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PERSONAL REMINISCENCES


OF THIE
LIFE AND TIMES


GAIRDlINER


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PAS~Z F TZ~ RIC?ESBY E1& HURCH2
fl T~ crr F N1EW TR
VOLUME I.
NEW YORK:
OHARES O!~HNE &  12 XfAD STREET.




Entered, according to Act of Congress, in the year 1865, by
CHARLES SCRIBNER & CO.,
in the Clerk's Office of the District Court of the United States for the Southern
District of New York.
JOHN F. TROW & CO.,
PRINTERS, STEREOTYPERS, t ELECTROTIPERS,
60 GREENE STREET, N.Y.




CONTENTS OF VOLUME I.
CHAPTER I.
PAGE
PRELIMINARY CONSIDERATIONS,                  5
CHAPTER II.
MY PARENTS,                                  10
CHAPTER III.
MY MOTHER, 5.
CHAPTER IV.
MY EARLY LIFE UP TO MY ENTERING THE MINISTRY,  74
CHAPTER V.
MY ORDINATION AND MY MINISTRY..         104
CHAPTER VI.
THE EMBARRASSMENTS AND ENCOURAGEMENTS OF MY
EARLY MINISTRY,...             119
CHAPTER VII.


PRINCIPLE AND EXERCISE,. 14a




4                 CONTENTS.
CHAPTER VIII.
PAGO
REVIVALS.........     160
CHAPTER IX.
AFFECTING INCIDENTS,....... 179
CHAPTER X.
FANATICISM IN REVIVALS,......  215
CHAPTER XI.
DOMESTIC MISSIONS........        239
CHAPTER XII.
FOREIGN MISSIONS,.......     277
CHAPTER XIII.
THE ANDOVER THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY,... 306
CHAPTER XIV.
AMERICAN BIBLE SOCIETY......      326






CHAPTER I.


PRELIMINARY CONSIDERATIONS.
ADAM FERGUSON, in his " Essay on the History
of Civil Society," relates an anecdote, the spirit of
which was the first impulse to the present volume.
"It is said of Spinola, a famous commander in the
service of Spain, in the sixteenth century, on being
told that Sir Francis De Vere, who served under
Leicester in the expedition to Holland, died of having nothing to do, replied 'that was enough to kill a
general."' Nature, not less in the intellectual and
moral than the physical world, " abhors a vacuum."
I have never aimed at cessation from labor, but rather
at incentives to action. While I retain my relation
as the senior pastor of the church whose pulpit I have
been permitted so long to occupy, I have, at my own
request, been released from the more weighty responsibilities of the pulpit and the pastorate, and am~
exposed to the depression of having nothing to do.
Fourscore years of my pilgrimage have passed away:
not without many a struggle I have, for the most
part, relinquished a ministry which has been my joy,
and am disposed to feel that my work is done. It




6        PERSONAL REMINISCENCES OF THE


is indeed a sad hour. To resort to unemployed repose neither suits my habits nor my taste. My intellect and my affections require stimulus. There is not
even embellishment in listlessness. The inventive
powers are unstrung; the imagination has lost its
promptitude, and is slow and hesitating; and there is
no quickness of apprehension, where the mind has
nothing upon which to exercise itself, or where there
are few, if any, subjects that interest it. Though
descended from a vigorous and long-lived stock, I
have never anticipated old age; I have never looked
for it. But I realize it now, and an contemplating
it, not so much with sadness, as with the apprehension that I shall be a cumberer of the ground.
This is just the state of mind in which I commence
these personal reminiscences. Now that the wintry
blast of age has come upon me, I have ventured to
summon memory and reflection, to compensate me
for the ardor of youth and the vigor of riper years.
Yet, at the best, it is but the mournful swell of the
night-wind, the solemn wail of days that are with the
"years beyond the flood."
If these pages have any interest, it is because they
combine biography with history, and advert to those
public affairs from which the individual life of the
writer cannot well be separated. If they contain
some discussions upon theological subjects, in which
there is now less interest than there was fifty years
ago, it is because historical verity requires some such
discussion. If they contain the remarks of others, it
is because my younger days had the advantage of intercourse with men of eminence in the theological




LIFE AND TIMES OF GARDINER SPRING.


7


world, and whose remarks are deeply imprinted on
my memory.
I never thought much of a man's writing memoirs
of himself; nor do I now think of it without embarrassment. The subject itself is a most humiliating
one; and were it not inwoven with so many sweet
memories of others, and so many important events,
and, above all, with so many delightful recollections
of that almighty and invisible hand that brings " the
blind by a way that they knew not," and leads " them
in paths that they have not known," and whose grace
abounds more than my sin abounds, the discouragement and mortification of such a review would be absolutely forbidding.
In the course of writing these pages, I have often
felt that I may be accused of egotism, perhaps justly.
Yet if I know myself, it is not a conscious self-conceit
that has prompted my pen, but the love of labor, and
a desire to furnish an unvarnished, unaffected statement of facts. As I am no " noun of multitude," but
a single individual, speaking of what he hinself has
seen and heard, there would be no modesty in arrogating to myself the royal style. After taking counsel of judicious friends, I have come to the conclusion
that not to use, in this narrative, the first person singular, would be mere affectation. The relation in
which the writer stands to the reader, and to the persons and events of which he speaks, requires this directness. Richard Baxter, John Bunyan, Jonathan
Edwards, Andrew Fuller, Samuel Hopkins, Nathaniel Emmons, William Jay, and a host of others, were
at no loss to speak of themselves; had they not done




8


PERSONAL REMINISCENCES OF THE


so, their biography would have lost its charms. No
small part of the Old and New Testaments, so rich in
characters and events, is made up of the autobiography of the sacred writers. Moses was no egotist,
neither was David, nor Samuel, nor Ezra, nor Nehemiah, nor Ezekiel, nor Daniel, when they were directed by the Spirit of God to give themselves so prominent a place in the sacred narrative. The Apostle
Paul was no egotist when he addressed his farewell
sermon to the elders at Ephesus; nor when he made
his defence before Agrippa; nor when he wrote his
Epistle to the Corinthians; nor when he said, " Whereinsoever any is bold, I am bold also; Are they Hebrews? so am I. Are they Israelites? so am I. Are
they the seed of Abraham? so am I. Are they ministers of Christ? I am more."
There is one embarrassment in the work I have
undertaken which nothing can relieve: the death of
my beloved Mrs. Spring must leave a vacuum in these
pages which nothing can fill. She was the wife of
my youth: it was a joyous union for more than half
a century. She was intimate with my entire history;
and greatly do I feel the need of her retentive memory, her habits of observation, her judgment of character, her delicacy of taste, her sympathy with my
trials, and her jealousy for my usefulness and honor.
Another embarrassment which I deeply feel, is
the fact that I am too far advanced in years to have
any very strong expectation that my life and health
will be prolonged to the completion of that which I
have undertaken. I am driven to the work; I am
running a race with time; it is too hasty an effort.




LIFE AND TIMES OF GARDINER SPRING.


9


Could I have had two years for it, instead of the four
months it has occupied, it might have been more interesting as well as more instructive. That I shall
have courage to finish it, is perhaps more than I may
reasonably hope for. With a sweet composure I leave
it in the hands of God. I love to think of him; and
if there is anything in these reminiscences that dishonors him, I hope they may never pass from under
my own eye. In the event of my death before the
work is finished, I shall leave the manuscript in the
hands of my children, to be disposed of at their discretion.
I love to look back upon the past.   Memory
lives there, and in treasuring up what we have acquired or observed, it expatiates upon the resources
of infinite goodness. I love, too, to look forward to
the future. Faith lives there; and in her brightest
anticipations sees Him whose presence and love are
the joy of earth and time, and also the everlasting joy
of heaven and eternity. It is a delightful thought
that God is there,. God, our own God. There are
sombre hues in the past; but there is radiance even
on the darkest cloud. " Who is a strong Lord like
unto thee, or to thy faithfulness round about thee?"
Time is but a dream. " What shadows we are, and
what shadows we pursue! " There is reality only in
the future, and therefore there is gladness-" joy and
gladness, thanksgiving and the voice of melody."


VOLT.I-1




CHAPTER II.


MY PARENTS.
OF all the treasures both of faith and of memory,
none are more delightful to me than those which relate to my beloved and honored parents. My recollections of their character are not less precious than
vivid; and my assured convictions of their present
blessedness and their eternal and onward advancement in glory are as full of joy as filial affection can
desire.
It was my privilege to have descended from " the
seed royal" of heaven and the heirs of covenant blessings. My maternal ancestors, for several generations,
were ministers of the gospel, non-conformists, and
English Puritans. My paternal ancestry I have not
been able to trace beyond the year 1634, when John
Spring, with his wife Eliza, embarked at Ipswich,
England, for New England, with their four children.
They settled in Watertown, Mass., near Boston, where
his name is on the earliest list of proprietors in 1636.
His descendants were successively John Spring, Henry Spring, John Spring of the third generation, Henry Spring of the fourth, and John Spring, my grand



LIFE AND TIMES OF GARDINER SPRING.


11


father, who was settled in Uxbridge, Mass., in that
part of it which afterwards became the town of Northbridge. That he was a man of consequence is evident
from the fact that when, in the year 1772, the petition for incorporating Northbridge was presented to
the Legislature of Massachusetts, it was "headed by
Col. John Spring."  He was a justice of the peace, a
deacon of the church, and a large landholder on the
Blackstone river. He was married in Newton to Sarah Read, by whom he had five sons and one daughter. Their two eldest sons were consumed by a fire
that destroyed his dwelling-house, during his absence
in the year 1740. His surviving children were John,
the father of the late Adolphus Spring, Esq., of Northbridge; Mary, who married the Rev. Elias Dudley,
of Oxford, Mass.; Ephraim, who remained on his
farm at Uxbridge; and Samuel, my father.   My
grandfather was the owner of a family of slaves. I
recollect them well, and that, after my grandfather's
death, my father bore his annual proportion for their
support in their old age. Their names were Felix
and Phelice. They had two children, Rose and Phillis. Felix was a native of Africa, and used to say
that he was stolen from home when a child, and carried into bondage. His African name was leibi Allah, Mlahgooma. My father regarded him as a Christian man; he had great regard for the Sabbath and
spent much of his time in reading the Bible. When
slavery was abolished in Massachusetts, he was told
that he was free, and could go where he chose; but
he preferred remaining in the family. I-e survived
his aged master but a few years, and died in Ux



12      PERSONAL REINISCENCE 'OF THE


bridge, at the house of my uncle Ephraim, near the
close of the last century. My grandfather died March
12th, 1794, aged 88 years. My father was accustomed
to make him a yearly visit, and always spoke of him
with great reverence and love. He was a man of enterprise and wealth, and op his death each of his children inherited a handsome property. More than once,
and when from six to ten years of age, I visited him
at Uxbridge, and shall not easily forget the enthusiasm, the glee, with which my father returned to the
labors and sports of his more youthful days. He had
been the most effective and valuable young man on
the farm; and though both of his parents were professors of religion, so important were his services at
home, that it was with great reluctance his father
consented to his wishes to obtain a liberal education.
His mother's importunity, added to his own, prevailed, and at rather an advanced period of life, he left
the farm, with a view to one of the learned professions.
He began his study of the languages under the
tuition of the Rev. Nathan Webb, the minister of Uxbridge, and his own pastor, for whom he cherished
great affection and reverence. He entered Nassau
Hall in New Jersey in 1766, at the age of twentyone. Jonathan Edwards the younger was the tutor
of his class, and he often adverted to the accuracy,
the thoroughness, and the vigor of his instructions.
He imbibed a strong attachment to Mr. Edwards
while at college, and cultivated it through life. More
than once I have heard him say that of all the theologians he had ever known, Mr. Edwards was the most




LIFE AND TIMES OF GARDINER SPRING.


13


able, and the most withering to an opponent. And I
distinctly recollect his making the remark to me, that
his superiority in argument consisted in a rigorous
demand from his antagonist for a definition of his
terms.
My father was a great admirer of the president of the college, the Rev. Dr. Witherspoon; and
his lectures to the class and his pulpit ministrations
were never forgotten. The character of my father's
mind was both of a philosophical and practical cast.
He was an enthusiast in his pursuit of knowledge, but
it was useful knowledge. The age of metaphysical
theology had just dawned upon the American Church,
and under the instruction of Mr. Edwards he became
familiar with various branches of it; while under the
conservative, common sense, and scriptural views of
Dr. Witherspoon, he placed little value upon speculations that could not be turned to good account.
There was a resident graduate in Princeton of whom
I have often heard him speak, and to whom he became greatly attached, by the name of Periam, whom
he regarded as of very high promise. He was a devoted Christian, a ripe scholar, and died early. I have
often desired to have his history. The records of
Nassau Hall, I have no doubt, have some notices of
this remarkable man. My father could never mention his name without admiration.  President Edwards, the immediate predecessor of Dr. Witherspoon, it is well known, was a Berkeleyan: my father
was interested in Berkeley's philosophy, and but for
the influence of Dr. Witherspoon, might have adopted
the opinion that the objects of perception are not real




14       PERSONAL REMINISCENCES OF THE


existences, and are simply ideas which exist only in
the mind.
While at Nassau Hall, he was the class-mate of
the late James Madison, the fourth President of the
United States.  They both graduated in the year
1771. Mr. Madison was younger than my father,
and they were room-mates. On a tour for his health
through the Middle and Southern States in 1792, he
visited Mr. Madison at Montpelier. It was a visit of
several days, and in a familiar retrospect of their college-life, my father once interrogated him upon the
subject of his personal religion. Mr. Madison merely
replied, " Oh, Mr. Spring, Dr. Witherspoon spoiled
me for all other preachers." He had a high estimate
of Mr. Madison, especially of his integrity and good
judgment. He once remarked toga company of gentlemen, who were Mr. Madison's opponents, " You
may rely upon this, gentlemen, I know him well;
and James Madison will never do a foolish thing."
The intercourse between them continued to the time
of Mr. Madison's presidency. While he was Secretary of State, and during the administration of Mr.
Jefferson, my father requested his influence in favor
of the collector of the port of Newburyport, and that
he might not be removed from office. Mr. Madison
made the following reply:
"WASHINGTON, November 13, 1801.
"DEAR SIR:
"I have received your favor of 20th October, and
return you maVy thanks for the friendly sentiments
it expresses towards me.




LIFE AND TIMES OF GARDINER SPRING.


15


"Having no other knowledge of Mr. Tyng than
what I derive from your letter, I can view him in no
other light than that of a man of worth and respectability; nor is any circumstance known to me from
which I can infer that his removal from office is contemplated by the President. Should his case be taken
up with reference to that question, I shall be led by
justice to him, as well as by respect for you, to communicate the testimony you bear in his favor, that it
may be duly weighed against objections, if any should
be urged, to his continuance in office.
" I am sorry to find you sympathizing so much
with the anxieties and alarms which are suffered to
overcloud the prospects of some parts of the Eastern
States. Whatever dislike or opposition may be felt
at the removal of particular persons from office, is it
possible that the fate of our country or of our Government can depend on an occurrence of no greater
magnitude; or can it be right to make use of such a
text for all the inflammatory publications which are
circulated' through the newspapers? It cannot be
unsatisfactory to you to learn that other quarters of
the Union are more and more every day presenting a
very different scene. The reflection must indeed, by
degrees, force itself into every mind, that the situation of our country is to be judged of by those great
measures which materially affect its happiness and
welfare, and not by the question whether this or that
man be in or out of office.
"I have, as you desired, presented your respects to
the President, who.received them with a recollection
of your visit to him. I have performed the like task




16      PERSONAL REMINISCENCES OF THE


as to Mrs. M., who joins me in very warm congratulations for the recovery of your health, and wishes for
its continuance. Since I had the pleasure of seeing
you, mine has suffered frequent interruptions, and is
even yet less reestablished than I could wish.
" With great respect and esteem, I remain, dear
sir, your fiiend and humble servant,
" JAMES MADISON."
During the war with Great Britain, 1812-1815,
and when Mr. Madison was President, my father
wrote him a respectful but faithful letter, upon the
perils of the country, and especially the state of the
public mind in New England. The following is his
answer:
" ONTPELIEER, September 6, 1812.
"REVEREND SIR:
"I have received your favor of August 26. I recollect our collegiate friendship with the same impressions which it gives me pleasure to find you still retain. Nor have I forgotten the pleasant hours that
passed between us at a much later day, under my
own roof.
"We all feel the weight of the times; and it is to
be regretted that all cannot unite in the measures opposed to them. If it were proper for me, it might
not be agreeable to you to discuss the subject. But I
will not conceal the surprise, the pain I feel at declarations from any portion of the American people, that
measures resulting from the national will, constitutionally pronounced, and carrying with them the most




LIFE AND TIMES OF GARDINER SPRING.


17


solemn sanctions, are not to be pursued into effect
without the hazard of civil war. This is surely not
the legitimate course. Neither is it the language, on
other occasions, heard from the same quarter, nor a
course consistent with the duration or efficacy of any
Government.
" Permit me to express equal surprise, that this
extraordinary opposition to the war declared against
Great Britain is most emphatically rested on an alliance or a connection with France, presumed to exist
or to be intended, in the face of demonstrations to the
contrary, with which the slightest degree of candor
ought to be satisfied.
" Without entering into comparisons between different districts of the Union with respect to the sufferings which led to the war, or the objects at stake in
it, it is clear that every district felt, more or less, the
evils which produced it, and is more or less deeply interested in the success of it. It is equally certain that
the way to make it both short and successful would
be to convince the enemy that he has to contend with
the whole, and not a part, of the nation. Can it be
doubted that, if under the pressure added by the war
to that previously felt by Great Britain, her government declines an accommodation on terms dictated
by justice, and compatible with, or rather conducive
to, her interest, it will be owing to calculations drawn
from our internal divisions?  If she be disposed to
such an accommodation, it will be evinced in due
time, to the most prejudiced and misinformed, that
the earliest and fairest opportunities are not withheld.




18       PERSONAL REMINISCENCES OF THE


"Mrs. M. acknowledges your kind inquiry after
her health. Hers and mine are at present both tolerably good. We hope that yours has been entirely
reestablished.
"Accept our friendly respects.
" JAMCES MADISON."
My father became hopefully pious while a member of college, and, immediately after he graduated,
commenced the study of theology under Dr. Witherspoon. The following letter to his old teacher at Uxbridge may be read with interest even in these days
of advanced theological instruction:


"NASSAU HALL, vNovenmber 21, 1771.
"REVEREND SIR:
"The advantages I enjoyed while under your immediate inspection, your willingness and readiness to
communicate, the kindness of my never enough to be
honored parents, in supporting me through a liberal
education, in a singular manner convince me that I
owe myself, my services, and my all to the disposal
of a righteous God, into whose arms I now commend
myself; voluntarily enlisting in the service where his
own Son is the leader, resolving by his assistance to
fight the good fight of faith, supplicating his will in
my being used as an instrument in his hand to overcome and conquer a wretched and sinful world.
"I am now entering upon the study of divinity
under Dr. Witherspoon. At present there are eight
students; three of whom have the government of college in their-hands; two who graduated before me,




LIFE AND TIMIES OF GARDINER SPIEING.


19


and two at the same time. The doctor gives us his
lectures in divinity on Monday evening; on Saturday
at twelve o'clock we meet again, at which time there
is always a discourse delivered by one of us, either
practical, theological, or argumentative, when we are
favored with the president's accurate way of remarking on all such performances, which not only instructs
the young divine, but helps the speaker and makes
the writer. Besides attending to the exercises of the
divinity school, I have the advantage of the ' Graduate Society,' lately set up, consisting of the tutors and
resident graduates, for improvement in the belleslettres way. This I conceive to be as profitable as
anything whatever of the nature; our officers not looking upon themselves so far exalted but that they perform the stated exercises of the society with the greatest cheerfulness. This is attended with very good
effects; in the first place, because we have the opportunity of hearing their pieces; and also because we
have the advantage of their remarks and observations
on our own performances, which is of singular service, since some of them are well skilled in the nice
scrutinies and criticisms of the English language. For
these purposes we meet and perform regularly every
Friday night, between the hours six and nine. By
taking a part in these exercises, together with the
doctor's lectures to the students on chronology, history, and eloquence, I am apt to think that my time is
both advantageously and agreeably spent; otherwise
it must be attributed to my own indolence and want
of proper attention, which would be very inexcusable.




20       PERSONAL REMINISCENCES OF THE


"In consequence of the difficulty that attends the
study of divinity, and also the importance of gaining
a clear insight into the fundamental principles of religion, I am at present determined to spend three or
four years in the study; and, in order to divide ny
time to proper advantage, I think fit to spend the
first six or eight months in the manner hinted above,
which is not so agreeable to my parents as I could
wish. But I trust, upon further consideration, after
having heard my reasons for thus doing, they will acquiesce in my tarrying till spring. After leaving this
place, which I am persuaded I shall do with great reluctance, as I have spent my time here in the most
agreeable manner, I purpose, God willing, to study
under Mr. Hopkins, of Newport, Dr. Bellamy or Mr.
Hart, of Connecticut; and since my father is satisfied that I should study under either, it is a matter
of indifference to me under which, as I am very
well persuaded that either of these gentlemen is
capable of conveying the hidden truths of the Gospel in the most clear, precise, and intelligible manner.
"The difficulty is great; the work of a minister
of the utmost moment, his success uncertain, and myself a feeble, unworthy creature; all which I humbly
beg may teach me to go to, and depend on, God for
assistance in Christian graces, that I might live agreeable to my profession, and act worthy of my desired
calling, and in some measure answerable to the obligations I am under to Him in a special manner for a
Christian birth, which I humbly trust I have passed
through since a member of Nassau Hall. That this




LIFE AND TIMES OF GARDINER SPRING.


21


might be the happy case is the earnest request of your
respectful and obliged humble servant,
"C SAMUEL SPRING.
"To the Rev. NATHAN WEBB."
After my father left Nassau Hall and that youthful school of the prophets under Dr. Witherspoon, he
became the student of Dr. Bellamy, of Bethlehem,
Conn., Dr. West, of Stockbridge, Mass., and Dr.
Hopkins, of Newport, R. I. It was Calvinism of a
somewhat different kind from the Calvinism of Nassau IHall which he was now led to adopt. He did not
like to be called a Hopkinsian; he called himself
"a consistent Calvinist;" he was accustomed to say,
"No man can be a consistent Calvinist without
adopting the views of Dr. Hopkins." It was never
questioned in earlier times that Dr. Hopkins was a
Calvinist. The nominal distinction between Calvinism  and Hopkinsianism  was never recognized in
New England until the discussion between Dr. Hopkins and Mr. Mills, of Huntington, on the " doings of
the unregenerate." Yet the Calvinism of the Westminster Confession declares that " the works of unregenerate men are sinful, and cannot please God, or
make a man meet to receive grace from him." Not
till then was the line drawn, and my father called a
Hopkinsian.  He was a Hopkinsian, and understood the system well. The late Chief Justice Parsons, of Massachusetts, a neighbor and friend of my
father, and who loved theological discussion, used to
say, " Mr. Spring is right; he is a consistent Calvinist; for if I were a Calvinist, I could not stop short




22       PERSONAL REMINISCENCES OF THE


of Hopkinsianism."  Dr. Hopkins was the correspondent of the celebrated Dr. Ryland, of Bristol in
England. He had been requested by Dr. Ryland to
designate some person who would consent to continue
the correspondence after his-Dr. Hopkins'-death;
and he named my father as the ablest, and at the
same time as the most safe advocate of his own views.
The following letter was the commencement of the
correspondence:
" NORTH STREET, BRISTOL, November 17, 1803.
"To the Rev. SAMUEL SPRING:
" DEAR SIR: Though it may be questionable whether you have ever heard of me, yet I had a respect for
you for several years, having become acquainted with
your writings, through my very dear friend and correspondent, Dr. John Erskine, of Edinburgh, and Dr.
Jonathan Edwards. Through the kind manner in
which the former gentleman mentioned me to the latter, I was most pleasingly surprised, about the beginning of May, 1786, by receiving a packet from Dr.
Edwards, whose father I had long revered, inviting
me to a correspondence, which I continued to enjoy
as long as he remained in this world. Having this
day been in company with Captain Ryan, who tells
me he knows you, lives very near you, I felt inclined
to send you a few lines.
" Though I cannot see scriptural evidence for infant baptism, and think immersion is needful to the
right administration of that ordinance, yet I feel a
sincere affection for all who love Christ in sincerity,
and have the highest respect for many who think




LIFE AND TIMES OF GARDINER SPRING.


23


differently from me in these things. I have, indeed,
always lived in the practice of free communion at the
Lord's table. The church at Northhampton to which
I first belonged has practised mixed communion above
three hundred years; and in that at Broadmead,
Bristol, of which I am pastor, I have used to break
bread to both the Baptist and Pedobaptist church.
The evangelical dissenters are very harmonious, and
I have a good degree of acquaintance with most of the
evangelical Episcopalians.  Mr. Sutcliff, of Olney,
and Mr. Fuller, of Kettering, and myself, are very
nearly of an age, and have long been intimate fiiends.
I suppose no persons in the kingdom have been more
industrious in spreading the writings of Edwards and
Bellamy. We respect Dr. Hopkins, but cannot quite
come up to his standard in all points, though many
exclaim against us for our attachment to American
divinity. My time is exceedingly occupied, and Dr.
Hopkins, I suppose, gets aged and infirm, or I should
have been glad to have applied to himself for the solution of certain difficulties which seem to attend his
scheme. Indeed, I have exchanged a few letters with
him. If you fully agree with Dr. Hopkins, I wish
you would undertake to state to me what you would
say in defence of man's responsibility and criminality,
and the plea that God is the author of sin.
"I have received a friendly letter from the Rev.
Samuel Austin, of Massachusetts, to whom I sent a
reply some months ago. But I have much less time
for correspondence than heretofore.  If you would
be so good as to favor me with a line now and then,
I shall be greatly obliged to you. I earnestly wish




24       PERSONAL REMINISCENCES OF THE
you much success in the work of the Lord, and desire a share in your prayers that the Lord would
make me faithful unto the death.  I request your
acceptance of two or three pamphlets, and remain
"Your friend and brother,
" JOHN RYLAND."
Dr. Emmons was a more able man than my father;
but his views on several subjects differed from those
of Dr. Hopkins. Though my father regarded him as
the ablest of the New England divines, he did not
approve of some of his published sermons. He endeavored to dissuade Dr. Emmons from publishing his
celebrated discourse on God's hardening Pharaoh's
heart, telling him it would do more hurt than good.
My father was licensed to preach the Gospel in
1774, devoting three full years to the study of theology.
The following year he joined the Continental Army
as Chaplain, and accompanied the expedition to Quebec, under Gen. Arnold and Col. Burr. Many are
the affecting narratives of the sufferings of that expedition I have listened to from his lips by our homefireside. He was on the Plains of Abram when
Montgomery fell. It was a snowy morning, and in
the face of the enemy, Col. Burr made the bold attempt to rescue the body of his fallen leader. One of
the daily papers of this city has called in question the
correctness of this statement. But my father was no
romancer: I have heard him tell the story too often
to be mistaken. In confirmation of it, I may allude
to events which took place in my own family while I




LIFE AND TIMES OF GARDINER SPRING.


25


was living in Beekman-street.  My father and the
Rev. Drs. Beecher and Taylor were our guests. Col.
Burr was a relative of my father, his companion in
arms, and my father was anxious to see him. I told
him that since his murder of Hamilton, Burr had lost
caste, and that he had better not call upon him. He
yielded to my intimation; but the day before he left,
he took me into the front parlor and said, -" My son,
I must see Burr. We went through the woods together; I stood by his side on the Plains of Abram,
and when Montgomery fell. I have not seen him
since, and I must see hin before I go. The last time
I saw him was after Montgomery had fallen, and little
Burr, up to his knees in snow, was trying, in face of
the enemy, to bring off Montgomery's body. My son,
I must see him." We called at his office in Nassau
street, but he was out, and did not return the call till
toward evening. I will not speak of the particulars
of that interview. It was a beautiful, yet a strange
interview. Mrs. Spring and the two gentlemen just
referred to were present, and listened to many a tale
of by-gone days. Burr was no friend of Washington.
Said he, "You know, Dr. Spring, that Washington
was a coward." Dr. Beecher could scarcely restrain
himself. "I wanted," said he, "to knock him down."
The expedition for Quebec embarked at Newburyport for the River Kennebeck. On their departure,
my father preached to them from the text, " Except
thy presence go with us, carry us not up hence;" and
it was this discourse which commended him to the
congregation in Newburyport, where, on leaving the
army, he became their settled pastor till the day of
VOL. I.-2




26       PERSONAL REMINISCENCES OF THE


his death. He was ordained August 6, 1771, and died
March 4, 1819.
It is as a son that I speak of him, and. am sensible
that my representations are exposed to the coloring
of filial affection. He was a noble man, an intelligent
and warm-hearted Christian, and a devoted and faithful Christian minister. His character, in these particulars, is impartially delineated in Sprague's "Annals
of the American Pulpit."  Ever the advocate of the
doctrine of disinterested benevolence, he exemplified
it in his life by a higher regard to other interests than
his own. IHe had no fellowship with vanity or meanness, but was distinguished for integrity and honor,
and doing to others as he would they should do to
him. In questions of doubtful morality, he was in the
habit of referring them to the criterion of disinterestedness.  "What does disinterestedness say?" was
with him the decisive question. He taught this doctrine to his children, and urged upon them the importance of "keeping self in the background."  He
carried it into the pulpit, and with great power and
boldness. With what severity of demonstration and
scorching rebuke have I heard him, especially in his
extemporaneous discourses, denounce the religion that
quarrelled with the divine sovereignty and justice I
He would tell his hearers that if their religion took its
rise merely from their expectations of the divine favor,
it was all delusion. " It is all selfishness," he would
say; " it begins in selfishness, and ends in selfishness.
Just as though a man, from a supreme regard to himself, could love God supremely, and more than himself,"  Some of his peculiar views, I have often




LIFE AND TIMES OF GARDINER SPRING.


thought, were the result of his adoring views of the
divine character. The great God was his all in all.
I have no doubt that the emotional causes of his
Hopkinsianism were his all-controlling views of God's
direct and personal presence. There was an elevation
of moral feeling about him in this respect, which was
unusual. God was brought home to the inmost consciousness of his soul. IHe loved to see God and enjoy
God in everything. God's glory, with hinm swallowed
up everything else. Nature, providence, grace, the
cross of Christ, heaven, hell, were resplendent with
the manifested and illumined Deity. In his prayers
he seemed often lost and swallowed up in God. A
lady once said of him, "I love to hear Mr. Spring
pray, because he prays as though he loved God." His
piety was distinguished for humility, cheerfulness, and
decision. He was jealous for himself with godly jealousy, and sat in scrutinizing judgment upon his own
motives. Though a severe student, he loved a good
joke, and was occasionally full of his fun, especially
with his children and his theological students. I have
rarely known him depressed, except at the close of
his pulpit ministrations on the Lord's day. IHe would
then sigh, '' Ah me! who hath believed our report? "
He was an enthusiast in sacred music, and then he
would walk the room and sing:
"Weary world 1 when will it end?
Destined to the purging fire;
Fain I would to heaven ascend,
Thitherward my thoughts aspire.
Saviour, this is not my place:
Let me die to see thy face I"




28       PERSONAL REMINISCENCES OF THE


Though they are sixty years since I listened to these
words, thus sung, yet I seem to hear them even now,
and from the melodious voice of my departed father.
IHe was remarkably scrupulous in the observance of
the Lord's day, both personally, in his family, and in
the town. He was instrumental in inducing the
leading gentlemen of the town to appoint a committee of their own number in order to repress the growing desecration of the day. HIe would not shave his
face on the Lord's day, nor allow my mother to sew a
button on her son's vest; and on one occasion, when
his nephew, the late Adolphus Spring, Esq., arrived
in haste on a Saturday evening with the message that
his father was on his bed of death, he would not mount
his horse for the journey of seventy miles, until the
Sabbath sun had gone down. His standard of Christian character was high, and applied with searching
scrutiny both to himself and others. He had little
confidence in religious impulses, and was at a great
remove from all those measures the object of which
was to produce an excited state of mind. He was a
man of strong emotion, but it was emotion that was
the result of principle. I-e was very cautious in receiving persons to sealing ordinances, and more generally put them upon a prolonged probation. Yet his
church was not small, and in character and influence
one of the most important churches in New England.
It was the mother-church of Eastern Massachusetts,
then the District of Maine, where family after family
removed from his own parish, and where they founded
churches which now shine as lights in the world. His
diligence as a student, his faithfulness as a pastor, his




LIFE AND TIMES OF GARDINER SPRING.


29


practical wisdom, and his rare administrative faculties, gave him great influence. He made his mark on
the churches, and has left it on the inhabitants of
Newburyport. The interest he took in the welfare of
the town, and in the public schools, his social qualities, his decision of character, his cheerful temperament, his great hospitality, his public spirit, and his
large-heartedness, gave him an honored place among
his fellow-citizens of every name.
He lived several years after I entered the ministry,
and I shall always be a debtor to his example, his
counsels, and his prayers. Four of his sons are still
living, and we can all bear testimony to his paternal
love and faithfulness. He was attached to the domestic discipline of the Old Testament; and though no
father was more kind, we all felt that his word was
law. If we have been industrious men, we owe it to
the example, the instruction, the discipline of our
father. He was a working man in his youth, and a
working man in his old age. lie knew how to " take
hold of things by the right end," and frequently instilled the lesson upon his sons. He was not only
watchful of the books we read, the principles we imbibed, the company with which we associated, and the
amusements we indulged in, but the manner in which
we did our work.
His health greatly suffered from his efforts in New
England and the Middle States, on a begging tour in
behalf of the sufferers by a desolating fire in Newburyport in 1811; but he lived to the advanced age
of seventy-three years. His last discourse was delivered on the first Lord's day in January, 1819, from




30      PERSONAL REMINISCENCES OF THE


the words: "Behold, now I am old, I know not the
day of mly death." He died on the 4th of March following. As long as he could sit in his chair, he conducted the religious worship of his family, reading
with great delight from Burkitt's Commentary of the
New Testament. I did not know of his last sickness
until a few hours before his death. It was at noon on
the Lord's day that the mournful intelligence reached
me. The following morning I left New York, hoping
to be in time for his funeral; but a violent snow-storm
so obstructed the travelling, that I did not reach
Newburyport until the day after his interment. I
could not, however, resist the desire to look once more
upon that loved and venerated face. I had the grave
uncovered-the sexton only with me-and took a last
look at the dear form of my departed father, his robe
of office inwoven with his shroud. I merely said,
" Yes, it is mny father," and wept.
His views in the near approach of death were such
as might be expected from such a man. I made the
following record of them at the mournful visit to which
I have just referred.
Until within three days of his death, he enjoyed
the full use of his reason, and was fully convinced
that his end was near. In his last interview with Dr.
Dana, pastor of the Presbyterian Church in Federal
street, five days before his death,-as Dr. D. sat by his
bedside, my father said, "I wish you to pray for me,
and for my family, and for my people, that we may
all feel aright respecting my poor self. I have a hope
in the infinite mercy of God; I have had seasons of
discouragement respecting my spiritual state, and I




LIFE AND TIMES OF GARDINER SPRING.


31


have had seasons in which I hope I have enjoyed the
light of God's countenance. As to the truth of the
system I have preached, I have no question, but have
reason to lament that I have preached with so much
coldness. Yet I think I have had some seasons in
which I have enjoyed communion with God in my
public exercises. I have nothing of my own, not one
spark of righteousness to recommend me; I come as
a sinner to the Saviour."  To this Dr. Dana replied,
" God forbid, Sir, that any of us should come in any
other way, but in reliance on a crucified Saviour."
After a short pause, he said, " I am not adventurous,
but I think I can cheerfully venture my immortal soul
on the infinite mercy of God in Christ."
To another who inquired, " Do you enjoy the peace
of God " lie said, "I should be miserable without it."
To Dr. Woods, Theological Professor at Andover
-on the Monday before he died-he said, " You occupy the most important station there can be in this
life. I hope you will be faithful. God be with you,
bless you, succeed you, and uphold you."
After considerable weariness he exclaimed, "Oh!
let me be gone; do let me be gone! I long to be at
home."
Three weeks previous to his death, my brother
Samuel asked him " how his life appeared?" He replied, " Oh! it appears as if it needed grace thrown over
the whole of it."  " And on what part of your life
can you dwell with the most satisfaction?"  He replied, "That I have been permitted to preach the
Gospel; that I have been enabled to preach what I




32       PERSONAL REMINISCENCES OF THE


believe to be the system of truth; and that I have
been the unexpected instrument of establishing the
Seminary at Andover, and any agency I had in
originating the American Board of Commissioners for
Foreign Missions."
He passed away quietly, like a shock of corn in
his season, fully ripe. As a deserved tribute to his
worth, the Church at Newburyport caused the following inscription to be placed on the stone that marks
his last resting-place:
"In memory of Rev. Samuel Spring, D.D., born
at Uxbridge, Mass., Feb. 27, 1746; graduated at
Princeton College 1771; licensed to preach 1774; ordained as pastor of Second Congregational Church
and Society in Newburyport, August 6, 1777; deceased March 4, 1819, aged 73. A man of an original
and vigorous mind, distinguished for a deep sense of
human depravity, and especially of his own unworthiness, and for his exalted views of the character and
perfections of God the Redeemer; of great integrity,
firmness, benevolence and urbanity; an able, faithful,
and assiduous pastor, an example to the flock over
which he was placed; a kind husband, a tender father,
and a sincere friend.  He was a ' Visitor' of the
Theological Seminary at Andover from its commencement; President of the Mass. Missionary Society;
Vice-President of A. B. C. F.., and bore important offices in most benevolent Societies around him;
he lived eminently useful, beloved, revered, and died
universally lamented."
The following letter, addressed to me soon after my




LIFE AND TIMES OF GARDINER SPRING.


33


father's death, it is due to his memory here to insert:
" FRANKLIN, April 28, 1819.
"To Rev. GARDINER SPRING:
DEAR NEPHEW: I received yours of 29th March,
with both pleasure and pain. It was painfil to have
my afflictive feelings called up afresh respecting the
late decease of your dear father and my dear brother.
There was no other man in the world with whom I
had been so long and intimately united in sentiment
and affection. I share largely, and I had almost said
equally, in this bereaving stroke of Providence. But
since the will of the Lord is done, it is my duty as
well as yours to mourn with submission. I did not
know till you informed me, that your father was so
much tried on account of Mr. Murdock's appointment
at Andover. I had heard of his appointment, but not
of his acceptance of it. I greatly regret the event, for,
as you intimate, I have always thought, and often
said, that Orthodoxy would languish and die there as
soon as your dear father deceased. I have feared, and
do still more and more fear, that that richly endowed
Seminary will ere long become the fountain of theological errors, and disseminate them through all New
England, if not through America. I have for some
time been fully convinced, that neither the teachers,
nor the taught, strictly adhere to that excellent creed
upon which the institution was professedly founded.
They are fast verging towards the absurdities of old
Calvinism, and the tide of popularity is setting so
strongly in their favor, that I can do nothing more than
save my single self from being carried down the stream
VOL. I.-2*




PERSONAL REMINISCENCES.


and overwhelmed. This I intend to do, and hope I
shall be able to do. You are at present in a safe harbor; but I fear your cotemporaries in Massachusetts
will soon imbibe that neutralizing spirit which will
both disable and indispose them to combat the abounding errors of the day. I rejoice that your pious father
kept the faith to his dying hour. There is Sut one
true system of Divinity, and the more clearly and intelligibly that is unfolded and supported, the more it
will detect, refute, and bear down every false system.
The peculiarities of Orthodoxy afford a minister the
best defensive and ofensive weapons. It is the wisdom as well as duty of a preacher to employ these
weapons as freely and forcibly as possible.  *  ''
"Please to write to me as often as you can, and
with the utmost freedom; for in me you shall find a
faithful friend as well as an affectionate uncle.
"NATH. EMMONS."




CHAPTER III.


MY MOTHER.
THE year 1766 was memorable in the town of
Hadley, on the Connecticut river, for the destruction
of a private dwelling-house in the centre of the town.
It was with no small difficulty that the large family
which occupied it escaped the flames. It was a cold
night in midwinter, and the owner of the house, then
in the vigor of manhood, was almost frantic with
anxiety for the safety of a beloved daughter, then but
six years of age. She had escaped at the first alarm
without being noticed, and was running in her nightdress, and with naked feet, when a kind lady took her
in her arms and carried her to her own bed. In the
midst of his deep agony for his beloved child, the
father was told that his daughter was safe, when he
turned to the blazing mass and exclaimed, " Now
burn! "
That little child, so kindly cared for by a watchful
Providence, was my beloved mother. She was the
daughter of the Rev. Samuel Hopkins, D.D.-a wife
meet for such a husband as my father; in piety, in




36      PERSONAL REMINISCENCES OF THE


personal accomplishments, and activity, fitted to be
his helper, his adviser, his comforter in his arduous
work.
Her venerated father, notwithstanding his name,
was a Calvinist of the school of Baxter and Doddridge. His father was the Rev. Samuel Hopkins, of
West Springfield; his mother was the eldest daughter of the Rev. Timotlhy Edwards, of East Windsor,
in Connecticut, and the sister of Jonathan Edwards.
He graduated at Yale College in 1749, and held the
office of tutor in the college for three years. tHe
made a public profession of religion in 1752, and
was received into the church of which his father was
pastor. He was ordained over the church in Hadley
in the month of February, 1755, and remained its beloved and faithful pastor for fifty-six years, and to
the day of his death. lie was married to Mrs. Sarah
Williams, the widow of his immediate predecessor,
by whom he had eight children, of whom my mother
was one. The Rev. Dr. Lyman, of Hatfield, his intimate friend and neighbor, in a discourse delivered at
his funeral, says of him, " I have seldom known his
equal for the constancy and fidelity of his friendships,
and for so much innocent pleasantry, mingled with
so much solid sentiment and profitable instruction.
He was an able and sound divine, and well able to
vindicate the faith once delivered to the saints. His
manner as a preacher was grave and solemn, but not
the most animated and interesting: what was deficient in manner was compensated by important truth.
He was a man of remarkable prudence and judgment,
and shone with peculiar lustre in ecclesiastical coun



LIFE AND TIMES OF GARDINER SPRING.


37


oils, and in the associated bodies of his brethren in
the ministry."
He lived to the advanced age of eighty-one years,
and died on the 8th of AMarch, 1811. I have seen
nothing of my grandfather's publications, except his
half-century discourse to the people of Hadley, from
the words, " Yet have I set my king upon my holy
hill of Zion," in which he presen ts, inple illustrations
of the rnediatorial prerogative aoft iiing Jesus, and a
condensed and valuable historical view of the.town
and church, and towards the close of which he says,
" Neither preacher nor hearers can escape the wrath
to come, but by flying to tile Atonement of Christ,
and to divine mercy through His blood for forgiveness."
My maternal grandmother, Sarah Porter, was a
descendant, in the first generation, from John Porter
and Rose his wife, who came from England, and were
among the first settlers in Windsor, Conn. He died
in April, 1648, and his widow died in about twenty
years after. They had five sons and six daughters,
most of them born in England. Samuel Porter, their
third son, born in England in about 1659, married
Hannah Stanley, daughter of Thomas Stanley, of
Hartford and afterwards of Iadley. They settled at
Hadley, where he died on the 6th of September,
1689, and she died on the 18th of December, 1708.
They had eight children born at Hadley. The Hon.
Eleazar Porter, their fourth son, was born 25th of
February, 1698, at Hadley. He married Sarah Pitkin, daughter of the Hon. William Pitkin and Elizabeth Stanley, of Hartford. Mr. Pitkin was chief juns




38       PERSONAL REMINISCENCES OF THE


tice in the Connecticut colony in 1713, and died 8th
of April, 1723. The IIon. Eleazar Porter and Sarah
Pitkin, his wife, settled at I-adley, where he was a
very distinguished and influential man.  He died
November 6, 1757, and his widow died June 6, 1784,
in the eighty-second year of her age.  They had
twelve children, born at Hadley, most of whom died
unmarried.  Sara, Porter, their second daughter,
was born April 28, 1726, and married the Rev. Chester Williams, of Hadley, who died October 13, 1752.
She then married, in 1756, the Rev. Samuel H-opkins,
the minister of Hadley, and liad by him two sons and
six daughters. Their third child, my own mother,
was IHannah I opJkins.
She was born August 10, 1760, and was married
to my father November 4, 1779. They had eleven
children, eight sons and three daughters, the first of
whom, a son, survived his birth but twelve short
hours. The names of the others, in the order of time,
are Margaret Stoddard, Gardiner, Hannah, Walton,
Samuel, Lewis, Mary, Pinkney, Charles, and John
Hopkins.  Margaret became the wife of the lion.
Bezaleel Taft, jr., of Uxbridge, and died July 25,
1816. Gardiner is still living, and is the pastor of
the Brick Church in New York. Hannah died May
16, 1795. Walton died May 18, 1809. Samuel is
still living, and was till recently the pastor of the
church in East Hartford, Conn. Lewis was lost at
sea in 1814. Mary died August 13, 1796. Pinkney
died at New York, September 9, 1820. Gardiner,
Samuel, Charles, and John Hopkins, all old men, are
the only survivors of the eleven,




LIFE AND TIMES OF GARDINER SPRING.


39


Our dear mother, both in her pensive and cheerful moods, was wont to indulge herself in the use of
her pen. On one of my last visits to her, she playfully told nie what she thought of us all; and then,
changing her tone, said, with touching tenderness,
"Take that, my son, and read it at your leisure."
May I not be allowed to record it here? I give it in
her own words:
"The Rev. Samuel Spring, D.D., and Mrs. Hannah Spring, the parents of this circle, look round
upon them with mingled joy and grief. It was their
privilege early to devote their children to God in the
bonds of the covenant; they have endeavored to impress their minds with the inftnite importance of religion.
"In their covenant God in Christ is their only
hope for themselves and their children. Thankfully
and anxiously do they look round on their surviving
offspring; nor do they repine at the hand that has
hidden the greatest half of their number in the silent
tomb; firmly believing that eternity will open a scene
respecting them all, in which all holy beings will rejoice. Oh! may they be so happy as finally to present
themselves before God, and say, ' Here, Lord, are we,
and the children which thou hast given us.' Amen I
1. " Ah, beauteous babe!
Just didst thou sip the cup of life,
Then from it turned. Just twelve short hours filled up
Thy mortal span. Transplanted, as we hope,
From this to heavenly ground."




40


PERSONAL REMINISCENCES OF THE


2. "Child of our hopes, and comfort of our declining years,
And must thou die? Yes; high heaven
Has so decreed. ' Be still, and know that I am God.'"
3. "Still lives to bless the world; our hope, our joy!
O keep him, Holy God, and let him as
A signet be on thy right hand, and with
His years increase his love for souls."
4.  O child of promise! shall we much deplore
Thine early exit from this world of woes?
We hope thou wast prepared for realms of bliss;
Soon we shall follow thee."
5. "The manly, noble, persevering mind,
And beauteous form, just entering
On the busy scenes of life, must find
An early grave. And what can soothe
Parental anguish here? God reigns;
And no injustice can be done."
6. "  child of many hopes and many fears,
Endowed by God with talents clear and bright,
Still must we hope that they will be
Improved for noble purposes."
7. "  can we ever cease to mourn
The enterprising mind, the energetic
And the vigorous man, the heart
Replete with every social virtue;
The noble and the generous friend!
If e'er there was a call for deep submission,
Sure we have it here."
8. "A rosebud of the brightest hue I
Lent by God a few short months,
For reasons far more wise than we can scan,




LIFE AND TIMES OF GARDINER SPRING.


41


Called from this active scene; soon
Did she follow her departed sister
Where side by side their monuments
May now be seen."
9. "Sweet child of sensibility! let not
The fondest hopes of parents, cherished
In thy infant days, be blasted
In thy manhood! Let talents given
Be nourished and improved, to bless
Thy parents, and to bless the world."
10. "However fair the promise of thy youth,
And hope looks forward with propitious eye;
Yet sure the heart must tremble
For thy future destiny, while
Destitute of grace."
11. "Last, but not least beloved, of sons,
Much may. we hope from thee,
If God direct thy mind. Let not
The wishful eye be turned on thee in vain;
Be thou the prop of our declining years."
Thus spake the heart of a true and loving CAhristian mother.   The death of my brother Lewis, lost at
sea, was a most afflicting providence to her, and she
says of it, "If ever there was a call for deep submission, we have it here."         He was bold and enterprising, and had embarked as supercargo on a vessel
from Cape Cod on a perilous voyage, during the last
war with Great Britain.        Some persons now living
may remember the fearful snow-storm       in January,
1814, in which the United States schooner Sylph was
wrecked, if I mistake not, off the Jersey shore.  My




42       PERSONAL REMINISCENCES OF THE


brother Lewis sailed the day before; and it is the
opinion of mariners that, from the violence of the
gale, not being able to bring his sharp and heavilyladen craft-she had a full cargo of salt-into the
wind, she was put before it, and ran under, and that
in less than forty-eight hours after he left Barnstable,
the vessel and all hands were lost in or near the Gulf
Stream. Neither vessel nor crew have been heard of
since. The agitated family waited for tidings month
after month, but no tidings came. My mother's emotions, in view of this mournful event, will be most
truthfully presented by the following letters, addressed to me in New York:
" NEWBUirYPOPT, May, 1815.
" 'MY DEAR SON:
" We received yours of the 28th ult. this morning.
You ask if I am waiting for a letter from you before
I write? By no means, my son; I have not felt myself at all neglected by you; but other reasons have
prevented my writing of late.
"Since our distressing apprehensions respecting
your dear brother Lewis, we thought it not best to
write, or burden your mind with the same anxious suspense in which we were held. But after waiting many
weeks, and from every source of information, your
father wrote.
"To describe to you, my son, the state of my
mind for these two weeks past, respecting our dear
Lewis, would be impossible. Indeed, I need not.
You are a father. You can look forward and conceive your sons grown to manhood, and become com



LIFE AND TIMES OF GARDINER SPRING.


43


panions for you, promising to be the support of your
declining years. Enterprising, promising in the view
of all around you as it respects this world; to you
tender, respectful, dutiful, affectionate, to have such
an one taken without comfortable evidence of his
preparation for a better world! 0O, my son, I must
not dwell here-I must look up to the throne of God;
I must look to the great Arbiter of all events, who
governs the universe in infinite rectitude. I inust, I
do believe that IHe hath done all things well. I hope
I feel it, and that, though my heart now bleeds with
anguish for my son, yet the time will come when-if
my heart is right with God-I shall rejoice at this
very event. 0, how unspeakable the consolation that
the lord reigneth!
" You will perhaps say, ' Mlamma, you write as if
you had no hope respecting Lewis.' I confess, my
son, I have very little; I can scarcely say I have a
hope. It is now more than fifteen weeks since he
sailed from Barnstable, Cape Cod, for Georgetown,
S. C.-a voyage which might have been performed
in six, eight, or ten days at most in good weather.
We have heard from Bermuda, from lHalifax, from
Cuba, from many of the West India Islands, where it
is most probable he would have been carried in if
captured. I know it is possible he may be taken and
carried to England, but I think it not probable. He
sailed Saturday, January 14. On the Monday night
and Tuesday following occurred one of the most tremendous storms ever known on our coast. Have we
much room to hope?
"You say you are 'amazed at his temerity in




44       PERSONAL REMINISCENCES OF THE


sailing with a cargo of salt in the month of January.'
He expected to have sailed at an earlier date; but
the vessel he bought was not sold according to the
first advertisement, and the postponement of the sale
deferred his voyage. I said to him, when he was
planning it, ' Lewis, had you not better be contented
to stay at home this winter? It is dangerous going
abroad. I dread your encountering our coast at this
season of the year; you must suffer a great deal, if
you escape the enemy; perhaps something may turn
up for you to do by spring.'  He answered me,
'Mamma, I am now past my twenty-first year; I
have no one to depend on me at present; I have
nothing to depend on but my own exertions; I am in
the prime and vigor of life; now is my time to make
something to begin the world with. If it were safe
to go into any kind of business at home, I would not
sail; but you know it is not. I have something that
I can venture abroad with, and I am ashamed to be
seen in the streets in idleness. As to the danger of
our coast in the winter, I expect to strike right out into
the broad ocean, and not keep on our coast. I know
I shall be exposed to the enemy, but I think I can escape by outsailing them; if not, and I am taken and
lose all, I know the English so well that I know I can
get into business with them, and I shall not return till
the war is over.' Thus he reasoned, and had you
been here, you would have felt differently from what
you now do. I think I gave him the best advice I
was capable of, and it is a satisfaction to me that I
wrote to him and sent him on his Bible after he left
home. While conversing with him on serious subjects




LIFE AND TIMES OF GARDINER SPRING.


45


a little before he went away, he observed to me,
' Mamma, I believe all you say is true, and I wish I
felt about these things as you do, but I am sensible I
do not.' I have written just as things were spoken,
that you may judge of the state of his mind as well
as I.
"I very much rejoice in the goodness of God
towards you and your people. O may the Spirit still
continue to descend like gentle dew upon you. I
have hardly left myself room to assure you that I am
still
"Your affectionate mother,
" HANNAH SPRING."
"NEWBURYPORT, September 3, 1815.
" MY DEAR SON:
"As the privilege of conversing with you is denied me, I take this method of communicating to you
some of my feelings and exercises, in reference to the
loss of your dear brother Lewis. I am persuaded that
when you turn your thoughts towards your father's
house, and think of the sore dispensation that attends
us, you are sometimes ready to exclaim, '  that I
had wings like a dove, that I might fly to my friends,
and spend one hour at least in conversing with my
dear parents and brothers! I flatter myself that you
are sometimes ready to ask, how does my dear mother
bear this trial? I answer, I hope I am not altogether
stupid under the rod; though I sometimes feel very
insensible.  I realize the truth of the old adage,
'What the eye does not view, the heart does not rue.'




46       PERSONAL REMINISCENCES OF THE


We did not witness the agonizing struggle, the dying
strife. If we had, perhaps our hearts would be more
deeply affected. But, oh! there was an eye that did
see; a hand that could save; a God who ordered all
these events according to His own infinite wisdom.
And shall we reply against our God, or call in question the wisdom or perfection of His government, because our worldly hopes and expectations are cut off,
and our dear children hidden from our eyes? Have
I been so long in the school of Christ, and not learned
the lesson of submission to my Heavenly Father? If -
so, I have poorly profited by His example who, in full
view of a most bitter death, said, ' Father, not my
will, but thine be done.' But can the feelings of the
mother be extinguished?  Can thle heart cease to
yearn over the son? No; God does not require it;
and should I cease to feel as a mother, I fear I should
cease to improve the trial as a Christian.
" God has dealt gently with me under this trial. I
will relate to you what I wish no eye to see but your
own. About a fortnight after he sailed, when we had
no uncommon concern about him-not then knowing
how terrible the storm had been on our coast-he was
showed me in a dream in a drowned state. Every
feature had the appearance of a person who had lain
in the water about ten days, which I have now reason
to think was really the case at that time. You will
perhaps think it weakness in me to mention the circumstance, but I then feared, and I now think, that
Providence designed to prepare my mind by this appearance for the certainty of this dreadful event. In
this view I mention it.




LIFE AND TIMES OF GARDINER SPRING.


