■ 
 
 Life an(J character cf 
 Hen* David L. Swain, 
 Late president of the University 
 of N.C. 
 
 A meiTJcrial craticn by ZeV>:^ on B 
 Vance* 
 
 1878 
 
 ^23.2.73 
 S S 7 I 
 
PERKINS LIBRARY 
 
 Duke University 
 
REV. TJiepHS ^TKIN^BN, D. D., IiL. D.,:if-^ 
 
 BISHOP OF NORTH CAROLINA. 
 
S E t M 0 K 
 
 ( o.M.M i:mi>ka rrvi: <»i nn: l.\tk 
 
 Jh'sfioj) of y<irfh ('it ml inn J 
 
 DELIVERED IN CHHIST CHURCH, RALEKIH, 
 
 KKFORE THK 
 
 Convention of Xorth Carolina, 
 May IX, l^^x], 
 
 BY 
 
 HENRY C. LAY, 
 Bi.ikop of Efi!<fon. 
 
 WINSTON, N. c. 
 
 CHURCH MESSENGER Pl^BLISHIN(; HOUSf:, 
 
^*^8oiiie portions of this serniou were omitted, for 
 lack of time, in delivery. 
 
Peter seeing liim saith to Jesus. Lord, and what sliall this man d<>? Jesiis saith 
 inito him, If I will that lie tarry till I come, what is that ti» thee? Follow tlion me. 
 — St. John. xxi.. ;21. 2'2. 
 
 THE risen Lord i.s conversiiicr with the two most eminent (tf His 
 apostles. He shadows fortli wliat shall liefall them in the latter 
 day.s. 
 
 ''Follow Me," He said to Peter, and. snitinjj' the action to the 
 Word. He took some steps alouo- the shore. He jiredicts a life of perse- 
 cution. He signifies also what manner of death he should die. Bonds 
 and the Mamertine prison await him, anrl he is to be crucified at Rome 
 with his head downward. 
 
 Thus dealeth the Merciful One with a devoted servant, whose heaii 
 He had just broken hy the very excess of His foi-giveuess, and on whom 
 He had just devolved the most sacred of all trusts, the feeding of His 
 sheep and of His lambs. 
 
 " And what shall this man do ? " 
 
 St. John, already a martyr in will, although unbidden, has risen uj* 
 to tread in symbol the via dolorosa behind his 5laster and his comrade. 
 
 Our Lord replies, for history interprets the dark saying, that for 
 John there awaited not like bitterness of death. He was to tarry to a 
 good old age until his Lord should come and give him releasee in the or- 
 dinary course of nature. 
 
 But ''what is that to thee?"' We nuist not (juestion Him too curi- 
 ously when to one disciple He a])points a life of sorrow and a death of 
 shame, while another, just as ready for the baptism of suffering, is to 
 abide in safety and to die in peace. 
 
 ^ly brethren, I would .set in the forefront of this discourse the ex- 
 j)ression of our devout gratitude to Almighty God for the tenderness of 
 His lifie-long dealing with Thomas Atkinsox, late Bishop of Xorth Oaro- 
 lina. Few lives have been so even and so prosperous, so laden with sub- 
 stantial blessing, so shielded from calamity. 
 
JiX MFJIOBIAM 
 
 I am far from siigtnesting that he did not share to the full in the 
 trials and the «irief< eomm(m to all great-hearted Christian men. The 
 flesh could not l)e subdued to the spirit without anguish of soul. Zeal 
 for (lod's house eould not but eimsume the heart in which it burned. 
 Sympathies so habitually cultivated could not fail to call forth, in this 
 sad world, many a tear of generous ^rief. (irave responsibilities could 
 not be borne through a long life, ancl often under critical circumstances, 
 without heart-ache and anxiety, and many a wound to the sensibilities. 
 J^ut for all this, we may rightly say of this steward in the family of God, 
 "The Lord was with Jose})h, and he was a prosperous man, * * 
 
 the Lord was with him, and that which he did, the Lord made it to pros- 
 
 I »■'•." 
 
 Consider him in his natural endowments and his personal gifts. 
 How goodly a j)resence was his! A manly form, a noble head, a coun- 
 tenance in which intellectual power, strength of will and sweetness of 
 temper were harmoniously condiine<l, and were the more lovely for the 
 singular absence of self-con>('iou>n(^ss. Strangers everywhere turned to 
 look on him as on a nuui, beyond doubt, a chieftain in his proper sphere. 
 
 H(nv suitable was his })rej)aration for hi?« ultimate work I To early 
 familiarity with plantation life and country people were added the study 
 and practice of the law, j)romoting that judicial mind which, in after 
 years, gave him so nuich power in debate, and which in the House of 
 J^ishops caused him to be deferred to in any emergency specially de- 
 manding moderation and just judgment. 
 
 During his earlier ministry, the very repression to which men of his 
 ecclesiastical views were subjected in Virginia, served, as in the case of 
 his dear friend Bishoj) Cobbs, to make him more cautious, more tolerant, 
 more careful to observe the ])roportion of faith. But he never wavered 
 in the two ccmvictions which moulded his ministerial career, viz., that 
 the apostolic authority has been perpetuated and is now vested in the 
 Bishops, and that in the holy sacrainents grace is exhibited and confer- 
 red, unless there is a bar. 
 
 Success attended his })riestly ministry in Norfolk and in Lynch- 
 burg. When he removed to Baltimore, Maryland at once recognized 
 his ability and gave him her confidence, (irace Church is a monument 
 of his success as a Presbyter of that diocei^e. 
 
 He was prospered as Bishop of North Carolina. That diocese had 
 just received in the defection of his predecessor a severe and mortifying 
 blow. The friends of Bishop Atkinson anticipated f )r him no small dif- 
 ficulty in securing the confidence of people alarmed and agitated, and in 
 
BISHOP ATKINSON. 
 
 preventing ilie rebound toward denial of catliolic truth, which r^o na- 
 turally foilowt^ the insidious intrusion of inediceval err(»rs under color of 
 that honored name. 
 
 I need not tell you that, under his firm and gentle guidance, con- 
 lidence was restored, and your diocese remained true to her principles a.s 
 in the days of Ravenscroft. 
 
 I would mention, moreover, some illustrations of this prosperity, (jf 
 another sort. Bishop Atkinson was never a man of large wealth. He 
 had never more than a moderate salary ; but, through the blessing of 
 (xod upon a domestic life void of ostentation or extravagance, and a 
 household most prudently administered by one on whom he had need 
 chiefly to devolve that care, he had always enough for reasonable wants ; 
 en(jugh for his favorite books ; enough to help a poor man ; enough to 
 aid a child or a friend in an emergency. Nay, during the years of civil 
 war, when the usual income from the diocese failed him, it was as if the 
 I'avens brought him food. An old investment, for long years utterly 
 worthless, became remunerative for the time, and supplied all his 
 needs. 
 
 In a:nother point of view, the domestic life of our departed friend is 
 remarkable. 
 
 To Robert and Mary Tabb Atkinson, of Mansfield, Va., were born 
 eleven children, of whom Thomas was the sixth in order. The first death 
 in this large family was that of the eldest son at the age of fifty. An- 
 other son died at the age of sixty ; thus, of the Bishop's ten brothers and 
 sisters, eight survive him, and three of these survivors are his seniors. 
 Again, the Bishop's married life extended over a period of fifty-three 
 years. In all this time there was never a death in his immediate family, 
 
 ►Surely, brethren, those of you who are familiar with the sorrow of 
 the "dead lamb " in the flock, and the " vacant chair " by the fireside, 
 will recognize the tenderness of providential ordering, which thus ex- 
 empted from bereavement one who had a singular a})preciation of the 
 family tie, and who es})ecially enjoyed 'he affection and the companion- 
 ship of his kindred. 
 
 I might multiply these illustrations ; I might speak of the absence 
 of all acrimony or defamation in the exciting controversies in which he 
 was conspicuous ; of the health usually adequate to his duties ; and when 
 it had seemed to fail, wonderfully restored by travel ; of the compara- 
 tively easy descent into the grave at last — made the easier from the knowl- 
 edge that the diocese was safe, during his disability, in the charge of an 
 experienced colleague fully adequate to its administration. 
 
6. 
 
