i7\rjLi ■ . f.S tJM Class B Jaii Book. ,,'Q CO P^ CO 5 o I O m My Waterbury Pastorate church. Theophilus R. Hyde, Jr., was still another of the young men prominent among us in 1881, a man of somewhat unusual intelligence who used his gifts for the uplift of humanity. He became deacon in 1901, and died Dec. 14, 1907. Burton Gr. Bryan was for many years the efficient treasurer of the church, and helpful to it in many ways. He died in 1911. Lewis J. Atwood, one of our city's prominent manufacturers, a man of great business ability, who had come into the church during Dr. Beckwith's pastorate, was one of its efficient members in 1881. Although exceedingly devoted to the man who received him into the church, he gave a somewhat hesitating hand of wel- come to his successor. But as time went on that hand became warmer and gave a closer grasp. I came to lean upon him as a wise and gracious friend. In 1892 he was elected deacon and served for seventeen years, dying in 1909, eight days before Dr. Beckwith passed away among the Sandwich Islands. I used to wonder as to their meeting! Dr. Gideon L. Piatt, physician in Waterbury for fifty-three years, always sat directly in front of me on Sunday 103 Experiences and Observations morning, a very intelligent and attentive listener. He was a courteous gentleman who soon won my sincere respect and regard. He told interesting things re- garding the earlier history of our city with which he was so familiar. It was he who called that section of it over the Naugatuck, "Brooklyn," a title that it still retains. He was wont to visit his patients there before a bridge was built, fording the river. I was with him when he died, and at his funeral spoke of him as the "Beloved Physician." George E. Terry, conspicuous among us as a shrewd and reliable attorney, had come into the church in 1865, and in his quiet, unobtrusive way had added to its strength and usefulness. He received the new pastor most cordially, and I some- how felt that I had long known him, so brotherly was he and helpful. He proved himself a true friend, always ready to assist, in any way that he could, either the pastor or the church. For profes- sional services I was greatly indebted to him. He still lives, with undiminished cordiality greeting us whenever in Waterbury. The South claims him in winter and the North in summer. William B. Brooks impressed me with 104 My Waterbury Pastorate his kindness when I was a newcomer. His home, down on Liberty Street, graced with the presence of his saintly mother and others of his family, was a most attractive spot, where I felt myself at home. He yet remains with us and has always been eager to serve his friends. I remember that he said, when the new parsonage was building, "I can't afford myself to look through plate glass, but I want my pastor to." They came to us in 1868 by letter from Cheshire. Frank E. Benham was one of the most devoted and helpful of my friends when I came to Waterbury. He and his team were always at my service when I de- sired to go to an adjoining town to preach or to any of the outlying dis- tricts of our own city. Hundreds, and possibly thousands, of miles I have driven with him, and found him always a delightful companion, honest, earnest, spiritually-minded. He has for years been one of my candidates for deacon but has steadfastly refused to accept the dignity. Albert J. Blakesley, organist of the church for thirty-five years, was prom- inent in it in 1881, and for many years afterward. He resigned his position in 105 Experiences and Observations 1909, to the regret of a multitude of people who had been uplifted and in- spired by his music. On how many a Sunday in the old church and the new he brought something heavenly into the service! And on how many occasions of joy and of sorrow the organ, responsive to his touch, gave the note of gladness or of grief! Into his busy life there must float from the realms of memory many a sweet and soothing strain. John and William Leggett, loyal and sturdy members of the church, with their Scotch firmness and thoughtfulness, warm-hearted and earnest, gave me the brotherly right hand as I came and con- tinued their helpfulness as the years moved on. John became deacon in 1895 and, to our great sorrow, died March 23, 1916. His brother William is still with us, active and earnest as ever. Lenthal S. Davis was very prominent in all our social religious gatherings. He had served as superintendent of the Sunday School for ten years and was greatly interested in its welfare. For years he conducted the service at Oak- ville, to the great satisfaction of the peo- ple. His favorite theme in the prayer meeting was the Holy Spirit, with whose 106 My Waterbury Pastorate methods of working he seemed very familiar. He sometimes thought that we failed duly to honor Him. In the year 1882 he was elected a deacon of the church and died in 1884. Earl A. Smith was in those early years an active member of our church. He was a man of unusual intellectual strength, and his remarks in the prayer meeting were always of weight. He was greatly in- terested in city affairs and held various offices under its government. In 1890 he and his family took letters to the First Church of Waterbury. George Tompkins was another man of very vigorous mind, frequently heard in the prayer meeting, where he and Brother E. A. Smith were quite likely to get into an argument over some disputed point in belief or practice. He was strongly in favor of the evangelistic method in carrying forward the work of a church, and did not take kindly to the pastor's ideas upon that subject. He died in 1888. Henry L. Wade was a quiet man of clear discernment and excellent judg- ment, who made himself very useful in the society, as he did in various char- itable organizations in the city. Very 107 Experiences and Observations unassuming, he yet possessed great exec- utive ability and accomplished much good. He died, greatly mourned, in 1912. Many others pass before my mind as I think of those early days of the Water- bury pastorate. If there were time and strength it would be a pleasure to de- scribe them every one. As it is, one can do scarcely more than mention some of their names. All of them, either directly or by implication, pledged their friend- ship and support to the new pastor, David L. Durand, who left us for Derby and then removed to Los Angeles, where he lived a very useful life; Clark M. Piatt, large in person and mind; his genial son-in-law, Jay H. Hart; Gilman C. Hill, son-in-law of Charles Benedict, whom I had met before coming to Water- bury; Henry W. Scovill, living in his colonial home where the Elton now stands, a warm-hearted, devoted member of the church; Sturges M. Judd, venera- ble and beloved, useful in the city and the church; Henry Kirk, a genial Scotch- man who was early called from earth ; Ed- ward T. Turner, prominent in the politics of the town and the state ; Edson A. Judd, a worthy brother who has just left us; John Henderson, Jr., in whose fertile mind 108 My Waterbury Pastorate originated the idea of a Third Church; Irving H. Coe, one of the sweet singers of Israel; William A. Morris, always in his place Sunday morning, although un- able to hear the service; Dr. C. S. Bod- man, another son-in-law of Charles Benedict; George Barnes, witty and wise; Frederick Wilcox, admirable in person and manner; Walter C. Palmer, the thoughtful sexton; Daniel F. Web- ster, a lawyer, worthy of his great name, becoming mayor of the city; Francis Kane^ a sturdy Calvinist and a faithful friend; Emerson M. Hotchkiss, genial and generous; George B. Baldwin, a suc- cessful business man and a charming companion; Berkeley S. Hotchkiss, blunt in speech but affectionate; Philo B. Nor- ton, a man of few words and many good deeds; John H. Abbott, considerate and kind; Casimir H. Bronson, sane and far- seeing; William B. Judd, gentle and strong; Henry Frisbie, a man of country ways and city enterprise; Albert S. Upson, sweet-spirited and interesting in conversation; Dudley H. Abbott, helpful in choir and social service; Merritt Piatt, sturdy and devoted; Charles H. Fogg, with me in both pastorates; Jared F. Baldwin, kindly and faithful; William M. 109 Experiences and Observations Cottle, fraternal in spirit and association; D. L. Dickinson, diligent in business while fervent in spirit; Jesse M. Hall, broad- minded and brotherly; others, perhaps equally prominent, but who do not occur to me as I write. And there were women, very many of them, of Christlike spirit, of discerning mind and executive ability, ever ready to do their part; their companionship en- livening, their Christian faith and hope- fulness contagious, their gracious com- mendation inspiring to more earnest endeavor. The organizations of the church in which they had a part were always busy and productive, and the social occasions dependent upon their efforts were invariably a success. To write of all these would be a joy which the writer cannot allow himself, but their faces and names, their words and works, the spirit they manifested and the beauty of Christian character that they exhib- ited brighten with unfading splendor those far-off years. I can but think that the church was peculiarly rich in inter- esting and worthy personalities, repre- senting various grades of society, differ- ently endowed, but all Christian and competent and helpful so far as the no My Waterbury Pastorate church and its requirements were con- cerned. Personally I owe them all a debt of gratitude that can never be fully paid. But I do most deeply appreciate all that they were to me. With very many of them I have gone down to the brink of the river that rolls between this and the land unseen, and with tear- choked voice have bidden them farewell. It cannot be that with all their wealth of intellectual and spiritual worth, they have passed out of being. Somewhere in the Father's great realm they are doubt- less serving Him and His. How sweet must be their fellowship "over there." In 1887, with the consent of the officers of the church, in company with my brother-in-law, Mr. Clarence L. West- cott of New York, I had the pleasure of making a brief trip to Europe. After a pleasant voyage on the Servia, of the Cunard line, we landed at Liverpool and went down to Leamington in Warwick- shire, and making that our base of sup- plies, visited the towns round about. At Coventry, the home of my ancestors, I laid my hand reverently upon the stone font from which John Davenport, after- ward the first minister of New Haven, was baptized in 1597. It was a thrilling ill Experiences and Observations experience to stand there and think of the progress that the world had made in three hundred years. We went to Warwick, and in its wonderful castle saw the accumulations of centuries, relics of earls, knights, dukes, monarchs, chivalry, beauty and all that is grand in English history. Kenilworth, with its grim ruins, illumined forever by the genius of Sir Walter Scott t received us within its ivy- covered walls; a weird, haunted spot, from which we were glad to escape. Stratford, beautiful old Stratford, charmed us with its associations. We stood in the room where the glorious poet was born and refused to record our names with the thousands there written, largely because there was no space re- maining vacant. Sir Walter Scott's we saw, penned with a diamond upon a window pane. Then we visited the Church of the Holy Trinity, the burial place of the immortal poet, and read the quaint words that have prevented any encroachment upon the sacredness of his grave. If some one were brave enough to risk the " curse," and open the tomb, it is possible that light upon certain dis- puted questions might be obtained. At the Red Lion Inn we were shown cer- 112 My Waterbury Pastorate tain matters associated with Washington Irving, our own countryman, who there lingered for a time and wrote his account of Stratford. "We gazed with reverence upon the poker with which he was wont to care for the fire in his room, an im- plement as carefully kept and guarded as if made of gold. The bust upon Shakespeare's tomb does not strikingly resemble the pictures of him with which we are familiar. His face has apparently been idealized as the years have gone on. We went to Oxford and walked rever- ently beneath its overshadowing trees and into the halls of Christchurch and were thrilled with the memory of the great and good who had there lived and studied and toiled. It is a great place to have one's bump of veneration rapidly developed. London, busy, bust- ling London, detained me for three weeks, my companion contenting him- self with two. Our first resort was to Westminster Abbey where we reveled in the great associations of the place, gazing awestruck upon the tombs of British monarchs, and with even deeper emotion upon the mementos of authors and scientists whose names had been 113 Experiences and Observations familiar to us all our lives. Many parts of the great city we visited, and came to understand in some measure what an amazing metropolis it is. We went to Windsor and passed through the abode of kings and became somewhat familiar with the splendors of- royalty. At length we made the trip to Paris, crossing the English Channel when it was upset from end to end and seemed to take a grim delight in upsetting us. But Paris was beautiful, and we rejoiced in its glories for a week, visiting its great cathedrals, the tomb of Napoleon, the Grand Opera House, etc. We also went down to Versailles and admired the vast display of expended money that was torn from the oppressed people. Very real to us there seemed some of the scenes of the French Revolution. Re- turning to England, my brother was obliged to leave me. I recall the loneli- ness that oppressed me as he departed, and I felt myself almost without an ac- quaintance on the eastern continent. But after a little I went up to Edinburgh and spent a week there, making a tour through the beautiful lakes and visiting Sir Walter Scott's home and Roslyn Chapel and whatever in that region is of 114 My Waterbury Pastorate historic or aesthetic interest. Thence on to Glasgow and Paisley and then Liver- pool and home. Only about two months were occupied in the entire journey, but it had afforded me a glimpse of a new world. I could understand the meaning of a lady who, returning from a Eu- ropean trip, said to me, "I don't see what this country was ever settled for." She had found entire satisfaction of mind and heart on the other side of the Atlantic. But it was delightful to be again at home and at work amid familiar scenes. A large church reception was held on the evening of my arrival, and I was im- pressed anew with the kindness of my people. A new attractiveness manifested itself in familiar toils. On many Sunday evenings thereafter I detailed the scenes and experiences of my trip, taking pains not to say too often, "When I was in Europe," after the manner of some travelers. Two years later, in 1889, a facial pa- ralysis twisted my usually fair coun- tenance out of shape, and in 1891 my head, never very strong, gave out, and between the two I was absent from Waterbury for some months. But the 115 Experiences and Observations kindness and generosity of the people failed not. It was once said to me t>y a member of another church, " There is only one thing lacking in our pastor; he never had a sorrow." That could not be said of me. My life in Waterbury has been singularly full of bereavement, not only of the many friends that have gone but of the kindred nearest and dearest to me on earth. In 1883 while I was preaching on "Barnabas the son of consolation,' ' in the old church, my mother died down by the sea. The following year my sis- ter's husband, who had been my