- 1 •»• y ■ • i ' I ***** BOSTON, MASS-/ i^ To ».-, Date.., Class JBJLlSGO Book _^utoJl?L_ Cbarles flDcEwen M^be A MEMORIAL PREPARED BY HIS SON HENRY KNIGHT HYDE EDDY PRESS WARE MASSACHUSETTS X90I rf^ff^ TO THE MEMORY OF MY FATHER AND TO HER WHO WAS HIS TRUE HELPMEET AND SHARER OF HIS LABORS THIS BOOK IS AFFECTIONATELY DEDICATED ANTECEDENTS AND EDUCATION " Records of the providences and mercies of God experienced in my life, with some reflections occasioned by them. n "I, Alvan Hyde, was born at Norwich, in Connecticut, February 2, 1768. My father, Joseph Hyde, was a farmer of a reputable charac- ter in that town, a friend to religious order and religious institutions, a constant attendant on public and family worship; but not a professor of religion. From him I received much good advice in my early years, which by the blessing of God had great influence on my conduct. I loved him with tender affection, and ever felt myself bound to obey all his commands. Of my mother I have but faint recollection, as she died when I was but six years old." Such are the opening sentences of the diary of Rev. Alvan Hyde, D. D., long pastor of the church at Lee, Mass. A worthy descendant of a staunch New England family, who were among the first settlers of Norwich, Conn., he made a CHARLES McEWEN HYDE profound impression in southern Berkshire on the life of its people. The extract from his diary above quoted reveals to us a glimpse of the religious feeling which early possessed him. A sober, earnest preacher of God's word, he saw before his death a rare harvest for his spiritual labors. So strongly did he impress his individ- uality on the church of which he was the pastor, that to this day, a hundred years after, his suc- cessor can entertain a willing auditor with the tale of his pastoral fidelity and anecdotes of his ministry. These were the days of an highly educated ministry and it was but natural that the inter- est of the successful pastor of southern Berkshire should early be enlisted in the school of north- ern Berkshire, founded through the liberality of Col. Ephraim Williams toward the close of the eighteenth century, which soon, with laudable ambition and a deserved recognition of the wis- dom of the founder, became known as Williams College. Of this institution Dr. Hyde was made vice-president, an office at that time entirely honorary and since abolished. Hence it was but natural that his sons, as they were fitted, should go to Williams for their education, though Alvan Hyde himself was a graduate of Dartmouth. ANTECEDENTS AND EDUCATION The worthy doctor was blessed with a large fam- ily, eleven children in all. The fonrth of the sons, Joseph, graduated from college in the class of 1822, and for a year after graduation remained as tutor there. He then studied law with Burr & Benedict and was admitted to the bar in New York City, where he began the practice of his profession. Here he married Catherine, daugh- ter of Judge Charles McEwen, a woman of rare refinement and delicacy of feeling. For a short while he was settled in Palmyra, but soon return- ed to New York, where he became connected with the Bible Society, as Assistant Treasurer and General Agent, a position which he occupied for sixteen years. He was prominently identified with Dr. Adams' church, active in its councils, and on intimate terms with its pastor. His oldest son was Charles McEwen Hyde, born June 8, 1832, named for his mother's father. On her side he was a lineal descendant of one of the Scotch Covenanters, the first McEwen to come to America having been engaged in some of the bloody battles of that stormy period of Scotch history, and seeking refuge in one of the closing years of the seventeenth century on the hospitable shores of the newly founded colonies. Perhaps the proverbial tendency of the Scotch CHARLES McEWKN HYDE toward philosophy may have had something to do with the later bent of his mind in that direc- tion. It certainly was not as responsible as his parents were for the early development of his intellectual powers. It is credibly related of him that at the tender age of three years he was ac- customed to take his part in family prayers by reading the Bible in turn with other members of the family. This evidence of precocity was not the only one. He early developed an aptitude for language study and was thoroughly drilled in Latin and Greek. His father naturally wished to have him enter Williams college ; his comple- ted course in school found him ready for entrance at the age of fourteen. Wisely considering him then too young to gain the full benefit of a col- lege course, his father sent him to Ware, Mass. for a taste of business life. His father's young- er brother, William, was then cashier of the Hampshire Manufacturers' Bank there, a man of influence in Ware and surrounding towns, of ex- cellent judgment and rare common sense. For a many-sided outlook on life, there are few better positions than behind a bank counter. The young bank clerk, fresh from his city home, must have gained much valuable experience as he saw his uncle meet successively farmer, merchant, ANTECEDENTS AND EDUCATION and manufacturer in this bustling little village of central Massachusetts. Here, too, were un- doubtedly learned those other lessons of business experience, common-places to most men of af- fairs, but often a sealed book to ministers of the Gospel. Such knowledge, while not directly the means of saving souls, often gains for a minister the respect of the men of his parish and stands him in good stead in the administration of affairs. " It was the middle of September 1848, when the young fellows who were afterwards to con- stitute the core and bulk of the college class of 1852, came together for the first time in one of the two recitation rooms of Kellogg Hall, which small building had been erected the year previ- ous. Of course the first thing for these new com- ers to do was to learn each other's names and faces. There were two or three small knots of fellows, who had fitted for college in the same school, or who had otherwise gained some ac- quaintance with each other as coming from the same town, or city; but the greater part were totally ignorant of each other, and had a deal of looking and inquiry to make before they could even greet one another by name on the campus or in the boarding-houses. "All this was a novel and interesting expe- CHARLES McEWEN HYDE rience to all; and, in the natnre of the case, was never likely to be repeated, at least on such a scale. Individuals of the class were more or less afraid of each other, until better known; and all were pretty much alike afraid of the Sopho- mores, who actually in a night or two exercised their functions of limited sovereignty by breaking out the windows of two of the new-comers, and otherwise wantonly demolishing pieces of their property. These two transient sufferers are still living in this year of Grace, 1900; and both are highly reputable and influential ministers of the Gospel. "I remember employing a good deal of the time of the first three or four of our recitation hours in trying to familiarize myself with the looks and dress of my classmates as preparatory to learning and remembering their names. All were total strangers to me. Nearly all were, like myself, ill-clothed and countrified. I also re- member, however, being struck day after day with the handsome countenance, and superior clothing, and appropriate manners of a certain member sitting near the middle of the class. This one, thus discriminated in my eye from all the rest, and sharply discriminated from most of the rest, was Charles Hyde of New York. 6 ANTECEDENTS AND EDUCATION I learned little by little, that lie had been fitted for college in that city; that his father and sev- eral uncles were graduates of the college; and that his grandfather had been for many years the vice-president of the college. I thought to my- self, — he looks like it, and he behaves like it. u When he came to recite day after day, his work in all departments seemed as much beyond the average work of his classmates as his ap- pearance was superior to theirs. At first the two most imposing looking men in the class, espec- ially in the act of recitation, were John Dickin- son and Titus Deming, who sat next to each other, and had been brought up near each other from childhood in South Williamstown; but not even the first of these, who shortly outstripped his fellow altogether, ever gained the calm self- composure and the evident mastery of the topic in hand displayed by Hyde from the start. The first term had not passed before it was well settled in the councils of the class that Charles Hyde would be their valedictorian, and that opinion was never really shaken till the end. u However, gradually and relatively to some half dozen others, his recitation work declined in the Junior and Senior years. In independent investigation of subjects as they came up one CHARLES McEWEN HYDE after the other, particularly ethical and meta- physical subjects, he fell noticeably behind a considerable number of others; but he never lost, after all, a certain charming pre-eminence over them. His personal acquaintance was easi- ly made and retained; he drew the confidence of everybody as a man and a Christian ; and I think it may be truly said in the best sense of that much abused word, that Charley Hyde was throughout the most popular man in this college class." So writes Prof. A. L,. Perry, so long identi- fied with the Berkshire institution in later years as professor of political economy. Another classmate, Rev. L,ewellyn Pratt, D. D. of Norwich, Conn, thus describes his student life. "It is a great pleasure to recall a student life so nearly ideal as that of Charles M. Hyde. He entered the Freshman class in Williams in 1848, one of the youngest of its members, took the first place in scholarship at once, and held it steadily through the whole course, and at his graduation was the valedictorian. All this was accomplished with such ease, and with such unconsciousness of doing anything remarkable or being superior to anybody, that it seemed a 8 ANTECEDENTS AND EDUCATION matter of course. He never appeared to be driven or in haste but was always prepared; was about equally successful in all parts of the cur- riculum, and bad leisure enough to do a large amount of general reading. u In manner he was always a gentleman, careful in dress and in speech, considerate of others, unwilling to give or take offence, affable and companionable, so unhurried that he could give time and help to others ; and commanded the respect and confidence of the whole college. He could enjoy boyish sports with the rest; but from these he withdrew when they became coarse or lawless. He was a model of good manners and of a clean life, and yet he was no prig, nor ever dreamed of posing as a model. Gentlemanliness and correct deportment seemed native and inherent in him, and in these he ex- celled as in scholarship with the same uncon- sciousness and absence of effort. " We all felt that back of all this, which was so correct and admirable, was religious principle. He had inherited virtue, had been well trained, he had made duty his guiding star. Reverent, faithful, true and pure, he had a charmed life in the midst of the whirls and tem- pests and temptations of college life, merited CHARLES McEWEN HYDE and "obtained a good report.* ' "If I am to speak of defects — and he was so free from vanity and over-estimate of himself that he would not tolerate the claim of perfec- tion — I should say, lack of concentration and aggressiveness. Perhaps the fact that what he did cost so little effort was a loss to him, for he never seemed summoned to test himself and to do his best. He was a universal favorite, made no enmities, was friendly and in a measure sympa- thetic, but had no special friendships. He did not aspire to be a leader, was too self-contained, was too satisfied with things as they were and aimed too modestly to make himself complete in the course prescribed. It must be said, however, that he was but twenty years old when he grad- uated; that he had been trained to the New England reserve and shrinking from ostentation; that he regarded himself as a learner and not a leader; and these may account for the lack of which I speak. "We all trusted him and loved him, and all rejoiced when later in life he came to his work, where, free from conventionalities, he was to become the leader of men, the teacher of teach- ers and preachers, where all his varied acquire- ments, his purity of character and sanctified life 10 ANTECEDENTS AND EDUCATION were to find concentration and scope in laying the foundation of Christian states and in hasten- ing the coming of the Kingdom of God. For this, his long and ample preparation had richly qualified him; in this, he was permitted to ac- complish a singularly original work; for this and for all his stainless and beautiful life, his mem- ory will be cherished in the hearts of all his surviving classmates." The foregoing letters give us a clear concep- tion of the position he took in college and reveal to us many of the characteristics so noticeable in later years. College judgments, while often immature, yet possess a positive value for the reason that they are based on the daily revela- tion of a man's thought and mode of life. While the class prophecies sometimes go wide of the mark, it is more often true that the testing time of a four years course makes plain the possession or the lack of those traits necessary for a man's success in the world. So when his classmates paid him a noteworthy token of re- spect as he made his appearance on the commence- ment stage, it was not an effervescent tribute to what is called in college parlance the "popular" man, but it was a glad recognition of their vale- dictorian's ability and human sympathy. II CHARLES McEWEN HYDE There only remains to be said that the four years of his course were well filled with dis- tinctively literary work. Numerous essays, some of which have been preserved, give abundant evidence of this, as do the records of the Philo- logian, the oldest literary society in Williams, of which he was an active member. His thoughts had early turned to the minis- try, so there was no period of hesitation while the choice of a profession was being made. His family associations, as well as the natural bent of his mind, inclined him to the study of theol- ogy. Nor can we doubt that the higher call to the ministry was made plain to him by the witness of the Spirit. Hence it is not strange that we should find him, after being employed for a few months as private tutor at New Haven, Conn, and Savannah, Ga., entering Union Theo- logical Seminary in New York in 1853. Owing to the fact that there were other children in the family to be educated, the necessity arose for ob- taining means for the completion of his seminary course. Hence after the first year at Union we find him teaching in his uncle Alexander's pri- vate school at Lee. About this time his father closed his connection with the Bible Society and it became necessary to make a home outside of 12 ANTECEDENTS AND EDUCATION the city for the growing family of seven children — three boys and four girls. Following his brother Alexander's example, Joseph Hyde started a similar school for boys in Sheffield. In this venture he depended greatly on his eldest son, not only for assistance in teaching but for the general management and direction of the school. On the son's part there must have been a keen feeling of disappointment at the postponement or possible abandonment of long cherished plans. If this were so, no mur- mur .of discontent ever escaped his lips, but he bent to the task before him with all the force of his will. Taking on himself the work of at least two men he devoted himself assiduously to the family welfare, and after teaching during school sessions would work long and laboriously in carrying on the farm connected with the school. It must have been a testing time for the young man fresh from his college ideals. But we see him exhibiting in marked degree that unvarying persistence which ceases not until the work in hand is done. The subject of his col- lege valedictory was "Hidden Power": such pow- er and reserve force we notice in these few teach- ing years when the call of duty led him away from his chosen path along a road that was stony *3 CHARLES McEWEN HYDE and hard to travel. The way finally opened however for him to continne his theological studies. The last two years of his course he spent at Princeton Theological Seminary, grad- uating in the class of 1859. The rather stern orthodoxy of that stronghold of Presbyterian faith naturally made an impression upon his theological thinking, but to his credit be it said that he was ever more in sympathy with the broad humanitarianism of Mark Hopkins than the Calvinism of Dr. McCosh. H NEW ENGLAND PASTORATES His first essay in pastoral work was at Gosh- en, Conn, where he supplied the pulpit for a few months. August 19, 1862 he was ordained and installed pastor of the Congregational Church in Brimfield, Mass. The call to this parish came to him largely through the influence of his uncle William at Ware, who was well and favorably known by the Brookfield conference of churches. The parish was rather attractive to a young man just out of the seminary. The town itself was one of the oldest in western Massachusetts and though not large, possessed a number of families of good New England stock, in many cases the descendants of the first settlers. Nestling peace- fully among the hills, the lack of water power had fortunately prevented the desecration of its natural beauty by the erection of mills and fac- tories. The railroads too had passed it by and so, longer than many New England rural com- munities, it had retained the characteristics of the best stage of development of such towns. x 5 CHARLES McEWEN HYDE Almost entirely agricultural in its interests the town has ever maintained an active interest in church and educational work, thus living up to its best inherited traditions. The men enjoyed discussions of knotty religious problems and the women planned for the aid of religious enterprises far removed from their own borders: a people hard to move, not given to outward manifestations of enthusiasm, yet possessed of the saving characteristics of honesty and com- mon-sense, not treating the deep things of life lightly but according them the reverence they deserved. What if, perhaps, there may have been a great measure of importance attaching to the superficial things of life as well? A rural community like this, somewhat removed from direct contact with the larger movements of the world, naturally becomes more or less self-cen- tered and the harmless gossip of the neighbor- hood relieves the pressure of isolation. As when the New England farmer makes a new clearing and starts to cultivate the land before given to forest growth, he finds the soil strong; so, when the New Englander's reserve is cleared away and the man himself is subjected to the mellowing influences of high and Christian ideals, we find him ready and responsive to them — a strong 16 NEW ENGLAND PASTORATES man — strong in his individuality and determin- ation. The Church in Brimfield had a long history back of it, having been organized in 1724 when the township included parts of what now are Palmer, Monson, Warren, Holland and Wales. Beginning at a time of close union between church and state when none but church mem- bers could