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AUTOBIOGRAPHY 
 
 OF 
 
 ADIN BALLOU 
 
 1803 — 1890. 
 
 CONTAINING AN ELABORATE RECORD AND NARRATIVE 
 OF HIS LIFE FROM INFANCY TO OLD AGE. 
 
 "WITH APPENDIXES. 
 
 COMPLETED AND' EDITED BY HIS SON-IN-LAW, 
 
 WILLIAM S. HEYWOOD. 
 
 We spend our years as a tale that is told." — Ps. go : g. 
 
 LOWELL, MASS.: 
 
 The Vox Populi Press. — Thompson & Hill. 
 
 1896, 
 
INTRODUCTION. 
 
 By the Editor. 
 
 This volume is one of several prepared by its author and left 
 in manuscript at his decease, the publication of which was 
 duly provided for in specific clauses of his will. Its appear- 
 ance has been considerably delayed by pre-existing engage- 
 ments and more urgent duties on the part of him to whose 
 supervision the matter was entrusted, and by other circum- 
 stances that could not be easily avoided or overcome. Its con- 
 tents'have been condensed somewhat from the original in order 
 to bring them within desirable limits, but nothing has been 
 eliminated that was deemed necessary to the completeness of 
 the work as a portraiture of the man whose life, character, and 
 career it was desigoed to outline and illustrate. Save in the 
 particular indicated, the narrative, up to the time when the 
 hand of the writer became incapable of further service by 
 reason of the illness that terminated his mortal life, is given 
 in his own way and mostly in his own language. The plan 
 of the work, the arrangement of topics, its literary style and 
 mode of expression, are distinctively his own, and bear the 
 impress of his marked individuality. 
 
 The subject of the autobiography was no ordinary personage , 
 and he played no unimportant part in the drama of human 
 affairs during the eventful period in which he lived. Spring- 
 ing froni humble and obscure conditions, without ancestral or 
 social prestige or the favor of influential friends; without more 
 than very meagre opportunities for self-improvement and for 
 rising above the common level, he yet became a central figure 
 in the community where most of his days on earth were spent, 
 a great power for good in the world, a noteworthy man of his 
 age. Wherever he w^s known, he was loved and honored for 
 his elevated and pure spirit, for his many excellences of char- 
 acter, for his broad and disinterested philanthropy, and for his 
 unremitting endeavors to promote the welfare and happiness of 
 his fellowmen. Born in the early years of the nineteenth 
 -century and continuing until the opening of its last decade, he 
 •was not only an interested observer of, but an active partici- 
 
IV AUTO-BIOGRAPHr OF ADIST BALLOU. 
 
 pant in, those great progressive moral and religious movements 
 which make that century memorable in the annals of the race- 
 He appeared upon the stage of being when the stern dogma, 
 tism of the primitive New Englaiid theology was beginning to 
 be permeated with the leaven of a more reasonable and a 
 more liberal faith, and when the long-received beliefs of the 
 fathers were made the themes of sharp and unrelenting con- 
 troversy on the part of thoughtful religious people throughout 
 the land. While yet a mere youth, he passed through certain 
 profound spiritual experiences which gave bias and trend to. 
 his entire subsequent life — which foreshadowed as they, in 
 large measure, shaped his whole earthly career. Very natur" 
 ally, in his immature and receptive state of mind, he imbibed 
 at first the dominant views of his teachers and elders upon 
 religious subjects, concerning which he formulated for himself 
 a definite statement of doctrine which, to his mind, was 
 impregnable. But presently, by reason of questionings and 
 doubts from within as well as from without, he entered upon 
 and went through a most searching investigation which 
 resulted, much to his own surprise, in a complete reversal of 
 his own previously cherished convictions upon some of the- 
 most fundamental doctrines of theology, and caused him tO' 
 adopt those representing more cheerful and inspiring views of 
 God and man — of life, death, and immortality — in which he 
 rejoiced with exceeding joy, and of which he became an 
 earnest, eloquent, uncompromising, life-long adherent and 
 champion. Passing over from his former conception of the 
 sovereignty of God, as expressed in His inexorable will and 
 irresistible power, to that of the fatherhood of God, expressed 
 in His infinite goodness and love, his idea of the whole vast, 
 economy of being and of the overruling divine providence was- 
 correspondingly transformed, as was also his idea of human 
 duty and responsibility. The new thought of the great Author 
 of all being and Disposer of all events engendered new emo- 
 tions, as it appealed to new motives in his breast, gave, in his 
 estimate, a new meaning and purpose to existence, and required 
 a new type of personal character and a new order of life 
 among men. It brought into distinct and commanding promi- 
 nence the humanitarian side of religion. Out of the fathei'- 
 hood of God comes, by logical and moral necessity, the brother- 
 hood of man and the whole vast round of sentiments and 
 obligations incumbent upon the co-equal members of one great 
 family. 
 
INTRODUCTION. V 
 
 The author of this book saw this and in the candor and 
 loyalty of his mind and heart accepted it, and with it all the 
 issues it involved bearing upon human conduct and character. 
 He was thus not only predisposed but compelled to espouse and 
 ■advocate every salutary moral reform, and to lend a hand to 
 every activity and enterprise calculated to benefit and bless the 
 world. Nay, more. Deeming the principles of the gospel of 
 Christ, in which he was a most devout believer, and the spirit 
 of brotherhood applicable to human life in all possible circum- 
 stances and concerns, and beholding the injustice and wrong, 
 the suffering and misery inseparable from the existing social 
 order, he devised and, with the co-operation of sympathizing 
 friends, put in operation a scheme for the complete reorganiza- 
 tion of society, by which all special reforms should be united 
 in one great cemprehensive movement for the suppression of 
 the ills that afflict humanity and the promotion of the welfare 
 and happiness of all the classes and conditions of people ; by 
 which all human interests and affairs should be brought into 
 harmony with the divine law of love to God and man — an 
 attempt, in short, to inaugurate the kingdom of heaven on the 
 earth. 
 
 Of one whose life was consecrated to such purposes and 
 spent in the pursuit of such objects as have been indicated, 
 this volume treats with all needful particularity of detail, show- 
 ing how he went on, step by step, in his course from child- 
 hood and youth to hoary age, animated and cheered by an 
 unfailing faith in God and the eternal realities, and by the 
 unbeclouded vision of a reign of righteousness, brotherhood, 
 and peace, which shall some day come to emancipate, uplift, 
 sanctify, and rejoice with exceeding joy, the children of men. 
 And it is commended to those who would be glad to know 
 something of such a man and of his varied and manifold 
 experiences in the attainment of those qualities of mind, heart, 
 and character which he so fully illustrated, and in the prose- 
 cution of the work by which his influence for good shall be 
 felt by those coming after him unto many generations. It is 
 commended, also, to his surviving relatives and friends, who 
 hold his memory dear and who will be glad to have some 
 memento bearing the impress of his own immediate hand, 
 wherewith to be reminded from time of the lessons he was 
 wont to give them while he was with them in the flesh, and 
 to be kept in touch with his spirit and the purpose of his life. 
 It is furthermore commended to the earnest and reverent stu- 
 
VI AUTO-BIOGRAPHY OF ADIN BALLOU. 
 
 dents of sociological problems — to those who, in the present or 
 some coming day, believe in the possibility of a divine order of 
 society among men, and who are desirous of doing what they 
 may to make that possibility a living and enduring reality upon 
 the earth. In the hope that those to whom reference is made 
 and many others disposed to peruse the pages that follow, may 
 find in them a source, not only of pleasure and satisfaction, but 
 of inspiration to noble living and to endeavors to advance the 
 interests and subserve the ends which the author had so much 
 at heart, this book is sent forth into the world and submitted 
 to the considerate attention of all who seek to show forth 
 their reverence and love for God by faithful service of mankind. 
 
 Of the two portraits herein found of the author of this work,, 
 the first is a steel engraving copied from a photograph taken 
 when he was about fifty years of age, and represents him as 
 he was in mid-life and as he is remembered by a few of his 
 older friends and acquaintances; the other is a half-tone pic- 
 ture reproduced from a copy of a negative taken in 1888, and 
 shows him as he appeared during the last years of his mortal 
 pilgrimage. 
 
 The other manuscript volumes, referred to on a preceding 
 page as awaiting publication, will be issued in the not far 
 distant future. The first of them, "A Complete History of 
 the Hopedale Community," will be put into the printer's hands-- 
 at an early day and may be expected to appear in the autumn- 
 of 1897. 
 
PREFACE. 
 
 The world worships success and despises failure. It judges 
 of success and failure chiefly according to outward appearance 
 — according to material manifestations and tangible results. 
 It concerns itself little with causes, motives, preliminary con- 
 ditions or noiseless agencies and operations. Its eyes are 
 carnal not spiritual. It contemns the prophets of any given 
 age while they are yet alive — perhaps crucifies, stones, or 
 starves them — but builds the tombs and garnishes the sepul- 
 chers of those of a former age who have passed away, and 
 whose testimonies and sufferings have immortalized their 
 memories. So it has ever been ; so it is still. Nothing else 
 is to be expected. 
 
 I have not been a man of much popular success, but in 
 several respects of failure. Not because my intentions, princi- 
 ples, ideals, objects and plans were reprehensible and unworthy 
 of success, but because they foreran the conditions and means 
 indispensable to its acquisition. My hopes were too urgent 
 and sanguine; my standard and aim were set too high for 
 immediate realization. So have I been defeated in some of 
 my noblest schemes; some of my most disinterested and ear- 
 nest labors have been expended in vain, and my way has been 
 overshadowed with disappointment and grief. The world has 
 judged and will for some time longer judge of me and of my 
 undertakings after its own ancient fashion, and I complain 
 not. In the wisdom of God all is for the best, and nothing 
 true and good is forever lost. The final verdict is not ren- 
 dered yet, and my case and cause are adjourned to a more 
 auspicious future. 
 
 Times and generations are coming that will justly estimate 
 me and my work, and assign both to their proper place in 
 the providential plan for the progress and redemption of 
 humanity. For them, as it has proved, have I lived and 
 labored, rather than for my contemporaries. To them I appeal 
 for vindication and approval; to them I bequeath whatever is 
 
VUl AUTO-BIOGRAPHY OF ADIN BALLOU. 
 
 valuable and worth preserving of my possessions — the fruits 
 of my toil while yet a dweller in the tabernacles of earth and 
 time. 
 
 I have been repeatedly urged by some of my relatives and 
 friends who seem to cherish for me a very earnest regard and 
 to have great confidence in me, to write my biography. In 
 my less buoyant moods I have shrunk from the task, feeling 
 for the time being that I preferred to be forgotten, if possible, 
 by posterity and to have all my seemingly illusory theories 
 and abortive projects buried in oblivion. But in more lucid 
 and thoughtful states of mind and heart, under cheering 
 inspirations from the spiritual world which have always pre- 
 vailed against impulsive and momentary despondency and 
 gloom, I have been more inclined to undertake the task 
 desired of me. Yielding to such inclination, I have at length 
 set myself about the work involved, with a view of carrying it 
 forward to completion as rapidly as possible without interfer- 
 ing with other duties to which I am pledged, making due 
 allowance for hindrances and delays to which my position 
 before the public and wide acquaintanceship expose me con- 
 tinually. I do this partly because I think that in this way I 
 can still render some benefit to mankind; partly because no 
 one else, moved to tell the story of my life after my decease, 
 has at hand the data I can command for doing the subject 
 justice; and partly because, if nothing more comes of it, the 
 narrative will afford my suiTiving relatives and friends, to 
 whom I owe a great debt of gratitude for all their kindness 
 to me, something of personal satisfaction and delight. 
 
 I have many memoranda preserved among my private papers 
 and a carefully kept diary covering the greater part of my 
 active life, as well as much private matter accumulated through 
 a long term of editorial service, from which ] can draw to aid 
 my memory in giving deflniteness and authenticity to the facts 
 of which mention will be made. I shall proceed, therefore, 
 in the_ preparation of a volume for the press, with an unwaver- 
 ing confidence in the accuracy of all the details essential to a 
 trustworthy and desirable narrative. 
 
CONTENTS 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 1803-1813. 
 Birth, ancestry, and family relationship — Place of nativity 
 and vicinage — Unpromising infancy — Natural disposi- 
 tion and susceptibilities — Annoyances and casualties — 
 Paternal discipline — Relation to employees — First 
 appearance at church ^ — Ancient burying ground — 
 Early religious impressions — Prevailing indifference to 
 spiritual things — Home and life there — Old-fashioned 
 tavern — Military witchery — Intoxicating liquors — At 
 school — Easy to learn — Episode in domestic affairs — 
 Back again. — War clouds and the opening storm . . 1-2S 
 
 CHAPTER ir. 
 
 1813-1818. 
 Interest in public affairs — Opportunities for self-culture 
 improved — A great " Reformation " — Parents and 
 older brothers converted — Church of the " Christian 
 Connexion" formed — Father made deacon and kept 
 ministers' tavern — Personal experience — Baptized and 
 received into the church — Self-revelation and self-con- 
 flict — A memorable year — Great September gale — 
 General Conference — Death of brothers Cyrus and 
 Arnold — Routine of employment — Intense love of 
 learning — Hope for a collegiate education thwarted — 
 Reflections — Singing-school privileges interdicted — 
 Spiritual lapse and recovery 27-43 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 1818-1821. 
 Increased responsibilities — Lurch into asceticism — A form- 
 ulated belief — Final destruction of the wicked held 
 and maintained — All forms of Universalism deemed 
 
X AUTO-BIOGRAPtlY OF ADIK BALLOU. 
 
 anti-Christian — Several clergymen noticed — Eccentric 
 Lorenzo Dow and his lesson — Informed upon political 
 questions — Favorable school privileges enjoyed and 
 much benefit derived from them — Important commis- 
 sion undertaken and executed with much difficulty — 
 Marriage of cousin — One such occasion leads to 
 another — Betrothal — Apologetic comments — Manager 
 of ancestral estate — Disastrous business venture . . 44-60 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 1821-1822. 
 
 Life-plans presumably settled — Undreamed-of changes sub- 
 vert them — A startling vision — Call to the Christian 
 ministry — Conflicting emotions awakened thereby — 
 Many I'easons for not responding favorably to the mys- 
 terfous message-^ Yet it seemed sacredly imperative and 
 could not be denied — Yielding, therefore, the work 
 involved was soon made manifest — Unpremeditatedly, 
 announcement to preach was made and a text in due 
 time given — The result ^ The evil of sin — Invitations 
 to conduct religious services — First authorship — 
 Teaching — A refractory pupil and an angry father — 
 Wedding feast interrupted, but with a satisfactory 
 issue — Housekeeping 61-76 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 
 1822-1823. 
 
 Preaching in the general vicinity — Winchester's Dialogues 
 read — Discussion with Universalist neighbors — Self- 
 satisfled, but conscious of one weak point — Doubts con- 
 cerning destiny of the impenitent wicked arise — Thor- 
 ough search of the Scriptures resulted in the conviction 
 that they teach Universal Restoration — After an agoniz- 
 ing experience accepted that doctrine and announced 
 the change of belief — A stormy time followed — 
 Denounced by relatives and friends, and excommuni- 
 cated by the church — Entered Universalist fellowship, 
 though not accepting the dogma of no future punish- 
 ment — After another heart-searching experience fully 
 confirming the new faith, began preaching it — ^ Second 
 visit to Boston — New friends under new auspices . 77-95 
 
CONTENTS. xt 
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 
 1823-1825. 
 
 Engagement to supply several pulpits — Disgraceful proceed- 
 ing at Bellingham — "The furious priest reproved" — 
 First born child — Candidacy in Boston — Ordained as 
 a Universalist minister — Call to the pastorate at Mil- 
 ford received and accepted — Entered upon the work 
 with diligence and zeal — A religious war of several 
 years' continuance in the town — Causes and character- 
 istics of the same — Incidents growing out of it — A 
 stroke of good policy — A Free Mason and military 
 chaplain — Teaching again — Religious conditiou of 
 Milford Society 96-115 
 
 CHAPTER VII. 
 
 1825-1828. 
 
 Provision for a home — Ludicrous performances at a funeral 
 in Franklin — More serious one near at hand — Per- 
 sona] bereavements — House completed and occupied — 
 Celebration of American Independence, 1827 — Laugh- 
 able incident — Received invitation to preach for Prince 
 Street Society in New York city — Accepted, though 
 under some misapprehension — After a brief candidacy 
 was called to the pastorate — Removal to the new field 
 of labor — Child lost and found — Work prosecuted 
 vigorously, but with indifferent results — Expectations 
 unrealized — New means of usefulness — Friendly mes- 
 sages and appeals from Milford 116-138- 
 
 CHAPTER VIIL 
 1828-1329. 
 
 Return to former parish decided upon — Regrets of New 
 York people expressed — Inquiries concerning a suc- 
 cessor revealed a desire to obtain Rev Hosea Ballon — 
 Negotiations opened accordingly — Encouraging re- 
 sponse received — Mr. Ballou's visit to the city to 
 arrange details — Satisfactorily settled, then unsettled, 
 and settled again with an if — Meanwhile the proposed 
 return to Milford had been effected — Reflections on 
 Rev. Hosea Ballou's proceedings — Some misapprehen- 
 sions corrected — Universalism in New York — A sin- 
 gular marriage — A gloomy premonition — Treading 
 
XU AUTO-BIOGRAPHY OF ADIN BALLOU. 
 
 the old paths — Visit from Origin Bachelor and a conse- 
 quent theological debate — Birth of a daughter — 
 Decline of wife's health and early death — Musings 139-156 
 
 CHAPTER IX. 
 
 1829-1830. 
 Field of service enlarging — A student in theology — The 
 use of tobacco — Its final abandonment after a desperate 
 struggle — Extracts from diary — Sudden and serious 
 illness — Recovery gratefully referred to in the first ser- 
 mon thereafter — A re-established home contemplated — 
 Engagement of marriage with the daughter of a parish- 
 ioner — Her qualifications for the duties of wife and 
 mother — The nuptial vows sealed, Rev. Hosea Ballou 2d 
 officiating — A Wrentham funeral — Consolatory dis- 
 course attacked by a local clerygman — Pastoral duties 
 divided between Milford and Medway 157-169 
 
 CHAPTER X. 
 1830-1831. 
 Eventful year — Attitude of early Universalists on Future 
 Retribution — Radical change on the subject — Existing 
 dominant belief accompanied by a derision of Restora- 
 tionism — The famous "Medway sermon" — Request 
 for its publication granted and it was sent to the 
 Trumpet office accordingly — Before appearing in print, 
 it was severely criticised and disparaged by the editor, 
 Rev. Thomas Whittemore — A new crisis reached. — 
 Review of the situation resulting in a determination to 
 repel the attack and defend the truth — A vigorous 
 Reply to Mr. Whittemore was written but refused pub- 
 lication — The Milford Society and its action — An 
 uncompromising Restorationist thenceforth — The Inde- 
 pendent Messenger started — Bitter hostility of so-called 
 ultra Universalists — Discharged from Milford and 
 invited to Mendon — Fourth of July, 1830 — Birth of 
 a second son — Renewed assault of the Trumpet and 
 rejoinder — Restorationist brethren timid . . . 170-192 
 
 CHAPTER XI. 
 
 1831-1832. 
 ■ Settled in Mendon — Condition of the parish — Revival of 
 interest and continued increase in prosperity — Ecclesi- 
 
CONTENTS. xiii 
 
 astical gatherings — Massachusetts Association of Resto- 
 rationists organized — Occasion of a fresh assault on the 
 part of the Trumpet — Met with unabated vigor — 
 Restorationism assailed from the opposite direction and , 
 defended no less vigorously — Rev. Amos A. Phelps — 
 Independent Messenger moved to Boston — At the end 
 of a year's service in Mendon was engaged for five 
 years — Policy in regard to salary — Friendship with 
 prominent Unitarians 193-214 
 
 CHAPTER Xn. 
 
 1832-1833. 
 Installationby a council of Restorationists and Unitarians — 
 Prevailing spirit of harmony and co-operation — Ser- 
 mon of Rev. Bernard Whitman on Christian Union — 
 Courage and independence of Unitarians who sympa- 
 thized with Restorationists — Espousal of the Temper- 
 ance Reform — Curious conduct of Rev. J. M. L. Perry 
 at a public meeting in aid of the cause — Benefits 
 derived from the position taken — Calls to lecture — 
 Resolutions of the Providence Association — Extracts 
 from diary — Anxiety and sorrow — Death of two 
 children — Consolatory thoughts 21.5-233- 
 
 CHAPTER XIII. 
 1833-1834. 
 Installation of Seth Chandler, former theological student — 
 Whitman's "Letter to a Universalist " — Third son 
 born, named Adin Augustus — Call to Watertown 
 declined — Rev. Stephen Cutler and an unfortunate 
 partnership — Review of Huidekoper's treatise on "The 
 Destruction of the Wicked" — Discussion with Rev.. 
 Jonathan Farr — Abhorrence of the doctrine of endless 
 punishment emphasized — Controversy with ultra Uni- 
 versalists continued — Challenge to a public discus- 
 sion — Accepted by Rev. Daniel D. Smith — Report of 
 what waa said printed — Course of Mr. Smith and Uni- 
 versalists generally in regard thereto 234-252: 
 
 CHAPTER XIV. 
 
 1834-1836. 
 Another student, Edmund Capron — Swords measured with 
 distinguished champions of orthodoxy — Temperance 
 
XIV AUTO-BtOGRAPHV OF ADIN BALLOU. 
 
 work — Attendance upon public occasions — Death of 
 Rev. Bernard Whitman — Family Bereavements — Set- 
 tlement of father's estate — " Omega " to the contro- 
 versy with former associates — A long silence ensued 
 concerning the main points in question, followed by an 
 almost unanimous adoption of the views held and main- 
 tained by the Restorationists — Warfare with advpcates 
 of endless torments still raging — Debate with Rev. W. 
 P, Apthorp — Improved condition of Mendon parish — 
 Diary extracts 253-270 
 
 CHAPTER XV. 
 
 1836-1838. 
 Ordination of George W. Stacey — Interesting visit to Con- 
 cord — Mendon pastorate extended — Endeavors to pro- 
 mote the Christian life of the people — Total Absti- 
 nence — The Anti-slavery movement — Its claims exam- 
 ined — Conclusions arrived at and stand taken — Fast 
 Day sermon, 1837, and its consequences — Fourth of 
 July oration — A vexatious episode — Blunder of Rev. 
 Mr. Grosvenor at installation of Rev. Thomas Edwards 
 — Ordination of Rev. Edmund Capron and death soon 
 afterward — Reform resolutions passed by Massachu- 
 setts Association of Restorationists — "The Touch- 
 stone " published — Personal religion — Murder of 
 Lovejoy — Dangerous illness of son 271-297 
 
 CHAPTER XVI. 
 
 1838-1840. 
 Personal memoranda — An unusual ceremonial — A parish- 
 ioner elected to Congress — First Christinas celebration 
 in Mendon — Claims of the cause of Peace carefully 
 considered — Serious questions involved — Christian 
 Non-Resistance — The logical outcome of Restoration- 
 ism — "Standard of Practical Christianity" — Opposi- 
 tion by conservative brethren — Death of father — 
 Quarterly conferences — On the Non-resistant platform 
 -^ End of the Messenger — A new organ provided ° 
 for 298-317 
 
 CHAPTER XVII. 
 1840-1842. 
 The Practical Christian — Groton Convention — Require- 
 ments of the adopted " Standard " — Truth is to be 
 
CONTENTS. XV 
 
 lived — A new civilization demanded — The Fraternal 
 Communion — Other social experiments — Brook Farm. 
 
 — Declaration of principles — Location of proposed 
 Community selected and named Hopedale — Village site 
 laid out — The outlook — Varied experiences — The 
 Restorationist Association — Lectures — Afflictions — 
 Letters of William EUery Channing, D. D., and Rev. 
 Paul Dean — Farewell to Mendon and removal to Hope- 
 dale — First religious meeting there — Visit of Frederic 
 Douglass 318-338 
 
 CHAPTER XVni. 
 
 1842-1845. 
 Man, a moral and religious being — Deductions from that 
 postulate — Hopedale statistics- — Valuable lessons 
 learned — Rev. David R. Lamson and his co-incom- 
 patibles — The real trouble — Change of policy required 
 and effected — Withdrawal of Mr. Lamson and his sub- 
 sequent history — Lectures on Social Reform and kin- 
 dred topics — Second Advent discussions — "True 
 Scriptural Doctrine of the Second Advent" — Progress 
 
 — Donation of Andrew H. Ernst of Cincinnati — Reli- 
 gious meetings — Difficulties and dangers — Heavy 
 bereavement , . . . . 339-359 
 
 CHAPTER XIX. 
 
 1845-1852. 
 Personal reflections — : Helpmeet in the household — Year of 
 marked prosperity — Faint-heartedness, nevertheless — 
 Withdrawal of Rev. George W. Stacey — Visit from 
 Robert Owen, an English Communist — Reverses — 
 The system simplified — Cemetery laid out — Small 
 partnerships granted, with diverse results — Rectifi- 
 cation of land titles — Resignation of Rev. Daniel S. 
 Whitney — Anew President — Death of Susan Fish — 
 Death of the dear son, Adin Augustus — "Christian ^ 
 Non-resistance " published — Debates with Origin 
 Bachelor and Rev. Thomas Williams — Spirit mani- 
 festations examined — Education of children — "Edu- 
 cational Home" — "Memoir of A. A. Ballon" — Work 
 on Spiritualism — Henry C. Wright and Oliver Johnson 
 
 — "The Practical Christian Ministry" — Demise of 
 wife's mother — Preaching for Theodore Parker . 360-384 
 
XVI AUTO-BIOGRAPHY OF ADIN BALLOU. ' 
 
 CHAPTEK XX. 
 
 1852-1858. 
 
 Enfeebled condition of body and mind — Sympathizing 
 friends — Visit to Tvoy, N. Y. — Lectures on Spiritual- 
 ism — Opening of 1853 — Tragic death of Butler Wil- 
 marth, M. D. — Inductive Communion — Inquiries 
 answered and errors withstood — "Practical Christian 
 Republic" — Work on "Practical Christian Socialism" 
 published — Journey to the West, with notes by the 
 way, visits to noted places, and interviews with distin- 
 guished statesmen — Year of prosperity — New Com- 
 munities proposed — Explorers in Western fields — 
 Lecture toui's — Call upon Hon. Gerritt Smith — The 
 fatal crisis — Resolution for the future — Commune 
 No. 1 — Vision of Rev. Thomas L. Harris . . . 385-407 
 
 CHAPTER XXr. 
 
 1858-1862. 
 
 Promulgatory activities — Hopedale Home School — Lec- 
 ture on the Bible — Pleasant memories — Hopedale 
 church organized — Death of friends — The John 
 Brown raid — Course of Anti-war Abolitionists con- 
 demned — Peace principles of the American Anti-slavery 
 Society stated — Stirring meeting of Worcester South 
 
 * Anti-slavery Society — Position of William Lloyd Garri- 
 son criticised — Past and present utterances contrasted 
 — Commentary on the Scriptures — Discontinuance of 
 the Practical Christian — Kindly words from Rev. 
 Thomas Whittemore and response — Promulgation 
 Society formed — New house of worship — Remarkable 
 spirit seances — Discussion with Miles Grant — Mutter- 
 ings of coming war — Birth of granddaughter — "The 
 Monitorial Guide " -^ The Lord's freemen . . . 408-435 
 
 CHAPTER XXIL 
 
 1862-1872. 
 
 Hopedale affairs — Business prospers, but Practical Chris- 
 tianity is in abeyance — Home School suspended — Dis- 
 courses of William Lloyd Garrison — Discussion of 
 objectionable points sought but declined — Reviewed in 
 the pulpit — Case of conscription — Excursion and 
 comments — Andrew Leighton of Liverpool, England 
 
CONTENTS. XVII 
 
 — Discourses on " Human Progress in respect to Reli- 
 gion" — The Hopedale Parish formed — Its first pastor 
 
 — The Worcester Unitarian Conference joined — Work 
 for coming generations prosecuted — Sketch of Milford 
 
 — " Primitive Christianity and its Corruptions," Vol. I. 
 published — Long-standing misrepresentations corrected 
 
 — Unitarians, Spiritualists, Special Reformers, etc. 436-463 
 
 CHAPTER XXIII. 
 
 1872-1882. 
 
 " Primitive Christianity " reviewed by Rev. A. St. John 
 Chambre — Hejoinder — Ancient dogma rejected — 
 Essay before Worcester Conference — Parochial Chris- 
 tian Union — Resignation of pastorate tendered and 
 withdrawn — •' Primitive Christianity and its Corrup- 
 tions." Vol. II. in manuscript — Last scene in the drama 
 of the Hopedale Community — Third volume of "Primi- 
 tive Christianity, etc " prepared — The church as it is — 
 " History of the Hopedale Community " ready for the ■ 
 printer — Engaged to write a complete history of Mil- 
 ford — Termination of the Hopedale pastorate — The 
 narrative broken, with note by the editor — Celebration 
 of the Centennial of American Independence — Letter 
 from Mr. Garrison — Sermon before G. A. R. post — 
 Serious illness of wife — Arranged to prepare a history 
 of the Ballous in America 464-490 
 
 CHAPTER XXIV. 
 
 1882-1890. 
 
 The Ballon History — Family burial lot — Essays and 
 Reviews — Tho town of Hopedale — Dedication of the 
 town hall — Ex-Gov. John D. Long's oration and Mr. 
 Ballou's correction of its disparaging statements and 
 misapprehensions — Dr. Richard Eddy on the Restora- 
 tionist secession — Count Leo Tolstoi's "My Religion" 
 read and criticised — Letter to Tolstoi and response — 
 Answer to the last. — Sermon of Rev. Lewis G. Wilson 
 and Arena article— Deaths of William H. Humphrey, 
 George Draper, and Ebenezer D. Draper — Relations of 
 latter to the Hopedale Community and its founder — 
 Death of brother, Ariel Ballon, M. I).— Work on auto- 
 
XVlll AUTO.BIOGRAPHY OF ADIN BALLOU. 
 
 biography — Eighty-ninth birthday — Last public efforts 
 
 — Funerals and marriages — Decline, illness, and death 
 
 — Funera 1 491-527 
 
 APPENDIX A. 
 Tributes and testimonials 529-546 
 
 APPENDIX B. 
 Funeral sermon 547-560 
 
 APPENDIX C. 
 The Adin Ballou Lectureship 561-566 
 
 APPENDIX D. 
 Mrs. Lucy Hunt Ballou 567-572 
 
 APPENDIX E. 
 
 Published works of Adin Ballou 573-574 
 
 Index 575-596 
 
AUTO-BIOGRAPHY. 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 1803-1813. 
 
 Birth — Genealogical Relationship — Native Vicinage — 
 
 Personal Characteristics — Incidents 
 
 OF Childhood. 
 
 T WAS born Saturday, April 23, 1803, in the town of 
 -*- Cumberland, Providence County, Rhode Island, on a 
 farm inherited from my paternal ancestors, and lying, 
 partly in the state named, and partly in Massachusetts. 
 The dwelling-house and accompanying buildings were on 
 the Rhode Island territory, about fifteen miles north-north- 
 west from Providence, three in the same direction from 
 Cumberland Hill, and four east of Woonsoeket. The 
 locality was then, as now, a comparatively obscure, rural 
 one, remote from any populous center, and inhabited, 
 chiefly, by plain, hard-working, economical tillers of the 
 soil. 
 
 My parents were Ariel and Edilda (Tower) Ballou. 
 The former was the son of Ariel, who was the son of 
 James, who was the son of James, who was the son of 
 Maturin Ballou, — the immigrant ancestor of the family 
 and a co- proprietor with Roger' Williams in the first set- 
 tlement of Providence Plantations, in 1646. My mother 
 was the eldest daughter of Levi and Mary (Whipple) 
 Tower, natives of Cumberland, both of whom I remember 
 well. She departed this life in my early youth ; he, several 
 
2 AUTO-BIOGRAPHY OF ADIN BALLOU. 
 
 years later. She was a woman of portly presence, natural 
 dignity, strong common sense, and great benignity, with- 
 out the slightest afifeetation. In her old-fashioned way she 
 was at once commanding and genial. I have a vivid 
 recollection of the affectionate hospitality which I always 
 received from her in my childhood visits." My grandfather 
 Tower was not her equal in all these excellent qualities, 
 yet a respectable man and citizen. He had a tall, well- 
 built frame, a somewhat excitable temperament, a mechan- 
 ical genius for work in wood and metals, and a penchant 
 for mineral discoveries and experimentation, though he 
 gained thereby neither profit nor popularity. 
 
 My paternal grandparents, Ariel and Jerusha (Slack) 
 Ballou, had both finished their earthly course before my 
 birth. I have therefore no knowledge of them except 
 what has come to me in scanty records and traditions. 
 They reared a large family, and, from all I can learn, 
 deservedly enjoyed the respect of the social circle in which 
 they moved. My grandfather had the misfortune to be 
 sadly crippled during the latter portion of his life, in 
 consequence of mercurial medication injudiciously admin- 
 istered in a severe illness. He was long unable to walk, 
 and could only move about in a chair specially fitted to 
 his case. My grandmother on that side survived him 
 many years. They have always been represented to me 
 as industrious, frugal, sensible, worthy persons, ranking 
 with the better class of their rustic contemporaries. 
 "Whether or not they were members of the Baptist church 
 in their neighborhood I have never learned, but think it 
 probable. 
 
 My father's children were eight in number : six by his 
 first wife, Lucina (Comstock) Ballou, and two by his 
 second, Edilda (Tower) Ballou. Those by Lucina were : 
 Rozina, Abigail, Cyrus, Arnold, Sarah, and Alfred ; by 
 Edilda, myself and Ariel, M. D. Rozina married Nathan 
 Arnold and died December 5, 1825, leaving one son and two 
 twin daughters. Abigail married Davis Cook, both now 
 deceased, having had numerous children and grandghildren . 
 
ANCESTRY AND FAMILY CONNECTIONS. S 
 
 Cyrus married Susannah Ballou, a third cousin, and died 
 March 7, 1816, leaving two sons who have had children. 
 Arnold married Lorinda Bates and died November 27, 
 1816. A posthumous daughter married and became the 
 mother of several children. Alfred married Matilda Cook, 
 both having recently deceased, leaving children and grand- 
 children. Ariel, my own younger brother, an eminent phy- 
 sician, married Hannah Norton and had several children, 
 of whom only two daughters survive ; their mother having 
 passed away some years since. Of my own family I shall 
 speak at length in due time and place. 
 
 As yet I have been unable to trace my ancestry further 
 back than Maturin Ballou, who was at Providence, as 
 stated, in 1646. I have a faint hope of ascertaining his 
 birthplace and progenitors. I find his Christian name and 
 surname both spelled with a various orthography in the 
 old Rhode Island records, but his descendants have for a 
 long time written the two as above. Tradition holds him 
 to have been of French extraction, belonging to a Huguenot 
 family and coming to this country from England, whither 
 many of that persecuted sect fled some generations since. 
 There is little doubt that such was the case, but for lack 
 of reliable information I must be content to commence my 
 pedigree with him. 
 
 [Later investigation convinced the author that his family was 
 not of Huguenot descent, but sprang from one Guineboud 
 Balou, who pi-obably passed over from Normandy with William 
 the Conqueror In 1066 and served as one of his marshals at the 
 battle of Hastings. See Introduction to "The Ballous in Amer- 
 ica."— Ed.] 
 
 I have often been taken or mistaken for a son of Rev. 
 Hosea Ballou, a distinguished Universalist clergyinan of his 
 time, and have frequently been asked what our relationship 
 was. He was a third cousin of my father, our common 
 immigrant ancestor, Maturin Ballou, having had three sons, 
 who lived to rear offspring : John, James, and Peter. His 
 descent ran thus; Maturin^, John*", Peter', Rev. Maturin*, 
 
4 AUTO-BIOGRAPHY OF ADIN BALLOU. 
 
 Rev. Hosea'. Mine was as follows : Maturin^, James'', 
 James', Ariel*, ArieP, Adin^. 
 
 James Ballou", my great, great grandfather, settled in 
 what was then Providence, later Smithfleld, and now Lin- 
 coln, R. I., and founded a homestead, still owned, I 
 believe, by one of his descendants. It was less than a 
 mile southerly from the village of Manville, on Black- 
 stone River, and about half a mile west of Albion. He 
 was a very capable, enterprising man, becoming a great 
 landholder in his later years. He had Ave sons, viz : 
 James, Nathaniel, Obadiah, Samuel, and Nehemiah. He 
 endowed them all with handsome farms, or at least with 
 tracts of land that became handsome farms. To Samuel 
 he gave his home place, and to Nehemiah an ample estate 
 in what was then Gloucester, but is now Biirrillville, R. I. 
 Each of his three older sons, James, Nathaniel, and 
 Obadiah, he settled on wild or nearly wild lands, pur- 
 chased by him, on the northerly side of Blackstone, then 
 called Pawtucket River, within the boundaries of territory 
 for a long time in dispute between the three colonies of Ply- 
 mouth, Massachusetts, and Rhode Island. Neither of the 
 Colonies knew exactly where their respective lines were, 
 but each laid strong claims to the section involved. After 
 many years a settlement was effected, " Attleborough 
 G-ore," as it was called, being surrendered to Rhode 
 Island, the Legislature of which, in 1746, incorporated it 
 with its inhabitants as a township bearing the name of 
 Cumberland. 
 
 In 1713 James Ballon'' conveyed the lands specified by 
 gift deeds to the three sons named, who soon after set- 
 tled their families upon them — their several patrimonies 
 lying adjacent to each other and constituting ''The Ballon 
 neighborhood," as it was for a long time designated. 
 This was originally more than half a square mile in 
 extent, and, with inherited rights in common lands adjoin- 
 ing, ultimately covered an area of nearly a whole mile 
 square. All this section of country and its landmarks 
 were familiar to me in my youth, and are still fresh in 
 
THE BALLOU NEIGHBORHOOD. 5 
 
 my remembrance. "Beacon Pole Hill" received its name 
 from a tall mast with a crane attached, from which was 
 suspended a kettle designed to be filled with tar or other 
 combustibles and lighted on occasions, as an alarm signal 
 during the Revolutionary War and as a summons for 
 "Minute Men" from far and wide to reinforce the Rhode 
 Island army. "Iron Rock Meadow" is supposed to 
 have been originally a beaver pond. It contained forty 
 acres and was the first purchase made by James Ballou, 
 senior, in the vicinity. For many years it bore splendid 
 crops of nutritious grass, which finally run out or was 
 supplanted by a comparatively worthless kind. Its name 
 was derived from "li-on Rock Hill," an elevation near by 
 which is very much of a natural curiosity. It seems to 
 have been raised to the height of a hundred feet or more 
 by some volcanic upheaval, and is largely composed of a 
 rich iron ore, with magnetic qualities, amalgamated with 
 solid rock. Nothing of the kind is to be found within 
 hundreds of miles of it. 
 
 A little north of this remarkable hill the early settlers 
 built a small house of worship, known in all that region 
 as the "Ballou Meeting House." It has undergone suc- 
 cessive repairs from generation to generation, and though 
 occupied only occasionally, in the mild season of the year, 
 remains in its rude simplicity, an interesting memorial of 
 the olden time and its characteristic piety. A few rods 
 southeasterly from it is the ancient "burying ground," 
 where sleep the mortal remains of the original worshippers 
 and many of then- descendants, some with sculptured monu- 
 ments, others with common stones from the field, while 
 many are scarcely marked at all amid the wild grass and 
 brush. It is a place for the study of moss-covered in- 
 scriptions and for solemn meditation, especially to a Ballou 
 of the lineage of James. There moulder the ashes of my 
 older kindred, and there my father, in my early youth, 
 erected a family tomb, one of ' the first two built in the , 
 enclosure. 
 
6 AUTO-BIOGRAPHY OF ADIN BALLOU. 
 
 "The Ballou Meeting House" was designed for and 
 long occupied by a church of the order called "The Six 
 Principle Baptists" — a small sect hardly known out of 
 Rhode Island, and now almost extinct even there. Elder 
 Abner Ballou, son of Obadiah, was long pastor of this 
 church. He had considerable local celebrity in his day, 
 passing away Jan. 4, 1806, and leaving behind him a 
 venerated memory. In that old Meeting House, I first 
 listened with awe to prayer and preaching from the lips 
 of Elder Stephen Place — the successor, and I think the 
 last successor, of Elder Ballou. In my youthful venera- 
 tion I worshipped him almost as God, certainly as one of 
 God's best human representatives. But as I grew older, 
 my reverential estimation became modified somewhat by 
 the criticisms of middle-aged people who knew him in the 
 common walks of life, and who were not too good to reveal 
 their discoveries that he was not wholly above the general 
 weaknesses of human nature. How few of us escape this 
 judgment of our more intimate contemporaries ! 
 
 In this immediate vicinity the descendants of James, 
 Nathaniel, and Obadiah Ballou multiplied greatly and for 
 a long time constituted a majority of the population. At 
 length they began to scatter by emigration, till now 
 but few families of the name remain. One of the first 
 to leave was James, a brother of my grandfather. He 
 had many children, most of whom settled with him 
 in Richmond, N. H. Among his sons were James, long 
 famous in that region as an astrologer and fortune teller, 
 and Silas, the rustic poet. Rev. Eli Ballou, of Vermont, 
 is the descendant of another emigrant family in the line 
 of Nathaniel, the second in age of the three Cumberland 
 patriarchs. [See my History and Genealogy of the 
 Ballous. ] 
 
 But I return from this digression to the main thread 
 of my story. It was in the Ballou neighborhood above 
 described, about a mile north of Iron Rock Hill, that I 
 was born, as stated, on an estate derived by inheritance 
 from James Ballou, my great grandfather and a grandson 
 
INFANCY AND EAKLT CHILDHOOD. 7 
 
 of the common ancestor. It is now owned by the heirs 
 of my brother Alfred. My father at the time was about 
 forty-three and my mother thirty-two years of age. My 
 mother informed me that my birth was one of uncommon 
 peril both to her and me ; that I was a lean, feeble, 
 unpromising babe ; that for several weeks I seemed more 
 likely to die than to live ; and that I was six months old 
 before she could have me seen without some feeling of 
 motherly mortification. Thenceforth, however, I grew 
 healthy, ruddy, and handsome, so that she was no longer 
 ashamed of me. On the contrary, to use her own homely 
 language, "I was prond to turn you out in company by 
 the side of anybody's baby, and often got complimented 
 for your comeliness." 
 
 Nevertheless, my early childhood, as I learned from the 
 same source, was subject to frequent attacks of illness, 
 some of them quite severe, seriously threatening at times 
 my life. Moreover, I seem to have been anything but a 
 lymphatic, quiet, good-natured child. I did my part at 
 fretting and crying, and was indebted to my kind mother's 
 indulgence in carrying me about the house while at her 
 work, for escaping my father's hand of discipline, after 
 he deemed me old enough to behave better than I some- 
 times did. So she laugliingly told me in after years. He 
 was of the old school in regard to family government, 
 and believed in suppressing bad humor occasionally with 
 a little wholesome severity. I have no doubt I sometimes 
 tried his patience when he was weary with toil, for he 
 was a very hardworking man. Besides, I remember when 
 quite a small boy scarcely three years of age, being 
 called by the housemaid, "a little mud-wasp." 
 
 It did not mend my temper much that the older mem- 
 bers of the household were roguish enough to take delight 
 in hectoring me. They could excite my mirth or my 
 irritability at very little cost to themselves, and they were 
 fond of opportunities. While still a mere freckling their 
 various pranks were often played upon me and became- 
 indelibly stamped on my memory. Among the worst I 
 
8 AUTO-BIOGRAPHY OF ADIN BALLOU. 
 
 call to miad was that of being held under a bush covered 
 with rose-bugs ; the bush being meanwhile violently shaken 
 till my hair, neck, breast, and, indeed, my entire body 
 under my clothing, were alive with the hateful creatures. 
 I had always felt and often evinced a great dread of 
 these insects, and at the time referred to I screamed and 
 ran for my mother's help in a very lively, and, to an 
 observer, amusing manner. I was frightened and mad- 
 dened to the utmost, while half a dozen of my tormentors 
 shouted with merriment. It was exquisite sport to them, 
 but intolerable vexation to me. Nothing malicious was 
 intended by these mischievous teasings, but I am sure 
 they made my excitable passions worse. 
 
 In those early years, I also had my full share of casu- 
 alties. My father owned a saw-mill and I barely escaped 
 drowning one day in its flume. My brother, Alfred, four 
 years older than myself, persuaded me to attempt follow- 
 ing him over a tottling plank or slab from one of the 
 mill-doors across the flume to the dam beyond. The saw 
 was running with my father in charge. I was a poor 
 balancer and hence when part way over tumbled into the 
 water. My father got the alarm just in time to save me. 
 I was, at the moment, several feet under water and being 
 drawn rapidly into the current that rushed through the 
 open gate. The mill had a great "head and fall," so 
 that in a single minute more I should probably have 
 been carried through the wheel, a lifeless mangled mass 
 of flesh and bones. I was not so far gone as quite to 
 lose my breath, and presently was able to be led home. 
 I still wore long clothes and remember the sorrowful figure 
 I cut as I draggled along tremulously some twenty-flve 
 rods, muttering as I went incoherent denunciations against 
 that "plaguy old slab and flume." I was welcomed to 
 the fond maternal bosom as a child rescued from the 
 very jaws of death. 
 
 Not long afterwards, while sporting with a playmate, 
 I fell into a stone sluiceway which my father was build- 
 ing and broke my arm. Dr. Abraham Mason, our family 
 
NATUKAL TEMPERAMENT. 9 
 
 physician, who resided at Cumberland Hill, was sent for 
 to set the fractured bone. By the time he arrived the 
 process had been rendered painful by inflammation and 
 swelling. I could not easily endure the operation or soon 
 forget it, though it was so successfully done that I wholly 
 recovered in a few weeks. As I grew older and was put 
 to business in and about the farm buildings, I experi- 
 enced plenty of throwings from horses, kicks from skittish 
 cattle, and other mishaps incident to boyhood in that 
 sphere of life. 
 
 Notwithstanding my natural sensitiveness and suscepti- 
 bility to irritation by small provocations, I was generally 
 easily governed. I was neither turbulent nor stubborn, 
 but yielded prompt submission to authority and responded 
 heartUy to kind treatment. I was readily persuaded by 
 reasonable appeals, but stung to the quick by personal 
 taunt and reproach. My mother said that she never used 
 the rod upon me but once and then very lightly. It was 
 before my remembrance, in my second year. I seemed to 
 have been seized with a strange freak of destructiveness 
 in the way of throwing things into the Are. She had 
 chided me again and again for my misconduct, but in 
 vain. "When left to myself, article after article went 
 rapidly into the flames. At length, as she told me, she 
 " got a little tingler," and, upon a repetition of the 
 offence one day, gave me a few touches with it. I hopped 
 about, screamed loudly, and was effectually cured. When 
 a half-grown-up boy, I used to see a checkered linen 
 handkerchief about the house with one corner gone. I 
 was curious enough to enquire after a time, how that 
 came to be. "It is a piece of your work," said my 
 mother, and then told me the story with good-natured 
 glee. 
 
 My father was stern and authoritative in his discipline, 
 yet I can recollect only one whipping from him. This I 
 shared with my brother Ariel when we had become old 
 enough to drop corn, etc., in planting time. We had 
 driven the cows tapasture one morning and instead of 
 
10 AUTO-BIOGRAPHY OF ADIN BALLOU. 
 
 returning directly home wliere we were wanted for service 
 in the field, strolled off to an old well and amused our- 
 selves for a long time in throwing stones into the water 
 below. Hearing the old conch shell blown, which we 
 understood to be an extra summons to the house, we 
 hastened thither and were told by our mother that she 
 did not know what would happen to us, " for your father 
 has been calling you at the top of his voice, and as you 
 did not come has gone planting alone quite out of 
 patience with you." We hastened into the field, a few 
 rods distant, where he was doing our proper work, with 
 a few apple-tree sprouts stuck in his vest. He had not 
 many words for us, but enough smart blows to make the 
 impression that duty and business must take precedence 
 of amusement in his family. There was no undue sever- 
 ity in this correction, but it was conclusive. 
 
 I generally found myself a favorite with my father's 
 employes, indoors and out, of whom he had always more 
 or less. I made myself agreeable, and sometimes service- 
 able to them, never having a particle of haughtiness or 
 contempt to express towards them, even in childish ways, 
 as of an inferior caste. In turn they liked me, and I 
 received frequent acceptable proofs of their good will, 
 either openly or slyly, from man-servants and maid- 
 servants. Pearliest of them all I remember Reuben Pur- 
 chase, a sturdy, glossy-haired Indian, whose copper- 
 color was slightly bleached with the blood of the white 
 race. He took a great liking to me, called me Ms boy, 
 carried me about pick-a-back with him into the fields or 
 woods, and made quite a big pappoose of me. He must 
 • have been approaching middle age at the time, and had 
 a family in the general neighborhood. He loved his mug 
 of cider, and stronger drinks moved him occasionally. 
 But he and I were on good terms and he gave me many 
 a little token of his partiality. As I grew older I made 
 successive friends in this line all the way up to manhood, 
 and found my own trifling investments of kindness turn 
 
FIRST ATTENDANCE AT CHURCH. 11 
 
 to good account in various ways, as, on a broader scale, 
 ■I always have through life. 
 
 My first remembered attendance on public worship was 
 soon after I donned boy's attire, perhaps as late as the 
 summer of my fifth year. I was rigged out in a new 
 suit of calico, the pants buttoned to the coat in the 
 common fashion of that day, and was led by the 
 hand of my mother a mile on foot to the " Ballon Meet- 
 ing House." I began to feel of some consequence in the 
 world, but was too bashful to put on pompous airs, and 
 paid reverential attention to the services of the occasion. 
 Elder Stephen Place, mentioned on a preceding page, was 
 the minister. He must have been sixty years of age, had 
 a venerable aspect, and spoke in those sanctified tones of 
 the old-time preacher, which, somehow or other, had a 
 very solemnizing effect upon the younger hearers. I 
 recollect nothing that he said, but he filled me with sub- 
 lime, though vague impressions of God, heaven, and hell, 
 and made me feel for a long time afterward that he must 
 be next to Deity. My parents were not then professors 
 of religion and yet were partially religious. The ancient 
 Six Principle Baptist Church was falling into decay, 
 and the members were mostly elderly people. I recall 
 distinctly -their solemn countenances, whether in the 
 "Deacon's Seat" or on the hard old pew seats — men and 
 women occupying separate parts of the house, — those 
 fathers and mothers in Israel of a generation long since 
 passed aWay. 
 
 The old Burying Ground, too, was a place of almost 
 dreadful solemnity to me. Thither the people resorted 
 during the sabbath intermissions, between forenoon and 
 afternoon services, and thither I was sometimes led in my 
 childhood by the maternal hand. My mother and others 
 would read the epitaphs, and I instinctively moved with 
 cautious tread lest I should do sacrilege to the silent 
 abodes of the departed. Death was a strange and awful 
 mystery to me for a considerable time, notwithstanding 
 the patient answers to my inquiries concerning it. But 
 
12 AUTO-BIOGKAPHY OF ADIN BALLOU. 
 
 at length I imbibed the inculcations given me that the 
 souls of the dead had been taken away by God into some 
 region of happiness or misery; that their bodies were 
 asleep in the ground; and that at the great -'Judgment 
 Day," or "morn of the Resurrection," all would be raised 
 to life again, body and soul be re-united, every one be 
 judged according to his works, and then each be con- 
 signed to heaven or hell forever. 
 
 These religious ideas took early root in a susceptible and 
 fertile soil. I had little special religious instruction, 
 no Sunday schooling, no catechising such as then pre- 
 vailed in even the more popular churches — nothing in 
 the way of spiritual culture but the suggestions which I 
 incidentally stored up and the crude workings of my own 
 busy mind. I had no doubt that there was a great and 
 holy, yet awful, G-od in the form of a gigantic man, who 
 was seated in a glorious chair above the blue arch of the 
 sky. I imagined that he caused it to thunder by rolling 
 a huge log with octagon corners from the convex center 
 of the brazen fii-mament in various downward directions ; 
 that the sun, moon, and stars, the clouds, slorms, and 
 winds were all managed at will from day to day by his 
 immediate interposition ; and that all human actions were 
 accurately recorded in a vast book for final judgment at 
 the end of the world. Thus, with what I was taught 
 and what I invented through my imagination, ' ' I spake 
 as a child, I understood as a child, and I thought as a 
 child," until old enough "to put away childish things." 
 But neither then nor since have I lived without thinking, 
 and thinking for myself in some fashion. 
 
 The remaining five years of this first decade of my life, 
 as I call them to mind, witnessed very little religious 
 interest in the Ballou neighborhood. Pi-eaching in our 
 Meeting House grew irregular, the old church became 
 colder in zeal and fewer in numbers, and a large majority 
 of our Cumberland people spent the Sabbath in labor 
 or rude sports and games. What followed will be noted 
 in the next chapter. I certainly was not brought up thus 
 
WORK AND PLAY. 18 
 
 far in a manner to be much injured or benefited by my 
 religious training. Yet I was drawn into no very \acious 
 or immoral courses of thought or conduct. Perhaps my 
 industrial education and activity were the strongest safe- 
 guard against harm of that sort. 
 
 Work was the fundamental law in my father's house- 
 hold. He led off and all his forces had to follow. He 
 allowed no idling and but a small modicum of amusement. 
 This was confined to homely and simple kinds, such as 
 hunting, fishing, wrestling, jumping, ball-playing, quoit- 
 pitching, husking bees, quiltings, and the like, with 
 neighborhood parties for the young folks and games 
 appropriate to indoor arrangements and furnishings. Even 
 these were few and some of them far between, and none 
 of them wholly unrestricted and free. Card-playing was 
 utterly disallowed and anathematized. My father used to 
 say that he once got bewitched with that sort of pastime, 
 and, seeing its evils, forswore it forever. This was in 
 his younger days. In my time, woe to every pack of 
 cards smuggled by man or maid into his dominions. He 
 had them in the fire instantly on discovery, and gave 
 little quarter to the smuggler. Even simple countrified 
 dancing was mighty scarce in my youthful days. 
 
 My father had over two hundred acres of land, includ- 
 ing some wood-lots nearly a mile away; also a saw-mill, 
 a cider-miU, a large stock of cattle, and of course, 
 there was no lack of employment indoors or out. Plow- 
 ing, planting, harvesting, and aU the multiform activities 
 of farm life, with accompanying incidentals, kept all 
 hands busy through the year. My mother used to say, 
 when we of the younger brood complained of being hur- 
 ried up in the morning and kept snug at work through 
 the day, "You have a much easier time than your older 
 brothers and sisters had, for your father has grown in 
 years and does not drive ahead as he did when I first 
 came to live with him." We thought it might be true, 
 but that was no great comfort to ns, as we still deemed 
 ours a hard lot in the labor line. 
 
2^ AUTO-BIOGRAPHY OF ADIN BALLOU. 
 
 We had a large, comfortable domicile, plenty of whole- 
 some food, decent clothing, and the ordinary necessaries 
 of an agricultural family ; but luxuries, fineries, and gen- 
 tilities were afar off. Brown bread and milk or porridge, 
 different kinds of meat, rye or barley cake, coffee, cheap 
 tea, cider, etc., were the staples of table fare, with plenty 
 of butter, cheese, apple sauce, and simple condiments. 
 Cakes, pies, and other home-made delicacies had their 
 occasions, but rarely was anything very rich or of outside 
 manufacture furnished us. Our clothing was mostly of 
 home production, spun and woven from flax and wool of 
 our own raising — the woolen cloth being fulled and dressed 
 at mills three or four miles distant. Some extra cotton 
 and woolen stuffs from other sources supplemented what 
 was made by the family, increasing rapidly as I grew up. 
 In my early boyhood young women pulled flax and 
 assisted sometimes in the hayfleld, but this soon went 
 out of fashion. The spinning wheel and loom were in 
 vogue much longer, and their operations in my parental 
 household were memorable. 
 
 We were shod in those days chiefly with leather tanned 
 at an establishment two miles away, and made of skins 
 from our own cattle or those obtained in barter for them. 
 Once a year, not long before winter set in, a shoemaker 
 came to the house with his kit of. tools on his back to do 
 the family cobbling. He had to stay several days, and to 
 us, younglings, at least, he was an important personage. 
 New boots or shoes, and especially calf-skin ones, which, 
 however, were rare, inspired much interest, not only in 
 anticipation and realization, but in the process of their 
 manufacture. Wonderful manipulations were witnessed 
 from the time of taking the measure of our feet to that 
 of trying on the finished article to see if there was a 
 good fit. Sometimes we were favored with a story or 
 song, or whistled tune from the dignitary of the awl and 
 lapstone as the work went on. This entertaining drama 
 ended with a settlement between father and the craftsman 
 
AN OLD-FASHIONED TAVERN. 15 
 
 who usually received part or all his dues in some kind of 
 farm produce. 
 
 As to places of dissipation, there was but one in the 
 neighborhood. This was an old-fashioned tavern kept by 
 Major William Ballou, a son of Rev. Abner, already 
 mentioned. It was located a mile south of us and a 
 short distance east of the Meeting House. And a sorry 
 establishment it was, especially for the proprietor and his 
 family. Rum-selling was too largely its business. The 
 concomitants and pernicious consequences need hardly be 
 mentioned. It was a resort for the vicious, profligate, 
 and sottish of the surrounding country, although it had 
 some respectable phases of use. But it ruined the Major 
 and all his family. They began life at the top of our 
 Cumberland society as to wealth and general good stand- 
 ing, but most of them ended at the bottom, intemperate, 
 poor, and more or less degraded. But this dangerous 
 resort was placed under a perpetual ban by my father so 
 far as his household was concerned, or at least his 
 children. We were kept entirely away from it, except on 
 now and then a public holiday or a strictly business 
 errand. 
 
 I shall never forget one occasion on which I was 
 allowed to go there with older members of our family. 
 There was a military training, a single company of militia 
 under Capt. Amos Cook being out for regular parade. 
 They had a kettledrum and fife for music, and their ofl3- 
 cers were arrayed in their accustomed toggery. I was 
 perfectly bewitched with this, my first spectacle in the 
 drama of war. I could not have been more than seven 
 years old but I followed at the heels of this train-band 
 all the afternoon, till compelled to go home. Swords, 
 guns, colors, marchings, evolutions, and above all the 
 music of that drum and fife (now disgusting to me), com- 
 pletely charmed me. If I had been of military age, and 
 there had been a call to the wars, it would have taken 
 neither the promise of a large bounty nor an eloquent 
 appeal of patriotic oratory, to have made me "a brave 
 
16 AUTO-BIOGRAPHY OF ADIN BALLOU. 
 
 soldier boy." I was effectually inoculated with the pro- 
 war contagion, which fevered in my veins for long years 
 afterward. 
 
 Recurring to the subject of using intoxicating beverages, 
 I will remark that I was brought up to a very restricted 
 indulgence but not to total abstinence. My father laid in 
 a supply of ardent spirits for haying time and furnished 
 them more or less on special occasions ; but for common 
 use, cider was the staple drink. I got lightheaded once 
 or twice on the stronger liquors, of which I could bear 
 but little. I had grown to man's stature, however, before 
 I presumed to call for a glass of intoxicating drink at 
 any public bar. Indeed I was a stranger to. such places. 
 Of cider, I was never fond, especially after it began to 
 ferment or grow sour. But I had my fill of making it 
 in my father's mill,- and also of drawing and serving it, 
 after it was stored in the cellar. This was boys' special 
 business, and many a barrel had I to help empty, quart 
 by quart. There must be eider on the table at meal-time, 
 also in the mill or field or woods, wherever there were 
 work-folks, at all seasons, and it was by no means to be 
 omitted as a mark of hospitality to callers, whether they 
 came on business or pleasure. Even the miserable sots 
 of the general vicinity must not be denied it, unless 
 absolutely intoxicated or dangerous. A few such there 
 were who could pour down a quart at two or three 
 draughts, and it is wonderful that they did not become 
 twice as numerous as they actually were. 
 
 I will now take up the reminiscenses of my earlier 
 school-boy days. The State of Rhode Island was 'very 
 slow to adopt the common public school system of educa- 
 tion. In my childhood the voluntary method prevailed. 
 But every considerable section of territory had some kind 
 of a schoolhouse and more or less schooling, both in 
 warm and cold weather. The Ballou district was not an 
 inferior one in this respect. It had wealth and intellect 
 enough to erect a small building for educational purposes, 
 and to secure competent teachers for summer and winter 
 
THE BALLOU DISTRICT SCHOOL. 17 
 
 -terms, which were of about three months' duration each. 
 A female was employed for the former, and a male for the 
 latter. Our neighbors in Massachusetts, who prided them- 
 selves on being better provided for in this respect than 
 we, were prone to reproach us as ignorant and heathen- 
 ish Rhode Islanders, which begat no very amiable feelings 
 'On our side the line. As a matter of fact we had in our 
 particular district- more and better schooling than the 
 adjacent ones in our neighbor state, though neither had 
 anything of this sort to boast of. Only the rudimental 
 branches were taught and these but imperfectly, as com- 
 pared with what is done at the present day. 
 
 There were eight or ten proprietors of our schoolhouse 
 and they managed all school affairs. They provided for 
 raising money, for boarding the teacher, a fortnight in 
 one family and a week in another, as circumstances would 
 allow, for supplying fuel and other incidentals, and 
 appointed such committees to act for them as were deemed 
 needful. They had their yearly meetings which were char- 
 acterized by some tedious deliberations and sharp figur- 
 ings. I frequently attended these gatherings after I was 
 old enough to long for the school to open, but so much 
 time was consumed in irrelevant talk and close reckoning 
 that I often went home, discouraged and disgusted at the 
 proceedings. But they knew what they were about and 
 brought preliminaries to an issue generally on or before 
 the first of December. The children of non-proprietors 
 were provided for at a stipulated price of tuition per 
 week; or, if their parents were quite poor, they might 
 attend free, though this was of infrequent occurrence. 
 
 I think it likely that I was sent to the summer school 
 earlier than I can now remember. I have a dim impres- 
 sion that I learned my letters of a school-ma'am when 
 about three years old, but I recall distinctly the first 
 master I had. It was when I was in my a, b, abs, 
 and the shortest monosyllables. I was furnished with a 
 new spelling book which was strongly covered with sheep- 
 skin by my mother that I might not soon injure it by 
 2 
 
18 AUTO-BIOGEAPIIY OF ADIN BALLOU. 
 
 careless usage. I was placed on the small boys' seat 
 with others, a bashful, awkward little fellow, and ordered 
 to keep still, but was very much at a loss what to do 
 with myself or how to behave. For there was his majesty,, 
 the master, and a whole houseful of scholars, many of them 
 men almost and women grown. And who was I ! The 
 scene comes to me afresh. I dropped my head, stuck 
 one corner of my book in my mouth, and unconsciously 
 began to gnaw it. I had already done some mischief of 
 this sort when I was discovered by the teacher and repri- 
 manded. But I seemed fated to round off those book 
 corners. Nor was I cured of the fault for some days, 
 though frequently threatened with something dreadful if I 
 did not desist. At length, after much harm had beea 
 done, I was called up, ordered to take off my coat and 
 roll up my shirt-sleeves, when the announcement was made 
 that here was a boy with bad blood in his veins which, 
 must be taken out of him. The teacher then exhibited a 
 fine sharp-pointed penknife as the lancet, and applied it to 
 the skin of my arm with a slight prick. By this time 
 the terror-stricken young culprit cried for mercy with such 
 piteous penitence that, on solemn promise of amendment, 
 he was spared further punishment and sent to his seat. 
 He nevermore treated a book disrespectfully. But the nice 
 new spelling book was irreparably damaged, and long 
 remained a sad memento of my entrance upon my educa- 
 tional career. 
 
 Nevertheless, I soon began to love books, study, and 
 learning, fondly. And from that time to the present, I 
 have hungered and thirsted for knowledge with unsatisfied 
 desire. My older brothers cared little for books till fifteen 
 years of age, but I delighted in them from my sixth 
 year. I liked to go to school, was easy to learn, had a 
 good memory and an ambition to excel. I was generally 
 docile, orderly, and disposed to be on the best of terms 
 with my teachers, a point on which I seldom failed. The 
 punishments I received were few and comparatively light. 
 Most of them I incurred by yielding to the instigation of 
 
FIRST STEPS IN LEARNING. 19 
 
 my roguish cronies who could easily make me laugh, or 
 divert my curiosity, or swerve me into some infraction 
 of the prescribed proprieties; into nothing very bad, but 
 sufHciently out of order at times to require correction. 
 
 With my school-mates, I maintained, for the most 
 part, genial and harmonious relations. In scholarship I 
 kept up with my rivals and left the majority of pupils 
 in the rear. At play most of my mates excelled me, 
 and the dullest of them would often leave me in the 
 lurch. I was no match for many at wrestling, running, 
 leaping, snow-balling, etc., or any of the athletic exercises, 
 unless it were some trial of mere strength, like lifting, 
 pushing, or pulling. At skating, in which many of my 
 companions were experts, and which I much admired as 
 a beholder, I was nothing. Having once put on a pair 
 of skates to try my capability, and suffered a fall back- 
 wards that made me "see stars," I renounced them 
 forever. But in all matters where head work and tongue 
 work came into requisition, I feared none of my asso- 
 ciates. I was not fond of joking, punning, blackguarding, 
 or hectoring in any way, and never begun at ' ' cutting up " 
 my playfellows. But if attacked, I could give back prin- 
 cipal and interest. I asked nothing more of the bravest 
 than that they should keep their hands off. Unluckily, 
 in a few instances, some of the older and stouter of my 
 assailants, when silenced in speech, made up for their 
 intellectual defeat by a resort to brute force, when I 
 went under. I soon learned what I have since found 
 generally true, that the sauciest jokers and blackguards 
 could bear the least of their own ammunition in return. 
 
 I was unhappy in but one of my childhood schools. 
 That, I think, was a private one. It was taught by a 
 worthy young lady, a niece of my father's first wife, on 
 whose instructions I had already attended in our Ballou 
 schoolhouse and whom I personally liked. But she was 
 now teaching in her own neighborhood, in West Wrentham, 
 Mass. I was yet too young to be worth much at work, 
 and so was sent to her school by my parents with the 
 
20 AUTO-BIOGRAPHY OF ADIN BALLO0. 
 
 best of motives. But it was a mile and a half away, 
 and nearly all the pupils were strangers to me. We 
 belonged to different clans, of uncongenial peculiarities. 
 Some of the older and rougher ones, whom I dared not 
 answer back, taunted me with being a ' ' Rhode Island 
 Yankee," and called me in derision the "high priest." I 
 was not able to bear all this with undisturbed equanim- 
 ity and patience. 
 
 Moreover, there was a weird-looking, yet harmless, old 
 lady, known as "Granny Grant," living on the road to 
 the school, for whom I had conceived a superstitious aver- 
 sion. My head had been filled with all sorts of ghost 
 and witch stories, causing me many strange, imaginary 
 apprehensions. What should possess me but the notion 
 that this woman was a witch. She had a sinister lop of 
 one. eyelid, an imperturbable face, and a queer voice, 
 what little there was of it. She walked abroad with a 
 staff, wearing an old-fashioned, hooded cloak, whether of 
 drab or bright scarlet, I forget. She was frequently on 
 the road, trudging slowly along, and answered to my 
 ideal of a witch completely. I had a great dread of her, 
 and avoided meeting her whenever I could, by making a 
 circuit outside of the highway near her residence, always 
 keeping a sharp lookout for her from every eminence. 
 
 These repellant circumstances rendered the Wrentham 
 school decidedly unpleasant for me. I frequently loitered 
 and was behind time, for which I was reproved by my 
 teacher, causing me to feel deeply mortified before my 
 sneering schoolmates. Finally, I brought things to a head 
 by skulking nearly all one day in the vicinity of the 
 schoolhouse; but, being discovered by some of the older 
 pupils, I was seized and marched into the presence of 
 the mistress, my captors in loyal triumph exulting over 
 me as a doomed truant. 
 
 Fortunately, my judge dealt with me "more in son-ow 
 than in anger." She deprecated my misconduct and said 
 she should content herself with reporting me to my par- 
 ents. She did so, and I was severely admonished. By 
 
UNPLEASANT OCCURRENCES. 21 
 
 this time I was sufficiently humbled and almost sick. My 
 kind mother, after hearing my explanations, saw through 
 the case, and had me remain at home a few days, till 
 she could recruit my health and encourage me to brave 
 out the undertaking. This being done, I resumed my 
 school attendance and no further trouble ensued. But I 
 could not love my associations, and derived little profit 
 from that particular opportunity. Probably, however, my 
 experience there was a wholesome discipline to me. 
 
 One other unpleasant affair I call to mind in this con- 
 nection. It occurred one winter in our district school, 
 when 1 was between eight and nine years old, I think. 
 One Christopher Olney from Providence, or vicinity, was 
 the teacher. He had been a brilliant student at Brown 
 University, but falling into some bad habits was expelled. 
 He was an excellent scholar and a genius at teaching. 
 He delighted in his profession, won the affection of his 
 pupils, and was remarkably successful, provided he let 
 liquor alone. An appetite for the intoxicating cup was 
 one of his fatal weaknesses, and made a wreck of him 
 at last. I shall never forget the captivating assiduity 
 with which he would drill me all through an evening. 
 This was his custom with his scholars wherever he 
 boarded, especially if they manifested any interest in 
 their studies. We were mutually fond of each other and 
 he would flatter me by saying he was proud of me. He 
 was also fond of cider, and when he had finished an 
 evening's tuition, would cry .out with a significant shrug 
 of the shoulders, "Now take the bright luminary, descend 
 into the dark vault, and fetch me some aqua vitae in a 
 minute." And many a time I did it, which was suffi- 
 cient pay for his extra services. 
 
 Before my time, this teacher had taught the same 
 school, and had given a dramatic exhibition in the old 
 Meeting House at the close, which won popular admira- 
 tion and fame in the vicinity. He now proposed to repeat 
 the expeiiment, and began to prepare for it, the pupils 
 all being expected to participate in the exercises of the 
 
22 AUTO-BIOGRAPHY OF ADIN BALLOU. 
 
 occasion. To me was assigned tlie poetic effusion entitled 
 "An Elegy to Pity," commencing: 
 
 "Hail! lovely power, whose bosom heaves the sigh, 
 When fancy paints the scene of deep distress." 
 
 I easily committed it to memory, but I was troubled 
 because it must be spoken to begin with before the school, 
 with the usual oratorical accompaniments as to gesture, 
 emphasis, intonation, etc. I felt so diffident and awk- 
 ward that I utterly shrunk from this first appearance on 
 the stage, though it was only in the presence of my 
 teacher, and school-fellows. I had to be literally broken 
 in by force. In spite of their mutual kindly regard, the 
 teacher and his pupil had a falling out on account of 
 this, though but for a short time. 
 
 When the rehearsal took place, 1 was called, in my turn, 
 to the floor. I was slow to respond. My heart palpi- 
 tated, my knees grew weak, a strange mingling of dread 
 and shame seemed to possess me, and 1 had to be 
 hauled into my proper position. Even then I could not 
 or did not speak. My master, not expecting such con- 
 duct from his favorite pupil, flattered, urged, commanded 
 me to begin, but all in vain. He then used threats, 
 which proved equally ineffectual. Finally, he resorted to 
 a droll, ignominious kind of punishment, more mortify- 
 ing and vexatious than painful, unknown to me else- 
 where before or since. It was a mock shaving, after the 
 fashion of a barber, with ^ wooden razor, amid the 
 laughter of the whole school. As he proceeded to put 
 me through this process, I became stuffy, but neither 
 struggles nor cries saved me. It was a ludicrous con- 
 flict, but I was subdued, and made to blubber out 
 my rudimental oratory with more spunk than elegance. 
 
 Thenceforth I progressed to my teacher's entire satis- 
 faction. He was quick to make up with me, professed 
 to be sorry for the shaving episode, and almost begged 
 my pardon. I was easily conciliated, and our relations 
 were thenceforward as amiable as ever. The unfortunate 
 
MODE OF TEACHING, APTITUDE IN STUDY. 23 
 
 man fell into some of his dissipations soon after, the 
 Meeting House exhibition was given up, and only an 
 impaired school-house programme performed. But the 
 teacher pronounced me the flower of the occasion, and 
 lavished on me abundant commendation. 
 
 The round of school exercises in those days was com- 
 paratively simple, as the text books were few in number, 
 and crude in method and arrangement. The teacher stuck 
 -closely to the letter of the books, seldom asking ques- 
 tions or submitting problems calculated to draw out the 
 mind, or awaken and discipline thought. There was but 
 little done by way of explanation or fresh analysis. 
 What the books contained was deemed sufficient. Now 
 and then a genius in the teacher's chair or among the 
 •scholars transcended this routine, but such innovations 
 were rare in the sphere of my observation till I had 
 passed my tenth year. 
 
 I learned to read and spell with ease, and in those 
 branches excelled the majority of my school-fellows. Spell- 
 ing schools on winter evenings were customary, exciting 
 -great interest and a spirit of wholesome emulation. As 
 a result, good spellers were, I think, as numerous then 
 as now. "We had readers, writers, and arithmeticians of 
 very respectable attainments, chiefly by reason of the few 
 <lepai-tments of study then pursued. I began grammar 
 before I was ten years of age, and soon memorized Alex- 
 ander's Elementary work, and could parse plain prose 
 after the old fashion very well. But it was some time 
 before I really understood grammatical principles so as 
 to enjoy the study. When I did it became my delight. 
 In penmanship and arithmetic, I by no means kept pace 
 with my other acquirements. 
 
 Our school district was prolific in teachers of its own 
 production. Many of the sons and daughters of the 
 populous Ballon families, as they grew up, took their 
 turns in their native school with good acceptance ; also 
 in other neighborhoods on both sides the state line. Yet 
 only one of them. Barton Ballon, received a college edu- 
 
24 AUTO-BIOGRAPHY OF ADIN BALLOU. 
 
 cation. I was withdrawn from summer school as soon 
 as I was old enough to be of use on the farm, and I 
 lost entirely the winter term next preceding my ninthi 
 birth-day. This happened by a somewhat strange transfer 
 to a cotton factory, whereof I will give a brief account.. 
 
 After the celebrated Samuel Slater, a native of Eng- 
 land, had established cotton spinning by machinery at 
 Pawtucket, R. I., his success excited others to ambitious 
 enterprise in the same pursuit. Money was to be made, 
 it was thought, at a fabulous rate, and capitalists, large^ 
 and small, became adventurers in the business. Even 
 staid farmers caught the fever and formed companies for 
 purposes of cotton manufacture. One was started in 
 our neighborhood with a capital of fifteen or twenty 
 thousand dollars, in which my father became pecuniarily 
 interested to the extent of two thousand dollars, a part 
 of which he was obliged to borrow, much to his grief 
 in the end. At the outset, however, everything was 
 alluring and hopeful. The Blackstone (Slater's) establish- 
 ment, then deemed gigantic, had already begun operations 
 with a most promising outlook, and fresh adventurers 
 were encouraged to push forward their projects with all 
 possible speed. 
 
 Early in the year 1811, an eventful one in the history 
 of our family, a factory was erected by the company 
 formed in the Ballou district, on Mill river, just above 
 its junction with the Blackstone, about three miles due 
 west of our residence. It was in the same town and only 
 a short distance from Woonsocket Falls, the village bear- 
 ing that name being then exceedingly small, rude, and 
 unimportant. Near the mill a tenement house was put 
 up, the construction of which was effected by my father. 
 The proprietors of the establishment called themselves the , 
 "Social Manufacturing Co." and their plant was known 
 as the "Social Factory," afterward nick-named the " Pis- 
 tareen Factory." 
 
 The grand climacteric of this whole scheme was that 
 my father became one of the overseers of the mill and 
 
EPISODE IN FAMILY HISTORY. 25' 
 
 removed his family to one of the tenements in the house 
 he had previously built. Renting his farm to my oldest 
 brother, Cyrus, he transferred the rest of us to the new 
 house late in the season, and the winter of 1811-12 was 
 spent there. He had charge of the carding room and his 
 children were distributed in various positions of service 
 about the establishment. I became what they used to call 
 a "cotton bug." In this way I lost the tuition of the 
 schoolhouse for that term, but received another kind of 
 education which was perhaps quite as valuable. 
 
 I was delighted with my new position for a time and 
 rose rapidly from the roping to the throstle-frame. But 
 when spring opened my confinement grew irksome, and 
 I sighed for my accustomed outdoor life. Great, there- 
 fore, was my joy when it was announced that father 
 was disgusted with his situation and had arranged to 
 return to the old home. This took place in Ajpril, and 
 my ninth 'birth-day found me once more a farmer boy. 
 
 For some time previous to this episode in our family 
 history, the war-clouds had been gathering in the usually 
 peaceful sky, and a rupture between England and the 
 United States became more and more probable as the 
 weeks and months went by. The early part of the year 
 1812 was replete with martial excitement throughout the 
 land. The crisis came on the 18th of June when war was 
 declared by the United States government against the 
 mother-country. Hostile operations were soon after begun 
 and continued through the year with varying results. The 
 press teemed with the reports of what was going on; the 
 Republican and Federal parties were in bitter contention 
 for and against the war, and all classes of the people 
 were greatly agitated. Military companies of volunteers 
 were formed all over the land, and our own neighbor- 
 hood and family were not disposed to shirk any duty in 
 the existing emergency. My two oldest brothers became 
 lieutenants in their country's service, and I, silly child, 
 regretted that I was not old enough to be in the ranks. 
 As the young duck takes to water at the first oppor- 
 
'26 AUTO-BIOGRAPHY OF ADIN BALLOU. 
 
 'tunity, 80 was I predisposed to patriotism, politics, and 
 Var, from tlie start. But more of this liereafter. I close 
 the present chapter with the single remark that the rou- 
 tine of the year under notice, aside from what has been 
 'stated or hinted at, consisted of the ordinary experiences 
 ■6f a lad in my situation at that period of history, and 
 these were continued to the end of my first decade, 
 kpril 23, 1813. 
 
CHAPTER II. 
 
 1813-1818. 
 
 Interest in Public Afpaies — Religious Experiences — 
 
 Family Bereavements — Hopes and Ambitions — 
 
 Reflections. 
 
 BEFORE the date at which this chapter opens, I had, 
 as already intimated, begun to take a lively interest 
 in public affairs. The war with England was now going 
 on. Napoleon Bonaparte was descending from the zenith 
 of his glory and the civilized world was in great com- 
 motion. My father took the leading Republican paper 
 of the state, published at Providence, and I read it with 
 eagerness and delight. It was my oracle. The then 
 Republican and Federal parties were hot and violent 
 against each other, and, in our town, nearly balanced. 
 My father had gone over from the latter to the former 
 during the contest between Adams and Jefferson, and it 
 was natural that I should be of the same political faith. 
 
 As the Republicans went all lengths for Madison and 
 the war, also for Bonaparte and the French as against 
 the British and their allies, my boyish sympathies ran 
 strongly in the same direction. I not only read all I 
 could find in the papers that related to the existing con- 
 flict, but the few books I could get hold of containing 
 information upon the French Revolution, the rise of Bon- 
 aparte, his campaigns, and strangely varying fortunes. 
 
 For some years my young head was as well filled with 
 these and similar themes, as, in my obscure position, it 
 well could be. Still there was room for religion, as I 
 shall presently relate ; but my dreamy reveries of political 
 
28 AUTO-BIOGRAPHY OF ADIN BALLOU. 
 
 and military glory were legion. I always contrived in my 
 surmizings to have a good cause and a brave army.. 
 Then such grand battles were fought, such victories, 
 achieved, and such a noble use was made of success, as. 
 never took place outside of a prolific imagination. It is. 
 well that they all originated, were carried through, and 
 had their historic fame wholly within my own boyish 
 mind. 
 
 Doubtless some will query how it came to pass that a 
 rustic farmer lad of my age should occupy himself with 
 matters usually entertained .only by those more advanced! 
 in life. I was undoubtedly unlike others in some respects.. 
 My mental as well as physical development was early and 
 rapid in a marked degree, even though external incen- 
 tives were comparatively few, and opportunities small. 1 
 was held closely to the ordinary routine of useful indus- 
 try, according to my capability. I had barely common 
 school advantages in winter, the weekly paper, and a very 
 few books of any sort. To be sure, my father was a 
 proprietor with others of a small library several miles, 
 distant which his family sometimes patronized ; he had 
 also a few volumes at home, and I could now and then 
 borrow one of a neighbor. But the stock to which I had 
 access was, all told, very scanty. Moreover, I was seldomi 
 brought into contact with persons above the commoni 
 grade of country people. There were a few Revolu- 
 tionaries, as they were called, in our neighborhood, to. 
 whose stories of adventure and perilous experience I 
 delighted to listen. I was allowed to go to one or twO' 
 town meetings a year and to general muster if not 
 too far away; also, occasionally, to a Fourth of July 
 celebration. These were about all the opportunities for 
 self -improvement 1 enjoyed. 
 
 But of these I made the most, getting out of them 
 everything that one intensely interested could. Every 
 school privilege, every newspaper, every book, every story, 
 every town meeting, muster, or public celebration, was 
 eagerly grasped, sedulously improved, remembered, and 
 
GREAT RELIGIOUS REFORMATION. 29 
 
 turned to good account. I went nowhere to play or kill 
 time. At town meeting, for instance, I was not among 
 the boys, engaged in or witnessing the sports, but with 
 ■the men where business was going on, scrutinizing all 
 that transpired. In this way I was continuously gather- 
 ing facts, suggestions, items of information, sufficient to 
 keep my intellect, ambition, and imagination always 
 active. I have learned by experience as well as observa- 
 tion that small resources and opportunities, made the 
 most of, produce greater results than an amplitude, 
 indifferently improved. It is not so much what we have 
 as how we use it that determines attainment. When 
 the old domestic lights were not available to read by in 
 the evening, I could and did read by firelight rather than 
 not read at all. I made good use of what I read by 
 thoroughness and fertile reflection upon it. The text 
 might be brief, the suggestions few, but the comments 
 and amplifications of thought were manifold. 
 
 It was during the year 1813, if my memory is not at 
 fault, that an extensive " Keformation," as it was called, 
 or revival of religion, commenced in our vicinity. Elder 
 Zephaniah S. Grossman of the Christian Connexion was 
 the pioneer preacher and for a time almost sole manager 
 of the movement. It spread over a region of country not 
 less than fifty miles square, of which the Ballou neigh- 
 borhood might be considered the center. My father, 
 mother, brothers Cyrus and Alfred, and finally myself, 
 became converts and were baptized by immersion. A 
 large number of persons, nearly a hundred I should think, 
 professed to have "experienced religion" during the three 
 years of continued excitement. 
 
 A church of the order named was formed, of which my 
 father was an active member and deacon. For a time it 
 prospered wonderfully. Elder Grossman was not a pro- 
 found man, but impulsive, magnetic, and insinuating. He 
 did not deal so much in the terrific as in the pathetic 
 and sentimental. He was full of touching anecdotes, 
 illustrations, and appeals to the emotions of his hearers. 
 
30 AUTO-BIOGRAPHY OF ADIN BALLOU. 
 
 He could sing, pray, exhort, in a manner well calculated 
 to enlist the sympathies and move the feelings of those 
 who had been living in comparative indifference to spirit- 
 ual things, and had little intellectual discipline or insight.. 
 His matter, manner, and measures were novel and tem- 
 porarily effective, but wore out with familiarity. Hence 
 the period of his success, remarkable while it lasted, was 
 brief, like that of most sensationalists in any one locality^ 
 After a few years he lost his influence and finally aban- 
 doned the ministry. Many of his converts fell away and 
 even the church he had established in our midst ere long 
 began to decline, becoming finally extinct. 
 
 The "Reformation" took deep and lasting hold of my 
 father, who, from the time of his baptism through sev- 
 eral succeeding years, devoted his personal efforts and 
 property with almost Pentecostal zeal to the cause he had 
 espoused. He kept a sort of Ministers' Tavern, not only 
 opening his house for meetings at all times, but furnish- 
 ing free entertainment for itinerant preachers, friends 
 from a distance, etc., who flocked in to help on the 
 "work of the Lord," as was claimed, or, as one might 
 be tempted to say, to obtain their full share of "the 
 loaves and the flslies." For it is a fact which gradually 
 became stereotyped on my mind that religion and moral 
 reform are not apt to spoil people's appetites when hos- 
 pitality is offered them without cost, however eminent 
 they may be as saints, or contrite and under "deep 
 concern of mind as sinners, " or devoted to the good of 
 humanity. At length my father's patience with this kind 
 of visitors gave out, as his resources were likely to do, 
 and he rebelled, shutting down almost entirely the gates 
 of his long-continued, lavish generosity. This phase of 
 the great revival is, one might say, a ludicrous picture 
 to look back upon with experienced and critical eyes, 
 but one of not infrequent occurrence in the history of 
 religious excitements in this country. 
 
 But there is a. better side to the movement which must 
 not be ignored. Many persons who had been living on 
 
FRUITS OF THE REFORMATION. 3\ 
 
 in ignorance and sin, regardless of all obligation to. 
 God and their fellowmen, were arrested in their worldly, 
 carnal career and converted to a better life. A few, 
 possibly, were disgusted with what was said and done, 
 and hardened into scorners. Some, as stated, started 
 off with good resolutions, but aftei-ward fell back into, 
 their old ways. Yet a considerable number were really, 
 and lastingly benefited. Of these, I was one. True it, 
 is, we made a very crude beginning in what I now 
 understand to be the real Christian life. But it ivas a 
 beginning and one in my case, without which, I fear, I 
 never should have been on my present religious plane. 
 It was wrought out by solemn and rich spiritual experi- 
 ences to which I look back with reverential gratitude to, 
 my Heavenly Father. 
 
 In another respect the revival was productive of good 
 to the people affected by it. It was a wholesome agita-. 
 tion of thought. It moved the mental, as well as moral 
 waters of the community. It awakened inquiry, investi-, 
 gation, and a progressive exercise of the understanding.. 
 It left people somewhat in advance, intellectually, of 
 what they were before or probably would have been 
 without it. This is undoubtedly true of all religious and 
 moral excitements, none of them being utterly useless — 
 all dross — though many of them have deplorable draw- 
 backs and imperfections. 
 
 But to come back to my own personal experience, I 
 remark that seeing and hearing so much of what deeply 
 impressed others around me, and especially those in my 
 father's family, it was impossible for me not to become 
 seriously aflfected. I was too young, however, to have 
 it suspected in those days that I could be converted 
 like older persons. Children of my age were then 
 regarded by many as incapable of being religious in the 
 deeper, experimental sense of the word. Therefore, little 
 notice was taken of me in relation to the matter at 
 first, and no one seemed to think I was a proper sub-, 
 jeet of conviction, repentance, and faith. Yet I felt 
 
:32 AUTO-BIOGRAPHY OF ADIN BALLOU. 
 
 that I was so, and it grieved me that I was not treated 
 accordingly. How often I longed to have some minister 
 or church member say something to me which would 
 ■open the way for me to make known my feelings and 
 desires ! Nevertheless, I gave close attention to the 
 meetings, watched the proceedings, heard the preaching, 
 praying, singing, etc., and noted carefully every form of 
 religious demonstration that was made. 
 
 I was intensely interested in all these things. I longed 
 to be a Christian, and prayed and wept in secret places, 
 seeking to be humble and penitent enough to receive some 
 heavenly assurance of acceptance with God. I felt the 
 same sense of imperfection and sinfulness which others 
 described in narrating their experiences, but still no sense 
 of divine pardon or approval was realized by me. Neither 
 had I any human advisor or comforter. At lenglh, when 
 only about eleven years old, I retired one day, deeply dis- 
 tressed in mind, to my chamber and threw myself on my 
 knees, in agonizing prayer. I gave myself up to the All- 
 Father in the name of my Savior with the profoundest 
 consciousness of submission, to be dealt with and dis- 
 posed of as divine wisdom and love should determine. 
 'That moment my burden was removed ; a heavenly light 
 beamed upon me, and an inexpressible peace was diffused 
 through my soul. I arose from my knees, believing that 
 I was approved by Christ as one of His disciples. I 
 rejoiced with exceeding joy and felt that I was entering 
 upon a new life. I have ever recurred to that blessed 
 hour as the decisive beginning of my Christian pilgrim- 
 :age. It gave bent and direction to my character and 
 career thenceforward to the present time. 
 
 It was not long before the matter began to be known 
 -to the church, and I received the sympathy I had so 
 longed to enjoy. The result was that I was recognized 
 as a true convert to Christ when about twelve years of 
 age, was baptized by Elder Crossman, May 21, 1815, 
 and registered as a member of the church in regular 
 rstanding. My case called out divers comments from 
 
BEGINNING OF THE CHRISTIAN LIFE. 33 
 
 those who knew me, many deeming me too young to 
 know what I was about, or to have any proper under- 
 standing of religious experiences, obligations, and profes- 
 sions. No doubt I was ignorant and of crude judgment, 
 yet, I am sure, I was not far beneath the majority of 
 those who have made a public profession of religion. I 
 certainly knew that I was committing myself to Chris- 
 tian discipleship, and I think few of my seniors at the 
 time acted more intelligently than myself. 
 
 If it be said that, according to my own showing, I 
 mixed up my religion with politics, patriotism, and warlike 
 reveries, it was in the same way that nominal Christians 
 have been doing for sixteen hundred years — in the same 
 way that a vast majority of them are doing now. My 
 theology and ethics were not clear and consistent, but 
 quite as much so as is the case with most members of 
 the so-called Christian Church today, even in the most 
 enlightened denominations. Whatever my folly or imper- 
 fection, I have never regretted the step I then took, 
 but have been devoutly thankful to the author of all 
 good that thus early in life I committed myself to His 
 service under the leadership of Jesus Christ. 
 
 For a year or two after uniting with the church, I was 
 a constant attendant upon its meetings and established 
 ordinances, and in a few instances ventured to take 
 part in some of the more private and social gatherings, 
 but was usually a silent listener and learner. As time 
 went on and the enthusiasm began to abate, I was 
 gradually brought to realize that I had undertaken a 
 more difficult task than at first appeared obvious. I 
 had pledged myself to a Christian life without counting 
 the cost. I had presumed that my "change of heart" 
 went a great deal further than was actually the case. 
 This arose partly from my own ignorance and partly 
 from the extravagant representations of the older pro- 
 fessors and of my religious teachers generally. The 
 notion that "experiencing religiob " was a miraculously 
 
 3 
 
34 AUTO-BIOGRAPHY OF ADIN BALLOU. 
 
 radical change led me, as it has others, to conclude 
 that if the conversion was genuine the natural propensi- 
 ties and passions would either be eradicated or so 
 neutralized as to be harmless. The truth slowly forced 
 itself upon me that the animal nature in my constitu- 
 tion remained essentially unchanged, and that what had 
 been wrought in me was chiefly the germination of the 
 spiritual element as a contestant against that nature for 
 the throne of my being. Between these two forces or 
 agencies there was to be a long and severe conflict — a 
 warfare of many battles and of fluctuating successes and 
 defeats. But it was a grand gain that the spiritual and 
 divine had been born in my heart and had been 
 imequivocally acknowledged as rightful heir to the king- 
 dom. 
 
 The war indicated was not long in coming on. I had 
 the same propensities and passions as before my con- 
 version. If temporarily silenced by strong religious 
 inspirations, they were awake and ready for action as 
 soon as those influences subsided. This was proved in 
 my subsequent experience. First, I was astonished at 
 the strange coldness that crept over me — a sort of spir- 
 itual inertia, languor, listlessness, whereby I could 
 neither pray fervently nor walch vigilantly. Then I was 
 grieved to find my quick, irritable temper awake again and 
 as sensitive and imperious as ever, gaining by degrees the 
 mastery over me. It was a sad mystery how I, who 
 had passed through such purifying seasons of thought, 
 feeling, emotion, amounting almost to transfiguration 
 could be plunged into such depths of an opposite char- 
 acter. 
 
 As time passed by, all my natural propensities took 
 their turns at tantalization and taught me of what stuff 
 I was made. In manifold forms each asserted its claim, 
 and in every direction some sort of battle seemed inevi- 
 table between the contending forces within. The good 
 and the evil alternately prevailed for a season and the 
 
AN EVENTFUL YEAK. 35 
 
 warfare of a long life was inaugurated, as described by 
 the Apostle Paul, in Gal. 5: 17, and Rom. 7: 18-24. 
 
 The year 1815 was one of memorable events in the 
 affairs of the . world. Peace was restored between the 
 United States and Great Britain. Bonaparte was decis- 
 ively crushed. at Waterloo, and the old order of things 
 was reinstated, as far as possible, on the continent of 
 Europe. A thousand prophecies and interpretations of 
 prophecy that had dazzled ardent, fanatical minds from 
 the commencement of' the French Revolution, vanished 
 away or were indefinitely postponed, while the mysteries 
 of Daniel's vision and the Apocalypse were bequeathed to 
 another generation of expounders. Princes and nobles 
 went into exile and those previously sent into retire- 
 ment returned to the estates of their ancestors. Repub- 
 lican dreamers of equality and fraternity hid from the 
 tempest of monarchical reaction and almost cursed their 
 brilliant visions, so long cherished and now so appar- 
 ently falsified. Arid yet there had been undoubtedly 
 some progress made, some gain realized in behalf of 
 justice and humanity. But at what cost of life, suffering, 
 and treasure ! 
 
 Among the more eventful local occurrences of the year 
 was ' ' the Great Gale, " as it is called in New England 
 annals, whicli swept through Rhode Island and Massa- 
 chusetts with terrific force at the time of the autumnal 
 equinox, September 23. I recollect being engaged near 
 my father's saw-mill handling lumber with my brothers 
 when the stocks of boards around us, piled up to season, 
 began to be caught away by the rising wind and blown 
 about strangely. We endeavored to pick them up and 
 replace them for a while, but found ourselves borne 
 along and almost lifted from the ground in spite of our 
 utmost exertions. We were soon in danger of limb and 
 life from the flying rubbish and lumber, and betook our- 
 selves to a place of safety at the substantial farm- 
 house, which was built heavily and strong enough to 
 resist the stoutest storm. The wind increasing, buildings 
 
36 AUTO-BIOGRAPHY OF ADIN BALLOU. 
 
 began to be unroofed, smaller structures were moved 
 out of place or completely demolished, apple and forest 
 trees were upturned by the roots, and even the stoutest 
 dwellings creaked and trembled before the mighty gusts 
 that seemed to threaten destruction to everything that 
 happened to be in their way. • 
 
 The tempest, which began about 7 o'clock in the morn- 
 ing, reached its height at noon, when it was little else 
 than a hurricane. Multitudes of people were filled with 
 terror and consternation. I confess that I was, and 
 hastening to my chamber, obtained what relief and com- 
 posure I could from the unseen world by earnest suppli- 
 cation. I gained something of trust and calmness, but 
 hardly enough to overcome all my fearful apprehensions, 
 for there seemed to be no place of refuge from impend- 
 ing danger and my faith was not of the surest type. 
 
 When the storm subsided, the inhabitants of southern 
 New England looked with amazement on the devastations 
 it had caused. Inland the noblest timber lots were cov- 
 ered with prostrate trees and upturned earth, the finest 
 orchards were laid waste, rail-fences, wood, and lumber 
 were scattered far and wide, roads were rendered 
 mpassable by accumulated debris, and incalculable dam- 
 age had been done to buildings on every hand, many 
 of the lighter ones being wholly destroyed. In seaport 
 towns and along the shore, still greater havoc, if pos- 
 sible, had been wrought. The ocean rolled in upon the 
 coast its mountainous waves, which, in thickly settled 
 localities, inundated the wharves, streets, and exposed 
 places of business, filled the cellars and lower stories of 
 dwellings and warehouses near the water line, causing 
 the occupants to flee for their lives, and destroying 
 immense amounts of property that chanced to be within 
 reach. The wind drove before it all sorts of sea-craft, 
 even the largest vessels, sinking some, wrecking others, 
 and landing many high on the beach, far away from 
 tide-water. The remains of sloops and schooners, grad- 
 ually dismantled and abandoned, appeared on the sand 
 
GREAT FAMILY BEREAVEMENT. 37 
 
 banks and along the coast for years, victims of the 
 Storm-King's insatiate power. Such was the ' ' great 
 gale " of 1815, the like whereof has never been seen by 
 New Englanders since the Klgrims landed on Plymouth 
 Rock. 
 
 Soon after this gale occurred, the Christian Connexion 
 held one of their General Meetings at Assonet, in Free- 
 town, Mass. Thither my father and other members of 
 our church, including myself, went. The convocation 
 continued for several days and was replete with religious 
 interest and edification. Elders Elias Smith and Abner 
 Jones, then at the head of the denomination, were pres- 
 ent, as were also Elder Frederick Plummer, an eloquent 
 revivalist ; Elder Daniel Hix, the solid farmer preacher ; 
 Elder Benjamin Taylor, the John-like apostle ; and a 
 host of other zealous evangelists of that distinctive 
 faith. Those were the palmy days of the "Christian" 
 Order in this section of the country, and we had much 
 stirring exhortation, preaching, and other religious dem- 
 onstration. Enthusiasm ran high and hopes of a good 
 time coming were in the ascendant. The gathering was 
 refreshing to the assembled hosts and passed off, as a 
 kind of Pentecost, to general satisfaction. 
 
 About this time the health of my brother Cyrus began 
 to decline and in spite of all efforts to restore it he 
 gradually sank into an incurable consumption. He was 
 failing during the entire winter following and died on the ■ 
 7th of March, 1816. This was the first event of the 
 kind in our family after I was old enough to remember 
 it, the one last preceding having been the decease of a 
 sister in 1803, the year of my birth. My brother was 
 deeply religious and had been much exercised by impres- 
 sions that it was his duty to enter the gospel ministry. 
 But fatal illness ended all expectations in that direction. 
 He departed in sweet hope of a blessed future and with 
 the most perfect composure. 
 
 I did not witness the closing scene, but my father, 
 who was with him during the night of his departure. 
 
38 ADTO-BIOGRAPHY OF ADIN BALLOU. 
 
 perceiving a change in the countenance of the sick man 
 indicating that death was at hand, said to him as he 
 lay quietly before him, "Cyrus, do you know that you 
 are dying?" He answered distinctly, "No. Do you 
 think I am?" "Yes," father responded, "it seems so 
 to me. " For a few moments the invalid was still ; then 
 of his own accord, said; "I believe I am dying. I feel 
 differently from what I ever did before." "Are you 
 afraid to die?" he was asked. "Oh, no!" was his reply. 
 ' ' I long to go and be with Christ ; I am happy. " He 
 expressed a wish to be turned upon his other side, 
 when, without a sign of pain, he breathed his last 
 before the summoned family could reach the room. 
 
 This event could not fail to make a deep impression 
 on us all. But to his youthful widow, left with two 
 little boys, it was one of the heaviest of bereavements. 
 My brother lacked a few days only of his twenty-sev- 
 enth birthday, she being somewhat younger. Not many 
 years afterward she married a second husband, who died 
 in 1862, leaving her the second time a widow. She is still 
 living in Franklin, Mass. Thus roll on the ceaseless 
 wheels of time, bringing changes to all human fortunes, 
 but the divine providence faileth not. 
 
 This year, 1816, was one of sore visitation to our fam- 
 ily, inasmuch as death invaded it a second time before 
 its close. My next older brother, Arnold, an intelli- 
 gent, amiable young man in the twenty-fifth year of his 
 age, was summoned hence before winter set in. He was 
 not a professor of religion, though always reverential 
 towards it. In comeliness of person, sedateness of 
 mind, urbanity of disposition, and propriety ot deport- 
 ment, he was the flower of our domestic circle. Wher- 
 ever known, he was universally respected and loved. I 
 had a strong and peculiar affection for him, though he 
 was eleven years older than I. My father, who was 
 beginning to feel that it was desirable to arrange his 
 temporal affairs for old age and death, leaned confi- 
 dently on this son. His plan was to settle one-half of 
 
OCCUPANCY OF TIME. 39 
 
 his real estate on him and the other half on me when 
 I should become of age, — himself and my mother to be 
 amply provided for by us, and suitable legacies to be 
 paid in due time to the other children. 
 
 With this in view, Arnold, having married in April, 
 brought home his young wife and entered at once upon 
 the management of affairs. But in the autumn he was 
 attacked by a fever which took on dangerous complica- 
 tions, and finally, in defiance of all medical skill, term- 
 inated his life on the 27th of November. He passed 
 away in comparative unconsciousness and gave forth no 
 memorable religious manifestations like those of Cyrus 
 just recorded. And so another young heart was widowed, 
 parental bosoms were deeply wounded, and the remaining 
 family circle fiUed with mourning and distress. A post- 
 humous daughter was born the following spring. By this 
 second bereavement, my father's cherished plans and fond 
 hopes went down to the dust. 
 
 The time passed over by the foregoing narrative, from 
 1813 to 1817, brings me to the fifteenth year of my age. 
 It will naturally be imagined what the general routine of 
 my employment and experience was during this period. 
 In the summer I was at work, as a lad in my circum- 
 stances might be expected to be, and indeed all through 
 the year except so much of the winter as I spent in 
 school, of which I have spoken in preceding pages. And 
 even while attending my usual three months' school, 
 my time was much broken in upon by a variety of 
 calls at home and abroad, incident to life on a large 
 farm in those days, which, however necessary and unavoid- 
 able, resulted in serious hindrances to my educational 
 progress. 
 
 Nevertheless, I made up, as far as I could, for defi- 
 ciency of opportunities and systematic means of mental 
 improvement in every possible way ; so that I ripened in 
 scholarship, such as mine was, every year, and stored up 
 for future use all the fragments of general information 
 that came within my reach. .My thirst for learning gre^ 
 
40 AUTO-BIOGRAPHY OF ADIN BALLOU. 
 
 with my growth, and before I was fifteen became intense, 
 as is illustrated in the following incident of my experi- 
 ence. My father had in Providence a considerable num- 
 ber of special customers for butter and other products of 
 his farm which he marketed there from year to year. 
 Among these was Rev. Dr. Messer, president of Brown 
 University, who would occasionally ask him as he went 
 his rounds when he was going to send one of his sons to 
 college, repeatedly urging him to do so. Upon his return 
 home with reports of what Dr. Messer had said to him, 
 I could not help having awakened in me the hope that 
 somehow or other such a lot as was indicated might be 
 mine. At length the hope became so strong and my 
 desire in that direction so great that I begged my father 
 to give me a collegiate education, proposing that the three 
 or four hundred dollars it would cost in those days 
 should be my sole inheritance out of his quite large 
 estate, and confessing myself ready to quitclaim any right 
 or title I might have to what might remain, for the sake 
 of having this grand privilege granted me. So earnest 
 was I in this matter that I believe I would have under- 
 taken to crawl on my hands and knees to Providence, 
 fifteen miles, if by so doing I could have secured my 
 coveted object. My father was often moved in my behalf 
 for the moment when I made my appeals to him, and 
 would say he wished he was able to gratify me, but 
 usually wound up with, " I am too much in debt. " If I 
 plead my case with great persistency and zeal, telling 
 him how much better it would be for me to have the 
 knowledge I would acquire than many times what it 
 would cost in money, he would refer me to a distant kins- 
 man who spent his little patrimony in getting a liberal 
 education, but had been unsuccessful and poor all his 
 days. In vain I endeavored to unclinch this nail; for 
 the inexorable conclusion was, ' ' I cannot send you to 
 college as your all and have you basking about in learned 
 poverty. " And so all my aspirations of this sort per- 
 ished in the bud. 
 
WHAT IF CONDITIONS HAD BEEN DIFFERENT? 41 
 
 1 have often iu my later years pondered seriously over 
 this matter and wondered what would have been my 
 course and position in life if my ardent longing for a 
 collegiate education had been gratified. In all probability 
 they would have been radically different from what they 
 have been and' are. I siiould have been placed under 
 influences quite dissimilar to those that have been brought 
 to bear upon me, and at a period of life when I was 
 supple and plastic and likely to yield to them. With 
 my natural worldly [inclinations and ambitions, heretofore' 
 adverted to, the chances are that I should have chosen 
 the profession of law as most likely to open promising* 
 avenues to distinction and so-called success. Religion 
 might have possibly become of chief importance to me; 
 possibly literature. This would have depended much on 
 my teachers and patrons, for I should have been easily 
 led and molded by them. I should not have been 
 drawn readily into the medical or clerical professions, as 
 I had no natural inclination for either of them. 
 
 But whatever course or calling I had been persuaded 
 to pursue, I should have become so trained and com- 
 mitted to it, as probably never to have broken away 
 from its complicated attachments. In some popular, 
 time-worn channel of respectability and renown, the 
 current of my personal energies would very likely 
 have flowed through life. The independent convictions, 
 principles, and aims now so sacred to me, though so 
 unpopular and in worldly parlance, impracticable, if not 
 contemptible, would either have found no welcome to my 
 mind or been suppressed within it by the imperious dic- 
 tates of a temporizing policy. I have hardly a doubt of 
 this. Was it then a blessing or a bane that I was denied 
 the training and culture I so longed to secure ? Thousands 
 would doubtless deem it a great misfortune. But I have 
 come to regard it a benefit to myself and mankind. At 
 any rate it was ordered or permitted by Him who over- 
 rules all things that my most earnest youthful wishes 
 should not be gratified, nor the crowning ambition of my 
 
42 AUTO-BIOGRAPHY OF ADIN BALLOU. 
 
 early years be encouraged. And if there reigns a God 
 worthy to be reverenced and loved by his rational creat- 
 ures, it was somehow all for the best. 
 
 "When I was about fourteen years old, one Samuel 
 Forest opened a singing school in our neighborhood — a 
 rather uncommon event in that locality: The young 
 people generally were delighted with the innovation and 
 I hailed it as offering me a desirable privilege. I was 
 gifted with not more than ordinary musical capability and 
 could hope for only moderate attainments in that depart- 
 ment of culture, even by dint of proper training. I had 
 learned to sing many current tunes by rote, imperfectly, 
 but greatly needed tuition in the principles and rules of 
 rhythm and vocalization. In this, again, I was com- 
 pletely thwarted. My father was conscientiously opposed 
 to choir singing as a part of divine worship, especially 
 by the "unconverted" or "world's people." A singing 
 school led directly to this "public mockery," as he 
 called it. If he allowed me to join such a school, he 
 would be an encourager and partaker of the assumed 
 sin. So he peremptorily forbade my attending it. I 
 quietly yielded but with great regret, and never after- 
 ward found a favorable opportunity to acquire even the 
 rudiments of a musical education. My two brothers were 
 less submissive and went to the school in spite of the 
 same paternal prohibition. But I never regretted my 
 filial obedience, though I deplored my loss and could not 
 quite endorse my father's scruples or prejudices, as some 
 would call them. Yet when I have witnessed the levity 
 and almost impiety of some talented occupants of singing 
 galleries, I have been compelled to think their perform- 
 ances were little better than "public mockeries." But 
 how much worse the shortcomings of the choir are in the 
 sight of God than those of the pulpit and the press, I 
 will not presume to judge. True worship is more sacred 
 and rare by far than common minds have yet dreamed. 
 
 The winter before I was fifteen, Mr. Noah Cook, a 
 young man from Mendon, Mass., taught our school and 
 
SPIRITUAL DECADENCE AND REACTION. 43 
 
 I attended for the last time iu our own neighborhood. 
 He was a live, ambitious teacher and succeeded well. I 
 liked him and made commendable improvement in my 
 several studies. He thought well of me, and amid the 
 rivah-ies of the schools on different sides of the state 
 line, offered to present me as a grammarian against some 
 that boasted much greater privileges than I enjoyed, and 
 were prone to speak of those less favored than themselves 
 with contempt. Nothing, however, came of it except a 
 little sharpshooting to and fro across the border with the 
 pen. Mr. Cook was not a religious man and my own 
 spiritual tone was somewhat in decadence, for the revival 
 had burnt out and the zeal of many waxed cold. In this 
 state of things, the influence of Mr. Cook over me was 
 not of the best since he introduced me to pleasure parties 
 and social gatherings where, though nothing vicious or 
 immoral occurred, there was little to stimulate the better 
 purpose and higher life of the soul. I soon, under some 
 compunction, abandoned these assemblages and devoted 
 much of my spare time to religious study, meditation, 
 and prayer until I reached the anniversary of my birth, 
 April 23, 1818. 
 
CHAPTER III. 
 
 1818-1821. 
 
 Religious State — The Christian Connexion — 
 
 Theology — Lorenzo Dow — Last Schooling — 
 
 Miscellaneous Experiences. 
 
 WITH the opening of the sixteenth year of my life, 
 I entered on a period of increased personal respon- 
 sibility. My oldest sui-viving brother, Alfred, was absent 
 from home most of the time for the next two years, 
 partly at school and partly in a factory counting-room, 
 and I became my father's chief deputy in the management 
 of the farm and collateral interests. Indeed, he signified 
 his desire and purpose to settle me on the ancestral estate 
 as his successor and the stay of his old age, and I began 
 to shape my expectations accordingly. When winter came 
 around work took precedence of schooling, causing it to 
 be postponed to another year. It was hoped I might 
 then be compensated for the loss of my ordinary privi- 
 ileges in our own district by securing more advantageous 
 ones elsewhere, and this proved to be the case. 
 
 As to my religious state, I recovered from what I 
 regarded my backsliding in the course of a few months, 
 abandoned ordinary social gatherings and places of worldly 
 amusement, and devoted my leisure hours largely to relig- 
 ious exercises and duties. I studied my bible and books of 
 devotion intently, prayed much in secret, had my seasons 
 of fasting and self-examination, paid close attention to 
 divine worship and subsidiary meetings, became clerk of 
 our church, and gradually took on a phase of decided 
 ascetism. I cultivated as stern a zeal for piety and 
 
THEOLOGICAL BELIEF FORMULATED. 45 
 
 righteousness as my nature was capable of and subjected 
 myself to a stricter self-discipline than at any other time 
 of my life. 
 
 Meanwhile my theology assumed a definite and positive ' 
 form, its essential features being such, substantially, as 
 prevailed in the "Christian Connexion," whose leaders, 
 though constantly denouncing creeds, had one, as a mat- 
 ter of fact, of pretty sharp points distributed through 
 theii- preachings and published writings. I have generally 
 found this to be the case with nominal anti-creedists, 
 even down to nothingarians. By study and reflection, I 
 had formulated the following items of doctrine in which I 
 most firmly believed: 1. The Plenm-y Inspiration of the 
 Bible; 2. The Pre-existant Divine Sonship of Christ; 
 3. The Personal Unity of God, the Father; 4. The 
 Impersonal Agency of the Holy Spirit in working out the 
 divine designs; 5. The Fall of Man in Adcmi and con- 
 sequent universal but not total depravity; 6. The Indis- 
 pensable Necessity of the New Birth; 7. Man's Free 
 Moral Agency ; 8. This Life the only Probationary State 
 for Eternity; 9. The Resurrection of the Body; 10. 
 The Final General Day of Judgment; 11. The Special 
 Immortalization of the Righteous, both Body and Soul, at 
 the Judgment Seat; 12. The Just Punishment of the 
 Wicked, terminating in their utter destruction — absolute 
 non-existence. 
 
 The controversy between the Trinitarians and Unita- 
 rians in this country was inaugurated about this tinfe, 
 and the "Christians" took sides against the former, 
 though they clung to a sort of high Arianism and rather 
 stiffly repudiated those forms of Unitarianism which ques- 
 tioned the personal pre-existence of Christ. I embraced 
 this view of the subject and thought myself strongly 
 intrenched therein behind the word of God. 
 
 Another grand question then in dispute was that relat- 
 ing to the final destiny of the wicked. Elders Elias 
 Smith, Abner Jones, and other influential leaders in our 
 order had come out against endless punishment and in 
 
46 " AUTO-BIOGRAPHY OF ADIN BALLOU. 
 
 favor of absolute, final destraction or annihilation of the 
 doomed impenitent. This obliged them to deny the innate 
 immortality of the soul, and contend that no one could 
 ever be rendered immortal except by the special will and 
 gift of God. These doctrines I readily embraced and 
 made myself an expert in their scriptural defense. They 
 and kindred topics furnished my ever active mind ample 
 themes of inquiry and speculation in the department of 
 theology. 
 
 The Restorationists, as they termed themselves, of 
 earlier times were only slightly known to me by general 
 report, and it was a foregone conclusion that their dis- 
 tinctive doctrine could have no possible foundation in 
 divine revelation. The Universalists, many of whom had 
 rejected, as baseless, all belief in future punishment, were 
 beginning to prevail in certain localities, and through 
 their preachers and published expositions to make theii- 
 influence felt in many places where they had no organized 
 foothold. This was the case in our vicinity. We had 
 several neighbors who professed to believe in the final 
 salvation of all men, and ministers of that faith occasion- 
 ally visited them, such visits growing at length frequent 
 and conspicuous. But I regarded all persons of that way 
 of thinking as anti-religious in spirit, anti-Christian in 
 doctrine, and practically no better than Deists. And I 
 think, even now, that many of them gave me too much 
 reason for regarding them as I did, though my prejudices 
 made me unjust to them in a greater or less degree. 
 The Universalists of later times and especially of this 
 day exhibit very great religious improvement, both in 
 theory and practice, on their predecessors of that period. 
 
 Elder Grossman, the chief promoter of the great 
 "Reformation" spoken of in the last chapter, had now 
 lost prestige and standing in the church and was fast 
 receding from the ministry. He at one time professed 
 Universalism, then recanted, then vacillated for awhile 
 between different forms of faith — finally falling into- 
 some irregularities which terminated eventually his labors. 
 
MINISTERS OF "THE CHRISTIAN CONNEXION." 47 
 
 as a religious teacher. Later in life he became a book- 
 peddler. Elder Elias Smith, who had been regarded as one 
 of the two chief apostles of the "Christian Connexion," 
 went over to the Universalists, in whose fellowship, 
 after some vibrations to and fro, he finally died. Dur- 
 ing his last years upon earth he devoted himself to 
 the practice of medicine aeording to the Thompsonian 
 system of therapeutics, which he claimed to have essen- 
 tially improved. These and other unexpected develop- 
 ments rather shook the structure of the "Christian" denom- 
 ination, but by no means destroyed it. The disturbed 
 elements resumed their equilibrium and other leaders^ 
 older and younger, arose and moved forward in the van 
 of the host. Little did I dream when the defections 
 referred to took place that I should ever find sufficient 
 reason for changing my general theological ground as 
 related to the doctrines involved. 
 
 Of some of the new preachers who came forward to fill 
 the vacancies that had been made in our "Christian" 
 ministry, I will make brief mention. There was Reuben 
 Porter, Jr., a native of Coventry, R. I., who first visited 
 us as a youthful exhorter before the revival had subsided. 
 He afterwards prepared himself for the ministry and at 
 length became our pastor, leaving us finally for other 
 fields of service. He was a scholarly, pleasant, fluent 
 preacher, popular for a time and much esteemed. But he 
 was not profound and did not excel in intellect, piety, 
 or weight of character. After a gradual moral decadence 
 of some years, he acquired intemperate habits, becoming 
 at last a confirmed sot. He came to a sad end, being 
 found dead in the street of a village not far from the 
 place of his nativity. 
 
 Elder Dexter Bullard was the next in order of our pas- 
 tors, recei-s-ing ordination at Cumberland Hill. He was 
 not a brilliant preacher, but a man of sound common 
 sense, intelligence, candor, Christian principle, and moral 
 integrity, sincere and faithful in all things. He married 
 a respected cousin of mine, Julianna Sayles, had quite a 
 
48 AUTO-BIOGRAPHY OF ADIN BALLOU. 
 
 numerous family of worthy children, most of whom set- 
 tled in the West, whither himself and wife removed many 
 years since, and where he died in 1865. 
 
 Among numerous itinerant preachers of our Order and 
 -one of the ablest and best of them, was Elder Benjamin 
 Taylor of Swansey, Mass. He did not appear in, our 
 Ticinity often, but was always welcome and his services 
 were every way acceptable. He was not only a man of 
 good natural abilities, but an upright, conscientious, 
 exemplary Christian, combining zeal with knowledge and 
 uncompromising fidelity to principle with a broad, deep 
 charity. He was a John among our preachers, always 
 entreating us to "love one another." Elder Mark Fer- 
 nald of Kittery, Me. was also a visiting preacher of 
 ■creditable ability and reputation, but somewhat ascetic in 
 •Ms habits, — a stern, blunt man, severe at times in 
 speech, but possessing a kind heart and making himself 
 useful in his sphere. 
 
 The celebrated and eccentric Lorenzo Dow, who 
 belonged to no sect, but was a sort of Methodist comet 
 in the ecclesiastical heavens, visited us occasionally 
 during the two years of which I am now writing. I first 
 saw him in Providence. His fame was widespread, and 
 I had read with much interest his published auto- 
 biography. Learning that he was to be in an adjoining 
 town, some of our people were anxious to see and hear 
 him, myself being one of the number. I went to the 
 houseof a Methodist brother where he was stopping, but 
 it was so thronged with callers that I barely got a 
 glimpse of him. My only recollections of him are that 
 he wore his hair and beard long (then an astonishing 
 sight) ; that he was a lean, spare, dark-complexioned 
 man; that his dress and general appearance were plain 
 and simple, as of a pilgrim devotee; and that when he 
 started for the chapel where he was to preach he could 
 not find his hat and so went out bareheaded, but was 
 soon supplied with the missing article by his consump- 
 tive-looking, devoted wife, Peggy, who came running after 
 
THE ECCENTRIC LORENZO DOW. 49 
 
 him with it in her hand, and shouting in shrill, tender 
 tones, "Lorenzo, Lorenzo, here is your hat," which he 
 rather indifferently accepted. Of his discourse, character- 
 istic of him, no doubt, I, though hearing it, remember 
 nothing. 
 
 After this he preached at different times in our neigh- 
 borhood, stopping with us, and I became well acquainted 
 with him, being charged with the duty of waiting upon 
 him and of attending to his personal comfort, as occasion 
 required. This I did with fidelity and discretion, care- 
 fully avoiding manifesting any surprise at his seeming 
 eccentricities. He treated me not only with unaffected 
 civility and kindness, but with confidential cordiality. It 
 had been said that he was sometimes gruff and ungra- 
 cious to those who served him, but I was led to believe 
 that those complaining of such treatment provoked it by 
 their ill-timed flattery and sycophantic fawning. He was 
 a keen observer of human nature and scorned all affecta- 
 tion and obsequiousness. 
 
 We had unequivocal manifestations of his eccentricity 
 amounting almost to breach of propriety or incivility some- 
 times during his several visits with us. Some of these may 
 be mentioned. "While preaching one evening in our large, 
 old-fashioned kitchen, in his peculiar, impassioned style, 
 an ofBcious, elderly spinster, then an inmate of the fam- 
 ily, disturbed him by repeatedly getting up and fussing 
 with the fire, — picking up the falling brands, replenishing 
 the fuel, and otherwise setting things about it to rights. 
 Seeing her start for the third or fourth time on the same 
 en-and, he left the thread of his discourse and broke out 
 in an imperative tone, "Woman, sit down, and don't be 
 up trying to show off that new gown of yours any 
 more." Spinster, in her fresh calico, subsided as if 
 paralyzed and remained fixed in her chair till the meet- 
 ing closed. 
 
 At another time he was seated with our family in the 
 parlor after meeting, the center of a large circle, my 
 mother being on his left and a worthy woman who was 
 4 
 
50 AUTO-BIOGRAPHY OF ADIN BALLOU. 
 
 then working for us on his right hand. During a little lull in 
 the conversation, he sat musing for a moment and then in 
 suddenly broke out, saying to my mother, as he pointed 
 to the woman, who was a stranger to him, "Who is 
 this ? Whom have you here ? " My mother gave the 
 woman's name. "What is she good for?" he continued. 
 " Many things, " replied my mother. "She is a good, 
 honest woman, a member of our church, a devoted Chris- 
 tian, kind and helpful in sickness, and always quietly 
 industrious." "Perhaps, but how about her temper? If 
 one should tread on her toes, would'nt she feel something 
 fluttering up in here ? " shaking his skeleton-like finger 
 significantly over his breast as much as to say, ' ' Hasn't 
 she a quick, irritable disposition ? " This abrupt, queer 
 incident took us all by surprise and shocked our demure 
 servant well nigh into spasms. Meanwhile be looked the 
 saint he was reputed to be. 
 
 The next day I was to take him in a sleigh (for it 
 was winter) first to Cumberland Hill, where he was to 
 preach at 11 a. m., and thence in the afternoon to Provi- 
 dence. Some delay about starting occurred, although 
 there was ample time to reach the place of meeting in 
 season for the service, at which he exhibited considerable 
 uneasiness. When we were well seated in our vehicle and 
 moving off at good speed, he turned to me and with a 
 very earnest but kindly look, said, "Young man, I have 
 a lesson for you. You may become a public character, 
 perhaps a preacher. My lesson is this : Always take 
 elbow room. Do you understand me? I mean keep a 
 little, ahead of your appointments. Be on hand some 
 minutes before the set time. Make no one wait for you. 
 Never be in a hurry at the last moment. Then you will 
 not only avoid occasion for others to complain, but be in 
 a calm, self-collected frame of mind to proceed with your 
 own duties. Do you understand the lesson?" "I do," 
 said I; "it is a wise and wholesome one; I thank you 
 for it; I will endeavor to lay it up and profit by it." 
 "So do," he responded, thus ending his admonition. I 
 
INTEREST IN PUBLIC AFFAIRS. 51 
 
 have never violated his rule — "Always take elbow- 
 room," without perturbation, regret, and shame. 
 
 Aniving at the little "Catholic Baptist Meeting-house," 
 so-called, in due season, the service was conducted in the 
 usual form, the sermon being an exposition and applica- 
 tion of the parable of the laborers in the vineyard. Matt. 
 20: 1-16, laying the chief stress on the words, "They 
 received every man a penny." After the meeting I went 
 on with him to Providence, where we parted, never to 
 meet again in this world. From what I saw and knew of 
 him I judged him to be a faithful, conscientious. Chris- 
 tian minister, notwithstanding he was so singular and 
 ■erratic in many of his ways. 
 
 During the period of my youth now under review, 
 though mainly occupied with manual labor on the farm 
 and personal religious nurture and discipline, I kept 
 myself posted in regard to public affairs and what was 
 transpiring in the world at large, so far as the news- 
 paper of the family and occasional conversation with 
 well-informed townsmen could serve me in that direction. 
 When the "Missouri Compromise" excitement prevailed, 
 I recollect getting interested in it and being so patriotic- 
 ally devoted to the Union as to defend our Rhode Island 
 •congressman, who was severely denounced for voting in 
 its favor. Without a particle of pro-slavery either in my 
 nature or habits, I was at that time so utterly ignorant 
 ■of the "peculiar institution" and its fatal evil tenden- 
 •cies, and so carried away with the cunningly-raised bug- 
 bear, "The Union in danger," that I readily took the 
 wrong side from good motives — as many of my grave 
 seniors then and afterwards did. 
 
 During this same perii)d a cousin of mine, Otis Mason, 
 some ten or fifteen years older 'than myself, taught what 
 was called the "Academy" at Cuniberland HUl. With 
 Mm I fell into some intimacy and occasionally visited 
 Ms school. At his solicitation I was induced to join a 
 debating club connected with the institution, in which I 
 a few times mustered courage enough to speak. There 
 
62 AUTO-BIOGRAPHY OF ADIN BALLOU. 
 
 was a library in the same connection *from which I took: 
 books to read at my convenience. By these means I 
 made partial amends for the lack of regular educational 
 advantages and gained some valuable intellectual culture 
 which otherwise I should have missed. 
 
 Near the close of the year 1819, after the farming- 
 operations were for the most part suspended for the- 
 season, it was arranged that I should go to school ten- 
 weeks during the coming winter in the neighboring town 
 of Franklin, Mass. The school was nothing but a rural 
 district one, but it was to be in charge of one Caleb 
 Ward Wilson of Meudon in the same state, a talented 
 and successful teacher at that day, and was to have- 
 among its pupils some twenty or more young men and 
 women who had attended sundry higher seminaries of 
 learning under celebrated classical preceptors. So that 
 the opportunity was an especially favorable one for me, 
 much better than I had ever before enjoyed. I was to 
 board in the family of my uncle, Daniel Sayles, a resi- 
 dent of the town, whose wife was a sister of my father^. 
 His oldest unmarried daughter, Avilda, had been an 
 accomplished teacher, and his youngest daughter, Juliana, 
 about twenty years of age, was an excellent scholar ; 
 while his sons, Orin and Ariel, about my own age, who 
 had shared some superior educational advantages, were to 
 be my fellow- students. These circumstances rendered the 
 opening additionally desirable and promising. 
 
 When I entered the crowded school house at the begin- 
 ning of the term, I felt not only rusty in scholarship 
 but a little awkward from the consciousness of being 
 surrounded by proud-spirited associates who could not 
 easily suppress their prejudices against a green Rhode 
 Islander. It was therefore prudent for me to be modest, 
 — at least, not to expose my ignorance presumptuously 
 or unnecessarily. Our teacher was really a superior one 
 and handled his school in a manner worthy of his great 
 reputation. In dealing -with his large upper class, which 
 made an imposing array upon the high seats, right and 
 
AT SCHOOL IN FRANKLIN, MASS. 53 
 
 left, he treated them with marked respect, in considera- 
 tion of their age and attainments, not only allowing but 
 urging them to have opinions of their own, and to differ 
 from him if their judgment so dictated, as well as from 
 ■each other on all critical points, especially those of gram- 
 matical construction and analysis. Issue might be taken 
 upon any question at any time and the parties involved 
 might give reasons for their opinion, each one arguing in 
 proper order according to his best judgment and ability. 
 There were several in the class who deemed themselves 
 well advanced in scholarship and capable of criticism, and 
 there were some exciting discussions both among the 
 pupils and between pupils and teacher. If he happened 
 to make a mistake, which rarely occurred, he was manly 
 «nough not only to hear himself foiled in argument with- 
 out wounded pride, but to yield the point with open- 
 hearted frankness and promptitude. 
 
 For my part, I listened with thoughtful attention to all 
 that was said and done for five or six weeks, but did 
 not venture a word of my own — waiting to have my 
 scholastic rustiness well scoured off and learn how bright 
 and keen my fellow-pupils were before measuring lances 
 with them. At length, finding that they were not alto- 
 gether infallible, and thinking I was not wholly incompe- 
 tent to cope with them in any case where our opinions 
 might not concur, I cautiously submitted, now and, then, 
 some criticism of their conclusions. My bashfulness made 
 this a severe trial to me — all the more so when I saw 
 that I was regarded as one aspiring to a rank above my 
 merits and antecedents. This, however, in the end 
 proved to be an advantage to me, for it awakened in me 
 a sense of self-respect and a determination not to be 
 cowered into tame servility to those in no wise my 
 betters. 
 
 So on one' occasion I took the liberty of questioning 
 the con-ectness of a certain analysis and the appropriate- 
 ness of the rule given for it. My comrades stared with 
 contemptuous scorn at what they assumed to be my pre- 
 
54 AUTO-BIOGRAPHY OF ADI>f BALLOU. 
 
 sumption, and the teacher decided offhand against me. 
 " But stop," he said in his usual courteous way, "we- 
 must hear the reasons for objecting to the view pre- 
 sented." And turning to me, continued, "How, sir, do- 
 you make out your case?" My face crimsoned with 
 timid blood and my heart leaped into my throat, but 
 truth and pride put me through the struggle. 1 stated 
 my position so clearly and gave my reasons so conclu- 
 sively that the teacher was himself convinced and immedi- 
 ately responded, "He is right after all, and I am 
 wrong." This "put the boot upon the other foot," as 
 the saying is, and my learned sneerers looked as crest- 
 fallen as if I had robbed them of their fancied pre- 
 eminence by magic. 
 
 Such experiences, when looked back upon from the 
 far-off summit of advanced age, seem of little conse- 
 quence if superficially regarded, yet they were in fact of 
 great account to the novices immediately concerned — 
 means of discipline, of progress and lasting enjoyment. 
 They, too, are texts in the volume of human nature om 
 which we can profitably moralize. They remind us that 
 no one ever rises above the level of his supposed-to-be 
 proper sphere without a struggle. His progress is. 
 obstructed and resisted by adverse surroundings, by jeer- 
 ing contemporaries, or envious rivals, and he must fight 
 and conquer or be iguominiously overcome. Even those 
 who from natural relationship or friendly consideration 
 ought to cheer on the struggling aspirant, often frown con- 
 temptuously on his efforts and dissuade him from pressirig^ 
 forward in the line of his nobler purposes and aspirations.. 
 As Eliab said to David in the Bible story of Goliath,, 
 "Why comest thou down hither, and with whom hast thou 
 left the few sheep in the wilderness ? I know thy pride 
 and the naughtiness of thy heart. For thou hast come' 
 that thou mightest see the battle." The undaunted youth 
 only answered, "What have I now done? Is there not 
 a cause ?" And he went on in his chosen way — went to 
 conflict and to victory. 1 Sam. 17th Cltap. 
 
AN IMPORTANT TRUST UNDERTAKEN. 56 
 
 Having gained my point and a reputable standing in 
 the school and wishing to avoid all unpleasant rivalry or 
 whatever would occupy an undue proportion of my time 
 and energy, I betook myself to those studies necessary 
 to a well-rounded development in which I was particu- 
 larly deficient, and where there was little or no emula- 
 tion. I had always the best understanding with this 
 teacher, and profited greatly by his instruction. His 
 school proved to be my college of graduation. I did 
 not "finish" my education there, as some seem to do 
 in regularly organized institutions of learning, but I 
 never again was a student in any strictly educational 
 establishment of any kind or name. 
 
 The same winter developed other interesting occur- 
 rences beside those connected with my school, some of 
 which resulted in experiences of signal importance. It 
 so happened that a mutual intimacy between Elder Dex- 
 ter BuUard, already spoken of, and my cousin, Juliana 
 Sayles, in whose father's family I was boarding, had 
 ripened into a matrimonial engagement which was to 
 be consummated by marriage before the school term 
 expired. Preliminary to the legal solemnization of the 
 union, there must be the usual publishment of the inten- 
 tions of the parties on the part of the town clerk, 
 either by "crying" the same in religious meeting on 
 two successive Sabbaths, or by "posting" for two 
 weeks in some place of public concourse. It was quite 
 a desideratum with those immediately concerned to have 
 this done as noiselessly as possible and to make it, 
 since it. must be known in due time, a surprise to out- 
 siders, even, to the family relatives. I was a special 
 confidant in the matter, and to me was entrusted the 
 necessary mission to the pubUc official authorized to act 
 in such cases, with the special charge to execute it 
 with the utmost secrecy. 
 
 I was entirely ignorant of the details of such transac- 
 tions and undertook the task assigned only for friend- 
 ship's sake and with great reluctance. Having accepted 
 
56 AUTO-BIOGRAPHY OF ADIN BALLOU. 
 
 the trust, I was confronted with the double problem of 
 how to fulfil it and how to do this with the desired 
 secrecy. I must not take any of my school hours nor 
 absent myself from my meals, nor engage a horse with 
 which to ride to the residence of the town clerk, which 
 was three miles away, since either of these would excite 
 suspicion and lead to a discovery of the whole plot. So 
 after supper one evening I* slipped quietly out of the 
 house and by an unfamiliar, unfrequented road reached, 
 after much diflSculty, the place I was seeking. Unfortu- 
 nately, the clerk was not at home, being engaged in 
 teaching some distance away and not returning except on 
 Saturday evening for the Sabbath. Not knowing that I 
 could accomplish the object of my visit by leaving the 
 proper details with his wife, to be attended to when he 
 was advised concerning them, I retraced my steps to 
 my uncle's, weary and disappointed, to report my ill-luck 
 and to be told, to my great mortiflcatiouj how easily all 
 further trouble could have been obviated by the means 
 just indicated. 
 
 I had not been missed or inquired for, and under a 
 deep sense of humiliation, I resolved to try again on 
 the ensuing Saturday evening, confident that I should 
 then be able to make everything sure. I governed myself 
 accordingly. But the gentleman I wanted to see had 
 not arrived when I reached my destination. Nor did he 
 come after long waiting till time and distance admon- 
 ished me that I must be on my way to my boarding- 
 place again. So I left my errand in writing with his 
 wife, but by further blundering failed to mention the 
 proper residence of the groom. This, however, I did not 
 find out until i reached my uncle's and reported pro- 
 gress. The omission was a greater mortification to me 
 than my former misadventure, and I was as vexed with 
 myself as I was tired, but, as there was no time to be 
 lost, I determined, weary though I was, to go over the 
 ground again immediately and finish my ill-starred per- 
 formance before the dawning of another day. So I 
 
SHADOW OF A COMING EVENT. 57 
 
 actually trudged those six miles (out and in) once 
 more, awoke the now returned and sleeping official, gave 
 him the lacking data, got back home again unsuspected, 
 in season to have a short nap before morning, judging 
 myself amply qualified by experience to act as agent for 
 a couple wishing to have their intentions of marriage 
 published according to law. I never had occasion, how- 
 ever, to undertake another commission of this sort, but 
 was paid for executing this one in the consciousness of 
 having served my beloved employers satisfactorily and 
 in the lesson it taught me of understanding my errands 
 feefore trying to deliver them. Much of my wisdom I 
 have purchased in the same costly way as my readers 
 will not fail to see while tracing my subsequent history. 
 
 But something of greater consequence to me came 
 from the event, one of the antecedent incidents of which 
 has just been narrated. As arrangements for the 
 approaching wedding were making, it was decided that I 
 -should be groomsman, and, after considerable canvassing 
 of the claims and qualifications of several of the fair 
 cousins of the bride on her father's side, of which I was 
 more or less cognizant, that Abby, daughter of Smith 
 Sayles of Smithfield, R. I., should be bridesmaid. 
 Though she was a comparative stranger to me, 1 readily 
 ■acceded to the wishes of my friends in this respect as 
 in others where I could serve them. The marriage was 
 solemnized as provided for, Feb. 1, 1820, and the foun- 
 dation was laid for a long, useful, and happy union, 
 ■under mortal conditions and in the order of the family, 
 of two worthy, congenial, Christian souls. 
 
 One occasion of this sort often leads to another of a 
 similar character. Very likely the arrangement concern- 
 ing groomsman and bridesmaid in this case was entered 
 into with some ulterior design respecting the parties 
 ■brought together which did not appear to the casual 
 •observer, and which was not communicated to "those more 
 particularly concerned. Whether this were so or not, the 
 acquaintance then formed between Abby Sayles and 
 
58 AUTO-BIOGRAPHY OF ADIN BALLOU. 
 
 myself was by mutual agreement continued through occa- 
 sional correspondence and personal interviews until it 
 ripened, not many months afterward, into a definite 
 hymeneal engagement, to be carried into effect at a then 
 undetermined date of the future. So much was done in 
 anticipation of marriage soon after I had entered upon 
 the eighteenth year of my age. 
 
 To the wise and prudent reader this early pledge of 
 marital purposes and fidelities on my part may be 
 deemed boyish and absurd, bespeaking my folly and 
 want of sound judgment. Perhaps so. I cannot blame 
 those who pronounce such a verdict upon me, but rather 
 confess that, from my present standpoint of rationality, 
 I was unfit to take such a step — unqualified to assume 
 the contemplated responsibility. But I had no one to 
 admonish or restrain me and was not wise enough to 
 see, much less realize, my deficiencies. It had already 
 been planned that I should settle down with my parents 
 on the farm, see them through life, and inherit their 
 domain. On that score I was favorably situated as to 
 then present conditions and future prospects. What 
 better could I do than take to myself a wife! As to 
 my affianced, I satisfied myself that she was every way 
 worthy of my confidence and love. She was three years 
 my senior, which, however objectionable in some regards, 
 was really an advantage to me, her experience and more 
 mature understanding acting as a counterpoise to my 
 inexperience and unripeness. She was well qualified for 
 the proposed relationship in all matters pertaining to 
 domestic economy. She had been well trained to all 
 womanly acquirements in a good home under wise par- 
 ental influence, having a mother whose excellencies of 
 character I shall never cease to love and revere. Her 
 educational accomplishments, though comparatively small, 
 were respectable for her rank and times. She was not a 
 professor of religion, but eminently conscientious, virtu- 
 ous, and exemplary. She was a woman of good sense, 
 of sterling principles, and, above all, of an amiable dis- 
 
UNFORTUNATE BUSINESS VENTURE. b9 
 
 position and an affectionate heart. The only serious 
 drawback was her delicate health, which foredoomed our 
 union to an early dissolution, as the sequel will show. 
 That union, while it lasted, was a most cordial, harm, 
 onious, and happy one, aud I trust it was best under 
 the circumstances for both parties to it. And so, while 
 I do ' not recommend my example to youths of my age 
 and immaturity, I yet do congratulate any, young or 
 old, who are fortunate enough to have entered a rjar- 
 riage relationship as well-matched, as rich in experience,. 
 as full of enjoyment, as abundantly blessed, as the one 
 under notice. 
 
 Passing my next birthday, I settled down to the vari- 
 ous duties of my position as manager and prospective 
 owner of the paternal homestead, where I confidently 
 expected to spend my days. During the year upon 
 which I had now entered, one incident occurred which 
 was especially trying to me at the time, being, as it was, 
 my first business venture outside of the calling to which 
 I had been trained from my early years. It was, under 
 the cii'cumstances, an unfortunate and discouraging affair, 
 but it reminded me that it was not wise for me to- 
 assume responsibilities for which I had no qualification, 
 either by native aptitude or acquired skill. My father 
 had a tenant in a small dwelling-house on his premises 
 who manufactured on a limited scale what were called 
 cotton-plush waterproof gentlemen's hats. He suggested 
 to me the idea of becoming at certain leisure seasons 
 of the year a traveling salesman of his goods about the 
 adjacent country, and made me beheve that I could 
 make handsome profits on them. In my condition this 
 was desirable, and I eagerly caught at a proposition 
 which promised to fatten my inconveniently lean purse. 
 I therefore closed a bargain with him for a goodly 
 stock of hats, procured an outfit of a suitable team, 
 and made preparations for starting on an expedition for 
 which, the more I thought of it and the nearer I came 
 to it, the stronger was my comdction that I was in no. 
 
60 AUTO-BIOGRAPHY OF ADIN BALLOU. 
 
 wise capacitated. Wliile meditating on wliat I had under- 
 taken and appreliendiug probable failure, the particular 
 kind of hat which I had to dispose of was superseded 
 by a better one and became almost entirely unsalable at 
 any price. So my ambitious plans in that direction 
 proved an utter failure and my lean purse grew leaner 
 instead of more plethoric thereby. With this narration I 
 close the present chapter, as I do the record of the 
 eighteenth year of my life. 
 
CHAPTER IV. 
 
 1821-1822. 
 
 Call to the Ministry — First Sermon — Connecticut 
 
 Conference — Authorship — Teaching — 
 
 Marriage. 
 
 A T the opening of my nineteenth year, my general life 
 -^^ work and field of activity seemed to be definitely 
 marked out and permanently settled, as already indicated. 
 I had entered upon my chosen vocation and my temporal 
 interests had been satisfactorily provided for. The need, 
 ful preliminaries to the founding of a home of my own 
 had received due attention. My religious status, in 
 respect to belief, practice, and associative position, was 
 supposed to be fixed in essential respects for all coming 
 time. Little dreamed I of the changes awaiting me — 
 even of those close at hand. 
 
 It was early in the season that the first and most 
 important of them occurred — the one that perhaps above 
 all others turned my thoughts into new channels and 
 caused me to recast the whole programme of my future 
 career. I had retired alone to my chamber on a cer- 
 tain night, gone to bed, and fallen asleep. Not far 
 from midnight I awoke to consciousness in a state of 
 mind such as I had never before and have not since 
 experienced. I was taking cognizance of myself and 
 surroundings with feelings of inward exaltation as unim» 
 passioned as they were sublime and strange, when I 
 distinctly beheld a human form, clad in a white robe, 
 standing just outside of a window in front of me open- 
 ing to the south, some twelve feet distant. I gazed upon 
 
62 AUTO-BIOGRAPHY OF ADIN BALLOU. 
 
 the unusual object with a sense of profound amazement, 
 but without the least fear or trepidation. Scrutinizing 
 the features of the apparent personage, a sublimated 
 resemblance to my deceased brother Cyrus became 
 perfectly distinct. As I continued looking, he (for the 
 appearance had now assumed personality to me) slowly 
 entered the window, which was closed, as if there were 
 no obstruction and approached my bedside. His counte- 
 nance was moderately luminous, but not dazzling. Every 
 lineament was perfectly defined. His aspect was calm 
 and benign, but impressively solemn. When almost near 
 enough to touch me, he paused, fixed his eyes upon me 
 for a moment, inclined slightly forward, pointed with his 
 right hand directly at my forehead, and in the most sig- 
 nificant manner, said: — " Adin, God commands you to 
 preach the Gospel of Christ to your fellow-men; obey 
 his voice or the blood of their souls will be required at 
 your hands." I was filled with unutterable awe ; my hair 
 seemed to stand on end; I remained mute and immov- 
 able, but felt thrilled through and through with spiritual 
 emotion, yet with no distraction of timidity or fright. 
 The moment the words were spoken, the appearance 
 turned from me, moved slowly back through the window, 
 and vanished from my sight. 
 
 Memorable and ineffaceable vision ! How often since 
 have I yearned for similar ones to confirm or direct 
 me in the path of duty, but without being gratified ! 
 How many times have I wondered at this manifestation 
 and puzzled my rational powers to account for it; to 
 make myself sure whether it was real or illusory, object- 
 ive or subjective, divinely ordained and sent, or mysteri- 
 ously originated in the wilds of my own imagination ! 
 
 But in whatever way the light of eternity may answer 
 these inquiries, the vision was irresistibly effective and 
 powerful on my own mind and subsequent life. When 
 my first emotions had subsided a little, I tried to make 
 myself sure whether or not I was "in the body" and' 
 in the full possession of my senses. I soon succeeded 
 
LIFE PLANS WHOLLY CHANGED. 63 
 
 in this so far as everything material and normal was 
 concerned. Time, place, circumstances, and my own con- 
 sciousness were unmistakable. The vision itself alone 
 was mysterious. Could it be a dream or anything of 
 similar nature? If so, it was radically unlike anything 
 of the kind I had ever had before. After revolving the 
 matter deliberately in my mind, I could not resist the 
 conviction that, somehow or other, it was a reality and 
 was fraught with divine significance and authority. Five 
 years before, the spirit of my brother had left its 
 earthly tabernacle, taking its departure from that very 
 chamber. He had been profoundly impressed for some 
 time that it was his duty to preach, but reluctantly 
 shrank from doing so, and felt some compunction on 
 account of such hesitancy. Had God sent or permitted 
 him to incite me to the same mission? 
 
 All the day following my strange experience, I was 
 quite unlike my ordinary self, and though I went about 
 my customary labors, nothing seemed quite natural to 
 me. I was in what is called a spiritualized or exalted 
 condition. When this passed away, I was left to the 
 most serious and trying reflections. What ought I to 
 do? What could I do? What must I do? My cher- 
 ished plans and expectations were threatened with anni- 
 hilation in a moment and seemingly by a mandate from 
 heaven. I shrank from communicating with any one and 
 confined all my thoughts, reasonings, inquiries, and con- 
 victions entirely within my own breast. There it was 
 that I must make the momentous decision forced upon 
 me first of all for myself. So I pondered, prayed, and 
 wept in secret for weeks. 
 