guardian, passed away. His wife followed in 1890, and my other sister and her husband in 1895. When the Spanish-American War be- gan in April, 1898, our only and well- beloved son was eager to have a part in it. A regiment of engineers was or- ganized in New York and he promised to go with it as a lieutenant in one of the companies. But when he came home and told us of it, I persuaded him not to go and thus save his invalid mother the anxiety that would inevitably be hers if he should become a soldier. And so he seemed to abandon the idea. At home 116 My Waterbury Pastorate over the Fourth of July, he made no al- lusion to the matter. But near the last of that month he telephoned me from New York, saying that his regiment had not gone and asking if we eared then if he should go with it, since the war was so early ended. He said that he needed a rest and change and this would give him both. The historical bearings of the war were to be so great that he longed to have a part in it. I told him that if he felt so about it, we would not stand in his way. And so he went to the camp at Peeks- kill, and within a week or two, without coming home, sailed for Porto Eico with General Miles. All seemed to go well with him, except that now and then he complained of the food and of the weather, which was alternately a deluge and a sunburst, since it was the rainy season when everything was flooded, al- though the climate was exceedingly hot. We heard from him at brief intervals and he was always bright and cheerful, char- acteristically so. But on the twenty- fourth of October a message came by cable: "Davenport suddenly develops serious typhoid. Have you any direc- tions to give?" The answer flew back 117 Experiences and Observations under the sea, "No, only that everything possible be done for him." Immediately came the reply, "Everything possible is being done: medical equipment com- plete." But October 26, two days later, another message threaded the Atlantic: "Davenport died this noon; will send body by first transport." Of the three weeks' waiting before the lifeless form came back, of the sad meeting of it down by the statue of "Liberty Enlightening the World," of the heart-breaking home- coming and the great funeral in the church, I cannot speak. Our boy had gone, and although friends were unspeak- ably kind, and our house was a bower of bloom for weeks and the lilies and roses hung upon our door from October 27 to November 15, and everything was done that loving hearts could devise to com- fort us, the crushing fact remained. The head that I had pillowed upon my heart was laid low, and the bright young spirit, so full of ambition and aspiration, had flown. The world seemed very empty and dreaiy, but I said that I must show my people how to bear affliction, and so I tried to be patient and sunny as he would have had me be. With him my family 118 My Waterbury Pastorate name would die out from the earth, as he was the only one of my father's de- scendants to perpetuate it. His going left a vacancy in the heart of my wife and myself that could never be filled. His mother had a very vivid dream of meeting him upon the shore of a sea and sailing with him to the Isles of the Blessed, and the comfort it gave her for many weeks was very perceptible. She lived for thirteen years after he had gone, unable to walk, bearing pain the most of the time, but as a rule cheerful and submissive. And then, November 6, 1911, she followed the dear boy into the un- seen, and greater desolation was left to me. And yet, she had suffered so long that it seemed almost wrong to grieve over her release. I think of them to- gether, learning the heights and depths of joy to be found in that immortality of love which, as we believe, lies beyond these earthly woes. Will they welcome me at length? Is it not true that the years in Waterbury have been years of bereavement and of tears? As I glance back over the thirty-five years in Waterbury, there are several points that stand forth with peculiar brightness. One of these was the cele- 119 Experiences and Observations bration of the pastor's fiftieth birthday anniversary. The affair was largely a surprise, gotten up by our assistant, Mr. Frank C. Baker, who was ably aided by many gentlemen and ladies of the church. The audience room was filled with the people of our own parish, and various others, among them several from the Park Street Church in Bridgeport. Mr. L. J. Atwood presided. A fine address was given by the Hon. S. W. Kellogg, and interesting remarks were made by Deacon A. L. Winton, Deacon F. W. Storrs and John S. Wooster of the Park City. Of course the pastor was obliged to respond, but being taken unawares failed to distinguish himself by any dis- play of oratory. A book containing the names of over a thousand of his people was presented to him, a treasure that is carefully cherished. Its very flattering introduction is as follows: To the Rev. John G. Davenport, our Beloved Pastor " Your people with one accord and with hearts full of love towards you, desire to express their cordial congratu- lations on the arrival of your fiftieth birthday. They know how much you love them, for it is manifest in every hour of your daily walk and your daily work among them, in the service of the Divine Master. They cannot let this day pass without attesting their love for you and their appreciation of your good work among them, during the years you have been with them, in the Second Congre- gational Church of Waterbury, Connecticut. 120 My Waterbury Pastorate "They greet you on this auspicious occasion with a brother's and a sister's love, and their hearts leap forth to meet you with blessings and fervent prayers that many returns of this happy day may find you in health and unabated vigor in your work among them. Waterbury, November &£, 1890." In the book are many autographs of dear friends now gone from us. In addi- tion to this a generous gift in gold and silver was presented, some of it from Park Street friends. Refreshments were served to the large number gathered, there was music and the occasion was one of great social freedom and interest. The congregation was brought together in a happy way, and the pastor was will- ing to be fifty years old if the fact could bring such a demonstration of affection for him and of the mutual regard of all present. Mrs. Davenport, who was un- able to attend, was visited by a delega- tion of ladies, including Mrs. A. S. Chase, who carried to her a beautiful cut glass rose bowl containing fifty speci- mens of the " queen of flowers." The roses filled our home with fragrance and the heart of their recipient with grati- tude and gladness. The bowl is kept as a choice possession, linking us and her with that rare evening of the long ago. 121 Experiences and Observations A few words of Mr. Kellogg 's address may be quoted: "Two weeks ago yesterday was the anniversary of your installation as pas- tor of this church. You had been with us only nine years; and the wonderful growth of this church during this brief period abundantly testifies to your faith- ful and earnest work in the Master's ser- vice. All this growth has come by the blessing of God, without which all the labor of man is fruitless. You told us in beautiful language in your sermon that morning, that when you came among us you were in the old age of youth, but now you are in the youth of old age. Some of us can realize the force of that sentiment better than you. Some of us have left the old age of youth much far- ther behind in the course of life than you. We trust that your sun is still high in the meridian. We trust it is only Au- gust with you. We trust that the full fruitage of your labors and the crowning glories of a golden and abundant harvest in the Master's vineyard are yet to come. But the youth of old age, may it be yours through life. There should always be the growth of old age until mind and body are both worn out. We live again 122 My Waterbury Pastorate in our children and grandchildren, and the older we grow the broader and ten- derer should be our sympathies. Shake- speare has drawn a beautiful picture of old age, with ' honor, love, obedience, troops of friends' attending it. Until the infirmities of advancing years break up all sources of enjoyment, there should always be youth in old age. Your people deeply regret that the partner of your joys and sorrows cannot be here to share the pleasures of this evening with you, owing to her long continued illness, and their congratulations to you this evening are tempered and softened with a sincere sympathy for her sufferings. Bear this bowl of roses to her with their tender expressions of sympathy, and their prayers for her speedy restoration to health. May it be filled and bloom with roses for her and her household for long years to come. For you and for her there is another little surprise. Your people beg you to accept as a slight token of their love and esteem this plate of gold. Though it is gold it is not to be hidden and hoarded away in a nap- kin, but is to spend and be spent in whatever may best conduce to her health and comfort and yours. Though 123 Experiences and Observations it is fine gold, it is not as pure or precious as the love you bear this people, and the love they bear to you." Another occasion of special interest was the celebration of the pastor's com- pletion of twenty-five years in Water- bury, September" 16 and 17, 1906. The arrangements were mostly made without his knowledge, and were admirably car- ried out by the junior pastor, Rev. H. DeW. Williams, and other members of the church and congregation. On Sun- day morning, the sixteenth, the sanctuary was beautiful with flowers and throbbing with sweetest music. The pastor gave a simple review of the quarter of a cen- tury, using the text, "Blessed be Jehovah for He hath showed me His marvelous loving kindness in a strong city." He referred to the changes about the Green that had taken place as typical of the growth and progress of the city, and spoke of the building of the new sanctu- ary as the most important outward event in the life of the church during the period under consideration. In the Sun- day School kindly words were spoken by Mr. Williams and others to which the pastor responded. Sunday evening all the Congregational 124 My Waterbury Pastorate churches of the city united in our ser- vices, their pastors assisting. Rev. Sherrod Soule of Naugatuck read a beau- tifully written paper, in which he be- stowed more praise upon the minister than he could possibly have deserved. Brief addresses were made by Dr. Dins- more, Rev. W. H. Phipps, Dr. Franklin Carter, Dr. A. P. Foster and Mr. Wil- liams, who presided. A brotherly letter from Dr. Anderson was read. The pas- tor made a few closing remarks and offered prayer. He said that he knew no such man as the brethren had been de- scribing, but took it that they were think- ing of the ideal to which each of them aspired and so told us whatt it was. On Monday evening a reception was given by the pastor and his wife in the church parlors which was attended by many hundreds of people from our own and other parishes. Mr. "Williams in a very happy manner presided and introduced the various ministerial brethren who spoke to us, viz., Rev. John N. Lewis of St. John's Church, Rev. F. D. Buckley of Trinity, Rev. F. D. Walter of the First Methodist, and Rev. W. J. Slocum of the Church of the Immaculate Concep- tion, all of whom charmed us with their 125 Experiences and Observations wise and witty and gracious words. Dr. Haywood of the First Baptist Church sent an interesting letter. A fine "loving cup," filled with gold and silver and apparently overflowing with the kindness of the people was pre- sented, three little girls placing it in the pastor's hands. He tried to express his appreciation of all the kindness shown and his profound gratitude for it, but could not do it very effectively because of the emotion that choked his speech. Refreshments were served, and the occa- sion proved to be socially delightful. It was the silver wedding of church and pastor, gratifying to the latter in very many respects. It was good to know that the long flight of years had seem- ingly had no power to destroy the peo- ple's confidence and affection; 1906 spoke back to 1890, and the language of the former was apparently in entire har- mony with that of the latter, although the setting and the personnel of the two occasions were so different. The pres- ence of Dr. A. P. Foster, whom Mr. Wil- liams had invited, was very gratifying. His address on Sunday evening was re- freshing, especially when he said that he wished to assure the people that their 126 My Waterbury Pastorate pastor was not quite perfect. His words broke the monotony of eulogy which had become excessive and embarrassing. The next time we met was at his wife's funeral, four months later. And four months later still, in June, 1907, I had the melancholy task of attending his funeral. In the year 1873, while pastor in Bridgeport, there came to me a call to the pastorate of the First Church of Danbury. The field was a very attrac- tive one, but the growing church in Bridgeport seemed to need me and I felt obliged to decline the call. Deacon Win- ton showed so much emotion at the thought of my going, that had there been no other reason I had no heart to leave. I think it was in 1874 that I was invited to become pastor of the North Pres- byterian Church in Binghamton, N. Y. Then in January, 1895, a telegram came across the continent asking if I would accept a unanimous call to the First Church of Pasadena, California. The church had a membership of about three hundred and was in a very flourishing condition. The climate was very attrac- tive to my invalid wife and seemed to offer a great incentive for a removal to 127 Experiences and Observations the Pacific coast. Yet there were appar- ently greater reasons for remaining in Waterbury. And so I replied in part as follows : "I deeply appreciate the kindness of your people in being willing to accept a man as their pastor without seeing him or hearing his voice. On some accounts I should be glad to go and dwell among you, and in your comparatively new country help lay the foundations of Church and State, and have some share, however slight, in molding the senti- ment that shall mean purity and prosper- ity to your beautiful commonwealth in all the coming time. "But after carefully and prayerfully considering the matter, I am convinced that for the present it is my duty to re- main in Waterbury. Providentially, as it would seem, I have here come into a work of such dimensions and importance that I dare not leave it without clearer indications that such is the divine will. Our church now numbers nearly 1,000 members and holds a prominent place among the moral and religious forces of the city. It is building an expensive sanctuary, of which it has not yet taken possession. Great opportunities are 128 My Waterbury Pastorate open before it and great responsibilities rest upon it. Dear as it has become to me after my more than thirteen years of participation in its aspirations and hopes, I cannot feel that it would be right for me to leave it at this most in- teresting point in its history. A few of its officers with whom I have con- versed regarding the matter express the opinion that for me to do so would be prejudicial to its interests. "Personally I may say that I some- what doubt my adaptation to a field so different from any with which I am familiar. Born in Connecticut, I have had two pastorates of thirteen years each, both within thirty-five miles of my birthplace. Accustomed only to New England methods, I might not prove sat- isfactory to a church upon the Pacific coast. Certainly it would