vote at town elections, when the bounds of parish and town were co-terminous, and when the population was equally taxed for the support of both, it had exercised a most im- portant influence in the town's history. During Mr. Hyde's ministry its prestige was not im- paired, for in the eight years of his service, from the date of Dr. Hopkins' sermon at the installing council to his resignation in 1870, over one hun- dred were added to the church, more than seventy of these additions being by profession. One notable revival occurred in which the labors of the pastor were supplemented by the earnest and successful efforts of the late Henry F. Durant of Wellesley. A prominent lawyer and Christian layman in one of the large cities of the middle west in writing of this Brimfield pastorate says on learning of his death u Nothing has more stirred me for a long time. It has recalled early 17 CHARLES McEWEN HYDE associations, old friends, my youthful ambitions and most of all righteous decisions in which Mr. Hyde was an almost controlling factor. He probably did not look upon his work in Brimfield as being one of his most fruitful fields, but he was so able to influence some lives there that they have never failed to remember the good work that he did." He manifested an interest in the intellectual development of his parishioners by starting a book club. This helped the early formation of the public library which has since been a potent factor in the village life. Among the strong personalities of the town was Samuel Austin Hitchcock, a native of Brimfield who, going to Boston early in life, had amassed a fortune in mercantile pursuits, and now retired, was spending his declining years in his ancestral home. By careful saving, his early resources had increased until he became one of Boston's merchant princes. As illustrating his calculating and provident turn of mind he used to say of himself that it was his habit to patron- ize each new tailor that came to town, for he discovered that each new-comer would quote him the very lowest price in hope of getting his cus- tom. To Mr. Hitchcock, Brimfield is indebted 18 NEW ENGLAND PASTORATES for the establishment of the academy which bears his name, and of which Mr. Hyde was a trustee during nearly all his residence. Just be- fore Mr. Hitchcock's death he persuaded him to give $25,000. for the library in the old Congre- gational House in Boston which, too, in conse- quence bore his name. Mr. Hyde allied himself with those seeking to advance the public interests of the town and was ready to aid in all worthy causes. We thus find him in his first pastorate exhibiting those habits of public service, of quick sympathy with proper means for stimulating intelligence, and of wise counsel for the benevolent which were the distinguishing characteristics of his Christian service in later years. The fierce struggle between the North and South at this time, into which the flower of the youth of this country was drawn, did not pass by him unheeded. As the messenger of the Gospel of Peace his place was not in the ranks of the combatants. The opportunity for service so strongly appealed to him however, that procur- ing a substitute for his pulpit, he worked among the soldiers for several weeks as a member of the Christian Commission. Disregarding the old advice never to marry *9 CHARLES McEWEN HYDE in one's own congregation he wooed and won Mary, the youngest daughter of Dr. Ebenezer Knight, the village physician. Unlike in many ways, each seemed to possess in part what the other lacked and no better argument was ever made for the marriage of opposites than their long and happy married life, in which a common ideal of consecration and service dominated the minor differences of thought and temperament. The Brimfield pastorate was terminated May 31st, 1870, and Mr. Hyde soon accepted a call to the Center Congregational Church of Haver- hill, Mass., there succeeding Rev. Dr. Munger. A committee from the Mount Vernon church of Boston went to Brimfield at the suggestion of Mr. Durant, before this call was given, to satisfy themselves of his ability to act as Dr. Kirk's colleague. As the idea of any colleague even- tually proved distasteful to Dr. Kirk, the matter fell through on that account, though Mr. Hyde had preached twice in the Boston church with acceptance. It is related of the committee that as they went to Brimfield to spy out the land, only one man could be found to take exception to their pastor's ways and conduct. He did so on very general grounds and when pressed to particularize, finally admitted that he did not 20 NEW ENGLAND PASTORATES like his walk. As a matter of fact he did have a certain elasticity and springiness in his step which was noticeable. It was the walk of a man able to make his own way through the crowd, possessed of a calm confidence. The field to which he was called differed materially from the quiet country town which he had left. At the time of his installation, November 15th, 1870, Haverhill was a small New England city. Fairly homogeneous in pop- ulation, its inhabitants principally engaged in the manufacture of shoes, it had not then passed into a position of such commanding importance in that line of industry as it now occupies, nor had it then been made the battle ground for the fierce conflicts between capital and organized labor of later years. Many of the operatives at this period were still of native stock, the influx of French Canadians then having hardly begun. The congregation of the Center Church was in part made up of the better class of these opera- tives, cutters for example, whose work demand- ed sufficient intelligence to gain for them good wages. In this active, bustling, growing place there were bound to be parish problems worthy of the best efforts of any man. Here too was a wider 21 CHARLES McEWKN HYDE scope in the fields of activity outside the church organization. For the greater part of his resi- dence he was an active and interested member of the school board and also of the Board of Visit- ors of Bradford Academy situated just across the river. The cause of temperance enlisted his sympathies and he was an energetic worker in its behalf. As in Brimfield, he allied himself with those in the community at large who strove to raise its moral and intellectual standing. For over five vears he was connected with the Mon- day Evening Club, an institution of the city which has done much to keep its members in touch with vital questions of the day. An asso- ciation of this kind, composed of business and professional men, brought together frequently to listen to an essay by one of its members and to participate in the discussion it may arouse, is a valuable institution for any town for the sake of the intellectual stimulus it furnishes as well as for the social opportunities it affords. Here the lay- man has a chance to talk back to the minister under whose preaching he may have to sit silent from Sunday to Sunday, whether he agrees with the sermonizer or not. Liberals and conserva- tives have to listen to each other's arguments and a broader toleration must perforce ensue. 22 NEW ENGLAND PASTORATES There is little doubt that Mr. Hyde's interest in economic and scientific subjects was in this way preserved, if not increased. Here we must begin to speak of him with a new title for his Alma Mater conferred the de- gree of doctor of divinity upon him in 1872. Dr. Hyde, for so was he familiarly known in the later years of his life, possessed the happy faculty of original suggestion. Many men are blessed with the capacity for executing well the directions of others, but to comparatively few is it given to see passing events in their true per- spective and seize on those worthy of distinction. To yoke the past to the present, to bring the lessons of yesterday to bear on the problems of to-day is not within the ability of every educated man. In those who possess such powers there is a vein of originality, not perhaps amounting to genius but akin to it : such ability in the poli- tician is the power to discern the shaping of a winning issue in the campaign: in the merchant, the foreseeing the course of the market. As illustrating the first of these qualities, as well as furnishing tangible evidence of Dr. Hyde's in- terest in missions, it is interesting to note that when the city of Haverhill purchased the old Atwood House, the birth-place of Harriet (At- 23 CHARLES McEWEN HYDE wood) Newell, for the purpose of erecting a new high school building on that site, just before the old house was demolished, a memorial service was held in it at his suggestion. From an ac- count which he wrote of this service and which appeared in the public print the following ex- tracts are taken. 4 'With the permission of Mr. Ellsworth, who has bought the old Atwood house, on Cres- cent Place, and is soon to take it down, memorial services were held, as had been announced Tues- day afternoon. Many visitors passed through its maze of rooms, viewing with eager curiosity this venerable relic. The bright December sun blinked through bulls'-eyes over the front door. The big fire-place, with its curious jambs, in the east parlor, and the queer bed-press attracted attention. The old-fashioned kitchen, and the cubby-holes in the huge chimney were next in- spected. Up stairs, visitors wandered in and out of the many queer-shaped, low-studded cham- bers, carrying off most of the wall paper that had such an attractive figure piece, two lovers reclining on a mossy bank. Most interest, of course, was felt in entering the little low, one- windowed closet under the rough roof boards, which Harriet Atwood made her place of retire- 24 NEW ENGLAND PASTORATES ment for closet devotion, and where most of her letters and journals were written. The memo- rial services were held in the west parlor, where in Mrs. Atwood's days, a half dozen ladies were accustomed to assemble for their weekly female prayer meetings. "Harriet Atwood, born October ioth, 1793, was the third of nine children, and the first born in the house on Crescent Place. She is de- scribed as being naturally warm-hearted and cheerful, with a strong love for books, and insa- tiate desire for mental improvement. Her sister Mary, afterward Mrs. Aaron Hardy, long identi- fied with the Haverhill Female Benevolent Soci- ety, was perhaps more gifted and attractive personally. But the circumstances that brought Harriet into connection with the origin of Foreign Missions from this country, have made Harriet the more widely known and honored. While attending Bradford Academy, in 1806, she was hopefully converted, being at the time only thirteen years old. 4 'In June, 1810, Judson, Newell, Nott, Mills, and Hall, at the meeting of the General Associ- ation at Bradford, had offered their services as missionaries to the heathen in foreign lands. In October, Miss Nancy Haseltine, afterward Mrs. 25 CHARLES McEWEN HYDE Judson, told her friend Harriet Atwood of her decision to go to India as a foreign missionary's wife. October 23rd, Mr. Newell and Harriet Atwood met each other for the first time. In the following April they had made a marriage engagement. February 9th, 181 2, they were married in the east parlor of the old Atwood house, and ten days afterward with Mr. and Mrs. Judson, they set sail from Salem for Calcutta. u Not permitted by the East India Company to commence missionary labor in India, they ob- tained permission to take up their abode in the Isle of France. Mrs. Newell's health, which had suffered from fever on ship-board, failed en- tirely after she arrived on shore. November 30th, 1 81 2, she died, at the early age of nineteen years and two months. "But her example and influence live on. As Dr. Anderson wrote in the letter read at the meeting, 'The going of these ladies as mission- aries to foreign heathen lands, was at that time generally disapproved; and I believe, that even the Prudential Committee of the Board were far from being aware of their value as members of the mission. But we all now see how well it was that they were not left behind; for Mrs. Newell and Mrs. Judson awakened a more lively 26 NEW ENGLAND PASTORATES interest at home than did their husbands; and they amply vindicated the right and privilege of their sex to engage personally in the work of foreign missions. Mrs. Newell — for I am now speaking especially of her — lived not to herself, nor did she die to herself; and probably she ac- complished more by what seemed her untimely death, than she could have done by a long life. The memorial of' her cultivated mind and un- wavering devotion to the missionary cause, pub- lished soon after her death, secured for her a high place in the esteem and affection of the Christian community, which she has retained through sixty years. And her memory will be cherished in the Church of Christ, though the house in which she was born and the memorials of her death on the Isle of France shall have passed away. Her brief life on earth was long enough to show how a delicate, educated, pious woman can en- dure hardships as a good soldier of Jesus Christ. ' The noble edifice, that crowns the hill across the river, (Bradford Female Semina- ry, erected at a cost of $150,000.) is a memori- al of her and Mrs. Judson; and I trust the good people of Haverhill when they look at their High School, will remember that it stands on the spot where Harriet Newell was born." 27 CHARLES McEWEN HYDE The Haverhill pastorate was concluded De- cember 15th, 1875. In the words of one, not a member of his own church, with whom he was associated in other work; "it needs no testimony of mine to his eminent worth in every field he labored in : his practical ability, his earnestness and resolution, his unwearied devotion to every good cause he espoused were conspicuous in Haverhill as in Honolulu and made him to be admired and relied upon by all who knew him." 28 MISSIONARY AND EDUCATIONAL WORK IN HAWAII Among the treasured heirlooms of the fam- ily is a yellow, time-stained bit of paper reading as follows : $8. Boston, May 24, 1825. The American Board of Commissioners for For- eign Missions acknowledge the receipt of Eight dollars, avails of sale of prints of Owhyhean youths, sold by the Rev. Alvan Hyde Jr. deceased, by the Rev. Alvan Hyde, D. D., I^ee, Ms. By order of the Board, Henry Hill, Treasurer. This is a bit of tangible evidence that thus early in the history of this honored missionary Board had the interest of the family been aroused in the Hawaiian field. But it is a far cry from L,ee to Honolulu, immensely farther in 1825 than it is to-day, and the good Berkshire pastor little dreamed that in a half-century a grandson of his would go as a missionary to Hawaii, and that his eight dollars, with countless other small con- 29 CHARLES McEWEN HYDE tributions from American Christians, would in the same length of time accomplish, by the grace of God, the redemption of a nation from idol- atry. So much has been written of the wonder- ful success speedily attained by the early mission- aries to Hawaii that it is unnecessary here to recount the details of the thrilling story. In the comparatively brief period from the arrival of the first workers in 1820 to the year 1863 over fifty thousand members had been received into the churches. Then "came the time when the islands were to be recognized as nominally a Christian nation and the responsibility of their Christian institutions was to be rolled on them- selves. In June, 1863, Dr. Anderson, Senior Secretary of the American Board, met with the Hawaiian Evangelical Association to discuss this important measure. After twenty-one days of debate the result was reached with perfect una- nimity, and the Association agreed to assume the responsibility which had been proposed to them. This measure was consummated by the Board in the autumn following and those stations no longer looked to the American churches for manage- ment and control." u The mission has been, as such, disbanded and merged in the community." After events have seemed to call in question 30 WORK IN HAWAII the wisdom of this action, though at the time circumstances seemed to render such a course imperatively necessary. While the success of the Gospel had been marvelous in its transform- ing power, it was almost too much to expect that a nation, but one generation removed from bar- barism, should acquire in that length of time the stability and persistence of ideals to be found in older Christian communities. While the pres- ence of the missionary fathers acted as a restrain- ing, yet stimulating influence, the withdrawal of the fostering care of the American Board doubt- less lessened the intensity of Christian work. Some of the Hawaiians needed to be kept from relapsing into heathenish customs while all need- ed further incitement to Christian duty. A doz- en years experience convinced the prudential committee of the Board that to conserve the results already attained a re-entry in limited de- gree to the field from which they had withdrawn was necessary. The establishment of a native ministry in the churches had been one of the important results consummated by previous missionary ac- tivity. The necessary training of the young Ha- waiians for the active work of the pastorate had been accomplished in various ways. Many classes 3i CHARLES McEWEN HYDE of theological students had been gathered by different pastors and been instructed by them in the details of parish work and administration, as well as in exposition and homiletics. At least two attempts had been made toward the estab- lishment of a theological seminary, before the Hawaiian Board undertook to establish one in 1873, on the premises in Honolulu formerly occu- pied by the United States Marine Hospital. The instructors were three of the missionary fathers, but death and the increasing infirmities of age soon cut short their labors. It now seemed feasible to the American Board to send out a man to take charge of this school and, through the instruction and influence of such an institu- tion permanently established, to raise the minis- terial standard and thus by the efforts of a trained and zealous ministry to hold the people at large for the right. It was the New England type of Christian- ity that had been dominant in the evangelization of the islands, and hence it was but natural that to New England should they look at this time for the man they wanted. They were desirous of securing a man of experience in the pastor- ate, possessed of a practical acquaintance with parish problems, intelligent and tactful in the 32 WORK IN HAWAII application of attempted solutions, and equipped by education and training for the filling of a post where the direct influence he was to exert over his students should be hardly less important than the counsel he could give to weak and needy churches where the touch of a strong hand was needed to set things moving in the right direction. Such qualifications they deem- ed Dr. Hyde to possess and the invitation was extended to him to take charge of this training school in Honolulu. March 21st, 1877, at the First Congregation- al church in Chelsea were held farewell ex- ercises previous to the departure of ten mis- sionaries of the A. B. C. F. M. for their different fields of labor. Among them were Dr. Hyde and his wife who, after several consultations with the officials of the Board, had decided to leave their New England home and friends and take up new lines of work in the distant islands of the sea. Mrs. and Miss Knight, Mrs. Hyde's mother and sister, who had been inmates of the parson- age at Haverhill for several winters and with whom the pastor's family were accustomed to spend the summer months, finally decided to make their home with the pilgrims, so there were six in the little party to start on the long 33 CHARLES McEWEN HYDE journey across trie continent, the two not enu- merated being trie two boys of trie family, born at Brimfield and Haverhill. Landing in Honolulu in June 1877, the hospitable home of Mr. and Mrs. S. N. Castle was thrown open to them and here their first impres- sions of Hawaiian life were received. The rec- iprocity treaty with the United States had but lately gone into effect. Under its provisions Hawaiian sugar was to be allowed free entry into American ports and an enormous and profitable market was thus opened for what was already the largest product of the islands. The stimulus thus afforded to the leading industry of the com- munity gave a bright promise for its commercial future. As yet it had not begun to effect the changes in the city which in the two succeeding decades practically transformed it. The social life of the community was delightfully simple, although the seeming unconventionality was oft- en strictly limited by the rules of local eti- quette. The predominant element in business and social affairs being composed largely of the descendants of the missionary fathers and moth- ers, there was a strict regard for the outward observance of religion's requirements and no less truly a genuine desire on the part of most to 34 WORK IN HAWAII faithfully discharge their Christian obligations. This created a distinctly religious atmosphere as well as a power to be reckoned with in con- nection with important undertakings. The ma- jority of the foreign element were thus by birth and training disposed to entertain kindly feelings for the Hawaiians, not attempting to exploit them for their own advantage, but sincerely de- sirous of their welfare. The natives themselves for the most part cherished no ill-will against their white brethren. Altogether there was a remarkable absence of race prejudice. This was probably due in part to the wisdom displayed by Dr. Judd and his associates; who, when called upon to assist in the establishment of a civilized form of government, had been keen enough and loyal enough to their adopted land to maintain the native rulers and officials in their positions. No carpet-bagging schemes could be alleged against them; and the Hawaiians, thus upheld as the nominal rulers of the land at least, were not subjected to the indignities so often concom- itant with the advance of Anglo-Saxon civiliza- tion. They had been fearfully reduced in numbers since Capt. Cook's visit, when he estimated the population to be some four hundred thousand. 