 My case was a peculiar one. There was not a single 
 motive or inducement of a temporal nature in favor of 
 my becoming a religious teacher — a preacher of the gos- 
 pel. Moreover, I had no attraction or inclination to that 
 profession whatever, but on the contrary, a strong repul- 
 sion from it. When I looked at the subject in a moral 
 and spiritual light, the office of a trae minister of 
 
64 AUTO-BIOGBAPHY OF ADIN BALLOU. 
 
 Christ appeared to be so pure, sacred, uneelflsh, and! 
 renunciative of all worldly ambition — so replete with 
 humility, service, and earthly emptiness, that I felt 
 myself utterly unfit for it and unworthy to assume it.. 
 When I looked at the ministry as it was, I saw that a 
 large proportion of its functionaries, as I had known 
 them, were deficient in mental power or marked by moral 
 delinquencies, or compelled to frequent change of resi- 
 dence, alike annoying and vexatious, through ever recur- 
 ring dissatisfaction and inharmonies. They were a pitiable- 
 class, I thought, in almost every temporal respect.. 
 Even the popular and petted few afforded me no encour- 
 agement to the step proposed to me. The good were so 
 far above all the probable attainments I could ever make 
 in the conditions of success that it was useless for me 
 to try for them ; the bad were so un-Christlike in essen- 
 tial characteristics that their presence in the pulpit was 
 an abomination to me. 
 
 Besides, I had no clerical education and no prospect 
 of any. There was no theological school or professor of 
 divinity within my reach. If I became a preacher at all,, 
 it must be in the most unpopular denomination extant or 
 in the world at large, without name or prestige — where 
 I must work my way against wind and tide under adverse 
 circumstances and on very humble fare. At the same- 
 time I was young, inexperienced, diflftdent, and certainly 
 far too unspiritual to delight in those heavenly contem- 
 plations and anticipations which all true ministers of 
 Christ feast on amid their labors for the souls redeemed 
 through their instrumentality. Moreover, I had contracted 
 marriage without the most distant thought on the part of 
 either myself or my betrothed that she was to become 
 the wife of a poor preacher, and to make her such with- 
 out her cordial approval would be alike presumptuous and 
 dishonorable. . All these things taken into consideration 
 made it impossible for me to decide upon the work of 
 the ministry without an intense mental struggle. I could 
 have been easily won to the profession of law, or per- 
 
DISINCLINATION TO THE MINISTRY. 65 
 
 haps to medicine ; but preaching the gospel was utterly 
 distasteful and fearful to me. There was nothing that 
 could bring me to it except a most unwelcome sense of 
 duty and the woe of disobedience to a call from Heaven 
 — considerations I could in no wise ignore or escape. 
 That vivid and awfully impressive vision hung perpetu- 
 ally in my memory and the solemn echoes of the closing 
 words of my celestial visitant: — "Or the blood of their 
 souls will be required at your hands " would not cease to 
 reverberate in my mental ears. It was this that finally 
 conquered me and determined my subsequent career. In 
 regard to the result of my decision, I can truly say in 
 the language of another, "Though I preach the gospel, 
 I have nothing to glory of; for necessity is laid upon 
 me, yea, woe is me if I preach not the gospel. For if 
 I do this thing willingly, I have my reward ; but if 
 against my will, a dispensation is committed unto me." 
 1 Cor. 9:16, 17. 
 
 I have known of persons animated by a fervent aspi- 
 ration to become preachers who qualified themselves for 
 the profession with pleasing alacrity, and who were filled 
 with delight when able to enter upon its appropriate 
 duties. Alas ! It was not my lot to know anything of 
 such joys. On the contrary, I shrank from my call, as 
 stated, to begin with, and often in my long life I have 
 risen to preach with such reluctance, with such a sense 
 of spiritual poverty and tremor (perhaps unsuspected by 
 my hearers), that I would fain have vanished out of 
 sight. Yet, when forgetting myself in my subject or 
 borne along on some favoring breeze of inspiration, I 
 have experienced unqualified enjoyment in prosecuting my 
 mission. And now, after all I have passed through as a 
 minister and as a man, I am so far from regretting my 
 mysterious, imperative call to the work that I feel pro- 
 foundly thankful that the dispensation was forced upon 
 me. For it has laid me under a wholesome discipline 
 and wrought in me a spiritual regeneration and growth 
 of character of inestimable value. I can but hope it has 
 5 
 
66 AUTO-BIOGRAPHY OF ADIN BALLOU. 
 
 done some, though I fear too little, good to those around 
 me and to the world of mankind; to me it has been of 
 unspeakable and, I trust, eternal benefit. God knew how 
 to use and bless me against my own will and to him be 
 praise, worship, and glory forevermore. 
 
 But to take up again the thread of my narrative. 
 Having yielded to my inexorable convictions of duty, I 
 communicated the conclusion I had reached to my 
 intended wife. She was naturally astonished, but mani- 
 fested no opposition or revulsion, and calmly acquiesced 
 in the new phase of our probable future. I also opened 
 my mind to my father, who was evidently pleased with 
 the new aspect of things and saw nothing in my deter- 
 mination which need interfere with the plan previously 
 arranged between us ; his idea being that I might fulfil all 
 stipulated obligations to him, reside on the old home- 
 stead, be pastor of our own little church, and make occa- 
 sional preaching excursions abroad. How different was 
 all this from what actually transpired with me during the 
 long years that were then before me ! To others I was 
 entirely reticent concerning the change that had come to 
 me until compelled to reveal it on the Sabbath before I 
 first occupied a pulpit. That occurrence was another 
 notable feature of this eventful year, — another crisis, and 
 a most trying one, in my earthly career. How it came 
 to pass is worthy of mention. 
 
 Our church had no pastor during the summer of 1821, 
 and there was very little regular preaching in the ' ' Ballon 
 Meeting-house," but we held in lieu thereof a confer- 
 ence or deacon's meeting there from Sunday to Sunday. 
 My father usually presided on these occasions and led 
 off in the exercises, while the lay members followed in 
 due form with prayer, singing, or exhortation, as they 
 were moved by the Holy Spirit or a sense of personal 
 obligation. 1 had refrained almost entirely from taking 
 any active part in the proceedings, suffering as I did 
 intensely from diffidence and dread of responsibility. On 
 a certain Sunday, however, about the first of July, I was 
 
THE FIRST SERMON. 67 
 
 inwardly impelled to rise at the close of the exercises 
 and announce that with divine assistance I should preach 
 in that house on the Sunday following, naming the hour. 
 No language can describe the oppressive and almost suf- 
 focating sensations which at the moment agitated me. 
 My knees smote together, my voice and even my whole 
 frame trembled, and I sank back into my seat seemingly 
 paralyzed, as soon as the words were out of my mouth. 
 To the little congregation of men and women gathered 
 there, my notification was like a sharp electrical clap 
 from a cloudless sky — utterly unexpected and astonish- 
 ing. They went their way in different directions and 
 trumpeted the strange tidings far and wide on every 
 hand. No alarm of war could have been more eagerly 
 heralded abroad through all the surrounding region. 
 
 The die was now cast ; the announcement was made 
 and could not be recalled. I must stand up when the 
 time came and at least attempt to preach. And I must 
 speak from inspiration, as thoughts and words should be 
 given me at the moment. A written discourse, or even 
 an abstract on paper, was almost sacrilegious in my 
 estimation. My education and all my conceptions of a 
 traly God-called preacher prejudiced me against every- 
 thing of the kind. I must speak right- out of the ^ heart 
 and soul, even if 1 broke down in the effort. Happily, 
 my text and subject were given me in a dream, which 
 seemed to be in accord with my former mysterious expe- 
 rience. The text was: "Necessity is laid upon me; yea, 
 woe is me if I preach not the gospel." — 1 Cor. 9:16. 
 The subject was easily deduceable from that passage. 
 
 The momentous day arrived. The weather -nfas fine 
 and when the hour of worship drew near the ancient 
 sanctuary was packed with, expectant people — minis- 
 ters, deacons, church-members, my young friends and 
 acquaintances more or less interested in me and in the 
 things of the religious life, with a mixed throng of out- 
 siders drawn to the place by curiosity. I occupied the 
 old-fashioned pulpit alone, wrought up to the highest 
 
68 AUTO-BIOGRAPHY OF ADIN BALLOU. 
 
 pitch of conscieutious purpose, anxiety, and self-conse- 
 cration. I almost agonized in silent prayer when I saw 
 the multitudes surging in. But confidence and assur- 
 ances of help from above seemed to possess my soul as 
 I rose to begin the service. I opened with prayer and 
 proceeded in the usual order to the sermon, which was» 
 of course, the chief matter of interest and concern. I 
 talked for three-quarters of an hour, receiving the most 
 respectful and profound attention. My youth, sincerity, 
 and zeal no doubt atoned in good part for my lack of 
 sound matter and coherency, so that those present 
 departed with good impressions and an increased personal 
 respect for me. Probably most of them were disap- 
 pointed for the better by this my first effort at preach- 
 ing. My discourse, little of wliich I .now recall, must 
 have been more hortatory than dialectical, and quite 
 inspirational in some of its appeals. But whatever it 
 was in substance and form, it discharged a solemn duty,. 
 as I then believed, and introduced me to a long ministry 
 of religious teaching. I crossed the threshold of a public 
 career whose varied experiences, often trying and repel- 
 lant, have always seemed, like the first, providentially 
 inevitable. 
 
 It is true that my subsequent change of theological 
 faith from Destructionism to Restorationism naturally 
 relaxed somewhat the intensity of my early concern about 
 the ruin of souls, and the strain of my anxiety lest my 
 unfaithfulness should occasion that ruin. But reflection 
 has always impressed me deeply with the assurance that 
 the wile&. and dangers of sin are sufficiently dreadful to 
 demand my most earnest efforts to avert them, however 
 certain it may be that they are to be overruled, con- 
 quered, and finally terminated by the operations of omni- 
 potent divine wisdom and love. Moreover, the ultimate 
 triumph of good over evil cannot be rationally hoped for 
 on the assumption that sin is not inherently malignant or 
 hateful, or that its natural tendency is not poisonous and 
 deadly, or that it works its own cure and must of neces- 
 
CALLS TO MINISTERIAL SERVICE. 69 
 
 sity eventually extinguish or destroy itself. On the 
 contrary, the only well-grounded expectation of its final 
 extinction and of the deliverance of all sentient, moral 
 beings from its miserable bondage, is the persistent, 
 all-conquering will, wisdom, and grace of God, oper- 
 ating not only directly but through various intermediate 
 instrumentalities and means, among which the faithful 
 preaching of those great truths and duties embodied in 
 the gospel of Christ is undoubtedly one, and a most 
 important one. So if I am called to this work, I can 
 not be excused, but " woe " is unto me still if I refuse 
 to do it. My better hopes of the ultimate universal 
 reign of holiness and happiness in the uuiverse of the 
 ' great Creator, supplanting those of only a partial victory 
 of the right, good, and true <5ver the wrong, evil, and 
 false,— a victory darkly palled with despair of anything 
 better than annihilation for countless incurable sinners, 
 rationalizes my faith without changing my duty or excus- 
 ing my neglect of it. Nay, rather am I encouraged and 
 strengthened to greater fidelity by assurances of final 
 success. My grand concern, therefore, is to stand fast 
 in my lot and be faithful to my trust ; otherwise just 
 condemnation and punishment await me. 
 
 It was not long after my first attempt at preaching 
 that I began to be called upon to speak at home and 
 abroad, both on Sundays and week days, in public houses 
 of worship and in private dwellings. I also was soon 
 employed to conduct funeral sei"vices — a department of 
 ministerial work which has commanded much of my 
 attention and energy through my entire life. To enlarge 
 my acquaintance with the. denomination to which I was 
 attached and its leading representatives, and to open the 
 way to greater usefulness, I attended a meeting of what 
 was called the Connecticut Christian Conference, which 
 included the churches of the "Christian Connexion" in 
 Rhode Island and Connecticut, held at Hampton in the 
 latter State in the autumn of the same year. There. 
 I was- received into the fellowship of the entire body 
 
70 AUTO-BIOGRAPHY OF ADIN BALLOU. 
 
 of believers known by the general name of "Christians," 
 as attested by a certificate of which the following is a 
 copy: 
 
 "To all whom it may concern:—! hereby certify that Adin 
 Ballou of Cumberland, R. I., is a member In good standing and 
 fellowship of the Connecticut Christian Conference. 
 
 Keuben Potter, Jr., Standing Scribe. 
 
 "Cumberland, R. I., Sept. 1, 1821." 
 
 A few weeks later, the general conference of the 
 denomination, including all subordinate local conferences, 
 churches, and ministers, met at New Bedford, Mass. 
 This, also, I attended, having for a traveling companion 
 thither Elder Ebenezer Robinson, an enthusiastic young 
 minister from Greenwich, Mass. On the way we visited 
 Elder Daniel Hicks, a venerable farmer-preacher of our 
 order in Dartmouth, Mass., with whom we spent the 
 night, holding an evening service at his request in his 
 meeting-house, with a goodly audience in attendance. At 
 the conference there was a large representation of the 
 talent and wisdom of the denomination — its greater and 
 lesser lights shining with varied luster from pulpit and 
 council room, much to my edification and encouragement 
 and to the general satisfaction. Thence Brother Robin- 
 son and I walked to Boston — fifty-six miles — where we 
 spent a few days and where we separated, not to meet 
 again for many years — both of us nieantime having 
 changed our doctrinal views and ecclesiastical relations. 
 This was my first visit to the Athens of America, then 
 wonderful to me, but hardly to be compared in magni- 
 tude, wealth, and magnificence with what it is today. 
 
 About this time my ambition and zeal betrayed me 
 into the folly of appearing in print as a polemic author 
 against modern Universalism. Several of my neighbors 
 were of this persuasion and a few of them great debaters 
 in its support. They plied me with their publications to 
 read and with their arguments to answer. Willing to 
 investigate and hear all sides, I perused their books and 
 
REVIEW OF REV. HOSEA BALLOU'S SERMON. 71 
 
 tracts, and, confident of my ability to maintain my own 
 cause and defend my convictions, I did not shrink from 
 the controversy to which I was invited. I felt, too, 
 that I was in the way of my duty and that I could do 
 something to put down what I deemed a dangerous and 
 rampant error. Having met and refuted to my own 
 satisfaction my Universalist assailants at home, 1 deemed 
 myself qualified to enter the lists against more notable 
 champions of false doctrines abroad, should occasion and 
 loyalty to truth seem to require it, as was not long 
 after the case. Kev. Hosea Ballou of Boston, a distant 
 kinsman of mine, was at that time the master spirit of 
 Universalism in what was known as its "ultra" phase. 
 He had been delivering in his church fortnightly lectures 
 expository of his peculiar views, which had been promptly 
 published and disseminated far and wide throughout the 
 country. These were pressed on my attention by my 
 Universalist friends and I had sharply combated some 
 of the positions taken by this author, in conversational 
 discussion. Among the lectures was one delivered in 
 January, 1820, upon " The New Birth," fr6m the text in 
 John 3:3: " Except a man be born again, he caunot 
 see the kingdom of God," and this was handed me and 
 commended as a masterpiece — conclusive and unanswer- 
 able. In that lecture the author gave some sharp 
 thrusts at the prevailing theological notions of regenera- 
 tion, and claimed that Christ in the passage under notice 
 treated of a work " effected in the rational powers 
 and faculties of man, by means of information which 
 operates to change the sentiments and remove the errors 
 of the mind, and, of course, the affections of the heart." 
 And in illustration of that view the lecturer said: "The 
 gospel als Jesus proclaimed it a system of impartial sal- 
 vation to the world, is now performing the miracle of 
 regeneration " and thousands are born again from the 
 partial systems and Cfeeds of the church to the acknow- 
 ledgement of the universal mercy and grace of Zion's 
 King." Virtually and practically, this made the Christian 
 
72 AUTO-BIOGRAPHY OF ADIN BALLOU. 
 
 new birth to be a turning from the old faith in endless 
 punishment to a belief in Universalism. This was too 
 much for me to swallow or patiently endure. So I must 
 needs face Goliath in polemic battle array. I therefore 
 wrote and published a "Review" of the " Lecture- Ser- 
 mon," in which, after endeavoring to refute the author's 
 reasoning, I gave my own exposition of the subject under 
 consideration. 
 
 On general principles, this youthful exploit of mine was 
 unwise, crude, presumptuous, and of little consequence. 
 I was too unskilled in rhetoric to write for the press, too 
 inexperienced in theological criticism to set up as a pub- 
 lic reviewer, too immature in mental discipline to expound 
 the great doctrine of regeneration, and too obscure and 
 uninfluential an opponent to command the notice of my 
 adversary or the community at large. And yet I am con- 
 strained to declare that, judged from my present stand- 
 point, my pamphlet contained more truth and less error 
 on the main question at issue than the sermon whose 
 theory and reasoning it condemned. It is true that I 
 was then a Destructionist theologically, and changed not 
 long afterward to a Restorationist, but my views of spir- 
 itual regeneration were essentially the same after the 
 change as before. I became a believer with Hosea Ballon 
 in the grand idea of universal salvation, but never a con- 
 vert to his peculiar ideas of regeneration, or to his favorite 
 doctrine of no future punishment. The assumption that 
 conversion from Partialistic dogmas to the Universalist 
 faith is the new birth taught by Jesus Christ no more 
 commends itself to my acceptance now than when I fool- 
 ishly published my "Review" of the "Lecture Sermon.'' 
 
 When the winter of 1821-22 approached, 1 engaged to 
 teach the school in my native district and did so, begin- 
 ning at the usual date early in December. During the 
 term my marriage was solemnized, to wit., on the seven- 
 teenth of January, 1822. Among -all the pleasant and 
 joyous experiences connected with my teaching and wed- 
 ding were «ome exceedingly disagreeable and trying ones. 
 
DISAGREEABLE SCHOOL IMBROGLIO. 73 
 
 one of which was of sufficient importance to justify a 
 brief notice in this connection. 
 
 The school opened under favorable auspices and went 
 on for a time harmoniously and prosperously. With one 
 or two exceptions, the pupils were docile, teachable, 
 obedient, and kind. There was the best feeling between 
 them and their teacher; all were happy together and 
 excellent progress was made in the studies pursued. But 
 unfortunately an evil star after a while cast its baleful 
 glare across my horizon. It was as unexpected as it 
 was disagreeable and humiliating. A lad some twelve 
 years old, of apparently defective organization and subject 
 to half-insane fits of sullenness and ill-temper, of which 
 I was ignorant at the time, who had given me no 
 trouble, became suddenly refractory, stubborn, insubordi- 
 nate, and difficult of control, requiring all the tact, 
 ingenuity, and wisdom 1 could command, together with 
 some more distinctively disciplinary and punitive meas- 
 ures, to bring him to a state of submissiveness — the 
 whole ending by my sending him home full of rebellious 
 anger and vengeful spite. To his parents he had a ter- 
 rible ' ' tale of woe " to tell, making them think he had 
 been unjustly dealt with — outrageously abused indeed. 
 His father, an ignorant, intemperate man, took up the 
 matter with a firm determination to be revenged for my 
 supposed ill-treatment of his boy. He made clamorous 
 appeals in all directions for sympathy and for help to 
 bring me to justice, but to little purpose. Even the 
 greatly exaggerated and baseless stories of my alleged 
 cruelty, savagery almost, failed to arouse any interest in 
 his case except among people of his own stamp, and 
 those "lewd fellows of the baser sort" to be found in 
 every community, who are rife for mischief, and who 
 delight in some sort of quarrel or tumult, the occasion 
 of which matters little with them. 
 
 Of course 1 was to be prosecuted and made to suffer 
 to the full extent of the law. An astute, unscrupulous 
 Justice of the Peace was found to issue a warrant against 
 
74 AUTO-BIOGRAPHY OF ADIN BALLOU. 
 
 me, the execution of which was entrusted to a constable- 
 of kindred spirit and character. And to crown all, the- 
 conspirators planned to have the warrant served on me 
 on the day of my approaching wedding and while the 
 nuptial festivities were going on ; all of which was kept 
 a profound secret from the parties immediately concerned. 
 The programme thus arranged was punctiliously carried 
 out. The memorable seventeenth of January arrived. The 
 betrothed couple with a large company of their relatives 
 and friends were at the residence of the bride's parents 
 in Smithfleld, R. I., where ample provision had been 
 'made for the occasion. The marriage vows were acknow- 
 ledged, the marriage pledges were given and received, 
 and the marriage union was declared to be legally con- 
 summated and recognized by Rev. Reuben Potter, .Tr.,, 
 who officiated at the nuptial altar. Everything proceeded 
 joyously. Congratulations were extended to the bridal 
 pair and the wedding feast was going on, when, lo ! the- 
 ministers of the law appeared without previous announce- 
 ment and demanded, " in the name of the State of Rhode- 
 Island and Providence Plantations," that I should accom- 
 pany them as their prisoner to Cumberland Hill, three- 
 miles distant, to answer before Mr. Jillson, Justice of 
 the Peace, for certain misdemeanors, specified in the legal 
 document they carried, of which it was claimed I waa 
 guilty, and await his squireship's pleasure. 
 
 At first I was inclined to comply with the requisition 
 without any delay. But upon taking counsel of some of 
 our older and wiser guests who were amply competent 
 to give it, I declined leaving the house. Whereupon the 
 chief officer of the invading party grew pertinacious and 
 intimated that he had the aid necessary to enforce his- 
 orders if they were not peaceably obeyed. I appealed to 
 Hon. Thomas Mann, Judge of the Court of Common 
 Pleas, one of those present, who gave the person clothed 
 with a little brief authority to understand that he was 
 exceeding his powers and had no grounds for compelling 
 me to go with him, if I could only give bonds to appear 
 
TRIUMPHANT VINDICATION 7& 
 
 before the justice named at a designated time, whicli I 
 was entirely willing and ready to do. ' ' You had better 
 accept such guaranties," said the judge to the constable, 
 "and go home." The latter, finding himself confronted 
 by one greater in authority than he was, become at once 
 supple and compliant, accepted the pledge, and with his 
 fellow conspirators left ; but not, however, till they had 
 partaken of an undeserved portion of the wedding feast. 
 
 The issue of this tragico-comical affair was as compli- 
 mentary to me as it was humiliating and condemnatory 
 to my accuser and his abettors. I went, as agreed 
 upon, before Justice JiUson, the constable and witnesses 
 being present, but it was found that the charge against me 
 was so groundless, so unsupported by requisite evidence^ 
 and so certain to be met by triumphant counter-evidence,, 
 that even he, the hitherto supple tool of the conspirators^ 
 refused to have the case conie to trial, declaring that he 
 would dismiss the complaint and consider the warrant 
 annulled. The prevailing sentiment of the better citizens 
 in the community was manifestly in my favor, deeming 
 the proceedings against me malicious and shameful, and 
 all parties to them worthy of abhorrence and contempt. 
 This episode over, I took up again the duties of my posi- 
 tion as teacher and carried the^ term of school through to 
 a happy and successful conclusion. 
 
 So well pleased were my friends and the general pub- 
 lic with the results of my labors in the schoolroom that 
 I was immediately approached with a proposition to open 
 a private school in the same place and continue it for a 
 few of the following months. As circumstances seemed 
 to render it expedient that I should abandon the plan of 
 settling down upon the old homestead with my parents 
 and succeed to my father's estate and occupation, that 
 plan was now given up and the contemplated private 
 school was started, specific charges being made per 
 week for tuition. It was also deemed best that my 
 wife and I should set up housekeeping on our own 
 account, and we accordingly did so in a small dwelling 
 
76 AUTO-BIOGRAPHY OF ADIN BALLOU. 
 
 owned by my father near the ancestral residence ; my 
 nineteenth birthday finding us happily installed in our 
 new home. Our means were very limited, as my income 
 was small, but our wants were comparatively few and 
 •our expectations in no wise extravagant, so that we 
 probably enjoyed quite as much in our newly-begun 
 domestic life as most of those at this day who start out 
 under more auspicious worldly circumstances in general, 
 and with abundant or perhaps princel}' resources at their 
 command. I preached often here and there, but received 
 little pecuniary compensation therefor ; and teaching, my 
 most productive source of supply, afforded me but a 
 small revenue. Moreover, my liat speculation, before men- 
 tioned, had imposed a heavy financial burden on me, 
 which was increased by the publication of my "Review." 
 I was getting ahead in deai;-bought experience certainly 
 (perhaps in useful knowledge), but not in the means of 
 maintaining a family. We were comfortable so far as 
 present necessities were concerned and hopeful for the 
 future. Nor were our hopes wholly profitless and vain. 
 Even our annoyances and trials were not without profit 
 to us. 
 
 "There's a divinity that shapes our ends. 
 Rough hew them'as we will." 
 
 This is something more than poetry; it is a universal 
 truth. I realize it in my own case. I hewed awkwardly, 
 but Providence shaped results. So it was in my youth; 
 so it has been through my earthly pilgrimage. I have 
 been led by a way I knew not and in paths of dubious 
 aspect, but thus far through every dark defile and fearful 
 pass into bright and peaceful resting-places. 
 
 This chapter has detailed the experiences of only a 
 single year; the next one will be scarcely less replete 
 with incidents for a similar period. 
 
CHAPTER V. 
 
 1822-1823. 
 
 Foundations Shaken — Inward Conflict — Change of 
 
 Views — Alienation — Excommunication — 
 
 New Fellowship. 
 
 TOURING the continuance of my school, which closed 
 J^ about June loth, I preached on the Sabbath either in 
 the "Ballon JMeeting-house " near by, or in the general 
 vicinity, not farther away than Providence on the south 
 and adjoining Massachusetts towns on the north. My 
 discourses, doetrinally, were along the lines indicated in 
 a former chapter, and yet my mind began to be exer- 
 cised with some doubts whether, after all, Destruetionism, 
 as the final doom of the impenitent wicked, was I'eally 
 taught in the Bible. Some time before this, my wife's 
 mother, one of the best of women and a sincere Restora- 
 tionist withal, had asked me if I would read Winchester's 
 "Dialogues on Universal Restoration." "Certainly," 
 said I, " and I am sure such a doctrine can be easily 
 refuted." She made no reply, but smiled at my self- 
 confidence and handed me the volume. I went through 
 it carefully, but with the persuasion that it was full of 
 error and would make little impression on me. I was 
 surprised, however, to find it written in such a serious, 
 religious, and candid spirit as to deeply interest and 
 gratify me. Unlike most of the Universalist publications 
 which had been urged upon my attention, there was not 
 a sentence in it that seemed to denounce or ridicule what 
 I called strictly religious convictions and feelings — 
 regeneration, experimental piety, or consecration to God. 
 
78 AUTO-BIOGRAPHY OF ADIN BALLOU. 
 
 Moreover, I was struck with the moral grandeur of the 
 author's distinctive doctrine and the force of his answer 
 to some leading objections to it. Yet I was not con- 
 vinced that he was right, nor consciously sliaken in mj' 
 ■own belief. His argument seemed to be spent chiefly 
 against the dogma of endless punishment which I eonsid- 
 €red even then as indefensible as it was horrible. I 
 flattered myself at the time that my own doctrine of the 
 annihilation of those who died impenitent was so much 
 stronger than that of never-ending misery or that of ulti- 
 mate universal redemption that it must triumph over both 
 in a fair contest. And I said so when I returned the 
 ^'Dialogues" to my good mother-in-law. She was not 
 ■disposed to debate the matter with me, but leave all to 
 time and my own reflective mind. I now see what I was 
 then unconscious of, that Winchester's ideas had imparted 
 their leaven to my understanding too effectually to be 
 wrhoUy neutralized by my prejudices. And I would drop 
 the liint to such religious inquirers as are determined 
 never to embrace Restorationism that "Winchester's 
 Dialogues " is too seductive and convincing a work for 
 them to read, without jeopardy to their opposing faith. 
 The fact that I had published a ' ' Review " of Rev. 
 Hosea Ballou's sermon on the "New Birth," naturally 
 ■opened the way for further discussions with my Univer- 
 salist neighbors. Several of them were fond of and skil- 
 ful in debate and they missed no good opportunity of 
 testing my ability in the same line. And on my part, I . 
 never declined to take issue with them. Foremost among 
 these disputants were Lewis Metcalf, Luke Jenckes, and 
 Levi Ballou, the first two resident in Wrentham, Mass., 
 the last in Cumberland ; but all of them known by me 
 from 'early childhood. They were elderly men, unedu- 
 cated in the scholastic sense, but naturally strong-minded, 
 shrewd, sharp reasoners, and well posted in all matters 
 pertaining to Uuiversalism. Winchester's opinions and 
 claims they repudiated, cleaving with great tenacity and 
 admiration to the new-school, no-future-punishment exposi- 
 
THEOLOGICAL QUESTIONINGS. 79 
 
 tors and doctrinaires. I thought myself competent to 
 battle with these men, especially on their own pecnliar 
 platform. They argued mainly from Scripture and reason, 
 both of which I could use to their frequent peiplexity 
 iind discomfiture. But 1 found that I had one weak 
 point to defend aud that was that an all-perfect God, 
 infinite in power, wisdom, and love, who really willed tlie 
 final holiness and happiness of all human kind, and 
 raised up Christ to redeem all, must needs ultimately 
 annihilate most of them as incurable sinners and so prac- 
 tically confess his impotency aud utter failure in that 
 important behalf, so far as they were concerned. My 
 opponents pushed me hard on this point whenever they 
 «ould. And all I could do was to contend that the Bible 
 taught the doctrine and that it was the best thing God 
 could do without depriving mankind of moral freedom — 
 an evil out of the question. When brought fairly to bay 
 this was my only refuge. 
 
 At length, however, I began to have some doubts 
 whether, after all, the Bible did, on the whole, teach 
 what I claimed, and also whether it were absolutely cer- 
 tain that God must destroy man's moral freedom if he 
 finally by his saving might regenerated all who left this 
 state of existence unreconciled to himself. These doubts 
 were too slight at first to affect me much, and especially 
 80 long as I firmly held the opinion that man's earth- 
 life was his only probation for eternity. This opinion 
 my ultra-Universalist opponents did not attack with much 
 force, for though they scouted it as groundless, their 
 phase of Universalism led them to expend their strength 
 in proving that the Bible taught no such thing as sin- 
 fulness and ■ punishment after death under any possible 
 circumstances. All this to me was labor lost, for I was 
 just as certain then as now that if the Bible, particularly 
 the New Testament, does not teach that a portion of 
 mankind will wake up condemned sinners in the next 
 life, it teaches nothing that common sense can under- 
 stand. And I think now as 1 thought then, that many 
 
80 AUTO-BIOGRAPHY OF ADIN BALLOU. 
 
 of the expositions wiereby uo-future-punishment Univer- 
 salists explained away_ what are generally considered as 
 threatenings of future retribution, are specious, unsound, 
 and some of them absurd. I should never have been 
 converted from my old belief by any such interpretation 
 of the sacred record. 
 
 But it was impossible for me to get over the weak 
 point mentioned to my own satisfaction, however success- 
 fully I could confute my adversaries on their distinctive 
 ground. Recurring to Winchester's "Dialogues," I felt 
 all the force of their reasoning and felt it against the 
 doctrine of annihilation as well as against that of endless 
 misery ; for though the former was incomparably prefer- 
 able to the latter, it was an alternative involving in less 
 degree the same principles, difficulties, and objections, and 
 was bound to go to the wall when it came to be sub- 
 mitted to the tribunal of my more enlightened, rational, 
 and moral understanding, as was the case at an early 
 day. 
 
 I think it was in the month of June during the year now 
 in review that the organization known as the "Southern 
 Association of Universalists " held one of its sessions at 
 West Wreutham, Mass. My friend, Levi Ballou, kindly 
 invited me to attend its public exercises. I accepted his 
 invitation, but heard nothing from the preachers on the 
 occasion that made much impression on me or exerted 
 any appreciable influence in the way of effecting a change 
 in my theological convictions. I was introduced to sev- 
 eral of the ministers, among whom was Eev. Hosea 
 Ballou 2d, as he was then called. 1 had a conversation 
 of much interest with him and took a decided liking to- 
 him at the time and thenceforth through life, though we 
 did not sail in the same ecclesiastical ship except for a 
 brief session. He was a candid and calm as well as a 
 close reasouer and was more of a Restorationist than an 
 ultra-Universalist in his views, though he remained in 
 continuous fellowship with the new-school men of the sect. 
 Albeit he argued with me as one holding the idea of 
 
EXAMINATION OF THE SCRIPTURES. 81 
 
 future retributioD as well as that of final restoration and 
 begged me to remember that the denomination embraced 
 both believers and disbelievers in that view of the divine 
 government, not making either a test of fellowship. I 
 must therefore ponder the arguments on both sides and 
 if I could accept the doctrine of universal salvation, do 
 so on grounds that seemed to me reasonable and satis- 
 factory. Should I adopt Eestorationist views, 1 should 
 not be obliged to endorse the other, and should be 
 regarded tlie equal in every respect of those differing 
 from me by all intelhgent believers in the final redemp- 
 tion of all men. 
 
 I returned home under some conviction that I might be 
 in error concerning the consummation of all things, but 
 by no means converted from my former belief. I felt, 
 however, that I must thoroughly investigate the whole 
 subject, and at once set myself about the task, becoming 
 a very close and anxious student. I took my bible and 
 went through it carefully from Genesis to Revelation, 
 noting down under three distinct heads, viz : endless pun- 
 ishment, final destruction of the wicked, and universal 
 salvation, every text which seemed to favor each doctrine 
 or which I knew to be quoted as such. I also noted the 
 passages supposed to teach that this life is man's only 
 probation for eternity or that there is no change from 
 sin to holiness after death. The result was that I found 
 the smallest numerical array of texts under the head of 
 endless punishment, the largest under the head of the 
 destruction of the wicked, and the next largest in favor of 
 the final salvation of all. To my astonishment the word 
 ' ' probation " was not in the bible, nor a single passage 
 evidently intended to teach the doctrine that this life ia 
 man's only probationary state, and only about half a 
 dozen passages from the letter of which that view could 
 be plausibly inferred — none of these absolutely requiring 
 such inference. 
 
 Respecting ,the texts seeming to favor endless punish- 
 ment, I learned that their strength depended mainly on 
 6 
 
82 AUTO-BIOGRAPHY OF ADIN BALLOD. 
 
 words often having a limited signification or on intensi- 
 fied forms of expression, employed in a figurative, 
 impassioned sense, and that none of them were obviously 
 designed to affirm that dogma as an article of faith ; in 
 fine, that they were highly-wrought, glowing descriptions 
 of retribution in its general aspects, rather than positive 
 and definite declarations of divine truth concerning it. 
 The numerous passages apparently teaching the destruc- 
 tion of the wicked were also found to be of the inten- 
 sive, figurative class, in which the mere sound of the 
 words gave them force — words used elsewhere with a 
 meaning altogether different from that of utter annihila- 
 tion, and not one of them obviously employed to denote 
 an item of doctrinal belief. The passages that seemed to 
 favor universal salvation were of various kind. Some 
 commonly used in that behalf had no force whatever ; 
 others might be construed so as to support either of the 
 three theories under examination ; but there were none 
 which I could be certain were designed to assert the 
 doctrine absolutely as divinely revealed truth. There 
 were, however, a large number, the principles and spirit 
 of which would consistently harmonize with no other 
 view. These related (1) to the nature, attributes, and 
 moral character of God; (2) to his will, purpose, and 
 design towards mankind; (3) to the mission, office, 
 exaltation, and triumph of Christ; (4) to the essence 
 and spirit of G-od-likeness, i. e. the moral imitation of 
 G-od as the only true personal righteousness; (5) to 
 Ihe aim or purpose of divine rebuke, chastisement, judg- 
 ment, and retribution, as beneficent and reformatory ; and 
 (6) to a grand prophetic era, in which there shall be 
 no sin, evil, pain, but God "be all in all." I perceived 
 that these six classes of Scripture testimony were of a 
 different nature and scope from those seeming to teach 
 the other two doctrines. They were not incidental state- 
 ments, descriptions, or representations of divine retribu- 
 tion, nor figurative, intensified, impassioned forms of 
 phraseology, but were declarations of great truths to be 
 
THE CRISIS AT HAND. 83 
 
 a-eligiously held, and of fundamental principles demanding 
 the broadest application both in faith and practice. 
 Their weight did not depend on mere sound of words, 
 it was intrinsic. They did not express a simple, posi- 
 tive, theological conclusion in respect to G-od's final 
 disposal of the human race, but they necessitated the 
 •conclusion that it must be a disposal perfectly benevo- 
 lent, impartial, wise, and good; perfectly accordant with 
 his own will and purpose; and perfectly triumphant 
 -through Christ over all opposing forces, hindrances, and 
 obstacles. I saw, therefore, that it was not warrantable 
 to construe even the most intense, highly- wrought 
 representations of sin and punishment as finalities, or as 
 frustrating the ultimate divine purpose, or as rendering 
 in any way doubtful the absolute moral perfections of 
 ^God. 
 
 I was now in a tight place, with a flood of light beam- 
 ing on my mind and a host of new ideas taking possession 
 •of my understanding. The whole subject presented itself 
 in an aspect original and astonishing. The plain, 
 •unavoidable issue came home to me : — Is the belief that 
 Ood will finally blot out of existence all who die in sin 
 reconcilable with the fundamental truths and principles 
 Tinquestionably declared in those six classes of texts? 
 And is any other belief than that He will sooner or later 
 render all human beings holy and happy consistent with 
 those testimonies? Regarded in the spirit of truth 
 and unprejudiced reason, the case looked very much as 
 if I must yield? But why had I not seen the subject in 
 this light before? I had been as sincere and honest in 
 mj desire for truth in the past as now. "Why had so 
 Tnany millions of pious and learned Christians in all ages 
 of the church held the final loss in some form or other 
 of all that die out of Christ? I was then ignorant of 
 the fact that many eminent Christian Fathers, including 
 the great Origen, were unequivocal advocates of univer- 
 sal restoration, {As he was also of the fact that of 
 the six grea,t schools first founded to promote the inter- 
 
84 AUTO-BIOGRAPHY OF ADIN BALLOU. 
 
 ests of Christian philosophy, four taught absolutely that 
 distinctive doctrine'. — Ed.^ 
 
 Furthermore, if I became a believer in the final holi- 
 ness and happiness of all mankind, I should have to 
 avow and preach it. In that case I must renounce all 
 I had thus far professed and contended for to the con- 
 trary. I should shock, aggrieve, and alienate my fellow- 
 Christians, including my nearest and dearest friends. I 
 should be denounced as a changeling and an apostate, 
 as others had been. And with whom should I find myself 
 presently in fellowship but those whom I had regarded 
 as rejectors of experimental religion and whose phase of 
 Universalism was radically repulsive to me? Then arose 
 the strong internal suggestion: — "You are a victim of 
 Satanic delusion and that makes universal salvation look 
 probable to you. Take care how you advance." I 
 trembled and shrunk backward. Objections and doubts, 
 rolled in upon me. I wept, prayed, and reviewed the 
 ground I had gone over again and again till I was well 
 nigh distracted. I could not eat, drink, sleep, or appeal- 
 like myself. I grew pale and wore an anxious, sickly 
 look, to the serious concern of my wife and friends, 
 who knew nothing of the conflict that was raging within 
 me. My solicitude, doubt, and fear brought me to a 
 poise of suspense and disquietude hardly to be endured. 
 
 In this dreadful condition I wandered off by myself 
 one day to a retreat out of human sight (I can never 
 forget the place), and gave full vent to my emotions, 
 bordering almost on despair. A voice came to me, say- 
 ing : — "Kneel and pray." "Alas!" thought I, "for 
 what shall I pray?" "For deliverance — for heavenly 
 light and guidance. Pray that if this be a Satanic delu- 
 sion it may be dispelled ; but that if the Spirit of Truth 
 is leading you into more glorious truth, you may not 
 resist it; and that all doubts be banished from your 
 mind." I did as dii-ected, breathing forth my petitions 
 with all the fervor of which I was capable. In a 
 moment the heavens seemed to open above my head; 
 
THE CRISIS PASSED. 85 
 
 an inexpressibly sweet influence flowed in upon my soul; 
 the whole subject became luminous, every doubt van- 
 ished, a vision of the final triumph, of good over evil 
 shone forth in majestic splendor, and my heart was 
 iflUed with transports of joy. I was supremely blest 
 .and if I could have commanded an archangel's trumpet, 
 the whole world would have heard the sublime gospel 
 then and there revealed to me. My faith was conclu- 
 sively sealed, and I have never since felt one serious 
 doubt of the final universal holiness and happiness of all 
 the immortal children of G-od. I returned to the house 
 with a buoyant step and a joyful spirit, told my wife 
 •what had transpired, and she rejoiced with me. 
 
 A letter from Hosea Ballou 2d reached me about this 
 time in reply to one addressed to him asking an explana- 
 tion of certain of my strongest proof texts in support 
 •of Destmctionism. But the work had been taken out 
 ■of his hands and was already accomplished — more effec- 
 tually than he possibly could have done it. His letter 
 was an excellent one, but it would not have met my 
 mental and moral wants as they had been supplied from 
 the eternal world. It was valuable of its kind, as was 
 also his then recently published discourse on Gal. 3 : 
 ■8 — a copy of which he sent me. But neither of these 
 would have overcome wholly my objections or removed 
 my principal difficulties, because they did not deal so 
 much with fundamental principles aS they did in special 
 expositions and polemic subtleties, some of which I 
 should then have deemed unsound or at least incon- 
 ■clusive. 
 
 I had now a stormy scene to pass through with my 
 brethren, relatives, and friends. No sooner was it known 
 that I had embraced the doctrine of Universal Salvation 
 than they were filled with astonishment and overwhelmed 
 with grief. All the fair promise I had given of gospel 
 •usefulness was to their minds blasted in the opening 
 bloom. My own father was first and foremost among 
 the aggrieved. I expected he would be, and thought it 
 
86 AUTO-BIOGRAPHY OF ADIN BALLOU. 
 
 my duty to be prompt and frank with him and let him; 
 receive the painful news from my own lips. It was the- 
 bitterest cup he had ever been called upon to drink. I 
 have no doubt that my death would have been morfr 
 endurable to him. I was his favorite son and had flow- 
 ered out into a promising minister of the gospel, as he- 
 understood and prized it. Profoundly sincere and firmly 
 established in his religious convictions, he was no less- 
 so in his prejudices against Universalism in all its forms. 
 He had not a doubt that it was of the. Devil nor that I 
 was the deluded victim of his Satanic majesty's wiles.. 
 He remonstrated, rebuked, denounced, pleaded, and. 
 deplored, but could not move me. Finally, in his impa- 
 tient vexation, he threatened to disinherit me if I did' 
 not renounce such a damnable error. This had no effect 
 whatever upon me. I was so insensible to such a -motive- 
 that it did not even disturb my equanimity, for I had 
 counted the cost and had received a special assurance- 
 from above that I should never be forsaken. I therefore- 
 replied in perfect kindness that I had no claim to any of 
 his property, that he had a perfect right to give it tO' 
 whomsoever he chose ; but of this I was sure that if I 
 had no earthly father to provide for me, I had a heav- 
 enly one who would never fail me. He was sorely 
 vexed by this answer and retorted, "You will find you 
 have no father in heaven to do you any good in the way 
 you are going." I merely rejoined, "I can trust hinn 
 imphcitly." This was the last in a series of conversa- 
 tional debates I ever had with him. He had said and! 
 done all he could to save me and now gave me up as 
 hopelessly lost. He, however, became sorry for his pas- 
 sionate threat of disinheritance and some months after 
 wished my ever kind motlier to tell me he should nevei- 
 cast off a child of his for difference of opinion. Mean- 
 time, he stood aloof from me and did not become fully 
 reconciled till ten years had elapsed. My mother did not 
 accept my new faith and probably regretted the change ^ 
 but treated me with unaltered maternal affection and kind- 
 
INTERVIEW WITH DEACON ALDEICH. 87 
 
 ness. On the other side, my parents-in-law rejoiced in 
 my conversion to their own cherished faith, and gave me 
 nothing but sympathetic encouragement. 
 
 My father next felt it to be his painful duty to have 
 me publicly disowned by the church and formally deposed 
 from its membership as dangerous to its welfare. He 
 dissuaded all he could from holding personal discussions 
 with me, as it would be of no use to me and might 
 unsettle their own minds ; for, he said, I was very adroit 
 and seductive in argument. Most of my friends were 
 thereby deterred from coming to see me at all, but 
 good Deacon Nathaniel Aldrich, who was once a mem- 
 ber of our church, but who seceded on account of his 
 strong Calvinistic views, had so much concern for me that 
 he resolved upon a personal interview. My father, who 
 never liked him very well, when he announced his inten- 
 tion, advised ^against it and signified that it would be 
 labor lost. Yet the deacon was not to be deterred 
 from his purpose ; so he called upon me and gave me 
 the full benefit of his counsel. Finding that I was 
 unconvinced by his argument, and unmoved by his 
 solemn admonition, he said he must leave me with grief 
 to my chosen delusion. He deplored my apostasy and 
 consequent doom, but could do no more for my salva- 
 tion. I had taken pains to draw out his Calvinism in 
 its baldest form, and now that he was about to leave 
 with such despairing professions of sorrow for my fate, 
 calmly said: — "Why do you allow yourself to be so 
 much distressed on my account? If I am one of the 
 elect, you cannot doubt my final salvation; and if I am 
 one of the reprobates, it will be for the glory of God 
 and the good of the universe that I should be lost. 
 Why do you distrust the sovereignty of God, the wisdom 
 of his decrees, or the certainty that my destiny will be 
 just what you should rejoice in, whether I am consigned 
 to heaven or hell ?" His only response was a sigh ! He 
 reported my case as hopeless to my father, who, after 
 he left, said to my mother: — "Aldrich has been talk- 
 
88 AUTO-BIOGRAPHY OF ADIN BALLOU. 
 
 ing with Adin and lie got his mouth shut up pretty quick, 
 as I knew he would." Father abhorred Calvinism almost 
 as much as he did Universalism, and probably derived 
 more pleasure from the recusant deacon's discomfiture 
 than he could have done from his success. 
 
 At length I was summoned to appear before the 
 Church during the first week in August, 1822. The 
 meeting was held in the same venerable house of worship 
 in which I. first heard preaching and where I delivered my 
 first sermon. A full attendance of members was present 
 and my father laid the case before them as one perfectly 
 plain to them all and requiring no investigation or trial. 
 To his heartfelt affliction and regret, I had become a 
 Universalist. This I had openly avowed and persisted 
 in, notwithstanding the most faithful admonition. The 
 church could give no fellowship or countenance to that 
 doctrine, my acceptance of it excluded me from the fold 
 of Christ, and it was the solemn duty of the church to 
 disown me. Discussions were unnecessary ; action and 
 record only were required. I asked the privilege of being 
 heard in explanation and defence of my views, which I 
 did not wish to disguise, but this was denied me, my 
 father saying that he well knew my ability and skill at 
 talking and should afford me no opportunity to unsettle 
 and mislead the young and draw susceptible minds into 
 my snare. The others concurring, I saw that the whole 
 proceeding was a solemn farce and requested them to 
 finish their work without the least delay. They did so 
 and I became to them "as a heathen man and a pub- 
 lican." 
 
 Whether the Connecticut Conference, whose letter of 
 fellowship I held, ever took any action on my case, I 
 do not remember. Probably not, as my disownment by 
 the Cumberland Church was deemed conclusive. For my 
 part, I was so disgusted by that action that I did not 
 care a straw for all the excommunications in the world. 
 Good Elder Benjamin Taylor of Siransey was the only 
 one of my old ' ' Christian " brethren, who, to my know- 
 
OBJECTIONABLE FEATURES OF UNIVERSALISM. 89 
 
 ledge, regretted and condemned the proceedings against 
 me as utterly repugnant to the very foundation on which 
 the denomination professed to stand, viz: ^'■No creed but 
 the New Testament interpreted by each individual for 
 himself, and a practical Christian life." Father Taylor 
 was right — consistent with the often-boasted platform of 
 the order and with his own large soul. He said: "Our 
 young brother Ballou should have been treated tenderly, 
 reasoned with kindly, borne with patiently, without ever 
 being censured, much less disowned, except for un-Chris- 
 tian conduct." If I had been so treated, I should in all 
 probability have spent my days as a minister of the 
 •" Christian Connexion." For it was in some important 
 respects an unnatural and most disagreeable transition 
 for me to leave my old, fondly-cherished, ecclesiastical 
 relations and become identified with the Universalist 
 denomination as it was at that period of its history. 
 
 For while I had come to believe in what might be 
 regarded the distinguishing doctrine of that body, there 
 were many opinions, notions, theories, put forth and 
 urged by its leading spirits as correlative deductions 
 from, if not essential adjuncts of, that doctrine, with 
 which I had not one particle of sympathy, but rather 
 an instinctive repugnance to them. Those leading spirits 
 were strongly opposed to the idea of any future disci- 
 plinary punishment ; explained away, often by far-fetched 
 interpretations, all the passages of Scripture which teach 
 retribution after death ; ridiculed revivals of religion ; 
 held all spiritual experience to be superstitious or fanati- 
 cal; and expended nearly all their effort in proving, 
 argumentatively, the naked tenet of universal salvation, 
 as if that were the whole of the gospel of Christ. And 
 this result was made to depend more on the arbitrary 
 will and decree of G-od than on any searching process 
 of regeneration whereby each soul must have a con- 
 scious struggle of choice or consent and be brought into 
 a state of personal holiness. Death was to finish sin 
 and the resurrection to inaugurate perfection of character 
 
90 AUTO-BIOGRAPHY OF ADIN BALLOU. 
 
 and blessedness. These peculiarities of faith and prac- 
 tice were repulsive to my spiritual instincts and habits 
 of thought. They had not exerted one particle of 
 influence in aid of my conversion. During that whole 
 experience, from inception to consummation, I had not 
 had a single doubt that mankind would be called to- 
 judgment after death for the deeds done in the body; 
 nor that most of the texts (not all), commonly under- 
 stood to refer to retribution in the invisible world, did 
 so refer; nor that death and the resurrection affected 
 chiefly the mortal and immortal organisms inhabited by 
 the soul in its different states of existence rather than 
 its absolute moral character; nor that men must be born 
 again out of animal selfishness into the love of God 
 and man in order to enter the kingdom of heaven; nor 
 that constant self-sacrifice must be practised as a nec- 
 essary condition of true holiness and happiness, here and 
 hereafter. The much-vaunted notion that the destruction 
 of Jerusalem was the grand crisis of di^'ine judgment 
 and retribution to which Christ and the apostles chiefly 
 referred in their warnings against sin, did not commend 
 itself then any more than it does now to my under- 
 standing. In short, I was not converted to the no- 
 future-punishment phase of Universalism, nor by any 
 arguments therefrom derived, but to pure Restorationism 
 by reasons which had no affinity with those upon which 
 that phase of the doctrine was based. 
 
 But notwithstanding all this, I entered into the pale and 
 fellowship of the denomination indicated — compelled to 
 that alliance by stress of circumstances. I was driven out 
 of the "Christian Connexion" by the honest narrowmind- 
 edness of its members. The vast majority of them could 
 not at that time tolerate the doctrines I had espoused. 
 One must believe in destructionism or in endless torment, 
 else in their judgment he could not be a Christian. On 
 this ground, in spite of their declaration against all 
 creeds save the Bible as each individual understood it 
 and their boast that their sole test of fellowship was a 
 
NEW ECCLESIASTICAL RELATIONS. , 91 
 
 Christian life, I was excluded from their. Order. On the 
 other hand, I was hailed and welcomed by the Universal- 
 ists as a convert to their faith, although I scarcely held 
 any views in strict accoi'dance with what was generally 
 believed among them except the single tenet of final uni- 
 versal holiness and happiness. I told them frankly how 
 far I was in agreement with them and that on many 
 points I differed from most of them. "All right," they- 
 said ; ' ' there are various opinions among our people upon, 
 those minor particulars, but^^we allow the largest liberty. 
 Come with us, fear nothing, and feel at home." Thus 
 behind me was the merciless outcry, "Begone from our 
 midst," and before me a thousand greetings of hospi- 
 tality and assurances of welcome. 
 
 As a religious outcast therefore, with no power to 
 assume and maintain an independent position, I sought 
 the only place of refuge open to me, and accepted the 
 only proffered welcome and fellowship — casting in my 
 lot with my new-found friends, — the Universalists. In 
 doing so, 1 did not feel that I was compromising any 
 moral principle, or yielding any point of honor, all neces- 
 sary explanations, positions, and concessions having been 
 interchanged and clearly understood. Still I was unfortu-^ 
 nately situated, inasmuch as the masses of my new allies^ 
 like most masses, were too indiscriminating to appreciate 
 my peculiarities, while I was so placed as to be perpetu- 
 ally tempted to yield my scraples and conform to the 
 prevailing sentiment of the body with which I had asso- 
 ciated myself. And this temptation was all the more 
 seductive and potent in that so much geniality and kind- 
 ness were shown me. With ample liberty to differ, and 
 with so many expressions of cordial friendship, it was 
 much easier to agree and conform than to nurse dissent. 
 Such was the course things took with me, and ere long 
 I became to outward appearance completely amalgamated 
 with the Universalists as a sect. Whatever dislikes and 
 misgivings I had at first gradually diminished by closer 
 intercourse till they ceased almost to exert any percepti- 
 
92 AUTO-BIOGEAPHY OF ADIN BALLOU. 
 
 ble influence over me. In this I gained social power, 
 but probably lost some religious stamina and strength of 
 moral purpose. But whether, on the whole, more were 
 lost than gained to me and to the world remains to be 
 seen in the light of the great futufe. 
 
 It may be asked what I was doing in other respects 
 during this transition period. As soon as I began to 
 doubt seriously the soundness of my theology, I sus- 
 pended preaching altogether, and for a time gave myself 
 wholly to study and investigation. This taxed my health 
 and strength to the utmost. After passing the crisis and 
 finding myself physicallj' enfeebled, I began to have some 
 anxietj' in regard to my temporal affairs. My funds 
 were low, I was burdened with debt, and the outlook, in 
 a worldly point of view, was far from encouraging. I 
 had many dark hours on this account, but in one of the 
 darkest of them, when I was in secret deploring my 
 dubious earthly prospects, a voice again came to me, 
 saying: "Fear not, my child. I will never leave thee 
 nor forsake thee." The effect was electrifying and rap- 
 turous. My soul was thrilled to ecstasy and I felt the 
 most perfect trust in divine providence and the most 
 heartfelt joy. The promise was soon after so fully veri- 
 fied to me, and has been through life, that I should deem 
 myself basely ungrateful to doubt that it was from 
 heaven. For I had hardly passed through this experience 
 when an offer came to me from my uncle, Daniel Sayles 
 of Franklin, Mass., already mentioned, to work for him 
 during haying time according to my strength, it being 
 mutually understood that I was unable to render full ser- 
 vice and should receive pay accordingly. This tided me 
 over the shallow waters and enabled me to provide for 
 myself and family until I could begin preaching again 
 under new auspices and with assurances of a remunera- 
 tive income equal to my necessities. And this good 
 fortune visited me at an early day. 
 
 After becoming fully established in the belief of the 
 final triumph of the all-redeeming grace of G-od, I wrote 
 
A RECOGNIZED UNIVEESALIST MINISTER 93 
 
 to my friend, Rev. Hosea Bailou, 2d, in reply to Ms 
 letter referred to on a preceding page, announcing the 
 fact and giving somewhat in detail the circumstances 
 attending the change through which I had passed. The 
 substance of my letter he published in the ' ' Universalist 
 Magazine," Boston, of which he was one of the editors, 
 the last week in August, 1822, I think (Vol. 4, p. 36), 
 under the heading of "Another conversion in the minis- 
 try." This brought me before the public in my new 
 ecclesiastical position, and advertised me far and wide 
 among friends and foes as a Universalist minister. As 
 a consequence, I immediately began to receive invitations 
 to preach in the general region round about, which I 
 was very glad to accept so far as health, time, and 
 convenience would allow. My first discourse under new 
 auspices was delivered in the Elder Williams meeting- 
 house, West Wrentham, Mass., to a crowded audience, 
 it having been extensively notified that "Young Bailou 
 would give on the occasion the reasons for his change 
 of theological faith." I also preached at Bellingham, 
 Cumberland Hill, Woonsocket Falls, Providence, and 
 other places in Rhode Island and Massachusetts, not far 
 distant from my home, and officiated at several funerals 
 in the same general vicinity, not lacking for employ- 
 ment in my adopted profession. 
 
 During the autumn I made a second visit to Boston 
 and its environs, being a guest for some days in the 
 family of -Rev. Hosea Bailou 2d, of Roxbury, where I 
 was kindly received and treated with all the courtesy and 
 hospitality I could desire. Nor ought I to say less of 
 his great-uncle, often called "Father Hosea," and oth^r 
 clergymen of the denomination with their families to 
 whom I was- introduced. I was invited to preach in 
 each of the Bailou pulpits and perhaps one or two others 
 near by. Of my impressions of the younger Hosea and 
 my attractions to him, I have already spoken. 
 
 "Father Hosea," with whom I also visited, was a very 
 genial man in the midst of his large family, and fond of 
 
•94 AUTO-BIOGRAPIIY OF ADIN BALLOU. 
 
 pleasantry in common conversation . He was then in 
 mid-life, being about fifty-one years old. His oldest son 
 was already a clergyman in Vermont, his second son just 
 entering the profession; while the youngest was a little 
 boy in his frock, running about the house. One of his 
 daughters was married and the others were at home, 
 gracing the domestic circle. He was a man of sensible, 
 plain habits; living comfortably, but not extravagantly. 
 He was a great lover of children, and governed his 
 household admirably, with a gentle but commanding dis- 
 cipline. He had a large store of anecdotes, and although 
 not a great talker knew well how to keep up conversa- 
 tional discourse and entertainment when sun-ounded by 
 his friends. He was not, however, inclined to intrude 
 his theological peculiarities upon his visitors, much less 
 to indoctrinate his juniors with them. So during this 
 visit not a word was said to me on the subject of no 
 future retribution, which, if broached, might have raised 
 a discussion between us. 
 
 This pleasant visit had an indirect but strong tendency 
 to blunt my conx-ictions and scruples, or as might be said, 
 soothe my prejudices against ultra-Universalism. I was 
 silenced, too nearly, by so much respect and kindness, 
 and was drawn too far into acquiescence with men from 
 whose teachings I was afteiTvards obliged strongly to dis- 
 sent, much to my cost. And what was worse, I became 
 infected with an almost groundless prejudice against 
 Revs. Paul Dean, Edward Turner, Charles Hudson, and 
 others — the defenders of Restorationism as opposed to 
 ultra-Universalism. A controversy had already been 
 opened between the parties representing these two isms, 
 in which some personalities appeared. And these, which 
 were of trifling importance as related to the- real point at 
 issue, were magnified by the ultra leaders and made to 
 seem the fundamental reasons or motives of their oppo- 
 nents in inaugurating and continuing the controversy. In 
 flue, the Restorationist champions were represented as 
 mere ambitious factionists and mischief-makers in the 
 
INVITATION TO PREACH IN BOSTON. 95 
 
 order, with no honest, solemn convictions of doctrinal 
 faith or of Christian duty. This was a gross injustice 
 to them, as I afterwards learned, for which there was 
 no reasonable excuse. Nevertheless, this visit had the 
 •effect of making me for a time a sharer in that injustice 
 to my subsequent regret and sorrow, causing me to think 
 ill of the Restorationist party and their proceedings, 
 when- I ought to have sympathized and acted with 
 them — at least on the main question at issue. 
 
 Returning from Boston, I preached from time to time 
 -during the autumn as opportunity in the surrounding 
 towns offered, and in the winter had charge of a school 
 in West Wrentham, adjacent to my home. New relig- 
 ious friends flocked around me from all directions and 
 seemed anxious to make up for the loss of old ones, 
 deserving by numerous manifestations of regard and kind- 
 ness to me and my wife an indelible record of heartfelt 
 appreciation and gratitude. Olney Ballou, Levi Ballou, 
 and Luke Jenckes, with their families, belong to this 
 category, as do others of less prominence. My always 
 first and foremost friend, my dear mother, never 
 changed. 
 
 After the close of my school, perhaps in February, I 
 received a request to preach one or two Sundays to the 
 First Universalist Society in Boston. Their design seemed 
 to be to hear different clergymen for short periods each, 
 with a view of inviting the more acceptable of them to 
 serve subsequently as candidates in anticipation of a 
 call and settlement — their pastorate being already, or 
 about to be, vacated by Rev. Paul Dean, who had filled 
 it for several years most acceptably. I occupied the 
 pulpit as desired, then gave way to others, but was 
 afterwards asked to supply it for six months, of which 
 note will be made in the next chapter. 
 
CHAPTER VI. 
 
 1823-1825. 
 
 Preaching — "The Furious Priest Reproved" — Candi- 
 dacy IN Boston — Ordination — First Marriages — 
 Settlement in Mii.ford — Incidentals. 
 
 MY twenty-first year opened with an arrangement to- 
 preach regularly in several different places once or 
 more in each month, viz : — in West Medway, in Belling- 
 ham, and in different neighborhoods of Mendon, South 
 Parish (now Blackstone), all in Massachusetts. I had 
 warm friends and admirers in these several localities who- 
 were very desirous of sharing my ministrations as often 
 as possible. My family residence still continued to be 
 the tenement house of my father, already mentioned. In 
 the place first named, the Universalists owned a small 
 meeting-house jointly with the Baptists. In Bellingham 
 Center our friends were striving to obtain the occasional 
 use of the only house of worship there, the occupancy of 
 which was in dispute between the town and the Baptist 
 society. Pending the settlement of the matter, our meet- 
 ings, by my advice, were held in the hall of the adjacent 
 tavern. At South Bellingham, services were in a school- 
 house. In the factory village of South Parish, Mendon,. 
 now East Blackstone, we occupied a store-loft furnished 
 by my friend Col. Joseph Ray and his partners. I also 
 spoke in the hall of the Henry Thayer tavern (five 
 corners), in Capt. Aaron Burdon's hall. Chestnut Hill, or 
 in some schoolhouse in that part of the town. Occasion- 
 ally I lectured in other neighborhoods of my general 
 region. In the principal of these places, my friends eon- 
 
BELLINGHAM BAPTISTS AND UNIVEESALISTS. 97 
 
 ti-ibuted to my support at the rate of five or six dollars 
 per Sunday. In others and for lectures a smaller sum. 
 As I never dictated prices or compensation for my religi- 
 ous ministrations, what I received was freely given, was 
 the better enjoyed, and was all I had any right to expect 
 under the circumstances. In other respects I was encour- 
 aged and cheered by the cordial interest manifested 
 in my public exercises as well as in my private welfare. 
 On the third Sunday in May, 1823, a somewhat excit- 
 ing and memorable occurrence trauspired in Bellingham 
 Center which it may be well to record. The town 
 claimed to own and have rightful control of the meet- 
 ing-house, and had voted that the Universalists might 
 Kjccupy it one Sunday in each month. But the Baptists 
 contended that it belonged wholly to them and were 
 unwilling the others should use it at all. There had 
 been much wrangling in the matter, and the case had 
 been submitted to the courts for adjudication, but was 
 uot yet settled. So the quarrel was still on between the 
 home parties when I engaged to preach there. I told 
 my friends that I should avoid all proceedings which 
 savored of trickery, force, or indecorum, and occupy the 
 disputed pulpit as a gentleman and a Christian or not 
 at all. On the third Sunday in April, large aud excited 
 crowds of both parties assembled to watch proceedings 
 and see what would be the issue. The Rev. Abiel 
 Fisher was pastor of the Baptist church, a man of large 
 combativeness, pluck, and obstinacy, and he determined 
 that the Universalists should not occupy the house on 
 that day, though the town had assigned it to them. 
 But he and his people could not enter it, inasmuch as 
 it was locked and the selectmen had the keys. So he 
 collected his congregation about the doors of the edifice 
 and preached from the steps, both morning and after- 
 noon. My friends, by my advice, demanded as their 
 right a peaceable entrance to the building, but not being 
 allowed it, retired to the hall before spoken of and held 
 services there. 
 7 
 
98 AUTO-BIOGRAPHY OF ADIN BALLOU. 
 
 When the month came round' again in May, matters 
 were in a still more aggravated condition than before. 
 During Saturday night some desperate Baptist entered 
 the meeting-house by a back window which he found 
 unfastened, wrenched off the lock from the inner door of 
 the entry, and set free the corresponding outside door 
 which was rendered secure by a cross-bar. Having done 
 this, and, as he supposed, made access to the house easy 
 for his Baptist friends on the following day, he with- 
 drew. About this time, Mr. Foster of the public house, 
 who had the keys to the place of worship in his posses- 
 sion, dreamed of what had been done ; but upon awaking- 
 and thinking it over concluded it was only a dream and 
 went to sleep again, when the same dream was repeated 
 with the same result as before. But when it occurred a 
 third time, he deemed it of enough importance to be 
 looked into a little. He therefore arose, much excited, 
 dressed himself, lighted his lantern (for it was not yet 
 daylight), and went and examined the premises, to find 
 that what he had dreamed was literally true in all its 
 details. He immediately procured another lock for the 
 inside door, replaced the bar to the outside one, and 
 returned home to await further developments. As the 
 hour of morning service drew near, the Baptist pastor 
 and his flock collected about the house as four weeks 
 before, those in the secret not doubting, probably, that 
 they would obtain an easy entrance. Upon trying to 
 open the supposed-to-be-unfastened door, they found, to 
 their ill-concealed chagrin, that it was as firmly closed 
 as ever. Nothing now remained for them to do but to 
 go through the forenoon service outside again, I and my 
 friends worshiping in the hall at the same time. 
 
 At the noon recess, several of the influential members 
 of the Baptist society, becoming tired, if not ashamed, 
 of such proceedings, approached some of my friends with 
 assurances that if the house were opened in the afternoon 
 we might occupy it in peace. But they either were 
 unwarranted in giving those assurances or were deceived 
 
LUDICROUS SABBATH SCENE. 99 
 
 by their pastor. For when we approached the house, led 
 by the selectmen with the keys, Mr. Fisher and his 
 allies rushed forward and as soon as the door was 
 unlocked both parties crowded in, filling the vestibule 
 instantly, while considerable numbers remained outside. 
 The padlocked inner door prevented further advance and 
 1, who was directly behind the selectmen, requested them 
 not to permit entrance to the audience room till the situa- 
 tion could be somewhat discussed. I then demanded of 
 Mr. Fisher what such conduct meant. The town had 
 voted us the house and we had been promised the use of 
 it by some of his leading men for the afternoon. He 
 was furious with rage, declared the town had nothing to 
 do with the house, and silently ignored the action of 
 those who had made pledges to us. I remonstrated 
 calmly but firmly, maintaining our rights and declaring 
 that I should do nothing in violation of the true Chris- 
 tian spirit and rules of propriety. God could not be 
 worshiped acceptably in the midst of such confusion 
 and strife. Some of his people "made a proposition to 
 withdraw and leave us in possession of the place ; but 
 he and his more zealous supporters would not hear to it, 
 determined as they were to force themselves in if possi- 
 ble. I then said : — " Let the door be opened and if 
 Mr. Fisher does not conduct himself decently, I certainly 
 shall and will publish his doings to the world." 
 
 The door was then unlocked, the selectmen entering 
 first, with me immediately in the rear. We proceeded 
 slowly and becomingly up the central aisle toward the 
 pulpit, but Mr. Fisher crowded in as quickly as possible 
 and rushed at rapid speed by one of the side aisles to 
 the pulpit stairs, which he reached about the same time 
 the head of our column did, and bouncing up them cried 
 out as .he amved at the top panting for breath, " Let 
 us begin the worship of Grod by singing, etc." Some 
 of his people had now entered their pews and, as the 
 whole matter had been pre-arranged between pastor and 
 flock, commenced singing. The whole scene was so ludi- 
 
100 AUTO-BIOGRAPHY OF ADIN BALLOU. 
 
 crous aud withal such a mockery of public worship that 
 I remained but a moment in the pulpit, which I had 
 entered simultaneously with the breathless parson, then 
 signified my purpose to retire to Mr. Foster's hall, which 
 I did, followed by my part of the congregation. 
 
 What followed? Intensified excitement throughout the 
 community aud in all the neighboring region. I at once 
 wrote and published a pamphlet letter to Mr. Fisher, 
 entitled "The Furious Priest Reproved," in which I 
 reviewed the whole case and characterized the proceed- 
 ings in such terms of reprobation and censure as justice 
 demanded. The pamphlet had an extensive circulation 
 and a greedy perusal. By. the affair I seemed to gain 
 reputation and influence, while my opponent suffered in 
 proportion. The question of the control of the meeting- 
 house was ere long decided by the court against the 
 Baptists and they abandoned it altogether, building a 
 new one for their own undisputed occupancy and use. 
 Mr. Fisher lost the respect and confidence of the people 
 at large, and a few years after left the place for a 
 more congenial home. In reading over, at this late period 
 of my life, my only preserved copy of my letter to him 
 and reviewing the whole strange scene it describes, I am 
 confirmed in the truth, justice, and rectitude of my 
 course, and can see nothing on my own part to be 
 ashamed of or to reproach myself for, though I am 
 obliged to regard all such religious squabbles as more or 
 less pitiable and much to be deprecated. With my 
 matured knowledge of human nature and of the work- 
 ings of a perverted religious zeal, I make more allow- 
 ances for my antagonist in this encounter than at the 
 time of it, having learned that conscience and unll may 
 honestly fall into deplorable mistakes — mistakes often- 
 times more to be pitied than blamed. 
 
 On Sunday, June 22d of this year, my wife brought 
 forth- our first-born child, a son, to whom was given my 
 own name, Adin Ballon, Jr. This event was a joyous 
 one in our marital experience, though the constitution of 
 
CANDIDACY IN BOSTON. 101 
 
 the mother was so frail that it taxed her- physical ener- 
 gies to the utmost extent. The little one throve well as 
 a babe and through its early childhood, awakening fond 
 hopes in the parental breast for long years on its part, 
 and great usefulness and honor in time to come. But 
 these hopes were vain, for it was stricken with a fatal 
 disease when in the tenth year of its age and was tran- 
 slated to the heritage of the immortals Feb. 10, 1833, as 
 will be more fully noted hereafter. 
 
 In the month following, as foreshadowed at the close 
 of the preceding chapter, I received an invitation from 
 the First Universalist society in Boston, originally organ- 
 ized under Rev. John Murray, the reputed founder of 
 that faith in America, to supply their pulpit six months 
 as a candidate for the vacant pastorate. Rev. Paul 
 Dean had, during his ministry, gathered about him a 
 large congregation from which a colony of his devoted 
 friends had gone out, erected and dedicated a new house 
 of worship on Bulflnch street, and persuaded him to 
 resign his position and take charge of the movement 
 there. Those remaining in the old association, whose 
 meeting-house was on Hanover street, had heard as many 
 other preachers as they desired and voted to give me 
 the proposed six months' probation. I shared the good 
 will of surrounding Universalist ministers, and had been 
 favorably heard for several Sundays by those now 
 extending to me the offer as previously narrated ; yet it 
 was a somewhat presumptuous undertaking for me to 
 engage in, considering the immaturity of my youth and 
 the poverty of my qualifications. But I consented to 
 make the trial. My friends in Medway, Bellingham, and 
 South Mendon professed to be sorry to part with me, 
 but acquiesced cheerfully in my decision and wished me 
 success, it having been our mutual understanding that I 
 was at liberty to accept any such call, should it come 
 to me. My Boston candidacy began on the last Sunday 
 in July, 1823, and continued till the third in January, 
 1824. Dui-ing that period (my wife • and child being 
 
102 AUTO-BIOGKAPHT OF ADIN BALLOU. 
 
 with me a part of the time) I gained many ardent 
 friends in the congregation and outside, and succeeded 
 in my pulpit labors quite as much to my own satisfac- 
 tion and that of my hearers as I had a right to expect, 
 though I finally failed in the object sought. A single 
 competitor entered the field, who, being in many respects 
 my superior at the time, carried off the prize. This was 
 Eev. Sebastian Streeter, who was willing to close his 
 pastorate at Portsmouth, N. H., where he had been eight 
 years. He was then at the zenith of his ability, experi- 
 ence, judgment, and pulpit eloquence, and he very natu- 
 rally triumphed, receiving a considerable majority of the 
 suffrages. Nearly one-third of the society adhered to me 
 with considerable tenacity, but, of course, submitted to 
 superior numbers. If my ambitious hopes were some- 
 what dashed, I had no right nor disposition to complain. 
 I had much more reason for thankfulness than for mur- 
 muring, for I had gained many friends and the preference 
 was, on the whole, wise and best for all concerned. 
 
 Just before entering upon my Boston candidacy, I had 
 been proposed and formally admitted to the fellowship of 
 the Southern Association of Universalists, assembled in 
 semi-annual session at Stafford, Ct., though 1 was not 
 personally present on the occasion. At the annual ses- 
 sion, held in Milford, Mass., the next December, I was 
 regularly ordained with the usual ceremonies, as is 
 attested by the following certificate : 
 
 "This certifies that Brother Adiu Ballou was ordained to the 
 work of the ministry of reconciliation at the annual meeting of 
 the Southern Association of Universalists convened at Milford, 
 Ms., Dec. 10, 1823. Jacob Friisze, Clerk. 
 
 During my six months' engagement in Boston, I sol- 
 emnized the first three of my marriages, now (1882) 
 numbering over one thousand. At its close, on the even- 
 ing of the third Sunday in January, 1824, I preached 
 my final sermon from the text: — "And now, brethren, 
 I commend "you to God and the word of his grace, which 
 
CALL TO MILFORD ACCEPTED. 103 
 
 is able to- build you up and to give you an inheritance 
 among them that are sanctified." — Acts 20:32. Leaving 
 the people with cordial good feeling and in a prosper- 
 ous condition, I returned to my family. The call of 
 the society, given soon after to Rev. Mr. Streeter, left 
 me at liberty to find an available opening at my con- 
 venience and pleasure. 
 
 Several invitations were in prospect, but without wait- 
 ing for a more desirable location, I accepted the one 
 coming to me shortly afterward from the Universalist 
 society in Milford, Mass., whither I removed my family 
 about the first of April. This society had had two pas- 
 tors before me, viz : Rev. Thomas Whittemore, then of 
 Cambridgeport, for one year, and Rev. Jacob Frieze, 
 who had just been called to Marlborough, for two years. 
 Their salaries had been three hundred and thirty (330) 
 dollars per annum, and mine was to be the same. The 
 society was comparatively small and deemed this sum a 
 handsome one, since it was the same paid by the Milford 
 Congregational parish to their minister. Rev. David 
 Long. The Methodist society in North Purchase, the 
 only other one in town at that time was feeble and could 
 not give their pastor anything like so good a pecuniary 
 support. The whole population of the place scarcely 
 exceeded twelve hundred and its since large and thriving 
 industries were then in their incipient stages of develop- 
 ment. Tenements were scarce and crowded and it was 
 with difficulty that I could find a place suited to the 
 needs of myself and family. I finally obtained one that 
 sei-vedus for a while until we could do better. It con- 
 sisted of two rooms and a few exterior accommodations, 
 three-fourths of a mile east of the meeting-house, in the 
 dwelling of Mr. Zebadiah Flagg, one of my people. The 
 quarters were more limited than we had been accustomed 
 to, but we made ourselves comfortable in them, and 
 there we found ourselves domiciled on my twenty-first 
 birthday, April 23, 1824. 
 
 My Twenty-second Year. I now applied myself dili- 
 
104 AUTO-BIOGRAPHY OF ADIN BALLOU. 
 
 "■ently to my pulpit, pastoral, and miscellaneous duties,, 
 preaching often three times on Sunday, — twice regiilarly 
 at home, and in the evening in some one of the neigh- 
 boring towns ; officiating at funerals within the same 
 circuit, solemnizing marriages, and attending to incidental 
 domestic affairs. My people received my services appre- 
 ciatively and our mutual relations were pleasant and 
 harmonious. Perley Hunt, Esq., Col. Ariel Bragg, Col. 
 Sullivan Sumner, and others of prominent standing in 
 the community were among the foremost of my people. 
 The town in which I was now located had been 
 divided since 1819 into two very distinct and determined 
 parties — the Parish party, so-called, and the Town party. 
 The former consisted of persons attached to or sympa- 
 thizing with the old or Congregational parish ; the latter 
 of Universalists, Methodists, and people having no reli- 
 gious affiliations — the promiscuous population. This 
 division originated in conflicting claims to the old precinct 
 meeting-house, or rather, perhaps, in a difference of opin- 
 ion respecting the location of a new one. When the 
 eastern part of Mendon was incorporated as the town of 
 Milford in 1780, parochial affairs were assumed by the 
 body corporate, and the existing house of worship was 
 used for general public purposes. There was then only 
 one religious organization in the place. In a few years 
 the Universalist and Methodist societies were organized, 
 while many persons signed off from the Standing Order 
 or became indifferentists and refused to be taxed at all 
 for the support of religious institutions, as formerly. 
 This obliged the adherents of the old New England faith 
 to reorganize, which they did under the name of the 
 Congregational parish in 1815. Four years afterwards it 
 was deemed advisable to build a new meeting-house, 
 when a dispute arose whether the old site should be 
 occupied by it or a new one selected, in which was 
 involved the question of the ownership of the building. 
 Those persons who favored the old site under the lead- 
 ership of John Claflin, Esq., claimed that it belonged to 
 
LONG STANDING RELIGIOUS CONFLICT. 105 
 
 the parish, while those who contended for a new site 
 near where Dr. Fay's office stood, under the leadership 
 of Pearley Hunt, Esq., claimed that it was the property 
 of the town. Hence the names — Parish party and 
 Town party. In the vote on the location, the Parish 
 party prevailed, as they did finally on the matter of 
 proprietorship before the courts, and proceeded to erect 
 the new house accordingly. The minority of the parish 
 then withdrew and joined the Universalists, the combined 
 forces in due time setting about building a brick meet- 
 ing-house, which they planned to be one foot larger on 
 the ground than that of the parish, with a bell five hun- 
 dred pounds heavier, and with a clock in its tower, 
 which the other did not have. The Congregationalist 
 house was dedicated Nov. 19, 1819 ; the Universalist, 
 Jan. 10, 1821. By this time the confiicting parties were 
 well-defined and belligerent to the highest degree. And 
 the conflict thus inaugurated continued some fourteen 
 years, entering more or less as a troublesome factor into 
 all town affairs — into the consideration and decision of 
 all public questions. Then a truce was sounded on both 
 sides, a more peaceable era opened, and a growing spirit 
 of mutual respect, unity, and co-operation sprang up, 
 which has continued unto this day. 
 
 This conflict was at its highest pitch of intensity of 
 purpose when I entered on my pastorate in 1824. I had 
 no disposition to aggravate it and little power to mollify 
 it. What I had, I found, after acquainting myself with 
 the situation, must be exercised indirectly, prudently, 
 and quietly. I took care not to add fuel to the flame, 
 not to excite anyone by word or deed to greater partisan 
 violence, but rather to moderate passion where I could, 
 and above all, to set an example of courtesy, forbear- 
 ance, and kindness in my personal intercourse with 
 everybody. Two trifling incidents will illustrate my suc- 
 cess in that direction. 
 
 I had been in town but a short time when a prominent 
 leader of the parish, who enjoyed a joke and thought 
 
106 AUTO-BIOGRAPHY OF ADIN BALLOU. 
 
 the newly-come Universalist minister a proper subject for 
 one, was called upon by a colored wanderer from Con- 
 necticut and asked where he could get a night's lodging 
 gratis, as he had no money. "I belong to the hospital 
 at home," said he; " is there any hospital in these 
 parts?" "Oh, yes," answered the honorable wag, 
 "there is one down street kept by a Mr. Ballou." And 
 turning to his clerk, said: "Write this man a note of 
 introduction," at the same time dictating it as follows : 
 "Rev. Mr. Ballou: Please keep the bearer over night and 
 charge the same to him." No signature was appended. 
 After some trouble, the poor fellow found me in the 
 midst of a crowd on the common and handed me the 
 note. I saw that there was some trickery in the matter 
 and inquired who gave him the paper. "A fleshy man 
 they called the squire in the store near the other meet- 
 ing-house. He said you kept a hospital and would let 
 me stay with you over night." "Well," I replied, "I 
 keep no hospital, as the squire very well knows. This 
 is an imposition on both of us. But you shall be cared 
 for. I cannot lodge you in my own house, but I will 
 pay for your entertainment with my good friend, Col. 
 Sumner, the tavern-keeper near by, and will introduce 
 you to him at once." He was astonished, but full of 
 thanks to me and indignant at the trickery played upon 
 him. He was well provided for 'till the next morning, 
 when he posted back to the squire and scolded him 
 sharply in his rude way for imposing on a poor wayfarer 
 and on so kind a gentleman as he found Mr. Ballou to 
 be. As the matter had already been pretty well venti- 
 lated in town and as several persons were listening to 
 the talk, the discomfited joker handed him a twenty-flve- 
 cent piece and told him to go along, which he at once 
 did, taking the road to Boston. I lost nothing by this 
 performance and never received another insult from the 
 Parish party. 
 
 A second incident, of an entirely different character, but 
 redounding equally to my credit, occurred not long after- 
 
AN UNPREMEDITATED HAPPY HIT. 107 
 
 ward in connection with tlie annual town meeting in April. 
 The ancient custom of opening the proceedings with 
 prayer was still observed from year to year. Since the 
 quarrel had been going on, the Town party being all the 
 while in the ascendant in public affairs, Parson Long, the 
 Parish clergyman, had not been invited to conduct that 
 service, but it had been assigned to the Universalist and 
 Methodist ministers alternately. At the time under notice, 
 it fell to the former, and when the proper moment came, 
 my friend. Col. Bragg, who was presiding, called upon 
 me for the usual ceremonial. I was much surprised, 
 being wholly a stranger to such a usage, and in no wise 
 prepared for it. Moreover, it was as repugnant to my 
 feelings as it was unexpected, for I knew in what an 
 unprayerful, pugnacious state the minds of most of those 
 present were, making the formality very much of a pious 
 farce. My first impulse was to excuse myself outright, 
 but I saw at once that this would hardly do. Instantly 
 the thought flashed into my mind: "There stands Rev. 
 Mr. Long, who would be glad of the chance ; decline the 
 ■honor and nominate him." In a moment this was done, 
 and with proper deference to all present. Doubtless the 
 modei'ator and people generally, as well as Mr. Long, 
 were astonished ; but the invitation was promptly accepted 
 and the service satisfactorily rendered. 
 
 If I had carefully studied and devised a stroke of good 
 policy, I could not have made a happier hit than was 
 this unpremeditated act. It softened prejudice and won 
 golden opinions in the Parish party, without disturbing 
 the feelings of their opponents. I did not dream that it 
 would have any effect beyond the passing occasion. But 
 it did and much to my advantage. It not only pleased 
 Mr. Long at the time, but secured his personal respect 
 (which lasted, I believe, to the end of his days) and con- 
 ciliated many of his people, who thereafter spoke of me as 
 a gentleman and treated me accordingly. I never, before 
 or since, received so much compliment and good will in 
 return for so small an investment of makeshift civility. 
 
108 AUTO-BIOGRAPHY OF ADIN BALL0U. 
 
 During my first year in Milford, I ministered a con- 
 siderable number of Sabbaths, eitlaer in person or by 
 supply, to the society in Medway. This was pursuant 
 to a mutual understanding between me and my people 
 and was satisfactory to all parties concerned. I also 
 made frequent exchanges with my ministerial brethren, 
 some of whom occupied a high position and had an envi- 
 able reputation in the denomination. Among these were 
 Revs. Hosea Ballon and Paul Dean of Boston, Hosea 
 Ballon 2d. of Roxbury, and David Pickering of Provi- 
 dence, R. I. At the same time, my lectures and funeral 
 addresses, which were then elaborate and carefully pre- 
 pared sermons of an expository and argvimentative char- 
 acter, were abundant at home and abroad. 
 
 In the summer of the same year I became a Free- 
 mason, passing through the first three degrees in Charity 
 Lodge, Milford, of which I was, in orderly succession, a 
 member, subordinate oflSeer, and finally master. That 
 lodge surrendered its charter and jewels a few years later 
 to the Grand Lodge of Massachusetts, by reason of the 
 violent anti-Masonic excitement which swept through the 
 country, and other depressing circumstances. Before the 
 close of 1825, I ascended through the Royal Arch degrees 
 in Mount Lebanon Chapter in West Medway to those of 
 knighthood in the Worcester County Encampment at 
 Holden, since removed to Worcester and now known as 
 the Worcester County Commandery. I had come to be 
 much interested in the Masonic Order and its institutions, 
 and especially in the broad fundamental principles of the 
 fraternity therein represented. These commanded my 
 reverence both in their theoretical and practical aspects, 
 whatever might seem exceptional or doubtful in some 
 incidentals. And although my interest abated somewhat 
 in maturer age and under the pressure of more engross- 
 ing matters of thought and action, 1 still cherish a 
 profound respect for the intrinsic essentials of Free- 
 masonry, notwithstanding the furore of anti-Masonic 
 denunciation which at one time threatened its existence.. 
 
MILITARY HONORS RECEIVED. ' 109 
 
 There are few persons, institutions, or movements that 
 have not their shady as well as their bright side. This 
 has its defects and shortcomings in common with all 
 human inventions. But its escutcheon is resplendent with 
 " faith in God, hope in immortality, and charity to all 
 mankind;" with "brotherly love, relief, and truth;" with 
 "temperance, prudence, fortitude, and justice;'' and with 
 significant emblems of righteousness. It inculcates many 
 great individual and social virtues, which, if they were 
 faithfully practiced by its professors, would render it 
 pre-eminently illustrious. But with all their failures, the 
 Fraternity have not fallen so far below their acknow- 
 ledged standard as has the nominal Christian Church. 
 They have steered almost entirely clear of all mean pros- 
 •elytism, lust of dominion, monopolizing selfishness, and 
 sanguinary persecution. On the other hand, they have 
 done much to assuage intolerance, violence, and cruelty ; 
 to liberalize, genialize, civilize, and humanize mankind. 
 The world has grievously needed the influence of the 
 Order and still needs it. Therefore, it is not likely to 
 be crushed out by its enemies nor to die out at any very 
 early future of itself. When human society shall have 
 fairly transcended it in absolute Christlikeness, doubtless 
 its mission will terminate. Meantime, let anti-Masonic 
 zealots demonstrate individually and sociallj' that they 
 have superseded its excellence and are therefore worthy 
 to minister at its funeral. 
 
 On the 3d of August, 1825, my friend, Lebbeus Gas- 
 kill of South Mendon, colonel of the 2d Eegiment, 1st 
 Brigade, 6th Division Mass. Militia, did me the honor 
 of placing me on his staff as chaplain. I received my 
 commission as such Aug. 9th, and continued in the office 
 till formally discharged July 13, 1837. I accepted the 
 position with pleasure and officiated on various occasions 
 to the best of my ability — always, I believe, to general 
 satisfaction. Many a pleasant inter%'iew I enjoyed with 
 my fellow-officers at their various meetings and refresh- 
 ment tables. My fost service in this new capacity was 
 
110 AUTO-BIOGRAPHY OF ADIN BALLOU. 
 
 rendered at the autumnal muster of the regiment at Men- 
 don on the ancient Hastings training field. An old 
 Congregationalist deacon, not knowing me, was somewhat 
 taken with my prayer and warmly commended it. But 
 when told upon inquiry who I was uttered an exclama- 
 tory " Oh!" in blank astonishment and at once subsided. 
 A prejudiced Calvinist, who knew me, commenting upon 
 it, said it sounded more like an oration than a prayer, 
 which was probably a fair hit ; for a military prayer 
 ought to be more oratorical than reverential to be in 
 good keeping with its surroundings. 
 
 The reader may wish to Iinow how I now view that 
 mihtary chaplainship and its duties. With little admira- 
 tion and self-complacency, yet not with profound com- 
 punction and shame. For I was acting up to my then 
 highest light. I had not at the time a thought or a 
 scruple against war per se as un-Christiau and wrong, and 
 of course not against training and preparation for war. 
 Like all others, I claimed to be opposed to wicked wars, 
 under the presumption that there were sometimes righteous 
 ones which I could approve. I simply acted according 
 to my education and predilections. The all-important 
 truth that Christ moved on a higher moral plane than 
 that of civil society and national government as they 
 now are and called his disciples to rise and act with him 
 on his distinctive plane had not at that day shot its 
 faintest ray into my murky understanding. I had no 
 more doubt that civil government, backed by necessary 
 deadly force, was consistent with genuine Christianity,, 
 and that Christian ministers and people ought to act in 
 it in both political and military capacities than I had 
 that they ought to be Christians. I took it for granted, 
 as most good people do, that there is ho plane or posi- 
 tion distinctively higher than existing governmental civili- 
 zation, which can be occupied to any practical advantage 
 by eminently advanced minds, whether claiming to be 
 Christians, or progressionists of some other name ; as I also- 
 did that no Christianity can be organized above and in 
 
CHRISTIANITY AND EXISTING CIVILIZATION. Ill 
 
 the lead of the prevailiug civilization of the world. On 
 this ground, Christianity must play the part of handmaid 
 of such civilization, but attempt little or nothing more. 
 On this ground, war must be provided for with all its 
 requisites till the necessity for it shall cease by the uni- 
 versal prevalence of wisdom, righteousness, and love on 
 earth — an era inconceivably remote under the reproductive 
 genius of the politico-military system. In this view, chap- 
 lains of the army, navy, militia, etc., are as necessary, 
 salutary, and respectable as voting citizens or any class 
 of functionaries that co-operate in sustaining the existing 
 institutions of civil society. So thinking in my youth, 
 I 'acted accordingly. Besides, I had, as already indi- 
 cated, the military, political, and civic instincts in my 
 very nature, and it is no wonder that a regimental 
 chaplaincy was congenial to my taste. The wonder is 
 that such stock was ever fashioned into a conscientious, 
 uncompromising. Christian, Non-resistant. But so it was 
 and. is. 
 
 I spent the winter months of 1824-25 in teaching what 
 was known as the North Purchase school, two miles out 
 of the village of Milford, in addition to my pulpit and 
 pastoral labors. I had some eighty pupils under my 
 care, ranging from those four and five years of age, just 
 entering upon their educational tutelage, to grown-up 
 young men and women, expecting to finish their common 
 schooling with that term. My duties, so varied and 
 multitudinous, kept my heart, head, and hands full, and 
 I wrought persistently at my different posts of service. 
 It was impossible for any one teacher to do full justice 
 to such a throng of pupils as I had in charge, many of 
 whom were poorly equipped and imperfectly classified. 
 But all went prosperously on to the closing examination, 
 which elicited flattering commendations from the super- 
 intending town committee. I won the respect, love, and 
 general obedience of those under me and had little occa- 
 sion to employ harsh corrections. One case of discipline 
 which had passed from my recollection has recently 
 
112 AUTO-BIOGRAPHY OF ADIN BALLOU. 
 
 been recalled by an elderly matron, then a little girl in 
 the ■school. The peculiarity of it, reminding one of the 
 methods employed by the philosopher, A. Bronson Alcott, 
 in his far-famed Boston school, justifies a description of 
 it in these pages. 
 
 It seems, according to my informant's statement, that 
 I had among the rest a somewhat troublesome boy 
 whose misbehavior evoked repeated reproofs on my part, 
 but to little purpose. One day, after some fresh viola- 
 tion of the rules, 1 summoned him to my desk in 
 unusually stern tones of voice, saying to him as he stood 
 before me that I plainly saw that he meant to have 
 some one whipped and the matter must be settled forth- 
 with. "Now," said I, "here is my rod and I suppose 
 it must be used or you cannot be cured of your miscon- 
 duct. I cannot bear to whip you ; perhaps it will do 
 you more good if you whip me. At any rate, I have 
 concluded to try it." Whereupon I took off my coat 
 and having laid it aside, handed him the rod and .told 
 him to use it on me long enough to make him a good 
 boy. Refusing to take it, I insisted that he should, 
 inasmuch as it was necessary for him to do so in order 
 to teach him obedience to the rules of the school. The 
 boy broke down, wept bitterly, and promised that he 
 would not repeat his offences. I then sent him to his 
 seat amid the amazement of the whole school, and he 
 gave me no further trouble. After the termination of 
 my winter engagement, I gave myself with renewed zeal 
 to the current duties of my home and pastorate, reach- 
 ing while busily engaged in them the end of the twenty- 
 second year of my life. 
 
 At this stage of my narrative, which finds me well 
 settled under Universalist auspices in my new field of 
 labor and active in my professional work, it may reason- 
 ably be asked: "What was the religious condition of 
 your society in Milford at that time and what thus far 
 were the fruits of your ministry as an ambassador for 
 Christ?" Not very flattering in either respect to the 
 
THE RELIGIOUS SITUATION. 113 
 
 ambition or reputation of a devoted, faithful, Christian 
 pastor. In the estimation of so-called Evangelical reli- 
 gionists, I was not such a pastor, nor scarcely was I 
 according to my own then best ideal, and much less 
 according to my present theoretical standard. I was, 
 however, sincerely desirous of preaching divine truth and 
 of promoting human righteousness, as I then understood 
 them, and current ciitramstances seemed to afford me favor- 
 able opportunities for doing so. And 1 have no doubt 
 that in both of the particulars named, I exerted on the 
 whole a salutary and effective influence. But I do not 
 think my own intellectual, moral, and spiritual state was 
 high enough to accomplish much in the way of raising 
 the people of my charge to the true Christ-plane of 
 thought and life. There was then no church organization 
 .among them, no meetings for social Christian culture, 
 and no Sunday-school for the religious training of child- 
 ren and youth. Nor was there much, if any, perceptible 
 ■desire for these institutions and helps to virtue and holi- 
 ness. On the contrary, many were prejudiced against 
 and adverse to them as savoring of ' ' orthodox " super- 
 stition, craft, or bigotry. Even my own mind had been 
 so repelled and sickened by the excommunicative and 
 damnatory spirit of the dominant church religionists that 
 I was in no haste to re-embrace their forms, modes, and 
 expedients. Though in themselves good and perhaps nec- 
 essary to human welfare, they had become so associated 
 with irrational faith, terrorism, spasmodic emotionality, 
 superstitious pietism, and sanctimonious cant, that I was 
 not in a mood to separate them from their abuses and 
 ui-ge upon my hearers their right uses. I had swung off 
 into a sphere of theological protest against the dogma of 
 endless punishment and all kindred notions derogatory to 
 the moral character of God. I was in the midst of a 
 polemical war with vast hosts of bitter antagonists whose 
 watchword was No quarter to Universalists of any school. 
 I neither asked nor expected any, and fought accordingly. 
 The whole denomination of which I had become a mem- 
 
114 AUTO-BIOGRAPHY OF ADIN BALLOU. 
 
 ber was at that time in the same combative sphere — one 
 not very conducive of personal and social piety of the 
 constructive type. How it could have been otherwise in 
 the then warlike stage of theological opinion is hardly 
 conceivable. If we had been ever so devotedly intent on 
 the cultivation of strictly personal religion, the whole solid 
 phalanx of our opponents was inflexibly resolved that we 
 could not and should not have anything of the sort 
 except on their platform and after their fashion. For a 
 person to repent, become regenerated, and enter into- 
 church relations while in full belief of universal salvation 
 was in their view not only impossible, but absurd and 
 ridiculous. Men must believe that God loved only his 
 friends and hated his enemies, certainly in the next life, 
 and that his merciless vengeance awaited all who died 
 in their sins, else there was no adequate motive or reason 
 for any one to try to be personally and experimentally a 
 disciple of Christ. But that folly and bigotry was des- 
 tined to be overcome by valorous conflict and give place 
 to better theories and convictions. 
 
 I must also state that nearly all my congregation, sel- 
 dom exceeding one hundred and fifty persons, had grown 
 up as outsiders of the old churches ; that some of them 
 had been more or less skeptical with respect to revealed 
 religion ; and that as Universalists they were of the ultra 
 school, with scarcely a Restorationist, properly so-called, 
 among them. Even my own Restorationism had receded 
 into the background, becoming faint and feeble in its 
 abeyance to the then predominant no-future-punishment 
 doctrine of the denomination. In view of such a peculiar 
 and complicated state of things, the nature and success 
 of my ministry in those days must be judged. The 
 special reforms which afterwards agitated the pulpit and 
 public mind — temperance, anti-slavery, peace, etc., — had 
 not then been sufficiently developed to attract attention. 
 So the old social habits, customs, and ideas remained 
 undisturbed among the people of Milford, as elsewhere 
 throughout the country. Nevertheless, all things consid- 
 
RESULT OF MINISTERIAL LABORS. 116 
 
 ered, I cannot but persuade myself that my preaching, 
 pastoral labors, and personal influence not only rendered 
 no one morally and spiritually worse for this world or 
 the next, but were salutary to some positive and appre- 
 ciative extent and accomplished considerable good in the 
 way of establishing religious opinions on a more rational 
 basis than before in the community, commending practical 
 Christian righteousness to my hearers as of inestimable 
 worth, diffusing the spirit of charity and good will among 
 the people at large, and making divine truth and love a 
 power of redemption in the hearts and minds of men. 
 
CHAPTEE YII. 
 
 1825-1828. 
 
 Provision Fok a Home — Funekal Experiences — 
 
 Bereavements — Fourth of July — Call and 
 
 Removal to New York — Editorship. 
 
 npHE labors of a duly settled minister of the Christian 
 -'- religion, though many and various, are much the same, 
 generally speaking, from year to year, and to mention 
 them in chronological order and detail would involve 
 wearisome and needless repetition. Only those, therefore, 
 of special interest and importance in themselves consid- 
 ered, or in their relation to the personality of the writer 
 or to the thought and life of the world at large, will be 
 chronicled at length or more than hinted at in these 
 pages, although months and even years may be passed 
 over without reference to anything transpiring in them. 
 In a narrative like this one here given, the omitted par- 
 ticulars are so well known as to be easily supplied, if 
 necessary, by the reader. 
 
 Passing over then the first half of the twenty-third 
 year of my life, I come to the autumn of 1825, when I 
 purchased of my friend. Col. Sullivan Sumner, an acre 
 of land in the village of Milford, for the purpose of 
 building upon it at an early day a suitable and perma- 
 nent home. It was the lot on which now stands house 
 No. 28 Main Street, owned wholly or in part by G-eorge 
 B. Pierce. I soon afterwards planned a dwelling thirty- 
 eight feet in length by thirty- two in width, two stories 
 high and nine feet between joints, fronting the north, 
 with, a sufficient yard between it and the road. On the 
 
BUILDING OF A HOME. 117 
 
 first floor were a parlor. di)iing-room, and kitchen of 
 large size, with the needful halls, pantries, and other 
 smaller apartments desirable for domestic uses ; while on 
 the second floor were two large chambers in front and 
 one of still greater measurement in the southeast corner 
 designed for a schoolroom. The remaining area was , 
 divided as necessity and convenience seemed to dictate. 
 A contract for the erection of the structure above the 
 underpinning was made with Col. Sumner, who was to 
 have the whole completed according to specifications and 
 ready for occupancy on or before the first of the follow- 
 ing August. The cellar and foundations were to be 
 otherwise provided for and made ready for the super- 
 structure in due season. 
 
 This undertaking, entered upon with fond expectations, 
 was rather a wild and extravagant one for a young min- 
 ister with little capital, a meagre income, and no cer- 
 tainty of a permanent residence in the town. But 
 various considerations weighed with me in deciding to 
 enter upon it. I was very much in need of a more eligi- 
 ble and commodious residence than the one I occupied ; 
 the estate, it was said, would be salable at any time 
 without loss ; a part of it might be rented, if I desired ; 
 it was so arranged that I could open a select school in 
 it and so increase my annual receipts ; my principal 
 creditor. Col. Sumner, was a very kind and indulgent 
 man and would favor me in the matter of payment for 
 the land and building, while other friends would give 
 me an occasional lift; and, to cap the climax, I had a 
 large amount of hope. So I went ahead with my proj- 
 ject and took the consequences, some of which proved to 
 be good, others indifferent, and yet others — the pecu- 
 niary ones — bad. None of my creditors lost anything by 
 the affair, though it was some seven years before the 
 last installment of the indebtedness incurred was paid. 
 Circumstances so changed that I occupied the premises 
 only about half of that period. So far as they furnished 
 me a home, they added to my convenience, comfort, and 
 
118 AUTO-BIOGEAPHY OF ADIN BALLOU. 
 
 happiness; otherwise ttiey occasioued me many outlays, 
 anxieties, and vexatious. I rented them at much disad- 
 vantage and finally sold them at considerable pecuniary 
 loss. My experience, I think, was that of the general 
 average in aualagous cases. I do not advise others, 
 though like myself well-disposed and over-hopeful, to 
 follow my example. 
 
 Other occurrences of quite a different nature took place 
 during the year 1825, which left a lasting impression on 
 my memory. Two of these were connected with my 
 funeral ministrations. The first to be mentioned is almost 
 laughable in its leading incident. Mr. Darius Morse of 
 Franklin, a Universalist in faith, invited me to conduct 
 the ser^aces upon the death of his mother. The cele- 
 brated Dr. Emmons, then far advanced in years, was 
 still pastor of the old church of that town, and they 
 were few who dared dissent from his distinctive theologi- 
 cal teachings. Mr. Morse was one of these, and so, 
 when his mother passed away, he turned from the vener- 
 able champion of the ancient beliefs to one of the larger 
 hope touching the plan and providence of God ; but 
 invited two of the elderly members of the Doctor's 
 church, to which the deceased had belonged, to assist as 
 bearers at the burial. "When they learned that a young 
 heretic was to" officiate on the occasion, they refused to 
 act a§ desired unless they could be roomed out of hear- 
 ing of the preacher while the service was going on. Mr. 
 Morse accommodated them by assigning them to a cham- 
 ber in a remote part of the house. Thither they repaired 
 in season to prevent contamination and there remained 
 till all danger of that -sort was over. 
 
 In untroubled ignorance of this arrangement, I went 
 through with what devolved on me to do, opening with a 
 brief invocation, then preaching a regular sermon from 
 Isaiah 25 : 7-8, and closing with a funeral prayer and 
 benediction, as was my custom in those days. When all 
 was over, the two self-secluded bearers appeared to per- 
 form, with others, the duty belonging to them. Of their 
 
NOTABLE FUNERAL OCCASION. 119 
 
 exploits I was informed not long after, as I was also 
 in due time of the light in which their conduct 
 was regarded, both by individuals in the commu- 
 nity and by Dr. Emmons himself. Laughed at by 
 those of less religious turn of mind, they repaired to the 
 house of their pastor to tell him how bravely they had 
 stood by their creed, and to obtain his commendation, as 
 they no doubt believed they would. But Dr. Emmons 
 was not the man to relish their sort of tactics. And so 
 after questioning them closely and getting all the infor- 
 mation he wanted in the matter, he exclaimed : ' ' What ! 
 What ! Shut yourselves up in a chamber during the 
 services ! I am ashamed of you ! You'll make people * 
 think your own faith is pretty weak if you act so cow- 
 ardly as that ! I don't advise you to run after such 
 Ijreaching, but if you have to go to a funeral, don't hide 
 away from it as if you were afraid to trust your creed 
 in its presence." They undoubtedly retired from the 
 interview with more mortification than comfort, well cured 
 of all such errantry. 
 
 . About a month after this ludicrous affair took place, 
 another of a more serious nature and of more immediate 
 concern to me transpired, which taught me a salutary 
 lesson. Within my own proper field of pastoral labor 
 there had lived a family, consisting of the two parents 
 and several children, indirectly connected with my parish. 
 The husband and father, though possessed of a handsome 
 ■estate, was penurious and miserly, living shabbily himself 
 and denying his family the comforts and even the neces- 
 saries of life. The wife and mother, a most estimable 
 woman, discharged the duties devolving upon her consci- 
 ■entiously and faithfully for many years, but finally by 
 overwork, privation, neglect, and abuse, broke down in 
 health and became a victim of consumption. Under 
 these distressing circumstances, her husband made less 
 provision for her comfort and happiness than before. At 
 length her parents took her home to care for and nurse 
 during her evidently few remaining days on earth. I 
 
120 AUTO-BIOGEAPHif OF ADIN BALLOU. 
 
 frequently called to see the suffering woman, as her life 
 was slowly ebbing away. In one of my last conversa- 
 tions with her, after referring sorrowfully to the cold 
 and cruel treatment she had received from her husband, 
 she spoke of her funeral (at which I had already 
 engaged to minister) as soon to take place, and 
 expressed the hope that I would so admonish and 
 reprove him on that occasion as to make him realize 
 his blameworthiness and guilt. It seemed to be a charge 
 given me on her dying bed and I promised to fulfil it'. 
 She soon passed through the gate of death and arrange- 
 ments were made for her obsequies in the Universalist 
 house of worship. 
 
 The occasion was one that imposed unusual responsi- 
 bility upon me, as a discourse was expected suited to 
 the well-known circumstances of the case. I therefore 
 prepared myself with great care, writing out in full what 
 I had to say, which I was not accustomed to do except 
 in extraordinary emergencies. The manuscript I have 
 preserved — the oldest of its kind that ever came from 
 my pen. To indicate the fidelity with which I discharged 
 the trust committed to me from a dying bed, I subjoin 
 a few disconnected extracts. Taking a text from Job 
 xxi : 23, 25, 26, I first unfolded the subject there 
 brought to notice in its general aspects, and made an 
 application of it to the life, character, and trials of the 
 deceased in such a way as to commend and honor her 
 name and memory. I then proceeded to address the 
 mourners directly, and particularly the husband, who sat 
 cowering among the family relatives in the midst of a 
 large promiscuous congregation, gathered for various 
 reasons, no doubt, from all classes of the town's popu- 
 lation. The passages which I deem it proper to repro- 
 duce are as follows : 
 
 "1 commence with you, my friend, who claim the first and 
 nearest relationship— that of husband— to the deceased woman 
 who lies in silence before me. I beseech you in the name of 
 Almighty God to hear patiently the solemn admonition of one 
 
REBUKE OF A FAITHLESS HUSBAND. 121 
 
 who feels for you nothing but kindness and pity such as can- 
 not be uttered. You never injured a hair of jny head persou- 
 ally, but by a strange course of conduct, to me altogether 
 unaccountable, towards your deceased wife, you have inflicted 
 a grievous blow on my humane feelings and thereby laid me 
 under the painful necessity of counseling you in the name of 
 Jehovah for your good this day. Friend, bear with me and 
 pardon ray plainness, for I must be no flatterer or liypocrite 
 towards you; otherwise, my God, who hears me, would smite 
 me with a just condemnation. I must tell you what you can 
 but already know, that you have lost one of the best of wives 
 — one of the most devoted and faithful of bosom companions. 
 She lives no longer yours — no longer the victim of sickness 
 and death, or, what is still worse, ingratitude. But though 
 silent in death, she still speaks to you through me. She sol- 
 emnly asks why you treated her as you did; why- you neg- 
 lected her after she had been so faithful to you; why you 
 abandoned her in her last sickness and in the hour of expiring 
 agony! Did she deserve all this at your hands? Was she 
 unworthy to receive your kind attention ; unworthy to be 
 benefited by the abundance of your wealth ; unworthy to die 
 
 in your house and in your arms? "Alas, my 
 
 wretched friend, how can you answer these solemn questions? 
 Have you done what you have in secret? No; but openly, 
 before all the world, as it were, as well as under the inspect- 
 ing eye of that God who is full of justice and judgment, who 
 brought you into existence and has mercifully bestowed upon 
 you all that you call yours, who has wept, if such a thing 
 could be, at your doings, and whose warning voice has so 
 often reproved you and called on you to turn from your 
 errors. 
 
 "Let me ask you if a great sin lies not at the door of your 
 heart, unrepented of and big with imijending woes. Flee, oh, 
 flee, friend, from them. Eepent and seek shelter in the par- 
 doning mercy of that God to whom thou art answerable, but 
 who is a compassionate and sin-forgiving God. Bring forth 
 fruits meet for repentance. Then God and good men will tor- 
 give thee Thou canst not undo altogether what 
 
 thou hast done, but thou canst do what remains to be done. 
 Break off thy inordinate love for the treasures of this vain and 
 transitory world, for thou, too, must die and leave them all in 
 a. few more passing years. Let not another day go by before 
 thou confessest unto God, unto thy father- and mother-in-law,, 
 unto all this circle of mourners whose feelings thou hast 
 injured, and unto the whole public before whose eyes thou 
 hast done this great wrong. Go and pay the uttermost farthing 
 
122 AUTO-BIOGRAPHY OF ADIN BALLOU. 
 
 •of the expense incurred by reason of the sickness and death of 
 her whose remains we are about to house in the tomb. Take 
 these motherless children and be both a father and mother to 
 them. Withhold nothing from them that can tend to make 
 
 them comfortable Let them be trained up in the 
 
 nurture and admonition of the Lord — in the love of virtue 
 and truth. Do all this, and the manes of thy departed wife 
 will be appeased. God will smile mercifully upon thee, pros- 
 perity and happiness will attend thee, and all will believe thee 
 to be a sincere penitent for sin, and a good man. 
 
 "O that God might sanctify unto thee this event of his 
 providence for thy good! If thou turn unto him with thy 
 whole heart, thou wilt be safe— thou shalt be blest before him. 
 But if not ... I can hold nothing before thee but the 
 Tjlackness and darkness of woe. For the chastising hand of 
 God will lie heavy upon thee, and thou canst never escape till 
 by salutary correction he has brought thee back to the ways 
 ■of righteousness. Think, friend, seriously, of all I have said 
 and lay up no hardness against me for uttering what has been 
 so trying and painful to me, what I should never have said 
 had £ not felt that God had laid the duty upon me. It is my 
 fervent prayer that thou mayst follow my counsels and enter 
 into rest. I leave thee in the disposing hand of God. May he 
 be gracious unto thee according to the multitude of his mer- 
 ■cies." 
 
 I have made these quotations as a funeral curiosity 
 and as suggestive of a lesson to be pondered and 
 taken solemnly to heart. My whole discourse and espec- 
 ially the portion thus given was listened to with pro- 
 found attention and mingled emotions that cannot be 
 described. Many of those present expressed approval of 
 my testimony as just, though some no doubt questioned 
 silently the wisdom of it. One heart was deeply grieved 
 by it, that of a sister of the inculpated man, who 
 acknowledged the painful facts in the case and their 
 wrongfulness, but pleaded that her brother was insane 
 and so not responsible for his conduct. At first I could 
 give no credence to this plea, but time proved it to be 
 substantially true. His mental aberration, then unknown 
 save by a few wlio were brought into close contact with 
 him, increased as the years went by until he became a 
 confirmed lunatic, not of the violent type, but of so 
 
REVIEW OF THE AFFAIR. 123 
 
 pronounced and positive a character as to necessitate the 
 appointment of a legal guardian to. have constant charge 
 of him and of his affairs. He lived, however, to a 
 good old age, and when he at length passed away I was 
 called upon to minister at his obsequies. 
 
 My course in this matter, which had been suggested 
 and even enjoined by the suffering victim of neglect and 
 abuse on her death-bed, and pursued under a profound 
 sense of duty and with the conviction that some good 
 would come of it to the offender and possibly to others, 
 was subjected to a very careful and searching review 
 on my part not long afterward, whereby I was brought 
 to the conclusion that I had acted unwisely, and to no 
 such salutary effect as I had anticipated. I therefore 
 never again allowed myself on a funeral occasion to sit 
 in judgment on sinfyl mourners, nor administer special 
 personal rebuke even to notorious evil-doers. I had 
 become convinced that such is not the time, place, and 
 method for serving the cause of truth or promoting the 
 moral and spiritual improvement of my fellow-men. 
 Neither the guilty nor the innocent are made better 
 thereby. Very likely, in my purpose to avoid a recur- 
 rence of the mistake I made in this instance, I may 
 have gone many times to the other extreme and esti- 
 mated the virtues of both the departed and their 
 sui-vivors too highly, without intending to justify or pal- 
 liate anything wrong in human conduct or character. 
 But a fault in this direction, especially when proceeding 
 from kindness of heart, seldom does moral harm. 
 
 Three other deaths of more than ordinary personal 
 interest to me occurred during the year 1825, subjecting 
 me to a deep sense of bereavement and producing a last- 
 ing impression upon my heart and memory. The first of 
 these took place March 27th, removing from the scenes 
 of earth and time the oldest member and one of the 
 leading supporters of my society — the venerable and 
 worthy "Wales Cheney in the 93d year of his age. He 
 was a man of good common sense, rigid justice, true to 
 
124 AUTO-BIOGRAPHY OF ADIN BALLOU. 
 
 his word, outspoken to bluntness, strictly temperate, 
 exemplary in all his habits, scnipulously conscientious, a 
 little eccentric in some of his ways, but of kind and 
 generous sympathies. Both he and his son Alexander, 
 who cared for him in his declining years, were earnest 
 Uuiversalists and steadfast friends of mine, and his 
 decease was a great grief to me. 
 
 Near the close of the year my half-sister, Mrs. Rozina 
 (Ballon) Arnold, the oldest of my father's children, died 
 in child-bed at the age of 42 — a great and sad bereave- 
 ment to her family and a large circle of relations and 
 friends. She was a woman of many excellent qualities 
 and a noble heart, but sensitive to adverse experiences 
 and subject to great depression of spirit and over-anxiety 
 amid the trials through which she was called to pass. 
 The loss of a greatly beloved and tenderly cherished 
 daughter just blooming into youthful womanhood in the 
 summer of 1824 was a terrible affliction to her and 
 nearly crushed out her life. She recovered in a measure 
 from the shock which so utterly prostrated her, but not 
 sufficiently to rally from the exhaustion incident to the 
 birth of twin daughters a year and a half later — a few 
 days after which event, in which she greatly rejoiced at 
 the time, her spirit passed on to the unseen world. She 
 was the fourth of my father's children to enter that 
 world and shares the rest and reward that there await 
 all true and loving souls. Clouds and darkness seemed 
 to hover over her departure hence, and to her husband 
 and little ones it was indeed shrouded in gloom, but 
 divine love and wisdom meant it for good — sometime to 
 be understood and gratefully acknowledged. 
 
 Still another visitation of a similar kind occurred about 
 the same date as the one just named. It was the 
 decease of Mrs. Joanna (Sayles) Sweet, wife of Jesse B. 
 Sweet of Pro^-idence, R. I., a favorite sister of my wife,, 
 next older than herself. The two had grown up in lov- 
 ing intimacy from childhood, and their marriages were 
 consummated not far apart. My wife felt this bereave- 
 
THE NEW HOME OCCUPIED. 125 
 
 ment most keenly, as also did tjie whole family circle. 
 The departed left infant children needing a mother's care 
 and love. She was an amiable, excellent woman, whose 
 spirit home must be a blessed one. 
 
 Little of a personal, professional, denominational or 
 general nature transpired during the year 1827 that I 
 deem worthy of record. During the spring and summer 
 months my house, contracted for late the previous season, 
 had been in process of erection, the foundations having 
 been prepared, and the grounds ^put in proper order 
 under my own immediate supervision, though I received 
 substantial help in executing the work from kind friends 
 who rendered me gratuitous service and from hired job- 
 bers or day laborers employed as they seemed to be 
 needed. Much of the work, however, was performed by 
 myself at such times and in such a manner as my other 
 regular duties allowed. I was naturally ambitious to 
 have the oversight of these outside matters and to take 
 an active part in carrying them forward to completion 
 according to my own choice and taste. I . had been 
 brought up to rough manual labor such as is incident to 
 the care and management of a large farm, and deemed 
 myself competent to judge fairly well how the task in 
 hand ought to be accomplished. The result justified 
 mycoufldence in my own ability in that direction — at 
 any rate, I was satisfied and contented with what was 
 done. 
 
 At length the house was finished, its surroundings were 
 put in decent condition, and the premises were ready for 
 occupancy. About the first of September, I and my 
 little family were nicely settled in the new home and the 
 machinery of our domestic life began to move under more 
 agreeable conditions and with better prospects than ever 
 before. I immediately opened a private school, as pro- 
 vided for in the original plan of my dwelling, and found 
 myself encompassed and burdened with cares and duties 
 many and various, which taxed to the utmost my time, 
 strength, and energy of body, mind, and soul. I seemed 
 
126 AUTO-BIOGRAPIIY OF ADIN BALLOU. 
 
 to be firmly established in my lot and dreamed little of 
 the changes that awaited me at an early day. 
 
 For the greater part of a year all things went smoothly 
 on without jar or disturbance of any kind and without 
 premonition or expectation of what was soon to come to 
 pass. As the anniversary of American Independence, 
 1827, drew near, the Republican citizens of Milford 
 resolved to celebrate the day in some becoming manner,, 
 and I was favored with an invitation to deliver the ora- 
 tion in my own church, more commonly known as the 
 "brick meeting-house." Patriotism — civil, military, and 
 religious — was then an essential part of my Christianity 
 and I cheerfully accepted the profifered honor. 
 
 The occasion was one of unusual importance and one 
 long remembered by those participating in it. Extra- 
 ordinary preparations were made for it. Besides the 
 oration, the dinner, and a grand military display, with 
 niartial music and other accompaniments, there was 
 to be a formal presentation of a "splendid standard" 
 by the ladies of the town to the long-famous Artillery 
 Company, which had been organized in 1803 under 
 Pearley Hunt, Capt., as a testimonial of respect and 
 admiration. Announcement was duly made in all the 
 neighboring towns of what was to be done and such a 
 time was provided for and expected as Milford had never 
 seen before. 
 
 Nor were the promise and anticipation unfulfilled. The 
 day was ushered in not only by bells and cannon, but 
 by a resonant and copious thunderstorm, the last of 
 which, however, soon passed away, leaving as clear a 
 sky and atmosphere as mortals could desire. The pro- 
 gramme was carried out in full and every thing went off 
 to universal satisfaction. The streets were thronged with 
 people from all the surrounding region, eager to share 
 in the festivities and keep in patriotic fashion the 
 nation's holiday. The more formal proceedings began 
 with the presentation of the flag. The company to be 
 honored was out in full numbers and bright uniforms,. 
 
FOURTH OF JULY CELEBRATION. 127 
 
 Capt. Clark Sumner commauding it, with Lieut. Isaac 
 Davenport second officer, and John Corbett, Jr., third or 
 standard bearer. A suitable platform had been erected 
 on the common where the exercises were to take place, 
 and where in due season the principal actors in, the scene 
 were gathered, surrounded by interested multitudes of 
 people. A prayer having been offered, Miss Lucy Hunt, 
 eldest daughter of Pearley Hunt, Esq., (with Miss 
 Laura Ann Adams on her riglit and Miss Harriet Hunt 
 on her left, all tastefully attired,) came forward bear- 
 ing the elegant gift, and partially unfurling it, presented 
 it with an appropriate address to 2d Lieut. Corbett. He 
 received it with an appreciative i-esponse, at the close 
 of which the band strack up one of their liveliest airs, 
 amid whose inspiring strains and the plaudits of the 
 delighted populace, the ladies were escorted back to 
 Col. Sumner's hotel, whence they came. 
 
 A long civic procession was immediately formed, and 
 began its march through some of the principal streets to 
 the meeting-house, led by an imposing array of soldiery. 
 The auditorium of the building was crowded to the full, 
 many desiring entrance being obliged to remain outside. 
 The oration, which was the principal feature of that 
 part of the celebration, was delivered at the proper time, 
 being preceded and followed by anthems, prayers, odes, 
 and other customary accompaniments. There was nothing 
 unique, profound, or eloquent about it, but it probably 
 compared favorably with the old-style productions of that 
 sort. A copy of it was asked for the press and the 
 request being granted, a considerable edition was at 
 once printed and widely distributed, a few numbers of 
 which are still in my possession and will be preserved 
 wholly or in part with a complete set of my published 
 works. 
 
 The sei-vices at the church having been concluded, 
 such of the audience as were disposed, with others of 
 like mind, repaired in pi-ocessional order to the dinner- 
 tables — those for the ladies being spread in the hotel, 
 
128 AUTO-BIOGRAPHY OF ADIN BALLOU. 
 
 tlie others under spacious tents or awnings outside 
 where the post-prandial exercises were held. These were 
 presided over, if my memory serves me, by Pearley 
 Hunt, Esq., assisted by Newell Nelson, Esq., as toast- 
 master — most of what transpired consisting of regular 
 and volunteer toasts, which, as they were announced, 
 were washed down after the old ante-Temperance fashion, 
 and responded to by cannonry and strains of martial 
 music. 
 
 Without going into much further detail in regard to 
 what took place on this occasion, I must speak of one 
 laughable incident connected with the after-dinner festivi- 
 ties. Among those present was Mr. Timothy Walker, au 
 elderly citizen of Hopkinton, who had distinguished him- 
 self somewhat during or soon after the war of 1812, by 
 publishing several magniloquent letters to Gen. William 
 Hull, of ignoble fame arising from his surrender of Detroit 
 to the British. Opportunity being given for volunteer sen- 
 timents, Mr. Walker rose, saying to the toastmaster that 
 he had one to offer which he hoped would be received 
 without local offence. Whereupon Esquire Nelson in 
 strong, sonorous voice, called out, " Citizens, please 
 give attention to a volunteer toast from Mr. Timothy 
 Walker, author of letters to Gen. Hull." Mr. Walker 
 in sharp, age-cracked tones started off in a long senti- 
 ment, prepared no doubt with much care for the occasion. 
 When about half way through it he paused for a moment 
 to take breath. The director of the artillery, supposing 
 he had finished, signaled the cannonier accordingly, when 
 ■boom went the six-pounder and up struck the . band, to 
 the great merriment of those who understood the situa- 
 tion. But Mr. Walker, not in the least disconcerted, 
 kept his standing, and when the music ceased cried out: 
 " Mr. President and fellow citizens, you have been too 
 fast for me ; I hadn't got half through." This increased 
 the mirth, which in no wise subsided when, re-announced 
 by the toastmaster and given full sway, the speaker 
 began anew and went through to the end as follows : 
 
UNEXPECTED OVERTURES. 129 
 
 "■^ Party Spirit — that wicked aud baneful party spirit, by 
 which empires, kingdoms, and republics have been over- 
 thrown, and by which too many of the good people of 
 this town have been greatly led astray: may this nox- 
 ious party spirit be torn up by the roots, transported to 
 the island of Java, and there placed in battle array with 
 the bohon upas tree, till it shall be demonstrated which 
 is most poisonous to humanity, that deadly upas or party 
 spirit." Then came another gun, more music, and deaf- 
 ening shouts of applause from the greatly amused 
 assemblage. This closed substantially the more formal 
 proceedings of the day. 
 
 Removal to JSfeiv York. A few days subsequent to 
 the Fourth of July celebration just described, I received 
 an unexpected visit from Asa Holden, Esq., an entire 
 ■stranger to me and a leading trustee of the First Uni- 
 versalist Society, Prince street. New York City. He had 
 come as a special messenger to New England for the 
 purpose of looking up a minister to fill the vacant pas- 
 torate of that body. I had been mentioned to him by 
 some of my older clerical brethren and recommended as 
 a suitable person for the position, and he had called 
 upon me to engage my services at an early day as a 
 ■candidate for it. There were good reasons why 1 
 ■should at once have declined the proposition. I had a 
 nice field of usefulness where I was, and the unanimous 
 good will of an increasing number of friends, though in 
 a rural community, which could afford me but a mod- 
 erate compensation for my labors. I was well established 
 with my family in our pleasant new home, and it was 
 annoying, if not unwise, to leave it without great cer- 
 tainty of a better location elsewhere. There was no 
 such certainty in the case presented me, for the society 
 in question had just been sadly weakened by a division 
 which resulted in the withdrawal of a considerable num- 
 ber of its members. The famous Abner Kneeland had 
 been its pastor, and being in that unsettled, transitive 
 «tate of mind which not long after landed him in open 
 9 
 
130 AUTO-BIOGRAPHY OF ADIN BALLOU. 
 
 infidelity, his preachiug had so alienated from him a 
 majority of his people that they voted his discharge 
 from the pulpit. Thereupon his friends, considerable in 
 number, seceded, hired a public hall, set up a rival 
 organization, and employed him as their minister. All 
 this must render my position in the Prince street pulpit, 
 if I occupied it, not only a delicate and trying one, but 
 one of problematical success. New York was not as 
 sensational then as now, and not easily moved by aspi- 
 rants for popular favor of my moderate type and caliber. 
 But I was probably too ambitious, vain, and short- 
 sighted to weigh all these considerations judiciously, and 
 .so was inclined to yield to the solicitations urged 
 upon me. Nevertheless, I argued against the proposed 
 change for some time with ambassador Holden, and 
 requested him to consult some of my leading supporters, 
 get their opinion, and learn their feelings about the 
 matter, which he consented to do. He was a stirring, 
 sanguine man and made quick work of his conferences, 
 returning very soon and reporting that the few he could 
 find thought 1 was fully competent to fill the proffered 
 pastorate, and had better go to it if called, though it 
 would be a great loss to them. He represented in par- 
 ticular that such were the views expressed by Esquire 
 Hunt, my most influential , parishioner. I was rather 
 taken aback by this statement, inasmuch as it caused 
 me to infer that possibly there was a willingness to have 
 me leave, founded as much on indifference to my con- 
 tinuance in Milford as on a conviction of my fitness for 
 the prospective place in New York. I was therefore 
 much more disposed by this representation to listen to 
 these new overtures than before. I ascertained afterward, 
 however, that Esquire Holden had no warrant for say- 
 ing that any willingness existed that I should leave the 
 Milford parish, though I was not informed of this till 
 too late to profit by it. I suppose that his zeal to 
 have me comply with his wishes either warped his 
 veracity or caused him to misconstrue expressions which 
 
VISIT TO NEW YORK. 131 
 
 seemed to favor his suit, though not intended to do so. 
 Suffice it to say that I was persuaded to be a candi- 
 date for the vacant pastorate and engaged to preach 
 as such the last two Sabbaths in July and the first in 
 August. So much being settled, Brother Holden returned 
 home with joy to report his success. 
 
 Pursuant to the above-named arrangement, I took my 
 wife and little boj- to Smithfleld, R. I., about the mid- 
 dle of July to remain with relatives during my absence 
 from Milford, and proceeded directly to New York to 
 ■fulfil the terms of my candidacy there. A letter writ- 
 ten to the former soon after my arrival detailed my 
 experiences on the way and after reaching my destina- 
 tion to date, and also my first impressions of the 
 people to whom I ministered and of the city. It has 
 been preserved and the major portion of it may not be 
 inappropriate to the purpose of this volume, nor unin- 
 teresting to its readers. I therefore give it insertion 
 here : 
 
 "New York City, (Monday) July 23, 1827. 
 
 '•'Dear Wife: I embrace an early opportunity to write you 
 a few lines agreeably to promise, and certainly according to 
 inclination. Through the providence of God, I am well and 
 hearty in the midst of this great and bustling metropolis. I did 
 not arrive here till Sunday morning, just in time to attend 
 divine service. The reason why was a disappointment at 
 Providence. I reached that place about 10 o'clocli on Friday 
 morning. But on going to the steamboat wharf — behold, no. 
 boat was there! They told me none went on that day, but 
 that a stage started soon lor New London, where I could take 
 a steamer for New York. On inquiry, however, I learned that 
 the coach had gone, and of course I must wait till the next 
 day and make the best of my ill -fortune. Meanwhile, I came 
 across Brother Pickering, then pastor of the First Universalist 
 church in Providence, who comforted and encouraged me, 
 inviting me to spend the intervening time at his house, which 
 I did very agreeably. I feel much indebted to him, for he was 
 very kind. ... He acted the part of an able and warm 
 friend throughout, of which I shall speak more fully to you 
 hereafter. 
 
 "On the passage, we had good wind, weather, and luck. The 
 boat went much faster than usual, so that I reached the city 
 
132 AUTO-BIOGRAPHY OF ADIN BALLOU. 
 
 in season for the morning service. Mr. Holden, to my great 
 joy, was at the landing, loolsing with eager eyes for me. He 
 received and welcomed me with great kindness, took me in a 
 coach to a friend's house, not far from the church, etc. I was 
 much fatigued, but preached three discourses notwithstanding. 
 "I am treated with much respect by the brethren here, who 
 are plain, intelligent, kind people. There was double the num- 
 ber present at meeting I had expected, so that I was happily 
 disappointed. I am also happily disappointed in the place. 
 Those who have spoken against this city have misrepresented 
 it. It is superior to Boston. The streets, if not so clean, are 
 much more spacious and airy; the water is fully as good, if 
 not better; and the people are less stiff and starched than in 
 most large New England towns. But I can add no more now. 
 As to my being settled here, I can say nothing yet, for neither 
 party is fully prepared to decide. The probability is that it 
 will depend on my consent and pleasure. 
 
 "Your affectionate husband, 
 
 "AD IN" BALLOU." 
 
 The above language indicates that the candidate was 
 rather captivated by his surroundings and prospects, and 
 quite likely to take the new position. So it proved. 
 After preaching three Sabbaths, I received and accepted 
 the society's call on a salary, I think, of $800 per 
 annum, to be raised as the society grew. During this 
 visit I was pleasantly boarded in the family of Brother 
 Sylvanus Adams, one of the trustees, and was introduced 
 to most of the members. I also solemnized one marriage. 
 
 It being settled that I was to remove to New York, 
 affairs made haste with me. My installation was 
 arranged for the 26th of September, the Rev. Hosea 
 Ballon to be invited to preach the sermon. But my pas- 
 torship was to date with and from tlie 16th of that 
 month, the third Sabbath; and I was to make an 
 exchange with Brother Hosea for that day and the Sun- 
 day following, arrangement for which was agreed upon 
 and carried into effect. 
 
 I returned to my home in Milford, taking my little 
 family from their three weeks' visitation with me, and 
 set about the necessary preparations for removal. My 
 friends seemed deeply aggrieved at my leaving them, but 
 
CLOSE OF MILFORD PASTORATE. 13^ 
 
 blamed the New York strategist rather than myself, as 
 having seductively robbed them of their minister in an 
 unfraternal manner. I was sorrowful for them and also 
 for myself, fearing that I had done wrong and that the 
 change I was to make might turn out an unwise one 
 for all concerned. But the die was cast ; nothing coulcl. 
 be undone. I must go ahead and do my best. 
 
 On the five Sabbaths that remained before the close 
 of my pastorate, I preached morning and afternoon in 
 my own pulpit to interested and anxious audiences, and 
 on successive days at 5 p. m. lectured in Blackstone, 
 Hopkinton, and Bellingham. My afternoon discourse 
 September 9 was in the nature of a valedictory, from 
 the text: "Finally, brethren, farewell; be perfect, be of 
 good comfort, be of one mind ; live in peace and the 
 G-od of love and peace shall be with you." — 2 Cor. 
 13:11. It was an affecting and impressive occasion. 
 A large audience was present, composed mostly of deeply 
 interested friends, though some outsiders were there, 
 drawn by curiosity or otherwise. I could ask no more 
 unmistakable demonstrations of personal respect and 
 attachment, nor of regret at my departure than were 
 there manifest. And it was substantially the same with 
 friends in neighboring towns where 1 was accustomed to 
 lecture and officiate at funerals. 
 
 On the third Sabbath in September I commenced ful- 
 filling- my engagement to supply the pulpit of Rev. 
 Hosea Ballon in Boston, while he went on to occupy 
 what was now mine in New York. I spoke in the 
 morning in his School street church ; in the afternoon 
 in that of the First society, Hanover street, in 
 exchange with Rev. , Sebastian Streeter ; and in the even- 
 ing, by request of Rev. Hosea Ballou 2d, in his desk 
 at Roxbury. The next Sunday morning I exchanged 
 with Rev. Brother Thompson of Charlestown, and in 
 the afternoon preached again in School street, thus 
 concluding my engagement and with it my ministry in 
 New England for the then present. 
 
134 ADTO-BIOGRAPHY OF ADIN BALLOU. 
 
 Meanwhile preparations had been going on rapidly for 
 transferring myself, family, and belongings to the new 
 home and field of service in the country's metropolis. 
 Some household and other articles not likely to be 
 needed had been disposed of at auction, and the rest 
 were carefully packed and shipped in proper order. 
 Our dweUing-house was put in good hands, to be rented 
 or sold, as might be deemed most desirable. All 
 things being ready, we left Milford on Tuesday, Sep- 
 tember 25, for Providence, where we boarded a steamer, 
 expecting to reach our destination the next forenoon in 
 time for the installation services at 3 o'clock p. m. But 
 various things transpired to delay our boat, and we had 
 a long, dismal passage, terminating about 5 o'clock, 
 when we landed, in poor plight (by reason of seasick- 
 ness, broken rest, etc.) for appearance before the public 
 in any form. The installation had been, postponed till 
 evening and came off accordingly, though at a later 
 hour than hoped for, and with much less than the cus- 
 tomary display of parts. I have neither memoranda nor 
 recollection of details further than that the sermon was 
 by Rev. Hosea Ballou, who took for a text Rom. 
 1 : 14-16. The subject of discourse was treated with 
 the well-known ability of the preacher, a respectable 
 congregation was present, and the exercises were appre- 
 ciatively satisfactory. Thus my pastoral canoe was once 
 more launched on the uncertain waters. 
 
 After temporary accommodation in the family of 
 Brother Holden, we rented a tenement and set up house- 
 keeping at No. 99 Thompson street, though it was 
 some time before our domestic affairs were comfortably 
 reconstructed so that we felt really at home. We were 
 subjected to serious disappointment at an early day in 
 our New York life, in that our matronly friend, Miss 
 Joanna Cook, who had come on with us to be an assist- 
 ant in household cares and a companion more particu- 
 larly for my wife, became so decidedly homesick and 
 otherwise ill that she insisted upon returning to the 
 
LOST AND FOUND. 135 
 
 fi-iends she left behind her, and did so within a month 
 of our arrival. After her departure we supplied the 
 place thus vacated as best we could — sometimes readily 
 and satisfactorily, but frequently quite otherwise. 
 
 While getting settled in our new quarters we were 
 one day thrown into a spasm of fearful anxiety and 
 alarm by the sudden disappearance of our son, then a 
 little over four years old, for whom a careful search 
 of several hours throughout all the neighborhood and 
 repeated calls in all directions proved fruitless and vain. 
 I went hither and yon, hoping to find him in some of 
 the streets or alleys ; friends and neighbors were rallied 
 to assist in looking him up ; but the mystery grew 
 deeper and deeper, and our apprehensions more and 
 more distressing, till at length our good Brother Holden 
 appeared, leading the tired and trembling wanderer into 
 our presence. It may be imagined what relief came to 
 our burdened hearts when we caught sight of him again 
 and with what emotions of grateful joy we once more 
 had him in our arms. 
 
 It seemed that he ventured some distance from our 
 dwelling-place, lured by strange and pleasing sights — 
 so far that when he came to himself and wanted to 
 return, he could not find the way. Realizing very soon 
 that he was lost, he began to cry and moan piteously, 
 saying, "I want to go home." A watchman hearing 
 him, took him in charge, and not being able to learn 
 where he lived, carried him, agreeably to city regulations, 
 to the public almshouse, where such stray ones are 
 kindly taken care of until called for. "When Brother 
 Holden heard of his disappearance, knowing the course 
 pursued in such cases, he at once repaired to the insti- 
 tution named where he found the lad a short time only 
 after he had been brought in by the oflicer. The little 
 fellow recognized Mr. Holden, whom he had seen 
 repeatedly before, sprang to meet him, seized his hand 
 eagerly, and was happy to be led by him back 
 to the home from which he had thoughtlessly strayed 
 
136 AUTO-BIOGRAPHY OF ADIN BALLOU. 
 
 and to the fond embraces of parental hands and hearts. 
 
 Having been duly inducted into my new field of labor, 
 I addressed myself to my pulpit and pastoral duties 
 with all the ability and zeal of which I was master, 
 but with less evident success than I had hoped for. I 
 had good friends who did what they could to assist and 
 encourage me, but Mr. Kneeland and his adherents 
 seemed to prosper, drawing into their support and fel- 
 lowship many wavering and susceptible minds. My 
 society had been seriously weakened by the division, and 
 the faithful were anxiously looking for an increase of 
 numbers aud renewed thrift under my administration. 
 But circumstances were unpropitious, and with all my 
 diligence and zeal, I could not realize my own expecta- 
 tions, and what was a greater trial to me, I felt that I 
 was not realizing the expectations of my people. , After 
 several months of earnest effort to. little purpose, as I 
 thought, I began to suspect that I was not the "right 
 man in the right place !" 
 
 Still I persevered and cast about in my thought for 
 some new means of usefulness and influence. In my 
 anxiety and desire to accomplish the most I could for 
 myself, my society, and the cause of truth, I devised a 
 plan or scheme for starting and editing a small, semi- 
 monthly paper to be called "The Dialogical Instructor," 
 aud made arrangements for carrying the project into 
 effect. I secured a few personal friends as financial 
 backers, and prepared and put to press my first issue,, 
 which bore date .Tan. 5, 1828. This gave me my first 
 experience in editorship, of which I have had much since 
 that day. 
 
 My removal from Milford, though determined upon 
 somewhat abruptly, and, as I afterward found, much 
 against the judgment aud earnest wishes of the prin- 
 cipal members of my society there, awakened no 
 unkindly feelings on their part toward me, and called 
 forth from them no expressions of blame or condemna- 
 tion. On the other hand, they still seemed to hold me 
 
UNCERTAINTY OF THE SITUATION. 13T 
 
 in profound respect, manifested toward me a truly- 
 friendly spirit, and hoped the change would prove advan- 
 tageous, both for me personally and for the cause 
 of Universalism, which both I and they had so much , 
 at heart. This was evinced by the correspondence car- 
 ried on between me and some of their leading repre- 
 sentatives, which was always characterized by the utmost 
 cordiality, frankness, and good will. 
 
 Somehow or other, perhaps by some casual remark 
 ' of mine or by the general tone of my letters, or iu 
 some other way, it began to be suspected among my 
 former parishioners ere many months had passed by, 
 that things in New York were not going altogether ta 
 my mind ; that my expectations were not fully realized ; 
 and that consequently there was a growing uncertainty 
 in regard to what my future was to be. This suspicion 
 appeared in letters of friends inquiring particularly into- 
 my pastoral affairs, whether or not I was satisfied with 
 my position and work, etc., reminding me of my promise 
 to return to Milford if all did not go well, and signify- 
 ing that they all would be very glad to . see me back 
 again. 
 
 As early as Jan. 11, 1828, Esquire Hunt wrote me as 
 follows: "We are one and all anxious to hear how 3'ou 
 are situated, what society you have, of your prosperity 
 or adversity. I wish you to write me plainly and truly. 
 I have a letter from Esquire Holden, who states that he 
 was mistaken in his communication to me respecting 
 your wishing to be considered a candidate for their 
 society, but quite the reverse ; therefore he takes the 
 blame upon himself. Please give my compliments to 
 him and tell him I thank him for the pamphlets he sent 
 me, but am sorry that he should be the means of sepa- 
 rating you from our society. We are at this time 
 without any meeting except visiting each other, — all 
 waiting to hear from you." 
 
 It was evidently^ understood among my Milford friends 
 that I was struggling against wind and tide, with little 
 
138 AUTO-BIOGEAPHY OF ADIN BALLOU. 
 
 prospect of any change for the better. Probably I said 
 as much as this in my letters to them from time to 
 time. And so on Feb. 25, Mr. Hunt wrote me again: 
 ' ' You have the same opportunity, and I think, greater 
 reason to return to Milford than you had to leave it; 
 but you must and Tv^ill be your own judge. Here are 
 Milford, Bellingham, and Medway with meeting-houses; 
 and Hopkinton, Mendon, Upton, Uxbridge, and many 
 other societies you used to labor with, all destitute at 
 this time. "We, as well as our neighboring brethren, still 
 feel anxious for your return. I do hope and trust you 
 will not disappoint so many of your good friends here as 
 to deprive them of your labors in the ministry without, 
 after due trial and just experience, you are fully per- 
 suaded you can be far more useful in New York than in 
 Milford." And once more, March 17th: — "Since I 
 wrote you last I iiave not heard anything from you, etc. 
 1 am requested by the Universalist Committee to say to 
 you that it is their desire you should inform them on 
 what conditions you will return to Milford and settle 
 with us for seven or ten years, provided there is a 
 printing-office set up and a schoolhouse built for you. 
 For our society still believe it is best for them, as well 
 as yourself, that you should come back as soon -as pos- 
 sible." 
 
 About the first of April I sent a response to these 
 earnest appeals of Esquire Hunt, confessing that I felt 
 somewhat disappointed by my New York experiences, 
 that I appreciated the good feelings and wishes of my 
 Milford friends, and that I might ultimately think it 
 best to return ; but that there was likely to be a severe 
 struggle in my mind before I could decide to abandon my 
 situation. At this point all correspondence was sus- 
 pended for a few weeks, during which period thoughtful 
 deliberation was going on with both parties concerned, in 
 order that a wise decision might be reached in regard to 
 the matter in hand. Meanwhile I was brought to the 
 end of the twenty-fifth year of my life. 
 
CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 1828-1829. 
 
 Return to Milford — Experience of New York Society 
 WITH Rev. fiosEA. Ballou — Reflections — Dis- 
 cussion WITH O. Batchelor — Affliction. 
 
 npHE urgent appeal from my former Milford society, 
 -*- quoted near the close of the last chapter, made a 
 profound impression upon me, partly, no doubt, on 
 account of the unpropitious_ circumstances in which I was 
 placed. And hence, after much reflection, I concluded to 
 signify to the trustees of my New York parish that I 
 was not satisfied with the result of my labors in their 
 behalf, and felt that I had better return to the place 
 whence I came. They seemed to be astonished and sorry 
 when I communicated my decision to them and expressed 
 the hope that I would reconsider it. Finding me persist- 
 ent in my purpose, they at length consented to give me 
 up, provided I would assist them in obtaining another 
 preacher of satisfactory talents and character. I replied 
 that my influence was small in such matters, but what I 
 had would be exerted to their advantage. On inquiring 
 if they had any one particularly in view to succeed me, 
 they named, to my great surprise, a no less distin- 
 guished personage than Rev. Hosea Ballou. I told them 
 I had no faith whatever that he would entertain such a 
 proposal as was suggested, but added that if his ser- 
 vices could be secured it would be the making of the 
 ■society and I would gladly do anything in my power to 
 promote so desirable a consummation. They replied that 
 they had good reasons for believing that he could be 
 
140 AUTO-BIOGRAPHY OF ADIN BALLOU. 
 
 induced to come to New York, for he had signified as 
 much when he was last in the city in a conversation 
 with Mr. James Hall, an eminent Universalist merchant. 
 I was still incredulous, thinking there must have been 
 some misunderstanding on the part of the gentleman. 
 They were sure there was none and asked me to open 
 a correspondence with Mr. Ballou, which for want of 
 faith in the thing I declined to do. 
 
 Thereupon Mr. Henry Fitz, chairman of the board of 
 trustees (who were more confident than I), was dele- 
 gated to address him upon the subject. An answer to 
 his letter of inquiry was soon received, which we all 
 understood to be favorable to the contemplated negotia- 
 tion. I confessed myself happily disappointed and 
 immediately addressed an urgent appeal to my vener- 
 ated brother in the ministry to come to New York and 
 take charge of the Prince street society. I had then 
 unbounded confidence in him, both as to intellectual 
 ability and moral integrity and honor. He responded, 
 saying that in a few days he would see our trustees 
 and confer with them face to face. 
 
 Mr. Ballou came on accordingly and a meeting was 
 held when the whole matter in hand was thoroughly 
 considered. During the interview, the reverend gentle- 
 man was asked what salary he should expect were he 
 to take the position proposed. His reply was in sub- 
 stance this : "I am now very happily situated in Bos- 
 ton, my society there is large and respectable, I am in 
 the midst of numerous friends, my children are settled 
 at no great distance from me, my salary is ample — 
 about $1600 — as large as my supporters are well able 
 to pay; all I need or would willingly receive. Now if 
 I come to New York, the good of the cause, not 
 pecuniary advantage, would be the chief inducement. I 
 shall therefore ask only such compensation as to be no 
 loser in a monetary point of view." Nothing could be 
 more just, honorable, or satisfactory than this and the- 
 conference closed. 
 
