfort of the soldiers, he was active in word and work, while the congregation of St. George's, representing so largely the wealth and influence of the city, were among the largest contributors to the support of these efforts. It was, however, the cause of the destitute and suffer- ing negroes with which Dr. Tyng was personally and most promi- 53^ Rev. Stephen Higginson Tyng, D.D. nently identified, and the efforts for the relief and education of the freedmen made special claims upon his sympathy and sup- port. " In a general order issued by General Sherman on the 6th of February, 1862, attention was called to the helpless condition of the negroes in South Carolina. ' Hordes of totally uneducated, igno- rant and improvident blacks,' he said, ' have been abandoned by their constitutional guardians, not only^to all the future chances of anarchy and starvation, but in such a state of abject ignorance and mental stolidity, as to preclude all possibility of self-government and self-maintenance in their present condition.' The benevolent were earnestly appealed to, to meet this pressing need, not only to provide relief, but to inaugurate such a system of instruction as the circumstances so urgently demanded. A public meeting was immediately called to consider the sub- ject thus presented, and at this meeting, held at the Cooper Union, on the 20th of February, 1862, a committee, with Dr. Tyng as its chairman, was appointed to organize an association which should act upon General Sherman's suggestions. Two days later " The National Freedmen's Relief Association " was formed. From this first effort for the relief and improvement of the negro, sprung all the various measures subsequently adopted, both during and after the war. The association immediately elected Dr. Tyng as its first Presi- dent, and for a long period he discharged the arduous duties of this office mqst assiduously. The organization of this important work and the necessary superintendence of its affairs imposed great responsibilities and required much attention. Among the duties thus devolving upon him, the issuing of passes within the government's lines at Port Royal demanded especial discrimination and care. The business of the association requiring constant visits to "Washington, and frequent conferences with the President and Sec- retary of War, he was frequently consulted by them, as it is'known, in reference to important questions in governmental policy. Among all the questions then arising, that in reference to the negro, presented itself in different conditions and forms. When settled in one way by the Emancipation Proclamation, it immedi- ately arose in another, the future rights and relations of the freed- men becoming a matter for earnest consideration. On this subject Dr. Tyng's views were not less decided than in reference to slavery, and are found most forcibly expressed- in communications to 2%e Independent during the year 1863. When writing of slavery as Ministry, 1861 to 1865. 337 " One great experiment," and of the treatment of the negro as " The next great experiment," he says: " As a nation, gathered from all nations, we have had peculiar problems to solve, and peculiar contests to meet. They have not been in the mere gradations of society. These are everywhere pre- vailing. Other nations have encountered and overcome them. Many of the highest and grandest names in European history have marked the career of men who have forced their way from the low- est to the highest stations in life, by the energy of their own talent and fidelity, and surrounding society and national history have rejoiced over their reputation and power. Our difficulty has not been in the mere fact of slavery and slave-holding. Other nations have contended with this, and have settled it successfully. Eome made her slaves freemen. But she incorporated them with her citizens in every aspect and relation of social rights. Eussia has set a noble example of giving freedom to millions of slaves. They, too, will be absorbed in her population, and their origin in slavery will be forgotten in their future family and personal history. " But in each of these cases there has been affinity, or, at least, not incompatibility in race. The succeeding generations have combined and mingled without difficulty, and the traces of dis- tinction are lost in the homogeneous position of a common off- spring. But we have the question of slavery in connection with a race of different color, who sadly bear the mark of their distinction to the last generation of their posterity. O'Oonnell once exclaimed in a feeling of bitterness, in his inability to gain attention in the House of Commons for some Irish claims: 'I would to God all my Irish people were blacks, then, perhaps, gentlemen would hear and sympathize.' We are often disposed so to exclaim in reference to our own poor blacks. If we could change their color, we should remove the one grand difficulty in the way of their liberty and exal- tation. But with the difficulty as it is we must contend, and over it, in some way, we must gain the victory. "Two nations of a differing inextinguishable color dwell to- gether in the social life. The nation holding them both has the problem of aU human happiness, justice, and prosperity to settle. Two possible experiments, and only two, may be tried in this at- tempt. There must be perpetual, legal, established inferiority, and consequent tyranny and oppression, or there must be unlimited and equal freedom, citizenship, and social rights. The former of these experiments we have tried for two hundred years. A hapless race, brought here by violence, have be$n kept here in oppression. This 338 Jiei), Stephen Higginson Tyng, D.D. determined state was said to be indispensable to their welfare, to their protection, to their very being. Nay, men dared to say that God has solemnly appointed this awful oppression as a line of human duty in His own Word, and that men who sought to ' break every yoke, and let the oppressed go free,' were infidels to inspira- tion and rebels against God. It has even been declared, in a late pamphlet, ' that God turned the descendants of Ham black, after the flood, that there might be no mistake in future time in catching the right parties.' The negro preacher's account of the origin of white men in the terror of Cain, when arraigned for the murder of his brother, would appear not less rational. At any rate, we have made sure to catch the right ones, for every one whose origin could be tortured into any connection with this oppressed race, however white in preponderance of hue, has been eagerly and frantically seized and held for Adam's sake. But this experiment has been tried. It has been tried with every conceivable advantage. The streani cannot roll back upon its fountain. Come what wUl come, I suppose we are never to be deluded again by this monster curse, and that oppressed and injured race are to be held in open and avowed bondage no more. "And now comes the great alternative experiment. If they cannot be kept in bondage, can they be maintained in freedom ? As free, they are citizens, to be held in just and secure possession of all the rights and privileges of American citizenship hereafter. " The President and the people have gone yet further in their united testimony and pledge. They are citizens, and they shall be soldiers because they are so. Already are they mustering by thousands, to defend a country which has thus nobly adopted them, in answer to this call. Begiments are now to be numbered by scores. They wiU swell to'a mighty|'army. Officers of the highest character, the most refined education, and the most elevated social position, are willing and eager to unite with them, to lead them, to command them, to press on with them to the strain of battle and the grasp of glory. Never was there such a trial o£ untrained sol-, diers endured as these heroes have triumphantly borne. In the first fights which they have seen they have flinched from nothing. They have proved themselves, beyond even white comparison, bold, eager, intelligent, disinterested and unshrinking. All the qualities of citizenship in the highest individual display they have exhibited to an admiring nation, and have vindicated for them- selves an imperishable name. This crown no man can take ■ from them. Ministry, 1861 to 186^. 339 " And now for their future, let the unbending laws of human civilization test and regulate it. All I say, is, deal with them as men, not as black men. Give them no special advantages. Lay on them no personal, peculiar burdens. Give to them aU the rights of citizenship, and impose upon them all its just responsibih- ties. I ask for them no patronage; I deprecate in their behalf no trials. Let them have all that white immigrants upon our soil receive: a nation's protection for their condition; a nation's ac- knowledgment of their equal rights; a nation's defence of their peaceful possession of all that they can earn or acquire in honorable trades or peaceful and useful employments. Let this free and grateful community rise above the degrading imputation that they are '■niggers^ and remember that they are men. I ask no more for them than that they shall have the chance which all other men have. I will never consent to any less. If on this plane of respon- sibility they cannot rise, they must sink. If they cannot take care of themselves, they must perish. We have thoroughly demon- strated that the nation cannot take care of them in any other rela- tion. " On this subject I have no fears and no anxieties. Give them perfect Lberty, and let them work out their destiny and history for themselves. If universal suffrage, without limitation of persons or circumstances, is to be given to others, let it be given to them. If restrictions and restraints on the right of suffrage are to be un- loosed upon others, let these also be extended to them. Give them the same openings in work and trade, — the same security in person and property, — the same encouragement to thrift and energy. Let the experiment of liberty be tried as fairly for them, as the experi- ment of slavery has been tried with them. They must abide by the results of aUfair and honest competition ia every line of life. Of these results ia their welfare and success, I have no fears or question. But let the experiment be honorably and fairly tried. Any class legislation, imposing on them burdens which others are not required to bear ; hampering them with disadvantages from which others are relieved j and compelling them to work against a current of prejudice and hostility which others are not obliged to meet, is but a return so far to the old experiment of slavery, already found so impracticable and ruinous. It wUl have the effect of oppressing them ; and in the habitual order of social eX" perience, as well as in the retributions of a divine providence, it will but prepare the way for future discontents, difficulty and con- test both with them and with others in their behaK. 340 -Rev. Stephen Higginson Tyng, D.D. " But has this nation yet suffered enough from the practice of oppression, to adopt a scheme of justice and benevolence for the time to come ? Have vs^e seen enough, and tasted enough of the miseries of wrong-doing to be vyilling now to do honestly and com- pletely light ? Have we risen to a stand of conviction or to a sense of obUgation which will be adequate to sustain a final renunciation of the evil, and a triumphant determination to exalt the nation in righteousness, that it may abide in peace ? For this, I sometimes hardly dare to hope. And yet, I am thoroughly convinced there is no other path open to us, either of security or peace. And the soundest policy as well as the clearest justice will lead us as a Nation to cultivate and exercise the largest spirit of justice and kindness toward them as toward all other men. " That they wUl sustain themselves in industry, honor them- selves in integrity, make themselves profitable in usefulness, and respectable in condition and relations, I am perfectly sure ; and under the divine protection and blessing I should look to see them exhibiting all the common excellences of good and prospering men in an equal measure with others, — and some of the human virtues m a far higher degree. They will bless in being blessed. They wUl return to the welfare of the nation an ample recom- pense for all the protection they receive, and as the recipients of an exalted kindness iu the midst of obstacles, they will be also the pledges and witnesses of that divine bounty which assumes the pay- ment for the needy; and thus ' though poor, be making many rich.' " In his words in a speech on another occasion, "whether the blood of the negro came from Ham or Japhet, he did not care, they all came from Noah. He did not know whether he was an abolitionist or not, but he was an out-and-out defender of human rights." Never faihng in his interest in this cause, he continued the champion of the negro in his demand for their every right. The very prominent stand which Dr. Tyng thus maintaLned and his recognized power as a public speaker brought him constant requests to deliver addresses upon the questions which then so com- pletely occupied the pubHc attention. One ot these invitations, received from prominent citizens of Chicago, may be noted as indi- cating the wide-spread observation which his course had "obtained Chicago, 'Nov. 11, 1862. Eev. S. H. Ttog, D, D. B£V. and Bear Sir: — The undersigned citizens, of Chicago, having observed with admiration and gratitude the noble position that Ministry, 1861 to 186^. 34.1 yon haTe taken in defence of the Nation in her struggles against a fierce and powerful foe, are desirous to hear your eloquent voice in the great Northwest on the vital questions of the day. We therefore respectfully ask you to address the citizens of Chicago on these subjects at any time during the present Winter when it may be convenient to yourself. Very truly, your friends, Z. M. HUMPHEEX EOBEET H. ClAEKSON, James Pratt, Eobert Collyee, EoBEET W. Patterson, W. B. Ogden, Rob't Laied Collier, David J. Ely, Jas. Geant Wilson, W. L. Newbury, W. W. Everts, Aetemas Caktee, EoBEET BOTD, Tho's B. BbYAN, Mark Skinner, E. T. Eoot, S. C. Higginson, C. M. Cady, E. C. Laened, S. B. G-ookins, Thomas Deummond. All such invitations he was, however, obliged to decline, save when connected with some special benevolent object which com- manded his interest and aid. The ceaseless pressure of his daily work gave no opportunity for such occupation, and his whole dis- position confined him to his one pursuit. " This one thing I do'' was in his constant expression the purpose of his life, and the duties of such a ministry forbade his engage- ment in extraneous or public affairs. Throughout this period, the work of St. George's Church con- tinued in uninterrupted prosperity, but without important events or facts which call for particular record. Included in its con- gregation were many ■•cpresenting all the different political senti- ments and sympathies oi tho time, and many whom Dr, Tyng's utterances on such subjects might be expected to offend. This, however, had no influence upon him, either to restrain or to de- ter. In a sermon upon the occasion of the Eighteenth anniver- sary of his rectorship in April, 1863, he refers in the following words to the harmony and happiness of the people, as one of the most grateful elements of his relations • '■ The Nation's trial for these two years has borne hardly upon all congregations; in many cases has separated chief friends. "Upon political subjects and questions ministers are allowed neither to speak or to be silent ; neither to have any opinions, or to have no opinions,. Whatever they may say, some are offended. ii the-j say nothing, others are. There are persons in every con gregation too vivacious and sensitive, to listen to anything in which 342 Rev. Stephen Higginson Tyng, D.D. they do not agree ; others too set and determined in their judg- ments to permit sUence upon the subjects which they deem paramount. " For any minister to satisfy and meet all these classes, is impos- sible. He would be a yery weak and silly man who should attempt it. But I suppose I have been called to suffer as little in these relations as any of my contemporaries. Of the opinions of the vast proportion of those who listen to me, on the great questions of the day, I am completely ignorant, so little have I conversed upon such topics. If they are equally ignorant of my own views on them, I shall not regret it. " There are no questions on which, as they proceed in develop- ment, a wise man will not have many opinions, and sometimes fail to settle a pre-eminence for himself. But I have encountered no personal hostility, and no extensive desertion, in this congregation on this subject ; and I was never more happy in all my relations with them than I am now. Thus I close my eighteen years' work, with my acknowledgments of gratitude to God, of affection for the people committed to me, of devotion to the work and will of the Lord Jesus in my time to come. " The division in political sentiments in the North in many in- stances found its appropriate expression in the acts of disloyalty by which the government was continually harassed and with which it had constantly to contend. Prom the outset, informers and spies in every department betrayed the trust reposed in them, while prominent men, under the guise of political partisanship, ill con- cealed the encouragement and aid which, by means of a divided North, they sought to give to the South. During the Winter of 1863, this spirit of disloyalty becoming threatening in its character and extent, and especially open and active in its exertions, vigorous and extraordinary measures were required for its suppression. These, when enforced, were the sub- jects of denunciation, and frequently met by violent resistance, the administration being vehemently assailed for its so-claimed illegal and arbitrary acts. The Conscription act recently adopted, gave additional strength to this opposition, and placed in its hands an important factor of sedition and strife. Such in brief were the circumstances in which, on the request of the United States Senate, President Lincoln appointed the 30th day of April, 1863, as a day of Humiliation and Prayer, and urged its special observance upon the people of the land. As the most appropriate theme for his sermon on this occasion. Ministry, 1861 to 1865. 343 Dr. Tyng selected 'Christian Loyalty.' It has been considered one of the most eloquent of his appeals in his country's cause. The text chosen was : Psalm cxxxvii. 1-2-5-6. " By the rivers of Babylon, there we sat down, yea, we wept, when we remembered Zion. We hanged our harps upon the wUlows in the midst thereof. If I forget thee, O Jerusalem, let my right hand forget her cunning. If I do not re- member thee, let my tongue cleave to the roof of my mouth ; if I prefer not Jerusalem above my chief joy.'' " This," he said, " is the patriot's devotion to his country. It is a living spirit in his heart. It drags to his own land and people in their lowest depression as truly as in their highest prosperity. It is living and active within him, to whatever contumely and re- proach it may expose him. It is determined and unyielding, how- ever multiplied and persecuting may be the foes he meets, or the disappointments he endures. Nay, like every class of that true and faithful love, of which it is an illustration, its tenacity and power continually grow with the misfortunes of the land of his home, and even with his own despair of its recovery. " This one outspreading sea of human affection gains a specific name, as it laves the shore of every separate portion of the dwell- ing places of man. And whether filial, marital, parental, social or national, it is but the same generic spirit, designated by a new name as it becomes specially marked by new relations in this divine geography. " When this heaven-born love touches the shore of National relations, it is Loyalty. But one higher, grander relation can it have ; that one which exalts it beyond aU earthly bounds, and bids it roll upon the dominion and the person of the great Lord of Lords, and King of Kings. The Church, the person, the heavenly home of the Great Head of the Church, the Prince of the kings of the earth, is the one only nobler, loftier, more abiding exercise and display of human love. " The child's love of his home, the father's love of his famUy, the Christian's love of his Saviour, are the patriot's love of his country, and the citizen's loyalty to his nation and his government. And if the flowing fountain of the whole dwell within the man, the course of its streams is easily to be predicted. If the channels of these streams are dry, the fountain-head has dried and ceased to flow. Indifference to the claims of national loyalty, and, stUl more, a coldness which comes with apparent depression, and which springs from the disappointment of individual selfish ambi- 344 Rev. Stephen Higginson Tyng, D.D. tion, is a spirit and character which every good man must abhor. I should feel neither my property nor my person, — my home nor my family, — my life nor my reputation, to be safe within the grasp of a man who could boldly renounce the obligations of unchanging, consistent loyalty, and join himself to the revolutionary influence and plans contrived and combined to overthrow the dominion of a just authority, which had furnished him all his shelter and suc- cess, — and to break up the Nation under which he had peacefully lived and grown under its healthful shadow." After considering loyalty to Jerusalem as "Love for her Nation," "Love for her Country," "Love for her Constitution," " Love for her Freedom Established," he continued : " My loyalty to Jerusalem is my love for her Government. . . I love this government. I love it in its origin. I love it in its sim- plicity. I love it in its supremacy. I love it in its individuality. I love it in its constitutional strength. I love it in its personal power, determination and will. " There is an affected distinction made between this govern- ment and its administration. I agree that there is the possibility of such a distinction in theory. But it is the simple distinction between form and life, between conceded power and its activity. It is a distinction possible only in the theory. The administration is the government in actual life. The government arises into being in administration, and tUl the term of official being expires, you cannot separate the administration from the government. And my loyalty to the government, in which I find the honor of my Nation, is my loyalty to the administration of that government, in its personal representatives of the executive sovereignty of the people. I agree that this does not involve my complete satis- faction in opinion with all the actions of the administration. It certainly did not for me when James Buchanan was the representative of the people's executive sovereignty. It cer- tainly has not for me, in all things, in the administration of his successor. " But I should find no fault with alleged arbitrary acts. I would that he were the re-impersonation of the iron will and determination of Andrew Jackson, and that every sympathizer with this shocking treason had been made to feel the power of the people's stern dis- pleasure. And yet, I rebuke my own impetuosity of spirit, and I honor, as perhaps far wiser, the forbearance, the gentleness, the integrity, the fixed pursuit of conscientious principle, which have so remarkably distinguished the present righteous but too forbear- Ministry, 1861 to 1865. 345 ing sovereign of this people, — for in him I honor the unlimited sovereignty of the people of this Nation in themselves. " I make, therefore, no distinction, for there can be no practical one established, between the government and the administration. And I view all hostility to the administration, — quite differing from mere disapprobation or disagreement of opinion, — to be but an assumed and convenient aspect of real hostility to the government itself ; and, while the administration is engaged in maintaining the supremacy of the Constitution, and the very existence of the Nation, to be just that which the Constitution defines as ' treason against the United States,' consisting in ' adhering to their enemies, and giving them aid and comfort.' " In the present crisis of the Nation my loyalty is caUed to con- sider the whole, and the absorbing question, of rebellion and war ; and in a single indivisible alternative, to cleave to the government of my country, or to oppose and distract it while engaged in war. I see and feel aU. this most sadly. " How remarkable is the present aspect of this government ! What government ever found itself upheld with such a system of finance in war, such armies of voluntary defenders, such united loyalty in a people, such rapid disgrace of those who have opposed it ? What nation in war was ever distinguished by such humanity to foes, such unwillingness to exercise even a moderate and just severity, such readiness to bear with injustice, and to utter an amnesty for crime ? What other government on earth would have tolerated in o£6.ce such manifest unfaithfulness to itself in high official and military stations, such absolute disobedience to superior authority, such undisguised consideration of the welfare of enemies, or of future contingent personal attainments ? " Surely the last charge that can with justice be made against such an administration is arbitrary violence or unseemly severity. And the wisest observers can only comfort themselves in their ob- servation of such remarkable patience and long-suffering, with the assured feeling that it must cut off from history the whole spirit of censure, and render but the more execrable and odious the con- spiracy with which it has dealt so mercifully. " But my regard for the present administration advances with its own career. Its growth is in aU the attributes which must attract the confidence and love of generous men. The day which has called us together is a vivid illustration of this. How remark- ably honorable to the Senate of the United States was the resolu- 34^ Rev. Stephen Higginson Tyng, D,D. tion unanimously adopted by them, suggesting such a reference to the Divine authority and -will ! How equallv creditable to him- self is the proclamation of the President ! " The Christian people of this land cannot fail to honor and to sustain, with the most loyal devotion, an administration so dis- tinguished by all the integrity of principle which can honor an Executive, and all the fidelity of personal feeling which can exalt an individual. And in looking at the whole field spread out before me, I behold a glorious governmentj contending, hke a tempest- tossed but majestic ship, with a storm of intense violence and fury, riding on the angry waves uninjured, unshrinking, facing stiU the vehemence of the tempest. I behold an administration distin- guished by probity, moderation, calmness, honesty, and truth, — standing stiU on deck, a wearied but unresting pilot, determined to weather the gale, and bring safe to port the precious trust commit- ted to his care. I see his lofty head above the gathered anxious multitude around him, stiU tranquil, determined, generous and Tinexcited : not fast enough, not stern, not avenging enough, I am ready to say, as I hear multitudes say around me. But what man has said, or dares in the face of the American people, to say, Not honest enough, not conscientious enough, not enough really trying and determined to do that which is right? I see him with his surrounding council, baring his head amidst the storms, and whUe taxing all his energies of mind, and heart, and feeling for the most disinterested and thorough fulfillment of his fearful duties, with uplifted eye calling aloud through all the wave-washed deck, in a voice that all shall hear, and none shall misunderstand ; 'Look aloft, look aloft. Let us pray to God, and trust ourselves to Him. Let us strive to do His will, and ask and supplicate His gracious blessing with us. He it is, who maketh the winds His messengers, and the flaming fire His ministers.' " I stand and survey this majestic scene, this sublime spectacle, and I return to my own heart and say : Before I am disloyal to such a government, to such an administration, to such a represent- ative of the sovereign majesty of my people, ' let my right hand forget her cunning, and my tongue cleave to the roof of my mouth.' To my nation, to my country, to her principle of freedom, to the Constitution, to the government, while I live will I be faith- ful; and however depressed or downcast or desponding may be the incidents and elements of the day, even though in captivity I sit by the rivers of Babylon, I will never forget, dishonor, or deny the Jerusalem I have loved, beneath whose shade I have grown and Ministry, 1861 to 186^. 