•J [^ I ac^ Itheological seminary, Princeton, N. J/ '3"^ <*--— ■'ec' ^^53 ♦ ^^^^ BX 5995 ,H6 M382 1836 McVickar, John, 1787-1868. The professional years of John Henry Hobart •^vi^^^S^L,^ <^ !Vl»^^i /r. ytimm. /i^f I THE PROFESSIONAL YEARS BISHOP HOBART. TOR PROFESSIONAL YEARS JOHN HENRY HOBART, D.D BEING A SECIUEL EARLY YEARS' BY JOHN McVICKAR, D.D PRO ECCLB3IA DSI. N E W - Y O R K : PRINTED AT THE PROTESTANT EPISCOPAL PRKSB. H DCCC xixvr. I Entered, according to Act of Congress, in the year J836, bj JOHN McVICKAR, D. D., In the office of the Clerk of tlie Southern District of New-York. CONTENTS. Preface, page liii CHAPTER 1. From date of Ordination, 3d June, 1798, in the 22d year of his age, until Removal to New - York, December, 1800. Pastoral Charge of the Churches at Oxford and Perkiomen — Affecting Incident — Letters from College Friends — Removal to Brunswick — Resignation — Marriage with Miss Chandler — Rev. Dr. Chandler — Life — Services — Death — Mr. Hobart'a Removal to Hempstead — Call to New- York, September 8th, 1800 — Letter to Mercer — Traits of Character, . page CHAPTER II. Prom his Removal to the City in December, 1800, to thejirst of his Publications in 1803 ; from the 25th to the 28th year qf his age. Trinity Church — Early History — Actual Condition — Style and Estimate of Mr. Hobart as a Preacher — Styles of Preaching — His Performance of Pastoral Duties — Domestic Establishment — Anecdotes of Kindness — Habits of Study — Official Duties in General and State Conventions, .... paga 10 A 2 VI CONTENT S. CHAPTER III. From 1803 to 1801— 2Sth to 32d year of his age. Period of his chief didactic Publications, viz. Treatise on the Nature and Constitution of the Christian Church — Companion for the Altar — Style — Criticism upon it — Character it displays — Companion for the Festivals and Pasts — Church Catechism broken into short Questions and Answers — Examination of his Views of Religious Education — Companion to the Book of Common Prayer — The Clergyman's Companion, . page 57 CHAPTER IV. A. D. 1805 — u^t. 30. Controversy forced upon Mr. Hobart — Early History and Con- dition of the Protestant Episcopal Church in the Colonies — Desolation produced by the War of the Revolution — Difficulties which followed it — Dissensions — Steps for obtaining the Epis- copate— Dr. Seabury — Scotch Bishops — Bishops White and Provoost— State of the Church when Mr. Hobart entered it — Justification of his Course, page 76 CHAPTER V. A.D. 1803—^^.23. Letters — to Rev. Dr. Boucher — Sketch of Life and Character — to his friend Mercer — Series of Letters to Mr. How — Board of Trustees of Columbia College — ]Mr. Hobart's Election into it — Members — Division — Rev. Dr. Mason — Character— Con- tests in the Board, . . . . . . . page 99 CONTENTS. VII CHAPTER VI. Object of Mr. Hobart in his Publications — Attacked by Rev. Dr. Linn — ' Miscellanies ' — Answered by Mr. Hobart and others — ' Collection of Essays,' &c. — Reviewed in the ' Christian Magazine' — 'Apology for Apostolic Order and its Advocates' — Justification of Manner — Character of Dr. Mason — Eiami- nation of the Argument — Result of it upon the Church — Letters, page 129 CHAPTER VII. Letters from 1803 to 1808. Letter from Governor Jay — Call to St.. Paul's Church, Phila- delphia— Interesting Incident of a Conversion to the Romish Church — Influence over the Young — Letters — Dr. Berrian — Mr. A. McV. — Mr. Hovr — Anecdote of General Ham- ilton, page 151 CHAPTER VIII. Prom 1806 to 1810 — 31."^ to 3bth year of his age. Ministerial Education — Protestant Episcopal Theological Society — Character and Influence — ' Churchman's Magazine,' esta- blishment— Principles — Mr. Hobart's Habits of Business — Church Music — Mr. Hobart's Love of Music — Affairs of the College — Election of Dr. Mason as Provost — Bible and Com- mon Prayer-book Society — Objects — Earliest Sermon pub- lished, of Mr. Hobart, 'The Excellence of the Church'— Examination of its Principles, .... page 170 Vlll CONTENTS. CHAPTER IX. A. D. 1810 — JEt. 35. Canonical Condition of the Diocese — Bishop Provoost — Char- acter and Policy — Resignation — Decision of the House of Bishops — Examination of that Decision — Bishop Moore — Character — Influence — Election of Bishop Hobart — Diflicul- ties attending the Consecration — Bishop White's Feelings toward him, page 195 CHAPTER X. A.D. 1811— ^^ 36. Controversies before and after his Election — Rev. Cave Jones — Character — ' Solemn Appeal ' — Result — Claim of Bishop Provoost — How settled — Decision of the Convention — Separa- tion of Mr. Jones from Trinity Church — His latter Years, page 212 CHAPTER XL A. D. 1811 — ^t. 36. Annoyances of anonymous Critics — Letter to the Author — Letter from Dr. KoUock — His subsequent History — General Char- acter of Episcopate from 1813 — Amount and Variety of Duties — Pastoral Charge — Letter to a Member of his Church — Epis- copal Charge — Interest taken in the Missionaries — Anecdote — Kindness of Heart — Rev. Mr. Buckley — Letter in relation (o the Scheme of a new religious Magazine, . . page 223 CONTENTS. IX CHAPTER XII. A. D. 1813 — jEt. 38. Duties performed in 1813 — Address to the Convention — Thres leading Points of Policy, 1. Missionary Cause; 2. Observance of the Liturgy ; 3. Ministerial Education — Letter to Mrs. S. on the Subject — Theological Grammcir School — Objects — Failure — Letters — Col. Troup— C. F. Mercer, . page 244 CHAPTER XIII. A. D. 1814 — ^i. 39. General Convention — Motion for a General Theological Semi- nary opposed by Bishop Hobart — Reasons — Standing and Influence in that Body — Sermon preached at its Opening — Review of it — Sentiments touching the Church of England — General Constitution of the Protestant Episcopal Church — Prospects — Rite of Confirmation — Administered at Hyde Park — Influence — Eulogium on the Prayei*-book — Letters — C. F. Mercer — President Smith, • . . . . page 270 CHAPTER XIV. A. D. 1815 — ^t. 40. Convention — Missionary Cause — Outcry against Bishop Hobart as an Enemy to Foreign Missions — Explanation — Oneida Indians — Mr. Williams — History — Bible and Common Prayer- book Societies — ' Pastoral Charge ' on the subject — Letter to Episcopalians — Charges against Bishop Hobart — Explana- tion, page 298 X CONTENTS. CHAPTER XV. A. D. 1815 — JEt. 40. Formation of Church Societies — Their Objects and Influence — Bishop Hobart's Zeal for them — The Principle on which they were founded — Tract Society — Character of its Tracts — Pas- toral Charge on the Christian Ministry — Frequency of Bishop Hobart's Instructions on this Point justified — Peculiar Traits of Character — His Notion of the Church explained and \'in- dicated — Publication of the ' Christian's Manual ' — Ejaculatory Prayer — Prayers in the Language of the Liturgy, . page 833 CHAPTER XVL A.D. 1816—^/. 41. Death of Bishop Moore — Funeral Address — Eulogium — EJssay on State of departed Spirits — Reputation as a Biblical Critic — Article on the Creed — Various Opinions — Letter to Bishop White — His Opinions — Letter of Bishop Skinner — Bishop Hobart's Views of the Church of Scotland — Letters from the Rev. Dr. Abercrombie — Archdeacon Strachan — Candidate for Confirmation instructed — Prejudice against Bishop Hobart's Views of Regeneration — Explained and Defended — Oneida Indians, >.....,,. page 355 CHAPTER XVII. A.D. 1817 — yE^ 42. Affairs of the College — Dr. Mason's Provostship — Causes of Failure — Abolition of the Office — Presidency of Dr. Harris — Character — Bishop Hobart and Dr. Mason compared — Traits CONTENTS. Xi of Character ezhibited by Bishop Hobart in the Board of Trustees — Anecdotes illustrative — Character as given by the Rev. W. R. W. — Visitation of the Diocese — Letter from Dr. Butler — Adroiration of Nature — Brevity of Visits — Rapidity — Duties in the Diocese of New -Jersey ; of Connecticut — Acknowledgment, page 384 CHAPTER XVIII. A. D. 1817 — JEt. 42. Second Charge to the Clergy, ' The Corruptions of the Church of Rome ' — Death of Dr. Bowden — Character — Death of Bishop Dehon — Character — State of the College — Letter from Rufus King — Anonymous Note — Letter to Rev. Dr. Romeyn , — Letters from and to Dr. Smith ; to Dr. Berrian — Painful Letters from an old Friend — Letter from Dr. Strachan, Nor- ris, &c.— Theological Seminary — Endowment — Address be- fore the Young Men's Missionary Society — Interest in Sunday schools — Address, page 407 CHAPTER XIX. A.D. 1818—^^. 43. Address to Convention — Painful Duty — Mr. How — Letter to Dr. Berrian — Oneida Indians — Letter to the Bishop — His Answer — Visits them — Interesting Scene — Aged Mohawk Warrior — Young Onondaga — Visit of the Author — Prosper- ous Condition of the Diocese — Religious Revivals ; the Bishop's Opinion : their Result — Bishop Hobart's Explana- tion of Evangelical Preaching, 446 XU CONTENTS. CHAPTER XX. A. D. 1819— ^i. 44. Letter from Rev. H. H. Norris — Mant and D'Oyley's Family Bible — Defects — Bishop Hobart's Labors in it— General Views of a Bible Commentary — Bishop Hobart in Retirement — ^Visit to the Short Hills — His Occupations — Second Visit to the Oneidas — Address to the Convention — Influence of a Gift of a Prayer-book — Charge to the Clergy — ' The Churchman ' — Extracts on the ' Liberality of the Age' — Resignation of the Charge of the Diocese of Connecticut — Conseoration of Bishop Brownell, . page 47S PREFACE. A VOLUME of the Professional Life of Bishop Hobart, as promised in his * Early Years,' is now put forth, though with unfeigned diffi- dence, for many and obvious reasons. The subject and its events are too well known for the interest of biography, and too recent for the freedom of history. It is a story too which can hardly, now at least, be told, without compro- mitting both names and questions, in a .way not easy to avoid reviving old offence or giving new — and, perhaps, too, some may think, of awakening controversies in the Church which are now at rest, and had better be left in silence. Still, however, the narrative is put forth, and, as a lover of peace, the author feels himself bound to state, in few words, his justification. It is, then, in the hope that the good result- ing will not merely overbalance, but, in great measure, neutralize the evil that is dreaded — that the history of theological controversy, if rightly given, will be found to teach the lesson, not of division but of unity ; of kindness, not of contest. It maybe, too, that by viewing dia- i XIV ' PREFACE. puted questions from the higher and more peaceful ground on which we now stand, the very memory of offences may be rooted up, by showing that they originated in mistake or misconception. It may be, too, that such a narrative, instead of reviving doctrinal disputes, concerning the nature and ministry of the Church, will exhibit these questions as lying, necessarily, at the basis of a Church rising, as ours did into notice, in the midst of much igno- rance and many prejudices ; thus showing that the time for such discussions is comparatively passed, and that, leaving these, its founda- tions, we are now called upon to devote our- selves, in a purer air, it may be said, and with less encumbered hands, to raising higher the superstructure of Christian faith and practice ; and, finally, it may be that the opinions of many, both in the Church and out of it, will undergo, in the perusal of this narrative, a change in relation to Bishop Hobart's course and policy, when they come to review the questions then agitated by the light which subsequent experience has thrown upon them; and, to enable the reader to do this for himself, the language of Bishop Hobart is generally laid before him, and a comparison with well known results, occasionally, either drawn out or suggested. PREFACE. X7 But the narrative is also intended to be a domestic one. It has, therefore, been the aim of his biographer to exhibit Bishop Hobarl, not only as the ruler, but, as the man and the Christian ; and to interweave, with the loftier features of the one the lovelier traits of the other. He has, therefore, painted him as in life he knew him, full of benevolence as well as zeal, and as condescending as he was fear- less ; uniting the warm heart and the open hand, and the kind manners of the humble, cheerful Christian companion with the daunt- less spirit and uncompromising love of truth that should distinguish him who is called to govern or to teach. With a view to unite these two pictures, the one personal, the other official, it has been the author's aim to make the former serve as it were, as a frame-work to the latter ; or, rather, as the canvass and ground on which his policy and sentiments were to be wrought and woven, in order that incident miglit give interest to doctrine, and doctrine give importance to inci- dent, and the whole become, to the rising generation of the clergy of our Church, a pleasing and instructive manual of the minis- terial character. This, however, the author is prompt to ac- knowledge, was but the idea that occasionally XVI PREFACE. flitted before his mind of what might be effected, with the materials he held, by talents and know- ledge suited to the task, and the command of competent leisure. For himself, he was well aware, not only that the ability to realize it, under any circumstances, lay beyond him, but, also, that he was further disqualified for such an undertaking, by being enabled to devote to it only such hasty snatches of leisure as were afforded by a busy as well as an academic life. But still, with all its imperfections, he puts it forth, confident that he aims at good — trusting, under a higher guidance, in some degree to attain it — and deeply anxious to pay, in such manner as he may, to the Church of which he is a minister, or, rather, (with reverence be it spoken,) to its great spiritual Head, some small portion of that debt of consecrated powers which academic duties have hitherto, perhaps, too much withdrawn from their rightful desti- nation. Columbia College, March 10, 1836. MEMOIR CHAPTER I. Prom date of Ordination, 3d June, 1798, in the 23d year of his age, until removal to New- York, December, 1800. Pastoral Charge of the Churches at Oxford and Perkiomen — Affecting Incident — Letters from College Friends — Removal to Brunswick — Resignation — Marriage with Miss Chandler — Rev. Dr. Chandler — Life — Services — Death — Mr. Hobart's Removal to Hempstead — Call to New- York, September 8th, 1800— Letter to Mercer — Traits of Character. On the Sunday immediately following- his ordination, which took place 3d June, 1798, Mr. Hobart entered upon his ministerial duties: they consisted in the charge of two small country churches, viz. Trinity, Oxford, and All Saints, Perkiomen, distant, the one about ten, the other thirteen miles from the city of Phila- delphia. The object of Bishop White in thus stationing him, as given in his own words, conveys a high compliment to his young friend : * It was very near to my heart,' says he, * that he should be settled so close to me as to be easily transferred to any vacancy that might happen in the ministry of the churches of which I am B 2 MEMOIROF rector, or to add to our number (in the city) in the event of building a new church, which was then in contemplation.' One of these rural parishes possessed the in- terest of what we must, in our recent history, term high antiquity. The congregation at Oxford was one of the earliest organized in the middle colonies, being founded by the labors of the Rev. George Kirk, a convert from the Qua- kers, who was sent out by the Society in Eng- land a general travelling missionary as early as 1702, previous to the appointment of any local ones in this country. His missionary field was the continent of British North Ame- rica ; his allowance 2001. a year ; he accom- plished his mission in two years, and Oxford was among the fruits of them.* In this scene of humble duty Mr. Hobart continued to labor until the end of the year, as already stipulated, f How successfully, might be conjectured from the exhibition of character this narrative has already afforded. The surest pledge is to be found in the deep sense of re-^ sponsibility vmder which he had entered upon them ; the language, however, of one who fol- lowed him, affords a more direct testimony. ♦ History of the Society for Propagating the Gospel in For- 'eign Parts, by Dr. Humphreys, Secretary, &c. t Early Years, p. 233. BISHOP HOBART. 3 ' His congregations,' says the Rev. George Sheets, 'were crowded, his pulpit talents greatly esteemed, and his person much beloved. I have conversed with several old parishioners who have a perfect recollection of him — they all loved him much, and greatly admired his preaching.' But his rising merit was soon ac- knowleds^ed bv others. He had hardly entered upon his station before he was solicited to quit it. A call was given him as an assistant to the Rev. Dr. Magaw, in St. Paul's Church, Philadelphia. The letter by which the invitation was con- veyed, was in the name of the rector and congregation, and concludes with these urgent words of entreaty — ' We trust that you will come in the fullness of the blessing of the Gospel of Christ. The harvest is great, but the faithful laborers are few, therefore, " come down and help us."' Though Mr. Hobart's answer is not preserved, its tenor may be con- jectured, since we know from the result that the offer was not accepted ; declined, most proba- bly, on the grounds already expressed by him, of unwillingness to enter so soon on the absorbing labors of a large city church. In the mean time, his college intimacies, though broken, were not forgotten — scattered though they were, his was not a heart lightly 4 M E M O I R O F to sever such ties ; and we consequently find among his papers traces of an ample correspond- ence, by degrees, however, narrowing down to those nearest to him in affection or pursuits in life. In the latter class we find several who had entered the ministry of other denominations, seeking from him advice, or thanking him for past kindness. As usual, we have but few of his own, and must gather our knowledge of their contents, as it were, by reflected light. FROM THE REV. 11. KOLLOCK. * Nfissau Hall, June llth, 1798. I have too long neglected to answer your agreeable letter, but you know that our resolutions on this subject are often unavoidably broken within the walls of a college, though our affection may remain undiminished. I have at length finished Patrick and begun Lowth. The former is like a desolate field, where the soil may produce some valuable plants, but all the surrounding scenery appears unengaging; whilst the latter resem- bles those fields of Arabia which he describes, where the lofty cedar, the medicinal balm, and the fragrant flower bloom beside each other. I think, however, that he is too lavish of his corrections of the sacred text ; for though some of them are absolutely necessary, yet I do not think that any should be introduced merely to cause a parallelism of the lines, or to add to the beauty of an expression. It is of too much consequence to establish the belief of Christians, concerning the general authen- ticity of the Scriptures, to permit such freedom. BISHOPHOBART. 5 I suppose that by this time, my dear friend, you have become a minister of Christ. I pray God that you may be happy, zealous, and successful ; that the blessed spirit of grace may rest upon you, and make your preaching efficacious for arresting the presumptuous and deluded sinner; for pouring consolation into the wounded conscience, and for building up the saints in holiness and faith. May you pass through this life supported by your Saviour ; and when you stand before his tribunal to render your final account, may you see many souls who have been converted by your ministry, and who shall be crowns of your everlasting rejoicing. Oh ! my friend, may we both meet there, and, though bearing different names here below, may we both be interested in the salvation of the common Redeemer. Henry Kollock.' FROM MR. D. COMFORT. ' Mapleto7i, June 20th, 1798. Dear Sir, The period is not far distant, when it is expected 1 will appear in a more public capacity than at present. In September the Presbytery expect to license me to preach the Gospel. They may, perhaps, be willing to do it, but to me it is frequently a doubt whether in duty I ought to apply for it. The nearer it approaches, the more important it appears, and the more diffident do I feel to undertake the sacred office. I can perceive so much corruption and depravity still existing within, and so little holiness and real religion, that I am fre- quently almost discouraged. I still, however, hope these doubts and difficulties will be so removed that I may with cheerfulness, and humble boldness, enter into B2 6 MEMOIROF the service of the blessed Redeemer, and find, by expe- rience, " his yoke to be easy and his burthen light." I have merely heard that you are ordained to the work of the Gospel ministry, as you expected, without hearing any particulars. I hope you may have ' * White's Memoirs, &c, p. 277. 208 MEMOIROF prospects as to the issue. This is said without the remotest idea of a comparison with any other,* but merely on account of a longer and more intimate ac- quaintance. And, perhaps, what is now announced may not be altogether without a reference to self, although, it is trusted, not operating in a faulty line. For whether it be the infirmity of age, advance of years, or, as it is rather hoped, an interest in the future prosperity of the Church, there is cherished a satisfac- tion in the recollection of counsels formerly given to one who is in future to be a colleague ; who may, in the common course of affairs, be expected to survive ; and through whom, there may accordingly be hoped to be some small measure of usefulness when he who gave those counsels shall be no more.'t The hopes expressed by his venerable conse- crator in this affectionate but guarded eulogium, it may be here added, were more than fulfilled in the subsequent career of this ' youthful bro- ther ; ' fulfilled in all but that one point in which the aged speaker was no doubt naturally the most confident : contrary to his anticipation, * the youthful brother' has gone to the tomb before him, while the aged patriarch is still left to guide and bless a second and a third genera- tion of his spiritual children, and to muse over the inscrutable ways of Providence, in leaving * The Rev. Alexander V. Griswold, of the Eastern Diocese, was to be consecrated at the same time, t Consecration Sermon, 1811. BISHOP HOBART. 