PRINCE ST. SOCIETY AND REV. HOSE A B ALLOC 141 
 
 A full meeting of the board was soon after held for 
 final action in the case. The whole ground was trav- 
 ersed again, all the circumstances of expense of removal, 
 comparative cost of living, distance from friends, etc., 
 were carefully and frankly discussed, resulting in an 
 agreement that my honored kinsman should come to 
 New York upon a salary of $1800 — the expense of get- 
 ting his family and goods from Boston to be paid by 
 the brethren here. In regard to the time when the new 
 pastorate should begin, Mr. Ballou said he was not 
 siire his Boston society would release him, but thought 
 there would be no great difficulty about it, and if he 
 was released, he could enter on the new engagement in 
 a few weeks. The interview closed satisfactorily and 
 the trustees were joyous for the future. The tidings of 
 what had been done and of the new prospects opened 
 to the society gave great satisfaction to the members 
 and their friends, exciting the liveliest anticipations — 
 alas, never to be realized. 
 
 Mr. Ballou was to preach in Philadelphia the ensu- 
 ing Sunday and in my Prince street pulpit Ihe. one 
 following. Before leaving my house for the Quaker 
 City, having been my guest during his stay iu New 
 York, he began to think he had been too moderate in 
 his demands upon the brethren here, telling me in pri- 
 vate conversation that he deemed it very doubtful if his 
 Boston friends would consent to his leaving them on 
 the terms named. After a long talk with him with a 
 view of finding out what offers would be necessary to 
 induce his people to give him up, he told me that if 
 1200 were added to the sum agreed upon, making it 
 ^2000, he had no doubt they would release him, though, 
 he added, he could not be absolutely certain of. it. On 
 the strength of what he said, I promised to submit his 
 new proposition to the trustees, hoping for the best. 
 
 I fulfilled this promise immediately after he started 
 for Philadelphia, though it was an awkward and dis- 
 agreeable task for me. The trustees were astonished at 
 
142 AUTO-BIOGRAPHY OF ADIN BALLOU. 
 
 this new phase of the matter and some of them almost 
 incredulous as to my having a correct undei-standing of 
 Mr. Ballou's views and feelings; the increased demands, 
 after what had been definitely agreed upon, being wholly 
 unexpected, not to say exorbitant. But they were not 
 long in finding out that even greater exactions were to 
 be laid upon them and that if their object was to be 
 attained, it would be upon still harder terms. For 
 when the candidate returned and negotiations were 
 opened anew, all former action was reconsidered and 
 annulled, and an entirely new arrangement was consum- 
 mated, to wit : The annual salary should be $2000, to 
 be specially guaranteed by pecuniarily responsible 
 individuals, the settlement to be for life, with the under- 
 standing that a colleague should be provided when 
 necessary without reducing the salary more than $800 
 per annum , and all the expenses of removal to be paid. 
 This being settled, an ardent epistle was sent by the 
 trustees to the Boston society, beseeching them to con- 
 cur in the contemplated change and a glorious consum- 
 mation seemed now to be fully assured. All this tran- 
 spired about June 1, 1828. The final outcome of this 
 protracted effort to secure the pastoral services of the 
 most distinguished preacher in the denomination with all 
 the mancEuvring and apparent craft connected therewith 
 was that in due time word came from Boston announc- 
 ing that Mr. Ballou's society there refused to release 
 him on any terms, and therefore he could not remove 
 to New York. The Prince street society were greatly 
 disappointed, as well they might be, in thus having all 
 their earnest endeavors prove fruitless and their plans 
 for the future utterly frustrated ; and they were thrown 
 for the time being into a state of consternation, bewil- 
 derment, and almost despair. 
 
 While these things were going on with reference to my 
 New York parish and its prospective pastorship, I had 
 been negotiating with my old society in Milford for a 
 return thither. In response to a letter written by me 
 
RECALL TO MILFOED. 143 
 
 about the first of April, to wiiicli allusion has already 
 been made, I received, after the lapse of a few weeks, 
 the following communication : 
 
 "MlLFORD, May 3, 1828. 
 "Dear Kev. Rrother : — 
 
 "The Committee of the Universalist Society in Milford have 
 
 had the pleasure of perusing your favor, through the politeness 
 
 of Brother P. Hunt, to him of the 1st. of last month. We 
 
 thought we discovered a willingness in you to take up your 
 
 residence and preach with us once more on some conditions or 
 
 other. There are certain facts connected with this business 
 
 which we think it proper to state, viz : Our Society are more 
 
 than anxious that you should come and will not be satisfied 
 
 with an answer in the negative ; yet with the present numbers 
 
 they are unable to pay you more yearly than before. We do 
 
 not doubt that some would give almost all they have. We 
 
 should be willing to add to the amount as the Society 
 
 increases. We have a desire, should you return, even in our 
 
 present circumstances, that you should have a barn and a 
 
 horse and chaise as soon as possible. Should you be so kind 
 
 as to come back, we will build you a barn suitable for your 
 
 use immediately, and give the old salary — prompt pay; also 
 
 as much and as fast towards a horse and chaise as our means 
 
 will admit. In fact, we will do all we can and more than we 
 
 would for any other man. We understood you that there must 
 
 be a conflict in your mind before you could decide. If it must 
 
 be so, we hope it will soon begin, and soon end by your 
 
 being placed in the bosom of your friends, where, if you have 
 
 but a morsel of bread, you will eat that in love and quietness. 
 
 All which we humbly submit for your candid consideration 
 
 and for ourselves and Society anxiously await your answer. 
 
 "From your most devoted friend, 
 
 per order of the Committee, 
 
 "ARIEL BEAGG." 
 
 On the 12th of May I answered this letter, communi- 
 cating my decision to comply with the committee's invi- 
 tation and return to Milford in the course of a few 
 weeks. To this Col. Bragg cordially rejoined a week 
 later, expressing for himself, the committee, and ■ 
 society, the most fraternal love and satisfaction. So 
 much being settled, the New York trustees, elated with 
 the expectation of having Rev. Brother Ballon for a 
 
144 AUTO-BIOGRAPHY OF ADIN BALLOU. 
 
 minister at an early day, consented to the removal of 
 my family and effects to Milford as soon as I found it 
 Kjonvenient, provided that I would supply the pulpit till 
 my successor's arrival, which, it was understood, would 
 be the first Sunday in July. During the week that he 
 was in Philadelphia, therefore, we packed up whatever we 
 desired to -take with us to our old home, started it on 
 its way, while we ourselves left in season to reach there 
 before the following Sunday, when I was to preach 
 again to the people of my former charge. Having btored 
 my goods for a few weeks and placed my wife and child 
 among friends, I returned the next week to New York 
 to fulfil my engagement there and close up a few mat- 
 ters that remained unsettled. I had the good fortune 
 to find an old friend, Mr. Noah Cook, who was ready 
 to take my house off my hands for the remainder of 
 the time for which I had rented it, in order to occupy 
 it himself. It was also necessary to make some dispo- 
 sition of The Dialogical Instructor, which had reached 
 its 13th number, and an arrangement was entered into 
 with Kevs. Thomas Whittemore and Russell Streeter, 
 then about to start The Trumpet and Universalist Mag- 
 azine, by which its subscription list was transferred to 
 them. 
 
 1 preached for the last time as pastor of the Prince 
 street society June 29, 1828, giving my friends an infor- 
 mal farewell with the least possible ado. My position 
 at the time was a somewhat, anomalous and trying 
 one. I had pledged myself to supply the pulpit there 
 till my successor was ready to take my place, which, 
 it was supposed, would be on the next Sunday. And 
 now word had just been received that Mr. Ballou, who 
 had been relied upon to follow me, was not coming at 
 all. The people were perplexed beyond measure, incon- 
 solable almost, by their disappointment, and nothing 
 that I could say was likely to soothe their feelings. All 
 my plans were laid with reference to the closing of my 
 pastorate there and resuming the one at Milford immedi- 
 
RETROSPECTIVE MEDITATIONS. 145 
 
 ately. No reasonable objections could be made to my 
 leaving at once and I acted accordingly. And so on 
 the first of July I bade my New York friends a final 
 good-bye, taking a steamer to Providence, going thence 
 to Smithfleld where my family was, and proceeding with 
 them to Milford. I was received with outstretched hands 
 and warm hearts, and recommenced my pastoral labors 
 the Sunday following, July 6, 1828. 
 
 In closing the record of my experiences in New York 
 I deem it proper to indulge in a few reflections which " 
 they naturally suggest. The question has often arisen 
 in my review of the matter just narrated whether or not 
 there was anything wrong or dishonorable in the course 
 I pursued with reference to it. I have never been able 
 to see that there was, but have always felt- myself justi- 
 fied and unworthy of blame at the bar of my own 
 conscience and before my Maker. I have not, however, 
 been able to render the same exculpatory verdict in the 
 case of Father Hosea Ballon. I thought at the time and 
 I still think in the serenity of old age that his treatment 
 of the Prince street society was discreditable and blame- 
 worthy, derogatory to his character and standing as a 
 man and as a minister of universal grace and salvation. 
 It seriously shocked my previously entertained reverence 
 for and confidence in him. Indeed, it destroyed much 
 of these and they were never restored to me. There 
 seemed a worldly shrewdness, a sort of mercantile foxi- 
 ness in his conduct, which was repugnant to my notions 
 of Christian duty and honor, and which 1 had thought 
 to be morally impossible in him. My feeling in the 
 matter was intensified by ascertaining soon after, on 
 what I regarded good authority, that his manoeuvre 
 resulted in securing some hundreds of dollars addition 
 to his yearly stipend from his Boston friends. Nor 
 ■does the fact that this is the way of the world and of 
 many clergymen render it less culpable in my judgment, 
 or more innocent and Christlike. I do not censure Mr. 
 Ballon for not going to New York. It would have 
 10 
 
146 AUTO-BIOGRAPHY OF ADIN BALLOU. 
 
 been unwise for him to have clone so on amj salary. I 
 censure him for demanding so much of the society there, 
 repeatedly increasing his figures, and then accepting a 
 premium for remaining in Boston, while making all the 
 time the highest professions of disinterestedness and 
 devotion to the cause of Universalism. 
 
 One good effect was produced by the revulsion that 
 took place in my own mind at the transaction under 
 consideration. My former great respect for Eev. Brother 
 Hosea had drawn me far towards his peculiar doctrine 
 that all sin, suffering, and punitive discipline end with 
 man's earthly life ; also into the evil persuasion that those 
 Restorationists in the Universalist denomination who. 
 had publicly controverted that doctrine had done so- 
 not from honest convictions of truth and duty, but 
 mainly from personal ambition, envy, spleen, and pique. 
 I had never been converted to the no-future-punishment 
 hypothesis, yet I was so strongly attached to the lead- 
 ing apostles aud devotees of this hypothesis that I was 
 silently acquiescing in it and as near embracing it as one 
 could be who wished to find some convincing reason for 
 doing so, but had wholly failed in the attempt. More- 
 over, by the same subtle influence, I had become greatly 
 prejudiced against the "factious" Restorationists, as 
 they were designated, which made the matter still worse. 
 But here had come a shock to my feelings which sug- 
 gested that I might have been too credulous and facile, 
 and which led me to examine the gi-ound on which I 
 was standing and correct the mistakes into which I had 
 been unwittingly led. 
 
 Another incident which occurred, I thinlf, while the 
 negotiations spoken of were going on, contributed largely 
 to the same result. One day while Father Hosea was 
 stopping at my own house, I tried to draw from him the 
 main reasons for his distinctive view of the restriction 
 of sin and misery to the present state of , being. I 
 addressed him in substance as follows: — "I am per- 
 fectly persuaded of the final holiness and happiness of 
 
EVASIVE AND REPREHENSIBLE REPLY. 147 
 
 all human souls ; as I am that there can be no such 
 thing as God's inflicting any vindictive, cruel, or useless 
 punishment on men here or hereafter. But if there are 
 those who leave this mortal state in a sinful condition, 
 hating the Heavenly Father and one another, and dying 
 perhaps in the very commission of some wicked act, how 
 can they possibly enter into happiness in the next life 
 without first experiencing more or less shame, sorrow, 
 and penitence?" This was a question of profound inter- 
 est to me, and I expected he would give me, in view of 
 my youth and of our mutual relations to each other, his 
 strongest arguments in support of his theory, and so do 
 something to enlighten me on so vital a subject. To my 
 utter disappointment, he waggishly evaded the issue and 
 with a smile and a shrug, said: "So then. Brother Adin, 
 you think they'll have to be smoked a little, do you?" I 
 was profoundly in earnest, but he chose to be facetious 
 and, as he thought, witty. I did not like it and con- 
 cluded, after reflecting upon the matter, that he could not 
 give even a plausible answer to my inquiry. Nor have I 
 ever had occasion to change that opinion. This was the 
 first, last, and only conversation we ever had upon the 
 subject. 
 
 Not far from this time, Eev. Charles Hudson, an able 
 exponent of the Restorationist theory of life, death, and 
 destiny, published in book form a series of letters in 
 defence of the doctrine of limited future retribution 
 addressed to Rev. Mr. Ballou, which were of great value 
 and had a wide circulation. Although designed espec- 
 ially for the latter's consideration, he, 'instead of giving 
 them the attention they deserved, or which common 
 courtesy even would have prompted, gravely announced 
 to the Universalist public through its Boston organ, that 
 he had not read the work and should not answer it, as 
 he was told it contained nothing new upon the question 
 involved. This did not tend to check the declining 
 respect I had for him. It rather led me to, .decide that 
 men and doctrines alike ought to stand or fall, not on 
 
148 AUTO-BIOGRAPHY OF ADIST BALLOU. 
 
 mere assumptions, but on their respective intrinsic merits 
 or demerits, as determined by an enlightened and candid 
 judgment. 
 
 Passing from these more immediately personal matters, 
 I am moved to remark that the general conditions and 
 prospects of Universalism in the nation's metropolis, as 
 I was obliged to see and study it while there, were at 
 best somewhat dubious. Eev. Edward Mitchell, an emi- 
 nent champion of the doctrine of the final redemption of 
 all men, and his society worshipping in Duane street, 
 were Eestorationists and stood almost entirely aloof from 
 the mass of those bearing the Universalist name. More- 
 over, he was far along in years, with failing health, and 
 his people were not large in numbers. Eev. Abner Knee- 
 land in his new movement was riding a high horse down 
 hill into atheism, with a motley train of admirers at his 
 heels. The Prince street society, of which he previously 
 had charge, was greatly crippled by the withdrawal of 
 so many who followed him in his wild career. Further- 
 more, with the exception of a few choice spirits, it was 
 difficult to tell what the majority of professed Uni- 
 versalists believed or were aiming at — only that they had 
 cut loose from the endless-misery sects and were adi'ift 
 somewhere on the high seas of liberalism, with less of 
 sound faith than of volatile skepticism. Of fraternal 
 unity, co-operation, and fellowship, there was little. 
 Thus my first favorable impressions proved illusory, and 
 I left New York " a sadder, though a wiser man." 
 
 The prevailing aspects of moral and social order, or 
 rather of disorder-, in the city, did not brighten much 
 upon closer acquaintance. The place was a Babylou, 
 composed of all peoples and tongues, high and low, rich 
 and poor, fortunate and unfortunate, in one vast whirl 
 of good and evil enterprise, — a heterogeneous compound 
 which I will not attempt to describe. 
 
 During my ministry there, 1 was called upon to offici- 
 ate but a few times either on funeral occasions or at the 
 nuptial altar, though I solemnized enough marriages to 
 
MATRIMONIAL PERPLEXITIES. 149 
 
 give variety and uniqueness to my experience. As tlie 
 laws of tiie state then were, few restrictions or safe- 
 guards were establislied for the governance of those 
 proposing to enter the marital relation; no publishments, 
 no registration, no certificates of intention being required 
 of the parties concerned. Those conducting the ceremo- 
 nial — magistrates or clergymen — must do so on their own 
 responsibility, at least so far as mutual fitness was taken 
 into account. In my youthful inexperience, I made some 
 grievous mistakes. In one instance, the groom proved 
 to be an unprincipled bigamist. In another, when two 
 couples came to my house for the ceremony, there had 
 been a mutual unmarrying of parties previously united, 
 and swapping of mates. On the following Sunday, as I 
 descended the pulpit stairs, I was met by a finely 
 appearing lady dressed in mourning, who claimed to be 
 the sister of one of the brides, and who stated that the 
 family were greatly troubled about the affair and desired 
 me to call at their house, giving me the street and num- 
 ber, and assist in straightening things out. I took the 
 matter under advisement, and after reconnoitering the place 
 designated and its neighborhood, concluded that it was 
 the more discreet course not to risk any intimacy with 
 the inhabitants of the premises indicated, but leave them 
 to adjust their affairs without my aid. These experi- 
 ences led me to believe that matrimonial alliances were 
 liable to more uncertainty and erraticism than I could at 
 that early period comprehend. 
 
 A gloomy premonition. While fulfilling my engagemer^t 
 to supply the New York pulpit for a few Sundays suc- 
 ceeding the removal of my family to New England, I 
 boarded with Mr. N. Rose and wife, members of the 
 Prince street congregation and devoted friends of mine. 
 During my sojourn with them I received in a dream 
 one night a solemn premonition of coming bereavement. 
 I saw, or seemed to see, as in a vision, the dead body 
 of my wife lying before me, and near by a new-born, 
 living infant. The impression was so distinct and dread- 
 
150 AUTO-BIOGRAPIIY OF ADIN BALLOU. 
 
 ful that it awoke me in a "horror of darkness," and 
 thenceforth the memory of it haunted me more or less 
 ominously until some months later it was literally ful- 
 filled. I concealed the dream in my own bosom, hoping 
 it might be only a barren and harmless freak of the 
 mind, yet fearing all the while that it would prove true, 
 and watching sedulously the signs that might in any way 
 foreshadow or indicate the fatal issue it portrayed. 
 
 About the first of July we were once more domiciliated 
 in Milford, my opening sermon under the new arrange- 
 ment being delivered on the morning of Sunday, the 6th 
 of that month. As our own house had been rented to 
 families that could not readily vacate it, we occupied 
 rooms temporarily in an adjoining dwelling, but ere many 
 months elapsed we were fairly established again in our old 
 quarters, with none to molest or make afraid; A new 
 barn was erected during the summer, and in due time a 
 horse and chaise were added to our . domestic equipment, 
 not only that they might contribute to our personal con- 
 venience and pleasure, but that I might more easily and 
 faithfully discharge the pastoral duties of my office — the 
 people of my charge, though not very many in number, 
 being distributed in all directions over a wide extent of 
 territory. Moreover, the many calls I had for miscellane- 
 ous services of one kind or another within driving 
 distance of Milford, rendered it a part of wisdom and 
 economy for me to. have means of conveyance of my own 
 and be independent of neighbors, parishioners, etc., how- 
 ever kind ; and of livery stables, however ready to serve 
 me, for a consideration, in that respect. 
 
 Very soon after my return, I found myself not simply 
 going my old round of ministerial duty, but more in 
 demand and more actively engaged otherwise than ever 
 before. I received several invitations to occupy vacant 
 pulpits as a candidate for settlement over parishes of 
 more distinction in various respects than that of 
 Milford, but felt myself in honor bound under the 
 circumstances to decline them all. I attended and 
 
INTERVIEW WITH OEIGEN BACHELOR. 151 
 
 participated in the services of numerous ecclesiastical 
 ■gatherings, — ministerial associations and ordinations, 
 dedications of houses of worship, religious conferences 
 iind the like, and .made frequent exchanges far and 
 near with my clerical brethren. At the dedication of 
 the Universalist meeting-house in jfawtucket, R. I., 
 in December of the year now in review, at which time 
 Eev. Jacob Frieze was installed pastor of the society, I 
 met- my elder brother, Kev. Hosea Ballou, but nothing 
 passed between us concerning the New York affair 
 •neither on that occasion nor indeed ever afterwards. 
 
 Meanwhile, my wife's health perceptibly declined, neces- 
 sitating the giving up on her part of all manual labor and 
 the employment of domestic help continuously. Very 
 naturally, my dream would often recur to me and with 
 ever-increasing vividness, awaking anew in my breast and 
 torturing me with the most fearful apprehensions. I 
 ■could do no otherwise than maintain, unbroken silence 
 ■about it, suppress and conceal as far as possible my feel- 
 ings, and await the issue with such calmness and 
 ■composure as my reason, conscience, and faith in the 
 infinite perfections of my Heavenly Father enabled me to 
 ■command. Nevertheless, the cloud still hung in the sky 
 above me, and sent its chilling shadows into my heart. 
 
 In the autumn of 1828, I was visited by Mr. Origen 
 Bachelor of Providence, E. I., editor of a small periodi- 
 cal erititled The Anti- Universalist, which, as its name 
 indicates, was devoted to the controverting of the doc- 
 trine of the salvation of all men in its every form and 
 feature. He had been canvassing the town for sub- 
 ■scribers, he said by way of introduction, and so dropped 
 in on me. I acknowledged his courtesy in some general 
 reply in no wise calculated to provoke discussion or sug- 
 gest even religious conversation. But he soon broached 
 his favorite topic of thought, rather in the spirit of con- 
 troversy than of candid discussion, for he loved debate 
 as he loved his victuals. As my disposition has been 
 through life not to seek nor shrink from polemic warfare, 
 
152 AUTO-BIOGRAPHY OF ADIN BALLOU. 
 
 I met his assaults on my cherished faith promptly in a 
 long and earnest argument. He was keen, forcible, per- 
 sistent, and I was not slow to ward off his blows at 
 every turn, and give, as well as receive, sharp shots of 
 dialectic musketry. A severe toothache on his part and 
 an equally severe headache on mine, brought the inter- 
 view to a premature end, neither yielding a hair's breadth 
 of ground assumed in the debate. But he conceived so 
 much of a liking to me, as he said (with the notion, 
 perhaps, of helping his paper), that before leaving he 
 proposed a discussion of the subject at issue between us 
 in its columns. I could not well refuse, and so con- 
 sented to a public correspondence with him in a series of 
 articles, pro and con, of a polemic character. To show 
 how anxious he was for the fray, I copy the following 
 letter received from him shortly afterward : 
 
 "Providence, Oct. 18, 1828. 
 "Rev. Mr. Ballou: The public are on tiptoe with expecta- 
 tion. They feel great solicitude in relation to our proposed 
 discussion. Already have some political papers noticed it and 
 among the rest the National Gazette, Walsh's paper in Phila- 
 delphia. Some have subscribed for the Anti-Universalist solely 
 on account of this expected controversy, and even some Uni- 
 versalists. What remains for me to observe is that after having 
 excited public expectation, we proceed to gratify it without 
 delay. Please, sir, forward rae the introductory number as soon 
 as possible. It is necessary that I receive it early next week 
 in order to its insertion in our next. 
 
 "Very respectfully I am, etc., 
 
 "OKIGEN BACHELOR." 
 
 Before this urgent prompting reached me, I had received 
 an anonymous letter from a conspicuous Universalist lay- 
 man in Providence, entreating me to have nothing to do 
 with Bachelor and his Anti-Universalist. He said that 
 "Universalists should treat that paper and its editor with 
 silent contempt." " Its publisher and patrons aim merely 
 to villify and abuse." "Your character may suffer by 
 coming in contact with such a low and contemptible vehi- 
 cle." " Saving a few bigots in this town, it is execrated 
 
BIRTH OF A DAUGHTER. 163 
 
 by the whole community, etc., etc." Nevertheless, having 
 committed myself as far as I had, and never fancying a 
 dainty dignity that refuses to notice tingenteel opponents 
 for fear of getting besmeared, I went ahead. Quite a 
 long series of articles followed, the merits of which I can 
 hardly pass judgment upon at this late day, the papers 
 containing them having been lost or mislaid. Probably 
 more good than harm was done, but not much of either. 
 
 During the ensuing winter I had charge of the school 
 in North Purchase, the same taught by me the first year 
 of my residence in Milford. I rode three, miles to it in 
 the morning, returning to my family at night, the health 
 of my wife being such as to require more than usual 
 attention and care. All my other duties were performed 
 in regular order, and none of the intei-ests entrusted to 
 my keeping were consciously neglected or allowed to suf- 
 fer detriment. 
 
 On the 30th of January, 1829, another child was born 
 to us ; a daughter who, notwithstanding the early loss of 
 her mother and in spite of many threatened dangers, has 
 survived to the present time — the only one of my four 
 children now remaining in the flesh. The patient passed 
 through the trying ordeal as well as could be expected 
 in view of her previously debilitated condition, and for 
 some days seemed so comfortable that I hoped for an 
 escape from the portended fatal issue. It was not long, 
 however, before there appeared in the case marked symp- 
 toms of failing vitality and strength, ultimating in what 
 was called quick consumption in those times, from which 
 there was no release except in death. Oh, the sad and 
 anxious days and nights through which I then passed ! 
 My feelings can be imagijied only by those who have 
 been visited by similar calamities. Everything possible 
 was done for the sick and suffering one. The best of 
 nursing was secured and there was all needful kindly, 
 sympathetic helpfulness on the part of the women of my 
 congregation. Our family physician, Dr. G. D. Peck, in 
 whom we had great confidence, called iu as counsel Dr. 
 
154 AUTO-BlOGRAPHr OF ADIN BALLOU. 
 
 Dauiel Thurbev of South Milforcl, the most experienced, 
 •skilful, and eminent practitioner in our general region, 
 so that there was no lack in that regard. But all in 
 vain. Nothing could check the ravages of the destroyer. 
 
 When the fast-sinking patient became aware of her 
 -critical condition, she conversed with me freely about it 
 and about her approaching dissolution. She desired me 
 to pray with and for her (which I did as best I could 
 with my anguish-stricken spirit and quivering lip), 
 assured me of her unabated dying love for me, confided 
 the children and her personal effects to my care, and 
 expressed the wish that her body might be buried in 
 some place where mine at last could rest by its side. 
 She said but little about the future, but manifested an 
 undoubting trust in her Heavenly Father and an assur- 
 ance that all would be well with her spirit beyond the 
 river of death. She was calmly resigned but could not 
 talk at any length, her eyes and countenance telling what 
 her organs of speech were unable to articulate. In just 
 ttfree weeks from the birth of her child she breathed her 
 last and passed into the world of spirits, leaving me her 
 lifeless body and a little infant just as had been shown 
 me in that dream-vision some months before. Thus about 
 seven years after marriage I was bereaved of a most 
 affectionate, devoted, and exemplary wife, whom I had 
 every reason to love, confide in, cherish, and hold in 
 perpetual and ever precious remembrance. Our brief 
 union had, I can but feel, the sanction of the Divine 
 Father, as it certainly received abundant blessings from 
 his guardian hand. 
 
 My beloved wife died the 20th of February, 1829, at 
 lie age of 28 years, 10 months, and 20 days. The 
 funeral took place in the brick meeting-house on the 24tli, 
 having been postponed one day on account of a terriffic 
 snowstorm that rendered the roads almost impassable. 
 For this reason, but few relatives on either side were 
 &b\e to be present, but of sympathizing friends, parish- 
 ioners, and neighbors there was a large attendance. The 
 
DOMESTIC BEREAVEMENT. 155 
 
 services, consisting of prayers and a sermon, etc., were 
 conducted by Rev. Hosea Ballon, 2d, of Eoxbury, for 
 whom I cherished a peculiar fraternal regard, and were 
 appropriate and consolatory. "What was mortal of the 
 dear departed was interred in the old burying-ground at 
 Milford Center, and monumental stones with suitable 
 inscriptions were soon after erected at the head of the 
 grave. Some twelve years later the whole was removed 
 to our burial lot in the Hopedale Cemetery. 
 
 A brief obituary notice from the pen of Rev. H. Ballon, 
 2d, as I suppose, appeared in the Trumpet and Universalist 
 Magazine of March 7, 1829, from which I transcribe the 
 following passages : 
 
 "Throughout her short but painful sickness, amidst the 
 rapid decay of a quick consumption, she uttered no complaint ; 
 nor was she alarmed on receiving a tender intimation from her 
 husband that her disease threatened to prove mortal. As her 
 life wasted away, she maintained a steady and serene confi- 
 dence in the Father of Universal Grace, and when the last 
 hour arrived and the toi"por of death came upon her, she bade 
 her husband farewell with composure. 
 
 "From her childhood she was brought up in the doctrine of 
 Universal Salvation ; and in mature age her chax-acter, mild, 
 benevolent, and conscientious, seemed to comport well with the 
 sentiments she had received. Naturally attached to domestic 
 life, its duties were the principal objects of her care and appli- 
 cation; and if her religious professions were not loud and 
 imposing, it was because her disposition as well as her belief 
 inclined her to show her faith by her works." 
 
 My parochial and other duties, which had been some- 
 what interrupted by the sickness and death of my wife, 
 were resumed after the funeral solemnities were over, 
 and proceeded thenceforward with tolerable regularity. 
 My thoughts were thereby turned away from the great 
 sorrow through which I had passed, and I was somewhat 
 relieved of the burden of grief and pain which otherwise 
 would have seemed too heavy to be borne. At the same 
 time I had the strongest reasons for gratitude to God, 
 not only for spiritual consolation during all my afflictive 
 experience from the great fountain of all good, but for a 
 
156 AUTO-BIOGRAPHY OF ADIN BALLOTJ. 
 
 multitude of sympathetic demonstrations from my earthly 
 friends. I remember " the wormwood and the gall" and 
 also, I trust, "the wine and the oil" of those far-off 
 days. The outlines of my troubled dream remain and of 
 what it seemed to prognosticate, but the light and shade 
 thereof grew more and more indistinct with the receding 
 years. 
 
 Where, now, I can but ask, are the relatives and 
 friends that then mourned with and comforted me ? Nearly 
 all gone over to the spirit continent, a scattered remnant 
 only remaining, like myself, on these mortal shores, and 
 we are awaiting the summons hence. But how has it 
 fared with the departed? Are they lost in oblivion or 
 only gone before? Not lost, but translated to immortal 
 fields — their spirits rehabilitated in bodies and garments 
 suited to their present mode of being — each one in proper 
 order progressing towards a celestial destiny of ineffable 
 good and glory ; some more slowly than others, but all 
 surely. They have greeted each other on the eternal 
 shore and congratulated each other upon their triumphant 
 deliverance from the power of death and the grave, and 
 upon the unfolding goodness of the Infinite Parent in all 
 the dispensations of his ever-faithful providence. So may 
 they greet us and we them, as we in God's own time shall 
 emerge from the shadows of earth into the glorious sun- 
 light of immortality. 
 
CHAPTER IX. 
 
 1829-1830. 
 
 Enlarged Field — Theological Student — Self- 
 Conquest — Overwork — Dangerous Illness — 
 Home Reconstructed — Funeral Experience. 
 
 A S I entered the 27th year of my life, I found new 
 -^^ fields of service opening before me and new oppor- 
 tunities for advancing the cause of truth and righteousness, 
 of which I felt myself to be the friend and champion. 
 Not only did calls to lecture in surrounding towns on 
 Sunday evenings and to officiate at funerals and on mar- 
 riage occasions increase, but also invitations to preach 
 in other pulpits than my own, both far and near ; some- 
 times in exchange with a resident minister, and sometimes 
 to fiU a vacant place, in which latter case, if accepted, 
 I had to provide for my own people as best I could. 
 Moreover, I took about this time under my care and tui- 
 tion a young man who had been living at Lowell, Seth 
 Chandler by name, for the purpose of educating and 
 training him for the work of the Christian ministry in 
 the interest and fellowship of the Universalist denomina- 
 tion. He had in some way conceived a liking for me, 
 and for some time a correspondence had been carried on 
 between us in regard to his becoming my student. It 
 resulted in an arrangement whereby his wishes were to 
 be gratified, but sickness and death in my family had 
 prevented it from being carried into efi'ect. After the 
 interruptions and changes occasioned by my bereavement 
 had passed by, however, and I was fairly settled again 
 in my plans and work, having secured board at the table 
 
158 AUTO-BIOGRAPHY OF ADIN BALLOU. 
 
 of Mr. Adams Perry, Sr., to whom I had rented mj 
 house, Mr. Chandler came to Milford to enter upon his 
 proposed course of study. This was in the month of 
 June, 1829. He obtained an abiding place with Mr. 
 Perry, so as to be with me as much as possible, receiv- 
 ing instruction from me and all the guidance and 
 information I could impart to him in the way of equip- 
 ping him for his chosen calling. This opened a new 
 page of duty and responsibility for me to fill out. He 
 was about 22 years of age, a young man of excellent 
 principles and moral character, with respectable talents 
 and a moderate preliminary education, yet of laudable 
 ambition, willing and anxious for improvement. His 
 general knowledge was somewhat extensive and he was 
 well posted in the literature of Universalism. I put him 
 under such drill as I thought suitable, finding him an 
 apt scholar, but so sensitive to criticism that it took me 
 some time to make my correction and discipline fit his 
 peculiar organization. We soon, however, came to under- 
 stand and to adapt ourselves to each other, and his 
 progress was rapid and satisfactory to a high degree. He 
 remained under my tuition and influence till he was ripe 
 for the pulpit — some three years. Soon after closing his 
 engagement with me he was settled as pastor of the First 
 church and society of Shirley; a position which he held 
 and honored through a long and useful ministry. 
 
 About this time I was much exercised respecting the 
 pernicious habit of using tobacco, which I formed not 
 long after I entered the ministry of the Christian Con- 
 nection, by reason of the example and influence of the 
 older clergymen with whom I was associated and for 
 whom I entertained profound respect. In those daj^s 
 nearly all the ministers of every denomination were "hail 
 fellows well met" in the filthy, harmful, and reprehensible 
 practice of smoking, and many of them" yet belong to 
 the same shameful category. By continued indulgence I 
 became a slave to the habit ; so much so that I had a 
 cigar or pipe in my mouth most of the time during my 
 
A BAD HABIT CONQUERED. 15& 
 
 waking hours. I was so cliavmed and beguiled by what 
 I was doing that I verily imagined that I could read, 
 study, meditate, and write much better under the inspira- 
 tion thus engendered than othei-wise. At length my eyes 
 were opened to the injury I was doing myself in this 
 particular. There were unmistakable signs that 1 was 
 undermining my health and waging war against my phys- 
 ical well-being. My reason and conscience were finally 
 aroused and became faithful monitors and witnesses 
 against me. I was convinced that I was abusing as well 
 as defiling the temple in which God had for this present 
 life installed my soul.- Yet when I tried to escape from 
 my thraldom, I found that in this as in other cases, my 
 appetites, whether natural or artificial, when once 
 enthroned were exceedingly pertinacious and obstinate. 
 But could I not subdue them and reform-? If not, I 
 ought to be ashamed to preach repentance and reforma- 
 tion to others. And if I could but did not do this, I 
 was no true minister of the cross. I pondered this aspect 
 of the case ; I prayed for divine help and at last resolved 
 to place my tobacco and pipe on a shelf within reach 
 and see how long I could let them alone. I tried this 
 expedient and through grace from above strengthening 
 me triumphed with comparatively little struggle. The 
 harmful, dangerous appetite was broken and I have 
 abstained from its indulgence for more than forty yeai's. 
 And now, whenever I see an old or young tobacco slave, 
 1 am profoundly grateful to G-od for my own emancipa- 
 tion, and prayerful that all other such sinners may 
 experience the like deliverance. 
 
 As an indication of the multiplicity of my cares and 
 labors at this period and of the extent to which I was 
 unconsciously overtaxing my physical and mental energies, 
 I take the liberty of making a few extracts from my 
 diary for the year 1829 : 
 
 "Attended and took part in the dedication of the new TJni- 
 versallst meeting-house in Marlborough, Mass., September 3. 
 Bemained there over the Sabbath and preached three times. 
 
160 AUTO-BIOGRAPHY OF ADIN BALLOU. 
 
 Also dedicated three children as a part of the afternoon ser- 
 vice. Brother Chandler supplied the Milford desk for me. At 
 home on the next Sabbath. Traveled the same week to Winches- 
 ter, N. H., to attend the general convention of the Universalist 
 denomination, before which I delivered a discourse on Wednes- 
 day. Much annoyed and displeased at that convocation by the 
 interference of Rev. Hosea Ballou with an arrangement 
 whereby Rev. David Pickering, of Providence, was to offer the 
 principal prayer in connection with the preaching of a sermon 
 by Rev. Paul Dean, of Boston. There had been some ill-feeling 
 engendered between the objector and Brother Pickering by 
 reason of the vigorous and unanswerable protest which the 
 latter had made on different occasions against the former's pet 
 hypothesis of no future retribution. The assignment of the 
 part referred to was before the brethren for approval and 
 seemed likely to receive it. Whereupon Rev. Hosea peremp- 
 torily said, 'If this convention has any regard for my feelings, 
 it will not allow this man to pray before it.' This silenced 
 all debate and secured unresisting submission at once ! I 
 resolved in my own mind not to attend another convention of 
 that sort, and I never did. 
 
 "September 20th preached two discourses at Chestnut Hill, 
 A. M. and P. m; another at 5 p. M. in Millville; and a fourth 
 at 7.30 P. M. in Uxbridge. On the next Sabbath exchanged 
 with Rev. Massena B. Ballou, of Charlton, Mass. On the fol- 
 lowing Wednesday preached three times at Chepatchet, R. I., 
 being entertained at the residence of Mr. Sabin Smith. Thence 
 home almost sick,-having stopped on the way and spent an 
 hour with my friend Clark Cook, in Mendon, who was con- 
 fined to his bed with a fever. On Sunday, the 4th of October, 
 I had arranged an exchange with Rev. Paul Dean, Bulflnch 
 street, Boston, where I was expected to deliver three dis- 
 courses, the last to be an anniversary one before the Sabbath 
 School Association. But this expectation was not realized. My 
 morning sermon was cut short and the services for the day 
 abruptly closed by a sudden attack of illness which forbade all 
 further effort on my part. I was much exhausted and feverish 
 when the exercises commenced and I proceeded with difficulty. 
 At length in the midst of my discourse my sight failed me 
 and faltering, I summoned strength to announce my inability 
 to go on further, then sunk back almost helpless upon the 
 pulpit sofa. The congregation was much alarmed, friends 
 flocked to my relief, and presently a devoted brother, one of 
 my warmest adherents when a candidate for the pastorate 
 of the First Universalist society in 1824, had me in a coach 
 conveying me to his humble but most hospitable home. Arriv- 
 
SUDDEN AND SERIOUS ILLNESS. 161 
 
 ing there, himself, wife, and the whole family did all in their 
 power to soothe and recruit me during the ensuing afternoon 
 and night. They besought me to remain with them, have a 
 physician, and get better before attempting to return to Mil- 
 ford. But I instinctively felt that I must by all means get 
 home- So with ardent thanks for their great kindness, I 
 almost tore myself away from them the next morning and 
 being lifted into my chaise, started on my journey. The day 
 was cold and blustering, and when I had completed my ride 
 of 30 miles I was chilled through and felt myself to be a sick 
 man. I went directly to my chamber, utterly prostrated with 
 what resulted in a severe and protracted lung fever." 
 
 I passed the night of October 5th in unalleviated dis- 
 tress, and on the morning of the next day sent for Dr. 
 Peck, my regular physician, who at once saw what my 
 disease was and said it must have its usual run. He, 
 however, applied such palliatives and antidotes as seemed 
 necessary to render me as comfortable as possible and 
 secure a favorable issue. My brother, Ariel Ballou, Jr., 
 then a student with Dr. Thurbur (before mentioned), at 
 South Milford, was sent for to come and minister to me 
 as best he could in various ways, since there was no one 
 else on whom I felt at liberty to call in my emergency. 
 He hastened to my bedside and proved a brother indeed, 
 watching over me and attending to my wants with all 
 vigilance and faithfulness, scarcely lea-\dng me till the 
 crisis was passed and I was out of danger. My theological 
 student, Mr. Chandler, also favored me with much kind and 
 efficient service. During my convalescence, I was cared 
 for by my beloved mother whose presence was a comfort 
 and support to me and whose experience enabled her 
 to render _me most valuable assistance ; and by the 
 daughter of one of my most respected and worthy par- 
 ishioners, Miss Lucy Hunt, .between whom and myself 
 there had already sprung up a very strong and tender 
 attachment — an attachment which some months later 
 ripened into marriage, as will be noted in due time and 
 place. Under the ministrations of such devoted, faithful, 
 and efficient attendaats, and of the most competent and 
 11 
 
162 AUTO-BIOGRAPHY OF ADITST BALLOD. 
 
 scrupulous physicians, my disease was held much in check 
 and successfully overcome, aud my progress in the way 
 of recovery, after my fever had passed its turning pointy 
 was rapid and sure, without serious hindrance or relapse. 
 So that in five weeks from the day I was stricken down 
 in Boston, I was in my own pulpit again engaged in the 
 active duties of my ministerial office. 
 
 I however preached but one sermon on that second 
 Sabbath in November, and that a written one — one of 
 the few in those days which I committed to manuscript. 
 In it I referred to my recent illness and recovery in 
 terms which I am moved to reproduce in these pages. It 
 was prepared specially for the occasion and had for a 
 text Ps. 116:18: "What shall I render unto the Lord 
 for all his benefits towards me?" After the introduction, 
 consisting chiefly of the context with a few incidental 
 suggestions, I came to my own case : 
 
 " My friends, I stand before you as one rescued from the cold 
 prison-house of death. A few days ago it was by no means an 
 improbability that the icy hand of the destroyer would soon be 
 laid upon your minister and you be called to follow his remains in 
 sad procession to yon dormitory of the dead. But the burning: 
 fever was arrested, the ravages of consuming disease were made 
 to cease, and the dawn of returning health smiled calmly upon 
 me. But by whom, above well-directed and kind human exer- 
 tions, have I been restored to life and health? Who blessed 
 the means used lor my recovery, and whose hand hath, 
 brought me back from the borders of the grave? Do I not 
 stand before you a monument of the unfailing compassion of 
 Him that liveth forever and ever! Yes, it is of the mercy of 
 the Most High that I am permitted again to utter my voice 
 from this desk. I called upon him when sickness had almost 
 swallowed me up and he hearkened to ray supplication. He 
 answered me with peace and returning strength; He lifted upon 
 me the light of his countenance and the dark clouds were dis- 
 sipated. He said, 'Let him walk again in che land of the living,, 
 for I will have mercy upon him.' And now, lo, I stand before 
 you this day to make my grateful acknowledgements amid 
 the congregation of my people for the loving kindness of God 
 toward me. He hath restored me that I might watch over my 
 tender children; that I might again bear testimony to the 
 great salvation and proclaim the final redemption of a lost 
 
DOMESTIC LIFE KE-ESTABLISHED. 163 
 
 world. He hath preserved me to come in and go out before 
 you, my friends, and that I miglit take sweet counsel with you 
 again on the shores of mortality. He hath restored me to the 
 enjoyment of all that may reasonably be expected to fall to 
 the lot of favored man, and I will venture to hope that many 
 years of prosperity and usefulness yet remain to me in the 
 appointments of indulgent Heaven. Oh, how great and prec- 
 ious are the blessings and benefits of our Heavenly Father! 
 Let us all praise and magnify His name from henceforth even 
 f orevermore ! 
 
 ' As winter came on, I found myself so fully restored 
 to health and strength as to warrant me iu engaging to 
 assume charge of the school in the 1st district in town 
 for the approaching term ; a new schoolhouse having been 
 recently erected and made ready for use only a quarter 
 of a mile from my place of residence. This engagement 
 I was able to carry into effect without detriment to 
 myself, and to the satisfaction of teacher, pupils, par- 
 ents ; in fact, of all concerned. 
 
 Having closed my school and being comparatively free 
 from outside responsibilities and labors, I turned my 
 attention more immediately to the rehabilitating of my 
 own home aud^ the renewal of my own distinctive family 
 life by entering a second time, as before intimated, into- 
 the marriage relation. The young lady spoken of on a 
 preceding page and I had already become affianced to 
 each other by mutual attraction and pledges of affection 
 and constancy, and there seemed to be good and suffi- 
 cient reasons why the formal and legal marital union 
 should be consummated at an early date. I longed for 
 the independence and freedom which exist only in one's 
 own household. I yearned for the companionship, the 
 sympathy, the sweet heart-repose which can be found 
 only in the domestic circle. I sighed for my dear child- 
 ren, separated from me and from each other, and 
 earnestly desired that they might be with me, under my 
 constant supervision and care, where proper parental 
 influence might be exerted upon them and where they 
 might contribute more directly and effectively to my com- 
 
164 AUTO-BIOGRAPHY OF ADIN BALLOU. 
 
 fort and happiness. I was fully persuaded that she 
 ■whom I had selected to be the partner of my future joys 
 and sorrows was not only worthy of my confidence and 
 love, but every way competent to fill a mother's place 
 toward my little ones and to discharge a mother's sacred 
 responsibilities. Though young in years and just ripen- 
 ing into womanhood, yet was she much more mature in 
 experience and judgment than many farther advanced in 
 life. She was sedate, modest, circumspect, sensible, and 
 discreet in her general deportment, intelligent, thoughtful, 
 well trained in household affairs, affectionate, kind of 
 heart, and obviously disposed to solid usefulness. I was 
 satisfied with her and she professed to be with me, and 
 we were mutually agreed upon uniting our fortunes and 
 our destinies at an early day. 
 
 The 3d of March, 1830,' was finally determined upon 
 as the date when our marriage should be solemnized and 
 preliminary preparations were made accordingly. The 
 ceremony took place in the meeting-house in which I 
 ministered, in the presence of a large concourse of people. 
 My favorite clerical brother, Rev. Hosea Ballon, 2d, was 
 the officiating clergyman on the occasion. He preached 
 an appropriate sermon and our choir furnished interesting 
 musical accompaniments. Everything passed off pleasantly 
 and satisfactorily to the wedded pair and to the whole 
 congregation, and the day closed with a wedding banquet 
 at the house of the bride's parents, at which there were 
 present only the immediate relatives of the bride and 
 groom and a few invited guests. 
 
 We very soon commenced housekeeping in the home 
 that for more than a year had been so sadly broken up 
 and troubled. My little boy, Adin, Jr., was immediately 
 brought from his year's sojourn with my good friends, 
 Clark Sumner and wife of North Purchase, but his infant 
 sister had caught the whooping cough and could not 
 safely join us for some weeks afterward. In due time, 
 however, we were all together and the bark of our new 
 domestic life, fairly launched upon the waters of time. 
 
SCENE AT A FUNERAL. 165 
 
 glided calmly on towards the great future that stretched 
 out before us. 
 
 Near the close of the 27th year of my mortal pilgrim- 
 age, on the 20th of April, I had a very singular funeral 
 experience, which in itself and in its accompanying cir- 
 cumstances illustrates a certain type of religion and of 
 religions sense of duty much more prevalent in my 
 younger days than at the present time. A little daugh- 
 ter of my good friend Capt. Wm. Grant, of West 
 Wrentham, was burned to death — an event which almost 
 overwhelmed the family with grief and awakened heartfelt, 
 sympathetic sorrow throughout the entire neighborhood. 
 As on previous similar occasions in the household, I was 
 summoned to officiate at the funeral. The principal ser- 
 vices were to take place in what was called the Elder 
 "Williams meeting-house, which, though originally a Bap- 
 tist sanctuary, had come to be owned in part and 
 to be occasionally occupied by the Universalists of the 
 vicinity, of whom my friend was one. The edifice was 
 thronged with the relatives, friends, and sympathizing 
 acquaintances of the deeply bereaved ones. The acting 
 minister of the Baptist society at the time, a Rev. Mr. 
 Reed, of English birth and training, had, out of courtesy, 
 been invited to go into the pulpit with me and offer the 
 concluding prayer. We were utter strangers to each 
 other, and I suppose, from what transpired before the 
 close of the exercises, he was as thoroughly prejudiced 
 against my general religious faith as a man could be. In 
 opening my discourse, which was in the form of a ser- 
 mon, I took a text from Lamentations 3 : 32, 33 : " But 
 though He (God) cause grief, yet will He have compas- 
 sion according to the multitude of His mercies ; for He 
 doth not afflict willingly nor grieve the children of men." 
 The general drift of my remarks may be inferred from 
 the passage quoted, what I said being based upon the 
 infinite goodness of God and his unfailing kindness and 
 love to his human offspring, whence might be deduced 
 the consolatory lesson that under His divine government 
 
166 AUTO-BIOGRAPHY OF ADIN BALLOU. 
 
 ill the universe of souls, the trials, misfortunes, and afflic- 
 tions to which we are subject in this mortal state must 
 and will be overruled for good and made to work out the 
 final holiness and happiness of those experiencing them. 
 I illustrated my subject with appropriate examples and 
 applied the lesson inculcated to the case of bereavement 
 and distress which had awakened such widespread sorrow 
 and called together so large a congregation. 
 
 Good Brother Reed was not at all pleased with my dis- 
 course, but deemed it delusive and dangerous. Therefore, 
 instead of proceeding at once with his prayer when he 
 arose to take the part asked of him, he stated that he 
 had a burden of duty upon his mind which he could not 
 forego, and that was "to protest against the sentiments 
 that had just been expressed and to warn the people 
 present of the danger involved in them." It can be 
 imagined how such an unusual proceeding would, under 
 the circumstances, affect the congregation. They were in 
 a state of solemn, intense, yet measurably suppressed 
 excitement. Nevertheless, they listened quietly while the 
 reverend gentleman went on to state that the preacher 
 had falsified and perverted the gospel, that he had flat- 
 tered his hearers with the notion that God loves and is 
 merciful to His sinful creatures, and applied the promises 
 of grace to them without the condition of their faith and 
 repentance, etc. "I tell yon," he continued, " that as 
 sinners you have nothing to expect from God but fiery 
 wrath and indignation. You are His enemies and He is 
 your enemy till you make Him your friend by turning to 
 him with all your heart. Thus only can you secure His 
 love and, mercy, whatever may be your calamities, afflic- 
 tions, sufferings, and bereavements." Having gone on in 
 this strain for several minutes, he closed with a corre- 
 sponding prayer. 
 
 I immediately responded. "Bereaved and sympathizing 
 friends," I said, "it is very disagreeable to my feelings 
 to hold a theological controversy on a funeral occasion, 
 and especially one so sad and distressing as the present. 
 
GOODNESS OF GOD VINDICATED. 167 
 
 but since it has beeu forced upon me by the extraordinary 
 remarks of our reverend friend, you will pardon me a 
 brief rejoinder. You are all my witnesses that I have not 
 preached to you unbelief, rebellion, and impenitence before 
 your Heavenly Father, nor underrated the necessity of faith, 
 submission, and lo\T.ng trust toward Him as indispensable 
 to your welfare and happiness in this world or the world 
 to come. But I have preached that God is your all-pev- 
 fect friend, whether you are His friends or not, whether 
 you love Him or not, .whether you are thankful or 
 unthankful, good or evil. And on the ground of His 
 eternal goodness, I have counseled and exhorted you to 
 obedience, penitence, and reconciliation to Him. On the 
 ground that He first loved you, I have besought you to 
 love Him and give Him the um'eserved confidence of your 
 hearts. The real point at issue between the brother and 
 myself is whether G-od loves mankind because they first 
 Joved Him or the reverse. Whether God first is merciful 
 and seeks after sinners, or they first seek after Him and 
 implore His mercy in order to make Him good, kind, ten- 
 derly affectioned, savingly disposed to them. 
 
 "Now in this case our brother has much more impor- 
 tant personages to contend against than I am. His 
 quarrel is not with me but with Jesus Christ and his 
 chief apostles." I then went on to quote the parables 
 of the lost piece of silver, the wandering sheep, and the 
 prodigal son, remarking that the lost sheep did not first 
 return to the shepherd, nor the wayward boy's confession 
 of penitence inspire his father's compassion and forgive- 
 ness. I also repeated such passages from the Saviour's 
 lips as the following : ' ' God so loved the world that he 
 sent His only begotten son, etc." " Love your enemies, 
 bless them that curse you . . . that ye may be the 
 children of your Father in Heaven. For He maketh His 
 sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth 
 rain upon the just and the unjust." "Be ye therefore 
 merciful as your Father in Heaven is merciful." "He is 
 kind to the unthankful and the evil." Also from the 
 
168 ADTO-BIOGRAPHY OF ADIN BALLOU. 
 
 words of Paul: "God commended His love toward us in 
 that while we were yet sinners Christ died for us." 
 "God, who is rich in mercy, for His great love where- 
 with He loved us even when we were dead in sins, hath 
 quickened us together in Cln-ist." And from John's 
 Epistle: "Herein is love; not that we loved God, but 
 that He loved us and sent His son, etc." "We love 
 Him, because He first loved us." These and other texts 
 of similar import which I quoted I accompanied with 
 appropriate remarks as a sort of running commentary 
 upon them, closing as follows: "I shall leave our friend 
 to contend with and denounce the Saviour of the world, 
 the great apostle to the Gentiles, and the beloved St. 
 John. If he can silence them, he will have silenced me, 
 for I have only echoed their testimony upon the matter 
 in question between us. Even John Calvin, his great 
 theological father, he opposes, for that distinguished 
 champion of the old faith taught positively that the elect' 
 were chosen from the fallen race of Adam 'without the 
 least foresight of faith, good works, or any conditions 
 performed by the creature.' Yet here today, over this 
 charred body, in the presence of these afflicted mourners, 
 whom I have tried to console with words of hope and 
 trust, he could not even pray without denouncing and 
 warning this whole congregation against the doctrine on 
 which all I had said was based, that God's aboriginal, 
 perfect, unchangeable, eternal love, so clearly affirmed in 
 the Christian Scriptures, renders Him the adorable refuge 
 of all the afflicted, sorrowing children of men. His con- 
 troversy is not primarily with me, but with the oracles 
 of divine and everlasting truth." I then pronounced the 
 benediction. My opponent left the house in agitated con- 
 fusion, his own brethren and friends deploring his fatuity 
 and want of wisdom, and the multitude rejoicing in the 
 triumph of the truth. 
 
 Early in the spring of 1830, arrangements were made 
 between the Universalist societies of Milford and Medway 
 by the terms of which I was to divide my services 
 
ONWARD COURSE OF EVENTS. 16& 
 
 between the two, preaching alternate Sundays in each, 
 and during the summer delivering five o'clock lectures in 
 each on the days I was absent at the regular hours of 
 worship. Brother Chandler, who had been away teach- 
 ing in the winter months, had rejoined my family and 
 was making rapid progress in his studies, having already 
 become an acceptable preacher in the pulpits of the gen- 
 eral vicinity. My time was crowded with professional 
 and other labors and responsibilities,, the religious com- 
 munity was greatly agitated, and important developments 
 were at hand. 
 
CHAPTER X. 
 
 1830-1831. 
 
 Eventful Year — Controvbesv with Ultra-Univeesal- 
 
 isTs — Join Pko-^'idence Association — Independent 
 
 Messenger — Close of Milford Pastorate — 
 
 Call to Mendon. 
 
 T NOW enter upon a review of one of the most eventful 
 -*- aud stirring years of my life-history — a year in 
 which momentous questions were canvassed as never before, 
 ecclesiastical changes made, and a new future opened to 
 my advancing feet. All this came about by reason of 
 the attitude of the Universalist denomination as a body, 
 in respect to the dogma of no future punishment and my 
 own growing convictions touching both that attitude and 
 the dogma itself. I could in reason and conscience abide 
 neither of them. Nor could 1 do otherwise than disap- 
 prove and scorn the contemptuous tone of the general 
 Universalist press and pulpit towards nearly everything, 
 however right and good in itself, which bore the stamp 
 and characterized the action of the so-called evangelical 
 sects. All such manifestations were an offense to me 
 from the beginning. 
 
 Although the early advocates of the final redemption 
 of all souls believed and taught that the consequences of 
 sin extended into the future state of being, and although 
 the Universalist Convention at Philadelphia, in 1791, 
 emphatically disclaimed the theory that the good and the 
 bad, the believer and unbeliever, are equally happy at 
 the dissolution of the body, yet had it come to pass at 
 the time of which I am writing that this latter view had 
 
AMERICAN UNIVERSALISM. 171 
 
 gained overwhelming ascendancy among the class of 
 Christians bearing the Universalist name. Those who 
 were deemed leaders — the ablest and most aggressive 
 preachers — were of that way of thinking, and more than 
 nine-tenths of the laity were in sympathy with them ; 
 while the few Restorationists, as those of the opposition 
 were called, especially if at all outspoken in their opin- 
 ions, were scarcely treated with common civility. Their 
 only chance for respectful consideration from the dominant 
 party was to keep silence on the subject of difference 
 and serve in the common ranks obsequiously. It was 
 authoritatively proclaimed by those in the ascendant that 
 not a single passage of Scripture, justly interpreted, 
 taught the doctrine of sin, punishment, reward, or cor- 
 rective discipline beyond this mortal life. Floods of 
 absurd and wretched exegesis rolled forth and swept away 
 assumptively every text which old-time Universalists, as 
 well as believers in endless punishment, had always con- 
 strued to teach future retribution. All believers in the 
 final restitution of all things, ancient and modern, were 
 •claimed as Universalists, but those holding to retributive 
 rewards and penalties beyond the grave were set down as 
 ■crude in their notions on the subject, and not- to be rec- 
 ognized as trustworthy expositors of the sacred oracles. 
 The title, " American Universalists," was assumed for 
 those who were deemed sound and consistent representa- 
 tives of the doctrine and who were the only true 
 Universalists in what had become the proper denomina- 
 tional forms of speech. The positive and proscriptive 
 ■declaration was made that ^^Universalists noio know of no 
 condition for man heyond the grave hut that in which he is 
 as the angels in Heaven." ' At the same time, limited 
 future retributionism was odiously represented as "an old 
 heathen notion," and "a remnant of superstition akin to 
 the delusion of Salem witchcraft." In addition to all 
 this, almost every conceivable form of derisive and cen- 
 sorious expression was bandied about, in public and pri- 
 vate, at the more spiritual, devout observances, customs, 
 
172 AUTO-BIOGRAPHY OF ADIN BALLOU. 
 
 and socially religions instrumentalities of the " Orthodox." 
 These were characterized and sneered at as superstitions, 
 or hypocritical pretences, or inventions of priestcraft. 
 There seemed to be an absolute infatuation in such mat- 
 ters among the prominent Universalists of that period. 
 And that infatuation was accompanied by so much self- 
 conceit, dogmatism, intolerance and scorn towards any in 
 their own ranks who dissented from such invidious char- 
 acterization, that if they had any staunch mental inde- 
 pendence or honest convictions or sense of justice, it was- 
 impossible for them to be otherwise than repulsed and 
 outraged thereby. Certainly I was. 
 
 The Meclway Sermon. Under these circumstances, and 
 in the state of mind indicated, I wrote a sermon on 
 "The Inestimable Value of Souls," which I preached at 
 Medway on Sunday, the 25th of April, 1830. It was 
 prepared in no sJDirit of controversy, and with no design 
 of antagonizing any of my Universalist brethren. But 
 it proved to be the first gun of a protracted and some- 
 what violent war. My Medway friends, pleased with it,, 
 kindly asked it for the press. I consented to the request, 
 and the manuscript was sent to the Trumpet office to- 
 be printed in pamphlet form, with little thought of the 
 opposition it was destined to provoke. Its chief offense- 
 to those decrying it was that it interpreted and applied 
 certain important passages of Scripture, in such a way 
 as to derive from them support for the doctrine of future- 
 retribution, which was contrary to the ex-cathedra exposi- 
 tions of Rev. Hosea Ballon and kindred doctrinaires. Suck 
 interpretation and application were made innocently on 
 my part, from honest conviction and incidentally to the 
 main drift of the discourse, which was to advocate and 
 defend the doctrine of Universal Restoration in opposi- 
 tion to that of endless punishment, my text being- 
 Matt. 16:26: "What is a man profited if he gain the- 
 whole world and lose his own soul? or what shall a man 
 give in exchange for his soul?" 
 
 Though the sermon was sent to the Trumpet printing- 
 
ARRAIGNMENT OF THE TRUMPET. 173 
 
 office soon after it was delivered, with the expectation 
 that it would be at once put to press and made ready 
 for distribution at an early day, it yet suffered con- 
 siderable delay and was not permitted to get into the 
 hands of its readers until it had been heralded abroad and 
 denounced by an extended notice from Rev. Thomas Whit- 
 temore, the editor of the paper mentioned. My self-con- 
 stituted censor arraigned me as worthy of reprobation on 
 six counts, which were substantially as follows : That I 
 had inculcated the heathen notion of future rewards and 
 punishments ; that I had used certain texts of Scripture 
 in support of that notion which leading Universalists and 
 some others interpreted and applied differently ; that I had 
 done this without showing that they Y^re in the wrong ; 
 that I had aggrieved and insulted some of my elder clerical 
 brethren by saying that many divines, both orthodox and 
 heterodox, tortured particular passa,ges to no other pur- 
 pose than to show their ingenuity ; that I had injured and 
 abused Rev. Hosea Ballou especially, by discarding his 
 expositions and charging him with making "egregious 
 mistakes ;'' concluding his arraignment by declaring that 
 "I was far behind the orthodox in rescuing the sacred 
 "Writings from perversion." He was moved to notice my 
 errors and offences, he said, by a sense of duty "lest, 
 if this sermon be read where the views of American 
 Universalists are not known, it should be supposed they 
 interpret the Scriptures in the same manner," and for the 
 purpose of preventing the public from thinking that the 
 sentiments of my sermon were embraced by Universalists 
 generally. 
 
 The unreasonableness and injustice of all this carping 
 ■criticism appear from the following facts : 1 . The Uni- 
 versalist denomination had been founded and mostly built 
 up by believers in a limited future retribution. 2. It 
 still embraced a respectable minority who held to that 
 doctrine. 3. There was no denominational creed or 
 standard of faith giving the no-future-punishment view 
 any precedence of its opposite. 4. It was acknowledged 
 
174 AUTO-BIOGRAPHY OF ADIN BALLOU. 
 
 by all parties tliat the Eestorationists and the Ultras, 
 as they were respectively called, had co-equal rights in 
 advocating and defending their distinctive views, without 
 restriction .or censure. 5. My Medway sermon con- 
 tained nothing but what was perfectly consistent with 
 these facts, pj'ofessions, rights, and mutual understand- 
 ings. Yet this editor, assuming to speak for the whole 
 body of Universalists, took it upon himself to denounce 
 me as a notable offender for advocating universal salva- 
 tion on the old ground occupied by Murray, Winches- 
 ter, Chauncey, and all the early champions of that form 
 of faith. 
 
 By what had now transpired, I was unwittingly 
 brought face to face with one of the leading spirits of 
 the denomination to which I belonged and with whose 
 distinguishing doctrine I was in hearty accord. In the 
 ordinary discharge of my duty as a minister of Chris- 
 tian truth and an advocate of God's impartial and all- 
 saving grace, I had provoked the hostility and the 
 denunciatory judgment of the principal editor of the 
 denominational organ, who, without doubt, in his attack 
 upon me reflected the sentiment of a large majority of 
 those holding the Universalist faith, and especially of 
 those who had a controlling influence in its counsels 
 and in the general administration of its affairs. And 
 now what was I going to do about it? What could I 
 do? I must either sit down quiescently under the 
 denunciation launched against me and let everything go 
 as it might chance to do, or I must stand up manfully 
 in defence of my cause. Had no great principle been 
 involved — nothing but merely personal considerations, it 
 might have been politic for me to keep still and "crook 
 the pregnant hinges of the knee where thrift may follow 
 fawning." But as it was otherwise in my judgment, I was 
 impelled to pursue a different course. If I were to act 
 according to that impulse, I had nothing to expect but a 
 bitter and unequal content, in which the triumph of my 
 cause, of which I was sure in the end, would cost me many 
 
A NEW CRISIS CONFRONTED. 175> 
 
 a pleasant friendship, ejection from my pastoral office in 
 Milford, grievous aspersions of my motives, and num- 
 berless other discomforts and privations. Of merely 
 temporal advantage there was nothing in that direction 
 to gain, but seemingly much to lose. The main current 
 of feeling and opinion in the Unjversalist denomination 
 was unmistakably with my opponents. Few professed 
 Restorationists were outspoken and resolute in behalf of 
 their distinctive tenets. Nearly all the pulpits and peri- 
 odicals were either positively ultra or in some sort of 
 abeyance to that arrogant influence. And the dominant 
 policy was to decry every independent-minded defender 
 of future disciplinary retribution, as a factious, ambi- 
 tious, mischief-making disturber of the order. As to 
 honest conviction, devotion to principle, and conscien- 
 tious love for truth and righteousness, they were all 
 claimed for those who had transcended the old swad- 
 dling-clothes of infant Universalism. They might con- 
 temn and denounce the doctrines of their opponents on 
 the issue under notice as an "old heathen notion," "the 
 wildest of all reveries," or however else they pleased,. 
 and do so from the purest of motives, for they were not 
 only honest and disinterested, but superiorily enlightened. 
 So it verily seemed to them as it does generally to new- 
 fledged speculatists, iconoclasts, and superficial radicals. 
 They were honest and zealous, driving their chariot, 
 Jehu-like through their eccclesiastical Israel, and evok- 
 ing deafening shouts from their admiring sympathizers. 
 And yet I could not then, nor can I now, see One single 
 plausible, much less valid, reason for their peculiar 
 assumptions. 
 
 A new crisis had now arrived in my career as a min- 
 ister of the gospel of Christ, and my decision in regard 
 to it must be made. For several days I had a painful 
 mental struggle upon the question whether to keep silence 
 or to boldly meet the issue that had so unexpectedly been 
 forced upon me. Very grave consequences, I was aware, 
 must follow either course. I contemplated them on either 
 
176 AUTO-BIOGRAPHY OF ADIJf BALLOU. 
 
 hand with dread. I had no personal grievances to 
 redress, wrongs to avenge, ambitions to gratify. But I 
 had a position to maintain, a cause to defend, a con- 
 sistency of life, character, and teaching to preserve and 
 make clear before God and the world. I was a sincere, 
 firm, devoted believer in the doctrine of the final univer- 
 sal holiness and happiness for the entire human race. 
 That doctrine was sacred to me as the apple of my 
 eye. I could not deny it, hide it under a bushel, nor 
 in any way ignore it. To me it involved everything 
 in theology and ethics worth preaching or living for. 
 I had come into the belief of that doctrine by a never- 
 to-be-forgotten experience which affected and agitated 
 me to the very depths of my being. I had continued 
 in that belief at great sacrifice of personal friendship, 
 of social advantage, of religious fellowship, of promised 
 worldly success. I had been thrust out of the Chris- 
 tian Connexion on the urgent motion of my own father 
 because that body could not tolerate my honest convic- 
 tions in that respect, though professing to have no creed 
 and to fellowship all who lived a Christian life, regard- 
 less of theological belief. I had come into the 
 Universalist denomination at the earnest solicitations of 
 some of its foremost representatives rather than by my 
 own importunity. And when I frankly stated that I 
 was a Eestorationist and not an ultra-Universalist, so- 
 called, I was assured of as hearty a welcome as if it 
 were otherwise, and of being accorded an equal right to 
 hold and preach limited future retribution with others 
 cherishing different views upon that point. 1 believed 
 this, joined the order, and found everything pleasant and 
 cordial till I began to use my stipulated liberty of dis- 
 sent from the prevailing orthodoxy of the denomination. 
 Then, instead of kindly salutations and fraternal fellow- 
 ship, there came coldness, detraction, harsh accusation, 
 invective, denunciation. 
 
 Thus out of harmony and sympathetic union with my 
 fellow-Universalists, whither could I look for that cordial. 
 
FUTURE COURSE DECIDED UPON. 177 
 
 ■hearty friendliness and spirit of co-operation so much to 
 be desired in tlie pursuit and promulgation of religious 
 truth and the things of the religious life. I could not 
 ■quietly withdraw from existing ecclesiastical relations and 
 offer myself to one of the so-called evangelical sects, 
 except by stealth and cowardice. They had their honest 
 ■convictions, I had mine ; and the two, on certain vital 
 points, were fundamentally irreconcilable. They knew 
 this as well as I. They must do their duty and I mine, 
 •«ach as we respectively understood it. They wanted 
 nothing of me as I was, nor I of them as they were, 
 ■except to wish them well and honor them for whatever 
 good they might do. As to the Unitarian denomination 
 in this country, it had, through its acknowledged leaders 
 ^nd advocates, manifested no approval of outspoken 
 Restorationism at that day, though a few of its adherents 
 professed a quasi belief in it. The general attitude of 
 the body was one of aversion to that form of faith rather 
 than of hospitality. I could not therefore, with honor, 
 think of gaining entrance into that fold. Much less was 
 I morally capable of accepting any form of philosophical 
 materialism or of nebulous transcendentalism with its 
 hazy dreams of the Great Absolute and of a doubtful 
 immortality, even though I might be allowed to entertain 
 and promulgate my views unchallenged and without hin- 
 •drance of any sort. 
 
 There was for me no alternative so far as I could see 
 but to remain where I was and either yield tamely and 
 •obsequiously with a padlock on my lips to the autocratic 
 majority, or accept the issue which confronted me, and in 
 an honorable, manly, Christian way defend myself, my 
 views, and my line of action from the attacks of my 
 adversaries. To my apprehension there was much more 
 involved in the question that arose between me and my 
 ultra brethren than one at first would be inclined to 
 think. "Why," it might be asked, "inaugurate what 
 -promised to be a long and acrimonious conflict with your 
 opponents about the time, place, and continuance of 
 12 
 
178 AUTO-BIOGRAPHY OF ADIN BALLOU. 
 
 di^^ue retribution — whether all before or partly after 
 (jeath — so long as you were agreed upon the great dis- 
 tinguishing subject of the final salvation of all the 
 children of men ?" To my mind the question between me ■ 
 and my assailants was not simply one of "time, place, 
 and extent " of retributory visitation, but one of far more 
 radical and vital importance — one comprehending, as it 
 then was stated, interpreted, and applied, the moral 
 nature and accountability of man; the intrinsic relation 
 of the present state of existence to that which is to 
 come; the equity and impartial justice of retribution for 
 wrong-doing ; and the correct exegesis and use of the 
 Scriptures. It was not enough for me that the advo- 
 cates of no future punishment professed the highest 
 devotion to the doctrine of universal salvation if at the 
 same time they held it and interpreted it in such a way 
 as to annihilate or undermine the idea of the moral 
 agency and personal responsibility of mankind ; or vir- 
 tually break the thread of continuity between this life 
 and the next, and so make existence to consist of two 
 lives instead of one and the same life extending 
 through two stages of being ; or misrepresent the divine 
 government in its practical administration as absolutely 
 just and righteous in all respects ; or falsify and per- 
 vert the Hebrew and Christian sacred books by unwar- 
 rantable and absurd interpretations. It was on these 
 grounds and for the reasons thus indicated that after 
 deliberate, conscientious, prayerful, canvassing of the 
 situation, I resolved to take up the gauntlet that had 
 been thrown at my feet and enter at once upon the 
 warfare that I could not in good conscience avoid or 
 turn away from except in cowardly disgrace. I had 
 consecrated myself to the unconditional service of God 
 and His eternal truth. I was solemnly bound to main- 
 tain and defend what I sincerely believed to be the 
 fundamental principles of moral order in the universe of 
 souls. I was no less solemnly bound to stand up 
 bravely for that freedom of utterance without which 
 
REPLY TO REV. THOMAS WHITTEMORE. 179 
 
 truth cannot be proclaimed or sustained against error, 
 or divine principles be extended far and wide among 
 men. I had no doubt that my cause was just and 
 could be triumphantly vindicated on an open platform at 
 the bar of enlightened reason. And in resolving upon a 
 contest iu its behalf, 1 was equally resolved that it 
 should not be a half -smothered family quarrel, nor a 
 series of sham fights, but one of open field, pitched 
 battles. I had seen enough of cautious, politic, temporiz- 
 ing resistance to ultra-Universalism on the part of 
 Restorationists. It had only irritated their opponents, 
 excited their animosity, aroused their scorn, and pro- 
 voked more aggravated aggressions. 1 therefore solemnly 
 determined to proclaim and enter upon a square fight 
 on all the issues involved, as the only just, honor- 
 able, and rational course to pursue. And having so 
 determined, there was no longer on my part the 
 least hesitation or vacillation. Whatever the conse- 
 quences might be, the die was cast and cast irrevoca- 
 bly. There were to be no discharge and no retreat in 
 that war. 
 
 The decision made, I sat down and wrote a detailed 
 and exhaustive " Reply to Mr. Thomas Whittemore's 
 Review of a Sermon delivered in Medway, Mass., by 
 Adin Ballon." It was addressed "to the clergy and laity 
 of the Universalist faith throughout the United States." 
 In my opening paragraph I quoted verbatim the several 
 definite charges made against me in the Review, as in 
 substance presented on a preceding page, saying at the 
 close, " A sense of duty to myself and the cause of 
 truth requires that I should meet and repel these 
 charges with a. sober and dignified answer." 
 
 This I proceeded to do in an argument or series of 
 arguments covering some fifteen large pages of manu- 
 script, equal to about the same number of pages if 
 transferred to this volume and hence too long for inser- 
 tion in it. The final paragraph of the document was as 
 follows : 
 
180 AUTO-BIOGRAPHY OF ADIN BALLOU. 
 
 "In closing this reply, it is incumbent on me to declare in the 
 most solemn terms that I consider Mr. Whittemore's strictures 
 upon mj' sermon an unjustifiable infringement of my inalienable 
 rights, a deliberate violation of the obligations of fellowship, 
 and a declaration of hostilities against both me and my doctrine. 
 And I do furthermore solemnly declare that I consider myself 
 outlawed and alienated from all fellowship with Eev. Thomas 
 Whittemore and all persons wiio shall be found to have appi-oved, 
 justified, and encouraged him in this act of persecution. With 
 these declarations clearly understood, I now submit this my 
 defence to the candid contemplation of the clergy and laity of 
 the whole denomination of Universalists, conjuring them to pass 
 a righteous judgment upon my case and appealing to God in 
 Heaven for the interposition of His justice and wisdom in bring- 
 ing ;ill difficulties to a happy conclusion." 
 
 The Reply was accompanied by this reasonable request : 
 
 "Mr. Editok: I ask at your hands the justice to insert in 
 your paper the following vindication of myself from your 
 recent attack. I desire you to publish it immediately, or if you 
 decide not to do so, to return it within four days. 
 
 "With regret, 
 
 "ADIN BALLOU." 
 
 Did Mr. Whittemore grant this request and publish 
 my reply in the Trumpet? No. Did he open the col- 
 umns of his paper to the free discussion of the points 
 at issue? Never. Did he render any excuse, apology, 
 or reason for not giving my article a place there, as he 
 was desired to do? Not a word. Did he ever inform his 
 readers that I had attempted an answer to his charges? 
 No. "What did he do? Returned my manuscript to me 
 by mail in about a week without note or comment. And 
 the most I ever heard from the Trumpet office on the 
 subject was that he said my communication was " of a 
 nature to disgrace me before the public" and he with- 
 held It from his readers " out of compassionate regard 
 for my reputation." This may have been more kindly 
 meant than I was capable of understanding or being 
 thankful for. However this may be, it was evidently 
 deemed best that my article should be treated with 
 silent contempt, presuming doubtless that would be the 
 end of the matter. But I was not made of the stuff to 
 
ISSUE WITH MILFORD SOCIETY. 181 
 
 cower and subside under such proceeding, as will appear 
 in subsequent pages. 
 
 My next step in this matter was to present the con- 
 troversy now inaugurated and my relation to it frankly 
 to my society in Milford. I knew the majority in it 
 were ultras or prejudiced strongly in that direction. 
 The notice of my Medway sermon in the Trumpet had 
 already aroused the more excitable of them to con- 
 temptuous remarks about my "purgatory," "little 
 tophet," "hell junior," etc. I also knew that there were 
 some solid, considerate members who were disposed to 
 see me treated honorably, and a few who sympathized 
 with my distinctive views. But I felt that I ought not 
 to continue my pastoral relationship with my people 
 without a fair mutual understanding. So on the second 
 Sabbath in July, at my five o'clock service I laid the 
 whole matter before my congregation in a discourse 
 having for a text: "Men, brethren and fathers, 
 hear my defence, which 1 make now unto you." — Acts 
 22:1. I distinctly stated my views, feelings, and 
 course of action in the past ; how the case now stood 
 in consequence of the public denunciation issued 
 against me on account of my honest sentiments, with 
 no chance of exculpating or explaining myself allowed 
 me ; that I was determined to be henceforth an out- 
 spoken Restorationist at all hazards ; that I knew the 
 general predilection of my hearers for the doctrine of no 
 future retribution ; that I could not ask them to retain 
 me as their minister contrary to their convictions and 
 choice ; that I should be glad to continue with them 
 if they could bear with my honest independence and 
 desired me to remain ; but if otherwise disposed, I should 
 make no complaint for being openly and honorably dis- 
 charged at their discretion. The discourse was well 
 received by the nobler-minded of the society, and my 
 friend, Ariel Bragg, very kindly said to me that he saw 
 no reason why my outspoken sentiments should render 
 me less acceptable, useful, or desirable as their minister. 
 
182 AUTO-BIOGRAPHY OF ADIN BALLOU. 
 
 Others eoncuiTed. But a dififerent class of minds went 
 away with confirmed dissatisfaction which subsequently 
 manifested itself in decided hostility, the results of which 
 were soon to be made known to their associates and to 
 the community at large. 
 
 From that day forth I stood before the public an 
 independent, uncompromising Restorationist, in contra- 
 distinction from the ultra-Universalists on the one hand 
 as well as from the advocates of endless punishment 
 and the Destructionists on the other. For some months 
 I continued preaching under prior arrangement, half the 
 time in Milford and the other half in Medway — lecturing 
 at convenient intervals in various other places. To com- 
 plete my divorcement from tlie no future Retributionists, 
 it was only necessary for me to unite ecclesiastically 
 with the Providence Association, which was under their 
 ban of outlawry on account of its declared opposition 
 to their favorite dogma. This I did at an early day, 
 casting in my lot with its Restorationist Separatists, for 
 such they virtually were, and thus practically severing my 
 connection with the General Universalist Convention. 
 
 A new movement had now actually begun among those 
 rejecting the doctrine of endless punishment. An impor- 
 tant desideratum as a means of promoting that movement 
 was an organ of publication. Upon surveying the field 
 and finding no one prepared to establish such an organ, 
 I concluded to assume the responsibility myself, relying 
 on such pledges of assistance as my sympathizing brother 
 ministers were willing to offer. At a meeting of the 
 Providence Association, held in Oxford, Mass., Aug. 19, 
 1830, the subject of a weekly periodical was introduced, 
 discussed, and approved, and a title, suggested, I think, 
 by Rev. Charles Hudson, Indeiyendent Messenger, was 
 adopted. The following document, drawn up by myself, 
 was then submitted to those present and duly signed : 
 
 "We, the subscribers, do hereby solemnly bind and obligate 
 ourselves to Adin Ballou that, in case he shall within one year 
 commence the publication of a we'ekly periodical to be called 
 
INDEPENDENT MESSENGER FOONDED. 183 
 
 the Independent Messenger, we will be responsible for the prompt 
 payment of our respective subscriptions according to the num- 
 ber of copies noted opposite our several names. 
 
 PAtJL Dean, Boston, 100 copies ; David Pickering, Provi- 
 dence, 100 copies ; Lyman Maynard, Oxford, 50 copies ; Charles 
 Hudson, Westminster, 25 copies ; Philemon R. Kussell, Hali- 
 fax, 25 copies; Seth Chandler, Milford; 25 copies. 
 
 These 325 copies were all I could depend upon as a 
 subscription list outside my own personal influence and 
 exertions — not a large outfit for such an undertaking. 
 Evidently the prospect was by no means flattering, but 
 I was in earnest and not to be easily intimidated or 
 discouraged. It was readily seen that the venture must 
 be conducted with the most rigid economy or it would 
 fail, and that right early. I therefore concluded to enlist 
 a practical printer with an inexpensive establishment, 
 form a co-partnership with him, and open an office in 
 Milford, where the paper could be published, and more 
 or less job work be done in order to reduce expense. 
 An opportunity for such an arrangement soon presented 
 itself. Mr. George W. Stacey, a young Restorationist 
 brother, had been publishing The Gfroton Herald at 
 Groton, Mass., in partnership with a Mr. Rogers, but 
 the undertaking had proved unsuccessful and was to be 
 abandoned. He had a fairly-equipped plant, was well 
 recommended to me by those who knew him, and being 
 approached with the proposition indicated, responded 
 favorably. Articles of co-partnership between him and 
 myself were drawn up and signed Sept. 24, 1830 ; the 
 office and its belongings were removed to Milford, and 
 business began about October 1, under the firm title, 
 *'Ballou & Stacey." This was the first printing estab- 
 lishment in Milford and was domiciled in an old 
 building long since removed, situated between the Con- 
 gregationalist meeting-house and Water street, fronting 
 the parish common. 
 
 During the month of October I issued a prospectus 
 of the Independent Messenger, to be published once a 
 week on a neat, royal sheet of good paper at the price 
 
184 AUTO-BIOGRAPHY OF.ADIN BALLOU. 
 
 to subscribers of $1.50 per anaum in advance and $2.00' 
 after sixty days. Tlie purpose and character of the 
 new journal were clearly indicated in the opening para- 
 graph, which is copied entire. 
 
 "Through the medium of this publication, we shall disseminate^ 
 illustrate, and defend the ancient doctrine of the "Restitution 
 of all things ;" explain, enforce, and vindicate the Holy Scrip- 
 tures as the grand rule of Christian faith and practice ; advocate 
 the doctrine of limited future rewards and punishments; incul- 
 cate repentance towards God, faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, 
 and good works among men ; endeavor to promote piety, 
 morality, charity, and social order; encourage free inquiry; 
 contend for civil and religious liberty, and cultivate useful 
 literature." 
 
 As was to be expected, the ultra-Universalists did all 
 in their power to hedge up the way of this new ven- 
 ture and render it abortive. Not one of their periodicals, 
 (to my knowledge) gave my prospectus a favorable 
 notice, several of them ignored it altogether, and one 
 or two spoke in opposition to it. The old cry was 
 raised in many quarters, "he is making difficulty in the 
 order"; "stirring up disunion, discord, and strife among 
 brethren " ; "he cares nothing for doctrines or principles — 
 it is all from ambition," envy, personal pique, and 
 revenge." No means "were spared to prejudice all sus- 
 ceptible persons against the proposed paper — to influence 
 the pubhc not to subscribe for it or in any manner 
 countenance its publication. 
 
 Nevertheless, on the first day of January, 1831, I 
 issued No. 1, Vol. 1 of the Independent Messenger. Its 
 leading article was entitled, "An Epistle General to 
 Restorationists," and occupied about two pages of the 
 issue, beginning thus : 
 
 "To all sincere believers in the doctrine of Universal Restora- 
 tion, whithersoever dispersed :— Wisdom and grace be with you 
 from God the Father and His Son Jesus Christ. 
 
 "Beloved Brethren:— Having been called by the God of 
 our fathers to the defence of that ancient truth whereof He 
 hath ' spoken by the mouths of all His holy prophets since the 
 
EFFECT OF 'EPISTLE GENERAL. 185 
 
 world began,' I deem It my solemn duty to submit to your 
 consideration an undisguised exposition of the motives and 
 feelings with which I enter upon so responsible an undertak- 
 ing. In order to render such an exposition more clear and 
 forcible, I have chosen to present a brief historical sketch of 
 my life and experience during the lasc eight years." 
 
 I then proceeded to state and explain everything nec- 
 essary to illustrate the whole ease. And I did so with 
 entire honesty and frankness^ from beginning to end. 
 The article is too long to insert in this auto-biography, 
 but I have taken care to collate it, with many kin- 
 dred writings belonging to this controversy with the 
 ultra-Universalists, in a volume which may, if deemed 
 advisable, be published at some future day. 
 
 What was the effect of this pronunciamento on my 
 part? It aroused the indignation of the Ultras in all 
 directions. Its bold, trenchant, uncompromising disclos- 
 ure of their aggressions and my expressed determination 
 to resist them on every issue provoked their hostility 
 to the utmost. But my onset was so unexpectedly 
 impetuous and powerful that they were uncertain at 
 first what course to pursue. But after taking counsel 
 with each other, they decided that " their strength was 
 to sit still" in their chosen retreats and operate in secret 
 ways to my detriment. By this policy they hoped I 
 might ere long exhaust my energies and resources, and 
 retire from the field. But they were soon obliged to 
 break their silence by the unanticipated effect of my 
 frank and fearless utterance in another quarter. My state- 
 ment commanded such respect from the Orthodox and 
 more conscientious and devout liberalists of all shades, 
 that they manifested at once their approval and gratifi- 
 cation. The Boston Recorder, then the leading Trinitarian 
 journal in New England, commended exceedingly my 
 " Epistle General," and reproduced copious extracts from 
 it in its own columns. This galled the editor of the 
 Trumpet greatly and impelled him to speak out in the 
 matter. But in doing so, he took pains to have it under- 
 stood that lie took notice of my slanders (as he char- 
 
186 AUTO-BIOGRAPHY OF ADIN BALLOU. 
 
 acterized my declarations), not on my account, but solely 
 because the Recorder had copied and indorsed them. 
 The implication was that I was too insignificant and con- 
 temptible a foe to waste ammunition upon, but the 
 Recorder was an old, respectable, and formidable enemy, 
 with whom to do battle was honorable. 
 
 Meanwhile matters were ripening to a final issue in my 
 society at Milford. The Ultras in it were much disturbed 
 at my doings and resolved to get rid of me in a quiet 
 way at as early a date as possible. So at a meeting held, 
 without notice of what was designed, Jan. 22, 1831, it was 
 "voted to dispense with the services of Kev. Adin Ballou 
 as to supplying their pulpit in their meeting-house any 
 more.'' This was objected to by some of my friends as 
 having, been done without any article in the warrant or 
 other announcement providing for such action, and a 
 motion to reconsider the vote was made, to be acted on 
 at an adjourned meeting a week later. At that time it 
 was readily " voted not to reconsider the vote dispensing 
 with the services of Eev. Adin Ballou," and a committee 
 was chosen to notify me accordingly. This was done 
 immediately afterward by the chairman, Mr. Otis Park- 
 hurst, causing my relations to the Milford people to come 
 to a speedy termination. There was a striking and 
 unpleasant contrast between this dismissal and the warm, 
 urgent recall which brought me back to Milford from New 
 York less than three years before. But circumstances 
 alter cases, and I was prepared for anything that might 
 arise. 
 
 Just at this juncture of affairs an incident occurred 
 which I can scarcely regard otherwise than an ordering 
 of divine Providence in my behalf, giving me renewed 
 assurance that my heavenly Father had not forsaken me, 
 but was opening the way before me to new fields of ser- 
 vice and to larger opportunities of usefulness in the world 
 than I had previously enjoyed. At about the same hour 
 1 was voted out of my Milford charge, the First Congre- 
 gational parish in Mendon had taken action preparatory 
 
OPENING OF MENDON PASTORATE. 187 
 
 "to inviting me to its vacant pastorate; and the Milford 
 committee had hardly discharged its duty of informing 
 me of the act by which my labors in that town were to 
 terminate, before a committee from Mendon waited upon 
 me for the purpose of offering me the pulpit at its dis- 
 posal. The offer was accepted, and the details of my 
 removal to the neighboring town and of my entrance upon 
 my new duties there were arranged to the satisfaction of 
 both parties. Thus it came to pass that on the last Sun- 
 day of January, 1831, I closed my labors with the Uni- 
 versalist society in Milford, and on the following Sunday 
 entered upon corresponding labors as pastor of the First 
 society and church in Mendon. At as early a 'date there- 
 after as was practicable, my family and printing-press 
 were transferred to my new field of labor, and I was 
 faiiiy settled in my re-established home, in my editorial 
 work, and in the activities of my ministerial office, at the 
 expiration of the 28th year of my life, April 23, 1831. 
 Before proceeding to record the events and experiences 
 of a new year, however, it seems advisable to go back a 
 little in the order of time and briefly note a few facts 
 that transpired during the period just passed in review, 
 but that could not be mentioned in their proper place, 
 •chronologically considered, without abruptly breaking in 
 upon the continuity of the narrative in hand. The first 
 of these is that on the fourth of July, 1830, I delivered 
 my second oration commemorating the Declaration of our 
 National Independence. It took place in the manufactur- 
 ing village (now town) of Blackstone, in the then South 
 Parish of Mendon, before a large, respectable, and appar- 
 ently gratified audience. An honorable committee of the 
 ■citizens of the village and vicinity waited upon me after 
 the exercises of the occasion were over, and solicited a 
 copy of my address for the press. Their request was 
 granted, and the production soon after appeared in print 
 and was widely circulated in the general community. It 
 may be found by interested parties in the library of the 
 town of Hopedale, with most of my printed works, and 
 
188 AUTO-BIOGRAPHY OF ADIN BALLOU. 
 
 will show my political and patriotic status at that date. 
 
 On the 28th of November, 1830, we had a son born 
 to us, whom we named, in honor of his maternal grand- 
 father, Pearley Hunt Ballou. He brought great joy into 
 a household which was passing through trying experi- 
 ences, and awakened many ardent and precious hopes 
 for the future in the breasts of his parents and of all 
 who held him dear. But his life was of but a few 
 brief years' continuance here, being cut short by a fear- 
 ful malady, which swept him and his elder brother into 
 an early grave. 
 
 I have already spoken briefly of the effect produced 
 by the issuing of the first number of the Independent 
 Messenger upon my ultra-Universalist brethren and 
 especially upon the editor of the Trumpet, who, after 
 resolving evidently upon a policy of silence, was 
 goaded to publish a rejoinder to my " General Appeal 
 to Restorationists " by the use made of that article on 
 the part of the Boston Recorder and other Orthodox 
 journals of that day. It is worth while to state that 
 the paper mentioned declared "the Restorationist minis- 
 ters concerned in the new movement to be the most 
 respectable of the Universalist clergymen" which was 
 too bitter a pill for the Rev. Thomas Whittemore to- 
 swallow with composure. His equanimity was greatly 
 disturbed, and he must speak out, as he did in an issue 
 of the Trumjiet January 29th, 1831, in- which he 
 opened fire, not on me, for I was beneath his notice, 
 but on the Orthodox who had committed a grievous 
 offence by quoting my slanders and misrepresentations, 
 and so making them their own. What he had to say 
 at the date named, however, was mostly explanatory and 
 predictive of what was to come in the next issue of the 
 paper, when big guns were to be leveled against the 
 offending Orthodox brethren and their chief instigators, 
 the leaders in the Restorationist movement ; myself, puer- 
 ile and unworthy of notice as I was, among the number. 
 
 The appearance of the next number of the Trumpet 
 
SLANDEROUS INSINUATIONS REPELLED. 189 
 
 and Universalist Magazine, to give the full title of the 
 publication, was awaited with earnest expectation and 
 fond desire, and when received its long editorial treating 
 of the matter in hand was read with intense interest, but 
 with equally intense repugnance and detestation. The 
 article opened with dark assaults on the moral character 
 of Revs. Paul Dean and David Pickering, two of our 
 leading ministers, with scarcely less accusatory ones 
 against Rev. Charles Hudson and other Restorationist 
 divines. These assaults were not open, frank, specific 
 allegations, but vague assertions, implications, insinua- 
 tions, and threats of contingent exposure. I replied to 
 them in the Messenger as follows : 
 
 " The aspersions with which they (the conclave which spoke 
 through Mr. Whittemore) liave endeavored to destroy the repu- 
 tation of such men as Kevs. Paul Dean, David Pickering, and 
 Charles Hudson, will only rebound, and, like barbed arrows, 
 pierce their own bosoms. These men will in due time reply to 
 the defamatory charges with which they have been individually 
 assailed. With regard to the vile insinuations against Brother 
 Dean [who was then on a preaching tour in the Southern 
 States] and the threat that certain 'certific'ates' now in the pos- 
 session of Kev. Hosea Ballou, together with 'a full history of 
 the faction from the beginning shall go before the public,' we 
 feel authorized to speak in language that cannot be misunder- 
 stood. And therefore, in our own name, in the name of Mr. 
 Dean, and of all independent Kestorationists, we solemnly 
 demand of Eev. Hosea Ballou and Thomas Whittemore, the 
 immediate publication of said 'certificates,' and of all other 
 documents alluded to as affecting the case now pending at the 
 bar of public opinion. We know the purport of those won- 
 derful documents and we also know that the private use of 
 them by their very compassionate possessor has soured more 
 minds against Brother Dean and injured his reputation more 
 than their publication can ever do, allowing them to be as 
 frightful as Mr. W. intimates. The friends of Brother Dean 
 may rest assured that the papers referred to will prove, upon 
 explanation, injurious chiefly to those who hope to turn them 
 to the gratification of their revenge. Furthermore, we inform 
 the public that we know of papers in safe keeping which relate 
 to Eev. Hosea Ballou — papers wliich have, in a great measure, 
 been hid from the public eye in order to save the subject of 
 them from justly deserved reproach and blame. Should occa- 
 
190 AUTO-BIOGRAPHY OF ADIIST BAIXOU. 
 
 sion require, these, under the hand of a justice, will be made 
 known to the world." 
 
 This response was more than had been bai-gained for. 
 11 silenced the great gun of the enemy. No more was 
 ever heard of those "certificates," nor of that "full his- 
 tory of the faction." Brothers Dean and Hudson waited 
 for the threatened exposures before appearing in self- 
 defence, but the occasion for such appearance never 
 came. Brother Pickering submitted his case to the 
 trustees of his society, who immediately demanded of 
 Mr. Whittemore specific charges against their minister, if 
 he had any, instead of the secret stabs with which he had 
 assailed his character and reputation. He responded in a 
 private letter, making no definite accusations, but only 
 repeating the former vague insinuations. The trustees 
 replied, telling him that he had no case, that his attacks 
 were wholly unjustifiable, that they had full confidence in 
 their pastor and were entirely satisfied with his character 
 and conduct, closing with a request that the correspond- 
 ence between them and him be published in the Trumpet. 
 With his usual unfairness, he refused. It, however, 
 appeared in the Independent Messenger of March 18, 1831. 
 To this was added in the next number a communication 
 from Brother Pickering in triumphant vindication of him- 
 self, which left nothing more to be said, and which 
 silenced his accusers thenceforth and forevermore. 
 
 So much relating to the first part of the article of 
 Rev. Thomas Whittemore, in response to my " General 
 Epistle to Restorationists." The remainder of it consisted 
 of a desperate cannonade designed to demolish my state- 
 ments and professions in that " Epistle," against ultra- 
 Universalism. His principal efforts were expended in an 
 endeavor to nullify my testimony and make it appear 
 unworthy of credence by representing and denouncing me 
 (1.) as a weak-minded young man, ambitious of a dis- 
 tinction wholly beyond my capacity to reach; (2) as the 
 mere tool of certain unprincipled designing men, chief est 
 of whom was Paul Dean, who had flattered and cajoled 
 
FEARS OF FRIENDS AWAKENED. 191 
 
 • me into joining their cabal in order that they might use 
 me for the furtherance of their own perfidious schemes ; 
 and (3) as a pretentious, unscrupulous liar and hypocrite 
 in a bad cause, incapable of speaking the truth in the 
 matters at issue, and unworthy of belief or confidence. 
 These several points he attempted by most fallacious and 
 excruciating special pleadings to demonstrate, and to 
 make it appear that I exemplified in my personality the 
 compound qualities of both fool and knave. I found no 
 difficulty in meeting the charges preferred against me, in 
 defending myself at every point of attack, and in putting 
 aside and shielding myself from all the enemy's vitupera- 
 tion. I suffered nothing but gained much by this 
 encounter, both in my own self-respect and, so far as I 
 could judge, in the esteem and confidence of the general 
 public. 
 
 Another aspect of the case now in review ought not to 
 pass unnoticed. While the boldness of my utterance 
 aroused the indignation and provoked the animosity of 
 my opponents of the ultra school of Uuiversalists, it 
 awakened the fears and apprehensions of some of the 
 prudent, conservative, and politic of my Kestoratiouist 
 friends. One of the most respected and active of them 
 immediately after the reception of the first issue of the 
 Messenger, wrote me, chiding me somewhat for what he 
 feared was my ill-timed though good article, and advising 
 me that we must be ' ' wise as serpents and harmless as 
 doves." He also suggested that in order to mollify the 
 sharpness of my rebuke and prevent needless ill-feeling, 
 I insert an editorial in the next number something like 
 the following : 
 
 "Our object is to defend our views rather than assail others. 
 We intend to build up the cause of pure religion, not by a 
 petty warfare with those who differ from us, but by present- 
 ing what we consider to be the truth. In our first issue, we 
 felt it to be our duty to present to our readers a true, unvar- 
 nished tale of what we had felt, seen, and heard. Haviug done 
 this, we shall not seek a controversy with the Trumpet, 
 Recorder, or any of our neighbors. We shall commence no 
 
192 AUTO-BIOGRAPHY OF ADIN BALLOU. 
 
 attack any further than it is necessary to vindicate our own 
 sentiments. Beiug bent on truth, we shall not go out of our 
 way to attack error, but if we are attacked, we shall endeavor 
 to maintain our own ground." 
 
 Similar deprecatory expressions came from different 
 soui-ces, all kindly meant, and I could not do otherwise 
 than give them thoughtful consideration. But they were 
 for the most part lost upon me, ■ for I viewed things from 
 a standpoint quite different from that occupied by mj 
 kindly advisers and was in no mood to be governed by 
 what seemed to them a wise expediency. So after duly 
 canvassing the 2^'''o and con of their counsels, I decided 
 to put them all aside and follow the dictates of my own 
 best judgment and understanding — a conclusion which I 
 never had reason to regret. 
 
CHAPTER XI. 
 
 1831-1832. 
 
 Mendon Parish — Restoeationist Association — Contro- 
 versy WITH THE Ultras Continued — Sympathy 
 FROM Unitarians. 
 
 A T'the opening of the twenty-ninth year of my life, 1 
 -^ found myself fairly' well settled in the town of 
 Mendon and busily engaged in the discharge of the 
 duties incident to my new pastorate and in the manage- 
 ment of the editorial and financial affairs of the Indepen- 
 dent Messenger, most of which had, by force of circum- 
 stances and my own choice, been entrusted to my keep- 
 ing. Myself and family were snugly domiciled in the 
 dwelling-house belonging to what was then known as the 
 Judge Rawson estate, located on high land overlooking 
 the -sillage from the west, near the junction of the 
 Uxbridge and Chestnut Hill roads. Though not far from 
 the center of the town, which was at that time one of 
 the largest and most thriving in the southern part of 
 Worcester County, and though pleasantly situated in many 
 respects, commanding a fine view of the surrounding coun- 
 try, especially to the east and south, yet it seemed to us 
 the most dreary and lonely abode we had ever occupied, 
 contrasting most unfavorably with the comparatively new 
 and attractive one we had left behind. The fact that we 
 were the nominal owners of the Milford house and could 
 in some proper sense call it our own, while the one we 
 now occupied was the property of another, may account 
 in some measure for the unhomelikeness and cheerlessness 
 which characterized the latter and made it far from satis- 
 13 
 
194 AUTO-BIOGRAPHY OF ADIN- BALLOU. 
 
 factory as a permanent residence. Nevertheless, it was 
 not in us to look backward with regret, murmuring, and 
 complaint. The tide of events was onward and forward, 
 and towards the future we were bound to press our way 
 with courage and with hope. 
 
 The First parish and church in Mendon at the time 
 I took pastoral charge of them, were in a depressed 
 and unpromising condition. The church proper had 
 been reduced by a recent secession to eight mem- 
 bers, mostly superannuated persons, and the attend- 
 ance on public worship was discouragingly small. Yet 
 my predecessor, Eev. Simeon Doggett, was an edu- 
 cated, scholarly man with a benignant heart, who for 
 sixteen years had sustained a generally respectable" pas- 
 torate. But the Oalvinists had come in with their fiery 
 zeal and impassioned appeals, drawing many away from 
 the staid formalities of the ancient sanctuary of the town. 
 They had organized a new church, built for themselves a 
 house of worship, gathered in a large congregation, and 
 were in an apparently prosperous condition. Scattered 
 through the territorial limits of the parish, however, were 
 many heterogeneous elements which had drifted away 
 from the established institutions of religion, but which, if 
 they could be attracted to and combined with the sub- 
 stantial constituency that remained at the old center of 
 church life, would presently change the aspect of things 
 most .essentially. And this was evidently the work for 
 me to do — a work for which I deemed myself well 
 equipped and qualified. I was of vigorous age, earnest 
 zeal, and competent abilities, and was charged with doc- 
 trines and principles as positive and unequivocal as the 
 most orthodox. To the task thus set before me I at 
 once addressed myself and with most successful and 
 gratifying results. Two discourses were preached every 
 Sunday, which, with a reconsti-ucted and active Sunday 
 school, various special religious meetings during the week, 
 and frequent parochial visitation, gave me enough to do 
 in- my proper ministerial field of service and yielded 
 
PASTORAL AND OTHER LABORS. 195 
 
 abundant fruit. My congregation increased greatly ; the 
 church membership soon began to be replenished, and the 
 vacant places to be supplied, and an encouraging pros- 
 perity prevailed in ail the borders of our Zion. 
 
 To these more strictly pastoral and home duties were 
 added many lectures, funeral sermons, etc., outside my 
 conventional field of service in the general vicinity. More- 
 over, my editorship and business oversight of the Inde- 
 pendent Messenger occupied all the time I had to spare, 
 keeping me in the harness oftentimes until midnight or 
 the small hours of the morning. I was continually beset 
 with controversial attacks from two classes of opponents 
 — the ultra-Universalists, who were in determined hos- . 
 tility to the Restorationist movement,' and the believers in 
 endless punishment, who were equally in earnest against 
 the views I sought to promulgate in the pulpit and else- 
 where as opportunity offered. Moreover, I had an extensive 
 correspondence with persons desirous of information upon 
 various points of doctrine which I was known to hold 
 and advocate. So that between open assaults on the one 
 hand and professed inquiries after truth on the other, my 
 pen had all it could do to answer the demands made 
 upon it. But these demands were promptly and frankly 
 met, as the preserved files of the Messenger duly attest. 
 
 All this work was done a) id all these calls were 
 answered under circumstances that necessitated the most 
 rigid economy and the most scrupulous care of my mate- 
 rial resources and expenditures, with more frequent resorts 
 to credit than I wished. My paper, the pecuniary 
 responsibility of which I had assumed, was not self-sup- 
 porting, and my salary for pastoral service was only 
 about $400 for the year, with but little, if any, income 
 from incidental sources. Such was the general condition 
 of my affairs, financially considered, in the year 
 1831-32. 
 
 During this year, as in the preceding one, important 
 events and interesting personal experiences marked my 
 career. To these I must briefly recur, in the order 
 
196 AUTO-BIOGRAPHY OF ADIN BALLOU. 
 
 which seems most advisable, though not always in pre- 
 cise chronological succession. 
 
 The annual meeting of the Providence Association of 
 Universalists, with which I had become identified, was 
 held in "Westminster, Mass., then the pastoral home of 
 oar reverend brother, Charles Hudson, on the third Wed- 
 nesday and Thursday of May. It was attended by the 
 following ministerial brethren; Reverend Brothers Dean 
 of Boston, Pickering of Providence, R. I., Hudson of 
 Westminster, Maynard of Oxford, Wright of Attleboro', 
 Russell of Winchester, N. H., Chandler of Medway, and 
 myself. I was chosen moderator of the session, and 
 Brother Maynard, clerk. Two full days were spent in 
 profitable private consultation and public religious services, 
 at which earnest discourses were preached by Brothers 
 Chandler, Pickering, Dean, and myself, to good congre- 
 gations, on which salutary impressions seemed to have 
 been made. 
 
 Among the proceedings of the meeting in council was 
 the passage of a resolution pledging cordial support to 
 the Independent Messenger and recommending it to the 
 patronage of friends and the public. Also was there 
 provision made for the printing in the Messenger of a 
 " Circular letter to our brethren scattered abroad," to be 
 prepared by myself. A few extracts from it will show 
 its character and spirit. 
 
 " To all their Christian brethren and especially those who 
 cherish the hope of Universal Restoration, the Providence 
 Association sends salutations of fraternal love, wishing you 
 grace, truth, and peace from God the Father and Jesus Christ 
 the Ijord. 
 
 "We rejoice exceedingly in that divine goodness which hath 
 shielded us from the fiery darts of the wicked and wrought our 
 deliverance from the hand of them that sought our destruction. 
 With deep-felt gratitude and joy, we announce to you that our 
 most sanguine expectations have been more than realized in 
 the success with which God hath crowned our cause." 
 
 "And now, beloved brethren, we exhort you to gird up the 
 loins of your minds and take courage. With a cheerful and 
 understanding zeal, persevere in the work of righteousness. 
 
RESTORATIONIST ASSOCIATION FOUNDED. 197 
 
 Be DOt carried about with every wind of doctrine; neitiier lis- 
 ten to those who turn the grace of God into a strife of words, 
 but, setting your faces steadfastly Zionward, 'Let your light 
 so shine before men that they, seeing your good worlds, may 
 glorify your Father in Heaven.' Remember always that 'the 
 grace of God which bringeth salvation to all men teacheth us 
 that denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live 
 soberly, righteously, and godly in the present world.' We 
 recommend that you be constant in your attendance upon the 
 service of the sanctuary, that you confer often with one 
 another, that you pray' in your families and in social meetings 
 with each other, but above all in secret — making supplication 
 for us and for all men that the word of truth may have free 
 course, and that the salvation of the human family may be 
 consummated by the appointed means according to the purpose 
 of God. Endeavor to become a peaceable, friendly, temperate, 
 charitable people, that you may thereby adorn the doctrine of 
 divine grace, promote the happiness of your fellow-men, secure 
 your own eternal welfare, and enjoy the approbation of the 
 Most High. And now we commend you to God and the word 
 of His grace, which is able to build you up and give you a 
 place with the sanctified forever. Farewell." 
 
 The second and must important of the ecclesiastical 
 meetings of the year took place at Mendon, on the 16th, 
 17th, and 18th days of August. It commenced with a regu- 
 lar session of the same Association, which held council 
 meetings and public services for two days, sermons being 
 preached by Brothers Russell, Hudson, Dean, and Pick- 
 ering to respectable and deeply interested audiences. On 
 the last day of convocation, a certain number of us, 
 members of that body, formed the Massachusetts Associa- 
 tion of Universal Hestorationists, thus consummating our 
 separation from the Universalist denomination. The fol- 
 lowing is the document which announced to the world the 
 step we had taken : 
 
 "Forasmuch as there has been of late years a great depart- 
 ure from the sentiments of the First Universalist preachers in 
 this country by a majority of the General Convention, the 
 leaders of which do now arrogate to themselves exclusively 
 the name of Uuiversalists ; and whereas we believe with Mur- 
 ray, Winchester, Chauncey, and the ancient authors who have 
 written upon this subject, that Regeneration, a General Judg- 
 
198 AUTO-BIOGRAPHY OF ADIN BALLOU. 
 
 ment, Future Rewards and Punishments, to be followed by the 
 Final Restoration of all men to holiness and happiness, are 
 fundamental articles of Christian faith, and that the modern 
 sentiments of no future accountability connected with material- 
 ism are unfriendly to pure religion and subversion of the best 
 interests of society ; and whereas our adherence to the doctrines 
 on which the General Convention was first established, instead 
 of producing fair, manly controversy, has procured for us con- 
 tumely, exclusion from ecclesiastical councils, and final expul- 
 sion, and this without proof of any offence on our part against 
 the rules of the order or the laws of Christ; it is therefore 
 
 ^'Resolved, that we hereby form ourselves into a religious 
 Community for the Defence and Promulgation of the doctrines 
 of Revelation in their original purity, and the promotion of our 
 own improvement, to be known by the name of The Massachu- 
 setts Association of Universal Hestorationists. 
 
 '■'•Resolved, that the annual meeting of this body be holden in 
 Boston on the first Wednesday and following Thursday in Jan- 
 uary. 
 
 "C'HAKLES Hudson, PreHdent. . 
 "JTathaniel Wright, Secretary." 
 
 Eight ministers and several laymen composed the con- 
 vention that adopted the foregoing preamble and resolu- 
 tions. These were originally drawn, I think, by Rev. 
 Paul Dean, of Boston. They were unanimously adopted 
 and sent out to the public as the climax of our inde- 
 pendence and the herald of our cause. How they were 
 treated by our former brethren of the ultra school will 
 appear further on. 
 
 The third of our distinctive ecclesiastical meetings this 
 year was a conference held in Medway village, so-called, 
 on the second Wednesday and Thursday in October. A 
 small society had been formed there, and had invited 
 Brother Seth Chandler to become their minister. The 
 principal object of this gathering was to confer the rites 
 of ordination upon the pastor-elect and install him in his 
 office. He had been my student in theology and I was 
 much interested in his success. The occasion was a 
 pleasant and edifying one. Four sermons were delivered 
 at as many public services by Revs. G-eorge Blackburn, 
 Paul Dean, Charles Hudson, and myself, respectively — 
 
CONTROVERSY CONTINUED. 199 
 
 the last being an ordination sermon from Acts, 20:27. 
 <'I liave not shunned to declare unto you the whole 
 counsel of God." The ordaining prayer was offered by 
 Brother Dean, the charge and delivery of the Scriptures 
 by Brother Hudson, the right hand of fellowship by 
 Brother Wright; all of which parts were printed with the 
 sermon in an- early issue of the Independent Messenger. 
 
 The controversy with the ultra-Universalists, the open- 
 ing battles of which were portrayed in the pi'eceding 
 chapter, continued with more or less vigor during the 
 present year. In the later spring and early summer 
 months it-^ assumed a guerrilla form of attack and was 
 met at every point with promptitude and decisiveness. 
 At any rate, if the assailants did not realize their dis- 
 comfiture, they deemed discretion the better part of valor 
 and withdrew at length from the field. 
 
 But after the organization of the Restorationist Asso- 
 ciation in August, as narrated, and the issuance of our 
 "Pi'oclamation of Independence" soon afterward, a fresh 
 campaign was inaugurated against us by the editor of 
 the Trumpet, which was carried on for several months 
 with no lack of energy or intensity on either side. 
 The renewal of hostilities occurred Sept. 17, when Mr. 
 Whittemore opened fire upon us as set forth below : 
 
 "The New Sect. 
 
 "The following article has been going the rounds of 
 the Boston papers and we cannot permit its further 
 circulation without exposing the misrepresentations of 
 which it is composed." He then quoted our preamble 
 and resolutions as herein before given, and proceeded to 
 declare that nearly every statement of the former was a 
 falsification of the facts of the case ; a declaration which 
 he attempted to make good by as groundless an argument 
 as was ever framed in support of a weak and desperate 
 cause. To the sophistry and special pleading of the 
 Tmmpet editorial, I immediately prepared a reply, taking 
 up the several charges of misrepresentation one by one 
 
200 AUTO-BIOGRAPIIY OF ADIN BALLOU. 
 
 and answering them at length — said reply appearing in 
 the two succeeding numbers of the Messenger^ issued Sept. 
 23d and 30th, 1831, to the files of which in the Hope- 
 dale public library those interested in the details of the 
 discussion are hereby referred. 
 
 Nevertheless, it seems desirable that I should give my 
 present readers a general outline of the argument on both 
 sides as it was carried on between Mr. Whittemore and 
 myself, from which th«y may be able to judge, with "a 
 considerable degree of accuracy, what were the real merits 
 of the case, and whether or not the Restorationists were 
 justified in the course they saw fit to pursue and in the 
 defence I was moved to make in their behalf. 
 
 Mr. Whittemore, in considering the first reason given 
 by the Restorationists for the formation af a new order, 
 to wit; "-that there had been of late years a great 
 departure from the sentiments of the First Universalist 
 preachers in this country by a majority of the General 
 Convention," did not deny the fact that such was the 
 case, but asserted that it was not a reason for their sep- 
 aration and as a proof of the assertion said that "these 
 men themselves have departed as widely from the early 
 American Universalist preachers as any Universalists have 
 ever done." To this I replied that " his assertion is a 
 high and insulting charge of dishonesty" on their part^ 
 and that his assumed proof of such dishonesty " is his- 
 personal ipse dixit without one particle of e^^dence 
 being adduced by him or 'anywhere existing in support 
 of it." I therefore openly and emphatically denied the 
 charge. I then quoted from my opponent's own work, 
 "Modern History of Universalism," in which the author 
 says of Winchester and Murray, the early Universalist 
 preachers referred to: "They both held to the existence 
 of misery in the future state " ; and adds that the Resto- 
 rationists entertain the same view, and furthermore that 
 "they all believe, as Winchester and Murray did, that 
 this misery will grow out of the sinner's unbelief, sin, 
 and guilt, commenced in his life, persevered in through 
 
FEATURES OF THE DISCUSSION. 201 
 
 death, and remaining with him upon his entrance into the 
 world to come." This, with those I represented, f 
 declared to be an essential doctrine — a peculiar feature 
 of the faith of the original Universalists, which separates 
 them from modern ones generally and which ought to 
 separate them entirely from the Universalist denomination 
 as it then existed and was controlled. As to the Univer- 
 salist leaders at the time of the controversy — Hosea Ballou, 
 Walter Balfour, and Thomas Whittemore, who assumed 
 to dictate the faith and polity of the denomination, they 
 had renounced utterly this important theological position 
 of their predecessors, as the author of the Trumpet article 
 well knew when he penned it. To substantiate this 
 statement, I presented, in full, passages from the writings 
 of each of the men named, in which they repudiated 
 unequivocally the views of Murray and Winchester, and 
 other passages, in which they stigmatized those views as 
 "Salem witchcraft delusions," "old heathen notions," 
 etc. " Here, sir," I said, " your ipse dixit, omnipotent 
 as you may imagine it, is overwhelmed with irresistible 
 counter evidence. You have verified the ancient truth, 
 ' The wicked is snared in the work of his own hands.' " 
 The preamble to the resolutions of the Kestorationist 
 Association further set forth that its framers "believe 
 with Murray, Winchester, Chauneey, and the ancient 
 authors who have written upon this subject, that Regen- 
 eration, a General Judgment, Future Rewards and Pun- 
 ishments, to be followed by the Final Restoration of all 
 men to holiness and happiness, are fundamental articles 
 of Christian faith." In noticing this declaration, Mr. 
 Whittemore undertook to parry its force and make us 
 appear guilty of misrepresentation and deceit by saying: 
 "They (the Restorationists) do not hold to Regeneration 
 as Murray did, nor to the General Judgment as he did, 
 nor-to future punishment as he did." To which I replied 
 that whether this were so or not, the claim we made in 
 our manifesto was not invalidated in the least. We did 
 not profess to hold views upon the doctrines specified pre- 
 
202 AUTO-BIOGRAPHY OF ADIN BALLOU. 
 
 cisely as the fathers did. I said : "We intended to speak 
 in general terms, not to split hairs, and we are well 
 understood by those who care to understand us correctly. 
 The preamble represents us as being in substantial agree- 
 ment with Murray and others named upon certain great 
 Christian tiaiths which the leading Universalists of the 
 present day and most of their followers either deny or 
 virtually abandon and ignore, as no part of their theo- 
 logical system." And this point I went on to demonstrate 
 by ample quotations and illustrations. 
 
 Our caviling critic referring to another clause in our 
 preamble, said: "Universalists are represented as not hold- 
 ing to future accountability. This is a misrepresenta- 
 tion." In meeting this charge, I inquired how our state- 
 ment was a misrepresentation. By the phrase "no future 
 accountability" we meant what all the world must under- 
 stand, no liability after death to retribution for the deeds 
 done in the body, and in support of our declaration copied 
 Mr. W.'s own words: "Universalists now know of no 
 condition of man beyond the grave but that in which he 
 is as the angels of G-od in Heaven," with references to 
 similar testimonies from Kev. Hosea Ballou and Walter 
 Balfour. " You may say," I continued, " that ' Universal- 
 ists do hold to future accountability — they hold that 
 people will be accountable in a future state for what they 
 do in that state, though not for what they may have 
 done in a former state.' This is a mere quibble, for it 
 does not meet the case presented by us at all. It 
 changes most essentially the meaning of the phrase, ' no 
 future accountability' as we used it and as the public 
 generally understand it, and instead of making good the 
 charge of misrepresentation against us, proves our censor 
 guilty of misrepresenting us in his attempt to invalidate 
 our testimony." 
 
 Again, the editor of the Trumpet said: "They (the 
 Universalists) are represented as Materialists — another 
 misrepresentation." "Another misrepresentation!" I 
 exclaimed in my rejoinder. "These Restorationists must 
 
MATERIALISM OF ME. BALFOUR. 203 
 
 be horrid creatures !" I then produced extracts from the 
 wi-itings of Walter Balfour, one of the big guns amon<T 
 our opponents in those days as follows : "I deny that 
 the soul is immortal." "All who have read my books 
 will bear witness I have invariably contended it (the 
 soul) means life." "How does the soul survive after men 
 have killed the body? Have I not said until I am tired 
 of repeating it, that it returns to God who gave it. But 
 have you (Mr. Hudson) shown that the soul is immortal 
 in the sense essential to your system ; that it exists after 
 death, in a state of consciousness, in happiness or misery ? 
 No, sir; this you have not done and I am confident you 
 will never be able to do it." "Man cannot kill the soul 
 or life. It is God only who can do this. He breathed 
 into man at first the breath or life; at death the life or 
 breath He gave returns to Him who gave it." — Letters to 
 ■Hudson. "What then," I asked, "is rational man, on 
 Mr. Balfour's scheme, but matter — mere matter animated 
 with breath? Here, sir, is Mr. Balfour's Materialism, 
 the Materialism deprecated in our preamble, the Material- 
 ism which you disavow as belonging to your sort of 
 Universalism. I will ask if you, who deny future pun- 
 ishment, even the American Universalists (generally), 
 do not stand on Balfour's ground? Is not his your 
 favorite system? If not, why have you not, like honest 
 men, disdlaimed his tenets concerning the soul and con- 
 cerning man's unconsciousness for a while after death? 
 Why have you lauded the merits of his works with such 
 unqualified praise ? Say you in your Trumpet : ' These 
 works are written in the spirit of candor, and are replete 
 with forcible argument and sound criticism.'" 
 
 In his animadversion on this point, Mr. Whittemore 
 referred to Rev. Hosea Ballou's "perfect distinction 
 between the human spirit and body," upon which Mr. 
 Hudson had formerly commented. To this I replied, 
 " All that related to the old no-future-punishment scheme, 
 as held before Mr. Balfour's new system came into vogue. 
 That old system has been lost in silence since Mr. Bal- 
 
204 AUTO-BIOGRAPHY OF ADIN BALLOU. 
 
 four's has been proimilgated. In fact, the two schemes 
 are utterly irreconcilable. The essential doctrine of the 
 former — the soul's immortality — Mr. Balfour sets down 
 as a mere heathen notion. You knew all this, sir, when 
 you wrote your charge of misrepresentation. Your allu- 
 sion to writings against H. Ballou's old scheme of no 
 future punishment had nothing to do with the present 
 state of Universalism, unless you meant that the public 
 should think that you and your confreres are still 
 believers in the immortality of a distinct soul. But will 
 yon insinuate this? Will you revive the former views 
 and discard Mr. Balfour's? Only be honest and consist- 
 ent ; you will then stand much better in the opinion of 
 the public." 
 
 Upon the fourth reason given by the Restorationists 
 for their action in forming an independent Association, 
 which was that "our adherence to the doctrines on which, 
 the General Convention (of Universalists ) was first estab- 
 lished, instead of producing fair, manly controversy, has 
 procured for us contumely, exclusion from ecclesiastical 
 councils, and final expulsion, etc.," Mr. Whittemore made 
 a two-fold accusation against those concerned. In the 
 first place he said, "The General Convention never was 
 established on the doctrine of punishment in a future 
 state ; the subject was left untouched and each member 
 made up his mind as he understood the word 6f God." 
 In my reply I stated that this declaration of my oppo- 
 nent implied that among those who founded the General 
 Convention at Oxford, in 1785, were believers in the doc- 
 trine of no future punishment as well as Restorationists, 
 which was not the case, and that the reason why the 
 subject of future retribution was left untouched was 
 because there was such entire unanimity in its favor that 
 no one deemed it in any way important to include it in 
 their platform. In support of my position I quoted 
 largely from Elhanan Winchester, the leading spirit in the 
 movement, who, upon learning that some persons profess- 
 ing to hold the doctrine of the final restitution of all 
 
VIEWS OF THE FOUNDERS. 205 
 
 tilings believed that all men would be happy at death, 
 publicly preached against it, and not only disclaimed all 
 fellowship with it, but denounced it outright as utterly 
 intolerable and pernicious. 
 
 I furthermore stated that there was no evidence within 
 my knowledge that John Murray (whose views upon the 
 question of future limited punishment have been referred 
 to) was any more ready to sacrifice his convictions in 
 this matter than was Mr. "Winchester. "There is scarcely 
 room to doubt," 1 added, "that the founders and early 
 members (whether clergy or laity) of the General Con- 
 veution believed and took for granted as an unquestionable 
 doctrine of revealed religion that those who left this life 
 sinful and unreconciled to God must be miserable for a 
 limited space beyond the grave. And for Mr. Whitte- 
 more to represent, even by implication, that it was 
 otherwise — that ultra-Universalists as well as Restora- 
 tionists were concerned in establishing the General 
 Convention — was an act of dissimulation and Jesuitry 
 unworthy of a man who stood before the world as a 
 teacher of the principles and precepts of the Christian 
 religion.'' 
 
 In order to show still more clearly the unreliability — 
 not to say duplicity — of my reverend opponent, I reminded 
 hiiil that in his "History of Universalism," published the 
 year before, he did not ventiire to date the difference 
 between Universalists concerning future punishment earlier 
 than "about twenty years since," and that Rev. Hosea 
 Ballou, who was, in fact, the first great expositor of the 
 modern ultra school, had affirmed, as quoted by Mr. 
 "Whittemore himself, that he was not fully satisfied that 
 the Bible taught no future punishment until he examined the 
 subject with Rev. Edward Turner of Charlestown. This 
 examination took place in 1817. Previous to that date the 
 doctrine of the Restorationists had been the recognized 
 orthodoxy of the Universalist denomination, only here and 
 there an individual claiming to hold to the idea of no 
 future punishment, and then on his own personal responsi- 
 
206 AUTO-BIOGRAPHY OF ADIN BALLOU. 
 
 bility. The charge that Universalists, as such, entertained 
 that notion was denied by the Philadelphia Convention of 
 1791 (as I have before said) and denounced as an 
 "unjust slander." "From all this," I observed, in clos- 
 ing this part of the discussion, "our readers can judge 
 pretty conclusively whether the General Convention was 
 established on the doctrine of future retribution, and 
 whether the Restorationists are guilty of misrepresentation 
 on this point or otherwise, — whether you (Mr. Whitte- 
 more) in charging them with misrepresentation have not 
 stood forth a false accuser." 
 
 In the second place, under the same general head, our 
 editorial combatant stoutly denied the assertion of the 
 Restorationist Association that their adherence to the 
 views of the fathers had procured for them contumely, 
 exclusion, and expulsion, etc. As a refutation of this 
 denial, I brought to notice the declarations of our oppo- 
 nents in public print and elsewhere, which likened our 
 views to the superstitions that produced the Salem witch- 
 craft, to the Catholic notions of Purgatory, calling them 
 "heathen chaff," "wildest vagaries," etc. Also the use 
 of such terms as " Little Tophet," "Hell Junior," bandied 
 about in connection with our names and convictions, and 
 the sarcasm and ridicule with which Walter Balfour and 
 others were wont to speak of us, and of the truths which 
 we solemnly believed ourselves called of God to main- 
 tain, defend, and promulgate to our fellow-men. If such 
 treatment was not justly characterized by the term "con- 
 tumely," we knew of no way in which it could be 
 properly designated. Our opponents might call it kind- 
 ness, but we did not so understand the meaning of words- 
 and our readers would judge who of us were right. 
 
 As to our statement that we had been excluded and 
 expelled from ecclesiastical councils, our contumacious 
 censor affirmed that it was "a gross and wilful mis- 
 representation. Worse than anything that had gone 
 before!" In rebuttal of this allegation, I cited and 
 explained at length the refusal of the General Convention! 
 
INSTANCES OF EXCLUSION CITED. 207 
 
 at Winchester, N. H., in 1829, at the dictum of Eev. 
 Hosea Ballou, to allow Rev. Brother Pickering to offer 
 prayer introductory to the sermon of Rev. Paul Dean, 
 although he had been formally assigned to the discharge 
 of that duty; also the abrogation of my own right to a, 
 seat in the same body by a vote passed in September 
 1830. Rev. Seth Chandler was denied recognition as a 
 Universalist, though a member of the Universalist society 
 in Lowell, which was in fellowship with the General Con- 
 vention, though he commenced preaching as a Universalist 
 and was admitted into the pulpits of the order as one of 
 its ministers, and though Mr. Whittemore himself had 
 em'olled him in the catalogue of ministers of the denomi- 
 nation in his History of Modern TJniversaMsm. The same 
 was true of Philemon R. Russell. It was stated that he 
 never belonged to the Universalist denomination in any 
 way. But he received the fellowship of the Eastern 
 Association bearing the denominational name, and as a 
 member of that body belonged to the General Conven- 
 tion. No doubt if we had all obeyed the orders and 
 conformed to the wishes of those who assumed to be our 
 rulers, we should have been neither censured nor expelled. 
 But we were censured and expelled, if there be any such 
 thing in ecclesiastical parlance. 
 
 In June, 1830, several members of the Boston Associa- 
 tion, with other ministering brethren, held a meeting of 
 what was called the Southern Association, in Berlin, 
 Conn., where a preamble and resolutions were passed to 
 the effect that independent associations, such as the Provi- 
 dence Association, composed mostly of Restorationists, 
 was known to be, tended to promote division in the order 
 and must therefore be discountenanced, and that minis- 
 ters connected with such associations ought not to be 
 allowed a seat in the General Convention, unless they 
 withdraw fellowship from the former. At a meeting of 
 the Geperal Convention in September following, the 
 authors of the Berlin resolutions secured the passage of 
 a vote excluding from a seat in that body all of us who 
 
208 AUTO-BIOGRAPHY OF ADIN BALLOU. 
 
 were members of the Providence Association, so long as 
 we retained such membership. The plea was that this 
 organization held itself constitutionally independent of the 
 Greneral Convention. When those urging this plea were 
 told that the Maine and New York conventions occupied 
 the same independent position, they secured the appoint- 
 ment of committees to confer with those bodies and thus 
 preserve friendly relations with them. But no committee 
 was appointed to confer with our association for the evi- 
 dent reason that the managers in the matter did not desire 
 to preserve friendly relations with us, but rather to break 
 up our body, or failing in that, shut us out of the General 
 Convention. We would not abandon our own fraternity 
 and hence were cut off from the main body. It was said 
 of us that we thus excluded ourselves from our former 
 fellowship. Nevertheless, we maintained that by the care- 
 fully planned action of our opponents we were excluded 
 from the Universalist Ecclesiastical Councils as we had 
 affirmed, and we believed and felt that we had the sup- 
 port of the intelligent public in that position. 
 
 So ended, virtually, the direct controversy with our 
 ultra-Universalist brethren growing out of the formation 
 of the Massachusetts Kestorationist Association, though 
 the same ground essentially was retrodden by correspond- 
 ing parties, at a meeting of the General Convention held 
 in Barre, Vt., soon afterward. There our opponents put 
 in ecclesiastical form, with slight modifications, the same 
 charges, aspersions, and insinuations against the Restora- 
 tionists previously set forth in the Trumpet: This reit- 
 eration of their special pleading and casuistry, was upon 
 being made public, promptly repelled, partly by myself in 
 the Independent Messenger of Oct. 14th and Nov. 18th, 
 and partly by Brother Charles Hudson, in the same paper 
 of Nov. 4th, Nov. 25th, and Dec. 9th, 1831. 
 
 As a further illustration of the disingenuous, con- 
 temptuous treatment shown the Eestorationists by their 
 former brethren in the fellowship of the Universalist 
 denomination, I am impelled to state in passing to other 
 
DISCUSSION WITH REV. AMOS A. PHELPS. 209 
 
 topics that while the columns of the Independent Messen- 
 ger were always open to our opponents, and while we 
 imated communications criticising our distinctive views 
 and exposing our fallacies of doctrine or argument, if 
 any were thought to be found, never in a single instance 
 were our refutory articles allowed to appear in their chief 
 organ, the Trumpet, nor in any other of their publica- 
 tions- Neither justice nor magnanimity on their part 
 gave us one solitary chance for self-defence in their col- 
 umns, or for a frank and manly exposition of our views 
 as in any way opposed to those of the leading influences 
 of the Universalist denomination in doctrine and polity at 
 that time. Whether or not this was fair, manly, and 
 honorable, I left my readers then, as I leave my present 
 ones, to judge. 
 
 I have ali'eady adverted to the fact that during this 
 year (1831) I was beset with controversial attacks, 
 not only from my Universalist opponents but from 
 believers in endless punishment, each of whom I in 
 proper time and place endeavored to repel and overcome. 
 Most of the latter were merely newspaper thrusts and 
 sallies to which I responded with such small shot as their 
 unimportance required. A somewhat notable discussion, 
 however, was carried on in the columns of the Messenger 
 between an orthodox, clergyman, who chose to write over 
 the name of "Inquirer," and myself, the first onset being 
 made by him. The wordy conflict continued through a 
 series of fourteen articles in as many numbers of the 
 publication, each of them being answered consecutively 
 as it appeared. My inquiring assailant proved to be the 
 pastor of the Congregationalist church and society in 
 Hopkinton, a conscientious and zealous young man, who 
 had been educated in Dr. N. W. Taylor's New School 
 Theological Seminary at New Haven, Ct., and who felt 
 himself called upon to defend against all adversaries the 
 faith delivered to that sort of orthodox saints. His 
 name was Rev. Amos A. Phelps, subsequently distin- 
 guished as an Abolitionist of the Liberal Party school. 
 14 
 
210 AUTO-BIOGRAPHr OF ADIN BALLOU. . 
 
 The first noticeable event of the calendar yeal- 1832 
 was the disposal of my pecuniary interest in the Inde- 
 pendent Messenger to Brother E. M. Stone, who aftenvard 
 became one of our most active and useful Eestorationist 
 ministers, and its removal with the allied printing estab- 
 lishment to Boston. This change, which was effected in 
 tlie month of January, was deemed advisable by the con- 
 current judgment of those most interested in the paper 
 and in the cause it was designed to promote, and my 
 own convenience seemed to render it expedient. The 
 office of publication was thenceforward for a considerable 
 time at 40 Court street in the city named, at which 
 place the printing was also done. No change, however, 
 occurred in the character of thC' sheet, inasmuch as I 
 remained its senior editor, with essentially the same 
 assistants as before. Its financial affairs were in other 
 bauds and I was wholly relieved of its business manage- 
 ment, much to my satisfaction, as 1 was thereby enabled 
 to devote more time and enei-gy to my proper ministerial 
 and editorial labors. 
 
 About the same time the people of my Mendon parish, 
 to whom I had been preaching and rendering other pas- 
 toral sei'vices for more than a year, initiated measures 
 preliminary to a more formal and permanent relationship 
 between me and them than had hitherto existed. My 
 labors had been so satisfactory that at a meeting held to 
 consider and act upon the continuance of them after the 
 term of my engagement had expired it was unani- 
 mously voted to give me a call to a regular pastorate, 
 according to ecclesiastical usages, and to have me 
 publicly installed in that office. The parish committee 
 were instracted to communicate to me what had been 
 done, and take such other action as was necessary 
 for carrying the wishes of their constitnents into effect. 
 The committee discharged the duty assigned them at 
 once, so far as I was concerned, and to their letter 
 informing me of the vote of the parish I made the 
 following response : 
 
INVITATION TO PERMANENT SETTLEMENT. 211 
 
 "Mendon, Feb. 6, 1832. 
 " To the Committee of the First Parish in Mendon, etc. 
 
 " Gentlemen : The undersigned, having received through you, 
 as the organs of the First Parish in Mendon, a copy of the 
 votes and doings of said Parish unanimously inviting him to 
 settle with them in the work of the gospel ministry, hegs leave 
 to return the following answer, to wit: That the undersigned, 
 grateful for the confidence and respect evinced toward him by 
 the invitation of the First Parish in Mendon to become their per- 
 manent minister, and relying on the blessing of God to prosper 
 his well-meant labors in their service, respectfully accepts their 
 invitation on the terms expressed hi their several votes, and 
 will endeavor to discharge the duties of the station to which 
 they have called him, according to the best of his ability. In 
 communicating this answer, you, gentlemen, will please accept 
 for yourselves, the thanks of the undersigned for the kind 
 manner in which you have discharged the duties of your 
 appointment, and rest assured of the sincere respect with which 
 he remains the humble servant of yourselves ' and the parish 
 you represent. 
 
 "Adin Ballou. 
 
 "To Messrs. William S. Hastings, '\ 
 
 "Amakiah Taft, y Committee." 
 
 "Jabez Aldrich, ) 
 
 The terms of settlement were : For five years, com- 
 mencing April 1, 1832, a salary of $400 per annum; 
 the connection dissolvable at the expiration of said Ave 
 years, or at any time thereafter by either party, upon 
 giving the other three months' notice. To professionally 
 educated people in more extravagant times, such a salarj' 
 as was stipulated for me must of course seem a meager 
 one. It was indeed small, and would have but poorly 
 seiTed my needs but for the most watchful care and 
 economy in the management of my personal and family 
 affairs. Not only was I fortunate in this respect, making 
 me content with a moderate pecuniary support, but there 
 were other reasons why I should not murmur, repine, or 
 object to the compensation I received. 
 
 In the first place, I was in no proper sense a profes- 
 sional clergyman. For as Paul said of his message, "I 
 neither received it of man, neither was I taught it but by 
 
212 AUTO-BIOGRAPHY OF ADIN BALLOU. 
 
 the revelation of Jesus Christ :" Gal. 1:12. I have told 
 in a previous chapter how and why I became a preacher 
 of divine truth and righteousness ; not of my own will, 
 nor bv my own free choice, but because a dispensation 
 of the gospel was committed to me, and a sacred neces- 
 sity seemed laid upon me. And when 1 was spiritually 
 constrained to enter on this, to me, self-renunciative 
 calling, I did so under an inward assurance that I should 
 be provided for, so far as my material needs were con- 
 cerned, without ever making my ministerial labor a sala- 
 ble commodity — wholly by the free-will offerings of those 
 to whom I ministered. It has accordingly been the 
 inflexible rule of my clerical life, now over sixty-seven 
 years long, never to dictate or demand any given price 
 for my services as preacher, pastor, or conductor of any 
 religious exercises whatsoever, but to accept only what 
 has been voluntarily offered me — not even exacting repay- 
 ment for unavoidable cash expenses in any given case. 
 Under this rule, I have never been called to suffer for 
 want of the necessaries and comforts of life, nor to be a 
 burden on the shoulders of charity, and I confidently 
 trust I never shall be while my earthly life continues. 
 Therefore when my Mendon friends named the salary 
 specified above, I accepted it without hesitation or objec- 
 tion. 
 
 In the second place, had I demanded a larger sum, it 
 would hardly have been granted me in the then existing 
 circumstances of the parish. They had been long accus- 
 tomed to paying but a small compensation to their 
 minister; a recent secession of considerable numbers had 
 sensibly reduced their financial resources, and new comers 
 from the indifferent outside public could not be relied on 
 to contribute generously to an experimental and possibly 
 temporary pastorate. Under such a condition of things, 
 a demand for an unusual amount in those days would 
 have been dangerous if not fatal to the contemplated 
 union, and to all the good results hoped to be gained by 
 it. Hence both principle and policy dictated to all par- 
 
PREPARATIONS FOR INSTALLATION. 213 
 
 ties concerned moderation of pecuniary expenditures and 
 obligations. And the end justified what was done in this 
 regard. 
 
 Having formally accepted the call extended to me by 
 the First Parish in Mendon, and arranged satisfactorily 
 the terms upon which I was to become their duly settled 
 pastor, the next thing to be done was to provide for a 
 proper observance of the rite of installation. According 
 to custom and the fitness of things the participating 
 actors on such an occasion should be, as they usually are, 
 persons largely in theological sympathy and spiritual fel- 
 lowship with the one to be inducted into the pastoral office. 
 I had broken away from the great body of my former 
 Universalist brethren, and the sharp controveiisy I had 
 carried on with some of their foremost men rendered it 
 inappropriate, as well as repugnant to my feelings, that 
 they should have seats in the installing council. But I 
 had a goodly number of Restorationists whom it would 
 be pleasant to have present on the occasion, and from 
 among whom all the parts could, if • deemed advisable, 
 be filled. The parish, however, had been connected with 
 the Unitarian body, and its leading members would 
 naturally incline in that direction. Happily my course 
 had attracted the attention of several prominent minis- 
 ters of progressive tendencies in that denomination, and 
 a strong friendship had sprung up between me and them. 
 Among these were Revs. Bernard Whitman of Waltham, 
 Samuel J. May of Brooklyn, Conn., Daniel Austin of 
 Brighton, Charles C. Sewall of Danvers, all long since 
 passed on .to the heavenly world. The names of Bernard 
 Whitman and Samuel J. May, I inscribe on these pages 
 with most tender and reverential affection. I had 
 exchanged and corresponded freely with both, and to some 
 extent with others of the same household of faith, but 
 these were especially congenial and dear to me. Between 
 them and the Restorationist clei-gy there was so much in 
 common and such sincere good feeling, tliat it was not 
 difficult to secure an installing council that would be har- 
 
214 AUTO-BIOGRAPHY OF ADIN BALLOU. 
 
 monious in itself and satisfactory to both me and my 
 people. But before this could be fully accomplished and 
 the services of installation take place, I had passed my 
 twenty-ninth birthday, and the detailed account of that 
 event belongs to the next chapter and Imay be found on 
 its opening pages. 
 
CHAPTER XII. 
 
 1832-1833. 
 
 Installation — Espousal ov Temperance Reform — Rev. 
 
 J. M. S. Perry — Memoranda of Labors — Family 
 
 Bereavements — Reflections. 
 
 rpHE necessary measuves preparatory to my installation 
 -*- having been taken, as intimated on a preceding page, 
 the event was auspiciously consummated on the 3d day 
 of May, 1832. Letters missive from the First church in 
 Mendon had been cordially responded to by the several 
 Restorationist and Unitarian Congregationalist churches to 
 which they were addressed, and their pastors and dele- 
 gates in coequal numbers united in the exercises of the 
 occasion. The subjoined notice of what transpired, from 
 my editorial pen, appeared in the Independent Messenger 
 of May 10 — Vol. 2, No. 18. 
 
 "Installation at Mendon. 
 
 '•The installation of Adiii Ballou as pastor of the First 
 Church and Congregation In Mendon was solemnized iigreeably 
 to public notice on Thursday last, the 3d inst. The prelimi- 
 naries having been arranged in an orderly and harmonious 
 ecclesiastical council composed of ministers and delegates from 
 four Restorationist and four Unitarian churches, public services 
 were rendered as follows : Introductory prayer by Rev. Samuel 
 Barrett of Boston ; reading of the Scriptures by Rev. Charles 
 C. Sewall of Dauvers; Sermon, by Rev. Bernard Whitman of 
 Waltham, from John 13:34 — 'A new commandment I give 
 unto you that ye love one another ' ; Consecrating prayer by 
 Rev. Charles Hudson of Westminster; Charge by Rev. Paul 
 Dean of Boston ; Right Hand of Fellowship by Rev. Samuel J. 
 
216 AUTO-BIOGRAPHY OF ADIN BALLOU. 
 
 May of Brooklyn, Ct. ; Address to the Church and Congrega- 
 tion, by Kev. David Pickering of Providence, E. I. ; Conclud- 
 ing prayer by Kev. Nathaniel Wright of Attleborough ; and 
 benediction by the Pastor installed. These services were accom- 
 panied and interspersed with appropriate and very delightful 
 sacred music by the choir. 
 
 "It is not easy to speak of this occasion and its exercises in 
 a manner corresponding to the deep interest and felicity excited 
 in the minds of all present. Clergymen and Christian brethren 
 of different names and religious opinions hitherto separated in 
 a greater or less degree by sectarian walls of partition, took 
 sweet counsel together, walked in company to the house of 
 God, and there participated in a feast of intellectual dainties 
 which caused all to feel and some actually to exclaim, - It is 
 good for us to be here!' All met on the level of enlightened 
 Christian liberality, not to compare creeds and conform non- 
 essential religious opinions to one standard formula; not to 
 surrender the rights of private judgment or public profession 
 of honest faith; not to discuss the relative value of sectarian 
 names; not to concert measures of hostility against other Chris- 
 tian denominations; not to multiply causes of contention in the 
 church of Christ — but to exemplify true brotherly love by 
 Christian union on Christian principles ; to enlarge and 
 strengthen the Influence of charity ; to bear a united testimony 
 against religious bigotry on the one hand and licentious skepti- 
 cism on the other ; to rally around the ancient standard of the 
 'Stem of Jesse' ; and thus evince to the world that Christians 
 may love one another in sincerity without agreeing precisely 
 in all the items of their faith. Every exercise and indeed every 
 circumstance of the occasion tended to the promotion of these 
 happy results. Everything was done decently and in order, 
 with cordial affection, in perfect harmony, with distinguished 
 ability, and to universal acceptance. A pleasant day, a large 
 congregation, and generous hospitality on the part of the society, 
 were happy accompaniments to the ecclesiastical and religious 
 felicities of the occasion. The very able and interesting ser- 
 mon of Mr. Whitman will be published at the request of the 
 Parish, and thereby, we hope, diffuse its truths widely among 
 an inquiring religious public. 
 
 "Finally, we cannot but rejoice before God with humble thanks- 
 giving for the blessings of this occasion, and while we exclaim 
 in the language of Israel's royal poet, ' Behold, how good and 
 how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together In unity,' we 
 shall indulge the precious hope that this is the opening dawn 
 of a new and blessed era for liberal Christianity — the begin- 
 ning of a union on truly Christian principles, which, while it 
 
SERMON OF REV. BERNARD WHITMAN. 21T 
 
 effectually guards against mock religion and skepticism, will 
 widen and extend itself over Christendom till all who truly 
 fear God, love Christ, and work righteousness shall come into- 
 that unity of spirit whereof the bonds are peace." 
 
 Rev. Mr. Whitman's sermon was very scholarly, elab- 
 orate, and instructive. Its grand theme was Christian 
 Union. It was published as stated, but owing to sick- 
 ness and pressing avocations, he could not prepare it for 
 the press till nearly a year after it was delivered. Mean- 
 time, he carefully revised and amplified it, so that when 
 it appeared, it covered nearly seventy-eight pamphlet 
 pages. There were appended to it Rev. Paul Dean's 
 "Charge to the -Pastor" and Rev. David Pickering's 
 " Address to the People," both able and impressive utter- 
 ances — all making eighty-four pages. It was intended to 
 have Rev. Samuel J. May's "Right Hand of Fellowship" 
 appear in connection with tlie other parts, but for some 
 unknown reason the manuscript failed to reach the 
 printers. 
 
 The sermon was planned to show : ( 1 ) What is not 
 necessary for Christian union; (2) What is necessary for 
 it; and (3) The great importance of laboring to promote 
 it. These points were treated exhaustively and followed 
 out to a practical application with devout earnestness. 
 The preacher stated forcibly his own theological and 
 ecclesiastical position, recognized clearly that of the 
 pastor and his flock, and warmly congratulated all par- 
 ties represented in our services on the exemplification of 
 Christian union they were that day illustrating before the 
 world. Copies of the pamphlet are preserved in the town 
 libraries of Mendon and Hopedale. 
 