2>A7 been refreshed, and with whose sons and daughters I have gone to the house of God and taken sweet delight. Still in prayer for my beloved country will I look up to the King of Kings and Lord of Lords." There soon succeeded, however, a period in strong contrast to that in which these words were uttered. The victories of Gettys- burg and Vicksburg, in the Summer of 1863, with others in various portions of the field of conflict, combined to silence in great measure the doubts and fears which had before prevailed. Again were the people summoned in acknowledgment of the divine power, but at this time to praise Him " for the wonderful things He had done in the nation's behalf." The 30th of August, and again the annual day of Thanksgiving, in the following November, were set apart by the President as days of special Thanksgiving for the mercies which had been thus vouchsafed, and which, in the words of the President's proclamation, " no human council had'devised nor had any mortal hand worked out." In such repeated calls was the voice of the pulpit tuned in prayer and praise upon these different occasions, and it is needless to say that Dr. Tyng's voice was heard in an earnest response. Successive events indicated the downfall of all attempts at the subversion of the National authority and presaged an early return of peace. There was yet, however, to be a final struggle, upon the results of which hung all which the war, now so prolonged, must decide. In the National election occurring in the Fall of 1864 was the last opportunity by which the opponents of the government might attain their ends. The political campaign which followed the renomination of President Lincoln was practically the death strug- gle of the rebellion, and on its result depended the terms upon which peace might be secured. No canvass was ever more earnestly conducted or more bitterly contested, every shaft of malignity and abuse being hurled at the President, in the effort to weaken his influence and destroy his power, in the minds and affections of the people. The National Thanksgiving Day appointed upon the 4th of August, 1864, occurring in the midst of these conditions, addi- tional interest is given to the words of Dr. Tyng's sermon, which was specially upon the question then in every thought. The terms upon which a righteous peace could alone be made were found in the words of his text : " Open ye the gates, that the righteous nation which keepeth the truth may enter in," Isaiah xxvi. 2 : from which the following thoughts were drawn — 348 Rev. Stephen Higginson Tyng, D.D. " A gate, in human use, is a token of advancing civilization. It is the assertion of property; and of the right of withholding and restraint. It is also the offer of privilege and of the permis- sion for entrance and participation to others who have no right. . . . . Thus, with manifest propriety, the gate becomes the symbol and illustration of the divine government and providence; asserting, both in the exclusion and the invitation, the absolute sov- ereignty and authority of God. "Whatever of advantage or of hope may lie beyond the fence of restriction is to be reached only through the gate which He opens; and upon the terms of time, of persons, and of qualifications which He prescribes. The fence of exclusion announces to man that He has no rights. The gate of possible entrance proclaims to him the terms which the infinite wisdom of the divine possessor has established, on which he may enter to enjoy the benefits which lie beyond. An instance and il- lustration of this whole operation, is in the gospel of the Son of God " Thus the text presents a privilege and its restrictions. A pros- pect of peace, and the terms on which it may be securely obtained. And whether you consider its principles in reference to the great and final triumphs of Christ and His righteous, justified nation, or the illustration of some local and temporary conflict and victories, the same great testimony of the divine government is given. " This subject, thus illustrated, I would consider in reference to our own nation, in its present sublime, exalted and triumphant struggle. " There is a gate which opens to us the animating prospect of victory and peace, one single way of divine permission, through which we may pass to security and greatness beyond. Across every other path a fence of impossible restriction has been stretched by the hand of God, and over that fence we may not safely break, and through it, we in vain shall try to force our passage. The attractive and the compensating prospect which lies beyond that fence, and through that gate, is the restoration of our Nation in its one government, and integrity; the establishment of a people, united, homogeneous and free, the renewing of our immense patrimony with all the arts of peace, and the prosperous achieve- ments of honored and protected labor, the inauguration of a nation whose love of liberty and order has been tested by the sac- rifices which it has freely made for their preservation and defence and whose pacific and liberating influence thus tested and displayed wUl be felt through all the earth. Ministry, 1861 to 186^. 349 " Beyond that gate there dwells a generation in coming time, whose glory will not be in violent rebellion against just authority, and whose delight will not be in war. To whom oppression of the poor will not be in the joy of the heart, nor unholy gain, though great, the boast of their attainment. The peaceful and prosperous arts of human civilization are there : the cultivation of a continent at rest is there; the gathering of a vast, industrious, and thriving people is there. Education, social position, true re- ligion, human happiness are there. Such a social public state as earth saw never, and heaven stoops down to see. There man will be honored for himself, and all the gains of righte'ous toil for man be laid open in the path of all. And neither caste nor color, neither national derivation nor low extraction, neither poverty in birth nor ignorance in a forced and laboring youth, shall stretch its fence across the path to respectability, acknowledgment and honor of any citizen of the favored land. That rail splitters and tailors rise to eminence, that poor and wandering boys soar from an orphan house up to high office, usefulness and renown, that the children of men unknown honor and occupy the rich places of the earth, shall there awaken no surprise, shall startle no human pride, as a monstrous anomaly, nor arouse the derision and scorn of the degraded and envious, as a dishonor to the people, whose history these marks distinguish. " There the hateful oppressions and oligarchies of an old world vrill have died out; buried in a bloody grave, and the whole land, like the post-diluvian virgin earth, will emerge from its apparent and assured destruction; only in a sweeter beauty, for a more hopeful youth, and a grander destiny, than it had ever before imagined or than any nation has seen on earth beside. This, to me, is no dream of fancy, but the language of predictive fact. " Thus I see the vine extending and established beyond that gate at which we stand, worth every thing it has cost, hiding in its accumulating blessings the remembrance of its price; but as the call for gratitude pouring a radiance around the men, who in the various portions of the transforming administration, which has car- ried the nation through the storm to its peaceful result, have pa- tiently fulfilled their noble work, and heaped everlasting disgrace upon the memory of those who have opposed, reviled, distrusted, undermined, and tried in every way to defeat and destroy the chosen, faithful, unrelaxing, servants of God. The money cost of all this gain, in a few years of peaceful labor will become an in- vestment of an incalculable wealth thereafter. Its cost in life will 35o Rev. Stephen Higginson Tyng, D.D. be a memorial and honor, a record of renown, whicli -will fill the land with applauding monuments, the Nation's heart with abiding thankfulness, and the page of history, with an undying record of greatness and glory. . . . " Glorious has been the exhibition of the Nation, in the elevation of the general publicsentiment; in the outpouring of means of de- fence, in the calm and lenient wisdom of the Executive, in the in- vincible tenacity of the armies and navy, both in the persons of leaders of the highest honor and skUl, and in the intelligent deter- mination of a soldiery, whom traitors at home, and foreign agents of oppression have vainly affected to despise. Upon these past three years, I look with daily wonder at what has been achieved. And whatever treason may start forth, whatever faction may arise, and under what names of parties or persons, hostility and abuse may come abroad; no man shall silence me from declaring that my highest confidence has been and is stUl given to the faithful ad- ministration, under which our nation is moving on to its hour of victory, and to whom, to my mind, its highest welfare and honor have been most safely and satisfactorily entrusted. " It shall never be a part of my consciousness, nor of the record against me, that I have ever united, consorted with, countenanced, encouraged, palliated or excused, the agents, instru- ments and heralds of hostility or vituperaton against the govern- ment of any country, carrying such a load, enduring such a respon- sibility, and so honestly and effectually maintaining the honor, and protecting the life of the Nation, in this severest trial through which any living people were ever called to pass. From my soul, I honor and trust the exalted man, who, in the divine providence stands at the head of our administration as pre-eminently wise, disinterested, honest and faithful, and no man, nor papers, nor parties shall delude me into the feeling of distrust, or provoke me to one act of desertion, or draw from me, or persuade me to listen to, the language of reproach and detraction. " But stiU the fence stands stretched across our path, and the gate of divine providence and permission which shall open for us to peace and victory stands securely closed. The interval of ex- perience it is vain to predict. Perhaps darker, heavier trials than we have yet seen may be gathering in our way. More oppression and complicated difficulties than all the present may be standing in array before us. The altar of the Nation's life may call for holocausts of sacrifice far more numerous; the offering of human wealth may be demanded, far more abounding and more oppress- Ministry, 1861 to 1865. 35 1 ive to bear. Families may sigh in anguish, and industry and thrift may groan beneath the burden of expenditure; selfish nostil- ity and ambition may seize the occasion for new and more violent political aggression. A suddenly excited and deceived people may be induced, in the paroxsym of the turmoU and distress, to overturn the whole administration of government, and exalt some untried military adventurer or some plausible and promising scheming civilian, to the chariot of supreme authority. New clouds may gather, and new tempests, may rise. All this may be before that gate shall open, and men's hearts may fail from fear, and in look- ing for the things which seem to be coming on the earth. " It may be so ; but the gate is there, and there is no other gate to the glory which shines beyond. At that gate how many stand in the attitude of earnest, intense desire, uniting in the unceasing cry : ' Open ye the gates! ' Who does not unite in this earnest cry for peace on earth, for victory to a Nation's arms, for substantial se- curity, security for the Nation's authority and life ? From myriads of churches, families, and closets, the prayer daily ascends to God : ' O Lord, open thou the gate.' ' Scatter the people who delight in war.' ' Give peace in our time, O Lord.' And the language of our text becomes the utterance of a Nation's prayer, and the one subject of a Nation's hope and desire. To lead to this, is doubtless one great purpose of the ruling providence of God. That gate wUl open when a people learn and feel that God ruleth in the earth, when they remember that the warfare is His, and the limiting and ending it is in His hands alone, when they feel and acknowl- edge that the Most High ruleth in the kingdoms of men and putteth down one, and setteth up another, according to His will. " And this may bring us to the view which we would take of the divine restrictions and permission, as uttered in the text : ' Open ye the gates, that the righteous nation which keepeth the truth may enter in.' " It is a righteous nation which is to enter there. A righteous nation is a justified and accepted nation ; a nation upon whose cause, and stand, and course of principle and action God is pleased to look with favor and approbation. It takes a right stand, it adopts a right principle, it adheres to a right theory, and it follows out this principle and theory with unshrinking tenacity. The ground on which it stands is truth, and!^ its unchanging course of action is to keep that trufh. " Doubtless this view of character and conduct, as applied to national characteristics, must include the elements and cultivation o 52 Rev. Stephen Higginson Tyng., D.D. of private virtue in individuals. It can hardly be a righteous nation whose component individuals are vicious and depraved. But the view which I would now take is of national character peculiarly, the facts which constitute a nation righteous before God as a nation. " Two great principles manifestly constitute the responsibility of our National character, and the neglect of these two great prin- ciples has been our National crime. There can never be perma- nent peace or prosperity to this Nation, but in their faithful main- tenance. They constitute our mission on the earth. To keep them is our responsibility. To sacrifice them is our crime. "The first of these great prinpiples is the divine character qf human government, and the excessive crim£ of man's rebellion against it. It is the first nation on earth, in the great array of modern civiliza- tion, in which a government maintained by a nation, subject only to the will of God, has been established. Everywhere beside men are rulers by the arbitrary claim of divine right in some family inheritance, and all other men are subjects to this one self- exalted line. The theory may be more or less limited by constitu- tional concessions from the governing power, or made more or less individually effective by the imperial assumption of the particular ruler. But it is the same false theory. The asserted claim of a conquering few to the right to rule the residue of men as sub- jects to their wUI. Rebellion against such assumption of authority, may be often duty, indispensable to a nation's life. But govern- ment with us is the government of the Nation, from which there- can be no appeal. God alone is conceded to be superior in author- ity ; and He the only acknowledged fountain of public power. " This great principle of divine government is a great truth com- mitted to our charge, for the defence and maintenance of which we are responsible to God and man. If rebellion against such a government be not wrong, nothing is wrong ! there is no crime on earth. And whether it comes in the figment of State rights, or provincial claims, or sectional assumptions, or individual complaints, all rebellion against the authority of such a government, and all force arrayed against its authority, is rebellion against God, and treason to the highest rights and obligations of men. I care not whether it is by States or persons, by majorities or minorities in States. If it be a majority of the Nation, it is rebelHon no more, however false in principle, or treacherous to the will of God and the future welfare of men, in operation. The majority must rule though they wrongly exist, and the minority may discuss, protest, Ministry, 1861 to 186^. 363 influence and teach, in hope of future enlargement of power to do more, but cannot, must not forcibly rebel. " Grod has entrusted this Nation with the great final principle of self-government for man, under His authority alone. He has caUed this generation to keep this great and all pervading truth. They will be a righteous nation only in maintaining it. They will be an unrighteous nation before God, in sacrificing it, and whatever its maintenance may cost of life or wealth, its sacrifice will cost far more, and we can never come out of this contest in safety or enter the gate of permanent peace and victory, unless we are determined, that no future rebelUon against our government shall be counte- nanced or encouraged by the success of this. " The other of these great principles is the equality and brother- hood of men. ' Honor aU men,' is the formula of its divine declara- tion. We are the first nation in the array of modern civilization to-day that has universal freedom and equality of man at the basis of our whole system of social being. " The first to throw open the whole area of human attainment, of wealth, of rank, of learning, of authority, fidelity and skill. We called all men brethren, we who were first upon the soil ; invited all others, from every land, to foUow us upon the same broad plane of acknowledgment, and to unite with us in the determination that there should be one land of earth, where man, as man, might say he had a home. We inaugurated what the great Hungarian so beau- tifully called, ' the solidarity of nations,' neither Saxon nor Celt, nor Teuton nor Scandinavian, nor Asiatic nor American, should be allowed to say : It is a land free for all but one. We have faith- fully kept that compact, and the descendants of all races are filling at their will all the places of our highest civilization and attain- ment. It is a noble exhibition, and in its perfection would be what it was designed to be, the joy of the whole earth. But a single leak in the vessel disregarded and neglected, is as surely fatal as an hundred. One exception among the inhabitants of the earth, we fatally made. And that one exception to our proffered brother- hood to man, has remained our curse and our crime. The de- scendants of Germans and Irish, of Huguenots and Papists, — nay, of China and Japan — may fill, and some of them do fill, our highest places of rank and renown. But the utter, bitter, degrading ex- clusion of the African, from all the rights, acknowledgments, pro- tections, advantages of liberty has been the growing purpose and operation of American civilization down to th^ very outbreak of this rebellion. 354 Rev. Stephen Higginson Tyng, D.D. " Can there be peace in compromising this great principle ? ' If slavery be not wrong,' said one of the wisest of our Nation, ' then nothing is wrong.' I should think every honest heart on earth would say so. I would never acknowledge anything a Christianity which did not say so. God has given us this great principle to hold, to keep. It is ' the truth,' which we are to keepi which we have bought with a heavy cost, and which we can never sell at any price. " It is basely and delusively said. Are not white men worth as much as black men ? WUl you sacrifice the peace and welfare of thirty million of white men for the comfort of four million of black men ? It is a fair commercial question and calculation in its terms. But it is not the question which I have to meet. Can thirty million white men afford to maintain their wealth by the cruel oppres- sion of the four million of black men ? I have no particular interest in the question of color; but I have an intense interest in the ques- tion of National righteousness. That black men should be slaves or free, has no personal influence for me; I have nothing at stake that others have not, but no man is so rich or so exalted as to be able to afford to be fraudulent or unjust. And no nation is so exalted, as to be able safely to defend and maintain a National injustice. Final peace in the Nation, must open the rights of equal citizen- ship, advancement, acknowledgment, and responsibility to all the citizens thereof. All the people must be free, and all must have an equal right to the attainment and possession of all the advantages and rights which freedom brings. If the Nation keep this com- manding truth with fidelity, it will be a righteous Nation before God. And He will open the gates which lead to victory and peace. For these great truths we have contended, or else every dollar and every Hfe expended has been thrown away. " At these gates we stand. "When the Nation's conscience faith- fully responds to the will of God; when it keeps and values, above material cost, the great truth which He has given it to keep, as a people and a pattern on the earth; when its prayers for freedom, and justice and happiness for all its people, cease to be the fumes of hypocrisy before His throne ; when its constitutions are purged from the protection of crime, its social walks cease to bristle with the thorns of oppression to the poor and outcast, its churches cease to defend the exclusion of believing men for their color's sake from all the privileges of their communion, or to make the outward skin the token of their Christian fellowship; when its men of wealth and influence become thoroughly loyal to National authority, and Ministry, 1861 to 1865. 355 give no more their countenance to rebels, and the defenders of re- bellion and refuse to acknowledge treason in whomsoever found, in any social rank or place of honor ; when the Nation has at last suffered enough for truth to make it dear, and seen enough of the evils of treason and oppression to make them hateful, and no longer your streets abound with revilera of your government, and de- spisers of aU that is good and hopeful in your National life ; when you cease to encourage rebellious and disloyal papers to tamper with men's treason, as if it were a light thing, and feel and believe that there is something on earth perhaps better than money, and more valuable than life ; when you willingly give your means, and time and strength, and influence, to maintain the life and being of your Nation ; when you have sacrificed a tenth as much to defend your country, and perpetuate its influence to bless the world, as rebels have given to destroy it ; when j'ou had rather be justly poor than unrighteously rich, and in your solemn determination maintain your country at any cost, cease to murmur at the cost it brings ; you may lift up your eyes with hope. Then will the gates fly open, and God proclaim from heaven : ' Behold, I have set before thee an open door, and no man hath power to shut it.' " The triumphant re-election of President Lincoln was an em- phatic declaration in favor of the most determined prosecution of the war, a death blow to all hope for any peace to be obtained by a concession of vital principles at issue. It was a sufficient cause in itself for the outpouring of grateful hearts on the annual Thanks- giving Day which so soon succeeded, and is thus referred to by Dr. Tyng in his sermon on that day : " The late remarkable settlement of our National administration has been a distinct answer to the Nation's prayer. Perhaps never was there more united, general, cordial prayer offered by any people, — in reference to their public condition and prospect. Prayer thus spreading out like an atmosphere, preparing t,he minds of all for tranquil submission, and educating all in its very offer- ing, for a perfect contentment with the will of Grod, however it should be manifested and displayed. Such prayers, so various, and so combining, have ascended, instantly night and day, through all this contest, increasing in their volume, and number, and earnestness, as the struggle has proceeded, and the river of events swelled in its approach to its final mingling in the ocean of the past. Such prayer could not fail in being heard, because the promises of God are unfailing. The answers to prayer, are in the providence which displays the divine will, and with gifts which flow 356 Rev. Stephen Higginson Tyng, D.D. from divine bounty. These prayers have found their answer, and have received the confirmation of their trust in the great event, ■which has settled the question of the Nation, and arrayed its mil- lions of people in the quietness of submission, and the patience of hope. And we can receive this National election in the circum- stances which have distinguished it, in no other way, than as an answer to a Nation's prayer. " The millions of our citizens have been arrayed for nionths, as special umpires to adjudicate the great question spread out before them. In pleas and counterpleas, in bills and accusations, in complaints and replies, in every variety of shape, and with every possible detail of specification, has this great National issue been joined before them. Advocates of every degree of rank, attainment and learning, have pleaded on either side, with consummate skUl, with unrestricted liberty, and with unrivalled earnestness and power. And never was there a verdict given with a clearer knowl- edge of the facts, and principles, and purposes to be chosen and adopted. Never was there a National question more separated from the men who were its temporary representatives, and de- cided more abstractly upon its own principles and elements in- volved. And the Nation by a vote of almost unprecedented major- ity, has decided the whole issue at stake, endorsed its conviction of the integrity and capacity of the administration impeached, proclaimed its approbation of the policy and purposes avowed by it, and commissioned it, as completely acquitted and approved, for a new career of patriotic efibrt, to close the strife in which the Nation is involved, to root up the elements of evil which have originated and sustained the warfare, and to restore the empire of the Nation's government over an undivided territory, and with a united population. The decision has been too absolute and entire, and tne action too open and free, to permit the charge of victory obtained by any means but the deliberate and thoroughly formed conviction of the people, to whom the appeal was made, — and the Nation is resting this day, with an unanimous and tranquil satisfac- tion that the people have fairly spoken, and the providence which made them the umpire has sealed the propriety of their de- cision. The voice of the people, in such a case, can be none other than the voice of God. " This event has been the most triumphant demonstration of the adequacy of republican government. " Our Nation has for near a century been employed in this great experiment, on the theatre of a world's observation. There Ministry, j86i to i86^. 