George Washington Flowers Memorial Collection DUKE UNIVERSITY LIBRARY ESTABLISHED BY THE FAMILY OF COLONEL FLOWERS Ubeobore Benebict IL^man, ID.3D., Bishop of flortb Carolina. liftg ©ears a fkiest, Hecember Nineteenth, 1891. * * Pamphlet Collection Duke Divinity School THE FIFTIETH ANNIVERSARY n OF THE Ordination to the Priesthood Of the Right Reverend THEODORE BENEDICT LYMAN, D.D., BISHOP OF NORTH CAROLINA. NEW YORK: JAMES POTT & CO., Publishers 14 & 16 Astor Place. 1892. Digitized by the Internet Archive in 2014 https://archive.org/details/fiftiethanniversOOIyma COMMEMORATIVE SERVICES. AT the meeting of the Seventy-fifth Annual Convention of the Diocese of North Carolina, held in Asheville, May 13th to 15th, 1891, during an absence of the Bishop from the chair, Mr. F. P. Haywood, Jr., offered the follow- ing resolution, which, on motion, was adopted : Resolved, That a committee, to consist of three clergymen and two laymen, be appointed by the President of the Con- vention to report to this Convention an appropriate service to be held by the Church in commemoration of the ordination of our Bishop to the Priesthood, which took place December 19, 1841. The Rev. A. B. Hunter, the Rev. Bennett Smedes, the Rev. J. W. Murphy, Mr. J. B. Batchellor and Mr. F. P. Haywood, Jr., were appointed the committee called for by the resolution. This committee, being unable to report in the short time at their disposal, asked and obtained permission to be con- tinued and to print their report. In pursuance of arrangements made by this committee, invitations were issued to the clergy and Church people of the Diocese and of the Diocese of East Carolina, to join in services to be held in Raleigh on Saturday and Sunday, De- cember 19th and 20th, in commemoration of the Fiftieth An- niversary of the Ordination to the Priesthood of the Rt. Rev. Theodore Benedict Lyman, D.D., Bishop of the Diocese. On Saturday, December 19th, in the Church of the Good Shepherd, Raleigh, the Bishop met a large congregation of Church people for a solemn celebration of the Holy Com- 4 munion. The Bishop, preceded by the vested choir of the parish and a number of his clergy, entered the Church sing- ing, " The Church's* one Foundation is Jesus Christ her Lord." The Te Deum was sung in place of a hymn in the service, after which the Bishop delivered the address, which is printed as a part of this report of services held. At the close of the address the Eev. M. M. Marshall, D.D., President of the Convention of the Diocese, stepped forward and, on behalf of the clergy and laity of the Diocese, present- ed to the Bishop a Pastoral Staff in an address of which the following is a part : In an age of "restless rationalists and self-sufficient critics," at a time when throughout the land there is such a lamentable and, as we believe, dangerous depreciation of rightly constituted authority both in Church and State, we desire to bear unmistakable and visible testimony to our rev- erence for your apostolic authority, and of our ready and willing obedience to your godly admonitions and counsels as our chief pastor, under Christ, of which this ancient symbol is a token and pledge. We would have this staff first of all, Right Rev. Father, to mean this. And again, sir — if it be not unseemly thus to speak in your honored presence — we would have it bear witness, after some sort, to our gratitude to God for the zeal and fidelity and abundant labors, in season and out of season, for the spir- itual welfare of all the flock over which the Holy Ghost hath made you overseer, that have so conspicuously characterized all the years of your ministry in our midst. We, of the clergy particularly, thrown by virtue of our official relations into more intimate contact with our chief pastors than others, know, as the public cannot know, the in- cessant anxieties and constant cares and onerous responsibili. 5 ties inseparable from the office of a Bishop in the Church of God, especially in a diocese so large and so largely missionary as this ; and we know too, both clergy and laity, how bravely and cheerfully, through good report and through evil, through stress of weather, and not unfrequently in bodily suffering, our beloved Bishop has borne them all. And if, sir, now or at any time, in the near future or in the distant, this jubilee memorial and token of the sympathy and gratitude and affection of your Diocese shall serve to lighten by so much as a feather's weight, the burden that you must needs bear to the end, we shall thankfully feel that this day's doings have not been altogether in vain. And as men who have passed their " three-score years and ten " are wont to lean upon staves for physical support, so, when the shadows of life's declining day lengthen across your pathway, and you enter the dark valley where every earthly pilgrim, high or low, must lay his weary burden down, may this memorial of our love be to you the grateful assurance that throughout the length and breadth of your Diocese the prayers of your people will go up with your own to the Good Shepherd of all the Christian fold in the tender terms of the Pastoral Psalm : " Though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil ; for Thou art with me; Thy rod and Thy staff they comfort me." Amen. The Bishop himself celebrated the Holy Communion and, assisted by clergy present, delivered the Elements to the large body of communicants who came to receive them at his hands. On the night of Saturday, the 19th, the Bishop's house in Raleigh was thrown open to the large number of acquaint- ances and friends who without special invitation came to of- fer him their congratulations upon the happy anniversary oc- casion. 