35 CHARLES McEWEN HYDE The ravages of disease had practically decimated their numbers and they seemed unable to hold their ground in the midst of their new conditions. Superstition was alarmingly rife amongst them and to counteract this, together with its attend- ant train of fears, a fresh infusion of moral and intellectual courage was needed. Their simple wants were easily satisfied, for a day's wages would ordinarily suffice to provide for the family needs for a week. To arouse them from apathy, the sure fore-runner of decay, they must gain a new appreciation of the value of labor and edu- cation. Such briefly stated were the conditions which Dr. Hyde found confronting him on his arrival. It was obvious that a knowledge of the native language was a requisite of prime impor- tance, and with characteristic energy he set him- self at once to master it. During the brief period before the opening of the school, the name of which had now become u The North Pacific Missionary Institute", he had made such< rapid progress that he was at once able to deliver his lectures in Hawaiian, and to engage in con- versation with his students in their own tongue. Mr. Castle, with characteristic generosity, decid- ed to provide a suitable home for the new-comers, 36 WORK IN HAWAII and having solicited and obtained aid for this purpose from Rev. Elias Bond of Kohala, he bought the lot, where soon the simple two story house was put up, which, ever after, Dr. Hyde had the privilege of calling his home. This house has been a veritable haven of rest to many travel-stained missionaries en route to or from their labor, the mere fact of being thus employed being the "open sesame' ' to its comforts. He was not willing that his relations with his pupils should be confined to the class-room. Beside the imparting, of biblical information and the instruction in theology, he wanted to teach them how to live. As most of the students were married men and lived on the seminary grounds with their families there was abundant opportunity for instruction in the art of house- keeping. This part of the curriculum Dr. Hyde was glad to turn over to his wife, whose New England ideals were rudely shocked by the shift- less and improvident ways of the lazy ones, but whose patient efforts, in most cases, were reward- ed by visible improvement. The number of students was never very large, usually ranging between ten and twenty, the buildings accomodating the latter number if necessity arose. As most of them were de- 37 CHARLES McEWEN HYDE pendent on their own exertions for their support during their seminary course, it was incumbent on Dr. Hyde to provide outside work for them. Putting on an old suit of clothes, he worked with them at first, in the institute grounds, showing them how they should be improved and kept in order. This practical illustration did two things for them ; it gave them a sense of the dignity of labor and also an opportunity of earning their own livelihood, for there was a constant demand for just such service among the good people of Honolulu. Their confidence was soon won completely and they came to him with all their filikias (troub- les). If one of the family was taken sick, or the father wanted a new pair of shoes and did not have quite enough money to buy them, over to his house would they go knowing that his assist- ance would be forthcoming. They felt free to ask for his help at any hour of the day or night and felt sure of all the aid in his power. It makes a vast difference whether the man to whom you go for advice listens patiently to your tale or impatiently gives you to understand that you are wasting his valuable time. It was a striking characteristic of Dr. Hyde that he was thus willing to lay aside the work he had in 38 WORK IN HAWAII hand and grant a willing audience to the person who came to him for assistance. As he express- ed it u the man who wanted to see him, was the man he wanted to see". One of the graduates of the institute, Rev. W. M. Kalwaiwaa, thus writes of his recollections : "In the year 1881 I entered the training school for native pastors in Honolulu, and there first met the Rev. C. M. Hyde, and presented to him a letter of introduction from Rev. T. Coan written in behalf of the Evangelical Association of the Island of Hawaii. "There were twelve of us students in the school this year, and we pursued our studies with Dr. Hyde three years, when we were sent out to our respective fields of labor among the native churches in the islands. During these three years we became well acquainted with our teach- er, and I desire to note here some of the impres- sions which the character and life of the man made upon us while we were with him. u Dr. Hyde impressed us as a man of great knowledge. We gained this impression of the man from his talks to us about the Bible and in the conversations he held with us about questions in philosophy. He was always ready with an answer for any question that was put to him by 39 CHARLES McEWEN HYDE the students at recitations or any other occasion. In the meetings of the church associations he often explained clearly and satisfactorily the difficult questions that came up for discussion. He studied hard to understand our language, and he compiled a grammar of the Hawaiian lan- guage for our use in the school. "Dr. Hyde's knowledge of business affairs made him especially helpful to us, for it enabled him to offer us on many occasions the sound knowledge which we needed in our secular mat- ters ; his advice was sought by many who believ- ed in his good judgment. "Dr. Hyde was a man of great love; we be- came aware of that quality in his character from our personal contact with the man. He was a kind teacher, and in all his personal relations with the students he ever exhibited an affection- ate solicitude for their individual welfare. He always met us with a pleasant smile and cheerful greeting when he came into the school-room at the recitation hour. We never heard him speak an unkind word in all the three years that we passed under his instruction, and when a student once asked him why he uttered no word of cen- sure for our faults, he replied 'I have put all unkind thoughts behind me — left them in Amer- 40 WORK IN HAWAII ica.' He often questioned us about our individual needs and was quick to devise ways and means for our support while in the school. Frequently he invited the students to come to his home to meet some of the native pastors or other friends, and to partake with them of his hospitality in break- ing bread with him at his table. He gave out of his private funds also to those who were in need of assistance. He was truly a kind-hearted teacher, and we all loved him to the end. u Dr. C. M. Hyde was a deeply religious man, a man of prayer and faith, and we trusted him as religious teacher. He stood firm as a rock for pure religion and for a clean church. He wanted the church to stand for the truth as it is revealed in the Word of God. The benign influence of his teaching has made its impression over all these Islands through the work of those whom he prepared to teach the gospel of Christ. n Rev. H. H. Parker, pastor of Kawaiahao church, delivered weekly lectures to the students: with this exception after the first year all the instruction was given by Dr. Hyde. It was in- evitable that, as a result of such intimate rela- tions, his strong personality should have made a deep impression on them. In some cases it ex- tended to an imitation of his style of dress. 4i CHARLES McKWEN HYDE The Hawaiians are naturally dignified and the addition of a clerical garb made them present a very creditable appearance at the graduating ex- ercises of the school. These came during "anni- versary week" in June and when the representa- tives of all the native churches were gathered for their annual meeting. After twenty years' service Dr. Hyde was enabled to see four-fifths of the native pulpits filled by his former pupils. His interest in them did not cease with their graduation, but followed them to their various fields of labor. They too still relied upon him for advice and would write to him on any conceivable subject in regard to which they were in doubt. In this way his correspondence increased until it could fairly be called voluminous, yet he always insisted on answering it all promptly. A question regard- ing some matter pertaining to church work at one time arose between a missionary's daughter and a native pastor on one of the other islands. The former suggested referring it to a certain person in Honolulu, and in telling the story her- self said that the minister preferred asking Dr. Hyde. Being pressed for the reason of his pref- erence he replied that Dr. Hyde would be sure to attend to it by the first return mail. This 42 WORK IN HAWAII habit of promptness was a virtue that the Hawai- ians appreciated, if they did not strive to imi- tate it. Hence his former students would write asking him to buy stoves or medicine, explain a passage of scripture, give them topics for discus- sion, or furnish plans for a church or parsonage, with equal freedom. He devoted considerable time to preparing abstracts of title to the various pieces of church property, as well as all the real estate holdings of the American and Hawaiian Boards. In these and other ways he endeared himself to the Hawai- ians and completely won their confidence. At the time of the small pox scourge they were badly frightened and hardly knew whom to trust. It was a critical period and many of their for- eign friends felt a deep sense of relief when it became known that Mr. Henry Waterhouse and Dr. Hyde had persuaded the natives to be vacci- nated, both men assisting in the work themselves. The latter was soon called to go to the pest-house to allay the fears of those in quarantine there. The old adobe dormitories of the institute after the wear and tear of years eventually be- came unfit for further service. To replace them a considerable sum of money was necessary, but this he raised among the friends of the school 43 CHARLES McEWEN HYDE and his own friends, not calling on the Board for any additional appropriation on this account. Not far from ten thousand dollars was finally secured for the renovation of the old buildings and the erection of new ones. A well regulated parish cannot be consid- ered complete without a suitable help-meet for the pastor. Such a peculiar combination of characteristics is necessary to meet the require- ments of this position that as yet no institution has been rash enough to attempt the training of ministers' wives. It may be that after ' their training was completed there might be some difficulty in getting the young ladies into the right positions, but there can be no doubt that education is a very necessary adjunct of the training of the minister's wife. Hence it is but natural that we should find the head of the North Pacific Missionary Institute soon manifesting an interest in Kawaiahao Female Seminary. While Dr. Gulick was secretary of the Ha- waiian Board, he became especially interested in the education of Hawaiian girls, and took several of them into his own house to be brought up in connection with his own children. In 1866, the Hawaiian Mission Children's Society invited Miss L,ydia Bingham, then principal of the Ohio 44 WORK IN HAWAII Female College, at College Hill, Ohio, to come to Honolulu to be a teacher in this family school which had been in operation three years. She arrived in March 1867, coming out from Boston in the "Morning Star", with Rev. Hiram Bing- ham Jr. as captain. The Hawaiian Board ap- propriated one thousand dollars for repairs and additions to the buildings then occupied by Dr. Gulick and the Hawaiian girls in his family. These were the former residence of Rev. E. W. Clark, and also the old printing office and the bindery of the mission. Such was the origin of Kawaiahao Female Seminary. At first there were day scholars as well as boarders, but since 1 87 1 it has been exclusively a boarding school, experience having shown that the admission of day scholars was a detriment rather than an ad- vantage to the boarding pupils. From 1867 to 1880 the school grew and prospered under the faithful care of Miss Lydia Bingham, and after her marriage to Rev. Titus Coan of Hilo, of her sister Miss Elizabeth K. Bingham. In June 1876, the Hawaiian Mission Chil- dren's Society which had contributed a large part of its annual income to the support of this work suggested the expediency of putting the school under the special charge of a Board of Trustees. 45 CHARLES McEWKN HYDE The Hawaiian Board after a year's consideration appointed as the five trustees, C. M. Hyde, A. F. Judd, W. R. Castle, S. E. Bishop, and M. Kuaea. Dr. Hyde was made president and on him largely devolved the re-organization of the school necessitated by the change of control above noted. The buildings were ill adapted for school or dormitory use, not having been planned for that purpose, and it was plainly evident that radical changes were needed. From various friends in the States he secured money enough to enable the school to make a start in the right direction by putting up a modern building, called Sage Hall, as it was largely the gift of Miss Sarah R. Sage of Ware, Mass., the sister- in-law of William Hyde of that place. The in- creasing number of pupils compelled an enlarged scale of expenditure and the funds contributed proved inadequate. The trustees deemed the occasion opportune for petitioning the Board of Education for a grant in aid. These petitions were granted at several times, thirty five hun- dred dollars being received in the five years pre- vious to 1884. A five thousand dollar bequest from Mrs. Bernice Pauahi Bishop enabled them to continue the work of replacing the old build- ings with new ones, until eventually the old 46 WORK IN HAWAII land-marks entirely disappeared and the pupils were all accommodated in the modern and com- modious structures now in use. In r886 three members of the Board withdrew. This was the occasion of the adoption of the following min- ute by the Trustees. "Your special Committee appointed for that purpose, recommend the following minute for adoption by this Board : u Rev. C. M. Hyde, D. D., Rev. S. E. Bishop and Hon. A. F. Judd, having offered to this Board their resignation as Trustees of Kawaiahao Female Seminary and having insisted on the acceptance of their resignations, we desire to put on record our regret that they have thought it best to withdraw from that over-sight and care of this school, which this Board has so long en- trusted to them. "And we also desire to express our apprecia- tion of the able manner in which that trust has been administered. The continuous increase in the number of pupils ; the growing influence of the school for good to the Hawaiian race; and the great material changes in the way of new buildings and appliances speak more loudly than words possibly could, of the ability, sagac- ity, and self-denying labors of these brethren 47 CHARLES McEWEN HYDE during the past nine years. "And we feel that very much of this success has been due to the indefatigable labors of Rev. C. M. Hyde, D. D. who as the Executive Officer of the Board of Trustees has carried this school in his heart and given it freely his time, his thought, and his unwearied endeavors. "And we also desire to express our approval of the care with which the moral interests of the school have been conserved and with which the powerful influences brought to bear upon the Hawaiians to drag the race back to the old idol- atrous and pagan superstitions have ever been resisted by our brethren in their oversight of the school. u And we hereby express our thanks to these brethren for the faithful manner in which they have served this Board as Trustees of Kawaiahao Female Seminary." J. A. Cruzan A. O. Forbes H. Bingham Committee. Girls' schools had been established on the other islands but the only one beside Kawaiahao in successful operation in the whole group was 48, WORK IN HAWAII the East Maui Female Seminary. In 1874 one had been started at Kohala by Rev. Elias Bond, which at one time accommodated sixty pupils. After the resignation of the principal, Miss E. W. Lyons, in 1882, no other teacher could be secured and the school was closed. The native churches on Hawaii were extremely anxious to have it re-opened. Kawaiahao was full to over- flowing and the institution on Maui had its spe- cial work and constituency. The buildings were ample and in a fair state of repair when in 1888 the property was deeded to the Hawaiian Board, who commissioned Dr. Hyde to re-open the school. A local Board of Trustees was appoint- ed to have the management of the school, suffi- cient funds were raised to overhaul the buildings thoroughly