357 were things, it was repeatedly declared, which a republic could not do. It could not endure, it was said, a foreign war. It could not carry a National debt; it could not control its own mobs; it could not array a strong government. It could not command the dissen- sions of its own people. It could not sustain the crisis of civil war, it could not raise an army or a navy adequate; it must cer- tainly go down when it came, in the midst of such a war, to the ad- ditional strain and violence of a National contested election. Some CromweU or Napoleon would be thrown up, who would be made to seize the power, and the republic would expire in a despotism of military tyranny. But this great republic has gone through all these experiments, in their heaviest pressure. And never was it so strong as it is this day. What a demonstration of the truth and adequacy of its principles, has this election been, — a large minority is defeated, in a crisis in which the utmost tension of human feel- ing was engaged. And yet with the dignity, and quietness, and honor of true republicans, they yield, without the semblance of violence — almost without an expression of anger or hostility, combining in the very evening of the defeat to say, ' We must now unite to- sustain the administration, which the people have so triumphantly upheld and approved.' A large majority is in peace- ful control of public authority after a contest waged and exercised with the most determined earnestness, against an opposition which was so powerful, as by no means to allow a prediction of victorious success. And yet you will listen and look in vain for the extrava- gant assumption of low partisan delight — or for any utterance of vindictive triumph over a fallen foe, — or for the projection of any conceivable motive or scheme, but the desire to preserve the Nation, and to deserve the approbation of its people. Its wise and justly exalted leader spoke the very sentiment of the Nation which had sustained him, and vindicated him so grandly when he said, on the very night of the election, that it was no delight to him merely to triumph over any one. This exhibition is nothing less than sub- lime. And as I have meditated upon these characterizing facts since this great election, I cannot say whether I more honor and delight in the moderation of the majority, or the dignity and self- respect of the minority engaged. " The true friends of republicanism throughout the world will be inspired with new confidence, new gratitude and new delight, when they read the story of this new experiment. It will give new vigor to every struggling people, new strength to every patriotic heart, new encouragement to every failing hope of freedom, and 360 Rev. Stephen Higginson Tyng, D.D. nothing for peace, but the cessation of this rebellion. "We have no grudges to repay, — we have no vengeance to execute, — we have no angry bitterness which desires to revile. The aggression ceasing, the defence is cheerfully and at once withdrawn. And a peace- seeking South would draw from this truly and constantly generous North, a liberality of settlement, and a bounty of provision, which would sacrifice all its pride, and much of its property, in healing the breach which it had never made. Where we now stand, we have but the one condition to make, and one message to proclaim : ' Lay down your arms, and peace is yours. Sheathe the sword of rebellion, and the sword of government and defence ceases in a moment to devour.' We say this to all, and we say. it to each. The day on which you yield your wicked, destructive contest, provided you do it at once, we will give you the hand of kindness and help, we will forgive and forget the past, and living with us in peace, you shall never hear from us, the reproach which recalls the sor- rows through which you have travelled, as your guilt and your dishonor. " I should answer : In this contest for life and law, we know with whom we are contending ; we have no contests with States, Southern or Northern ; we have taken up our arms not to subdue States, but to queU. a fearful rebellion in the very bosom of States. And though this rebellion may for a season, in some cases, control the State, and usurp, and affect to exercise its power, our contest is with the rebellion, and not the State. We do not acknowledge that any State can secede from our consolidated Nation ; we do not mean that any one shall ; we shall never mistake the disease of the body for the body itself ; we still wait, watching a social Ufa which can never die, until it has thrown off its confluent mass of suffering, and starts recuscitated on its new recovery of being and power. Let States arising from their rebellion, reasserting in their loyal population, their authority over their own inhabitants, take their representative places in our Nation and our Congress, and quietly unite with us in the maintenance of our common government and the furtherance of our country's success and glory. The interval which has passed, has forfeited no rights of theirs, and has been employed by us in no injury to them. Their act of cheerful return shall be all the fruits of their repentance which we would demand, and they shall be received and honored by us as before. We will not hold them responsible, as States, for the crimes of one portion of their people. And we shall rejoice to unite with them, in making up the losses and sorrows which they have suffered in another. Ministry, 1861 to 186^. 361 " I should answer : we have made no warfare with this rebel- lion for its slavery. And we shall not commingle the question of slavery with the settlement of this rebellion. Combined as they are in fact, — the one growing out of the other, as its principle and fountain, we stiU separate them, in the distinct adjudication of each. And we say to the States in which this rebellion rages : Return to your allegiance and our Union as you are. The question of your inhering slavery, we wiU settle on another basis, which shall con- cern not you only, but equally include us all. " We have forbidden slave-holding in our territories ; we have abolished slavery in our National Capital, and in aU the places of National property. So that our Nation's glorious flag shall cover no slave henceforth throughout our land. "We have repealed the Fugitive Slave Law, and stopped all slave-hunting on our Nation's soil forever. So that no court of ours shall be hereafter dishonored with unrighteous demands for flying bondmen. These merciful and righteous acts we shall never repeal, and we offer you a free participation of aU. their rising and prospective blessings. Our Executive has issued proclamations, offering freedom to slaves in bondage, and pledging all our power and purpose, to maintain that freedom, to the persons, and under the conditions, in con- nection with which it was proclaimed. Our whole Nation have endorsed these proclamations, with a magnificent ovation of acknowledgment and support. They are now* the accredited and accomplished acts of people more sovereign than the proclama- tions of the President, more authoritative than the acts of the Con- gress, whom the people make, and who derive all their power from the people who have committed it to them. Thus the dial of prov- idence has travelled round mighty circles, since you left us. You would not ask us to put it back again, to that dark hour when we parted. We cannot if we would, we would not if we could. No, God forbid, — that we should lose all these victories of human love and mercy for any consideration in the universe of possibility to our Nation. The dark past is past, and we shall never be willing to recall it. The bright future is now scarcely future, and we are pressing on to gain it. We say to you, with all our hearts. Come with us and we wiU do you good, for the Lord hath spoken good concerning us ? We will not mingle this question of slavery with our invitation for your return. Let your peojDle give up their re- bellion. Let your armies be disbanded in the field. Let your treasonable leaders fly or be banished. Cease your warfare, and .et the sword devour no more. 362 Rev. Stephen Higginson Tyng, D.D. " We have but this one condition to propose, we shall enter upon no detailed treaties, or schemes of protracted negotiation. Our whole demand is in one single fact. Our offer and our prom- ise is in every thing that we can do to advance your prosperity, to heal your sorrows, to promote your welfare and comfort, to show you the more exalted way, and to make you know and feel how much you were mistaken in supposing us to he vindictive tyrannical, mean or cruel. " This would be the answer which I should give to those who ask for peace. It is an answer which I think our Nation may wisely give, and safely give. I cannot but hope, that the invita- tion and offer would soon be accepted by a portion at least of the professedly seceding States. I have seen with delight, since all these thoughts were prepared, a similar view expressed by the dis- tinguished General, to whose presence in our city we probably owe so much of the singular quietness of the late election. I have welcomed intimations in our papers, that such views might engage our President, in a new and distinct offer to those in rebellion. I speak to you of them, as they have long since occurred to me, be- cause I have the right, and feel the duty on this day to say what I think on these great subjects of common welfare. I am intensely desirous of peace in this land. It is the burden of my daily, con- stant prayer to God, in whose hands are the hearts of the children of men. "But if rebellion will not agree to such a peace, then I say : no consideration of money, or material prosperity, or toU, or suffer- ing, or time would weigh with me a moment. And all plans of temporizing and hesitation, must be utterly discarded. The high- est mercy to the Nation, the most binding duty to mankind, would be the extremest warfare in power, purpose, and method, with this perverse and unrighteous rebellion. The Nation must be united in the purpose. Agents and instruments of treason must be for- bidden a dwelling in our midst. Pirates upon the ocean, carrying destruction to our peaceful commerce, must be dealt with as pirates when captured by our navy. The government must arise with new vigor and new determination, whoever may call it vio- lence or tyranny, to maintain the law, to protect the Nation, and to bring us peace upon the only terms which there remain for peace : the absolute extinction and blotting out of the rebellion and its agents by force of arms. If we cannot do this, we must sink be- neath its power, we must yield our land to an universal slavery, bow our necks to abiding bondage, demonstrate our unfaithfulness Ministry, 1861 to 1865. 363 to the great trusts and principles committed to our keeping, and go down in the record of history for other generations, as the feeblest, falsest, and most unfaithful people, to whom the grea' in- terests of human civilization and advancement were ever entrusted. " That such is to be the destiny of this land I cannot believe. The bitterness of its latter end would be extreme indeed. The guiltiness of its career would make its record the darkest page in the history of man. And its failure would leave no human hope of future light to gleam through the darkness which must cover the social destiny of man. " Brethren, for better things than these I look, and on this day, which recalls so many subjects for thanksgiving, I cannot but gird myself with the brightest, highest, most exulting hope. I trust it is not low ambition or pride, which leads me to look forward, in an- ticipation, resting upon the past amazing providence of God, to a future for my country, which shall yet make it the glory of all lands, and open before it a career of usefulness and influence on earth, for which all nations shall arise and call her blessed. In God, our father's God, is still our trust. The past of His gracious providence, is our assurance for the future." The future brought even greater results than those which had been anticipated, and the surrender at Appomattox, on the 9th of April, 1865, closed the struggle which had then been of four years' duration, and by which at so great cost the unity and power of the Nation had been firmly established in universal acknowledgment. The President hastened to ascribe the praise to God for the result thus attained, and appointed the 20th of April as the Na- tion's day of Thanksgiving. His lamented death occurred on the 14th of April, however, and joy was turned into mourning through- out the length and breadth of the land. The theme of every sermon became a memorial of the sad event, a eulogy of the char- acter and course of the President by whom the divine providence,, so consistently acknowledged, had wrought out the great result. On Easter Sunday, the 16th of April, the pulpit in St. George's Church was draped in mourning, intertwined with the American flag, the font and reading-desk being similarly covered, and Dr. Tyng announced that the day would be observed in accordance with the changed condition under which they assembled. Previous to announcing the text of his sermon, he said : " The draperies which hang around in front of me to-day ar- ranged by the loving hands of some of the loyal daughters of their country in this beloved flock, tell the whole story of the day, bring 368 Rev. Stephen Higginson Tyng, D.D. the loved brother of all his people, and the friend and defender of the poorest and lowest of all its generations. Thus has providence triumphed over our enemies and given us the victory. " III. The victory is the gift of God. This is so clear in fact, and so clearly a consequence of the series of facts which we have already considered, that I need not illustrate it in minute detail. The time is too recent for our forgetfulness of any of the great dis- tinguishing facts which have marked this warfare, or to permit us to arrogate the honor to our own skill and power alone. It is im- possible to forget the gloomy aspect of the first years of struggle. It is impossible to forget the sadness of defeat after defeat. It is impossible to forget the devout humbleness of spirit with which our beloved and exalted President called the thoughts and depend- ence of the people, like some ancient ruler in the Theocracy, back to God. It was impossible not to discern the hand of God, giving victory from the very hour that the war was acknowledged to be a war for liberty, as well as order, and for the deliverance of the oppressed, as truly as for the conserving of the prosperous and peaceful. " Accordingly, again and again did our exalted and believing President issue his proclamation of thanksgiving, sounding the ap- peal in the ears of the whole Nation, — ' Oh give thanks unto the Lord, who maketh us to triumph over our enemies.' But later vic- tories are even more remarkable. AH these displays, though grand in themselves, are but a part of the wonderful divine scheme. All talent, calculation, courage, and force opposed to them, seem to have been paralyzed and made useless. And as I survey the whole scene, thus rapidly noted, I should hold myself an infidel in' spirit, not to say, 'It is God alone who giveth us the victory.' " But I deem all these displays inferior and secondary. The moral greatness of the President ; his meekness, his faith, his gentleness, his patience, his self-possession, his love of tho people, his confidence in the people, his higher confidence in God, his gen- erous temper never provoked, his love fearing no evil, provoking no evU, are such an elevation of human character, such an appro- priate supply for our very want, that I cannot but adore the power of that God, whose inspiration giveth man wisdom, as the one author of this gift, — bringing an unknown, a reproached, a despised man, to reveal a greatness of ability, and a dignity of appropriation, which surrounding men had not suspected, which shone too purely and too beautifully to be envied or hated by any, and which have Ministry, 1861 to 186^. 369 at last commanded universal confidence and homage from those who had never united to sustain him. " Yet the divine interposition does not leave the field even here. The creation of the ■wonderful spirit and reach of human benefi- cence and ministration, which we have seen in the midst of this war, and by this war, and for this war, throughout our country, is even a higher demonstration of the divine presence and power. The calling forth of the Sanitary and Christian Commissions, like the father and mother of the household, in their separate relation- ships and responsibility — the one striving for material provision, the other ministering the words and acts of kindness and love to those made the objects of their protection ; the creating of the Freedmen's Commission, to search and care for the poor outcasts, for whom nothing was provided, — the prompting of the Union Commission, to minister to the wants of those whom rebellion had stripped, and rendered homeless and destitute, for whom no other protection seemed prepared, — the starting forth of homes for dis- abled soldiers, and the orphans of soldiers, and the millions of dollars given by a people heavily taxed and burdened by aU the cost of defending their liberty and their Nation, for the grand and glorious purpose of ministering increased comfort to their varied objects of spontaneous consideration and sympathy, — displaying a love, and tenderness, and purpose, which have grown brighter in the midst of the very sorrows which have filled every house and heart, — have been such a divine display of God's interposition, as nothing on earth besides has equalled. " rV". The resulting treatment of the captives in the Lord's example : ' My father, shall I smite them ? Shall I smite them ?' ' Thou shalt not smite them. Wouidst thou smite those whom thou hast taken captive with thy sword, and with thy bow ? Set bread and water before them, that they may eat and drink, and let them go.' The carrying out of this resuscitating plan seemed emi- nently adapted to the mind and heart of President Lincoln. But too great personal honor and influence it is not the will of God to entrust to individual men. When Moses came to the entrance of the land of promise, he was permitted, by faith enlightened, to see something of its glory. But he was not personally to minister to its settlement or distribution. He beheld the glowing future spread before his people, and laid down in the land of Moab to die. " So our beloved leader has been allowed to live until, as from Pisgah's height, ho could contemplate the fast approaching future 364 Rev. Stephen Higginson Tyng, D.D. the subject of which they speak so prominently before the minds of all who are gathered here, that it seems impossible to step aside from it. And yet it is impossible for me, in my oppressed, bur- dened and weary state of mind, so much as to touch it this day. I hope on Thursday to be allowed to speak some of my thoughts and feelings concerning it, but on this occasion I shall present my Easter thoughts as they were prepared and made ready before this great event occurred." On the day referred to. Dr. Tyng delivered his commemorative sermon, " Victory and Eeunion," reviewing the whole period in its wonderful providences and results, and .the instruction they con- tained. It was from the text II Kings vi. 21: "And the King of Israel said unto Elisha, when he saw them, My father, shall I smite them ? shall I smite them ? And he answered. Thou shalt not smite them. Wouldst thou smite those whom thou hast taken captive with thy sword and with thy bow? Set bread and water before them, that thay may eat and drink, and go to their master.' " The point of this story," he said, " is very manifest. The prin- ciple which it establishes is also very clear. The simple question proposed to the prophet and answered by him was : What shall be our treatment of an enemy subdued ? One class of sentiment demands, in the very language of man's nature : * Shall I smite them ?' Another replies in the spirit of the divine teaching : ' Set bread and water before them, and let them go. The combination of both would be in the analogy of the divine administration. ' Behold the goodness and the severity of God.' " In the story which lies before us now, four separate facts are very remarkable, and to our purpose extremely appropriate. " I. The warfare was really against the God of Israel II. The power which prevailed was the providence of God. III. The victory attained was the gift of God. IV. The resulting treatment of the captives was the example of God. "These are very important propositions in an earthly crisis. The field of their illustration: was very limited in the history of Israel. The extent of the field, however, will not affect the propri- ety of their application. I deem them remarkably applicable to our own National condition. " I. The warfare which this Southern rebellion has made on our government and Nation, has been really a warfare against God. Not Israel was more truly a nation divinely collected, divinely Ministry, 1861 to 1865. 365 governed, divinely commissioned, divinely prospered, than have been the United States of America. It is no boastful nationalism to say that this Nation, in its establishment and prosperity, was the last hope in a weary world that man could ever on earth enjoy a peaceful and protected liberty. This broad, unoccupied conti- nent, which God had reserved for its possession, was the last open field of earth remaining on which to try the grand experiment of a moral, social, intellectual advancement of the peaceful poor of the human famUy. " The actual circumstances combining to make up the history of the settlement of this Nation, were so peculiarly and remarkably an ordering and arrangement in divine providence, that I will not waste your time, or trifle with your intelligence, by demonstrating in detail the fact, that God had chosen this place and this people for a special exhibition of His own wisdom and goodness in the government of man, and for the accomplishment of great results in human happiness, which had been nowhere else attained. I should be ready to affirm that whoever warred with the integrity, prosperity, and onward growth of this Nation, warred with the plans and purposes of God. " But the warfare through which we have now passed was or- ganized expressly to overthrow the government and integrity of the American Nation, for the establishment of local sectional sover- eignties. It was to establish a perpetual degradation of honorable labor and of the hard-toUing, laboring classes, by making the capi- tal of wealth the owner of the labor of poverty. " I cannot conceive of a warfare, in its inauguration and pur- pose more completely against the purposes and the commands of the Most High. " II. The power which has prevailed, was the providence of God. The whole survey of this contest past has been a review of divine providence. The facts succeeding have been successive steps in this remarkable development of providence. The divine concealment of the real issue from the body of our people at the commencement o'f the struggle, was the opening line of this prov- idence. How few were willing to accept the thought, that thus God would overturn the giant wrong of human slavery ! How few could look upon the apparently mad attempt of John Brown, in the feeling that he was, after all, the Wickliffe of the coming day — the morning star of a new reformation 1 We did not justify him ; we do not, — ^we need not justify him now. But we see him now as we dared not believe him then, opening a battle in a single duel, which 366 Rev. Stephen Higginson Tyng, D.D. should have no other end than the universal destruction of the slavery of man. " We were then combining to contend for a Constitution as it was. We asked no change. How few imagined we were to fight out this glorious amendment on the side of l.berty, until the signa- ture of every State to its adoption should be written in the blood of its noblest citizens and youth ! We then pressed a compensation, and were ready to pay it, at any conceivable price. How few could imagine that the States involved would madly refuse the offer, un- til God's pecuUar plan should be wrought out, to let His captives go, but not by price or reward ! " Most slowly did even that wisest man among us, who has been the last great sacrifice upon the altar of liberty, reach even a meas- ure of willingness that the issue of liberty should be in the war at all. And yet how persistently did this great issue rise, as much by reproachful objections against it, as by growing clearness of per- ception concerning it, till at last South and North combined to see that the one grand question for white and black, for bond and free, was that which they called 'the everlasting negro.' " How completely hidden from our possible view was the extent of time and sufiering to which the war should reach ! OouFd all its demands have been calculated and surveyed, how few would have been willing to embark upon a sea so troubled and apparently so hopeless ! We thought of thousands of precious Uves. Who would have dared to confront the certainty of a million ?" " Men's hearts faUed them when they looked at the things which were coming ; and yet aU that they saw or imagined was but a mere toying with the great issue, when compared with the approaching reality, which they did not see. " How wonderfully and unexpectedly was the union of the North created, by the very assault on Sumter which was to fire the Southern heart! How few would have believed that all the South- ern calculations upon a divided North, all the. fears of mutual con- tests in our own streets, were to be put to rest forever in the mere process of the controversy ! What a providence for us was that sudden seizing of all forts and arsenals and public property, in the incredible violence of mad earnestness, when a calm and preten- tious scheme of counsel would probably have betrayed our giant power in its sleep ! " How graciously God has aU the time stimulated purpose, and elevated faith, and new-created hope, by the mere mortification of defeats ! How mercifully He has trained us up to the National idea, Ministry, 1861 to 1865. 