209 SO long the aged stock, while its own vigorous saplings, one after another, are reft away. His feelings upon that lamented event, the death of Bishop Hobart, it may be here permit- ted to anticipate. ' During my long life, Sir,' said he, addressing a friend in New- York, ' I have not known any work of death, exterior to the circle of my own family, so afflict- ive to me as the present. I have known, and had occasion to remark, the character of my now deceased friend from his very early boyhood, and can truly say that I have never known any man on whose integrity and conscientiousness of conduct I have had more full reliance than on his. In contemplating what must be the brevity of my stay in this vale of tears, it has been a gratification to me to expect that I should leave behind me a brother whose past zeal and labors were a pledge that he would not cease to be efficient in extending our Church, and in the preservation of her integrity. But a higher disposal has forbidden the accomplishment of my wishes; much, as I verily believe, to his gain, although greatly to our loss and that of the Church.' * But this is anticipation. For nineteen years was he spared to the Church over which he was now placed. By the consecration of these two new bishops, a state of things was avoided, full of anxiety at least, if not of peril, to the Protestant Episcopal * Schroeder's Sermon, p. 66. T 2 210 MEMOIROF Church. This addition of numbers contributed also to give greater weight to the legislative acts of the House of Bishops. At the two preceding General Conventions that House had consisted but of two members, and at the latter of these, Bishop White, anticipating his being left alone, had canvassed, as he states,* in his own mind whether one individual could be considered as constituting *a House.' Fortunately, this moot question he was not called upon to decide. * THE AMERICAN EPISCOPATE. There have been consecrated for the American Church , to this date, thirty-one Bishops; — Bishop Seabury, of Connecticut, by Bishop Kilgour, of the Scottish Epis- copal Church, Bishops Petrie and Skinner being present and assisting; Bishops White of Pennsylvania, and Provoost of New- York, by the Archbishop of Canter- bury, [Moore,] the Archbishop of York, [Markham,] the Bishop of Bath and Wells, [Moss,] and the Bishop of Peterborough, [Hinchliff,] being present and assist- ing ; Bishop Madison, of Virginia, by the Archbishop of Canterbury, the Bishops of London and Rochester being present and assisting ; Bishop Claggett of Mary- land, by Bishop Provoost, Bishops Seabury, White, and Madison being present and assisting ; and Bishops Smith, of South-Carolina, Bass, of Massachusetts, Jar- vis, of Connecticut, Moore, of New- York, Parker, of Massachusetts, Hobart, of New-York, Griswold, of the * White's Memoira. BISHOP HOBART. 211 Eastern Diocese, Dehon, of South-Carolina, Moore, of Virginia, Kemp, of Maryland, Croes, of New-Jersey, Bowen, of South-Carolina, Chase, of Ohio, Brownell, of Connecticut, Ravenscroft, of North-Carolina, Onder- donk, of Pennsylvania, Meade, of Virginia, Stone, of Maryland, Onderdonk, of New- York, Ives, of North- Carolina, Hopkins, of Vermont, Smith, of Kentucky, M'llvaine, of Ohio, Doane, of New-Jersey, Otey, of Tennessee, and Kemper, Missionary Bishop for Mis- souri and Indiana, all by Bishop White. Of the whole number fourteen have died. The House of Bishops now consists of the seventeen whose names follow, in the order of seniority. Bishop White, Presiding Bishop, now in the fiftieth year of his Episcopate, Bishops Griswold, Moore, Bowen, Chase, Brownell, H. U. Onderdonk, Meade, Stone, B. T. Onderdonk, Ives, Hopkins, Smith, M'llvaine, Doane, Otey, and Kemper. ' * Missionary Bishop. 213 MEMOIR OF CHAPTER X. A.D. ISn—uEt. 36. Controversies before and after liis Election — Rev. Cave Jones — Char- acter— ' Solemn Appeal ' — Result — Claim of Bishop Provoost — How settled — Decision of the Convention — Separation of Mr. Jones from Trinity Church — His latter Years. It is painful to open the scene of Bishop Hobart's apostolic labors with a picture foreign to their holy and peaceful spirit, yet so it is. His election had not been unanimous ; nor could such agreement well be anticipated ; for, how- ever prominent his claims on the score of talent, zeal, and useful labors, yet on that of age, ex- perience, and as many thought, of prudence, there were others Avho stood before him : he was besides but an assistant minister, and not the oldest of those assistants, in the parish of Trinity Church. Many, too, mistaking in him the en- ergy of duty for the promptings of a selfish am- bition, predicted danger to the Church from the too rapid elevation of such a spirit. Under the best of circumstances, the path to greatness is said not to be smooth ; but with him it was through an ordeal as of fire ; amid the war and strife of tongues had he to reach that station which all subsequently acknowledged he both merited and adorned. BISHOP HOBART. 213 He was now in the thirty-sixth year of his age, and prepared to enter with all the vigor of that early but ripe manhood, upon his arduous and responsible duties. But he found himself stopped, as it were, at the threshold ; thwarted by an opposition in which doctrinal opinions and personal hostility were mingled up with vague and wide-spread doubts as to the validity both of the principle and manner of his consecration.* But it was personal jealousy which brought to a head these vague doubts and suspicions, and awakened against him a fierce hostihty which wounded deeply not only his peace but that of the Church at large. Far be it from the present writer willingly to rake up the ashes of personal controversy, or wantonly to invade that peace which death has sanctified ; but not only is its notice essential to the narrative of Bishop Hobart's life as a matter of fact, but, as well observed by another, such notice may not be ' without its bitter and wholesome uses to those, who, on light and trivial grounds, may hereafter be disposed to disturb the peace of the Church. 'f But to understand this, it is necessary to look ♦ This refers to the incidental omission by the consecrat- ing bishop of words argued by his opponents to be essential, ' in the name of the Father, of the So.v, and of the Holt GriosT.' (See White's Memoirs, p. 287.) t Berrian's Narrative, p. 128, 214 M E M O I R O P back to the circumstances which preceded his election. Connected with Dr. Hobart, as his junior assistant in the parish of Trinity Church was the Rev. Cave Jones, his associate, therefore, and daily companion in duty, but in all traits of character essentially opposite. To take the contrasted picture from one who knew both well, though personal feeling may somewhat overcharge it, * The one was cold, formal, and stately in his manners ; the other all freedom, cordiality, and warmth. The one was sensitive, suspicious, and reserved ; the other communi- cative, frank, and confiding. The one nurtured resentment, kept a record of hasty sallies of feeling and unguarded sayings, and magnified infirmities into glaring faults ; the other never received an offence without seeking at once to have it explained, in order that it might be over and forgotten, and never gave it without making a prompt and ample atonement.' * With such an associate, (though we would fain hope the picture darker than the original,) that there should have been but little sympathy is not to be wondered at, nor that offence should sometimes have been given, when not meant, to one thus ready to take it. But with most ♦ Berrian's Narrative, p. 130. BISHOP HOBART. 215 men, and under ordinary circumstances, these are matters which are forgotten or forgiven. That they were not so in the present case, cer- tainly augurs something wrong in the mind that retained a remembrance of them. It was, doubtless, an envious mind. Mr. Hobart's ele- vation presented itself to him as the triumph of a rival, and under the influence of such feelings, he shaped his course. While the election was still pending, he put forth what he termed his * Solemn Appeal to the Church,' recapitulating at large, what a better mind would have buried in oblivion, those petty contentions which no man, perhaps, can always avoid, but which, cer- tainly, few men are less likely than Mr. Hobart to have provoked. These grievances, detailed and accumulated, perhaps distorted, but cer- tainly exaggerated, very often, too, wholly imaginary, were here studiously set forth by a jealous pen, brought before the tribunal of the public, and urged upon ' Churclimen ' as con- clusive argument against Mr. Hobart's fit- ness for the high office of Bishop. It was an ordeal, certainly, which nothing could have stood save ' pure gold.' But Christian sincerity is that pure gold, however alloyed it may be by human infirmity. His character came forth, therefore, unstained ; the blow aimed against him fell harmless, or rather, the weapon cast by 216 MEMOIROF the hand of jealousy fell back, with retributive justice, on the head of him who hurled it ; be- coming, even as it were, a millstone about his neck. He never rose under the recoil. But the evil was not all neutralized. Though the publication failed to defeat Mr. Hobart's election, it yet cast a firebrand into the Chmch which was not soon extinguished. How far too, it broke in upon the internal peace of the one thus maligned, those who knew his keen sensibility, can best judge. Such wounds, however, while he felt deeply, he showed not openl}'^ : their influence was to be seen only in the redoubled energy with which he devoted himself to whatever course of duty had exposed him to them. Such is ever the nature of strong minds — that which with weak ones abates ardor, with them only excites it ; danger and reproach and persecution are but stimulants, and bring forth not fear but confidence. To this personal and bitter opposition the peculiar circumstances of the Diocese, as already recorded, gave for a time an unfortunate though temporary credit ; the dubious rights of the retired Diocesan, Bishop Provoost, being called up to sanction disobedience to the authority of the new assistant ; altar was thus raised against altar, and for a time, division, if not scbism, seemed to be impending over the Diocese. BISHOP H OB ART. 217 This ill-judged claim on the part of Bishop Provoost was made public through a letter ad- dressed by him to the Convention of the follow- ing year, (October 1812;) in which, after stating the grounds on which he argued his act of resignation, made ten years before, to be in- valid, he goes on to add ; — ' I think it my duty to inform you, that though it has not pleased God to bless me with health that will enable me to discharge all the duties of a diocesan, and for that reason I cannot now attend the Convention, yet I am ready to act in deference to the resolution* above mentioned, and to concur in any regu- lations which expediency may dictate to the Church ; without which concurrence, I am, after the resolution of the House of Bishops, bound to consider every Episcopal act as unau- thorized.' To this communication was attached his sig- nature, as * Bishop of the Protestant Episcopal Church in the State of New- York, and Diocesan of the same.' The record of such an act of weakness on the part of one who should be wise as well as good, is, to a Churchman, painful, but it affords per- haps a needful lesson ; first, to the higher coun- ♦ Of the House of Bishops. U 218 M E M O I R O F cils of our Church, that they guard, in future, against all such anomalies in legislation ; and, secondly, to our Bishops, individually, teaching them to labor and to die in the duties of tlieir high vocation, lest, haply, they add another instance to the one here recorded, of the feebleness of age being abused to the purposes of personal ambition, intrigue, or schism. The answer, on the part of the Convention, is contained in the following preamble and resolutions, a copy of which was forwarded to all the Bishops of the Church. As settling an important principle in our Church polity, and bearing so intimately on tiie official rights of Bishop Hobart, they are herewith subjoined. ' Whereas by the Constitution of this Church the right of electing the Bishop thereof is vested in, and appertains to the Convention of this State : and whereas the jurisdiction of the Bishop of the Protestant Episcopal Church as the Diocesan thereof may be resigned, al- though the spiritual character or order of the Bishop is indelible ; and such resignation, when the sanne is ac- cepted by the Convention, creates a vacancy in the office of Diocesan Bishop of the Protestant Episcopal Church in this State : and whereas the Right Rev. Samuel Pro- voost, D. D., being then the Diocesan Bishop of the said Church in this State, did, on the third day of Septem- ber, in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and one, resign his Episcopal jurisdiction of this Dio- cese to the Convention of the said Church in this State ; BISHOP HOBART. 219 and the said Convention did on the next day accept the said resignation, and on the following day proceeded to the choice, by ballot, of a person to succeed the said Diocesan Bishop ; and thereupon the Rev. Benjamin Moore, D. D., was unanimously chosen by the Clergy and Laity, and received from them, as Bishop elect of this Church, the testimonial required by the Canon of the General Convention : And whereas the said Benja- min Moore was, on the eleventh day of the said month of September, rightly and canonically consecrated into the office of Bishop of the said Church, and from that time hath exercised the powers and jurisdiction of Dio- cesan Bishop in this State : And whereas this Conven- tion hath been given to understand that doubts have been entertained whether the office and jurisdiction of Diocesan Bishop became vacant by the said resignation and acceptance thereof, and whether the said Benjamin Moore was of right the Diocesan Bishop of the said Church in this State by virtue of the election and con- secration herein before mentioned : And whereas this Convention hath further understood that since the last Convention the said Bishop Provoost hath assumed, and by his letter this day read in Convention does claim, the title and character of Diocesan Bishop : — Now, therefore, in order to obviate the said doubts, and with a view to restore and preserve the peace and order of the Church, this Convention doth hereby resolve and declare, That the Right Rev. Samuel Provoost, from and immediately after the acceptance of his resignation by the Convention of the Church in this State, ceased to be the Diocesan Bishop thereof, and could no longer right- fully exercise the functions or jurisdiction appertaining to that office ; that having ceased to be the Diocesan Bishop 220 MEMOIROF as aforesaid, he could neither resume, nor be restored to that character by any act of his own or of the General Convention, or either of its Houses, without the consent and participation of the said State Convention, which consent and participation the said Bishop Provoost has not obtained ; and that his claim to such character is therefore unfounded. And further this Convention doth declare and resolve, that the spiritual order of Bishop having been canoni- cally conferred upon the said Benjamin Moore, he became thereby, in consequence of the said previous election, ipso facto, and of right, the Diocesan Bishop of the Protestant Episcopal Church in this State ; and as such, well entitled to all the jurisdiction and pre- eminence belonging to that office, and which have been, and may be, canonically exercised by him person- ally, or through his coadjutor, in the said character. And this Convention, in their own names, and for the Protestant Episcopal Church in this State, do hereby solemnly declare and acknowledge the said Benjamin Moore, and no other person, to be their true and lawful Diocesan Bishop ; and that respect and obedience ought of right to be paid to him as such.' * In this emergency Bishop Hobait was found wanting neither to himself nor to the office he had undertaken. Personal charges he refuted, if refutation they needed, by facts and testi- mony ; his official rights lie vindicated, by argument so conclusive, as for ever to settle • Journal of Convention, 1812, pp. 12, 13. BISHOP HOBART. 221 the question, at least, with all disinterested reasoners. The late Brockholst Livingston, than whom few men were more competent judges of acute reasoning, stated to the writer, that Bishop Hobart's argument had completely converted him ; that one of the most lucid pieces of reasoning he had ever met with was his exposition of the dividing lines of spiritual authority and ecclesiastical jurisdiction. The practical question, however, was settled, where alone it could be settled, by the Conven- tion of the Diocese, and, as before hinted, to the ruin, in public opinion, of the unhappy indi- vidual by whom the contest had been begun and mainly carried on. A separation was called for by Trinity parish, with which Mr. Jones was con- nected as assistant minister, referees agreed upon, and an award made. This award, after many delays on his part, both legal and personal, he at length absolutely refused to abide by. The power of suspension from the ministry was then called in as a last resort, but upon his eventual, though tardy compliance, removed. His closing years were passed as an instructer of youth and chaplain in the navy, laboring in both vocations so faithfully and successfully, as to make Churchmen willing, not only to forgive, but, what was harder, to forget the past. Now U8 222 MEMOIROP that the grave has closed over the memory of all mjuries, whether given or received, let the story stand as an abiding lesson of prudence and of peace, as a fresh persuasive to that grace of Christian charity, which, while binding upon all, is yet peculiarly incumbent npon those who are called to be unto their flock ensamples of every virtue. BISHOP HOBAET. 223 CHAPTER XL A. D. 1811— ^^ 36. Annoyances of anonymous Critics — Letter to the Author — Letter from Dr. Kollock — His subsequent History — General Character of Episco- pate from 1813 — Amount and Variety of Duties — Pastoral Charge Letter to a Member of his Church — Episcopal Charge — Interest taken in the Missionaries — Anecdote — Kindness of Heart — Rev. Mr. Buck- ley— Letter in relation to the Scheme of a new religious Magazine. The first two years of Bishop Hobart's Epis- copate were, as may well be imagined frojn the above narrative, years of trial and turmoil ; hostility, personal as well as official, meeting him even in his nearest circles. Nor was the wel'l-meant kindness of friends always without its annoyance. Among the minor objections made to him as Bishop, personal appearance and manners had not been forgotten. With a view to the removal of this stumbling-block, it was more than once recommended to him, by friends more zealous than wise, to throw off his old familiar manner and assume more dignity and reserve. His answer to one influential friend is remembered, and is what became him, and might have been expected from him ; — * Undignified,' said he, ' I must ever be, if I can- not be otherwise except by doing violence to my feelings and my nature.' But the form iu 224 MEMOIROF which such advice generally came was that of anonymous letters, numbers of which have come into the author's hands, casually preserved among the Bishop's papers. From among these the following is selected, not onl}^ to give an idea of the variety of petty annoyances to which he was subjected, but also as touching a subject where it has been already acknowledged the critics had * some ground to stand upon.' TO Bishop hobart. ' An Episcopalian, ardently devoted to the Bishop, and an admirer of his ministrations, yet wishing to have every thing perfect from him, and calculated to serve for an example in his Church, relies on the kind- ness and acknowledged candor of his pastor, to excuse him, if he points out some few inaccuracies, as he con- siders them, in his phraseology or pronunciation. Dezign and dizzemble, (like every other minister in the Church.) The River Jurdan. Gethered together. Baptism and schism, in three and two syllables, bap- tizum and schizum. Noo, doo, dooty, for new, due, duty ; for join and en- join, jyne and enjyne ; sacrifice, it is believed, should be sacrifice ; and sovereign, suvrin ; rational, rational. " We humbly beseech thee with thy favor" — The writer contends (as, indeed, is adopted by one or two of our clergy) that it should be read, "those evils which the craft and subtlety of the devil, or man work- eth against us " — meaning, that the craft and subtlety BISHOP HOBART. 225 should be applied to the devil, (these being, perhaps, pre-eminently his characteristics,) and the other evils those (which) man worketh against us. The Bishop has /of a good fight at Ephesus, but has not yet quite gotten himself the victory. All things vis-able and invis-able. Cum gratia recipiatur, Laicus.' The following note to the author, who was then residing at his quiet country parish of Hyde Park, shows how far these things moved him. TO THE REV. J. MoV. ' New ' York, November 9, 1811. Rev. and dear Sir, It gives me the greatest pleasure to see you so seriously engaged in the labors of your ministry. I almost envy you your happy retirement ; with sufficient calls of duty to admit of your usefulness, and none of those perplexing cares that encroach on the plans of study and the joys of domestic life. A clergyman, use- fully situated as you are, surrounded by all his friends, and with all the pleasures of rural life, has many things for which to be thankful. Perhaps, hereafter, the calls of duty may lead you to more public scenes, and then, I think, if you should feel as I do, you will more fully appreciate your present enjoyments. I am very sincerely yours, J. H. HoBART.' The following is the last letter found from an early friend, whose subsequent course was 226 MEMOIR OF marked by trouble and error certainly not trace- able to the intimacy this narrative commemo- rates. - FROM REV. DR. KOLLOCK. ' Savannah, 1811. My dear Hobart, It is late on Saturday afternoon, and my sermons are not finished for to-morrow, yet I cannot permit the Juno, which sails in the morning, to depart without a few lines to assure you that neither interposing seas nor difference of communion can diminish my love and esteem for you. Wherever my lot may be cast during the years I have to spend on earth, my heart shall ever be warmed with affection to you, and till its last throb, I shall not cease to regard you as a faithful, tender, and long-tried friend. Since my return I have been unusually occupied. I arrived in the height of sickness, and for some time was standing at the couches of the dying, and over the graves of the dead. How deeply ought such scenes to teach us to look for a more durable portion than this world can give ! My health has never been better than since my arrival, and I hope soon to acquire again the habits of a student. I have become a true Presbyterian in my re- gimen. This produces such a lightness of body, and vigor of mind, that I shall persevere in it during my life. I have begun to my people the life of our Saviour in the form of sermons. I hope the study and contempla- tion of this " great exemplar " will not be lost upon my- self, and will be useful to my flock. I shall devote all my powers to this course of sermons. They embrace subjects which deserve to engross all the energies of the B I S H O P H O B A R T. 227 mind. If you meet with any new works that are really good, and that will assist me, be so kind as to purchase them for me ; and also, (if you are not using it, and if you do not feel any apprehension of its being lost on so long a voyage,) lend me Bishop Taylor's Great Exem- plar. It shall be carefully used and safely returned. The pews of my church were rented about a fort- night since, at public auction, (which has always been the custom here,) for the ensuing year. The rents amounted to seven thousand six hundred and eighty- eight dollars ; a strong proof that the people are not indifferent to the public ordinances of religion. We want more churches here very much, and I find, with great delight, that the vestry of the unfinished Episcopal church have at last resolved to complete it. Next year they intend to have it ready for public worship, when they intend sending on a call to Mr. Beasley. Were he with me, I should indeed be happy. How proceeds the " helium Episcopale ? " have any new champions appeared on either side ? Write me particularly concerning the progress of the controversy, though it does not appear to me of the same conse- quence as to you, yet I must be interested wherever you are one of the combatants. Adieu, my dear Hobart, it is so dark that I cannot see to proceed. Your sincere friend, H. KOLLOCK.' The subsequent trouble above alluded to in relation to this friend was his suspension from the ministerial ofRce by the Presbytery to whicli he belonged, grounded upon his declaring himself 238 M E M O I R O F independent of their authority. In the month of July, 1813, he had addressed, it seems, to the Moderator of the Presbytery of Harmony, the following letter. 