 L\ MEMOBLUI 
 
 Brethren, voii huve the right to atjk why I have dwelt at so much 
 leii^'th upon these particulars. I answer that this review of the pros- 
 perous life of a man who had the courage and the will to drink any cup 
 of pain, and yet was spared so much of life's bitterness, teaches us a 
 h'sson c(mcerning the love of God. 
 
 It reminds us that, where the conditions of the individual soul and 
 the development of the divine purpose permit, God prefers to assign us 
 the discipline of pros])erity, rather than of adversity. He doth not 
 deal with us capriciously, but varies the expressions of His love to suit 
 tlie needs of each soul, and to fit it for its place and its work in His 
 spiritual kingdom. It is not every one, as Leighton says, who can carry 
 a full cup even. 
 
 It was because the Lord loved St. Peter that He made him partner 
 in His stripes and wounds and bitter cross; it was because the Lord 
 loved St. John, that He sustained him in life with the rapturous visions 
 of Patmos, and gave to him a peaceful old age in which to preach still 
 his favorite message, "Little children, love one another." But it is the 
 same infinite, undying love, which sets each star in the celestial firma- 
 ment where best it may illustrate the glory of His grace. 
 
 In discharging the duty which your Bishop and other honored 
 members of this diocese have laid upon me, I cannot easily avoid the 
 -train of personal reminiscence. 
 
 Our ancestors were friends and neighbors, and were connected by 
 marriage. My mother was reared in the family and married at tlie 
 home of his grandfather, and the fiimily bond was drawn more closely 
 in later years. 
 
 My first visit to him was at his home at Lyncliburg, in the year 1848. 
 \"ery pleasant is it to recall the intimacy of the three friends, Cobbs 
 and Parks and Atkinson, and their discussions, in the presence of a 
 young candidate for orders, of a problem that at that time so ngitatt-d 
 the diocese of Virginia — the ultimate tendency of the Oxford Tract 
 ^lovement. 
 
 In the year 1850 I found myself with Dr. Atkinson iu the House 
 of I)ei)uties, Avhere he was conspicuous as a leader, and we have ever 
 since been associated in one or the other house of the General Conven- 
 tion. When he was consecrated, I was his attending Presbyter : pres- 
 ently he preached the sermon at my own consecration, and afterwards I 
 discharged the same duty in this pulpit, at the consecration of his assist- 
 iint and successor. 
 
 In time of peace, and time of war, we have been associated \w 
 
BISHOP ATKimON. 
 
 council and committee, acting together in critical circumstances, and 
 uniformly agreeing as to the great principles of ecclesiastical adminis- 
 tration. 
 
 FAMILY AFFFX'TION. 
 
 In this connection it may be noted that Bishop Atkinson laid much 
 stress upon the ties of kinship. No man \vas more free from the weak- 
 ness of courting the great and the wealthy, or from the affectation of 
 pretending to be the su})erior of his neighbors in birth or social position. 
 But he held that family connection with worthy people of the past and 
 the present is a privilege to be duly recognized. 
 
 A year before his death, in the little cathedral chapel at Easton,he 
 expounded the salutations in the last chapter of Romans. He read the 
 verses, " Salute Andronicus and Junia, my kinsmen ;" " salute Herodion 
 mv kinsman " Lucius and Jason and Sosipater, my kinsmen, salute 
 you." 
 
 "See," he said, how much stress the^ apostle lays upon the family 
 tie!" And so everywhere- In the Gospels the relationship of apostles 
 to each other is told us. In the Acts of the Apostles, James is our 
 Lord's brother, John ]Mark is sister's son to Barnabas. I can but think 
 it is a Christian duty to recognize and to value these bonds of kinship. 
 When pe^)ple boast that they do not care for their relations and connec- 
 tions more than for other people, it only proves that they have cold 
 hearts and care little for any one but themselves." 
 
 And surely he was right in this position. It does widen our hearts 
 and broaden our sympathies thus to love our kindred. It is, beyond all 
 doubt, a restraint upon the young to know that they bear a name which 
 has never been dishonored, and that any misdeed of theirs will carry 
 personal mortification into an extensive circle of relatives and 
 connections. 
 
 CATHOLIC PRINCIPLES AND CHKISTIAX CHAEITIES. 
 
 In an age of unhappy religious divisions, discrepancies of doctrine 
 and of discipline do often seriously mar the intimacies of the family and 
 the friendships of social life. 
 
 As a churchman Bishop Atkinson occupied no uncertain position. 
 He held that the constitution of the Church was divine, imposed upon 
 her by her Lord, and not to l^e changed in the discretion of men. He 
 maiDtained that its goveniment was vested in the Bishops, and that the 
 
8. IX MEMORIAM. 
 
 authority to rule the Cluircli of God lias been duly transmitted from age 
 to age in the line of an apostolic succession. 
 
 He affirmed that the Church, in the long centuries of her triumphs 
 and her martyrdoms, was one body, known everywhere as the one holy, 
 catholic, and apostolic Church, with no lines of difference or demarca- 
 tion save those of nationality. In the denominational arrangement 
 which recognizes no other bond than a common acceptance of evangeli- 
 cal truth, he C(^uld not recognize the original, organic unity of the one 
 Bride, the undefiled. He held and maintained very ])ertin{i('i()usly that 
 the national Church of England, as a historic Church, as a corporation 
 which has never forfeited the charter of the Lord, bears the symbols of 
 authority, and is entitled to the spiritual allegiance of the nativ-n where 
 .-lie resides. He claimed for the daughter Church of America like 
 authority over the nationality which sprang from the loins of England. 
 
 Holding these views, he could not and he did not unite in official 
 ministrations with the clergy, however beloved and respected, of other 
 religious bodies. 
 
 Is it possible, ^ve are often asked, that a wise and good man can 
 adhere to these convictions, when they require him to lock up his sym- 
 ])athies, to shut his eyes to the noble zeal and heroic deeds of Protestant 
 Christendom, to deny in the teeth of incontrovertible facts the blessing 
 and power of God the Holy Ghost, upon so-called irregular ministra- 
 tions ? — when they force him on, so to speak, technical grounds, to deny 
 his brotherhood with the meek and loving ones over whom his Lord 
 pronounced the beatitudes ? 
 
 If results like these did indeed follow practically and logically 
 from the nuiintenance of what are known as catholic principles, it would 
 be an argument against their truth. 
 
 As a matter of fact. Bishop Atkinson, with all his uncompromising 
 adherence to his ideal of the Catholic Cluu-ch, the Ciiurch as it was in 
 faith, in doctrine, iij ecclesiastical order, before the division of the East 
 and West, did cultivate the largest Chi'istian sym])athies. In every 
 one who loved his Lord and exhibited the image of His holy character, 
 he recognized a brother. So far from disparaging religious excellence, 
 he recognized it, and rejoiced in it wherever it was found, In those 
 systems and organizations with which he could not personally co-operate, 
 he was the last to deny the merit of their administrative liiethods, the 
 activity of their zeal, or the beneficial results of their ministrations. 
 Himself unwavering in his convictions, he did not pronounce those who 
 differed from him wrong-headed or bad-hearted. The proof of all this 
 
BISHOP ATKINSON. 
 
 9. 
 
 is found in his affectionate relations with many not of our communion, 
 in the absence of all bitterness in his teachings, in the respect and kind- 
 ness entertained for him by persons of all denominations in his diocese. 
 And was he illogical in this ? Did the instincts of the heart prevail 
 over the mistaken convictions of a partisan judgment? Remembering 
 how remarkable he was for his love of the truth, for subordinating 
 everything to the truth, for following out the truth to all its consequen- 
 ces, we might well hesitate to believe that he indulged sympathies which 
 could not be reconciled with his intellectual convictions. Long years 
 ago he called my attention to a sermon of William Archer Butler's on 
 the compatibility of catholic principles with Christian charity. He in- 
 dorsed it, as fully expressing his own mind, and dwelt upon the pleasure 
 and satisfaction which he experienced in finding his own convictions 
 directly formulated and forcibly argued. 
 