47


"When in the course of providence we became
very doubtful of his safety, my principal distress was
for his precious soul. O could I be sure, or even have
comfortable evidence of his eternal welfare, the loss
would be nothing. But while endeavoring to call up
every favorable circumstance respecting him, and to
find something to rest a hope upon, I was forcibly assailed by this Scripture, ' Except ye believe that I am
he, ye shall die in your sins.' I saw clearly that unless he was brought to accept an offered Saviour, he
must have gone to the bar of God with all his sins
about him. I was silent before a righteous God. I
knew a Saviour was provided and had been offered
him all his life long, and if he had gone out of the
world rejecting him, God's justice would be glorified.
In this state I remained a number of days, when those
words passed through my mind as though audibly
spoken, ' And in the fourth watch of the night, Jesus
came to them walking on the water.' I know that
Jesus was able to appear for him in his last moments,
and to save him from sinking in endless destruction.
I cannot be without hope that this was the case; yet
I know that my consolation must be drawn from a different source. The -Lord reigneth. If you think me
guilty of great weakness in mentioning these things,
I only say, suspend your judgment till you have passed
through a similar trial.
" On looking over this, I am almost disposed to
withhold it. I find I have not communicated my
feelings as I wish; you will have a very inadequate
idea of them, but conclude to send it.
"( When I reflect on the dealings of God with our




48       PERSONAL REMINISCENCES OF THE


house, I am ready to say, Why has he dealt thus with
us? Why is our beauty and our strength cut off?
My Saviour answers me, 'Every branch that is in me
that beareth not fruit he taketh away; and every
branch that beareth fruit he purgeth it that it may
bring forth more fruit.' You, my son, will not cease
to pray for us that this may be the fruit of our affliction. My ardent prayer to God has been that he
would sanctify my children. I, hope he is answering
my prayer, but it is by terrible things in righteousness. God's ways are not as our ways.
" God bless you and yours, prays your affectionate
" MOTHER."




I will not trouble the reader with my answer to
my mother's letter. Oh, Lewis! Lewis! We all loved
him. In form and feature he was the noblest of the
family. His name vibrates on my heart even now at
the distance of half a century. He had fine business
talents, and was a worldly man. But who can tell that
my mother's day-dream was not realized? She was
wonderfully peaceful after it, and we all rejoiced to see
her thus comforted. Jesus came walking on the sea.
She was a devotedly pious woman, and was well
instructed in the truths of the Gospel. She once told
me that she had read Henry's Commentary through
before she was fifteen years of age. How early she
became pious I do not know; but it was in early
youth. She made a public profession of her faith at
the age of eighteen, a year before her marriage. Her
intelligence, her tenderness, her prayers, her weeping
solicitude for the immortal welfare of her children,




LIFE AND TIMES OF GARDINER SPRING.


49


her Saturday evening instructions from the Bible,
more to them than all the Sunday-schools in the world,
made impressions on their minds which nothing can
efface. If they did wrong and denied it, those lips of
hers would quiver, and that little foot of hers would
shake the floor with emphasis, and her rebuke would
cover us with shame; but if we were frank and
"owned up," she was all forgiving gentleness. She
had a piercing eye, and though a woman of small stature, she was a woman of great courage. Many a
time, by the fireside, she would recite to us the deeds
of her father during the Indian wars, and stimulate us
to noble daring. I have ever admired woman's valor,
and often thought that a courageous mother would not
be likely to have a coward son. She taught us that
this world is not all sunshine and flowers; she often
premonished us of coming evils, and bade us prepare
for them, and, trusting in God, manfully to breast
ourselves for the battle of human life. She would
laugh at us when we complained of the winter's cold,
and tell us to go and warm ourselves by shovelling away
the snow. My father was generous to a fault; he
cared nothing for money, and in his last sickness it
was a grief of heart to him that he had been so lavish
that my mother would be left comparatively poor.
My mother was economical, rigid in her economy;
and but for her, my father's ample inheritance, for
years dwindling away, would have been exhausted.
Two illustrations of her solicitude for the spiritual
welfare of her children may here be noted, one furnished from memory by Dr. Hawes, of Hartford, and
the other forwarded for record by my brother Samuel.
VOL. 1.-3




60      PERSONAL REMINISCENCES OF THE


During an illness of my father, his pulpit was supplied for a season by the senior class at Andover
-Seminary. On one occasion Mr. Hawes preached, and
after the services of the day, the family were gathered
round the tea-table. Mr. Hawes had preached in the
afternoon a sermon to the young, and my mother was
very anxious that the solemn impression made by it
on her own mind might reach the conscience and heart
of my brothers Charles and J. Hopkins, who heard it,
and who were then at the table. She had been, as
was her wont after coming from church, to her closet,
and no one can doubt what was the burden of her
prayer on that Sabbath afternoon. She came to the
table with her heart full. She said nothing; but all
noticed that the tears were trickling down her cheeks
as she poured out tea. The young men were not slow
to divine the cause, and her sympathy soon communicated itself to them. They could not eat, and soon
left the table in tears. It is not known whether the
impression then made was lasting; but they have both
long been exemplary and useful members of Christian
churches, and, I doubt not, attribute their conversion,
under God, to the undiscouraged efforts and prayers
of faithful and believing parents, and especially their
godly mother.
The other event may be more briefly related. Soon
after my brother Samuel began to venture to hope
that he had found a Saviour, he was one day conversing with our mother, and giving her some account of
his religious exercises. She listened with interest, and
closed the conversation with this remark: "Every
Christian grace, but one, has its counterfeit. You






LIFE AND TIMES OF GARDINER SPRING.


51


may love; but it may be a selfish love. You may
have faith; but it may be only the faith that trembles.
You may have hope and joy; but they may be spurious. But there is one grace you cannot counterfeit."
"And what is that, Mamma?"  ' The grace of perseverance, my son."
She was a sweet mother. Oh! we loved her, and
we love to dwell on her memory. I feel, while writing these few pages, as though she was near me and
communing with me. I told my family at breakfast,
this morning, that I was going to-day to enjoy her
company. Yes; she was a loving mother, a loving
wife, a loving child of God. She was our earthly refuge. The church loved her, as much as they did their
pastor. With his increasing years and infirmities, my
father loved her more and more, and confided more in
her judgment to the last. The whole town, with all
their denominational differences, loved and respected
Mrs. Dr. Spring. She was at the head of their charitable institutions, alike honored by the rich and
sought after by the poor. She was fifteen years
younger than my father, and survived him but a few
short months. He died on the 4th of March, she on
the 3d of the following June.
I find the following thoughts in my Diary in relation to the death of my parents:-" Feb'y 24, 1820.
The past year, both my parents have gone to their
rest. Ever since I left my father's roof, at the age of
fifteen, it has been my practice and privilege to write
to them on my birth-day. Little did I think, a year
ago, that I was writing my last birth-day letter. I
feel to-day that one of the most pleasant and useful




52


PERSONAL REMINISCENCES OF THE


habits of my life is broken up. I do not weep for my
beloved parents; I have no doubt they are in a better
world; I only mourn that I shall see their faces no
more; no more be encouraged by their counsels; no
more benefitted by their prayers. 'They were lovely
in their lives, and in their death they were not divided.' Since their death I have felt myself very
much like an orphan. I could not reach that house
of mourning in time for my father's funeral, but had
the satisfaction of passing the week after his death
with my sorrowing mother. It was a blessed week to
her, to the family and to me. On the morning on
which I left, I saw that my poor mother was much
depressed. As I bade her farewell, I simply said at
parting, Dear mother, let not your heart be troubled!
I could say no more. It was the last sentence I ever
uttered to my mother. We wept and parted-I for
my field of labor, she for her rapid maturity for heaven. Sorrow had accomplished its mission; her sorrow was soon to be turned into joy. In the following June I was called to visit her, but on my way
from Boston to Newburyport, I learned that by a fatal
hemorrhage of the lungs her spirit had fled. On my
arrival I found it so. I entered the chamber where
she was dressed for the grave. DEAR MOTHER! I said
as I kissed the clay-cold corse! I could not utter
another word. We followed her to her last restingplace, and carefully deposited her by the side of her
husband and our father."
The most affecting thought to me on the death of
my parents was, that Ihad lost their prayers. From
how many exposures and sins had their prayers pro



LIFE AND TIMES OF GARDINER SPRING.


tected me! HIow often had their prayers relieved and
refreshed me in seasons of sadness and discouragement! How many blessings, and how rich, had their
prayers procured for their unworthy son! I stood
alone now. God was my only helper.
The following inscription is on the stone which
marks her grave:
" In memory of Mrs. Hannah Spring, wife and
relict of Dr. Spring, and daughter of Rev. Samuel
Hopkins, D.D., of Hadley, Mass.; born August 10,
1760; died June 11, 1819, aged 59 years.
"A wife worthy of her affectionate husband; a
woman of eminent holiness of life, beloved and respected by all; peculiarly active in promoting the
interest of all benevolence; a help meet for a minister
of the Gospel, abounding in prayer, in faith, and good
works; an excellent mother, and peculiarly endeared
to all her friends and acquaintance. Truly they were
lovely and pleasant in their lives, and in their death
were not far divided.
" In testimony of the grateful estimation with which
the memory of their pastor and his consort is cherished, this monument is erected by a bereaved and
affectionate church and congregation. ' The righteous
shall be had in everlasting remembrance."'
Many a time have I blessed God for such parents;
and I will praise him for them while I live. I mourn
that I ever grieved them, and praise him for all the
comfort they derived from my subsequent history, and
for their frequently expressed and adoring views of
God's goodness to their children.
My mother was a most faithful correspondent.;'




54       PERSONAL REMINISCENCES OF THE


Her letters to me after I left home for Yale College,
and after I became a minister of the Gospel, have been
treasured up, and more than once read with tears.
The following letter discloses so much of that anxious,
loving, believing heart, that, humbling as it is to myself, I may not suppress it. It was given me by her
own hands. Have I not reason to bless God for such
a mother?
"August 10, 1810.
"MY DEAR SON:
"I am this day fifty years old; and this week, I
have reason to think, you have been separated to the
work of the Gospel ministry, consecrated an ambassador of the King of Glory to guilty man. I would
bless God that I have lived to see this event: far
greater is my joy than to have seen you crowned an
earthly monarch. And now, my son, as I am not only
by bodily infirmities, but by age, called to look into
the grave, I desire to set my house in order, that I
may be ready to depart at the sovereign call of heaven.
For the honor of a faithful, prayer-hearing God, and
for your encouragement in prayer, I now record some
things respecting you.
" You have often heard of my extreme sickness at
your birth. Perhaps by that my mind was the better
prepared to receive you as the peculiar gift of God.
I think I have more evidence of acting faith in devoting you to God in baptism, than in the case of any one
of my other children. Your own memory will be the
best witness for me, as to the pains I took, in your education, to impress your mind early with a sense of
divine things. I am not conscious of doing more for




LIFE AND TIMES OF GARI)INER SPRING.


55


you in this respect than for my other children; but
when in your early years you discovered a propensity
to vice, how great was my distress for you  I know
that you often witnessed my tears, but to the anguish
of my heart you were a stranger. And when in the
face of all instructions, entreaties, warnings, reproofS,
and corrections, such as rent the heart of a mother
with anguish inexpressible, you still persisted in that
course, what could be my resort but the throne of
grace? You well remember the day of fasting and
prayer set apart by your father and myself on your
account. My heart was that day overborne with sorrow. I thought it would be comparatively easy to
follow you to the grave, to what I then suffered. But
(       my heavenly Father was pleased to show me, before
the day was out, that my help and hope were only in
Himz; and to Iim did my heart turn as to its only refuge, insomuch that when the day was ended, I felt as
though my work was but just begun. It is impossible
for me to describe to you, unless you know experimentally what it is to 'wrestle with God,' the ardor
of my soul before God on your account. At first I
seemed to be content to plead for restraining grace;
but I did notlong rest there. The covenant promises
of God respecting the righteous and their seed, were
very sweet to my soul. I knew that God would be
inquired of by the house of Israel to do this for them.
It was God's constituted way to bestow the blessing.
Therefore I had confidence to plead with him; my
work seemed plain before me, and I had no disposition to relax in it at all, until God should appear for
you. I told no one my feelings, not even your father;




56       PERSONAL REMINISCENCES OF THE


the work was between God and my own soul; I firmly
believed that God would in his own time answer my
prayer. That you may the better judge of my feelings, I relate one circumstance. In the course of. a
few months after those impressions on my mind, I was
taken sick. I was at first attacked violently, and
thought that perhaps God was about to remove me
from the world.  You were then the nearest on my
heart of any object in the world. My work as to you
was not done, and to whom should I commit it, if I
were removed? I determined to wait for more decided
appearances in my disorder, and if I found myself failing, to commit this work to your father, enjoining it
on him as my dying request, never to cease wrestling
with God for you till you should be gathered into his
sheep-fold. But God, in mercy to you, and to my
other children, I hope, restored me, and with renewed
vigor I returned to my closet. When the first serious
impressions were made on your mind, that I was acquainted with, I felt a new and fresh engagedness in
my work, and sometimes at least the midnight hour
has witnessed my prayers and tears for you. You will
not now wonder that I was anxious to know your particular state of mind when you were absent from me.
Sometimes, indeed, I was ready to limit the Almighty,
and say, 'Oh! let the salvation of God come this
night to my child!' But God taught me more commonly to lie at his feet, and humbly to implore the
blessing in his own time and way. In his own time
he has, I trust, brought you forth to the light, and
you behold his righteousness; yes, the complete righteousness of Jesus, your advocate on high.




LIFE AND TIMES OF GARDINER SPRING.


" When I am sleeping in the dust, look over this
sheet, and give glory to God, wlio has wrought such
wonders for you. Look upwards, and be animated to
double your diligence in the work of the Lord; remember that short is the space between us, and as we
are both infinitely indebted to free, rich, sovereign
grace, will it not be unspeakable pleasure to celebrate
that grace forever and ever?
' And when you leave this mortal stage, may
your children be left on earth, a seed to serve. the God
of their fathers, that, through us, his praise may be
handed down to latest generations.;        "To Mr. Gardiner Spring, the child of my prayers,
tears, and vows, this paper is dedicated when I am no
mlore."
As already intimated, I was in the habit of writing to one or both my parents on the return of my
own birth-day. My mother carefully preserved these
letters, and at my last visit put them into my hands.
I leave them to my children, but will take leave to
insert some of them at the close of the present chapter.
(                    "NEW HAVEN, February 24, 1809.
)       " I send you this to tell you, my dear parents,
that I have not forgotten my birth-day.  You have
not forgotten it.  Neither have we forgotten each
other, and I will add, we have not, I trust, wholly
forgotten the God who has borne us up under the
pressure of many trials; who has preserved us for so
many years, and who gives us this day some feeble
VOL. 1 —3*




58       PERSONAL REMINISCENCES OF THE


tokens of his regenerating mercy. The whole course
of my life has been marked with sin, while it has
clearly borne the traces of infinite love; but this
precious birth-day is crowned with rich testimonials
of special grace. I never saw such a birth-day as this.
I never before saw that birth-day on which I could
say, even with the fear with which I now say it, that
I hoped I was a child of God. I confess the multitude of my daily sins shakes my confidence, and the
increasing weight of my guilt almost bears down my
hope. But amid this darkness of fearful apprehension, there is a pale glimmering of rising joy. Yes,
my parents, the boundless mercy of God through
Christ has, I hope, reached your poor son. Oh! the
riches of infinite grace!
"Twenty-four years ago I was born in sin. For
the space of these long years I have lived in sin. For
most of this period I have been despising the blood
of Jesus, rejecting the cup of salvation, and greedily
drinking the bitter draughts of sin and woe. Sin has
been the ' sweet morsel' under my tongue. And yet
God has had mercy on me a sinner; through the exhaustless, sovereign grace of God, this troubled conscience, this guilty heart, has felt that peace which
the 'world cannot give,' and, blessed be God, which
'it cannot take away.'
" What infinite reason have I to be thankful that
I have been born! And, my parents, what joy have
you in the thought that you have given being to a
soul that will never die; what joy have you, in that
you have trained up an immortal mind for an eternal
existence at ' the right hand of God in the heavens.'




LIFE ANT) TIMES OF GARDINER SPRING.


This is enough to repay you for all your care; this is
enough to call you often to your knees in earnest
and humble prayer to God for his gracious blessings
upon me, and upon your other children. There is an
inexpressible pleasure in being. Now time appears
precious; 'tis the door to eternity. But what a sullen
blank are these past years! Al! what are my cays,
my moments now! Full of sin; stained with the
guilt of resisting the influence of my blessed Comforter, and sending him grieved away; perplexed with
unbelief; harassed by the sin and temptation of a
wicked heart.
" In this letter, I feel as though I were writing to
my parents, and unfolding my heart to the confidence
of Christians; I put no constraint upon my words or
my feelings. I may talk plainly with you.
"I have told you that I trust in God's mercy.
But I am full of doubt, and ignorance, and error. I
am indeed a great sinner. But, oh! there is joy-joy
to you, joy to me: they were sinners whom Jesus
died to save! The humble Jesus of Nazareth-the
babe of Bethlehem, the Judge of the world-died,
and diedfor us. And who are we? Oh, what mercy!
Ah, here we rest; 'tis enough; we lean on the arm
of an omnipotent God. Here we have strength for
weakness, holiness for sin, life for death. Here all our
deficiencies are supplied. Are we vile? Christ is
holy. Are we weak? He is our strength. Are we
ignorant, and walking in darkness? He will lead us
by the still waters; he will never leave us nor forsake
us. Are we doubting, and, while walking on the sea
of sin and danger, do we fearfully tremble like Peter




60       PERSONAL REMINISCENCES OF THE
He rebukes our unbelief, and bids us trust in him.
His promises, His precious promises, bear up our spirits; His covenanted mercy bids the trembling eye of
faith look away beyond the everlasting hills to the
]right mansions of glory. When, in times like the
present, we fear for the welfare of his children, He assures us that 'the gates of hell shall never prevail
against' them. When we look around us and mourn
for the depravity of our fiiends and the world, He
comforts our hearts, and tells us that 'though Israel
be not gathered, yet shall he be glorious in the eyes
of the Lord.' Christ is indeed precious. He is all.
"Dear father, dear mother, I would on this day
write something to give joy to your aged hearts. I
would dwell upon a theme dear I know to you, dear
I hope to me. It is the blessed Jesus; 'tis his cross;
'tis his Gospel; 'tis his intercession; 'tis his great salvation. Oh! let us love and adore him; glory in his
cross; seek an interest in his prevailing intercession;
feel the peace and joy of his Gospel; receive his great
salvation; be thankful for it, and tell it to others.
Oh! my parents, is this list of infinite blessings, before which the swelled catalogue of fame, pleasure,
wealth, and all that this frail world can give, dwindles
down into a despicable scroll,-is this Jesus, this cross,
this Gospel, this salvation, ours?  Could we be
doubled, or manifold in our existence, how cheerfully
should we give all that we are to our blessed GOD!
I well know, that if this salvation were not a great
salvation, it would not be ours. If it did not pro.
ceed from  a great God; if it were not founded
upon a great covenant; if it did not save great sin



LIFE AND TIMES OF GARDINER SPRINIG.


61


ners from great punishment, it would be none of ours.
But it is exactly suited to the exigency of our case.
From all that is threatening in divine vengeance;
from all that is terrible in fear; from all that is
wretched in sin; from the curse of the law; from th6
sting of death, and from the power of the grave, this
salvation saves. ' Thanlks be unto God for his unspeakable gift.'
"You see I must close. Before I do it, I will
once more thank you for all your parental love; for
your warnings, your instructions, and your prayers.
I thank God for them also. I hope they have been
blessed for the good of my soul. Pray for me still.
I need your prayers every day I live. Remember,
every prayer you put up to God for me is heard;
every prayer strengthens me in my duty, and encourages me to go on my way rejoicing. I did hope that
God would call me to a profession remote from the
temptations of the world. Ile may yet. I do not
wholly give up the object. But now I am in all the
bustle, the noise, the wickedness, and, what is worse,
the temptations of a most ensnaring profession. May
divine grace guard me! 0 that I could live free from
sin! One holy hour would be worth all my days and
years of transgression.
" I often think of you, dear parents, and almost as
often fear that I shall see you but little more on this
side the grave. I have been very little with you
since I was fifteen years of age. I shall not be with
you much more. How should I weep at the thought
if I could not look beyond this vale of tears! You
were always dear, dear to me; now doubly so-you




62


PERSONAL RI MINISCENCES OF THE


are vmy jparents in the Lord. We shall soon leave
this world; it is of little consequence how soon; God
will direct. ~'We shall tarry here while our Master has
anything for us to do; we wish to stay no longer.
He who hears the ravens when they cry, will take
care of what we leave behind.
" You, papa and mamma, may soon drop. Forget
not me and mine; and when you go to your Father
and my Father, to your God and my God, remember
to mantle us with your blessing. Unless I am under
a miserable delusion, I shall see you in heaven. I
hope we 'know in whom we have believed.' O, may
we live for eternity. Mlay we feel the spirit of the
Gospel, and let our light shine. Give my love to
all. Recommend Christ to my brothers. Dear papa,
be faithful to the sou8l of men. Preach Christ and
him crucified; dwell much upon the doctrines of the
cross.
With much affection I am, my dear parents,
" Your dear son,
" GARDINER SPRING."


" NEW YonR, February 24, 1815.
" BELOVED PARENTS:
"I know you are looking out for a line from your
son. I should be strangely forgetful of my privilege
should I disappoint you. You have called to mind
more than once that this day completes my thirtieth
year. The son of your prayers, your tears, and your
vows, I know has not this day been forgotten. I have
set apart the day as a day of fasting and prayer, and
I know not how to fill my sheet to better advantage,;:4




LIFE AND TIMES OF GARDINER SPRING.


63


than to open to you the thoughts which have passed
through my mind. Shall I write without restraint?
Yes, I may.   Parents will impute no unworthy
motives to this retired hour; they will indulge a
child.
"( After some devotional exercises, a part of the
morning was set apart to the examination of my own
state and character. Perhaps I shall use too much
freedom on this subject even to you. I have never
abandoned my hope in Christ, nor let go my hold of
his sure covenant, since I made a public profession of
religion. Notwithstanding all my sinfulness, and all
my awful defection from duty, and in defiance of some
efforts to give up the hope of an interest in the blood
of sprinkling, still I cherish it. I have very little of
that deep and abiding sense of my own vileness which
I find in many others, though my sins often appear
very great. I have no such sweet views of the Lord
Jesus, nor of the character of God, as many others enjoy; though Christ does appear precious, and the
character of God without a stain. My hopes are usually bright. God has his own ends in view in surrounding my path with so much light; but I am often
astonished when I contemplate the fact. Strange as
it is to myself, and more strange as it would be to
others, did they read my heart, I am generally fiee
from perplexity and darkness as to my own good estate. I feel safe in the hands of God. I think I
can say that I think more of my duty than I do of my
allotment in a future world. I cannot tell how it
would be if I expected to be lost; but this I know,
that without any reference to future happiness or




64      PERSONAL REMINISCENCES OF TEE
misery, I have vastly more anxiety about my increasing conformity to God, and increasing usefulness in
the ministry, than I have about my own acceptance.
I have tried to doubt, and to fear, and to tremble;
but after all, I hope I am quiet as to this great concern. If I could be as holy as I wish, I think I should
be happy. I trust I habitually feel that it is my
highest privilege, and my sweetest portion, to do the
will of God. Sometimes these thoughts encourage
me; and sometimes they distress me. I fear I am
presumptuous. I hope-I hope strongly, even in my
coldest and most sinful seasons.
" I have been reviewing my mercies. If I should
count them, they are more in number than the sand.
In the review of my life and of the past year, I find
reason for incessant praise. While reading over the
precious record of your struggles and tears for your
poor son, my dear mother, and of God's dealings with
you in relation to him, you will not wonder that I
have been led to-day to think of the privilege of being
born in a gospel land, the child of believing parents,
and early consecrated to God in baptism. Long, too,
have I been the child of Providence. In many instances, in the early part of my manhood, an everpresent God has delivered me in the midst of severe
temptation, and restrained me from those outbreaking
sins which would forever have tarnished my character, and diminished my usefulness. I knew not how
to value the blessings then. I trust, also, I have been
plucked as a ' brand from the burning,' and am to the
present hour a monument of saving grace. I have
been brought into the ministry of reconciliation,




LIFE AND TDIES OF GARDINER SPRING.


65


where, ill-deserving as I am, I may exhaust my
strength, and wear out my days, in the sweetest of
all employments. And I have been blessed in my
labors. The past year has been a year of distinguished
mercy. Though it has been a year of sin, and of
greater sin than any other year of my life, still it has
been a year of greater mercy than any year of my
life. Though it has been a year of severe conflict
both within and without-a year of unusual temptation, and not without seasons of unaccountable stupidity; yet it has been a year in which I have enjoyed
more and sweeter fellowship with the Father and his
Son Jesus Christ; more and sweeter engagedness in
the work of the ministry; more and stronger and
sweeter hungerings and thirstings after righteousness;
and I think I may say, more faithfulness to the
souls of men, as well as more of the common blessings of divine providence, than I have enjoyed during
any preceding year of my life. I cannot tell you how
much reason I have for thankfulness as I review the
year. Hitherto hath the Lord helped me. The God
of Jacob has been my help. The Lord liveth; and
blessed be my Rock, and let the God of my salvation
be exalted!
"From my mercies I have passed to my sins.
Here I am distressed-not because my sins affect me,
but because they do not affect me. I need the contrition of a broken heart. I see sin enough to make a
heart of adamant bleed at every pore; but so stupid
am I, O God, that I am as a beast before thee. Pray
for me, my dear parents, that I may have a broken
and contrite spirit.




66       PERSONAL REMINISCENCES OF THE


" A portion of the day I have devoted to prayer
for my parents-for my brothers and sister-for my
family-for my people. But my thoughts have been
chiefly turned towards my own soul. It is a dull seauen with me. Mly soul cleaveth to the dust. It is a
time of need with me, my dear parents. Pray that I
may find grace to help. I want the religion of Brainerd. I long to be increasingly useful in the ministry.
I would engage an interest in your supplications that
the God of all grace would strengthen me with all
might in the inner man; that he would endue me
with that vehement desire for the advancement of his
glory that shall constrain me unreservedly to devote
my heart, my time, my talents, my interests, my
thoughts, my studies, my devotions, my life, my all,
to the great work in which I am permitted to engage.
My momentary fervor seems all to die away in a few
good resolutions, without ever breaking forth into living engagedness, and vigorous, patient exertion. Oh!
that my meat may be to do the will of Him that sent
me, and to finish His work.
" Accept my love. Make it to my dear brothers.
Beg them not to make   lanammon their God. Beg
them, from me, to be reconciled to God through atoning blood. 1 long to see them rejoicing in the truth.
Shall there be none of my father's house to sustain
the conflicts, to be supported by the hopes, and enjoy
the rest which remaineth for the people of God, besides
their eldest brother? 1Oh, my dear parents, be not
discouraged! Their hearts are in the hands of the
Lord. He can turn them as the rivers of water are
turned.




LIFE AND TIMES OF GARDINER SPRING.


67


"All are well, and send love.  The return of
peace, I fear, is dissipating the little seriousness
among our people.
"Your affectionate and dutiful son,; GARDINER SPRING."
" NEW YORsK, February 24, 1817.
" MY RESPECTED AND BELOVED PARENTS:
"This day reminds your son of a debt he can
never pay. A child must always be in arrears to its
parents. Thirty-two years ago you watched my beating pulse, and guarded my helpless frame, with all
the solicitude with which I now watch and guard the
little infant that sleeps beside me. None but a parent
knows how to feel the obligations of a child. Thanks
to God, and thanks to you, my parents, that I have
had a being in this world of hope. The solicitude
which watched my infancy has long since passed away.
But there are some anxious thoughts remaining.
Yes, and to these kind affections I address this birthday salutation.
"Parental solicitude is ready first of all to inquire, What progress has this son made in grace? It
has been a part of the business of this day to make
and answer this inquiry.  It has been a day of seclusion from the world, and converse with God and my
own soul. The sad, the reproachful result, I must
not withhold. When I ask myself, at the close of the
day, what advance I have made in the divine life this
year, my answer is, very little. I feel condemned, as
I review the year. As I compare it with the two preceding years, I am convinced that my growth in grace




68      PERSONAL REMINISCENCES OF THE


is less this year than it has been for several years that
are past. I have grown in knowledge; I have grown
in influence; I hope I have grown in usefulness; but
I have grown less in grace than in either. Oh, I could
not have believed that I should ever have been constrained to feel the truth of this bitter confession. I
have seen the seasons when I thought I could not rest
without pressing forward; when it was a trial to have
heavenly things at a distance a single day; but, alas!
I am now too contented to live away from God. I
have been ready to ask myself to-day whether the
pursuit of any object, be it ever so good, and be it designed to advance the Redeemer's glory ever so much,
that interferes with personal progress in the divine
life, is justifiable. I see the evil, my parents; I see
the canker that has been preying at the root of the
plant of righteousness. I have been dreaming of being a great man. And I see I must dismiss the delusion, or ruin my soul. I must begin to live anew.
God has not left me; and I hope I have not altogether left him. But I see no evidence of having gone.forward. I cannot tell you the feelings of my heart
at meditating upon this feature in our Saviour's character, ' He made himself of no reputation.' I see that
I have not been willing to do this. God has kept me
from public departures from duty; but, oh! my secret
departures from duty stare me in the face. I have
not, indeed, been induced to leave my closet; my
closet is sweetly precious; but it is not even there as
it was in months that are past. I have been ready to
say to-day, I am afraid my parents have not prayed
for me so much as they used to do. Is it so, my dear




LIFE ADi TIMES OF GARDINER SPRING.


69


parents? Oh! I need your prayers now! Sometimes my heart melts, and my eyes:flow, when I sit
down and ask myself how much more useful I might
be to the church of God, if I were as pious as Edwards
or Brainerd. I do yet long to be holy.
" My mercies this year have been very great. I
have seven children, and mother and children all
comfortably well. I have had health-not a Sabbath during the year have I been token from active
duty. My labors have been, and still are, blessed.
The cause of truth is advancing. Among the signal
mercies of the year, I number the hopeful conversion
of that dear deceased sister, that beloved brother, and
a poor adopted servant-girl in my own family. Poor
Kate has found a Saviour. I number also the protracted lives of my parents, and my own spared life and
soul. Mercies everywhere surround me.
" I received your two letters by Mr. Lord and Mr.
Tappan. All things are much as they were. Yesterday was the most solemn Sabbath among niy people
since the revival. We hope God is about to visit us
again. Newark is again highly favored. Therf are
not less than five hundred persons very solemn. We
know not what is to take place here. Enemies bitter,'
unyielding, powerful, beset me on every side. The
devil has come down in great wrath, and we hope his
time is short. The Lord, we trust, is about to lift up
a standard against him. There have been of late some
attempts to injure the character of your son, but the
Lord has kept me from the 'strife of tongues.' The
principalities and the powers of New York mean to
kill me, if they can. I have David's refuge, ' Hold




70       PERSONAL REMINISCENCES OF THE


thou me up, and I shall be safe.' But Mr. Lord has
told you our difficulties. Blessed be God, all is peace
in our own congregation.  Mr. Skinner is fast in
Philadelphia, and Mr. Whelpley does not go to Boston. The wrath of the Philadelphia Synod is praising
the Lord. We shall have a battle in the spring, and
lay a heavy hand upon that report. I shall not hesitate to take my life in my hand, if Providence allows
me to go to the Assembly.
" I must close with much love and thankfulness,
my dear parents, for the favors of infancy, youth, and
manhood. I am your son still. I can write to you
but few more times on the 24th of February, perhaps
no more. It isinot very probable that all of us will
see another year. God give us grace to fill up what
remains with, arduous and successful duty, is the
prayer of r
j Your dutiful and affectionate son,
/                 " GAEDINER SPRING."
/e         "NEw YORK, February 24, 1818.
I M^ DEAR MOTHER:
" You are already in waiting, I suppose, for a line
from your son. The 24th of February, I know, will
never be forgotten by you; I hope it may always be
remembered by me. I have great reason to be thankful that I have lived another year, and that I am
allowed to write, and you to receive, one more birthday letter. Years roll so rapidly away, that I am in
habitual expectation that some birth-day, not far distant, will find that you have no son to remember
you, or I no parents to be remembered.




LIFE AND TIMES OF GARDINER SPRING.


71


" For many years I have found it good to set apart
the anniversary of my birth as a day of fasting and
prayer. It is a season which is calculated to instruct,
humble, and encourage me. I must confess I know
not what to think of rmyself, when I look back upon
the year that has just gone by, and I know not what
to think of tlhe sentiments and affections with which I
have been endeavoring to review it. I began the day,
fearful that I should mock God in its duties, and put
i   myself farther from him, rather than be brought nearer to him. But, notwithstanding a very obdurate
heart, God has enabled me 'to come near, even to his
seat, and fill my mouth with arguments.'
"I find I have lived thirty-three years. Amid the
rapid current of time, there are very few objects we
observe with less care and distinctness than ourselves.
To one standing on the shore, the tide appears to pass
by with inconceivable swiftness; but to one who is
himself gliding down the current, the stream is unruffled, and all around him is a dead calm. It is only
when I look back-when I discover here and there a
distant land-mark, that I realize I am going forward.
Yes, I am rapidly going forward. For the sake of
taking a retrospect of the dispensations of divine
providence towards me, the past year, I have, as it
were, endeavored to-day to make a pause in my
being. But I find I cannot stay the progress of time.
Even now I am going forward. But though still advancing, I can see a great distance behind; and what
comforts me most is, that I can see everything so full
of God. The retrospect of the past year brings with
it recollections that confer distinguished honor on the




72       PERSONAL REMINISCENCES OF THE


divine goodness. Surely, I have had to do with a
God of forbearing mercy. The return of this anniversary is enough to convince me that it is of the
Lord's mercies that I am not consumed. Amidst all
the sins of the year, I and mine are still in the land
of the living. I can survey many signal and peculiar
mercies. One I have recorded, never, I hope, to be
forgotten; I mean the almost miraculous preservation of our daughter, Mary Norris, after her dangerous fall. The footsteps of mercy I see everywhere
through the year.
" A review of the past year is singularly calculated to give me an impressive view of my own character, as well as the divine goodness. My wicked heart
has poorly stood the test of the mercies and trials
which have visited me. In reviewing the history of
the year, every page appears blotted by sin.  I
have been endeavoring to look at my sinfulness, but I
find my heart strangely unaffected with it. I desire
to go to God with this bitter complaint against my
own soul, that I do not bewail my iniquities. I see
enough in the past year to break a heart of adamant;
but mine, oh, how hard! But while I say this, my
dear mother, I close this day with hope-hlope of
God's presence-hope of more and greater faithfulness
in duty-hope of increase of grace, and perseverance
therein to the end. I have endeavored to remember
not only my own soul, but those of my parents, my
children, my wife, my brothers, my people. I have
had the comfort of the thought that I have met you
at the throne of grace to-day. God grant the object
of our united prayers.




LIFE AND TIMES OF GARDINER SPRING.   73
" When have you written to me? You are greatly in my debt on the score of letter-writing; in everything else no one more in yours than
" Your affectionate and dutiful son,
"G. SPRING."
VOL. I.-4




CHAPTER IV.


MY EARLY LIFE UP TO MY ENTERING THE
MINISTRY.
THE town of Newburyport, in the State of Massachusetts, is situated three miles from the ocean, on
the west bank of the Merrimack river, and skirted on
the west and north by a rich and fertile back country. The township was an extensive one, comprising
what was once Newbury Old town, Newbury Byfield,
Newbury New town, and the plains. In the year
1764, that part of the township which bordered on
the Merrimack was erected into a separate and distinct
town, as the port of Newbury, or Newburyport. It
was a bleak, cold climate, but not unfitted to the spirit of English Puritans.
In descending from the high elevation of my parentage to speak of their eldest son, I may well cover
my face with shame. I was born in the town of
Newburyport on the 24th of February, 1785. I recollect nothing of my infancy, very little of my childhood, and nothing so early as my proneness to evil.
As far back as I can remember anything, I can remember that I was a selfish, wilful boy, and very im



LIFE AND TIMES OF GARDINER SPRING.


75


patient of restraint. As I grew to riper years, my
sinful tendencies were expressed, sometimes in bold,
and sometimes in deceitful forms. And I have renarked with pain and deep humiliation, that the sins
I struggled against in manhood, and even now struggle against in old age, were the dominant and cherished sins oi' ily youth. The poison rankles there still.
I clearly see, as I look back upon the past, that the natural tendencies of my mind were all on the wrong side
of the question. I was " by nature  child of wrath."
I was not without serious impressions in my childhood, especially under the instructions and expostulations of my beloved mother. The Spirit of God
strove with me; my conscience was tender, and in
seasons of depression I had occasional resort to secret
prayer. I distinctly remember the time when, and
the place where, my honored father requested me to
read the twentieth chapter of Exodus, as far as the
twenty-first verse, and then to read the eighteenth
chapter of the Gospel by St. John; thus early impressing upon my mind the two great facts, that " the
wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal
life, through Jesus Christ our Lord." These instructions, together with the death of my sister Hannah,
who died at the early age of seven years, deeply
affected me, though I was but ten years old. But
these impressions were not permanent. I soon returned to the blindness and infatuation of my nature, and cast off fear and restrained prayer. I had
no outwardly vicious habits, but was impatient of
control, and thought it a hard and severe discipline
that I was not allowed to enjoy the ordinary amuse



76       PERSONAL REMINISCENCES OF THE


ments of boys of my age, and only wished that I was
old enough and strong enough to flee out of my
father's hands. I have often wondered at the patience of God towards me in my younger years, and
adored the mercy that kept me out of hell. Yet I
was tenderly attached to my parents, 1nd tlhis ittachment was a powerful restraint upon my colidnet; so
that when I left home, the thought of my parents and
my love for them absorbed my youthful heart, and
kept me frowm wickedness.
I left home, for a short period, when I was about
twelve years of age. My parents had devoted me to
God, with the earnest desire that I might become a
minister -of the Gospel; and with this view I was sent
to the Berwick Academy, in the State of Maine, to
pursue my classical studies under the instruction of
one of the most accomplished preceptors in New England. But I had no heart for study; I had no heart
for anything but Aome. I left Berwick Academy, and
shall never forget my father's tenderness in consenting that I should pursue my studies in my native
town. I began my Latin grammar under the care of
the late Eliphalet Gillet, D.D., then a young man
studying divinity with my father, and teacher of the
town classical school. He was a man of great loveliness of character, a ripe scholar from Dartmouth, and
took a deep interest in my progress. He was subsequently settled in the town of Hallowell, on the Kennebec river, and was one of the ablest and most useful
ministers of the State. The closing years of his life
he spent in the service of the Domestic Missionary
Society of Maine, as its watchful and efficient secre





LIFE AND TIMES OF GARDINER SPRING.


77


tary; and many a feeble church in that State, and
many a waste place in Zion, has had occasion to bless
God for his faithful care of their interests. HIls name
is fragrant in Maine.
I remained in the Tewburyport grammar-school
until the June before I entered college. My classmates were Carey, Andrews, Morse, Swett, and Gerrish, all, except myself, preparing for Cambridge.
They were young men of good families and high culture: it was a noble class, and none of us dishonored
our training. Colonel Swett, of Boston, and myself,
are the only members of it now living. Our preceptor was an Irishman, whose name was Michael Walsh,
a Protestant and a Christian man, to whom I was a
troublesome pupil. Well do I recollect, when in after
years, and on a visit to my parents, I called on him
in his old age, how he wept, and said, " O Gardiner!
a minister of the blessed Jesus! I shall come to-morrow and hear you preach!"
The last three months before I entered college
were employed in the family, and under the instruction of the Rev. Dr. Crane, of Nortllbridge, in Worcester county, Mass. Here, also, I was associated with
noble class-mates, Frost, Taft, Reed, Metcalf, and
Barstow. Of Reed and Barstow I know nothing.
Frost became a useful physician; Taft a member of
the Massachusetts Senate and Governor's Council;
and Metcalf is now the Hon. Judge Metcalf, of Boston. Dr. Crane was as full of his fun as of Latin and
Greek, and we greatly enjoyed them both. He was
a thorough instructor in the classics. Besides those
already mentioned, Dr. Calvin Park, Rev. Cyrus




78        PERSONAL REMINISCENCES OF THE


Kingsbury, of the Choctaw Mission, Rev. Dr. Preston, of Savannah, Dr. Brown, of Boston, and Professor Fisher, of Yale, who was lost in the Albion in
1822, were his pupils.
In the year 1799, at the age of fifteen, I entered
Yale College. It was a sad mistake to have entered
at so early an age. I was a severe student, and as
ambitious as Julius CTesar. Though a mere boy, and
the youngest of my class, I was placed by the side of
such young men as Seth Norton, William Robijison,
Abel McEwen, John C. Calhoun, and Bennet Tyler.
I struggled on, but my eyes failed me, and my health
was impaired. At the close of the first year, and
not a little in opposition to my own wishes, my father
determined that I should leave College, and employ
the year at home. God so ordered it that this summer of 180[ was a memorable summer in regard to
my spiritual interests. It was the last series of Sabbaths in which I sat under my father's preaching..
The most impressive discourse which I then heard
from his lips, was from the words, " God so loved the
world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth on him should not perish, but have
everlasting life."  I recollect that discourse now, after
the interval of more than half a century; nor shall I
ever forget the glowing views it presented of the wonderful love of God, An evening discourse from that
venerable man, the Rev. Jotham Sewal, delivered in
my father's pulpit, also made a still deeper impression
on my mind. It was from the words, "Ho! every
one that thirsteth, come ye to the waters." I wept
mpuch during the service, saw that I was lost without




LIFE AND TIMES OF GARDINER SPRING.


79


an interest in Christ, and was led to more frequent
and earnest prayer. During this summer, I took a
short voyage to the eastern part of the State of
Maine, in company with the late John Pearson, Esq.,
where we walked eight miles on the Sabbath to find
a place of worship. The autumn and winter following were devoted to study, under the direction of the
late Dr. Adams, a distinguished scholar, then the
Principal of the Leicester Academy, and subsequently
the Professor of Mathematics in Dartmouth College.
Here I was room-mate with the late Eleazer Foster,
Esq., of New  Iaven, who was a man of excellent
spirit, and the assistant of Dr. Adams. My studies
were directed to Algebra, Geometry, and Conic Sections; while, in consequence of tile sickness of Dr.
Adams for some weeks, I heard the upper classes in
Latin and Greek, and, though with a self-righteous
spirit, conducted the devotions of the Academy.
With restored health and courage, I reentered
Yale College, but in the class below that in which I
first entered. During the whole of my course, Dr.
Dwight was the President of the College, and, as the
Professor of Divinity, occupied the College pulpit. I
was greatly instructed by the preaching of this remarkable man. The series of his discourses constituting his system of theology, was delivered in the
morning, the wh le of which it was my privilege to
hear; his afternoon discourses were more practical
and pungent.
In the summer of 1803 there was a remarkable
outpouring of the Spirit upon the whole College, and
my own mind was deeply affected. I halu been in the




80       PERSONAL REMINISCENCES OF THE


habit of secret prayer from the time I first entered
College, but had never ventured to cherish the hope
that I had passed from death unto life. But I now
felt that the great question for eternity must be decided. Occasional letters from my parents, especially
from my mother, increased my anxiety to such a degree, that it seemed to me, if I continued to grieve
the Spirit of God, that I should be left to perish. One
Saturday afternoon, while my room-mate was absent,
I resolved to devote to prayer, and not leave the throne
of grace until I found mercy. There, in the south
entry of the old College, back side, middle room, third
story, I wrestled with God as I had never wrestled
before. Nor do I, at this distance of time, recollect
anything about that season, except the intensity of my
desires, and one passage of Scripture which I urged
with great earnestness: "For my thoughts are not
your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith
the Lord. For as the heavens are higher than the
earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my
thoughts than your thoughts." It was exceedingly
pleasant to me to repeat these words, and remind God
of what he had thus revealed of his abounding mercy.
I rose from my knees, not with any hope that I had
found mercy, but less burdened aild more tranquil.
I had a deeper sense of sin, but an indefinite sense of
relief. The predominant sentimen' of my soul was
the ABOUNDING MERcY OF GOD. Deep as was my sense
of sin, and desert of the divine displeasure, the boundless mercy of God in Christ swallowed up every other
thought. It was towards evening, and just as the sun
was going,wvn, when I left my chamber in order to




LIFE AND TIMES OF GARDINER SPRING.


81


call at the post-office for letters from home. As I
stepped upon the College campus, it seemed to me
that everything was new-it was so inexpressibly
beautiful. My steps were elastic; my heart was buoyant, though solemn.  Everything around me was
changed, though it did not occur to me that I saw
with new eyes. Everything was joyous; nor was there
a pensive emotion in my bosom. The green upon the
trees, the mild beams of the setting sun, the whole
scenery, was perfectly beautiful. It seemed to me that
the world God had made was a most beautiful world;
I never looked upon it in the light in which I then
beheld it. The next day was the Sabbath; and before it closed, I began to hope that God had brought
me out of darkness into his marvellous light.
This was in the month of June, and my peace of
mind and my enjoyment in the private and social duties of religion, not only continued, but increased, until
the fourth of the July following. And now, marvellous to be told, amid the arrangements and speeches,
the songs and glee, of that memorable day, my religious
hopes and impressions all vanished, as "a morning
cloud, and as the early dew." I could not account for
it; but thus I remained for several weeks, and in the
sad conclusion that a deceived heart had turned me
aside, and that my imagination, my sympathies, and
natural affections, lay at the bottom of all my religious
experience. But while I gave up my hopes, strange
to say, I was not unhappy. Though I did not abandon my closet, nor forsake the society of my religious
class-mates, I returned to my studies with my wonted
zeal and ambition, and lived from week to week as
VOL. I.-4*




82       PERSONAL REMINISCENCES OF THE


though all my calculations were bounded by the present world.  Thus I passed through the remaining
period of my College life; sometimes catching a
glimpse of better things, but for the most part influenced by mad ambition, the pride of talent, and the
dogged determination to excel. There was an outpouring of the Spirit upon the College the following
summer, and the most I recollect about it now is, that
I had no sympathy with opposers, but rather rejoiced
to see so many of the students pressing into the Kingdom of God, while my own heart told me that I had
no lot nor part in this matter. ]My class graduated in
the year 1805, and in my valedictory address to them
I was foolish and wicked enough to adopt the vainglorious maxim, " Ant Caesar, aut nullus.";My father
was present, and when he took leave of me, it was to
commend me to the care of a kind Providence, and to
throw me upon my own resources. I told him that I
had no fears, and that while I should never forget his
bounty, I was well satisfied to depend on my own exertions. I was twenty years of age, and launched
forth upon the turbulent sea of life with a proud and
self-reliant spirit that buoyed me above the billows.
I had made up my mind for the legal profession,
and immediately entered the office of that eminent
jurist, the late Judge Dagget, of New Haven. He was
for the most part absent from the office in his attendance upon the State Courts; but gave me the use of
his library, and directed me in all my elementary
course of reading. I was a severe student, and profited above many, mine own equals, in the knowledge
of the law. After reading Coke upon Littleton, and




LIFE AND TIMES OF GABDINER SPRING.


83


Blackstone's Commentaries, I pursued my studies by
szujects, and wrote largely upon every subject, consulting with care all the treatises and reports which
were in the Library.
When my father left me, I had four dollars in my
pocket, and I began to cast about for means to defray
my necessary expenses. With this view, I wrote to
Moses Brown, Esq., of Newburyport, a man of great
'wealth, and who was subsequently one of the founders
of the Andover Seminary, and frankly told him my
arrangements and my condition, and requested him to
loan me two hundred and fifty dollars, at the same
time giving him to understand that if my health failed,
or my prospects were in any way obscured, I had no
means of returning the loan. With his characteristic
liberality, he at once sent me a check for the money,
and on mny own terms. I had at the same time an invitation to take charge of the Academy in Wethersfield, Conn., but this I declined from a determination
to pursue my legal studies. I had also another resource: I was fond of music, and accepted the place
of Precentor in the Church then occupied by Rev.
Moses Stuart, my tutor in College, and this, with
the charge of a large singing-school, kept me from
want.
During the autumnl of the same year, I was unexpectedly requested to go to the Island of Bermuda as
a classical and mathematical teacher. The offer was
a tempting one, and I accepted it, and remained in
that Island fifteen months, at the same time pursuing
my legal studies under the advice of the late Chief
Justice Esten, then in the heyday of his professional




84       PERSONAL REMINISCENCES OF THE


career, and whose courtesy laid me under lasting obligations.
While at Bermuda I addressed the following letter
to my father:


"BERMUDA, July 4, 1807.
" DEAR PAPA:
"In a letter which you wrote me from Salem,
which I received via New York, you ask this question: 'Tell me if you intend at some future day to
be a V. D. MI.?'
I have felt as though a race of political and legal
glory would be the great object of my heart. From
my youth up, however, I have generally been disposed
to engage in a more noble cause. No employment
can be more honorable, none more useful, none more
productive of personal and domestic happiness, and
none more alluring to the man of genius and piety,
than that of a teacher in holy things. I am very
strongly biassed in favor of the office of a clergyman.
The grandeur and beauty of the subjects would gratify
my pride; the opportunity of engaging in literary
and scientific pursuits, would be pleasing to my taste;
theological discussion would interest me, and, above
all, the hope that I could do something for the cause
which I have so long rejected, something for that God
who is daily showering his blessings upon me and my
family, something for the Saviour who bled for me,
and whom I have so ungratefully despised —this hope,
even faint as it is, would yield me no ordinary satisfaction. I think, were I a true Christian, and could
earnest/y engage in an employment like this-could I




LIFE A-ND TIMES OF GARDINER SPRING.   85
devote the few talents which God has given me, to the
advancement of his glory-I would not change my
situation for the glories of that man who is nursed in
the palace of luxury and splendor, or rolled on the
wheels of affluence and fame. Diadems and thrones
would be nothing to me.
" There are moments in which I loathe all earthly
pleasure. It is like a dream, that is half forgotten.
These are the moments when divine grace is striving
with my soul. I have had in former religious impressions a deep conviction of the vanity of the world.
Vanity is enstamped on all. All that can gratify the
sense, or give pleasure to the fancy; all that pride,
with her long train of gratifications, can present; or
ambition, with her flattering glories, can enjoy; all
these are but a bubble inflated by expectation, which,
for a while, rises in the air and glitters in the sun, but
at a moment vanishes. The things which are the
most alluring are often the most destructive; and
those which are the most flattering in their promises
are the most fruitless in enjoyment. Everything here
changes, decays, comes to an end. All floats on the
surface of that river which with a swift current is running towards a boundless ocean.
These sentiments, you will say, it is easy to express, but more difficult to feel, and perhaps still
more to practice. MIy life is a proof of the remark.
Although the office of a clergyman, and the faithful
performance of the duties which belong to it, would
even to me be a source of more gratification than any
which would arise friom other employments; yet with
me there are great difficulties in the way of the pro



86       PERSONAL REMINISCENCES OF THE


fession.  If the inspired apostle could say, Who is
sufficient for these things? with how much more propriety can you, can any clergyman, and with how
much greater force can I, ask the same question, Who
is sufficient for these things?  Many worthy menmany clergymen-have endeavored to persuade me to
enter the ministerial profession. Whether it has been
from the persuasion that I am prepared for the office,
or from the interest they take in my welfare, I know
not. If from the former, they are in a great error.
' Credat Judeas Apella; non ego.'
"The ministerial character should concentrate
many peculiar qualifications.  Talents, education,
health, prudence, sound doctrine, and divine grace,
are indispensable requisites in the character of him
who stands at the altar. Were I convinced truly that
I had all these qualifications, I would not for a moment halt between two opinions, but would eagerly
embrace an object no less pleasing to myself than
gratifying to my parents. But, alas! my father, my
virtues are too much of the negative kind. As to
taelnts, I am like most other men; as to education,
better than many; as to health, I have nothing to
boast of; as to prudence, I am neither one thing nor
another-I am greatly influenced by the impulse of
the moment, and act frequently from wrong motives;
as to sound doctrine, I am no heretic, but like the
rest of our family, I need instruction.
" Now I come to the main point: Am I a renewed
man? I will tell you in a few words what is my state
as to spiritual matters. I believe I have many feelings which are apparently right, and more which are




LIFE AND TIMES OF GARDINER SPRING.


87


undeniably wrong. You shall judge of me by the
best and by the worst of my symptoms. When I look
back upon my youth, I find that I have some views
and feelings which I had not in former years. The
world appears more vainl; the character of God appears more lovely; my own more odious; holiness
appears more lovely and sin more detestable. I feel
a burden on my heart which I cannot remove; my
sins often press very heavily upon me, and I am ready
to sink under them. I could not complain against
God, should he damn me eternally; I deserve it, and
he will finally appear glorious in the destruction of
sinners. I feel as though I loved God's people, and
his cause has my warmest wishes for its welfare. I
hope there are none so bad as myself, and if I go to
hell, I would fain go alone, and see God's children
numerous and happy. I sincerely pray for the prosperity of Zion. Peace be within her walls, and prosperity within her palaces. I should wish to go to
heaven, because I should be pleased with its employment. Were all my sins mortified, and I rendered
perfectly holy, I think I should be happy. Nothing
is so miserable as to be under the reigning power of
sin. Could I join with the hundred and forty-four
thousand who stand before the Lamb and praise God
forever and ever, I think the joy would be unutterable. If I am ever saved, it will be through the
abounding grace of God in Christ. Sometimes I can
say, Lord, I believe; help thou mine unbelief.
" But, Papa, notwithstanding all this, I roll sin as
a sweet morsel under my tongue. Wickedness abounds
in me. I am attached to the world. I am avaricious;




88       PERSONAL REMINISCENCES OF THE


and in the present state of my family, make money
my god. I strain honesty as far as I can to gain a
little. I am altogether dissatisfied with myself. I am
an almost Christian.  I am not sufficient for these
things. It will not do for me to be a clergyman. I
am not taught myself, and I cannot teach others. I
serve God and Mlammon. I am vibrating between
heaven and hell, and unless God's infinite mercy preserves me, I shall fall to the abyss of unutterable woe,
forever to be an enemy to God, to all goodness. Oh!
wretched man that I am!
"I have no time to deliberate. I must be in some
business. To prevent my falling into want, I take to
the law. I am afraid I shall go very near heaven, and
never get there.
"You ask, with emphasis, ' Are you, my son, determined to pursue the law? If so, write me, and if
not, write me.' What I have written I have written.
If I were not so inconsistent, I could answer you more
directly. But I sin one moment and pray the next.
I know not what more to say. I engage in law with
great reluctance. Often I feel as if every step I took,
I was upon unholy, upon forbidden ground.
" Your affectionate and dutiful son,
" GARDINEI u  SPITING."
There were not wanting considerations of personal
interest and affection, which it was no easy matter to
resist, in determining to leave New Haven. At the
weekly singing-school, I had become acquainted with
Miss Susan Barney; and before I was aware of the attachment, my heart was led captive by one who had
BY_:: *




LIFE AND TIMES OF GARDINER SPRING.


89


captivated more hearts than mine. She knew my
character in College; she knew my poverty; she had
confidence in me; and though I urged her to an absolute engagement before I left for Bermuda, she gave
me no other encouragement, than that I might correspond with her, and if I returned umnscat/ed, she would
then be happy to see me.
I opened my school at Bermnuda very soon after my
arrival. But I was utterly disappointed, and became
well-nigh a discouraged and dispirited man.  The
sparsely scattered inhabitants were high-church in their
principles; they were no ardent friends of the United
States; their mlinister, a Mr. Thompson, was a dissipated, drunken fellow, and the Lord's day was no
rest to me. But for an incidental visit one Lord's day
to a neighboring parish, where I found a devout
Presbyterian church, under the ministrations of the
Rev. Mr. Matson, I should at once have quitted the
island in disgust.
The families that patronized me were among the
aristocracy of the island; and though they treated me
with great courtesy and kindness, made me feel that,
though the instructor of their children, I was but a
Yankee school-master. They marked my depression
and my proud spirit, and were not less dissatisfied
with me than I with them. Before the close of my
first quarter, they paid me a full quarter's salary, and
plainly told me that if I could not be contented to remain, they would release me fiomL my engagement.
The Sabbath I spent in the neighboring parish, to
which I just alluded, was a day not to be forgotten. I
was in the midst of a God-fearing people, and heard...