367 that we are a people, that we are one people, by scattering the blood of New England and the West, of the Middle and the South, of the hill-tops and the shore, in one common sprinkling, through the whole field of warfare ; burying the dead of the whole land side by side, in far distant but fraternal and equal cemeteries; giv- ing a little to every State, in every soil, in this precious planting of their strength and glory ; until at length we have come to rejoice in being one people, under one ruler, — and in the one title Ameri- can, we know no North, no South, no East, no West. " How remarkable is that providence which has given us a new currency, negotiable throughout the continent, founded upon the aggregate of th' property of the Nation, and cherished and made certain by the ?ery pride of the people ; making that which is pro- verbially, in social economy, the weakness of a nation the very strength of ours. What a providence was that which settled the question of our iron-clads on the sea. . . . " All these are lines of providence, — exalted, hidden, beyond our conception or arrangement. We might multiply them almost indefinitely, for they cover the whole field of observation. Perhaps the last act of providence is the most remarkable of all. They had combined for the murder of the President and his Cab- inet, in the hope of creating an unexpected anarchy of a Nation without a ruler, and of involving the Nation, in the suddenness of its despair, in an inextricable and hopeless revolution. But how God has confounded the counsel of Ahithophel ! Satan was not more deceived when he plunged the Jewish mob into the murder of their Lord, that when, on this very commemoration day of His cruc- ifixion, he aimed a traitor's bullet against the exalted ruler of this people. It is a costly sacrifice, indeed, to us, but the blessings which it will purchase may weU be worth the price. It has ce- mented forever the National union and spirit of this people, by making the man whom they most loved and honored the last great sacrifice for the Uberty and order of the people. "If there be this day a single fact which especially strengthens the royal house and government of England, it is the unrighteous murder of the first Charles. The severed head of a Stuart is the foundation-stone beneath the throne of Britain and Victoria. And if there be one fact of providence which hereafter will especially consecrate the right of National authority, and overwhelm the first suggestion of secession or treason, it will be this murder of the man whom all history wUl acknowledge the wisest, purest, greatest, best of American rulers ; if not the Father of his country, at least 368 Rev. Stephen Higginson Tyng, D.D. the loved brother of all his people, and the friend and defender of the poorest and lowest of all its generations. Thus has providence triumphed over our enemies and given us the victory. " III. The victory is the gift of God. This is so clear in fact, and so clearly a consequence of the series of facts which we have already considered, that I need not illustrate it in minute detail. The time is too recent for our forgetfulness of any of the great dis- tinguishing facts which have marked this warfare, or to permit us to arrogate the honor to our own skill and power alone. It is im- possible to forget the gloomy aspect of the first years of struggle. It is impossible to forget the sadness of defeat after defeat. It is impossible to forget the devout humbleness of spirit with which our beloved and exalted President called the thoughts and depend- ence of the people, like some ancient ruler in the Theocracy, back to God. It was impossible not to discern the hand of God, giving victory from the very hour that the war was acknowledged to be a war for liberty, as well as order, and for the deliverance of the oppressed, as truly as for the conserving of the prosperous and peaceful. " Accordingly, again and again did our exalted and believing President issue his proclamation of thanksgiving, sounding the ap- peal in the ears of the whole Nation, — ' Oh give thanks unto the Lord, who maketh us to triumph over our enemies.' But later vic- tories are even more remarkable. All these displays, though grand in themselves, are but a part of the wonderful divine scheme. All talent, calculation, courage, and force opposed to them, seem to have been paralyzed and made useless. And as I survey the whole scene, thus rapidly noted, I should hold myself an infidel in spirit, not to say, 'It is God alone who giveth us the victory.' " But I deem all these displays inferior and secondary. The moral greatness of the President ; his meekness, his faith, his gentleness, his patience, his self-possession, his love of the people, his confidence in the people, his higher confidence in God, his gen- erous temper never provoked, his love fearing no evil, provoking no evil, are such an elevation of human character, such an appro- priate supply for our very want, that I cannot but adore the power of that God, whose inspiration giveth man wisdom, as the one author of this gift,— bringing an unknown, a reproached, a despised man, to reveal a greatness of ability, and a dignity of appropriation, which surrounding men had not suspected, which shone too purely and too beautifully to be envied or hated by any, and which have Ministry, 1861 to 186^. 369 at last commanded ■universal confidence and homage from those who had never united to sustain him. " Yet the divine interposition does not leave the field even here. The creation of the wonderful spirit and reach of human benefi- cence and ministration, which we have seen in the midst of this war, and by this war, and for this war, throughout our country, is even a higher demonstration of the divine presence and power. The calling forth of the Sanitary and Christian Commissions, like the father and mother of the household, in their separate relation- ships and responsibility — the one striving for material provision, the other ministering the words and acts of kindness and love to those made the objects of their protection ; the creating of the Freedmen's Commission, to search and care for the poor outcasts, for whom nothing was provided, — the prompting of the" Union Commission, to minister to the wants of those whom rebellion had stripped, and rendered homeless and destitute, for whom no other protection seemed prepared, — the starting forth of homes for dis- abled soldiers, and the orphans of soldiers, and the millions of dollars given by a people heavily taxed and burdened by aU the cost of defending their liberty and their Nation, for the grand and glorious purpose of ministering increased comfort to their varied objects of spontaneous consideration and sympathy, — displaying a love, and tenderness, and purpose, which have grown brighter in the midst of the very sorrows which have filled every house and heart, — ^have been such a divine display of God's interposition, as nothing on earth besides has equalled. " rV. The resulting treatment of the captives in the Lord's example : ' My father, shall I smite them ? Shall I smite them ?' ' Thou shalt not smite them. Wouidst thou smite those whom thou hast taken captive with thy sword, and with thy bow ? Set bread and water before them, that they may eat and drink, and let them go.' The carrying out of this resuscitating plan seemed emi- nently adapted to the mind and heart of President Lincoln. But too great personal honor and influence it is not the will of God to entrust to individual men. When Moses came to the entrance of the land of promise, he was permitted, by faith enlightened, to see something of its glory. But he was not personally to minister to its settlement or distribution. He beheld the glovring future spread before his people, and laid down in the land of Moab to die. " So our beloved leader has been allowed to live until, as from Pisgah's height, ho could contemplate the fast approaching future 370 Rev. Stephen Higginson Tyng, D.D. for his Nation. He saw the enemy subdued, their strongholds taken, their armies scattered every man to his home, and the sure prospect of union, liberty and peace before the Nation. The one remaining question was, What shall be done with those whom God has thus subdued ? The generosity of his spirit and wish, his readiness to give the utmost possible latitude to mercy in the ar- rangement of their return to national duty and patient loyalty, were perfectly understood and known. All this future he was calmly, kindly considering, when his life was taken from him by the hand of violence. " But he has gone before the settlement, and without the set- tlement of this great problem of the coming influence' and relations of his administration. That his death will change in some degree the character and measure of that influence can-not be doubted. That a restriction shall come as a consequence of his death upon the freeness of the action of mercy to the conquered is most nat- ural and just. " Still, let not a spirit of individual vengeance be allowed to rear the monument to our fallen head. Let not passion seize the reins of guidance in an hour so momentous. Let the widest possi- ble door be opened for the exercise of kindness and the utterance of welcome to those who honestly desire to return to their loyalty and duty to the Nation which they have outraged, and the govern- ment which they have insulted and despised. Let the world see one instance of a government that is great enough to ask no re- venge, and self-confident and self-sustaining enough to need no retributive violence to maintain the majesty of its authority. Let the Lord's' own example be to the utmost extent of personal rela- tions our rule and purpose, determined, in the spirit of union and kindness, to edify and restore, in the widest possible application of the spirit, consistent with the Nation's safety and the honor of the laws, the multitudes which have been swept down the current of rebellion, by the dominant influence and example of those whom they have been taught to regard a;s their leaders in the path of public duty. " There may be great difficulties in the details of the resuscita- tion of our afflicted land. But there can be none which such a spirit and purpose as were displayed in President Lincoln would not soon overcome and remove. And upon nothing will memory more deUght to dwell than upon that high, forgiving temper which lifts up a fallen foe, restores a wandering brother, and repays the cruelty of hatred by an overcoming benignity and love. Let that Ministry, 1861 to 186^. 371 spirit now prevail. Open tlie arms of fraternal concord. Spread through all the land the priceless blessings of liberty and educa- tion to all the people. Give the full rights of respected and ac- knowledged citizenship to all. Blot out, cover up the last remnant of that slavery which has been the parent and the child of every species of oppression — the one line of division between a free North and a beggared South — and plant around the grave that holds the monument and the memory of our beloved President s mingled grove of the pine-tree and the palm, the orange and the apple, to flourish in immortal union, and to rival each other only in the beauty of their growth, the abundance of their fruit, and the per- ennial verdure of their living foliage, that God may be glorified in all and by aU. forever." This was an appropriate conclusion of a series of sermons, of which little more than the line of thought is indicated in, the ex- tremely abbreviated form in which they have been here presented. In their delivery and the subsequent publication of many, Dr. Tyng's words were carried to the minds of thousands, with all the power of his conviction, and it would be vain to approximate the influence which he thus exerted. Few men of bis day and calling rendered equal service in the cause of the Nation's life and liberty. CHAPTER VIIL LECTURES ON PEEACHING, 1861 to 1865. The several series of lectures which Dr. Tyng delivered to the- ological students and others must be deemed among the most val- uable of his works in Ufe, and form an important part of its his- tory. Occupying no small portion of his time during the years of the Civil War, they added largely to his labors in public service and private ministry during that period. In their acknowledged influence and usefulness, however, he found ample reward for all the effort which was involved, and in their clear reflection of the system and spirit of his ministry, and of the elements of its power, a review of them is of much value to a correct understanding of his character and views. Long as Dr. Tyng had been a counsellor to his brethren in per- plexing questions, and frequently as he had been appealed to by them in cases which his long ministry so pecuHarly qualified Vh'tti to decide, he had never undertaken more than the guidance thus individually sought. In the autumn of 1861, however, a number of young clergymen urged him to give them some of the lessons of his life, in a form capable of general application, suggesting a course of lectures as a means of helpfulness to them in thei^ work. He gladly acceded to this request, and thus began a work which was continued through each of the four succeeding years, and to the value of which the most grateful testimonies were given. Seventeen lectures were at first prepared on the general topic " Preaching," considering it in — its subject, its object, its agents, and its practical exercise embracing the whole field of pastoral duty. These lectures were delivered in the chapel of St. George's Church, during the fall and winter of 1861-2, to a class of some twenty-five young men, already in orders, for whose benefit they had been especially designed and they became the frame of all the subse- quent lectures, which, however, varied in the fulness with which the subject was treated in its presentation to different hearers. 372 Lectures on Preaching. 373 This first course had scarcely been concluded, wlien a number of the students in the General Theological Seminary asked Dr. Tyng to repeat the lectures to them. Some re-arrangement was, however, necessary to adapt them to this special class of hearers, and they were consequently condensed into a course of ten, cover- ing the same general division of the subject as those which had preceded. These were delivered in the same place as before, during the month of May, 1862, and regularly attended by about thirty-five of the students of the Seminary. The Alumni Association and students of the Theological Semi- nary of Ohio then urged that they too should have the privilege of hearing him upon a subject of so great importance and interest to them and of which they recognized Dr. Tyng's superior abUity to speak. A journey was therefore made to Gambler for the purpose, in June, 1862, and the same lectures were deUvered to a large assem- bly of the alumni and students of that institution who were gath- ered there on the occasion of its annual commencement. In this manner the lectures were heard in the first year by a very large number of those whom they were especially designed to instruct and were made a means of great benefit to many, the gratitude and appreciation of his hearers on each occasion being expressed in the most gratifying terms; as a special testimony of their estimate of his services, the alumni of the Gambier Seminary estab- lished a scholarship in Dr. Tyng's name, and by a special contribu- tion provided for its maintenance for three years, in the hope that it would thereafter be perpetuated. Ah. these evidences of the acceptance of his effort induced him readily to consent to con- tinue it in the following years. The Alexandria Seminary having been closed by reason of the war and the occupancy of its buildings for military uses, the need of a theological school which would in some measure take its place, gave rise to the establishment of the Pennsylvania Divinity School, located at Philadelphia. In close connection also with this movement was the organ- ization, in 1862, of the Evangelical Education Society, the third and last of the Evangelical Societies which now covered the broad fields of Publication, Missionary labor and Theological education in the dissemination of Evangelical truth. As a part of the course of instruction of the new seminary. Dr. Tyng was invited by the Bishop of the Diocese of Pennsylvania to deliver a course of lectures 374 R^' Siephen Higginson Tyng, D.D. similar to those he had delivered elsewhere, in the previous year. When this action of the Bishop became known, a large number of the clergy of Philadelphia united in urging Dr. Tyng's accept- ance of the invitation, expressing their desire that they also might have the privilege of hearing him. As the opportunity was offered for its discussion in greater detail, the theme of these lectures was somewhat enlarged, and thus under the title, " The Office and Work of the Ministry," the seventeen lectures originally prepared be- came forty-two in their final order in three distinct series. Fourteen lectures comprised in the first course were delivered in St. Andrew's Church, Philadelphia, during the month of April, 1863, and on their conclusion, the clergy united in addressing to Dr. Tyng a letter expressing the interest and pleasure with which they had heard the instruction thus received. " We are your debtors," they wrote, " for an extraordinary measure of instruction in your happy mode of distinguishing what the gospel is and what it is to preach it, and of illustrating your topics from varied and large experience and observation. Not only have the candidates and the young in the ministry found in your words needful and fit instruction and counsel, but the elder class of your hearers have received light and strength and spirit for their work, which they thank God for making you the instrument of imparting. " Gladly woiUd we here recount the grand matters of instruc- tion made distinct and prominent in your lectures, but while it de- lights us to recall them, the impression of them on our minds is too deep and fresh to need outer associations as a help for retaining it. Our only regret is that the lectures are ended, though it is only for the present. Our hope is that at a future day you may have health and grace to resume the course, and thus to add to the favor already done." In the following year the subject was continued in an addi- itional series of fourteen lectures, delivered in the same place. AH these lectures were largely extemporaneous and the mea- gre notes which Dr. Tyng prepared give little indication of the interesting manner in which the subject was amplified, and illus- trated by anecdote and incident drawn from his long and varied experience. A fuU stenographic report of the series of 1864 has, however, been preserved, and the following extracts from it may perhaps sufficiently illustrate such points as the present record re- quires. Lectures on Preaching. 3/5 " I would have it most simply and thoroughly understood," he remarked, " that I am never engaged in a work like this upon any monition of my own. ' The Of6.ce and Work of the Ministry' was the definition of the subject which was furnished to me by others, not selected by myself, and the general theme was laid out as the great subject upon which our thoughts were to be directed. " I would have you feel that I come to you at no time with any theories of scholastic theology. I come a plain spiritual mechanic, a man who has been hammered upon by others for a good many years, and who has hammered a good many people in the various rela- tions and experiences of the ministry, both in itself and in its trials. I come to give some of the results of my personal experience, some of the fruits which have been gathered from my observation of others, some of the products of personal independent thought and experience running now through nearly five and forty years of work and observation, spread over a very considerable field of laDor and influence, — thought honestly adopted, independently main- tained, made my own, and never given up until convinced right- eously and thoroughly that I was wrong. " I started last year with the principle — the great and main principle — that the one office and work of the ministry was to preach the gospel of Jesus Christ. For this one purpose alone are we sent into the world. Starting with this great principle ; my view is that every part and every portion of our duty is to be an unceasing preaching of the Saviours gospel. Whether it be public or private, whether it be with many or with few, whether it be in the audience of multitudes or sitting alone by a solitary suf- ferer, you and I have but one thing to do in this world, — it is to make known ' the unsearchable riches of Christ' to our fellow- men. The moment we step aside from that to attempt anything else, we are leaving the rock of our salvation for mere experiment in a fathomless and ungovernable sea. Everything beside is an impertinent thing to our great business. I proposed the whole sub- ject under these heads — " Preaching in itself — the thing to be done. " Preachers in their qualifications — the persons to do it. " Preaching in its actual exercise — the proper way of doing it. " These are three very distinctly defined heads of thought. " 1. This glorious message of salvation. 