'Dear Sir, Educated in a part of the country where there was no dispute between Presbyterians and Independents, I had taken it for granted that Presbyterianism was plainly founded on the word of God, and supported by primitive antiquity. In order to satisfy the doubts of some of my people, I entered into an examination of this question. The result of my inquiries was contrary to my expectation. I have in vain sought for a scriptural foundation for that form of government to which I once subscribed ex ajiimo, and, under my present views, I feel it my duty to withdraw, and I hereby do vjithdrmo from the Preshyterial government.' Upon this formal act of renunciation the Presbytery proceeded, very properly, to depose him from all those ministerial functions, the source of which he had thus denied and reject- ed. The result was his becoming the pastor of an independent Presbyterian church, which thus rebutted by solemn argument, conclu- sive too against those to whom it was addressed, the principle maintained by the Presbytery, ' that the same power that ordains has a right to depose ; ' and we commend it to the serious reflection of such as are inclined to cast off an order of apostolic succession and government in BISHOP HOBART. 229 the ministry. ' Is it possible,' say they, ' they did not know that Luther, and Zuinghus, and Cranmer, and Knox, and a host of other wor- thies, were admitted to the ministry in the Papal Church, were excommunicated by the same Church, and yet, that the validity of their ministry was never doubted but by Papists 1 ' Upon the doctrine of parity in the ministry this is unanswerable ; independence is the necessary result of equality. It is reasoning- that can be answered only by the maintainers of an organ- ized Church and ministry. Had Mr. Hobart's friend but rightly recognised the first great truth, — Christ hath established a visible Church — then the inquiry. Where is it ? would doubtless have led him to a better haven than the restless waves of ' Independency.' Had the work he borrowed from his friend been ' Hooker,' instead of ' Taylor,' such would probably have been his conclusion. The above particulars of his his- tory are drawn from a communication contain- ing them addressed by Dr. Kollock to Bishop Hobart ; it was found among his papers, simply endorsed, but without either note of answer or comment. It is due, however, to Dr. Kollock's memory to add, that the language of those who knew him best, exhibit him as useful and highly beloved. In a letter of the congregation they say ; * We humbly yet sincerely supplicate X 230 MEMOIROF Almighty God, that he will be pleased in much mercy, long to preserve a life eminently useful to the Church at large, and the source of great and unspeakable comforts and consolations to the in- dividuals of this congregation in particular. From this period (1813) Bishop Hobart's performance of duty assumes a new aspect ; though but assistant in name, the diocesan duties were wholly his own, both in labor and responsibility. Bishop Moore's state of health precluded him from aiding in the one, his good sense, and general confidence in his assistant, withheld him from interfering in the other, though more than once urged to do so by those who valued practical trifles above Christian peace and harmony. The remainder of Bishop Hobart's life, to take a bird's-eye glance of what lies before us, was spent in the high duties upon which he now entered. It was a life happy to himself, and blessed to the Church over which he presided : it was one, too, though that may seem needless to add, of uninterrupted labor, both of mind and body : up to the period of his visit to Europe, to which ill health drove him, after twelve years of toil, we find scarce a moment's cessation from the calls of duty, official, professional, and personal. BISHOP HOBART. 231 His new duties were superadded to his old : as a parish minister of Trinity Church, he was still bound to, and still performed his full share of parochial labor in its three congregations and churches, and as rector of the parish, to which station he was called on the resignation of the Rev. Dr. Beach, in 1812, though nominally but * assistant,' new cares and responsibilities came upon him, and those neither few nor light. Nor were these pluralities sinecures : to a mind like his, station never can be without toil ; on the contrary, he labored in each as if it were his sole vocation. But we \vill here use the words of one who speaks from personal knowledge : ' In Trinity Church, though both bishop and rector, he claimed no exemption from any of them on ac- count of his multiplied engagements, but preached as regularly in his course as the ministers who were associated with him, and attended with the same cheer- fulness to every parochial call. Indeed, he seldom availed himself of those opportunities of leisure which, it might have seemed, he needed, but took more pleasure in giving relief to others than in enjoying it himself. I have especial reasons for a grateful recollection of his kindness in this respect, which was so often shown to me during a season of declining health, as to lighten labors which would otherwise have been oppressive.' * ♦ Dr, Berrian's Memoir, p. 148. 232 ]M E M O I R O F To the parish of Trinity his services were invaluable. Besides what was external, in its spiritual care his labors became more abundant, and their results more evident every year he was connected with it. His appearance in the pulpit was ever the signal for redoubled attention, an attention well repaid by a flow of earnest, im- passioned eloquence which was now exalted in fervor in proportion as he felt higher responsi- bilities resting upon him. Among the evidences of that care and watch- fulness, which, however busy, seemed to over- look nothing that bore the aspect of duty, the following letter may be taken : ' New -York, March 19, 1813. Madam, I have no doubt that you do not suppose me igno- rant of your disposition to leave our Church, and to join the communion of another. I have made some unsuc- cessful efforts to see you, in order to converse with you on this subject, and should have persevered in my intention, if I had not supposed that such an interview would not be agreeable to you. Considering, however, my station in the Church, and the relation which I bear to you as a minister of the congregation to which you belong, I hope you will not deem it a violation of esteem and respect, if I earnestly entreat you to review very seriously the motives which induce you to forsake the * Berrian, pp. 149-152. BISHOP HOBART. 233 Church which has nurtured you, and in which your first vows were made to God. To forsake a Church sound in its doctrine, apostolic and valid in its ministry, and primitive, pure, and evangelical in its worship, can never be justifiable. I make no invidious comparisons of our Church with others ; but certainly, whatever may be the imperfections of the preaching of its minis- ters, its doctrines are sound and scriptural, and its min- istry apostolic ; and it possesses a blessing which cannot be too highly prized — a pure, primitive, and evangelical form of worship. In this Church Providence has cast your lot. To leave it because you think you derive more edification from the preaching of others, believe me, Madam, can be in no respect justifiable. Our com- munion with the divine Head of the Church is to be kept up principally by a participation in the ordinances and the worship of the Church, and not merely by attendance on preaching. If any person does not derive edification from the service of our Church, in every part of which Jesus Christ and his merits and grace are set forth as our only hope and strength, the fault must be in himself, and not in the service of the Church, or in its ministers. But this plea of greater edification from the preaching of others, makes the feelings of each individual, and not his judgment — the performance of the minister, and not the nature of the Church — the standard by which he determines with what Church he shall commune. A Church may be very unsound and erroneous in its doctrine, the constitution of its ministry, and the mode of its worship ; and yet, if a person thinks he is edified by the preaching of a minister of that Church, accord- ing to this plea of edification, he is-justifiable in joining X 2 234 MEMOIROF it. This same plea of edification may, therefore, lead a person to attach himself to any Church in which his feelings happen to be interested. I have known it urged as a reason for joining the Roman Catholic Church. Our Church certainly makes the fullest provision for the spiritual wants of her members ; and would they but humbly, diligently, and faithfully unite in the ser- vices of the Church whenever there is an opportunity, they would not fail of being advanced in the Christian life, and prepared for heaven. Let me, then, earnestly and respectfully ask you, Madam, if you are able to prove that the Church in which Providence has placed you is unscriptural in doctrine — that its ministry is not valid — or that its mode of worship is not primitive and evangelical ? Unless you are satisfied that this is the case, believe me, and pardon my plainness, in leaving that Church, you will discover to the world a changeableness which will cause your " good to be evil spoken of ; " and you will be guilty of the sin of schism, which, however it may be considered by the world, an inspired Apostle considered as a " deadly sin." And, Madam, let me also respectfully remind you that even if you were justifiable in leaving our Church, you would not be correct in joining any other until you had read its confession of faith, and ascertained that all its doctrines, as well as its ministry and mode of worship, were scriptural, apostolic, and primitive. I have thus endeavored to discharge my conscience of the guilt, which, I conceive, will be incurred in forsak- ing the communion of our Church ; and believe me, that all my remarks have been directed by sincere esteem and respect for you. On this subject you and I B I S H O P H O B ART. 235 will both have to render an account to our Master in heaven. To his grace and blessing I commend you. I remain, very sincerely, Your friend and brother, J. H. HOBART.' As head of the Church, the ecclesiastical concerns of the Diocese all rested upon him, requiring not only much thought, and labor, and freedom of access at all hours, but the maintenance of a most burthensome correspond- ence relating to the needs of existing churches, the demand and application for new ones, the wants and the wishes of every clergyman in his Diocese, every candidate, and every mission- ary. Of all these, their poverty^, their troubles, their sorrows, were poured out upon him, by word and by letter, in a fulness of filial confi- dence, not only that he would, but that he could help them ; and all this with a minuteness of detail, as if he had no other business in life than to labor at redressing them. Nor were they far mistaken ; for as there was nothing he would not do for them, so were there few things that with his energy and influence he could not. What, for instance, might not be expected from the heart of one, of whom such a circum- stance as the following may be remembered. •226 M E M O I U OF Hearing that, one of his clergy, * a man of plain understanding, but genuine worth, in a country parish not far distant from the city, was esteemed dano^erously ill, and had no Christian friend near him, he immediately procured a conveyance to him, administered with his own hands the last offices of religion, and leaving the chamber of his dying brother, burst into a flood of tears, and was, as described by the friend who accompanied him, ' literally convulsed, for a time, by the vio- lence of his grief.' To his biographer it has been full payment for the labor of looking over the voluminous official correspondence of Bishop Hobart to see the evi- dences of the unbounded love and reposing con- fidence every where placed in him. One from a distant diocese thus begins, ' I feel assured, that, amidst your ever-pressing duties, you will gladly receive a few lines from one who most sincerely esteems, nay, loves you.' From his own diocese, it was always like children calling upon a fa- ther ; ' I am aware,' says one, ' that your time is fully occupied, yet I feel that I am writing to one who, if need requires, is willing to render me a favor.' ' Perhaps I ought not to trouble you,' says another, ' but have the less hesitation to do so, from your known kindness to others ;' • Rev. Mr. Bulkley, of Flushing, (L. 1.) B I S II 0 P H O B AR T. 237 and if such was their trust in his personal kind- ness, much more confident were they when it concerned the interests of the Church. The following', though somewhat grandiloquent, is their usual tone : * When a church is languish- ing and destitute, like sheep without a shepherd, in danger of being scattered abroad, to whom shall they look on earth for advice and assistance but to their head,' &c. When we add to these calls upon his time all the Church societies, of each of which he was the active head, and the labors of the peii and press, which were so unintermitted that by most men they w^ould have been deemed sufficient toil — when we take all these into considera- tion, it certainly exhibits a picture of energetic life and laborious duty, such as few men could have borne, and fewer still would have been willing to undertake, but which was by Bishop Hobart both undertaken and borne with a reso- lution that never faltered, a cheerful spirit that never sunk under difficulties, and a temper of warm-hearted kindness which ingratitude could not make cold, nor hostility ever embitter. In his more immediate episcopal duties, as Bishop Hobart could receive no aid, so he seemed far from needing any, — it was to him a labor of love ; and the discomforts and even perils of his far journeyings into the new settlements of the 238 M E M O I R O F diocese only seemed to inspire the spirit of a missionary, as they often called him, to his pri- vations and toils. What constituted his reward for these labors may be judged of by the tone in which he narrated them. In his address to the Convention of 1813, after detaihng the particu- lars of his visitation, he proceeds : ' In many other places, congregations, who regularly assemble for worship, are prevented from erecting churches by the slenderness of their means. I have sometimes, however, witnessed in the humble dwelling, or in the log school-house, the service of our Church celebrated by the people with a fervor and propriety not always apparent in the splendid edifice. We cannot doubt that this service Avas acceptable to that gracious Being who requires to be worshipped in spirit and in truth, with a humble and a contrite heart. But still it is due to his honor and majesty, that he should be wor- shipped in buildings at least decent and commodious, and solemnly set apart to the adoration of his great name. As an example of the pious fervor which prevails in many congregations, too poor and humble either to erect a building for w^orship, or to obtain the stated services of a minister, I cannot refrain from mentioning the con- gregation at the Ochquaga hills, Broome county. In this retired district a congregation was organized about seventeen years since by the Rev. Mr. Chace, then a missionary. From that time until I visited them, with the exception of the services of the Rev. Jonathan Judd, who, when a missionary, spent a few weeks with them. BISHOP HOBART. 239 they have only enjoyed three or four times the ministra- tions of the Rev. Mr. Nash, who, amidst the multipli- city of his labors, sought and cherished this destitute congregation. And yet, notwithstanding these disad- vantages, they have kept themselves together ; they have regularly met for reading the service and sermons ; and I found among them a knowledge of the principles of our Church, and a fervent attachment to its doctrines and worship, which astonished and gratified me. Con- firmation was administered to about thirty persons, and the holy communion to as many. Could you have witnessed, brethren, the expressions of their gratitude, and their earnest solicitations, accompanied even with tears, for only the occasional services of a minister, your treasure and your prayers would have been poured forth to gratify them. I had not the treasure, but most assuredly I gave them my prayers, and I promised them my best exertions. I cannot leave their case, without applying it to establish the importance and inestimable value of our liturgy. But for that liturgy, and the con- stant and faithful use of it, the Episcopal congregation at the Ochquaga hills, and doubtless in many other places almost equally destitute, would long since have become extinct.' No wonder with such daily and heart-touching calls that diocesan missionaries was what he pleaded for, and that until his own children at home were fed, who were crying to him for bread, he was not forward to cast abroad that on which they depended. 240 M E I\I O I R O F One, however, of his previous Labors he found himself compelled to cut off, the editorial charge of ' the Churchman's Magazine.' On his accession to the episcopate he had transfer- red it to the charge of his friend, the Rev. Dr. Rudd, of Elizabethtown, N. J. ; but that such transfer was far from diminishing his watchful care over the interests to which it related, may be judged from the following letter in answer to a scheme of a more lax and popular kind in a neighboring diocese. The letter is given at large as exemplifying both his character and his views. * My dear Sir, Your proposals in your first letter placed me under no small embarrassment. On the one hand I could not be insensible to the singular advantage which any pub- lication would enjoy from talents, erudition, and taste so distinguished as yours ; but on the other hand, it appeared to me (and your proposals evince the truth of my conjecture) that you contemplated a miscellany very different in design from the Churchman's Magazine. It is the object of your publication to support and enforce the points of coincidence among Christians, "discarding those on which there must be a difference of opinion." Whether such a plan, however feasible in theory, is capable of being reduced to practice, or whether, if vigorously carried into execution, it would not exclude from the work many important doctrines of Christian- ity, are inquiries which appear to me worthy of con- sideration. B I S H O P H O B A R T. 241 In my humble judgment, a publication which does not support and defend these points, gives^ up the dis- tinctive principles of our Church, which the brightest luminaries defended while living, and consecrated in their deaths ; and ceases to contend for Christianity in her primitive, purest, and fairest form. Some of these principles, indeed, may be unpopular, and though in reality they only can permanently secure " the unity of the spirit in the bond of peace," the advocates of them may be supposed to be influenced by a sectarian spirit ; but this imputation ought not to have any more effect in deadening his zeal, than the opprobrium of being a sect every where spoken " against," had on the first defenders of the Christian Church. Satisfied, too, I am, that the display of these princi- ples, and the zealous defence of them have most essen- tially contributed to revive and increase our Church. In a late visitation through the Diocese, in company with Dr. Bowden, I found some of the most enlightened and zealous members of our Church, and persons of influence and standing in society, who traced either their conversion to the Church, or the confirmation of their attachment to it, to the display and defence of its prin- ciples in the various writings which from time to time have appeared ; and most certainly to the same cause may be traced the zeal and spirit of the young men in this quarter, who have lately entered the ministry, and of others who are preparing for it. These views, in connection with other circumstances, naturally excited the desire that the Churchman's Ma- gazine should continue to support the principles which it has hitherto maintained, and that it should be con- ducted on a plan, which, without aspiring to high Y 242 M E M O I R O P literary merit, would give the plain people of our com- munion what they much want, plain and solid religious information ; and that of course it should be afforded at a price which would render it accessible to persons of this description. Your publication appears to aim prin- cipally at gratifying readers of a higher order, and the price will necessarily prevent its general circulation. My cares and duties always prevented that attention to the work which was necessary to raise it even to the humble standing which I was desirous it should attain ; and the change of my situation, and consequent increase of my cares and duties, entirely interfered with my charge of the work, I have at length concluded to fall in with a suggestion of the Rev. Mr. Rudd, and to transfer the publication of it to Elizabethtown. I know you will not be displeased with the candor with which I address you. I cannot repress, however unpleasant, the apprehension, that your views of the best mode of advancing the interests of our Church, differ in some respects from those which, in common with others, I have been accustomed to entertain. Yet that very liberality Avhich I sometimes fear will lead its votaries into an indifference to those distinctive principles which to the glory of our Church, have preserved her from the assaults of heresy, schism, and enthusiasm, will prompt you to excuse in me this honest difference of opinion, to believe me sincere in the sentiment that the prudent, the resolute, and dispassionate defence of those doctrines, of that ministry, and of that worship, which distinguish our Church from other Christian societies, is not incom- patible with the promotion of the endearing charities of life, with strengthening the bonds of society, but is, in fact, the surest way of extending the kingdom of the Redeemer. Accuse me not, my dear Sir, of assuming BISHOP H O B A R T. 2^13 the office of a senior, in regard to one for whom, on many accounts, I feel veneration and esteem ; but it did not appear to me possible, without this candid exposi- tion, to account to you for my wishing to continue the Churchman's Magazine, under its present title, and on its original principles ; and independently of this consi- deration, I felt prompted to indulge the liberty, which I trust you will excuse, of expressing to you my fears (I wish they may prove erroneous) that little good is to be expected to our Church from a publication, which, though it may not " abandon an iota" of her discrimi- nating tenets, discipline, and worship, certainly asserts its claim to patronage, on its determination to keep tliem entirely out of view, as those " subordinate sub- jects on which there must be a difference among Chris- tians." as the only means of discarding that sectarian spirit so long at variance with the spirit of amity and the bond of peace. You see, my dear Sir, I have occupied the whole of my paper, and I have trespassed long on your patience ; I conclude with assuring you that I am, very truly, &c. John H. Hobart.' The argument of this letter seems to have been for a time conclusive, but the Churchman's Magazine soon after this, coming to a violent end, through the destruction by fiie of the print- ing-office and its contents, the scheme was re- newed in a more open field of patronage, but, as the Bishop augured of it, was found wanting in a substantial basis, and soon fell to the ground. ^44 M E M O I R O F III October of this year (1812) he had the pleasure of paying a visit to his native city, to unite in the consecration of the Rev. Theodore Dehon, D. D., for the Diocese of South-Caro- lina, being the second in its episcopate, and following after an interval of eleven years — the Right Reverend Robert Smith, its first bishop, having died in 1801. The consecration was held in Christ Church, Philadelphia, a church I of many holy thoughts to one who had been \ baptized, confirmed, and ordained within its sacred walls ; and who was now engaged at the same altar in conferring upon another the apos- tolic office and benediction. BISHOP HOBART. 