and to provide for the running ex- penses of the first year. Dr. Hyde personally superintended the repairs and engaged a corps of teachers and had the satisfaction of seeing this institution once more on its feet and again start- ed on its mission rejoicing. Considering the character of the missionary fathers and mothers, it is not strange that in their self-imposed exile from their native land, they should have been extremely anxious for the education of their children This early led to the 49 CHARLES McEWEN HYDE establishment of a school for their benefit at Pu- nahou, some two miles out on the "plains" from Honolulu near the entrance to Manoa Valley. Here under the wise instruction of Rev. Messrs. Dole, Mills and Beckwith, and their associates and successors, the mission youth had the foun- dations of their education laid. The standard of the school was high, its graduates usually be- ing fitted to enter the Sophomore class of any eastern college. From its halls a constant pro- cession of young men went forth to pursue their studies further in the schools of the home land. As a general thing, they maintained a high de- gree of scholarship and reflected credit on their adopted land and the homes and school from which they came. For years Williams College was not without a student from the islands and it is safe to say that from no other single source has it received any better material. This college honored itself as well as the recipients, when it bestowed the degree of L,. L,. D. on two of its sons, Gen. S. C. Armstrong and Pres. Sanford B. Dole, both graduates of Punahou. As the commercial life of the islands in- creased, so did the number of foreigners engaged in business. Many of them also were desirous of educational advantages for their children, so 50 WORK IN HAWAII gradually the scope of the institution widened, although it has always remained a distinctly Christian school. It was inevitable that from the outset it should occupy a position of com- manding importance in the educational life of the islands and such, in truth, has been its record. It has always been able to command the services of the best men in the community on its Board of Trustees and so it was no small honor to Dr. Hyde that he should have been elected to the Board within a month after his arrival. He was placed on the education committee and on the death of Rev. Dr. S. C. Damon was made its chairman, also serving as recording secretary of the whole Board for many years. The education committee being charged with the responsibility of the selec- tion of teachers, the duty devolved twice upon its chairman, at the request of his associates, to secure a suitable person for the head of the insti- tution. In a matter of so much importance there was need of the greatest care and the most thorough investigation before the final decision was made. In the summer of 1890 Dr. Hyde spent a month or two in the East on a mission of this nature, at the cost to himself of a serious drain on his vitality. The limited time at his command and consequent need for haste, togeth- 5* CHARLES McEWKN HYDE er with the anxiety natural in such circumstan- ces, taxed his strength more than was generally appreciated. Long practice in the selection of teachers made him an adept in the art and it would be hard to estimate the number of posi- tions filled by him in this way. The sifting of the wheat from the chaff among the applicants, calls for the exercise of a discriminating judg- ment, especially when the sole data for decision lie buried in correspondence. The gradual increase in the English speak- ing population eventually forced upon the Trus- tees the consideration of the establishment of a school of lower grade where the instruction should be of a primary and grammar school na- ture and where the pupils could be fitted to enter intelligently on the course provided at Punahou itself. Dr. Hyde was much interested in this new departure and personally superintended the remodelling of the old Armstrong house into suitable quarters for the new school, now known as ' 'Punahou Preparatory". Hitherto we have noted Dr. Hyde's connec- tion with institutions of learning already estab- lished. It is now time for us to consider what he regarded as perhaps the most satisfactory of all his efforts in behalf of the native race, the 52 WORK IN HAWAII work that he did in the establishment of the Kamehameha Schools. In front of the old government building in Honolulu stands a statue of a sturdy warrior clad in cloak of yellow feathers. His memory would be perpetuated without the statue, for it is Kamehameha I, the first conqueror of all the islands who, by bringing under his own sway all the nobles and petty chiefs, made possible the rapid spread of Christianity among the people. The statue reveals to us a man of kingly pres- ence, a born leader of men. The royal house of which he was the founder and which has furnish- ed most of Hawaii's rulers, had for its last sur- viving representative, Bernice Pauahi Bishop. She had once refused the offer of the crown and happily married to Honolulu's leading banker, Charles R. Bishop, devoted herself to charity, good works, and whatever would tend to advance the best interests of her people, whose welfare ever lay near her heart. A worthy descendant of an illustrious sire, in her were exhibited the highest characteristics of noblesse oblige. Self- contained and courteous, yet with a genial sim- plicity of manner, she did not court vain pomp or show, but set a proper regard on the higher things of life. Filled with a desire that the fort- 53 CHARLES McEWEN HYDE une which was hers by inheritance should be used at least in part for the uplifting of the Ha- waiian race, she felt keenly the sense of steward- ship for her possessions and during her life wise- ly administered the trust. Very near to her heart was the desire to give to Hawaiian youth educational advantages which would enable them to cope successfully with the problems of their environment. She sought counsel on this point from those qualified to give it, Dr. Hyde among others. A plan gradually took shape in her mind which was finally embodied in her will. By the provisions of that instrument a goodly share of her property, amounting to several hundred thousand dollars, was specifically devoted to the purpose of establishing and supporting schools for both boys and girls which should "provide first and chiefly a good education in the common English branches, and also instruction in morals and in such useful knowledge as may tend to make good industrious men and women". She also desired that "instruction in the higher branches should be subsidiary to the foregoing objects". The trustees whom she had selected to carry out her wishes were five in number, all residents of Honolulu and sincerely solicitous for the welfare of the native race, Chas. R. Bishop, 54 WORK IN HAWAII Samuel M. Damon, Chas. M. Cooke, W. O. Smith and Chas. M. Hyde. They entered on the discharge of their duties some six months after the death of Mrs. Bishop which occurred October 16th, 1884. In this way was opened to Dr. Hyde an av- enue of service which offered exceptional oppor- tunity for the exercise of those talents which, his by nature, had become enlarged by use. A close student of educational questions all his life, familiar as well with the practical details of school work in widely different fields, he was called upon at the period of his ripest experience, to aid in the foundation and formative work of a new institution whose capacity for good could hardly be overestimated. There come to all men visions of ideal things in connection with the interests that are dear to them but to comparatively few does there come the power and the privilege to render these ideals real. As the member of the board best qualified by training to speak authoritatively on educa- tional questions his associates were disposed to yield to his judgment where these were con- cerned. Thus it was that the opportunity was given him to carry into execution many of the plans to which in former years he had given 55 CHARLES McEWEN HYDE much study. It was obvious that at the incep- tion of this new undertaking much depended on the man placed in charge. Careful considera- tion was given this matter and at length, at the suggestion of Dr. Hyde and Mr. Bishop, Rev. Wm. B. Oleson, then at the head of the Hilo Boys* Boarding School was called to be the first principal of Kamehameha. His valuable work laid deep and sure the foundation on which his successors have since reared a noteworthy me- morial to the beloved founder of the school. The success of the institution was assured from the start, and the good work which it has done abundantly proves the wisdom of Mrs. Bishop and those whom she charged with the execution of her plans. It has accomplished much for the practical instruction of young Hawaiians, espe- cially in its manual training department, and given them as well higher ideals and a broader outlook on life. If it has been successful in these directions there is small reason to doubt that years and increasing prestige will add largely to the influence for good which it already exerts. 56 EVANGELISTIC AND PUBLIC WORK A true missionary is always ready to help the man that is in need of help. So it was that Dr. Hyde's sympathies were strongly appealed to by the need of the various nationalities that made up the cosmopolitan population of Hono- lulu. The work among the Chinese early enlist- ed his attention. Many efforts had previously been made in their behalf and for some years a Sunday school had been maintained for them in the vestry of the old Fort Street Church. Quite a few conversions had been the result of a long period of faithful labor. At length the time seemed ripe for the banding together of these confessed followers of Christ as a branch of His church. Aware of Dr. Hyde's interest in the work, they turned to him and Dr. Damon for advice at this time. At their request he drew up a covenant and articles of faith as well as rules for the guidance of the new church. All these had to be sent to San Francisco for correct translation into the Chinese 57 CHARLES McEWEN HYDE language. One curious feature of the transla- tion was the rendering of the idea of consecra- tion by the same term as was employed by the laborers who "shipped" on the sugar plantations. While we are not apt to regard the contract laborer as our ideal of service, we must admit that in his agreement to devote his entire time to his master's service, there is much that many church members might imitate with profit. The dull, plodding coolie by the very fact of his fidel- ity to the light that has been given him, puts to shame many of his fellow Christians possessed of greater advantages and less devotion. With admirable persistence the members of the new church struggled heroically to raise the funds necessary for the erection of a house of worship. In this they succeeded with the aid of foreign friends, and to them belongs the honor, so far as is known, of being the first Chinese congregation anywhere to put up a church build- ing for themselves. Here Dr. Hyde adminis- tered the communion for twenty years. The list of original members and of accessions he care- fully preserved, noting against the quaint Chi- nese characters on the roll the names as spelled in English, together with their addresses and occupations. The church has proved itself a 58 EVANGELISTIC AND PUBLIC WORK rallying point for the devoted band of workers who, under the wise leadership of Mr. Frank W. Damon, are doing so much to bring the light of truth to these benighted oriental minds. The endeavors of the sugar planters to obtain the necessary labor for the carrying on of their plantations have resulted in a strange mixture of nationalities. The natives did not take kindly to the sustained work in the cane fields, so it became necessary to look elsewhere for a supply. First and last it seems as if the planters had had under consideration every race on the globe from Esquimaux to Hottentots. It is surprising to note the experiments in this direction, but gen- erally speaking it may be said that immigration has come chiefly from three sources — China, Japan and the Azores. The Portuguese from the last named place have proved a law-abiding element of the popu- lation, desirous of making the country their home permanently, and, as a rule, frugal s and industrious. Being nominally connected with the Roman Catholic Church there seemed, at first, no occasion for mission work among them. The attention of Miss Knight, Dr. Hyde's sister-in- law, was soon attracted by the number of small children running the streets, for whom nothing 59 CHARLES McEWEN HYDE in the way of religious education seemed to be provided. Calling the attention of other ladies to this fact, a Sunday school was started under fa- vorable auspices. The work developed under the care of Mr. A. F. Cooke and others, until in 1890 the Hawaiian Board commissioned Dr. Hyde to procure workers for this field. This he did, inviting an earnest Portuguese evangelist from Springfield, Illinois, to take charge of the mis- sion, the support of which was henceforth as- sumed by the Hawaiian Board. Ten years of growth have witnessed the gradual broadening of the work, so that now the mission property, buildings and land, represent an expenditure of twenty-five thousand dollars, while a flourishing day school is supported in addition to the Sun- day school which has a regular attendance of nearly one hundred and fifty. The Japanese are comparatively late comers to the islands. By special treaty arrangements, laborers for the plantations were allowed to emi- grate from Japan, at the time when the govern- ment was jealously guarding its citizens from foreign enticement. When the tide of immigration began it flowed at a rapid rate for some time. The influx of such numbers of Japanese induced their gov- 60 EVANGELISTIC AND PUBLIC WORK eminent to station a diplomatic representative at Honolulu to look after their interests. As comparatively few Japanese had emigrated to other parts of the world, the post at Honolulu ranked third among the foreign missions of that government. This illustrates the importance attaching to the position and the extent of the movement. The Japanese are a fascinating people. Their courtesy and alertness produce a favorable im- pression on those who are brought into contact with them for the first time. Their wonderful power of adaptability and imitation makes them unique among the nations of the world. Their eager adoption of foreign ideas and their mani- fest desire to take a prominent part in world affairs account in large measure for their rapid advancement in the last two decades. The sub- sequent anti-foreign reaction is likely to prove but temporary, while the march of events is steadily carrying them forward to a position of greater prominence. As in Japan, so in Hawaii, there was the same speedy disposition to look with favor on things foreign. This created a state of mind favorable to the reception of Christian truth, an opportunity which the seed-sowers in Honolulu 61 CHARGES McEWEN HYDE were not slow to improve. Dr. Hyde ever re- garded his work among them as the romance of his missionary career, and justly so, as the follow- ing brief story of it will show. The Sunday after the arrival of the first immigrants he ar- ranged for a meeting in the Y. M. C. A. build- ing, inviting Miss Gulick, a missionary from Japan, who happened to be in the city, to address them. He then established a regular service at Queen Emma Hall, speaking through an inter- preter. All the members of the legation, including the Consul-general, Mr. Taro Ando, were regular attendants and soon Mr. Ando acted as inter- preter. An increasing interest was manifested and before long many came to acknowledge their new-found faith publicly. Mr. J. T. Waterhouse gave the use of the Lyceum, which better ac- commodated the larger number who wished to attend. Mr. Ando himself, then all the members of his family, then the attaches of the legation, and finally the servants of his household, publicly confessed their faith in Christ. This came about directly as a result of Dr. Hyde's preach- ing, which later was supplemented by the efforts of Rev. Mr. Miyama who came from San Fran- cisco that he might preach to the Japanese in 62 EVANGELISTIC AND PUBLIC WORK their own tongue. At the time of the baptism of the first converts, it was a striking spectacle that was presented, with Mr. Ando at one end of the line of kneeling penitents and his yard man at the other, some thirty or forty uniting in bearing this public testimony. With the ever increasing number of Japanese employed on the plantations, the importance of evangelistic work among them has been correspondingly increased. Not slow to recognize this, the missionary Board secured the services of Rev. O. H. Gulick, a long time resident of Japan, and from the small be- ginning outlined above has grown the well- organized work of to-day. The man who gets into right relations with his Maker, his fellow men, and the material facts of the universe in which he is placed, is the man of achievement. A true sense of perspective is absolutely necessary for a man of good judgment. Herein lies the chief value of education that it teaches us to put a correct estimate on the rela- tive worth of things. We are not taught that religious feeling and its expression are alone to be cultivated in this world. Our complex nature has a variety of demands to be satisfied, and a frank recognition of the fact that man's intellec- tual as well as his spiritual needs should be min- 63 CHARLES McEWEN HYDE istered to, does no one any harm. To be a min- ister of the Gospel, or even a missionary, does not and should not imply the narrowing of a man's intellectual activity to the one line of religious thought. A truly broad-minded man will find himself in sympathy with many currents of life in his environment. Let us see whether, judged by this standard, Dr. Hyde was a bigot or not. Remembering the pleasant discussions of the Monday Evening Club in Haverhill and finding no such organization in Honolulu, he succeeded in interesting several of the representative men in the community in the formation of the Social Science Club to work along similar lines. The first meeting of the year was always held at his home and he acted as secretary from its inception. There can be little doubt that the free interchange of opinion thus expressed has done much to encourage char- ity of sentiment among those who hold radically different opinions on mooted questions of the day. The high grade of the papers read before the club has also had its due share in influencing many of the leaders of public opinion. At the time of his arrival in Honolulu there was no public library. While not actually the initiator of the movement which resulted in the 64 EVANGELISTIC AND PUBLIC WORK foundation of the Honolulu Library and Read- ing Room Association, he worked hand in hand with such men as Dr. C. T. Rodgers and Mr. A. J. Cartwright in that organization, serving as trustee and on its important committees. To obtain money for the building, which it was hoped might be erected for the library, he sug- gested the holding of a loan exhibition. At that time many curious relics of old Hawaiian life were unearthed. A number of interesting me- mentoes of bygone days were in the possession of Mrs. Chas. R. Bishop who kindly loaned them for the occasion. The interest then awakened in historical research was not without after effects for after Mrs. Bishops death her husband founded the "Bernice Pauahi Bishop Museum" for the exhibition of these unique treasures as a memorial to his wife. This institution has wi- dened its scope until to-day it possesses the finest collection of articles illustrating Polynesian life to be found in the Pacific, and under the care of its well known director, Mr. W. T.Brigham, has come to be a laboratory as well as a veritable mine of riches for the ethnological student. Dr. Hyde was never ready to shirk the ob- ligations of citizenship. He never cared for the distinction of political office, though that easily 65 CHARLES McEWEN HYDE might have been his. By temperate discussion of political questions in the public press he un- doubtedly exerted a considerable influence. It has been stated that a communication of his published in one of the daily papers induced the leaders of the reform party under the Kalakaua regime to substitute for the coup d'etat which they had already agreed upon, the plan which he proposed, namely, the calling of a mass meet- ing to urge the adoption of constitutional meas- ures to effect the desired change. Through all the various vicissitudes of the later years of monarchical government, he adopt- ed an uncompromising attitude toward any back- ward step and when the logic of events pointed toward annexation to the United States as the only feasible way of escape from a continuance of the revolutions and counter-revolutions which had unsettled the people, he advocated that course, but in such a way as not to alienate the affections of the natives. While he still retained his citizenship in the United States, he embraced the opportunity afforded after the revolution of 1887 to vote in Hawaii without forswearing his allegiance to his native land. During the great peril which Honolulu un- derwent by reason of an invasion of the cholera 66 EVANGELISTIC AND PUBLIC WORK in 1895, he offered his services as one of the vol- untary corps of inspectors. He made daily visits to all the houses in his district, which comprised the worst section of the city, filing a report of their sanitary condition and of any cases of sick- ness among their inmates. He was much interested in the effort made to have Hawaii enter the Postal Union and served as one of a committee of three appointed by the then Minister of the Interior, Hon. H. A. P. Carter, to make the necessary arrangements to that effect. In these and other ways he showed that he realized the obligation as well as the privilege of citizenship; when civic duty called him he was ready to respond. 