6 On the night of Sunday, December 20th, a congregation which filled every seat assembled in Christ Church, Raleigh. After Evening Prayer, a historical address on the Church in America during the last fifty years was delivered by the Hon. Kemp P. Battle, LL.D., late President and now Professor of History in the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. An address on behalf of the laity was made by Mr. F. S. Spruill, of Louisburg, and on behalf of the clergy by the Rev. Joseph B. Cheshire, Jr., D.D., of Charlotte, and a letter was read from the venerable Mr. Richard H. Smith, of Scotland Neck, who has been connected with the Diocese since 1832. The Bishop thanked the congregation for their interest and affection, which had evidently greatly touched him, and urged them to renewed efforts for the progress of the Church. The united choirs of Christ Church and of the Church of the Good Shepherd sang Mendelssohn's " How lovely are the Messengers that preach us the Gospel of Peace ! " The offerings of the congregation at both services were de- voted to Diocesan Missions, an object which lies nearest to the heart of the Bishop. The tone of joyful thanksgiving which had pervaded all the services was kept up to the end, as choir and clergy left the church singing the grand old German hymn, " Now thank we all our God." AN ADDRESS Delivered by BISHOP LYMAN, IN THE CHURCH OF THE GOOD SHEPHERD, RALEIGH, On Saturday, December 19TH, Being the Fiftieth Anniversary of his Ordination to the Priest- hood on December 19TH, 1841, in St. John's Church, Hagers- town, Maryland, by the Rt. Rev. William Rollinson Whit- tingham, D.D. ADDRESS. Brethren and Friends : — The occasion which has called us together to-day, while of deep personal interest to me, has also awakened such a measure of kind sympathy in the Dio- cese that I feel deeply grateful for it. Only a few of those called to the rank of the Christian ministry are ever spared to celebrate the fiftieth anniversary of their ordination to the Priesthood. And I should do injustice to my own feelings, did I not give expression to the profound thankfulness which I experience to-day, in view of the goodness and mercy which have so long spared me, as well as for the health and mani- fold mercies which I am still permitted to enjoy. The one feeling which is most strongly awakened within me, is that of humiliation and sorrow, that in so long a ministry much more has not been accomplished. I am deeply sensible how much has been left undone which ought to have been done, and to what a degree human infirmity has availed to lessen the re- sults which might have been secured. The last eighteen years of my life have been passed in the discharge of epis- copal duties in this Diocese, where my services have always been most kindly welcomed, and where a warm-hearted and affectionate people have ever manifested the truest love and devotion. They have shown also an appreciation of my labors very far beyond my deserts ; and my whole ministry in North Carolina has been especially cheered by the uniform confidence, the forbearance, and the cordial sympathy, which it has been my great privilege so fully to share. All this has only served to strengthen the tender ties which have bound us together, and which I trust may remain unchanged so 10 long as, in the good providence of God, my ministrations may be continued among you. During the fifty years which have passed, my work has been carried on in fields quite remote from each other, afford- ing me a varied and widely extended experience. And what a retrospect is that which covers more than half of this nine- teenth century ! Surely, in its bearing upon either our civil or our ecclesiastical condition, it is well fitted to awaken with- in us the strongest and most kindling emotions. What period in the world's history has been so crowded with startling and momentous developments ! What century, like ours, has ever unrolled such a catalogue of strange and unlooked for experi- ences! But, brethren, fascinating as such a subject would be, it is not my purpose to-day to dwell upon the thoughts which such recollections are fitted to awaken. I propose, rather, to confine myself to what is more strictly personal to myself, while calling your attention to a brief outline of my official career. After completing my collegiate course, and my studies in the General Theological Seminary in New York, I was ad- mitted to Deacon's Orders in Christ Church, Baltimore, now known as the Church of the Messiah, on September 20, 1840, by the Rt. Rev. William Rollinson Whittingham, D.D., my most valued friend and theological instructor, who only three days before, in St. Paul's Church, in the same city, had been consecrated as the Bishop of Maryland. On the Sunday suc- ceeding my ordination, at the request of the Rev. Dr. John Johns, afterward Bishop of Virginia, I officiated in Christ Church, where I had been ordained, and of which he was the rector. In his necessary