 It is not illogical to hold that division is in itself a sin and a dis- 
 grace, while we believe that with the many, it is a misfortune rather 
 than a fault. The many are guiltless of any purpose to disregard the 
 ecclesias^cal economy derived from our dear Lord, or to disturb that 
 unity for which He prayed. They are following the examples of their 
 fathers and mothers, and seeking to work out their salvation amid the 
 surroundings into which they were born. 
 
 It is not illogical to hold that Almighty God has certain channels for 
 the transmission of His spiritual graces, and that our personal safety and a 
 just regard to the highest interests of humanity require that we should 
 stand in the old paths, that we should contend earnestly for the faith 
 once delivered and for the order once universally prevalent, and that by 
 divine warrant : it is not illogical, I claim, holding these principles, to 
 believe with Archer Butler, that God binds us but not Himself by these 
 prescriptions, that there is a merciful accommodation to altered circum- 
 stances, however they may have originated in a fault, so that grace is 
 not frustrated by reason of our innovations and irregularities. If an 
 artery be obliterated, whether by misfortune or by fault, it doth not 
 follow that circulation must cease in the unhappy member. The physi- 
 cal amistouiosis luis its analogue in the realm of spirit. We cannot agree 
 that separation from the one catholic body of Christ, which is in itself 
 an evil, and is to the individual a grievous loss, does either in logic or 
 in fact make void the gracious purpose of our Father in Christ Jesus. 
 God forbid that in our zeal for order and authority, we should deny that 
 God's word is efficacious as spoken by earnest men of other orders or 
 of no orders at all ! God forbid that we should deny that grace is con- 
 
10. 
 
 IN 31EM0RIAM. 
 
 t'erred to godly people in sacra meuts ministered otherwise than as we 
 wonld dare to minister them ! God forbid that the most faithful bishop 
 or priest should be unwilling to accept the lesson of humility and benev- 
 olence from any saintly man, howbeit in his view church organization is 
 matter of mere expediency or preference ! 
 
 One of Bishop Atkinson's firmest convictions, founded, as he 
 tliought, on the general consent of the primitive Church, was that every 
 baptism, by whomsoever administered, where the matter and the form are 
 used, is a valid baptism, and that the person so baptized becomes there- 
 by a member of the catholic body of Christ. 
 
 He told me that in St. Peter's church, Baltimore, Avhen a child was 
 presented for baptism, there was a hesitancy in replying to the prelimin- 
 ary (piestions. On inquiry, it appeared, that at its birth the child's life 
 seemed to be in danger, and that the physician, of his own motion, hasti- 
 ly applied the water and pronounced the formula. Bishop Atkinson 
 affirmed this baptism sufficient, and refused to repeat it 
 
 Catholic principles may consist with Christian charity. I Ijjiow of no 
 life which more than our departed father's was a proof and illustration 
 of this proposition. 
 
 His parents were Church of England peo}>le : they lived and died 
 in our communion. 
 
 But in their day the Church wai^ at its lowest point of coldness and 
 indifference. There were some able and earnest men of the Presbyte- 
 rian Church, especially Dr. John H, Rice and Dr. Benjamin Rice, who 
 labored with much success in Southern Virginia in awakening men to 
 religious earnestness. The Atkinsons, while they adhered to the Parish 
 Church, and there frequented the Holy Communion three times a year, 
 came under the influence of these ministers, and were largely guided by 
 them in their spiritual life. Bishop Atkinson was baptized in the Epis- 
 copal Church : some of the children later born received baptism at the 
 hands of Presbyterian ministers, and thus the family became divided. 
 The Bishop and two of his brothers remained in the Church of their 
 fathers : while three of the brothers, of whom two survive, took Presby- 
 terian orders, and have been beloved and efficient ministers in that 
 communion. The sisters are divided, in like manner, in their ecclesias- 
 tical relations. 
 
 I have heretofore inti united that love of kindred was a passion with 
 Bishop Atkinson. It could not but be a pain and grief 'to all the mem- 
 bers of the family, that in anything which affected their religious life, 
 there should be (lifference of opinion. But no shadow ever came, by 
 
BISHOP ATKIXSOX. 
 
 11. 
 
 reason of such dirtereiice, over the jjeace aii<l happiness of their huiiie.-. 
 I doubt whether in all the land could be found a large family of broth- 
 ers and sisters S(j devoted to each other, so delighting in each other's 
 company, so sympathizing in each others joys and sorrows, so ready to 
 seek fraternal advice, so free to utter all their minds on all subjects at 
 each other's fireside, kindly and courteously but without reserve. 
 
 ^ly brethren, let us not be frightened because the world deems any 
 definiteness of belief to imply uncharitableness. Charity is not indif- 
 ferentism. Charity, while it makes the largest toleration for individual 
 infirmities, dares not be liberal in dealing with truth and duty. But 1 
 may best conclude this part of the subject in the Bishop's own words. 
 Said he, in a published sermon : " Be assured, in order to be right, in 
 order to be safe, it is not enough to be sincere ; it is necessary to hold 
 the truth sincerely. There is such a thing as truth, whatever skeptics, 
 whatever sensualists may say to the contrary. 
 
 " It has an existence independent of all that men think concerning 
 it. If we shut our eyes to the sun, we do not extinguish it thereby — it 
 still shines on ; so, if we remain ignorant of the truth or reject it, it .still 
 subsi^its — nay, if the whole world agrees to deny it, it still subsists. It 
 is indeed immortal. Eeligious truth is the transcript of the eternal 
 ideas in the mind of God. Error is of the earth, earthy. Error is 
 perishable. . . . AVell then may the wise man say, Buy the truth 
 and sell it not. Buy it at any price ; sell it at no price. Buy it with 
 toil, with obloquy, with suffering, with danger ; sell it not for money, 
 nor fame, nor safety, nor popularity, nor life. " 
 
 THE EPISCOPATE. ITS POWERS A^'D DUTIES. 
 
 I pass on to consider our departed father, as a bishop in the Church 
 of God, and of the influence he exerted as priest and bishop, in vindi- 
 '•ating the just prerogatives of the episcopal office. 
 
 The American Church, after emerging from her colonial dependenct 
 entered upon her career under many disadvantages. 
 
 For all practical uses, there had been in the colonies no ecclesiasti- 
 cal disci])line or subordination. The canonical oversight of the Bishoj) 
 of Loudon was almost a fiction. The Church was nondescript and 
 acephalous. An Episcopal Church without a bishop is the very worst 
 form of Congregationalism. Xo wonder that the clergy, hitherto free 
 from any rule or oversight, should regard with jealousy and alarm the 
 elevation of one of their number to a superior position. 
 
 - Tract* fbr Miss. Use, Xa l/'What is Truth ?'' p. 1^^ 
 
/.V MFJIoniAM 
 
 Thf i|iit'.-rii)ii of the onlinnl, " you reverently ohey your 
 
 (>I>?"" was (listnsteful to republican ears; it was easy to invent casuistry, 
 still much in favor, whereby the solemn pledge should be emptied of all 
 irs significance. Sonic would make it to mean, not that the first impulse 
 .-hall be to follow with a iilad mind and will the Bishop's o()dly admo- 
 iiitions, and to submit one's self to his godly judgment, as a dutiful 
 child res])eets tlie advice and judgment of his father; but this instead : 
 I will reluctantly obey tlie Bishop when disobedience threatens to entail 
 I'cch'siastical censure or deprivation. Thus there grew up the theory 
 that the I^ishop has no rights of fatherhood inherent in his high com- 
 mission, l)ut is the niei'e creature of the canon. He primus inter pares, 
 aj)pointed to discharge certain ministerial functions. He has indeed the 
 care of all the churches, but with the exception of some definite official 
 acts, must be the curate, not the chief pastor, in any particular church 
 where he ofKciates. In the fear of episcopal despotism, the office was 
 in danger of being robbe(l of all its efhciency. 
 
 The contest over the just rights and dignity of the episc()])ate had to 
 be fuight, and in the providence of (ro<l, William Uollinson Wliitting- 
 ham was called to be the champion for this principle : I may say the 
 martyi" for it. 
 
 Me had thrown himself into his ofHce with wondrous zeal aud ener- 
 gy. Fi>v a time the growth and new inspiration of the diocese attested 
 the Hiight which is inherent in a vigorous government sustained by 
 .-spiritual earnestness. And then there grew up a resistance to the exer- 
 cise of what he deemed the absolutely essential privileges of his ofhce, 
 > i)ersistent and obstructive that it robbed his work of its sweetness, 
 and entailed upon him a life-long sorrow. 
 