90       PERSONAL REMINISCENCES OF THE


an evangelical sermon. I wept much, and the people
saw it. The singing was miserable; I endeavored to
unite with it; and at the close, the minister and the
elders came around me, to inquire the name of the
musical stranger. I was alone, and again I wept.
They took me by the hand, introduced me to their
families, and after becoming acquainted with my history and my object at the island, engaged to establish
a school at a place called the Salt Kettle, and to give
me permanent and profitable employment. I found
many lovely Christian families there, where, stranger
as I was, I was treated as a son and a brother. Before opening my school at the Salt Kettle, however, I
returned to New Haven, with the hope of inducing
Miss Barney to go back with me to the island.
Susan was embarrassed by my return; but, in opposition to her father's wishes, and in compliance
with those of her devoted and pious mother, she consented to my urgent request. VWe were married on
the evening of the Lord's day, May 25, 1806, by her
pastor, the Rev. Moses Stuart; and after a flying
visit to my parents at Newburyport, returned to New
Haven to make our arrangements to embark for Bermuda. My parents did not approve of my sudden
and hasty marriage, though they were then and ever
after greatly pleased with their new daughter. My
father especially was gratified with my choice, and
when he questioned the wisdom of the procedure, I
simply replied, " My father, you threw me upon my
own resources," and pointing to my bride, added, "yon
see now what they are." The evening before we left
our parents at Newburyport, we were seated by an




LIFE AND TIMES OF GARDTINER SPRING.


91


open window, in the month of June, and my father,
himself a great lover of music, requested us to sing
one of the songs of Zion. We did so; they were the
words beginning with
"Pardon, and grace, and boundless love
Streaming along a Saviour's blood."
It was a sweet hour to us all. MAy father wept, and
said, " I don't wonder that Gardiner and Susan have
concluded to mingle their voices."  Ile then turned
to the Bible, and requested me to read the forty-fifth
chapter of Jeremiah. When we came to the fifth
verse, and I was reading the words, " Seekest thou
great things for thyself? seek them not," my father
said, "Stop! that is enough."  This was his parting
counsel. " Seekest thou great things for thyself? seek
them not."
We left tlhe much-loved home of my childhood
amid the prayers and blessings of my parents, and returned to New IHaven by the Boston and Hartford
turnpike. In passing through an almost uninhabited
country, called Douglas Woods, and which lies between Uxbridge and Pomfret, there was a total
eclipse of the sun. It was dark at noon-day. The
stars were visible, the domestic fowls were crowing,
the birds were hastening to their homes in the leafy
forest, and the young cattle were lowing, as it were,
their evening hymn of praise. The whole scene was
fitted to inspire solemn and affecting thoughts. We
looked up at the sun, we looked beyond and above it,
and we looked at each other. Forty-eight years after




92       PERSONAL REMINISCENCES OF THE


this, and while attending the General Assembly at
Buffalo, I received the following letter from  Mrs.
Spring, pleasantly referring to this scene:
3  "NEW YORK, May 23, 1854.
" MY DEAR IUSBAND:
"I received your dear letter yesterday, and it
made me glad the whole day. It was so delightful
to see a little sprig of love bloom out, after fortyeight years of the stern realities of life, that it makes
me young again.
" We had a full church on the Sabbath; and Dr.
Ferris gave us an excellent sermon; but it was not
my husband. There is no movement in the affairs of
the church, though I have heard it intimated that, to
make up for past deficiencies, they think of raising
your salary to five thousand dollars. I am glad it
will be during your absence, and without any request
or suggestion from yourself.
" There is to be a grand excursion on the opening
of the railroad from Chicago to the Mississippi, and
our long-tried friend, Mr. Knapp, has procured tickets
for us for the whole route, fiom New York to St.
Paul's and back, free of expense.  He called last
evening with the invitation and tickets, and says he
cannot believe it possible that we can refuse so grand
an offer. If you would be satisfied with so long a
journey, and return by the way of Canada, for such
is Mr. and Mrs. Knapp's arrangement, and then go
with me to some quiet place in the country, I should
like it.. Your friends here think you ought to go.




LIFE ANND TIMES OF GARDINER SPRING.


93


Write to Mr. Knapp, for he is very earnest, and very
kind. If you go, we will meet you at Buffalo.
"I am going out on Friday to Susy's, to see the
eclipse; you will have a better view of it at Buffalo.
When you look at it, will you remember Douglas
Foods and 1806, when two children stood there,
looking up into the darkened sky, and then into each
other's eyes?  Iy heart swells when I think of all
God's goodness to us since that time up to this very
hour. Shall we not render love and praise? Adieu,
my dear husband. Do not forget us in your prayers.
" Yours till death,
' SUSAN SPRING."
On our arrival at KNew Haven, all our arrangements were made for our departure for the Island of
Bermuda. Having obtained our passports, we embarked on board the brig Harmony, Capt. Stevens,
with a deck-load of live stock for the West India market. Our passage was long and tedious, and we did
not reach Bermuda until some time in July. It is a
marvellous entrafce from the north side of the island
to the port of St. George's, to which we were bound,
lined on either side by submerged rocks of immense
size, visible to the eye from the deck, and leaving
scarcely channel-way enough for the brig to'pass
through. At one moment you seem to be dashing
against the sunken rocks, and then, at the cry, "helm
a -port," or " helm starboard," you would suddenly
turn a right or left angle out into a new channel-way.
We reached St. George's at dinner-time, where porgie, gruper, and the delicious angel-fish, furnished us




94       PERSONAL REMINISCENCES OF TIIE


with a welcome dinner on dry land. In the afternoon, after visiting the barracks and the paradeground, we took a boat for the interior of the island,
where our friends at the Salt Kettle and Heron Bay
had provided permanent lodgings for us, on a healthful point of land, washed on three sides by the ocean,
and nearly facing the town of Hamilton. It was
called Lowe's Point, after our hostess, Mrs. Lowe, or
Aunt Lowe, as we soon were wont to call her. God
was very kind to us in this provision for our comfort
and usefulness. Mrs. Lowe lived alone, and was attended only by two female slaves. She treated us as
though we were her children, thought it a privilege
to attend our family worship, and loved us to the last.
I never look back upon this first year of our wedded
life without associating it with Aunt Lowe. Here, in
our lonely chamber, consecrated to God and one another, on the 1st of April, 1807, our first child came
into the world. We called him Samuel; we lent him
to the Lord, and prayed that he would honor the honored name of his paternal grandfather. I can scarcely realize that fifty-eight years have passed away
since that well-remembered day.  The Bermudians
are all called Porgies. Our Samuel was called the
little Porgie, and was claimed as a native-born subject
of George the Third. Mlrs. Spring's cllamber was
amidst beds of geranium, and her rapid recovery was
amid the gratulations of the young and the old, and a
wilderness of roses showered upon her pillow and the
little Porgie's cradle. Here I had a very flourishing
school, and remained somewhat more than a year. It
was a delightful year. Everybody loved and respect



LIFE AND TIMES OF GARDINER SPRING.


995


ed us, and we loved and respected all about us, except
the poor slaves, who were liars and thieves. One of
them, however, we loved. She was a middle-aged
black woman, who was Samuel's nurse; and when
we left the island for home, with tears she entreated
us to buy her; and when we refused, it seemed as if
her heart would break. Poor Kate!
The occasion of our leaving the island was solely
the apprehension of a war between Great Britain and
the United States, in which event all the citizens of
the United States who had remained on the island
more than a year, would be regarded as prisoners of
war, or be constrained to take the oath of allegiance
to Great Britain, neither of which we could consent to.
God had prospered us. We left the island with
fifteen hundred dollars, enough, as we hoped, to support our little family until I could be admitted to the
bar. Our small capital, except an allowance for daily
expenses, together with three hundred dollars which
Mrs. Spring had put into the hands of a relative, was
mostly swept away by the failure of the parties to
whom it was entrusted. Living in a residence together with another family, the expenses of housekeeping
were not large; our health was good, and I returned
to the study of the law, in the office of the late Nathan
Smith, of the United States Senate, with diligence
and zeal. Mr. Smith was a true friend, not only as
an instructor, but by introducing me to the incipient
practice of the profession before those inferior courts
of justice, where students at law were allowed to appear.  I gladly availed myself of these privileges,




96       PERSONAL REMINISCENCES OF THE


sometimes arguing cases in connection with my instructor, and on one occasion, not a little to his surprise and amusement, attaching myself to the opposite counsel. I was admitted to the bar on the 15th
of December, 1808, and forthwith opened my office
in the business part of the city of New Haven, over
the store of Bulkley & Austin.
My religious impressions had not entirely disappeared. From the second evening after our marriage,
we had maintained morning and evening worship in
the family, both at home and abroad, in Bermuda
and New Haven. We were regular attendants on the
ministry of the Rev. lMoses Stuart, under whose faithful ministrations mly convictions of sin were renewed,
and my hopes (,f acceptance with God were revived
and invigorated. It was at a Sabbath evening prayermeeting, in a large hall opposite the college, that I
was more encouraged and animated than I had ever
been before. Dr. Dwight was in the chair. As the
exercises closed; and the crowded worshippers rose to
sing the Doxologv.  I felt that I could " praise God
from whom all blessings flow! " Praise! praise! It
was delightful to praise Him! On the 24th of April
following, I united with the visible church under Mr.
Stuart's pastorate, and began to be an active Christian.  Under the direction of the late Jeremiah
Evarts, an older member of the bar, and also a member of the same church, and a man whose name is as
ointment poured forth, a Sabbath evening service was
instituted in two of the rural districts of the city, with
which it was my privilege to be associated. I had
more of the confidence of my Christian friends than I




LIFE AND TIMES OF GARDINER SPRING.


97


deserved, and in cases of dangerous illness in the
neighborhood of our residence was, greatly to my surprise, called upon to pray with the sick and dying.
fMy daily employment called ine to my office, where,
with rigid punctuality and exemplary diligence, I was
enabled to discharge my duty to the few clients who
employed me, and in great patience to wait for more.
I had no cause for discouragement, and my success
was quite equal to my hopes. But, while I did not
relax my diligence, my enthusiasm in my profession
was greatly abated, and my relish for the law sensibly
declined. I began to think of another profession, and
to long for our weekly meetings in the suburbs of the
city. So far as I can now recall the facts, the first
individual to whom I ventured to suggest my views,
was Mr. Evarts. He did not discou)rage me; but,
with all characteristic kindness and wisdom, counselled me not to be hasty in deciding so grave a question. Among the many testimonials to the excellent
character of this remarkable man, I may add the letters of President Day and Mr. Bates, in the Appendix.
At the following commencement of Yale College,
I was to take my degree of A.M., and to deliver an
oration. My theme was the "Christian Patriot:"
nor were my views as yet decided with regard to the
change in my professional career.  Early on the
morning after the commencement, the Rev. Dr. John
M. Mason preached his great sermon on the text, " To
the poor the Gospel is preached." As I led the choir, I
sat immediately opposite the preacher. And never did
I hear such a sermon. I could not refrain from weeping.
Hundreds wept. Dr. Dwight wept; Dr. Backus wept
VOL. I.-5




98       PERSONAL REMINISCENCES OF THE


like a child; senators wept. When I left the church,
I could think of nothing but the Gospel. I crossed the
green exclaiming, " the Gospel! the Gospel!"  I entered the little parlor where my lovely wife was nursing
her babe, and exclaimed, " the Gospel! the Gospel!"
I thought, I prayed, I resolved, if the providence of
God should prepare the way, to become a preacher
of the Gospel. I said nothing but to Mr. Evarts.
My purpose was formed.
But how to carry it into effect? I was ignorant,
and had no resources except a mind disciplined to
hard study; but I had a strong confidence that God
would carry me through. AMy fanily depended on
my exertions, and I resolved at all events not to leave
them to suffer. In this exigency I wrote to my honored father, telling him of my state of mind, and acquainting him with my pecuniary condition. He was
a man of great disinterestedness and a man of expedients. He wrote me, that I could not prepare myself for the pulpit in less than a year's timne, and I
was reluctant to throw upon my self-sacrificing parents the burden of my growing family, or upon my
family the burden of absolute dependence. But the
God of providence relieved me from  this embarrassment. Mrs. Mary Norris, of Salem, a lady of
great wealth, hearing of my plans, generously offered
to take us all (for we then had two children, Samuel
and Edward), into her family, and make provision for
all-our wants until I was settled in the ministry. She
was a widow, mostly alone, and gratified with our society, and often said she should be the gainer by the proposed arrangement. " Hitherto the Lord helped "me.




LIFE AND TIMES OF GARDINER SPRING.


99


But the embarrassments did not all vanish. I had
not whispered the matter to my dear wife. She was
not a professed Christian, though she rejoiced that I
had become so, and seemed to enjoy our religions
privileges at home. A little circumI;tance, of deep
interest to my own feelings at the time, I may here
record. One morning she came unexpectedly into
my chamber, and found me on my knees. She made
no apology: she uttered not a word. Instead of retiring, she threw herself beside me, put her arm upon
my shoulder, and remained kneeling until the close
of the prayer. I never shall forget it. It was but
the beginning of the end. Yet was she a worldly
woman, and soughlt the honors of the world for her
husband.   I knew not what to do.    I could not
broach the subject without a eonte-ti with emotions
which I desired only to gratify. Abraham said nothing to Sarah when he was called to offer up Isaar. I
then began a course of conduct which I have ever
since pursued, and tlat was, in all cases where my
own duty was plain, and my resolution formed, quietly to carry my resolution into effect, and meet the
rtorm afterwards. I did so in the present instance,
though tlere was no other storm than a plentiful
shower of tears. I said nothing to my wife; nothing
to any one except Mr. Evarts. I sent my wife on a
visit to my only sister, the wife of the lion. Bezaleel
Taft, at Uxbridge, the native place of my father,
where I engaged in a few weeks to meet her, and
make a further visit to Newburyport. She had no
suspicion of my views, and leit me with the confident
expectation that she would return to New Haven.




100


PERSONAL REMINISCENCES OF THE


In the meantime, after she left me, I was busily
employed in arranging my affairs for my removal
to Andover. I announced my purpose to the church
at the next prayer-meeting, and received a fresh
impulse from their prayers and benedictions. Mr.
Evarts took my office and my business, and closed
up my unsettled accounts with his accustomed accuracy, and my ledger now records them. Mr. Smitl,
my old teacher, laughed at me; Judge Daggett was
silent. Judge Rossiter said to me, "Mr. Spring, the
pulpit is your place; you were formed for the pulpit
rather than the bar." 5My busitess in New Haven
was closed; my debts paid; my household furniture,
small as it was, was carefully stowed away; my lawlibrary, worth about four hundred dollars, was disposed of; and I was on my way to Uxbridge, Newburyport, Salem, and Andover.
When I reached Uxbridge, and was once more in
the bosom of my little family, I felt that the trial had
come. I could not at once disclose my plans to my
wife, and was saved that painful interview by the
suspicions of Mr. Taft, who told her that he believed
I was going to be a clergyman! She laughed at
him; but she saw a change in my deportment, and
began to suspect it herself. I told her all. She went
to her chamber and wept, and for a long time. But
she came down, subdued indeed, but placid as a lamb,
and simply said, "It is all over now; I am ready."
Oh, how kindly has God watched over me! It seems
as though the promise was filfilled, " Return unto
thy country and to thy kindred, and I will deal well
with thee."  Some day or two before we left Ux-'
c;,




LIFE AND TIMES OF GARDINER SPRING.


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bridge, MIr. Taft said to me, " Brother Spring, I have
a case before Justice Adams this morning; you are
still a lawyer, and I want you to go and argue it with
me."  The thought struck me pleasantly, and I resolved to go; but, instead of assisting him, without
his knowledge I engaged myself to what I thought
the weaker party; and my last effort at the bar was
in battling with my sister's husband, and in the place
of my father's nativity.
We reached Newburyport in safety, and received
a most cordial welcome fiom our parents. In due
time we accepted the hospitalities of Mrs. Norris, and
I hastened to the class at Andover, where I pursued
my studies for eight months only, and, without my
father's knowledge, or the knowledge of the professors, was, by the influence of the late Dr. Worcester,
of Salem, licensed to preach the Gospel.
While at Andover I supplied the vacant pulpit at
Marblehead, three miles only from Salem, where my
family was, for eight successive Sabbaths, where God
was graciously pleased to give me some seals of my
early ministry, and to anoint me afresh for my work.
I was the guest of a truly Christian woman, Mrs.
Reed, the mother of the Hon. William Reed, of the
United States Senate.  Mrs. Reed's only daughter,
afterwards the lamented wife of 3lr. Ropes, of Boston, dated her conversion from the period of my residence in their family. I met this lovely woman for
the last time at Northampton, at the annual meeting
of the American Board. At her request, Mrs. Spring
rode with Mr. Ropes, and she took a seat in my
chaise from Northampton to Enfield, where, with Dr.




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PERSONAL REMINISCENCES OF THE


Morse, Dr. ]Beecher, and others, we had an amusing
night of it, sleeping and not sleeping, the ladies in
one room in a field-bed, and the gentlemen in another.
Before I left Andover I received a call from the
South Parish, but it was not unanimous, and though
I greatly desired the position on account of its literary advantages, I could not accept it. I also received
a call from the Park-street Church, in Boston; but it
was not unanimous, and I declined it. In MIay, 1810,
I left Andover with a view of visiting the General
Assembly of the Presbyterian Church, then holding
its sessions in Philadelphia. On my way I spent a
Sabbath at New HIaven, preached to my old friends,
was received by them  with great cordiality, and
offered a call from the church of which I was a member, lately vacated by the removal of Mr. Stuart to
Andover, but which I discouraged them from prosecuting. I passed through New York, and, in the
absence of the Rev. Dr. iomeyn, occupied the pulpit
in Cedar-street, at an evening lecture, where, I have
been since informed, a number of persons belonging
to the Brick Church, learning something of ne from
Professor Stuart, mingled with the audience. The
result was, that on my return from Philadelphia, after
preaching for a single Sabbath, I received a unanimous call to become their pastor.
I accepted the call, and after a very lame examin
ation, and not without a prolonged discussion in the
Presbytery, and some doubts as to my orthodoxy, was
received under their care. lMy trial sermon was a
frank avowal of my sentiments, and a bold and unequivocal statement of the views I THEN entertained upon




LIFE AND TIMES OF GARDINER SPRING.


103


the subject of human ability. It was this that embarrassed the Presbytery; and but for the strenuous
efforts of the late Dr. Miller, who told the Presbytery
that if they condemned _M1r. Spring for those views,
they must condemn/ him, so far as I could learn, they
would have refused to ordain me. I was not present
at their discussion, but was told that the ground of
their decision was, that Mr. Spring appeared to be a
very pliable man, and that a better acquaintance with
Presbyterianism, and his brethren in the ministry,
would lead to a modification of his views more in accordance with their own. The Rev. Ezra S. Ely, who
had just become a member of Presbytery, and who for
a few months had been my room-mate in College, took
leave to say that " the Presbytery did not know that
young man; that the views he expressed to-day were
the views he would express to-morrow, and to the end
of the chapter."  After receiving me, the Presbytery
appointed two of their number to have a kind and
fraternal interview with me on the subject, one of
whom was a most lovely man, the late Dr. Milledollar. About a week after my ordination, he invited
me to take a drive in his carriage, when the whole
subject was discussed, and the result was, that in his
judgment, "the best way of curing a man of such
views was to dip his head in cold water;" and there
the matter ended. Our subsequent intercourse and
an occasional exchange of pulpits were unembarrassed,
and of the most fraternal character. I visited this
beloved man of God in his last sickness, ripe for
'heaven, and proved with him the preciousness of " the
conlmunion of saints."




CHAPTER V.


MY ORDINATION AND MY MINISTRY.
I WAS ordained as a minister of the Gospel, and
installed pastor of the Brick Church, on the 8th of
August, 1810, by the Presbytery of New York. The
service was on a week-day morning, and the house
filled to overflowing. Few are now among the living
who were witnesses of that solemn scene. A little boy
was there, who stood upon a distant seat, supported
by a devoted mother, who well remembers the kneeling minister, as the venerable Dr. Rogers and his copresbyters laid their hands upon his youthful head.
He is still among us, and for years has held the office
of Ruling Elder in the church, alike honored at the
bar and in the house of God. By solemn oath I was
pledged to my work, and set about it in earnest,
though with fear and trembling. I neglected everything for the work of the ministry. I had a strong
desire to visit the Courts, and listen to the arguments
of the eminent jurists of the city; but I had no time
for this indulgence. I had none for light reading,
none for evening parties, and very little for social
visiting, or even extensive reading. Everything was
abandoned for my pulpit ministrations. I had warm




LIFE AND TIMES OF GARDINER SPRING.


105


friends in the Presbytery, in New England, in New
Jersey, and in the eastern section of Long Island.
And more than all, I had good courage. Three of
the eight sermons I had prepared before I left Andover I had preached in New York already, and the
remaining number was kept good for several years.
Under God it was this laborious and unintermitted
effort that saved me from shipwreck. Through His
marvellous loving-kindness, and amid many proofs
of His sustaining hand, I have remained the pastor of
the Brick Church to the present time; and it is wonderful to look back upon the varied work and scenes
of so prolonged a ministry.
Not every man, either among ministers or their
hearers, is aware of the incessant and severe labor that
is called for in the successful prosecution of the ministerial office. He must be thoroughly " a working man."
It is work, or, work, work, from the beginning of the year
to the end of it. There is nothing of which I have
been constrained to be more economical and even
covetous than time. I have ever been an early riser,
and even in mid-winter, used to walk from Beeekmanstreet round the " Forks of the Bowery," now Unionsquare, before I broke my fast. I usually went into
my study at nine o'clock, and after my removal to
Bond-street, more generally at eight, though my study
was opposite the City Hall, and more than a mile
from my residence.
" Oh, there is a charm
That morning has, that gives the brow of age
A smack of youth, and makes the life of youth
Breathe perfume exquisite."
VOL. I.-5*




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PERSONAL REMINISCENCES OF THE


Nor have I ever been the advocate of nightstudies or night-parties. These last would long ago
have been the death of me. In whatever else I have
been wanting, my habits have been habits of industry. When I have, from time to time, looked over
my desk, my drawers, and my trunks, I have been
surprised to see the amount of labor which I have
been enabled to perform. Nothing could have sustained me but a fulfilment of the promise: " As thy
days, so shall thy strength be."  I have been greatly
favored of God during my whole ministry.   More
especially would I record it with thankfulness, that I
have loved the work of writing sermons and preaching
the Gospel. I can conceive of no service so delightful to my own heart. Investigation of the truth and
import of God's word-the proof, illustration, defence,
and application of that truth to the minds' of my
hearers, have ever interested me. I think I have
been favored in this state of mind. Truth has been
my object, the truth as God has revealed it in his
word. I never, consciously, had any reluctance to
abandon a wrong view because I had long cherished
it, nor to adopt different views because they countervailed my former opinions. I have often thought
that if men of different theological sentiments, but
of fair and ingenuous minds, would prosecute their
inquiries under the impression that they are equally
interested in ascertaining the truth, and that nothing
is gained but much is lost by their adherence to error,
there would be very little religious controversy.
The great end andc object of the ministry, though
very imperfectly, I have endeavored constantly to




LIFE AND TIIES OF GARIDINER SPRING.


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keep before my mind. I have generally found that
laborious ministers gain their object. If it is to write
elegant sermons, they write them, and gain their object. If it is to write learned sermons, they write
them, and gain their object. If it is to enrich, their
discourses with the pithy and concentrated sentences
of other days and great men, they do it, and gain their
object. If it is to be popular, they are popular, and
there the matter enrds. They look no farther. They
gain their object, and have never thought of anything
beyond it. It was not the conversion of sinners they
were aiming at, and therefore they never attained it.
I know a most worthy minister who preached more
than a year to the same"people, and his preaching was
sound in doctrine, logical, and able; but during that
whole period I have yet to learn that a single sinner
was alarmed, convinced, or converted to God. And
the reason is, that was not his object. lie did not
study for it, nor pray for it, nor preach for it. He
gained his object most effectually, but it was not the
conversion of men.
I have adverted to this kind of preaching, because,
as it seems to me, this is the snare of the modern pulpit. I have listened to not a few sermons within the
past ten years, in which there was no want of instruction; they were full of solid and weighty truths;
great pains were taken, in the use of metaphor and
illustration, to indicate the preacher's progress in science, and to show that he stood abreast with the inprovements of the age; but in which the great end of
preaching was lost sight of-the turning of the wicked
from the error of their ways —the salvation of the




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PERSONAL REMINISCENCES OF THE


immortal soul. Tie preachers had power, but their
minds were not directed to this great object. With
all their intellectual effort, there was a want of amplification and earnestness in addressing the different
classes of their audience, and crowding the conscience
of the impenitent. Why is it that there is so little
adaptation in so much of the preaching of the present
day to produce the conversion of men? Too many
ministers preach now as though they thought all their
hearers were Christians, overlooking the multitudes
who are dead in trespasses and sins, and pressing on in
the broad way that leads to destruction! When the
ascended Saviour met Saul of Tarsus on his way to
Damascus, he said to his prostrate persecutor, "Rise
and stand upon thy feet; for I have appeared unto
theefor this purpose-to open the eyes of those to
whom I send thee, and to turn them from darkness
to lighlt, and from  the power of Satan unto God."
This is the great object of the Ininistrv, and the minister who so regards it will gain his object. Paul gained
it. He " was not disobedient to the heavenly vision,
but showed first unto them of Damascus, and at Jerlsalem, and throughout all the coast of Judea, and then
to the Gentiles, that they should repent and turn to
God, and do works mect for repentance."  And he
gained his object by turning many to righteousness.
Dr. Doddridge says of himself: "I had nothing
in the world I have desired so much, in the prosecution of my ministry, as the glory of God and the conversion of souls." His Theological Seminary was, in
every view, a model school. Intellectual culture did
not satisfy him: " It is my heart's desire and prayer




LIFE AND TIMES OF GARDINElR SPRING.


109


to God," says he, "that no one may go out from me
without a heart tenderly concerned for the salvation
of perishing souls. What are all our studies and pursuits to this!"  One of the rules for the guidance of
his conduct, while himself a student, and not twenty
years of age, was: " In all my studies let me remember that the souls of men are immortal, and that
Christ died to redeem thenm."
I have generally aimed to preach on iimportant
sudbjects. The more important they were, the better
were they suited to my taste and my wishes. I have
labored to distinguish between the precious and the
vile; to insist largely and earnestly on the difference
between the friends of God and his enemies, and " say
to the righteous it shall be well with him, and say
to the wicked it shall be ill with him."  I began my
work rather with the view of being instrumental in
the conversion of sinners, than of comforting the people of God. I have found, too, that the discourses
prepared for unrepenting men more generally interested, and, indeed, comforted the people of God. I
early found that I could more easily prepare a good
sermon from an awakening and alarming subject, than
from one that is more comforting. The fact is, I knew
more of the terrors of the Law than the preciousness
of the Gospel. My own obligations to holiness, the
strength and the evil of sin, my absolute dependence
upon sovereign grace, my infinite and everlasting desert of God's displeasure, were subjects with which I
was familiar. I knew much about them from my own
experience. Of other and less distressing thoughts,
though they have not been hidden from me, and have




110


PERSONAL REMINISCENCES OF THE


sometimes made my bosom warm     and my tongue
glow, I knew less, and felt less deeply. I could never
understand why the great body of ministers preach
with less embarrassment on fearful themes, than on
those which are more attractive, unless it be that an
alarmed conscience has more to do with our preaching
than a loving heart; nor how this can be, except that
the heart is by nature desperately wicked. The difficulty of preac/ting well on the more attractive and
winning themes, has sometimes alarmed me, and made
m e fear lest after having " preached to others, I myself should be a cast-away."
I have preached many, very many, very poor sermons, but very rarely one that was hastily written. I
have found that my mind was uniformly most active
at the close of my Sabbath services; and for a series
of years I rarely retired to my pillow of a Lord's-day
evening without having selected my subject for the
following Lord's day. I found great advantage in doing this, in that my mind was not embarrassed by
conflicting subjects, or no subject at all; in that I lad
a subject to think of, to pray over, and sometimes to
dream about; and in that one subject naturally led to
another. More generally, and almost uniformly, I
began my sermon on the morning of every Tuesday;
so that if I finished it by Friday noon, I had one day
to spare for general reading. If my subject required
more than a week's study, I gave to it two weeks,
sometimes three, sometimes four, and in one instance
six weeks, and was greatly the gainer by so doing.
One sermon thus elaborated and prayed over, is worth
to the sedttld pastor and to his people, more than a




LIFE AND TIMES OF GARDINER SPRING.


Ill


score of hasty discourses. In order to carry this arrangement into effect, I obtained help from my brethren, or fell back upon the old store, or preached with
no other preparation than a few outlines of thought
treasured up in memory and delivered without notes.
I say " delivered without nlotes," because I found by experience, that when my mind was divided between
my notes and my invention, I was more embarrassed
than when my invention -ws left unshackled. I have
reason to believe that some of my best and most profitable discourses, saving a few outlines of thought, were
truly extemporaneous, and so literally extemporaneous
that from beginning to end I did not know beforehand
what would be my next sentence. I say " literally extemporancous." In one view only is this true, and in
another it must be borne in mind, that they are the
result of some mental discipline, and express the
thoughts laid up by previous study and the use of the
pen. If he has self-possession and the use of language,
attained by reading, writing, and study, and any interest in the object of his vocation, any man can
preach extemporaneously, and preach well. HIeneage Finch, Earl of Nottingham, and Lord Chancellor of England, adopted as a maxim, that " a lawyer
ought to read all the morning, and talk all the afternoon."  With some modification, this maxim is not
less important to the Pulpit than the Bar.
In writing for the pulpit, I have been careful to
leave space enough in my manuscripts to interline new
thoughts as they occurred from my general reading,
and, what is of quite as much importance, to cultivate
the habit of striking out old ones that were needless.




ii




112


PERSONAL REMINISCENCES OF THE


I have sometimes begun a sermon without any fixed
method in my own mind; but have almost uniformly
found it lost labor. For the most part, my divisions
and arrangements have been thoroughly premeditated; and so thoroughly that, under the impression
that the practical application was the most important,
I have in many instances written the application first,
and the body of my discourse last. I have rarely been
embarrassed for want of subjects.  The wonderful
facility with which one subject leads to another-the
state of the congregation-an interview with some individual or family-a watchful observance of the leadings of divine providence-intercourse with ministerial
brethren-some unexpected suggestion during the
night-watches-a solitary ride on the saddle-my
"index rerum,"-and the inexhaustible treasures of
the Bible, furnished me with subjects which I have
not yet overtaken.
My reading has been uniformly with a view to enrich my mind for my pulpit ministrations. To this
end I have not slighted the works of the great Errorists; and have felt strong for the truth of God the
more I have possessed myself of their sophistical reasoning. I have never felt it an easier task to defend
the great doctrines of grace than when I have risen
from a careful study of Dr. John Taylor, Dr. Whitby,
John Locke, Adam Clarke, Dr. Priestley, the Unitarian divines of New England, and Dr. Nathanael
W. Taylor. No man, no set of men, no confession of
faith, has biassed my mind in these investigations. I
respected the form of doctrine which has exerted so
powerful an influence on the Churchl; but I still felt




LIFE AND TIMES OF GARDINEE SPRING.


113


at liberty, nay, I felt the obligation, of testing it by
the Law and the Testimony. And not a little to my
joy did I find that it honored the test. As beautiful
symbols, from my heart I adopted the Westminster
and Heidelberg Confessions; as safe expositors of the
mind and will of God, I have found none more profitable than Matthew Henry, Thomas Scott, and Charles
Hodge. Nor may I overlook " Doddridge's Family
Expositor," in my judgment a beautiful work, more
to my edification than Olshausen, or Rosenmuller.
Bishop Warburton, the author of " The Divine Legation of Moses," was a warm friend of Dr. Doddridge,
and his intimate correspondent. When he read the
second volume of the Family Expositor, he wrote to
Doddridge: " The greatest thing I can say of it is,
that it is equal to the first; and the truest thing I can
say of both, that they surpass anything of the kind."
The late Rev. William Jay remarks: "Doddridge's
Expositor I have diligently and regularly consulted.
It is the work of an accomplished, laborious, and devout student of the New Testament. His practical
reflections are the gems of the work. I consult Guise
and Orton with frequency and benefit, but not with
the pleasure and advantage generally that I examine
Doddridge. I love Doddridge because he is so affectionate and devout."
I have been instructed by the exegetical publications of my venerated pastor and teacher, Rev. Moses
Stuart; but he is too rash and fanciful to be a safe
guide to young ministers. My models for the services
of the pulpit have been Samuel Davis-of wshom William Jay says, " I must confess, no discourses ever




114


PERSONAL REMINISCENCES OF THE


appeared to me so adapted to awaken the conscience
and impress the heart,"-Nathanael Emml ns, Edward
D. Griffin, Asahel Nettleton, Edward Payson, John
Howe, and Thomas Chalmers. I do not hesitate to
include the name of Emmons in this enumeration, because, while in my judgment he has some errors, he has
more truth than any writer whose works have fallen
under my notice. The young minister who refuses
to read Emmons because his name has been proscribed
by the Princeton Reviewers, will remain ignorant of
truth which, as a preacher of the Gospel, he ought to
know. Those preachers to whom I have referred,
seem to me to have the great object of preaching in
view. They humble the creature and exalt the Creator. Their great aim is to leave the sinner without
excuse for not being reconciled to God, and to urge
the saint to aim at high spiritual advancement and
usefulness.
When Dr. Beecher was on his dying-bed, a
ministerial brother said to him, "Dr. Beecher, you
know a great deal; tell us what is the greatest of all
things." lie replied, "It is not theology; it is not
controversy; it is to save souls." This is the great
secret of good preaching. His biographer remarks
that " the one idea of Dr. Beecher's life was the promotion of revivals of religion." Well do I recollect
his influence on my own mind, during a few days
when he was my guest in Beekman-street. So long
as an honest and earnest effort for the salvation of
men is honored in the Church of God, will the memory of Lyman Beecher be a rich treasure to the American churches. Oh, how differently would some truly




LIFE AND TIMES OF GARDINER SPRING.


115


evangelical ministers preach, if the conversion of men
were the great and uppermost thoughts in their preparations for the pulpit! I repeat the thought, that
not a few excellent ministers of the present day preach
the Gospel as though there were no impenitent
men in their audience. They ought to know mankind better than this. They preach sound doctrine,
but they have not learned the art of bringing it
home to the conscience. I look around me upon a
generation of ministers more learned than myself; yet
I am not moved by their preaching. It lacks the
urgency of Paul, Baxter, Edwards, Nettleton, Payson,
and Skinner. They are wanting in heavy attacks
upon the corrupt citadel of the human heart, and
therefore fail of producing that impression of inexcusableness which is the great element of genuine conviction. A better age is coming, and one of the first
indications of its approach will be, that the pulpit has
recovered the use of its senses.
On the subject of preaching with notes or without
them, it. is difficult to express any satisfactory views.
A minister's mind needs the careful and laborious culture of the pen; where this is attained and persevered
in, the more he preaches without notes, the better.
If he has the spirit of devotedness to his work, intellectual resources, self-possession, a free command of
his mother-tongue, intense interest in his subject, and
confidence in God, he will preach far better with
nothing before him but God's Bible and the God of
the Sanctuary. If a man can lose sight of himself in
preaching, and rise above the fear and applause of his
hearers; if he can be so thoroughly master of his sub



116


PERSONAL REMINISCENCES OF THE


ject that in his illustrations his memory shall not embarrass his invention, he will preach better without
notes than with them. The danger with extemporaneous preachers is, that they are not students; the
defect and danger of written discourses, that the
preacher has not the confidence to look his audience
in the face, unless he is endorsed and sustained by his
manuscript. MSy own discourses on the Lord's day
have been for the most part written out, and with care,
because I am conscious that I lack those prerequisites
for a purely extemporaneous preacher. My weekly
lectures have never been written; I have rarely carried anything in the form of paper into the pulpit, in
these services. They have cost me no labor except a
solitary walk, or a ride on the saddle; yet they have
been among my best discourses. They have been
studied discourses, not of the day, but of years of study
long since past, gathered up and concentrated for
the hour. A. fanatical and ranting preacher once appointed a religious service in the town of Bethlehem,
where Dr. Bellamy was the settled pastor..Dr. Bellamy went to hear him; but in the presence of this
distinguished man, the interloper refused to open his
lips. After much disappointment, Dr. Bellamy was
urged to conduct the service, and he did so, and
preached without notes and with great power. " Mr.
Bellamy," said the stranger, " did you never study
that sarmont?"  "YEs," vociferated Dr. Bellamy,
twenty years ago."
I may venture here to advert to a singular and
foolish incident in my own history. In returning to
New York, from an annual visit to my parents at




LIFE AND TIMES OF GARDINER SPRING.


117


Newburyport, I passed the Sabbath at the town of
Ashford in Connecticut. It was the habit of New
England to observe their Sabbath "from evening to
evening." I had not much the appearance of a clergyman, and as I dismounted, inquired if I could have
accommodations for myself and horse for the Lord's
day. After supper, the landlord said to me, ' Pray,
sir, are you not a clergyman? "  "I am a clergyman."
"Because if you are a minister, I think our parson
would be glad to have you preach for him. He'll be
over to rights to see you."  Soon the settled pastor
came, and was introduced to me. I-e is one of the
best of men, the Rev. Mr. Judson, though we were
then perfect strangers. " I understand, sir, that you
are a minister of the Gospel, and propose to pass the
Sabbath with us." " That is my character, and such
is my purpose." " I should be happy to ask you to
preach for me, if I knew who and what you are."
"' As to what I am, I am no Methodist, no Baptist, no
Unitarian; as to who I am, you will allow me to say,
you will remain ignorant; I came here a stranger,
and such mean to remain."  " But will you not favor
me with your name 2 "  Excuse me, I have reasons
for desiring to remain unknown."  Mr. Judson was
embarrassed, but eventually requested me to occupy
the pulpit, which I consented to do on condition that
he would not ask my name. IHe gave his assent, and
I preached for him. My sole object in wishing to remain unknown, was to ascertain whether I could not
preach without notes, with unembarrassed freedom,
before an unknown audience. And the experiment
was full of encouragement. I preached in the morn



118


PERSONAL REMINISCENCES.


ing from the text, " The law was our schoolmaster, to
bring us unto Christ; " in the afternoon, from the
words, "Unto you, therefore, which believe, he is
precious." I never preached better, nor to a more attentive and affected audience. I left the town at the
going down of the sun, unknown by a single individual. Mlr. Judson, though I took tea with him, did
not ask for my name. Some years after, he was present at an evening service in the Old Brick Church, and
taking me by the hand, said, " Do you remember thle
Sabbath at Ashford? It was a memorable day to zi.
That day God made bare his arm; it was the beginning of a work of grace among my people."
I am more and more disposed to favor extemporaneous preaching. I regard it as the most successful
way of wielding the sword of the Spirit; we cut
and thrust then, this way and that way, and every
way. The most powerful appeals I ever heard from
the pulpit, and the most powerful I ever made, were
extemporaneous. Through dimness of vision by cataracts, I preached several months without notes, and I
believe it is the universal judgment of my people that
I never preached better.




CHAPTER VI.


THE EMBARRASSMENTS AND ENCOURAGEMENTS
OF MY EARLY MINISTRY.
TIE first of these was my own conscious incomlpetency for the work. M:y theological attainments were
very limited. I an surprised at myself in consenting
to take charge of so large and so important a congregation. MIy course of study at Andover had been
limited to the short period of a single year. Next to
my weekly preparations for the pulpit, therefore, I
resolved to supply my deficiencies by a thorough investigation of the great doctrines of the Gospel. I
had a tolerable supply of the best authors; while I
was abundantly furnished from the library of my predecessor, the Rev. Dr. Rodgers, the library of Dr.
Miller, and the more ample library of Dr. Romeyn.
In addition to these resources, I corresponded with
my seniors in the ministry, with the view of satisfying
my own mind in relation to several topics by which I
was embarrassed. Some of these communications are
valuable. The two following are from the late Professor Stuart, of Andover.




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PERSONAL REMINISCENCES OF TIIE


"ANDOVEE, arch, 1, 1813.
" MY DEAR BIRlOTHER:
" No version of the Old Testament was made, except that of the Septuagint, before the first Christian
era. The Pentateuch was translated about three hundred and eighty years A. C.; the other books gradually, and by different hands. The Targums, i. e.,
Chaldee translations, may some of them precede the
Christian era, but this is uncertain; ' et hoc sub jidice est.'  Many eminent critics place them much
later; as Origen and Jerome appear to know nothing
of them.
"Of the New Testament, the Syriac version was
probably made in the second century; but the proof
is not direct. Latin translations were certainly made
-many of them; but all, except fragments, are lost.
All the other versions are so late, as to afford no evidence of the kind which you desire. Moreover, the
Apocrypha was included in some of them.
"On the whole, the argument is not worth anything, except from the Septuagint. The testimony
of Josephus and of Philo for the Old Testament, and
of 3Ielito, Origen, and other fathers for the New Testament, is abundantly sufficient. Lardner gives the
latter. The other is fully exhibited in the introductions to the Old Testament; I presume in Horne's,
although I have not read his work.
"The genuineness of the scriptural books rests on
the same kind of evidence as the genuineness of Virgil and Homer. The authenticity is a very different
question.




AND TIMES OF GARDINER SPRING.


121


" Mrs 9X. desires to be very affectiqnately rememb..    and yours, with
"Your friend and broth,
"M. STUART."
"ANDOVER, October 7, 1813.
" M   DEAI BROTHER:
" I am quite mortified at the fate of your letter to
me, dated some time last spring. As it contained
matters which seemed to require some attention, I
have concluded it to be my duty to write, in answer
to some of the questions which you put.
"In respect to the EXEGESIS of Canticles, I have
had, and still have, my doubts; viz., doubts which of
the methods of interpretation adopted by commentators (Christian and Jewish), is irost correct. I may,
perhaps, be permitted by Dr. Romeyn to have some
doubt here, without peril of the c i n. which he
so readily deals out; inasmuch as there have never
yet been any two commentators, Christian or Jewish,
patristical or modern, Asiatic, African, European, or
American, that have been agreed about it. The seven
times seven senses of the Rabbins, have been literally
given to this offendiculum crtitcorum.  Now, who
shall decide where doctors disagree? For my humble
self, if I doubt whether the forty-nine senses can all be
applied to the book; or whether aly one of the fortynine can be applied agreeable to the laws of sane interpretation, and must be a heretic on this account, I
say with Vitringa, ' Eqo sum in hac howesi.'
" But in regard to the point of canonical rank
(which is the point stated in your letter), I would that
VOL. 1.-6




122


PERSONAL REIMINISCEN CES OF TiH


you might put Brother Romeyn to the tes-,..,..,.
his evider   -.lore than eight years s)    -went
threeb..r the ground of the Old 0j1,,cx...,aiJn, an1 satisfied myself of the fact that the..anticles were undoubtedly comprised in the Canons of
Scripture used by our Saviour and his apostles. The
result I embodied in a public lecture. That lecture
I have regularly read every three years since to the
whole Seminary. To questions often asked me by
doubters about this book, on account of its speciality
of composition and diction, I have always replied,
that the fact could be clearly established that it belonged to the canon in the time of our Saviour; and
that all hope of getting rid of the difficulties of it by
ejecting it from the body of the sacred writings, were
in vain. We must look these difficulties in the face;
and if we cannot solve them, leave them (where we
must leave a multitude of passages in the Scripture)
to a future day, and better knowledge than ours, to
solve. All hope of changing the Hebrew Canon is
even more groundless than in respect to that of the
New Testament. The Saviour and his apostles have
given it a definiteness which admits of neither addition nor diminution.
" Such are the sentiments that I have always, in
public and in private, maintained ever since I had
any definite knowledge of the subject. I challenge
any person to produce any evidence of the contrary.
Dr. Romeyn will do me the justice, at least, to believe
my testimony on the subject of my own opinion.
"I certainly do not think it worth the trouble of
writing this to save myself from the imputation of




LIFE AND TIMES OF GARDINER SPRING.


123


heresy, among those who make all divinity heretical
that is not triangular. This method of theologizing,
however, is not confined to those who inhabit the region of triangles. ' What said Father Paoli to his
brother Jesuit, who was less dexterous in combating
for the mother-church than himself?-What did
Scarpi say at the meeting of the order?-Ile said
he doubted whether the infallibility of the Church
could be predicated of the Pope alone, or whether it
resided inl an ecumenical council.-Most abominable!
and what did you tell him?-I told him that the
Pope was tlhe successor of St. Peter.-Well, and what
said he -He said that he did not read in the Nlew
Testament of Peter's having appointed any successor,
and challenged me to produce the passage.-Challenged you to produce the passage!-Yes; and I was
not able to recollect it.-Able to recollect it! why
did you not tell him that the Fathers believed as we
do?-I did.-And what said lie?-Why, that the
Fathers were not the Pope, and so were not infallible.
— Why didn't you tell him that he would endanger
the faith of the whole Church by such innovations?
I did try to argue with him about them. —Argue with
him! you stupid blockhead (fatuus Diaboli)-argue
wit/ hizm!  TWhy dit you not call hi m IERETIC, aInd
tell him that he was going to perdition? I more than
half believe you must yourself, at bottom, be like him
in your sentiments, because you manage in such a
way. These heretics are to be confounded by blows,
not by arguments (fustibus lnon argumentis confufandos).'
" Thus believes Brother Romeyn, as truly as Father




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PEIRSONAL REMINISCENCES OF THE


Paoli, and for as good a reason. If you think strange
of this, you have only to recollect that two pennyweights of brains are a sufficient apparatus for the
purpose of guiding a march through the whole round
of hard names and abusive insinuations, while it
needs several pounds to manage an argument, and
confute a heretic. But, peace! The self-complacency
of those who are St. Peter's successors —Noon invideo,
miror magis.
" To be serious-the love of truth, and implicit
confidence in what the BIBLE declares, is my motto.
Other orthodoxy I prize or neglect, just in proportion
as it agrees with this. 'It is, moreover, to me a
small matter now, to be judged of men's judgment.'
He who sees the heart, knows whether I love His
word, and count everything discrepant from it, supported as it may be by ten thousand thousand voices,
as the dust of the balance.  THY WORD is TRUTH.
Blessed Saviour, who uttered this, make thy disciples
to know its full import! Even so!
"Sincerely and affectionately yours,
' M. STUART."
Among the embarrassments of my early ministry,
was the practice of my predecessors on the subject of
infant baptism. Dr. Rodgers, Dr. MecKnight, and
Dr. Miller had been in the habit of baptizing all the
children of tile congregation, without regard to the
Christian character and profession of either of the
parents. I felt constrained to adopt a different course,
and to baptize only those children, one of whose
parents was a professed Christian. I felt bound to




LIFE AND TIMES OF GARDINER SPRING.


125


this course by the obvious principles of the Abrahailic covenant, the example of the apostles, and the
spirit of the Gospel. I could not understand how
any conscientious parent could consistently consecrate
his child to God in baptism, who could not consecrate
himself; nor how such a parent could presume to
pray fbr his child, when he himself is a prayerless
man; nor how he could instruct his child in the
knowledge of God, and, by precept and example, persuade his child to become a Christian, when he himself is a stranger to God and his Christ. The confession of the Presbyterian Church affirms that "not
only those that do actually profess faith in and obedience unto Christ, but also the infants of one or both
believing parents, are to be baptized." The same
principle is repeated in the 166th question of the
Larger Catechism. I have known some persons who
were grossly immnoral, who desired to present their
children to God in baptisml; and who does not see
the manifest inconsistency of this? Can such persons
consistently bind themselves by a solemn engagement
to train up their children in the nurture and admonition of the Lord? Do they mean to do it? and, if
not, ought they to be allowed to make any such engagement? And are not the ministers who countenance them in so doing, chargeable with the same inconsistency? And where the parents are not immnoral, but are professedly irreligious and prayerless, is
there not the same inconsistency? When they offer
their children to God, they profess to believe the Gospel; and if the profession of faith is a profession of
obedience, is it not a hypocritical profession? You




126


PERSONAL REMINISCENCES OF THE


tell me that no sincere professor perfectly obeys all
the commands of Christ, and that the parent thus
offering his child is like all other professors. Even
though he neglects the Lord's Supper, it is but a single violation of Christ's command. But what if he
honestly tells you he docs not intend to obey this command: wherein does he differ fron the man who avows
his purpose not to obey some one command that arrays itself against his besetting sin? Yet such is the
unvarnished truth in relation to those who offer their
children in baptism, and at the same time avowedly
violate the precept, " This do in remembrance of me."
Oh, how is the religion of Christ exposed to the contempt of the world, when they see Christless and irreligious men thus making light of its claims! Is it not
religious mockery? Is any professedly impenitent
man thus entitled to the blessings of God's covenant
for his child? Is there no distinction between the
church and the world? If it be said that the children
of believers baptized in infancy are the children of
God's covenant, and are members of the visible
church, and as such are entitled to baptism for their
children; I grant that they are members of the
church, and that, when of suitable age, they should
be required to acknowledge that relation; but they
should do it truly and uprightly, and not merely for
the sake of obtaining baptism for their children. It is
true, they are members of the church by the covenant
of God with their parents, and on the faith of their
parents, but not personally, until they become so on
the profession of their own faith, and do that for themselves which their parents did for themr in their infancy.




LIFE AND TIMES OF GARPINER SPRING.


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It was no easy matter for me to introduce what is
called the " strict practice " on the subject of baptism.
I preached five sermons on the general subject of baptism, and, in dependence on God, relied for my success on the force of truth. Nor have I, with one exception, during a ministry of fifty-six years among the
same people, ever varied from the strict practice; and
that was in the case of a sick and dying grandchild,
whose father was a man of prayer, but not a communicant, and I nmyself professed to stand in loco palentis. I now look upon the whole transaction as wrong.
Nor have I, except in a single instance, positively refused to baptize every child that I was requested to
baptize; and -hat was the child of a distinguished
foreigner, who was connected with one of the families
of the congregation, and who, after much expostulation on his part, turned from me with the remark, " I
perceive, sir, that you baptize only the children of the
aristocracy." I have been enabled always so to present the subject, as to throw the responsibility of the
refusal on the parents themselves. A member of the
congregation once came to me, with the request that
I would baptize his child. lie was not a religious
man. I endeavored to show him the solemnity and
the privilege of the transaction. I requested him to
look at the subject deliberately, and ask himself if he
was prepared to give up himself and his child to God.
I prayed with him, and requested him to see me
again. He went away, and being requested by his
wife to have another interview  with me, replied,
' No; you will not catch me there again."
I had been justified in the course I pursued by the




128


PERSONAL REMINISCENCES OF THE


views and conduct of the late Dr. Romeyn, who was
established in the Presbyterian church in Cedar street,
about a year before I came to the city. He was the
first man who introduced the strict practice in the
Presbyterian churches in New York. lie took a firm
and noble stand on the subject in the General Assembly of 1812. Dr. Richards, Dr. Miller, and Dr. Romeyn were the commnittee appointed to " draft a plan
for disciplinilng baptized children;" but Dr. Romeyn
was the author of that able report, exhibiting the
views of our own Confession of Faith, of the best
churches at the period of the Refornation, in different parts of Europe, and also of the first churches in
New England, and in which he shows that no parent
can use baptism as the seal of God's covenant, who does
not profess his faith in Clrist and obedience to Him.
There was another subject, also, on which I had
no small difficulty, and that was the subject of fashionable amusements. But in this matter " Old Adam
was too hard for young Melanethon." It is a foregone conclusion that our young people will dance. I
regret it in Christian families, but I cannot prevent
it. Our mercurial youth live for folly and fun. "The
heart of fools is in the house of mirth." I have observed one thing, however; that when the Spirit of
God is poured out upon us, there are no balls and assemblies; there is more prayer and praise than daneing. It is a grief of heart to the ministers of Christ
that Christian families are so extensively the patrons
of fashionable amusements. The giddy companions
of the world, the sons and daughters of pleasure, give
little proof of a Christian training.




LIFE AND TIMES OF GARDINER SPRING.


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But there were more serious embarrassments than
these; they were threatening indications of dissatisfaction from some of my respected ministerial brethren,
both in the Presbytery and in the city. The Rev.
Ezra Stiles Ely had published his celebrated work entitled " The Contrast," the object of which is to show
the points of difference between the views of Hopkinsian and Calvinistic theology. It was addressed to
prejudice and ignorance, and was aimed at the youthful pastor of the Brick Church. I did not answer it,
because I had more important work to perform; because I did not adopt thepeculiarities of Hopkinsianism; and because I believed that after free and candid discussion by other parties, the religions public
would gradually come to the conclusion that its object
was mischief.  It is a very imperfect contrast, because it takes no notice of the great doctrines which
Hopkinsians receive in common with Calvinists; because it is a perversion of their real views; because it
imputes to them doctrines they do not believe; and
because it is throughout so utterly destitute of candor
and honesty. I had no other way of quieting the
alarm excited by "The Contrast," than by preaching
" the truth as it is in Jesus," and more plainly and
pungently. This I was enabled to do. I endeavored
to exhibit the fundamental doctrines of grace as the
great means of bringing the benighted ai.d lost out of
darkness into God's marvellous light. I dwelt largely upon the divine attributes; upon the spirituality
and obligations of the divine law; upon the unmixed
and total depravity of man; upon the all-sufficiency
of the great atonement, the fuluess there is in Christ,
VOL. 1. —6*
a/




130      PERSONAL REMINISCENCES OF THE
and the unembarrassed offer of pardon and life to all
" that have ears to hear;" upon the great wickedness of unbelief; upon the absolute dependence of
saint and sinner upon the power of the Holy Spirit;
upon the divine sovereignty and electing love; upon
the perfect righteousness of Christ as the only ground
of the believer's acceptance with God; upon the selfdenying nature of that holiness without which no nian
can see the Lord; upon the immediate duty of repentance toward God and faith in our Lord Jesus Christ;
upon a punctual attendance upon all the appointed
means of grace and salvation; and upon the solemnities of the world of everlasting retribution. For a series of years I had two principal objects in all my
preaching. One was to exalt God and humble the
sinner at His footstool; the other was so to exhibit
God's truth as to leave the unrepenting and incorrigible without excuse. I endeavored to make them see
that they had no cause for outward complaint or inward murmuring against Gdd; that in rejecting the
Gospel, they are condemned by their own consciences,
by every page of God's word, and would finally stand
condemned at the bar of God, and would have no
reason to complain when they are sent to hell. It is
true, this was not popular preaching. It stirred up
no small opposition. But this was no proof to me
that it was not God's truth, nor that it ought not to be
preached, nor that it was not well timed. It was true;
it was timely; and it was doing its work.
lMy confidence was in God. I was not discouraged. There were praying men, and praying women,
not a few, who held up my hands. The God of Israel




LIFE AND TIMES OF GARDINER SPRING.