require years for me to secure the influence for good which seems now to have been placed in my hands. Considering the whole mat- ter impartially, believing that the pos- sible benefit to the health of my family that the change might give is yet prob- lematical, I have concluded that I cannot accept your invitation. ' ' Possibly it would have been wise had 129 Experiences and Observations, we gone, but at that time I could not see the way clear to do it. My wife was somewhat inclined to make the change, yet I had said and done so much regard- ing the new church that it seemed im- possible for me to leave it just before its completion. Perhaps it would have been best for me to resign my pastorate after the conclusion of the quarter of a cen- tury, but those to whom I spoke regard- ing it said, "No, we don't want you to go. You must stay and celebrate your fiftieth anniversary !" As I was in very fair condition of body and mind and knew no special reason why the sacred ties that bound us should be ruptured, I concluded that if possible I would complete thirty years in the Waterbury pastorate. This, my desire and inten- tion, I made known to the officers of the church. As the years hurried on and the ap- pointed time came near, a committee of church and society looked about for the man to fill the place, and located him after a little in one of the churches of New Haven. For six months he came as Associate Pastor, and then on the thirtieth anniversary of my coming hither assumed the full pastorate, while 130 My Waterbury Pastorate I became Pastor Emeritus. Of course it is a trying experience for a man to feel that practically his life work is done, and that he must give over to the care of another interests that have been to him most dear. But I determined to face the inevitable in a calm and cour- ageous spirit, and the action of the soci- ety in making abundant provision for my welfare filled my heart with so much gratitude that it was easy to comply with its requirements. I suspect that very few pastors have been treated with the kindness and generosity, the indulgence and the affection that have been so freely accorded me. "Not more than others I deserve," in fact, not so much as many others, but it has been my happy lot to fall in with church officials and with parishes of rare consideration and ap- preciation. How I wish that I might have been worthier of all the favor received ! Upon leaving the parsonage which for fifteen years had been our "sweet home," we obtained a residence on Chestnut Avenue, one block away from the trolley cars and yet convenient to the business section of the city. On a shaded street, in a delightful neighborhood, quiet and 131 Experiences and Observations comfortable, it was a location admirably- fitted to furnish my invalid the peace and refreshing atmosphere that she required. In view of past experiences and of hopes for the future we christened our home, "Twilight Rest." But the dear invalid remained in it but for forty days, when she left me for another habitation, "even an heavenly." Among her last words were those of Whittier, " And so, beside the silent sea I wait the muffled oar, No harm from Him can come to me," and there her memory failed. Upon her memorial stone in our beautiful River- side, one reads today that second line, 11 I wait the muffled oar." During the thirty years of my pastor- ate it was a joy to me to see the church not only continually increasing in num- bers, but united, progressive, strong, sympathetic, patriotic, taking a foremost part in all the humanitarian and benevo- lent work of the city, and furnishing generous gifts for the establishment of Christ's kingdom in this and other lands. Its relations with the other churches of the city, of all denominations, were most cordial and fraternal. On the evening 132 My Waterbury Pastorate after the dedication of the church, while many pastors of the city churches were upon the platform, the minister said: " What we contend for most of all is liberty of judgment and of conscience, that for which our fathers struggled and which has come to us as a priceless heritage. The same liberty that we claim for ourselves we must accord to others. We know that our brethren are just as competent as we to interpret Christianity and to learn the mind of the Spirit. We look at these matters through glasses differently colored. We differ in tem- perament, in education, in heritage and various other things. God in His crea- tion of us made us to differ. I believe that he loves variety. We see this among the flowers, one rose red, the other white ; among the gems, the stars that differ in glory and among all things in nature. Some of us like a good deal of authority — especially when we exercise it; some little— especially when we are the objects. Some prefer much form and ceremony; others little. Brother Elsdon might not like this font; I am satisfied with it. He would prefer that the space under the pulpit be a little more capacious; I have respect for his opinion. I suppose 133 Experiences and Observations Brother Pike [the Adventist pastor] thinks it foolish to build such a sub- stantial house. He believes that God is soon coming to take the people away. We don't expect Him so soon, although we should be glad to see Him. Dr. Row- land prefers the prayers perfumed with the faith and devotion of the ancient saints. We, on the whole, like the simple, spontaneous utterance of the heart. Our greatest desire is not to build up this Second Congregational Church, but through it to build up the Kingdom of (rod. We wish to bring all the privileges and advantages afforded by this new sanctuary and devote them to the furtherance of righteousness, peace and joy in this growing community. We wish to work with you, beloved, for the crushing out of all evil and the promo- tion of all good. We right willingly pledge our hearts and hands for the furtherance of all Christian work in this city." Figures, if they "do not lie," are by no means always conclusive, but some- times they afford a hint as to what has claimed one's time and strength, and of what one has been laboring to accom- plish. It afforded me great satisfaction 134 My Waterbury Pastorate to receive into the Waterbury church 1,590 persons. Its membership, Sept. 17, 1881, was 558. Sept. 17, 1911, it was 1,147, having more than doubled. I baptized 342 adults and 841 children, a total of 1,183. I have united in mar- riage 1,149 couples, and officiated at 1,350 funerals. Two hundred and seventy- eight funerals in Bridgeport make the sad total, 1,628. One hundred and fifty- six marriages in Bridgeport make the glad total 1,305. In Bridgeport 558 came into the church, the same number that were in the Waterbury church when I came, making 2,148 whom I have had the honor of receiving into church fellowship. 135 SOME GENERAL OBSERVATIONS After nearly a half century in the ministry, I can look back and perceive in a measure the motive and method that have characterized it, and that have shaped and tinted my life. As to my theological attitude, I may say that I have never had time to be a theologian, although I have had and still have some- what positive convictions. Brought up under strong Calvinistic influences, I was early fed upon the strong meat of divine decrees and the dried beef of the other points of the Genevan theology. The Calvinistic sys- tem seemed to me in my youth as well- jointed and complete as any piece of medieval armor. As a boy I sometimes argued for its beauty and reasonableness to my own entire satisfaction. But under the influence of Dr. Hopkins in his "Law of Love and Love as a Law," I began to take a somewhat different view of the premises of ultra- Calvinism and thus to question some of its conclusions. Yet 137 Experiences and Observations for many years, even until after I came to Waterbury, I was fairly well satisfied with substantially the current theology of fifty years ago. My first sermon had been upon God's love as inspiring ours, "We love Him because He first loved us," and my second upon God's sov- ereignty as underlying human activity, Acts xxvii : 22, 31. However, from my study of the Bible and of humanity I began at length to be conscious that many of the old views failed to appeal to me as they once did. From God in His governmental to God in His personal, fatherly relations my mind gradually drifted, thus giving me a different standpoint from which to judge the doctrines and causing me to see them at a different angle. My growing per- ception of the wondrous love of God caused me to cherish the "larger hope" regarding the destiny of mankind, the hope, not dogma, that "somehow good will be the future goal of ill," while not pretending to know how this could come about. It seemed to me that Christ meant something important when he represented the Shepherd as seeking the lost sheep "until he find it." That God's "mercy endureth forever" I could never 138 Some General Observations doubt. When the later views of the con- stitution of the Bible became public I was somewhat prejudiced against them, but believing that intellectual honesty- demanded candid investigation of all alleged truth, I carefully examined them and was forced to believe that much that devout scholarship has presented is un- doubtedly true. The books of Dr. Bushnell and Dr. Washington Gladden were of great help to me. I never, however, found occasion to dwell in the pulpit upon that which might upset any one's faith in the in- spired writings, at the same time that the newer conceptions underlay and col- ored my thought. To my mind the dis- covery of the human elements in the Bible but brings into clearer relief the superhuman character of Jesus of Naza- reth. Many say that after he was gone he was idealized by his disciples, but their opinion of him could by no means account for the immense influence which he has exerted upon every department of human existence, for the revolutionary power with which he has touched count- less individuals and nations. I do not believe that the consciousness of the Christian centuries and of millions of 139 Experiences and Observations human hearts as to the personality and presence and might of the living Christ is to be set aside as unworthy the accep- tance of this enlightened age. I believe that in the Lord Jesus, we have the self- revealing God, expressing Himself in terms of humanity, and so worthy of all the honor that the ages have heaped upon him. A fact in this connection that has been of great importance to me may be of interest. I early discovered that Christ, in words whose genuineness, I think, has never been questioned, said to those who should declare his message, "Go, preach the Gospel to every creature, and lo, I am with you all the days." No utter- ance of the great Master has been of greater practical value to me than this. When the dark days have come, the days that involved severe labor, that devolved upon me tasks heavier, as it seemed, than I could bear, days in the study when the necessity to write was upon me and the mind was blank and the heart cold, days in the pulpit when a sense of inadequacy pressed hard upon me, days in the parish when trying scenes were to be encoun- tered, when advice or consolation was to be given under forbidding condi- 140 Some General Observations tions, when puzzling problems were to be solved, when enterprises were to be launched regarding whose appropriate shape there was question — in all these cases and many others, those words of the divine Redeemer have been to me not only a source of assurance and of com- fort, but of actual help, consciously re- ceived, inspiring, enlightening, sustain- ing, and the task that seemed so difficult often became easy and in the hour when it was needed the right word was often given me to speak. If I have secured anything of success in the ministry, the secret of it lies largely here. In the two churches in which it was my privilege to minister, I sought to unveil for all Chris- tian workers that august and glorious Presence, whose accepted fellowship makes the Christian service a thing of warmth and light and strength and joy; and many a youth and many a burdened man and woman has come to say, "I can do all things in Him that strengtheneth me." As to the themes which one should make prominent in his preaching, I have never thought that these should be the same for all. Personal characteristics, the make-up of the preacher, together 141 Experiences and Observations with the experiences of his life, often determine not only the manner of his speaking but the substance of his dis- courses. President Finney felt himself called upon to set forth the law which with infinite weight of obligation presses upon every soul. Henry Ward Beecher, on the other hand, with matchless skill interpreted the everlasting love of God manifest in Christ. Phillips Brooks, when asked what he intended to preach in Westminster Abbey, responded, "I have but one sermon.' ' This was his exposition, in varied phase, of the ful- ness and efficiency of the Father's grace. Each helped humanity and did it in his own way. God designed it to be thus when he set every soul at a somewhat different angle toward the eternal truth. Every flower radiates the light that falls upon it from the sun, but one reflects the red ray and another the blue. Each tells a part of the glory enwrapped in the sunbeam. Each is true to the law of its own being. Some have said that in the pulpit in which I presided, there have been too few echoes of Sinai; that the severe matters of law and sin and retribution have not been sufficiently dwelt upon; 142 Some General Observations that the love side has been presented, not too powerfully but too exclusively. In reply I have reverently quoted the words of the Master: "I have not spoken of myself: the Father which sent me, He gave me a commandment, what I should say and what I should speak." To me the Gospel means "good news." It is the announcement that for us all in this sinful, weary world, there is help; into whatever trouble we may have fallen, there is hope for our deliverance, a shining way close at hand into which we may step and which we may follow to the highest heaven. The world well knows its unrest, the bitterness of the cup of pain and remorse often pressed to its lips. It does not always know that "underneath are the everlasting arms," that the sympathy of heaven is sweeter and softer than the breath of sunny lands, that in the heart of God are tire- less tenderness, parental patience and affection that watch and wait and en- dure, that in the midst of its sin it is overshadowed by the purity and per- fection of the Kingly Christ. It is this chance for every one, based upon the fathomless love divine, that in some measure has been shown to me, and 143 Experiences and Observations I have been constrained to present, not exclusively but with special emphasis, that phase of truth. My eyes have been directed toward the light rather than the gloom, toward righteousness rather than sin, toward the glory of the Christ rather than the awful depths of darkness that lie away from him. Because I have be- lieved that immortal Love is upon the throne, and that its pulses are throbbing through all life and all time, it has been difficult for me to cherish pessimistic views, to maintain that the clouds that often enshroud us have no resplendent lining. If I have placed too few shadows in the picture, it is because I have be- lieved that the Gospel is not shadow but sunshine. One who would form any just estimate of my utterances must take into account a certain fact; namely, that I was born with "a jingle in my brain," which I have never been able either to extirpate or to suppress. Spending my early years as a farmer's