 This controversy was the burning (|UCstion at the General Convention 
 of I'SoO, and at that Convention and '•w the preceding Diocesan Conven- 
 tion of Maryland, it fell to the lot of Dr. Atkinson, then rector of St. 
 Peter's, to vindicate the true ideal of the ofhce of a bishop. 
 
 If tliese two fathers had no other claim upon the Church's grati- 
 [ude. they would deserve to be ever held in honor, for averting so great 
 :i calamity as that of the degradation of the episcopate. 
 
 In this Maryland controversy of it was maintained'' that the 
 
 l>ish()]) had no right to administer the Holy Communion at his visitation ; 
 and, indeed, that "a ])i'Oj)ei" respect for the just influence of his office as 
 
 " Vide tin- coiTcspoiuU-in c in AiijHMulix to the Murvluiitl .b»uriiul of tho C'uu- 
 \ •uti(»n that war. 
 
] 
 
 a }>rt'sl)yter of tliis Churcir' iU'tiially forbade tlu- rector t(j "vacate tii* 
 truf^t of such adiniiiistratioii." It was held that while the law forbaci- 
 the celebration by the bisho}), it was sik-ut in respect to the use of tli- 
 pulpit and desk ; these the bishop might occu})y at his visitation, bii 
 only by the courtesy of the incumbent. 
 
 ^laryland will not soon forget the niagnific-^'nt debate which cnsiUMi 
 both sides being represented by men of extraordinary ability. J)r 
 Atkinson was the author of the report, and moved the resolutions .-u- 
 taining tiie bishop, which were adopted by an overwhelming majority 
 
 I consider this report one of the most important utterances ev. , 
 given to the American Church. The argument is thii- c )iicisely e.\- 
 ))ressed : 
 
 "Your committee is of opinion that the true sohition (if tliejie questions does m 
 rest on any mere verbal criticyims of Canons and iJuhrics, although entirely consi-: 
 ent with the results of sueli criticism, when rightly employed. Their truesohnl 
 rests on principles nnich deeper and more vital ; principles which lie at the foum 
 tion of the Church itself. In reasoning with cliurchmen it is lawful, it is indeed cm: 
 respectful to them, to take as axioms those truths which the Churcli clearly mail 
 tains, however they may be doubted or denied by those out of her pale. AnuuiL^ 
 such truths are the following: 
 
 "1st. That Bishops are successors to the apostles in the ordinary powers of theiij 
 office, tliough not in tlie extraordinary qualiticati(ms and endowments of tluise tii- ; 
 ministei-s of Christ. | 
 
 "2d. That as such the apostolic commission embraces them, and that they t< '< ' 
 are enjoined and authorized to go into all the world, and teiich or di.sciple all nations 
 ha^jtizing them in tlie name of the Father, and of the 8on, and of the Holy Ghost. i 
 
 "od. That consequently, Bisliops, as sueli, have the right to i)reach, and to admii,-: 
 ister the Sacraments, as well as rule in the Church. i 
 
 "4th. That these episcopal rights are to be exercised in their didceses, thest-i e ; 
 ing their appointed fields of labor. I 
 
 " otli. That c(inse([uently, every Bishoj) has a riglu to }»reach and administer tin 
 Sacraments in his diocese, inde[)endently of any paroeJiial cure wliich may be iu-! 
 trusted to him: and in every part of his diocese; ftn- if tliere be any part of his di< -| 
 rese in which he eannot exercise episcopal rights, then in tkat jiart he is not Bislio}>| 
 
 "On these principles tlte Conmiittee found their clear conviction of the genen-J 
 right and authority of a Bishop to preach, or to administer the Sacraments, and i< 
 rule in hi.s wliole diocese and in every part of it. It would seem a necessary conehi- 
 sion that, if there be a church in a diocese in which the Bishop can never preacli ( j| 
 administer the Sacraments and the like, without being in each piitticular instance pre-i 
 vionsly authorized by another, that he really has not epi.scopal power in that clurrcJi. 
 It may })e asked, is there no limitation to these principles? Can a Bishop at any 
 time, in any part of liis diocese, perform any ministerial act lie pleases? The C(mi-| 
 mittee Avill not keep back tlieir belief that in thebeginning it was even so — that intliti 
 eiu'liest days of the Church Presbyters did not preach wlien Bisliops were present,j 
 and that, a.s we are tauiiht by the learned Bingham, it was a notable event wiii-n S: 
 
14. 
 
 \ugustine, w hile still ;i I'l-cshyter, was permitted to preach in the presence of tlic 
 I)isiiop. Tlie institution of tlie pantchial system has, however, produced a miuhty rev- 
 olution in the relations of Iiisho[)s and Preshyters. Preshyters are now made respon- 
 sil)le for the spiritual state of the souls in their parishes, and their power nuist bear 
 some relation to their responsibility. Tiie (Committee conseciuently <'onceive that the 
 mere presence of a Bisliop does not, by the existing established systeu) of the Church, 
 take away tlie right and duty of a Presbyter to teach in his own person, and adminis- 
 ter the Sacraments by his own handsto thp people of his charge. Andyettiie Bisho}). 
 on the principles tirst laid down, must also liave the right to teach and administer the 
 Sacraments in every part of his diocese. Tliese apparently conflicting rights are, as 
 tlie Conunittee Ijelieve, perfectly reconciled in the admirable system of the Church by 
 confining the Bishop in the exercise of his, to those com])aratively rare occasions, on 
 which lie goes officially, in his very episcopal cluiracter, in visitation of a parish. If 
 lie have it not then, he never has it, and one of two conclusions nuist follow ; either 
 that the Bishop, as such, is not authorized to preach and administer the Sacraments, 
 or tluit being thus authorized by his very office, this authority is afterwards taken 
 from him by the Rubrics and Canons which regulate that office. Are we to believe the 
 Church lias so stultified herself? and that, having in the Consecration Office given 
 these powers in obedience to Scripture, the moment the Consecration is complete, slie 
 takes them away by the Rubrics and Canons which she has enacted, anrl which tlu- 
 nisho}) is bound to observe?" 
 
 To these principles the Bishop, when presently called to presich 
 over a diocese, conformed his own action. He ruled his people pru- 
 dently, with all his power: not angrily, harshly, capriciously, or in the 
 way of meddlesome interference with the just freedom and discretion of 
 the clergy and laity ; not with episcopal pretension ; no man was moi-e 
 free from the vanity and arrogance of official self-assertion. He miulii 
 well have taken as the motto of his episcoi^ate the aphorism of Lord P);i- 
 con, " Assert the right of thy place, but voice it not with useless chal- 
 lenges. " But rule he did, firmly, gently, manfully. In things indiffer- 
 ent or doubtful, or where the law was silent, he required that the godly 
 judgment of the chief i)astor should prevail over the discordant opinions 
 of the many pastors. I said he ruled numfully. He respected the 
 manhood of his clergy as well as his own. He ruled with a dignity, a 
 sympathy, a reasonableness, a high courtesy, which f()r])ade any sens(^ 
 of humiliation in submitting to authority. 
 
 He had once occasion to set out in order his ideal of a faithful epis- 
 . opate. He said : 
 • 
 
 " T!ie Church which received the truth from Christ, wdiich can itself neither 
 make it nor reveal it, has yet the high mission of guarding it and teaching it. She 
 has systematized the teachings of Scripture, incorporated those wdiich are essential to 
 salvation into her Creeds, and wrought these and other truths into the very texture of 
 
BISHOP ATKINSON. l l. 
 
 her Liturgy and offices. Xow it is a part ol" a ]jisln)p's duty to .uuard this jij-eci<ius 
 deposit. 
 
 " In tlie midst of nuitable opinions, open to change at every Jiouj-, whether the 
 cliange be ordained by the Foj)e at Rome, or tlie Pope in the indivichial s own bosom, 
 (rod has seen tit, in llis mysterious sovereignty, to entrust thin Chuirli witli a stal)lo 
 and delinite Creed, the very truth as taught by C'lirist and His Apostles, as received 
 and transmitted by tliat body which He lias protnised never, never, nevei- (<• inisake! 
 This truth it isa Bishop's office to guard, and Ids diuy to dilliise. 
 