2. The agents by whom this message io to be carried out, defined, described, delin- eated, and then, 3. The practical carrying of it out in all ita varied relations and circumstances of application to our fellow 376 Rev. Stephen Higginson Tyng, D.D. men. You will perceive that the first is manifestly fundamental. The great message which is committed to us is original. All the agencies are manifestly secondary and consequent. They may vary exceedingly in their character; they may be commanding, as of au- thority; they may be voluntary, as of individual action or influence ; they may be formal, in the direct labors of the ministry as consti- tuted ; they may be incidental, in the dropping even of a word of exhortation and kindness from the mouth to the ear upon the way- side as we go ; they may be vocal, in the utterance and employ- ment of the human voice to the utmost extent of its application ; they may be exemplary, as they shine in the influence and aspects of the human example ; they may be living, as men are employed personally to proclaim the truth ; they may be mechaniccd, as books are prepared, sent forth and sanctified for the very same purpose. " These are all agencies of this ministry ; but all these agen- cies and instruments, more or less appropriate, are an arrangement to do this one prescribed thing which has been already prepared, and which lies before us as the great subject of our consideration. The formal ministry of the gospel in its highest aspects and aspira- tions, is nothing as you separate it from this one great message of truth. And therefore we speak of this message as being always supremely, absolutely fundamental in this whole work. We are preachers of the Saviour's gospel ; we are nothing without it, and our whole scheme of duty and circle of responsibility lie within that area, and travel unceasingly around that one appointed cen- tre. O when shall you and I wake up to the greatness and sim- plicity of that thought ! When shall we be fully willing to go out in the single exercise of faith in the divine promise and the divine power, and be wUling to be counted as the filth and offscouring of the world, if men will think us so, that we may teU dying men of a glorious living Saviour. " I can assure you that simple as seems this testimony, you will labor on for forty years, to come at their end, if you live that time, and feel, ' Oh that some one would tell me how to preach the sim- ple sacred message, so that it shall reach in the demonstration of the Spirit, and with divine power, the souls to whom I am sent.' I tell you that no single feeling will so impress your minds and hearts, your conscience and convictions, in the later period of your life, as the feeling of deep and painful disappointment while mem- ory surveys the multitudes you have met in your ministry, and consciousness declares the simplicity of your heart's desiye in teach- ing them, and yet the sorrowful procession passes before you of Lectures on Preaching, 377 unconverted souls, hundreds and thousands perhaps, going with you to the judgment seat of Christ, to be there, (oh, my soul trem- bles sometimes when I think of it !) to be there living witnesses, perhaps of my total want of faithfulness in this formal, incidental, vocal, exemplary, living, mechanical ministry ; as Paul says : ' by all means striving to save some.' " In looking at the commencement of the subject we have specially before us, I cannot think of a clearer introduction to the thoughts which I wish to present to you, than in a light recapi- tulation of the points of the course through which I went last spring. I then took up preaching in itself, the great subject com- mitted to me, — for what am I sent into this world ? We divided preaching into two general aspects, subjective and objective; that is, what it is in itself, and for the attainment of which it is designed, so that the simple general statement would be : Preaching what ? and preaching for what ? In preaching, what have I to say ? In preaching what do I wish to do ? " Taking these two divisions, first subjectively, we considered the great message in itself. I defined it first of all as the delivery of a divine message from God to man. I would fain take the stand that every minister of the gospel is as really inspired to teach his message as any one who has ever gone before him, and that as the Spirit of God takes the written record from the Word and transfers it in living characters to the tablets of the heart, and thus makes the man a living minister and a living messenger, the man receives the gospel, ' not of man,' as Paul says to the Galatians, ' neither by man,' but of the Holy Ghost, and is divinely taught by divine ap- pointment to be a teacher of others. We do not go to argue with our fellow-men. We have no subjects of discussion. We go as messengers to tell them the great message of authority from the word of the living God. The message is a message of facts divinely accomplished, not of things which are to be done — not of things "which we desire to have done, — not of things which we vnsh men to do. As a minister of Christ I have something to tell that you do not know, a message of facts, great, imjjortant, — of facts ac- complished that you are to hear as coming directly from Go d through me to you. " These facts are all component parts of one great scheme of divine redemption, accomphshed in the manifestation of God in the flesh, in the perfect atonement which His death accomplished, in the complete acceptance which His righteouness attains, in the glorious triumph which His resurrection and ascension and reign in 378 Rev. Stephen Higginson Tyng, D.D. glory establish and assure. Upon these facts thus accomplished, glorious offers are made to men, wonderful provisions are attained by them, and we are sent to make these offers of all these wonder ■ ful provisions of grace, resting upon these facts, to man's accept- ance and man's enjoyment. Upon these facts are based gracious invitations to men to become partakers of these wonderful gifts, heirs and possessors of these glorious benefits thus proposed. Of these invitations an instant acceptance becomes a personal obliga- tion, an individual duty, and we are sent to urge this obligation and press this duty. " As the alternative of this acceptance, the result of the refusal thereof, we are to proclaim the divine condemnation which comes from ' loving darkness rather than light.' And yet, this message, these facts, these offers, these provisions, these invitations, this ac- ceptance, this condemnation upon its refusal, all are to come from us as solemn, authoritative proclamations. We go through the world like men crying 'Fire ! Fire ! FIEE !' all the time, whether men will hear or whether they wiU forbear. We pursue our course with fidelity and earnestness, and have no responsibility with results; 'though Israel be not gathered, he shall yet be glorious in the eyes of the Lord.' It is God's will to give us a blessing in the salvation of many. " My dear friends, you will groan in many an hour, before you learn to acknowledge that it is God's will to give you sorrow and distress, and Himself glory in the hardening and destruction of many. And that great mysterious part of the work which Arch- bishop Leighton calls, ' being sent to make men sermon proof,' while it is that which crushes our hearts beyond every thing in our personal experience, is that which teaches us more than any other one thing the sovereignty of the authority by which we are com- missioned, and the importance of the message which is committed to our care. " Now these are facts which go to make up our preaching sub- jectively. I have nothing else to tell but this one great message. For me, all that is wanted is fidelity in this one work, unceasing earnestness of thought and feeling, and concentration of purpose and effort upon this one great and glorious undertaking. And the more simple I am, the more I come within the reach of the plainest and the poorest and the youngest, the more effective and the more authoritative I am in the eyes and minds and view of all whose judgments are worthy of any consideration. This is preaching in itself subjectively. Lectures on Preaching. 379 " And wten I ask the second question : ' For what is this preaching, objectively; what do I mean to attain by it?" I answer, first of all, by considering it in a twofold division. In reference to the authority by which wo are sent, and the persons to whom we are sent; the purposes to be projected and attained under each division differing entirely. My first object in preaching the gospel is in reference to the authority by which I am commissioned. And this is twofold. My first great purpose in ministering this message has reference to the Great Being by whom I am sent. And this relates to the Lord Jesus Christ, who commissions me, and the Holy Ghost, who works with me. I am the voice of Jesus; I am the fingers of the Spirit. Jesus talks by me; the Holy Ghost works with me. The Saviour utters His message through my lips; the Spirit employs my work to accomplish His designs. " In preaching to which I am sometimes required to listen, I find so little of Christ at all, and so little of any Holy Ghost, that I am ready to ask whether men have ever heard, ' whether there be so much as the Holy Ghost,' or whether they know anything whatever of a Divine Saviour. And yet, the first of these consti- tutes our great purpose in the ministry. The grand purpose for which I came into the world is to glorify that Saviour, to make Him known, to proclaim the riches of His grace, to make men understand who He is, what He is, what He has done; to glorifj' the Father in Him by gathering His chosen to partake of the things which are freely given to them of God in Christ, to establish His kingdom upon the earth, and bring home the multitude of His redeemed to partake personally and forever of His everlasting love. " My second objective relation in reference to this authority by which I come, is my relation to the preaching of the Holy Ghost, who qualifies and upholds me. I am to illustrate His power, to ac- complish His work. He works by me, with me, in me, through me, for me. Do I speak to the multitude ?. It is the Holy Spirit speak- ing through me. Do I speak to a single solitary hearer? It is the finger of the Holy Ghost touching that single solitary mind. I have a message to deliver from Christ; I have a message to de- liver by the Holy Ghost and through the power of the Holy Ghost. " Now we never can forget this. I never kneel down in my pulpit before the utterance of my discourse, to proclaim this mes- sage, but these two thoughts come into my mind : ' I am there thy minister, O Jesus ! I am there thy agent, O Holy Spirit ! I am to speak thy words, Divine Saviour. I am to speak by thy 380 Rev. Stephen Higginson Tyng, D.D. power, Divine Spirit.' And only so far as it is Jesus who speaks, and the Spirit who enables me to speak for Jesus, can I be any such agent or instrument of the divine blessing or benefit to those to whom I am sent ? " The second objective relation of this ministry is to the persons to whom we are sent. Here, again, important distinctions are to be regarded. " As I look upon the men before me as they come under my ministry; I see them at once under a twofold aspect. There is a class unconverted^ there is a class converted, — a class in their native condition of sin and guilt whom I am to rescue and bring to Jesus; a class in the divinely conferred condition of pardon and accept- ance, whom I am to guide and train for Jesus. My ministry of the one message becomes entirely different as I minister to these two classes of persons. And the one great testimony with which I am charged has an immediately distinct application, as I bring it there, to rebuke the unbeliever, to comfort the feeble-minded, to support the weak, to recall the erring, so that it requires the ut- most discrimination of thought and purpose on my part to carry out in an adequate application this glorious message in its distinct and personal design and operation upon the different classes and individuals of men. " As I take up before me, first of all, the first of these classes, the unconverted ; they are by no means one unmingled mass. I find them again entirely dissimilar, distributed in their condition. First, in reference to their relations to God and their state of mind, I see them doomed for sin, and they must be forgiven. I see them alienated, hostile in spirit, and they must be reconciled and brought back. My message of divine forgiveness is the glorious work of Jesus, which they must believe. My message of human reconciliation is a message of this glorious love of Jesus which they are to feel. I see them again under another twofold division: as regarded in their own present condition, what they are by nature; and as regarded in the glorious provisions of grace, what they may be by the divine gift, what philosophers would call the Esse and the Fosse of their condition. That man now condemned and an outcast, may he not be a child of God, an heir of glory, a recipient of boundless mercy ! And may I not to-morrow take him by the hand and call him my dear brother, though to-day he may be a blasphemer, a persecutor and injurious ! I am to deal with him then in reference to his present necessities and his future possibilities. Now should I go no further in this objective relation Lectures on Preaching. 381 as men are concerned, when you have tried the experiment of the ministry long you will find an angel's wisdom does not meet the case. Over and over again will your spirit sink, and your heart bo ready to break, in its depression, in the impossibility of your work, the total want to your mind of apparent sufficiency and efficiency in the ministry of this great message to unconverted men. " And yet, this is but one half of our work in reference to men. For immediately there comes before us a second division of men as we see them, namely : Converted men, and it requires a different ministry to meet them. Though it is one and the same grand mes- sage of salvation, it has, I may say, endless varieties in the method ofits application. Often is it the case that men imagine conversion to be the one grand and special object. Some ministers I have heard, who supposed this was to be the whole business of their life. I remember during a great revival of religion, wbich we had in Philadelphia, being with a minister who said to me; 'I would rather convert ten men, than try to keep one straight after he was converted.' Naturally enough, in the style of preaching tie im- agined ought to be done, for when I heard him preach, there was not a word of the Saviour's gospel, not a word of what Christ had done, not a single message of divine salvation completed. He was unceasingly thumping the exhortation upon men, what they were to do, wliat they were to be, what they were to become. It was like beating a bale of cotton with a rattan, it accomplished literalljf nothing, producing no sort of influence. I remember an old Meth- odist minister, who in such circumstances listening to such brethren proclaiming the truth as they supposed veyy earnestly, — it was in the town of Bristol, when I was there as a candidate for the min- istry, — this simple-hearted Methodist brotner sat by my side and said to me : ' Well, my dear friend, it would take as many such sermons as that to convert a man, as it would quarts of skimmed milk to make him drunk.' There was not a word in it about sal- vation, about the Saviour, about a divine deliverance, but a mere earnest thumping, thumping, thumping at the jjeople in the shape of exhortation. " Now allow me to say, brethren, you will never accomplish anything by this. Your grand instrument of power, is the sim- plicity of the message of truth. Go tell what Jesus has done and suffered. Tell what Jesus has felt and said, and promised. Pro- claim the fulness of His divine deliverance. Testify of the glory of His complete righteousness. Open simply and distinctly to view the fountain of His atoning, all-cleansing blood. Waste not 382 Rev. Stephen Higginson Tyng, D.D. your time in earnest and unceasing exhortation, but simply, plainly, faithfully, proclaim the truth as He thus puts it into your hands, and look up to that blessed Spirit, who thus qualifies you to teach it, to make it impressive and effective to the minds of those who hear. " But when we come to this second class of men as converted, I see them as the spiritual temple to be edified ; as the children of God in His family to be watched over ; as plants of heavenly, of Divine planting to be nurtured; and whether I consider them as a temple, or as children or as plants, I see a twofold character in them that I am constantly to look after and try to sustain and en- large ; an inward life that is to be fed and nourished by a divine power, and an outward life that is to be made fruitful and effective by the same divine power. An inward life that is to grow for their own comfort, advantage and welfare, and an outward life that is to grow for the comfort, advantage and welfare of others around them. " I can never fail to realize the importance of this distinction. They are to grow in grace within, in personal conformity to Jesus, in living faith in Jesus, in a resting of the soul upon His promises, and in the delight of the heart in His fulness, for their own increase in hope and joy, and triumphant prospect and life of usefulness. They are to grow in the external fruits for others. Their example, influence, labors, efforts, are fruits which others are to gather, and of which others are to reap the advantage, and not they themselves. It is immensely important to maintain this twofold line of thought. And while in both, it is for the glory of Christ, whether they axe in- wardly spiritually edified or whether they are outwardly relatively useful; yet the motive, the purpose, the plan, the relation of the two are entirely distinct. But all this work comes under our teaching, under the direct line of our ministry of this one message. And when we see these men in their hours of darkness, in the midst of difficulty, disconsolate and almost in despair, feeling after a hope which they have not, walking in the midst of gloom and sorrow and burdensome distress, my dear young brethren, I can only say that these things will make you to ask over and over again with sterner emotion : ' Who is sufficient for these things ?' and the further you go, the more oppressive will this burden seem, and the longer you minister, the more incompetent will you find it to be useful and effective ministers at all. " Now this is the ' Office and Work of the Ministry,' in itself con- sidered. I propose now to consider with you, the agency which is to Lectures on Preaching. ^■^Ss 6e employed, the instruments appointed and prepared by whom the Lord is pleased to do this thing. And our subject, as it will go on, will be, ' Freachers personally considered in their office and their qualifi- cations.' " That I shall be able to be useful to you is my hope, but it must depend upon other powers than mine. I come to you after a wiater of intense labor and much sickness and weakness and weariness, perhaps never feeling so little qualified to teach anybody. And yet, it may be, that the Lord has thus wrung out the cloth and hung it up to dry that I may feel my own weakness in preparation for further usefulness to others. I long to say something to you by the power of the Spirit of Grod. I have no other wish, I am sure. If I can counsel one young brother and lead him gently by the hand into the path of truth and usefulness, encourage, comfort, cheer and advise him in this great work, under the power and teaching of the Holy Spirit, whose constant presence I most ear- nestly implore, I shall feel that the labor and toil are nothing. I am perfectly willing to enter upon the work so that God shall be graciously present to give us His blessing.'' Passing to the second general division of the subject — Preach- ers in their qualifications : the persons to do it — it was presented first in the question, " Preachers what are they ? " The first an- swer to this question, "Men," led to a long consideration of the humanity of the ministry as a most important fact in the divine appointment and purpose, and a most impressive and encouraging thought in the adaptation and advantages of the divine arrange- ment and plan. " We find in ourselves," he says, " in the survey of our humanity, precisely the powers, then, which are adapted to operate on others and become thus quahfied to be ministers, agents of God's great blessings. We are to open unto them the divine proffers, to proclaim the message which has been put into our hands, a divine, complete salvation for guilty man. This is a salvation that is not to be ministered by sacraments. If it were, there would be no diffi- culty. If you and I were sent out on that miserable, popish scheme which some men argue in our Church, there would be no difficulty in our work. It requires no thought, no feeling. For if the plan suggested in my hearing the other day by a gentleman, -whom I will not mention, for the fact is too degrading — if the plan, suggested by him, be the true one, that the inward operation of the ministry is by sacraments, and that they are to be applied more and more upon the principle of ointment rubbed in, and that 3^4 Rev. Stephen Higginson Tyng. as these are rubbed in one after another, by and by they will reach the heart and sanctify the spirit — if this is the fact, there is no diffi- culty whatever. It is perfectly easy to rub down the bodies of men with ointment, and perfectly easy to administer outward sacra- ments. But do not forget the truth we have already laid down, that outward ordinances are never for ourselves ; they are but fruit for others. No man receives the sacrament for his own ben- efit. No man can minister the sacraments to others and confer benefits upon them. And if one says, as they often do, " Why shall I go to the Lord's table if I find no benefit there ? ' say to him, ' Why, you never will, if you go for the purpose of personal benefit. ' It is not for that purpose. The Lord has an inward way of the divine edification of the spirit fall the edification is within ; all the fruit bearing is without. That which is within belongs to the salvation of the person, improving and enjoying it. That which is without is gathered for the benefit of those who are abroad. "The system committed to us is a system of spiritual, moral, personal relative influence. We are charged with a message which is to be accepted by man's voluntary choice; which is to be received in the line of man's emotion, feelings and experience. There is nothing mysterious whatever in the ministry with which we are clothed. Love speaking in us, love speaking in Christ Jesus, love to sinners as the Saviour proclaims it, is to operate precisely in our ministry as our love to one another, in the same degree, the same in kind, the same in method of operation, and a different object only. These afiections are to be quickened, moved by adopting, suitable influences and instruments, and this is our work, and all the skill and wisdom and sincerity of heart and purpose that man can have is to be brought into operation to accomplish this great work. " Let me illustrate here. I had been attending for nearly two years an intelligent physician, who lately died, and who was made a child of God in the course of these two years. He came from the country. The family resided at a boarding-house. Their acquaint- ance was not at first with me, and they sent for a very distinguished gentleman who holds a rectory there. When he came, he sat down and asked a few questions — ' My friend,' he said, ' what you want is to be confirmed, to take the Holy Communion. May I speak to the Bishop about a private Confirmation. I have not time to administer the Communion now, I will offer a short prayer for you and come and see you again on the subject.' He knelt by his side, took out his Prayer-book as a homoeopathic doctor would take out his case, and prayed a homceopathic prayer and went away. The man's Lectures on Preaching. 385 heart was sad, bowed down ; his distress was great. He sent for me. 1 found him intelligent, anxious, a beautiful vine growing without a treUis, throwing its' tendrils out, grasping at something, it hardly knew what, to lay hold on. I sat down and preached Jesus to him for an hour. ' Oh,' said he, 'what tidings this is to a weary sovil !' I knelt by him and prayed for him. His remark was, that it seemed very heaven to him, the intelligence I was commissioned to impart. I attended him, to see the fruits of the Spirit. They were remarkable during the twenty months be- fore his death. In the glory of his departure, which was near midnight, he had seemed to know no one. His wife said to me, 'Stand under the gaslight and see if he will know you.' He was sitting in his chair, for he could not lie down. He looked at me, his eyes beamed with unearthly brightness. ' O,' he exclaimed, ' it is dear Doctor Tyng ! ' His wife said he had not spoken to any of them that day. The fruit in this man was the spirit of grateful affection for the intelligence I had brought to him. " The minister said, ' You must go and_do the things commanded, that you may get all the good j'ou can out of them,' which is simply in my view perverting the whole scheme of the divine arrangement. We press them not as instruments of gain but of the Lord's glory. In Baptism we stand out on the side of Christ and acknowledge Him as our Lord ; in Confirmation we renew our covenant in the presence of His people ; we come to the Lord's table that we may praise and honor Him and offer our sacrifice of thanksgiving ; and to our work of usefulness and beneficence that we may labor for Christ, and in this way grow and bring forth fruit. Christians thus coming, will grow. They must be taught to grow and be edified in growing and bearing fruit. We are to insist upon it, that they shall grow, but we cannot make them grow by virtue of these things. We cannot make fruit by tying it to the tree. " As a fifth consideration, this human ministry presents to sin- ful men a valuable example. Even in the precious gospel of our divine Master there is something very far off. We try to lean upon Him, and there is a difficulty felt in His apparent extreme remote- ness ; and the blessedness of a faithful, earnest pastor is especially found in this personal example of the influence of religion. Allow me to say that this is one grand blessing of an established ministry, as the Lord has set it up among the children of men. One great service of the human ministry is this rvno?, to be them- selves what Paul calls a Oearpov, a spectacle, an exhibition, that the Lord may set up one faithful man in the midst of a congrega- 386 Rev. Stephen Higginson Tyng, D.D. tion and give Lim a peculiar experience, peculiar difficulties some- times, in order that he may be a valuable example to sinful men, shovying a man like themselves, yet ifi the midst of sorrow, patient ; in the midst of persecution, quiet ; in the midst of difficulties and troubles, tranquil and humble ; in distress stUl hopeful ; and with ■what dehght will Christians around survey a pastor who goes in and out among them, a man with like passions with themselves, and yet a man displaying at all times in connection vmth human infirm- ities — for the people anticipate and love to see them — ^yet a man displaying at all times the exercise of a divine nature as it over- comes these infirmities and sanctifies and blesses them. To en- hance the importance of this example in the ministry is literally im- possible. " It is this influence of personal example in our parishes which makes our whole ministry commanding and effective. I have seen it many and many a time putting upon a throne of influence men of extremely moderate talent. I have seen it setting up men in com- mand who have very little reach of intelligent conception, very little intellectual thought, and then again I have seen other men with very great powers, always in a snarl, who seem to have no commanding influence whatever. You never will conquer the world by beating out its brains ; you are to go forward in the spirit of human tenderness and conscious sympathy with the human ex- perience of suffering and human love, and thus win and wear as the Lord is pleased to bless your work. " But I come now to take another step and to ask in reference to our character as preachers what we are. And a view of our of- fice, — the office to which we are called, — will tend just as much to enlighten, animate and strengthen us as a view of ourselves tends to humble and subdue and depress us. And first of all, in answer to the question, We are ministers. This is an extremely general term. It is the word constantly used in the language of the New Testament ; it is the word which is our inclusive title. No matter what we have to do, — in every thing we are ministers, — that is, our work is completely to minister, — a derivative and dependent and secondary work. We are not philosophers, we are not investiga- tors, we are not discoverers, we are not rationalists in any shape or way ; we are simply recipients of a great divine intelligence, and ministers of this great divine intelligence to other persons. We are not originally the springs and fountains of so much as a single thought. We are mere vessels to carry truth from the river, " the streams whereof make glad the city of our God," to those Lectures on Preaching. 