 It is proper to observe in this connection that in those 
 days it required no little moral courage for Rev. Mr. 
 Whitman and his Unitarian brethren to unite with the 
 Restorationists in a public religious service like that of 
 my installation — a courage now hardly conceivable as 
 having any occasion for its exercise. But such occasion 
 then existed and for two prominent reasons : ( 1 ) A large 
 
218 AUTO-BIOGRAPHY OF ADIN BALLOU. 
 
 majority of the Unitarians at that time had a great dis- 
 like, amounting almost to contemptuous disgust,- towards 
 Uuiversalists of every kind and name, few of them mak- 
 ing any distinction between "ultras" and Eestorationists, 
 or if they recognized a difference, they had little respect 
 for the latter so far as concerned any Scriptural authority 
 for their distinctive belief. They insisted that though 
 some mild form of endless punishment might or might 
 not be true, the Bible, in their opinion, did not teach 
 universal restoration but left the final destiny of the 
 wicked in hopeless obscurity. Moreover, they generally 
 believed that this obscurity was wholesome in its moral 
 and religious influence upon mankind. Therefore, duty 
 and expediency required them to preach the promises and 
 threatenings of the sacred record according to the letter 
 of the text as traditionally understood and not " to be 
 wise above what was written " — at the same time explain- 
 ing away or ignoring the letter of texts that plainly 
 favored the doctrine of the final " restitution of all 
 things." In this state of opinion, they deemed it suffi- 
 ciently burdensome to defend their own special Unitarian 
 tenets against the denunciations of the self-styled ortho- 
 dox sects without fathering other heresies. And they 
 were very sensitive about being charged by their theologi- 
 cal enemies with any leanings toward Universalism . They 
 were sure of being so charged if they affiliated with the 
 Eestorationists. They, therefore, dreaded and avoided 
 all fellowship with them. (2) The Unitarians were largely 
 a well educated class of people, and nursed the pride of 
 having a highly educated ministry. But the Eestoration- 
 ists, tried by their standard, were '• unlearned and 
 ignorant" — only a trifle better schooled, perhaps, than the 
 humble Nazarene himself and his original twelve apostles, 
 without a D. D. among them, and little better than bar- 
 barians when compared with the graduates of Harvard 
 College, and other polished literati. This was quite as 
 objectionable to many of the "grave and reverend seign- 
 iors " of the denomination as our peculiar theology. 
 
THE TEMPERANCE CAUSE ESPOUSED. 219 
 
 And I learned from my brave and kind Brother Whitman 
 that, after the installation, he was sharply rebuked by 
 one of his titled elders of the profession, for having 
 assisted in introducing unlearned men into the clerical 
 ■office. I mention these things to show that our Brothers 
 Whitman, May, and others had to take up no little of a 
 cross and incur considerable reproach from their more 
 numerous and dignified associates for keeping company 
 with us and extending to us the courtesies of ecclesiasti- 
 cal and Christian fellowship. Let them receive credit 
 accordingly from all who honor courage, honesty, and 
 fair dealing. 
 
 A somewhat memorable experience of the year in review- 
 was my open espousal of the Temperance Reform, all 
 the more so by reason of the circumstances attending 
 such action on my part. My neighboring clerical friend, 
 Rev. John M. S. Perry, then pastor of the North Con- 
 gregational church of Mendon (Orthodox), had become 
 much interested in the • cause, and, with a few of his 
 people who sympathized with him, desired to inaugurate 
 a movement for promoting its interests in our general 
 vicinity. He accordingly came to me with a prepared 
 preamble and pledge which he offered as a basis for a 
 temperance society in the town. In the" multiplicity of my 
 •cares and labors, I had not previously given the subject 
 much attention and so begged leave for a little time to 
 consider it and act advisedly in regard to his proposition. 
 After due deliberation, I became satisfied that the reform 
 was essentially a righteous one and greatly needed in the 
 community. But I had good reason to anticipate that it 
 would disturb the harmony of my congregation if I 
 embarked in it with honest zeal, and perhaps alienate 
 some of my parishioners and hitherto ardent friends. 
 Many liberalists of that day looked upon the organization 
 of societies like that contemplated as a scheme of the so- 
 called Evangelicals for making sectarian capital and 
 gaining to themselves some special advantage, and upon 
 that ground regarded all such action with distrust. I 
 
220 AUTO-BIOGRAPHY OF ADIN BALLOU. 
 
 had myself some reason in this case to suspect that my 
 neighbors of the other church and society hoped the proj- 
 ect might prove an apple of discord in my parish, whose 
 rising prosperity they deprecated, and in that or some 
 other way redound to their profit. 
 
 Nevertheless, I resolved (whatever might be the motives 
 and wishes of Mr. Perry and his allies) (1) That I would 
 not allow myself to turn my back upon so good a cause ; 
 and (2) That my evangelical co-workers should secure no 
 sectarian ends by my espousing it. I therefore told my 
 clerical neighbor, upon further consultation with him, that 
 I would take hold of the work as he desired, but that 
 the proposed society must be thoroughly guarded against 
 all sectarian and partisan misdirection or entanglement, 
 by specific stipulations to that effect in the preliminary 
 papers about to be circulated. He rather coolly assented, 
 and the documents were re-drafted in conformity with 
 my wishes. 
 
 The next thing deemed necessary to be done was to 
 hold a public meeting, and have an expository lecture 
 given, presenting the whole subject clearly to the people. 
 Upon broaching the question where and by whom this 
 lecture should be delivered, Mr. Perry and his friends 
 were prompt, decided, aud urgent, that my church must 
 be the place, and I the lecturer. Seeing their persistency, 
 I accepted the responsibility thus thrust upon me, but 
 gave my ministerial brother to understand that I should 
 expect him to sustain me by going into the pulpit 
 with me, offering prayer, and otherwise co-operating on 
 the occasion. This I knew would -pinch in the bud 
 whatever religious exclusiveness he might cherish, and 
 test his devotion to the temperance cause. To this 
 arrangement he reluctantly consented. The time of the 
 meeting was fixed on a given Sunday at 5 o'clock, p. m. 
 The day and hour arrived, and, due notice having been 
 given throughout the town, a large audience assembled, 
 composed of Mr. Perry's people and my own with some 
 outsiders. 1 remained in the vestibule of the church 
 
A CLERICAL DODGER. 221 
 
 ■during the tolling of the bell before the opening of the 
 service, waiting for my clerical brother that I might 
 courteously direct him to the pulpit, as customary in 
 such cases. But no such brother appeared. 1 at length 
 ordered the tolling stopped,, still remaining in the vesti- 
 bule. After a little further delay he came in, when I 
 cordially greeted him, and signified my expectation thaj; 
 he was ready to go with me and participate in the exer- 
 cises of the occasion. He immediately began to make 
 excuses, saying that his labors had been very hard dur- 
 ing the day, and consequently that he was very much 
 fatigued and unable to take any part with me, etc., etc. 
 I declined to excuse him and insisted that he should 
 accompany me to the desk, which he made a pretence of 
 doing, many of the people hearing the conversation and 
 watching us, as we walked up the aisle together, with 
 interest and amazement. At length he suddenly broke 
 from me, darted into a pew, took a seat, and I proceeded 
 to the duty of the hour without him. I went through 
 the various exer.cises by myself, according to my best 
 judgment and with evidently good effect. 
 
 In answering the objections that were sometimes urged 
 against temperance organizations, I at length reached the 
 one, babed on sectarian grounds, which made such organ- 
 izations unworthy of liberal Christian support. 1 stated 
 that however this might be generally or in other caseSj 
 it would not apply in the present instance. I then read 
 the clauses in our plan of action, which explicitly declared 
 that nothing sectarian or partisan should be allowed in 
 ■our proceedings, following the same with very pointed 
 ■and emphatic comments in explication and application of 
 the same. In closing under that head, I remarked that 
 if anything contrary, to the stipulated unsectarian charac- 
 ter of the movement had been manifested on the present 
 ■occasion, I trusted the blame would be laid where it 
 belonged. A thrill of suppressed excitement ran through 
 the audience, which vented itself freely after the service 
 was over. Mr. Perry's leading parishioner was mortified 
 
222 AUTO-BIOGRAPHY OF ADIN BALLOU. 
 
 and indignant at his pastor's course, and administered' 
 to him a scathing rebuke for having done the worst pos- 
 sible thing to damage the cause of temperance in its 
 local infancy. None of his religious friends approved his 
 course, while mine, of course, denounced it. He was 
 himself greatly surprised, abashed, and humiliated. The 
 next forenoon he called on me, apologized for .his con- 
 duct, and promised never to repeat it. And he never 
 did. He was cured -and I was amply vindicated. Our 
 relations thereafter, while he remained in town, were 
 pleasant and harmonious. He left his pastorate in 1835, 
 and went with his wife as missionaries to Ceylon, where 
 both ere long died of cholera, within an hour of each 
 other. 
 
 At this point it seems proper for me to confess my 
 great indebtedness to the temperance reform for the 
 inductive lessons it gave me, and for its salutary disci- 
 pline of my mind, heart, and character. It was to me a 
 primary school from which I went forth to all my later 
 moral and social reform attainments. I had been brought 
 up a moderate drinker, regarding drunkenness — an abuse 
 of intoxicating liquors — alone a sin. So I believed, so 
 I preached, so I practised. And I deemed all temper- 
 ance pledges and societies as supererogatory and useless. 
 But I had come to a new view of the matter. The evils 
 of intemperance were forced upon my attention wherever 
 I went. Their terrors and the woes connected with them 
 appalled me — wrung my very soul. And the great ques- 
 tion how they could be removed confronted me whenever 
 I thought of the matter, demanding, not only considera- 
 tion, but decision and action. I was a rational and 
 accountable being. I was more than that — a public 
 moral and religious teacher. There was no justifiable 
 excuse for neutrality upon a subject of such magnitude, 
 upon a question so closely related to the welfare and 
 happiness of multitudes of my fellowmen. I ought man- 
 fully to say Yes or No upon it ; plant myself unequivocally 
 and firmly on one side or the other; be for or against 
 
RESULTS OF THE STAND TAKEN. 223 
 
 the reform. I thoroughly investigated the subject, weigh- 
 ing its claims in the scales of reason and conscience. I 
 saw its merits and mastered its arguments. I became 
 qualified to teach, defend, and successfully commend it 
 to others, both by precept and example. I was rendered 
 a better, a truer, a nobler man thereby. My whole being 
 was enriched, my whole life was made a greater power 
 for good for the stand I took at that early day in regard 
 to this great movement. 
 
 Moreover, it suggested to me three great practical data 
 in ethics, which have grown more and more important in 
 my estimation ever since as means of promoting human 
 progress and redemption. (1) That righteousness must be 
 taught definitely, specifically, and practically to produce 
 any marked results, not in vague generalisms. (2) That 
 professed receivers and adherents of any given righteous 
 cause must be unequivocally and uncompromisingly 
 pledged to the practice of definitely declared duties per- 
 taining to such cause, and not be left in a state of 
 irresponsible non-committalism. (3) That such pledged 
 adherents and receivers must voluntarily associate under 
 explicit affirmations of a settled purpose to co-operate in 
 exemplifying and diffusing abi'oad the virtues and excel- 
 lences to which they are committed, and not act at 
 random in -disorganized and aimless individualism, often 
 antagonistic to each other and detrimental to the inter- 
 ests involved. 
 
 Another great good which I derived from the temper- 
 ance reform was that, under its infiuence, I was enabled 
 to save myself, my family, and a multitude of friends 
 (to say nothing of others whom I may have reached), if 
 not from drunkenness, yet from all danger of it, and 
 from innumerable foolish expenditures, wastes, and dam- 
 ages — pecuniary, physiological, -and intellectual — while 
 at the same time gaining more or. less elevation of moral 
 tone and character. My interest in it was a defense 
 against many temptations in life and a help to many 
 virtues, as well as a great means of usefulness to my 
 
•224 AUTO-BIOGRAPHY OF ADIN BALLOU. 
 
 fellowmen. I had no firmly rooted appetite for strong 
 drink to overcome, and wliatever inducements to break 
 my pledge were presented to me after taking it were of 
 a social and festive nature. It was the custom in those 
 days, among family relatives and special friends when 
 visiting or calling upon each other, to treat and he treated, 
 as the phrasing was. A generous and warm-hearted hos- 
 pitality demanded this, and even common civility, in 
 some circles. To drink together was a badge or token 
 of kindly regard. I remember visiting a venerable and 
 much esteemed relative soon after committing myself to 
 this cause and to abstinence from the use of all intoxi- 
 cants. He knew nothing of the step I had taken in the 
 matter, and, as he had previously done, brought out from 
 his well-stored larder his choice liquors and concomitants 
 for the usual treat. I, of course, had to decline his prof- 
 fered glass. He was utterly astonished and deeply grieved, 
 exclaiming, "What have I done that you refuse to drink 
 with me?" I explained my position as well as I could, 
 but he was hardly able to understand the reasons for my 
 course. He looked so sorrowful that, but for my pledge, 
 my good feelings would have impelled me to yield to his 
 generous and kind-liearted solicitations. 
 
 Another result of my espousal and championship of the 
 temperance cause, more trying and painful in many 
 respects, though not without its salutary and helpful 
 aspects, was the alienation of personal admirers, accom- 
 panied by a new baptism of vituperation and reproach. 
 Some few of those who called me to Mendon, and who, 
 up to this time, had been liberal in their plaudits and 
 commendations, now turned their backs upon me as a 
 disturber of their peace, and a meddler with what they 
 deemed their personal rights. " Could they not eat and 
 drink what they pleased without being called to account 
 as sinners? Had they hired me to preach upon such 
 subjects? No, indeed." And so they vented their 
 indignation and spite upon me. These persons were 
 chiefly wedded to the intoxicating cup. Only a few 
 
PROVIDENCE ASSOCIATION AND TEMPERANCE. 225 
 
 •of them boldly gave utterance to their augry scur- 
 Tility, but quite a number muttered their sullen dislike 
 of my attitude in the matter. I knew what it was afore- 
 time to be scorned and hated on account of theological 
 and ecclesiastical offences, but now I must endui'e 
 ill-will and denunciation as a moral reformer, seeking 
 only, the personal good of my assailants. I very likely 
 needed this discipline, not only to wean me from the 
 love of human praise, but to strengthen me to endure 
 much sorer experiences of the same sort in the not far 
 'distant future. It was a wholesome medicine, which, 
 though bitter to the taste, did me substantial good and 
 a-esulted to my advantage. If I lost a few seeming 
 friends, I gained many new and better ones. My heart 
 was purged of some of its impurities, a wider sphere of 
 usefulness opened before me, and multiplied opportunities 
 TTere afforded me to labor for the uplifting and redemp- 
 tion of my fellowmen. 
 
 It was no sooner noised abroad that I had enlisted in 
 this great reform and was prepared to devote myself 
 ■somewhat to the proclamation and diffusion of its princi- 
 ples in the general community, and wherever an opening 
 •should be made for me, than I began to have calls to 
 lecture upon the subject. These I was happy to answer 
 affirmatively, so far as home duties and' circumstances 
 otherwise would allow, and was thereby enabled to gain 
 and exert a moral influence in behalf of truth and right- 
 eousness, which I had not before possessed. As a 
 further encouragement, I had the great satisfaction of 
 seeing my ministerial brethren of the Restorationist faith 
 ■engage in the movement and unite heartily in efforts to 
 carry it forward to successful issues. At a meeting of 
 the Providence Association, held June 6, 1832, which I 
 had the pleasure of attending, the following resolutions 
 Tvere unanimously passed : 
 
 " Besolved, That this Association take a deep and lively inter- 
 •est in the great Temperance Beformation now in progress 
 throughout the United States, and that while we congratulate 
 15 
 
226 AUTO-BIOGKAPIIY OF ADIN BALLOU. 
 
 the friends of this reformation everywhere on their success in. 
 this laudable and praiseworthy cause, we will not cease to 
 co-operate with all our ability in the accomplishment of its- 
 grand and fundamental objects. 
 
 "■ Besolved, That we recommend our friends throughout the 
 country to use their influence in arresting the progress of 
 Intemperance and in rearing up a generation who shall be tem- 
 perate in all things." 
 
 As may be easily imagiuecl, I had in those days no 
 idle time. Besides my regular pastoral duties, — preaching- 
 twice each Sunday at home or on exchange, overseeing- 
 the Sabbath school, administering church ordinances in 
 their season, and visiting among my people — I delivered 
 frequent lectures at near or more distant places, minis- 
 tered at many funerals outside as well as inside my par- 
 ish, solemnized numerous marriages in my own and 
 neighboring towns, wrote week by week important articles 
 as principal editor of the Independent Messenger, attended 
 various religious and reform meetings here and there, kept 
 up an extensive correspondence, discharged the duties of 
 a member of the town school committee,, and, of course,, 
 took some care of ordinary domestic affairs.. Little oppor- 
 tunity had I for rest and recuperation. 
 
 Perhaps the best possible inside view of my various 
 activities at this period may be presented by quoting 
 somewhat from the fragmentary memoranda I kept, and 
 I therefore submit a few extracts : 
 
 Aug. 24, 1832. Hired my friend Lewis Boyden's horse and 
 sulljy and made a forenoon's inspection of the district school 
 near Mr. Robert Allen's, taught by a Miss Morse. With only a 
 single cracker for my dinner, I rode thence to the south-east 
 part of Bellingham, near Franklin, to oflSciate at the funeral 
 of friend Martin Cushman. He had been au eccentric man and 
 somewhat misanthropic. He was quite intellectual, but had 
 strong passions not easily controlled, which rendered him dis- 
 agreeable to many people, and prompted him to- frequent 
 law-suits with his fellow-citizens. He had been an ultra Univer- 
 salist in opinion, and held me in great esteem till I broke with 
 my brethren of that school, when he repudiated me and 
 denounced me outright. Yet when mortal sickness prostrated, 
 him he relented, became prayerful, and sent for me to visit 
 
EXTRACTS FROM DIARY. 227 
 
 him, which I did, ministering in my way to liis spiritual 
 needs. When near his end, he requested that I should attend 
 his funeral, and I was there on the date mentioned, accordingly. 
 I preached from 2 Chron. 21:13: "Let me fall now into the 
 hand of the Lord, etc." The house was small and could not 
 contain nearly all who had assembled, and so, the weather 
 heing favorable, the services took place in the yard outside, 
 beneath some large shade trees. I spoke Jwith a good degree 
 of spiritual freedom, unction, and effect." 
 
 " Sundiy, Aug. 26. Usual services in the church. In the 
 morning gave an exposition of thejiflrst part of 7th chapter of 
 Matthew. Afterward attended the examination of the Sunday 
 School, which was good. Brother Fisher Ames Tyler addressed 
 the scholars. At night called on Mrs. Elizabeth (Mellen) 
 Torrey, widow of Stephen, aged 95 years, now neariug the end 
 of her mortal pilgi image, and ripe for the heavenly granary. 
 Monday, 27th. At home. Prepared for the Messenger 'Review 
 of Rev. Lucius R. Paige's " Letters to my devoted friend, Rev. 
 Bernard Whitman," ' and wrote to the Jmanaging editor. Rev. 
 E. M. Stone. Tuesday, 28th. Attended a meeting of Revo- 
 lutionary soldiers convened before our county judge of probate 
 to certify to their ages and war services, in order that they 
 might obtain pensions from the United States government. 
 Fifty applicants were present from Mendon and vicinity. I 
 dined with the company, and took .home with me my ven- 
 erable friend, Benjamin Pickering, who remained through the 
 night and most of the next day, in the evening of which I 
 went with wife and daughter to <i considerable party at Mrs. 
 Mary (Hastings) Hayward's, widow of Caleb, formerly a promi- 
 nent citizen of the town. Thursday, 30th. Took tea with others 
 at Col. Warren Rawson's. On returning home found my parents 
 awaiting us, having just arrived from Cumberland, R. I., for a 
 two days' visit. Friday, 31st. Went to Milford to Invite my 
 wife's father and mother to come and double the parental com- 
 pany. They complied, and we had a memorable visit — one 
 never repeated in this mortal state." 
 
 " Saturday, Sept. 1. Letters received from two brother 
 clergymen requesting early answers had to be laid aside for a 
 less busy season. Rode 27 miles in the afternoon to South- 
 bridge, where I had engaged to preach on the morrow. 
 Arrived at 6.30 p m., and stopped with Frederick W. Bottom, 
 Esq., by whom I was agreeably entertained. Sunday, Sept. 2d. 
 Preached three discourses to good acceptance: (1) A written 
 one from the text : ' Draw nigh to God, and He will draw 
 nigh to you ' ; (2) On universal restoration, extempore \ (3) On 
 Christian charity and union. Full and attentive audiences. 
 
228 AUTO-BIOGRAPHY OF ADIN BALLOU, 
 
 Monday, 3d. Dined with 1113^ kind and cordial friend, Josiah 
 Snow, publisher of the Soiithbridge Begister and Mirror. He is a 
 warm sympathizer and a zealous helper of the cause of uni- 
 versal restoration. Before starting for home, it was reported 
 that a man in town had died of Asiatic cliolera. Our whole 
 country in a state of great alarm on account of this disease, 
 which is causing many deaths in certain localities. Arrived 
 home about sundown, finding Eev. James W. Hoskins, from 
 Hampden, Me., with my family. He is an able and devoted 
 Restoratiouist, and has, in my absence, supplied my Mendon 
 pulpit acceptably. Friday, 7ch. Troubled somewhat with sick 
 headache, my frequent ailment. Olf to Milford, with wife and 
 two children. Saturday, 8th. Answ.ered junior editor's letter, 
 but sent no article for the Messenger. A call from friend Arnold 
 Buffura, a pioneer Abolitionist, who proposed to lecture in our 
 church tomorrow at 4.30 p. m Went with him to consult 
 Col. Eawson and Jlr. Jabez Aklrich. Xot much encouragement, 
 but no opposition. Not a ripple of anti-slavery has yet reached 
 Mendon. But friend Buffum thought it was high time to stir 
 the waters, and he was not a man to be put off. So tlie 
 appointment was made. Sunday, 9th. Preached a. m. and v. m., 
 as usual, and announced friend Buffum's lecture. It came 
 oflF accordingly. Important truths uttered to a very small 
 audience, with no striking effect, and the contribution box cir- 
 culated in vain. Evening rode to Uxbridge and solemnized 
 marriage of Mr. Moses T. Murdock and Miss Dorinda W. Grout. 
 ^'Monday, Sept. 10th. A call from my ever estimable Chris- 
 tian brother. Rev. Samuel J. May, of Brooklyn, Ct. He brought 
 with him Eev. Mr. Brooks, of Hingham, and we had a pleasant 
 interview. Tuesday, 11th. Plenty of household duties, but the 
 important event of the day was an unexpected call from my 
 brother, Ariel Ballou, Jr., M. D., of Woonsocket, E. I., and 
 his bride, Miss Hannah Horton, for marriage. He could 
 wait for no preparation, and desired the ceremony to take 
 place at once. We conformed to his urgency. The marriage 
 was solemnized and they left within an hour. This was less 
 agreeable to us than to them. Just at night had a call from 
 Benjamin Davenport, Esq., one of my prominent parishioners, 
 with a request from a niece of his wife, Mrs. Freeman Fisher, 
 to have me come to Milford and christen a dangerously sick 
 child. Wednesday, 12th. Went to Milford to find Mrs. Fisher's 
 child a corpse. Just as safe in the Saviour's bosom as if 
 formally baptized. Dined at Father Hunt's. Returned to Men- 
 don. Mr. Smith Sayles and wife, my good parents-in-law by 
 the first marriage, arrived from Smithfleld. R. I., to make us a 
 visit. Excellent relatives these, and worthy of our kindest 
 
EXTRACTS FROM DIARY. — CONTINUED. 229 
 
 attention. Thumday, 13th. Entertaining company, who left 
 for home about 2 p. m. Friday, 14th. Funeral service of Mrs. 
 Allen Chase in Bellingham. 
 
 " Sa'urday, Sept. 15th. Started with wife at half-past 
 eleven a. m. for Brooklyn, Ct., to preach on the morrow in 
 exchange with Rev. Brother S. J. May. Arrived at S K. Ji. 
 and were quietly entertained by his family during our sojourn. 
 Sunday, Sept. 16th, Preached a. ji. extempore from Acts, 
 12 : 24-26 :' God, who made the world,' etc; and p. m., a written 
 sermon from James, 4:8: 'Draw nigh to God,' etc. Before 
 close of service published intentions of marriage for a couple, 
 according to Connecticut law and usage. How much spiritual 
 impression my performances made on the people, I know not — 
 probably small. Took tea at 4 p. m. and departed for Thomp- 
 son, Ct., where we spent the night. When nearing the place 
 in the evening, we were suddenly surprised by the momentary 
 flash of a brilliant meteor. Monday, 17th. Remained at Stiles 
 hotel through the forenoon. About 11.30 o'clock, Brother May 
 arrived on his return from Mendon, and we dined together and 
 enjoyed a delightful conversational conference upon high and 
 sacred themes. He is an advanced thfnker, a whole-hearted 
 philanthropist, and a most genial Christian gentleman. We 
 parted at 2.30 p. M., he going home, and wife and I turning 
 our faces towards AVinchester, N. H,, where a conference of 
 Eestorationist ministers had been appointed for the ensuing 
 Wednesday and Thursday. Tuesday, 18th. Left Leicester, our 
 . tarrying place for the night, early, and rode all day, reaching 
 Warwick in the evening, and taking lodging in the public 
 house. Wedneiday, 19th. Off soon after sunrise, arriving at 
 our place of destination about 8 a. m. The Universalist 
 society there, one of the oldest of that faith in New Hamp- 
 shire, was strongly inclined to Restorationism, having then 
 for a pastor Brother Lyman Maynard, a member of our Massa- 
 chusetts Association. Myself and wife were hospitably cared 
 for in the family of Brother Asa Alexander, a devoted layman 
 of the society. The conference opened auspiciously, and proved 
 to be an interesting and profitable occasion. I preached on 
 both Wednesday and Thursday mornings; Brother Charles 
 Hudson, Wednesday afternoon; Brother Paul Dean, Thursday 
 afternoon and evening. Exhortations followed the discourses 
 of Thursday morning and evening, and appropriate devotional 
 and musical exercises were enjoyed at every session. 
 
 Friday, Sept. 21st. Bade our Winchester friends a grateful 
 farewell early in the morning and started for home with 
 Brothers Dean, Hudson, and Stone. Dined at Templeton, hav- 
 ing for a fellow guest at table a celebrated theological pro- 
 
230 AUTO-BIOGRAPHY OF ADIN BALLOU. 
 
 fessor and D. D., who was remarkable for hia eating powers 
 and intemperate consumption of strong green tea, while descant- 
 ing on the subject of temperance and exemplifying a coarse t3'-pe 
 of manners generally. His saiutliness was quite below the 
 standard of his reputation in Evangelical circles. Eode to 
 Westminster in the afternoon and shared the kind hospita,lity 
 of Brother and Mrs. Hudson for the succeeding night. Satur- 
 day, 22d. A good day's ride to Mendon, taking dinner at 
 Worcester. A safe and enjoyable journey of a week was thus 
 completed. Sunday, 23d. In my own pulpit again. Preached 
 A. M., from Ps. 100 : 2 : ' Serve the Lord with gladness,' and 
 p. M. from Kom. 2:11: ' There is no i-espect of persons with God.' 
 At 5 p. M. attended the funeral of Miss Polly Corbett at the 
 house of her mother in South Milford, preaching from 
 Ps. 124:8: 'Our help is in the name of tlie Lord, who made 
 heaven and earth.' " 
 
 The foregoing passages from my journal, covering about 
 four weeks of time, will indicate imperfectly to the reader 
 the manner in which Ihe wheels of my private and public 
 life were kept in motion during the latter part of the year 
 1832, and there is no need of further particularization. 
 
 On the first AVednesday in January, 1833, the Massa- 
 chusetts Association of Restorationists held its annual 
 meeting in Boston. The occasion proved a busy one, 
 several matters of importance coming up for consideration, 
 in which I was much interested, and in the discussion 
 of which I took an active part. The Annual Sermon, 
 as it was called, was preached by me from iPhil. 4:6: 
 "Be careful for nothing, but in everything, by prayer and 
 supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made 
 known unto G-od." I was housed and fed kindly by Bro. 
 Dean, and the public services were held in his church in 
 Bnlfinch street. Several discourses were delivered to 
 interested audiences, and the proceedings of private sit- 
 tings were cordial and harmonious. The weather was 
 remarkable for the season, being more like May than 
 January. I returned home by way of AValtham, calling 
 there on my excellent friend and brother, Eev. Bernard 
 Whitman, with whom I had a brief, but most elevating 
 and soul-satisfying interview. 
 
DOMESTIC ANXIETY AND SORROW. 231 
 
 A dark cloud of anxiety aud sorrow gathered without 
 ■warning and hovered over our household towards the close 
 •of this month of January, 1833. Before the end of 
 February its lurid bolts had bereaved us of two out of 
 'Our three children. The scarlet fever, then nowhere prev- 
 alent in the vicinity, developed itself in our family aud 
 •scathed, more or less severely, every member. On the 
 26th of January our eldest son, Adin, Jr., a lad in the 
 tenth year of his age, was sent on an errand about a 
 mile distant, and while away became so ill that he had 
 to be taken in and put to bed by one of our kind, 
 motherly parishioners. We received word of this in the 
 early evening and I hastened to bring him home. "We 
 ^:lid not suspect anything serious, and the pressure of my 
 various duties occupied my utmost attention. But my 
 sick boy, instead of improving, became gradually worse. 
 We summoned our family physician, Dr. John G-. Met- 
 ■calf, who at first thought the disease might be measles, 
 but at length pronounced it scarletina or canker rash, 
 though, so far as we knew, 'he had been exposed to 
 neither. The case soon proved desperate and we were 
 appalled at its aspect. Time had been inconsiderately 
 lost and vigorous treatment delayed. In our distressed 
 anxiety we called in the venerable aud celebrated Dr. 
 Daniel Thurber, but it was too late. The patient grew 
 weaker and weaker in spite of all that was done for 
 him, suffering intensely till relieved by death at half-past 
 nine p. m., February 10. Before this occurred our other 
 children and young housemaid ])ad come down with the 
 same malady, and we, the parents, were half sick, worn, 
 :and debilitated. The neighborhood was in a state of more 
 or less alarm and the funeral must take place under forlorn 
 and gloomy circumstances. We were favored, however, 
 with all needed sympathy and assistance. The obse- 
 quies were sadly but consolingly solemnized on Tuesday, 
 the 12th. Relatives from Milford, Cumberland, R. I., 
 and Woonsocket, R. I., were in attendance on the 
 mournful occasion, as also were a goodly number of 
 
232 ■ AUTO-BIOGRAPHY OF ADIN BALLOU. 
 
 our parishioners and personal friends. Rev. J. M. S.. 
 Perry, the Orthodox minister, and Mercy Thayer, a 
 Friends Preacher, met with us, manifesting a sympathetic' 
 spirit. The rehgious services, consisting of discourse and 
 prayers, were rendered by Brother Seth Chandler, then 
 ministering to the Restorationists of Oxford. The day 
 was stormy, neither parent leaving the house, but its 
 duties and experiences transpired as favorably as could 
 be expected. We were then hopeful of the other invalids, 
 who seemed to be in a fair way of recovery. 
 
 But, alas, another bitter cup was awaiting us. In the 
 evening of February 22, our other little son, Pearley H., 
 aged two years and three months, who had been improv- 
 ing, apparently, up to that time, suddenly showed signs of 
 a relapse. Medical aid was again called in and our best 
 efforts were put forth to save him, but all in vain. 
 Dropsy on the brain was soon developed, his case became 
 hopeless, spasm succeeding spasm till the 27th of Febru- 
 ary, when he expired. He was a bright and loving child, 
 but of slender health, and during this last painful illness, 
 as well as before, gave forth very tender and affecting 
 little utterances, which still linger in the memory of those 
 who gave him birth. Another funeral darkened our- 
 home, drew around us condoling relatives and friends as 
 before, and elicited needful religious consolation. It took 
 place February 28, at 1 o'clock p. ii.. Rev. Samuel 
 Clarke of Uxbridge being our religious counselor on the 
 occasion, his words breathing the soothing perfume of 
 comfort and Christian consolation upon all our hearts. 
 
 In recalling these trying experiences with their con- 
 comitants and disciplinary lessons, how many sacred 
 memories enthrong us ! What anxieties, cares, vigils,, 
 devoured our energies ! What pains and distresses, sighs 
 and moans, from the sick couches of our suffering ones 
 harrowed our parental sensibilities ! What pitying kind- 
 nesses flowed in upon us from helpful neighbors, friends, 
 and relatives ! What mercies, consolations, and sanctifl- 
 cations, distilled from Heaven, bedewed our stricken^ 
 
FAITH AND HOPE TRIUMPHANT. 233: 
 
 aching souls ! What a moral training for compassionate 
 sympathy with other mourning families in after years ! 
 Wiiat longing aspirations swelled our breasts for perfect 
 assurances of immortal life and blessedness ! ' ' Do the 
 departed loved ones still live on?" we asked. Was it 
 indeed true that they were ' ' not lost but gone before" ? 
 Or must our hearts freeze amid the chilling blasts of 
 doubt and scepticism? Nay, we believed that 
 
 " Where immortal spirits reign, 
 There shall we all meet again." 
 
 No other cases of scarletina occurred in our general 
 neighborhood during the season. Those in our family 
 were probably generated by local conditions, of whose 
 deleterious influence we were then ignorant. The causes, 
 preventives, and cure of disease will uo doubt be better 
 known in future ages than at present, and such know- 
 ledge will, I believe, deliver our human race from most, 
 of the ills to which it is now subject, and from most of 
 the pain, suffering, and premature death that uow 
 afflict it. 
 
CHAPTER XIII. 
 
 1833-1834. 
 
 Whitman's Letters — Independent Messenger — Review 
 
 OF Huidekopek — ^ Argument with Rev. Jonathan 
 
 Fakr — Oral Discussion. 
 
 ^ 
 
 rpHE pressure of duties and cares, though interrupted by 
 -*- the visitation of sickness mentioned at the close of 
 the last chapter, continued unabated. Indeed, it seemed to 
 increase as time went on, so that I had little opportunity 
 to sit down and brood over our afflictions, desolating and 
 painful as they were. Pastoral and other public labors 
 incident to my ministerial calling, oversight of the town 
 schools, editorial and correspondeiitial writing, with more 
 or less secular occupation, demanded constant activity on 
 my part. Occasional calls for service abroad, as well as 
 at or near home, came to me, and under circumstances 
 •that I could not very well refuse them, inasmuch as they 
 usually related to the cause of universal restoration, of 
 which I had become an acknowledged champion. 
 
 On the 25th of May, 1833, I attended the installation 
 of Rev. Brother .Seth Chandler, my former theological 
 student, at Oxford, Mass., as pastor of the Universalist 
 society there, one of the oldest of that persuasion in the 
 country, having been established under the ministry of 
 Rev. Adam Streeter, in 1785. A fraternal ecclesiastical 
 council united in the services of the occasion according 
 to the following order : Introductory prayer by Rev. 
 Thomas J. Greenwood ; Reading of the Scriptures by 
 Rev. Charles Hudson ; Sermon by Rev. Samuel J. May ; 
 Consecrating prayer by Rev. David Pickering ; Charge by 
 
LETTERS OF BERNARD WHITMAN. 235 
 
 myself; Right Hand of Fellowship by Rev. Ebenezer 
 Robinson; Address to the people by Rev. John Golds- 
 bury; Concluding prayer by Rev. Nathaniel Wright; 
 Benediction by the pastor elect. Proceedings in the coun- 
 ■cil, composed of Unitarian and Restoratiouist clergymen, 
 hai-monious, the several exercises appropriate, hospitali- 
 ties of the society generous, and the communion of saints 
 pleasant. My accompanying delegate from the Mendon 
 church was Mr. Stephen Albee, one of my life-long 
 friends. 
 
 About this time, my esteemed brother. Rev. Bernard 
 "WJiitman, published his able work, entitled, ' ' Friendly 
 Letters to a Universalist on Divine Rewards and Punish- 
 ments." It was a duodecimo volume of 366 pages — 
 ■candid, lucid, pertinent, conclusive, against the theory of 
 no future retribution, and in support of the true Christian 
 doctrine upon that subject. His sympathy and co-opera- 
 tion with me had procured for him the coarse denunciations 
 of the ultra-Universalist press, which I promptly repelled 
 through the columns of the Messenger. I gave in that 
 organ the high commendation of the volume which it 
 deserved, and did all I could to promote its circulation. 
 Its opponents affected to despise it and to disdain 
 answering it. They were politic enougli to make no 
 attempt to refute its conclusions. It was one among the 
 effective efforts of those controversial days which gradu- 
 ally paralyzed the arrogant hypothesis that "knew of no 
 condition for man beyond the grave but that in which he 
 is as the angels of God in heaven." That hypothesis has 
 for many years slumbered in an undisturbed tomb and 
 many of the Universalist denomination to-day seem to 
 have forgotten, if they ever knew, that it once claimed 
 to be the orthodoxy of their order. 
 
 On the 30th day of June, the same year, we had born 
 to us another son, whom we named Adin Augustus. 
 The season of anxiety and sorrow through which we had 
 a few months before passed seemed to have made its 
 impress upon his very nature. His early infant wailiugs 
 
236 AUTO-BIOGRAPHY OF ADIN BALLOU. 
 
 were like echoes of those moaus of his languishing- 
 brothers, which still vibrated in the memories of bereaved 
 parental affection. But these characteristics were slowly 
 outgrown and he became a joyous child, a sprightly, 
 winsome lad, a promising youth, and a model young 
 man. But, alas, at that auspicious climax, as will be 
 told in its season, he was translated to the invisible 
 realm, whither the others referred to preceded him. 
 
 During the ensuing month of August, I received a call to 
 the pastorate of a church and society of our faith in Water- 
 town, Mass., which, though offering me sundry increased 
 temporal advantages, I did uot feel at liberty to accept. 
 Immediately afterward I added to my already superabun- 
 dant labors the care and responsibility of a private school 
 opened in my own house. This enterprise succeeded very 
 well with the exception of occasional interruptions caused 
 by calls to funerals, etc., which I could not well decline, 
 accomodating matters to them as well as I could, with- 
 out serious inconvenience or complaint from any quarter. 
 But the turn of a new leaf in the volume of my affairs 
 obliged me to terminate the undertaking in October. For 
 early in that month the Independent Messenger and its 
 accompanying printing establishment "came back into my 
 hands. The Boston proprietor had become weary of the 
 duties incident to its management, and urged me to 
 resume them and so grant him the relief he desired. I 
 was induced to yield to his wishes, partly, at least, by 
 the offer of aid from a proposed co-partner. Rev. Stephen 
 Cutler, of Cumberland, R. I., who would share the 
 pecuniary burdens of the concern equally with me, and 
 attend to all its business affairs, excepting those of 
 editorship, which I thought I could execute without serious 
 difficulty. I had reason to suppose that my contemplated 
 co-laborer was competent and trustworthy, and the part- 
 nership was accordingly formed under the name of 
 " Cutler and Ballou," Oct. 3, 1833. Four days after- 
 ward we went to Boston together, purchased the property 
 in question, and completed all needful arrangements for 
 
UNFORTUNATE COPARTNERSHIP. 237 
 
 its speedy removal to Mendon. This was effected Octo- 
 ber 18, and everything was soon in readiness for its 
 designed use. 
 
 The experiment of foi'ming a co-partnership in this 
 matter proved to be a serious misfortune to me. Mr. 
 Cutler, notwithstanding his pretensions and much show of 
 ■ability turned out to be wholly unfitted for his new posi- 
 tion in three months, and our relations were dissolved, 
 everything pertaining to the affairs of the company com- 
 ing into my hands for care and management. Nor was 
 this all, nor the worst, of the matter. For by false 
 representations on his part he had induced me to enter 
 into bonds with him to his Cumberland creditors to the 
 amount of several hundred dollars, most of which I was 
 ultimately obliged to pay. I found him not only without 
 business capacity, but destitude of capital and unreliable 
 in moral integrity. So I gained nothing by my connec- 
 tion with him, but lost considerable of my much needed 
 funds. The settlement of matters between us was long 
 pending, the details and result of which restored neither 
 my confidence nor my money. He came from the Bap- 
 tists through the Universalist into the .Restorationist fold, 
 whence he returned to the bosom of the church from 
 which he first set out, and in which he ended his career. 
 
 Thus it came to pass that at the close of the year 
 1833 I found myself more heavily burdened than ever 
 before with professional duties, editorial responsibilities, 
 and business demands and obligations incident to the 
 management of a printing office. Moreover, I had become 
 so involved financially by the transactions of the few 
 preceding months that I was obliged to resort to my 
 credit in order to keep the wheels of all the machinery 
 under my care in good working order. I learned thereby 
 how true was the saying " He who goeth a-borrowing 
 ■goeth a-sorrowing," but happily I neither then nor after- 
 ward broke my bond nor my word to any one to whom I 
 ■owed money, and 9o through life have 1 had all the 
 accommodation of the kind indicated that I needed. 
 
238 AUTO-BIOGRAPHY OF ADIN BALLOU. 
 
 The third volume of the Messenger closed with the year 
 specified. I had furnished many strong articles for its 
 columns, most of which I deem worthy of continued pres- 
 ervation. The controversy with the ultra-Universalis't 
 brethren was prosecuted with unabated vigor on my part, 
 and the dogma of endless punishment vas opposed with 
 some of the ablest argumentative expositions I ever 
 wrote. My own doctrine of Restorationism I defended 
 to my own satisfaction and that of my co-religionists, 
 against all classes of assailants, and carried on interest- 
 ing discussions with several doubting, but friendly 
 querists. 
 
 Among the articles alluded to above was a series near 
 the end of the year, in review of a then recently pub- 
 lished essay of H. J. Huidekoper, of Meadville, Pa., on 
 " The Final Destruction of the Wicked." The author 
 was a learned, able, and candid Unitarian layman, born 
 in Germany, but long a resident in this country and 
 thoroughly Americanized, and a most excellent man. He 
 was virtually the founder of the Unitarian society in the 
 place named, and of the theological school there, now so 
 widely known throughout the land. My friend, Bernard 
 Whitman, knowing that I had been a convert from 
 Destructionism to Restorationism, sent me a copy of the 
 essay, with an urgent request that I should examine and 
 answer it. I was glad to do so. When I had completed 
 my review, I mailed the numbers of my paper containing 
 it to Mr. Huidekoper, who, in due time, made a rejoin- 
 der, to which I in turn, replied. This discussion is 
 preserved with other published writings of mine, as else- 
 where stated. 
 
 During the same year, I was drawn into another 
 friendly argument with Rev. Jonathan Farr, of Harvard, 
 Jlass., an intelligent and amiable clergyman, also of the 
 Unitarian faith. It was upon the general subject of 
 Restorationism and its correlative doctrines, and was car- 
 ried on in the form of letters between us two, the opening^ 
 one having been written by him. A few passages from. 
 
RESPONSE TO REV. JONATHAN FARR. 239' 
 
 my reply to his original communication will indicate tlie 
 nature, drift, and spirit of the discussion, and so be of 
 interest to the thoughtful reader : 
 
 "Pei'mit me to say, kind sh-, that I am exceedingly glad to 
 find a Unitarian like yourself, at once well qualified by temper 
 and talent, and willing to meet the Eestorationists in a friendly 
 discussion of the principal points which hinder their fellowship 
 with the denomination you represent. It seems to be clear 
 either that the Eestorationists are carrying things too far, or 
 that their Unitarian brethren are not carrying them far enough. 
 (1) "You say, 'The proofs which you bring in favor of a 
 Final Restoration are very familiar to me. It may be preju- 
 dice, it may be ignorance, but still I am obliged to confess 
 that the passages (of Scripture) which are so frequently 
 adduced, do not to me seem to prove the doctrine in question. 
 It seems to me that the doctrine is nowhere plainly taught in 
 Scripture. From what I have read and heard on the subject, I 
 have supposed that many who embraced the doctrine considered 
 it rather one of inference than of revelation. It harmonized 
 with their benevolent feelings and with their views of the 
 goodness of God. I believe that many will own to you that 
 this doctrine, important as it is deemed, is nowhere clearly, 
 certainly, and directly taught in the gospel, and yet they 
 receive it as reflecting more honor on the character of God and 
 not inconsistent with his word.' 
 
 "I am willing to concede that some passages of Scripture 
 have been adduced in support of our doctrine, which, in my 
 judgment, have nothing to do with the subject. Can you tell 
 me of a single doctrine in your theology of which the same is 
 not true? Was there ever a cause so good as to avoid all 
 unworthy support? Now I am willing to concede that there- 
 are no passages of Scripture which declare in so many unequiv- 
 ocal words that all men will finally be restored to holiness and 
 happiness. But I contend that there are several striking pas- 
 sages which necessarily involve this meaning and which cannot 
 be explained consistently with the rules of just exegesis with- 
 out recognizing the support they give to our doctrine. I will 
 qiiote you three from St. Paul, who, as apostle to the Gentiles, 
 would, of all others, be most likely to inculcate the truth upon 
 the matter in question : ' For it pleased the Father that in Him' 
 should all fulness dwell; and having made peace through the 
 blood of His cross, by Him to reconcile all things unto Him- 
 self ; by Him, I say, whether they be things on earth or things 
 in Heaven.'— aoH. 1 : 19, 20. ' Wherefore, God hath also highly 
 exalted Him and given Him a name which is above every name ;. 
 
240 AUTO-BIOGRAPHY OF ADIN BALLOU. 
 
 that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things 
 in heaven and things in earth, and things under the earth ; and 
 that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to 
 the glory of God, the Father.'— P/u7. 2 : 9-11. ' Aud when all 
 things shall be subdued unto Him, then shall the Son also 
 himself be subject unto Him that put all things under Him, 
 that God may be all in all.'— i Cor. 13:38. 
 
 "If these passages do not involve the doctrine of Universal 
 Restoration, I grant it is not the doctrine of the Bible. I 
 could name many others, but will not cover too much ground. 
 These passages mean something. What is it? I have stated 
 in general terms what I think they mean ; you are confident 
 they mean something else. You will now franltly explain 
 what you think they mean. 
 
 " As to those Eestorationists to whom you allude as acknow- 
 ledging that our doctrine is not plainly revealed in the Scrip- 
 tures, but who hold it rather as an indirect inference from their 
 teachings, I think that either you have misunderstood what 
 they mean by the term inference, or else, like the blind man at 
 his first gaze, they ' see men as trees walking.' The light 
 shines upon them through a dense mist, but it will by-and-by 
 shine unobscured. I profess to regard the doctrine as essen- 
 tially a necessary inference — first, from several very remarkable 
 texts like those just quoted, to which I can give no tolerable 
 significance without it; and second, from the fundamental 
 truths of divine revelation, which cannot be carried out har- 
 moniously to any other result. I consider this sort of inference 
 the principal basis upon which the conclusions of human faith 
 are founded. It is the ground upon which, in nine cases out 
 of ten, civil, medical, and moral jurisprudence renders a ver- 
 dict. In everything but religion the common sense of mankind 
 is perfectly satisfied with this principle of attaining conclu- 
 sions. But here, strange to say, the generality of minds is 
 wholly unwilling to trust it. 
 
 " Ask one if God is benevolent, and he will say, ' Yes, God 
 is love.' Ask him if God loves all his human children, and he 
 will say, ' Yes.' Ask him if love seeks the highest good of 
 its object, and he will say, 'Yes.' Ask him if pure misery, 
 tending only to misery, is an evil to its subject, and he will 
 answer, 'Yes.' Ask him if misery, gradually increasing and 
 continuing to all eternity, would not be the greatest conceiva- 
 ble curse that one could experience, and his reply would be, 
 'Yes.' Ask him if perfect hatred could contrive a greater 
 curse, and he would admit that it could not. Then ask him if 
 the fact that ' God is love,' warrants the conclusion that he 
 will so govern the moral universe as to render all finally holy 
 
RESPONSE TO REV. MR. FARR. — CONTINUED. 241 
 
 and happy, and he will be off in a moment. He will see no 
 necessary connection between the premises and the conclusion 
 but will tell you at once that God has no mercy for sinners 
 except in this life; that all who die unsaved will be cast off 
 forever as to any regard of their Creator for their welfare, 
 and more likely than not will quote Scripture gravely to prove 
 that God has threatened all this. At least, he will call upon 
 you with an air of incredulity to prove from the Bible that 
 •God will not be malevolent after death; that he will not be 
 cruel, that He will not be unjust, that He will not be the 
 reverse of Himself, for it amounts to this. I have stood with 
 astonishment to hear men lay down and define all the first 
 principles of religion correctly, and then set themselves soberly 
 at work to prove that God, the author and upholder of those 
 principles, will so govern the universe as to violate every one 
 of thera. Tiiey will give just expositions of wisdom, benevo- 
 lence, justice and mercy; they will urge them very powerfully 
 upon the consciences of mankind ; they are almost sure to 
 decide upon the merits of human action agreeably to these 
 first principles of religion ; they revolt at. everything in human 
 laws and usages which looks like cruelty, injustice, malevo- 
 lence, etc. ; and yet, by holding the doctrine of endless pun- 
 ishment, they ascribe to the Almighty such horrible treatment 
 of His creatures as finds no parallel in the annals of mortal 
 tyranny and cruelty. Then, as if to cap the climax of incon- 
 sistency, they contend that this view of God's character and 
 government is the only one that will sustain vital religion and 
 save the world from utter moral corruption. What can be 
 done with so much strange inconsistency? The Eestorationists 
 have made up their minds : first, to rejoice in all the good that 
 men are doing, because good is from heaven and tends to 
 human happiness ; secondly, to labor with all their strength to 
 remove from the character of Jehovah every imputation which 
 tends to alienate the hearts of His creatures from Him, because 
 -they expect thereby to help forward the consummation of 
 universal holiness and bliss. 
 
 (2) "You say again, 'I should be glad if our brethren of 
 the Eestorationist denomination could feel justified in giving 
 their distinguishing doctrines a less conspicuous place — in 
 dwelling on them with less frequency, and in considering them 
 of less importance. They might insist on the doctrine of a 
 future righteous retribution, without defining the duration of 
 it, neither asserting nor denying its eternity in their daily 
 instruction.' 
 
 "In reply to this, I shall speak for myself and endeavor to 
 ■explain the principles by which I regulate my ministerial con 
 IG 
 
242 AUTO-BIOGRAPHY OF ADIN BALLOU. 
 
 duct. I consider it tlie great end of preaching to render meni 
 good that they may be happy. I regard all true moral good- 
 ness as divine — as learned and copied from God. When men 
 love with such love as God exercises — when they are just a& 
 God is just — when they are merciful as their Father in heaven 
 is merciful, then they are truly holy, truly good. Therefore I 
 propose God as the perfect exemplar, and call upon mankind 
 to strive with all their power to imitate Him. I tell them 
 that this is the only genuine holiness and the only method of 
 rendering themselves perfectly happy. 
 
 "Now, when I go forth to preach these truths, ini whiat con- 
 dition do I find the minds of ray fellow-men?- Are they 
 believers in a God whose example it will do for them to imi- 
 tate? Are they relieved of all notions of God which destroy 
 the perfection of His character? No; the reverse of this. 
 Trained from infancy to regard God as a great and terrible 
 being — an omnipotent despot, who seeks only His own glory 
 whatever becomes of His creatures, they have learned merely 
 that He nmst be obeyed, because He cannot be resisted. They 
 entertain.no just idea of a benignant Father, who has no glory 
 in view independent of the good and happiness of His child- 
 ren. They do not perceive that his parental solicitude for 
 their welfare led Him to lay on them the restraints of the moral 
 law ; that He commands, rewards, punishes, and does all things 
 ■which pertain to the administration of His moral government 
 out of love to His creation. No; their minds are enveloped 
 with a gross darkness which shuts out all the light of a truly 
 religious appeal to their hearts. That veil must be rent away. 
 That darkness must be dissipate'd, or there is no use in exhort- 
 ing them to be holy, as God is holy. 
 
 " Besides all this, when I go forth to my ministry, I find 
 my path hedged up before me. I find the most unjust preju- 
 dices against the truth as I understand it, reigning even in 
 good minds. People will not suffer me to l)e silent concerning 
 my peculiar views. Their religious teachers have set them all 
 awry in regard to my heresy. 1, therefore, upon entering the 
 obstructed field, must clear away the hindrances, and after pre- 
 paring men's hearts to feel the force of my preaching, bend 
 all my efforts to their enlightenment and reformation. I do 
 not then need to keep harping on the doctrine of final restora- 
 tion. I have made myself understood. My hearers know I 
 have discarded the doctrine of endless punishment and its con- 
 comitant notions. Then J can show them a perfect God at 
 the head of a perfect moral government, accomplishing by a 
 sure process perfect good. Then I can make them feel their 
 obligations to love and obey such a God. I can make them 
 
RESPONSE TO REV. MR. FARR. — CONCLUDED 243 
 
 understand that to be holy and happy, they must imitate this 
 God. I can make them perceive the magnitude and utter 
 inexcusableness of their guilt in disobeying this blessed Father 
 of all men. I can warn them with tears to repent, and, like 
 the prodigal, return to their Father's house. I can appeal to 
 them as their own judge, and ask them how dreadful a pun- 
 ishment they will deserve if they contemn such a gracious 
 Father's authority and counsels and mercies — if they abuse 
 the infinite kindness of this greatest and best friend, and 
 despise their own welfare. I can point them to the future and 
 show them that they have no promise of finding anything but 
 woe while they remain rebel sinners. They know that I do 
 not limit punishment to this life nor to any definite period in 
 the next, but leave all to the wisdom of our God, who will 
 punish neither too much nor too little, but render to every 
 man according to his deeds and moral needs. 
 
 "If this kind of preaching will not promote reformation of 
 character and extend the empire of holiness over the human 
 heart, my ministerial labor is vain. There are those who have 
 sat under Unitarian preaching — under that very preaching 
 which holds up a future retribution without either affirming or 
 denying its strict eternity — and which, of course, the common 
 mind regards as endless. These persons now sit under my 
 preaching. Ask them whether, with my final restoration all 
 understood, I do not preach as much punishment and make it 
 as much to be dreaded as the Unitarians. Still, I perceive 
 that many Unitarians hesitate to co-operate with me and my 
 brethren because they consider us as offering up strange Are- 
 as letting loose the restraints which they believe God has laid 
 in the fear of endless punishment. Well, let them act conscien- 
 tiously; we will not complain. Time will do us and our 
 sentiments justice. We are willing and anxious to meet all 
 Christians, however diffferent from us in opinion, on a level of 
 brotherly love, and while we claim and allow perfect freedom 
 in matters of faith, to treat them as we wish to be treated. 
 If we can have such fellowship and co-operation, we shall 
 rejoice, not as a sect, but as Christians. If we cannot have 
 such fellowship, we want none, for we are determined to be 
 entangled with no yoke of bondage, but to ' stand fast in the 
 liberty wherewith Christ has made us free.'" 
 
 Our controversy on these and kindred points was 
 carried on to considerable length in the Independent 
 Messenger, but, much as I desired it, nothing I wrote ever 
 appeared in the Unitarian publication where Mr. P^arr's 
 
244 AUTO-BIOGRAPHY OF ADIN BALLOU. 
 
 first letter to me was found. Probably it was deemed 
 impolitic by the "wise and prudent" manager of the 
 paper to agitate such a theme at that date, but the 
 denomination has since then gradually drifted out of its 
 qita>il indeflniteness into a more positive faith concerning 
 the final destiny of the wicked. 
 
 My object in quoting so largely from my argument in 
 this case is mainly to present a sample of the willing- 
 ness, frankness, and independence with which I have 
 always avowed and defended my convictions upon any 
 subject when fidelity to myself and to the truth demanded 
 it. I have seldom sought a public controversy with 
 tongue or pen, yet never shrank from one when it was 
 urged upon me. I have always believed in free discus- 
 sion, especially when the parties thereto had co-equal 
 rights and privileges, and have always been ready to give 
 a reason for the hope and faith I had espoused. 
 
 Another motive prompts me to quote so freelj' from 
 the columns of the Messenger, and that is to emphasize 
 anew my abhorrence of the doctrine of endless punish- 
 ment. This abhorrence does not arise chiefly from my 
 sense of the injustice, cruelty, and worse than useless 
 misery to which, it alleges, God will subject countless 
 hosts of His sinful creatures through all eternity, though 
 these are unspeakably horrible and revolting to me. 
 But it arises rather from the destructive falsification of 
 the Infinite Father's moral character which it necessarily 
 implies, and which, were it true, would render the Divine 
 Being unworthy of the reverence, homage, love, and imi- 
 tation of any rational, right-hearted, moral creature on 
 earth or in heaven. The doctrine blasphemes God, the 
 Father ; Christ, the Sou ; and the Holy Spirit of both. It 
 assails the foundation principles of the only religion which 
 seeks the universal highest good of all mankind. The 
 longer I live, the more profoundly 1 loathe and eschew 
 it. Many of its nominal adherents have been good men 
 and women, not by its influence, but by other influences 
 in spite of it ; and never one such loved it or prayed in 
 
DEFENDING THE FAITH. 246 
 
 accordance with it, or acted from its dictates in the 
 treatment of their fellow human beings. It has been 
 modified, softened down, jftid reduced to its mildest pos- 
 sibilities in later days by those who could not wholly 
 renounce it, but in doing this they have removed its 
 original foundations and prepared for its final overthrow. 
 Any form of it rests on a finality of incurable human 
 wickedness and woe, which a God of love and all beings 
 born of His spirit must forever deplore. It ought to 
 perish utterly from the faiths of men, and it will, 
 and the places that now know it will know it no more, 
 while the earth wheels in its circling orbit around 
 the sun. 
 
 While carrying on the friendly, argumentative cor- 
 respondence with Rev. Mr. Farr, my controversy with the 
 no-future-retributionists continued with unabated vigor. 
 My course in this matter seemed unaccountable to many 
 people in view of my well-known agreement with these 
 antagonists as opponents of the doctrine of endless sin 
 and misery. But I had my own distinctive faith (which 
 was exceedingly dear to me) to defend against the 
 attacks of both the ultra-Dniversalists and the champions 
 of the last named doctiine, who vied with each other in 
 treating that faith with misrepresentation, reproach, and 
 abuse, and in seeking its extermination. Therefore, my 
 hostility to both was justified, and I contended against 
 TDoth (not on personal grounds, but by reason of. my 
 abhorrence of the errors they maintained) conscientiously 
 and with unflinching resolution. Both preferred contro- 
 versy with each other rather than with the Restoration- 
 ists, open debate with whom on equal terms they 
 sedulously avoided, each seemingly conscious that more 
 was to be lost than gained thereby. They were both 
 brave to falsify and denounce Restorationism in private 
 circles and in pulpits and denominational organs, from 
 which all replies were uniformly excluded. Otherwise, 
 their policy was " to sit still," in their dignity and self- 
 satisfaction. 
 
246 AUTO-BIOGRAPHY OF ADIN BALLOU. 
 
 On the other hand, the Restorationists invited inquiry, 
 argument, and the most searching scrutiny of their posi- 
 tion and theories. They never* shunned debate, free dis- 
 cussion, public exposition and rejoinder, when oppor- 
 tunity occurred, deeming such means of upholding and 
 promulgating truth as not only laudable and effective, 
 but indispensable almost to tire progress and triumph of 
 their cause. As an exponent and promoter of that 
 cause, 1 desired nothing so much as a fair and open field 
 for canvassing pro and con all the important points at 
 issue between myself and those differing from me. Under 
 this prepossession, I kept the columns of the Independent 
 Mesaeuger always free to opponents of my distinctive 
 views, and to a full Ijearing on both sides of contro- 
 verted questions. But, as I have already stated, my frank 
 and friendly course in this respect was never reciprocated 
 on the part of any of my assailants or co-disputants. 
 
 In consequence of this artful policy pursued from the 
 beginning by my ultra-Universalist brethren, I was 
 tempted to deviate from the general rule of my life in 
 such matters, and to publish in my paper of Feb. 8, 
 1834, the following: 
 
 " CHALLENGE. 
 
 " ' Come, let us reason together.' Reverend fathers and 
 teachers in the Israel of Universalism: I believe what you dis- 
 believe — that the Holy Scriptures teach the doctrine of future 
 righteous retribution. You consider my belief a relic of 
 heathenism ; I consider your disbelief a species of anti-Chris- 
 tian skepticism. A great controversy has commenced and will 
 be prosecuted to an issue between yourselves and those who 
 hold, with me, the doctrine of future retribution. Thousands 
 of people need to be enlightened on the subject who cannot be 
 induced to plod through the pages of elaborate works, but 
 who would, nevertheless, be interested in an investigation car- 
 ried on in the way of a public oral discussion. Now, therefore, 
 I invite you to a friendly debate of the following question :— 
 ' Do the Holy S'-riptures teach the doctrine of future rewards and 
 punishments?' And I respectfully propose the following terms 
 of arrangement, viz : 
 
 '• (1) The discussion to be holden in some commodious hall or 
 edifice n the city of Boston. 
 
CHALLENGE ISSUED AND ACCEPTED; 247 
 
 *' (2) Thirty days' notice of its commencement to be given 
 in the public papers. 
 
 " (3) Three moderators to preside, with full power to enforce 
 the most wholesome and approved rules of debate, the parties 
 respectively choosing one moderator each, and these two the 
 third. 
 
 " (4) In the affirmative of the question, myself alone ; in the 
 negative, as many of your clergymen as you please. 
 
 " (5) The parties to occupj' alternately thirty minutes space 
 of speech. 
 
 " (6) Two experienced reporters to be employed, with full 
 instructions to prepare for the press a faithful report of the 
 whole discussion, as nearly verbatim as possible, without sub- 
 mitting any part thereof to the previous inspection of the 
 disputants or any other persons. 
 
 " (7) The debate to" commence on Tuesdaj' and be continued, 
 w^ith suitable intermissions, till the close of Friday; and so on 
 from week to week till the parties are mutually willing to 
 terminate it, or till one of them shall absolutely decline its 
 further prosecution. 
 
 '' (8) All expenses properly incidental to the discussion (time, 
 labor, and mere personal expense excepted), and all income 
 arising from the sale of the Eeport, if any, to be equally 
 shared by the parties. 
 
 " (9) The printing of the Report, whether by the affirmative 
 or negative party," to be decided by lot, under the direction of 
 the moderators. 
 
 " All which is respectfully submitted, with the humble hope 
 that you will accept my Invitation, proposals, and terms ; and 
 that by a friendly, fair, and full discussion of the question at 
 issue, we may mutually contribute to enlighten and satisfy 
 many thousand inquiring minds. 
 
 " Adin Ballou." 
 
 Two days after the publication of this challenge, I 
 received a letter from Rev. Daniel D. Smith, accepting 
 it on condition that the form of the question be so 
 changed as to read : ' ' Do the Scriptures teach the doctrine 
 that men will he punished and rewarded subsequently to 
 this lif^ (or after death) for the deeds done in this life ? " 
 The writer also suggested the wisdom of having but one 
 reporter instead of two, in order to reduce the expenses 
 to the lowest possible figure. The letter was cordial, 
 respectful, and friendly, and solicited an early response. 
 
248 AUTO-BIOGRAPHY OF ADIN BALLOU. 
 
 I replied at once, saying tliat I was liappy to receive 
 tlie acceptance of my challenge provided a specified 
 change could be made in the wording of the question for 
 discussion, to which change I cheerfully consented. I 
 also yielded to my friend's proposition that but otie 
 reporter be employed, if we could find a person compe- 
 tent to fill the position. I furthermore, %,t his sugges- 
 tion, named Tuesday, the 18th of March following, as 
 the time for commeuciug the discussion, the place to be 
 determined and made known at a later date. 
 
 So far everything was satisfactory and promised well 
 for the fulfilment of my fondly-cherished desire. Shortly 
 afterward, the standing committee of the First Universal- 
 ist society of Boston generously tendered the disputants 
 the free iise of their church edifice on Hanover street, 
 which offer was gratefully accepted. Other arrangements 
 were speedily completed. Rev. Bernard Whitman con- 
 sented to act as my moderator, Rev. Linus Everett as 
 Mr. Smith's, and by their agreement Rev. Joshua V. 
 Himes was the third, who was to occupy the position of 
 chairman. The sei-vices of Richard Hildreth, Esq. of 
 Boston, as reporter were happily secured, and everything 
 was ready for the fray. 
 
 The discussion opened at 9 o'clock a. m. on Tuesday, 
 March 18th, and closed on Thursday, March 20th, about 
 5 o'clock p. M, having been held for three successive 
 days with two sessions per day of three hours each — in 
 all six sessions or eighteen hours. Of its character and 
 progress from beginning to end, 1 gave a description 
 and estimate from my standpoint in the issue of the Mes- 
 senger for March 29 Lh, which 1 still believe to be truthful 
 and just. I will not reproduce the article here, but refer 
 the reader to the preserved files of the paper in which it 
 appeared. • 
 
 I may, however, observe that the discussion, so far as 
 my own side was concerned, gave me unqualified and 
 grateful satisfaction, as it did also the friends of the ' 
 doctrine which I sought to vindicate and maintain. My 
 
DISCUSSION WITH REV. DANIEL D. SMITH. 24& 
 
 R«storatiouist brethren were enthusiastic in their com- 
 mendation of my labors, and manifested their appreciation 
 of what I had achieved for the cause of truth by pre- 
 senting me on Thursday evening after the debate was con- 
 cluded "Dr. Adam Clarke's complete Commentary upon 
 tlie Scriptures, "jin six large, handsomely bound volumes. 
 
 As to my antagonist, I would state that although 
 several Universalist clergymen disclaimed having coun- 
 seled or encouraged him to enter the arena with me, yet 
 he deserves the thanks of all Restorationists for doing 
 so. He certainly thereby gave evidence of being an hon- 
 est man in the matter, and though saying some things 
 he probably afterwards had occasion to regret, yet I 
 believe he did as well on the whole for his cause as any 
 of his older and more experienced brethren could have 
 done. If he made a poor flght of it, the fault was in 
 his cause, and not in his lack of ability. In general he 
 was calm and dispassionate, and preserved a respectful 
 bearing. It was predicted, report said, that the dis- 
 putants would soon lose their temper, become greatly 
 irritated with each other, and finally outrageous. These 
 prophecies, like many others of a like nature, did not 
 come to pass. Alas, for the prophets ! 
 
 The debate went on smoothly and in good order, with 
 little hesitation or incoherency, during the first two days, 
 but during the forenoon of the third day Mr. Smith 
 showed signs of being weary of it and of wishing it 
 were at an end. He complainingly remarked that he did 
 not know but his opponent intended to keep him there 
 till his locks were gray with age. 1 had compassion for 
 him and when at noon some of his friends proposed to 
 close the discussion with the afternoon session, I agreed 
 to conclude my argument, if possible, before night, leav- 
 ing it optional whether or not we should meet again the 
 following day. He decided against doing so and the end 
 came accordingly. , 
 
 The conduct of Mr. Himes, who presided at all the 
 sessions, and of our friend, Mr. Whitman, was such as 
 
250 AUTO-BIOGRAPHr OF ADIN BALLOU. 
 
 became the dignity and responsibility of their position. 
 With that of Mr. Everett, the moderator chosen by my 
 opponent, I was not so well pleased. His manifest parti- 
 sanship and desire for the success of his side of the 
 case were apparent and provoked not a little unfavorable 
 comment. As to the audience that listened to the dis- 
 •cussiou, it was respectable in numbers, general appearance, 
 and deportment, throughout. Those comprising it were 
 evidently interested in the subject under consideration and 
 gave both the disputants candid, thoughtful, earnest 
 attention. Everything in this particular was satisfactory 
 and gratifying. 
 
 The lot to print the report of this affair fell to me, 
 -and an edition of 5000 copies in pamphlet form was 
 mutually agreed upon and ordered. In due time it was 
 issued, making an octavo work of 86 pages, and offered 
 to the public. The Universalists did nothing to promote 
 its circulation, but, on the contrary, all they could to 
 discourage it. Their journals took no pains to advertise 
 it and never recommended their patrons to read it, that 
 they might be informed in I'egard to the merits of the 
 discussion or to the nature and force of the arguments 
 on either side of the question at issue. Even my co-equal 
 disputant, Mr. Smith, notwithstanding the definite terms 
 on which we entered the field of conflict, when he found 
 that the report was not likely to redound to the honor 
 and glory of himself and his cause, slunk dishonorably 
 out of his engagements, refused to bear liis equal share 
 of the burden of disposing of the work, and to crown all 
 left me to shoulder nearly all the pecuniary cost of the 
 undertaking, including the expense of its publication and 
 tlie payment of Mr. Hildreth's large bill for reportorial 
 labors. I bore the wrong patiently, met all incurred 
 obligations as soon as I was able, scattered copies of the 
 pamphlet often gratuitously up and down the country, my 
 Restorationist associaties and sympathizers co-operating 
 witli me in this distribution. What I lost in dollars and 
 cents, I gained in a knowledge of no- future-retribution 
 
INCIDENTAL OCCURRENCES. 251 
 
 ethics, in the later satisfaction of learning that the leaders 
 of "the order" were convinced that nothing could be 
 gained for their ism by denouncing Restorationism and 
 suppressing free discussion, and finally in seeing their 
 peculiar dogma give way in their own denomination to 
 the faith it was my privilege and duty to uphold, 
 disseminate, and help to make perpetual among men. 
 
 But few additional events occurred during the then cur- 
 rent year worthy of mention. I was present at several 
 ecclesiastical convocations, such as are likely to be held 
 at irregular intervals under the general administration of 
 the affairs of a Christian denomination, participating 
 more or less in the public exercises incident to them. 
 Among these was the meeting of the Providence Associa- 
 tion in Westminster, Mass., on the 11th and 12th of 
 September. At that gathering, Brother Hudson's house 
 ■of worship, which had been removed from its original 
 site a mile and a half away to the central village and 
 thoroughly renovated, was dedicated anew with appro- 
 priate services. On the same occasion Brother Edwin 
 M. Stone, a native of Beverly, was ordained as a Chris- 
 tian minister and an evangelist of our Reslorationist 
 faith. He continued in our fellowship until the disband- 
 ment of the Massachusetts Restorationist Association in 
 1841, then entered the Unitarian denomination, under 
 whose auspices he labored acceptably as pastor in various 
 places, — the last years of his life being devoted to the 
 work of the " Ministry-at-Large " in Providence, R. I., 
 in which he rendered most important service. 
 
 On the 26th of the same month I again officiated as 
 chaplain at a regimental muster in Uxbridge ; the last 
 time, if I remember rightly, that I appeared before the 
 public in that capacity, though it was some years later 
 that I became a convert to peace principles and received 
 my official discharge. I dined, as was customarj', with 
 the officers: — Col. Peter Corbett, Lieut-Col. Horace Emer- 
 son, Major Putnam W. Taft, etc., at several of whose 
 funerals I subsequently ministered. Having at that time 
 
252 AUTO-BIOGBAPHY OF ADIN BALLOU. 
 
 become a devoted temperance man and so keenly observ- 
 ant of the evils of intemperance, I was enabled to see 
 how many of the numerous attendants, as usually is the 
 case on such occasions, needed salvation from inordinate 
 artificial appetites and bad habits engendered thereby. I 
 had been diligent in this field of reform for some time 
 and measurably successful, but the field was of vast 
 extent and I had gathered only a few sheaves into the 
 granary of redemption. 
 
CHAPTEE XIV. 
 
 1834-1836. 
 
 IEdmund Capron — Temperance Work — Deaths — Omega 
 OF Controversy — Eev. Mr. Apthorp. 
 
 TN entering upon the thirty-second year of my life, I 
 -*- found myself charged with extraordinary labors, cares. 
 And responsibilities. In addition to those usually incum- 
 bent upon one occupying the position I did in the general 
 community as a minister of the gospel and an expositor 
 of divine truth, I had on my liands the entire proprietor- 
 ship of the Independent Messenger printing establishment, 
 the oversight of its weekly publication, its sole editorial 
 management, and just at this time, the special burden of 
 getting oxit 5000 copies of the Boston Discussion Report. 
 Moreover, in order to render myself still further useful 
 to our Eestorationist cause, I received into my family 
 and under my tuition, another theological student. Brother 
 Edmund Capron, a very worthy and promising young 
 man, anxious to devote himself to the work of the Chris- 
 tian ministry under the auspices of the Massachusetts 
 Association. He was an earnest, faithful student, and 
 successful in his endeavors to qualify himself for his 
 chosen vocation. He remained with me until he had 
 essentially completed the course of instruction requisite 
 therefor — some two or more years. 
 
 The files of the fourth volume of the Messenger, then 
 •being issued under my sole care and supervision, bear 
 witness to the industry, vigor, and zeal with which I 
 continued to expound the doctrine of Universal Eestora- 
 
254 AUTO-BIOGRAPHY OF ADIN BALLOU. 
 
 tion, and defend it against all classes of assailapts. I 
 had still the leading Universalists of the ultra school to- 
 combat on the one hand, and the dogmatic champions of 
 endless inmishment on the other. Among the latter with 
 whom I measured swords were such notables ' as Rev. 
 Dr. Nathaniel W. Taylor, of New School Divinity fame; 
 Eev. Dr. Bennett Tyler, of Old School Divinity fame ; and 
 President Charles G. Finney, D. D., of Oberlin Seminary. 
 My opponents of this class had the great advantage 
 over me of access to many journals through which to 
 reach the public, all closed against me, and of a vast 
 multitude of sympathizing partisans ; while I had but one 
 small paper of limited circulation, with comparatively few 
 supporters. But I had the strong consciousness and 
 assurance that 1 was the advocate of divine truths 
 which must at last prevail, and I wrote and wrought 
 accordingly. 
 
 I had at this time become actively engaged in temper- 
 ance work, delivering lectures at numerous points and 
 attending meetings and conventions held in the same 
 behalf. I also attended ecclesiastical gatherings, taking 
 part in several, some of which were noteworthy by reason 
 of the prominence in the religious world subsequently 
 attained by the principal participants. I take the liberty 
 of mentioning a few of these. 
 
 On the 14th of May, 1834, 1 was present at the 
 installation of Rev. Orestes A. Brownson, as pastor of 
 the First Congregational church and society in Canton, 
 Mass., in the exercises of which I had been assigned an 
 important part. The council was composed mostly of 
 members of the Unitarian denomination, the sej'mon being 
 preached by Rev. George Ripley of Boston, from Heb. 
 13 : 8 : " Jesus Christ, the same yesterday, today, and 
 forever." Mr. Brownson was a ripe scholar, an able 
 preacher, and a writer of rare ability. But in theology, 
 metaphysics, ethics, and ecclesiasticism, his convictions,, 
 positions, and associations underwent strange vicissitudes. 
 Soon after his settlement at Canton, he became a Tran- 
 
MINISTEKIAL SETTLEMENTS. 26& 
 
 seendentalist, subsequently espousing the " Workingmen's 
 Movement" (of which he was for awhile a distinguished 
 champion), and later went over to the Roman Catholic 
 church, resting there from his religio-philosophical jpur- 
 neyings, and rising to eminence as the author of several 
 works devoted chiefly to the defence of the doctrines ^ 
 -polity, and traditions of the papal hierarchy. Rev. Mr. 
 Ripley afterwards acquired a wide notoriety as the 
 leader of the "Brook Farm" community, and later still, 
 as literary editor for a generation of the New York 
 Tribune. 
 
 The installation of Rev. Philemon R. Russell as pastor 
 of the Liberal Congregational church and society of West 
 Boylston, occurred on the 24th of May, the council con- 
 sisting equally of Unitarians and Restorationists. The 
 Restorationists having part in the proceedings were Rev. 
 Paul Dean of Boston, who preached the sermon; Rev.. 
 Seth Chandler of Oxford, and myself, who gave the 
 chai'ge ; the Unitarians were Rev. Joseph Allen of North- 
 borough ; Rev. Mr. Osgood of Sterling ; Rev. John 
 Goldsbury of Hardwick ; and Rev. Ebenezer Robinson 
 of Hubbardston. Mr. Russell was a zealous, enthusiastic 
 man, with considerable natural and acquired ability, and 
 much executive push. But his pastorates among us, of 
 which there were several, were all brief. Either he did 
 not wear well, or was himself a lover of change. After 
 a time he left our body and joined the ' ' Christian Con- 
 nexion." Later, he espoused " Second Adventism," 
 becoming its ardent advocate. When that illusion sub- 
 sided, he abandoned the pulpit and rostrum, devoting 
 himself thereafter to secular pursuits, in which he 
 acquired a handsome property, ending his days at length 
 in comparative wealth. 
 
 On "Wednesday, June 18th, Brother David R. Lamson 
 was ordained and installed pastor of the First church 
 and society in Bernn, Mass., with a union council as 
 before. Rev. Joseph Allen of Northborough, delivered 
 the sermon, and Rev. Charles Hudson of Westminster,. 
 
256 AUTO-BIOGRAPHY OF ADIN BALLOU. 
 
 gave the charge. Of Mr. Lamson's ability, character, 
 and life career, I shall have occasion to speak at a later 
 period of this narrative. 
 
 Another union installation oceured a week later, June 
 25th, when Eev. William Morse, recently of Quincy, was 
 inducted into the office of pastor of the Second Congre- 
 gational parish in Marlborough, Mass. I officiated in 
 the opening exercises ; Rev. James Walker of Charles- 
 town preached the sermon ; Rev. Paul Dean offered the 
 Conseeratory Prayer ; Rev. Joseph Allen gave the Charge ; 
 Rev. Charles Hudson extended the Right Hand of Fellow- 
 ship ; Rev. Isaac Allen of Bolton addressed the society ; 
 and Rev. Mr. Sweet of Southborough made the final 
 prayer. A fine day, harmonious communion of souls, 
 able and impressive services, hospitable entertainment, 
 and all the incidents of the occasion remarkably pleasant. 
 Mr. Morse was well qualified for his office in all respects 
 and had a satisfactory pastorate in Marlborough of ten 
 years. He was subsequently settled in Tyngsborough and 
 afterwards supplied in Chelmsford, going thence to Frank- 
 lin, N. H., where he finally departed this life at the ripe 
 age of more than fourscore years. 
 
 I participated in one other ordination during the year 
 1834, that of Rev. Richard Stone at West Bridgewater, 
 Mass., on the 20th of August. I was the only Restora- 
 tionist member of the council, being invited through the 
 influence of several lay friends in the parish, all the others 
 being Unitarians. The introductory prayer was offered 
 by me ; Rev. Jason Whitman, brother of my dear friend. 
 Rev. Bernard Whitman, and secretary of the American 
 Unitarian Association, delivered the sermon, and neigh- 
 boring Unitarian clergymen took the several other parts, — 
 all the exercises passing off pleasantly and auspiciously. 
 The semi-annual meeting of the Massachusetts Restora- 
 tionist Association was held* at Attleborough, on the 
 10th and 11th of September. Twelve of our ministerial 
 fellowship were present, seven of whom preached durino- 
 the several sessions of the convocation, which closed with 
 
DEATH OF REV. BERNARD WHITMAN. 257 
 
 ■great solemnity and sanctifying impressiveness by the 
 administration of the ordinance of the Lord's Supper. 
 An affecting incident of this gathering was the mutual 
 farewell interchanged with our beloved brother, Nathaniel 
 Wright, for some years secretary of the body, who had 
 just closed his Attleborough pastorate and was about to 
 remove to the far-off West. A testimonial of personal 
 ^nd professional regard for him was presented by Eev. 
 Brother Dean, and adopted with hearty unanimity. 
 Brother Wright spent the remainder of his earthly life in 
 the town of Tremont, 111., where he soon after located, 
 and rarely made visits to his native state. How long or 
 liow successfully he prosecuted the work of the ministry 
 in his new home I am not informed, but remember that 
 later in life he was drawn into secular pursuits, attaining 
 therein considerable success. 
 
 Death of Bev. Bernard Whitman. This faithful minister 
 of Christ, this child of God and brother of man, this 
 eminent champion of Christian liberty, truth, justice, and 
 •charity, this uncompromising opponent of bigotry, pseudo- 
 liberality, and infidelity, passed through the shadow of 
 •death to the realm of the immortals on \A^ednesdaj', 
 Nov. 6, 1834, at the meridian age of 38 years, 4 months, 
 and 27 days. He was the thirteenth child of Deacon 
 John Whitman, of East Bridgewater, Mass., who lived to 
 be 103 years old. Though he inherited a strong consti- 
 tution from his father, yet by overwork and exposure his 
 native energies became early enfeebled, and he fell a 
 ^^ctim to consumption, which resulted fatally, after several 
 months of suffering decline, in his pastoral home at Wal- 
 tham, Mass. Hewing his way through a forest of diffi- 
 culties up^to a well-equipped manhood, he had been an 
 indomitable worker for religion and human progress, and 
 had devised a host of plans for future usefulness which 
 he longed to carry into effect ; yet he bore his wasting 
 sickness with Christian meekness and resignation, pass- 
 ing peacefully away from earth and leaving behind an 
 -admirable example of patient faith and of triumphant 
 17 
 
258 AUTO-BIOGRAPHY OF ADIN BALLOU. 
 
 assurance of a welcome to the angelic mansions. Whether- 
 I regarded him as a personal friend, as a sympathizer- 
 with our Restorationist movement, or with reference to 
 those public relationships which he sustained with honor 
 to himself and spiritual profit to mankind, I felt it a. 
 sacred privilege to rank myself among his mourners and 
 to welcome to the columns of the paper under my charge- 
 at the time numerous commemorative obituary testimonies 
 celebrating his translation to the higher life. 
 
 Notable Family Bereavements. Two deaths in our respect- 
 ive domestic circles threw their shadows across tiie 
 threshold of our home during the closing month of this, 
 year (1834). The first was that of an estimable and 
 noble-hearted sister of my wife, occurring on the second 
 day of December ; the other that of my beloved and 
 revered mother, which took place on the 27th. The Inde- 
 pendent Messenger paid tender and affectionate tribute to 
 each of them in turn as follows : 
 
 " In Milford, on the 2d inst., after a distressing illness of 
 several months. Miss Chloe Albee, daughter of Pearley Hunt, 
 Esq., in the 20th year of her age. Under this bereavement, the 
 surviving family mourn the loss of a most worthy, kind-hearted, 
 and estimable daughter and sister. Endowed with those better 
 feelings which adorn human nature, the deceased endeared her- 
 self most to those who knew her best. She was rich in the 
 noblest of social affections and virtues. To sympathize with, 
 and aid others and render them happy by helpful ministrations, 
 was her delight. She has vacated a sphere of kindness in the 
 midst of her family connections which they will long contem- 
 plate -with sincere grief. She leaves many friends, too, and no 
 enemies in the youthful circle in which she was accustomed to 
 move. They will all miss one from their number who was 
 among the first in that substantial worth which ensured lasting 
 esteem," etc. 
 
 "In Cumberland, 1{. I., on the 27th ult., after a prostrating 
 Illness of eight days, Mrs. Edilda Ballou, wife of Deacon Ariel- 
 Ballou and mother of the editor of this paper, in the G4th 
 year of her age. Though this obituary notice is inscribed by 
 the hand of filial affection, let it not be regarded as the exag- 
 geration of bereaved fondness. It registers in general terms 
 the excellence of a woman mourned by all who knew her as 
 ' full of good works and almsdeeds.' Her memory challenges. 
 
TRIBUTE OF FILIAL AFFECTION. 259 
 
 not the honors rendered those who have moved in the fash- 
 ionable walks of life. She was born and bred in the midst of 
 the constant domestic cares belonging to the household of a 
 New England farmer. Her mind, gifted with sound native 
 sense and a strong thirst for improvement, was always 
 restricted to scanty means, and, of course, gathered up only 
 the fragments of general knowledge. These she employed to 
 the great end for which she lived, the happiness of those 
 around her. Here centered the distinguished virtues that 
 adorned her character. She was naturally kind, sympathetic^ 
 generous, unassuming; by Christian grace eminently contrite^ 
 devout, meek, and charitable. She had that mind which was 
 in Christ Jesus — the mind that sees itself largely in others, 
 which loves to serve rather than be served, to give rather 
 than receive, to suffer rather than see others suffer ; which places 
 its own chief good, glory, and happiness in the welfare of 
 others. Poverty, sickness, sorrow, and misfortune never 
 appealed to her in vain. Without the least seeming desire to 
 show herself, she fed the hungry, clothed the naked, visited 
 the sick, entertained the stranger, comforted the despondent, 
 and pitied all the unhappy. Her religion and morality were of 
 the same stamp. 
 
 "The good she loved of every name. 
 And prayed for all mankind." 
 
 The death of my mother was soon followed by a gen- 
 eral settlement of my father's estate. He was too old 
 and infirm to bear the burden of managing his large 
 farm, especially now that his faithful companion had 
 passed away. So he summoned his three sons to the 
 parental liome and desired them to come to some terms 
 of agreement satisfactory to all concerned. We met, 
 conferred with each other and with hirh, and soon 
 arrived at an amicable understanding. Whereupon, spe- 
 cific legal writings were drawn and in due time executed. 
 
 Another important change in matters of interest to me 
 occurred about the same time. I had assumed duties 
 and obligations which I learned were too onerous for me 
 to bear for a great length of time, and some kind of 
 relief was not only desirable biit absolutely necessary. 
 After careful deliberation, I concluded to unload myself 
 essentially of the burden of the Independent Messenger, 
 
260 AUTO-BIOGRAPHY OF ADIN BALEOU, 
 
 the entire responsibility of wMcli, pecuniary, editorial, 
 managemental, etc., rested upon me. And as a practi- 
 ■cable way out of the difficulties besetting me, I conceived 
 the project of making the proprietorship of the paper and 
 its correlative printing-house a joint stock concern, and 
 •of distributing the labor of furnishing matter for its 
 columns among a staff of editors. Having duly digested 
 the plan and brought it into proper form, I announced 
 it to the public and appealed earnestly to my clerical 
 and lay brethren to aid me in adopting it and in carry- 
 ing it out to a successful issue. They responded 
 promptly and cheerfully, and a joint stock company was 
 soon organized. Rev. Paul Dean (whom I always found 
 to be the soul of honor in such emergencies) taking the 
 leading part in the contemplated enterprise. About the 
 middle of March, 1835, circumstances under the new 
 arrangement rendered it expedient to remove the Messen- 
 ger and its appurtenances and belongings ouce more to 
 Boston, the reasons for which, with sufficiency of detail, 
 were given to the public in its issue of the 14th of the 
 mouth. Thenceforward, it was published at the corner of 
 Tremont (Court) and Howard streets, its printing and 
 the general supervision of all business matters pertaining 
 to it being entrusted to Messrs. H. B. and J. Brewster. 
 Its editorial staff was Rev. Paul Dean, resident editor ; 
 Revs. Charles Hudson, William Morse, Philemon R. Rus- 
 sell, and Adin Ballon, correspoudiug editors. 
 
 For greater convenience and comfort to myself and 
 family, I, in the spring of 1835, relinquished the tene- 
 ment we had occupied since coming to Mendou four 
 years before, which was quite out of the village, and 
 hired what was then known as the Dr. Thayer house, at 
 the very heart of the town, where we remained for seven 
 years, or until I closed my official labors with the First 
 church and society there. The location and interual 
 arrangements of the building were much more pleasant 
 than those we vacated and much better suited to the 
 needs and circumstances of a clergyman's household. 
 
RELIGIOUS GATHERINGS IN 1835. 261 
 
 Several public occasions occurring during the j'ear 1835 
 in whicli I was a more or less active participant, are 
 worthy of brief mention. The first was the dedication, 
 January 13, of the new, commodious, and elegant 
 church edifice of the First Congregational parish in 
 Uxbridge, Rev. Samuel Clarke, pastor. The day was 
 charming and a large congregation attended the services. 
 The sermon was by Mr. Clarke, with a text from 
 Exodus, 12:26: "What mean ye by this service?" The 
 venerable Aaron Bancroft, D. D., of Worcester, offered 
 the prayer of dedication. Everything passed off harmoni- 
 ously, pleasantly, and auspiciously. The officiating 
 clergymen, with the single exception of myself, were of 
 the distinctively Unitarian faith. 
 
 I shall do little more than make note of the several 
 -convocations of our Restorationist brethren during this 
 year (1835), without entering much into details concern- 
 ing those participating in them, the exercises, etc. The 
 first was a special conference held in Mendon on the 
 7th and 8th of May. In addition to the usual public 
 religious exercises, there were sessions of a semi-business 
 character, at which affairs pertaining to the Independent 
 Messenger transfer were canvassed and adjusted. Brother 
 Dean, in his editorial comments on the meeting, charac- 
 terized its religious features as "happily calculated to 
 excite and perpetuate a healthy tone of devotional feel- 
 ing." On the 3d and 4th of June, the annual meeting 
 of the Providence Association took place at Providence, 
 E. I., a full attendance of ministers and laymen being 
 present. Important business was transacted, interesting 
 and impressive religious services, including the administra- 
 tion of the Lord's Supper, were held, to the edification 
 and spiritual profit of the participants. The Massachusetts 
 Restorationist Association met at East Medway, Septem- 
 ber 2d and 3d, the occasional sermon being delivered by 
 Rev. Lyman Maynard, then of ' Amherst, N. H., from 
 2 Cor. 4:42: "Therefore, seeing we have this ministry, 
 as we have received mercy, we faint not ; but have 
 
262 AUTO-BIOGRAPHY OF ADIN BALLOU. 
 
 renounced the hidden things of dishonesty, not walking in 
 craftiness, nor handling the word of God deceitfully ; but 
 by manifestation of the truth, commending ourselves to 
 every man's conscience in the sight of God." A special 
 sermon was preached by myself from Acts 3:19: 
 " Repent ye therefore, and be converted," etc. Rev. 
 Orestes A. Brownsou, before spoken of, was present and 
 took an active part in the exercises of the occasion. An 
 interesting feature of one session was the approbation 
 and reception, as members of the body, of four young 
 ministers — William H. Fish, Edmund Capron, George 
 W. Stacey, Heury B. Brewster — the first and third of 
 whom were long and successfully engaged in the work to 
 which they were then consecrated.- 
 
 The controversy with our ultra Universalist brethren 
 was prosecuted vigorously by me till February 7 of this 
 year, when I voluntarily closed it, so far as the public 
 press was concerned. My determination (which was 
 arrived at after a careful survey of the whole matter) I 
 announced through the columns of the Messenger in an 
 article entitled " Omega," some extracts from which 1 
 submit to my present readers : 
 
 '' Omega, the last letter of the Greek alphabet, was anciently 
 employed to denote the end of any n)atter or thing. And I 
 use the word to indicate that with this writing I terminate all 
 newspaper controversy on my part with Universalist editors 
 and their adherents, relating to tlie doctrine of future retribu- 
 tion. My opinions and feelings in respect to that subject are 
 well known. My stand has been taken ; ray testimony has 
 been recorded ; my course for the future is marked out. I am 
 inflexible. 
 
 " As I have believed, so have I spolien. I have opposed 
 what is called Universalism as now interpreted with an inde- 
 fatigable and uncompromising zeal. I have challenged its 
 advocates to discussion and met them whenever I had an 
 opportunity. I have reasoned against, repelled, and contro- 
 verted whatever in Universalist doctrine, spirit, or practice, I 
 deemed essentially erroneoas. I have regarded, and still regard, 
 their prominent tenets, their style of preaching and writing, 
 their tone of feeling towards other denominations, and the 
 general drift of their sectarian policy, hostile to genuine Chris- 
 
CHANGES IN UNITERSALISM. 263 
 
 tianity. If I am wrong in this, God enlighten and forgive me. 
 " But while there is a time to speak and to act, there is 
 also a time to pause, to be silent, to cease from contending, 
 even for ' the faith once delivered to the saints.' After one 
 lias said and done enough in the way of opposition and 
 reproof, after he has been wrongfully accused, without stint 
 ■or limit, and conjured again and again to let the subjects of 
 his reprobation alone, it is time to suspend his labors and 
 leave his antagonists to themselves. I feel that such a time 
 has come with me in relation to the leaders of the Universalist 
 'denomination. They may believe, write, publish, manage, in 
 their own way. But from me, so far as concerns newspaper 
 ■controversy, they shall hear no more. The residue of my life 
 shall be devoted to other matters. 
 
 So I thenceforth let them alone. What was the sequel? 
 A notable change in a few years began to take place in 
 the doctrines, spirit, preaching, writing, and general 
 policy of the denomination, ultimating in a complete 
 revolution in regard to every one of the points at issue 
 at the time of the Restorationist secession and subse- 
 ■quent controversy. There was a radical reform both in 
 theory and practice, which saved the denomination from 
 its downwa^rd trend and led it upward and onward to its 
 present condition of commendable excellence, usefulness, 
 and prosperity. If its leaders in 1830 had stood where 
 their successors now do, as evidenced by the action of 
 the Universalist ministers of Boston and vicinity in 1878, 
 there would have been no secession and no controversy. 
 
 But though my warfare with my Universalist brethren 
 had come to an end, it was not so with that carried on 
 between me and the advocates of endless punishment. 
 That continued without abatement. My antagonists 
 were numerous, persistent, and unrelenting. They repre- 
 sented the great mass of the nominal Christian church 
 in all its popular denominations. To Restorationism they 
 were unanimously and implacably opposed and neither 
 truce nor quarter was to be expected from them. They 
 were sincere and believed they were doing God service 
 in trying to crush out what they regarded as a great 
 heresy. But I was no less sincere and as confident and 
 
264 AUTO-BIOGRAPHY OF ADIN BALLOU. 
 
 determined as they. They had great external advantages 
 over me, but I had one condition of success not shared 
 by them ; I understood both sides of the question between 
 us. I had been through the mill of investigation thor- 
 oughly aud knew all the arguments they could command. 
 In fact, I could defend their case at any moment as- 
 well or better than themselves, but they knew not the- 
 strength of Eestorationism till discussion revealed it to- 
 them, — sometimes to their manifest confusion. So this- 
 particular conflict went on from month to mouth, through 
 the columns of the Messenger, through written correspond- 
 ence, through sermons, special lectures, personal con- 
 versation, and public oral debate. 
 
 An instance of the last named method occurred in my- 
 own town. Rev. W. P. Apthorp, provisional minister of" 
 the "North Mendon Congregational church" (orthodox),, 
 deemed it his duty to attempt the conversion and salva- 
 tion of some of my deluded(?) hearers by visiting,, 
 catechising, and warning them against my dangerous 
 views. On the street and in their houses, he improved 
 convenient opportunities of pushiug his crusade. He was 
 not a man of large mental or moral caliber, but made up. 
 for other deficiencies by zeal and self-assurance. He had 
 a professional outfit of theological scholarship after the 
 fashion of his sect, was thoroughly imbued with the 
 animus of his creed, and cherished an ignorant contempt 
 for Eestorationism. He soon learned that those he under- 
 took to proselyte were not to be seriously affected by 
 his endeavors. They received his exhortations and warn- 
 ings calmly and intelligently. Some of them suggested 
 that he had better call on me, get acquainted, and inform 
 himself of my doctrines before arraigning and denouncing, 
 them. This he at first disdained to do, intimating that 
 he knew all he wished to in that direction. 
 
 After receiving the same suggestion repeatedly, he 
 Anally said he intended making me a visit, signifying to- 
 one of my good women, whom he had plied his arts 
 upon in vain, that he should do so on a specified 
 
INTERVIEW WITH REV. W. S. APTHORP. 26& 
 
 eveuiug. She informed me of his intentions, and asked the 
 privilege of being present, which I cheerfully granted. 
 When the time came, he appeared without previous 
 announcement on his part, — a gentleman parishioner hav- 
 ing come in incidentally a little before him. I greeted 
 him cordially, told him I was happy to see him, as I 
 had heard of his conversations with several of my people, 
 and referred to some of his reported sayings. He seemed 
 a little embarassed, but I soon put him at his ease and 
 our conversation went on freely. He at first affected the 
 role of an inquirer concerning my views and opinions, 
 but soon assumed the attitude of a disputant. At the 
 close of our interview he was not satisfied with the 
 situation in which he had left his doctrine and solicited 
 another opportunity to explain it. This I consented to 
 and an evening was agreed upon when he was to call 
 again. Meanwhile the matter was noised abroad in town, 
 awakening considerable interest, resulting, when the time 
 arrived, in my house being crowded with eager listeners. 
 At the end of the second evening's disputation, he was 
 no better pleased with the aspect of his case than before, 
 and hence must meet me. again. The hotel-keeper of the 
 village, one of his parishioners, seeing how my family 
 was incommoded by the large company present, kindly 
 offered his hall to us for the third conference and we 
 went there accordingly, having a larger auditory than 
 before. The discussion was chiefly conversational but 
 waxed warm. At the close my antagonist was still dis- 
 satisfied and demanded further opportunities to defend 
 himself and his cause. I agreed and it was arranged that 
 we meet in his house of worship to accomodate the still 
 increasing crowd. It was also decided that the disputants 
 occupy ten minutes alternately in orderly discussion, and 
 that the inn-keeper should act as moderator of the 
 occasion. At the end of this fourth interview, Mr. 
 Apthorp had not succeeded, as he thought, in doing full 
 justice to his subject and requested another. I was quite 
 willing to grant him all the time he wanted and consented 
 
'266 AUTO-BIOGRAPHY OF ADIN BALLOU. 
 
 to his wishes. By this time his friends began to think 
 it was best for the discussion to be broug-ht to an end, 
 as no advantage was likely to accrue to himself or them 
 by continuing it, and so advised him. He prudently 
 yielded to their judgment and accordingly announced 
 when we again came together that the debate would close 
 with that session. It fell to my lot in the order of 
 speaking to make the last address, and I took good care 
 it should be conclusively my strongest. It told with such 
 effect that Mr. Apthorp, greatly excited, sprang to his 
 feet, exclaiming, "I cannot leave this subject so; I must 
 discuss it further ; I will meet Mr. Ballon again next 
 Tuesday evening." But his brethren suppressed him and 
 his appointment was reluctantly and sullenly relinquished. 
 
 The dates of our several meetings were October 13, 
 15, 16, 20, 22, 1835. In the discussion, which was 
 chiefly a scriptural one, I rested my cause on the 
 answer which the bible furnishes to these inquiries : — 
 What is the character of God? For what end did. he 
 create man ? For what end did he reveal the moral law ? 
 For what end was Christ sent into the world ? For what 
 end did he teach, suffer, and die? For what end has he 
 been exalted to the Mediatorial throne? Finally, what 
 do the holy prophets and apostles predict will be his 
 success in accomplishing his undertaking? 
 
 My opponent conceded that the bible taught that the 
 character of God was essentially and perfectly benevo- 
 lent ; that he created men for happiness ; that the 
 revelation of the moral law was designed to discipline 
 man for holiness and bliss ; that Christ was sent into 
 the world to restore it; that he died for all men; that 
 he was exalted to the Mediatorial throne to reign over 
 and subdue all things unto himself ; and that many of 
 the prophetic and apostolic predictions of his- final triumph 
 were in their literal sense favorable to the doctrine of 
 universal restoration. 
 
 While conceding all this in a certain way, he yet 
 sought to disprove that doctrine by the help of what he 
 
INTERPRETATION OF SCRIPTURE THREATENINGS. 267 
 
 'Called a double sense in the scriptures, and qualifying 
 reservations. Being a "New School" man, he was 
 neither a Calvinist nor Arminiau all the way through, 
 but by turns both, as best served his purpose. He 
 steered as clear as possible from committing himself 
 unqualifiedly upon any of the points raised, except that 
 of believing in the absolute endless duration of pun- 
 ishment. To maintain this position he adduced the 
 principal threatenings of scripture, emphasized their 
 phraseology — such as the terms everlasting, unquench- 
 able, etc., alleging that they ought to be understood 
 in their most literal sense, and that from this point of 
 view we ought to interpret all the rest of the bible, and 
 lo understand the nature of the divine benevolence. 
 
 The discussion of the entire five evenings centered in 
 ^nd was an elaboration of the several points thus indi- 
 cated, the details of which need not be given. It began, 
 progressed, and terminated just I could have desired. It 
 did great good in tlie community and justified my con- 
 viction that such public debates subserve the triumph of 
 truth. Moreover, it left me and my people free in the 
 exercise and enjoyment of our own chosen faith. Neither 
 I nor they were ever afterward troubled by the inter- 
 meddling of proselyting adventurers. 
 
 An extended report of this debate from my pen in the 
 Messenger called forth a rejoinder by Mr. Apthorp which 
 was followed by one article each from me and him 
 respectively — the last appearing Jan. 15, 1836, when the 
 whole matter passed into history. Not long after he left 
 Mendon and nothing further is known of him. 
 
 During the autumn of 1835 I conducted another 
 private school, carrying it through to a successful issue 
 before winter set in. I also gave instruction to a young 
 theological student. Brother Cyrus Morse, whose health, 
 however, soon failed, obliging him to relinquish his 
 studies and causing his death a few months afterward ; his 
 fond hopes of Christian usefulness in the world thus van- 
 ishing forever. He found a loving home in the family of 
 
268 AUTO-BIOGRAPHY OF ADIN BALLOU. 
 
 Brother E. D. Draper in Rogerson's Village, Uxbridge, 
 where he received the kindest of ministrations and where 
 he breathed his last on the ensuing 28th of March. He- 
 bore his illness with patience, meekness, and resignation, 
 and departed in the full assurance of a blissful immor- 
 tality. Appropriate funeral services were held in the 
 Unitarian church, Uxbridge, in which I was assisted hj 
 the pastor, Eev. Samuel Clarke, and Rev. Mr. Ellis, 
 Methodist minister at Rogerson's Village. I had a writ- 
 ten sermon from the text : ' ' Rejoice with them that do 
 rejoice and weep with them that weep." — Rom. 12:15. 
 
 The year 1836 came in with a special greeting of 
 appreciation from the ladies of my pastoral flock, who 
 presented me with a fine blue broadcloth cloak. The 
 garment was a very elegant and substantial one, of ample 
 proportions, and is still extant, though in a somewhat 
 modified form, but is capable of much service yet. 
 Accompanying it was a paper, still preserved, containing 
 the names of the forty-five donors with the amount of 
 their respective offerings appended, and certifying that 
 the gift was made "as a testimony to the esteem and 
 respect we entertain for his individual and pastoral char- 
 acter." 
 
 Rev. Brother David Pickering having recently resigned 
 his pastorate in Providence, R. I., and removed to New 
 York city, I went by special invitation of the authorities 
 of the church and society left without a minister, to supply 
 the pulpit and administer the communion on Sunday, the- 
 first day of January. Three services were held — morning, 
 afternoon, and evening, according to the custom in those 
 days in large towns and cities. That society, after a 
 time, renewed its connection with the Universalist denomi- 
 nation, and I never again occupied its pulpit in the order 
 of ecclesiastical fellowship. Nor did I ever again meet 
 Brother Pickering. He left the ministry a few years later, 
 settled in western New York, where he encountered a 
 series of adverse experiences, from which he happily 
 emerged, removed thence to Ypsilanti, Mich., and there- 
 
IMPROVEMENT IN CHURCH AND SOCIETY. 269 
 
 •died Jan. 6, 1859, aged 70. He was largely a self- 
 made man, of superior natural ability, an eloquent 
 speaker, an author of considerable note, and a distin- 
 guished minister of- liberal Christianity. 
 
 In the early part of April, my aged father, Deacon 
 Ariel Ballon, then in the 79th year of his age, came to 
 reside in our family. He was quite worn out with the 
 continuous hard labor of a long lifetime, had various 
 infirmities otherwise incident to old age, and was evi- 
 dently nearing the grave. He remained with us only a 
 few months, enjoying himself tolerably well, and seeming 
 to take great delight in his little grandson, about 
 three years old. Though I had departed widely from 
 the strict path of doctrine in which he had trained me, 
 thereby incurring his displeasure at the outset, yet he 
 had laid aside all his unkindly feelings, and was pleased 
 (when his health and strength would permit) to attend 
 public worship, and apparently was able to extract 
 considerable edification aijd spiritual profit from my min- 
 istrations. 
 
 I had now been the incumbent of my Mendon pastor- 
 ate about five years. My church and society, which 
 were in a greatly depressed condition when I assumed 
 charge of them, had gradually improved, until they had 
 attained a degree of prosperity unknown for a long time 
 before. The Sunday School had taken to itself new life 
 and was steadily increasing in numbers, discipline, and 
 influence. I sought to elevate its religious tone and 
 character by preparing a little manual of several opening 
 and closing exercises in the form of a brief liturgy, with 
 responsive readings and hymns — simple and impressive, 
 such as any denomination might adopt and use to their 
 moral and spiritual advantage. 
 
 I close this chapter with the following extract ' from my 
 diary : 
 
 '^ April 23, 1836. My thirty-third bh'thday. Went into 
 serious scrutiny of last year's experiences, my present spiritual 
 •condition, and what improvements I ought to make in the 
 
270 AUTO-BIOGRAPHY OF ADIN BALLOU. 
 
 future. As on preceding birthdays, I had to lament many- 
 shortcomings, form many resolutions of amendment, and. 
 implore divine strength to act more worthy of my high call- 
 ing. My ideal is always far above my highest attainments, 
 and (what is humiliating) I stand convicted before my own 
 Internal judgment seat of repeating sins against even former 
 lower ideals. But I desire not to let down the divine standard 
 to my frailties. Therefore will I welcome every bright ray of 
 light, and strive on and hope on, ever girding up my loins 
 with the encouraging assui-ance : ' My grace is sufficient for 
 thee; for my strength is made perfect in weakness.'" 
 
CHAPTER XV. 
 
 1836-1838. 
 
 Ordination, etc — Ministerial Work — Reform Move- 
 ments- — Personal Experiences — Ecclesiastical 
 Affairs — Religious Life — The Home. 
 
 f\N the 4th day of May, 1836, I, in company with 
 ^^ Mr. E. D. Draper as lay delegate with me, attended 
 the installation of Brother George W. Staeey as pastor of 
 the First Congregational church and society in Carlisle,, 
 Mass. He, as will be remembered, had formerly been 
 associated with me in the printing of the Messenger, and 
 becoming deeply interested in personal religion and in the 
 principles of Restorationism, had resolved to devote him- 
 self to the work of the ministry under the auspices and 
 as a member of our Massachusetts Association. His 
 theological studies had been directed by Rev. Paul Dean, 
 and he was deemed duly qualified for the office to the 
 duties of which he had been called. 
 
 The installing council met as per request, and organ- 
 ized by the choice of the venerable Dr. Ripley of Concord,, 
 moderator, and Rev. Lyman Maynard of Amherst, 
 N. H., clerk, after which the customary preliminaries 
 for the public service of the occasion were harmoniously 
 settled. Rev. David Damon of West Cambridge offered 
 .the Introductory Prayer, and Rev. Mr. Andi'ews of 
 Chelmsford read the Scriptures. The Sermon was deliv- 
 ered by myself from Matt. 5:48: "Be ye therefore 
 perfect," etc. The Ordaining Prayer was by Rev. Paul 
 Dean ; Right Hand of Fellowship by Rev. William Morse ; 
 Address to the People, by Rev. Dr. Ripley ; and Con- 
 
272 AUTO-BIOGRAPHY OF ADIN BALLOU. 
 
 eluding Prayer by Rev. William White of Littleton. 
 Arrangements having been made with Brother Stacey for 
 an exchange of pulpits, I remained at Carlisle through 
 the three intervening days. On Thursday he took me to the 
 then new but already wonderfully precocious city of Lowell, 
 9 miles distant. It was well started on its prosperous 
 career, exhibited signs of great thrift, was growing rap- 
 idly in all directions, thougli, of course, buildings, streets, 
 €tc., were for the most part in a coarse, unfinished con- 
 dition ; all of which gave place in due time to that order, 
 neatness, symmetry, magnificence even, which have com- 
 manded my admiration in my later visits there. 
 
 The following day we walked five miles to Concord, 
 chiefly for the purpose of visiting Dr. Ripley above- 
 mentioned, a remarkably vigorous old man, 85 years of 
 ■age. We were greeted with a most cordial welcome and 
 received unstinted attention, courtesj', and hospitalitj'. 
 He conducted us before dinner to different parts of his 
 estate, pointing out the several localities on and near it 
 where occurred incidents connected with one of the first 
 battles of the American Revolution. The spot where the 
 firing and slaughter begun was shown us, as was also the 
 place where the two British soldiers that fell in the 
 eucounter were buried, — a monument to whom, he said, 
 had been contracted for and was soon to be erected 
 there. A few years before Dr. Ripley had written an 
 authoritative account of the Concord fight on the 19th 
 of April, 1775, which was printed in pamphlet form, and 
 a copy of which he presented each of us. 
 
 After a sumptuous dinner, presided over by his accom- 
 plished niece, his wife having been some years in the 
 immortal realm, he took us about the town, going through 
 the more important public buildings and a,cquainting us 
 with whatever he thought would interest and instruct us. 
 We were much impressed when in the county jail, by 
 his conversation with, and advice to, the prisoners 
 there. Some of them seemed more unfortunate than 
 criminal, and only one or two appeared hardened and 
 
VISIT AND LABORS AT CARLISLE. 273 
 
 ■calloused through vice. One was held in confinement 
 under the old barbaric law for a debt of twelve dollars, 
 -which he promised to pay his creditor if allowed twenty- 
 four hours time. This he alleged was brutally denied 
 bim, and "Now," he said, defiantly, "I shall stand it 
 ■out." We also went with our guide to call on his col- 
 league. Rev. Mr. Goodwin, an intelligent, amiable, refined 
 and scholarly gentleman, but a suffering invalid. He was 
 in the morning of life, had just launched upon what 
 promised to be a career of pastoral usefulness, and was 
 ■cheered by the affectionate confidence of his people. But 
 all hopes of such a nature were soon blasted, for about 
 two months later his spirit was translated to the home of 
 tbe redeemed. Returning to the hospitable mansion of 
 our kind father in Israel, we were once more regaled at 
 his table with a generous supply for our bodily needs 
 and with pleasant and profitable conversation, after which, 
 us the shades of evening came on, we retraced our steps 
 to Carlisle. A memorable visit. 
 
 On Saturday, Brother Stacey left with his family for 
 Mendon, while I was entertained at the house of his 
 worthy deacon, John Green, the only surviving male 
 member of the First Church after the orthodox secession 
 of some years before, — an intelligent, devout, substantial 
 citizen of the town. On Sunday I preached extempore 
 in the morning from Acts 17:25, and in the afternoon 
 from Phil. 2:5. At 5 p. m. I gave a temperance lecture 
 in the meeting-house with apparently good effect. Rev. 
 Dr. Ripley and Rev. Mr. Andrews of Chelmsford, who 
 had exchanged pulpits that day, met at Deacon 
 Green's on their return home and attended the lecture, 
 giving it and the cause their encouragement. The Doctor 
 remained over night and on Monday morning, after a 
 delightful interview, we parted in gospel love to meet 
 no more on earth. Five years afterward, in 1841, he 
 entered his heavenly rest,- aged about 90 years. I came 
 home via Boston the same day, reaching my family at 
 9 p. M., after an absence of just a week. 
 18 
 
274 AUTO-BIOGRAPHY OF ADIN BALLOU. 
 
 Pastorate Extended. Ou the following Saturday,, 
 May 14, I was waited upon by two of my parishioners, 
 Jabez Aldrich and Benjamin Davenport, a committee of 
 the society, who presented me with the following docu- 
 ment : "At a parish meeting holden May 2, 1836, 
 Voted unanimously, that we cordially approve the conduct 
 and pastoral services of the Rev. Adin Ballou during the 
 four years that he has officiated as the minister of this 
 parish, and we earnestly hope and desire that he may 
 continue with us for another term after the expiration of 
 his present contract. Therefore, Voted, that Jabez. 
 Aldrich, Benjamin Davenport, and William S. Hastings be 
 a committee to wait upon the Rev. Mr. Ballou and ascer- 
 tain from him upon what conditions and for what time he 
 will engage to officiate as minister of this parish from 
 and after (the expiration of) his present contract and 
 to report at an adjourned meeting." 
 
 I promised an early* answer in writing, which I soon 
 forwarded to the committee. The substance of it was 
 that I gratefully appreciated the confidence reposed in 
 me by the parish, and should be happy to renew my 
 engagement for the term of five years, from and after 
 the first of April, 1837, on condition that my annual 
 salary be raised from four to five hundred dollars. The 
 proposition was acceptable to the parish, and a mutual 
 agreement was in due time ratified. 
 
 The days through which I was passing at this period 
 of my life were days of intense intellectual, moral, and 
 religious activity. I zealously and scrupulously endeav- 
 ored to improve my understanding in useful knowledge,, 
 to discipline my spiritual capabilities into true Christian 
 holiness, to promote personal religion among my people,, 
 and to help forward the great moral reforms which had 
 begun to command public attention. I read advanced 
 books of the best quality, I studied the ancient lan- 
 guages somewhat, and in all possible ways sought to- 
 invigorate and enrich my mind. For religious quickening 
 and culture, I familiarized my mind with Thomas a Kem- 
 
METHODS OF MINISTERIAL WORK. 275 
 
 pis and othter devoutly-minded authors, and subjected 
 myself to strict rules of prayer, watchfulness, and self- 
 examination. In trying to increase experimental piety 
 among those to whom ' I ministered, I gave special lec- 
 tures to the children and youth of the Sunday School, 
 exhorting them earnestly to be conscientious, reverent, 
 and prayerful, and to seek communion with their Heav- 
 enly Father and His son Jesus Christ; while with the 
 adults, I labored to bring them into the church through 
 serious convictions, conversion, and consecration, by 
 preaching, social religious meetings, and personal counsel, 
 and thus have them committed to acknowledged principles 
 of righteousness and to a truly Christian life. So I 
 pushed religion as urgently as I could, after the old 
 methods modified by my revised theological views. The 
 recent fashion of bringing people into the kingdom of 
 heaven by social festivities and amusemental gatherings 
 had not then been invented. My vineyard was not pre- 
 eminently feasible and productive, nor was I the most 
 skilful of husbandmen ; but I did what 1 could. As 
 to the great moral reforms, only three had yet been 
 born — Temperance, Anti-slavery, and the Peace Move- 
 ment, others having only an embryotic existence. The 
 first two assumed so much importance and entered so 
 largely into my personal and ministerial experience during 
 the period covered by the present chapter, that they 
 require special consideration. 
 
 Total Abstinence. The Temperance Reform in its first 
 phase I had earnestly espoused, as heretofore set forth, 
 and was its ardent advocate ; but it had taken on a new 
 and more radical character about the time now in 
 review. The disuse of distilled liquors alone, which was 
 the original basis of the movement, while those resulting 
 from fermentation were allowed, had proved insufficient 
 to overcome or essentially lessen the evils against which 
 warfare was waged. Drunkards were multiplied by indul- 
 gence in the milder intoxicants — wine, beer, cider, etc. 
 And sharp discussions had arisen among temperance 
 
276 AUTO-BIOGRAPHY OF ADIN' BALI.OU. 
 
 reformers upon the question of putting the^e under the 
 same ban as so-called ardent spirits. This was strongly 
 opposed by a considerable party of those who clung to 
 the use of them. Nevertheless, logic and the permanent 
 success of the cause imperatively demanded total absti- 
 neyice — abstinence from the use of all intoxicating 
 beverages. I was fully convinced of this, as was a large 
 majority of the adherents and advocates of the reform. 
 The only practical course for the more radical party was 
 to leave the conservatives in a peaceable manner and 
 start a new movement whose central principle should be 
 tlie entire disuse of all that can intoxicate, forming 
 societies in accordance with that principle to carry for- 
 ward the work. And this was what was done in many 
 localities throughout our general vicinity. We organized 
 under the new regime in our town, the organization 
 being entitled ' ' The North Mendon Young Men's Tem- 
 perance Society," for which I, with others, labored 
 energetically. This society prospered, as did similar ones 
 in surrounding towns. Those remaining attached to the 
 old system did little thereafter to make converts to it, 
 and finally allowed it to die out. 
 
 My position in reference to this great reform has been 
 the same from the beginning until now. I never placed 
 the duty of total abstinence from all intoxicating liquors 
 on the ground that it was a sin per se to use them mod- 
 erately — like murder, robbery, etc.; but only as a wrong 
 done to humanity and an offence against sound morality, 
 when social conditions and dominant circumstances ren- 
 dered it dangerous as a habit or as an example to others. 
 Such conditions and circumstances then, as in later 
 days, existed in a marked degree. The sale of all kinds 
 of strong drink had become general and civilization was 
 greatly demoralized by personal indulgence and social 
 custom. Drunkenness increased to an alarming extent, 
 and poverty, disorder, crime, and misery prevailed on 
 every hand. The evils consequent upon the use of alco- 
 holics came to be intolerable. Something must be done. 
 
TEMPERANCE AND ANTI-SLAVERT MOVEMENT. 277 
 
 After much study and experimentation, a remedy for the 
 deadly contagion and the ruin it wrought was discovered, 
 viz : — Total Abstinence. It was demonstrated that intoxi- 
 cating beverages were not necessary for persons in health, 
 that they were more or less perilous to those using 
 them, and that the utter renunciation of them was not 
 only a cure for, but a safeguard against, the manifold 
 evils of intemperance. We who made ourselves sure of 
 this worked on the lines thus indicated for • the cause, 
 and looked for its early triumph. But appetite, inter- 
 est, fashion, and habit, have proved stronger with vast 
 multitudes of people than reason, philanthropy, or reli- 
 gion, down to this year of grace, 1889. Yet I swerve 
 not one iota from my original temperance principles, 
 convictions, faith, and hope. The cause will some 
 day triumph, and the blessings it has in store for a 
 humanity redeemed from its curse will be enjoyed. "Fly 
 swifter round, ye wheels of time, and bring the welcome 
 day." 
 
 Tlie Anti-Slavery Movement. Strange as it may seem 
 to most of my readers, I was more than thirty years of 
 age before the thought entered my mind that I was 
 in any way responsible for chattel slavery in my coun- 
 try. I had no pro-slavery in my constitution, training, 
 or habitual feeling. I had by nature no prejudice 
 against color, no spirit of caste, and no disposition to 
 estimate any of my fellow-men higher or lower in the 
 scale of being on account of nationality, race, birth, 
 rank, wealth, sex, or any standard but personal merit 
 and demerit. I was a born Democrat, and never had to 
 take up any cross in order to treat any one kindly and 
 justly, as I would be treated. Of other sins and short- 
 comings I had enough, but none of this sort. The wrongs, 
 abominations, and outrages of chattel slavery were 
 out of my sight and so out of my mind. A thick veil 
 of reverent patriotism in those early days sliut out the 
 vision of many things I afterward came to see. I was 
 brought up to idolize my country, its constitution and 
 
278- AUTO-BIOGRAPHY OF ADIN BALLOU. 
 
 laws, as a rich and sacred patrimony, earned and con- 
 secrated by the heroic blood of Kevolutionary sires, whom 
 I was accustomed to glorify as the wisest and noblest of 
 mankind. The National Union they had formed was 
 sacred to me, to be preserved inviolate and transmitted 
 as an invaluable heritage to posterity. 
 
 But all this self-complacent regard for the fathers and 
 their work was destined to be sadly disturbed by the 
 outcry of the Abolitionists that slavery as it existed in 
 the land was a monstrous national sin of which we were 
 all more or less guilty, and that immediate emancipa- 
 tion of the bondmen was an indispensable duty to God 
 and man. That outcry grew louder and louder and was 
 echoed by multiplying voices on every liand. It called 
 in question the sacred guaranties of our fathers and laid 
 violent hands on the ark of our national covenant. My 
 blind patriotism was shocked and I deplored the agita- 
 tion that had been raised. I did not desire to see the 
 agitators harmed, nor to have their rights of free speech 
 abridged, nor to oppose them by any other means than 
 those of calm reason and earnest persuasion. 
 
 But presently their opponents of various sort began to 
 assail them, not only with hard words but with threats 
 of violence, and from threats they proceeded to flagrantly 
 abhorrent deeds. Prices were set on the heads of their 
 leaders, their meetings were broken up, their lecturers 
 maltreated, their printing presses demolished, and their 
 editors murderously hunted down and killed. While such 
 outrages were being enacted it became impossible for 
 honest, conscientious people not to think upon the sub- 
 ject lying back of them all — back of the agitation 
 provoking them, and not to investigate it; and equally 
 impossible after siich thought and investigation to be indif- 
 ferent to or remain neutral upon it. At any rate, so it was 
 with me. I yielded to the necessities of the case ; I did a 
 vast amount of solid, earnest thinking, more, perhaps, than 
 in any equal portion of my life, and from indubitable 
 evidence I came to the following conclusions, to wit: 
 
CONCLUSIONS CONCERNING SLAVERY. 279 
 
 (1) That slavery was what John Wesley had charac- 
 terized it, "The sum of all villainies"; that what I had 
 regarded as its abuses were its natural fruits ; and that 
 from its inception to its consummation it was utterly 
 wicked. 
 
 (2) That as it had to begin by violence and cruelty, 
 it must be maintained by the same means ; and that the 
 enslaved must be kept in ignorance and held in bondage 
 by brute force, or they would, but of their natural love 
 of liberty, of themselves go free. 
 
 (3) That our Revolutionary fathers (whom I had been 
 taught to revere) notwithstanding their sacrificed for their 
 own liberty, inflicted on their fellowmen, as Thomas 
 Jefferson said, " a bondage, one hour of which was 
 fraught with more misery than ages of that which they 
 rose in rebellion to oppose." Also that, by certain guar- 
 anties of the United States constitution, they rendered 
 all co-governing citizens of the country more or less 
 responsible for the sin of American slavery. 
 
 (4) That the slave power had acquired such influence 
 in Church and State, in commerce and. finance, as to viti- 
 ate deplorably the whole moral status of the nation — 
 millions being so perverted as to think wrong is right 
 and right wrong ; evil good and good evil. 
 
 (5) That Church and State, though nominally separate 
 from and independent of each other, were yet so sympa- 
 thetically and practically in harmony, as far as regarded 
 subsei-viency to the slave power, the support of the 
 guaranties of the" constitution to oppressors, and the 
 imposition of unrighteous obligations in the interest' of 
 injustice and tyranny upon all citizens, as to demand 
 withdrawal from both on the part of every enlightened, 
 conscientious opponent of the gigantic crime, and entire 
 separation from the fellowship of those who, with happy 
 accord, were accustomed to treat the Abolitionists and 
 their allies as pestilent fellows. 
 
 It took me some time to learn these important lessons, 
 but when I had mastered them, I wondered that I had 
 
280 ADTO-BIOGRAPHY OF ADIN BALLOU. 
 
 not seen, appreciated, and accepted them long before — 
 especially in view of tli§ theological progress I had made 
 and the ethics logically derived therefrom. For the 
 universal Fatherhood of God, and the universal brotherhood 
 of man, which were among my settled fundamentals of 
 religion, ought to have made me a thorough-going 
 Abolitionist the moment the question of chattel slavery 
 was presented to my thought and conscience, for consid- 
 eration and moral judgment. They ought also to have 
 made me understand and take home to myself, theoreti- 
 cally and practically, the several lessons just enumerated. 
 Such, however, was not for a long time the case. 
 
 Nevertheless, light came to me before the spring of 
 1837, and both truth and duty in regard to the great 
 national sin were clearly revealed to my mental and moral 
 understanding. Of the essential wickedness of slavehold- 
 ing I was thoroughly convinced, as I was also thoroughly 
 convinced that I was under solemn obligations as a 
 teacher of religion to make open proclamation of my 
 views and to do what in me laj' to oppose and over- 
 throw the monstrous wrong. But such a course was 
 obviously against my temporal interest, ambition, 
 and comfort. Abolitionism was an element of discord 
 in every social body it had entered thus far, and threat- 
 ened to become more so as time went on. How would 
 it affect the new Restorationist denomination I had 
 worked so hard and spent so much to get launched? 
 There were serious reasons for apprehending damaging 
 consequences if it was allowed to come within the borders 
 of our body. Though small, it contained both conserva- 
 tive and radical minds, equally honest and nearly equal 
 in numbers. We were well agreed in regard to our 
 theological and ecclesiastical tenets and policy. We had 
 all committed ourselves to the growing temperance 
 reform. But radical Anti-slavery — Abolitionism was a 
 very different thing to deal with. It struck at what we 
 all had been accustomed to deem venerable, sacred, and 
 patriotic in our national life, at solemn covenants of the 
 
THE BANNER OF FREEDOM UNFURLED. 281 
 
 Federal compact, at tLme-houored customs, at commevcial 
 interests, at political and religious afflliations and prefer- 
 ments — at a multitude of concerns affecting our personal, 
 social, ecclesiastical, and civil well-being and happiness. 
 It had already provoked popular prejudice and violent 
 outbreaks in different denominations. What would it do 
 to our little branch of the Christian church? We shall see. 
 And there were with me matters nearer home to be con- 
 sidered — questions to be answered, problems to be solved, 
 difficulties to be met, trials to be borne. Were I ta 
 pursue the path that duty pointed out to me, what results 
 to me personally and as a minister would be likely to 
 ensue? Probably more or less disaffection towards me 
 in my parish, withdrawal of support, loss of friends, 
 perhaps ill-will, animosity, and bitter hate. Such had 
 been the consequences to me hitherto of departing from 
 the old ways, of adopting new truths, of proclaiming 
 new principles of faith and conduct, of espousing unpopu- 
 lar causes, and going forward in the path of reform. 
 Was this to be forever my fate? Why not remain 
 quiet, let needed changes come without worrying myself 
 to hurry their advance, thus giving Providence a chance 
 to work out the problems of human progress and destiny 
 without any of my aid? Worldly prudence and personal 
 ease obviously dictated this policy. But duty would not 
 be compromised with after this fashion and the voice of 
 conscience said : Follow thy highest light; be faithful ta 
 thy best convictions; bear witness to the truth; stand up 
 for the right; be no laggard in the strife for God and 
 man. I heard, trembled, hesitated, and by divine grace 
 obeyed. 
 
 So on the 6th of April, 1837, our annual State Fast- 
 day, I preached my first distinctly outspoken anti-slavery 
 discourse in my Mendon pulpit from Isaiah 58 : 5, 6 : "Is 
 it such a fast that I have chosen? A day for a man 
 to affiict his soul? Is it to bow down his head like a 
 bulrush and to spread sackcloth and ashes under him? 
 Wilt thou call this a fast and an acceptable day unto 
 
282 AUTO-BIOGRAPHY OF ADIN BALLOU. 
 
 the Lord? Is not this the fast that I have chosen? To 
 loose' the bands of wickedness, to undo the heavy bur- 
 dens and to let the oppressed go free, and that ye break 
 every yoke?" 
 
 The doctrine of this text I applied faithfully to the 
 great system of American oppression, setting forth the 
 manifold evils it represented and engendered and the mani- 
 fest duty of all good men and women in regard- to it. What 
 were the effects? Such an excitement among the people 
 at large as the staid old town of Mendon had never 
 experienced" before. The unanimity of my parishioners 
 in my favor, so emphatically declared within a year, 
 vanished in a moment. A dozen families were irrecon- 
 cilably disaffected, and at once left my congregation ; 
 some of them previously fimong my best friends and 
 largest contributors to the parish treasury. Many hard 
 things were said and some discreditable ones done. I 
 tried to appease the malcontents by all honorable means, 
 but in vain. In the midst of the commotion I gave up 
 my pastorate ; but at the earnest request of numerous 
 devoted parishioners, who approved in the main my course 
 and who assured me that more new members were ready 
 to come into the society than there were old ones likely 
 to depart, I ere long recalled my letter of resignation. 
 
 This seemed to irritate those who had seceded and 
 inflame their ire against me. Oue of the wealthiest of 
 them, to whom I had become indebted for pecuniary aid in 
 some former time of need, in order to make me sensible 
 of my dependence on him and humiliate me as much as 
 possible, sent me, immediately after this occurrence, the 
 following significant note ; 
 
 " To Adin Ballon: 
 
 "Sir: [ request you /ort/itoiWi to pay ine what you are owing 
 me, or procure a satisfactory endorser therefor. 
 
 " Yours, etc.. 
 
 I made known the position in which I was placed to 
 some of my friends, who were ready to stand by me to 
 
NOTABLE FOURTH OF JULY OEATION. 283 
 
 "the end and to help me in the emergency where I found 
 myself, and within twelve hours after the imperative 
 demand was made upon me, my disgruntled creditor was 
 paid in full, and he never troubled me afterward. Such 
 experiences are not pleasant, but they come sometimes 
 and have to be endured. Happily, the main body of 
 my people remained faithful to me, though probably 
 some preferred that I should have kept silent on the 
 subject of slavery, and the losses of hearers and pecuni- 
 ary support occasioned by my fidelity to principle in this 
 particular were soon more than supplied by new-comers, 
 my congregations being larger than ever before. So I 
 lost nothing in the end on that score. None of the 
 seceders were happier for going away, and some of 
 them ultimately returned to their ancestral religious home. 
 My labors were considerably increased by reason of 
 the position I had taken with respect to the anti- 
 slavery reform. I not only felt called upon to awaken 
 interest in and secure co-operation for the much-maligned 
 and struggling cause in my own town and its immediate 
 neighborhood, but I was soon in considerable demand as 
 a lecturer, platform-speaker, and general helper of it in 
 more remote and distant places. Its leaders were kindly 
 disposed towards me and glad to welcome me as a fellow- 
 laborer with them in their public gatherings, and interested 
 personal friends were solicitous to have me heard upon 
 the great question that was agitating the public mind, in 
 their respective localities. 
 
 On the 4th of July of the same year as that in which 
 the incidents narrated above took place, I delivered an 
 elaborate and carefully prepared anti-slavery address in 
 my Mendon church to a large, and deeply interested con- 
 course of people, deeming this a most appropriate arid 
 profitable way of celebrating the anniversary of American 
 independence. The production was vei-y long and as 
 •complete in form and argument as I could possibly make 
 it. It was printed and had an extended and influential 
 circulation in this country; also reprinted in England and 
 
284 AUTO^BIOGRAPHY OF ADIN BALLOU. 
 
 spread broadcast throughout the dominion of Queen Vio- 
 toria, then just entering upon her long and iUustrious 
 reign. 
 
 After the delivery of this discourse, on the evening of 
 the same day, we formed a strong anti-slavery society 
 in Mendon, as auxiliary to the American society organ- 
 ized in Philadelphia four years before, and entered upon 
 active work in behalf of universal freedom. Later on, 
 we established an anti-slavery library, and these two 
 instrumentalities wrought effectually for many years in 
 the community to keep alive an interest in the cause, to 
 disseminate the truth upon the subject for which they 
 stood, and to hasten on the day when at length liberty 
 should be "proclaimed throughout the land to all the 
 inhabitants thereof." 
 
 A vexatious episode. In addition to my multiform 
 legitimate labors and responsibilities as a man and a 
 minister of religion, I became about this time very 
 unwisely involved in a matter wholly extraneous and 
 foreign to my proper line of activity, from which I 
 derived only trouble, perplexity, vexation, and a fool's 
 tuition. . Two Mendon citizens, both professing at the 
 outset to be my friends, fell into a controversy in regard 
 to the boundary line between their two wood-lots, lying 
 side by side. They had referred the case to the courts, 
 but before it came to trial obtained leave to withdraw 
 it and submit it to the judgment and decision of three 
 mutually- agreed-upon arbitrators. Both wished me to act 
 as chairman of this private board of judication, each 
 choosing one of the other two. To this I foolishly con- 
 sented. I and my associates had several meetings, 
 canvassed the matter submitted to us, but accomplished 
 very little ; for, in spite of all the records we could find 
 and of all the evidence brought before us, the true line 
 of division seemed to us exceedingly obscure and uncertain. 
 At length I unearthed the minutes of a long-forgotten 
 survey which appeared to be well attested and conclusive 
 both to me and my two comrades, and we decided 
 
ILL SUCCESS AT ARBITRATION. 285 
 
 pursuant to its plain statements. But our decision did 
 not satisfy the chief claimant, and he declined to accept 
 it, asking for another hearing, at which he said he 
 <!Ould bring additional testimony in his favor and so 
 cause us to change our verdict. So urgent was he that, 
 upon my strong plea for him and against their own 
 judgment, the others yielded, and another hearing was 
 granted, though .not till he solemnly promised that if he 
 could not convince us that we were in error, he would 
 freely quitclaim all right and title to the land we had 
 assigned to his competitor. At the new hearing he failed 
 utterly in presenting evidence calculated to induce us to 
 •change our opinion, and we therefore re-afflrmed our 
 former finding. This greatly incensed the dissatisfied 
 contestant, who angrily refused either to abide by our 
 decision or to fulfil the pledge to quitclaim the land in 
 question which he had solemnly given at the last meet- 
 ing. And no argument or appeal on the part of the 
 referees could make him yield one iota of his dogged and 
 injustifiable determination. I was personally greatly 
 humiliated aud chagrined, not only because it was by my 
 efforts that this additional hearing was granted, but also 
 because by having it we had passed the date at which 
 our decision was to have been reported to the court 
 under its rescript and thereby rendered ourselves censur- 
 able at its bar. 
 
 But this was only the beginning of sorrows experienced 
 by me on account of this case. For this man, who, 
 under professions of the greatest friendship, had enticed 
 me into the position of arbitrator, and in whose behalf I 
 had yielded my own best judgment and persuasively and 
 appealingly had induced my coadjutors to yield theirs 
 also, became my bitter and relentless enemy from that 
 day on. He dogged my footsteps for years with false 
 accusations, calumnies, and scurrilous epithets and insinu- 
 ations, letting no opportunity slip for annoying and 
 tormenting me by attempts to blacken my character and 
 injure my reputation. I was harassed by lawyers whom 
 
286 AUTO-BIOGRAPHr OF ADIN BALLOU. 
 
 he had suborned for that purpose; I was summoned' 
 before a private council to answer libellous charges ; I was 
 browbeaten, threatened, denounced, anathematized, and. 
 maltreated in a multitude of ways by this man, whom. 
 I -had always dealt kindly and justly by and whom I 
 had never wronged or harmed, till his health failed him, 
 in his old age and his power of abusing me had gone 
 forever. I never met a person who so bafHed my under- 
 standing — who was such a moral puzzle to me. With 
 respectable natural qualities, good judgment, executive 
 ability, and some commendable traits of character, he yet 
 allowed himself to be so mastered by self-interest and 
 self-will that Ms conscience seemed utterly paralyzed and 
 oblivious to all considerations of justice and equity ; to 
 all claims of truth, honor, and the eternal law of God. 
 And yet when confronted and brought to bay by those 
 whom he had abused and persecuted (for I was not the 
 only one thus treated) he would assume the most guile- 
 less and inoffensive air, and the tears would course down 
 his cheeks as if he were the victim of the most bitter 
 injustice and cruelty. At such times 1 would look at him 
 in amazement, doubtful whether to count him honestly 
 insane or a brazen pretender. I never quite satisfied 
 myself in regard to the matter, but concluded finally to 
 refer such an enigma to Him who knoweth all things and 
 who judgeth righteously. I have ever regretted the injus- 
 tice done to the other party in this unfortunate affair by 
 my improper and mistaken indulgence of his ■ grasping and 
 unscrupulous competitor, whereby the first verdict of the 
 board of referees was withheld from the court beyond the 
 time fixed for its return, thereby failing of judicial ratifi- 
 cation and enforcement ; as I have also the trouble and 
 expense to which he was put in consequence. But it is 
 due him to say that he never to my knowledge or from 
 trustworthy report uttered against me one word of 
 reproach, complaint, or blame. Such is the difference in men. 
 And now, to go back somewhat in the order of time, 
 I will mention the more significant ecclesiastical and 
 
ANNIVERSARY OF RESTORATIONIST ASSOCIATION. 287 
 
 religious happenings of the two years in review. And I 
 begin with the annual meeting of our Restorationist 
 Association held at Millville (then Mendon South Parish, 
 now a part of Blackstone) Sept. 14 and 15, 1836. As 
 usual, I was present at this meeting, participated in its 
 proceedings, and took a lively interest in all that was 
 said and done. It organized by the choice of Eev. 
 Charles Hudson, moderator, and Rev. Alanson St. Clair, 
 clerk. An extract from the report of its transactions in 
 the Messenger will indicate its spirit and character : 
 
 "During its session it was agreed that hencefortli at each 
 meeting there should be selected a subject for an essay or 
 dissertation at the next session, and a person appointed for 
 its preparation; that letters of license be given to Brothers 
 Emmons Partridge, and Daniel S. Whitney as preachers of 
 the gospel ; and that the superintendents of the Sabbath schools 
 connected with our churches be requested respectively to make 
 returns to. the annual meetings of the association. There were 
 six public services attended, at which discourses were preached 
 by Brethren George W. Stacey, Lyman Maynard, Alanson St. 
 Clair, Edwin M. Stone, Paul Dean, and William Morse. In the 
 council, harmony of sentiment and action with the best feel- 
 ings prevailed. In the public services, solerauity, fervency, 
 and deep attention, characterized the speakers and the hearers. 
 And the season will be long remembered as one of refreshing 
 and joy from the presence of the Lord. The following address 
 to the churches was ordered : 
 
 "Alanson St. Claik, Clerk. 
 
 "'Millville, Sept. 15, 1836. 
 
 "'Beloved Brethren: We desire to impart unto you the 
 spirit and joy of this happy occasion, that your joy may be 
 full, your gratitude ascend to God, and your praise be given 
 to the Redeemer of the world. We desire you to realize more 
 fuUy what heavenly peace there is iu believing; what hope 
 there is in Christ; what bright prospects are opened to you in 
 the gospel! It is yours to know the fellowship of the saints; 
 to taste the heavenly gift, and to press toward the mark for 
 the prize of your high calling ; to grow up daily into a holy 
 and happy meetness.for the kingdom of .God, and to let your 
 light shine before men. 
 
 "'It has pleased God greatly to bless you in the views 
 which He has given you of the character, design, and tendency 
 
288 AUTO-BIOGRAPHY OF ADIN BALLOU. 
 
 of Christianity — the great instrument by which He will over- 
 throw idolatry and error, and enlighten and reconcile the 
 world to Himself; in your views of that divine providence 
 under whose superintendence all things shall be conducted 
 -to a happy issue, and of that destiny assigned to all men and 
 all holy intelligences, of glorifying God and enjoying Him 
 forever. 
 
 " ' These pure and lovely sentiments which God has com- \ 
 mitted to you in trust have been believed and proclaimed by 
 holy prophets, early Christians, and many great and good men 
 in all ages. They, at this moment, have the sympathy of 
 many devout souls in this and distant countries, some of whom 
 express that sympathy freely and others are only waiting -to 
 judge the tree by its fruits and to see whether these views 
 will make you good, active, zealous, spiritual Christians. The 
 eyes of thousands are turned on you to observe the result of 
 the experiment now making — the effect of your doctrine on 
 your lives. 
 
 " ' Brethren, how high and solemn are the responsibilities 
 under which we act ; to God, to our fathers, and to the world ! 
 Leave to others the question of your success. It is yours to 
 work and trust the reward to God, to be given in His own 
 time. Let us forsake the vanities of the world, abandon all 
 narrow and selfish feelings, and adorn the doctrine of God our 
 Saviour in all things, regarding alike a good profession and a 
 good life as twin cherubim in the service of God. It behooves 
 us to be valiant for the truth in which the glory of God and 
 the good of man are concerned; but to be mild, gentle, and 
 charitable to those who dissent from us; to guard the truth 
 from being mixed with the error of no future responsibility — 
 no future hopes or fears on the one hand, and on the other 
 from the soul-chilling error of endless torments, which, as far 
 as it extends, annuls the merits of Christ and defeats the 
 gospel of His grace. 
 
 " ' Let then the heavenly spirit of Christ dwell richly in 
 your hearts by faith, and let your light shine before men in 
 acts of justice and mercy, in deeds of piety and benevolence. 
 Honor the name, word, and worship of God ; bless and cherish 
 the social, moral, and civil relations of life, that the truth of 
 God be not blasphemed. 
 
 " ' Finally, brethren, consider that in the order of His provi- 
 dence and grace, God gives His kingdom to those who will best 
 improve it, and lets His vineyard to those who will render Him 
 the fruit in His season. Remember, also, that Jesus, our 
 Great Master, sought His glory by saving the world, and that 
 we can never gain His kingdom but by that piety and benevo- 
 
SETTLEMENT OF REV. THOMAS EDWARDS. 289 
 
 leiicc which delight iu doiug good to mankind. By thus living 
 may we obtain an abundant entrance into the everlasting Ijing- 
 dom of the King of Kings, to share His grace and see His 
 glory. 
 
 " ' Paul Dean.' " 
 
 Though out of the line of my ecclesiastical fellowship, 
 I attended, on the 28th of December, 1836, the ordination 
 •of Rev. Thomas Edwards and his installation as pastor 
 of the "North Congregational Church in Mendon," which 
 Tv-as established a few years before by those who had 
 -withdrawn from the old "First Church," over which I 
 now presided. Rev, Dr. Jacob Ide of Medway preached 
 the sermon of the occasion, the other exercises being 
 Tendered by clergymen of neighboring towns. I was 
 interested in the several utterances, many good things 
 being said and fewer offensive ones than I anticipated. 
 A serious blunder was made by Rev. Mr. Grosvenor of 
 Uxbridge— ^a young man to whom was assigned the part 
 of extending the Right Hand of Fellowship to the minis- 
 ter-elect. In doing this, he emphasized the fact, as he 
 ■claimed, that the church he represented was 106 years 
 before a colony from that of the new pastor, when in 
 truth neither his church nor the other was 10 years old ; 
 both being recent seceders from the original churches of 
 their respective towns. Whether this fiction was due to 
 the young man's ignorauee or unscrupulous sectarian 
 assumption I know not, and it matters little at this late 
 <lay, but it indicates a habit of those times prevalent 
 nmong certain persons who withdrew from the established 
 churches on account of their liberal tendencies and 
 founded new ones on a more rigid theological basis. Mr. 
 Edwards, who was an Englishman by birth, remained in 
 Mendon till February, 1840, and proved to be an agree- 
 able clerical neighbor. 
 
 My young student friend and brother, Edmund Capron, 
 
 having completed Ms preparatory studies and passed a 
 
 satisfactory examination before an ecclesiastical council 
 
 ■convened at Millville, Mass., May 3, 1837, was on that 
 
 19 
 
290 AUTO-BIOGRAPHY OF ADIX BALLOU. 
 
 day ordained and settled as minister of the Restorationist 
 society in that flourishing village. As his pastor^ 
 instructor, and spiritual guide, I was invited to deliver 
 the ordination sermon, which I did from 1 Tim. 1:5: 
 " Now the end of the commandment is charity," etc. The 
 other parts were taken mostly by ministers of our associa- 
 tion. Rev. Samuel Clarke of Uxbridge being the only 
 outsider. Everytliing passed off creditably, harmoniously, 
 auspiciously, eliciting reciprocal congratulations from all 
 concerned. A second service was held in the afternoon, 
 when Brother E. M. Stone preached, and in the eveniug- 
 the newly-ordained pastor and Miss Abby Pitts, daughter 
 of the late Esek Pitts, Esq., were married, most of the 
 council, with family relatives and friends, being present. 
 Brother Capron entered upon his work in this new field 
 of labor under most happy circumstances and with great 
 promise of usefulness and honor. But alas for him, for 
 his most amiable and fitting companion, their friends and 
 the world, the auspicious' aspects of the situation proved 
 deceptive and vain. In the early' autumn of this same 
 year, a fearful pestilence swept through Millville, carrying 
 off many lamented victims, he being among the number. 
 He was stricken with the prevailing disease in the midst 
 of his labors, and in spite of the best of medical skill, 
 tender nursing, and yearning prayers, after a distressing 
 illness of two weeks, on the 24th of September, he passed 
 away, leaving his wife a heart-broken widow and his 
 devoted flock pastorless. He was in the 29th year of 
 his age. Then was there mourning indeed in that newly- 
 founded home of his and in that Zion of our faith. 
 Then I wept with them that wept, as once I had 
 rejoiced with them in their joyfulness, and fi-om the same 
 pulpit where, a few months before, I had discoursed 
 amid most cheerful, inspiring surroundings and abundant 
 demonstra;tions of gladness and delight, I now ministered 
 Christian consolation to a great concourse of sorrow- 
 stricken sufferers and their sympathizing neighbors and 
 friends. So are sunshine and shade, smiles and tears ^ 
 
MEMORABLE MEETING OP RESTORATION ISTS. 291 
 
 joy and grief, mingled in the experience of mortals here 
 below. A few extracts from the published obituary- of 
 this beloved brother will indicate his state of mind In 
 view of his approaching dissolution : 
 
 " Though enduring great distress of body, he remained cahn, 
 jjatient, resigned in spirit to the last. As he drew near tlie 
 end his mind became clearer and stronger, and the sun of his 
 Christian hopes shone in a cloudless sliy. Being asked if he 
 remained firm in his distinguishing religious doctrines, he 
 answered with cheerful promptitude, ' Yes ; they give me happi- 
 ness in death. How can one die happy without such hopes?' 
 Having expressed his satisfaction with and gratitude to his 
 physician and attendants and taken leave of his heart-riven 
 consort and relatives, endeavoring to comfort them in the 
 extremity of their anguish, he commended himself to his 
 Redeemer and fell asleep without a struggle. Neither his 
 strength of reason, of speech, or of Christian confidence failed 
 him to his expiring moment. All who witnessed his exit were 
 deeply impressed by such manifest triumphs of mind over the 
 elements of mortality, and can testify to the blessedness of his 
 death." 
 