245 CHAPTER XII. A. D. 1813— ^^ 38. Duties performed in 1813 — Address to the Convention — Three leading Points of Pohcy, 1. Missionary Cause ; 2. Observance of the Liturgy ; 3. Ministerial Education — Letter to Mrs. S. on the Subject — Theo- logical Grammar School — Objects — Failure — Letters — Col. Troup — C. P. Mercer. As this year (1813) may be considered the first in which Bishop Hobart was free to carry forward his views of Episcopal usefulness, it may be w^ell to examine the evidences it affords of kis labors and his policy. In the course of the year he extended Episcopal visitation to thirty-three parishes scattered over his exten- sive Diocese, travelling in it more than two thou- sand miles ; held confirmation in twenty-three churches — confirming eleven hundred persons, and ordaining seven. In his address to the Convention, he urges mainly upon their consideration the three follow- ing points, which may be considered, in truth, as the pillars of his whole subsequent policy. First. The necessity of missiona^^ labor, as the only adequate means of meeting the spiritual wants of a scattered population. His previous exertions in this good cause have been already Y 2 •246 M E M O I R O F mentioned. He now recommended to the Con- vention a higher course, the adoption of a canon, in place of his resolution of 1808, for the raising of funds for their support, thus making imperative upon all the churches of the Diocese, an annual collection for that specific purpose. This may be considered the foundation, humanly speaking, of the subsequently rapid extension of the Church through the northern and western parts of the State. The missionary cause was one which Bishop Hobart never ceased to urge, and with such success, that whereas, he found in the Diocese but two missionaries, he left in it, at his death, over fifty, and scarce a church throughout the country that was not indebted, either wholly or in part, to their labors. The second point was the spiritual character of the Liturgy, its obligations, and its competency, in the hands of the faithful pastor, to meet all the wants of the awakened and the penitent in social prayer. He viewed it, in short, as a needful barrier, and the only adequate one, against that flood of fanaticism which was even then beginning to swell up in our country, and by which many denominations in it have since been almost desolated. At the time Bishop Hobart began these warnings, few believed him, for few foresaw the danger, and many, even within the Church, cried out ' shame ' against B I S H O P H O B A R T. 247 him, as needlessly tying up ' the liberty of pro- phesying.' We may leave it, now, even to his oppugners to say, whether the true prophetic spirit did not rather lie in the warning against it than in the exercise of it. On this point Bishop Hobart was steady and miiform, never failing to urge it on all fit occa- sions, and the more earnestly as he saw the signs of the coming whirlwind. The following extract gives the picture of the missionary and his labors, and the blessing which attends the faithful use of the Liturgy. '■T ' We no longer perceive in his place in this Conven- tion, our venerable brother the Rev. Davenport Phelps. He has gone to his rest. For many years he had been employed as a missionary in the western parts of the State. Having visited the extensive district in which he officiated, I am able to bear testimony to the high estimation in which he was held for his pious and ex- emplary character, and for the fidelity and prudent zeal with which he discharged his arduous and laborious duties. He is justly revered as the founder of the con- gregations in the most western counties of the State ; whom he attached, not merely to his personal ministra- tions, but to the doctrines, the ministry, and the Liturgy of our Church. Indeed, it was highly gratifying to me to observe, in the congregations where he officiated, and ,in others, in the infant settlements of the State, which are still cherished by ministers equally faithful, the devotion and the decency with which the people performed their parts of the public service. It is an 248 MEMOIR OF evidence that whatever prejudices our Liturgy may have at first to encounter, among those who are un- acquainted with it, a minister who will be diligent in explaining it, and enforcing its excellences, and who, in obedience to his ordination vows, will be faithful and devout in the use of it, will finally succeed, by the Divine blessing, in leading many to value it as their best help in the exercises of devotion, and, next to the Bible, their best guide to heaven.' * To all tampering with the Liturgy Bishop Hobart was also, as is well known, strongly opposed. He loved the good old way, and to walk in the paths where his fathers had walked. The praise of it was, therefore, often on his tongue, dwelling much on its antiquity as well as beauty ; showing how the greater part of it had been used in the Church for at least fifteen hundred years, and that in the Creed, and some, at least, of the devotional hymns, we were wor- shipping our God and Saviour in the very (translated) words in which the apostolic Church had worshipped when it strengthened itself in the days of heathen persecution. These were the high and holy associations which in- vested the Liturgy, in his mind, with a sacred- ness next to the Bible, making him turn with something like indignation, not only from all crude and undigested plans of change, but * Journal of Convention, 1813, pp. 14, 15. B I S H 0 P H O B A R T. 249 almost equally so from any curtailment or mu- tilation in its performance. He would not even hear of any defects of language in it. On one occasion, the author remembers to have heard from him, in answer to the charge of solecism, an eloquent vindica- tion of these words in the Morning Prayer, — ' which the craft and subtlety of the devil or man worketh against us,' — maintaining that the verb singular with the plural nominative was but a part of the dignified simplicity of the olden tongue, which would be spoiled by an over attention to grammatical nicety. But with all its excellences, the Liturgy, as he often used to urge, must be united in by the congregation to be felt and rightly appre- ciated. ' That alone,' he used to say, ' makes it what it professes to be, " Common Prayer." In that it stands peculiar. In the Romish Church there was none ; in other Protestant Churches there is none : it is our peculiar dis- tinction, and, if true to ourselves, we may make it our peculiar blessing.' On one occasion he thus expressed himself : * Mentally to join in the service is not sufficient ; the congregation cannot be devout, according to the forms of the Liturgy, unless their voices accompany their hearts. And this vocal and responsive devotion, while it is the distinguishing privilege of ^50 MEMOIR OF Churchmen, contributes in a high degree to the solemnity, and beauty and fervor, of our divine service.' * On another occasion, in reviewing the Ufe of an aged clergyman of the South, f he observes, in editorial style, * We some years ago had the pleasure of seeing this venerable servant of God, and remember the feelings of reverence and delight with which we beheld him, disabled by the infirmities of age from the charge of a parish, joining in the worship as one of the con- gregation. This reflection then occurred to us. If every worshipper would attend to the service with the same reverential devotion, and audibly join in the responses with the same fervor which animates this venerable minister, how affecting and impressive would the Liturgy of the Church appear ; how fruitful would it be of spiritual comfort, and of all holy affections.' :j: The address concludes with the following sound advice, for which, even in the present day, the necessity is not gone by. ' Let it then be the object of all who wish good to our Zion, to preserve her, as she is now happily organized, in her government, her doctrine, and worship. If changes in that organization at any time appear neces- ♦ Excellence of the Church, note, p. 27. t Churchman's Magazine, vol. vii. p. 257. t The Rev. Dr. Keene. BISHOPHOBART. 251 sary, let them be the result of much reflection, of much previous consultation, and in some degree at least of general concert; and not the hasty and unadvised ebul- lition of individual zeal. This zeal, however commend- able, is then only safe, when, with true Christian humility, it submits to the guidance and control of wis- dom and experience ; and aims rather to infuse new life and spirit into institutions long established, than to enter on doubtful because untried measures. In the several stations in which it has pleased the divine Head of the Church to place us, let it be our endeavor, in dependence on his grace and blessing, " truly and faith- fully to serve him," and to exhibit our Church in the purity of her doctrines, the primitive sanctity of her ministry, and the evangelical spirit of that liturgy which has been established by the wisdom and piety of the ages before us. Thus, while we secure our own salvation, we shall advance the permanent prosperity of our Church, and, by the blessing of God, be instrumental in diffusing the Gospel of his Son, our Lord and Re- deemer, in its original simplicity, purity, and power.' * The third feature alluded to, of Bishop Ho- bart's policy, was ' the attainment of a learned as well as pious ministry.' This object, for which in his private capacity he had already labored and pleaded, he now officially brought forward, and never ceased to press, year after year, until he had attained it, by the en- dowment of a well-organized theological sem- inary. * Journal, 1813, pp. 16, 17. 252 M E M O I R O F ' The importance, says he, of an establishment for the instruction, for the religious and moral discipline, and, in some cases, for the support of young men designed for holy orders, has always appeared to me essential to the prosperity of our Church ; nor were exertions and arrange- ments wanting on my part, when in a private station, to carry this object in some degree into effect. As the responsibility of the admission of persons to holy orders ultimately rests on the bishop ; and as from the nature of his office, and the provisions of the Canons, it is his duty to exercise a general direction and superintendence of their previous studies, the necessity of a theological school presses with greater force upon my mind in the station which I now occupy. It is an auspicious cir- cumstance, that the attention of the clergy, and of Episcopalians generally, appears to be awakened to the importance of this object. And I trust it will not be long before a theological school is established ; the ob- ject of which shall be to train up young men for the ministry, not only in literary and theological knowledge, but in evangelical piety, and prudent but fervent zeal for the advancement of the kingdom of Christ. It is of the utmost importance that the plan and the situation of this institution should meet the wants and the wishes, not merely of the Church in this Diocese, but of our Church at large, and thus contribute to advance and preserve those invaluable objects, the purity and the unity of the Protestant Episcopal Church in these States.' * The following letter, dated a few months earlier than the Convention, shows that his private influence was operating to the same * Journal, 1813, pp. 15, 16. BISHOP HOBART. 253 end as his public, for a theological school. It is addressed to a lady, (Mrs. S.,) to him a kind and liberal friend, who after having appropriated, by will, a portion of her aged solitary wealth to such an endowment, had changed its desti- nation. TO MRS. S. 'New -York, 13th March, 1813. My dear Madam, Under a lively recollection of your uniform kind- ness to me and my family, and especially of the pious appropriation of a part of your property, at my sug- gestion, I iiope you will not be displeased at me for stating that I have heard, with deep and inexpressible regret, that this appropriation is now changed, and I entreat your kind indulgence to permit me to state the causes which excite that regret. If I know my own heart, not a single motive of private interest mingles v/ith them ; but I have been long firmly convinced that a theological school at least, if not a college, is essential to the ultimate prosperity of our Church. The fact that almost all other denominations are establishing and endowing them, and already enjoying the fruits of them, might supersede the necessity of all argument for the expediency of similar institutions among us. The change that has taken place in my situation, and in the Church, and the disturbances which have agitated it, have prevented my plans being carried into execution, but my sense of their importance is not diminished, nor my resolution, at a proper juncture, to devote to them all my efforts and zeal. I have already Z 254 M E M O I R O F counselled with many friends of the Church, and im- pressed them with a sense of the importance of a theo- logical seminary. I had also drafted an address to the Vestry of Trinity Church, which I enclose for your perusal. You will perceive, that in this communication I had availed myself of your pious and benevolent intentions, (without mentioning your name,) partly in evidence that this institution would be set on foot, but mainly as an excitement to the liberality of others. I regarded, indeed, your bounty as of incalculable import- ance, not merely in the aid it would give in the location and primary organization of the establishment, but the animating example it afforded of pious liberality. When I perceived, in our country, the pious and benevolent of other denominations devoting large sums to the endowment of similar institutions, and when among Episcopalians, I searched in vain for similar instances of pious munificence, my heart sunk within me, and now have I often thanked God for putting it into your heart to devote a part of that wealth, of which he had made you steward, to the best of all pur- poses, the making provision for proclaiming the Gospel of his Son to future generations ! and I looked forward to your bright example inspiring and exciting others to do likewise. Excuse me, my dear Madam, it is a subject which weighs most heavily on my mind, having dwelt so long and anticipated so much from the commencement of an institution, which was to be the main stay of our Church — having employed, already, (in confidence,) your example, to rouse the pious zeal of some, and indulged the hope of it calling forth, when proclaimed the liberality of many, and building up the pride and boast of the Church. I own I cannot see all these hopes B I S H O P H O B A R T. 255 blasted without expressing the poignancy of ray disap- pointment and regret. It has even appeared to me my duty not to permit an event, so unfortunate to the Church, to take place without a respectful effort to pre- vent it. And I cannot but indulge the hope that subse- quent reflection will restore the original determination to devote some portion of that wealth which you em- ploy in the purposes of benevolence to the most bene- volent of all. It will certainly, however, become me, most respect- fully to acquiesce in your decision, and I am sensible that, for the liberty I now take, I must offer as my apology the privilege of a friend to express his feelings, and the duty of a minister to plead, as I think I I returned, on Monday last, from the Convention of our Diocese, which met, on the preceding Tuesday, at Winchester, and sat until the following Saturday. It has greatly contributed to the restoration of my tran- quillity of mind. It gave me a friend, in Meade, and a new correspondent, in Ravenscroft, who, though not the better, is the greater man of the two. He has great originality of character, a lively flow of animal spirits, much learning of every kind, is a profound theologian, a High Churchman, and a most eloquent preacher. He was, for many years, a dissipated com- panion of Giles, but always distinguished for an original and independent turn of mind. He would have been a Methodist, probably, but he felt himself called to preach the Word of God, and, after a diligent search of the Scriptures, repaired to our Church as the only source of a legitimate authority to do so. His Methodism arose from his religious feelings, and desire ot* religious society. His neighborhood then afforded him none within the pale of our Church. Since then, Major N., of Congress, his brother, a dissipated soldier, and very many others, BISHOP HOBART. 431 have followed his example; are in communion with our Church, and are ornaments of it. Ravenscroft staid in the same house with myself, in Winchester, and we became intimately acquainted. You will see him in Philadelphia. He is elected one of our clerical deputies to the General Convention. I have said much of you to Ravenscroft, and wish you to become well acquainted with him. He has a history of all the unfounded prejudices which have, at any time, existed against you, and, concurring in opinion with you as to the chief cause of them all, he will have no difficulty in doing you justice. He has some oddities in his manner which to me are amusing. They arise from great ardor and an untamed simplicity of char- acter. He is, at the same time, a perfectly well-bred and easy gentleman. His fortime is large, and his con- nections the most respectable in Virginia. He was born on the Roanoke, but spent many years of his early life in Scotland, where his mother now lives, and he received the principal part of his education. I have settled myself down in this solitude for the summer, in the hope of arranging my private fortune, and restoring the energy of a mind too long estranged from regular habits of application and study. I need not tell you how much your letters, if you have leisure to write, will add to the happiness of your affectionate The painful mystery of these letters is proba- bly solved in the following communication from the pen of Bishop Hobart, incidentally lighted upon in the columnsof the * Christian Journal 'for May, 1819 ; though his biographer has no fur- 432 M E M O I R O F (her authority for connecting them than arises from agreement of date and their own internal evidence. CHRISTIAN COURAGE. ' The gentleman of whom the following instance of true courage is recorded, has been long known as a dis- tinguished statesman, and a leading member of our national legislature. In the fall of the year 1817, G3neral challenged Colonel to fight with him ; and offered to resign his commission that he might be at liberty to evade the laAvs, and have the precious privilege of shedding the blood of a fellow-creature. What was the answer of the Colonel ? Did he, with the same barbarous disposi- tion accede to the proposal, and hasten to select the weapons of slaughter by which an immortal soul might be sent, unprepared, to the tribunal of God ? No — let it be known, and published through the land, to his honor, that, in defiance of public opinion, and the op- probrium of being called (as he was) coward and hypo- crite^ he had the courage, as well as the principle, to fear God rather than man. The following is an extract from his answer to the challenge : — "I proceed to tell you that I am restrained from accepting the alternative which you propose, by a Power paramount to all human authority. I respect the public opinion too highly, per- haps ; but I have now been, for more than two years, in communion with the Church in which I was born, and I cannot violate'my solemn vows to God for the applause of the world. As a man, I ought not to accept your challenge ; as a Christian, I cannot." Who will say that Colonel was deficient in that I B I S H O P H O B AR T. 433 genuine courage which is not the property of every sub- altern in society, but which belongs exclusively to the truly great and good ? And we would ask whether the custom of duelling would not soon be without an advo- cate in the country, if men, possessing equal influence over the public sentiment, were, in similar cases, to imitate his example.' * ...*.<• .