 "Again, it belongs To the office of a Bishop, not only to guar-l the tl tc.r'ne of th j 
 * hurch, but to lalxn' direcrly for the souls of men. liishops are rulers in the C'iuirch 
 of God, but they are likewise Pastors, whose business it is to feed the Mock. There is 
 danger that in our own minds, as well a.s in the o})inion of the nudtitude, the former 
 relation may overshadow and even thrust out the latter. The Bi,sho})S of the {)rim- 
 itive Church were pre-eminently Pastors, only secondarily rulers. In the media-val 
 period, when dioceses were inordinately enlarged, and became the objects of secular 
 ambition, the otiice of ruler absorbed every other appertaining to the order. Men 
 held iiKue than <>nc diocese, and even dioceses in more than one country, and even 
 i-hildrcii were made BLshops, as children nnght succeed to a lordi;hip. This abuse 
 tended to bi-ing about, and in some degree to justify the introduction of the Presby- 
 terian system, and so obstinate are old traditions and old habits of thought, that we 
 have scarcely yet learned to feel how direct ought to be the relation between a Bish- 
 op and his flock, how immediately he ought to feed them, and not merely by the 
 liands of others, how individual should be his acquaintance with them, how he ought 
 to know his own sheep byname. A Bishop ought to be a preacher to his diocese, 
 whose voice Ls tamiliar in every part of it ; of all preachers, he ought to be the most 
 earnest, the mo.st self-renouncing, the mo-st studious to win souls. 
 
 "But if we value souLs, we mast ase all suitable means to win them, and one 
 surely of the most efficacious? of these is, by simple, earnest, loving, thoughtful, in- 
 structive preaching. \nd what an oppoi tunity of doing good in this way is put into 
 the hand'- (if :i IVislio)'! AVheJ'eve]' he g-'c-. multitudes of people flock to hear bin i. 
 lie may be a gil'ted preacher nv \w may ).i(it. Inn :ii any rate he is their Brshop, thei)' 
 <^'hief Pastor. He speaks with authority. Every word rightly spoken by him tells. 
 The people look to him with confidence for their food. How necessary, then, that lu 
 shoidd be prepared to distribute this food, the sincere milk of tlie ivord. the bread o.t 
 life. Xot fos>il skeleton- (^did sxthious which he has dug up out of his closet, from 
 which all life has (Jejwrted, if ever they had life; not the hard stones of controversy 
 with which to ])elt opposers ; not the jpliitff'cjf mere declamation ; not the vapid flowers 
 of a gaudy rhetoric, but the bread of life, carefully searched, and, as far as may be, 
 winnowed from error; divine truth taught positively, tauglit with aufliority, with 
 reference to the wants and dangers of his immediate bearers, their pectdiar duties and 
 temptations. 
 
 * * -^f -;f -.T -:<■ -.i -:f -h- 
 
 " And at the ^ame time that the Bishop is a shepherd over the flock, he is to be 
 the ruler and the overseer of the other shepherds. These he is to cheer, and strengthen, 
 :ind encourage, and at the same time direct, and. if need be, restrain. A Bishop ought 
 
10. jy MEMO 111 AM 
 
 III liiivc, to Iti'l'iilly litU'd tor his work, :i syiu{»atlii/,iu<i' nature, to bo able- to weep wit 1' 
 iIkmu that \v(vi>, and rejoice witli them that rejoice. His brethren of tiie ck ruv shotilc 
 reco<i;nize in liim their truest friend, and apply to him si)ontane(Hisly for counsel anc 
 for consolation. And yet, with the <jentleness of a father, there should be the autiior- 
 ity and lirmness of a ruler; and these latter (pialities are the more ueces,s;uy in oui 
 • lav, beea ise so jilainly the leadeiicy ainon<i; us is to break down all authority. A 
 liisliop, with his entire L'.i u-j!i, ma\' have to opp )si hiiusjlf to a }))werfalau l tlireat- 
 eniuii woi-ld. II ' mav liave to stand up with his i'lerii;\' u'^ainst the laity. He nurv 
 have, hardest trial of all, to stand up against his clergy, for he nni.^t stand up Hiipn'tiicli 
 fir his Master, \Vh')se stewanl he is. How difficult in this offi-e to be faithful ! Xeec 
 we wonder that the ancient RislK)ps are said s).netinies to have (led frv>ni those wh< 
 s )Ught to c)nsecrate them ?"'^ 
 
 I cannot donUt that niy l^-ctliren of Xortii C-ivolina will recognizf 
 in these Mords u faithful picture of the spirit and of the methods whicl' 
 i'h:iruct.u*i/.e(] the epi.se )pate of him who so hm^^ presided over them. 
 
 THE OXFORD MOVKMEXT. 
 
 Having thus considered Bishop Atkinson's share in resisting an} 
 attenipt to detract from the catholic features of the Church, we nui} 
 well |)roceed to notice his position in connection with a drift of thoughi 
 in an opposite direction. 
 
 Th-e Oxfonxl Tract movement has in the last half century exertec 
 in the Church a wonderful influence for good, not unmixed howevei 
 with grave evils. 
 
 Froiti the very fii>>t, our Bishop reeogiiiz,ed the value of this move 
 luent, and sym]3athiz.ed in the ])urposes avowed. So far as it taugh 
 men to reverence the Primitive Church, and to accept the " fpiod .temper 
 iibique et ab omitibtt'^'' as the authoritative ccjrreetive of a vagrant pri 
 vate judgment, he deemed it a much needed revival. So far as if^^i 
 utfirmed the grace of Holy Biiptism: so far as it affirmed the preeiou 
 mystery of the Eucharist, that Ahnighty God, our Heavenly Farherp. 
 hath given His Son our Saviour Jesus Christ not only to die for us, bn 
 ii/.so to be our spiritual food and sustenance in that Holy Sacrament 
 >*) far as these leadei-s incited men to load a life of devotior^, habituall}|'it 
 praying in the house of God, and frequenting His Holy Supper; so fari' 
 as they ])ersuaded them to resort without difhdeDoe to their Pastors foi 
 advice and guidance in their trials ; just so far and no further did Bisho|[iit 
 Atkinson favor the new teaching. 
 
 i^ut he was Anglican to the b/ack-hone. He wsis thoroughly eonlnii 
 
 ^ecniou at a consecvyxiou in Kiichuioud, 18oft. 
 
BISHOP ATKIXSON, 
 
 17. 
 
 viiUM'd tliat til" Aiiu'liciiii lictoniiatitui was lu'cossarv and lawful, and 
 \va- wisely c )ndiictiMl, so thtit n » cathorK' truth whatever is d 'liied or 
 obscured in our formularies. 
 
 He had no sympathy with the formulas, old or new, whereb\ meii 
 sou^-ht to explain the inexplicable, and to defme the mode of the Real 
 Presence. He had little patience with that extravagance of private 
 judunient, which has led individuals and parties to pronounce doctrines 
 and cereinoi<ies to be catholic, whereof the Church, whose commission 
 they bore, had given them no authority to speak, xluricular confession 
 he regarded as the crucial question. In his charge to the diocese, and 
 in his reply to Archbishop (ribbons (a reply marked by chivalrou> 
 courtesy to his critic, no less than by force of argument), he declared 
 
 & himself invincibly hostile to any theory of confession and absolution 
 
 ■li which would offer, as necessary food, ren)edifc5 only profitable for the 
 most serious maladies of the spirit. 
 
 Especially was he offended at any importation of the Ligourian 
 casuistry into this Church. No human ]:)ower could have wrung from 
 
 ^him that which was confided to him in ])riestly confidence. But to deny 
 il] knowledge of a matter, saying to himself, I know it, not "id Jwmo," 
 •!)ut " at Deii.^,'' he would have scorned, as he would have scorned any 
 jther lie, or any other suggestion that the God of Truth is to be served 
 
 rt with lies- 
 
 ei Xot that he specially affected the name " Protestant." With out- 
 )f his clear convictions, the mere protest against error was no adequate 
 ^ lenoniijiation. He denied the false, but he also affirmed the true. The 
 hlAord " Catholic" issued from his lipi^ with no faltering or uncertain 
 ,r round. 
 