 The annual meeting of the Massachusetts Eestorationist 
 Association for the year 1837 was a memorable one, aiM 
 marked an epoch in the history of that body. It was 
 held in Milton at the Railway Church, so-called, on 
 the evening of September 29, and through the two follow- 
 ing days. The first session was devoted mostly to 
 business pertaining to the proceedings of the occasion 
 and to the polity of the association ; the six other sessions 
 were given up to public religious services, after our usual 
 custom. Sermons were preached by Eevs. David R. 
 Lamson (Occasional),. Charles Hudson, Lyman Maynard, 
 Philemon E. Russell, Paul Dean, and myself. 
 
 In council, William H. Kinsley and Alexander T. 
 Temple were admitted to fellowship ; I was appointed to 
 prepare a dissertation on " The Intermediate State" ; 
 Revs. Charles Hudson, E. M. Stone, and William Morse 
 were chosen a committee to present an address on the 
 Sabbath; reports on Sunday schools were made; and a 
 resolve was passed approving and recommending the 
 
292 AUTO-BIOGRAPHY OF ADIN BALLOU. 
 
 " Restorationist Tract Society," recently established. 
 Thus far all went off harmoniously and to united satis- 
 faction. But the harmony was sadly disturbed, if not 
 fatally injured, by the introduction of three resolutions 
 which I had di'afted, on Total Abstinence, Moral Reform, 
 and Anti-slavery, respectively. These were met and 
 opposed by an influential minority of our members, and a 
 very unpleasant discussion followed, which made me regret 
 that I had introduced them ; not because there was any- 
 thing improper in them, but because my brethren were 
 not far enough advanced to appreciate and endorse them. 
 They evidently deemed them wholly uncalled-for, if not 
 wrong in principle and detrimental to the growth of our 
 denomination in the existing state of public sentiment. In 
 this respect I saw that they were wise and prudent for 
 the time being ; but I was looking beyond immediate out- 
 ward success, and had an ambition to build up a church 
 that would lead, not follow public sentiment in true 
 righteousness. This, I saw reason to fear, was a task 
 too onerous to be accomplished. The association, as 
 a _ body, was not ready to take so radical a position 
 as the resolutions involved, and the discussion upon 
 them was closed by an agreement that those who 
 pleased might sign them on their individual responsibility 
 without in any wise committing their contesting brethren 
 to them, and that they should be published in our 
 journal accordingly. This was subsequently done, as 
 follows : 
 
 " Whereas, it has pleased God in these latter days to awaken 
 the special attention of this people to' the prevailing vices, 
 iniquities, and corruptions of the age, and to incite them to 
 extraordinary eiforts for the reformation and improvement of 
 their fellow-men, 
 " And whereas, the benevolent and purifying truths held by 
 = Eestoj-ationists urgently demand their zealous co-operation in 
 every Christian enterprise for the reformation of the vicious, 
 the recovery of the outcast, the deliverance of the oppressed, 
 the maintenance of virtue, and the promotion of human happi- 
 ness ; Therefore, liesolved : 
 
REFORMATORY RESOLUTIONS. 293 
 
 " (1) That the undersigned cherish a hearty interest in the 
 cause of temperance, as based on the salutary doctrine of total 
 abstinence from all intoxicating liquor. 
 
 " (2) That we cherish a hearty interest in the cause of moral 
 reform, as judiciously prosecuted against all manner of liber- 
 tinism, lewdness, impurity, and connubial faithlessness. 
 
 " (3) That we deeply deplore the existence of slavery in the 
 metropolis, territories, and states of our country, as a foul 
 reproach to the nation ; that we are constrained to express our 
 unqualified reprobation of any and every form of bondage 
 which empowers one man to hold and treat another as mere 
 property; that we deem the laws, customs, and usages which 
 support or countenance the system of American slavery utterly 
 sinful in the sight of God, utterly anti-Christian, and utterly 
 hostile to the moral and religious welfare of mankind ; and that 
 we cordially approve of all laudable efforts for the promotion 
 of immediate emancipation throughout the United States and 
 the world. 
 
 " (4) That we do earnestly and affectionately recommend to 
 all the ministers, churches, and people of our fellowship prayer- 
 fully to consider their duty in respect to these great enterprises ; 
 to give them their unequivocal and uncompromising support so 
 far as they conscientiously can, and by no means to speak or 
 act in a manner calculated to obstruct their progress. 
 
 '•Adin Ballou, Chables Hudson, Geo. W. Stagey, A. T. 
 Temple, Lyman Maynaed, Alanson St. Clair, VVji. H. 
 Kinsley, David E. Lamson, ^V'm. Sparrell, Leonard 
 BtjLLARD, Ebenezer D. Draper; Members of the Massachu- 
 setts Association of Restorationists, met at Milton, Mass., 
 Sept. 29, 1837." 
 
 In the line of religious controversial writing during the 
 two years now being traversed, I did considerably less 
 than previously. A few articles of mine appeared in the 
 Messenger in support of Restorationism as against endless 
 punishment, and I also preached a few special discourses 
 of the same nature. My "Omega," noticed in a former 
 chapter, had foreclosed all further newspaper discussion 
 with the ultra-Universalists, but at the urgent request of 
 my faithful friend, Samuel W. Wheeler of Providence, 
 E. I., I prepared, a concise statement designed to present 
 in vivid contrast the two systems of doctrine represented 
 by myself and them respectively. It so pleased him that 
 he caused it to be printed in pamphlet form at his own 
 
29-t AUTO-BIOGRAPHY OF ADIN BALLOU. 
 
 expense and to be widely circulated. Tlie publication was 
 entitled, " THE TOUCHSTONE : Exhibiting Universal- 
 ism and Restorationism as they are, — Moral Contraries. 
 By a Consistent Restorationist." It is the only one of my 
 works, I think, not bearing my name. 
 
 Soon after this pamphlet was given to the public, it 
 was noticed at some length by the editor of the Christian 
 Advocate, a leading Methodist organ, who endeavored to 
 disparage it, and to show that there was no essential 
 difference between the two parties which it put in con- 
 trast. I publicly answered the article, exposing its 
 absurdities, and showing that the disparity claimed by 
 me was greater than that existing between the Methodists 
 and Calvinists, the latter of whom the former had been 
 bitterly denouncing for a hundred years. Believers in 
 endless torments had a special interest in taking the 
 position indicated, lest that some of their number who 
 had a strong prejudice against the Universalists should 
 be won over to Restorationism. But " truth is mighty, 
 and will prevail.'' Restorationism will some day be the 
 common orthodoxy of Christendom and all controversy 
 regarding it will cease. 
 
 Before bringing this chapter to an end, 1 desire to 
 enlarge upon and emphasize one feature of my ministerial 
 work at which I hinted in one of its opening paragraphs. 
 I have always realized more or less vividly the import- 
 ance of awakening, cultivating, and promoting the 
 distinctively religious life — personal piety and holiness 
 in those to whom I preached, so that while honoring 
 and exemplifying ordinary morality of all kinds and 
 the external decencies of good society, they should 
 not rest contented with such attainments of virtue as a 
 sufficient equipment for eternity, or even for this world, 
 without a spiritual force behind them generated by the 
 proper activity of the religious faculties. Christ taught 
 and insisted upon an inward experimental piety or sense 
 of divine realities in each individual soul, which derives 
 constant inspiration from the Heavenly Father and 
 
WARFARE WITH EXISTING EVILS. 295 
 
 manifests itself in the outward conduct by fruits of 
 righteousness and true holiness. And his ministers should 
 teach, act, and live accordingly. To this phase of minis- 
 terial work and to the development of the corresponding 
 side of the Christian character and life, I addressed 
 myself with unfaltering energy and zeal, as it has been 
 my aim to do through life. 
 
 But my efforts in behalf of personal religion w^ere 
 more or less interfered with, and the work I would 
 gladly have done in that direction hindered by reason of 
 the calls increasingly made upon me in the interest of 
 the two great reforms — Temperance and Anti-slavery — 
 whose importance and claims I was by no means disposed 
 to forget or ignore. With respect to them, as with 
 respect to spiritual concerns," " Necessity was laid upon 
 ,me ; Yea, woe was mine," if I did not do what I could 
 to carry them forward on their mission of uplifting and 
 redemption to a successful issue. The victims of strong 
 ■drink, the wrecked characters, the ruined homes, the 
 wretchedness and suffering of wives, mothers, and children, 
 all resulting from the indulgence of perverted appetites 
 and the use of intoxicating liquors, made appeals 
 to my reason, conscience, and heart, which I could not 
 and must not resist nor suffer to go unanswered. More- 
 over, the aggressions of the slave-power and the outrages 
 committed by the myrmidons of tyranny and oppression, 
 together with the wailings of the suffering bondmen, 
 were continually forced upon my attention, urging me- in 
 the name of G-od and humanity to "cry aloud and spare 
 not ; lift up my voice like a trumpet and show the people 
 their transgressions and the house of Jacob its sins." 
 The pro-slavery murder of Rev. Elijah P. Lovejoy in 
 Alton, 111., in November, 1837, which startled the con- 
 scientious, liberty-loving people of the North by its 
 bloodthirsty atrocity, occasioned numerous demands for 
 commemorative addresses, and for instruction upon the 
 lessons to be derived from the event, of which I had a 
 prominent share in my general neighborhood. All these 
 
296 AUTO-BIOGRAPHY OF ADIN BALLOU. 
 
 things made it difficult for me to. provide for personal 
 Christianization as I felt I ought to do, and to so divide 
 the word of divine truth that none of the great interests 
 of the heavenly kingdom should suffer detriment by any 
 neglect or unfaithfulness on my part. Yet I realized in 
 some good degree the diversified responsibilities resting- 
 upon me, and endeavored by help from on high to acquit 
 myself acceptably in respect to them all, beginning with 
 the least and reaching out unto the greatest. True Chris- 
 tianity I felt then as now, requires a loyalty on the 'part 
 of all its subjects and professors at once particular 
 and universal — a righteousness starting in the utmost 
 recesses of the individual soul and extending through the 
 family and neighborhood into general society and seeking 
 the holiness and happiness of all mankind ; yea, of all 
 moral intelligences in all states of existence. It aims at 
 the rectification of the minutest violations of the divine 
 law, as it also does of the more flagrant wrongs, the 
 giant crimes of individuals, families, communities, states, 
 nations, races. It never overlooks or passes by the 
 least or greatest duties — the particular or universal 
 good. 
 
 The multiform interests that I had at this date come 
 to represent before the general public, theologically, mor- 
 ally, and socially, not only increased very largely my 
 correspondence (which laid an extra tax upon my time 
 and energy) but also added greatly to the number of 
 visitors calling for purposes of consultation and advice 
 respecting ways and means of advancing those interests 
 and making them serve most effectually the beneficent 
 ends contemplated by them. My home became a sort 
 of cabinet or place of resort for all kinds of reformers 
 in which to discuss the various schemes proposed for 
 the bettering the condition of mankind, and formulate 
 plans for carrying such as were approved into effect ; 
 as it was also for a considerable swarm of inquirers 
 into the principles and methods of human melioration 
 and redemption. By unavoidable necessity, tliis made it 
 
TIME OF ANXIETY AND FEAR. 297 
 
 at the same time a kindl of puWic hosteli'y, in whieli 
 entertainment of suitable 1 sort — food, and not infre- 
 quently lodging — was to Be provided. Myself and wife 
 endeavored to act the parts of host and hostess with 
 proper civility and liberality, showing due hospitality to 
 all, though at considerable expense of money, time, and 
 strength. The chief burden of it all, however, fell upon 
 her, who, at the best, was illy fitted to bear it, but 
 who nevertheless discharged the duties and endured the 
 trials tlius thrust upon her with a patient, unmurmur- 
 ing, heroic diligence and fidelity, worthy of record and 
 of grateful commemoration. 
 
 In the autumn of 1837, the more strictly private 
 cares and labors of our household were very much 
 augmented and intensified by painful anxiety and 
 fear on account of the dangerous sickness of our 
 little son, Adin Augustus, who was brought to the brink 
 of the grave by scarletina. He had been with us on a 
 preaching visit to Hillsborough, N. H., and the return- 
 ing journey (made in great haste, and probably without 
 sufficient precautions against exposure and fatigue) 
 seemed to overtax his rather delicate constitution, 
 rendering him an easy prey to this insidious and debili- 
 tating disease. He was in imminent peril of his life 
 for several weeks, but happily, after a long period of 
 convalescence, recovered, bringing the thirty-fifth year 
 of my life to a close under circumstances calculated to 
 awaken in the hearts of all the members of our house- 
 hold the most profound emotions of gratitude and joy. 
 
CHAPTER XVI. 
 
 1838-1840. 
 
 Personal Memoranda — Notable Events — Non-Eesist- 
 ANCE EspoosED — Standard of Practical Chris- 
 tianity — Qltakterly Conferences — ■ Changes. 
 
 A S time passed by and I came to understand more 
 -^^ fully the practical meaning and value of the 
 theological and ethical principles I had deliberately and 
 conscientiously espoused, and their adaptability to humau 
 conduct in all the departments and relations of life ; 
 and furthermore, as the absolute necessity of applying 
 those principles as ruling forces to human conduct 
 everywhere in order to -secure the welfare and happi- 
 ness of mankind became impressed upon my mind and 
 heart, I found myself morally and religiously bound 
 to recast in some important respects both my preaching 
 and practice, so as to bring myself into harmonious- 
 accord with the new responsibilities thereby imposed on 
 me. Some of the changes I then felt impelled to make 
 have already been noted at length, as others will be 
 farther on. Meanwhile, the more common and unevent- 
 ful course of my life, after passing the thirty-fifth 
 milestone, moved on (according to my diary) as follows : 
 
 " Thursday evening, April 26th. Lectured in a school-house 
 at West Medway, Mass., upon ' Universal Restorationism,' from 
 Job 32:10. Sunday, 29th. Preached at home A. M. on 'The 
 Fidelity of Christ as a Teacher,' from Mark 12:14; p. M. on 
 ' The Sunday School,' from Prov. 22 : 6. Also presided at the 
 election of Sunday school officers for the coming year. lion- 
 day, 30th. Ministered at funeral of Mrs. Otis Scott (South 
 Mendon), preaching from Ps. 103:8, 9. Sunday, May 6lh. At 
 
EXTRACTS FROM DIARY. 299 
 
 home. Preached a. m. from Matt. 19 : 14 ; p. m., from I Cor. 
 7:31. Lectured at 5 p. M. in school-house at North Belling- 
 ham. Text, Luke 6 : 36. Tuesday, 8th. Attended funeral of a 
 thh'd cousin, Charles Ballou, Woonsocket, K. I., preaching 
 trom Ps. 39 : 4. Wednesdaij, 9th. Attended Young Men's Tem- 
 perance Union meeting afternoon and evening. Home past 11 
 •o'clock. Sunday, 13th. At home. Communion day. Preached 
 A. M-.trom Gal. 5:1; p. m., from Luke 17:17. Lectured at 
 3 p. M. in New England Village on Matt. 24:46. Great atten- 
 tion and interest. Sunday, 20th, At home. Preached a. m. 
 from Ezek. 36 : 37. Doctrine — ' The promises of God to men 
 are coupled with the requirement that they praj^, seek, strive 
 after, and fit themselves for, his gracious gifts ' ; P. m., from 
 Luke 9:55. Subject, 'Christ forbids the imprecation of the 
 divine vengeance on enemies and the retaliation of injuries.' 
 5 P. M. Lectured at North Bellingham on Matt. 25 : 46 : ' The 
 severest threatenings against evil-doers are not in contravention 
 of the sublime, far-reaching promises of -God.' 
 
 " Thursday, May 24th. Participated in the installation of 
 Eev. Brother Lyman Maynard as pastor of the Second Congre- 
 gational church and society in Hingham (South Hingham), an 
 occasion of much spiritual interest and edification. Eev. Paul 
 Dean preached the sermon and I offered the consecratory 
 prayei-. Unitarian and Restorationist clergymen united cor- 
 dially in the other parts of the service. The congregation was 
 large and attentive; the several exercises were replete with 
 ability, solemnity, and appropriateness; and every aspect of 
 things was auspicious. In the evening, by particular request, 
 I preached from I John 4:21, endeavoring to demonstrate that 
 true piety and philanthropy are inseparable excellences of pure 
 Christianity. 
 
 " Sunday, May 27th. Exchanged with Rev. Paul Dean, 
 Boston, preaching A. M. from Ezek. 18:23, and r. M. from 
 Matt. 25:19. Lectured in evening from John 3:3, on 'Regen- 
 eration, or the need of being born out of the animal life and 
 earthly loves into the spiritual life and heavenly loves.' Sun- 
 day, June 3d. At home. Preached a. m. and p. m. from the 
 same texts as in Boston a week before. At 5 P. M. lectured 
 in Baptist meeting-house. West Medway, from Matt. 12:31, 32; 
 the text being left in. the pulpit by some unknown person with 
 the. accompanying request that I speak upon it, which I was 
 happy to do. The subject to be considered was ' The sin 
 against the Holy Ghost,' or 'The unpardonable sin.' I dis- 
 cussed it under several heads: (1) What is the Holy Ghost? 
 It is the manifestation of God's presence as a spirit, adapted 
 to the comprehension of finite minds and revealing to them 
 
300 AUTO-BIOGRAPHY OF ADIN BALLOU. 
 
 what is absolutely true, right, and good. (2) What is the 
 peculiar nature and wickedness of sin against the Holy Ghost? 
 It is the Ijnown transgression of the divine law, ascribing to 
 Beelzebub what one understands belongs to God, or putting 
 that which is false, wrong, wicked, with evil intent, into the 
 place of -what is true, right, and good. Ttiis is wilful blas- 
 phemy. (3) What is the nature and eflfect of forgiveness? It 
 is the merciful softening of the rigors of a just penalty for 
 wrong doing by reason of the ignorance, frailty, or otherwise 
 excusable characteristic of the offender, whereby he is exempt 
 from more or less of the punishment which would ordinarily 
 be visited upon him. (4) When is a sin not forgiven? When, 
 by reason of its perverse and heinous character, he who com- 
 mits it is condemned to suffer its entire punishment under the 
 awards of absolute and unrestrained justice, (p) Can one thus 
 unforgivea and punished to the full extent of the penalty for 
 his wrong doing ever be redeemed from his Iniquity and recon- 
 ciled to God? Without doubt. Numerous instances of that 
 sort are given in Scripture, to whicli I referred my hearers. 
 If a man subject to the full penalty of the law is either by his 
 suffering or in any other way made humble, penitent, and con- 
 trite — if he be brought by whatsoever means into a state of 
 submission to the divine will and of trust in the divine mercj', 
 God's favor will not be withheld from him, nor the smiles of 
 His approbation be denied him. Neitlier reason nor scripture 
 furnish any ground for believing otherwise, nor for believing 
 that those who thus suffer will never abandon their sins and 
 turn to God in true penitence and faith, but much to the con- 
 trary. The text, therefore, has a meaning perfectly consistent 
 with the doctrine of the final triumph of good over evil and 
 of the ultimate redemption of all mankind. 'J'he people were 
 interested, instructed, and many of them, I think, convinced. 
 " -Sunday, Jane 10th. At home. Communion service. I 
 preached a. m. from John 13:17; p. m., I hud a funeral dis- 
 course commemorative of the venerable Abigail Russell, the 
 oldest of our church members, who departed this life May 30, 
 in the 93d year of her age. She was a woman of excellent 
 abilities, moral qualities, and social charms. She had been 
 many years a widow, bore the increasing infirmities of old age 
 with uncommon cheerfulness, and was held in high esteem by 
 all who knew her. She was the mother of Hon. Jonathan 
 Russell, who was distinguished as a member of the United 
 States Commission which negotiated the treaty of Ghent, 
 whereby peace between this country and England was secured 
 at the close of the war of 1812-1815. At 5 p. m. on the same 
 diiy I delivered a temperance lecture at Holbrookville, in 
 
EXTRACTS FROM DIARY, CONTINUED. 301 
 
 Northbridge. Ou the next Thursday evening, June 14th, I 
 gave an anti-slavery lecture in Upton, and on the following 
 evening, the loth, at East Med way. 
 
 " flundoy, June 17th. Exchanged with Rev. Luther Bailey 
 of East Medway. Preached. A. m. from Ezek. 18:23; p. m, 
 from Heb. 12:6; 5 p. m., a lecture appointed at Baptist meet- 
 ing-house, West Medway, was postponed on account of rain. 
 Sunday, 24th. At home. Preached a. m. from Luke 6 : 33. A 
 sermon strongly impregnated with the doctrine of peace and 
 non-resistance, the truth of which was rapidly growing to 
 .prominence in my mind. p. m., 2 Kings 8 : 13. The exclama- 
 tion of Hazael, servant of the king of Syria to Elisha, the 
 prophet, upon being foretold of his own murderous cruelty to 
 the Israelites when he should ere long rise to the throne. 
 Moral: Few people know what powers of evil slumber within 
 them, or suspect how wicked they may become under a change 
 of circumstances, especially if elevated to positions of great 
 worldly wealth and power. 5 P. M. Lectured in Farnumsville, 
 Grafton, from Gal. 5 : 13 : Lesson—' Prove by your lives that your 
 ■ liberty is not license ; that your faith works by love, purifies the 
 heart, and blesses mankind.' Thursday, June 28th. The ordina- 
 tion and settlement of Brother Wm. H. Pish at Millville, as 
 successor of the lamented Eev. Edmund Capron, took place. 
 The ecclesiastical council, consisting of eight ministers and 
 two laymen, met at the residence of Col. Moses Buifum in the 
 morning, and after organizing, arranged the usual preliminaries 
 of the public service, which was held in the house of worship 
 commencing at 2.30 o'clock, p. M. At that service Eev. Wm. 
 H. Kinsley offered the Opening Prayer; Kev. Isaac A. Pitman 
 read the Scriptures ; Rev. Charles Hudson delivered the Sermon 
 from II Tim. 2 : 15 : ' Study to show thyself approved unto God, 
 a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing 
 the word of truth.' The Consecrating Prayer was by Rev. 
 Samuel Clarke; Charge, by myself; Right Hand of Fellowship 
 by Eev. A. St. Clair ; Address to the Society, by Rev. Paul 
 Dean ; Concluding Prayer, by the same ; and Benediction by the 
 new pastor. The whole ceremonial passed oflf satisfactorily, 
 and a good degree of prosperity prevailed under the leadership 
 of Brother Fish for some years. After the dissolution of the 
 relation thus formed, by reason of changes incident to a manu- 
 facturing community in these later times, the church and 
 society became extinct. The worthy pastor then ordained has 
 done much general missionary work since, has had various 
 settlements under Unitarian auspices, and still survives at this 
 virriting (1889), venerable in age and highly esteemed by all 
 who know him. Through more than half a century of faithful 
 
302 AUTO-BIOGRAPHY OF ADIN BALLOU. 
 
 service, he has proved true to his ordination vows and to the 
 principles he then professed, 'a workman needing not to be 
 ashamed,' • a good minister of Jesus Christ.' " 
 
 After the manner set forth in the preceding pages, 1 
 went on from week to week through the year and through 
 the several years then passing, usually preaching morning 
 and afternoon each Sunday, and delivering a lecture later 
 in the day, with a lecture or two, or some ecclesiastical 
 or reform convocation or funeral at which I always . 
 delivered a sermon, on intervening days. It is not desir- 
 able that I detail these labors in their order further. I 
 will only, in passing to other matters, speak of certain 
 special utterances of mine showing the state of my mind 
 at the time and the general drift of my thought, theo- 
 logically, morally, socially, etc., upon questions arresting 
 the attention of the public on every hand. 
 
 '■'■Self-sacrifice. Text — Gal. 6:24: ' God forbid that I should 
 glory, save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ,' etc. Self- 
 sacrifice is the heavenly genius of pure Christianity. Jesus was 
 the prince of self-sacrificers. The genius of the world Is self- 
 gratification, which degrades and disappoints all its votaries. 
 But as self-sacrifice exalted and glorified Christ, the Saviour 
 of all lost souls, so it ennobles and glorifies all his faithful 
 disciples. There Is uothuig else worthy to be gloried in. Let 
 us learn, like Paul, to glory in nothing else and to seek 
 nothing else as our highest good. 
 
 "■ God's inioral attitude towards sinners. Text — Ezek. 18:23. 
 ' Have I any pleasure at all that the wicked should die,' etc. 
 God's infinite desire is that all sinners should turn unto him 
 and live, a desire which has given His beloved Son to the 
 world to regenerate it and subdue it unto himself, and which 
 will never rest satisfied till it be fulfilled;— till through mercies 
 and judgments, universal righteousness, peace, and joy prevail : 
 till the divine 'kingdom come and the divine will be done on 
 earth as it is in heaven.' Let us cherish to the utmost the 
 same desire, praying, laboring, and hoping confidently for the 
 same glorious consummation. 
 
 " God''s Repentance. Text — JonaJi 3: 10: ' And God saw their 
 works that they turned from their evil way ; and God repented 
 of the evil he said he would do unto them and did it not.' A 
 merely human manner of expressing the principle on which 
 God invariably acts in forgiving sinners when seasonably and 
 
THOUGHTS ON RELIGIOUS SUBJECTS. 303 
 
 heartily penitent; because he delighteth In mercy and in the 
 restoration of the lost. Let us therefore repent early of our 
 own sins, and in imitation of our Heavenly Father delight in 
 forgiving those who trespass against us, as soon as ■ they mani- 
 fest sincere sorrow therefor. 
 
 '•'• The fountain of living waters. Text — Jcr. 2:12, 13: 'Be 
 astonished; etc., for my people . . . have forsaken me, the 
 fountain of living waters:, and hewed them out cisterns, broken 
 cisterns that can hold no water.' God is indeed the fountain 
 of living waters to his moral oflfspring. If they forsake him, 
 .expecting happiness in following their own flattering devices, 
 whether as individuals or nations, those devices will prove to 
 be broken cisterns that can hold no water of happiness. They 
 utterly disappoint all who trust in them. All sin is suicidal 
 to him who commits it, as it is contemptuous and rebellious 
 towards the Great Creator. 
 
 ' '■Evil-doers left to themselves. Text — Ps. 81 : 12 : ' So I gave 
 them up to their own hearts' lusts,' etc. Thus God dealt with 
 ancient Israel when they would not hearken to His voice, and 
 thus He sometimes deals with people of these days — with 
 individuals and nations — when thej' wilfully cling to their 
 iniquities in spite of wholesome counsel and reproof. Then 
 they make haste to be miserable and wantonly prepare for 
 themselves bitter punishments ; as it is written, ' Thine own 
 wickedness shall correct thee and thy backslidings shall 
 reprove thee ! ' Woe unto them that mingle wormwood and gall 
 in the cup of their own sinful intoxication I Yet thanks be to 
 God for overruling even this unto good. 
 
 '■'■Prayer. Text — James 5:16: 'The eifectual prayer of a 
 righteous man availeth much.' That extraordinaiy i-esults in 
 the physical world even, are recorded in the scriptures as 
 having taken place in answer to prayer, we all know. Modern 
 rationalism doubts the record and the possibility of any such 
 answer to prayer on the ground that God governs the universe 
 hy fixed laws and never by special Interposition. But there 
 may be and probably are spiritual laws regulating the uses 
 and effects of prayer, as there certainly are regulating the 
 exercises and effects of human will-power. The so-called laws 
 of nature or of God are not arbitrary rules by which the 
 Supreme One is obliged to administer His government in the 
 realm of matter, but orderly methods according to which men 
 have learned that He usually acts. He is not a bondservant 
 of law beyond His own control, but a free moral agent, operat- 
 ing according to His own choice and judgment. He may 
 therefore modify or direct the movement of His laws in. such 
 a way as to answer prayer, not only in an ordinary, but in 
 
304 AUTO-BIOGRAPHY OF ADIN BALLOU. 
 
 what seems to us an extraordinary manner. Otherwise, our 
 petitions are superfluous and absurd. Let us pray fervently for 
 what we thinlj is best and, reverently leave our Heavenly 
 Father to answer as he deems fit. I cannot distrust the good 
 effect of fervent prayer. 
 
 '■'■ The Mesurreclion of Christ. Te:s.t — Luke 24 : 39. ' A spirit 
 hath not flesh and bones, as ye see me have.' We are taught to 
 believe in Christ's corpore.al resurrection —that His spirit, which 
 had not flesh and bones, re-entered and re-animated his crucified 
 body, which had flesh and bones. This was an extraordinary 
 manifestation of superhuman, Giod-given power, exercised in 
 fulfllment of Christ's promise to His disciples for the con- 
 firmation of their faith. We are called upon to believe that 
 the grosser elements of His body had been eliminated, leaving 
 the organism so etherialized that he was able to render it 
 visible or invisible, tangible or intangible to the external human 
 sense, at will. Is this miraculous? Certainly, as we use 
 words. We must believe in miracles of some sort if we believe 
 in the credibility of the New Testament and in the claims of 
 Christ to divine power as the Son of God, according to that 
 record. Otherwise, we put ourselves outside of Christianity." 
 
 But I have made selections enough to serve the pur- 
 pose for which I have quoted them, and now turn for 
 awhile to more miscellaneous topics and events. On 
 Wednesday and Thursday, Sept. 19 and 20, 1838, the 
 Massachusetts Restorationist Association held its annual 
 meeting in Brother Paul Dean's church, Boston, a pve- 
 limiuary session for more distinctively business purposes 
 occurring on Tuesday evening, with a public service in 
 the church afterward, at which a sermon was delivered 
 by Rev. Matthew Harding, temporarily in our fellowship. 
 Discourses were preached as usual with accompanying 
 devotional exercises on Wednesday, and a praise service 
 took place in the evening. Thursday morning was 
 devoted to Sunday School interests, and an association 
 for the special furtherance of those interests was formed. 
 At 3 p. M. I read my announced dissertation on "The 
 Intermediate State." At 6 p. m. a prayer-meeting was 
 held in the vestry, and at 7 in the audience room. 
 Brother Charles Gallagher, who had pursued his prepara- 
 tory studies with Rev. Sylvanus Cobb, Universalist 
 
UNUSUAL CEREMONIAL. 305 
 
 minister at Maiden, well known in after years, was 
 ordained as an evangelist, the , sermon being preached 
 by Brother "William Morse and the charge made by 
 myself. The entire proceedings of the convocation 
 passed off effectively and to the gratification of all, 
 no furthef inharmonies arising in respect to the widely- 
 agitated reform movements of the time. 
 
 A somewhat unusual ceremonial — unusual in the ranks 
 of liberal Christians — was observed on the 30th day of 
 September at South Wilbraham, whither I had gone on 
 a Restorationist missionary tour at the request of friends 
 residing there. Having preached both morning and after- 
 noon, I baptized by immersion, in the presence of a 
 large concourse of people, two worthy disciples of our 
 Restorationist faith, Joshua Stanton and John Calkins, 
 who thus desired to testify before God and men their 
 belief in the principles which that faith stood for, and 
 their consecration to a Christian life such as those prin- 
 ciples required and were calculated to produce. The 
 service was simple but reverent and impressive, and 
 seemed to have a deeply religious effect upon those who 
 witnessed as well as those who participated in it. 
 
 At the November election in 1838 Hon. William S. 
 Hastings, a leading citizen of the town and one of my 
 most devoted and reliable parishioners, standing by me 
 through all the excitement growing out of my espousal of 
 the anti-slavery cause, was elected a member of Congress 
 on the Whig ticket over his Democratic competitor, the 
 distinguished Alexander H. Everett, a minister to Spain 
 under President John Quincy Adams. Mr. Hastings was 
 eminently worthy of the honor thus conferred upon him, 
 and proved to be so well qualified for the position that 
 his constituents re-elected him in 1840 for a second term, 
 during which he died. 
 
 First Christmas Celebration. I presume that the reputed 
 
 anniversary of the Savior's birth was never celebrated in 
 
 my ancient Mendop parish, nor elsewhere in the vicinity, 
 
 until the year 1838. Traditionary prejudice, an inherit- 
 
 20 
 
306 AUTO-BIOGRAPHY OF ADIN BALLOU. 
 
 aace from our Pilgrim and Puritan ancestors, was strongly 
 against it. But 1 suggested and encouraged a change 
 from the long-prevailing custom, to which my people 
 readily consented. Our sanctuary was accordingly appro- 
 priately and gracefully trimmed and well lighted for the 
 evening of December 24, when I delivered a: specially 
 prepared discourse to a large and deeply interested con- 
 gregation. My text was Isa. 9:6, 7: "For unto us a 
 child is born, unto us a son is given," etc. Since that 
 time celebrations of the event have prevailed more and 
 more in the churches of this general region and indeed 
 throughout the land, the descendants of the founders of 
 New England of all shades of belief, vieing with their 
 Episcopalian and Roman Catholic brethren in making 
 them attractive, significant, and impressive. 
 
 Early in the year in which the occurrences just noted 
 took place, my 'attention was called to the claims of the 
 cause of peace as opposed to the great war system of the 
 world, in the more radical form it had lately assumed 
 under the name of "Non-resistance." This resulted in 
 part, I suppose, from the general influence upon me of 
 the two great reforms in the promotion of which I had 
 become actively and earnestly engaged, and in part from 
 the testimonies and appeals of those who had come for- 
 ward as adherents and champions of the new movement, 
 some of whom I knew to be persons of high character 
 and of a generous, noble, philanthropic spirit. I did not 
 have to consider the subject a great while before , I saw 
 very clearly that something of the kind had a basis in 
 the scriptures of the New Testament and in the sugges- 
 tions of an enlightened and spiritualized understanding. 
 But I did not feel quite satisfied with the form in which 
 its advocates presented it to the public, nor with the 
 sweeping conclusions which they declared it logically and 
 morally involved and even necessitated. And yet when 
 I came to investigate the matter thoroughly in all its 
 relations to and bearings upon human conduct, I was 
 convinced that they were right and I .wrong. I was also 
 
CLAIMS OF THE PEACE CAUSE. S07 
 
 convinced that if its professed friends and receivers were 
 consistent they would have to withdraw from all govern- 
 mental society constitutionally committed to the war 
 principle or to the use of deadly force in any case. As 
 logical consistency was a part of my religion, I should 
 be opposed to acting inside of any government as a 
 co-ordinate factor therein while abjuring all responsibility 
 for the execution of its constitutional provisions, among 
 which was the carrying on of war and the visiting of 
 penal vengeance upon offenders. I must be honestly 
 inside or outside of all such governments. Here I paused 
 and pondered. 
 
 Ought I to take a stand outside of the body, politic as 
 represented by the state and nation, and have nothing 
 whatever to do with the administration of public affairs? 
 This question was a serious one with me at the outset, 
 and it was some time before I could answer it to my 
 satisfaction. I went over all the arguments pro and con 
 that had ever been presented to me or that I could frame 
 out of my own earnest thought, but without definite 
 result. I finally looked to Christ to see if he did not 
 provide a way of escape from my difficulty. I found 
 that he nowhere inculcated, by precept or example, the 
 duty of managing political concerns, of directing matters 
 of state, of exercising the functions of citizenship in the 
 existing governments of men. His kingdom was ' ' not of 
 this world." This fact he magnified and emphasized. 
 And to the spirit and laws of the heavenly kingdom he 
 enjoined uncompromising fidelity, even unto death. In 
 subordination to that kingdom and as its earthly repre- 
 sentative, he instituted a voluntary, fraternal association — 
 the church — in which there were to be no titled magis- 
 trates or crowned sovereigns, but only chieftains and 
 rulers who were the servants of all. And this association 
 was to transcend the righteousness of this world, rise 
 above and supersede all human governments, abstain from 
 all carnal strife with and violent resistance to established 
 civil authority, even when tyrannical and cruel, submit- 
 
308 AUTO-BIOGRAPHY OF ADIN BALI.OU. 
 
 ting rather to its exactions meekly and thus proving itself 
 true to the principles of Christ's gospel in the spirit of 
 holy martyrdom. When I came to see and comprehend 
 this, I stood in awe of its sublime wisdom and goodness. 
 I bowed before it in adoring reverence; I yielded to my 
 highest convictions ; I became a Christian Non-resistant. 
 
 But I did not become a blind, irrational one. It 
 seemed to me clear that true Christian Non-resistance 
 was not mere passivity, nor sheer tameness and indiffer- 
 ence in respect to evil-doers, nor simple abstinence from 
 physical force in the treatment of violent and wicked 
 men, but abstinence from every kind of injurious and 
 unbeneflcent force whatsoever — from every act, word, 
 feeling, towards evil-doers which Jiarms their bodies, 
 minds, or spirits, or disregards their highest good and 
 happiness as individual and social beings, for time and 
 for eternity. All rebukes and restraints, all preventives 
 and resistances of wrong doing, which do not in any way 
 harm but benefit those subjected to them, which are 
 accordant with true friendship and good will towards 
 them, are not only consistent with Christian Non-resist- 
 ance, but are absolutely dictated by that godlike love out 
 of which it springs. Such Non-resistance is not abject 
 submission to injustice and wrong — it is not recompens- 
 ing evil-doers with evil-doing, with harm, detriment, 
 injury. It is radically different from the maxims, 
 customs, usages, and laws of the different nations of the 
 earth, whether savage or nominally civilized, and though 
 greatly stigmatized and flouted by the worldly wise, is 
 yet in my judgment an essential article in the orthodoxy 
 of primitive Christianity, as it is a conclusion of the 
 most enlightened reason. 
 
 In embracing this doctrine, it was a great satisfaction 
 to me to know that it was logically and morally in har- 
 mony with my Eestorationist theology and even requisite 
 to its practical exemplification in individual and social 
 life. It only required me to love my enemies and treat 
 them in all regards as my Heavenly Father does, seeking 
 
STANDARD OF PRACTICAL CHRISTIANITY. 309 
 
 their highest welfare in all my dealings with them, now 
 and forever. Nevertheless, to my deep regret and sorrow, 
 I found that this doctrine was offensive to some of my 
 Restorationist brethren who were wedded to the popular 
 opinion and practice upon the subject it involved, and I 
 was the more grieved in that the new step I had taken 
 seemed likely to break that bond of fellowship in which 
 we had labored and sacrificed so earnestly and happily 
 together for a common great and noble cause. But 1 
 could not be false to my honest convictions, nor refrain 
 from acting according to their dictates. An irresistible 
 spiritual impulse within me seemed to set all ecclesiastical 
 and worldly prudence at defiance. Under its guidance I 
 called around me the few brethren who had manifested 
 a sympathy with my views, and after much prayerful 
 and deliberate conference we adopted and published the 
 subjoined statement, to wit : 
 
 "standard of practical Christianity. 
 
 "Humbly desirous of promoting Christian piety and morality 
 in their primitive purity, the undersigned do solemnly acknowl- 
 edge the Principles, Sentiments, and Duties declared in the 
 following Standard, viz: 
 
 "We are Christians. Our creed is the New Testament. Our 
 religion is love. Our only law is the will of God. Our grand 
 object is the restoration of man, especially the most fallen and 
 friendless. Our immediate concern is the promotion of useful 
 knowledge, moral improvement, and Christian perfection. We 
 recognize no Spiritual Father but God; no master but Christ. 
 We belong to -that kingdom of ' righteousness, peace, and joy, 
 which is ' not of tliis world' ; whose throne is holiness, whose 
 scepter is truth, whose greatness is humility, whose pre- 
 eminence is service, whose patriotism is love of enemies, whose 
 heroism Is forbearan.ce, whose glory is self-sacrifice,, whose 
 wealth is charity, whose triumphs are salvation. Therefore, 
 we can make no earthly object our chief good, nor be governed 
 by any motive but the love of Bight, nor compromise duty 
 with worldly convenience, nor seek the preservation of our 
 property, our reputation, our personal liberty, or our life, tiy 
 the sacrifice of Conscience. We cannot live merely to eat, 
 drink, sleep, gratify our sensual appetites, dress, display our- 
 selves, acquire property, and be accounted great in this world; 
 but to do good. 
 
310 AUTO-BIOGRAPHY OF ADIN BALLOU. 
 
 " All that we are and have, with all that God shall ever 
 bestow upon us, we unreservedly dedicate to the cause of uni- 
 versal righteousness, expecting for ourselves in the order of 
 divine providence only a comfortable subsistence until death, 
 and in the world to come eternal life. 
 
 " Placing unlimited confidence in our Heavenly Father, we 
 distrust all other guidance. We cannot be governed by the 
 will of man, however solemnly and formally declared, nor put 
 our trust in an arm of flesh. Hence we voluntarily withdraw 
 from all Interference with the governments of this world. We 
 can take no part in the politics, the administration, or the 
 defence of those governments, either by voting at their polls, 
 holding their offices, aiding in the execution of their legal 
 vengeance, fighting under their banners, claiming their protec- 
 tion against violence, seeking redress in their courts, petitioning 
 their legislatures to enact laws, or obeying their unrighteous 
 requirements. Neither can we participate in any rebellion, 
 insurrection, sedition, riot, conspiracy, or plot against any of 
 these governments, nor resist any of their ordinances by phy- 
 sical force, nor do anything unbecoming a peaceable submission 
 to the existing powers ; but will quietly jjay the taxes levied 
 upon us, conform to all Innocent laws and usages, enjoy all 
 righteous privileges, abstain from all civil commotions, freely 
 express our opinions of governmental acts, and patiently endure 
 whatever penalties we may for conscience' sake incur. 
 
 " We cannot employ carnal weapons nor any physical violence 
 whatsoever to compel moral agents to do right, or to prevent 
 their doing wrong — not even for the preservation of our 
 lives. We cannot render evil for evil, railing for railing, 
 wrath for wrath, nor revenge insults and injuries, nor lay up 
 grudges, nor be overcome of evil, nor do otherwise than ' love 
 our enemies, bless them that curse us, do good to them that hate 
 us, and pray for them that despitefully use us and persecute us.' 
 
 " We cannot indulge the lust of dominion, nor exercise 
 arbitrary authority, nor cherish bigotry, nor be egotistical, nor 
 receive honorary titles, nor accept flattery, nor seek human 
 applause, nor assume the place of dignity. We cannot be 
 Pharisaical, self-righteous, nor dogmatical'. We cannot do evil 
 that good may come. We cannot resent reprooj, nor justify 
 our faults, nor persist iu wrong-doing. 
 
 " We cannot excommunicate, anathematize, or execrate an 
 apostate, heretic, or reprobate person otherwise than withdraw- 
 ing our fellowship, refusing our confidence, and declining 
 familiar intercourse. 
 
 '' We cannot be cruel, even to the beasts of the earth. We 
 cannot be inhuman, unmerciful, unjust, unkind, abusive, or 
 
STANDARD — CONTINUED. 311 
 
 injurious to any being of our race. We cannot be indifferenj 
 to the sufferings of distressed humanity, nor treat the unfor- 
 tunate with contempt. But we hold ourselves bound to do good, 
 as we have opportunity, unto all mankind; to feed the hungry, 
 clothe the naked, minister to the sicis, visit the imprisoned, 
 «ntertain the stranger, protect the helpless, comfort the 
 afflicted, jjlead for the oppressed, seek the lost, lift up the 
 fallen, rescue the ensnared, reclaim the wandering, reform the 
 vicious, enlighten the benighted, instruct the young, admonish 
 the wayward, rebuke the scornful, encourage the penitent, con- 
 firm the upright, and diffuse a universal charity. 
 
 " We cannot go with a multitude to do evil, nor take part 
 with the mighty against the feeble, nor excite enmity between 
 the rich and the poor, nor stand aloof from the friendless, nor 
 abandon them that take refuge with us, nor court the great, 
 nor despise the small, nor be afraid of the terrible, nor take 
 advantage of the timid, nor show respect of persons, nor side 
 with a friend in what is wrong, nor oppose an enemy in what 
 is right, nor forbid others to do good because they follow not 
 ■us, nor set up names and forms above personal holiness, nor 
 refuse to co-operate with any man, class, or association of men 
 ■on our own principles in favor of righteousness, nor contemn 
 any new light, improvement, excellence, which may be com- 
 jnended to our attention from any direction whatsoever. 
 
 " We cannot make a trade or emolument of preaching the 
 ■gospel, nor be supported therein by unwilling contributions, 
 nor beep back any truth thereof which ought to be declared, 
 nor consent to preach anything more or less than God directs 
 us, nor encourage religious devotion in- mere worldly show,, nor 
 pursue an}' course of conduct whereby the money, the smiles, or 
 the frowns of corrupt men may overule the divine law and 
 testimony. We cannot surrender the right of serving God 
 according to the dictates of our own conscience, nor interfere 
 •with others in their exercise of the same liberty. 
 
 " We hold it impossible to cherish a holy love for mankind 
 without abhorring sin. Therefore, we can give no countenance, 
 express or implied, to any iniquity, vice, wrong, or evil, on the 
 ground that the same is established by law, or is a source of 
 pecuniary profit to any class of men, or is fashionable in high 
 life, or is popular with the multitude; but we hold ourselves 
 fbound so much the more to testify plainly, faithfully, and 
 fearlessly against such sins. Hence, we declare our utter 
 abhorrence of war, slavery, intemperance, licentiousness, cov- 
 ■etousness, and worldly ambitions in all their forms. We 
 ■cannot partake in these sins nor apologize for them, nor 
 Teraain neutral concerning ttiem, nor refrain from rebuking 
 
312 AUTO-BIOGEAPHY OF ADIN BALLOU. 
 
 their various manifestations; but must forever abstain from 
 and oppose them. 
 
 " We cannot promote our own advantage at the expense of 
 others by deceiving, defrauding, corrupting, degrading, over- 
 bearing, or impoverishing them. We cannot take a.wa.j their 
 good name by defamation, nor by retailing the scandal of 
 their enemies, nor by spreading abroad evil reports on mere 
 hearsay authority, nor by wantonly publishing their failings.. 
 We cannot be busybodies in other people's affairs, nor tale- 
 bearers of domestic privacy, nor proclaimers of matters 
 unsuitable for the public ear. We cannot rashly judge men's 
 motives, nor raise evil suspicions against them, nor join in- 
 condemning the accused without a hearing, nor delay repara- 
 tion to the injured, nor make any one's necessity our advantage, 
 nor willingly render ourselves burdensome to others, nor cause 
 any one a single unnecessary step for our mei-e gratification;, 
 but we will always deem it ' more blessed to give than to- 
 i-eceive,' to serve than to be served — sacrificing nothing of holy 
 principle, though, if need be, everything of personal convenience. 
 
 " We cannot live in Idleness, nor be careless or extravagant,, 
 nor on the other hand avaricious, parsimonious, or niggai'dly- 
 We cannot indulge a feverish anxiety in any of our temporal 
 concerns, nor fret ourselves under disappointment, nor repine 
 at anything that marks our lot. We cannot be austere, morose,, 
 or rude; nor capricious, ungrateful, or treacherous. We can 
 not practice dissimulation, nor offer fulsome compliments, nor 
 use a flattering courtesy. We cannot follow pernicious fashions, 
 nor encourage theatrical exhibitions, nor join in frivolous 
 amusements, nor countenance games of chance, nor array our- 
 selves in costly apparel, nor wear useless ornaments, nor put 
 on badges of mourning, nor distinguish ourselves by any 
 peculiar formalities of raiment or language. 
 
 " We cannot indulge to excess in eating, drinking, sleeping,, 
 recreation, labor, study, joy, or sorrow, nor permit our passions 
 to tyrannize over our reason. We cannot harbor pride, envy, 
 anger, malice, wrath, ill-will, sullenness, or peevishness; nor 
 cherish any unholy lusts, imaginations, or tempers. 
 
 '•We cannot swear by any matter of oath, nor make any 
 rash vows, nor offer any extraordinary protestations of our 
 innocence, sincerity, or veracity; nor utter any blasphemy, 
 imprecation, falsehood, obscene expression, foolish jest, or 
 profane exclamation. 
 
 " We cannot enter into the state of matrimony without grave 
 deliberation and an assurance of divine approbation. We cannot- 
 neglect or abuse our families, nor evince any want of natural 
 affection towards our bosom companion, our aged parents, or 
 
STANDARD — CONCLUDED. 313 
 
 our helpless offspring. We cannot imbrute our children by 
 disregarding their education, nor by setting them an evil 
 example, nor by over-fondness, nor by harshness and severity, 
 nor by corporeal punishment, nor by petulance and scolding. 
 
 " We cannot neglect our brethren in their adversity, nor 
 call anything our own when their necessities demand relief, 
 nor be silent when they ai-e unjustly accused or reproached. 
 We cannot speak of their faults in their absence without first 
 having conferred with and admonished them; nor then if they 
 have promised amendment. 
 
 " We cannot over-urge any person to unite with us, nor 
 resort to undignified artifices of proselytism, nor seek debate 
 with unreasonable men, nor protract a controversy for the 
 sake of the last word, nor introduce sacred subjects for dis- 
 cussion in a company of scorners. Yet we will hold ourselves 
 ready to give an answer to every one that asketh of us a reason 
 for our faith, opinion, or conduct, with meekness, frankness, 
 and patience. 
 
 " Finally, as disciples of Jesus Christ, before whose judgment 
 seat all must appear, we acknowledge ourselves bound by the 
 most sublime, solemn, and indispensable obligations to be 
 perfect as our Father in heaven is perfect, in all possible 
 respects ; and whereinsoever we come short thereof to take 
 shame to ourselves, confess our sins, seek divine pardon, repair 
 to the utmost our delinquencies, and bring forth fruits meet 
 for repentance. And for all this, our suflSciency is of God, to 
 whom be glory, world without end. Amen. 
 
 ''Adin Ballou, David R. Lamson, Daniel S. Whitney, 
 Wm. H. Fish, Ministers. Charles Gladding, Wm. W. Cook, 
 Laymen concurring. 
 
 This " Standard," when originally presented to the 
 public, was accompanied by numerous references to those 
 passages of scripture which were understood to teach the 
 truths and duties set forth in its specifications. Also 
 by an explanatory statement indicating the relation, 
 practically, which those accepting it stood to existing 
 churches, ecclesiastical bodies, and moral and social 
 reform associations, and to the persons and parties com- 
 posing them, all professedly working to the same great 
 end of human elevation, redemption, and happiness. 
 Furthermore, there was appended to it a series of resolu- 
 tions taking strongly radical ground against the giant 
 evils of human society — war, slavery, intemperance, 
 
514 AUTO-BIOGRAPHY OF ADIN BALLOU. 
 
 licentiousness, covetousness, and sectarian bigotry — and 
 in favor of their opposites, together with one recogniz- 
 ing, commending, and rejoicing in the many indications 
 of a better time coming to the world — an era when sin 
 and misery shall be known on earth no more forever. 
 
 Whether we who pnt forth this manifesto fully under- 
 stood what we were saying and realized our responsibilities, 
 I have now serious doubts. And these doubts are confirmed 
 by remembering how little we accomplished, and above 
 all how far we fell short of our sublime ideal. Never- 
 theless, I believed when we adopted it that- the principles, 
 sentiments, and duties it embodied and inculcated were 
 substantially true and obligatory, and 1 have never 
 changed my mind, except with respect to a few compara- 
 tively unimportant , declarations and phrases. I know 
 that as a whole, it is not in accord with the popular 
 Christianity of Christendom, but I am confident that it is 
 in accord with the Christianity of the New Testament. 
 And I am no less confident that it is indispensable to the 
 regeneration and absolute happiness of mankind. If this 
 made me a fanatic in 1839, I am a still greater one in 
 1889, though doubtless a wiser one by disciplinary experi- 
 ence. 
 
 The adoption and publication of the "Standard" 
 widened the breach already opened between the conserva- 
 tive and progressive wings of our Eestorationist body and 
 hastened its dissolution. The former retained their places 
 in the old order of society while the latter were impelled 
 forward, entering alliances and taking up activities look- 
 ing to a more Christlike type of civilization, and leading 
 more or less directly to the movement which two or three 
 jears later culminated in the Hopedale Community. 
 
 It may be proper to mention the fact that in connection 
 with the consideration and adoption of the pronuncia- 
 mento to which attention has just been directed, our 
 Brother Daniel S. Whitney, another student of Rev. Paul 
 Dean, was ordained as an Evangelist, himself preaching 
 the sermon, the other ministering brethren present taking 
 
QUARTERLY CONFERENCES. 315 
 
 part in the service. He was afterward settled as pastor 
 at Middlesex Village, West Boylston, and Berlin, and 
 later became a participator in the enterprise at Hopedale 
 alluded to. 
 
 I had but just passed the thirty-sixth anniversary of 
 my birtli in April, 1839, when I was summoned to the 
 'dying bed of my venerable father, who was nearing his 
 end on the ancient homestead where he and all his child- 
 ren were born. I watched anxiously with him through 
 one long night, but he was too far lost to the things of 
 time to know me. The following day, April 28, his 
 spirit was released from its mortal thraldom and ascended 
 to the realm of the immortals. His age was 81 years, 
 .2 months, and 7 days. His funeral was solemnized 
 May 1, with becoming ceremonial. He was an honest, 
 ■conscientious man, served his day and generation well, 
 .and merited the grateful remembrance of his children. 
 
 The Massachusetts Restorationist Association held its 
 annual meeting for this year on the 17th and 18th of 
 September, with Brother Lyman Maynard's parish at 
 .South Hingham. Rev. Paul Dean was chosen moderator, 
 and Rev. Edwin M. Stone, clerk. Sermons were preached 
 by Brothers Daniel S. Whitney, Edwin M. Stone, William 
 Morse, and myself, with a closing address by Rev. Paul 
 Dean. Discussions in council were pleasant, notwithstand- 
 ing honest differences between the two wings. I remained 
 At South Hingham over Sunday by exchange with Brother 
 Maynard and preached morning, afternoon, and evening. 
 
 Quarterly conferences, as they were termed, had been 
 started under the auspices of our association, and were 
 kept up with a considerable degree of regularity during 
 the period covered by this chapter, and thenceforth in 
 subsequent years. They were welcomed wherever we had 
 a foothold, were occasions of exceeding interest, and 
 accomplished much good. I took care to attend them 
 all and to render them as profitable as was in my power. 
 To increase their efficiency as a means of awakening and 
 deepening the religious hfe, I made a compilation of 
 
316 AUTO-BIOGRAPHY OF ADIN BALLOU. 
 
 about a hundred of the most reverential and inspiring 
 hymns I could find, interspersed with a few original 
 ones, which I had printed and put in a form convenient 
 for use at these gatherings and at other times, and they 
 proved most serviceable. Several of the brethren were 
 men of deep and vital religious experience and 'of fer- 
 vent piety, and their ministrations in that regard were 
 highly appreciated and beneficial. These conferences, 
 under the circumstances, were replete with salutary 
 preaching, counsel, and devotional exercises, and gave 
 our cause a decidedly spiritual as well as intellectual 
 character. They helped to nourish the divine life in us all. 
 
 My first appearance before the general public in my 
 new role as a Christian Non-resistant was at the annual 
 meeting of the New England Non-resistant Society, 
 which was held in Boston on Thursday and Friday, the 
 24th and 25th of September, 1839. It was a most 
 remarkabl* occasion — remarkable for its numbers, con- 
 sidering the unpopularity of the cause it represented, for 
 the variety of its personal elements, for the free, unfet- 
 tered utterance of diversified opinions, and for its 
 uncompromising testimonies. Though not a member of 
 the association, I was permitted to participate in its dis- 
 cussions, making an address on "Non-resistance in its 
 relation to human governments," which received high 
 commendation. It was published in the organ of the 
 society and in tract form, and had a wide circulation 
 among reformers and in the general community. I deem 
 it one of my best expositions of the subject upon which 
 it treats and will try to have it preserved for the bene- 
 fit of posterity. Of the society itself, its work, and ulti- 
 mate extinction, I shall speak more fully hereafter. 
 
 The Independent Messenger, which was started under my 
 superintendence in 1831 as the organ of the Kestoration- 
 ists, was suspended at the close of the year 1839, with 
 the promise of an early resumption, which, however, was 
 never fulfilled. It had passed into the hands of parties 
 alien iu no small degree to the spirit and purpose of 
 
ORGAN OF REFORMATORY RESTORATIONISTS. 317 
 
 its founders and incompetent to give it much vitality on 
 any basis or in any behalf. It had no sympathy and 
 no encouragement for a progressive Christianity, on 
 which account the reformatory wing of our body lost all 
 interest in and withdrew all support from it. This, with 
 other considerations, resulted in its speedy demise. 
 
 But those composing this wing, and especially the sub- 
 scribers to the " Standard," were unsatisfied with the 
 idea of having no organ through which to make known 
 their principles, pui-poses, and doings to the world. They 
 also felt the necessity of some bond of union among 
 themselves — of some organization on their own ground, 
 and accordingly formed an incipient one in the early 
 months of 1840. This being accomplished, they then, 
 though weak in numbers and in pecuniary resources, pro- 
 ceeded to lay plans and provide means for the publication 
 of a small semi-monthly periodical, to be called TJie 
 Practical Christian, the chief responsibility of its editor- 
 ship and general management being assigned to me. The 
 first number appeared April 1, 1840, just before the 
 thirty-seventh anniversary of my birth, and thenceforth it 
 was regularly issued for twenty years. 
 
CHAPTER XVII. 
 
 1840-1842. 
 
 The Practical Christian — Communities — Brook Farm — 
 
 HoPEDALB — Reform Labors — Letters — Close op 
 
 Mendon Pastorate — Removal to Hopedale. 
 
 FOR several' years I had been comparatively free from 
 editorial and other journalistic cares and responsi- 
 bilities, but resumed them again, as before indicated, 
 about the time of the opening of the period which the 
 present chapter passes in review. The Practical Chris- 
 tian, our new periodical, of which I was given charge by 
 my sympathizing associates, was but a small folio of 
 four pages and could contain only a moderate amount of 
 reading matter. Though it named " Mendon, Mass.," as 
 the place of publication, yet for the first two years of its 
 existence it had to be put to press at the nearest print- 
 ing-office, either in Worcester or Woonsocket, R. I. It 
 was devoted chiefly to the various reforms to which our 
 section of the Independent Restorationists had professed 
 adhesion, as set forth in the "Standard"; but it did not 
 ignore our common Restorationist theology, inasmuch as 
 all connected with its management believed and felt that 
 that theology was the only basis upon which all reform, 
 all true practical Christianity, logically rested. Both were 
 therefore expounded and defended as inseparable counter- 
 parts and complements of each other. According to this 
 view, which implies the vital relation existing in the 
 nature of things between faith and works, theory and 
 practice, fundamental principles and right action, belief 
 and life, the Practical Christian was conducted during its 
 entire existence. 
 
THE GROTON CONVENTION. 31& 
 
 Ohristian Union. An interesting religious movement 
 bearing this designation originated in central New York 
 a few years previous to the date of the occurrences just 
 narrated. Its rallying cry was " Union of all Christians : 
 Away with Sectarianism." Among its progenitors and 
 leading promotors was a no-less-distinguished personage 
 than Gerritt Smith, a world-renowned philanthropist, who, 
 a few years before, had distributed a hundred thousand 
 acres or more of his vast landed possessions among free 
 negroes and other poor people, whereon to build homes for 
 themselves and earn a livelihood. It had come to have sa 
 much of a foothold in central and eastern Massachusetts 
 that in the summer of 1840 a general convention of its 
 friends and those sympathizing with its declared sentiments 
 and objects was called to meet in the town of Groton on 
 the 12th day of August. One Rev. Silas Hawley seemed 
 to be its chief representative in this part of the country 
 and a prominent mover in getting up the Groton convoca- 
 tion. The call for it was addressed " To all the friends 
 of the Redeemer and of Reform." Our little group of 
 Progressives, though doubtful of a cordial welcome on 
 account of what might be regarded as their theological 
 heresies, were in a mood to hope something from such 
 ah ostensibly well-meant and philanthropic enterprise, and 
 resolved to lend it, in a general way, their sanction. The 
 meeting was accordingly announced with favorable com- 
 ments in the Practical Christian, and immediately after a 
 pleasant conference of our own in Southborough, most of 
 us repaired to Groton — myself and wife among the 
 number. We were kindly received, respectfully treated, 
 and so far had no cause of complaint. 
 
 But such a heterogeneous gathering assembled as can 
 hardly be imagined, made up, as it was, of Christian 
 Unionists proper. Perfectionists, Transcendentalists, 
 Comeouters, and nondescript eccentrics of widely varying 
 types and peculiarities. The whole number of enrolled 
 members of the convention was about 275. Dr. Amos 
 Farnsworth (residence unknown) was chosen president, 
 
320 AUTO-BIOGEAPHY OF ADIN BALLOU. 
 
 and p:dniund Quincy of Dedham, Oliver Johnson of Bos- 
 ton, and Lucius M. Burleigh of Plainfleld, Ct., secretaries. 
 The parties interested in calling and providing for the 
 meeting found themselves so involved with erratic and 
 chaotic opinionists that they had hard work to control the 
 proceedings or utilize the occasion to the advantage of 
 their special cause. Many unacceptable subjects were intro- 
 duced and warmly discussed ; generally, however, in good 
 temper. There was a large number of earnest talkers 
 who dispensed profitable thoughts and suggestions as well 
 as unprofitable ones, but few satisfactory conclusions 
 were reached. Finally, as I recollect, the Christian Union- 
 ists succeeded in making their favorite and distinctive 
 affirmations. These in condensed form were that Sectari- 
 anism is abhorrently anti-Christian and that the divided 
 branches of the professed Christian church ought to come 
 at once into harmonious fellowship. How this was to be 
 done was not stated, nor was it found practically possible 
 to realize it, even among those present. Could it have 
 been accomplished there and extended thence throughout 
 Christendom, it would have produced little improvement 
 in the popular theology or ethics, or in the characters and 
 lives of men. Names and externals might have been 
 changed, but not evil thirigs. I tried to be just and gen- 
 erous to these self-styled reformers, but was obliged to 
 conclude that their aims and claims were comparatively 
 superficial, and that, whatever their merits, we of the 
 Practical Christian household of faith could derive no 
 special edification from them. 
 
 Soon after the publication of our " Standard of Practi- 
 cal Christianity," my mind began to be exercised with 
 the question of how it could be actualized. How could 
 the principles and sentiments it contained be made the 
 basis of individual and social life? I could not suppress 
 this inquiry on my own part and my brethren were bur- 
 dened with the same problem. To treat our declaration 
 of principles and duties as a mere speculation or rhetori- 
 cal flourish would be alike false to our highest convictions 
 
BREAK WITH THE SOCIAL ORDER. 321 
 
 aud "disobedient to tlie heavenly vision" — it would be 
 both inconsistent and wicked. We must not only preach 
 but live by what we had received as truth, or else 
 renounce it honestly as. impracticable. Conscience and a 
 proper self-respect forbade its renunciation. There was 
 jio honorable retreat for us ; we must go forward. But 
 if we went forward, to whom could we look for co-opera- 
 tion and support? With whom could we aflSUate in 
 carrying our declared theories into effect? We had broken 
 with the existing social system in three fundamental 
 respects — in respect (1) to the non-resistance of evil 
 with evil, (2) the serviceship of superiors, and (3) the 
 fraternization of property. And we could not suppose 
 for a moment that those who believed in and were a 
 part of the existing order of society would encourage and 
 aid us in preaching what was in its very nature opposed 
 to and subversive of that order, or in any attempts we 
 might make to establish and build up one that was radi- 
 cally different from it and designed in due time to supersede 
 it in the administratron of human affairs. We had nothing 
 whatever to hope for from that quarter, either in the way 
 of maintaining our ministry in the promulgation of the 
 principles we had avowed, or in any effort we might put 
 forth to apply and carry out those principles to their 
 . logical and moral results in life's varied interests and 
 concerns. We must therefore depend on ourselves under 
 divine providence and on the converts we could make to 
 ■our cause in both its theoretical and practical aspects. 
 
 Here, then, we took our stand. For us there was no 
 other alternative. Upon the Practical Christian platform 
 which we had adopted and given to the world, we must 
 try to build a new civilization radically higher than the 
 old, which should hold inviolate the distinctive principles 
 of truth and duty just enumerated and d<eclared by us to 
 be essential to the realization of a divine order of human 
 society founded on the gi-eat ideas of the fatherhood of 
 God and brotherhood of man. Could we hope to succeed 
 in such an enterprise as this ? We were credulous enough 
 21 
 
322 AUTO-BIOGRAPHY OF ADIN BALLOU. 
 
 to believe that with the favor of heaven we might. At 
 least we must try, however we might fail. In the light 
 of a bitter experience our presumption now seems almost 
 insane. But we were honest and conscientious, and per- 
 haps our endeavors were necessary and useful, all things 
 considered, as contributing to the final solution of the 
 great social problem which still confronts the Christian 
 philosopher and philanthropist. 
 
 As to the course we were to pursue in order to realize- 
 our purpose, we were for some time much in doubt. We 
 were new converts to our own principles and ideas — 
 novices even in our theoretical positions, and wholly 
 inexperienced in everything like the practical workings of 
 what we vaguely contemplated as the ultimate outcome 
 of our movement. Moreover, we had nothing to guide 
 us or help us in the experience of others. Nothing like 
 what we were to undertake had been attempted before 
 since the world was made. We were pioneers in the field 
 of social reconstruction and must work our way along 
 with such wisdom as we possessed ; slowly, cautiously,. 
 as best we could, until the end we sought was gained 
 or failure obliged us to relinquish our efforts in that, 
 direction. 
 
 For a few months, my coadjutors and myself as their- 
 leader entertained and discussed somewhat indefinitely tti& 
 plan of purchasing a common farm, settling upon and 
 running it as a means of mutual physical self-support — 
 making it a sort of missionary post whence our preachers 
 might go forth to localities where an opportunity was. 
 offered us, like the apostles of old, and proclaim an 
 untrammeled gospel as we understood it in its application 
 to all the affairs of life. This plan, after much consid- 
 eration, grew into the more ample one of a community, 
 which should be composed of a considerable number of 
 persons sympathizing with us and representing a variety 
 of interests pertaining to the welfare and prosperity of 
 society. Having deliberated sufflei.ently, as I thought, 
 upon the subject, I issued in the Practical Christian, the 
 
ADVANTAGES OF COMMUNITY LIFE. 323 
 
 15th of September, 1840, an article entitled "Communi- 
 ties," in which I announced and explained our private 
 discussions and the result to which they brought us, viz : • 
 The desirahility o/ establishing a colony of persons pledged 
 to the principles of our standard, for mutual encouragement 
 and support in proclaiming and exempAifying those princi- 
 ples before the world. In that communication I endeavored 
 to answer many questions which would naturally be asked 
 by persons of a practical turn of mind concerning such 
 an undertaking, even going so far as to present a 
 suggestive constitution for its general management. I 
 also, in closing, set forth what I thought would be the 
 advantages of the proposed scheme, as follows : 
 
 " Such a community would furnish a happy home to many 
 pure-hearted Christians now scattered abroad, insulated from 
 each other, ignored or maligned by a corrupt church, and 
 oppressed by the unregenerate world. It would enable them 
 to secure, with less severe toil and more certainty, a comfort- 
 able subsistence for themselves and their dependents. It 
 would render it much easier for them to reform many per- 
 nicious habits of Jiving and to promote the true physical 
 health and comfort of themselves and families. It would 
 remove them from the dominion of many corrupt and demoraliz- 
 ing influences to which they are now exposed. It would enable 
 them to set up and maintain a purer i-eligious worship, a holier 
 ministry, a more salutary moral discipline, and altogether a 
 better spiritual state of things than they now enjoy. It would 
 enable them to send forth true-hearted religious, moral, and 
 philanthropic missionaries into the surrounding world for its 
 conversion; men and women who would not be bribed or 
 frightened into subserviency to popular iniquities, and who, 
 when weary, might return, like Noah's dove, to the window of 
 a peaceful ark and find repose. It would enable them more 
 efifectually to prosecute every branch of .moral reform and 
 human improvement by means of the press, of well-ordered 
 schools, and of teachers qualified to go out and inculcate our 
 holy principles wherever people miglit welcome them. It 
 would enable them to bring up their children ' in the nurture 
 and admonition of the Lord,' free from those loose and cor- 
 rupting influences so prevalent elsewhere. It would enable 
 them to establish asylums for the orphan, the widow, and the 
 outcast, in which they might be duly cared for and directed 
 
324 AUTO-BIOGRAPHY OF ADIN BALLO0. 
 
 into the paths of life. In fine, it would be a powerful concen- 
 tration of moral light and heat, which would make ' Practical 
 Christianity' known and felt by the world." 
 
 Blessed dream, aspiration, and hope ! But whose real- 
 ization was too liable to be frustrated and indefinitely 
 postponed by the frailty, inconsistency, and backsliding 
 of its professed devotees ! 
 
 Nevertheless, the undertaking was urged ardently and 
 carried forward to very promising attainments. Its 
 development was the theme of my profoundest study and 
 my most constant efforts. All ordinary duties were per- 
 formed with my accustomed fidelity, but more or less 
 subordinately to the actualization of this darling project, 
 which commanded the best energies of my primal man- 
 hood, and which, if we had possessed sufficient pecuniary 
 means, I flatter myself would have risen to a triumphant 
 success. But we were continually dependent on the will 
 of those who could not love the cause as I and some of 
 my early fellow-laborers did — albeit the former wrought 
 well for it while their devotion lasted. It may have been, 
 however, on the other hand, that had I chanced to have 
 been wealthy by some fortuitous combination of causes, 
 I should not have possessed the mind and heart to 
 enlist in such a philanthropic, disinterested, and noble 
 enterprise. 
 
 Little more was published concerning our proposed 
 movement until, by patient elaboration, I had matured 
 what I deemed a suitable constitution and submitted it 
 to the careful consideration of those most interested, in a 
 series of meetings held for that purpose. Meantime, my 
 wife, who at first demurred at embarking in such a 
 responsible and uncertain experiment, gave her adhesion 
 to it and several others pledged it their encouragement. 
 In fact, matters progressed so rapidly that at a quarterly 
 conference held at Mendon in January, 1841, a definite 
 organization with a general constitution was effected, 
 under the name of "The Fraternal Communion." This 
 provided for the establishment of local communities wher- 
 
FRATERNAL COMMUNITY NO. 1 '825 
 
 ever feasible, and one was immediately formed by those 
 present who were ready to unite for practical operations. 
 This body was first called " Fraternal Community No. 1," 
 afterwards "The Hopedale Community." It consisted of 
 about thirty persons at the outset and its affairs were 
 placed in charge of a provisional committee consisting of 
 Adin Ballou, E. D. Draper, Nathan Harris, Wm. H. Fish, 
 Henry Lillie, David R. Lamson, Daniel S. Whitney, and 
 George W. Stacey, who received such instructions as 
 seemed needful to insure the practical realization of their 
 aims at the earliest possible date. Among the duties with 
 which these persons were charged was that of collecting 
 " such information as they may be able, respecting the 
 location of the proposed community, the form and con- 
 struction of buildings, the internal economies of communal 
 and boarding establishments, hospitals, etc ; respecting 
 agriculture, manufactures, and education ; and any other 
 matters likely to promote the prosperity of our enterprise." 
 One hundred dollars were appropriated for the use of the 
 committee, as they were expected to go to work at an 
 early day. This imposed heavy responsibilities upon me 
 as chairman of the same. What came of all this will be 
 recounted in due time. 
 
 Other Socialislic Experiments. A remarkable wave of 
 social inspiration, aspiration, and experimentation swept 
 through our country during the year 1840, resulting in 
 numerous attempts similar to our own not long after- 
 ward. One of these was made at Northampton, Mass., 
 under the leadership of George W. Benson, previously of 
 .Brooklyn, Ct., which had a character and form of organ- 
 ization peculiarly its own. Another, called the North 
 American Phalanx, located in Monmouth County, N. J., 
 was based upon principles first promulgated by a French 
 philosopher and philanthropist, Charles Fourier, and 
 introduced into this country by Albert Brisbane, Park 
 Godwin, Horace Greeley, and others. Several were started 
 under various auspices in the Western States, most of 
 which were of a temporary duration. Rev. George 
 
326 AUTO-BIOGRAPHY OF ADIN BALLOU. 
 
 Ripley, a Unitarian clergyman of the transcendental 
 school, whose name appears in a preceding chapter, and 
 a few sympathizing coadjutors projected the Brook Farm 
 experiment in Eoxbury upon a plan of their own devis- 
 ing, though, in some of its later phases, it possessed 
 many characteristics of the Fourier System. 
 
 It is a somewhat singular fact that our " Fraternal 
 Communion " originated altogether independently of the 
 general agitation referred to, and of the movements men- 
 tioned, as it did in utter unconsciousness of the existence 
 of any published expositions of the general subject of 
 social reconstruction. It grew primaiily out of New 
 Testament Christianity as we understood it, as a practi- 
 cal issue of its essential spirit, principles, and precepts ; 
 though our general reading and acquaintance with what 
 was going on 'in the world soon advised us of the 
 broader field of discussion and experiment which others, 
 in this and foreign lands, were occupying. When this 
 occurred, we availed ourselves of the opportunity of 
 examining their theories and suggestions, hoping to get 
 some light not before obtained upon the problem we were 
 earnestly trying to solve. But to little profit. For after 
 comparing the various schemes accessible to us with our 
 own, we preferred the latter with the peculiarities which 
 distinguished it from each and every other brought to our 
 notice. 
 
 A very kindly feeling sprang up between us and our 
 Brook Farm neighbors, and there was much friendly con- 
 ference and correspondence between us, looking to a 
 union of the two movements. Mr. Ripley and his asso- 
 ciates were very cordial and earnestly urged us to join 
 them at West Roxbury. The temptation was strong for 
 us to do so. We were few, poor, and comparatively 
 unlearned. They were more numerous, rich, and schol- 
 arly. In these respects they could be of great service to 
 us and our children. On the other hand, we could be a 
 help to them in more ordinary ways. But there were 
 serious, insuperable objections to anything of the kind 
 
BASIS OF ORGANIZATION. 327 
 
 proposed. Their transcendentalism and individualistic 
 independence made them quite averse to our views upon 
 historic and authoritative Christianity, to our positive 
 ethical position on several important points of doctrine 
 and duty, and to our uncompromising religious and 
 reform pledge. On our own ground, which we had care- 
 fully and conscientiously chosen, we were equally averse 
 to their extreme views of personal liberty and their non- 
 committalism. Such being our incompatibilities, neither 
 party being able to yield to the other without giving up 
 some things it regarded as most sacred in principle and 
 most vital to success, we wisely decided to close all 
 negotiations in peace and mutual good will, and go our 
 own respective ways. 
 
 In proceeding to get ourselves into proper' working 
 order, it seemed desirable to abridge and modify some- 
 what the fundaniental basis of our association as expressed 
 in the constitution of our "Fraternal Communion." Our 
 prolix "Standard of Practical Christianity" was conse- 
 quently condensed into the following " Declaration," to be 
 openly made by each, individual entering our membership : 
 
 "I believe m the religion of Jesus Christ as he taught and 
 exemplified it according to the scriptures of the New Testa- 
 ment. I acknowledge myself a bounden subject of all its moral 
 obligations. Especially do I hold myself bound by its holy 
 requirements never, under any pretext whatsoever, to kill, 
 assault, beat, torture, rob, oppress, persecute, defraud, cor- 
 rupt, slander, revile, injure, envy, or hate any human being — 
 ■even my worst' enemy ; never in any manner to violate the dic- 
 tates of pure chastity; never to take or administer an oath; 
 never to manufacture, buy, sell, deal out, or use any intoxi- 
 cating liquor as a beverage; never to serve in the army, navy, 
 or militia of any nation, state, or chieftain; never to bring an 
 action at law, hold office, vote, join a legal posse, petition a 
 legislature, or ask governmental interposition in any case 
 involving a final authorised resort to physical violence ; never to 
 indulge self-will, bigotry, love of pre-eminence, eovetousness, 
 deceit, profanity, idleness, or an unruly tongue; never to par- 
 ticipate in lotteries, games of chance, betting, or pernicious 
 amusements; never to resent reproof or justify myself in a 
 known wrong; never to aid, abet, or approve others in any- 
 
328 AUTO-BIOGRAPHY OF ADIN BALLOU. 
 
 thing sinful; but, through divine assistance, always to recom- 
 mend and promote with my entire influence the holiness and. 
 happiness of all mankind." 
 
 As chairman of the provisional committee of Fraternal 
 Community No. 1, I proceeded, as soon as practicable,, 
 to the discharge of the duties assigned us, with sucb 
 assistance as my colleagues could conveniently render. I 
 wrote a full exposition of our constitution, which need 
 not be inserted here, but which was published and will 
 appear in full in my proposed ' ' History of the Hopedale 
 Community." 
 
 The second meeting of our newly-formed association 
 was held in Boylston, then the parochial home of Brother 
 George W. Stacey, April 28 and 29, in connection with 
 our regular quarterly conference. Interesting friendly 
 letters which I had received from Rev. Dr. William Ellery 
 Channing, Edmund Quincy, Gerritt Smith, and other 
 notable philanthropists were read; the provisional com- 
 mittee made a report of their doings which was accepted 
 as satisfactory, and the members were discharged from 
 further service. No selection of a Ipcation for a Com- 
 munity home had been made, but much needful preliminary 
 information had been obtained, and our prospects were 
 full of promise. Several new members were admitted to 
 our fellowship and fraternal enthusiasm waxed ardent. 
 The respective officers required by the constitution, com- 
 posing an executive council, were chosen, I being president^ 
 and were to serve till the first Wednesday in January, 
 1842, — the day and month designated for the holding of 
 the regular annual meeting of the body. The Community 
 was now properly organized and made ready to start out 
 on its chosen mission. 
 
 The third meeting took place in connection with the 
 quarterly conference at Millville, Brother Wm. H. Fish's 
 parish, August 26 and 27 following. The executive 
 council made a cheering report of progress in the march 
 of affairs. Localities for the Community had been exam- 
 ined and one selected as decidedly preferable to all 
 
SEAT OF OPERATIONS PURCHASED. 329 
 
 others. This was a farm in Milford containing 258 
 acres, which had a considerable stream of water called 
 Mill River running through it, with a good fall for mill 
 sites, and other natural advantages suited to our pro- 
 spective needs. The land, however, was much run down 
 in culture and the buildings were correspondingly dilapi- 
 dated. It had long been known in the vicinity as the 
 "Jones Farm," deriving that name from an early pro- 
 prietor, and was sometimes called "The' Dale," by 
 reason of its situation. It had been offered for sale on 
 moderate terms and was likely to find a ready purchaser. 
 It seenied so well suited to our purposes that I, on my 
 own responsibility, fearing the chance of obtaining it 
 might be lost, had closed a bargain for it on the 30th of 
 June, two months before. The council had examined the 
 estate critically, approved of my action, and concurred 
 with me in recommending its purchase by the Community. 
 The recommendation was accepted, and our whole pro- 
 ceeding was unanimously and joyously ratified by our 
 constituency. This included the chiistening I had given 
 the domain, " Hopedale," — a name which united the 
 high expectations we cherished for the future of our 
 movement with the previous appropriate designation of 
 the pleasant valley in which those expectations were to 
 be realized; All our members hailed the name with 
 delight as most happily chosen and beflttingly applied. 
 
 At this meeting, important resolves were passed, 
 by-laws, rules, and regulations were adopted, and all 
 • necessary preparations authorized for taking possession 
 of our new home at the earliest possible date. Groups 
 of friends soon after made pleasant excursions 'to Hope- 
 dale, and all were enthusiastically impatient to inaugurate 
 the contemplated undertaking there. In the opening 
 autumn I decided upon the general outlines of a village 
 site and had it surveyed and laid out by my ever kind 
 friend, Newell Nelson, Esq., who had previously taken 
 the measurement of the fall in the river with a view to 
 its subsequent utilization for mechanical purposes, his 
 
330 ADTO-BIOGRAPHY OF ADIN BALLOU. 
 
 services beiug reudered gratuitously as a token of his 
 good will towards me and the cause. In October, Brother 
 Henry Lillie, one of our council, settled himself and family 
 in a part of the ancient Jones domicile accorded to him 
 by the resident tenant, Cyrus Ballon, a nephew of mine, 
 through whom, as agent, I had purchased the premises. 
 About the first of December, Mr. Ballou, by mutual 
 arrangement, moved out of the house altogether, and 
 Brother Nathan Harris with his wife and four children 
 took possession of the rooms thus vacated. 
 
 The fourth meeting of the Community — its prescribed 
 annual meeting — convened in Mendon, Jan. 5 ^nd .6, 
 1842, the quarterly conference being held under the same 
 auspices. The occasion was one of great religious inter- 
 est and edification. While the exercises pertaining more 
 directly to the conference were unusually earnest, impress- 
 ive, and refreshing, the proceedings of the Community 
 "were eminently cheering and satisfactory. Not a jar of 
 discord or distrust broke the happy unanimity of spirit, 
 action, purpose, and hope that prevailed. The report of 
 the executive council was encouraging, and called forth 
 many expressions of gratification and delight. Eight new 
 members were received into our fellowship and three per- 
 sons became probationers for future consideration and 
 -approval, if deemed worthy. Official servants for the 
 ensuing year were elected as follows : Adiu Ballou, presi- 
 dev,i; Wm. "W. Cook, secretary; David R, Lamson, 
 auditor; Lemuel Munyan, intendant of finance and 
 exchange; Jibenezer D. Draper, intendant of agriculture 
 and animals; Henry Lillie, intendant of manufactures and 
 mechanical industry; Dr. Butler Wilmarth, intendant of 
 health and domestic economy; Daniel S. Whitney, intend- 
 ant of education, arts, and sciences; William H. Fish, 
 intendant of religion, morals, and missions. For other 
 particulars, see "History of the Hopedale Community." 
 Pi-ovision was made at this meeting for the settlement of 
 at least ten families on or near the Hopedale territory 
 the following spring and early summer. 
 
THE BEGINNING AT HOPEDALE. 331 
 
 The new social experiment was now fully organized 
 tind put in the way of speedy actualization. Thenceforth 
 there was a steady rush of acti-sities till we took full 
 possession of our Community home about the first of 
 April, 1842, and, of course, no cessation thereof occurred 
 afterward. The number of persons anxious to commence 
 residence and occupation with us at Hopedale was quite 
 in excess of our domiciliary accommodations, as it was 
 also of our means of profitable employment. Important 
 expectations were sometimes disappointed as a conse- 
 quence, and even honest pledges, it was found, could 
 not always be fulfilled. Our pecuniary obligations, which 
 were heavy considering our circumstances, had to be pro- 
 vided for and reputably met, as they were then and 
 forever afterward. Before the close of March seven fami- 
 lies and one unmarried member, aggregating twenty-eight 
 persons, occupied the "old house," forming a unitary 
 household, over which myself and wife presided by unani- 
 mous consent. We boarded at common tables and lodged 
 in small but distinct apartments, too small and cluttered 
 for comfort, yet passably endurable. Our faith, hope, 
 and zeal enabled us to bear many privations, inconven- 
 iences, trials, vexations, disgusts, with reasonable patience 
 and composure. Under ordinary circumstances, they 
 would have seemed simply intolerable. We gradually 
 settled into our respective places, took up our several 
 lines of duty, and the wheels of our unique social mech- 
 anism revolved with something of their intended regularity, 
 ■quietness, and efficiency. 
 
 From the details of our new life at Hopedale, I now 
 turn to other items of personal experience. 
 
 The Massachusetts Restorationist Association gradually 
 declined in interest and usefulness from the time when 
 our reform wing began to push their convictions of duty 
 beyond the approval of their more conservative brethren. 
 These, however, tolerated and endured us until we pro- 
 mulgated our "Standard of Practical Christianity," when 
 they honestly gave us up as impracticable fanatics, with 
 
332 AUTO-BIOGRAPHY OF ADIN BALLOU. 
 
 whom they could go no further. I knew that I was 
 largely responsible for what so disaffected and disappointed 
 them. It was strange almost to myself that it was so — 
 that I, who had devoted myself so ardently to the cause 
 represented by that association as if it were a finality, 
 should have coipe to be so transcendentally interested in 
 moral reform, even to the extreme of social reorganiza- 
 tion, that I was ready to give that body up or let it 
 cease to be. How did all this come about? I had not 
 repented of my protest against ultra Universalism ; I had 
 no regrets for helping to form the Restorationist Associa- 
 tion; I had not renounced or come to undervalue my 
 Restorationist theology. On the contrary, I regarded 
 that theology as dearer than ever before, and felt that 
 every one of my reformatory advances was in strict 
 logical consistency with its fundamental truths. Nor was 
 I in any way disposed to fall out with any of my brethren 
 of the Restorationist faith and play the eccentric, but 
 the opposite was true, and nothing troubled me so much 
 as to alienate myself from their fellowship and approba- 
 tion. The fact is, I felt impelled from step to step in 
 my course, often reluctantly on my part, by a power 
 within and above me which I could not resist and which 
 then seemed and still seems divine. The truth involved 
 in the great philanthropic movements I had engaged in 
 had been revealed to me and I could not but act in 
 accordance with it. My own avowed religious principles 
 and ideas — the universal fatherhood of God, the univer- 
 sal brotherhood of men, the all-redeeming grace of 
 Christ, the final redemption of all men — these all, in 
 their practical application, tendencies, and results, not 
 only suggested, but required, necessitated the course I felt 
 myself sacredly bound to pursue. Logical and moral 
 consistency, supplemented by an agency higher, mightier 
 than my own, determined my action, even to the extent 
 of Non-resistance and Practical Christian socialism, and I 
 could do no otherwise than I did. "Woe was me if I 
 did not preach that gospel " and order my life accordingly. 
 
END OF RESTORATIONIST ASSOCIATION. 333 
 
 The Restorationist Association held a meeting with 
 Brother' Charles Hudson's parish in Westminster, Oct. 
 14 and 15, 1840. This was not long after the more 
 advanced of us had taken our stand in favor of a new 
 social order, and this fact may have had something to do 
 in giving tone and character to our proceedings, though 
 no direct reference was made to our action in that respect. 
 Brother Lyman Maynard was moderator and I was scribe 
 of the ministerial council. Public exercises took place 
 in the church, at which sermons were preached by 
 Brothers Wm. H. Fish, Norwood Damon, Lyman May- 
 li&vd, and myself, and were accompanied by customary 
 singing, prayers, and exhortations. In council, an inter- 
 esting discussion took place upon the general question 
 whether or not combinations of persons have any moral 
 authority or right to do what their members as individuals 
 cannot rightfully do. Brother Hudson read a carefully 
 prepared dissertation on "Expediency," which was also 
 fully discussed. These discussions naturally called out 
 the ethical differences between conservative and reforma- 
 tory brethren, but they were all conducted in an amicable 
 manner. Indeed, the entire meeting was a remarkably 
 pleasant, edifying, and satisfactory one, both to the min- 
 isters and laity present. I was appointed a committee 
 to select a place for the next annual gathering and notify 
 the brethren accordingly, and was also requested to write 
 a dissertation for the occasion. But this convention at 
 Westminster proved to be the last one ever held. I 
 notified another, as provided for, to convene at Mill- 
 ville,Aug. 26 and 27, 1841, when our Practical Christian 
 quarterly conference was to meet. But only one or two 
 of the conservative members were there, and no 
 organization of the association was deemed advisable. 
 No arrangements were made for another gathering of that 
 body, and so, at ten years of age, it fell quietly asleep 
 to wake no more. 
 
 The quarterly conferences, so frequently spoken of, 
 occurred regularly during this period of 1840-42, under 
 
334 AUTO-BIOGRAPHY OF ADIN BALLOU. 
 
 the auspices of our Fraternal Communion, and were char- 
 acterized by great fervency of spirit and unabated interest. 
 They took place mostly in central and eastern Massachu- 
 setts, and were the most soul-stirring and religiously 
 profitable gatherings it has been my privilege to attend 
 during my long life of four score years and more. 
 
 At the time of which 1 am now writing, 1 was much 
 engaged in connection with my regular ministerial duties 
 in Mendon and their collateral activities, in giving lectures 
 upon humanitary subjects about the country, sometimes 
 far from home, and in attending reform anniversaries in 
 Boston, and conventions held in the same interest at 
 various points elsewhere. On these occasions, especially 
 when I had the exercises in charge, it was my custom 
 to extend to any persons present differing from me an 
 opportunity to state their views, and to invite questions 
 and objections that I might answer them. This often 
 gave much additional interest and effect to the proceed- 
 ings. A memorable instance of this kind occurred at 
 Concord, Mass., in February, 1841. I had been engaged 
 to lecture there before the town lyeeum on the subject 
 of Non-resistance. A large audience, including many of 
 the literary and professional elite of that community 
 honored me with their presence and with a respectful 
 hearing. At the close of my regular address, the usual 
 privilege being granted, I was plied with a goodly num- 
 ber of the hardest questions their sharpest critics could 
 devise. I was favored with a good measure of spiritual 
 inspiration, answered their inquiries as successfully as I 
 could, kept all in good humor, and at the close was 
 cordially congratulated by the venerable and Honorable 
 Samuel Hoar, father of the present Senator George F. 
 Hoar, who, though not a Non-resistant, was an advanced 
 International Peace man, and gave me his best wishes 
 for the conversion of the people at large from their idol- 
 ization of brute force to a more kindly and humane 
 attitude of mind and heart. This visit to Concord was 
 memorable to me as furnishing the only opportunity I 
 
TWO NOTABLE LETTERS. 335- 
 
 ever had of a personal interview with the distinguished 
 Ralph "Waldo Emerson. It was a pleasant one, being 
 devoted chiefly to a free conversation between us upon 
 questions of reform, but fruitful of no important results.. 
 
 Two severe bereavements threw their shadow across the 
 pathway of my mortal pilgrimage in the early part of" 
 1841. The first was the death, at Milford, January 7, 
 of Eev. John Dale. He was an Englishman by birth,, 
 and for a time a devoted Methodist clergyman, who, 
 emigrating to this country, was brought into contact with 
 our little band of Practical Christian Restorationists, 
 finally adopting our views and dying in the full hope of 
 a blissful immortality, not only for himself but ultimately 
 for all mankind. Besides being a most excellent man,, 
 he was a valued personal friend, and his demise was 
 a great loss to me, as it was to the cause of pure and 
 undefiled religion. The second afflictive visitation referred 
 to was the decease, on the 27th of February, of the 
 mother of my first wife and grandmother of my now only 
 surviving child, Mrs. Abigail (Scott) Sayles, wife of' 
 Smith Sayles of Smithfield, R. I. She was one of the best 
 of women and all my recollections of her aie precious.. 
 
 Before closing this chapter, it seems fitting that I 
 should refer somewhat particularly to two remarkable letters 
 relating to the movement of which I was the reputed 
 leader, that came to me during the year 1841. One of 
 these, already referred to, was from Rev. William Ellery 
 Channing, D. D., of Boston, then at the height of his 
 fame as an able and eloquent divine and as the foremost 
 champion of the great revolt which sprung up a few 
 years before against Calvinism and all allied forms of 
 theological belief. It is not necessary to insert it here, 
 but I desire to say that it was an admirable communica- 
 tion — worthy of its illustrious author! Friendly, kind, 
 candid, breathing noble aspirations, sentiments, and 
 benedictions, and replete with wise suggestions. I appre- 
 ciated it highly at the time of receiving it, and more 
 highly after serious experiences in Community life. It 
 
336 AUTO-BIOGEAPHY OF ADIN BALLOU. 
 
 may be found in full in " Channing's Memoirs," prepared 
 by his nephew, William Henry Channing, Vol. 3, pp. 119- 
 212; and will appear in my history of the Community. 
 
 A few months later there came to hand an elaborate 
 letter ou the same subject, though of a very different 
 character, from Rev. Paul Dean, formerly of Boston, but 
 at the time preaching at Westminster as successor of 
 Kev. Charles Hudson. Preceding pages have shown the 
 close and sacred relationship in which I long stood to 
 Brother Dean in the Restorationist movement, and how we 
 drifted apart by reason of my espousal of the great 
 reforms. The Community enterprise completed the 
 estrangement between us. He was fatally grieved and 
 perhaps disgusted that I should go to such extremes, 
 and I suppose gave me up as hopelessly bewildered if 
 not fatally demented. 
 
 Brother Dean, unlike Dr. Channing, never dreamed of 
 an ideal Christian community in which the members, 
 ' ' instead of preying upon one another and seeking to 
 rise above one another after the fashion of this world, 
 should live together as brothers seeking each other's 
 elevation and spiritual growth," to be established by 
 human thought, effort, and co-operation, in the spirit of 
 Jesus Christ. He looked for the kingdom of God to 
 come on the earth in the old miraculous way and tradi- 
 tional millennial form. Until it should so come, society 
 must go on with some gradual improvement perhaps, but 
 substantially in the future as in the past. He was 
 entirely sincere in this view, and had not one particle of 
 faith in the so-called "Fraternal Communion" I had 
 devised and was about to inaugurate. He knew all such 
 schemes were but bursting bubbles, people universally being 
 too selfish, weak, capricious, untrustworthy, to do right 
 and live together voluntarily in any such way as that 
 proposed. With such views and feelings, he wrote his 
 letter as a warning to me and a final protest against my 
 absurd undertaking. Two or three brief letters respecting 
 the publication of this lengthy missive and an open reply 
 
FAREWELL TO MENDON 337 
 
 to it from me, to which he seemed to object, closed all 
 coiTespondence between us. We never met but once 
 afterward — at the funeral of a mutual friend in Eoxbury, 
 in 1857. He died three years later at Framingham, aged 
 77 years, 6 months, and 21 days. 
 
 From the time when it was decided that an attempt 
 should be made to put our new social theories into prac- 
 tical operation at Hopedale, the general expectation and 
 understanding among our members were that I and my 
 family would be among the earliest to locate there. As I 
 had led off in avowing and promulgating the principles of 
 & reconstructed order of human society and in formulating 
 plans and methods of action in accordance with those prin- 
 ciples, so must I lead off in the work of carrying the 
 plans and methods devised into effect. Hence, as the 
 •date when we were to come into complete possession of 
 the purchased property drew near, and when actual opera- 
 tions under Community auspices were to begin, which was 
 the date of the termination of my pastoral engagement 
 at Mendon, I made all necessary arrangements for 
 removal thither. I preached my valedictory discourse to 
 an overflowing house on the a'fternoon of March 27, 1842, 
 from II Gor. 13 : 11 : " Finally, brethren, farewell. Be 
 perfect, be of good comfort, be of one mind, live in 
 peace; and the God of love and peace shall be with you." 
 It was published in the Practical Christian of June 25, 
 Vol. 3, No. 3. The occasion was a profoundly interest- 
 ing, impressive, and affecting one, — one long remembered 
 by those participating in it. Thus closed my ministry of 
 eleven years and two months as pastor of the First 
 church and society in Mendon. Thenceforth my story 
 hails from Hopedale, where I at once located.- 
 
 The first public religious meeting on our new domain was 
 held the Sunday following that just spoken of, April 3, 
 in our ancient domicile, about 120 years old. It was a 
 day of sacred meaning and solemnity, inasmuch as on 
 that day we dedicated ourselves anew and our domain to 
 the sei-vice of God and humanity. There were twenty- 
 22 
 
338 AUTO-BIOGRAPHY OF ADIN BALLOU. 
 
 eight of us residents on the premises, who, with a 
 considerable number of friends from the neighborhood, 
 made a very respectable congregation. Our enthusiasm 
 ran high, notwithstanding our temporal poverty, limited 
 circumstances, and uncertain outlook for the future. In 
 the morning I preached an earnest discourse from 
 Ps. 133: 1: "Behold how good and how pleasant it is 
 for brethren to dwell together in unity." In the after- 
 noon Brother Daniel S. Whitney as chief speaker, 
 resumed the joyful strain while I added my exhortation. 
 "We were all happy, little dreaming that we were ever to 
 be otherwise, although even then disappointment and 
 sadness awaited us at no great distance ahead. 
 
 Thursday, April 7, was the annual State Fast Day. A 
 public meeting convened, agreeably to custom in general 
 society outside. No sermon was delivered, biit we had 
 several excellent addresses. The great pleasure was given 
 us of entertaining for the first time Frederick Douglass, 
 the famous fugitive slave, and of being more than enter- 
 tained by his stirring words. He remained with us some 
 days and did much during his stay to break into float- 
 ing fragments much of the pro-slavery ice of Milford and 
 vicinity. Memorable times those ! 
 
 1 have no memorandum of what transpired at Hopedale , 
 on Sunday, April 10, but a week later I preached in 
 the morning, ministered at a funeral in Meudon early in 
 the afternoon, and at 4 o'clock attended a temperance 
 lecture there delivered by the celebrated John H. W. 
 Hawkins of Washingtonian reform movement distinction. 
 An ample delegation from Hopedale swelled the large con- 
 course of people present, and a lecturer could never have 
 been more triumphantly eloquent. Our Community having 
 undertaken with its infant hands to encourage and help 
 all efforts to uplift humanity was called upon to appear 
 at the front on many similar occasions in our general 
 neighborhood. 
 
CHAPTER XVIII. 
 
 1842-1845. 
 
 Community Experiences — Organic Change — Missionary 
 Labors — Public Discussions — Life at Hope- 
 dale — Bereavement, etc. 
 
 TIT AN is naturally a religious being and also a respon- 
 -'-'-'- sible moral agent. As a religious being, he 
 instinctively looks up to, reverences, adores, worships 
 some kind of deity, power, or authority, which to him 
 is supreme, absolute, and irresistible, and which he must 
 submit to and obey or suffer loss. As a moral agent, he 
 is conscious of an essential difference between right and 
 wrong, good and evil, and of an inherent ability, to an 
 indefinite extent, to choose, follow after, and act the 
 right and good as against the wrong and evil, thereby 
 fulfilling his duty in the varied relationships of life, and 
 finding satisfaction and happiness. Man may be ignorant 
 or enlightened, ill-disciplined or well-disciplined, of lower 
 or higher attainments in every conceivable degree, but 
 there is one irrevocable necessity laid upon him — he 
 must be faithful to his duty in order to secure the bene- 
 fits and blessings which duty brings. He must do this 
 for himself under the divine law of personal responsibility. 
 What is right and good is always best, regardless of 
 circumstances or consequences, both to him who acts and 
 to all beside. This was my doctrine and that of my 
 associates when we adopted our " Standard of Practical 
 Christianity" and inaugurated the Fraternal Community 
 fliovement. It is mine still. 
 
 Again. Man as a religious being and moral agent 
 acts more or less in three genferal spheres or departments 
 
340 AUTO-BIOGRAPHY OF ADIN BALLOU. 
 
 of effort and responsibility, viz: — The individual, the 
 social, and the civil or governmental spheres. All we 
 think, say, and do, -which relates to our own personality 
 without regard to others, belongs to the individual 
 sphere. All we think, say, and do, in concurrence with 
 any number of our fellow human beings in the ordinary 
 course of life, belongs to the social sphere. And all that 
 we think, say, or do, as subjects, citizens, or officers of 
 any kingdom, state, or nation, belongs to the governmental 
 sphere. It follows, therefore, that there are individual 
 duties, virtues, sins ; social duties, virtues, sins ; and 
 governmental duties, virtues, sins. In each sphere our 
 religious and moral obligations are the same. Right and 
 wrong confront human beings at every step. To be per- 
 fect, one must think, say, and do what is right in each 
 and all the spheres of responsibility named. In human 
 life, strange inconsistencies, in these particulars, are exem- 
 plified. One may be very saintly in his personal character 
 and in his ordinary social relations with his fellow-men, 
 but a barbarous sinner in his governmental capacity — 
 perpetuating the most abhorrent acts of tyranny and 
 cruelty. Or he may be above reproach in his social life, 
 but individually immoral and untrustworthy. So we have 
 a very mottled righteousness, often among would-be 
 saints. In our Fraternal Community No. 1 we sought to 
 be all-sided saints, — bound to obey the law of divine 
 righteousness as individuals, in social life, and in all 
 governmental concerns. This was right, even though it 
 should serve on trial to expose our frailities and imper- 
 fections. 
 
 As was stated in the last chapter, twenty-eight persons 
 were located upon the Hopedale territory before the first 
 of April, 1842 — myself, wife, and two children among 
 the number — all residing as a unitary household in the 
 one dwelling house there and adjusting themselves to each 
 other as far as they could, and to the unique circum- 
 stances in which they were placed. At the expiration of 
 three weeks, when I entei-ed upon the fortieth year of 
 
PROGRESS IN COMMUNITY AFFAIRS. 341 
 
 my life, domestic aflfairs had assumed a good degree of 
 regularity, order, and efflcieney, considering the crowded 
 condition in which we found ourselves and the limited 
 culinary appliances and utensils with which we had to do. 
 My wife had been seasonably appointed director of 
 house-keeping by the executive council, and she had for 
 chosen assistant, our good sister, Anna T., wife of 
 Ebenezer D. Draper. Two most excellent and capable 
 women they were, admirably fitted for the positions they 
 occupied, and they executed the trust reposed in them 
 most quietly, promptly, and successfully. 
 
 Before the month closed, great progress had been made 
 in outside matters. A practical division of industrial 
 operations had been arranged, and each one assigned to 
 a position of responsibility, entered upon his or her duties 
 with commendable fidelity and earnestness. A small 
 building, 32 feet long by 14 1-2 wide, a story and a half 
 high above the basement, was nearly completed — the first 
 building erected by the Community. It contained six 
 rooms ; two on the main floor for a printing office and 
 school, with two dormitories above and two apartments 
 for whatever use they might be needed in the basement. 
 A larger two-story dwelling house had been voted, but it 
 was found that a mechanics' shop, in which a portion of 
 our water power could be utilized, was indispensable, and 
 that, therefore, first received attention. It was the second 
 structure we put up and served a most important purpose 
 in our earlier years. Our agricultural interests were 
 judiciously provided for, the months of April and May 
 being spent in preparing the soil and putting in the seed 
 for an autumn harvest. When June opened we had 
 on the farm 13 cows, 4 yokes of oxen, 2 horses, and 
 6 swine. "We had also 17 acres of land under culti- 
 vation, and everj'thing in this department of activity 
 promised well for the future. 
 
 At the same time, as the weeks passed by and as our in- 
 dustrial and general business affairs developed, we were 
 learning some very suggestive and valuable lessons by ex- 
 
342 AUTO-BIOGRAPHY OF ADIN BALLOD. 
 
 perience. Novelty wore off and enthusiasm cooled down. 
 We began to see that we had undertaken more than we 
 were aware of, and had not fully estimated our difBcul- 
 ties. We were greatly overcrowded by numbers, new comers 
 frequently appearing and almost forcing themselves upon 
 us ; and as greatly pushed for want of money and means 
 to do with. All meant well in the main, but none of us 
 had any wisdom, strength, or patience to spare, and 
 some of us too little of these requisite qualities for our 
 common use. We had been led to hope for funds which 
 did not come, and some which we had received were 
 unexpectedly withdrawn. We had made a fine show of 
 our plans for a new social state on paper, and had pub- 
 lished them far and wide through the land. The rich 
 and well-to-do derided our scheme and clutched their 
 treasures the closer; the poor, needy, and homeless 
 eagerly applied for a share in our privileges. Moreover, 
 less than a third of our reliable associates had sufficient 
 money at command to meet their own family expenses — 
 much less to help in housing and furnishing subsisting 
 employment to others. I, as the leader in this under- 
 taking, ought to have been wise enough to postpone 
 practical operations till there had been accumulated a 
 common fund sufficient to give a comfortable home and 
 fairly remunerative employment to those who' might be 
 enlisted under the banner of our new social state. But 
 I was in too much haste to see the realization of my 
 theories and plans. My hope was too large and my 
 economic judgment too small. Two fundamental duties 
 required by the Gospel of Christ, which I had not 
 then discovei-ed, would have simplified and benefited 
 the whole movement, viz : — The limitation of property 
 expenditure to the demands of personal and domestic 
 well-being, and the devotion of surplus means (riches) to 
 the welfare of humanity. These two duties will be 
 taught, insisted upon, and sacredly guaranteed in the 
 regenerate Christian church and in the order of society 
 which such a church shall evolve on earth. 
 
TRIALS AND DISCOURAGEMENTS. 343 
 
 In addition to the evils and hindrances adverted to — 
 insufficient household accommodations and the virtual 
 abandonment of family life, the lack of needful funds 
 and the continual pressure of applicants for residence and 
 membership with us, the enforced denial of whom caused 
 disappointment and sometimes embittered feeling — in 
 addition to these, we were troubled with too much hard 
 work and wearisome anxiety on the part of those bur- 
 dened with official responsibility, and with a growing 
 preponderance of material interests over those of a moral 
 and religious nature, which subverted the cardinal princi- 
 ple, process, and object that our movement was designed 
 to embody and represent. Moreover, as we went on, we 
 found increasing in our ranks the number of those who 
 were evidently more anxious to secure " loaves and 
 fishes" for themselves than to build up that "kingdom 
 of heaven" on the earth which alone insures the highest 
 rectitude and good of all classes and conditions of 
 people. 
 
 Not that anything transpired among our early Hopedale 
 settlers grossly aggravating or flagrantly improper and 
 wrong. But the conditions and circumstances of the 
 situation were such as to give my weak heart some serious 
 aches and discouragements. I was loaded down, over- 
 borne almost, by unavoidable cares and responsibilities. 
 I had the general management of our social organization 
 on my hands, its extensive correspondence, much of its 
 incidental writing and considerable physical labor con- 
 nected therewith, besides attending to the editorial and 
 publication departments of the Practical Christian, preach- 
 ing, lecturing, ministering at funerals, etc., as I was 
 often called to do. Moreover, there were specialties 
 devolving upon me still more difficult and wearisome : to 
 preside over frequent, long-drawn-out discussions, reconcile 
 incompatibilities, settle disputes and misunderstandings, 
 regulate the children and youth, maintain order in the 
 dwelling-house and on the outside premises, preserve har- 
 mony and good feeling among all classes, and keep up 
 
344 AUTO-BIOGRAPHY OF ADIN BALLOU. 
 
 the general courage and hope. I was so favored as to 
 enjoy the confidence of old and young, and was held in 
 such general respect as to give me authority and render 
 me a successful counsellor and mediator amid my asso- 
 ciates of every condition in life. The younger inmates 
 of our domicile I found to be deferential and obedient, 
 tractable, pleased to improve themselves, and willing 
 pupils in the school of good manners, and the ordinary 
 moralities of life. I was told beforehand that in this 
 unitary household of ours and other close relations, the 
 greatest trouble would be with the women; that they 
 could not or would not work together without contention 
 and quarrelling. But I am happy to record that these 
 evil predictions proved false. Their leaders were emi- 
 nently discreet, unassuming and judicious, and the rank 
 and file were peaceable and uncomplaining. If there 
 were frictions among them, they were successful in 
 oiling the machinery among themselves, and no whisper 
 of discontent or murmur ever reached the president's ear. 
 I wish I could say the same of our men. But this 
 would be contrary to the facts in the case. "We had not 
 been together two months before an instance of incom- 
 patibility between two of our mechanics had, by fostering 
 indulgence, become so unpleasant and offensive that my 
 kind interference was required to restore good feeling 
 and reconcile the parties involved. I "^but partially suc- 
 ceeded, as the two, of widely different constitution and 
 temperament, could never perfectly harmonize. One of 
 them, inveterately disposed to sarcasm and eutting 
 remarks, soon after left us and that trouble ended. It, 
 was the first difficulty of the kind we had encounteredr 
 and being so trifling and so unnecessary, mortified me 
 exceedingly. It was, however, followed by others,, 
 equally causeless and equally trying. They were all 
 small matters to begin with, but rose to importance by 
 dwelling upon and magnifying them. For the most part 
 they arose, not from any evil intention or purpose of 
 wrong, but from some peculiarity of judgment, idiosyn- 
 
DEFECTS IN THE SYSTEM. 345 
 
 cratic opinion, or question of expediency exalted into 
 the place of a supposed ethical principle, made more 
 aggravating by protracted discussions at meal-time or in 
 Community meetings. One of them grew to such pro- 
 portions and had such a bearing upon our constitutional 
 polity as to require special attention and finally a change 
 in our fundamental laws and the methods of their admin- 
 istration. It deserves a brief notice. 
 
 A small minority of our members, under the leader- 
 ship of Brother David R. Lamson, conceived the notion 
 that our joint stock proprietorship, which constituted the 
 basis of our industrial and financial operations, tended 
 to produce an aristocratic spirit among us to the 
 degradation of the poorer members, and that this ten- 
 dency ought to be counteracted and overcome by a 
 closer approximation to a system of common property. 
 From this view I and a large majority of my asso- 
 ciates strongly but kindly dissented. This called forth 
 argument on the part of its friends, which was met by 
 counter argument. The discussion pr.o and con waxed 
 warmer and warmer until it became apparent to me 
 and my friends that there were some serious defects 
 in the system under which we had started out, though 
 not of the nature charged. It was not working as 
 smoothly and to such harmonious, beneficent, and happy 
 results as we had anticipated, but on the contrary,, 
 was producing , irritation, division, alienation, and dis- 
 satisfaction to a serious extent. 
 
 It was not, however, closer affiliation that was 
 needed to remedy the existing diflflculties as the dissen- 
 tients claimed, nor the merging of all personal interests 
 in the common welfare, nor the absorption of the indi- 
 vidual in the community, but a more practical recognition 
 of every one's inborn rights and obligations ; more oppor- 
 tunity for personal seclusion, activity, and development; 
 more individual freedom, enterprise, and responsibility. 
 Above all, there should be in our organic social scheme 
 a true and clear distinction made between rights and 
 
346 AUTO-BIOGRAPHY OF ADIN BALLO0. 
 
 privileges, between benefactions and debts, between the 
 dictates of charity and those of strict justice. Bene- 
 ficiaries should not be allowed the claims of exacting 
 ■creditors, much less usurp pre-eminence over their 
 helpers. Nor must the weak, incompetent, and irrespon- 
 sible be permitted to hamper or overburden those who 
 were straining every nerve of their superior ability for 
 the common welfare. Probably no one of our fraternity 
 •was conscious of practising or engendering any of these 
 ■evils. Nevertheless, I knew they were actually doing 
 so, however good their motives, however unconscious 
 they were of harm. I knew also that thereby they were 
 imperilling the cause we all professed to hold dear, 
 and I determined to rescue it if possible — to save it 
 from impending destruction. 
 
 This I saw could be done only by amending the 
 constitution, by making some radical changes in the 
 -organized policy of the undertaking, by striking out 
 such portions of our plan of administration as were 
 calculated to produce the disabilities and unfortunate 
 conditions under which we were laboring, and substitut- 
 ing those of an opposite character, tendency, and 
 legitimate result. To the task thus set before me I 
 then addressed myself, and in due time prepared and 
 brought before my constituency the amended charter 
 of our enterprise. There were seven distinct changes 
 proposed by me as necessary in my judgment to meet 
 the exigencies of the case and put the Community on 
 a sure foundation for the years ahead. And I urged 
 the adoption of the amendments under which those 
 changes could be made substantially for the following 
 reasons, viz : — 
 
 (1) They restore a large amount of individuality to 
 the members of the Community^ leaving every one at 
 liberty to form with others a unitary household and 
 invest his capital and labor in the joint stock opera- 
 tions, or to dwell in his own house and transact 
 business by himself, as may please him; in either case 
 
ADVANTAGES OF PROPOSED CHANGES. 347 
 
 iicknowl edging his obligations to the great principles 
 and objects which the body represents. 
 
 (2) They make the Community to combine all the 
 advantages of a well-ordered village of free-minded, 
 conscientious individuals, and of a close co-operation 
 of capital and labor without the disadvantages of either. 
 They adapt the Community organization to the wants 
 of all classes of Practical Christians without imposing 
 excessive burdens or restraints upon any, and thus give 
 the idea of associative life the vantage ground of a 
 fair experiment on its own merits. 
 
 (3) They prevent all unreasonable dependence of any 
 upon the more provident in the Community, quicken 
 industry, induce economy, promote self-reliance, and 
 make the just distinction between alms and wages, gifts 
 and debts. 
 
 (4) They place all the members of the Community, 
 whether they have much or little in the joint stock, on 
 a common level as regards reciprocal obligations and 
 responsibilities. Justice is the same to all and charity 
 is to be exercised by all. None can hide within the 
 mass nor screen themselves behind constitutional pre- 
 scriptions from voluntary contributions to support schools 
 and relieve the needy. Every one will appear in his 
 own true light. 
 
 (5) They will disencumber capital of its present great 
 risks and dangerous liabilities, give it moderate but sui-e 
 profit, and at the same time secure to labor its just 
 compensation. 
 
 (6) Finally, they simplify the whole social machinery 
 of the community, make the experiment perfectly safe 
 on a large or small scale, and render the mutual rela- 
 tionship at once more pleasant, more just, and more 
 practicable to all free, honest, unselfish minds. 
 
 It required all the ability and influence I could com- 
 mand to obtain the adoption of the proposed amendments ; 
 but I succeeded in my endeavors, though so much to 
 the disappointment and grief of the minority that six 
 
348 AUTO-BIOGRAPHY OF ADIN BALLOU. 
 
 persons gave up their membership in the organization, 
 ■while several candidates for membership, who had lean- 
 ings towards a common property financial policy, lost 
 all interest in the movement. I lamented this, but saw 
 no way to prevent it and save our undertaking. Most 
 of those who sent in their resignations on the impulse 
 of the moment,- afterwards relented and became recon- 
 ciled to the new order of things. But their chieftain 
 and oracle. Brother Lamson, was permanently alienated. ■ 
 He soon after consorted with the Shakers, but finding 
 himself after a little time no more at home with them 
 than with us, returned to general society, giving up the 
 ministry and locating at "West Boylston, where he died, 
 July 2, 1886, aged 80 years. His wife, an estimable 
 woman, shared his varied fortunes sympathetically while 
 she lived, preceding him but a few years to the world 
 of spirits. 
 
 The lessons taught us by the experiences just narrated 
 were more or less depressing to us all. I felt them 
 deeply as did those of my associates who stood by and 
 preserved the imperilled ship. The charm of our early 
 enthusiasm had vanished, but our principles and objects 
 remained sacred in the shrine of our devotion. We 
 therefore girded up the weakened loins of our minds and 
 resolved to push forward our renewed undertaking. We 
 had done as well as could have been expected in our 
 more material affairs, — the harvest -from garden, orchard, 
 and field, was fairly good, our little school was well 
 started, several kinds of mechanical activities were in 
 operation and others prospectively near, the mill-dam 
 and attached shop were almost completed before winter 
 set in, and the inmates of the " Old House", reduced 
 somewhat in numbers, had been reorganized into six 
 distinct families and made reasonably comfortable. 
 
 The annual Community meeting occurred Jan. 4, 1843. 
 In my address as President, I reviewed the operations 
 of the year, noting especially the changes that had been 
 made and prophesying a happy future. Several new 
 
LECTURING EXCURSIONS. 349 
 
 members united with us, among whom was my worthy 
 third cousin, Amos J. Ballon, an experienced and suc- 
 cessful farmer, who was at once chosen . intendant of 
 agriculture and animals. The other requisite officers of 
 the body were elected, business matters were discussed, 
 suggestions made, and plans for the coming season con- 
 sidered, and we entered upon our respective duties and 
 labors with fresh zeal and determination. 
 
 Although largely engrossed with cares and activities 
 relating to the internal order and welfare of the young 
 Community, I yet performed much external service. I 
 not only continued my general efforts in behalf of reli- 
 gion and reform, but I made special lecturing excursions 
 for the purpose of promulgating our own distinctive 
 Practical Christianity. In the early autumn of 1842, I 
 gave four evening addresses in the Unitarian church, 
 Grafton, upon ' ' The Fraternal Communion, its principles 
 and objects," to fairly sized and interested audiences. 
 Soon afterwards I lectured twice in the Baptist church 
 at New England Village, two miles north of the center 
 of the same town upon " Christian Non- Resistance," and 
 " The Inviolability of Human Life." I had a few choice 
 friends in these places, and it was through their active 
 influence and generosity that my labors were introduced 
 and provided for. Respectable audiences, including min- 
 isters of different ^denominations, listened attentively to 
 my testimonies, and many strong pi-ejudices were 
 no doubt meliorated though few full converts were 
 made. 
 
 I next visited Providence, R. I., on a similar mission. 
 This, my little native state, had been for some time 
 in a ferment with the famous Dorr agitation. The mass 
 of the people were in a belligerent mood, but there was 
 a remnant ready to welcome the principles of peace. My 
 ever firm and faithful friend, Samuel W. Wheeler, stood 
 in the van and effectively favored my ministrations. I 
 was happy to meet Elders Benjamin and James Taylor, 
 McKenzie, and Cheney, on terms of general accord. The 
 
350 AUTO-BIOGRAPHY OF ADIN BALLOU. 
 
 two first named were ministers of the Christian Connexion 
 whom I knew in my youth but had not seen for many 
 ■ years. They were men of great hearts. Slider Benjamin 
 was the one who, at the time of my excommunication 
 from the Christian church in Cumberland, protested 
 against the act as contrary to the avowed principles and 
 policy of the denomination. I was also greeted cordially 
 by a goodly number of friends of various persuasions, 
 callings, and stations, who received my word gladly. I 
 delivered three discourses in Elder James Taylor's new 
 chapel, Pawtuxet street, to appreciative audiences : — 
 the first on Christian Non-resistance ; the second on the 
 relation those accepting that doctrine should sustain 
 towards existing human governments ; and the third on 
 slavery, intemperance, licentiousness, and other social 
 evils. Later, I lectured upon the same themes in Hamp- 
 ton, Ct., West Wrentham, Upton, Medway, Wrentham 
 Center, Northbridge, and Leominster, Mass. 
 
 These efforts of mine evinced my zeal and indus- 
 try in promoting what I sincerely deemed the cause of 
 truth and righteousness. I trust they did some good in 
 enlightening the minds, rectifying the hearts, and elevat- 
 ing the conduct of men ; though very little compared with 
 what they would have done if the Hopedale Community 
 had been loyally sustained by those who earlier and later 
 rallied around its standard, but who subsequently forsook 
 it. For the seed of truth must not only be sown and 
 nurtured, but harvested into preservative granaries. In 
 our case it was all important to demonstrate practically 
 that our divine principles could be permanently lived out 
 in a higher order of social life. And this must be done 
 voluntarily — not by mere human law or compulsion, but 
 by human agreement, fellowship, and co-operation. Those 
 who would not or could not support our movement from 
 honest choice and of their own free will, were sure to- 
 fall out by the way and go to their own place in com- 
 pulsory society. Unfortunately, these predominated at 
 last and failure was the final issue. 
 
DISCUSSION AT MILLTILLE. 351 
 
 Second Advent Discussion. In the winter of 1842-3 
 during the widely prevailing excitement concerning the 
 speedy coming of Christ and the accompanying end of tlie- 
 world, I was drawn into a discussion of the subject with 
 some of its leading advocates. They had invaded Mill- 
 ville and set up their proselyting machinery with a bold 
 flourish of trumpets, challenging any body and every 
 body to meet them in public debate. Brother William H. 
 Fish, our minister there at the time, asked Mr. Mayers,, 
 their leader, if he was willing to publicly discuss the 
 matter with me, to which he replied in the affirmative 
 with great self-assurance. I was at once communicated 
 with and consented to the proposed meeting. Upon going 
 to Millville to make needful arrangements with the chal- 
 lenger for the conflict, I found his bravery giving way 
 somewhat to discretion, cunning, and strategy. He was 
 not quite ready to champion his cause against me but 
 must send off for an expert debater in his stead, which 
 necessitated a delay of some days, my actual competitor 
 appearing at length in the person of a Mr. FoUett of 
 Worcester. Revs. M. W. Burlingame, a Free Will Bap- 
 tist, and Mr. Holbrook, Orthodox Congregationalist, were 
 made moderators of the meeting at which the discussion 
 was carried on. A full report of what was said and done 
 was inserted in the Practical Christian, Vol. Ill, of which 
 only a brief comment can be given here. 
 
 In the first place, Mr. Follett and his friends were 
 over-cautious, timid, and non-committal, even in regard 
 to points upon which they had been making the most 
 positive statements, and concerning dates which were 
 blazoned on their grand pictorial chart hanging in full 
 view of the crowded audience. They had demanded 
 beforehand a statement of my several positions and line 
 of argument, which I willingly furnished them, desiring 
 to treat them fairly and candidly in all respects. In the 
 discussion they dodged some of the main points at issue, 
 prevaricated, and flatly refused to defend several of their 
 fundamental assumptions. It was soon apparent that 
 
352 AUTO-BIOGRAPHY OF ADIN BALLOU. 
 
 they were sick of their own bargain. I gave them but 
 one cause of complaint, viz : just and unanswerable 
 -criticism of their fallacious assertions and specious argu- 
 mentation. In the second place, they became so tired of 
 the contest that they caused it to be brought to a close 
 without allowing me half the time virtually pledged me 
 for the presentation of my side of the case. But I 
 good-naturedly excused them on the ground that' their 
 weakness .compelled a retreat on their part. The result 
 was that their efforts in Millville, begun with such bom- 
 bastic pretensions, came to a premature and inglorious 
 close. The comment made by one of their local sympa- 
 thizers upon the affair was, "If the Lord begins any 
 good work in these parts, the devil presently sends Adin 
 Ballou to kick it all over." Truly, "If they have called 
 the master of the house Beelzebub, how much more those 
 of his household." — ilfaM. 10:25. 
 
 A kindred discussion grew out of the preceding one. 
 Before leaving the pulpit where the speaking occurred. 
 Rev. Mr. Burlingame, one of the moderators, signiiied a 
 desire to meet me the next week at the same place to 
 debate the question whether or not the second adveut 
 predicted in the scriptures is a yet future event, himself 
 taking the affirmative, in opposition to views presented 
 by me in my argument with Mr. FoUett. He had no 
 ambition to defend the damaged cause of the Millerites, 
 but was sure that Christ was to appear again upon the 
 earth, substantially as set forth by my opponents, though 
 at an indefinite date, and he lamented that the public 
 mind should be turned against that theory by any 
 exposure of the assumptions of those who fixed that 
 consummation in the autumn of 1843. I cheerfully 
 accepted the challenge and it was arranged that we 
 should meet Thursday, February 23, at 2 o'clock p. m., 
 each party to have half an hour alternately till 5 o'clock 
 and then fifteen minutes in which to conclude his argu- 
 ment. The affair came off accordingly in the presence 
 of a crowded assembly. The question was phrased thus ; 
 
MORE COXCERNING THE SECOND ADVENT. 353 
 
 ■"Did the second coming of Christ, predicted in the 
 scriptures, take place about the time of the destruction of 
 Jerusalem, or is it yet in the future?" This form of it 
 gave me the affirmative and, of course, the opening 
 speech. Mr. Burlingame and his assistant, a Mr. Snow, 
 had the negative. Messrs. Amos W. Pitts and Francis 
 Kelly acted as moderators. My leading opponent requested, 
 me to furnish him some days in advance a definite state- 
 ment in writing of my doctrine, the principal positions I 
 should attempt to maintain, and reference to the more 
 important proof- texts of scripture I proposed to use. I 
 did so, but neither asked nor received anything of the 
 kind from him. 
 
 My views upon the subject in question X stated and 
 explained plainly and fully in my opening speech. The 
 audience, composed of persons of various opinions and 
 prejudices, listened eagerlj' to what I had to say, and I 
 •could see that my doctrine was new to most of them and 
 that the general feeling was against the possibilitj' of my 
 maintaining it by any fair show of proof and argument. 
 But my convictions were the result of a thorough study 
 ■of the New Testament, and I knew them to be more 
 accordant with the teaching of that book than any that 
 had ever been brought to my notice. As the discussion 
 proceeded, I had the satisfaction of seeing the tide of 
 feeling turn in my favor, especially when the weakness 
 of my opponents in trying to refute my positions became 
 apparent. The debate went through- and closed according 
 to programme. Finding it impossible to say all I desired 
 in the time allotted me, I proposed another session, but 
 was overruled by the opposing party, who was evidently 
 glad to end the discussion as soon as possible. I, how- 
 ever, notified the congi-egation that I should conclude my 
 argument on the following Sunday in Brother Fish's 
 church, and did so. The challenger and those sympathiz- 
 ing with him gained nothing by their venture, but they 
 made the best of their discomfiture, virtually confessing 
 the weakness of their cause by warning their adherents 
 23 
 
354 AUTO-BIOGEAPHY OF ADIN BALI.OU. 
 
 to keep away from me and my dangerous teaobings. I 
 soon after published an ample pamphlet on the subject, 
 entitled, " The True Scriptural Doctrine of the Second 
 Advent; An Effectual Antidote to Millerism and All Other 
 Kindred Errors," which may be found among my numer- 
 ous publications. To the general positions and explications 
 contained therein, I have ever since adhered, although on 
 critical revision I might make some modifications and 
 qualifications, but none of vital importance. 
 
 The details of progress in Community affairs being given 
 in full in my history of the undertaking still at this 
 writing .in manuscript, I will offer in these pages only an 
 outline of what transpired from time to time with the 
 passing years. The new order of things, already sufli- 
 ciently portrayed, contributed at once to our prosperity. 
 During the year 184=3 nine half-acre house lots were sold 
 to members for $100 6ach, whereby our treasury was to 
 that extent replenished, and on three of these were 
 dwelling-houses erected — oue two-story double tenement 
 structure by Amos J. Ballou and Edmund Price, one 
 story-and-a-half cottage by George W. Stacey, and a 
 similar one by myself, in which I and my family have 
 ever since resided. Our mechanic shop was completed 
 and supplied with labor-saving machinery so isx as the 
 main floor and basement were concerned, while the second 
 story was divided in such a way as- to accommodate our 
 printing office in the southerly part and our school and 
 Sunday meetings in the northerly. Desirable improve- 
 ments were made in respect to our barns, of which there 
 were three, standing separate from each other. They 
 were brought together, placed over good basements, put 
 in proper condition within and without, and made neat 
 and convenient for use in the agricultural department. 
 The principal streets of the village site were opened, par- 
 tially graded, and designated by appropriate names. Late 
 in the autumn ground was broken and a beginning made 
 for a school-house, to be used also temporarily as a 
 chapel, with a basement designed to accommodate a 
 
INDUSTRIAL ACTIVITIES. 355 
 
 Community store. It was to be surmounted by a cupola 
 or belfry, so constructed as to furnish the needful con- 
 veniences for a public clock. It was completed in the 
 spring of 1844 and immediately occupied. Originally 
 twenty-six feet square, it was some years afterward 
 doubled in length to serve the growing needs of the 
 place in those respects for which it was first designed. 
 
 Meantime the major portion of our industries was 
 organized and carried on under general joint stock 
 arrangements in distinct branches, and the minor portion 
 by individual members on their own responsibility. We 
 had common farming, gardening, carpentering, printing, 
 hat making, tin and sheet-iron working, boot and shoe 
 manufacture, transportation, etc., all, of course, on a 
 small scale, giving manual employment to our men, while 
 our women were engaged in household and kindred duties. 
 All our residents were busy people, idlers and dawdlers 
 not being encouraged or even tolerated. New members 
 took the places of seceders, a considerable number of 
 probationers were received among us, and a few families, 
 not of our way of thinking, were allowed to reside in 
 our midst as temporary inhabitants of the place, enjoying 
 its educational, social, moral, and religious advantages, 
 and engaging in its industrial activities to a greater or 
 less extent. Every vacant tenement on the premises was 
 filled and a few in the vicinity were hired for the 
 accommodation of persons more or less closely connected 
 with us. 
 
 In the spring of the year now in review, the Com- 
 munity received a valuable donation from a sympathizing 
 and generous friend in Cincinnati, Ohio, Andrew H. 
 Ernst, Esq., who, with his excellent wife, wee Sarah 
 H. Otis of Boston, had long stood in cordial Christian 
 fellowship with me as Restorationists and well-wishers to 
 our social reform enterprise. He was a practical horti- 
 culturist, having extensive nurseries at Spring Garden, on 
 the outskirts of the then queen city of the West, and 
 his gift consisted of more than three hundred young 
 
356 AUTO-BIOGRAPHY OF ADIN BALLOU. 
 
 apple trees of several choice varieties, carefully selected 
 and packed, and forwarded to us by the most available 
 and rapid means of transportation. They were received in 
 good condition and gave us great joy, but it was our mis- 
 fortune not to have in proper state of preparation sufficient 
 ground upon which to set them, so that a considerable 
 portion of them were virtually lost. Those that we had 
 a suitable place for were planted with due care and 
 judiciously trained, thriving well and becoming fruitful 
 bearers at an early day. Some of them still remain, 
 large, flourishing, and productive, on my own homestead. 
 Regular religious meetings, two always on Sunday aud 
 sometimes three, with a social conference on Thursday 
 evening, were established early in our Community life, 
 and creditably sustained from week to week for many 
 years. These were generally led by one of our approved 
 public speakers or preachers, who usually gave a formal 
 discourse, although in the absence of such, some layman 
 or lay-woman, of whom there were several among us 
 competent for the task, conducted the service. At the 
 same time those of us who had foi'mally entered the 
 Christian ministry preached either statedly or occasionally 
 at various places within a convenient distance of home, 
 some of which we regarded as distinctive missionary 
 stations for the inculcation and dissemination of the 
 spirit and principles of Practical Christianity. Vigorous 
 quarterly conferences of two or three days' continuance 
 were held at these stations or wherever we had friends 
 to invite us. Besides devoted attention to these religious 
 gatherings by our ministers and people at large, we took 
 active part in mass meetings, conventions, aud celebra- 
 tions held for the purpose of promoting the cause of 
 temperance, anti-slavery, non-resistance, social reform, or 
 whatever promised the improvement of our kind. A 
 more industrious propaganda of regenerative religious 
 and moral principles than this little cluster of Hope- 
 dalians existed nowhere else probably on the face of the 
 earth. 
 
DEVOTION TO PEACTIOAL RELIGION. 357 
 
 But we labored all the while uuder great disadvan- 
 tages, having to provide for our own material subsistence 
 as well as for our distinctive social reform enterprise, 
 besides helping along those other activities w'hich have 
 just been named. I stood in the fore front of those 
 industries upon which we relied for means wherewith to 
 live and lend aid to every good word and work, and 
 though weighed down with home duties and cares, yet 
 found time for considerable active effort abroad in behalf 
 of truth and humanity. In October, 1843, I was chosen 
 president of the New England Non-resistance Society, 
 which imposed a new tax upon my time and energy. 
 The Washingtonian Movement, which led to a conflict 
 between the friends of moral suasion and those of legal 
 coercion as methods of promoting the temperance reform- 
 ation, and the division arising iu the Abolitionist ranks 
 upon the question of political action, both appealed to 
 me through the issues raised, in a form and with a force 
 which I could not wholly ignore, my feeling and convic- 
 tion from the beginning being unequivocally iu favor of 
 moral and religious effort rather than legal and political, 
 in carrying forward the work of individual and social 
 regeneration upon the earth. I also took a decided stand 
 and wrote against the ultra anti-Sabbatarians of tliose 
 days, setting forth and promulgating what I deemed true 
 and rational views upon the observance of the first day 
 of the week under the Christian dispensation. The con- 
 sideration of these great practical questions filled, in my 
 thought and actioil, the place previously occupied by 
 more strictly theological discussions. 
 
 The growth and general prosperity of the Community 
 during the year 1844 was all that its friends could have 
 reasonably expected. But it was not exempt from more 
 or less internal friction. The great difficulty against 
 which Dr. Channing warned us, — that "of reconciling so 
 many wills, of bringing so many individuals to such a 
 unity of judgment and feeling as is necessary to the 
 management" of Community affairs, was always present 
 
358 AUTO-BIOGRAPHY OF ADIN BALLOU. 
 
 with us, and was aggrayatecl iu our case by the pre- 
 pouderance of minds more or less deficient iu mental and 
 moral discipline. All meant well, and had sincere rever- 
 ence for our "great principles," as we termed them, but 
 all had not a nice sense of order, justice, and fitness of 
 action in little things, nor patience and forbearance with 
 what crossed their feelings, habits, and tastes. On this 
 account our membership was occasionally reduced by vol- 
 untary withdrawal, our doors always swinging outward as 
 well as inward to those who at any time cast in their 
 lot with us. 
 
 Another difficulty encountered by us was that of steer- 
 ing the vessel of our social system safely between the 
 Scylla of organic arrangements and the Charybdis of 
 individual license. Ti we adopted rules and regulations 
 seemingly necessary to good order and permanent success, 
 we were in danger of overriding personal rights or at 
 least of making somebody nnhappy. And if we relaxed 
 in favor of greater individual liberty, there were some to 
 jeopardize our enterprise by nnjust nsurpation or nncom- 
 fortable eccentricity. In seeking to find the happy and 
 safe middle passage, we veered first one way and then 
 the other a little too far, like unskilled craftsmen in that 
 kind of seamanship. Nevertheless we came to our annual 
 meeting iu January, 1845, with a good showing for the 
 preceding year, and started out anew with unfaltering- 
 courage, hope, and zeal, believing and feeling that better 
 days than we had yet seen were before us. Detailed 
 information concerning Community affairs other than what 
 pertained more particularly to myself, I remand to the 
 pages of my history of the movement. 
 
 A heavy bereavement befell our family in the sudden 
 decease of my wife's honored father, Pearley Hunt, Esq. 
 of Milford, March 29, 1844, in the 73d year of his age- 
 He was an estimable man in public as in private life, 
 dear to his own family and a great loss to the town and 
 general community. His memory is very precious to 
 both- my wife and myself on account of his teuder affee- 
 
DEATH OF PEARLEY HUNT. ESQ. 359 
 
 tion and iiiuumerable kiudnesses, from infancy in her 
 case and from first acquaintance in mine. His paternal 
 interest in our temporal welfare and comfort culminated 
 in liberally assisting us to establish the home wherein we 
 have dwelt since September, 1843. "We therefore hallow 
 his memory. From a brief obituary in the Practical 
 {JhriMkui of April 13, I make the - following extracts: 
 
 " The deceased has been long .and extensively known in this 
 general vicinity as an enterprishig merchant, an influential 
 public-spirited citizen, and a civil magistrate, in which several 
 positions he has sustained his responsibilities with more credit 
 to himself and less censure, with more favor and less hostility, 
 with more friends and fewer enemies, than ordinarily falls to 
 the lot of men passing through such varied scenes and mani- 
 fold duties of public activity. In the more private relations 
 • of life, he was a man in whom the best domestic and social 
 affections predominated — kind, provident, Indulgent, generous, 
 and faithful as a husband, father, brother, friend, and neigh- 
 bor. His funeral was attended by a large concourse of people 
 with every becoming demonstration of respect." 
 
chaptp:k XIX. 
 
 1«45-1852. 
 
 Community Affairs Continued — Labors Abundant — 
 Spiritualism — Publications — Children — Educa- 
 tional Home — Great Sorrow. 
 
 IN the present chapter I propose to include as many of 
 the experiences and events of my life during the 
 period covered by it as space and convenience will allow. 
 Much of my time, strength, and active effort was given 
 to the affairs of the Community, of which I continued 
 president until January, 1852, eleven years from the date 
 of my first election to that position. I shall only glance 
 in the briefest possible manner at what transpired in this 
 sphere of activity, inasmuch as it is presented in full 
 elsewhere, as I have before stated, with all the needful 
 accompanying circumstances. 
 
 As the projector and practical head of the social 
 experiment at Hopedale, I had from the outset an intense 
 ambition to have it succeed, to actualize my ideal of a 
 civilization based upon and fashioned after the true prac- 
 tical Christianity of the New Testament. In this ambition 
 I was unconscious of a single selfish motive. I desired 
 no good for myself wliich I did not believe would be 
 equally good for all my associates, and indirectly for the 
 whole human race. I sought no salary and no emolu- 
 ment whatever, and never received pecuniary support 
 beyond the cost of a workingman's board — probably less 
 than that. I never coveted a particle of authority or 
 power which did not clearly seem to me to be respectful 
 of every other person's rights and promotive of the gen- 
 eral welfare. To domineer and dictate was abhorrent to 
 
HOUSEHOLD CARES MULTIPLY. 361 
 
 my nature, habits, and moral principles. I loved to see 
 every one do his or her duty willingly — from choice 
 and not from compulsion, from inward conviction and 
 not merely to please me. And I was always as happy 
 to follow another's nominal leadership as to be followed, 
 if I was sure that I was being led right. For these 
 characteristics I claim no credit. They were born in me 
 and cost me no effort or self-crncifixion. My errability 
 and besetting sins were always enough in other directions 
 to need the cross of humility and self-denial, and to 
 make me a contrite suppliant and penitent before the 
 divine mercy seat. 
 
 My companion in the household was, by my position, 
 largely burdened with domestic labors imposed upon her 
 by a constant influx of what might be called Community 
 company ; that is, visiting inquirers of all varieties, who for 
 years made our humble home their hotel gratis, no public* 
 place being provided for the hospitable entertainment of 
 such till 1847, and then not entirely to our relief. 
 But she bore her toils with womanly fortitude and patience, 
 receiving no other reward than the consciousness of duty 
 well performed and of faithfully sustaining her husband 
 in meeting his dubiously chosen responsibilities. I some- 
 times reproached myself for having drawn her into such 
 hardships, for she had ordinary family cares enough for 
 her health and strength, and servants other than our- 
 selves were seldom at command had we desired them. 
 But all this seemed inevitably involved in what I had 
 undertaken, and if its exactions were seriously regrettable 
 we were consoled with the thought that they were less 
 severe and wearisome than is often the case in families 
 of "high hfe" under the domination of style and 
 fashion. Be this as it may, such were the personal and 
 "domestic circumstances amid which I performed the duties 
 of my official position in the Community. 
 
 Nevertheless, I kept up a courageous and cheerful 
 heart. The cause I had espoused was dear to me and 
 worthy of all the trials I endured in its behalf. I 
 
362 AUTO-BIOGRAPHY OF ADIN BALLOU. 
 
 rejoiced iu all its prosperities and sorrowed in all its 
 adversities. I watched for its welfare in all directions, 
 and vindicated it against all its assailants. I deprecated 
 its imperfections and aberrations, and to the utmost of 
 my influence quieted its internal disharmonies. I devised, 
 drafted, and revised most of its constitutions, by-laws, 
 rules, and regulations, and prepared for the press nearly 
 all its published documents. In flue, I served the Com- 
 munity to the best of my ability — not as infallible and 
 sinless, but with upright intentions and without hope of 
 earthly reward. And it is with great pleasure that I 
 record the treatment I received in return from a large 
 majority of its members and dependents. It was emphati- 
 cally kind, courteous, and deferential throughout — one 
 of confldence and loyalty. There were occasional crises 
 of dissatisfaction, unrest, and threatening commotion 
 when mine seemed to be the only voice that could calm 
 the disturbed elements and restore the desired harmony. 
 Seldom iu times of confusion and distrust did my earnest 
 appeal to the heart, conscience, and reason of those 
 involved fail to win a gratifying response. For this, I 
 devoutly thanked my Heavenly Father, from whom 
 descendeth "every good and perfect gift." 
 
 The year 1845 was one of marked prosperity with us 
 in nearly all respects. Unbroken health prevailed on our 
 domain, and general success crowned our various indus- 
 trial and other activities. Our numbers and village 
 homes increased on the whole, though we lost a few 
 members by withdrawal. Notable among these was Rev. 
 Brother Geo. W. Stacey, one of the original subscribers 
 to our constitution — an ordained preacher with whom I 
 had been in very close and confidential relations and 
 from whom I had counted much in carrying forward the 
 work of social reconstruction on the principles of Practi- 
 cal Christianity. The reasons for his abandonment of 
 this work were given in full in the columns of our 
 Community paper. They seemed to me specious and 
 unsatisfactory, as I endeavored to show in the same 
 
WITHDRAWAL OF REV. GEO. W. STAGEY. 363 
 
 issue of the publication as that in which they appeared. 
 There is no occasion for reproducing the pro and con of 
 the case here, or to comment on it farther than to say 
 that in closing his public prouunciamento, the departing 
 brother declared that he still cherished a deep and 
 unwavering faith in the lieavenly principles which drew 
 him to Hopedale, and at the same time professed for me 
 personally the most sincere and unabated respect and 
 love. Much as 1 differed from him and deeply as I 
 regretted the step he felt impelled to take, I certainly 
 could cherish only the kindest feelings towards him and 
 the best wishes for his fviture prosperity, welfare, and 
 happiness. He located in the neighboring village of Mil- 
 ford, soon became interested in town affairs, was honored 
 by his fellow citizens with various public offices, includ- 
 ing that of representative to the General Court, and 
 maintained a reputable standing in general society. He 
 was successful in business and real estate transactions, 
 acquiring a handsome property, most of which he left to 
 Jiis heirs. He continued faithful to the anti-slavery cause 
 to the end, and also to temperance, being for several of 
 the last years of his life a devoted political Prohibition- 
 ist. But for Christian Non-resistance and social reform 
 he had no further testimony. He is still living at an 
 advanced age, but without serious decline of that physi- 
 cal, mental, or moral energy which characterized his 
 earlier life. * 
 
 In the late autumn of 1&45 our Community was 
 honored with a visit from the celebrated English Com- 
 munist, Robert Owen, widely known among social 
 reformers for his practical efforts in his native laud to 
 realize his ideal of a reconsti-ucted civilization upon prin- 
 ciples which seemed true and sacred to him. Though his 
 views differed radically from ours in many particulars, 
 yet he was no less welcome to our domain and hospital- 
 ity on that account, and the interview with him was 
 cordial, agreeable, and gratifying. 
 
 * Rey. Geo. W. Staoey died a few years after this was written. 
 
364 AUTO-BIOGRAPHr OF ADIN BALLOU. 
 
 As already iuclicated, the auuual report in our Com- 
 munity affairs in January, 1846, was highly favorable 
 and encouraging, and I, in my official address, indulged 
 in glowing representations of our condition and pros- 
 pects. My rose-colored prophecies for the future were 
 not destined to fulfilment. The very year upon which 
 we then entered reversed our good fortune with sickness, 
 several deaths, and general decline of business prosperity, 
 causing much regret and discouragement. In 1847 mat- 
 ters went from bad to worse till, amid the increasing 
 confusion and dissatisfaction, I myself well nigh lost 
 heart and hope. At length we reached a crisis which 
 obliged us to drop the existing industrial arrangements, 
 again alter our constitution, and swing back still farther 
 toward individualism. In doing this, we did not change 
 our declaration of principles, our cardinal objects, or our 
 integrality of joint stock property. But we greatly sim- 
 plified our organic system of operations, and seeing little 
 prospect of a Fraternal Community No. 2, concluded to call 
 our association thenceforth "The Hopedale Community." 
 About this time the lot of land across the river, which 
 had been designated for burial purposes, was 'properly 
 surveyed and laid out under my general direction by my 
 friend David Davenport of Mendon, a gentleman every 
 way competent for the task, who rendered his valuable 
 services ■jvithont compensation. Thus were made the 
 beginnings of the present beautiful Hopedale Cemetery. 
 Our village, with territory adjoining and the inhabitants 
 thereof, was also, after protracted importunity, set off by 
 the town of Milf ord as an independent school district ; 
 the final vote being large and cordial in behalf of the 
 project, a result with which I was much pleased. 
 
 Immediately after the modification of our system just 
 mentioned, we sold or rented most branches of our secu- 
 lar business to individuals or to small partnerships of ou. 
 members. This worked well enough in cases where the 
 party in control had a scrupulous conscience and good 
 practical judgment. In other cases, risks were incurred. 
 