^ The following letter opened a correspondence of friendship with one of the most sound and influential of the clergy of the Church of Eng- land, a friendship that was afterward strength- ened by personal intimacy. FROM REV. H. H. NORRIS. ^Hackney, April 1, 1818. Right Rev. Sir, Though personally unknown to you, your name has been for many years familiar to me, through the intervention of Archdeacon Daubeny, with whom I am intimately acquainted ; and the respect excited by his report has been most fully confirmed by an " Apology for Apostolic Order," which I have long considered as the most condensed and luminous statement of the argument, in support of that vital point of Christian theology that has fallen under my observation. Under the influence of this feeling, I was anxious to convey a pledge of it to you, and, during the late unhappy differ- ences which interrupted the friendly intercourse be- tween this country and America, I availed myself of the return of Dr. Inglis to Nova Scotia, to intrust him with a volume I had recently published, and which he ♦ Christian Journal, 1819, p. 158. Pp 434 MEMOIR OF felt confident he could find the means of conveying with safety from Halifax to New- York. I hope you will receive this little packet as holding out the right hand of fellowship, and respectfully soliciting confidential intercourse, such as should subsist at all times between the several parts of the Church of Christ, and which is more than ever necessary, in my apprehension, at the present time, when a specious de- sign is most actively prosecuting, of substituting the unity of indifference for the unity of faith, and incorpo- rating the universe in one community, in which, by a solemn act of compromise, the various imaginations of men, and the truth of God, are to be blended together, and the Bible is to be received as the common text- book, equally authenticating them all. The strong feeling of my mind has long been, that the Reformed Episcopal Churches ought to unite, as the primitive Churches used to do ; that professing our belief in the communion of saints, we should act up to the spirit of that profession. Under this impression, I hailed, last year, with a pleasure I cannot adequately convey to you, the proffered friendship and correspondence of the South-Carolina Protestant Episcopal Society for the Advancement of Christianity ; and I was delighted to see the interest Avith which the communication was read, and the eagerness expressed to embrace the proposition with cordiality; and to convey, in the most unqualified terms, the high sense which our Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge entertained of the alliance pro- posed; and the assurance that it would at all times cultivate the correspondence of its sister society with the utmost assiduity, from a powerful conviction that both societies would thus materially promote the wel- fare of each other, and more especially of that just B I S H 0 P li O B A R T. ^'^^ cause which, in their respective spheres of action, they were simultaneously exerting themselves to promote. I have had my thoughts bent on a similar proposal to you for several years past, indeed,! may say, I have had my pen in hand to execute it ; the conviction, however, that I fill no station sufficiently ostensible to sanction the proceeding, has repeatedly induced me to forego my purpose. But I can refrain no longer; cur mutual interests make it almost indispensable that this wail of partition should be broken down, that we should take sweet counsel together, and walk to the house of God as friends, as fellow-members of the body of Christ, as fellow-soldiers enlisted under one Captain of our salva- tion, and now, especially called upon to contend, ear- nestly and in concert, for the common faith. I am sure that, if in the other dioceses of America, there are Episcopal societies formed upon the model of ours, that is, not liberalized according to the distem- pered charity of the day, we shall as heartily give them the right hand of fellowship as we have given it to that of South-Carolina ; and I am not without hopes that some sort of alliance might be effected with the Society for the Propagation of the Gospel in her missionary exertions. Of course we cannot look to your unesta- blished Church for pecuniary contributions, but must rather prepare ourselves for supplying your wants from our abundance ; but you might be able to supply men trained to endure the hardness which the missionary should be inured to, and, withal, sound in the faith and economy of the Gospel. At all events, an inter- change of sentiments and of information, upon the religious phenomena of the day in our respective com- munions, might be established, and even this could not fail of being mutually beneficial in a high degree. 436 MEMOIR OF In Bishop Dehon's communication there was some mention of a library forming at Charleston, for the benefit of the clergy. If I knew what books are already procured, and what were chiefly wanting, I might have it in my power to assist the Bishop in accomplishing his object ; and I beg you to assure him that I should have great pleasure in doing so. And, in conclusion, I beg to assure yourself that I am, with much respect, and with every sentiment with which a subordinate clergymen should regard the Bishops of the Christian Church, Very faithfully yours, Henry Hadley Norris.' The following was through the slower me- dium above referred to, and shows how that in little, as in great things, it is better to act for ourselves than trust to the agency of others. FROM REV. DR. INGLIS.* * Halifax, Nova Scotia, May 18th, 1818. Right Rev. Sir, The Rev. Mr. Norris, of Hackney, near London, supposing me to enjoy the honor of occasional inter- course with you, has requested me to mention him as an introduction to some inquiries with which he is de- sirous to be permitted to trouble you. And although I have never enjoyed this satisfaction, and can scarcely be known to you, unless merely by name, as the son of a person formerly well known in some of the churches over which you preside, I take the liberty of complying * Now Bishop of Nova Scotia. C I S n O P H O B A R T. 437 with Mr. Norris' request. He is a clergyman of inde- pendent fortune ; which he devotes to the service of religion ; and is one of the most zealous defenders and supporters of our national Church, He has been made more generally conspicuous by very bold attacks upon the structure and tendency of the Bible Society, which begin to excite much uneasiness in many, although it cannot be denied that a large number of excellent heads are still its supporters and advocates. In his private circle of acquaintance, Mr. Norris is known as a pattern of all good works. Living in a very populous parish, whose means of accommodation for its parishioDers on Sunday are very insufficient, al- though its church is of enormous size ; he has built, chiefly at his own expense, a beautiful chapel, witit large accommodation, for the poor. He has affixed it to the church in the most constitutional manner; serves it himself, with the assistance of a curate, whom he supports ; and has endowed it, that it may never be un- served. His whole time, and health, and talents, are devoted to public objects of the noblest kind ; and I la- ment to say that he is wearing himself away by hia unceasing labor. The present Bishop of Llandaff, Dr. Marsh, gave him the first vacant stall in his cathedral ; which was an honorable testimony to his character and principles. With humble prayers for the blessing of God upon every part of that branch of the Christian Church which has the advantage of your watchful care and able di- rection, I have the honor to be. Right Rev. Sir, Very respectfully, your dutiful servant, John Inglis.' 438 M E M O I R O F The praise bestowed by Mr. Norris on Bishop Hobart's ' Apology for Apostolic order,' recalls the language of another leading pen of the English Church, to the same point. The Rev. Hugh James Rose, in his ' Discourses before the University of Cambridge,' — a volume that should be in the hands of every divinity stu- dent,— after large quotations from the above work, goes on to add, ' The preceding passage from Bishop Hobart, contains all that is requi- site on this subject ; the latter part of this work contains by far the best arguments for Episco- pacy that I know. The treatises of Hall and Taylor, full of learning, zeal and eloquence as they undoubtedly are, overstate some points, and dwell on minutiee of little importance to the argument. Bifhop Hobart, on the contrary, gets rid of every thing not essential to the ques- tion, and shews what pure and real Episcopacy is, free from arbitrary adjuncts, and human in- ventions.' * If the insertion of the following letter be re- garded as wanting in due humilit}^, the author would plainly admit that the praise recorded, however slight, is yet most grateful to him, as affording some relief to those feelings of con- ♦ * The Commission and consequent Duties of the Clergy.' Cambridge, 1828, p. 140. BISHOPHOBART. 439 scious unworthiness which attend the remem- brance of his short and only parochial charge. TO THE REV. J. McV. • New - York, June 1th, 1818. My dear Sir, It gives ma unfeigned pleasure to hear, in various ways, of your increasing usefulness. I know no greater source of gratification than to view the progress of real piety, in connection with the principles, the order, and the worship of our Church ; and to perceive that this advancement is effected hy those sober but zealous pa- rochial labors, which, in their ultimate success, far ex- ceed the more noisy but less transient pretences of enthu- siasm. May your example, my dear Sir, long afford this gratification. I send you two pamphlets, the principles and views of which are the result of much serious re- flection, and which I hope will accord with your judg- ment. I am extremely solicitous that you and your friends at Hyde Park should unite with the friends of the Church at Pcughkcepsie, in establishing a Dutchess Bible and Common Prayer-book Society, on the prin- ciples of that contemplated on Long-Island. The Bible and Common Prayer-book Society, in this city, was established before the Bible Society ; and it would be unfortunate if the Church people in this Diocese should oppose the principles and views of that institution. Union among ourselves is an object, to effect which, each one should be prepared to make some sacrifices of private opinion. Believe me, With much regard, yours, &c. J. H. HOBART.' no M E M O I R O F In no one year of his ministerial life do we find so many evidences, as in this, (1817,) of Bishop Hobart's individual and official activity. Among other subjects, that of a theological seminary was a prominent one, and through the medium of the press generally, and more especially through the columns of the Christian Journal,* he sought to give a right direction to public opinion on the question. An Episcopal school, or college, as a nursery for candidates, he still greatly dwelt upon, and, no doubt, wisely; for it is in education, as in all other building up, the foundation is still the main point ; but in this finding little concurrent opinion, he was forced, for the time, to yield. The prospects of a theological seminary, however, were more fair. Here the Church found a liberal benefactor, in one who has identified his name with the cause of theology, as his father's already w^as with that of the Church ; C. C. Moore, Esq., only son of the Bishop of that name, conveyed to trustees a very valuable portion of his estate, being above sixty lots, in the immediate neighborhood of the city of New- York, in trust, for the erection and benefit of a general theological seminary. But, be- tween general and diocesan, was with Bishop ♦ Hints by an Episcopalian, May No,, 1817. BISHOP HOBART. 441 Hobart, still a question. He wished it to pos- sess the influence of the one, and the security of the other ; or, if both could not be attained, was willing rather to limit its influence, than risk its soundness : that is to say, he would rather have a diocesan school, under his own eye, than a general one, removed from it. This is an acknowledgment which some friends of Biishop Hobart miglit be unwilling to make, as being open to the charge of a selfish or grasping policy. His biographer fears not to avow it, for he thinks it liable to neither ; he views it merely as a prudent, perhaps, at the time, a necessary caution ; at any rate, as policy hav- ing no individual reference either to himself or others, but arising solely from the untried dan- gers of committing a power so vital to the Church, as the control of the education of its candidates, to a body so fluctuating and irre- sponsible as the General Convention, at least in its House of Delegates, and of the operation of which the Church had not, at that time, sufii- cient experience to justify so high a trust. Among the minor publications of this year, (1817,) we find an address delivered before *the Missionary Society of young men and others in the city of New-York.' This was afterward published, and tended greatly to strengthen the hands of the Society, in their praiseworthy la- 44-2 MEMOIR OF bors. The address itself is of rather local and temporary interest. It contains, however, a gratifying history of the rise and progress of missions in the Diocese. But nothing from Bishop Hobart's pen could close without a spirit-stirring appeal. * An impetus is given to the Christian world that is urging it forward to great results. We, my brethren, should go, not reluctant, not backward, but foremost in the march, with the ark intrusted to us, the symbol and the pledge of the Divine presence, until it rests encircled with its primitive glory, and extending its lustre throughout the earth. Be foremost in this holy career ; excite your absent brethren to equal zeal in a cause which has for its object the salvation of men ; a cause for which the Son of God died, and for which he still intercedes in heaven, and rules on earth.' * The interest taken by him in Sunday schools added still further to his parochial labors. In that attached to St. Paul's Chapel, in his own parish, he was frequently present, encour- aging both children and teachers, by his earnest and affectionate exhortations. This was as their Rector, but as Bishop, his views went further, and his anxiety was greater. For a moment he looked with a doubtful eye upon the whole system, that is to say, upon an oper- ation which was converting every zealous » Address, p. 18. BISHOP H O B A R T. 443 young" member of a congregation into a teacher and expounder of the Christian faith ; while leaving to chance or individual choice, the books of instruction by which themselves were to be guided, and the minds of the children formed. This was an unpopular view to take of the sub- ject, and some said it was part of the Bishop's na- ture to forecast evil in good schemes. But if this were so, they must also admit it was equally part of his nature to labor to secure the good while he guarded against the evil, and such has evidently been the case in regard of Sunday schools. By uniting them as parts of one com- mon society, in connection with the authorities of the Church, he added to their eiFiciency while he guarded against abuse ; each rector became, under his system, the responsil)le head of his own school, while the wisdom of all united was directed to the preparation or choice of proper books of instruction, over which he again, as responsible head of the Church, exer- cised a final supervision. That this was no barren responsibility, may be judged from the answer given to the author, by one who long held the situation of Sunday school agent : — * While I, Sir, was there, not a scrap of the pen ever passed the press without his approbation ; nor, I believe, while he lived.' Thus originated the Protestant Episcopal Sunda}^ School Union, 446 JI E M O I R O F CHAPTER XIX. A.D. 1818— ^i. 43. Address to Convention — Painful Duty — Mr. How — Letter to Dr. Ber^ i-ian — Oneida Indians — Letter to the Bishop — His Answer — Visits them — Interesting Scene — Aged Mohawk Warrior — Young Onon- (laga — Visit of the Autlior — Prosperous Condition of the Diocese- Religious Revivals ; the Bishop's Opinion : their Result — Bishop Ho- bart's Explanation of Evangelical Preaching. The meeting of the Convention of 1818 was to the Bishop a period at once of the highest pleasure, and the severest mortification. The pleasure arose from the proofs afforded of the unprecedented extension of the Church during the past year, not only by its parochial reports but also by the unusually large assemblage of delegates representing it. The latter circum- stance was so marked, that the Bishop opened his address with noticing it as ' gratifying evi- dence,' said he, * of increasing zeal for the interests of our Church.' The mortification arose from the misconduct of one who, from boyhood, had been to him as a bosom friend, and, for several years past, his assistant in the Church, and coadjutor in all his labors for its defence and advancement. Far be it from him who now records his humili- B I S H O P H O B A R T . 447 ating fall to dwell one moment beyond the needful moral, on this sad tale of human infir- mity. From such a height did he fall, and so low, that, when first known, the instinctive ex- clamation of eveiy heart was, — * Lord ! lead me not into temptation, and take not thy Holy Spirit from me.' If such was the shock to those who knew him but as a Christian minister, what must it have been to one who loved him as a brother, and rested upon him as a bosom friend and coun- sellor. Nor was he called only to mourn over it in secret. As head of the Church jt became his duty to publish it to the world, and, not only that, but to inflict, as it were, with his own hand, the merited punishment. To such a heart it was more than a Roman trial. For to one w^ho held, as he did, life cheap, when compared with duty, it would have been easier, far easier, to have passed upon him the sentence of death than of degradation. What he felt upon the occasion must be con- ceived, for it was not expressed ; his words conveying it were few and stern ; — ' It is in- cumbent upon me,' said he, * on conviction, to inflict upon him th« sentence of degradation from the ministry, and I shall, without delay, discharge my duty in this business.' But even convicted unworthiness could not 448 MEMOIROF tear him from his heart. From among tVie papers of that unfortunate man, of whom, though still living, we may yet speak as dead, and raise this tablet, if not to his memory, at least to others^ warning ; from among these have been saved, as relics, two letters (would there had been more i ) from his mourning friend, which must have wrung from him bitter, and, may we not hope repentant tears. The first is of a date a short time subsequent to his final sentence. The second, from the Bishop, bears date but a few weeks previous to his own re- moval to a better world, TO THOMAS Y. HOW, ESfei. 'New -York, March 17, 1819, Scarcely a day passes, my dear How, in which I do not think of you. But the scenes of our friendship, once so interesting, and a source of so much enjoyment, appear now a dreary waste. You, who know my heart, and know how much of its happiness is placed in the exercise of friendship and affection, can estimate what a loss I have sustained in your separation from me. Did I think you corrupt and abandoned, I should feel less ; but believing, notwithstanding your great and grievous sins, that your heart is not depraved, that your prin- ciples and feelings were all hostile to the course which you were pursuing, and that now sincere and deep penitence occupies your soul, the impossibility of our former intercourse of affection is most distressing to me. Often I think of going to your study in the confidence of BISHOP HOBART. 449 reposing on the bosom of affection; but you are away, and perhaps, as it regards our future personal intercourse in this world, for ever. I must not, however, dwell on this subject. May God pardon, bless, and save you, is my prayer. Your letter to the Messrs. Swords was delivered. They will write to you on the subject of it, and will send you the books you requested, and the num- bers of the Bible. Take care of your soul. Humble penitence, lively faith, firm resolutions, constant prayer and watchful- ness, you Avill, I trust, cherish and practise. And may God pardon, bless and save you, through his Son Jesus Christ, is the prayer of Your affectionate J. H. HoBART.' Let me hear from you ; don't fail. On the back of this letter appear, in the hand-writing of him to whom it was addressed, convulsive efforts as it were to draft an answer. Nothing, however, is legible but mere snatches of thought or feeling, as * I have ' — * My dear Hobart' — * 1 am aware,' &c. &c. It is a dark and fearful picture, to see the hand of genius thus paralyzed by remorse ; but, ' Let him who thinketh he stand take heed lest he fall.' ' Alas ! my brother, round thy tomb. In sorrow kneeling, and in fear ; We read the pastor's doom, Who speaks and will not hear.' aq2 460 MEMOIR OF But we return to more pleasing topics. To Dr. Berrian, in Europe, he thus writes : — TO DR. BERRIAN. ' New -York, July llth, 1818. My very dear Friend, You must not conclude, because I have not written to you, that I am indifferent to you ; on the contrary, I believe a day has rarely passed, in which I have not thought of you with interest and affection. But some- thing or other has always prevented my carrying my resolution to write to you into effect. Procrastination, an aversion to writing, bodily and mental languor, and I may add, more than the ordinary pressure of duties and of cares ; and besides, I was desirous that when I did write, you should receive my letter — and you seemed moving about so much, that I thought hitherto the chance was very much against your receiving letters. I knew, also, that Jane was constantly writing to you, and acquainting you with all our domestic and Church affairs. Be assured, however, that my heart has been with you, and that no person has been more delighted than myself with the news of the restoration of your health. How gratified I should have been to be with you. I think I could have seen with an eye and a heart as much alive as your own to the beauties of nature and art, the sublime and interesting scenery through which you have passed, and the stupendous monuments of hu- man genius, taste, and industry with which you have been, for the year past, conversant. How much plea- sure do I anticipate from your return, as well from again enjoying your society, as from the accounts which you will give me of your travels ! After all, England, be- B I S HOP HOB ART. 451 cause there is the Church in her apostolic and primitive purity of doctrine and ministry, is the most interesting country to me. Get as much information there as you can concerning the Church, its ministers, &c. &c. Your letters are grateful to us all. Shall we not hear from England ? That God may bless you, and return you to us in good health, is the prayer of Your sincere and affectionate, J. H. HOBART.' The interest felt by Bishop Hobait ia the melancholy remnant of our Indian popula- tion, has already been mentioned. The asso- ciations of their name and race, their past his- tory, and present condition, above all, their spiritual destitution in the midst of Christian light ; a portion of them, too, within the limits of his own Diocese, all served to awaken his commiseration, and to place them before him as a part of the flock committed to his guidance. Under these feelings, he took the steps already mentioned, of sending among them a catechist and teacher, and of having prepared a transla- tion, in their own tongue, of portions of the Gospel and Liturgy, and he was soon after rewarded by receiving from them the following letter of thanks. 