 •j. In his sermon eoinniemorative of the late Bishop of Maryland, 
 il Bishop Atkinson used this language : It is not jrretended that he liked 
 ^ •ituali.^tic ceremonial: his mind urns, as some siqjjwse, not sufficiently ce-dhet- 
 Mf'e, or (IS I should say, too masculine for that.'" 
 
 „ I ventured to tell him, at the time, that I differed from him, both as 
 t () the ikct, and the explanation. Certainly Bishop Whittingham was no 
 1,'itualist, in the party sense, but he had [esthetic taste, and he was nm- 
 •j^dcian enough to read with pleasure the sc(n-e of the " Messiah." 
 
 Bishop Atkinson was neither musical, nor aesthetic. In his lofty 
 ijntellectuality he deemed the truth in her own simple attire, without 
 my extraneous adornment, beautiful enough to win the homage of al! 
 ' 'uds and hearts, provided only that she were reverently approached. 
 But I rannot thi])k that the nj/jsculine mind jiecessarily revolt- 
 
l.S. IN MEMORIAM 
 
 f'Voin tlu' ;o.-*tlietic in religion. Surely the r^weet singer of Israel was no 
 ctteminate, and yet we cannot repeat his psalms without feeling that he 
 delighted in the magnificent procession, the swelling chorus of many 
 instruments and voices, the vesture of wrought gold, in which loving 
 handmaids delight to array the King's daughter. 
 
 I freely grant that we have need to guard against ceremonies mis- 
 leading or meaningless : against the unauthorized, the extravagant, the 
 puerile. But if this Church of ours is to do her utmost work in the 
 land, she must be inventive of expedients to win attention ^and to elicit 
 the affections. Her apples of gold must be set in ]>i(*tui'es »>f silver, 
 (ilory and beauty must characterize the adornments of the sanctuary 
 {tnd the sacred services therein. 
 
 TJ I V: (iP:NEKA L ( "( )N V ENTION OF 1860. 
 
 1 have been admonished that any memorial of Bishop Atkinson 
 would be imperfect which should fail to make mention of the coming 
 together, which he chiefly promoted, of the dioceses, temporarily separa- 
 t(Ml by civil war. 
 
 I may not here rehearse the story in order : the time forl^ids ; but 
 .-ome of its incudents may well be revived. 
 
 The war ended, the South lay prostrate and disorganized, and com- 
 niunication, even by letter, was dilatory and uncertain. But it ha])pen- 
 ('(1 that the Bisho])s of North Carolina and of Arkansas had an oppoi-- 
 tunity of personal conference. It needed but a moment or two to dis- 
 cover that we were alike convinced, that after the fall of the Confederate 
 nationality, there no longer existed any raison d'etre for a Confederate 
 Church, and that no time should be lost in seeking a resumption of our 
 organic relations. Thus Bishop Atkinson set forth to the General 
 Convention, while I was glad to follow him, hmid passibtts wqm's. 
 
 AVe were presently in very delicate and embarrassing circumstances, 
 We knew well that we exposed ourselves to the suspicion of rourtiiig^ 
 the winning side, and of leaving in the lurch brethren in mistortuiie, 
 especially in Alal>ama, where the churches were closed hy military 
 edict. 
 
 We came into a comnunnty exultant with victory and enthusiastic- 
 in loyalty, disposed to take for granted that to return was to a-k for- 
 L;i venes*. To the tact, the gentleness, the manly outs])okem]»ess of Bishop 
 Atkinson the Church is indebted for the honorable result of this ven- 
 ture. To Bishops Potter and Whittingliam, who witli friendly violence- 
 lu-ough.t us back to our seats in tlie House of Bish.ops, stau.diug guard 
 
BISHOP ATKINSON. 
 
 19. 
 
 over us to shield us from auy possible annoyance ; to Dr. Kerfoot, now 
 the Bishop of Pittsburgh, and then a deputy from Pennsylvania, who 
 resisted any action discourteous to the few delegates from the South ; to 
 John and William Welsh, who laded us with hospitable kindness, we 
 came under lasting obligations. 
 
 It soon appeared that the Convention cheerfully acquiesced in all 
 that we desired in behalf of our absent brethren. 
 
 But what of the expected peecavi f This issue could not be avoided. 
 Presently Bishop Burgess of ]\Iaine, then in very failing health, offered 
 a resolution appointing an early day to be observed as a Thanksgiving 
 for the results of the war. Among these results, as specified in the pre- 
 amble, were " the universal establishment of the authority of the national 
 Government, " and also " the extension among all classes and conditions of 
 men of the J}lessings of freedom, education, culture and social improvement''' 
 
 At the hours appointed for this discussion the Southern Bishops 
 were not present. During a recess. Bishop Burgess came to my desk 
 and complained, affectionately yet earnestly, of the marked reflection 
 upon the Bishops, despite the evidence given of their fraternal consid- 
 eration, in thus declining to attend the debate. 
 
 I replied, that but a few moments before, Bishop Atkinson had said 
 to me, that the brotherly kindness of the Bishops had been such as we 
 could delight to remember to our dying day. Some of them (Bishop 
 Burgess knew that the allusion was to himself) we shall never see again. 
 They are now discussing a resolution in which we cannot agree, and will 
 utter sentiments which cannot but pain us. It is best that we should 
 not hear all the words spoken. 
 
 Bishop Burgess was moved by these kind words. Presently he 
 asked, " What is there in this resolution that can possibly grieve you 
 I pointed to the words " extension of freedom." I trust in God, I said, 
 that freedom may bring to the colored race all the blessings you antici- 
 pate ; but wiser men than I, and Northern men at that, honestly doubt 
 whether freedom will prove to them a blessing or a curse. Why should 
 this House commit itself in a matter wherein it has no authority ? 
 
 He considered a moment, dropped down into a seat, and, taking a 
 pen, erased from his resolution the words objected to. Subsequently he 
 asked leave to amend it by inserting the clause, " and gratefully ac- 
 knowledging the special loving kindness of the Lord to this Church in the 
 re-establi,-<hment of its unity throughout the land, as represerded in this 
 National Council. " 
 
 Upon the sixth day, Bishop Whittingham offered a substitute, and 
 
20. 
 
 on the motion of Bij^liop Clarke the whole matter was referred to a 
 committee consisting of the five senior Bishops. After two days, this 
 committee reported a preamble and resolutions. In these we could not 
 possibly concur. 
 
 All eyes were upon Bishop Atkinson as he answered the appeal 
 made to him. He knew that he had that to say which must needs be 
 distasteful to men full of exultation at the Southern downfall. With no 
 diffidence and with no temper, rather with the frankness of a child 
 littering his thought, he opened all his mind. 
 
 " We are asked," said he, " to unite with you in returning thanks 
 for the restoration of peace and unity. The former we can say, the 
 latter we cannot say. 
 
 "We are thankful for- the restoration of })eace. War is a great 
 evil. ^ It is clear to my mind that in the counsels of the All-wise, the 
 issue of this contest was pre-determined. I am thankful Uiat the ap- 
 pointed end has come, and that war is exchanged for peace. But we are 
 not thankful for the unity described in tlic resolution, ' re-estdbh'.sJu'nr/ the 
 (lathority of the Xatioud Government ocer all the landJ We acquiesce in 
 that result. We will accommodate ourselves to it, and will do our duty 
 as citizens of the common Government. But we cannot say that we are 
 thankful. We labored and prayed for a very different termination, and, 
 if it had seemed good to our Heavenly Father, would have been very 
 thankful for the war to result otlici wise than it has resulted. I am 
 willing to say that I am thankful for the restoration of peace to the 
 
 (X)IINTRY AND UNITY TO THE ChURCH." 
 
 These words, which I feel very sure are substantially accurate, well 
 illustrate how he labored for peace, and yet with<jut any unmanly con- 
 cession whatsoever. 
 
 His language, '' in eon.<kiemtion of the return of j^eaee to the country 
 and unity to the Church/' was incorporated in a substitute offered by 
 Bishop Stevens, and adopted by a vote of sixteen to seven, the Southern 
 Bishops being excused from voting. Those of us who were actors in 
 these proceedings were ever after at a loss suitably to express our ad- 
 miration of the consideration for the scruples of the few unfortunates,, 
 displayed by the majority of the Bishops. 
 