absence I took charge of the services, and preached both morning and evening. During that week I paid a visit to Hagerstown, at the request of the Bishop, and on the following Sunday I officiated in St. John's Church, which was then without a rector. The next day, to my great surprise, 11 I was unanimously elected to the rectorship of the parish. I at once declined the call, as my health was no little impaired, and I did not feel myself able to undertake the charge of so large and laborious a parish. But after another Sunday, the call was earnestly renewed, and then after further delibera- tion, and at the special request of the Bishop, I decided to waive my objections and accept the position. I found the climate of that neighborhood well suited to my needs, while each day I was more and more drawn to so kind and genial a people. Entering at once upon duties which I had feared would prove far too laborious, I found myself steadily gain- ing in health and in strength, and for nearly ten years I con- tinued my ministrations in the same field. So deeply inter- ested was I in my work, that I turned a deaf ear to several earnest calls both within and without the Diocese. It may in- terest many of you to know that, in 1843, I was solicited to undertake the rectorship of St. James's Church in Wilming- ton, in this State, and I was also urged to accept the charge of two other important parishes in North Carolina. Little did I suspect, when refusing these overtures, at this early period of my ministry, that after thirty years, I should come among you, to discharge the weightier duties of the Episcopal Office. Only a few months after entering upon my parochial duties at Hagerstown, I made a vigorous effort to establish within the bounds of my parish, a school of a high order for boys, which afterward developed into the College of St. James, and proved a most admirable and successful institu- tion. Many students went from this State to enjoy its supe- rior advantages ; but, while in the height of its prosperity, it was broken up and its students scattered, as one of the sad re- sults in the early stage of our late civil war. Some time after the final close of the war, the institution was partially re- 12 vived, but only as a grammar school, and in that capacity it is still doing an excellent and satisfactory work. The original establishment of that institution laid heavy burdens upon me, as it fell to my lot, not only to set the scheme into motion, but to raise all the funds for the purchase and fitting up of the property. So long as I remained in Maryland, I took an active interest in promoting its growth and welfare, and at- tended regularly, as one of the trustees, all the meetings of the Board. It was one of the greatest trials and disappointments of my life, when I heard, while absent in Europe, of the closed doors of the college, and the overthrow of a work which was so full of hope, and of such brilliant promise. More than a year after my ordination to the Diaconate, on Sunday, December 19, 1841, just fifty years ago to-day, I was ordained by Bishop Whittingham to the Priesthood, in St. John's Church, Hagerstown, and two days afterward, on the Feast of St. Thomas, the Apostle, in the same Church, I was duly instituted by the Bishop into the rectorship of the parish, and authoritatively invested with all the rights and privileges belonging to that office. I had been already officiating in the same parish for nearly fifteen months, but under the neces- sary restrictions by which the office of a Deacon is limited. In this parish I continued to exercise my ministry until the early spring of 1850, when I was invited by the vestry of Trinity Church, Pittsburgh, Pa., to the rectorship of that parish, made vacant by the consecration of its late rector, the Eev. Dr. Upfold, as the Bishop of Indiana. In the month of April I visited Pittsburgh, and took official charge of the parish, and after a few weeks there, I returned to my old home, took leave of my much-loved parishioners, and made arrangements for the removal of my family. The duties of this new field I found extremely laborious, but I was warmly encouraged and sustained by a large and 13 Active body of laymen, who seemed always ready to give me their cordial co-operation. In the course of a few months, finding our church building much crowded, I urged upon the vestry the purchase of an eligible lot, and the erection of an- other church, not to take the place of our own, but as a sort of chapel of the old church, and after a little time to be set off as an independent parish. The vestry and parishioners responded liberally to my suggestions, and we proceeded, at once, to secure a very desirable lot, upon which we erected a large and beautiful stone church at a cost of about forty thousand dollars. Shortly after its completion it ceased to be a chapel of Trinity, and was duly organized as St. Peter's Church, with its own rector, wardens and vestrymen. The congregation of Trinity were content to occupy the old church, and we looked forward with confidence to the day when another and a nobler edifice should occupy the site of old Trinity. The building was too good to be abandoned for the present, and I advised no change until it should require substantial and thorough repair. All this came about in due time, and, some