boy amid the pic- turesque scenery of our old Nutmeg State, I was unusually sensitive to the beauty of hill and dale, and my enthusi- asm over the fragrant meadows where the brooklets sang and the butterflies 144 Some General Observations and the bobolinks made merry, as over the shaded slopes and uplands where the cattle grazed, and the woods whose columns marked for me aisles of a cathe- dral decked with many a rare blossom, often found expression in verse, crude but soulful. On the rocks in the wood- land and by the rippling river I was somehow forced by an inward impulse to write the rhymes or the poetic prose that embodied the untrained emotion of my undisciplined nature. College life, with its introduction to classic models, quickened and deepened the tendencies within me that were ever urging toward utterance of this sort. And so it came about that both at the biennial and at the graduating celebration I was the chosen poet of my Class. During my two city pastorates with their exacting toils the embedded fire has not been quenched but nourished, and has added brightness as well as com- fort to the busy years. Truth has pre- sented itself to my mind in figure and picture rather than in syllogism. In my weariness the writing of a sonnet has often given me rest of body and mind. I have very many times been called upon to celebrate in verse church and town 145 Experiences and Observations anniversaries, and in the same manner to participate in local and state meetings of patriotic and benevolent societies. Many of these poems have found a place in the annals of New England. From all this it must not be inferred that I con- sider myself very much of a poet, but simply that my mind is of the poetic rather than the philosophic type. The elusive metaphysics and subtle logic in which some of the brethren revel are largely beyond my capacity, while I may arrive at the same conclusions, al- though reaching them in another way. It is difficult for me to write without having something of the glint of imagination upon the page. I remember that a man once said that after hearing one of my sermons, in which perhaps the ideal was presented, he went out and found that he was still in the same old world! Yet it may have been a good thing for him to have had a glimpse of something different. If in any case the method of presentation has misinterpreted the truth and led one in- tellectually astray, the method of course was blameworthy. But I have been glad that my mind was so constituted that I could see plain facts in their wider rela- tions, thus presenting aspects that were 146 Some General Observations sometimes more suggestive of that realm of beauty which lies all about us, but which our oft unanointed eyes fail to discern. While a pastor in Bridgeport, in com- pany with a friend I visited the famous phrenologist, Prof. 0. S. Fowler. As he felt of my cranium he said, " Young man, you have one weak spot in your head." "Well," said I, "I'm glad if there's only one." He went on to say that I was lacking in self-confidence, that "no doubt it had robbed me of half my life's suc- cesses." Whatever we may think of phrenology, whether or not it be a sci- ence, there can be no question that there was some foundation for the Professor's remark. It is true that a certain diffi- dence has often kept me silent when I should have spoken, held me in the back- ground when I might better have gone forward, and repressed me in many ways. It is the same shrinking from publicity that almost kept me away from college and out of the ministry. It has been a trial to me all my life. Much that I have done has been accomplished through a persistent purpose to over- come it. It has made my preaching less forcible than it ought to have been, and . 147 Experiences and Observations has prevented me from accepting various invitations to hold forth in what I thought would be trying situations. I don't know that one who is hampered in this way is altogether responsible for it. It is a peculiarity that seems wrought into one's constitution. Possi- bly it is an inheritance from some dread- fully backward ancestor. Of course one ought to resist its suggestions so far as they would hinder him from doing the best work and exercising the widest in- fluence. I have always envied those who, confident of their own ability, have gone forward without hesitation to perform whatever duty or service invited them. That there are such we well know. Some of my own classmates and friends were of that sort. Sometimes I have thought that they made themselves a little too conspicuous, but on the whole they have made a success of life. As one who has suffered from a fettering distrust of his own competence, I advise all who are similarly afflicted to fight against its in- fluence and to persist in doing just that which it forbids. Had I acted upon this advice in my youth and persisted in my riper years I might have accomplished far more than I have been able to do. 148 Some General Observations As to the employment of one's time and strength in the ministry I always be- lieved that they belonged to the church rather than to myself, and so I sought, at whatever personal sacrifice, to put official duty first. As a consequence I stood at my post rather constantly, per- haps more than was necessary or desir- able, somewhat reluctantly accepting vacation leisure and frequently returning when away to perform some service for the dead or the living. Probably this would not be the best for all, but blessed as I ordinarily was with a good degree of physical vigor, I found greater satis- faction in this than in a different course. At the beginning of my ministry I heard Dr. Leonard Bacon say, "The man that wants to see me is the man that I want to see." It seemed to me that such a maxim, coming from such a man, was a desirable one to accept. And I made it, measurably, the rule of my ministerial life. As a consequence I gave no little time and strength to all sorts of char- acters, many of them unattractive and unpromising from many points of view. Yet I could never get away from the idea that they were human, and gra- ciously loved by the Master, nor forget 149 Experiences and Observations that the Christ who gladly ministered to the humblest and worst was the Christ with me "all the days," who would have me meet them, with him, for his sake. And I tried as best I could to help them in such ways as were possible. If I was the means of leading one in twenty or even in fifty of them to a sober, indus- trious, moral life, I do not regret the labor spent. Effort in behalf of those needing work received no little attention, until in my family my "employment bureau" became a standing joke, and very likely among employers a standing nui- sance. The letters I have written to them in the interest of the unemployed would fill volumes. My good friend Dr. Anderson declared that my interest in and attention to people of the class re- ferred to was simply a waste of my life. It did not then seem so to me, and does not now, although the same amount of effort bestowed in some other direction might have yielded more evident results. I cannot say that I regret any endeavor that I have ever put forth with an earnest desire to assist a fellow mortal, notwithstanding the fact that I have many times no doubt been imposed upon. These impositions would furnish 150 Some General Observations a good foundation for an interesting tale, and some time I may write up some of them. I always thought it my privilege to come into as close and helpful relations with my people as possible. With this end in view I made it a rule to avail my- self of such experiences in their life as made them peculiarly sensitive to Chris- tian sympathy and thoughtfulness. For years I welcomed all the babies in the parish with a personal letter, usually in rhyme. Some of these epistles I have seen framed and hung in the home, and many have been read by their recipients to their own children. After a time the demand became too great for the possi- ble supply, as our people were never ad- vocates of "race suicide," and recogni- tion of the family joy was made in some other way. Occasions of bridal gladness and of funeral grief, of illness or misfortune of any sort, furnished opportunity for such expression of feeling as tended to bind those experiencing them more closely to the church. Much use I made of the printing press, devising and publishing prayer meeting topics, cards for various occasions and various people, and in both 151 Experiences and Observations my churches issuing an annual review of the work and experiences of the year which seemed to be greatly appreciated. "The Park Street Chronicle" and the "Second Church Chronicle" took their place among the newspapers of the day and gladly held on their way, the latter certainly continuing to thrive under more generous auspices. For ten years I prepared the weekly church bulletin, because it brought me into a little closer touch with the people, affording me a chance to say to the shut-ins and others the word of cheer and encouragement that might not otherwise reach them. AVhen I came to Waterbury the city was surrounded by a circle of chapels or other places at which services were held. For eighteen years it was my joy to preach once a month to the long-suffer- ing people of Oakville, and for thirty years to the equally long-suffering people of Mill Plain. For thirty years, almost without an exception, I officiated on Children's Day, Easter and Christmas (very often reading a story to the children on those occasions) at the Mill Plain Chapel. Many times I had the pleasure of preaching at the Union chapel in Simonsville which preceded the 152 Some General Observations . building of the Baptist Church, and of giving the first sermon that was deliv- ered in that church. Buck's Hill, too, and Bunker Hill called for my services, which were very gladly given. There was always a special satisfaction to me in speaking at these places where one may come so near the hearts of the people. Three times during my Water- bury pastorate the Second Church has swarmed, a goodly number of our workers settling down to the task of honey-making in Oakville, Bunker Hill and the Third Congregational Church. It was hard to part with these, for many of them were useful and beloved, but it seemed to me that even at cost to our- selves we ought to encourage those living in the out-lying districts to connect them- selves with centers of usefulness that should there be established and I said to them, "Go, and (rod's blessing and ours go with you." Feeling that the minister, as a repre- sentative of the Master, ought to be in hearty sympathy with all that tends to elevate humanity, for many years I did no little work in connection with the tem- perance reform. For a while I was asso- ciated with the Sons of Temperance, who 153 Experiences and Observations then seemed to be exerting a strong in- fluence in the right direction. In this connection I attained even to the exalted position of Grand Worthy Patriarch of the State of Connecticut, a position whose title suggests far greater things than it really includes. I found in the Grand and National Divisions many men and women, broad-minded and philan- thropic, with whom it was a pleasure to associate. The ritual of the order was beautifully written, by whom I do not know. The organization in September, 1917, completes the seventy-fifth year of its existence and, strangely enough, I have been invited to deliver a poem at the celebration of its anniversary in Boston. In the year 1893 Mr. Thomas Ed- ward Murphy held in our city a tem- perance campaign that continued for a month. Meetings were held in the old Auditorium on South Main Street, and were largely attended from the first. As the pastors of the city appointed me to preside, I w T as in the midst of the move- ment from first to last. Mr. Murphy was a young man of fine appearance, pos- sessed largely of that indefinable quality called "magnetism," winning in manner and speech and capable of delivering his 154 Some General Observations message in a very eloquent way. Some of his addresses were exceedingly effec- tive. A new sentiment regarding the use of alcoholic liquors pervaded our city, bringing about changes in the personal habits of not a few. Over ten thousand of our people signed the total abstinence pledge, and many who had previously indulged were true to its requirements, some for a year, some for five years, and probably not a few for the rest of their lives. Our leader won for himself a warm place in many hearts among us and will always be Remembered here for the good work that he accomplished. A while since I sent him the old ser- mon that I preached just after he left Waterbury, in which was attempted an estimate of the value of his efforts in our city. Under date of November 13, 1916, he wrote: "The campaign in Waterbury as outlined by you immediately passed in panoramic view before me, and I have meditated upon it ever since. I recall the whole experience with gladness and gratitude, and I regret most keenly and deeply that I was not able to continue in the labor which gave me and mine the greatest satisfaction of our lives." And he adds: "Maggie and I are living here 155 Experiences and Observations in Philadelphia. I am glad to tell you that I am a member of the Philadelphia Legal Bar, and up to the present, in good standing. We have no children — more's the pity — but we are traveling along to- gether, and approaching the sunset of life with the same sweet and lovely com- munion and devotion which characterized us in the past when you knew us well. We try occasionally to throw the life line out to any unfortunate in distress, and we both regret that we are not more pro- ficient in this respect than we are." His address is "322-323 North American Building, Philadelphia,' ' where I am sure he would be glad to hear from any of his Waterbury friends. After he left, we organized in our church a society which we called the "Helping Hand," into which were gath- ered about one hundred of those who had left the ranks of the intemperate for a sober life. This flourished in a vigorous and helpful way for a long time, the Rev. F. M. Hollister acting as its efficient head, and no doubt it accomplished con- siderable good. Then came the Rescue Mission, of which for many years Aaron A. Benedict was president and I was secretary. Va- 156 Some General Observations rious superintendents there held forth the word of encouragement and hope to the fallen, and it is believed that many a broken life found the strength needed to make it more or less of a success. In all such work there come great satisfac- tion and great disappointment, so many promise so well and then, after a time, turn out so ill. But after all there is a residuum of good that remains a per- petual cause for gratitude. All who de- sire the welfare of humanity must rejoice in the larger aspects of the temperance reform which we have lived to witness. Prohibition has thrown its benediction over many states of the Union and seems likely to enwrap the entire nation in its beneficent influence, while other nations are coming to realize the immense value of abstinence. It would appear that King Alcohol is soon to lose his crown. May he have no successor to continue his cruel reign. I always believed that the Church and its officers should do what they might to develop a patriotic spirit among the people. "Patriotism," said George Wil- liam Curtis, "is the vital condition of national permanence. 