67 UTERARY WORK The art of composition came easily to him. He wielded a facile pen even in his college days as the few extant numbers of a junior class paper of which he was one of the editors bear witness. The doggerel rhyme of this period could hardly have been a source of pride to him and there is no evidence of his afterward attempting to write in verse. His prose style, even at this early date, presaged his later achievements of choice diction and orderly sequence of thought. When engaged in the active work of the pastorate he always wrote his sermons. He was an occasional contributor of signed articles to the weekly relig- ious papers and wrote often for the daily press on matters of general interest as well as on the debatable questions of the time. This constant practice enabled him to write readily, so that the written expression of his thoughts became an easy matter for him. His first published work was a history of the town of Brimfield. In compliance with the 68 UTERARY WORK suggestion contained in a joint resolution of Congress in 1876, the citizens of that town, in common with many others, voted to hold a cen- tennial celebration commemorating the first hundred years of the nation's life, making an historical address the chief feature of the cele- bration. Dr. Hyde, then a resident of Haver- hill, was chosen to deliver this address at Brim- field. So much interest was aroused by it that he was requested to prepare it for publication. This he did, making the address the basis for the carefully compiled "History of Brimfield" pub- lished in 1879 by the Clark W. Bryan Company of Springfield, Mass. The town of Lee also un- dertook the publication of its history. Dr. Hyde was charged with this work also, and had gath- ered much of the material for its compilation, when he was called upon to go to Honolulu. This necessitated his relinquishing the hope of completing the work already well begun. It was taken up by his uncle, the late Alexander Hyde of L,ee, who carried it on to a successful conclu- sion. Dr. Hyde and his wife took a trip through Europe in the summer of 1893. The results of his observations were communicated in a series of letters to the "Springfield Republican'* . CHARGES McEWKN HYDE This newspaper also published many articles from his pen on Hawaiian affairs, notably one under the following caption of their making, "The Hawaiian Revolution — its Causes, Progress and End, — graphically and tersely told by an American of character who has lived in Hono- lulu for many years and speaks for the best peo- ple there." With the strange persistency for getting on the wrong side of public questions, characteristic of this truly admirable paper, it eventually op- posed Hawaiian annexation bitterly. To use an expression which it is often fond of quoting, to the effect that questions never stay settled until they are settled right, nothing could be truer than its application to the Hawaiian annexation treaty. Negotiated by Harrison, disgracefully withdrawn by Cleveland, it survived the ex-parte testimony of "Paramount" Commissioner Blount and eventually settled irrevocably the relation of the two countries. After Dr. Hyde's health began to fail in 1897, he went with his wife on a three months' visit to Japan and China. The story of his travels in those countries was told in a series of letters to the "Hawaiian Gazette.' ' He also wrote various articles for "Thrum's 70 LITERARY WORK Annual", mostly on subjects connected with Hawaiian literature. Philology had a strong hold on him and he was an earnest student of the Hawaiian language and literature. Of the latter he gathered the most complete collection in existence which he afterward gave to the Hawaiian Historical Society, of which he was one of the charter members and in whose pro- ceedings he took a deep interest. He often picked up one or more of the older books on his numerous journeys, some of them found in the deserted mission houses. He was always on the lookout for new words and so acquired a vocabulary that was the admi- ration of his students. One day in his class room a word caught his attention which he had never heard before and for which he searched through his books in vain. A student had characterized Absalom as a regular c 'Kamepulu' ' . The etymol- ogy of the word puzzled the Doctor, and it was only after an interview with a layman well post- ed in the vernacular that he discovered that the young theologue had made use of the phonetic translation of our u damphule n , the profanity being supposedly lost in the process of translation. His copy of Andrews' Hawaiian dictionary shows the careful study he made of the language. 7i CHARLES McEWEN HYDE The compiler had omitted accents altogether. It came to Dr. Hyde's knowledge that "Father" Lyons of Waimeo, Hawaii, had for years em- ployed an old native to assist him in supplying this deficiency. To avail himself of this treas- ured knowledge he had his dictionary rebound with blank leaves inserted on alternate pages and then equipped with this he spent a week at "Father" Lyons' home copying these accents, for ten hours a day. These blank pages are now well filled with the finest of writing, containing words not incorporated in the Andrews' edition, together with derivatives and shades of meaning. Every word of which he had made a study is marked and there are few words without these pencil notations. Some of the results of this language study he embodied in a Hawaiian Grammar published in 1896. He translated many tracts and at least one of Moody's shorter books, and was the author of many commentaries on various books of the Bible. In addition to the books already mentioned he published in collaboration with ex-President S. C. Bartlett of Dartmouth, the "Historical Sketch of the Hawaiian Mission." For five years previous to his death he pub- 72 LITERARY WORK lished a little quarterly entitled "Hoahana", containing the International Sunday-school les- sons and his comments thereon. This had a wide circulation among the Sunday - schools throughout the islands and grew out of his pre- vious work in the same line for the "Kuokoa". After the death of Father Lyons he took great delight in translating hymns into Hawaiian, a practice in which Father Lyons was past master. At the graduating exercises of the N. P. M. I. all the hymns sung were those which Dr. Hyde had translated, a feature of the occa- sion always pleasing to the visiting ministers. It has been stated that he always wrote his sermons. While this was true of his sermons, it was not always so of his addresses on special occasions. He was often called upon to deliver an address on the celebration of some anniversary or at some ecclesiastical gathering. Of his many special addresses it seems as if the two following were especially worthy of presentation. Follow- ing is the charge to the pastor at the installation of Rev. E. G. Beckwith, D. D. at the Central Union church : "My dear Brother: — You cannot expect from me on this occasion, nor could the council have asked of me such authoritative utterance 73 CHARLES McEWEN HYDE as would be the delivery of a general order from military head-quarters. My special charge is a more humble one, as when on a change of sen- tries the corporal of the guard passes on the countersign. Or using an illustration more per- tinent to our island home, I am not appointed to give you such instructions for a new voyage, as a ship's captain would expect from the vessel's owners. You and I meet on this platform, as two vessels would meet on yonder ocean, to ex- change chronometer reckonings, and fix correct- ly the latitude and longitude, while speeding on their several ways. In our life's voyagings we have met before, both then on the same tack, but I so far behind you (for you were senior vale- dictorian in Williams College when I was a freshman student there), that then we could only exchange signals of recognition, and soon separated to take our different courses in life. Now we meet again, far from that "Spring-Ha- ven" here in this tropic isle, far from those New England scenes in which we formed our ideals of life and entered onr life-work. You will pardon these personal allusions, if touched to the quick by them, as our human hearts are touched only by life, or that which is part and parcel of our human lives, as these memories are. 74 LITERARY WORK For it is life that you are here to work out, and work upon, in your work as preacher and pastor. "You are to teach from these sacred script- ures the harmony of that revealed truth which this council is witness that you hold in its ful- ness and its integrity. God's truth is to you, as to me, something larger and higher than liberty of opinion — something dearer than life itself — holding us at the very nerve-centers of our spiritual life. It is Christian life, Christian truth, that you are here to exemplify and apply; not your opinions, however well-reasoned, nor your speculations however ingenious, but the truth as it is in Jesus. They who worship in the world above sing of Jesus and His worthi- ness. In this world of time, where we dwell, you will preach this heavenly theme that not your preaching, but your theme, will call forth the joy and admiration of every hearer. You will seek the abiding, illuminating touch of the Holy Spirit on your mind, and heart and tongue. Then you will so speak of Jesus and His redeem- ing love that blinded eyes will open to the glory of our Lord; hands closed in wilful refusal, or in irreverent defiance, shall clasp the cross; feet now wandering in mazes of sin, or groping in darkness down to death, shall turn and hasten 75 CHARLES McEWEN HYDE to Jesus, the crucified, to find the pardon, peace and purity He only can bestow. "As pastor, the children and young people of this congregation and this community will ever be the objects of your tenderest solicitude : while to the aged Annas and Simeons you will show the promised Savior, that their closing eyes may rejoice in the divine salvation. What you did for the young people, when you were teacher here years ago, may well encourage you to spare no effort now to reach and help the young. Those former scholars of yours, now pillars in the church and leaders in the state, know that the blessed Master will never need to say to you, "Suffer the little children to come unto me". You know what it is yourself to come to God as a little child; and you will teach our children to love the name, the house and the service of our heavenly Father. You have yourself known what it is to stand at the parting of the ways in life's pilgrimage, and to make the solemn, irrev- ocable choice of the path we propose to tread, what object in life to pursue. You will point and lead the way for our young people, the way good men of old have trod, no whirling round of giddy gaiety, no racing track of fast living, but an ascending climb to heights of endeavor, and 7 6 UT'ERARY WORK to breadth of views that will take in holiness and heaven as the summit points of noblest as- piration, the satisfying achievement of a life well-spent. To the poor, you will give the warm hand of Christian brotherhood that has in it recognition and uplift, as no distribution of worldly wealth or social distinctions can proffer to earth's needy ones. Whatever acquisitions of property any of us may hold, you will show us we hold as stewards only ; and you will lead us to the fullest consecration of ourselves and our possessions, for whatever use the Master may call. Possessed yourself of a chastened spirit, of more worth than refined gold or burnished silver, you can comfort the afflicted mourner with the same comfort wherewith you have been comforted of God. You will teach us to open our hearts in fullest sympathy for all for whom Christ died, of whatever clime, of whatever nationality; and especially will you gladly co- operate in any further labor for the Hawaiians, to whom this is the land that gave them birth. u You come to a community, in large part the descendants of missionary fathers, but now enlarging more and more its circle of affinities, as commercial enterprise seeks in this genial clime new fields of business activity. We are 77 CHARLES McEWEN HYDE human, with human foibles and frailties, so I dare not say you will never yearn for sympathy withheld, your motives never be misconstrued, your methods never maligned. But we are fol- lowers of Him who has taught us to know and feel the might and majesty of self-sacrificing, as well as all-forgiving love. We are an island community, small and isolated, but not necessa- rily small of soul, limited in range of thought. You come to us as a leader of recognized intel- lectual ability, acuteness and accuracy. L,ift us up to higher planes of thinking. Help us to sound with you the ocean depths of God's love and wisdom. You bring to us not the greenness and bitterness of immature fruitage, but the rich, ripe counsels of an enlarged acquaintance with spiritual truth, a varied experience of hu- man life. You come to us in the name of Christ. Teach us to do all things "for His sake", to whom be all the glory of our salvation; here, in hearts warm with Christian love, strong in Christian faith; there, in heavenly union with our glorified Redeemer, and eternal communion with all His Redeemed. Amen." Below are extracts from Dr. Hyde's address at the memorial service held at the old Fort St. church on receipt of news of the appalling loss 78 UTERARY WORK of life from three men-of-war in a terrific hurri- cane in the bay of Apia, Samoa: "Tidings of the disaster at Samoa came upon this community like a thunder peal and a light- ning flash out of a clear sky. The first thought in the minds of many of us was that in this strange providence the God of Nations, who is no less the Sovereign ruler of the Universe, had made manifest to all of what little avail are the schemes to thwart or turn aside the onward sweep of the Divine purposes. Above all the mighty forces of the physical system is an Almightiness that directs and controls them. There is no earthly power so high as to be beyond the reach of God's omnipotent sway; no earthly object so small as to be beneath His notice, left without His care. The tiny drop of water — of what small account is it? The viewless air — of what moment is that? But let God's hand gather these tiny drops into one mountain mass of waters; let God's hand but loosen with a rush this viewless air; then of what avail is all the skill of man or the enginery he can manipulate? "All the science of man has not yet given him the right of eminent domain over the forces of nature. They are ours to use, as we can, but not to command. Acknowledgment of Divine 79 CHARLES McEWEN HYDE sovereignty, however, does not imply belief in divine interference with the established order. God's hand holds control of human wills as well as physical forces. Such a terrible calamity as has stricken many hearts with a grief beyond words to express, is no mere unexpected outbreak of the forces of nature, as when the Vandalia's wheel went to pieces with a crash and the rudder was dashed into splinters by the force of the waves. "Was it a mere fortuitous arrangement that brought together so many vessels in that little roadstead of Apia, and in the calamity following concentrated the thoughts of the world on that small group of coral islets? Shall we applaud or abhor the purposes or policies that led to the possibility of such a disaster? And can we re- fuse to recognize and revere the divine ordering of elemental forces and human purposes in these events? Why, even the words we use bear testi- mony to the real conviction of our minds. Dis- aster — what is that but the malign influence of the stars in the ruin of human hopes and the overthrow of human plans? History repeats itself again and again. Here we mourn over what seems useless as well as a fearful waste of life and property. The object of contention is 80 LITERARY WORK not worth the loss in dollars and cents which this disaster alone has entailed npon the two nations involved. Is it worth while to bring into these far-off waters the jealousies and rivalries that make Europe seem like a congeries of military camps rather than a sisterhood of Christian na- tions? Why this ruinous attempt to maintain an ideal balance of power in acquisition of for- eign territory as well as in the maintenance of great military establishments? The day has passed when governments and business can, with any prospect of success, be administered for the exclusive benefit of any one person or the exces- sive gain of any one set of people. The idea that controls in the United States is the idea that must control all successful administration of gov- ernmental policy, all successful management of business enterprises, -and that is the greatest good of the greatest number, in ways that shall develop the greatest productivity of the