452 M E M O I R O F It is recorded here, not merely as throwing light on Bishop Hobart's course and character, but, also, as a relic of a race that is rapidly passing from our land, melting away, as it were, before the face of civilization ; whatever, there- fore, is genuine, in relation to them, is beginning to acquire something of historic value. ADDRESS Of the Chiefs of the Oneida Nation of Indians in the State of New- York, to the Rt. Rev. Bishop Hobart.* Right Rev. Father, — We salute you in the name of the ever-adorable, ever-blessed, and ever-living sovereign Lord of the universe ; we acknowledge this great and Almighty Being as our Creator, Preserver, and constant Benefactor. Right Rev. Father, — We rejoice that we now, with one heart and mind, would express our gratitude and thankfulness to our great and venerable father, for the favor which he has bestowed upon this nation, viz. in sending brother Williams among us, to instruct us in the religion of the blessed Jesus. When he first came to us, we hailed him as our friend, our brother, and our guide in spiritual things ; and he shall remain in our hearts and minds as long as he shall teach us the ways of the great Spirit above. Right Rev. Father, — We rejoice to say, that by send- ing brother Williams among us, a great light has risen upon us: we see now that the Christian religion is * This address was written by a young Indian, who is a communicant of the Church. B I S H 0 P H O E A R T. 453 intended for the good of the Indians as well as the white people ; we see it, and do feel it, that the religion of the Gospel will make us happy in this and in the world to come. We now profess it outwardly, and we hope, by the grace of God, that some of us have em- braced it inwardly. May it ever remain in our hearts, and we be enabled, by the Spirit of the eternal One, to practise the great duties which it points out to us. Right Rev. Father, — Agreeable to y or request we have treated our brother with that attention and kind- ness which you required of us ; we have assisted him all that was in our power, as to his support : but you know well that we are poor ourselves, and Ave cannot do a great deal. Though our brother has lived very poor since he came among us, but he is patient, and makes no complaint : we pity him, because we love him as we do ourselves. We wish to do something for his support ; but this is impossible for us to do at pre- sent, as we have lately raised between three and four thousand dollars to enable us to build a little chapel. Right Rev. Father, — We entreat and beseech you not to neglect us. We hope the Christian people in New- York will help us all that is in their power. We hope our brother will by no means be withdrawn from us. If this should take place, the cause of religion will die among us ; immorality and wickedness will prevail. Right Rev. Father, — As the head and father of the holy and apostolic Church in this State, we entreat you to take a special charge of us. We are ignorant, we are poor, and need your assistance. Come, venerable father, and visit your children, and warm their hearts by your presence, in the things which belong to their everlasting peace. _!X. 4^ MEMOIROF May the great Head of the Church, whom you-serve, be with you, and his blessing ever remain with you. We, venerable father, Remain your dutiful children, his Hendrick 4- Schuyler, mark. hi3 Silas + Anonsente, mark. his William + Tehoitate, mark, his Daniel + Peters, mark, his Nicholas + Garaggntie, mark, his William 4- Sonawenhese, mark, his Moses -f- Schuyler, mark. his Hestahel + Peters, mark, his William + Schuyler, mark, his Abraham + Schuyler, mark, his Stofle -1- Schuyler, mark, his Hendrick + Schuyler, jun., mark his William + Tewagerate. mark. Oneida, January, 1818. BISHOP HOB ART. 456 THE bishop's answer. My Children,* — I have received your letter by your brother and teacher, Eleazar Williams, and return your affectionate and Christian salutation, praying that grace, mercy, and peace, from God the Father, and from our Lord Jesus Christ, may be with you. My Children, — I rejoice to hear of your faith in the one living and true God, and in his Son Jesus Christ, whom he has sent, whom to know is life eternal; and I pray that, by the Holy Spirit of God, you may be kept steadfast in this faith, and may walk worthy of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light. My Children, — It is true, as you say^ that the Gospel of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ is intended for Indians as well as white people. For the great Father of all hath made of one blood all the nations of the earth ; and hath sent his Son Jesus Christ to teach them all, and to die for them all, that they may be redeemed from the power of sin, and brought to the acknowledg- ment of the truth, and to the service of the living God. My Children, — It is true, as you say, that the religion of the Gospel will make you happy in this Avorld, as well as in the world to come ; and I join in your prayer, that you may profess it inwardly as well as outwardly ; that by the power of the Holy Spirit, you may be transformed by the renewing of your minds, and acquire the holy tempers, and practise the holy duties which the Gospel enjoins. And for this purpose I beseech you to attend to the instructions of your faithful teacher and ♦ This is the appellation with which the Indians expect to !•« addressed by the Bishop. 45(J MEMOIR U F brother, Eleazar Williams ; to unite with him in the holy prayers of our apostolic Church, which he has translated into your own language ; to listen with rever- ence to the divine word which he reads to you ; to receive, as through grace you may be qualified, and may have an opportunity, the sacraments and ordinances of the Church ; and at all times, and in all places, to lift up your hearts in supplication to the Father of your spirits, who always and every where hears and sees you, for pardon and grace, to comfort, to teach, and to sanctify you, through your divine Mediator, Jesus Christ. My Children, — Let me exhort you diligently to labor to get your living by cultivating the earth, or by some other lawful calling : you will thus promote your world- ly comfort, you will be more respected among your white brethren, and more united and strong among yourselves. And when you are thus engaged, you will be saved from many temptations ; and you will prove yourselves to be good disciples of Him, who, by his inspired apostle, has enjoined, that while we are " fervent in spirit " we be " not slothful in business." My Children, — Continue to respect and to love your brother and teacher, Eleazar Williams, and to treat him kindly ; for he loves you, and is desirous to devote himself to your service, that, by God's grace, he may be instrumental in making you happy here and here- after. It is my wish that he may remain with you, and may be your spiritual guide and instructer. My Children, — I rejoice to hear that your brethren, the Onondagas, are desirous of knowing the words of truth and salvation. I hope you will not complain if your teacher, Eleazar Williams, sometimes visits them, to lead them in that way to eternal life, which, from God's BISHOP HOBART. 457 word, he has pointed out to you. Freely you have received, you should freely give; and being made par- takers of the grace of God through Jesus Christ, you should be desirous that all your red brethren may enjoy the same precious gift. My Children, — It is my purpose, if the Lord will, to come and see you the next summer ; and I hope to find you as good Christians, denying ungodliness and world- ly lusts, and living righteously, soberly, and godly in the world. I shall have you in my heart, and shall remem- ber you in my prayers ; for you are part of my charge, of that flock for whom the Son of God gave himself even unto the death upon the cross, and whom he com- manded his ministers to seek and to gather into his fold, that through him they might be saved for ever. My Children, May God be with you, and bless you. John Henry Hobart, Bishop of the Prot. Episc. Church in the Stale of New- York. Dated at New-Yoib, the 1st day of Pebruary, in the year of our Lobd 1818, and in the seventh year of my consecration.* The Bishop was not one to allow such an opening to be fruitless. As early as he could, therefore, in the following summer, he directed his course to the Oneida ' Reservation,' (a term designating the Indian lands,) where he found them dwelling in a state of pastoral simplicity, such as he had never before seen, and which excited si ill inore deeply his interest in them. ♦Journal of Convention, 1818, pp. 43-48. R r 458 MEMOIR OF Their rich extended domains were lying in common, the property of the tribe, not of indi- viduals, some little of it cultivated, more in open pasture, but most in its state of native wildness, and reserved for hunting ground. Through these forests, paths there were many, but roads none, and the generally rude, though sometimes neat and rustic dwellings of these sons of the forest, lay scattered in wild but pic- turesque confusion, — some upon gentle emi- nences, others in rich valleys ; some open to the sun, others embosomed in shade, and exhibiting here and there traces of a taste for natural scenery which recommended them still further (at least, as objects of interesting inquiry) to such a lover of nature as Bishop -Hobart. Among those who flocked around him, on this occasion, as he stood in the recesses of their pri- meval forests, was one aged Mohawk warrior, who, amid his heathen brethren, had for half a century held fast by that holy faith in which he had been instructed and baptized, by a mission- ary from the Society in England, while these States were still colonies. Through the cate- chist, as interpreter, he now recounted the event in the figurative language of these children of na- ture, and pointed out to his admiring auditor, with as much feeling as belongs to that imper- turbable race, the very spot where tlris early BISHOP HOBART. 459 missionary had been accustomed to assemble them, and preach to a congregation which, as it afterward appeared, had hstened to him rather from curiosity than conviction. It was, as tlie Bishop in conversation described it, an open glade in tlie forest, with a few scattered oaks still vigorous and spreading ; and within view, as if to perpetuate the association, now arose the tower of tlie neat rustic church, which the Christian party among them had recently erected- The interest of the scene justifies the following, otherwise long extract, from his ad- dress to the Convention. • It is a subject of congratulation that our Church has resumed the labors, which for a long period before the revolutionary war, the Society in England, for Propa- gating the Gospel in Foreign Parts, directed to the religious instruction of the Indian tribes. Those labors were not wholly unsuccessful ; for on my recent visit to the Oneidas I saw an aged Mohawk, who, firm in the faith of the Gospel, and adorning his profession by an exemplary life, is indebted, under the Divine blessing, for his Christian principles and hopes, to the missionaries of that venerable Society. The exertions more recently made for the conversion of the Indian tribes have not been so successful, partly because not united with efforts to introduce among them those arts of civilization, without which the Gospel can neither be understood nor valued ; but principally because religious instruc- tion was conveyed through the imperfect medium of 460 M E M O I R O F interpreters, by those unacquainted with their disposi- tions and habits, and in whom they were not disposed to place the same confidence as in those who are con- nected with them by the poAverful ties of language, of manners, and of kindred. The religious instructer of the Oneidas, employed by our Church, enjoys all these advantages. Being of Indian extraction, and acquaint- ed with their language, dispositions, and customs, and devoting himself unremittingly to their spiritual and temporal welfare, he enjoys their full confidence ; while the education which he has received, has increased his qualifications as their guide in the faith and precepts of the Gospel. Mr. Eleazar Williams, at the earnest re- quest of the Oneida chiefs, was licensed by me about two years since, as their lay reader, catechist, and schoolmaster. Educated in a different communion, he connected himself with our Church from conviction, and appears warmly attached to her doctrines, her apostolic ministry, and her worship. Soon after he commenced his labors among the Oneidas, the Pagan party solemnly professed the Christian faith. Mr. Williams repeatedly explained to them, in councils which they held for this purpose, the evidences of the divine origin of Christian- ity, and its doctrines, institutions, and precepts. He combated their objections, patiently answered their in- quiries, and was finally, through the Divine blessing, successful in satisfying their doubts. Soon after their conversion they appropriated, in conjunction with the old Christian party, the proceeds of the sale of some of their lands to the erection of a handsome edifice for divine worship, which will be shortly completed. In the work of their spiritual instruction, the Book of Common Prayer, a principal part of which has been translated for their use, proves a powerful auxiliary. B I S H O P II O B A R T. 461 Its simple and affecting exhibition of the truths of re- demption is calculated to interest their hearts, while it informs their understanding ; and its decent and signifi- cant rites contribute to fix their attention in the exercises of worship. They are particularly gratified with having parts assigned them in the service, and repeat the re- sponses with great propriety and devotion. On my visit to them, several hundred assembled for worship ; those who could read were furnished with books ; and they uttered the confessions of tlie Liturgy, responded its sup- plications, and chanted its hymns of praise, with a re- verence and fervor, which powerfully interested the feelings of those who witnessed the solemnity. They listened to my address to them, interpreted by Mr. Wil- liams, with so much solicitous attention ; they received the laying on 'of hands with such grateful humility ; and participated of the symbols of their Saviour's love with such tears of penitential devotion, that the im- pression which the scene made on my mind will never be effaced. Nor was this the excitement of the moment, or the ebullition of enthusiasm. The eighty-nine who were confirmed had been well instructed by Mr. AVil- liams ; and none were permitted to approach the com- munion whose lives did not correspond with their Chris- tian professions. The numbers of those who assembled for worship, and partook of the ordinances, would have been greater, but from the absence of many of them at an Indian council at Buffalo. I have admitted Mr. AVilliams as a candidate for Orders, on the recommendation of the Standing Com- mittee ; and look forward to his increased influence and usefulness, should he be invested with the oflfice of the ministry. R r 2 463 MEMOIR OF There is a prospect of his having, some time hence, a powerful auxiliary in a young Indian, the son of the head warrior of the Onondagas, who was killed at the battle of Chippewa, and who, amiable and pious in his dispositions, and sprightly and vigorous in his intellect- ual powers, is earnestly desirous of receiving an educa- tion to prepare him for the ministry among his country- men. I trust that means will be devised for accomplish- ing his wishes. We ought never to forget that the salvation of the Gospel is designed for all the human race ; and that the same mercy which applies comfort to our wounded consciences, the same grace which purifies and soothes our corrupt and troubled hearts, and the same hope of immortality which fills us with peace and joy, can exert their benign and celestial influence on the humble Indian.' * The young chief here alluded to, as a rising assistant to Mr, Williams, was ' a full- blood' Indian, son of that head warrior of the Onondaga tribe who had fallen on the American side during the late war, in the battle of Chippewa. According to tlie usage of Indian chieftainship, he had now succeeded to the rank of his father, and thus exercised, as one of the chiefs of the nation, the usual patriarchal authority among them. In early life he had been instrucled in the truths of Christianity, by Brandt, a Christian wanior of the Mohawks, but was at present under the instruction of * Journal of Convention, 1818, pp. 18-20. BISHOP H O B A R T. 463 Williams, among the Oiieidas, the nearest tribe to his own in language and feelings. About this time he came to tiie city of New- York, with an earnest desire, as expressed by himself, to receive an education which might qualify him for exercising the ministry among his countrymen, for which office he was said to be peculiarly fitted, not only by superior talents, but by a disposition, unusual in his race, pious and diligent. With these views and feelings, high hopes v/erc entertained by the Bishop of his future influence — but we hear no more of him. It is very certain it was not from "want of means. Nothing remains, therefore, but to hope that he was cut off, b}^ an early death, in the midst of his good intentions. We say, hojie, since it would be painful to think that he * fell away,' as so many of that wild race have done, from a profession of faitii that involved too much of exertion, or self-denial, for their indolent and fitful nature. This tribe, from the inteiest excited by the Bishop's narrative, was, some years after, visited by the present writer, nor was the ' Gospel oak' forgotten — nor ever will be, for there was some- thing in the scene to inspire awe as well as devo- tion. To stand encircled b}?^ that solemn grove, and look upon it as the temple to God, not built with hands, in which the word of life had first 464 MEMOIR OF been preached to the Heatlien who dwelt around — the true God magnified in his own true temple — ' His own cathedral meet, Built by himself, star-roof 'd, and hung with green, Wherein all breathing things, in concord sweet, Organ'd by winds, perpetual hymns repeat,' this was, indeed, a picture to be treasured up in memory, and it were well if the temples of art were always thus hallowed. In the earlier periods of the English Church, these natural associations seem to have been deeply felt and carefully nurtured, since we find, even as late as the seventeenth century, that ' Gospel trees,' as they were termed, venerable for size and age, were to be found, scattered tbrough the more extended rural parishes of England; and under their shade and shelter, a simple rustic worship, with set forms, (among Andrews' Devotions we find some for this intent,) habitually celebrated. The flourishing condition of the Diocese was, this year, matter of mutual congratulation. The number of its clergy had increased to sixty-eight ; the number of organized congre- gations to one hundred and fifteen ; and, within the year the Bishop had consecrated six new churches, three others being also ready ; or- dained twenty clergymen, and reported ten BISHOP HOBART. 465 candidates, pursuing- their studies, together with thirteen missionaries, all actively engaged in their laborious self-denying round of duty. An instance here occurs to show the influence of those Church societies of which Bishop Ho- bart may be considered, in this country, as the father and the founder. It exhibits them, also, in the pleasing light of having, as the early Chris- tians had, *all things in common,' for the Church. ' I ought to mention, with high commendation, the pious zeal of the New-York Protestant Episcopal Mis- sionary Society, constituted in aid of the " Committee for Propagating the Gospel," charged with the business of missions. But for the meritorious exertions of the members of that institution, we should have been un- able to have paid the low salaries of our missionaries. This society has contributed for this purpose, for the past year, about eight hundred dollars.' * On the subject of religious * revivals,' as they are popularly termed, excited and maintained by irregular and protracted meetings for prayer, Bishop Hobart felt himself called upon, on this occasion, as on many others, to enter his protest, with a view to guard both his clergy and laity against them. He foresaw, from the ♦ Journal of Convention, 181S, p. 21. iQ6 M E M O I R O F first, those dangers with which experience has since shown tliem to be fraught — the wild ex- citement— the hasty profession — the subsequent deadness — the frequent scandal — the despising of the ordinary means of grace — the invidious and unchristian distinctions — the heresy and the schism — all these were present to his mind ; and while he approved the motives of many, and was wilHng to admit the sincerity of all, he j^et condemned their judgment, and deprecated, most earnestly, the admission into the Church of any practices tending to give them currency. On tliis occasion he urged upon them the les- sons of past experience, and the judgment of the wise and good in the ages before them. ' My brethren of the clergy, suffer me, seriously and affectionately, with a view to guard, not against pre- sent, but possible evils, to fortify these sentiments by an authority to which an appeal ought never to be made in vain. It is the authority of one whose piety was as humble and fervent as his judgment was pene- trating and discriminating, and his learning extensive and profound. It is the authority of one, too, who lived in those times when the private associations com- menced, the effects of which he deprecated, but which were, finally, awfully realized, in the utter subversion of the goodly fabric of the Church whose ministry he adorned, and in the triumph, on her ruins, of the innu- merable forms of heresy and schism. The judicious Hooker thus speaks, in that work on ecclesiastical BISHOP II O C A R T. 167 polity in which he delivers so many lessons of profound wisdom. " To him who considers the grievous and scandalous inconveniences whereunto they make themselves daily subject, Avith whom any blind and secret corner is judged a fit house of common prayer ; the manifold confusion which they fall into, v/here every man's pri- vate spirit and gift, as they term it, is the only bishop that ordaineth him to this ministry ; the irksome de- formities, whereby, through endless and senseless effu- sions of indigested prayers, they who are subject to no certain order, but pray both what and how they list, often disgrace, in most insufferable manner, the wor- tliiest part of Christian duty toward God ; to him, I say, who weigheth duly all these things, the feasons cannot be