years after my resignation, a noble church was erected on the old site at a cost of two hundred thou- sand dollars. After a residence of ten years in Pittsburgh, years full of encouragement, but abounding in cares and labors, I felt a desire for a period of rest, coupled with the advantages of foreign travel and study. Accordingly I tendered my resig- nation of the parish. To this the vestry refused consent, but proposed to me two years' leave of absence, and author- ized me to select such clergyman as, in my judgment, might be suited to the place, to take charge of the parish during my absence. I assented to this arrangement, and left for Europe with my family May, 1860. I had hardly settled down for a period of rest in Switzer- land before I was written to and urged to go to Florence in the autumn, and undertake the establishment of an American chapel there, to meet the needs of the large numbers of Amer- icans who found it such a pleasant place for a winter's sojourn. This summons I sought to escape, as it would wholly interfere with, and interrupt all the plans which I had been forming. But such pressure was brought to bear upon me, that I finally consented to inaugurate the work, and carry it on for a few weeks with the expectation and pledge that a clergyman should soon be provided to continue the services. Such help, however, was not forthcoming, and I continued in regular charge for five months. I then suspended the services until the following season, by which time it was confidently expected that a regular chaplain would be secured. After an extended tour, during the summer, in England and Scotland, I went to Rome for the succeeding winter. Meantime the civil war had broken out in America, and we were filled with anxiety and alarm. In Rome we found no resident ambassador from our own country, and consequently there was no American chapel. I regularly attended the services and rendered occasional help- in the English chapel. When in the spring of 1862, the time had arrived for my return to America, and the resumption of my duties in Pittsburgh, I naturally felt a great reluctance to take the step, for it was about the darkest period in the history of the war ; and " men's hearts were failing them for fear, n while in the deepest uncertainty as to what the issue might be. Having all my family abroad with me, in quietness and peace, and where my children could enjoy superior educational advantages, I felt it my duty to abandon all idea of a return, until the affairs of our country were in a more settled and hopeful condition. Consequently I sent over my resignation of the parish, giving my reasons for doing so. These reasons were fully appreciated and my resignation was 15 accepted. I returned again to Rome for the winter of 1862-63. I found that an ambassador had been sent out by the United States to Rome, and he had secured and brought out with him a clergyman of our Church to act as Chaplain to the Embassy. Services were held regularly in the building where the am- bassador resided, and at the request of the chaplain, who was not in vigorous health, I rendered him constant and regular assistance. Owing to the disturbed condition of affairs at home, no very large number of Americans were that winter sojourning abroad. Leaving Rome in the early spring, I travelled extensively in the different countries of Europe, and, in the winter of 1864-65, I made an extended journey to Egypt; up the Nile; to Mt. Sinai and Syria. Upon my return from the East, I visited Rome in the spring, and found another ambassador representing our country, and I was earnestly solicited by him, and by numbers of my fellow- countrymen, then in Rome, to accept the position of Chaplain to the Embassy. After much consideration, I consented to do so, but only upon the condition that we should jointly rent a large apart- ment, in one of the old palaces, which he should occupy with his family, while reserving for me the largest room in the suite, to be fitted up for a chapel, and kept exclusively for that purpose. All this was accomplished, and in November, 1865, we had a most comfortable chapel, in a large and superb apartment, in a very central position. Rome was crowded that winter with Americans, and our chapel was often so thronged that the doors of the large room adjoining, which was the office of the Embassy, were thrown open to accom- modate the overflow. The owner of the palace, one of the Roman princes, who occupied the first floor, and who was a great all} 7 of the pope, was so much annoyed by the crowds of distinguished Americans, who were constant attendants at 1(3 the chapel, that he refused to renew the lease to the ambassa- dor, unless he would agree to give up the services in the chapel. The apartment was accordingly surrendered. I then proposed to take the risk of making the chapel independent of the Embassy, and procured, at my own cost, a large hall in a very central quarter, which I fitted up for a chapel. Here, without any molestation, our services were regularly held during the entire winter of 1866-67. But in the spring, when we were near the end of the season, and only a small number of Americans were left in the city, the ambassador was formally notified, by Cardinal Antonelli, that the services of our Church could not be held after the present season within the