131


was inquired of to work for us, and he did work wonders. Opposition did not hinder nor retard the work,
but rathler promoted it, showing beautifully how the
wrath of man can be made to praise the Lord. These
great truths were not preached eloquently;. they were
presented earnestly and urged home. It was not rashness to urge them; the event showed that it was
sound wisdom and prudence.   Their practical tendency was Christian. God's Spirit came down, and
in a succession of outpourings " took forth the precious
from the vile," enlightened, sanctified, and confirmed
his own children, took out from the world a people
for his praise, and, as the older Christians died off,
raised up a generation to serve him, and enlarged,
and beautified, and perpetuated the church, and gave
it a name among the more useful and honored churches
i. the land.
The conflict related mainly to the doctrine of
original sin, human ability, and the extent of the
Atonement. Some of the members of the Presbytery
stood in doubt of me, and the late Dr. Romeyn, of the
Church in Cedar-street, with true Christian courtesy
and love, proposed to me, in writing, the following inquiries, to which I gave him the annexed replies:
The doctrinal points about which we want specific information are the following, to wit:
1. Did God, in his decree of election, first determine to save a certain number of our fallen race, and
then, for executing this his purpose of mercy, constitute Christ as their Redeemer, to deliver them from
death, and restore them to eternal life?


*




J

132      PERSONAL REMINISCENCES OF THE
ANs. God did, from all eternity, determine to
make a manifestation of his pardoning mercy to the
intelligent universe, in the offer of it to all the human
race, and in the actual exercise of it towards the elect.
In the execution of this purpose, he constituted Christ
as the Redeemer; who should, in his mediatorial
character, make the exercise of mercy practicable to
all, and by covenant engagement with the Father,
certain only to the election of grace.
2. Was Adam the federal head, or representative
of all his posterity, in the covenant of works, so that
all mankind, descending from him by ordinary generation, sinned in him, and fell with him in the first
transgression
ANs. Adam was the federal head and representative of all mankind in the covenant of works. By his
obedience all his posterity would have come into the
world in a state of holiness and life; but by his disobedience they are brought into the world in a state
of sin and condemnation.
3. Is the guilt of this first transgression imputed
to, or laid to the account in law, of all mankind descending from him by ordinary generation?
ANs. The guilt of this first transgression is not
transferred to his posterity, so that, if they had continued perfectly holy from the beginning to the end
of their lives, they would have been damned for his
sin; but it is imputed, so that they are, by reason of
their connection with him as their federal head and
representative, ORIGINALLY in a state of sin and righteous condemnation.
4. Does the disability to do good extend to the




LIFE AND TIMES OF GARDINER SPRING.


133


whole moral constitution of the soul, the understanding as well as the will and affections, so that we need
the illumination of our understanding, as well as the
subjugation of our will?
ANS. The whole moral constitution of the soul
needs spiritual illumination before it can be the subject of any holy affection. The understanding is darkened by reason of the blindness of the heart, and must
be enlightened by the Spirit of God.
5. Is the Lord Jesus Christ in the covenant of grace
the head of the elect, and their representative, so that
they are viewed by God as his seed?
ANS. He is.
6. In assuming our nature and being made under
the law, did he design the redemption of his people,
his seed, and none else?
ANS. In assuming our nature, and being made
under the law, Christ made an atonement for the sins
of the whole world; but designed the redemption or
final deliverance from sin and hell of his people or
seed, and none else.
7. Are his sufferings and obedience, or, in other
words, is his righteousness, imputed to those who believe, i. e., laid to their account in law, so that they
are acquitted forever from all the condemnation of the
law, and adjudged to eternal life?
ANs. His righteousness is thus imputed.
8. Is faith in Jesus Christ the only mean or instrument of a sinner's being united to Christ, so as to
be viewed in him as a member of his body?
ANS. It is, except in case of those who die in infancy. I have no proof from the Bible that all in



134 -

PERSONAL REMINISCENCES OF THE


fants are to be damned; still, they can be saved only
by the free grace of God, reigning through the righteousness of Christ. They are originally sinners, and
deserve the curse.
9. Is union with the Lord Jesus real and inseparable, but spiritual and mystical, and not merely a
union of sentiment and affection?
ANS. They are distinct persons; but their union
is real, mystical, and inseparable.
10. Can there be, in fact, any evangelical repentance, or repentance unto life, without an apprehension
of God's mercy in Christ?
ANS. Repentance unto life is exercised in view of
God's whole character AS IT Is; merciful as well as
just. Still there may be repentance unto life, without any such apprehension of the divine mercy as implies the persuasion, or the expectation, that it is to
be exercised towards ME in particular. We have the
warrant to believe that all who repent and believe
WILL find mercy; but no individual sinner has the
warrant to believe that he hAS found mercy, until he
has some evidence that he has repented of sin, and
believed on the Lord Jesus Christ.
11. Must sinners be discouraged from using the
means of grace?
ANS. No, by no means. Still, they ought to be
told to use them rightly. We would never tell them
to sow tares, and then assure them that God has given
them the promise of anything better than tares for a
harvest. They ought to be strongly encouraged to
use them.
12. Are Christians required to love God so disin



LIFE AND TIMES OF GARDIENER SPR'IG.


135


terestedly as neither to desire nor seek any benefits
from him?
ANS. No; that would not be disinterested love.
13. Ought God to be called the author of sin
ANS. No.
Additional questions relating to certain doctrinal
points:
1. Arising out of the answer to question first.
Did the Lord Jesus Christ, by his perfect obedience,
and sacrifice of himself, which he, through the eternal
Spirit, offered up unto God, purchase reconciliation,
and an everlasting inheritance in the kingdom of
heaven, for any but those whom the Father hath
given unto him from eternity?
ANs. No.
2..Arising out of the answer to question sixth.
When it is said, " Christ made an atonement for the
sins of the whole world," is anything more meant,
than either the all-sufficiency of the merits of his
sacrifice of himself, or the fact that he is the mercyseat, or propitiatory, from whence God, in the Gospel,
can treat with all mankind in a way of mercy?
ANS. Both, and nothing more.
3. Arising out of the answer to question tenth.
Can there be repentance unto life without a persuasion that God CAN, and actually does, exercise mercy
towards such of our fallen race as are penitent?
ANS. The fact of God's having proclaimed himself
a forgiving God, does not constitute the obligation to
repentance; but without this, we have no reason to
believe there would have been a penitent.




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PERSONAL REMINISCENCES OF THE


On the subjects of atonement and human ability,
I have long been convinced that where the terms are
clearly defined and understood, the discussion is mere
logomachy-a war of words. On the subject of atonement, Dr. Roneyn, and the brethren in whose name
he addressed me, were satisfied, and the controversy
was abandoned. On the subject of human ability, he
had already committed himself, as I have shown in a
note contained in " The distinguishing traits of Christian character," and in favor of the distinction between
natural and moral ability and inability. Less is said
about the importance of that distinction at tle present
day, and perhaps wisely: the most zealous advocates
and the most zealous opposers of the distinction both
agree that " no man can come to Jesus Christ unless
the Father draw him;" and that both saints and sinners are alike absolutely dependent for holiness on
the power of the Holy Spirit. I have never changed
my views on this subject; but I have modified my
statements, and, as I think, more in accordance with
the Word of God. The distinction is valuable; and
though I do not now say the sinner can repent if he
will, because the assertion implies that an unholy volition produces holiness, yet I still maintain that his
duty stands abreast with his intellectual powers, and
his faculty of moral discernment. If he is capable of
sin, he is capable of holiness; else is he under no obligation to repent and believe the Gospel. This truth,
though not always expressed, underlies all faithful
preaching. Those pulpits which teach that it is impossible for unrenewed men to repent and believe the
Gospel, rarely urge this duty upon the impenitent, and




LIFE AND TIMES OF GARDINER SPRING.


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never with the earnestness with which it is urged in
the Word of God. No man is required to perform impossibiliies, nor is there any impossibility in the
case, except that which arises from unmiugled wickedness, and which leaves the sinner without excuse.
Mien who have the faculties of moral agents, who are
capalle of knowing what is right and what is wrong,
if they are not saved, perish because they " will not
come to Christ that they nmight have life." They have
perception, reason, and conscience; to plead their
blindness and wickedness as an excuse for not coming
to him is only to "take advantage of their own
wrong."  There the solemnn declaration -stands: " To
him that knoweth to do good, and doeth it not, to him
it is sin." God makes no allowance for a wicked inability. We must take heed how we silence the voice
of conscience. Many a good sermon has been neutralized by a single untimely sentence. There is a sense
in which men can come to Christ, and there is a sense
in whicl they cannot come. Saints and sinners are
alike dependent on Omnipotent grace, and alike under
obligation to be and do all that God requires. I am
unable to see why the Scriptures, reason, and common
sense, do not justify and demand this representation;
and why there is not perfect consistency in saying
that, in view of their perception, their reason, and
their conscience, impenitent men can, and, in view of
their unconquerable depravity, they cannot, repent,
and believe the Gospel.
For several years after my ordination, the interest
excited throughout the churches in these discussions
was unabated. Nor have I any doubt that the dis



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PERSONAL REMINISCENCES OF THE


cussion did good. It led both Calvinists and Hopkinsians to be more cautious in their statements, and
to have more confidence in each other. It led the
people to think, and this is what they needed; and it
issued, as we shall hereafter see, in a glorious work
of grace in some of our churches.
I survived these embarrassments; but it was only
through the divine favor. Lord Mansfield, whose
superior is not to be found among the chief justices
of England, has the following remarks on the subject
of human applause: "I will do my duty unmoved.
The lies of calumny carry no terror to me. I wish
popularity; but it is that popularity which follows,
not that which is run after. It is that popularity
which, sooner or later, never fails to do justice to the
pursuit of noble ends, by noble means." A minister
of the Gospel, as well as a judge on the bench, occupies too exalted a position to be influenced by any
other than the approbation of God and good men.
He can afford to suffer from the arrows of falsehood
and malice, if it is in the pursuit of truth and duty.
I have alluded to my correspondence with ministers in various parts of the land during my theological
inquiries. The following communication I insert as a
specimen:
"LITCHFIELD, June, 1817.
" MY DEAR BROTHER:
"I learned immediately, by a letter from Cornelius, the decision of the General Assembly on the
synodical letter.  Let the name of the Lord be
praised; for it is His doings. It is a great event,
and in its consequences an everlasting victory to




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truth. It unfolds, perhaps, his meaning in defeating
your magazine, and teaches you and me never to
move, when God, in His providence, shuts the door,
confident that He has provided some other way. If a
magazine be desirable, still the necessity cannot be, I
should think, so urgent, and I am confident that Mr.
must not be the man. Whatever may be his
talents at writing, his temper is not good, and will
ruin the cause which makes him its organ. Non tali
auxilio tempus eget. Besides, I do believe more
good will be done by your meeting them single-handed. In the first place, you will write better, circumstanced as you are (if the spirit of the prophet be subject to the prophet), than any other person can write.
Most of the great and good things which have been
given to the church of God, have been extorted from
unwilling men by the force of circumstances. I believe that God intends that you shall add to the stock
of useful things, by bringing you into such circumstances, and that, if you take counsel, you will do
better than any other man. Whatever I can do, will
be done cheerfully. There will also be loss by attempting trio much, and, moreover, the gain of sympathy by your standing alone.
"I am ever affectionately yours,
" LYMAN BEECHER."
The following letter from my ministerial friend
aild townsman, the Rev. Dr. Tyng, of St. George's
Church in this city, was very kindly addressed to me,
oal the opening of our new church-edifice, on the corn er of Fifth avenue and Thirty-seventh street.




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PERSONAL REMINISCENCES OF THE


" ST. GEORGE'S RECTORY, November 2, 1858.
REVEREND AND DEAR SIR:
"lIy old and venerated friend: My mind has
been awakened to grateful feelings, by the fact of yonr
entrance into your new Brick Church. I recall my
first knowledge of you in 1814, when you preached
for some successive evenings in your father's church
in our native town; on two of which I was permitted
to hear you, from the two texts, ' Are not Abana and
Pharpar,' &c., and 'It is hard for thee to kick against -
the pricks,' &c. I often think, from the impressions
then produced upon my mind, that preaching was
really a different thing then from now. My whole
soul seemed to respond under those two sermons, all
the attending circumstances of which are as fresh before my mind this moment as when they occurred. I
remember your volume of Essays that I was then induced to read, in consequence of those sermons, and
the power and delight which attended their truths to
my mind. And now forty-four years have passed, and
we are both old; and you still, in your old age, beloved
and delighted in, as well as reverencedbly thousands.
"I recall my removal to New York; by which I
became your neighbor, and the kindness with which
you welcomed me here. And when our minds at St.
George's were forced to an early removal, 1 feared
that my venerated friend would hardly live to accomplish his renewed position, without which, it seemed
to me, the Brick Church must be dissolved. And now,
I have been laboring in my new church just ten years,
and you have been spared to perfect your work, and
been allowed to perfect it in its own characteristic style




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141


-the Brick Church still. For myself, though so much
your junior, I feel the pressure of age coming on, and
acknowledge its many infirmities. You have passed
threescore years and ten, and yet are, like Moses, of
enduring ability to go in and out before the people
of God. Many years, in your new work, of course,
you cannot have.  But it is enough for all your
friends, that God has permitted you to inaugurate it
in your own person, and to see with your own eyes
the certainty of its result. It cannot but be one of
the strongest and most prospering churches in our
city. And I must be permitted to say, that you have
no friend who more truly enjoys this prospect, and
feels a livelier interest in your renown and happiness
in your closing years, than I. Soon our common
work will be completed, and we shall join in giving
praise in a higher sphere, to Him who hath loved us,
and washed us fiom our sins in His own blood, and
made us kings and priests unto God, even the Father.
May you be cheered in your upward path with much
affection from your many friends, and with abounding
divine consolations, from the best of all friends, our
glorious Emmanuel.
" And among the many congratulations you will
receive, over this very triumphant opening, be pleased
to accept and welcome mine, as the expression of a
long and most affectionate friend.  The Lord be
pleased to prosper the whole work for His own glory.
" Your faithful friend and brother,
"In our glorious Lord,
"STEPHEN I. TYNG."
"Reverend GARDINER SPRING, D.D."




CHAPTER VII.


PRINCIPLE AND EXERCISE.
THE terms princ ple and exercise are not familiar
to the present age. The great controversy on this
subject was at its height while I was pursuing my
theological course. The leading advocates of the Exercise theory were Dr. Emlmons, my father, and Dr.
Woods, though Dr. Woods has since modified his
views. The principal advocates of the Taste theory
were Dr. Burton, Judge Niles, of Vermont, Dr.
Griffin, and the old Calvinists. The advocates of the
Exercise theory maintained that all sin and all holiness consist in positive exercises of the mind; that
the law of God neither requires nor forbids anything
else; and that, anterior to these, there is no moral
character. The advocates of the Taste theory maintain that anterior to all positive exercises, there is a
moral nature, a principle of sin, in the unregenerate,
and a principle of grace in the regenerate, a moral
taste or tendency of mind, a "heart of flesh," or
"heart of stone," which is the foundation of all moral
acts.
In this controversy, Dr. Burton, a man of dis



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tinguished ability, found a very able coadjutor in
Nathanael Niles. I-e was a graduate of Nassau Hall
in 1776, and Judge of the Supreme Court in the State
of Vermont. Few persons wrote more on metaphysical and ethical questions, or more ably. I hlave now
on my table a manuscript volume loaned me by his
son, Dr. Nathanael Niles, of this city, and written between 1789 and 1805, which covers a wide field of moral
and philosophical investigation.
Judge Niles studied divinity with Dr. Bellamy. He
became a Congregational clergyman, but was never a
settled minister. On his first interview with Dr. Bellamy, the Doctor told him, that if he wished to become
a thorough theologian, he must dismiss all his previous
notions, and come to the study with a mind not preoccupied. At a subsequent interview, in a conversation upon the character of God, he remarked, " Dr.
Bellamy, I don't believe there is any God." "What!"
said the Doctor, "come to study theology, and don't
believe there is any God! " "Why," said he, "I used
to think there was; but you told me to dismiss all my
previous belief; and now I don't believe there is
any." Judge Niles was an original thinker, a powerful debater, an ardent patriot, and fond of political
life. He was three times a member of the Legislature
of Vermont, the Speaker in the House of Representatives, a member of Congress, a strong Republican,
and six times elector of President. The celebrated
song called " The American Hero," the song of the
Revolution, and beginning with the words,
"Why should vain mortals tremble at the sight of
Death and destruction on the field of battle?"




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PERSONAL REMINISCENCES OF THE


was written by him. Dr. Nathanael Niles, his son by
a second marriage, was the Secretary of Legation at
Paris, and Charge des Affaires at Sardinia.
Among other topics of interest, Judge Niles discusses the questions, " Is action necessary to morality? What is that in the mind which is itself blamable?  Is divine sovereignty consistent with blame
What is the relation of the understanding to praise
and blame-worthiness? And of choosing between
indifferent things, or those which are equally eligible."
After an elaborate dialogue between Evangelist and
Moralist on the subject of Taste and Exercise, he relates the following
"FABLE OF THE MORALIST AND THE RATTLESNAKE.
"The Moralist, walking in his meadow, saw a rattlesnake lying at his length on the grass. He stopped
short and cast his eyes here and there, in quest of some
weapon with which he might safely kill the snake.
The snake at the same moment saw him, drew himself into a coil, and raising his head from the middle
of it, he fixed his eyes on him, and waving his tail
from side to side, seemed to say,' Keep your distance.'
The Moralist, loth to lose sight of the snake, lest he
should slide beyond his reach, alternately watched
him, and looked for a weapon. At length, the snake,
surprised at his manner, inquired why he looked so
many ways almost at the same time?
"' I am,' said the Moralist, ' looking after a stick.'
" 'For what ' said the snake.




LIFE AND TIMES OF GARDINER SPRING.


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" ' For the purpose,' said the Moralist, 'of destroying thee, venomous reptile.'
"Snake. But why would you destroy me?
" lMoralist. Because it is fit thou shouldest die.
" Snake. Pray, how have I merited death?
" loralist. By thy poisonous and malignant nature.
"' Snake. If I mistake not, thou hast lived in this
vicinity several years, for frequently, when lying concealed beneath the brake, I have seen thee passing
and repassing. Now I ask, hast thou ever known me
injure man or beast
" Moralist. While I have lived here, which has
indeed been several years, a number of people have
been wounded, and some of them mortally, by the
venomous bite of thy cursed species, and I know not
but by thee.
" Snake. I grant it has been so; but I well remember, the report in every one of these cases was,
that the offending individual was killed immediately
after the offence was given; was it not so?
" Moralist. Such, indeed, was the report; and,
upon recollection, I believe it was just.
" Snake. The consequence is, that I hurt none of
them. Why, then, hast thou doomed me to death?
Shall not every one tried at the bar of so good a man
as thou art, be judged according to his deeds? And
what have I done, to deserve death?
'" Moralist. I know not that you have done anything to deserve it, but you are what deserves it.
You are a rattlesnake, and all rattlesnakes ought to
be killed.
VOL. I.-7




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PERSONAL REMINISCENCES OF THE


" Snake. Is it possible that a man of so much
discernment, candor, and goodness of heart as you
possess, can decide so hastily upon such irrational
grounds?  According to your own acknowledgment, you can charge me with no one act, or series
of acts, on account of which I am justly liable to
death; and yet even you, who are so scrupulously
tenacious of justice, have pronounced upon me this
heavy sentence. My life is my all. You can take no
more. If men are deprived of their natural life, their
more important existence still remains unimpaired.
To treat a man as you treat me, you must destroy him
forever.
" Moralist. Your reasonings are as vain as they
are futile and fallacious. That you are of a mortally
poisonous nature, you will not deny; and this nature
of yours is full of future acts which only wait for an
opportunity to show themselves. Your nature is active as well as poisonous; and it is both to such a degree, and so unequivocally, that whosoever sees your
nature, sees you poisoning every man who shall be so
unfortunate as to fall within your reach. You and
your nature are alike. You carry in your bowels a
brood of young snakes, which, perhaps, have never
yet seen the light, and your nature is full of snakish
actions. Both those broods now exist, though they
are not at present immediately visible. Your nature
is little, if indeed anything, else than a collection and
concentration of such acts in embryo,
" Snake. You say, then, that I deserve to die, not
for what I have done already, but for what you suppose I shall do hereafter?




LIFE AND TLIES OF GARDINER SPRING.


147


'" Aloralist. It is even so.
" Snake. But does this decision agree with your
general rule of right? Do you treat your own species
in this manner?
".forCalist. It is only from an apprehension of
what one will do, or to deter others from the like conduct, that men punish one another. Punishment
makes no atonement or compensation for what one
has already done. Suppose you should bite and kill
a man, and that you should be killed in your turn:
what pleasure could your death afford to the bereaved
family, except by gratifying their spirit of revenge,
which ought never to be gratified, or else by gratifying their benevolent wishes, that you may do no more
mischief? And what dispositions but these could be
gratified in' any other being on such an occasion?
This shows that while no benevolent being will inflict
evil except for the sake of doing good, every such being will in his proper department inflict it, when it is
necessary to the procurement of some great good
which will more than counterbalance the evil inflicted.
This is the general principle on which men will always kill rattlesnakes, while they cautiously spare the
butterfly, While, therefore, it is sufficiently evident
that you have this nature, and that you will act it out
when you shall find opportunity, the evidence against
you is complete, and you certainly deserve to die.
" gSnake. But how are you assured that such is my
nature?
" Moralist. I know it from your resemblance to
those which uniformly, when opportunity offers, perpetrate this kind of deadly mischief.




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PERSONAL REMINISCENCES OF THE


" Snake. But every like is not the same. Does it
follow that I have all the qualities of the rattlesnake
because I look like one?
" iloralist. Should the toad or the fly which you
are about to devour, oppose you with such a question,
would not your conduct show how unworthy of an
answer you think it? Be satisfied with this, that with
the same measure you mete, it shall be measured to
you again.
" Snake. But even on the hypothesis that such is
my nature, how are you assured that, if suffered to
live, I shall act in the manner you assert 2
" loralist. How am I certain that a heavy body
thrown into the air will fall to the ground? I am
certain of it from the heavy nature of the body. How
are you certain that flies, worms, and toads will nourish you? Because you have experienced that all things
produce effects agreeable to their respective natures.
" Snake. You say, then, that because others have
offended, I must be punished, although I have never
done anything to deserve punishment.
"' Joralist. No; you are to be punished for being
what you are, and because, being what you are, you
would do mischief, unless prevented by a deprivation
of your power to do it.
"Snake. You are very unreasonable to judge of
my propensities by the shape of my body, or to deem
me noxious because some of my kind are so, especially
when it is considered that but a small portion of them
have actually injured any one. But even on the supposition that we are all poisonous, I ask, on what occasions does this fact appear? Do we act on the de



LIFE AND TIMES OF GARDINER SPRING.


149


fensive only, or do we offend? Your kind seek us out
in our dens to destroy us. But has any one of mine
ever been known to pursue you? We often find you
sleeping beneath the cool shade, and, sliding from
under the brake, play harmlessly around you, until
your awaking menaces our lives. Only suffer us to
indulge ourselves, and we should never hurt you.
Every circumstance of our biting proves no more than
that we are disposed to defend ourselves. We were
never known to pursue a retiring enemy.
" Moralist. I grant you speak the truth. I believe you would not exert your poisonous powers, if
we would clear the way for your desires for their several objects. But those desires thwart the happiness
of man, which is certainly of more value than yours
can be. If we would give you the path and effectually
keep ourselves beyond your reach, you would not hurt
us. But must we, whose nature is so much more dignified than yours, give way to your perverse inclinations, which are so unfriendly to society?
" Snake. They are not unfriendly to society among
my kind. Witness our lying in the most friendly embrace and in great numbers, through the long winter.
And we should be as friendly to man, were we not
instructed by our nature that he is our enemy. But
you say that the happiness of man is of more worth
than that of snakes. I remember to have heard you,
the other day, in conversation with a person, whom
you called Evangelist, when you urged to him that
there was no other standard of happiness than as it
referred to him whose happiness it is. My happiness
is worth more to me than that of all other beings be



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PERSONAL REMINISCENCES OF THE


sides, just as you reckon yours of more value to you
than that of the whole universe besides.
"lMoralist. It is in vain to talk, since there is not
a principle in my nature capable of being touched by
your reasonings, unless you could by some deep sophistry wholly pervert my reason, or by some deeper
magic make me believe that your nature is innocent.
The sum of the matter is this: You are most evidently
a poisonous, noxious reptile; I have found a stick, and
you must die.
" Snake. Let me beseech you to consider, that, be
my nature what it may, it is not a thing of my own
making, nor was I at all consulted about it. It was
given me at the will of another, and altogether without my desire. I heard you say that to punish in such
a case would be a cruelty you would not exercise
towards a dog. And is there, indeed, such cruelty in
your good nature?
" Mloralist. What I said the other day, has nothing
to do in the present case. Mankind are not snakes,
nor have they the poison of snakes. It is of little concern with me whence your nature proceeded. Though
it was the work of God's own hand, it is not the less
noxious.
"The man raised the stick. The snake began to
speak: ' Remember,' said he, 'you have a nature.'
The stick fell, and put an end to the dialogue. 'Proud
reptile! said the man, 'to reason concerning thyself as
though thou hadst held the rank of human nature.'"
Whether the particular acts of the will are the
fruits and effects of something else in man; whether
or not there is an antecedent taste or disposition




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151


which gives to the will all its preferences, and to
the outward conduct all its moral character; whether
or not the moral character of men is determined by
being what they are, or doing what they do; these
are questions on which the Moralist and the Rattlesnake had different and opposite views. " Who shall
decide when doctors disagree? "  The following
sportive letter from my old friend, Dr. Perrine, may
well follow the fable of the Moralist and the Rattlesnake:
'"AUBURN, Nov. 12, 1834.
MY GOOD OLD FRIEND, G. SPRING:
" Are you still in a world of confusion, turmoil, and
strife? Alas! we have our pilgrimage in troublous
times; but soon, my dear brother, our conflicts will
cease, and our journey will come to an end. Happy
the man who shall finish his course with joy, when so
many things occur in this world to disturb and agitate
his mind. But after all, there is, occasionally, a kind
of amusement in our very vexations. I have just been
looking over, for the first time, the three numbers of
the Literary and Theological Review, published in
your city, and truly I feel vexed and amused. While
reading, I frequently thought of the severe and pointed
manner in which you condemned many of us at the
'West,' who have been accustomed to think and to
speculate with you on theological subjects, as having
departed from the faith, and as holding 'new and
dangerous doctrines.' Now, it seems that you, and
others, have got up the Literary and Theological Review to correct our errors at the ' West,' and I must




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PERSONAL REMINISCENCES OF THE


say, you do it ' with a witness.' This wonderful luminary does, indeed, pour upon us a flood of light from
the East. All we have got against it is, that it so affects our eyes as to make us see objects upside down.
There are two articles that present things about in the
position in which we have been accustomed to view
them, and we think them orthodox, viz., one in No.
I., 'Christian Sanctification;' the other in No. III.,
'The Song of Angels.' On the other articles, touching theology and its philosophy, allow me to make a
few remarks while I feel a little playful, and glad in
finding that the confounding light of the sun of orthodoxy, rising in the East, has not actually, and completely, put out all our eyes at the West.
"It seems to us errorists at the 'West,' that you
theologians and mental philosophers at the East make
strange work with your 'Disposition, heart, inclination, susceptibility, tendency, propensity, organ, preadaptation, congenerous and similar, previous aptitude, moral requisite, bias, moral habit,' &c., &c.
These words and phrases, and many like them-for
you have ransacked Webster's Dictionary for expressions of the kind,-we say, these words and phrases
you appear, to us, to use in the same sense, and to
express the same state, or the same something of the
mind, or of the soul, or of the something that belongs
to man. It also appears to us that you give to this
disposition, heart, inclination, &c., &c., a moral character; or, if you prefer it, you make this disposition,
&c., &c., to constitute the moral character of man.
This appears queer to us 'Western errorists,' and
makes us think that you, down East, must be ahead




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153


of us in mental philosophy and theology, sure
enough. By this improvement in philosophy and
theology, you have made discoveries which confound
us. The discoveries which the good man at Salem,
or somewhere down East there, made a few years
ago, of what Paul heard, 'which it is not lawful
for a man to utter,' can't be compared to yours. You
admit that Adam sinned, because, I suppose, he
did sin; you also admit that he fell, at a certain time,
after he was created, and began to act, because, no
doubt, he did fall, at a certain time, after he was created, and began to act. This is such philosophy as
we errorists adopt at the 'West.' But now for your
discoveries with respect to the manner in which Adam
fell. Adam, say you, had, from the first, different dispositions; for awhile he followed his good disposition:
in process of time, God ceased to sustain his good
disposition; Adam  then followed his bad disposition, and fell! From the first he had a bad disposition, and disposition gives character to man.
Alas, poor Adam! he was down before he fell!!
Truly, you are keen fellows, down East there, I tell
you. It will not be safe fdr us Western boys to grapple with you,-you will have us down, before we
fall!!! But hold a little, before you have us on the
hip: say, how do you folks, down East, know that
Adam had a bad disposition from the first? ' Oh,'
say you, 'because dispositions are only known by their
exercises.' There you have it! Well, had he a bad
habit, too, from the first? Another question, as you
seem to know a thing or two: after Adam was fairly
down, and had fallen, too, did he continue to have
VOL. i.-7*




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PERSONAL REMINISCENCES OF THE


different dispositions? ' No,' you say, ' we judge of
dispositions only from exercises: unregenerate man
has no good exercises, therefore he can have no good
dispositions; besides, if unregenerate man had a good
disposition before he was regenerated, he would be
holy before he was renewed.' This is queer; you
have a way, down East there, of knowing things, and
not knowing them, but directly different things from
the same notices, just as it suits you. Adam had no
bad exercises, and he had bad dispositions. Adam
had bad dispositions, and had no bad character. Unrenewed man has no good exercises, and he can have
no good dispositions; and he can have no good dispositions, for then he would have a good character.
Well, you must have your way! It now seems that
you make regeneration to consist in man's receiving a
good disposition. May I be so bold as to ask, how do
you see what is in the inside of a man, or how do you
know that he receives a new disposition with regeneration? ' Oh,' you say, 'we see and know what
is in the inside of a man by looking at what is alongside, or on the outside, of him. After man is renewed,
he has good feelings, emotions, and exercises, and we
know that there must be a previous disposition of
mind to the exercise of good emotions.' And again,' disposition is the cause of a man's pursuing.one particular course rather than another, for President Edwards
says so.' You have keen eyes in seeing what is in man,
and in the writings of President Edwards. If disposition is a cause of an emotion, and pursuing a certain
course, can there be a disposition without these efects
-remember Adam-may not these effects, then, exist




LIFE AND TIMES OF GARDINER SPRING.


155


without a disposition as their cause? President Edwards is speaking of a state of mind generally existing
out of which volitions arise. In his Treatise on the
Will we must look for his philosophy on this subject.
There he tells us what may unite in forming this
state of mind, and that the strongest motive, philosophically considered, is the cause why man chooses
one thing and not another. His son shows us that
he (President Edwards) does not exclude the influences
of the Spirit in the good emotion or volition of man.
Don't abuse President Edwards, we warn you, and
drag him in to help you make holiness consist in a
previous aptitude to certain exercises. Adhere to
your own 'new' and superior light. What farther
have you to say in support of regeneration consisting
in disposition? 'Why,' say you, 'there must be a
correct classification between mental acts and their
sources. Affections cannot be referred to the will,
but the heart; affections must have a source as well
as volitions.' Oh, philosophy! oh, Burton! Haveyou
anything further? Oh, yes: 'Men are susceptible of
being regenerated by the Holy Spirit; therefore, when
they are regenerated by the Holy Spirit, they may have
a new disposition given them;' i. e., a thing cannot
be done in two ways; if it may be done in one way, it
must be done in that way. You reason like unicorns
down East there. We think you might do us more
good by presenting us with what is in the precious old
Book. Oh, Brother Spring, in what company do we
find you! Our souls bleed.-My paper is too small.
Oh, forgive my playfulness and folly  Do come out
from among thee *' i, we entreat you; we love




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PERSONAL REMINISCENCES OF THE


you; we can't lose you; they don't love you as we
do. Will you write a word to your old friend,
" M. L. R. PERRINE.
"Love to Mrs. S.   I have no more forgotten
her than I have her husband. Peace be with you
all."
The following are the views of Dr. Emmons:
"FRANKLIN, November 2, 1819.
"REV. GARDINER SPRING, D.D.:
"DEAR NEPHEW: I know it is time for me to
leave off spilling ink and blotting paper, but since
you have provoked or flattered me to it, I will make
a few remarks on the subject you propose.
"I have but very little to say respecting Principle and Exercise, because I never read Dr. Dwight's
sermon upon the subject but once, and have it not by
me, though I have tried to borrow it, and because I
have published all that I know about the Exercise
scheme. I recollect that Dr. Dwight allows that the
essence of matter consists in its component properties; and that the essence of mind consists in its component properties. By these concessions, it appears
to me that he has completely given up the common
notion of a substratum in both matter and mind, and
virtually adopted the doctrine which he meant to refute. I suppose that perception, reason, conscience,
memory, and volition constitute the essence of the
human mind; and I cannot conceive of any substratum in which these mental properties exist. Take




LIFE AND TIMES OF GARDINER SPRING.


away these mental properties of the mind, and I cannot conceive. of any mind left. I am certain, however, that we cannot prove we have a mind which is
distinct from, and the foundation of, all the mental
powers and faculties of which we are conscious. I
believe with Chevalier Ramsay, that 'we never ought
to reason from what we do not know.'    Since we
know not that the mind consists in anything but the
natural faculties and moral exercises of which we are
conscious, we have no right to suppose that it essentially consists in any unknown substratum, nor to
reason upon that supposition. Though Dugald Stewart does not deny that the properties of matter may
reside in some unknown substratum, yet moral philosophers have nothing to do with that unknown something in their moral inquiries. In treating upon the
mind, therefore, we ought to consider it as solely consisting in its natural faculties and moral exercises.
The Scripture certainly expresses it in this light;
and it is of the highest importance that theologians
should represent it in this light.  Unless they renounce the Principle and adopt the Exercise scheme,
they never can reconcile the great and fundamental
doctrines of the Gospel with each other. It is only
on the supposition that the heart is distinct from the
natural faculties of the soul, and consists altogether
in free, voluntary, moral exercises, that any preacher
of the Gospel can reconcile the justice of any divine
commands given to sinners, with their total moral
depravity; or can reconcile God's secret with his revealed will; or can reconcile God's universal invitations to sinners to accept of pardoning mercy, with




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PERSONAL REMINISCENCES OF THE


his electing some to eternal life; or can reconcile
God's giving so many cautions and warnings to saints
against falling away, with his promise of persevering
grace; or can reconcile human agency with divine
agency in the free, voluntary actions of moral agents.
I am very confident, sir, that you cannot write a
'Course of Sermons on Systematic Theology,' with
any consistency, without adopting and establishing
the Exercise scheme. No divine I ever read was able
to remove the many apparent difficulties and inconsistencies everywhere to be found in the Scriptures,
without adopting and reasoning upon the Exercise
plan.
"Have you seen Stuart's Answer to Channing?
Though I think he has displayed a good deal of ability, and a great deal of Biblical knowledge, yet I
cannot agree with him in discarding the term Person
in respect to the distinction between Father, Son, and
Holy Ghost. We must use that term, or substitute
another of the same import, or else give up the doctrine of the Trinity.  Everybody knows that the
names Father, Son, and Holy Ghost are in the Bible,
but it can be of no importance to maintain this distinction of names, without we explain what they
mean. I wish you would write what you and others
think upon the subject, and you will gratify
"Your affectionate uncle,
" NATHAN'L EMMONS."
I have never entered deeply into this question.
That fallen man is responsible for his sinful nature, as
well as his sinful acts, I have not a doubt. Did I not




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159


believe this, I should be driven to the conclusion that
God is the author of sin. As the judicial visitation
for Adam's first sin, the native tendencies of the race
are to evil and not to good. I never was an acute
metaphysician, and I am too old to attempt to become
so now. Yet I cannot help thinking, though I once
thought otherwise, that there is something in man's
moral character besides the acts of the will. Are not
love, hatred, hope, fear, the spontaneous acts of the
mind, instead of being produced by any efficient acts
of the will? Is not their moral character derived
from the character of the mind or heart from which
they flow? The tree is known by its fruits. Is it
not the heart that gives character to its exercises,
rather than its exercises that give character to the
heart? Do effects produce their causes, or do causes
produce their effects? "Keep thy heart with all diligence, for out of it are the issues of life."  Evil things
come from within, and good things come from within.
My own consciousness teaches me that there is something that lies deeper than the acts of my will.




CHAPTER VIII.


REVIVALS.
IT was among the blessings of my childhood and
youth to have heard much of those remarkable "outpourings" of the Holy Spirit which constituted the
era of American Revivals. Ily parents often spoke
of the " Great Awakening" under the preaching of
Edwards, Whitefield, and the Tennents. From the
time I entered College, in 1800, down to the year
1825, there was an uninterrupted series of these celestial visitations, spreading over different parts of the
land. During the whole of these twenty-five years,
there was not a month in which we could not point
to some village, some city, some seminary of learning,
and say: "Behold what hath God wrought!" There
was a remarkable revival in Yale College, under the
preaching of my beloved and venerated teacher, President Dwight, which commenced in the year 1802,
and the influence of which was felt during the whole
of my college life. While I was preparing for the
ministry at Andover, and during the early years of
my ministry in New York, I read with deep and
growing interest everything I could find on the sub



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161


ject of revivals. Flemming's "Fulfilling of Scripture," Gillies' Historical Collections," Brainerd's
i' Life," Edwards' " Narrative of Surprising Conversions," Edwards' " Thoughts on the Revival of Religion in ANew England," Edwards' H Ilumble Attempt
to Promote the Spirit of Prayer for the Revival of
Religion," and the various narratives of revivals as
they appeared in the " Connecticut Evangelical Magazine," I devoured with eagerness.
Imbued as my mind was with the thoughts and
emotions thus suggested, my great aim was to promote a revival among the people committed to my
pastoral charge. Sparse clouds of mercy had been
hovering over the congregation during the first four
years of my ministry, and in the midst of the theological discussions before referred to; and not a few,
especially of those in middle life, had been brought
into the kingdom of God.
The year 1814 was a year of great labor and deep
solicitude. Many a time after preaching did I remain long in the pulpit, that I might not encounter
the reproaches of the people of God for my heartless
preaching, and many a time, as I left it, has my mind
been so depressed that I have felt I could never
preach another sermon. But I did not know to what
extent the Spirit of God was carrying forward his
own noiseless work. One thing encouraged me, and
that was, as I toiled on from Sabbath to Sabbath, I
enjoyed an unwonted enlargement and fervency in
prayer, a greater facility in the selection of fitting
themes for the pulpit, and more freedom and earnestness in declaring the whole counsel of God.  God




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PERSONAL REMINISCENCES OF TIIE


graciously interposed to relieve me from depression,
and seemed to say to me: " Rise and stand upon thy
feet; for I have appeared unto thee to make thee a
minister and a witness unto the people to whom I now
send thee, to open their eyes, and to turn them from
darkness to light, and from the power of Satan unto
God." I had been feeling after him in the dark. I
had been floundering and plunging in the miry clay.
They were not my own hopes that forsook me; these
were bright and clear. My trouble was the want of
success in my ministry. " Who hath believed our report, and to whom hath the arm of the Lord been revealed? " this was my burden. But now I could thank
God and take courage. Though I felt as a worm and
no man, I had more enlarged and delightful views of
his truth, and my whole ministry from this hour received a new and cheered impulse. There was outward pressure enough to dishearten me, but the inward pressure was gone.
God was already beginning a precious work of
grace among the people. He had taken it into his
own hands, and was conducting it in his own quiet
way, convincing the church and the world that it is
"not by might, nor by power, but by his own Spirit,"
as the Author and Finisher of the whole. The spirit
of grace and supplication was poured out upon the
people, and they "looked on Iim whom they had
pierced." The weekly prayer-meeting and the weekly lecture were full of interest. Days of fasting and
prayer were occasionally observed, and a Saturday
evening prayer-meeting was established by the young
men of the church, for the special purpose of implor



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163


ing the divine presence and blessing upon the services
of the approaching Lord's day. This meeting was
for a long time held at the house of a widow-lady on
the corner of Frankfort and Rose streets, and God
blessed her, as he did "the house of Obed Edom
where the Ark of God dwelt." Her four daughters
were subjects of the work, two of whom died in the
faith of the Gospel, and two of whom survive with
their young blossoms to cheer the West. Our Sabbaths became deeply solemn and affecting. We
watched for them as those who " watch for the morning." I verily believe we anticipated them with
greater pleasure and more buoyant expectation, than
that with which the sons and daughters of earth ever
anticipated their brightest jubilee.
This was the first strongly-marked work of grace
among my people. I take this notice of it for two
reasons.  God is wont to give every generation
some inviting day of grace; to " set before them an
open door." There were members in the congregation past the mid-day of life, who knew little of such
seasons of awakening, and who had not become hardened by that resistance to the Holy Spirit which so
often seals the damnation of scoffers. And this was
chiefly the class that were the subjects of this blessed
work.
Again: this season of mercy was an emphatic expression of- God's goodness to the youthful minister.
He had been but six short years in the ministry, but
God foresaw that he was to occupy a place in his
earthly sanctuary for more than half a century. It was
a weary wilderness he was appointed to traverse, and




164


PERSONAL REMINISCENCES OF THE


the God of Israel refreshed him with some of the
grapes of Eshcol. Poor a thing as I have been, and
still continue to be, with devout gratitude I record it
here, that it was this work of grace that made me
what I am; which enlarged my heart, gave vigor to
my thoughts, ready utterance to my tongue, new
views of the great object of the ministry, made my
work my joy, and stimulated me to reach forward to
greater measures of usefulness. I loved preaching the
Gospel before, but never as I have loved it since.
But for this early season of mercy during the summer
of 1814, I should have changed from place to place,
and turned out what the Scotch call a " sticket minister." It was the Lord's doing, and marvellous in our
eyes. The ingathering was not great, but it was the
"finest of the wheat."  Much of it has already been
gathered into the garner of the great Husbandman,
in full age, and full of grace. The Lord of the harvest sowed, that he might reap. It has been a pleasant sight to behold, while I have stood by the deathbed of these aged believers. " Mark the perfect man,
and behold the upright, for the end of that man is
peace."  They are fallen asleep in Jesus. "They
shall hunger no more, neither thirst any more; for
the Lamb that is in the midst of the throne shall feed
them, and shall lead unto living fountains of waters,
and God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes."
To the best of my knowledge, but one of this precious
circle remains, and, like a ripe shock of corn, is becoming more meet for glory by her long experience
of the divine goodness.
Those who have not passed through similar scenes,




LIFE AND TBIES OF GARDINER SPRING.


165


cannot well appreciate the emotions of a youthful
minister of Christ at the first ingathering. Even now,
at the distance of fifty years, they are delightful memories. I look back upon them with that sort of melancholy pleasure with which the husbandman treads
his bare and autumnal fields, after the harvest has
been gathered in.
The winds of autumn had scarcely swept over the
gleaned field, and the winter had just set in, when
God was preparing us for another and more blessed
harvest. " Instead of the fathers shall be the children." The commencement of the year 1815 was the
dawning of a still brighter day. The last Sabbath of
the " Old Year," and the evening services of that
Sabbath, will be long remembered.   The " New
Year's Sermon," preached on the "last day of the
Old Year," and printed under the quaint title of
"Something Must be Done," has been widely circulated, and, by the divine blessing, I have reason to
believe, was of some service beyond the limits of our
own congregation. Among our own people, eight or
ten persons, during the following week, were found
to be anxiously inquiring for the way to Zion, with
their faces thitherward; weeping Marys and bold
young men, startled from the grave of trespasses and
sins. The whole winter proved to be a " day of the
right hand of the Most High."  There was murmuring, indeed, lest the young minister slould carry
things too far; and there was open hostility. Nor
were there wanting serious and conscientious apprehensions on the part of some of my honored brethren
in the ministry, lest the work should savor more of




166


PERSONAL REMINISCCNCES OF THE


fanaticism than sober thought, and ultimately show
that it was the result of overheated and practised
mechanism, rather than the work of God. But they
were good men, and soon saw that their apprehensions were groundless. Amidst the greatest seriousness there was no outbreak and no disorder of any
kind. The sacred influence was silent as the dew of
heaven. There was PRAYER. There was solemn and
earnest preaching. There was frequent pastoral visitation. There were private circles for religious conversation, and prayer, and praise, and these scarcely
known beyond the individuals who composed them.
There were no " new measures," no " anxious seats,"
and no public announcement of the names or the
number of those who were striving to enter into the
strait gate.  Yet were there unexpected and unthought of instances of seriousness among the gay
and frivolous, in the families of the rich and the poor,
among the moral and immoral, and many were the
triumphs of victorious grace.
The third Thursday of January, by a private
arrangement, was set apart by about thirty members
of the church as a day of fasting, humiliation, and
prayer. It was at a private house in Church-street,
just in the rear of St. Paul's; and such a day I
never saw before, and have never seen since. Such
self-abasement, such confession of-sin, such earnestness and importunity in prayer, and such hope in
God's almightiness, I have rarely witnessed. And
what deserves to be recorded is, that as the devotions
of the day were drawing to a close, there was a strong
and confident expectation that the Holy Spirit was




LIFE AND TIMES OF GARDINER SPRING.


about largely to descend upon the people. And so
it was. IHe was even then descending. That cry:
" Where is thy hand, even thy right hand? Pluck
it out of thy bosom," was heard in heaven, and
echoed by our great High Priest. A delightful impulse was given to the work by this day of prayer.
The promise was made good, "Before they call I
will answer, and while they are yet speaking I will
hear."
Our weekly lecture occurred on the evening of
the same day; and I may say, it was the most solemn
service of my ministry. The subject of the lecture
was, " Marvel not that I said unto you, ye must be
born again."  God was with the hearers and the
preacher; his Spirit moved them as " the trees of the
wood are moved with the wind."    There is good
reason to believe that more than on2e hundred persons were deeply impressed with their lost condition
as sinners, and their need of an interest in Christ,
on that evening. It was not then with us as it is
now. Now few attend our weekly lectures except
the professed people of God; then the impenitent
rushed to the house of prayer.    Enemies were
silenced; members of other churches came among
us, some to spy out our liberty, and some to mark
the character of the work for themselves, and all
classes were constrained to confess, " This is the
finger of God."   Between one and two hundred
attended the private meetings for religious instruction, and great solemnity pervaded the whole people.
The work was rapid; awakening and conviction in
many instances so short that older Christians began




168


PERSONAL REMINISCENCES OF THE


to doubt its genuineness. Yet some of the brightest
and most enduring Christians among us were those
whose conversion was as sudden as that of Saul of
Tarsus. The gathered fruits of this protracted harvest
were rich; consisting sometimes of thirty and forty,
and at one communion season more than seventy,
filling the broad aisle of the church-a lovely spectacle to God, angels, and men.
The " Old Session Room" is a memorable spot
in the religious history of multitudes in this land.
The citizens of New York well remember an English
dentist of celebrity whose office was in the upper
part of Cortlandt-street and near Broadway, whose
name was Woofendale. He became a member of
the Brick Church, and was a regular attendant on
the weekly services of the "Old Session Room."
I insert the following, received from his own hands,
and himself the author.
"These lines were suggested by going to prayermeeting at the lecture-room of the Brick Church on
the evening of the 17th March; and seeing the light
shine through the window, brought to mind the Star
of Bethlehem.
"THE BETHEL STAR.
"Bright shines the Star at even-tide,
From little Bethel's holy wall;
It is a sure and heavenly guide,
It gives a kind and solemn call.




LIFE AND TI.MES OF GARDINER SPRING.


169


"A guide to those whose feet have strayed
From wisdom's ways to ways of sin;
Their devious steps are here portray'dLet every sinner come within.
"   sinner! did you know the grace
That Christ our Saviour there bestows,
You'd haste to that dear heavenly place,
And catch the blessing as it flows.
" Now, wretched sinner, come and try,
For Heaven or Hell must be your doom;
Come haste! 0 haste! before you die;
Come haste! O haste I while yet there's room.
"There's many a sinful, wretched soul
Has bowed to Jesus in this place;
0 come, and give your all in all,
And he'll reward you with his grace.
" His grace can save your soul from death,
His power ivill raise you from the tomb;
And with your last, your dying breath,
You'll bless that Bethel for a home.
"Then shine, bright Star, from Bethel's wall,
Shine upward to that blessed home
Where ransomed sinners at the call
Shall rise TRIUMPHANT from the tomb."
There have been five seasons of the special outpouring of the Holy Spirit, during my ministry.
rThey occurred between 1812 and 1834, nlore or less
copious, but all seasons of refreshing.  If the tree is
known by its fruit, the results of these revivals were
VOL. I.-8




170


PERSONAL REMINISCENCES OF THE


the fruit of the Spirit. The subjects of them have
"run well," and with very few   exceptions have
turned out intelligent, active Christians.
I have ever felt a deep interest in revivals of pure
and undefiled religion. The Church of God fiom the
beginning has been enlarged, beautified, and perpetuated by them.   My venerated instructor, the
Rev. Dr. Griffin, who, from his settlement in New
Hartford, through his happy pastorate in Newark,
during his official services at Andover and Parkstreet, and his presidency at Williamstown College,
lived almost incessantly under their blessed influence,
and who, with the exception of Dr. Nettleton, was
better acquainted with them than any other man,
once said to me, " There never has been the time
since 1792, in which the Spirit of God has not been
poured out on some of the American churches. The
spirit of missions as it first appeared in Great Britain,
and the remarkable revivals in our own land, began
together, and there has been no intermission in these
' days of the right hand of the Most High' down to the
present hour."  My old friend and class-mate, Dr.
Humphrey, than whom, for his habits of observation,
his practical wisdom, and his intellectual and spiritual
culture, no man was better fitted for this service, has
published a concise history of revivals from the days
of Joshua, through the apostolic age; the Great
Reformation in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries; the remarkable awakening in Scotland, England, and the United States, in the eighteenth century, and the revival epoch from the commencement
of the year 1800 down to the middle of the present




LIFE AND TIM-ES OF GARDINER SPRING.


171


century. His vigorous and classical pen has never
been idle, and in my humble judgment has never
been more usefully employed than in thus briefly
retracing the ground so plentifully watered, and
showing from  historic records that "it has been
God's method, under different dispensations and all
along through the ages, to carry on his work by
successive outpourings of his Spirit." I marvel not
a little, that, after all our eyes have seen, and our
ears have heard, there should be good men among us
who look with suspicion upon these days of mercy,
and who do not rather hail them, even in this midnight of our national tribulations, as the harbinger
of that predicted period, when " the light of the
moon shall be as the light, of the sun, and the light
of the sun shall be sevenfold, as the light of seven
days." This is a ruined world; I should give up all
for lost, unless God thus appear in his glory and
build up Zion. There is no other helper; there is
no other hope.
On the general subject of revivals, the following
letters may be of some interest; to me they were
timely and useful.
"LITCHFIELD, July 3, 1814.
" To THE REV. GARDINER SPRING:
"MY DEAR BROTHE: Your letter is very cheering
to me, both on account of the information it contains,
and the good it leads me to anticipate. For I think
I perceive in it evidence that the Lord is with you




172


PERSONAL REMINISCENCES OF THE


and your people. I am only afraid that while the
spirit is willing, the flesh will be too weak to sustain
your exertions. You must call upon your praying
people in your weekly meetings to make the prayers,
that your strength may be reserved for preaching. I
should have utterly failed last Winter, preaching four
times a week, beside the Sabbath, had I not thus
relieved myself. Economize your strength, Brother.
Take heed to thyself, and contrive to do as much as
possible with the least exertion. If the revival comes
on, and if it do not, you must extemporize.  It is
easier, and will do more good.  You will become
animated as you progress, and find yourself wrought
up to flights of sacred eloquence and holy pathos
not else to be achieved. I know that you ought to
premeditate and extemporize. It would be a wretched
waste of strength to write your weekly discourses,
except those for the Sabbath, and in those you would
do well to leave places, particularly in the application,
where you may lift a bolder wing than you can elevate in your study, without the ardor which ' crescit
eundo.' I am not, however, writing to my pupil,
though it might seem so, but to my friend, whose
whole life, health, and prosperity in the ministry,
interest me deeply.
" I hope you will come on in August. It is my
intention to attend the next meeting of Synod, and
thence to visit the churches on Long Island. The
General Association of this State have recommended
that each preparatory lecture be also a season for the
catechetical instruction of the children, and also that
it be devoted to special prayer for God's blessing




LIFE AND TIMES OF GARDINER SPRING.


173


upon them.    The reformation business respecting
the Sabbath, and the petition to Congress, has gone
well, and I think will go well in this State and
through New England. I find good things among
my people since my return.
"I am, affectionately, your Brother,
" LYMAN BEECHER."
The following from Dr. Humphrey I am not willing should be lost.
"FAIRFIELD, November 18, 1815.
" DEAR BROTHER:
"The months which have passed since I saw you
have been months of great labor, and of mingled
anxiety, hope, fear, and joy. The Lord hath done
great things for us, whereof we are glad; and blessed
be llis holy name forever and ever. When I returned
from Philadelphia, I found numbers of the young
of my congregation in a very interesting state of
mind. The work gradually increased from week to
week, till the latter part of July, when it reached its
height. At that time, and indeed for some weeks,
both before and after, my house was the resort, often
from morning till evening, of persons anxious to
know what they should do to be saved. For the
most part it was the still small voice; but in some
cases it was the mighty rushing wind. We stood
still and saw the salvation of God. Never did I
witness such scenes before. Never had I dared to
hope for what I have been permitted to see, under my
poor ministry.




174


PERSONAL REMINISCENCES OF THE


"The revival has been almost, though not altogether, confined to the young, and it has been in
nearly all the principal families of my society. It
began, as you know, in our Academy. A goodly
number of the youth then belonging to it, are now
the subjects, as we hope, of renewing grace. Many
have wondered while they looked on, and a few have
despised; but there has been no effectual opposition,
and indeed none which would give the friends of
Zion much uneasiness. The general belief has been
from the beginning, ' This is the finger of God.'
" Twenty-three came forward and publicly joined
themselves unto the Lord, the first Sabbath in this
month.  It was a most interesting day.  Nothing
like it was ever witnessed in this place before.
Among the persons admitted were some who, but
a few months ago, were among the gayest and
most thoughtless youths in the town.  It is the
Lord's doing, and marvellous in our eyes. How
animating when the fathers and mothers are falling
asleep, to see those who are coming forward in life,
dedicating themselves to God in an everlasting covenant!
" About thirty more will, I hope, soon be added
to our church, as they give evidence of having passed
from death unto life. But oh, what will become of
those who are left? I tremble when I think of it. I
almost seem to hear them exclaim, with an agonizing
cry, as they sink into the arms of death, 'The harvest
is past, the summer is ended, and we are not saved!'
Brother, pray for us, that God will continue his work
here, till every soul shall be united to Christ.




LIFE AND TIMES OF GARDINER SPRING.