387 to whom we are sent, and the Lord the Spirit employs us to dip up by His power from this running stream, which is in the great Sa- viour of men, the refreshing waters by which wearied humanity is sustained, and suffering souls are sanctified and comforted and upheld. " I recommend to you to consider all this subject in a derivative way, — the titles by which we are called ; etymologicaUy. In this case the title by which we are called is eminently instructive. It originates in one of the most humble of services to which a man was appointed, and implies in itself the lowest stage of duty. Lit- erally it is ' haste in the fulfilment of duty,' still more literally it it 'making a dust,' (SiaKoviEtvh:oTa.SiaKOviZy') ox ' running throt^gh the dust ' and gains its application in the ofB.ce of messenger, who in ancient times bore intelligence on foot, and whose approach and passage were seen by the dust upon the roads which marked his transit. Simply meaning in its original ' making a dust,' unfor- tunately it may be said to continue that meaning throughout the ministry, for to keep up a dust all through our work is our part. In its literal and simple meaning it implies a most submissive ser- vice and obe dience. It is in concrete shape a 'fam.ulus,' a house- servant, ' a man of all work,' in English application. So when the word is adopted into the consecrated use of the Holy Scriptures it is in this special application. Paul says : ' "Who is Paul, who is ApoUos?' are they not mere 'dust makers,' 'famuli,' servants in the family, ' ministers,' by whom ye have believed, ' even as the Lord gave to every man ? ' They are mere agents who have told you things. You have beHeved them because the Lord sent them, not because they told you. But when he goes a little further, to the first verse of the fourth chapter of Second Corinth- ians, he changes the figure when he says : ' Let a man so account of us as of the ministers of Christ.' Instead of calling them now house-servants, he calls them VTiripera?, ' rowers ;' the church is no longer a house, but a boat where every man is to pull hia own oar, and row up to the best of his ability his own side- So that we are not merely servants, ministers, but literally, in the Roman sense of the term, chained to the oar for life, for the fulfil- ment of the sentence as gaUey slaves. Our business is to pull that oar, not to see whether the ship goes on the rocks or not. Nothing but that oar demands us, and we must ply ourselves with all our powers as rowers of the boat, and as Paul further says, ' as stew- ards of the mysteries of God,' oixovojuoi^ ' dispensers of the Word of God.' 388 Rev. Stephen Higginson Tyng, D.D. " First, then, we are to be as subject servants, -without any will but the will of Christ. " Secondly, we are under the absolute obligation of service for life, — ^to puU straight before us, earnestly persevering without any desire to do anything else but our own work. And — Thirdly, our work is to be intelligent, faithful in watching Over the family, in keeping the law of the house, and in providing for those whom the Lord has committed to us. " Our great business then is to make known to the children of God the things which are freely given to them of God. We have no powers of discretion. Ours is a proclamation of the promises of God. This we are to proclaim universally, to scatter the seed abroad wherever we go, to utter the good news, leaving the Divine Spirit to carry it by His own power to each individual heart There is the outward call we make to the multitudes who hear us, and there is an inward call which the Spirit of God makes, and how lit- tle we know who is to hear ! " A young man called on me one Monday morning ; he was an intelligent fellow. Said he, ' Yesterday was the first day I had been to church since I was a boy. I stood in the front of the church in the park amusing myself in the afternoon. I saw the peo- plei going into the church. The thought came to me : I will go in too. I went in ; the very first words I heard you speak in your sermon were : " I will arise and go to my Father." ' He thought it was a sermon, but it was the introductory sentence of the Lit- urgy. ' It so impressed my mind,' he continued, 'that it seemed to me that the Lord sent you expressly to speak to me, and I now want to come to this church and join it.' He is now one of the most useful young men in that church ; it was two years ago nearly when the Lord brought that young man in. He bade me speak those words in the opening of the Liturgy, and I preached them, and the Lord carried them home to the heart. " Such cases are constantly occurring. Some years ago there was left at my house a little package. I opened it ; it contained a hymn-book and music-book, sent up to me through the Custom House. As I opened the music-book, I found a letter from a young lady in Sheffield England. She said : ' This music-book and hymn-book were my brother's. He came to the City of Philadel- phia as he was travelling in the United States as a mercantile agent. He attended your church. God was pleased to convert him under your ministry. He lived there but a few weeks, and in the States but a few months. He returned home, he sank in a Lectures on Preaching. 389 consumption, an one of the last words lie said to me was : " My dear sister, send this music-book and hymn-book to Dr. Tyng, in Philadelphia, and tell him I owe my soul's salvation to his minis- try.' Now I never saw the young man. I did not know he was under my ministry. I had known nothing more of him. How re- markably, however, the case testifies to the point, in hand ! I pro- claimed the truth in the simple testimony of the word. The Holy Ghost carried it to the individual. " Now we look back upon our work sometimes in individual cases ; it is most desponding, but as we look back and realize the truths I have spoken, we are encouraged. For is it not enough to have lived to save one soul ? To meet one at the throne who shall say : ' I owe every thing to that man,' will not that be for you and for me, dear brethren, the recompense for a life ? Whatever care, whatever toil, whatever trial it requires, my dear young brother, if it shall bring us there in the presence of the blood-washed multi- tude, to crown us with joy as instruments of divine salvation to one soul, oh, how full the reward ! No one can ever feel the blessed- ness of this but those who have gone through it. " And now, fourtUy, I would remark, on this head, that the title of our ministry relates to the service also in which we are em- ployed, as well as to the persons by whom and for whom we are em:> ployed. This service is simply the work which Christ Himself has undertaken to do, and which the Holy Ghost has undertaken to do. St. Paul does not hesitate to say : ' As though God were be- seeching you by me.' Do you hear my voice ? Do you listen to my solicitation ? It is the solicitation of Christ speaking by me. I am an ambassador [npEG fivovcai). In His authority we expound and utter the truth, and- in terms we should never dare to use, but for the infallible authority which He commanded us to. Whatever then Christ would not be ashamed to do we need not be ashamed to do. And we have no contest in reference to places. It is a miserable thought to take up in our minds that one position is a position of dig- nity and another of inferiority. There is no inferiority in the house of God. Whoever the Saviour is willing to bless with His ministry we may bless with ours, and wherever the Holy Ghost is willing to go, we may surely foUow without fear in our ministry and for Christ. " When you come to the facts of your pastoral ministry in its varied duty, whatever really affects the souls of men, whatever touches their relation to Christ, whatever influences their personal salvation or their usefulness in the house of God, comes immediately in our 390 Rev. Stephen Higginson Tyng, D.D. service. And you will have all sorts of questions brought before you. There is no question of property, of family, of individual re- lation, or economical management, of individual peace, or individ- ual dispute, that does not come before a pastor whose ministry is confided in, and in whose sincerity the people trust. It would be a curiosity if I could have a stenographer to take down the things said and done in one year in my study, — the record of the kind of things brought before me for my advice ; mothers to see about their children ; husbands coming sometimes to complain of their wives, and wives of their husbands — -nay, more, servants and mis- tresses come to talk about each other. Am I to reject it ? No ; I say, when the Lord Jesus is willing to hear them and the Divine Spirit is willing to hear them. Whithersoever the Saviour sends, whith- ersoever the Spirit leads, it is my privilege and duty to go. Dr. Payson says : 'The man that wants me, is the man that I want.' It would be cruel in a pastor to shut out from his most precious and important hours these communications and calls of his people. I know things about the families in my church, which are probably known to none other in the world. And we are obliged, in the fulfilment of our Master's work, in this 'diakonizing,' as I call it, this raising of the dust around us, to live in the dust, to abide in the dust all the time. " A minister said to me the other day: ' This is a thing I cannot bear ; novvr I am perfectly ready to preach, if there was nothing to do in the ministry but the Sunday's preaching. I delight to speak to the people, especially to an intelligent and gratified audi- ence ; even two sermons on Sunday is not severe. But when it comes to the wearing, consuming, degrading, miserable every-day work, I cannot come down to it.' I answered : ' My dear sir, the Lord never called you to the work. You do not know anything about it.' If a man has a voice and plays weU on the instrument, it ^is a pleasant and gratifying thing certainly, but it is not that that tells in the ministry. It is this constant absorption of the vital energy, by individual appropriations, this constant exercise of the personal ministry, in cases we cannot console, in cases which we have to decide,{in cases in reference to which our own light is feeble. Oh, how often have I spread these cases in my study before the Master who says : " Call upon me." How often, after I have heard the whole story, must I cry, ' Lord, thou hast heard it, tell me what I shall say.' And I cannot but say that I have never gone to Him in vain. When we carry the case to Him, He invariably settles it ■ when we bring it before Him, He opens a way for us by which we Lectures on Preaching. 391 may exercise a ministry of wisdom and faithfully fulfil the ministry He appoints. " And this commingling in the ministry of tenderness with bold- ness, this Yalor for the truth and fearlessness of the face of either men or devils, while proclaiming the Saviour's word, this taking up the downcast and opening the door and extending aid and sympa- thy to the neglected and hidden ones — this is the grand union of qualifications which makes the minister of Christ the effective in- strument for glorifying His name and fulfilling His work. " Our Ordination service gives us three titles as specific and dis- criminating under the one great head of that ministry of which we have spoken so much in detail. And to these three specific desig- nations, as I conceive, nothing can possibly be added. They in- clude the three great departments of ministerial work and duty, divided in so clear and manifest a designation, both in reference to their obHgations and to their employments, that in a consideration of them we exhaust and absorb the whole subject of which they make up the outline. " These three terms in our Ordination Office are ' messen- gers,' 'watchmen,' 'stewards,' of the Lord, or, in the more frequent expressions of Scripture, ' ambassadors,' ' watchmen/ and ' pastors.' Everything that comes up for us to do in the min- istry, comes up either in the aspect of our work as a message, or as a watching, or as a feeding in the household, the household of a gracious Saviour. " We are declared to be the messengers of the Lord of Hosts. I wish we could consider this always in a distinct personal relation. I am sent specifically, personally from Christ. He has awakened ray ear. He has spoken to me in words of truth, and left a living record on my heart, given me a divine commission that no other living being can possibly supplement or supply, and I come as really as Gabriel came to Zacharias and the Virgin Mary. I come directly from Christ, in the conscious employment of my powers and time and eflfbrts, and tell to my fellow-men that which they never can know unless I tell them. There are those to whom I am sent, to whom no other is sent. I am not sent to those who are scattered abroad, to any one who may come. For in the great scheme of the divine appointment of me as a messenger the Head of the Church has raised up the objective relations which I am to fill, and which if I do not fill, no one will fill, so that the whole scheme, in my view, is arranged in most distinct and personal relations. JNot more really was Moses raised up as a leader of the Israelites 392 Rev. Stephen Higginson Tyng, D.D. from bondage, or John to receive the revelation of the truth in Patmos, than I really feel myself, and must so feel myself, called especially to proclaim the Lord's message to those to vrhom it shall be His vyUl to send me, or who are to hear words from my mouth by which they are to be saved. And it is a most blessed thought that there are waiting all the time in the world, some whom you and I are called to call out of the world of guilt to a knowledge of the things given to them of God. It wiU awaken all our interests, excite all our efforts, command all our powers, it should dismiss our levity, compel us to feel that we have entered upon a most holy, earnest, absorbing subject and undertaking. And as we survey it in this aspect it is impossible for us to magnify the importance of the trust committed to us. As messengers, the thing intrusted to us is that which is specifically called the Truth. The great ob- ject of the Lord's incarnation was Revelation. For that was He born. ' For this cause came I into the world,' He says, ' that I might witness to the truth.' And this truth is committed to us. And this glorious message committed to us then is the intelligence of a complete and finished and accomplished salvation. Nothing can be added to it. It displays the unsearchable riches of Christ in the work which it declares, in the wisdom and the power and the love which it displays, in the persons for whom all this has been accomplished and provided, and the scheme of unlimited and un- searchable grace from a pardoning God to elected man, — from the God and Father of all mercies to the vessels of His electing love, whom He hath redeemed and made partakers of the heavenly call- ing. This intelligence, this scheme of salvation is that which is called the Truth, — the only Truth upon this subject. No other communication to man was made, there can be none other than this, for this is the revelation of the one way, the wily way, the one name, ' the only name under Heaven given among men whereby they must be saved. Neither is there salvation in any other.' I wish I could impress upon my heart all the time the solemnity and importance of this view of the divine message. " For a man who has really looked at the condition of men without a Saviour, who has felt the bitterness of condemnation, who has tasted the love of complete forgiveness, who is alive to God in Christ, and realizes the blessedness of that life, that man can never trifle ; he has no hours for amusement, he has no powers to be wasted, he has no thoughts that can be given to vain and little things. The whole business of his life is an unceasing press- ure, and there is that within him which continually says, ' Go On- Lectures on Preaching. 393 ward ! Onward I Onward ! in the accomplishment of the great work to which you are sent.' Now of this all-important and saving truth in the house of God we are messengers; we are ambassadors. We bear the glad tidings as a fact from God; and we bear the glad tidings as a fact to man; from God, as messengers; to men as am- bassadors. We aijp to go forth in the same earnest devotion of our- selves to the work, proclaiming it boldly, without shrinking, as an in- fallible, certain and infinitely important intelligence of remedy and deliverance. "Now the application of this message in its result is entirely be- yond our reach. Our responsibility is a simple effort to compre- hend the message thoroughly, to live in the enjoyment of its power, and then in the most simple terms, without the wisdom of man, without the efforts of genius or talent or any of the cords or tinsel of men's invention, in the most simple possible terms, in the plain- est possible way, to announce it to those to whom we are sent. " The attributes of a messenger are very manifest. ' That he be found faithful,' is the apostle's demand. His skill, his wisdom, his infirmities will all be calculated for and taken into the account They may promote or obstruct his work, but all these are over- ruled. His fidelity to his Master who sent him, to the message which he bears, to the persons to whom he goes; to the object for which he is sent, this is the indispensable qualification. His simple work is in fidelity of spirit to go and teU that simple Truth over and over and over again, unceasingly, unchangeably, the thing that God has done, the thing that God has revealed in him. We can never forget whose we are and by whom we are sent. We are in life not for our own plans or work, but for His, and the more simple, believing, sincere, submissive is the spirit of the messenger, hab- itually, will be the more certain and abounding the blessing of the message. This is a little outline of our duty as messengers. Well, such a messenger, as we have described it in a previous lecture, his feet coming through the dust, will always be in the midst of a cloud. He wUl gain attention, will arouse thought, will be a divine agent of salvation, and we shall hear of him. " We now pass to the consideration of the second term in the title of the ministry. As messengers, we proclaim the truth, as watchmen we apply it. We apply it particularly, personally. The special purpose of the watchman is the appUcation^of the appro- riate truth to each case. There is a difficulty around every house. He is set to guard the special circumstances of danger around every person for whom he watches. As he goes his rounds the grand object 394 ■^^^- ^ephen Higginson Tyng, D.D. which is uo occupy him is the constant looking out for ^dangers which others meet, and the premonishing or forewarning of them of the difficulties in their way. Nothing can be added to the thirty- third chapter of Ezekiel on this subject of watching, in its descrip- tion of it. " Now then, when we pass from the character of our work as message bearers to the charp,cter described as watchmen, we pass from a mere awakening, guiding, directing message to an immedi- ate application for a personal warning of individual difficulties. Our duty as watchmen has reference to persons, we watch over souls in the family of Christ as those who must give an account. As messengers, we invite them, we teach them, we show them the way. As watchmen we guard them, we keep them, we keep guard around their path, and in each of these several works we are equally the agents of Christ and the instruments^of the Holy Ghost. As messengers we need to understand the special mind and will of God. As watchmen we need to understand the personal conditions of men. As messengers we wish to comprehend the thing that is committed to us and told us from God. As watchmen we turn our thoughts and attention directly and entirely to the human condi- tion, and wish to comprehend the dangers and peculiar circum- stances of trial and difficulty. And it requires deeper and deeper experience and wider and wider array of details in experience every day to be able to fulfil this work. It is this work which constitutes a great portion of the difficulty of our ministry. As I have said to you in a previous lecture, it is perfectly easy to harangue, to de- liver orations, to read our message out as a proclamation, and even to make expositions of Scripture in public or |^to a few; all this is easy; but to go and live in the conditions of other people : to mark their errors and study their infirmities, to see what are called their idiosyncrasies, and to comprehend their special necessities and apply ourselves constantly, earnestly, efi'ectually to them as if we were really living in each of them, this is a work which completely absorbs and exhausts the power and spirit of the ministry. And yet it is the very work for which we are sent; and it is the very work which alone makes our ministry to be effective and power- ful to individual cases. '• Now the qualifications of a watchman are a knowledge of his duty, of the time in which he lives. A watchman is worthless unless he keeps abreast of the time in which he lives. The early dangers are one thing, the later dangers another ; dangers in one class of Christians are one thing, dangers in another class of Christians en- Lectures on Preaching. 395 tirely another. It requires infinite skill in unmasking and detecfc- ing secret enemies ; accurate intelligence of the whole field over which he is set ; quick-sightedness of comprehension ; great tact in management, earnestness and fidelity, and a heart and spirit that are 'not ignorant,' as Paul says, ' of the devices of Satan' ; deep in- terest in his work ; a constant sense of his responsibility ; an un- ceasing looking forward to his account. " The third specific title by which our ministry is described is that of stewards or pastors. While the messenger bears the truth and deals with the truth, and the watchman deals with specially applicable truth to iadividual cases, the pastor deals with edifying truth, truth that is adapted to nourish and sustain and uphold. To gather men is one work ; to watch over them when g jthered is another ; but to feed them, to nourish them, to hold them up, to provide for them ; all this is a totally different class of work. Living fruitfulness is the object. " The instrument of this pastoral labor is still the truth, and yet not merely applicable truth, for there is much applicable truth that does not nourish, and warning is not nourishment. I remember hearing a clergyman speaking of his own ministry, who said, that it was ' his great delight to speak the gospel of his Saviour pun- genUy.' I said, 'My dear brother, how much pepper do you put in it ? Do you minister pungent honey and fill the bread with pepper ? I don't comprehend it; to minister the gospel is to speak of divine salvation, to speak of the Saviour's work, of that which is called 'honey' in the language of Scripture. " The edifying, nourishing truth is always and only the finished, glorious work of Christ, the great and full and complete work of a Saviour's incarnation. Let us never forget that a soul cannot feed on its own duties ; the spirit cannot be sustained by its own labors ; by its own works, by its own fruits. Let us never forget that the Bread of Life, the everlasting meat, is only in the work of Christ, the thing which He has done. " This work of feeding has reference entirely to persons. It is individual, whoUy individual. However in public there may be numbers, yet the work of feeding is always a personal application by the Spirit of the truth we preach, to the individual condition. This pastoral duty requires clear views of truth, a distinct under- standing of the gospel, a knowledge of the worth and the applica- tion of the food required. It demands great fidelity, tenderness, love, patient effort, unwearied long suffering and endurance. It is this which attaches and binds the people of God ; this which edifies 396 Rev. Stephen Higginson Tyng^ D.D. the pastor's own soul, and makes him happy in the Saviour whom he presents to others. " We do not meet -v^ith a single soul on earth that is not either to be gathered in experience to Christ, or to be guarded in a walk with Christ, or to be fed, sustained and upheld in the temptations and conflicts of an obedience for Christ. Accordingly, there is not a single office committed to us, and not a single detail of an office enbrusted to us, which will not come under one of the three heads thus distinctly used in the language of oar ordination vows. "I come now to take up this subject in its next aspect: the qualifications. To be a messenger, and watchman and pastor is to be ia a position of extreme responsibility and importance. To magnify the importance of this office is, in my judgment, impossi- ble. In the scheme of the New Testament, it is the habitual, ap- pointed instrument of man's salvation. Man's pretentious claims to personal reverence may assume upon this office. This is but magnifying himself in the office, to its disparagement. " Nothing is more absurd than to see one assuming personal consequence because of his office, like a militia officer who dons his first uniform and thinks himself grand simply because he holds an office. I have been so disgusted and wearied with this class of persons that I confess my soul holds them in absolute rejection, in utter detestation. You and I may well take so deep a view of its responsibility and so clear a sense of its real and appointed work, that instead of magnifying ourselves as being chosen to occupy it, we might willingly shrink into the dust of seclusion. And when we look at the history of our life in its fulfilment, and at our delinquencies, we may well stop to think whether when the wrath of God is visited upon man's infidelity, that wrath will not come to the uttermost upon us. " The qualifications for the personal fulfilment of this work are an important subject. I speak ol such only as are personal The subject of ecclesiastical qualification, the outward imparted au- thority, though an important part of the office of the ministry, does not come before me. I shall divide these qualifications into the three-fold arrangement, ' Spiritual, Intellectual and Providen- tial. These three will embrace the whole field I wish to occupy. " The individual is first of all to be a cxmverted man. Now it is vain to ignore it. It is vain in the flippancy of sciolism or the claims of mere sectarian assumption to set this aside. To speak of this as an official thing or as a matter of discipline or training, BO that any unconverted man can become by any sort of authority Lectures on Preaching. 