city walls, unless carried on within the building occupied by the ambassador. Being myself most anxious to keep the chapel apart from the Embassy as the only security for its permanence and stability, I decided to go outside one of the gates of the city, and to take an apartment for our chapel, where there would be no fear of any interference. But I could get no one to join me in assuming this responsi- bility. Accordingly, I took a lease for four years of a large room, once used as an English chapel, but now much dilapi- dated, at the cost of six hundred dollars a year, and ordered it put in thorough repair, and fitted up in a churchly way for our services. An American banker, who usually remained during the summer in Borne, and who was a zealous member of our Church, consented to superintend and direct the whole work. When we were ready to commence services, as we usually did, the first Sunday in November, we found a very neat chapel, all nicely fitted up, and large enough to accom- modate five hundred people. I found myself, however, not only responsible for the rent, but also for the sum of three thousand dollars which the repairs and improvements had cost. But the chapel was now on a solid basis. That winter 17 Rome was again filled with Americans, and many of them persons of much wealth, and zealous in their devotion to the Church. And all were so charmed to find such a pleasant chapel, and one so much more commodious than any which had been previously occupied, that they gladly and willingly contributed liberally, to meet these costs, so that before spring, not only every dollar of the rent and the cost of the improve- ments was provided for, but a very liberal salary was also se- cured for the rector. I was much cheered at all this, as I now had the guarantee of the permanent continuance of our services. This impor- tant work having been accomplished, and not wishing to re- main permanently in a foreign land, I began to entertain thoughts of a return to my own country. I continued in charge at Rome until the spring of 1869, and, in the following autumn, turned over the work to the Rev. Dr. Nevin, who has continued the care and direction of it up to this present time. Soon very important changes took place in Rome, and upon the entrance into the city of the Italian army, and the overthrow of the temporal power of the pope, the way was opened for carrying out our long-cherished desire to have a large church and one worthy of the American people, erected within the city. Dr. Nevin at once availed himself of the opportunity, and found many who showed a deep interest in the work, in our own land, and who contributed liberally for the important object. The result was the selection of a com- manding site, and the building of an attractive church edifice, at a cost of some $150,000. And there may it stand for genera- tions to come, as a witness to the Ancient Catholic Faith, as upheld by the Reformed Anglican Communion. After giving up my charge at Rome, I decided to pass another winter and spring in an extended Oriental tour, in company with my wife (who was not able to accompany me upon my first visit to Egypt, Mt. Sinai and Palestine). 18 At the end of this journey we returned in the summer to England. Before deciding upon any plans for the next win- ter, I received most unexpectedly, in the autumn of 1870, an urgent invitation to the rectorship of Trinity Church, of San Francisco, which was the oldest and strongest congregation of our Church upon the Pacific coast. While not prepared at once to decide the matter of duty in connection with this call, I made arrangements to leave for America with a part of my family, and, shortly after our arrival in Baltimore, I started with one of my sons for San Francisco. Upon reach- ing our destination, the latter part of December, I was warmly welcomed by a committee of the vestry of Trinity, and escorted to lodgings that had been provided for us. After surveying the ground, and officiating for two Sundays in the church, I decided to accept the charge, and entered at once upon my duties. Blessed at the time with excellent health, and aided by an efficient assistant, 1 found much to cheer and encourage me, although I found it a field calling for arduous and unin- termitted labors. In the spring, I was elected by the conven- tion of the Diocese as one of the clerical deputies to the Gen- eral Convention, which was to meet in October, in Baltimore. I proceeded to Baltimore in September, and took part in the deliberations at that most interesting and important Con- vention. Soon after its close, I returned to California, with a portion of my family; three of my sons being still in England. I continued in charge of Trinity parish until the spring of 1873, when, upon my election, in May, as Assistant Bishop of this Diocese, and the ratification of this election by the Church, I resigned my charge in San Francisco, and went with my family to Baltimore. I had, previous to my election, arranged to visit England that summer, and, crossing the Atlantic with part of my family, we passed a very pleasant summer abroad. 