individ- ual and the greatest community of interest in the social relations of human life. "We may well be thankful that brother fell not by the hand of brother man in the carnage of internecine war; that we meet to mourn the loss of those who perished not by the naming cannon or the flashing sword, but in the element - 81 CHARLES McEWEN HYDE al strife as the whole artillery of heaven vol- leyed and thundered on that reef-girt isle. ''We see the waves rolling in, vast volumes of water rising above the masts of the laboring vessels, and breaking with crushing force upon the hapless victims of the surging billows. We shudder as we see with what great strength the surging ocean lifts and tosses on the rocky shore the huge hulls of the doomed ships. We hear above the billows' roar that awful shriek, the bubbling cry of some strong swimmer in his agony. We cringe in impotent despair as some uplifted hand or upturned face appeals for help tn the mute misery of a death beneath the en- gulfing wave. "How strange the contrast from the une- ventful life of officers and seamen in their prolonged stay in this port of peace. Yes, un- eventful we rightly call that routine life in these summer isles of these Pacific seas. It needs crit- ical times, posts of peril, to bring out the higher qualities, the godlike characteristics, of our com- mon humanity. Death in the line of duty was a thought to rouse in them the sense of honor, fidelity to a standard of character and attain- ment above the average ordinary mortal, and his meek yielding to fleshly temptations of time and 82 LITERARY WORK sense. The body may be bruised and mangled, but the spirit that keeps itself supreme to the agony and the torture, has in it an immortal element that shows its kinship with the super- natural and the divine. Those seamen were there on guard duty. But no peril of wind or rain could make them recreant to the duty im- posed on them. u There was one gallant officer whose splen- did physique and herculean strength brought to him in those awful moments no more assuring fact than the puny strength of the feeblest infant. Anticipating his probable fate, he went below to write words of affectionate farewell to his wife and family, to whom he was so fondly attached. That fact is known for the comfort of the sor- rowing ones, but where are the words of undying love? Who can recount all the thrilling inci- dents of heroism that throw the glory of the unseen world upon the tear-stained record of those eventful hours? What sympathy and en- couragement was so heartily shown in the cheers given with a will for the brave tars on the Eng- lish vessel as she put out to sea to keep from further imperiling those to whom nearness meant danger rather than relief. What kindness was shown by those, whose homes and inheritance 83 CHARLES McEWEN HYDE had almost passed out of their feeble resistance to the clutches of a grasping power; who yet, in this hour of extremity, made no distinction in ministering to all who needed such assistance as they could give. We might almost turn these memorial services for the dead into paeans of praise to God for the instances of heroism shown by those whose meed of praise no words of ours can adequately set forth.' ' Many of the visitors from abroad who were entertained at his home maintained a more or less vigorous correspondence with him after their return. It was the indiscreet publication of a letter to one of these desultory correspondents that brought Dr. Hyde's name into disagreeable prominence. He had always been interested in the unfor- tunates who were compelled to drag out their ex- istence at the leper settlement in Molokai. The policy of segregation seeming the only feasible way to prevent the spread of this loathsome dis- ease, the victims of the dread scourge, undoubt- edly introduced from China, are practically ban- ished to this settlement from which escape is impossible, hemmed in as it is by the precipices of a mountain range on one side and the sea on the other. The government provides food and 8 4 LITERARY WORK clothing for those confined there while both Catholic and Protestant preachers minister to their spiritual needs. Of the former faith the most noted repre- sentative for a long time was Father Damien. Dr. Hyde made his acquaintance on one of his early trips to the leper settlement, of which he made quite a number, for the purpose of bring- ing cheer to the unfortunates and studying their condition that intelligent appeal might be made for their comfort. In 1885 after a visit to the settlement he published in the u Hawaiian Ga- zette" an account of his experiences and referred to Father Damien whom he characterized as u the noble-hearted Catholic priest who went to Molokai in 1873, *° care * or the spiritual welfare of those of his faith." He afterward learned from sources which could not admit the shadow of a doubt that some of Father Damien's personal habits were not all that could be desired. He mentioned these facts in a private letter answer- ing some inquiries put by the indiscreet corres- pondent above referred to, who immediately printed the letter without leave or sanction, and soon it was copied far and wide. This started a furious storm of discussion in the newspapers and Dr. Hyde was obliged to defend the position he 85 CHARLES McEWEN HYDE had taken. He did this to the discomfiture of his critics, but his vindication caused him no pleas- ure. He was no iconoclast seeking to destroy a popular idol. To one of his friends he showed how popular misapprehension had invested this man with virtues he did not possess. It was not a proclamation to be made from the house-tops, for no good end was to be served by publicity. Many matters of common knowledge in regard to public men never find their way into print for the simple reason that it would be futile to publish them. In this case it was not until the issue of veracity had been squarely raised that Dr. Hyde printed a defense of the stand he had taken. This incident served to call forth from Robert Louis Stevenson an open letter in which he sav- agely scored Dr. Hyde and made a bitter personal attack on him. "Upon very high authority", says the "Literary World", "we are able to say that Mr. Stevenson was led before his death to see the subject in a somewhat different light, and even went so far as to admit that in his treatment of Dr. Hyde he had laid himself open to very heavy penalty. That he ever retracted the letter, or modified its language, we are not prepared to say, but we believe he regretted its publication." 86 PERSONAL CHARACTERISTICS It was Dr. Hyde's privilege to attend the annual meeting of the A. B. C. F. M. in Wor- cester in 1893. The impression made by him at that time may perhaps be best indicated by one of the published reports of that meeting which at the same time gives us a pen picture of him. "Dr. Hyde is one of the venerable missionaries whose years of experience in the field have given a knowledge of the Hawaiian Islands that but few possess. He is a man of fine presence, of good height, erect, hair almost snow-white, pleas- ant, attractive, dark face, with, however, the u chin of determination" which bespeaks for him, underneath the quiet manner, the strong com- manding character which has served him so long in his work. He speaks with a directness that does not need the tricks of oratory to gain for itself an audience. A glance around the well- filled hall while he was speaking showed by the attitude of the faces the exact direction in which they had to look to see the speaker." 87 CHARLES McEWEN HYDE It was at this meeting that the liberal wing of the American Board gained ascendancy in its councils, Dr. E. K. Alden declining a re-elec- tion as secretary. A committee of fifteen had brought in a report which, while distinctly dis- claiming any modification of the former utter- ances of the Board on the subject of future probation, provided for a reversal of the policy on which the conservatives had made their stand. In his remarks on this report Dr. Hyde spoke as follows : U I wish simply to say, as one of the mis- sionaries of the American Board, that I voice the sentiments of many with whom I have spo- ken, if not all, that this large assembly interested in the work of the Board should adopt the report of this committee. Both a condition and a the- ory confront us now. You have heard much in relation to both of these aspects of this question. In relation to the theory let me say that in my opinion, in the stress of God's providence, we have been called upon as Christian believers, not to change our position, but to change our front. We, who go as missionaries to the heathen, speak to them not so much of salvation from death as a new life in Christ. Then again, as to the condition confronting us, do not, I beseech 88 PERSONAL CHARACTERISTICS you, make the practical blunder of seeking to save your consistency instead of saving souls. I plead with you not to thrust your fist into your brother's face, but lock hands with him and walk together to save souls. " In his mental make-up there were doubtless conflicting tendencies. By inherited disposition and training he was naturally a conservative, but his mind was quick to grasp new phases of thought and to appreciate their importance and usefulness. This ability brought him into sym- pathy with some, not all, modern aspects of Christian belief. So he loved not the old because it was old, nor the new because it was new. He possessed a great capacity for correct judgment and therein lay the secret of his wide influence. It has been said that where a man is strongest there is he weakest. That may have been so in his case, for it sometimes happened that where his opinions conflicted with those of other men he was extremely loth to abandon the position which he had taken. There is a saying in the family that what is merely firmness in a Hyde would be obstinacy in any one else. Perhaps this obviates the necessity of further explanation. In May 1894 he relinquished three quarters of his salary that the Board might be enabled to 89 CHARLES McEWEN HYDE engage an associate for him in his work. He wanted to render his experience valuable to his successor, recognizing that his own services could not continue indefinitely. His wishes were re- spected and Rev. J. L,eadingham of Oberlin The- ological Seminary was appointed instructor in the Institute. In 1898 he gave up the remain- der of his salary though still continuing in the service of the Board. This illustrates, as well as anything could, his devotion to the great missionary cause to which he had given over twenty years of his life. The disease which had fastened itself upon him in 1896 gradually undermined his constitu- tion and after a very severe illness in that year it became evident that his physical condition de- manded a respite from the unvarying round of work in which he was engaged. The insidious encroachments of his ailment gradually enfeebled him but he was able in the spring of 1899 to make a journey of five thousand miles to visit his son in Ware, with the hope that the change might benefit him. Here amid the scenes of his early life he passed a quiet summer. The jour- ney home seemed much longer and it required all the devotion of his wife, as well as his own fortitude, to enable him to reach the home he 90 PERSONAL CHARACTERISTICS loved so well. Once there lie sank rapidly. His younger son on Hawaii was sent for and after he had seen him and passed his wedding anniversary he seemed to have accomplished all that he de- sired and fell peacefully asleep on October 13th, 1899, in the sixty-eighth year of his age. Dr. Hyde's life was one of action and achievement. He brought to the accomplish- ment of the duties which devolved on him an immense capacity for work. His customary practice was to rise early, usually at five, and to devote the first and last part of the day to the literary and educational work he had in hand. Inasmuch as he often did not retire until mid- night his hours for study and writing gave him abundant opportunity for the thorough and con- scientious work for which he was noted. There may or may not be something of truth in the kinship of genius and hard work. One thing may be safely predicated, and that is, that the man who possesses a genius for hard work is sure of making his life felt in the community where he lives. His powers were trained by service for the uses for which he had need of them. Thus in twenty years' service as record- ing secretary of the Hawaiian Board he came to be able in keeping the minutes to enter them 9i CHARLES McEWEN HYDE during the progress of the meeting and to have them all in proper shape at adjournment, while taking part in the debates and offering motions himself. He was deeply religious though he hardly ever spoke of his own personal experience. There are but two written expressions of his inner life that have been found, both of which were written during his college course; one a solemn covenant with his Maker after his public confession of faith, the other an embodiment of his thoughts on the first year of his Christian experience. The latter was written on a Sunday afternoon immediately following the communion service and contains the following remarkable passage: "If I should live through another year, I want it to be marked by growth in grace. And one thing I must especially guard against is irresolution. That is one of my besetting sins and in order to free myself from it I hereby re- solve, that by the grace of God I will never suffer myself to be betrayed by it ; that I will always do that which I resolve upon, if so be I should not find it to be wrong or impossible. Another thing is, I want to think of God and eternity more than I do. Therefore, resolved, to do everything, if possible or proper, thinking 92 PERSONAL CHARACTERISTICS of God and what He would have me to do : or in other words to do everything as unto God and not unto men." How remarkably his life embodied the spirit of these resolutions is a matter of record, not comment. His belief in an over-ruling providence gave him a calm and serene faith. While others were troubled and distressed he seemed able to pre- serve a child-like trust in his Maker. Such faith is well exhibited in the following resolution of which he was the author: * 'Resolved: that this Hawaiian Evangelical Association desires to put upon record its grate- ful recognition of the Divine mercy in the full completion of seventy-five years of Christian work in these islands. The Divine guidance has been conspicuous from the very beginning of the mission, when the messengers of the Gospel first landed and were met with the tidings, that the old idolatry was abolished. Often and often again has imminent peril been averted by the Divine interference. Few of the membership of this Association have even the slightest remembrance of these past difficulties and obstacles. Be- fore us now stretches the vast unknown, but we would enter upon the new times before us with 93 CHARLES McEWEN HYDE faith in God's presence and guidance and earnest desires that we may know and do all His will. We know that He desires the salvation of all men. We pledge ourselves anew by the mem- ories of the past, the obligations of the present, the hope of the future, to more unreserved con- secration of ourselves to God's work of redemp- tion.' ■ Of his personal characteristics it only remains to be said that besides those already mentioned the most prominent were strength and sincerity. One who knew him well bears this testimony to his possession of these qualities : "Not many men whom I have met in my long public life have seemed to me so worthy of confidence and love. I knew him in College, fifty years ago, and I remember how he im- pressed me then as one of the manliest young men of them all. And when I met him again, thirty-six years after, that first impression was not only renewed but strengthened, and it has gone on strengthening with every year of our working together. He was pre-eminently a manly Christian man, strong in intellect, strong in purpose, strong in faith, strong in executive force, and true as the truest to every trust repos- ed in him. We could not well afford to lose him. 94 PERSONAL CHARACTERISTICS What will this wasting Hawaiian people do without him? He was their most efficient leader and their wisest counsellor. ' ' His life needs no eulogy. His conception of this earthly existence as but a preparation for the larger life beyond made him eager to do his Master's bidding here. An earnest, devout, self- sacrificing worker for the cause of Christ, it was given him to labor in varied fields with increas- ing efficiency and responsibility, and in all he rose to the full measure of his opportunity. The spirit of his life finds adequate expres- sion in this prayer of his composition. 