obscure, who God doth in public prayer so much regard, the solemnity of j^Zaces where, the author- ity and calling of persons by ivhom, and the precise appointment, even with what words and sentences, his name shall be called on, amongst his people." ' Now, in this condemnation, who will say that Bishop Hobart erred 1 Then, indeed, he was pro- scribed as a bigot, and preached against as a for- malist, and prayed against as one who 'sore let and hindered the free course of the word of God,' and that, by the very men who are now willing to hold this language : — ' What,' says one of them, ^ will be the final result of protracted meetings as they are now conducted by Evangelists? What effect will these seasons of intense excitement and mental exhaustion have upon the future 468 MEMOIR OF interests of the Church ? These are questions of solemn moment ; and we are apprehensive that they have not been sufficiently examined. Means not expressly sanctioned by the word of God, should be viewed in their ultimate bearing, as well as immediate effects. We are confident that many are deceived by present appearances, who will become wiser from experience. It is inspiring to see crowds, day after day, pressing into the house of God. Converts, real or apparent, multiply like the drops of the morning. Sinners, cal- lous under the ordinary means of grace, are awakened. Christians are full of faith and joy ; and the preacher holds the vast assembly in admiration by his bold and novel manner of exhibiting the truth, and the skilful- ness of his movements. Painful doubts, indeed, are revolved in many a mind concerning the machinery; but the sensibilities become accustomed to the shock, and fear subsides into belief that the Spirit of grace is present, and that the e7id will sanctify the means. This is the bright side of the scene. But it has also a dark side. How many will lose their zeal when the exciting causes are withdrawn? How many will make a hasty and vain profession ? How many churches will be prepared for disorganization, and the dismission of their pastors, from the demand for the so called "revival preaching ? " The long meeting at last closes. The chief agent retires. The crowd of strangers disperses. The sick and the exhausted seek for rest. The great congregation has dwindled aAvay to its former size. The children born and cradled in the tempest grow languid in the calm. They have little relish for ordi- nary food, and crave the absent stimulus. What now is to be done ? The pastor, if it were possible, must not imitate his exemplar. This would be fatal. The B I S H O P H O B A R T. 4C9 Evangelist himself, had he sufficient mental and phy- sical strength, could not pursue his own measures in one congregation for a twelvemonth. And if the com- mon means of grace are not adequate to procure the reviving influence of the Spirit, they are not adequate to preserve its reviving influence when procured by special means. We ask, then, what next? Who shall calculate on the benefit of ordinary medicine, after the most powerful has been exhausted ? ' * No wonder that the Bishop was zealous for the distribution of the Prayer-book, when he witnessed such results as the above from the neglect of it, or, as the following, from its con- scientious use. * The circulation of the Prayer-book among those unacquainted with it, has almost invariably tended to soften, if not to remove prejudices, and, in many in- stances, to produce a warm attachment to it. In one place, a well-organized and respectable Episcopal con- gregation subsists, where a year since there was not an Episcopal family ; and many of the persons who com- pose it owe either their first serious impressions, or the confirmation of their pious principles and hopes, to the perusal of the Prayer-book with which they had been unacquainted, and which was put into their hands.' t ♦ Extract from article in the ' Literary and Theological Re- view,' by Rev, W. Mitchell, of Rutland, Vermont, t Journal of Convention, 1818, p, 21. Sb 470 MEMOIR OF As the outcry against Bishop Hobait ever was, that he was not ' evangelical,' it is due to him to put here upon record his claim to that title. It is taken from the Christian Journal of this year, being editorial, and headed ' EVANGELICAL PREACHING. Those truths of the Gospel which characterize it as a system of faith, distinct from a code of morals, as a dis- pensation of mercy to man, through a Redeemer, may be considered as evangelical — as those truths which deno- minate it " glad tidings." The most cursory reader of the New Testament must perceive that the following truths are inculcated in every part of this sacred volume : — That man is in a fallen and corrupt state ; that Jesus Christ, the Son of God, has made atonement for the sins of man ; that through the merits of Christ only can guilty man be justified ; that by the grace of the Holy Spirit only can corrupt man be sanctified ; that while the atonement of Christ is the meritorious cause of salvation, repentance and faith producing holy obedi- ence, are the indispensable conditions of salvation, without which no man to whom the Gospel is preached will be saved ; and that, in the exercise of repent- ance and faith, the merits and grace of Christ are applied to the believer, to his justification and sanc- tification, through his union with the Church, the mystical body of Christ, by the participation of its sacraments and ordinances dispensed by its authorized ministry.' * * ' Christian Journal,' January, 1818, p. 31. B I S H O P H O B A R T. 471 In concluding his address to the Convention he enlarged on the two points ever nearest his heart — missionaries to spread the Church wide, and a theological seminary to lay its founda- tions deep. *But while my recent visitation of the Diocese afforded me many subjects of gratification, emotions of a different nature were frequently excited. I often heard earnest calls for the ministry and worship of our Church, which could not be gratified. And I saw fields ripe for the harvest, which were reaped by others, from our want of laborers to enter on the work. The indis- pensable importance of a theological seminary, and of provision for missionaries, more forcibly than ever im- pressed my mind. We now lose many young men of talents and piety, from our want of the means of aiding them in their preparation for the ministry. And even if the number of those who enter the ministry of our Church, were not, as they are, greatly inadequate to supply all the situations where their labors might be profitably exerted, a theological institution would be necessary, as the best and the only effectual means of furnishing our candidates for Orders with those ac- quirements which will enable them forcibly, eloquently, and successfully to explain, defend, and inculcate the truths of religion. Prosperous in many respects, as is our Church in this Diocese, her prosperity would have been tenfold greater, if we had enjoyed adequate means of theological education, and of missionary support. To these objects then, my brethren of the clergy and laity, let me direct your zealous efforts, and beseech you 472 M E M O 1 R O F unceasingly to direct the efforts of all over whom you may have any influence. Your Church needs all your affection, all your zeal, and all your pecuniary means ; and she deserves them all. In promoting the extension of this pure branch of the Church of the Redeemer, you will best advance the glory of God in the salvation of men ; and faithful to the lessons of evangelical truth which our Church inculcates, you will save your own souls, while you contribute your part in the most ex- alted work of benevolence, the salvation of the souls of your fellow-men.' * * Journal of Convention, 1818, pp. 21, 22. BISHOP H O B AR T. 473 CHAPTER XX. A. D. 1819— ^f. 44. Letter from Rev. H. H. Norris — Mant and D'Oyley's Family Bible — Defects — Bishop Hobart's Labors in it — General Views of a Bible Commentary — Bishop Hobart in Retirement — Visit to the Short Hillt — His Occupations — Second Visit to the Oneidas — Address to the Convention — Influence of a Gift of a Prayer-book — Charge to the Clergy — ' The Churchman ' — Extracts on the ' Liberality of the Age' — Resignation of the Charge of the Diocese of Connecticut — Conse- cration of Bishop Brownell. The following year, 1819, brought with it, not only its usual burthen of labor, but a large increase, in the republication and enlargement of Mant and D'Oyley's great Family Bible. This is alluded to in the following letter, from Rev. H. H. Norris, of Hackney, London. FRO.M REV. H. H. NORRIS. ^Grove-street, Hackney^ April IQth, 1820. Right Rev. and dear Sir, The books with which you have favored me, in some measure conveyed the information which I looked for from your own pen, and they may be pleaded with unanswerable evidence as an excuse for your not using it more punctually to your correspondents. I rejoice to see the Church of Christ, with no other aid but its own spiritual energies, so efficiently answering all those great purposes for which it was constituted by its S 82 474 M E M O I R O F divine Founder. I survey, with especial delight the American edition of our family Bible, and your own, by the additional notes interspersed among those of the English edition. I hope you will be more copious in your additional notes, when you come to the gospels ; as there, I think, we are particularly scanty and superficial. Some of the old English divines might well be exchanged for the modern. I rejoice to see, also, that you have bodies of young men incorporated in your religious societies, and that in these societies the genuine Christian principles are so well defined and supported ; that your Church is spreading together with the spread of your population ; and that so much zeal is called forth in the prosecution of all these important objects ; but above all, I rejoice in your Convention, and in the wisdom which governs all its deliberations. You will expect to hear from me what our present circumstances and exertions are. Alas ! our great grievance is, that we have not, like you, a convention. Our convocation is only the pageantry of what formerly so materially contributed to the purity and consolidation of the Church. It is probably true that infidelity has been most extensively propagated, and with too abun- dant success, among the lower orders, especially in our thickly-peopled manufacturing districts ; and that they have been bereft of all hopes and fears of an hereafter, that they might be let loose from all moral restraint, and be prepared for those desperate acts of violence which their seducers must find hands to perpetrate. But there is amongst us what has been very happily de- scribed as the quiet good sense of Englishmen, which, without showing itself, still retains a mighty influence, and diffuses its correctives in streams as copious and as Bi s HOP HOB aut. 475 diffusive in their currents as those in which the poison flows. Our Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge has been gradually advancing itself in power and influ- ence, as the sons of confusion have been spreading their seductions ; and when I tell you that we put in circula- tion, in the year ending at our last audit, upward of one million four hundred thousand Bibles, Prayer-books, and religious tracts, by much the larger portion dispersed at home, you will at once see how powerful an antidote is in regular diurnal application against all the evil working among us. It is true, that during the tremendous convulsions occasioned by the French Revolution, the attention of government was engrossed by the dangers menacing us from without, and had no leisure to exercise domestic vigilance. It is true, that a sort of generalized religion has been diffused very extensively, but sound Church- manship, as well in faith as discipline, has had a stimu- lus given to it by these defections. The battle between faith and indifference, and unity and amalgamation, has been well fought; and as far as rational conviction goes, the former, in both instances, have triumphed over their assailants; and most certainly the present and the rising generation have been stimulated by the conflict, to acquire the ability to give a much more satisfactory reason for the faith that is in them, than the generation to which they succeeded. Our universities, Oxford especially, have been repair- ing the decays of discipline and of the requisite know- ledge for their degrees ; and a competent knowledge of the evidences and principles of Christianity is made indispensable to every one. There is a great deal of lost ground to recover, and a great deal of mischief to 47(j MEMOIR OF be warded off and neutralized ; but this convic- tion is both forcibly and extensively awakened. Our only solid foundation is the making it appear that we are what we profess to be, the genuine Church of Christ; that we hold forth the true light, and walk worthy of our vocation. This conviction is operating widely amongst us, and there is a growing interest taken in the study of theology, and workmen that need not be ashamed are multiplying. But after all, amidst the fluctuations of hope and fear for the political ascendency of the Church, which cannot fail to agitate every reflecting man, as he sur- veys alternately what is doing to strengthen the Esta- blishment, and what to undermine it ; still, as a spiritual body, the prospect most certainly is progressively bright- ening ; and if called to suffer, my confidence is, that grace will be given her to witness a good confession, and that to those who have eyes to see it, she will be more glorious under persecution than with the honors which now constitute her earthly splendor. I remain. With great respect and affection, Very truly yours, H. H. NoRRis.' The republication above referred to was a labor of no ordinary magnitude, and gave em- ployment to the Bishop's pen and leisure mo- ments for near five years, being begun in 1818, and completed, in sickness and sorrow, at the moment of his embarkation to Europe, in 1823. Of this voluminous work, ' more than a third BISHOP HOBART. 477 part of its very copious notes,' say the publishers, ' are the result of his untiring labor.' It would, perhaps, have been better could the whole have been recast by him. The original was a work, not only too hastily done to be critically well done, in what it proposed to do, but also wanting somewhat of unity and spirituality, from the very principle on which it went, of being a selection from the thoughts of many. Bishop Hobart saw and felt these deficiencies ; for the correction of the first, sup- posing he had the scholarship, he certainly had not the time, neither did he regard it as its most serious defect ; it was one that touched the scholar rather than the Christian. But, to the supply of the latter want, he sedulously devoted himself, and was thus enabled to give to the commentary, what before it could scarcely be said to have, a j)ractical character ; such as alone could fit it to be what it claims to be, * a Family Bible.' Like all other services, which involve only' industry and sound judgment, this labor of Bishop Hobart has never received its due meed of praise. It is not to be denied, however, that the field is yet open to improvement. Such a commentary as is needed, for the daily use of private Christians, is s(ill among the * desiderata ' of practical theology. Would it 478 M E M O I R O F were not so ! for its influence to good would be incalculable — but what it should be is a task easier to conceive than to execute. It needs, for its performance, both plurality and unity — the minds of many, and the governing mind of one — it must have scholarship, and yet be above it — giving the wheat without the chaff of human learning. It must be deep without being abstruse, and familiar without being common-place. It must have variety of thought without opposition of sentiment, and uniformity of doctrine without tediousness of repetition ; free, alike, from the mannerism of a single commentator and the distraction of many. It must gather its materials from a thousand sources, and yet cast them into one mould, and that mould bearing the impress of one master mind, and that mind itself moulded upon the living truths of the Gospel, imbued with its spirit, sanctified to its service, and devoting the unbroken energies of a life to this noblest of all labors. Thus, and thus alone, with prayer to him who enlightens, and trust in him who strength- ens, may be built up, out of the materials which God hath given, in his word and in his works, a spiritual temple to the glory of the Redeemer, and the salvation of the sinner ; bringing aid to the learned, admonition to the thoughtless, and refutation to the infidel. But whence BISHOP II 0 B AR T. 47'J shall such a mighty work proceed ? May we not hope, that among the riper fruits of our General Theological Seminary this will be one — the crowning debt of the Church to that noble institution to which it already owes so much. Learning, piet}-, and talent are already there. Its library, under the bounty of Churchmen, is vapidly growing to what is needful for such a task. What then is wanting, but some wise endowment that shall furnish to some fit mind the adequate means of learned leisure, and sole devotion to this great work — which, completed, would be the greatest human gift the learning of the Church to the laity could give, as well as the greatest, the laity can from the Church receive. Bishop Hobart's name and reputation were now widely spread. Among the pleasing evi- dences of it may be reckoned the voluntary correspondence of many wise and good Chris- tians in foreign countries, especially in the Church of England. The following may be added to those already given. FROM RKV. J. II. SPRET. * Birmingham, England, March 20lh, 181D. Right Rev. Sir, Some apology is due to you for the liberty which' Is a perfect stranger, I ta!:e in addressing you; but a 480 MEMOIR OF cannot resist the opportunity afforded me, of sending this letter by a confidential friend, who is on the point of sailing for Philadelphia, to express the very sincere respect and admiration which I feel for your character, and your exertions in support of the Apostolic Church, in which you hold so important a station. It is but common gratitude in me, who have derived so much benefit as well as satisfaction from your labors, thus to return you my thanks ; and at the same time permit me to request your acceptance of the accompany- ing volume, in which I have humbly endeavored to contribute my mite to the support and defence of the truth. In the present dangerous days, when the enemies of the Church are combining on all sides against her, it is highly desirable that she should derive all possible benefit from the associated labors of her friends ; and it would be an event most beneficial, most desirable, could some regular channel of communication be opened be- tween the zealous members of your Church and ours. On this subject I believe my excellent friend, Mr. Norris, of Hackney, has already addressed you ; and I hope you will allow an humble individual, like myself, to add that I shall be most happy in any way to further so good a work. Humbly praying that the great Head of the Church may pour down his blessings upon you, and all whom he has called to bear rule in his spiritual kingdom, in every quarter, Believe me. Right Rev. Sir, Your very faithful and humble servant, J. H. Sprey.' B I S H O P H 0 B A R T. 481 Retirement, ' that pleasure of kings, and choice of philosophers,' was what Bishop Ho- bart, with all his love for it, could seldom enjoy. His rural retreat in the hills has been already mentioned. Occasional retirement to it not only was a needful repose to a mind and body always overworked, but also one of those high positive gratifications which those, only, who had an opportunity of witnessing him in it, could fully appreciate. This was a privilege which fell to the lot of his biographer in the sum- mer of the present year (1819.) He then made his friend and bishop a visit at his ' lodge in the wilderness,' in his way to his own summer cot- tage at Hyde Park. It was a spot of little external pretension, but great rural beaut}'^, and commanding a noble view over a varied and broken foreground of wooded country, into the level and fertile plains beyond, of lower Jersey, until the spires of the city of New-York were seen dimly rising in the distance, about fifteen miles removed ; and among the objects there seen, though not by the eye distinguishable, was the very window of Bishop Hobart's early ^attic study, out of which his eye had rested with delight, twenty vears before, on these same shady hills, in which he was now reposing. None but they who have seen Bishop Hobarl T t 482 MEMOIR OF in this rural solitude, in the bosom of his family, can fully appreciate the native, childlike sim- plicity of his character. He was the youth in gayety — the very boy in his capacity for enjoy- ment. The budding flower and the setting sun, the chirping bird, the summer cloud, or the bright rainbow that tinted it, were all to him, as it were, fresh and new. He gazed, or he listened, not so much with the rational reflect- ing pleasure of the man, as with the warm- hearted delight of the child ; and so lovely and unpretending was the display of it, that it was impossible to be with hiin without catching somewhat of his own simple-hearted enthusiasm. But thus is it ever with all true lovers of nature ; the language of the poet is that of the unso- phisticated heart all the world over. ' My heart leaps up when I behold A rainbow in the sky ; So was it when my life began, So is it now I am a man ; So let it be when I grow old, Or let me die. The child is father of the man, And I would wish my days to be Bound each to each by natural piety.' Nor were his country pleasures merely pas- sive. In walking through his orchards, he pointed out to his guest his various experiments B I S II O P H 0 B A R T. 483 for the renovation of the plum and the peach, fruits, at that time generally blasted by some unknown disease ; and his nurseries of the locust, the most valuable of our trees for strength and durabilit}^, the seed of which he had procured of Dr. Bard, at Hyde Park, naturalized on his own grounds, and dispersed in his journeys throughout the Diocese, wherever he found poor parsons and glebe farms ; leaving with them the seed, instructing them in the cultivation of the tree, and encouraging them to raise it, by telling them of its lovely shade, and rich scented flowers, and valuable timber, and how beautiful it would look around the doors of their rustic parsonage. Thus introduced by him, it is now to be seen in the extreme western and northern bounds of his Diocese ; trees, from seed brought by the Bishop, being pointed out with pride, in many places, as the parent plant of all others in the neighborhood. Thus were some early locust trees pointed out to the writer, with tearful eyes, at the parsonage at Turin, Lewis county, by its then warm-hearted rector, after that he who had given them to him had gone to his rest. This men- tion of that neat rural dwelling, recalls a little incident that occurred there about this time, equally illustrative of the moderate wishes of its rector and the warm-hearted kindness of 484 M E M O I R O F his bishop. Upon the Bishop admiring, as was natural, the little rural adornments around the house, on which the other as naturally prided himself, the latter exclaimed, ' O, Bishop, if I could but afford to lay out twenty dollars a year on its improvement, 1 should make it a perfect paradise.' ' Why, my good friend,' said the Bishop, smiling at the moderate sum at which even an earthly paradise was to be purchased, 'you shall have it a paradise — the money is yours.' It need hardly be added, he more than made good his promise. Nor were these the only uses he made of his retirement. Solitude was with him the nurse of action, and he never failed to return from it hetter furnished for the race and contest of duty — with new vigor for whatever was good, and with new plans and methods for attain- ing it. The Convention of this year (1819) met, for the first time, in Albany ; like the last, it was largely attended, evincing the results of the un- wearied labor of its Diocesan. The number of clergy in the Diocese seventy-three, of candi- dates twenty-one ; an increase, from last year, of five in the former, and eleven in the latter. Among the visitations of interest recorded, was BISHOP HOCART. 