19 As my consecration had been arranged to take place Decem- ber 11, in Christ Church, Raleigh, we left for New York dur- ing the month* of November, and reached Raleigh on Decem- ber 9. The consecration took place as arranged. Bishop Whittingham, of Maryland, whom I loved with the devotion of a brother, and by whom I had been ordained as Deacon and Priest, was the Consecrator, assisted by Bishops Atkinson and Lay. The sermon, which was one of great ability and excel- lence, was preached by Bishop Lay. As this was the first consecration of a bishop which had ever taken place in the diocese, it naturally drew together a large number of the clergy and laity, who were deeply interested in the sacred solemnities. I began my Episcopal duties the same evening, by preaching in Christ Church, and administering the rite of Confirmation. In the discharge of my Office, as Assistant Bishop, I found both help and comfort in being associated with one whom I so loved and honored as Bishop Atkinson. Our relations were always of the most cordial and affectionate na- ture, and I felt it to be a great blessing that the weighty burden and the manifold cares of the Episcopal Office did not, in their fulness, come suddenly upon me. And it was a great grief to me when the tidings reached Raleigh early in January, 1881, that he had been called to his rest. His health had been so feeble for nearly a year be- fore his departure, that most of the duties and responsibilities of the office had been devolved upon me. But, when I found myself quite alone, and unable to enjoy any longer the benefit of his wise and judicious counsels, I felt how great was my personal loss, and what an increased burden was laid upon my shoulders. And here let me add how much I have all along appreciated the forbearance, the sympathy, and the cor- dial good will which I have so constantly experienced, at the hands of both the clergy and the laity of the Diocese. 20 At the second Diocesan Convention which met after the death of Bishop Atkinson, namely, May, 1882, preliminary steps were taken looking to the division of the Diocese. And at the Convention which met the following year, the creation of a new diocese was decide'd upon, and a petition was ad- dressed to the General Convention, which met the following October, asking its consent to the same. The General Con- vention gave its consent, and a new diocese was formed within the limits of our old boundaries ; and, after the consecration of the Bishop, who had been elected to the charge of the new diocese, my duties were confined in narrower limits ; but the steady enlargement of our mission field has added so much to my labors that I have found but very little diminution of them. And while I am persuaded that there are many dis- tricts of the Diocese where more ought to have been done, yet, on the whole, I feel that we have good cause for con- gratulation in view of the advance and progress which, as a Diocese, we have been permitted to secure. Many valuable accessions have been made to the ranks of the clergy, many new missions have been securely established, a large number of new churches have been erected, and several missions, which a few years ago were only in a weak and struggling condition, have become self-supporting parishes. There has been also most encouraging progress in the mission and edu- cational work, which we are carrying on for the benefit of our colored people. Several new congregations have been formed, and new churches provided for them. Flourishing parochial schools are also doing their most important work, in connec- tion with nearly every one of our colored congregations. And in this connection, I must say a word in regard to that most excellent institution, St. Augustine's Normal School, here in Ealeigh. It is in a more prosperous condition than ever before. In place of the very unsatisfactory frame 21 structures, which were consumed by fire some years ago, we have now a large four-story, substantial brick building, erected by the help of liberal friends at the North, at a cost of $10,000; and, by means of which, our work is done with greatly increased facilities. Let me further add that, through the gift of $11,000 by Mr. John H. Shoenberger, of New York, a large brick building has been erected on the grounds of the Ravenscroft property, at Asheville, as the home of Ravens- croft Mission and Theological Training School ; while the Ravenscroft High School for boys is now in a most flourish- ing condition, under the management of Mr. Ronald McDon- ald, its highly cultured and successful Head Master. In addi- tion to this, a most excellent Home School for boys has been established by the Rev. Mr. Bronson, near the salubrious town of Warren ton, which is very highly appreciated and most successful. Nor should I forget to notice among our other signs of progress the movement which has been inaugurated for the establishment, near Salisbury, of another school, to be conducted at the least possible cost, and which can open its doors to those who are compelled to forego the advantages of more highly cultured and expensive schools. And finally, I must not omit to speak of the increasing prosperity of dear old St. Mary's, here in Raleigh, and which will soon be ready to celebrate the fiftieth anniversary of its establishment. All this is most cheering, and affords abundant reason for pro- found gratitude to God. At this point it is proper for me to make some reference to an important duty outside the Diocese, which I felt specially called to undertake. Early