9 9 It has its roots in the deepest instincts and affections 157 Experiences and Observations of the heart. It is an extension of the love of parents and of home, closely allied to the love of humanity and of God. In my boyhood home was an old sword that some of my predecessors had used in the Revolutionary War, and it used to speak eloquently to me of that great struggle, the boom of whose guns had there been heard as Norwalk was burned by the British. As a young man I was familiar with the commencement and the continuance of the Civil War. I was a student at the time, but my name was in two drafts, although I was not taken. It did not seem best for me to enlist in the army, not only because of my somewhat unwarlike disposition but because of the urgent request of my mother that her only son remain with her. However I was intensely interested in the conflict and in those who engaged in it. As soon as I became a pastor, three years after the war, I urged my people to observe Decoration Day by honoring the dead and the living who had fought in our behalf. It was said that our church service on one of the first Memo- rial days was the first celebration of the sort held in the city of Bridgeport. From 158 Some General Observations that time, so long as I had charge of a church, it was my custom habitually to observe the Memorial season. The fact that my own and only son offered his service and his life for country and humanity naturally deepened my interest in all those matters that pertain to the welfare of the nation. When the dear boy died, the Grand Army Post of Water- bury sent its sympathy and promised that so long as the Post existed the grave of the young patriot should be decorated with the graves of its own members. It was a great gratification to me to have the Auxiliary of the Spanish War Vet- erans adopt for its name "The Clarence Gr. Davenport Auxiliary." Thus his name is perpetuated and associated with the kindnesses shown to disabled or needy veterans and their families. Very many times it has been my privilege to speak for the soldiers of both the Civil and the Spanish-American Wars, on private and on public occasions. It has been my sad duty to attend the funerals of very many of them. In 1896 I connected myself with the Connecticut Society of the Founders and Patriots of America. In order to become a member of this order one must trace 159 Experiences and Observations his family line in either his father's or his mother's name back to a point in the settlement of the country not later than 1657, and show that in the Eevolution his ancestry "adhered to the cause of the colonies." It was my honor to join both as a Davenport and a Gaylord. The object of the society is to conserve all that was best in the thought of our predecessors, and to commemorate in various ways their worthy achievements, "to cultivate patriotism in the associates and their descendants." Our Connecti- cut society numbers about one hundred and fifty men whom it is a joy to know, such for example, as ex-President Taft, Governor R. S. Woodruff, Prof. Charles H. Smith of Yale, Mr. G. S. Godard, state librarian, Prof. H. H. Tweedy of New Haven, and others of similar char- acter. In the General Court, the national society, I have had the pleasure and honor of meeting somewhat intimately Admiral Dewey, Gen. Fred. D. Grant, Hon. John S. Wise of Virginia, Hon. Ralph E. Prime of Yonkers, and others of wide reputation. Admiral Dewey was very gracious. I served two years as his deputy, while he was the Governor General. 160 Some General Observations It is always an advantage and affords a certain satisfaction to see what sort of men these are who have attained prominence. One thing regarding them that has impressed me is the unaffected simplicity of their bearing. They put on no airs, but are exceedingly democratic in their attitude. The General Court, at a meeting held in New York, Feb. 21, 1917, resolved unanimously that its "members desire to express to the Presi- dent of the United States their earnest desire to give to him and to the govern- ment of this country the most patriotic and loyal support.'' It spoke also in favor of "preparedness," and recom- mended that "a plan for compulsory universal military service be put in operation at the earliest possible date." Copies of the resolutions were sent to President Wilson and to the presiding officers of the Senate and House of Representatives. As secretary of my college class for over thirty years, and at one time one of the Alumni Visitors, I have kept in somewhat close touch with the old col- lege among the hills to which I owe so much. One of the surprising things about the early settlers of New England 161 Experiences and Observations was their thought for the higher learn- ing, establishing Harvard College only sixteen years after the landing of the Pilgrims, Yale in 1700, Williams in 1793 and others between those latter dates. I have always felt that we who inherit the benefit of their self-denying labors in this connection ought to be in thorough sym- pathy with all legitimate endeavor for the extension of enlightenment and the intellectual culture and uplifting of our race. In the multitude of matters that have filled two busy pastorates and made great demands upon time and ability, so much "attendance to reading' J and study as was desirable has scarcely been given. And yet I have endeavored almost al- ways to have on hand some book of sub- stantial value, and in this way have kept up fairly well with the natural science, theology and politics of the day, not ignoring the more noteworthy fiction and keeping an open ear for the poetry of the past and the present. Sermon- writing has always been a joy, although for many years the discourse was often of necessity redolent of "midnight oil" (in modern language gas or electricity). Not for a quarter of a century have I 162 Some General Observations preached an old sermon, at least in our own pulpit, without re-writing it. How- ever, in this age, when the people are surfeited with religious instruction and exhortation, we must feel that the sermon is only one means of upbuilding the King- dom of God, and it may be comparatively an unimportant one. If it were only pos- sible for me to preach better discourses I might not make that remark! I should like to say that during all the years of hard work as a pastor, my minis- terial brethren have been to me a source of strength and encouragement. In the freedom of our mutual confidence, there has come to me at least inspiration to diligence and faithfulness. In my per- plexity they have often, perhaps uncon- sciously, guided me and in my sorrow have comforted me. Each of the brethren with whom I have been associated has taught me something of value, and I feel myself under obligations to them all. While in Bridgeport there was one man, a brother pastor, to whom I became in- debted for much kindly suggestion and instruction. I refer to the Eev. Dr. Charles Eay Palmer, son of the more famous Dr. Eay Palmer. The younger man was pastor of the First Church, 163 Experiences and Observations Bridgeport, a very learned and able man. But his style as a preacher was so ab- stract and metaphysical that he appealed to few outside of the ranks of the highly educated. As a man, however, he was sympathetic and friendly, wise in counsel, doing all that he might for his people and for his ministerial brethren. We looked up to him as a competent guide in all matters ecclesiastical and educa- tional. At my installation in Waterbury, he gave the Charge to the Pastor. "He charged him," says the report in the American, "to apply himself to severe intellectual labor, to personally adopt and pursue the highest ideal of Christian liv- ing and to store up a constant supply of power for his work." Evidently he set up a standard so high as not easily to be maintained. He died in New Haven in 1915. When I came to Waterbury I found in the pastor of the First Church of this city, Dr. Joseph Anderson, a man somewhat similar to Dr. Palmer and yet of a quite different personality. I had known Dr. Anderson for many years, having first seen him December 6, 1859, when he came to my native town of Wilton from Stam- ford to participate in an installation 164 Some General Observations service. After that I frequently met him in our state denominational meetings and was associated with him in various mat- ters. In 1877 he came to Bridgeport and asked if I would not like to purchase a lot and build a cottage at Woodmont where he had just established his summer home, and desired, as he said, to gather about him a number of congenial friends who might aid each other in making their vaca- tions more agreeable and helpful. The invitation was complimentary, but I did not feel especially attracted to the locality, and so declined to locate beside him. Probably this was a mistake, as prop- erty in that region has greatly appreci- ated in value, and I should have profited by the fellowship. The greeting that he gave me when I came to Waterbury was very cordial and for twenty-four years we toiled side by side, the best of friends, although by no means in agreement upon various points. At the installation he gave me "The Eight Hand of Fellow- ship, 9 9 saying among other things : ' ' From time to time, in the gatherings of our tribe, I have had opportunity to meet you and say 'What cheer?' So that you are not a stranger, but a well-known and well- beloved brother. It is with special 165 Experiences and Observations pleasure, therefore, that I give you wel- come to-day. Welcome to our ministerial gatherings and to our humble homes, to the fellowship of our joys and sorrows, of our doubts and hopes, of our disap- pointments and rewards. Rewards? Ah, yes. And the word lifts us from the anxious present into the fruitful future, from the struggle of earth to the glory of heaven. ' ' Thus began my pastorate at the side of him who welcomed me. We planned and toiled together, and our churches came in- creasingly into sympathy and cooperation with each other. He was helpful to me in many ways, although he failed to sym- pathize with me in some of my endeavors for the uplift of the fallen and the falling. He spoke very feelingly at the funerals of my aged mother and my soldier boy and it was mine to attend the funeral of his father, his son, his daughter and his wife. And at last it was my mournful privilege to participate in his own obsequies. His going left a sad vacancy in my life. He and Rev. W. H. Phipps and Rev. J. L. R. Wyckoff with myself were all that re- mained of the pastors in this vicinity in 1881. And now but three of us are left to tell the tale. Physical weakness seemed 166 Some General Observations to bring depression and melancholy to Dr. Anderson during the last months of his life, but I cannot doubt that the laying aside of the flesh was for him the dawn of a cloudless morning, in which his keen and inquiring mind found light and lib- erty, the solution of some of his problems, and the satisfaction of his noble spirit. We cannot possibly believe that a soul so strong and aspiring perished when his body fell asleep. During twelve years of my Waterbury pastorate I was without an assistant, ex- cept for the brief period when Deacon Highmore helped after a fashion. But the work became so large that one man was unequal to its demands. And so in 1890, we secured the services of Mr. Frank C. Baker, who came to us directly from the Yale Divinity School. He was the son of a home missionary, a graduate of Oberlin College, a man of good parts and seemingly devoted to his work. He took good care of the church during the pas- tor's absence in 1891. At our fortieth anniversary he read a fine paper upon "Waterbury in 1852.' ' But after a while an attack of typhoid fever so weakened and disabled him that in the fall of 1892 he resigned. Going to New York, he en- 167 Experiences and Observations gaged in life insurance work, but after- ward studied law and is practising that profession in New York at the present time. In 1893 the Eev. Frederic M. Hollister came to us from Wapping, where he had been preaching while a student at the Hartford Seminary. He was so active a worker that the pastor named him the "Holy-Stir," making a dreadful pun upon his name. As superintendent of the Sunday School, leader of the Boys' Brigade, and the Helping Hand, he was admirable. His musical ability added a good deal to his usefulness in prayer meeting and elsewhere. He was the solo- ist of the Murphy campaign and there distinguished himself. In 1898 he re- ceived a call to the Second Church in Danbury which he thought best to accept. Since then he has had several pastorates and is now at the head of the church in Wilton in which the writer was brought up, and with his family is there exceed- ingly helpful and greatly beloved. In 1900 the Eev. Louis H. Holden be- came our assistant. He was a graduate of Yale and of Union Seminary and had had one year's experience as assistant pastor in a Presbyterian church in 168 Some General Observations Oneida, New York. He was a scholarly- man of no little ability and a good preacher. During his stay in Waterbury he studied at Yale as a post-graduate, taking the degree of Doctor of Philos- ophy. His graduating thesis was upon the closing chapter of the Fourth Gospel and was a valuable study of that anony- mous production. His fondness for music was very pronounced and the or- chestra that he organized in the Sunday School proved itself of great assistance to that branch of the church work. He was a man of social attractiveness and was much sought as such. In the spring of 1904 he left us to assume the pastor- ate of the Eeformed Church in Utica, N. Y., where, successful and beloved, he still labors. On the first of October, 1904, the Eev. Herbert DeWitt Williams came to us as junior pastor. He had been for four years pastor of the church in South Britain, and before that for four years pastor of a church in Hartford. He was a man of well developed mind and char- acter, and took hold of the work with great energy and ability. In Sunday School, the pulpit, the prayer meeting and the parish, he was admirable. 