397 or appointment or training a real minister of Christ, is to suppose that the skin of the sheep converts the wolf into one of the ilock. "We will not touch the question that is raised in our XXVIth Article about the effect of an unfaithful ministry upon the sacraments. Let us realize that the minister has no effect upon the sacraments, that the efficacy of the sacraments does not depend upon the minis- ter at any time. A sacrament is a simple token between a spiritual mind and the God of its salvation, and these two living points con- stitute its efficiency and its power. The very first thing that you and I have always to look at is the real living power of the gospel in our own hearts. The first great spiritual qualification is real con- scious conversion of the heart. I saw the other day a funeral sermon of a minister of our Church, in which the minister did not hesitate to say, at a certain period in his life he was converted, the record of it being in the baptismal register a certain day in such a month. " The experience of a convert is essential to every minister. I .grant that many a man has been converted after he has entered the ministry. Some of the brightest instances in the Episcopal ministry of this country were of such men who were converted long after they entered the ministry. But no man can be really compe- tent to take up the first interview with a sincere seeking soul until he himself has tasted that the Lord is gracious and feels the power of the gospel ; and the attempt to preach without this is but a shocking absurdity. " The minister of the gospel requires the sympathy of the con- verted man. Next to the truth that it carries, the great jDower of the ministry is in its personal sympathy. The whole work of the pastoral office is there. You go into the house of sorrow, you go in- to the chamber of sickness, you go in seasons of trial, in specially sad times — sad times of the soul — and you can do nothing but in the tenderness and fellowship of a heart that is really alive to God. A minister of our Church many years ago — he has long since gone to his account — was called by an old lady to visit a poor, sick, suffering man. He went to see him, and while there attempted a little conversation, but it was aU common-place. He got up to go away. ' Well,' said the old lady, ' don't you mean to pray with the man?' 'Well, really, I have forgotten my book,' he replied. ' Well, you may go,' said the good old lady, ' but we will pray first,' and that dear old lady, an angel let down by the bedside, made that stout minister kneel down with her and pray. There was prayer, but oh ! was there a pastor, was there a pastor — a man alive to 39^ Rev. Stephen Higginson Tyng, D.D. God ? That same man, and he was not a man destitute of character, but was in eTery respect a highly influential and respectable man, though cold-hearted — I knew him once to be called to a lady in her sickness. He went to the house, up to the door of her chamber, and there he stood, saying, ' Madam, wiU you have a Visitation only, or will you have the Communion ?' Said she, ' I will have only a Visitation,' and he pulled out his book and began to read at the door, put back the book in his pocket, and then walked off. "What a miserable perfunctory work it was ! This kind of thing I am com- pelled to meet with all the time — a thing that 1 hate; from the very fountain of my soul, I hcte it ! " The ministry requires the motive of a converted man. Its trials are very peculiar. The wailing of the infant minister is re- echoed from the departing one. The trials of the ministry change as we go on, but the difficulties never cease. And all shams, all pretences, all solemn aspects and all formal operation wUl burn up like chaff in the furnace. Nothing but real love for Christ can ever sustain us, or keep up our heart for the work, or keep us in it, from the temptation to wander from it to other employment. Some such there are, and they had better go. A young man was teaching in Providence, when Bishop Griswold sent him down to Maine to preach the gospel. He wanted him to give up a good school worth one thousand dollars a year, and they would give him but five-hun- dred. When he objected, the Bishop, said to him with great stern- ness, 'Neither has Jesus Christ called you to keep school nor have I ordained you to keep school. You are to go and preach the gospel.' Unconverted men fail absolutely in earnestness. To minister ordinances is a very simple thing. Bishop Whittingham, I remember, said in one of his services, 'If this were all bishops were made for, then cast-iron bishops would do as well as any ; they could be wound up and made to run.' It is a personal ser- vice and requires a heart. It is all easy enough to go through du- ties perfunctorily. But just here unconverted men force them- selves into a mere dead mechanism, have nothing to say or to do, are useless and worse than useless. "Again, unconverted men are great stumbling-blocks ia the ministry. They are so in their ignorance. Nothing is more pit- iable than the manifestation of this which we constantly see. 'The poorest real Christian discerns and exposes this ignorance at once. They are great stumbling-blocks in the hostility which is pro- duced in their minds against real religion. I remember once being very much struck with a comparison. Two persons, both of them Lectures on Preaching. 399 prominent, lived in a place where there was a great revival of reli- gion and outpouring of the Holy Spirit. There were two Episco- pal churches in the town, of different character. One of these per- sons went to one of the bishops to know what he should do, the other to another bishop. The answer of the first was very much as if a shower should be seen coming from the west and a careful housewife should go and shut up windows and shutters for fear of it. The other was like a gentle cultivator, and like the wife who throws everything open and says ' Let us get some of it if we can." " The hour is coming when you and I are to stand in account, not for what we pretended to be, nor for what we professed to do, but for what the Lord Himself has done with us. And it is in anticipa- tion of that hour that we shall feel the deepest sense, shall I say of anxiety, of depression, of remorse, of dreadful self-abhorrence and repugnance, if we wake up then to find our whole life passed in a mere perfunctory, careless, irrehgious way. It may aU. be respectable. Respectable irreligiou is the most corrupt of all irreligion, and in the ministry that which is the most hopeless. I therefore entreat you to consider with me, first of all, this great fundamental fact, to be a minister, a diaxovo?, a messenger, a watchman, a pastor, ' I MUST BE BOEN AGAIN, I must tc tt Uvvng soul in Christ' "Hw ministry of the gospel demands adislinct, individual, personal call. Our Church is extremely positive and precise upon this subject. She says, " Young man, are you inwardly moved by the Holy Ghost?." That is what we want to know. The Scripture says ' No man can take this office upon himself but he that is called of God.' The Holy Ghost says, ' Separate me these two men for the work to which I have called them.' Thus we have the language of the Church and of the Scriptures in general definition, and the lan- guage of the Holy Ghost in special interpretation and designation, bringing to our minds the reality and the certainty of this call. " I confess it is not in my mind ever a trifling subject. Long, long, long have I thought and felt— I may say, without arrogance, have I prayed and wept and doubted upon this subject. Deeply have I attempted to search myself, whether or no I was ever called to preach the gospel. Sometimes when disappointment in the min- istry came upon me, and there seemed to be no blessing upon my labors, sometimes when the heart grew sick in weariness and troubles and difficulties that have gathered around me like clouds and I seemed to be barren, hopeless, helpless, I rashly would come to the conclusion that I never was called and that my minis- try has been all the time a matter of forth-putting on my own 400 Rev. Stephen Higginson Tyng, D.D. part, instead of a matter of forth-thrusting on the part of the Holy Ghost. Again and again has it been an anxious subject ; again and again has it been a depressing one with me, so that up to this time of my life I look back and deeply exercise myself with the question, Was I ever called to the work ? " I well remember when a young minister, when in the levity of my spirit — -I was always characterized by this levity — an excellent brother, a good sober man in Maryland, said to me, 'Well, Tyng, when I see you in the pulpit, I wish you would never get out of it; and sometimes when I see j'ou out of it, I wish you would never go into it.' I felt the truth of the criticism. With many a manifestation of character, out of the pulpit, perfectly inconsistent in it, anything like the exercise of the ministry in the pulpit, was from another gift entirely than any power of mine, and only calculated the more to humble and depress and distress me as I surveyed the subject. Reading the Acts of the Apostles is to me but as looking at a cab- inet of specimens, an illustration of identities, setting up a scheme or system, which is to be perpetuated and perfected to the end of the world. I see everywhere the normal shapes of that which I am to find in succeeding times. These Acts, to my mind, in this relation, bring the inquiry. What is this call? I answer to my. self : This cannot be anything less than a deep and solemn convic- tion of individual obligation. The ministry can never be looked upon by a godly man as a human profession, the entrance to which is spontaneous and arbitrary in the individual. It can never be selected by any man for the imagined advantages which are sup- posed to be pertaining to it. My wish to preach the gospel for the sake of being myself a more humble and good and affectionate man, is no less selfish than preaching the gospel for the wish of being a weU doing and well being man in earthly things, and I cannot be permitted to bring into connection with my call and sense of ob- ligation any sense of personal advantages to be gained by me, whether they be intellectual, religious, social advantages or per- sonal, spiritual, inward advantages to myself. " St. Paul says in the most distinct manner that the fundamental fact is a conviction of imperative duty. He says : ' There is upon jQe an ' oixovofxiav,' a law of the house, a compidsory obliga- tion, an absolute command, to preach the gospel It becomes an obligation, and preach I must, and go I trnist, and it is impossible that I should withhold. It is an indispensable necessity on me in my own conviction, obligation and prospect. "I should take then another stand, — that this caU must rise above Lectures on Preaching. 401 the mere conviction of duty, with the specific, cognate motive of the gospel. How the grand motive of the gospel, is love for Christ. As the earlier service of conversion gains its motive in this love, so this higher and peculiar step must move in the same line. And here again St. Paul describes it manifestly and most beautifully. He says : ' The love of Christ constraineth me,' avvex^ * squeezes me,' ' compresses me" just as though I was hemmed in. It is im- possible that I should hold my tongue ; it is an impelling motive. I feel His love to me. I feel an intensely reciprocal, responsive love to Him. I long to preach that love to others. My life will speak of Jesus, tell about Him, proclaim Him, describe Him, present Him in all His glorious attributes, to show His fulness. His power. His trium- phant grace. It is like m^anna to the soul ; it is like fragrant oint- ment poured forth ; it is like honey to the lips. ' Thus the Son of God is revealed in us, the apostle says, ' that we may preach Him.' ' To us less than the least of all saints is this grace given, that we may preach the unsearchable riches of Christ.' They seem to be unsearchable riches to us, we know no end thereof. Every day they grow dearer, more precious, more indispensable ; what- ever may be the skepticism of men, whatever their unbelief, there is pressing upon us — our minds, our hearts, above the obligation of conscience — such a sense of the greatness and the fulness and the glorious excellence of a Divine Saviour, that we long to teU of it ; we long to be permitted to proclaim it ; and to sit down with some poor sinner and teU him of Jesus is an unspeakable joy to our hearts. "Accordingly, with this motive rising up, there is a pleasure in conversations about a Saviour's love. ' My heart,' says David, in the Forty-fifth Psalm, • is inditing,' bubbling up, ' a good matter.' We speak of things about the Kingdom just as the pen of a ready writer, currente calamo, runs on every step with delight. It is not a mere fulfilment of what we ought to do, but a springing up in our heart of what we delight to do. When I heard Jenny Lind sing- ing in Castle Garden, New York, that beautiful Bird Song of hers, '0,1 must be singing 1 I must be singing!' the words fell right back upon the heart — well, so spontaneously it is for me to preach then. I must be preaching. I mmt be preaching. The delight of preaching the gospel with this state of mind is intense. Dr. Payson said to a gentleman who very kindly came to him one Sunday morning saying, ' I came, my dear brother, from my ser- vice to help you to-day.' ' Did you indeed ?' said he. ' I should as soon have thought of your coming here to help me eat my dinner.' 402 Rev. Stephen Higginson Tyng, D.D. And so would anybody who thus loved it. No old sermons preached again, no exchanging to preach them ; other people coming to help us in the labor. Our Ml heart is aU the time like a fuU honey- comb ; we are ready to burst like new wine. "We long, we delight to speak. I hope I may say, in my small measure and degree, that I can understand it. It is intense delight to me to preach Christ, to proclaim the Saviour's fulness. " Not a great while since, a meeting of clergymen was held in the State of New Jersey, and one after another gave in some little matters of testimony. One said : he had been at St. George's. 'WeU.'said the others, 'what was Tyng about?' 'Oh, weU he is everlastingly talking about Jesus, exalting Christ; that's what he is always doing, always doing.' Another said : ' Did any man ever give of his brother so valuable testimony as that ?' A brother told me the story. I said in my heart : ' Yes, I will exalt thee, thou loving, dying Friend, with every power of my mind; yea, with every hour of my life ; for I was a poor lost one when He called me, I was a poor wretched wanderer when He brought me back. All that I am, He has made me ; all that I have He^has given me ; and it is impossible for me adequately to proclaim the fulness of His grace and power. " This call will rise above this deep obligation on the conscience and this cognate motive of the heart, to a higher appreciation and a clearer apprehension of the importance and the value of the gospel we are sent to preach. I should call it a consciousness that we possess intelligence of unspeakable value to our fellow-men, so that it is not the writing or the speaking of a half-hour's sermon, but it is the telling of words whereby men are to be saved. Oh, who shall be saved ! or how many ! how little are we able to tell ! Over and over again will you find yourselves amazed at the fruits God plucks from the vineyard of His own planting, through your instrumentality. " The first Sunday I preached in St. Paul's Church, — ^thirty-five years ago, the first Sunday in May, 1829, — I had been for a year before in perfect barrenness. It seemed to me as if in my country ministry there was nothing to be done. My heart was poor, dry, barren. That first Sunday I preached there in the midct of hostil- ity and opposition. On Monday morning I had scarce gotten through breakfast, when a young and most interesting woman came to me, wishing to confer upon her salvation. And for five years at St. Panl's that ' first fruits at Achaia,' that beautiful living Lectures on Preaching. 403 fruit, was a joy and comfort to me in every subsequent week of my ministry there. " Now this will seem to us, in our view, to be of so much worth, so indispensable, that our love to our feUow-men cannot be with- held. And our duty and our affections are exalted by an addi- tional sense of responsibility that we cannot resist and cannot refuse. I not only feel my conscience oppressed ; I must preach ; I not only feel my heart bubbling up, I long to 'preach; but I feel I have something to tell that it infinitely behooves my people to know. " This caU will illustrate itself in a clear apprehension of the singleness of this truth. The one, simple, gracious message which we have received we must preach. It has given life to our souls, it is the life by which we now live, we know its power, we feel its truth, we comprehend its worth, we have no desire to proclaim anything else. Accordingly, it seems to me that with this view, if all the men in New York were to say : ' Tyng, you are a fool,' it would have no effect on me. I know I am right. I perfectly know I am right. That truth I preach is the very truth to give life, and there is none other. And I therefore say to you there is such a clear perception of the singleness of this truth, of the solitude of this one gracious message committed to us, that it is impossible for us to teach anything else, and our teaching and preaching is all the time of Jesus Christ, and as every week goes by there is a constant Gvvsj^o, a squeezing as a, pressure upon the spirit. I must preach, I must preach, so long as Grod gives me breath. " This call wQl illustrate itself in our view of the condition of the world without the gospel. It is not a question with us of compara- tive modes of life ; we do not look abroad with the spirit of calcula- ting the varying influence of different religions. The idea with us is not that Christianity is one among the many schemes of theology or theophany, if you choose, all of which have more or less influ- ence over different minds, but that it is the gospel of Christ, the one letting do wn from heaven of the grand message of life to man, and that man is lost without it. I confess to you that the logical conclusion of this is fearful. I cannot help it. The world is lost without the gospel. The world is lost without the gospel. "Now then, with this upon me, I must go out and preach my Master's word, and I stand before the Church of God to say, ' I do trust I am inwardly moved by the Holy Ghost ;' it is no fruit of my growth, no plant of my planting. I am inwardly moved by the Holy Ghost to take this office and ministry upon me. May I, may I be permitted to exercise it within your bounds ?' 404 Rev. Stephen Higginson Tyng, D.D. " I proceed now to that which I should call a third spiritual qualification. I call it : Special Personal Experience. This comes up in the shape of the constant impulsion and repetition of the call of which we have spoken, so that I don't speak of this call to the ministry as if it were an originated and then completed fact, but just as the first breath of the lungs is but a feature and type of our suceeeding moments of breath through life, so the fi.rst call of the Spirit of God is but a type and pattern of every day's action of that Spirit upon us for every day's work, and as each morning begins, as it were a new life from the grave, in the activity of the day, so the minister of Christ each day begins a new life of consecration to the great Saviour, whose he is, under the special, peculiar call that he has received. ' No man that warreth,' the apostle says, ' entan- gleth himself with the things of this life, that he may please Him that hath caUed him to be a soldier.' There must be an entire consecration, ' an entire turning,' as our ordination says, of all our cares and studies in this one way. " It is not possible for us to be too entirely or too com- pletely consecrated to the work of the ministry. I well know that there is a scrupulous conscience upon this subject, as upon every other subject which involves immediately the thought of .personal obligation and duty. I have repeatedly thought in a retrospect of life that I have too thoroughly given my mind to one thing, while I have felt unwilling to enter into any out- side engagement, while I have sacrificed literary occupation, while I have refused so constantly relaxation of all kinds for the single purpose of fulfilling the ministry. I may illustrate by saying that it is now seven years since I have been as much as three weeks out of the City of New York, and seven years since I have been over two Sundays together away from the church to which I minister. I do not mean to say, therefore, that I consider this a pattern, but that we are to realize aU the time that our whole natural inclination is to indolence and self-indulgence. A man who has the least con- sciousness, as I have, that his tendency is to the domination of appetite and self-gratification, has need all the time to watch the outgoings of his character from the little miserable chinks of this self-indulgence. Accordingly, our business in the world is this one single thing. ' This one thing I do,' under the constant pressure, and on the constant lookout for some special opening and oppor- tunity for preaching the gospel. God has prepared some special soul perhaps for me to be instrumental in saving, and upon this occasion, and I cannot allow or invite another to take my place ; I Lectures on Preaching. 4o5 cannot sacrifice the opportunity ; I cannot allow myself to be taken away from this special and important work. "We cannot afford to give up our opportunity, our occasion. I do not know when God may have prepared for me some special seals of my min- istry, — therefore to give up my place, to let Tom, Dick and Harry come in, or anybody with a black coat on to take my place to preach for me is ai impossibility. I am obliged, therefore, to commit what are considered offences against propriety all the time, by saying that it is impossible for me to relinquish my place in the pulpit. I must preach the gospel to the souls to whom the Lord has sent me. A man appointed to preach to a congregation and called to the work of the ministry, can never be satisfied unless he is fully en- gaged in this work. He may feel feeble, worn-out, and sometimes his very bones may ache with the labor, still there is that within him which will not, till the very last moment, retire or retreat under the influence of this individual experience of a call from Grod. " Then the experience of which I speak is an habitually increas- ing experience of the common Christian life. The progress of the divine life has two manifestations, as it is the subject of the burden of sin, and an increasing perception of the fulness of the Saviour. The one is the parent of humility, the other the mother of hope. All humility is the child of sin. It is when one is conscious of sin that one is humble. It is not a low sense of one's powers, of one's attainments, of one's relations, in the idea of the word frequently employed, which really is being very proud. It has no more relation to that than dif&dence to modesty. Diffident pride is always suspicious. Humility is a sense of one's own per- sonal unworthiness in its guiltiness before God. And it is when one perceives inward sin more and more, that one grows in the deeper exercise of this spirit of humility. Hope, on the other hand, is the growth of faith in the divine fulness. It grows con- tinually on this glorious stock that flowers up as one perceives the excellence of a Saviour, the provision that is made in Him, the abounding of that provision, the application of it. So that at the same time, I am nothing, I am every thing; I am an outcast, I can never be an outcast. I say this is the common experience of a Christian, lower or higher, that our work brings out in the obser- vation of others and our personal ministry brings out in ourselves. Oh, how often is the thought : My very sermons will condemn me, my very prayers will condemn me, and as Bishop Beveridge says so beautifully : ' My very repentance needs to be repented of; my tears need washing, and the very washing of my tears requires to be 4o6 Rev. Stephen Higginson Tyng, D.D. cleansed in the blood of Jesus before I can be accepted.' And yet at the same time we have brighter, clearer and happier views, and never were we so confident, hopeful and triumphant in anticipation, as when we are thus completely east down, and wretched and de- pressed in view of our own character. " All acceptable, useful preaching in the carrying out of the call rests entirely on this experience. The moment that oui' preaching extends itself beyond our personal experience, the work becomes merely formal; I will not say it becomes false, a mere sham, because it may be perfectly sincere in its motive, its desire, its plan, but it is a lectare of second-hand information entirely, and is no longer a preaching of things which we feel and which we hnow. " A lovely young brother in the ministry came to me in Phila- delphia, and said, ' Doctor, I have a case in my church that I don't know what to do with, a young woman perfectly overwhelmed in darkness and despair, whose case I do not comprehend at all. I have been talking to her, but in vain. Will you come down to see her ?' I felt on the spot : ' My dear brother, you show a clearer, better knowledge of the whole thing than I am conscious of.' I went. I found that woman in just this state of the deepest despair of personal, conscious guilt. There was no hope. "What was needed ? Simply an unfolding of the precious fulness of the Saviour, simply an exhibition of the glorious perfection of the Saviour's work; nothing more. And when that ministry was brought before her, it was like a spark upon tinder, her soul clasped it immediately. " To press upon such a mind duties to be performed, or to relate facts or theories that you are convinced of, but do not know in your own experience, is worse than useless. God must come in the living contact of. personal sympathy with such a mind or it is impossible to benefit it. " Now I say we cannot teach this great truth but in the line of our personal experience. Have I felt the bitterness of guilt? I can tell it. Have I felt the sweetness of pardon ? I can teU it. Do I know the misery of being without Christ and the blessedness of being in Christ ? I can tell it. And every thing beyond this is not preaching the gospel, but a mere lecture about the gospel. "The divine blessing connects itself with the simplicity of your message in its truth and motive. So that I sit down to tell that man the gospel as I see it, — the thing that God has taught me, in the utmost simplicity of language and motive. And the deeper and more real and effective becomes our experience on this subiect then the more effective becomes the promised divine blessing; the Lectures on Preaching. 