WITHDRAWAL OF REV. DANIEL S. WHITNEY. 365 
 
 foreign help, which proved unsatisfactory, was liired, and 
 poor work was turned out. This injured our credit in 
 the business world and involved us in manifold troubles 
 which necessitated an early resumption of management on 
 the part of the Community. While this experiment was 
 going on, we made a very important rectification and 
 consolidation of all our land titles under the professional 
 guidance of our kind friend, P^llis Gray Loring, Esq., 
 an eminent conveyancer of Boston, who also generously 
 made us welcome to his services. This was deemed 
 desirable and necessary even, to render us and those 
 coming after us absolutely secure in our real estate pos- 
 sessions to the latest generation. 
 
 Admissions to and withdrawals from our membership 
 were comparatively numerous during these years, but the 
 former greatly exceeded the latter, causing a steady 
 increase of adherents and a growing expansion of all our 
 varied activities. I regretted the departure of any of our 
 number whose character and standing among us were 
 above reproach, and especially of any who had embarked 
 with us full of hope and zeal at the outset, and upon 
 whom I had confidently relied as co-workers in making 
 our movement a success. It was so in the case of 
 Brother George W. Stacy, mentioned a few pages back. 
 It was so with Rev. Brother Daniel S. Whitney, who 
 resigned his membership with us in a letter dated March 
 29, 1850. The missive, which was a lengthy one, giving 
 his reasons in full for his act, appeared in the Practical 
 Christian of the next issue with a rejoinder from my 
 pen. Like Brother Stacey, he made no charges against 
 his associates for " dereliction from principle or duty," 
 but rather against "the industrial organization," which 
 he deemed productive of many evils too grievous to be 
 borne, and which, to use his own words, "cost more than 
 it was worth." As regards the principles underlying the 
 movement, he said, "I most thankfully accept them as 
 the truth of God. They are alike needful in their spirit 
 and power to redeem mankind individually and socially." 
 
366 AUTO-BIOGRAPHY OF ADIN BALLOU. 
 
 Nevertheless, he could go Itaek into the prevailing 
 order of society in which those principles are systemati- 
 cally and persistently set at defiance and openly violated, 
 and, without any scruples apparently, engage in the sup- 
 port and management of a government whose fundamental 
 law in various particulars he had often declared to be 
 hostile to and subversive of the government of God — "a 
 covenant with death and an agreement with hell." I was 
 never able to see the consistency or wisdom of all this, 
 but somehow, he, like Brother Stacey before him, did, 
 and acted accordingly. He became much interested in 
 local and general politics,, was for a long time an active 
 member of the Eepublican party, but for some years past 
 has been in close aflSliation as ally and adviser with the 
 political Prohibitionists or Third Party men. He had the 
 distinction of representing the town of Boylston, where 
 he located after leaving Hopedale, in the State constitu- 
 tional convention of 18.53. Subsequently taking up his 
 abode in Southborough, he for many years held the ofHce 
 of postmaster in that town, where he still resides. His 
 interest in temperance, peace, woman's rights, and other 
 specific reforms on the basis of the existing social order, 
 remains unabated.* 
 
 The affairs of the Community went on prosperously, 
 though without any noteworthy event or occurrence, 
 through the year 1851, and my heart rejoiced again in 
 tlie hope that all serious troubles were over and that the 
 future of our cause and movement was secure against all 
 hindrances and adversaries. Under this inspiration I 
 wrote and presented my address at the annual meeting in 
 January, 1852, in which I magnified our good condition 
 and prospects as the result of our many and varied 
 studies, experiences, and labors, and declined being con- 
 considered a candidate for re-election to the office of 
 president, which I had held from the beginning. I was 
 so fully assured that the Community was well and perma- 
 nently established that I thought I had better retire 
 
 * Kev. Daniel S. Whitney departed tliis life in 1894. 
 
RESPONSE TO VALEDICTOEY ADDRESS. 367" 
 
 and let it be put in charge of a new executive head who 
 might not only safely direct its activities but perhaps 
 impart new energy to them, though I soon doubted the 
 wisdom of my course. In view of my contemplated 
 action, I made my address essentially a valedictory. It 
 was so regarded by my associates, who, after its delivery, 
 " Voted, that a copy of it be requested for record, for 
 publicatiou in the Practical Christian, and for separate 
 distribution; also that a committee be appointed to pre- 
 pare a response thereto," to be presented at an adjourned 
 meeting. All was done as provided for, the response, 
 which was unanimously adopted, being as follows : 
 
 "Dear Brothek Ballou: Though your resignation of the 
 presidency of the Hopedale Community, tendered at the late- 
 annual meeting, was not unexpected by any of our fraternity, 
 it was nevertheless received with much general reluctance and 
 a most sincere wish that you might change your purpose and 
 still continue in the position which you have so long filled 
 with great ability, fidelity, and usefulness. But we know that 
 the duties of the oflSce have been many aiid arduous, absorbing- 
 so much of your time and energy that there was left to you_ 
 little leisure for study and other pursuits in which you have a 
 deep interest; and we did not feel, therefore, that we could 
 justly insist upon your longer acting mn capacity Imposing such 
 demands upon you. Whilst, theu, we have submitted to your- 
 desire and decision, we have deemed it a duty and a pleasure 
 to express the deep sense of obligation atid of gratitude which 
 we cherish towards you for your im,portant services in our 
 common cause. This, we, the undeirsigned, most cordially now 
 do as a committee of the Community and in accordance with a 
 vote . . . unanimously passed immediately after hearing your- 
 able, interesting, and excellent faiewell address. Of that 
 address, we deem it unnecessary to say anything at length, as 
 it will go forth into tlie world to speak for itself. You know 
 that it was appreciated and heartily responded to by all who 
 heard it, and that they were prompted by its irapressiveness 
 and its intrinsic worth to call foa- its publication. To you such, 
 a response from your co-laborers must be of far greater value 
 than any eulogy our feeWe words couJd pronounce, and tliose 
 outside our fellowship yet in sympathy with us, will judge of 
 it by its own character and therefore pass upon it a sentence- 
 of approbation. 
 
368 AUTO-BIOGRAPHY OF ADIN BALLOU. 
 
 " We will only add that though you are succeeded in the 
 piesldenoy by one competent and worthy to occupy that posi- 
 tion, being a pioneer and a constantly devoted and generous 
 laborer in the cause of Christian Socialism, we shall still 
 regard you, as you will naturally be regarded by the world, 
 as really the leader in our enterprise, to whom we shall con- 
 stantly look with fraternal sympathy, confidence, and hope, 
 certain of all the aid you can render us whenever needed and 
 called for. We therefore take an affectionate leave of you as 
 our nominal head, wishing you continued health and prosperity, 
 both temporal and spiritual, and what will be still better to 
 you, success in all your philanthropic and Christian labors ; 
 and after this earthly life, a still higher and broader mission 
 of love and usefulness, in association under the Infinite Father 
 with the good and faithful who have gone before us and whose 
 rest is unwearied activity." 
 
 Wm. H. Fish, ) 
 
 „ „ Y Committee. 
 
 Edmund SovyAED. J 
 
 These days of exultation, hope, and mutual congratu- 
 lation were followed by a season of profound bereavement 
 and lamentation. On the 21st of January, Miss Susan 
 Fish, one of our worthy and highly esteemed members, 
 was taken from us by death, to the deep regret and 
 sorrow of a,Il who knew her; and on the 8th of February 
 ensuing, our beloved son, Adin Augustus Ballou, followed 
 her to the world of spirits. This was a vast, irreparable 
 loss to us all. He was the star of love, hope, and trust 
 to his family, to the Community, and to a large circle of 
 admiring friends. I shall recur to this sad affliction 
 further on. 
 
 "What I have thus far recorded in this cliapter pertained 
 almost exclusively to what transpired in connection with 
 my relation to the Community. Its remaining pages will 
 be devoted to matters of a more strictly personal and 
 domestic nature. As to myself, I not only performed a 
 large amount of mental, moral, and physical service for 
 tlie cause in which I was engaged within our own borders, 
 but no small amount in a general way for the public at 
 large in the capacity of religious teacher, moral reform 
 lecturer, writer, and controversialist. By definite arrange- 
 
INTERESTED BUT NOT CONVERTED. 369 
 
 ment with my associates. I preaciied at home, as a rule, 
 two Sundays in a month at a morning service, and also 
 elsewhere at convenient localities in the vicinity in the 
 afternoon or evening. On the remaining Sundays I was 
 employed in ministerial duties farther away, at distances 
 so great usually as to necessitate my leaving home on Satur- 
 day and returning on Monday. These outside labors were 
 with rare exceptions among friends personally interested 
 in the principles of Practical Christianity and in move- 
 ments for the bettering of the condition of their fellowmen. 
 I, of course, had no access to wealthy and fashionable 
 parishes, and but rarely to those of humbler rank in 
 so-called " liberal denominations." But many of the 
 common people, some of whom, for one reason or another, 
 were outside of all ecclesiastical organizations, heard me 
 gladly. Wherever I thought it practicable, I attempted 
 to form some sort of association on the basis of our 
 "fraternal communion," but with little success. I pro- 
 cured, when I could, subscribei's to the Practical Christian, 
 sold books, and circulated freely tracts which had been 
 prepared as expositional and illustrative of our distinctive 
 principles and objects. Of full and devoted converts to 
 our " Standard of Practical Christianity," I made but a 
 small number. There were good and sufficient reasons 
 for this. Many who acknowledged the absolute truth of 
 that "Standard," shrank from espousing it on the ground 
 that it was too high, too good for them to think of attain- 
 ing it or of ordering their lives by it. Others had, for 
 various reasons, left old religious bodies and were deter- 
 mined not to jeopardize their much prized liberty by 
 entering new ones. They were not only " Comeouters," 
 but "Stay outers." Still others were wool-dyed indiffer- 
 entists to all positive religion and clear-cut principles of 
 righteousness. I could transiently interest such as these 
 while exposing the errors and sins of existing society, 
 but they cared little for definite constructive methods of 
 personal or social regeneration. Nevertheless, I sowed 
 the divine seed diligently, taking no thought as to wheth&r 
 24 
 
370 AUTO-BIOGEAPHY OF ADIN BALLOU. 
 
 it fell " by the wayside" or "on stony places" or " among 
 thorns" or "into good ground"; but being willing to 
 accept such results as the "Lord of the harvest" might 
 find in his reckoning. 
 
 My labors in behalf of specific reforms continued 
 abundant throughout the whole sphere of my personal 
 acquaintance and public activity. Generally, I spent 
 but a day or two in response to any given call for ser- 
 vice of this sort, but at two different times I went out 
 under the auspices of the Anti-slavery Society as lectur- 
 ing agent for a term of several weeks ; once to Eastern 
 Pennsylvania, where I had a very pleasant campaign in 
 1846, and again to Central New York in 1848. 
 
 In the former of these years I prepared a small vol- 
 ume of 240 pages, entitled, '■^Christian Non-resistance in 
 all its Important Bearings. Illustrated and Defended." It 
 was published by my good friend, James Miller McKim 
 of Philadelphia, and re-published some years later by 
 friends of the cause in England. It was critically 
 reviewed, with some pretty sharp animadversions in the 
 Christian Examiner, a Unitarian quarterly, in its issue of 
 January, 1848. The reviewer was my former ecclesiasti- 
 cal brother. Rev. Charles Hudson, then a i-epresentative 
 in Congress from the Fifth Massachusetts District. He 
 caused his article to be struck off in a pamphlet form 
 and sent me a copy. I honored it with a thorough 
 examination and reply in the columns of the Practical 
 Christian, which may sometime be given a wider circula- 
 tion. 
 
 Respecting oral debates, I held several of interest and 
 importance during the period now in review. One of 
 these was with Mr. Origin Batchelor, an able Calvinistic 
 layman fond of controversy, a zealous but fair opponent 
 whom I had encountered before, as may be remembered, 
 and whom I afterward met in verbal conflict on different 
 occasions. On the 2l8t and 22d of October, 1845, by 
 mutual pre-arrangement, we discussed at Norton, Mass., 
 the following question: "Ought Christians to participate 
 
RECONTRES WITH REV. THOMAS WILLIAMS. 371 
 
 in any government whose constitution authorizes tlie 
 destruction of human life under any pretext whatso- 
 ever?" The disputation was well conducted before 
 attentive and deeply interested audiences. 
 
 During the same year I had two rather curious ren- 
 contres with Rev. Thomas Williams, a venerable 
 Hopkinsian clergyman, sometime of Providence, R. I., 
 who was also addicted to polemic controversy, though not 
 in forensic form. He was encouraged to lecture in 
 Uxbridge by Rev. Mr. Orcutt, pastor .of the Trinitarian 
 church there, upon "The divine ordinance of civil govern- 
 ment and the punishment of crime." I had many friends 
 in the place who were specially invited to be present. 
 They accepted the invitation on condition that the lecturer 
 allow questioning and criticism by some competent person 
 after he had closed his formal discourse. This was 
 promised and I was sent for to be present and avail 
 myself of the proffered opportunity. I responded favor- 
 ably and was an attentive auditor with many others on 
 the occasion. The address of Mr. Williams was very 
 long, continuing till 10 o'clock (it being given in the 
 evening), which left me little time for any suitable 
 rejoinder. I used what I had, however, faithfully, spite 
 of discreditable artifices to prevent me, and my questions 
 and criticisms did good execution in behalf of the truth. 
 
 Not long afterward, I had another contest with the 
 same reverend lecturer in Upton, upon the same general 
 subject. He seemed dissatisfied with the result of the 
 Uxbridge interview and desired an opportunity to retrieve 
 himself before the public. The subterfuges employed to 
 get me to Upton and then to deprive me of afair chance 
 to defend my beleaguered views at the meeting were 
 worthy of the cause which inspired them. 
 
 Besides these and other oral discussions upon some 
 phase of the subject of Non-resistance, I was drawn 
 into many similar or kindred written ones in the Practi- 
 cal Christian, as will be found by consulting its files. 
 Indeed, I was very unfortunate in respect to my differ- 
 
372 AUTO-BIOGRAPHY OF ADIN BALLOU. 
 
 ences from both the extreme conservatives and the 
 extreme radicals around me. I was either too fast or 
 too slow for nearly all with whom I had to deal. Very 
 few, even of my professed friends could keep exact step 
 with me. Nevertheless, I managed, as I stated in our 
 little periodical, '-to respect myself and maintain a cheer- 
 ful countenance." I was entirely confident that " my 
 leading objects, principles, and positions, however unpopu- 
 lar now," were "approved of God and will be approved 
 by future generations." " Pursuing the tenor of this 
 humble but ever blessed path of wisdom and peace," I 
 said, " I shall not be ashamed of my testimony, nor 
 terrified by popular opposition, nor discouraged by seeing 
 only ' here and there a traveler.' " 
 
 Sjnrit ManifestaHov,s. For a considerable time I received 
 the newspaper reports of the mysterious phenomena which 
 first appeared at Hydeville, N. Y., and thence spread 
 into Kochester and elsewhere in 1848-9, with great 
 incredulity. I made no haste to investigate the alleged 
 occurrences, though I was soon impressed from what I 
 could learn that there was some unaccountable reality 
 about them. Previous to 1840, I had become so infected 
 with modern Sadduceeism as to presume that I had out- 
 grown the traditions of my childhood and even a part of 
 my own profound spiritual experience. Demons, ghosts, 
 haunted houses, etc., I supposed had been remanded by 
 liberal learning and philosophy to the limbo of exploded 
 superstitions. I had no doubt, however, that the soul or 
 spirit was the essential entity of every human being, 
 radically distinguishable from the material body ; that it 
 survived physical dissolution in a conscious state of 
 existence ; and that every individual commenced the 
 super-mundane life at the same intellectual and moral 
 point of development attained in the earthly life. But 
 in respect to the power of departed spirits to manifest 
 themselves to those still io this mortal state, I was 
 exceedingly skeptical — groping in mental darkness. The 
 bible in its literal form plainly taught that doctrine, but 
 
MODERN SPIRIT MANIFESTATIONS. 373 
 
 I had been persuaded that all passages of such a nature 
 could and should be otherwise explained. There was a 
 long catalogue of books published at different dates during 
 past centuries testifying to the reality of inter-communi- 
 cation between this and the unseen world, but I was 
 ignorant of them and their contents. Animal magnetism, 
 clairvoyance, and other psychological phenomena had 
 arrested my attention and excited my wondering consid- 
 eration, without suggesting the possibility of departed 
 spirits having anything to do with them or being capable 
 of acting upon principles which those realities illustrated. 
 
 In 1841 I had an opportunity of testing the alleged 
 claims of the so-called "divining rod" as an indicator, 
 in the hands of certain persons, of subterranean springs 
 and water courses. I entered upon the investigation of 
 those claims thoroughly unbelieving ; I pursued it with 
 great patience, care and thoroughness ; I came out of it 
 an unqualified believer. By my experience in that mat- 
 ter, I was led to conclude that " there are more things 
 in heaven and earth than are dreamed of " in our com- 
 mon mundane philosophy, and was admonished never 
 again to allow my self-conceited wisdom to flatter me 
 that I had outgrown all the knowledge of the ancients. 
 
 This experience, supplementing my general faith in the 
 superiority of mind over matter, predisposed me to the 
 courteous and hospitable treatment of the purporting 
 spirit manifestations when they appeared in our village 
 and at my own doors in 1849 or 1850. I then determined 
 to satisfy myself what the credible facts of the phenomena 
 which challenged my conscientious consideration were. I 
 ardently desired to know the truth and the whole truth 
 in this matter, and to avoid all delusion. I felt that I 
 had enough common sense, intellectual discernment, and 
 honesty of purpose, to do justice to the proposed investi- 
 gation and to accept the issue. Great prudence, caution, 
 candor, and acumen were demanded, in order to reach a 
 result that could be relied upon as final and unquestion- 
 able. Whatever of these capabilities I possessed, I 
 
374 AUTO-BIOGRAPHY OF ADIN BALLOU. 
 
 exercised through a long series of seances held under 
 circumstances that precluded all possibility of deception, 
 trickery, or mistake. By such means, I arrived at the 
 following conclusions: (1) That inter-communication 
 between the spirits of those gone before to the unseen 
 world and those still in the flesh was a reality; (2) that 
 many cases of communications from the departed were 
 clear and reliable, though the personal identity of those 
 producing them was often uncertain; (3) that both high 
 and low spirits, morally considered, were capable of pro- 
 ducing manifestations ; (4) that there were frequently 
 equivocal and unreliable communications, due sometimes to 
 the untrustworthiness of those making them and some- 
 times to the imperfection of the medium or the mesmeric 
 influence of others consciously or unconsciously exerted ; 
 (5) that some professed mediums were deceivers and not 
 to be trusted; (6) that all purporting spirit communica- 
 tions must be subjected to rational and moral criticism, 
 like those made by persons in the flesh. To this extent 
 and with these qualifications I became at that time and 
 have ever since remained a Spiritualist. I avowed myself 
 such and defended my position unequivocally, both in 
 speech and through, the public press. 
 
 Domestic labors and responsibilities of a general nature 
 underwent little change with us from year to year. But 
 during the period traversed by this chapter our two 
 children were coming rapidly on towards maturity, aud 
 their training for the duties of the not far off future and 
 for honorable usefulness in the world was a matter of 
 increasing interest and solicitude on our part. "We desired 
 to educate them physically, industrially, mentally, mor- 
 ,ally, religiously, and socially, in such a way as to enable 
 them to answer the great ends of existence, and they 
 were good subjects for such an education. It was no 
 part of our ambition to secure for them classical and 
 professional distinction on the basis of our common civil- 
 ization, but to qualify them for solid service in the better 
 order of society we were endeavoring to institute. This 
 
EDUCATION OF CHILDREN. 375 
 
 included the scholastic acquirements of real value taught 
 in the public schools of Massachusetts. Beyond these 
 we did not care to push them, leaving what more of eru- 
 dite knowledge might be desirable to their own genius 
 and self-exertion as opportunity should offer or occasion 
 require. 
 
 Our eldest surviving child, Abbie, was early qualified 
 to teach primary rudimental classes at Hopedale. But to 
 enlarge her scholarship, make her acquainted, with the 
 best methods of imparting knowledge, and prepare her for 
 eflficient service in the higher grades of instruction, we sent 
 her to the State Normal school, then located at West 
 Newton under the very competent preceptorship of Eev. 
 Cyrus Pierce. Thence, after a regular course of tuition, 
 she graduated reputably near the close of 1847, Early 
 the next year she entered upon a long series of valuable 
 labors at the head of our public district school, and 
 later as co-principal of a private seminary known as the 
 ^'Hopedale Home School." Her success was eminent 
 and surpassed only by her usefulness. She became an 
 influential member .of the Hopedale Community, having 
 been admitted to our ranks Aug. 24, 1850, and has 
 never sweiTcd from the principles then professed. 
 May 11, 1851, she was married to Rev. "William S. 
 Heywood, the event being solemnized at the close of 
 ■the regular Sunday service . in our chapel with my 
 paternal benediction and amid the congratulations of a 
 friendly congregation. The groom had studied with me 
 for the Practical Christian ministry and been approved 
 and ordained to his chosen work May 25, 1849. He 
 was received to Community membership October 17 of 
 the same year, and for fourteen years was one of our 
 regularly appointed preachers. Subsequent changes at 
 Hopiedale, hereinafter to be detailed, necessitated his 
 leaving the place with his family in 1863, soon after which 
 he entered the Unitarian fellowship, under whose auspices 
 himself and wife liave been serving God and humanity 
 in different localities unto this day, Sept. 2, 1889. 
 
376 AUTO-BIOGRAPHY OF ADIK BALLOU. 
 
 Our sou, Adin Augustus, the inestimable treasure of 
 our hearts and golden statf of our earthly hopes, wa& 
 destined to an early translation from mortal conditions 
 of existence to the abodes and societies of the angelic 
 realm. "We gave him the best common school privileges 
 at our command till he was over seventeen years of age,, 
 and then much better ones in the State Normal school 
 at Bridgewater, whereof that excellent scholar and disci- 
 plinarian, Nicholas Tillinghast, was principal. Mean- 
 while the influences of home and of the Community had 
 been happily of a nature to develop his intellectual and 
 moral capabilities in the right direction, and to these, 
 as to all positive endeavors to call forth the best that 
 was in him, he responded heartily and nobly. Though 
 not physically strong, he 3'et enjoyed tolerable health 
 which seemed to improve as he grew in years. He had 
 an active, elastic mind, and a genial, cheerful tempera- 
 ment, which combined to render him a universal favorite 
 among his associates, young and old. At ten years of 
 age he entered the Hopedale printiug-oftice, becoming 
 expert enough at fourteen to assunje charge of it as 
 foreman. At the same time he planned, edited, and 
 published on his own account a miniature semi-monthly 
 paper for young people, which he facetiously entitled 
 " The Mammoth." It had quite a run among his friends 
 as long as he chose to continue it. 
 
 On the 8th of August, 1850, he entered the Bridge- 
 water school, as stated, where he prosecuted his studies 
 through the regular year's course and an additional sup- 
 plementary term. He then stood so high in the estimation . 
 of the principal and his associates that he was cordially 
 invited by the proper authorities to take the position of 
 junior assistant teacher in the institution. He accepted 
 the invitation and entered upon the duties of the posi- 
 tion full of enthusiasm and hope, Dec. 5, 1851. Here 
 I turn aside for a moment from what was soon to 
 'transpire at Bridgewater to affairs relating to our son at 
 Hopedale. 
 
HOPEDALE EDUCATIONAL HOME. 377 
 
 He had become so thoroughly inducted into the princi- 
 ples and life-work to which his parents were devoted 
 that he was ready to consecrate himself to the same 
 before entering upon his new responsibilities in the 
 Normal School. He was accordingly proposed and 
 admitted to membership in the Community, November 22. 
 This consummation was an inexpressible satisfaction to 
 me and scarcely less so to many others. I had watched 
 the indications of his maturing ambition with anxious 
 solicitude lest the temptations of the prevailing civiliza- 
 tion should allure him from the struggling cause of 
 Christian Socialism so dear to my heart. Nothing was 
 more natural to one with his abilities and opportunities 
 than to yield to such temptations, but whether he should 
 do so or not depended on his own free choice. If he 
 could not espouse the cause to which I had devoted my 
 life of his own accord and with a full heart, he would 
 be worth nothing to it, even though its nominal adherent. 
 But he did so espouse it, to my great joy, and I could 
 implicitly trust his fidelity. I had been deserted by 
 coadjutors whose defection sadly disappointed me, and I 
 longed to have their places filled with others whose con- 
 geniality, mental breadth, moral stability, and judicial 
 competency should not be swerved from our holy standard 
 by petty inconveniences and vexations. He was, I felt 
 confident, by nature, by cultui-e, and by divine grace, one 
 of this reliable type. 
 
 Moreover, at the tiine when he took his stand for what 
 I deemed right and good, I was maturing a favorite 
 educational scheme to be put in operation in connection 
 with onr Community, and had organized an association 
 for its actualization. It had been publicly announced 
 and had awakened much enthusiasm among our friends 
 at home and abroad, and all eyes were turned to him as 
 the leading teacher and manager of the institution, soon,, 
 it was hoped, to be established. He himself entered 
 most earnestly into the project and was looking forward 
 with intense interest, as his letters testify, to the time 
 
■378 AUTO-BIOGRAPHY OF ADIN BALLOU. 
 
 when everything should be in readiness for him to assume 
 a position which was full of attractions to him as open- 
 ing a career of great service to truth and to humanity. 
 -A prospectus of the contemplated establishment, which 
 was to be called "The Hopedale Educational Home," 
 setting forth with considerable minuteness of detail its 
 leading characteristic features, its special advantages, its 
 claims upon the rationally religious and reformatory pub- 
 lic, and making an urgent appeal for funds, was issued 
 and widely circulated among our friends scattered abroad. 
 To it was appended the constitution of the body organ- 
 ized to prosecute the undertaking and carry it forward to 
 a successful issue, the first section of Article I, indicat- 
 ing its character, reading as follows : 
 
 " The grand aim and work of this association shall be to 
 educate the young who may be intrusted to its charge for that 
 purpose; to develop properly, thoroughly, and harmoniously 
 all their natural faculties, moral, hitellectual, and physical; to 
 give them, if possible, a high-toned character based on scrupu- 
 lous conscientiousness and radical Christian principles, a sound 
 mind, well cultivated, stored with useful knowledge and capa- 
 ble of inquiring, reasoning, and judging for itself; a healthful, 
 vigorous body, suitably fed, exercised, clothed, lodged, and 
 recreated ; good domestic habits, including personal cleanliness, 
 ■order, propriety, agreeableness, and generous social qualities; 
 industrial executiveness and skill in one or more of the avoca- 
 tions necessary to a comfortable subsistence; and withal 
 practical economy in money matters. In fine, to qualify them, 
 so far as a comprehensive and thorough education can do it, 
 for solid usefulness and happiness in all the rightful pursuits 
 and relations of life." 
 
 This circular, which was issued while Adin Augustus 
 was with us just befoi-e taking up his duties as teacher 
 at Bridgewater, was the last work done by him in the 
 printing oiflce — the last manual labor indeed that he ever 
 performed. Little did any of us di-eam at the time he 
 was thus engaged what an overwhelming storm-blast was 
 gathering its ruthless forces to paralyze our affections and 
 blight our fondly cherished hopes. Yet so it was. Two 
 months later, Feb. 8, 1852, the shadow of death settled 
 
GREAT HOPES DESTROYED. 379 
 
 down in thick darkness upon our beloved one, and all 
 the brilliant prospects which clustered around his mortal 
 personality vanished forever. After a few days of suffer- 
 ing from an insidious attack of typhoid fever, which his 
 overtaxed energies were unable to repel, he expired at 
 Bridgewater in the arms of his agonized parents, and his 
 pure spirit was translated to its immortal mansion. Only 
 his lifeless body and hallowed memories of him remained 
 to the saddest of mourning circles. None doubted his 
 blessedness in the heavenly realm ; but oh, how desolate 
 the places he had beautified and cheered on earth ! The 
 void was great and dreary and could never again be 
 filled. Down into his grave went all the cherished plans 
 whose fruition depended so largely on his earthly life, 
 genius, and ministry. Alas, so willed our Heavenly 
 Father, in all-wise love, no doubt, but to the shrouding 
 of our brightest and fondest anticipations for this world. 
 I need not here repeat the story of his life, character, 
 sickness, death, and funeral. For lo, it is written in full 
 in the truthful volume of one hundred and ninety-two 
 pages which I published a year aftei-ward, entitled 
 " Memoir of Adin Augustus Ballon. By his Father." 
 Read that, all ye who have sympathizing hearts and bless 
 his precious memory. 
 
 The shock of our bereavement almost crushed the fondly 
 doting mother, and was all that my own stronger energies 
 could endure. Neither of us ever entirely recovered 
 from its desolating effect. We have been comforted 
 and sustained down to a favored old age, but our con- 
 solation and strength have descended from the invisible 
 world. To that fountain of all good we looked for help 
 and received it. Having become convinced of the reality 
 of communications from departed loved ones, we availed 
 ourselves of favoring opportunities of hearing from our 
 beloved son. He came to us presently with messages 
 of soothing assurance, intelligence, and counsel, and 
 our broken hearts were anointed, alleviated, and made 
 glad. 
 
380 AUTO-BIOGRAPHY OF ADIN BALLOU. 
 
 This tragic experience and the resulting circumstances 
 just narrated hastened the preparation for the press of a 
 work which I had for some time contemplated upon the 
 general subject of spiritualism, as my investigations and 
 studies had caused me to understand and believe it. The 
 volume was published during the ensuing summer with 
 the following title; "An Exposition of Views Respecting 
 the Principal Facts, Causes, and Peculiarities Involved 
 in Spirit Manifestations," etc. It had a wide circulation 
 among believers and students of psychical phenomena, 
 and a second edition considerably enlarged was issued a 
 few years later. It was also re-published iu England, 
 where it commanded the attention not only of professed 
 Spiritualists but of scientists and savants who were not 
 too wise in their own conceit to candidly examine the 
 subject of which it treated. So far as I am personally 
 concerned, I abide confidently by the views and state- 
 ments presented in that work, though not by all the 
 expectations then entertained of early good results from 
 the movement it aimed to interpret, explain, and set 
 before the public in its true light. 
 
 I have now come down in the order of time to the 
 date at which I propose to bring this chapter to a close, 
 but there are a few additional incidents and events of a 
 personal significance and interest deserving of record 
 which I have thus far omitted to mention, and which I will 
 briefly notice in the order of their occurrence. 
 
 The New England Non-resistance Society, of which I 
 was many years president, took measures in 1845 to 
 resuscitate its suspended organ, the Non-resistant, in 
 order to impart new vigor and efficiency to the cause it 
 represented. An arrangement was made whereby the 
 periodical in pamphlet form was to be printed at Hope- 
 dale under my editorial charge. The experiment was 
 attempted in good faith, but failed for lack of adequate 
 support, and subscribei's who had paid for the publication 
 were supplied to the extent of such payment with our 
 own Practical Christian. This paper three years later 
 
HENRY C. WRIGHT AND OLIVER JOHNSON. 381 
 
 was adopted by the society mentioned as its organ, at 
 least in part, and to indicate the change made it was 
 given the title, " The Non-resistant and Practical Chris- 
 tian." Very naturally, I was the responsible managing 
 editor, although most of the matter for the new depart- 
 ment was furnished by Henry C. Wright, lecturing agent 
 for the society concerned. He had just returned from 
 Europe, and entered upon the duties of his office with 
 vigorous enthusiasm. Hopedale was his nominal center 
 of operations, though he was there but little. He t)'av- 
 ersed the country on his mission in all directions and his 
 correspondence, presenting an account of his labors, with 
 comments and reflections thereon, filled the columns 
 assigned him and gave variety and interest to the paper's 
 contents. His zeal and activity were pre-eminent, his 
 devotion to the cause unquestionable, his pen prolific, but 
 his discrimination and soundness of exposition did 
 not always eqpimand my admiration or satisfy my judg- 
 ment. 
 
 It is proper to mention in these pages a brief connec- 
 tion which my friend, Oliver Johnson, at one time 
 sustained to myself and our Community. An organiza- 
 tion called "The -Practical Christian Ministry," composed 
 of our properly constituted preachers and lecturers, had 
 been formed, to the membership of which this brother 
 was admitted Sept. .23, 1848. He was a devoted Aboli- 
 tionist, a teetotaler, peace man, and general moral 
 reformer on Christian principles, and also an able and 
 acceptable public speaker and writer. While in our 
 fellowship he occupied pulpits that were open to us, filled 
 lecturing appointments as one of our approved ministers, 
 and assisted me in editing the Practical Christian, making 
 himself in these and other ways very useful to us and 
 our cause. But our field was too narrow for his talents 
 and aspirations, and after a few months he left for a 
 broader one in which he felt that his time and endow- 
 ments could better serve his Maker and his fellowmen. 
 Originally an Orthodox Congregationalist layman, a printer 
 
382 AUTO-BIOGRAPHY OF ADIN BALLOU. 
 
 by trade, and sometime publisher of the Chrhiian Soldier, 
 he became an early convert to anti-slavery through Wm. 
 Lloyd Garrison, and subsequently to the whole reformatory 
 gospel, of which he was a staunch apostle and defender, 
 as editor or sub-editor of various progressive publications, 
 to the end of his days. Most of his later life was spent 
 in New York city, where he died Dec. 10, 1889. 
 
 The decease of my wife's mother, Mrs. Chloe (Albee) 
 Hunt, widow of Pearley Hunt, Esq., occurred Sept. 15, 
 1849, at the house of her daughter, Mrs. Diana (Hunt) 
 Cook of Milford, inflicting a heavy bereavement upon our 
 household, as did the decease of her husband five years 
 before. Her many estimable qualities justly commanded 
 the veneration and love of her children, grandchildren, 
 other relatives, and friends. Her prayer that she might 
 be spared a long and distressing sickness was graciously 
 answered. She experienced but a few hours of pain and 
 sank gently and without a murmur into tljat sleep which 
 knows no waking here below. She had passed the allotted 
 time of the psalmist, being in the 76th year of her age- 
 On the 11th of April, 1852, just before entering the 
 50th year of my life, I preached by particular request of 
 a few friends to Theodore Parker's congregation at the 
 Melodeon in Boston, upon the subject of Christian Non- 
 resistance. I always felt that it was a mistake for me 
 to have undertaken this service. The circumstances were 
 unfavorable in many respects, and thwarted my test 
 expectations concerning it. I was still suffering from the 
 shock of our great sorrow. I was mentally and physi- 
 cally enervated and depressed, and had but indifferent 
 command of my thoughts and energies. My voice was 
 sensibly impaired and incapable of filling the vast audi- 
 torium in which I spoke. Moreover, the large audience 
 present, with a few exceptions, not only had no sympathy 
 for or interest in my doctrine, but was evidently disap- 
 pointed, if not disgruntled, at not being privileged to hear 
 the silvery tones and eloquent sentences of their favorite 
 preacher, nor did it fail to manifest a general uneasiness 
 
AN UNFORTUNATE EPISODE. 383. 
 
 and discontent thereat. To make the matter worse, the 
 introductory exercises, including one of Mr. Parker's long 
 prayers, were so protracted that I did not begin my dis- 
 course till half past eleven o'clock. I was therefore in 
 the midst of my argument when the hour of twelve 
 struck, causing considerable numbers of those present, 
 eager perhaps for their dinner, to leave the house, creat- 
 ing thereby much confusion. Mr. Parker, who was very 
 kind and courteous, entreated all to wait patiently and 
 hear me through, but to little purpose. Seeing and com- 
 prehending the situation, I cut short what I had intended 
 to say and hurried on to the end that I might as soon 
 as possible relieve those to whom I was proving myself 
 a burden and a bore. I felt at the time, as I have felt 
 ever since, that I brought my wares to an unappreciative 
 market, and that I gained no credit for myself or my 
 cause. I cannot refrain from mentioning a peculiarly 
 interesting incident that occurred in connection with this 
 service. I i"ead for a scripture lesson the 12th chapter 
 of Romans in full. Upon taking my seat by the side of 
 Mr. Parker, he smilingly whispered in my ear, "I never 
 read publicly the words ' If thine enemy hunger, feed 
 him ; if he thirst, give him drink ; for in so doing thou 
 shalt heap coals of fire on his head.' They seem vindic- 
 tive to me." I marvelled greatly at his sensitiveness on 
 this point, especially in view of his known hostility to 
 the doctrine of Christian Non-resistance which I was 
 there to advocate. 
 
 In the afternoon, at Mr. Parker's social conference, 
 the previously announced theme for consideration was set 
 aside and the subject of my crippled morning's sermon 
 was offered for consideration. About one hundred and 
 fifty persons were present, among whom were William 
 Lloyd Garrison and other able Non-resistants. Mr. 
 Parker and one or two others freely stated their objec- 
 tions to the doctrine, whilst Mr. G-arrison and the rest 
 of us defended it and answered the objections to the 
 best of our ability. It 'was a free and fair discussion, a 
 
384 AUTO-BIOGRAPHY OF ADIN BALLOU. 
 
 respectful and courteous spirit characterizing tlie disputants 
 and the entire meeting. Taken as a whole, this effort on 
 my part was one of the most disappointing and unsatis- 
 factory of my life. 
 
CHAPTER XX 
 
 1852-1858. 
 
 At Home and Abroad — Tragedy — Pkactioal Chris- 
 tian Republic — Western Excursion — G-erritt 
 Smith — Community Crisis — Commune. 
 
 T ENTERED upon the fiftieth year of my life enfeebled 
 -*- somewhat in body and mind, as I was sadly depressed 
 in spirit by the heavy bereavement that had befallen our 
 household. That visitation came so unexpectedly, seemed 
 so untimely, . and prostrated so many cherished hopes, 
 that though divine support and consolation were all we 
 •could reasonably pray for, it enveloped us in a very dark 
 ■cloud of disquietude and grief. I could not wholly throw 
 off the burden that weighed so heavily upon me and 
 ience performed the tasks incumbent upon me with 
 depleted vigor and zeal. The enterprise contemplated by 
 the Educational Home Association, upon which I had 
 lavished so much thought and labor and in which cen- 
 tered so many and such glowing anticipations on my part 
 and on the part of our ascended son, was paralyzed by 
 what had transpired and ere long was abandoned 
 altogether. The " staff of accomplishment," so far as its 
 practical realization was concerned, was gone, and though 
 advised by devoted friends to push the project forward, 
 I had no heart to struggle further in its belialf. My 
 Sabbaths were all occupied at home or abroad in the 
 exposition, defence, and diffusion of my long-entertained 
 moral and religious convictions of truth and duty which 
 were as dear and sacred to me as ever, if not more so, 
 but it was a long time before I could discharge the 
 •obligations under which they placed me with that elastic- 
 25 
 
386 AUTO-BIOGRAPHY OF ADIN BALLOU. 
 
 ity, fervor, and enthusiasm which formerly inspired me 
 and fitted me for the work I felt called upon to do. My 
 friends, of whom I had many scattered far and wide 
 over a large territory, were kind and sympathetic towards 
 me, giving me ample opportunity to visit them and ta 
 preach my Practical Christian gospel in their respective 
 neighborhoods. I have many pleasant memories of these 
 missionary excursions enjoyed during the period of which 
 I am writing, one of which gave me unusual satisfaction 
 at the time, as it gives me much delight to recall it now 
 that so many years have passed away since it transpired. 
 The last Sabbath in September, 1852, and the two 
 ensuing days I spent in Troy, N. Y., where there was quite 
 a circle of persons sympathizing with me in my general 
 theological and reformatory views as I had published them 
 to the world. Conspicuous among these was Thatcher 
 Clark, formerly of Medway, in which townl had known 
 him many years before. He had for a long time been a 
 sort of disciple of mine, a liberal patron and gratuitous 
 distributor of my writings. He had often in correspond- 
 ence urged me to visit his adopted city and address, 
 such free-minded seekers after truth as he might induce 
 to hear me. When I finally yielded to his wishes, I was 
 cordially welcomed and hospitably provided for by him 
 and his family, and during my stay in the city of his 
 adoption made many new acquaintances, who manifested 
 a genuine interest in my mission, entertained me genially, 
 heard my messages gladly, and purchased my writings 
 with a liberal hand. In a commodious hall belonging to 
 Brother Clark, I addressed every way respectable audi- 
 ences three times on Sunday, and also on Monday and 
 Tuesday evenings. My themes of discourse in their order 
 were (1) " The theology, piety, and morality of the ser- 
 mon on the Mount"; (2) "The Inflnitarian Philosophy," 
 as 1 termed it, or the doctrine of the absolute illimitable- 
 ness of God in all his attributes of space, duration, 
 worlds, beings, and variety of conditions; (3) "The 
 kingdom of God on earth"; (4) " Spirit Manifestations " ;: 
 
RELATIONS TO SPIRITUALISM. 387 
 
 (5) "The Christianization of human society." I was 
 heard with uniformly profound attention, encouraging me 
 to hope for a reasonable amount of good fruit from the 
 seed sown. 
 
 As already stated, I had at this time become so firmly 
 convinced of the truth of spirit communication, that I 
 had not only been prompted to publish a volume devoted 
 to its defence and elucidation, but to preach and lecture 
 upon it as I found opportunity, and to co-operate in 
 various ways with its accredited advocates and promoters 
 for its promulgation in the community and world. I 
 attended and took part in conventions held in its behalf, 
 wrote for papers devoted to its extension, and consented 
 for a time to be accounted an agent of the Spiritualist 
 Association. I continued this open and active support 
 of the cause for several years or until I came to feel that 
 my unwavering loyalty to Jesus Christ and His religion, 
 which I never gave up or kept in abeyance even before 
 a spiritualistic assembly, made me an unwelcome coad- 
 jutor. I then quietly withdrew from the ranks. But I 
 have never repudiated my deep-seated convictions on the 
 subject, nor declined to express them at proper times 
 and on proper occasions. Nor have I ever cherished any 
 sympathy with the skepticism and contempt shown in high 
 places towards spiritualistic phenomena, but deem most 
 of such contempt and skepticism unreasonable, absurd, 
 and pitiable. There are falsities, errors, and follies 
 connected with nominal Spiritualism with which I have no 
 sympathy, but I am well assured that there is in it a 
 considerable percentage of phenomenal reality and philo- 
 sophical instruction which no wise mind can reject or 
 despise. Such a mind will select the gold and cast the 
 di'oss away. 
 
 No remarkable developments in Community affairs 
 . occurred during the year 1852. There was a small deficit 
 in our industrial operations, which was satisfactorily 
 adjusted. In all other respects, our experiment was emi- 
 nently encouraging. Our numbers increased, our business 
 
388 AUTO-BIOGRAPHir OF ADIN BALLOU. 
 
 interests multiplied, our intellectual, moral, and religious 
 instrumentalities were healthfully vigorous, and our 
 organic arrangements seemed ripening into well-assured 
 solidity and permanence. There were still frictions and 
 difficulties to be overcome, but no dangers to be feared, 
 save from our own frailties and imperfections. We owed 
 more money than was wise through unavoidable necessity, 
 but our pecuniary credit was above suspicion and bound 
 to remain so. We had only to keep the faith, abide 
 steadfastly by our principles, and persevere to the end, 
 and all would be well. 
 
 The year 1853 opened auspiciously and all hearts were 
 gladdened by the outlook. But another great and lamenta- 
 ble bereavement befel us ere we had gone far on our way. 
 Bro. Butler Wilmarth, M. D., a prominent member of our 
 fraternity, on his way home from a Hydropathic Medical 
 Convention in New York city, was one of the victims of 
 the memorable railroad disaster which occurred at Nor- 
 walk bridge, Conn., the 6th day of May. As soon as his 
 body was identified and his place of residence ascertained, 
 the former was transmitted' to Westborough where he had 
 an institution for invalids, and thence to Hopedale where 
 he received well-deserved funeral honors. He was a pillar 
 in our social edifice, honored and beloved by us all and by 
 a multitude throughout the general community in which he 
 had practiced his profession. The depth and extent of 
 mourning for him can be but faintly imagined. His grave 
 is a marked one in our little cemetery among others of our 
 sainted dead. During the ensuing year. Rev. Brother Wm. 
 H. Fish prepared an excellent memoir of him, which was 
 published with a good steel engraved likeness in a duo- 
 decimo volume of two hundred and fifty-six pages. 
 
 Aside from this afflictive visitation the year was emi- 
 nently a successful and gratifying one. So hopeful were 
 we for the cause of social reconstruction tliat schemes were 
 devised and projects contemplated for founding offspring 
 communities in the distant west, several states offering 
 apparently favorable opportunity and inducements in the 
 
PERNICIOUS ERRORS WITHSTOOD. 389 
 
 way of men and means for enterprises of that sort. Some 
 of these seemed near ripening to a practical consummation 
 a year or two later, but proved to have too little vitality to 
 grow into permanent and self-sustaining movements. 
 
 In addition to my ordinary routine of labors which con- 
 tinued essentially the same from year to year, I had 
 caused to be instituted not long before the time of which I 
 am now speaking what was called " The Inductive Com- 
 munion," which was designed to indoctrinate our young 
 people in the principles and methods of social reform, and 
 prepare them for the assumption in maturer life of the 
 responsibilities and duties which they involved and required. 
 This was under my immediate charge for many years, and, 
 meeting as it did every Monday evening, required no little 
 study and effort on my part to make it subservient to the 
 general good of all connected with it. As editor of The 
 Practical OJiristian, I was much occupied in replying to 
 querists and opponents on various points of theology, 
 ethics, and social economy. Standing also, as I did, 
 between extreme radicals and equally extreme conserva- 
 tives, I was obliged to contend right and left against what 
 seemed to be pernicious errors in both directions. This 
 was especially true on the radical side. All sorts of 
 reformers were abroad, with whom we were in much sym- 
 pathy as to their main object, but whose notions and decla- 
 rations on collateral questions of truth and duty often 
 tended, in my judgment, to nothingarianism and social 
 anarchy. Of the pernicious errors from this source that 1 
 had to withstand were an incoherent Transcendentalism, 
 which made every individual his own prophet, priest, king, 
 and Grod ; a rabid anti-bibleism, which treated the scriptures 
 of the two Testaments indiscriminately as a jargOnic mass 
 of pseudo-sacred rubbish, of no divine authority whatever ; 
 and a gross anti-Sabbatarianism, which left no use for any 
 sort of Sabbath, even for the moral and religious improve- 
 ment or physical comfort of needy humanity. All such 
 views, in my opinion, were false in principle, prejudieal to 
 human welfare and destructive of the growth of Practical 
 
390 AUTO-BIOGRAPHY OF ADIN BALLOU. 
 
 Christian Socialism, and I therefore opposed them with all 
 the vigor at my command. A truly hallowed production of 
 my pen in 1853 was the "Memoir of Adin Augustus 
 Ballon," our departed son, already mentioned, which came 
 from the press in September. It was eagerly sought for 
 and read with deep and tender interest by all who had 
 known him and by many beside, both old and young. It 
 has the charm of a novel, the impressive force of a truthful 
 biography, and the moral influence which excites aspiration 
 for a type of life far above the popular level. 
 
 My health and strength, mental and physical, after a few 
 months were so far restored that I felt ready to undertake 
 the elaboration and completion of a project for a confed- 
 eracy of communities, which I had long contemplated. I 
 was prompted to do this by the unprecedented prosperity of 
 our Hopedale enterprise, the consequent probability of an 
 early colonization of some of its members in some western 
 state, and the general increase of interest in Social Reform 
 movements throughout the length and breadth of the land. 
 I therefore spent much time in the autumn and winter 
 following in devising and putting in proper form a general 
 plan for the formation and government of such a confed- 
 eracy, which I entitled " Constitution of The Practical 
 Christian Republic." This I submitted to my brethren of 
 the community for their examination, criticism, emendation, 
 and perfecting, before giving it to the public. After long 
 and patient consideration of it, article by article and 
 section by section, resulting in sundry alterations and 
 amendments, it was finally approved and adopted, each part 
 by itself, and as a whole, May 7, 1854. By this action 
 a definite public policy and the line of confidently 
 expected progress for the future were clearly sketched and 
 authoritatively prescribed. The accepted constitution was 
 framed on the most inclusive and comprehensive plan and 
 sought to make provision for a wide diversity of methods 
 and operations in the direction of social reorganization. 
 It granted the privilege of forming, as conviction, inclina- 
 tion, or circumstances might suggest, four different kinds of 
 
IMPORTANT VOLUME PUBLISHED. 391 
 
 Fraternal Communities, under the same general head and as 
 •co-equal parts of the same general system, to be denomi- 
 nated respectively Parochial, Rural, Joint Stock, and 
 Coinmon Stock Communities. All the details of organiza- 
 tion and administration usually embodied in documents of a 
 similar nature, were set forth according to the light I then 
 had, and to the best of my ability. 
 
 This being accomplished, I felt the importance, as the 
 new constitution was sent out into the world, of having 
 it accompanied with some explanation or elucidation of its 
 distinctive characteristics and methods of operation ; and 
 this feeling grew upon me until I resolved upon prepar- 
 ing and having published a complete exposition of what 
 I deemed the true system of human society, comparing 
 it carefully with the prevailing system and with certain 
 proposed new ones that were claiming the attention of 
 philanthropists and reformers in both our own and foreign 
 lands. I then addressed myself to the assigned task, 
 ■devoting my time and strength, so far as they were not 
 ■demanded by more urgent duties, for several months to 
 the preparation of such a work. As a result, there 
 issued from our Community press near the end of 1854 
 an octavo volume of six hundred and fifty-five pages, 
 entitled '■'■ Practical Ckristian Socialism: A Conversational 
 Exposition of the True System of Human Society. In 
 Three Parts, viz : I. Fundamental Principles ; II. Con- 
 stitional Polity ; III. Superiority to Other Systems." 
 
 The book was written and put in print in very great 
 haste and under many embarrassing circumstances, occa- 
 sioning numerous defects and errors when considered 
 from a literary point of view, which more time and cai-e 
 would have prevented and which I afterwards had reason 
 to regret. Moreover, I have come to see, by profounder 
 study of the subject, that I could amend what I have 
 written on certain points of theory and practice, as I 
 have amended them in some of the later fruits of my 
 pen. But I still adhere to the grand essentials of tlie 
 work and am sure that in coming time social reformers 
 
392 AUTO-BIOGRAPHY OF ADIN BALLOU. 
 
 will find it rich in suggestions and a lielpful guide iu any- 
 proposed organization of society on a sure and enduring 
 basis. 
 
 Meanwhile there occurred an interesting and notewoi'thy 
 episode in the story of my career, — an exceptional ripple 
 in the usually quiet current of my life. It comprised the 
 experiences of a five weeks' tour with my wife through 
 several of our American States and Canada, taken by the 
 invitation and at the expense of our generous brother, 
 E. D. Draper, who, with liis wife, Anna T. Draper, accom- 
 panied us. Little time or inclination have I ever had for 
 traveling farther than duty called me for missionary or 
 reformatory purposes, and this was the only extended 
 excursion ever made by me as a release from ordinary cares 
 and labors, or from readily accessible means of recreation. 
 It afforded me, however, great pleasure and satisfaction, 
 and brought me into contact with phases of human life and 
 character I had never met before, and with personages 
 whose acquaintance I was happy to make, — some of them 
 being distinguished as friends and champions of truth and 
 righteousness in some one or other field of progressive, 
 philanthropic, humanitarian effort. A few of the salient 
 points of this expedition I am prompted to record. 
 
 "We bade adieu to our relatives and friends in Hopedale,. 
 with tender emotions and amid a shower of good wishes, on 
 the morning of the 8th of May, 1854, proceeding via 
 Springfield, where we spent the night, to New York city. 
 We were kindly and courteously welcomed to the great 
 metropolis by our friend, Morgan L. Bloom, to whom and 
 his accomplished wife we were indebted for many atten- 
 tions during our four days stay there. We filled up the 
 time pleasantly and profitably by visiting places of instruc- 
 tive interest, attending public convocations of various 
 character, holding interviews with old or new-made friends, 
 and seeing many of the sights of this modern Babylon. A 
 very unusual experience with us was the going to the 
 theater, where we witnessed and heard the admirable play of 
 "Uncle Tom's Cabin" which had been repeated from the 
 
JOURNEY TO THE WEST. 393 
 
 same stage more thau three hundred times. We also 
 attended the annual meeting of the American Anti-Slavery 
 Society, went to an exhibition of the Five Points Reforma- 
 tory Mission and to the then far-famed Crystal Palace, 
 finding at each of these places something attractive and 
 morally profitable. We availed ourselves of the oppor- 
 tunity of taking a brief trip to " The North American 
 Phalanx," the Fourierite Community in Monmouth County, 
 N. J., where we were courteously received and hospitably 
 entertained by Pi-esident Sears and his asssociates — gentle- 
 men and ladies all. We were shown' the premises gen- 
 erally, with the buildings and appurtenances thereta 
 belonging, and the different departments of domestic, 
 industrial, social, ^nd educational activity. We were 
 greatly pleased and edified, leaving the place well stored 
 with topics for salutary reflection and practical use. 
 
 May 13 we extended our journey to Philadelphia spend- 
 ing the Sabbath in quietude there and devoting Monday to 
 the famous Fairmount Water Works, Laurel Hill Cemetery, 
 and other celebrated localities in and about the city. On 
 the 16th we proceeded through Baltimore to Washington 
 taking rooms at Beers' well-known Temperance Hotel. 
 There we remained four days, dividing our time between 
 the various imposing public buildings, congressional pro- 
 ceedings, and personal interviews with the great cham- 
 pions of freedom then in vigorous conflict with the slave 
 power over the infamous Kansas-Nebraska bill, which was 
 on its final passage in the House — American tyranny 
 thereby driving its triumphal chariot furiously over the 
 forms of 'its temporarily vanquished opponents. I had 
 brief conversations with Charles Sumner, Joshua R. G-id- 
 dings, and Gerritt Smith, neither of whom had I met 
 before, and with Thomas Davis of -Providence, R. I., a 
 former acquaintance, — all unsuppressable Anti-Slavery 
 members of the National Legislature and worthy of their 
 great reputation. 
 
 On Saturday, May 20, we left Washington on our 
 way westward by the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad, whose 
 
394 AUTO-BIOGRAPHY OF ADIN BALLOU. 
 
 mighty and amazing constructions awaken wonder and 
 admiration in the minds of all' beholders. We stopped 
 over Sunday at Cumberland, Md., resuming our journey 
 early Monday morning and proceeding to Wheeling, Va., 
 where we took a steamer to Cincinnati, Ohio. Arriving 
 there early on Wednesday we were soon conveyed to Spring 
 Garden, a semi-suburban part of the city, and to the 
 residence there of our long-tried, faithful, and estimable 
 friends, Andrew H. Ernst and his wife, Sarah H. (Otis) 
 Ernst, formerly of Boston. This was our objective point 
 and the western lijnit of our pilgrimage. Mr. and Mrs. 
 Ernst welcomed us with the warmest cordiality to the 
 unstinted hospitality of a home abounding with every 
 convenience and comfort that ample wealth could furnish or 
 appreciative visitors enjoy. Our sojourn lasted eight- days, 
 during which we received all the attention that could 
 possibly render it pleasant and memorable. We were 
 taken to numerous places of interest and instruction in and 
 about the city, and introduced to many distinguished and 
 excellent people ; in fine, were filled to the brim with 
 experiences and recollections calculated to gladden and 
 enrich a lifetime. 
 
 During our stay in Cincinnati, I was exceedingly happy 
 to renew a former slight acquaintance with Kev. Abial 
 Abbot Livermore, pastor of tlie Unitarian church of the 
 city, and to expand it bj' two or three delightful interviews. 
 I met him at a Sabbath-school picnic on Saturday, May^ 27, 
 when he informed me that an arrangement had been made 
 for me to occupy his pulpit the following day. This I 
 accordingly did, gratified as I was at the fraternal courtesy 
 of my clerical brother and with the opportunity of preach- 
 ing to his people the gospel of a pure and practical 
 Christianity. Such a gospel in essential respects they have 
 from Brother Livermore. For his is an enlightened, liberal, 
 reformatory, Christian soul. He bears faithful testimony 
 against all manner of wickedness in high places and in low 
 places, and in favor of truth, righteousness, and human 
 improvement in all things. He is the author of a valuable 
 
HOMEWARD BOUND. 395 
 
 Commentary on the gospels and the two following books of 
 the New Testament, of an excellent Prize Essay on the 
 Mexican War, and of other meritorious works. He was 
 formerly pastor of the Unitarian church in Keene, N. H., 
 and for some twenty years now past has been the able, 
 revered, and beloved president of the Theological School at 
 Meadville, Pa. 
 
 We spent a delightful afternoon on Wednesday, May 31, 
 at Eev. Mr. Livermore's with our fellow-travelers. Brother 
 and Sister Ernst, and Rev. Daniel Parker, an old Restora- 
 tionist and Practical Christian friend from New Richmond, 
 Ohio ; and also enjoyed the services and festivities con- 
 nected with the marriage of one of Brother Ernst's 
 daughters the day following. On Friday morning, June 2, 
 we took leave of our kind and beloved host and hostess, 
 and turned our faces homeward. The former we never met 
 again and the latter only two or three times in her subse- 
 quent widowhood. They both with Brother and Sister 
 Draper are at home in the world of spirits, while wife and 
 I survive them until now (Dec. 1889), but must soon 
 rejoin them in the better land. 
 
 From Cincinnati we journeyed via Cleveland to Buffalo, 
 N. Y., and took lodgings there. The next day, Saturday, 
 we proceeded to Niagara Falls, engaging rooms at the 
 Clifton House on the Canada side, where we were quartered 
 till Monday. Meanwhile we traversed the enchanted 
 country thereabouts and filled our souls with the majestic 
 wonders and glories displayed on every hand, making our 
 stay one ever to be remembered and enjoyed. Thence we 
 went to Queenstown, lingering en route for an hour or two 
 at the awful whirlpool, and from Queenstown crossed the 
 then longest suspension bridge in the world to Lewiston, 
 N. Y. Boarding a steamer we sailed across Lake Ontario 
 to Ogdensburg and thence to the semi-antique city of 
 Montreal, passing, as we entered St. Lawrence river, 
 through the midst of the far-famed Thousand Isles and all 
 the loveliness of scenery they enshrine, and, farther on, the 
 fearful rapids, which seemed ready at any moment to 
 
396 ADTO-BIOGRAPHY OF ADIN BALLOU. 
 
 engulf our floating palace and all it contained in one 
 common doom. But brave hearts and skilled hands had 
 our fortunes in their keeping, and we all came into- quiet 
 waters at length without injury or harm. 
 
 At Montreal everything was novel and strange to us — 
 had a decidedly foreign aspect. The style of architecture, 
 the appearance of the streets, the manners and speech of 
 the people, soldiers taking their rounds. Catholic priests 
 in long black robes. Sisters of Charity gliding about, the 
 great cathedral with its ponderous bell, penitential confes- 
 sions, and spectacular performances before its altars, all 
 told us how unlike ourselves these northern neighbors are 
 and how little we had yet known of the peculiarities and 
 diversities of human life and its manifestations. Leaving 
 Montreal by the Grand Trunk railway, we whirled rapidly 
 through the wild and picturesque landscapes of northern 
 New Hampshire and western Maine, arriving at Portland 
 in the evening of .Tune 9. Thence the next day we 
 journeyed to Boston, spending the night there, and going 
 to our Hopedale home on the 11th, where we received 
 most cordial greetings from all our relatives and friends. 
 We bad been gone thirty-three days and had been greatly 
 favored and blessed in all our wanderings and visitations. 
 We returned glad and grateful that we had been pre- 
 served from all harmful casualties and had found 
 refreshing and new life to both body and spirit. All 
 were well and prosperous in our beloved dale, and we at 
 once resumed the places and duties to which we were 
 accustomed and from which we took leave of absence 
 more than a month before. 
 
 The year upon which this pilgrimage was made, 1854, 
 was the palmiest in the history of the Hopedale Com- 
 munity. It throve in all its departments, operations, and 
 interests. Materially, socially, and religiously, its progress 
 was most satisfactory. It was much the same through 
 the succeeding year, 1855 ; no serious reverses or draw- 
 backs occurring to diminish the fruit of our labors in any 
 field of effort, to awaken distrust of the success of our 
 
NEW MOVEMENTS CONTEMPLATED. 397 
 
 underta^fing, or chill the- iirdor of our fondest hopes. So 
 well assured were we of the sounduess of our position as 
 Christian Socialists and of the not far distant triumph of 
 our cause that a re-awakened interest was generated in 
 the subject of founding new communities in the virgin 
 territory of some of the western states, and steps were 
 taken looking to the practical realization of the involved 
 idea and purpose. Offers of a domain of considerable 
 size were made us by a gentleman in Wisconsin who had 
 been converted to the doctrine of social reconstruction by 
 my writings (though not fully to Christian Non-resist- 
 ance), and who was desirous of having that doctrine put 
 to the test of practical experiment in his vicinity with 
 himself as a coadjutor. Numerous articles appeared in the 
 Practical Christian, mostly over the signature of Brothei- 
 Wm. H. Fish, urging a movement in the same behalf on 
 general principles, without indicating any particular local- 
 ity, and calling for the names of persons ready to enlist 
 in it. As a result of this renewed agitation of the 
 matter, several of our own Hopedale brethren left home 
 in the autumn of 1855 for the definite purpose of secur- 
 ing lands and taking the initiatory steps towards the 
 realization of the object which commended itself to so 
 many minds and which now seemed near achievement. 
 Their .objective point was the state of Minnesota, then 
 rapidly filling up with new settlers, as offering the most 
 advantages for the proposed undertaking. A series of 
 unavoidable misfortunes prevented them from doing any- 
 thing towards the accomplishment of their purpose until 
 the following spring, when lanpls were secured and a 
 settlement was made. This was done by individuals of 
 the party on their own personal responsibility and in their 
 separate behalf, though with a view of future consolida- 
 tion and communitization, under one of the forms pre- 
 scribed in the constitution of the Practical Christian 
 Republic. This, however, never came to pass. Events 
 that were even then ripening to a disastrous culmination 
 at Hopedale, as will soon be narrated, not only put an 
 
398 AUTO-BIOGRAPHY OF ADIN BALLOU. 
 
 end to all efforts in that direction, but postponed the 
 whole great question of social regeneration and the work 
 of building up on the earth a new and divine order of 
 human society according to the New Testament ideal, 
 to an indefinite future. 
 
 While these things were transpiring, I was devoting my 
 time and energy to the advancement of the principles and 
 cause I held de^r, at home and abroad, wherever I could 
 get a hearing. Earely, if ever, did a Sunday pass by 
 when I was not engaged in two or three religious ser- 
 vices and rarely a week in which I did not lecture upon 
 some theme pertaining to some one of the great reforms 
 with which I had become identified and to the bettering 
 of the condition of my fellowmen. Many were the locali- 
 ties I visited in Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and 
 Connecticut, as fields of missionary labor for one or sev- 
 eral days at a time ; some of them regularly and others 
 as mutual convenience would permit. In June, 1855, I 
 spent ten days at Mystic, Ct., by invitation of Rev. S. 
 S. Griswold, a Seventh-day Baptist minister of catholic 
 spirit, preaching and lecturing there and in the vicinity 
 with scarcely an intermitting day. In October I journeyed 
 as far away as Pennsylvania and New York on a distinct- 
 ively missionary tour which was made memorable by 
 interviews with two or three distinguished personag'es of 
 that period of American history. I first went to Phila- 
 delphia where I visited Passamore Williamson, a devoted 
 Abolitionistj arbitrarily incarcerated in Moyamensing 
 prison for alleged contempt of court in refusing to testify 
 against certain fugitive slaves, of whose experiences he 
 was accused of being conversant. He was in good spirits 
 and in no wise humiliated or intimidated by his pro- 
 slavery assailants and persecutors. I also by invitation 
 dined one day with the celebrated Professor Robert Hare, 
 a recent convert from stiff, scientific scepticism to modern 
 Spiritualism and faith in immortality. He was kind, 
 polite, affable, and we naturally fell into a friendly con- 
 versation upon the subject to which both of us had oiven 
 
DISTINGUISHED MEN INTERVIEWED 399' 
 
 considerable attention. It was only good manners for me 
 to allow him to lead off in the talk, to assent to his 
 views' when I could, and to dissent, when I must, with, 
 all the deference my conseience would allow. He was 
 honestly blunt in contemning Moses and the prominent Old 
 Testament characters generally, as unprincipled and cruel,, 
 Christ and His Apostles as foolish and impracticable 
 enthusiasts, and all the alleged spirit manifestations 
 of the past as unreliable and of little or no account. 
 But those of the present day, he claimed, are scientifi- 
 cally demonstrated to be true and so worthy of hearty- 
 acceptance. The reader can judge how his assertions- 
 and animadversions struck me. He was a Spiritual- 
 ist, as I was, but of a very different type from myself.. 
 I puzzled him with some Socratic questions which he 
 failed to answer to my satisfaction. All passed off pleas- 
 antly and we parted courteously. 
 
 After a four days' sojourn in Philadelphia, where I 
 addressed public audiences some half a dozen times, I 
 went via New York city and Albany to central New 
 York, visiting my old, honored, and beloved friend and 
 brother. Rev. Samuel J. May, at Syracuse. I remained 
 with him over the Sabbath, preaching to his people in. 
 the morning and giving them a lecture on Christian Non- 
 resistance in the evening. The day following I made a 
 detour to Peterborough for the purpose of calling upon 
 the distinguished reformer and philanthropist, Gerritt 
 Smith, who kindly welcomed me to his commodious and 
 hospitable mansion. I found him, true to his reputation, 
 a man of dignified personal presence, thoroughly educated 
 and devoutly religious, a devoted moral and political 
 reformer, the heir to a princely estate, eminently charita- 
 ble to the poor, a generous donor to public institutions, 
 an outspoken friend of the suffering classes, a liberal enter- 
 tainer of thousands, with wife and children to match. The 
 special object of my visit was to solicit a loan or dona- 
 tion in aid of our Practical Christian Republic, having 
 then in prospect the purchase of new Community domains. 
 
400 AUTO-BIOGRAPHY OF ADIN BALLOU. 
 
 He listened to the presentation of my case and appeal 
 respectfully and kindly, but all liis disposable funds were 
 at that time pledged to other important objects of a 
 humanitarian character, chief among which was the endow- 
 ment of a university wherein should be taught his own 
 peculiar views of "Righteous Civil Government," one of 
 his leading hobbies. Hence all he could give to my move- 
 ment was five dollars. I thanked him and left somewhat 
 disappointed, though I had undertaken this suit rather on 
 other people's judgment and faith than my own. Experi- 
 ence, not in this case only but generally, has taught me 
 that rich people must not be expected, much less depended 
 upon, to contribute largely to the building up of such a 
 kingdom of God on the earth as is proposed in my 
 Practical Christian Socialism. I soon after returned to 
 my Hopedale home to prosecute the labors devolving 
 upon me nearer at hand, and to share at an early day 
 the bitter disappointment and grief resulting from the 
 utter wreck of the most sacred hopes of my life, all the 
 more bitter and crushing because so sudden and undreamed 
 of when it occurred. 
 
 Tlie Fatal Crisis. As I have already stated, the affairs 
 of the Community were apparently in a highly prosperous 
 and encouraging condition through the years 1854 and 
 1855, and I flattered myself with the idea that all was 
 well for the future beyond doubt or peradventure. So I 
 felt when we convened in annual meeting Jan. 9, 1856. 
 The financial statement of the treasurer was not ready in 
 all its details, but the general declaration was made by 
 him that the joint stock operations had suffered no detri- 
 ment and that the industrial and financial outlook was 
 bright and encouraging. I was greatly pleased with this 
 assurance and my gratification was enhanced by the con- 
 cluding sentences of the address of our president, Brother 
 Ebenezer D. Draper, as follows : 
 
 " We may rejoice together in considering the degree of har- 
 mony that exists at the present tkne In our Community ; 
 greater, I think, than ever before. And I hope and believe 
 
A STARTLING DISCLOSURE. 401 
 
 that with our past experience and present advantages, we shall 
 continue to increase in love and wisdom and so become more 
 and more a light to those around us, proving to the world 
 that Christian Socialism opens a more excellent way in which 
 men may live together as brethren, and that it gives us, as it 
 will all who yield to its saving power, peace and good will 
 to one another and to the whole human race. May tjie good 
 <Jod prosper and bless us all." 
 
 After such an assuring benediction, which set the bells of 
 gladness ringing in all our hearts, what but a thunder clap 
 from a clear sky could fill us with greater consternation 
 than the announcement of the same president, only six 
 "weeks later, that the financial condition of the Community 
 -was so desperate and hopeless that he and his brother, 
 George Draper, had decided to withdraw thpir investments 
 from the joint stock capital. What had happened to 
 cause such a reversal of the representation made at the 
 annual meeting? "We were then told that the deficit in the 
 .entire operations of the previous year was only $146.15 — 
 an insignificant sum. But a more critical examination of 
 monetary affairs disclosed the fact that the 4 per cent, 
 dividends due to the joint stock had not been reckoned, 
 and that the natural depreciation in the value of buildings, 
 machinery, etc., had also been overlooked; which, with 
 sundry other omissions, made our actual loss some -ten or 
 twelve thousand dollars — an ominous and, as was thought, 
 insurmountable burden ! 
 
 As soon as this state of things became known, a Com- 
 munity meeting was called and continued by adjournment 
 through several sessions. Earnest and pungent discussions 
 were carried on, and the feelings of many members were 
 greatly disturbed. If there were blame anywhere in the 
 management, it was found diflScult to locate it. Evidently 
 there had been lack of business ability or gross neglect 
 somewhere, and, failing to discover where it was, it 
 ■was natural and easy to attribute it to the system, and 
 1;his was the culminating accusation. In making it, the 
 lead was taken by George Draper who had been with us but 
 two years, and who, from the beginning, had only dubious 
 26 
 
402 AUTO-BIOGRAPIIY OF ADIN BALLOU. 
 
 faith in Community life. He was a natural born man of 
 the world, given to money-making, impatient of high ideals, 
 but thoroughly honest in his opinions, upright in his deal- 
 ings, and of unquestioned integrity and honor. He was 
 moreover inflexible of* will and purpose, and when once 
 determined upon an object, he pursued it without hesitation 
 or prevarication. So thoroughly persuaded was he in his 
 own mind that our socialistic scheme was impracticable and 
 the cause of all our troubles, and so persistent was he in 
 attempting to bring his brother, our president, with whom 
 he was closely associated in business, over to the same 
 conclusion, that he at length, though with much difficulty, 
 succeeded. This accomplished, the doom of the Com- 
 munity was irrevocably sealed. 
 
 Our fate was in the hands of these two men. They were 
 in possession of three-fourths of the joint stock, and the 
 withdrawal of their share would so cripple our movement 
 financially, that it would be absolutely impossible for it ta 
 go on. The rest of us were poor, having no means to 
 purchase their interest in the property, and though our 
 credit was good and might have been used to meet the 
 emergency, to have so used it would have been fool-hardy 
 and perilous — would have been to load ourselves with a. 
 burden which all could see would not only crush us to the 
 earth but defraud those who might befriend and help us. 
 This therefore was not to be thought of for a moment. 
 The only alternative was to yield to the inevitable and 
 make the best of it. 
 
 As soon as this was settled in my mind, my first care 
 was to see to it that in the final adjustment of affairs with 
 the Draper brothers, provision should be made for the 
 full payment, principal and interest, of all just demands 
 against the Community. This was accordingly done, to the 
 satisfaction of all parties, and no creditor of ours ever lost 
 a dollar by his confidence in us. Then there came under 
 my generaP direction and by my hand a radical change 
 in our Community constitution, whereby our industrial 
 arrangements were all abolished, our real and movable 
 
CAST DOWN, BUT NOT DESTROYED 403 
 
 property was made over to the proper claimants or other- 
 wise disposed of, and the organization itself reduced to 
 the form of a religious society — a mere shadow of its 
 former self. This being accomplished, many members 
 withdrew and went to localities more favorable to self- 
 support ov to the realization of their best purposes in life 
 for themselves, their families, and their fellow-men, while 
 new comers multiplied as convenience, business interests, or 
 general worldly considerations, influenced them. But never 
 afteiTvard did a single person settle- in Hopedale from any 
 regard to its original moral, social, and religious principles, 
 spirit, purpose, and aim. 
 
 My distress and mortification at this issue of our Com- 
 munity enterprise — at this overthrow of my most cherished 
 hopes and plans for the regeneration and progress of 
 individual and social humanity, were inexpressible — almost 
 unendurable. I felt like one prematurely consigned to a 
 tomb. My darling expectations were blasted, my noblest 
 ambition was crushed. I had been disappointed and 
 deserted before, yet I could fall back on remaining re- 
 sources sufficient to sustain me and urge me forward in 
 my work. But now my calamity was greater than ever — 
 overwhelming and irreparable. Nothing remained but 
 to submit with the best grace possible to a deplorable 
 failure, and in after years to search out the errors and mis- 
 takes which had caused it, and, having found them, to 
 make such record of thenj as should render them servicea- 
 ble as admonitions and warnings to philanthropists and 
 social reformers in coming generations. This I resolved to 
 do, and by the preserving and helping mercy of God, have 
 lived to accomplish it, as witnesseth my " History of the 
 Hopedale Community " and my third volume of ' ' Primitive 
 Christianity;" both of which works I leave in manuscript 
 for my successors to publish and give to the world. 
 
 While the occurrences just narrated were taking place, 
 but before any serious results were apprehended, I became 
 involved, much to my subsequent discomfort, in an under- 
 taking of a more secular nature though not disconnected 
 
404 AUTO-BIOGRAPHY OF ADIN BALLOU. 
 
 with our Commuuity system. Hopiug to streugtlien our 
 common bond of union and aid the common cause, as well 
 as to secure better employment for a portion of our mem- 
 bers not adequately provided for in that particular, I 
 devised a plan for the formation of what was called a 
 Commune within the pale of our general jurisdiction. This 
 new body was to have certain specified franchises and priv- 
 ileges of its own for the associate use of those disposed to 
 join it in the management of such kinds of industry as 
 might by common consent be established. The plan 
 received the sanction of thfe parent body, signatures to its 
 compact or constitution were obtained, and Commune No. 1 
 was organized and equipped for its designed work. It 
 embraced some half a dozen members and their families, 
 mine included. In order that the venture might be well 
 inaugurated, I accepted its presidency aud fathered its 
 financial obligations. Two or three kinds of business were 
 begun, chief est of which was the manufacture of a patent 
 tackle block for the lifting of heavy bodies in warehouses 
 and on board vessels. Our required financial output 
 exceeded our calculations aud available resources, and we 
 found ourselves at the start heavily burdened with debt. 
 Just as we were getting under tolerable headway, though 
 our principal article of production did not find the market 
 we anticipated, the Community cris.is burst upon us, pro- 
 ducing confusion in our ranks and in our arraugements ; 
 and our infant Commune was strajigled in its cradle. The 
 upshot of the whole matter was that I had to shoulder a 
 large percentage of the incun-ed liabilities, which in due 
 time were honorably met and cancelled; though it was 
 many years before I outgrew all the losses sustained by 
 this fruitless effort to help some of my less fortunate 
 associates. So it was that another of my favorite projects 
 vanished ' before my eyes. 
 
 The Hopedale Community, though it had been trans- 
 formed into a mere religious body, still bore its old name, 
 retained a few nominal guaranties against ignorance, pov- 
 erty, and vice, and struggled on in its dismantled state 
 
USDKR THE NEW DISPENSATION. -405 
 
 as best it could. It kept up its public and social meet- 
 ings with a good degree of regularity and zeal, and even 
 its quarterly convocations for a time. Its declaration of 
 principles remained unchanged, and some flickering hopes 
 that possibly it might be resurrected lingered in the 
 breasts of its more devoted friends. Its educational 
 activities were not permitted to languish, but its member- 
 ship diminished, residents uncommitted to anything it had 
 formerly stood for were peopling its surrendered domain, 
 and it had no recognized part or lot in promoting the 
 growing industrial prosperity of the village whose founda- 
 tions it had laid in toil and tears. If its missionaries 
 went abroad to proclaim the gospel hitherto represented 
 by it, their words were shorn of much of their power by 
 reporting the failure of their efforts to actualize that 
 gospel in the manifold relations of life at home. 
 
 Personally, I was hedged in on every side by circum- 
 stances that I could neither destroy, overcome, nor 
 escape. I could not go back on my record so long as I 
 was unconvinced that I had been in the wrong, nor could 
 I cease from my ministrations in behalf of what, notwith- 
 standing all disappointments and failures, I still believed 
 with all my heart was true and right. I must go for- 
 ward in the same course as before, not utterly cast down 
 but upheld by an invisible guardianship which has never 
 forsaken me. 
 
 Arrangements were made whereby I came into entire 
 control of the Practical Christian, assuming all the pecu- 
 niary responsibility of its -publication, and conducting its 
 editorial department essentially on the lines previously 
 followed and in such a manner as in my judgment would 
 most effectually serve my Maker and my kind. Funerals 
 and weddings distributed over a wide extent of territory 
 and occurring with unabated frequency, still commanded 
 considerable of my time and attention, wtiile calls and 
 opportunities for preaching and lecturing on kSunday and 
 during the week came from far and near, leaving me no 
 tiine for idleness or ennui. I was still devoted to all the 
 
406 AUTO-BIOGRAPHT OF ADIN BALLOU. 
 
 great reforms of the age and stood ready to champion 
 them on moral and religious grounds, although the Hope- 
 dale apostacy had cut the nerve of my missionary zeal 
 in behalf of Christian Socialism — the one great compre- 
 hensive refoi-m which included all the rest. I found 
 ample field for the expenditure of whatever ability I 
 could command in expounding the distinctive character- 
 istics of pure and undeflled religion, in showing their 
 applicability to all human affairs in individual and social 
 life, and in urging them upon the attention and accept- 
 ance of those who would listen to my appeals — thus 
 broadcasting the seed which should in some coming day 
 yield a harvest of good both in an improved personal 
 character and in a higher order of society. If I could 
 not attain to all I had calculated upon and striven after 
 for so many years, I trusted that somehow or other in 
 the economy of God I could be a sort of modern John 
 the Baptist, preparing the way for a better future and 
 making ready for the coming of the divine kingdom, per- 
 haps after my earthly labors were over. 
 
 Moreover, in those days my views upon Spiritualism 
 were in good demand and I was always ready to give a 
 reason for the faith and laope that were in me upon that 
 subject, endeavoring to set it forth and defend it on 
 rational and scriptural grounds and so to save it, if pos- 
 sible, from over-credulity, which encouraged fraud and 
 humbuggery on the one hand, and from anti-Christian and 
 super-Christian radicalism on the other, which was equally 
 hostile to what I deemed the tyuth and equally offensive 
 to me. The readiness with which some people swallowed 
 without discrimination whatever assumed to be a revela- 
 tion from the spirit world was ' hardly less unreasonable 
 and deplorable than the flippancy and irreverence with which 
 others ignored the claims of pure Christianity and scorned 
 to recognize the beauty, power, and glory of the princi- 
 ples and precepts of the religion of the New Testament. 
 
 It may not be out of place to note in this connection 
 an interview I had in the autumn of 1856 with Rev. 
 
VISION OF REV. T. L. HARRIS. 407 
 
 T. L. Harris, a sometime Universalist minister, but for 
 many years a Spiritualistic seer aud lecturer of wide 
 repute, and the fgunder of a Community of Spiritualists 
 at Mountain Cove, Va. It occurred during a six days' 
 preaching and lecturing visit I made with my wife to the 
 town of Southold, Long Island, upon invitation of friend 
 ■Joseph H. Goldsmith, whose acquaintance I formed during 
 my brief pastorate in New York city twenty-eight years 
 before. His father, Zaccheus Goldsmith, was an intelli- 
 gent, upright, noble-minded man, a Christian philan- 
 thropist, and an earnest Abolitionist as early as 1795. 
 The son had imbibed most of the same spirit and was 
 ready to welcome my views upon religious, moral, and 
 ■social theories and to aid me in promulgating them in 
 his general neighborhood. At the time of the visit spoken 
 •of, Mr. Harris was boarding with a Mr. Richmond a few 
 miles away, who asked us to spend an afternoon at his 
 bouse that we might see the widely known prophet of the 
 new dispensation. It was a deeply interesting and enjoy- 
 able occasion. The most memorable incident of it was 
 the description of a vision seen by Brother Harris, which, 
 aside from its poetic beauty, was sublimely grand and 
 holy, and agreed so closely with my highest aspirations, 
 ■convictions, and inspirations, that I could but accept it 
 as substantially true. The interview gave me unqualified 
 satisfaction, and I returned to my Hopedale home greatly 
 strengthened, encouraged, and blessed. Events from 1858 
 ■onward will constitute the subject matter of another 
 chapter. 
 
CHAPTER XXI. 
 
 1858-1862. 
 
 Personal Labors — The Bible — Hoped ale Church — 
 
 John Brown — Commentaky — Close of Pastoral 
 
 Labors — Community Affairs — Discussion . 
 
 THERE is little to be said concerning Community 
 affairs during the four years whose transactions and 
 experiences the present chapter purports to put on record. 
 The sanguine hearts of its disappointed devotees still 
 clung to the dubious hope that it might be made a rudi- 
 mental seminary for preparing men and women to be 
 founders and co-operators of more permanent movements 
 elsewhere, the character and purpose of which should be 
 similar to what its own originally were. Its regular 
 weekly, monthly, quarterly, and yearly meetings were 
 continued in vigorous activity, and its semi-monthly 
 organ, the Practical Christian, went its regular round as 
 in former days. Its promulgatory publications and other 
 instrumentalities for reaching and enlightening the public 
 mind upon the great moral and ' religious traths and 
 duties which it still represented were not suffered to 
 decline, while its common and higher grade schools were 
 reputably sustained under teachers of its own rearing. 
 
 Tlie Hopedale Home School, though a private enter- 
 prise, reflected honor upon its proprietary principals, 
 patrons, and the Community under whose approving 
 auspices it was originally started. It was established and 
 first opened to pupils in the spring of 1855 by Morgan 
 L. Bloom and wife from the city Of New York, but a 
 year later passed into the hands of my son-in-law. Rev. 
 Wm. S. Heywood, and his wife, Abbie B. Heywood, 
 
MINISTEKIAL LABORS CONTINUE. 409 
 
 whose management rendered it eminently serviceable in 
 its proper educational field to many youthful aspirants of 
 Hopedale and vicinity, and to the children of progressive 
 and reformatory families in other and sometimes far dis- 
 tant localities. It was in operation some seven or eight 
 years, acquiring an enviable reputation for scholarship 
 and moral standing and leaving behind it, when it came 
 to be closed, a fragrant and enduring memory. 
 
 My laboi's during the year 1858 were expended mostly 
 near home. On twenty Sundays I ministered in Hope- 
 dale ; on twenty-three in Milford by special arrangement 
 with a society of Spiritualists there ; the other nine in 
 places more or less distant where I had friends desirous 
 of hearing me. My them.es of discourse were generally 
 drawn from my favorite field of Practical Christianity, 
 though a considerable number of them pertained to some 
 phase of the subject of Spiritualism, there being then a 
 large demand for utterances of that sort. But my kind 
 of Spiritualism in no wise conflicted with my theological 
 and ethical system, long well known to those familiar 
 with my preaching and writings. I never allowed my views 
 upon any one great topic belonging to the realm of truth 
 and duty to contradict or undermine those I entertained 
 upon any other. And there was a corresponding harmony 
 and consistency in all my testimonies. Christ, as the 
 great teacher of truth, righteousness, and love — the 
 Prince of Peace, never resisting evil with evil but over- 
 coming it with good — was always the central figure on 
 my banner, and I always abjured all carnal weapons as 
 instruments or agencies for building up the kingdom of 
 heaven on the earth, many distinguished personages to 
 the contrary notwithstanding. 
 
 Views upon the Bible. About this time an unusual 
 interest was awakened in our populous town of Milford 
 and vicinity upon the subject of the inspiration and 
 authority of the Hebi-ew and Christian scriptures. It was- 
 the result of certain bold discussions and criticisms 
 which were started and continued for some time in a 
 
410 AUTO-BIOGEAPHY OF ADIN BALLOU. 
 
 series of meetings instituted by an association formed for 
 the purpose of examining the claims of those writings 
 and matters akin thereto. Several Spiritualistic lectures, 
 treating more or less freely and iconoclastically the sacred 
 volume, increased the popular feeling. The Milford Bible 
 Society, to counteract what its members thought to be the 
 harmful tendency of these public utterances, inaugurated 
 a course of Sunday evening lectures to be given at the 
 town hall by able clergymen in defence of the so-called 
 doctrine of Plenary Inspiration. In the midst of the pre- 
 vailing excitement, pro and con, I was called upon for a 
 presentation of my views upon the book in question, 
 which were understood to differ somewhat from any of 
 those that had been advocated and urged upon the atten- 
 tion of the public. 
 
 lu answer. to this call I prepared with much care and 
 comprehensiveness an address which I delivered to a very 
 large and deeply attentive audience in the town hall on 
 the evening of Sunday, Jan. 16, 1859. It was entitled 
 "The Inspiration of the Bible." It was received with 
 more favor than I could reasonably have expected under 
 the circumstances and seemed to meet a general want in 
 the community. Its publication was earnestly solicited, in 
 response to which a large edition was issued and a wide 
 circulation secured. 
 
 In order to give my present readers some definite idea 
 of the ground I took, defended, and illustrated in that 
 discourse, I present herewith a liberal extract from the 
 pages oi the published pamphlet. After distributing the 
 general mass of the professed friends and admirers of the 
 book into five different groups under a system of classifi- 
 cation distinctively my own, I proceeded as follows : 
 
 " I must diflfer more or less from all tljese specified classes 
 and offer you views not in entire accord with any of thera. For 
 many years I have believed that the fundamental principles of 
 the bible are absolutely divine, but that its explicative ideas 
 and language are properly human. To* explain, justify, and 
 illustrate this view is the principal design of the present lecture. 
 
 " What do I mean by the phrase ' fundamental principles of 
 
LECTURE ON THE BIBLE. 411 
 
 the bible?' To answer this question I must state definitely ray 
 general estimate and appreciation of the Bible. I hold that 
 its essential excellence is solely of a spiritual and religious 
 nature. It sets forth, commends, and insists on certain great 
 spiritual and religious truths and certain great spiritual and 
 religious duties which are indispensable to human well-being 
 and happiness in both the present and future states of exist- 
 ence. These great truths man must receive into his under- 
 standing either by knowledge or faith, and cherish them in his 
 soul with a profound love and loyalty or he cannot be emi- 
 nently and permanently blest. Also, on the basis of these same 
 truths he must perform and habitually practice the correspond- 
 ing spiritual and religious duties or he can never be eminently 
 and permanently blest. These truths and duties are the funda- 
 mental principles of the bible. 
 
 " The bible is not to be regarded as an encyclopedia of 
 universal knowledge. It is not of authority in the physical 
 sciences. We are not to consult its pages to learn astronomj', 
 geology, chemistry, anatomy, natural history, physiology, 
 agriculture, etc. These we can study better elsewhere. Nor 
 are we to go to the bible to acquire a knowledge of mathe- 
 matics, logic, grammar, music, statuary, painting, etc. It 
 settles no questions of such a nature. Casually, incidentally, 
 and fragmentarily, it affords us somewhat that may be of 
 service to us in those departments of inquiry, but nothing 
 authoritatively important. Its grand object, use, and excellence 
 are purely, of a spiritual and religious character. We are to 
 go to it as spiritual and religious beings to obtain help in the 
 knowledge and practical application of the fundamental principles 
 of true religion. In respect to these, it is of inestimable value, 
 because all the physical and merely intellectual knowledges in 
 the universe, if we were masters of them, would be insufficient 
 to render us eminently and permanently holy and happy; 
 wlicreas, these essentials of true religion would do so with or 
 without much proficiency in the things of the physical and 
 intellectual life. 
 
 "Kext. what do I mean when I assert that 'the explicative 
 ideas and language of the bible are properly human?' I mean 
 that there is a radical difference between its fundamental prin- 
 ciples and the forms of speech in which they are expressed and 
 made intelligible to the human mind. Every essential princi- 
 ple of religious truth and duty existed before the bible was 
 written; yes, before it was revealed to the understanding of 
 man. It existed intrinsically from eternity and will exist to 
 eternity, independently of all human knowledges, ideas, and 
 writings. God himself is from and to eternity tiie same, whether 
 
412 AUTO-BIOGRAPHY OF ADIN BALLOU. 
 
 known or unknown by His creatures; so are the great princi- 
 ples of true religion. The bible did not originate them. ITiey 
 do not depend on the bible, but the bible depends on them. They 
 emanated from and are co-eternal with God. If the bible had 
 never existed, they would exist; if every copy of the bible 
 were annihilated, not a particle of those divine essentials would 
 cease to be. By some means they became known to the writers 
 of the bible and were therein recorded. Thus they became 
 known to millions more. I hold that those who first had know- 
 ledge of them obtained it by divine revelations and inspirations. 
 How did God give them these revelations and inspirations? 
 This is purported to have been done in several ways : 
 
 " (1) Through angels and spirits ; by sensible manifestations 
 and communications, oracular voices, signs, and tokens. 
 
 " (2) Through the opened spiritual senses of persons in 
 visions, dreams, and trances. 
 
 " (3) Through strong impressions, suggestions, and convic- 
 tions, divinely produced upon the soul. 
 
 " (4) Through special divine quickenings and intensified 
 activities of the intuitive, rational, and religious faculties. 
 
 " (5) Through that common and universal influx from the 
 unseen world which operates more or less on all moral agents 
 according to their various degrees of susceptibility. 
 
 "Now let us consider certain facts necessarily attendant upon 
 all divine revelations and inspirations. 
 
 " (1) They were not mentioned in any book of the bible till 
 after they had taken place. They came to pass and were 
 recorded some time, sooner or later, afterwards. 
 
 " (2) They were given to human beings and had to be adapted 
 to their finite capacity and comprehension. It was impossible in 
 the nature of things to make mankind fully understand and 
 comprehend them at once, in all their bearings, whether receiv- 
 ing them at first or second hand. 
 
 " (3) They were given at particular times, and not equally at 
 all times. Angels and spirits did not come frequently and 
 regularly. Oracles, signs, tokens, visions, dreams, trances, 
 strong impressions, and high inspirations, occurred only on 
 special occasions, and at divinely-appointed seasons. Prophets, 
 ' sages, and apostles, were wonderfully illumined for a while and 
 then left to themselves. Some who were heavenly-minded and 
 wise under certain circumstances, were, under others, carnally- 
 minded, sensual and foolish. For instance, Solomon. 
 
 " (4) After receiving divine revelations and inspirations, sO' 
 as to see and partially comprehend central facts and funda- 
 mental principles, the patriarchs, prophets, and inspirees 
 exercised their own powers of thought and judgment as to 
 
BETWEEN TWO EXTEEMES. 413 
 
 details and clothed essentials more or less with explicative ideas 
 which were after the manner of men. Thus the absolutely 
 divine became clothed with human habiliments and sometimes 
 obscured by error. 
 
 " (5) When the bible inspii-ees came to express and record 
 their experiences, it could be done only in human speech. God 
 never invented a peculiar language to be exclusively used in the 
 bible. The Hebrew, Chaldaic, and Greek, used to record the 
 divine revelations and inspirations of the Old and New Testa- 
 ments, were substantially the same inside and outside the sacred 
 volume. They had to be such as the people, whose instruction 
 was designed, could understand. 
 
 " (6) Many ideas, opinions, sentiments, and particulars, 
 which appear in connection with the fundamentals of the bible, 
 were obviously written by prophets, legislators, kings, priests, 
 apostles, and evangelists, simply from their own minds — not 
 from absolutely divine inspiration. 
 
 " Such are my general views of the subject and I am confident 
 I can fully sustain them by adequate proofs and illustrations." 
 
 These extracts will indicate where I then stood and 
 where I still stand in my reverence for the Hebrew and 
 Christian scriptures ; between the Plenary Inspirationists on 
 the one hand and the sweeping deniers of its divine 
 authority on the other. Of the latter there were in those 
 days several varieties, some of whom stood in the high 
 places of religious, moral, and philanthropic reform. I did 
 not question the sincerity of such, but I did question their 
 knowledge, judgment, and inevitable influence. Of one 
 thing I was certain that the leaven of their doctrines was a 
 fatal poison to the Practical Christianity and to the new 
 social order I desired to build up, inasmuch as whoever 
 received these doctrines became straightway his own lord 
 and master — an individual sovereign and hence incapable 
 of co-operating harmoniously with others in the reconstruc- 
 tion of society and the establishment of the kingdom of 
 God on the earth. I therefore withstood and protested 
 against all such denials of bible authority, as the flies of 
 the Practical Christian abundantly show. 
 
 Among the pleasant memories of those days is that of 
 a visit from our highly esteemed friend and sympathizer 
 in every good word and work, .John Child of Philadelphia. 
 
414 AUTO-BIOGRAPHY OF ADIN BALLOU. 
 
 I became acquainted with him and his estiinable wife, 
 Rachel, in 1846, when I first shared the hospitality of their 
 delightful home. They were Hicksite friends in religious 
 conviction and association, largely philanthropic and emi- 
 nently intelligent, upright, and noble hearted. Rachel had 
 departed to her heavenly mansion and her venerable survivor 
 cheered and gladdened us, as stated, in the summer of 1858. 
 
 Another happy event, the flavor of which still lingers 
 in our hearts, was a reception given us by our Milford 
 friends to whom I was then ministering regularly twice a 
 month, with the concurrence of a few Hopedalians, in 
 our home chapel early the following spring. It was a 
 simple, unpretentious occasion, but rich and fragrant in 
 all that renders such gatherings valuable. Its material, 
 moral, and social components were excellent and were 
 accompanied by substantial and abiding tokens of respect, 
 affection, and gratitude, of which both myself and wife 
 were appreciative recipients. 
 
 The Hopedale Community, with its environing popula- 
 tion, fell away from the high moral level formerly 
 maintained and slowly descended the plane which inclined 
 towards the old social state — a retrogression to which it 
 was doomed by the revolution of 1856. The village it 
 had founded amid toil and trial prospered externally 
 under the control of its temporal lords, with many demon- 
 strations of successful business enterprise. But the 
 personally religious life of the people as manifestly 
 declined, notwithstanding the maintenance of the usual 
 appointments of public instruction and worship, and this 
 decline prompted a few of the more spiritually minded 
 and zealous of our number to propose the formation of a 
 church, distinctively so-called. The proposition met with 
 considerable favor and an organization with appropriate 
 covenant, declaration of principles, and rules of discipline 
 was effected Jan. 29, 1860 ; impressive ceremonies giving 
 importance and sanctity to the event. 
 
 The new movement started out favorably and promised 
 success, but predominating influences were against it. 
 
DEATH OF CHERISHED FRIENDS. 415- 
 
 Many prominent reformers and progressives, disgusted by 
 the hostility of the church as it was to all philanthropic- 
 activities, had come to distrust and condemn all religious 
 bodies as such, and hold them in great disesteem. This 
 leaven had pervaded Hopedale to a considerable extent 
 and was a potent though silent obstacle to the growth 
 and prosperity of the new association. Moreover, the 
 animating spirit of the place was more ambitious to obtain 
 wealth and worldly distinction than it was to gain " the- 
 kingdom of God and his righteousness." Under these 
 circumstances " The Practical Christian Church in Hope-- 
 dale" died an early death. Other instrumentalities for 
 the special promotion of personal religion languished and 
 finally ceased to be, the weekly Sunday-school and ser- 
 vice of public worship only remaining as permanent 
 institutions of faith and piety. 
 
 On the 13th of February, 1860, my devoted friend 
 mentioned in a former chapter in connection with our visit 
 to Cincinnati in 1854, Mr. Andrew H. Ernst, departed 
 this life at his beautiful home at Spring Garden in that 
 city in the 65th year of his age. He was born in Korn- 
 ingen, Germany, came to this country when a young man, 
 and distinguished himself by remarkable intelligence, enter- 
 prise, and noble-minded characteristics. He was in religious . 
 faith an ardent Restoration! st and made himself known to 
 me soon after I started the Independent Messenger in 1831 
 as a cordial sympathizer and patron, remaining my stead- 
 fast and generous Christian friend as long as he lived. 
 His second wife, whom he left a heart-stricken widow, 
 stood in the same kindly relation to me for many years. 
 
 Rev. Samuel Hem-y of Thorndike, Mass., died March 17 
 of the same year. Not rich in earthly goods, he yet was 
 rich in the wealth of Practical Christianity and fruitful in 
 all good works. Originally a Methodist, he became 
 finally an independent Practical Christian — a reformer on 
 all the lines of human regeneration. He was widely 
 known, truly revered, and bore the name of ' ' Father 
 Henry." I had met him on several occasions, carried on 
 
416 AUTO-BIOGRAPHY OF ADIN BALLOU. 
 
 frequent coiTespoodeuce with him, aud held him in pvo- 
 fouud esteem. 
 
 The John Brown Raid and its Concomitants. The year 
 of my life on which the events just narrated occurred is 
 memorable for the culmination of the career of the famous 
 John Brown. It is not needful for me to tell who John 
 Brown was, what were his distinguishing characteristics, 
 how he undertook to overthrow the system of American 
 slavery, or what the end to which he came at last. All 
 these things are written in the history of those times aud 
 every one is more or less familiar with them. It is need- 
 ful, however, and important as a part of my personal 
 record, that I make note of my own attitude in respect 
 to the foolhardy undertaking by which he fell under con- 
 demnation of the judicial authority of the state of Virginia 
 as a capital malefactor and was made to expiate his 
 offence upon the gallows. For the same reason, it is 
 needful and important that I shall speak at some length 
 of the controversy that sprung up between me and certain 
 of my anti-slavery coadjutors on account of their abandon- 
 ment of their former professed Non-resistant principles 
 in the approval they gave of the course which John Brown 
 pursued and in the eulogies they lavished upon his name 
 and memory. 
 
 I was not surprised that the ^)»-o-war Abolitionists of the 
 country should many of them be roused to vehement 
 laudations of the hero of Harper's Ferry, to fierce denuncia- 
 tion of his captors, and threats of vengeance against all 
 pro-slavery tyrants. But it was hard for me to understand 
 how. professing anti-yra.r Abolitionists of long standing 
 should so forget or ignore their former protestations 
 against the use of violent means for can-ying forward their 
 w;ork and freeing the bondsmen, as to be swept into the 
 same foaming vortex of blood and death. As for me, I 
 remained unmoved, except by sorrow for such a deplorable 
 exhibition of mistaken ambition to promote a good end 
 by evil means, and pity for the sufferer who had rashly 
 plunged into a lion's den. My brethren exclaimed " Behold 
 
NON-RESISTANT Ai;[TI-SLAVERY. 417 
 
 his religious sincerity, his uoble motives, his self-sacrificing 
 devotion to the cause of the oppressed, his matchless 
 heroism in behalf of human rights and liberty ! How can 
 you restrain your sympathy aud admiration, even if you 
 cannot approve his methods and means ! Above all, how 
 can you deprecate and censure his courageous and disin- 
 terested acts!" I replied, "Because the great points at 
 issue are not his religious sincerity, his worthy motives, his 
 self-sacrificing devotion to the cause of the slave, or his 
 heroism in behalf of human liberty. These might all be 
 «xcellent in the abstract, and doubtless were to his own 
 consciousness. But what were his methods, measures, 
 deeds? Were they Christian or anti-Christian, right or 
 wrong, good or evil, praiseworthy or reprehensible ?" 
 These were the questions I had to settle according to my 
 own judgment when viewed * from my own Non-resistent 
 stand-point, and, having settled them, then I had to speak 
 out my honest convictions without fear, favor, or com- 
 promise. This I did adversely to the truly great emanci- 
 pator, and to the disgust of the whole school of red 
 revolutionary Abolitionists as well as to the declared regret 
 of most of my old associates on the anti-slavery platform. 
 But how could I do otherwise without recreancy to my own 
 publicly avowed fundamental principles ; — principles dearer 
 to me than mortal praise, earthly advantage, or life itself ? 
 
 I was solemnly committed and pledged, as were all my 
 fellow-members of the American Anti-Slavery Society, to 
 certain distinctive methods for advancing the cause it was 
 founded, to promote, as follows: — "Our principles forbid 
 the doing of evil that good may come and, lead us to 
 reject and to entreat the oppressed to reject the use 
 of all carnal weapons for deliverance from bondage ; 
 relying solely upon those which are spiritual, and mighty 
 through Grod to the pulling down of strongholds." 
 Declaration of Sentiments. " But the society will never in 
 any way, countenance the oppressed in vindicating their 
 rights by resorting to physical force." — Art. 111. Consti- 
 tittion. This is Christian anti-slavery — the kind to which 
 27 
 
418 AUTO-BIOGRAPHY OF ADIN BALLOU. 
 
 I had subscribed and considered myself bound by solemn) 
 pledges. John Brown publicly repudiated and denounced 
 this kind of anti-slavery — setting it at defiance by resort- 
 ing to rifles, pikes, and bowie knives. — a course of 
 procedure which I abominated, and I spoke,, argued, and 
 acted accordingly. 
 
 For a long time before the attack upon Harper's. Ferry 
 took place the war spirit had been entering more and more 
 into the discussions of the great question of the country, 
 inflaming the public mind and preparing for bloody things 
 to come. Against this aspect of the case I had protested 
 with voice and pen as I had opportunity, though without 
 abating one jot or tittle of my deep seated and ineradicable 
 hostility to the gigantic system of American oppression. 
 My testimonies had called foj-th numerous criticisms and 
 expostulations from some of my highly esteemed friends, to 
 which I in turn replied. In the midst of the discussion 
 thus inaugurated and carried on, came the startling, 
 intelligence of the event referred to and of the discomfiture 
 of the chief actors in it, which increased the prevailing, 
 excitement to an intensity unknown before. The raid of 
 Brown occurred on the 17th of Oct. 1859, and on the next 
 Sunday, Oct. 23, a special meeting of the Worcester Co. 
 South Division Anti-Slavery Society was held at Worcester 
 for the purpose of considering and taking action upon the 
 matter. By reason of the recent decease of its president, 
 Effingham L. Capron, I, as first vice president, was called 
 upon to act as moderatoi- of the proceedings. I had no 
 doubt it was intended on the part of its projectors, that the 
 meeting should conduce not alone to more active hostility to- 
 the slave power, but to the diversion of the society from 
 its hitherto peaceful channels of operation into those of 
 violence and blood, by eulogizing and glorifying John 
 Brown and his daring exploit. 1 determined to meet this 
 aspect of the case at the outset and put myself on record 
 against the scheme, though 1 had little hope of preventing 
 its consummation. I did so by introducing a series of 
 resolutions re-affii-ming the peace principles announced in 
 
WORCESTER ANTI-SLAVERY MEETING. 419 
 
 the original organization of the society and insisting on a 
 faithful adherence thereto. These resolutions 1 defended 
 and illustrated in several speeches during the day against a 
 considerable array of opponents, among whom several of 
 my old Non-resistant brethren stood conspicuous. Though 
 my arguments could not be answered, I was overborne 
 by numbers, my resolutions being laid upon the table and 
 others passed in their stead almost unanimously. The gist 
 of the adopted ones was contained in the last, to wit : — 
 
 " Besolved, that as Abolitionists we have no disclaimers, no 
 apologies to offer for the recent attempt of certain anti-slavery 
 men at Harper's Ferry to break the rod of the oppressor by 
 the same means by which our revolutionary fathers secured 
 our national independence. On the contrary, while in the 
 absence of all reliable information we are unable to judge of 
 the wisdom of their measures, we are prompt to avow our cor- 
 dial sympathy with the spirit and our devout admiration of 
 the heroism of that valiant little band who preferred to die 
 struggling for their country's freedom to living in a laud 
 where education is a crime, where marriage and the family 
 relation are trampled in the dust, and where a million women 
 are daily offered in the market for purposes of prostitution." 
 
 I contrasted this resolution, when it came to be dis- 
 cussed, with the anti-slavery declaration and constitutional 
 pledge of 1833 and chose to abide by the old platform, 
 leaving the new heroes of the cause to glory in the sword 
 on their own responsibility. But where were my high- 
 professing Non-resistant brethren? Alas, they were 
 shouting with the rest for John Brown and his insurrec- 
 tionary metliods. He had captured them though himself 
 a captive wounded and helpless at the feet of the slave 
 power. Brother Stephen S. Foster at the Worcester 
 meeting and elsewhere could stand shoulder to shoulder 
 with Andrew T. Foss, Charles L. Remond, Thomas W. 
 Higginson, and others, whose voice was still for war, 
 exclaiming, " I am a Non-resistant, but not a fool," and 
 so incite men on to deeds of blood and death. And — 
 must I write it ! — even Brother Wm. Lloyd Garrison, the 
 man who penned the declaration and constitution referred 
 
420 AUTO-BIOGRAPHY OF ADIN BALLOU. 
 
 to — who penned tUe "declaration of sentiments" adopted 
 by the Peace Convention of 1838, whence sprang the 
 New England Non-resistant Society — this man became 
 more than an apologist, he became a eulogist of the 
 blood-shedding hero of the Harper's Ferry tragedy. 
 
 At a great meeting held in honor of John Brown in 
 Boston on the evening of the day of his execution, Mr. 
 G-arrison spoke, as reported without subsequent contra- 
 diction, thus : 
 
 " Mr. Garrison then paid a tribute to the courage and char- 
 acter of Captain Brown. His mission, the speaker alleged, at 
 Harper's Perry was peaceful. He did not mean to shed blood. 
 And if he had weapons of war, they were only to be put into 
 the hands of slaves that they might defend themselves in 
 retreating to Canada. ' The men,' he said, ' who decry Brown 
 are dangerous men, the old tories of the Revolution.' He 
 would that we had the spirit of the Revolution that it might 
 make the Commonwealth too hot to hold them. The speaker 
 was a peace man and therefore disarmed John Brown. He was 
 also a Non-resistant, but he was emboldened to say, ' Success 
 to every insurrection against slavery, here and everywhere.' 
 His heart was always with the oppressed, therefore ' Success 
 to revolution.' It was the way to get up to the doctrine of 
 Non-resistance." 
 
 Such language did not sound much like what he uttered 
 in September, 1838, viz : 
 
 " The history of mankind is crowded with evidences that 
 physical coercion is not adapted to moral regeneration; that 
 the sinful disposition of man can be- subdued only by love; 
 that evil can be exterminated from the earth only by good; 
 that it is not safe to rely on an arm of flesh — upon man, whose 
 breath is in his nostrils — to preserve us from harm; that there 
 is great- security in being gentle, harmless, long-suffering, and 
 abundant in mercy; that it is only the meek who inherit the 
 earth. 
 
 " We advocate no Jacobinical doctrines. The spirit of jaco- 
 binism is the spirit of retaliation, violence, and murder. It 
 neither fears God nor regards man. We would be filled with- 
 the spirit of Christ. If we abide by our principles, it is impos- 
 sible for us to be disorderly, or plot treason, or participate in 
 any evil work; we shall submit to every ordiaance of man for 
 the Lord's sake; obey all the requirements ■ of government, 
 
FIDELITY TO PRINCIPLE VINDICATED. 421 
 
 except such as we deem contrary to the commands of the 
 gospel; and in no wise resist the operation of law, except by 
 meekly submitting to the penalty of disobedience." 
 
 In these paragraphs we have the pure doctrine and 
 spirit of Christian Non-resistance'. I love it with all my 
 heart. But what concord is there between the sentiments 
 they embody and those of the previously quoted speech? 
 I see none at all. I was therefore grieved and disturbed 
 by the speech, dissenting from it and remonstrating 
 against it in the columns of my paper. My old friend's 
 response was brief and decisive. He had " spoken 
 deliberately" and "had nothing to take back." My 
 " animadversion was uncalled for "and I had " no occasion 
 for being disturbed." Of course I had nothing more to 
 say, bnt I was in no wise satisfied with his curt rejoin- 
 der, having no sympathy whatever with those professed 
 Non-resistants who vied with avowed pro-war men in 
 paying homage to one whom I could regard only as a 
 well-meaning, misguided, unfortunate zealot. So much 
 for the John Brown episode and my position in reference 
 to and controversy with the Abolitionist leaders concern- 
 ing it. Further details may be found in the columns of 
 the Practical Christian, Vol. xx. 
 
 But what became of the bellicose John Brown Non- 
 resistants ? They gradually declined in numbers from that 
 time on and in a few years essentially disappeared. 
 There was no further use for their kind of peace doctrine 
 and they did nothing to propagate or preserve it. The 
 -slaveholders took the insurrection business into their own 
 hands, leaped into the vortex of civil war, and gave these 
 professed peace men the opportunity which many of them 
 seemed to covet of helping on the compulsory abolition 
 of the system of American oppression. Some of them 
 went into the Federal army, others encouraged their sons 
 to enlist, while the more masterly by pen, oratory, and 
 various expedients, urged the war-chariot on its bloody 
 way to victory. And when the victory at length came, 
 Ihey had been converted to the doctrine of the rightful- 
 
422 AUTO-BIOGRAPHr OF ADIN BALLOU. 
 
 ness of forcible resistance of evil, or to some indefinite 
 conservative peace policy, or to silent indifference upon 
 the whole subject. Scarcely a survivor of the anti-slavery 
 insurrectionary Non-resistants was to be found. Had 
 Jesus Christ and His apostles undertaken to abolish 
 slavery and other evils in the Roman empire by similar 
 means, we should probably never have heard of their 
 doctrine of universal love and good will, nor of them 
 either. Their religion and reformatory methods were of 
 a higher order — "not of this world." 
 
 Scripttore Commentary. As my peculiar views upon the 
 character and authority of the bible and of Christ, when 
 compared with other religious teachers, ancient and modern, 
 became more widely known through the tract before 
 spoken of and otherwise, I was importuned by some of 
 my warm friends to prepare a commentary on the New 
 Testament scriptures, insisting that such a work would 
 be a valuable contribution to the sacred literature of the 
 world and of great use to multitudes who in all direc- 
 tions were breaking away from the old bibliolatry and 
 seeking some satisfactory interpretation of the early 
 records of the Christian faith. Upon careful deliberation 
 I concluded to assume the task to which they urged me, 
 making due announcement of my determination in the 
 columns of my paper. Pursuant thereto, I commenced the 
 undertaking in the spring of 1858, my "General lutro- 
 duction" and ' ' Preface to Matthew's Gospel " being 
 published in No. I, vol. xix of the Practical Christkm, 
 issued May 1 of that year. I continued the work through 
 that volume and far into Vol. xx, when adverse circum- 
 stances led me to abandon it, having gone as far with 
 my exposition as the 12th chapter of Matthew, where it 
 came to au abrupt and final termination. 
 
 The same circumstances and the generally discouraging 
 aspect of the cause of Practical Christian Socialism occa- 
 sioned by the growing unrest of the country as it went 
 hurrying on to the great rebellion, led me early in 1860 
 to advise the discontinuance of the Practical Christian at 
 
END OF "THE PRACTICAL CHRISTIAN." 423 
 
 the close of Vol. xx, which would occur the following 
 April. The paper had never been self-supporting pecuni- 
 ■arily, and although it was in that respect in as good 
 X!ondition as ever before, its future prosperity and useful- 
 ness were unpromising. The changed condition of things 
 at home in regard to the paramount object for which it 
 •was started and the changing condition of things abroad 
 in regard to its distinguishing reformatory principles, 
 -seemed to justify the proposed step in the judgment of 
 'its more responsible patrons and supporters, and the- career 
 of our little semi-monthly sheet came to an honorable 
 ■close with No. 26, Vol. xx, April 14, 1860. This was 
 a cause of regret to a large number of subscribers, who, 
 whether they could practically accept and live up to all 
 the high moral and social requirements of the publica- 
 tion or not, nevertheless felt that' they were founded in 
 the ti'uth and ought to be promulgated as far and wide 
 as possible, as they also felt that they and their fami- 
 lies had been greatly benefited by the little visitant 
 -and needed its stimulating influence to keep them from 
 falling utterly away from their high ideals of personal 
 and social excellence. A considerable number of letters 
 from different parts of the country expressed a grateful 
 •appreciation of the high character and wholesome influ- 
 »ence of the Practical Christian upon themselves and the 
 •community and a sense of loss in the thought that they 
 were to see it no more, together with sentiments of 
 kindly regard for its editor. The press, also, especially 
 the progressive journals, philanthropic and religious, added 
 testimonials of the same general character. Among these 
 was one so unexpected and remarkable in certain ways 
 that I cannot deny myself the satisfaction of giving it 
 in full to my present readers. It was from the pen of 
 Bev. Thomas Whittemore, D. D., editor of the Trumjtet 
 and Universalist Magazine — the same redoubtable dialecti- 
 cian and antagonist with whom in earlier days I had 
 so often measured swords in the conflict between the 
 Restorationists and ultra Universalists. We had years 
 
424 AUTO-BIOGRAPHY OF ADIN BALLOU. 
 
 before buried the last remnants of strife on lionor- 
 able terms of his. own proposing and sealed the same 
 in a friendly and cordial personal interview, and the green 
 grass had already covered the grave. His parting salu- 
 tation was as follows : 
 
 " We deeply regret to learn that the Practical Christian, 
 hitherto published by the Hopedale Community and edited by 
 Kev. Adin Ballou, is about to be discontinued. 
 
 " We have always felt a love for this publication. We did 
 not agree with every word it uttered, but we found little in it 
 to disapprove. It has done us good and had we obeyed all its 
 precepts we should have been a better man. We still hope the 
 publication may be continued, but if it must be closed, here is 
 a farewell hand to Brother Ballou. By his practical Christianity 
 he has won us over to himself. In the days of the Restora- 
 tionist controversy, thirty years ago, we were bitter to each 
 other, but the bitterness has all gone from his heart and ours. 
 He believes as he did and we believe as we did ; but both have 
 learned the law of love. We both believe the great fact of the 
 restoration of all things, a point on which Brother Ballou has 
 never wavered for a moment. 
 
 " One word as to the Hopedale Community. So far as we 
 know, they are a band of brothers and sisters who seek to honor 
 God by good lives. They are good citizens; they live quietly 
 and peaceably, and the Lord blesses them. Often when we have 
 been in Milford, we have desired to visit their houses, but we felt 
 (perhaps more than we ought) that in their sight we were a 
 heretic, and they would not receive us. Never have we had an 
 unkind word from them, however. Perhaps it was a mere sus- 
 picion on our part. We will yet go to Hopedale. We should 
 love to live where practical Christianity reigns." Trumpet of 
 Jan, 28, 1860. 
 
 This generous, whole-souled tribute was copied into the' 
 the last number of the Practical Christian with the sub- 
 joined response: — 
 
 "Thank you. Brother Whittemore. You speak good words. 
 They reach our heart. We reciprocate them. Welcome to Hope- 
 dale and our humble home always. Editor Practical Christian." 
 
 Although this little unpretending sheet — Tlw Practical 
 Christian — was suspended at my suggestion and with my 
 hearty consent and approval, yet the consummatioji of the 
 
PROMULGATION SOCIETY ORGANIZED. 426 
 
 act gave me not a little pain. It was a child of my own 
 begetting, born out of a profound, over-mastering love for 
 the truth and for humanity. For twenty years it had been an 
 instrumentality by which I had been able to serve the truth 
 and humanity according to the dictates of my conscience 
 and judgment. It had for that period been a medium 
 through which I could hold communication with my friends 
 scattered abroad and the public at large upon the most 
 important questions that can enlist the attention of the wise 
 and good, and disseminate far and wide those ideas and 
 principles of morals and religion, those views of Christ and 
 Christianity, which I believed and felt to be founded in the 
 nature of things and the will of God, and to be indis- 
 pensable to the progress, elevation, regeneration, and 
 happiness of mankind. And I had experienced unspeaka- 
 ble comfort and delight in employing it to the ends indicated 
 and in seeing it made serviceable to their accomplishment. 
 How could I give it up without a pang ! How could I be 
 denied the satisfaction I had for so long time derived 
 from it and not feel a sense of loss and heaviness of heart ! 
 I tried, however, to keep up good spirits and to hope it 
 was all for the best, to be proved so in due time. To 
 supply the place of the little messenger and keep open 
 communication with the world, as well as to mitigate 
 what I was obliged to confess was a misfortune if not 
 a calamity, I recommended the formation of a society 
 whose office and mission it should be to publish and cir- 
 culate leaflets, tracts, and other printed matter, in 
 exposition and illustration of the distinctive principles 
 which constituted the basis of our former social experi- 
 ment, and which, notwithstanding our failure to carry 
 them out to their final practical results in personal life 
 and a new order of society, we still professed to believe 
 in and hold dear. My recommendation was favorably 
 received by a goodly number of my Hopedale friends 
 who were ready to cD-operate with me in the proposed 
 plan. A societj' was accordingly formed and an organi- 
 zation effected, Feb. 6, 1860, which bore the name of 
 
426 AUTO-BIOGRAPHY OF ADIN BALLOU. 
 
 The Practical Christian Promulgation Society. The Hope- 
 dale Community made over to it the assets of the 
 Practical Christian with certain bequeathed funds, to which 
 special contributions were from time to time added. It 
 went on prosperously for a few years, was instrumental 
 in distributing a considerable amount of wholesome lit- 
 erature, most of which was the production of my pen, 
 for I could not give up the idea of keeping the doctrines 
 and ideas for which I had done so much before the 
 world, but it at length lapsed into a moribund state and 
 finally died out and was numbered with its prede- 
 cessors. 
 
 An event of much importance in the history of Hope 
 dale during the year 1860 was the erection of a new 
 house of public worship of respectable dimensions and 
 many conveniences on an eligible lot which in early 
 Community days had been set apart for the purpose. 
 The structure was completed in the autumn and dedicated 
 with appropriate exercises on the 15th of November. 
 Two sessions were held with a crowded auditorium dur- 
 ing the day, Brother Wm. S. Heywood preaching from 
 the first great command in the morning, emphasizing the 
 value and importance of piety, and T from the second in 
 the afternoon, urging the value and claims of morality 
 and philanthrophy as essentials of a true personal char- 
 acter and of a perfect order of society. A third service 
 was held in the evening at which there was a good 
 attendance with exercises of an informal and miscellane- 
 ous character. There was no lowering of the standard 
 of a true Practical Christianity in the utterances of the 
 •occasion and no discordant notes marred the harmony of 
 its proceedings. Besides our own home speakers, clerical 
 and lay, who participated in the exercises during the 
 day or evening, were Revs. John Boyden of Woonsocket, 
 E. I., Samuel May of Leicester, Robert Hassall of 
 Haverhill, and George Hill of Milford, our near neigh- 
 bor. Our beloved Joshua Hutchinson of Milford, N. H., 
 the sweet singer of the notable "Hutchinson Family," 
 
REMARKABLE SPIRITUAL SEANCES. 427 
 
 had charge of the music and took part In it, charming 
 his auditors with his delightful strains. It was a day 
 long to be remembered. 
 
 A remarkable spiritual seance at which I was present 
 "was held about this time at the house of my old friend, 
 ■George W. Burnham of Willimantic, Ct., whither I had 
 ■gone on one of my incidental preaching excursions. 
 There were some twenty or twenty-five reliable witnesses 
 to the singular phenomena, the most striking of which 
 occurred in connection with a little girl medium only nine 
 years of age. She was seated in front of a heavy cook- 
 ing stove, upon which she rested the tips of her fingers. 
 Questions both audible and mental were put to what pur- 
 ported to be disembodied spirits, all of which were 
 answered promptly and intelligently and to the astonish- 
 ment and satisfaction of the entire company by the 
 raising and lowering of a portion of the stove nearest to 
 her, which came down with a thud sometimes that jarred 
 the house. A skeptical friend, an educated professional 
 gentleman to whom I related this experience, said that 
 while he did not doubt my conscientious veracity, he was 
 sure I must have been deceived, for such alleged phenom- 
 ena were flatly contrary to the laws of nature and therefore 
 impossible. Yet I knew them to be genuine realities 
 beyond all doubt or peradventure. Nature has many 
 grades of expression and all her laws are not in school- 
 books nor in libraries of the literati. Whatever may be 
 true of spiritualistic credulity, materialistic assumption 
 and incredulity often outmatch it. I know how to esti- 
 mate and eschew both. 
 
 In the autumn of 1860, after unprecedented excitement 
 that convulsed the nation from center to circumference, 
 Abraham Lincoln was elected president of the United 
 States on a platform that pledged him and his party to 
 a firm, unfaltering resistance to the aggressions of the 
 slave power hitherto unchecked and defiant of justice ai^d 
 the fundamental principles of a republican form of govern- 
 ment. The public mind continued to be greatly agitated 
 
428 AUTO-BIOGKAPHY OF ADIN BALLOU. 
 
 even after the election was over, and greatly confused in 
 regard to the nature and extent of those aggressions and 
 what was to be done by the victors now that they had 
 gained the ascendancy. In order to throw some light 
 upon the vexed problem and clear the airs of the fogs 
 and vapors that bedimmed them, I prepared a lecture 
 entitled "Violations of the Federal Constitution in the 
 Irrepressible Conflict between the Pro-slavery and Anti- 
 slavery Portions of the American People," which I delivered 
 many times to large and deeply interested audiences and 
 which was afterwards printed and circulated very gener- 
 ally throughout the community. 
 
 I also during the same autumn held two public discus- 
 sions with the celebrated Second Adventist, Miles G-rant, — 
 one at Holden, which continued through five sessions of 
 three hours each, and one at Worcester where there were 
 four sessions of three hours each. The question debated 
 at the iirst was "Has man an immortal entity?" I taking 
 the affirmative and my opponent the negative sides respect- 
 ively. At the second, the question in dispute took the 
 following form: '■'■Resolved, that immortality is a gift 
 from God dependent on character," the ordel- of discus- 
 sion being reversed. Proper decorum prevailed on both 
 occasions, large audiences were present, and a lively 
 interest was manifested in the arguments presented. The 
 doctrine advocated by Elder Grant was that man has no 
 undying element in his native constitution, all human 
 beings becoming utterly unconscious at death ; that all 
 will be restored to consciousness at the getiei-al resurrec- 
 tion, when God will render the righteous immortal by 
 special gift and annihilate the wicked by what is termed 
 " the second death." The doctrine I maintained was that 
 the human soul is by nature immortal; that at physical 
 death all human beings enter a state of moral discipline 
 suited to their different characters ; and that all will be 
 raised through successive stages of regeneration to final 
 holiness and happiness. The debate was conducted 
 throughout in a mutually amicable temper and my antag- 
 
EFFECTS OF THE WAK ON HOPEDALE. 429 
 
 onist complimented me as the fairest and most agreeable 
 opponent he had ever met. As usual, both parties 
 claimed the victory in the argument and retired self- 
 satisfied. 
 
 Time went on. The mutterings of coming war were 
 heard in the distant Southland, and near at hand were 
 there declarations and pledges of resistance to the utter- 
 most should violent measures be inaugurated. The 
 shattered ai-k of the covenant of our fathers was approach- 
 ing new perils which would try it as never before. At 
 length the outbreak came. Rebellion raised a bloody hand 
 against the Republic and must be met. Political and 
 martial patriotism was ringing ardent appeals in all direc- 
 tions and Christian Non-resistance seemed to some minds 
 akin to passive treason. Still the majority of our 
 members were loyal to our original standard and clung 
 to the hull of their half-wrecked social ship. They tried 
 to stop its leaks and keep it afloat for some possible 
 future use. But no expedient could avail to prevent 
 downward tendencies and open withdrawals from our 
 ranks. On the 9th of June, 1861, Brother George Draper, 
 one of our most influential associates, sent to the recorder 
 of the Community a letter resigning his membership, 
 "having become satisfied," as he says, "that I am not 
 in spirit or feeling or practice or purpose a Non-resistant." 
 Yet he expressed a desire to do all he could to perpetu- 
 ate what he believed Hopedale to have been and to be, 
 "the most desirable village to live in on earth." He did 
 not denounce the principles on which Hopedale was 
 founded and by which it had been made what it was as 
 wrong, but as " impracticable under existing circum- 
 stances." A great crisis *had arisen in the country and 
 it could be successfully met only by resorting to the 
 sword. Several other members shared his sentiments and 
 followed his example. Others left us for other reasons, 
 reducing our numbers to less than fifty persons, who 
 remained faithful to their ideals and determined to die 
 an honest death when their hour should come. 
 
430 AUTO-BIOGRAPHY OF ADIN BALLOU. 
 
 In the spring of the year upon which the civil war- 
 broke out, a society of what were termed Rational Spirit- 
 ualists was organized in Milford for the purpose of 
 establishing regular Sunday services, a Sabbath-school,, 
 and other activities conducive to the moral and religious 
 edification and improvement of the people. I was engaged 
 to preach under its auspices at least once a month and 
 oftener if I could, and to procure supplies for the rest 
 of the time. For a while the experiment went on pros- 
 perously, but before a year expired it came to an end,, 
 either because my Spiritualism was too rational and 
 Christian to suit the prevalent taste or because modern 
 Spiritualism lacks the genius of organization and cohesive 
 unity. Probably both these considerations operated to 
 bring about the issue designated, causing me to betake 
 myself to other fields of service. 
 
 An event of special interest to me and mine this year 
 was the birth of a granddaughter, Lucy Florence Hey- 
 wood, in the Home School mansion on the 28th of July. 
 She proved to be the only child of our only surviving 
 child, Abbie Ballon Heywood, wife of Rev. Wm. S, 
 Heywood, who was at the time joint occupant with me of 
 the Hopedale pulpit. She- was well born in respect to 
 all native endowments and capabilities, has been liberally 
 educated, being a graduate of Smith College, Northamp- 
 ton, Mass., in the class of 1884, and has served as 
 assistant teacher in the High School at Sandwich in this 
 state. She is still living at this writing, April 5, 1890, 
 a cherished blessing to all her relatives and a lai-ge circle 
 of devoted friends. 
 
 During this year I prepared and caused to be issued 
 from the Hopedale Press, owned 'and operated by Brother 
 Bryan J. Butts, a small liturgical volume of three hun- 
 dred and thirty-six pages, entitled "The Monitorial 
 Guide." It was designed to aid in the intellectual, 
 moral, and spiritual quickening and culture of both youtlr 
 and adults in the principles and objects of the Practical 
 Christian Republic by using it in inductive conferences- 
 
INTERVIEW WITH DEPARTED FRIENDS. 431 
 
 and other socially religious gatherings subordinate to that 
 more comprehensive and definitely organized body. Its. 
 value was satisfactorily tested in the Hopedale Inductive 
 Communion for several years before its dissolution, with 
 which event it dropped out of sight. It has merits 
 which some future generation may recognize and render- 
 serviceable in the great work of making the world better. 
 
 About this time occurred some of the most wonderful 
 and convincing phenomena purporting to be produced by- 
 the denizens of the spiritual world in which I was ever- 
 privileged to participate. I had heard much through the- 
 public press and otherwise, especially through the per- 
 sonal experience of Brother E. D. Draper and wife, of 
 the unique mediumship of the celebrated Charles H. 
 Foster, then holding seances and astonishing multitudes 
 of witnesses in Boston. Myself and wife had become 
 so much interested in the reports received that we- 
 decided to visit Mr. Foster and see and judge for our-- 
 selves in regard to what transpired. We accordingly 
 appeared at his boarding-place, No. 75 Beach street,. 
 one autumn morning and there awaited developments.. 
 We were ushered into a plainly furnished room, where we- 
 found the mediijm to whom we were absolute strangers,, 
 and were asked to sit by the side of a common table, on 
 which there were slips of wiiting paper, several pencils, 
 and a card with the letters of the alphabet in distinct 
 type upon it. Being previously advised, we had written- 
 the names of quite a number of our departed relatives 
 and numerous questions in fine script before leaving - 
 home, and rolled the paper on which they were inscribed? 
 into compact wads or balls, bringing them with us as 
 means of testing whatever might be subjected to us for 
 consideration and judgment. These were all placed 
 before us, by the side of the other articles mentioned. 
 
 A few minutes elapsed when distinct raps were heard 
 as if under the table, and the medium, after a few con-- 
 vulsive motions of the countenance said, " There is a 
 band of bright spirits present,, intelligent, affectionate,. 
 
432 AUTO-BIOGKAPHY OF ADIN BALLOU. 
 
 and unusually desirous of communicating with you. I 
 perceive near you (pointing to my wife) a noble spirit, 
 deeply interested in you, as if closely related." Then 
 this spirit purported to say through the medium, ' ' We 
 rejoice to meet you in the presence of one through 
 whom we can make most unmistakable manifestations of 
 ourselves. And to convince you beyond a doubt who I 
 am, I will cause my name to appear on the medium's 
 arm at full length. Whereupon Mr. Foster bared his 
 arm and then the name Pearley Hunt was distinctly 
 seen, as if written with red ink in a hand which we at 
 once recognized as that of the father of my wife when 
 he was in mortal form. She at once, deeply affected, 
 exclaimed, "O! that is my father." Further communi- 
 cations were received from him, partly • in response to 
 questions and partly of his own motion, but all strik- 
 ingly characteristic of him, when he shook hands with 
 us through the medium and departed. 
 
 Then came a wholly unexpected but scarcely less 
 impressive and satisfactory interview with my wife's 
 spirit mother, who spelled out her name Chloe Hunt, 
 at her own suggestion, by my pointing to the letters of 
 the alphabet in their order, the right one^ being desig- 
 nated by distinct rappings when they were reached. In 
 the course of the interview this communicator said, 
 " It was I who spoke to you in the garden." This was 
 an explanatory answer to a question wife had addressed 
 to our son, Adin Augustus, in one of the small wads 
 lying on the table before us. It related to an incident 
 that occurred more than a year before when she thought 
 she heard the word " mother" one day when she was 
 among her vegetables and flowers. This utterance she 
 had always attributed to Augustus and had directed an 
 inquiry to him on this occasion accordingly, — an 
 inquiry, which her mother had now voluntarily answered. 
 Here was strong presumptive proof that we were deal- 
 ing with real invisible entities, as convincing as it was 
 unanticipated and unsolicited. 
 
IMPRESSIVE AND CONVINCING MANIFESTATIONS. 433 
 
 Then occurred a manifestation which professed to be 
 from our dear son himself. He was announced by the 
 medium as a very bright and beautiful spirit, around 
 whom everything was pleasant and cheerful, as indicat- 
 ing great affection and joy, — "the one," it was said; 
 " you are most anxious to communicate with." He then 
 extended to us through his interpreter most hearty 
 congratulations accompanied by enthusiastic shaking of 
 hands and expressions of intense pleasure that he had 
 an opportunity of making us certain of his presence and 
 identity. After referring to certain matters spoken of in 
 the little balls before us and treating them satisfac- 
 torily, he continued: — "Now I will sensibly assure you 
 that your son is indeed personally present with you by 
 displaying my initials on the medium's arm." This was 
 instantly done, the letters A. A. B. appearing in the 
 €xact shape familiar to us in his earthly life-time — the 
 final curve of the B descending considerably below the 
 line on which the other letters rested, as was his wont 
 to make it. He then wrote with the medium's hand a 
 somewhat lengthy message, subscribing what he had 
 written with his well-known signature, "Adin Augustus 
 Ballon," the same characteristic distinguishing the initial' 
 of the last name as before. Numerous questions were 
 put to him which he answered intelligently and satisfac- 
 torily. This feature of the seance was profoundly 
 impressive and convincing. Similar interviews, though 
 not all of them so directly personal and affecting, were 
 held with my venerable sainted mother, "whose hands 
 I was told were raised as if invoking a blessing upon 
 me; with our beloved Brother Butler "Wilmarth M. D., 
 one of the victims of the Norwalk bridge disaster of 
 -ten years before ; with my much esteemed friend E. N. 
 Paine, formerly of East Blackstone ; and with David 
 Stearns Godfrey, a resident of Milford in his earth-life, 
 from whom I had received many tokens of appreciative 
 regard and to whom I was bound by very tender ties of 
 confidence and affection. Refen-ing to one of my last 
 28 
 
434 AUTO-BIOGBAPHY OF ADIN BALLOU. 
 
 interviews with him in the flesh, when we had conversed' 
 freely upon the subject of spirit-communion and when he- 
 pledged me that he would report himself to me in due- 
 time and give me a certain test-word as a sure token o£ 
 his identity, I asked him if he was ready to name that 
 word, according to our agreement, of which I had never 
 spoken to a living human being. He said that he was,, 
 and asked me to call over the letters of the alphabet.. 
 I did so and he by loud raps indicated the letters that 
 spelled the word " Portrait" which was correct. He 
 then dashed off through the agency of the medium, 
 "True! True! True. I have tried since I left earth, 
 to give you the test agreed upon. It is now done.. 
 Take courage for all is well. Portrait." 
 
 To conclude this remarkable demonstration or series of 
 demonstrations, I requested the spirit relatives and friends 
 present to give us their farewell benediction by a united 
 succession of raps. This elicited a memorable response 
 that seemed to carry inspiration with it, thrilling all our 
 hearts. So closed the most remarkable and satisfying^ 
 spirit seance at which I was ever a personal witness and 
 participant, the descriptive account of which,, as above 
 given, is strictly and reliably true. 
 
 There will be plenty of skeptics with whom what 1 
 have recorded will have no weight. For such. I do not 
 write. They are resolutely determined not to be con- 
 vinced of the truth of these things. They discard all the- 
 testimonies of sacred and profane history concerning the 
 manifestations of angels, spirits, and demons from the- 
 unseen world made to mortal human beings,, ancient and 
 modern alike. I am a believer in such manifestations on 
 rational and moral grounds, nat holding a traditionary 
 faith in the marvels of the bible while contemning those 
 of other records and especially those coming in. later days,, 
 nor on the other hand magnifying the latter as wonderful, 
 outgrowths or indications of human progress, to the dis- 
 paragement of all the sacred writings of times long since 
 past and gone. Nor do I exalt any modern spiritualistie 
 
THE LORD'S FREEMAN. 435 
 
 revelation or philosophy above those principles of truth 
 and righteousness declared to be essential to human wel- 
 fare and happiness in the gospel of Jesus Christ. 
 
 An interesting and happy achievement in my life career 
 was attained about the time when this chapter closes, to 
 wit : My deliverance from the bondage of pecuniary 
 indebtedness. As a result of my ambition to possess and 
 enjoy a comfortable home, to encourage and relieve the 
 needy, to accommodate and help real or supposed friends, 
 and above all to further enterprises calculated to improve 
 the condition of my fellowmen, I had been more or less 
 financially involved from my first starting out in life. I 
 was a borrower and therefore often a sorrower. But I 
 was never a beggar, a defaulter, or a dependant on alms. 
 My obligations were always faithfully kept, my word was 
 sacred, and my credit beyond suspicion from first to last. 
 And now, after all my sti-uggles, disappointments, losses, 
 I became "the Lord's freeman," owing "no man anything 
 but to love one another." Thanks be to God, whose I 
 am and all I have forevermore. 
 
CHAPTER XXII. 
 
 1862-1872. 
 
 G-areisok's Discourses — Conscription — Hopedale Par- 
 ish — Personal Labors — Work foe the Future — 
 Relation to Various Bodies. 
 
 THE Hopedale Gommunity, at the time of the opening 
 of the present chapter, was little more than an 
 ordinary religious society, though still maintaining nom- 
 inally its originally adopted principles of Practical 
 Christian truth as founded in the will of God and in the 
 constitution of the moral world, and as applicable to all 
 human affairs in all the relations of life. It continued to hold 
 fast its primary guaranties against the evils of ignorance, 
 poverty, vice, and crime, but the chief instrumentalities 
 or means organically provided for in its distinctive indus- 
 trial and social system by which those guaranties were 
 to be made good had been essentially abandoned. Prac- 
 tically, we were no longer the vanguard and illustration 
 of a new order of society, but only a quiet, peaceful, 
 well-governed neighborhood of the old order, to the 
 habits, practices, customs, and prevailing spirit of which 
 our \'illage was becoming year by year more fully and 
 more complacently conformed. 
 
 The institutional routine of religious observances along 
 the former lines and much in accord with the former 
 spirit of the place was pursued with commendable regu- 
 larity and to general satisfaction. Rev. Wm. S. Heywood 
 and myself were the accredited ministers of the church, 
 each rendering about an equal amount of service, only 
 
PRACTICAL CHRISTIANITY IN ABEYANCE. 437 
 
 now and then a Sunday being assigned by definite 
 arrangement to special invitees. Neither of us had aban- 
 doned the theelogical, ethical, and social theories adopted 
 intelligently and conscientiously many years before, and 
 our testimonies in no wise belied or undervalued our still 
 cherished convictions. But the trend of things was mani- 
 festly against us and our teachings — to other issues than 
 those we deemed of supreme moment and sought dili- 
 gently to promote and secure. 
 
 The business interests of the village prospered exceed- 
 ingly, its population increased, and wealth rolled in upon 
 its leading citizens. Money-making, political engineering 
 and advancement, and martial patriotism absorbed the 
 thought and energy of the populace, while Practical Chris- 
 tianity, as a motive power in the individual community, 
 state, and nation, fell proportionally into abeyance. New- 
 comers to the place cared little or nothing for the dis- 
 tinctive Christian principles of the men and women who 
 founded it, while a goodly number of those who still 
 cherished them and sought to honor them were obliged, 
 under the newly-established regime, to seek employment 
 and a home elsewhere. So it was that the Community, 
 as an organic body, grew weaker and weaker in member- 
 ship and in moral power from year to year, while the 
 influence of the pulpit, Sunday-school, and conference 
 room became more and more neutralized by prevailing 
 indifference or hostile influences outside. 
 
 With the opening and progress of the civil war, caus- 
 ing in all directions great financial embarrassment and 
 uncertainty, the patronage of the Hopedale Home School, 
 which for several years enjoyed much well-deserved popu- 
 larity, declined to such an extent, especially in respect to 
 its boarding department whence its chief support was 
 derived, that it was deemed advisable to close it pei-ma- 
 nently. This was accordingly done, much to the regret 
 of its many friends in the vicinity and elsewhere, in the 
 year 1862. The following spring its proprietors and prin- 
 cipals disposed of the property and a few months later 
 
438 AUTO-BIOGRAPHY OF ADIN BALLOU. 
 
 removed to West Newton. They have since resided in 
 Scituate, Hudson, Holyolce, Boston, and Sterling, their 
 present home (1890), in all of which places Mr. Hey- 
 wood has labored as a settled minister in the fellowship 
 of the Unitarian denomination. 
 
 A somewhat serious occurrence took place among us in 
 July, 1862, the main features of which, as they concerned 
 me personally, I cannot permit to sink into oblivion. By 
 invitation of the committee of the Community on pulpit 
 supply, my old-time friend and co-laborer in the anti- 
 slavery cause, William Lloyd Garrison, delivered two 
 discourses on the first Sunday of the month named in 
 our Hopedale house of worship. He made use of the 
 occasion to express and defend opinions on 'several 
 important points of a religious nature which he must have 
 known to be radically opposed to the faith and practice 
 on which I had tried to build the Hopedale Community 
 and was still trying to found the Practical Christian 
 Republic. I and my friends had always held him in high 
 regard as a distinguished philanthropist and treated him 
 with fraternal deference, and I did not see why, under 
 existing circumstances, he should raise controversial issues 
 between me and him. I was present and listened with 
 close and thoughtful attention to his disquisitions, but 
 received no hint that he desired or expected me to say 
 anything in defence of those views of mine which he vig- 
 orously assailed, though, of course, without reference to 
 me. His utterances pleased all present who disliked my 
 teaching upon the topics treated but naturally grieved me 
 and those who revered the principles I maintained exceed- 
 ingly. By reason of the seriousness of the case when 
 considered in all its bearings, I deemed it my duty, with- 
 out in any way impugning my friend's motives, to procure 
 if possible a public discussion of the particulars upon 
 which I took issue with him, in presence of our congre- 
 gation, that they might better understand the merits of 
 the whole case. How I succeeded will be learned from 
 the following correspondence : 
 
OBJECTION TO MR. GARRISON'S VIEWS. 439 
 
 ■" To Ebenezer D. Draper, Jerome Wilmarth, and Nancy W. Lewers, 
 Committee : 
 
 " Deab Friends : Our respected friend, Wm. Lloyd Garrison, 
 ■who occupied the Hopedalo pulpit last Sunday under your aus- 
 pices, in the frank expression of his honest convictions, felt it 
 his duty to teach the people, as I understood him, substantially 
 as follows, to wit: — 
 
 " (1) That there is no divine authority whatever for setting 
 apart the first day of the week as a sabbath or as time to be 
 sacredly devoted to religious uses of any kind. 
 
 " (2) That to thus set it apart and to teach people to respect 
 it as in any sense holy, is unwarrantable, superstitious, and per- 
 nicious. 
 
 " (3) That all such sabbatizing sprang from and is sustained 
 by priestcraft for the mere advantage of a clerical or priestly 
 ■class. 
 
 " (4) That all such sabbatizing, with its usual public religious 
 exercises of prayer and other demonstrations of so-called wor- 
 ship, is essentially Pharisaical. 
 
 " (5) That it is untruthful, improper, superstitious, and per- 
 nicious to call the bible a holy book, because it was written 
 nobody knows when, by nobody knows whom ; because it settles 
 nothing in theology or ethics, proves all sorts of conflicting 
 tenets, and carries with it no divine authority whatever — though 
 nevertheless, it is worth more than all other books in the world. 
 
 " (6) That all authority to determine what is true or right 
 in religion is vested absolutely in each human individual for 
 himself — never to be overruled by the claims of any other per- 
 son or persons as divinely inspired, commissioned, or authorized. 
 
 " (7) That Jesus Christ Himself is not to be regarded as an 
 infallible and perfect religious teacher. 
 
 " (8) That it is wholly by or from human nature that we 
 rpust finally settle all ethical questions. 
 
 " (9) That Non-resistance is in no way necessarily connected 
 with or dependent on the teaching, example, or official authority 
 of Jesus Christ. 
 
 " (10) That although Non-resistance holds human life in all 
 -cases inviolable, yet it is perfectly consistent for those pro- 
 fessing it to petition, advise, and strenuously urge a pro-war 
 government to abolish slavery solely by the war-power. 
 
 "Now it is well known to the people of Hopedale that my 
 preaching and practice have always been to a greater or less 
 degree contrary to these positions. It is also well known that 
 a considerable number of persons in the village are opposed to 
 my faith and practice on these points, and were delighted with 
 friend Garrison's exposition of the subjects they involve. In 
 
440 AUTO-BIOGRAPHY OF ADIN BALLOU. 
 
 view of all this, I deem it not only due to ray self-respect but 
 an imperative religious obligation to put myself in a way to 
 be converted by fair argument to Mr. Garrison's views or by 
 such argument to defend and sustain my own. I therefore 
 respectfully request you to engage the service of our friend 
 for some forthcoming Sunday or other day as soon as may be 
 convenient, with the full understanding that he and I shall 
 hold a free public discussion of the aforesaid and other col- 
 lateral topics, to be continued through not less than two nor 
 more than three sessions of two hours each, the parties to 
 occupy uninterrupted equal portions of time. Your prompt 
 attention and reply to this request will greatly oblige your 
 brother and servant, Adin Ballotj. 
 
 " Hopedale, July 9, 1862." 
 
 The committee at once forwarded my letter to Mr.. 
 Garrison and in due time received the following response : 
 
 "Boston, July 11, 1862. 
 " To Ebenezer D. Draper, Jerome Wilmarth, and Nancy W. LewerSy 
 
 Committee : 
 
 ■'Dear Fkiends: The letter addressed to you by my friend',. 
 Adin Ballou, which you have kindly sent to me for my con- 
 sideration, gives me very great surprise. It seems that he 
 found several things in my discourses last Sunday at Hopedale 
 from which he so strongly dissents and which he deems so- 
 heretical that he feels constrained to invite me (through you. 
 as a committee) to a public discussion of these controverted 
 points at the same place as soon as may be convenient ! 
 
 "In reply I beg leave very respectfully to say that I decline 
 the invitation thus given ; — 
 
 " (1) Because there seemed to be no reason why my friend; 
 Ballou should not have interrogated me, as did others in the- 
 audience, in order to a clearer elucidation of my views — as he 
 was present at both meetings and expressed no dissent from- 
 anything I advanced. 
 