169 Experiences and Observations Everybody loved him and his services were sought for various occasions in the community and the state. As a singer of fine quality he was of great help in all our social services, while his remarks and prayers were always acceptable. The Sunday School thrived greatly under his management. He was a workman as indefatigable as he was efficient. But January 18, 1910, he submitted to a sur- gical operation which was not thought severe or dangerous, and fell asleep to wake no more on earth. The Chronicle of that year said, "Not for him is the sadness. His work had been faithfully performed and he was early called to higher service. But for those who loved him (and who that knew him did not?) his departure has left sorrow deep and bitter. Toward his bereaved family the hearts of our people and of all the city have turned with truest and most tender sympathy. For the first time in its his- tory the Church loses a pastor while in active service. His sudden removal has moved it as scarcely any previous event has ever done. How we wonder if he knows how we mourn for him, and if he is still interested in the progress of the Sunday School and the Church.' ' Two 170 Some General Observations days before his death he had preached to us from Hebrews viiirl, "Now of the things which we have spoken, this is the sum: we have such a High Priest, who is set on the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in the heavens.' ' No text could have been more appropri- ate for his last. The sum of all that he had said to us during the five years of his service had been — Christ! April 1, 1910, the Rev. Robert E. Brown, pastor-elect of the church, came as associate pastor, and October 15, his able and beloved assistant, the Rev. W. Moreton Owen, began his work. But, as Kipling says, "That is another story." Various organizations have claimed something of my time and thought, al- though I may not have been of great value to them. In 1897 I was moderator of the General Association of Connecticut, the oldest ecclesiastical body in the state. Three times I was delegate to the Na- tional Congregational Council ; namely, at New Haven, at St. Louis and at Min- neapolis. For fourteen years I served as a corporate member of the American Board, and for many years have been one of its honorary members. For a dozen or more years I have been state 171 Experiences and Observations secretary of our Congregational Church Building Society. I am a member of the Civil Service Reform Association of Con- necticut, the American Hygiene Associa- tion, the Mattatuck Historical Society, the Connecticut Historical Society and the American Historical Society, the Na- tional Geographic Society, the Connecti- cut Society of Founders and Patriots, of which I was governor and have been for many years chaplain, the General Court of Founders and Patriots, in which I have been Chaplain General and Deputy Governor General, the Waterbury Cham- ber of Commerce, the International Longfellow Society, the National Insti- tute of Efficiency; also a life member of the American Bible Society, the Sea- man's Friend Society, and the American Sunday School Union. Since 1864 I have been a member of the Phi Beta Kappa Society. I am also a member of the Naugatuck Valley Association of Minis- ters and Churches, and of the Waterbury Naturalist Club. I have written this long catalogue prin- cipally for the sake of finding out just what I am connected with. Some of these memberships amount to very little, while others of them mean very much to 172 Some General Observations me. I consider it a fine thing to be asso- ciated with wise and earnest people in the good work to which they have given themselves. I only wish that I could be of fuller service to those who in any way are trying to help humanity. When in college I was invited to unite with cer- tain secret societies, but preferred my freedom. Since then I have been solic- ited to join the Masons and the Odd Fellows, but have not had time or strength for the demands that they might make upon me. Of the ministry I said "This one thing I do." I am free to say that to me my life has been a great surprise. When I be- gan to look toward the work of the min- istry, my ideal parish was that of some country town, from whose public square rose the snowy church spire and within whose narrow bounds life's problems might be dealt with at close range. I had no aspirations nor felt myself fitted for anything broader. I dreamed of be- ing an accepted visitor in old country homes such as those with which I was familiar in my boyhood, by whose fire- sides sound sense and unfeigned devo- tion to God were so often found. In the country church one could easily number 173 Experiences and Observations his flock and call each of them by name and keep his hand upon them all. I pic- tured myself standing in the country pulpit before which a company of farm- ers struggled to keep awake after their week in the open air, and wondered if I could present the truth with so much dramatic force as to keep all minds and eyes wide open. I doubted if I could ever be as startling or as solemn in my message as were some of the min- isters of my childhood, beneath whose dire utterances no man, certainly no youth, could possibly sleep. In my youth I had read two books upon life in the ministry, one, "The Sunny Side," by Mrs. Phelps, a daughter of Moses Stuart, a native of Wilton; and the other, "The Shady Side," by Mrs. Stephen Hubbell, whose husband was also a native of Wilton. Both of these more or less charming books presented the country parsonage and its occupants, with their difficulties and joys, and I found them of absorbing interest. A life that should find the satisfactions and avoid some of the troubles there pictured was what I coveted for myself and dreamed of ex- periencing. I thought of myself as some- 174 Some General Observations what resembling Goldsmith 's " village preacher,' 9 in his famous poem: "A man he was to all the country dear, And passing rich with forty pounds a year: Remote from towns he ran his godly race, Nor e'er had changed, nor wished to change, his place." Some such life as his was my highest ambition to attain. But I woke from my dream to. find myself the pastor of a city church, where conditions are more exact- ing and where one 's parish has no definite limits. In such a parish every day of my ministerial life has been spent. As in a dissolving view the country spire melted into the city tower. How this came about I do not know, except through the order- ing of Him whose thoughts are not as our thoughts. A great and unanticipated op- portunity was thrust upon me, a shrinking rustic, as I must believe, in the Providence of God. My only regret is that I have not made more of it, and my gratitude is awakened by the humble belief that my weakness and errors have so been over- ruled that some little, as I trust, has been accomplished in the upbuilding of the magnificent Kingdom of our God. To Him is all the glory forever. I have seen the ministry almost exelu- Experiences and Observations sively upon its l ' sunny side. ' ' Its studies and its labors have been full of satisfac- tion, and my relations with the members of my churches and of other churches have, almost without exception, been ex- ceedingly agreeable. I have seen more of kindness and sympathy and generosity than I was aware dwelt in human hearts. Were I to live my life over again posses- sing the knowledge that is now mine, noth- ing would tempt me to a different field of labor than that which the ministry pre- sents. I congratulate the younger minis- terial brethren upon that which they have in store, and regard their privilege with a feeling akin to envy. And I call upon our earnest youth who have not yet decided upon the course that they will pursue, to consider carefully the claims upon their attention of the ministry of Christ. Of course it involves its trials, for what position in life does not? But it offers satisfactions which seem to me to far out- weigh them. We gaze with profound ad- miration upon the marbles that the hand of genius has carved for the delight of the ages, and regard Phidias and Michelan- gelo and their fellow craftsmen with reverence and with a great longing in our hearts to perform, as did they, some im- 176 Some General Observations mortal work. A similar feeling is ours as we study the magnificent paintings of Baphael and Murillo and the entire group of artists whose splendid productions will charm humanity so long as humanity exists. We long to accomplish something that will outlast our fleeting years. But the sculptor and the painter, however won- derful their ability and the results of their toil, have been working upon perishable material, while one who seeks to mould humanity into nobler form works upon that which is indestructible. The soul of man lies back of all works of art, itself of vastly greater worth than anything that it can conceive of or produce. The statue and the painting are but crude representa- tions of its thought and emotion. It is itself a miniature image of the eternal God. No work can possibly be greater than that of so enlightening the human intellect, inspiring right emotion and af- fection and influencing the will that man shall attain the high estate for which he was designed. Here is a work that in- volves sympathy with the divine and re- quires the utmost wisdom and skill. Here is labor whose consequences are enduring so far as the individual is concerned, and which sets in motion forces whose activity 177 Experiences and Observations may reach on to the end of time and be- yond it. In our day the ministry is regarded as standing in a broad relation to society, as in close alliance and cooperation with all that tends to purify its spirit and broaden its aims and improve its conditions. Its field is the world, not only in its extent but in its content. We know something of the vast influence that the Church and its min- isters have exerted upon nations and gov- ernments in the ages past, an influence unfortunately not always uplifting or in any way helpful. Much of the history of the Middle Ages in this connection is in the highest degree saddening and distress- ing. But, as a rule, in our time the Chris- tian Church and its representatives stand for all that is best and highest in human thought and life. Education, morality, patriotism, philanthropy, all look to them for leadership and inspiration. Sometimes the task of the local minister does seem unimportant, but in the broader view he must see that in its connections it is work of the very highest order. And that is the vision which he should ever seek to gain. It has been a great help to me to read the biographies of clergymen who have been distinguished in their field of 178 Some General Observations effort, to learn their view of the profes- sion, to note the elements of their success. These " lives of great men all remind us" of the immense value in the ministry, as in fact everywhere else, of personality, broad, cultured, consecrated, seeing in the Man of Galilee the ideal for every man, and appreciating the incomparable beauty of the truth as he has set it forth for the guidance of the individual, the community, the nation and the race. To note the pos- sible bearing of the ministry upon all that makes our life free and happy and helpful is to be greatly impressed with the attrac- tion it presents to the aspiring Christian youth who is seeking to determine in what position he can make the most of his powers. "Who is sufficient for these things?" is the question forced from those who really comprehend the importance of the task and the qualifications for its suc- cessful performance. At the conclusion of my twenty-fifth year in Waterbury, my anniversary ser- mon was from Psalms xxxi:21, "Blessed be the Lord, for He hath showed me His marvelous lovingkindness in a strong city." It seemed to me that no other verse in the entire Bible contained suggestions more appropriate for that 179 Experiences and Observations occasion. As to the "lovingkindness" there could be no question, and the city in which I had witnessed it could scarcely have been more fittingly characterized. It is indeed ' l a strong city, ' ' and I have seen its strength increased in an amazing manner. Although I had lived in Connecticut all my life, I had known very little of Water- bury until shortly before becoming one of its citizens. In 1877, when returning with Deacon Winton of Bridgeport from a trip to the White Mountains, we drove through the city and for a little looked about its center. This was the first glimpse of the place that for so many years was to be my home. There came to me no intimation that some of the most im- portant experiences of my life were there to be met. At that time Center Square was surrounded with a fence, suggesting the idea either that there was danger of its getting away or of being invaded by undesirable visitors. It seemed small, but fairly well kept and attractive. Four years later, when the boy of our house, accustomed to the wider expanses of Bridgeport's public grounds, saw it, he said, "There's papa's 'park.' It isn't so big as our dooryard." The town did not 180 Some General Observations strike Deacon Winton and myself as so very inviting, and we drove on to Nauga- tuck for dinner. Waterbury at that time had about 16,000 inhabitants and to the stranger presented no special indications of prosperity. In 1880 my next visit to Waterbury oc- curred, on the occasion of the meeting there of the General Conference of Con- necticut. Two nights were spent on Leavenworth St., in a building which I was told had once been the rectory of St. John's parish. The meetings were mostly held with the Second Church, welcomed there by Dr. Beckwith. The auditorium seemed bare and homely and for some reason, perhaps because of the echo that haunted it, a difficult place in which to hear the discussions. In the evening the sessions were with the First Church, whose sanctuary had been fin- ished about five years before. The place seemed bright and attractive, and as Dr. Anderson addressed us I thought what a delightful thing it must be to be a pastor with such a house of worship. When I left Waterbury at the close of the Conference the idea did not occur to me that I should ever see the place again. Yet in less than a year I was installed as 181 Experiences and Observations pastor in the old Second Church. So sud- denly is the scenery of one's life some- times changed. When I came to Waterbury to reside its population had climbed to 21,000 and was still rising. At that time its inhabitants were mostly located in the valley. I was told that land here was exceedingly costly because there was so little of it on the level. But soon the surrounding hills be- gan to be occupied, and the city extended in every direction, beautiful dwellings springing up in what had been but woods and cow pastures. And now, in 1917, we find ourselves citizens of a great city of at least 100,000 people. Its growth has been marvelous. Why an inland town should so develop has been the wonder of many. No' doubt the secret lies in the fact that from the first it has been "strong" in various respects ; strong in the men who laid the foundation of its industries, and strong in those who have built thereon ; an unusual strength of character having shown itself in those who have been leaders among us, not only in material matters but in education, religion, gov- ernment, all that is involved in choice civilization. Cities, like personalities and churches, 182 Some General Observations possess an individuality which reveals it- self to one who enters into their life. Cer- tain peculiarities pertain to each which may be difficult to specify, and yet which are clearly perceived. Our city differs radically from Hartford, New Haven, Norwich or Bridgeport. Possessing, of course, many things in common with them, its spirit, its way of doing things, perhaps we may say its character, is felt to be unique. The mention of any one of these cities suggests, to those who know them, a certain definite atmosphere and attitude by which it is differentiated from any of the others. If I were asked to mention in a single word what I regard as perhaps the most striking characteristic of Waterbury, I in- cline to think that I should answer, "En- terprise." This appears not only in the management of its industries but in every department of its life. Evidently its founders, those who laid the foundation of its great activities, were men of enter- prise. The junction here of two small streams, the Mad river with the Nauga- tuck, suggested to them possibilities which only the enterprising would have strug- gled to realize. "With a broad view of present availability and of future accom- 183 Experiences and Observations plishment they devoted all their wisdom and strength to the task they had set be- fore them. Other towns of the common- wealth and of the Naugatuck valley apparently possessed advantages not here to be found, but most of them have fallen far short of Waterbury in their develop- ment. Is not the difference largely to be ac- counted for by the specially substantial and vigorous quality of those who pre- sided over Waterbury 's earlier years? They were enterprising in a marked de- gree as the story of those days clearly shows. The peculiar character that the town with its activities manifested at- tracted men of like spirit and the succes- sion has continued. The annals of our city are peculiarly rich in their record of men and women of intellectual power, of excel- lent judgment, of noble ideals, of willing- ness to sacrifice and toil for the best things in municipal life, with an eager eye for the welfare of the commonwealth and the true grandeur of the republic. I have a theory that the individuality of Water- bury, as we recognize it today, is the sum total of the individualities that have built themselves into it. It presents a sort of composite picture of those who have con- 184 Some General Observations tributed to it of their intelligence and energy and initiative, of their reverence and philanthropy and generous devotion to noble ends. One who has known the city for many ^years could present a bril- liant list of those who have thus helped to make it what it is. It would include lead- ing manufacturers, enterprising mer- chants, wise architects and builders, broad-minded and devoted teachers, keen and accomplished lawyers, philanthropic and skilful physicians, conscientious financiers, self-sacrificing and eloquent clergymen, bright and thoroughly cultured editors, men and women in every rank of society with clear heads and busy hands, faithful to their obligations, doing well the work assigned them even unto the end. They have poured their thought, their emotion, their talent, their enterprise, their faith in the right, their devotion to worthy ends, in a word, their life, into the city's life, and the city has been made for- ever the stronger and the richer thereby. Every citizen has made some contribution to the quality of our city as it stands be- fore the world today. Every one of us who has had the privilege of sharing its life may say with the psalmist, "Blessed be the Lord for He hath showed me His 185 Experiences and Observations marvelous loving-kindness in a strong city." It is a great joy to me to know that the two churches to which I gave so much thought and care and toil are so thriving under the splendid management of such men as Rev. Gerald H. Beard, Ph.D., and Rev. Robert E. Brown. No one can be more eager than I am to learn that both churches are increasing in numbers and in all those things which tend to make a church strong and influential, serving their generation with wisdom and fidelity. The little that I was able to do in and for them may have had some part in their development. 