175


" There are two young men of my congregation,
now clerks in your city, in whose welfare I feel deeply
interested, Lewis B     and Nathaniel L.
They were both awakened early, and the latter passed
weeks in very great distress. They need a father and
spiritual guide. Permit me to recommend them to
your particular notice. I was glad to see, in a letter
from the former, that he has already been introduced
to you. Ile will readily make you acquainted with
the other.
"Connecticut is still wonderfully favored by the
outpourings of the Spirit. Among the towns recently
visited, are Norfolk, Hartland, Colebrook, Salisbury,
Berlin, Durham, &c. What shall we render unto the
Lord for all his benefits?
" Remember me very particularly to Mrs. Spring,
and believe me affectionately yours,
" H. lIHUMPHREY."
I have before adverted to my " birth-day " letters
to my parents. The following is here introduced, as
having more immediate reference to the subject of the
present chapter. It was written during the revival
of 1816, and with all the freedom of a son.
"NEW YORK, Feb. 24, 1816.
" EVER DEAR AND HONORED PARENTS:
"I am thankful that I find leisure to pen a few
thoughts on this memorable day. Notwithstanding
the pressure of pastoral labor during the present week,
I was enabled to finish my preparations for the Sabbath last evening, and have set apart this day to the




76       PERSONAL REMINISCENCES OF TEE


purpose for which the 24th of February has been devoted for many years.
" And, my beloved parents, it is such a birth-day
as I have never seen till now. The long-wished-for
and long-prayed-for season has arrived. The God of
Zion is indeed in the midst of my dear people. I can
take my harp from the willows, and sing the Lord's
song. I know you are looking for some communications respecting my own spiritual state; but I have
better things to speak of. I have hardly time to think
much of my own soul, except daily to cast myself on
God, beg him to make and keep me humble, and so
guide me that I may not give a wrong touch to the
Ark at such a time as this. He has so evidently taken
the work into his own hands, that all human dependencies are abandoned, and we seem to have nothing
to do but stand still and see the salvation of God.
To make an estimate of the numbers who are, in a
greater or less degree, the subjects of the work, is what
I dare not do. Much as we have seen and enjoyed
for six weeks past, we hope it is but the foretaste of
good things to come. Never have I felt so much the
need of keeping near the throne of grace, and of having a continued interest in the prayers of my parents
and of the people of God, as I do at this solemn season. I have often thought of the declaration in the
Acts of the Apostles, 'And great fear came upon all
the church, and as many as heard these things.'
" Yet the work has its opposers. There are those
who laugh us to scorn; but IHe that sitteth in the
heavens shall laugh at them. Some of God's own people in the city churches begin to say,' This is inno



LIFE AND TIIES OF GARDINER SPRING.


177


vation; we like the good old way better.' Others call
it 'New Divinity,' and better suited to the latitude of
New England; yet the work goes on. God is with
us, and blessed be his name, notwithstanding all their
prejudices, not a few of other churches are beginning
to pray for the outpouring of the Spirit upon themselves. We have very solemn seasons, and we need
them. You do not know how much I tremble. Call
upon Christians among you to pray that God would
not leave us. It seems to me, that by what he has already done, he has committed himself to do more.
If he withdraws his Spirit now, what will become of
his great name in our scoffing city? Oh, my father,
my mother, will you not go into your closets, and say
with Jacob, 'I will not let thee go, except thou bless
me!' Oh, may the living and gracious Saviour be exalted in his own strength!
"I met the people on the morning of the last New
Year's day, and told them that in all probability I
was entering upon my last year's service in the earthly
sanctuary. The whole house was in tears. We met
for one hour of prayer; we could not separate till the
expiration of three. The season will not soon be forgotten. I do not expect to live long; but the thought
gives me little anxiety, except to be about my Master's business. You know not the joy it gives me,
that my parents are bound to the same blessed mansions with their hell-deserving son.
" But I must close. Where is brother Samuel? I
have just received a line from him, which looks as
though he had found Him of whom Moses and the
Prophets did write. If so, can he not be brought into
VOL. 1.-8*




178         PERSONAL REMINISCENCES.
the ministry? Means shall not be wanting. Where
and how is sister Margaret? I have not heard from
her, though I wrote to her soon after our fears about
poor brother Lewis. I thank you for your approbation of the sermon. I intended to have re-written it
before it went to the press. Pray for us all. We
have had a sick winter, but one of great mercy. Why
not both come on in May? We shall not see each
other's faces many times this side the Holy City. We
were not destined to live together here. Adieu, my
dear parents. The Lord liveth, and blessed be our
Rock!
"Your affectionate and dutiful son,
" GARDINER."




CHAPTER IX.


AFFECTING INCIDENTS.
THE following incidents are here introduced, not
so much for their peculiarity as for the illustration
they furnish of some one important truth. Although
some of them have been narrated in a volume prepared several years since, and with some minuteness,
in the Memoir of that Christian woman, Mliss Hannah
L. Murray, they deserve a place in this narrative.
HOPE NOT ESSENTIAL TO CONVERSION.
In this tragical conflict between the rebellious
States of the South and the Government of the United
States, the Government refuses to hold any intercourse
with the rebels until they lay down their arms. This,
we all see, is right, and just as it should be. They
will make no treaty with rebels. The offended Majesty
of heaven and earth acts upon the same principles of
rectitude. He enters into no stipulations with his
unrelenting enemies.  Their own consciences, every
right-minded being in the universe are witnesses that
God is right, and they are wrong. He owes it to him



180      PERSONAL REMINISCENCES OF THE


self, he owes it to the rectitude of his government, he
owes it to his mediatorial Son, he owes it to this rebel
world, lenient and reconcilable as he is, never to propose any other terms of peace than those he has proposed, and never to be reconciled to men, until they
first become reconciled to him. They must submit to
him; he cannot, because he must not submit to them.
During the season of refreshing among my people, there were two sisters, the daughters of the late
Perez Jones, then living in Cortlandt-street, near
Broadway. who were the subjects of the work. They
were very intelligent young women, of far more than
ordinary culture, and proud examples of proficiency
in my Catechetical and Bible Classes.  Lucia, the
younger, became the second wife of the Rev. Dr.
Woods, of Andover; Louisa, the elder sister, was married to the Rev. Joseph Christmas, of Montreal, and
subsequently the pastor of the Presbyterian Church in
the Bowery, in the city of New York. lMrs. Woods
is still living, and an ornament to her Christian profession. Mr. Christmas died in this city, in the thirtyfourth year of his age. Some imperfect sketches of
this lovely and accomplished servant of God are contained in a discourse preached by the writer on the
occasion of his funeral, entitled, "Moses on KNebo,"
and which was suggested by the character of this
eminent young Leader of God's Israel.
During the revival, Miss Jones became interested,
alarmed, and deeply convinced of sin. The work of
the law was thorough, her convictions were intelligent, and, though resisted, she could not shake them
off. The Spirit of God gave her a just view of her




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own character; she saw her sinfulness, and was made
sensible that she was under the dominion of the carnal
mind that is enmity against God. The commandment
camne, sin revived, and she died to all those reliant
hopes and that moral deportment which had been her
confidence. With this sense of sin fastened upon her
conscience, she was thrown into deep distress. The
past was black with sin; the present was hopeless;
the future was all dark-darker and still darker, every
step she took. Heaven-hell —oh, what solemn realities! She felt that she was the prisoner of justice,
and it seemed to her that she was bound over to the
curse. She struggled-with her own womanly valor
she struggled-but she could not break her chains.
She frequented all the lectures, the prayer-meetings,
and the conference chamber; she had frequent interviews with me in my study; but there was no help
for her in an arm of flesh. The poor girl seemed to
herself to be actually going to hell, and felt that
nothing she would ever do would prevent her going
there. Often did I pray with her, and direct her to
the Lamb of God that taketh away the sin of the
world. I told her that she was without excuse; that
she was every hour resisting the Holy Spirit; that it
was vain for her to flee out of the hands of God-; that
if she continued in this wicked state of mind, she
would inevitably be lost; and that if she sunk to hell,
the blame would lie at her own door. But her heart
revolted. She did not love God, she coaid not submit
to him. Nothing afforded her any relief. That fair
countenance was pale with something like despair.
The arrows of the Almighty were within her, the




182


PERSONAL REMINISCENCES OF THE


poison whereof was drinking up her spirit. I felt
that she was beyond the reach of help on this side
heaven.
A day or two after, she came to my residence in
Beekman-street, and inquired for Mrs. Spring, who
had been familiar with her state of mind, and was no
incompetent counsellor to the awakened and convinced. Mrs. Spring observed her altered and yet
embarrassed countenance, and said, " What is it,
Louisa? "  " Oh, my dear Mrs. Spring, I have lost all
my convictions! I am as stupid as a block of marble.
I am afraid I have grieved the Holy Spirit, and that
he will never return."  And she wept. Mrs. Spring
replied, " Louisa, I may not talk with you now; 1
must call my husband. He desired not to be interrupted this morning, but I know he would wish to see
you." I went into the parlor, and Louisa was still
weeping.  " What is it, Louisa?"   She did not
answer at once, but at length said, "Ido not know,
sir, but Ihave lost my convictions. lam very stupid."
"But have you no alarm? "  "No, none except that
I am so stupid.'  " But do you wish to drop the subject of religion, and go back to the world?  "No;
no, sir."  " Have you lost all sense of your sins? "
" I have no sense of anything; I cannot feel the burden of my sins as I did."  "Are you quarrelling with
God now, Louisa? "  " No; I cannot quarrel with
7,im?: i' he,:rnds me to hell, I know it is just riglt."
"Anid  et you, have no distress?  "No, none."  I
t;At snl iedi, and she, for the first time for weeks, assumed her wonted placidness. " Give God the praise,"
I said, and said no more. She cast her eyes on the




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183


floor, and at length, with clasped hands and a heavenly
smile, inquired, " Oh, my dear pastor, do you think I
am a new creature? "  I simply replied, " I do not
know, Louisa, time will show; the tree is known by
its fruits; this does not look to me like the work of
man. Look to the fulness there is in Chriist, my young
friend. Remember him who said, ' When I am weak,
then am I strong.' Remember Philip and the Eunuch;
go on your way, and rejoice as you go."  She well
knew the way of life, but I felt constrained to dwell
upon it a few moments, and she received the word
with joy. After a short prayer to Him who alone
takes our feet from the horrible pit and the miry clay,
I left her with Mrs. Spring, and retired to my study
with renewed strength and zeal. This dear young
woman I had the joy of receiving into the church, of
uniting her in wedlock to one of our most beloved
and honored brethren in the ministry, and of knowing
that she was the adornment of her profession and her
responsible position in the Church of God, and that
she lived, and on the 9th of August, 1829, died in this
city, in the precious faith of the Gospel.
UNITARIANISM DEMOLISHED.
Mr. Solomon Aiken was a gentleman from Massachusetts, deeply imbued with the principles of Unitarianism. He was a merchant of respectable standing in our city, of unblemished moral character, and,
from his business connections, was the intimate friend
of Mr. Abijah Fisher, one of our ruling elders, and
with his family worshipped in the Brick Church, He




184


PERSONAL REMINISCENCES OF THE


heard the Gospel as he had not been accustomed to
hear it, and, much to my surprise, neither withdrew
from the congregation, nor abandoned his Unitarian
views. I have reason to believe that he became attached to me personally; and while he had no partiality to the doctrines he heard, still remained a punctual attendant, and an interested hearer. It was a
season of great solemnity in the congregation, and his
friend Fisher intimated to me that a personal interview with Mr. Aiken would neither be unwelcome nor
unseasonable. I called on him, and, without any allusion to his Unitarian errors, had a pleasant interview with him on the subject of personal religion. I
found that the Spirit of God was striving with him.
The world had lost its charms, and he had little interest even in his business affairs. His conscience was
troubled, and I left him. A few days after this, he
sent for me, and I found him anxious and filled with
fear and trembling. The Spirit of God had convinced
him of sin; he could no longer deny the Scriptural
doctrine of human sinfulness, though he would fain
betake himself to some refuge of lies. I remained
with him alone for a long time. I said to him, '" Ar.
AiJken, you are all wrong; you have been all wrong;
the Spirit of God is striving with you; he will not
always strive; and if you do not stop in this downward course, you will be lost." He replied, " Oh, Dr.
Spring, I have not told you all. Last night was a
dreadful night. I could not sleep. The more I
thought of myself, the more I felt that I must perish.
I flt condemned, and that no created arm could resce me from the doom that I deserved. LAST NIGHT




LIFE AND TIMES OF GADINER SPRING.


185


ALL MY UNITARIANISM LEFT ME.."  " MIr. Aiken, I am?2
glad of it.  You had last night a better teacher than
you ever had before. TRho teacheth like H-IM?-so
easily, so seasonably, so efectzually?  Give him the
praise, and see to it that you do not turn a deaf ear
to his instructions." " No, sir," said he, " and I want
you now to tell mne what I shall do."  " This one
thing you must do: repent and believe the Gospel.
Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be
saved. Ile came to seek and to save that which is lost.
He is a divine Saviour, and is able to save to the uttermost all that come unto God by/ him.  This is your
present and imperious duty. You are a poor, guilty,
perishing sinner; and to whom can you go but to this
all-sufficient Saviour? "  " But will you not tell me
now I shall go to him?"    " Yes, I can tell you:
you must not go in youtr own strength; for your
strength is weakness.  You mu4st not go in your ownz
righteousness; for you have none.   You must feel
your need of Christ, and see that he is just the Saviour
adapted to your wants.  You mGust adore, and love,
and trust him.   Wormn and sinner as you are, you
must not exclude yourself from his invitations and
promises. He loves to be believed and trusted. Go
to him as your Saviour.  Venture on himn; venture
wholly. Rest your hopes upon himn.  Commit to him
your entire salvation, and in all holy obedience live
devoted to his service."  I prayed with him, and took
my leave, rejoicing that another soul had been snatched
as a brand from the burning, and that the proud edifice of Unitarianism was no better than Jonah's gourd
which perished in a night.




186


PERSONAL REMINISCENCES OF THE


UNIVERSALISM AND THE BED OF DEATH.
About forty years ago there was a man, living on
the corner of William and Spruce streets, who was
dying of consumption. His family worshipped in the
Brick Church; his wife was an exemplary Christian
he himself was a prominent member of the society of
Free Masons, and rarely, if ever, worshipped anywhere. For obvious reasons, I withhold his name,
but in this narrative designate him as Mr. B.  I
did not know of his illness, though I then resided in
Beekman-street, and but a single block from his residence. I was made acquainted with his character
and condition by his wife, who requested me to visit
him, under color of a pastoral visit to the family.
She told me he was a Universalist, and spoke of the
Brick Church as " brimstone corner," and its pastor
as the " hell-fire preacher." She did not wish me to
inquire for her husband, lest he should refuse to see
me; but she could not consent to his going out of the
world without seeing his awful delusion. I went,
and, so far as I now recollect, went the next day. I
was received courteously by Mrs. B. in the ordinary
sitting-room, and adjoining which, and on the same
floor, was this dying man. The door of his room was
open; and as I was conversing cheerfully with Mrs.
B., the hollow cough of the sick man led me to remark, that I perceived some of her family were sick.
" Yes, sir," said she, "my husband is very ill; lhe
has been a long time confined to the house with consumption, and now he is, for the most-part, confined
to his bed." I expressed a regret that I had not known




LIFE AND TIMES OF GARDINER SPRING.


187


it earlier, more especially as he was so near to me
that I could, with very little inconvenience, have seen
him often. " Perhaps he will be glad to see you now,
sir; I will ask him."  She returned, and invited me
into his sick-room,  He received me kindly, and I
could not but perceive that his hour-glass was nearly
run out. I was embarrassed. I did not think it wise
to attack his principles, lest I should excite his hostility by provoking an unprofitable controversy.   I
merely said to him, " I am sorry to see you so very
ill, sir."  "Yes, I am  very ill, and have been so
for a long time."  "Do you suffer much c  "   No,
not a great deal, except from weakness, and this racking cough; it keeps me awake at night."  " And do
you get no relief, and have you no hopes of recovery? " His poor wife was listening with amazing interest, and he replied, with a stolid indifference, " No,
not much; I do not expect to recover."  I was embarrassed no longer, and said to him, " Is it indeed so,
that you are going soon to DIE, and stand before God
in judgment?  If I judge your case aright, that hour
is not far distant. I hope, my dear sir, you are prepared for it." With most perfect coolness he replied,
" I am ready.  I am satisfied any JMaker will never
send any of HIis creatures to hell. Be wills not that
any should perish. 1 never think of hell torments. I
do not believe a word of it."  I replied, " It is well to
be satisfied at such an hour as this. We cannot trifle
with God, nor with death, nor with eternity; nor may
a man trifle with himself, without peril to his soul."
He made no answer, but listened with prodigious interest. I remarked that I was sorry to see that he




188


PERSONAL REMINISCENCES OF THE


had adopted the delusion of the Universalists. " And
now," said I, do you really believe it?"  "Yes, I
do," was his prompt answer. " Are you satisfied with
it? Are you sure it is true? I do not ask whether
you wish it were true; nor whether you hope it is
true; but are you sure it is true? The opinions of
men are very apt to be influenced by their wishes.
They shrink from the thought of everlasting retribution, and therefore they will not believe it. Wicked
as it is, they often carry their delusion to the bed of
death. But, my dear sir, what motive have you to
practise this delusion upon yourself at this late hour?
You may have been honest in your views of this solemnn subject in the season of health and prosperity;
all I ask is that you should be honest now, in this
season of debility and tribulation. Do you now believe the doctrine of universal salvation to be true?
and are you sure of it? "  I perceived that these suggestions troubled him. He was pale and agitated.
His steady, firm tone had forsaken him. His lips
quivered, and there was a convulsive motion of his
face that alarmed me. "Oh!" said he, all bathed in
tears, and clasping his hands together, " Oh! sir, I am
not sure of it! I am not sure of it! " He wept. Mrs.
B. wept, and for a brief moment, we were all silent.
Whether I prayed with him or not, I cannot now
affirm. I left him with his own thoughts, resolving
to see him soon, and not without hope that the word
of God would become quick and powerful.
There was no time to lose. He had been the victim of a popular delusion that was making havoc of
the souls of men; his refuge failed him; his time was




LIFE AND TIMES OF GARDINEE SPRING.


189


short, and I hastened to his bedside on a second visit.
I[e made me welcome, and though I rejoiced in the
opportunity, much did I wish that some more wise
and experienced counsellor could conduct the interview.
" I do not wish to alarm you, Ir. B., but I thought
you would be willing to indulge me with a short interview this morning."
" Sir, I am glad to see you. Sit here by me, and
say what you please. You will not offend me. I
have given up my Universalism, and know that I am
a great sinner. I have sat under the sound of that
old church bell, and have ridiculed it, and despised the
Sabbath. I have been a scoffer, and an ungodly man.
I have no strong hopes now; indeed I have none at
all. Instead of being sure that I shall be saved, it
seems to me that I must be lost, and that I deserve to
be damned."
"It may be you have not seen the worst of it yet.
Your Universalism is not your only sin. There is
wickedness that lies deeper than that. It is your corrupt and wicked heart that was the root of your Universalism, and that led you to cherish your hostility to
God's justice."
' I know it: I have seen it, and feel condemned.
This is my last call. Is there no hope for me?"
"I am glad you feel condemned, and I dare not say
there is any hope for you, if you die out of Christ, and
neglecting the great salvation. Listen to me a moment. You are condemned, and as a condemned sinner you lie at the footstool of sovereign mercy. God's
holy law condemns you. You have cast that law be



190


PERSONAL REMINISCENCES OF THE


hind your back; but you now feel the force of it, and
it brings with it a knowledge of your sins, and a sense
of your guilt and danger."
" I once thought the law of God a severe law, and
that he was a hard master. I justified myself, and
complained of God. But I was wrong: God is perfectly right. I was among the bold opposers of all religion, and thought it hard that God should damn men
for breaking his law. But I was all wrong: God is
perfectly right."
" You are right in this. Both the precept and the
penalty of the law are just. Conscience feels this
when the commandment comes home. The hearts of
wicked men rise against it; they hate God, and they
hate his law; but he shows them and makes them feel
that the law is holy, just, and good. Now, my suffering friend, if you see these things to be so, and feel
them, do you.not perceive more clearly than ever, not
only that all your past hopes are perished, but that
you have no imaginary goodness on which you can
rely, no righteousness of your own in which you can
trust?"
Indeed I do. I have been all wrong; everything,
thoughts, words, actions, all wrong.  Words! 0 how
many wicked words have I spoken! It is all sin,
nothing but sin. I have no righteousness; it is all sin;
I have no hope from what I have done, nor from what
I can do. Truly I feel embarrassed. I do not know
where to go, nor which way to turn. I am cut off from
every retreat. It seems to me I am actually going to
hell, and that there is but a step between me and the
everlasting burnings which I have so derided."




LIFE AND TIM3ES OF GARDINER SPRING.


191


"I know, sir, there is nothing you will ever do that
will prevent your going there. But have you never
heard that the Son of Mlan came to seek and to save that
which was lost; that when we were without strength,
in due time Christ died for the ungodly? ' 0 Israel!
thou hast destroyed thyself, but in J~e is thy help.'
Remember the thief on the cross. I know you are
lost, but you are not lost beyond recovery. God's
Spirit is inviting you to take refuge in Christ. The
crucified One is saying to you, Come unto me, all ye
that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you
rest. You need pardon; and he died, the just in the
place of the unjust, that he might dispense it. You
need righteousness; and he was made sin for us that
we might be made the righteousness of God in him.
Do not despair, my dying friend, there is balm in Gilead. I have no expectation that you will live a week.
Behold, now is the accepted time. You have no security for a single day; and oh, that it may be said, This
day is salvation come to this house! "
After prayer I left him, but saw him on the following day. He was near his end, but he was calm.
IHe could speak but little, but expressed his hope in
Christ. I had not much confidence in death-bed conversions, but I dare not suggest a thought that would
obscure his hope. One circumstance at the closing
interview encouraged me. He requested me to attend
his funeral, intimated that his Universalist friends
would be there, and desired me to tell them from
him that he had become convinced that the Universalist
doctrine was false, and that while it would do very
well to live by, it would not do to die by. I engaged




192


PERSONAL REMINISCENCES OF THE


to do so, and told him that, God helping me, I would
publish his recantation to the world.
I accordingly attended his funeral, which was very
large, and composed of various characters, and some
hard-visaged men. It was a" Free Mason's" funeral;
and as we stood round the vault in the northeast
angle of the old cemetery, the chaplain of the Lodge
read their appointed burial-service, and closed with
the memorable words, So MOTE IT BE! The whole
proceeding was sufficiently ridiculous, absolutely unmeaning, and in my judgment not far from impious.
I did not interrupt it, but, abiding my time, felt nerved
for an unembarrassed and bold deliverance of God's
truth. I begged the attention of the audience, as I
had a message from the deceased which he had requested me to deliver to them over his grave, anid
which I had promised to deliver. " There he lies, but
being dead he yet speaketh. He did not die a Universalist, but in the full belief of that Gospel which proclaims to every creattue, He that believeth shall be
saved, and he that believeth not shall be damned. He
wished me to say to you that he had no confidence in
the soul-destroying doctrine that all men would be
saved. It is a soul-destroying doctrine, my friends,
and it is nothing else than the Devil's lie. It is the
worst form of Infidelity, and the most subtle and
alarming delusion of the age. It is the great Deceiver's gospel, and, before you are aware of it, will
conduct you to the world of despair." As I proceeded,
and with increased fervor, I perceived a confusion
and hustling in the crowd, and heard the words Damn
hMnm!  One of the ruling elders of the Brick Church,




LIFE AND TIMES OF GARDINER SPRING.


193


the late Richard Cunningham, who from the first
stood near me, took my hand and said, "Don't be
afraid, dear, they are chained. Go on." I went on,
and was again assailed with the imprecation, Go to
hell! " Gentlemen, I am glad that you have changed
your minds. I perceive that you now believe there is
a hell, else you would not tell one to go there. And
when you say Damn himn, I perceive that you no
longer deny that there is a damning God in heaven.
So your departed brother believed; but he believed
also in Him who is the Saviour of the lost. I will not
reciprocate your imprecation, and say to you, Go to hell,
but rather pray that 'the grace of our Lord Jesus
Christ may be with you all, Amen! "'
I have seen Universalists and Infidels die, and during a ministry of fifty-five years, I have not found a
single instance of peace and joy in their near views of
eternity; no, nothing but an accusing conscience and
the terrors of apprehension. I have seen men die who
were men of a mercurial temperament, men of pleasure and fun, men of taste and literature, lovers of the
opera and the theatre, rather than the house of God;
and I never saw an instance in which such persons died
in peace. They died as they lived. Life was a
blank, and death the king of terrors; a wasted life, an
undone eternity.
THE PRIDE OF INTELLECT HUMBLED.
I have often found that those habits of thought
and that self-reliant spirit which ensnared the soul, and
which seemed to be the great obstacles to its converVOL. 1.- 9




194


PERSONAL REMINISCENCES OF TIlE


sion were the very idols at which the Spirit of God
aimed its most deadly blows in the ordinary process
of conviction. If it was radical error, the error was
made the occasion of the most fearful alarm; if it was
self-righteousness, it was the occasion of prolonged apprehension and agonizing despair. If it was the pride
of intellect, it quarrelled with God's truth, it disdained
divine teaching, it stood aloof from  the ordinary
means of grace, it demeaned itself loftily, until, by repeated mistakes and disappointments, it became conscious of ignorance, and learned to sit at the feet of
Jesus.
Sabin Lethbridge was, in the high day of human
life, a man of fine intellect and early culture, though
never enjoying the advantages of a liberal education.
He was a native of Franklin, Massachusetts, and was
a parishioner of Dr. Emmons. He was an ultra Calvinist, and, though a punctual attendant on the ministrations of the pulpit, " wiser in his own conceit than
seven men that can render a reason." He was present, with Mrs. Lethbridge, at one of our meetings for
religious conversation, and after conversing with
others, I passed him with civility, and took no further
notice of him. At a subsequent meeting, for the same
purpose, he came alone, and sat solitary in a distant
part of the lecture-room. I sat down by him, and
said, " Mr. Lethbridge, the servant that knew his
Lord's will and did it not, was beaten with many
stripes."  Oh, sir," said he, " I have come to ask you
to teach me my catechism. My mind is all vacancy:
I feel like a little child, and wish to be taught the way
of life,"  I have no doubt that he was then a con



LIFE AND TIMES OF GARDINER SPRING.


195


verted man, and had received the kingdom of God as
a little child. His whole subsequent life showed it,
and his death exhibited it in most beautiful coloring.
He was prostrated by lingering consumption; and
such sweet humility, such unconditional submission to
the will of God, and such heavenly cheerfulness in
the view of death, I have rarely seen. There was no
triumph, but there was no gloom, in his chamber.
We all felt sad when we visited him, but our sadness
was out of place. He could not bear to see a gloomy
countenance. I recollect well, that when on a certain
occasion our mutual friend, Richard Cunningham, approached his bedside with his placid and cheerful
countenance, Mr. Lethbridge gave him his hand, and
said, " I thank God there is one man that can greet
me with a smile."  "Almnost homre, Mr. Lethbridge!"
" Yes, yes, almost home, Brother Cunningham!!"
On another occasion, as I was conversing with him,
Mrs. Lethbridge stood unseen at the head of the bed
weeping. He happened to turn his eyes towards her,
and said, " 0 poh! I tAoulght better of you than that."
I never shall forget the scene when we were assembled
at his funeral. It was a lovely scene. There was a
calm serenity, a joyousness very unusual in the house
of death. Expressive silence seemed to say, "This day
is salvation come to this house."
A PLAIN TALK.
Dr. Nettleton once remarked to me, that in his interviews with different classes of men, he always endeavored to fall in with the operations of the Holy




196


PERSONAL REMINISCENCES OF THE


Spirit on their own minds. The remark was of great
service to me, and I saw at once the full bearing of
it. If the Spirit of God was convincing them of sin,
instead of giving them any relief from that impression,
I labored to intensify it and make it deeper. If the
Spirit of God was producing a deep sense of their dependence and helplessness, their obligations and inexcusableness, I endeavored to enforce these truths and
make them felt. But what if I found instances in
which it was obvious that, instead of being taught of
God, they were under a different teaching, that the
God of this world was blinding their minds, and that
they were under the most fearful delusions? I then
felt that I was called on to resist and overcome these
counsels of the Devil.
This was the case in the instance which I am
about to narrate. It was a season of great solemnity
in the congregation: the Spirit of God was descending in copious effusions, and among others, the husband of the lady to whom this narrative refers, was a
subject of the work. I felt a deep interest in her spiritual welfare, and was resolved to have a faithful conversation with her on the concerns of her soul. She
was the daughter of an English clergyman, a lady of
high intellectual culture, a widow in middle life, and
who, on coming to this country, had become the wife
of Sabin Lethbridge, whose conversion has been alluded to in a previous page. And she was by no means
averse to religious conversation.
I found her thoughtless, asleep, and dead in sin,
and I was convinced that she was the subject of some
infatuating delusion. She gave me a cordial welcome,




LIFE AND TIIES OF GARDINER SPRING.


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and I said to her, " Mrs. Lethbridge, do you mean to
let your husband go to heaven without you? Why
not go with liln, and seek the better country, which
is the heavenly? " " Oh, sir," she replied, " I think I
shall go with him; I do not expect to be left behind.
He lhas become a Christian, but I do not bid him farewell; I shall go with him yet."  And here she was
resting in perfect thoughtlessness. She was dreaming
of heaven, and sunk down into a deep sleep.  I
thought I saw the snare, and was resolved, by God's
help, to break up this pleasant dream. It was an unwelcome task, but I endeavored to show her that she
had very little reason to believe that she would ever
be saved, but many reasons to believe that she and
her husband would part at the last day, and that she
would go away into everlasting punishment.
" Mrs. Lethbridge, I am afraid you will be lost."
" What makes you think so, Dr. Spring? "
" Because you are not a Christian, and not likely
to be."
" I know I anl not a Christian; but what makes
you think I shall never become one? "
" Because many are called, but few are chosen; it
is not God's purpose to save all; and it seems to me,
from the present state of your mind, that you are not
among those whom He purposes to save. If you look
around you, you perceive that the great mass of men
are not Christians, and that those who live and die in
sin, possess very much the character which you now
possess. Very many of them once had the hope of
being Christians, just as you now have, but they have
gone to the bar of God with hppes no better than the




198


PERSONAL REMINISCENCES OF THE


spider's web. Your hopes of becoming a Christian
are no better than theirs. When you come to the bed
of death, you may find that this hope is not realized;
and when you stand at the bar of God, you may find
your husband at the right hand, while you are on the
left. It is hard to give up this hope, I know. It is
like the giving up of the ghost; but I would rather
see you abandon it, and come to the conclusion that
you are lost, than sleep on thus."
"I told you the truth, sir, when I said I am not a
Christian; and I told you the truth, when I told you
that I expected to be a Christian before I die. I cannot throw this hope away. I will not abandon it."
Here she wept; and I could not but remind her of
the Saviour's words, "There shall be weeping and
gnashing of teeth, when ye shall see Abraham and
Isaac and Jacob in the kingdom of God, and you
yourselves thrust out." She continued to weep, and
said to me,
"Dr. Spring, I am not worse than many others
who have become Christians during the revival, and
I do not see why you should say, there is so much
reason to believe I shall never become a Christian."
" Listen calmly to me, Mrs. Lethbridge, and I will
tell you the reason. I wish much to see you a child
of God, and that you may live and die in the precious
faith of the Gospel. This world, with all its joys and
social endearments, will disappoint you. I do not
wish to think of your being lost. I would have you
go with your husband on his pilgrimage to the heavenly city. But the dividing line is drawn, and the
hour of your final separation is not far away. You




LIFE AND TIMES OF GARDINER SPRING.


199


are not accompanying him, and you will not accompany him, because you ' will not come to Christ that
you might have life.' He commands you to come;
and you disregard His authority. When He speaks to
the elements, to the deaf, to the blind, to the maimed,
to the dead, they obey; but you will not obey Him.
He invites you to come, but you make light of His invitations. He is inviting you now, but you refuse;
the reply of your heart is, ' Somehow or other I expect to be saved, if I do not come now.' He has
taken great pains to instruct you, from your childhood up to the present hour, and you repel all His
teaching. You have long been the care of His providence; He has led you an orphan to this land, and
here He has been a father to you; yet His goodness
has not led you to repentance. You have been the
daughter of sorrow; yet His judgments have only
hardened you.  You are now surrounded by the
gracious influences of His Spirit, that are coming
down like the rain of heaven, and every hour you
live you are resisting the Holy Ghost. And you are
past the middle of human life; others are dying
around you, and you will soon drop into eternity.
Your sun has passed its meridian, and is hastening
behind the mountains. The night cometh, and your
work is not even begun. Your day of grace and
space for repentance is coming to its close, and the
things which belong to your peace will ere long be
hidden from your eyes. Are not these things so, and
do they justify the expectation that you will become
a Christian? Oh, Mrs. Lethbridge, I must be true to
you, and ask you if they do not indicate great hard



200


PERSONAL REMINISCENCES OF THE


ness of heart on your part? God's authority does not
move you. Iis goodness, His love, His care, His winning invitations, do not move you. His judgments do
not move you. His Spirit does not move you. And
now, tell me, what more could He do to you, that He
has not already done?"
" Oh, Dr. Spring, I do not know what to say.
You corner me, let me turn which way I will."
" AIy dear friend," I replied, "your case is lamentable, but it is not hopeless. I have no apology for
your prolonged impenitence, and no hope for you, if
you cherish these delusions. But there is every hope,
if you will abandon them, and repair to Ilim who
came to seek and save that which is lost. He calls
you now, by this interview, by the reflections of your
own mind, and, notwithstanding all you have said, by
the latent fear that you will be lost. Believe me, you
will not find rest till you find it in Him who came to
give rest to the weary and burdened soul."
"But," said she, "I cannot come."  " Madam,'
I replied, "I have nothing to do with your excuses.
You must come, or you must perish. 'If any nan love
not the Lord Jesus Christ, let him be anathlema.'"
After a few words of prayer, I left her, trembling
in my own heart, lest I had failed in the tenderness
which became me, as the messenger of mercy. She
afterwards thanked me for my faithfulness. The arrow had entered the joints of the harness. The fearful words never left her, " He that is unjust, let him
be unjust still; and he that is filthy, let him be filthy
still." By infinite grace, she was enabled to escape,
as a bird out of the snare of the fowler. The next




LIFE AND TIES OF GARDINER SPRING.


201


time I entered her parlor-it was in Cliff-street-I
found her calm and peaceful, and rejoicing in hope.
She became an intelligent and profited member of my
Bible-class, lived a lovely Christian life, was the comforter of her husband on his dying-bed, and, not long
after his departure, joined him on the Mount Zion
above.
INSTANTANEOUS CONVERSION.
Every instance of conversion is an instantaneous
work of omnipotent and effectual grace. There is a
moment of time when the first ray of light enters the
dungeon mind. There are preliminary processes of
thought which precede regeneration itself; there is
ordinarily, if not uniformly, a series of reflections and
mental acts implying severe attention to the truth, so
that the change is effected through the truth. But
the change itself, the transition from darkness to light,
the act of passing from death unto life, is not progressive, but sudden and instantaneous. The precise time
may not be known; the evidence of it may be more
or less gradually developed; but as respects the
change itself, whether it consist in imparting a new
nature or principle to the soul, or in imparting to it
the first holy exercise, there is no intermediate space
between the last moment when the carnal mind is
enmity against God, and the first moment when the
love of God is shed abroad in the heart by the Holy
Ghost.
/ In a previous chapter on revivals of religion, it
was remarked that, in many persons, the process of
awakening and conviction was so rapid, and termiVOL. I. —9*




202


PERSONAL REMINISCENCES OF THE


nated so suddenly in conversion, that we were not
without fears that the work was spurious, and would
not manifest itself in a Christian character through
life; and it was also added that these fears proved
groundless. In the year 1804, and during the summer term of my junior year in Yale College, I was
the guest of Lady Houston, of Savannah, then residing
at New Haven, for the purpose of watching the education of her son, who was my class-mate. We occupied the same chamber, just opposite the south end
of the South College, and pursued our studies together. Sarah Houston, the daughter of my youthful
class-mate, during one of the seasons of the outpourings of God's Spirit upon us was a pupil in Mrs.
Green's school, then in Murray street, and in the
dwelling-house of the elder Dr. Mason, and a short
distance from our place of worship. Mrs. Green was
a lady of great dignity of character, and a truly
Christian woman of the Baptist persuasion. She was
assisted by her two daughters, worthy daughters of
such a mothe, who were members of the Brick
Church, and who, with quite a number of their pupils, not only attended our Sabbath services, but our
evening lectures. Miss Houston was one of this little
company, and became one of the subjects of this work
of grace; and so far as she was herself conscious of it,
both her conviction and conversion began and were
accomplished during a part of a single religious service. It was at a lecture on Friday evening, that was
preparatory to the Lord's Supper, and at which a
large number of young persons were received to our
communion, on the public profession of their faith.




LIFE AND TIMES OF GARDLNER SPRING.


203


Her religious impressions began at the beginning of
the long prayer, and steadily increased, till, at the
close of the prayer, she was rejoicing in hope. At the
close of the entire service, the Misses Green requested
me to accompany them and their pupils to the school.
I did so, and was introduced to Miss Houston, whom I
had never known, and who, to my great joy, I found
was the daughter of my old class-mate, and who was
weeping. She welcomed me as her father's friend,
and especially as her pastor. " Dr. Spring, I do not
know what to say, nor what to think of myself. When
you began that prayer, the first sentence of it sunk to
my heart. I heard every word, from beginning to
end; and it seemed to me, my heart responded to
every sentence. Your adoring thoughts of God, and
those confessions of sin, and that supplication for mercy, and that casting of us all on the atoning blood of
Christ, and that imploring petition, that the Holy
Spirit of God would attend the services of the evening,-oh! sir, I went along with them  all, and it
seemed to me that you only spoke the feelings of my
own heart. And when you came to fhe last sentence
of thanksgiving and praise, and uttered those words,
Worthy is the Lambf that was slain, and has redeemed
uts unto God by HIis blood, I felt that I could praise
Him, and from the bottom of my heart say, Amen! "
I prayed with her.   It was a scene of wonders.
" When the Lord turned again the captivity of Zion,
we were like them that dream. Then was our mouth
filled with laughter, and our tongue with singing.
Then said they among. the heathen, the Lord hath
done great things for them. The Lord hath done




204


PERSONAL REMINISCENCES OF THE


great things for us, whereof we are glad." I went
home rejoicing, but with fear and trembling. It was
a glorious day. God speaks, and it is done. The
next morning Mrs. Green sent an urgent request for
me to visit them. I did so, and as I entered the parlor, Miss Houston rose to meet me, burst into a flood
of tears, and merely said, " Oh I sir, I sent for you to
ask you, if it is wicked for mne to be so happy?"
Miss Houston subsequently became a member of
the Brick Church, but not without first consulting her
friends at the South. The following letter on this
subject was addressed to me by her uncle.
" SAvANNA, April 27, 1831.
" DEAR SIm:
" The interesting nature of the subject of the following communication will, I trust, be received as an
apology for the freedom with whlieh I address one to
whom I am a perfect stranger.
"By letters received from my niece, Sarah Ann
Houston, a pupil of Mrs. Green's school in your city,
it appears she has been much engaged in the imjportant subject of religion for some months. Sle now
seems to think she has obtained a hope, expressed a
desire of sealing her covenant with her Lord, and has
solicited the approbation of her friends, to her making
application for admission to membership in the church
under your pastoral care.
" From the opinion I entertain of your prudence,
together with the practical experience and consequent
knowledge of the human heart which you must have
acquired, from being' so conversant with revivals of




LIFE AND TIMES OF GARDINER SPRING.


205


religion, and the numerous occasions yon have had
of examining persons presenting themselves for admission to the privileges of the church, I should be
willing to submit the case to you, after mentioning'
some reasons which make it doubtful in my mind,
whether it is proper to comply with the desire of my
niece.
" In the first place, then, I consider it a general
rule, that there is danger of bringing a reproach to
the profession of religion, as well as it is fiequently
injurious to the spiritual welfare of the individual
himself, to admit to the privileges of the church, one
who has received his religious impressions under the
excitement attendant on revivals of religion, until
such excited feelings have subsided; in which case a
better opportunity is afforded of judging whether any
effect lhas been produced that will give a reasonable
hope of a real change of heart. If this opinion is entitled to any weight, I think it has additional force as
respects Sarah Ann, from the particular circumstances
in which she has been placed, since the time of her
being first awakened, viz., secluded, as it were, fiom
the world, living in a pious family, where, probably,
she hears little conversation except what concerns the
unparalleled revival with which New York has been
blessed, and who, at such an interesting period, probably are much engaged themselves, and surrounded
by young ladies possessing the tenderness of feeling
so common with young people —many of whom most
probably similarly affected with herself-all which
must tend to keep up and increase the excitement.
If, however, after conversing with Sarah Ann, you




206


PERSONAL REMINISCENCES OF THE


should be of opinion that her experience warrants the
belief that her hopes are well founded, it deserves
some consideration, whether it would be expedient
that she should be received as a member of your
church at this time, as she will be so soon removed
out of the reach of its privileges and care, and whether it would not be better for her to make application
to be received into the church in Trenton (where she
will probably reside a part of her time for some years),
the pastor of which I understand to be an amiable
man, and respectable preacher of the word; or wait
until her return to Georgia.
" Among the reasons she gives for desiring to join
your church, is her attachment to you on account of
your being the friend of her father in his youthful
days; this, though an amiable feeling, and good
ground for a preference, cannot have mueh weight,
if other things make it inexpedient. Another reason
she mentions is entitled to much consideration: it is
that her joining the church would be a safeguard
against the temptations to which she will be exposed
on leaving school, and entering into society composed
of various characters and dispositions; there is much
force in this, which nothing can counterbalance but
the danger of a premature profession of religion.
"I assure you, sir, there is nothing would give me
more sincere pleasure than that my niece should be an
open and sincere Christian; and with the foregoing
observations, I should be willing to submit this matter entirely to your judgment, were I the only person
to be consulted on the occasion. But she has other
friends, who have equal, if not paramount, claims. I




LIFE AND TIMES OF GARDINER SPRING.


207


name, in particular, her Aunt Woodruff, who has had
the chief care of her since she has been an orphan,
feels something like a parental affection for her, and
has always treated her as kindly as if she had been
her own child. All of Sarah Ann's relatives who are
professing Christians, except myself, are Episcopalians; they would not, however, oppose her becoming a Presbyterian, if they were satisfied her religions
views were well founded.
"With the hope, dear sir, that you will excuse
the liberty I take of troubling you with this letter, I
subscribe myself,
" Respectfully, your obedient servant,
" PATRICK HOUSTON.
"To Rev. GARDINER SPRING, D.D."
Miss Houston was received to our communion on
the 7th of July, 1831, and has given precious testimony that her life is hid with Christ in God. On a
short visit to Savannah, many years after she left our
city, I met her on the evening of the Lord's day, on
which I arrived, at a religious service performed by
the Rev. Dr. Stiles. She had recognized me in the
audience, and introduced me to Air. Anderson, her
husband. She was an humble and active Christian,
eminent in every good work, and anxiously employed
in the religious instruction of the slaves. May the
God of battles cover her with his feathers from the
storm that desolates her beloved home.
MINISTERIAL COWARDICE.
The time was, in the history of the Brick Church,
when there were sixty men whom I could call upon




208


PERSONAL REMINISCEN'CES OF THE


to lead in prayer, and who in little companies held
weekly prayer-meetings in different neighborhoods of
the congregation. I undertook, at this time, to visit
the principal and more wealthy families, and with the
special view of endeavoring to interest the more fashionable circles in seeking the kingdom of God. On
the east side of Broadway, just north of Chambersstreet, was a wealthy family from Georgia, which removed to New York as their permanent residence.
Collin Read was a rough, ignorant, purse-proud
Irishman; and Mrs. Read, his first wife, a woman
educated as a Quaker, and of excellent common sense,
and cultivated intellect, taste, and manners. Their
adopted daughter, for they had no children of their
own, Frances Ballentine, was a young lady of unusual
personal attractions, the prospective heir of large possessions, and though punctual in her attendance upon
the services of the sanctuary, had not, to my knowledge, a serious thought. I had resolved to visit the
family, and to have a solemn and faithful interview
with Miss Ballentine. I had many misgivings about
it; I did not expect to meet a kind reception; I tried
to excuse myself from the unwelcome service, but at
length resolved to go. It was a painful struggle, but
I went to the house, ascended the steps half way, and
like a coward and poltroon, turned back and went
home, and with a galled conscience and heavy heart.
After some days I went a second time, put my hand
upon the bell, and again acted the coward. I confessed my sin before God, and went a third time, resolved, whatever repulse I might meet with, not to
come away with a bleeding conscience. I was intro.




LIFE AND TIMES OF GARDINER SPRING.   209
duced to the parlor, where Miss Ballentine was sitting,
and alone. And what was my surprise, when, instead of receiving me coldly, she met me with unembarrassed cordiality, and as she took my hand, exclaimed, with tears: " Oh, Dr. Spring, I thought you
were going to pass me by. I have desired much to
see you, and tell you the state of my mind." I was
ashamed; I felt the reproof; and then thought that
I would never again pass the door of affluence. This
beloved young woman became a Christian, soon united
with our communion, sickened with consumption, and
died in all the serenity and sweetness of Christian
faith, and the joyous anticipation of the rest that remaineth for the people of God. I visited her often,
not more to instruct than to be instructed. It was a
happy chamber, her chamber of debility and death.
I have often tlhought and often spoken of the conversion, sickness, and death of Frances Ballentine.
When she breathed her last, the weariness, the restlessness were over. The sun was going down; it was
like the " Cotter's Saturday Night," the weary laborer's hour of prayer, the quiet eve of holy time, the
caln close of life's short week, ushering in the everlasting Sabbath. I shall not soon forget the hour,
the place. There it was, in that memorable chamber,
that this young bird of Paradise, just fledged from its
beautiful but shattered lattice-work, flapped its wings,
and soared aloft to begin its everlasting song.
THE STEAMER OLIVER ELLSWORTH.
A most painful event took place. of a very different character from the preceding, in the year 1827.




210


PERSONAL REMINISCENCES OF THE


At the installation of my beloved brother, the Rev.
Samuel Spring, as the pastor of the North Church,
in Hartford, Conn., Mr. Stephen Lockwood and myself were commissioned to take part in the services.
The original appointment was given to Mr. Abijah
Fisher, Mr. Richard Cunningham being his alternate.
Both Mr. Fisher and MIr. Cunningham were prevented
from attending, and Mr. Lockwood was subsequently
appointed, and accepted the appointment. On our
return from Hartford, in the steamer "Oliver Ellsworth," and on a cold evening in March, and soon
after we left Saybrook, I remarked to Mr. Lockwood,
that I would take a walk on the deck and then go to
my berth. My overcoat was on deck with other baggage, and as I was passing up the companion-way in
order to get it, Mr. Lockwood ran before me, and was
returning with the overcoat; and as he was passing
the boiler, and directly in front of it, there was a tremendous explosion which shook the steamer from her
mast-head to her keel. The alarm was fearful; the
cries of the wounded, the rushing of the steam into
the cabin, the rocking of the boat in the trough of a
heavy and rough sea, officers and men staggering and
at their wits' end, all created a scene more easily im
agined than described. Those of us who were in the
cabin were almost suffocated by the hot steam, and
such was the pressure for the deck, that it was not
possible for us to escape. A kind Providence led me
to open a window in the cabin and thrust my head
and chest out into the open air, until the steam had
passed off, and I could venture on deck.  The
wounded and dying were there. Mr. Lockwood was




LIFE AND TIMES OF GARDINEEP SPRING.


211


there.  "Where is Dr. Spring? "  I heard those
mournful words. " Oh, Sir, I am a dead man! " I
was uninjured, and did what I could for him and
others. But we knew not how soon we might go to
the bottom. The steamer floated like a log on the
ocean, and five or six miles from the shore. Our signals of distress were at length regarded, and we were
towed back to Saybrook, where we passed a night of
toil and anxiety; where on the next day three of the
seamen died of their wounds, where I attended their
funeral, and whence I returned to watch the last
hours of my suffering and beloved friend. He remarked that he had been " breathing fire." I sent to
New London for the best physician within reach, but
it was all in vain. He knew he must die, and his
mind was calm. He could scarcely speak, but gave
me his last message to his family. We left Saybrook
towards evening, and had not gone far when he breathed
his last. It was a Sabbath morning when we reached
New York, where a crowd of anxious friends were on
the wharf, awaiting with mingled hope and fear the
unknown result. It had been a terrible night, and it
was a solemn Sabbath. I could not preach in the
morning; in the afternoon, like one raised from the
dead, and with his grave-clothes about him, I addressed an immense audience from the words, " Thou
hast, in love to my soul, delivered it from going down
to the pit of corruption." I shall never forget these
scenes, nor that day. Mr. Lockwood was a man of
great excellence of character, and highly esteemed in
all the social relations; an irreparable loss to a greatly
respected and beloved family, and an honored and




212      PERSONAL REMINISCENCES OF THE


useful office-bearer in the house of God. It was a
mysterious providence that thus thrust him into that
bursting firnace, in order to prevent me from rushing
into it. Why was it thus? "Even so, Father, for so
it seemed good in thy sight." What is the import of
that affecting declaration, "I will give men for thee,
and people for thy life?"  A life thus preserved,
ought, by a thousand bonds, to be all the Lord's.
THE ChIOLERA.
In the year 1831 the Asiatic cholera desolated the
city. It was a fearful season, during the months of
July and August. It was no unusual occurrence for
twenty, thirty, fifty of our citizens to be swept off in
a day. When the number of deaths daily increased
to beyond one hundred, the alarm was terrific. Medical skill was altogether at fault, and medical men,
not a few, and among them my own family physician, abandoned their posts and fled to the country.
My beloved wife was providentially at New Haven,
at the bedside of her dying mother, and did not return until the pestilence had reached its height. No
class was exempt from its ravages; rich and poor,
parents and young children, were swept away with
very little warning. The poor, and especially those
that occupied the line of Centre-street, and were exposed to the miasma of the " Collect," filled the hospital, and were at length crowded into the " Hall of
Records," near the Brick Church, and to whom I was
called to minister the consolations of the Gospel.
There they lay by scores, lining both sides of that




LIFE AND TIMIES OF GARDIXNER SPRING.


213


wide Hall, in all the stages of that friihtful disease,
a most heart-sickening sight, most of them beyond
the reach of religious influence.  It had been my
uniform habit to absent myself from the city during
the summer months, and it was the expectation of
my congregation that I would do so during the prevalence of this wasting pestilence.  But I could not
leave them in this hour of darkness. I announced to
them from the pulpit that I should remain with them,
and requested them to send for me at the first approach of danger. Never shall I forget the emotions
which that announcement produced. They dropped
their heads and wept like children.  I appointed
a daily prayer-meeting at six P. MI. in the church,
and the people flocked to it with earnestness, and
those of every denomination and name.   It was
maintained for weeks, and greatly to our courage and
hopes. I remained throughout the whole of the season, in much fear and weariness, and, with the exception of a single day, without even the premonitory
symptoms of disease. Aside from my daughter Augusta, who was stricken down, but recovered, my own
immediate family were all preserved, though our
neighborhood was in mourning. My second son, Dr.
Edward Spring, was a physician on Blackwell's Island, where he resided. Early one morning he came
to my house in Bond-street, to ask my advice as to
the duty of remaining at his post. The cholera had
not then reached the Island, but the fit subjects of it
were there in great numbers. He had no compensation for his services, and was under no obligation to
remain. "Father," said he, "what shall I do? I




214


PERSONAL REMINISCENCES.


can leave now without reproach."  I replied: "You
have chosen a profession that is full of dangers: never
turn your back upon the storm, I will stick by you
to the last, and so will your mother."  He remained.
The cholera visited the Island in great violence, but
he was complimented as one of the most successful
practitioners in the city. The poor inmates loved
him; and when, towards the close of the season, he
was stricken down, they bore him in their arms to the
water-side, where, accompanied by his parents, he was
taken home. It was on the morning of the Lord's
day we first learned of his illness, and immediately
after the morning service his mother and myself hastened to his side, with no other expectation than that
he must die: but he was a young man of great
courage. The convicts of the Island carried him
home; and through the care of a kind Providence,
his and our hopes were realized.




CHAPTER X.


FANATICISM IN REVIVALS.
THERE is no doubt that there was a powerful work
of grace during the years 1826 and 1827, in Central
and Western New York. It is no evidence of its
spuriousness that it was inmingled with human imperfection, and sometimes accompanied by irregularities and extravagance which filled the minds of reflecting men with solicitude, and even gave the enemy occasion to blaspheme. It is true that the work
was marked by ardent enthusiasm. Such is the nature of true religion; a Christian man may well suspect his religion, if he does not feel a deep interest in
those seasons of refreshing which so deeply concern
the glory of God, and the salvation of men. Spiritual declension is the abnormal state of the church,
revivals the true, the normal state.  They are not
weak and impulsive minds alone, and those that are
controlled by social sympathies and animal excitement, that are the subjects; they are men of thought
and acknowledged stability of character. When you
se6 the church and her ministers waking up from pro



216


PERSONAL REMINISCENCES OF THE


longed spiritual declension, to renewed activity and
zeal, to holy penitence and holy prayer and holy living; when backsliders are restored, and wandering
Christians are brought back to duty and peace, and,
notwithstanding all their wanderings, are brought
again to God's holy temple; when those who have
given their hearts to idols, in view of their criminal
idolatry are tempted to cast away their confidence and
their hopes, and give up all for lost; when the strong
become weak and the confident begin to tremble, because He whose fan is in His hand comes to search Jerusalem with candles; when the more exemplary begin to feel that they have been stumbling-blocks to
those that are without, and are humbled for the dishonor they have done to the Christian name; when
they call to mind how they have forfeited the divine
care, and are the more confbunded because God is
pacified towards them; and when, in addition to these
tokens of the divine presence, mutual love and confidence are restored, and brethren dwell together in
unity, and the world loses its power, and the realities
of eternity obscure and shut out the vanities of time;
when the beauty and brightness of a heaven-illumined piety shines as a light in the world, and thl
ordinances of God's house are honored, and indifference vanishes before the power of prayer; and the
thoughtless are awakened, the prayerless become
prayerful, and the unrepenting turn from the error of
their ways to the wisdom of the just, and there is joy
in heaven over the repenting; then and there the
Omnipotent One is making bare his arm, and the
whole scene testifies that of his rich and amazing




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grace, the God of heaven dwells with men, and in
building up Zion appears in his glory.
It should not take us by surprise if scenes like
these should be counterdrawn by the subtle adversary,
artfully traced, and with a view to deceive and destroy. I have somewhere met with the remark, that
the "chariot of the Gospel never has free course, but
the Devil tries to be charioteer." There is nothing he
is so much afraid of as the power of the Holy Ghost.
When the sons of God come to present themselves
before the Lord, Satan comes also among them. He
would be deemed one of them, and therefore puts on
the saintly garb; " for Satan also is transformed into
an angel of light."  Where he cannot arrest the
showers of blessing, it has ever been one of his devices to dilute or poison the streams, and leave them
to inundate the church and the world. When the
Son of man sows good seed, the enemy comes and
sows tares. Sometimes his subtlety appears by perverting the truths of the Gospel; sometimes by inmingling them with error, and sometimes by pushing
them to those excesses of extravagance which neutralize their loveliness and power, and present religion
only in a distorted and forbidding aspect.
With the obvious signs of the times in view, who
does not see that this artful foe would enjoy his malignant triumph, if he could but prejudice the minds of
good men against all revivals of religior? This he does,
not so much by opposing them, as by counterfeiting
the genuine coin, and by getting up revivals that are
spurious, and to his own liking. Revivals are always
spurious when they are got up by man's device, and
VOL. i.-10




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not brought down by the Spirit of God; when they
are the result of mere animal excitement, and not the
searching, discriminating, and humbling truths of the
Gospel; and when the zeal and effort of the professed
people of God are exerted in making men believe they
are Christians, while they are dead in sin, and in
bringing them into the church without " taking forth
the precious from the vile."  There may be great solemnity and tenderness under such influences, but
"' what is the chaff to the wheat? " What are alarmed
fears, compared with a convicted conscience? What
are the mere apprehensions of God's wrath, compared
with enlightened views of the spirituality and obligations of his law, and a deep sense of the enmity of the
heart towards him as the Supreme Lawgiver? What
are the self-satisfied emotions arising from false confidences and false hopes, compared with the peace and
joy of a broken heart? What are the visions of a
highly-wrought imagination, compared with those
spiritual views when it pleases God to reveal his Son
to the desponding sinner, and Christ in him is the
hope of glory? What is that piety that courts observation and wishes to be seen; that obtrudes itself on
the notice of others, that talks of its own experience
and attainments, that is bold and assuming, that wishes
to be put forward, and that unblushingly exclaims with
Jehu, " Come, see my zeal for the Lord!" compared
with the spirit of the modest, retiring young convert,
who esteems others better than himself, who looks on
Him whom he has pierced, and mourns, and who, instead of being a pompous and splendid professor, goes
to the communion of the saints, conscious that he is




LIFE AND TIMES OF GARDINER SPRING.