 It deserves to be noted that so soon as we had resumed our seats in 
 tiie House of Bishops, General Lee wrote to us a letter of earnest ap- 
 proval and sympathy. 
 
 I would not claim for Bishop Atkinson more than is iiis due. 
 Doubtless the good sense and the good feeling of the Church would 
 
•21. 
 
 have secured the same result after a few years. But l)y his promptitude, 
 by the fraiiknes.s with which he met the immediate issues, l)y his calm 
 determiuatioii to allow no censure to be cast uixm those with whom he had 
 been associated, he secured a speedy adjustment of all possihle differen- 
 ces, and promoted no little the spirit of toleration and kindness. A 
 few years hare escaped. The House of Bishops has in it< ranks five or 
 six ex-Confederate officers. One of them is a Foreign ^Missionary Bish- 
 op, another presides over the diocese of Michigan. 
 
 SYMPATHY WITH THP: COLORED RACE. 
 
 Among the subjects which soon after these events came to be pressed 
 upon the attention of the Church, was the necessity of ade(|uate provis- 
 ion for the social and religious needs of the emancipated race. 
 
 The Bishop had no need to learn the lesson of responsibility and 
 of sympathy for colored people. He had always been considerate of 
 them, always anxious to secure for them, while in servitude, adequ;;te 
 protection against abuse of authority, and to promote the patriarchal 
 relation of master and servant, which, when duly observed, made the tie 
 of ownership and dependence very graceful. 
 
 Bishop Atkinson, with his usual decision, urged the necessity of 
 active measures on the part of the Church, for the care of the colored 
 peo2)le, and threw his influence earnestly into the establishment of the 
 F reedmen 's Comni issi on . 
 
 This Commission was not heartily accepted by Southern Church- 
 unen. To me it was a grief of mind that I could not, at its inception, 
 give it an active support. 
 
 Secular education as the chief end, not as a means to religious cul- 
 ture, or a corollary to it, was the avowed purpose of the Commission. 
 It proposed to establish schools responsible to the central board, and not 
 under the direction of Bishops and Rectors. I was alarmed at so serious 
 an innovation on just principles of spiritual subordination, and found 
 myself painfully out of accord with Bishop Atkinson. 
 
 Doubtless he was more far-seeing than others of us. In a little 
 while the objectionable features were removed, and the Commission 
 planted itself upon a churchly basis, which leaves nothing to be desired 
 
 The Bishop's hearty acceptance of the scheme led to the establish- 
 ment in his diocese of the Normal School, which he greatly valued and 
 faithfully watched over. The colored congregation in Wilmington was 
 •especially dear to him. He put forth every effort to promote the good 
 sv}]] of the two races, and to extend the Church's blessings to botji alike. 
 
22. 
 
 IX MEM0RIA3L 
 
 One cannot but c()ntem])latc awe the problem to be solved in 
 Sonthern dioceses, and the lar^^er ])roblem in all the land, touching the 
 practical catholicity of the Church. How shall a Church, whose mem- 
 bers are chiefly English-speaking and are of the white race, provide for 
 the needs of people of foreign si)eech, or of another race? 
 
 A delegation of German ministers came once into our House of 
 Bishops with a piteous appeal to save men of their nationality, dwelling 
 in our midst, from the anarchy and heterodoxy into which they were 
 drifting. The response, kind and sympathizing to be sure, was the dis- 
 heartening " non pomim u>(. " 
 
 For this National Church of ours has no excli'Mjuer ; nothing is laid 
 at the feet of the Apostles. The alms of tlie I'aithful are all marked 
 special. The Legislature and the Executive of the Church are reluc- 
 tant to devise any general policy for the common good, when they are 
 powerless, for lack of means to put it in operation. 
 
 The first instinct of the judgment is to provide for these specific 
 classes teachers of their own race or language, and services suited to their 
 immediate circumstances. Something has been done on this basis, for 
 Indians and Negroes, for Germans, Frenchmen, Italians, Norwegians ; 
 for Jews as well as Gentiles. But the work is scarcely begun. 
 
 As the most practical scheme for methodizing such work, without 
 surrendering the territorial jurisdiction of Bishops, Bishop Atkinson 
 urged again and again, with unwonted earnestness and without any suc- 
 cess whatever, the consecration of suffragan Bishops. The mind of the 
 Church is so immovable on this subject, that this device is not to be thought 
 of. Each Bishop must, according to the wisdom given to him, devise 
 such expedients as may best reach specified needs. 
 
 But, as for the black race, who knows not that, on any large scale, 
 it is simply beyond the reach of our financial ability to provide in the 
 most of our neighborhoods separate mi^iisters and churches for the white 
 man and the black ? 
 
 Why should we not worship together and kneel at the same altar ? 
 We were wont often so to do in the olden days. I have seen in St. 
 Philip's, Charleston, colored people occupying the range of seats all 
 along the wall, on the same floor with the whites, while an old negress, 
 crippled with rheumatism, crept up the main aisle to a seat provided 
 for her in front of the desk. On the Polk estate, in Tennessee, one used 
 to see the masters occupying the front seats at morning prayer, with the 
 servants in the rear ; while at the evening prayer, the positions were re- 
 
BISHOP ATKIXsrjX. 2:]. 
 
 versed, and the iustruction was specially adapted to the humbler mem- 
 bers of the flock. 
 
 In making a visitation <jf Louisiana in Bishop Polk's behalf, I have 
 nfirmed the well-born, refined young lady and her maid, whom she 
 had instructed, by her side. The chivalrous, high-toned. Christian gen- 
 try of the South used to see in such associations no surrender of their 
 dignity. 
 
 If the Church is to discharge aright her high mission to all sorts and 
 conditions of men, I am persuaded we must at last regard the colored 
 })eople as parishioners, and give them adequate accommodation in tlio 
 church. 
 
 In this effort we must consider the reluctance of some of our parisl,- 
 ioners, and their fear of disturl^ing the usual order of society. The>f 
 scruples and anxieties are to be prudently dealt with, not violently 
 forced. 
 
 But there is a graver difficulty to be encountered in the unseemly 
 self-assertion of some colored people, and in the persistent demand < 'i 
 theorists (themselves never coming in contact with the negro', that all 
 the lines of color shall be obliterated, and that the two races shall com- 
 mingle, in all resjDects, as if they were one race. 
 
 I was present once at church, when this deman<l was made of our 
 Bishop — than whom the colored man had no truer friend. Some mur- 
 mured at the provision he had directed to be made for them, claiming 
 the right to select their seats at pleasure, side by side with the whites. 
 The Bishop rebuked the demand as presumptuous and disorderly. 
 
 I cannot think that this enforced familiarity is reconcilable with 
 the just self-respect of either race. It seems most natural that whit- 
 people, attending a church of the colored race, should accept the accom- 
 modation prcjvided for them. And surely the Christian, taught of hi- 
 Master to i)refer the lowe>t room, should not thrust himself into a conti- 
 guity deemed too familiar by his neighbor. 
 
 Providence, not man, has plainly marked the diflerence of type in 
 the African and the Caucasian. To obliterate the color line is, in the 
 end, to promote intermarriage, to the great injury of white and black 
 alike. I believe that the confusion of the races is a thing impossible. 
 But oh I that the day may come when we shall dwell side by side, ex- 
 changing all human kindnesses, while yet respecting the lines of demarc- 
 ation, which God, not man, has drawn. Oh for the day when white 
 and black shall worship in the same churches without confu>ion, without 
 
24. 
 
 IN MEMORIAM 
 
 rivalry or offense, the rich and the poor together, and the Lord the Ma- 
 ker of them all. 
 
 CONCLUSION. 
 
 In thus presenting some particulars of the life-work of our revered 
 Father in God, I trust that he is more truly delineated than by any 
 mere enumeration of his mental and moral characteristics. 
 
 There was a remarkable conipenmtia/i, so to speak, in these ; one vir- 
 tue supplementing and restraining another, and all combined with rare 
 adjustment into a harmonious whole. 
 
 He was intensely intellectual, but, at the same time, so replete with 
 sensibility, and with all the generous emotions, whether of mercy or of 
 wrath, that he was in no wise coldly intellectual. 
 