186 VI DAYS AT CLIFTON SPRINGS When I became Pastor Emeritus of the Waterbury Church, I asked the Com- mittee what my duties as such would be. "Nothing," was the reply, "except to have as good a time as you can for the rest of your life." "Suppose," I asked, "that I should wish to do pastoral work somewhere else, would it be all right?" "Oh, yes," they said, "either for shorter or longer time, as you please." And so when, a few weeks later, I was invited to act as chaplain of the Clifton Springs Sanitarium in Western New York for three months, in the absence of the per- manent chaplain, I gladly accepted the invitation, and entered upon the work the first week in January, 1912. The experi- ence was so pleasant that twice afterward, in the two succeeding years, I accepted a similar invitation. The sanitarium is a somewhat remarkable institution, founded in 1850 by Dr. Henry Foster, who had es- pecially in mind the establishment of a place in which, without too great expense, 187 Experiences and Observations ministers, missionaries and teachers and their families might receive adequate med- ical treatment. With this for its central idea the institution has grown into large proportions, receiving to its helpful care many of the best people of this country and of Canada, with a sprinkling of patients from other lands. Very much is made of the religious ele- ment, since Dr. Foster believed that if one is spiritually in the right attitude, he is far more likely to be helped physically. Therefore the beautiful chapel, with its twelve services every week, is a very im- portant feature of the place. But faith and works are here conjoined, a staff of a dozen physicians bringing to the relief of sufferers the latest and best ideas in medical science. All manner of baths are employed, electricity in its various guises is administered, massage is made much of, while the X-ray and all the modern appli- ances for the detection and cure of disease are freety used. The table is that of a first-class hotel. The social and religious atmosphere of the place is charming. Many return again and again to what they have named, "D. 0. C," otherwise 1 ' Dear Old Clifton.'' About two hundred were there each 188 Days at Clifton Springs winter of my chaplaincy. It was my duty to say grace at each meal in the large din- ing room, conduct prayers in the chapel every morning, lead two prayer meetings during the week and preach twice on Sun- day. Frequently, too, I was invited to visit some of the sick ones in the institu- tion, and perhaps to administer the com- munion. It was a kind of concentrated parish, and I greatly enjoyed the work. After the chaplain, who had served faith- fully and successfully for some seventeen years, resigned, the chairman of the board of directors spoke to me about taking the place permanently. Had I been twenty years younger, scarcely anything would have suited me better. As it was, I felt unequal to the task. From the place I brought memories that I shall fondly cherish and there formed acquaintances that ripened into enduring friendships. Perhaps I may speak of a few of those who especially impressed me. Eev. S. H. Adams, D.D., the chaplain of whom I have already spoken, is a man of fine culture and beautiful spirit, winning to himself those to whom he ministers. To me he is a brother well-beloved. Dr. James Gregory Mumford, superin- tendent during a part of my stay at Clif- 189 Experiences and Observations ton, was a remarkable man somewhat akin in ability and spirit to Dr. Oliver Wendell Holmes. Like him he had been lecturer in the Harvard Medical School, and the au- thor of several books. He was a very learned and skilful physician, but had been obliged to resign his large practice in Boston on account of a heart weakness. He was wont to lecture on surgery to na- tional and international associations. To me he was exceedingly courteous and gracious and I came to esteem him very highly. In October, 1914, about six months after I bade him good-by, he sud- denly died, a great loss to his friends and to all the medical world. The Rev. Dr. Gordon of Winnipeg, bet- ter known as "Ralph Connor," came to Clifton and we were glad to make his ac- quaintance. He is a thin, tall man, not much inclined to converse but making him- self agreeable to those privileged to meet him. Much of his time he spent in private, writing upon some book that he had com- menced. He presented me with one of his works, "The Man from Glengarry," with his autograph, which I greatly prize. James A. McDonald, LL.D., of Toronto, editor of the Globe, was at Clifton for several weeks in the winters of 1913 and 190 Days at Clifton Springs 1914. He is built upon large proportions, physically and mentally, and is a speaker of rare impressiveness. A statesman of the Liberal party, in Canada his influence is great. He is not now a member of Par- liament, but when some important question arose at Ottawa they telegraphed him to come and give his advice, and so he left us suddenly. He was originally a Pres- byterian minister, and twice when I was not well at Clifton he preached for me. " Don't let your pulpit trouble you," he said, "111 take care of it." The people didn't like to tell me so, but I rather sus- pected that they were sorry when I re- covered. He speaks frequently in the United States upon great political or an- niversary occasions. His love for our Republic is very evident. He thinks that it and Canada should stand in the closest fraternal relations. He represented Can- ada at the coronation of King George V, and gave us a charming account of the splendid occasion. The Rev. Elwood Worcester, D.D., rector of Emmanuel Church, Boston, made us a visit in February, 1913. I had the honor of a conversation with him in Dr. Mumford's room and also that of in- troducing him when, in the evening, he 191 Experiences and Observations lectured in the chapel. He is a charming man socially, and his address was greatly appreciated. He told us of the methods employed in the famous " Emmanuel Movement" for healing the sick. They are simply those that Dr. Foster empha- sized, the endeavor to get the patient right spiritually, leading him to the great Physician, and then using the means best esteemed in the medical world. He be- lieves that a great deal depends upon the spiritual and mental attitude. He told us when we go to bed and cannot sleep, to take off our head and lay it up on the shelf. One lady said that she dreamed that she did this, and that her head stood grinning at her all night and keeping her awake. Dr. Worcester evidently embodies a vast amount of "personal magnetism." Rev. Dr. F. E. Emrich, secretary of the Massachusetts Home Missionary Society, was for several weeks at the sanitarium. He drank the most deeply of the full wells of Scripture of any man that I ever saw. Every morning he read a chapter in Eng- lish, then the same in French, German, Swedish and some other languages, and compared them, often saying to me, "Oh, I found such a beautiful thing today." It was delightful to be with him and hear 192 Days at Clifton Springs him talk. The next year he was chaplain for two or three months. In February, 1914, there came to Clif- ton Prof. Bufus B. Richardson and his charming wife, who was a daughter of Mr. Henry C. Bowen of the New York Inde- pendent. He was a graduate of Yale in 1869, for eleven years had had charge of the Archaeological School in Athens, Greece, and was the author of several valuable books. But he had overstrained his brain and was like a child in under- standing and in speech. It was very piti- able to see him and to hear him try to talk. His wife and son and daughter cared for him most tenderly. But he was sud- denly seized with pneumonia, and March 10, 1914, died at the sanitarium. He was nearly 69 years old. On the next day I conducted a brief funeral service in the room where he had died. Only the family and myself were present, unless the invisible Comforter was there also. It was a very peculiar funeral, and as the three knelt around me in their bitter grief, I longed as almost never before for power to console the distressed. It was the only service for the dead that I had at Clifton. Various ministers and other profes- sional people of interesting character 193 Experiences and Observations were there, many of them more or less broken down, who elicited my sympathy by their condition. However, many of them were bright and witty and hope- ful, and some of them went back to their work. Several were from Can- ada, and I have wondered if they were caught in the awful clutches of the war. I was impressed as I have seldom been with the fact that so much personal at- tractiveness and worth and devotion has given itself to the work of the ministry. Our fellowship there was very sweet and helpful. How I should love to follow every one of these dear brethren in their life career, noting their methods and their successes! " Shall we meet beyond the river ?" All the physicians at Clifton were ac- complished and interesting. It was very evident that the ministry as represented there had no monopoly of personal win- someness. The doctors were kindly, sym- pathetic, optimistic, cheering with their sunny presence and inspiring many a de- spondent one with hope. To them all I owe much for the aid that consciously or unconsciously they rendered me. Happy is the invalid that falls into their wise and tender care! 194 Days at Clifton Springs Many others are employed at the sani- tarium, in one way and another serving the guests. At the hands of all these I received only kindness. One spirit seemed to have taken possession of all connected with the institution, that of consideration for the comfort and the needs of all. If the Clifton spirit could only prevail in all our homes, perpetual happiness would there abide. When this spirit is that of the nations, wars will cease. I left there April 4, 1914, wondering if I should ever again view the spot where I have known so many delightful hours. It has seemed to me that as we meet there from all over the earth, and soon find our- selves in sympathy and fellowship and re- joice in each other's companionship and in common pursuits, lifting together our song of praise and sitting at the Master's feet, thus it will be when God's children from many lands come together in the Father's house on high, strangers to each other and yet at heart friends and brethren, de- lighted to meet each other and to look into the Face divine, " Where the anthems of rapture unceasingly roll, And the smile of the Lord is the feast of the soul." Possibly it might be of interest if I were to record some of the impressions 195 Experiences and Observations received at Clifton and of the wise and witty words spoken. One interesting fact learned directly from the parties involved was regarding the manner in which Dr. Foster, the founder of the institution, ob- tained his wife. He was a bachelor until about fifty, when he thought that it might be well for him to have a consort. He was a man of great faith, constantly in prayer, and naturally referred the matrimonial matter to his great Master, asking that if it were the divine will that he should marry, some intimation might be given him as to the appropriate person for him to wed. Not long afterward he had a vivid dream in which he thought that a lady of fine appearance, dressed in a man- ner that he described, came to the sanita- rium with a patient. He was impressed with the idea that she was the one chosen for his companion. A short time after this, behold a lady corresponding in about every particular came to the sanitarium with her brother. She was a great-grand- daughter of Jonathan Edwards, and a woman of superior quality. When he made known to her his experience and the impression made upon his mind, she agreed to accept what was apparently the divine will, and in due time they were 196 Days at Clifton Springs married. No woman better fitted for the position into which she came could be found. For thirty years or more she aided him in his great work, and after his death continued it. She died in 1916, greatly respected and deeply mourned. Mrs. Hamlin, widow of Rev. Dr. T. L. Hamlin, many years pastor of the Church of the Covenant in Washington, was an honored guest in 1913. One day she said to me, " Women are more pious than men but not more religious." When I asked her for the distinction she said that " pious" has more reference to the out- ward expression, "religious" to the strong tendencies of the soul. She thought there was apt to be "too much cant" in women's prayer meetings. She said, "I am fond of realities; my religion is practical. ' ' She told us that a missionary away up in the arctic regions desired to marry but knew of no suitable lady within his reach. So he wrote four letters to women whom he knew, marking them numbers 1, 2, 3, 4, and sent them in a large envelope to the Secretary of a Missionary Society, asking him to send them in the order indicated, and wait for a reply. Un- fortunately, on the way, the large envel- ope was broken and all four letters went 197 Experiences and Observations into the mail, four proposals to four women, all at the same time! Two of them answered in the negative, and two not at all. What would have happened had all said "Yes"? Later a brother mis- sionary, coming to the far north with his bride, brought with them a friend to re- main