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not worthy of the crumbs that fall from the Master's
table?
There have been spurious revivals in my day, and
the means of promoting them are the index of their
character. In such seasons of excitement, great dependence is placed on the way and means of getting
them up, and little of the impression that not a soul
will be converted unless it be accomplished by the
power of God. Whatever the words of the leaders
may profess, their conduct proclaims, " Mine own arm
hath done this! " There 'is a familiarity, a boldness,
an irreverence in their prayers, which ill becomes
worms of the dust in approaching Him before whom
angels veil their faces. A pious and poor woman, in
coming out from a religious service thus conducted,
once said, " I cannot think what it is that makes our
ministers swear so in their prayers." They count their
converts, and when they survey their work, there is a
triumph, a self-reliant exultation over it, which looks
like the triumph of the Pagan monarch when he exclaimed, "Is not this great Babylon which I have
built! " And hence it is that so many of the subjects
of such a work, after the excitement is over, find that
their own hearts have deceived them, that they are no
longer affected by solemn preaching and solemn
prayers, that their past emotions were nothing more
than the operations of nature, and that when these
natural causes have exhausted their power, there is no
religion left.
This state of things produced no small discussion
on the subject of revivals at the West, and discussions
not always of the most amiable kind. Ministers lost




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PERSONAL REMINISCENCES OF THE


their confidence in one another, as they approved or
disapproved the course pursued by their brethren.
There was contention where there ought to have been
harmony; Christians were influenced by the evil surmisings of men of corrupt minds; they became alienated from one another, there was no more union in
prayer, and the gracious Spirit was grieved away.
Dissension in regard to the Scriptural method of promoting revivals became general, and the solicitude of
the churches was diverted from the great concern of
laboring for the souls of men, by their different views
about the way in which they should labor. Some
were advocates for those injudicious and extravagant
presentations of the truth that aimed at stirring up
the enmity of the natural heart; while others, not less
faithful and fearless, favored those presentations in the
simplicity of the Gospel and in the meekness of wisdom.   Some advocated the setting apart seats for
those who were awakened and anxious, and called
them up to "be prayed for" in the presence of the
congregation; while others chose to visit them at their
own private residences, or to meet them in retired circles for personal conference and prayer.
There were errors in doctrine also which greatly
facilitated these new measures; errors that were so
artfully and insidiously presented as allied to important truth, as not to be easily detected. Men were instructed that all that is necessary in order to become
Christians, is to resolve to become Christians, and that
the purpose and determination to become Christians,
are themselves the religion of the Gospel. But the
question here arises, What are the motives which lead to




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221


such a resolution, and does it, or does it not, arise from
supreme love to God   "I go, sir, and went not," is
not piety. There may be no holiness in such a purpose, and no right motive, and no heavenly influence.
A naked purpose to be a Christian is not love, it is
not repentance, it is not faith, it is not obedience, it is
not a saving change of heart. The Bible calls upon
men, not merely to resolve to dismiss their hostility to
God, but actually to abjure it, and to be reconciled to
him. It was the teaching of some that the renovation
of the heart, instead of being the work of the Holy
Spirit, is the creature's work, and that the power of
the Spirit consists in persuading the sinner himself to
perform it.
The principal advocate of these new measures and
these Pelagian errors, was the Rev. Charles G. Finney. I scarcely know why, but very unexpected efforts were made by ministers and laymen, whom I
loved and respected, to give him my countenance and
cooperation during his expected visit to New York.
In addition to an appeal from my deceased and valued
friend, David L. Dodge, the two following communications show the honesty and earnestness of this
desire.
" ROME, N. Y., Feb. 22, 1826.
"REV. AND BELOVED SIR:
" It is with feelings of no ordinary interest that I
address one, who, I may truly say, for years has held
so high a place in my affection. When I have been
in the enjoyment of religion, it is you, sir, under God,
to whom I am indebted for that enjoyment; when in




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PERSONAL REMINISCENCES OF THE


affliction and darkness of mind, how often have I
wished and resolved to write to Dr. Spring, and was
deterred by the reflection that he could have no time
to devote to me.
"We have had a glorious revival of religion in
our town this winter, and I hope it will continue until
all shall be brought to repentance. From the child of
nine years old, to the old man of sixty or seventy, all
descriptions of persons have been made the subjects
of a saving change; some of the most abandoned, and
in some instances almost whole families, have been
converted. * Mr. Finney has taught, as he was moved
by the Holy Ghost, to look to the promise of God,
and rest there. Without any regard to the character
of the individual or the individuals, he pleads God's
promise to give the Holy Spirit to them that ask him.
The prayer of faith has been much dwelt upon this
winter; and many Christians, I believe, have had
new views on the subject. In many cases, the answers
to prayer have been wonderful and astonishing. Ought
not Christians and ministers to endeavor to emulate
the faith of the apostles and primitive Christians in
praying for the outpouring of the Spirit? and will it
not be in this way that the latter-day glory of the
church, the millennial day, will be ushered in? I do
not know the number of converts in our town; it may
be four hundred. Two evenings since, when those were
requested to come forward who had obtained hopes
within about thirty-six hours, between twenty and
thirty presented themselves.  Usually every other
evening the ministers made the request, that they
might see who they were, and shake hands with them.




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223


" Dear sir, may I ask an interest in your prayers,
that I may never live to dishonor my Saviour's cause
as I have done, and be so much like Martha, careful
and troubled about many things. Mr. Finney is at
Utica, and a few mercy drops have fallen there, an
earnest, I hope, of a plentiful shower. The most fervent prayers are offered for Utica.  Mr. Finney is
prayed for wherever he goes. Our communion will
be the second Sabbath in March; Mr. Finney will be
here. There is a glorious revival in --, where
Mr. Smith is settled. He came to Rome, and got the
Spirit, and carried it home with him. The instances
have been many in which parents have brought their
children to Rome for this purpose, and they have been
awakened or converted. It reminds us of the days
when our Saviour was on the earth. Pardon the
familiarity with which I have written, and believe me
yours in those bonds which I trust death will not rend
asunder. I think you may say of me as St. Paul did
of his spiritual children, 'You are my daughter in
Christ.'
" CATHARINE HUNTINGTON."
The following is from a greatly beloved Brother,
and one with whom I enjoyed many, many hours of
delightful fellowship, while 'he was pastor of the
Spring-street Church in this city, and who was called
to a Professorship in the Auburn Theological Seminary.
" AUBURN, AAprl 9, 1831.
"DEAR BROTHER:
" Mr. Baxter Sayre, from your city, is in this place,
and has come with an invitation to Mr. Finney to visit




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PERSONAL REMINISCENCES OF THE


New York. It does not appear that he has a request
from the ministers generally. He does not wish to
come against the feelings of his brethren in the ministry, and many of us in this country do not think it
advisable that he should come unless he should be
kindly received by them. Feelings of ministers and
people, in this quarter, are greatly changed with respect to Mr. F. He is now viewed as an active, zealous, skilful, and successful ministering servant of the
Lord Jesus Christ, and the pastors of churches throughout this district of country are anxious to have him as
a fellow-laborer, with their people. Those who have
been opposed to him in times past, are ready to
acknowledge their faults, or are silent on the subject.
" On the great subject of the present revivals, I
do think, my dear brother, that there should be a full
understanding between Christians at the East and the
West. I fear that the revivals at the West are not as
yet viewed in a proper light by many of our brethren
at the East. The impression that has gone abroad,
that the two precious servants of Christ, Mr. Nettleton and Mr. Finney, do not agree in their views
respecting revivals, has had a great tendency to
make many Christians think that there is a great
difference between revivals at the East and at the
West. Of course, Chriatians at the East, and friends
of Mr. Nettleton, have thought unfavorably of the
great and good work that has been witnessed in our
Western churches, and vice versa.  Now, Brother
Spring, can you not do something towards having a
perfect understanding between Mr. Nettleton and
Mlr. Finney? Things ought not to continue as they




LIFE AND TIMES OF GARDINER SPRING.


225


are. There must not be a separation between the
East and the West. Will it not be best to have an
understanding between these two brethren, and to
have them invited to your city as fellow-laborers?
And can you not efect this? The impression is, that
you have more influence with Mr. Nettleton than any
other man. Thousands in this country, remember,
my dear Gardiner, have their eyes turned towards
you; and also remember, that the friends of revivals
here are, as a general thing, the friends of Mr. Finney. I wish, for the general good, that you would
bring Mr. Nettleton and Mr. Finney together. And
I wish, if consistent with your feelings, that you
would evince an approbation of Mr. Finney. This
would be highly gratifying to your friends here.
" Attempts, Brother Spring, will be made to get
Mr. Finney to visit New York. Many are engaged
in it, and will not be turned from their purpose. Can
you not consistently express your approbation of such
a measure, and unite in an invitation to him? I wish
you would converse with Mr. A. Tappan on this subject, who is much engaged in getting Mr. Finney to
come to the city. I have written to him on the subject, and stated the reasons why many of us advise
Mr. Finney to delay his visit.
" Your brother,
"' M. L. R. PERRINE."
There is no man in the ministry who had more of
my love and confidence than dear Brother Perrine.
I had no predilection for Mr. Finney, nor for his doctrines, nor measures; yet I confess to some hesitation,
VOL, i.-10*




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PERSONAL REMINISCENCES OF THE


on receiving this letter. I did not unite in the request
to Mr. Finney to visit our city; but I greatly desired
that this divisive spirit might be healed. Instead of
widening the breach, and blowing up the flame of
contention, I determined to judge for myself, and to
pursue a course that should not alienate the confidence of my Western brethren. It seemed to me due
to Mr. Finney that he should be heard, and I heard
him. Nor was anything exceptionable in his sermon,
except a vulgarity that indicated a want of culture,
and a coarseness unbecoming the Christian Pulpit.
Not a little to the dissatisfaction of some of my brethren, I afterwards introduced him to the pulpit of the
Brick Church. I did it with fear and trembling, but
I was satisfied with the result. He preached to a
large audience, with much power, and more sophistry, and not without evident intentions of converting
me and my people to all his extravagances. His subject was, "The Prayer of Faith."  It was a well-arranged discourse, and, so far as I can remember at
this distance of time, he dwelt largely upon the fact,
that there is such a thing as the effectual, fervent
prayer of a righteous man; that such prayer is prevalent, and avails much; and that it is always answered
by the specif-ed blessing prayed for. His last proposition startled me, and I saw that it might lead to the
wildest fanaticism. I could not admit his stronglyexpressed inference, that if our prayers for specified
blessings are not infallibly answered, either God is
not true to His word, or we do not pray in faith.
I confess, with shame, that I have not that measure of confidence in God as the hearer of prayer,




LIFE AND TIMES OF GARDINER SPRING.


227


which his character and word justify and demand. It
has been habitually my joy to have free access to his
throne, though I have not always believed that I
should receive the very things that I asked for. I
have felt that infinite love and infinite wisdom are on
the throne; that I could not hope for too much from
God; and have felt satisfied to leave my petitions at
his feet. The declaration of the Saviour, " And all
things whatsoever ye shall ask in prayer, believing,
ye shall receive," once troubled me. I asked myself,
what is the prayer of faith? It seemed to me to consist in an earnest desire to obtain the blessings sought
after; a persevering importunity in seeking them; a
deep sense of unworthiness of the least of God's mercies; a tranquil submission of my own will to the will
of God; access to the throne in the new and living
way by the great High Priest of the Christian profession; and confidence in God as the hearer of prayer,
and in his willingness to bestow and perform above
all we are able to ask or even to think. There are
specified blessings which God has promised to bestow
in answer to prayer. They are pardon, grace, wisdom, and perseverance to his heavenly kingdom.
The promise here is absolute, and we may rely upon
it; if we do not receive them, it will prove that we
never prayed for them in the " faith which is of the
operation of God." All true believers have confidence
in a prayer-hearing God. And " this is the confidence
we have in him, that if twe ask anything according to
his will, he heareth us; " and that when "the Spirit
maketh intercession for the saints " it is "according
to the will of God."  In one view, it is always true




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PERSONAL REMINISCENCES OF THE


that believing prayer is answered by the specified
blessing prayed for, because it is always submnissive
prayer. The prayer that God's will may be done,
and not our own, is always answered. God's will is
done, and that is the very thing the believer prays
for. And this shows us, that when we pray in faith,
without referring the whole matter to the will of God,
we have no assurance that the very thing we pray
for will be bestowed. Moses prayed earnestly that
he might go over with the Israelites into the promised land; but God refused his prayer. The Saviour
prayed that the bitter cup might pass from him; but
justice put it into his hand, and as he drank it, he
cried, "M Iy God, my God, why hast thou forsaken
me." Paul besought the Lord thrice, that the thorn
in the flesh might be removed, and his prayer was
answered, not by giving him the very thing he prayed
for, but something far better, and in the enjoyment
of which he gloried more than he would have done in
the removal of the thorn.
My own embarrassment on this subject arose fiom
not discriminating between the faith that was peculiar to the age of miracles, and the faith that is given
to the church of God, under all dispensations, and in
every age. The Saviour's declaration, on which so
much reliance is placed by the advocates of the prayer
of faith, obviously refers to the faith of miracles. It
was addressed to the disciples, to whom authority was
given to preach the Gospel, to cast out devils, to heal
all manner of diseases, and who were invested with
miraculous power. The miracle of the withered fig-tree,
which excited the wonder of the disciples, led Him to




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229


say, " Have faith in God. I say unto you, that what
things soever ye desire when ye pray, believe that ye
shall receive them, and ye shall have them."  The
promise related to miraculous gifts, and the faith rested on the promise. It was not the faith that received
Jesus Christ, and rested on him alone for salvation;
there is no evidence that Judas did not exercise it,
and work miracles, as well as the other apostles; it
was simply the peculiar faith that believed in the
promise of divine assistance to work miracles. In the
sermon in the fifth volume of Dr. Emmons' Works,
there is a series of remarks which makes it evident to
my own mind, that neither ministers nor churches at
the present day have any right to apply the promise;
and that to do so, is only running into the grossest
delusions. I have known some persons in our own
city who persuaded themselves that this promise was
applicable to them, and who acted under the influence of this delusion. There are men and women still
alive and among us, who remember the circumstances
of the death of Xirs. Pierson, around whose lifeless body her husband assembled a company of believers, with the assurance that if they prayed in
faith, she would be restored to life. Their feelings
were greatly excited, their impressions of their success peculiar and strong. They prayed, and prayed
again, and prayed in faith. But they were disappointed.  There was none to answer, neither was
there any that regarded.  She slept the sleep of
death; they were constrained to follow her to the
grave. St. Paul speaks of a faith that "could remove mountains;" but he tells us that, without




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PERSONAL REMINISCENCES OF THE


Christian love, it is nothing. The Holy Ghost, in
respect to his supernatural gifts, may be given without that charity which is the fruit of the Spirit. The
faith of miracles did not extend beyond the age of
miracles. If, in the rapid progress of the Redeemer's
kingdom, and in its encounters with the Prince and
powers of darkness, the age of miracles should return,
the faith of miracles will return with it. To look for
them now is the wildest fanaticism, and leads to that
dependence upon men and machinery which " sows
the wind and reaps the whirlwind."
I know not how the following letter, from the
Rev. Dr. Richards, of the Auburn Seminary, came
into my possession. I found it among a mass of neglected papers, and think it ought to be preserved. It
is without date, and is marked on the envelope, " Dr.
Richards to Mr. Nettleton."  I presume it was put
into my hands by Mr. Nettleton.
" MY DEAR BROTHER:
" I concur with Brother Prime in thinking it desirable that some measures should be taken to get
what we deem correct views, fully before the public.
Were I, however, to judge of the whole case, by what
appears to me to be taking place in the western section of this State, I should say there is no ground to
fear. Your letter to Oneida County and to a student
in our Seminary, has had a visible and decided effect.
Mr. Williston's sermon, and the pastoral letter from
Oneida Association, have done much to correct the
prevailing errors, and are destined to do still more;
while your review of Mr. Finney's sermon has gone




LIFE AND TIMES OF GARDINER SPRING.


231


to the very core of the business, and will surely be
effective in dissipating much of the illusion which is
connected with these mournful innovations.  They
call it severe, but I call it just, and as timely as it is
just. I think you may greatly felicitate yourself for
having written just such a thing. In my opinion, the
cause of truth demanded it.
"The sermon of Mr. Finney was founded upon a
principle which, if admitted, would sanction every
species of wildness and enthusiasm; or, if it did not
directly sanction, it would furnish a defence, for the
greatest extravagance that ever disgraced the religious world.
" The notice which has been taken of your review in the Troy and Utica papers, need not, I
should suppose, alarm you. Depend upon it, they
feel the weakness of their cause. Much, I know, is
said, and no small stir made, to keep up the spirits of
the friends of the new measures; but we, who have
been looking on, can clearly perceive that their cause
and their resolutions are both at a stand.
" Perhaps I am too much influenced by what I
observe in my own neighborhood; but there are two
facts of a general character which speak pretty distinctly on this subject. One is, that numbers of the
ministers who were for a season carried away with
these novelties, are silently returning to their old
habits, both in their preaching and their intercourse
with their people; and the other, that they are unwilling to allow that any such facts have existed, as have
been made the subject of public criticism and remark.
The truth is, they perceive these things to be indis



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PERSONAL REMIMSCENCES OF THE


pensable, and that the good sense of the community
will not long endure them. Instead, therefore, of replying to the arguments of their opponents, and defending what all the world believed at the time to
exist, they allege that their brethren who have complained are strangely deluded in point of fact; some
abused by false report from people at a distance, and
others by their own imaginations, fancying they saw
and heard things which really never happened, or
which never happened in the manner and circumstances related.
" Can there be any mistake in supposing that they
begin to feel that the waters are running low? A
highly respectable man in Utica told me, three weeks
since, that he had no idea that it would be possible to
get up again the things that have gone by-so sensible were the influential people of the deleterious
effects of what had already happened. Still, pride of
character would not admit of open retraction, nor
could this be done, without awakening the distrust
and perhaps resentment of the more enthusiastic and
less informed.
" A curious state of things also exists in Auburn,
but prudence forbids that I should be very communicative. I will only say it is a state which cannot possibly last. A great deal is done and said to keep up
appearances, but the ebbing tide is fast leaving the
shore. The professors and students, with the exception of three or four (and the confidence of those is
much abated), are of one mind on the subject of revivals; and with us concur the opinions of the Presbytery to which we are attached, and all the minis



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ters and churches to the West. I know of not more
than three or four ministers in the bounds of the two
synods of Geneva and Genesee, that I should suspect
of embracing the views of Mr. Finney.
" Still, no man should sleep at his post. It would
be desirable to spread correct views before the public,
and to take such measures to warn the churches
against approaching danger, as might be both seasonable and effective.  But how shall this be done?
My opinion and that of my associates is, that the
most promising expedient would be for Mr. Weeks,
or Mr. Prime, or some other able and leisure hand, to
make a statement of facts capable of being proved in
a court of justice, accompanied with such remarks as
would fully disclose the unhappy and dangerous character of the spirit which has been displayed, and the
measures adopted in different sections of our country
-something, in short, like what President Edwards
has done in his third and fourth part of a history of a
revival in New England in 1740. Anything short of
this, ill the present stage of the business, will accomplish but little. Our wish would be, that this statement should be preceded by a candid and full allowance of all the good which has been accomplished in
these revivals, and of all the zeal and faithfulness
which have been exhibited by its immediate promoters; that the spirit of Christ should eminently characterize the performance, that it might be seen that
there is a plain distinction between those who mourn
over what has been wrong in this business, and those
who are enemies to all revivals.
"Say what you will of irregularity or extrava



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PERSONAL REMINISCENCES OF THE


gance, and the facts are called in question. A statenent, we think, ought to be made once for all, founded on such evidence that it could not, without great
disingenuousness, be gainsaid. Not that we propose
anything like taking or exhibiting testimony, as in a
court of record, but selecting facts after full investigation, and let them go forth to the world under the
solemn assurance that they are not founded on vague
report, but on evidence of an unquestionable character. A pamphlet of fifty or a hundred pages, we
should think, would be all-sufficient. When it should
be prepared, let it be submitted to a number of respectable clergymen, and let them severally or jointly
lend to it the sanction of their names. We have many
reasons for thinking that such a measure would be
more safe, as well as more effective, than carrying on
a petty warfare in any periodical journal. It would
raise a louder note of warning, and prolong its tones
to a later period, than anything so partial and ephemeral as are most of our newspaper communications,
and their public journals. Such a work might be reviewed, and extracts occasionally taken from it, and
published in the Spectator, New York Observer, and
other papers, as particular circumstances might demand.
" We feel deeply indebted to you and Dr. Porter
for your recent communications, and shall be able, I
doubt not, to turn them to a good account. True,
there are flying reports that Dr. Porter, Dr. Beecher,
Mr. Williston, and I know not who, are going over to
the new measures; but they are empty, and can do
no harm. We think it best to put them down in a




LIFE AND TIMES OF GARDINER SPRING.


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private way, rather than to contradict them by any
public testimony.
" May God preserve your life and health, my dear
Brother, and let nothing discourage you; your voice
has been lifted up, and it will be heard, notwithstanding the murmurings and janglings and wrath of those
who oppose.
"Affectionately yours,
" J. RICHARDS."
The following letter also, from my departed and
venerated Brother, the Rev. Dr. Porter, of Catskill,
refers to the same subject.
"CATSKILL, May 28, 1827.
"REV. GARDINER SPRING, D.D.:
"DEAR SIR: Mr. Nettleton came to this place on
Friday last-is feeble, but considerably better than he
was a few weeks ago; possesses all his strength and
clearness of thought; preached yesterday twice with
great power, and to the astonishment of those who
heard him, and, I hope, to the saving benefit of souls.
"I think it a happy circumstance, in the providence of God, that his letter to yourself came out in
the Observer. I have read Mr. Finney's sermon, and
to my mind it is clear as the noon-day sun, that Mr.
Nettleton's remarks, though one or two of them, at
first view, may seem severe, are unexceptionably correct and in point; and that the irregularities and confusion introduced into revivals at the West, and some
other places, grow directly out of the principle which
the discourse is intended to vindicate. The sermon is




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PERSONAL REMINISCENCES OF THE


a comment, and, I think, a very perfect one, on the
proceedings in the religions meetings in question.
The facts are well attested and abundant, which go to
show that the allusions in AMr. Nettleton's letter, and
also in the pastoral letter of Oneida Association, so far
from coloring too highly what has actually transpired,
are but a faint picture of a management, which, if it
should prevail, cannot fail to tarnish the character of
religious revivals, and render them disreputable in
the view of the religious public, and such as the best
and most enlightened Christians can never approbate,
but must deplore. In a doubtful case, I would speak
with doubt. But in this case, I do not hesitate to say,
there is cause for alarm. I have been looking at this
species of management for a year. I have seen what
appeared to me extremely imprudent and exceptionable, and have learned more, from various sources
entitled to the fullest confidence.  In my humble
judgment, the watchmen of Zion could no longer justify themselves to Christ, without lifting up their
voice.
Mr. Nettleton, at length-whose praise is in all
the churches, and I know not who could be a fitter
person-has published his views. Now, my dear brother, shall not the stated pastors, and those in particular
to whom God has given an extensive influence, step
into the front ranks, and with boldness, and with the
meekness and gentleness of Christ, show their love to
Him, by watching against the wiles of the adversary,
and defending the church He has bought with IHis
own blood, and against the storm that is gathering
over her head, threatening to mar her beauty, and




LIFE AND TIMES OF GARDINER SPRING.


237


despoil her of her ornaments, and bring her to the
very dust in lamentation and woe.
" I have written, my dear sir, more for my own
sake than yours. I have written, if I know my own
heart, from an imperious sense of duty, to express my
views, and give my testimony against what appears
to me to be an evil which we have great cause to fear
and reason to deprecate; and in favor of what demands our seasonable and best efforts to maintain and
defend.
"I am, dear sir, yours in the fullest confidence,
' DAVID PORTER."
Looking back through almost forty years npon the
irregularities of the West, I have not hesitated to condemn them. The new measures require no real selfdenial nor humility, but give fill scope and employment to the opposite emotions, and under specious
names feed those false affections which are so often
regarded as genuine religion. If I mistake not, it is
their tendency to justify and encourage these spurious
emotions, which gives the new measures their popularity. It is a sad mistake when the quantity of religious emotions, rather than their quality, is made the
measure of piety. The fiery, the furious, the martial
has little sympathy with Him who was meek and
lowly in heart. I am afraid of that kind of religion
which enlists the passions of those who fall under its
influence to such a degree, that they seem incapable
any longer of reasoning, or of anything which requires calm and deliberate thought. The tone of
evangelical truth has been sinking fast in the West




238         PERSONAL REMINISCENCES.
for five or six years, and never so rapidly as when
these revivals were in progress. Upon a deliberate
view of this whole subject, I cannot but remark, that
the character of revivals should be guarded with the
greatest care, and not be put at hazard by the hasty
introduction of men or measures, which, by a large
majority of the most experienced friends of revivals,
is considered so calamitous.




CHAPTER XI.


DOMESTIC MISSIONS.
No nation now on the earth is more indebted to
the care and bounty of Divine Providence, than the
people of these States. Descended from an intelligent and pious ancestry, enjoying civil and religious
institutions not equalled by any of the European nations, protected in the midst of dangers, and supported in darkness and distress, multiplied in population,
rich in all the resources of material wealth, and distinguished for their spiritual growth and advancement,
the American people have a high destiny, and were
planted in this land for great and important purposes.
Nor were our forefathers unmindful of the designs of
God's providence, nor of the obligations of their sacred trust in Christianizing this western world. This
was the great field of their benevolent exertions. It
was a vast field, extending from the British dominions on the North, to the Gulf of Mexico on the
South, and from the iron-bound coast of New England on the East, to the Alleghany and Oregon
mountains on the West. Since that period it has extended to the Pacific Ocean, where the heralds of sal



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PERSONAL REMINISCENCES OF TIlE


vation from these lands look across to pagan shores.'
The great valley of the Mississippi alone contains one
million and three hundred and fifty square milesmore than two-thirds of the United States, and one
twenty-eighth part of the entire land-surface of the
earth. It has immense alluvial lands of great variety
and richness of soil, great beauty and fertility, and is
watered by the Mississippi, the Ohio, the St. Francis,
the Arkansas, the White River, the Missouri, and the
Red River, which are some of the finest in the world.
It deserves to be recorded, that in the year 1698,
a voluntary society was formed in England, called the
" Society for Promoting Christian IKnowledge," the
object of which was to disseminate the knowledge of
the Gospel in foreign parts, and principally among
the British plantations in America. In the year 1781
this society obtained a charter from William III., by
which they were incorporated and invested with full
powers for carrying into effect their benevolent design, " in promoting the real and practical knowledge
of the true religion, by such methods as appeared to
them, from time to time, to be most conducive to that
end."  This venerable society enjoys the glory of being the first laborer in this western world. The early
settlers in this country were cheered by their efforts;
their correspondence with them was a welcome impulse to their own infant enterprises, and they hailed
them as honored fellow-laborers in the work of converting this barren land into a fruitful field.
God had raised up the Puritans of New England,
and girded them for this spiritual war. They were
not only men of valor, but strictness and even severity




LIFE AND TIMES OF GARDINER SPRING.


241


of manners; qualifications that are very apt to be
characteristic even of good men, when their religion
puts them in peril. Their first efforts were directed
towards evangelizing the native Indians, that brave
and ill-used race, now melting away before the Anglo-Saxons, like snow beneath a vertical sun. Antecedent to the period to which these reminiscences
refer, there were Elliot and the Maylews, Seargeant
and the Brainerds, the elder Wheelock and Kirkland,
men whose names are embalmed in the memory of
these aboriginal tribes, and whose life and services,
whose steady zeal and untiring disinterestedness, commend thein to our reverence and love.
The earliest recollections I have of home missions,
are associated with the efforts of my honored father
in the turmation of the Massachusetts Missionary Society, and the origin and support of the Massachusetts Missionary Magazine. That society was formed
in Boston on the 28th of May, 1799, and was duly organized by the appointment of Dr. Emmons as president, Dr. Austin as secretary, Deacon Simpkins as
treasurer, and Rev. Messrs. Sanford, Hopkins, Weld,
Spring, Niles, Barker, Crane, Austin, and Strong,
trustees.  The Massachusetts Missionary Magazine
was commenced in the year 1803, and the profits of
it were devoted to " the support of missionaries in the
new settlements, and among the Indians in North
America." It was extended to five volumes, from
May, 1803, to May, 1808. I was acquainted with its
commencement and progress, and with the leading
contributors to its pages. They were Dr. Emmons,
Dr. Sanford, Dr. Daniel Hopkins, Mr. Samuel Niles,
VOL. I.-11




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PERSONAL REMINISCENCES OF THE


Dr. Holmes, Dr. Parish, and my father; and comprised the theologians of the Hopkinsian and Calvinistic schools, uniting their efforts, as they were accustomed to do, "to edify Christians, and inform the
rising generation."  The " IZeligious Conference between Clerus and his Young Friends," begun in the
first volume, and continued in ten successive numbers;
"L The Character of Dr. Samuel Hopkins," "Questions
to Exercise the Minds of Children," " The Rural Assembly," in the same volume; " Conference between a
Calvinist and Mfethodist," ".Dialogues between Agnostes and Philalethes," in three successive numbers
in the second volume; $" 7Je Ninth of Romans," in
two numbers in the third volume, were written by my
father.  Five successive numbers on the "Divine
Immutability," in the first volume, were from the
pen of Dr. Emmons. He was a large contributor to
this magazine, and, if I mistake not, wrote over the
signature of Theophilus. The " Letters from Pascal
to Julia," in the first and second volumes-more than
twenty in number-were written by Dr. Austin, of
Worcester. I have received many important hints,
and no small amount of instruction, from this valuable publication.  The discussions in some of our
modern quarterlies about the Conditioned and the
Absolute, and Hard MIatter, neither instruct nor edify
me half so much as the doctrinal discussions and
practical treatises of the earlier magazines.
Though small in its beginnings, the Massachusetts
Missionary Society did good service in the home-field.
The Rev. Messrs. Avery, Crar, Sa-wyer, Alexander,
Wines, and Sewall, some of them in western New




LIFE AND TIMES OF GARDINER SPRING.


243


York, others in the district of lMaine, others in Vermont and Pennsylvania, extending their ministrations
to the Indian tribes and Upper Canada, though often
disheartened, persevered in their work with a resolution and zeal worthy of their high calling, and compensated with marked tokens of the divine favor.
That great region which lies West of the Hudson, and
reaches to Lake Erie, was then a desert; now few, if
any, portions of the American Church have more
strength and vigor, or are more abundant in the fruits
of - oliness.
The iJPissrionary Society of Connecticut was formed
in June, -_798, a year in advance of the Massachusetts
society, and was patronized by the first civilians in
the State, tfie leading clergymen, and the great body
of tl,; churches.
This society was largely patronized. The Connecticut Evangelical Magazine, one of the best publications, and establishedl in 1800, consecrated all the
profits arising from the sale of it to the formation of a
p rmanent fund, the annual interest of which was appropriated to the cause of missions. It was sustained,
in vigor, by such men as Dr. Strong, Dr. Backus, Dr.
Perkins, Dr. Hart, Dr. Smalley, Dr. Trumbul, Dr.
Dwight, Dr. Lewis, the younger Edwards, the late
Governor Treadwell, and their associates. The late
Dr. Strong himself furnished no less than eighty original communications for these instructive volumes.
By the courtesy of the printer, I have received the
entire list of his communications, and of the subjects
which employed his pen. They were plain thoughts
on great subjects, and well fitted to instruct and in



244


PERSONAL REMINISCENCES OF THE


terest all classes of readers, promote the spirituality
of ministers and people, and save the souls of men.
Noble men were the conductors of this magazine, and
not the least among them was this Nathan Strong, of
Hartford. I know of nothing in any of the fugitive
publications of the present day, that stands abreast
with the theology and the piety of the old Connecticut Evangelical.Magazine.
The field of operations of the Connecticut society
was the Indian tribes bordering on Lake Erie, the
western and northern parts of Vermont, the settlements on the Delaware and Susquehaina rivers in
the State of Pennsylvania, and adjacert egions in
the State of New York, and also the region northwest
of the Ohio River called the Western reserve. In
the year 1814, this society had in its service _rtythree missionaries, some laboring in New Hampshire,
some in Vermont, some in northern and western New
York, and some in the north counties of Pennsylvania, New Connecticut, and other parts of the State of
Ohio. Liberal as was this supply, not only was t1e
harvest great and the laborers few, but on the same
field it was not possible for the laborers to overtake
the labor. And still the work goes on, an honor to
old Connecticut, and the pledge that this society will
not be " weary in well doing."
We give all due honor to the churches in New
England in this effort.  Our Puritan fathers and
brethren have greatly exceeded us in the arzwount and
success of missionary effort; while it was to the Presbyterian Church that the providence of God awarded
the honor of first breaking up the fallow ground.




LIFE AND TTIES OF GARDINER SPRING.


245


Inder the colonial government, and as early as the
year 1709, the General Presbytery made an appeal to
the churches in London through Sir Edmond Harison, to extend their liberality to the destitute in this
land; and the following year the Presbytery made
the same appeal to the Presbytery of Dublin. The
first fund created was in the year 1717, and in 1718
the Synod made a second appeal to the churches in
Ireland, and in the same year another appeal to the
dissenting miristers in London. In 1719 the first appropriation of funds received from Glasgow was made
to the Presbyterian congregation in New York, and
a yearly collection was appointed throughout all the
church s of the Synod. The first appointment of
itinerant missionaries was made in the year 1722, and
to the destitute in the State of Virginia. In 1732
these efforts were so seriously obstructed by illegal
prosecutions, that an appeal was made to Governor
Gooch, of Virginia, to protect the missionaries, to
which he gave a favorable answer, promising the
countenance of the government upon the condition
of their good behavior, and their conformity to the
Act of Toleration in England. In 1753 the celebrated
Samuel Davis, then in London, was authorized by the
Synod to use his influence in obtaining a redress of
these grievances. In 1764 the Synod extended their
operations into North Carolina, and in 1776 they sent
a missionary from New England into the western
frontiers of New York, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania. In 1752, the Presbytery of New York ordained and commissioned a missionary to the Indians; and in 1756 they employed Mr. John Brai





246


PERSONAL REMINISCENCES OF THE


nerd in this service, who continued his faithful labors
until his death, in 1781. In 1761 they established a
mission among the Oneidas, under the care of the
Rev. Sampson Occum, an Indian of the Mohegan
tribe, educated by Dr. Wheelock. In 1763 they appointed an exploring expedition to the West, and directed Dr. Allison, Dr. Witherspoon, Dr. Rodgers,
Mr. Brainerd, and Mr. Ewing, to devise and report a
plan for their more extended operations. In 1801
they established the Sandusky mission, and in 1805
the Synod of Pittsburgh reported to the General Assembly that they had commenced operations on the
Alleghany and Lake Erie shore, among the Wyandots
and Senecas. In 1803 they established a mission
among the Catawbas, and in 1805 among the Cherokees. In 1802 the Assembly appointed the Standing
Committee of Hissions, to superintend the missionary
business, and to whom the Presbyteries were to make
their report; and in 1816 this committee was constituted a commission, under the style of the Board of
fissions, who, in 1827, il addition to the powers already granted them, were authorized to manage, appoint, and direct the whole concerns and business of
the Assembly's missions, and report annually their
doings to the Assembly. Under this arrangement,
the missions of the General Assembly were conducted
with efficiency and success, extending the boundaries
of the church, organizing new congregations, and establishing churches in the neglected and waste places
of-the land. As the results of their efforts, between
the years 1830 and 1850, the increase of missionaries
was from one hundred and one, to five hundred and




LIFE AND TIMES OF GARDINER SPRING.


247


seventy; the increase of funds from $12,000 to
$79,000; the organization of nine hundred and fortythree new churches, the erection of fourteen hundred
and eighty-four houses of worship, and the addition
of over forty thousand souls, on the profession of their
faith, to the missionary churches. To the God of
Zion be all the praise!
Among the important coadjutors in this work. were the New York Missionary Society, the New Jersey Jlissionary Society, the Young Jfen's Jlissionary
Society of New York, the Evangelical.Missionary
Societf, the Presbyterian Board of Domestic li8ssions, and the American Home lMissionary Society.
The selected field of the New York society was the
Indian territory in the remote West; while that of
the New Jersey society was in territories nearer home.
The Young   Ien's Missionary Society of this city rose
from small beginnings, but by very considerable accessions to its members and its resources, and by the
entli Miastic spirit which animated it, gave a powerful
impulse to the good cause, and promised to be one of
the important agencies in the missionary work. It
was composed of the young men from all our evangelical churches; its officers were men of intelligence,
enterprise, and honored Christian character, and its
practical influence upon the young men of our city
was of the most desirable kind.  But the age of
bigotry and dogmatism had not passed away. While I
was a member of its Board of Directors in the year 1817,
and-cheerfully united with my fellow-laborers in the
appointment of all well-qualified missionaries of evangelical views, it was not difficult to perceive that the




248


PERSONAL REMINISCENCES OF TIIE


Board were unduly influenced by their apprehensions
of the theological errors of some of their own number,
as well as of some who were proposed to be employed
in their service. The controversy between Hopkinsians and Calvinists was then at its height, and the
Board adopted a principle in the appointment of its
missionaries which was not only unwise and uncalled
for, but utterly subversive of the missionary enterprise. The nomination of the Rev. Samuel H. Cox,
who was strongly recommended by myself and Eleazer Lord, Esq., as a young man of brilliant talents,
exemplary piety, and sound in the faith, and as
strongly opposed by the Rev. Dr. Matthews and
others, brought the subject fully and fairly before the
Board; and after a thorough investigation of the
views of the candidate upon the doctrines of original
sin, the nature of true religion, the extent of the
Atonement, and the sinner's inability, Mr. Cox was
rejected. An appeal from this decision was made to
the society itself, constituted, as it was, of men of
evangelical views, though differing in their construetion of some Calvinistic doctrines. The meetings of
the society were held in the session-room of the old
Brick Church, where, for several successive evenings,
the questions and the doctrines involved were freely
and abundantly discussed. It was a most exciting
scene. The principal advocates of the decision of the
Board were the Rev. Dr. Matthews, the Rev. Dr.
McLeland, and Thomas Warner, Esq., and the principal opposers of that decision, George Griffin, Theodore Sedgewick, Eleazer Lord, Esqs., and the Rev.
Dr. Spring. We traversed the whole disputed terri



LIFE AND TIMES OF GARDINER SPRING.


249


tory, and, with some discourteous interruptions from
Dr. Matthews, were listened to with patient earnestness. It was purely a theological discussion, and such
an one as I have never listened to before, nor since;
and threw more light upon the minds of the masses,
in relation to the doctrines of the Reformers, than
could have been easily thrown in any other way, and
in the same time. It formed a memorable epoch in
the history of the Presbyterian Church. A few men,
advanced in years, are still living among us who have
more than once testified to the importance of this discussion in forming their doctrinal opinions. It was a
season of deep interest to the clergy of our city and
land; some of them fearing, and others hoping for,
an open division in our evangelical churches. No
small influence was exerted against us by the talent,
standing, and piety of some of our fathers in the
ministry, and the result was, the society vindicated
the action of the Board in the rejection of the candidate. We were in the minority; and immediately
after the meeting at which these discussions were concluded, proceeded to organize a new society. As a matter of history, the following document is here inserted,
pr,:enting more fully thefacts which led to this result.
"'-Defence to ourselves, if not to the public, demands an explanation of the origin and design of the
NEW   YORK EVANGELICAL MISSIONARY SOCIETY OF
YOUNG MEN. An event of so much notoriety as the
secession of more than one hundred young men from
an institution whose professed object is the propagation of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, cannot, at first
VOL. i. -11




250


PERSONAL REMINISCENCES OF THE

view, be regarded but with sentiments of regret. At
an age of the world when the various denominations
of Christendom begin to feel that they have attached
too much importance to the things in which they
differ, and not enough to those in which they agree;
when the dissemination of the Gospel is the great
and common cause which unites the affections, the
prayers, and the exertions of the great family of believers; and in the promotion of which they already
begin to find a grave for their party spirit and sectarian prejudices; nothing but considerations of conmanding influence can justify a disjunction of missionary labors. Charity suffereth long; but there is
a point beyond which Christian forbearance cannot
be extended, and when the wisdom that cometh from
above demands a struggle, not only to extend the Redeemer's kingdom abroad, but to maintain its independence at home.
"Considerations of this imperative character did
exist, and led to the organization of this infant ilnstitu
tion. On the 23d of January, 1809, a number of
young men of different religious denominations in the
city of New York, formed themselves into a society
for the purpose of raising a filnd to aid in promot ng
the objects of the New York Missionary Society. So
unexpected was the success, and so hopeful the,;Omise of this institution, that, on the 14th of February,
1816, it resolved on the future management of its own
hunds, independently of the parent society. It was
no longer the Assistant New York Missionary Society,
but the Young Men's Missionary Society of New
York.




LIFE AND TIMES OF GARDINER SPRING.


251


" Though it was expected that this institution
would consecrate its efforts to the great work of disseminating the Gospel, without descending to the littleness of party distinction, circumstances of no equivocal import very early indicated that there were some
unhappy jealousies in the Board of Directors on the
subject of Christian theology. A studious effort to
avoid bringing the points of difference into view, together with the spirit of mutual conciliation and confidence, which appeared to be gradually increasing, it
was hoped, would repress everything like secret alienation, as well as remove the possibility of open rupture. But in this respect the fondest hopes were defeated. These miserable jealousies had never slept.
At their recent session on the 11th of November last,
Mr. Samuel Hanson Cox, without his own knowledge, was nominated to the Board as a suitable candidate for the missionary service. Mr. Cox was himself a member of the Missionary Society, and in October last was licensed to preach the Gospel by the
unanimous vote of the Presbytery of New York. The
minority were at no loss to determine that this nomination was not grateful to the majority of the Board.
As the most compendious method of overruling it,
and with the impression that the funds of the society
would not authorize the appointment of more than
one missionary in addition to the one in actual employment, the Rev. Arthur J. Stansbury, of the Associate Reformed Church, was introduced to the Board
as a rival candidate. With the hope of avoiding concussion, and with the desire to evince an exemption
from party prejudice, the mover of the resolution




252


PERSONAL REMINISCENCES OF THE


nominating Mr. Cox, begged leave to insert the name
of Mr. Stansbury in conjunction with that of Mr.
Cox, thus placing the candidates of either side on
equal ground. But the difficulty was neither removed
nor diminished. The apprehension was too well
grounded that the object to be secured by the majority was not the appointment of Mr. Stansbury, so
much as the rejection of Mr. Cox. The appearance
of this determination, while it did not allay the fears
of the minority, excited equal surprise and regret.
Nothing but the thorny field of controversy now lay
before them. Still reluctant, however, to hazard the
interests of a society hitherto so prosperous, anxious
to avert the probable issues of a public conflict, and
most unwilling to embarrass the Redeemer's cause by
dissensions among his professed followers, the minority were happy to have it understood that the subject be informally referred to the Committee of iMissions.
" That committee were convened on the following
Monday. The name of Mr. Cox was mentioned with
diffidence and solicitude. No objection was made to
his talents or piety. It was too well known to be disputed, that, in both these particulars, he enjoyed no
small share of public confidence. The majority of
the committee had, however, unhappily associated
with the name of Mr. Cox certain religious sentiments which they deemed unsound, and' which they
supposed to be inconsistent with the character of a
useful missionary. It was not to be concealed that,
in the great outlines of truth, his views accorded
rather with those entertained by Calvin, Edwards,




LIFE AND TIMIES OF GARDINER SPRING.


253


Bellamy, Scott, Smalley, Dwight, Pierce, Ryland,
Fuller, and, indeed, with the great body of the Christian world in this period of enlightened piety, than
with the incoherent and unintelligible dogmas with
which local intolerance seems resolved to burden the
Church of Christ. If not to believe that we actually
sinned in Eden, six thousand years before we were
born; if not to believe that the inability of the unregenerate to comply with the terms of salvation is the
same as their inability to pluck the sun from his orbit; if not to believe that the depravity of man destroys his accountability; if not to believe that the
Atonement is made exclusively for the elect; if not to
believe that the elect are invested with a title to eternal life, on principles of distributive justice, while
destitute of renewing and sanctifying grace; if not to
believe that the Christian's love of God is founded in
selfishness, as completely as the miser's love of gold;
if want of assent to these repulsive notions disqualifies a man for the missionary service, then, doubtless,
Mr. Cox is disqualified. But if a cordial adherence
to the truth that through the sin of Adam all mankind are sinners from the first moment of their own
existence; that the inability of the unregenerate,
though absolute, inculpates rather than excuses them;
that, notwithstanding his apostasy, man is still a free
agent;, and accountable for his character; that the
Atonement is unlimited in its nature, and limited
only:in its application; that the salvation of the elect
is no-t of debt, but of grace; that all holy affection,
though caused by the divine Spirit, is founded on the
divine excellence rather than the divine favor; if a




254


PERSONAL REMINISCENCES OF THE


firm belief and cordial reception of these glorious
truths qualifies a man for the ministry of reconciliation, then the minority have every reason to concur
in the unanimous opinion of the Presbytery of New
York that Mr. Cox is qualified.
" Notwithstanding this diversity of sentiment, it
has been well understood that there was no reluctance on the part of the minority to cooperate with the
majority in any measures to advance the missionary
cause. While the minority loved the truth, and designed to maintain it, it was far from their purpose
and their wishes that the spirit of theological controversy should creep into the missionary society, or
these differences in doctrine ever be recognized in
their appointment of missionaries. Nor can they be
accused of a single departure from this catholic principle. In the appointment of Mr. Cox, they asked no
more than they were willing to give. Presuming
that questions of similar import might hereafter agitate the society, unless the present case should be
avowedly decided as a precedent, the committee
agreed, without a dissenting voice, to decide upon
the present nomination as involving the principle,
whether any man holding Jfr. Cox's sentiments
should be eligible to their employment?' With this
important question before them, they separated without a decision, agreeing solemnly and prayerfully to
review the whole subject, and convene for their final
decision on the following Friday.
"On Friday all were present, except one in the
minority. There was much inquiry and some d-iscussion. After having received a full development of




LIFE AND TIYES OF GARDINER SPRING.


255


Mr. Cox's views from a member of their own Board,
the committee resolved,' That it is inexpedient to recommend Mr. Cox to the Board of Directors as a missionary.' The ground of this resolution was but one
-that the religious sentiments of Mr. Cox savored so
much of error, and'contained so visibly the germ of
heresy, that the committee felt bound to withhold
from him their sanction as a missionary of the cross.
The votes were four for and two against this resolution; when it was resolved unanimously, That it is
inexpedient to recommend to the Board the Rev. Arthur J. Stansbury as a missionary.
" The evening of the same day was to convene the
Board of Directors to receive the report of this committee. On the reading of this report it was moved,
That, notwithstanding the decision of the Committee
of Missions, Mr. Samuel H. Cox be appointed a missionary in the service of the society for the term of six
months. After discussing this resolution at considerable length, the Board determined to follow the example of the Committee of Missions, and defer their
decision to a further meeting. On Friday of the next
week they met, when all the directors were present.
Either with the hope of avoiding a fill discussion of
the resolution on the table, or with the expectation
that the minority would resist the proposal, it was
moved by the majority that the further consideration
of the proposition respecting the employment of Mr.
Cox be deferred, in order to consider the recommendation of the Committee of Missions respecting Mr.
Stansbury. Whatever might have been the views of
the minority of such a course of measures, they deter



256


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mined not to oppose them, and therefore cordially
united with the majority in engaging Mr. Stansbury
as their missionary. The contrast between the conduct pursued by the minority and that persisted in by
the majority, must strike every Christian eye, and
impress itself on every Christian heart.
" Not without the hope that the liberal sentiments
of the minority in this appointment would soften the
rigor of the majority, the motion was renewed for the
appointment of Mr. Cox. Very considerable discussion ensued. The minority used every effort to ward
off and lighten the shock. They entreated the majority to avoid the hazard of a rash decision. They entreated them to regard the honor and prosperity of
the common cause. They entreated them not to lose
sight of the grand object of the institution, and forget
the claims of the perishing. But it was al in vain.
A tide had set in, which could not be turned out of
its course; a torrent which it was hopeless to resist;
a deluge of intolerance which threatened to sweep
away every mound, and in its progress to desolate the
fairest portions of the Redeemer's heritage. The lamentable decision was passed, negativing the appointment of Mr. Cox as a missionary, and virtually recognizing the principle that no man of similar views
could be patronized by the Board. The votes on this
question stood twelve to six. Two members. of the
Board, at heart with the minority, from coinsiderations of peculiar delicacy which did them honor, declined voting, who, from considerations of high attachment to truth and justice which have done them
greater honor, have since connected themselves with




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the newly-organized institution, and accepted a seat
in its direction.
" There is something in the retrospect of what is
wrong that goads the mind. After all the promptness with which it is accomplished, the aspect of evil,
after it is done, is ugly and distressing. The deed
was performed, and it was fondly hoped that some
misgivings of heart were discoverable on the part of
the majority. The inquiry was made by the minority, and reiterated by the less determined of the majority, Is there no way in which this breach can be healed? Lest it should be imagined by some of the majority, and lest the intimation should possibly be suggested at some future period, that the minority were
contending for an individual, rather than for those
whom he represented, and were more attached to the
name of Mr. Cox than to the principle involved in
their discussion, they submitted the proposition on
the spot, though not by a formal resolution, to unite
with the majority in declaring it to be inexpedient to
appoint Mr. Cox, provided the majority would yield
the principle that a licentiate or minister in good
standing, holding Mr. Cox's sentiments, should not
be considered as an outlaw from the missionary service. The proposition was rejected with a tone of
such decision by the leaders of the majority, that
there was no other alternative than for the minority
either silently to withdraw from the society, or bring
the whole subject before them at their annual meeting, which was just at hand. To the latter course
they were urged, as well by a multitude of counsellors, as by every correct sentiment of duty to them



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selves and the Church of God. Especially did they
consider the claims of the society imperative, because
of the fourteen congregations of which it was composed, no less than six of its directors were from the
Reformed Dutch church in Garden-street. Whatever
might be the views of the great body of the society of
the points of faith discussed in the Board, the minority did not believe that they would justify the directors in making these differences the governing principle of their conduct in the appointment of missionaries. At the close of the annual meeting, therefore,
a brief statement of what had transpired in the Board,
was succeeded by the following
"' Resolution: Whereas, it appears that some unhappy differences of opinion concerning certain religious doctrines have existed in the minds of the directors of this society, and that these differences,
though involving nothing inconsistent with the constitution or object of this society, have unduly influenced the minds of the directors in their appointment
of missionaries, therefore, Resolved, That the society
disapprove such measures as have been pursued by the
Board, recognizing the diferences above named as the
governing principle of their conduct, and most earnestly recommend to them, in their proceedings as directors, to leave out of view all those disagreemzents in
sentiment which may have a tendency to weaken the
union and paralyze the efforts of this once harmonious association.'  After much altercation, and unwearied effort to avoid the discussion by motions of
amendment, by the introduction of substitutes, and by
one unmanly effort at an? indefnitepostponement, the




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259


minority were permitted to enter upon the discussion,
having stricken out of the original resolution the
clause openly disapproving the conduct of the directors. The points of difference in religious opinion
were necessarily brought into view, opposed by the
one party, and defended by the other. In the course
of the argument, the minority freely referred to the
sacred Scriptures in justification of their views; feeling it their duty to maintain the principles they
avowed by unequivocal declarations of the word of
God, rather than by denouncing the opinions of other
men, or by appealing to human authorities. The
course they pursued, however, did not pass without
reprehension. They were not a little surprised and
mortified to hear a reverend gentleman of the majority
express his hope that if any person should introduce
arguments from the Bible in support of his positions,
he should be considered out of order; adding, that if
this course were admitted, the discussion might be
protracted through the winter. Nor was their mortification diminished, to hear another reverend gentleman of the majority concur in this extraordinary
proposal. Safe as such a measure would have proved
to the majority, and little as they wished to be encumbered with Scripture testimony, happily no question
was formally taken on the subject. The period had
not yet arrived when, by a solemn vote of a religious
assembly, quotations from Scripture should be declared ' out of order,' in the discussion of a theological
question.
" After several long evenings, the strength and
patience of the society were exhausted. As the dis



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PERSONAL REMINISCENCES OF THE


cussion drew towards a close, and it was seen that a
division in the society would inevitably be the result
of a vote sustaining the conduct of the directors, the
minority resolved to make one more effort to save
fiom impending ruin an institution reared by united
labors, and cemented by united prayers and tears.
They expressed their willingness to strip the resolution on the table of everything that should have a
retrospective influence; they were anxious to overlook all that was past, provided they could have some
pledge of toleration for the time to come. Unwilling
to relinquish this last, though almost forlorn hope,
they begged the privilege of submitting a resolution
simply recognizing the principle that licentiates or
ministers of the Gospel in good standing in the church
of Christ, and acknowledged to be sound in the faith
by a Judicatory of the Dutch Reformed, Associate
Reformed, or Presbyterian churches, and who possess,
in the judgment of the directors, the other proper
qualifications as missionaries, shall be indiscriminately
employed by the society. More than this the minority consented not to ask; less, it was thought, the
majority could not give.  The only question then
was, whether, irrespective of their differences of sentiment, the society would, upon principles that were
impartial and honorable, combine their efforts in the
missionary cause.
" It was the joy of the minority to be permitted
to live in an age of the world which calls upon them
to unite with men, differing, indeed, from them in
important articles of faith, but according with them
in the great designs of glory to God and good-will to




LIFE AND TIMES OF GARDINER SPRING.


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men. The heathen were perishing in their blood. It
was no time to foster the spirit of alienation and bigotry.  The fields were whitening to the harvest.
From every desert and every mountain the cry was
reverberating, ' Thrust ye in the sickle! ' A sphere
of action was opening upon the rising generation,
such as the world never saw. The minority hoped
that the majority would tread back their ground with
the magnanimity of Christian heroism; or, if they revolted at this, that they would welcome this last proposal-would rejoice to strike their hands with ours
in this holy league; and wherever else we might admit them, eternally banish all our differences of sentiment from this hitherto harmonious society.
" But what were their feelings when the proposition-in a manner how little resembling the Christian
spirit, will never be forgotten-was repelled as cowardly, and promptly, though reluctantly, withdrawn.
Their utmost fears were now realized, and the hope of
conciliation forever extinguished. There remained
the sweet conviction, that an invisible and almighty
hand would yet be discovered and exalted in this unsearchable providence, and that there was One on the
throne who was able to redeem the pledge, ' The wrath
of man shall praise the Lord, and the remainder of
wrath he will restrain.'
" The yeas and nays being called for, the question
was decided against the resolution by a majority of
one hundred and eighty-two to ninety-one. Two hundred and fourteen members of the Society were absent, and a very considerable number of those present
declined voting. By this ruthful blow was this fair




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PERSONAL REMINISCENCES OF TIIE


temple cloven to its base. If solicitude, and entreaty,
and tears, could have availed, it would have stood firm
and risen high. But the blow that severed it laid the
deep and broad foundation for an edifice whose triumphal arch and lofty dome will be seen from afar.
Abundant thanksgiving is due to the great Head of the
Church, that we have been carried through the conflict, and that in the darkest season the pillar and the
cloud were before us. ' Not unto us, 0 Lord, not unto
us, but to thy name give glory, for thy mercy and thy
truth's sake ' It has been an event which in prospect
we deplored, and which in its approaches has been resisted by every expedient which truth and charity
could dictate. It has been a struggle for all that is
dear in religious liberty. It has been a conflict for
Gospel truth. It has been the birth-pang of the
daughter of Zion for the souls of the heathen. But
the agony is over. We are troubled on every side,
but not distressed; we are perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; cast down, but not
destroyed. Though disfranchised, we inherit; though
excommunicated, we commune; though amputated
from the body, we hold the Head. While the earth
is the Lord's and the fulness thereof, our purpose is to
breathe his vital air, and display a banner because of
the truth. This will we do if God permit. It is of
little purpose that we should be thought to have gained
the victory; it is sufficient to have gained a release
from that spirit of intolerant bigotry to which we are
willing to bid adieu forever."
Immediately after the meeting at which the discussions above mentioned were concluded, the minority




LIFE AND TIMES OF GARDIiNER SPRING.