485 a second one to his Indian ' children,' that being the title by Avhich, in their intercourse with him, they loved to be addressed. ' Among the pleasing circumstances which I noticed in my recent visitation, was the consecration of the In- dian chapel at Oneida, and the evidence of the continued zeal of Mr. Eleazar "Williams, in promoting the interests of his Indian brethren. The young Onondaga chief, whom I mentioned in my last address as desirous of procuring an education for the purpose of qualifying him as the spiritual instructer of his countrymen, will be able, through the bounty of Episcopalians and others, principally in the city of New- York, and through the aid of the government of the United States, to attain his object.'* On this occasion he held confirmation, also, in their forest church, confirming, of the native race, fifty-six, all of whom had been previously instructed and prepared for receiving it by ' brother Williams,' their teacher and catechist. The last pang of wounded friendship was now to be borne, in the official publication to the Convention of the final sentence on him who had so long been his friend and associate ; it is recorded in few words, and concludes with a certain emphatic brevit}!^, as if some might have doubted his firmness in carrying the sentence * Journal of Convention, 1819, p. 21. T 12 486 M E M O I R O F into execution ; — ' He has been degraded by me from the ministry.' The missionary cause he again pleads with his usual earnestness. ' In my visitations of the Diocese, I have seen many places " white unto the harvest," but there were no laborers to " put in the sickle." I have had my feelings often awakened by the anxious inquiry of those who, from the paucity of their numbers, and the inadequacy of their means, are unable to procure the ministrations of the word and ordinances. Can you not supply us with missionary services, and thus establish among us the Church to which we are attached? And I have been compelled to depress their earnest desires by an answer in the negative.' * & Again — ' My Brethren, what is to be done ? I see the contri- butions of Episcopalians extended to religious institutions not immediately connected with their own Church. I see their bounty flowing in channels that convey it to earth's remotest ends ; and yet many of their fellow Episcopalians in this State are destitute of the ministra- tions and ordinances of the Church, and unable, from their poverty, to procure them. Many of their own clergy are laboring as missionaries on a scanty stipend, which, from the inadequacy of the Missionary Fund, must be reduced. It would be presumptuous, and it would be useless for me to attempt to control their * Journal of Convention. 1819. p. 19. BISHOP HOB A R T, 48* bounty. But having seen and felt, being perpetually called to see and feel the spiritual wants of many of those of whom I have the charge, may I not be permit- ted, in the strong impulse of duty, to ask — If the bounty of Episcopalians now generally distributed, were confined to their own household, till the wants of that household were supplied ; if their contributions for religious purposes were bestowed on Missionary and on Bible and Common Prayer-book Societies, and other institutions under the exclusive control of their own Church, would they violate any apostolic precept ; any dictate of a sound and enlightened benevolence ; or fail in the duty of extending in its purest form the king- dom of the Redeemer ? ' * The power of the Liturgy in preserving, not only the forms, hut the spirit of religion, in the absence of other means of grace, was a point, too, the Bishop often dwelt upon, for he often witnessed its happy exemplification. In his address of this year he notices two instances that had fallen under his own observation. ' In the state of the church at Utica, I received a strong evidence of the beneficial effects of continuing the service in destitute congregations, by means of lay reading. That congregation for more than a year has been deprived of ministerial services ; and yet, by the judicious attention and exertions of some of their own number, who, without interfering with the ministerial * Journal of Convention, 1819, p 20. 488 MEMOIROf functions, kept the church open, by readmg prayers and a sermon, and extended their counsel and care to their brethren of the congregation, and particularly to the young, the spiritual interests of the Church have been preserved from serious injury. The church at Paris may be mentioned in confirma- tion of the same sentiment. That congregation was originally formed by Church people from the State of Connecticut ; and though, for between twenty and thirty years, enjoying only the occasional labors of the ministry, they have met every Sunday for worship ; and firm in their attachment to the distinguishing principles of the Church, they have not only remained in undi- minished numbers, but have sent forth a small band, who now compose the congregation at Smithfield, in Lenox. I have often visited them in their humble edifice, of the dimensions and appearance of a school- house, and witnessed and enjoyed the primitive order and devotion with which they offered their supplications and praises. I recently visited them, and enjoyed the same scene, under circumstances more inspiring, in the neat and commodious edifice which their pious liberality, humble as are comparatively their means, has erected.' * To these the author is tempted to add two other instances illustrative of the blessing that may attend the gift of a Prayer-book. It is not a little singular, that two of our living bishops were made Churchmen, in their youth, by such a present. The first is thus related by Bishop Doane. * Journal of Convention, 1819, pp. 21, 22. B I S II O P II 0 B A R T. 489 'A young man, a graduate of one of our Southern colleges, was elected to a tutorship. As tutor, it was his duty to conduct the morning devotions of the chapel. He was not then a religious man. As he himself told me, he did not know how to pray. It was a most irk- some, and it must he feared, an unprofitable task. A friend had compassion on him, and gave him a Prayer- book. It was the first that he had ever seen, and it rendered that easy, which before was difficult and un- satisfactory. I know not how long after this it was that he attached himself to the Episcopal Church. But I know that that young man is now the Bishop of Ten- nessee.' Of t];e second, the story will not be. deemed out of place, inasmuch, as the receiver of it afterward became to Bishop Hobart a son by marriage, and, as the present writer was the giver of it, he will tell it in his own words. Somewhere about the year 1810, while travel- ling through bad roads and new settlements, in one of the northern counties of the State of New-York, the carriage broke down, and the travellers took refuge, while it was repairing, in a small, but neat, neighboring farm-house. On quitting their temporary shelter, the author presented to the son of their hostess, a pleasing boy of some ten or twelve years of age, a Prayer-book he chanced to have with him, as some acknowledgment of the kindness with which they had. been received. 490 M E M O I R O F Years rolled on, and the trifling incident had long been forgotten by the giver, when he was one day courteously addressed, while travelling 4^J._.steamboat on the Hudson, by a young stu- dent of divinity from the Seminary. Upon the author's evincing tliat his new acquaintance was unknown to him, — ' Sir,' said the young man, ' you ought to know me, for it was you that made me a Churchman. The Prayer- book you gave me (he here recalled the cir- cumstance) made me what I am. My mother had been brought up in the Church, but our removal to the new settlements had long sepa- rated us from it ; that Prayer-book renewed her love for the Church and awakened mine.' Little more need be told. The course begun under such happy auspices, with God's bless- ing, went on and prospered, and that youth is now one of the firmest pillars of our American Church — the Right Rev. Bishop (Ives) of North-Carolina. In thus making use of his name and story, the author feels secure of his forgiveness on the score of the good cause it is brought to advance. The Bishop's address concludes with an earnest exhortation to ministers to preach the Church in connection with the Gospel. He is to preach the doctrines of the sinfulness and guilt of man, and of his salvation only through the merits B I S H OP H 0 B A RT. 491 and grace of a Divine Mediator ; for that is the cardinal duty of the Christian minister, without which his preaching would be but ' sounding brass and a tinkUng cymbal;' but then he is finther to preach communion with the mystical body of Christ, througli union with his visible Church. ' This may not, indeed, be the path which will con- duct him to that praise which cometh from men : they will often rank these distinguishing principles among the non-essentials of Christianity, the things of indiffer- ence which contracted and deluded bigots alone will inculcate or receive. It will not obtain for him the praise of that liberality which is the idol to which the world (for the world must always iiave an idol) is now rendering homage. But he can humbly trust that it will secure for him the approbation of that Master by whom he and the world are to be judged ; and support- ed by this confidence, he can rise superior to the plau- dits of the world, and to its scoffs and its persecutions. For he believes that in inculcating the distinguishing principles of his Church, in union Avith those great doctrines which are common to the body of professing Christians, he fulfils his momentous duty of " seeking for Christ's sheep that are dispersed abroad," and of bringing them into that "fold in which they will be saved through Christ for ever." Brethren of the Clergy, — the Christian minister who is emulous of the praise of men, need not covet, in the judgment of him who addresses you, a higher com- mendation than that which is bestowed on Bishop 49 } M E x\I O I R OF Horsley by the profound scholar and eminent prelate, who is now carrying the light of our apostolic Church to the regions of the East, Bishop Middleton — that he ran "' a glorious though unpopular career in an heretical and apostate age." But after all, to the Christian minister, how poor is the praise of men — wherein is it to be accounted of? " There is One that judgeth him, even the Lord." ' * In addition to his address to the Convention, Bishop Hobart again delivered a ' Charge ' to the clergy, being the third addressed to them ; this appeared in print immediately after, under the title of ' The Churchman ; his Principles stated and defended ; ' and is, unquestionably, one of the most eloquent he ever delivered. To Bishop Hobart this year was, in truth, a crisis, and he felt it to be so. His opposition to Bible Societies, as his views in relation to them had been falsely termed, had raised against him a perfect hue and cry, of 'bigotry' and 'illiberality.' Underthe dread of unpopularity, or led away by the current of excitement, some, among Churchmen, fell away from him ; man}^ stood aloof and were silent ; few gathered round him in full sympathy and confidence. It was such an emergency as throws a man upon his principles, and, it may be added, tries them too. He, therefore, came forth upon * Journal of Convention. 1819, p. 23. B I S H O P H O B A R T. 49S the subject with more than his usual fearless- ness, and the whole 'Charge' maybe safely commended to the reader as a most eloquent and triumphant defence of the unpopular course he had chosen. While others boasted of the times as being the ' age of liberality,' he exhibited it as the age of indifference, and pointed out how such result must necessarily follow whenever Christians extend to opinions that charity which, in its true sense, has reference only to men. ' Such a principle,' said he, * Churchmen cannot adopt, without treachery to the Church and to their JUaster.^ After an exposition of the ministry of th& Church, as connected with the Episcopal order, he goes on to add, in the lofty tone of one who feels that he fights against the multitude. ' These opinions may not now be popular. And yet they were popular ; they were the only principles recog- nised in those ages when Christian faith was most pure, Christian morals most holy, and the Christian Church most united. For the three first centuries the Chris- tian Church knew no other opinions. Opposition to them is of modern origin. The Christian fathers inculcate them in every page of their writings. We hold them, my fellow Churchman, with " the goodly company of the apostles," and with " the noble army of martyrs." Let not Papal advocates, asserting those claims of Papal supremacy, of which the primitive fa- thers uttered not a word, drive us from Episcopacy, tltc U u 494 MEMOIROF true principle of Church unity, into the usurped domains of the Bishop of Rome. Let not the clamors of our Protestant brethren, who are unfortunately destitute of the primitive bond of Church union in the order of bishops, intimidate us from avowing and acting on the principle which the Churchman in every age has avowed and acted upon ; and which one of the first bishops of the Christian Church, a disciple of an apostle, the venerable martyr Ignatius, lays down, " Let no man do any thing of what belongs to the Church without the bishop." ' * During the course of this year, (1819,) he was assisting at two consecrations ; the first was in the city of Philadelphia, February 11th, of the Rev. Philander Chase, D. D., for the newly-constituted Diocese of Ohio. The second was, on 27th October, in the city of New- Haven, of the Rev. Thomas C. Brownell, at the time an Assistant Minister of Trinity Church, New- York, for the vacant Diocese of Connecticut. By this act the duties of Bishop Hobart toward that Diocese were closed. In resigning to the Convention his temporary charge, which he did immediately after the act of consecration. Bishop Hobart alluded, in elo- quent and feeling terms, to the individual into whose hands, as their permanent Diocesan, bo was now to deliver it ; one who, as his presby- ter and immediate assistant, * had long enjoyed ♦ Charge to the Clergy, 181G, p. 29. BISHOP HOBA R T. 495 that confidence which his virtues and his talents merit,' and who, he adds, ' will now accept my earnest prayers that the blessing of that Divine Master who has this day received his vows, may attend him in that arduous sphere of duty upon which he now enters.' The Rev. Dr. Bronson then followed in be- half of the Convention, addressing their new Diocesan, and was answered by him as a Chris- tian must ever speak under a right sense of so great a spiritual responsibility as is involved in that office. This imposing and affecting scene closed by all uniting in that holy communion^ which is the choicest emblem of brotherly love, as well as channel of all Christian graces. In closing the notice of this temporary charge of Bishop Hobart's, the following incident may be mentioned as illustrative of his promptness and decision of purpose whenever principles were concerned, however painful the decision ; no wonder, too, that he should be so anxious on the score of the fitness of candidates for the ministry, when he found it so difficult to manage with unworthy members. ^Among the clergy of the Diocese of Connec- ticut, during its vacant Episcopate, was one,* whose orders having been obtained, from Bishop ♦ Ammi Rogers. 496 M E M O I R O P Provoost of New-York, through the means of forged, certificates, was subsequently revoked, and himself degraded, by an act, in the absence of diocesan authority, of the united House of Bishops. In defiance, however, of their jurisdic- tion, to which he was amenable, perhaps, rather by courtesy than canon, he continued to offi- ciate, and his congregation to sustain him in his contumacy. From a willingness, as the Bishop thought, to submit themselves to Epis- copal authority, but, as the event proved, to entrap him into some recognition of their irre- gular pastor, the Vestry addressed to Bishop Hobart a request that he would include their church in his annual visitation of the Diocese ; he promptly replied in the aflftrmative, but added, that it must be as a vacant church. He went accordingly, reaching it at the pre- scribed hour of service, but, on alighting from the carriage, at the church door, was re- ceived by the preacher himself in his sacer- dotal robes, surrounded by the leading persons of the congregation. The decision to which he found himself thus suddenly called, was a pain- ful as well as a critical one — legal rights he there had none — if he entered the church, he placed himself within the power of its unworthy occupant — to withhold the services he came to give seemed to be unchristian — to proceed with BISHOP HOBART. 407 them was to sanction hi^h disorder. His choice was quickly made — he returned to his carriage- It was a mark of condemnation which went beyond admonition. Some, indeed, cried out ftorainst it as harsh and unchristian, but it awakened the majority- to a better judgment; and they soon after dismissed their irregular and undeserving minister. It is due to the Bishop's memory, as well as to the feelings with w^iich his name is still cherished in the Diocese, to record the acknow- ledgment then made of his services in it. TO BISHOP HOBART. ' Right Rev. and dear Sir, We have the honor to tender you the thanks of the Convention of the Protestant Episcopal Church in the Diocese of Connecticut, for those temporary services which are this day terminated by the consecration of the Rev. Dr. Brownell to the Episcopate of this Diocese. In performing this duty you will permit us to express the high sense entertained by the Convention, by our- selves, and by the Church generally, of the distinguished benefits which have resulted from your provisional con- nection with the Diocese. When we reflect on the sacri- fices which you made, and the labors which you incur- red, in adding the care of the Church in this State to the arduous duties which devolved on you, in the large and extensive Diocese of New- York ; when we consider that the sacrifice was made, and these labors undertaken, without any view to pecuniary compensation ; and when 498 MEMOIR OF we call to mind the eminent services which you have rendered, the new impulse which your visitations have given to our zeal, and the general success which has attended the exercise of your Episcopal functions, we feel bound to offer to the great Head of the Church and supreme Disposer of all things, our sincere and heartfelt acknowledgment of the distinguished blessings which he has been pleased to confer upon us, through the me- dium of your services. We shall ever cherish a grate- ful recollection of these services. And although we are no longer connected by official ties, we indulge a hope that there may be no diminution of the friendship and affection which have grown out of your occasional visitations among us. Accept, Right Rev. and dear Sir, from ourselves per- sonally, and from the body in whose behalf we address you, the assurances of our highest respect ; and permit us to add, that it is with sentiments of the most cordial esteem, that we bid you an affectionate farewell. Harry Croswell, Nathan Smith, S. W. Johnson.' "With this record the author must terminate, for the present, at least, the * Professional Years' of Bishop Hobart. Though not all, they com- prehend, certainly, the most active and ener- getic, because the most healthful portion of them. Within a short period after the date at which they here close, symptoms of a failing constitution began to appear in him, which BISHOP HOBART. 49D resulted, after a time, in such severe and repeated attacks of disease as to render neces- sary, not only a voyage to Europe, but a long sojourn there, as the only chance of restoration to health. Four years of renewed official energy followed his return ; but it was the energy of the sword wearing out its scabbard, or, to use language more just and appropriate to the Chris- tian, it was the energy of a soul that labored the more earnestly in proportion as it felt that its days of labor were numbered. One touching speech of his, illustrative of this feeling, the author cannot but here anticipate. Oh parting from his home, on that visitation from which he did not live to return, in answer to the anxious and oft expressed fears of his wife, that he was * doing too much,' his simple and touching reply was, ' How can I do too much for that compassionate Saviour who has done so much for me ? ' Whether the narrative of those ' Closing Years ' shall be added to the present, depends on the estimate that may be made by the author of the good to be effected by its publication, and that again must be predicated upon the reception of the present volume. It has grown to a bulk far beyond the author's original intention, and, doubtless, labors under many defects both of matter and arrangement which more leisure 500 MEMOIR OF BISHOP HOBART. might have enabled him to amend. Such as it is, however, he puts it forth, in the humble trust that it may subserve, in some small degree, that good cause to which the life it commemorates was so wholly devoted. But he has a further hope, though one of minor importance, — it is, that it may prove to others, in its perusal, what it has been to him in preparing it, no unwelcome labor, or, at any rate, labor made light and pro- fitable by the nearer contemplation it affords of the generous heart, and warm affections, and ardent piety, and intrepid faithfulness, of such a man and Christian as John Henry Hobar't. THE END. Date Due IN U. S. A. ^ffiiiim.te.'f?,^'"' Seminary Librari 1 1012 01235 4447 es *l^^