with her for a year. After a little the bachelor minister married the friend and they lived happily ever after. Mrs. Hamlin said that in one of their prayer meetings, a man prayed that her husband might "be anointed with the Isle of Pat- mos." Mrs. R. B. Richardson was a delightful addition to our social circle in both the winters of 1913 and of 1914. She told us of a man in a Connecticut town who called upon an ancient maiden and asked her to marry him. She, probably agreeable, but somewhat coy, said with drooping head, "I should like a little time to consider.' ' "Consider!" he said, "consider! you can consider to all eternity,' ' and took his hat and left. So far as known she is still con- sidering, possibly in maiden regret over her delay. The grief of Mrs. Richardson over the death of her husband was shared by all her friends at the sanitarium. She declared that she could never add any- 198 Days at Clifton Springs thing more to the cheerfulness of our group. The Hon. Mr. Boutell, sometime our am- bassador to Switzerland, visited the sani- tarium, where his venerable mother and his sister remained for three or four years. He told us of a visit he had with the Kaiser, William II. The German mon- arch invited the representatives of the other countries, on a certain occasion, to meet him for a banquet and a social hour. After the elegant feast was disposed of, the Kaiser withdrew into a little room by himself where he received his visitors, one by one, and conversed with them freely. Mr. Boutell said that the idea that he was talking with the German Emperor was a /little embarrassing to him at first, but that the Kaiser made himself so pleasant and agreeable that he soon felt very much at home with him. He asked him about various things in America and expressed himself as greatly interested in our re- public. Evidently the ambassador was very favorably impressed with his per^ sonality. Mr. Boutell himself is a short, squarely-built man and very dignified. Rev. C. N. Ransom, a missionary from among the Zulus, made himself very agreeable and helpful during the winter 199 Experiences and Observations of 1913. He said that one night he was on the Rigi, alone as he supposed, but at length he met a man and of course ad- dressed him. First he tried to use the French language but failed to get on very well. Then they tried German with a similar result. Finally the man said, "Do you speak English ?" "Why, certainly,' ' said Mr. Eansom, "I am an American.' ' "And I am an Englishman," replied the other. On inquiring his name he found it was "Smith." Mr. Ransom told us of a young Japanese, who had become a Chris- tian. When dying, he shouted, as his last word, "Hurray." He was not familiar with the conventional terms. A Mrs. Graybill, formerly a missionary, told me that awhile ago she attended a missionary convention at Clifton where she met various workers from missionary fields. Afterward she received a letter from one of these, a gentleman regarding whose identity she was not sure, since she had met so many. But at length she con- cluded that he was a certain bald-headed man with a fringe of bright red hair about his neck. A correspondence was contin- ued between them and in due time he asked her to marry him and she consented. When he came to marry her, she found 200 Days at Clifton Springs that he was not at all the man whom she had had in mind! She had become well acquainted with him intellectually and spiritually, but had no idea of his physical appearance ! The fact seemed to have no deleterious effect upon their wedded hap- piness. Dr. Mumf ord gave me a little verse that was written upon the wall of his room by Mr. Bliss Carman, and by him forgotten. It was as follows : " Have little care that life is short, And less that art is long, Success lies in the silences, Though Fame be in the song." Rev. John N. Blodgett, a clergyman of the Church of England, from Canada, told us of a young man whom his father found in his room on his wedding-day, crying bitterly. "Why, my son," said the father, "crying on your wedding-day! There were no tears on mine." "Well," said the son, "it was different with you: you married mother and I have to marry a stranger. Boo-hoo." He said that two men once went out to solicit money to give their pastor a vacation. "Why," said one of the parishioners, "does our minis- ter need a vacation?" "No," was the reply, "but we do." 201 Experiences and Observations Since completing my work at Clifton I have remained quietly at home. The lay- ing aside of the burden of pastoral responsibility, borne for about half a cen- tury, has been a great relief. Leisure for reading and writing and communion with friends has been vastly enjoyed. The " vacant chair " in my home is still in evi- dence, but draped now in thought not so much with badges of woe as with emblems of hope. Life is by no means without its charm. To be dissatisfied with it would be gross ingratitude. I notice from my record that since leaving Clifton I have preached eighty-six times in about thirty different places, over fifty times in con- nection with our own church : have united sixty-three couples in the holy bonds of matrimony, endeavoring to make the knot proof against the solicitations of the divorce court, and have attended seventy- three funerals. So that I have not been wholly out of touch with ministerial work. Yet the lack of physical vigor has pre- vented my doing much more for which opportunity was afforded. Often the flesh is weak when the spirit is willing. Minis- terially speaking, the last year was the least productive since my ordination. In January, 1917, I published a little 202 Bays at Clifton Springs poem, entitled, "Is Lincoln Dead?" copies of which were distributed as a kind of keepsake among my friends. Many- kindly acknowledgments were received and greatly prized. One of these is so gratify- ing that I venture to reproduce it. Gath- ering up all the self-assurance that I could find lying about, I sent a copy of the poem to Mr. Lincoln's son, the Hon. Robert Todd Lincoln of Chicago. From Wash- ington he replied as follows : Febbuaky 12, 1917. My Deab Sib : I appreciate very much your kindness in sending me the copy of your poem, "Is Lincoln Dead?" It moves me very much to receive such a testimonial of the feel- ing inspired by the memory of my father and I am very grateful to you for it. You express more eloquently than I can attempt to do, the emotions which are caused in me by the recurrence every year, and I think this year more than ever be- fore, of the exhibition of the regard and respect in which his memory is held. Believe me, Very sincerely yours, Eobebt T. Lincoln. The Rev. John Gaylord Davenport, D.D. 203 Experiences and Observations These years of comparative' rest and freedom from care have furnished oppor- tunity for reflection upon the past and the present. Many things have greatly im- pressed me as I have looked backward. The review of my life has made it very clear that a Thought above my own, a Hand stronger than mine, has been lead- ing all the way. Each experience of mine has been a preparation for something that was to follow: evidently so, as it now seems, although the fact may have escaped me at the time. Often from seemingly un- important occurrences great matters have resulted. The fatherless, country boy has unusual reason for gratitude for the way in which he has been guided. Rare privi- leges of working for humanity have been his, not always, I fear, improved as they should have been, but greatly prized. For how is the life worth living that cannot in some good measure help humanity to better and happier experiences and con- ditions? My one regret is that I have not accomplished more in that direction. I think I can conscientiously say that on the whole I have sincerely endeavored to do the best and the most possible. For the friends that the years have given me I am more grateful than any 204 Days at Clifton Springs words can tell. Every part of my life has furnished its kindred spirits, so many of them interesting, broad-minded, warm- hearted, often affectionate far beyond my desert. I thankfully recall them, friends of my boyhood, friends of college days, friends in the churches with which I have been connected, friends met here and there in the varied experiences that I have known. Without these life would have missed one of its chief charms. It would have been as dull as a summer without a flower or an autumn without a golden fruit or a vermilion leaf. They have given me more of enjoyment and help in many ways than I could possibly measure. I have had a theory that friends come to us providentially, each bringing a message that we need to receive, whether it be to warn, to instruct, to cheer, to comfort or to inspire. And the question has often arisen, as new acquaintances have been made and new friendships formed, as to just what the message might be, and what I was to pay for it in the way of help to the one who brought it. Certainly more charming or helpful friends no one ever had than have somehow gathered about me and thrown their benediction over my life. How I wish that I could have added 205 Experiences and Observations something of good to the experiences of them every one! The changes that have occurred in our land, and in the world, since I came into them, have been immense. When I was a boy I used to weep over the wrongs done to the slaves of the southland as the New York Tribune set them forth. For before " Uncle Tom's Cabin" was written, heart- touching tales in that connection were re- ported by the abolition papers. And now for more than half a century no slave foot has pressed the soil of our native land. When I was born there were but twenty- six stars upon our national banner in place of the forty-eight that are now shin- ing there in regal splendor. Martin Van Buren was president of the United States, the eighth that had occupied the august chair. His grandson was for a time a pupil of mine at Williams. When I was a little boy the Mexican War was rum- bling in the far south, and the great anxi- ety of us schoolboys was lest it might come north even to Connecticut. Then came the Civil War with its four years of horror, when the land seemed dyed with blood and billowing everywhere into sol- diers' graves. After forty years the Spanish- American War, short and sharp, 206 Days at Clifton Springs bringing great and lasting grief to some of us, made Cuba free and planted our glorious Stars and Stripes in sunrise lands and enrolled us as a " world power.' ' Partly as a result of these wars and more because of the enterprise and inven- tion, in a word the liberty, of our people, with its opportunity for self-development and expansion, the nation has become great and strong, wealthy and wise, far beyond the most ardent hopes of those who founded it. The privilege of watching this growth and feeling oneself part of the mighty Republic, reaching on to the ac- complishment of its high trust, has been appreciated and increasingly so as the years have progressed. And now the country is engaged in another conflict. We had hoped that we might be spared participation in this if otherwise our rights and the rights of humanity could be secured and preserved. Democ- racy contends with autocracy, and there can be no doubt as to which will ultimately prevail. Despotism is apparently making its last, desperate struggle for supremacy. We believe it doomed to utter failure. May God speed the right! During my remembrance the intellec- tual and religious attitude of the world has 407 Experiences and Observations seen vast change. The evolutionary the- ory, now almost universally adopted, has modified our views immeasurably. Natu- ral science has made unprecedented ad- vancement, as have mental and moral science, and philosophy in all its branches and applications. Modern criticism has been subjecting all things to its micro- scopic research, and while rejecting some of the traditions of the past, has estab- lished the true and the good upon sub- stantial foundations. A different view of humanity is now held from that long cher- ished by our predecessors, who saw the races of men passing in a black and cease- less procession down to the gates of ever- lasting despair, save only the very narrow percentage of those who had openly accepted the hopes of the Gospel. God as a Father was to them hidden behind God as a Governor, stern and exacting. The mercy that endureth forever was over- looked or forgotten. The physical was thought to be itself evil or the great source of evil and was lightly esteemed. We have come to an age in which the whole man is regarded as sacred and to be cared for and developed as a child of God. As a result the object of all mission work in our day, home and foreign, in the 208 Days at Clifton Springs slums and among the islands of the sea, is to uplift man in his entire being and in all his surroundings, giving the clean hands and the pure heart, the Christian home and the just government. This is what the Gospel means to us. No one can ap- preciate the change who has not shared the old and the new and felt the emotions engendered by both. Personally I am grateful for the progress which I have been permitted to witness and to share. After toil comes rest, and it is more and more coveted as time hurries on. "Twi- light Best," the name with which we christened our home seems to me increas- ingly appropriate. I begin to realize that the soft soothing light of the later after- noon is about me. Tranquillity reigns, and peace. Even the clamors of the great war fail to excite me as did the Civil War and the Spanish-American con- flict. Yet I should love to live long enough to see certain things accomplished. Among these is the overthrow of militarism and tyranny and the establishment of the peo- ple everywhere in the peaceful possession of their rights. Another thing is the ad- justment of the capital-labor question, changing the great contrasts now existing in society into conditions favorable to the 209 Experiences and Observations comfort and contentment of all. And then I should love to witness that Christian unity of which so much is said, not neces- sarily church unity, for I believe that de- nominational differences are grounded in divinely created human constitutions. I long to see every church recognize every other as its equal, leaving the members of each to decide for themselves the ques- tions of faith or polity that now separate God's children. Oh, well, I believe that these and all good things will come when the world is ready for them. If we do not see them here, we may be permitted to be- hold them from some higher sphere of existence. As I look backward the eastern hills are still aglow with the sunlight. Not yet through the deepening shadows of the west do I discern the evening star, but soon, no doubt, its point of light will pierce the gathering gloom. I remember that One said, "I am the bright, the morn- ing star." And I also remember that in our visible heavens the morning star of one date becomes the evening star of an- other. May it not be thus in spiritual realms? My twilight would indeed be dark and forbidding, did I not believe that that "Star out of Jacob," which the seer 210 Days at Clifton Springs of old beheld, would illumine it, and that the "Star of Bethlehem' ' would guide, not to the manger, but to the foot of the Throne occupied today by Him who has "all power in heaven and on earth.' ' 211 Deacidified using the Bookkeeper process. Neutralizing agent: Magnesium Oxide Treatment Date: April 2006 PreservationTechnologies A WORLD LEADER IN PAPER PRESERVATION 1 1 1 Thomson Park Drive Cranberry Township, PA 16066 LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 017 497 653 3