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proceeded to organize the " New York Evangelical
Missionary Society of Young Men." It was a large
meeting when the constitution was adopted, while a
few weeks afterwards the society numbered more than
four hundred members. The Board of Directors at
their first meeting unanimously resolved to employ
Mlr. Samuel 1-. (oox sa their Missionary. It was a
-noble Board, and nobly and successfully were they devoted to their work. The City and State of New
York were the field early selected by them, and were
occupied by most devoted tmen. It was my privilege,
as the Secretary, to eorresplod with the missionaries,
and to address the commiunities to which they were
sent; and much as it added to my labors, it is with
thankfulness that I look back to the part I was called
to perform in originating and Su staining this society.
It was an honor to be a fellow-worker with them, and to
greet them as fellow-workers with me, not only in the
missionary cause, but in every good word and work.
They gathered around me, encouraged and strengthened me, and gave a hallowed influence to the church
of which I was pastor and so many of them were members. Little did I think that so many of those beloved
young men would be called to the rest that remaineth
for the people of God, and leave me alone to give this
brief notice of what -le has wrought hb them. To
the best of my knowledge, there is but a solitary one
of that Board of Directors now remaining, and he is
an old man. Nor can I now recollect but one of our
missionaries who is now on the earth. The lovely
man whom we early employed in this city, at what
was then called Corlears Hook, after having laid the




264


PERSONAL REMINISCENCES OF THE


foundation of two large congregations in one of the
most destitute parts of the city, finished his honored
course in the State of Ohio as the President of the
Miami University. Well do I remember that Brother.
For a series of years we met for prayer on the afternoon of every Saturday, his study and my own alternating the privilege. They were sweet seasons. And
they were instructive seasons, when by the interchange
of subjects and thoughts we both felt invigorated for
the services of the sanctuary. I would speak of other
departed missionaries; but though I may not linger
in the land of darkness, I could not pass the graveyard without stopping at the sepulchre of Elihu W.
Baldwin.
The American Hfome Mlissionary Society has long
and deservedly held, and still holds, a wide place in
the confidence of the churches. Its object from the
beginning has been, and still is, to assist congregations
that are unable to support the Gospel ministry, and to
send the Gospel to the destitute within the United
States. It was composed of the friends of missions in
the Congregational, Presbyterian, and Dutch Reformed churches in all parts of the country, and was
designed to be a national institution. Several preliminary consultations on the subject of forming such
a society were held at Andover and Boston, attended
by some of the most eminent ministers in New England, at the last of which it was unanimously resolved,
That in the opinion of this meeting it is expedient to
attempt the formation of a National Domestic Mllissionary Society.  Local societies there were in the
New England States. The United -Domestic Mission



LIFE AND TIMES OF GARDINER SPRING.


265


ary Society of New York, formed in May, 1822, by
delegates from ten smaller and local societies, and in
no sense a denominational institution, was prosecuting
its work with ireat efficiency, and from the wellknown character of its committee, were prepared for
the adoption of any Nvell-devised arrangement that
should secure a more imited and combined effort for
the spread of thie Gospel among the destitute. At
the request of the meeting in Boston, the Executive
Committee of this society addressed a circular to a
large number of the lchurchles, inviting them to convene at the sessionl-room of the Brick Presbyterian
Church in the city of New York, for the purpose of
forming an American ilome Mlissionary Society. This
circular vwias signed by Abh)ialom Peters, Corresponding Secretary; Peter H]awce, Treasurer; Stephen
Lockwood, Recording Secretary; and by John D.
Keese, Chairman; Gardiner Spring', Jas. M. Matthews,
Thomas McAuley, Elihu W. Baldwin, John Nitchie,
Eleazer Lord, Knowles Taylor, Archibald Falconer,
and Thomas Webster, Executive Comunittee. The response to this invitation was a large assemblage in
convention of one hundred and twenty-six ministers
and laymen from thirteen States and Territories of
the Union,-men of high character in church and
state, and from four different Christian denominations. The Rev. Dr. Day, of Yale Collerge, was appointed Chairman of the Convention, and Rev. Drs.
De Witt and Chester Secretaries. A   constitution,
previously prepared under the direction of the United
Domestic Missionary Society, was read, and, on motion of Hon. Chancellor Kent, seconded by Rev. Dr.
VOL. 1.-12










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PERSONAL REMINISCENCES OF TIE


Bates, of Middlebury College, was discussed, amended,
and approved as the Constitution of the American
Home Missionary Society; and on motion of Dr.
Blythe, of Kentucky, seconded by Rev. Dr. Richards,
of Auburn Seminary, it was recommended to the
United Domestic Missionary Society to "adopt the
same, and become the American Home Missionary
Society." It did become so by its own action on the
12th of May, 1826, adopting the recommendation of
the Convention, and becoming the Americazn Home
Xissionary Society under the constitution thus recommended. In all this happy arrangement the Presbyterian Church, as a body, were heart and hand with
their brethren of the Dutch, the Scotch, and the Congregational Churches. The late venerable Dr. Miller
and Dr. Alexander, of Princeton Seminary, in a letter addressed to the Corresponding Secretary, dated
Princeton, March 6, 1826, say: "We rejoice to hear
that there is a plan in contemplation for forming a
Domestic Missionary Society on a much larger scale
than has heretofore existed. Our prayer is that the
God of all grace may rouse the spirit of the nation on
this subject."  Few societies, if any, in this land were
ever formed under brighter auspices, or enjoyed larger
measures of the divine favor. Its executive officers
for the first year were: Treasurer, Peter Hawes, Esq.,
New York; Auditor, Arthur Tappan, Esq., New
York; Corresponding Secretary, Rev. Absalom Peters,
New York; Recording Secretary, Stephen Lockwood,
Esq., New York. At a meeting of the Directors, May
13, 1826, the Executive Committee were appointed,
viz., John D. Keese Chairman; Rev. Gardiner Spring,




LIFE AND TIMES OF GARDINER SPRING.


267


D.D., Rev. James M. Matthews, D.D., Rev. Elihu
W. Baldwin, Rev. Matthias Bruen, Messrs. Thomas
Webster, John Nitchie, Archibald Falconer, Knowles
Taylor, Eleazer Lord.   Members ex-officio, Peter
HIawes, Esq., Treas., Rev. Absalom Peters, Corresponding Secretary, Stephen Lockwood, Esq., Recording Secretary.
The United Domestic Missionary Society continued
its operations but four short years, and was then
merged in the American Home Missionary Society.
At the close of their fourth annual report, the United
Society say:
" It has been our privilege to be made the organs
of assembling in this city, the present week, a numerous and respectable convention of the fiiends of Domestic Missions from all parts of the United States,
for the purpose of forming an ' American Home Missionary.' The unanimous and highly auspicious result of their deliberations will be laid before this Society at the present meeting. We have only to add,
that should you adopt the recommendation of that
Convention, the present is the last report which the
Society, in its present form, will be called on to accept from their Committee. Were it to be the close
of your efforts in the same cause, we would call the
people of the land to mourning. But it is happily
otherwise. The United Domestic Missionary Society
will here lay down its life, to takle it again. We come
to the close of our fourth year, therefore, with such
feelings as surviving friends are wont to cherish when
they stand over the grave of a good man, and there,
in remembrance of all that was holy in the acts of his




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PERSONAL REMINISCENCES OF THE


life, and in anticipation of all that is to be glorious in
his future existence, are heard to say, 'It was gain for
him to die.' The Society which we have served has
finished its probation. The experiment has been fairly
tried, and the result is a conviction pervading the
mind of the nation, that it is an instrument of God's
bwn choosing for the salvation of the American people, and that it is worthy to be elevated to a higher
sphere, to be introduced into a wider field, and, to be
clothed with greater efficiency in its glorious work,
that all the people of the land, in the length of it, and
in the breadth of it, may rejoice and be glad in the
Lord."
Some there are who may express some surprise at
these commendations of the American Home Missionary Society, arising from the fact, that some few years
after its organization, I became the advocate of the
General Assembly's Board of Domestic Missions, as a
separate and distinct organization. I can only now
say, that it was not that I loved the American Home
Missionary Society less, but that I loved the Assembly's Board more. It is said that the course I have
pursued in favor of our own Board is hostile to the
American Home Missionary Society. Why is it thus
said? It is a poisonous suggestion, and has implanted
many a root of bitterness. It is a most ungenerous
suggestion; nay, it is worse: nothing has less to support it; nothing is more untrue. It is true, emphatically so, that I have been, and am, the friend of the
Assembly's Board, but not in indifference, much less
in hostility, to the American Home Missionary Society.
I hope and pray that both may have their full share




LIFE AND TIMES OF GARDINER SPRING.


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in the blessed work of sending the Gospel along the
hills and plains of this land of promise. Both these
institutions may have their imperfections, and both
have their excellencies. The excellence of the American Society lies in its popular element, and in its
energy; its faults, from my Presbyterian stand-point,
are its tendencies to Congregationalism, and its exposure to loose doctrine. The excellence of the Assembly's Board lies in its attachment to our confession
of faith and its efforts to extend the influence of Presbyterianism. But which is the greater mistake, to insist, it may be too rigorously, on the exclusive appointment of missionaries, who, imno corde, adopt the
standards of the Presbyterian Church, or to scatter
throughout the infant churches of the West, the innovations of the New Haven theology? If I were an
eye-witness of the evils that are reported as the consequence of the conflicting interests of the two Boards,
I might judge differently. But as the whole matter
now presents itself to my mind, it is in every view
unwise for these two institutions to encourage conflicting interests in an enterprise of such moment. For
myself, I say, let the American Society plant Congregational churches, and let the Assembly's Board plant
Presbyterian churches, both as rapidly and as successfully as they can; and the missionary field will
be the gainers by it. 'Let not Ephraim envy Judah,
nor Judah vex Ephraim.' There remaineth land
enough to be possessed, nor should the conquest of it
be retarded, because the tribes of Israel advance under
different standards. I have seen the time when earnest efforts were made by some Presbyterians to frown.    f  n




270


PERSONAL REMINISCENCES OF THE


upon the American Society, and I resisted them; and
I have seen the time when some of the friends of that
Society would have strangled the Assembly's Board,
and when, at no small loss of their confidence, I boldly
resisted them, both in the Presbytery of New York
and on the floor of the General Assembly. I was aiding and abetting in the formation of the American
Society, and was one of its Executive Committee; but
when a proposition was submitted to that Committee
for the union of that Society with the Assembly's
Board, I was opposed to it, and expressed my views
before the Committee. Though the measure was carried in the Committee, I did not vote for it, nor did I
vote at all; and after the measure was decided by a
large majority, I never gave it my concurrence. At
a meeting of the Presbytery of New York, a diseussion took place which related to the operations of the
Assembly's Board. During that discussion, the remark was made and repeated, that the Board was
pursuing a course calculated to impede the benevolent
operations of the age, and that it was doing more harm
than good. I took part in that discussion, and advocated the cause of the Board. I was a Presbyterian,
and in favor of measures to extend the bounds of the
Presbyterian Church. It was no new thing for different sections of the Church of God, in their organized capacity, to engage in the work of missions.
There was safety in so doing, and I was grieved to
observe a state of feeling that seemed to array one
Society against the other; that the field was large
enough for both; and that these remarks were in accordance with sentiments of strong attachment to the




LIFE AND TIMES OF GARDINER SPRING.


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Home Missionary Society. Such was the state of the
churches, and such their prejudices, that it was impossible for the Home Society or the Assembly's Board
to have access to all the congregations, and that if
either attempted the work alone, the whole country
could not be roused to action. We must take men as
they are, and we must take good men as they are.
Considering their imperfections, the work of Home
Missions ought to be in more hands than one. And
especially were these convictions strengthened by the
incursions of error from the New Haven school. The
standards of the Presbyterian Church were, under
God, the strong bulwark against those growing errors, and just at this crisis to embarrass the operations of the Assembly's Board, would be fraught with
injury to generations to come. I love the confession
of faith of the Presbyterian Church, and always loved
it. I have not altered in my preaching; my publications speak for themselves. I do not concur in all the
peculiarities of old Calvinism, nor did I ever; nor do
I agree with any of the New Haven theology. If I
must choose between old Calvinism and New Haven
theology, give me old Calvinism. Old-fashioned Calvinists and old-fashioned Hopkinsians are not far apart;
the more closely they are united in opposing modern
errors, the better. These sentiments were uttered
more than thirty years ago. So far as they respect
the importance of sustaining the Assembly's Board of
Missions, they have now, if my information is correct,
the hearty concurrence of large numbers of our NewSchool brethren who have cooperated with the American Home Missionary Society. This Society, the last




272


PERSONAL REMINISCCECE OF THE


year, employed 802 missionaries, and its receipts for
the same period were well nigh $157,000, while the
resources of the year, including the balance in the
treasury, were $268,539. Verily, " a little one has
become a thousand."
The Board of Domestic Missions of the General
Assembly of the Presbyterian Church was formed in
the year 1816, and was the outgrowth of a Committee
of Missions appointed by the Assembly in the year
1790, and of the Standing Committee of Missions
appointed in 1802. It consists of an Executive Committee who conduct its missionary operations, and a
Board of Trustees for the conduct of its financial affairs; both appointed by the Assembly, and required
to make their annual report to that body. It has
struggled with difficulties, and more especially those
which have arisen from the partiality of not a few
of its ministers and churches, towards the American
Home Missionary Society, and from the excision of so
many of the churches in Western New York, and the
consequent secession of our brethren of the New
School. But the great Head of the Church has
vouchsafed to it signal tokens of his favor. Though
for many years a member of the Executive Committee,
located as it is in Philadelphia, I have not been familiar
with its business transactions, and have no information in relation to them but what is accessible to all
from its Annual Report. From " the handful of corn
on the top of the mountains," in the year 1790, it has
reached the waving and rich harvest of 1865, "the
fruit whereof already shakes like Lebanon, and they
of the city are become like the grass of the earth."




LIFE AND TIMES OF GARDINER SPRING.


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To my mind this is a beautiful view of the progress of the missionary enterprise to the destitute of
our own land. To say nothing of the noble enterprise of the Methodist Episcopal Church, and of our
Baptist brethren, we see the whole family of Presbyterians and Congregationalists, a solid and bright phalanx, moving onward to the subjugation of the powers
of darkness. Never was the cause of Domestic Missions more important than at the existing crisis of our
national history, and never was the demand upon the
churches and their ministry to come up to the help
of the Lord against the mighty, more imperative. If
we hesitate now, the floodgates of iniquity will let in
upon us torrents of evil, that can neither be resisted
nor diverted, and Rome with all her millions and her
cruelty will triumph, either in the apostasy or the
blood of our children. There is no hope for this nation but in the power of religious principle.  We
might as well blot the sun from the firmament, and
look for light and heat from the world of nature, as
to ignore the influence of Protestant Christianity,
and look for national prosperity from popular institutions. Our Government must rest on the strong
foundations of religion and morality, or we must be
swept away with the nations that forget God. The
character of our apostate race, the whole current of
national experience, the teaching of the wisest statesmen, and even the brightest days of the most free and
prosperous governments, both before and since the
Christian era, demonstrate the inefficacy of all human laws apart from the sanction of a heaven-born
religion. The great God is not shut up in eternal
VOL. I.-12*




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PERSONAL REMINISCENCES OF THE


solitude, but is everywhere, surveying the nations of
the earth, and by his own invisible and omnipotent
hand adjusting the political machinery of the nations,
and putting his fingers on the electrical wires that
control the world. His government is not one of impulse or of policy, but of principle. His expostulations with the nations and their rulers come to us in
the authoritative language, "Be wise now, therefore,
0 ye kings; be instructed, ye judges of the earth.
Kiss the Son lest he be angry and ye perish from the
way when his wrath is kindled but a little." His
right hand is even now teaching him terrible things,
opening the seals of the Book of Providence, which
none could open but the Lion of the tribe of Judah;
and with these astounding judgments, sending forth
throughout the land the heralds of his great salvation,
and with them his Holy Spirit, realizing his triumphs
in the history of Missions. We have but to look at
this heterogeneous population of thirty millions, in
order to be convinced that the conflict with the powers of darkness has just begun. The seed of the serpent are not only bent on evil, but desperately bent
upon it, because their time is short. The Devil well
knows that the Son of God sets him at defiance, and
means to tread him under his feet; and he is therefore
coming in great wrath, if for no other end than to
gratify his pride, his envy, his malice, and his revenge
against the Son of God. But let the church of God
take courage. The ascended Saviour, the first Domestic Missionary, the Captain of her salvation, has girded his sword upon his thigh, and is going forth conquering and to conquer. He did not look upon this




LIFE AND TIMES OF GARDINERB SPRING.


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Western World with indifference when he directed
our fathers, a choice vine, to the iron-bound coast of
New England, and dispersed their descendants from
the Atlantic to the Pacific; nor does he turn a deaf
ear to their Macedonian cry, as it now echoes from
woodland and prairie, "Come over and help us!"
He has a deep interest in the -purity and enlargement
of his kingdom in this favored land; nor, with all
my solicitude and apprehension, do I believe that he
will suffer the boar out of the wood to waste the vineyard which his right hand has here planted, nor the
wild beast of the field to devour it. I have no doubt
he has high and comprehensive purposes to answer,
by the combined efforts, prayers, and munificence of
the American church; only let us not be recreant to
our trust. Our pious ancestors would reprove us;
our civil and religious liberties would reprove us; our
enlargement and prosperity as a nation would reprove
us; our tranquil Sabbaths would reprove us; and future generations will rise up to bear testimony against
us, if, through our parsimony and supineness, the
problem remain a doubtful one, whether, or not, these
United States shall be a Christian nation. Daniel
Webster once remarked, that " human liberty may
yet perhaps be obliged to repose its principal hopes
on the intelligence and vigor of the Saxon race." We
live in an age when momentous problems are agitating
the nations, and when our relation to them, as the
most popular government, is not only deeply interesting to ourselves, but to the civilized world. Our
cause and our name are already on the page of history, and I would fain hope that our children and:*:




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PERSONAL REMINISCENCES.


their children may read them legibly inscribed in-the
annals of the combined and harmonious efforts of our
evangelical churches, in sending the Gospel to the
destitute.








CHAPTER XII.


FOREIGN MISSIONS.
THE enterprise of Foreign Mlissions, by the American churches, was commenced while I was pursuing
my course of study with a view to the Gospel ministry. The institutions with which I have been associated in the great work, are the AMERICAN BOARD OF
COMMISSIONERS FOR FOREIGN MISSIONS, and the BOARD
OF FOREIGN MISSIONS of the General Assembly of the
Presbyterian Clhurch. With their origin and progress it has been my privilege to be somewhat familiar.
In the pleasant service of preparing the Memoirs
of Samuel J. Mills, I became intimately acquainted
with his early devotion to the missionary cause, and
his interest and agency in the promotion of Foreign
Missions. That gracious Saviour who has pity on the
heathen, early set apart this young man as a missionary to the unevangelized world. Soon after his conversion. and when quite a youth, he once remarked to
his father that " he could not conceive of any course
of life in which to pass the rest of his days, that
would prove so pleasant, as to go and communicate




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PERSONAL REMINISCENCES OF THE


the Gospel of salvation to the poor heathen." It was
a heart yearning over perishing millions, that led him
to acquire an education for the Christian ministry.
Nor did he ever lose sight of his darling object. With
this view he became a member of Williamstown College, where some of those beloved men whom the
American church has sent to heathen lands will not
forget his instrumentality in their conversion and missionary spirit. Though one of the most modest of
men, he once said to a Brother in the ministry of a
kindred spirit, "Brother Cornelius, though you and I
are very little beings, we must not rest satisfied until
we have made our influence extend to the remotest
corner of this ruined world." Hitherto, the attention
of the American churches had been exclusively
turned to Domestic Missions; but the time had come
when they were to act a distinguished part in the
conversion of six hundred millions, beyond the destitute in their own land.
While Mills was a member of College, he became acquainted with several young men of a kindred spirit, who formed an association, the object
of which was to " effect in the persons of its members a mission to the heathen."  I was a member of
the Andover Seminary in the year 1809, and until
the close of the winter session in 1810. Mills was
there; Hall, Judson, Newell, and Nott were there.
And there it was that the Foreign Missionary enterprise, originating in the minds of Mills and his youthful associates, began to assume some tangible form.
In the month of June of the same year, the General
Association of Massachusetts held its annual meeting




LIFE AND TIMES OF GARDINER SPRING.


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at Bradford, a few miles onlv from Andover, and
whose sessions I attended as a spectator. At that
meeting Judson, Nott, Mills, and Newell laid their
views on the subject of missions to the heathen in a
respectful and earnest memorial before the Association,
who, after a prayerful consideration, adopted the outlines of a plan for the spread of the Gospel in heathen
lands, which resulted in the formation of the American Board of Commnissioners for Foreign JMissions.
The Rev. Dr. Worcester and my honored father
were members of this Board, and on the adjournment of the Association, they rode together in the
same chaise, setting their faces towards Salem. Such
was their interest in the cause of Missions, and such
the responsibility of their appointment, that they
turned aside from the road into a grove, where they
united in prayer for the Divine direction and blessing.
On returning to the road they changed their route,
and directed their course towards Boston, and to the
residence of Jeremiah Evarts, Esq., in whose parlor
the incipient arrangements for the future operations
of the Board were made. On his return to Newburyport, my father, on the Sabbath morning, gave a brief -
narrative of the devotement of the young men, the
measures adopted by the General Association, and the
consultation of the gentlemen at Boston, and also
gave notice that he would preach on the subject in
the afternoon, and that after the sermon a collection
would be taken up for missions to the heathen.
In the days of my youth, the town of Newburyport
was an active, commercial village of great enterprise
and wealth.  My father's congregation had a large




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PERSONAL REMINISCENCES OF THE


share of the wealth of the place, and a large share of
its mercantile marine, composed of sea-captains and
native mariners. At the close of the service, one of
the old and rich sea-captains remarked, as he came out
from the church, "the Doctor has given us a grand
sermon, and he has preached all the jack-knives out
of the sailors' pockets." On returning to my father's
house, and laying out the collection on the parlor table, there was gold, and silver, ahd copper, and not a
few jack-knives. The sailors had little else to give.
There was an envelope, too, carefully folded, which was
found to contain a gold ring, and the following lines:
"I give, but oh, my gift's so small,
'Tis like not giving you at all;
In future, if by God I'm blest,
I'll pay him tenfold interest."
I know not now the amount of the collection, and
only know that such men as William Bartlett, Moses
Brown, John Pettingell, Thomas Thompson, Charles
Coffin, John Pearson, and Captains Tappan and Holland, contributed something besidesjack-knives. And
this, the first collection in the United States for Foreign Missions, was taken up in the North Church, in
Newburyport, where, by my father's hands, I was
baptized. I have, for more considerations than these,
been strongly attached to this Board of Commissioners. I look upon it as a noble and most effective institution, surpassed by none in the world, conducted
with great wisdom and energy, embodying the popular element to a degree that should make our own
denominational Boards ashamed of their inertness,




LIFE AND TIMES OF GARDINER SPRING.


281


and giving to the heathen world a band of missionaries and a richness of blessing that call for universal
thanksgiving and praise.
The following communication to my father, from
one of the first missionaries, never before published,
refers to some of the discouragements of the noble
pioneers in this enterprise:
"CALCUTTA, July 30, 1812.
"REV. AND DEAR SIm:
"I have this day taken leave of our Serampore
friends, and put my baggage on board a ship which
to-morrow sails for the Isle of France. Only one of
us can be accommodated in this vessel, so that I go
alone, while Brother Judson waits here the arrival of
the Harmony.
" The reasons which determined me to adopt this
measure are the following, viz., the Government will
not permit us to settle in any part of the Conpany's
dominions. We have been ordered in the most peremptory manner to return to America in the same
vessel in which we came, or to depart immediately to
some place out of the territories of the British and
their allies. By the intercession of our friends, however, we have obtained permission to go to the Isle of
France, which is not a part of the Company's territories, but is attached to the Crown of Great Britain.
"Being compelled to leave British India, the
great and most promising field of missions, we were,
in effect, excluded from the whole of this quarter of
the world. China, and the Eastern peninsula of
India (which comprehend the whole of this part of




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PERSONAL REMINISCENCES OF THE


tile world, not under the English), are both in such a
state as forbids the attempt to establish a mission in
either of those places at present. Mr. Morrison, who
has for several years been endeavoring to gain a footing among the Chinese, may more properly be considered a prisoner in Macao than a missionary to
China. He is not permitted to reside in Canton but
six months in the year, and then in the capacity of
Chinese interpreter to the East India Company. He
writes that if the Chinese knew his object, they would
no doubt put him to death. During that half of the
year in which vessels are not allowed to trade in Canton, he is obliged to retire to Macao; and even then
he is unsafe; he never preaches, nor speaks of Christianity.
" With respect to India beyond the Ganges, the
prospect is but very little, if any better. The London
Society have tried it and left it. The Baptist Missionaries have tried it, and all but one have quit the
ground. Mr. F. Carey is still in Rangoon, but he is
unwilling to continue there. HIe wrote but a short
time since ' that he had no prospect of doing any good
for many, many years to come, except in the business
of translating the Scriptures, which he could do better
in Bengal than there.'
" But the great difficulty in the way of a mission to
Birmah and the adjacent countries, is the extreme
danger to which the lives of missionaries in those parts
are exposed. Females especially are subjected to continual fear of death, or what is worse than death. The
Birmans have no law to restrain the indulgence of
their passions; but lasciviousness is rather encouraged




LIFE AND TIMES OF GARDINER SPRING.


283


than discountenanced, and European females are
sought after rather than the native females. Men
may go without ceremony into the apartments of females and do what they please, and there is no redress.
There are a multitude of civil officers in Birmah who
have the power of life and death; and capital punishments, even that dreadful one of crucifixion, are inflicted for the most slight, and even imaginary offences. Drinking spirit, or whitewashing the walls of a
house, is a capital crime. Doctor Carey told me that
not long since the Commander-in-Chief of the Birman
army ordered five hundred men to be buried alive,
and was instantly obeyed. You will imagine that
they had committed high treason against the Emperor; but they had committed no crime at all; they
were buried alive merely because their General had a
dislike to the officer who sent them to him!
" The information and advice which we have received from our Baptist brethren respecting Birmah
have discouraged Brother Judson and me from prosecuting the Birman mission; and from the manner in
which our brethren in the Harmony speak of it, we
apprehend that they, too, have nearly given it up.
We have received letters from them from the Isle of
France. We learn from them that the Governor of
that place is a friend to missionaries; that he will not
only not oppose them, but will afford them his aid and
protection. There are about twenty thousand souls
on this Island, who are entirely destitute of religious
instruction; and adjacent to this, and within six days'
sail, is the large and populous Island of Madagascar,
equal almost in extent to the United States, and con



284


PERSONAL REMINISCENCES OF THE


taining from three to four millions of souls. The
Governor of the Isle of France is particularly desirous
that a mission should be sent to Madagascar, and has
even applied to the London Society to turn their attention to that place. Dr. Vander Kemp was designated for this station, but we learn with regret that
he has finished his work and gone to receive his reward. It is somewhat uncertain whether the other
brethren will return to the Isle of France or not.
They may be obliged to do it, but possibly they may
obtain permission to go from here directly to Ceylon,
but not very probable. I have written to Dr. Worcester by the Francis, and also by the present opportunity. Wish I had time to write more fully, but I
must go on board to-day, and I have much to do.
" Dear sir, pray for us and comfort us by your letters. I hope soon to inform you that I am fixed sompwhere, and have begun the glorious work which you
have assigned us. It will ever be my most earnest
wish to meet the approbation of the Board.
"I remain, Rev. and dear sir,
"Your most obed't and humble serv't,
" SAM'L NEWELL.
" Rev. Dr. SPRING."
I take pleasure in recording my poor testimony in
favor of the American Board. At its first meeting
but five persons were present, and at its second but
seven. The receipts the first year were but a thousand
dollars. Now its meetings are like the going up of
the tribes of Jerusalem; and its annual receipts, four
years ago, three hundred and fifty thousand dollars.




LIFE AND TIMES OF GARDINER SPRING.


285


Then it had no missions, and it was not known that
any heathen country would be opened to them. Now
its " missions belt the globe, so that the sun does not
set upon them." It is with joyous thankfulness that
I now add, as these pages are going through the press,
that at the annual meeting of the Board in Chicago,
the present year, 1865, its receipts were $537,763;
and its missionaries more than 1,000. I know of no
missionary enterprise more worthy of confidence and
generous patronage than this venerable Board. The
encomium of the Earl of Shaftesbury, more than once
referred to, is an encomium which the Board richly
deserves. "I do not believe," says he, "that in the
whole history of missions, I do not believe that in the
history of diplomacy, or in the history of any negotiation between man and man, we can find anything to
equal the wisdom, the soundness, and the pure evangelical truth of the body of men who constitute the
American Mission. They are a marvellous combination of common sense and piety."
I was chosen one of its corporate members in 1824,
and have attended as many of its anniversaries as I
could, consistently with my obligations to our own
Presbyterian Board. I have been censured for my
seeming indifference to it; but I trust I shall not be
censured for my humble efforts as a Presbyterian, to
encourage the Presbyterian church in these United
States to take part in the same blessed and glorious
work.
The BOARD OF FOREIGN MISSIONS OF THE PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH was formally organized by the direction of the General Assembly in the city of Balti



286


PERSONAL REMINISCENCES OF THE


more, in the month of October, 1837.   Different
Synods had previously enterprised this work, and with
commendable zeal and success. The Central Board
of Foreigrn Iisisions, comprising the Synods of North
Carolina and Virginia, and which had hitherto
cooperated with the American Board, not influenced
by any feelings of unkindness or dissatisfaction towards
that venerable institution, but from the conviction
that it was their duty to aid and sustain the Presbyterian church in the effort she is making in her distinctive character to obey the last command of her
ascended Lord, became auxiliary to the Board of the
General Assembly. The Synod of Pittsburgh had for
several years been devoted to the extension of the
Gospel among the heathen, and themselves established
a Board of Foreign Missions, under the title of the
Western Foreign ifissionary Society. It is due to
that Synod to say, that they were deeply imbued with
the missionary spirit, and that it was through their
untiring influence the Assembly's Board was formed.
The organization of that Board was a consummation
towards which they had long looked with hope; and
when it was effected, and the supreme judicatory of
the church was prepared to adopt the Western Society
as its own, that Society promptly transferred all its
funds, missions, and papers, to the Assembly's Board.
The Synod of Philadelphia also, which had been united
with the Synod of Pittsburgh in sustaining the Western Society, concurred in the action of the Synod of
Pittsburgh, and thus perfected the union of the hitherto
local institutions. At their first meeting in Baltimore, the Board was organized by appointing the Rev.




LIFE AND TIMES OF GARDINER SPRING.


287


Ashbel Green, Chairman, and the Revs. Nicholas Murray and John M1. Krebs, Secretaries. It consists of
forty ministers and forty laymen, who make their annual report to the Assembly, and of an Executive
Committee of not more than nine members besides the
Corresponding Secretary and Treasurer, whose conduct of all the affairs of the Missions is subject to the
revision and control of the Board of Directors. The
principal seat of its operations is the city of New York.
At the time of the transfer of the Western Society,
that Society had under their care four stations in
Northern India, one in Smyrna, one in China, one in
Western Africa, and two among the Western Indians.
Their receipts for the year ending October, 1837, were
forty thousand dollars, and the balance on hand and
brought to the Assembly's treasury, was nearly six
thousand dollars. The blessing of thousands ready to
perish be on the Western Foreign Missionary Society,
and on the head of the Rev. E. O. Swift, of Alleghany,
and the Hon. Walter Lowry, through whose agency
this delightful co6peration was effected!
The principles on which the Assembly's Board
have conducted their affairs are in some respects different from those of the American Board. They are
strictly denominational. Its aim is to send out Presbyterian missionaries, and to establish Presbyterian
churches and presbyteries in heathen lands, that shall
be, in their ecclesiastical relations, responsible to the
General Assembly in the United States. Not that
we claim to be exclusively the true church, but that
we adopt the polity of the Presbyterian church as the
wisest polity, and eminently so in heathen lands. We




288


PERSONAL REMINISCENCES OF THE


have confidence in the great Head of the Church, and
look for his blessing on this arrangement, while we
give the right hand of fellowship to Christian institutions of every name, and thank God for all their zeal,
liberality, and success. It is also the law of the Board
that their expenses shall never exceed their incone.
I cannot affirm that this policy is still adhered to;
while I was a member of the Executive Committee,
they never involved themselves in debt. I have no
doubt the same wise policy is adopted under the present and effective administration. The Board and
the Committee thus throw the responsibility of sustaining the missions upon the church, where it ought
to rest. It is not to be denied that a rigorous adherence to this rule has occasionally embarrassed their
operations. Men of promise have been detained at
home, and new appointments have sometimes been
withheld, for want of funds. Yet the work has gone
forward; the liberality of affluent individuals, and the
rigid economy of the executive officers, have supplied
the.deficiency, and the cry of the heathen has not
been unheeded. The Board has now been in existence twenty-seven years. The receipts for the year
ending April, 1864, were nearly $222,000, leaving, a
balance in the treasury of more than seven hundred
dollars. Their missions are established among the
Indian tribes of this continent; in South America;
in Western Africa; in India; in China; in Japan;
among the Chinese in California; in Papal Europe
and among the Jews; employing the press as well as
the pulpit, and establishing schools for the rising generation. The total of missionaries now occupying




LIFE AND TIhES OF GARDINER SPRING.


289


these different missions from our own Board is three
hundred and eleven, and the receipts for the last year
nearly two hundred and sixty-two thousand dollars.
As early as November, 1837, the Presbyterian
Board commissioned two beloved missionaries to China,
and in November, 1841, they sent forth an additional
Brother to labor in that immense field. I find among
the accumulated papers in my study a document entitled "An Address delivered in the Garden-street
Church, Nov. 28, 1841, on the departure of a Missionary to China," by myself. I give place to it in these
reminiscences as a curiosity, and as an index of the onward course of the cause of missions from that day to
the present. Such an address, at the present advanced
progress of the work, would be like a matured believer " going back to the first principles of the oracles
of God." It is as follows:
"We have assembled this evening, not to set apart
a beloved Brother to the office of preaching the Gospel-that service, as a Missionary Board, we have no
authority to perform; it belongs to the church of God;
and in the present instance has been recently done by
the laying on of the hands of the Presbytery and by
solemn prayer. We have met under the authority of
the church, and by her appointment, to designate his
particular field of labor; to give him his instructions
as to the service he is to perform; to unite with him
and with one another in commending him to the
God of all grace; and to give him this affectionate
and fraternal farewell of the churches in whose bosom
he has been nurtured, and whose faces he will probaVOL. I.-13




A4


290      PERSONAL REMINISCENCES OF THE
bly see no more until we all stand before the Son of
Man.
" The cause of missions is of divine origin. At
the first propagation of Christianity, all the ministers
of the Gospel were missionaries. And, to a greater
or less extent, many of them will continue to be so for
ages to come. Natural science may refine human depravity, and civil government check, and in part control, it; but the whole history of the most enlightened,
as well as the best governed communities, demonstrates
the utter powerlessness of these influences without the
Gospel. This great truth, so abundantly revealed in
the Scriptures, and so clearly unfolded by the providence of God, is the apology of the Christian church for
engaging in the great work of missions to the heathen.
" The missionary cause needs impulse rather than
light; and the impulse of principles which every Christian believes, but which no Christian carries out in
his life.
" One of the truths which we all have need to feel
more deeply is, that this benighted world is to be
brought to the saving knowledge of Jesus Christ. It
is not surprising that men who do not believe this
truth take no interest in sending the Gospel to the
heathen. Nor ought it to surprise us that men who
but partially believe it should be but partially devoted to this cause. Let a man lay it down as one of
the established maxims of his life, and habitually regard it as one of the great principles of all his conduct, that THE WORLD IS TO BE CONVERTED TO CHRIST,
and the aspirations and thoughts of his mind will preserve an habitual tendency towards this great object.




LIFE AND TIMES OF GARDINER SPRING.


291


He may experience his sorrows and griefs; he may
have seasons of darkness, and be the subject of not a
few alternations of feeling; but like the magnetic
needle amid the variations of the passing storm, the
direction of his mind will remain fixed and unaltered.
Multitudes scoff at the idea of the world's conversion
to Christianity. Infidelity treats the prediction with
contempt; Paganism points to her six hundred millions as yet untouched by the boasted prophecy; Mahometanism defies it; and Judaism smiles at the attempt as hopeless. And a languid, hesitating Christianity trembles before the magnitude and difficulties
of the enterprise as a consummation more to be desired
than confidently expected. But there is no more obvious truth revealed in the Word of God than this.
It is not more certain that God is on the throne, than
that the ' whole earth shall be filled with his glory.'
It is not more certain that Jesus Christ is the atoning,
interceding, and reigning Saviour, than that 'the
heathen are given to him for his inheritance, and the
uttermost parts of the earth for his possession.' It is
not more certain that the Holy Spirit is the sanctifier,
than that 'it shall come to pass in the latter days that
God shall pour it out upon all flesh.' The unchanging God will never repent of these purposes of love.
Doubt and uncertainty in the minds of men are of
little avail when opposed to the truth of God. Ilesitation and timidity have no place where ' the mouth
of the Lord hath spoken it.' I would sooner believe
that the whole Pagan world would be converted in a
day, than. question the veracity of God. This great
fact, then, should be deeply impressed on our minds;




292


PERSONAL REMINISCENCES OF THE


should enter into all our plans of individual effort;
and should become one of the great principles of action to the Christian church. It would be impossible
for us to give this truth its proper influence, and at
the same time live in the neglect of those systematic
and unwearied efforts which it necessarily involves.
The reason why so many who do not deny this truth
act as though it were not true, is that it has never
sunk into their bosoms, and forms no part of their
habitual thought and moral feeling. Every truly
Christian mind is sincerely devoted to God and his
cause; and it is impossible to account for the apathy
of the church on the subject of missions to the heathen, except through a wavering belief of this important truth. Has this plain fact, my friends, no correlative obligations? May men believe it without feeling
its power? This truth, like every other truth in the
Bible, was revealed to be believed, loved, obeyed; to
enlighten the understanding, penetrate the conscience,
touch the heart, open the hands, move the prayers,
and control the life. Give this truth its proper efficacy, and your interest in the cause of missions will
not depend upon accidental and occasional excitement,
but flow from those associations of thought that are
congenial with the pursuits of every renewed heart,
and find its aliment and its joy in all that affords enjoyment to a spiritual mind.
Another truth, which, if I mistake not, we all
have need to feel more deeply, is that the success of
the missionary enterprise depends upon the Spirit of
God. We believe this truth in relation to the success
of-the Gospel- in Christian lands; and yet we all know




LIFE AND TIMES OF GARDINER SPRING.


293


the difference between having it recorded in our confession of faith and written upon the tablet of our
hearts. A cold and lifeless recognition of this truth,
by a minister of the Gospel in Christian lands, will
produce a calm and tranquil acquiescence in an unprofitable ministry; a languid and spiritless exhibition
of the Gospel; indifference to an interest in the
prayers of God's people; and, if he is a pious man and
is enabled to keep his eye steadily on the great objects
of his ministry, will ultimately produce that deep depression and dejection of mind which not unfrequently
tempt him to doubt if he has not mistaken his calling. The church that embodies this truth in her creed
and gives it no place in her affections, instead of being fellow-workers together with God and his ministers, warmed by love and invigorated by faith, encouraged and impelled to watchfulness and prayer by
hope, is like the ' salt that has lost its savour,' and
'savours not the things that be of God, but the things
that be of men.' But where the ministry and the
church believe and feel this truth, and act under its
influence, there is God's own chosen instrumentality
for the success of the Gospel. Where the divine prerogative in the conversion of men is understood and
appreciated, the appropriate and subordinate duty of
his people and his ministers never fails to be understood
and appreciated. The whole history of the church
shows no one fact more clearly than this, that men
who deny the special influences of the Spirit in conversion, have themselves, notwithstanding all their
reliance upon human effort, done the least for the conversion of men. There is so much in a humble, con



294 -

PERSONAL REMINISCENCES OF TIE


fiding, prayerful reliance on the faithfulness, condescension, and omnipotence of the Spirit of truth and
grace as a motive to diligence, and a source of comfort; so much as the great antidote to discouragement
and despondency; and as furnishing the only assurance of success, that it is among the last truths in the
Bible that we can afford to dispense with in our efforts
for the conversion of the heathen. Without this confidence in everlasting strength, we should have no
hope for the nations that forget God. Upon all their
land shall come up thorns and briars, 'until the Spirit
be poured from on high.' Leviathan is not tamed by
any other power. If the only reason we have to hope
for the conversion of another sinner from the error of
his ways in these Christian lands, is in the renovating
influence of the Holy Spirit, where must be our hope
for the heathen, if not in this renovating and sanctifying power? Six thousand years more will roll their
tardy course over the nations, and the heathen world
will remain just as it is now, if the Spirit of God do
not make their wilderness a fruitful field. Asia will.still remain in her idolatry and luxury; China, with
three-and-thirty hundred millions, will still be sunk
in bondage; and Africa will still be covered with
impenetrable darkness. We know nothing of the
future prospects of the heathen, except as God has
promised to pour out upon them his Spirit. Here
our minds rest with confidence.   While we see
and feel that the work transcends the power of
man, we at the same time see and feel that with
God all things are possible. The exceeding riches
of his grace are to be unfolded to the heathen.




LIFE AND TIMES OF GARDINER SPRING.   295
They have been unfolded, and they will be more and
more, till a ' little one shall become a thousand, and
a small one a strong nation.' We need, in the great
work of sending the Gospel to the nations, to make
much of this truth; to become imbued with it; and
to have our habits of thinking and feeling, and all our
plans and efforts, receive from it their coloring, and
that humble and yet elevated character that glories
not except in the cross of Christ and the power of his
grace.  Well, well may we repose on the truth that
'God's arm is not shortened that it cannot save,
neither is his ear heavy that he cannot hear.' IHe
has long borne with the heathen world, but the day
of his forbearance is not past. He is not weary of
these poor degraded nations; but is even now searching out among the 'many vessels of mercy afore
prepared unto glory.'  We address ourselves to this, work, not because we are sufficient for it, but because
our sufficiency is of God. We are cheered and animated in it, not only because we are weak and he is
strong, but because our weakness is the occasion, the
very signal, for the exercise of his promised power.
( There is another thought also with which it becomes us to be deeply imbued in conducting the work
of missions to the heathen; and that is, the importance of possessing the enlarged and public spirit of
the Gospel. Men are not their own property. Christian men profcss not to belong to themselves. God
is their owner, and has an inalienable right to all they
have and are.   'None of us liveth to himself, and
none of us dietl to himself; but whether we live, we
live unto the Lord, and whether we die, we die unto




296


PERSONAL REMINISCENCES OF THE


the Lord; so that whether we live or die, we are the
Lord's.' Elected by his grace, called into being by
his power, redeemed by his Son, sanctified by his
Spirit, adopted into his family, and dedicated by
solemn covenant to him, the great end and aim of
their existence is to ' glorify him in their bodies and
spirits, which are his.' They belong not to the domestic circle; not to the individual church of which
they are members; not merely to the nation of which
they are citizens; but to Jesus Christ, to his kingdom, to his world. It has been said of distinguished
statesmen and patriots that 'they lived for all ages,
and all countries; they lived for future time.' Emphatically may this be said of every true Christian;
nay, he lives less for time than for eternity. The living Christian is all for God; a living sacrifice which
lives to God. This was eminently the enlarged and
noble spirit of Jesus Christ, and that which elevated
him so immeasurably above all the rest of that apostate race whose nature he condescended to assume.
Portions of this exalted spirit have been possessed by
all his true disciples; it was possessed by the apostles
and early Christians, and by none more than by the
great missionary to the heathen, whose grand object
was that 'Jesus Christ might be magnified in his
body, whether it be by life or death.'
"I do not know any way by which this spirit may
be more successfully cultivated than by an enlightened and ardent attachment to the cause of missions.
For what is the object of the missionary enterprise?
It is to publish the Gospel of the Lord Jesus
among all nations; it is to destroy every false system




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of religion from the face of the earth; it is to turn the
whole world to the service and favor of the only true
God. Now, this is the very object the church needs
to elevate her spirit and character. Let the importance of this object be seen and felt; let it be truly
desired and sought; and Christians will be raised
above their own selfish interests, and will possess a
vigor and elevation of purpose, a constancy and
strength of effort, which receive their impress from
the great object they are pursuing. In no other department of Christian labor is this elevated spirit so
imperatively demanded. The magnitude of the enterprise demands it; its dangers and difficulties demand
it; its encouragements and its successes demand it.
There is little doubt but the noblest specimens of the
Christian character will be elicited in the progress of
the missionary cause. Those periods in the annals
of the church during which she has been indifferent
to the progress of the Gospel, and has made no aggressions upon the heathen world, will be found to be
what the middle and dark ages were in the annals of
the human intellect. Whatever enlarges the heart,
elevates the intellectual character. It gives clear and
comprehensive views, and furnishes the mind more
richly than it otherwise would be furnished. The
sublimity of a man's motives gives weight and sublimity to his thoughts, and his intellect becomes fertile,
inventive, and bold, from the sacred and high direction it receives. The operations of the mind that lives
and labors, and prays and suffers, for the universal
diffusion of the Gospel, and the salvation of the world,
cannot but rise above tameness and mediocrity.
VOL. I.-13*




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There is an exhaustless energy in that generosity of
intellect which seeks the highest interests of man.
One reason why philosophy, poetry, genius, taste,
learning, and commercial enterprise have so often
failed to elevate the character of their votaries, is,
that instead of being baptized with a heaven-born
spirit, and laboring for the glory of God and the
good of mankind, they have labored for wealth, admiration, and fame. There must be an inward power
that moves the mind to stronger, more enduring, and
more elevated motives; and a power that is found
only in that communicative goodness which regards
other interests more than its own. It is this enlarged
and public spirit which the church needs, to elevate
her character. And as she will find no such original
impulse to this spirit as in the missionary enterprise,
so to no cause is this spirit more indebted for its sustenance and growth. It is an enterprise which cannot live without great self-denial, great moral courage, great devotement, and great enlargement of
heart. The thought'should be ever present to our
minds, that the cause of missions is not the cause of
those who conduct it, but the cause of God and a
perishing world. It becomes us more constantly to
feel that it is a cause identified with ourselves; and
that if this great work prospers, we prosper; and if
this declines and wanes, we ourselves also are covered
with a cloud.
"There is still another thought that has a strong
and practical bearing upon the extended and permanent success of the missionary enterprise, and that is,
th irnportwe of a growzng and unsoicited liberalty




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in the churches. May it not be questioned if the
churches have not fallen into an error on this subject,
which, however unavoidable in the infancy of this
undertaking, ought no longer to exist? It is an error
by no means chargeable upon the different Boards who
have the direction of the undertaking, but one for
which the churches themselves are alone responsible.
The churches give to this great object only under the
pressure of what are appropriately called begging sermons. The consequence is, that a large number of
able and faithful ministers of the Gospel, themselves
imbued with a missionary spirit, and who would otherwise occupy important posts of labor in heathen lands,
are necessarily detained at home as agents in the
churches, to solicit their bounty, at an expense of
not far from twenty-five per cent. of what they collect, and the whole of which belongs of right to the
heathen, because it is given and most sacredly devoted
by the donors to that object. I hold this to be morally wrong, unless it be indispensably necessary; and
it cannot be indispensably necessary if the churches do
their duty. Is it, then, one of the received axioms of
Christianity that the churches will not do their duty.
My brethren, 'I speak this to our shame.' Has it
come to this, after thirty years' experience in the work
of missions, that from eighty to a hundred thousand
dollars must be subtracted annually from funds devoted to the heathen, by different departments of the
American church, simply for the purpose of inducing
the churches to do what obviously ought to be done
without any such effort and any such expenditure?
It is not more certain that the cause of missions to




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PERSONAL REMINISCENCES OF THE


the heathen cannot be sustained without pecuniary
means, than that it cannot be long and effectually
sustained without a spirit of liberality that is founded
in principle. The churches need more sober and
scriptural views on the great duty of giving the Gospel to the heathen. There is sound judgment, there
is an enlightened conscience, as well as transient zeal,
in true Christian liberality; and where these are
wanting, that steady and glowing fire of holy love
which dissolves the heart, opens the hands, and melts
the gold of avarice, will be gradually extinguished.
The time has already come when men professing godliness will be suspicious of their faith and hope in
Christ, if they bring not their annual free-will offering
for this great cause to Him who, unthought of and
unsolicited, ' though he was rich, for their sakes became poor, that they, through his poverty, might be
rich.' Where is the Christian in this land who ever
thought of making himself poor for Christ? Where
is the Christian that ever fixed his eye on that precept,
'Sell that ye have, and give alms?' Where is the
Christian that remembers the words of the Lord Jesus, how he said, ' It is more blessed to give than to
receive '  The Saviour did not reproach the poor
widow who cast into the treasury ' even all her living.' I am persuaded we have all to learn much on
this subject. We must look upon the duty of giving,
for the purpose of sending the Gospel to the nations,
as a permanent duty. We must do it habitually. We
must do it as long as we live. We must no more
neglect it than we would neglect the worship of God
in our closets, in our families, or in his sanctuary.




LIFE AND TIMES OF GARDINER SPRING.


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Your agents will be found in your beneficiaries, in
the poor heathen, in the wants of a dying world, in
the solicitations of your divine Benefactor, when uttered from lips which he has appointed to proclaim to
you all his word. Men must give more from love to
God and regard to his authority. Their liberality,
like their faith, must be full of Christ.  Whatsoever
ye do, in word, or in deed, do all in the name of the
Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God and the Father by
him.' Give, thankful for the opportunity and the
privilege. There can be little doubt that the time is
soon coming when the churches must be brought to
the test of a system of unsolicited liberality, and if
they cannot abide the test, they will see the cause of
missions decline, and feel that the fearful responsibility is their own.
" I should do injustice to the place I am appointed
to occupy this evening, if I did not, on behalf of the
committee, say a few words in relation to that field
of labor to which our beloved young brother is destined, and for which he is so soon to take his departure.
"The immense empire of China, containing more
than one third of the entire population of our globe,
seems to be just opening to the Gospel. The emigrant Chinese, amounting at least to one million, are
already open to it. Little can be done to evangelize
the world, so long as this vast empire is neglected.
That devoted man, Robert Philip, of London, and the
author of several works known to many of my audience, in a letter not long since addressed to the
speaker, says, 'It is time, my dear Brother, to strike




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the gong for China.' This is now the watchword for
the Christian army. There are now about fifteen
missionary stations, and from twenty to thirty missionaries, in this extensive field from  Protestant
churches, while the church of Rome stands ready to
occupy it by hundreds. The Board of Foreign Missions of the Presbyterian Church, whom we represent
this evening, as early as November, 1837, gave, in
this house, instructions to two missionaries destined
to this field. Since that period they have sent three
others, with their wives, to occupy the same ground.
They have already begun to form an extended chain
of missionary stations, each of which furnishes facilities for reaching far into the heart of the empire,
both by preaching the Gospel, printing and distributing Bibles, tracts, and other religious books, and conducting schools for children and youth. However
unrighteous the war, there is reason to believe that
the recent successes of the British arms in China will
be overruled, in the providence of God, for the rapid
propagation of the Gospel in that empire. It would
be no marvel if that mighty empire should be shaken
by terrible convulsions, in order to accomplish the
purposes of redeeming mercy. It is a dark land, and
in its moral state, ' without form, and void, and darkness is upon the face of the deep.' If the divine predictions, under the effusion of the seventh vial, are
not yet accomplished, great and important changes
are ere long to take place in the nations of the East.
The word has gone forth fromn heaven, 'Remove the
diadem and take off the crown: this shall not be the
same. Exalt him that is low, and abase him that is




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high.  I will overturn, overturn, overturn, and it
shall be no more, until he come whose right it is,
and I will give it him.' In this interesting aspect of
human affairs, it becomes the church of God in all
lands to be in readiness to plant the-standard of her
ascended Prince. We solicit your sympathy and
prayers, my Christian friends, in His name whose
truth we propagate, and whose honor you regard as
your ' chief joy.'
"It is in this interesting aspect of human affairs,
that we commission you, my young brother, to go to
that dark land. You cannot think too highly of your
station, or of the importance of your object. You
have anticipated trials, but you have no occasion for
dismay. You will often be remembered at these altars; and when we forget you, you well know there
is One who never forgets. You will have your reward, if not here. You may not live to see God's
temple rise in beauty in that dark land; but go you,
and be ready to build. And though you should live
to see but a single idol-temple fall, and should yourself fall beneath its ruins, you will not have labored
in vain. Go, my Brother, with a deep sense of your
own guilt, and misery, and weakness, and with a
firm reliance on Jesus Christ as your righteousness,
strength, and joy, daily holding communion with
God, and sincerely and cheerfully obeying his will,
and he will never leave you-never forsake you.
The God of peace be ever with you, dear Brother.
Amen."


I wish I could say that the missionary cause is, or




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PERSONAL REMINISCENCES OF THE


ever has been, as near my heart as it should be.
When Judson, and Newell, and Nott, my fellow-students at Andover, were so absorbed in it that they
lost sight of every other vocation, it was no easy matter to resist its claims on my own heart. I thought
of them. I once thought even of becoming a missionary to the heathen. But it was the dream of the moment. I had not piety enough to look at so self-denying a question. I had too many natural imperfections of character to " endure hardness " in such a
vocation. I felt as if I should be no honor to the
cause of missions. But when Hall and Newell sent
that thrilling appeal from the heathen world to the
American churches, I felt ashamed that I had not
shared their toils and perils; I felt that I had mistaken my calling, and ought never to have been a
minister of the Gospel. Conscience pressed me with
the inquiry, Do you love the Saviour at all? If you
love him, do you love him enough to obey his last
command, and preach his Gospel to the heathen
How can you love him, if you care not for the sheep
scattered upon the mountains in the cloudy and dark
day? I was sad. I was afraid my selfish heart had
deceived me. There is an omniscient eye, and a
throne of judgment; I know it well. Oh! how will
earthly interests disappear! and popular applause,
and worldly comfort-what are they, when weighed in
the balance of the last day? How sweet the thought,
then, to have loved the Saviour enough to have borne
his precious name to the perishing millions of the pagan world! And, blessed be God, there are those
whom he calls to the home-work, even though they




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shrink from the discouragements of the foreign field.
There are sheep and lambs to be sought out and fed
in every clime. Yet the thought still recurs, why
was I not a missionary to the heathen? And it brings
down my lofty look. If here, at the close of a prolonged ministry, I feel condemned for spiritual barrenness at home, what would it have been, exposed to
the trials and snares of heathen lands, where there is
no Christian fellowship, no restraining and exhilarating means of grace, and so few sources of encouragement and comfort in those regions of drought and
darkness?