407 more simply we preach the word to the individual, the more abid- ingly we attain and carry out that simplicity of preaching. How very simple the experience of the deeply spiritual Christian be comes ! I was very much struck the last time I heard old Archi- bald Alexander, of whom, permit me to say, that of aU preachers I ever did hear, I hold him to be nearest to the apostolic preacher and minister, and if he had not a right to the ministry by a succession from the apostles, it was because God called him to be an apostle himself. He had the manifest finger of God laid upon him. I heard him with intense delight, with an emotion that amazed me. It was just like the dropping of sweet pearls of dew from the rocky side, of honey drops from the petals of a flower. So soft, so gentle, so loving, so effective, I seemed to hold my mouth like the opening of a little narrow bottle, receiving drop after drop, so that I might lose nothing. It was intensely delightful, and why ? Because it was so perfectly simple. Not a single child in the throng but could look up and understand every syllable that old man said. " Then, on the other side, our usefulness to men is dependent upon our sympathy with them. Accordingly, the more a man is a man of genius away up on an eminence, like the eagle building her nest on a pinnacle of the rock, to which none can approach, — the further the man is off, the less useful; the more grand and grandiloquent, the less effective he is. A pair of tongs ten feet long to pick up pins with, is an almost impossibility. The nearer you approach the present condition of a person in personal relations with a deep ex- perience of the thing which that person is and wants, the more effective are you likely to become in human quaUfication, — just as when there is simplicity in the instrument the more effective will be the divine blessing. When we speak to men from the heart right into the heart, it is effective. They feel the power of our utter- ance. This in public ministry is a truth, and in our private ministry more indispensably a truth. Every thing in the ministry depends upon the simplicity of this testimony which brings this increasing divine power, and the habitual growth of sympathy which brings adaptation to man continually, brings the power of God, and all the subjective recipiency of man to my aid. " God always teaches His ministers by very special experiences, entirely apart from the common Christian walk and warfare in which we partake with all. And when He puts us in circumstances of special responsibility, then does He try us with special experi- ence of care and need and mercies proportionate. He never calls a minister into a position for which He does not qualify him. He 4o8 Rev. Stephen Higginson Tyng, D.D. stops up no bung-lioles with brown paper. He makes direct appli- cation of the individual agency to the condition and crisis to which it is called. We are thus qualified for every peculiar ministerial experience. What illustrations we have in Scripture ! These illus- trations we find frequently in our own experience. We find our- selves suffered to fall into strange obliquities, strange mistakes, so that one of the great mercies of our life is that God covers His hand over the little ones; just so, the Lord covers up our reputation and guards us. Ah, did He tell my people all He knows about me, in what condition should I stand ! Did He proclaim to the world all the sin hid in my ungodly heart, — how could I appear before the multitude to whom I am sent. Thus we learn to speak a word in season to weary souls. " The experience of which I speak, goes into the special official relations of the ministry, and our greatest trials are on both sides of this aspect of the divine relation. Sometimes He grants us great successes in our work ; there is a fine breeze and everything is clear, we spread our sails, the masts are covered with canvas and away we go, — and never is it more likely that Satan wiU stand at the wheel. To a young man, such a condition of things is most of all likely to be destructive. Those most useful in the ministry are men who have begun in the smallest places, and who were in the narrowest straits. " The influence of the gospel ministry is not that of visible cere- mony, of official duty, but it is the influence of proclaimed truth, it is the sanctified influence of man upon man, and it is htirdly to be expected that the recipient mind is to gain more than the imparting mind possesses, — giving us, therefore, the direct process of succeed- ing vessels and succeeding agencies and recipients. The great ques- tion of the attainments and qualifications — the intellectual qualifi- cations of the mind in the preparation for such a work, becomes vastly important to us. It is the proclaiming, and in others the accepting, of divine intelligence, that we utter because we under- stand it, and as we feel it. Its power and operation depend, there- fore, upon the intelligent character of the ministrations. Paul, often rests upon this thought, you know, in his First Epistle to the Corin- thians, and in some degree in his Second. He calls it a singing and praying with the understanding. He calls it that prophesying that speaks to edification and exaltation and comfort, of which he says he ' would rather speak five words with his understanding, that so he might teach others also, than ten thousand words in an unknown tongue,' simply stating the grand resolution of a brother Lectures on Preaching. 409 minister who says : ' I would rather speak one sentence of truth from Jesus in the simplest and plainest and most intelligible shape, that the poorest person before me might hear it and understand it thoroughly, than have the reputation of the grandest oration that man ever delivered.' " There is no fact in our great work which has always struck my mind more. I may honestly say, no one thing have I labored after in my ministry more. Over and over again in writing sermons do I go back and strike out every Latinized word, and put a Saxon word in its place. Every word must be so plain and familiar iis meaning that aU before me shall understand it. The sermons o! hundreds of ministers are fiUed up with classical phrases. I have heard men come to my pulpit and speak in such words that really for myself I was compelled to make an investigation of the mean- ing of the terms. Now, there is no greatness in this. Let it be understood that no great man is ever grandiloquent. No vessel that is full ever sounds hollow ; no heart that is really engaged and earnest in its business ever talks in a roundabout way. No man begins to tell me in the midst of a fire that there is a vast amount of combustible material in great danger of ignition around my habitation ; no, he cries, ' Fire ! fire !' And there is direct sense in that. I look back on my early sermons, and I declare to you that I would be ashamed to repeat them before an assembly of dogs and cats, they are so ridiculous. I have sometimes tried to rewrite them, but there is really nothing there. It is a great deal easier to begin with new material and make sermons over entirely fresh, than to go back and rehash these wonderful juvenile productions and bring them into the shape of a matured simplicity. " There must be original talent and capability. It is vain to lay the hands of Episcopal authority on empty heads. It is vain to give diplomas or certificates and a right to preach to persons who have no sort of capability for the work. God owns and blesses the ' foolishness of preaching,' but not foolish preaching. I well re- member Bishop Griswold's quaint sayings by which he was ever bringing home some truth to us. A young minister, since gone home, once suggested to the Bishop that he was very anxious to have his ordination hastened ; ' he thought himself qualified, al- though he certainly felt that the Lord had no particular demand for man's wisdom.' ' Humph !' interrupted the Bishop, ' He has a a great deal less demand for man's nonsense.' There was nothing else to be said. It is vain to say that there are yet poor and igno- rant ones to whom they can preach. Perhaps so, but let me answer 41 o Rev. Stephen Higginson Tyng, D.D. you that there is no class of gospel preaching that really requires so much talent as preaching usefully to the ignorant and poor. Just as in a Sunday school the teaching of the infant class is the most difficult to supply, and we may sometimes look through an hundred teachers before we find one that is in the least degree qual- ified to drop these precious truths of salvation in small drops into infant minds. Beside all this, such men are habitually ambitious and presuming. Such instances are everywhere a great distress. But, more than this, our Church requires very peculiar talent. There is in our whole public service such an elevating air of thought and feeling that when it comes from the magnificent height of the sim- ple Liturgy down to the mere dull flat pan-cake sermon, with noth- ing in it, the contrast is too terrific to be tolerated in any degree and it ought not to be. " There must be general intellectual enlargement and qualifica- tion. It embraces a very large class of thought. We cannot say that any knowledge is extraneous to the ministry or useless to the preacher. Its subjects touch every class in society, every occupa- tion of man comes under its influence. The temptations, trials, dangers, cares of all conditions of men are subjects of its observa- tion and demand its notice. And the more the man knows, prac- tically adapted and truly sanctified, the more efficient the minister becomes. This is not only true in the particular details, but in the general influence upon the mind. These may seem like trite ob- servations, and they are, but long observation has very much im- pressed their importance on my mind. " Another most important element of intellectual qualifica- tion is a thorough literary training. I have not a particle of faith in the usefulness of reducing the standards of edu- cation. All new canons to smuggle untaught men into the ministry are, in my judgment, but calculated to knock new holes in the bottom of the ship. Pew of us, so far as my observation goes in our Church, are sufficiently qualified in this respect, and though our ministry, take them as a whole, are generally well ed- ucated, yet when we come to demand peculiar and important tal- ent for immediate occupation in pressing circumstances, we are everywhere at a loss. Within the last two or three years there were for months four or five of the very largest churches in the land looking out for a minister who could not be had, yet at that very time I counted five and forty young men around the city of New York who, instead of pulling the cart, were hanging on the hubs of the wheels. So that I speak of the pressing circumstances Lectures on Preaching. 411 of the ministry as rendering this education indispensable at the start. It is never possible to supply it in after life, and the young man who says he will learn this by and by, will not. You might as well undertake to underpin the spire of a church after you have raised it, as to put on top of a training, the education that should be at the foundation and acquired at the beginning. "Our whole system now, as it presses upon me in the pastoral re- lation, seems to be to abridge our classical education and to believe that somehow or other, young men understand the Scriptures by inspiration and get a knowledge of great facts that others gain only by hard study by a sort of intuition peculiar to them. I could bring scores of. young men into the ministry from St. George's Church within the next year by this summary process that sailors call ' creeping through the lubber holes.' But what are they ! Why some of tnem would come back on my hands in two or three years, without parish, exuded everywhere, and the final upshot is, lay Christians spoiled for usefulness by making them poorer ministers. " Original Scripture study is indispensable. Nothing in our worl is of equal importance to this. I have entreated the young men who have gone from my ministry to think of this. The Lord has been pleased greatly to bless that ministry in bringing forward young men in the past years. I counted up a year or two ago forty-seven young men ministering in our Church who had been brought into it under my ministry. I consider that to be a very important element and fact of my whole past influence, as the Lord has permitted it in this work. I have never failed Jo impress up- on every one, ' Do not attempt to go to preach the gospel without a clear apprehension of the original language of the Scriptures.' If men do not learn the Hebrew Bible before they begin to preach, they never will afterward in any common circumstances of life. " This theological intellectual training requires a correct system of divine doctrine. Theology, in my judgment, is the back -bone of our ministry. The most important as a subject we can insist on. The Scriptures give us such a scheme. It is a relation of just this scheme which comes out as we study it, perfectly clear, distinct and thorough. It is everywhere a scheme illustrated in every variety of shape, made clear in all the successive historical prophetic tes- timonies and still but one great scheme of truth manifesting itself through all. Now in these modern days to speak of this as confin-. ing and cramping the mind, and its investigations, is, in my judgment, perfectly absurd. The importance of a right teach- 412 -Rev. Stephen Higginson Tyng, D.D. ing of the system of theology is bej'ond all calculation. It is the very substance and sum of our furniture for our work. Now upon this subject it is most happy for us to be able to say the EngUsh theology is perhaps of aU systems the fullest of that sort of in- struction so important. We have such names as Reynolds, Leigh- ton, Hopkins, and in the Scotch church Ralph Erskine and that prince of books, Romaine's ' Life, and Walk and Triumph of Faith,' that at least once every year or two I begin and read straight through, because it seems impossible to come to an end of the practical wisdom and sweetness and fulness of its truth. " I should say to young men, there is a library that will furnish you for a lifetime. Avoid aU the trash of low rationalism and cold, dead, moss-grown heresies. Nourish yourselves with suitable food and your people with it. Some say to you, ' Why, you must read all these books in order to frame necessary. replies to them.' John Newton received a present from Dr. John Taylor of Norwich, of a book in which the latter said there was no such thing as the doc- trine of the atonement. He asked Newton afterwards if he had read the book. 'No, he had looked at it.' ' Well, is that aUl It took me fifteen years to write it, and you do not read it to know what it really is ! ' ' WeU,' said Newton, ' if my servant brings me meat to the table, must I eat it all to tell what it is ? Now I took a bite of your book and know its character.' Certainly that was infinite wisdom. " We want a general system of reading. Nothing becomes inap- propriate to be known, that is itself profitable. Every branch of human knowledge imparts its portion of advantage to the preacher, not merely as information on various subjects, nor as enhancing individual influence, but as illustrating its own part of the great work and plan of divine providence and government. We are to look upon tbj world as in actual subjection to Christ and, however apparently confused, as working together to accomplish His plans and hasten His Kingdom. "Thus these views as I have given them, of intellectual preparation in qualification for the ministry, I have placed as low as they can be placed in my judgment and observa- tion. No man wiU ever know too much. He cannot sink too deeply into divine truth nor ever become too intelligent for the great mass of the people to whom he speaks. And the grand defect that the minister, in the end of his work feels, is that utter want of solidity of thought and comprehension in his preparation for those to whom he ministere. It is that which Lectures on Preaching. 413 makes every pumpkin lantern seem like a planet. A young man comes out and seems like a wonderful aerolite. Everybody is startled, if he outs a great figure of speech, in majesty of- style, bringing up marvels in some chorus of exhibition; everybody is led away, and they look at the man as if he was some great wonder. And why ? Simply because they are fed with emptiness, because there is so little of the real, solid, substantial ministry in this com- munity. I well remember Dr. Bedell once preached a sermon be- fore our Education society from the text, ' Wherefore wilt thou run, my son, with the tidings not ready,' in illustration of the Ahineases of our day " I employ the term ' providential qualifications ' as including all personal traits and habits which affect or concern the individual personal relations of the minister. The term ' incidental,' might be used, but that in a man divinely called and divinely qual- ified for this sacred office, I prefer to consider all things con- cerning him as under a divine and providential arrangement. It is a class of qualifications eminently important to the ministry, both in reference to its happiness and its success. " It is adaptation to appointed condition. ' The right man in the right place,' an expression used by Lord Palmerston first in the House of Commons, has come to be an apothegm in the language of human description. Individual tastes and habitudes indefinitely vary; and as the Apostle says of the miraculous tongues, none of them are without signification. There is an original adaptation in personal character. There is an acquired accordance with pre- scribed condition. It is not easy to say what are the young man's adaptations in the starting of his life, but the importance of this accordance is great, and the ministry is often made most unhappy and deprived of much of its usefulness by this want. "It is sjTnpathy of tastes with the people among whom our lot is oast. The pastoral ministry becomes a part of the people. A wise ministry will endeavor to understand the habits of a people, whatever they may be, to feel for their peculiarities, to enter into and shape the tastes and habits of their conversation. We should make it a subject of determined effort to do this. Whether a man be a dweUer upon the mountains or the sea-shore, whether he live in a small rural village, where hardly a sound of warfare reaches him or in a bustling village where everybody knows four times as much about everybody as anybody knows about himself, these locations require a difference of personal adaptation. Instead of a dissatisfied removal, and shrinking from his condition, and saying. 414 Rev. Stephen Higginson Tyng, D.D. ' How can I live with such people !' the dignity of a man well bom and bred remains with them easily; the simplicity of a man sent from God unites with them easily; the tastes of a man who has kindness of feeling and elevation of sentiment conforms to them with pleasure — we may illustrate this by the lives of Oberlin and Felix Neff, and by other cases. There is this great difference in the peculiarities and tastes of people. It is very important that a man should be transplanted, that he should not grow up in the exercise of a ministry in one locality. " It is a readiness to minister to all classes of people, not as a mere obligation of duty, but as a cultivation of habit. I am speak- ing now not of things that ought to be done, but of states of mind that ought to be acquired. Our ministry is not a mere gratifica- tion of personal taste; there are a great many disagreeable things that we are to submit to. We are agents for Christ in a great and lasting work and whatever Christ was not above doing, we .are not to be above doing. The poor were as dear to Him as the rich, and the more we have of His mind and spirit, the more ready we are not only to bear everything, but to forget that we have anything to bear, the more we shall be happy and useful. I cannot tell you the impression that was made on my youthful mind by Bishop Gris- wold's dignity in connection with the laboring classes. He would not see a woman bringing an armful of wood into the house but he would go and take it in his own arms and carry it into the house. I have seen him take a pail of swUl out of a maid-servant's hands, carry it into the yard and feed his own pigs, because it was too hard labor for a woman. Such a man as that carried with him an influence and power that was magnetic. One afternoon he said to me, 'Mr. Tyng, I want you to go and maie visits with me.' I went with him through the back streets and lanes of the town of Bris- tol, into one house after another; to see the old man, dressed as elegantly as an Enghsh Archbishop, kneeling on the floor with the people, talking in the most friendly, simple way, interested in all their affairs. I confess these things made an impression upon my mind, a young city boy of nineteen years, that has never been effaced and never can be. I thought it the grandest human sight I had ever seen. " The more we have this mind, we will be ready not only to bear more, but to look upon Christians as Christ does, to regard them according to His standard, to cultivate that sort of estima- tion of human character that is conformed to His will and purpose. Often the most tenderly educated are the most conforming to Lectures on Preaching. 41 5 others, and what I call the best blood among us in the human rela- tion is the least suspicious of disposition and the least unwilling to condescend, and men who make the most complaints in the rainistry habitually are those who have the least right to com- plain. " It is the cultivation of the ability to instruct all classes of persons; not merely in intellectual provision and spiritual experi- ence, but in habit of teaching, the cultivating of a simple style of communication. I remember a very distinguished preacher in the pulpit of St. George's once. A man of great power of utterance and logical formation in his discourse which he preached on Sunday morn- ing. In the afternoon I preached a little simple sermon I am accus- tomed to preach to young people. He expressed his surprise at my being willing to use such plain simplicity. ' My dear brother, said I, ' suppose you had a bottle to fill, which is the best way, — to take it to the pump and pump away where nine parts out of ten run over and do not get into it, or is it better to take the tea- kettle and put mouth to mouth ? This morning you pumped all over my people and wet yourself. ' " A young man came in my way not long ago, and I heard him preach. I tried to analyze the first sentence of his sermon, but it ran on in such an indefinite mixture of words and phrases that before he got half through, I could not tell what he was about. I remonstrated with him about it. He told me, ' I have always admired that style of preaching, and I have formed my style upon Chalmers.' Just as absurd as if a poor little tadpole had told me it had formed his style from a flying bird. He had no conception of Chalmers. He had found a sentence on a page of Chalmers, and if he could make a sentence like that, it was Chalmers. " An eminent scholar went down to Cambridge once to supply the church of a brother fellow settled in Kent, which is the land of hops. He preached a scholastic sermon, and illustrated very much with the theory of optics. He dined with a farmer, as it was the custom to invite the preacher; the farmer volunteered the remark that it was a good sermon, but they always called them hop-poles not hop-sticks. The sermon was good for nothing, because the people did not understand a word. Now the simplest style of utterance is always the most eloquent, the simplest sentences are always the most effective. Contrast Addison and Johnson as types for clergy- men's utterance. How infinitely one rises above the other in importance as mediums of information ! This is a matter of ac- 41 6 Rev. Stephen Higginson Tyng, D.D. quirement, and one of those acquirementa that we are to pursue with earnestness. "It is the ability to illustrate our teaching. This is a most im- portant habit ; its influence is great. It is the use, the advantage we derive from varied reading. A clear perception of the truth, in its application, will be the foundation. A cordial desire to be understood and to be made effective in teaching, wiU give it power and force. We will be constantly enjoying everything we see and hear and know, as a part of our great work, as our Master did, and the custom in its advance and growth and variety gives great popularity to the ministry and influence to the pastor. You will hear the sentences of that man quoted twenty or thirty years after they are uttered ; they are never forgotten. " It is the cultivation of habits of self-control, remembering that everything in the character of the minister is a part of the ministry, and everything in the character of the minister is a part of the machinery of his work : personal watchfulness, avoiding self-indul- gence, the lusts of the flesh ; living really for our work, and living really in it ; realizing that the Lord is our portion, ' in Him welive, for Him we die. ' "We are where we are because He wishes us to be there, and wherever we are is the best possible place for us. The habits of the ministry are indeed a very important system and instrument of its teaching. "We are living epistles known and read of all men, and thus are we to abide among men. Did you ever read Scott's ' Force of Truth ?' One of the most remarkable facts in ministerial experience was his acquaintance with John Newton. Scott was an infidel, though a minister ; he entered the ministry without a knowledge of Christ. He was brought into contact with John Newton, by hearing of his work as a Methodist and a fanatic. He despised him as destitute of intellectual qualification ; and yet he found one day a poor suffering man in his parish whom he had neglected, and yet whom Newton had walked six miles to see and to minister to, and he could not help saying, ' The man has a spirit that I have not,' and that very fact of Newton's fidelity in his position led Scott to his feet to ask from him guidance in the Saviour's ser- vice whom he preached and followed. — many a heart has been thus won to Christ. We find the same facts illustrated often, so that the same man may double or destroy his power, and the feeble man may have a stronger power than the most talented without this provi- dential qualification. In a review of the whole: " It is declared to be a special illustration of the wisdom of God which has set up this earthly ministry among 'men; when in the Lectures on Preaching. 41? wisdom of God it was discovered that by -wisdom the world would never know God ; then it was said it pleased God by the foolishness