1 'Our Father in Heaven help us as we gather to-day as Thy children at Thy footstool, while in all humility we bow before Thine infinite majesty, to rejoice in Thine uplifting love. We have much to say of earthly friendship, how seldom we speak of the Friend we have in Jesus. We have much to say of earthly wealth and its increase, how little have we to tell of the infinite and eternal blessedness we have in Thee. We vex ourselves over failures and disappoint- ments that in Thy wisdom and goodness are meant to compact our energies and intensify our desires to seek only what is highest and best. Let not the sorrows of earth darken our outlook 95 CHARLES McEWEN HYDE on the universe where God reigns, and all things work together for good in the fulfillment of Thy purposes of love and mercy. Here and now may we see how our Father worketh hitherto and how we must enter into Thy work if we would be partakers in Thy joy. Help us to open our eyes more and take to our souls more fully the common blessings of our earthly lot, to rejoice in sunrise glory and sunset splendors, in loveli- ness of air and sky, flowers and foliage, the ocean and the rainbow- tinted waves, mountain heights and sunlit valleys, all tokens of Thy love and goodness and wisdom in nature as Thou hast planned and made it. Let not sorrow lessen our peace or weaken our strength. May pain and suffering come to us only as clouds with silver linings, bringing with the darkness the fructify- ing rain. Thou dost not bribe us by happiness to do our present duty. Our pleasures are but the overflow of Thy goodness. Let happiness bring to us the double joy of making other lives bright with cheer, bringing hope to troubled souls and deliverance to those in the bonds of despair. In the abundance of Thy mercy let none of us think ourselves poor. Show us the riches we have in Thee, goodness beyond all measure, wisdom we cannot fathom, grace that 9 6 PERSONAL CHARACTERISTICS brightens every step in life's pathway and crowns with eternal glory the promised victory over sin and death. Forbid that we should in selfish, envious discontent bury the talents Thou hast entrusted to us, and so make into a grave what Thou didst mean to be a fruitful field. When Thou dost answer our prayers for the coming of Thy kingdom, let us not be appalled by a sense of the new obligations into which we are to enter nor overpowered by the new burdens that are laid upon us. In Thy light may we see light, in Thy patience find strength to overcome, in Thy strength our weakness made strong, in Thy loving presence our shield as well as our exceeding great reward. May we recognize and fulfil the duties of our citizenship in the king- dom of heaven. Prepare us all for the mansions in the Father's house above, which Thou hast gone to prepare for us, where our prayers shall all be praises and our services only the full fru- ition of grateful joy forevermore. Amen." 97 'Tis friendship's willing tribute paid To call of duty e'er obeyed, To faith serene and purpose strong To speed the right and check the wrong. TRIBUTES Rev. Chas. J. Hill* D. D., Stonington, Conn. "When I went to Williams College in 1849 I became acquainted with a young man who was familiarly called 'Charlie Hyde'. He was one of the six 'Charlies' of our class — all good fellows. "He was physically one of the finest looking men in the class. He was about medium height, with a good figure, thick black hair, a smooth face, a clear blue eye and a manly bearing. He was not much of an athlete; and I do not remem- ber that he cared very much about the gymna- sium, but he was fond of walking, and I recall with pleasure the walks we took together up West mountain and over the hills which sur- round Williamstown. "He always dressed well and coming from New York brought its style with him. He was 101 CHARLES McEWEN HYDE a genial, kind, courteons gentleman. We all loved him and acknowledged that he was the most popular man in our class. u As a scholar he was easily pre-eminent, al- ways accurate, ever ready to respond to his name, never careless in his preparation and always equal to any demand put upon him. It was no sur- prise to any of us when he took the valedictory. "Socially he was very popular. Though he did not connect himself with any of the secret societies he would have been welcomed by all of them. He was kind and courteous in his inter- course with every member of the class, and while of course he had his particular friends, he made every one feel that he was a true friend. He won the esteem and love of each one by his man- ly and gentlemanly bearing. "His Christian character was so sincere that we all felt his refined, gentlemanly influence. He could easily talk with any one, and many found him their wise and sympathizing counsel- lor in times of sorrow or hours of doubt. He never obtruded his religion or made any one feel that he esteemed himself any better than the rest of us (though we all thought that he was.) I think that with one other exception he was the only one who did not smoke at the class supper 102 TRIBUTES when our course was finished. " After a year of teaching we became class- mates in Union Theological Seminary of New York. There he showed the same scholarly and religious character, and won the esteem and af- fection of those with whom he daily associated. But it was not college. The careless, happy days in Williams were over and we were beginning the serious preparation for our life-work. It was then, and I presume still is, the practice of stu- dents to engage in city missionary work. I asked to be sent to the worst district in the city and was appointed to work at the Five Points (where by the way, I acquired a better preparation for the ministry than I did by studying the 'Five Points of Calvinism'). u At the Five Points House of Industry there was need of some one to keep the books. Know- ing that Mr. Hyde was a good accountant, I asked him to take the work, and he kindly agreed to give two half days a week to settling the mon- ey affairs of the Institution. It was just as much missionary work as visiting the poor and sinful in their wretched rooms. He did that work for a year. "When the time came for me to marry the daughter of Rev. Dr. Todd of Pittsfield, there 103 CHARLES McEWEN HYDE was no one that I wanted for my best man, but my old college friend. Though my wife has left me there is still upon our sideboard the beautiful gift he gave her, and my children all know that 'Charlie Hyde' was my most beloved college classmate. " Rev. Charles Augustus Stoddard. D. D., Editor of the "Observer". New York City. u Mr. Hyde was with me two years in Wil- liams College. He was one of the purest and best young men in the college. His life was blameless, but it was influential. He had the respect of all the students because he was a fine scholar, a friendly and companionable man, and a consistent Christian. His character was well rounded, and his life in college had the poise and finish which is rare at so early a period. His in- fluence upon others, which was always consider- able, seemed to come from the man himself rather than from any effort or actions; it was like sunshine or pure air, every person in his company felt and enjoyed it. 104 TRIBUTES "I was very sorry that he went to live in Honolulu, though I am not unmindful of the good work which he did there, for I hoped and believed that even more important and honor- able work might have claimed him in the United States. I have met him but twice since his grad- uation from college, but on both occasions found him the same man, grown larger in all that makes true manhood. n Rev. J. D. Kingsbury, D. D., Bradford, Mass. U I knew him intimately as he served as pas- tor of the Center Church in Haverhill during the years 1870-75. 4 'He was a rare man. In breadth and accu- racy of scholarship he stood easily among the first, having critical knowledge of language and a wide acquaintance with literature and a some- what profound conversance with the schools of philosophy and of theology. But his knowledge, which was often superior to the apprehension of his associates, always wore the veil of mod- io 5 CHARLES McEWEN HYDE esty. He never appeared as one having mastered all things, but rather as a disciple seeking and striving to know. "He was a loving pastor, devoted to his flock, and greatly beloved in the houses of those whose hearts were pressed by want, or anguished in grief. "His preaching was the simple, forceful gospel, giving hope and faith and joy to those who believe in the divine revealing to men. "His genial spirit and artless manner made him a valued companion in any circle. He was a true gentleman, noble and commanding in favor, appreciative always of the opinion and wishes of others, amiable, courteous, strong and tender in sympathy, ever ready with kindly words or ministries, and keenly alive to the de- mands of every duty and occasion of life, where God had given him a part. "He was a man of great wisdom in the af- fairs of more public nature in the city or in the Commonwealth. His views of duty were posi- tive and he never shrank from the utterance of them, whether they were favored or opposed by men. "In theology he was conservative but suffi- ciently progressive to keep him abreastof present 106 TRIBUTES day thinking. He was never rusty or old-fash- ioned, but in his forms of thought, his views of truth, his methods of investigation, he kept pace with the advance of scholars, and those who knew him intimately recognized the freshness, originality, and sincerity of his intellect, his heart and his soul. M It is a great pleasure to bear testimony to the life and character of my friend whose years were all too few among us, here in the valley of the Merrimac." Rev. S. Iy. Desha, Hilo, Hawaii. "Truly the beloved faces of the fathers are passing away. Dr. Hyde's words of comfort will no longer be heard, and the presence that brought blessings wherever he went, will not again be seen; but the words of love, the good words of admonition, the deeds of love, will never be for- gotten by those who enjoyed these blessings. Never will fade from my memory the smiling face, the winning voice, and the loving words of 107 CHARLES McEWBN HYDE my spiritual father, Rev. C. M. Hyde. All these blessings have now passed and a deep sense of a great loss has fallen upon the many who were his children in the Lord, and whose abodes are scattered throughout this island group. But the work that he did for the Hawaiian churches, for the youth of our nation and for the kingdom of Jesus, will never be lost, but will forever stand a monument to his memory. "While we are sorrowing at the thought that the words of wisdom we so much valued are no more to be heard, there breaks forth blessed be God, the light of hope from the shadows of the grave, a light whose source is the throne of the Almighty. "The life which he lived was rich in the service of his Master, and of his fellow men. "I first made the acquaintance of Dr. Hyde in the year 1880, that was two years before I en- tered the Theological Seminary, and at once upon meeting him, he gained my fullest confi- dence, as he showed me his kindly winning way, and as he advised me to enter the school, the sub- ject claimed my careful attention. I entered the school in 1882, and from that time I began to learn of his pre-eminent qualities. u As a teacher he was eminently fitted to im- 108 TRIBUTES part of the deep knowledge that rilled him, and ever ready to expound the Word of God. His scholars were continually asking him most diffi- cult questions, but he never asked them to wait long for an answer. He was ever prompt in answering every question. In his teaching he ever sought to put himself in the place of his scholars, and thus he drew them to place the ut- most confidence in him; and during the three years of my course in the school, I esteemed him a prince of teachers. "A frequent saying of his to us, his schol- ars, when we were discouraged was, 'perseverance is the road to victory'; and this was indeed a fit- ting sentiment to come from one who was himself the personification of perseverance amid difficul- ties. He was patient with our failures and with the difficulties which sprung up among his schol- ars. Often he was surrounded with difficulties and obstacles, and we could often see that the clouds were about him, but he never betrayed any discouragement with his scholars, and bore every difficulty with fortitude. "He was indeed a prince among men for his learning, yet he never made his great eminence an occasion for display of pride, but always ap- peared humble and childlike. Expressions of 109 CHARLES McEWEN HYDE pride or haughtiness never found place on his tongue. "In the three years that I was a member of the school, I never saw him angry, and never heard a word from his lips that would indicate that he was angry. Indeed it was a common saying among the students, that 'Dr. Hyde did not know what it was to be angry*. Once one of the students asked him if he knew what it was to be angry, and he replied: 'Yes, I have known what anger is, but I left anger in America, and did not bring him with me when I came to Hawaii\ u The cause of this great victory of our teacher was that he possessed the truly meek and humble spirit, which came to him through his nearness to his Lord and Saviour. "His hands were full of the cares of the school. He was also a trustee of various schools in Honolulu, but none of these cares ever led him to forget his former scholars who were now pastors of various churches. He never failed to correspond with them, sending messages of love; and when he received contributions he promptly forwarded such aid to them. Though many such contributions were given to him personally, he hastened to share them with his less favored no TRIBUTES brethren. Filled as he was with love to them, he was the first in their times of difficulty to ex- tend the words of loving cheer and hope. "This was the character of his life; he lived for the good of others. "We honor him for the many sterling quali- ties that adorn his character, for his faithful en- durance in every good work, for his loving aid to his fellow-laborers, and for his service for the churches and the Sabbath-schools of Hawaii. "L,et us hold fast to every good thing that we have seen revealed in him, not forgetting his virtues, but seeking to be like him, and like him may we be faithful, unwearied workers until life shall end. May we be like him who lived not for himself but for his Master and for his fellow- men." Rev. Skreno E. Bishop, D. D., Editor of the "Friend", Honolulu. "It was my great privilege to be brought into somewhat close relations with him soon af- ter his arrival here. I became at once greatly impressed with his ripe maturity as a scholar, in CHARLES McEWEN HYDE a Christian, and as, for a preacher, a man of af- fairs. He very early took a strong grasp upon his special work as a trainer of preachers and pastors, and upon that of a counsellor in eccle- siastical business, in both departments speedily developing a remarkable efficiency, and estab- lishing himself in the confidence of the Hawai- ian churches, as well as of his missionary breth- ren, several of whom were then still in somewhat active work. 'Kauka Hai' became a name of authority and ascendancy. u Dr. Hyde soon gained by scholarly industry a good working command of the native lan- guage. He acquired a copious and exact vocab- ulary, and became a ready and fluent speaker in Hawaiian, although at the age of forty-five he was incapable of idiomatic nicety of accent or expression. His written Hawaiian was excellent, both in diction and grammar. He possessed a rare expertness in clerical work, and has left behind him long and accurate records made with pecul- iar facility, as Recording Secretary of the Ha- waiian Board. An especially serviceable aptitude was shown in the discussions of the Board, but more particularly in our Church Association meetings, in discerning the points in which con- flicting or confused ideas could be brought to 112 TRIBUTES harmonize. It was a usual thing that some reso- lution or measure formulated by Dr. Hyde would meet with general acceptance and close a long and perhaps trying debate. Although not lack- ing in tenacity in his own propositions, he was not impracticable or averse to reasonable com- promises of opinion. In controversy, he was courteous and calm, and somewhat diplomatic in no bad sense. His influence was habitually for harmony and Christian compliance. His impress- ive personality and quiet, steadfast, yet reason- able demeanor became thus a strong and most happy educative force upon the native member- ship of our Island Associations, as well as in the annual meetings of our general 'Hawaiian Evan- gelical Association'. I think it may be said that no other individual did so much to shape their action. "During Dr. Hyde's twenty-one years of active labor in the North Pacific Missionary In- stitute, the great majority of the present pastors of the Hawaiian churches gained their training at his hands. It is a marked and obvious fact that during that period the character of the na- tive pastors has greatly advanced in intelligence and dignity, and I think also in depth of piety and faith, and in firmness of Christian integrity. i J 3 CHARLES McBWBN HYDE While a part of this progress coincides with a general advance of the native people in educa- tion and character, it must largely be attributed to the wisdom and piety of the chief instructor of these pastors, as well as to his excellent assist- ants, Mrs. Hyde especially included. "No one who well knew Dr. Hyde could fail to be impressed with the devout spirituality of his piety, the strength and sincerity of his Chris- tian faith, or the chastened ripeness of his moral excellence. No one is faultless, but I have rarely known a man with so few or slight blemishes upon his moral brightness as Dr. Hyde. His life has been a noble and beautiful one. To a rare capacity for efficient and excellent work, and for influencing and controlling men, he added a deep and unselfish consecration to the service of our fk Lord in saving and uplifting the lowly." Rev. H. H. Parker, Pastor Kawaiahao Church, Honolulu. "Dr. Charles M. Hyde came to Hawaii in the summer of 1877 and entered forthwith upon his work in the training school for Hawaiian 114 TRIBUTES pastors in this city. The design of the school was to prepare young Hawaiians by a three or four years' course of study and religious training for pastorate work in the native churches, and also to fit other Hawaiians, as Providence should open the way for them, to carry Christian civili- zation to the islands beyond. And with this intent 'Father Alexander's' old 'school of the prophets' which had been located many years previous at Wailuku, Maui, was moved to Hono- lulu, where it eventually became the North Pa- cific Institute with Dr. Hyde at its head. In this school Dr. Hyde began a work which continued without interruption, through a period of twenty years of faithful, conscientious service in behalf of the people of Hawaii, his main object being to build up and equip a native ministry for the Hawaiian churches. The interest he manifested in this field of effort to which he was called was warm and ardent, bordering on enthusiasm, and it was an interest not to be cooled by difficulties which he frequently encountered. His faith at that time in the future growth and usefulness of the native ministry was large. "Dr. Hyde was always true to the best inter- ests of his students as he understood them, and he was honored and respected by the students as ii5 CHARLES McEWEN HYDE well as by the native people generally. I well remember his first attempt to address an andience of native Hawaiians in their mother tongne. It was one of those occasions that is always sure to draw a large crowd, and not very long after his arrival on the islands. At the close of the ser- vice not a few persons came forward to greet the stranger, for of course he was really a stranger to the greater portion of the crowd; but from that day on the Doctor was no stranger to the natives of Honolulu, who then and there gave him his native name of 'Kauka Hai' by which he was universally known among the Hawaiians. "The Doctor was an untiring worker for the young peoples* societies and Sunday schools. He accomplished a great deal in the way of pre- paring reading matter for the native youth, edit- ing up to almost the last month of his life a Sunday school magazine for use in the native Sunday schools. He wrote and translated much in the way of providing useful reading for the native pastors. u Dr. Hyde had a very marked personality which always impressed itself upon those who chanced to come within the sphere of his activ- ity. Where his life touched the life of others it was sure to leave its impression which was 116 TRIBUTES uniformly a healthful and happy impression. His life was fruitful. He was a man of many parts, easily at home in any field of Christian philanthropy, and always ready to do good to all men. His demise has created a vacancy not easy to fill. And yet 'When you have lived your life, When you have fought your last fight and won, And the day's work is finished and the sun Sets in the darkened world, in all its strife, When you have lived your life, 'Twere good to die'." Hon. Chas. R. Bishop, Founder of the Bernice Pauahi Bishop Museum. U I trust that you will permit me, one of his friends, to offer a few lines in testimony of my respect for him and my high appreciation of his work and influence in the Hawaiian Islands. He was a whole-souled missionary, a faithful friend to the Hawaiian people, and during all the years of his residence in Honolulu, he took a deep and active interest in all that concerned their moral, social and physical welfare. Much of his time, thought and strength were given to general edu- 117 CHARLES McEWEN HYDE cation and uplifting of the various races repre- sented in the islands, and he was especially devoted to Oahu College, the Kamehameha Schools and the North Pacific Institute. "It was my good fortune to be associated with him as trustee of Oahu College; of the Estate of Mrs. Bernice Pauahi Bishop ; the Ber- nice Pauahi Bishop Museum and other trusts, and I am indebted to him for many wise suggestions and efficient aid. In the management of the schools and museum his experience, culture and broad intelligence were of great advantage and value. He was systematic and rapid in his work, and hence, by constant application, accomplished great results. But few had so wide an acquaint- ance in the islands as he had, or will be so missed now that his work is done. His name and influ- ence are deservedly held in honor by all who knew him well and will not soon be forgotten." Miss Ida M. Pope. Principal of the Kamehameha School for Girls at Honolulu. u Dr. Hyde was closely identified with the educational interests of Hawaiians for many 118 TRIBUTES years and it is fitting that the Kamehameha School for Girls pay tribute to his memory. "From the inception of the school until his labors on earth ceased, Dr. Hyde was faithful to his obligations, as trustee, as member of the ed- ucational committee, as wise counsellor and trust- ed friend. "Dr. Hyde was pre-eminently a leader, a man who had a keen grasp of affairs religious, political, educational and social; a rare execu- tive ability that entered into the carrying out of details ; he was an example of an indefatigable worker, who spared not himself and asked the best of others. "Scarcely a week passed by but found Dr. Hyde a welcome visitor at Kamehameha, interest- ed and conversant with the routine work, help- ful with advice and suggestion. Not alone in class-room work but in every department of the school was his concern manifest ; in sewing- room, kitchen and laundry; favoring shop work for girls as well as boys ; advocating a training class for nurses and the giving of instruction in vari- ous branches of horticulture. "On public days, Founder's Day, at musi- cales, entertainments, commencements, alumni reunions his presence cheered and encouraged. 