CHAPTER XIII.
THE ANDOVER THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY.
THERE are some facts in relation to the Theological
Seminary at Andover, with which I am probably
quite as well acquainted as any other man. It is due
to my father's character, and it is but a just tribute
to historic verity, that they should be known and understood.
My father, from having for a series of years himself been a theological teacher, felt a deep interest in
the more thorough training of young men for the
Gospel ministry. From three to six oi seven students
in divinity were, from time to time, members of his family; and I well remember the hours daily set apart for
their recitations. I could mention the names of many
of them; and as I now look back upon their useful
and honored course, I confess to the occasional doubt,
whether or not the church has, on the whole, been
the gainer by the more scholastic and. erudite course
pursued in our theological seminaries. My father felt
the deficiency of the old system of instruction, and
early set himself, with his characteristic decision, earnestness, and enthusiasm, to supply the defect by




LIFE AND TIMES OF GARDINER SPRING.


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the introduction of a system that should combine the
advantages of a literary course with a familiar acquaintance with the responsibilities of the pastoral
office. In theology he was a thorough-going Hopkinsian; in church government he was not only a
thorough-going Congregationalist, but a thoroughgoing Independent. I have often heard him say that
the decision of the church is absolute and final; that
while an ecclesiastical council might give their advice
in cases of difficulty, it is not binding except as matter
of advice; and that there is no appeal to any tribunal
under heaven, from the decision of the church. In
accordance with these views, he himself was a member
of the church of which he was the pastor, and considered himself amenable to their judgment. In form
of government and church discipline, he was a follower of the Independents in the time of Queen Elizabeth, and regarded every separate society of Christian worshippers as having sufficient power to perform everything relating to religious government
within itself, and in no respect subject or accountable to other churches. He regarded himself as a
"jure divino" Puritan.   His favorite authors on
church government were Robinson's Apology, the
Savoy Confession, the writings of Dr. Glass, and
the Cambridge Platform. The three volumes of
Glass he presented to me, and they are now in my
library.
It was with these views that his thoughts were
directed to the formation of a theological seminary.
His first wish was that it should be located at Franklin, Mass., within the bounds of the Mendon Associa



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PERSONAL REMINISCENCES OF THE


tion, and under the direction of Dr. Emmons, as professor of theology.
Failing in this, his next effort was that it should
be established under the instruction of Rev. Leonard
Woods. Mr. Woods was a young man of similar
views with his own, and the pastor of a rural church
in Newbury Newtown.     But though overruled in
this, he did not less earnestly pursue his darling object. In the year 1807, while I was a teacher in the
Island of Bermuda, he gave me an account of his success, and of the liberality of two of his parishioners,
William Bartlett and Moses Brown, and John Norris
of Salem, who were associated with him in originating
the institution. I am perfectly confident that, from
the commencement, it was the design of these its
founders that it should be established upon the principles of Hopkinsian theology. Is letters to different gentlemen in New England and out of it, his expressed views to his family, and his unceasing efforts
to establish the Board of Visitors on a basis that
should secure this object, all indicate both his zeal
and his fears. When it was ascertained that Andover
would take the place of Franklin and Newbury, my
father's thoughts were turned towards Mr. Woods as
the first professor. That overruling and wise Providence, whose eye was upon this infant enterprise, had
directed the trustees of Philips Academy to the same
man. My father's choice was their choice. So that,
much as he had been opposed to any coalition with
the arrangements at Andover, his favorite design of
an institution entirely distinct from Philips Academy
was reluctantly abandoned. Mr. Woods, the candi



LIFE AND TIMES OF GARDINER SPRING.


309


date both of the Hopkinsians and the Calvinists, was
known to belong to the Hopkinsian school, but had
wisely commended himself to the old Calvinists, and
had their entire confidence.  It might gratify the
fiiends of truth, were his letters to the Rev. Dr.
Morse and the Rev. Dr. Pearson, on this subject,
given to the world; we doubt not they would honor
his charity and his ingenuousness. My father's course
in this matter was straightforward. He would not,
and he did not, abandon the effort of a distinct and
separate institution, until he had first received from
Mr. Woods the most unequivocal assurances, that if
he were chosen the professor of theology, he would
occupy the theological chair as a Hopkinsian. My
father wrote him several letters, in order to bring out
his views and determination, and, I have no doubt,
though inaccessible to me, they are in the keeping of
Dr. Woods' family. The following letters from him
to my father, will rectify some misapprehensions in
the minds of many good men, in relation to this
whole matter. They came into my possession with
my father's private papers, nor have I ever allowed
them to go out of my hands, except into the hands
of the Rev. Leonard Woods, the President of Bowdoin
College.
" NEWBURY, February 13, 1808.
"' REVEREND AND MOST BELOVED SIR:
" Your letter of the 7th inst. affected me, as it did
Mrs. Woods. The covenant and cooperation which
you propose, are altogether congenial with my feelings and views. And were I not afraid to trust my




310      PERSONAL REMINISCENCES OF THE
heart, which has so often been deceitful and treacherous, I would say,' it shall be a covenant of salt.' May
the grace of Christ help me to harmonize with you in
promoting the consistency' and ' the sacred influence of truth.' I am satisfied that all the opposition
which we have reason to expect, will arise either
from the hostility of the unrenewed heart against
God, or from the ignorance and prejudice of good
men. How opposition, arising from each of these
sources, should be treated, is a question of great importance, on which I have much need of instruction.
I know not that there is any difference between us as
to the matter of divine truth, or the principles of
theology. And I don't feel now, as though I could
decide on one single point differently from you, as far
as my researches have gone. What I shall wish to be
the great subject of our conversation and correspondence, is this: how can the evidence of the consistent
theory of evangelical truth be most clearly, prudently, and effectually stated?  How can objectors be
most satisfactorily convinced? How can their arguments be exposed to the greatest advantage a What
is the happy, the sacred art of leading young minds,
from step to step, into the knowledge of the inspired
system, and of furnishing them with the whole armor
necessary for good soldiers? In short, how can we
best subserve the interests of the ministry, and, through
them, the interests of Zion? Oh! that we may be
'illuininees, in the proper, sublime sense.' I perfectly agree with you, that in becoming all things to all
men, we are 'not to move one inch from our theoretic
ground.' But what firmness and wisdom are need



LIFE AND TIMES OF GARDINER SPRING.


311


ful! When I think of the host of prejudices in the
public mind, and begin to ask, how shall I get along
with them, and render myself acceptable to all sides,
I am distracted and lost. But, blessed be God, there
is ' a better way.' We have only One to please, and
he infinitely and unchangeably wise and good. We
have only one cause to promote, one Master to serve,
one foundation to stand upon, and one set of weapons
to use. If we mind our business, the elements will
fight for us, and God will give success. What if there
is a tremendous storm at present? I never knew a
storm which did not cease after a while. The fiercest
wind will abate, the thickest vapors be scattered, and
we shall enjoy a serene sky. Even malice and envy
will shoot all the darts in its quivers, or, finding
shooting in vain, will desist.
' When you speak of my increasing forty years,
and of your decreasing ten, you bring into view a
most affecting subject-a subject so solemn and tender, that I cannot say anything suitable upon it. Oh!
this transient shadow! How quickly will it be gone!
And yet, how much have we to do! My leanness,
my indolence, discourages me. I desire to relinquish
every pursuit and enjoyment, to give up every plan
and every interest, that will interfere with the great
object, or, indeed, that will not promote it. Your
hints about the Panoplist do not wound in the least
degree. They will be duly attended to.
" Your remarks near the close are perfectly justcertainly as to me. I thought, last spring, I should
be praying the rest of my life. But in the midst of
our perplexities and cares, I have been too little with
'^;




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PERSONAL REMINISCENCES OF THE


Christ. I need fasting and prayer.  Probably we
have all too much neglected the throne of grace.
"To-day I spent several hours very pleasantly
with Dr. Parish. He appears perfectly disposed to be
friendly, and to cooperate with us. But, alas! the
unhappiness between him and Dr. M. is great.  I
lament it, especially at this period. I long to hear
whether Dr. Pearson has been along, and how the
business progresses.
"Accept, with Mrs. Spring, our united love and
esteem, and believe me yours in the most pleasing
and indissoluble bonds,
(" LEONARD WOODS.
" Reverend Dr. SPRING."
" NrEWBUPY, May 1, Sabbath evening.
"BELOVED SIR:
" I have been absent on a journey to Dover and
Portsmouth most of the time since I saw you, which
has prevented my design of writing to you before
now. But let me say, dear sir, I have never written
to you with such feelings as now agitate my breast.
Present circumstances lead my thoughts to past
scenes. I remember the time when I first entered
your house, and embraced your friendly hand. I call
to mind the concern you have manifested for my comfort and usefulness. How many instances of your
paternal and brotherly kindness have I experienced.
What aid have I derived from you respecting the
knowledge of the truth, and the duties of the ministry! I have enjoyed no such friendship with any
minister. To no other have I felt myself at liberty




LIFE AND TIMES OF GARDINER SPRING.


313


to open my heart with such freedom. In no other
have I found that which invited such confidence.
With no other have I tasted to so high a degree the
pleasures of mutual love and tenderness. One of the
best comforts in my present situation, and what I
have prized as one of my greatest advantages, has
been the growing intercourse which I have been
permitted to have with you. I say these things from
the fulness of my heart. Yea, this is not half of what
my heart, full of dutiful, grateful feelings, prompts
me to say. I have recorded your friendship as one
of the most precious blessings of Divine Providence.
In this state of mind, how affecting is your letter, just
received! I am ready to weep, when I read what
you say in the postscript,' You and I are unhappy
now, not to harmonize.' Beloved sir, though I have
often heard, often read, and often affirmed myself,
that friendship s precarious and changeable, I have
indulged, and still indulge, the pleasing hope that our
friendship will never be interrupted. I am confident
it will not, unless my conduct shall be such as justly
to forfeit your esteem. Whether my conduct in the
affair now before us be such, I know not. If it be
so, my present feeling is, that I should have no hard
thoughts of you, should you entirely cast me off.
" Monday. But to come to the point in hand. I
assure you, dear sir, I never felt more strongly attacked to Hopkinsianism than now. I am more and
more convinced that this system of religious sentiment
and administration is the nearest of all existing systems to the apostolic standard; and in the hands of
wisdom and prudence, the most likely by far to do
VOt. i. —14




314


PERSONAL REMINISCENCES OF THE


good to the souls of men. I have embraced the system with deliberation, and in full view of all the evils
to which Hopkinsians are liable. I knew what I was
doing as to my popularity. I counted the cost. And
when, from time to time, I learn the effects, I repent
not of my choice. Now, surely, with these views and
impressions respecting the importance of I-lopkinsian
theology, I could not engage in any undertaking
which, in my apprehension, is unfriendly to it. Nay,
I think I should not engage, if I did not expect ultimately to subserve the interests of Hopkinsian truth.
I say ultimately, for such is the nature of the undertaking, that I cannot do it professedly. Yet in this I
see no dishonesty, no underhand dealing, no duplicity. For we are not obliged, whenever we begin to
write or to speak, to declare ourselves lopkinsians.
I appeal to your conduct. In your late address to
the public, you did not think it prudent to take the
signature of ITopkcins, but of Calvinus, although you
glory in the name of Hopkinsian, rather than Calvinist. Although you meant ultimately to subserve the
Hopkinsian cause, you said little or nothing which
brought into view the distinguishing features of Hopkinsianism. So, in your preaching in my desk, in
consequence of peculiar circumstances, you did not,
for a time, deliver those sermons which display Hopkinsian peculiarities in the clearest light; certainly
not those peculiarities against which the plejudices of
the people were the most inveterate. The good effect
of your measures is now apparent in the influence you
have acquired over the minds of my people. You have
most successfully promoted the cause which is so dear




LIFE AND TIMES OF GARDINER SPRING.


315


to your heart. My aim is to imitate your example.
I mean to do all I can to promote the cause of gospel
truth in its most distinguishing form. I mean to advocate the religion in substance which distinguished
New England; which religion you have so highly applauded in your late publications. If this cannot be
done decidedly and in earnest, I retreat.
"I am, reverend and dear sir, yours in the warmest attachment,
" LEONARD WOODS."
The last page of this letter has reference to another and irrelevant matter. Justice to Dr. Woods
also demands the insertion of the following, dated
" ANDovE, July 30, 1816.
" REVEREND AND BELOVED SI:
" I always sit down to write to you with respectful and tender emotions. I should charge myself with
strange insensibility, had I not such emotions now.
We do, indeed, sympathize with you in this scene of
affliction. Your beloved daughter was dear to us.
We have long known her; and have felt how much
her amiable, interesting character could attract the
heart. We have known her dutiful affection to her
parents, and the strong hold she has had upon your
feelings. Oh! it is a painful stroke. The God of all
grace and comfort give you and Mrs. Spring all needed support. You have reason to trust in God; and
you will remember what tranquillity of mind he' has
heretofore granted you both, in time of trouble. You
will think, too, with lively sensations, how his grace




316


PERSONAL REMINISCENCES OF THE


has abounded, as we hope, in the sanctification of
some of your children, and how all-sufficient that
same grace is for the salvation of all the rest. Be
assured, dear mourning parents, that there are many
hearts here, as well as elsewhere, that will not cease
to feel tender condolence towards you, and to beseech
God to afford you the best of all blessings, his gracious presence.
"I am glad you have opened your heart on the
subject of our church, because it gives me opportunity
to open mine. I am sure, if you knew all that is in
my heart, you would not feel anything but candor
and tenderness towards me. I never differ from you
without the pain of cutting off a right hand. The
struggle of my mind, in the one or two instances in
which I have felt it my duty to act in opposition to
you, has come the nearest to breaking me down, of
any event which ever took place. From some men
with whom I have been brought into connection, I
look for difficulty. I expect hard treatment; and I
can bear it. But I can't bear it from you, because I
know the warm affection of your heart. From the
first moment that I saw you, you have been a father
to me. You have cherished me with paternal fondness, and have, more than any other man, or all
others, been the instrument of bringing me to this
elevated and important station-a station whose duties I greatly love, though I tremble at its responsibility. I go back now, in my thoughts, to scenes
through which we have together passed, and my
heart grows warm within me.
" But I must check my wanderings. I will, how



LIFE AND TIMES OF GARDINER SPRING.


317


ever, say, that one of my best supports and encouragements in my arduous station has been, and is, that
I have enjoyed your friendship and your approbation.
Whatever I do that gratifies you, is doubly pleasant
to me. I say this, respecting myself and my colleagues. There is no man on earth whom we are so
desirous to please, and so unwilling to offend. When
you come here and mix with us in the Seminary, and
feel at home, and show yourself well satisfied with the
state of the institution, we are elated. Your satisfaction is ourjoy. If in anything we differ from you,
we do it with a full confidence in the integrity of your
heart, and so without any withdrawment of affection. There ought to be no disunion or strife between you and us. It would be unnatural, unnecessary, and hurtful to the last degree. It must not be.
It cannot be. If you knew our views on the subject
of the church, I am certain your feelings would be at
rest. But you have some misapprehension, or wrong
impression, which must be corrected. It is with this
view I now write.- And I do think, if you take into
calm and sober consideration the following things,
you will be convinced that no just charge can be
brought against us in this affair.
"1. The constitution and the associate statutes,
the latter of which you had an agency in forming,
and both of which trustees and visitors are most solemnly bound to observe and govern themselves by,
leave the particular form of the church in the Seminary undefined. But they say what looks towards
the subject in several articles. See Constitution, Art.
II.; Asso. Stat., Arts. II. and XXIII. In these stat



318      PERSONAL REMINISCENCES OF THE
utes it is expressly provided that the professors shall
be Congregational or Presbyterian, and the students
likewise. And you have proved that you understood
them in their obvious sense, and meant to proceed
accordingly, by thinking of Dr. Romeyn, Dr. Miller,
etc., for a professor of sacred rhetoric, and finally fixing upon Dr. Griffin. You never made any objection
to them because they were Presbyterians. On the
contrary, you rather chose, by selecting a Presbyterian professor, to give a more enlarged character,
and more extended influence, to the Seminary. You
always showed the same feeling as to students. And
it never entered into my heart, till lately, that you
cared anything about the distinction, or meant ever
to contend for one denomination, or oppose the other,
certainly so far as the Seminary is concerned. Now
I say, according to all these statutes, and these proceedings, we never expected to be pressed on this
subject. We did suppose ourselves perfectly at liberty, according to the unalterable principles of the
constitution and statutes, to be either Presbyterians
or Congregationalists. We did suppose that you, and
everybody else, connected with the Seminary, would
be willing we should be at liberty. And now, if we
had all felt it to be our duty to join ourselves with a
Presbytery, no man would have any right, as we supposed, to call us to account. As professors, we are
bound by the statutes. So are both Boards. If we
are to be blamed by either of the Boards, we do expect it will be for violating some of the statutes. We
have always considered the government of the Seminary to be the government of laws. The course, we




LIFE AND TIMES OF GARDINER SPRING.


319


have thought, was plainly marked out for us and for
others. If a professor were to become an Episcopalian or a Baptist, he must, of course, be put out of
office. But a Congregationalist or Presbyterian he
may be. You have said it, and all the founders have
said it, and you can't unsay it, to the end of the world,
that a professor here is to be ' a Congregationalist or
a Presbyterian.' But,
"2. We have not become Presbyterians. At the
first consultation with the committee of the trustees,
we gave our united voice in favor of a Congregational
church, on the general principles of the Cambridge
platform. At the same time, we gave it distinctly as
our judgment, that, considering the statutes, and the
state of our country, it ought not to be so rigidly and
exclusively Congregational as to be at war with Presbyterianism. Indeed, we have all along been convinced that the democracy, which has sometimes
cleaved to Congregationalism, is hostile to the interests of the church.  But, from  the nature of the
Seminary, and the express provisions of the statutes,
whatever be the case elsewhere, we have thought
that the church here ought to be formed upon so liberal a basis, that Presbyterian students, as well as
professors, might, without difficulty, be connected
with it. Else there will be a schism produced within the Seminary in direct contradiction to the statutes.
" Still, I say, we have been uniformly in favor of
a Congregational church, and when Dr. Pearson's
feelings were strongest on the subject of a minister's
membership in his church, we were desirous to waive




320      PERSONAL REMINISCENCES OF THE
that subject wholly, and proceed to form the church
upon Congregational principles.
"3. When Dr. Pearson handed us the report of
the committee, leaving out certain exceptionable
things in the platform, and acknowledging the rest as
our general basis, we were satisfied; and Dr. Pearson
told us you were satisfied. All we have done is to insist upon the principle, which is practically acknowledged by all our churches, that the final censure of a
minister ought to proceed from an ecclesiastical council, not from his church. We did suppose all difficulties were removed, and that all concerned were prepared to proceed, with love and unity, to form a
church.
"If you consider these things, you will, I think,
perceive that there is no ground of complaint against
us for the part we have acted in this affair.
" But I cannot stop here. I do think we have just
cause of complaint against others, and, I am grieved
to say it, against Dr. Spring. The subjects of complaint are these:
"1. You have brought charges against us contrary
to fact. You say, we oppose the formation of a
church in the Seminary on Congregational principles.
This we never have done, and are not disposed to do.
" 2. You charge us with acting from motives
which we abhor. Your hints imply that we have 'the
hearts of aspiring clergymen;J —that we are to be
classed, not only with 'Presbyterians and Episcopalians,' but with ' Papists, and others of the same elevated spirit /' that we are looking for ' clerical superiority,' and that we wish to be exempted from disciIlulry:    tri   E~l~~::s:lutVv~ a




LIFE AND TIMES OF GARDINER SPRING.


321


pline, etc. I will say nothing in reply to these things,
except what may be necessary to correct a mistake as
to matter-of-fact; viz., that we have, from the beginning, wished ministers to be under the inspection and
discipline of an ecclesiastical council, purely because
that inspection would be more faithful, and that discipline more just and effectual, than that of a single
church. We wish ministers to be under stricter discipline, and more impartial discipline, and more
effectual discipline, than is common; while you
charge us with wishing to free them from discipline,
and give them 'clerical superiority,' 'the benefit of
the clergy,' etc. If these charges had come from the
laxest men of the Unitarian school, we should have regarded them as the idle wind. But from you we did
not look for them. From you they cannot come without wounding.
"3. You attempt to compel us to act, not only
against our consciences, but against the statutes. We
consider the statutes as containing the terms of a public contract between you and us. That contract says
we may be 'Congregationalists or Presbyterians.'
You say we must be not only Congregationalists in
general, but Congregationalists of the strictest order;
that is, Independents, and in such a sense as to be absolutely exclusive of Presbyterians; exclusive of Presbyterians when the statutes are inclusive of Presbyterians. I say, therefore, that you urge us against the
letter and spirit bf the statutes, even if we were Presbyterians; much more now, when we are in favor of
a milder form of Congregationalism.
4. You press us to a measure which would be inVOL. I.-14*:i                      f 0




322


PERSONAL REMINISCENCES OF THE


tolerable to the feelings of most of our students,which would excite a prejudice against the Seminary
generally through the United States, and thus turn
the current against it, and do much to diminish its
influence and usefulness.
" These, sir, are the complaints which we think we
have a right to make. But we wish not to urge them.
We would rather forget them. We shall naturally
forget them. It is easy for us to efface the impression
they have made, and think of them no more. This
momentary excitement will pass away. You will be
satisfied that we mean well, and that you have nothing
to fear from the views we entertain on church matters.
And we shall be satisfied that you never intended to
injure us or the Seminary, but are indeed and in truth
our best friend and the best friend of the institution.
You will cooperate with us in this great work; you
will excite us to diligence and fidelity; and your approbation will be among our best earthly comforts.
We must have a near and confidential friendship with
you while life lasts.
"I have now said all that is in my heart, though.
briefly. I have only to make one request. Remember that our situation is responsible and trying to a
high degree. All the force of opposition against orthodoxy, from Unitarians, Arminians, and semi-Calvinists, is directed against us. We have perpetual
trials and difficulties with some of those who are the
legal guardians of the Seminary. We have every day
weighty and difficult duties to perform. We are constantly borne down, and ready to be exhausted; and
must wear out very fast. Do think of us kindly; for



LIFE AND TIMES OF GARDINER SPRING.


323


give us when we have done wrong; rebuke us when
we go astray; love us, and visit us, and pray for us.
And may the God of Abraham bless you and yours
evermore.
"' Yours, with dutiful affection and esteem,
"LEONARD WOODS.
"Rev. Dr. SPRING."
On the subject of the last letter, Dr. Woods certainly has the advantage of my father; while it must
be obvious that in regard to the subject of theology,
he found no small embarrassment in pursuing a course
that conciliated-the Itopkinsians and the Calvinists.
This was his object, and it was adroitly and successfully pursued. That his views sustained a change in
favor of the Calvinism of the Westminster Assembly,
the later classes under his care can testify; but that
he differed from my father, as has been publicly affirmed, when he was appointed to his professorship, is
a misconception and misstatement.
The coalition between the Calvinists and the Hopkinsians of New England was, by many persons, regarded as of bright augury to the church of God.
Dr. Joseph Emerson, a disciple of Dr. Emmons, in a
treatise upon the Millennium, regards it as one of the
auspicious preliminaries of that promised day. Whether the character of the Andover Seminary has retained its integrity or not, I have not sufficient means
and opportunity of forming a judgment. My father
took a deep interest in the appointment of Dr. Griffin,
Mr. Stuart, and Dr. Porter, to their respective chairs;
but he was deeply wounded at the appointment of Dr




'824      PERSONAL REMINISCENCES OF THE
Murdock. He frankly told Dr. Woods and Mr. Baitlett, that he could not conscientiously, and never
would, consent to it. To the objection, that if he did
not consent to it, the donation for the support of the
professorship would be lost, he replied, "The money
had better sink in the bottom of, the sea, than the
wrong man go there." On the nomination of Mr.
Stuart as the Professor of Sacred Literature, my father
visited New Haven with the view of satisfying his
own mind as to the qualifications of the candidate,
and influencing his suffrage in the matter. He called
on President Dwight, among others, for his opinion
of Mr. Stuart. "He is the very man for the place,"
said Dr. Dwight, " but we cannot spare him."  Sir,"
replied my father, "we do not want a man that can
be spared." Mr. Stuart received the appointment,
and his name will long be honored as the most distinguished pioneer in the cause of sacred literature in
the American churches.
It would be too much to say that my father had
no anxiety in relation to Andover, during the last
months of his life. At my last interview with my
mother, in March, 1819, she informed me that he had
great fears as to the steadfastness of Andover in the
faith; and that about three weeks before his death, he
wrote to the Professors, expressing his fears. He told
them that he expected soon to die, and felt that he
must faithfully give them this his dying admonition.
He was very much displeased with a sermon of Dr.
Woods', from the text, "He had respect unto the
recompense of the reward." It was the last sermon
my father heard from him, and was especially dis



LIFE AND TIMES OF GARDINER SPRING.


325'


pleasing because it elicited the commendation of some
in the congregation who had uniformly expressed
marked dislike to what they deemed my father's rigid
advocacy of a disinterested piety. There were a few
among his hearers who, notwithstanding all their affection and reverence for the man and the minister,
could not disguise their partiality for a more lax and
soothing theology. He could not look with complacency upon any that countenanced, even though it
were through misconstruction, their opposition to the
truth. His interview with Dr. Woods, a few days
before his death, was most solemn and affecting.




A


CHAPTER XIV.
AMERICAN BIBLE SOCIETY.
IT is a melancholy yet a marvellous fact, that since
the art of printing there should have been such a
scarcity of Bibles. We cannot account for it on any
other principle, than that "light is come into the
world, but men have loved darkness rather than light."
The diffusion of truth naturally arises from the love
of truth. The noble men of the 17th century gave no
greater evidence of their high-born Christianity than
their service and their sufferings to disseminate the
word of God.
The great reformation from Popery, and the revivals of religion in these United States, were distinguished, not more for the organization of the great
missionary enterprise, than for associations for the circulation of the Holy Scriptures.
Old England has no brighter jewel in her crown
than the British and Foreign Bible Society; nor did
Lord Teignmouth and the Bishop of London ever
wreathe a fairer laurel for their own or their country's
honor, than when they identified them with the Bible
cause,




LIFE AND TIMES OF GARDINER SPRING.


327


It has more than once been affirmed that the
United States have never, as a nation, publicly recognized the supremacy of the God of heaven. But it
should be remembered that, as early as the year 1777,
the want of Bibles was the subject of solemn discussion in Congress, and that body appointed a committee to advise as to the expediency of publishing an
edition of thirty thousand copies of the sacred Scriptures.
This Government rests upon Protestant Christianity. Its corner-stone is the Bible: its strength and
its hopes lie in disseminating the knowledge of God
among all classes. This it has done; this it is doing;
and this, under God, it will do, through those associated efforts which are the peculiarity and glory of
the age.
The American Bible Society was formed by a
convention of various local societies, held in the city
of New York, May 11, 1816. It was my privilege, as
a delegate from the New York Bible Society, to be a
member of that convention; and it has been my privilege, as one of the directors, and associated with one
of its standing committees, to attend the meetings of
its Board of Managers with punctuality, to acquaint
myself with all the important measures it has adopted,
and to aid its progress.
My honored father was present as a representative
of the Merrimack Bible Society: it was the first and
the last time that the father and the son occupied the
floor of the same deliberative body. The men who
formed that convention, and who were first appointed
the officers and managers of that society, were among




328


PERSONAL REMINISCENCES OF THE


the most reverend and revered in the church, and the
most honorable and honored in the state.
There are three epochs in the history of this society which cannot, in historic verity, be severed from
these personal reminiscences. The first is distinguished
by the memorable Baptist Discussion in relation to
the translation of the Scriptures into foreign languages.
In regard to our English Bible, the constitution declares that "the only copies in the English language
to be circulated by the society, shall be of the version
now in common use." The Board of managers consists of thirty-six laymen; but every minister of the
Gospel, who is a member of the society, is entitled
"to meet and vote with the Board of Managers," and
is possessed of the same power as a manager himself.
The Board of Managers and Directors, therefore,
comprised all religious denominations, including the
Baptists, who for a series of years cordially cooperated
in the extensive circulation of the English Bible, though
instead of translating the Greek word BAIITIZJ2, they
transferred it, and gave the English form of baptize.
In the year 1835, application was made to the society
for aid in printing the Scriptures in the Bengalee language. It had previously been made to the British
and Foreign Bible Society, and had been rejected, on
the ground that the Bengalee translation had rendered
the Greek word /3awrTLco immerse, instead of baptize,
and the cognates of this word to correspond with this
interpretation. The British and Foreign Bible Society recommended the applicants to the American
Society, intimating that the latter institution "had
not hesitated in times past to make appropria



LIFE' AND TIMES OF GARDINER SPRING.


329


tions for translations of this character." In this way,
the fact first came to the knowledge of the Board that
they had made any such appropriations. Thus brought
to the notice of the Board, the matter was referred to
the Committee on Distribution, who on the 3d of
September, 1835, reported that " they do not deem it
expedient to recommend an appropriation to aid in
printing the Bengalee Scriptures until the Board settle
a principle in relation to the translation of the Greek
word /3a7'rr'io.
This report was referred to a special committee
consisting of one from each religious denomination in
the Board, to consider and report on the subject. On
the 1st of October, 1835, the committee made a report
recommending the adoption of certain resolutions, and
the Rev. Spencer H. Cone, of the Baptist persuasion,
submitted a minority report; and the consideration of
both reports was postponed until the next meeting. On
the 5th of the following November, both resolutions
were freely discussed, and during the discussion, a
resolution transmitted to the Rev. Dr. Milnor, from
President Wayland, of Brown University, together
with a series of resolutions offered by Dr. Milnor, as
a substitute for those presented by the majority of the
committee, were referred back to the same committee
to consider and report at the next meeting.
On the 19tlf of the same month, this committee
withdrew their former report on the particular case,
and presented for the consideration of the Board the
following general princTples
Adverting to the fact that the constitution of the
society was evidently designed to harmonize all reli



330       PERSONAL REMINISCENCES OF THE
gious denominations, and in conformity with its obvious spirit, they recommend the adoption of the following resolution as the rule of their conduct in making appropriations for the circulation of the Scriptures
in foreign tongues:
"Resolved, That in appropriating money for the
translating, prtining, and distribution of the sacred
Scriptures in foreign languages, the managers feel at
liberty to encourage only such versions as conform, in
the principles of their translation, to the common
English version, —at least so far that all religious denominations represented in this society can consistently use and circulate them in their several schools
and communities; " and that Missionary Boards be
informed that "the versions they propose to circulate,"
receiving aid from this society, must be executed in
accordance with the above principles.
At the same meeting, the Rev. Dr. Cone presented
his counter report, alleging that the " Baptist Board
of Foreign Missions have not been under the impression that the American Bible Society was organized
upon the neutral principle that 8a7TrTri   and its cognates are never to be translated, but always transferred
in all versions of the Scriptures patronized by them;"
that had it been so understood and acted upon, the
Baptists would not have solicited aid for translations
made by their missionaries; that as "liberal bequests
and donations had been made by Baptists, and made
in the full confidence that the society could constitutionally assist their own denomination," he proposed that the society appropriate and pay $
to the Baptist General Convention for missionary pur-: ff:   \.Yi




LIFE AND TIMES OF GARDINER SPRING.


331


poses, and to aid them in the work of supplying the
perishing millions of the East with the sacred Scriptures.
At a meeting on the 3d of December, the first
resolution of the Committee came up for consideration,
when it was laid upon the table, in order to consider
a proposition made by Hon. Mr. Jay; when, after
some discussion, the whole subject was laid upon the
table. On the 4th of February, 1836, the subject
came up again, and was postponed to a special meeting appointed for this particular object. At the special meeting, on the 17th of February, the whole subject was fully discussed, and after full consideration,
the preamble and resolutions contained in the report
of the Committee, presented November 19th, 1835,
were adopted, thirty voting in their favor, and fourteen against them. On the 3d of March, the Rev.
Dr. Maclay gave notice of a "remonstrance of the
Baptist members of the Board'" in this matter. On
the 7th of April, Dr. Cone presented a Protest against
the proceedings of the Board, and on the 21st of the
same month, the Board decided that " it was inexpedient to receive any protest from a minority on a
question which had been decided by yeas and nays
recorded." On the 5th of May, 1836, a communication was received from the Secretary of the Baptist
General Convention for Foreign Missions, declining
the offer of a grant of $5,000, to aid in printing the
Burman Scriptures, as they could not conform to the
principles of translation required by the Board; and
on the 19th of May, a letter was received from the
Rev. Dr. Cone, resigning his office as one of the So



832


PERSONAL REMNISCENCES OF THE


ciety's Corresponding Secretaries; and his resignation
was accepted.
I was no listless auditor to these discussions, and
no idle spectator. The Christian public throughout
the land were awake to them, and were prepared for
the result. The line was drawn, and henceforth the
Baptists could no longer unite with the church of
God even in the circulation of his Word, " without
note or comment." They went out from us and
formed a Baptist Society, more anxious, I fear, to
make Baptists than to make Christians.
Looking back now, through the vista of thirty years,
I am thankful that the American Bible Society stood
firm, and only wonder at the folly of my Baptist brethren. I cannot deny myself the pleasure of expressing
the high gratification afforded me by the course of the
Committee to whom the subject was referred. I was
not more instructed and confirmed by the luminous
and unanswerable train of argument pursued in this
discussion, than delighted by the inward prompting
which constrained my brethren and my betters to take
the bold and manly stand they took against the enormous assumptions of that most sectarian of all sects.
The more I think of it, the less calmly do I look on and
see a body of professedly Christian men perpetrating
the most grievous outrage upon the principle which
enters into the very life of the church of Christ. I
cannot see that the pretensions of Papacy are a whit
more abhorrent to the spirit and genius of the Gospel,
or more offensive to its Divine Author, than those of
the modern Baptists. The basis on which they build
themselves a a sect is utterly at war with that char



LIFE AND TIMES OF GARDINER SPRING.   333
ity, sympathy, fellowship, and cooperation which are
the native product of the spirit of grace and the.glory
of Christ's religion. Their claims involve a ruthless
rending of the Lord's spiritual body, and a fulminating exclusion from the pale of the church of those
whom Christ has received, whom he loves, whom he
sanctifies, whom he crowns in heaven. What fouler
schism is on the record of the past, than' the Baptist
secession from the national Bible Society
I feel that it is due to the offenders themselves, by
the law of Christ, to rebuke strongly their sin. The
question of the subjects and mode of baptism is quite
subordinate to that of the moral bearings and results
of the system.
Upon this the controversy hitherto has never sufficiently hinged itself. A vaulting fire may break down
their ramparts of prepositions, their intos and their
out ofs; but the citadel of their uncharitableness and
their injuries and wrongs to the members of Christ's
body, must be stormed and consumed with a fire of
holy zeal which " many waters " cannot quench.
The Baptist position is one that in effect forbids
any other church in Christendom  to celebrate the
Lord's Supper. For certainly, if, while I am admitted
to be a Christian, I am not at liberty to partake of
the sacrament in a Baptist church, it is impossible I
can be at liberty to go into a Presbyterian church and
do it.
Here, then, we behold the issue. Christ says to
me, and my conscience and heart respond, "Do this
in remembrance of me." My Baptist teacher says,
"Do it at your peril."  Can it be! You will not
f: t: X A A-;




334


PERSONAL REMINISCENCES OF THE


give a Bible to the perishing that does not say, " Go
immerse all nations." Shall not these Baptist brethren finally be ashamed into the avowal of their altarbuilding tribes at the banks of the Jordan-" God
forbid that we should rebel against the Lord, to build
an altar for burnt offerings, for meat offerings, or for
sacrifices, beside the altar of the Lord our God which
is before the tabernacle."
The next subject which agitated and embarrassed
the managers and directors of the society, relates to
THE OPENING OF its anniversaries with prayer.
It seems unaccountable to us that such a question
should be attended with any embarrassment. But
when it is considered that the society comprised maiiy
persons of the Episcopal denomination, and some of
Friends' Meeting, it is not difficult to account for that
embarrassment. Outside of the Board, the subject
was fully discussed, and it was concluded that, rather
than wound the feelings of the Episcopalians and
Quakers, and as a matter of compromise, the monthly
meetings of the Board, and the annual meetings of the
society, should be opened simply by reading a chapter from the Bible. This was the practice for thirtyfour years, submitted to for the sake of peace, rather
than cheerfully acquiesced in.
At the anniversary of the society in May, 1850,
the following resolution was introduced by the Rev.
Dr. Carrol, of Newburgh, and referred to the Board.
"Resolved, That it be a by-law of the society, that, in
addition to the reading of the Scriptures, the meetings
of the society shall be opened with prayer."  On the
6th of June the resolution was taken up by the board,




LIFE AND TIMES OF GARDINER SPRING.


335


when, "on motion of the Rev. Dr. Spring, it was referred to a select committee of seven, representing the
different denominational interests in the Board, to be
appointed by the Chair, and announced at the next
meeting of the Board." The select committee appointed at the next meeting was increased to nine,
and consisted of the Rev. Dr. Spring, Rev. R. S.
Storrs, jr., Rev. Dr. Vermilye, Rev. Dr. Stone, Rev.
Dr. Peck, Rev. A. D. Smith, and Rev. D. Bigler.
On the 7th of the following November, the chairman
of this committee made the following report: " The
committee to whom was referred the subject of religious exercises at the opening of the society's meetings, beg leave to submit, as their report, the following statement and resolutions. When the American
Bible Society was formed, in 1816, the union of Christians of different names, for promoting a common religious object, was a novel event. Fear was entertained by many as to the effect of such a measure,
and care was observed to exclude from their doings,
as far as possible, all denominational features. Hence
prayer was omitted at their meetings, save as it was
uttered in the portion of the Scriptures wl'ch was
read. Since the time of the above organization, and
by its harmonious action, a wider charity has been
diffused. Other associations have been formed, for
the circulation of evangelical tracts, for promoting
Sunday schools, and the welfare of seamen, and for the
advancement of temperance, and other useful objects.
The latter associations, although composed essentially
of the same mixed elements as the Bible Society,
have, by mutual consent, opened their meetings with




336      PERSONAL REMICISECECES OF THE
prayer, and apparently with satisfaction to all. It is
found, too, that the local Bible associations which
once read the Scriptures merely at their meetings,
now have generally the additional exercises of prayer,
and with no observable detriment to any denominational interest. In the change of circumstances and
of practice, a very natural desire has arisen with
many, that the members of the parent institution
might, in some distinct form, implore the blessing of
the Lord when gathered in their great annual assembly. The committee, after carefully weighing these
facts, feel that the friends of the society, while they
have heretofore, by a devout reading of the Scriptures
at their meetings, acknowledged God in their ways,
and that he has directed their paths, may now, in altered circumstances, unite their supplications in a
more formal way for the Divine guidance. They,
therefore, recommend to the Board the adoption of
the following resolutions: 1. Resolved, That the anniversary meetings of the society be hereafter opened
with prayer, in addition to the usual reading of theScriptures. 2. That the manner of carrying the above
resolution into effect be left at the discretion of the
president, in connection with the anniversary committee."
After much discussion, the further consideration
of the report was deferred to the next meeting. The
discussion was animated and sharp.  The Quakers
contended that mental prayer was all that was necessary, and the Episcopalians that the " holding forth "
of Methodists and others was not suited to their
taste.




LIFE AND TIMES OF GARDINER SPRING.   337
On the part of some of the Episcopalians there was
a high tone of remonstrance, alld even menace; so that
even our lamented friend, the Rev. Dr. BJethune, opposed the adoption of tlhe resolution, on the ground
that " we could not afford to lose our Episcopalian
brethren."  Out of doors, also, the discussion waxed
warm, and the clhairman of the committee was assailed as sowing discord among brethren, and as lending himself to a disruption of the society. On the
5th of Deceiber, the Board resumed the consideration of the report. The meeting was one of great
interest; the discussion was extended and able; the
younger members of the Board nobly confronted the
arrogant position of Episcopacy, and the rep6rt was
adopted without amendment.
At the next meeting, Mr. Pelatiah Perit moved a
reconsideration of the whole subject; but, after some
discussion, the Board adjourned without taking the
question. At tlhe following meeting, in February, the
subject was resumed, and without taking the question,
the Board appointed a ysecial meeting, three weeks inadvance, for further considering Mr. Perit's motion.
At the appointed time, on the 27th of February, 1851,
the discussion was resumed, and, without -taking the
question, the Board adjourned until the next day.
The next day, at an unusually large meeting, the motion to reconsider was adopted, by a vote of twenty-nine
to twenty; and at the next regular meeting, and while
the reconsideration was under discussion, the Rev.
Dr. Yermilye moved, that as there has been no legislation on this report, and that, as such legislative authorities seem inexpedient, "The Board recommend
VOL. I.-15
'0;, ~ ~ ~  ~     ~    ~    ~   ~    ~: ';::;I,0I:f000 S. f0,,0" -0




338


PERSONAL REMINSCENCES OF THE

that arrangements for religious exercises at the anniversary meetings be left to the discretion of the presiding officer at each anniversary, with full liberty in
the matter." This resolution was adopted as the report of the Board to the society, and adopted unanimously; and after manifestations of gratitude and
mutual respect and esteem, and some minutes of silent
prayer, the Board adjourned.
The result of this prolonged and excited discussion is, that not only the anniversary meetings of the
society, but the monthly meetings of the Board, are
now opened with prayer and. the reading of the Scriptures; no man, Quaker or Episcopalian, forbidding
it. "If thine eye be single, thy whole body shall be
full of light." My memory lingers on these scenes
with mingled wonder and delight; wonder, that
Christian men should need to traverse so circuitous
a path, in order to find a place of prayer, when their
own hearts instinctively told them that He who is a
spirit must everywhere be worshipped in spirit and
truth; delight, because I had new evidence that
Christianity is superior to sectarianism, and the Bible
more reverenced thanf the Book of Common Prayer.
Is it not a goodly sight, yon Bible House, hallowed
by the incense of so many mingled supplications, and
sending from its teeming presses the Word of God to
millions of the perishing! The Bible Society must
look higher than denominational distinctions.  It
must have a nobler object to dispread its desires
upon, and discovers and enjoys it wherever the Word
of Gpd has free course and is glorified.
The remaining subject pf deep ipterest t the har



LIFE AND TIMES OF GARDINER SPRING.   339
monious cooperation of the friends of the Bible in this
land, relates to the collation of the English Seriptures,
and the new version. I was led to pursue a course in
this matter which induced some animadversion, if not
obloquy; but which my own conscience and subsequent events fully justified. On the 7th of October,
1847, the Committee on Versions suggested to the
Board of Managers the importance of collating the
Scriptures in the English language, and at the same
meeting the Board referred the subject to that committee, with directions to have the necessary collation
made, and report the result to the Board.
At the next meeting of the Board, in September,
1848, the rules established by the committee in the
execution of their trust were read to the Board, and
the whole matter was referred to that committee, with
powers,
The committee consisted of Rev. Gardiner Spring,
Thomas Cock, M.D., Rev. Samuel H. Turner, D.D.,
Rev. Edward Robinson, D.D., L..D., Rev. Thomas
E. Vermilye, D.D., Rev. John McClintock, and Rev.
Richard S. Storrs, jr., embracing one from each religious denomination.
This committee employed the Rev. James W.
McLane, D.D., to perform the laborious work of the
collation under the direction of the committee, and to
receive $1,500 for his labor. On the 1st of May,
1851, the committee presented a very able report of
their labors, drawn up by Dr. Robinson, which was
adopted by the Board, and one thousand copies of it
were ordered to be printed in pamphlet form. As a
suitable token of their regard for the services of this




840


PERSONAL REMIIISCENCES OF THE


committee, the Board, at a subsequent meeting, presented to each of its members a copy of the inlperial
quarto Bible. I have no hesitation in affirmilng that
the edition of the English Bible thus collated, is the
best edition in the tlaguage; yet serious objections
were imade to it from individuals, from ecclesiastical
bodies, lnd from auxiliary societies-not on tile ground
that the edition was not the best extant, but that the
Board had transcended its powers, and " had issued a
Bible as a standard, not 'in accordance with the version in common use, as required by the society's constitution."
It was urged, that if the society departed from
this restriction in one instance, the precedent might
lead to liberties which would be subversive of all confidence and cooperation. That they had departed in
some cases was a conceded fact. The question was a
serious one, and was seriously considered. It was referred to the Committee on Versions; and on the 12th
of Niovember the Board held a special meeting, to
consider the report of that committee. That report,
submitted by Dr. Vermilye on behalf of the committee, made a statement of the indefatigable toil of the
conlmittee, in this collation; of their efforts to circulate the report of their proceedings, and draw the attention of tile public to the subject; that, for three
years and a half, the action of the Board in this matter had been of public notoriety; that fiomn the beginning of the work to the present time, a period of
nine yearn, for full six of which the revised Bibles had
been in the hands of the community, no word of
objection to it had ever been uttered, but, on the




LIFE AND TIMES OF GARDINER SPRING.  341
other hand, many words of approbation; that recently, however, the subject had been taken up with
warmth, and that misconceptions and misstatements
had become current, and, as the natural result, much
uneasiness has been felt in various quarters; that
the discussion which had been had on the subject,
had thrown light on the public mind, and greatly relieved the honest fears of many of the patrons of the
society; that, after diligent inquiry, the committee
have reason to believe that a very large proportion of
the friends of the society are satisfied with what has
been done, and desire no change; that, in restricting the society to the " version in common use," the
constitution has not precluded the common-sense
right, by careful collation and revision, of making
their issues of the version as perfect as possible; that
the objectors themselves have distinctly and candidly
admitted that, in their opinion, our standard edition
of the text is-the best extant; that, as to the accessories, the case is different-they form no part of
God's Word, but are the work of man, have been altered by men, are various in various editions, and
that the Board are not required by the constitution to
use them at all, or any part of them; that while the
Board pay the utmost deference to the opinions of
others, they ought not to infringe upon principle or
right; that the old English Bible, " tile version in
common use," is still given by the society in its integrity.
The report is a long one, nor can I do justice to
it in these pages. It closes with five resolutions; and
upon the motion to adopt it and after a prolonged,
upon: e:       to a:it




342


PERSONAL REMINISCENCES OF THE


able, and very interesting discussion, though I gave
it my cordial approbation, yet, speaking as a member
of the Board, and not as a member of the Committee
of Versions, and in order to quiet the public mind, I
was ready to undo all that had been done, and well
done, in making our standard Bible. I then submitted the following preamble and resolutions: " While
the Board have strong convictions of the excellence
of their recently revised edition of the Holy Scriptures, and are persuaded that the time is not far distant when the emendations there adopted, if, not
others of equal and greater importance, will be required by the intelligent readers of the sacred volume, yet, in view of the doubts expressed by numerous individuals, by some of their own auxiliaries, and
by several ecclesiastical bodies, as to the constitutional power of the Board to make any such emendations,
therefore, Resolved, That while the Board retains the
text and its accessories, with the correction of the discrepancies in different editions of the English Bibles,
referred to in the report of the Committee on Versions, they do hereby adopt its own royal-octavo edition of the English Bible of 1839, with accessories collated with the standard edition of Cambridge, Oxford,
and London, as the standard edition of the text and
its accessories, to which all future copies from the
press of the society shall be conformed; hoping by
this amicable arrangement to strengthen tlhe confidence and perpetuate thecodperation of all the friends
of God's revealed truth."
This resolution, together with a paper submitted
by the Rev. Dr. Turner, showing the various changes




LIFE AND TIMES OF GARDINER SPRING.   343
which have been made in the numerols editions of
the Bible since 1611, and the many improvements
adopted by the society in collating their standard
copy, were referred to the Committee on Versions.
At a subsequent meeting of the Board, on the 9th of
November, 1857, the subject was resumed; when the
chairman of the committee stated that the committee
were unable to agree upon a report, and were constrained to return the whole subject to the decision
of the Board. Whereupon he submitted the following preamble and resolution: "While the Managers
of the American Bible Society have a preference for
their recently revised edition of the Holy Scriptures,
yet, in view of the doubts from various quarters as
to the constitutional power of the Board concerning
many of the emendations in that edition; therefore,
Resolved, 1st, That in all future issues from the press
of the society, the standard edition be the recently revised edition so far, and so far only, as it regards the
collation of the text, and the correction of discrepancies in different editions of the English Bible in coinmon use. Resolved, 2d, That the accessories of the
text, that is, the use of italic words, capital letters,
compound words, punctuation, parentheses, brackets,
contents of chapters, running heads of columns, marginal notes, and references of the version in common
use, be restored; and that they be subjected only to
collation, with a view to the correction of those errors
and mistakes which are manifest, and those changes
which are required by the progress of the English
language. Resolved, 3d, That it be referred to the
Committee on Versions to carry out the provisions of




344


PERSONAL REMINISCENCES OF THE


the above resolutions, and that, in all cases where
changes shall be introduced by them in the accessories
of the text, these changes be submitted to the Board
for their further approval."
The Rev. Dr. Yermilye then presented a series of
resolutions expressive of different views from  the
foregoing, and supported them with marked ability.
I cannot introduce them here. They will be found at
length in the minutes of the Board, vol. 8, p. 434.
The Rev. Dr. Bedell and the Rev. Dr. Muhlenberg
remarked that there was a wide-spread uneasiness in
the Episcopal church in regard to the collated Bible.
The Rev. S. I. Prime, D.D., also read the resolutions
of the Synod of-Pittsburgh, disapproving of the work
of revision. After a long discussion, the Rev. Dr.
Tyng moved that the whole subject be again referred
to the Committee on Versions; which proposal he
withdrew in favor of a motion of Rev. Dr. Storr, referring the subject to a select committee of nine. Dr.
Storrs' motion was adopted. This committee consisted of Rev. Dr. Storrs, Rev. William B. Spragu~e,
Rev. Sherman De Witt, Rev. Bishop Janes, Rev.
William Adams, Rev. Dr. Bedell, Hon. John McLean,
Hon. Walter Lowrey, and Charles Tracy, Esq. On
the 14tlh of January, the Board met and received the
report of the committee of nine. The Rev. Dr. Storrs
presented a minority report, offering other resolutions;
when James Lenox, Esq., for himself and Rev. Dr.
Boardman, presented a paper expressing the view
that, while they did not entirely agree with the report
of the majority of the committee, they would not oppoe it. After a protracted discussion, the Board ad



LIFE AND TIMES OF GARDINER SPRING.   345
journed for two weeks, when, at an unusually large
meeting, they took up the report of the majority of
the committee and adopted it by a large majority, and
which decided, in substance, that the alterations in the
collated edition " are a departure from the principles
which should govern the society," and that it may " not
adopt any change in the version upon ground ever so
obvious to its managers or committee, but must confine itself strictly to the great trust committed to it by
the constitution."
The Board, therefore, directed the Committee on
Versions so to correct the present collated edition as
to render it conformable to previous editions published
by this society, or by the authorized British presses.
At the next meeting, the Rev. Dr. Robinson presented
a protest of the Committee on Versions against the
action of the Board, which was accepted, and ordered
to be placed in file. The Rev. Dr. Turner, Rev. Dr.
Robinson, Rev. Dr. Vermilye, Rev. Dr. Floy, Rev.
Dr. Storrs, and Thomas Cock, M.D., then offered their
resignations as members of the Committee on Versions,
which, after many expressions of confidence in that
committee, and strenuous efforts to induce them to
withdraw their resignations, were ultimately accepted. The Rev. Dr. Spring was the only member of
that committee who did not resign his place; and for
not so doing, he has been strongly commended and
sharply censured. You ask me why, and I will tell
you. In few words, I say, we, as a committee, transcended the limits of our authority; the Christian public saw it, and laid their hands upon us, and they did
right. It was no part of our business to alter and
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346


PERSONAL REMINISCENCES OF THE


amend the version in common use, but to present that
version in the best form. We did more, and in doing
so we were not justified. The Board might have
adopted the revised edition without any change whatever. Or they might have rejected it, and returned
to the edition of 1816, when the society was formed.
I would have done this rather than peril harmony.
It was not a perfect' edition, nor is our revision perfect; yet I would have adopted it if there were not " a
more excellent way," and that is, to make such changes
in the revised edition as shall render it more conformed
to the old edition, and especially in restoring the
Christology of the Old Testament. And this is what
the Board has done. The time had not come for such
a revision as the Committee on Versions had made.
The cry was echoed and re-echoed, that the Board had
been making alterations in the old English Bible!
Nor could the Christian public be disabused of their
alarm. My sober conviction was that the changes
were premature; good as they are, they are not worth
contending for, against the consciences of our friends
who oppose them. My object was union in the Bible
cause. In a day of division and rebuke, when Rome
is girded for battle against the Word of God, it was of
more importance that American Protestants should
agree in adopting a standard' edition of the English
Bible, than that that edition itself should, in all respects,
be unexceptionable. I therefore conscientiously reiinquished our emendations. It was a grief of heart
to me to grieve my beloved and honored brethren of
the Version Committee in this matter.
Be it so, that they accuse me of fickleness; it was




LIFE AND TIMES OF GARDINER SPRING.


not personal dignity that I contended for in this discussion: it was for the American Bible Society, fast
anchored upon the Bible "in common use, without
note or comment."
I am happy that the course I was directed by a
kind Providence to pursue, received the approbation
of the friends of the society throughout the churches,
especially of my own denomination. My co-presbyters congratulated me, and the members of my own
pastoral charge congratulated me. I hope I may be
allowed, without the implication of vanity, to record
ithe following communication.
"NEW YORK, Feb. 16, 1858.
"r;llv. DR. SPRING:
" MY. HONORED PASTOR: It was with no ordinary
feelings of gratification and thankfulness, that I perused in the last number of the New York Observer,
the truly Christian and conservative thoughts you
were permitted to express so beautifully-before the
American Bible Society. I can well estimate the
courage and self-denying firmness which the case
called for on your part, as an advocate of that excellent committee, in whose labors you were so long associated, and whose individual resignations were then
still ringing in the ears of the Board of Managers.
"This innovation may work this substantial good,
that hereafter sacrilegious hands may be deterred from
touching the Ark. May the self-denying brotherly
kindness, so beautifully manifested in your appeal to
the Board, have a tendency to soften the acerbity
which such a position would naturally tend to pro



I


348


PERSONAL REMINISCENCES.


duce in the other members of the committee. That
you, dear pastor, may long remain to pour on the oil
of kindness and courtesy, and to give to the Christian
world the benefit of your judgment and experience,
is the humble desire of
"Yours,             S. N.
A beloved daughter has also preserved the following record of the views of the late Rev. Dr. Potts, of
this city:-" The morning-after the meeting of the
Bible Society, at which the members of the Version
Committee had all tendered their resignations except
my father, I met the Rev. Dr. Potts. He stopped me
to inquire whether he should find my father at home;
and then spoke of the interest he had taken in the
late action of the Bible Society. 'I was much gratified,' he said, 'at the course taken by your good father.
Never did he act more in character as a Christian
gentleman. It is not easy to take the back track; but
those of us who have been associated for years with
your father in Presbytery and Synod, know that for
him it is a very hard thing indeed. But last night he
did it, and did it handsomely. I was proud of him.'
I am ashamed to have written this entire chapter
almost wholly in self-defence. But the harmony which
has distinguished the American Bible Society, and the
vigorous and successful prosecution of its great work, if
they do not show that in this vexed question " wisdom
is justified of her children," at least show that there
is no wisdom in " sowing discord among brethren."
1ED OP VOLUME I.