in 1886, I received, from 'the Pre- siding Bishop of the Church, a commission to undertake the Episcopal oversight of the American churches, on the conti- nent of Europe. My long previous residence abroad, and my familiarity with the conditions of this foreign work, led me to m feel that I ought not to decline the duty thus laid upon me. 1 crossed the Atlantic in November of 1886, and made a visi- tation of all the American churches in Europe which were under my charge. During that visit, I consecrated the large and beautiful Church of the Holy Trinity, in Paris ; and a little later, the attractive Church of St. Johu, in Dresden. I also laid the corner-stone of the new church then in course of erection at Nice ; which church was consecrated by me at my next visit, two years later, in 1888. During both of these visitations, every kindness and courtesy was shown me ; while in Paris, in Geneva and in Nice, I shared not only in the most generous private hospitality, but in the most abundant social attentions. But, after completing the second of these visitations, in the winter of 1888-89, I felt that I could hardly spare the time from my diocesan duties for continuing any longer this charge. Accordingly, about a year ago, I sent my resignation to the Presiding Bishop, and urged its immediate acceptance. He consented to my request, and I was much gratified by the appointment of the Bishop of Albany to suc- ceed me. It was not long after my return, from the last of these for- eign visitations, that I was called to a great personal bereave- ment, and a few months later my health began to be seriously affected by a protracted attack of insomnia, and from which, even now, I am not wholly relieved. But amid all my trials and difficulties I was greatly cheered and comforted by the profound sympathy which was so widely manifested. In fact, ever since I came to minister among you, I have experienced only the kindest and most generous consideration. And I can say, with all truthfulness, that the strongest sentiment which finds place in my heart, is a deep sense of my un worthi- ness of all the kindness and the affectionate interest which have been eo uniformly manifested. It is this loving sym- 23 pathy which so cheers and encourages me, and fills me with earnest desires to be ever constant and untiring in the dis- charge of my duties. While deeply conscious of the work which has been left undone, I do feel that my episcopate has not been by any means unfruitful. There has been encour- aging progress on every side. Our mission work has been greatly enlarged. The number of faithful workers in the ministry has been steadily increasing, and there has been a cheering advance also among the laity, in active efforts for the extension of the Church. More than forty new churches have been built, and the most of them very neat and attrac- tive edifices, since I came to minister among you ; and several others are now in progress of erection. Bat while so much has been done, let us consider well how much more might have been accomplished, if only a deeper love for our Divine Master had found place in our hearts, and a readier spirit of self-denial and self-sacrifice had been more sedulously cultivated. For what has been accomplished let us thank God and take courage. But beyond this, we must all strive to realize how great and how binding are the obligations which rest upon us, and with what increasing zeal and dili- gence we should be seeking the advancement of the kingdom of God. As we draw nearer the end of our earthly career, may we have grace to see more and more clearly what, after all, are the interests which should find the warmest place in our hearts ; what are the true and real treasures, which have an abiding value ; what are the living hopes and the kindling promises which are alone unfading and eternal. Alas! what is life, when measured only by its earthly limitations ? Alas ! for him whose only estimate of it is circumscribed by what this world can give us. The true, the real life, is that for which we must here be preparing. The dispositions, the characteristics, the tastes, the qualities which are here cher- 24 ished and encouraged, are those which shall be indelibly stamped upon us, and which must fix our future destiny- Each year is bringing us so much nearer the hour, when we shall be summoned to give an account of our stewardships. Brethren and friends, may we all ponder well these serious and momentous considerations, while lifting up our hearts in ear- nest prayer to God that we may be found diligent in the dis- charge of every duty and faithful in the fulfilment of every trust. Then, when the shadows of life's evening are darken- ing around us, may it be our sweet privilege to close our eyes in calm and heavenly peace, while looking with trustful con- fidence to the coming glories of the Resurrection morn. Then shall be seen the dawning of that blissful day, for which all nature has so long been yearning and groaning ; the day when there shall be revealed a renewed heaven and a renewed earth wherein dwelleth righteousness. O ! happy he who shall then be permitted to hear, from the lips of his loving Lord, that cheering and most welcome plaudit, " Well done, good and faithful servant, enter thou into the joy of thy Lord." i 1 ?]9? JL O k> & seuBjqn A»!SJeAjun 9>|na