119 CHARLES McEWEN HYDE He was punctilious in the performance of every duty. "Dr. Hyde was ever ready to consider what was for the benefit of the school in the future and it is good for us to know that one of the last letters he wrote was in favor of the erection of a hospital, where the pupils could receive profes- sional training and become self-respecting, self- supporting women. u Dr. Hyde hath wrought Hawaii and Ha- waiians lasting good. No more will he go in and out among us a familiar presence, but the good that he hath done will abide forever and ever, and along with Bernice Pauahi Bishop will be another 'Blessed Memory'." Mr. Goo Kim Fui. Chinese Vice-Consul, Honolulu. u Dr. Hyde came to the Hawaiian Islands to preach the Gospel. From the time I believed in Jesus I ever found him a real helper of the Chinese. In 1879 Dr. Hyde with J. T. Water- house and others helped in building the Chinese Church. I was one of the first elders and when- ever I went to Dr. Hyde for help or advice I al- 120 TRIBUTES ways found a ready response. " After the Chinese Church was opened for preaching services in 1881, Dr. Hyde directed the affairs of the Chinese Christians in their new chapel. He aided them in forming the church rules, administered the Lord's Supper, baptized the new members and helped in the other ser- vices of the Church. Dr. Hyde assisted me in starting the Sunday School and helped to make the Gospel truths more clear to the Christians. The early workers ever found Dr. Hyde ready to help them in their work and to give good coun- sel and advice in all their efforts. "I wished to start a Christian school for studying English and found a true supporter in Dr. Hyde. Miss Payson became the teacher of this school. "In all these efforts for upbuilding, educa- ting and advancing the Chinese of the Islands, for more than twenty years, Dr. Hyde gave his hearty support, and his memory will long be cherished in the hearts of those who knew and loved him. n 121 CHARLES McEWEN HYDE Rev. A. V. Soares, Pastor Portuguese Church, Honolulu. "I count it an honor to have the privilege of adding my loving tribute to the memory of the dear man whom I learned to love and rever- ence, not only because I am indebted to him for many kindnesses and favors and help given me, but also for his unselfish devotion to the Master's cause. "It was in 1890 that I first met Dr. Hyde, in my own home in Springfield, Illinois, whither he had come to try and obtain workers to engage in religious work among the Portuguese people in the Hawaiian Islands. It had already been pro- posed to me that I should take up this work, but my acceptance seemed doubtful, until Dr. Hyde came and in a kind and placid manner, which was so characteristic of him, presented the sub- ject in such a light that my wife and I after a time of prayerful consideration decided to go. "Dr. Hyde was a firm, kind, interested, helpful friend of the Portuguese Mission in Honolulu as long as he lived. "I shall never forget how often he visited our little congregation and the encouraging, 122 TRIBUTES helpful words he gave us from the pulpit. Al- though a man of numerous duties, for he was interested in every educational, moral and uplift- ing enterprise for the good of his fellow-men, he was never too busy to receive me when I went to him for advice : he was a man of sound judg- ment and foresight, one upon whose judgment it would be safe to rely. He was very unselfish with his valuable library, and not only gave me the privilege of using it, but he himself would choose those books he deemed most helpful to me and would even himself bring them to my house. On one occasion I said to him, 'Doctor, you spend a great deal of your time on me'. In his usual kind tone he replied, 'Mr. Soares, that is what I am here for\ Helpfulness to all who needed his help was always found in him as in the Christ whom he loved. "I remember one time he carried an armful of books from his carriage to my door. With his permission I kept some of his books for a year or more. After his death, I carried a num- ber of his books, which I still had in my posses- sion, to Mrs. Hyde who, after looking them over and finding they were helpful to me, kindly offered them to me. By the death of Dr. Hyde the religious, moral and educational cause in 123 CHARLES McEWEN HYDE Honolulu lost a faithful friend, but outside of his bereaved family, none, perhaps, lost as much as I did. Of him it can truly be said, 'His works do follow himV Hon. Taro Ando, Tokyo, Japan. "It was in 1886 when I went to Hawaii as Japanese Consul-General. There were then about three thousand Japanese laborers mostly engaged in different sugar plantations, but their moral condition was in such a state that unless they were properly guided, the consequences would surely prove fatal to the development of Ha- waiian resources, as the islands entirely depend- ed upon immigrant laborers, among whom the Japanese were then regarded as the most impor- tant element. "Under these circumstances Dr. Hyde, who was then the president of the Hawaiian Mission Board, offered his services for the training of the Japanese residents in Honolulu, as well as in various other places. He then opened regular religious meetings in the building of the Hawaiian Y. M. C. A. and other commodious places, where 124 TRIBUTES he devoted his exertions to instruct the Japanese morally and spiritually, as far as his time could permit him to do so. His work was ably assisted by his cheerful and talented lady in singing and musical and other various social gatherings, which always gave needed comfort and pleasure to those who were far away from their homes. Such devotional services rendered by these virtu- ous and experienced workers naturally brought about an excellent success: the Gosoel and tern- perance found their way among the Japanese im- migrants who have almost entirely changed their moral and social condition to such an extent that the Japanese that had been once defamed, grad- ually restored their good name and in conse- quence their number has since come up to nearly thirty thousand souls at present in those islands. u In fact, in the latter part of 1887, the evangelical work by the M. E. Church in San Francisco commenced in the island, and they se- cured a pretty good success among the Japanese as well, but I can positively declare that this they have greatly owed to the indefatigable efforts of Dr. Hyde. "In this remarkable movement, I am happy to say that, I was so situated as to be able to co- operate with this worthy doctor, for I was with 125 CHARLES McKWEN HYDE him all the time from the beginning, say 1886 till 1889, that is, for the space of nearly fonr years. I am equally proud to assert that no one but myself could tell more correctly and accu- rately the account of this wonderful achievement in holy work among the Japanese in the Pacific paradise." Prof. W. D. Alexander, Honolulu. U I count it a rare privilege to have enjoyed the friendship of such a man, and to have been associated with him in a few of the many lines of Christian work which he carried on with such untiring zeal and devotion. He was many-sided in his talents and also in his labors for the wel- fare of his fellow-men in all departments of the life that now is, as well as in that which is to come. "It was in the line of educational work that I came into touch with him most frequently. He was especially gifted as an instructor, and as a leader and organizer of educational work. Like an able general, he constantly kept in view 126 TRIBUTES the whole field, and laid comprehensive and far- reaching plans for future progress. In ail the different boards with which he was connected, his mature judgment and experience had great weight. He not only founded and conducted for quarter of a century the North Pacific Mission Institute in which nearly all the present Hawai- ian pastors have been trained, but continued to guide and assist his former pupils through their after-life. "For twenty-two years he bore a leading part in the councils of the board of trustees of Oahu College, which lay very near his heart, and it was there I first came to know and appreciate him. Enjoying, as he did, the entire confidence of Hon. C. R. Bishop, it fell to his lot, to do a great work in assisting to organize and carry on the Kamehameha Schools and the Bishop Mu- seum. In all our institutions of learning his in- fluence will long be felt, and 'his works do follow him\ u It was in 1883 I think, that he started the 'Social Science Association', of which he contin- ued to be the inspiring spirit, and which has served to draw out the best thoughts of some of our leading minds on social questions. "Of his relations to the Public Library As- 127 CHARLES McEWEN HYDE sociation, I have less personal knowledge, but I do know that he did much towards building it up and widening its sphere of usefulness. "He also took an active part in founding the Hawaiian Historical Society, and was a valued co-worker in the field of Hawaiian language and folk-lore. "I have mentioned only a part of his mani- fold activities, but into them all he carried a spirit of devout consecration to his Divine Mas- ter. "If ever a man seemed to be indispensable to this country, it was he, and when he was called to go up higher, we felt like saying with Elisha, 'My father, my father, the chariots of Israel, and the horsemen thereof'." Prof. M. M. Scott, Principal of the High School, Honolulu. "The people of Honolulu will remember, not without gratitude, the late Dr. Hyde's many- sided activities for the public good. For more than twenty years his name has been connected with the various institutions most pronounced in 128 TRIBUTES their beneficent effects on the public welfare. "He was connected with the Library and Reading Room Association from its incipiency, and as one of the trustees and as one of the com- mittee of three for choosing of books, his advice and literary taste were always at the service of the institution. He never failed to be present at all of its meetings, however pressed he might be in other directions. u As an intimate friend of the wealthy bank- er, Mr. Charles R. Bishop, he was largely instru- mental in securing from that gentleman endow- ments amounting altogether to more than forty thousand dollars to put the Library upon a per- manent financial basis. His broad views and excellent business qualities were of great assist- ance in the plans and construction of the present building. "His educated literary tastes were shown to great advantage as a member of the Literary Committee. While having decided views of his own in regard to its management and the selec- tion of books, with a view to the education and direction of the reading and literary tastes of the community, he was always conciliatory, in his mental and moral make-up, to those differing from his views. During his entire connection 129 CHARLES McEWEN HYDE with the library, he never missed a meeting ex- cepting when absent from town, or when neces- sarily kept away by indisposition. u At his death, the trustees recognized the fact that they had lost one of their most intelli- gent, courteous, and conscientious members, and a testimonial engrossed to that effect was sent to his family. u He was the originator and the main sup- port of the Social Science Club, an organization whose functions are similar to those of a like nature in other places, and containing the schol- arship, scientific tastes and business enterprise of Honolulu. From the beginning until his death, he was its secretary, in which capacity he looked after and directed, to a large extent, the character of its contributions, places of meeting and all other matters pertaining to its welfare and efficiency. u Each year, it held its first meeting at his house. As secretary of the club, his summing up of the main points of the papers was a mar- vel of definite and incisive reporting of the chief excellence of the essay, which when read at the meetings was in some respects superior to the original. "All the members knew that at his death no 130 TRIBUTES one could fill his place. At the final meeting, after his decease, a resolution was carried, em- bodying his unequalled excellency as secretary, and his general usefulness in keeping the club to its high standard of efficiency. "In every community, especially in a devel- oping commercial and industrial one, there are needed some men of the highest culture and the most devoted public spirit to take the lead in calling the attention of men of wealth, but ab- sorbed entirely in their own affairs, to the public needs. "Dr. Hyde pre-eminently filled that place for the last twenty years in Honolulu. It was largely through his initiation and through his energy and high public spirit that many of the noblest monuments of public utility exist in Honolulu. Prof. William T. Brigham, Director of the Museum, Honolulu. "What Dr. Hyde was to the Bishop museum few beside the museum staff could appreciate, for his good work was not done 'to be seen of men'. Long before the birth of this museum he 131 CHARLES McEWEN HYDE had seen the insufficiency of the Government museum, and the great need of some more effi- cient means of preserving the fast disappearing remains of Hawaiian primitive industry. His interest in the Hawaiian people and their works led him to study with his usual painstaking care the native names of implements, of animals and plants, and his notes are to-day in possession of the museum. When at last it became possible to realize his hopes in the memorial museum which Charles Reed Bishop founded to contain the collections of his wife, Dr. Hyde as one of the trustees entered most heartily into the plans of the newly appointed Curator to make this more than a mere cabinet of curiosities. "As the plans were developed and the muse- um grew into a scientific living institution, rank- ing with the more important museums of its kind in the world, Dr. Hyde was the foster- father, cheering the only laborer in that museum for years with his sympathy and counsel. In a community where the greed of gain might easily turn earnest men from higher pursuits, it was especially helpful to have the sympathy of an intelligent and good man. More than physical, more than pecuniary aid, was the appreciative word given often when the museum and its in- 132 TRIBUTES terests seemed to have passed from the notice of all other men. "When a new and important collection was added to the museum, it was always a pleasure to drive to his house the next morning to tell him of it, for he was always pleased and could understand the value of each addition. With prophetic insight he could see in the struggling time of small beginnings the great possibilities concealed in the germ. While others thought it unwise to exchange so much good money for books and specimens, — books in some foreign language they could not read — specimens that were obsolete or out of fashion, relics of a de- caying race, he well understood that these things rightly used were not mere curiosities, but edu- cational material : not to amuse an idle tourist, but to be read as a chapter in the great history of man's development : to show, so far as inani- mate things can show, how far these people of the Pacific islands had traveled on the road from primitive barbarism to civilization, and to preserve the record for all to read when the last of the islanders shall have passed away or been absorbed into other races. " Personally my first meeting with Dr. Hyde was in 1880. I had come to Hawaii to study an 133 CHARLES McEWEN HYDE expected eruption of Mauna L,oa, and soon after my arrival Dr. Hyde called to offer any assist- ance in his power. An interval of eight years passed, and on my return to Hawaii he was among the first to greet me, and from that day I was assured of his help in any attempt to improve the local opportunities for study and ad- vancement. Although not a scientist he under- stood fully the importance of scientific methods, and from the first was ready to work with all his power to prevent the new museum from becom- ing a mere passing entertainment. Hence his constant advocacy of the purchase of books for the needed library of scientific reference, his ap- proval of all acquisitions of scientific material even if not attractive to the ephemeral tourist. "With all this it never seemed to me that the museum was in any sense a hobby. He was quite as much interested in his school for native ministers, in the Kamehameha schools, in the Historical Society, in the Public Library. It was simply his earnest interest in anything he be- lieved was likely to do good service to his fellow men, and we of the museum felt grateful to him for the large share he gave us. n *34 TRIBUTES Gov. Sanford B. Dole, Honolulu. u During recent years I have often noticed with admiration Dr. Hyde's devotion to duty in many things outside of his professional work, and his intelligent interest and pronounced pub- lic spirit in all subjects and enterprises in the domain of good citizenship. "It has been very evident to those in touch with him that he was in the habit of contribu- ting a great deal of his time and strength in work of a public character. Even when he was a very sick man he was persistent in attention to such matters with great personal inconvenience to himself. "A man who gives himself in generous measure to other than pecuniary enterprise for the general advancement in education and char- acter is a most wholesome influence in the affairs of men. I think Dr. Hyde was such a man." 135 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 (724)779-2111