 " (2) Because I shall be too busily occupied for a month to 
 come to attend to a discussion of this kind, even if I had (as 
 certainly I have not) the inclination to do so. 
 
 " (3) Because my worthy friend gives me altogether too- 
 much credit and underrates his own efforts as a religious and 
 ethical teacher for so long a period in his chosen Community, 
 in declaring that he deems it not only important to his self- 
 respect, (?) usefulness, and happiness, but 'an imperative 
 religious duty' ( !) to put himself in a way ' to be converted, 
 by fair argument to friend Garrison's views or by such. 
 
PROPOSED DISCUSSION DECLINED. 441 
 
 argument to defend and sustain his own!' This magnifying 
 the influence of my two impromptu discourses on his part is 
 the more remarkable inasmuch as he says in his letter, ' It is 
 well known to the people of Hopedale that my preaching and 
 practice have always been in greater or less degree contrary 
 to these (recited) positions.' Does he not discredit both his 
 preaching and his practice by virtually admitting that my 
 two poor discourses may measureably nullify their eflScaey if 
 not soon controversially replied to? I cannot permit such 
 unnecessary depreciation of himself on the one hand, nor 
 such absurd exaggeration of myself on the other. Besides, 
 my friend Ballou has the field at Hopedale all to himself in 
 the future as he has long had it in the past, and I am well 
 content to leave in his hands the ' considerable number of 
 persons ' in your village, who, he says, ' were delighted with 
 my sentiments.' 
 
 " (4) I have [never yet consented to an appointed public 
 discussion with any person on any subject and am too much 
 of a non-resistant to accept any such challenge. Indeed, I 
 have an unconquerable aversion to any set disputation after 
 the manner of belligerent theologians, and believe little or no 
 good ever resulted from it. It tends to beget partisanship^ 
 rather than conviction, and it Is something quite different 
 from a general free discussion meeting. 
 
 " Finally, allow me to express my regret, and I will add 
 my surprise, that my friend Ballon did not seek to have a 
 frank interchange of views with me, socially, before I left 
 Hopedale. Perhaps he could not possibly command the time 
 on Sunday evening for that purpose. If so, I shall have no 
 cause for surprise — only for regret that I was deprived of the 
 pleasure and edification of such an interview. 
 
 " Thanking the committee for their kind overture, I remain, 
 " With warm regards, yours truly, 
 
 " Wm. Lloyd Garrison." 
 
 Under the circumstances in which I was placed by 
 this letter, what could I do? If I remained silent, it 
 must be inferred that I acquiesced in friend Garrison's 
 doctrines or that I felt unable to refute them. If either 
 of these inferences were true, I ought to renounce many 
 of my fundamental positions as a religious teacher, 
 social reorganizationist, and Christan Non-resistant; or, 
 at least, to modify radically much of my theory and 
 practice. Inasmuch as I was not converted to Mr. G-ar- 
 
442 AUTO-BIOGRAPHY OF ADIN BALLOU. 
 
 risou's views, but had good and sufficient grounds for 
 i-ejecting ttiem, I saw no other alternative but to review 
 ■and expose both his objectionable affirmations and his 
 reasons for declining to meet me in a fraternal public 
 ■discussion. This I decided to do, and gave ample 
 ■notice that my discourses of Sunday, July 27, would 
 ■be devoted to that service. I therefore addressed myself 
 to the task sat before me. In order to do justice to 
 my subject in all its phases and bearings I had to go 
 ■over considerable ground, only a brief abstract of which 
 •can be transferred to these pages. 
 
 "Texts. 'I also will show mine opinion.' Job, 32: 10. 
 ' Come now, let us reason together.' Isa. 1 : 18. ' He that 
 is first in his own cause seemeth just, but his neighbor 
 oometh and searcheth him.' Prov., 18 : 17. ' How can two 
 walk together except they be agreed?' Amos 3: 3. 
 
 " I. Friend Garrison's reasons for declining a public dis- 
 cussion. I will not consume space by repeating them in full 
 feut refer to them by numbers as they appear seriatim in Mr. 
 Garrison's letter, giving my several responses in their proper 
 order. 
 
 " (1) I clearly understood every affirmation made by friend 
 Garrison and needed no information as to his meaning on any 
 :point. But I wanted the reasons and proofs of what he 
 assumed and an opportunity to test their validity and. conclu- 
 siveness. To have asked for these and had my request 
 -granted would have turned the occasion into a critical debate 
 and prevented the speaker from presenting his views fully, 
 distinctly, and fairlj'. As to dissent, there was neither 
 freedom nor opportunity to express any intelligibly and 
 effectively. Our committee had said that Mr. Garrison wished 
 me to be present and participate with him in the exercises of 
 the meeting; but he offered no space of time, for me to do 
 this, nor so much as hinted that he would be pleased to have 
 me express my opinions counter to his own, though he well 
 tnew from what I had publicly said and written that I dif- 
 fered essentially from him in many of his declarations. He 
 apparently desired to occupy all the time at his command, 
 and I therefore felt at no liberty to claim any hearing that 
 would have abridged his opportunity. A full and fair dis- 
 -cussion at some other time was the desideratum needed. 
 This r respectfully asked for, but it was refused; whether 
 reasonably or otherwise, I leave others to judge. 
 
BEASONS FOR DECLINATION CONSIDERED. 443 
 
 " (2) The discussion would have been willingly deferred on 
 Tuy part to any more distant day mutually convenient. But 
 If there was no ' inclination,' on his part, of course no con- 
 "venient later day could be fixed upon between us. 
 
 " (3) The fallacy of this special pleading will be made obvious 
 thy considering the following facts : 1. Mr. Garrison was a 
 talented, eloquent, and effective public speaker. He had a wide 
 reputation not only for his ability but as a reformer and phi- 
 Hanthropist. He was held in high esteem by our Community, 
 myself included. He was invited to our pulpit as an honored 
 friend and left free to choose his own theme of discourse. He 
 ■delivered his two ' impromptu discourses,' consisting largely in 
 Ijroad, sweeping assertions and not in critical and discriminat- 
 ing reasonings, in his own oflf-hand but earnest, emphatic, 
 impressive way. Much that he said was subversive of the 
 iundamental principles and organic policy of our Practical 
 Christian Socialism, and of such a nature as to produce doubt, 
 distrust, and alienation respecting those principles in all 
 susceptible minds, especially of the young, unstable, and inex- 
 perienced. The positive declarations of such a man, though 
 impromptu, would naturally do more to undermine the social 
 structure I was endeavoring to build up than years of construct- 
 ive effort could replace. I therefore deemed it important that 
 he who had been instrumental in creating doubt and uncer- 
 tainty among those whom I had been trying to^ train to a high 
 ideal of moral and social excellence, should be held answerable 
 ior his utterances in a fair discussion before the people whom 
 lie had previously addressed. 2. I was a religious teacher and 
 social reformer. I had left the general prevailing order of 
 civilization because in many of its distinguishing features it 
 was largely wrong and anti-Christian. My new order was based 
 upon and illustrated higher and diviner principles of truth and 
 righteousness. In the construction of such an order of social 
 life, all the natural factors of human society must be included 
 and harmonized, and all that is necessary to both private and 
 public welfare must be provided for. The individual, the fam- 
 ily, and the community must conform to such regulations, 
 •customs, and courses of life as the highest wisdom shows to 
 be morally right and practically advantageous to all conditions 
 and classes of people. The Hopedale Community, while aiming 
 to realize this Christ-like ideal, had never attained thereunto 
 even in its best estate, and at the tjime of these 'impromptu' 
 discourses had sadly fallen away from what it had at one time 
 achieved. Moreover, the village was rapidly filling up with a 
 population who preferred the old order to the new, thus help- 
 ing to hasten the utter overthrow of all my cherished plana 
 
444 AUTO-BIOGRAPHY OF ADIN BALLOU. 
 
 and aspirations lor the enlightenment, moral renovation, and 
 social I'egeneracion of mankind. Nevertheless, in the midst of 
 all this discouragement, I was still trying to hold up the true 
 standard of personal and social righteousness in hope of a 
 better future. Now friend Garrison was troubled with none of 
 my scruples concerning organic society and with none of my 
 constructive responsibilities. He was pre-eminently an Individ- 
 ualist rather than a Socialist of any kind. His mission was to 
 destroy evil customs, institutions, and isms, and let good ones 
 grow up as best -they could. Mine was not only to overthrow 
 what was wrong and prejudicial to human well-being and happi- 
 ness, but to build up what was right and helpful of mankind. 
 He magnified personal liberty as the right of all men, seeming 
 to think if this were secured all other blessings would follow as a 
 matter of course. I always insisted that personal liberty must 
 be inseparably conjoined with personal obligation, duty, and 
 responsibility, on the basis of the divine moral law. In religion, 
 he discarded creeds, covenants, churches, and all external observ- 
 ances as useless and pernicious. On the contrary, I always 
 insisted upon a co-ordinate unity of the human reason and 
 emotional sentiments as expressed in religious beliefs, observ- 
 ances, confessions, and institutions founded in the essential 
 truth of things and calculated to foster and promote high types 
 of individual and social life, confident that without such, man- 
 kind will have false, absurd, and mischievous ones, or else sink 
 into debasing irreligion or lawless, irresponsible nothingarian- 
 ism. The difierences between Mr. Garrison and myself thus 
 indicated I earnestly desired to have considered in an orderly, 
 candid, friendly discussion, testing them by the standard of 
 reason and the moral law in the pi-esence of the people; leav- 
 ing nothing to anyone's ipse dixit or personal assumption. This^ 
 was what I asked for, but I asked in vain. 
 
 '• (4) Considering the friendly relations in which Mr. Garri- 
 son and myself had for many ■ years stood before the public 
 and the uncalled-for assault he had made upon some of my 
 cherished opinions, I could hardly be ranked, I think, among 
 'belligerent theologians' in seeking the proposed discussion. 
 The abuses of appointed set disputations afford no just ground 
 for the alleged ' inconquerable aversion ' to them, since they 
 have the great advantage over casual and random debates that, 
 ample time is allowed for the presentation of conflicting views 
 and that the parties concerned are given a co-equally fair 
 opportunity to be heard. They are indeed ' quite different from 
 a general free discussion meeting,' for in such a meeting the 
 lions of the occasion and the expressed impatience of their- 
 partisan admirers leave little chance for modest and over-awei 
 
OBJECTIONABLE DOCTRINES REVIEWED. 445 
 
 dissenters to give a full and fair presentation of their views. I 
 have listened to many discussions of this character which 
 yielded little profit to candid, truth-seeking hearers. 
 
 "Finally, I invited Mr. Garrison to call on me the Sunday 
 evening after the objectionable discourses were delivered and 
 he promised to do so, but failed to keep the promise. He left 
 for Boston early Monday morning, sending in to me the apology 
 that he was detained by pressure of company at the house of 
 his host. There was therefore no opportunity for an interview 
 at that time. For if, instead of waiting for him at my own 
 home, as courtesy required, I had gone to the place where he 
 was stopping, he could not, without manifest incivility, have 
 turned away from his numerous other visitors for any protracted 
 and satisfactory interchange of views with me. 
 
 "//. Objectionable Doctrines of Friend Garrison Reviewed. (1) 
 Concerning the Sabbath. If what he states is true, then the 
 Hopedale Community, in assuming that the first day of the 
 week is a divinely-sanctioned day of rest and in some proper 
 sense holy time, has acted without the warrant of reason, 
 morality, or religion. The observance of that day by its mem- 
 bers has been superstitious and pernicious, and their religious 
 exercises and formalities, under the name of worship, have 
 been pharisaic and hypocritical. Its ministers have been con- 
 ducting these exercises and formalities for the advantage of 
 their own priestly class. 
 
 " To this serious charge, I, for myself and associates, plead 
 'Not guilty.' We believed, as Christ taught, that the Sabbath 
 as an institution coming down from the earliest ages of human 
 history ' was made for man and not man for the Sabbath ' ; that 
 it was established, not because one day is in itself holier than 
 another, but for the benefit of mankind; that it is sacred only 
 in the sense of being devoted to good uses ; and that the right 
 keeping of it includes not only attention to distinctively reli- 
 gious offices and ceremonials but also to the doing of all 
 necessary, healthful, humane, and beneficent work. Needless 
 secular business and ordinary amusements on that day were 
 discountenanced by us, and general attendance upon the ser- 
 vices of the house of worship was expected and provided for. 
 In all this there was not one particle of priestcraft, supersti- 
 tion, or unreasonable strictness. By it the highest good and 
 happiness of individuals, of families, and of the Community, 
 were conserved and promoted.- Such observance of the day 
 was productive of salutary and desirable results and found in 
 such results its complete justification. That the day may be 
 abused, perverted, and made to serve selfish, partisan, and 
 reprehensible ends is conceded, but it is no more just to 
 
446 AUTO-BIOGRAPHY OF ADIN BALLOU. 
 
 denounce it on that account than to arraign and condemn any- 
 thing else essentially right and good because human ignorance, 
 folly, hypocrisy, and selfishness have sometimes falsified and 
 dishonored it. 
 
 " (2) Concerning the Bible. Friend Garrison says 'that it is- 
 untruthful, improper, superstitious, and pernicious to call the- 
 bible a holy book, because it was written nobody knows when- 
 by nobody knows whom, settles nothing in theology or ethics, 
 proves all sorts of conflicting tenets, and carries with it no' 
 divine authority whatever. Nevertheless, it is worth more 
 than all the other books in the world.' What consistency is 
 there in these statements? How can the bible be worth more' 
 than all other books if so destitute of all authenticity, homo- 
 geneity, and authority? The truth really is that no books of 
 equal antiquity are so well authenticated as those comprised; 
 in the volume under notice. From the nature of the case more 
 or less obscurity hangs over their date and authorship, yet 
 this does not invalidate their claims to our confidence and 
 regard, as it does not disprove or depreciate the essential truth 
 they contain, the great principles of righteousness they declare 
 and magnify. That truth — those principles — culminate in- 
 the New Testament, and the New Testament centers in the- 
 person of Jesus Christ, whose authority as teacher and exemplar 
 determines the absolute religion of the bible. The bible, as Jesus 
 interpreted, applied, and left it, does, as I understand it, deter- 
 mine what -is fundamental in theology and ethics, affirms no 
 conflicting tenets, and carries with it all the divine authority 
 needful for the practical uses of life,— authority which He- 
 claimed to have derived from the Father. 
 
 "Friend Garrison asserted that 'Jesus Christ Himself is not 
 to be regarded as an infallible and perfect religious teacher.' 
 Then He was a false witness concerning Himself and a pre- 
 tender, for He said, ' I do nothing of Myself, bat as My Father- 
 hath taught Me I speak.' ' He that sent Me is with Me ; the- 
 Father hath not left Me alone, for I do always the things that 
 please Him.'— J^oAra 8: 28, 29.. This was His uniform claim 
 through all His ministry — a claim I feel bound in reason and 
 conscience to admit. 1 do not believe he was a mere visionary 
 or an arrogant pretender but an infallible and perfect religious 
 teacher. And among all those who have asserted the contrary 
 I have never found one who could fortify and maintain their 
 assertions with good and sufficient reasons. 
 
 "3. Concerning Human Nature as Authority in Religion. But 
 while friend Garrison denied that the bible carried with it any 
 divine authority and regarded Christ as an imperfect religious 
 teacher, he could set human nature on an infallible throne. 
 
REVIEW OF MR. GARRISON. — CONTINUED. 44T 
 
 (See Nos. 6 and 8 of my letter on page 439.) Then no human 
 being needs any Inspired teacher, prophet, Christ, or God even,, 
 outside of himself. Then it logically follows that there is no- 
 absolute, universal, eternal, religious truth and righteousness- 
 which all men are in duty bound to seelj out and obey, but 
 each one's intuitions, opinions, conclusions are equally true ta 
 those possessing them; and all religious and ethical theories 
 are equally authoritative to those professing them. The bible 
 settles nothing; Christ is no reliable teacher; human nature 
 settles everything! And what a mighty, endless babel of tlie- 
 ories, doctrines, ideas we have in the world, all equally right,, 
 good, and true to those who entertain and cherish them! I 
 prefer the theology and ethics of Jesus Christ — one universal- 
 fatherhood over all, one universal brotherhood uniting all, one 
 universal law of duty for all, love to God and man — these I- 
 prefer to the theology and ethics of human nature as illus- 
 trated in all ages of the world's history. I cannot believe in 
 the self-sufficient divinity of human nature as it ever has been 
 and now is; my faith centers in universal divine principles, 
 revealed from heaven through many media, but most clearly, 
 and perfectly through Jesus Christ. 
 
 "4. Concerning Non-resistance. Under this head I will first 
 notice the declaration that ' Non-resistance is in no way neces- 
 sarily connected with or dependent on the teachings, example, 
 or official authority of Jesus Christ.' Then according to the- 
 theory just noticed, it must be connected with and dependent 
 on the teachings, example, and inherent authority of human 
 nature ; that is, of such individual human beings as fancy it to- 
 be the outgrowth of their own personal intuitions, the number 
 of which is not one in ten thousand of the race of man. To the 
 masses of our kind — the uncounted multitude — Non-resistance 
 is simply nonsense, as has been repeatedly affirmed by men- 
 standing high in public esteem and in the annals of reform. 
 That is the manner in which human nature as a whole settles 
 the ethics of Non-resistance. It pronounces against it in terms- 
 most emphatic and with a verdict overwhelming so far as 
 majorities are concerned. Yet the testimony of Christ by both; 
 precept and example is equally emphatic and overwhelming. 
 Which of these — human nature or Christ — speaks in this case 
 with the greater authority? Which is most worthy of homage 
 and reverence? Let professed Non-resistants answer. 
 
 "And now let us see how the elect few who derive their 
 faith in Non-resistance from human nature — that is from, 
 their own human nature — settle the question with themselves 
 and determine their duty in reference to it. Mr. Garrison is 
 a competent representative of all such and it is but just that. 
 
448 AUTO-BIOGRAPHY OF ADIN BALLOU. 
 
 he be heard in their behalf. He says, — ' Although Non- 
 resistauce holds human life in all cases absolutely inviolable 
 by professed Non-resistants yet it is perfectly consistent for 
 them to petition, advise, and strenously urge a pro-war gov- 
 ernment to abolish slavery by the war power.' Now the war 
 power assumes that it is right to wound, mutilate, slaughter, 
 any number of human beings who resist the authority of any 
 state or nation, or who seek by violent means to prevent the 
 execution of its will. And to ask a government to use the 
 war power for the accomplishment of an object confessedly 
 good, is to ask it to do what Non-Eesistance teaches is 
 essentially wrong. Can such a coarse be justified upon sound 
 ethical principles? What one does by another he does by him- 
 self. This is true both in morals and in jurisprudence. And 
 what one requests, advises, urges another to do, he is per- 
 sonally responsible for, if the thing be done. And to petition 
 the government to abolish slavery by the exercise of the war 
 power, is to become morally involved in the bloodshed and 
 death resulting from such action. It is to adopt the Jesuitical 
 maxim, ' The end sanctifies the means,' which is false in 
 morals and suicidal in policy. Any worthy cause which is 
 carried forward on that principle cannot long survive; will 
 soon die by its own hand or the hand of its own advocates, 
 as did that phase of Non-resistance. It has been silent in its 
 grave ever since it thus lent itself to the work of human 
 destruction for the promotion of human libertv. 
 
 "True Non-resistance — Christian Non-resistance — is of another 
 type, of a higher genus. It came down from heaven. It was 
 born, not of human nature but of the divine nature— of the pure 
 wisdom and love of God. Human nature was constituted with 
 a capacity for understanding, reverencing, cherishing, and 
 exemplifying it, but not without more or less of self-crucifixion 
 and help from on high. Jesus Christ did not originate this 
 sublime doctrine, but He taught it and clearly illustrated it, 
 enabling His disciples to comprehend and proclaim it to their 
 fellowmen. As He taught and illustrated it, there was in it no 
 inconsistency or self-contradiction. He did not preach one 
 thing and practice another. He did not theorize beautifully 
 about love and good will to all men, even to the worst of 
 oflFenders, and then when a storm of wrath and war, engendered 
 by human folly and transgression arose, straightway advocate 
 the resistance of evil with evil, or ask and urge others to wield 
 the battle axe and ' let slip the dogs of war,' in order to gain 
 some greatly-to-be-desired good and help bring His righteous 
 kingdom in. His kingdom was not of this world and could 
 not Be advanced after the fashion of this world's red revolu- 
 
CONSCIENCE AND THE WAR-DRAFT. 449 
 
 tionary reformers, but rather by the regeneration of individual 
 men through repentance for sin unto good works, and the love 
 -of righteousness whereby they would be brought into true 
 relations with each other — into that state of unity, harmony, 
 and brotherhood in which all should strive together for the 
 universal good and happiness, blessing and cursing not. The 
 banner of love, beneficence, forgiveness that He as ' Prince of 
 Peace' flung to the breeze and called his followers to rally under 
 and maintain as they went forth to the conquest of the world, 
 has long been dishonored by His nominal church, which pros- 
 tituted it to the service of the war power and of sword-sustained 
 human governments. But the end is not yet. There will surely 
 be some day a new and regenerate Christian church which will 
 re-afflrm, exemplify, and triumphantly glorify the original right- 
 eousness of the divine kingdom in this regard, and so truly 
 honor Him whom it professes to believe in and serve. Here 
 I rest my faith and close my defence of the truth as it has 
 been made known to me against the detraction and false assump- 
 tions of my honored friend, William Lloyd Garrison." 
 
 A Case of Conscription. At this point I must put on 
 record one special exploit of the high-pretending war- 
 power of the United States government which we were 
 counseled to summon to our aid in seeking the overthrow 
 of slavery. In August, 1863, under a law authorizing 
 the conscription of soldiers for replenishing the depleted 
 ranks of the army, one of the loyal members of our Com- 
 munity, John Lowell Heywood, was drawn for the required 
 service. As he could not conscientiously respond in 
 person to the demand made upon him nor employ a sub- 
 stitute to fill his place, it was deemed advisable, after 
 considerable hesitancy and discussion, that the prescribed 
 commutation equivalent of three hundred dollars should 
 be paid by him and such of his friends as might be 
 moved to assist him in the crisis, rather than that he 
 should be made to suffer the penal infliction provided for 
 those who, under such circumstances, refused to join the 
 forces then in the field. This was accordingly done. I 
 have since feared that we acted wrongfully in the matter, 
 feeling that it would have been more consistent, with our, 
 principles and a more effective testimony against the 
 wicked exactions of the government to have allowed the 
 29 
 
450 AUTO-BIOGRAPHY OF ADIN BALLOU. 
 
 law to have taken its proper course and dealt with our 
 unresisting brother to the full extent of its despotic and 
 inexorable requirements. I do not recommend a repetition 
 of onr course in future cases of a similar sort, although 
 in the unprecedented pressure of events I advised the 
 payment of the money. It was done, however, under- 
 public protest formally presented to the military authori- 
 ties at the time, a copy of which, prepared by myself 
 and approved by the Community, I take the liberty to 
 submit to my readers and to coming generations as- 
 follows : 
 
 "To the governmental authorities of the United States arid 
 their constituents, the undersigned, John Lowell Heywood of 
 Hopedale, in the town of Milford, in the eighth congressional 
 district of Massachusetts, respectfully maketh solemn declara- 
 tion, remonstrance, and protest, to wit: 
 
 "That he has been enrolled, drafted, and notified to appear 
 as a soldier of the United States, pursuant to an Act of 
 Congress approved March 3, 1863, commonly called the Con- 
 scription Law. 
 
 "That he holds in utter abhorrence the rebellion which the 
 said law was designed to aid in suppressing and would devot- 
 edly fight unto death against it if he could conscientiously 
 resort to deadly weapons in any case whatsoever. 
 
 " But that he has been for nearly nine years a member !» 
 good and regular standing of a Christian Community whose 
 religious confession of faith and practice pledges its members 
 ' never to kill, injure, or harm any human being, even their 
 worst enemy.' 
 
 "That in accordance with his highest convictions of duty 
 and his sacred pledge as a member of said Community, he has 
 scrupulously and uniformly abstained from participating in the 
 state and national governments under which he has lived — not 
 only foregoing the franchises, preferments, emoluments, and 
 advantages of a constituent co-governing citizen, but also the 
 privilege of righting his wrongs by commencing suits at law, 
 and of calling' on government for protection against threatened 
 violence — in order thereby to avoid making himself morally 
 responsible for their constitutional dernier resorts to war, capi- 
 tal punishment, and other kindred acts, and also to commend 
 to mankind by a consistent example those divine principles 
 which prepare the way for a higher order of society and gov- 
 ernment on earth. 
 
REMONSTRANCE AND PROTEST. 451 
 
 "That, nevertheless, it is one of the cardinal Christian prin- 
 ciples to respect existing human government, however imperfect, 
 as a natural outgrowth and necessity of society for the time 
 being, subordinate to the providential overrulings of the 
 supreme divine government, and therefore to be an orderly, 
 submissive, peaceable, tribute-paying subject thereof; to be no 
 detriment or hindrance to any good thereby subserved; to 
 countenance no rebellion, sedition, riot, or other disorderly 
 demonstration against its authorities; to oppose its greatest 
 abuses and wrongs only by truthful testimony and firm, moral 
 remonstrance; and in the last resort, when obliged for con- 
 science' sake to non-comply with its requirements, to submit 
 meekly to whatever penalties it may impose. 
 
 "That with such principles, scruples, and views of duty, he 
 can not conscientiously comply with the demands of this Con- 
 scription Law, either by serving, as a soldier or by procuring a 
 substitute. Nor can he pay the three hundred dollars of com- 
 mutation money which che law declaratively appropriates to 
 the hiring of a substitute, except under explicit remonstrance 
 and protest that the same is virtually taken from him by com- 
 pulsion lor a purpose and use to which he could never volun- 
 tarily contribute it, and for which he holds himself in no wise 
 morally responsible. 
 
 "And he hereby earnestly protests, not only for himself but 
 also in behalf of his Christian associates and all other orderly, 
 peaceable, tax-paying, non-juring subjects of the government 
 of whatever denomination or class, that their conscientious 
 scruples against war and human life-taking, ought, in justice 
 and honor, to be respected by the legislators and administrators 
 of a professedly republican government; and that, aside from 
 general taxation for the support thereof, no person of harmless 
 and exemplary life who is conscientiously opposed to war and 
 deadly force between human beings, and especially no person 
 who for conscience sake foregoes the franchises, preferments, 
 privileges, and advantages of a constituent citizen, ought ever 
 to be conscripted as a soldier, either in person or property. 
 
 " Kow, therefore, I, the said John Lowell Hey wood, do pay the 
 three hundred dollars commutation money to the government, 
 of the United States, under military constraint in respectful 
 submission to the powers that be, but solemnly protesting 
 against the exaction as an infraction of my natural and inde- 
 feasable rights as a conscientious, peaceable subject. And for 
 the final vindication of my cause, motives, and intentions, I 
 appeal to the moral sense of all just men, and above all to the 
 inerrable judgment of the Supreme Father and Kuler of the 
 
452 AUTO-BIOGRAPHr OF ADIN BALLOU. 
 
 "Subscribed with my hand at Hopedale, Milford, Mass., this 
 18th day of August, A. D., 1863. 
 
 " John Lowell Heywood." 
 
 The arrangement by which I was to supply the pulpit 
 at Hopedale one-half the time continued till the close of 
 the year 1865, my other Sundays being occupied else- 
 where, usually in neighboring towns or localities not very 
 far from home. The month of September of the year 
 mentioned, I spent in part at Southold, L. I., with my 
 esteemed friends, Joseph H. Goldsmith and wife, and in 
 part with the family of my equally esteemed friends, Dr. 
 Hem-y T. Child and wife, in Philadelphia, preaching and 
 lecturing upon my favorite themes several times during 
 each week as opportunity offered. The kindness and 
 hospitality of these friends at this and other times are 
 among the most cherished memories of my life. 
 
 While on this visit to Philadelphia, I was privileged to 
 attend a most wonderful musical exhibition given at Con- 
 cert Hall by the then celebrated '" Blind Tom," as he 
 was called — a rustic negro formerly- a slave but recently 
 set free by the famous " Emancipation Proclamation " of 
 President Lincoln. There was nothing in the performer's 
 external appearance to indicate unusual powers of any 
 sort, but that he was a prodigy in his art no one who 
 saw and heard him could question. He was but a youth, 
 less than twenty years of age, and had received nothing 
 -that could be termed a musical education. But as a 
 pianist his accomplishments were marvelous, while his 
 TTOcal renderings were scarcely less than that. He sur- 
 prised and delighted his auditors by his execution of 
 popular airs as well as pieces of his own composition. 
 Two of the latter — one entitled "The Thunder-storm," 
 and the other, "When This Cruel War is Over" — were 
 of surpassing excellence. Some of his feats with voice 
 and instrument were as unique as they were astonishing. 
 He imitated the common music-box with unaccountable 
 precision; produced "Yankee Doodle" in a reversed posi- 
 tion, his hands being behind him; and, to crown all, 
 
A MEMORABLE INCIDENT. 453 
 
 played one tune with his right hand, another with the 
 left, while a third was sung by him — all going on simul- 
 taneously. Here were modern miracles indeed ! I could 
 but think that ' ' Blind Tom " was a medium for some 
 musical genius of the unseen world. 
 
 ■A year later, in September, 1866, I repeated the visits to 
 both Southold and Philadelphia, accompanied by my wife, 
 to the great satisfaction and enjoyment of both of us. A 
 peculiarly interesting incident occurred at the former place. 
 By special invitation I attended a temperance meeting 
 in the Presbyterian church one evening, and made a brief 
 address in connection with other speakers. During a 
 little pause in the proceedings, a stranger came forward 
 unannounced and delivered a most charming speech. The 
 audience was greatly pleased and when he closed called 
 for the unknown man's name. With modest reluctance 
 he at length said, "Andrew Leighton of Liverpool, Eng- 
 land." I was surprised beyond measure, for I had 
 corresponded for some years with Andrew Leighton and 
 had longed to see him but never expected to enjoy 
 that privilege. And now, without any forewarning or 
 intimation that he was within three thousand miles of 
 me, he was standing in my very presence. The reader 
 can judge of the fervor of the greeting we gave each 
 other at the <5lose of the exercises, which took place 
 immediately, and of the mutually gratifying interview we 
 had afterward at the house of friend Goldsmith. It 
 seemed that Mr. Leighton had been called suddenly to 
 America for business purposes. Determining to see me, 
 he went to Hopedale to learn of my absence and where- 
 abouts. Hurrying on to Southold, he traced me to the 
 temperance meeting, heard me speak, and finally made 
 himself known in the way indicated. He proved to 
 be a very intelligent, large-minded, companionable gentle- 
 man, well informed upon subjects in which I was 
 interested, and ready in conversation, which he enlivened 
 with choice anecdote, poetry, and song. He remained 
 with us only about twenty-four hours, which he rendered 
 
454 AUTO-BIOGRAPHY OF ADIN BALLOTT. 
 
 memorable by the richness and variety of his communi- 
 cations and the warmth, generosity, and nobleness of his 
 spirit. He left Southold for Boston and I never saw 
 him more. 
 
 During the' then current year I was occupying the pulpit 
 at Hopedale three-fourths of the time, being the only 
 regularly-employed minister of the Community, which still 
 had a name to live and still continued to make provision 
 for the moral and religious activities of the place. My 
 son-in-law with whom I had been so long associated in 
 the work of the ministry there, had withdrawn entirely 
 from the field, having been settled as pastor of the First 
 church and society of Scituate, Mass. At the opening 
 of the year 1867, I was invited to preach at home all the 
 time, my salary, which had been five dollars per Sunday 
 in 1864, eight dollars in 1865, and twelve dollars in 
 1866, being fixed at fifteen dollars, or seven hundred and 
 eighty dollars for the year — no provision being made for 
 a vacation. 
 
 On the 26th of May and 9th of June, 1867, respectively, 
 I delivered two carefully prepared discourses in the Hope- 
 dale church which were deemed worthy of publication. 
 They were entitled " Human Progress iu Respect to 
 Religion." The first was upon " The Tendency of the 
 Age to Dispense with the Specialties and Personal 
 Responsibilities of Religion " ; the second ou ' ' The Ulti- 
 mate Convincement of Progressive Minds in Favor of the 
 Pure Christian Religion and Church." These discourses 
 were put into tract form and distributed far and wide in 
 the general community. There was urgent need of the 
 lessons and admonitions which this tract contained in 
 1867 ; there is no less need in 1890, and I apprehend this 
 will be the ease far on in the indefinite future. 
 
 As time advanced, the disproportion between the num- 
 ber of members of the Community resident in Hopedale 
 and the number of persons who were not members was 
 continually increasing, until it came to pass that the latter 
 were greatly in the majority. And yet these had no voice 
 
THE HOPEDALE PARISH. 455 
 
 "in the management of the general affairs of the place, 
 and especially of those pertaining to moral and religious 
 •culture and to the institutions and activities by which the 
 moral and religious interests of the people at large — non- 
 members as well as members — were to be fostered and 
 perpetuated. There was seen to be an inequality — a 
 wrong in this state of things whieh ought to be remedied. 
 "Those outside of the Community, technically speaking, 
 were practically as much concerned in the moral and 
 spiritual interests of the village — in public and private 
 virtue and piety — as those inside, and should, as a 
 matter of right, be priA-ileged to act in reference to them — 
 should be allowed to co-operate with their fellow residents 
 in guarding and promoting them. This was recognized 
 and conceded on all hands, and it was generally felt that 
 some change was needed to meet the requirements of the 
 •case — some new method of administration so far as 
 related to the things mentioned. 
 
 Hence, after due deliberation and conference, and with 
 the consent of all interested parties, there was organized 
 in the month of October, 1867, what was called " The 
 Hopedale Parish," whose membership was composed of 
 persons outside as well as inside the pale of the Com- 
 Tnunity — of all in the place who desired to unite and work 
 together, as set forth in the constitution, for the moral 
 and religious education and improvement of all classes of 
 the population and for the public welfare and happiness. 
 This being done, the Community, in its distinctive capac- 
 ity, transferred its powers and responsibilities in the 
 matters indicated to the Hopedale parish, which at once 
 •assumed them and entered upon the discharge of the 
 involved trust. Everything was settled to the satisfaction 
 •of those concerned, and the regime then established has 
 continued to the present day, as it is likely to continue 
 indefinitely in days and years to come. 
 
 This being accomplished, largely through my agency and 
 by my advice, the next question of importance to me was 
 ■*'What am I now to do?" — a question which pressed 
 
456 AUTO-BIOGRAPHY OF ADIN BALLOU. 
 
 heavily upon my mind and heart. I pondered it seri- 
 ously and prayerfully before answering it and deciding 
 upon my future course. My high convictions of truth 
 and duty and my manner of life for many years had 
 unfitted me to resume the pastoral oflSce under the aus- 
 pices of any denomination involved in the maintenance 
 of the existing order of society ; and I saw no oppor- 
 tunity of renewing the Community experiment elsewhere 
 with the least hope of success. Moreover, my surviving 
 friends in the village and what remained there as the 
 result of my long-continued struggles, seemed to deserve 
 my sacred regard ; so that when the unanimous desire of 
 the parish, including the new as well as the old settlers, 
 was expressed that I should be their sole preacher for 
 the immediate future, accompanied by an urgent invita- 
 tion to that effect, I deemed it wise and right to accept 
 and occupy the field of service thus opened to me. This 
 was done with a full and fair understanding that I was 
 to be as independent, outspoken, and free under the new 
 system as I always had been under the old — as true to- 
 my own convictions and to the Master in whom I believed 
 and whom I professed to follow. Not the slightest intima- 
 tion was given me then or ever after that I would b& 
 expected to change or suppress any of my long-cherished 
 ideas, principles, or peculiarities. And though the wind and 
 tide were so obviously against me — so decidedly favorable 
 to the established order of civilization that I had little 
 to hope for a truer, a more Christian one, yet I felt that 
 I could do something to preserve the fruit of my labors 
 from utter extinction in the locality where they had 
 been chiefly expended, or at least be able to transmit the 
 memorials of them to coming generations. I thought that 
 in addition to my covenanted pulpit work, which I was 
 bound to perform faithfully, I might command the time 
 and means of writing a truthful history of a frustrated 
 experiment in behalf of a regenerated form of human 
 society, set forth the causes of failure and show how 
 they might be avoided, for the benefit of social reformei-s 
 
UNITED WITH WORCESTEK CONFERENCE. 45T 
 
 'in some age yet to be. And I furthermore thought that 
 I might find time and opportunity to prepare a series of 
 carefully studied expositions of my highest and best ideas 
 concerning some of the great questions of morals and 
 religion relating to the progress, welfare, and happiness 
 of mankind, for future examination and use. This I 
 finally resolved to do, hoping thereby to be of substantial 
 service to the world after I had passed to other spheres 
 of being — leaving behind me some of the fruits of my 
 inspiration and endeavor which would prove my life-work 
 less a failure than otherwise it might appear to be. 
 
 Three months after the inauguration of the new ecclesi- 
 astical regime, in January, 1868, the Hopedale parish, 
 with myself as pastor, was formally admitted to "The 
 Worcester Conference of Congregational (Unitarian) and 
 other Christian Societies," at a meeting convened in the 
 neighboring town of Westboro'. Our application had been 
 fraternally received at a previous session and we were 
 coi-dially welcomed to the fellowship of the body. As 
 the Unitarian polity imposes no creed, covenant, or strin- 
 gent conditions of afHliation upon either its individual 
 members or associated co-laborers, recognizing only a 
 general loyalty to Christ and his religion on the common 
 basis of the fatherhood of God and brotherhood of man, 
 we entered this new alliance on easy and satisfactory 
 terms — neither giving nor exacting specific pledges of any 
 kind. I was personally in no wise embarrassed thereby. 
 I was not required or expected to renounce or modify 
 any of my favorite beliefs, nor did I expect or require 
 others to renounce or modify any of theirs on my account. 
 There was mutual freedom, tolerance, friendliness. On 
 many points of theology and morality there was entire 
 harmony, theoretically, between me and my new allies. 
 Among both clergy and laity of the conference I had 
 many old acquaintances — some of them temperance, anti- 
 slavery, and peace reformers — between whom and myself 
 there existed sincere respect and confidence. So the 
 dominant condition and aspect of things was pleasant to 
 
458 AUTO-BIOGRAPHY OF ADIN BALLOU. 
 
 me and promised a chance for me to infuse wholesome' 
 leaven into the general body to which I became attached, 
 without compromising myself or my sacredly cherished 
 principles. At any rate, we could work harmoniously 
 together for the common good and aid each other in pro- 
 mulgating among our fellowmen the distinctive doctrines 
 and ideas of a rational, liberal, practical Christian faith. 
 Such were the reasons for the step thus taken as they 
 lay in my own mind, and if the good resulting from it 
 did not realize all I desired, probably I could not have 
 done better. I have always been treated with the utmost 
 kindness and hospitality by my Unitarian brethren and 
 sisters, and they have listened to my testimonies with 
 attentive and gratifying interest, even when they could 
 not accept them in all their bearings and applica- 
 tions. 
 
 I had been invited by the proper conference authorities 
 to deliver an address at the opening session of the meet- 
 ing referred to, which was held on the evening before our 
 parish was admitted to membership. I accepted the invi- 
 tation, presenting my views of the objects, principles, and 
 methods which T believed all followers of Christ ought to 
 ■co-operate in maintaining, prosecuting, and carrying out 
 to their legitimate practical results. My effort was appre- 
 ciated beyond my highest anticipations. Not only was 
 the usual vote of thanks accorded me, but a copy of my 
 -discourse was requested for publication in the Christian 
 Register. I cheerfully granted the request, furnishing the 
 xiesired copy for the editor, who accepted it and gave it 
 A place in his issue of Feb. 22, 1868. It was entitled, 
 " The World's Need of the Church," and was designed to 
 be, as I believe it was, a systematic, comprehensive, and 
 incontrovertible vindication of the church of Christ as a 
 redemptive force in human society ; as an institution estab- 
 lished in the nature of things and ordained of God for 
 'the enlightenment and regeneration of mankind. 
 
 I was now in full charge of the Hopedale pulpit and 
 jof the general moral and religious activities connected 
 
WORKING FOR THE FUTURE. 459 
 
 therewith, to the duties of which I addressed myself with 
 diligence and zeal. I labored assiduously both at the 
 sacred desk and in the Sunday-school to impart a high 
 order of instruction to old and young, — sound, uncom- 
 promising Practical Christianity, amply illustrated and 
 Judiciously applied. I could not have striven harder if I 
 had served a very large, sympathetic, enthusiastic congre- 
 vgation in one of our prosperous cities. Instead of this, 
 I had but a small audience, respectful indeed, yet only 
 partially sympathetic and responsive to my -utterances, 
 "with little manifestation of interest and zeal in the work 
 I was trying to do. I preached and taught the gospel 
 -of the new life, individual and social, for I could preach 
 and teach no other. But more than half my people were 
 committed to the old milito-political dispensation of the 
 unregenerate world, and the minority, holding still to their 
 former faith in something better and more Christ-like, ■ 
 were powerless against the receding tide. The currents 
 of the home, the school, the market, the shop, the street, 
 ■were against me for the most part, and were augmented 
 -by the dominant forces of the great world outside, neut- 
 jalizing nearly everything I had to say or do. I was 
 often made to feel that I was trying with all my heart 
 to promote what most of those before me deemed imprac- 
 ticable and were invincibly pre-committed to disregard. 
 But I did not see what I could do different or better. So 
 I kept on, often with a sick and fainting heart. 
 
 In this condition of things, I was more and more 
 impelled to contemplate the future, and to live and labor 
 for coming generations. I gave up expecting to accom- 
 plish much for the reformation of my fellowmen in my 
 natural lifetime and was led to devote more and more of 
 my energies and pecuniary means to the benefit of my 
 successors. Omitting no known duty arising from day 
 to day and from year to year, I yet worked steadily as 
 much as I could for the days and years ahead. To this 
 -end I busied myself in collating for preservation such of 
 jny published writings as I deemed worthy, adding thereto 
 
460 AUTO-BIOGRAPHY OF ADIN BALLOU. 
 
 from time to time such new matter upon important sub- 
 jects as I was able to prepare. 
 
 In 1868, by special request of Mr. C. C. Drew, pub- 
 lisher of the Milford directory, I wrote for his work a 
 rudimentary sketch of the town's history, including an 
 appropriate notice of the Hopedale Community. This was 
 the crude beginning of my voluminous "History of Mil- 
 ford," given to the public some years aftei-watd. During 
 the years 1869-70, I prepared with great care and put in 
 manuscript a series of twenty discourses, which I first 
 delivered from my pulpit, and, two years later, pursuant 
 to my original design, caused to be published in a 12mo. 
 volume of three hundred and thirty-one pages. The 
 work bore the following title: "Primitive Christianity 
 and its Corruptions : Department of Theological Doctrines, 
 etc." It was intended to be the first of three volumes 
 on the same general subject — the other two to be made 
 ready for the press subsequently as opportunity offered — 
 the second to treat of " Personal Righteousness," and 
 the third of " Ecclesiastical Polity." These were written 
 in due time, as will be noted hereafter, and are still in 
 manuscript. I have provided for their publication after 
 my decease. 
 
 In 1871 I had occasion to correct a long series of mis 
 representations which had appeared from time to time in 
 the periodicals of the Universalist denomination concern- 
 ing the Restorationist secession of 1831. The last 
 appeared in the Universalist, the 'Boston organ of the 
 sect, January 21. The entire list had been characterized' 
 by a disregard of facts and by gross disparagement and. 
 contempt of the seceding brethren. I had read many of 
 these offensive diatribes with disgust and indignation, but 
 kept silent, hoping they would die without special contra- 
 diction. But this fresh outburst of perversion and abuse 
 led me to think that my hopes were vain, and to fear 
 that these manifestos were likely to become chronic falsi- 
 fications of history and go down to the unsuspecting 
 future as trustworthy recitals of what had transpired. I 
 
RELATIONS WITH THE UNITARIANS. 461 
 
 d_etermiued, therefore, if possible, to correct them, espe- 
 cially as I was one of the few survivors of the maligned 
 party, and master of all the facts of the case. I accord- 
 ingly solicited the privilege of making the correction in 
 the columns of the- paper in which the offence was last 
 committed. The favor was granted and I furnished two 
 articles reviewing the whole matter and giving a brief 
 but effective statement of it which seemed to be accepted 
 as satisfactory — which, at any rate, silenced our detractors 
 forever. The articles appeared in the issues of the Urd- 
 versalist for February 11 and 25 of the year mentioned. 
 In connection with the various labors thus noted, I 
 kept up my usual round of weddings, funerals, and 
 friendly visitations in my larger parish of the neighbor- 
 ing towns, and rendered many miscellaneous services as 
 speaker at home and abroad on occasions of a religious, 
 reformatory, secular, and commemorative character, ' to 
 "Which I can only incidentally refer. My correspondence 
 was still large, and I was still beset by visitors from 
 near and far for conversation and counsel upon matters 
 of religion, philanthropy, and reform, including inquirers 
 after the way of a better social life. I generally attended 
 the three sessions per year of the Worcester Conference 
 with my six parish delegates, and frequently took part in 
 the exercises. As a religious body, the Unitarians in some 
 respects were quite below my ideal of Practical Christianity. 
 I had no aflinity with the extreme radicals among them and 
 disliked their general indifference to questions of personal, 
 moral, and social regeneration, as I did their invincible 
 attachment, in common with all the sects, to the institu- 
 tions and customs of governmental civilization as it now 
 is. But they were an intelligent, tolerant, and courteous 
 people, having among them truly elect souls, with whom 
 I could heartily sympathize and co-operate for good and 
 noble ends. I was furthermore in full accord with them 
 in their great central idea of love to God and man as 
 the 'sum and substance of the religion of Christ. For 
 this reason I could not coalesce with the so-called Evan- 
 
462 AUTO-BIOGRAPHY OF ADIN BALLOU. 
 
 gelical sects, whose dogmas of limited probation and end- 
 less punishment are virtual denials of the universal divine 
 fatherhood — self-evident theological barbarisms which 
 logically destroy the moral character of God and poison 
 religion at its fountain head. Such dogmas I hold in 
 inconceivable abhorrence. 
 
 In respect to the Spiritualists as a body, I had become- 
 weaned from my former attractions to them and ceased 
 to attend their general public convocations. Not because 
 I had discarded one particle of the Spiritualism I had 
 ever believed in and advocated, but because I adhered 
 inflexibly to Jesus Christ as my religious Lord and Mas- 
 ter, superior to all spirits or spirit-mediuma of ancient 
 or modern times, and maintained that His expositions of 
 truth and righteousness were divinely authoritative. The 
 leaders and zealots of the spiritualistic gospel gave me 
 to understand that they wanted nothing of this Christly 
 supremacy. I therefore declined to urge it upon their 
 devotees, and having no relish for tJieir supremacy quietly 
 withdrew from their active fellowship and went about my 
 Father's business. 
 
 As to special reformers, they had mostly fallen away 
 from my high ideals of Practical Christianity. The Non- 
 resistants, with few exceptions, had failed in the hour of 
 trial and yielded allegiance to the war-god when with his- 
 battle-axe he cleft asunder the fetters of the slave. The 
 American Peace Society protested that it stood only for 
 international disarmament and arbitration, not for extreme 
 disuse of injurious force. A more radical movement. 
 The Universal Peace Union, was started, but with some 
 objectionable complications ; yet I took an interest in it, 
 lent it moderate support, and rejoiced in whatever of 
 good it was able to do. Anti-slavery had become apoth- 
 eosized by its war-power triumph and rested from its 
 labors. All that could be done in its behalf was to carry 
 relief to the freedmen, to which I contributed by words 
 and deeds. The temperance cause called for devotees, 
 and I gave it the support I could without involving myself 
 
WOMEN'S RIGHTS AND LABOR REFORM. 463 
 
 in its reliance upon penal laws, arbitrary exactions, and 
 final resort to violence. The same was true with the 
 cause of women's rights. When it became chiefly 
 absorbed in the question of suffrage and the use of the 
 ballot-box, I shrank back somewhat from it, yet never 
 abandoned the fundamental principles of justice and equity 
 upon which it was based, nor withdrew my admiration 
 from its more essential and distinguishing characteristics. 
 Finally, the working people's movement flung its standard 
 to the breeze and called for recruits to its heterogeneous 
 ranks. I was interested in its objects and professed 
 claims, as I had been in similar movements in America 
 and England for many years, and I studied and watched 
 it with sympathetic desire and hope. But I found in it 
 little of the spirit of fraternity, of co-operation between 
 the strong and the weak ; little of the spirit of Christian 
 brotherhood. It sought to level down but not up. Its 
 trust was in legislation and governmental coercion. The 
 sword was its dernier resort. It belonged to a moral and' 
 social sphere and to a field of reform from which I had 
 withdrawn forever. So with nothing but the best of 
 wishes for this and all other efforts to do good in the- 
 world, though by ways and methods which neither my 
 judgment nor my conscience could approve, I addressed 
 myself all the more devotedly to my own proper mission, 
 that of preparing the way for future generations to dwell 
 together as co-equal brethren and sisters of a common 
 family, — the loving children of the one heavenly Father^. 
 Thus I reached my birthday in the j'ear 1872. 
 
CHAPTER XXIII. 
 
 1872-1882.. 
 
 Primitive CHRiSTiANiTr — Milford History — Resignation 
 
 OF Pastorate — Editorial Note ^ Centennials — 
 
 G. A. R. Sermon — Shadows. 
 
 NEAR the close of the last chapter I spoke of the 
 preparation in 1870 of the first volume of my com- 
 prehensive work on ' ' Primitive Christianity and Its 
 Corruptions," to be completed ia two additional volumes 
 at some convenient subsequent date. In that initial 
 number of the series, which was entitled " Theological 
 Doctrines," I undertook to show how, from a very early 
 period in its history, the Christian church, through ignor- 
 ance, bigotry, and other agencies incident to an undevel- 
 oped, barbarous age of the world, had been diverted from 
 the simplicity tliat is in Christ and led to adopt doctrines 
 and beliefs which were not only an offence to enlightened 
 reason and a quickened moral sense, but a travesty on 
 the gospel as- Jesus taught and exemplified it. I also 
 endeavored to show that many of these early perversions 
 of Christianity had come down to our own times and 
 were still exerting a pernicious influence upon the faith 
 and life of mankind — dishonoring the character of the 
 heavenly Father and vitiating the primary conditions of 
 human welfare and happiness. The only formal literary 
 notice worthy of consideration which this book received 
 appeared in the Universalist quarterly for April, 1872. 
 It was from the pen of Rev. A. St. John Chambre, a 
 courteous, scholarly, conservative clergyman of ritualistic 
 tendencies, then in the ministry of the denomination indi- 
 
AN ANCIENT DOGMA REJECTED. 465 
 
 ■cated, but since gone over to the Episcopalians. He saw 
 little in my performance to approve, but much to con- 
 demn. He animadverted somewhat severely upon my 
 spiritualistic interpretations, my rejection of the dogma 
 of "the Immaculate Conception," and other points defi- 
 nitely taken by me. I could not regard his strictures as 
 just, discriminating, or valid, and they therefore brought 
 conviction neither to my understanding nor my moral 
 sense. I prepai-ed, not long after, a critical rejoinder to 
 his article, but as there was no good opportunity to give 
 it to the public, I stored it away for future use. Most 
 of the topics deemed objectionable by my reviewer are 
 treated in some other connection in this narrative and I 
 need not advert to them here. One of them, however, 
 not mentioned elsewhere, I will briefly notice — the doc- 
 trine of " the Immaculate Conception." I had been led 
 to set aside the accounts in the gospels of Matthew and 
 Luke on which that doctrine assumes to be. based, with 
 extreme reluctance — not at all from a general sweeping 
 disbelief in miracles, as they are termed, but solely on 
 the ground of irreconciliable contradictions in the accounts 
 themselves, which render them of doubtful origin, and of 
 the utter silence of all the other New Testament scriptures 
 concerning the matter. If it were true that Jesus was 
 born as the popular creedists claim, not in the regular 
 order of nature, but by gupernatiiral intervention, and if 
 this view is of the importance in the Christian economy 
 of redemption attributed to it, then the fact that it is not 
 once mentioned nor even alluded to by the other evangel- 
 ists or by St. Paul is most surprising and utterly 
 inexplicable. It is much more satisfactory to my reason 
 and moral judgment to regarrd the passages relating to 
 it as interpolations, agreeably to the conclusions of some 
 eminent biblical scholars, or as erroneous interpretations 
 of the actual facts in the case, than to accept the pre- 
 vailing views of the nominal Christian church. And 
 this I say while fully persuaded that the main body 
 ■of the New Testament is entirely trustworthy as to the 
 30 
 
466 AUTO-BIOGKAPHY OF ADIN BALLOU. 
 
 essential truth of the statements therein made. My onljr 
 exceptions are a very few passages obviously self-con- 
 tradictory or uncorroborated by collateral testimony in 
 the record. Most of what ultra modern critics discard 
 as untrustworthy iu these scriptures I adhere to with 
 unwavering confidence. I am particularly desirous of 
 being understood correctly in this matter of faith in the 
 reliability of the New Testament records. 
 
 At the regular meeting of the Worcester (Unitarian) 
 Conference held at Brookfleld in May, 1872, I, by invi- 
 tation, read- an essay upon "The Relation of the 
 Intellect and Emotions Respectively to the Development 
 of the Religious Life." The wording of the subject 
 enabled me to present to the assembled representa- 
 tives of the thirty or more societies of which the 
 conference was composed, my favorite idea that true 
 religion requires the co-ordinate and harmonious exercise 
 of the various faculties of the human understanding- 
 and those of the emotional nature usually termed the 
 sentiments. The purport of what I said may be deduced 
 from my opening sentences: — "If we should find a per- 
 son intelligent and rational, honest and conscientious, 
 benevolent, considerate, and kind unto others ; reveren- 
 tial toward God and divine things, devout, spiritually 
 minded, exemplary in all the duties of true morality 
 and piety, we should say the .religious life was well 
 developed in such a person. If we could find a whole 
 society or denomination exhibiting generally these char- 
 acteristics, we should pronounce the same verdict upon 
 those composing it, collectively considered. On the 
 other hand, if we should find individuals, societies, and 
 denominations intelligent and rational, with a decent 
 morality and ordinary philanthropy, but lax and indif- 
 ferent in respect to religious duties and especially to 
 devotional exercises, we should say there was an 
 imperfect development of the religious life. Or if we 
 should meet another class, very devout and zealous 
 according to the fashion of their sect, yet unintelligent,. 
 
PAROCHIAL CHRISTIAN UNION. 467 
 
 coatemnors of liuman reason, bigoted and superstitious, 
 not over moral in their common life, denouncing homely 
 good works as of little worth in the sight of God, we 
 could justly affirm the same concerning them. They, 
 with the others, would exhibit a very one-sided and 
 defective religious development." These thoughts were 
 elaborated, illustrated, and applied along the lines indi- 
 cated, giving the reader a general conception of my 
 effort on the occasion, concerning which I need not 
 enlarge. 
 
 In my endeavors to discharge the duties devolving 
 upon me as pastor of the Hopedale parish and as in 
 some sense the guardian of the moral and religious 
 interests of the people of the village, I was led to see 
 the need of some more definite, positive, direct methods 
 of culture and inspiration than the ordinary exercises of 
 public worship and the Sunday-school afforded, and of 
 a closer personal relation between me and the objects 
 of my charge than as yet, under the new dispensation, 
 had been enjoyed. With a view of supplying that need, 
 I made a serious attempt early in 1873 to establish a 
 "Parochial Christian Union," which I hoped might grow 
 into an institution of. permanent value, mentally, mor- 
 ally, religiously, and socially considered, to our entire 
 population. I flattered myself with the idea that some- 
 thing of the kind would bring different classes together 
 for purposes of self-improvement, developing in them 
 the spirit of mutual helpfulness and aspirations after a 
 higher and a better life. I therefore drew up a well- 
 devised constitution as a basis of co-operative action, 
 and calling those together who felt as if they could be 
 interested in and profited by such a movement, went so 
 far as to organize a small body of volunteers under its 
 provisions. A few meetings were held and some steps 
 were taken to put its proposed methods of study and 
 discipline into practical operation. But it did not strike 
 the popular mind favorably, it received no encourage- 
 ment from influential quarters, and it had too small a 
 
468 AUTO-BIOGRAPHY OF ADIN BALLOU. 
 
 number of competent adherents to work its machinery 
 with satisfactory results. After a brief trial the effort 
 was given up. There was no doubt of the intrinsic 
 importance of the objects contemplated and no defect 
 appeared in the plan or proposed methods of operation, 
 but like many of my previous devices for doing good, 
 it looked well on paper but failed when an attempt 
 was made to put it to practical use, for want of appre- 
 ciative, capable, and faithful devotees. Disappointed 
 once more, I turned from special activities calculated to 
 benefit and bless those living in the present time, to 
 work with renewed diligence and zeal for what I 
 believed might benefit and bless unborn generations. 
 
 Soon after my discomfiture in this every way laudable 
 and praiseworthy undertaking, I, in the month of April, 
 1873, resigned my position as pastor of the Hopedale 
 parish and congregation. I did this partly because of 
 that discomfiture, which made me feel that the dominant 
 influences of the place were against me, neutralizing 
 my labors and thwarting my plans for carrying forward 
 the work to which I was called, and partly because I 
 had reached the age of 70 years and might be expected 
 to give way to a younger man, whose matter, manner, 
 and method would be more acceptable to the people 
 generally than mine. Much to my surprise, not only 
 was my resignation not accepted, but was met with a 
 remonstrance so unanimous, f)ositive, and urgent that I 
 immediately recalled it and settled down for another 
 term of service in my accustomed place — a term which 
 as the issue proved, was to continue for seven full 
 years more. But I never afterward ventured far out of 
 my conventional routine of prescribed pulpit and Sunday- 
 school labors — never renewed my endeavors to institute 
 any new methods of moral and spiritual instruction and 
 quickening, or any special social machinery for advanc- 
 ing the cause of virtue and piety, but going my own 
 narrow round of official duties, left my parishioners and 
 their dependants, to their already established usages and 
 
■ CORRUPTIONS OF PRIMITIVE CHRISTIANITY. 469 
 
 to such other training and discipline as might please them. 
 
 I was now at greater liberty than ever before to go on 
 with the work upon which my heart was so much set — 
 that of putting my thoughts and ideas upon matters per- 
 taining to human progress and redemption into proper 
 form for preservation and transmission to those who 
 might appreciate and use them after I should have passed 
 beyond the scenes and cares of earth and time. I had 
 already begun to elaborate and prepare for the press a 
 second series of discourses upon "Primitive Christianity 
 and Its Corruptions," which was to be published as Vol. 
 II. of my comprehensive work upon that general subject 
 and to bear the specific title of " Personal Righteous- 
 ness." This series, the several parts of which were 
 preached as sermons to my Sunday congregation, was 
 carried through to completion during the year, the more 
 important events and occurrences of which, so far as 
 concerned me personally, I am now recapitulating. It 
 was composed of twenty-eight discourses, each declaring 
 and elucidating some important point of Christian duty 
 as related to the individual man, woman, or child, the 
 whole making a manual or study of the special topic of 
 which it treats, symmetrical in statement and exhaustive 
 in argument and illustration. In it I was careful to set 
 forth, defend, and apply to human character and life the 
 distinctive morality of the New Testament scriptures, and 
 to show the corruption of the same in the theory and 
 practice of the nominal Christian church. I was especially 
 careful to emphasize and magnify those sublime duties of 
 piety and morality which have been most perverted and 
 disregarded by professing Christians, and which really 
 constitute the transcendent excellence of Primitive Chris- 
 tianity, as compared with all other moral and religious 
 philosophies and systems of the world. 
 
 It has been already slated that in 1868 the Hopedale 
 Community, by its proper officers, transferred all its 
 parochial prerogatives and responsibilities — the care of 
 the moral and religious interests of the village — to the 
 
470 AUTO-BIOGRAPHY OF ADIN BALLOU. 
 
 newly-formed parish, which at once entered upon the dis- 
 charge of the trust thereby imposed upon it. Five years 
 later, in December, 1873, the trustees of the Community, 
 as the custodians of its remaining possessions, conveyed 
 to the same authorities all their right, title, interest, and 
 control in, unto, and over Community Square and its 
 appurtenances, the meeting-house standing thereon, and 
 the Hopedale Cemetery, to be held, cared for, and used 
 by them and their heirs and successors after them forever. 
 There was still in the trustees' hands the " Soward fund," 
 so called, amounting to eight hundred dollars, the income 
 of which was to be expended for the mental and moral 
 improvement of the young through the agency of the 
 Sunday-school. This fund was made over to the parish 
 in December, 1875, which was the final transaction per- 
 taining to Community affairs — the closing act of the 
 drama of our new social state. Thus was the Hopedale 
 Community laid in its tomb and consigned to the keeping 
 of history. A few devoted survivors still live to hallow 
 its name and memory, but the multitudes who once knew 
 it heed not its ashes nor the memorials of its checkered 
 career. 
 
 The third and closing volume of my work on " Primi- 
 tive Christianity and Its Corruptions," was chiefly pre- 
 pared during the year 1874. It was entitled "Department 
 of Ecclesiastical Polity," and consisted of twenty-five 
 chapters devoted to organic church life and its bearings 
 upon sociological problems. Its grand aim was to show 
 what the primitive church, as instituted by its great 
 Founder, really was ; when and how it became deteriorated 
 and despoiled of its original character; and by what 
 means it can be regenerated, reconstructed, and perfected. 
 The general drift and purpose of its contents may be 
 gleaned from a few considerations derived from well 
 known facts of Christian history. • 
 
 The New Testament scriptures nowhere assert or assume 
 that Christ came into the world in order to prosecute his 
 saving mission to mankind by raising up and establishing 
 
UNFAITHFULNESS OF THE CHUKCH. 471 
 
 ■& church on the low moral level of carnal respectability, 
 Tvhich merely educates and ornaments the intellect, animal 
 propensities and powers, without transcending their 
 instinctive selfishness and brutality. Eeflned, cultivated, 
 polished, genteel selfishness and brutality are selfish and 
 iDrutish still — often intolerably so, in utter hostility to the 
 principles aqd spirit of the gospel. Jesus sought to lay 
 the foundations of a church which should be "the light 
 of the world" and " the salt of the earth," composed of 
 those who were "wise as serpents and harmless as doves," 
 who were "not of the world," but "chosen out of the 
 world" to redeem the world. But if the light "be hid 
 under a bushel" and the "salt have lost its savor" — 
 if the members of the church bearing his name illustrate 
 in their individual and social life no higher virtue and 
 piety than prevail elsewhere, must not moral darkness, 
 -corruption, and iniquity still reign? 
 
 What, then, are we to think of the nominal church t)f 
 "Christ as it is and has been ever since its union with 
 and practical surrender to the organized civilization of 
 the world under Constantine the Great in the fourth cen- 
 tury? Giving it all the credit which truth and justice 
 •demand, yet, as a whole, has it been essentially "of the 
 world," with the same general admixture of good and 
 evil, of righteousness and unrighteousness, which have 
 characterized the unregenerated governing classes of 
 society from generation to generation down the stream of 
 time. Its worthiest and most Christlike representatives in 
 all ages have been individuals, groups, and small sects — 
 mostly persecuted heretics or schismatics — who went to 
 the fountain head of Christian knowledge to learn what 
 truth and duty are and taught and lived what was there 
 revealed to them. It is these who have kept Christianity 
 in its primitive purity alive in the world, preserving it 
 from utter perversion or absolute extinction. 
 
 It is, however, claimed by some that the church is 
 greatly improved in these later days, having put away 
 many of the follies, absurdities, barbarities, iniquities. 
 
472 AUTO-BIOGRAPHY OF AD^N BALLOU. 
 
 which it tolerated and fostered a few centuries ago> 
 Perhaps so. But tried by the standard presented us in 
 the precepts and injunctions of Jesus, what is it now? 
 Do its leading denominations and their adherents scrupu- 
 lously exemplify almsgiving, prayer, religious duties and 
 observances in a way ' ' not to be seen of men ?" Do 
 they render no idolatrous worship to the god Mammon, 
 covet no property advantage over their fellows, and 
 bestow their superfluous wealth on needy, suffering 
 humanity for its relief and moral elevation? Do they 
 heed scrupulously the Savior's counsel, "Be ye not 
 called Rabbi, for one is your Master, even Christ," and 
 not only refrain from all efforts to obtain self-exaltation 
 and positions of superiority over their fellows, but use 
 whatever gifts or opportunities they may have that others 
 do not possess, not for their own emolument but for the 
 good of those less fortunate than themselves ? How much 
 regard do they pay to the command, " Swear not at all, 
 but let your communication be Yea, Yea, and Nay, Nay " ? 
 Do they renounce all resort to injurious and deadly force 
 in their treatment of offenders, love their enemies, bless 
 those that curse them, and continually endeavor to over- 
 come evil with good? It is true that many members of 
 the church at large are personally meek, generous, upright, 
 charitable, and faithful to most of the sacred trusts of 
 life, as is the case with some of the unchurched and 
 irreligious; yet vast multitudes of them — making up its 
 average constituency and determining its predominating 
 character and polity — are grossly recreant to their 
 acknowledged Lord's most sacred, important, and vital 
 principles, precepts, and commands, making solemnly 
 pertinent His condemnatory words, "Why call ye me 
 Lord, Lord, and do not the things that I say?" 
 
 To meet the exigencies of the case thus indicated and 
 the needs of the world, I, with much painstaking and 
 deliberate thought, made ready for publication the volume 
 mentioned, believing and feeling that I was thereby ren- 
 dering some effectual service to the cause of truth and 
 
HISTORY OF THE HOPEDALE COMMUNITY. 473 
 
 righteousness and storing up for future use counsel and 
 admonition calculated to aid in the ultimate enfranchise- 
 ment of humanity and in the building up of God's kingdom 
 on the earth. 
 
 This being accomplished, I set myself about writing a 
 detailed and authoritative " History of the Hopedale 
 Community" from the fli-st inception of it in 1840 to its 
 final extinction in 1875, through all its multiform phases 
 and vicissitudes. I felt that although the undertaking, 
 begun in all sincerity and faith, had met with disappoint- 
 ing and, in some respects, humiliating failure, it would 
 be a great misfortune to have its experience lost to the 
 annals of human progress and reform. I felt, further- 
 more, that no one was so familiar with its doings and 
 endeavors, its records and relics^ with all its affairs 
 from first to last, as myself ; and -that if I did not pre- 
 pare a memoir of it. and provide for having it put in 
 permanent form no one else would do it, and the whole 
 nobly conceived undertaking with all the aspirations, 
 hopes, struggles, achievements it represented, would fall 
 into oblivion and be irretrievably gone from the know- 
 ledge of men, or remembered only as another token of 
 human conceit, folly, and fanaticism. Unwilling that such 
 a fate should swallow up a movement characterized by so 
 much that was unselfish, exalted, and Christlike ; by so 
 much that promised only good and happiness to mankind ; 
 by so much worthy of grateful commemoration, I devoted' 
 what time I could command asi-de from that necessarily 
 taken up with other duties during the year 1875, to the 
 preparation of this work, bringing it to completion in the 
 January following. What I then wrote and regarded as 
 final has been supplemented by a brief addenda, compiled 
 from data not then in my possession, the whole going to 
 make a volume of considerable size, and one which I 
 trust will prove suggestive and helpful to social students 
 and reconstructionists in coming time. 
 
 At the urgent solicitation of the authorities and lead- 
 ing citizens of the town of Milford, I entered into an 
 
474 AUTO-BIOGRAPHY OF ADIN BALLOU. 
 
 eugagement iu the spring of the just-named year to write a 
 comprehensive history of that municipality, and soon after 
 took such preliminary action as seemed necessary to the 
 successful prosecution of the undertaking. It proved to 
 be a tedious and withal somewhat irksome task — a long- 
 drawn-out performance of literary plo.dding and drudgery. 
 I spent all the time and labor upon it which I could spare 
 from other imperative activities during the next six years, 
 receiving, as I proceeded, much valuable assistance from 
 my wife. My cares and responsibilities in regard to it 
 were much increased toward the last by my consenting to 
 act as chairman of the town's publishing committee, making 
 it incumbent upon me to look after many of the details 
 incident to the passage of the work through the press. 
 It was finally completed in all its parts in 1882 and 
 given to the public, with whom it won well-earned credit 
 as well as encomiums from those competent to judge con- 
 cerning that kind of production, it made a royal octavo 
 volume of eleven hundred and fifty-four pages, crowded 
 with historical, genealogical, and biographical matter, the 
 collection, arrangement, and writing of which required 
 immense toil, carefulness, and patience. This achieve- 
 ment was not in the line of religious and moral reform, 
 and so not a,ltogether to my taste and pleasure. It was 
 rather a business affair, entered upon mainly from the 
 motive of a moderate monied compensation to be added 
 to other small earnings and savings with which to pro- 
 vide for the printing and distributing of more important 
 "but less remunerative works directly promotive of human 
 regeneration, elevation, and happiness. It served this 
 purpose to a reasonable extent, was useful and gratify- 
 ing to the general public, compromised none of my con- 
 scientious scruples, and, on the whole, added to my 
 personal influence in fulfilling my recognized mission on 
 the earth. 
 
 I continued to discharge the duties of my position as 
 pastor of the Hopedale parish and allied congregation 
 ^lown to April 23, 1880, — my 77th birthday — when I 
 
RESIGNATION OF HOPEDALE PASTORATE. 475 
 
 finally resigned and closed my labors in that capacity, 
 though still remaining in service as minister-at-large in 
 the general community. This I did, not because I was 
 made to feel that I was no longer wanted as religious 
 teacher and guide, for I was always listened to with 
 respectful attention, CA-en by those who professedly and 
 practically could not accept or conform their lives to my 
 most pronounced testimonies, and treated with the utmost 
 kindness and cordiality in all my relations to and inter- 
 course with my employers and the people at large. Nor 
 was I ever, even by intimation, restricted in my freedom 
 of preaching, illustrating, or applying the gospel as I had 
 received and understood it. But I felt that at the age I 
 had attained it were better for all concerned that I 
 should be released from the routine of ministerial service 
 -which I had been following under then existing auspices 
 for thirteen years and under varying conditions for nearly 
 .sixty years ; and also that my hold on. the faith and con- 
 science of my parishioners was too weak to bring them 
 into working harmony with my highest convictions of 
 'Christian duty or to do them much good on the worldly 
 plane of individual and social life which they occupied 
 -and to which they were determinedly committed for the 
 Test of their mortal days — my preaching and the plain 
 requirements of the sermon on the Mount to the contrary 
 notwithstanding . 
 
 I was honorably discharged from the pastoral office, 
 agreeably to my expressed desire and purpose, and 
 through the influence of my ever kind friend, George 
 Draper, was made the recipient of an annuity of four 
 hundred dollars, to continue in quarter-yearly payments 
 to the end of my natural life. This annuity, though 
 ■coming nominally from the parish by a formal vote, was 
 nevertheless contributed by Mr. Draper until his decease, 
 And by the executors of his will afterward, agreeably to 
 a provision specifically made in that instrument. This 
 regularly received stipend, together with my small inci- 
 dental earnings, funeral and marriage fees, and the 
 
476 AUTO-BIOGRAPHY OF ADIN BALLOU. 
 
 savings of more recent years, augmented by the co-opera- 
 tion of a remarkably prudent wife, gradually overcame 
 the pecuniary losses which still followed me, enabled me 
 to meet all my financial obligations, placed me beyond 
 beggarly'dependence on others, and insured me a com- 
 petence for more unproductive years. It also furnished me 
 with means to answer the calls of incidental charity, to 
 contribute to worthy causes, and to reciprocate some of 
 the manifold expressions of respect and love shown me, 
 without fear of coming to want or subjecting myself to 
 special acts of self-denial as in former times. And what 
 was to me best of all, it gave me an assurance of having 
 something beyond the supply of my eaithly needs for the 
 promulgation of those divine principles which I had 
 labored so disappointedly to make subservient to the 
 uplifting and happiness of mankind, after I should have 
 passed away. This was to me a token of the good provi- 
 dence of my Heavenly Father which awakened in my 
 soul sentiments of profound gratitude and joy. It fulfilled 
 not only the assurance of Christ that they who seek first 
 the kingdom of God shall have all needful temporal 
 things added to them, but the promise repeatedly made 
 to me in moments of deep despondency and gloom by the 
 voice of the Spirit speaking to my inner consciousness 
 and saying, "I will never leave thee nor forsake thee"; 
 " My grace is sufficient for thee." Blessed be the name 
 of the Lord and His faithfulness forever and ever. Surely 
 my soul shall love and trust Him even in the valley and 
 shadow of death. 
 
 [Note. At this point of the narrative recorded in these pages, reached 
 on the 12th of July, 1890, the strength of the writer, which had heen 
 perceptibly falling for some months, so far gave way as to oblige him 
 to lay aside his pen for needed rest. He did this reluctantly and with 
 the earnest hope that a few days' respite from labor would revive hi& 
 energies sufficiently to enable him to resume his work and carry it 
 through to completion— a consummation he ardently desired to accom- 
 plish with his own hand. That hope, alas I was vain. Instead of the 
 anticipated restoration, he sank slowly into that confirmed but painless 
 illness which three weeks later terminated in death. This event left 
 the story of his long, busy life to be finished by another, who, while 
 he assumes the task with a sincere desire to discharge the trust imposed 
 
THE NATIONAL CENTENNIAL. ' 477 
 
 on him faithfully, yet feels his inability to fill the place of the auto - 
 biographer or do justice to that part of his career, small though it be, 
 which remains to be delineated. 
 
 Happily, however, he himself, although too weak to wield the pen, was 
 for some days so far in possession of his mental powers as to be able 
 to specify the more important things he wished to have mentioned in 
 what was still to be wi'ltten, which, with the aid of an elaborate diary, 
 will enable his representative not only to carry out the general purpose 
 of the work and so preserve its essential unity, but do it largely in the 
 original author's way and even in his own language. For much of 
 what follows is quoted from his exact words and what Is not is dic- 
 tated by a careful study of what he has left on record of himself. 
 Such being the case, the autobiographical character of the book is 
 preserved, although It will necessarily lack many observations and 
 reflections which the one of whom it treats would have introduced ; 
 much to the regret of his surviving friends and to the loss of the 
 reading public. With this note of explanation and an appeal for the 
 kindly indulgence of all concerned, the narrative proceeds to the 
 end.— Editor.] 
 
 As no reference has thus far been made to a memorable 
 occasion in the' annals of the town in which the auto- 
 biographer had been a resident for nearly sixty years 
 and to the prominent part he took therein, it seems to be 
 the first duty of his deputy to take appropriate notice of 
 the same and make record accordingly. On the 4th of 
 July, 1876, the one hundredth anniversary of the signing 
 of the Declaration of Independence was patriotically 
 observed in all the larger municipalities of the land. The 
 citizens of Milford made arrangements for contributing to 
 the general demonstration of festal joy, resulting in what 
 the Journal characterized as " the most imposing and 
 successful celebration ever witnessed in the vicinity." 
 Mr. Ballon, who had already begun to collect material 
 for his history of the town, was very properly honored 
 with an invitation to deliver the principal address of the 
 day. The invitatibn was accepted and the involved duty 
 faithfully performed. The orator, in what he had to say, 
 re^dewed briefly the circumstances attending the early 
 occupancy of the territory then known as the "Easterly 
 Precinct " of Mendon ; the privations, struggles, and sacri- 
 fices of the pioneer settlers ; the incidents connected with 
 its incorporation ; the inception and growth of its various 
 industrial, educational, social, moral, and religious inter- 
 ests and institutions ; as he also portrayed its general 
 
478 AUTO-BIOGRAPHY OF ADIN BALLOU. 
 
 position and importance in the community at large and' 
 in the state and nation. Giving due credit to all who 
 had in any way aided in promoting the common prosper- 
 ity, and bringing to notice many things in the endeavors 
 and achievements of its population worthy of grateful 
 commendation, he, with characteristic regard for great 
 principles of moral and social order, pointed out existing 
 evils and defects, declared what in the body politic ought 
 to be outgrown or overcome, and closed with a few elo- 
 quent and incisive sentences setting forth the only 
 adequate remedy for whatever was working or threatened 
 peril and disaster to the public or private well-being and 
 happiness. In his peroration he referred a second time 
 to the courage, integrity, and faith of the founders of the 
 town, proceeding thence to say : 
 
 "Let us emulate their real virtues, their fidelity to their 
 light and privileges, and their Indomitable energy in overcom- 
 ing the difficulties of their lot. They exterminated the wolves 
 and rattlesnakes that infested this territory and turned its 
 rugged forests into fruitful fields. Be it ours to subdue our 
 own wild animal natures — the ravenous lusts and venomous 
 propensities and crude passions of the carnal man. Let us 
 dwell less In the basement and more in the upper story of our 
 natures. If we cannot wholly shun or remove the temptations 
 which are incident to material, intellectual, political, or social 
 progress, let us manfully resolve to overcome them by the 
 cross of rational and Christian self-denial. Herein lies the 
 remedy for the present threatening distempers of our whole 
 nation." 
 
 After indicating in a few terse passages the lofty and 
 splendid attainments of personal and social excellence to 
 which men are summoned "as children of the All-Father 
 and sympathizing fellow-members of the great human 
 family," he concluded as follows : 
 
 "This is the sublime march of moral progress that opens 
 before us. It comes next in order to the splendid material, 
 intellectual, and political progress we this day celebrate. Say 
 not it is impossible, unattainable. I tell you it is the will of 
 God — our duty, our privilege, our destiny. Therefore, let us 
 gird up the loins of our solemn .resolve, of reason, faith, hope. 
 
FRIENDLY MESSAGES EXCHANGED. 479- 
 
 charity. Our fathers were the heroes of the past; let us be 
 the moral heroes of the coming age. Let gratitude and a sense 
 of responsibility inflame our ambition to achieve a glorious and 
 God-approved future." 
 
 The oration was listened to with rapt attention and 
 received from various quarters appreciative commendation 
 "both for the matter embodied in it and its eloquent 
 delivery." It was published in full the following morning 
 in the Milford Journal and subsequently given a place in 
 the voluminous history of the town. 
 
 At the time of the centennial celebration of the incor- 
 poration of Milford, June 10, 1880, Mr. Ballou excused 
 himself from participation in the public exercises of the 
 occasion, save as a silent and deeply interested listener 
 and observer. He, however, contributed to its success so 
 far as to loan his manuscript history, then nearly ready 
 for the press, to the accomplished and patriotic orator 
 of the day. Gen. Adin Ballou Underwood, from which to 
 obtain data for his able, eloquent, and highly acceptable 
 address. 
 
 As has been repeatedly intimated in other chapters of 
 this work, Mr. Ballou, through his espousal of and labors 
 for the anti-slavery cause, became early acquainted with 
 the great champion of universal liberty, William Lloyd 
 Garrison, between whom and himself a friendship was 
 formed as lasting as life. Not that he was in any sense 
 a blind follower or partisan adherent of that distinguished 
 agitator, for he differed very radically from him in some 
 important particulars, as has been before shown ; but that 
 he believed in the man — in the purity of his motives, in 
 the disinterestedness of his purpose, in the intrinsic 
 excellence of his character, and in the grandeur of the 
 work he was commissioned to do for God and humanity. 
 Frequent correspondence was carried on between the two 
 while the conflict with the slave, system was going on, 
 and occasional missives passed to and fro ever afterward. 
 Some time in 1878, the year before Mr. Garrison's 
 decease, Mr. Ballou seems to have sent him congratula- 
 
480 AUTO-BIOGRAPHY OF ADIN BALLOU. 
 
 tions and kind wishes on some noteworthy occurrence in 
 his life, possibly a birthday, to which in due time came 
 ii response, accompanied by a picture of the eminent 
 civilian and philanthropist of Great Britain, George 
 Thompson, M. P., whom Mr. Ballou had met personally 
 on some of his visits to this country. The letter was 
 greatly prized by the recipient and will be read by the 
 friends of both him and its author with interest. 
 
 "Roxbury, Mass., Nov. 23, 1878. 
 
 " Dear Friend Balloxi : Keceiving your postal card with 
 its good wishes is next to seeing you face to face, which it 
 would give me very great pleasure to do, including your 
 estimable wife. The days of ' auld lang syne ' can never be 
 forgotten by me, when we were working actively together for 
 the promotion of temperance, justice, and freedom to the 
 southern bondmen, non-resistance, and practical righteousness 
 iii all iti bearings. Your labors and testimonies were of 
 invaluable service in enlightening the understanding, quicken- 
 ing the conscience, melting the heart, animating the spirit, and 
 giving a powerful impulse to the various philanthropic and 
 reformatory movements against which all ' the powers of dark- 
 ness ' were fiercely arrayed. Yours was the standard of immut- 
 able truth and absolute right, unflinchingly maintained by you 
 through trials and privations of no ordinary kind. I contem- 
 plate your whole life admiringly. It has been unreservedly 
 consecrated to the service of God and your fellowmen, with 
 patience, fortitude, courage, exemplary self-abnegation, and in 
 the spirit of all-embracing love. You have labored 'in season 
 and. out of season ' for the good of others, for the reconstruc- 
 tion of society on the basis of mutual rights, interests, responsi- 
 bilities, and duties after the exact pattern of ths golden rule; 
 for noble conceptions of the fatherhood of God and the brother- 
 hood of man ; for the largest freedom of thought, inquiry, and 
 speech in matters of religious faith and worship ; and for the 
 arrival of that blessed period when all wars shall cease through- 
 oat the earth and the kingdom of peace be established thereon. 
 
 " Nor have you labored in vain. On all these subjects great 
 advances have been made in public sentiment since you began 
 to bear those testimonies which o»n never return void, and 
 which, from your life and pen, have exerted a widespread 
 influence, multiplying converts and shaping human destiny. 
 Let this be comforting to you, even though your aspirations 
 and eflfbrts have failed to accomplish much that yoa had hoped 
 
RESPECTED BY ALL CLASSES. 481' 
 
 to realize before seeing the 'last of earth' and entering into 
 rest. You will pardon me for this expression of my feelings. 
 
 " I was sure you would feel gratified in receiving the very 
 striking heliotype of dear George Thompson, representing him, 
 as it does, almost in his prime. His was a most desirable 
 translation. With kind regards to your wife, I remain 
 " Yours in warmest fellowship, 
 
 " Adin Ballou. William Lloyd Garrison." 
 
 It is a noteworthy fact in the experience of Mr. Ballou 
 that by his high personal character, his Itind and courteous 
 bearing, and recognized purpose to be impartially just 
 and honorable in his treatment of all classes and condi- 
 tions of men, he was able to gain and retain the confidence 
 and regard, not only of those who were in hearty accord 
 with him in his distinctive principles and views, but of 
 those opposed to him in those respects — of those who 
 were sometimes brought into emphatic condemnation by 
 the practical application of his principles and views to 
 human conduct in the various interests and relations of 
 life. This was strikingly illustrated in the incident now 
 to be narrated. In the spring of 1879 he was invited, 
 agreeably to the prevailing custom in town, to take his 
 turn with other resident clergymen in addressing the Maj. 
 E. F. Fletcher Post, G. A. R., of Milford, on the Sun- 
 day preceding the approaching Memorial Day, when the 
 members as a body would attend the church in Hopedale, 
 where he was at that time the regular minister. The 
 invitation was accepted and a sermon was delivered " as 
 proposed on the 25th of May, a large congregation 
 besides the soldiery being present. To show how he 
 acquitted himself on that occasion — how he could be 
 true to his own avowed principles as a radical peace man 
 and at the same time address a company of men whose 
 organic existence not only implied the rightfulness of 
 anned resistance to enemies of the public order and wel- 
 fare, but was based upon the fact that those men had 
 been personally engaged in the work of human slaughter — 
 to show how he could do this without compromising him- 
 31 
 
482 AUTO-BIOGRAPHy OF ADIN BALLOU. 
 
 self and yet secure the approbation and continued regard 
 of his military hearers, liberal extracts from his discourse 
 are subjoined : 
 
 "Render, therefore, to all their dues; tribute, to whom tribute 
 is due; custom, to whom custom; fear, to whom fear; honor, 
 to whom honor." — Bomans, 13: 7. 
 
 " Christ, His apostles, and the primitive Christians took no 
 part in civil government, in war, in military affairs, or in poli- 
 tics, claiming to stand on a higher moral plane and to lead 
 mankind, by precept, example, and voluntary association, into 
 a state of universal brotherhood and peace. But it was one of 
 their settled principles to pay due respect to civil and military 
 rulers in their sphere, to be no detriment to civil societj', as it 
 necessarily existed for the world's general good under divine 
 providence, and scrupulously to fulfill their own grand mission 
 by peaceably showing a more excellent way of social order. I 
 have been endeavoring to stand faithfully and consistently on 
 this primitive Christian platform for over forty years, and 
 today I most firmly and sincerely believe it to be the highest 
 which any human being can occupy. Now you, military gentle- 
 men, have honored me with an invitation to preach you a sermon 
 appropriate to the Sunday next preceding your annual decora- 
 tion of the graves of your comrades who died in defending the 
 national union in the late gigantic civil war. You do not 
 expect me to be disloyal to my own long-declared standard of 
 Christian righteousness, but you have a right to expect me, in 
 accordance with a sacred principle of that standard, to render 
 to yourselves and those you represent due honor. I intend to 
 do so; how, then, shall I do it? 
 
 "In the first place, how am I to determine what honor I 
 owe you? By what moral standard must I measure your 
 deserts? There are three moral standards by which all men 
 may be justly tried: — first, the highest conceivable absolute 
 standard of righteousness, which I hold to be that taught and 
 exemplified by Jesus Christ; second, the commonly acknow- 
 ledged civil and moral standard of one's age and country; 
 third, the moral standard which an individual himself professes 
 to be governed by. 
 
 "This third standard may agree with the first or with the 
 second, or, on peculiar points, may differ from both. It is 
 strictly the standard of the individual whose highest convic- 
 tions of duty it declaratively expresses. No moral standard 
 measures any one's strict moral deserts in a particular case, 
 because personal circumstances always affect each individual's 
 
SERMON BEFORE E. F. FLETCHER POST. 483 
 
 merit or demerit. But any moral standard determines what 
 shall be considered right or wrong in human conduct under 
 that standard, and generally, to some extent, the merit or 
 demerit of actions. Now, for myself, I accept what I have 
 called the absolute standard of Christian righteousness as my 
 own. You must; therefore, measure my conduct by that 
 standard, giving me the benefit of palliating circumstances 
 whereinsoever I fall short of my own acknowledged duty. But 
 I cannot justly measure your conduct by this standard unless 
 you acknowledge it to be yours, which I take for granted you 
 haye not done. I presume your standard is the second one 
 stated, * viz : ' the commonly acknowledged civil and moral 
 standard of your age and country.' Therefore, I must measure 
 your conduct by that standard, and give you the benefit of all 
 mitigating circumstances whereinsoever you may have fallen 
 short of your acknowledged duty. Thus I shall obey the pre- 
 cept of my text, rendering to you your dues, and so honor to 
 whom honor. 
 
 "Under your standard, patriotism is an indispensable duty. 
 If not the highest, it is one of the highest civil and moral 
 duties. Such you doubtless regard it. Patriotism requires you 
 to stand by and maintain by force of arms and sacrifice of life, 
 if need be, the existence, integrity, independence, laws, govern- 
 ment, and honor of your country. The army, navy, militia, 
 and warlike resources of every country are pledged to all this. 
 All war rests for its justification on the rightfulness of self- 
 defence by deadly force whenever endangered by enemies. It 
 is deemed not only rightful, but aa absolute necessity in the 
 last extreme. The priuciple is the same for individuals, fami- 
 lies, communities, and nations. And whoever holds this princi- 
 ple at all, as a part of his moral standard, is logically bound 
 to hold it equally sacred in respect to individuals, families, 
 communities, and nations. 
 
 " Granting this civil and moral standard of your age and 
 country, which makes patriotism by deadly force in the last 
 extreme an indispensable duty, to be the one by which I must 
 measure your conduct, gentlemen, my duty is clear. You have, 
 under that standard, done great and noble service. So did 
 your comrades, whose graves you annually decorate with 
 flowers, and whose deeds you are in various ways endeavoring 
 to commend to posterity as worthy of patriotic imitation. 
 There are three classes to whom honor is due for services ren- 
 dered and burdens borne for their country, to make it triumphant 
 in the last memorable conflict. First, the soldiers who fought 
 its battles amid such peril of life, limb, health, and home com- 
 forts — many myriads of whom went down to an untimely 
 
484 AUTO-BIOGRA?HY OF ADIN BALLOU. 
 
 grave. Second, those who sympathetically contributed so much 
 of personal attention in the hospitals and on the sanitary com- 
 mission for the alleviation of soldiers' sufferings — in which the 
 women of the country exhibited such patriotic devotion. And 
 third, the mass of citizens and people who furnished warlike 
 supplies and have borne the inevitable burdens of consequent 
 taxation. Foremost of these classes, by common consent, the 
 post of honor belongs to the soldiers — and foremost among 
 these to their dead and crippled living. Your fellow patriots 
 have appreciated the services of their warriors none too highly, 
 but far better than such services were ever appreciated before, 
 since war on earth began. They have relieved, honofed, and 
 compensated them incomparably more justly than in any past 
 generation a nation ever did those of its fighting defendei-s. 
 Still, there remains, as results of the war, a vast amount of 
 privation, loss, and suffering, which can only be compensated 
 in some general way by. national good. Go, then, as you have 
 done for many a year in the vernal season, and commemorate 
 the fame of your fallen associates with your wonted floral 
 tokens. Go and teach posterity to serve and die for their 
 country in like manner so long as they profess to be governed 
 by the same civil and moral standard. And I, too, will accord 
 to the dead and living the tributes and honors which fidelity 
 to their own highest acknowledged standard of duty merits. 
 
 "But while I am bound to render these dues to others, I am 
 no less solemnly bound to be true to my own highest convic- 
 tions, under that absolute standard of righteousness which 
 enjoins pure good will to all mankind, friend and foe, and 
 which requires me to lay down my life rather than Intention- 
 ally kill, injure, or harm any human being." 
 
 The preacher then went on to re-afflrm his own long- 
 maintained views upon the subject of war and peace, 
 declaring his unfaltering conviction that the principles 
 involved in the Christian doctrine of perfect love to all 
 hiiman beings are true and invulnerable and will some- 
 time prevail throughout the world, and that his own well 
 known course of theoretical and practical fidelity to them 
 will at length be vindicated in the entire deliverance of 
 mankind from bloodshed and slaughter, and the universal 
 reign of amity and brotherhood. He concluded as 
 follows : 
 
 "I have respect enough for you, military gentlemen and 
 sympathizers, to believe that you understand my position, my 
 
SERMON CONCLUDED 485 
 
 ideas, my sentiments, and my exposition of the subject dis- 
 cussed. I trust, therefore, that our respect for each other Is 
 mutual and will remain forever steadfast. I have always found 
 those who had most distinguished themselves on the field of 
 battle and won laurels in war most ready to deprecate its 
 horrors. For they have seen and felt them. No great military 
 chieftain loves war for its own sake. Such define it only as a 
 necessity, and as the least evil in extreme cases, because the 
 world is not yet wise and good enough to do right without 
 martial compulsion. Well, then. If this is your best thought 
 and highest conviction, my riends, fight when you must, as 
 you have done, on the side of justice, freedom, and human 
 rights; and I will be one to render you due honor — judging 
 you by your own acknowledged standard of civil and moral 
 rectitude. In turn I trust you will reciprocate these sentiments 
 and bid me do my duty as I understand it; bid me be true to 
 my highest convictions ; bid me be faithful to mji- aclsnovvledged 
 standard; bid me serve my countrjf and humanity in the most 
 excellent way I can, conscientiously; bid me do what little I 
 may in my generation to fraternize our race, what little I can 
 to render war morally avertable, to spare you and the soldiers 
 of the future the sad necessity of sacrificing life in suppressing 
 the violence of public enemies, and of weeping with widows 
 and orphans over the graves of fallen comrades. And thus if 
 our paths of duty diverge in some important respects, may we 
 all unite in the one holy prayer of faith, hope, and charity : 
 ' Thy kingdom come; Thy will be done on earth as in heaven'; 
 singing with the poet: 
 
 " Let love and truth alone, 
 
 Hold human hearts in thrall; 
 
 That heaven its work at length may own 
 
 And men be brothers all." 
 
 Early in the year 1881 the subject of this life-history 
 passed through one of the most notable and trying experi- 
 ences of his whole mortal career — one which his own 
 graphic pen and that only could adequately describe. It 
 was occasioned by the serious and well-nigh fatal illness of 
 his devoted wife, from which she recovered in a marvelous 
 manner as if by some special healing agency or power 
 from on high. As far as possible, he will be permitted 
 to tell the story of the occurrence himself, liberal notes 
 concerning it being taken from his diary. 
 
486 AUTO-BIOGRAPHY OF ADIN BALLOU. 
 
 The first indications of the existence of the insidious 
 disease (pneumonia), he speaks of in his record of Thurs- 
 day, January 6, as follows: "Wife very busy upon a 
 letter to Abbie. Four o'clock finished it and I carried it 
 to the P. O. at once. She had written it seated by the 
 north side of the sitting-room, complaining of feeling 
 cold. She ate but little supper and soon began to be 
 sick at stomach, vomiting and shivering with increasing 
 chills. I was much alarmed and gave undivided atten- 
 tion to her." He assisted her in retiring early and 
 administered such palliatives or remedies from the house- 
 hold stock as seemed advisable. " But she passed a 
 miserable night, and I an anxious one," "praying for 
 relief but fearing the worst." 
 
 "The next daj', Friday, she seemed in the way of 
 recovery," and so continued until towards noon on Satur- 
 day, when unfavorable symtoms appeared and the family 
 physician. Dr. Jerome Wilmarth of Upton, was immedi- 
 ately sent for. He " came promptly, examined the sick 
 woman, pronounced one lung partially congested," and 
 prescribed accordingly. The night following " she rested 
 better than I feared." 
 
 Nevertheless, in spite of the acknowledged skill and 
 tireless attentions of the doctor, the best of nursing, and 
 the utmost solicitude and tender watching of relatives 
 and friends, the invalid gradually lost strength and 
 vitality for the week following, when she seemed past all 
 power of recovery. On Thursday, January 13, the 
 anxious husband writes: "Dr. comes; gives no hope of 
 dear sick wife. Oh, my sad heart !" 
 
 On the next morning the diary reads thus: "Wife is 
 much flushed with fever. Dr. pronounces her no better." 
 And, in the evening, after a second call, "He left, say- 
 ing she was worse and sinking." The husband and all 
 the household felt that she could not survive till morn- 
 ing. He retired to his chamber to get what rest he 
 could, having been promised that he should be notified 
 upon the slightest indication of the apprehended change. 
 
SERIOUS ILLNESS OF MRS. BALLOO. 487 
 
 "But before this," he says, "I had free though brief 
 interchange with wife in which she spoke beautifully of 
 her faith in the future, her resignation and confidence, 
 and also about what I should do when she had gone, 
 etc. She said she should be- as near me and as much 
 with me as permitted. All this was a great satisfaction 
 to me, for I could not bear to have her leave me under 
 a mental cloud. At the same time she expressed an 
 intuitive hope that she might be spared a little longer." 
 About this time the night-watcher, Mrs. Dutcher, brought 
 in a beautiful bouquet of flowers. "She was delighted 
 with it. She brightened up instantly and seemed almost 
 transfigured. At length I retired. I kissed her good- 
 night and went to my bed-chamber groaning in spiritual 
 prayer and dreading a summons to see her expire before 
 morning." 
 
 Happily this was not to be. The diary contains an 
 account of what transpired. " In the morning daughter 
 Abbie, who had been summoned to the parental home 
 some days before, came to surprise me with the news 
 that her mother had passed a remarkably, comfortable 
 night and that her symptoms were better. What trembling, 
 hopeful thanksgiving went up from my soul to heaven !" 
 *' Up a little past 7. Everything indicates that wife is 
 really better. But I must wait and see if Dr. confirms 
 it." "At length he comes, expresses a happy surprise to 
 hear so good reports of the patient's comfortable night, 
 examines her, and declares her to be decidedly better. 
 Blessed be the Most High God whose holy angels have 
 done what unaided man could not do. I will hope 
 reverently, with unspeakable thanksgiving, for brighten- 
 ing prospects." 
 
 Nor did he hope in vain. The crisis had indeed passed 
 and the course of the stricken one was thenceforth onward 
 and upward to health and strength again. Her recovery 
 was necessarily slow, but sure, with few if any, reaction- 
 ary and discouraging indications. Not many weeks elapsed 
 before she resumed the general charge of domestic affairs. 
 
AUTO-BIOGRAPHY OF ADIN BALLOU. 
 
 finally regaining iu large measure her accustomed health 
 and strength, though not her former power of endurance, 
 and these were continued to her until near the end of 
 her mortal pilgrimage, which occurred somewhat suddenly 
 at last, after two or three premonitory attacks, on the 
 7th day of August, 1891. 
 
 About a fortnight after the crisis just mentioned took 
 place, the convalescent, remembering that the anniversary 
 of the birth of her devoted daughter, who had been with 
 her during most of her illness, was drawing near, con- 
 ceived the idea of having the event celebrated in some 
 appropriate way, and, quite contrary to the judgment 
 and advice of both her nurse and husband, formed plans 
 for carrrying that idea into effect. The result can be 
 best learned from the diarist's own words, penned Janu- 
 ary 30, 1881, to wit: — "This is daughter Abbie's 52d 
 birthday, and wife, insists on giving her a surprise by 
 inviting in her kind watchers, making a parental present, 
 etc. I had doubted the propriety of this proceeding, 
 fearing wife could not stand the excitement. But she was 
 not to be overruled and I consented. It was a most extra- 
 ordinary, occasion. She had ordered preparations made 
 for a collation. . . I had written a congratulatory 
 note . . and enclosed a present, half from her purse 
 and half from my own, to be given her, the daughter, 
 during the exercises. The convalescent, chief of the occa- 
 sion, was bolstered up in bed and all of us (thirteen in 
 number) either seated or standing near. She opened the 
 proceedings with a very affecting speech, considerably 
 and pathetically broken by uncontrollable emotion. The 
 whole company was affected to tears and sacred impres- 
 sions were made. 1 followed with an address and the 
 final presentation of my note and its contents. Daughter 
 Abbie was deeply moved and made suitably appreciative 
 response. Then came reciprocal congratulations, etc., 
 succeeded by a repast, wife partaking with the rest. It 
 was a solemn, loving, sacramental communion, at once 
 tender, joyous, never-to-be-forgotten." 
 
GRATITUDE FOR WIFE'S RECOVERY. 489 
 
 This little episode, instead of overtaxing the sick 
 woman and hindering her progress healthward, as was 
 feared, seemed to inspire her with new courage and to 
 contribute substantially to her ultimate recovery. She 
 improved rapidly thereafter, and at an earlier day than 
 seemed possible was able to take her accustomed place 
 again in the domestic and social circle. G-ladder or more 
 grateful heart never beat in human breast than that of 
 Mr. Ballou at the denouement of this semi-tragedy — at 
 the providential averting of this threatened disaster to 
 his home and happiness. He ever afterward felt that on 
 the memorable night of the 14th of January, 1881, when 
 mortal help and hope failed, help from the unseen world 
 was granted to save the dearest one on earth alive to 
 him, that she might still share, with him the cares and 
 burdens of his lot, shed light and cheer upon his onward 
 way, aid him in the prosecution of the work he had in 
 hand, and by her kind and gentle ministry comfort and 
 gladden his last hours in the flesh, and finally smooth 
 his passage to the tomb. He was never able to speak of 
 this trying experience afterward without deep 'feeling and 
 some expression of the gratitude which the memory of it 
 kept ever alive in his soul. 
 
 Little more occurred during the decade covered by the 
 present chapter that requires extended notice. Most of 
 the time, as it drew toward its close, Mr. Ballou gave 
 to the completion of his "History of Milford," which 
 was published early in 1882. To gratify his prevailing 
 tastes, however, and further the supreme object of his life, 
 he would snatch a few hours now and then from the 
 swiftly passing days to prepare some paper or article upon 
 some of the great themes he deemed important to man- 
 kind — "salting down" his views, as he was accustomed 
 to say, for coming generations. In addition to the more 
 elaborate volumes mentioned in preceding pages, he pre- 
 pared in 1880 a review of an "Exposition of Matt. 
 16:26 by Rev. Hosea Ballou, 2d, D. D.," a theological 
 dissertation, and also a critique upon the same author's 
 
490 AUTO-BIOGRAPHY OF ADIN BALLOU. 
 
 interpretation "of the text, " Eesist not evil," the true 
 meaning of which he felt had been perverted or misap- 
 prehended by his esteemed kinsman. He also about the 
 same time reviewed a pretentious pamphlet entitled " Be 
 Thyself," by "William Denton, a popular lecturer upon 
 scientific, reformatory, and religious subjects, and pre- 
 pared an essay upon "The Importance of Deflniteness 
 in Religion,'' a favorite theme with him. 
 
 It may be stated in this connection that all through 
 the daily chronicles of Mr. Ballou, especially during the 
 later years of his life, there are to be found comments 
 and criticisms of greater or less length called forth by 
 ■current events^ topics of the times, utterances of the 
 pulpit and press, which may some day be gathered in a 
 volume and given to the public. The nature of such a 
 work can be determined by referring to some of the 
 more important themes discussed, to wit: "The Relation 
 of Science and Religion " ; " The Assassination of Presi- 
 dent Garfield"; "Anti-Christian Spiritualism"; "Judge 
 Wait's ' Christian Religion ' " ; " Proceedings of Unitarian 
 Conferences"; "Tendencies of Unitarianism " ; "The 
 •Office of Conscience and Reason " ; etc. 
 
 On the 22d of April, 1882, the day before he entered 
 upon the eightieth year of his age, Mr. Ballou made an 
 arrangement with his brother, Ariel Ballou, M. D., and 
 Hon. Latimer W. Ballou, a distant kinsman, both of 
 Woonsocket, R. I., whereby he engaged to compile and 
 edit an elaborate ' ' History of the Ballou Family in 
 America" on the one part, while they, on the other, 
 became jointly responsible for the cost of publishing the 
 same and for the payment to him of a moderate com- 
 pensation for his services. Of the details of this contract 
 and other matters pertaining to its fulfillment, due notice 
 will be taken in the next chapter. 
 
CHAPTER XXIV. 
 
 1882-1890. 
 
 ^ALLOU GrENEALOGY ToWN OF HOPEDALE Dr. EdDY 
 
 Tolstoi — Bereavements — Auto-Biography — 
 
 Advancing Years — Illness and Death — 
 
 Funeral. 
 
 fT^HE history of Milford was completed early in the 
 -•- year 1882, and at the date of the opening of this 
 •chapter had been widely distributed throughout the town 
 and vicinity. Mr. Ballou was therefore relieved of all 
 responsibility relating to the preparation and printing of 
 the volume, although, as a member of the publication 
 committee, he was not wholly free from the obligations 
 he had assumed in regard to it for several years after- 
 ward. He hoped and fully intended, when it was off his 
 hands, to devote himself to his auto-biography and to 
 such other writings as he ardently desired to execute 
 before his decease, and while in the full strength and 
 exercise of his powers of both body and mind. He did 
 not care to enter again upon any line of work outside of 
 bis own chosen pursuits or engage in any undertakings 
 which should divert his time and energy from carrying 
 his determined purpose into effect. It was not of his 
 own motion or choice, therefore, that he entered upon 
 the task of compiling and editing an extended genealogy 
 of the Ballou family akeady spoken of, but by the most 
 urgent solicitation of his highly esteemed kinsmen. Dr. 
 Ariel and Hon. Latimer Ballou, who were deeply inter- 
 ested in the matter and quite willing to meet all needful 
 
492 AUTO-BIOGRAPHY OF ADIN BALLOU. 
 
 expenses that might be incurred, and who felt that he, of 
 all the men they knew, was the one to have the matter 
 in charge. 
 
 The contemplated work had been begun many years 
 before by Ira Ballon Peck of Woonsocket, R. I., a 
 member of a collateral branch of the family, long and 
 meritoriously engaged in historical and genealogical labors 
 in other fields of inquiry. He had collected a consider- 
 able amount of information pertaining to the immigrant 
 -Maturin Ballon and his descendants, but advancing years 
 and lack of encouragement on the part of those more 
 immediately concerned induced him at length to desist 
 from further efforts in that behalf. What he had done 
 having been brought to the notice of the gentlemen men- 
 tioned, they negotiated with him for the transfer of all 
 the materials in his possession to them, with the under- 
 standing that it should be used and disposed of in such 
 a way as to best secure the end which both he and they 
 desired to have accomplished. This being done, they 
 made the contract with the subject of this biography 
 referred to near the close of the last chapter. The terms 
 of that contract were that they should deliver up to him 
 all the data — letters, family registries, copied records, 
 transcriptions, and papers of every kind — received from 
 Mr. Peck, and assist in obtaining further information of 
 the same sort ; and also assume all pecuniary obligations 
 incident to its preparation and publication, including the 
 payment to the compiler, once in three months, of a 
 salary equal to thirty cents an hour for time actually 
 expended ; excepting such sums, not exceeding ten per 
 cent of the aggregate amount, as he, of his own free 
 will, might be pleased to contribute to the undertaking. 
 [In the several settlements, it may be said, he voluntarily 
 made a reduction of fifteen per cent, instead of ten, the 
 limit formally agreed upon.] On his part, he was to 
 collect, collate, arrange, and put in proper form whatever 
 material, within reasonable bounds, could be obtained 
 in order to make the work comprehensive, thorough, and 
 
HISTORY "OF BALLOUS IN AMERICA. 493 
 
 symmetrical ; prepare it for the press ; superintend the 
 printing, proof-reading, binding, and, in fact, everything 
 necessary to its completion, making of it a volume well- 
 proportioned and attractive in appearance, acceptable to 
 his employers and to its patrons, and every way worthy 
 of an honorable place in the historical and genealogical 
 literature of the age. 
 
 Certain preliminaries being attended to, such as issuing 
 circulars asking for information, looking over the medley 
 of material furnished him for the purpose of ascertaining 
 to what extent it could be made to serve the end in view, 
 formulating plans for systematic labor, etc. , he entered 
 upon his task with great earnestness and zeal, and pushed 
 it forward towards accomplishment with all possible dis- 
 patch. Yet, as for many years before, the time he was 
 called upon to attend funerals, entertain visiting friends, 
 and answer demands of various kinds at home and 
 abroad, greatly interfered with regular consecutive work 
 and desired progress. But he toiled on amid a multi- 
 tude of delays, annoyances, and discouragements for six 
 long years, when he had the satisfaction of seeing the 
 end of his labors in that direction, and of feeling that his 
 efforts were crowned with success. He had produced a 
 volume of huge size, "much larger than any of us antici- 
 pated," the preface states, "containing more than twelve 
 hundred octavo pages, over nine thousand names, and 
 numerous artistic illustrations, printed and bound in 
 creditable style." It was a monument of painstaking 
 research, of unwearied toil, of scrupulous attention to 
 details, reflecting great credit upon its author and upon 
 all who aided him in bringing it to a successful issue. 
 
 It is eminently fitting and proper, as it is an act of 
 simple justice, to state in this connection that Mr. Ballou 
 was greatly assisted in the arduous task of producing 
 this volume by his devoted, faithful, efficient wife, Lucy 
 Hunt Ballou, whose services in looking over the manu- 
 script copy and preparing it for the press, in helping to 
 " correct the proof," in working upon the index, and 
 
494 AUTO-BIOGKAPHY OF ADIN BALLOU. 
 
 otherwise, were of indispensable value. Without her aid, 
 it would have been far more difficult, if not impossible, 
 for him to have done the work with that thoroughness 
 and accuracy which now characterize it, and which have 
 evoked from many quarters appreciative commendation. 
 To her effective co-operation, he himself bears willing and 
 grateful witness on the pages of the book itself. 
 
 The Family Burial Lot. In the early days of the 
 Hopedale Community, the founder, in concurrence with 
 his wife, whose judgment and wishes he was accustomed 
 to consult upon all matters of common interest, had 
 selected in the public cemetery a family burial lot, tO' 
 which was transferred soon after all that remained of the 
 mortal bodies of his first wedded companion and two sons, 
 previously interred elsewhere ; in which was deposited, 
 some years later, the manly form of his beloved Adin 
 Augustus, and where he and the still living partner of his 
 household expected in their turn to sleep the last sleep of 
 earth and time. The exact localities of the remains of 
 the departed had been marked by appropriate head-stones 
 suitably inscribed, that of Adin Augustus being the most 
 elaborate and artistic, as it was the most modern of 
 them all. It had, however, been for some time the desire 
 of both Mr. and Mrs. Ballou to have erected in the center 
 of the lot a more substantial and imposing monument, 
 representing the unity of the family and displaying more- 
 dignity, strength, and durability than those already stand- 
 ing within the confines of the hallowed place. Pursuant 
 to that desire, a contract was entered into on the 7th of 
 June, 1882, with Evans & Co. of "Worcester, mortuary 
 sculptors, by the terms of which they were to construct 
 and put in position a memorial column of a specified 
 design aid finish, the whole to be completed early the- 
 following autumn. The provisions of the contract were 
 fulfilled, and on the 20tli of October the structure was set 
 up in its designated place. It consists of a neat, pyra- 
 midal shaft, eighteen inches square at its lower extremity 
 and fourteen feet high, having a base of suitable propor- 
 
FAMILY BURIAL LOT. 495. 
 
 tions, with appropriate plinth and die, resting on a massive 
 pedestal, the whole being supported by a solid substruc- 
 ture, making it substantial, firm, and sure. On the front 
 or easterly face of the pedestal is the family designation,. 
 Ballou, in large letters, while above on different sides 
 of the base are inscribed the names of those buried 
 around and beneath, with the proper dates of birth and 
 death afHxed. The head-stones formerly standing remain, 
 and places of interment more recently occupied are simi- 
 larly marked. The central structure presents a majestic, 
 commanding appearance, due regard being paid to good 
 taste and artistic requirements, and is eminently typical 
 of him who was the head of the household group sleeping- 
 around — erect, calm, dignified, unmoved alike in sun and 
 storm, and ever pointing to the skies. 
 
 Essays, Dissertations, and Reviews. In whatever work 
 Mr. Ballou was engaged, his thought, when not otherwise 
 definitely occupied, turned instinctively to his first and 
 most constant love — to the contemplation of great princi- 
 ples of truth and righteousness, and to the devising of 
 ways and means by which those principles could be car- 
 ried out to practical issues and applied to the various 
 relations and concerns of individual and social life ; that 
 so mankind might be benefited and blest and God be 
 glorified. This was manifest not only in his private con- 
 vei-sation and public addresses, but in the casual products 
 of his pen. His ever-active mind was making continual 
 sallies into the realm of the infinite wisdom, gaining 
 fresh acquisitions of knowledge or formulating some new 
 plans for doing good in the world, the results of which 
 he was wont to commit to paper and file away for future 
 reference or use. The number of such productions would 
 astonish one not familiar with his life-habit in this par- 
 ticular. Without dwelling upon these, either separately 
 or in the aggregate to any great extent, it yet seems 
 proper that the titles of some of the more important of 
 those prepared during the few last years of his life 
 should be chronicled, and in certain instances the circum- 
 
496 " AUTO-BIOGRAPHY OF ADIN BALLOU. 
 
 stances which called them into being or attended their 
 appearance. 
 
 Early in 1883 he wrote an essay upon "The Relation 
 of the Christian Church to Civil Society." This was a 
 concise exposition of his views upon the true mission of 
 the church of Christ in the world, which, in his judg- 
 ment, was not to conform itself to and sanctify the 
 self-seeking, mammon-serving, war-engendering habits, 
 customs, and iustitutions of existing civilization, striving 
 to direct, purify, elevate, and regenerate them as an 
 inside factor, pledged from the start to a support of the 
 very things needing reform and supersedence ; but to 
 organize and establish an ideal social system on an inde- 
 pendent basis, and so illustrate the better way by a 
 consistent example, without demoralizing alliances or 
 crippling entanglements of any sort. Nothing, he believed, 
 was more irrational and futile than to attempt to rectify 
 abuses, remove evils, transcend a low form of moral and 
 social life while consenting to and participating in what 
 was to be rectified, put away, and transcended. And 
 this theory he applied remorselessly to the position of 
 those who, while professing a desire to build up a divine 
 kingdom on the earth, are committed by organic relation- 
 ship and practical co-operation to the support of institutions 
 and activities in which the spirit and principles of such' 
 a kingdom are either ignored or virtually set at naught. 
 
 Later in the same year he wrote a review of a work 
 brought out under Spiritualistic auspices and bearing the 
 mystical title of " Oahspe," which its friends claimed was 
 " a new bible," destined to take the place of the Hebrew 
 and Christian scriptures among all enlightened and 
 progressive people. The absurdity of such claims he 
 vigorously exposed, while setting in their true light the 
 real merits of the book. The following year he examined 
 in a paper of considerable length and in searching and 
 depreciative terms Rev. Hosea Ballou's "Treatise on the 
 Atonement," published many years before, with the con- 
 clusions of which, calculated to defend tlie " death and 
 
INCIDENTAL PRODUCTIONS. 497 
 
 glory" theory of a certain class of Universalists, he had 
 ao sympathy, deeming them unscriptm-al, irrational, and 
 morally illusive and mischievous. He also about the 
 same time prepared a tract upon ' ' The Knighthood of 
 Peace," designed to elucidate the truth of the saying of 
 Milton, "Peace hath her victories no less renowned than 
 war," or, in other words, to show that true courage, hero- 
 ism, chivalry, can be cultivated and find opportunity to 
 display itself in the innocent, bloodless pursuits and ambi- 
 tions of life as well as upon the, battle-field amid scenes 
 •of violence, carnage, and death. Another of these inci- 
 dental productions of his pen was entitled "The Mistakes 
 of Christ as Discovered by the Wisdom of this World," 
 the object of which was to rescue the name of the Great 
 Teacher from the undeserved reproach of certain classes 
 of so-called advanced thinkers in modern times. 
 
 In the latter part of 1885, Mr. Charles K. Whipple, 
 an old-time Abolitionist and Non-resistant, wrote an 
 article for the Boston CommonwealtJi, giving therein his 
 reasons for. renouncing his radical peace principles and 
 re-adopting the barbarous maxim, " Peaceably, if we can; 
 forcibly, if we must" — the shibboleth of all- the defenders 
 •of violence and bloodshed since the world began. A 
 (review of the article, setting forth the fallacy and incon- 
 •clusiveness of the argument therein, was written by Mr. 
 Ballou and sent to the author, who made a reply that 
 called forth a lengthy and exhaustive rejoinder from the 
 reviewer. The original article with subsequent correspond- 
 ence and supplementary comments, forming a document 
 •of considerable size, has been carefully preserved. An 
 ■essay upon "What is Religion?" another upon, "The 
 Union of Church and State in America," and a third 
 upon "Three Spheres of Man's Action and Responsibility 
 in Life," prepared at a later date, have a place in the 
 archives of the household. 
 
 It was about the same time that the busy student and 
 -author planned a new volume, to be called "The Laconic 
 ExpoMtbr." It was evidently designed to be a oom- 
 32 
 
498 AUTO-BIOGRAPHY OF ADIN BALLOU. 
 
 prehensive disquisition or statement of views upon 
 ' ' Systematic Tlaeology " and topics gennane thereto. The 
 first chapter or article, as he terms it, "Concerning 
 God," seems to have been the only one ever written — 
 the others having been left for that convenient season 
 which never came. Nor was this the only instance in 
 which similar plans and purposes of Mr. Ballou failed of 
 realization. Among the multitnde of miscellaneous papers,, 
 memoranda, etc., left by him have been found lists of 
 subjects, more or less definitely expressed, upon which 
 he wished to write — a lengthy catalogue involving the 
 labor of his brain and pen for years ahead. Had he 
 been permitted to round out a full century here upon the 
 earth with a good measure of health and strength, he 
 would not have been able to realize all his wishes in this 
 respect — to finish the work he felt himself impelled to do. 
 
 In the year 1888 Mr. Ballou prepared a historical sketch 
 of the town of Hopedale for a voluminous "History of 
 Worcester County," published in March, 1889, by J. W. 
 Lewis & Co., Philadelphia. This necessarily included a 
 brief account of the inception, founding, growth, tempo- 
 rary prosperity, and final abandonment of the Hopedale 
 Community, the lineal ancestor of the now incorporated 
 township of Hopedale, and without which the township, 
 would never have existed. It is probable that no truer 
 presentation of the spirit, purposes, and aims of the more 
 active participants in that undertaking ; of their hopes 
 and disappointments, their trials and triumphs, their 
 transitory success and final failure, with the causes of 
 the latter, was ever given to the public than can there 
 be found. To •that authoritative repository of informa- 
 tion upon the matter, the interested inquirer may refer 
 while awaiting the publication of the more complete 
 history of the movement by the same author at no very 
 distant day. 
 
 Diary Notes. The daily record of current events, per- 
 sonal experiences, incidents from private and public life,, 
 etc., kept with much minuteness of detail during Mr. 
 
ESTIMATE OF RALfH WALDO EMERSON. 499 
 
 Ballou's later years, is thickly studded with off-hand 
 comments upon what arrested his attention and awakened 
 a train of consecutive thought in his mind. In order to 
 give the reader some idea of the nature and character of 
 these spontaneous effusions, a few specimen quotations 
 are introduced, with the occasions of them, as they came 
 from his pen. 
 
 After listening to a sermon suggested by the death of 
 Ralph Waldo Emerson, in which the preacher indulged in 
 what was deemed a somewhat fulsome panegyric of the 
 illustrious author and philosopher, Mr. Ballou gives his 
 own less adulatory but not unappreciative estimate of 
 him as follows: "I never read his wonderful writings 
 with' much pleasure or spiritual profit. His orphic 
 truisms, when interpretable to common sense, are far 
 better expressed in the language of scripture or by plain 
 old poets ; other sayings of his are not to me truths at 
 all, or only in some vague, metaphorical sense." "As 
 to Emerson's moral character, it was amiable, harmless, 
 blarneless. But I never understood that his practical 
 ethics lifted him much above the surrounding civilistic, 
 social, and scholastic level. He quietly cogitated and 
 elaborated his own transcendental abstractions, many of 
 which, if carried into individual and social practice, 
 would regenerate the world. But the fatal hitch with 
 such moralists is that neither they nor their admirers can 
 sail out of the old ship of society as it is. They are so 
 serene and softly that they live and die content to mag- 
 nify their own cherished reveries and speculations. T 
 once said to him, ' Mr. Emerson, why cannot you, with 
 your handsome estate and the co-operation of congenial 
 friends, start a community that shall illustrate a true 
 fraternal order of society from which the world may take 
 a pattern?" We had been accordantly deprecating the 
 selfishness and antagonism of the world about us. His 
 reply was : ' Mr. Ballou, I am no builder ; if I can only 
 set myself and my own family imperfectly right in these 
 respects, it will be my utmost.' After some further 
 
500 AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF ADIN BALLOU. 
 
 conversation, the topic subsided. He was a very kind- 
 hearted, well-disposed, and thoroughly honest man on his 
 own plane, but powerless to rise above it." 
 
 Upon a sermon from Matt. 11 : 4, 5, in which Jesusi 
 in proof of his divine mission, says: "The blind receive 
 their sight, the lame walk, etc.," Mr. Ballon observes: 
 "He (the preacher) inserted the word moral before blind, 
 lame, etc., and literalized the word 'gospel' into mere 
 good tidings, as if Christ wrought no physical miracles 
 and preached no great religious doctrines or ideas. He 
 went full tilt against creeds, beliefs, and right heart- 
 motives, in glorification of good works, external morality, 
 leaving it to be inferred that outward righteousness has 
 no necessary connection with true religious belief or posi- 
 tive right-heartedness of conviction or principles. I go 
 for a union of the understanding and the outward con- 
 duct — no divorce of the one from the other." 
 
 The following train of thought was awakened by an 
 article in a Spiritualistic journal, "glorifying modern 
 Spiritualism in contrast with the bible and Christianity.'' 
 ' ' The chief priests of Spiritualism and the large majority 
 of its adherents are now (1884) undisguisedly anti-Chris- 
 tian. Their genius is radically infidel in every respect 
 excepting that of the fact of human existence after death. 
 This they boast is a matter, not of faith, but of know- 
 ledge — with them scientific knowledge. As to scorn and 
 hatred of a religious faith and life, properly so-called, they 
 are hand in hand with Thomas Paine and his adherents. 
 A small minority only grieve and protest, mostly in 
 private. The result of all this will be to break down 
 false traditional religion and prepare the way for the 
 regenerate Practical Christian church. Like all other 
 anti-supernaturalists, anti-religious creedists, these people 
 can pull down but never build up much. They are 
 unconscious axes in God's overruling hand to hew away 
 what must be gotten rid of in order to the incoming of 
 the kingdom of heaven." At a later date he writes upon 
 the same general subject thus: "I am more than ever 
 
REVIEWS AND CRITICISMS. 501 
 
 couviuced that neither Swedeuborg nor modern Spiritual- 
 istic mediums can be accepted as wholly reliable in their 
 teachings. Between them and their spirits there is such 
 a mixture of reality and unreality, of truth and error, 
 that the elective sieve must be used freely." These 
 utterances may be regarded as indicative of his final 
 conclusions concerning the matter to which they refer. 
 Holding to the last a rational belief in the possibility of 
 spirit intercourse, and of its occasional realization under 
 favoring conditions, he yet would accept nothing claim- 
 ing to come from the unseen world except upon the 
 most trustworthy and incontestable evidence. With him 
 every voice professing to speak of things within the 
 veil must prove itself worthy of credence before hospi- 
 table reception could" be given to its testimonies. 
 
 Concerning a discourse to which he listened upon the 
 subject of " Patience," the general doctrine of which 
 was, " Do not struggle and worry to reform the world 
 and make martyrs of yourselves by running ahead of 
 the multitude ; there is a natural growth of truth and 
 righteousness ; be patient and wait for nature's law of 
 progress, etc. ; things always come round in their season," 
 he remarks: "But when did any great reform ripen 
 without its anxious, self-sacrificing pioneers — its martyrs? 
 What if Jesus and His apostles had taken things easy 
 and waited for nature to establish Christianity in the 
 world, thus avoiding persecution and martyrdom ! If 
 nature has anything to do with radical reform and pro- 
 gress, I am pretty certain she always begins by raising 
 up a humble few who dare to outrun the wise and 
 prudent leaders of the multitude and act the part of 
 disliked pioneers and martyrs. But I prefer to think 
 that the Divine Father Spirit manages this business of 
 human progress — not Dame Nature ! " 
 
 The Town of Hopedale. In the spring of 1885 a move- 
 ment was started by some of the leading residents of 
 Hopedale village, which had been growing rapidly in 
 population, wealth, and in social and political impor- 
 
502 AUTO-BIOGRAPHY OF ADIN BALLOU. 
 
 tance for many years, contemplating its separation from 
 municipal alliance with Milford and the incorporation 
 of it, with considerable contiguous territory and the 
 inhabitants dwelling thereon, as an independent township 
 clothed with all the rights, immunities, and privileges 
 belonging to other townships of the Commonwealth of 
 Massachusetts. The first rumor of this action was 
 received with much incredulity by the people round about 
 and especially by the leading citizens of Milford, who 
 affected to regard the project as too preposterous to be 
 either worthy of serious consideration or within the pos- 
 sibility of successful achievement. But when it was 
 subsequently learned that the persons interested were in 
 earnest and determined to leave no stone unturned that 
 was needful to gain the end in view, a powerful oppo- 
 sition was raised in the mother town equally earnest 
 and determined to prevent the proposed division of its 
 municipal territory and population. A vigorous warfare 
 between the two parties thus formed was inaugurated and 
 waged with tireless activity on both sides during the 
 ensuing autumn in anticipation of the action of the 
 incoming legislature, before which the question at issue 
 was to be presented for final settlement. When the 
 matter came up in that body for consideration and was 
 referred to the committee on towns, who called for a hear- 
 ing of the case, each party was represented by able counsel 
 and many witnesses, to whose testimony and arguments 
 protracted and respectful attention was given. After due 
 deliberation the committee reported in favor of the peti- 
 tioners and submitted a bill of incorporation to that 
 effect. The bill was discussed at length in both branches 
 of the General Court, passing through the different stages 
 in each by a decisive majority, and received the approv- 
 ing signature of the governor, George D. Robinson, 
 April 7, 1886. The event was duly celebrated by the 
 people of Hopedale a few days afterward. 
 
 With the incipient steps leading to this consummation, 
 Mr. Ballou had nothing whatever to do. He first heard 
 
TOWN OF HOPEDALE INCORPORATED. 503 
 
 of what was going on by incidental report, but interested 
 himself in it very little until asked to sign the petition 
 praying the legislature to establish a township as pro- 
 posed. His judgment approving the measure, he decided 
 to give it the benefit of his name and personal influence. 
 Some effort was made on the part of opponents of the 
 measure to induce him to reverse his decision, but he 
 had acted advisedly and was not disposed to yield to 
 solicitations of that sort. He had resolved, however, to 
 maintain an independent position in the matter, and take 
 no active part in the conflict respecting it, even to secure 
 the object which he deemed wise and right. And it was 
 with great reluctance and after much urging that he con- 
 sented to appear before the legislative committee in 
 behalf of the petitioners for a new town, which he did 
 on the morning of "Wednesday, January 27, 1886, in the 
 " green room" of the State House at Boston. He was 
 permitted to present his views upon the matter for the 
 most part in his own way, though subject to considerable 
 questioning by opposing counsel, and the usual cross- 
 examination. So intelligible, full, and exhaustive was 
 his statement, made in such a spirit of candor, conscien- 
 tiousness, and impartiality, that it without doubt carried 
 great weight with it to unprejudiced minds, and con- 
 tributed considerably to the final result in the petitioners' 
 favor. For the position assumed in this affair and his 
 general course regarding it, Mr. Ballon had no occasion 
 for subsequent sorrow or regret. His action may, for 
 the time being, have grieved some of his warm personal 
 friends in Milford, but it probably never caused the loss 
 of one of them, and if there was in any direction some 
 transitory feeling of dislike aroused, it soon passed away 
 and the happy relations of former 5'ears were restored, 
 never more to be broken or disturbed. 
 
 Dedication of the Town Hall. While the agitation of 
 the question of incorporation was going on, Mr. George 
 Draper, who was then at the head of the manufacturing 
 interests of the village, and the virtual father of the 
 
504 AUTO-BIOGRAPHY OF ADIN BALLOU. 
 
 town that was to be, caused to be laid the foundatioiia 
 of a substantial, commodious, imposing structure, which 
 he designed to present to the proposed municipality for 
 public use, in case it should become an established fact. 
 The building was to contain a spacious hall with con- 
 venient ante-rooms on the second floor, and a store, 
 library-room, post-office, and apartments for other public 
 uses, underneath. The erection of the superstructure 
 went slowly on after the town was incorporated and 
 was approaching completion at the time of the owner's 
 unexpected decease in June, 1887. But this greatly 
 deplored occurrence did not prevent the execution of his 
 original purpose concerning the building, the provisions of 
 his will making everything sure in that particular. It 
 was finished in the succeeding autumn, and appropriate 
 dedicatory services were held in it on the 25th of October. 
 Beautiful floral and other decorations graced the occasion, 
 vocal and instrumental music gave it added interest, 
 prayer was offered, formal addresses were made, a 
 bountiful collation was served, followed by miscellaneous 
 exercises of a more spontaneous character. 
 
 The oration, or dedicatory address proper, was delivered 
 by Hon. ex-G-overnor John D. Long, and was a produc- 
 tion of unquestioned merit, replete with eloquent passages 
 and words of wisdom. There were in it however, one or 
 two paragraphs, relating to the Hopedale Community, 
 which reflected somewhat disparagingly and reprehensibly 
 upon the experiment and those engaged in it, contrasting 
 it and them in no favorable light with the existing 
 state of things and the more recent actors upon the 
 stage — the latter of whom the orator eulogized in that 
 graceful, exuberant rhetoyc, of which he is an accredited 
 master. Mr. Ballon sat near the eloquent speaker, and 
 listened with attentive interest and becoming patience 
 to the depreciatory and pleasantly sarcastic criticism of 
 the men and women who had toiled and suffered in the 
 former days for truth, humanity, and God, and who, by 
 their labors, as arduous and unremitting as any of later 
 
MISTAKES OF EX-GOVERNOR LONG CORRECTED. 505 
 
 date, had made possible the Hopedale which was now the 
 subject of ornate, unqnalifled panegyric. When he arose 
 to address the assembled company, which filled every 
 part of the spacious hall, immediately after the distin- 
 guished gentleman had taken his seat, every eye was 
 fixed upon him and every ear was eager to hear what he 
 had to say. He began by duly complimenting his pre- 
 decessor's brilliant and able oration, and proceeded 
 thence, as he felt bound to do in justice to himself, to 
 his co-laborers in the endeavor to illustrate a Christian 
 form of social life forty years before, and to the truth 
 of history, to make a brief reply to the strictures, ani- 
 madversions, and implications which had fallen from his 
 excellency's lips. The scene has been delineated in part 
 by Mr. Ballon himself in his sketch of Hopedale pre- 
 pared for the Worcester County History spoken of a few 
 pages back, an extract from which is here given verba- 
 tim, as found in that work. 
 
 "The writer was the only speaker of the occasion who repre- 
 sented the primary Hopedale of Coramunity days, and he deemed 
 it both a privilege and a daty to revive its memory and show 
 that it had something more to do with preparing tiie way for 
 subsequent success than appeared on the present surface of 
 things. The honorable and eloquent orator of the day had 
 indeed made one brief reference to it, but in terms of disparag- 
 ing commiseration rather than commendation. He said: 
 
 " ' On this spot some forty years ago one of those communi- 
 ties which spring up from time to time and from which so 
 much is anticipated by the enthusiasm of their members, had 
 undertaken, under the sweet guidance of the venerable and 
 beloved pastor who is here today, to solve the problem of a 
 happy, peaceful, industrious Christian brotherhood. It was a 
 joint stock association, sharing capital and profits and run on 
 common account. The result was a practical bankruptcy, 
 avoided only by a change which followed no longer any tran- 
 scendental lines, but turned to the line of hard, practical, 
 American business; for George Draper took the plant into his 
 vigorous hands, and enlightened and liberal selfishness became, 
 as it usually does, a beneficence to which a weak communism 
 was as the dull and cheerless gleam of decaying punk to the 
 inspiring blaze of the morning sun. The man of affairs was, in 
 
506 AUTO-BIOGRAPHY OF ADIN BALLOU. 
 
 temporal things, a better leader than the priest, as he usually 
 IS, and as nobody will so emphatically assure you as the priest 
 himself. A meagre manufacturing enterprise that made a few 
 boxes and cotton-spinning temples and employed a dozen hands 
 began that marvelous expansion which in these few years, under 
 George Draper's direction, has come to employ Ave hundred 
 men, has grown from an annual product of twenty thousand 
 dollars to one of more than twelve hundred thousand, has built 
 and Incorporated a Massachusetts town, has erected these trim, 
 convenient homes of skilled and prosperous labor, has enlarged 
 the original industry into four great business houses, constitut- 
 ing one of the largest cotton machinery manufacturing centers 
 in the world.' 
 
 "Well, how was the 'venerable and beloved pastor' — the 
 priest — likely to appreciate this rhetorical picture of 'weak 
 communism,' etc? Did he wish to detract from the merits and 
 fame of his lamented friend, the deceased George Draper? By 
 no means. But he did not feel that the honorable reputation 
 •of that departed friend needed to be magnified by the unjust 
 disparagement of the Hopedale Community or any member 
 thereof. He was possessed of all the facts in the case and 
 knew that the orator, through some mistake, had radically 
 misrepresented the most important of them. He knew that 
 Ebenezer D. Draper, the elder brother of George, was president 
 of the Community when its joint stock and unitary interests 
 were dissolved; that he was then a much larger capitalist than 
 his brother and wielded much greater power; that he pro- 
 nounced the condition of the Community eminently harmonious 
 and prosperous less than two months before they decided to 
 withdraw their capital ; that there was really no bankruptcy 
 nor any necessitating cause for a dissolution of unitary inter- 
 ests, except their withdrawal of three-fourths of the joint 
 stock ; and that ' the plant ' was taken into the vigorous hands 
 of the two brothers only to be changed into a successful 
 manufacturing establishment managed on the principles of 
 * enlightened and liberal selfishness.' Therefore, knowing per- 
 fectly the entire history of the Community without whose 
 devoted labors and sacrifices this new town of Hopedale would 
 probably never have attained the importance now being glori- 
 fied, and knowing that the rising generation was in danger of 
 remaining uninformed on the subject, the aged ' priest ' 
 improved the few moments allotted to him in stating the 
 salient facts of the case.'' " His speech was listened to with 
 respectful attention and he was cordially thanked by many 
 auditors for his exposition. He believes it made a salutary and 
 lasting impression on the assembly." 
 
ACT OF HISTORICAL JUSTICE. 607 
 
 It is to be regretted that the address of Mr. Ballou on 
 that occasion had not been reported in full as it was 
 delivered, so as to have given it a place here. For the 
 transcriber of the above paragraph, who was present, 
 cannot but feel that while it gives a generally correct 
 idea of what was said, it at the same time but partially 
 and feebly represents the pertinency, vigor, eloquence, 
 and effectiveness which characterized it from beginning to 
 «nd. It was a severe but merited rebuke of one who 
 had spoken from gross misinformation, or who counted 
 the godliness of gain better than the gain of godliness. 
 
 Dr. Richard Eddy and the Restorationist Schism. A 
 circumstance growing out of Mr. Ballou's former connec- 
 tion with the Universalist denomination occurred about 
 this time, giving him great pleasure and satisfaction. 
 Kev. Richard Eddy of Melrose, an able and eminently 
 "worthy clergyman of that body, had been for some years 
 engaged in writing a history of the form of faith it 
 represented, to take the place of previously prepared ones 
 nearly if not entirely out of print. The work was to 
 consist of two volumes, the first of which had been 
 already published. The second was mostly written and 
 would soon go to press. It was devoted chiefly to 
 modern Universalism and covered the period of Mr. 
 Ballou's affiliation with its advocates and of the separa- 
 tion of the Restorationist wing from their ultra associates. 
 The editor, an honorable and high-minded man, in treat- 
 ing of the schism referred to, determined to be just to 
 all parties concerned in the controversy which caused it, 
 and to give the whole matter a candid and impartial 
 presentation in his work. In seeking to do tliis, he 
 applied to Mr. Ballou, the only living person on the 
 Restorationist side who had participated in it, for such 
 information as he was pleased to communicate. The 
 request was cheerfully granted. After the chapter treat- 
 ing of the subject was written, the author visited Mr. 
 Ballou for the purpose of reading it to him in order that 
 he might correct any errors that should have inadvert- 
 
508 AUTO-BIOGRAPHY OF ADIN BALLOtT. 
 
 ently been made, or suggest any emendations necessary to 
 render it true to tlie facts in the case. Of what Mr. 
 Eddy had prepared, Mr. Ballou says: "It was very full, 
 clear, able, well-stated, truthful. I suggested one or two 
 slight additions, which he cheerfully promised to insert 
 in the proper place. The interview was exceedingly 
 pleasant and gratifying." Mr. Ballou, as one of the 
 leaders in the controversy noticed, had always felt that 
 he and his sympathizing brethren had never had their 
 position fairly stated by their opponents and the managers 
 of the Universalist press, nor their motives and aims 
 truly set forth, and it gave him great satisfaction to 
 know that at length in a work that was to go down to 
 posterity as an authentic history of the whole affair, even- 
 handed justice was to be done them, and that they and 
 their cause were to be placed upon their own merits 
 before an enlightened public and the discriminating judg- 
 ment of coming generations. This was all he had ever 
 desired and this gained he was content and happy. 
 
 Count Leo Tolstoi. Upon the appearance in this country 
 of the first of the translated writings of this Russian 
 author and the consequent heralding of him as a new 
 interpreter of the gospel of Christ and as a restorer of 
 primitive Christianity as Jesus taught and exemplified it, 
 Mr. Ballou availed himself of an early opportunity of 
 becoming acquainted with the views and principles upon 
 which such unusual representations were based. From 
 what he learned incidentally through the public press, he 
 hoped to find in this previously unknown author a man 
 after his own heart — a consistent and radical advocate 
 of peace, a friend of all true reform, and a wise coun- 
 sellor in the work of inaugurating a new order of society 
 from which all injurious force should be excluded and 
 in which all things- should be subordinated to and 
 animated by the spirit of pure love to G-od and man. 
 That his hopes in this direction were not realized — that 
 he was seriously disappointed indeed in both the man 
 and his teachings, the sequel clearly shows. 
 
COUNT TOLSTOI AND HIS THEORIES. 509 
 
 The first mention of the new luminary in the religious 
 firmament made by Mr. Ballou was in his journal of Feb. 
 16, 1886, as follows: "Commenced reading a lately 
 purchased book. Count Tolstoi's ' My Religion.' Found 
 many good things in it on ethics, with here and there 
 an indiscriminating extremeism in the application of 
 Christ's precepts against resisting evil with evil, and in 
 his views- of penal judgment and covetousness, or mam- 
 monism. But on theology found him wild, crude, and 
 mystically absurd. His ideas concerning the divine 
 nature, human nature, eternal life, Christ's resurrection, 
 humanity's immortality, and the immortality of individ- 
 uals, etc., are untrue, visionary, chaotic, and pitiably 
 puerile. So it seems to me in this first perusal. But 
 I will read further and think him out more thor- 
 oughly.'' 
 
 Further reading and more thorough thinking, however,* 
 did not bring him to a more favorable conclusion. "The 
 saying of Christ, 'Resist not evil,' Tolstoi interpreted 
 in its most literal sense, making it inculcate complete 
 passivity not only toward wrong-doera but toward persons 
 rendered insane and dangerous by bad habits, inflamed 
 passions, or unbalanced minds, to the exclusion of non- 
 injurious and beneficent force under any and every cir- 
 cumstance of life." To Mr. Ballou's apprehension this was 
 carrying the doctrine of Non-resistance to an illogical and 
 extravagant extreme, warranted neither by the teachings 
 of Jesus nor by a true regard for the welfare of the evil- 
 doer, the irresponsible maniac, or society at large, which 
 often required wholesome restraint and physical force 
 exercised without accompanying harm or injury to any 
 one. Moreover, the distinctively religious expositions and 
 indoctrinations of Tolstoi, as expressed in the book speci- 
 fied and in subsequent works, met with little favor from 
 Mr. Ballou, whose ideas of God, man, immortality etc., 
 were as definite and pronounced as his ethical principles, 
 and in his estimate as essential to a high type of per- 
 sonal character or a true order of social life. 
 
510 AUTO-BIOGRAPHY OF ADIN BALLOU. 
 
 Some three years after Mr. Ballou began to acquaint 
 himself with the writings of Tolstoi, Rev. Lewis G-. 
 Wilson, then pastor of the Hopedale parish and an 
 interested reader of the latter, sent him some of the 
 former's published works, with his photograph and an 
 explanatory letter. On the 5th of July, 1889, he 
 received a responsive communication in which the Count 
 highly commended, in their principal features, the views 
 contained in the publications forwarded to him, though 
 subjecting some of their applications, especially the one 
 relating to the rightful use of uninjurious force as men- 
 tioned above, to emphatic protest and denial. This 
 communication Mr. "Wilson handed to Mr. Ballou for 
 perusal and a reply if he chose to make one. This he 
 did in due time, taking up the more important points of 
 Tolstoi's dissent — those pertaining to the practical appli- 
 "cation of Non-resistant principles, the right to hold 
 property, and no-governmentism particularly, and answer- 
 ing them by extended argument and illustration. Thereto 
 were added also some comments upon cei'tain theological 
 and spiritual positions assumed in " My Religion." 
 
 On the 26th of March, 1890, the mail brought a 
 rejoinder to this missive, of which the recipient writes : 
 " It relates to some points of difference between us as 
 expressed in a letter sent him some months ago. He 
 declines to argue and refers me to one of his published 
 works, yielding nothing of his extreme Non-resistance 
 even against madmen, but saying, 'I exposed all I think 
 on those subjects.' ' I cannot now change my views 
 without verifying them anew.' The dictum with which 
 the letter opened, ' I will not argue with your objections,' 
 characterized its entire contents and put an end to all 
 discussion. It closed, however, with the statement that 
 ' Two of your tracts are translated into Russian and 
 propagated among believers and richly appreciated by 
 them.'" Tolstoi's communication was answered about two 
 months afterward, but no acknowledgement ever came 
 back, by reason, no doubt, of the writer's death a few 
 
DEATH OF HIGHLY BELOVED FRIENDS. 511 
 
 weeks later, — an account of which was sent by Mr. 
 Wilson to the distinguished author, whose daughter 
 responded, "Your tidings are very sad, and my father 
 is deeply grieved." 
 
 Of the relation between Mr. Ballou and Count Tolstoi,, 
 nothing further need be said save that Mr. Wilson 
 embodied the correspondence between them with collateral 
 letters of his own in a sermon read to his congregation 
 on Sunday, April 20, 1890, of which the diary says i 
 "We were all deeply interested, pleased, and enlightened. 
 I never was so much gratified with Brother Wilson's per- 
 formance. His scripture-reading, prayer, hymns, etc., 
 were all in harmony with Christian Non-resistance, and 
 he dropped not a word or hint that implied reserved dis- 
 sent from my views." It may be added that the substance 
 of this discourse was subsequently rearranged by the 
 author and published in the Arena for December, 1890 — 
 a portion of the last letter of Mr. Ballou to Tolstoi 
 being omitted. 
 
 Not Lost but Gone Before. The inroad that death was 
 continually making both upon the circle of Mr. Ballou's 
 general acquaintance and that of his more intimate, tried, 
 and trusted relatives and friends, imparted a pathetic and 
 sacred interest to the last years of his earthly pilgrimage 
 At the obsequies of many of these he had been called 
 upon to minister with words of comfort and consolation, 
 often under a deep sense of personal bereavement and 
 sorrow. Numerous instances of this kind have been 
 already mentioned, with such tokens of esteem and affec- 
 tion as his heart prompted. Others occurred at a date 
 subsequent to that of which his pen bore record for the 
 pages of this work, a few of which may be noted here. 
 
 In 1883, Mr. William H. Humphrey, an old member 
 of the Community and a near neighbor for thirty-five 
 vears, — a man exemplifying in a marked degree the entire 
 circle of Christian qualities and powers, and one of Mr. 
 Ballou's most steadfast, appreciative, and highly-prized 
 friends, went to join the companion, equally true, faith- 
 
512 AUTO-BIOGRAPHY OF ADIX BALLOU. 
 
 ful, and worthy, who some years before had been 
 translated to the spirit home. Few persons sympathized 
 more fully with him in his peculiar views of truth 
 and duty and in his hopes and struggles for humanity 
 than Mr. and Mrs. Humphrey, and few remained more 
 true to their early professions of loyalty to him and 
 the causes of which he was the trusted champion 
 and promoter. The departure of each of them in turn 
 sent a new pang of loneliness and grief through his 
 breast. 
 
 Another death which affected him most sensibly was 
 that of Mr. George Draper, a sometime member of the 
 Community, who, though abandoning it and renouncing 
 its essential principles, yet always held its founder in 
 high regard and veneration, as attested by abundant 
 proofs from time to time. "This lamentable event," to 
 ■quote from Mr. Ballou's sketch of Hopedale alluded to, 
 "took place in Boston whither he had gone for a tem- 
 porary sojourn to obtain medical relief from kidney and 
 other ailments, which, though not seemingly dangerous, 
 he was anxious ■ to overcome. Unexpectedly to all, he 
 presently became alarmingly sick under treatment and in 
 a few days expired. His remains were brought home and 
 on the 11th of June his funeral was solemnized with 
 every demonstration that bereaved family affection and 
 public grief could bestow. Thousands appreciated his 
 merits, sympathized in a great public lojs, and united in 
 reverential tributes of respect to his memory." On the 
 occasion an appropriate address was made by Rev. Mr. 
 Wilson, but the eulogy proper was pronounced by the 
 old pastor of the departed, who had lived side by side 
 with him for more than thirty years, and who could 
 portray the strong points and many excellencies of his 
 character better than any other living person. A sense 
 of justice and the remembrance of unnumbered expres- 
 sions of kindly consideration and personal esteem received 
 through so long a period, served to render the testimonial 
 paid the deceased, tender, loving, faithful, and true. 
 