 He had an ample share of self-will and of self-reliance ; great confi- 
 dence in the determination of his own judgment ; great firmness in acting 
 out his own convictions ; but his fairness and candor, his intense reason- 
 ableness, forbade self-will to degenerate into obstinacy, while his mod- 
 esty and unselfishness caused the self-reliance to avoid vanity or arro- 
 gance. 
 
 He was eminent for the dignity of his bearing, yet benign and affable, 
 condescending to men of low estate, yet with no consciousness of conde- 
 scension. 
 
 He was prudent and cautious in his speech, reticent when it behoov- 
 ed him to be reticent, and when he did speak, so transparent and down- 
 right, that all might know what was in his mind. 
 
 He was a theologian, and yet not a mere theologian. On principle 
 and of a purpose he cultivated general literature, lest he should fall into 
 theological narrowness, and informed himself and interested himself in all 
 that might keep him in sympathy with his kind. 
 
 He was most precise in his memory of persons, names, dates and 
 facts, yet never prolix, tedious or disposed to emphasize trifles. 
 
 He was intensely ecclesiastical, while yet in his private religious 
 life and in his daily teachings he dwelt upon those simple truths of the 
 old, old story of the Incarnation and the Sacrifice of the Son of God, 
 on which all our hopes repose. He kuew^ how to relax from labor ; he 
 upi)reciated the humorous, while relaxation never became indolence, and 
 playfulness never passed into frivolity. 
 
 But was he, one may ask, absolutely perfect ? Gertainly, he himself 
 would have been the last to affect exemption from the common frailty. 
 
 Whatever may have been his share of aiortal weakness^ even if I 
 
25. 
 
 had the sa<i:acitv to (lisccrn it, f (hue not dissect, in sev«ii-cli of Haw, a 
 soul so just ajicl uiiileless. Of one thinu' J am well assured, that those 
 who loved him best and knew him in his utmost unreserve, find no note 
 in the tablets of memory whereon this honored name is written, whieh 
 may not he perused without exciting a serious regret or causing n hhish 
 of shame. 
 
 The Bishop's life was one of ])atient industry and uniform labor, 
 with but occasional interruption, until he had |)assed a little way beyond 
 the Psalmist's bound of three-score years and ten, and then it a])peare(l 
 (I am told such is the most ))r()bable ex))lanation of his gradual decay) 
 the heart, as young as ever in its warm affections, first felt the debility 
 of age. The keepers of the house were no more tremulous than before, 
 neither had the strong men bowed themsc]v(\<, nor those that looked out 
 <->f the windows beconie darkene<l, noi- the doors become shut in the 
 streets causing the sound of th<* grinding to become low. He seemed as 
 strong, as clear in vision, as distinct in s])eech as in years ])efore. But 
 the golden bowl was breaking, the wheel becoming disabled at the 
 cistern whence issues the stream of our ])hysical being. It remained 
 only to be patient and to whisper in the heart the "Exi)ectans expecta- 
 vi;" for presently this man goeth to his long home, hard by the altar 
 M'here he delighted to minister, and the crowd of mourners, family and 
 friends, vestries and citizens, white and black, bear him in sad procession 
 through the streets of the city where he dwelt. 
 
 The latter months of his life were s])ent in seclusion ; months they 
 were in which with weariness and languor, but without acute suffering, 
 he steadily descended to the grave, released from life so gently that at 
 the last hour there were no pains to add anguish to his dismissal. 
 
 Without too officiously opening the curtains of his sick-room. \ 
 ■would tell you, as I have leai'ued them from those who ministered to 
 him, some particulars of his last sickness. 
 
 "You knew him well, and are fully asvare how deeply his modesty 
 and profound humility veiled his inward feelings, and especially his re- 
 ligious emotions. He was remarkable for sincerity and simplicity of char- 
 acter, and waf» always averse to a dis])lay of his feelings. Accordingly 
 his long sickness was chiefly marked by the utmost patience and humil- 
 ity and gentleness. So too his thankfulness and ( 'hristian courtesy were 
 very manifest to the last. No murmur of complaint ever escaped his 
 lips, and the slightest service called forth his courteous thanks. As it 
 was in his days of health, so in all his sickness, and in his greatest suf- 
 ferings and iielplessjiess, he would if possible help liinLself], and wonld 
 
21). 
 
 try to lesr^eii the care iiiid pains of the loviiiii' ones, wlio fonnd their 
 hii>-hest (leliofht in ministerino; to him. 
 
 " His nol)le and richly stored mind retained its brightness, and his 
 broad and generous sympathies with all the best interests of man were 
 manifested to the last. He was read to a great deal, and after his 
 daughter came to AVihnington, she spent much of the time reading to 
 him. Among other things, he would have her read to him his favorite 
 London Guardian, and choice articles from the Reviews, keeping up his 
 interest in the great public inovements and events of the time. 
 
 " His cliild-like submission to the guidance of the Church was note- 
 worthy. He had the ap})ointed lessons and the daily portions <>f the 
 Psalter read to him every day, and on Sundays the entire services ; and 
 it was ordered that very shortly before Ids departure, the two evening 
 psalms fpr the fourth day, so singului ly appi-opi-iate, were read to him ; 
 the twenty-second psalm containing the phdutive supplications of our 
 Blessed Lord upon the cross, and His thankful exultation ; and then 
 that beautiful inspired viaticum of the saints, ' The Lord is my Shep- 
 herd,' and the words of this psalm were the last words of Holy Script- 
 ure which fell u})on his ear, and very soon afterwards came the sudden 
 sunnnons of the Saviour calling him to Himself. 
 
 "Those who were constantly with him during the last weeks, now 
 see and feel that they were all the time sustained and strengthened by 
 his perfect patience and gentle cheerfulness, and by the atmosphere of 
 peace which his lovely spirit seemed to diffuse around him." 
 
 Brethren of the clergy and of the laity, it were superfluous to im- 
 press npon you the lessons of such a life. They are familiar to every 
 thoughtful mind. 
 
 May the Chui'ch in our land l)e ever ordered and governed by 
 Pastors as faithful and true as he whom we coiHincmoratc to-day ! May 
 he who succeeds to his vacant chair be bl('.--(Ml and j)i()sj>ered in his 
 zealous efforts to supply the spiritual lu i il- of a diocese so large, so 
 overwhelming in its responsibilities, so (k'liciciit, I fear, in the laborers 
 an(1 the means necessary to reap the fields every\vhere ripe for the har- 
 vest. 
 
 ]May your reverence for him and his high office, as well as your 
 loving recollection of the words of him who l)eing dead yet speaketh, 
 lead the mend)ers of this diocese to rally as one man around your chief 
 Pastor, so that this diocese of North Carolina shall be to us all the verv 
 
BISHOP A TKIXSOX. 
 
 27. 
 
 pattern of wi.se, united, effective workinu' for (lod, for His Cluircli, and 
 for man's salvation I 
 
 I may best conclude this sermon hv utterinu- concerning Jiim whose 
 episcopate is ended, the words wherewith he sought to enc(jurage, h)ng 
 years ago, a young man just assuming the responsibilities of that office. 
 
 Men bow themselves to be consecrated as Bishops, feeling that 
 they are about to take up a heavy burden, and yet, after all, it is to him 
 who enters on it with his whole soul, a good work, arduous but glorious. 
 ]Must we not believe that God gives special grace to faithful men who 
 heartily devote themselves to this work ? Are we not permitted to hope 
 that we see the effects of this grace in their increasing ripeness and 
 soundness of Christian character? That the rash and vehement are 
 softened, and the gentle ajid yielding are strengthened? And surely, 
 surely we must be ])ersuaded that the reward of a good Bishop hereaf- 
 ter M'ill be s(miething signal and transcendent. 
 
 " The an(4EL8 of the churches are represented in the book 
 OF Revelation, as stars which the Son of Man carries in His 
 
 RIGHT HAND, AND THE ELDERS ARE DESCRIBED AS SITTING AROUND 
 
 THE Lord on His throne, clothed in white raiment, and having 
 
 ON THEIR HEADS CROWNS OF GOLD." 
 
Date Due 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 L. B. Cat. No. 1:37 
 

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