DEATH OF EBENEZER D. DRAPER. 513 
 
 It was only about four and a half months after the 
 -deijiise of George Draper, that his elder brother, Ebenezer 
 D., followed him to the world of spirits. The latter for 
 years had been an intermittent sufferer from the same 
 troubles that caused the former's death, which, in the early 
 summer, had assumed an unusually serious and threaten- 
 ing form. As time advanced they increased in severity 
 and painfulness until they reached a fatal issue on the 
 19th of October, at the house of his brother-in-law, Mr. 
 Green, in Boston, where he had a short time before taken 
 up his residence. It was while engaged in the ministry 
 at Mendon that this Mr. Draper and his then newly 
 married wife, Anna (Thwing) Draper, a most excellent 
 woman, became religiously interested . in Mr. Ballou's 
 preaching, an4, though living in Uxbridge, united with 
 his church. They embraced his teachings with a full 
 heart in all their applications, and followed him devotedly 
 through the several stages of practical reform, even to 
 the extent of Non-resistance and Social Reconstruction. 
 They were among the first to subscribe to the Hopedale 
 " Declaration of Principles," as they were among the 
 first to locate upon the territory where those principles 
 were to be brought to the test of 'actual experiment and 
 made the basis of a new order of society. In fact, Mr. 
 Draper may be regarded as the most important factor, 
 next to Mr. Ballon, in that enterprise, through the entire 
 period of its existence. He was the only one of its 
 original members who had any money to speak of to 
 invest in it, or any recognized standing in the financial 
 -world. He had a taste and training for business, and 
 was the most responsible person in the Community's 
 industrial and pecuniary affairs; as Mr. Ballou was in its 
 moral and spiritual concerns. The two were complements 
 of each other, and stood by each other through good 
 .and evil report, through prosperous and adverse fortunes, 
 through joy and sorrow, till the great crisis of 1856, 
 when Mr. Draper, yielding to the assumed financial 
 -exigencies of .the situation and to his brother's perti- 
 33 
 
514 AUTO-BIOGRAPHY OF ADIX BALLOU. 
 
 nacity, united with tiim in withdrawing their mutual 
 support from the undertaking, thus bringing about its 
 speedy dissolution. The friendship formed under the 
 circumstances named and continuing steadfast through 
 so many years could not be wholly disrupted by the 
 calamitous issue which separated them in many of the 
 particulars in which they had worked so long together, 
 but was continued, though in a modified form, through 
 life. Mr. Draper remained at Hopedale some years after 
 the Community was given up, was prospered in business 
 as senior member of the firm of "E. D. & G. Draper,'"' 
 acquiring a satisfactory competency with which he sepa- 
 rated from the partnership in 1868. Two years later his 
 most Christian wife passed on, soon after which he 
 removed to Boston, where, having married again, he 
 spent the remainder of his earthly days. 
 
 And now the end had come, and what was mortal of 
 the right-hand man and trusted counselor of Community 
 times was brought back to Hopedale, to receive funeral 
 honors in the house of worship which he, more than any 
 other person, had helped to build, and to be carried 
 thence to its final resting place iu the rural cemetery 
 beside the sleeping dust of his first betrothed, who, for 
 a generation had filled his home with music and sun- 
 shine, and rendered it attractive and delightful to hosts 
 of appreciative friends by her blessed presence tliere. 
 At the obsequies, fitting addresses were made by his 
 long-time fi'iend and pastor, and by his adopted son. 
 Rev. Charles H. Eaton, D. D., of New York, inter- 
 spersed with music and prayer, in the presence of a 
 goodly company of relatives, friends, and acquaintances 
 of other days, assembled to lay upon his bier a wreath 
 of respect and affection sacred to his memory. 
 
 Another death that came very near to the subject of 
 this biography and gave him a peculiar sense of loneli- 
 ness and grief was that of his junior brother, Ariel 
 Ballou, M. D., of "Woonsocket, R. I. Though the so 
 closely akin had differed widely from each other in many 
 
TRIBUTE TO A YOUNGER BROTHER. 515 
 
 things, they yet ever held each other in mutual • confi- 
 dence, esteem, and love. In his Ballou history, the elder 
 of the two pays merited honor to the natural ability, high 
 character, and social standing of the younger, testifying 
 to his personal worth "as an intellectual, judicial, self- 
 poised, upright, courageous, high-toned man " ; to his 
 professional acquirements, imparting to him " increasing 
 usefulness and fame for more than fifty years " ; to his 
 interest in education as " a strong and devoted friend of 
 the public schools " ; and to his religious fidelity as "a 
 conscientious, devout, exemplary member of the Episcopal 
 church." It was with a profound feeling of personal loss 
 that the author of these justly commendatory phrases was 
 called to look for the last time upon the face of him to 
 whom they applied, and with unqualified regret that he 
 who was so much interested in and had done so much 
 for the compilation and publication of the ' ' History of 
 the Ballous in America," could not have lived to see the 
 consummation of that great undertaking. But in the order 
 of nature and Pro'S'idence, it was not so to be. He died 
 while the work was passing through the press, July 15, 
 1887, aged 81 years. 
 
 With the advance of age, Mr. Ballou's labors abroad 
 became less frequent, being naturally less called for, as 
 they were less desired on his part. Yet he had numer- 
 ous invitations to preach, lecture, or speak on public 
 occasions, but felt impelled to decline the greater part of 
 them. Under existing circumstances, he thought he might 
 be excused from all such efforts save those he could 
 easily perform or that made some special appeal to him. 
 He purposed at one time to refuse all further calls to 
 funerals, but the importunities of surviving relatives and 
 friends and the sympathy of his own heart for the 
 stricken and bereaved, made it diflScult for him to carry 
 that purpose into effect. So that, as a matter Of fact, 
 the number of such occasions upon which he actually 
 served in some of his later years was as great as at any 
 equal period of his life. His weddings, as a matter of 
 
516 AUT0-BI06KA?HY OF ADIN BALI.OU. 
 
 course^ diminished toward the last, those at which he 
 officiated occurring iu the quietude of his own home. 
 Occasionally he supplied a pulpit at Milford or Upton, or 
 elsewhere not far away, but more frequently at Hope- 
 dale, in aid of and as a favor to the regular minister 
 there. At gradually lengthening intervals he attended 
 the meetings of the Worcester Conference, where he fre- 
 quently had a message to deliver, and where he was 
 always listened to with respect, interest, and acknow- 
 ledged profit. He was, however, little from home during 
 the last eight years of his life, rarely, if at all, to remain 
 over night ; his own work and the uncertain state of his 
 wife's health combining to forbid prolonged absence on 
 his part. He was a regular attendant at Church on Sun- 
 day unless called elsewhere by a funeral or otherwise, or 
 detained at home by the inclemency of the weather. 
 
 Mr. Ballou carried on an extensive correspondence 
 throughout his entire public career. The nature of it 
 changed with the changed conditions of his personal 
 experience. At the outset and far on beyond mid-life, it 
 was of a religious, moral, and reformatory character, but 
 after engaging in historical and genealogical work it took 
 on more of that peculiarity, though never losing the 
 former altogether. He was a free and familiar off-hand 
 writer, the sentences flowing readily from bis pen, much 
 of his own genial, affable, courteous, kindly spirit char- 
 acterizing his letters, of whatever sort they might be — 
 expositional, instructive, advisory, sympathetic, or con- 
 solatory — making him a pleasant, much prized, and 
 much enjoyed correspondent. 
 
 Some two or three years before Mr. Ballou's decease, 
 a few of his Hopedale friends, under the leadership of 
 Eev. Mr. Wilson, who seemed ever ready to show his 
 veneration and love for his honored predecessor, inter- 
 ested themselves in a project to secure a life-size portrait 
 of him to be presented to the town as a perpetual mem- 
 orial of his character and career. The object in view 
 was finally gained by calling into requisition the superior 
 
WORK ON AUTO-BIOGKAPHY. 517 
 
 skill and exquisite taste of Otto Grundmann, an artist of 
 genius and ot excellent standing in Boston and vicinity. 
 By using several of the later pliotographs of his subject, 
 with the aid of two or three personal sittings, he suc- 
 ceeded in producing a likeness worthy of his reputation 
 and acceptable and gratifying to those employing him. 
 The picture was paid for by private contribution and pre- 
 sented to the town of Hopedale at a regular meeting held 
 Nov. 6, 1888. It was put in charge of the trustees of 
 the public library, the walls of which institution it now 
 adorns and honors. 
 
 During the two years and more that intervened between 
 the conclusion of Mr. Ballou's labors upon the family 
 history and his last illness, all the time and energy be 
 could command were devoted with conscientious fidelity to 
 his auto-biography. Still, the former was so much 
 broken in upon by calls to funerals, by visitation of 
 friends from near and far, by domestic claims, or other- 
 wise, that he found it impossible to accomplish what he 
 desired in furthering his appointed task. He greatly 
 regretted this, nay, was at times impatient at the delay 
 which he seemed powerless to prevent. He realized that 
 the infirmities of age were creeping upon him, that his 
 days on earth at most could not be very many, and that 
 the night was not far away "in which no man can work." 
 He was anxious to complete with his own hand what he 
 had begun and carried so far towards the end, feeling, 
 no doubt, that no one elsie could do it so well as he — 
 could make it so much what he earnestly desired it to 
 be, a faithful portraiture of himself in all his inner and 
 outer life. In this anxiety his family and friends fully 
 sympathized, sharing with him the regret occasioned by 
 hindrances it seemed impossible to foresee and prevent, 
 or in any way escape. To add to the trying circum- 
 stances of the case and increase the delay, his eyesight, 
 which had been remarkably good till he was past eighty 
 years of age, enabling him to read and write without 
 the aid of glasses, had, by reason of over-taxation in 
 
618 AUTO-BIOGRAPHY OF ADIN BALLOU. 
 
 deciphering illegible manuscripts while engaged in histori- 
 cal and genealogical researches, become considerably 
 impaired, causing more or less pain and threatening total 
 blindness at no distant day. To such an extent had this 
 trouble increased at length that he was obliged to give 
 up using artificial light and even to cease from labor on 
 dark and stormy days. Nevertheless, he kept up a good 
 heart, was grateful for blessings still enjoyed, patient 
 under the limitations that hemmed him in, and wrought 
 on as best he could, cheerful and brave, till his weary 
 brain and enfeebled hand could no longer respond to the 
 mandates of his strong and earnest will. 
 
 On the 23d of April, 1890, the eighty-seventh anniver- 
 sary of his birth, Mr. Ballon put on record the following 
 outflow of devout and heartfelt meditation, worthy of a 
 St. Francis of Assisi or of his own favorite, Thomas 
 A Kempis : 
 
 " My 87th birthday ! ' Bless the Lord, O my soul, and for- 
 get not all His benefits.' Surely 'His goodness and mercy have 
 followed me all the days of my life.' When I obeyed His 
 voice, He sustained me ; when I sinned, He rebuked me in love 
 and forgave me; He encouraged all my repentances and still 
 accepted my services. When I was crushed by disappointment, 
 He revived my despondent spirit. In all my troubles and sor- 
 rows, He accepted me. When I lost friends and feai-ed desola- 
 tion. He bade me trust Him, saying, 'I will never leave thee 
 nor forsake thee.' And He never has. With temporal and 
 spiritual blessings, manifold and innumerable, has He crowned 
 my life. In prosperity and adversity, in judgment and mercy, 
 He has been to me the same ' Father of lights, with whom 
 there is no variableness or shadow of turning.' All my sins 
 have been against His faultless and salutary laws, the ways 
 whereof were death. All my righteousness has been imperfect 
 and profitless to Him, but to me and ray fellow-men a granary 
 of unmerited and inestimable good. Therefore will I glorify 
 Him evermore as the Holy Paternal One truly revealed by His 
 son, Jesus Christ, ' of whom, through whom, and to whom are 
 all things.' And now. Father, keep me in Thy bosom and in 
 the guardianship of Thy holy angels during the few remaining 
 days of my mortal pilgrimage, till I finish the work Thou hast 
 given me to do. Then take me to the home Thou deemest 
 suitable for me in the higher life." 
 
THE END DRAWING NEAR. 519 
 
 There is little more to add to this narrative. Few acts 
 or incidents worthy of note occurred during that portion 
 of the 88th year of his age the subject of it was per- 
 mitted to spend on the earth. His last sermon had been 
 preached in his old pulpit at Hopedale Nov. 3, 1889 ; his 
 last funeral was attended June 1, 1890; his last mar- 
 riage was solemnized on the 26th of the same month ; 
 and his last public service was rendered on the 29th — a 
 prayer at a Masonic gathering held in Music Hall, Mil- 
 ford, as a testimonial to St. John tiie. Ksamgelist, instinct 
 with fervor, impressiveness, and spiritual power. Thus 
 ended a ministry of sixty-eight years and eleven months, 
 remarkable for its length, its activity, and its usefulness — 
 for its eminent service of G-od and man. 
 
 During the eight years, three montlis, and twelve days 
 represented in this chapter, Mr. Ballou participated in 499 
 funerals, a larger number than ever before in. the same 
 length of time, making the aggregate of his life 2606 ; 
 and presided at the marriage altar of 16 couples, filling 
 out an aggregate of 1199, or of 2398 persons in all. So 
 ends the category of his ministrations in these respects. 
 
 Last Illness and Death. The health of Mr. Ballou, 
 which, with rare exceptions, was unusually good from 
 early youth through middle life, continued so till near 
 the end of his earthly pilgrimage. The familiar apothegm, 
 "A sound mind in a sound body," had in him a strik- 
 ing illustration, due, no doubt, to his well-controlled 
 appetites, his regular habits, his even and cheerful 
 temperament, and the simplicity of his whole manner of 
 life. The infirmities of age came upon him with a linger- 
 ing tread. Until past four-score years his frame was 
 wonderfully erect, and his step correspondingly firm and 
 sure. The glow of his countenance and the vigor of his 
 bodily powers were plainly discernible and subjects of 
 remark far on toward the final hour. Such an example 
 of well-preserved physical endowments, able to discharge 
 their respective functions and free from the ills and pains 
 often accompanying such length of days, is rarely seen. 
 
520 AUTO-BIOGRAPHY OF ADIN BALLOU. 
 
 Nor did his mind sfeem less vigorous and sound than- 
 was his physical sj'stem. Its faculties remained singu- 
 larly acute and active almost to the last. People who 
 met him in private or listened to him in public, com- 
 mented upon the clearness and energy of his thought 
 and utterance. Happily for him and for his family and 
 friends, no weakening of his intellectual powers mani- 
 fested itself and no lack of command or balance of the 
 attributes of the understanding, until stricken with the 
 painless illness which brought his earthly labors to an 
 end, and which, not many days afterward, terminated 
 his mortal career. 
 
 Nevertheless, his bodily powers had for some time 
 previous to that final attack been slowly gi^■ing way, and 
 his hold on the things of earth and time had been grow- 
 ing less and less secure. His neighbors and friends,, 
 kindly solicitous for his health and general welfare, and 
 watchful of changes in his personal appearance, had 
 noticed through the spring and early summer of 1890- 
 what they thought and feared were indications of increas- 
 ing debility on his part. He had himself indeed become- 
 aware of loss of strength and vitality, making note of 
 the same, though deeming it nothing more than a little 
 dulness or weariness which by rest would soon pass 
 away. Yet his resolute spirit would not allow him to- 
 give up work altogether until absolutely compelled to do- 
 so by sheer inability to prosecute it further. His diary- 
 shows that during the first days of July he spent a por- 
 tion of his mornings in the garden, going thence to his- 
 writing, which he followed up, only as interrupted by his 
 customary siesta after dinner and incidental intrusions,, 
 as long as he could see. 
 
 On Saturday, the 12th of the month named, he refers 
 for the last time to his work on his life-history. After 
 noting numerous items which had claimed his attention,, 
 he adds: — "Resumed auto-biography at 10.15. On till 
 dinner. Our siestas. Up at 3 p. m. More auto-biogra- 
 phy and sundries till supper." The next day, Sunday,, 
 
LOSS OF STRENGTH AND ENERGY. 521 
 
 he attended church as was his custom, taking a walking 
 stick to support his faltering steps, "the first time," he 
 pleasantly said to a fellow- worshipper, "you ever saw 
 the old gentleman at church with a cane." In the after- 
 noon he wrote his daughter, Mrs. Heywood, — the last 
 letter he ever penned — detailing interesting incidents of 
 family and neighborhood life with characteristic com- 
 ments, and closing with a few sentences of a personal 
 nature, in which pathos, prophecy, and grateful piety are 
 significantly blended, as shown by a brief extract: "Auto- 
 biography crawls slowly along. Another chapter coming 
 down to 1882 is almost finished. But dimness of vision 
 greatly hinders progress. There is no improvement. 
 The smoke grows gradually more dense, with little hope 
 of betterment. But we must be patient and thankful for 
 the good that remains. Dissolution must come to us 
 both ere long and all will be right. The Heavenly Father 
 doeth all things well. With ever-abiding love to you 
 all, we remain, affectionately yours, Adin and Luor H. 
 Ballou." 
 
 Alas, dissolution came to him sooner than he thought, 
 no doubt, — sooner than any of his friends dared to antic- 
 ipate. On Monday he was in the garden again, but 
 only for a short season, doing little else through the day 
 except to assist in some trifling domestic matters, most 
 of the time being spent upon the lounge. Tuesday he 
 helped the carpet-cleaners and his wife put the house to 
 rights for the summer. At night was " tired." The next 
 day his final entry in his journal was made. Brief 
 extracts reveal his condition at that date: "I, shiftless 
 and languid, helped (wife) what I could. My blindness 
 worse than any time yet. Lounged and lazied away most 
 of the forenoon, feeling rather cheaply in body and mind. 
 Dinner; siestas until three. Brought up diary until six 
 p. m. Sundries. Eyesight sadly dim." The remainder 
 of the week he kept quiet, getting all the rest he could, 
 hoping thereby to regain his lost strength and revive his 
 exhausted energies ; but all in vain. 
 
522 AUTO-BIOGRAPHY OF ADIN BALLOU. 
 
 The Sunday following, July 20, he rose early and at 
 the proper hour began to prepare for church, but his 
 caretaking wife, who knew how weak he was better than 
 he knew himself, dissuaded him from attempting to go. 
 As the day wore on, his power of vision failed rapidly, 
 and before evening it was lost to him forever. "When he 
 realized that he could no longer see, his heart for the 
 time being sank within him and he bewailed the sadness 
 of his lot. But sustained and encouraged by the cheer- 
 ful words of his wife and by voices from the invisible 
 world, which had comforted him in many a trying hour 
 before, he became calm and resigned, saying, " Light 
 comes to me. The heavens are once more opened ; all is 
 right and well," and no expression of murmuring or dis- 
 quietude afterward escaped his lips. 
 
 The next day he spoke of his auto-biography, regret- 
 ting that it was not finished and asking his wife if he 
 could not dictate to her what she could write out for 
 him. Upon being told that he was too ill to do anything 
 of that kind and must be quiet in order to promote 
 recovery, he readily acquiesced, but soon after proceeded 
 to mention certain things he wanted to have noted by 
 whomsoever might complete the work, provided he should 
 not be able to do it himself. He was told that all 
 should be done as he desired and it would be right, 
 which seemed to satisfy him, putting his mind at rest, 
 and he ' never mentioned the matter again. That night 
 he went to the bed from which he never rose. 
 
 The following morning it was deemed advisable to call 
 a physician, and Dr. Jerome Wilmarth, mentioned before, 
 who was then residing in Milford, was summoned. He 
 found the patient suffering from a slight pulmonary 
 trouble and prescribed remedies which brought apparent 
 relief. On Wednesday the daughter, Mrs. Heywood, and 
 her husband, who had been informed of her father's ill- 
 ness, arrived by an afternoon train, finding him seriously 
 but they hoped not dangerously sick, free from pain, and 
 able to converse intelligently and with little difficulty. He 
 
THE LAST OF EARTH. 523 
 
 greeted them cordially and affectionately and had a some- 
 what lengthy inter\'iew with them, giving directions much 
 in detail in anticipation of his possible approaching 
 departure, with accompanying assurances of love, grati- 
 tude, and pious trust. 
 
 On Thursday he asked his daughter to read to him 
 favorite passages in the bible and also his own account 
 of a highly gratifying seance with Rev. T. L. Harris, an 
 eminent Spiritualistic impressionist and seer, enjoyed 
 many years before. Her doing so gave him evident sat- 
 isfaction, comfort, and peace. His physician, at his 
 evening visit, said he was "holding his own" and saw 
 grounds for hope that he would rally from the attack and 
 be about again in a few days. But a slight paralytic 
 shock before morning, affecting his entire left side, fore- 
 closed all further expectation of such a devoutly-to-be- 
 wished-for issue. 
 
 After this new feature of the case appeared, his difficulty 
 of speaking, declining. strength ^ and waning consciousness 
 precluded all continued conversation, and foreshadowed, 
 beyond all peradventure, the not-far-distant fatal result. 
 He, however, continued able to recognize those about him, • 
 answer questions in brief terms, and respond to expres- 
 sions of interest and affection by intelligent signs and 
 tokens, almost to his last expiring breath. G-radually, 
 with no show of suffering, peacefully he sank away, the 
 thread of life becoming manifestly attenuated day by day 
 as time went on. He was tenderly and lovingly watched 
 -over *by the members of his household, conscientiously 
 and effectively cared for by his physician and a skilfully 
 "trained nurse, Mrs. Belle A. Varney of Worcester, until 
 the morning of the fifth of August, when, in the presence 
 of his family and of a neighbor watcher, Mrs. Sarah 
 Jane Hatch, at 4.45 o'clock, just as the rising sun began 
 to fleck with golden hues the surrounding hills, he passed 
 without a struggle to the more immediate companionship 
 of the dear ones gone before, and to the rest and reward 
 ■"of the people of G-od." 
 
524 AUTO-BIOGRAPHY OF ADIN BALLOU. 
 
 Funeral Services. On the afternoon of Friday, August 8, 
 appropriate burial rites in honor of the departed were duly" 
 solemnized in the Hopedale church. A large concourse 
 of people was present, coming from near and far to pay 
 their tribute of respect, veneration, and love to the 
 relative and friend whose earthly labors had now come 
 to an end, and to mingle their sorrow and tears sym- 
 pathizingly with each other under a sense of one common 
 bereavement — of one profound, heartfelt grief. The exer- 
 cises, of the occasion had been arranged for the most part 
 by the deceased and were carried out in accordance with 
 his wishes. The pall-bearers were of his own selection 
 and the several speakei's had been named by him as 
 among the truest and best of his much prized friends. 
 It was his request that his Masonic brethren should have 
 his body in charge and render the beautiful and impress- 
 ive burial service of the Order at the grave, and this, 
 was done. In the unavoidable absence of Gen. William 
 F. Draper, whom he had personally asked to act as con- 
 ductor at his obsequies whenever they should take place, 
 Mr. Eben D. Bancroft was invited to the position, the 
 'duties of which were discharged with gratifying quietude, 
 system, and efficiency. A Masonic quartette interspersed 
 the exercises with most appropriate and admirably exe- 
 cuted selections of vocal music. 
 
 Everything pertaining to the- sacred occasion was as 
 simple and unostentatious as, in the nature of the case, 
 it well could be. The usual emblems of distress and 
 gloom were dispensed with, and a hopeful, cheerful, but 
 subdued and reverent spirit prevailed. The body was 
 encased in a massive broadcloth covered casket, heavily 
 but not gorgeously mounted, and flowers in abundance, 
 wrought into chaste and expressive forms, testified to 
 the thoughful love of earthly friends, as well as to the 
 fatherly kindness of the great Giver of All Good. 
 
 At 12.45 o'clock, prayer was offered at the house, 
 where the family and other near relatives were convened, 
 by an almost life-long friend, Rev. William H. Fish of 
 
FUNERAL RITES AND HONORS. 525 
 
 Dedham, preliminary to the more public services at the 
 church. These were introduced by an organ voluntary, 
 effectively given by Prof. Origin B. Young while the 
 funeral cortege was passing in. A brief invocation was 
 followed by singing and readings from the scriptures and 
 from Whittier's "Eternal Groodness." 
 
 Rev. George S. Ball of Upton spoke most feelingly 
 and impressively of Mr. Ballou as one called by God to 
 a great and noble work, which he had most conscien- 
 tiously and faithfully performed, in a spirit of self -con- 
 secration, animated by a living faith in the eternal 
 realities and an all prevailing love of God and man. 
 Rev. Samuel May of Leicester said that the lesson of 
 the hour was " the worth of a life, and how much can 
 be accomplished in a single life," as illustrated in the 
 career of the departed, who had exemplified the highest 
 type of faith, hope and charity, and whose translation 
 to the company of the -great cloud of witnesses by which 
 we are compassed about, made heaven seem nearer and 
 the spiritual life more real and abiding. Rev. Carlton 
 A. Staples of Lexington paid an earnest and tender 
 tribute to his early pastor and always revered friend, 
 reviewing briefly his Mendon ministry and the wonderful 
 success he. achieved therein as a preacher of a large and 
 noble Christian faith, as a champion of all good causes, 
 and as a winner of human hearts to himself and to a bet- 
 ter life. Rev. Mr. Fish, referring to his early acquaintance 
 with the deceased, expressed profound gratitude that at 
 the outset of his professional experience he came under 
 the influence of so enlightened and noble a mind, and so 
 able a preacher of pure Christianity, breathing "peace 
 on earth and good will to men." He also- alluded to 
 the calm and happy close of his earthly pilgrimage and 
 of the undoubted joy with which he had already been 
 greeted by his beloved Adin Augustus and other dear 
 ones gone before in the spirit home, whence had descended 
 blessed ministrations in days gone by, and where he would 
 welcome all the loved ones left behind in days to come. 
 
526 AUTO-BIOGRAPHY OF ADIN BALLOU. 
 
 At the conclusion of the address of Mr. Fish, the 
 present writer, by special request of his father-in-law, 
 read portions of the sermon he had himself prepared some 
 years before for his own funeral, the full text of which 
 may be found in the appendix. Of this part of the ser- 
 yice, the Milford Journal said: "It was most affecting. 
 Through it (the discourse) pulsed the old-time fervor of 
 devotion to others, of lofty ideals, of generous self- 
 effacement, so significant of the writer. The power and 
 beauty of the periods — of a voice literally ' from out of 
 the grave' — was indescribably touching. The tall, kindly 
 form, the saintly, benevolent face, the modestly cour- 
 ageous but eloquent speech, all stood out visibly as the 
 beautiful sentences fell from the reader's lips. At the 
 tender farewell close, the moui-ning in the hearts of those 
 present well nigh broke restraint, and grief was uncontrol- 
 lably visible.'' 
 
 Rev. Mr. Staples followed this reading with a prayer 
 full of fervor and tender feeling, overflowing with Chris- 
 tian hope and trust, thanking the Giver of All Good for 
 the noble life now closed and for all the benefits result- 
 ing from it, and invoking upon the immediately bereaved 
 and all sorrowing with them, the blessing of the Heav- 
 enly Father and all needed heavenly comfort, encourage- 
 ment, consolation, and peace. After the singing of 
 another sacred hymn. Rev. Mr. Ball pronounced the bene- 
 diction, bringing this part of the service to a close. 
 
 Then came the leave-taking, when the assembled multi- 
 tude, filling not only the auditorium of the church but 
 the stairway and vestibule with much of the vestry below, 
 passing by the coffined form, looked for the last time 
 upon the familiar face — benignant, kindly, expressive, 
 saintly, in death as in life — the relatives and family fol- 
 lowing all the rest. When the last lingering look of 
 bereaved affection was given, the casket was reverently 
 closed and borne forth from the place where the voice- 
 less sleeper had so long and devotedly ministered in holy 
 things to the burial carriage awaiting it outside, in which,. 
 
EARTH TO EARTH AND DUST TO DUST. 527 
 
 followed by a long procession in vehicles of various kinds 
 and on foot, it was conveyed to the rural cemetery across 
 the river clothed in all the loveliness and glory of nature's 
 midsummer garniture, as if to welcome a royal inhabitant 
 to its peaceful abodes. And there in the family lot, 
 already consecrated by the dust of loved ones sleeping 
 beneath its turf of living green, the wearied frame was 
 laid to rest. The impressive burial service of the Masonic 
 brotherhood was feelingly rendered by Master Frank E. 
 Matherson of Montgomery Lodge, Milford, and Chaplain 
 Whitney, accompanied by further singing on the part of 
 the quartette, whose deep, rich voices, blending in perfect 
 harmony and floating aloft and away on the gentle air, 
 seemed like echoes or preludes of the anthems of heaven. 
 A sprig of green dropped from the hands of brethren of 
 the mystic tie upon the casket already deposited in its 
 lowly bed, a tender, tear-dimmed glance into the place of 
 sepulture by each one of the passing throng, and all 
 was over. 
 
 "And now he rests; his greatness and his sweetness 
 
 Blend without jar or strife ; 
 And death has moulded into calm completeness 
 
 The story of his life. 
 
 " Where the dews glisten and' the song-birds warble 
 
 His dust to dust is laid; 
 In nature's keeping, with no pomp of marble 
 
 To shame his modest shade. 
 
 "Around his grave are quietness and beauty 
 
 And the sweet heaven above; 
 The fitting symbols of a life of duty 
 
 Transfigured into love." 
 
APPENDIX A. 
 
 TRIBUTES AND TESTIHONIALS. 
 
 The foregoing pages present in distinct outline and with 
 sufficiency of detail a portraiture of the man whose life- 
 history they rehearse,- drawn from the standpoint of his 
 own personal consciousness and considerate judgment of 
 himself and of his work in the world. It seems most 
 desirable that this delineation should be accompanied by 
 an additional one representing him as he was seen by 
 others — 'by those who knew him well and whose mental 
 and moral discernment and sense of justice fitted them to 
 render a trustworthy verdict concerning the distinguishing 
 and meritorious features of his chai-acter and career. 
 Hence it is that a few tributes and testimonials derived 
 from various sources are introduced as an appropriate 
 supplement to what has gone before. 
 
 I. FUNERAL VOICES. 
 
 EEV. GEORGE S. BALL, UPTON. 
 
 " Our brother, our father in Israel, has been long spared to 
 us. He has ' come down to the grave in full age, like as a 
 shock of corn cometh in its season.' Far back In his youth a 
 great vision opened to him, changing the whole tenor of his 
 life. Like Paul, he was not disobedient thereto.r Though he 
 went forth bearing his seed weeping, he has gathered great 
 sheaves into God's garner, and could repeat in retrospect eth 
 apostle's words, 'I am ready to be offered; the time of my 
 departure is at hand. I have fought a good fight, I have flu- 
 ished my course, I have kept the faith. Henceforth there is 
 laid up for me a crown of righteousness.' .... 
 34 
 
530 AUTO-BIOSEAPHY OF ADIN BALLOU. 
 
 " But let us not forget that even the grave bears not away 
 all. There is a life of soul above its reach. Let memory 
 hold its living power still. Let souls commune and even the 
 dead shall speak. 
 
 "And first there rises, at the recall, a beautiful simplicity 
 that marked his life. How great was the impulse that sent 
 forth this character on its mission ! How luminous the vision 
 that consecrated that long life of love in his chosen profession I 
 Simplicity marks God"s work. We can believe all that Paul 
 portrays as the result of faith. The call came. The vision 
 opened such a view of the character of God, such ineffable 
 beauty, that he was ever afterward drawn to Him as the All- 
 Father. Not far away but present, for ' in Him we live and 
 move and have our being.' The Father of all, hence one family 
 tie binds all spirits together. It was this Christian idea of the 
 mutual relation between Uod and man that entranced and 
 inspired his soul; from this came his consecration. How from 
 this central thought he reasoned, argued, and led men ! Christ 
 became real to him — the elder brother and master, ' the way, 
 the truth, the life.' His ideal, so grand, was taken into life, 
 became a power for the uplifting of humanity, for the salva- 
 tion of the world here and now. His philosophy took in all 
 men, high and low, rich and poor. How he sought to inaugu- 
 rate this life of God among men as practical Christianity, that 
 they might make it real here and now, and be prepared for 
 the living, loving work of eternal growth! He saw through 
 the Great Master's eyes that which ever drew him on, called 
 him to advocate every refoim, and to labor for every class and 
 condition of mankind. 
 
 "How was he thus consecrated to the anti-slavery work I 
 What blows he struck at all those evils and sins that degrade 
 men and lead them into bondage, that imbrute them and take 
 away that peace and happiness which come only from obedi- 
 ence to the higher law of their being! His broad soul could 
 welcome all working to the same great ends. How faithful in 
 all these relations! How various his calls!. What tasks he 
 performed! And through all his soul has grown and the love 
 that inspired him has illumined his face, given sweetness to 
 his smile, fervor to his voice, and warmth to the grasp of his 
 hand, that wq shall bear on the tablet of our hearts as long as 
 affections remain. 
 
 "Perhaps more marked than all has been the practical out- 
 come of his great mind and faith. Ever active, he never outran 
 his conscience and so has shown an example we all may wel- 
 come as a height of greatness rarely attained. He held fast 
 the good while aspiring for the better, showing to us the 
 
FUNERAL VOICES. 531 
 
 sources of that power whose loss we now mourn. All this 
 culminated in a spiritual habit that made his later life a walk 
 with God — a commerce with the sky. Often thwarted and 
 apparently failing as he worked with men, he has felt a 
 divine presence upholding him if for a moment cast down. 
 
 " His own experience prepared him to speak directly to 
 hearts overwhelmed in affliction. To him the veil of death had 
 been pierced, the light of God shone through, the voice of Him 
 who had brought life and immortality to light was heard pro- 
 claiming the mansions of the Father's house open to our feet. 
 Night was changed to morning, and the eternal day for all 
 souls dawned." 
 
 EEV. SAMUEL MAY, LEICESTER. 
 
 "The lesson of this hour is of the worth of life and how 
 much may be accomplished in a single life. I am almost awe- 
 struck in the presence of this long-protracted, now finished 
 life — a life devoted with such singleness of purpose, such 
 uiiinterraitting industry, such uniform gentleness, yet such 
 manifest force, to the highest and noblest human ends. Com- 
 pare it with lives we daily look upon, spent aimlessly and 
 weakly- — still more with those spent viciously and injuriously. 
 Compare its wise and generous activities with the self-seeking 
 and frivolous course of many; its wealth of thought and pur- 
 pose with their emptiness; its precious product with their 
 waste. Can these so different lives all come into one category 
 and be classed as Imman lives — one so full, the others so 
 barren ; one so positive and high, the others so negative and 
 low? We understand why it is asked of the latter, 'Is life 
 worth living?' We cannot imagine its being asked of the well- 
 ordered, high-principled, consecrated life which has just come 
 to its close 
 
 "A life well spent! Can there be any truer, better eulogy? 
 Could human life have a more perfect crown than to be thus 
 sealed? An honorable life too and a happy life, — and both 
 because it was well spent, because it was filled with the ser- 
 vice of truth, of man, and of God. What cause of ' human 
 good did he ever refuse? Wliat service to humanity has he 
 turned from? What divine truth has he ever feared to accept 
 and to proclaim both by word and deed? Is a deep, living 
 faith in those high ideas and principles which take hold of 
 the very throne of God, in itself a rich possession, a pearl of 
 great price? Such faith he had. Is a hopeful trust in men, 
 in their power of progress and attainment, and in their larger 
 and nobler future,— a hope stronger than all doubts and fears,— 
 to be desired? Such hope was his. Is a generous sympathy, 
 
632 AUTO-BIOGRAPHY OF ADIlSf BALLOU. 
 
 taking ill all sorts and conditions of men, ministering gladlj' 
 to all sorrows and needs, encouraging all hearts, — which has 
 patience for weakness, pity for failure, which refuses to despair 
 of those whom God cares for, which brings its own human 
 love to work with God's to turn the sinful from the error of 
 their ways, — is such wide charity to be revered and sought? 
 We can truly say, it lived in his bosom. Yes, he had all these 
 graces, — this faith, this hope, this charity; and which of them 
 were greatest in him it were hard to tell. 
 
 " I do not know the precise time when Mr. Ballou first 
 declared himself to be of the grand army of anti-slavery 
 workers, — grand not in numbers, but in its principles, 
 in its aims, in the spirit of moral courage and self- 
 sacrifice, which inspired it and held it together. I do know 
 that it was in the very early years that he took his place in 
 that warfare, standing strong and firm as a good soldier of 
 God, in line with its most outspoken advocates, its most earnest 
 friends, giving to that cause, though then 'everywhere spoken 
 against,' his unqualified adherence, the influence of his pulpit, 
 the force of his mental training and of his earnest, searching 
 speech, and, better than all beside, of his high personal char- 
 acter, his generous sympathy, his clear and true conscience. 
 . . . Had the American pulpit, with a proper loyalty to 
 the gospel it professed to teach, with a general accord, and 
 with a courage and Christlike tnhid such as Mr. Ballou mani- 
 fested, lifted up its voice against slavery, we should have 
 been saved a thousand evils, and, in all human probability, the 
 long and destructive war, with its costly sacrifice of life and 
 substance, would have been averted." 
 
 " The departure of this dear friend enlarges that ' cloud of 
 witnesses' by which 'we are compassed about.' As he passes 
 out of sight and joins that 'innumerable company' of which 
 the sacred writers tell us in so many a glowing figui-e, with 
 so many a lofty and inspiring phrase, we feel sensibly that it 
 becomes of greater personal interest to ourselves; that heaven 
 is nearer; that this brief earthly life is really far less substan- 
 tial and sure than we have regarded it, the spirit's life more 
 vivid and infinitely more worthy. New motives come to us. 
 Our purpose to lay aside every weight which holds us down 
 is quickened. Oh, how greatly should it be quickened, till we 
 wholly understand what manner of men we ought to be, see- 
 ing that we have had such companionship as -his, seeing that 
 we may hope for it again, seeing that we are ever surrounded 
 by this ' so great a cloud of witnesses !' 
 
 "May a portion of his spirit fall on us who remain. His 
 witness for God and truth does not cease with liis mortal 
 
FUNERAL VOICES. ' 533 
 
 breath. He lives to God, who will not forget his promises, 
 and who will visit the bereaved, the lonely, the stricljen, with 
 his comforting spirit. So may his kingdom come, and his 
 will be done ' on earth as it is in heaven.' " 
 
 KEV. CARLTON A. STAPLES, LEXINGTON. 
 
 Mr. Staples was a native of Mendon, belonging to one 
 of the families connected with the parish of which the 
 deceased was for eleven years pastor, and grew np to 
 manhood largely under his guidance and influence. He 
 ever held him in sincere esteem and reverence, and his 
 tribute on the * occasion under notice was most earnest, 
 tender, and affectionate. The substance of it, much 
 amplified and illustrated, was embodied in a "Memorial 
 Sermon," preached in the old Mendon church shortly after- 
 ward, extracts from which appear on a subsequent page. 
 
 REV. WILLIAM H. FISH, DEDHAM. 
 
 "I have probably known him (the departed) intimately and 
 associatively longer than almost any other person present, 
 which is nearly sixty years. For fifty-three years I have been 
 in ministerial fellowship with him, he introducing me to my 
 first society in Millville, and taking an important part there in 
 my ordination, which was effected by a friendly union of 
 Eestorationists and Unitarians. And to-day I certainly have 
 good reasons for gratitude that I early came under the help- 
 ful influence of so enlightened and noble a mind, and so able 
 and efficient a teacher of that pure gospel of Christ which 
 breathes only 'peace on earth and good will' to all mankind. 
 It is fifty-six years since I first visited him in his hospitable 
 home in Mendon, and our parishes were so near to each other 
 for several yeai's that he was of great assistance to me by 
 frequent pulpit exchanges and in various other fraternal ways. 
 And very pleasant to me is the memory of those opening days 
 of my public ministry — among the happiest of my life. . . . 
 
 "And that was a blessed close of a consecrated life, — a life 
 consecrated to God and humanity in the Christ faith and spirit. 
 The messenger which we call Death seemed to approach him 
 in the best possible way for both himself and his beloved and 
 devoted companion of sixty years. The first shock that came 
 to him, rendering him helpless, and turning the light of day 
 into darkness, was sudden. Indeed, but after this prostration 
 his life ebbed so slowly, so peacefully away, and the heavens 
 
534 AUTO-BIOGRAPHY OF ADIN BALLOU. 
 
 opened so clearly and brightly to him, that the two weeks 
 interim thoroughly fortified his afflicted and anxious wife for 
 the change, and comforted and sustained by the divine pres- 
 ence and, as she believed, by the ministry of angels, she was 
 able to say in her trusting heart, 'Even so, Father, for so it 
 seemeth good in thy sight,' and now she only patiently and 
 hopefully waits, 
 
 'Till the shadows are a little longer grown,' 
 
 to rejoin him in the heavenly home, which has for so many 
 years been their mutual anticipation and their constant con- 
 solation and encouragement. As they have lived so long 
 together in the spiritual as well as in the material world, con- 
 fident that their dear, long-ago departed Adiu Augustus was 
 with them as a ministering presence, there must now seem to 
 her to be but a thin veil between her and them, and that soon 
 they will be brought together to realize their highest dearest 
 hopes, and the fulfillment of all the promises made to them by 
 the vai-ious revelations of the universal Father received in filial 
 faith and trust. So this great light, which has just ceased to 
 shine upon us through that noble form that is presently to be 
 laid away in the beautiful cemetery planned oiiginally by him, 
 will shine henceforth in some more glorious form, wherein the 
 pure spirit will enjoy a happiness that ' eye hath not seen, 
 nor ear heard, nor the heart of mortal man conceived.' May 
 we, dear fi-iends, make this our hope, by living the faith 
 which our elder and departed brother so long preached in your 
 midst and so tenderly and impressively brought home to you 
 in your hours of bereavement and sorrow, and may that hope 
 be fully realized by us all, when we also shall be summoned 
 hence." 
 
 1 1. TRIBUTES OP FRIENDS. 
 
 REV. CHARLES H. EATON, D. D., NEW YORK. 
 
 "I can sincerely say that in my moral and spiritual nature 
 I owe more to Mr. Ballou than to all the ministers and men 
 with whom I have ever come in contact. His superior allegiance 
 to the truth, his boldness and humility, his wisdom and love, 
 excited my admiration as a boy and have been toy constant 
 inspiration in later life. We may say of him what Tyndall 
 said of Faraday,' ' Surely, here was a strong man; but let me 
 not forget the union of strength with sweetness in his charac- 
 ter.' We cannot regret the going home after so long, rich. 
 
TRIBUTES OF FRIENDS. 535 
 
 holy, and helpful a life. For him, certainly, 'to die is gain.' 
 
 May God help us to love him so much that we may grow to 
 
 be like him, and if we may not realize his power we may 
 attain something of his spirit." 
 
 HON. LATIMER W. BALLOU, WOONSOCKET, R. I. 
 
 '• Brother Ballon was one of my earliest school-teachers, a 
 near neighbor of my father, and though afterward separated 
 by our varied callings, we have been warm friends more than 
 seventy years. I am grateful for the noble life, the warm 
 friendship and the blessings the dear departed has conferred, 
 and the bright hope and faith he proclaimed to so many sorrow- 
 ing hearts." 
 
 GEN. W^ILLIAM F. DRAPER, HOPEDALE. 
 
 "It is with the most profound regret that I read in the 
 papers here (in Europe) of the death of Mr. Ballon. Notwith- 
 standing his extreme age, the news came like a shock to me. 
 I admired and respected — nay, revered him more than any 
 other man I ever met. To me he combined a perfectly blame- 
 less life with most extraordinary reasoning powers. I feel that 
 he has done much to develop the best that there is in me." 
 
 REV. LEWIS G. W^ILSON, HOPEDALE. 
 
 Closing paragraphs of a sermon from the text, " The strength of the hills is 
 his also," delivered Sept, 14, 1890. 
 
 " What a great good fortune it has been to us all that we 
 have so long dwelt near him whose vacant place fills us with 
 grief, even in the midst of our gratitude I How like some great 
 mountain of spiritual strength he has been these many years! 
 Like a white-crowned hill, he towered above us, and to be 
 near him was to feel safe, and in our trouble to gain courage 
 to go on our way cheerfully, trusting in the Father in whom 
 he trusted. 
 
 "The strength of the hills was his, but it was his because 
 he went up to their summits, as his Master did. There he 
 prayed; there he labored with the hard and knotted problems of 
 life; there he received and brought down to hundreds of wait- 
 ing and expectant hearts the consolation of a changeless love. 
 
 " If such a life, filled with such a power, does not have its 
 ■weight with us and linger in our memory as a constant inspira- 
 tion of faith and reminder of duty, then are we pitifully weak 
 and thoughtless. But such will not be the case. We shall go 
 forth and labor to realize his ideal of brotherly love and peace — 
 the fundamental principles of Christianity. 
 
536 AUTO-BIOGRAPHY OF ADIN BALI.OU. 
 
 "Those bright summits which he saw in his prayers, those 
 angels with whom he communed across the silent sea, those 
 star-fretted heavens into whose realm his spirit has been wel- 
 comed—we will thinli on these things and tell them to our 
 children while we do good service in the name of God, in the 
 name of Christ, and in the name of a glorified humanity." 
 
 REV. CARLTON A. STAPLES, LEXINGTON. 
 
 Extracts from a discourse given in the Unitarian Church, Mendon, Aug. 24, 
 1890, and afterwards printed at the request of Ms hearers. 
 
 In Memoriam. 
 
 " When the ear heard me, then it blessed me; and when the eye saw 
 
 me, it gave witness to me The blessmg of him Ihat was ready 
 
 to perish came upon me."— Job xxix, 11, 13. 
 
 " It is now nearly sixty years since Adin Ballon, then a 
 young man less than thirty years of age, was installed in this 
 house as the minister of the society worshipping here. He had 
 been preaching then for ten years, having entered his profes- 
 sion when barely eighteen, and had already attained popularity 
 as an interesting and eloquent preacher. . . . 
 
 "Into the town life he entered heartily; he was in sympathy 
 with its people in their struggles, sufferings, and sorrows, and 
 their friend and counselor in all the experiences of life. He soon 
 won their confidence and their love. He delighted to talk with 
 them upon their affairs, their opinions, and their hopes. He made 
 himself one with them in their homes, at their work, in their 
 afflictions and their joys. A kindly, genial, courteous man who 
 never held himself above anybody — black or white, saint or 
 sinner, poor or rich — who had a cordial greeting for every one 
 whom he met on the street, and who was as ready to stop and 
 talk with a bronzed, rugged farmer or his son and daughter as 
 with the finest gentleman and lady of the town ; it is no won- 
 der that the whole population was drawn to him and gave him 
 their sincere respect and affection. His beaming face, his 
 pleasing manner, his soft, musical voice, his interest in the 
 humblest people, and his readiness to help and encourage all 
 who were in want and trouble, opened the way to everybody's 
 heart. The children and the young men and women were his 
 sincere friends, drawn to him and held fast by his friendly spirit 
 toward them and his devotion to their good. He impressed their 
 minds with moral and religious truths. He awaljened an ambi- 
 tion in them to do and to be something worthy of their oppor- 
 tunities, an honor and a blessing to their fellownien and their 
 country. The influence of his teaching and of his spirit did 
 much to mould their characters and cheer and elevate their 
 
TRIBUTES OF FRIKNDS. 537 
 
 lives. To many of them he has been a power for good in all 
 the subsequent journey of life, and to their dying day they will 
 remember him as the gentle, persuasive teacher and faithful 
 friend who first turned their thoughts toward God as our lov- 
 ing Fat|jer, Jesus as our faithful Guide, and Heaven as our 
 eternal home. 
 
 " Mr. Ballou soon became popular with the society and influ- 
 ential in the town. As a preacher, he was interesting, forcible, 
 practical, and often eloquent. Of a logical mind, strong reason- 
 ing powers, tender feelings, and a devout spirit, he moved, 
 convinced, and uplifted his congregation. This meeting house 
 was usually filled with interested worshipers, who came from 
 all parts of the toWn and from neighboring towns, attracteil 
 by the fervor and power of his pulpit services. . . . He was 
 a preacher who brought home to his hearers the great truths 
 of religion and the duties of life in a way that people under- 
 stood, illustrated them with facts and stories often homely 
 but pungent and moving, appealed to the reason, the conscience, 
 and the heart with convincing power. His themes were not 
 far removed from the common experience; they touched the 
 great issues of life and questions of individual and social 
 well-being. He had an impressive manner, a fine, commanding 
 presence, a voice of singular pathos and sweetness. It was a 
 pleasure to look at the man and follow his discourse. I sup- 
 pose the first five years of liis ministry here were the period 
 of his greatest popularity as a preacher. The congregation 
 was large, united, proud of its minister; and he was winning 
 new admirers and friends in the adjoining towns. Through his 
 paper, his lecturing and preaching, he gained a wide infiuence 
 in this portion of the State, and made a reputation as a con- 
 troversialist, writer, and preacher, which might well have 
 satisfied his ambition. Thus the prospect of a long, prosper- 
 ous, and peaceful pastorate seemed open before him. Few 
 ministers at his age had achieved so enviable a reputation. . . . 
 
 " Forty-eight years of life remained to him after his con- 
 nection with this society as pastor came to an end. Of this 
 long period of work and care, of heavy responsibilities, of bit- 
 ter disappointments, yet of useful labors and of large achieve- 
 ments, I can speak only very briefly. . . . What good cause, 
 however unpopular, what cause founded on justice, on purity, 
 on Christian truth and love, did he not engage in and help 
 forward by word and deed and influence? None such ever 
 appealed to him in vain. He was a brave, fearless soldier in 
 the battle for truth and righteousness; and he never shrank 
 from any sacrifice of personal advantage to do his duty toward 
 God and man. Of untiring industry, he accomplished an 
 
538 AUTO-BIOGRAPHY OF ADIN BALLOU. 
 
 amount of difficult and disagreeable literary worlj such as lew 
 ever attempt and fewer ever finish; and he ceased not until 
 almost fourscore aud ten years had been reached. Nothing 
 could turn him aside from his purpose and the task before 
 him. Of firm Christian faith, he souglit to embody ite princi- 
 ples and its spirit in the institutions of society, and make 
 them the guide of human conduct and tlie basis of character. 
 The gospel of Christ and above all the spirit of Christ were to 
 him the final court of appeal, before which all institutions, all 
 enterprises, all lives, must be brought for judgment, and 
 approved or condemned as they harmonized or antagonized 
 them. He rested in the faith that the immutable right and 
 good were brought to men in the Christian revelation, and 
 before it man should bow in obedience and love. 
 
 " But one word more needs to be spoken. He was a man of 
 large and tender sympathies, of a kind and generous heart, 
 and that brought him near to other hearts. Few men ever 
 won the love of so manj' people, in all classes and in all con- 
 ditions. They knew him to be their friend, they found him to 
 be their helper and comforter. He spake to the heart, because 
 he spake from the heart, of God, and heaven, and eternal life. 
 Invisible things were real to him; he lived much with them 
 and in them, and when he spoke of them it strengthened 
 human faith and comforted human sorrow. There are few 
 homes in this town and in many adjoining towns where he 
 was not known, and where his voice and presence are not 
 associated with the most solemn and the most joyous occasions of 
 life, and where lie is not remembered gratefully and lovingly; 
 and many there are, scattered far and wide in our country, 
 who remember words of his that touched their hearts and 
 kindled some higher purpose, some nobler ambition, or some 
 kinder feeling. And many there are who have forgotten his 
 words, but are conscious, nevertheless, that his influence has 
 given their lives a worthier aim, and made their characters 
 brighter and better. ' Let me die the death of the righteous, 
 and let my last end be like his,' was the prayer of an ancient 
 man, as recorded in the bible. It is a beautiful prayer. So 
 we would all meet death at last. But to die in the peace and 
 assurance of the righteous, man must live in his faith, in his 
 devotion to what is right and good, loving and serving God, 
 walking in the sweet ways of charity aud holiness. Thus I 
 believe Adin Baliou lived,— a righteous man, a Christian man, 
 the faithful servant of God, the friend and helper of his fellow- 
 beings. He died in peace, honored and loved; and his name 
 and influence will long remain to bless the world." 
 
TRIBUTES OF FRIENDS. 539 
 
 GEOKGE L. CAEY. 
 President of Meadville Theological School. 
 
 " More than any other individual, (he) was instrumental, with- 
 out being aware of it, of arousing and strengthening in me that 
 interest in a rational and practical Christianity, which, as I grew 
 older, deepened into an earnest desire to devote my life to some 
 form of helpful human service. He was such a warm friend 
 of my father and his name was such a household word in our 
 family, that when a boy I used to think of him as a sort of 
 thirteenth apostle, and from the beginning of the publication 
 of the Practical Christian to the end 1 doubt if there was a 
 column of it I did not read. This and his 'Christian ISion- 
 Eesistance' exerted such a powerful Influence over me that, 
 until I was twenty years old, I was most thoroughly and com- 
 pletely his disciple. 
 
 " In two directions I can most clearly trace Mr. Ballou's influ- 
 ence upon my mind and character. How wonderfully strong 
 he was on the ethical side of his nature ! Whether it was his 
 moral enthusiasm which first kindled the same fiame in my 
 own life or whether it was only his breath which fanned the 
 spark that nature had placed there, my indebtedness to him in 
 this direction was beyond price. Later years and wider experi- 
 ence naturally modified to some extent the opinions formed in 
 those early years concerning the various relations of man to 
 man, but the spirit 1 imbibed from his teachings has never 
 ceased to be my inspiration. 
 
 '•Mr. Ballou's New Testament expositions in the Practical 
 Christian laid the foundation of whatever success I have since 
 had as an interpreter of the scriptures. It was only the plant- 
 ing of the germs, and yet I can distinctly trace, even in some 
 of ray present opinions, the development of ideas which first 
 came to me as I read that series of articles." 
 
 III. TESTinONlES OF RELIGIOUS AND PHILAN- 
 THROPIC BODIES. 
 
 THE HOPED ALE PARISH. 
 
 " Whereas, In the Providence of God, the Hopedale Parfsh 
 has, in the decease of the Eev. Adin Ballou, lost the founder 
 of this community, a valued friend, a wise counselor, a com- 
 forter in bereavement, and in all things a spiritual father, 
 therefore be it 
 
540 AUTO-BIOGRAPHY OF ADIN BALLOD. 
 
 " Besolved, That his life has always been, and the memory 
 of it must continue to be, to ourselves and to our children, au 
 example of noble allegiance to the truth, of unequivocal 
 integrity, and of the faith which knows neither fear nor doubt ; 
 that his presence for many years has been an inspiration to 
 the highest life and thought; that in his decease we have lost 
 one who merited the love which thousands were glad to accord 
 him; and that while we are deeply grieved at his departure 
 into that realm where all who loved and knew him shall seek 
 his presence again, we can never cease to be grateful that 
 such a life has been spent in our midst."' 
 
 THE UNIVERS.VLIST CHURCH, WOONSOCKET, R. I. 
 By its Pastor, Rev. Chakles J. White. 
 
 " At a meeting of our church held Monday evening, July 28, 
 the severe and possibly final illness of Eev. Adin Ballou was 
 reported. At the mention of the fact, all our hearts were 
 touched with deep sorrow, for his name has been a household 
 word in our homes for three-quarters of a century, and none 
 knew him but to respect and love him. Many were the kind 
 words spoken and many the sacred memories of the past 
 rehearsed. 
 
 " It was voted to spread upon our records the expression of 
 our loving esteem for and our deep sympathy with the faithful 
 servant of God and our dear friend lying so very ill at his 
 home in Hopedale, with the prayer that, if it were possible, he 
 might yet longer be spared to us and to the world ; but, if not 
 possible, then God's will be done ; commending him to the 
 Father whom he loved and to the great company in the immor- 
 tal life whom he had blessed. The pastor was requested, if he 
 could make it convenient, to carry this expression and message 
 of love in person to Mr. Ballou. 
 
 " We have inscribed in our I'ecoi-ds a brief biography with 
 an account of his funeral. We feel that we owed it to him and 
 that the whole community owes it to him to recognize the 
 great service to a reasonable religion and a righteous life he 
 rendered in his long j'ears of residence iu the vicinity. We 
 congratulate the widow and all your family that you have such 
 precious memories of your departed one. Surely, if ever the 
 words of the psalmist were appropriate, they are in his case : 
 ' Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of his saints.' 
 ' They go down to the grave in a full age, like as a shock of 
 corn Cometh in its season.' He had made royal all of tbis life 
 and was ripe .for the better world beyond. My field of labor 
 for these twenty years has been especially fragrant with the 
 
TESTIMONIES OF ASSOCIATIONS. 541 
 
 names of Rev. John Boydeu and his beloved neighbor and 
 life-long friend, Rev. Adin Ballou. I shall never cease to be 
 grateful to them. ' They labored and we are entered into their 
 labors.' • 
 
 'Only the actions of the Just 
 Smell sweet and blossom in the dust.' " 
 
 THE WORCESTER CONFEHENCE. 
 
 At a meeting of this body held in Templeton, Oct. 2, 
 1890, the opening session was devoted to an appropriate 
 service in appreciative and grateful memory of Rev. Adin 
 Ballou. Tender and impressive tributes to the disinter- 
 ested spirit, eminent virtues, and noble work of him 
 whose recent decease touched with a sacred grief so 
 many hearts, were rendered by Revs. Alvin F. Bailey of 
 Barre, George W. Stacey of Miiford, Austin S. Garver 
 of Worcester, and Grindall Reynolds of Boston, secretary 
 of the American Unitarian Association ; after which the 
 following declaration, with an accompanying resolution of 
 sympathy for the afflicted and bereaved, was unanimously 
 adopted : 
 
 "The recent departure of our revered brother, Rev. Adin 
 Ballou of Hopedale, to mansions of glorious rest, is indeed 
 remembered with widespread grief. His was a well-spent life — 
 a life devoted to the cause of practical Christianity, based on 
 the enthusiasm of humanity; a life ever helpful in advancing 
 righteousness as required by the precepts and illustrated by the 
 example of Jesus Christ, our Lord and Master." 
 
 WORCESTER CO. COMMANDERY, K. T. 
 
 " He was widely known and where best known was loved 
 and respected. His life was long, peaceful, busy, and useful — 
 kind in action, gentle in speech, and agreeable in manner, never 
 making enemies, but always gaining friends. He was a man of 
 commanding presence and his pleasant smile and kindly words 
 greeted every one and won all to a mutual friendship. This is 
 but a faint picture of a noble man and a Christian gentleman 
 and Knight Templar, who was honored and respected in life 
 and now sincerely lamented in death." 
 
 THE UNIVERSAL PEACE UNION, PHILADELPHIA, PENN. 
 
 " His long life of nearly eighty-eight years has been devoted 
 to the purest principles of true peace, and he has left us a 
 
542 AUTO-BIOGRAPHY OF ADIN BALLOU. 
 
 legacy of more worth than can be computed in silver or gold. 
 As one of the founders of the Universal Peace Union, having 
 been present at the preliminary meetiug in 1865 and iit the 
 organization of the society in 1866, and continuing with us In 
 spirit ever since, sending us occasional letters of encourage- 
 ment and always living the very incarnation of peace — we 
 testify to his high worth and feel we have cause of thankful- 
 ness that we had so faithful an officer to labor with us." 
 
 I V. EULOQIES OF THE PRESS. 
 
 MILFORD JOURNAL. 
 
 " ' His life was gentle, and the elements so mixed in him 
 that nature might stand up and say to all the world, This is a 
 man.'' " 
 
 "It is doubtful if in all New England there is another 
 clergyman who has entered so many homes as a comforter, to 
 whom it was given to personate so becomingly the loveliness 
 of eternal truths. About his ministrations clustered the spiritual 
 lives of thousands; under his tender offices grew the solemn 
 links of life, — the hours of birth, the hours of christening, of 
 marriage, and of mourning, until his mild presence breathed a 
 perpetual benediction and his steps brought peace. Few in all 
 this section there are but have known his tender offices, whether 
 the hour was of nuptial joy, of tremulous rejoicing for nativity, 
 of life dedication in uprightness, or binding up the hearts of 
 bereaved mourners in the hour of desolation. 
 
 " A gentle minister to all grief, a partaker of all homely 
 joy, he is a part of the innermost life of thousands like a 
 sacred experience, something to remember and revere." 
 
 MILFOED GAZETTE. 
 
 " Early Tuesday morning, Rev. Adin Ballou, widely known 
 for his many virtues, died at his home in Hopedale, after an 
 illness of only two weeks' duration. . . . His was a busy 
 life. Aside from his ministerial duties, he devoted considerable 
 attention to literature, was the author of several books, includ- 
 ing a history of the town of Milford and a genealogy of the 
 Ballou family in America, besides various pamphlets and 
 tracts. 
 
 " He was a man of simple habits and quiet tastes, large- 
 hearted and full of sympathy, rejoicing with the happy, com- 
 
EULOGIES OF THE PRESS. 543 
 
 forting the sorrow-stricken. His friends are legion, and to 
 those in whose joys and griefs he has shai-ed, his departure is 
 a heavy loss." 
 
 BOSTON HERALD. ' 
 
 "The late Adin Ballon . . . grew up with such scanty 
 advantages as could be secured in a plain New England home 
 and at the district school. . . . From the first he was a 
 person of mark. He was large for his age, uncommonly 
 advanced in thoughtfulness, and reached at a bound the mature 
 decisions which belong to people of ripe years. His tendency 
 from the first was toward religious thinking and living. . . . 
 
 " He had in him the self-confidence, the burning enthusiasm, 
 the fearless self-assertion, the irresistible impulse, which con- 
 stitute a natural leader of society, and though he exercised 
 his gifts without the aid of a distinguished position, he was 
 early known as one of the strongest agitators in a community 
 that was as full of reform ideas as an egg is full of meat. . . . 
 
 " Mr. Ballou was one of the interested believers in the new 
 form of associationism, and he had seen too little of the practi- 
 cal development of Christian communism in the Christian 
 church to feel that, within its existing limits, the higher 
 forms of social life could be developed and maintained. He 
 wished to try the experiment for himself, and in the spring 
 of 1842, he secured an extensive domain in the town of Mil- 
 ford in this state, and there, with the aid of others, organized 
 what has since been known as the Hopedale Community. . . . 
 He had matured his plan after long and constant study of the 
 different systems for renewing civil society which were in 
 vogue at that time, and he had such an oi-iginal mind, and 
 had gone so far into the foundation of things, that his own 
 social scheme took shape from his own liberal and devising 
 brain. . . . What he contemplated was nothing less than a 
 new incarnation of the spirit of Jesus Christ in community 
 life. What he aimed at was to institute and consolidate a true 
 order of human society, in which all individual interests 
 should be harmonized for the common good, and be controlled 
 by divine principles as their supreme law. ... In the state- 
 ment of these principles, Mr. Ballou was a happy optimist. 
 He inculcated the existence of one Infinite God, his mediatorial 
 manifestation through Jesus Christ, the doctrine of a perfect 
 divine retribution, the necessity of spiritual regeneration, and 
 the final universal triumph of good over evil. 
 
 " What is remarkable in Mr. Ballou's worlc is that he gave 
 it a distinctive religious purpose and character. He did not 
 expect to reform people unless he controlled their spiritual 
 
644 AUTO-BIOGKAPHY OF ADIN BALLOU. 
 
 life, and the religious direction of the community was the 
 principle to which everything else was subordinated. He also 
 insisted that the family life should be maintained in its purest 
 and best possible forms. . . . 
 
 " Adiu BalUou was one of the most remarkable self-made 
 men that New England has ever produced. He belonged to 
 the century. . . . He was the product of the spirit of asso- 
 clationism or community life, permeated and guided by Chris- 
 tian principles, which was in its day an attempt to realize the 
 larger mission of the Christian church through a social unity. 
 
 "He was a man of charming simplicity of manner, of firm 
 yet childlike faith, of keen and natural intellectual force, and 
 of unusual contentment of mind and spirit. ... He was a 
 Christian Socialist more than a decade before Maurice and 
 Kingsley and Hughes began that movement in England, and 
 one of a high and pure tpye which men are attempting to 
 realize to-day. ... It was his misfortune to live and think 
 at a time when the world was not yet ready for his services 
 in the form in which he desired to render them, but as one of 
 the strong personal forces in our practical yet speculative 
 New England life, ho was as distinct an incarnation of the 
 spirit of the forefathers as Cotton Mather, or Sam. Adams, or 
 Ralph Waldo Emerson." 
 
 BOSTON JOURNAL. 
 
 "Bev. Adin Ballou, who died at his home in Hopedale, Mass., 
 Tuesday morning, was widely known and where best known 
 was loved and respected. His life was long, peaceful, busy, 
 and useful, and he probably leaves not an enemy behind, as he 
 had not one in life. He was kind in action, gentle in speech, 
 agreeable in manner. . . . His kindly words of wisdom and 
 advice have truly gained for him the title of Father Ballou. 
 Entering so many families in time of trouble and in time of joy, 
 he has gained the hearts of many people who in his death will 
 feel a personal loss. . . . 
 
 " He was a strong anti-slavery man, a Arm advocate of tem- 
 perance, and a man of peace in all the walks of life. . . . 
 He was of commanding presence, benignant countenance, and 
 his kindly smile greeted every one and won all hearts." 
 
 BANNER OF LIGHT. 
 
 " Eev. Adin Bnllou, whose pilgrimage of eighty-seven years 
 on earth terminated on the fifth of this month, commenced 
 when quite young to work out the mission of his life, which 
 was evidently to enlighten his fellowmen on spiritual things. 
 
EULOGIES OF THE PRESS. 545 
 
 . . . When seventeen he preached a sermon to his young 
 ■companions and at eighteen formally adopted the ministry as 
 Tiis profession. 
 
 " From 1831 to 1842 he was pastor of a church in Mendon, 
 where his literary and controversial labors may be spoken of 
 as incessant, for aside from his theological warfare he assailed 
 -every species of society evil — intemperance, war, slavery, busi- 
 ness dishonesty, etc., — with all the vigorous ability of voice 
 and pen. 
 
 •' As might be expected of a man of his liberal views and 
 honesty of purpose in his profession, Mr. Ballnu availed him- 
 self of the earliesc opportunities that presented themselves to 
 investigate the claims of Modern Spiritualism. The result was 
 that he soon received indubitable evidence that those claims 
 rested on a sure foundation and that the veil which had long 
 been suspended between this and the life beyond, had indeed 
 been rent asunder, and immortality had become to mankind an 
 .assured fact." 
 
 THE CHRISTIAN LEADER. - 
 
 " The death of Adin Ballou, at venerable years, takes from 
 earth as white a soul as ever animated a human form. . . . 
 In various ways he sought to make immediately practical the 
 Tinselfish life enjoined by the Divine Master; and in pursuing 
 this end, no personal sacrifice could be large enough to dull 
 his ardor or shake his endeavor. His memory will ever be 
 ■sacred to all who knew him or shall know of him. Every 
 Tighteous cause fonnd a champion in Adin Ballou. 
 
 " He was a man of great intellectual gifts and no theory 
 or rule satisfied his heart that did not accord with his reason. 
 
 " Mr. Ballou sought by original devices to give practicality 
 to the doctrine of doing as we would be done by. He origin- 
 ated the ' Christian Socialism ' that was embodied in the Hope- 
 dale Community, It did not succeed, but only a man of great 
 :force and originality could have even started such a movement. 
 It certainly had a moral success ; it witnessed to the power of 
 the doctrine of Christian brotherhood when that doctrine was 
 lodged in an earnest and consecrated soul. 
 
 "Mr. Ballou was by instinct a believer in universal salvation. 
 His faith in the power of Divine Gooduess was implicit. His 
 logical mind could see no possibility of failure in the plan of 
 Ood — in the outcome of His saving grace. . . . 
 
 " Mr. Ballou reached venerable years. He passed from earth 
 loved and honored by all who knew him, and literally rever- 
 -enced by the few who knew him intimately. Peace be to the 
 jashes of the sainted dead." 
 35 
 
546 AUTO-BIOGRAPHY OF ADIN BALLOU. 
 
 THE CHRISTIAN REGISTER. 
 
 " Kev. Adin Ballou was a marked figure among the men of 
 the present generation. Though he did not hold so conspicuous 
 a place in the church as the Rev. Hosea Ballou, still he must 
 be regarded as a force in the religious and social life of New 
 England. His bent, even in early years, was toward religious 
 thinking. He worked his way out of the popular religious 
 creed and became a devoted minister of the Universalist 
 church. Here he soon engaged in theological discussions, tak- 
 ing ground against the view then taught by Thomas Whittemore 
 and others — known as ' death and glory ' — and advocated the 
 doctrine of restoration. This controversy resulted in an 
 ecclesiastical break and he afterwards became identified, for 
 a time, with the Unitarians. He was an earnest Abolitionist 
 and was associated with Garrison and other pioneers of this 
 great struggle. He was deeply impressed with the evils of 
 intemperance and entered with his wonted vigor and enthusiasm 
 into the efibrts to remove this curse from the land and also to- 
 plead for the cause of universal peace. But the chief point of 
 interest in his life was his organization of the Hopedale Com- 
 munity on the basis of Christian Socialism. Kingsley, Thomas 
 Hughes, and Maurice were at work in London, in their efforts 
 to apply this theory, but as Mr. Ballou was an independent 
 thinker, he wrought out his own plan. lie was fully steeped 
 in the spirit of Christian philanthropy, and he designed to make 
 his society a practical Christian republic on the basis of the 
 teachings of Jesus. . . . The leading idea of his life was 
 to make of the community a true Christian Church.— the king- 
 dom of dod ou earth. 
 
 " Mr. Ballou was a man of striking personal features. He- 
 had a kindly eye and a genial face. . . . His old age was 
 serene and beautiful. He had consecrated his life to noble 
 ends. So when the angel voice of death came, to few would 
 the words of Jesus, whom he loved and whose spirit was the 
 guide of his life, more fitly apply: 'Inasmuch as ye have done 
 it unto the least of these my disciples, ye have done it unto- 
 me. Enter thou into the joy of thy Lord.' " 
 
APPENDIX B. 
 
 SERMON. 
 
 BY ADIN BALLOU. 
 
 Prepared as a part of the service at his own funeral. 
 
 "Moreover, I will endeavor that ye may be able, after my decease, to 
 have these things always in remembrance."— J/ Peter 1, is. 
 
 T)ETER clearly anticipated his decease — the time when 
 -■- he must put off his mortal tabernacle and be clothed 
 upon by his immortal one. So "have I, these many years. 
 He was not so much concerned to be personally remem- 
 bered after he had passed away as to have the things 
 remembered which he had taught ; for he was deeply 
 sensible of his personal frailties and shortcomings, but 
 knew that the doctrines, truths, and duties he had made 
 known to men were divine. Hence the endeavor expressed 
 in the text. And as with the Apostle in this respect, so 
 has it been with me. With a similar endeavor I pre- 
 pared this discourse while I was yet in the flesh and in 
 the full possession of my mental powers, in order that it 
 might be read at my funeral. It may seem strange to 
 my relatives, friends, and former hearers that I should 
 have done so. But I felt moved to it by influences from 
 the spiritual world as more likely to do justice to the 
 proper demands of the occasion than might otherwise be 
 done. Attend then to the words I have left you. 
 
 1. I thank my Heavenly Father for the hosts of kind 
 friends he raised up to me through , a long life, besides 
 those of my loving and precious family. He knoweth 
 their innumerable ministrations to my comfort and wel- 
 
548 AUTO-BIOGRAPHY OF ADIN BALLOU. 
 
 fare under all the chaugmg vicissitudes through which I 
 have passed — ministrations of the near and dear within 
 the home circle — ministrations of personal associates and 
 friends more or less intimately connected with me in 
 social relations — and ministrations of a more casual and 
 general nature from thousands who knew me as a public 
 teacher. I always desired to appreciate gratefully every 
 favor, token of affection, and expression of I'espect thus 
 conferred on me. Doubtless I fell short in many instances 
 of doing so. But I regarded them all as flowing out, 
 through whatever channels, from the Giver of every good 
 and perfect gift. I know they are all in the book of His 
 remembrance and that whoever bestowed them at His 
 prompting will not go unrequited. Therefore, I need not 
 enter into specifications. 
 
 2. Notwithstanding general good intentions toward 
 Grod and my fellow-creatures, I have often sinned against 
 both in ways of commission and omission. It has pleased 
 God to make me very sensible of all these sins, to give 
 me a humble, penitent, and contrite heart, and to assure 
 me a thousand times of his forgiving grace. So of my 
 fellow-creatures, one and all, whom in any manner I have 
 harmed or neglected, I this day entreat their forgiveness, 
 as they themselves implore human and divine forgiveness. 
 And I tenderly conjure my friends who think I have done 
 any good in the world, not to eulogize me as a sinless 
 man or as one inlierently excellent in any respect, or as 
 being anything at best but an instrument in the Divine 
 Hand, acted upon and through by a measure of wisdom 
 and goodness above my own. For this is the absolute 
 truth to my highest and inmost consciousness. If I had 
 done my whole duty and come up to my best ideal of 
 Christlike excellence, I should have had no self-suflfieiency 
 to boast of, and only reason for profound thankfulness 
 to the one infinite Fountain of All Good. But instead of 
 such complete dutifulness, I take to myself shame for my 
 many sins, faults, and follies. I credit all good to God 
 and charge all evil to the frailty of the creature. This 
 
FUNERAL SERMON. 549 
 
 is the light in which I stand, and thus I wish to be rep- 
 resented by the friends who may remember me. Here I 
 end what is strictly personal to myself. 
 
 3. I come now to the doctrines, principles, and duties 
 which I have been privileged to preach and teach. These 
 are "not mine, but His that sent me." They are dis- 
 tinct from and incomparably above my mere personality. 
 It is these that, now I am gone, I would have you keep 
 always in remembrance. You maj^ forget me, but do not 
 forget them. For though I failed to work them out and 
 illustrate them in social institutions or in the individual 
 character of many receivers, I am sure they are from 
 Heaven and will finally prevail. "What are they? They 
 are all both theoretical and practical. 1 have endeavored 
 to preach no theological doctrine as essential to religious 
 faith, but what legitimately required of its believers 
 great duties of essential righteousness in strict accordance 
 with it. And on the other hand, I have preached no 
 duty as essential to absolute righteousness which was not 
 dictated by some great theoretical principle plain to the 
 understanding as a sufficient ground for it. Thus I have 
 been careful never to divorce reason and religion, the 
 understanding and moral sentiment, faith and practice, 
 the head and heart. 
 
 I have preached the existence of one infinite, all-per7 
 feet God — the. supreme Divine Mind — a self -existent, 
 omnipresent Spirit and the Father of all intelligent finite 
 spirits, whose love, wisdom, and power are illimitable, 
 faultless, and unchangeable from and to eternity. I have 
 not confounded this God with mindless nature, fate, or 
 law, but held him np to the awe, confidence, and adora- 
 tion of rational moral agents as perfect in all the attri- 
 butes of mental personality, — governing all worlds, beings, 
 and things by intelligent will-power as the infallible, 
 supreme, free, moral agent. And I have carefully avoided 
 ever representing Him as willing, purposing, or treating 
 any one of his intelligent offspring — friend or foe, good, 
 bad, or indifferent — otherwise than as a just, benevolent. 
 
550 AUTO-BIOGRAPHY OF ADIN BALLOU. 
 
 merciful, and wise Fatlier, in time or eternity. I have, 
 therefore, steadfastly rejected and protested against all 
 forms of the doctrine of endless punishment, and also of 
 every kind of vindictive or uubenevolent punishment 
 whatsoever as morally impossible under the Divine Gov- 
 ernment, — uncompromisingly affirming that all God-given 
 law and God-administered retribution must be in perfect 
 accordance with His supreme and inerrable Fatherhood. 
 On this basis I have built the whole superstructure of my 
 ethics, accepting as unquestionable the duties of piety 
 toward God and fraternal treatment of all fellow moral 
 agents in the universe, according to the two great com- 
 mandments — love to God and the neighbor. I have, 
 therefore, always faithfully insisted on supreme love 
 toward the All-Father with the whole heart, mind, and 
 strength, as a duty and privilege absolutely indispensable 
 to the highest good of each individual soul, of human 
 society, and the universal whole of moral intelligences. 
 And in harmony therewith, I have preached the duties 
 and privileges of worshiping that Father ' ' in spirit and 
 in truth," praying to Him, thanking Him as the source of 
 all good, trusting implicitly in His providence, reverenc- 
 ing His laws of order, opening the soul to His inspirations, 
 accepting His spiritual revelations, exercising repentance 
 toward Him for all sin, relying on His pardoning grace, 
 being led by His spirit, ever striving to put on His moral 
 character, and by His help to be holy as He is holy, just 
 as He is just, merciful as He is merciful, and perfect as 
 He is perfect. Then, under the second comprehensive com- 
 mandment, I have urgently insisted on the brotherhood 
 of man and the vast neighborhood of all moral natures, 
 and taught that each should love every other as himself 
 and do unto every other as he would be done unto ; that 
 love to God can be proven only by love to one another ; 
 that this love must not only be exercised toward those 
 who love us, but toward them that hate us — toward the 
 unthankful and evil, as God's love is — toward our ene- 
 mies and iujurers to the extent that refrains totally from 
 
FUNERAL SERMON. 551 
 
 rendering evil for evil, resisting evil with evil, and that 
 ■consummates itself by overcoming evil with good ; and 
 also that whatsoever in us it be that hates, or seeks to 
 Tiarm, or knowingly does harm, even the worst fellow 
 moral ageut, is contrary to pure love toward either God 
 ■or man. I have preached and insisted on this perfect 
 righteousness toward God and fellow moral agents, not 
 only as an indispensable duty but as the grandest privi- 
 lege and crowning glory of the holiest souls. 
 
 I have steadfastly preached Jesus Christ and His gos- 
 pel as set forth in the scriptures of the New Testament — 
 not according to the scholastic theology of the degenerate 
 ■Church — as the highest and most authoritative revelation 
 ■of the All-Father's - nature, will, law of order, grace, 
 truth, regenerating dispensation, and purposed destiny of 
 the human race. In so doing, I have placed Jesus of 
 Nazareth where He Himself claimed to have been placed 
 by the Father, neither below nor above, ordained before 
 "the foundation of the human world, predictively promised, 
 through the best of ancient prophets, as the Christ-man, 
 born in the fulness of time, plenarily anointed with the 
 Father's holy communicable spirit for the accomplishment 
 ■of His mission, and so rendered preeminently the Son of 
 God and Saviour of the world. I have held Him up as 
 the model man, the moral and spiritual head of tlie 
 human race, saying and doing nothing of His mere self- 
 hood, in virtue of His own inherent human attributes, but 
 all officially as the chosen organ of God, in virtue of the 
 indwelling Spirit of the Father, constantly inspiring and 
 ■directing Him. Therefore I have insisted that He has 
 «hown us the Father's moral perfections. His true char- 
 acter, will, law, and purposes; so that " God was in Him 
 reconciling the w^orld to Himself " ; to which end he said, 
 ■did, and suffered all that distinguished Him as the Christ, 
 and entered into the heavenly existence where He will 
 reign in glory until " God shall be all in all." Thus plac- 
 ing Jesus Christ where he claimed that the Father placed 
 Him, I ascribe to Him a name and authority above every 
 
552 AUTO-BIOGKAPHY OF ADIN BALLOU. 
 
 Other name, unto which every creature in heaven, earth,, 
 and the spirit world must bow and " every tongue con- 
 fess that He is Lord to the glory of G-od the Father." I 
 have not held him up as an ordinarj^ man. Nor as one- 
 among many other Christly men, speaking and acting- 
 from His own partially developed intuitions and aspirations, 
 and so, at best, a fallible religious teacher, sometimes 
 right and sometimes wrong ; but as invested by the Father- 
 with infallible spiritual and moral authority over human 
 souls in this world and the next, during his mediatorial 
 reign. I have not ranked Him with Plato, Pythagoras, 
 Socrates, Confucius, or any of the ancient sages, or with' 
 any of the famous philosophers, poets, scientists, and 
 literati of later times, firmly believing that by divioe 
 endowment, He outranks all other human beings. With 
 me His thoughts were God's thoughts, His will God's- 
 will. His wisdom God's wisdom. His controlling spirit 
 God's spirit. His word God's word. His righteousness 
 God's righteousness. His example God's example, and 
 His authority God's authority, to be reverenced and con- 
 formed to accordingly. 
 
 In preaching concerning the veneration due to the 
 scriptures of the Old and New Testaments, I have placed 
 them above alf other human writings as intrinsically more 
 divinely inspired and religiously excellent than any others,, 
 but I have not claimed for them anything diviner than 
 they purport to claim for themselves on a fair interpreta- 
 tion. I have not put them on a level of superhuman 
 perfection, nor confounded their higher testimonies with 
 their evidently lower and ordinary ones, nor made the Old 
 Testament co-equal with the New, nor construed their 
 mere letter and verbalism to be the word of God, but 
 have insisted that they ought to be interpreted and under- 
 stood in strict accordance with their essential spirit and 
 highest fundamental principles — never otherwise. No mere 
 literalism of sound or sense, no mere figurative words, 
 phrases, or texts, have been held up by me as divine- 
 tiuth against declared fundamental objects, principles, and 
 
FUNERAL SERMON. 553 
 
 spiritual essentials, clearly ascertainable. On this ground 
 I have, for myself, studied, understood, and expounded 
 the scriptures of both Testaments in respect to faith and 
 practice, never sacrificing the spirit to the letter, nor a 
 great principle of truth and duty to the mere literal 
 phraseology of a text. Consequently, I have carefully 
 avoided placing Moses above Christ, or the f)atriarchs and 
 prophets above His chosen apostles, or the law above the 
 gospel, or a threatening against a promise, or a lower 
 form of righteousness against a higher, or retribution 
 against a destined end, or temporarily permitted evil 
 against its final overrulement for good, or a dispensation 
 of pain against an eternity of blessedness. After this 
 method, I have searched, understood, and explained the 
 scriptures. After this method 1 have ascertained to my 
 satisfaction who and what Jesus Christ claimed to be, 
 what His mission and authority really were, what He 
 taught as the highest truth and righteousness, how He 
 exemplified that truth and righteousness in the flesh, and 
 how He still more gloriously exemplifies them in the 
 heavens. My theology, piety, jnd ethics — my entire 
 religion — have thus been determined, defined, preached,, 
 and established harmoniously. 
 
 I have not belonged to the indefinite, creedless school 
 of religionists, always seeking and never finding the truth, 
 groping my way through a maze of uncertainties and 
 doubtful speculations, with unsettled convictions about 
 this world and the future world. I have indeed been a 
 free inquirer, but not a schooled doubter, on the gravest 
 questions of religious concern. I have tried not to be a 
 self-sufficient, traditional Pharisee on the one hand, nor 
 on the other, a self-sufficient Sadducee, too learned and 
 proud to feel the force of evidence in support of immor- 
 tality or the existence of angels and manifestable spirits. 
 I was and am a rational Christian Spiritualist, accepting 
 all the reliably proven spiritual phenomena of ancient and 
 modern times as belonging to one continuous succession 
 of manifestations. But I have never embj-aced any form 
 
■554 AUTO-BIOGRAPHY OF ADIN BALLOU. 
 
 •of spiritualism tliat ignored or belittled Christ or reduced 
 Him to the grade of a mere medium for the communica- 
 tion of departed spirits, nor allowed myself to trust to 
 spirit-mediums beyond good evidence of their reliability, 
 nor to accept the teachings of the departed as infallible, 
 nor to receive any so-called spiritual philosophy which 
 •conflicted with, or set at nought the teachings, example, 
 and spirit of Christ. On the contrary, I held it my duty, 
 and also my privilege, to "try the spirits" out of the 
 flesh as well as those still in it, whether they were of 
 God or mere self-deiflers. For 1 liad no doubt that the 
 spirit spheres are peopled with good and evil angels, with 
 good, bad, and indifferent departed human beings corre- 
 sponding to those that inhabit the realm of flesh and 
 blood. 
 
 You know, too, that I have not been any more of an 
 indefinitist in ethics than in theology. Non-organization- 
 ism and non-committalism were never agreeable to my 
 reason, conscience, or taste. Having satisfied myself as 
 to the great truths of religious faith and the great duties 
 of practical righteousness, 1 declared them and bound 
 myself to thera by nnmistaliable pledges. I could not 
 preach the Fatherliood of G-od and go on just as if He 
 might sometime, somewhere, treat His creatures like a 
 cruel despot ; nor as if mankind might excusably treat 
 Him with habitual filial contempt, as millions do. I could 
 not preach the brotherhood of man and all moral agents, 
 -and then teach them to kill, oppress, wrong, and trample 
 ■one another under foot, as if only beasts. I could not 
 .apologize for chattel slavery, war, and the various cus- 
 toms of general society whereby the strong, cunning, and 
 favored classes flourish at the expense of their underlings. 
 I could not preach that mankind were immortal spirits, 
 -all governed by their Heavenly Father by law, justly and 
 graciously, as destined to immortal blessedness ; and then 
 look on tlieir cruelty to each other, their intemperance, 
 licentiousness, and all manner of debasing practices with 
 indifference, with tacit fellowship, and no confroutment of 
 
FUNERAL SERMON. 555 
 
 reproof aud counter-example. I could but point out their 
 sins, call them to repentance, and above all show them 
 by my own practice the right way — yea, the most excel- 
 lent way. And this I must do whether they would bear 
 or forbear, whether they would heed my counsel and 
 example, or rush like the war-horse into the battle. 
 
 And I call you to record this day, as you- look for the 
 last time on my earthly tabernacle from which I have 
 ascended, that these things have been my chief concern 
 during the major portion of my long life. The trumpet 
 of my testimony has given no uncertain sound, either in 
 precept or example. When the cause of total abstinence 
 from intoxicating beverages came up for serious consid- 
 eration, did I hide myself from responsibility or burrow 
 among the sophistries of apology, non-action, and non- 
 committalism ? Or was I in the front of the battle ? And 
 ever since, where have I stood but on the safe ground of 
 unswei-ving fidelity to my pledge ? If I have withheld my 
 hand from attempting to drive others into temperance by 
 penal laws, nevertheless no one mistook which way my 
 precept . and example besought him to go. So in the 
 anti-tobacco reform, have the old or the young mistaken 
 my position? Have they seen me waver in my theoretical 
 or practical testimony? If I refrained from words, did 
 any one ever suspect my course? 
 
 When the anti-slavery agitation summoned every inhabi- 
 tant of the land to protest against that horrible abomina- 
 tion, I could do no otherwise than respond. Yea, though 
 all but one in a thousand were so drugged with pro- 
 slavery as to be utterly indifferent to the wails of the 
 downtrodden, or so maddened against the Abolitionists as 
 to jeopardize their very lives by mobocratic outrages. 
 The millions in bondage were no less my brethren and 
 sisters than their oppressors. Truth was truth, justice 
 was justice, and I could not refrain from uncompromis- 
 ing denunciation of such utter wrong inflicted by the 
 strong against the weak. So I took my stand with the 
 few against the many in those dark days. 
 
556 AUTO-BIOGRAPHY OF ADIN BALLOU. 
 
 The bloody theme of war loomed up for consideration, 
 and I was summoned by the voice of God to decide 
 whether I would stand for or against it. I saw that it 
 was a vast system of manslaughter, even in its most 
 excusable form — unfraterHal, savage, and barbarous; anti- 
 Christian, irrational, and full of monstrous evils. I saw 
 that it was based on the assumed rightfulness of resist- 
 ing evil with evil and overcoming deadly force with deadly 
 force, which Christ both by precept and example unquali- 
 fiedly forbade His disciples to do, even toward their worst 
 enemies. He had laid His great regenerative axe at the 
 root of this upas-tree, and it must be destroyed, trunk 
 and branches. I was fully convinced of this and took 
 my stand accordingly. Beginning where the Son of God 
 did, I left no room for compromise with the least of its 
 rootlets or sprigs. Starting from the divine fundamental 
 principle of pure, universal good will, absolute love, I felt 
 bound to go with that principle wherever it carried me, 
 for all that it dictated, against all that it condemned. I 
 did not allow myself to be sophisticated into any excuses 
 for defensive war or resorts to so-called justifiable .deadly 
 force in extreme cases, but committed myself to total 
 abstinence from all war, preparations for war, glorifica- 
 tions of war, commemorations of war, and organic action 
 involving any resorts whatsoever to deadly force against 
 my fellow-men. I would neither be an ofiicer nor private 
 in any warlike organization, nor in any social, political, 
 religious, or governmental organization by which I made 
 myself responsible for the infliction of death or injurious 
 force on any human being. I would neither fight, vote, 
 pray for, nor give any approval of any custom, practice, or 
 act which contravened the law of perfect love toward 
 God, toward my fellow moral agents, or the universal 
 highest good. I would have no deadly weapon on my 
 person or in my habitation, and held all resorts to their 
 use (except for the destruction of animal life in proper 
 cases) to be a hateful abomination. Thus I was an unmis- 
 takable peace man from the crown of my head to the 
 
FUNERAL SERMON. 557 
 
 soles of my feet. Aud I died without a doubt of my 
 Christlikeness in these respects, yea, without a doubt that 
 all men must come up to this plane of righteousness, in 
 order to perfect safety and blessedness. 
 
 In respect to worldly property, power, and distinction, 
 I long ago learned of Christ and became fully convinced 
 that they ought to be entirely subordinate to the law of 
 pure fraternal good will, perfect love toward God and 
 fellow moral agents ; that property should neither be 
 acquired, used, nor expended contrary to the Golden 
 Rule, nor to the degradation, neglect, or unhappiness of 
 any human being ; that no one should consume for per- 
 sonal or family gratification, more than would be his 
 equitable share in well-ordered human society, whilst his 
 surplus beyond this should be devoted in some rational 
 way to the relief, elevation, and welfare of his needy 
 fellow-creatures ; that riches and poverty are both great 
 evils which ought to be done away with by the voluntary 
 concurrence of all right minds, and that until this shall 
 be accomplished pi'operty will be grossly abused, to the 
 misery of the human race. I learned also that all power 
 and preeminence of one human being over another, how- 
 ever rightful or justifiable, ought to be exercised and 
 manifested in conscientious conformity to Christ's unequiv- 
 ocal injunction, ' ' He that is greatest among you, let 
 him be as the younger, and he that is chief as he that 
 doth serve," — which exactly reverses the carnal ambition 
 of superiors in the world, who aggrandize themselves more 
 and more at the expense of their inferiors and exalt them- 
 selves to their degradation. Not so Christ himself; not 
 so His true followers ; and not so ought it ever to be 
 among human beings. The law of perfect love impera- 
 tively requires that the more talented, or wise, or rich, or 
 gifted in any respect one is, so much the greater is his 
 obligation to serve and help the less favored. Aud until 
 this law is voluntarily and conscientiously obeyed, the 
 strong will continue to take advantage of the weak, and 
 superiors to prey on their inferiors to an abhorrent extent. 
 
558 AUTO-BIOGRAPHY OF ADIN BALLOU. 
 
 I have faithfully preached the ethics of this doctrine^ 
 and no less faithfully exemplified it iu my practice. I 
 have never acquired, used, or consumed property contrary 
 to the Golden Rule. I have never exacted a high price 
 for my serv'iees. I have never made merchandise of the 
 gospel, nor received anything for my ministrations but 
 what was voluntarily contributed by those who enjoyed 
 them. I have sued no man at the law to obtain my dues. 
 I have occupied no finer house, kept no better equipage, 
 eaten no costlier food, worn no richer clothing, nor con- 
 sumed any more for the gratification of myself and family 
 than would be my equitable share with all others in a 
 well-ordered state of society. Nor in an}' respect wherein 
 I was superior to others or moved as a leader, have I 
 ever exacted deference, or assumed airs of importance, 
 or taxed others to support my dignity, or shirked hard 
 labors of body or mind for the common good ; but have 
 willingly served rather than be served. What I did to 
 found and establish a fraternal order of society in Hope- 
 dale, in which these sublime virtues might be illustrated, 
 but in which I succeeded so poorly, I need not remind 
 you. My aspirations, convictions, and principles never 
 changed, in respect to the fraternalization of the social 
 conditions of men. I girdled them firmly about my heart 
 even unto death, and they live in my bosom as a spirit 
 forevermore. They will yet be realized in their highest 
 excellence on earth by devoted disciples who will rejoice 
 in the sacrifices necessary to insure their blessings to 
 suffering millions. The last, best labors of my head and 
 pen have done all in my power to prepare the way for 
 this grand Social Reform, and my small pecuniary sav- 
 ings have been consecrated to its promotion. I have left 
 the world under a very strong assurance from Heaven 
 that a regenerate Christlike form of the Church will ere 
 long be developed to prosecute this work, and now leave 
 you a solemn prophecy that the coming century will wit- 
 ness a glorious practical cousummation of the cardinal 
 principles in behalf of which God made it my high privi- 
 lege to bear testimony. 
 
FUNERAL SERMON. 559' 
 
 Having thus indicated the principal things which I 
 desire you to have in remembrance, and for which I wish 
 to be personally remembered by all my survivors, I now 
 draw to a close. In doing so, I sincerely repeat that I 
 claim no merit or credit for any of the truth and good 
 illustrated through my instrumentality. God has inspired 
 and wrought it through me. 1 have at best done merely 
 my indispensable duty, and am but an unprofitable ser- 
 vant with no reasons for boasting, though unspeakable 
 ones for gratitude to the Most High Father. On the 
 other hand, I take shame and humiliation to myself foi- 
 all my shortcomings. I am profoundly sensible of my 
 unworthiness. Though my sins have mainly sprung from 
 passional frailty, aberration of temper, misdirected appe- 
 tites, and weak judgment, they have filled me with 
 pungent sorrow and prostrated me iu the dust of contri- 
 tion before the throne of my Heavenly Father. I have- 
 never confirmed or excused myself in evil in His pres- 
 'ence, but constantly confessed that His law was holy and 
 just and good, and thanked Him for all His faithful 
 rebukes. And he has graciously responded to all my 
 penitent confessions, "Whom I love I correct"; "Go, 
 and sin no more." 
 
 I wish it also to be remembered and understood that 
 while I have strictly and uncompromisingly claimed that 
 the Christ-plane of truth and righteousness on which I 
 planted myself was absolutely the highest in the moral 
 universe, I have never denied that there was more or less 
 truth a#d righteousness on lower moral planes, nor taught 
 that those who occupied those lower planes were void of 
 conscientiousness and worth in acting up to their light. 
 I have tried to judge all by their own acknowledged moral 
 standard, or left them to the infallible judgment of the 
 All-perfect God. Nor have I ever allowed myself to 
 withhold due credit for right feelings, intentions, or con- 
 duct in any human being, whatever his general moral 
 character, knowing that on every moral level there are 
 good, better, and best ; or contrariwise, bad, worse, and 
 
560 AUTO-BIOGEAPHY OF ADIN BALLOU. 
 
 worst. Thus I have humbly endeavored, without sacrifice 
 of truth, to be just and charitable to all mankind, always 
 considering the force of circumstances and making the 
 best I could even of the worst. My prayer, in the lan- 
 guage of the great practical poet, has been 
 
 "Teach me to feel another's woe 
 To hide the faults I see; 
 The mercy I to others show, 
 That mercy show to me." 
 
 And now farewell to you all ; to the nearest and dear- 
 est of kin that sit as mourners today ; to my religious 
 and sympathizing friends ; and to all of every relation- 
 ship and class who have known me during my long earthly 
 life. I have "finished my course" and "the ministry 
 wrhich I received of tlie Lord Jesus, to testify the gospel 
 ■of the grace of God." I have commended my spirit to 
 the disposal of infinite love and wisdom, and am at rest 
 in my appropriate mansion of the All-Father's vast house. 
 I shall meet you again in due time on the immortal 
 shore. Until then, I invoke on you all the richest bene- 
 dictions of Heaven, and thenceforth will invoke them on 
 you forevermore. Amen. 
 
APPENDIX C. 
 
 The Adin Ballou Lectdeeship of Pbactical 
 Christian Sociology. 
 
 TT was the long-cherished desire of Mr. Ballou that 
 -■- whatever property he might be in possession of at 
 the time of his decease should be used to promote the 
 same philanthropic and noble objects to the attainment 
 •of which the crowning aspirations and efforts of his life 
 had been directed. That desire was embodied in the 
 several clauses of his Last Will and Testament^ and with 
 it detailed requisitions in regard to the ways and means 
 of accomplishing the end it had in view. After provid- 
 ing for the payment of funeral expenses and all just 
 ■claims against his estate, and making a few private 
 bequests of inconsiderable amount, the testator ordered 
 that there be set apart, as a Publication Fund, a sum 
 sufificient for printing certain specified volumes already 
 prepared or to be prepared by him and to be left in 
 manuscript, together with one or more others composed 
 •of selections from his miscellaneous writings, if his 
 executors deemed it expedient, and for distributing the 
 same, free of expense, to theological schools, libraries, 
 and educational institutions, where they would be 
 accessible to those of coming generations desirous of 
 learning how to make the world better; and that the 
 residue be held in trust until a church should be organ- 
 ized upon the ethical and religious basis set forth in 
 his treatises on Primitive Christianity, and should have 
 entered practically upon the work of reconstructing the 
 -existing social system along the lines presented in the 
 36 
 
562 AUTO-BIOGBAPHY OF ADIN BALLOU. 
 
 same series of volumes, — a eonsummatiou which he was. 
 confident would be reached within fifty years, — when, 
 it should be paid, with all its accumulations, in full 
 and without restriction, to such church, to be used at 
 its discretion in carrying its purposes and plans into, 
 effect. 
 
 The legally appointed administrators of the estate, 
 deeming the contemplated achicA'ement exceedingly prob- 
 lematical, esi^ecially within the period stated, and fearing" 
 that the money appropriated to its aid would be frittered 
 away and lost, so far as the ends proposed were con- 
 cerned, petitioned the court in authority to set aside the- 
 clause of the will relating to this particular' matter and 
 issue a decree assigning the amount of property involved 
 to the only surviving heir thereto, Mrs. Abbie B. Hey- 
 wood, wife of Eev. William S. Heywood of Sterling,, 
 Mass., to be used or expended as her best judgment 
 might dictate. The petition received favorable considera- 
 tion and an order was issued accordingly. Whereupon 
 Mrs. Heywood, conjointly with her husband, neither of 
 whom wished to gain any personal advantage or profit 
 from the decision of the court, but rather to employ 
 the means thus put at their disposal for purposes in 
 harmony with the general spirit and design of the Will, 
 began to institute inquiries in respect to some method 
 or agency by which that result could be accomplished. 
 Numerous schemes were suggested and considered with 
 conscientious deliberation, but the one which commended 
 itself most unqualifiedly to the judgment and moral sense 
 of those immediately concerned, and which secured their 
 final acceptance, was that indicated in the following copy 
 of a communication, the meaning and purpose of which 
 are expressed with so much clearness and precision that 
 they require no comment or elucidation. 
 
 " To the President and Trustees of the Meadville Theologicat 
 School : — 
 
 "Gentlemen:— Having come Into possession of what may 
 remain of the estate of my revered father. Rev. Adin Baljou^ 
 
THE MEADVILI.E LECTURESHIP. 563 
 
 late of Hopedale, Mass., deceased, when the several obligations 
 specifically mentioned in his Last Will and Testament have 
 been fully met and ca'icelled, I desire in grateful honor of 
 his name and memory to devote the same, amounting to about 
 sixteen thousand dollars ($16,000) now in hand, to the promo- 
 tion of those great objects of Christian beneficence and philan- 
 throphy in » hich he was deeply interested when upon the 
 earth, and to the advancement and realization of which he 
 consecrated the best energies and efforts of his long and active 
 life. After careful and mature deliberation upon various means 
 and methods of accomplishing the end in view, I have at length 
 decided upon the plan embodied in the following proposition, 
 which I am pleased to submit to you for consideration and foe 
 such action on your part as your best judgment may dictate-,, 
 to wit: — 
 
 " I propose to give to the Institution of which you have charge 
 or to its properly authorized representatives, the aforesaid sum 
 of sixteen thousand dollars ($16,000), to be held in trust as a 
 permanent fund for the establishment and maintenance of a 
 department of instruction therein to be called The Adin Ballou 
 Lectureship of Practical Christian Sociology. The purpose of this 
 offer is to secure the annual.delivery of a course of lectures, by 
 the most satisfactory talent that can be obtained, upon the social 
 aspects of the religion of Christ and the consequent duty and 
 importance of applying the principles and spirit of that religion 
 to the intercourse of man with man, in all the actions and rela- 
 tions of life. In these lectures special attention shall be paid 
 to such subjects, for example, as ' The Barbarism of War ' and 
 the consequent 'Claims of the Cause of Peace'; 'The Extinc- 
 tion of the Evils of Intemperance'; 'The Proper Relation of 
 the Sexes,' including 'The True Doctrine of Marriage and 
 Divorce'; 'The Higher Education and Complete Enfranchise- 
 ment of Woman'; 'The Adjustment and Harmonization of the 
 Relation between Capital and Labor ' ; ' The Prevention of and 
 Remedy for Poverty ' ; ' The Care and Reformation of Crim- 
 inals ' ; ' The Amelioration and Improvement of the Condition 
 of the Unfortunate and Perishing Classes'; including in their 
 full range all topics calculated to enhance the well-being and 
 happiness of mankind and to fashion human society after the 
 Christian ideal of the kingdom of heaven on earth. These lec- 
 tures, or such of thein as shall be deemed most valuable by 
 the president and board of instruction, shall be published from 
 time to time and sent, free of expense, to other theological 
 schools and to leading educational institutions, libraries, etc., 
 throughout the land, to the end that their usefulness may be 
 extended as far and wide as possible. 
 
564 AUTO-BIOGRAPHY OF ADIN BALLOU. 
 
 " It is furthermore my express wish and desire that the con- 
 templated lectureship shall be based upon the distinct and 
 positive recognition of the eternal excellency of the religion of 
 Christ in its fundamental truth and essential spirit, as taught 
 and exemplified in the scriptures of the New Testament and as 
 interpreted by the advancing, intelligence of mankind, and that 
 its administration shall be absolutely impartial and free, regard- 
 less alike of denominational peculiarities and limitations, and 
 of all artificial distinctions of race, sex, or nationality. 
 
 " This offer is made with the full expectation and assurance 
 that, if accepted, the endowment involved will be held sacred 
 to the purposes for which it is designed, and in the earnest 
 hope that the work of human improvement and social regenera- 
 tion, so dear to the heart of my beloved father, will be advanced 
 by the instrumentality it provides for and ordains, and that his 
 name and influence for good in the world may be conserved 
 and perpetuated unto many generations. 
 
 '■Sincerely and respectfully yours, 
 (Signed) "Abbie B. Heywood. 
 
 " Heartily concurring in the above proposition, I indicate the 
 same over my own proper signature. 
 
 (Signed) " William S. Heywood." 
 
 This proposition was formally accepted by the Trustees 
 of the Meadville school at a meeting held soon after it 
 was received, January 31, 1891, when a resolution was 
 passed, thanking the donor for Tier generous gift and 
 assuring her " that the objects which the said donation 
 is intended to promote meet with the cordial approval of 
 the Board as being in harmony with the work of the 
 school." Three months later the money was paid into 
 tlie treasury of the institution and steps were immediately 
 taken to provide means of improving the opportunity 
 thus opened to its students during the then coming 
 academic year. Those steps proved effectual, and the 
 lectureship was inaugurated and started out on its mission 
 of usefulness the following winter. Its work to this date 
 (1896) has been highly satisfactory and gratifying to its 
 founder, so far as she has been made acquainted with it, 
 as it seems to be with others interested in the principles 
 and purposes it was designed to foster and carry forward 
 in the world. Numerous testimonials from students, 
 
THE MEADVILLE LECTURESHIP. 565 
 
 alnmrii, and members of the faculty of the school have 
 been received, assuring her of the great good already done 
 through its instrumentality and of the rich promise of 
 good it gives for the days and years to come; leading 
 her to believe and feel that her action in regard to the 
 money assigned her was timely and judicious ; that the 
 cause of Practical Christian truth and righteousness is to 
 be permanently subserved thereby ; and that the name 
 and memory of her father are to be correspondingly pre- 
 served and honored with the advancing years of time. 
 
 Tlie first course of lectures upon the foundation thus 
 established was given during the winter of 1892-3 by Eev. 
 Washington Gladden, D. D., of Columbus, Ohio, a most 
 profound, conscientious, and reverent student of the prob- 
 lems that enter into the organization and improvement of 
 human society. His addresses were subsequently pub- 
 lished by Houghton, Mifflin & Co., Boston, under the 
 somewhat enigmatical title, "Tools and the Man," which 
 had a wide circulation, five hundred copies of it having 
 been distributed by the authorities at Meadville, agreeably 
 to the specifications of the communication quoted above. 
 
 The principal course for the year 1893-4, consisting of 
 seven lectures, was delivered by Rev. Francis G. Peabody, 
 D. D., Plummer professor of Christian morals in the Har- 
 vard Divinity School, which was supplemented by two 
 lectures from Eev. Edward E. Hale, U. D., of Boston. 
 The course for 1894-5 was by Rev. E. B. Andrews, 
 D. D., President of Brown University, and consisted of 
 ten lectures, of which five were given in the autumn of 
 the first-named year and five the following spring. 
 
 Rev. Lyman Abbot, D. D., the widely known pastor 
 of Plymouth Church, Brooklyn, N. Y., and editor of the 
 Outlook, gave the fourth course, during the scholastic 
 year 1895-6. His lectures, which were delivered extempo- 
 raneously, have been written out in an amplified form, 
 and, with some correlative matter, have been embodied in 
 a volume of three hundred and seventy pages entitled, 
 "Christianity and Social Problems," just' issued from the 
 
566 AUTO-BIOGKAPHY OF ADIN JBALLOU. 
 
 press of Houghton, Mifflin »Sc Co. This also will be in 
 part circulated, as was the work of Dr. Gladden, in 
 accordance with the conditions upon which the lecture- 
 ship was established. 
 
 The lectures for the current year, 1896-7, it is expected, 
 will be by Rev. Samuel W. Dike, LL.D., upon "The 
 Family"; by Rev. John Graham Brooks on "The Organ- 
 ization of Charity"; and by Benjamin Trueblood, LL.D., 
 secretary of the American Peace Society, upon " Intei-- 
 national Arbitration." 
 
APPENDIX D. 
 
 Mrs. Lucy Hunt Ballou. 
 
 ■^HIS estimable woman, the second wife of the subject of 
 -*- the narrative contained in this volume and for more 
 than sixty years his household companion and helper in 
 manifold ways, belonged to one of the oldest and most 
 substantial of New England families, and possessed in 
 large measure those sterling qualities of mind, heart, and 
 character which have distinguished the New England 
 name from the beginning and clothed it with lustre and 
 renown throughout the civilized world. Her paternal 
 immigrant ancestor was William Hunt, a native of the 
 mother country, born about 1605, who, under the leader- 
 ship of the celebrated Rev. Peter Bulkley, came to these 
 shores in 1637 with Capt. Simon Willard, the Wheelers, 
 ■and other notable men, and assisted in founding the his- 
 toric town of Concord, Mass. He was made freeman 
 in 1641, and is represented as an upright. God-fearing 
 man, a good citizen, earnestly devoted to the principles 
 of the Puritan faith, exemplary in the discharge of his 
 domestic duties, training up his children "in the nurture 
 and admonition of the Lord." From him, in the line of 
 Isaac of Concord, Isaac of Sudbury, Abidah of Holliston, 
 and Daniel of Holliston and Milford, descended Pearley 
 of Milford, the father of the subject of this sketch. He 
 was an enterprising merchant and leading citizen of the 
 town, "a man of superior natural abilities, aptitudes, 
 tind qualifications to make a respectable mark in society." 
 He was a Democrat in politics, and in religious faith a 
 Universalist. For twenty-one years he held the office of 
 
568 AUTO-BIOGRAPHY OF ADIN BALLOU. 
 
 postmaster, and that of justice of the peace during all the 
 later part of his life. Much interested in public educa- 
 tion, he was repeatedly chosen a member of the school 
 committee, serving with skill and efficiency. "He lived 
 beloved and esteemed in domestic and social circles for 
 his kindness, urbanity, generosity, hospitality, and kin- 
 dred virtues, and died in honor and peace." 
 
 Lucy Hunt was the daughter of Pearley Hunt, Elsq., 
 and his wife, Chloe (Albee) Hunt, and was born Oct. 31, 
 1810. She inherited from her parents good intellectual 
 capabilities and a personality marked by unusual inde- 
 pendence of opinion and action, great power of will, and 
 resolujte perseverance in whatever she undertook to exe- 
 cute. In her childhood and youth she manifested a 
 gentle nature and a disposition characterized by thought- 
 fulness, cheerfulness, kindness, and amiability. These 
 qualities not only made her an agreeable associate and 
 companion, gaining for her a large circle of devotecf 
 friends as she grew up to womanhood, but rendered her 
 susceptible to those moral and spiritual influences and 
 tuitions which afterward brought into prominence the best 
 that was in her and nurtured those attributes and gi'aces 
 of character which crowned and glorified her maturer life.^ 
 An apt-and diligent scholar, she profited exceedingly by 
 the educational opportunities accessible to her in her 
 native town, meagre and poor indeed compared with what 
 are now offered there, and by a brief term of instruction 
 at a higher institutiou of learning in Providence, R. I., 
 from which, however, she was unexpectedly summoned 
 honie to minister at the bedside of Mr. BaJlou, her future 
 husband, who had been stricken down with a well-nigh 
 fatal illness, and to whom she was already affianced, as 
 narrated in its proper place in the body of this work. A 
 few months after his recovery, on the 3d of March, 1830, 
 they were mai'ried, she being not far advanced in the 
 20th year of her age. But though so young, she was yet 
 unusually mature, both in womanly qualities and execu- 
 tive ability, which, brought, it would seem, prematurely 
 
MRS. LUCY HUNT BALLOU. 569 
 
 into requisition, vindicated themselves most fully by the 
 wisdom, tact, and eflicieucy with which she met the 
 responsibilities and discharged the duties of wife and 
 mother at the very outset, as she did thencefoi-ward to 
 the end of her mortal pilgrimage. By her conscientious, 
 painstaking fidelity in the performance of the tasks 
 imposed "upon her in the home, which were increased in 
 number and in burdensomeness for some years by reason 
 of the circumstances and exactions incident to her 
 husband's calling and career, she so overtaxed her 
 energies that they at length gave way in part, seriously 
 impairing her health and power of endurance and causing 
 her to suffer a sort of semi-invalidism during the 
 remainder of her earthly days. Yet by a constant, 
 watchful care of herself and the prudent use of the 
 resources left to her, she was able in her quiet, leisurely 
 way to bring more to pass than many with much greater 
 strength and vitality than she, attending to the cares and 
 labors of tlie household and pei'forming other duties of a 
 various nature, with such occasional help as could easily 
 be called in and only a single interruption of a few weeks, 
 through a life lengthened out far beyond the Psalmist's 
 allotted peri£>d of three score years and ten. 
 
 Nor was she competent and eflScient in the strictly 
 domestic concerns of the household alone. Her clear- 
 seeing intellect, practical good sense, and literary accom- 
 plishments enabled her to render substantial aid in many 
 ways to her husband in the varied phases of the work 
 to which he devoted his life. She assisted him greatly 
 in his labors as editor and author, especially in his later 
 years, and by her suggestion, counsel, and "criticism con- 
 tributed largely to the success of those labors. More- 
 -over, she did much to cheer and strengthen him in the 
 midst of the trials and. disappointments which at times, 
 as he repeatedly confessed, almost overwhelmed him, and 
 to encourage him to continued efforts for the enlighten- 
 ment, uplifting, and redemption of mankind. Her faith 
 in the eternal verities — in God and immortality — was 
 
-570 AUTO-BIOGRAPHY OF ADIN BALLOU. 
 
 unwaveringly sure and steadfast and served to reinvigor- 
 •ate and stimulate his when, for any cause, it grew faint 
 within him. For many of the last years of her life, it 
 was her great care, as it was her joy also, to do for 
 him and make him comfortable and happy, and her 
 prayer was that she might live to minister to him to 
 the very last — to smoothe his dying pillow, to close his 
 •eyes in the sleep that knows no waking here below, and 
 -to see his physical frame properly prepared for its sepul- 
 ture and laid away teuderly in the family burial lot 
 which they had planned together and fitted up as the 
 fiual resting-place of all tliat was mortal of themselves 
 •and of those they held most dear. 
 
 That prayer was graciously answered ; and when it was 
 answered she was ready to follow on and be forever with 
 him and all the loved ones gone before, in some higher 
 mansion of the Father's house towards which for many 
 years their united thought and heart had been turned 
 with unfailing, triumphant hope and trust. The two were 
 not long separated. She sui-vived him a year and two 
 days only, passing peacefully aw.ay after a two weeks' 
 illness on the 7th of August. 1891, at the age of 80 years, 
 9 months, and 8 days. 
 
 Mrs. Ballou was a most hearty and earnest S5'mpathizer 
 with her husband in all his religious convictions, princi- 
 ples, and ideas, as she was in his manifold labors of 
 philanthropy and reform. Her conceptions of duty toward 
 Ood included love and good will to men, which she 
 exemplified in a disposition to help and bless them in all 
 possible ways, according to her ability. Many were they 
 in her immediate neighborhood who shared her kindness 
 and her benefactions, and her ear and hand were ever 
 open to the appeals of the poor, needy, suffering sons and 
 daughters of men. All good causes enlisted her interest 
 and received her cordial encouragement and support — the 
 cause of peace being especially near to her heart, as 
 attested by repeated contributions to its treasury while 
 she lived, and by a bequest of two thousand dollars to 
 
MRS. LUCY HUNT BALLOU. 571 
 
 the Universal Peace Union of Philadelphia, of which that 
 eminent philanthropist, Alfred H. Love, is president, 
 provided for in her Last Will and Testament. She was 
 most emphatically 
 
 "One who, calm and true, 
 Life's highest purpose understood; 
 
 And like the Blessed Master, knew 
 The joj' of doing good." 
 
 To the high character, marked ability, effective service, 
 and genuine worth of his household companion and help- 
 meet for so many years, Mr. Ballon himself pays appre- 
 ciative and grateful tribute in his "History and Grenealogy 
 of the Ballous in America," as follows: — 
 
 " In my marriage to ray present wife, who has grown old 
 in my companionship, I have been greatly blessed. Solomon 
 well said, ' A prudent wife is from the Lord.' Mine is such 
 — a model of discretion, domestic order, executive industry; 
 a constant minister of good under all circumstances in her 
 family and neighboi'hood ; an intelligent counselor in all emer- 
 gencies, and a sympathetic companion in all high principles 
 and endeavors. Though not robust in health and physical 
 strength, she excels in actual accomplislkment through mental 
 judgment and persistent will-power. . . . We have shared 
 our joys, sorrows, labors, and trials together for more than 
 fifty-seven years. We are now nearing their completion and 
 preparing for our summons to the higher life.'' 
 
 The Milford Journal, in noticing the death of Mrs. 
 Ballon, bore the following testimony concerning her : 
 
 "Mrs. Ballon, throughout her entire life, admirably co-oper- 
 ated with her husband in all his work, ardently supplementing 
 his efforts to promote the social and religious growth of his 
 fellow beings. It is not too much to say that she was a great 
 help to him ; she was most loyal and unwavering. Her life 
 was always kindly and by those to whom she was best known 
 she was most highly esteemed. Many will regret her departure 
 as the cessation of a gentle, lovable, charitable influence from 
 their visible midst." 
 
 Kev. Lewis G. Wilson, the pastor of the Hopedale 
 parish, who knew her well in her later years, prepared a 
 brief obituary of her for the Christian Register, in which 
 he most appropriately and expressively says : 
 
572 AUTO-BIOGRAPHY OF ADIN BALLOU. 
 
 "Her life was beautiful and saintly. Her nature was an 
 earnest of the pure devotion and perfect faith of an exalted 
 humanity. As the needle to the star, so was her spirit to the 
 Father. In her ways as simple and unpretentious as a child, 
 in her belief as sure and steadfast as an apostle, and in her 
 practical piety an example for all who knew her. For more 
 than sixty years she entered deeply into all the great spiritual 
 aspirations and achievements of her husband, and by a well-nigh 
 infallible intuition, sympathized and counseled with him in the 
 perplexing emergencies of his remarkable life. Almost uncon- 
 sciously to herself, she became an influence to inspire love 
 and peace, to engender the sense .of spiritual serenity, and to 
 yield an inestimable blessing to the community in which she 
 lived. Her mission, so well accomplished, cannot fail to be the 
 source of pure motives, noble eflorts, and blessed memories for 
 many years to come. 
 
 -'The blessing of thy presence 
 
 And all thy tender care 
 Was like the peaceful sunlight 
 
 That enters everywhere. 
 
 It cheered us in our sorrow. 
 And strength of soul it gave; 
 
 It lifted high the spirit 
 Above life's troubled wave. 
 
 O, blessed spirit, visit 
 
 And teach us as of yore, — 
 A presence be to guide us 
 
 Where thou hast gone before." 
 
APPENDIX E. 
 
 Published Works of Adin Ballou. 
 
 bound volumes. 
 
 Christian Non-Eesistance, 1846. 
 HopEDALE Hymn Book: Compilation, 1849. 
 Spirit Manifestations, 18o2. 
 Memoir of Adin Augustus Ballou, 1853. 
 Practical Christian Socialism, 1854. 
 The Monitorial Guide, 1861. 
 Primitive Christianity, Vol. I, 1870. 
 History of Milford, Mass., 1882. 
 History of the Ballous in America, 1888. 
 
 pamphlets, tracts, etc, with dates. 
 
 Eeview OF HosEA Ballou's Sermon on The New Birth, 1820. 
 
 The Furious Priest Reproved, 1823. 
 
 Fourth of July Oration at Milford, 1827. 
 
 Sermon on The Inestimable Value of Souls, 1830. 
 
 Fourth of July Oration at Blaokstone, 1830. 
 
 Discussion with Eev. Daniel D. Smith, 1834. 
 
 Sunday School Manual, 1836. 
 
 Address on Slavery at Mendon, July 4, 1837. 
 
 The Touchstone, 1837. 
 
 Conference Hymn-Book: — A Compilation, 1839. 
 
 Kon-Resistance and Human Governments, 1839. 
 
 Constitution op The Fraternal Communion, 1843. . 
 
 Scriptural Doctrine of the Second Advent, 1843. 
 
 Superiority of Moral to Political Power, 1845. 
 
 Constitution of The Practical Christian Ministry, 1848. 
 
 Constitution of The Hopedale Community, 1849. 
 
 What Entitles One to the Christian Name, 1849. 
 
 Endless Punishment Rejected, 1849. 
 
 The Bible; its Principles Divine, its Language Human, 
 
 1849. 
 The Hopedale Community: an Exposition, 1851. 
 Lecture on Capital Punishment, 1851. 
 
674 AUTO-BIOGRAPHY OF ADIN BALLOU. 
 
 The Hopbdale Community: Histokicat^ Sketch, 1853. 
 
 The Practical Christian Bepublic, 1854. 
 
 Constitution of The Practical Christian Republic, 1854- 
 
 Lecture on the Bible, 1859. 
 
 Practical Christianity and Endless Punishment, 1860. 
 
 Violations or the Federal Constitution, 1861. 
 
 Review of a Sermon by Henry Ward Beecher, 1862. 
 
 Human Progress in Respect to Religion, 1867. 
 
 ALSO the following, without dates. 
 
 . Fundamental Principles the only Authority in Religion. . 
 Different Christs and Christianities. 
 Christian Non-Resistance: Questions Answered. 
 Learn to Discriminate, etc. 
 Inspiration of the Bible. 
 Non-Resistance in Extreme Cases. 
 Practical Christianity in Relation to Voting. 
 Practical Christianity in Relation to Human Government. - 
 Practical Christianity in Relation to Marriage and 
 
 Divorce. 
 Practical Christianity in Relation to Education and 
 
 Amusements . 
 Reply to Parson Hor on War. 
 An Inquirer Answered. 
 
 Numerous minor productions of the author's pen appeared 
 In tract form during the more active portion of his life, of 
 which no record has been made. He was editor of the Dta- 
 logical Instructor for six months ; of the Independent Messenger, . 
 eight years ; and of the Practical Christian, twenty years. He 
 prepared a " Slietch of the Town of Hopedale " for a volumin- 
 ous "History of Worcester County" in 1889; and an indefinite 
 number of articles written by him from time to time were pub- 
 lished in the columns of religious and reformatory papers and 
 periodicals with whose spirit, principles, and aims he was 
 more or less in sympathy. 
 
INDBX. 
 
 Abolitionists and the Jolin Brown raid 416.- 
 
 Achievement, A happy 43» 
 
 Address, Valedictory as President of The Hopedale Com- 
 munity 367 
 
 Aidrich, Dea. Nathaniel, Interview with 87 
 
 American Anti-slavery Society and its peace principles . 417 
 
 Amusements in the paternal home la 
 
 Ancestry and lineage 3- 
 
 Announcement, Startling 67 
 
 Anti-slavery espousal 277" 
 
 Sermon ' 281 
 
 Oration 283; 
 
 Apthorp, Rev. W. P., Discussion with 264' 
 
 Aspirations for a collegiate education thwarted .... 40. 
 
 Attacked at a funeral service 166. 
 
 Authorship, First attempt at 71, 
 
 Auto-biography, End of work upon 476 
 
 Bachelor, Origin, Call from 151' 
 
 Discussion with 152, 370- 
 
 Ball, Rev. George S., Address at funeral 529- 
 
 Ballou, Elder Abner, Pastor of "'Six Principle Baptist" 
 
 Church 6 
 
 Ballou, Ariel, father of Adin 1 
 
 Residence with son 269^ 
 
 Death 315. 
 
 Ballou, Ariel, M. D., brother of Adin, married .... 228 
 Relation to Ballou Histoiy . . 490, 491 
 
 Death 514- 
 
 Ballou, Arnold, brother of Adin, Death of 38- 
 
 Ballou, Cyrus, brother of Adin, Death of 37 
 
 Ballou, Edilda Tower, mother of Adin, Death of . . . 258 
 
 Ballou, Hosea, Relationship to Adin 3 
 
 Characteristics of . . . .' 93; 
 
 Call to New York city .' 140- 
 
676 INDEX. 
 
 Ballou, Hosea, Besult 142 
 
 Eeflections on his course I'AS 
 
 Ballou, Hosea, 2d, First meeting with .80 
 
 Official services of, at second marriage 164 
 
 Ballou, James, great-great-grandfather of Adin .... 4 
 Ballou, Hon. Latimer W., Relation to Ballou History 490, 491 
 
 Ballou, Lucy Hunt, Severe labors of 361 
 
 Serious illness of 4S5 
 
 Sketch of 567 
 
 Ballou, Maturin, Immigrant ancestor of American Ballous 3 
 
 Ballou, Family, History of 490, 491, 492 
 
 Ballou Meeting-house 5, 6 
 
 Ballou Neighborhood, Description of 4 
 
 Religion in 12 
 
 Ballou & Stacey, name of printing firm 183 
 
 Baptism and reception to the church .... ... .32 
 
 Administered by immersion 305 
 
 Bfjptists of Bellingham, Collision with 97 
 
 Belief in theological doctrines formulated 45 
 
 Change of 84 
 
 Bellingham, Exciting Sunday scenes in , 97, 98 
 
 Bible, Views upon the 409-431 
 
 Birth, Place and date of 1 
 
 Blind Tom, a negro, Wonderful performances ot ... 452 
 
 Books and reading, Earlj' love for 18 
 
 Boston, First visit to 70 
 
 Second visit to 93 
 
 Candidacy in . . . 101 
 
 Brook Farm 326 
 
 Brothers and sisters 2, 3 
 
 Brownson, Rev. Orestes A., Installation of, at Canton . 254 
 
 Burial lot, Family, at Hopedale 494 
 
 Burying ground at Cumberland II 
 
 Business venture and its unfortunate results .")9 
 
 Call to the work of the Ministry 62 
 
 Capron, Edmund, Theological student 253 
 
 Ordained 289 
 
 Death of 290 
 
 Casualties in early life 8 
 
 Celebration of American Independence at Milford . . . 126 
 
 At Blackstoue . . 187 
 Centennial of American Independence at Milford, Address 
 
 at 477 
 
 Chambrfe, Rev. A. St. John, Criticism by 464 
 
 Chandler, Seth, Theological student 157 
 
INDEX. 577 
 
 Chandler, Seth, installed at Oxford 234 
 
 Change of theological belief announced 85 
 
 Results 85-88 
 
 Channing, William Ellery, D. D., Friendly letter from . 335 
 
 Chaplain of Regiment of Mass. Militia 109 
 
 Child lost in New York city I35 
 
 Children, Death of two 231 
 
 Christian, The Practical, a semi-monthly paper started . . 317 
 
 Suspended 422 
 
 Christianity and Civilization Ill 
 
 Christianity, Practical, Standard of 309-313 
 
 Christianity, True 296 
 
 Christmas, First Celebration in Mendon 305 
 
 Church, The, joined 32 
 
 Disowned by 88 
 
 At Hopedale 414 
 
 The world's need of 458 
 
 Views upon 470 
 
 Cincinnati, Visit to 394 
 
 Commentary on the New Testament 422 
 
 Commune No. 1 404 
 
 Communion, Fraternal 324 
 
 Community, The Hopedale . 325, 341, 342, 362, 396, 400, 429 
 
 Conferences, Quarterly 315, 333 
 
 Conscription, Case of 449 
 
 Protest against 450 
 
 Constitution, Violations of the Federal 428 
 
 Controversy with ultra Universalists opened 172 
 
 Closed 262 
 
 Crisis in Community afFah's 400 
 
 Crisis in ministerial career 175 
 
 Grossman, Elder Zephaniah 29 
 
 Fell from grace 46 
 
 Cutler, Rev. Stephen, Experience with 236 
 
 Daughter, Birth of 153 
 
 Dean, Rev. Paul 2G0 
 
 Letter of 336 
 
 Declaration of Principles 327 
 
 Dedication of Town Hall, Hopedale 503 
 
 Destiny of the wicked. Views upon 45 
 
 Destruction of the wicked. Favoring texts upon .... 82 
 
 Belief in tested 83 
 
 Destructiveness in childhood 9 
 
 Dialogical Instructor, a semi-monthly paper .'.... 136 
 
 Diary extracts 150-161, 226-230, 298-302 
 
 37 
 
l^UHi^A.* 
 
 Discussion, Oral, with Bev. D. D. Smith 247 
 
 " Mr. Follett 351 
 
 " Rey. M. W. Burlingame .... 352 
 
 " Origin Bachelor 370 
 
 " Eev. Thomas Williams ... 371 
 
 " Miles Grant 428 
 
 Domestic life begun 76 
 
 Doubts concerning theological views 79 
 
 Douglas, Frederic, First visit to Hopedale . . ... 338 
 
 Dow, Lorenzo, Recollections of ... . . ... 48 
 
 His eccentricities .... 49 
 
 Dr. Nathaniel Emmons and his members 118 
 
 Draper, Ebenezer D., Death of 513 
 
 Draper, George, Death of 512 
 
 Eddy, Rev. Richard, upon the Bestorationist schism . . 507 
 
 Editorship, First experience in 136 
 
 Educational Home contemplated ... 377 
 
 Project abandoned 385 
 
 Edwards, Rev. Thomas, ordained 289 
 
 Emerson, Ralph Waldo, Notes upon 499 
 
 Ehiployes, Pleasant relations with 10 
 
 Endless Punishment, Favoring texts upon 82 
 
 England, War with, 1812-1815 . . . .' 25 
 
 Ernst, Andrew" H., Gift of 355 
 
 Hospitality 394 
 
 Death 415 
 
 Error of Hosea Ballou exposed 71 
 
 Essays, Dissertations, and Reviews 495, 497, 499 
 
 Exchanges with noted Universalist ministers 108 
 
 Experiment, Unfortunate 24 
 
 Experiments, Various social 325 
 
 Expositor, The Laconic, planned 497 
 
 Family burial lot at Hopedale . . . . . 494 
 
 Farr, Eev. Jonathan, Discussion with 238 
 
 Father's government 9 
 
 Farm 18 
 
 Opposition on religious grounds .86 
 
 Estate settled 259 
 
 Residence at Mendon . . 269 
 
 Death 315 
 
 Field of labor enlarging 157 
 
 First religious impressions 12 
 
 Fish, Eev. Wm. PI., Ordination 301 
 
 Address of, at funeral 533 
 
INDEX. 579 
 
 Fisher, Rev. Abial, Encounter with 99 
 
 Fletcher, E. F., Post G. A. E., Sermon before .... 482 
 
 Fraternal Communion organized 324 
 
 Basis of 327 
 
 Free Masonry espoused 108 
 
 Views of 109 
 
 Funeral experiences 118-123, 165-167 
 
 Funeral services 524, 529-534 
 
 Furious priest reproved 100 
 
 Future retribution. Belief in 79 
 
 Bible teachings upon 82 
 
 Gale, Memorable, September, 1815 35 
 
 Garrison, Wm. Lloyd, Peace declarations of 420 
 
 Discourses at Hopedale .... 438 
 
 Review of the same 442 
 
 Letter from 480 
 
 Gloomy premonition concerning wife ... .... 149 
 
 Granddaughter, Lucy Florence Heywood, born .... 430 
 
 Grandparents, sketch of 2 
 
 Granny Grant, a childhood terror 20 
 
 Grant, Miles, Oral discussion with 428 
 
 Groton Convention, A mottled gathering 319 
 
 Hare, Prof. Robert, a noted spiritualist. Interview with . 398 
 
 Harris, Rev. Thomas L., a spiritualist seer. Vision of . . 407 
 
 Hastings, Hon. William, elected to Congress 305 
 
 Hawkins, John H. W., a Washingtonian lecturer . . . 338 
 
 Henry, Rev. Samuel, a Christian reformer, Death of . . 415 
 
 Heywood, Abbie Ballou 375 
 
 Heywood, Rev. William S 375, 438 
 
 Historical sketch of the town of Hopedale 498 
 
 History of the Ballous in America 490, 491 
 
 History of the Hopedale Community 473 
 
 History of Mllford, Mass 474 
 
 Home, provision for .... 116 
 
 Established 125 
 
 A public hostelry 296 
 
 Home School started 408 
 
 Its reputation 409 
 
 Given up 437 
 
 Hopedale named 329 
 
 Taken possession of 330 
 
 • Removed to 337 
 
 Progress at 340, 355, 396 
 
 Trials 342 
 
Hopedale, changes 346 
 
 Meetings 356 
 
 Radical change 402 
 
 Hopedale Coniraunity founded 331 
 
 Virtually given up 402 
 
 Hopedale, Town of, incorporated 501 
 
 Hudson, Rev. Charles, a prominent Restoratiouist, Letters 
 
 of 147 
 
 Huidekoper, H. J., Tracts on Destruction of the wiclied 
 
 reviewed 238 
 
 Humphrey, William; H., a valued friend, Death of . . . 511 
 
 Hunt, Mrs. Chloe Albee, wife's mother. Death of . . . 382 
 
 Hunt, Pearley, Esq., wife's father, Death of 358 
 
 Illness, Sudden and serious 161 
 
 Of wife 485 
 
 Final 519 
 
 Immigrant ancestor, Maturin Ballon of Providence ... 3 
 
 Immaculate Conception, Dogma of, rejected 465 
 
 Immortality, Faith in 156 
 
 Independence, American, celebrated 126, 187 
 
 Centennial of 477 
 
 Independent Messenger started 182 
 
 Suspended 316 
 
 Inductive Communion ,389 
 
 Intoxicating liquors. Early training concernhig .... 16 
 
 Introduction to future wife, Abigail Sayles 57 
 
 Johnson, Oliver, an active reformer 381 
 
 Joke practiced on a colored man 105 
 
 Kneeland, Rev. Abner 129 
 
 Popularity of 136 
 
 Bound to atheism 148 
 
 Lamson, Rev. David R., ordained ... 255 
 
 Troublesome 345 
 
 Later life 348 
 
 Last letter to daughter, Abbie B. Heywood 520 
 
 Jjearning, Intense desire for 40 
 
 Leaven of the better faith working 50 
 
 Lectureship of Practical Christian Sociology founded . . 561 
 
 Leighton, Andrew, of Liverpool, England, Surprised by . 453 
 
 Lesson from Lorenzo Dow J . 50 
 
 Letters from notable men on Connnunity life 328 
 
 Life at the paternal homestead 14 39 
 
INDEX. 581 
 
 Light from on high sought and found 84, 85 
 
 Livermore, Rev. Abiel Abbot, of Cincinnati 394 
 
 Locality for a Community selected 329 
 
 Long, Ex-Gov. John D., Dedicatory address at Hopedale 
 
 and response 504 
 
 Lovejoy, Rev. Elijah P., an anti-slavery editor, murdered 295 
 
 Man, a moral and religious being 339 
 
 Marriage, First consummated 74 
 
 Second 164 
 
 Marriages, First, officiated at in Bo.ston 102 
 
 Singular ones In New York 149 
 
 May, Rev. Samuel, Address at funeral 531 
 
 May, Rev. Samuel J., at Mendon installation 215 
 
 Visited 399 
 
 Meadville, Penn., Lectureship In theological school . 561 
 
 Meditation on 87th birthday 518 
 
 Medway, Engaged to preach in . 168 
 
 Memorable sermon 172 
 
 Result 173 
 
 Memoir of Adin Augustus Ballon 379 
 
 Butler Wilmarth, M. D 388 
 
 Mendon, Call to . . 186 
 
 Installed there 215, 216 
 
 Farewell 337 
 
 Messenger, Independent, prospectus of 183 
 
 Suspended 316 
 
 Milford, Call to 103 
 
 Left for New York 133 
 
 Return to 139 
 
 Discharged from 186 
 
 Milford, Town of, much divided 104 
 
 Milford Society, Religious condition of 112 
 
 Military chaplaincy, Appointed to 109 
 
 Views of 110 
 
 Minister of Hopedale parish 456 
 
 Resigned the position . . 468 
 
 Left it .475 
 
 Morse, Cyrus, a student for the ministry 267 
 
 Death of . 268 
 
 Morse, Rev. William, installed at Marlboro' 256 
 
 Mother, Bdilda Tower Ballon, deceased Dec. 27, 1834 . . 2.58 
 
 New Communities proposed . 396 
 
 New York, Call to 132 
 
 Removal thither 134 
 
582 INDEX. 
 
 New York, Return from, to Milford 144 
 
 No-future-puaishment dogma 170 
 
 Controversy upon opened . . 179 
 
 Continued 199 
 
 Closed 262 
 
 Non-resistance, Christian, espoused 308 
 
 Treatise on 370 
 
 Pure . • 420 
 
 Non-resistance Society, Meeting of 316 
 
 Speech at 316 
 
 President . 357 
 
 Non-resistant, The, organ of society revived 380 
 
 Merged in Practical (/hristiaii . . . 381 
 
 Non-resistants, War-approving 421 
 
 North American Phalanx, a Fourlerite Community . 325, 393 
 
 Northampton Community at Florence, Mass 325 
 
 Notable statesmen. Interview with 393 
 
 Novel punishment at school 112 
 
 Nuptial festivities interrupted 74 
 
 Oahspe, an assumed-to-be new bible. Review of ... . 496 
 
 Omega with ultra Universalists 2ii2 
 
 Opponents, Distinguished Orthodox 254 
 
 Oration July 4, 1827 '. 126 
 
 1830 187 
 
 1837 283 
 
 1876 477 
 
 Orthodox controversialists numerous, persistent, and unie- 
 
 lenting 263 
 
 Orthodox opinion of the Independent Messenger .... 185 
 
 Owen, Robert Dale, a noted English socialist, at Hopediile 363 
 
 Parents and their characteristics 1, 2 
 
 Parish at Hopedale organized 455 
 
 Parish party and Town party in Milford 104 
 
 Parker, Theodore, Preaching for, under difficulties . . . 382 
 
 Parochial Christian Union formed 467 
 
 Partridge, Emmons, licensed to preach 287 
 
 Pawtucket, R. I., Dedication at 151 
 
 Peace, Claims of 306 
 
 Argument for 307 
 
 Organized agencies 402 
 
 Pernicious errors withstood 3g9 
 
 Perry, Rev. J. M. S., in an unenviable position .... 220 
 
 Personal religion indispensable 294 
 
 Phalanx, North American, in Monmouth Co., N. J. . . 325 
 
. INDEX. 583 
 
 Phalanx, North American, visited 393 
 
 Phelps, Rev. Auios A., Discussion with 209 
 
 Philadelphia, Visij; to 393, 398 
 
 Pickering, Rev. David, an eloquent Restorationist ... 268 
 Place, Rev. Stephen, a "Six Principle Baptist" minister 6, 11 
 
 Plans of father for the future 44 
 
 Portrait by Otto Grundmann 516 
 
 Practical Christian Republic 390 
 
 Primitive Christianity, Vol. 1 460 
 
 Vol. 2 469 
 
 Vol. 3 470 
 
 Prince St. Society, N. Y., Call to and ministry therein . 129 
 
 Promulgation Society instituted 425 
 
 Providence Association joined 182 
 
 Temperance action of .... 225 
 
 Providential provision 186 
 
 Public affairs. Interest in 27, 51 
 
 Publications, List of 573 
 
 Public worship, First attendance at 11 
 
 Publishment of a cousin under difficulties 55 
 
 Punishment, Endless, abhorrent 244 
 
 Raid of John Brown to free slaves 416 
 
 Reaction, Monarchical, in 1815 35 
 
 Recorder, Boston, Opinion of Independent Messenger . . 185 
 
 Restorationist ministers . . 188 
 
 Religion in Ballou neighborhood 12 
 
 Religion mixed in youthful mind 33 
 
 Religious experiences, Personal 31 
 
 Religious Reformation in Cumberland 29 
 
 Effects of ... . 30 
 
 Religious susceptibility in childhood 12 
 
 Remarkable visitation 62 
 
 Reply to Trumpet's attack on the Restorationist Associa- 
 tion .200 
 
 Restorationism assailed by numerous antagonists .... 209 
 
 Restorationism, Texts proving it .... . .... 82 
 
 Faith in it established 85 
 
 Restorationism vs. Ultra Universalisra openly avowed . . 182 
 
 Restorationist Association founded 197 
 
 Assailed . 199 
 
 Defended 200 
 
 Restorationist Association and Moral Reform 292 
 
 Harmony disturbed by its action 292 
 
 The breach widening .... 314 
 
 Its demise 333 
 
584 INDEX. 
 
 Restorationist secession, Errors concerning it corrected 460, 507 
 
 Restorationists little kuown ^° 
 
 Prejudice against ^* 
 
 Timid l*"^ 
 
 Review of Hosea Ballou's Sermon on the New Birth . . 71 
 
 Ripley, Rev. Dr., of Concord, Visit with 272 
 
 Russell, Rev. Philemon R , installed 2o5 
 
 019 
 
 Salary, Rule regarding • • ' ' ' '. 
 
 School reminiscences 16i I'l O'^' 
 
 Schools in Rhode Island 16, 17 
 
 Second Advent, Discussion upon ''^'■ 
 
 Scriptural doctrine of ^^'* 
 
 Sermon, First "'' 
 
 First as a Universalist ^^ 
 
 After severe illness .... 162 
 
 Before G. A. R. Post 482 
 
 For own funeral .... '^'^' 
 
 Sin, Danger of, real and great ... 68 
 
 Singing School, Privileges of denied 42 
 
 Situation respecting ultra Uuiversalism canvassed ... 177 
 
 Smith, Rev. Daniel D., Discussion with 248 
 
 Smith, Rev. Elias 47 
 
 Smith, Hon. Gerritt, visited at his home, Peterboro', N. Y. 399 
 
 Son, First born 100 
 
 Second 1^8 
 
 Third 235 
 
 Spirit manifestations 372 
 
 Work on 380 
 
 Spirit seances, Remarkable 427, 431 
 
 Spiritualists, Attitude towards 387 
 
 Opinion of 4(!2, 500 
 
 Stacey, Rev. George W., ordained 271 
 
 Withdrew from the Community 362 
 
 Staples, Rev. Carlton, Services of, at funeral 52G 
 
 Sermon 536 
 
 Stone, Rev. Edwin M., ordained 251 
 
 Stone, Rev. Richard, ordained 256 
 
 Stroke of good policy 107 
 
 Tavern of William Ballou 15 
 
 Teacher, Trouble with 21 
 
 Teaching, First attempt at 72 
 
 Temperance Reform espoused 219 
 
 Indebtedness to 222 
 
 Temperance meeting, Address at, under peculiar circum- 
 stances 221 
 
INDEX. 585 
 
 Theological belief 45 
 
 Questionings 77, 79 
 
 Change 84 
 
 Tobacco, Use of, renounced 159 
 
 Tolstoi, Count Leo • . . . . 508 
 
 Total Abstinence adopted and proclaimed 275 
 
 Touchstone, The, a theological pamphlet 294 
 
 Tour to the West 392 
 
 Tributes of friends 534 
 
 Associations 540 
 
 The press 542 
 
 Troublesome townsman 284 
 
 Trumpet and Eecorder , 188 
 
 Trumpet columns never open to Eestorationists .... 209 
 
 Trying experience 485 
 
 Unfortunate incident in school 73 
 
 Union Convention at Groton 319 
 
 Unitarian controversy inaugurated 45 
 
 Unitarians, Attitude of, towards Universalists 217 . 
 
 Opinion concerning 461 
 
 Universal holiness and happiness. Belief in precious . . 176 
 
 Universalism, its repugnant features 89 
 
 State of, in New York 148 
 
 Universalism, Ultra, once dominant in the denomination . 175 
 
 Universalist doctrine of punishment in early days . . . 170 
 
 Universalist leaders and their policy 175 
 
 Universalist Ministry, Ordained to 102 
 
 Universalists, Challenge to . 246 
 
 Response 247 
 
 Result 248 
 
 Universalists, Change- of belief among them concerning 
 
 punishment 263 
 
 Unusual ceremonial at South VVilbraham 305 
 
 Violations of the Federal Constitution 428 
 
 Vision, A memorable one 62 
 
 Vision of Rev. Thomas L. Harris 407 
 
 Washington, D. C, Visit to in 1854 393 
 
 Watertown, Call to 236 
 
 Weak point in the argument for the destruction of the 
 
 wicked 79 
 
 Western journey and its incidents 392 
 
 Whipple, Charles K., Review of his argument for abandon- 
 ing peace principles 497 
 
 38 
 
586 
 
 INDEX. 
 
 Whitman, Rev. Bernard, Sermon of 217 
 
 Letters 235 
 
 Death 257 
 
 Whitney, Eev. Daniel S., licensed to preach 287 
 
 Ordained 314 
 
 Withdrawal from the Community 365 
 
 Whittemore, Eev. Thomas, Cordial notice by 424 
 
 Williamson, Passamore, Visited in prison 398 
 
 Wilmarth, Butler, M. D., Tragic death of . . . . 388 
 
 Memoir of . ... . . 388 
 
 Wilson, Rev. Lewis G., Tribute of 535 
 
 Winchester's dialogues on Universal Restoration read . . 77 
 
 Women's Rights, Position regarding 463 
 
 Worcester Conference joined 457 
 
 Sermon before . 458 
 
 Worcester, South, Anti-slavery Society, Notable meeting 
 
 of 418 
 
 Work for the future 456, 459 
 
 Workingmen's movement 463 
 
 Wrentham school, Interesting incidents connected with it 19 
 
 Wright, Henry C, and his work 381 
 
 Wright, Rev. Nathaniel, a Restorationist clergyman . . . 257 
 
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